Self-Esteem in Female Adolescents and Relationships of Its Predictors with Culture

Self-esteem is individuals’ subjective appraisals about their self-worth. It is widely accepted that self-esteem is an important factor in adolescentdevelopment and has been suggested to have important links with adolescent well-being. The gender factor in self-esteem has been included inmany studies. Gender roles and stereotypes, body image, parental style, and cultural norms become prominent as the self-esteem predictors wefocus on in the female gender. The purpose of this review article is to discuss the findings on culture-related differences with effective predictorsof adolescent women’s self-esteem development. As a result, it has been determined that perceptions of gender roles, parental styles, and bodyimage have changed in the cultural context, and have different effects on the development of self-esteem in female adolescents

Effects of Parental Divorcement on Impulsivity in Adolescence

Objective: The impact of parental coexistence on overcoming the adolescence period is being discussed. The aim of this study is to examine if there is a statistically signi-ficant difference in the level of impulse control among the adolescent children of married and divorced couples and to investigate the effect of the socio-demographic characteristics of the divorce process on impulsivity of adolescents. Method: Fifty girls and 50 boys ages of 12-17 with divorced parents, 50 boys and 50 girls with undivorced parents were included in the study. This is a cross-sectional study. The impulse control levels of adolescents were compared with the Barrat Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). The effect of the educational status of the parents, the gender and the age of the adolescent, the parent with whom the adolescent live, time after divorce process on the level of impulse control were examined. The value of p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between groups in total BIS scores and all subscale scores (p=0,743). In the divorced families, statistically significant difference was found between the time after the divorce and the BIS scores (P=0,002), while there was no statistically significant difference between the education levels of the parents, the parent with whom the adolescent live and the gender of adolescent. Discussion: According to this study, divorce did not effect the impulse control levels of adolescents between 12-17 years. Adolescents aged 6 years or younger in the divorce process were thought to have more impulse control problems than olders. It was thought that evaluation of divorcement and different factors would give better results in studies about impulsivity in adolescence

Sexual dysfunction in schizophrenia: a cross-sectional evaluation.

TEZ8017Tez (Uzmanlık) -- Çukurova Üniversitesi, Adana, 2010.Kaynakça (s. 52-63) var.vii, 75 s. : tab. ; 29 cm.Amaç: Bu çalışmada, Çukurova Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Psikiyatri Anabilim Dalı Psikotik Bozukluk Biriminde izlenen Şizofreni hastalarının cinsel yaşantıları açısından izlemleri, sosyodemografik verilerle cinsel yaşantılar arasında ve uygulanan farmakoterapi ile cinsel yan etkiler arasındaki bağlantının incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Çalışmaya, 2009 ve 2010 yılında Psikotik Bozukluk Biriminde izlenen Ruh Sağlığı Bozukluklarının Tanısal ve İstatiksel Sınıflandırması-IV tanı ölçütlerine uygun Şizofreni tanılı hastalardan rastgele seçilmiş 43 hasta alınmıştır. Çalışma verileri Psikotik Bozukluk Birimi için Hazırlanmış Hasta Kayıt Formu ve Golombok-Rust Cinsel Doyum Ölçeği kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Formlar hasta ve hasta yakınları ile görüşülerek ve poliklinik kayıtları incelenerek doldurulmuştur. Bulgular: Çalışmaya alınan hastaların % 25,6'sı kadın, % 74,4'ü erkek'ti. Yaş ortlaması 42,8±9,95'di. Ortalama hastalık süresi 13,2±8,53'du. Golombok-Rust Cinsel Doyum ölçeğinden elde edilen verilerle araştırmaya katılan hastaların % 74,4'ünde cinsel ilişki sıklığı, % 48,8'inde cinsel iletişim, % 27,9'unda doyum, % 48,8'inde kaçınma, % 4,65'inde dokunma alanlarında sorun belirlenmiştir. Erkek hastaların % 84,75'inde erken boşalma, % 75'inde sertleşme güçlüğü, kadınların % 100'ünde vajinismus ve % 27,3'ünde anorgazmi alanlarında sorun belirlenmiştir. Sonuç: Elde edilen veriler bu alanda yapılmış olan çalışmalarla benzer sonuçlar vermiştir. Sonuç olarak yaşam boyu süren; ruhsal ve toplumsal olarak işlevselliği bozan Şizofrenide cinsel işlev alanında da farmakoterapiye ve hastalığın doğasına bağlı ciddi sorunlar vardır. Toplumumuzda görülen cinsel bilgi eksikliği ve bu konunun klinisyenler tarafından gözardı edilmesi gibi faktörler, hastalığın doğası, uygulanan farmakoterapi, sosyoekonomik özellikler gibi pek çok faktör bu alandaki sorunları artırmakta, hastaların yaşam kalitesini düşürmekte, tedaviye uyumu bozmaktadır. Bu konunun hastalarla konuşulması, sorun kaynaklarının belirlenerek azaltılması, yaşam kalitesi ve tedaviye uyum açısından yararlı olacaktır.Objective: In this study, schizophrenic patient group who are regularly tracked in psychosis unit of Cukurova University Medical School Psychiatry Department are been investigated in respect to their sexual life. The relation between both applied pharmacotherapy, sociodemographic data and sexual experiences are being sought, as well as the link between the applied pharmacotherapy and sexual side effects. Method: 43 patients who were subject to Diagnostic and Statistical Mental Disorders-IV diagnostic criteria for Schizophrenic Disorder are monitored by the Psychotic Disorder Unit and randomly assigned to this study. The data is collected by the use of Golombok-Rust Sexual Satisfaction Inventory and Designed Patient Registry Form. Forms are filled through the conversation with patients and their relatives; policlinic records are also utilized. Findings: Paricipant patients of the study were % 25,6 female and % 74 male in gender. Mean age was 42,8±9,95. Average duration of the disorder was 13,2±8,53. Data obtained from the Golombok-Rust Sexual Satisfaction Inventory indicated problems in the areas of sexual intercourse frequency in % 77,4 sexual interaction in % 48,8 sexual satisfaction in % 27,9 sexual aversion in % 48,8 and sexual contact in % 4,65 of the patients. Besides, premature ejaculation at a rate of % 84,75 and erectile dysfunction at a rate of % 75 of the male patient group and vaginusmus in all and anorgasm at a rate of % 27,3 of the female patient group are identified. Conclusion: The data acquired through this study resulted in similar outcomes as with the previously handled ones in this area of interest. Eventually, in addition to a life-long pattern of illness and social dysfunction in Schizophrenia, there are a variety of serious problems in sexual functionality due to both natural course and applied pharmacotherapy. Lack of sexual knowledge in our society and being undervalued by clinicians are some of the contributing factors to the problem, as well as the natural course of the illness, features of the pharmacotherapy, socioeconomic properties. Those factors increase the amount of existing problems, decrease the quality of life and cause incompliance to drug treatment. Clinicians should talk to their patients on this topic to pinpoint the source of the problem and minimise them, to enhance the quality of life and treatment compliance

Kemik Doku Onarımı Için Hidroksiapatit Peptit Amfifil Bazlı Nanokompozit Doku İskelelerinin Geliştirilmesi

