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Membrane fouling is a serious handicap of membrane-based separation, as it reduces permeation flux and hence increases operational and maintenance expenses. Polyurethane–paraffin wax (PU/PW) nanocapsules were integrated into the polyethersulfone membrane to manufacture a composite membrane with higher antifouling and permeability performance against humic acid (HA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) foulants. All manufactured membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), and contact angle. The contact angle of the pristine polyethersulfone (PES) membrane was measured 73.40 ± 1.32. With the embedding of nanocapsules, the contact angle decreased to 64.55 ± 1.23 for PES/PU/PW 2.0 wt%, and the pure water flux of all composite membranes increased when compared to pristine PES. The pristine PES membrane also has shown the lowest steady-state fluxes at 45.84 and 46.59 L/m2h for BSA and HA, respectively. With the increase of PU/PW nanocapsule ratio from 0.5 to 1.0 wt%, steady-state fluxes increased from 51.96 to 71.61 and from 67.87 to 98.73 L/m2h, respectively, for BSA and HA. The results depicted that BSA and HA rejection efficiencies of PU/PW nanocapsules blended PES membranes increased when compared to pristine PES membranes.

In this study, L-histidine zwitterionic carbon dots (HZCDs) were synthesized using the hydrothermal method. The synthesized HZCDs were used to modify polyethersulfone (PES) membranes. Additionally, the HZCDs-modified membranes were activated using the protease enzyme to prepare protease-activated composite membranes. The prepared materials underwent extensive characterization and validation using various techniques, including Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses. The blending or activation of HZCDs by the protease enzyme reduced the contact angle of the prepared membranes. The contact angle decreased from 78.75° to 50.12° and 40.02° for 2.0 wt.% HZCDs-PES and PES/Protease-HZCDs membranes, respectively. As the contact angle decreased, the hydrophilic nature of the prepared membranes increased, reflecting a strong affinity for water and efficient wettability. In this context, the pure water flux (PWF) values of PES membranes increased from 140.5 ± 5.3 to 248.7 ± 8.4 L/m 2 .h with rising HZCDs amount from 0 to 2 wt.% HZCDs-PES. Additionally, PWF values for protease-activated composite membranes increased from 140.5 ± 5.3 to 321.1 ± 9.2 L/m 2 . h. BSA flux values of PES membranes increased from 56.4 ± 2.4 to 82.9 ± 0.9 L/m 2 .h with increasing HZCDs amount from 0 to 2.0 wt.% HZCDs-PES. Besides, BSA values for protease-activated composite membranes increased from 56.4 ± 2.4 to 89.8 ± 2.2 L/m 2 .h. The purpose of this modification was to impart hydrophilic properties to the PES membrane and address the issue of membrane fouling, which is a common problem in filtration processes. 2.0 wt.% HZCDs-PES and enzyme-activated membranes PES membranes demonstrated 100% BSA removal efficiency. Also, 2.0 wt.% HZCDs-blended membranes and 2.0 wt.% protease-HZCDs-blended membranes demonstrated remarkable antifouling properties up to 87.7% and 88.8% flux recovery ratio (FRR), respectively. In contrast, BSA flux recovery reached only 67.8% for the pristine PES. When compared to pristine PES membranes, enzyme-activated membranes demonstrated superior filtration and protein rejection efficiencies.

Microcephaly, epilepsy and diabetes syndrome 1 (MEDS1) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by defects in the immediate early response 3 interacting protein 1 ( ) gene. Only nine cases have been described in the literature. MEDS1 manifests as microcephaly with simplified gyral pattern in combination with severe infantile epileptic encephalopathy and early-onset permanent diabetes. A simplified gyral pattern has been described in all cases reported to date. Diagnosis is made by demonstration of specific mutations in the gene. In this study, we present an additional case of a patient with MEDS1 who was homozygous for the c.53C>T p.(Ala18Val) variant. This case, the first to be reported from Turkey, differs from other cases due to the absence of a typical simplified gyral pattern on early brain magnetic resonance imaging, the late onset of diabetes, and the presence of a new genetic variant. The triad of microcephaly, generalized seizures and permanent neonatal diabetes should prompt screening for mutations in .

