The Prevalence of Risky Behaviors Related to Violence in High School Students in a Southern City, Turkey

Injuries are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in adolescents and can be grouped as unintentional (such as motor vehicle crashes and fires) and intentional (violence and suicide). The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of high risk behaviors related to violence in high school students. The population comprised 2,480 randomly selected students from 10 schools among 46,271 students from 72 high schools in 1999–2000 in Adana and 2,352 (94.8%) were reached. They completed a Youth Risk Behavior Survey Questionnaire (YRBSQ). The mean age was 16.5 ± 1 (14–21) years. 275 (11.7%) students stated that they carried a knife or a sharp weapon during the last 30 days, 151 (6.4%) carried a gun, 710 (30.2%) participated in a physical fight, 68 (2.9%) were threatened or injured by a weapon, 73 (3.1%) could not attend school because of threats from other students, 96 (4.1%) were forced into sexual intercourse. Male students were significantly more likely than female students to report all types of high risk behaviors except forced sexual intercourse. The rate of risky behaviors increased with higher grade. Violence towards and by adolescents is a severe problem. Families, teachers, and health care professionals should be aware of risk factors and be active in prevention of high risk behaviors in youth

Suicidal Thought and Behavior in High School Students in Adana, Turkey

Fifty years ago adolescents mostly died of natural causes, whereas they now die from more preventable causes. Part of this change has been a worldwide rise in adolescent suicide rates in both developed and developing countries. Suicides are probably under reported due to cultural and religious stigma attached to self-destruction. Objectives of this study were to collect data about suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts and related sociodemographic details in high school students. The population comprised 2,480 randomly selected students among 46,271 students from 72 high schools in 1999–2000 in Adana and 2,352 (94.8%) students from 10 schools were reached and given a questionnaire modified using Youth Risk Behavior Survey Questionnaire (YRBSQ). x2 and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used. Mean age was 16.5 ±1 (14–21) year, 1,187 (50.5%) students reported severe desperation, 526 students (22.4%) had suicidal thoughts, 332 (14.1%) planned committing suicide, 145 (6.2%) attempted suicide. The occurrence rate of desperation, suicidal thoughts, plans, attempts and the mean number of attempts were significantly higher in females than males. Adolescent suicide is a tragedy affecting individual, family, peers, and community. Families, teachers, and physicians should be aware of risk factors for suicide

An unexpected infection in loss-of-function mutations in STAT3: malignant alveolar echinococcosis in liver

Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (S TAT 3) gene causes autosomal dominant hyper immunoglobulin E syndrome (AD-HIES or Job's Syndrome), a rare and complex primary immunodeficiency (PID) syndrome characterized by increased levels of IgE (>2000 IU/mL), eosinophilia, recurrent staphylococcal skin abscesses, eczema, recurrent pneumonia, skeletal and connective tissue abnormalities. Although bacterial and fungal infections are common in AD-HIES, susceptibility to parasitic infections has not been reported. Alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a zoonosis caused by the growth of the Echinococcus multilocularis (EM) metacestode, mimics slow-growing liver cancer. The mortality rate of AE is very high when it is diagnosed late or undertreated. Here, we report a 14-year-old boy with AE infections of the liver and the lung resulting in liver failure and diagnosed as STAT3-LOF. To our knowledge, the association between these two conditions has not been reported in the literature before

Serum Neopterin and Procalcitonin Levels in Relationship with Pediatric Burn Wound Infections

Infection and septic complications in burn patients can be monitored by procalcitonin (PCT) and neopterin plasma values. The aim of the study was to investigate serum neopterin and PCT levels with WBC (white blood cell) and CRP (C-reactive protein) levels in patient group (PG) and healthy control group (HCG) and to investigate the relationship of these markers with burn wound infections (BWI). As the PG, 23 patients between 0–12 ages and up to 30% Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) burned and 15 HCG were included. PCT, neopterin, WBC, and CRP results on the first, the seventh, the fourteenth and the 21st day have been compared. During the follow-up period, 11 patients with BWI and 12 patients without BWI were classified as infected and non-infected patients, respectively. PCT and neopterin levels were detected higher in patients with BWI but no significant difference were present. Also, PCT and neopterin levels within the first 24 hours following the burn were detected higher in PG than HCG. CRP and WBC levels were detected high due to burn trauma. PCT and neopterin levels were increased in patients with BWI. PCT levels were increased during the pre-infectious period, while neopterin levels increased during the post-infectious period

