Laboratory performance of x-ray detector on 2U cubesat beeaglesat

A CdZnTe based semiconductor X-ray detector (XRD) and its associated readout electronics has been developed by the Space Systems Design and Testing Laboratory of Istanbul Technical University and the High Energy Astrophysics Detector Laboratory of Sabanci University along with an SME partner. The XRD will be the secondary science mission on board BeEagleSat, which is developed as one of the double CubeSats for the QB50 project. QB50 is a European Framework 7 project carried out by a number of international organizations led by the von Karman Institute of Belgium. The heart of the XRD is a 2.5 mm thick, 15 mm x 15 mm CdZnTe crystal with orthogonal electrode strips on top and bottom for position resolution on the crystal. There are 3 sets of steering electrodes in between anodes. A commercial off the shelf (COTS) high voltage source provides necessary potential difference to transport electrons and holes towards electrodes. The signals from each strip are read by a COTS ASIC, RENA-3b, controlled my MSP 430. The XRD board (single ~10 cm x 10 cm board) also carries the necessary power regulators and 7 COTS batteries. In a previous paper presented at the IAC 2014, we discussed the main design of the XRD and provided results from some of the early vibration tests of the mechanical design. At the time, the CdZnTe crystal has not been attached, and the readout electronics and software were still in development phase. In this paper, we present the laboratory performance of the electronic readout system and discuss the current phase of the XRD development

Development and in orbit testing of an x ray detector within a 2U cubesat

A CdZnTe based semiconductor X-ray detector (XRD) and its associated readout electronics is developed by the Space Systems Design Laboratory of Istanbul Technical University and High Energy Astrophysics Detector Laboratory of Sabanci University along with an SME partner. The detector will utilize 30 orthogonal cross strip electrodes (and 3 steering electrodes in between anodes) whose geometry is optimized by an extensive set of simulations and energy resolution measurements. The signals will be read by RENA 3b ASIC controlled by MSP 430 microcontroller. The system will have its own battery and will be turned on intermittently due to power constraints. CdZnTe based X-ray detectors have been utilized in space, but they are either pixellated (NuStar), or they consist of many individual crystal pieces (BAT in Swift satellite). The aim of the XRD is to show that large volume crystals with orthogonal strips are viable alternatives, especially for small satellite systems with medium energy resolution requirement. XRD will also characterize the hard X-ray background in 20-200 keV at low Earth orbit conditions as a function of altitude. Due to power and telemetry constraints, the individual events will be corrected for hole trapping on-board, histogrammed, and only the X-ray spectra will be transmitted to the ground station along with a small set of raw data for diagnostic purposes. The XRD is planned to travel into space, as a secondary science mission, on board BeEaglesat which is a 2U CubeSat developed as one of the possible double (2U) CubeSats for the QB50 project. QB50 is a European Framework 7 (FP7) project carried out by a number of international organizations led by the von Karman Institute of Belgium. Its main scientific objective is to study in situ the temporal and spatial variations of a number of key constituents and parameters in the lower thermosphere with a network of about 50 double and triple CubeSats, separated by few hundred kilometers and carrying a determined set of sensors

Neurologic Adverse Events Associated with Voriconazole Therapy: Report of Two Pediatric Cases

Although voriconazole, a triazole antifungal, is a safe drug, treatment with this agent is associated with certain adverse events such as hepatic, neurologic, and visual disturbances. The current report presents two cases, one a 9-year-old boy and the other a 17-year-old girl, who experienced neurologic side effects associated with voriconazole therapy. Our aim is to remind readers of the side effects of voriconazole therapy in order to prevent unnecessary investigations especially for psychological and ophthalmologic problems. The first case was a 9-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis and invasive aspergillosis that developed photophobia, altered color sensation, and fearful visual hallucination. The second case was a 17-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and she experienced photophobia, fatigue, impaired concentration, and insomnia, when the dose of voriconazole therapy was increased from 12 mg/kg/day to 16 mg/kg/day. The complaints of the two patients disappeared after discontinuation of voriconazole therapy. Our experience in these patients reminded us of the importance of being aware of the neurologic adverse events associated with voriconazole therapy in establishing early diagnosis and initiating prompt treatment. In addition, although serum voriconazole concentration was not measured in the present cases, therapeutic drug monitoring for voriconazole seems to be critically important in preventing neurologic side effects in pediatric patients

Gastrostomy in hospitalized patients with acute stroke: "NoroTek" Turkey point prevalence study subgroup analysis

