Microvascular Decompression for Primary Trigeminal Neuralgia : Short-Term Follow-Up Results and Prognostic Factors

Tucer, Bulent,Ekici, Mehmet Ali,Demirel, Serkan,Basarslan, Seyit Kagan,Koc, Rahmi Kemal,Guclu, Bulent The Korean Neurosurgical Society 2012 Journal of Korean neurosurgical society Vol.52 No.1

Objective : The aim of this prospective study was to demonstrate the influence of some factors on the prognosis of microvascular decompression in 37 patients with trigeminal neuralgia. Methods : The results of microvascular decompression (MVD) in 37 patients with trigeminal neuralgia were evaluated at 6 months after surgery and were compared with clinical and operative findings. Results : The sex of the patient, the patient's age at surgery, the side of the pain, and the duration of symptoms before surgery did not play any significant roles in prognosis. Also, the visual analogue scale (VAS) of the patient, the duration of each pain attack, and the frequency of pain over 24 hours did not play any significant roles in prognosis. In addition, intraoperative detection of the type of conflicting vessel, the degree of severity of conflict, and the location of the conflict around the circumference of the root did not play any roles in prognosis. The only factors affecting the prognosis in MVD surgery were intraoperative detection of the site of the conflict along the root and neuroradiological compression signs on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Conclusion : These findings demonstrated that if neurovascular compression is seen on preoperative MRI/MRA and/or compression is found intraoperative at the root entry zone, then the patient will most likely benefit from MVD surgery.

Use of uncertain numbers for appraising tensile strength of concrete

Bulent Tutmez,A. Kemal Cengiz,Didem Eren Sarici 국제구조공학회 2013 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.46 No.4

Splitting tensile strength (STS) is a respectable mechanical property reflecting ability of the concrete. The STS of concrete is mainly related to compressive strength (CS), water/binder (W/B) ratio and concrete age. In this study, the assessment of STS is made by a novel uncertainty-oriented method which uses least square optimization and then predicts STS of concrete by uncertain (fuzzy) numbers. The approximation method addresses a novel integration of fuzzy set theory and multivariate statistics. The numerical examples showed that the method is applicable with relatively limited data. In addition, the prediction of uncertainty at various levels of possibility can be described. In conclusion, the uncertaintyoriented interval analysis can be suggested an effective tool for appraising the uncertainties in concrete technology.

Clustering-based identification for the prediction of splitting tensile strength of concrete

Bulent Tutmez 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2009 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.6 No.2

Splitting tensile strength (STS) of high-performance concrete (HPC) is one of the important mechanical properties for structural design. This property is related to compressive strength (CS), water/ binder (W/B) ratio and concrete age. This paper presents a clustering-based fuzzy model for the prediction of STS based on the CS and (W/B) at a fixed age (28 days). The data driven fuzzy model consists of three main steps: fuzzy clustering, inference system, and prediction. The system can be analyzed directly by the model from measured data. The performance evaluations showed that the fuzzy model is more accurate than the other prediction models concerned.

Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Therapeutic Outcomes of Primary Gastrointestinal Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas in Central Anatolia, in Turkey

Bulent Eser,Bunyamin Kaplan,Ali Unal,Ozlem Canoz,Fevzi Altuntas,H. Ismail. Sari,Ozlem Er,Metin Ozkan,Can Kucuk,Makbule Arar,Sebnem Gursoy,Mustafa Cetin 연세대학교의과대학 2006 Yonsei medical journal Vol.47 No.1

We carried out a retrospective analysis of 74 patients who were presented to our center with histopathological diagnosis of primary gastro-intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma between 1990 and 2001. All patients have been staged according to Lugano Staging System. For histopathological classification, International Working Formulation was applied. The treatment choice concerning the surgical or non-surgical management was decided by the initially acting physician. Treatment modalities were compared using the parameters of age, sex, histopathological results, stage, and the site of disease. Of the 74 patients, 31 werefemale and 43 were male, with a median age of 49 years (range 15-80). The stomach was the most common primary site and was seenin 51 of 74 patients (68.9%). The intermediate and high grade lymphomas constituted 91.9% of the all cases. In a median follow-up of 29 months (range 2-128), 20 out of 74 patients died. There was a three year overall survival rate in 65.4% of all patients. The three year overall survival rate was better in stage I and II1 patients who were treated with surgery plus chemotherapy (+/-RT) than those treated with chemotherapy alone (93.7% vs. 55.6%, p 0.05). The stage and presence of B symptoms affected the disease free survival and overall survival significantly, but the histopathologic grade only affected the overall survival. On the basis of these results, we suggest that surgicalresection is necessary before chemotherapy in early stage (stage I and II1) patients with gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas because of the significant survival advantage it would bring to the patient.

Use of partial least squares analysis in concrete technology

Bulent Tutmez 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2014 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.13 No.2

Multivariate analysis is a statistical technique that investigates relationship between multiple predictor variables and response variable and it is a very commonly used statistical approach in cement and concrete industry. During model building stage, however, many predictor variables are included in the model and possible collinearity problems between these predictors are generally ignored. In this study, use of partial least squares (PLS) analysis for evaluating the relationships among the cement and concrete properties is investigated. This regression method is known to decrease the model complexity by reducing the number of predictor variables as well as to result in accurate and reliable predictions. The experimental studies showed that the method can be used in the multivariate problems of cement and concrete industry effectively.

