Spread of Intestinal Parasites in Patients Presenting with Gastrointestinal Complaints

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites in patients admitted to University of Health Sciences Türkiye (UHS) Van Training and Research Hospital. Methods: A total of 300 patients between the ages of 18-90 who applied to UHS Van Training and Research Hospital with gastrointestinal complaints and were referred to the parasitology laboratory between September 2021 and December 2021, and 100 patients without any chronic disease and gastrointestinal complaints in the control group were included in the study. Stool samples taken from patients included in the study and individuals in the control group were analyzed by native-lugol and modified acid-fast staining methods. Results: In the study, intestinal parasites were detected in 41 (13.3%) of 300 patients in the patient group and in seven (7%) of 100 individuals in the control group. The highest rate of Blastocystis species (Blastocystis spp.) (5.7%) was found in the patient group. Entamoeba coli 3%, G. intestinalis 2.7% and Cryptosporidium species (Cryptosporidium spp). 2.3% were found among the other species detected. In addition, a statistically significant correlation was found between the incidence of parasites and abdominal pain (p=0.022) and nausea (p=0.029). Conclusion: As a result; it was concluded that intestinal parasites are still an important health problem in patients with gastrointestinal complaints and intestinal parasites should definitely be considered in this patient group

Drosophila Melanogaster’de Lokomotor Aktiviteyle Açlık Direnci Arasındaki İlişkinin Araştırılması

This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between locomotor behavior and starvation resistance on the basis of Drosophila melanogaster genes. Until now, the relationship between locomotor behavior and starvation resistance has been examined in separate studies through post-hunger foraging behavior related hyperactivity or on the basis of individual genes. In this context, there are no studies that address the two characteristics at the same time and focus on the relationship between them. The 31 genes used in the study were the candidate genes that were previously found to interact with the parkin gene in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The method used in locomotor behavior analysis is the startle response phenotype. The startle response phenotype model is a fairly common method that is used in terms of generating sudden responses in the case of stress and representing the relationship between brain-gene-behavior. The second experimental step of the study, the starvation resistance experiments, were based on the individual's time of death resulting from acute hunger. In both experimental designs, three (0, 15, 30 days) age groups were created to evaluate male and female individuals separately, to observe the varying responses of phenotypic scores depending on age and sex. The basic method used in the thesis is based on the differentiation of the response of a mutant lineage to two experiments in comparison with the control. For both experiments, multi way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were performed separately between the mutant lineage and control lineage. After variance analyses, post-hoc analyses were performed using the Dunnett Test according to age and sex. The Dunnett Test was employed to examine the difference between mutant lineage and control lineage separately on the bases of sex and age. 14 of the 31 candidate genes differed from control in both locomotor behavioral experiments and starvation resistance experiments, including the different sex and age groups. All mutant lineages that differed in locomotor behavioral experiments presented low scores than control, and 14 mutant lineages, excluding the rad gene, lived less than the contrrol group in starvation resistance experiments. Of the 14 differentiated genes, 12 are involved in anatomical structure development and 5 are directly involved in locomotion. Biological processes, molecular functions and human orthologists of 14 genes were investigated and clues were found about the relationship between starvation resistance and locomotor behavior. The study expands the knowledge that exists on the gene basis for both characters, and also points to important aspects regarding the relationship between the two characters.Bu tez çalışması Drosophila melanogaster’de lokomotor davranış ve açlık direnci arasındaki ilişkiyi genler bazında araştırmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu zamana kadar lokomotor davranış ve açlık direnci arasındaki ilişkiye açlık sonrası gösterilen besin arama davranışı ile ilişkilendirilen hiperaktivite üzerinden veya tek tek gen bazında ayrı çalışmalarda bakılmıştır. Bu anlamda iki karakteri aynı anda ele alan ve arasındaki ilişkiye odaklanan çalışmalar mevcut değildir. Çalışmada kullanılan 31 gen daha önce parkin geniyle genom çaplı ilişkilendirme analizlerinde (GWAS) etkileştiği tespit edilen aday genlerdir. Lokomotor davranış analizlerinde kullanılan yöntem irkilme sıçrama fenotipidir. İrkilme sıçrama fenotip modeli, doğada canlının stres durumunda ani cevap üretmesi ve beyin-gen-davranış arasındaki ilişkiyi temsil etmesi açısından kullanılan oldukça yaygın bir yöntemdir. Çalışmanın ikinci deney basamağı olan açlık direnci deneylerinde ise akut açlık kullanılarak bireylerin öldüğü saat baz alınmıştır. Her iki deney dizaynında dişi ve erkek bireyler ayrı değerlendirilmek üzere üç (0, 15, 30 gün ) yaş grubu oluşturulmuştur, bu şekilde fenotipik skorların yaşa ve eşeye bağlı değişen yanıtlarına bakabilmek hedeflenmiştir. Tezde kullanılan temel yöntem, bir mutant soyun iki deneye verdiği cevabın kontrole göre farklılaşmasına dayanmaktadır. Her iki deney için ayrı ayrı mutant soy ve kontrol soyu arasında çok yönlü varyans analizleri (ANOVA) gerçekleştirilmiştir. Varyans analizlerinden sonra yaşa ve eşeye göre Dunnett testi kullanılarak post-hoc analizleri yapılmıştır. Dunnett testi ile mutant soy ile kontrol soy arasındaki farka hem eşey bazında hem de yaş bazında ayrı ayrı incelemek amaçlanmıştır. 31 aday genin 14’ü hem lokomotor davranış deneylerinde hem de açlık direnci deneylerinde farklı eşey ve yaş grupları olmak üzere kontrolden farklılaşmıştır. Lokomotor davranış deneylerinde farklılaşan tüm mutant soylar kontrolden düşük skor sergilemiş olup, açlık direnci deneylerinde rad geni dışında 14 mutant soy kontrole göre daha az yaşamıştır. Farklılaşan 14 genin 12’ si anatomik yapı gelişiminde, 5’i ise doğrudan lokomosyonda görevlidir. 14 genin biyolojik süreçleri, moleküler işlevleri ve insan ortologları araştırılmış, açlık direnci ve lokomotor davranış arasındaki ilişkiye dair ipuçları bulunmuştur. Çalışma bir yanıyla her iki karakter için gen bazında var olan bilgilerini genişletmekte bir yanıyla da iki karakter arasındaki ilişkiye dair önemli noktaları işaret etmektedir

