Thorax Gunshot and Sharp Cutting Tool Injuries: For 5 Months Nyala Experiences

Background: The two most common causes of penetrating thoracic trauma are firearm injuries and injuries by sharpened cutting tool. Penetrating thoracic injuries are risk factors for high mortality and morbidity, so they need to be diagnosed correctly and timely in order to perform an effective intervention. In this study, patients with penetrating thoracic trauma were treated through surgical intervention accompanying minimal morbidity–mortality  compared to literature, even though they were admitted relatively late. Methods: In this retrospective study, 29 gunshot and stab wounds penetrating thoracic trauma patients were admitted to the emergency department of Nyala Sudan Turkey Education and Research Hospital between April and September 2018. Results: Of the 29 patients, 7 (24.13%) were gunshot injuries and 22 (75.86%) were injured with a sharp cutting tool. While 13 of the cases (44.82%) were admitted on the day the incident took place, 5 of them (17.24%) were post-traumatic first day of the admission, 9 of them (31.03%) were post-traumatic day 2, whereas 1 of them (3.44%) was post-traumatic the third day of admission. Finally, 14 patients (48.28%) were followed-up conservatively without tube thoracostomy, while 15 patients (51.72%) underwent tube thoracostomy in follow-up. No patient was operated for penetrant trauma. Mortality was not seen. Conclusion: Patients with penetrating thoracic trauma were treated by surgical interventions accompanying minimal morbidity–mortality even though they were admitted relatively late to healthcare facilities. Key words:  penetrating thoracic injuries, sharp cutting tool, gunsho

The Safety of 250 µm Residual Stromal Bed in Preventing Keratectasia after Laser in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)

To determine if the residual corneal stromal bed of 250 µm is enough to prevent iatrogenic keratectasia in laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), we studied 958 patients who underwent LASIK from April 2000 to October 2003 retrospectively. The estimated probabilities of the residual stromal bed, that was less than 250 µm, were calculated using the publi- shed flap thickness data of Moria C&B microkeratome. Then we calculated the ratio of the real incidence of keratectasia to the expected the percentage of the patients with less than 250 µm residual stromal bed in our study. Using the LASIK flap thickness data of Miranda, Kezirian and Nagy, the expected probabilities that the residual stroma would be less than 250 µm were 8.8%, 4.3% and 1.5% of the 1,916 eyes respectively, while keratectasia developed in both eyes (0.1%) of 1 patient in our study. The estimated ratio of the keratectatic eyes to eyes with less than 250 µm stromal bed were 1.2-6.9%. Compared to the number of eyes with residual stromal thickness less than 250 m, the incidence of keratectasia was relatively low. The residual stromal bed thickness of more than 250 µm may possibly be safe, but further observations for long period are necessary

CCR3 and Choroidal Neovascularization

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly in industrialized countries. The “wet” AMD, characterized by the development of choroidal neovacularization (CNV), could result in rapid and severe loss of central vision. The critical role of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in CNV development has been established and VEGF-A neutralization has become the standard care for wet AMD. Recently, CCR3 was reported to play an important role in CNV development and that CCR3 targeting was reported to be superior to VEGF-A targeting in CNV suppression. We investigated the role of CCR3 in CNV development using the Matrigel induced CNV and found that in both rats and mice, CNV was well-developed in the control eyes as well as in eyes treated with CCR3 antagonist SB328437 or CCR3 neutralizing antibodies. No statistically significant difference in CNV areas was found between the control and SB328437 or CCR3-ab treated eyes. Immunostaining showed no specific expression of CCR3 in or near CNV. In contrast, both VEGF-A neutralizing antibodies and rapamycin significantly suppressed CNV. These results indicate that CCR3 plays no significant role in CNV development and question the therapeutic approach of CCR3 targeting to suppress CNV. On the other hand, our data support the therapeutic strategies of VEGF-A and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) targeting for CNV

Convergence of Notch and β-catenin signaling induces arterial fate in vascular progenitors

The Notch intracellular domain and β-catenin team up with RBP-J to regulate gene transcription and promote the development of arterial endothelial cells

Comparison of Turkish and Italian Economy with Respect to Economic Development: 1950-1960

In this presentation, Turkey will be compared with Italy that has similar economic features in order to understand the causes of economic backwardness of Turkish economy and to draw a road map for economic development. This comparison includes the aftermath of the Second World War which is the period of accelerated economic development for countries achieved. The comparison of Turkey and Italy is crucial to find out backwardness of Turkey. Italy constitutes a good example because it showed great effort during the period of 1950 - 1960 to reduce the gap between developed countries. In this period, Turkish economy was in a very unstable condition that followed an unplanned development strategy, therefore there was no specific development agenda. This situation led to short - term increases in GDP at the beginning of the Democrat Party era, but later cause recession and as a result, long term economic targets were not achieved. In this study, the development policies and their impacts during the period of 1950 - 1960 in Turkey will be discussed. This period will be studied by separating into two different sub - periods. The first sub - period is the period of 1950 - 1953 when a rapid development process is experienced. The second one is the period of 1954 - 1960 when stagnation was experienced. Secondly, the development strategy and the economic policies put into practice by Italy after the Second World War and the effects of these policies on the economic development will be analyzed. Lastly, after making a comparative assessment of the two countries and putting out the pros and cons of Turkish economy, it is going to be made recommendations on economic development for Turkey

Application of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis for treatment and reuse of laundry wastewater

The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment and reuse of laundry wastewater with couple of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO). In the NF process, optimal values of pH, temperature, transmembrane pressure (TMP) and cross-flow rate were determined using the Taguchi L-16(4(4)) experimental design method. The smaller-the-better signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio was used to analyze the results of experiments. Flux decline caused by fouling was selected as response parameter. A pH of 8.5, temperature of 30 degrees C, TMP of 12 bar and cross-flow rate of 2 L/min were determined as optimum operating conditions in the NF process. According to analysis of variance (ANOVA), pH was the most effective factor while TMP and cross-flow rate had low effects on the fouling. Membrane fouling was also evaluated with scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), zeta potential and optical profilometer measurements. In the RO process, the quality of NF permeate obtained from optimum operating conditions was improved by an RO membrane. Although a NF membrane was not effective in reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD), Orto-P and NH4+-N, these parameters were almost removed in the NF + RO system. These results showed that, the Taguchi method was successfully applied to determine the optimum operating conditions for the treatment of laundry wastewater with an NF process. Water treated with integrated membrane processes (NF + RO) is sufficient for use as laundry washing water