Does Inferior Oblique Muscle Overaction Affect Ocular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials?

Objectives: Inferior oblique muscle overaction (IOOA) is a common ocular motility disorder. Ocular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (oVEMP) are tests that evaluate the reflex pathway between the utricular macula and the inferior oblique muscle to detect vestibular diseases. Our study is of great importance as it is the first study in the literature to evaluate the effect of inferior oblique muscle overaction on oVEMP parameters. Methods: Thirty-five patients with unilateral inferior oblique muscle overaction (IOOA group) and 18 healthy volunteers without any neurological or vestibulocochlear disease were included in this study. All patients and healthy volunteers were evaluated with oVEMP. Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the n1 latency, p1 latency, n1-p1 latency measurement values of the participants included in the study (p\u3e0,05). A statistically significant difference was found between the n1-p1 amplitude measurement values of the participants in patient groups (non-squint eyes, squint eyes) and control groups (p-value was 0.038). Conclusion: In IOOA patients, vestibulo-ocular reflex pathway may be affected, vestibular symptoms may develop thus o-VEMP responses may be affected. A careful anamnesis should be taken in IOOA patients, and it should be kept in mind that n1-p1 amplitudes and asymmetries may be significantly higher when o-VEMP is performe

The frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease in children with isolated transaminase elevation: results from the observational VICTORIA study

IntroductionElevated transaminases and/or creatine phosphokinase can indicate underlying muscle disease. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) in male children and Pompe disease (PD) in male and female children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.MethodsThis multi-center, prospective study enrolled patients aged 3–216 months with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and/or aspartate transaminase (AST) levels >2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) for ≥3 months. Patients with a known history of liver or muscle disease or physical examination findings suggestive of liver disease were excluded. Patients were screened for creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and molecular genetic tests for DMD/BMD in male patients and enzyme analysis for PD in male and female patients with elevated CPK levels were performed. Genetic analyses confirmed PD. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the patients were analyzed.ResultsOverall, 589 patients [66.8% male, mean age of 63.4 months (standard deviation: 60.5)] were included. In total, 251 patients (188 male and 63 female) had CPK levels above the ULN. Of the patients assessed, 47% (85/182) of male patients were diagnosed with DMD/BMD and 1% (3/228) of male and female patients were diagnosed with PD. The median ALT, AST, and CPK levels were statistically significantly higher, and the questioned neurological symptoms and previously unnoticed examination findings were more common in DMD/BMD patients than those without DMD/BMD or PD (p < 0.001).DiscussionQuestioning neurological symptoms, conducting a complete physical examination, and testing for CPK levels in patients with isolated hypertransaminasemia will prevent costly and time-consuming investigations for liver diseases and will lead to the diagnosis of occult neuromuscular diseases. Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04120168

Work-Aggravated Asthma in the Workplace Due to Environmental Exposure: A Case Report

Work-aggravated asthma is an important and common subtype of work-related asthma. Air pollutants in the workplace are important risk factors for triggering asthma symptoms. Air pollutants can be caused by the operating conditions of the work process, as well as by indoor and outdoor air pollution. In this study, a case of work-aggravated asthma is discussed. An office worker, who had been following up with a diagnosis of asthma for 6 years, was diagnosed with work-aggravated asthma. The reason underlying this diagnosis was the smoke and dust from nearby factories as well as the antiseptic substances used in the workplace. Following the diagnosis, the patient’s workplace was changed by the management. After such change, the patient’s symptoms have relieved and she needed less inhaler therapy than before. In summary, work-aggravated asthma can be exacerbated by factors in the workplace environment. Hence, the workplace environment should also be carefully questioned while assessing the risk factors at work.e</p

Frequency and Factors of Tremor, Palpitation, and Cramp in Patients with COPD and Asthma

Objective: To evaluate the frequency and predictability of side effects, including tremor, cramp, and palpitation, due to treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Methods: We prepared a standard questionnaire for 299 patients concerning their diagnosis, treatment, and side effects of the treatment in February 2007 at Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary Diseases. We prospectively examined the clinical status of the patients and side effects of the treatment at the 15th, 30th, and 180th days of the treatment. Results: In our study, there were 38 (12.7%) patients with drug-induced tremor. Of these, 27 (71.1%) had asthma (p=0.004) and 18 (47.4%) had anamnestic palpitation. Drug-induced tremor risk was 15.3 times higher in patients who used a beta-mimetic compared with those who used any drugs. Cramp risk increased with beta-mimetic use only. In our study, drug-induced tremor was still present at the 180th day of examination in 32 (84.2%) patients. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that side effects, including tremor, palpitation, and cramp, were more common in our patients compared with those in other studies. These side effects were directly related to the primary disease and the use of beta-2-agonists. Another finding of our study is that tolerance did not develop as much as that reported in literature

