A GIS- Based Approach on Annual Tractor Use, Soil Type and Crop Pattern Interactions in Some Provinces of the Aegean Region

The objective of this study was to provide the basic data related to the tractor such as power ratios and annual use along with the production pattern, type of farms, farm size and their fragmentation, soil properties. In order to meet the above objective a survey study was conducted in 2013 in four provinces of the Aegean region namely Aydın, Denizli, İzmir and Manisa.Using a GPS device, the coordinates of the location of the agricultural lands were also found in order to analyze the data for further evaluation and GeoMedia Professional 6.0 CBS software. The results from the study indicated that the annual use of tractors is about 650 hours and the surveyed land is a typical example and resembles the whole country in terms of average land size and fragmented land structure. The total land owned by 305 farmers was calculated to be 4023.1 ha and each farmer has 7.47 ha land. On the other hand, the average parcel size was found to be 0.86 ha. The distance between the parcels ranged between 0.5-10 km mostly while %12 of the lands was out of this range.

Dermatoglyphic Patterns of Children with Special Educational Needs

Background: The present study aimed at finding the finger and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns of students in special school and to discover whether significant dermatoglyphic features exist in students in special school. Materials and methods: Finger and palm prints were taken from 100 students from Garden City Special School which served as the study group and 100 students from “In Him is Life School” which served as the control group. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative traits of dermatoglyphs (Total Finger Ridge Count, atd angle, pattern type, symmetry of palmprint and type of PIC) were performed. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the differences among the groups. Results: Central pocket loop whorl (CPLW) which is an indicator in people with better academic performance was significantly lower (P<0.0001) in individuals in the special school (SS). The atd angle was significantly higher (P<0.0001) in both hands in SS than in CG. The current study revealed that the prevalence of symmetrical PIC was significantly lower (P=0.012) in the SS (39%) compared to CG (67%). Conclusion: Students in special school have unique dermatoglyphic pattern. There were significant differences in certain types of dermatoglyphic pattern observed in students in special school compared to students in normal school. Further study is required to have a baseline data which can serve as a diagnostic tool for early detection of people who need special attention. KEY WORDS: Dermatoglyphics, Patterns, Special, Educational, Needs.

A Study on Non-Synonymous Mutational Patterns in Structural Proteins of SARS-COV-2

SARS-CoV-2 is mutating and creating divergent variants across the world. An in-depth investigation of the amino acid substitution in the genomic signature of SARS-CoV-2 proteins is highly essential for understanding its host adaptation and infection biology. A total of 9587 SARS-CoV-2 structural protein sequences collected from 49 different countries are used to characterize protein-wise variants, substitution pattern (type and location), and major substitution changes. The majority of the substitutions are distinct, occurred mostly in a particular location, and leads to a change in amino acid's biochemical properties. In terms of mutational changes, Envelope (E) and Membrane (M) proteins are relatively stable than Nucleocapsid (N) and Spike (S) proteins. Several co-occurrence substitutions are observed, particularly in S and N proteins. Substitution specific to active sub-domains reveals that Heptapeptide Repeat, Fusion peptides, Transmembrane in S protein, and N-terminal and C-terminal domains in N protein are remarkably mutated, and also found few deleterious mutations in these domains.

Association of Lymphatic Abnormalities with Early Complications after Fontan Operation

Background Increased central venous pressure is inherent in Fontan circulation but not strongly related to Fontan complication. Abnormalities of the lymphatic circulation may play a crucial role in early Fontan complications. Methods This was a retrospective, single-center study of patients undergoing Fontan operation from 2008 to 2015. The primary outcome was significant early Fontan complication defined as secondary in-hospital treatment due to peripheral edema, ascites, pleural effusions, protein-losing enteropathy, or plastic bronchitis. All patients received T2-weighted magnetic resonance images to assess abdominal and thoracic lymphatic perfusion pattern 6 months after Fontan completion with respect to localization, distribution, and extension of lymphatic perfusion pattern (type 1–4) and with application of an area score (0–12 points). Results Nine out of 42 patients developed early Fontan complication. Patients with complication had longer chest tube drainage (mean 28 [interquartile range [IQR]: 13–60] vs. 13 [IQR: 2–22] days, p = 0.01) and more often obstructions in the Fontan circuit 6 months after surgery (56 vs. 15%, p = 0.02). Twelve patients showed little or no abnormalities of lymphatic perfusion (lymphatic perfusion pattern type 1). Most frequently magnetic resonance imaging showed lymphatic congestion in the supraclavicular region (24/42 patients). Paramesenteric lymphatic congestion was observed in eight patients. Patients with early Fontan complications presented with higher lymphatic area score (6 [min–max: 2–10] vs. 2 [min–max: 0–8]), p = 0.001) and greater distribution and extension of thoracic lymphatic congestion (type 3–4: n = 5/9 vs. n = 1/33, p = 0.001). Conclusion Early Fontan complication is related to hemodynamic factors such as circuit obstruction and to the occurrence and extent of lymphatic congestion.

