Investigation of the Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation on Health and Psychological Complaints

In the period referred to as the digital era, technological products dominate almost all facets of human life. While technology facilitates human life on one hand, it threatens health with electromagnetic radiation on the other. This study investigate the effects of electromagnetic radiation on health complaints and psychological anxiety and, accordingly, shopping malls were selected as areas of application because the electromagnetic radiation is high at such venues. In this study, the health and psychological complaints of employees working at shopping malls where the electromagnetic radiation is considered to be relatively high and of employees working in similar sectors outside of shopping malls were measured and comparatively analysed. The study sample is composed of 347 employees in total, 174 of whom are employed at shopping malls in Adana province, and 173 employed in stores located outside of shopping malls. It is seen that there is no statistically significant difference between the employees working inside and outside of the shopping malls in terms of health complaints (p=.945 gt;.050)  and psychological complaints  (p=.122 gt;.050). But the scale points related to the health complaints of those working at shopping malls is slightly higher. The models set up in relation to the effect of the number of years worked by employees working at shopping malls on "psychological complaints" and "health complaints" were found statistically significant (F=8.234; F=4.174; p lt;.05). It is important to make measurements in shopping malls and to increase the practices to prevent personnel from having health and psychological problems

The relationships of attachment styles, parental attidues and traumatic childhood experiences with emotional intelligenceBağlanma stilleri, anne baba tutumları ve çocukluk çağı örselenme yaşantılarının duygusal zekâ ile ilişkileri

The present research is a descriptive study and a relational survey model aiming to examine the relationships attachment styles, parental attitudes and traumatic childhood experiences with emotional intelligence. The study group is consisted of total 935 students who have been studying in different faculties of Mersin University. “Experiences in Close Relationships”, “Parental Attitude Scale”, “Childhood Trauma Questionnaire” and “Emotional Quontient Inventory” were used in the study. In the research it was observed that emotional intelligence that is dependent variation of the research related with all of the independent variations (attachment styles, parental attitudes, childhood traumatic experiences) at a meaningful level as a result of statistical analysises that are obtained from the study. As a result of regression analysis that is applied for determining the contributions of independent variations on predicting emotional intelligence, it was observed that the most important contribution comes from avoidant attachment style and the importance rate is like these: sexual abuse, democratic parents attitudes, physical abuse, emotional abuse, protective–demanding parents attitudes and anxious attachment. ÖzetBu araştırma, bağlanma stilleri, anne baba tutumları ve çocukluk çağı örselenme yaşantılarının duygusal zekâ ile ilişkilerini ortaya koymak amacıyla betimsel yöntemle yapılmış, ilişkisel tarama modelinde bir çalışmadır.  Araştırmaya Mersin Üniversitesi’nin çeşitli fakültelerinde öğrenim gören, toplam 935 öğrenci katılmıştır. Araştırmada “Yakın İlişkilerde Yaşantılar Envanteri”, “Ana Baba Tutum Ölçeği”, “Çocukluk Örselenme Yaşantıları Ölçeği” ve “Duygusal Zekâ Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada elde edilen istatiksel analizler sonucunda; araştırmanın bağımlı değişkeni olan duygusal zekânın, bağımsız değişkenlerin (bağlanma stilleri, anne baba tutumları, çocukluk çağı örselenme yaşantıları) tümü ile anlamlı düzeyde ilişkili olduğu görülmüştür. Bağımsız değişkenlerin duygusal zekâyı yordamadaki katkılarını belirlemek amacıyla yapılan regresyon analizi sonucunda ise; en önemli katkının kaçınmalı bağlanma stilinden geldiği ve önem sırasının cinsel istismar, demokratik anne baba tutumu, fiziksel istismar, duygusal istismar, koruyucu-istekçi anne baba tutumu ve kaygılı bağlanma stili şeklinde devam ettiği görülmüştür

Diagnosis and treatment process of comorbid bipolar disorder in a patient diagnosed with autism: Case report

Depression is one of the main psychiatric comorbidity reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, some cases of bipolar disorder accompanying ASD have been reported. In the past, there was a tendency to attribute all psychiatric problems in autistic children and adults to autism itself. Nowadays, there is not only an increase in the number of studies on other medical conditions especially neurological conditions in ASD but also there is an increasing effort in defining the comorbide psychiatric disorders. Comorbid psychiatric conditions can make disease management difficult in cases of autism. The precise and reliable diagnosis of psychiatric disorders accompanying children and adolescents with autism is of great importance. More specific treatment options are possible when problematic behaviors are accepted only as a manifestation of comorbid psychiatric disorder from isolated behavior. In this case report, we aimed to present the diagnosis and management of an adolescent autism diagnosed patient and comorbid bipolar disorder

Real-world efficacy and safety of Ledipasvir plus Sofosbuvir and Ombitasvir/Paritaprevir/Ritonavir +/- Dasabuvir combination therapies for chronic hepatitis C: A Turkish experience

