Impact of Perceived Social Support and Depression in Married Turkish Women on the Sexual Quality of Life: An Online Survey.

BACKGROUND: Sexual life is very important for people's physical health, psychological health, and reproductive health. Depression and social support are among the factors that affect the quality of sexual life. AIM: The present study aimed to determine the impact of perceived social support on the sexual quality of life and depression in married women between the ages of 18 and 49. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 976 married women aged 18 to 49 were included in this cross-sectional study in which an online data collection method was used Sexual Life Quality Scale, Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale, and Beck Depression Scale, which were used as data collection tools. Statistical analysis used: Analyses were performed using SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics were used for number, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, as well as independent group t-test, correlation, and regression analysis. The "Enter" model was used in the logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: It was established that nearly one-third of married women aged 18-49 had low levels of perceived social support and sexual quality of life, and almost half of them experienced symptoms of depression. The quality of sexual life was 3.6 times (P = 0.001) lower in those with low social support and 1.6 times (P = 0.024) lower in those with depression. CONCLUSION: Considering the fact that women's sexual problems, low social support and depression are important predictors of sexual quality of life, special attention should be paid to increasing social support to women, handling women's sexual problems more carefully, and detecting and treating such problems.

Evaluation of Listeria monocytogenes biofilms attachment and formation on different surfaces using a CDC biofilm reactor.

Listeria monocytogenes can adapt, persist, and form biofilms on food premises surfaces, representing a challenge for food safety, since they led to disease transmission, food contamination and spoilage during production. Physical interventions (scrubbing and wiping) can help controlling formation, nevertheless when biofilms are formed, they are usually very resistant to current control strategies used in the food industry. Biofilm attachment and formation is influenced by environment characteristics, substrate properties and microbial motility. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of L. monocytogenes to attach and form biofilms on different surfaces (wood, nylon, and polycarbonate) representative of the materials used during produce harvesting and storage. Multi-strain L. monocytogenes biofilms were grown in a CDC Biofilm reactor at 20 ± 2 °C up to 96-h and characterized for: a) attachment strength by enumerating cells after rinsing; b) hydrophobicity and interfacial tension by contact angle measurements; c) biofilm architecture by Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy. All experiments were done in triplicate. Material, incubation, and solvent significantly affected the hydrophobicity and wetting properties of L. monocytogenes biofilms (P < 0.05). The type of material and incubation time significantly influenced hydrophobicity and wetting properties of L. monocytogenes biofilms (P < 0.05). Highest contact angle and lowest interfacial tension were observed on polycarbonate coupons. The data presented contributes to understanding Listeria biofilms grow on different surfaces commonly used in produce harvesting and storage. The data obtained in this study can be used when evaluating intervention strategies to control this pathogen in food premises.

Comparison of two methods for the rapid radiochemical analysis of air dust samples in emergency situations.

The reliable determination of airborne radionuclides in air is a key aspect in decision-making for the protection against public exposure in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency. Nowadays, this needs to be done in real time and at the international level. These needs require the development of fast response protocols and the harmonisation of results. This work presents two fast radiochemical methods for the simultaneous separation of alpha and beta emitters in aerosols and their performance in a series of samples.

A review of the TAEA proficiency test on natural and anthropogenic radionuclides activities in black tea.

A proficiency test amongst 15 Turkish laboratories with participation of 5 non-Turkish laboratories was organized to determine the 137Cs, 40K and 90Sr massic activities in black tea powder samples. The bulk material, consisting of tea produced in 2014, was mixed with contaminated tea that was withdrawn from the market after the Chernobyl accident. Nineteen laboratories reported 41 results. The evaluation of the results was based on the accuracy and precision criteria adopted by the IAEA Proficiency Testing Group and resulted in 49% acceptable results, 19% acceptable with warning and 32% were found to be not acceptable.

A review of the nationwide proficiency test on natural radioactivity measurements by gamma spectrometry.

This study is the review of the first proficiency test on radioactivity measurement organized in Turkey by Sarayköy Nuclear Research and Training Center (SANAEM) of Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) in 2013. The objective of the test was to determine (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K activity concentrations in natural soil samples using gamma-ray spectrometry. The bulk material consisting of uranium- and thorium-rich soil and sand was milled, mixed thoroughly and sieved. Homogeneity of the final mix was tested with 6 randomly taken samples. 16 proficiency test samples were distributed to 16 participating laboratories. 12 laboratories reported results. The results were evaluated on the accuracy and precision criteria adopted by the IAEA Proficiency Testing Group. The percentage of acceptable scores was 49%. Some recommendations have been provided to the laboratories to improve the quality of their results. It is planned to extend these proficiency tests periodically for various radionuclides in various matrices.

Evaluation of an intensive intervention programme to protect children aged 1-5 years from environmental tobacco smoke exposure at home in Turkey.

