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On January 24, 2020, Sivrice–Elazig–Turkey earthquake occurred along the East Anatolian Fault Zone. The moment magnitude of the event was reported as 6.8. This paper documents reconnaissance findings performed immediately after the event. Investigated sites namely, Lake Hazar shores, Karakaya Dam Reservoir–Euphrates River shores, Malatya–Battalgazi district and its villages, and Elazig Downtown are predicted to be shaken by rock peak ground acceleration, PGAVS30=1100 m/s, levels of 0.12–0.42 g, 0.05–0.11 g, 0.05 g, and 0.08 g respectively. The documented geotechnical field performances vary from widespread liquefaction-induced sand boils and lateral spreading, to no signs of surface manifestations of permanent ground deformations or soil liquefaction. In Battalgazi district and Elazig Downtown, the foundation performances vary from no signs of permanent ground deformations to 1–3 cm settlements, and 1–2 cm lateral movements. Additionally, the hydraulic structures inspected are estimated to be shaken by PGAVS30=1100 m/s levels of 0.03–0.23 g. Other than a minor longitudinal cracking along a limited section along the crest of a homogeneous earthfill dam, no apparent signs of permanent ground deformations were reported. Last but not least, a number of rock falls were mapped, based on back analyses of which probable peak ground velocities at these rockfall sites were speculated.

Background Application of a posterior plate for tibia plateau fractures associated with posterior column involvement is becoming a widespread standard practice as previous studies have shown that additional fixation of the posterior column with a posteromedial buttress plate creates strongest fixation in terms of fracture stabilization This study evaluated the clinical and radiological results of patients undergoing surgery for complex tibial plateau fractures involving the posterior column with a posteromedial plate applied via a medial midline incision. Methods Medical records of patients undergoing surgery for Schatzker type IV, V, and VI tibia plateau fractures involving the posterior column in our institution were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with a follow-up of less than 1 year, pathological fractures, posterolateral column fractures requiring separate fixation, and open fractures were excluded from the study. Three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) was performed in all patients before surgery. The study population consisted of 25 patients (21 males and 4 females) with a mean age of 41.5 (19–66) years. The etiologies of the fractures were traffic accidents in seven cases, pedestrian falls in five cases, falls from a height in seven cases, and motor vehicle accidents in six cases. Results The mean follow-up period was 15.9 months (12–25), mean time to union was 14.32 (9–20) weeks, mean Knee Society score (KSS) was 88 (81–95), and range of movement (ROM) was 123° (95°–140°). Loss of reduction was detected in only one patient (4%). A superficial incisional infection occurred in an anterolateral incision in only one patient (4%), and it recovered after oral antibiotic therapy. None of the patients required early implant removal and none had vascular or nerve complications in the postoperative period. Postoperatively, 23 (92%) patients had anatomical reduction and 2 (8%) had acceptable reduction in the sagittal plane CT sections. Acceptable reduction was achieved in 6(24%) patients and anatomical reduction was achieved in 19 (76%) in the coronal plane CT sections (Table 2). Conclusions Clinical results of posteromedial plate application using a single medial midline incision is promising as complication rates were very low and knee scores were high.

In this study, we aimed to present our clinical and functional results of distal tibial dia-metaphyseal fractures treated with an intramedullary nail that locks distally with an innovative distal locking system called a distal supportive bolt locking screw (DSBLS). Forty-eight patients with distal tibia dia-metaphyseal fractures operated with IMNs distally locked with DSLBS in a level I trauma center were included. Inclusion criteria were fractures of the distal tibia at one-third the distal segment level with simple articular involvement. Functional and radiological assessments were made after at least 14 s. Results were evaluated according to the Johner and Wruhs criteria. The quality of the initial alignment and during follow-ups, malunion, nonunion, and any other complications were evaluated. Technical problems during interventions and implant failures during follow-ups were assessed. All fractures achieved union. The average healing duration was a mean of 17.4 (8–24) weeks. Initial fixation in the recurvatum between 5° and 10° was detected in six patients. No loss during initial reduction was detected during the follow-up of any patient. According to the Johner and Wruhs criteria, 42 patients were functionally evaluated as excellent and six were evaluated as good. No loosening, migration, or breakage of the DSLBS were observed in any patient. The DSBLS provided a stable anchor point for the nail even for very short metaphyseal fragments. It prevented rotation and angulation in both the coronal and sagittal planes without preventing compression, which is mandatory for early weight bearing and bone union.

