In this study, some Ottoman low carbon steel nails from a 16th century brick masonry dome of Kiliç Ali Pasha Bath in Istanbul and from a 19th century stone dwelling in Phocaea Izmir were studied for their long term corrosion characteristics. Their corrosion layers were examined with a Senterra Bruker micro‐Raman spectrometer and Tescan Vega model Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Inca X‐Stream 2 Energy‐Dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX). Powdered samples scraped from the corrosion layers were studied by X‐ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The corrosion layer consisted of two main sub‐layers, namely an ‘inner corrosion layer’ including a ‘reaction front’ and a ‘transformed medium’ which included the depositions from the surrounding media. Peak intensities of X‐ray powder diffraction traces were not proportional to the abundance of oxides and oxyhydroxides in the corrosion layer, most probably because of their partly amorphous and nano‐size nature. Inner corrosion layer and transformed medium layers were studied in detail by micro Raman spectroscopy at 532 nm, 0.2 mW, 200 s. The Protective Ability Index (PAI) of the corrosion layers were expressed as the ratio of isotropic goethite band thickness to the thickness of reaction front composed of other oxides and oxyhydroxides being magnetite, maghemite, hematite, lepidocrocite, distinguished by micro‐Raman which is a unique method for phase identification. PAI was then estimated to be ~6–10 for 16th century nails and ~3 for 19th century nails. Corrosion mechanisms and PAI were concluded to be affected by compositional characteristics of artefacts and their atmospheric conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Objective. Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in children is an uncommon disorder. An estimated 1.3 percent to 20 percent of people die from perforated peptic ulcers (PPU), a PUD consequence. Using a database, we assess the prevalence and prognosis of PPU in patients. We also do radiological and laparoscopic operations for PPU in young patients. In pediatric patients, sufficient accumulation of knowledge about laparoscopic repair is at the level of case reports. This study aims to assess the results in pediatric cases operated for PUP by open or laparoscopic surgery and determine the role of computed tomography (CT) in diagnosing PUP. Methods. Data was collected from the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Turkey, from 2015 to 2020. Patients under 18 years of age who were operated on for PUP between 2015 and 2020 were divided into two groups. Group 1 involved those patients operated by laparoscopic surgery, whereas Group 2 involved those used by open surgery. Both groups were retrospectively evaluated in terms of demographic data, clinical findings, preoperative-intraoperative findings and surgical methods (open or laparoscopic), duration of surgery, duration of nasogastric intubation, time of return to oral feeding, length of hospital stay, and postoperative complications. Results. 18 patients consisting of 15 boys and 3 girls were included in the study. Group 1 involved 10 patients, whereas Group 2 involved 8 patients. In Group 1, the symptom onset period was 1.6 ± 1.9 days, and in Group 2, it was 6.6 ± 6.1 days. In the erect abdominal radiographs (AXR) of 10 (58.8%) patients, the air was under the diaphragm. Six patients whose erect AXRs showed no attitude under the diaphragm but had abdominal pain and acute abdominal manifestation were given abdominal computed tomography (CT) scanning. In all patients with PUP, laparoscopic/open surgery involves primary suturing and repair by omentoplasty (Graham patch). The mean operative time was 87.0 ± 26.3 minutes in Group 1 and 122.5 ± 57.6 minutes in Group 2. The mean length of hospital stay was 3.9 ± 1.3 days in Group 1 and 5.8 ± 2.1 days in Group 2. Neither group developed any major surgical complications. Conclusions. Adolescents with a history of sudden onset and severe abdominal pain may present with peptic ulcer perforation even if there is no known diagnosis of peptic ulcer or predisposing factor. In cases suspected of PUP, it is vital to order and carefully examine erect AXR, which is an easy and inexpensive method. Computed tomography should be the first choice in patients without free air in ADBG but whose anamnesis and findings match peptic ulcer perforation.

Background: Although appendicitis is the most common emergency abdominal surgical pathology in the pediatric age group, there are a limited number of publications in the literature on how appendicitis has affected patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: This study examined the effects of fear of being infected with COVID-19 and isolation measures on complications and morbidity in pediatric appendicitis cases. Methods: This study was performed in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences University, Şişli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. Patients aged 18 years and younger who were operated on for appendicitis between 11 March 2019 and 11 May 2019 were classified as group 1, and patients aged 18 years and younger who were operated on for appendicitis between 11 March 2020 and 11 May 2020 (during the pandemic) were classified as group 2. Both groups were compared in terms of age, gender, symptoms, duration of symptoms, surgical method, duration of operation, length of hospital stay, and postoperative complications. Results: There were 85 patients in group 1 and 49 in group 2. The mean age was 11.5 ± 3.5 years in group 1 and 12.2 ± 3.0 years in group 2. While the mean hospital admission time for group 1 was 52.2 ± 38.5 hours, it was 50.2 ± 40.0 hours for group 2. The complicated appendicitis rates were 37% and 25% in group 1 and group 2, respectively. In group 1, 94.1% of the operations were completed laparoscopically, whereas, in group 2, this rate was 88.6%. The mean operation time was 64.0 ± 24.4 minutes in group 1 and 69.0 ± 33.0 minutes in group 2. The mean length of hospital stay was 2.9 ± 2.0 days in group 1 and 3.1 ± 3.40 days in group 2. The complication rate was 8.2% in group 1 and 11.4% in group 2. Conclusions: Despite the isolation measures and the risk of virus transmission, the psychosocial effects of the pandemic did not prevent real emergency cases with appendicitis from visiting hospitals.