In addition to the size and location of the stones, the HU value determined in the unenhanced CT scan may be one of the parameters affecting PCNL outcomes. PCNL is a more efficient method in stones with higher HU values. Therefore, the HU values may be a useful tool for the selection of the treatment modality in patients with renal stones.

Routine flexible nephroscopy during percutaneous nephrolithotomy was associated with a higher stone-free rate, fewer interventions and less bleeding, especially in patients with low HU density stones.

A new, simple, and rapid cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure system, combined with flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), was developed for selective separation, preconcentration, and determination of trace amounts of total iron in some environmental samples. The complexing agent, N,N -(2,2 -(ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy))bis(ethane-2,1-diyl))bis(2-chloroacetamide) (EDBOCA), is selective at pH 5.0 for only Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions in the presence of Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Mn(II), Co(II), Cr(III), Cr(VI), Ni(II), Zn(II), Al(III), Mo(VI), Pd(II), Pt(IV), Au(III), and V(V) ions. The procedure is based on the complexation of Fe(III) ions with EDBOCA reagent in the presence of Triton X-114 (TX-114) as a non-ionic surfactant.The optimum conditions for the CPE of Fe(III) ions were investigated with respect to several experimental parameters such as pH of the solution, TX-114 and EDBOCA concentrations, incubation time and temperature, and centrifugation rate and time. The detection limit for Fe(III) ions based on the 3 times the standard deviation of the blanks ( N :10) was found to be 1.22 μ g L −1 , while the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 4.2%. Environment Canada TM-25.3 and CRM-SA-C Sandy Soil C, as certified reference materials, were used, and spike tests were applied to validate the method. The method was applied to some real environmental samples to evaluate their total iron levels.

This multi-study paper reports the translation process and the validity and reliability analysis of the Characteristics of Resilience in Sports Teams Inventory (CREST) for the use of Turkish population. In three related studies, 414 team sports athletes from Turkey were sampled. We adopted Beaton et al.’s (2000) methodology for the translation of self-report measures for cross-cultural adaption studies. The first study provided content validity for an initial item set as the preliminary study. The second study explored the factor analysis of the CREST structure. The third study explored re-testing of the explored structure in a different set of participants and criterion-related validity provided. The analysis of Study 1 revealed that the items were understood by the participants and ready for application for the general Turkish population. The exploratory factor analysis in the Study 2 revealed that the CREST had two sub-dimensions as it was in the original inventory. The Cronbach’s alpha values for the dimensions of demonstrating resilience characteristics and vulnerabilities shown under pressure were 0.94 and 0.90, respectively. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was 0.94. The confirmatory factor analysis in the third study showed that the structure of the inventory was confirmed in another sports context. Accordingly, the CREST is a valid and reliable tool for use by Turkish athletes and to measure team resilience that is one of the critical determinants of team performance. Further understanding of team resilience as a process can be gain by using the CREST, especially in future process-oriented research for team sports.