Cloning of anti-hbsag single chain variable fragments from hybridoma cells for one-step elisa

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a worldwide health problem. More than 400 million people are chronic HBV carriers in the world. Infected individuals are at a high risk of developing liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma as the main consequences of HBV. The discoveries of fast diagnostic systems and new therapeutic applications are crucial in the fight against viral hepatitis. In this paper we present the generation of a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) from a mouse monoclonal antibody specific to the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and demonstrate its expression as a bacterial alkaline phosphatase (AP) fusion protein. In this study, we constructed scFvs from hybridoma cells expressing HBsAg-specific antibody using phage display technology and expressed them in Escherichia coli. The anti-HBsAg scFvs were inserted into pQE-2 vector to produce scFv antibody genetically fused to bacterial AP. Reproducibility of the recombinant HBsAg-scFv fusion protein was tested using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Present preliminary findings indicate that the anti-HBsAg-scFv AP conjugate could be further used for the development of one-step ELISA for the detection of HBV

The fate of abstracts presented at Turkish national radiology congresses in 2010-2012

PURPOSEThis study aims to evaluate the analysis and publication rates of abstracts presented at the Turkish National Radiology meetings in 2010–2012.METHODSAbstracts presented in the national radiology meetings of 2010, 2011, and 2012 were included in the study. The presentations were classified according to presentation type (oral or poster presentations), study type, study design, imaged organ or body systems, imaging modalities, time interval between the presentation and the publication date, and the journal in which the article was published. The conversion rate of presentations into full-text articles in peer-reviewed journals were surveyed through PubMed. The time from presentation in the meetings to publication was determined. The distribution of journals was also demonstrated.RESULTSThe total number of presentations submitted in three national radiology meetings was 3,192. The publication rate was 11% for the 2010 meeting, 8.2% for the 2011 meeting, and 9.6% for the 2012 meeting. A total of 300 papers were published, with an average of 15 months (range, 0–42 months) between presentation and final publication. The first three refereed international journals with the most number of papers derived from these meetings were Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Clinical Imaging, and European Journal of Radiology.CONCLUSIONThe overall publication rate of scientific abstracts from Turkey was lower than those from overseas countries. Encouraging the authors to conduct higher-quality research would raise the publication rate as well as improve the quality and success of our scientific meetings

Evaluation of nutritional status in pediatric intensive care unit patients: the results of a multicenter, prospective study in Turkey

IntroductionMalnutrition is defined as a pathological condition arising from deficient or imbalanced intake of nutritional elements. Factors such as increasing metabolic demands during the disease course in the hospitalized patients and inadequate calorie intake increase the risk of malnutrition. The aim of the present study is to evaluate nutritional status of patients admitted to pediatric intensive care units (PICU) in Turkey, examine the effect of nutrition on the treatment process and draw attention to the need for regulating nutritional support of patients while continuing existing therapies.Material and MethodIn this prospective multicenter study, the data was collected over a period of one month from PICUs participating in the PICU Nutrition Study Group in Turkey. Anthropometric data of the patients, calorie intake, 90-day mortality, need for mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay and length of stay in intensive care unit were recorded and the relationship between these parameters was examined.ResultsOf the 614 patients included in the study, malnutrition was detected in 45.4% of the patients. Enteral feeding was initiated in 40.6% (n = 249) of the patients at day one upon admission to the intensive care unit. In the first 48 h, 86.82% (n = 533) of the patients achieved the target calorie intake, and 81.65% (n = 307) of the 376 patients remaining in the intensive care unit achieved the target calorie intake at the end of one week. The risk of mortality decreased with increasing upper mid-arm circumference and triceps skin fold thickness Z-score (OR = 0.871/0.894; p = 0.027/0.024). The risk of mortality was 2.723 times higher in patients who did not achieve the target calorie intake at first 48 h (p = 0.006) and the risk was 3.829 times higher in patients who did not achieve the target calorie intake at the end of one week (p = 0.001). The risk of mortality decreased with increasing triceps skin fold thickness Z-score (OR = 0.894; p = 0.024).ConclusionTimely and appropriate nutritional support in critically ill patients favorably affects the clinical course. The results of the present study suggest that mortality rate is higher in patients who fail to achieve the target calorie intake at first 48 h and day seven of admission to the intensive care unit. The risk of mortality decreases with increasing triceps skin fold thickness Z-score

THE RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES IN PATHWAY TO MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER (MDD) AND ITS IMPACT ON THE RECEIPT OF MDD TREATMENT

