AIDS Related Stigma in Social Relations: A Qualitative Study in Turkey

The actual number of HIV/AIDS cases in Turkey is higher than the number of cases reported, and People Living with HIV (PLWHIV) may refrain from acknowledging their sickness or seeking help because of the stigma associated with HIV and fear of discrimination from their close friends, workmates, and even their families. In this paper we aim to explore HIV-positive people\u27s relationships with significant others such as family members, friends, sexual partners, employers and health professionals in order to present the patients\u27 perceptions about stigma and attitudes that lead to pro-social or anti-social behavior towards them. We carried out a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with 16 PLWHIV in order to understand the conditions of people living with HIV/AIDS in Turkey. Our results revealed that except for family relations, the fear of contagion is the main obstacle for HIV-positive people\u27s relations with others. HIV-positive people are severely afflicted with discrimination due to the overlapping instrumental and symbolic stigmas that directly affect their relations. The attribute of responsibility is related to gender and socio-economic status of PLWHIV living in Turkey

Longitudinal 16S rRNA data derived from limb regenerative tissue samples of axolotl ambystoma mexicanum

WOS: 000469960800002PubMed ID: 31123261The Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a critically endangered species and a fruitful amphibian model for regenerative biology. Despite growing body of research on the cellular and molecular biology of axolotl limb regeneration, microbiological aspects of this process remain poorly understood. Here, we describe bacterial 16S rRNA amplicon dataset derived from axolotl limb tissue samples in the course of limb regeneration. The raw data was obtained by sequencing V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA gene and comprised 14,569,756 paired-end raw reads generated from 21 samples. Initial data analysis using DADA2 pipeline resulted in amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table containing a total of ca. 5.9 million chimera-removed, high-quality reads and a median of 296,971 reads per sample. The data constitute a useful resource for the research on the microbiological aspects of axolotl limb regeneration and will also broadly facilitate comparative studies in the developmental and conservation biology of this critically endangered species

An integrated framework for non-traditional machining process technology selection in healthcare applications

In spite of continuous progress in technical advancement, the conventional machining process became unsatisfactory in the healthcare field due to its disadvantages. This inadequacy lead researchers to consider using the application of nontraditional machining that can machine extremely hard and brittle materials into complicated shapes such as medical devices and implants in healthcare. In this study, the three most popular nontraditional machining process technologies: Laser Beam Machining, Water Jet Machining, and Electrocautery are evaluated to determine the most appropriate technology using the Health Technology Assessment based Multi-criteria Decision-Making framework. HTA is organized evaluation of effects and properties of health technology that enables the application of systematic skills to solve a health problem. HTA's main goal is to raise awareness of new health technologies among decision makers. For these reasons, the HTA core model that enables the production of HTA-related information was utilized.The comparison of selected technologies was carried out via integrating the HTA core model, Best Worst, and Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution methods. Finally, a comparison was made to find the most suitable technology to create the necessary infrastructure. As a result, evaluation scores were computed as 0,673; 0,538 and 0,500 for WJM, LBM, and EC, respectively.Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SA

Antimicrobial properties of bioactive compounds isolated from epidermal mucus in two Ray species (Dasyatis marmorata and Gymnura altavela)

Purpose: To investigate the occurrence and antimicrobial effects of certain biochemical compounds in the epidermal mucus secretions of fish and to demonstrate their potential for biomedical applications.Methods: Crude, aqueous, and acidic epidermal mucus samples were collected from live ray specimens. Gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analyses were performed to identify the biochemical compounds present in the mucus. The spectrophotometric broth microdilution method was used to determine the antibacterial and antifungal properties of the mucus extracts. The bacterial strains, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Klebsiella pneumonia, were used for the tests, as well as the fungal strains, Candida parapsilosis and Candida albicans.Results: GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of several hydrocarbon-derived compounds in the epidermal mucus of the two ray species. The acidic extract of G. altavela epidermal mucus produced a high MIC value, indicating the highest inhibitory effect of 8.64 μL against E. coli, while the crude extract of G. altavela epidermal mucus (41.13 μL against B. subtilis) was the least effective. Conclusion: Epidermal mucus extracts, especially when acid-based, displays strong antimicrobial properties against all the tested pathogens. These findings suggest the plants possess some potential for the development of novel antimicrobial components for applications in medicine. Keywords: Fish, Ray species, Epidermal mucus, Antimicrobial properties, Bioactive compound

