Source Process of Normal Earthquakes: the 3 February 2002, M6.3 Afyon, Turkey and the 7 September 1999, M5.9 Athens, Greece Earthquakes

The source process of two normal-fault earthquakes, the 3 February 2002, M6.3 Afyon, Turkey and the 7 September 1999, M5.9 Athens, Greece earthquakes are studied using regional, teleseismic and strong motion data. Detailed information derived from teleseismic waveform modeling and source time functions inversions are combined and used to forward model recorded strong ground motion. Both events presented evidence for emergence of strong directivity effects during their rupture, which greatly affected the distribution of strong ground motion. These results are indicative of the contribution of the source factor to the distribution of earthquake damage and consequently of its importance in engineering practice in the proximity of large faults, especially within urban areas

Interstitial cystitis: a rare manifestation of primary Sjögren’s syndrome, successfully treated with low dose cyclosporine

Chronic interstitial cystitis (IC), mostly affecting middle-aged women, is a very rare manifestation of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). Hereby, we report a 42-year-old woman with pSS, presenting with dysuria, urinary frequency, and suprapubic pain. She was diagnosed to have chronic IC, based upon the cystoscopic biopsy finding of chronic inflammation in the bladder wall. Systemic corticosteroid and azathioprine treatments together with local intravesical therapies were not effective. Therefore, cyclosporine (CSA) therapy was initiated. Initial low dose of CSA (1.5 mg/kg/d) improved the symptoms of the patient, with no requirement for dose increment. After 4 months of therapy, control cystoscopic biopsy showed that bladder inflammation regressed and IC improved. This case suggests that even low doses of CSA may be beneficial for treating chronic IC associated with pSS syndrome

Sıralı kategorik çıktılı ürün ve proses parametre tasarımı için yöntem karşılaştırması.

Robust design of products or processes with categorical response has more momentous role in industrial experiments for quality improvements, because ordinal categorical quality characteristics are encountered more frequent than continuous ones in industry. In this study, five optimization methods for an ordered categorical response are compared with each other: Logistic Regression Model Optimization (LRMO), Accumulation Analysis (AA), Weighted Signal-to-noise Ratio (WSNR), Scoring Scheme (SS), and Weighted Probability Scoring Scheme (WPSS). In order to compare performance of these methods for different types of robust design problems, each method is individually applied on two different types of problems: smaller-the-better and larger-the-better. All examples are studied to find the optimal parameter settings of statistically significant controllable factors and trying to optimize both location and dispersion of the results. To compare the optimal levels derived from these five methods, three performance criteria are used: SNR at optimal parameter settings, estimated by ANOVA model of continuous version of data or true model (if applicable); probability of observing target category, estimated by LR models; and that of observing target category estimated by ANOVA models of cumulative percentage of categories. According to the results, LRMO and AA methods have the best performance results in most of the examples analyzed in this study. Since AA is criticized as not allowing analysis of location and dispersion effects separately but not LRMO, WPSS and SS, more examples and further analysis might be studied to show this discrepancy of the methods.M.S. - Master of Scienc

Retrospective review of the clinical and laboratory data in silent lupus nephritis

Purpose To determine the ratio of renal disease necessitating immunosuppressive treatment in lupus patients who are clinically asymptomatic by means of renal disease. It was also examined whether silent lupus nephritis is associated with any of the non-renal clinical findings. Methods All kidney biopsies performed in lupus patients between 1990 and 2009 at the Rheumatology Department of Ege University Faculty of Medicine were retrospectively screened. Among the 258 kidney biopsies screened, 54 had no clinical renal findings but had active disease together with anti-dsDNA positivity and/or hypocomplementemia. Patients were classified into two groups who require and do not require immunosuppressive therapy according to their final pathological results at biopsy. The frequency of serious renal involvement in the sample was calculated. Then subgroups were compared with each other in terms of the clinical and laboratory features using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 13 software. Results Thirteen of the 54 patients (24%) had severe renal involvement requiring immunosuppressant therapy. When the groups were compared to each other, it was found that serositis and hematologic involvement were significantly more frequent in patients who needed immunosuppressive treatment (42.9% versus 10.0%; p = 0.003 and 64.3% versus 37.5; p = 0.039). Conclusion Even in the absence of clinical renal manifestations, active patients at high risk of renal disease such as hypocomplementemia, anti-ds DNA positivity may have severe renal disease requiring immunosuppressive treatment. Thus, renal biopsy indications in lupus patients should better be revaluated

Bilinen en eski çelişki

Psoriatik artrit (PsA) aksiyal ve periferik eklemleri etkileyen, cilt, tırnak, entezis yerlerini tutabilen, psoriasis hastalarında görülebilen, klinik olarak heterojen bir hastalıktır. Bu nedenle de PsA birçok hastalık ile karışabilmektedir. Cilt tutulumu PsA hastalarının %15’inde eklem tutuluşundan sonra saptanabilmektedir. Bu da tanıda ve takipte zorluk yaratmaktadır. Periferik artrit ile başvuran ve anti siklik sitrüline peptit (anti-ccp) antikoru pozitif bir olgu ile PsA tanısının konulmasındaki zorluklara ve PsA’nın ayrıcı tanısını yapabilmek için de dikkatli ve detaylı bir anamnez ile iyi bir fizik muayene gerektiğine dikkat çekmeye çalıştık.Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a clinically heterogeneous disease which can be seen in patients with psoriasis, affects the axial and peripheral joints and can involve skin, nail and enthesis. Therefore, PsA can be confused with many diseases. Skin involvement can be established after joint involvement in 15% of PsA patients. This creates difficulties in diagnosis and follow-up. We attempted to draw attention to the difficulties in the diagnosis of PsA in patients who present with polyarthritis and positive anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-ccp) antibody and also, we underline necessity of cautious and detailed history taking and good physical examination

Determination of Use of Alternative Medicine Methods in Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis

This study aimed to examine complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who had or who had not received treatment with biological agents; the study also aimed to determine the types of CAM methods used by these patients. This is a comparative and cross-sectional study. This research was conducted at a rheumatology outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Turkey. A total of 120 patients who had (n = 60) and had not (n = 60) received therapy with biological agents participated in this study. A patient identification form and a questionnaire prepared by the researchers were used to collate the study data. This study found that the most commonly used method among patients who did not receive biological therapy was thermal facilities, at a rate of 28.3%; and that the most commonly used method among patients who did receive biological therapy was the use of thermal facilities, at a rate of 25%. No significant difference was found between patients who had received and patients who had not received biological therapy in terms of age and disease duration. Information was provided by health professionals to the patients concerning frequently used CAM modalities