Drilling performance of functionally graded composite: Comparison with glass and carbon/epoxy composites

WOS:000415983500016Functionally graded composite (FGC) materials are categorized as advanced materials that display different thermal and mechanical responses compared with well-known composites, such as carbon fiber or glass fiber-reinforced composites. This paper presents the experimental results for the drilling of three materials, namely glass/epoxy, carbon/epoxy, and FGC material. FGC was compared with carbon and glass/epoxy composites in terms of thrust force, delamination factor, diameter of hole, and roundness during drilling. This study illustrated that the drilling performance of FGC is considerably more complicated than that of more common composite materials, such as glass/epoxy and carbon/epoxy. Delamination factor at the exit of hole during drilling of FGC was mainly affected by the material placed at the exit of the hole. The proposed cutting parameters and drill geometries to minimize the occurrence of delamination during drilling of carbon/epoxy and glass/epoxy apparently does not meet the expectation in drilling FGC

Optimization and prediction of thrust force, vibration and delamination in drilling of functionally graded composite using Taguchi, ANOVA and ANN analysis

WOS:000471639500002Composite materials offers many advantages over traditional materials in terms of weight, strength and design flexibility. However, machining of these materials leads to some critical problems such as delamination, inferior surface finish and excessive tool wear due to their anisotropic and inhomogeneity structure. In particular, in manufacturing of the functionally graded composite (FGC) materials, this situation becomes more complicated since these composites have been made with different stacking sequences. In this work, drilling performance of FGC, depending on delamination, thrust force and vibration, has been investigated experimentally by using different cutting parameters, which are feed rate, spindle speed and material directions (carbon/epoxy and glass/epoxy). From the results of experiments, the material direction has deeply affected the delamination (89.5%) but has rarely affected the thrust force (0.1%) and vibration (8.4%). Feed rate is the most impactful factor on thrust force and vibration generation. Whereas the feed rate has a direct proportion to the thrust force and delamination, the spindle speed has an inverse proportion to these responses. When the results evaluated generally, In addition to that, a surrogate model is created through ANN to estimate the responses or cutting parameters on the drilling process in a wider range.Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University Scientific Research Project (BAP) [13-M-13]A certain part of this study was supported by Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University Scientific Research Project (BAP) unit with the project number of 13-M-13

Effect of welding current on mechanical properties of galvanized chromided steel sheets in electrical resistance spot welding

In this study, the effect of welding current on the quality of weld joint and obviously on tensile-shear and tensile-peel strengths of galvanized chromate steel sheets having 1.2 mm thickness in electrical resistance spot welding was investigated. A timer and current controlled electrical resistance spot welding machine having 120 kVA capacity and pneumatic application mechanism with a single lever was used to prepare the specimens. Welding periods were chosen as 5, 10, 12 and 15 cycles and also welding currents were increased from 4 kA up to 12 kA by rise of 1 kA. The electrode force was kept constant at 6 kN. The prepared welding specimens were exposed to tensile-shear and tensile-peel tests and the obtained results were supported by diagrams and, finally, appropriate welding parameters were advised to the users. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Meta-Analysis And Review of The Literature

Background and Objective Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) has been reported to be associated with the development of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The objective of this meta-analysis is to assess the relationship between PCOS and OSA. Methods A literature search was conducted to identify studies linking PCOS with the risk of OSA. Studies in which the presence of OSA was confirmed with overnight polysomnography were included. Random effects models were used to calculate pooled relative risks. Results Eight studies conducted in adults and five studies conducted in adolescents were identified. The pooled OSA prevalence was 0.22 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.08–0.40) in PCOS patients. The pooled prevalence of OSA was higher in adults (0.32, 95% CI: 0.13–0.55) than adolescents (0.08, 95% CI: 0.00–0.30). Risk of OSA was significantly increased in adult patients with PCOS (odds ratio (OR) 9.74, 95% CI: 2.76–34.41). Risk of OSA was not significantly increased in adolescents (OR: 4.54, 95% CI:0.56–36.43). Conclusions These findings demonstrate a significant association between PCOS and OSA in adult patients. Considering the increased risk for long-term cardiometabolic disorders associated with both PCOS and OSA, it is important to diagnose and treat OSA in patients with PCOS.PubMedWoSScopu