A comparison of the effects of different types of laryngoscope on the cervical motions: randomized clinical trial

Background: The rate of cervical injury among all trauma patients is 3.1%. The most important point dur- ing intubation of those patients is not to increase the cervical injury. Aims: In this study, we hypothesize that there will be a minimal cervical extension during a laryngoscopy with the use of optical view laryngoscopes. Study Design: Prospective, randomized clinical trial. Methods: One hundred and fifty adult patients with ASA physical status I to III were enrolled in our study. After routine anesthesia induction, we randomly as- signed the patients into three groups according to the type of laryngoscope. Macintosh type, Truview EVO2® type and Airtraq® type laryngoscopes were used in Group DL (n=50), Group TW (n=50) and Group ATQ (n=50), respectively. After applying gen- eral anesthesia induction and mask ventilation, all of the patients were positioned in the neutral position. An inclinometer was placed on the forehead of the patients. Then, the extension angle during intubation and the Cormack-Lehane Score were measured and the time to intubation was recorded. Results: One of the 50 patients in the DL Group, 2 of the 50 patients in the TW Group, and 4 of the 50 patients in the ATQ Group were excluded from the study because of the failure of intubation at defined times. The angle of cervical extension during laryngoscopy was found to be 27.24±6.71, 18.08±7.53, and 14.54±4.09 degrees in the Groups DL, TV and ATQ, respectively; these differences also had statistical significance (p=0.000). The duration of intubation was found to be 13.59±5.49, 23.60±15.23, and 29.80±13.82 seconds in Groups DL, TV and ATQ, respectively (p=0.000). Conclusion: A minimal cervical motion was obtained during tracheal intubation with the use of Truview EVO2® and Airtraq® types of laryngoscope compared with the Macintosh laryngoscope. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02191904). Keywords: Airtraq®, airway management, intratracheal equipment, intubation, Macintosh, Truview EVO2&reg

Simple vaginal trachelectomy for early stage cervical cancer: A tertiary cancer center experience

Objectives: Less radical fertility sparing procedures have been introduced to reduce morbidity and adverse obstetric outcome in cervical cancer. Our objective was to describe oncological and obstetric outcomes of women with early-stage cervical cancer who underwent a simple vaginal trachelectomy (SVT). Material and methods: From 01/2013 to 05/2017, 14 women underwent SVT preceded by laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection. Results: Patients’ median age was 32 years and all of them were nulliparous. Histology included squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma in 12 (85.7%) and 2 (14.3%) patients, respectively. Three patients had stage 1A1 with lymphovascular space invasion, 4 1A2 and 7 1B1. After obtaining final histopathology, one patient underwent radical hysterectomy due to positive surgical margin and excluded from analysis. None of the patients had lymph node metastasis. None of the 13 patients developed a recurrence within a median follow-up of 27 (6–56) months. Seven patients have conceived: 4 were term deliveries, 2 were late preterm deliveries and 1 was spontaneous abortion. Conclusions: SVT in well selected early-stage cervical cancer patients seems to be a safe treatment option with excellent oncologic outcome, preserving reproductive function. Literature data will need to be confirmed in large prospective series

Combination of myasthenia gravis and HELLP Syndrome in pregnancy: case report and literature review

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular junction. Preeclampsia/HELLP Syndrome is a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. The combination of HELLP Syndrome and MG is challenging because the preferred treatment regimens for both conditions generally contradict each other. Our aim is to describe the management options when these two diseases occur simultaneously. We present a case in which a woman with an established diagnosis of MG developed HELLP Syndrome at 31 weeks gestation. Magnesium sulfate prophylaxis was not utilized because of the patient’s MG diagnosis. A cesarean delivery was performed. Reported cases with combined diagnoses of MG and preeclampsia/HELLP Syndrome are reviewed and adjustments to treatment plans are discussed. Management of such patients should be done with a multidisciplinary approach in advanced medical centers with careful consideration of the medications used

Evaluation of sleep quality in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome

AMAÇ: Karpal tünel sendromu (KTS) median sinirin el bileği düzeyindeki tuzak nöropatisidir. Geceleri şiddetlenen ağrı ve dizesteziler hastalığın tipik bulgusudur. Çalışmamızın amacı KTS hastalarında uyku kalitesinin araştırılması, mevcut uyku bozukluklarının semptom şiddeti ve fonksiyonel bozuklukla ilişkisinin saptanmasıdır. GEREÇ VE YÖNTEMLER: Elektrodiagnostik olarak KTS tanısı alan 29 kişi ve kontrol grubu olarak hastane personelinden 25 sağlıklı kişi çalışmaya alındı. Tüm katılımcıların bilgilendirilmiş onamı alındı. Hastaların semptom şiddeti ve fonksiyonel bozukluklarını değerlendirmek üzere Boston sorgulaması kullanıldı. Çalışmaya katılan hastaların ve sağlıklı kontrol grubunun uyku kalitesi Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi İndeksi ile değerlendirildi. BULGULAR: Karpal tünel sendromlu hastaların genel uyku kalitesinin kontrol grubuna kıyasla anlamlı olarak daha kötü olduğu saptandı (p=0,046). Pittsburgh skoru bileşenleri ayrıntılı olarak değerlendirildiğinde alışılmış uyku etkinliğinin karpal tünel sendromlu hastalarda anlamlı düzeyde bozulmuş olduğu saptandı (p=0.001). SONUÇ: Uyku kalitesi KTS’li hastalarda anlamlı düzeyde bozulmaktadır ve gece uykuda geçirdikleri toplam süre azalmaktadır.OBJECTIVE: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is defined as entrapment neuropathy of the median nerve at the wrist. Pain and disestesia that worsen at night are characteristic features of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine sleep quality of patients with CTS and also defining the association between symptom severity, functional impairment with existing sleep disturbance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients with CTS according to electrodiagnostic evaluation and 25 healthy volunteers recruited from hospital staff were included into the study. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Boston Questionnaire was used to evaluate symptom severity and functional impairment. Sleep quality of the participants was assessed with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. RESULTS: Overall sleep quality of the CTS patients was significantly worse than control group (p=0.046). Detailed analysis of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index components revealed that habitual sleep efficiency was significantly impaired in patients with CTS (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Sleep quality was significantly disturbed in patients with CTS, and also the total time that patients were asleep was shortened

Assessment of ventricular and left atrial mechanical functions, atrial electromechanical delay and P wave dispersion in patients with scleroderma

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate ventricular functions and left atrial (LA) mechanical functions, atrial electromechanical coupling, and P wave dispersion in scleroderma patients. Methods: Twenty-six patients with scleroderma and twenty-four controls were included. Left and right ventricular (LV and RV) functions were evaluated using conventional echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). LA volumes were measured using the biplane area- -length method and LA mechanical function parameters were calculated. Inter-intraatrial electromechanical delays were measured by TDI. P wave dispersion was calculated by 12-lead electrocardiograms. Results: LV myocardial performance indices (MPI) and RV MPI were higher in patients with scleroderma (p = 0.000, p = 0.000, respectively) while LA passive emptying fraction was decreased and LA active emptying fraction was increased (p = 0.051, p = 0.000, respectively). P wave dispersion and inter-intraatrial electromechanical delay were significantly higher in patients with scleroderma (25 [10&#8211;60] vs 20 [0&#8211;30], p = 0.000, 16.50 [7.28&#8211;26.38] vs 9.44 [3.79&#8211;15.78] and 11.33 [4.88&#8211;16.06] vs 4.00 [0&#8211;12.90], p < 0.05, respectively). Interatrial electromechanical delay was negatively correlated with LV E wave, (p = 0.018). LV E wave was demonstrated to be a factor independent of the interatrial electromechanical delay (R2 = = 0.270, b = &#8211;0.52, p = 0.013). Conclusions: This study showed that in scleroderma patients, global functions of LV, RV and mechanical functions of LA were impaired, intra-interatrial electromechanical delays were prolonged and P wave dispersion was higher. LV E wave was demonstrated to be a factor that is independent of the interatrial electromechanical delay. Reduced LV E wave may also give additional information on the process of risk stratification of atrial fibrillation. (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 3: 261&#8211;269