Nonisocyanate based polyurethane/silica nanocomposites and their coating performance

A series of silica nano-particles with different size were prepared by sol–gel technique, then surface modification by using cyclic carbonate functional organoalkoxysilane (CPS) was performed. Various amounts of carbonated silica particles directly added into carbonated soybean oil (CSBO) and carbonated polypropylene glycol (CPPG) resin mixture to prepare polyurethane–silica nanocomposite coating compositions by nonisocyanate route using an aliphatic diamine as a curing agent. Cupping, gloss, impact, and taber abrasion tests were performed on aluminum panels coated with those nano-composite formulations and tensile tests, thermogravimetric and SEM analyses were conducted on the free films prepared from the same coating formulations. An increase in abrasion resistance of CSBO-CPPG resin combination with the addition of silica was observed. In addition, the maximum weight loss of CSBO-CPPG resin combination was shifted to higher temperatures with incorporation of silica nano-particles The positive effect of modified silica particles on thermal stability of CSBO-CPPG system could be explained in such a way that PPG chains are able to disperse particles in the medium throughout the interactions between ether linkages and silanol groups

From plant oils to plant foils: straightforward functionalization and crosslinking of natural plant oils with triazolinediones

With the aid of triazolinedione (TAD) chemistry, an additive-free, straightforward functionalization and crosslinking strategy for numerous plant oils was developed. In a first step, model studies on the most common natural fatty acids were performed with the aid of monofunctional TAD moieties. These equimolar functionalization reactions were readily monitored by NMR and MS analysis, further facilitated by the disappearance of the characteristic red colour of the TAD molecule. Then, a series of synthesized, bifunctional TAD molecules were used for the chemical crosslinking of crude plant oils, a process that was typically finished within minutes. In this way, a large variety of polymer networks could be obtained, such as plant oil-based foils, showing a wide range of thermal properties, which can be tuned and rationalized by the chemical structure of the different plant oils

Relationship between clinical findings and genetic mutations in patients with familial Mediterranean fever.

Background: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is one of the most frequent genetic diseases encountered inthe Mediterranean region. We aimed to investigate the correlation between genetic mutations and theclinical findings in 562 patients with FMF.Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study conducted with patients’ files between 2006, and 2013, reversehybridization assay for MEFV gene mutations was used and the 12 most frequent mutations were screened. Mutationtypes and clinical findings were compared with variance analysis.Results: The mean age was 6.9 ± 3.4 years (range, 1.8-11.6 years). The most common symptom was fever (97.3 %).Thirty-four of the patients (6.04 %) were admitted with periodic fever only. Of these patients, M694V was the mostcommon mutation type (73.5 %). The percentage of the patients predominantly presenting with recurrent abdominalpain was 77.78 % and the most frequent mutations were M694V and E148Q. The rate of arthritis and arthralgia wassignificantly higher in patients with M694V and E148Q mutations. Chest pain was reported more often in patientshomozygous for M694V (61.4 %). Pericardial effusion was documented in the echocardiography of 10.9 % of the 229children with chest pain. Some patients had both FMF and Henoch Schönlein purpura (HSP), and were more likelyto harbor either homozygote M694V or E148Q mutations. The frequency of episodes was higher in patients withhomozygous M694V mutations (number of attacks = 4.4 ± 1.6/month). Proteinuria was detected in 106 patients ofcases (29.2 %), at an average of 854 ± 145 mg/L. Most of the patients with proteinuria and elevated serum amyloid-Ahad homozygous M694V mutation.Conclusion: The most common mutation in children in Turkey with FMF is the M694V mutation. Recurrentabdominal pain, arthritis or arthralgia, chest pain, and pericarditis were commonly seen in patients withM694V and E148Q mutations

Relationship between clinical findings and genetic mutations in patients with familial Mediterranean fever

BACKGROUND: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is one of the most frequent genetic diseases encountered in the Mediterranean region. We aimed to investigate the correlation between genetic mutations and the clinical findings in 562 patients with FMF. METHODS: In this retrospective cross-sectional study conducted with patients’ files between 2006, and 2013, reverse hybridization assay for MEFV gene mutations was used and the 12 most frequent mutations were screened. Mutation types and clinical findings were compared with variance analysis. RESULTS: The mean age was 6.9 ± 3.4 years (range, 1.8-11.6 years). The most common symptom was fever (97.3 %). Thirty-four of the patients (6.04 %) were admitted with periodic fever only. Of these patients, M694V was the most common mutation type (73.5 %). The percentage of the patients predominantly presenting with recurrent abdominal pain was 77.78 % and the most frequent mutations were M694V and E148Q. The rate of arthritis and arthralgia was significantly higher in patients with M694V and E148Q mutations. Chest pain was reported more often in patients homozygous for M694V (61.4 %). Pericardial effusion was documented in the echocardiography of 10.9 % of the 229 children with chest pain. Some patients had both FMF and Henoch Schönlein purpura (HSP), and were more likely to harbor either homozygote M694V or E148Q mutations. The frequency of episodes was higher in patients with homozygous M694V mutations (number of attacks = 4.4 ± 1.6/month). Proteinuria was detected in 106 patients of cases (29.2 %), at an average of 854 ± 145 mg/L. Most of the patients with proteinuria and elevated serum amyloid-A had homozygous M694V mutation. CONCLUSION: The most common mutation in children in Turkey with FMF is the M694V mutation. Recurrent abdominal pain, arthritis or arthralgia, chest pain, and pericarditis were commonly seen in patients with M694V and E148Q mutations

Empirical cefepime+vancomycin versus ceftazidime+vancomycin versus meropenem+vancomycin in the treatment of healthcare-associated meningitis: results of the multicenter ephesus study

Abstract Background Herein, we analyzed the efficacy of main antibiotic therapy regimens in the treatment of healthcare-associated meningitis (HCAM). Materials/methods This retrospective cohort study was conducted in 18 tertiary-care academic hospitals Turkey, India, Egypt and Romania. We extracted data and outcomes of all patients with post-neurosurgical meningitis cases fulfilling the study inclusion criteria and treated with empirical therapy between December 2006-September 2018. Results Twenty patients in the cefepime + vancomycin-(CV) group, 31 patients in the ceftazidime + vancomycin-(CFV) group, and 119 patients in the meropenem + vancomycin-(MV) group met the inclusion criteria. The MV subgroup had a significantly higher mean Glasgow Coma Score, a higher rate of admission to the intensive care unit within the previous month, and a higher rate of antibiot herapy within the previous month before the meningitis episode (p  0.05) among the three cohorts. No regimen was effective against carbapenem-resistant bacteria, and vancomycin resulted in an EOT clinical success rate of 60.6% in the methicillin-resistant staphylococci or ampicillin-resistant enterococci subgroup (n = 34). Conclusions Our study showed no significant difference in terms of clinical success and mortality among the three treatment options. All regimens were ineffective against carbapenem-resistant bacteria. Vancomycin was unsuccessful in approximately 40% of cases involving methicillin-resistant staphylococci or ampicillin-resistant enterococci