This book looks at the dynamic relationship between women's productive and reproductive work in a Global South country from a Global South perspective. Applying a feminist political economy and historical materialist approach and building on an ethnographic extended case study, it analyses the relationships between class and gender across both the productive and reproductive realms at the macro and micro levels in the case of women garment workers in Turkey. Overall, it shows that the material and social conditions of women's productive and reproductive work co-constitute each other. It suggests that productive and social reproductive labour should be examined as an integrated process and an interrelated social relation, in constant dialogue with other social relations. This book is of interest to researchers and students in the disciplines of gender studies, labour studies, feminist economics, sociology and development studies. Given that most studies on social reproduction have largely focused on the Global North, this book is of particular interest to those in search of a more comprehensive and holistic understanding. It is also of great relevance to policymakers concerned with gender and labour issues as well as labour and feminist activists.

Abstract Background Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is the most severe form of hemorrhagic stroke and accounts for 5–7% of all strokes. Several chemical enzymes and cytokines are thought to cause reactions that may affect the mortality and morbidity of SAH patients. This study aimed to examine the possible relationships between these parameters and the occurrence of SAH and the clinical–radiological parameters in patients with acute SAH. Methods This study evaluated 44 patients, including 20 with SAH and 24 controls. We obtained blood from the patients and control groups, which was stored in heparinized tubes and used in determining tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), caspase-3, and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) enzymes. Results TNF-α, BDNF, AChE, and BChE enzyme levels were not related to the Glasgow Coma scale (GCS) score in the patient group (p > 0.05), whereas higher enzyme levels of caspase-3 were associated with lower GCS scores (p < 0.05). The difference between the control and patient groups in terms of mean TNF-α levels was statistically significant (p < 0.01). The BDNF levels were statistically insignificant in the patient groups (p > 0.05). Caspase-3, AChE, and BChE levels were significantly different between the control and patient groups (p < 0.01). Conclusions Our results may be valuable for predicting the prognosis, diagnosis, and follow-up of patients with SAH. However, further studies are required to elucidate the relationship between the clinical and radiological results in patients with SAH and certain enzymes, cytokines, and growth factors.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a metabolic condition that develops during pregnancy and is associated with complications.This studies aim was to evaluate and measure the oxidative stress markers and antioxidants levels in women with gestational diabetes and compare them with healthy pregnant women.There were 77 pregnant women who participated in this case-control study.Forty female patients diagnosed with GDM participated in the study as the case group and 37 healthy women as the control group.All biochemical analyzes (IMA, MDA, GSH, CAT) were performed using the spectrophotometric method.When comparing the two groups, the patients group's serum IMA levels (1.531±0.407AbsU) were higher than those of the control group's (0.863 ±0.092 AbsU) (p<0.001).Similarly, the patient group's MDA levels (1.769 ±0.357 μmol/L) were higher than the control group's (1.025 ±0.018 μmol/L) (p<0.001).Conversly, the patient group's GSH levels (0.023 ±0.014 mmol/g) were lower than those of the control group's (0.186 ±0.012 mmol/g) (p<0.001).This study als o found that both groups' CAT activity levels had no significant statistical difference (GDM -0.072±0.019and Control-0.075±0.013U/L) (p<0.395).These results suggest that while the oxidative stress increased, the antioxidant defense levels decreased in wo men with GDM.It is recommended that patients with GDM are strictly monitored throughout pregnancy, which may help in the management of oxidative stress together with glycemic control.

One of the biggest traps "AI" (artificial intelligence) projects fall into is demanding an entire solution fit into the ML (machine learning) paradigm. One of the continual learning techniques in ML to overcome this challenge is the so called 'Learning to Prompt for Continual Learning (L2P)' that can be applied to practical continual learning scenarios without known task identity or boundaries. L2P uses a single frozen backbone model and learns a prompt pool to conditionally instruct the model. After discussing main categories of recent continual learning algorithms, this paper provides an overview of LSP by discussing its layers.

