A comparison of the 2 thermal ablation procedures for the management of benign thyroid nodules.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, ultrasound (US)-guided thermal ablation techniques have come to the fore as minimally invasive alternatives to surgery. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of radiofrequency ablation or microwave ablation procedures in patients with benign thyroid nodules. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective and single-centre study consisted of 55 patients and 62 benign thyroid nodules that were treated either with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) or microwave ablation (MWA) in our hospital between January 2020 and March 2022. All the patients were at high risk for surgery or with symptomatic TNs and who refused surgery. The TNs diagnosed as benign from the fine-needle aspiration biopsy were evaluated in terms of volume reduction, symptom, and cosmetic scores. In addition, these 2 treatment modalities were compared to each other. RESULTS: Out of 55 patients, 44 (80%) were female and were aged between 24 and 97 years with a median age of 50 years. RFA was applied to 54.5% (n = 30) of the participants, and MWA was applied to 46.5% (n = 25). The volume reduction rate (VRR) after RFA and MWA at the first month was 63.4 ± 14.2 and 65.7 ± 13, respectively. No significant difference was detected between the 2 groups in terms of VRR (p = 0.51). In addition, the mean symptom and cosmetic scores decreased significantly in both procedures, and there was a significant difference due to the symptom score change in the RFA group compared to the MWA group. Of all the patients, one patient experienced haematoma in the RFA, and one patient had transient voice change in the MWA group. No life-threatening complications were noted. CONCLUSION: In the treatment of benign symptomatic thyroid nodules, both RFA and MWA are options worthy of consideration in terms of efficacy and safety.

Fat percentage cutoff values to define obesity and prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in community-dwelling older adults in Turkey.

PURPOSE: Sarcopenic-obesity (SO) is associated with low-functional-status and mortality. Few studies evaluated the definition and prevalence of SO. We aimed to investigate the fat-percentage cut-off values for obesity and prevalences of obesity, SO in community-dwelling older adults in Turkey. METHODS: Body-composition was measured using bioimpedance-analysis. Sarcopenia was defined by European-Working-Group-on-Sarcopenia-in-Older-People criteria. Obesity was defined by two different methods, a fat-percentile above 60th percentile (Zoico-method) or a BMI of ≥30 kg/m2 (WHO-definition). RESULTS: We enrolled 992 subjects (308 men, 684 women). Body fat-percentage thresholds for obesity were 27.3% for men and 40.7% for women according to Zoico-method. The rates of obesity were about 40% in both genders by Zoico-method; 29.2% versus 53.7% for men and women by WHO definition. Prevalences-of-sarcopenia was 3.1% versus 0.4%; SO was 0.3% versus 0.1% when obesity was assessed with Zoico-method in men and women, respectively. No case of SO was defined when obesity was assessed using WHO-definition. CONCLUSION: The threshold for obesity definition according to Zoico-method was similar to other European-populations. While obesity-prevalences were considerably high, SO prevalences were low but comparable to other populations. This low-prevalence seems to be due to underestimation of sarcopenia in obese subjects when skeletal-muscle-mass was adjusted by height2 to recognize low-muscle-mass.

Turkish version of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator.

BACKGROUND: Recently frailty has drawn significant interest as an important predictor of several clinically relevant outcomes. There is no widely accepted instrument for the assessment of frailty and most of the current ones evaluate only physical features. The Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) is a valid and reliable instrument which enables multidimensional assessment of frailty. We aimed to adapt and evaluate the Turkish version of the TFI. METHODS: We translated and culturally adapted the English version of the TFI into Turkish using standard guidelines. We enrolled consecutive patients who were 70 years old or older and were admitted to our outpatient geriatrics clinic. We used Cronbach's alpha values to evaluate the internal consistency and also assessed inter-observer and test-retest variability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients of the instrument ranged from 0.65 to 0.72 and item-total correlation ranged between -0.05 and 0.57. There was a good agreement between two assessments (ICC=0.99) and between two observers (ICC=0.99). CONCLUSION: We have shown the reliability of the Turkish version of the TFI as a tool to evaluate frailty in a multidimensional manner among the Turkish outpatient population.

Demonstrating the suitability of canola residue biomass to biofuel conversion via pyrolysis through reaction kinetics, thermodynamics and evolved gas analyses.

The identification of biomasses for pyrolytic conversion to biofuels depends on many factors, including: moisture content, elemental and volatile matter composition, thermo-kinetic parameters, and evolved gases. The present work illustrates how canola residue may be a suitable biofuel feedstock for low-temperature (<450 °C) slow pyrolysis with energetically favorable conversions of up to 70 wt% of volatile matter. Beyond this point, thermo-kinetic parameters and activation energies, which increase from 154.3 to 400 kJ/mol from 65 to 80% conversion, suggest that the energy required to initiate conversion is thermodynamically unfavorable. This is likely due to its higher elemental carbon content than similar residues, leading to enhanced carbonization rather than devolatilization at higher temperatures. Evolved gas analysis supports limiting pyrolysis temperature; ethanol and methane conversions are maximized below 500 °C with ∼6% water content. Carbon dioxide is the dominant evolved gas beyond this temperature.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (succinato-κO)[N,N,N',N'-tetra-kis-(2-hy-droxy-eth-yl)ethyl-enedi-amine-κ5 O,N,N',O',O'']nickel(II) tetra-hydrate.

In the title compound, [Ni(C10H24N2O4)(C4H4O4)]·4H2O, the NiII cation is octa-hedrally coordinated by one O atom of the succinate anion and three O atoms and two N atoms from an N,N,N',N'-tetra-kis-(2-hy-droxy-eth-yl)ethyl-enedi-amine mol-ecule. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional supra-molecular architecture. Hirshfeld surface analyses and two-dimensional fingerprint plots were used to analyse the inter-molecular inter-actions present in the crystal, indicating that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H⋯H (63.3%) and H⋯O/O⋯H (34.5%) inter-actions.

Application of artificial neural networks to co-combustion of hazelnut husk-lignite coal blends.

The artificial neural network (ANN) theory is applied to thermal data obtained by non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) from room temperature to 1000°C at different heating rates in air to study co-combustion of hazelnut husk (HH)-lignite coal (LC) blends of various composition. The heating rate, blend ratio and temperature were used in the ANN analysis to predict the TG curves of the blends as parameters that affect the thermal behavior during combustion. The ANN model provides a good prediction of the TG curves for co-combustion with a coefficient of determination for the developed model of 0.9995. The agreement between the experimental data and the predicted values substantiated the accuracy of the ANN calculation.

Synthesis, an experimental and quantum chemical computational study: proton sharing in 4-Morpholinium bis(hydrogen squarate).

The experimental and theoretical investigation results of a novel organic squarate salt of 4-Morpholinium bis(hydrogen squarate) (1), C6H14ON(+)·C8H3O8(-), were reported in this study. The crystal structure of the title compound was found to crystallize in the triclinic P-1 space group. In the crystals of 1 the morpholine ring adopts the chair conformation with the ethyl group in the equatorial and hydrogen atoms in axial positions. The hydrogen squarate anions are linked into a homoconjugated anion, [(HSQ)2H], by a short symmetric, nonlinear O8⋯H2⋯O2 hydrogen bond of 2.444 (2)Å. The structural and vibrational properties of the compound were also studied by computational methods of ab-initio performed on the compound at DFT/B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) (2) and HF/6-31++G(d,p) (3) level of theory. The obtained calculation results on the basis of two models for both the optimized molecular structure and vibrational properties for the 1 obtained are presented and compared with the X-ray analysis result. On the other hand the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP), electronic absorption spectra, frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), conformational flexibility and non-linear optical properties (NLO) of the title compound were also studied at the 2 level and the results are reported. In order to evaluate the suitability for NLO applications thermal analysis (TG, DTA and DTG) data of 1 were also obtained.

Thermal behaviour and kinetics of alga Polysiphonia elongata biomass during pyrolysis.

The pyrolysis characteristics and kinetics of Polysiphonia elongata were investigated using a thermogravimetric analyzer. The main decomposition of samples occurred between 225 °C and 485 °C at heating rates of 5-40 °C/min; owing to release of 78-82% of total volatiles. The heating rate effected pyrolysis characteristics such as maximum devolatilization rate and decomposition temperature. However, total volatile matter yield was not significantly affected by heating rate. The activation energy of pyrolysis reaction was calculated by model free Friedman and Kissenger-Akahira-Sunose methods and mean values were 116.23 kJ/mol and 126.48 kJ/mol, respectively. A variance in the activation energy with the proceeding conversions was observed for the models applied, which shows that the pyrolysis process was composed of multi-step kinetics. The Coats-Redfern method was used to determine pre-exponential factor and reaction order. The obtained parameters were used in simulation of pyrolysis process and results were in a good agreement with experimental data.

Pyrolysis kinetics of hazelnut husk using thermogravimetric analysis.

This study aims at investigating physicochemical properties and pyrolysis kinetics of hazelnut husk, an abundant agricultural waste in Turkey. The physicochemical properties were determined by bomb calorimeter, elemental analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. Physicochemical analysis results showed that hazelnut husk has a high calorimetric value and high volatile matter content. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out in a thermogravimetric analyzer under inert conditions and operated at different heating rates (5, 10, 20°C/min). Three different kinetic models, the iso-conversional Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW) models and Coats-Redfern method were applied on TGA data of hazelnut husk to calculate the kinetic parameters including activation energy, pre-exponential factor and reaction order. Simulation of hazelnut husk pyrolysis using data obtained from TGA analysis showed good agreement with experimental data. Combining with physicochemical properties, it was concluded that this biomass can become useful source of energy or chemicals.

Nonresponsive celiac disease due to Strongyloides stercoralis infestation.

Celiac disease (CD) is treated by eliminating all gluten from the diet. A 49-year-old man with CD was admitted to our clinic with complaints of recurrent diarrhea and abdominal pain despite strict adherence to a gluten-free diet. The duodenum was seen to be edematous on gastroduodenoscopic examination. Histological examination of the biopsy specimen taken from the duodenum showed multiple round shaped Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis) larvae within the crypts. He was successfully treated with albendazole. This case emphasizes the importance of duodenal biopsy in CD. To our knowledge, this is the first case in the literature showing CD and S. stercoralis together.

The association between gene polymorphisms and leukocytosis with thrombotic complications in patients with essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera.

OBJECTIVE: Vascular events are a common complication in patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET). This study aimed to analyze the association between PAI-1 4G/5G and ACE I/D gene polymorphisms, and leukocytosis with thrombosis in patients with PV and ET. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In total, 64 patients with ET and PV were evaluated. Arterial or venous thrombosis, such as cerebral transient ischemic attack, ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial thrombosis, deep venous thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism, were defined as a vascular event. DNA samples were screened for mutations via reverse hybridization strip assay. RESULTS: In terms of PAI-1 gene polymorphism, the frequency of the 4G and 5G allele was 48.5% and 51.5%, respectively. The ACE allele frequency was 51.2% and 48.8% for D and I, respectively. There wasn't an association between occurrence of vascular events and the frequency of any allele. In terms of occurrence of vascular events, there weren't any significance differences between the patients that were carrying the ACE D/D homozygous allele to ACE I/D and those that carried the I/I allele (P = 0.93). There wasn't a significant difference in occurrence of vascular events between the PAI-1 5G/5G homozygote allele carriers, and the 4G/5G and 4G/4G allele carriers (P = 0.97). Vascular events were significantly more common in the patients with leukocytosis (leukocyte count >10 × 109 L-1) than in those without leukocytosis (leukocyte count ≤10 × 109 L-1) (P = 0.00). Age >60 years was also a significant risk factor for occurrence of vascular events(P = 0.008). CONCLUSION: PAI-1 and ACE gene polymorphisms were not considered new risk factors for thrombosis in PV and ET patients. On the other hand, leukocytosis at diagnosis was associated with the occurrence of vascular events in the patients with ET and PV.

Photoinduced rearrangement of aromatic N-chloroamides to chloroaromatic amides in the solid state: inverted Π(N)-Σ(N) occupational stability of amidyl radicals.

