The prevalence of asthma and allergy among university freshmen in Eskisehir, Turkey

AbstractThe aim of this study was to determine the current and cumulative prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis and reactivities to allergen skin prick tests (SPT) among university freshmen.The data at the first stage were collated through the application of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (-ECRHS- Stage I) questionnaire on 1603 students registering at various faculties and vocational colleges of Osmangazi University in Eskisehir, Turkey, in the academic year 1997–1998. At the second stage a physical examination as well as allergen SPTs were conducted on 151 students.Of the students within the study group, six (0·4%) had experienced an asthma attack within the previous 12 months, 11 (0·7%) had a past of asthma attacks and 123 (8·1%) reported wheezing attacks within the previous 12 months. The prevalence of asthma-like symptoms, rhinoconjunctivitis and dermatitis were found to be 17·0%, 10·0% and 5·9% respectively. Asthma and asthma-like symptoms were found to be significantly more prevalent among students who smoked. A positive SPT reaction to more than one allergen was found in 14·6% of the students. SPT positivity was 8·3% in asymptomatic students, 27·3% in asthmatic students, 14·5% in those with asthma-like symptoms, 28% in those with non-infectious rhinitis and 7·1% in those with dermatitis. In analysis of logistic regression, a history of atopy, as ascertained in the questionnaire, was seen to have a significant effect on SPT positivity.The rate of self-reported asthma and/or asthma-like symptoms among newly enrolled freshmen at the Osmangazi University was found to be lower than in other countries. Cigarette smoking was seen to increase such symptoms significantly, in comparison to non-smokers

Morphometric analysis of vidian canal and its relations with surrounding anatomic structures by using cone-beam computed tomography

Background: We identified the vidian canal (VC) in a Turkish subpopulation on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images and explored its anatomic relationships; the canal serves as an anatomic pathway during endonasal surgical approaches. Materials and methods: Coronal and axial CBCT images of 100 patients (50 males and 50 females) were evaluated (slice thickness and interval, 0.5 mm). We measured the length of the VC length, extent of VC pneumatisation into the sphenoid sinus, position of the VC relative to the medial pterygopalatine plate (MPP), pterygopalatine fossa (PPF) depth, and VC-VC, VC-MPP, and VC-foramen rotundum (FR) distances, the angle between the posterior end of the middle turbinate and the lateral part of the VC anterior opening, and the angle between the VC and the palatovaginal canal. Results: The mean VC length was 13.09 ± 2.07 and 13.01 ± 2.12 mm on the right and left sides, respectively. Relative to the MPP, the VC was located medially in 54.5% of patients, on the same level in 36%, and laterally in 9.5%. Pneumatisation was of grade I in 24% of patients, grade II in 33%, grade III in 23.5%, and grade IV in 19.5%. The VC-FR and VC-MPP distances were significantly greater on the left side. The angle between the posterior end of the middle turbinate and the lateral part of the anterior VC opening was significantly greater on the right side. The VC-VC distance was significantly greater when the VC lay lateral to the MPP. Conclusions: Anatomic characteristics of the VC on CBCT images unique to Turkish populations should be kept in mind during surgery

Interleukin 6, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein and interleukin 10 in the prediction of risk and etiologic patterns in patients with community-acquired pneumonia: results from the German competence network CAPNETZ

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of our study was to investigate the predictive value of the biomarkers interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10) and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) compared with clinical CRB and CRB-65 severity scores in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Samples and data were obtained from patients enrolled into the German CAPNETZ study group. Samples (blood, sputum and urine) were collected within 24 h of first presentation and inclusion in the CAPNETZ study, and CRB and CRB-65 scores were determined for all patients at the time of enrollment. The combined end point representative of a severe course of CAP was defined as mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit treatment and/or death within 30 days. Overall, a total of 1,000 patients were enrolled in the study. A severe course of CAP was observed in 105 (10.5%) patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The highest IL-6, IL-10 and LBP concentrations were found in patients with CRB-65 scores of 3-4 or CRB scores of 2-3. IL-6 and LBP levels on enrollment in the study were significantly higher for patients with a severe course of CAP than for those who did not have severe CAP. In receiver operating characteristic analyses, the area under the curve values for of IL-6 (0.689), IL-10 (0.665) and LPB (0.624) in a severe course of CAP were lower than that of CRB-65 (0.764) and similar to that of CRB (0.69). The accuracy of both CRB and CRB-65 was increased significantly by including IL-6 measurements. In addition, higher cytokine concentrations were found in patients with typical bacterial infections compared with patients with atypical or viral infections and those with infection of unknown etiology. LBP showed the highest discriminatory power with respect to the etiology of infection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>IL-6, IL-10 and LBP concentrations were increased in patients with a CRB-65 score of 3-4 and a severe course of CAP. The concentrations of IL-6 and IL-10 reflected the severity of disease in patients with CAP. The predictive power of IL-6, IL-10 and LBP for a severe course of pneumonia was lower than that of CRB-65. Typical bacterial pathogens induced the highest LBP, IL-6 and IL-10 concentrations.</p

