Long-Term Monitoring of Coastal Water Quality Using Sentinel-2 Satellite Images and Google Earth Engine: The Case Study Izmir and Erdek Bays

Coastal waters, crucial for ecology, are threatened by pollution and eutrophication caused by human activities. Monitoring water quality, particularly parameters such as Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and Total Suspended Matter (TSM), is essential for sustaining biodiversity and managing aquatic ecosystems. Although in-situ measurement methods are considered reliable, they are expensive, labour-intensive, and spatially limited, which poses challenges for large-scale monitoring. Satellite remote sensing offers an alternative, providing large-scale data for assessing water quality over time. This study utilizes Sentinel-2 Level-1C (Top of Atmosphere reflectance) satellite imagery and the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to monitor temporal changes in Izmir and Erdek bays from 2018 to 2024. Indices such as the Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI) and the Normalized Difference Aquatic Vegetation Index (NDAVI) were used for a time series analysis to evaluate water quality, showing high values in both study areas during 2020, particularly in summer, when the correlation was strongest. The Coast 2 Regional CoastColor (C2RCC) algorithm was applied to retrieve Chl-a and TSM values. According to the time series analysis results, Chl-a and TSM parameters were calculated as 7.87 mg/m3 and 2.51 g/m3 and 10.18 mg/m3 and 1.15 g/m3 respectively for Izmir and Erdek bays. Results also show a correlation between the indices and water quality parameters. This suggests that satellite-based methods effectively monitor complex aquatic ecosystems without in-situ measurements. In order to increase accuracy and reliability, future work involves integrating advanced modelling techniques, such as deep learning networks, with remote sensing data into the GEE cloud-based platform

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC WIREFRAME AND DENSE POINT CLOUD 3D MODELLING OF HISTORICAL STRUCTURES: THE STUDY OF SULTAN SELIM MOSQUE AND YUSUF AGA LIBRARY IN KONYA, TURKEY

The photogrammetry enables to getting high accuracy measurement with low-cost and easy application in documentation of historical structures. The object details are signified with lines in cultural heritage documentation by photogrammetry. The combination of all the lines create 3D wireframe model of the measurement object. In addition, patch surfaces of the wireframe are mapped with the texture from the images for more realistic visualization. On the other hand, the progress on computer vision and image processing techniques is allowing automatically perform the photogrammetric process. A large number of points that are called dense point cloud can be measured from coverage area of multi view images. The dense point cloud represents the object shape with small space measured points while the wireframe photogrammetry is representing the object with lines. In this study these two photogrammetric methods were evaluated with respect to visualization, cost, labour and measurement time through 3D modelling of historical structures of Sultan Selim Mosque and Yusuf Aga Library

Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease: A case report and review of the literature

Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease is a rare benign, condition of necrotising histiocytic lymphadenitis. A case of a 55 year old gentleman is described here. He presented with fevers, weight loss and tender cervical lymph nodes. Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease was diagnosed after cervical lymph node biopsy. Symptomatic treatment was provided and an uneventful full recovery was made. Of significant note, this patient's daughter had Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease almost a decade earlier. Although Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease has been reported widely, we believe this is the first familial report in the literature of a case of Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease occurring in a parent and child

The effects of intramuscular tenotomy on the lengthening characteristics of tibialis posterior: high versus low intramuscular tenotomy

BACKGROUND: Lengthening of soft-tissue contractures is frequently required in children with a wide variety of congenital and acquired deformities. However, little is known about the biomechanics of surgical procedures which are commonly used in contracture surgery, or if variations in technique may have a bearing on surgical outcomes. We investigated the hypothesis that the site of intramuscular tenotomy (IMT) within the muscle-tendon-unit (MTU) of the tibialis posterior (TP) would affect the lengthening characteristics. METHODS: We performed a randomized trial on paired cadaver tibialis posterior muscle-tendon-units (TP-MTUs). By random allocation, one of each pair of formalin-preserved TP-MTUs received a high IMT, and the other a low IMT. These were individually tensile-tested with an Instron(®) machine under controlled conditions. A graph of load (Newtons) versus displacement (millimetres) was generated for each pair of tests. The differences in lengthening and load at failure for each pair of TP-MTUs were noted and compared using paired t tests. RESULTS: We found 48% greater lengthening for low IMT compared to high IMT for a given load (P = 0.004, two tailed t test). Load at failure was also significantly lower for the low IMT. These findings confirm our hypothesis that the site of the tenotomy affects the amount of lengthening achieved. This may contribute to the reported variability in clinical outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the relationship between tenotomy site and lengthening may allow surgeons to vary the site of the tenotomy in order to achieve pre-determined surgical goals. It may be possible to control the surgical "dose" by altering the position of the intramuscular tenotomy within the muscle-tendon-unit

3 years of liraglutide versus placebo for type 2 diabetes risk reduction and weight management in individuals with prediabetes: a randomised, double-blind trial