Objective: Nutritional status assessment, dysphagia evaluation and enteral feeding decision are important determinants of prognosis in acute neurovascular diseases. Materials and Methods: NöroTek is a point prevalence study conducted with the participation of 87 hospitals spread across all health sub regions of Turkey conducted on 10-May-2018 (World Stroke Awareness Day). A total of 972 hospitalized neurovascular patients [female: 53%, age: 69±14; acute ischemic stroke in 845; intracerebral hematoma (ICH) in 119 and post-resuscitation encephalopathy (PRE) in 8] with complete data were included in this sub-study. Results: Gastrostomy was inserted in 10.7% of the patients with ischemic stroke, 10.1% of the patients with ICH and in 50% of the patients with PRE. Independent predictors of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) administration were The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score at admission [exp (β): 1.09 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-1.14, per point] in ischemic stroke; and mechanical ventilation in ischemic [exp (β): 6.18 (95% CI: 3.16-12.09)] and hemorrhagic strokes [exp (β): 26.48 (95% CI: 1.36-515.8)]. PEG was found to be a significant negative indicator of favorable (modified Rankin’s scale score 0-2) functional outcome [exp (β): 0.032 (95% CI: 0.004-0.251)] but not of in-hospital mortality [exp (β): 1.731 (95% CI: 0.785-3.829)]. Nutritional and swallowing assessments were performed in approximately two-thirds of patients. Of the nutritional assessments 69% and 76% of dysphagia assessments were completed within the first 2 days. Tube feeding was performed in 39% of the patients. In 83.5% of them, tube was inserted in the first 2 days; 28% of the patients with feeding tube had PEG later. Conclusion: The NöroTek study provided the first reliable and large-scale data on key quality metrics of nutrition practice in acute stroke in Turkey. In terms of being economical and accurate it makes sense to use the point prevalence method.Amaç: Akut nörovasküler hastalıklarda nütrisyonel durum ve disfaji değerlendirmesi ve enteral beslenme kararı önemli prognoz belirleyicilerindendir. Gereç ve Yöntem: NöroTek, 10 Mayıs 2018’de (Dünya İnme Farkındalık Günü) Türkiye’nin tüm sağlık alt bölgelerine yayılmış 87 hastanenin katılımıyla gerçekleştirilen bir nokta prevalans çalışmasıdır. Hastanede yatan ve bu alt çalışma için toplanan verisi tam olan toplam 972 nörovasküler hasta (kadın: %53, yaş: 69±14 yıl; 845’i akut iskemik inme; 119’u intraserebral hematom ve 8’i post-resüsitasyon ensefalopatisi) analiz edildi. Bulgular: Gastrostomi iskemik inmeli hastaların %10,7, intraserebral kanamalıların %10,1 ve post-resusitasyon ensefalopatisi olanların %50’sine uygulanmıştır. Perkütan endoskopik gastrostomi (PEG) gereksiniminin bağımsız belirleyicileri, iskemik inme grubunda kabul NIHSS [exp (β): 1,09, %95 güven aralığı (GA): 1,05-1,14, puan başına] ile hem iskemik hem de hemorajik inmelerde mekanik ventilasyon uygulanmış olmasıdır [iskemik için: exp (β): 6,18, %95 GA: 3,16- 12,09] ve hemorajik inme için: [exp (β): 26,48, 95% GA: 1,36-515,8]. İnme olgularında PEG uygulaması hastane içi mortalite için bağımsız belirleyici değildi [exp (β): 1,731, 95% GA: 0,785-3,829]. Ancak, PEG uygulanmış olması taburculuk esnasında iyi prognoza (modifiye Rankin skoru 0-2) sahip olabilme için anlamlı bir negatif etmen olarak bulundu [exp (β): 0,032, %95 GA: 0,004-0,251]. Hastanede yatan nörovasküler hastaların yaklaşık üçte ikisinde malnütrisyon ve yutma bozukluğu açısından değerlendirme yapılmıştı. Nutrisyonel status değerlendirmesinin %69’u ve disfaji değerlendirmesinin %76’sı ilk 48 saat içinde gerçekleştirilmişti. Tüple enteral nütrisyon uygulama oranı %39’du. Beslenme tüplerinin %83,5’i ilk 2 gün içinde yerleştirilirken beslenme tüpü olan hastaların %28’ine daha sonra PEG açılmıştı. Sonuç: NöroTek çalışması ile Türkiye’de hastanede yatan akut inme hastalarında nutrisyonel uygulamaların temel kalite ölçütlerine ilişkin ilk güvenilir ve büyük ölçekli veri sağlanmıştır. Ekonomik olması ve doğruluğu açısından nokta yaygınlık yönteminin bu tip verilerin temini için daha fazla kullanılması mantıklıdır

Clinical and molecular evaluation of MEFV gene variants in the Turkish population: a study by the National Genetics Consortium

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a monogenic autoinflammatory disorder with recurrent fever, abdominal pain, serositis, articular manifestations, erysipelas-like erythema, and renal complications as its main features. Caused by the mutations in the MEditerranean FeVer (MEFV) gene, it mainly affects people of Mediterranean descent with a higher incidence in the Turkish, Jewish, Arabic, and Armenian populations. As our understanding of FMF improves, it becomes clearer that we are facing with a more complex picture of FMF with respect to its pathogenesis, penetrance, variant type (gain-of-function vs. loss-of-function), and inheritance. In this study, MEFV gene analysis results and clinical findings of 27,504 patients from 35 universities and institutions in Turkey and Northern Cyprus are combined in an effort to provide a better insight into the genotype-phenotype correlation and how a specific variant contributes to certain clinical findings in FMF patients. Our results may help better understand this complex disease and how the genotype may sometimes contribute to phenotype. Unlike many studies in the literature, our study investigated a broader symptomatic spectrum and the relationship between the genotype and phenotype data. In this sense, we aimed to guide all clinicians and academicians who work in this field to better establish a comprehensive data set for the patients. One of the biggest messages of our study is that lack of uniformity in some clinical and demographic data of participants may become an obstacle in approaching FMF patients and understanding this complex disease