Evolutions of Relations Between Turkish Universities and the Government

This thesis points out that the relations’ evolutions between Turkish universities and the government has gone through four periods from the Ottoman Empire (1290-1922) to now, including the initiation period, the overall taking over period, and the overall control period from the government to the universities, as well as the development period of universities under centralization. This thesis discusses at length that universities were mainly controlled by three national regulations in the development period of universities under centralization, including the legislation, the management system and the expenditure; however, the universities’ own appeals for profound knowledge also bring the university system that conducts under centralization ceaseless impacts and adjustments, for example, the Turkish Higher Learning Commission and Higher Education Legislation are voices from Turkish universities for university’s autonomy under the background of centralization

Expression of MiR-9 promotes proliferation, migration and differentiation of human neural stem cells

Purpose: To investigate the effect of miR-9 on the proliferation, differentiation and migration of human neural stem cells (NSCs).Methods: The expression of miR-9 was investigated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Cell proliferation was assessed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay, while cell migration was studied by Transwell assay. The effect of miR-9 on differentiation of NSCs was investigated by western blot analysis of key differentiation marker proteins. Protein expression was determined by western blotting.Results: Transfection and over-expression of miR-9 in NSCs significantly enhanced the proliferation of NSCs (p < 0.05) in a time-dependent manner, as was evident from CCK8 assay data. MiR-9 overexpression caused down-regulation of Nestin and SOX-2, and up-regulation of Tuj-1 and MAP-2. The migration of NSCs was 37 % in the cells transfected with empty vector, compared to 68 % in the cells transfected with miR-9. This effect of miR-9 on cell migration was accompanied by up-regulation of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) and matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2).Conclusion: These results show that miR-9 promotes the proliferation, differentiation and migration of NSCs, and thus may be an important drug target for the generation of NSCs.Keywords: Neural stem cells, MicroRNA, Mir-9, Migration, Differentiation, Proliferatio

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Global Warming in the Tibetan Plateau during the Last 50 Years Based on a Generalised Temperature Zone - Elevation Model

Temperature is one of the primary factors influencing the climate and ecosystem, and examining its change and fluctuation could elucidate the formation of novel climate patterns and trends. In this study, we constructed a generalised temperature zone elevation model (GTEM) to assess the trends of climate change and temporal-spatial differences in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the annual and monthly mean temperatures from 1961-2010 at 144 meteorological stations in and near the TP. The results showed the following: (1) The TP has undergone robust warming over the study period, and the warming rate was 0.318°C/decade. The warming has accelerated during recent decades, especially in the last 20 years, and the warming has been most significant in the winter months, followed by the spring, autumn and summer seasons. (2) Spatially, the zones that became significantly smaller were the temperature zones of -6°C and -4°C, and these have decreased 499.44 and 454.26 thousand sq km from 1961 to 2010 at average rates of 25.1% and 11.7%, respectively, over every 5-year interval. These quickly shrinking zones were located in the northwestern and central TP. (3) The elevation dependency of climate warming existed in the TP during 1961-2010, but this tendency has gradually been weakening due to more rapid warming at lower elevations than in the middle and upper elevations of the TP during 1991-2010. The higher regions and some low altitude valleys of the TP were the most significantly warming regions under the same categorizing criteria. Experimental evidence shows that the GTEM is an effective method to analyse climate changes in high altitude mountainous regions

Poly[[μ2-1,3-bis­(imidazol-1-ylmeth­yl)benzene][μ2-2,2′-dihy­droxy-1,1′-methyl­enebis(naphthalene-3-carboxyl­ato)]zinc]

In the title compound, [Zn(C23H14O6)(C14H14N4)]n, the ZnII ion is four-coordinated in a distorted tetra­hedral geometry. The 1,3-bis­(imidazol-1-ylmeth­yl)benzene and 2,2′-dihy­droxy-1,1′-methyl­enebis(naphthalene-3-carboxy­l­ate) ligands con­nect the ZnII ions alternately in different directions, forming a layered structure parallel to the ac plane. Topological analysis reveals that the whole structure is a (4,4) network. The layers are further assembled into a three-dimensional supra­molecular structure via C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π inter­actions

Single-Incision Laparoscopic Splenectomy in Children With Massive Splenomegaly: A Prospective, Monocentric Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Single-incision laparoscopic splenectomy (SILS) remains a challenging procedure because of the technical difficulty. In this prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SILS in children with massive splenomegaly. METHODS: Pediatric patients with massive splenomegaly were recruited for SILS in a university-affiliated hospital. The data on patient demographics, clinical features, operative variables, and perioperative outcomes were collected prospectively and analyzed. According to the different surgical instruments, the patients were randomly assigned into two groups: the SILS with straight surgical instrument (SILS-S) group and the SILS with curved surgical instrument (SILS-C) group. A two-group comparative analysis was conducted using perioperative data from the different surgical instrumentation systems. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were included, of which 103 patients (success group, 85.83%) had complete SILS, the other 17 (failure group, 14.17%) patients were converted to open ( CONCLUSION: SILS is a safe and feasible treatment in pediatric patients with massive splenomegaly, and curved surgical instrumentation has contributed to developing surgical manipulation

A novel essential splice site variant in SPTB in a large hereditary spherocytosis family

