Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Some epigraphic and archaeological documents from Western Anatolia during the late Ottoman period

The focus of this article is on the post-medieval archaeological heritage of Izmir, especially during the 19th century. The material selected consists of Armenian inscriptions from Izmir and its close environs, since there is a paucity of archaeological scholarship for the Armenian community of the Ottoman Empire. The paper is based on the survey of sixteen Armenian inscriptions across nine locations in and around Izmir, with discussion of the Armenian material culture of the Late Ottoman Period, as well as transcription and translation of these inscriptions, although a history of Armenia in general is outside the scope of the article. As Armenian grave markers can be taken as active interventions in social relations, this paper offers a potential for reconstructing the social complexities of late Ottoman Izmir

The relationship between psychopathology and cognitive functions with cytokines in clinically stable patients with schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES: Inflammation and the cytokine hypotheses have been proposed for schizophrenia. Several proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines have been studied in drug-naive, first-episode, and/or chronic schizophrenia patients. However, there were limited data on clinical stable outpatients reflecting daily routine. The aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of cytokines, including transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), between clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, as well as to examine the relationship between these inflammation parameters and clinical variables (positive and negative symptom severity and cognitive functions). METHODS: Thirty clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia and 30 healthy controls with similar sex and age were included in this study. Serum IL-6, TGF-beta, and TNF-alpha levels were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoenzyme microplate measurement, respectively. Illness severity was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and the cognitive functions of the participants were assessed using a broad neuropsychological test battery. RESULTS: The serum levels of IL-6 and TGF-beta were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls (p = .048, p = .012). There was no significant difference between groups in terms of TNF-alpha levels (p = .726). Global impairment of cognitive functions was observed in the patient group compared to healthy controls, and PANSS scores and cognitive functions showed no correlation with cytokine levels (IL-6, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated an increased inflammatory response in clinically stable patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. However, symptom severity and cognitive functions showed no correlation with cytokine levels. Further research studies are needed to clarify the effects of cytokine levels on schizophrenia symptomatology and etiopathogenesis

Psychiatric morbidity of patients with keratoconus: A cross-sectional study

Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients with keratoconus and the effect of clinical parameters and psychiatric morbidity on quality of life in this patient group. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 94 patients with keratoconus. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmic and psychiatric examination and completed the The National Eye Institute Refractive Error Quality of Life Instrument-42 (NEI-RQL-42), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) questionnaires. The current diagnosis of psychiatric disorders was determined using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). The impact of disease severity (binocular BCVA >0.4 logMAR, steep K reading >52, and Amsler-Krumeich grades) on vision-related quality of life was also analyzed. Results: The patients? mean age was 23.9 ? 4.8 (range, 18?40) years. Of the 94 participants 35 (37.2%) had a psychiatric diagnosis, 13 (13.8%) had moderate-severe depression and 20 (21.2%) had moderate-severe anxiety according to the BDI and BAI, respectively. The probability of having a psychiatric disorder was higher if the keratoconus was more severe. Patients with a psychiatric diagnosis scored lower on physical functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, energy/fatigue; emotional well-being, social functioning and pain subscales of the Short Form-36 (SF-36). Having a SCID-1 psychiatric diagnosis and the presence of a psychiatric disorder did not significantly affect NEI-RQL-42 questionnaire scores. Conclusions: There was high psychiatric morbidity among patients with keratoconus. Having a psychiatric disorder was associated with lower QoL as measured using the SF-36

ENERGY, EXERGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL (3E) ASSESSMENTS OF VARIOUS REFRIGERANTS IN THE REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS WITH INTERNAL HEAT EXCHANGER

A comprehensive thermodynamic analysis of a refrigeration system with an internal heat exchanger was reported for four various refrigerants as an alternative to R134a. The preferred refrigerants in this paper have zero ozone-depleting potential and fairly low global warming potential value compared with reference R134a. These refrigerants are from both the HC group (R290 and R600a) and the HFO group (R1234yf and R1234ze(E)). Basically, the refrigeration system consists of a compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion valve, and internal heat exchanger as well. Energy-exergy analyses and environmental impact assessments depending on the compressor energy consumptions are evaluated in the current study. The system performance was theoretically carried out at two different evaporation temperatures of 0 and -8 degrees C. Based on the obtained results from this study, the highest performance was achieved in R600a from HC group refrigerants and R1234ze(E) from HFO group refrigerants. As compared with R134a, in the COP value of R600a an increase of 3.2% at the evaporation temperature of 0 degrees C and 3.4% for the evaporation temperature of -8 degrees C was achieved. On the other hand, the COP value for R1234yf was decreased by 2% at the evaporation temperature of 0 degrees C and by 2.57% at the evaporation temperature of -8 degrees C. Considering the CO2 emissions, R600a was located at the first order in terms of the lowest CO2 emissions and R1234ze(E) follows R600a. In conclusion, R600a presented the highest performance compared with R134a in a refrigeration system with an internal heat exchanger.WOS:0005578810000032-s2.0-8508798363