Investigation of the effects of IMPULS Maturity model with a simulation-based analysis

International Symposium onIntelligent Manufacturing and Service Systems (10. : 2019 : Sakarya, Turkey)Industry 4.0 enables to produce products that are complex in production in a short time and in high quality by entering factories and making our production environments smarter. Industry 4.0 is defined as the digitization of all work processes of a company, not just a production line or an activity. In the scope of these definitions, the current situation was determined with IMPULS Industry 4.0 maturity model with a previous study and then as-is model was stated by using ARIS which is one of the business process model software in a solar panel production company in this study. The next step is to design and run a simulation model based on current innovations and improvements. As a result of the simulation analysis, the results were compared by the view of operations, waiting times and resources usage in the current situation and the new situation. A total of 20 panels will be produced by using 120 cells. 110 minutes of waiting time is decreased to 70 minutes. So, the improvement rate of outcome is 36%. Waiting time’s improvement rate is 14% as well. The conclusion of this study, via analyzing the current situation of the company, as a managerial decision determining which stages of the production line will apply transformation to Industry 4.0 processes. Also, this study can be considered as a pioneer applied study for the next transformation cases on the other maturity models with more effectively in a shorter time by making different additions appropriate for the similar purposes.No sponso

Investigation of the effects of IMPULS Maturity model with a simulation-based analysis

International Symposium onIntelligent Manufacturing and Service Systems (10. : 2019 : Sakarya, Turkey)Industry 4.0 enables to produce products that are complex in production in a short time and in high quality by entering factories and making our production environments smarter. Industry 4.0 is defined as the digitization of all work processes of a company, not just a production line or an activity. In the scope of these definitions, the current situation was determined with IMPULS Industry 4.0 maturity model with a previous study and then as-is model was stated by using ARIS which is one of the business process model software in a solar panel production company in this study. The next step is to design and run a simulation model based on current innovations and improvements. As a result of the simulation analysis, the results were compared by the view of operations, waiting times and resources usage in the current situation and the new situation. A total of 20 panels will be produced by using 120 cells. 110 minutes of waiting time is decreased to 70 minutes. So, the improvement rate of outcome is 36%. Waiting time’s improvement rate is 14% as well. The conclusion of this study, via analyzing the current situation of the company, as a managerial decision determining which stages of the production line will apply transformation to Industry 4.0 processes. Also, this study can be considered as a pioneer applied study for the next transformation cases on the other maturity models with more effectively in a shorter time by making different additions appropriate for the similar purposes.No sponso

Are plain radiographs reliable in Lichtman classification?

