Nanomaterials Based Drinking Water Purification: Comparative Study with a Conventional Water Purification Process

One of the ways of fully securing the presence of fresh water is water treatment process. Nanomaterials and nanotechnology offers an innovative solution for water treatment. In this study, physical, chemical and microbiological improvement rates of raw water were analyzed after filtration with graphene oxide. Graphene oxide's water treatment performance; silver nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles & graphene oxide composites that are commonly used in water treatment were compared with a traditional treatment method. When compared to the traditional method, there were improvements of 50 %, 40.7 %, 86.8 % and 45.5 % for color, TIC, TOC and hardness properties, respectively in water treatment by GO-based filtration with solid liquid ratio of 0.7 % (v/v). In water treatment with GO-Ag based filtration, 39.8 %, 69.8 %, 10.3 % and 28.6 % of improvements were obtained for TIC, TOC, hardness and LSI value compared to the conventional method. Both GO at 0.7 % (v/v) solid-liquid ratio and GO-Ag nanocomposites were successful in the number of total viable microorganisms and inhibiting microorganisms such as Escherichia coli fecal (gaita-infected), Salmonella typhi, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomona aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Among the studied parameters GO-Ag nanocomposites found to be the most suitable for drinking water treatment

Association of trans-myocardial repolarisation parameters with size of the diffusion limitation area in acute ischaemic stroke

Objectives. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between transmyocardial repolarisation parameters and the size of the diffusion limitation area measured using diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWMRI) in patients diagnosed with ischaemic stroke without known cardiac diseases.Material and methods. The study was a prospective, observational clinical study. Patients without cardiac disease with acute ischaemic stroke were included in the study. Electrocardiography (ECG) was received from the patients. P, QT, QTc and Tp-e dispersions were calculated. All the patients had computerised brain tomography (CT) and then DWMRI carried out so as to calculate infarct areas.Results. Seventy ischaemic stroke patients and 30 control patients were included in the study. All parameters except for QTc dispersion (p = 0.88) were higher in the stroke group than in the control group (p < 0.05 for all values). The infarct area calculated with DWMRI was divided into four groups according to quartiles, and QT, QTc, P, and Tp-e dispersions of patients were evaluated. Patients were found to have a prolonged dispersion as the infarct area expanded, and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05 for all values).Conclusions. When we compared the patients with ischaemic stroke who had no known cardiac disease to those in the control group we found an increase in transmyocardial repolarisation parameters. As diffusion limitation areas grew larger, QT, QTc, P, and Tp-e dispersions increased. Physicians should be aware of dysrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in acute stroke and should observe these patients, especially those with larger stroke lesions

Association Between ABO Blood Group With Parkinson’s Disease

AbstractBackground/Aims:Parkinson's disease  is a common  neurodegenerative disease that seen in adulthood. Most prevelant symptoms are  resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia ,gait disturbance, and postural abnormalities.Disorders related with  ABO  blood group are infectious disease(cholera,helicobacter pylori,echerichia coli),cardiovascular disease,malignancies and allergic status.We objectived to elucidate the association between ABO  blood group and Parkinson's disease Materials -Methods: We investigated  retrospectively the files of 264 adult patients  who were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had blood type between January 2008 and December 2018 in neurology outpatient clinics included in the study Results: Distribution of  blood groups in patients as follows : ARh(+): 94(%35,6), ARh(-):15(%5,7),BRh(+):44(%16,7),BRh(-):8(%3), ABRh(+):18(%6,8),  ABRh(-):4(%1,5),0Rh(+):71(%26,9),0Rh(-):10(%3,8) Conclusions: When we consider the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s Disease , we think  of  the antigenic structure of blood groups may be effective in this process

The effect of cholinesterase inhibitors on sleep in the patients with Alzheimer’s disease: an observational prospective study

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the essential effects of cholinesterase inhibitors between the first days of the medication and after 1 month in the patients have not the history of disease, the patients not used the medicines which effect the sleep or the patients started new medication. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with mild to moderate stage Alzheimer’s disease according to DSM-IV criteria (age: 55–85) were admitted in this multi-centred study between December 2014 and January 2017. Thirty five patients with mini mental test score between 14 and 24 were included in the study. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS) and Standardized Mini Mental Test (SMMT) were given to all patients were used in first days of treatment and at least after 1 month. RESULTS: Twenty patients (57%) were using Donepezil and 15 patients (43%) were using Rivastigmine. Gender, marital status, educational status and family history of dementia were not statistically significant difference for both of the groups. There was no statistically significant difference between the first and second evaluation for two treatment groups in SMMT, CSDD and BAS scores (p values .748, .232 and .611, respectively). In both groups, positive effect were observed in PSQI scores after 1 month of treatment, but this positive effect was not found to be statistically significant (p: .558). DISCUSSION: When donepezil and rivastigmine were compared in this study, it was observed that they had similar positive effects on sleeping quality, but there was not statistically significant difference

