Digital Commons Network^™

Esophageal Replacement By Hydroxylated Bacterial Cellulose Patch In A Rabbit Model, Changlai Zhu, Fang Liu, Wenbo Qian, Yingjie Wang, Qingsheng You, Tianyi Zhang, Feng Li

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: To repair esophageal defects by hydroxylated and kombucha -synthesized bacterial cellulose (HKBC) patch in a rabbit model. Materials and methods: Semicircular esophageal defects 1 cm in length of the cervical esophagus were initially created in 18 Japanese big-ear rabbits and then repaired with HKBC patch grafts. The clinical outcomes including survival rate, weight change, food intake, and hematological and radiologic evaluation were observed. After X-ray evaluation, the rabbits were sacrificed sequentially at 1, 3, and 6 months for histopathologic analysis with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results: Survival rate during the first month was 88.9% (n = 16). …

Epidemiology, Causative Agents, And Risk Factors Affecting Humanotomycosis Infections, Metwally Abdelazeem, Ahmed Gamea, Hanan Mubarak, Nessma Elzawawy

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: Otomycosis, or fungal otitis externa, has typically been described as fungal infection of the external auditory canal, with infrequent complications involving the middle ear. This study assessed a mycological analysis of fungal debris from external auditory canals of patients at Tanta University Hospital, Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. Materials and methods: The samples were collected over a year from the 110 patients that were clinically diagnosed to have otomycosis. The samples were then inoculated and culture plates were examined for the presence of fungal growth. Results: The results showed that Aspergillus niger was the most common fungus causing otomycosis. It was …

Evaluation Of Gcf Mmp-1, Mmp-8, Tgf-Ss1, Pdgf-Ab, And Vegf Levels In Periodontally Healthy Smokers, Gülni̇hal Eren, Hati̇ce Oya Türkoğlu, Hari̇ka Atmaca, Fatma Gül Ati̇lla

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The effect of smoking on inflammatory biomarkers in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) is well established in the presence of periodontal inflammation. However, it is not clear if smoking has an influence on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and growth factor levels in the GCF of periodontally healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate GCF levels of MMP-1, MMP-8, transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AB, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in smoking versus nonsmoking periodontally healthy subjects. Materials and methods: Thirty-two periodontally healthy subjects were included in this study. Probing depths, bleeding on probing, and plaque …

Periocular Changes In Topical Bimatoprost And Latanoprost Use, Meli̇sa Zi̇şan Karslioğlu, Melek Banu Hoşal, Oya Tekeli̇

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: To evaluate the periocular changes due to topical bimatoprost and latanoprost use and to investigate their effects on the lacrimal drainage system. Materials and methods: All participants (69 eyes of 43 patients, 52 eyes of 26 controls) were classified into three groups: bimatoprost (0.03%) users, latanoprost (0.005%) users, and healthy controls. Each patient was examined before prostaglandin therapy, and then at the first, third, sixth, and twelfth month of therapy. Palpebral fissure height, upper eyelid crease, and levator function were measured, and lacrimal system drainage irrigation was performed. Periocular hyperpigmentation and upper eyelid sulcus were also examined. Results: No …

A Comparison Of Hair And Serum Trace Elements In Patients With Alzheimer Disease And Healthy Participants, Emi̇ne Rabi̇a Koç, Ati̇lla İlhan, Zübeyde Aytürk, Burcu Acar, Mukaddes Gürler, Aynur Altuntaş, Mustafa Karapi̇rli̇, Abdurrahman Sai̇d Bodur

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: To determine whether there was a difference between serum and hair trace elements' concentrations in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and healthy participants. Materials and methods: Hair and serum copper, selenium, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and iron levels were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in patients with AD and healthy participants, and the obtained results were statistically compared. Results: The mean hair selenium and zinc levels of patients with AD were significantly lower than the levels found for control participants (P < 0.05). Patients with AD had significantly higher mean hair copper and manganese levels than the controls. There were no significant differences between AD patients and controls with respect to the hair iron and magnesium levels (P > 0.05). Hair and serum trace element (copper, selenium, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and iron) levels in patients with AD …

