Acceptability, reliability, validity and responsiveness of the Turkish version of WOMAC osteoarthritis index

SummaryObjectiveTo evaluate the acceptability, reliability, validity and responsiveness of the Turkish version of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) osteoarthritis (OA) index in physiotherapy outpatient practice in Turkey.MethodData were obtained from 72 patients with OA of the knee. They were asked to answer two disease-specific questionnaires (WOMAC LK 3.1 and Lequesne-Algofunctional Index of Severity for the knee) and one generic instrument (Medical Outcomes study SF-36 Survey-SF-36). Acceptability was assessed in terms of refusal rate, rates of missing responses, and administration time. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Content validity was assessed by examining the floor and ceiling effects, and skew of the distributions. Convergent and divergent validity was assessed by examining the Pearson's correlation coefficients. Responsiveness was determined by examining effect size (ES), standardized response means (SRM) and P values generated using Wilcoxon's test.ResultsThe overall response rate was 100%. Alpha values for all WOMAC subscales exceeded the value of 0.70 at both baseline and follow-up assessments. Frequency distributions of scores were symmetrical. Subscales had negligible floor and ceiling effects. Both pain and physical function subscales were fairly correlated with the subscales measuring similar constructs of SF-36, whereas they were weakly correlated with other dimensions of SF-36. A good correlation was obtained between WOMAC total and Lequesne index. The pain and physical function subscales of WOMAC index were the most responsive subscales.ConclusionThe Turkish WOMAC OA index is acceptable, valid, reliable and responsive for use in Turkish patients with knee OA

FROG analysis ensures the reproducibility of genome scale metabolic models

Genome scale metabolic models (GEMs) and other constraint-based models (CBMs) play a pivotal role in understanding biological phenotypes and advancing research in areas like metabolic engineering, human disease modelling, drug discovery, and personalized medicine. Despite their growing application, a significant challenge remains in ensuring the reproducibility of GEMs, primarily due to inconsistent reporting and inadequate model documentation of model results. Addressing this gap, we introduce FROG analysis, a community driven initiative aimed at standardizing reproducibility assessments of CBMs and GEMs. The FROG framework encompasses four key analyses including Flux variability, Reaction deletion, Objective function, and Gene deletion to produce standardized, numerically reproducible FROG reports. These reports serve as reference datasets, enabling model evaluators, curators, and independent researchers to verify the reproducibility of GEMs systematically. BioModels, a leading repository of systems biology models, has integrated FROG analysis into its curation workflow, enhancing the reproducibility and reusability of submitted GEMs. In our study evaluating 65 GEM submissions from the community, approximately 40\% reproduced without intervention, 28\% requiring minor adjustments, and 32\% needing input from authors. The standardization introduced by FROG analysis facilitated the detection and resolution of issues, ultimately leading to the successful reproduction of all models. By establishing a standardized and comprehensive approach to evaluating GEM reproducibility, FROG analysis significantly contributes to making CBMs and GEMs more transparent, reusable, and reliable for the broader scientific community.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Medya ve güvenlik sektörü gözetimi: sınırlar ve imkânlar

Media and security sector oversights: limits and potential

Accendendo una candela: religione e trasformazione dello spazio urbana a Istanbul

Burning a candle: religion and the transformation of the urban space in Istanbu

Il potere dell'acqua

The power of water In this article, the authors evaluate the growing importance of water and the so-called "water wars" especially in light of the 5th World Water Forum organized in Istanbul, Turkey. For Turkey and its surrounding region, water has long been a source for geostrategic power, a maker and breaker of peace, as well as an important socio-economic developmental lever. The authors also concentrate on the ways in which water has recently become an arena for neoliberal economic policies and a way to further weaken public economies