Comparison of Frontal Sinuses for Personal Identification in 3 Populations Using Cameriere's Code Number.

ABSTRACT: The identification of unknown individuals is of crucial importance to society, especially in the context of mass disasters involving individuals of different nationalities. The comparison of frontal sinus patterns is an important tool for personal identification. In Cameriere's method, a new personal code number (codC) containing 8 digits was elaborated, based on the measurements of frontal sinus patterns. The present study is an update of this previous work. Digital radiographic images of the skulls of 299 individuals of different nationalities (100 Italians, 99 Kosovars, and 100 Turks) were analyzed, adopting the same maximum-weight dependence tree used in the original work. For comparisons between groups, Fisher exact test and the χ2 test were carried out. The method, applied to different population groups, significantly increases the likelihood of identifying a person by comparison of antemortem and postmortem frontal sinus radiographs. Results demonstrated that the model is more discriminative in identifying individuals of different nationalities.

The effect of perceived stress on anxiety and sleep quality among healthcare professionals in intensive care units during the coronavirus pandemic.

The study aimed to explore the effect of perceived stress of healthcare workers on anxiety and sleep level in intensive care units during corona virus pandemic. The research was conducted in descriptive and cross-sectional types. The study was conducted between April 2020 and July 2020 at Atatürk University Research Hospital and Erzurum Regional Training and Research Hospital. In the research, it was aimed to reach all the healthcare professionals (260) working in intensive care units without selecting a sample. The data was collected by using the personal information form prepared by the researchers in line with the literature, Perceived Stress Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Visual Analog Sleep Scale. Of the 210 participants, 75.4% were female, and 88.1% were nurses. The mean age of the participants was 27.04 ± 5.71 years, and 51.9% of the participants were 20-25 years old. The mean perceived stress, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and visual analog sleep scores were moderate and found as 29.9 ± 6.83, 43.09 ± 5.55, 46.15 ± 5.3, and 503.79 ± 134.24, respectively. In conclusion, a general picture of the psychological state of healthcare professionals in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic has been presented.

Comparative genomic analysis of expansin superfamily gene members in zucchini and cucumber and their expression profiles under different abiotic stresses.

Zucchini and cucumber belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, a group of economical and nutritious food plants that is consumed worldwide. Expansin superfamily proteins are generally localized in the cell wall of plants and are known to possess an effect on cell wall modification by causing the expansion of this region. Although the whole genome sequences of cucumber and zucchini plants have been resolved, the determination and characterization of expansin superfamily members in these plants using whole genomic data have not been implemented yet. In the current study, a genome-wide analysis of zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) genomes was performed to determine the expansin superfamily genes. In total, 49 and 41 expansin genes were identified in zucchini and cucumber genomes, respectively. All expansin superfamily members were subjected to further bioinformatics analysis including gene and protein structure, ontology of the proteins, phylogenetic relations and conserved motifs, orthologous relations with other plants, targeting miRNAs of those genes and in silico gene expression profiles. In addition, various abiotic stress responses of zucchini and cucumber expansin genes were examined to determine their roles in stress tolerance. CsEXPB-04 and CsEXPA-11 from cucumber and CpEXPA-20 and CpEXPLA-14 from zucchini can be candidate genes for abiotic stress response and tolerance in addition to their roles in the normal developmental processes, which are supported by the gene expression analysis. This work can provide new perspectives for the roles of expansin superfamily genes and offers comprehensive knowledge for future studies investigating the modes of action of expansin proteins. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-021-01108-w.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Macroencapsulated Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage.

Among the different types of phase change materials, paraffin is known to be the most widely used type due to its advantages. However, paraffin's low thermal conductivity, its limited operating temperature range, and leakage and stabilization problems are the main barriers to its use in applications. In this research, a thermal energy storage unit (TESU) was designed using a cylindrical macroencapsulation technique to minimize these problems. Experimental and numerical analyses of the storage unit using a tubular heat exchanger were carried out. The Ansys 18.2-Fluent software was used for the numerical analysis. Two types of paraffins with different thermophysical properties were used in the TESU, including both encapsulated and non-encapsulated forms, and their thermal energy storage performances were compared. The influence of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) inlet conditions on the charging performance (melting) was investigated. The findings demonstrated that the heat transfer rate is highly influenced by the HTF intake temperature. When the effect of paraffin encapsulation on heat transfer was examined, a significant decrease in the total melting time was observed as the heat transfer surface and thermal conductivity increased. Therefore, the energy stored simultaneously increased by 60.5% with the encapsulation of paraffin-1 (melting temperature range of 52.9-60.4 °C) and by 50.7% with the encapsulation of paraffin-2 (melting temperature range of 32.2-46.1 °C), thus increasing the charging rate.