Background Liraglutide 3\ub70 mg was shown to reduce bodyweight and improve glucose metabolism after the 56-week period of this trial, one of four trials in the SCALE programme. In the 3-year assessment of the SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes trial we aimed to evaluate the proportion of individuals with prediabetes who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Methods In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults with prediabetes and a body-mass index of at least 30 kg/m2, or at least 27 kg/m2 with comorbidities, were randomised 2:1, using a telephone or web-based system, to once-daily subcutaneous liraglutide 3\ub70 mg or matched placebo, as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Time to diabetes onset by 160 weeks was the primary outcome, evaluated in all randomised treated individuals with at least one post-baseline assessment. The trial was conducted at 191 clinical research sites in 27 countries and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01272219. Findings The study ran between June 1, 2011, and March 2, 2015. We randomly assigned 2254 patients to receive liraglutide (n=1505) or placebo (n=749). 1128 (50%) participants completed the study up to week 160, after withdrawal of 714 (47%) participants in the liraglutide group and 412 (55%) participants in the placebo group. By week 160, 26 (2%) of 1472 individuals in the liraglutide group versus 46 (6%) of 738 in the placebo group were diagnosed with diabetes while on treatment. The mean time from randomisation to diagnosis was 99 (SD 47) weeks for the 26 individuals in the liraglutide group versus 87 (47) weeks for the 46 individuals in the placebo group. Taking the different diagnosis frequencies between the treatment groups into account, the time to onset of diabetes over 160 weeks among all randomised individuals was 2\ub77 times longer with liraglutide than with placebo (95% CI 1\ub79 to 3\ub79, p<0\ub70001), corresponding with a hazard ratio of 0\ub721 (95% CI 0\ub713\u20130\ub734). Liraglutide induced greater weight loss than placebo at week 160 (\u20136\ub71 [SD 7\ub73] vs 121\ub79% [6\ub73]; estimated treatment difference 124\ub73%, 95% CI 124\ub79 to 123\ub77, p<0\ub70001). Serious adverse events were reported by 227 (15%) of 1501 randomised treated individuals in the liraglutide group versus 96 (13%) of 747 individuals in the placebo group. Interpretation In this trial, we provide results for 3 years of treatment, with the limitation that withdrawn individuals were not followed up after discontinuation. Liraglutide 3\ub70 mg might provide health benefits in terms of reduced risk of diabetes in individuals with obesity and prediabetes. Funding Novo Nordisk, Denmark

Results after multivisceral resections of locally advanced colorectal cancers: an analysis on clinical and pathological t4 tumors

Background: Locally advanced colorectal cancers are best treated with multivisceral resections. The aim of this study is to evaluate early and late results after multivisceral resections. Methods: All patients operated for primary colorectal cancer between 2001 and 2010 were -reviewed. These were compared within the patients underwent single organ and multivisceral resections: demographics, tumor and procedure related parameters, perioperative results, early oncological outcomes and 5-year survival. Results: A total of 354 patients (59.6 +/- 13.8 years old, 210 [59.3%] males) were abstracted. Ninety (25.4%) patients underwent multivisceral resections for clinical T4 tumors and en-bloc R0 resection was achieved in 82 (91.1%). Only 31 (34.4% and 8.8% of clinical T4 and all cancers, respectively) cases had actual adjacent organ invasions (pT4). Males (20%) had lower risk for locally advanced tumors than females (33.3%) (p 0.05). Conclusions: Clinical T4 tumors are not rare and more common in women. An actual invasion (pT4) may be observed in one third of all clinical T4 tumors, and more frequent in colon cancers. An en-bloc, R0, multivisceral resection may be achieved in most cases. Multivisceral resections do not alter the rates of sphincter-saving procedures, morbidity and 30-day mortality; do not worsen survival but increase operation time, intraoperative bleeding and perioperative transfusion requirements.WOS:0003016710000032-s2.0-84857010253PubMed: 2233658

Oxidative stress biomarkers and acetylcholinesterase activity in human erythrocytes exposed to clomazone (in vitro)

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of clomazone herbicide on oxidative stress biomarkers and acetylcholinesterase activity in human erythrocytes in in vitro conditions. The activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), as well as the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in human erythrocytes exposed (in vitro) to clomazone at varying concentrations in the range of 0, 100, 250 and 500 µg/L for 1 h at 37 °C.TBARS levels were significantly higher in erythrocytes incubated with clomazone at 100, 250 and 500 µg/L. However, erythrocyte CAT and AChE activities were decreased at all concentrations tested. SOD activity was increased only at 100 µg/L of clomazone. GSH levels did not change with clomazone exposure. These results clearly showed clomazone to induce oxidative stress and AChE inhibition in human erythrocytes (in vitro). We, thus, suggest a possible role of ROS on toxicity mechanism induced by clomazone in humans

Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with obesity and prevalent heart failure: a prespecified analysis of the SELECT trial

Background: Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, reduces the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in people with overweight or obesity, but the effects of this drug on outcomes in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and heart failure are unknown. We report a prespecified analysis of the effect of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2·4 mg on ischaemic and heart failure cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed to investigate if semaglutide was beneficial in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with a history of heart failure compared with placebo; if there was a difference in outcome in patients designated as having heart failure with preserved ejection fraction compared with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; and if the efficacy and safety of semaglutide in patients with heart failure was related to baseline characteristics or subtype of heart failure. Methods: The SELECT trial was a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled, event-driven phase 3 trial in 41 countries. Adults aged 45 years and older, with a BMI of 27 kg/m2 or greater and established cardiovascular disease were eligible for the study. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) with a block size of four using an interactive web response system in a double-blind manner to escalating doses of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide over 16 weeks to a target dose of 2·4 mg, or placebo. In a prespecified analysis, we examined the effect of semaglutide compared with placebo in patients with and without a history of heart failure at enrolment, subclassified as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, or unclassified heart failure. Endpoints comprised MACE (a composite of non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and cardiovascular death); a composite heart failure outcome (cardiovascular death or hospitalisation or urgent hospital visit for heart failure); cardiovascular death; and all-cause death. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03574597. Findings: Between Oct 31, 2018, and March 31, 2021, 17 604 patients with a mean age of 61·6 years (SD 8·9) and a mean BMI of 33·4 kg/m2 (5·0) were randomly assigned to receive semaglutide (8803 [50·0%] patients) or placebo (8801 [50·0%] patients). 4286 (24·3%) of 17 604 patients had a history of investigator-defined heart failure at enrolment: 2273 (53·0%) of 4286 patients had heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, 1347 (31·4%) had heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and 666 (15·5%) had unclassified heart failure. Baseline characteristics were similar between patients with and without heart failure. Patients with heart failure had a higher incidence of clinical events. Semaglutide improved all outcome measures in patients with heart failure at random assignment compared with those without heart failure (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72, 95% CI 0·60-0·87 for MACE; 0·79, 0·64-0·98 for the heart failure composite endpoint; 0·76, 0·59-0·97 for cardiovascular death; and 0·81, 0·66-1·00 for all-cause death; all pinteraction&gt;0·19). Treatment with semaglutide resulted in improved outcomes in both the heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HR 0·65, 95% CI 0·49-0·87 for MACE; 0·79, 0·58-1·08 for the composite heart failure endpoint) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction groups (0·69, 0·51-0·91 for MACE; 0·75, 0·52-1·07 for the composite heart failure endpoint), although patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction had higher absolute event rates than those with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. For MACE and the heart failure composite, there were no significant differences in benefits across baseline age, sex, BMI, New York Heart Association status, and diuretic use. Serious adverse events were less frequent with semaglutide versus placebo, regardless of heart failure subtype. Interpretation: In patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diease and overweight or obesity, treatment with semaglutide 2·4 mg reduced MACE and composite heart failure endpoints compared with placebo in those with and without clinical heart failure, regardless of heart failure subtype. Our findings could facilitate prescribing and result in improved clinical outcomes for this patient group. Funding: Novo Nordisk

Dark adaptation in relation to choroidal thickness in healthy young subjects: a cross-sectional, observational study

BACKGROUND: Dark adaptation is an energy-requiring process in the outer retina nourished by the profusely perfused choroid. We hypothesized that variations in choroidal thickness might affect the rate of dark adaptation. METHOD: Cross-sectional, observational study of 42 healthy university students (mean age 25 ± 2.0 years, 29 % men) who were examined using an abbreviated automated dark adaptometry protocol with a 2° diameter stimulus centered 5° above the point of fixation. The early, linear part of the rod-mediated dark adaptation curve was analyzed to extract the time required to reach a sensitivity of 5.0 × 10(−3) cd/m2 (time to rod intercept) and the slope (rod adaptation rate). The choroid was imaged using enhanced-depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). RESULTS: The time to the rod intercept was 7.3 ± 0.94 (range 5.1 - 10.2) min. Choroidal thickness 2.5° above the fovea was 348 ± 104 (range 153–534) μm. There was no significant correlation between any of the two measures of rod-mediated dark adaptation and choroidal thickness (time to rod intercept versus choroidal thickness 0.072 (CI(95) -0.23 to 0.38) min/100 μm, P = 0.64, adjusted for age and sex). There was no association between the time-to–rod-intercept or the dark adaptation rate and axial length, refraction, gender or age. CONCLUSION: Choroidal thickness, refraction and ocular axial length had no detectable effect on rod-mediated dark adaptation in healthy young subjects. Our results do not support that variations in dark adaptation can be attributed to variations in choroidal thickness. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12886-016-0273-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users