Encountering the Urban Crisis: The Gezi Event and the Politics of Urban Design

This article addresses an experimental urban design studio conducted in Bilkent University in Ankara, which problematized the protests that initially started in Gezi Park in Istanbul and shook Turkey in the summer of 2013. As will be argued in detail below, we claim that the Gezi event represents an urban crisis. The particular event was the rapid escalation of a small protest against the destruction of a public space into a nationwide anti-government insurrection. But it also represented a larger urban crisis: the increasing influence of neoliberalism on the city, as the protests were the outcome of a period marked by zealous commodification of urban space. In both instances, such urban conflicts have to be addressed by urban designers, since they produce the renewal projects that gentrify urban spaces and, at the same time, seek possible alternatives for a better urban environment. © 2016, Copyright Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

Perceived barriers to career progression in the headache field : A global web-based cross-sectional survey

It is well recognized that underrepresented and minoritized groups do not have the same career opportunities. However, there are limited data on the range and specifics of potential barriers that withhold people in headache medicine and science from reaching their full potential. Moreover, people from different geographical regions often perceive different challenges. We aimed to identify world-wide perceived career barriers and possibilities for promoting equality amongst professionals in the headache fields. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among professionals in the field of headache globally. The questions of the survey were aimed at assessing perceived career barriers in four domains: professional recognition, opportunities in scientific societies, clinical practice, and salary and compensation. Perceived mentorship was also assessed. In total 580 responders completed the survey (55.3% women). Gender was the most important perceived barrier in almost all domains. Additionally, country of birth emerged as an important barrier to participation in international scientific societies. Career barriers varied across world regions. It is essential that longstanding and ongoing disparities by gender and country of origin for professionals in the headache field are globally acknowledged and addressed in areas of recruitment, retention, opportunities, mentor- and sponsorships, and advancemen

Global uncertainty in the diagnosis of neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection by both neurologists and non-neurologists: An international inter-observer variability study

Introduction: Uniform case definitions are required to ensure harmonised reporting of neurological syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, it is unclear how clinicians perceive the relative importance of SARS-CoV-2 in neurological syndromes, which risks under- or over-reporting. Methods: We invited clinicians through global networks, including the World Federation of Neurology, to assess ten anonymised vignettes of SARS-CoV-2 neurological syndromes. Using standardised case definitions, clinicians assigned a diagnosis and ranked association with SARS-CoV-2. We compared diagnostic accuracy and assigned association ranks between different settings and specialties and calculated inter-rater agreement for case definitions as “poor” (κ ≤ 0.4), “moderate” or “good” (κ > 0.6). Results: 1265 diagnoses were assigned by 146 participants from 45 countries on six continents. The highest correct proportion were cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST, 95.8%), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS, 92.4%) and headache (91.6%) and the lowest encephalitis (72.8%), psychosis (53.8%) and encephalopathy (43.2%). Diagnostic accuracy was similar between neurologists and non-neurologists (median score 8 vs. 7/10, p = 0.1). Good inter-rater agreement was observed for five diagnoses: cranial neuropathy, headache, myelitis, CVST, and GBS and poor agreement for encephalopathy. In 13% of vignettes, clinicians incorrectly assigned lowest association ranks, regardless of setting and specialty. Conclusion: The case definitions can help with reporting of neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2, also in settings with few neurologists. However, encephalopathy, encephalitis, and psychosis were often misdiagnosed, and clinicians underestimated the association with SARS-CoV-2. Future work should refine the case definitions and provide training if global reporting of neurological syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2 is to be robust

One-year prevalence and the impact of migraine and tension-type headache in Turkey: a nationwide home-based study in adults

Several studies have shown that the prevalence of migraine and tension-type headache (TTH) varied between different geographical regions. Therefore, there is a need of a nationwide prevalence study for headache in our country, located between Asia and Europe. This nationwide study was designed to estimate the 1-year prevalence of migraine and TTH and analyse the clinical features, the impact as well as the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the participant households in Turkey. We planned to investigate 6,000 representative households in 21 cities of Turkey; and a total of 5,323 households (response rate of 89%) aged between 18 and 65 years were examined for headache by 33 trained physicians at home on the basis of the diagnostic criteria of the second edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II). The electronically registered questionnaire was based on the headache features, the associated symptoms, demographic and socio-economic situation and history. Of 5,323 participants (48.8% women; mean age 35.9 ± 12 years) 44.6% reported recurrent headaches during the last 1 year and 871 were diagnosed with migraine at a prevalence rate of 16.4% (8.5% in men and 24.6% in women), whereas only 270 were diagnosed with TTH at a prevalence rate of 5.1% (5.7% in men and 4.5% in women). The 1-year prevalence of probable migraine was 12.4% and probable TTH was 9.5% additionally. The rate of migraine with aura among migraineurs was 21.5%. The prevalence of migraine was highest among 35–40-year-old women while there were no differences in age groups among men and in TTH overall. More than 2/3 of migraineurs had ever consulted a physician whereas only 1/3 of patients with TTH had ever consulted a physician. For women, the migraine prevalence was higher among the ones with a lower income, while among men, it did not show any change by income. Migraine prevalence was lower in those with a lower educational status compared to those with a high educational status. Chronic daily headache was present in 3.3% and the prevalence of medication overuse headache was 2.1% in our population. There was an important impact of migraine with a monthly frequency of 5.9 ± 6, and an attack duration of 35.1 ± 72 h, but only 4.9% were on prophylactic treatment. The one-year prevalence of migraine estimated as 16.4% was similar or even higher than world-wide reported migraine prevalence figures and identical to a previous nation-wide study conducted in 1998, whereas the TTH prevalence was much lower using the same methodology with the ICHD-II criteria

