Morphological assessment of the stylohyoid complex variations with cone beam computed tomography in a Turkish population

Background: The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the length, thickness, sagittal and transverse angulations and the morphological variations of the stylohyoid complex (SHC), to assess their probable associations with age and gender, and to investigate the prevalence of it in a wide range of a Turkish sub-population by using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and methods: The CBCT images of the 1000 patients were evaluated retrospectively. The length, thickness, sagittal and transverse angulations, morphological variations and ossification degrees of SHC were evaluated on multiplanar reconstructions (MPR) adnd three-dimensional (3D) volume rendering (3DVR) images. The data were analysed statistically by using nonparametric tests, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Student’s t test, c2 test and one-way ANOVA. Statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05. Results: It was determined that 684 (34.2%) of all 2000 SHCs were elongated (> 35 mm). The mean sagittal angle value was measured to be 72.24° and the mean transverse angle value was 70.81°. Scalariform shape, elongated type and nodular calcification pattern have the highest mean age values between the morphological groups, respectively. Calcified outline was the most prevalent calcification pattern in males. There was no correlation between length and the calcification pattern groups while scalariform shape and pseudoarticular type were the longest variations. Conclusions: We observed that as the anterior sagittal angle gets wider, SHC tends to get longer. The most observed morphological variations were linear shape, elongated type and calcified outline pattern. Detailed studies on the classification will contribute to the literature. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 1: 79–89)

The relationship between frontal sinus morphology and skeletal maturation

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between frontal sinus morphology and hand-wrist bone maturation by using postero-anterior (PA) cephalometric radiographs.Materials and methods: The study sample consisted of 220 patients divided into 11 groups based on the hand-wrist radiographs. The right and left maximum height, width and area of the frontal sinus parameters were measured in PA cephalometric radiographs of 220 subjects aged 8–18 years. The hand-wrist skeletal maturation stages were evaluated on the hand-wrist radiographs using the method of Fishman. The Kendall tau-b values were analysed to evaluate the correlation between the hand-wrist skeletal maturation stages and the frontalsinus parameters.Results: The right and left frontal sinus areas and widths were found to be larger in males than in females (p < 0.05). In males, a significant difference was observed in all frontal sinus parameters in different maturation stages (p < 0.001), while a statistically significant correlation was found in females between the left frontal sinus area, right frontal sinus height, right frontal sinus width and different maturation stages (p < 0.05).Conclusions: The relationship between frontal sinus dimensions obtained from PA cephalometric radiographs and hand-wrist maturation stages suggests that frontal sinuses can be used in determining growth and development

Investigation on the effects of titanium diboride particle size on radiation shielding properties of titanium diboride reinforced boron carbide-silicon carbide composites

Composite materials have wide application areas in industry. Boron Carbide is an important material for nuclear technology. Silicon carbide is a candidate material in the first wall and blankets of fusion power plants. Titanium diboride reinforced boron carbide- silicon carbide composites which were produced from different titanium diboride particle sizes and ratios were studied for searching of the behaviour against the gamma ray. Cs-137 gamma radioisotope was used as gamma source in the experiments which has a single gamma-peak at 0.662 MeV. Gamma transmission technique was used for the measurements. The effects of titanium diboride particle size on radiation attenuation of titanium diboride reinforced boron carbide-silicon carbide composites were evaluated in related with gamma transmission and the results of the experiments were interpreted and compared with each other. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2084

Identification of the mandibular landmarks in a pediatric population

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine and compare the reliability to accomplish of common man - dibular landmarks and to determine the incidence of incisive canals, anterior looping, and lingual foramina in children from panoramic and CBCT images. Study Design: Panoramic and CBCT images from 100 children and adolescent patients were randomly selected. In order to grade the visibility of mandibular anatomical landmarks, a four-point rating scale was used. Results: In panoramic images, the mandibular canal could be observed in 92.5% of cases, with good visibility in 12.0%. The mental foramen could be observed in 44.5% of cases, while none had good visibility. Anterior looping of the mental nerve was present in 16.5% of the cases, and none had good visibility. An incisive canal could be identified in 22.5% of cases, with only 1.5% showing good visibility. The lingual foramen could be visualized in 61.0% of cases, with good visibility in 6%. In CBCT images, the mandibular canal, the mental foramen, and the lingual foramen could be observed in 100% of the cases, with good visibility in 51.0%, 98.5%, and 45.0% of cases, respectively. Anterior looping of the mental nerve was present in 26% of cases, with 2% having good visibility. An incisive canal could be identified in 49.5% of cases, with only 75% showing good visibility. Conclusions: This study confirms the applicability of CBCT images to visualize critical structures in children

Sub-world language modelling for Turkish speech recognition

In large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) for agglutinative languages, we encounter problems due to theoretically infinite full-word lexicon size. Sub-word lexicon units may be utilized to dramatically reduce the out-of-vocabulary rate in test data. One can develop language models based on sub-word units to perform LVCRS. However, it has not always been beneficial to use sub-word lexicon units, since shorter units have higher acoustic confusability among them and language model history is effectively shorter as compared to the history in full-world language models. To reduce the aforementioned problems, we propose using the longest possible sub-word units in our lexicon, namely half-words and full-words only. We also incorporate linguistic rules of half word combination into our statistical language model. The language constraints are represented with a rule -based WFSM, which can be combined with an N-gram language model to yield a better and smaller language model. We study the performance of the proposed system for Turkish LVCRS when the language constraint takes the form of enforcing vowel harmony between stems and endings. We also introduce novel error-rate metrics that are more appropriate than word-error-rate for agglutinative languages. Using half-words with a bi-gram full-word model. In addition, combining a tri-gram half-word language model with the vowel-harmony WFSM significantly improves the accuracy further when re-scoring the bi-gram lattices