Children distribute resources to recipients differentially regarding various factors such as ‘need’ or ‘friendship’ (social closeness). The aim of this study is to examine the interaction between these two variables by presenting children with two recipients who are a friend and a stranger varying on the number of materials they need. A distribution task with four different scenarios (conditions) was applied to 25 children (Mage =62.16, 15 males) aged 4-6 years. Across scenarios of four experimental conditions, the amount of needed materials was manipulated between the friend and the stranger. The participants were asked to distribute resources to the recipients in each experimental session. Allocation of all resources to the needy recipient to eliminate the need in the expense of the friend meant ‘fair’ distribution; while the allocation of all resources to the friend meant ‘friend-favoring’. The results showed an interaction between ‘need’ and ‘friendship’ for their roles in allocation decisions. Children favored the friend when their friend is needier than the stranger and transferred the greatest amount of resources to the needy friend. In the condition that the stranger is needier, levels of friend-favoring decrease. The results indicated that preschool children have a tendency for favoritism but this preference weakens in presence of a needier stranger. Taken together, the findings suggest that children are capable of taking the two competing factors of friendship and neediness into consideration at a time and able to adjust their allocation to meet the needs of not only friends but also strangers. Preschool children’s preference to support fairness occurs together with their developing helping behavior and moral reasoning as well.

The essential characteristics of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) are the presence of acute onset neurologic symptoms, focal vasogenic edema at neuroimaging, and reversible clinical and/or radiologic findings. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical findings, causes, radiologic findings, and prognoses of patients with PRES. Patients with PRES confirmed with clinical and radiologic findings by a pediatric neurologist were evaluated retrospectively. Seventeen patients with PRES were evaluated (mean age at onset, 10.23 ± 4.65 years; range, 2-17 years; girls, 29.4% [n = 5]). The mean length of follow-up was 6 ± 2.3 years (range, 3.4-10 years). Mortality due to primary disease occurred in 4 patients (23.5%) during follow-up. PRES was derived from renal diseases in 10 patients (58.8%), hematologic diseases in 6 patients (35.3%), and liver disease in one patient (5.9%). Hypertension was present in 16 patients (94.1%) at onset of PRES (>99th percentile). Seizure, the most frequent initial symptom, was observed in 82.4% (n = 14). Blurred vision and headache were the initial symptoms in 3 patients (17.6%). Sequelae were observed at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 6 patients. Development of epilepsy was determined as a sequela in 4 patients (23.5%) and mental motor retardation in 2 patients (11.8%). Epilepsy is uncommon in patients who have recovered from PRES. The presence of gliosis on MRI and interictal epileptic discharges on electroencephalograms are major risk factors for the development of epilepsy. Antiepileptic treatment can be stopped in the early period in patients with normal MRI and electroencephalogram by eliminating the factors that trigger the seizures.

Introduction: Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a reticuloendothelial system malignancy that is almost completely confined to lymph nodes. Extranodal involvement is rare in Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Pulmonary involvement is also rare condition in this disease. In our case, we aimed to report radiological findings of a 28 year old male patient with Hodgkin’s lymphoma involving bilateral lungs. Case Presentation: A 28-year-old man with abdominal pain, fever and cough was admitted to the emergency department of our hospital. The patient’s complaints of abdominal pain and cough have continued and have been increasing for the last month. After physical examination revealed sensitivity in the abdomen and fever, the patient was referred to radiology. In ultrasonographic examination, we found that the size and echogenity of kidneys were increased bilaterally and multiple hypoechoic lesions with minimal peripheral blood supply at doppler sonography with a largest diameter of 45 mm were observed in both kidneys. When the scanning area was expanded to clarify the patient clinic, a number of pathological lymph nodes up to 4 cm in size in both inguinal regions, paraaortic area and cervical region and several hypoechoic lesions in the spleen were observed. Because of the pathological lymph nodes, lesions in the spleen and no sign of inflammation at the perirenal regions led us to pre-diagnosis of lymphoma. On chest X-ray, there was a significant expansion at mediastinum and multiple irregular opacities in bilateral lung parenchyma. In addition, in the thoraco-abdominal CT examination, multiple conglomerated LAPs were found at bilateral hilar area in the mediastinum and there were diffuse focal irregularly consolidated areas in the lung parenchyma and sclerotic appearance in the L2 vertebra (ivory vertebra). Histopathological evaluation revealed nodular sclerosing Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Conclusion: Hodgkin lymphoma constitutes 1% of all cancers and 25-40% of lymphomas. It shows bimodal age distribution in developed countries, peaks in the 20s and after 45 years of age. In all age groups, Hodgkin lymphoma is more common in men, but in the nodular sclerosing type it is more common in women contrary to our case. In the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma, chemotheraphy and radiotheraphy is recommended alone or combined. Even it is very rare, radiologists should be aware of the widespread involvement of the Hodgkin’s lymphoma as in our case.