The aim of this randomized-controlled trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive intervention to reduce children's environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure at their home compared with a minimal intervention. The target population of the study was the mothers of children aged 1-5 who lived in the Cengizhan district of Izmir in Turkey, who smoked and/or whose spouses smoked. It was found that at least one parent of a total of 182 children smoked and 80 of these mothers were taken into stratified sampling based on the number of the smoking parents. Mothers were visited at their homes. During the initial visit, they were educated and urine samples were taken from their children. Following this initial visit, mothers were randomized to the intensive intervention (n = 38) or the minimal intervention group (n = 40). The levels of cotinine in the intensive intervention (P = 0.000) and minimal intervention (P = 0.000) groups in the final follow-up were significantly lower than the initial levels. The proportion of mothers reporting a complete smoking ban at home in the final follow-up was higher in the intensive intervention group than the minimal intervention group (P = 0.000). The education provided during the home visits and the reporting of the urinary cotinine levels of the children were effective in lowering the children's exposure to ETS at their home.

Results of an international comparison for the determination of radionuclide activity in bilberry material.

Radioactivity found in wild food products has assumed greater importance when assessing the total exposure of the population. For this reason, IRMM has been developing a reference material for the activity concentration of three radionuclides in bilberry samples. In order to characterise this new material, a CCRI(II) supplementary comparison was organised. The difficulties encountered in this comparison are discussed, in particular the efficiency calibration for volume sources of gamma-ray emitters, and comparison reference values for (137)Cs and (40)K are calculated.

Application of ADM1 model to a full-scale anaerobic digester under dynamic organic loading conditions.

The IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) was used to simulate the full-scale anaerobic sludge digester of Ankara Central Wastewater Treatment Plant. The digester is a completely mixed, once through continuous flow type which is being fed with a primary and secondary sludge mixture. The variability and unpredicted nature of the primary sludge composition was expected to challenge the model. A one-year dynamic data set from the digester was used for model calibration and validation in the study. The standard ADM1 model was corrected in the study with regard to nitrogen and carbon mass balances. A good correlation between the measured and simulated data was obtained for biogas yield, total volatile fatty acids and pH after heuristically calibrating stoichiometric and kinetic parameters of the ADM1 model. The simulation is sensitive to influent composition.

14C-dimethoate residues in olive oil during oil processing.

An olive tree was treated twice in the field with 14C-dimethoate (237.7 muCi, 2.4 g) and 14C residues were determined in the olive fruits at harvest. The fruits were crushed and pressed to extract the crude oil, then refined by neutralization, bleaching and deodorization. The crude oil contained 14.1% of the total 14C in the olive fruits. Neutralization resulted in a reduction of 14C by about 50% of the total 14C residues in oil. Bleaching and deodorization processes further reduced the 14C residues and the refined oil contained 31.6% (which corresponds to 4.4% of 14C residues of the total 14C in olive fruits) of the total 14C in the crude oil. Industrially extracted crude oil was fortified with 14C-dimethoate at 1.8 mg kg-1 (0.02 muCi) level and subjected to the same refining process. A sharp decrease in the amount of 14C was observed by neutralization and the amount of 14C remaining in the refined oil was about 7.3% of the total 14C in the crude fortified oil. The data suggest that the 14C residues in the aged and the fortified oil amples were not of the same nature. The terminal 14C residue in the refined oil obtained from the field experiment did not contain dimethoate and/or its oxon.

Chlorpyrifos degradation in Turkish soil.

Degradation of chlorpyrifos was evaluated in laboratory studies. Surface (0-15 cm) and subsurface (40-60 cm) clay loam soils from a pesticide-untreated field were incubated in biometer flasks for 97 days at 25 degrees C. The treatment was 2 micrograms g-1 [2,6-pyridinyl-14C] chlorpyrifos, with 74 kBq radioactivity per 100 g soil flask. Evolved 14CO2 was monitored in KOH traps throughout the experiment. Periodically, soil subsamples were also methanol-extracted [ambient shaking, then supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)], then analyzed by thin-layer chromatography. Total 14C and unextractable soil-bound 14C residues were determined by combustion. From the surface and subsurface soils, 41 and 43% of the applied radiocarbon was evolved as 14CO2 during 3 months incubation. The time required for 50% loss of the parent insecticide in surface and subsurface soils was about 10 days. By 97 days, chlorpyrifos residues and their relative concentration (in surface/subsurface) as % of applied 14C were: 14CO2 (40.6/42.6), chlorpyrifos (13.1/12.4), soil-bound residues (11.7/11.4), and 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCP) (3.8/4.8). Chlorpyrifos was largely extracted by simple shaking with methanol, whereas TCP was mainly removed only by SFE. The short persistence of chlorpyrifos probably relates to the high soil pH (7.9-8.1).