Mathematics vocabulary knowledge of eighth-grade students

The purpose of this study was to develop a mathematics vocabulary measure for eighth-grade students and to determine the relationships among general vocabulary knowledge, mathematics vocabulary knowledge, and mathematics computation. Students (n=34) took three tests in the following order: (1) mathematics vocabulary, (2) WRAT Computation, and (3) GMRT Vocabulary. Mathematics vocabulary results revealed that the mathematics vocabulary test was highly reliable. Based on students’ scores in all tests, the correlation between mathematics vocabulary knowledge and general vocabulary knowledge as well as the relationship between mathematics vocabulary and mathematics computation were strong. However, there was no significant association between mathematics computation and general vocabulary knowledge. Mathematics vocabulary knowledge was a mediator between the two.Special Educatio

Protective effect of thymoquinone on smoking-induced vascular damage: An experimental study in rats

Aim: To investigate the protective effect of thymoquinone on smoking-induced vascular damage in rats. Method: A total of 28 rats were allocated in this experimental study. Rats were equally divided in four groups; as control group (n=7) and study groups including only smoking group (n=7), smoking plus thymoquinone group (n=7) and smoking plus dexamethasone group (n=7). The animals in study groups were subjected to regular cigarette smoke exposure during 2 months, hereby smoking-induced vascular injury model was established in the animals. The thoracic aorta of the animals were surgically resected and then evaluated histopathologically. The prepared aortic tissue samples were analyzed under light microscope in terms of thickness of aortic wall, endothelial continuity and injury as well as degenerative alterations on the endothelium. Results: Mean aortic wall thicknesses were 77.8 and 114.5 μ in only smoking group and smoking plus thymoquinone group respectively, and this difference was statistically significant. In only smoking group partial endothelial damage and complete endothelial damage were observed in 2 and 4 animals respectively whereas in smoking plus thymoquinone group no endothelial damage and partial endothelial damage were observed in 2 and 4 animals respectively. When these groups were compared in terms of endothelial damage, the difference was detected to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that thymoquinone has a protective effect on rat endothelium and alleviates the smoking-induced vascular damage in rats

Self-reported antibiotic stewardship and infection control measures from 57 intensive care units: An international ID-IRI survey

We explored the self-reported antibiotic stewardship (AS), and infection prevention and control (IPC) activities in intensive care units (ICUs) of different income settings. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire to collect data about IPC and AS measures in participating ICUs. The study participants were Infectious Diseases-International Research Initiative (IDI-IR) members, committed as per their institutional agreement form. We analyzed responses from 57 ICUs in 24 countries (Lower-middle income (LMI), n = 13; Upper-middle income (UMI), n = 33; High-income (HI), n = 11). This represented (similar to 5%) of centers represented in the ID-IRI. Surveillance programs were implemented in (76.9%-90.9%) of ICUs with fewer contact precaution measures in LMI ones (p = 0.02); (LMI:69.2%, UMI:97%, HI:100%). Participation in regional antimicrobial resistance programs was more significantly applied in HI (p = 0.02) (LMI:38.4%,UMI:81.8%,HI:72.2%). AS programs are implemented in 77.2% of institutions with AS champions in 66.7%. Infectious diseases physicians and microbiologists are members of many AS teams (59%&50%) respectively. Unqualified healthcare professionals(42.1%), and deficient incentives(28.1%) are the main barriers to implementing AS. We underscore the existing differences in IPC and AS programs' implementation, team composition, and faced barriers. Continuous collaboration and sharing best practices on APM is needed. The role of regional and international organizations should be encouraged. Global support for capacity building of healthcare practitioners is warranted. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences

Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics of Hyperprolactinemia in Children and Adolescents: National Survey

Conclusion: We present the largest cohort of children and adolescents with hyperprolactinemia in the literature to date. Hyperprolactinemia is more common in females and cabergoline is highly effective and practical to use in adolescents, due to its biweekly dosing. Indications for surgery in pediatric cases need to be revised

Behcet's syndrome and relationship with the ratio of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)/IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3)