Background X-rays are defined as ionizing radiation and hydrolyze the water, causing free radical formation. Oxidative stress is the damage that occurs in cells due to the lack of antioxidants, which detoxifies them, with the increased production of free radicals that occur during normal cellular metabolism. Purpose To examine the acute effects of computed tomography (CT), i.e. ionizing radiation, on oxidative stress and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Material and Methods The study included a total of 53 patients that were selected among the patients that underwent non-contrast full-body CT. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were investigated in blood samples taken from patients. Results The post-scan levels of MDA increased significantly while the post-scan levels of GSH, SOD, and CAT decreased significantly compared to their pre-scan levels. Conclusion CT, which is a widely used X-ray imaging technique and has numerous known side effects, was found to increase the levels of MDA, which is an indicator of oxidative stress, and to decrease the levels of some antioxidants including GSH, SOD, and CAT.

Ayse Arslan1, Kazım Uckan2, Kasım Turan3, Halit Demir4, Canan Demir5 1Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Yuzuncu Yil University 2Department of Gynecology, Van Region Education and Research Hospital 3Private Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic 4Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Yuzuncu Yil University 5Health Services Vocational High School, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey Oxidative stress in term and preterm birth Determination of maternal lipid peroxidation and antioxidant activities in term and preterm birth in different weeks

Biomass, an energy source, is the general name of all non-fossilized biological material obtained from living or recently living organism.Household use of solid biomass fuels is the most common cause of indoor air pollution (IAP) worldwide.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between biomass exposure and the presence of headache and brain damage in young women.This cross-sectional study included patient group consisted of 69 women who applied to the neurology outpatient clinic with complaints of chronic headache and fatigue and the control group consisted of 26 healthy volunteer women who were not exposed to tandir smoke.In all subjects, blood samples were obtained for biochemical analysis and brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan was performed to evaluate brain damage.In the patient group, ischemic gliotic foci were detected in 56 patient (81.2%) while in the control group, gliotic foci was detected in 3 subjects (11.5%).The prevalence of gliotic foci was almost 8 times higher in subjects with a history of biomass smoke exposure than in subjects without a history of biomass smoke exposure (81.2% vs. 11.5%).These findings suggest that indoor air pollution may have an effect on the risk of headache and brain damage.However additional studies with larger sample sizes and including other ethnic or environmental communities are needed to determine in detail the role of indoor air pollution in the occurrence of headaches and brain damage.

DEAR EDITOR, We thank Dr. Peng-Hui Wang for his interest and valuable comments1 on our article named ‘‘Change of the levels of trace elements and heavy metals in threatened abortion’’ published in JCMA in July 2019.2 The author’s comments are generally discussed below under the three headings. First, author asked when blood samples were taken from the study group. Blood samples was taken in the morning time and stored at −20°C until the day of analysis. When we say, “blood was taken from all patients at the same time”, we meant blood was taken at the same time period of day. I think a shortcoming in the sentence causes misunderstanding. The mean gestational age of the pregnant group had asked by the author. In our study, the mean gestational age was 8.8 ± 1.4 weeks in the patient group. We conducted our study in the Spring in 2017. In addition, the author asked why we did not use the similar gestational age of “normal” pregnant women without threatened abortion as the control group for comparison. First, we compared threatened abortion group with healthy pregnant women. However, when we sent the article to the journal (JCMA), they asked us for a major revision and said that it would be more appropriate to compare our group of patients with healthy nonpregnant women. Therefore, we changed our control group and we compared abortion group with nonpregnant healthy group. On the contrary, the author asked us similar studies. Each study may contain different results because the analysis method used in each study, samples, the device, the calibration of the device, the calculation method, and even the statistical method may be different. Some studies have similar results with us.3,4 Also, there are many studies of Prof. Dr. Halit Demir on different topics related to trace elements. Second, the author indicated ‘‘for Pb level it might be difficult to make the definition of potential toxic level’’. 10 micrograms of blood lead level during pregnancy is considered toxic.5 On the other hand, it is considered that lead-related toxicity can occur at levels as low as 5 μg/dL.6 In addition author indicated that ‘‘samples obtained from the different time of day might also influence the final results of concentration’’. For these reasons, in our study blood was taken from all patients in the morning times. Trace element levels also change during pregnancy. In our study, we took blood sample from pregnant women one time. This is one of the limitations of our study. I think it would be appropriate to add this to the section of limitations of the study. Third, it was pointed out that our patient group was not homogeneous. However, when we selected our patients and took their blood sample, our group was homogeneous (all of them were at risk of abortion and were of similar age). We were also not able to predict in advance about the results of each pregnancy. As we have already mentioned above, having blood taken one time during pregnancy is among the limitations of our study.