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is the third leading cause of death in the US and has long-term negative impact on adolescents such as failure at school, substance abuse, and adult depression [1-4]. It affects approximately 8% of adolescents every year [5, 6]. Early identification and receipt of quality treatment are paramount for prognosis. However, 50% of pediatric MDD patients are not identified before they reach adulthood, and most children and adolescents with MDD do not receive treatment [7-9]. Racial/ethnic disparity in access to mental health care has been well-documented [10-12]. Studies using both national and regional samples found that white children were at least two times more likely to receive needed mental health services (including specialty care), and 35-85% more likely to receive a prescription compared to minorities [13-17]. The literature also suggested that minority children and adolescents were less likely to receive adequate mental health treatment than their white counterparts. In a randomized control trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), only 72% of the 111 adolescents continued treatment for 12 weeks [15]. Among children and adolescents receiving pharmacotherapy, more than 60% discontinued antidepressant medication before reaching 12 weeks,[7-9] and only 15% had a follow-up visit during the first three months of the antidepressant treatment [10]. Research attention has gradually shifted towards understanding how racial/ethnic disparities emerge in structure and process of care. An earlier study reported that not having a usual source of care explained a significant portion of disparity [18]. Another study using an adult sample reported that the type of provider who first identified cancer patients determined the course of care and the subsequent treatment patients received [19]. Primary Care Providers (PCP), Social Workers/Psychologists (SWP) and Psychiatrists (PSY) are the health care providers who primarily identify and treat MDD in children and adolescents. It remains unknown whether the type of provider who identifies youth with MDD has any impact on the subsequent care steps and whether it contributes to the racial and ethnic disparities in receiving adequate quality of MDD care. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the racial/ethnic disparity in access and quality of MDD treatment and how access to certain type of provider impacts this disparity. Specifically, the objectives for each manuscript were: MANUSCRIPT I) 1) To characterize the cascade of the delivery steps children and adolescents went through from a new MDD diagnosis to the treatment initiation; and 2) To examine whether the racial and ethnic disparities in receiving follow up care and MDD treatment could be explained by the type of provider who first identified the MDD cases. MANUSCRIPT II) 1) To quantify the racial disparity in quality of pediatric MDD treatment; and 2) To examine the contribution of mental health specialist access to the disparities. Hispanics and Blacks were less likely to receive any MDD treatment as compared to Whites (OR: 0.80, 95%CI: 0.70-0.90, and 0.81, 0.70-0.90, respectively). Patients identified by PCPs [PCP-OR(95%CI):0.54 (0.4-0.7)] and SWP [PCP-OR(95%CI):0.17 (0.1-0.2)] were less likely to receive treatment compared to PSY-identified patients. However, identifying provider did not have an impact on racial/ethnic disparity of receiving any MDD treatment. In contrast, disparity in receiving psycho-pharmacotherapy is affected by the type of identifying provider. Hispanics were less likely to receive prescription treatment than Whites when identified by PCP (OR: 0.53, 95%CI: 0.40-0.80) or SWP (OR: 0.73, 95%CI: 0.60-0.80). The same disparity was not found in PSY identified youth. Similar to access to treatment, there was also racial/ethnic disparity in receipt of quality treatment. Hispanics and Blacks were less likely to receive adequate treatment as compared to Whites (OR: 0.67, 95%CI: 0.60-0.80, and 0.66, 95%CI: 0.60-0.80), but adequate monitoring was not statistically significantly different between racial/ethnic groups. Although type of identification of provider did not impact the racial/ethnic disparity in treatment completion, it was associated with improved medication related monitoring. Youth identified by PCP were 39% less likely to receive adequate monitoring compared to PSY identified patients [OR (95%CI): 0.61 (0.5-0.8)]. This study is the first that reports the positive association between access to child and adolescent psychiatrists and the access to pediatric MDD treatment. Although improved access to mental health specialists did not prevent racial/ethnic disparities in access and completion of treatment, it improved the overall treated rates, and was found to be associated with reduction in racial/ethnic disparities in accessing and monitoring of psycho-pharmacotherapy.Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy, Department o

Maritime Logistics

In the literature, mostly, under the heading of maritime logistics, classical sea transportation issues have been studied. In actual fact, with broader scope, maritime logistics is a different field under the logistics theme and sea transportation is just one of the functions that must be carried effectively and in an integrated manner with other logistics functions. This chapter focuses on the maritime logistics functions which were selected by the authors in accordance with the gap in the literature, namely transportation and traffic management, inventory management, demand forecasting, material handling, and packaging and labelling. In addition to the maritime logistics functions; port logistics, green maritime logistics and decision problems in maritime logistics topics are handled deeply with the aim of completing the skeleton of the maritime logistics concept by which an understanding of the clear definition of maritime logistics can be achieved. The practitioners can gain more integrated and holistic viewpoint about maritime logistics with the help of this chapter.</jats:p

