Environmental deterioration, renewable energy, natural resource rents, and schooling in Türkiye: Does the degree of energy transition matter for environmental quality?

Within the literature on energy and environmental economics, it is generally acknowledged that renewable energy can improve environmental quality; however, certain papers suggest that an optimal level of the usage of renewable energy sources may exist. Consequently, the utilization of renewable energy sources can result in environmental degradation up to a certain threshold. Then, environmental quality can be enhanced through the continued application of renewables. This indicates that the link between renewable energy and environmental devastation is inverted U-shaped. This paper presents empirical evidence concerning this possible association between renewable energy and environmental destruction in Türkiye, a country where fossil energy predominates in the energy mix. Additionally, the paper investigates the environmental influences of natural resource rents and schooling. This study utilizes annual data from 1971 to 2020 and implements time series methodologies that rely on the Fourier approximation. The paper thus accounts for an undetermined quantity of structural breaks. The results suggest that an inverted U-shaped link occurs between renewable energy and environmental destruction, signifying renewable energy initially contributes to a diminution in environmental quality before subsequently improving it. Additionally, environmental quality is positively associated with natural resource rents and negatively associated with schooling, according to the findings. Furthermore, the findings reveal that schooling worsens the combined effect of renewable energy on environmental degradation. These conclusions are discussed in the paper.

Oxidative stress parameters in patients with ascending aortic dilatation

Background/aim: This study aimed to determine plasma thiol, disulphide, and serum ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels and ferroxidase activity in patients with ascending aorta dilatation (AAD) in comparison to those without AAD and to evaluate the predictive value of these oxidative stress parameters for AAD. Materials and methods: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study of 184 patients who applied to our cardiology clinic. Our study population consisted of patients with AAD (n = 85) and without AAD (n = 99). A spectrophotometric method was used to determine plasma thiol, disulphide, and serum IMA levels and ferroxidase activity. Results: The native thiol and the total thiol levels were significantly higher in the control group than the AAD group (P < 0.001), whereas the disulphide and IMA levels and the ferroxidase activity were similar between the groups. The native thiol and the total thiol levels were inversely and significantly correlated with ascending aortic diameter (r = ­0.38, P < 0.001; r = ­0.39, P < 0.001; respectively). The left ventricle mass and the total thiol levels were independent predictors of ascending aortic diameter (ß= 0.223, P = 0.02; ß= ­0.340, P < 0.001; respectively). Conclusion: Among oxidative stress parameters including thiols, disulphide, IMA, and ferroxidase activity, only the lower total thiol levels appear to confer a high risk for AAD development. Along with the proven diagnostic imaging methods, thiol levels may be helpful to diagnose and stratify patients with AAD.

The impact of technological innovations on the environmental Kuznets curve: evidence from EU-27.

The EKC hypothesis expresses the inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita income and environmental quality. In the literature, the role of technological innovations and income inequality on pollution is a relatively recent discussion in the studies testing the EKC hypothesis. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of technological innovations, income inequality, exports, urbanization, and growth on CO2 emissions in EU-27. In addition, while investigating this relationship, exports and urbanization are also considered and panel vector autoregression (PVAR) analysis is applied for the 2005-2019 period. According to the coefficient estimation results, while income inequality, exports, and urbanization increase pollution, technological innovations contribute to environmental quality. Also, the results demonstrated that the EKC hypothesis is invalid in these countries and there is a U-shaped relationship between growth and emissions. The causality test results revealed the presence of unidirectional causality running from all explanatory variables to CO2 emissions. Moreover, impulse-response graphs demonstrated that the reply of emissions to the shocks in the explanatory variables is similar to the long-run coefficient results. In conclusion, all available empirical evidence for this relationship highlights that income inequality and technological innovations should be considered in policy-making processes to ensure environmental quality in EU-27 countries.

Incidence and predictors of permanent pacemaker implantation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation with a balloon-expandable biosprosthesis in patients with bicuspid aortic valves.

