Effect of Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tension-Type Headache, and Anxiety Among Medical Students

Aim:Screen exposure can lead to numerous health problems, such as headaches, in students. This study aimed to investigate the impact of online learning on tension-type headache (TTH) and its association with anxiety among medical students who attended online classes during the novel coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted between June 1 and 15, 2021, among preclinical medical students at the Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine in Erzurum. The data were collected via an online survey. Sociodemographic features and characteristics of online classes and headaches were collected. Anxiety levels were measured using the generalized anxiety disorder test-7 (GAD-7) scale. Questions for the preliminary diagnosis of TTH were prepared based on the International Classification of Headache Disorder Diagnosis.Results:The mean age of the participants was 20.6±3.0 years, and 52.2% (n=297) were women. Tension-type headaches affected 323 (56.8%) students, while 246 (43.2%) had no headaches. In addition, 41.3% (n=135) of the participants with TTH reported experiencing headaches after online classes, and 47.1% (n=154) of those with TTH stated that their headache intensity increased after online classes. The mean GAD-7 score was 11.2±5.2 among the participants with TTH, compared to 8.7±5.2 among those with no headache (p<0.01). Significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of daily screen time (p=0.019), GAD-7 score (p<0.001), and gender (p<0.001).Conclusion:The study findings indicate that TTH is common in medical students during online learning. Efforts should be made to educate students on screen use, and stress reduction programs should be included in the curriculum

Pregnancy and Toxoplasmosis: should screening be a routine practice?

Because infectious agents can reach the fetus through the placenta, pregnancy is regarded as a particular period for contagious diseases. Identification of infections during pregnancy and appropriate treatment can prevent fetal disorders. For this purpose, to avoid their harmful effects on fetus and newborn, various infectious diseases are screened during pregnancy. Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnancy is transmitted through the transplacental pathway leading to severe neurological sequelae such as fetal abortion, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation, cranial calcifications, blindness, deafness, and mental retardation. This can lead to serious social and economic problems for the family and the infant, as well as society. To prevent these sequelae, infections during pregnancy need to be identified and appropriately treated. There are different opinions and practices in the world regarding the screening of T. gondii during pregnancy follow-up. This review aimed to assess the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection during gestation in Turkey and the world, its effects on the fetus, ways of protection, and suggestions about screening in the world and in Turkey in light of the literature, so that this becomes a guide for clinical practice for physicians

PHYSICIAN BURNOUT LEVELS AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Introduction: Burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment, is frequently observed in physicians. Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine burnout levels and associated factors in physicians during the pandemic. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was performed online with 288 physicians from various fields in Erzurum. Sociodemographic questions and the Maslach Burnout Inventory represented the data collection tools. The data were collected online in May and June 2021. Statistical analysis: Descriptive statistics, Student's t and ANOVA tests And Multiple ordinal logistic regression analysis were used. p values <0.05 were regarded as significant. Analysis was performed on SPSS 22. Results: Physicians’ mean emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment component scores were 20.1±8.3, 6.7±4.5, and 21.1±4.5, respectively. Analysis showed that 49.7% of physicians exhibited moderate-high emotional exhaustion, 35.8% high-moderate depersonalization, and 69.8% signs of low personal accomplishment. Job title, regret concerning selecting the medical profession, satisfaction with the working environment, number of additional monthly out-of-hours shifts worked, regular sporting activity, and assessment of the physical conditions in the working environment emerged as factors affecting burnout components at regression analysis. Conclusion: The participants’ burnout levels were high. The planning of effective interventions addressing individual and work-related factors with a holistic approach is essential to halt this rapidly growing epidemic

Multi-ethnic genome-wide association study for atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects more than 33 million individuals worldwide and has a complex heritability. We conducted the largest meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for AF to date, consisting of more than half a million individuals, including 65,446 with AF. In total, we identified 97 loci significantly associated with AF, including 67 that were novel in a combined-ancestry analysis, and 3 that were novel in a European-specific analysis. We sought to identify AF-associated genes at the GWAS loci by performing RNA-sequencing and expression quantitative trait locus analyses in 101 left atrial samples, the most relevant tissue for AF. We also performed transcriptome-wide analyses that identified 57 AF-associated genes, 42 of which overlap with GWAS loci. The identified loci implicate genes enriched within cardiac developmental, electrophysiological, contractile and structural pathways. These results extend our understanding of the biological pathways underlying AF and may facilitate the development of therapeutics for AF

A novel photosensitizer based on a ruthenium(ii) phenanthroline bis(perylenediimide) dyad: synthesis, generation of singlet oxygen and in vitro photodynamic therapy

