Survival and predictors of disability in Turkish MS patients. Turkish Multiple Sclerosis Study Group (TUMSSG)

OBJECTIVE: To examine the natural history, survival, and prognostic factors in a sample of Turkish MS patients. METHOD: This multicenter study included 1,259 definite MS patients diagnosed according to the criteria of Poser et al. Actuarial analysis of selected disability levels of 3, 6, 8, and 10 achieved with the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS); a multivariate Cox regression analysis for prognostic factors related to time to reach EDSS > or = 6; and Pearson's correlation coefficient for individual factors were performed. RESULTS: The survival (+/- SE) at 15 years from onset was 94.6 +/- 2.9%, and at 25 years was 89.0 +/- 5.8%. The disability reached by 15 years was EDSS > or = 3 in 66.4%, EDSS > or = 6 in 41.2%, EDSS > or = 8 in 10.5%, and EDSS = 10 in 5.4%. The most significant unfavorable prognostic factors were progressive course (relative risk [RR], 3.73; CI, 2.71 to 5.13) and sphincter symptoms at onset (RR, 1.86; CI, 1.23 to 2.82), followed by male sex, motor symptoms at onset, and a high attack frequency within the first 5 years. Primary progressive disease was correlated positively with male sex (r = 0.0895, p = 0.001), older age (r = 0.1807, p = 0.000), and motor (r = 0.1433, p = 0.000) or sphincter symptoms (r = 0.1001, p = 0.000) at onset, unlike relapsing-remitting and secondary progressive disease. CONCLUSIONS: Although a slightly better prognosis is observed in the Turkish MS population, early prognostic factors are similar to most of the previous Western series. Primary progressive disease, mostly seen in older men with motor and sphincter involvement at onset, has a worse prognosis and may represent a distinct behavioral variant of MS.     

Attenuated total reflection-infrared nanofluidic chip with 71 nL detection volume for in situ spectroscopic analysis of chemical reaction intermediates

We present a micromachined silicon attenuated total reflection-infrared (ATR-IR) crystal with integrated nanofluidic glass channels which enables infrared spectroscopic studies with only 71 nL sample volume. Because of the short path length through silicon, the system allows IR spectroscopy down to 1200 cm(-1), which covers the typical fingerprint region of most organic compounds. To demonstrate proof-of-principle, the chip was used to study a Knoevenagel condensation reaction between malononitrile and p-anisaldehyde catalyzed by different concentrations of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) in solvent acetonitrile. By in situ measurement, it was demonstrated for the first time that at certain concentrations of DBU, reaction intermediates become stabilized, an effect that slows down or even stops the reaction. This is thought to be caused by increased ionic character of the solvent, in which protonated DBU stabilizes the intermediates. This clearly demonstrates that infrared mechanistic studies of chemical reactions are feasible in volumes as little as 71 nL.     

Design and Development of a Package Using LCP for RF/Microwave MEMS Switches

We present the development of an ultrahigh moisture-resistant enclosure for RF microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switches using liquid-crystal polymer (LCP). A cavity formed in LCP has been laminated, at low temperature, onto a silicon MEMS switch to create a package. The LCP-cap package has an insertion loss of less than 0.2 dB at X-band. E595 outgas tests demonstrate that the LCP material is suitable for constructing reliable packages without interfering with the operation of the MEMS switch. The package also passes Method 1014, MIL-STD-883 gross leak, and fine leak hermeticity tests     

Use of fat replacers in the production of reduced‐calorie vanilla ice cream

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of different fat replacers on the sensory and texture attributes of vanillin‐flavored ice cream. Inulin is a fairly new fat replacer which has been proven to be a health promoter. Two vanilla ice cream formulations were produced using different ratios of inulin and Simplesse® as fat replacers to provide better flavor and textural properties. Aspartame and acesulfam‐K were used as sweeteners in the low‐calorie ice creams. Sensory and instrumental analyses were used to evaluate the texture quality of light (4.55%) (control group), low‐fat (2%) and fat‐free vanilla ice creams. The experimental mixes were significantly more viscous than the control mix due to the water binding capacity of carbohydrate‐ and protein‐based substances. The texture scores of the ice creams (sensory evaluation) paralleled the viscosity values. Ice creams manufactured with fat replacers were free of cooked‐milk flavor. The energy value of ice cream was reduced compared to full‐fat ice cream (207 kcal/100 g): by 75% for non‐fat ice cream, 71% for low‐fat ice cream and 41% for light ice cream. An increase in total solids in the mix resulted in better texture, a lower melting rate and better shape retention.     

Effect of waste matrix for the optimization of moisture content and calorific value of biodried material using Taguchi DOE

In this study, Taguchi approach was used to determine the influence of waste composition for the optimization of moisture content (MC) and calorific value (CV) of food waste via bio-drying process. The objective was to reduce MC and increase CV of the bio-dried material. The effect of three different levels of four factors including food (FW), paper (Pa), plastic (Pl) waste, and bulking agent (BA) were studied and optimized. The moisture content of the bio-dried material varied between 8.59 and 50.93%, whereas that of the calorific value was 11–25?MJ/kg. The results revealed optimum configurations for MC and CV as FW₁Pa₃Pl₃BA₃ and FW₁Pa₁Pl₃BA₁, respectively. Regression analysis revealed MC as a positive function of FW and BA with plastic positively correlated with calorific value. ANOVA analysis indicated that FW had more prominent effect on both MC and CV. The predicted and measured values were very close to each other. Additionally, the results realized in the confirmatory experiments at optimized conditions of CV was found to be higher than the test runs of Taguchi design, suggesting that Taguchi method was very successful in the optimization of bio-drying factors for MC and CV.     

Parametric identification of structural nonlinearities from measured frequency response data

Structural nonlinearity is a common phenomenon encountered in engineering structures under dynamic loading. In several cases, linear theory can suffice to analyze nonlinear systems to some extent. However, there are cases where nonlinear effects and therefore nonlinear analysis become unavoidable. In most of the engineering applications it is usually very difficult if not impossible to model nonlinearity theoretically, especially for nonlinear effects stemming from structural connections. Then it becomes necessary to detect, localize and parametrically identify nonlinear elements from measured vibration data. In this study, two different methods, one being a method suggested recently by two of the authors of this paper, and the other being again a method developed in an earlier work, are implemented on a test rig containing a nonlinear element. Both methods are capable of parametrically identifying nonlinearities from measured frequency response functions. It is aimed in this paper to asses the validity of each method by applying them to a real test structure and thus parametrically identifying the nonlinear element in the system to obtain a mathematical model, and then employing the model in harmonic response analysis of the system in order to compare predicted responses with measured ones.     

Removal of PCDD/Fs from flue gas by a fixed-bed activated carbon filter in a hazardous waste incinerator

The adsorption of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) by activated carbon (AC) was examined in a fixed-bed AC unit in a hazardous waste incinerator (IZAYDAS) in Turkey. Results showed that the removal efficiencies of PCDD/Fs decrease as the chlorination level increases, which was explained by the difference in gas/particle partitioning of the compounds. Since dioxins are tightly adsorbed by activated carbon, other flue gas constituents showed no clear effect on the dioxin removal. Adsorption kinetics indicated that the adsorption of volatile congeners and homologues fits well with Henry's law, possibly due to the higher gaseous fractions, while the correlation was lower for lowly volatile ones. PCDD/F congeners and homologues had a concentration value up to which no adsorption occurred, which could be attributed to the insufficient contact times at the low concentrations.