Birth expectations, birth experiences and childbirth‐related post‐traumatic stress symptoms in mothers and birth companions: Dyadic investigation using response surface analysis

Objectives During the perinatal period, women and their birth companions form expectations about childbirth. We aimed to examine whether a mismatch between birth expectations and experiences predict childbirth‐related post‐traumatic stress symptoms (CB‐PTSS) for mothers and birth companions. We also explored the influence of the mismatch between mothers' and birth companions' expectations/experiences on CB‐PTSS. Design Dyadic longitudinal data from the Self‐Hypnosis IntraPartum Trial. Methods Participants (n = 469 mothers; n = 358 birth companions) completed questionnaires at 27 and 36 weeks of gestation and 2 and 6 weeks post‐partum. We used the measures of birth expectations (36 weeks gestation), birth experiences (2 weeks post‐partum) and CB‐PTSS (6 weeks post‐partum). Results Correlations revealed that birth expectations were associated with experiences for both mothers and birth companions but were not consistently associated with CB‐PTSS. Birth experiences related to CB‐PTSS for both mothers and birth companions. The response surface analysis results showed no support for the effect of a mismatch between expectations and experiences on CB‐PTSS in mothers or birth companions. Similarly, a mismatch between mothers' and birth companions' expectations or experiences was unrelated to CB‐PTSS. Conclusions Following previous literature, birth expectations were associated with experiences, and experiences were associated with CB‐PTSS. By testing the effect of the match between birth experiences and expectations using an advanced statistical method, we found that experiences play a more substantial role than the match between experiences and expectations in CB‐PTSS. The impact of birth experiences on CB‐PTSS highlights the importance of respectful and supportive maternity care

Hybrid EEFIT mission to february 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence

The southwestern part of Türkiye was hit on 6 February 2023 by an Mw 7.8 (epicentre:Pazarcık) and then an Mw 7.5 earthquake (epicentre: Elbistan). The event was followed by tensof thousands of aftershocks including the Mw 6.3 event on 20 February (epicentre: Uzunbağ).This paper reports on the preliminary findings of the mission organised by the UK’s EarthquakeEngineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) to the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake sequence ofFebruary 2023. This mission followed a hybrid model, combining field and remote investigationtechniques, to investigate the characteristics of the earthquake sequence, its impact on buildingsand infrastructure, as well as the efficacy of relief, response and recovery operations. The keymessages include that the building stock is hard to categorise which brings along difficulties withdamage assessment, that the recovery and reconstruction require multi-sectoral engagement ofkey stakeholders, and that the auditing and quality control mechanisms within the constructionindustry need revisiting in the way forward for better disaster resilience in Türkiye

The Türki̇ye earthquake sequence of February 2023: A longitudinal study report by EEFIT

On 6 February 2023 at 4:17 am local time, a large area in southeastern Türkiye and northern Syria was hit by an Mw 7.8 earthquake, which was followed by an Mw 7.5 earthquake at 1:24 pm local time, causing the loss of more than 50,000 lives, some 100,000 injuries and significant damage to buildings and infrastructure, estimated to be in the range of 84.1 billion USD for Türkiye alone. The largest earthquake in Türkiye since the deadly 1939 Erzincan earthquake with however much larger losses, the sequence immediately attracted the attention of the global post-disaster reconnaissance/engineering communities. This included the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), who, within one week of the event, gathered a team with 30 people from academia and industry in the UK (19), Türkiye (5), New Zealand (1), Hungary (1), Bulgaria (1), Greece (1) and USA (1) with two support members from the UK and the Netherlands, to study the events and their impacts, and also to develop suggestions to reduce the existing vulnerabilities in the future. The team was organised in the form of 6 working groups as shown below, which were (1) strong ground motions and seismotectonics, (2) geotechnics, (3) structures, (4) infrastructure, (5) remote sensing and (6) relief response and recovery

Treatment of hallux valgus by modified McBride procedure: a 6-year follow-up

PubMed ID: 20505975Background Surgical decision-making was reevaluated by comparison with an algorithm designed to analyze treatment of hallux valgus deformities. Materials and methods A modified McBride procedure was performed on 52 feet of 35 patients with hallux valgusdeformity. From this series, 36 feet of 21 patients were evaluated preoperatively, early postoperatively, and late postoperatively by means of subjective evaluation and clinical and radiological findings. Results The hallux valgus angle preoperatively, early postoperatively, and late postoperatively was 32.7 ± 8.5°, 10.1 ± 6.9°, and 20.6 ± 9.5°, respectively. Hallux valgus recurrence of 72.2% was observed. Subjective results were better and the patients rated their satisfaction with the procedure as excellent or high in 23 cases (63.9%) and moderate, low, or unsatisfactory in 13 cases (36.1%). Conclusions This level of patient satisfaction demonstrates that the McBride procedure is an efficient approach for eliminating pain due to hallux valgus deformity. © The Author(s) 2010