Applicability Of Xpert Mtb/Rif Assay For Routine Diagnosis Of Tuberculosis: A Four-Year Single-Center Experience, Cem Çeli̇k, Mustafa Gökhan Gözel, Mustafa Zahi̇r Bakici, Serdar Berk, Sefa Levent Özşahi̇n, Esra Gültürk

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Background/aim: The aim of this study is to assess the Xpert MTB/RIF assay for diagnosis of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in clinical samples and to compare the results by reference to the diagnostic method, Bactec MGIT 960. Materials and methods: A total of 7407 samples were included from patients not primarily suggesting pulmonary or extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB), collected from patients required to be screened for TB and excluding TB diagnoses since it was a differential diagnosis. Also included were a total of 411 samples from patients primarily suggesting pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB. Results: In the first group, 152 of 7407 …

Ebola Viral Disease: What Should Be Done To Combat The Epidemic In 2014?, Ali̇ye Baştuğ, Hürrem Bodur

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Ebola virus disease (EVD) was defined first in 1976. Since then, more than 24 epidemics have been reported from Africa, predominantly with the Zaire species. On 21 March 2014, the current West Africa outbreak was reported by the World Health Organization, the largest one ever recorded. The Congo epidemic was reported in July 2014. It was considered that the two epidemics had unrelated origins with 96.8% identical genomic sequence of the virus. EVD outbreaks occurred in areas with limited resources but it has a potentially global effect due to the possibility of imported infection and the potential misuse of the …

A New Utilization Area For Hyperbaric Oxygen? Improving Quality Of Stored Blood, Hakan Ay, Ramazan Yüksel, Kemal Şi̇mşek, Turgut Topal, Özgür Yeşi̇lyurt, Şükrü Öter, Ahmet Korkmaz, Mehmet Özler, Bülent Uysal, Hali̇l Yaman, Orhan Bedi̇r, Hayati̇ Bi̇lgi̇ç

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Since blood bags have the ability for diffusion of gases, we investigated whether hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) exposure affects several vital parameters of stored blood. Materials and methods: Bloods obtained from the same persons were used as both control and HBO groups and stored in pediatric bags with citrate-phosphate-dextrose solution. HBO administration was performed at 2.5 atm for 90 min, started 1 day after blood collection and repeated every 2 days for a total of 10 times. The study was terminated on the 21st day. Complete blood count, glucose, pH, and osmotic fragility values were measured every week. Results: Glucose and …

Serum Vegf Levels In Gastric Cancer Patients: Correlation With Clinicopathological Parameters, Celal İsmai̇l Bi̇lgi̇ç, Mesut Tez

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To evaluate the predictive role of the circulating levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in gastric cancer patients. Materials and methods: This study is a case-control study. We measured serum VEGF levels of 30 patients aged between 34 and 83 years with gastric cancer and 30 patients without malignant pathology, operated on for benign pathologies, with ages ranging from 18 to 69. Results: Serum levels of VEGF were correlated with the tumor type classification (signet cell adenocarcinoma) and the presence of adjacent tissue invasion. There was also a positive correlation between serum VEGF and carcinoembryonic antigen levels. Conclusion: In …

Evaluation Of Autoinflammatory Disease Genes In Nasal Polyposis, Sabri̇ Köseoğlu, Kürşat Murat Özcan, Aykut İki̇nci̇oğullari, Mehmet Ali̇ Çeti̇n, Tali̇h Özdaş, Si̇bel Özdaş, Serdar Ensari̇, Haci Hüseyi̇n Dere

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To investigate cold-induced autoinflammatory syndrome 1 (CIAS1) gene polymorphisms that cause autoinflammatory diseases in patients with nasal polyposis (NP). Materials and methods: The study included 30 patients diagnosed with NP and 30 healthy age-matched individuals as a control group. CIAS1 polymorphisms were assessed by DNA sequence analysis. Patients with nasal polyps and the control group were compared in terms of gene polymorphisms. Each of the 8 polymorphisms of the CIAS1 gene was analyzed separately in the patient group. Results: The most frequently observed polymorphisms in the patient group were c.732G > A in 83%, c.663C > T in 23%, and c.1308C > A …

