Razine pentraksina 3 dobro su povezane s težinom bolesti kod prijma u bolesnika s COVID-19

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3), a long pentraxin, is not only released from dendritic cells and neutrophils but also from epithelial and endothelial cells such as alveolar epithelium. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) initially activates the innate immune system, causing a complex immune response. Clinical and experimental studies suggest that PTX3, a locally and systemically secreted marker, can be used as a predictor of the severity and mortality in respiratory infections. In the current study, serum PTX3 levels in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were found to be significantly increased at admission and showed significant association with the disease severity.Pentraksin 3 (PTX3), dugi pentraksin, ne oslobađa se samo iz dendritičnih stanica i neutrofila, nego i iz epitelnih i endotelnih stanica poput alveolarnog epitela. Teški akutni respiracijski sindrom koronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) u početku aktivira urođeni imuni sustav uzrokujući složen imuni odgovor. Klinička i eksperimentalna istraživanja ukazuju na to da se PTX3, lokalno i sistemski izlučeni biljeg, može koristiti kao prediktor težine i smrtnosti kod respiracijskih infekcija. U ovom istraživanju utvrđeno je da su razine PTX3 u serumu bolesnika hospitaliziranih s COVID-19 bile značajno povišene kod prijma i značajno povezane s težinom bolesti

Türk İşaret Dili Öğretimine Yönelik Çoklu Durum Araştırması: Kayseri İli Örneği

Türk İşaret Dili (TİD) eğitimi, ağır işitme yetersizliği olan bireyler için toplumsal yaşamda yer edinebilmeleri; olmayan bireyler için ise onlarla iletişim kurma noktasında ciddî bir gereksinimdir. Ağır işitme yetersizliği olan bireyler için ana dili olma niteliği taşıyan TİD’in eğitimi ve bu eğitimlerin yaygınlaştırılması, onların akademik, sosyal ve psikolojik gelişimleri için yaşamsal değer taşımaktadır. 1889 yılında Dilsiz ve Âmâlar Mektebi olarak açılıp Yıldız Sağırlar Okulu olarak devam ettikten sonra farklı adlarla açılıp kapanan okullarda TİD eğitimi yaygınlaşmaya başlamış fakat hâlâ yeterli gelişimi gösterememiştir. Bu çalışmada TİD ve eğitimi kapsamında Kayseri il sınırları içinde mevcut durumu çok boyutlu olarak incelemek amaçlanmaktadır. Çoklu durum araştırması olarak desenlenen bu çalışmada ildeki TİD eğitimi verileri ilgili; öğrenci, veli, öğretmen ve kurum yöneticilerinden oluşan çalışma grubundan yarı yapılandırılmış ‘‘Öğrenci Görüş Formu’’, ‘‘Öğretmen Görüş Formu’’, ‘‘Veli Görüş Formu’’ ve ‘‘Yönetici Görüş Formu’’ kullanılarak yapılan görüşmelerle toplanmıştır. Ayrıca gözlemler yapılarak veriler desteklenmeye çalışılmıştır. Toplanan veriler kodlanarak çift döngülü içerik analizi ile çözümlenmiştir. Böylece Kayseri’de TİD eğitiminin mevcut durumu en ince ayrıntılara yer verilerek betimlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışmada, TİD eğitimi veren öğretmenler arasında görev öncesinde TİD eğitimi alanların sayısının yetersiz olduğu, bütün grupların rehberlik ve koordinasyon açısından desteğe ihtiyaç duyduğu ve TİD eğitimiyle ilgili proje ve araştırmalarda ilgisiz kalındığı bulguları ile öğretmenler, öğrenciler ve veliler arasında sürekli ve olumlu bir iletişim bağı kurulmuş olması dikkat çekmektedir. Bu çalışma, Kayseri’de Türk İşaret Dili eğitimini müstakil ve çok yönlü olarak ele alan ilk çalışma olmasıyla öne çıkmakta, araştırmacı ve eğitimciler bakımından dikkat çeken bulgular ortaya koymaktadır</p

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Vaccination Behaviour of Individuals over the Age of 65 Years in Turkey: Single-Centre Experience

The aim of this study is to evaluate the awareness of individuals over 65 years of age who have had the COVID-19 vaccine at the Samsun Research and Training Hospital and to evaluate whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected the vaccination behaviour in the geriatric age group. A total of 290 people who were vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Samsun Training and Research Hospital between 16 April 2021 and 16 April 2022 and volunteered to participate in the study were included. The questionnaire form was created by the researchers. According to the national and global guidelines, the seasonal influenza vaccine, Td or Tdap vaccines (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), shingles vaccine, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV15 or PCV20), have been recommended to all adults over the age of 65. It was questioned whether the participants had the vaccines recommended for them before and after the pandemic, if they were not vaccinated, what were the reasons, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected the general view on vaccination in this age group. Demographic data and comorbidities were also recorded. After each response that showed that the participant was not vaccinated, reasons were investigated with new questions to find out the causes of vaccine refusal or vaccine hesitancy. Finally, all participants were asked whether they would have the relevant vaccinations when offered. It was shown that 282 (94.3%) of the 299 people who participated in the study were considering getting a regular COVID-19 vaccine from now on, while 84.3% of the participants mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive effect on their general vaccination behaviour. While 39 (13%) people stated that their view on vaccination was not affected by the pandemic, 8 (2.7%) people stated that it was negatively affected. The most common reason about low vaccination rates before the pandemic was a lack of enough knowledge about the recommended vaccines. The pandemic increased the vaccination awareness among the adult population. We think that vaccination rates may be improved by education of the geriatric population on this subject

Face-to-Face, Online or Hybrid, Which Model is Preferred by University Students And Why?