This study aimed to compare the incision site infiltration block (IB) with the bilateral superficial cervical plexus block (BSCPB), both used to prevent early post-operative incision wound pain with regard to the following parameters: Duration of post-operative analgesia, the verbal rating scale (VRS) score, the experienced pain level, the duration of the first analgesia need (at VRS >3), the total dose of analgesia used in the first post-operative 24 h (mg of diclofenac sodium), and post-operative patients' comfort. [9]The two study groups were also compared for their hemodynamics (tachycardia/ bradycardia and hypertension/hypotension), surgery duration, patient's waking time, duration of Aldrete postanesthesia recovery score >8, post-operative hoarseness, dyspnea, loss of oxygen saturation (SpO 2 <90%), and ABSTRACT Objective: Efficient analgesia is required for the moderate-intensity pain arising in the thyroid surgery wound.Study Design: This study aimed at comparing the incision site infiltration block (IB) and bilateral superficial cervical plexus block (BSCPB).Setting: Of a total of 158 patients undergoing thyroidectomy, 80 were assigned to receive Group I and the remaining Group P. Subjects and Methods: Incision line infiltration was performed to Group I patients along with the incision line, while Group P patients received BSCPB, all with 10 mL of 0.5% levobupivacaine.The following were recorded: Hemodynamics parameters, the duration of post-anesthesia recovery score, post-operative pain scores, duration of the first analgesic needs, total dose of analgesics, and comfort score during an hour postoperatively.Patients were monitored for the presence of hoarseness, dyspnea, low oxygen saturation, and Horner syndrome.Results: The duration of analgesia was higher with statistical significance (P = 0.0001) in Group P, while no significant difference was noted between the groups with regard to 24-h post-operative analgesic use (P > 0.05).Patient comfort score was significantly higher in Group P (P = 0.02).Verbal rating scores at post-operative 5, 10, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 min were significantly higher in Group I than in Group P (P < 0.05).Conclusion: A longer post-operative analgesia duration, lower verbal rating scale score, and better patient comfort score were observed following thyroidectomy in patients given BSCPB compared with those who had undergone IB.

Backround: This study aimed to investigate the impact of changes in the serum levels of trace elements and heavy metals in threatened abortion, which is a common complication in early pregnancy. Earlier studies have shown that changes in the serum levels of some trace elements and increased serum concentrations of heavy metals are associated with spontaneous abortion; however, this relationship has not been fully clarified. Methods: The patient group consisted of 45 pregnant women diagnosed with threatened abortion. There were 40 healthy nonpregnant women in the control group. Blood samples were obtained from the patients and the healthy controls, and the concentrations of serum trace elements and heavy metals were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results: Statistically significant decreases were found in the serum zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg) and manganese (Mn) levels, and significant increases were found in the serum copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) levels in cases of threatened abortion in comparison to the controls (p < 0.001). However, there was no difference between the groups in terms of the serum cobalt (Co) levels (p > 0.001). Conclusion: Changes in the balance of some essential trace elements (especially decreases in Fe and Zn) and elevated concentrations of some toxic heavy metals in the blood may be important diagnostic and prognostic parameters for threatened abortion

Gunumuzde orgutler gelisen teknolojilerle beraber bircok degisiklikle karsi karsiya gelmektedir. Bu calismanin amaci yuksekogretim kurumlarinda bilgi yonetimi ve karar verme arasindaki iliskiyi incelemektir. Bu kapsamda bilgi, bilgi yonetimi ve karar verme uzerinde durulmustur. Bilgi edinme ve bilgi yonetim kapasitelerinin karar verme kapasitesine ne olcude katkida bulunduguna odaklanarak, universite yoneticilerinin karar verme etkinligi ile bilgi yonetimi iliskisi ampirik olarak elde edilen veriler uzerinden degerlendirilmistir. Bu calismada Bilgi Yonetimi, Melbourne Karar Alma I-II olcekleri kullanilarak degiskenler incelenmistir. Yapilan arastirma Istanbul ilindeki 31 vakif universitesindeki yonetim duzeyi calisanlarina uygulanmis ve 239 geri donus elde edilmistir. Arastirma sonuclari gore yoneticilerin bilgi paylasimi duzeyi karar vermede ozsaygi duzeyini arttirmaktadir. Ayrica yoneticilerin bilgi toplama ve bilgi paylasimi duzeylerinin dikkatli karar verme duzeyini etkiledigi anlasilmaktadir.

