Even if the dialysis adequacy of patients is at the recommended level, their sleep qualities may be poor. Therefore, evaluations of the sleep quality of haemodialysis patients during the clinical practice must be taken into consideration.

OBJECTIVE:The aim of the present study was to evaluate hemodialysis (HD) patients' knowledge about and attitudes towards Kidney Transplantation (KT). MATERIAL and METHODS:A total of 104 HD patients from two HD centers in a large city in central Turkey were included in this descriptive study. The questionnaire that was developed by researchers included questions on sociodemographic data and dialysis vintage, level of satisfaction resulting from HD treatment, willingness to undergo KT, knowledge about KT and choice of donor, etc. RESULTS:The mean age of the 104 patients was 60.03±17.01 years and the mean of dialysis vintage was 4.53±3.04 years. Of these patients, 62.5% declared their willingness to undergo KT, and among these, 76.9% declared that they had knowledge about KT. In regard to choice of donor, 79.7% stated that it was not important, while 56.7% were not informed about the existence of a waiting list for cadaveric donors. CONCLUSION:In order to increase in our country the number of cadaveric donors, which represent the most appropriate source of organ donation, several strategies should be considered, such as awareness-raising activities for patients and the community through campaigns by both the public and private sectors, and mass media. KEY WORDS:Attitude, Kidney transplantation, Knowledge ÖZ AMAÇ: Çalışmada, hemodiyaliz (HD) hastalarının böbrek nakli hakkındaki bilgi ve tutumları değerlendirilmektedir. GEREÇ ve YÖNTEMLER:Tanımlayıcı tipteki bu çalışma, Türkiye'nin büyük bir kentinde iki HD merkezinde, araştırmaya katılmayı kabul eden 104 HD hastası ile yürütülmüştür. Veriler, hastaların sosyodemografik verileri ve diyaliz süresi, HD tedavisinden memnuniyet durumları, böbrek nakli için gönüllü olma, böbrek nakli ve donör seçimi hakkında bilgi durumu gibi soruların yer aldığı ve araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen anket formu ile toplanmıştır. BULGULAR:Hastaların yaş ortalamaları 60,03±17,01 ve ortalama diyaliz süresi 4,53±3,04 yıldır. Hastaların %76,9'u nakil hakkında bilgi sahibi olduğunu belirtirken, %62,5'i böbrek nakli olmak istediklerini ifade etmiştir. Nakil olmak isteyen hastalardan %79,7'si için donör tipi önemli değildi. Hastaların %56,7'si gibi önemli bir oranı ise kadavra bekleme listesindeki mevcut durumu hakkında bilgisi olmadığını belirtmiştir. SONUÇ:Ülkemizde böbrek nakli sayısının artırılması için en uygun donör olan kadavra vericilerinin sayısının arttırılması amacıyla gerek devlet gerekse özel hizmet veren tüm kuruluşlar tarafından kampanyaların düzenlenmesi, internet siteleri ve medya aracılığıyla hastaların ve toplumun bilinçlendirilmesi gereklidir.

We showed for the first time that human aging is significantly associated with p22phox C242T genotypes in Turkish population, being highest in CC, intermediate in CT, and lowest in TT homozygote. It is plausible to suggest that CC genotype might protect people from chronic inflammation, diseases as well as from oxidative stress and, thus, individuals with CC genotype might be more advantageous for aging as compared to those with CT + TT genotypes.

No abstract

Abstract-The effect of thidiazuron (TDZ) used as an

Objective: In many countries, data obtained from individuals has been evaluated in order to determine environmental metal exposure and country standards.In the present study, the aim is to find out the mean arsenic levels of residents of our country by detecting the arsenic levels in hair samples of metallurgical workers who were thought to be exposed to arsenic and unexposed volunteers. Methods:The study population comprised 175 metallurgy workers aged 20 to 58 and 175 age-matched (21 to 60 years) volunteers. GFAAS equipped with zeeman background correction system was utilized for hair as determination. Results:The average levels in hair of exposed workers and the control group was 2.53±2.47 μg/g and 0.21±0.20 μg/g, respectively. The level in hair was found significantly higher in the exposed group than in the control group (p<0.01). Conclusion:The mean hair arsenic level was lower in the unexposed group and was 2-fold higher in workers than 1 μg/g that is accepted as standard, revealing that precautions and sanctions should be increased.

No abstract

Molecular markers are used in the characterization and breeding of organisms. Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a species with both dioecious and hermaphrodite flower forms. The determination of sex at an early stage of growth in this species, whose juvenility period is long, is important in breeding studies. The objective of this study was to identify the sex-related markers using RAPD method. Ten genotypes were obtained from natural F1 hybrids between a naturally grown a female and a male carob tree. DNA was extracted from the leaves of 12 carob plants. Using BSA, the female and male bulks were formed from five female and five male plants, respectively, using equal amounts of DNA from each plant. In this study, 130 RAPD primers were tested. That of 21 primers tested showed polymorphisms between male and female bulks. While the fragment of 750 bp from the OPA17 RAPD primer was not detected in the female parent, female bulk, and female F1 hybrids; it was observed in the male parent and four out of five male F1 hybrids. This is the first report in the literature that one RAPD marker, namely OPA17-750, related to 80% reliability to male sex in carob was determined.