Hepatitis B Virus Infectıon Presenting As Chronıc Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy

Periferik sinirlerin ilerleyici yada tekrarlayıcı, motor ve duyu kaybıyla karakterize olan kronik inflamatuar demiyelinizan polinöropati (KIDP); diabetes mellitus, kanser, sarkoidoz gibi nedenlerle gelişebilir. Hepatit B virus enfeksiyonu (HBVe) olan hastalarda KIDP gelişebilir, ancak HBVe’nin KIDP ile presentasyonu bildirilmemiştir. Olgumuz 60 yaşında erkek hasta, el ve ayaklarında ani gelişen güçsüzlük ve uyuşukluk şikayeti ile başvurdu. Hastada tetraparezi ile birlikte derin tendon reflekslerinde hipoaktivite, hipoestezi ve parestezi mevcuttu. Önce AST ve ALT yüksekliği, ardından da HBsAg ve HBV-DNA pozitifliği saptandı. Karaciğer biyopsisi kronik hepatit ve karaciğer fibrosisini göstermesine rağmen, hastada hepatit hikayesi yoktu. Sonuçta, KIDP etiyolojisi araştırılırken, hepatit öyküsü olmasa bile, HBVe düşünülmelidir.Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), which is characterized by a progressive or recurrent loss of motor and sensory peripheral nerves, could be due to many reasons such as diabetes mellitus, cancer, sarcoidosis. Although, CIDP could develop in patients with Hepatitis B virus infection (HBVi), HBVi wasnot found to present itself as CIDP. Our case is a 60 years old-man whom suddenly developed numbness and weakness in hands and feet. He was tetraparetic with hypoactive deep tendon reflexes, hypoesthesia and parestesia. Electroneuromyography (ENMG) revealed mixed type demyelinating and sensorial sensorimotor polyneuropathy. At the time of the diagnosis, high values of AST and ALT; later on, positivity of HBsAg and HBV-DNA were detected. Although liver biopsy showed chronic hepatitis and liver fibrosis, he didnot have any history of hepatitis. In conclusion, while investigating the etiology of CIDP, HBVi should be considered even if patients didnot mention or know any history of hepatitis

Parkinson Hastalarında Parmakvuru Performansının Kantitatif Değerlendirilmesi

Amaç: Parkinson hastalarında motor semptomların kantitatif yöntemlerle objektif olarak değerlendirilmesi hem tanı hem de hastaların takipleri aşamasında önemlidir. Bu amaca yönelik yöntemlerin, günlük pratikte ya da klinik araştırmalarda rutin olarak kullanılabilmesi için, basit ve kolay kullanabilen bir yöntem olması ve ölçüm yapan kişiler arasında minimum farklılıkla uygulanabilmesi gerekmektedir. Parmak vuru testi Parkinson hastalarında nörolojik muayenenin bir parçası olarak, üst ekstremite motor becerileri hakkında oldukça iyi bilgi vermektedir. Bu çalışmada Parkinson hastalarının motor becerilerini değerlendiren parmak vuru hızı, bilgisayar destekli bir yöntemle kantitatif olarak ölçülmüştür. Yöntem: 25 Parkinson hastası ve 25 kontrol olgusunda parmak vuru hızı bir software yardımı ve bir klavye kullanılarak ölçülmüştür. Parmak vuru performansını değerlendirmek amacı ile tek parmak (TP) ve çift parmak alternan (AP) hareket hızı ölçülmüş ve parmak vuru hızını etkileyebilecek yaş, cinsiyet, eğitim ve kognisyon gibi faktörler değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Parkinson hastalarında, hastalığın belirgin olduğu tarafta hem TP hem de AP vuru hızları anlamlı olarak yavaş bulunmuştur. Parkinson hastalarında kullandığımız bu yöntemin yaş, eğitim ve kognisyondan bağımsız olarak bradikineziyi değerlendirmede yeterli olduğu belirlenmiştir. AP vuru hızının hastalık derecesinin belirlenmesinde daha hassas olduğu gözlenmiştir. Sonuç: Bilgisayar yardımı ile değerlendirilen parmak vuru hızının Parkinson hastalarında üst ekstremite becerilerinin ve hastalık şiddetinin değerlendirilmesinde kullanılabilecek hassas, pratik ve objektif bir yöntem olduğu düşünülmektedir. Sonuç olarak bu yöntemin günlük pratik ve klinik araştırmalarda PH'nın değerlendirilmesinde faydalı olabileceği sonucuna varılmıştır.Objective: The objective, quantitative assessment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is essential for both the diagnosis and follow-up. To be of value in clinical trials and daily clinical practice, the method should be simple and easy, with minimal inter-rater observer variation. The finger-tapping (FT) test is an informative measure of upper-extremity motor skills as a part of the neurological assessment of patients with PD. Therefore, this study evaluated the motor skills of patients with PD by using a computer-based system that quantifies FT performance. Method: Software to measure FT performance was assessed in 25 patients with PD and 25 normal controls by using two FT testing procedures: single FT (SFT) and alternate FT (AFT). Confounding factors that had the potential to affect the performance were considered, including age, sex, education, and cognition. Results: The SFT and AFT scores for the affected side of patients with PD were significantly lower than the corresponding scores for the dominant side of control subjects. In PD patients, our method appeared to be adequate for evaluating bradykinesia independent of age, cognition and education. AFT was a more sensitive tool for determining the disease severity. Conclusion: This method is a sensitive, practical, and objective tool for evaluating upper- extremity motor skills in patients with PD. It also reflects the disease severity. We hope that this method might be useful in both daily practice and clinical studies

