From idea to publication: Publication rates of theses in neurosurgery from Turkey

Objectives Thesis at the end of residency is considered as the complementary component of postgraduate training. In this respect, thesis helps the residents learn how to ask structured questions, set up the most appropriate study design, conduct the study, retrieve study results and write conclusions with clinical implications. To the best of our knowledge, the publication rates of theses in the field of neurosurgery have not been reported before. Our aim was to find out publication rates of theses in neurosurgery specialty, in this descriptive study. Methods The database of Higher Education Council of Turkey, which includes the theses of residents in only university hospitals, was screened between years 2004 and 2013. After retrieving the theses from the database; we used search engines to find out the theses published in any SCI/SCI-E-indexed journals. For this purpose, the title of the theses and the author names were used as keywords for searching. Data was presented in a descriptive form as absolute numbers and percentages. Results We retrieved 164 theses written by former residents in neurosurgery using the database. Among 164 theses, 18% (national journals: 9; international journals: 21) were published in SCI/SCI-E indexed journals. Conclusion Publication rates of theses in neurosurgery are low as they are in the other specialties of medicine. Our study is a descriptive research, to give an idea about publication rates of theses in neurosurgery. Further studies are required to understand the underlying factors, which are responsible for the limited success in publication of theses in neurosurgery

Thoracic Scoliosis Screening in Adolescent Patients with Chest Radiographs

Aim:School scoliosis screening programs (SSSPs) are valuable and common tools to depict scoliosis prevalence and to take appropriate measures to prevent scoliosis. Prevalence of small angle scoliosis (10- 20o) could be underestimated via SSSPs due to inter-rater variability of the physical examination after which possible candidates are sent to radiographic work-up. In this study, we aimed to detect the prevalence of thoracic scoliosis in adolescent patients via analysis of posteroanterior chest radiographs.Methods:Adolescent patients, who had been admitted for reasons other than spine and whose posteroanterior chest radiographs had been obtained, were included in the study. Demographics and chest radiographs were screened through picture archiving and communication system of the hospital.Results:Chest radiographs of 326 (163 female, 163 male) adolescents were evaluated (mean age: 15.54±2.12 years; mean coronal Cobb angle: 5.25±7.14o). Thoracic scoliosis was present in 7.36% (sixteen female, eight male) of the adolescents. Thoracic scoliosis was more prevalent in females, yet the difference was insignificant (9.82% vs 4.91%; p=0.09). Females and males were similar in respect of age and coronal Cobb angle (mean age: 15.00±1.41 vs 16.00±0 years, p=0.96; mean Cobb angle: 12,30±14.43o vs 7.00±7.60o, p=0.19).Conclusion:Chest radiographs could be adjuvant to SSSPs in determining the true prevalence of scoliosis in the populations

Who Sets Light to the Scientific Path of Spine? Publication Rates of the Abstracts Presented at the “North American Spine Society” Meetings

Aim:Publication rate of congress abstracts has gained attention in the recent literature. Our aim was to assess publication rate and the reasons behind publication of abstracts presented at North American Spine Society (NASS) 2009-2012 annual scientific meetings.Methods:We evaluated the abstracts presented at the NASS 2009- 2012 annual scientific meetings. We searched abstract titles and author names through the PubMed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar. Author specialty, origin of the abstract, journal name, time to publication (years) and content change were looked for.Results:The publication rate of the abstracts presented at NASS 2009- 2012 was 48%. The 2011 congress was the most successful one at reaching publication compared to other three years. Oral presentation abstracts were more likely to be published than poster abstracts, except the year 2011. Orthopedic surgery was the leading specialty in the number of presented abstracts (70%), while neurosurgery was the most successful specialty in seeing publication of the presented abstracts (58%).Conclusion:The publication rate of presented abstracts of NASS has increased compared to the previous years. Further research is needed to understand the reasons for some presented abstracts that could not have been published in scientific journals