OBJECTIVE:To determine the serum iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), cobalt (Co), and lead (Pb) levels in patients with chronic otitis media (COM) and to evaluate the association of the serum levels of these elements with treatment outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Thirty-one healthy volunteers and 31 patients with COM were prospectively included in this study. Serum levels of Fe, Zn, Mn, Mg, Cu, Co, and Pb were determined by an atomic absorption UNICAM-929 spectrophotometer. RESULTS:Serum Co, Pb, and Fe levels were significantly increased (p<0.001) and serum Cu, Zn, Mg, and Mn levels were significantly reduced in patients with COM compared with controls (p<0.001). Serum Co and Mn levels were significantly decreased (p<0.001 and p<0.005, respectively) and serum Cu levels were significantly increased after surgery (p<0.005). The other evaluated blood chemicals and heavy metals did not exhibit significant differences (p>0.05). CONCLUSION:Significant alterations in the serum chemical composition of patients with COM were observed. Moreover, with surgical treatment, serum levels of some of these chemicals were significantly altered. Further prospective studies are warranted to elucidate the exact association of these alterations in the etiopathogenesis of COM.

Bu çalışma, ‘Tuşba Radyoloji ve Görüntüleme II. Tıp Öğrenci Kongresi 12-14 Mayıs 2017 Van’ da sözlü bildiri olarak sunulmuştur. *Sorumlu Yazar: Dr. Nazim Bozan, MD, MSc, Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz Anabilim Dalı, Van, Türkiye Tel: +90-(432)-215 04 73, Fax: +90-(432)-216 75 19, E-mail: drnzmbozan@hotmail.com Geliş Tarihi: 30.05.2017, Kabul Tarihi: 11.06.2017 KLİNİK ÇALIŞMA / CLINICAL RESEARCH

IgA vasculitis (IgAV) is a leukocytoclastic vasculitis and characterized by involvement of small vessels in skin, gastrointestinal system, joints, kidneys, and less frequently other organs. It is the commonest vasculitis in childhood and etiology is not completely known. Neurological manifestations of IgAV are very rare and usually seen in patients with severe hypertension or as an uncommon feature such as peripheral neuropathy. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinic-radiologic entity characterized with temporary vasogenic edema developing typically in posterior circulation of the brain and has been reported as a rare manifestation of IgAV. In this paper, a PRES case of 14-year-old male with IgAV is reported and etiopathogenesis was discussed with literature. Diagnosis was made by magnetic resonance imaging because of the existence of neurological symptoms (headache and visual loss) during the course of disease. His radiological findings have resolved with therapy. Although neurological involvement is a rare manifestation in IgAV, we recommend magnetic resonance imaging in such patients for diagnosis and evaluation of complications.

