Investigation of experimental research on the low velocity impact damage behavior of ncf composite plates – COMPLAS XII

In this study an experimental investigation is performed on the impact response of non-crimp fabric composite plates at room temperature. Chopped strand mat combi is used as reinforcing material and two kinds of matrix; epoxy and polyester, are also used as resin material in the composite plates. All specimens used in experiments are manufactured by vacuum assisted resin infusion method at Atard Defence and Aerospace Advanced Technology Application Research and Development Inc. An instrumented drop weight impact testing machine Instron-Dynatup 9250 HV is used for impact testing. Impact tests are performed under various impact energies ranging from initiation of damage to final perforation. Damage processes of the samples are analyzed from cross-examining load– deflection curves, energy profiling method and damaged specimens

A case of pancreatic cancer with concomitant median arcuate ligament syndrome treated successfully using an allograft arterial transposition

An association of pancreatic cancer and median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a rare and challenging situation in terms of treatment. A 60-year-old man diagnosed with pancreatic cancer underwent laparotomy. A pancreaticoduodenectomy was planned, but during the resection part of the operation, a celiac artery stenosis was noticed. The patient was diagnosed with MALS causing almost total celiac artery occlusion, with no radiological solution. The patient was re-operated the next day, and an iliac artery allograft was used for aorta-proper hepatic artery reconstruction, concomitant with the total pancreaticoduodenectomy. Preoperative meticulous evaluation of vascular structures of the celiac trunk and its branches is important, especially in pancreatic surgery. A vascular allograft may be a lifesaving alternative when vascular reconstruction is necessary

Plasma Levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha and Interleukin-6 in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Aim. Recent research implicated place of an immune mechanism in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Despite increasing evidence involvement of cytokine release in OCD, results of the studies are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the plasma levels of the cytokines; tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in OCD patients. Methods. Plasma concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 were measured in 31 drug-free outpatients with OCD, and 31-year age and sex-matched healthy controls. TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations in blood were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. Both TNF-α and IL-6 levels showed statistically significant increases in OCD patients compared to controls (P < .000, P < .001, resp.). In addition, the age of onset was negatively correlated with TNF-α level (r = −.402, P = .025) and duration of illness was weakly correlated with IL-6 levels (r : .357; P : .048) in patients group. Conclusion. OCD patients showed increases in TNF-α and IL-6 levels compared to the healthy controls. This study provides evidence for alterations in the proinflamatory cytokines which suggest the involvement of the immune system in the pathophysiology of OCD

Optimizing the mix design of cold bitumen emulsion mixtures using response surface methodology

Cold mix asphalt (CMA) has been increasingly recognized as an important alternative worldwide. One of the common types of CMA is cold bitumen emulsion mixture (CBEM). In the present study, the optimization of CBEM has been investigated, to determine optimum proportions to gain suitable levels of both mechanical and volumetric properties. A central composite design (CCD) with response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the mix design parameters, namely bitumen emulsion content (BEC), pre-wetting water content (PWC) and curing temperature (CT). This work aimed to investigate the interaction effect between these parameters on the mechanical and volumetric properties of CBEMs. The indirect tensile stiffness modulus (ITSM) and indirect tensile strength (ITS) tests were performed to obtain the mechanical response while air voids and dry density were measured to obtain volumetric responses. The results indicate that the interaction of BEC, PWC and CT influences the mechanical properties of CBEM. However, the PWC tended to influence the volumetric properties more significantly than BEC. The individual effects of BEC and PWC are important, rather than simply total fluid content which is used in conventional mix design method. Also, the results show only limited variation in optimum mix design proportions (BEC and PWC) over a range of CT from 10oC to 30oC. The variation range for optimum BEC was 0.42% and 0.20% for PWC. Furthermore, the experimental results for the optimum mix design were corresponded well with model predictions. It was concluded that optimization using RSM is an effective approach for mix design of CBEMs

Intraoperative Conversion to ALPPS in a Case of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Background. Surgical resection remains the best treatment option for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). Two-stage liver resection combining in situ liver transection with portal vein ligation (ALPPS) has been described as a promising method to increase the resectability of liver tumors also in the case of ICC. Presentation of Case. A 46-year-old male patient presented with an ICC-typical lesion in the right liver. The indication for primary liver resection was set and planed as a right hepatectomy. In contrast to the preoperative CT-scan, the known lesion showed further progression in a macroscopically steatotic liver. Therefore, the decision was made to perform an ALPPS-procedure to avoid an insufficient future liver remnant (FLR). The patient showed an uneventful postoperative course after the first and second step of the ALPPS-procedure, with sufficient increase of the FLR. Unfortunately, already 2.5 months after resection the patient had developed new tumor lesions found by the follow-up CT-scan. Discussion. The presented case demonstrates that an intraoperative conversion to an ALPPS-procedure is safely applicable when the FLR surprisingly seems to be insufficient. Conclusion. ALPPS should also be considered a treatment option in well-selected patients with ICC. However, the experience concerning the outcome of ALPPS in case of ICC remains fairly small

Hybrid EEFIT mission to february 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence

