Electrochemical Aptasensor for Detection of Dopamine

This work presents a proof of concept of a novel, simple, and sensitive method of detection of dopamine, a neurotransmitter within the human brain. We propose a simple electrochemical method for the detection of dopamine using a dopamine-specific aptamer labeled with an electrochemically active ferrocene tag. Aptamers immobilized on the surface of gold screen-printed gold electrodes via thiol groups can change their secondary structure by wrapping around the target molecule. As a result, the ferrocene labels move closer to the electrode surface and subsequently increase the electron transfer. The cyclic voltammograms and impedance spectra recorded on electrodes in buffer solutions containing different concentration of dopamine showed, respectively, the increase in both the anodic and cathodic currents and decrease in the double layer resistance upon increasing the concentration of dopamine from 0.1 to 10 nM L-1. The high affinity of aptamer-dopamine binding (KD ≈ 5 nM) was found by the analysis of the binding kinetics. The occurrence of aptamer-dopamine binding was directly confirmed with spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements

FORECASTING THE SECTOR PORTIONS OF BANKS BY LOGISTIC REGRESSION ANALYSIS

Son yıllarda artan rekabetçi ortamda ve küresel ekonominin yarattıgıetkiler sonucunda, isletmeler için yasamlarını devam ettirmek ve farkyaratabilmek adına en önemli araçlardan birisi de gelecege yöneliktahminlerde bulunmak ve stratejilerini buna göre belirlemek olmustur. Bubaglamda isletmeler riskleri en aza indirgemek için, birçok uygulamaalanında yer bulan tahminleme yöntemlerinin ve istatistiksel analizlerinkullanılmasına yönelmektedirler. Lojistik Regresyon Analizi, sonuçdegiskeninin iki veya çok düzeyli kategorik degisken olması, 0 ve 1 gibikesikli degerler alması durumunda kullanılmakta ve bagımlı degisken"basarılı-basarısız", "az-orta-çok", "olumlu-olumsuz" gibi kategorikdegerlerden olustugunda lojistik regresyon yöntemi tercih edilmektedir.Son yıllarda lojistik regresyon analizi kullanım kolaylıgının yanında rahatyorumlanabilmesiyle ön plana çıkmıs ve sosyal bilimler alanında birçokuygulamada yaygın olarak kullanılmaya baslanmıstır. Lojistik RegresyonAnalizinde, bagımlı degisken üzerinde açıklayıcı degiskenlerin etkileriolasılık olarak elde edilerek, bu faktörlerin olasılık olarak belirlenmesisaglanmaktadır. Bu çalısmada, Lojistik Regresyon Analizi bir tahminyöntemi olarak incelenmis ve bu kapsamda bankaların sektör paylarınıntahminlenmesine yönelik bir model olusturularak, bankaların sektörpaylarına göre ilk on banka arasına girip girememeleri açısındanincelenmek suretiyle bir uygulama yapılmıs olup, elde edilen sonuçlaryorumlanmıstır. Sonuçlar ile gerçeklesen veriler kıyaslanarak, bunlarınbirbirlerine çok yakın oldugu ve böylece önerilen modelin etkinligi ortayakoyulmustur. In recent years, in increasingly competitive environment and asresults of global economy, one of the most important tools for enterprises has become forecasting the future and determining theirstrategies in this way in order that enterprises maintain their life andcreate a difference. In this sense, for minimizing the risks, enterprisestend towards using of forecasting methods and statistical analysis thattake part in many applications. Logistic Regression Analysis is used forthe situation that the outcome variable is binomial or multinomialcategorical variable, and take discrete values like 0 and 1 and it ispreferred when dependent variable consists of categorical values like"successful-unsuccessful", "small-medium-large", "positive-negative" etc.In Logistic Regression Analysis, the effects of explanatory variables ondependent variable are obtained as a probability in order to determinethese factors as a probability. In this study, Logistic Regression Analysisis examined as a forecasting method and within this scope an applicationis carried out for forecasting the sector portions of the banks by settingmodels and evaluated about whether the banks enter the top ten,Consequently the obtained results interpreted by comparing with actualdata and achieved that they are very close to each other, therefore thestudy proved the proposed model's effectiveness

