Impact of Case Study Method on an ESP Business Course

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The role of growth factors on hepatic damage in rats with obstructive jaundice

In this study, we investigated the affect and the role of growth factors on liver damage. 110 Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into 11 groups: a sham group, a control group, HGF, EGF, IGF, TGF groups of irreversible jaundiced rats and a control group and HGF, EGF, IGF, and TGF groups of reversible jaundiced rats (n = 10). In the irreversible jaundiced groups, the common bile duct was explorated, double ligated, and cut. 150 μg/kg/day HGF, 5 μg/kg/day EGF, 5 μg/kg/day IGF, and 5 μg/kg/day TGF β-1 were injected intraperitoneally after the seventh post-operative day. In the reversible jaundiced group, the common bile duct was ligated and the ligation was resolved on the seventh post-operative day. For 5 days, growth factors were injected at the same dose. Ductal proliferation scores significantly decreased after growth factor administration in the EGF-A and TGF-A groups. Furthermore, ductal proliferation was decreased in the TGF-B group. As a result of this study, HGF was effective in the irreversible jaundiced groups and ineffective in the reversible jaundice groups. EGF was effective in the reversible jaundiced groups and ineffective in the irreversible jaundiced groups. In both the irreversible jaundiced and reversible jaundiced groups, IGF was ineffective, although TGF β-1 was effective. We believe that these results arise from the positive effects of effective doses of growth factor on liver damage

Isolation and Characterization of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria and Effect of Growth and Nutrient Uptake of Maize Under Pot and Field Conditions

Phosphorus deficiency is one of the main factors for limiting agricultural production. The use of Phosphate Soluble Bacteria (PSB) is an environmentally friendly solution to eliminate phosphorus deficiency. Isolation of PSB and determination of plant growth effects of maize were aimed at this study. For this purpose, 62 phosphate solubilizing rhizobacterial strains isolated from soil and the phosphate solubilization abilities of isolates were determined by laboratory, pot, and field trials. After laboratory trials with 62 strains, pot tests were established with 10 isolates. Inoculation of phosphorus PSB was increased plant height19.38-54.25% and plant dry weight12.32-67.63% under pot experiments. Field trials were conducted between 2014 and 2016 with two PSB (S. marcensens and P. brenneri) according to pot experiments. S. marcensens and P. brenneri increased yield of maize32-33% in 2014 and28-25% in 2015, respectively. Application of P. brenneri increased leaf P, K, and Mg content by 13%, 5%, 9%, and S. marcensens increased the same by 10%, 6%, 17%, respectively. P. brenneri and S. marcensens can be used as biological fertilizers as a promising and sustainable approach to maize productivity in P deficient soils.Republic of Turkiye Ministry of Agriculture and ForestryNGeneral Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies [TAGEM/TSK-11/A13/P04/02]This work was supported by the Republic of Turkiye Ministry of Agriculture and ForestryNGeneral Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies under Grant TAGEM/TSK-11/A13/P04/02

Determination of Mannheimia haemolytica and its macrolide antibiotic resistance genes in fibrinous pneumonia of cattle

Early diagnosis and timely initiation of effective treatment are critical for the pneumonic pasteurellosis, which is mostly caused by Mannheimia haemolytica. But recently, strains of M. haemolytica resistant to antibiotics have begun to emerge, making the treatment of infections more difficult. Therefore, it is important to investigate the erm (42), msr (E) and mph (E) genes, which are held responsible for the resistance to antibiotics.The purpose of the present study was aimed to diagnose the presence of M. haemolytica by IHC method from lung tissue samples of young and adult cattle, and calves, also to detect erm (42), msr (E) and mph (E) genes, which are mostly detected in Pasteurella multocida but recently detected in M. haemolytica, by PCR method. In present study, paraffin blocks obtained from 100 young and adult cattle, and calves lung samples, and whose treatment was not responded, were used. Accordingly, the presence of M. haemolytica was detected by IHC in a total 52 cases of in 21 (38%) of the calves, 22 (69%) of the young cattle, and 9 (69%) of the adult cattle. At least one macrolide resistance gene was found by real–time PCR method in 75% of these positive cases. It was thought that the percentage frequency of these genes, which cause resistance by increasing the minimum inhibitory concentrations of macrolide group antibiotics used in the treatment, by high amounts, makes the treatment of infections difficult and causes serious economic losses by causing errors in effective antibiotic selection. Recently, strains of M. haemolytica resistant to antibiotics have begun to emerge, making the treatment of infections more difficult. For this reason, it is recommended that this type of prevalence studies should be renewed periodically due to possible resistance development and the repeated use of antibiotics with resistive shape should be avoided

Novel Monthly Quality Assurance Regimen and 5-Year Analysis Using a Proton Metrology System