OBJECTIVE: Breath-holding spells (BHSs) are a non-epileptic paroxysmal phenomenon characterized by frequent apnea episodes, loss of consciousness, and changes in skin tone and postural tone triggered by negative stimuli of childhood. The pathophysiology of the disease remains unclear; autonomic dysregulation caused by delayed myelination is believed to play a role. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the brainstems of children with BHS using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and investigate the etiology of this phenomenon. METHODS: The study group consisted of 16 children with a history of severe breath-holding episodes (accompanied by loss of consciousness and tonic contraction due to prolonged anoxic response) and 18 age-, gender-, and handedness-matched controls. All children underwent systemic, neurologic, and cardiologic evaluation, including complete blood count, blood biochemistry, serum iron and ferritin level, serum vitamin B12 level, electrocardiogram, and electroencephalograms. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed using a 1.5-Tesla Siemens Aera scanner (Siemens, Germany). RESULTS: Evaluation of brainstem (midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata) volumes revealed no statistically significant differences between the BHS patient and control groups. In a voxel-wise analysis of DTI data, the BHS patient group had significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) values than the control group in the bilateral midbrain and medulla, right corticospinal tract, bilateral corpus callosum body and splenium, and left corpus callosum genu. In contrast, there were no significant differences in FA values in the pons, cerebellum, left corticospinal tract, and right corpus callosum genu. CONCLUSION: Based on our findings, we think that patients with BHS should be treated with an approach similar to other neurodevelopmental diseases and that this study may help elucidate the pathophysiology and establish the groundwork for future studies on its treatment. Keywords: Brainstem; breath-holding; child.

Laccases or laccase-like multicopper oxidases have great potential in bioremediation to oxidase phenolic or non-phenolic substrates. However, their inability to maintain stability in harsh environmental conditions and against non-substrate compounds is one of the main reasons for their limited use. The gene (mco) encoding multicopper oxidase from Bacillus mojavensis TH309 were cloned into pET14b( +), expressed in Escherichia coli, and purified as histidine tagged enzyme (BmLMCO). The molecular weight of the enzyme was about 60 kDa. The enzyme exhibited laccase-like activity toward 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (2,6-DMP), syringaldazine (SGZ), and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS). The highest enzyme activity was recorded at 80 °C and pH 8. BmLMCO showed a half-life of ~ 305, 99, 50, 46, 36, and 20 min at 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 °C, respectively. It retained more than 60% of its activity after pre-incubation in the range of pH 5–12 for 60 min. The enzyme activity significantly increased in the presence of 1 mM of Cu2+. Moreover, BmLMCO tolerated various chemicals and showed excellent compatibility with organic solvents. The Michaelis constant (Km) and the maximum velocity (Vmax) values of BmLMCO were 0.98 mM and 93.45 µmol/min, respectively, with 2,6-DMP as the substrate. BmLMCO reduced the antibacterial activity of cefprozil, gentamycin, and erythromycin by 72.3 ± 1.5%, 79.6 ± 6.4%, and 19.7 ± 4.1%, respectively. This is the first revealing shows the recombinant production of laccase-like multicopper oxidase from any B. mojavensis strains, its biochemical properties, and potential for use in bioremediation.

