Factors associated with preoperative anxiety levels of Turkish surgical patients: from a single center in Ankara

Ezgi Erkilic, Elvin Kesimci, Cem Soykut, Cihan Doger, Tülin Gumus, Orhan Kanbak Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey Background: Preoperative anxiety and stress are undoubtedly a difficult experience in patients undergoing elective surgery. These unpleasant sensations depend on several factors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the preoperative anxiety levels in a sample of Turkish population, as well as the underlying causes using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI anxiety) scale.Methods: The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local ethical committee. All participants gave written informed consent upon having received detailed information on the study. Upon entry in the study, state and trait anxiety questionnaires were completed by 186 patients scheduled for elective surgery. The influencing factors in regard to age, sex, educational status and others were also reported.Results: There was a statistically significant positive correlation between state and trait anxiety scores in this Turkish population. While the most important predictive factors that affected state-STAI scores were age, sex and duration of sleep the night before surgery; educational status and age were the best predictors for determining the variation in trait-STAI scores.Conclusion: The factors affecting anxiety levels in different populations might vary among different countries. Interestingly, in this sample of Turkish population, the trait anxiety levels were found to be higher from state-anxiety levels, especially in women and less educated people. Thus, doubts about operation and anesthesia are overlooked. This could be attributed to the low to intermediate life standards of people admitted to our hospital. Keywords: state and trait anxiety, preoperativ

Phenotypic Diversity And Technological Properties Of Yogurt Cultures Isolated From Traditionally Produced Turkish Yogurts With Comparison To Commercial Starter Cultures

Sixty Streptococcus thermophilus and 111 Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus isolates from traditionally produced Turkish yogurts were biochemically identified and examined for their technologically important features. Acidification profiles of the isolates were examined. Isolates with acidification rates comparable to those of commercial isolates were also tested for final pHs and acetaldehyde production after 24-h incubation. Selected isolates were also examined for their bacteriophage resistance and proteolytic activity. Twenty-five L. bulgaricus and 22 S. thermophilus isolates were selected based on their technological properties other than bacteriophage resistance. Bacteriophage resistance experiments revealed that all L. bulgaricus isolates except two were sensitive to the bacteriophages, while S. thermophilus isolates were resistant to most of the bacteriophages. The results show that yogurt bacteria isolated from traditional Turkish yogurts have significant phenotypic diversity and the technological properties of these isolates are comparable to tested commercial cultures.Wo

Retrospective feasibility study of simultaneous integrated boost in cervical cancer using Tomotherapy: the impact of organ motion and tumor regression.

BACKGROUND: Whole pelvis intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is increasingly being used to treat cervical cancer aiming to reduce side effects. Encouraged by this, some groups have proposed the use of simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) to target the tumor, either to get a higher tumoricidal effect or to replace brachytherapy. Nevertheless, physiological organ movement and rapid tumor regression throughout treatment might substantially reduce any benefit of this approach. PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical target volume - simultaneous integrated boost (CTV-SIB) regression and motion during chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) for cervical cancer, and to monitor treatment progress dosimetrically and volumetrically to ensure treatment goals are met. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ten patients treated with standard doses of CRT and brachytherapy were retrospectively re-planned using a helical Tomotherapy - SIB technique for the hypothetical scenario of this feasibility study. Target and organs at risk (OAR) were contoured on deformable fused planning-computed tomography and megavoltage computed tomography images. The CTV-SIB volume regression was determined. The center of mass (CM) was used to evaluate the degree of motion. The Dice's similarity coefficient (DSC) was used to assess the spatial overlap of CTV-SIBs between scans. A cumulative dose-volume histogram modeled estimated delivered doses. RESULTS: The CTV-SIB relative reduction was between 31 and 70%. The mean maximum CM change was 12.5, 9, and 3 mm in the superior-inferior, antero-posterior, and right-left dimensions, respectively. The CTV-SIB-DSC approached 1 in the first week of treatment, indicating almost perfect overlap. CTV-SIB-DSC regressed linearly during therapy, and by the end of treatment was 0.5, indicating 50% discordance. Two patients received less than 95% of the prescribed dose. Much higher doses to the OAR were observed. A multiple regression analysis showed a significant interaction between CTV-SIB reduction and OAR dose increase. CONCLUSIONS: The CTV-SIB had important regression and motion during CRT, receiving lower therapeutic doses than expected. The OAR had unpredictable shifts and received higher doses. The use of SIB without frequent adaptation of the treatment plan exposes cervical cancer patients to an unpredictable risk of under-dosing the target and/or overdosing adjacent critical structures. In that scenario, brachytherapy continues to be the gold standard approach

A Simple and Fast Method for Discrimination of Phage and Antibiotic Contaminants in Raw Milk By Using Raman Spectroscopy

Phage and antibiotic in raw milk poses significant risks for starter culture activity in fermented products. Therefore, rapid detection of phage and antibiotic contaminations in raw milk is a crucial process in dairy science. For this purpose, a preliminary novel method for detection of phage and antibiotic was developed by using Raman spectroscopy. Streptococcus thermophilus phages and ampicillin which are quite important elements in dairy industry were used as model. The phage and antibiotic samples were added to raw milk separately, and Raman measurements were carried out. The obtained spectra were processed with a chemometric method. In this study, it has been demonstrated that the presence of phage has a titer sufficient to stop the fermentation (10(7) pfu/ml), and antibiotic in a concentration which inhibits the growth of starter cultures (0.5 A mu g/ml) in raw milk could be discriminated through Raman spectroscopy with a short analysis time (30 min).Wo