Purpose: To develop a novel, monthly quality assurance (QA) regimen for a proton therapy system that uses 2 custom phantoms, each housing a commercial scintillator detector and a charge-coupled device camera. The novel metrology system assessed QA trends at a pediatric proton therapy center from 2018 to 2022. Materials and Methods: The measurement system was designed to accommodate horizontal and vertical positioning of the commercial device and to enable gantry and couch isocentricity measurements (using a star shot procedure), proton spot profile verification, and imaging and radiation congruence tests to be performed simultaneously in the dual-phantom setup. Gantry angles and proton beam energies were varied and alternated each month, using gantry angles of 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°, 120°, 150°, and 180° and discrete beam energies of 69.4, 84.5, 100, 139.1, 180.4, 200.4, and 221.3 MeV after radiographic verification. A total of 1176 individual monthly QA measurements of gantry and couch isocentricity, spot size, and congruence were analyzed. Results: Gantry and couch star shot measurements showed beam isocentricities of 0.3 ± 0.2 mm and 0.2 ± 0.2 mm, respectively, which were within the threshold of 1.0 mm. Spot sizes for each discrete energy were within the threshold of ± 10% of the baseline values for all 3 proton rooms. The imaging and radiation coincidence test results for the 1176 individual monthly QA measurements were 0.5 mm for the 50th percentile and 1.2 mm (the clinical threshold) for the 97.6th percentile. Conclusions: Integrating a commercial device with custom phantoms improved the quality of proton system checks compared with previous methods using radiochromic films, loose ball bearings, and foam. The scheme of alternating beam angles with discrete energies in the monthly QA-enabled, clinically meaningful verification of beam energy and gantry angle combinations while the machine performance and accuracy were being checked

Intraperitoneal drain placement and outcomes after elective colorectal surgery: international matched, prospective, cohort study

Despite current guidelines, intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery remains widespread. Drains were not associated with earlier detection of intraperitoneal collections, but were associated with prolonged hospital stay and increased risk of surgical-site infections.Background Many surgeons routinely place intraperitoneal drains after elective colorectal surgery. However, enhanced recovery after surgery guidelines recommend against their routine use owing to a lack of clear clinical benefit. This study aimed to describe international variation in intraperitoneal drain placement and the safety of this practice. Methods COMPASS (COMPlicAted intra-abdominal collectionS after colorectal Surgery) was a prospective, international, cohort study which enrolled consecutive adults undergoing elective colorectal surgery (February to March 2020). The primary outcome was the rate of intraperitoneal drain placement. Secondary outcomes included: rate and time to diagnosis of postoperative intraperitoneal collections; rate of surgical site infections (SSIs); time to discharge; and 30-day major postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo grade at least III). After propensity score matching, multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to estimate the independent association of the secondary outcomes with drain placement. Results Overall, 1805 patients from 22 countries were included (798 women, 44.2 per cent; median age 67.0 years). The drain insertion rate was 51.9 per cent (937 patients). After matching, drains were not associated with reduced rates (odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95 per cent c.i. 0.79 to 2.23; P = 0.287) or earlier detection (hazard ratio (HR) 0.87, 0.33 to 2.31; P = 0.780) of collections. Although not associated with worse major postoperative complications (OR 1.09, 0.68 to 1.75; P = 0.709), drains were associated with delayed hospital discharge (HR 0.58, 0.52 to 0.66; P < 0.001) and an increased risk of SSIs (OR 2.47, 1.50 to 4.05; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intraperitoneal drain placement after elective colorectal surgery is not associated with earlier detection of postoperative collections, but prolongs hospital stay and increases SSI risk

COVID-19 lockdown: the unspoken toll on the 65+ community in Turkey

Purpose On March 21, 2020, the Turkish Government imposed a curfew for citizens 65 years old and over and ordered them to stay at home as a measure to protect them against the COVID-19 outbreak. The curfew ended on June 10, 2020, having lasted 82 days. The purpose of this paper is to examine the significant emotional burden on the elderly, as they felt excluded and battled with despair during the lockdown. Design/methodology/approach This reflective paper shares the COVID-19 lockdown experiences of the author with a group of elderly residents of a small community in Ankara, Turkey. Through semi-structured interviews and analysis, three overarching themes of the residents’ experience were identified: vulnerability, social isolation/loneliness and ageism. Findings The elderly in the community are individuals who get their social interaction outside the home. As a result of the nearly three months of social isolation, they have experienced social disconnection and health problems, Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first attempt to give voice to the silenced group of elderly and share their thoughts and feelings during this difficult COVID-19 lockdown in Turkey. </jats:sec

GEM Luminosity Monitors for the Olympus Experiment to determine the Effect of Two-Photon Exchange

The OLYMPUS experiment at DESY acquired its data in two distinct periods between 2012-2013 to measure the ratio of positron-proton and electron-proton elastic scattering cross sections. In light of those measurements, OLYMPUS will be able to quantify the effect of two-photon exchange, which is widely considered to be responsible for the discrepancy between measurements of the proton electric to magnetic form factor ratio with the Rosenbluth separation and polarization transfer methods. In order to control the systematic uncertainties to the subpercent level, the luminosities were monitored redundantly and with high precision. This was done by measuring the rates for symmetric Møller and Bhabha scattering and by measuring the ep-elastic count rates at forward angles and low momentum transfer with tracking telescopes based on GEM (Gas Electron Multiplier) and MWPC (Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber) technology.A total of nine GEM detectors were constructed for the OLYMPUS experiment. Within the scope of this thesis, every single step of construction, testing and installation of the GEM OLYMPUS luminosity monitors are explained in the hardware part of this thesis. Moreover, based on the analysis of the data taken with the GEM luminosity monitors at the OLYMPUS experiment, individual GEM detector performance and preliminary results on the positron/electron luminosity ratio measured with elastic scattering at forward angles are discussedin the analysis part of the thesis