Clinical and biochemical effects of erbium, chromium: yttrium, scandium, gallium, garnet laser treatment as a complement to periodontal treatment.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of erbium, chromium: yttrium, scandium, gallium, garnet (Er, Cr: YSGG) laser treatment as a complementary to scaling and root planning (SRP) during the treatment of chronic periodontitis and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-35 (IL-35) levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with chronic periodontitis were divided into two equal groups at random to receive SRP alone and SRP followed by Er, Cr: YSGG laser treatment, which are control and test groups, respectively. Clinical attachment level (CAL), probing depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PI) were measured for all patients in both groups at baseline and again at the end of the 1st, 3rd, and 6th months following the treatment. Levels of GCF IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-35 were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: After periodontal treatment, CAL, PD, BOP, GI, and PI, which are clinical parameters analyzed, decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in both test and control groups. GCF volume, IL-1 ß, IL-6, and IL-35, levels in both groups proved statistically significant reductions compared to the baseline (P < 0.05), but no substantial variations were detected among both groups. CONCLUSION: According to these results, we can suggest that IL-35 may be related to the pathogenesis of periodontitis and that Er, Cr: YSGG laser can be used as an adjunct to SRP in periodontal treatment.

Bayesian inference of genetic parameters for ultrasound scanning traits of Kivircik lambs.

Ultrasound scanning traits have been adapted in selection programs in many countries to improve carcass traits for lean meat production. As the genetic parameters of the traits interested are important for breeding programs, the estimation of these parameters was aimed at the present investigation. The estimated parameters were direct and maternal heritability as well as genetic correlations between the studied traits. The traits were backfat thickness (BFT), skin+backfat thickness (SBFT), eye muscle depth (MD) and live weights at the day of scanning (LW). The breed investigated was Kivircik, which has a high quality of meat. Six different multi-trait animal models were fitted to determine the most suitable model for the data using Bayesian approach. Based on deviance information criterion, a model that includes direct additive genetic effects, maternal additive genetic effects, direct maternal genetic covariance and maternal permanent environmental effects revealed to be the most appropriate for the data, and therefore, inferences were built on the results of that model. The direct heritability estimates for BFT, SBFT, MD and LW were 0.26, 0.26, 0.23 and 0.09, whereas the maternal heritability estimates were 0.27, 0.27, 0.24 and 0.20, respectively. Negative genetic correlations were obtained between direct and maternal effects for BFT, SBFT and MD. Both direct and maternal genetic correlations between traits were favorable, whereas BFT-MD and SBFT-MD had negligible direct genetic correlation. The highest direct and maternal genetic correlations were between BFT and SBFT (0.39) and between MD and LW (0.48), respectively. Our results, in general, indicated that maternal effects should be accounted for in estimation of genetic parameters of ultrasound scanning traits in Kivircik lambs, and SBFT can be used as a selection criterion to improve BFT.

The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) with pregnant women.

This methodological study was planned to translate the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ) into Turkish and to investigate its reliability for both nulliparous and parous women in Turkish population. A total of 660 healthy women with normal pregnancies at gestational ages of between 28 and 40 weeks were recruited. The internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α) was used for determining the reliability of the W-DEQ. Construct validity was also determined utilizing the known-groups method. In this study, independent sample t-tests were used to compare the nulliparous and parous groups differing in known fear status. In order to test the construct of the W-DEQ, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale and Brief Measure of Worry Severity scales were chosen as these scales are expected to correlate with the W-DEQ. Analysis of the construct validity of the W-DEQ version A using Pearson's correlation coefficients was performed for both nulliparous and parous women separately. All the scales in both groups showed a statistically significant correlation with the W-DEQ. The alpha coefficient (0.89) is well above the 0.70 criterion for internal consistency reliability. Turkish form of Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire Version A was fixed as reliable and valid means to measure the level of fear of childbirth among Turkish pregnants.

Intermittent partial surface wetting and its effect on body-surface temperatures and egg production of white and brown domestic laying hens in Antalya (Turkey).