WOS:000586689700003 In this paper, we state a Korovkin-type theorem for uniform approximation of functions, belonging to a class generated by multivariable function of modulus of continuity, by the sequence of multivariate positive linear operators. Then, using this theorem, we investigate the corresponding uniform approximation result for the multivariate Bleimann, Butzer and Hahn operators which are not in a tensor product design. Moreover, we give an elementary proof that these operators are non-increasing in n when the attached function is convex and non-increasing and we add a graphical example.

An innovative form of a perforated fin (with inclination angles) was considered. In most previous studies, pin fins were perforated in a straight direction to improve the thermal performance of the heat sink. The present rectangular pin fin consisted of an elliptical perforation with two models and two cases. The signum function was used to model the opposite and mutable approach of the heat-transfer area. The degenerate hypergeometric equation was used as a new derivative method to determine a general solution and solved by Kummer’s series. Two validation methods (previous work and Ansys 16.0 steady-state thermal analysis) were considered. The strong agreement of the validation results (0.31 %-0.52 %) showed the reliability of the presented model. The use of the perforated fin reduced the thermal resistance and improved the thermal performance of the pin fin by enhancing heat transfer and increasing the Nusselt number. Moreover, increasing the inclination angle, size, and number of perforations can optimize the present model by maximizing heat transfer and minimizing the weight and length of the pin fins. Increasing the open-area ratio minimizes entropy generation at a certain Rayleigh number and constant heat flux.

Korovkin type approximation theory is concerned with the convergence of the sequences of positive linear operators to the identity operator. In this paper, we deal with the Korovkin type approximation properties of the Cheney–Sharma operators by using A-statistical convergence and Abel convergence that are some well known methods of summability theory. We also study the rate of convergence. Finally, we show that the results obtained in this paper are stronger than previous ones and we support our results with particular examples and graphs.

It is claimed by software quality management that the quality of a software product is highly influenced by the quality of the software process followed to develop it. Since measurement of the software process is a challenging task, it is frequently the defects in the software product that are used to measure development quality. By extracting semantic information from defect records, practitioners can investigate and address root causes of software defects to improve development process and product quality. Investigating root causes requires effort for a detailed analysis into the components of the development process that originated the software defects, and is therefore encouraged only at higher maturity levels by most known process improvement models such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). This practice, however, postpones the benefits that root-cause analysis would bring in gaining process awareness to improve the software development process and product quality in emergent organizations or organizations residing at lower maturity levels (MLs). In this article, we present a method for and results from applying root-cause analysis for software defects recorded in a software-intensive project of a CMMI ML3 certified institute. The suggested method combines process enactment data collection and analysis with Orthogonal Defect Classification which is a known technique in defect root-cause analysis. Prior to and after implementing the method in the study, defect attributes were analyzed and compared in order to understand any improvements in development performance and product quality. The results of the comparison indicate that the suggested method was efficient in the effort it required and effective in improving development performance and product quality. Defect triggers have become more active in identifying software defects in the earlier phases of software development, and the cost of quality due to software defects has decreased in consequence.

The main purpose of compressing soil dams, highway constructions, bridge abutments and fillings behind retaining walls is to increase the bearing capacity, reduce consolidation settlement and permeability of clayey soils. However, the soil particles and pore orientation could be somehow anisotropic due to a compaction-induced anisotropic structure. Orientations of particles, pores and other constituents during compaction of a mixed mica schist clayey soil with fly ash were studied to investigate how soil structure, and in turn, sound velocity change during compaction of a cohesive soil at different moisture contents on all three sides at three are perpendicular to each other. Ultrasonic sound velocity measurements of the cube samples compressed in the optimum water content were investigated perpendicular to each other. The results showed that the ultrasonic sound velocity decreased in the compression direction of the soil samples, namely the overall degree of preferred orientation increases as opposed to the compression direction. On the other hand, the overall degree of preferred horizontal orientation increases and ultrasonic sound velocity decreases.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and reliability of micro-percutaneous nephrolithotomy (micro-PNL) for the management of kidney stones in pediatric patients. This retrospective study included 24 infants that underwent micro-PNL for renal stones between March 2012 and April 2015. The inclusion criteria included: age younger than 2 years, stone size