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy associated with RANBP2 mutation: Value of MRI findings for diagnosis and intervention

Introduction: Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANEC) is a rare entity characterized by encephalopathy following a febrile illness. Most patients are sporadic; however, recurrent and familial cases have been associated with RAN-binding protein 2 (RANBP2) mutation. Well-defined MRI findings can even be life-saving with early diagnosis and treatment. Methods: In this article, nine pediatric cases diagnosed with ANEC1 both clinically and radiologically, and with least one variation in the RANBP2 gene, are presented. Results: All patients were previously healthy and presented with encephalopathy after an acute febrile infection. The patients of 44% had a similar attack history in their family. Influenza A/B was detected in 7 patients (78%). One patient was admitted at age 32 years old. The first clinical findings of patients were encephalopathy (100%), seizure (44%), vision problems (33%), ataxia (11%), and monoplegia (11%). Recurrent attacks were seen in two (22%) patients. Brain MRI findings including bilateral thalamus, external capsules, and brainstem involvements were highly suggestive for RANBP2 mutation. Based on MRI findings, genetic analyses were quickly performed and confirmed. All of the patients were treated with empirical encephalitis treatment, oseltamivir, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), high-dose steroid and, if necessary, plasmapheresis, but three (33%) patients died despite treatment. Conclusion: ANEC associated with RANBP2 mutation may occur early or late-onset and can be recurrent and fatal. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment have the potential to modify the severity of this encephalopathy. Well-defined MRI findings are highly instructive for early diagnosis

Towards Reuse and Recycling of Lithium-ion Batteries: Tele-robotics for Disassembly of Electric Vehicle Batteries

Disassembly of electric vehicle batteries is a critical stage in recovery, recycling and re-use of high-value battery materials, but is complicated by limited standardisation, design complexity, compounded by uncertainty and safety issues from varying end-of-life condition. Telerobotics presents an avenue for semi-autonomous robotic disassembly that addresses these challenges. However, it is suggested that quality and realism of the user's haptic interactions with the environment is important for precise, contact-rich and safety-critical tasks. To investigate this proposition, we demonstrate the disassembly of a Nissan Leaf 2011 module stack as a basis for a comparative study between a traditional asymmetric haptic-'cobot' master-slave framework and identical master and slave cobots based on task completion time and success rate metrics. We demonstrate across a range of disassembly tasks a time reduction of 22%-57% is achieved using identical cobots, yet this improvement arises chiefly from an expanded workspace and 1:1 positional mapping, and suffers a 10-30% reduction in first attempt success rate. For unbolting and grasping, the realism of force feedback was comparatively less important than directional information encoded in the interaction, however, 1:1 force mapping strengthened environmental tactile cues for vacuum pick-and-place and contact cutting tasks.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, Submitted to Frontiers in Robotics and AI; Human-Robot Interactio

Possible role of GADD45γ methylation in diffuse large B-cell Lymphoma: Does it affect the progression and tissue involvement?

Objective: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma among adults and is characterized by heterogeneous clinical, immunophenotypic, and genetic features. Different mechanisms deregulating cell cycle and apoptosis play a role in the pathogenesis of DLBCL. Growth arrest DNA damage-inducible 45 (GADD45γ) is an important gene family involved in these mechanisms. The aims of this study are to determine the frequency of GADD45γ methylation, to evaluate the correlation between GADD45γ methylation and protein expression, and to investigate the relation between methylation status and clinicopathologic parameters in DLBCL tissues and reactive lymphoid node tissues from patients with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six tissue samples of DLBCL and 40 nonmalignant reactive lymphoid node tissues were analyzed in this study. Methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting analysis was used for the determination of GADD45γ methylation status. The GADD45γ protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. Results: GADD45γ methylation was frequent (50.0%) in DLBCL. It was also significantly higher in advanced-stage tumors compared with early-stage (p=0.041). In contrast, unmethylated GADD45γ was associated with nodal involvement as the primary anatomical site (p=0.040). Conclusion: The results of this study show that, in contrast to solid tumors, the frequency of GADD45γ methylation is higher and this epigenetic alteration of GADD45γ may be associated with progression in DLBCL. In addition, nodal involvement is more likely to be present in patients with unmethylated GADD45γ. © 2015 Turkish Society of Hematology. All rights reserved