Ranking of Responsible Automotive Manufacturers According to Sustainability Reports Using PROMETHEE and VIKOR Methods

Industrial activities and road transportation are the main contributors to air quality degradation and resource depletion. The automotive sector, which is one of the main players of the manufacturing industry and the supplier of road transport demand, is considered one of the most prominent symbols of pollution. Therefore, the issue of sustainability in the automotive industry is critical as it poses a wide range of challenges and negative externalities on the environment and society. This study aims to present a list of responsible consumption and production dimensions in line with the 12th United Nations Sustainable Development Goal and to rank the auto and auto part manufacturers in the Fortune Global 250. The authors use content analysis and text mining to identify 13 dimensions underlying responsible consumption and production. They then weigh each dimension according to the preferences of the experts using Delphi and the Analytical Hierarchy Process. After examining the dimensions in the sustainability reports of the selected companies, they rank them using the PROMETHEE and VIKOR techniques. They also show the robustness of the rankings

City logistics: Problems and recovery proposals

Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.The city logistics is the multidisciplinary science that makes a bridge between both urban freight transportation and sustainability of the cities. It has also focused on various subject matters such as populations, facilities, traffics and logistics activities. If all this dynamic criteria consider, different logistics scheme must be prepared for each city. Cities have to be handled and analysed individually according to their own characteristics. In order to understand the current situation and problems of urban freight transport in Turkey, this paper examines the specific focus on Turkey's third largest city Izmir in terms of city logistics with the eye of logistics service providers. A qualitative approach was used and unstructured interviews with subject matter experts were conducted to gain general insight into how logistics service providers perceive the problems in city logistics in Izmir and the solutions they propose. Regarding the gap between theory and practice, this study would be valuable for future research in city logistics studies and the results of the study would be a practical tool for decision makers in their city logistics planning process

Investigating the effects of barriers and challenges on Logistics 4.0 in the era of evolving digital technology

PurposeThis study aims to reveal and prioritize the main barriers and challenges in front of the Logistics 4.0 transformation, which is the extension of Industry 4.0. Also, this study presents a roadmap for a company operating in developing countries to reduce and eliminate challenges and hurdles for each link in their supply chain.Design/methodology/approachA two-stage methodology was used in this study. First, a detailed literature review was conducted to identify the barriers to innovations compatible with Industry 4.0. Hence, barriers have been identified, including nine from the literature review. The best-worst method (BWM) is then used to determine these barriers' weights and order of importance. To implement BWM, two-stage e-surveys are applied to experts.FindingsThe Managerial and Economic Challenges dimension is the most important, and Regulatory and social challenges is the least essential dimension among the main dimension. Moreover, financial constraints or capitals are the most critical barriers among the sub-barriers. This study gives the reader a comprehensive insight into how detected barriers affect digitalization performance. Therefore, this framework is a roadmap designed with a holistic view to guide manufacturers, logistics parties and even policy and decision-makers.Originality/valueTheoretically and empirically identifies the potential barriers and challenges in the digital transformation of logistics is already missing at the desired level. From this point of view, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first research that determines barriers based on the Logistics 4.0 model with an industrial perspective. One of the most important limitations of this study is that a total of nine dimensions were examined under only three basic barriers. Different alternatives can be identified for future studies.Managemen

Seaport Business Actions to Ensure Clean and Affordable Energy

Many different sectors are obliged to implement the 17 goals established by the United Nations General Assembly, both for their own life cycles and for the future of our world. Each goal has its own goals and plans. Although different applications are made for these targets on a sectoral basis, a common language must be developed for each target. In this study, the 7th goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the goal of providing access to economic, sustainable and clean energy for everyone, was emphasized. In the study, the maritime transport sector, which has a large share in the logistics sector in terms of both economic and environmental damage, has been selected. In this context, the sustainability, environment, corporate social responsibility and annual reports of the 33 biggest European ports with a gross weight handling volume were examined in line with the SDG 7 target and a content analysis was made on these reports. According to the results of the analysis, the contribution and approach of Europe's largest ports to Clean and Affordable Energy, the 7th sustainable development goal of the United Nations, emerged.Green & Sustainable Science & Technology || Engineering, Environmental || Operations Research & Management Scienc