Nasogastric tube placement into the hepaticojejunostomy anastomosis in pancreaticoduodenectomy

Bulent Kaya,Yetkin Ozcabi,Iksan Tasdelen,Ender Onur,Kemal Memisoglu 한국간담췌외과학회 2016 한국간담췌외과학회지 Vol.20 No.2

Hepaticojejunostomy is an important part of many surgical procedures including pancreaticoduodenectomy. Biliary leakage from hepaticojejunostomy may be associated with intraabdominal abscess formation, biliary peritonitis, and even mortality. A 72-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital with obstructive jaundice. After initial evaluation, she was diagnosed with distal common bile duct obstruction without accurate diagnosis. Before planned pancreaticoduodenectomy, biliary drainage with a T-tube was performed due to the presence of cholangitis. After the first operation, pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. Postinflammatory changes around the hilar region made the hepaticojejunostomy risky. A bilio-digestive anastomosis was performed using a new technique. A nasogastric tube was placed into the common bile duct proximal to the anastomosis. The postoperative course of the patient was uneventful. The use of a nasogastric tube as a stent in risky hepaticojejunostomies is a simple technique that can be beneficial.

Percutaneous Treatment of a Primary Pancreatic Hydatid Cyst Using a Catheterization Technique

Bulent Karaman,Bilal Battal,Bahri Ustunsoz,Mehmet Sahin Ugurel 대한영상의학회 2012 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.13 No.2

Primary pancreatic hydatid cysts are rare and its percutaneous treatment and catheterization technique has, to the best of our knowledge, not been published in literature. A 33-year-old male patient who presented with abdominal pain was evaluated by ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography examinations. Both examinations revealed a cyst in the neck of the pancreas. After the administration of albendazole chemoprophylaxis, the patient underwent diagnostic puncture showing high pressure spring water which harbored the scoleces and was treated percutaneously by the catheterization technique. In this technique, first the cyst was punctured, the fluid content aspirated, the radiocontrast material injected to see possible fistulisation, and then re-aspirated. The 20% hypertonic saline solution was injected and re-aspiration was performed to the best of our abilities, followed by the insertion of a catheter for drainage of the remaining non-aspiratable fluid content. At follow-up examination, the cyst was not visible on US after 6 months. There was no evidence of cyst recurrence or dissemination after 18 months at serologic and imaging follow-up.

A methodology to estimate earthquake induced worst failure probability of inelastic systems

Bulent Akbas,Mustafa Nadar,Jay Shen 국제구조공학회 2008 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.29 No.2

Earthquake induced hysteretic energy demand for a structure can be used as a limiting value of a certain performance level in seismic design of structures. In cases where it is larger than the hysteretic energy dissipation capacity of the structure, failure will occur. To be able to select the limiting value of hysteretic energy for a particular earthquake hazard level, it is required to define the variation of hysteretic energy in terms of probabilistic terms. This study focuses on the probabilistic evaluation of earthquake induced worst failure probability and approximate confidence intervals for inelastic singledegree-of-freedom (SDOF) systems with a typical steel moment connection based on hysteretic energy. For this purpose, hysteretic energy demand is predicted for a set of SDOF systems subject to an ensemble of moderate and severe EQGMs, while the hysteretic energy dissipation capacity is evaluated through the previously published cyclic test data on full-scale steel beam-to-column connections. The failure probability corresponding to the worst possible case is determined based on the hysteretic energy demand and dissipation capacity. The results show that as the capacity to demand ratio increases, the failure probability decreases dramatically. If this ratio is too small, then the failure is inevitable.

Online Image Content Analysis of Political Figures : Facial Expressions of National Assembly Members in South Korea

Bulent Ozel,Chien-leng HSU,Yon Soo Lim,Han Woo PARK 한국콘텐츠학회 2009 ICCC International Digital Design Invitation Exhib Vol.2009 No.12

This research examines the emotional content contained in facial pictures of South Korean politicians. The data were collected from official homepages of 18th National Assembly members in South Korea. We classified the types of facial expressions (smiling, frowning, no expression) using the official photographs on the members' homepages. Our analyses show that a smiling image is the most prevalent facial expression on Web pages of South Korean politicians regardless of distribution of their socio-political-demographic attributes. Furthermore, our analyses suggest that existence and strength of a smiling image has statistically significant positive correlation with politicians' visibility counts. Opposition parties significantly exhibit more prevalent frowning faces and expressionless faces compared to ruling party. Besides, our findings hint that more experienced politicians. contrary to their less experienced colleagues of similar generations, keep smiling.

Regression-based algorithms for exploring the relationships in a cement raw material quarry

Bulent Tutmez,Ahmet Dag 사단법인 한국계산역학회 2012 Computers and Concrete, An International Journal Vol.10 No.5

Using appropriate raw materials for cement is crucial for providing the required products. Monitoring relationships and analyzing distributions in a cement material quarry are important stages in the process. CaO, one of the substantial chemical components, is included in some raw materials such as limestone and marl; furthermore, appraising spatial assessment of this chemical component is also very critical. In this study, spatial evaluation and monitoring of CaO concentrations in a cement site are considered. For this purpose, two effective regression-based models were applied to a cement quarry located in Turkey. For the assessment, some spatial models were developed and performance comparisons were carried out. The results show that the regression-based spatial modelling is an efficient methodology and it can be employed to evaluate spatially varying relationships in a cement quarry.