The balkan war (1912-1913) and visions of the future in Ottoman Turkish literature

The corpus of the Ottoman Turkish literary utopias is little known. It has not received its due share of attention in Ottoman Turkish literary history, and many works of this kind have sunken into oblivion. The present dissertation aims at unearthing these works and at performing a comprehensive examination of this corpus which furnishes valuable insight into the Ottoman Turkish political, cultural, and literary history in the 19th and 20th centuries. It also demonstrates that the Balkan War of 1912-1913 represents a significant rupture in the trajectory of this literature. This dissertation argues that the catastrophic defeat suffered by the Ottomans in the Balkan War, along with its tragic consequences, produced profound shock and trauma in the Ottoman Turkish public and intelligentsia. The state’s teetering on the brink of collapse transformed and radicalized political and ideological positions on the country’s future. At the same time, this extreme setback transformed literature as well, assigning to it the mission of narrativizing this trauma and envisioning a future for Turkey. Accordingly, in the period following the Balkan War, many utopian works were produced in Ottoman Turkish literature, and some of these works have been helpful in the creation of new categories of identity.Middle Eastern Studie

Prognostic Factors in Uveal Melanoma

Uveal melanoma is the most common intra-ocular tumour in the western world with an annual incidence of seven per million. Approximately 50% of the patients treated by enucleation dye eventually due to metastatic disease. Besides enucleation there are nowadays more conservative treatment methods aimed at sparing the affected eye and retaining vision, s.a. transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT), plaque radiotherapy, proton beam or stereotactic radiotherapy. The effect of radiotherapy in uveal melanoma cell lines and primary uveal melanoma was described in the first part of this thesis. The second part of this thesis focuses on identification of clinical and genetic prognostic parameters. It concentrates on parameters that identify patients at high risk of metastatic disease, in particular. Several prognostic markers have been associated with disease free survival. We describe the analysis of 120 uveal melanomas of patients treated with enucleation for chromosomal! changes using conventional cytogenetics, FISH and CGH techniques. Concurrent loss of chromosome region 1p and monosomy of chromosome 3 was the strongest predictor for disease free survival of uveal melanoma patients. The last part focuses on delineation of critical regions and genes of interest. Besides monosomy 3 some tumours may show partial loss of chromosome 3. Two regions, one on the p-arm and one on the q-arm, might be involved in metastases. We studied the partial aberrations observed in uveal melanoma cell lines. A region on chromosome 3q was delineated and reduced the size of the smallest region of overlap compared with literature. The strong correlation between concurrent loss of chromosome region 1p36 and monosomy 3 was suggestive for genes encoded on these chromosomes that might play a role in tumour progression. Two genes, p73 and p63, located on chromosome 3q24 and 1p36 respectively were investigated. Furthermore, we describe mutation analysis of BRAF in thirty-three primary uveal melanoma and commonly used uveal melanoma cell lines

Dose fractionation effects in primary and metastatic human uveal melanoma cell lines

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of split-dose irradiation on primary and metastatic uveal melanoma cell lines, with a clonogenic survival assay. METHODS: Appropriate cell concentrations of four primary and four metastatic human uveal melanoma cell lines were cultured for irradiation with single doses and with two equal fractions separated by 5 hours. After irradiation, colony formation was allowed for 7 to 21 days. Two cutaneous melanomas were also tested for comparison. All survival curves were analyzed using the linear quadratic (LQ) model. Specific parameters for the intrinsic radiosensitivity (alpha-component, SF2), for the capacity of repair of DNA damage (beta-component), as well as the alpha/beta ratio were calculated. RESULTS: After single-dose irradiation a wide range in the values of the alpha- and beta-component was obtained for both primary and metastatic uveal melanomas, which resulted in a wide range of alpha/beta ratios. In contrast, calculations based on split-dose data, with which the beta-component could be estimated independent of the alpha-component, indicated that estimates for the capacity of sublethal DNA damage repair was very similar in all cell lines. This indicated that intrinsic factors dominated the radiosensitivity of these cell lines. Split-dose irradiation had little influence on the intrinsic radiosensitivity (alpha-component), but cell survival increased for all cell lines. For the two cutaneous melanomas comparable split-dose results were obtained. CONCLUSIONS: For both primary and metastatic uveal melanoma cell lines, data from single and fractionated doses indicate large variations in radiosensitivity, which are mainly dominated by the intrinsic radiosensitivities. Doses of approximately 8 Gy in five fractions would be sufficient to eradicate 10(9) cells (approximately 1 cm3) of the most radioresistant tumor cell lines, but this schedule is an overkill for the radiosensitive tumor cell lines. Based on specific morphologic and histologic tumor markers, more individualized dose fractionation schedules could improve the therapeutic ratio for uveal melanomas

COVID-19 infection, vaccine status, and avoidance behaviors in adults with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder: A cross-sectional study