Synthesis and theoretical studies on new amidodithiophosphonates

Amidodithiophosphonates were synthesised by the reaction of 2,4-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfide and amines such as (-)-cis-myrtanylamine amine, (R)-(+)-1-phenylethyl amine, (S)-(-)-1-phenylethyl amine in benzene. The compounds 1-3 were characterized by elemental analyses and spectroscopically (H-1-, C-13, P-31 NMR). In addition, the molecular geometry, vibrational frequencies, chemical shifts, electronic transition energies and thermodynamic parameters for the compound 1 were calculated by using the density functional method employing B3LYP level with different basis sets, including 6-31++G(d,p) and 6-311++G(d,p). The large HOMO-LUMO band gaps (5.08 eV and 5.06 eV, respectively) for the molecule explain the kinetic stability. The computed results are very close to the obtained experimental results with spectroscopic techniques. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Theoretical investigation of triazine based a star shape pyrrole monomer

In this work, we report a comprehensive theoretical investigation of electroactive star shaped pyrrole functionalized triazine monomer with two main goals. First goal of this work is to explore the physical and chemical properties of the monomer, then to investigate correlation between the experimental and the theoretical properties of monomer. The scale factor which is calculated from B3LYP/cc-pVDZ was determined as 0.985 for FT-IR and it is an important and reliable contribution to the literature. It is determined that the most appropriate basis set for this molecule. The other novel objective of this research is to investigate temperature effect on displacement of chlorine atoms in 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine. This method applied for the first time in the literature for triazines is especially crucial to the synthesis of unsymmetrical triazines

Kissing molars nadir görülen iki olgu sunumu

‘Kissing molars’ terimi ilk olarak 1973’ te tarif edilmiştir; bu terim, gömülü mandibuler ikinci ve üçüncü molarların aynı folliküler torba içerisinde oklüzal yüzeylerinin birbirleriyle temasta ve kök doğrultularının ters istikamette olmasını açıklamak için kullanılmaktadır. Molar dişlerin ‘rosetting formasyonu gül biçiminde bezek veya öbek ’ veya ‘kissing molars’ formasyonu literatürde mukopolisakkaridosis MPS hastalığı ile ilişkilendirilmiştir. Kliniğimize ‘kissing molars’ görüntüsünde dişleri olan iki hasta gelmiştir. 13 yaşındaki mukopolisakkaridosiz ve hiperkolesterolemi rahatsızlığı olan bayan hastanın sağ mandibuler 46 ve 47 nolu dişlerinde, 50 yaşındaki erkek hastanın ise sol mandibuler 36 ve 37 nolu dişlerinde radyolojik muayene sonucunda ‘kissing molars’lara rastlanılmıştır. Birinci olguda ortodonti ile yapılan konsültasyon sonucu 47 nolu diş çekilmiş, 46 nolu dişe sürmesi için braket atılmıştır. Sonuçta diş oklüzyona gelmiştir. İkinci olguda hasta tedaviyi kabul etmemiştir. ‘Kissing molars’ nadir görülen bir vakadır. ‘Rosette formasyonu’ veya ‘kissing molars’ fenomeni çok iyi açıklanamamıştır. Onun için, bu MPS’ nin başka bir özelliği ile ilişkili veya tek başına izole bir özellik olabilir. Sonuç olarak, bu bulgular klinisyenleri benzer durumlarla ilişkisi hakkında kesin kurallar oluşturmak için özellikle MPS ile ilgili daha fazla araştırma yapmak için teşvik etmelidir

Challenges to Turkey’s Transition to a Low-Carbon Urban Development: A Roadmap for an Effective Climate Change Policy

Turkey is an emerging economy with a growing gross domestic product, which brings with it a rapid increase in energy consumption. Turkey’s per capita GHG emissions increased from 3.88 tons of CO2eqin 1990 to 6.07 tons of CO2eqin 2015. Furthermore, due to being located in the Mediterranean Basin, Turkey is highly vulnerable to such impacts of climate change as temperature rises, flooding and water shortage. Since the early 2000s, there have been several efforts in developing a climate policy in Turkey. The EU accession negotiations have played a catalyst role in pushing the environmental agenda and climate policy forward. However, the current state of climate policy in Turkey is far from being a sound policy framework. Despite the introduction of several policy documents and institutional reforms, GHGs and climatic vulnerabilities of Turkish cities are increasing. This chapter investigates the current state of climate policy in Turkey so as to underline its shortcoming and weaknesses. Following the discussion on the existing situation, a roadmap is proposed to sidestep the existing shortcomings and develop a sound and internationally valid climate policy. The proposed roadmap is believed to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon urban development in Turkish cities