A part of this study was supported by 112M442 TÜBİTAK Project and Soner Çakmak was also supported by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Coordination Unit, under The International Cooperation Programme with Project Number of 13 G 602 003 during his studies in USA. In the present study, biomaterials with different contents were designed, fabricated and tested in vitro by cell culture studies for bone and osteochondral tissue engineering. For this purpose bone tissue engineering studies were carried out with biphasic peptide amphiphile (PA)/hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds, whereas triphasic silk-HA/silk/PA scaffolds were used for osteochondral tissue engineering studies. For bone tissue engineering studies, HA matrices in nanofiber form were fabricated by electrospinning method, while arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) bearing PA hydrogels (PA-RGD) were prepared by self assembling technique. The chemical structure of HA nanofiber matrix was verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and it was determined that this structure had high crystallinity and exhibited better biodegradability when compared to pure HA, depending on its CaCO3 content. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) analyses demonstrated that HA nanofibers had an average diameter of 437 ± 64 nm. AFM analysis showed that PA-RGD hydrogels underwent self assembly and exhibited nanofiber organization similar to extracellular matrix (ECM) structure after gelation. The average diameter of peptide nanofibers was calculated as 100 ± 64 nm by using SEM images. Circular dichroism and ATR-FTIR analyses showed that nanofiber organization occurred via β-sheet secondary structure and RGD was located on the nanofiber surface. For in vitro studies, pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells were encapsulated in PA-RGD gels and following this step; nanocomposite structures were fabricated by embedding HA nanofiber matrix within this gel. It was seen that cell proliferation was increased on all of the three scaffolds; HA, PA-RGD and PA-RGD/ HA scaffolds, after the 7th day and on the 18th day, the highest proliferation was detected in PA-RGD gel by cell proliferation analysis. Fluorescence microscopy and SEM analyses demonstrated that cells exhibited osteoblastic morphology on both scaffolds. Depending on the results of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity analysis, it was seen that the osteogenic differentiation was enhanced by the addition of HA to the scaffold structure. By real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, the expression of Alp gene of cells was investigated as an early marker, while osteocalcin (Ocn) and bone sialoprotein (Bsp) gene expressions of cells were analyzed as late markers of osteogenic differentiation. Although no differences in Alp and Ocn expressions were detected among the samples throughout the cell culture period, significantly higher expression of Bsp on PA-RGD/HA nanocomposite on the 18th day showed that bone mineralization, which is an important indication of osteogenic differentiation, was supported more by this scaffold. Consequently, it was evaluated that PA-RGD/HA nanocomposite scaffold could be successfully used in bone tissue engineering applications. In the osteochondral tissue engineering study as the second part of the present work, silk scaffolds from 6% (w/v) solution was used as the bone part and arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-serine (RGDS) containing PA hydrogel (PA-RGDS) was used as the cartilage part, while silk scaffolds from 4% (w/v) solution was designed as the bone-cartilage interface. In addition to that, for the bone part of the scaffold human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) was used, whereas human chondrocytes (hAC) were used as cell source for the cartilage part and the trophic effects of these two cells on each other were investigated under co-culture conditions. The pore sizes of the silk scaffolds with 6% (w/v) and 4% (w/v) silk contents were calculated as 416 ± 87 and 194 ± 67 µm, respectively and it was seen that the silk scaffolds had suitable