Low paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity and carotid atherosclerosis have been suggested to be important risk factors for dementia. However, the studies to date could not fully clarify the relationship between PON1, carotid atherosclerosis and dementia. The present study aimed to measure carotid atherosclerosis and PON1 activity in Alzheimer's Disease and to evaluate the relationship between them. The study included 25 Alzheimer's patients and 25 control subjects, for a total of 50 individuals. The study measured the serum PON1 activity and other biochemical parameters and carotid atherosclerotic plaque values of the participants. The mean paraoxonase activity (31.06±2.31U/L) was significantly lower in the Alzheimer's group compared to the control group (59.05±7.05U/L) (P<0.001). Nonetheless, the carotid plaque values were significantly higher in the patient group (3.02±0.52mm) compared to the control group (1.84±0.45mm) (P<0.001). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation (81.0%) between PON1 activity and carotid plaque in the overall study group (P<0.05). Also serum homocystein level was higher in the patient group (22.15±7.05) compared to the control group (13.30±3.32). In conclusion, our findings show inverse association between PON1 activity and carotid atherosclerosis in Alzheimer patients: the lower the PON1 activity the more progressed the atherosclerotic process in AD.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive regression and memory loss. It has been claimed that oxidative stress and factors such as metal accumulation in the brain play important roles in the etiopathogenesis of the disease. Material and methods: The subjects of this study consisted of 24 individuals with Alzheimer's disease and 15 healthy agematched controls. Blood samples were withdrawn from the patients and healthy controls, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes SOD (Superoxide Dismutase), GSH (Glutathion), GSHPx (Glutathion peroxidase), GST (Glutathion S-Transferase) and MDA (Malondialdehyde) levels were determined by Spectrometer. Some metals and heavy metals were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Results: Biochemical analyses showed a significant decrease of the main enzymatic antioxidant defences (SOD, GSH, GST and GSHPx) and increased production of lipid peroxidation marker (MDA) in the serum of AD patients, compared to age-matched control group (p< 0.001). Also the levels of Zn, Mg, and Mn was lower and Fe, Pb, and Cd was higher in the patient group, compared to the control group. Serum Cu and Co levels did not differ significantly between the patient and control groups (p> 0.001). Conclusion: These results supports the theory that in AD there is a defect in the antioxidant defense system, which may lead to oxidative damage. Also alterations in some trace metals and their related enzymes may play a role of etiopathogenesis in AD.

Several studies have demonstrated an imbalance between free radicals and the antioxidative system in individuals with thyroid dysfunction. However, oxidative stress has not been evaluated in patients with thyroidectomy and thyroparathyroidectomy, who are under replacement therapy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the oxidative stress using malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, and catalase levels in patients with thyroidectomy and thyroparathyroidectomy. Nineteen patients with thyroidectomy, 20 patients with thyroparathyroidectomy, and 20 controls with no history of thyroid or parathyroid disease or surgery were included in the study. Serum malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, and catalase levels were examined. Levels of nitric oxide and malondialdehyde were elevated, and catalase levels decreased in patients with thyroidectomy and thyroparathyroidectomy compared with controls ( p value for all the parameters: p < 0.001). Free tetraiodothyronine was a potential predictor of malondialdehyde in the patient groups ( p : 0.002). Catalase was negatively correlated with nitric oxide ( p < 0.01) and malondialdehyde ( p < 0.01). The results of the current study demonstrated that oxidative stress increased in patients with thyroidectomy and thyroparathyroidectomy despite the application of replacement therapies.

CONTEXT:Cigarette smoking has large-scale and complex effects on the endocrine system. Various studies related to cigarette smoking have provided differing results. Therefore, more research is needed to determine the effects on the body that are created by cigarette smoking.OBJECTIVES:The study was designed to investigate the effects of cigarette smoking, primarily on thyroid hormones in serum, such as on levels of total triiodothyronine (tT3), free triiodothyronine (fT3), total thyroxine (tT4), free thyroxine (fT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (ie, thyrotropin), and insulin of young students aged 18-25 y.DESIGN:This study was a randomized, controlled trial.SETTING:The study was performed in the Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University (Van, Turkey).PARTICIPANTS:Eighty healthy students, 40 females and 40 males, were included in the study.INTERVENTION:Of the 40 female participants, 25 were smokers, and 15 were nonsmokers. Of the 40 male participants, 25 were smokers, and 15 were nonsmokers. The intervention (smoking) group, therefore, consisted of 50 participants, and the control (nonsmoking) group consisted of 30 participants.OUTCOME MEASURES:Serum concentrations of thyroid hormones and insulin were determined by enzyme-linked immunesorbent assays (ELISAs), using monoclonal antibodies; and by measurement of blood glucose, using a glucometer.RESULTS:The study found that both female and male smokers had higher levels of serum tT3 and insulin hormone than nonsmokers had. A positive correlation was found between age and insulin resistance in male smokers. The study also found that male smokers had higher levels of serum tT3 and fT4 hormone than female smokers had.CONCLUSIONS:Smoking may be associated with an increased secretion of thyroid hormones and the development of insulin resistance. With aging, insulin resistance may increase more in male smokers than in female smokers.