Chemical and microbiological assessment of drinking water quality

Background: Access to an adequate amount of water is restricted because of the increase in the use of natural resources, which is caused by the rapid growing in world population and the climate change that global warming brings, and the development in the industry. Investigating the causes of water pollution, creating solutions for the problem, taking the control of the pollution, and maintaining monitorability are necessary.Objectives: This study was carried out in order to determine microbiological and chemical characteristics of drinking water and their compatibility for human consumption with the aim of providing safety of drinking waters.Methods: Thirty-four drinking water samples obtained from different sampling points in Ankara, Turkey, in 2019 were subjected to microbiological analysis and chemical analysis in terms of anions (bromide-Br-, chloride-Cl-, fluoride-F-, nitrate-NO3-, nitrite-NO2-, sulfate-SO4-2) by ion chromatography. Microbiological analyses were applied according to the international standards.Results: None of the samples contained coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci. It was established that concentrations of the specified anions in tested waters were within the acceptable levels of with the Council Directive 98/83/EC.Conclusions: The determined chemical and microbiological qualities of these samples are suitable for drinking, and do not poseany threats to public health.Keywords: Drinking water; analysis; chemical; microbiological; quality

Protez Kaide Materyaline Candida albicans Tutulumunda Protez Temizleyici Ajan Konsantrasyonu Ve Uygulama Süresinin Etkisi

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı protez kaide materyalinde Candida albicans tutulumu üzerine, farklı konsantrasyonlarda kullanılan kimyasal protez temizleyici ajanın farklı sürelerdeki antifungal etkinliğinin in vitro olarak değerlendirilmesidir. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışma için C. albicans (ATCC 1023) straini kullanılmıştır. Temizleme tabletleri steril saf su ile hazırlanmış ve çözüldükten hemen sonra otoklanarak steril edilmiş protez kaide materyali polimetilmetakrilat örneklerine 3dk, 5dk, 15dk, 30dk ve 8 saat süre ile uygulama yapılmıştır. 1, 2 ve 3 adet temizleme tableti ile uygulamalar 8 saat süresince yapılmıştır. Örnekler tüm uygulamalar sonunda tekrar steril izotik çözelti ile hafifçe yıkanmıştır. Steril tüplere aseptik koşullara uygun olarak alınan parçaların üzerine 10 mL steril SDB eklenmiş ve 120 rpm 35 ˚C’de 36 saat süre ile inkübe edilmiştir. Süre sonunda kültür homojen olacak şekilde karıştırılmış ve gelişmekte olan kültürlerden izotonik çözelti içerisinde dilüe (10-5’e kadar) edilmiştir. Kültürler ve dilüsyonlardan yayma plak ekimleri yapılmış ve 35 ˚C’de 36 saat inkübe edilmiştir. Süre sonunda sayıma uygun dilüsyon ekimlerinin koloni sayımları yapılmıştır. Bulgular: Yapılan koloni sayımlarında temizleyici ajanın bekleme süresinin etkili olduğu ancak, konsantrasyon farklılığın kaide materyaline tutunan mikroorganizma miktarını etkilemediği görülmüştür. Sonuç: Kimyasal protez temizleme tabletlerinin 5 dakika ve üzeri sürede iyi antifungal özellik sergilerken, kimyasal temizleyici konsantrasyonunu artırmak sonucu etkilememiştir. Ürün kullanım talimatında belirtilen süre ve konsantrasyonun yeterli olduğu görülmüştür

Popularity, quality and reliability of YouTube videos as an information resource on kinesio taping

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and quality of videos on YouTube as an information resource about Kinesio taping (KT). Methods: We made a search on YouTube using the keyword "Kinesiotaping" on November 10, 2021. The popularity of first 200 videos evaluated with the video power Index (VPI), reliability with the modified DISCERN (M-DISCERN) score, and quality with the global quality score (GQS). Results: Of the 98 videos evaluated, 42(42.9%) were categorized as high-quality, 36(36.7%) as low-quality, and 20(20.4%) as moderate-quality. Significant positive correlations were observed between GQS, M-DISCERN, and VPI (p<0.001, for all). Number of views, number of views/days, number of likes, number of dislikes, duration of videos, and number of comments were significantly lower in low quality videos than those of moderate and high-quality videos(p<0.05). Conclusion: The quality of YouTube videos as an information source on KT were of moderate level. As the quality and reliability of the videos increase, their popularity also increases. Health professionals who use YouTube as informational material in KT applications should consider this situation

Effect of magnesium sulfate administration on blood–brain barrier in a rat model of intraperitoneal sepsis: a randomized controlled experimental study