Objectives: Glioblastoma is the most common primary neoplasm of the central nervous system (CNS) and has a very poor prognosis. Ki-67 proliferative index is a value that reflects the mitotic index of the tumor and is associated with poor prognosis. The radiological features of the tumors can predict the course of the disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the morphology and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the tumor with the Ki-67 index on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Preoperative MRI images of 52 patients with pathological diagnosis of glioblastoma were evaluated retrospectively. A score ranging from 1 to 3 was assigned to each of the morphological features of the tumors (peritumoral edema, necrosis, contrasting pattern, heterogeneity, hemorrhage, mass effect, tumor contour irregularity), and was added up to obtain the total score. In addition, the ADC values of each tumor were measured at the workstation. ADC value and total score of each tumor, and Ki-67 values obtained histopathologically were compared. Results: There was a negative correlation between Ki-67 index of tumors and ADC values (r=-0.895, p = 0.0001). A significant positive correlation was found between the morphological features of the tumors and their total scores (r=0.772, p = 0.0001). A statistically significant negative correlation was found between total score and ADC values (r=-0.780, p = 0.0001). Heterogeneity and necrosis were the features most closely associated with Ki-67. These were followed by mass effect, hemorrhage and contour irregularity, respectively. Conclusions: The morphological findings and ADC values obtained from preoperative MRI are related to the Ki-67 value, and thus can be used to predict prognosis and guide treatment in the early period.

Günümüz Türkiye’si sanatı, postmodernizmin etkisi altındadır. Postmodernizm alanındaki çağdaş sanat pratikleri, günümüz sanatının dinamiğini oluşturmaktadır. ‘Post truht’ kavramı politika alanında ortaya çıkmış bir kavram olmasına rağmen son dönemlerde sanat alanında da sıklıkla yer almaktadır. Post truht kavramı, günümüz sanat anlayışında, sanat-hakikat ilişkisi bağlamında ele alınmıştır. Bahsi geçen bu kavram, Banksy’nin ‘Kırmızı Balonlu Kız’ eseri örneklendirilerek incelenmiştir.Günümüz sanat pratiklerinin politik söylemlerinin modernizmin hâkim olduğu dönemlerdeki söylemlere göre değişime uğradığı gözlemlenmiştir. Bu söylemler, çağdaş sanattın malzemesi olan hazır nesneler ile ifade edilmektedir. Hazır nesneler ile ifade edilen çağdaş sanat pratiklerinin toplumun genelinde yarattığı etkiler incelenmiştir. Çağdaş sanatın ivme kazanması ile paralel sanat sermaye ilişkiside yön değiştirmiştir. Bu kapsamda sanatın piyasalaşması ile kamusallıktan çıkma nedenlerine açıklık getirilmiştir.Sanatın piyasalaşması ile sanat yapılanmaları ve sanat politikaları alanında küratörler, bienaller, sanat fuarları, sanat galerileri ve özel sanat müzelerinin sanat ortamında önem kazandıkları ve günümüz Türkiye sanatını belirleyen aktörler oldukları açıklanmıştır.Kapitalist sistemin günümüz sanat piyasası ve yapılanmaları üzerinde egemen olduğu düşünülmektedir. Çağdaş sanat pratiklerine eleştirel bir bakış açısı getiren ‘Kare’ (The Square) filmi bu kapsamda incelenmiştir. Türkiye’deki sanatçı inisiyatifleri, sanat alanında hâkim olan sanat yapılanmalarına muhalif bir tutum göstermektedirler. Bahsi geçen bu inisiyatifler devlet tarafından maddi olarak desteklenmemektedirler. Bu oluşumların ekonomilerini, alternatif fonlarla çözmeleri sonucunda devamlılıkları yıllarla ifade edilmemektedir.Bu çalışmanın amacı; günümüz Türkiye’si sanatını etkileyen akımlara ve kavramlara açıklık getirmek, bunların politik söylemini ve sermaye ile bağını irdelemek, sanatın kamusallıktan çıkmasıyla birlikte gelişen sanat yapılanmaları ve politikalarını incelemek, bu yapılanmalara muhalif tutum gösteren oluşumların varlıklarını incelemektir.