A comparison of attitudes towards stuttering of non-stuttering preschoolers in the United States and Turkey

Background and objectives: Extensive research documents ubiquitous negative attitudes towards stuttering, but when and how they develop is unclear. This non-experimental, comparative study examined US and Turkish preschoolers to explore the origin of stuttering attitudes cross-culturally. Method: The authors compared stuttering attitudes of 28 US and 31 Turkish non-stuttering preschoolers on English and Turkish versions of experimental prototypes of the newly developed Public Opinion Survey on Human Attributes–Stuttering/Child (POSHA–S/Child). Children first watched a short video of two stuttering avatar characters and then answered oral questions about stuttering. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire. Differences in the US and Turkish POSHA–S/Child means were calculated using the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: Attitudes of the US and Turkish children were remarkably similar. Children rated most of the items negatively but also rated some items as neutral or positive. They held relatively more negative attitudes towards traits and personalities of children who stutter yet relatively more positive attitudes towards stuttering children’s potential. Conclusion: Stuttering attitudes in children appear to be partly independent of culture

Time-Kill Kinetics and In Vitro Antifungal Susceptibility of Non-fumigatus Aspergillus Species Isolated from Patients with Ocular Mycoses

Aspergillus species can cause ocular morbidity and blindness, and thus, appropriate antifungal therapy is needed. We investigated the in vitro activity of itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, caspofungin, anidulafungin, and amphotericin B against 14 Aspergillus isolates obtained from patients with ocular mycoses, using the CLSI reference broth microdilution methodology. In addition, time-kill assays were performed, exposing each isolate separately to 1-, 4-, and 16-fold concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of each antifungal agent. A sigmoid maximum-effect (Emax) model was used to fit the time-kill curve data. The drug effect was further evaluated by measuring an increase/decrease in the killing rate of the tested isolates. The MICs of amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole were 0.5–1.0, 1.0, 0.5–1.0, and 0.25 µg/ml for A. brasiliensis, A. niger, and A. tubingensis isolates, respectively, and 2.0–4.0, 0.5, 1.0 for A. flavus, and 0.12–0.25 µg/ml for A. nomius isolates, respectively. A. calidoustus had the highest MIC range for the azoles (4.0–16.0 µg/ml) among all isolates tested. The minimum effective concentrations of caspofungin and anidulafungin were ≤0.03–0.5 µg/ml and ≤0.03 µg/ml for all isolates, respectively. Posaconazole demonstrated maximal killing rates (Emax = 0.63 h−1, r2 = 0.71) against 14 ocular Aspergillus isolates, followed by amphotericin B (Emax = 0.39 h−1, r2 = 0.87), voriconazole (Emax = 0.35 h−1, r2 = 0.098), and itraconazole (Emax = 0.01 h−1, r2 = 0.98). Overall, the antifungal susceptibility of the non-fumigatusAspergillus isolates tested was species and antifungal agent dependent. Analysis of the kinetic growth assays, along with consideration of the killing rates, revealed that posaconazole was the most effective antifungal against all of the isolates

Long-term monitoring of the impact of a capture-based bluefin tuna aquaculture on water column nutrient levels in the Eastern Aegean Sea, Turkey

WOS: 000283592800054PubMed ID: 20127408Capture-based aquaculture of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean has been expanding rapidly but little is known about its environmental impact. In order to understand the consequences of this new sector, long-term monitoring is needed. For this purpose, we investigated the impact of a capture-based tuna farm located in the Gerence Bay (Aegean Sea) on the water column on a seasonal basis from 2005 to 2008, where in the water column, temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrients (nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate), and chlorophyll a, in the sediment organic carbon variables were measured. Although highest nutrient concentrations were observed at the cage station as compared to the two controls in the production period, differences were not statistically significant between stations. Monitoring of physico-chemical parameters, nutrients, and chlorophyll a in water column together with organic carbon in sediment did not show detectable impact of fattening of Atlantic bluefin tuna. This was probably caused by strong currents present in the area, location of the cages away from the coast, hence high water depth, controlled feeding, and periodic presence of tuna farming activity in the study area

Detergent and phosphate pollution in Gediz River, Turkey

WOS: 000270306200027The Gediz River, located in western Turkey, drains a region with a high population density and a strong economic activity. These factors, together with a lack of facilities for appropriate treatment of domestic and industrial sewage, are putting increasing pressure on water resources. The aim of the present study was to identify point sources of detergent pollution and to assess the surface water quality in the Gediz River by monitoring physicochemical variables. Point sources of wastewater, including some with a high pollution load, were detected in the most populated and industrialized areas of Manisa and Muradiye municipalities. These sources contribute to increasing degradation of water quality observed in the river. Concentrations of anionic detergents and phosphate were 0.084 - 5.592 g m(-3) and 0.0044 - 0.248 g m(-3), respectively. Gediz River is a significant contributor of nutrients to the Aegean Sea

Linking COVID-19 perception with socioeconomic conditions using Twitter data

We, as humans, are constantly in relation with our environment. Sudden changes in our living media may alter the way we perceive ourselves and our environment in various ways. Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is a great example of a sudden change. The outbreak influenced means of work, study, socialization, and communication in unprecedented ways. In our study, we investigate the topic dynamics of Twitter content sharing for the Republic of Turkey. We have analyzed 1.3 million tweets containing the keyword ``korona'' shared between February 24, 2020 and May 2, 2020. Our study has three key outcomes. The first one is, after the official announcement of first COVID-19 case in Turkey, rate of COVID-19-related content sharing decreases and hygiene-, lifestyle-, and anxiety-related tweets increase. Second, we see that a number of friends and followers influence content sharing dynamics where accounts sharing COVID-19 News-related content have more followers compared to accounts that share the remaining contents. Finally, motivated by the World Bank's Poverty Monitoring Technical Note, we inquired the effect of income on content sharing and found that GDP per capita of the author's city is more influential on COVID-19 News-related content sharing compared to the population and COVID-19 cases per 1,00,000 people. The lower the GDP per capita, the higher the COVID-19 News-related content sharing is. Also, our model indicates that lower income and population along with high rates of COVID-19 cases per 1,00,000 people are associated with increased COVID-19 News-related content sharing

Anterior communicating artery aneurysm surgery: which is the most appropriate head position?

Head positioning and the degree of rotation for anterior communicating artery aneurysm surgery is controversial. With this anatomic study, we aimed to give a broad description of head positioning for various aneurysm dome projections. In addition, with the use of a corrosion-cast technique, a three-dimensional arterial tree was demonstrated, an anterior communicating artery region aneurysm model was prepared, and pictures were taken at various angles. According to our observations, 30-degree head rotation was found to be the most suitable position for the anterior and superior projected aneurysms. For posterior projection, aneurysm neck was best viewed with 15-degree head rotation. Aneurysms projecting inferiorly necessitated the greatest rotation at 45 degrees. Each aneurysm dome projection of the anterior communicating artery aneurysm should be individually considered, and the head position should be adjusted accordingly. The use of appropriate head positions during surgery will prevent the development of postoperative ischemic complications and will increase the success of surgery by preventing unnecessary tissue manipulation