Novel mutation in the NHLRC1 gene in a Malian family with a severe phenotype of Lafora disease

We studied a Malian family with parental consanguinity and two of eight siblings affected with late-childhood-onset progressive myoclonus epilepsy and cognitive decline, consistent with the diagnosis of Lafora disease. Genetic analysis showed a novel homozygous single-nucleotide variant in the NHLRC1 gene, c.560A>C, producing the missense change H187P. The changed amino acid is highly conserved, and the mutation impairs malin's ability to degrade laforin in vitro. Pathological evaluation showed manifestations of Lafora disease in the entire brain, with particularly severe involvement of the pallidum, thalamus, and cerebellum. Our findings document Lafora disease with severe manifestations in the West African population

Progressive myoclonus epilepsies-Residual unsolved cases have marked genetic heterogeneity including dolichol-dependent protein glycosylation pathway genes

Progressive myoclonus epilepsies (PMEs) comprise a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous rare diseases. Over 70% of PME cases can now be molecularly solved. Known PME genes encode a variety of proteins, many involved in lysosomal and endosomal function. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in 84 (78 unrelated) unsolved PME-affected individuals, with or without additional family members, to discover novel causes. We identified likely disease-causing variants in 24 out of 78 (31%) unrelated individuals, despite previous genetic analyses. The diagnostic yield was significantly higher for individuals studied as trios or families (14/28) versus singletons (10/50) (OR = 3.9, p value = 0.01, Fisher's exact test). The 24 likely solved cases of PME involved 18 genes. First, we found and functionally validated five heterozygous variants in NUS1 and DHDDS and a homozygous variant in ALG10, with no previous disease associations. All three genes are involved in dolichol-dependent protein glycosylation, a pathway not previously implicated in PME. Second, we independently validate SEMA6B as a dominant PME gene in two unrelated individuals. Third, in five families, we identified variants in established PME genes; three with intronic or copy-number changes (CLN6, GBA, NEU1) and two very rare causes (ASAH1, CERS1). Fourth, we found a group of genes usually associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, but here, remarkably, presenting as PME, with or without prior developmental delay. Our systematic analysis of these cases suggests that the small residuum of unsolved cases will most likely be a collection of very rare, genetically heterogeneous etiologies.Peer reviewe

GWAS meta-analysis of over 29,000 people with epilepsy identifies 26 risk loci and subtype-specific genetic architecture

Epilepsy is a highly heritable disorder affecting over 50 million people worldwide, of which about one-third are resistant to current treatments. Here we report a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study including 29,944 cases, stratified into three broad categories and seven subtypes of epilepsy, and 52,538 controls. We identify 26 genome-wide significant loci, 19 of which are specific to genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE). We implicate 29 likely causal genes underlying these 26 loci. SNP-based heritability analyses show that common variants explain between 39.6% and 90% of genetic risk for GGE and its subtypes. Subtype analysis revealed markedly different genetic architectures between focal and generalized epilepsies. Gene-set analyses of GGE signals implicate synaptic processes in both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the brain. Prioritized candidate genes overlap with monogenic epilepsy genes and with targets of current antiseizure medications. Finally, we leverage our results to identify alternate drugs with predicted efficacy if repurposed for epilepsy treatment

A comparative ID migraine screener study in ophthalmology, ENT and neurology out-patient clinics

Migraine is more likely to be misdiagnosed in patients with comorbid diseases. Not only primary care physicians, but also specialists might misdiagnose it due to the lack of diagnostic criteria awareness. The ID migraine test is a reliable screening instrument that may facilitate and accelerate migraine recognition. This study aimed to compare the prevalence and characteristics of migraine in a large sample of patients admitted to clinics of ophthalmology (OC), ear, nose and throat diseases (ENTC) and neurology (NC), as well as to validate the use of the ID migraine test in OC and ENTC settings. This was a multicentre (11 cites) study of out-patients admitting either to NC, ENTC or OC of the study sites during five consecutive working days within 1 week. From each of the clinics, 100 patients were planned to be recruited. All recruited patients were interviewed and those having a headache complaint received an ID migraine test and were examined for headache diagnosis by a neurologist, blinded to the ID migraine test result. A total of 2625 subjects were recruited. Only 1.3% of OC patients and 5.4% of ENTC patients have been admitted with a primary complaint of headache, whereas the percentage of NC patients suffering from headache was 37.6%. Whereas 138 patients (19.3%) in OC, 154 (17.3%) in ENTC and 347 (34%) in NC were found to be ID migraine test positive, 149 patients (20.8%) in OC, 142 (16%) in ENTC and 338 (33.1%) in NC were diagnosed with migraine. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive ratios of the ID migraine test were found to be similar in all clinics. An important fraction of the patients admitted to NC, as well as to OC and ENTC, for headache and/or other complaints were found out to have migraine by means of a simple screening test. This study validated the ID migraine test as a sensitive and specific tool in OC and ENTC, encouraging its use as a screening instrument.Pfizer-Türkiy