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the real-life efficacy and tolerability of direct-acting antiviral treatments for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with/without cirrhosis in the Turkish population.Material and Methods: A total of 4,352 patients with CHC from 36 different institutions in Turkey were enrolled. They received ledipasvir (LDV) and sofosbuvir (SOF)+/- ribavirin (RBV) ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir +/- dasabuvir (PrOD)+/- RBV for 12 or 24 weeks. Sustained virologic response (SVR) rates, factors affecting SVR, safety profile, and hepatocellular cancer (HCC) occurrence were analyzed.Results: SVR12 was achieved in 92.8% of the patients (4,040/4,352) according to intention-to-treat and in 98.3% of the patients (4,040/4,108) according to per-protocol analysis. The SVR12 rates were similar between the treatment regimens (97.2%-100%) and genotypes (95.6%-100%). Patients achieving SVR showed a significant decrease in the mean serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels (50.90 +/- 54.60 U/L to 17.00 +/- 14.50 U/L) and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores (7.51 +/- 4.54 to 7.32 +/- 3.40) (p<0.05). Of the patients, 2 were diagnosed with HCC during the treatment and 14 were diagnosed with HCC 37.0 +/- 16.0 weeks post-treatment. Higher initial MELD score (odds ratio [OR]: 1.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22-2.38; p=0.023]), higher hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.31-2.28; p=0.038), and higher serum ALT levels (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.21-1.83; p=0.042) were associated with poor SVR12. The most common adverse events were fatigue (12.6%), pruritis (7.3%), increased serum ALT (4.7%) and bilirubin (3.8%) levels, and anemia (3.1%).Conclusion: LDV/SOF or PrOD +/- RBV were effective and tolerable treatments for patients with CHC and with or without advanced liver disease before and after liver transplantation. Although HCV eradication improves the liver function, there is a risk of developing HCC.Turkish Association for the Study of The Liver (TASL

Characteristics of Newly Diagnosed Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Across Turkey: Prospective Multicenter Observational 3K Registry Study

Aims: To evaluate patient profile for epidemiological and clinicopathological characteristics and potential risk/prognostic factors in newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients across Turkey. Methods: A total of 547 patients (mean (SD) age 62.6 (10.3) years, 81.9% were males) were included in this registry study. Data on patient characteristics, etiologies of HCC, laboratory values, and tumor characteristics and stages were recorded at study enrollment. Results: HBV infection (68.2%) was the leading etiology, followed by HCV infection (17.2%), HDV infection (5.5%), alcohol (6.4%), and NAFLD (3.5%), as the major etiologies. Considering that 51.6% of the patients had >5 cm HCC, 44% were Child-Pugh B/C and 57% were BCLC B-D, it appears that a significant group of HCC patients were diagnosed at advanced stages. Of 540 patients, 271 (50.2%) were referred or applied with the diagnosis of HCC. Patients with HCC at presentation had larger tumor size (median (min-max) 6.6 (0-30) vs. 4.8 (0-90) cm, P<.001) and more advanced BCLC stage (Stage C-D in 40.8% vs. 26.4%, respectively, P=.005), compared to patients who were diagnosed during follow-up. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that HBV infection was the leading etiology and a moderate-to-advanced disease was evident in more than half of patients at the time of diagnosis. HCC patients diagnosed at follow-up had smaller tumor size and earlier BCLC stage

Low recurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma following ledipasvir and sofosbuvir treatment in a real-world chronic hepatitis C patients cohort

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF) with or without ribavirin in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in patients with advanced liver disease and to analyse whether the use of LDV/SOF treatment is associated with a new occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during and after LDV/SOF treatment. The Turkish Early Access Program provided LDV/SOF treatment to a total of 200 eligible CHC patients with advanced liver disease. The median follow-up period was 22months. All patients were Caucasian, 84% were infected with genotype 1b, and 24% had a liver transplantation before treatment. The sustained virological response (SVR12) was 86.0% with ITT analysis. SVR12 was similar among patients with Child-Pugh classes A, B and C disease and transplant recipients. From baseline to SVR12, serum ALT level and MELD score were significantly improved (P<0.001). LDV/SOF treatment was generally well tolerated. Only one patient developed a new diagnosed HCC. Seventeen of the 35 patients, who had a history of previous HCC, developed HCC recurrence during the LDV/SOF treatment or by a median follow-up of 6months after treatment. HCC recurrence was less commonly observed in patients who received curative treatment for HCC compared with those patients who received noncurative treatment (P=0.007). In conclusion, LDV/SOF with or without ribavirin is an effective and tolerable treatment in CHC patients with advanced liver disease. Eradication is associated with improvements in liver function and a reduced risk of developing a new occurrence of HCC. Ledipasvir and sofosbuvir with or without ribavirin is an effective and tolerable treatment in hepatitis C virus-infected patients with advanced liver disease. Eradication is associated with improvements in liver function and reduces the risk of developing a new occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma