A model in environmental training--The University / Elementary School / Municipality Cooperation

This study targets development of an effective training scheme model that can be implemented at elementary school level with focus on recovery and recycling of wasted papers in Turkey. For this purpose, three schools were chosen from a district within Istanbul. They were separated from one another as full intervention (FI), semi-intervention (SI) and control (C) schools. Different levels of educational activities carried out in the schools, mostly in the FI school, were directed toward being informative as regards recycling and the development of a positive attitude. Afterwards, in order to evaluate the effects of the training, paper wastes were collected in recycle bins placed at appropriate points in schools and weighed on a weekly basis. Quite a significant result was found (p = 0.0001), when the difference was calculated through the Kruskal Wallis Variance Analysis method, regarding the weekly average amount of paper in each of the three schools against per person. Furthermore, when the results were evaluated and compared as to the ones before the 2.5 months summer vacation and the ones after it, the seven measurements taken before (p = 0.001) and the eight taken afterwards (p = 0.0001), were found to have valid differences, once again, as against schools. The results show that the approach we provided to education is an effective method not only for the collection of paper wastes but also for applications in various areas of health education.     

Reconstruction of orbital floor fracture using solvent-preserved bone graft

The orbital floor is one of the most frequently damaged parts of the maxillofacial skeleton during facial trauma. Unfavorable aesthetic and functional outcomes are frequent when it is treated inadequately. The treatment consists of spanning the floor defect with a material that can provide structural support and restore the orbital volume. This material should also be biocompatible with the surrounding tissues and easily reshaped to fit the orbital floor. Although various autografts or synthetic materials have been used, there is still no consensus on the ideal reconstruction method of orbital floor defects. This study evaluated the applicability of solvent-preserved cadaveric cranial bone graft and its preliminary results in the reconstruction of the orbital floor fractures. Twenty-five orbital floor fractures of 21 patients who underwent surgical repair with cadaveric bone graft during a 2-year period were included in this study. Pure blowout fractures were determined in nine patients, whereas 12 patients had other accompanying maxillofacial fractures. Of the 21 patients, 14 had clinically evident diplopia (66.7 percent), 12 of them had enophthalmos (57.1 percent), and two of them had gaze restriction preoperatively. Reconstruction of the floor of the orbit was performed following either the subciliary or the transconjunctival approach. A cranial allograft was placed over the defect after sufficient exposure. The mean follow-up period was 9 months. Postoperative diplopia, enophthalmos, eye motility, cosmetic appearance, and complications were documented. None of the patients had any evidence of diplopia, limited eye movement, inflammatory reactions in soft tissues, infection, or graft extrusion in the postoperative period. Providing sufficient orbital volume, no graft resorption was detected in computed tomography scan controls. None of the implants required removal for any reason. Enophthalmos was seen in one patient, and temporary scleral show lasting up to 3 to 6 weeks was detected in another three patients. Satisfactory cosmetic results were obtained in all patients. This study showed that solvent-preserved bone, which is a nonsynthetic, human-originated, processed bioimplant, can be safely used in orbital floor repair and can be considered as another reliable treatment alternative.     

The production and application of a regenerable filter system for adsorption of some atmospheric contaminants

In this work, a new filter, used to prevent atmospherical pollution, has been developed. Spherical amorphous shaped silicates (such as KC-Siliperl AF 125 and Aluminium silicate 596 FA) were coated with different materials which were prepared from the hydrolysis-condensation products of organically modified silanes and metal alkoxides. The adsorption capacities of such silicates for different solvents; ethylacetate, toluene, n-hexane and cyclohexanone were investigated. It was found that KC-Siliperl AF 125 coated with IMEO (a commercial silane) adsorbed all the solvents better than Aluminium silicate 596 FA, and ethylacetate was adsorbed more than the other solvents.     

Removal of Fe(II) ions from aqueous solution by Calabrian pine bark wastes

The ability of Calabrian pine bark wastes (Pinus brutia Ten) for the removal of Fe(II) ions from aqueous solution at different concentrations and temperatures at a fixed pH was investigated. While the amounts of Fe(II) ions adsorbed onto the bark increased with increasing concentration, it increased slightly with increasing the temperature. Kinetics studies showed that adsorption process followed the first-order kinetic model as well as intra-particle diffusion kinetics. Adsorption isotherm followed both Langmuir and Freundlich models. And it was determined that the adsorption was favorable from a dimensionless factor, R(L). Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters demonstrated that the removal of Fe(II) by the bark was a physical process.     

Low-dose, long-term macrolide therapy in asthma: An overview

Macrolides, a class of antimicrobials isolated from Streptomycetes more than 50 years ago, are used extensively to treat sinopulmonary infections in humans. In addition, a growing body of experimental and clinical evidence indicates that long-term (years), low (sub-antimicrobial)-dose 14- and 15-membered ring macrolide antibiotics, such as erythromycin, clarithromycin, roxithromycin and azithromycin, express immunomodulatory and tissue reparative effects that are distinct from their anti-infective properties. These salutary effects are operative in various lung disorders, including diffuse panbronchiolitis, cystic fibrosis, persistent chronic rhinosinusitis, nasal polyposis, bronchiectasis, asthma and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia.The purpose of this overview is to outline the immunomodulatory effects of macrolide antibiotics in patients with asthma.