Sleep, executive functions, and functional impairment in children with specific learning disorder: An investigation of the mediating pathways.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep problems and executive dysfunction are associated with functional impairment in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In this study, we aimed to investigate these aspects in children with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) and SLD with comorbid Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), while also evaluating differences with typically developing (TD) children. Our study hypothesizes that children with SLD, especially those with comorbid ADHD, face greater sleep disturbances and executive function challenges compared to TD peers. We also propose that sleep disturbances aggravate functional impairment and that executive functions mediate this relationship. METHOD: The data obtained from psychiatric evaluations, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires filled out by parents were analyzed. RESULTS: SLD + ADHD group had worse scores in all scales, followed by SLD and TD groups. Mediator analysis demonstrated that executive functions had a mediator role in the relationship between sleep problems and functional impairment. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that children with SLD experience more significant difficulties in daily living than their typically developing peers and having ADHD comorbidity, poor executive functions, and additional sleep problems can further exacerbate impairment. Notably, our mediation analysis suggests that executive functions mediate the relationship between sleep disturbances and the severity of functional impairments.

Evaluation of p300 and spectral resolution in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and specific learning disorder.

This study aims to examine auditory processing, P300 values and functional impairment levels among children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Specific Learning Disorder (SLD), ADHD+SLD and healthy controls. Children with ADHD (n = 17), SLD (n = 15), ADHD+SLD (n = 15), and healthy controls (n = 15) between the ages of 7-12 were evaluated with K-SADS, Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale, Turgay DSM-IV Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale, The Mathematics, Reading, Writing Assessment Scale and Children's Auditory Performance Scale (CHAPS). Auditory P300 event-related potentials and Spectral-Temporally Modulated Ripple Test (SMRT) were applied. Three patient groups were found to be riskier than healthy controls according to the CHAPS. There was no significant difference between the groups in the SMRT. In post-hoc analyses of P300 parietal amplitudes, ADHD, SLD, and ADHD+SLD were found to be significantly lower than the control group. The amplitudes of the ADHD+SLD were by far the lowest. It has been shown that auditory performance skills and p300 amplitudes are lower in children diagnosed with only ADHD or SLD compared to the control group, with the lowest values observed in ADHD+SLD. This study suggests that the difficulties with attention and cognitive functions in the ADHD+SLD are more severe than ADHD and/or SLD without comorbidity.

Comparative bioinformatics analysis and abiotic stress responses of expansin proteins in Cucurbitaceae members: watermelon and melon.

Watermelon and melon are members of the Cucurbitaceae family including economically significant crops in the world. The expansin protein family, which is one of the members of the cell wall, breaks down the non-covalent bonds between cell wall polysaccharides, causing pressure-dependent cell expansion. Comparative bioinformatics and molecular characterization analysis of the expansin protein family were carried out in the watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and melon (Cucumis melo) plants in the study. Gene expression levels of expansin family members were analyzed in leaf and root tissues of watermelon and melon under ABA, drought, heat, cold, and salt stress conditions by quantitative real-time PCR analysis. After comprehensive searches, 40 expansin proteins (22 ClaEXPA, 14 ClaEXPLA, and 4 ClaEXPB) in watermelon and 43 expansin proteins (19 CmEXPA, 15 CmEXPLA, 3 CmEXPB, and 6 CmEXPLB) in melon were identified. The greatest orthologous genes were identified with soybean expansin genes for watermelon and melon. However, the latest divergence time between orthologous genes was determined with poplar expansin genes for watermelon and melon expansin genes. ClaEXPA-04, ClaEXPA-09, ClaEXPB-01, ClaEXPB-03, and ClaEXPLA-13 genes in watermelon and CmEXPA-12, CmEXPA-10, and CmEXPLA-01 genes in melon can be involved in tissue development and abiotic stress response of the plant. The current study combining bioinformatics and experimental analysis can provide a detailed characterization of the expansin superfamily which has roles in growth and reaction to the stress of the plant. The study ensures detailed data for future studies examining gene functions including the roles in plant growth and stress conditions.

Digital addiction, academic performance, and sleep disturbance among nursing students.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the relationship between digital addiction, academic performance, and sleep disturbance among nursing students. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study was a correlational and cross-sectional design. Four hundred twenty-nine nursing students were enrolled in this study. FINDINGS: There was a positive significant relationship between the mean Sleep Disturbance (SD) T-scores and Digital Addiction Scale (DAS) scores (r = 0.203, p < 0.01). Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between the mean SD T-scores and DAS subscale scores (p < 0.01) PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study demonstrated that digital addiction had an influence on sleep disturbance. It is recommended that nursing students be provided with training to inform them about negative effects of digital addiction.