Clinical presentations and diagnostic work-up in sarcoidosis: A series of Turkish cases (clinics and diagnosis of sarcoidosis)

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic granulomatous disease. It usually affects the lung. The diagnosis may be problematic since the known causes of granulomatous inflammation must be excluded. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate the clinical presentations and diagnostic approaches of sarcoidosis. The study protocol was sent via internet, and the participants were asked to send the information (clinical, radiological and diagnostic) on newly diagnosed sarcoidosis cases. 293 patients were enrolled within two years. Pulmonary symptoms were found in 73.3% of the patients, and cough was the most common one (53.2%), followed by dyspnea (40.3%). Constitutional symptoms were occured in half of the patients. The most common one was fatigue (38.6%). The most common physical sign was eritema nodosum (17.1%). The most common chest radiograhical sign was bilateral hilar lymphadenomegaly (78.8%). Staging according to chest X-ray has revealed that most of the patients were in Stage I and Stage II (51.9% and 31.7%, respectively). Sarcoidosis was confirmed histopathologically in 265 (90.4%) patients. Although one-third of the bronchoscopy was revealed normal, mucosal hyperemi (19.8%) and external compression of the bronchial wall (16.8%) were common abnormal findings. The 100% success rate was obtained in mediastinoscopy among the frequently used sampling methods. Transbronchial biopsy was the most frequently used method with 48.8% success rate. Considering sarcoidosis with its most common and also rare findings in the differential diagnosis, organizing the related procedures according to the possibly effected areas, and the expertise of the team would favor multimodality diagnosis

Eskişehir ilinde biyogaz potansiyeli ve maliyetinin analizi

In this study, cost analyses were prepared for biogas production in Eskisehir considering the cattle potential. Beside this, solution methods were investigated for returning the biogas product wastes as a fertilizer to the farmers in the area. Energy is accepted as an indicator of development. Development is defined with the amount of energy per man. In Turkey, 50% consumed energy is imported from different countries. Large amount of energy consumption requires new raw materials to produce energy. Due to the sources of unrenewable energy are running out rapidly and environmental pollution are very hazardous, countries were tend to renewable energy. So, the importance of biogas production was increased day by day. As a basis, biogas is obtained in air-free medium by fermentation with plant and animal wastes. It is a burnable gas mixture. Biofertilizer is more efficient than the normal one.Bu çalışmada Eskişehir ilinin büyük baş hayvan potansiyeli dikkate alınarak biyogaz üretim olanakları araştırılmış ve maliyet analizi yapılmıştır. Ayrıca Biyogaz üretim atıklarının çiftçiye gübre olarak geri verilmesi için çözüm yolları araştırılmıştır. Günümüzde enerji, ilerleyen endüstrinin bir göstergesi olarak kabul edilmekte ve ülkelerin gelişmişliği, kişi başına düşen enerji miktarıyla tanımlanmaktadır. Ülkemizde tüketilen enerjinin yaklaşık %50’si yurt dışından ithal edilmektedir. Büyük çapta enerji ithalatı enerji üretebilecek hammaddelere yönelmeyi gerektirmektedir. Yenilenemeyen enerji kaynaklarının hızla tükenmesi ve yarattığı çevre kirliliği ülkeleri yenilenebilen enerji kaynaklarına yöneltmiştir. Bu konuda yeni ve önemli enerji kaynaklarından biri olan biyogaz dikkati çekmektedir. Biyogaz temel olarak bitki ve hayvan atıkları gibi organik maddelerin, havasız ortamda fermentasyonuyla oluşan enerji değeri yüksek yanıcı bir gaz karışımıdır. Fermentasyon sonucunda elde edilen biyogübre, normal gübreden çok daha verimli bir kaynaktır

A new approach to automation of black tea fermentation process with electronic nose

Manufacturing of black tea is a complex process consisting of plucking, withering, curling, fermenting, drying, determining of quality, and packaging stages. Nowadays, tea quality is determined by two methods. Either chemical analysis method is used or tea tasters give quality scores by tasting, smelling, and visual inspection. By means of recent studies, tea quality can also be determined by electronic nose technology. The quality of tea is generally related with the fermentation stage. In this work, an electronic nose, which determines the quality of tea during the fermentation process in real time from only its odour, was made, and the fermentation band was controlled by this electronic nose. Fermentation bands of a tea factory in the Çayeli District of Rize, Turkey have been simulated and controlled via LabVIEW simulation software by using real odour values measured in the factory with the electronic nose. In the study, a new fermentation band system has been designed to function with the electronic nose. This section of the study has been performed in the simulation environment due to the high cost of physical system setup. With the method proposed in this study, tea factories will be able to increase their production capacity with higher quality

Identification of some sweet cherry cultivars grown in Amasya by RAPD markers

Uludag University;Ataturk Central Horticultural Research Institute of Turkey;International Society for Horticultural Science;Turkish Society for Horticultural Science;Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey5th International Cherry Symposium --6 June 2005 through 10 June 2005 -- Bursa --In this study, 14 sweet cherry cultivars grown in Amasya were identified by RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) markers and the genetic relationships among the cultivars were determined. Twenty-one RAPD primers were screened and eleven primers produced useful amplification for PCR. A total of 68 bands (43 polymorphic) were obtained, with varied band size from 350 to 2800 bp. Using the 43 markers, a similarity index and dendogram were constructed, with the latter divided into two major groups. Thirteen of the sweet cherry cultivars were placed in the first group, while 'Honey Heart' was placed on the second group. Although '0900 Ziraat' was placed in the first group, genetically it was not very similar to others in that group; however, '0900 Ziraat' and 'Honey Heart' displayed a similarity of 50%. The highest similarity in the first group was for 'Haci Ali' and 'Camgöz'

The effect of oxytetracycline on non-specific immune response in sea bream (Sparus aurata L. 1758)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of orally administered oxytetracycline HCl (OTC) of 75 mg/kg body weight for 10 days on the immune response in sea bream (Sparus aurata L. 1758) using the nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test and erythrocyte and leucocyte counts. Administration of 75 mg/kg OTC for 10 days enhanced the non-specific immune response, and increased NBT (+) cell, total erythrocyte and leucocyte numbers in sea bream at 23 ± 1°C. The effect of OTC on the immune system lasted around 21 days after ceasing the administration and the parameters evaluated then returned to normal levels. © Tübi·tak