Postharvest logistics performance of fresh fig varieties in Turkey

WOS: 000486103700086Demand for fresh food is increasing day by day as people want to consume healthy, quality and fresh vegetables and fruits. So, the main mission of supply chains is to deliver secure and fresh food overcoming postharvest losses. Fresh fig is a kind of perishable fruit with is very short durability period. Diversification of fresh fig market and its trade will strengthen the status of fresh fig in domestic and international markets. Post harvest storage and transport (logistics) conditions cause various damage and quality losses in fresh figs that continue to ripen. Therefore, factors such as storage temperature, humidity, transport containers, water losses due to mechanical damage and vibration of vehicles are important. This project was conducted in order to determine the most appropriate fresh fig varieties as an exportation alternative to "Bursa Siyaht" and to demonstrate changes in quality during storage and shelf-life periods after storage. "Siyah Orak", "Goklop" and "1100" fig varieties at the Fig Research Institution in Aydin were used as materials. During harvest fruit were directly placed into their storage packages (into nespacks) and stored at 3 +/- 1 degrees C for 20 days in cold storage condition. In addition, the samples taken from cold storage were kept for two days at 20 degrees C to determine their shelf-life periods. During the studies in 2012, 2013 and 2014 the following data was collected: weight loss during storage and shelf-life periods, firmness by texture analysis, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, maturity rate, pH, L, a, and b skin and flesh color values. During the studies on storage and shell-life period, it was shown that the fruit harvested at their coloring stages of 2/3 and 1/3 of hard-ripe fig variety was more durable than other varieties. It was also concluded that since the fruit harvested during the ripening period when 1/3 of their skin get colored are so small, they can be commercialized with different packaging materials

Investigation of grid performance using simple image quality tests

Antiscatter grids improve the X-ray image contrast at a cost of patient radiation doses. The choice of appropriate grid or its removal requires a good knowledge of grid characteristics, especially for pediatric digital imaging. The aim of this work is to understand the relation between grid performance parameters and some numerical image quality metrics for digital radiological examinations. The grid parameters such as bucky factor (BF), selectivity (Σ), Contrast improvement factor (CIF), and signal-to-noise improvement factor (SIF) were determined following the measurements of primary, scatter, and total radiations with a digital fluoroscopic system for the thicknesses of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 cm polymethyl methacrylate blocks at the tube voltages of 70, 90, and 120 kVp. Image contrast for low- and high-contrast objects and high-contrast spatial resolution were measured with simple phantoms using the same scatter thicknesses and tube voltages. BF and SIF values were also calculated from the images obtained with and without grids. The correlation coefficients between BF values obtained using two approaches (grid parameters and image quality metrics) were in good agreement. Proposed approach provides a quick and practical way of estimating grid performance for different digital fluoroscopic examinations

Drug resistance profiles and clonality of sporadic Shigella sonnei isolates in Ankara, Turkey

WOS: 000347079600013PubMed: 25477917The aims of this study were to investigate drug resistance rates, types of extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBLs), and molecular epidemiological characteristics of 43 Shigella sonnei isolates. Ampicillin-sulbactam, amoxicillin-clavulanate, chloramphenicol, and ciprofloxacin were the most active antibiotics. Five isolates harbored bla(SHV-12), bla(TEM-1) and bla(CTX-M-15). More than 90% of the isolates had an indistinguishable pulsotype

Design and implementation of a multifrequency near-infrared diffuse optical tomography system

The design and implementation of a multifrequency and multispectral diffuse optical tomography system is described. Four wavelengths are utilized: 665, 785, 808, and 830 nm. The system is based on a network analyzer, which provides rf modulation signals for the laser diodes, as well as measures the amplitude and the phase of the detected signals. Six different modulation frequencies ranging from 110 to 280 MHz are used. The details of instrumentation, calibration, data acquisition, and performance of the system are given. A finite element algorithm is used to solve the diffusion equation, and an inverse solver based on this forward solver is implemented to calculate the absorption and scattering maps from the acquired data. Data acquisition for one wavelength is completed in less than 2.5 min for a single modulation frequency. The measurement repeatability is 0.5% in ac intensity and 0.2 deg in phase. The performance of the system is evaluated with phantom studies. A multifrequency reconstruction algorithm is used, in which a single absorption and scattering image pair is obtained using the whole dataset obtained at different modulation frequencies. It is shown that the multifrequency reconstruction approach provides superior image quality compared to the single frequency counterpart. (c) 2006 Society of Photo- Optical Instrumentation Engineers

Effects of Noises in Images used for Height Map Reconstruction of Cartridge Cases using Photometric Stereo

