Effect of chronic halothane exposure on hepatic and erythrocyte lipid peroxidation and erythrocyte osmotic fragility and morphology were determined in rats exposed to 0.4% halothane, 8 h per day for 40 days. Hepatic lipid peroxidation was increased in the halothane-treated group compared to controls. Lipid peroxidation was not increased by halothane exposure in erythrocytes without hydrogen peroxide, but after peroxide supplementation lipid peroxidation increased more in the erythrocytes of halothane-exposed rats than in control rats. We have observed significant morphological changes in erythrocytes from halothane-treated rats. In addition, erythrocytes of halothane-treated rats were more fragile in saline solutions compared to those of controls. Our results suggest that chronic halothane exposure is not only hepatotoxic but also affects erythrocyte membrane structure and stability.

BackgroundIt is possible to see a number of spectrophotometers produced by commercial purposes developed in line with the technical advices identified by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) in universities' chemistry labs. These devices are employed in measuring and testing materials with unidentified characteristics as well as reporting the results. However, these systems are not modular in design and do not allow updates or modifications. Moreover, when the literature is reviewed, it can be seen that the researches on computer-controlled devices is limited. It is also reported that the devices with user interfaces bring advantages to researchers in terms of time efficiency and safety. MethodsIn this study, a computer-controlled, modular and low-cost spectrophotometer is designed to measure material densities contained within liquid samples. The proposed system is composed of a main unit, a data acquisition unit and a user interface. All tasks and relevant arrangements involved in a spectrophotometer application are controlled through an interface developed on LabVIEW graphical development platform; the results of the measurements can be monitored in real time, and it is also possible to store data. Thanks to the modular design, it became possible to change and update the relevant stage as needed. The waveform filter can be selected specifically as visible range, ultraviolet range or both depending on the application. ResultsThe experiment was conducted in the visible range and a waveform filter between 400 and 700 nm was used. In the experiments, an easily accessible materials-methylene blue and copper sulfate solutions-were preferred as samples. For these solutions, the waveforms that give the best absorption values were identified and the density was measured at those values. Furthermore, the nonlinearity and repeatability characteristics of the proposed spectrophotometer were analyzed. For this purpose, measured values were compared with the acquired values from another commercial instrument that is already used in medical field. Measurements were repeated 50 times for copper sulfate and 43 times for methylene blue solutions. ConclusionsAfter statistical analysis, it was observed that the reliability of the proposed system is high.

This article deals with identifying the materials and the methods that will be used in this course based on "Embedded System Programming (ESP)" course for Electrical-Electronics Engineering Graduate program of MU Faculty of Technology. When the varying levels of skill and knowledge of the students is considered, it becomes necessary to adopt a blended programming method for the contents of the course. Even though the course is regarded as 3+0 ECTS of 8 credits (Theory: 3, Applied: 0), a content supported with extensive application is recommended. The content of the course allows developing applications using Xilinx Spartan 3E Starter Kit. Students taking this course are able to choose a method best fitted to their programming skills or preferences. However, it might be possible that the lecturer may not have a wide range of programming knowledge and skills. In this case, the graduate students are expected to determine and complete their own needs or shortcomings with the accumulation of knowledge they gained in their undergraduate studies. With the lecturer's guidance, the students are free to choose whether to use graphical programming (LabVIEW, LabVIEW FPGA Module) or conventional text-based programming (Verilog, VHDL, Matlab HDL Coder) in their projects. In this way, we expect an improvement in understanding of the contents and an expansion in scope.

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This paper presents a remotely controllable, differentially driven wheeled mobile robot development in order to build 2D maps for unknown indoor environments. This system would eliminate the need to preexplore such environments. Main aim of the study is to develop a system with high accuracy by using minimum number of sensors and a processor with low cost especially for comparatively small indoor areas. The distance traveled was calculated using the wheel odometry method. Obstacles surrounding the robot, the distance traveled, and the robot's orientation were obtained using an ultrasonic distance sensor, optical encoder, and a 3D orientation sensor (also known as an Attitude and Heading Reference System-AHRS), respectively. In addition, the characteristics of the system hardware components were empirically explored, and the errors resulting from the sensors were evaluated. The non-linearity percentage error arising from the encoder was defined and then compensated for. The hysteresis behavior of the ultrasonic distance sensors was also empirically tested. All of the tasks were conducted by using a low-cost FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) board. A graphical development platform of National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW and its FPGA Module was preferred in the study for embedded system programming instead of the text-based HDLs (Hardware Description Languages). This distinguishes the proposed system from similar prior studies.