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the reliability of the Lichtman classification among residents, orthopedic surgeons, and hand surgeons. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out with 30 male observers (mean age 37.8 years; range, 26 to 62 years) who agreed to participate in the study. All observers were orthopedic surgeons. The observers were separated into three groups that consist of 10 residents, 10 orthopedic surgeons, and 10 hand surgeons. The anteroposterior and lateral wrist radiographs of 20 patients (12 males, 8 females; mean age 49 years; range, 38 to 74 years) diagnosed as Kienböck's disease were sent to observers via e-mail as a survey. All 40 radiographs were asked to be kept classified. RESULTS: The classification of Kienböck's disease was analyzed by 30 observers on 40 digital radiographs. The overall agreement with the Lichtman classification was fair within all of the observers (kappa=0.203). When groups were evaluated within themselves, the agreement level was found poor in group 1 (kappa=0.162) and fair in group 2 (kappa=0.210) and group 3 (kappa=0.252). CONCLUSION: A useful classification system in orthopedics and traumatology should classify the type of musculoskeletal disorder reliably, facilitate communication in clinical practice, guide preoperative planning, and enable comparison of results between studies. The Lichtman classification alone is insufficient and should be supported by other imaging and measurement techniques

Selection industry 4.0 maturity model using fuzzy and intuitionistic fuzzy topsis methods for a solar cell manufacturing company

Maturity models help organizations identify the processes of transformation and needs by analyzing the current situation of production systems. Within the scope of Industry 4.0, in this study, several maturity models are used. Five maturity models that are mostly applied are reviewed to determine the maturity model that a manufacturing company would assess by considering Industry 4.0. Seven properties of the models are compared and analyzed with the fuzzy TOPSIS (FTOPSIS) and intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS (IFTOPSIS) methods. Industry 4.0 maturity models, the number of dimensions, the number of maturity level, release date, content, the definition of measurement properties, assessment expenditures, and the assessment method are determined by the three decision makers according to the evaluation. As a result, the Impuls readiness maturity model is found to be the most suitable model in FTOPSIS and IFTOPSIS methods for a solar cell manufacturing company.No sponso

Are plain radiographs reliable in Lichtman classification?

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the reliability of the Lichtman classification among residents, orthopedic surgeons, and hand surgeons. Materials and methods: This study was carried out with 30 male observers (mean age 37.8 years; range, 26 to 62 years) who agreed to participate in the study. All observers were orthopedic surgeons. The observers were separated into three groups that consist of 10 residents, 10 orthopedic surgeons, and 10 hand surgeons. The anteroposterior and lateral wrist radiographs of 20 patients (12 males, 8 females; mean age 49 years; range, 38 to 74 years) diagnosed as Kienböck's disease were sent to observers via e-mail as a survey. All 40 radiographs were asked to be kept classified. Results: The classification of Kienböck's disease was analyzed by 30 observers on 40 digital radiographs. The overall agreement with the Lichtman classification was fair within all of the observers (kappa=0.203). When groups were evaluated within themselves, the agreement level was found poor in group 1 (kappa=0.162) and fair in group 2 (kappa=0.210) and group 3 (kappa=0.252). Conclusion: A useful classification system in orthopedics and traumatology should classify the type of musculoskeletal disorder reliably, facilitate communication in clinical practice, guide preoperative planning, and enable comparison of results between studies. The Lichtman classification alone is insufficient and should be supported by other imaging and measurement techniques. © 2020 Turkish Joint Diseases Foundation

Quercetin: Synergistic Interaction with Antibiotics against Colistin-Resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>

Infections caused by resistant strains of Acinetobacter baumannii are now a global problem that requires the immediate development of new antimicrobial drugs. Combination therapy is one of the strategies used to solve this problem. Based on this information, the purpose of this study was to determine whether quercetin (QUE), in combination with three antibiotics, is effective against colistin-resistant A. baumannii strains (ColR-Ab). The effects of the combination of QUE with colistin (COL), amikacin (AMK), and meropenem (MEM) were evaluated according to the checkerboard synergy test. The combinations of QUE + COL and QUE + AMK showed synergistic activity on ColR-Ab strains with FICI values in the range of 0.1875–0.5 and 0.1875–0.2825, respectively. A 4- to 16-fold decrease in COL MIC and a 16- to 64-fold decrease in AMK MIC values were detected. Synergistic activity was confirmed by the time-kill test, and these combinations were found to be bactericidal at the end of 24 h. According to spectrophotometric measurements, the combinations of QUE + COL and QUE + AMK induced membrane damage, leading to the leakage of nucleic acids. Cell lysis and cell death were confirmed with SEM observations. The detected synergy offers an opportunity for the future development of treatment strategies for potential infections caused by ColR-Ab strains