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Purpose: At present, drug treatments are composing the majority of dry eye therapies. However, considering the side effects of drugs, there has been increasing interest in novel non-drug treatment options, and these new treatments have been researching ways of tear production. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of chewing gum on tear-meniscus parameters and blinking rate with objective and quantitative methods. Methods: Sixty eyes of 30 healthy volunteers' tear-meniscus height (TMH), tear-meniscus depth (TMD), and tear-meniscus area (TMA) were acquired with anterior segment-optical coherence tomography. Tear-meniscus measurements were performed before and during chewing gum; at 15 and 30 min. Blinking rates were also recorded both before and during chewing gum for 5 min. Results: TMH, TMD, and TMA values at 15 and 30 min of chewing gum were significantly higher than those values before chewing gum (p<0.001). TMH, TMD, and TMA values at 15 min of chewing gum were similar to those values at 30 min of chewing gum (p>0.05). Blinking rate during chewing gum was significantly higher than that value before chewing gum (p<0.001). Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study demonstrating that chewing gum increased tear-meniscus parameters and blinking rate at acute phase of chewing with objective, quantitative, and non-invasive methods. Chewing gum is cheap, sustainable, and easy to reach. In addition, it is not a drug, and there is no risk of drug-related side effects. According to our outcomes, we thought that chewing gum might improve dry eye-related complaints by increasing tear production and blinking rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of a single-session of 180° selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) as primary treatment in newly diagnosed cases with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEG) and ocular hypertension (OHT). Methods: Thirty-six eyes of 36 PEG cases (PEG-group) and 32 eyes of 32 OHT cases (OHT-group) were included in the study. Intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT), and endothelial cell count (ECC) were noted at baseline and post-SLT 3rd month. IOP reduction and success rates were detected. Inter and intragroup comparisons were made. Results: At baseline, age and gender distributions of groups were similar (P>0.05). Baseline IOP was 26.7±1.6 in PEG-group and 27.2±1.2 mmHg in OHT-group (P=0.648). In both groups, there was a significant decrease in IOP at 3rd month compared to baseline (P<0.001). IOP at 3rd month was 18.9±1.1 in PEG-group and 19.6±0.6 mmHg in OHT-group (P=0.507). IOP reduction rate (29.2% vs. 27.9%, P=0.807) and success rate (69.4% vs. 75%, P=0.846) were similar in PEG-group and OHT-group. Baseline CCT was 541.4±25.3 in PEG-group and 543.3±22.1 µm in OHT-group (P=0.581), while baseline ECC was 2496.5±231.8 and 2512.3±242.7 cells/mm2, respectively (P=0.324). In groups, no significant change was detected in CCT and ECC values at 3rd month compared to baseline (P>0.05). IOP, CCT, and ECC values of groups were similar at 3rd month (P>0.05). Conclusion: We found that single-session of 180° SLT was similarly effective in reducing the IOP in newly diagnosed PEG and OHT cases. We also detected that it was safe for cornea and could be used as primary treatment in newly diagnosed cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the elastic theory assumptions, an infinite element boundary which is frequency independent is derived. The infinite element development is based on mapping functions and viscous layer for damping propagating waves. In numerical modelling the general finite element software ANSYS using its User Programmable Features (UPF) is used. Related comparisons are done with PLAXIS and ABAQUS software. In simulation of propagating waves, the numerical approach is done considering several one-dimensional and two-dimensional wave propagation.

Background: The objective was to retrospectively evaluate the contribution of fluorodeoxyglucose [18F] positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18FDG-PET/CT) to the re-staging of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). Materials and methods: A total of 16 patients (10 males and 6 females), who underwent adrenalectomy due to adrenocortical carcinoma and 18FDG-PET/CT scan to re-stage the tumor between July 2007 and April 2013, were included in the present study. The mean age was 53.37 ± 13.91 years (min: 30, max: 74) The patients were required to fast for six hours prior to scanning, and whole-body PET scanning from the skull base to the upper thighs was performed approximately 1 h after the intravenous injection of 555 MBq of F-18 FDG. Whole body CT scanning was performed in the cranio-caudal direction. FDG-PET images were reconstructed using CT data for attenuation correction. Suspicious recurrent or metastatic lesions were confirmed by histopathology or clinical follow-up. Results: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of 18FDG-PET/CT were 100%, 83.3%, 90.9%, 83.3%, and 93.7%, respectively. Conclusion: 18FDG-PET/CT detects local recurrence and/or distant metastases with high accuracy in the re-staging of operated adrenocortical carcinoma. It is considered that the procedure could play an important role in treatment decision after the operation and post-operative follow-up and could influence the entire decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The criticality problem for one-speed neutrons in a slab is investigated using Chebyshev polynomials of first kind in the series expansion of the neutron angular flux in stationary neutron transport equation. The medium is assumed to let the neutrons to scatter anisotropically and to be surrounded by a reflector. The critical thicknesses for the neutrons in a uniform finite slab are computed for selected values of the reflection coefficient and the anisotropy parameter and they are given in the tables. The numerical results obtained from the present method are in good accordance with the results already existed in literature.

Introduction: Hematological inflammatory markers and metabolic parameters in positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) are important indicators predicting the prognosis of the disease in lung cancer as in many cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between pretreatment hematological inflammatory markers and PET/CT metabolic parameters in nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and to predict the prognostic value of these parameters. Materials and Methods: A total of 132 patients with diagnosed NSCLC who underwent PET/CT at staging were retrospectively evaluated. Hematological parameters were obtained from the hemogram taken no more than 2 weeks prior to PET/CT. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) were recorded. Maximum standard uptake value, SUVmean, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were calculated. Clinical stage, tumor pathology, and overall survival were analyzed with these parameters. Results: NLR and PLR were significantly positively correlated with MTV and TLG (all P < 0.001), MPV was negatively correlated with TLG (P = 0.021). While TLG, MTV, NLR, and PLR were increased in advanced stage disease, MPV was decreased. Univariate Cox-regression analysis demonstrated that greater age (P = 0.015), advanced stage (P < 0.001), low MPV (P = 0.017), high NLR (P < 0.001), PLR (P < 0.001), MTV (P = 0.004), TLG (P = 0.001) values, multivariate Cox-regression analysis revealed that NLR (P < 0.001) and advanced stage (P < 0.001) were significant predictors of poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC. Conclusions: There were significant associations between hematological inflammatory markers and PET/CT metabolic parameters in the patients with NSCLC at the time of diagnosis. These indicators can contribute to predicting prognosis in patients with NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Hakan. Ozturk Dear Editor, With reference to the recent article on venous air embolism during percutaneous nephrolithotomy published in your journal, [sup][1] we would like to reiterate that air [...]

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In the study, an experimental and numerical study is performed to investigate the efficiency of diagonal shear reinforcement (DSR) on reinforced concrete (RC) short beams. For this purpose, 7 RC short beam specimens were tested under a 4-point loading, and a numerical study is conducted by using finite element method. Additionally, the efficiency of addition of DSR to specimens is observed in the experimental study together with the increase in stirrup spacing. Analysis results are compared in terms of load-displacement behavior and failure modes. As a result of the study, a significant improvement both in shear and displacement capacities of the RC short beams are achieved along with addition of DSR in short beams. Moreover, it is deduced from the numerical results that increasing both the diameter and yield strength of DSR makes a significant contribution to the shear capacity and ductility of shear critical RC members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]