Objective:The styloid process (SP) is a bony projection, located just anterior to the stylomastoid foramen, the normal length of which is approximately 20–30 mm. The length of SP when exceeds 30 mm it is said to “elongated.” The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess the prevalence of elongated SP (ESP) by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) examination in Turkish subpopulation and its relation to gender and age.Materials and Methods:This study analyzed CBCT of 1000 patients who were randomly selected to participate and were aged from 14 to 78 years. Any radiograph with questionable SP was excluded from the study. The apparent length and thickness of the SP were measured by two dental and maxillofacial radiologists. The ESP was classified with radiographic appearance-based morphology of elongation. The data were analyzed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0.Results:The mean age of patients was 42.49 ± 14.83 years. The length of SP was measured over 30 mm in 151 patients (15.1%). A total of 151 CBCT showed ESP, of which 87 (57.6%) were noticed in males and 64 (42.4%) in female patients. The length of right-sided SP ranged from 30.05 to 85.49 mm and left-sided SP from 30.14 to 83.72 mm.Conclusion:CBCT is a valuable diagnostic imaging tool which makes accurate length measurements. It is important for the clinicians to be aware of natural variations of the SP whose clinical importance is not well understood.

Objectives:The aim of the study was to assess whether there was any relation between age, gender and body mass index (BMI) and nodal forms and vascular type in healthy Turkish adults.Study Design:Three neck areas in 25 wholesome patients who were aged from 21 to 58 years, were assessed by gray-scale and color doppler ultrasonography. Ultrasonographic examinations were performed using an ALOKA Prosound Alpha 6 (Hitachi Aloka Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) and the images were obtained with a 7.2 MHz linear array transducer. Hajek’s categorization of cervical lymph nodes for sonographic analysis was used. The ultrasonographic characteristics like size, shape, short axis/long axis ratio (S/L), hilum were evaluated. Ultrasonographic examinations of upper cervical, submandibular and submental lymph nodes were carried out and recorded.Results:The mean age of patients was 31.84±12.80 years. The ratios of lymph nodes with avascular pattern were 96% for the upper cervical lymph area, 92% for the submandibular area and 96% for the submental area. The lowest and highest ratios of short to long axis diameter (S/L) were calculated as 0.18 and 0.66 in all areas. Most normal nodes in the study were oval with an S/L ratio of less than 0.5.Conclusion:Normal cervical lymph nodes are oval, with an unsharp border and an echogenic hilum but no relation between the age, gender and BMI. Also ultrasonography is an applicable imaging modality for the examination of cervical lymph nodes. However, the deficiency in the number of patients might not allow to generalise our findings to the general populations.

A B S T R A C TThe adsorptive properties of natural sepiolite in the removal of copper (Cu 2+ ) from aqueous solution were investigated. The results show that the amount of adsorption of copper ion increases with initial copper concentration, contact time, and solution pH. The pseudo-firstorder, pseudo-second-order, and Elovich models were used to describe the kinetic data and the rate constants were evaluated. The adsorption of the copper onto natural sepiolite at different operating conditions followed the pseudo-second-order model. The equilibrium data were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm models. The equilibrium adsorption results are fitted better with Langmuir isotherm compared to the other models. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity of sepiolite was estimated as 9.64 mg/g at pH 6.0 and temperature of 20˚C. An increase in temperature was found to induce a positive effect on the sorption process. Sorption of Cu 2+ onto sepiolite was spontaneous and endothermic. The values of the enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy of activation (ΔS) were 14.892 kJ/mol and 96.342 J/mol K, respectively, at pH 5.0.