EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONCHA BULLOSA WITH NASAL SEPTUM DEVIATION AND MAXILLARY SINUS PATHOLOGIES USING CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the relationship between concha bullosa (CB) and nasal septum deviation (NSD) with maxillary sinus pathologies with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: The whole face CBCT data of 700 (383 male and 317 female) patients aged between 6-92 years who applied to Gaziantep University Faculty of Dentistry Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology for any reason between 2017-2019 was evaluated retrospectively. CB, NSD and maxillary sinus pathologies were investigated on the images. Results: NSD was found as 64.3%, concha bullosa as 27.9% on the right, 24.1% on the left, and maxillary sinus pathologies were 48.6% on the right and 44.4% on the left. While NSD was towards the left, the absence of right concha bullosa was found to be significant (p < 0.05). No significant relationship was observed between the presence of CB and maxillary sinus pathologies (p > 0.05). There was no significant relationship between NSD and maxillary sinus pathologies (p > 0.05). Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between the presence of CB and NSD, but the presence of CB had no effect on maxillary sinus pathologies. CBCT is an important diagnostic tool in the evaluation of the anatomical variations of the osteomeatal complex and three-dimensional examination of maxillary sinus

Organic bulk heterojunction solar cells based on benzodithiophene and benzothiadiazole containing conjugated polymers

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) or so-called organic solar cells particularly hold promise for manufacturing solar energy due to their advantages in low cost and production processes. In order to understand and improve the performance of OPVs, intense efforts have been dedicated around the world [1]. In particular, conjugated polymers are attractive for OPVs due to the π-conjugated systems in the polymer backbone which generates and transport the charge carriers [2]. Therefore, the design and synthesis of novel conjugated organic polymers play important role to obtain higher photovoltaic properties and improve the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the OPVs. For this purpose, benzodithiophene and benzothiadiazole containing monomers were independently synthesized, then polymerized via Stille cross-coupling reaction to obtain P1 and P2 polymers. Oxidation and reduction behavior of the polymers were studied by cyclic voltammetry. Measurements indicated that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels were -5.25 eV for P1 and -5.38 eV for P2. The optical band gaps of P1 and P2 were calculated via UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy as 1.54 eV and 1.64 eV, respectively. Bulk heterojunction solar cells were constructed with these polymers as the donor moieties together with PC71BM as the acceptor in the active layer. The current/voltage measurements showed that the highest PCEs of these photovoltaic devices were recorded as 2.52% for P1: PC71BM (1:4, w/w) in 2% DIO and 1.67% for P2: PC71BM (1:3, w/w) in 3% DIO solution

Relationship Between Ostiomeatal Complex Variations and Maxillary Sinus Pathologies in Children and Adolescents Using CBCT

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate relationship between ostiomeatal complex variations (OMC) and maxillary sinus pathologies in children and adolescents using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: CBCT images of 72 patients (44 males and 28 females) aged 7-18 years were evaluated retrospectively. Presence of nasal septal deviation (NSD), nasal septal pneumatization (NSP), concha bullosa (CB), accessory maxillary ostium (AMO), agger nasi cell (ANC), Haller cell (HC), Onodi cell (OC), ethmoid sinusitis and maxillary sinus pathologies were investigated. Maxillary sinus pathologies were classified. Correlations of OMC variations with each other, maxillary sinus pathologies and ethmoid sinusitis were investigated. Chi-square test was used to analyze relationships among variables and distribution of parameters. Results: NSD was determined in 70.8%, NSP in 40.3%, ethmoid sinusitis in 75%, maxillary sinus pathology in 34.8% of images. OMC variations rates were detected as CB 31.3%, AMO 16%, ANC 16%, HC 24.3% and OC 18.8%. The most common maxillary sinus pathology was localized mucosal thickening, with a rate of 15.3% on right and 22.2% on left. Statistically significant differences were determined between almost all OMC variations with each other, and between anatomical variations in OMC with maxillary sinus pathologies except for NSP and AMO (p \u3c 0.05). The presence of ethmoid sinusitis was more common in males (p =0.026). Conclusion: Anatomical variations in OMC had no significant effect on maxillary sinus pathology except for NSP and AMO. Besides, most of anatomical variations in OMC were statistically significantly correlated with each other. CBCT visualization of these variations is important for sinonasal surgery and is an effective method in children and adolescents with low radiation dose and high image quality compared to computed tomography

Synthesis of selenophene substituted benzodithiophene and fluorinated benzothiadiazole based conjugated polymers for organic solar cell applications

© 2021A series of alternating conjugated copolymers which contain selenophene modified benzodithiophene and fluorine bearing benzothiadiazole have been synthesized via Stille polycondensation reaction to investigate the effect of the number of fluorine atoms substituted to the benzothiadiazole. Three different polymers, PBDTSe-BT, PBDTSe-FBT and PBDTSe-FFBT, were reported and their electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and photovoltaic behaviors were examined. Density functional theory calculations were performed on model tetramer structures to shed light on how substituting the fluorine atom to the acceptor building block affects the structural, electronic and optical properties of the polymers. The results of computational studies were compared with experimental studies. The structure adjustment accomplished by fluorine substitution on the benzothiadiazole moiety reveals an influence on the electronic structure of polymers with a more negative HOMO energy level. A high VOC for the resulting photovoltaic device was examined for PBDTSe-FFBT. Difluorinated polymer PBDTSe-FFBT:PC71BM organic solar cell exhibited the highest photovoltaic performance of 2.63% with JSC of 7.24 mA cm-2, VOC of 0.72 V and FF of 50.6%. PBDTSe-BT:PC71BM revealed the best PCE as 2.39%, and the device reached the highest efficiency up to 1.68% for PBDTSe-FBT:PC71BM

Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for- ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi- crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol- ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies. In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific areas of health biotechnology are discussed

Outcomes of high-risk breast lesions diagnosed using image-guided core needle biopsy: results from a multicenter retrospective study

PURPOSEThe clinical management of high-risk lesions using image-guided biopsy is challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the rates at which such lesions were upgraded to malignancy and identify possible predictive factors for upgrading high-risk lesions.METHODSThis retrospective multicenter analysis included 1.343 patients diagnosed with high-risk lesions using an image-guided core needle or vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB). Only patients managed using an excisional biopsy or with at least one year of documented radiological follow-up were included. For each, the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category, number of samples, needle thickness, and lesion size were correlated with malignancy upgrade rates in different histologic subtypes. Pearson’s chi-squared test, the Fisher–Freeman–Halton test, and Fisher’s exact test were used for the statistical analyses.RESULTSThe overall upgrade rate was 20.6%, with the highest rates in the subtypes of intraductal papilloma (IP) with atypia (44.7%; 55/123), followed by atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) (38.4%; 144/375), lobular neoplasia (LN) (12.7%; 7/55), papilloma without atypia (9.4%; 58/611), flat epithelial atypia (FEA) (8.7%; 10/114), and radial scars (RSs) (4.6%; 3/65). There was a significant relationship between the upgrade rate and BI-RADS category, number of samples, and lesion size Lesion size was the most predictive factor for an upgrade in all subtypes.CONCLUSIONADH and atypical IP showed considerable upgrade rates to malignancy, requiring surgical excision. The LN, IP without atypia, pure FEA, and RS subtypes showed lower malignancy rates when the BI-RADS category was lower and in smaller lesions that had been adequately sampled using VAB. After being discussed in a multidisciplinary meeting, these cases could be managed with follow-up instead of excision