1. The effect of intermittent partial surface wetting on body and surface temperature were investigated at 62 and 20 weeks of age in domestic laying hens of ATABEY (white) and ATAK (brown) strains. 2. The number of control and treatment birds was 96, half of which were 62 weeks of age and the remainder 20-week-old birds. 3. Sprinkling was done on the head, head appendages, neck and dorsal surface by releasing 10 ml/bird in a sprinkling session. The control birds were not sprinkled at any time. 4. The first measurement was carried out immediately before sprinkling, the second just after sprinkling, and measurements were then repeated every 5 min until the end of the 20th min. 5. Partial surface sprinkle cooling had a positive effect in relieving the birds of heat stress. The treatment birds had lower core body, head and dorsal surface temperatures than the control birds. 6. The treatment effect on egg production was significant in young birds but not in the older ones.

Surface wetting and its effect on body and surface temperatures of domestic laying hens at different thermal conditions.

This study investigated the efficacy of surface wetting at different thermal conditions on core body, head, and dorsal surface temperatures in laying hens. Hens were sprinkled on the head and dorsal surface by releasing a sprinkling dosage of 10 mL.bird(-1). The first measurement was taken presprinkling, and the second was taken immediately postsprinkling and then repeated every 5 min for 20 min. The cooling water needs for intermittent partial surface wetting to relieve acute heat stress in the laying hens were quantified for 48 domestic laying hens under 4 experimental thermal conditions. The hens were kept at 4 thermal conditions at average dry-bulb temperatures of 31.30 +/- 0.03, 33.20 +/- 0.08, 36.01 +/- 0.12, and 40.24 +/- 0.08 degrees C; RH of 67.68 +/- 0.37, 51.78 +/- 1.98, 24.59 +/- 0.90, and 16.12 +/- 1.55%; and air velocities of 0.09 +/- 0.00, 0.07 +/- 0.00, 0.08 +/- 0.00, and 0.09 +/- 0.00 m.s(-1), respectively. The differences in core body, head, and dorsal surface temperatures among the 4 thermal groups were 0.15, 0.18, 0.23, and 0.22 degrees C for core body temperature; 1.63, 1.44, 2.51, and 0.97 degrees C for core head temperature; and 1.23, 1.37, 1.41, and 0.64 degrees C for core dorsal temperature at thermal conditions 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. There were significant differences in core body, head, and dorsal surface temperatures among the 4 thermal condition groups. It was concluded that the spraying interval was directly proportional to the product of the vapor pressure deficit and the thermal resistance of convective mass transfer of the wetted hens, because there were no significant differences in the air velocity among the 4 thermal condition groups and the air velocity was very low.

Optimal haplotype structure for linkage disequilibrium-based fine mapping of quantitative trait loci using identity by descent.

A linkage disequilibrium-based method for fine mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) has been described that uses similarity between individuals' marker haplotypes to determine if QTL alleles are identical by descent (IBD) to model covariances among individuals' QTL alleles for a mixed linear model. Mapping accuracy with this method was found to be sensitive to the number of linked markers that was included in the haplotype when fitting the model at a putative position of the QTL. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal haplotype structure for this IBD-based method for fine mapping a QTL in a previously identified QTL region. Haplotypes consisting of 1, 2, 4, 6, or all 10 available markers were fit as a "sliding window" across the QTL region under ideal and nonideal simulated population conditions. It was found that using haplotypes of 4 or 6 markers as a sliding "window" resulted in the greatest mapping accuracy under nearly all conditions, although the true IBD state at a putative QTL position was most accurately predicted by IBD probabilities obtained using all markers. Using 4 or 6 markers resulted in greater discrimination of IBD probabilities between positions while maintaining sufficient accuracy of IBD probabilities to detect the QTL. Fitting IBD probabilities on the basis of a single marker resulted in the worst mapping accuracy under all conditions because it resulted in poor accuracy of IBD probabilities. In conclusion, for fine mapping using IBD methods, marker information must be used in a manner that results in sensitivity of IBD probabilities to the putative position of the QTL while maintaining sufficient accuracy of IBD probabilities to detect the QTL. Contrary to expectation, use of haplotypes of 4-6 markers to derive IBD probabilities, rather than all available markers, best fits these criteria. Thus for populations similar to those simulated here, optimal mapping accuracy for this IBD-based fine-mapping method is obtained with a haplotype structure including a subset of all available markers.