Quality of Information on YouTube™ about Rapid Maxillary Expansion

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the content and quality of YouTube™ videos about rapid maxillary expansion (RME).Methods: Videos on YouTube™ were searched using the term “palatal expansion.” After sorting by relevance, the final 100 videos were analyzed for video demographics, primary purpose, information reliability, audiovisual quality, and Global Quality Scale (GQS). Also, viewers’ interaction index and viewing rate formulas were calculated for each YouTube™ video. Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman’s correlation coefficient and Intra-class Correlation Coefficient were used for statistical analyses.Results: YouTube™ videos about palatal expansion were mostly uploaded by patients and their relatives (51%). The reliability of the information in the videos with a GQS value >3 was significantly higher than those with a GQS value ≤3 (4.33 vs. 1.69) (P < .001). There was an excellent correlation between information reliability and GQS in videos uploaded by orthodontists and dentistry professionals (r=0.878, P < .01).Conclusion: YouTube™ is currently not an appropriate source of information about RME for patients. Orthodontists should refer patients to reliable sources of information on social media platforms

SCIENCE TEACHERS' EXPERIENCES IN PREPARING A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECT: AN ACTION RESEARCH

The aim of this study was to investigate the perspectives of science teachers who are pursuing postgraduate studies on their experiences in preparing a research project and to explore the effects of this experience on the participants. In this context, a qualitative research method was employed using an action research design. Seven science teachers who met the research criteria participated, and the research was conducted for 14 weeks during the fall semester. Semi-structured interviews, peer assessment forms, and project evaluation rubrics were used to collect data. The data collected from the interviews were analyzed using content analysis technique. The results indicated that the participants had insufficient knowledge about preparing a research project before the training, but they achieved a certain level of competency by the end of the training. The participants gained knowledge about the stages of the project, how to write the project, what originality means and its importance, and the criteria of a good project as a result of the training. The teachers gained an important understanding about the importance of originality and planning while preparing the project, and they had the most difficulty in determining the originality of the project. In addition, the participants agreed that teacher competency in preparing and conducting a qualitative research project is very important

The identification of novel single nucleotide polymorphisms to assist in mapping the spread of Bacillus anthracis across the Southern Caucasus

Anthrax is common as a zoonotic disease in the southern Caucasus area including parts of Turkey and Georgia. In this region, population genetics of the etiological agent Bacillus anthracis comprises, where known, the major canonical single nucleotide polymorphism (canSNP) groups A.Br.Aust94 and A.Br.008/009 of the pathogen’s global phylogeny, respectively. Previously, isolates of B. anthracis from Turkey have been genotyped predominantly by multi locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) or canSNP typing. While whole genome sequencing is the future gold standard, it is currently still costly. For that reason we were interested in identifying novel SNPs which could assist in further distinguishing closely related isolates using low cost assay platforms. In this study we sequenced the genomes of seven B. anthracis strains collected from the Kars province of Eastern Anatolia in Turkey and discovered new SNPs which allowed us to assign these and other geographically related strains to three novel branches of the major A-branch canSNP-group (A.Br.) Aust94. These new branches were named Kafkas-Geo 1–3 and comprised isolates from the Kars region and the neighboring republic of Georgia suggesting a common ancestry. The novel SNPs identified in this study connect the population genetics of B. anthracis in the South Caucasus and Turkey and will likely assist efforts to map the spread of the pathogen across this region

The use of germinants to potentiate the sensitivity of Bacillus anthracis spores to peracetic acid

Elimination of Bacillus anthracis spores from the environment is a difficult and costly process due in part to the toxicity of current sporicidal agents. For this reason we investigated the ability of the spore germinants L-alanine (100 mM) and inosine (5 mM) to reduce the concentration of peracetic acid (PAA) required to inactivate B. anthracis spores. While L-alanine significantly enhanced (p = 0.0085) the bactericidal activity of 500 ppm PAA the same was not true for inosine suggesting some form of negative interaction. In contrast the germinant combination proved most effective at 100 ppm PAA (p = 0.0009). To determine if we could achieve similar results in soil we treated soil collected from the burial site of an anthrax infected animal which had been supplemented with spores of the Sterne strain of B. anthracis to increase the level of contamination to 104 spores/g. Treatment with germinants followed 1 h later by 5000 ppm PAA eliminated all of the spores. In contrast direct treatment of the animal burial site using this approach delivered using a back pack sprayer had no detectable effect on the level of B. anthracis contamination or on total culturable bacterial numbers over the course of the experiment. It did trigger a significant, but temporary, reduction (p < 0.0001) in the total spore count suggesting that germination had been triggered under real world conditions. In conclusion, we have shown that the application of germinants increase the sensitivity of bacterial spores to PAA. While the results of the single field trial were inconclusive, the study highlighted the potential of this approach and the challenges faced when attempting to perform real world studies on B. anthracis spores contaminated sites