In this study, a novel photosensitizer having two perylenediimide units and a phenanthroline ruthenium(ii) coordination moiety (Ru-BP) has been developed for photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer cells. This new compound was prepared via reactions of two newly designed molecules, namely, 5,6,12,13-tetrakis(4-(tert-butyl)phenoxy)-2-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-9-(4-hydroxyphenyl)anthra[2,1,9-def:6,5,10-def]diisoquinoline-1,3,8,10(2H,9H)-tetraone (P6) and a bis(2,2-bipyridyl)-(4,7-dichlorophenanthroline)ruthenium(ii) complex (7). The singlet oxygen production of P6 and Ru-BP was investigated by a chemical method using 1,3-diphenylisobenzofurane as a trap molecule. Additionally, photodynamic therapy efficacy of the novel Ru-BP complex and P6 was evaluated in vitro. Ru-BP significantly decreased the viability of human chronic myeloid leukemia cells under red light but not in the dark, pointing out that the complex, itself, was not cytotoxic and singlet oxygen formation was required for the initiation of cell death mechanisms. Thus, Ru-BP can be effectively used as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy, which makes the novel Ru-BP a promising singlet oxygen generator for further biological applications

Novel ruthenium(II) and iridium(III) BODIPY dyes: insights into their application in photodynamic therapy in vitro

Organic-metal complexes are promising molecules for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT). The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro effects of novel Ru(ii) and Ir(iii) BODIPY complexes for PDT. These hybrid organic-metal molecules (Ru-BD and Ir-BD) have been synthesized via reactions of a BODIPY precursor (BD) with a phenanthroline unit bearing Ru(ii) (3) and novel Ir(iii) (4) compounds. The crystal structures of the new distyryl BODIPY (BD) and Ru(ii) complex (3) are also reported. The photophysical and singlet oxygen generation properties of Ru-BD and Ir-BD were investigated in comparison with unsubstituted BODIPY (BD). Moreover, Ru-BD and Ir-BD have been biologically evaluated in vitro in chronic myeloid leukemia and cervical cancer cell lines in terms of photodynamic therapy efficacy in the presence of BD control. These complexes were not toxic in the dark but red light was needed to induce cell death. These data support the fact that Ru-BD could be accepted as a valuable photosensitizer-drug for further PDT treatment

The clinical and pathological features of 133 colorectal cancer patients with brain metastasis: a multicenter retrospective analysis of the Gastrointestinal Tumors Working Committee of the Turkish Oncology Group (TOG)

WOS: 000341835700025PubMed ID: 25108599Brain metastasis in colorectal cancer is highly rare. In the present study, we aimed to determine the frequency of brain metastasis in colorectal cancer patients and to establish prognostic characteristics of colorectal cancer patients with brain metastasis. In this cross-sectional study, the medical files of colorectal cancer patients with brain metastases who were definitely diagnosed by histopathologically were retrospectively reviewed. Brain metastasis was detected in 2.7 % (n = 133) of 4,864 colorectal cancer patients. The majority of cases were male (53 %), older than 65 years (59 %), with rectum cancer (56 %), a poorly differentiated tumor (70 %); had adenocarcinoma histology (97 %), and metachronous metastasis (86 %); received chemotherapy at least once for metastatic disease before brain metastasis developed (72 %), had progression with lung metastasis before (51 %), and 26 % (n = 31) of patients with extracranial disease at time the diagnosis of brain metastasis had both lung and bone metastases. The mean follow-up duration was 51 months (range 5-92), and the mean survival was 25.8 months (95 % CI 20.4-29.3). Overall survival rates were 81 % in the first year, 42.3 % in the third year, and 15.7 % in the fifth year. In multiple variable analysis, the most important independent risk factor for overall survival was determined as the presence of lung metastasis (HR 1.43, 95 % CI 1.27-4.14; P = 0.012). Brain metastasis develops late in the period of colorectal cancer and prognosis in these patients is poor. However, early screening of brain metastases in patients with lung metastasis may improve survival outcomes with new treatment modalities

Light harvesting systems composed of carbazole based subphthalocyanine-BODIPY enhanced with intramolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)

A new series of subphthalocyanine-borondipyrromethene scaffolds containing N-ethylcarbazole moiety have been successfully designed and synthesized. The identities of synthesized compounds were confirmed by using H-1, C-13 NMR, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The photophysical properties of the newly synthesized subphthalocyanine-borondipyrromethene conjugates were investigated via absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies in dichloromethane, tetrahydrofuran, benzene, and toluene solution (1 x 10(-5) M). The targeted compounds exhibit a highly efficient energy transfer process, either from the excited borondipyrromethene to the subphthalocyanine core or from the excited subphthalocyanine to the mono or distyryl borondipyrromethene unit. The time resolved fluorescence studies of the subphthalocyanine-borondipyrromethene conjugates were also examined. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Gebze Technical UniverstyWe thank Gebze Technical Universty for financial support