Drinking Water Treatment in Submerged Hollow Fiber Microfiltration: Effect of Backwashing

Extended Abstract Water falling onto earth surface creates surface runoffs and while portion of precipitation seeps underground, water dissolves loads of substances from earth layers. Therefore chemistry of water constantly changes. Surface waters are very sensitive to contamination and cause of that water quality decreases over time. In recent years, need for clean water is increasing due to population growth and industrialization. Intensive industrialization and unplanned urbanization threaten water resources while conventional treatment systems are inadequate against increasing pollution Membrane process (MP), has many advantages like less area requirement, high efficiency, easy operation and can be combined with conventional treatment systems. Therefore water treatment with MP is becoming popular. MP removes pathogens, decreases necessity for disinfection Purpose of this study, is to determine determining the effect of backwashing in treatment of drinking water of a dam with coagulation supported submerged PVDF hollow fiber (HF) filtration. In this way filtration mode which provides lesser pollution on membranes could be compared with conventional water treatment plant. In this study, raw influent of drinking water plant in Erzurum was used. Experiments were carried out with lab-scale full automated submerged membrane filtration unit. COD and turbidity measurements were made for system effluent. Membrane ΔP increases were noted while system was used in flux controlled mode. PVDF HF Membranes, which has 600 cm 2 surface area and 0.4 µm pore size, were used in the system and they were aerated with 5 L/min air. First of all, optimum alum dosage was determined and same dosage was used in continuous system with backwashing or relaxation for all operation period. Membrane flux of J=20 L/m 2 .h was kept constant and two different membrane cleaning methods were used. These are filtration + relaxation and filtration + backwashing. While filtration periods were 4.5, 9 and 18 min, relaxation and backwashing periods were selected as 0.5, 1 and 2 mins respectively. Backwashing flows were selected same as filtration flux. 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80 and 100mg/L alum dosages were used. Even with the minimum dosage of 10 mg/L alum, Coagulation + HF submerged membrane system provides water suitable for Turkey drinking water standards. The same water quality is reached at 40 mg/L alum dosage by conventional treatment system, which shows the superiority of membrane treatment systems again. Effluent turbidity values were found as 0.02 NTU. COD removal efficiency was increased up to %90 with increasing alum dosage. Effluent turbidity, TOC, TN and UV254 removal ratios were calculated as %99.8, %37, %43 and %40 respectively when the minimum dosage of 10 mg/L alum was applied. In continuous experiments with 4.5 min filtration + 0.5 min relaxation, ΔP pressure increase in 48 h period was %26 while 4.5min filtration + 0.5min backwashing mode resulted %5 increase in ΔP. Under these conditions, effluent turbidity value increased from 0.02 NTU to only 0.06 NTU. In 9 + 1 mode with relaxation ΔP increase was %27 while same mode with backwashing decreased the ΔP to %14. In same manner, 18+2 mode with backwashing decreased ΔP from %29 to %22

Distal muscular dystrophy of the Miyoshi type

Objective: Miyoshi myopathy is an autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy. It is characterized by distal muscle involvement, especially the gastrocnemius and soleus. The disease starts with weakness and atrophy of the calves. Material and methods: Here we report on 2 patients, brother and sister, from a Turkish family. Onset of the disease was at the age of 20 and 26 years of age, respectively. In both siblings, there was an early and predominant involvement of the distal muscles of the lower limbs. Creatine kinase activity was elevated 50- to 100-fold above normal values. Results: Electromyography revealed a myopathic pattern. Histology of the biceps muscles indicated some myopathic changes consistent with muscular dystrophy. Occurrence in only these 2 siblings with no other family members was indicative of an autosomal recessive inheritance. Conclusions: We describe the distinctive clinical features in 2 siblings of a Turkish family with MM as differential diagnosis and histological change

Biomechanical comparison of oblique and step-cut osteotomies used in total hip arthroplasty with femoral shortening

Background: Various types of shortening osteotomies and prosthesis are used for femoral reconstruction in total hip arthroplasty of the high hip dislocation. This biomechanical study investigates whether step-cut osteotomies result in better stability than oblique osteotomies and cylindrical femoral stems enhance stability of the osteotomy more than conical stems, and which osteotomy and prosthesis type maintain the stability better after cyclical loading