The Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) project has been conducting a photometric survey of transiting planets orbiting bright stars for over 10 years. The KELT images have a pixel scale of ...∼23″ pixel−1-very similar to that of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)-as well as a large point-spread function, and the KELT reduction pipeline uses a weighted photometric aperture with radius 3′. At this angular scale, multiple stars are typically blended in the photometric apertures. In order to identify false positives and confirm transiting exoplanets, we have assembled a follow-up network (KELT-FUN) to conduct imaging with spatial resolution, cadence, and photometric precision higher than the KELT telescopes, as well as spectroscopic observations of the candidate host stars. The KELT-FUN team has followed-up over 1600 planet candidates since 2011, resulting in more than 20 planet discoveries. Excluding ∼450 false alarms of non-astrophysical origin (i.e., instrumental noise or systematics), we present an all-sky catalog of the 1128 bright stars (6 < V < 13) that show transit-like features in the KELT light curves, but which were subsequently determined to be astrophysical false positives (FPs) after photometric and/or spectroscopic follow-up observations. The KELT-FUN team continues to pursue KELT and other planet candidates and will eventually follow up certain classes of TESS candidates. The KELT FP catalog will help minimize the duplication of follow-up observations by current and future transit surveys such as TESS.
We have been carrying out a program for over five years to observe transits of selected exoplanets with 1-meter Turkish Telescope, T100 (Başt\"urk et al. 2014, 2015), by making use of the ...well-established defocusing technique (Southworth et al. 2009) to achieve high photometric precision. In this contribution, we review the results of our observing program in timing perspective. The basic idea behind defocusing technique is to have the advantage of posing the detector for longer duration in the observations of bright stars, otherwise observed within very short integration times. Then the effect of the photon noise is diminished, which dominates in the short cadence observations. Longer exposures also help in reducing the noise contribution of the atmospheric scintillation. Noise contributions of the imperfect tracking and flat-fielding are mitigated by integrating over a larger area on the detector as well. Although fewer images can be acquired in a given time, we argue that the timing precision is improved because of better photometric precision. This contribution has been supported by T\"UBİTAK-3001 project 116F350.
We update the fundamental physical and orbital properties of the transiting hot-Saturn type exoplanet HAT-P-19b and its host star HAT-P-19 as a result of the global modeling of our high-precision ...transit light curves, an archive spectrum, radial velocity observations, brightness values from broadband photometry in different passbands, and the precise distance of the system derived from its Gaia parallax. We collected all the light curves obtained with ground-based photometry by amateur and professional observers, measured mid-transit times, analyzed their differences from calculated transit timings based on reference ephemeris information, which we update as a result. We haven't found any periodicity in the residuals of a linear trend, which we attribute to the accumulation of uncertainties in the reference mid-transit time and the orbital period. We discuss the potential origins of the variation in transit timings briefly and find stellar activity as the most likely cause. Finally, we comment on the scenarios describing the formation and migration of this hot-Saturn type exoplanet with a bloated atmosphere yet a small core, although it is orbiting a metal-rich (Fe / H = 0.24 dex) host star based on the planetary, orbital, and stellar parameters of the system that we derived from our global model, the age and the evolutionary history of the star.
The Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) project has been conducting a photometric survey for transiting planets orbiting bright stars for over ten years. The KELT images have a pixel scale ...of ~23"/pixel---very similar to that of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)---as well as a large point spread function, and the KELT reduction pipeline uses a weighted photometric aperture with radius 3'. At this angular scale, multiple stars are typically blended in the photometric apertures. In order to identify false positives and confirm transiting exoplanets, we have assembled a follow-up network (KELT-FUN) to conduct imaging with higher spatial resolution, cadence, and photometric precision than the KELT telescopes, as well as spectroscopic observations of the candidate host stars. The KELT-FUN team has followed-up over 1,600 planet candidates since 2011, resulting in more than 20 planet discoveries. Excluding ~450 false alarms of non-astrophysical origin (i.e., instrumental noise or systematics), we present an all-sky catalog of the 1,128 bright stars (6<V<10) that show transit-like features in the KELT light curves, but which were subsequently determined to be astrophysical false positives (FPs) after photometric and/or spectroscopic follow-up observations. The KELT-FUN team continues to pursue KELT and other planet candidates and will eventually follow up certain classes of TESS candidates. The KELT FP catalog will help minimize the duplication of follow-up observations by current and future transit surveys such as TESS.
This study aimed to determine whether the Mayo adhesive probability (MAP) score could predict perioperative outcomes in transperitoneal laparoscopic total adrenalectomy (LTA) and laparoscopic partial ...adrenalectomy (LPA).
The clinical data of 139 patients who underwent transperitoneal LTA (
= 116) or LPA (
= 23) between March 2013 and September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the images obtained from preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, the patients were divided into two groups: the low MAP score group (0-1 points) and the high MAP score group (2-5 points). General clinical features and perioperative outcomes were compared between the groups.
In patients with a high MAP score, the mean body mass index (BMI) (
: 0.005), tumor size (
: 0.005), operative time (
: 0.002), estimated blood loss (EBL) (
: 0.001), and complication rate (
: 0.013) were significantly higher compared with those with a low MAP score. The comparison of the patients between the LTA and LPA subgroups revealed that operative time and EBL were significantly higher in both subgroups among the patients with a high MAP score. Moreover, the complication rate in the LTA subgroup was significantly higher in the high MAP score group compared with the other group. The Multivariate analyses revealed that a high MAP score was a risk factor for prolonged operative time (Odds Ratio OR: 3.081, 95% Confidence Interval CI: 1.284-7.398,
: 0.012), increased EBL (OR: 2.495, 95% CI: 1.114-5.588,
: 0.026), and complications (OR: 6.085, 95% CI: 1.532-24.171,
: 0.01)
Patients with a high MAP score had a prolonged operative time, increased EBL, and a higher complication rate compared with those with a low MAP score. In addition, we found that a high MAP score was an independent risk factor for perioperative parameters and complications in patients who underwent LTA and LPA.
