Demographic and microbial characteristics of extrapulmonary tuberculosis cases diagnosed in Malatya, Turkey, 2001-2007

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) has an increasing rate in Turkey. The reason remains largely unknown. A better understanding of the demographic and microbial characteristics of EPTB in the Turkish population would extend the knowledgebase of EPTB and allow us to develop better strategies to control tuberculosis (TB).</p> <p><b>Methods</b></p> <p>We retrospectively evaluated clinical and laboratory data of 397 bacteriologically-confirmed TB cases diagnosed during an eight year-period using by chi-square analysis and multivariate logistic regression model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 397 study patients, 103 (25.9%) had EPTB and 294 (74.1%) had pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). The most commonly seen two types of EPTB were genitourinary TB (27.2%) and meningeal TB (19.4%). TB in bone/joints, pleural cavity, lymph nodes, skin, and peritoneal cavity occurred at a frequency ranging from 9.7% to 10.7%. The age distribution was significantly different (P < 0.01) between PTB and EPTB, with patients older than 45 years tending to have an increased risk of EPTB. Furthermore, the distribution of different types of EPTB differed significantly among age groups (P = 0.03). Meningeal and bone and/or joint TB were more commonly observed among the male patients, while lymphatic, genitourinary, and peritoneal TB cases were more frequently seen among females. Unique strain infection was statistically significantly associated with EPTB (OR: 2.82, 95% CI [1.59, 5.00])</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>EPTB accounted for a significant proportion of TB cases in Malatya, Turkey between 2001 and 2007. The current study has provided an insight into the dynamics of EPTB in Malatya, Turkey. However, the risk factors for having EPTB in Malatya, Turkey remain to be assessed in future studies using population-based or randomly selected sample.</p

Empirical investigation to explore potential gains from the amalgamation of Phase Changing Materials (PCMs) and wood shavings

The reduction of gained heat, heat peak shifting and the mitigation of air temperature fluctuations are some desirable properties that are sought after in any thermal insulation system. It cannot be overstated that these factors, in addition to others, govern the performance of such systems thus their effect on indoor ambient conditions. The effect of such systems extends also to Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) systems that are set up to operate optimally in certain conditions. Where literature shows that PCMs and natural materials such as wood-shavings can provide efficient passive insulation for buildings, it is evident that such approaches utilise methods that are of a degree of intricacy which requires specialist knowledge and complex techniques, such as micro-encapsulation for instance. With technical and economic aspects in mind, an amalgam of PCM and wood-shavings has been created for the purpose of being utilised as a feasible thermal insulation. The amalgamation was performed in the simplest of methods, through submerging the wood shavings in PCM. An experimental procedure was devised to test the thermal performance of the amalgam and compare this to the performance of the same un-amalgamated materials. Comparative analysis revealed that no significant thermal gains would be expected from such amalgamation. However, significant reduction in the total weight of the insulation system would be achieved that, in this case, shown to be up to 20.94%. Thus, further reducing possible strains on structural elements due to the application of insulation on buildings. This can be especially beneficial in vernacular architectural approaches where considerably large amounts and thicknesses of insulations are used. In addition, cost reduction could be attained as wood shavings are significantly cheaper compared to the cost of PCMs

Investigation of heat insulation performance of hollow clay bricks filled with perlite

In this study, the possibility of enhancing heat insulation performance of hollow bricks by filling the cavities with perlite is investigated. A conjugate heat transfer by conduction, convection and radiation in different hollow bricks are analyzed numerically to assess their thermal performance. Calculations are performed for three scenarios for each type of hollow brick: (i) cavities are filled with air, (ii) half of the cavities are filled with perlite while the other half is filled with air, (iii) all cavities are filled with perlite. The benefit of filling cavities with perlite is justified quantitatively for each investigated hollow brick type. It is concluded that the enhancement in insulation performance can be up to 15.6% and 27.5% for half-perlite and full-perlite cases, respectively, depending on the brick type

Crystal Structure of 1-[2(3H)-Benzothiazolone-3-Yl]Propanoylmorpholine, C14H16N2O3S

C14H16N2O3S, orthorhombic, Pnaa (No. 56), a = 8.933(1) Angstrom, b = 11.391(1) Angstrom, c = 27.983(1) Angstrom, V = 2847.4 Angstrom(3), Z = 8, R-gt(F) = 0.080, wR(ref)(F-2) = 0.228, T = 293 K.Wo

Zinc(II) and cadmium(II) coordination polymers containing phenylenediacetate and 4,4′-azobis(pyridine) ligands: Syntheses, structures, dye adsorption properties and molecular dynamics simulations

Due to copyright restrictions, the access to the full text of this article is only available via subscription.Two new coordination polymers (CPs) – [Zn(µ4-ppda)(µ-abpy)0.5]n(1) and [Cd(μ3-opda)(µ-abpy)0.5(H2O)]n(2) (o/ppda = 1,2/1,4-phenylenediacetate, abpy = 4,4′-azobis(pyridine)) – have been synthesized by using Zn(II)/Cd(II) salts in the presence of o- and p-phenylenediacetic acid and abpy under hydrothermal conditions. Their structures have been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction and single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The structural diversities were observed depending on anionic ligands and metal centers in the synthesized complexes. Complex 1 consists of a 2-fold interpenetrated 3D+3D→3D framework with pcu topology while complex 2 has a 2D structure with sql topology. The adsorption of methylene blue (MB) was studied to examine the potential of the title CPs for removal of dyes from aqueous solution. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were also performed to examine diffusion of MB in 1 and 2. Thermal and optical properties of two complexes were also discussed.Eskisehir Osmangazi Universites

Synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium-PEPPSI complexes and their catalytic activity in the direct C-H bond activation

International audienc

The publication of health sciences theses in Turkey: A study of Ege University

This study aimed to determine the academic publication rate of health sciences graduate theses, as well as the factors that influence researchers to publish. the study took place in Ege University Institute of Health Sciences, Turkey, and used a correlated research model to analyse both qualitative and quantitative data. We obtained data from 159 graduate students selected from 437 who graduated between 1 September 2009 and 31 August 2014. From this group, 76 of the theses were published as 141 items. of these, 93 (66%) were journal articles, of which 51 (36.2%) were published in journals indexed by Science Citation Index (SCI)/SCI-Expanded/Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). in the multiple regression analysis, we found that employment in a university increased the probability of producing publications from theses by 8.54 times (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.954-18.440) and that encouragement from a supervisor increased the same by 2.79 times (OR, 95% CI = 1.021-7.640). Reasons for not publishing their theses were classified into 11 items, of which thematic analysis showed that the most prominent reasons were lack of time (n= 18, 24.3%) and workload (n= 15, 20.2%). This suggests that interventions targeting these two factors may result in increased publication of theses