INTRODUCTION: Permeability changes in the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and their possible contribution to brain edema formation have a crucial role in the pathophysiology of septic encephalopathy. Magnesium sulfate has been shown to have a protective effect on BBB integrity in multiple experimental models. In this study we determine whether magnesium sulfate administration could have any protective effects on BBB derangement in a rat model of sepsis. METHODS: This randomized controlled experimental study was performed on adult male Sprague–Dawley rats. Intraperitoneal sepsis was induced by using the infected fibrin–thrombin clot model. To examine the effect of magnesium in septic and sham-operated rats, a dose of 750 μmol/kg magnesium sulfate was given intramuscularly immediately after surgery. Control groups for both infected and sham-operated rats were injected with equal volume of saline. Those rats surviving for 24 hours were anesthetized and decapitated for the investigation of brain tissue specific gravity and BBB integrity by the spectrophotometric assay of Evans blue dye extravasations. Another set of experiments was performed for hemodynamic measurements and plasma magnesium level analysis. Rats were allocated into four parallel groups undergoing identical procedures. RESULTS: Sepsis significantly increased BBB permeability to Evans blue. The dye content of each hemisphere was significantly lower in the magnesium-treated septic rats (left hemisphere, 0.00218 ± 0.0005; right hemisphere, 0.00199 ± 0.0007 [all results are means ± standard deviation]) than in control septic animals (left hemisphere, 0.00466 ± 0.0002; right hemisphere, 0.00641 ± 0.0003). In septic animals treated with magnesium sulfate, specific gravity was higher (left hemisphere, 1.0438 ± 0.0007; right hemisphere, 1.0439 ± 0.0004) than in the untreated septic animals (left hemisphere, 1.0429 ± 0.0009; right hemisphere, 1.0424 ± 0.0012), indicating less edema formation with the administration of magnesium. A significant decrease in plasma magnesium levels was observed 24 hours after the induction of sepsis. The dose of magnesium that we used maintained the baseline plasma magnesium levels in magnesium-treated septic rats. CONCLUSIONS: Magnesium administration attenuated the increased BBB permeability defect and caused a reduction in brain edema formation in our rat model of intraperitoneal sepsis

Bibliometric Analysis of Turkey’s Research Activity in the Anatomy and Morphology Category from the Web of Science Database

Objective: The measurement of international publication activities is one of the essential indicators used to evaluate the scientific development level of countries. Although many studies are using the bibliometric method in the literature, it is seen that there are very few bibliometric studies in the field of anatomy. This study aimed to analyze the articles bibliometrically which conducted by researchers at institutions from Turkey and indexed in Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) of the Web of Science database in the category of Anatomy and Morphology. Materials and Methods: According to 2019 data, journals in the Anatomy and Morphology category and indexed in the SCI-E were determined. Publications from Turkey that were published in these journals was determined. The full-texts of these articles were examined, and study types were defined. Also, VOSviewer software was used to create a collaboration and word co-occurrence network. Results: It was determined that there were 48,002 publications in 21 journals. It was found that 1,461 publications (3.04%) have at least one author from Turkey. The total number of citations was 11,728 for these publications. The average number of citations was 8.02±11.95. The radiological studies have increased statistically more than both experimental animal and cadaveric studies by years. In addition, it has been determined that the total number of articles, especially the radiological studies, has increased significantly over the years. Conclusion: The increase in the number of scientific studies in the field of anatomy is important in terms of the contribution of Turkey to literature in this area

Different features of lung involvement in Niemann-Pick disease and Gaucher disease

SummaryBackgroundNiemann-Pick disease (NPD) and Gaucher disease (GD) are well-known lysosomal storage diseases. Respiratory system involvement is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with NPD and GD.ObjectivesWe tried to assess the clinical, radiological, and histological features of GD and NPD patients with lung involvement.MethodsWe reviewed medical history, physical examination, radiological, and histological data of 10 NPD and 7 GD patients.ResultsThe most common respiratory symptoms were recurrent lung infection and dyspnea. Although lung examination results in 6 NPD patients were normal, they had lung involvement; 3 patients were diagnosed as NPD directly via lung biopsy during investigation of recurrent lung infection or interstitial lung disease. All GD patients but 1 had respiratory system symptoms at the time of diagnosis. Hepatopulmonary syndrome was present in 4 GD patients. A ground-glass pattern and atelectasis were 2 important high-resolution computed tomography features in the NPD and GD patients. Flexible bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage were used for emergency extraction of bronchial casts in 1 NPD patient.ConclusionsLung involvement in NPD and GD patients should be included in the differential diagnosis of interstitial lung disease. Besides interstitial appearance on HRCT, atelectasis related to bronchial cast and bronchiectasis are other radiological findings in these group of patients. Analysis of bronchoalveolar fluid and lung biopsy provide very important clues for diagnosis. Hepatopulmonary syndrome is an important vascular complication observed in GD patients