Teaching model preferences of university students and the factors explaining these preferences may give ideas to educators and decision-makers to design future innovative higher education systems. For this reason, this study aims to examine how some factors affect university students' teaching model preferences (face-to-face, online and hybrid) in detail. The factors of the study were gender, opinions about the complexity of the learning management system, sufficiency of digital materials, knowing how to solve problems during online learning, course participation preferences, online teaching methods preferences (synchronous, asynchronous or both), and finally community of inquiry elements (teaching, social and cognitive presence levels). 5504 university students participated in the study and the data were collected by an online questionnaire. Two-way contingency table analyses using Pearson&nbsp;χ2 method and a multinomial logistic regression model (MLR) were applied to determine the factors&nbsp;affecting the teaching model preferences. The results revealed that 71.2% of students preferred to use online supported models (online and hybrid) while only 28.8% of them preferred a wholly face-to- face model. Interestingly, more than half of the females preferred face-to-face and hybrid, while more than half of the males preferred online education. The tendency to prefer online education was related to students' problem solving competencies in the online environment and the learning management system not being complicated for them. This study indicated the relationship of the teaching model preferences with the other factors and community of inquiry elements.</div

A Rare Entity of Benign Recurring Mesenchymal Tumor of the Female Urethra

This is a case report of a 51-year-old female patient with benign mesenchymal tumors of paraurethral region which caused lower urinary tract symptoms. The pathological examination of the lesion was reported as angiomyxoma which is a distinct soft tissue tumor characterized by the presence of prominent myxoid matrix and numerous thin-walled blood vessels. This tumor has a predilection for the trunk, head and neck, extremities, and genitalia. It is a benign tumor, and total excision is curative. Recurrence is rare except for aggressive angiomyxomas

Influence of COVID-19 pandemic on sexuality:A cross-sectional study among couples in Turkey

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been continuing to affect the lives of all people globally. It has been shown that restrictions due to changes in lifestyles lead to mental health problems. This study aims to investigate the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on couples’ sexuality. A total of 245 volunteers (148 men and 97 women) were enrolled in the study. Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale were administered to screen anxiety and depression symptoms. International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) along with self-constructed sexual behavior questionnaire were administered to participants, in order to evaluate sexual functions and behavioral changes during the pandemic. Sexual function scores (IIEF erectile function domain and total FSFI) during pandemic (24.55 ± 5.79 and 24.87 ± 7.88, respectively) were lower compared to the prepandemic period (26.59 ± 4.51 and 26.02 ± 6.22, respectively) (p = 0.001 and p = 0.027, respectively). During pandemic compared to prepandemic period, the frequency of sexual intercourse decreased in men (p = 0.001) and women (p = 0.001) while sexual avoidance and solitary sexual approach behaviors (masturbation or watching sexual content videos, etc.) increased in men (p = 0.001) and women (p = 0.022). However, the couples that spent more time together during the pandemic reported better sexual function scores (men; p = 0.001, women; p = 0.006). Although this is the first study evaluating couples from Turkey with a convenience sample, further studies with a greater number may better elucidate the effects of this pandemic on sexuality

Batı Karadeniz B ölgesinde yabani küçük memelilerde Bartonella türleri

Bartonella genusundaki türler insanlarda ve hayvanlarda uzun süreli bakteriyemiye neden olan hücre içi bakterilerdir. Bu çalışmada Batı Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde yakalanan Apodemus flavicollis , A. witherbyi, A. uralensis, A. mystacinus , Myodes glareolus, Crocidura suaveolens , Rattus rattus ve Rattus norvegicus türlerinin dahil olduğu 173 küçük memelide, kan kültürü ve moleküler yöntemlerle Bartonella türleri araştırıldı. Bartonella pozitifliği küçük memelilerde kan kültürü ile %63.6 (110/173) bulundu. Kültürde izole edilen Bartonella suşlarının, sitrat sentez gen bölgesi (gltA) DNA dizi analizi ile tür tanımlamaları yapıldı. İzolatlar Bartonella taylorii, B. birtlesii, B. coopersplainsensis ve zoonotik bir tür olan B. grahamii olarak tanımlandı.The species within the genus Bartonella are intracellular bacteria causing long -lasting bacteremia in humans and animals. In this study, Bartonella spp. in 173 small mammals, which were Apodemus flavicollis , A. witherbyi, A. uralensis , A. mystacinus , Myodes glareolus, Crocidura suaveolens , Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus species captured from Western Black Sea Region of Turkey, were investigated by blood culture and molecular methods. The positivity of Bartonella was 63.6% (110/173) by blood culture of small mammalian. The gltA gene regions for the isolated strains were identified by DNA sequencing analysis. Isolates were identified as Bartonella taylorii, B. birtlesii, B. coopersplainsensis and a zoonotic B. grahamii