In this controlled study, hearing and middle ear functions were investigated in 37 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 35 controls in order to study the prevalence and the nature of hearing loss in RA. The prevalence of the hearing impairment was significantly higher in the RA group, and the majority was bilateral (P<0.001). Of the patients, 35.1% had sensorineural (SN), 24.3% had conductive loss, and 10.8% had a mixed type of hearing loss. The hearing loss was positively correlated to the Steinbrocker functional index. The prevalence of abnormal tympanograms was 37.8%, while it was 17.1% in the control group. The probable site of involvement responsible for the SN loss was the cochlea, and discontinuity of the ossicles, rather than stiffness, was responsible for the conductive hearing loss. The presence of a mixed type of hearing loss suggested a multifocal involvement of the audiologic system in RA.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the demographic and epidemiological characteristics of traumatic spinal cord-injured patients. The hospital records of 539 patients (416 men, 123 women) with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) admitted to four hospitals that were major referral centers for trauma in the south-eastern region of Turkey from 1990 to 1999 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients with SCI were investigated for two periods; the first period covered patients admitted between 1990 and 1994 during which time an influx of people from rural to urban areas occurred and firearm injuries were common. In the second period (1995-1999) the influx of people declined and firearm injuries were reduced. The most common causes of injuries were road traffic accidents (200, 37.12%), followed by falls (172, 31.90%) and bullet wounds (115, 21.34%). In the first period, incomplete paraplegia was encountered more often than in the second period (P<0.001). In conclusion, in our series, while the leading cause of SCI for the two time periods was road traffic accidents, firearm injuries for the first period and falls for the second period were second-most frequent causes of SCI. In addition, the present study suggests that demographic and epidemiological factors may affect the characteristics of SCI in a region-based population even in a 10-year period of time.

Purpose: Weeds cause significant losses in agricultural production. In this study, we investigated the effect of microwaves on the germination rates of cress and arugula seeds to determine whether microwaves could be developed as an effective alternative to conventional chemical-based herbicides. Methods: Seeds were planted at equal depths (8-10 mm) in a soil-turf mixture, and seeds were exposed to microwaves for 126 s, 70 s, and 50 s in a device constructed specifically for this study. A microwave tunnel was built using a variable speed conveyor belt and 4 magnetrons with a combined output power of 2.8 kW. Seeds that were not exposed to microwaves were germinated with regulated irrigation, temperature, and humidity controls in parallel with the treated seeds, and the germination rates were compared among the treatment groups. Results: We found that the exposure of cress and arugula seeds to microwaves for 126 s inhibited germination close to 100%. Cress seeds treated with microwaves for 50 s showed 95% germination compared to 65% germination of the untreated cress seeds. Conclusions: We predict that the thermal effect of microwave energy affects the germination ratio and germination rate of seeds.

Medical ozone has therapeutic properties as an antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, modulator of antioxidant defense system. Major ozonated autohemotherapy (MOA) is a new therapeutic approach that is widely used in the treatment of many diseases. The objective of the present study was to determine whether preischemic application of MOA would attenuate renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in rabbits. Twenty-four male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into four groups, each including six animals: (1) Sham-operated group, (2) Ozone group (the MOA group without IRI), (3) IR group (60 min ischemia followed by 24 h reperfusion), and (4) IR + MOA group (MOA group). The effects of MOA were examined by use of hematologic and biochemical parameters consisting of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI). In addition, the histopathological changes including the tubular brush border loss (TBBL), tubular cast (TC), tubular necrosis (TN), intertubular hemorrhage and congestion (IHC), dilatation of bowman space (DBS), and interstitial inflammatory cells infiltration (IECI) were evaluated. In the IR group, compared to the Sham group, biochemical parameters indicating oxidative stress, NLR, IL-6, TNF-α, IMA, TOS, and OSI have increased. MOA reduced inflammation and oxidative stress parameters. Although TAS values have decreased in the IR group and increased in the MOA-pretreated group, no significant changes in TAS values were detected between the IR and MOA groups. The total score was obtained by summing all the scores from morphological kidney damage markers. The total score has increased with IR damage when compared with the Sham group (13.83 ± 4.30 vs 1.51 ± 1.71; p = 0.002). But, the total score has decreased significantly after application of MOA (5.01 ± 1.49; p = 0.002; compared with the IR group). MOA preconditioning is effective in reducing tissue damage induced in kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury. The protective effect of MOA is mediated via reducing inflammatory response and regulating of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Renal histology also showed convincing evidence regarding MOA's protective nature against kidney injury induced renal ischemia-reperfusion. Consequently, MOA might be helpful in protecting the kidneys from IR-induced damage in humans, probably through the anti-inflammatory effect and reducing the total oxidant status.