Between a rock and a hard place: corporate elites in the context of religion and secularism in Turkey

Drawing on discourse analyses of 36 in-depth interviews with elite business people from Turkey, the study identifies the networking patterns of new and established business elites in the context of economic liberalization and socioreligious transformation of the country. Through a comparative analysis of the so-called secular and religious elite networks, we demonstrate the role of institutional actors such as the government, and identity networks, based on religion and place of birth in shaping the form and content of social networks among business elites in Turkey. In order to achieve this, we operationalize Bourdieu's notion of theory of practice and Granovetter's theory of social networks, illustrating the utility of combining these approaches in explicating the form and content of social networks in their situated contexts, in which power and divergent interests are negotiated.Galatasaray University Research Fund [grant number 12.102.005]

Epicardial Fat Thickness in Prepubertal and Pubertal Children

WOS: 000390040700641

The Patient Perspective of Telemedicine in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 Pandemic might be considered as a catalyst for transformation in healthcare experience via the use of video consultation as a method for telemedicine. The aim of our qualitative study is to understand the patient perception of video consultations in telemedicine, which has been used by a single pulmonologist in only one university hospital in Turkey since the first three months of the pandemic. Research findings are essential when it comes to a more effective and widespread future use of telemedicine, as it focuses on patient experience about a medical technology that is newly introduced. Totally 30 patients were randomly chosen and interviewed who get healthcare support via telemedicine. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to learn the experiences and opinions of the interviewees. The expressions of the patients highlight some advantages of using telemedicine such as being free from risk of contagion caused by exposure in the hospital, being able to save time and money while reaching to the physician online whenever needed, and success in technical details even though they were experiencing it for the first time. A very few of the patients are feeling discomfort to be in front of the screen. Almost all patients are applicants to suggest to other individuals the system they used, in conditions to be appropriate, and continuity after the pandemic period. Since the pandemic has propagated from one patient, the worldwide implementation of telemedicine might be catalyzed by following in the footsteps of the sporadic examples of decisiveness nourished from patient experiences. © The Author(s) 2022

Defining faces, defying borders: authority conflicts between medical specialties through cosmetic interventions

Abstract At first glance, medical specializations seem to be delineated according to well-defined scientific criteria; the apparently-functional division of labor generates a general hierarchy of specialized knowledge and practice. However, this unequal apportionment of professional power and authority also depends on capitalistic organization. While the medical rationale has always been market-related, starting in the 1980s—with the initiation of its neoliberal agenda—Turkey has enacted progressively aggressive policies, privatizing healthcare service and reconceptualizing it as a dynamic market, thereby forming a medical ethos entangled with neoliberal motifs. In this article, we analyzed how unregulated market conditions give rise to a chaotic scientific field, and how this apparent disorder serves to reproduce an underlying capitalistic logic. Of the multitude of human body parts, we choose the face, because it has become a hot zone in medicine as cosmetic demands from patients have skyrocketed, and because it is an area generating conflict between medical specialties seeking more authority and power. To this end, we interviewed thirty-three specialists from dermatology, otorhinolaryngology, and plastic surgery about their experiences on authority conflicts and their motivations for entering into an unregulated market. Our research highlights how actors in the medical field constitute a relational social context within which boundaries are fiercely negotiated through a market logic. Thereafter, we argue how the ambiguities of pathology, aesthetics, body, and norms that underlie cosmetic procedures are fluidized and become instruments of power, such that this ambiguity has become the very defining characteristic of the scientific field

CSR and leadership approaches and practices: a comparative inquiry of owners and professional executives

This study generates comparative insights into CSR approaches of owners and non-kin professional executives in an emerging country context, Turkey. Drawing on 61 interviews, we found that ownership status of the executive is crucial in shaping their CSR perceptions and practices. Owner-executives are empowered in pursuing CSR approaches based on their personal preferences and values; they have mostly societal aims. Professionals display tendency for company-related CSR practice; they exhibit greater knowledge of CSR, and their CSR initiatives are the results of strategic choices to enhance their power within the corporation. Our paper contributes to the debate on the drivers for CSR by accounting for both societal and individual influences on the CSR agency of these two key groups of executives. First, we develop a typology of CSR approaches of owners and professionals. Second, we provide insights from an emerging country context. Third, we present empirically grounded practice implications for CSR. <br/