properties for bone and interface tissues due to their biocompatibility and interconnected pore structures. Human BMSCs were cultured on silk scaffolds in osteogenic medium and chondrocytes were cultured on PA-RGDS in chondrogenic medium for two weeks. Following this culture period, these two cell seeded scaffolds were combined together by placing the 4% (w/v) silk scaffold in between and the resulting structure was cultured for an additional two weeks in the osteochondral cocktail medium. The trophic effects of chondrocytes, which were cultured in the coctail medium, on hBMSCs were revealed as enhanced expression of runt related transcription factor (RUNX2), ALP, collagen type I (COLL I), BSP, osteopontin (OPN) and increased calcium content. When the expression levels of SOX9, agregan (AGC) and collagen type II (COLL II) were evaluated, it was seen that the chondrogenic differentiation of chondrocytes in PA-RGDS hydrogels occurred significantly earlier than pellet cultures. However, gene expressions in hydrogels were found to be similar to that of pellet cultures after the 7th day of incubation. No significant trophic effect of coculture on chondrocytes was determined and this finding showed that TGF-β1 had stronger influence on the chondrocyte differentiation over the co-culture. By histology stainings, it was seen that the hBMSCs in co-culture intensely filled the pores of the scaffold and it was seen that these cells also produced higher amounts of denser mineralized structures detected by Alizarin red and von Kossa stainings. Besides, densely production of cartilage ECM by the chondrocytes in co-culture on PA-RGDS hydrogels was shown by Alcian blue staining. The findings of this study has shown that hBMSCs could able to form an enabled bone structure by co-culture technique without the use of expensive growth factors and chondrocytes could produce cartilage matrix even in the absence of TGF-β1. As a result, it was concluded that the triphasic scaffold designed in this study was a promising biomaterial which could be used for the treatment of osteochondral tissue defects in clinic.Bu çalışmanın bir bölümü, 112M442 No'lu TÜBİTAK Hızlı Destek Projesi ile desteklenmiştir. Ayrıca, tezin sahibi Soner Çakmak'ın Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nde gerçekleştirdiği çalışmalar, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Uluslararası İşbirliği Destekleme Projesi altında 13 G 602 003 No'lu proje ile desteklenmiştir. Sunulan tez çalışması kapsamında, kemik ve osteokondral doku mühendisliğinde kullanılabilecek farklı içerikte biyomalzemeler tasarlanmış, üretilmiş ve bu biyomalzemelerin etkinliği in vitro hücre kültürü deneyleriyle incelenmiştir. Bu amaca yönelik olarak üretilen iki-fazlı peptit amfifil (PA)/hidroksiapatit (HA) doku iskelesiyle kemik doku mühendisliği, üç-fazlı ipek-HA/ipe k/PA doku iskelesiyle ise osteokondral doku mühendisliği çalışmaları gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kemik doku mühendisliği çalışmalarında kullanılan nanofiber yapıda HA matrisler elektroeğirme yöntemiyle, arjinin-glisin-aspartik asit (RGD) taşıyan PA hidrojeller (PA-RGD) ise kendiliğinden düzenlenme yöntemiyle üretilmiştir. Fourier transform kızıl ötesi spektroskopisi (ATR-FTIR) ve X-ışını kırınımı (XRD) analizleriyle HA nanofiber matrisin kimyasal yapısı doğrulanmıştır. Bu yapının yüksek kristaliniteye sahip olduğu görülmüş, ayrıca içeriğinde bulunan CaCO3 nedeniyle saf HA'ya göre daha biyobozunur bir malzeme olabileceği düşünülmektedir. Taramalı ve geçirimli elektron mikroskobu (SEM ve TEM) analizleriyle HA nanofiberlerin 437 ± 64 nm çapa sahip oldukları görülmüştür. PA-RGD hidrojellerin kendiliğinden düzenlenme ve jelleşme sonrası hücre dışı matris (ECM) yapısına benzer nanofiber düzenlenme gösterdiği AFM analiziyle gösterilmiştir. Peptit nanofiberlerin ortalama çapı, SEM görüntüleri üzerinden 100 ± 64 nm olarak hesaplanmıştır. Dairesel dikroizm ve ATR-FTIR analizleriyle, nanofiber düzenlenmenin β-tabaka ikincil yapı üzerinden gerçekleştiği ve biyoaktif sekans olan RGD'nin fiber yüzeyinde yerleştiği bulunmuştur. İn vitro çalışmalarda, kemik öncülü MC3T3-E1 hücreleri PA-RGD jeller içerisine enkapsüle