Peer reviewe

Selection of Surgical Modality for Massive Splenomegaly in Children

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic splenectomy (LS), a treatment for both benign and malignant splenic diseases, can prove technically challenging in patients with massive splenomegaly. In particular, the optimal surgical modality for treating massive splenomegaly in children remains controversial. METHODS: The clinicopathologic data of 289 pediatric patients undergoing splenectomy for massive splenomegaly were studied in a retrospective analysis. Accordingly, the patients were classified into the LS surgery group and open splenectomy (OS) surgery group. In the laparoscopy cohort, they were separated into two subgroups according to the method of surgery: the multi-incision laparoscopic splenectomy (MILS) and the single-incision laparoscopic splenectomy (SILS) surgery groups, respectively. Patient demographics, clinical data, surgery, complications, and postoperative recovery underwent analysis. Concurrently, we compared the risk of adverse laparoscopic splenectomy outcomes utilizing univariable and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The total operation time proved remarkably shorter in the OS group in contrast to the LS group (149.87 ± 61.44 versus 188.20 ± 52.51 min, P \u3c 0.001). Relative to the OS group, the LS group exhibited lowered postoperative pain scores, bowel recovery time, and postoperative hospitalization time (P \u3c 0.001). No remarkable difference existed in post-operation complications or mortality (P \u3e 0.05). Nevertheless, the operation duration was remarkably longer in the SILS surgery group than in the MILS surgery group (200 ± 46.11 versus 171.39 ± 40.30 min, P = 0.02). Meanwhile, the operative duration of MILS and SILS displayed a remarkable positive association with splenic length. Moreover, the operative duration of SILS displayed a remarkable positive association with the age, weight, and height of the sick children. Splenic length proved an independent risk factor of adverse outcomes (P \u3c 0.001, OR 1.378). CONCLUSIONS: For pediatric patients with massive splenomegaly who can tolerate prolonged anesthesia and operative procedures, LS surgery proves the optimal treatment regimen. SILS remains a novel surgery therapy which may be deemed a substitutional surgery approach for treating massive splenomegaly

Comparison of the Chinese ischemic stroke subclassification and Trial of Org 10172 in acute stroke treatment systems in minor stroke

BACKGROUND: The underlying causes of minor stroke are difficult to assess. Here, we evaluate the reliability of the Chinese Ischemic Stroke Subclassification (CISS) system in patients with minor stroke, and compare it to the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) system. METHODS: A total of 320 patients with minor stroke were retrospectively registered and categorized into different subgroups of the CISS and TOAST by two neurologists. Inter- and intra-rater agreement with the two systems were assessed with kappa statistics. RESULTS: The percentage of undetermined etiology (UE) cases in the CISS system was 77.3 % less than that in the TOAST system, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The percentage of large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) in the CISS system was 79.7 % more than that in the TOAST system, which was also statistically significant (P < 0.001). The kappa values for inter-examiner agreement were 0.898 (P = 0.031) and 0.732 (P = 0.022) for the CISS and TOAST systems, respectively. The intra-observer reliability indexes were moderate (0.569 for neurologist A, and 0.487 for neurologist B). CONCLUSIONS: The CISS and TOAST systems are both reliable in classifying patients with minor stroke. CISS classified more patients into known etiologic categories without sacrificing reliability

Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Greening and Human Well-Being Improving: The Role of Ecological Policies

Appropriate human activities can have significantly positive effects on vegetation dynamics. In the past 50 years, various ecological policies have improved both ecological change and human well-being in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP), efficiently achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During 1981–2017, the annual mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of the protected areas (PAs) tended to increase significantly at a rate of 2.93 × 10−4/a (p &lt; 0.01), while non-PAs only increased by 0.6 × 10−4/a (p &lt; 0.5). Improvement in the NDVI of the PAs is more obvious than that of non-PAs. Specifically, the earlier the establishment of the Pas is, the more significant the greening effect will be. Moreover, ecological protection has not slowed improvements in human welfare; on the contrary, the Human Development Index (HDI) has nearly doubled in the past 40 years. In terms of global ecological construction, the Chinese government has demonstrated the responsibilities of a large country in global ecological governance. Chinese initiatives can guide other nations in contributing to the global sustainability aspirations embodied in the 2030 SDGs Agenda. This study can be used as a reference for other countries in the world to coordinate the development of ecological protection and well-being.</jats:p

Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Greening and Human Well-Being Improving: The Role of Ecological Policies

Appropriate human activities can have significantly positive effects on vegetation dynamics. In the past 50 years, various ecological policies have improved both ecological change and human well-being in the Qinghai&ndash;Tibetan Plateau (QTP), efficiently achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations&rsquo; 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During 1981&ndash;2017, the annual mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of the protected areas (PAs) tended to increase significantly at a rate of 2.93 &times; 10&minus;4/a (p &lt; 0.01), while non-PAs only increased by 0.6 &times; 10&minus;4/a (p &lt; 0.5). Improvement in the NDVI of the PAs is more obvious than that of non-PAs. Specifically, the earlier the establishment of the Pas is, the more significant the greening effect will be. Moreover, ecological protection has not slowed improvements in human welfare; on the contrary, the Human Development Index (HDI) has nearly doubled in the past 40 years. In terms of global ecological construction, the Chinese government has demonstrated the responsibilities of a large country in global ecological governance. Chinese initiatives can guide other nations in contributing to the global sustainability aspirations embodied in the 2030 SDGs Agenda. This study can be used as a reference for other countries in the world to coordinate the development of ecological protection and well-being