The effect of subclinical hypothyroidism on body composition parameters in children

PubMed: 32460403Background: It's known that overt hypothyroidism increases body fat content and weight. There's limited research about the effect of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) on body composition in children and the effect of LT4 treatment. We aimed to evaluate body composition parameters in healthy subjects and in children with mild SH (MSH) and determine the effect of LT4 treatment. Methods: Sixty-four healthy children and 32 children with MSH were included. Anthropometric measurements and hormonal parameters were evaluated. Body composition was evaluated using bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). Patients were put on LT4 treatment. BIA was performed again after 12 months of therapy. Results: There was no significant difference between the anthropometric parameters and basal metabolic rate of the healthy children and the MSH group. The percentage of trunk muscle mass (TMM) in the MSH group was lower than in the control group (P .05). Conclusions: The percentage of TMM in children with MSH was found lower than healthy control group. After LT4 treatment, the percentage of the FFM, TMM and TFFM were increased and the difference between percentage of TMM in children with MSH and healthy controls was insignificant. Our data indicated that MSH might be associated with early changes in body composition parameters. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Lt

Cadaveric study of the arterial anatomy of the upper lip

Arterial distribution of the upper lip was investigated in this study. The location, course, length, and diameter of the superior labial artery and its alar and septal branches were determined on 14 preserved cadaver heads. Another cadaver head was used to show the arterial tree by the colored silicone injection technique. The superior labial artery was the main artery of the upper lip and always originated from the facial artery. The superior labial artery was 45.4 mm in length, with a range from 29 to 85 mm. The mean distance of the origin of the superior labial artery from the labial commissura was 12.1 mm. The superior labial artery was 1.3 turn in external diameter at its origin. The mean distance of origin of the superior labial artery from the lower border of the mandible was 46.4 mm. The alar division of the superior labial artery was mostly found as a single branch (82 percent). Its mean length was 14.8 mm and the mean diameter at the origin was 0.5 mm. The distance between the origins of the superior labial artery and the septal branch was 33.3 mm. The septal branch was single in most of the cases (90 percent). The mean length of the septal branch was 18.0 mm and the diameter at its origin was 0.9 mm. After all dissections, it was concluded that the arterial distribution of the upper lip was not constant. The superior labial artery can occur in different locations unilaterally and bilaterally, with the branches showing variability

α-Lipoic acid vaginal administration contrasts inflammation and preterm delivery in rats

α-Lipoic acid (ALA) is a safe natural molecule involved in the immunomodulation of many physiological processes. Orally administered ALA has been reported to treat several inflammatory pathologies and support pregnancy. Our study aimed at testing ALA vaginal administration in female Wistar rats evaluating its tissue distribution (experiment I), impact on implantation process (experiment II), and effectiveness in contrasting induced preterm birth (experiment III). In experiment I, rats were intravaginally treated with 50 mg/kg or 500 mg/kg ALA, or with a physiologic solution, for 4 days. α-Lipoic acid distribution in uterus and cervical tissues was evaluated by immunohistochemical analyses. In experiment II, rats received intravaginally the above treatments for 5 days, then they were mated and, if pregnant, included in the experiment to evaluate both implantation rate and the content of implantation mediators in uterus tissues. In experiment III, pregnant rats were pretreated with placebo or with vaginal ALA for 4 days and then induced to delivery with mifepristone plus PGE2 on the 19th day of pregnancy. The delivery time was recorded, and the messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected in the uterine tissues by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry was also performed. Results showed that vaginal ALA was well absorbed and distributed. The treatment did not affect the implantation process and was able to significantly revert mifepristone plus prostaglandin E2 effects, delaying the timing of delivery and significantly decreasing mRNA synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. We provide for the first time new information on vaginal ALA use, even during pregnancy, opening a perspective for further studies