Is neck circumference measurement an indicator for abdominal obesity? A pilot study on Turkish Adults

Background: Neck circumference (NC) measurement is one of the simple screening measurements which can be used as an index of upper body fat distribution to identify obesity.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between neck circumferences and obesity.Methods:A total 411 volunteer adults participated in this study (174 men, 237 women). A questionnaire which consisted of anthropometric measurements and demographic features was used. Patients with NC ≥37 cm for men and ≥34 cm for women require evaluation of overweight status.Results: The percentages of the men and women with BMI ≥ 25kg/m2 were 55.2% and 27.0% respectively and with high neck circumferences were 85.1% and 38.8%, respectively. The percentages of the men and women with high waist circumference were 31.6% and 79.3%, respectively. In both gender there were positive significant correlations between neck circumference, body weight (men, r=0.576; women, r=0.702; p=0.000), waist circumferences (men, r=0.593; women r=0.667; p=0.000), hip circumferences (men, r=0.568; women, r=0.617; p=0.000) and BMI (men, r=0.587; women, r=0.688; p=0.000).Conclusions: This study indicates that NC was associated with body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences and waist/hip ratio for men and women. A significant association was found between NC and conventional overweight and obesity indexes. NC was associated with waist/hip ratio for men and women.Key words: Neck circumference, obesity

Factors affecting pain and fatigue in females with chronic widespread pain

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate factors related to pain intensity and global fatigue in females with Chronic Widespread Pain (CWP). Material and methods: One hundred four patients with CWP were included. The mean age was 40.28±10.82 years. Both Pain intensity and global fatigue were assessed using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to describe anxiety and depression symptoms. Three different questionnaires (leisure time activity, and physical activity at home, at work) were used to determine physical activity levels. Dorsal regression was used to analyze the data. Results: The anxiety score was the most common factor affecting pain intensity (p=0.003). On the other hand, a moderate level of physical activity at home (p=0.027), physical activity level at work (p=0.008), and the anxiety score (p=0.027) were significant factors affecting global fatigue. Conclusion: Our results show that anxiety is the most important factor affecting both pain and global fatigue in women with CWP. These results also support the idea that the characteristics of pain, fatigue and anxiety should be evaluated separately

Genetic Diagnosis of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia: Four Novel Pathogenic Variations in Turkish Patients

Aims: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by telangiectasia, epistaxis, and vascular malformations. Pathogenic mutations were found in ENG, AVCRL1, SMAD4, and GDF genes. In this study, we present our database of patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia regarding the phenotype-genotype relations and discuss two novel ENG gene pathogenic variations in two unrelated families. Methods: Next Generation Sequencing analysis was performed on the peripheral blood of nine patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia in four unrelated families. All patients were diagnosed with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia according to the Curaçao criteria. Data on treatment and screenings of visceral involvement were recorded from files. Results: We have found a pathogenic variation in either the ENG or ACVRL1 gene in each family. Two novel pathogenic variations in the ENG gene, including NM_000118.3 (ENG): c.416delC (p.P139fs*24) and NM_000118.3(ENG): c.1139dupT (p.Leu380PhefsTer16), were found in the same family. The NM_000020.2(ACVRL1): c.1298C>T (p.Pro433Leu) pathogenic variation in the ACVRL1 gene in our first family and a novel heterozygous likely pathogenic NM_000020.2(ACVRL1): c.95T>C (p.Val32Ala) variation was found in our second family. Seven of the nine patients were treated with thalidomide for controlling bleeding episodes. All patients responded to thalidomide. In one patient, the response to thalidomide was lost and switched to bevacizumab. Conclusion: In hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, certain types of mutations correlate with disease phenotypes and with next generation sequencing methods. New pathogenic variations can be revealed, which might help manage patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasi

Turner syndrome and associated problems in turkish children: A multicenter study

Objective: Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disorder caused by complete or partial X chromosome monosomy that manifests various clinical features depending on the karyotype and on the genetic background of affected girls. This study aimed to systematically investigate the key clinical features of TS in relationship to karyotype in a large pediatric Turkish patient population. Methods: Our retrospective study included 842 karyotype-proven TS patients aged 0-18 years who were evaluated in 35 different centers in Turkey in the years 2013-2014. Results: The most common karyotype was 45,X (50.7%), followed by 45,X/46,XX (10.8%), 46,X,i(Xq) (10.1%) and 45,X/46,X,i(Xq) (9.5%). Mean age at diagnosis was 10.2±4.4 years. The most common presenting complaints were short stature and delayed puberty. Among patients diagnosed before age one year, the ratio of karyotype 45,X was significantly higher than that of other karyotype groups. Cardiac defects (bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta and aortic stenosi) were the most common congenital anomalies, occurring in 25% of the TS cases. This was followed by urinary system anomalies (horseshoe kidney, double collector duct system and renal rotation) detected in 16.3%. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis was found in 11.1% of patients, gastrointestinal abnormalities in 8.9%, ear nose and throat problems in 22.6%, dermatologic problems in 21.8% and osteoporosis in 15.3%. Learning difficulties and/or psychosocial problems were encountered in 39.1%. Insulin resistance and impaired fasting glucose were detected in 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Dyslipidemia prevalence was 11.4%. Conclusion: This comprehensive study systematically evaluated the largest group of karyotype-proven TS girls to date. The karyotype distribution, congenital anomaly and comorbidity profile closely parallel that from other countries and support the need for close medical surveillance of these complex patients throughout their lifespan. © Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology

CD11b Expression in Acute Myeloid Leukemia is Associated With Hemostatic Complications and Response to Treatment

Aim:In our study, we aimed to investigate the effects of CD11b expression on myeloblasts on clinical course and prognosis in patients with AML.Materials and Methods:Data of 123 patients diagnosed with AML between 2014-2017 in Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Hematology, a tertiary referral hospital in the Trakya Region, were evaluated in a retrospective manner. The diagnosis of AML was based on WHO 2016 criteria of Myeloid Neoplasms.Results:Of the 123 patients in our study, 60 were female, and 63 were male. The mean age was 57.93 years. CD11b positivity was observed in 40 patients. Platelet counts were significantly lower in patients with CD11b positivity (p = 0.004). Likewise, D-dimer levels at presentation were higher in the CD11b positive patient group (p = 0.000). Regarding outcomes, patients with CD11b positivity were found to have lower rates of remission with first-line remission induction therapy (p = 0.003). There was no significant relationship between CD11b positivity and overall survival with Kaplan Meier survival analysis (8.5 months in CD 11b positive group, 12.1 months in negative group, p: 0.436).Conclusion:Our study demonstrated that patients with CD11b expression had lower remission rates with remission induction chemotherapy

Influences of organizational investments in social capital on service employee commitment and performance

a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Improving customers' service experiences by identifying ways to develop organizational cultures that better motivate and engage service employees is an important issue for service organizations and a top priority in services research. However, extant services research focuses far more on managing customer relationships than on the dynamics of effectively supporting and developing the service personnel who interact with customers. This study assesses the influence of an organizational human resource developmental initiative on service employees. The authors utilize social capital theory and the theory of reasoned action to propose and test a model that examines relationships between organizational investments in social capital and service employees' work-related attitudes, norms, and behaviors. Results from a field study of 407 customerfacing employees from multiple service organizations suggest that making organizational investments in social capital favorably influences service employees' commitment, job performance, and organizational citizenship behavior

Examination of the temperature related structural defects of InGaN/GaN solar cells

In this study the effects of the annealing temperature on the InGaN/GaN solar cells with different In-contents grown on sapphire substrate by the Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) are analyzed by High Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD) and an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The plane angles, mosaic crystal sizes, mixed stress, dislocation intensities of the structure of the GaN and InGaN layers are determined. According to the test results, there are no general characteristic trends observed due to temperature at both structures. There are fluctuating failures determined at both structures as of 350 °C. The defect density increased on the GaN layer starting from 350 °C and reaching above 400 °C. A similar trend is observed on the InGaN layer, too. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved