The Effect of Virtual Reality and Prediction in Visual Field Test Görme Alani Testinde Sanal Gerçeklik ve Öngörmenin Etkisi

Visual field testing is the gold standard for evaluating a patient's visual field. Visual field testing is required for monitoring and diagnosis of several disorders, including glaucoma, which affects more than 80 million individuals. While the patient is fixated at a certain place, light of various luminosities is sent to fixed locations, and the sensitivities to light at each position are calculated by recording the patient's responses to observed stimuli. Virtual reality headsets have just begun to be used to conduct visual field assessments due to their design and digital displays. However, because the testing takes so long, patients become fatigued, which reduces cooperation and test accuracy. It also restricts the number of tests a clinic may do in a single day. The number of testable point locations is expanded using a digital screen in this article, and the effect of selecting an optimal subset of sites, which is discovered using a reinforcement learning approach to reduce test length, is studied. In addition, the impact of employing predicted future visual field test results in testing on the test time is compared to traditional testing procedures

Enhanced hydrophilicity and mechanical robustness of polysulfone nanofiber membranes by addition of polyethyleneimine and Al2O3 nanoparticles

A novel hydrophilic and mechanically robust polysulfone (PSF) nanofiber membrane (NFM) was prepared by electrospinning of a PSF solution blended with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and Al2O3 nanoparticles. The influence of PEI and Al2O3 nanoparticles concentration on the NFM characteristics was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared FT-IR spectroscopy, porosity, water contact angle measurement, and tensile strength test. Filtration performance of the nanofiber membranes (NFMs) were evaluated by the measurement of pure water flux (PWF) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection tests. According to the results, blending PSF solution with 2 wt.% PEI and 0.05 wt.% Al2O3 nanoparticles resulted in formation of NFMs with high porosity and increased mechanical strength, which exhibited a low water contact angle of 23.5 and high water flux of 28,456 L/m(2) h. On the other hand, incorporation of nanoparticles and PEI in the PSF membrane matrix led to increasing of tensile strength that it was changed from 0.15 to 0.69 for pure PSF and PSF/PEI/Al2O3, respectively. A-24 and 48% BSA rejection performances were obtained by nanoparticle incorporated PSF membranes. In conclusion, the studies strongly suggest that blending with hydrophilic additives of NFMs can enhance the hydrophilicity and mechanical strength of PSF membranes and these NFMs can be effectively used in water based membrane systems. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Investigation of nanomechanical and morphological properties of silane-modified halloysite clay nanotubes reinforced polycaprolactone bio-composite nanofibers by atomic force microscopy

There is remarkable interest in the fabrication of polymeric composite nano/micro-fibers by electrospinning for many applications ranging from bioengineering to water/air filtration. In almost all of these applications, the mechanical properties of both the polymer fibers and their assemblies, are significant. In this study, unmodified, 3-Glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) or 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) modified halloysite clay nanotube (HNT) reinforced polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were successfully synthesized via the electrospinning. The morphology and mechanical features of the obtained electrospun fibers were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and AFM-based nanoindentation for single fibers in nanoscale, respectively. Besides, scanning electron microscopy and tensile strength tests were used to investigate whole fibrous structures in microscale. The AFMresults, accompanied by SEM and tensile strength, support the conclusion that silane-modification affected positively the morphology and mechanical characteristics of electrospun PCL nanofibers. Therefore, it was concluded that the morphological and mechanical features from the single fibers in the nanofiber mats were related to the whole fibrous structure