Quantitative Assessment of Finger-Tapping Performance in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

WOS: 000312600000002Objective: The objective, quantitative assessment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is essential for both the diagnosis and follow-up. To be of value in clinical trials and daily clinical practice, the method should be simple and easy, with minimal inter-rater observer variation. The finger-tapping (FT) test is an informative measure of upper-extremity motor skills as a part of the neurological assessment of patients with PD. Therefore, this study evaluated the motor skills of patients with PD by using a computer-based system that quantifies FT performance. Method: Software to measure FT performance was assessed in 25 patients with PD and 25 normal controls by using two FT testing procedures: single FT (SFT) and alternate FT (AFT). Confounding factors that had the potential to affect the performance were considered, including age, sex, education, and cognition. Results: The SFT and AFT scores for the affected side of patients with PD were significantly lower than the corresponding scores for the dominant side of control subjects. In PD patients, our method appeared to be adequate for evaluating bradykinesia independent of age, cognition and education. AFT was a more sensitive tool for determining the disease severity. Conclusion: This method is a sensitive, practical, and objective tool for evaluating upper-extremity motor skills in patients with PD. It also reflects the disease severity. We hope that this method might be useful in both daily practice and clinical studies

Compressive digital receiver: First performance measurements

In this work, sensitivity, instantaneous dynamic range and bandwidth measurement results of the Compressive Digital Receiver (CDR) implemented on a real hardware, will be reported for the first time. Developed CDR is a compressive sensing based sub-Nyquist sampling receiver which can monitor 2.25GHz bandwith instantaneously by using four ADC's each of which is sampling at 250MHz and has 14 bits resolution. It is observed that the sensitivity and dynamic range of the CDR changes with respect to frequency. For 2.25GHz bandwidth, the best and worst sensitivity values of the CDR are reported as -62dBm and -41dBm, respectively. Single-signal dynamic range of CDR is measured as at least 60dB for the whole band. The best and worst values of the two-signal dynamic rage values are observed as 45dB and 20dB, respectively. Bu çalışmada, ilk defa bir donanım üzerinde gerçeklenen SATSAÇ (Sıkıştırılmış Algılama Tabanlı Sayısal Almaç) sisteminin performansını tanımlayan duyarlılık, anlık dinamik alan ve bant genişliğine dair ölçüm sonuçları paylaşılacaktır. Geliştirilen SATSAÇ sistemi, her biri 250MHz ile örnekleme yapan 14 bit çözünürlükte dört adet ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) ile Nyquist limiti altında örnekleme yaparak en az 2.25GHz’lik bir bandı, sıkıştırılmış algılama teknikleri ile anlık olarak gözlemleyebilmektedir. Yapılan ölçümlerde, SATSAÇ sisteminin duyarlılık ve dinamik alan değerlerinin frekans bandına göre değişiklik gösterdiği gözlemlenmiştir. 2.25GHz’lik bant boyunca, en iyi duyarlılık seviyesi -62dBm, en kötü duyarlılık seviyesi -41dBm olarak ölçülmüştür. Tüm bant boyunca tek-sinyal dinamik alan en az 60dB olarak ölçülmüş olup, iki-sinyal dinamik alan en iyi 45dB, en kötü 20dB olarak gözlemlenmiştir

A retrospective study on potential drug interactions: A single center experience

Background: In this study, it is aimed to explain the type and frequency of potential drug-drug interactions (pDDI) in patients a Medical oncology service. Methods: This study retrospective descriptive design. pDDIs were identified using the checker programme (Medscape®). Interactions were classified according to their clinical relevance as minor, moderate and major as appropriate. Results: The prevalence of pDDIs was 71.3% and median age was 61 years-old (interquartile range 54–68) and female to male ratio was 116/211. The median number of drugs per patient was 8 (interquartile range 5–10). A total of 1102 pDDIs of 327 hospitalized cancer patients were identified. Of those, 16.7% were major and 61.8% moderate, respectively. Concomitant use of opioids was the most common interaction in our study. Conclusions: Drug interactions were common in hospitalized cancer patients. In order to prevent potential hazardous effect of pDDI, awareness of the physicians should be increased about this issue. Keywords: Cancer patients, Oncology, Polypharmacy, Drug interaction, Chemotherap