It is known that mean platelet volume (MPV) increases during acute coronary syndrome. However, there are conflicting data about the importance of MPV in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). This study aimed to assess relationship between MVP and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), stable CAD and normal left ventricular ejection fractions. Thirty-three DM and 46 nonDM patients with stable CAD diagnosed by selective coronary angiography were included in the study. All angiographic variables pertinent to Gensini score (GS) and Syntax score (SS) calculation were computed by two experienced interventional cardiologists. All patients underwent echocardiographic examination. MPV and other biochemical markers were measured on admission. All patients were evaluated and it was found that both scoring systems are correlated with MPV (GS: r = 0.373, p

Percutaneous renal access is the most important step in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL), and the adequacy of access directly affects the success and complication rates of this procedure. We use a monoplanar access technique that is different from biplanar method in that we utilize only fluoroscopic projections maintained on a vertical plane. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of this monoplanar access technique on operative outcomes. From October 2009 to December 2011, a total of 200 patients who had renal stones and underwent monoplanar PNL which done by the same surgical team were included in this study. Patient and procedure-related factors were recorded, as well as perioperation and postoperation variables such as operation time, puncture time, fluoroscopy screening time, complication rates, success rates, and duration of hospitalization. The average patient age at the time of procedure was 30.32 years. Mean operation and puncture time were 79.8 and 0.83 min, respectively. Stone-free rate was 80.5 % in postoperative day 1. After additional procedures such as shock wave lithotripsy (SWL), ureterorenoscopy and re-PNL final success rate was 98 % at third month including patients with clinically insignificant residual fragments. There were no severe complications except one patient in whom adjacent organ injury (colon) was observed. Monoplanar access is a safe and effective technique in PNL procedure. Furthermore less puncture time is an advantage of this technique.

The study aims to devise means of obtaining polyhedral linkages for homothetic deployment of polyhedral shapes by embedding planar link groups in faces of the polyhedral shape of interest. The questions of which polyhedral shapes may be suitable for such a pur-pose and what are the compatibility conditions for spatially assembling planar link groups are addressed. Homohedral and tangential polyhedral shapes are found to be suitable for the task and some examples of linkages are worked out.

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of ureteroscopy (URS) in pregnant patients compared with non-pregnant patients. We reviewed the cases of 41 pregnant and 62 non-pregnant women who developed ureteral stones and were treated with URS in our center between April 2005 and September 2011. A semi-rigid 9.5 F ureteroscope was used. The calculi were fragmented with pneumatic lithotripsy or a holmium laser, and if necessary, a double-J (JJ) stent was inserted during the procedure. Among the pregnant women, the mean gestation period was 23.22 ± 4.61 weeks (range 13-34), and the mean number of pregnancies per patient was 3 ± 2.02 (range 1-10). The mean ages of the pregnant and non-pregnant patients were 27.41 ± 5.79 and 28.54 ± 7.94 years, respectively (p = 0.734). There were no statistically significant differences in stone localization, anesthesia type, stone diameter, methods of stone manipulation, JJ stent insertion rate, hospitalization length, or operative times between the two groups. For pregnant and non-pregnant patients, the stone-free rates achieved in a single session were 87.8 and 85.5 %, respectively (p = 0.737). There was no statistically significant difference in preoperative and postoperative complication rates between the two groups. The positive urine culture rate was statistically significantly higher for pregnant patients than non-pregnant patients (29.3 vs. 11.3 %; p = 0.021). We did not observe any serious obstetric complications. URS is a safe and reasonable treatment option for pregnant patients with ureteral stones refractory to medical treatment during pregnancy.