Metal sulfide sub-nanometer clusters formed within calix(8)arene Langmuir-Blodgett films

This work describes the construction of layered Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of a calixarene and the use of these as matrices for the synthesis of a range of metal sulfide nanoparticles. CuS, CdS, HgS, and PbS nano-clusters were formed within LB films of an octa-tertbutyl-calix(8)arene substituted with carboxylic acid groups deposited on different substrates (glass, quartz, and silicon) from either: (i) aqueous sub-phases containing 0.5 mM of the respective metal chloride salt (e.g. CuCl2, CdCl2, HgCl2, PbCl2), or (ii) by soaking the LB films in 10 mM solutions of the above salts for 1 h. The formation of metal-sulfide (MeS) nanoparticles was then achieved by exposing samples to H2S gas for 10–12 h. Deposition from salt containing subphases was more reliable and resulted in stoichiometric metal sulfides (CdS, HgS, PbS) being formed within LB films of the calix(8)arene carboxylic acid whereas Cu tended to form polysulfides. UV–vis absorption spectroscopy showed the presence of multiple absorption bands corresponding to electron transitions between energy levels in nanoclusters formed as result of quantum confinement of electrons and holes. The MeS clusters obtained by this process are amongst the smallest reported for LB films, being of the range 0.6–1.2 nm

Two Cases of Bladder Adenocarcinoma After Augmentation Cystoplasty

To draw attention to the disregarded malignancy risk after ileocystoplasty, we present two cases of adenocarcinoma. The first case was metastatic at initial diagnosis. Despite chemotherapy, the condition progressed and the patient died at the 9th month. The second patient has received cystectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Although the second patient was an immunosuppressed renal transplant, she was disease-free at the 27th month. As the malignancy risk after bladder augmentation is a proven fact, until the discovery of a proper diagnostic method, we recommend doing routine annual cystoscopic biopsy starting after the 10th year of ileocystoplasty

Efficacy of Antibiotic Coated Clean Intermittent Catheterization in Children with Neurogenic Bladder

Aim: The primary goal of urologic management in children with neurogenic bladder is to reduce the risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) and associated renal injury. We aimed to evaluate the use of antibacterial-coated clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) catheters for neurogenic bladder patients in comparison with standard catheters.  Material and Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 144 neurogenic bladder patients aged 6-16 years old, who received CIC at two major centers between January 2007 and June 2016. Group 1 consisted of children used antibacterial coated (chitosan) catheter (n=55), group 2 of children used standard CIC without antibacterial (n=42) and group 3 of children used standard CIC returned into antibiotic coated CIC (n=29). Febrile urinary tract infection and asymptomatic bacteriuria were evaluated among patients with antibacterial coated or standard catheters. We also focused on a subgroup of patients with high risk of urinary tract infection (grade 3> vesicoureteral reflux, previously scar formation in renal scintigraphy).  Results: Totally 126 patients (89 female, 37 male) were involved in this study. The mean age of the study group was 9.6±2.6 years (range 6 to 16) and the mean follow-up 58±14 months (min: 22, max: 69). There was no significant difference between three groups for asymptomatic bacteriuria and febrile UTI frequencies. However, febrile UTI frequencies and de nova scar formation in renal scintigraphy were higher in previously defined subgroup of patients with high risk of urinary tract infection in group 2 than group1 and 3.  Discussion: Both antibiotic coated and standard CIC can be used in children with neurogenic bladder with similar complication rates. Patients with high risk of urinary tract infection (higher than grade 3 vesicoureteral reflux, dilated ureter, previously de nova scar formation in renal scintigraphy) will benefit from antibacterialcoated catheters rather than standard ones