Case Report. Acremonium falciforme fungemia in a patient with acute leukaemia

We describe a case of Acremonium falciforme fungemia under treatment of fluconazole. A . falciforme is a common saprophyte. This fungus has been isolated from a patient's specimen, and the organism may have contributed to his death

Tetanus antitoxin levels among adults over 40 years of age in Central Anatolia, Turkey

Objective To determine tetanus antitoxin levels in adults and the aged. Methods This study was conducted on 249 adults over 40 years of age who applied to a blood-withdrawal unit in Kayseri, Central Anatolia. Tetanus toxoid-specific antibodies were measured in serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

Social Capital and Economic Performance of SME's: A Case Study from Turkey

Perceived as a factor that influences the efficiency and effectiveness of key production factors in the process of economic development, social capital is defined in this study as the set of social relations that enable entrepreneurs to gain access to economic resources. The study presents findings from a sample survey carried among owners or managers of manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SME's) in Sivas, a province located in a rather less developed region of Turkey. In the World Value's Studies, Turkey is generally portrayed as one of the countries with a relatively low general trust. Given that there are almost no attempts to analyse its consequences at national and regional level, this study attempts to fill in this gap. Trying to find out what role social capital plays in SME's performance and which form of social capital (bonding or bridging) is much more relevant, particular focus is on how trust and business networks play a part in this performance enhancement process. In accordance with the above mentioned conceptual framework on social capital, we have used two sets of variables the first one aiming at measuring the tendencies of trusting behaviour among entrepreneurs, namely trust levels, norms and network, which we called the "potential social capital". On the other hand, the second set of variables which represents the economic effects of social capital and is called as "actual social capital" aims to measure what entrepreneurs actually do in terms of investing in networks or cooperate. These include positive benefits such as reduction in transaction costs, the extent of collective action and learning spin-offs. Trust levels are found to be generally low, institutional trust being the lowest, although most of the trust-supporting social mechanisms (such as norms and sanctions relating to cheating, business reputation etc.) do exist. In their economic transactions most of the entrepreneurs seem to be not depending on their close and strong ties. Most of the firms exhibit high transaction costs, low levels of cooperation with other firms in the industry, and rarely benefit from contributions of others including governmental supporting bodies and business associations. Our findings suggest that firms that enjoy higher levels of collective action and learning also perform better

Outbreak of nosocomial fungemia caused by Candida glabrata

An outbreak of Candida glabrata fungemia that was thought to be associated with bottles used for milk feeds occurred at our children's infectious diseases clinic. This cluster of cases was investigated using a case-control study. Isolates were identified by conventional methods and karyotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of genomic DNA. Potential risk factors for nine hospitalized children with candidemia and 14 controls were long-term hospitalization and treatments with more than two antibiotics. Electrophoretic karyotyping showed a single chromosomal pattern for these outbreak isolates and, in addition, they all had the same antifungal susceptibility results. These findings suggest that clonal dissemination of a single strain was responsible for this outbreak. Karyotyping by PFGE appears to be a useful molecular typing method for strains of C. glabrata

Capacitive behaviour of nanocrystalline octacalcium phosphate (OCP) (Ca8H2(PO4)6·5H2O) as an electrode material for supercapacitors: biosupercaps

Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) is classified as a low-temperature phase of calcium phosphate (CaPs); it is a widely used ceramic material in biomedical applications. Interestingly, this study demonstrated the capacitive behavior of OCP as an electrode material in supercapacitors, alternatively named biosupercaps, for the first time in the literature. OCP powder was synthesized by solution precipitation at pH 5.5 at 60 °C in the presence of succinic acid. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) fully confirmed the OCP phase, with a crystallite size of around 40 nm, as calculated by the Scherrer equation. The FE-SEM micrographs of the OCP powder revealed plate-like morphology with a high surface area/thickness ratio. The surface widths of these layers ranged from about 2 to 100 microns, whereas the thickness of the layers was on the nanoscale (<100 nm). Raman spectroscopy was performed to confirm the microstructural formation of the OCP powder and electrodes according to the Raman spectra. Asymmetric and symmetric capacitors were prepared by various designs using OCP powder as a potential electrode material. The electrochemical performance of each biosupercap containing OCP was analyzed by a potentiostat in terms of current-voltage (CV) curves; each sample presented a typical pseudocapacitive behaviour. The electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) of the OPC materials confirmed their significant capacitive performance, with up to 6 mA h g-1 specific capacity (SCp); this may be valuable for future medical electronics such as biocompatible energy storage and harvesting microdevices

Chemically exfoliated refined carbon from industrial tea waste for capacitive energy storage

Graphitic carbon materials, renowned as favored energy storage materials, offer exceptional features such as a high surface area, customizable surface functionality, stability, and durability and have been extensively investigated. However, identifying highly efficient, cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly materials and sources is the predominant challenge. Abundant natural biomass, the sole renewable carbon resource, is a promising capacitive graphitic carbon reservoir. This study explores the catalytic carbonization of biomass derived from industrial tea waste, employing FeCl3 as a graphitization agent. Subsequently, the biomass undergoes chemical exfoliation to produce graphene-like compounds. The electrochemical performances are comprehensively examined. This innovative technique aims to modulate the capacitance of the refined carbonaceous material, which has increased from 30 F g−1 to 81 F g−1 through the chemical exfoliation of resistive oxygenated groups, rendering it suitable for a prospective supercapacitor application

ZnO and MXenes as electrode materials for supercapacitor devices

Supercapacitor devices are interesting owing to their broad range of applicability from wearable electronics to energy storage in electric vehicles. One of the key parameters that affect the efficiency of supercapacitor devices is selecting the ideal electrode material for a specific application. Regarding this, recently developed metal oxides, specifically nanostructured ZnO, and MXenes with their defect structures, size effects, as well as optical and electronic properties have been presented as electrode material in supercapacitor devices. The discussion of MXenes along with ZnO, although different in chemistry, also highlights the differences in dimensionality when it comes to defect-driven effects, especially in carrier transport. The volume under the influence of the defect centers is expected to be different in bulk and 2D structures, regardless of composition. Hence, analysis and discussion of both materials provide a fundamental understanding regarding the manner in which 2D structures are impacted by defects compared to bulk. Such an approach would therefore serve the scientific community with the material design tools needed to fabricate the next generation of supercapacitor devices