Visual and software-based quantitative chest CT assessment of COVID-19: correlation with clinical findings

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate visual and software-based quantitative assessment of parenchymal changes and normal lung parenchyma in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. The secondary aim of the study was to compare the radiologic findings with clinical and laboratory data.MethodsPatients with COVID-19 who underwent chest computed tomography (CT) between March 11, 2020 and April 15, 2020 were retrospectively evaluated. Clinical and laboratory findings of patients with abnormal findings on chest CT and PCR-evidence of COVID-19 infection were recorded. Visual quantitative assessment score (VQAS) was performed according to the extent of lung opacities. Software-based quantitative assessment of the normal lung parenchyma percentage (SQNLP) was automatically quantified by a deep learning software. The presence of consolidation and crazy paving pattern (CPP) was also recorded. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between quantitative radiologic assessments, and clinical and laboratory findings, as well as to determine the predictive utility of radiologic findings for estimating severe pneumonia and admission to intensive care unit (ICU).ResultsA total of 90 patients were enrolled. Both VQAS and SQNLP were significantly correlated with multiple clinical parameters. While VQAS >8.5 (sensitivity, 84.2%; specificity, 80.3%) and SQNLP 9.5 (sensitivity, 93.3%; specificity, 86.5%) and SQNLP <81.1% (sensitivity, 86.5%; specificity, 86.7%) were predictive of ICU admission. Both consolidation and CPP were more commonly seen in patients with severe pneumonia than patients with nonsevere pneumonia (P = 0.197 for consolidation; P < 0.001 for CPP). Moreover, the presence of CPP showed high specificity (97.2%) for severe pneumonia.ConclusionBoth SQNLP and VQAS were significantly related to the clinical findings, highlighting their clinical utility in predicting severe pneumonia, ICU admission, length of hospital stay, and management of the disease. On the other hand, presence of CPP has high specificity for severe COVID-19 pneumonia

A comparative ID migraine screener study in ophthalmology, ENT and neurology out-patient clinics

Migraine is more likely to be misdiagnosed in patients with comorbid diseases. Not only primary care physicians, but also specialists might misdiagnose it due to the lack of diagnostic criteria awareness. The ID migraine test is a reliable screening instrument that may facilitate and accelerate migraine recognition. This study aimed to compare the prevalence and characteristics of migraine in a large sample of patients admitted to clinics of ophthalmology (OC), ear, nose and throat diseases (ENTC) and neurology (NC), as well as to validate the use of the ID migraine test in OC and ENTC settings. This was a multicentre (11 cites) study of out-patients admitting either to NC, ENTC or OC of the study sites during five consecutive working days within 1 week. From each of the clinics, 100 patients were planned to be recruited. All recruited patients were interviewed and those having a headache complaint received an ID migraine test and were examined for headache diagnosis by a neurologist, blinded to the ID migraine test result. A total of 2625 subjects were recruited. Only 1.3% of OC patients and 5.4% of ENTC patients have been admitted with a primary complaint of headache, whereas the percentage of NC patients suffering from headache was 37.6%. Whereas 138 patients (19.3%) in OC, 154 (17.3%) in ENTC and 347 (34%) in NC were found to be ID migraine test positive, 149 patients (20.8%) in OC, 142 (16%) in ENTC and 338 (33.1%) in NC were diagnosed with migraine. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive ratios of the ID migraine test were found to be similar in all clinics. An important fraction of the patients admitted to NC, as well as to OC and ENTC, for headache and/or other complaints were found out to have migraine by means of a simple screening test. This study validated the ID migraine test as a sensitive and specific tool in OC and ENTC, encouraging its use as a screening instrument.Pfizer-Türkiy

Anatomical details used in the surgical reconstruction of the lacrimal canaliculus: cadaveric study

WOS: 000273001800002PubMed ID: 19479182Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the proximal part of the lacrimal tract. Methods The dissection was performed on 20 specimens of adult cadavers under an operating microscope. Result The upper lacrimal canaliculus (ULC) and the lower lacrimal canaliculus (LLC) were opened to the lacrimal sac (LS) in three types. In Type A, the ULC and the LLC unite before opening to the LS and form the a common canaliculus (CC). In Type B, the ULC and the LLC unite at the wall of the LS and open to the LS via common hole. In Type C, however, the ULC and the LLC open to the LS separately. Type A, Type B and Type C were observed in 85%, 5% and 10% cases, respectively. Type A and Type B opened to the LS from back to front at an acute angle in 72% of the specimens, and at a right angle in 22%. The opening angles of the CC with lacrimal canaliculus; the ULC with the LS, and the LLC with the LS were realized at an acute angle. Conclusion Crucial parameters, which have not been previously mentioned such as the opening angles of the ULC and the LLC, were investigated as they might be used during the procedure