Factors affecting mortality in Pediatric Severe Head Injury

Aim: It is aimed to determine the factors affecting mortality in pediatric patients followed up with severe traumatic brain injury in the pediatric intensive care unit. Material and method: All patients followed up in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit between April 2019 and April 2021 due to severe traumatic brain injury were included. Demographic characteristics, pre-intensive care interventions and imaging findings, treatments applied in intensive care and intervention information of all patients were collected. Results were evaluated as survival rate, presence of tracheostomy requirement, brain death, and Pediatric Cerebral Performance Scale at discharge. The patients divided into two groups as survivors and non-survivors. All obtained data were compared between the two groups. Results: During the study period, 47 patients with a diagnosis of severe traumatic brain injury were followed up. It was observed that the requirement of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the need for inotrope-vasopressor and the need for erythrocyte transfusion were statistically significantly higher in the non-survivor group. (p value, respectively: 0.001, 0.001, 0.001) The survival rate in all patients in the study group was 70.2%. In non-survivor group most common pupil response at admission was fixed-dilated (71.4%). In non-survivor group 60% of the patients were lost in the first 24 hours of intensive care. Conclusion: Mortality increases in patients who need resuscitation, erythrocyte transfusion and inotrope before intensive care. Patients who died showed pathologic pupillary response and low GCS. Severe TBH patients died mostly in first 24 hours of admission

Kinetic, Isotherm and Thermodynamic Analysis on Adsorption of Cr(VI) Ions from Aqueous Solutions by Synthesis and Characterization of Magnetic-Poly(divinylbenzene-vinylimidazole) Microbeads

The magnetic-poly(divinylbenzene-1-vinylimidazole) [m-poly(DVB-VIM)] microbeads (average diameter 53–212 μm) were synthesized and characterized; their use as adsorbent in removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated. The m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads were prepared by copolymerizing of divinylbenzene (DVB) with 1-vinylimidazole (VIM). The m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, ESR, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and swelling studies. At fixed solid/solution ratio the various factors affecting adsorption of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solutions such as pH, initial concentration, contact time and temperature were analyzed. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkvich isotherms were used as the model adsorption equilibrium data. Langmuir isotherm model was the most adequate. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Ritch-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models were used to describe the adsorption kinetics. The apparent activation energy was found to be 5.024 kJ mol−1, which is characteristic of a chemically controlled reaction. The experimental data fitted to pseudo-second-order kinetic. The study of temperature effect was quantified by calculating various thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy changes. The thermodynamic parameters obtained indicated the endothermic nature of adsorption of Cr(VI) ions. Morever, after the use in adsorption, the m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads with paramagnetic property were separeted via the applied magnetic force. The magnetic beads could be desorbed up to about 97% by treating with 1.0 M NaOH. These features make the m-poly(DVB-VIM) microbeads a potential candidate for support of Cr(VI) ions removal under magnetic field

Türkiye'de farklı bölgelerde yetiştirilen istiridyelerde (Ostrea edulis) elektroforetik yöntemle genetik farklılıkların araştırılması

Bu çalışmada, Çanakkale Boğazı ve İzmir Körfezine ait istiridye populasyonlarında genetik varyasyonu belirlemek amacı ile toplam 40 adet istiridyeden doku örnekleri alınmıştır.İki bölgeye ait istiridye populasyonları arasında Pgm (Phosphoglucomutase), Mdh (Malate dehydrogenase) ve Est (Esterase) enzimleri bakımından genetik farklılıklar araştırılmıştır.İncelenen 2 populasyonda da Est enzimi monomorfik, Mdh, Pgm1 ve Pgm2 enzimleri ise polimorfik bulunmuştur.Pgm enzim sistemi bakımından 2 lokus belirlenmiştir (Pgm1 ve Pgm2).Çalışmada İzmir ve Çanakkale istiridye populayonları arasındaki genetik benzerlik katsayıları, Mdh ve Pgm1 enzim lokusları için; 1 ve Pgm2 içinse 0.994 olarak bulunmuştur.Bu sonuçlar her iki populasyon arasında incelenen 3 enzim sistemi bakımından genetik benzerliğin çok yüksek olduğunu göstermektedir