edildikten sonra HA nanofiber matris bu jel içerisine yerleştirilerek nanokompozit yapı oluşturulmuştur. Hücre proliferasyonu analiziyle, HA, PA-RGD ve PA-RGD/HA doku iskelelerinin üçünde de 7. günden sonra hücre proliferasyonunun arttığı görülmüş ve 18. günde en yüksek proliferasyonun PA-RGD jelde olduğu bulunmuştur. Floresan mikroskobu ve SEM analizleriyle, hücrelerin her üç doku iskelesinde de osteoblastik morfoloji gösterdikleri tespit edilmiştir. Alkalin fosfataz (ALP) aktivitesi analiz sonucuna göre, yapıya HA eklenmesiyle çok daha etkin bir osteojenik farklılaşma gerçekleştiği sonucuna varılmıştır. Gerçek zamanlı polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (RT-PCR) yöntemiyle bu malzemelerde bulunan hücrelerin erken dönem gen olan Alp ve geç dönem genler olan osteokalsin (Ocn) ve kemik sialoprotein (Bsp) ekspresyonları incelenmiştir. Alp ve Ocn ekspresyon seviyeleri bakımından kültür boyunca örnekler arasında bir fark görülmemekle birlikte, 18. gündeki Bsp ekspresyon seviyesinin PA-RGD/HA nanokompozit yapıda çok daha yüksek olması bu yapının osteojenik farklılaşmanın en önemli belirteci olan kemik mineralizasyonunu diğer örneklere göre çok daha fazla desteklediğini göstermiştir. Tüm bu sonuçlar birlikte değerlendirildiğinde, PA-RGD/HA nanokompozit doku iskelesinin kemik doku mühendisliği uygulamalarında başarılı bir şekilde kullanılabileceği görülmüştür. Tezin ikinci kısmı olan osteokondral doku mühendisliği çalışmasında ise kemik kısmı %6'lık (w/v) ipek doku iskelesinden, kıkırdak kısmı arjinin-glisin-aspartik asit-serin (RGDS) içeren PA hidrojelden (PA-RGDS) ve kemik-kıkırdak ara yüzeyi olarak ise %4'lük (w/v) ipekten oluşan üç-fazlı doku iskelesi tasarlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada ayrıca, kemik kısmı için insan kemik iliği kökenli mezenkimal kök hücreler (hBMSC) ve kıkırdak kısmı içinse insan kondrositleri (hAC) kullanılmış ve ikili kültür ortamında bu hücrelerin birbirlerine olan tropik etkileri incelenmiştir. %6'lık (w/v) ve %4'lük (w/v) ipek doku iskelelerinin gözenek çapları sırasıyla 416 ± 87 ve 194 ± 67 µm olarak hesaplanmış ve biyouyumlulukları ve içsel bağlantılı gözenekleriyle kemik ve ara yüzey için uygun yapılar olduğu görülmüştür. hBMSC'ler ipek doku iskelesi içerisinde osteojenik ortamda ve kondrositler PA-RGDS hidrojel içerisinde kondrojenik ortamda iki hafta boyunca kültüre edilmiş ve daha sonra bu iki yapı aralarına %4'lük ipek iskele eklenerek birleştirilmiş ve osteokondral kokteyl ortamında iki hafta daha kültüre edilmiştir. İkili kültür ortamındaki kondrositlerin hBMSC'lere tropik etkisi, yüksek ALP aktivitesi ve runt-ilişkili transkripsiyon faktörü (RUNX2), ALP, tip I kollajen (COLL I), BSP, osteopontin (OPN), OCN ekspresyon seviyeleriyle ve kalsiyum içeriğiyle kendini göstermiştir. SOX9, agregan (AGC) ve tip II kollajen (COLL II) ekspresyon seviyelerine bakıldığında, PA-RGDS hidrojellerde kondrojenik farklılaşmanın pellet kültüre göre çok daha erken bir sürede gerçekleştiği fakat 7.günden sonra gen ekspresyonlarının pellet kültürle benzer olduğu görülmüştür. İkili kültür kondrositler üzerinde herhangi bir tropik etki yaratmamış ve bu da kondrositlerin farklılaşmasında TGF-β1'in ikili kültüre göre çok daha etkin olduğunu göstermiştir. Histolojik boyamalar sonucunda ikili kültürde bulunan hBMSC'lerin doku iskelesi gözeneklerini çok daha yoğun bir şekilde doldurduğu görülmüş ve Alizarin kırmızısı ve von Kossa boyamalarında ikili kültürdeki hBMSC'lerin çok daha fazla ve yoğun mineralize yapılar ürettiği belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, ikili kültürde bulunan kondrositlerin PA-RGDS hidrojeller içerisinde yoğun bir kıkırdak ECM'si ürettikleri de Alcian mavisi boyamalarıyla gösterilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler, hBMSC'lerin pahalı büyüme faktörleri kullanılmadan ikili kültür yöntemleriyle de çok etkin bir kemik yapı oluşturabileceğini ve ayrıca kondrositlerin TGF-β1 yokluğunda bile kıkırdak matrisi üretebildiğini göstermiştir. Neticede, bu çalışmada tasarlanan üç-fazlı doku iskelesinin, osteokondral doku hasarlarının tedavisi için klinikte kullanılabilir bir malzeme olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır

Telepsychiatry: Now and Here

Telepsikiyatri, günümüzün hızla değişen sağlık sisteminin ortaya çıkardığı, hem hastaya hem de klinisyene yararları olan bir uygulamadır. Son yıllarda taşınabilir bilgisayarların yaygınlaşması ve güvenilir iletişim sistemlerinin geliştirilmesi, telepsikiyatrinin dilenen yer ve zamanda sunumunun önünü açmıştır. Uygun teknolojinin geliştirilmesi, yasal düzenlemelerin yapılması, psikiyatristlerin, hastaların ve üçüncü kuruluşların memnuniyetlerinin sağlanması oranında telepsikiyatrinin ivmesi artacaktır. Bugüne kadar elde edilen deneyimler, değişen ekonomik ve sosyal parametreler ile büyüyen sağlık sisteminin beklentileri göz önünde tutulduğunda; klinisyenlerin yakın bir gelecekte telepsikiyatriye uyum sağlayacak bir platforma hazırlıklı olması önerilebilir.Telepsychiatry is an application brought out by modern day health system, and beneficial both to the patient and clinician. In recent years, growing usage of portable computers and development of secure communication systems has paved the way for telepsychiatry undertaking in desired place and time. The acceleration of telepsychiatry will increase in proportion to the development of adequate technology, making of legal arrangements, and ensuring the satisfaction of patients, psychiatrists and third companies. Taking into account the experiences acquired thus far, changing economical and social parameters, as well as expectations of growing health care system; clinicians are well advised to prepare for an adaptive platform designed for telepsychiatry in near future

Antipsikotik İlaç Kullanımının Elektrokardiyografi Parametreleri ile İlişkisi

Antipsychotic drugs have many known metabolic and cardiac effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between electrocardiographic parameters and antipsychotic drug use in inpatients with psychotic disorder. For this purpose, electrocardiograms (ECG) of 200 psychotic patients who were hospitalized in our clinic were examined and the relationship between QTc interval, R-R distance and PR interval, the number of antipsychotic drugs used and the effect of antipsychotics on QTc were investigated. According to the data obtained, QTc intervals of the patients using multiple antipsychotic drugs were found to be significantly longer than those using monotherapy. When antipsychotic drugs were classified according to their potency on QTc, QTc intervals were found to be significantly longer in those receiving moderately effective drugs compared to lower effective drugs. In conclusion, considering the frequency of cardiovascular side effects in the follow-up and treatment of patients with psychotic disorder, multiple antipsychotic drugs use should be avoided as much as possible and drug selection should be given importance

Hardness removal from waters by using citric acid modified pine cone

In this study, an effective cation exchanger was developed from pine cone by citric acid modification and its hardness removal properties from waters were investigated. For this purpose, grinded pine cone samples were subjected to a citric acid modification following NaOH saponification. Both of the raw and modified pine cone samples were subjected to standardized hardness removal tests by shaking with hard waters. These tests showed that citric acid modification significantly increases the cation exchange capacity of the pine cone. Also, most suitable size fraction of pine cone was determined as -16+30 mesh (600 um < x < 1200 um). Finally, citric acid modified product obtained from this fraction was used in a continuous system to remove hardness from water. The results of this study showed that citric acid-modified pine cone can be used to hardness removal from waters as a cheap and environment-friendly material

Meme kanseri tanısı olan hastalarda anksiyete ve depresyon düzeylerinin hastalıkla başa çıkma tutumları ve sosyodemografik özellikleri ile ilişkisi

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of anxiety and depression levels of breast cancer patients that had completed a year since receiving the diagnosis with their sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes towards coping with their disease. Method: This study was conducted with 94 female patients between the ages of 35 and 65 years who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and who were treated at the Oncology Department of Cukurova University’s Faculty of Medicine between June 5 and July 31, 2017. Data were collected via a personal information form prepared by the investigator, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and COPE inventory. Results: It was found that 27.7% and 16.0% of patients with breast cancer who had completed one year of treatment and had not presented or been referred to psychiatry experienced clinically relevant anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms, respectively. A positive relationship was found between depression and anxiety in breast cancer patients (p<0.05, r=0.68). The level of anxiety was higher in patients who were not sufficiently informed about the disease (p=0.014) and who thought that the partner was behaving more distant (p=0.019). Patients between the ages of 35 and 44 years were found to be more depressive and anxious than those at age 55-65 (p=0.006 and p=0.010, respectively). It was found that primary school graduates were more likely to use “religious coping” (p=0.02) and university graduates were more likely to use “humor” (p=0.04). In addition, “positive reinterpretation” and “planning” attitudes were found to be more common in those with sufficient knowledge of the disease (p=0.045 and p=0.01, respectively). There was a negative correlation between depression and “mental disengagement” (p=0.011) and “active coping” (p=0.008). There was a positive relationship between anxiety and “use of emotional social support” (p=0.038). Conclusion: In our study, sufficient information about the disease and the partner’s behavior were found to be associated with anxiety in breast cancer patients, and coping attitudes were found to be effective regarding depression and development of anxiety. Addressing the psychological effects of breast cancer and giving importance to psychosocial interventions and coping attitudes have been considered preventive factors in the development of depression and anxiety

