Spatial habits in residential kitchens and the searches for flexibility in kitchen design

While rising urban populations, as a result of industrialization, narrowed the buildable areas in cities, at the same time the World Wars I and II increased the demand for housing. In addition, the change of social dynamics and production models and the development of technology have also been influential in the search for flexibility. Flexibility, which can be considered in many ways, is examined in this article with the space organization, equipment/outfit and time in kitchen design. At this point, the research aims to measure user-specific expectations about flexibility in kitchens design. A survey was proposed in the study, considering that the determination of spatial habits in the kitchen is determinative in terms of which parameters should be taken into account in flexibility. The aforementioned survey was applied to people between the ages of 25 and 40 who live in apartments in Istanbul and work overtime. The survey has revealed that spatial habits in the kitchen vary with the square-meter of houses and their organization scheme according to it. For example, in 1+1 and studio apartments, the connection of the kitchen with daily life is stronger, however there are difficulties in use in terms of equipment and spatial organization. On the other hand, in relatively larger residences, it was seen that not preferring to spend time in the kitchen is due to the fact that the psycho-social requirements of the functional and flexibility of the kitchens were ignored during the building production process. In the study, it is argued that while it is possible to develop more creative and multifunctional kitchen solutions in changing square-meters, it is due to the imitation of the same plan templates of build-and-sell managerships in the apartment building process in big cities

Distinct Postsurgical Management in Young and Elderly Breast Cancer Patients Results in Equal Survival Rates

Background: Although breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant diseases in women, the majority of the studies describing the characteristics of BC in elderly patients have been limited to survival assessments or tumor features, without using younger BC patients as a reference group. The aim of our study was to describe and compare tumor characteristics and management patterns in elderly versus younger breast cancer patients in Turkey. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 152 patients with invasive breast cancer who underwent surgery in our institution between 2002 and 2012. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to age at the time of diagnosis. Results: There were 62 patients in the elderly group (>= 65 years) and 90 patients in the younger group (0.001). There were no significant differences regarding histology, localization, lymph node involvement, or types of surgical procedures between the 2 groups. Comorbidities were more common in elderly patients (p<0.001). In addition, elderly patients were more likely to receive hormonal therapy (p<0.001) and less likely to receive radiotherapy (p=0.08) and chemotherapy (p=0.003). There was no difference in survival and locoregional recurrence rates between the groups. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that breast cancer in elderly patients has more favorable tumor features, warranting less aggressive treatment regimens after surgery

Is There Any Correlation Between De Ritis Ratio and Prostate Cancer in Males Who Underwent Transrectal Prostate Biopsy?

Objective:This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of the De Ritis ratio (DRR) in predicting prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) in biopsy-naive patients with suspected PCa.Method:We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 282 male patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate needle biopsy (PNB) between January 2015 and July 2019. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients including digital rectal examination findings, preoperative prostate-specific antigene (PSA), aspartate aminotransferase levels, alanine aminotransferase levels, prostate volume, comorbidities and pathological findings of the PNB specimens were noted in detail for each patient. The study cohort was divided into two groups according to the histopathological results of PNB specimens (group 1: patients with benign histopathology, group 2: patients with PCa). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of PSA, PSA density and DRR in predicting PCa.Results:The median age of the participants was 64 (59-69) years. While 71.6% (n=202) of the participants were in group 1, 28.4% (n=80) of them were in group 2. The median DRR value of group 1 was 1.08 (range: 0.89-1.32), and the median DRR value of group 2 was determined as 1.19 (range: 0.95-1.56), and the median DRR value of group 2 was found to be statistically significantly higher than that of group 1 (p=0.013). Statistically significant but a weak positive correlation was observed between PCa in PNB specimens and DRR (r=0.149, p=0.012), while there was no statistically significant correlation between csPCa in PNB specimens and DRR (r=0.002, p=0.983). The ROC curve analysis showed that the cut-off value of DRR for the presence of PCa in PNB specimens was 1.125 and the area under curve was 0.595 (95% confidence interval=0.518-0.672, p=0.013) for the presence of PCa in PNB specimens.Conclusion:This study suggests that DRR had restricted diagnostic importance in predicting PCa in biopsy-naive patients who underwent transrectal PNB

