Comparison of the retinal and choroidal structures in 3 refractive groups

Objectives: This study investigated the retinal layer thickness, choroidal thickness (CT), and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) parameters in 3 refractive groups. Methods: A total of 201 eyes of 201 subjects were enrolled in this prospective and comparative study. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to refractive status: Group 1 consisted of 60 eyes of myopic subjects, Group 2 comprised 72 eyes of emmetropic subjects, and 69 eyes of hyperopic subjects were categorized as Group 3. The retinal layer thickness, CT, and RNFL parameters were measured using optical coherence tomography and compared between groups. Results: The mean age of the patients was 22.33±10.11 years in Group 1, 21.55±8.3 years in Group 2, and 23.73±11.08 years in Group 3 (p=0.741). Group 1 consisted of 34 women and 26 men, Group 2 contained 44 women and 28 men, and Group 3 was made up of 45 women and 24 men (p=0.124). The mean spherical equivalent value was −6.16±2.01 D in Group 1, 0.13±0.5 D in Group 2, and 5.48±1.32 D in Group 3 (p<0.001). The RNFL and macular thickness values were lower in the myopic patients compared with those of the other groups (p<0.05). The CT measurement was lower in the myopic patients and higher in the hyperopic patients compared with the emmetropic patients (p<0.05). Conclusion: The myopic patients had a lower CT and RNFL thickness measurement than the emmetropic and hyperopic patients, whereas the hyperopic patients had a higher CT than the other patient types

Evaluation of wind comfort with computational fluid dynamics simulations for pedestrian sidewalks around buildings

Wind power could be one of the most clean and powerful renewable resources for electrical energy production, but on the other hand, uncontrolled wind flow especially in urban places could cause undesired situations as damage to buildings, decrease in pedestrian comfort, environmental damage, or even life loss. Construction of high-rise buildings, widely spread structures within cities, and environmental changes forces, engineers to find quick, reliable, and also economically viable solutions during design stages, but wind comfort of sidewalks generally not considered enough even if they are located in crowded areas. The web-based computer aided engineering (CAE) program named Simscale which runs on the basis of sophisticated graphical interface was used as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to determine wind speeds under influence of buildings in the Nuh Naci Yazgan University campus. Also, field measurements carried out in campus area for a short term period were compared with long term hourly wind speed data obtained from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM) station located in Kayseri to identify most optimal wind speed data for the research area. Results of analysis showed that wind speed increased in the mostly used paths of campus, which means that the layout of buildings negatively affected the wind comfort. CFD analysis softwares could be used to determine the possible consquences of wind with less economic investment in a short time, and they could be used in accordance with comfort criterias as well as safety regulations

Supervised Remote Robot with Guided Autonomy and Teleoperation (SURROGATE): A Framework for Whole-Body Manipulation

The use of the cognitive capabilities of humans to help guide the autonomy of robotics platforms in what is typically called “supervised-autonomy” is becoming more commonplace in robotics research. The work discussed in this paper presents an approach to a human-in-the-loop mode of robot operation that integrates high level human cognition and commanding with the intelligence and processing power of autonomous systems. Our framework for a “Supervised Remote Robot with Guided Autonomy and Teleoperation” (SURROGATE) is demonstrated on a robotic platform consisting of a pan-tilt perception head, two 7-DOF arms connected by a single 7-DOF torso, mounted on a tracked-wheel base. We present an architecture that allows high-level supervisory commands and intents to be specified by a user that are then interpreted by the robotic system to perform whole body manipulation tasks autonomously. We use a concept of “behaviors” to chain together sequences of “actions” for the robot to perform which is then executed real time

Evaluation of proven nosocomial sepsis agents in a level ııı neonatal intensive care center: a 2- year analysis

PURPOSE: Despite advances in supportive care and use of antibiotics, sepsis neonatorum preserves its importance due to its high mortality and morbidity. Identifying the causative agents and antibiotic resistance yearly in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) helps the physician to choose the most appropriate empirical therapy. In this study we aimed to evaluate positive blood cultures and antibiotic susceptibilities of newborns with proven sepsis in the years 2000-2001 in our NICU. MATERIALS-METHODS: The charts of hospitalized newborns between 2000-2001 were retrospectively studied. The causative agents and antibiotic susceptibilities in newborns with proven sepsis were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 48 positive results were obtained in 44 newborns among 576 newborns in this time period. Although most of the admitted patients were preterm infants (86.7 %) the frequency of proven sepsis was low (7.6%). Mortality rate of septicemia was 15.9 %. The most commonly isolated microorganisms were Coagulase- negative Staphylococci (CNS) (27.1%), Candida spp. (18.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (14.6%), Enterobacter spp (14.6%). The antibiotic susceptibilities of microorganisms were as follows: For CNS: Teicoplanin and Vancomycin 100%, Gentamicin 54% for S. aureus: Teicoplanin and Vancomycin 100%, Clindamycin 72%, Gentamicin 57%, for Enterobacter spp.: Meropenem and Piperacillin-tazobactam 100%, quinolones 86%. Methicillin resistance was 100% for CNS and 72% for S.aureus. In the year 2001, a significant increase in the frequency of Enterobacter spp. (11-16.6%) and Candida spp. infections (5.5-26.7%) was observed compared to the previous year. CONCLUSION: We concluded that initial empirical antibiotic therapy for nosocomial sepsis withTeicoplanin+Piperacillin-tazobactam/Meropenem plus antifungal therapy (Fluconazole or Amphotericine B) may be the best combination until the culture results arrive