Treatment of hallux valgus by modified McBride procedure: a 6-year follow-up

PubMed ID: 20505975Background Surgical decision-making was reevaluated by comparison with an algorithm designed to analyze treatment of hallux valgus deformities. Materials and methods A modified McBride procedure was performed on 52 feet of 35 patients with hallux valgusdeformity. From this series, 36 feet of 21 patients were evaluated preoperatively, early postoperatively, and late postoperatively by means of subjective evaluation and clinical and radiological findings. Results The hallux valgus angle preoperatively, early postoperatively, and late postoperatively was 32.7 ± 8.5°, 10.1 ± 6.9°, and 20.6 ± 9.5°, respectively. Hallux valgus recurrence of 72.2% was observed. Subjective results were better and the patients rated their satisfaction with the procedure as excellent or high in 23 cases (63.9%) and moderate, low, or unsatisfactory in 13 cases (36.1%). Conclusions This level of patient satisfaction demonstrates that the McBride procedure is an efficient approach for eliminating pain due to hallux valgus deformity. © The Author(s) 2010

Strong Association of 677 C>T Substitution in the MTHFR Gene with Male Infertility - A Study on an Indian Population and a Meta-Analysis

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an important enzyme of folate and methionine metabolism, making it crucial for DNA synthesis and methylation. The objective of this study was to analyze MTHFR gene 677C>T polymorphism in infertile male individuals from North India, followed by a meta-analysis on our data and published studies.We undertook genotyping on a total of 837 individuals including well characterized infertile (N = 522) and confirmed fertile (N = 315) individuals. The SNP was typed by direct DNA sequencing. Chi square test was done for statistical analysis. Published studies were searched using appropriate keywords. Source of data collection for meta-analysis included 'Pubmed', 'Ovid' and 'Google Scholar'. Those studies analyzing 677C>T polymorphism in male infertility and presenting all relevant data were included in meta-analysis. The genotype data for infertile subjects and fertile controls was extracted from each study. Chi square test was done to obtain odds ratio (OR) and p-value. Meta-analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-analysis software (Version 2). The frequency of mutant (T) allele (p = 0.0025) and genotypes (CT+TT) (p = 0.0187) was significantly higher in infertile individuals in comparison to fertile controls in our case-control study. The overall summary estimate (OR) for allele and genotype meta-analysis were 1.304 (p = 0.000), 1.310 (p = 0.000), respectively, establishing significant association of 677C>T polymorphism with male infertility.677C>T substitution associated strongly with male infertility in Indian population. Allele and genotype meta-analysis also supported its strong correlation with male infertility, thus establishing it as a risk factor

Radiotherapy Suppresses Angiogenesis in Mice through TGF-βRI/ALK5-Dependent Inhibition of Endothelial Cell Sprouting

BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy is widely used to treat cancer. While rapidly dividing cancer cells are naturally considered the main target of radiotherapy, emerging evidence indicates that radiotherapy also affects endothelial cell functions, and possibly also their angiogenic capacity. In spite of its clinical relevance, such putative anti-angiogenic effect of radiotherapy has not been thoroughly characterized. We have investigated the effect of ionizing radiation on angiogenesis using in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro experimental models in combination with genetic and pharmacological interventions. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we show that high doses ionizing radiation locally suppressed VEGF- and FGF-2-induced Matrigel plug angiogenesis in mice in vivo and prevented endothelial cell sprouting from mouse aortic rings following in vivo or ex vivo irradiation. Quiescent human endothelial cells exposed to ionizing radiation in vitro resisted apoptosis, demonstrated reduced sprouting, migration and proliferation capacities, showed enhanced adhesion to matrix proteins, and underwent premature senescence. Irradiation induced the expression of P53 and P21 proteins in endothelial cells, but p53 or p21 deficiency and P21 silencing did not prevent radiation-induced inhibition of sprouting or proliferation. Radiation induced Smad-2 phosphorylation in skin in vivo and in endothelial cells in vitro. Inhibition of the TGF-beta type I receptor ALK5 rescued deficient endothelial cell sprouting and migration but not proliferation in vitro and restored defective Matrigel plug angiogenesis in irradiated mice in vivo. ALK5 inhibition, however, did not rescue deficient proliferation. Notch signaling, known to hinder angiogenesis, was activated by radiation but its inhibition, alone or in combination with ALK5 inhibition, did not rescue suppressed proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that irradiation of quiescent endothelial cells suppresses subsequent angiogenesis and that ALK5 is a critical mediator of this suppression. These results extend our understanding of radiotherapy-induced endothelial dysfunctions, relevant to both therapeutic and unwanted effects of radiotherapy

2023 Türki̇ye deprem sekansi deprem mühendi̇sli̇ği̇ saha çalişmalari eki̇bi̇ (EEFIT) Misyonu: Türkçe geni̇şleti̇lmi̇ş özet

Türkiye'nin güneydoğusunda ve kuzey Suriye'de geniş bir alan, 6 Şubat 2023 tarihinde yerel saatle sabaha karşı 04:17'de gerçekleşen 7.8 büyüklüğünde yıkıcı bir depremle sarsıldı, aynı gün içerisinde 13:24’te meydana gelen 7.5 büyüklüğündeki deprem ile yıkımın boyutu ve etki alanı büyük ölçüde arttı. Bu depremler, yalnızca Türkiye'de 84.1 milyar $’ı (≈2.5 trilyon ₺) aşan ekonomik kayba, bina ve altyapı stokunda ciddi hasara, 100,000'den fazla yaralı ve 50,000'den fazla can kaybına neden oldu