Introduction: There are few data on permanent pacemaker implantation (PPMI) in patients who have undergone transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) stenosis. Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictors and incidence of PPMI in bicuspid patients using a balloon-expandable (BE) TAVI device. Material and methods: A total of 62 patients with bicuspid morphology who had undergone successful TAVI using a BE device without previous PPMI were included (retrospectively). Their baseline clinical, electrocardiographic (ECG), echocardiographic, and multislice computed tomography (MSCT) details were collected. Results: The incidence of PPMI after TAVI in this BAV cohort was 12.9%. All eight patients with PPMs were found to have type 1 left-right (L-R) fusion morphology. In univariate analysis, the presence of right bundle branch block (RBBB) in preprocedural ECG (p < 0.0001), short membranous septum (MS) evaluated in MSCT (p < 0.0001), and increased annulus-left main coronary artery distance (p = 0.02) were statistically significant for PPMI. Among these parameters included in the model using multivariate Firth logistic regression analysis, the presence of preprocedural RBBB (p = 0.001) and shortness of the MS in MSCT (p = 0.004) were independent risk factors for predicting postprocedural PPMI in patients who underwent TAVI among those with BAV. Conclusions: Preprocedural RBBB on ECG and shorter MS are independent risk factors for PPMI after TAVI in BAV patients and these parameters should be considered before the procedure to guide clinical decision making. Type 1 L-R patients may be considered at increased risk of PPMI.

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on forensic cases in a paediatric emergency department in Türkiye.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused people to stay indoors, resulting in social isolation and reluctance to access healthcare services in hospitals because of the fear of acquiring COVID-19. This fear caused a decrease in health service utilization during the pandemic. Aims: To compare paediatric forensic cases admitted to an emergency department before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We retrospectively compared the age, sex, type, frequency, and distribution of forensic cases admitted to the Paediatric Emergency Department of Umraniye Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye, before the COVID-19 pandemic between 1 July 2019 and 8 March 2020, and during the pandemic between 9 March and 31 December 2020. Results: There were 226 paediatric forensic cases among 147 624 emergency admissions before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 253 among 60 764 admissions during the pandemic. The proportion of forensic cases increased from 0.15% before the pandemic to 0.41% during the pandemic. Intoxication by accidental ingestion was the most common reason for forensic cases before and during the pandemic. There was a significant increase in ingestion of corrosive material during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. Conclusion: Parental anxiety and depression caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown resulted in decreased attention to childcare, leading to increased accidental ingestion of harmful materials among paediatric forensic cases admitted to the emergency department.

Is electronic finance sustainable or not in the European Union? New insights from the panel vector autoregression approach.

Today, as a result of the developments and widespread use of information and communication technologies, the weight of online shopping in the economy has increased. The environmental impacts of this new order, which is an important part of electronic finance, are discussed. In this study, the effect of electronic finance, economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and urbanization on emissions in EU member countries is examined using the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) approach for the period from 2005 to 2018. The main results suggest that e-finance has a positive and statistically significant effect on CO2 emissions. However, the renewable energy consumption-increasing effect of e-finance is greater than its emission-reducing effect. Moreover, renewable energy consumption has a statistically insignificant effect on emissions. Therefore, the contribution of e-finance on environmental quality weakens. The requirement for EU member countries to prioritize the use of environmentally friendly energy to benefit from the environmental contribution of e-finance in the most optimal way is stated as the main policy implication of this study.

Dynamic thiol/disulphide homeostasis and its prognostic value in patients with non-ST elevation-acute coronary syndromes.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases are still one of the leading causes of death in industrialised countries, and oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The dynamic thiol/disulphide homeostasis plays an important role in maintaining the oxidant-antioxidant balance. AIM: We aimed to demonstrate the relationship between dynamic thiol/disulphide homeostasis parameters and non-ST elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS). METHODS: Patients with NSTE-ACS (n = 210) and a control group (n = 185) were included in the study. The GRACE risk score and the development of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) were used to evaluate the prognosis. RESULTS: Native thiol, total thiol, disulphide/native thiol, disulphide/total thiol, and native thiol/total thiol levels were found to be lower in the NSTE-ACS group (p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between native and total thiol levels in the GRACE risk score subgroups (p < 0.001). There was a correlation between MACE and native thiol levels (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Consequently, the dynamic thiol/disulphide homeostasis parameters were significantly different in the NSTE-ACS group and may be used to predict prognosis in this patient group.