A faunistic and systematic study on Pimplinae (Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae) in Eastern and Northeastern parts of Turkey

Çoruh, S., Özbek, H. (2008): A faunistic and systematic study on Pimplinae (Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae) in Eastern and Northeastern parts of Turkey. Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (1): 419-462, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.542787

Differences in international medical graduates’ letters of recommendation by gender in pulmonary and critical care medicine: a cohort analysis

Background: International Medical Graduates (IMGs) encounter barriers as they seek to match into fellowship programs in the United States (US). This study’s objective is to determine if there are differences in letters of recommendation written for IMGs compared to U.S. Medical Graduates (USMGs) applying to pulmonary and critical care medicine (PCCM) fellowship programs. Methods: All applications submitted to a PCCM fellowship program in 2021 were included in this study. The applicant demographics and accomplishments were mined from applications. The gender of letter writers was identified by the author’s pronouns on professional websites. Word count and language differences in the letters were analyzed for each applicant using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LWIC2015) program. Multivariable linear regressions were performed controlling for applicant characteristics to identify if IMG status was associated with total word count and degree of support, measured by a composite outcome encompassing several categories of adjectives, compared to USMG status. Results: Of the 573 applications, most of the applicants were USMGs (72%, N = 334/573). When adjusting for applicant characteristics, IMG applicants had shorter letters of recommendation (87.81 total words shorter 95% CI: − 118.61, − 57.00, p-value < 0.01) and less supportive letters (4.79 composite words shorter 95% CI: − 6.61, − 2.97, p-value < 0.01), as compared to USMG applicants. Notably, female IMG applicants had the biggest difference in their word counts compared to USMG applicants when the letter writer was a man. Conclusions: IMG applicants to a PCCM fellowship received shorter and less supportive letters of recommendation compared to USMG applicants.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/178178/2/Differences in international medical graduates letters of recommendation by gender in pulmonary and critical care medicine a.pdfAccepted versio

Association of mitral annular calcification with cardiovascular risk factors and cardiac structural disease in patients with mitral regurgitation

Objective: Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is the degenerative calcification of the supportive ring of mitral valve. In previous studies, MAC has been shown to be associated with atherosclerosis, and be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of MAC with mitral regurgitation, cardiovascular risk factors and other cardiac structural disease. Material and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 30 701 echocardiograms performed for various clinical indications between 2006-2007. Four thousand four hundred and forty six patients with mitral valve regurgitation were evaluated for MAC and its relation with severity of mitral regurgitation, cardiovascular risk factors and other cardiac structural and functional abnormalities. Results: MAC was diagnosed in 534 (12.0%) of the 4446 patients with mitral regurgitation. MAC was mostly observed in patients with older age, female gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, left atrial enlargement, atrial fibrillation, mitral stenosis and aortic stenosis. Presence of MAC was associated both with the severity of mitral regurgitation and mitral stenosis. In logistic regression analysis, older age, female gender, hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, left atrial enlargement, tricuspid regurgitation, aortic stenosis and mitral stenosis were independent predictors of with MAC. Among these variables, left ventricular hypertrophy was found to be the most predictive parameter of MAC. Conclusions: In this study, MAC independently associated with cardivascular risk factors and structural disease. Therefore, MAC may be used as a predictor of cardiovascular risk and cardiac structural abnormalities in daily clinical practice. Copyright © 2010 by Türkiye Klinikleri