ObjectiveWe aim to examine infection risk and vaccine status of COVID-19 in attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and evaluate the impact of demographic, clinical, and COVID-19-related factors on the infection status and behavioral avoidance of COVID-19. MethodsThis cross-sectional study assessed adults with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder recruited from an outpatient psychiatry clinic. Patients and healthy controls completed a survey on sociodemographic data, COVID-19 infection status, and vaccine status. COVID-19 Disease Perception Scale, COVID-19 Avoidance Attitudes Scale, Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccine Scale, Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Self-report Screening Scale for DSM-5, Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale Symptoms Checklist, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were applied. ResultsNinety patients and 40 healthy controls participated. Patients did not differ from controls in COVID-19 infection and vaccine status, and behavioral avoidance of COVID-19. No demographic and clinical factor significantly affected the COVID-19 infection status. Patients scored higher than controls in the perception of COVID-19 as contagious (p = 0.038), cognitive avoidance of COVID-19 (p = 0.008), and positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine (p = 0.024). After adjustment of possible factors, a positive perception of the COVID-19 vaccine and a perception of COVID-19 as dangerous were the two factors significantly affecting behavioral avoidance of COVID-19 [R-2 = 0. 17, F(2) = 13.189, p < 0.0001]. ConclusionInfection and vaccine status of COVID-19 in patients did not significantly differ from controls. No demographic and clinical factor significantly affected the COVID-19 infection status. Approximately four-fifths of the patients were fully vaccinated as recommended by national and global health organizations. This has increased the knowledge base showing that the COVID-19 vaccine is acceptable and receiving the vaccine is endorsed by ADHD patients. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder itself may provoke no kind of mental disturbance in sense of perception of the danger of this disease. Our findings have increased the knowledge base showing that the COVID-19 vaccine is acceptable and the actual practice of receiving the vaccine is endorsed in this population. Our message for practice would be to take into account not only the core symptoms and the comorbidities of the disorder but also the perception of the disease while exploring its link with COVID-19

Functional status, patient satisfaction and quality of life in patients with arthroscopic partial meniscectomy

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of clinical and demographic variables on functional status, patient satisfaction and quality of life following arthroscopic partial meniscectomy. Patients and methods: Between January 2001 and December 2010, 98 patients (44 males, 54 females; mean age 52.1±12.5 years; range 18 to 88 years) who underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy in our clinic and were eligible for the study. Demographic and clinical data of patients and surgical characteristics were recorded. Preoperative activity levels of patients were measured. Severity of activity pain and patient satisfaction following surgery were evaluated using Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Functional status was evaluated by Lysholm knee score and WOMAC (Osteoarthritis Index Western Ontario and McMaster Universities), while quality of life was evaluated by Short Form-36 (SF-36). Results: Postoperative mean time from surgery was 62.5±26.1 (8-120) months, VAS score at rest was 1.7±2.6 (0-10), VAS activity score was 3.4±3.3 (0-10) and VAS patient satisfaction score was 7.0±3.0 (0-10). It was found that 68 of the patients (69.4%) were evaluated themselves as excellent or better than preoperative period with a mean Lysholm knee score of 73.8±17.4 (24-95). Significant influences of body mass index and preoperative symptom duration on evaluation parameters were not detected. Male gender, less than five years after surgery, less intraoperative joint degeneration and moderate to severe activity level before the onset of symptoms had a positive influence on the severity of pain, patient satisfaction and functional status. Conclusion: Our study provided critical data for optimal patient selection during the preoperative period to predict which patients may have better results in the mid-term follow-up after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy

A very short version of the Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-3oo7) for use as a routinely applied Patient-Reported Outcome Measure

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are valuable supplements in regular care to facilitate routine monitoring of quality of life from the patient’s perspective. The 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) is a widely used PROM in ophthalmology. However, the NEI-VFQ-25 is too time-consuming and cumbersome for routine evaluations in regular care. The aim of this study is to construct a 7-item questionnaire of which only 3 items are presented to the patient, by means of routing. This VFQ 3 out of 7 (VFQ-3oo7) should have a minimal loss of information compared with the NEI-VFQ-25. Methods: An historical database including 3293 administrations of the NEI-VFQ-25 was constructed involving patients with retinal detachment, cataract, corneal diseases, glaucoma, macular degeneration, uveal melanoma and a normal population sample. The data were subjected to Rasch analyses, in particular a generalized partial credit model. Items were sorted on the latent trait and divided into seven categories. From each category, the item with the highest discriminative value was selected. Through routing, only three out of the seven remaining questions are used, where the answers navigate patients to a fitting trait level. Results: A one-dimensional structure was considered fitting. The VFQ-3oo7 showed a small loss of information compared with the total score of the NEI-VFQ-25: correlation 0.927 and a relative precision of 0.868. Conclusion: The very short, but valid, VFQ-3oo7 can be applied to evaluate the patient's perceived vision-related health status in routine evaluations of treatments in regular care, with a small burden for patients

Diagnostic value of combined serum biomarkers for the evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C infection: A multicenter, noninterventional, observational study

Background/Aims: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is important cause of chronic hepatitis. Liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for assessment of fibrosis but this procedure is an invasive procedure. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of non-invasive serum biomarkers, separately and in combinations, on liver fibrosis in treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixteen treatment-naive CHC patients were enrolled from 32 locations across Turkey in this open-labelled, non-interventional prospective observational study. FibroTest®, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index(APRI), aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), Age-platelet(AP) index and Forns index were measured and compared with Metavir scores got from liver biopsies. Results: Data from 182 patients with baseline liver biopsy were suitable for analysis. One hundred and twenty patients (65.9%) had F0-F1 fibrosis and 62 patients (34.1%) had F2-F4 fibrosis. APRI 0.732 area under the curve(AUC) indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% sensitivity and 77% specificity. FIB-4 0.732 AUC and FibroTest 0.715 AUC indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% and 78.4% sensitivity, and 75% and 71.4% specificity, respectively. The combined use of tests also led to an increase in AUC and specificity. Combinations of FibroTest with APRI and/or FIB-4, and FIB-4 with APRI were optimal for the evaluation of liver fibrosis. Conclusion: Fibrotest, FIB-4, APRI, AP index and Forns index exhibit good diagnostic performance for determining liver fibrosis in CHC patients, and the use of at least two tests together will increase their diagnostic value still further. © Copyright 2018 by The Turkish Society of Gastroenterology