In vitro Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Urinary Tract Infection Pathogens in Children

Aim:Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections in children. Empirical treatment is commenced according to the patient’s characteristics and the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in the region. Therefore, a determination of antimicrobial resistance patterns has a great importance in effective treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the pathogens which cause UTIs in patients admitted to a university hospital in Izmir and to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern.Materials and Methods:The files of patients aged between 0-18 years, followed up with a diagnosis of UTI, vesicoureteral reflux and neurogenic bladder in Ege University Faculty of Medicine Paediatric Nephrology Unit between February, 2013 and November, 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.Results:A total of 1,126 positive urine cultures from 729 patients (65% female) were included in this study. Gram-negative pathogens constituted 88.2% of the cultures. Escherichia coli (E. coli) was the most commonly isolated bacteria with a prevalence of 59.1%, followed by Klebsiella pneumonia with 17.9%, and Enterococcus faecalis with 8.3% (n=93). Ampicillin, cefuroxime and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole with susceptibility rates of 18.6%, 39.6%, 49.0% respectively, constituted the highest resistant antimicrobials to Enterobacteriaceae. Enterococcus spp. showed the highest resistance to gentamycin with 50% resistance in tested cases. Pseudomonas spp. with 64.3% susceptibility showed the highest resistance to piperacillin-tazobactam.Conclusion:This study revealed that bacterial resistance to commonly used antimicrobials in UTI is an important and challenging problem which requires planning

Situational factors shape moral judgements in the trolley dilemma in Eastern, Southern and Western countries in a culturally diverse sample

The study of moral judgements often centres on moral dilemmas in which options consistent with deontological perspectives (that is, emphasizing rules, individual rights and duties) are in conflict with options consistent with utilitarian judgements (that is, following the greater good based on consequences). Greene et al. (2009) showed that psychological and situational factors (for example, the intent of the agent or the presence of physical contact between the agent and the victim) can play an important role in moral dilemma judgements (for example, the trolley problem). Our knowledge is limited concerning both the universality of these effects outside the United States and the impact of culture on the situational and psychological factors affecting moral judgements. Thus, we empirically tested the universality of the effects of intent and personal force on moral dilemma judgements by replicating the experiments of Greene et al. in 45 countries from all inhabited continents. We found that personal force and its interaction with intention exert influence on moral judgements in the US and Western cultural clusters, replicating and expanding the original findings. Moreover, the personal force effect was present in all cultural clusters, suggesting it is culturally universal. The evidence for the cultural universality of the interaction effect was inconclusive in the Eastern and Southern cultural clusters (depending on exclusion criteria). We found no strong association between collectivism/individualism and moral dilemma judgements

Evaluation of patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease: Preliminary results from the Turk-UIP study

OBJECTIVE: Differential diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is important among fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILD). This study aimed to evaluate the rate of IPF in patients with fibrotic ILD and to determine the clinical-laboratory features of patients with and without IPF that would provide the differential diagnosis of IPF. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included the patients with the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern or possible UIP pattern on thorax high-resolution computed tomography, and/or UIP pattern, probable UIP or possible UIP pattern at lung biopsy according to the 2011 ATS/ERSARS/ALAT guidelines. Demographics and clinical and radiological data of the patients were recorded. All data recorded by researchers was evaluated by radiology and the clinical decision board. RESULTS: A total of 336 patients (253 men, 83 women, age 65.8 +/- 9.0 years) were evaluated. Of the patients with sufficient data for diag-nosis (n=300), the diagnosis was IPF in 121 (40.3%), unclassified idiopathic interstitial pneumonia in 50 (16.7%), combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) in 40 (13.3%), and lung involvement of connective tissue disease (CTD) in 16 (5.3%). When 29 patients with definite IPF features were added to the patients with CPFE, the total number of IPF patients reached 150 (50%). Rate of male sex (p<0.001), smoking history (p<0.001), and the presence of clubbing (p=0.001) were significantly high in patients with IPE None of the women <50 years and none of the men <50 years of age without a smoking history were diagnosed with IPE Presence of at least 1 of the symptoms suggestive of CTD, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and antinuclear antibody (FANA) positivity rates were significantly higher in the non-IPF group (p<0.001, p=0.029, p=0.009, respectively). CONCLUSION: The rate of IPF among patients with fibrotic ILD was 50%. In the differential diagnosis of IPF, sex, smoking habits, and the presence of clubbing are important. The presence of symptoms related to CTD, ESR elevation, and EANA positivity reduce the likelihood of IPF

The psychological science accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data