Suicidal Thought and Behavior in High School Students in Adana, Turkey

Fifty years ago adolescents mostly died of natural causes, whereas they now die from more preventable causes. Part of this change has been a worldwide rise in adolescent suicide rates in both developed and developing countries. Suicides are probably under reported due to cultural and religious stigma attached to self-destruction. Objectives of this study were to collect data about suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts and related sociodemographic details in high school students. The population comprised 2,480 randomly selected students among 46,271 students from 72 high schools in 1999–2000 in Adana and 2,352 (94.8%) students from 10 schools were reached and given a questionnaire modified using Youth Risk Behavior Survey Questionnaire (YRBSQ). x2 and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used. Mean age was 16.5 ±1 (14–21) year, 1,187 (50.5%) students reported severe desperation, 526 students (22.4%) had suicidal thoughts, 332 (14.1%) planned committing suicide, 145 (6.2%) attempted suicide. The occurrence rate of desperation, suicidal thoughts, plans, attempts and the mean number of attempts were significantly higher in females than males. Adolescent suicide is a tragedy affecting individual, family, peers, and community. Families, teachers, and physicians should be aware of risk factors for suicide

Heterologous booster COVID-19 vaccination elicited potent immune responses in HCWs

The objective of our study was to evaluate the antibody responses of health care workers (HCWs) who were vaccinated with booster dose BNT162b2 6 months after 2 doses of the CoronoVac vaccine. The study included 318 HCWs vaccinated with inactive CoronaVac SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in 2 doses. Anti-spike/RBD IgG levels were measured immediately before and 1 month after the booster dose. In the sixth month after CoronaVac vaccination, the median of antibody levels of 1212.02 AU/ML, while it was 9283 AU/mL after BNT162b2 vaccination. IgG antibody titers of over 1050 AU/mL (which is equivalent to 1:80 dilution in the plaque reduction neutralization test) were detected in HCWs 15.09% and 97.8%, respectively. Our results showed that antibody titers increased 8-fold after the booster dose. We believe that the administration of the mRNA vaccine as a booster dose can provide more effective protection against COVID-19 infection, especially in individuals with risk factors.IU-Cerrahpaşa Scientific Research Projects Uni

Waning immunity to inactive SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in healthcare workers: Booster required

Aims Despite high vaccination rates, increasing case numbers continue to be reported with the identification of new variants of concern, and the issue of durability of the vaccine-induced immune response remains hot topic. Real-life data regarding time-dependent immunogenicity of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines are scarce. We aimed to investigate the changes in the antibody at the different times after the second dose of the CoronaVac vaccine. Methods The study included 175 HCWs vaccinated with inactive CoronaVac (Sinovac Life Sciences, China) SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in two doses. Anti-spike/RBD IgG levels were measured first, third, and sixth months after the second dose. Chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (IgG II Quant test, Abbott, USA), which is 100% compatible with plaque reduction neutralization test, was used. Results Mean age of the participants was 38 +/- 11.23 years (range between 22 and 66) of whom 119 (63.9%) were female, and 56 (32%) were male. Dramatic reductions were demonstrated in median antibody levels particularly in the infection-naive group, comprising 138 HCWs compared to those with prior history of COVID-19 infection (n = 37) (p < 0.001). There was no difference between the two groups in terms of age, gender, blood groups, BMI, and comorbid diseases. Conclusions While antibody positivity remained above 90% in the 6th month after two doses of inactivated vaccine in HCWs, the median titers of neutralizing antibodies decreased rapidly. The decrease was more rapid and significant in those with no history of prior COVID-19 infection. In this critical phase of the pandemic, where we are facing the dominance of the Omicron variant after Delta, booster doses have become vital.IU-Cerrahpasa Scientific Research Projects Uni

The first clinical case due to AP92 like strain of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus and a field survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a fatal infection, but no clinical case due to AP92 strain was reported. We described the first clinical case due to AP92 like CCHFV.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case infected by a AP92 like CCHFV was detected in Balkanian part of Turkey. Diagnosis was confirmed by RT-PCR and sequencing. A human serologic and tick survey studies were performed in the region, where the case detected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty eight individuals out of 741 were found to be anti CCHFV IgM positive. The attack rate for overall CCHFV was calculated as 5.2%. In univariate analyses, CCHFV IgM positivity was found to be associated with the age (p < 0.001), male gender (p = 0.001), agricultural activity (p = 0.036), and history of tick bite (p = 0.014). In multivariate analysis, older age (OR: 1.03, CI:1.01–1.05, p < 0.001), male gender were found to be the risk factors (OR: 2.5, CI:1.15–5.63, p = 0.020) for CCHFV infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first human case with AP92 like CCHFV infection. Furthermore, this is the first report of AP92 like strain in Turkey. In the region, elderly males carry the highest risk for CCHFV infection.</p