Assessment Of Nasal Mucociliary Clearance In Anesthetists, Eyüp Horasanli, Aydin Acar, Bünyami̇n Muslu, Meli̇h Çayönü, Murat Çi̇mencan, Serkan Kayabaşi

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

To assess mucociliary clearance in anesthetists who were exposed to waste anesthetic gases occupationally. Materials and methods: The first group consisted of 30 anesthetists who had been working at least 2 years. The control group of 30 subjects was selected from hospital staff with no history of occupational exposure to waste anesthetic gases. Mucociliary clearance time was assessed by measuring the saccharine nasal transit time (SNTT). Results: Thirty-six women and 24 men aged between 25 and 60 years were enrolled in the study. There were no differences between the anesthetist and control groups in terms of age, sex, height, or …

Solving Russian Velars: Palatalization, The Lexicon And Gradient Contrast Utilization, Jeffery R. Parker

Faculty Publications

Палатализованные («мягкие») задненебные согласные в русском языке имеют особый статус, поскольку их появление можно предсказать лишь частично. Эти согласные являются примером часто встречающихся фонологических отношений, в которых звуки могут быть словоразличительными, но используются лишь в некоторых контекстах и/или словоформах. Такие «промежуточные фонологические отношения» (ОоШзткЬ 1995) представляют собой проблему для традиционных фонологических теорий, в которых звуки делятся на предсказуемые (аллофоны; содержатся в грамматике) и непредсказуемые (фонемы; содержатся в лексиконе). Таким образом, для научно-теоретической классификации вышеуказанных промежуточных фонологических отношений необходимо будет пересмотреть существующие предположения о природе и количестве информации, содержащейся в лексиконе. В данной статье я показываю, что и мягкие, и твердые …

The Competency Pivot: Introducing A Revised Approach To The Business Communication Curriculum, Jacob D. Rawlins, Kristen Lucas

Faculty Publications

In this article, we outline a competency-based approach to teaching business communication. At the heart of this approach, classroom instruction, assignments, and evaluation center on a goals-oriented and receiver-centric understanding of communication in which students are taught strategies for meeting five core competencies of business communication: professional, clear, concise, evidence driven, and persuasive. This is not a reinvention of the curriculum but instead a pivot that positions existing disciplinary knowledge and best practices into a clear, memorable, and professionally oriented framework to help students build critical communication skills that can be applied strategically across a range of business situations.

Beyond The Expansion Framework: How Same-Sex Marriage Changes The Institutional Meaning Of Marriage And Heterosexual Men's Conception Of Marriage, Alan J. Hawkins, Jason S. Carroll

Faculty Publications

Social institutions profoundly affect human behavior. They provide human relationships with meaning, norms, and patterns, and in doing so encourage and guide conduct; they are the "humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction." That is their function. And when the definitions and norms that constitute a social institution change, the behaviors and interactions that the institution shapes also change.

Vertical Variability Of The Raindrop Size Distribution And Its Effects On Decal-Polarimetric Radar Quantitative Precipitation Estimation, Patrick N. Gatlin

Dissertations

The accurate measurement of precipitation is vital to efficiently manage our water resources. Although dual-polarimetric radar technology has greatly improved radar rainfall estimation, there exist inherent sampling factors and uncertainties that must be addressed. One key factor is the height of the radar beam as it samples precipitation. Typically radar beam heights and associated pulse measurement volumes used to estimate rainfall at the ground, increase with distance from the radar and thus may not be representative of the amount of rainfall impacting the ground. The main goal of this study was to determine the effect of the vertical profile of …

Knowledge Spaces : A Context-Driven Concept System Framework For Data Integration, William T. Sabados

