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In this study the effect of nano Al2O3 amount on the wear behaviours of Cu-nano Al2O3 composites, produced by powder metallurgy method, was investigated. In the scope of the study five different amounts of nano Al2O3 (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%) were added into pure Cu powders and mechanically milled for 240 min. The mechanically milled Cu-Al2O3 powders were pre-shaped by cold press under 600 MPa load. Pre-shaped samples were sintered in atmosphere-controlled furnace at 1000 °C for 1 h. Microstructure examinations, hardness measurements, and wear tests were carried out. In this study the hardness values were found to have decreased with increasing Al2O3 amount. Wear test results were compatible with hardness results. The highest weight loss was measured with 2.5% Al2O3 content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are limited number of studies that investigate clinical variables instead of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) management according to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2017 classification. The aim of the study was to investigate whether there was a difference between GOLD 2017 classification and spirometric stage in clinical variables in patients with COPD. The data of 427 male patients with stable COPD were investigated retrospectively., Methods: Patients were allocated into combined assessment of GOLD 2017 and spirometric stage. Age, amount of smoking, pulmonary function, modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT), Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale (HADS), St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), body mass index (BMI), and fat free mass index (FFMI) were recorded., Results: Seventy-three (17%) patients were in group A, 103 (24%) constituted group B, 38 (9%) were included in group C, and 213 (50%) comprised group D according to the combined assessment of GOLD 2017. Twenty-three patients (5%) were in stage 1, 95 (22%) were in stage 2, 149 (35%) were in stage 3, and 160 (38%) were in stage 4 according to spirometric stage. According to GOLD 2017, age, amount of smoking, mMRC, BMI, FFMI, SGRQ, HADS, forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), and ISWT were significantly different between groups. Ages, amount of smoking, FFMI, BMI, HADS of group A were different from B and D. Smiliar values of FEV₁ were found in A-C and B-D. A and C had smiliar ISWT. According to spirometric stage, BMI, FFMI of stage 4 were statistically different. mMRC, ISWT, and SGRQ of stages 3 and 4 were different from other stages, amongst themselves. FEV₁ was correlated with mMRC, SGRQ, anxiety scores, BMI, FFMI, and ISWT., Conclusion: This study showed that the GOLD ABCD classification might not represent the severity of COPD sufficiently well in terms of lung function or exercise capacity. The combination of both spirometric stage and combined assessment of GOLD 2017 is important, especially for estimating clinical variables., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (Copyright©2018. The Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases.)

Purpose: Chronic inflammation is an obvious risk factor of atherosclerotic diseases, and the presence of periodontal disease is one of the important sources of chronic inflammation in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Thus, we aimed to investigate the effects of non-surgical periodontal therapy of the patients undergoing CAPD due to diabetic nephropathy, diabetic patients without CKD, and healthy controls on inflammation exponents., Methods: Thirty-two CAPD patients due to diabetic nephropathy (group III), 31 diabetic patients without nephropathy (group II), and 38 healthy subjects (group I) were enrolled to the study. All patients enrolled to the study (to all groups) suffered from chronic periodontitis. Plaque index, Gingival index, pocket depth (PD) measurements were recorded before and after periodontal therapy. All blood samples for biochemical parameters were measured by using standard laboratory techniques with an automatic analyser. Blood samples for TNF-α, IL-6, and PTX-3 were centrifuged, and separated serum and plasma samples were stored at - 80 °C until analysis., Results: All inflammatory markers were significantly higher in group III than the other two at baseline. TNF-α levels were significantly decreased after periodontal treatment at 3-month visit in all groups. PTX-3, IL-6, and Hs-CRP levels were significantly reduced after periodontal treatment at 3 months in group III., Conclusion: Periodontal disease is an important source of inflammation in diabetic CAPD patients and treatment of periodontal disease can be monitored by inflammatory markers including TNF-alpha, PTX-3, IL-6, and Hs-CRP. TNF-alpha may be useful and more sensitive monitoring inflammation in healthy patients and diabetic patients after periodontal treatment.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether adding neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to a comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation (cPR) program would have additive effects on clinical-functional outcomes., Methods: Twenty-seven chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients participating in a 10-week cPR program were randomly allocated to NMES + cPR (n = 13) or Sham + cPR (n = 14) groups. Quadriceps strength, exercise capacity, symptoms, mood, activities of daily living and quality of life were evaluated pre- and post-interventions., Results: There were no significant differences in any of the physiological and subjective improvements induced by NMES + cPR versus Sham + cPR (p > 0.05). In fact, the NMES + cPR group showed lower increases in incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) distance (38.4 vs 69.2 m, respectively) and %ISWT distance (5.1 vs 9%, respectively) compared with the Sham + cPR group (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: The increase in exercise capacity is less important when NMES is used as an adjunct to the cPR.

Nine newly isolated mushroom strains were tested to assess both their zinc tolerance and potential for zinc removal from an aqueous solution. Four strains of ectomycorrhizal fungi, namely Clavariadelphus truncatus (T 192), Rhizopogon roseolus (T 21), Lepista nuda (T 373), and Tricholoma equestre (T 174), along with five strains of white rot fungi, Lenzites betulina (S 2), Trametes hirsuta (T 587), Ganoderma spp. (T 99), Polyporus arcularius (T 438), and Ganoderma carnosum (M 88), were investigated using zinc-amended solid and liquid media. Their biosorption properties were also determined. The colony diameter and dry weight were used as tolerance indices for fungal growth. C. truncatus and T. equestre were not strongly inhibited at the highest concentrations of (225 mg/l) zinc in solid media. The most tolerant four strains with solid media, C. truncatus, G. carnosum, T. hirsuta, and T. equestre, were then chosen for tolerance tests in liquid media. An ectomycorrhizal strain, C. truncatus, was also detected as the most tolerant strain in liquid media. However, the metal-tolerant strains demonstrated weak activity in the biosorption studies. In contrast, the highest biosorption activity was presented by a more sensitive strain, G. carnosum. In addition, seven different biosorbent types from G. carnosum (M 88) were compared for their Zn (II) biosorption in batch experiments.