The southwestern part of Türkiye was hit on 6 February 2023 by an Mw 7.8 (epicentre:Pazarcık) and then an Mw 7.5 earthquake (epicentre: Elbistan). The event was followed by tensof thousands of aftershocks including the Mw 6.3 event on 20 February (epicentre: Uzunbağ).This paper reports on the preliminary findings of the mission organised by the UK’s EarthquakeEngineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) to the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake sequence ofFebruary 2023. This mission followed a hybrid model, combining field and remote investigationtechniques, to investigate the characteristics of the earthquake sequence, its impact on buildingsand infrastructure, as well as the efficacy of relief, response and recovery operations. The keymessages include that the building stock is hard to categorise which brings along difficulties withdamage assessment, that the recovery and reconstruction require multi-sectoral engagement ofkey stakeholders, and that the auditing and quality control mechanisms within the constructionindustry need revisiting in the way forward for better disaster resilience in Türkiye

The Türki̇ye earthquake sequence of February 2023: A longitudinal study report by EEFIT

On 6 February 2023 at 4:17 am local time, a large area in southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria was hit by an Mw 7.8 earthquake, which was followed by an Mw 7.5 earthquake at 1:24 pm local time, causing the loss of more than 50,000 lives, some 100,000 injuries and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure, estimated to be in the range of 84.1 billion USD for Türkiye alone. The largest earthquake in Türkiye since the deadly 1939 Erzincan earthquake with however much larger losses, the sequence immediately attracted the attention of the global post-disaster reconnaissance/engineering communities. This included the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), who, within one week of the event, gathered a team with 30 people from academia and industry in the UK (19), Türkiye (5), New Zealand (1), Hungary (1), Bulgaria (1), Greece (1) and USA (1) with two support members from the UK and the Netherlands, to study the events and their impacts, and also to develop suggestions to reduce the existing vulnerabilities in the future. The team was organised in the form of 6 working groups as shown below, which were (1) strong ground motions and seismotectonics, (2) geotechnics, (3) structures, (4) infrastructure, (5) remote sensing and (6) relief response and recovery

Phagocytic ability of neutrophils and monocytes in neonates

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infections by a variety of pathogens are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality during perinatal period. The susceptibility of neonates to bacterial infections has been attributed to immaturity of innate immunity. It is considered that one of the impaired mechanisms is the phagocytic function of neutrophils and monocytes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the phagocytic ability of neonates at birth.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The phagocytic ability of neutrophils and monocytes of 42 neonates was determined using the Phagotest flow cytometry method, that assesses the intake of <it>E. Coli </it>by phagocytes, in cord blood and in peripheral blood 3 days after birth. Fifteen healthy adults were included in the study as controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The phagocytic ability of neutrophils in the cord blood of neonates was significantly reduced compared to adults. The 3^rdpostnatal day the reduction of phagocytic ability of neutrophils was no longer significant compared to adults. The phagocytic ability of monocytes did not show any difference from that of adults either at birth or the 3^rdpostnatal day.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings indicate that the intake of <it>E. Coli </it>by phagocytes is impaired at birth in both preterm and full term neonates compared to adults. This defect is transient, with the phagocytic ability in neonates reaching that of the adults 3 days after birth.</p

Wnt signalling in human breast cancer: expression of the putative Wnt inhibitor Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) is frequently suppressed by promoter hypermethylation in mammary tumours

INTRODUCTION: Expression of the putative Wnt signalling inhibitor Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) is frequently lost in human cancer tissues because of aberrant 5'-cytosine methylation within the DKK3 gene promoter. Since other Wnt signalling inhibitors have been reported to be targets of epigenetic inactivation in human breast cancer, we questioned if DKK3 expression is also epigenetically silenced during breast carcinogenesis and therefore might contribute to oncogenic Wnt signalling commonly found in this disease. METHODS: DKK3 mRNA expression and DKK3 promoter methylation were determined by RT-PCR, realtime PCR and methylation-specific PCR in breast cell lines (n = 9), normal breast tissues (n = 19) and primary breast carcinomas (n = 150), respectively. In vitro DNA demethylation was performed by incubating breast cell lines with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine and trichostatin A. DKK3 protein expression was analysed by immunohistochemistry in breast carcinomas (n = 16) and normal breast tissues (n = 8). Methylation data were statistically correlated with clinical patient characteristics. All statistical evaluations were performed with SPSS 14.0 software. RESULTS: DKK3 mRNA was downregulated in 71% (five of seven) of breast cancer cell lines and in 68% of primary breast carcinomas (27 of 40) compared with benign cell lines and normal breast tissues, respectively. A DNA demethylating treatment of breast cell lines resulted in strong induction of DKK3 mRNA expression. In tumourous breast tissues, DKK3 mRNA downregulation was significantly associated with DKK3 promoter methylation (p < 0.001). Of the breast carcinomas, 61% (92 of 150) revealed a methylated DKK3 promoter, whereas 39% (58 of 150) retained an unmethylated promoter. Loss of DKK3 expression in association with DKK3 promoter methylation (p = 0.001) was also confirmed at the protein level (p < 0.001). In bivariate analysis, DKK3 promoter methylation was not associated with investigated clinicopathological parameters except patient age (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: DKK3 mRNA expression and consequently DKK3 protein expression become frequently downregulated during human breast cancer development due to aberrant methylation of the DKK3 promoter. Since DKK3 is thought to negatively regulate oncogenic Wnt signalling, DKK3 may be a potential tumour suppressor gene in normal breast tissue