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of context in data integration. Traditionally, data integration solutions attempt to find semantic correlations between data sources and determine which elements match. These traditional solutions do not ask in what context the candidate data elements match, nor do they make an attempt capture it. Instead, they assume a single implicit "correct" context. This is odd considering how strong an effect context has in how people perceive, process, and make decisions based on the information available to them. The knowledge space framework introduced in this work remedies this shortcoming by introducing a formal way to capture …

Computational Investigation Of The Influence Of Heating Modes And Moisture Content On Pyrolysis And Ignition Of Live Fuels, Bangalore Lingaraj Yashwanth

Dissertations

The burning of an isolated leaf-like element was computationally investigated in a series of studies, motivated by recent burning experiments performed on live leaves of manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa). In this study, the relative impor- tance of heating modes, effect of fuel moisture content on pyrolysis and combustion of live fuels is explored in stages. A preliminary study was conducted on a simpli- fied one-dimensional configuration, using Gpyro. The heating sources were modeled through convection and/or radiation as boundary conditions. Results showed that the increase in radiative source temperature substantially affects ignition time; how- ever, it has marginal influence on mass …

Let The Sun Shine In: Promoting Civic Engagement With Sunshine Week, Cindy Pierard, Josefine Smith, Caitlin Wells

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Sunshine Week is a national effort to promote the importance of open government and freedom of information. Although originally begun as a news media initiative, it has grown to include community groups, libraries, schools, governments, and others who are committed to civic engagement and access to information. For academic libraries, Sunshine Week offers opportunities for forge collaborations with campus and community partners, and to connect programming with broader student learning goals. This chapter makes the case for Sunshine Week as a mechanism for bringing together campus and community groups around issues of common concern, either as a standalone effort or …

Applying The Transtheoretical Model Of Change To Ergonomic Intervention, Charmaine A. Beckford

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation identified a more effective method of preventing workplace injuries for the employees in a large, private not-for-profit university, in southern Florida. The study lasted over the course of two months, allowing employees’ ample time for effective participation in a structured study design and interviewing the employee participants.

The study evaluated the effects of the transtheoretical model of change (TTM) on ergonomic intervention. The model established the relationship of individual decision making self-efficacy and characterized (a) the relationship between tailoring interventions to match a person’s readiness (stage of change) and ergonomic intervention; (b) the TTM in symptoms occurrence; …

Constituting Children's Bodily Integrity, Jessie Hill

Faculty Publications

Children have constitutional rights to bodily integrity. When children are abused by state actors, courts do not hesitate to vindicate those rights. Moreover, in at least some cases, children’s bodily integrity rights protect them within the family, giving them the right to avoid unwanted physical intrusions regardless of their parents’ wishes. Nonetheless, the scope of this right of children vis-à-vis their parents unclear; the extent to which it applies beyond the narrow context of abortion and contraception has been almost entirely unexplored and untheorized. This Article is the first in the legal literature to analyze the constitutional right of minors …

Pilgrim Finally At Rest: The Journey Of Robert E. Rodes, Jr., Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

90 Notre Dame Law Review 1983 (2015)

Living Dogma, Joseph R. Reisert

Tulsa Law Review

Reviewing Justin Buckley Dyer, Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning, and David Lyons, Confronting Injustice: Moral History and Political Theory.

Kinesiology 186 Human Movement Summer 2015 Online, Elizabeth Frasca

Kinesiology Courses

No abstract provided.

Kinesiology 288 Exercise Physiology Spring 2015, Toni Burkhalter

Kinesiology Courses

No abstract provided.

Edad 890: Diversity And Equity In P-20 Educational Organizations—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Shavonna Holman

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

As a brand new faculty member to the university system and to higher education, I was given the opportunity to develop and teach a brand new course entitled: Diversity and Equity in P-20 Educational Organizations. With this course only being taught a total of three times, each by me, I was unsure if I systematically explored what students were actually getting from the course in connection to the lessons being taught and the assigned activities.