BACKGROUND: Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP) is increasingly becoming the standard surgical treatment for prostate cancer. While some risk factors for postoperative complications of RARP ...have been identified, no scoring model that incorporates both preoperative physical status of the patient and intraoperative risk factors has been developed. The Estimation of Physiologic Ability and Surgical Stress (E-PASS) score was initially described to predict postoperative complications after gastrointestinal surgical procedures. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the E-PASS score in predicting postoperative complications of RARP. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation was conducted on 204 patients who underwent RARP between 2019 and 2022. Demographic data, parameters indicating patients' preoperative physical condition, and intraoperative risk factors were analyzed. The E-PASS score and subscores were calculated for each patient. RESULTS: Of the patients, 164 (80.4%) were discharged without any postoperative complications (Group 1), and 40 (19.6%) experienced various degrees of complications (Group 2). Patients in Group 2 had higher rates of previous abdominal surgery, elevated Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance scores, longer surgical durations, and higher E-PASS scores. To assess the effectiveness of the Comprehensive Risk Score (CRS) as a predictive factor for postoperative complications, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed with a 95% confidence interval (CI), and a cut-off value was established. The cut-off value for CRS was determined to be -0.0345 (area under the curve AUC=0.783, CI: 0.713-0.853; p<0.00l). Patients with a CRS higher than the cut-off value had a 16.4 times higher rate of postoperative complications after RARP (95% CI: 5.58-48.5). CONCLUSION: The E-PASS scoring model successfully predicts postoperative complications in patients undergoing RARP by using preoperative data about the physical status of the patient and surgical risk factors. The E-PASS score and its subscores could be utilized as objective criteria to determine the risk of postoperative complications before and immediately after surgery. Keywords: Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy; prostate cancer; postoperative complication. AMAC: Robot Yardimli Radikal Prostatektomi (RYRP), gunumuzde prostat kanseri cerrahi tedavisinde standart yaklasim haline gelmistir. RYRP'nin postoperatif komplikasyonlarini ongoren bazi risk faktorleri tanimlanmis olsa da, hastanin preoperatif fiziksel durumunu ve intraoperatif degiskenleri es zamanli olarak ele alan bir skorlama sistemi henuz onerilmemistir. Estimation of Physiologic Ability and Surgical Stress (E-PASS) skoru, ilk olarak gastrointestinal cerrahilerden sonra gelisen postoperatif komplikasyonlarin ongorulmesinde kullanilmistir. Calismamizda, E-PASS skoru ve alt skorlarinin RYRP'nin postoperatif komplikasyonlarini kestirmek amaciyla kullanilmasinin basarisini tespit etmeyi amacladik. GEREC VE YONTEM: 2019 ve 2022 yillari arasinda RYRP yapilmis olan 204 hasta retrospektif olarak degerlendirildi. Demografik veriler, hastalarin preoperatif fiziksel durumunu belirten parametreler ve intraoperatif risk faktorleri analiz edildi, tum hastalar icin E-PASS skoru ve alt skorlari hesaplandi. BULGULAR: 164 (%80.4) hasta komplikasyonsuz taburcu edildi (Grup 1); fakat 40 (%19.6) hastada cesitli postoperatif komplikasyonlar gelistigi goruldu (Grup 2). Grup 2'de yer alan hastalarin daha yuksek oranda gecirilmis batin cerrahi oykusu, daha yuksek ECOG performans skoru, daha uzun cerrahi suresi ve daha yuksek E-PASS skorlari oldugu gozlendi. Kapsamli Risk Skoru (CRS) skorlarinin etkinli|ini degerlendirmek amaciyla %95 guven araligiyla ROC egrisi olusturuldu ve kestirim degeri belirlendi. CRS icin kestirim degeri -0.0345 olarak belirlendi (EAA= 0.783, GA: 0.713-0.853; p<0.001). Kestirim degerinden yuksek CRS skoru olan hastalarin RYRP sonrasi komplikasyon gelisme riski I6,4 kat artmis olarak goruldu (%95 GA 5.58-48.5). SONUC: E-PASS skorlama sistemi RYRP'nin postoperatif komplikasyonlarini preoperatif fiziksel kondisyon ve cerrahi degiskenleri ele alarak basarili bir sekilde ongorebilmektedir ve cerrahi oncesi ve cerrahiden hemen sonraki donemde objektif bir kriter olarak kullanilabilmek icin adaydir. Anahtar sozcukler: Prostat kanseri, postoperatif komplikasyon; robot yardimli radikal prostatektomi.
Coppice management results in profound differences in forest structure and composition, which in turn can modify habitat value for bird species. We measured bird species richness and composition at ...50 sample plots in pure oak forest stands in northwestern Turkey, which differed in age, cover and height in association with coppice management. We recorded a total of 38 bird species and 699 individuals across all stands. Regression-based multimodel inference showed that structural features of forest stands strongly affect bird diversity and abundance. While canopy cover and tree height affect bird diversity positively, elevation of sampling plots, tree density and tree diameter at breast height (DBH) had a negative effect. In addition, constrained ordination analyses revealed that canopy cover was the most important factor influencing bird species composition. Forest stands that have 42-85% canopy cover, i.e., a few (2009-2580 oak trees) large tall (13.36-15.78 m) trees, were the most preferred habitat by bird species. However, we also found that different bird species favor different stand structural features. Thus, variation in stand structure from maintaining some coppice management across the landscape may be beneficial for rare or endangered species and result in greater landscape level biodiversity.
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