Photometric stereo (PS) is commonly used in examination of ballistic marks and this stud), investigated the effects of noises present in images on the reconstructed depth map based on PS and the sensitivity of different error measures to different kinds of noises. The images of 3D synthetic objects with known light conditions and Lambert reflection model were calculated first. Thermal noise, Schottky noise and speckle noise with different amplitudes were added to these images. A common effect seen in images, the vignetting effect, was also modelled. Surface normals were calculated using these noisy images and the height maps were reconstructed. Normalized absolute error and normalized gradient error were calculated for all cases and the results were compared

Evaluation of Gait and Balance in Epileptics with Reduced Bone Mineral Density

Objectives: Bone mineral density abnormalities can cause falls due to imbalance and movement limitation. Morbidities that result from a fall mean a loss of functionality and quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between bone mineral density and gait, balance, and fear of a fall in epileptic patients

Combined Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) and MRI System for Cancer Imaging in Small Animals

Recently, there has been a great amount of interest in developing multi-modality imaging techniques for oncologic research and clinical studies with the aim of obtaining complementary information and, thus, improving the detection and characterization of tumors. In this present work, the details of a combined MR-diffuse optical imaging system for dual-modality imaging of small animals are given. As a part of this effort, a multi-spectral frequency domain diffuse optical tomography system is integrated with an MRI system. Here, a network analyzer provides the rf modulation signal for the laser diodes and measures the amplitude and the phase of the detected signals. Photomultiplier tubes are utilized to measure low-level signals. The integration of this optical imaging system with the 4T MRI system is realized by incorporating a fiber adaptive interface inside the MR magnet. Coregistration is achieved by a special probe design utilizing fiducial markers. A finite element algorithm is used to solve the diffusion equation and an inverse solver based on this forward solver is implemented to calculate the absorption and scattering maps from the acquired data. The MR a priori information is used to guide the optical reconstruction algorithm. Phantom studies show that the absorption coefficient of a 7 mm inclusion in an irregular object located in 64 mm phantom is recovered with 11 % error when MR a priori information is used. ENU induced tumor model is used to test the performance of the system in vivo

Combined diffuse optical tomography (DOT) and MRI system for cancer imaging in small animals

Recently, there has been a great amount of interest in developing multi-modality imaging techniques for oncologic research and clinical studies with the aim of obtaining complementary information and, thus, improving the detection and characterization of tumors. In this present work, the details of a combined MR-diffuse optical imaging system for dual-modality imaging of small animals are given. As a part of this effort, a multi-spectral frequency domain diffuse optical tomography system is integrated with an MRI system. Here, a network analyzer provides the rf modulation signal for the laser diodes and measures the amplitude and the phase of the detected signals. Photomultiplier tubes are utilized to measure low-level signals. The integration of this optical imaging system with the 4T MRI system is realized by incorporating a fiber adaptive interface inside the MR magnet. Coregistration is achieved by a special probe design utilizing fiducial markers. A finite element algorithm is used to solve the diffusion equation and an inverse solver based on this forward solver is implemented to calculate the absorption and scattering maps from the acquired data. The MR a priori information is used to guide the optical reconstruction algorithm. Phantom studies show that the absorption coefficient of a 7 mm inclusion in an irregular object located in 64 mm phantom is recovered with 11 % error when MR a priori information is used. ENU induced tumor model is used to test the performance of the system in vivo

Bacterial adhesion to braided surgical sutures: an in vitro study

WOS: 000377113400001Background Surgical suture materials are accepted to be associated with a substantial proportion of surgical site infections. These infections are related with biofilm formation similar to that of other synthetic and implantable medical devices. Methods We conducted an in vitro study to investigate the bacterial adherence to different types of braided surgical sutures. The included sutures were polyglactin (Vicryl (R)) group (VG), rapidly absorbable polyglactin (Rapide-Vicryl (R)) group (RVG), nitrofurazone-coated polyglactin (Vicryl (R)) group (FVG), polyethylene terephthalate (Etibond (R)) group (EG), and natural silk (Silk (R)) group (SG). All sutures were cut in 1 cm length, embedded into tryptic soy broth, and then 10(6)-CFU/ml Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were added. After the 24th and 96th hour of incubation, bacterial colonies were counted, and results were expressed as CFU/cm. Results E. coli adhesion was significantly lower in VG and significantly higher in SG compared to FVG, RVG, and EG at the 24th and 96th hour of cultivation (p 0.05). Conclusion Of all braided surgical sutures, bacterial adhesion is significantly lower in polyglactin and significantly higher in silk sutures. Nitrofurazone coverage of suture worsens S. aureus contamination of the suture