In creating this portfolio, my goals were to improve my teaching in terms of creating a stronger relationship between the things I wanted my students …

Review Of Born Under Auschwitz: Melancholy Traditions In Postwar German Literature By Mary Cosgrove. Rochester, Ny And Cambridge, Uk: Camden House, 2014. 234pp. Isbn 9781571135568., William Grange

Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film: Faculty Publications and Creative Activity

Mary Cosgrove seeks to explore literary variations on the theme of melancholy in postward German fiction, mostly in works by Günter Grass, Wolfgang Hildesheimer, Peter Weiss, W. G. Sebald, and Iris Hanika. Her visual point of reference throughout is the 1514 engraving by Albrecht Dürer titled “Melencolia I,” itself the subject of numerous scholarly inquiries.

Cable-To-Post Attachments For A Non-Proprietary High-Tension Cable Barrier – Phase Ii, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Robert W. Bielenberg, Brandt M. Humphrey, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The research objectives reported herein were based on further development of cable-to-post attachment hardware for use in the non-proprietary high-tension cable barrier system. Specifically, this project aimed to develop and evaluate alternative attachment designs for the bolted, tabbed bracket and evaluate the use of a larger diameter, keeper rod for use in the top cable attachment.

From a group of over 25 alternative attachment concepts, two tabbed bracket designs were selected for evaluation through dynamic component testing: 1) the lateral shear plate attachment and 2) the drop-in shear plate attachment. The drop-in shear plate concept did not perform as intended, …

Understanding Protected Area Resilience: A Multi-Scale, Social-Ecological Approach, Graeme S. Cumming, Craig R. Allen, Natalie C. Ban, Duan Biggs, Harry C. Biggs, David H. M. Cumming, Alta De Vos, Graham Epstein, Michel Etienne, Kristine Maciejewski, Raphael Mathevet, Christine Moore, Mateja Nenadovic, Michael Schoon

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Protected areas (PAs) remain central to the conservation of biodiversity. Classical PAs were conceived as areas that would be set aside to maintain a natural state with minimal human influence. However, global environmental change and growing cross-scale anthropogenic influences mean that PAs can no longer be thought of as ecological islands that function independently of the broader social-ecological system in which they are located. For PAs to be resilient (and to contribute to broader social-ecological resilience), they must be able to adapt to changing social and ecological conditions over time in a way that supports the long-term persistence of populations, …

Barriers And Bridges To The Integration Of Social–Ecological Resilience And Law, Olivia Odom Green, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Lance H. Gunderson, J.B. Ruhl, Craig A. Arnold, Nicholas A.J. Graham, Barbara Cosens, David G. Angeler, Brian C. Chaffin, C.S. Holling

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

There is a fundamental difference between the ways in which ecologists and lawyers view uncertainty: in the study of ecology, uncertainty provides a catalyst for exploration, whereas uncertainty is antithetical to the rule of law. This issue is particularly troubling in environmental management, where the tensions between law and ecology become apparent. Rather than acknowledge uncertainties in management actions, legal frameworks often force a false sense of certainty in linking cause and effect. While adaptive management has been developed to deal with uncertainty, laws and legal wrangling can be obstacles to implementation. In this article, we recommend resilience-based governance – …

Particle-Based Platforms For Malaria Vaccines, Yimin Wu, David L. Narum, Sylvain Fleury, Gary Jennings, Anjali Yadava

United States Army: Publications

Recombinant subunit vaccines in general are poor immunogens likely due to the small size of pep-tides and proteins, combined with the lack or reduced presentation of repetitive motifs and missing complementary signal(s) for optimal triggering of the immune response. Therefore, recombinant sub-unit vaccines require enhancement by vaccine delivery vehicles in order to attain adequate protective immunity. Particle-based delivery platforms, including particulate antigens and particulate adjuvants,are promising delivery vehicles for modifying the way in which immunogens are presented to both theinnate and adaptive immune systems. These particle delivery platforms can also co-deliver non-specific immunostimodulators as additional adjuvants. This paper reviews efforts …