Management of Tracheobronchial Injuries

Trakeobronşiyal yaralanmalar göreceli olarak daha nadir görülen, ancak tanı konulabilmesi için şüphelenilmesi gereken ve sıklıkla anında müdahale gerektiren durumlardır. Bu durumda ilk yapılması gereken iki önemli amaç vardır; havayolunun stabilizasyonu ve yaralanmanın lokalizasyonu ve genişliğinin belirlenmesidir. Bunlar da sıklıkla yaralanmayı tedavi edebilecek bir cerrah tarafından yapılan fiberoptik bronkoskopi ile mümkün olur. Penetran yaralanmaların çoğu servikal bölgede olur. Künt yaralanmaların çoğu ise distal trakea ve sağ ana bronşda olur ve en iyi sağ posterolateral torakotomi ile yaklaşılır. Yaklaşım şeklinin seçimi ve zamanı ek yaralanmaların varlığı ve trakeobronşiyal yaralanmanın şiddetine bağlıdır. Yaralanmaların çoğu tek tek suturler kullanılarak yapılan basit tekniklerle onarılabilirken bazıları kompleks rekonstruksiyon teknikleri gerektirir. Pulmoner temizliğe dikkat edilmesi yanında anastomotik teknik veya stenozun tesbit edilmesi için takip önemlidir. Özellikle iatrojenik yaralanmalı hastalarda konservatif tedavi yaklaşımları da kabul edilebilir bir yaklaşım seçeneği olmaktadır.Tracheobronchial injury is one of cases which are relatively uncommon, but must be suspected to make the diagnosis and managed immediately. In such a case, primary initial goals are to stabilize the airway and localize the injury and then determine its extend. These can be possible mostly with flexible bronchoscopy conducted by a surgeon who can repair the injury. Most of the penetrating injuries occur in the cervical region. On the other hand, most of the blunt injuries occur in the distal trachea and right main bronchus and they can be best approached by right posterolateral thoracotomy. The selection of the manner and time of approaching depends on the existence and severity of additional injuries. Most of the injuries can be restored by deploying simple techniques such as individual sutures, while some of them requires complex reconstruction techniques. Apart from paying attention to the pulmonary toilet, followup is crucial for determination of anastomotic technique or stenosis. Conservative treatment may be considered an option with a high probability of success in patients meeting the criteria, especially in patients with iatrogenic tracheobronchial injury

Management of Tracheobronchial Injuries

Tracheobronchial injury is one of cases which are relatively uncommon, but must be suspected to make the diagnosis and managed immediately. In such a case, primary initial goals are to stabilize the airway and localize the injury and then determine its extend. These can be possible mostly with flexible bronchoscopy conducted by a surgeon who can repair the injury. Most of the penetrating injuries occur in the cervical region. On the other hand, most of the blunt injuries occur in the distal trachea and right main bronchus and they can be best approached by right posterolateral thoracotomy. The selection of the manner and time of approaching depends on the existence and severity of additional injuries. Most of the injuries can be restored by deploying simple techniques such as individual sutures, while some of them requires complex reconstruction techniques. Apart from paying attention to the pulmonary toilet, follow-up is crucial for determination of anastomotic technique or stenosis. Conservative treatment may be considered an option with a high probability of success in patients meeting the criteria, especially in patients with iatrogenic tracheobronchial injury

Spatial habits in residential kitchens and the searches for flexibility in kitchen design

While rising urban populations, as a result of industrialization, narrowed the buildable areas in cities, at the same time the World Wars I and II increased the demand for housing. In addition, the change of social dynamics and production models and the development of technology have also been influential in the search for flexibility. Flexibility, which can be considered in many ways, is examined in this article with the space organization, equipment/outfit and time in kitchen design. At this point, the research aims to measure user-specific expectations about flexibility in kitchens design. A survey was proposed in the study, considering that the determination of spatial habits in the kitchen is determinative in terms of which parameters should be taken into account in flexibility. The aforementioned survey was applied to people between the ages of 25 and 40 who live in apartments in Istanbul and work overtime. The survey has revealed that spatial habits in the kitchen vary with the square-meter of houses and their organization scheme according to it. For example, in 1+1 and studio apartments, the connection of the kitchen with daily life is stronger, however there are difficulties in use in terms of equipment and spatial organization. On the other hand, in relatively larger residences, it was seen that not preferring to spend time in the kitchen is due to the fact that the psycho-social requirements of the functional and flexibility of the kitchens were ignored during the building production process. In the study, it is argued that while it is possible to develop more creative and multifunctional kitchen solutions in changing square-meters, it is due to the imitation of the same plan templates of build-and-sell managerships in the apartment building process in big cities

Introducing freshmen students to the practice of solid-phase synthesis

A one-semester laboratory project on solid-phase peptide chemistry was designed pedagogically to cater to freshman science students. The approach not only permitted multistep syntheses that would be considered impractical in solution, but also gave students insight into fundamental aspects of research at an early stage of development. Young scientists prepared Bz-Asn-Asn-Phe and Bz-Asn-Gln-Phe--peptides envisaged as potential competitive inhibitors of chymotrypsin. The synthesis, defined by an attachment-deprotection cycle, two elongation-deprotection cycles, and a benzoyl-capping protocol, was completed manually on Wang resin using Fmoc chemistry. Students quantified the yield of each condensation and deprotection reaction by measuring levels of dibenzylfulvene chromophore, a stoichiometrically afforded by-product. Benzoylation of the N-terminus was confirmed by employing a cadmium-ninhydrin reagent. The group also ascertained, through use of a chromogenic substrate, that chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis was impeded slightly when carried out in the presence of target peptides. Supplementary analyses supporting peptide purity and composition were given to students. Grading was based on laboratory participation, project proposals, reports, and a concluding slide-show presentation made to peers and colleagues. While the project was time-consuming overall, students acquired an impression of research work and an appreciation of the utility of solid-phase methods