Aim of this study was to investigate the effects of operation time of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) on renal function and hemodynamic response. Thirty-four patients (14 male, 20 female) with normal renal function who underwent unilateral single-tract PCNL between December 2010 and June 2011 were included in the study. The age, sex, stone size, grade of hydronephrosis, operative time, access pole, shock number of lithotripter, complications, stone-free rate, and hemodynamic parameters during operation were recorded. Total blood count and oxidative stress parameters such as paraoxonase 1 (PON1), total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) levels were examined before the operation as baseline levels and then at 30, 60, 90, and 120 min during the operation. The mean age of the patients was 31.4 ± 18.8 (9-66 years) years. Mean stone size was 35.5 ± 15.6 mm. Mean serum BUN and creatinine did not change postoperatively (p 0.05), whereas mean WBC and 24-h urine cortisol were positively and hematocrite were negatively changed significantly (p 0.05). Oxidative stress parameters such as PON1 and TAS showed statistically significant decreases, while TOS and MDA showed statistically significant increases with increased operation time, especially after 1 h (p 0.005). A bivariate correlation test showed correlation between oxidative stress parameters and operation time (p = 0.002), but no correlation was found between oxidative stress parameters and other parameters (p 0.05). Oxidative stress and response to it increased with increasing operative time during a PCNL procedure, especially after 1 h. Further studies with a larger and longer series should be performed to clarify this issue further.

The aim of this study was to compare the success and complication rates of a 4.5 F ureteroscope with a 7.5 F ureteroscope in the treatment of urolithiasis in preschool-age children. We retrospectively reviewed 69 ureteroscopy (URS) procedures in a pediatric population (40 boys, 29 girls). We divided the patients into two groups according to the type of ureteroscope used: group 1 (n = 42, Storz 7.5 F) and group 2 (n = 27, Wolf 4.5 F). We statistically compared all the procedures performed in both groups regarding patient age, complication rates, whether the procedure was therapeutic, and whether we used a guidewire. Additionally, in cases with ureteral stones, we also compared the stone clearance rate and the necessity of X-ray imaging between the two groups. The mean patient age was 56.04 months in group 1 and 47.48 months in group 2 (p = 0.057). The stone-free rate was 78.6 % in group 1 and 92.6 % in group 2 (p > 0.05). However, when we compared the stone-free rates for patients younger than 3 years, the rate was 66.7 % in group 1 and 93.8 % in group 2 (p < 0.05). The difference was not statistically significant for patients between the ages of 4 and 7 years. The success and failure rates revealed better outcomes for treatment of ureteral stones with a 4.5 F ureteroscope. We recommend the use of the mini-ureteroscope, especially in infants and preschool-age children.

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of ureteroscopy (URS) in pregnant women. A retrospective analysis was performed on 32 pregnant patients referred to our center between April 2005 and November 2010 with hydronephrosis requiring surgical intervention. A semirigid URS of 9.5 F was used in all patients. The mean age of patients was 27.8 years (range 20–39), and the mean gestation duration was 24 weeks (15–34). The ultrasound findings were diagnostic of obstructive ureteral calculi in 16 (50%) patients and the mean stone diameter was 8 mm. Spinal anaesthesia was performed in 22 (68.8%) patients, while general anaesthesia was performed in 7 (21.8%) patients. Ureteric stones were found in 27 (84.3%) patients during endoscopy, 10 being distal, 9 middle and 8 proximal. There were no stones in five patients. The stones were fragmented with pneumatic lithotripsy in 8 patients and with holmium laser in 17 patients and the fragments were retracted with forceps. Of the 32 patients, 19 (59.4%) required JJ stent insertion peroperatively. There was no serious complication intraoperatively, while urinary tract infection developed in four and renal colic in two patients postoperatively. In one patient, sepsis developed postoperatively, and improved with appropriate treatment. All babies were born normally. Semirigid ureteroscopy for diagnosing and treating ureteral calculi by intracorporeal pneumatic or holmium laser lithotripsy is a safe and reasonable treatment option for pregnant patients.

Aim of study was to present costs of forgotten ureteral stents extraction so as to distract attentions of the urologists on this issue. Medical files of 27 accessible patients who referred to our clinics between 2001 and 2010 because of forgotten ureteral stent were retrospectively analyzed. The indwelling time of double-j stents (DJS) was calculated from the time of its insertion. Costs related to radiological investigations, all invasive, and noninvasive interventions, duration of hospital stay, and medical treatments used were calculated. These estimations were based on 2010 prices determined by Turkey Ministry of Health. Mean age of the patients was 31.2 (8-86 years) years. Mean indwelling time of ureteral DJSs was 36.7 months (14-84 months). Seventy-one [extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), n = 26; invasive/noninvasive interventions, n = 32] procedures were applied for 27 patients. In six patients without incrustation, after a single session of ESWL DJSs could be removed cystoscopically. A various combination of a multimodal therapy was used for other 21 patients. Total financial burden of 27 patients was US $ 34,300. Cost of treatment was estimated to be 6.9-fold (1.8- to 21-fold) higher than an average timely stent extraction. Financial burden of the treatments increased in parallel with the duration of the stent retention (p = 0.001). Management of forgotten DJS is time consuming, difficult, complicated, risky, and costly. Therefore; financial burden, increased labour loss, and impaired quality of life brought by the application of these modalities must not be forgotten.