Enhanced osteogenic activity with boron-doped nanohydroxyapatite-loaded poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) fibrous 3D matrix

<p>In this study, three dimensional (3D) poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) fibrous scaffolds with more than 90% porosity were fabricated via wet electrospinning method. Amorphous hydroxyapatite (HAp) and boron (B) doped hydroxyapatite (B-HAp) nanoparticles were produced by microwave-assisted biomimetic precipitation and encapsulated into PBAT fibres with the ratio of 5% (w/w) in order to enhance osteogenic activity of the scaffolds. Cell culture studies were carried out with human bone marrow derived stem cells (hBMSCs) and they showed that alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the amounts of collagen and calcium were higher on B containing PBAT (B-HAp-PBAT) scaffolds during the 28-day culture period than that of the PBAT scaffolds. Moreover, hBMSCs cultivated on B-HAp-PBAT scaffolds showed significantly higher expression levels of both early and late stage osteogenic genes e.g. ALP, collagen I (COL-I), osteocalcin (OCN) and osteopontin (OPN) at day 28 than that of the PBAT scaffolds. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis indicated that hBMSCs produced high amounts of mineralized extracellular matrix (ECM) mainly on the surface of the 3 D matrices. This study demonstrates that boron-containing 3 D nanofibrous PBAT scaffolds with their osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties can be used as alternative constructs for bone tissue engineering.</p

The relationship between metabolic syndrome and vitamin D levels in patients with schizophrenia

Amaç: Bu çalışmada şizofreni tanılı hastalarda D vitamini, Pozitif ve Negatif Sendrom Ölçeği skorları, antipsikotik kullanımı ve sosyodemografik verilerin metabolik sendrom ile ilişkisinin gösterilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Retrospektif dosya tarama esasına bağlı bu çalışmaya Çukurova Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Ruh Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı yataklı servisinde sağaltım görmüş 31’inde metabolik sendrom tanısı olan 119 şizofreni tanılı hasta dahil edilmiştir. Hastaların sosyodemografik verileri, hastalık yılı, yatış sayısı, Pozitif ve Negatif Sendrom Ölçeği skorları, vitamin D kan düzeyleri, HDL, trigliserit, glukoz, HBa1c, arteriyel kan basıncı değerleri, bel çevresi, vücut kitle indeksi ölçümleri incelenmiştir. Bulgular: Çalışmaya dahil edilen hastaların 63’ü kadın, 56’sı erkektir. Hastaların 63’ünde vitamin D düzeyi düşüklüğü saptanmıştır. MS tanısı olanlar ve olmayanları arasında HDL, arteriyel kan basıncı, açlık kan glukozu, trigliserit, bel çevresi, vücut kitle indeksi değerlerinin analizinde anlamlı farklılık saptanmıştır. Bu değerler National Cholesterol Education Programme Adult Treatment Panel III metabolik sendrom tanı kriterleri olduğu için lojistik regresyon analizine dahil edilmemiştir. Basit lineer regresyon ve lojistik regresyon analizi ile metabolik sendrom tanısı olan grupta olmayanlara göre hastalık yılı ve hasta yaşları anlamlı olarak yüksek, D vitamini düzeyleri anlamlı olarak düşük saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Bu çalışmada metabolik sendrom riskini arttıran faktörlerden değiştirilebilir olan vitamin D kan düzeyine dikkat edilmesi gerektiği gösterilmiştir