Model-Based Reasoning of Clinical Diagnosis in Integrative Medicine: Real-World Methodological Study of Electronic Medical Records and Natural Language Processing Methods

Background Integrative medicine is a form of medicine that combines practices and treatments from alternative medicine with conventional medicine. The diagnosis in integrative medicine involves the clinical diagnosis based on modern medicine and syndrome pattern diagnosis. Electronic medical records (EMRs) are the systematized collection of patients health information stored in a digital format that can be shared across different health care settings. Although syndrome and sign information or relative information can be extracted from the EMR and content texts can be mapped to computability vectors using natural language processing techniques, application of artificial intelligence techniques to support physicians in medical practices remains a major challenge. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate model-based reasoning (MBR) algorithms for the clinical diagnosis in integrative medicine based on EMRs and natural language processing. We also estimated the associations among the factors of sample size, number of syndrome pattern type, and diagnosis in modern medicine using the MBR algorithms. Methods A total of 14,075 medical records of clinical cases were extracted from the EMRs as the development data set, and an external test data set consisting of 1000 medical records of clinical cases was extracted from independent EMRs. MBR methods based on word embedding, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms were developed for the automatic diagnosis of syndrome pattern in integrative medicine. MBR algorithms combining rule-based reasoning (RBR) were also developed. A standard evaluation metrics consisting of accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score was used for the performance estimation of the methods. The association analyses were conducted on the sample size, number of syndrome pattern type, and diagnosis of lung diseases with the best algorithms. Results The Word2Vec convolutional neural network (CNN) MBR algorithms showed high performance (accuracy of 0.9586 in the test data set) in the syndrome pattern diagnosis of lung diseases. The Word2Vec CNN MBR combined with RBR also showed high performance (accuracy of 0.9229 in the test data set). The diagnosis of lung diseases could enhance the performance of the Word2Vec CNN MBR algorithms. Each group sample size and syndrome pattern type affected the performance of these algorithms. Conclusions The MBR methods based on Word2Vec and CNN showed high performance in the syndrome pattern diagnosis of lung diseases in integrative medicine. The parameters of each group’s sample size, syndrome pattern type, and diagnosis of lung diseases were associated with the performance of the methods. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03274908; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03274908

GLYCATED HAEMOGLOBIN (HBA1C) AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ISCHAEMIC STROKE IN DIABETICS AND NON- DIABETICS.

Stroke is a condition that results in high mortality rates and severe disabilities. Stroke is expected to be the second most important cause of mortality worldwide by 2020. Most stroke survivors can and do experience improvements in their functional abilities, but the amount, rate, timing, pattern, type, and ultimate outcome of the improvements differ across patients and situations.1 Stroke severity and patient age are the main predictors of stroke outcome in the acute phase 2. Additional important predictors include functional status prior to stroke, presence of comorbid medical conditions, etiologies and the vascular territories affected.3

GLYCATED HAEMOGLOBIN (HBA1C) AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ISCHAEMIC STROKE IN DIABETICS AND NON- DIABETICS.

Stroke is a condition that results in high mortality rates and severe disabilities. Stroke is expected to be the second most important cause of mortality worldwide by 2020. Most stroke survivors can and do experience improvements in their functional abilities, but the amount, rate, timing, pattern, type, and ultimate outcome of the improvements differ across patients and situations.1 Stroke severity and patient age are the main predictors of stroke outcome in the acute phase 2. Additional important predictors include functional status prior to stroke, presence of comorbid medical conditions, etiologies and the vascular territories affected.3

A new diurnal gecko in the genus Gonatodes (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) from the foothills of the Serranía de San Lucas, Norosí-Colombia

We describe a new species of diurnal gecko, Gonatodes castanae sp. nov. from the foothills of the Serranía de San Lucas, municipality of Norosí, Department of Bolívar, Colombia. The new species differs from all species in the genus by the combination of the following characters: moderate size, subcaudal scale pattern type B (1’1’1’’), typically two rows of lateral scales on the digits, and aspects of color pattern in males (dorsum, flanks, limbs and tail with white ocelli on a black background) and females (dorsum, flanks, limbs and tail with brown to black reticulations and withe spots on a greenish-yellow background). The validity of the new species is also supported by molecular analyses. This species inhabits relicts of riverine forests at about 150 m above sea level (a.s.l.). Gonatodes castanae increases the number of known species in this genus to 34 and the species registered for Colombia to eight.