BACKGROUND AND AIM: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a lesion of the oral cavity with an unknown etiology. Several studies have been performed on the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in RAS. The main purpose of this paper was to review TNF-α level and its gene polymorphism in patients with RAS, the factors influencing the production of TNF-α, a...

Beside the basic control system associated with the hypothalamus-hypophysis-thyroid axis and thyrotropin, a growing evidence suggests that thyroid function is influenced by a vast spectrum of locally produced factors. Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is considered as one of the most powerful and effective regulatory systems in humans. In the “classical” cascade of RAS, angiotensinogen is enzymati...

Renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) blockade is thought to slow renal progression in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, it remains uncertain if the habitual use of RAS inhibitors affects renal progression and outcomes in pre-dialysis patients with advanced CKD. In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we identified 2,076 pre-dialysis patients with advanced CKD (stage 4 or 5)...

In terms of engineering standards, the dimensions hydraulic structures such as culverts on forest roads should have capability to drain expected maximum discharge for a 50-year return period during their lifespan (i.e., 20 years). Turkey, Talbot’s formula, empirical method, has commonly been used in determining required cross-sectional area (CSA) structures. However, practice, road engineers Tu...

BACKGROUND Previous trials of interventions to prevent acute kidney injury (AKI) have been unsuccessful and additional interventions are needed. Existing reviews of preoperative renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors have suggested harm. We included more recent studies and conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the risk of postoperative AKI in patients who received preoperative RAS inhibit...

Yangtze River Delta region in China is rich in port resources. "To prosper city according to ports" has become one of the strategies of promoting economy development. Therefore, the development of port logistics has a very important position in Yangtze River Delta region economy development. This paper sets up a new evaluation index system for port logistics efficiency and effectiveness evaluat...

Understanding the underlying processes and extracting detailed characteristics of rivers is critical has not yet been fully developed. The purpose this study was to examine performance non-linear time series methods on environmental data. Specifically, we performed an analysis water level measurements, extracted from sensors, located specified stations along Nestos River (Greece), with Recurren...

An approach to generate river cross-sections from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM) is discussed. The low resolution and the inadequate vertical accuracy of such global data present difficulties in differentiating features of hydraulic importance, which necessitate pre-processing of the DEMs before they are used. A ver...