Çocukluk Çağı Hematüri Olgularında Etiyolojik Nedenlerin İncelenmesi

Background: Hematuria is an important and common sign of urinary system diseases in children. Careful assessment is needed for definitive diagnosis and appropriate management. In this study we aimed to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who were admitted to our pediatric nephrology clinic with hematuria and to determine the features that will guide the diagnosis. Methods: Medical charts of 370 patients who were referred to our clinic in a period of four years with gross or microscopic hematuria were evaluated retrospectively. Demographical data, clinical and laboratory findings, imaging modalities and diagnosis of the patients were investigated. Findings: Of the patients 195 (52.7 %) were boys and 175 (47.3%) were girls and the majority of the patients were in the age group of 6-10 years. Major presenting feature was red colored urine (64.1 %). Non-glomerular causes were found to be significantly higher among patients with macroscopic hematuria (p=0.002). Acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis formed the majority of glomerular hematuria and urinary system infections formed the majority of non-glomerular hematuria causes respectively. Conclusions: This study suggests that a careful history, detailed physical examination and clinical evaluation may elucidate the etiology in the majority of the patients with hematuria. Advanced imaging modalities and renal biopsy are indicated only in selected cases.Amaç: Hematüri çocuklarda üriner sistem hastalıklarının önemli bir bulgusudur. Altta yatan ciddi hastalıkların belirtisi olabileceğinden ayırıcı tanı için dikkatli bir değerlendirme ve iyi bir klinik yaklaşım gerektirmektedir. Bu çalışmada pediatrik nefroloji kliniğimize hematüri nedeni ile başvuran hastaların demografik ve klinik özelliklerinin incelenmesi ve tanıya yol gösterecek özelliklerin belirlenmesi amaçlandı. Hastalar ve Yöntem: Bu çalışma, kliniğimizde makroskopik ve/veya mikroskopik hematüri nedeniyle izlenmiş olan 370 hastanın dosyası retrospektif olarak değerlendirilerek gerçekleştirildi. Hastaların demografik verileri,l aboratuar sonuçları ve klinik bulguları, görüntüleme tetkikleri ve nihai tanıları araştırıldı. Bulgular: Hastaların 195’i (%52.7) erkek, 175 (%47.7)’si kızdı ve çoğunluğu 6-10 yaş grubunda yer almaktaydı. Hastaların 234 ‘ü (%63.2) makroskopik hematüri ile başvururken , 44’ünde (%15.3) glomerüler hematüri saptandı. Makroskopik hematüri grubunda non-glomerular nedenler anlamlı olarak yüksek bulundu. Glomerüler hematüri nedenleri arasında ülkemizde halen yaygın olarak saptanan akut poststreptokokkal glomerülonefrit (APSGN), non glomerüler nedenlerden de üriner sistem enfeksiyonu en yüksek oranda görülen hastalıkları oluşturmaktaydı. Tartışma: Bu çalışma dikkatli bir öykü, ayrıntılı fizik muayene ve klinik değerlendirme ile hematüri ile başvuran hastaların büyük çoğunluğunda etiyolojinin aydınlatılabileceğini göstermektedir. İleri görüntüleme tetkikleri ve renal biyopsi sadece seçilmiş vakalarda endikedir

A role of the endothelial nitric oxide system in acute renal colic caused by ureteral stone

Background and aims: Endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphisms play a role in some pathophysiological processes. In this study, the possible effects of endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphisms on ureteral stone disease in patients who were admitted to the emergency department with severe pain due to renal colic are examined

Comparison of Laparoscopic and Open Ureterolysis for Retroperitoneal Fibrosis: Results from a Tertiary Referral Center

Objectives: To compare the surgical outcomes of open and laparoscopic ureterolysis procedures in patients requiring surgical treatment for ureteral obstruction caused by retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF).Materials: This study was designed retrospectively. The clinical records of patients who underwent ureterolysis between January 2005 and April 2019 because of ureteral obstruction caused by RPF were examined. According to the type of surgery, the patients were divided into two groups as Group 1 (open ureterolysis) and Group 2 (laparoscopic ureterolysis). Demographic features, preoperative-postoperative renal functions, duration of follow-up with ureteral stents, and perioperative-postoperative complications were examined. The requirement of ureteral stent placement during the follow-up period was accepted as unsuccessful ureterolysis.Results: Ureterolysis was performed in 13 patients and 23 renal units. Eleven of these patients were men and two were women. The median age of the patients was 54 (44-68) years. There were six patients and 12 renal units in Group 1 and seven patients and 11 renal units in Group 2. Postoperatively, a total of four patients (30%) had minor complications (Clavien-Dindo 1-2) and one patient had a major complication (Clavien-Dindo 3a). Ureterolysis was determined to be effective in 21 of the renal units (91%) [11/12 (92%) in Group 1 vs 10/11 (91%) in Group 2]. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the success and complication rates (p = 1 and p = 0.529, respectively). Postoperative hospitalization length and recovery time to return to normal preoperative activities were significantly shorter in Group 2 than in Group 1 (p = 0.011 and p = 0.041, respectively).Conclusions: The success and complication rates were similar between the open and laparoscopic methods for ureterolysis. Laparoscopic approach was advantageous over open approach in terms of postoperative hospitalization length and recovery time to return to normal preoperative activities