The objective of this study was to describe and present the initial results of a computer-based system that tracks ureteral stents and automatically sends a reminder through a short message service (SMS) to both the patient-s and the urologist-s mobile phones Using an integrated stent register program (SRP) and a stent extraction reminder program (SERP) with an electronic patient record program (EPRP) located within our hospital-s computer network. In this system, the demographic data of all of the patients are recorded into the password-protected EPRP. After a stent is inserted, the surgeon enters the details of the operation into the EPRP. The SRP automatically asks the user to define the -optimal stent life (OSL)-. The SERP checks the recorded patients daily and sends an SMS reminder to staff and patient when the OSL is reached. The SERP continues to send reminders via the SMS until stent is removed. We analyzed the success of the SMS recall system. A total of 186 patients received stents over an 11-month period. The patients in group-2 ( = 108) were recalled by the SERP, and the remainder of the patients ( = 78, group-1) were not included in the project. The mean delay from the designated OSL to the time of stent removal was 307 +/- A 118.6 (72-1,344) and 14.6 +/- A 2.06 (5-36) h in groups 1 and 2, respectively ( < 0.0001). Our initial results showed that the SRP and SERP prevent stent removal from being forgotten, thus preventing related medical and legal problems.

This study examined the ability of late stage (instar XXVI) Japanese spiny lobster Panulirus japonicus phyllosoma larvae to uptake seven l-type amino acids (AAs; aspartic acid, Asp; threonine, Thr; glutamic acid, Glu; glycine, Gly; alanine, Ala; valine, Val; and methionine, Met) from the rearing medium. The time course uptake during incubation for 5 h in solutions containing 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20 μM of each AA was determined using high performance liquid chromatography. There was considerable individual variation in uptake rates and even occasional release of AAs, but larvae showed net uptakes of all seven AAs. Two polar acidic AAs (Glu and Asp) were readily taken up whereas neutral AAs, including three considered as essential for crustaceans (Val, Met, and Thr), had lower uptake rates. Transient releases of AAs by the larvae were common for the AAs with the lowest uptake rates at 1–2 h of incubation. Uptake rates increased with increasing AA concentration but less so for those taken up in larger amounts. Larvae took up AAs to a total of 16.4 μmol/g/h for incubation in the 20 μM solution. The ability to uptake nutrients directly from the medium may be important for the well-being of the larvae.

Relaparotomy is sometimes required for complications that develop after abdominal surgery, but it is associated with high mortality. We aimed to investigate the independent risk factors related to mortality in patients that undergo relaparotomies. One hundred and fourteen patients who had relaparatomies were evaluated. Risk factors studied were patient characteristics, cause of the first operation, condition of the first operation, systemic diseases, presence of peritonitis, relaparotomy interval, cause of relaparatomy, APACHE II score, transfused blood units, number of relaparatomies, length of hospital stay, and mortality. In order to determine the independent risk factors, we carried out multivariate logistic regression analysis. There were 75 male and 39 female patients with a mean age of 46.06 ± 19.98 (15–84). The most common reasons for relaparotomy were leakage from intestinal primary repair or anastomosis (29.8%). Mortality developed in 55 (48.2%) patients undergoing relaparatomy. Intestinal necrosis (p = 0038) and intraabdominal sepsis (p = 0.027) were found to be risk factors in mortality. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, advanced age (OR 0.966, p = 0. 0.017) and APACHE II score ≥ 20 (OR 0.137, p < 0.0001) were found to be independent risk factors affecting mortality. Advanced age and APACHE II score ≥ 20 were found to be independent risk factors affecting relaparotomy-related mortality.