A priority-based 'design for all' approach to guide home designers for independent living

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The aim is to provide a priority-based design for all' approach list that can be used as a guide in the architectural design process for independent living of the home users. It is important to prioritize design for all' factors and their items as well as the significant differences among adults, elderly and adults with physical disability and visual impairments for the design of homes. A survey was conducted with 161 participants, including adults, elderly and adults with physical disabilities and visual impairments. The results of a factor analysis test identified six high-loaded (adequate illumination level, ease of use in kitchen, adequate space for approach and use, adequate contrast between essential information and its surroundings, ease of use in accessories and functional vertical circulation) and three low-loaded factors (provision of privacy and safety in bathroom, safety of floors and accessibility to all spaces). Multiple comparison tests were done in order to determine the group differences in each prioritized factor for diverse users. Furthermore, a priority-based list with the characteristic features of the design for all' approach for independent living is developed as a guide for home designers

Colour and design: From natural patterns to monochrome compositions

Cataloged from PDF version of article.There is no doubt that nature provides endless inspiration to the world of design. In order to explore the role of colour in design, forty-two people were asked to first choose a pattern from nature, then to abstract this pattern into geometric shapes and finally to colour this pattern. All work done by the participants were statistically analysed to find out the effect of colour on design. Findings of the study suggest that colour in a pattern is the first principal component of design as a unifier whereas this is replaced with the number of shapes in one group in black and white patterns

Acute brucella melitensis M16 infection model in mice treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors

Introduction: There is limited data in the literature about brucellosis related to an intracellular pathogen and anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) medication. The aim of this study was to evaluate acute Brucella infections in mice receiving anti-TNFα drug treatment. Methodology: Anti-TNFα drugs were injected in mice on the first and fifth days of the study, after which the mice were infected with B. melitensis M16 strain. Mice were sacrificed on the fourteenth day after infection. Bacterial loads in the liver and spleen were defined, and histopathological changes were evaluated. Results: Neither the liver nor the spleen showed an increased bacterial load in all anti-TNFα drug groups when compared to a non-treated, infected group. The most significant histopathological findings were neutrophil infiltrations in the red pulp of the spleen and apoptotic cells with hepatocellular pleomorphism in the liver. There was no significant difference among the groups in terms of previously reported histopathological findings, such as extramedullary hematopoiesis and granuloma formation. Conclusions: There were no differences in hepatic and splenic bacterial load and granuloma formation, which indicate worsening of the acute Brucella infection in mice; in other words, anti-TNFα treatment did not exacerbate the acute Brucella spp. infection in mice. © 2015 Kutlu et al

Elastic and structural properties of sputtered refractory metal thin films

To fabricate optimal hard and wear-resistant coatings it is necessary to tailor their mechanical and structural properties for an optimal industrial application. We are exploring elastic and structural properties of refractory metal (Ta, Nb, Mo and W) thin films of different thicknesses fabricated by DC magnetron spattering technique on single crystalline Si substrates

Mycobacterial infection of intraparenchymal bronchogenic cysts

Bronchogenic cysts (BCs) may rarely cause some interesting and unusual complications. Although infection is a common complication of BCs, there are only two patients with BC infected with mycobacterium in English literature. Two intraparencymal BCs infected with mycobacterium are presented here as unusual complications. Cystectomy was performed for the cysts. They were given antituberculosis treatment. No complication or recurrences were detected in follow up period. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Value of p53 protein in biological behavior of basal cell carcinoma and in normal epithelia adjacent to carcinomas

Mutations in p53 gene are the most frequent gene alterations in human cancer. In this study, we have used the monoclonal antibody (DO7) to evaluate the role of the p53 gene mutation in the progression of basal cell carcinomas towards invasion. We tested the positivity for p53 protein in tumor cells in six cases of basosquamous cell carcinoma (BSCC), in twelve cases of infiltrative basal cell carcinoma (IBCC) and twenty-four cases of non-infiltrative basal cell carcinoma (NIBCC) in order to evaluate its potential prognostic significance. We also tested the expression of p53 protein in normal epithelia adjacent to carcinomas in order to determine its role in tumor progression. p53 protein staining with some peripheral accentuation was identified in 42,9% of all groups. No correlation was found between the immunreactivity of p53 protein and recurrence, pattern of tumor, diameter of the tumors and sex. However, there were statistically significant differences in positivity of p53 protein in normal epithelia adjacent to carcinomas and age of patients (t value: 2,21; p: 0,034). Results of the study suggest that the increase in p53 mutation frequency of morphologically normal epidermis was related to age and was independent of the degree of differentiation of BCC. © 2000 W B. Saunders and Company Ltd on behalf of the Ar£nyi Lajos Foundation

Potential of a cyclone prototype spacer to improve in vitro dry powder delivery

Copyright The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are creditedPurpose: Low inspiratory force in patients with lung disease is associated with poor deagglomeration and high throat deposition when using dry powder inhalers (DPIs). The potential of two reverse flow cyclone prototypes as spacers for commercial carrierbased DPIs was investigated. Methods: Cyclohaler®, Accuhaler® and Easyhaler® were tested with and without the spacers between 30-60 Lmin-1. Deposition of particles in the next generation impactor and within the devices was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Results: Reduced induction port deposition of the emitted particles from the cyclones was observed due to the high retention of the drug within the spacers (e.g. salbutamol sulphate (SS): 67.89 ± 6.51 % at 30 Lmin-1 in Cheng 1). Fine particle fractions of aerosol as emitted from the cyclones were substantially higher than the DPIs alone. Moreover, the aerodynamic diameters of particles emitted from the cyclones were halved compared to the DPIs alone (e.g. SS from the Cyclohaler® at 4 kPa: 1.08 ± 0.05 μm vs. 3.00 ± 0.12 μm, with and without Cheng 2, respectively) and unaltered with increased flow rates. Conclusion: This work has shown the potential of employing a cyclone spacer for commercial carrier-based DPIs to improve inhaled drug delivery.Peer reviewe