Structural Vulnerability Analysis of Electric Power Distribution Grids

Power grid outages cause huge economical and societal costs. Disruptions in the power distribution grid are responsible for a significant fraction of electric power unavailability to customers. The impact of extreme weather conditions, continuously increasing demand, and the over-ageing of assets in the grid, deteriorates the safety of electric power delivery in the near future. It is this dependence on electric power that necessitates further research in the power distribution grid security assessment. Thus measures to analyze the robustness characteristics and to identify vulnerabilities as they exist in the grid are of utmost importance. This research investigates exactly those concepts- the vulnerability and robustness of power distribution grids from a topological point of view, and proposes a metric to quantify them with respect to assets in a distribution grid. Real-world data is used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed metric as a tool to assess the criticality of assets in a distribution grid

Biochemistry of Mitochondria

Mitochondria are energy source of cells. They have external and internal membranes, cristas and matrix. External membranes consist of specialized transport proteins. They have monoamine oxidase and citokrome-c reductase which both play role in KREBS cycle as catalyst and many enzymes which are necessary for phospholipid and phosphoric acid synthesis. Enzymes of electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation are located in the internal membranes. Also, here, there are transport systems for specific substances, such as ATP, ADP, P1, pyruvate, succinate, malate, citrate, and -ketoglutarate . Matrix; having gel-like consistency, contains a large number of enzymes. [Archives Medical Review Journal 2003; 12(0.100): 1-13

Mitochondrial Diseases: Clinical Features- Management of Patients

Mitochondria are unique organells which their own DNA in cells. Human mitochondrial DNA is circular, double-stranded molecule and small. Because all mitochondria are contributed by the ovum during the formation of the zygote, the mitochondrial genom is transmitted by maternal inheritance. Multisystem disorders such as deafness, cardiomyopathy, miyopathy can be seen in mitochondrial diseases. [Archives Medical Review Journal 2003; 12(0.100): 14-31

Mitochondrial Diseases

The oxidative phosphorilasyon (OXPHOS) diseases are heterogeneous group of diseases that are caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or nuclear DNA. These progressive diseases ,often present in early adult life, are characterised by multiorgan involvement and this condition can make diagnosis diffucult. [Archives Medical Review Journal 2003; 12(0.100): 32-80

Duplication analysis in Turkish Charcot-Marie tooth Type 1A patients using short tandem repeat markers

11th International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases -- JUL 02-07, 2006 -- Istanbul, TURKEYWOS: 000239229400314

Laparoscopic Extraperitoneal Simple Prostatectomyfor Benign Prostate Hyperplasia:A Two-Year Experience

PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of laparoscopic simple prostatectomyfor large volume prostates.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between October 2007 and July 2009, laparoscopicsimple prostatectomy was performed on 16 patients with the prostates over 80mL. All the patients were operated with transvesical method. Peri-operativeand 3rd postoperative month data were recorded and evaluated.RESULTS: The mean prostate volume was 147 mL (range, 80 to 200 mL). Themean operation time, blood loss, duration of hospitalization, and duration ofdrain placement was 133 minutes (range, 75 to 210 minutes), 134 cc (range,50 to 300 cc), 3.9 days (range, 2 to 7 days), and 2.1 days (range, 2 to 3 days),respectively. Only one patient required blood transfusion due to postoperativebleeding and clot obstruction in the catheter lumen. Postoperative infectionwas not seen and recatheterization was not needed in any of the patients.All the patients’ pathology reports were noted as benign. Pre-operative andpostoperative International Prostate Symptom Score were 9.2 and 25.4,respectively. Maximum urinary flow rate was 4.0 mL/sec pre-operatively,but 24.7 mL/sec postoperatively.CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic simple prostatectomy is a feasible method withlow morbidity and improved postoperative outcomes

Adaptation to Turkish and Reliability Study of the Revised Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R)

WOS: 000383254700007PubMed ID: 28373799Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease characterized by progressive degeneration of the motor neurons. It is difficult to define the severity of the clinical findings of this destructive disease owing to its rapid progression, which presents serious alterations in a short time even in the same patient. The present study was designed to evaulate the validity of the Turkish version of the Revised Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R), which has been used in various countries for measuring the functional status of ALS patients. Methods: The ALSFRS-R scores of 41 ALS patients (24 male), in any stages of illness, were simultaneously assessed by two physicians. The functional status of the patients (motor system, bulbar, and pulmonary functions) was evaluated under 12 titles. In every subtitle, the functional status was evaluated as 0 for the worst functional status and 4 for the best functional status. The mean differentials for both subtitles and global scores and the 95% confidence bounds of these means were detected. The coherence was defined as the states in which the coefficient is above 0.80 and is statistically significant Results: From the data obtained, the correlation between the two physicians was found to be statistically significant (p=0.000) in terms of the means of both subtitles and total scores. Conclusion: It was shown in the present study that in the clinical follow-up of the disease, the Turkish version of ALSFRS-R is a simple, reliable, and easily applicable