We report a solid-state photochemical rearrangement reaction by which aromatic N-chloroamides exposed to UV light or sunlight are rapidly and efficiently converted to chloroaromatic amides. The course, the intermediate (nascent chlorine vs dichlorine) and the outcome of the reaction depend on the excitation (exposure time, wavelength, and intensity) and on inherent structural factors (the directing role of the substituents and, as demonstrated by the different reactivity of two polymorphs of N-chlorobenzanilide, the supramolecular structure). The photolysis of the chloroamides provides facile photochemical access to arylamidyl radicals as intermediates, which in the absence of strong hydrogen bond donors are stabilized in the reactant crystals by C-H/N-Cl···π interactions, thus, providing insight into their structure and chemistry. Thorough theoretical modeling of the factors determinant to the stability and the nature of the spin-hosting orbital evidenced that although the trans-Π(||) state (Np spin) of the amidyls is normally preferred over the trans-Σ(⊥) configuration (Nsp(2) spin), stabilization by aromatic conjugation, steric and geometry factors, as well as by electronic effects from the substituents can decrease the Π-Σ gap in these intermediates significantly, resulting in similar and, in the case of the orthogonal amide-phenyl disposition, even reversed population of the unpaired electron in the two orbitals. Quantitative correlation established that the inverted occupational spin stability and the Π(N)-Σ(N) crossover are collectively facilitated by the conformation, valence angle, and disposition of the amide group relative to the aromatic system. The stabilization and detection of a trans-Σ(⊥) radical was experimentally accomplished by steric locking of the orthogonal trans-amide conformation with double ortho-tert-butyl substitution at the phenyl ring. The effects of the single para-phenyl substituents on the relative occupational stability of the arylamidyl radical states point out to non-Hammett behavior. By including cumulative electronic effects from multiple substitutions, four distinct families of the aromatic amidyl radicals were identified. The Π(∥) state is the most stable structure of the N-phenylacetamidyl radical and of most of the substituted arylamidyls, although the Σ(⊥) and Π(⊥) states can also be stabilized by introducing tert-butyl and nitro groups, respectively.

trans-Bis(diethanolamine-N,O)bis(saccharinato-N)cadmium(II).

The structure of the title complex consists of isolated [Cd(C7H4NO3S)2(C4H11NO2)2] units. The Cd2+ cation lies on an inversion centre and is octahedrally coordinated by two N,O-bidentate diethanolamine (dea) and two N-bonded saccharinate (sac) ligands [saccharin is 1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one 1,1-dioxide]. The dea ligands constitute the equatorial plane of the octahedron, forming two five-membered chelate rings around the Cd(II) ion, while the sac ligands are localized at the axial positions. The Cd-N(sac), Cd-N(dea) and Cd-O(dea) bond distances are 2.3879 (12), 2.3544 (14) and 2.3702 (13) A, respectively. The H atoms of the free and coordinated hydroxyl groups of the dea ligands are involved in hydrogen bonding with the carbonyl and sulfonyl O atoms of the neighbouring sac ions, while the amine H atom forms a hydrogen bond with the free hydroxyl O atom. The individual molecules are held together by strong hydrogen bonds, forming an infinite three-dimensional network.

Bis(pyridine-2,6-dimethanol-N,O,O')cobalt(II) and -copper(II) disaccharinate dihydrate: three-dimensional structures with extensive hydrogen bonds and aromatic pi-pi-stacking interactions.

Bis(pyridine-2,6-dimethanol-N,O,O')cobalt(II) disaccharinate dihydrate, [Co(C7H9NO2)2](C7H4NO3S)2*2H2O, (I), and bis(pyridine-2,6-dimethanol-N,O,O')copper(II) disaccharinate dihydrate, [Cu(C7H9NO2)2](C7H4NO3S)2*2H2O, (II), collectively [M(dmpy)2](sac)2*2H2O (where M is Co(II) or Cu(II), sac is the saccharinate anion and dmpy is pyridine-2,6-dimethanol), are isostructural. The [M(dmpy)2]2+ cations exhibit distorted octahedral geometry in which the two neutral dmpy species act as tripodal N,O,O'-tridentate ligands. The crystal packing is determined by hydrogen bonding, as well as by weak pyridine-saccharinate pi-pi-stacking interactions.