Potential risk assessment of metals in edible fish species for human consumption from the Eastern Aegean Sea

The levels of Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu and Zn were measured in the tissues of four edible fish species namely: Diplodus annularis, Pagellus erythrinus, Merluccius merluccius and Mullus barbatus, collected from the Turkish Coast of the Aegean Sea. Except for D. annularis, the levels of Cd and Pb in all fish tissues sampled in Aliaga Bay in 2009 were above the tolerable limits according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Hg in P. etythrinus and M. barbatus were higher than the maximum permitted limits (FAO), while D. annularis and M. merluccius were lower than the limit for biota in the district of Aliaga. Although the Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) values for Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn in all fish samples were lower than 1.0, the THQ for Hg levels were higher than 1.0 for most of the samples. According to the THQ values, M. merluccius may be consumed in moderation from Aliaga Bay, while the consumption of M. barbatus and P. erythrinus collected from Aliaga Bay are potentially hazardous to human health due to the Hg concentrations. Fish collected from Izmir Bay can be consumed safely

A strategy for the implementation of water-quality-based discharge limits for the regulation of hazardous substances

Many developing countries apply technology-based discharge standards that set quantitative limits on pollutant discharges. These standards do not inherently consider ambient constraints and, therefore, cannot guarantee to protect aquatic life from hazardous pollutants. It is a challenge for developing countries to enforce water-quality-based limits for wastewater discharges and guarantee the intended use of water. This study aims to develop a strategy that suits the needs of developing countries for a transition from technology-based discharge standards to water-quality-based discharge limits. To this end, a pilot monitoring program was carried in the Gediz River Basin in Turkey. Surface water, industrial, and urban wastewater samples were collected and analyzed for 45 priority pollutants identified by the European Union and 250 national river basin specific pollutants. The monitoring results revealed that the environmental quality standards (EQSs) were exceeded for 8 priority, and 28 specific pollutants. This finding indicated that the existing technology-based discharge standards are not satisfactory to guarantee the intended water quality, and there is a need for adopting a new strategy for the implementation of water-quality-based discharge limits in Turkey. As a widely applied approach for determining water-quality-based discharge limits, firstly, conservative mass balance with and without consideration of mixing zone was evaluated. The results indicated that this approach was not applicable due to the receiving environment concentrations being higher than the EQSs. As an alternative approach, the dilution methodology, which considers the level of dilution occurring at the immediate discharge point, was tested. The results proved that the dilution methodology is the most appropriate strategy for developing countries with relatively poor surface water quality to improve the water quality to the level where the conservative mass balance approach can be applicable

Targeting the PANoptosome with 3,4-Methylenedioxy-β-Nitrostyrene, Reduces PANoptosis and Protects the Kidney against Renal İschemia-Reperfusion Injury

Objectıves The objectives of this study were a) to investigate the effect of targeting the PANoptosome with 3,4-methylenedioxy-β-nitrostyrene (MNS) on PANoptosis in the Renal ischemia-reperfussion (RIR) model b) to investigate the kidney protective effect of MNS toward RIR injury. Methods Thirty-two rats were divided into four groups randomly. The groups were assigned as Control, Sham, DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) and MNS groups. The rats in the MNS group were intraperitoneally given 20 mg/kg of MNS 30 minutes before reperfusion. 2% DMSO solvent that dissolves MNS were given to the rats in DMSO group. Left nephrectomy was performed on the rats under anesthesia at the 6th hour after reperfusion. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and 8-Okso-2′-deoksiguanozin (8-OHdG) levels were measured. Immunohistochemical analysis, electron microscopic and histological examinations were carried out in the tissues. Results Total tubular injury score was lower in the MNS group (p  0.05) in all groups. MNS considerably improved the tissue structure, based on the electron microscopic analysis. Conclusıons Our results suggested that MNS administrated before the reperfusion reduces pyroptosis, apoptosis and necroptosis. These findings suggest that MNS significantly protects the kidney against RIR injury by reducing PANoptosis as a result of specific inhibition of Nod-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP 3), one of the PANoptosome proteins