KISA, Ucler/0000-0002-8131-6810WOS: 000472026600008Introduction: Behcet's syndrome (BS) is a chronic inflammatory disease with unknown aetiology. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) have important metabolic properties such as anabolic, cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. Circulating IGF-1 and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 concentrations are associated with adiposity and insulin resistance. Aim: To determine whether serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels or IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio were associated with the presence or activity of BS. Material and methods: Forty patients with BS (mean age: 39.6 +/- 10), and 20 healthy volunteers (mean age: 37 +/- 10.4) were enrolled. Serum IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) levels were measured in all subjects. Results: Mean IGF-1 levels were low in both active BS and remission BS compared to the control group and mean IGF-1 levels were similar in active BS and remission BS. In active BS, mean IGFBP-3 levels were higher than in the control group and remission BS. There were positive correlations between these inflammatory cytokines and IGFBP-3 levels. IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio was lower in patients with BS compared to the healthy volunteer group, which was statistically significant. IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio was lower in BS than in the control group independently of ESR and hs-CRP. Conclusions: IGF-1 may play a diagnostic role to present itself in BS. IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio is not useful as an activation or remission criterion. The ratio may be a useful marker to predict the risk of BS presence in the critical population

Demodex spp. as a possible aetiopathogenic factor of acne and relation with acne severity and type

Introduction: Acne is a very common skin disease in adolescents and young adults, but it also affects adults. However, its aetiology is not yet fully understood. Demodex appears to be associated with multiple skin disorders, but controversy persists. Some reports indicate a connection between acne vulgaris and demodicosis. Aim: To confirm the association between Demodex infestation and acne vulgaris. Material and methods: A total of 108 patients were enrolled in the acne group. Acne severity was calculated as GASS and acne type (adolescent and post adolescent) was recorded. An age-sex matched healthy control group comprising 65 individuals were included in the study. Dermatological examinations were performed and an SSSB was used to determine the presence of Demodex. Results: In our study, Demodex positivity was seen in 46 (42.6\%) patients in the acne group and 8 (12.3\%) in the control group; this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). A multivariate Backward Step-By-Step Logistic Regression analysis identified the most effective factors for acne development such as Demodex positivity (OR = 5.565, 95\% CI: 2.384-12.99 and p < 0.001) and age under 25 years (OR = 2.3 and 95\% CI: 1.183-4.473 and p = 0.014). Alcohol consumption was related to Demodex positivity (p = 0.019) in post adolescent acne. Conclusions: Our study is the first one to evaluate acne severity, acne type and the relationship to Demodex prevalence. We suggest that Demodex infestation should be considered when the classical therapies are ineffective especially in cases of post adolescent acne

Wheezing, asthma, and atopy in premature infants at 2 years of age

Background/aim: We aimed to evaluate wheezing, bronchial asthma (BA), and atopy in premature infants at 2 years of age via a cross-sectional study

Spectrophotometric methods for the determination of fluoride ion using indole-3-acetic acid interaction with iron(III)

This study is related to the determination of fluoride ion by the conversion of pink-colored Fe(III) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) into a colorless hexafluoride ferrite complex with the addition of fluoride. The optimum conditions of the complex formation were found to be pH 1.7 and a temperature of 60 degrees C. The maximum absorption wavelength of the complex and the detection limit of the method were 525 nm and 0.26 mg/L, respectively. The interfering effects of the different cations (Ag+, Al3+, Ba2+, Ca2+, Cd2+, Co2+, Cu2+, K+, Mg2+, Na+, Ni2+, Pb2+) and anions (SO42-, SO32-, NO2-, I-, Br-, Cl-, SCN-, CH3COO-, H2PO4-, ClO4-) were also investigated. The method was applied to standard and real samples and the resulting data were statistically compared at a confidence level of 95\% with those obtained with the use of a fluoride-selective electrode

The role of expressed T-cells cytokines mRNAs from endometrial tissue in patients with unexplained infertility

406-413The aim of this study was to investigate the immunomodulatory process and cytokines parameters that potentially modulates unexplained infertility (UI) by monitoring changes in the mRNA expression levels. From 52 UI patients who underwent biopsy, we collected endometrial tissue specimens between 21st-24th days of the menstrual cycles. Specimens were also collected from 34 matched healthy-fertility women, which served as control. Blood hormone levels were evaluated on 2nd and 3rd day of the menstrual cycles. We measured mRNAs of pro-inflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-8], anti-inflammatory cytokine [IL-10], and other cytokines [IL-12A, IL-17A, IL-20, leukocyte inhibitory factor (LIF), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)]. Real-time q-PCR was used to examine immunomodulatory effects on UI cases. There was no significant difference between UI and control groups in terms of age, body-mass index (BMI), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free T4 (FT4), and progesterone levels (P> 0.05). Estradiol (E2) levels were significantly different between the groups (P< 0.01). Compared to fertile-controls, mRNA expression levels of IL-12A, IL-17A, TNF-α, and LIF were significantly lower in UI specimens (P< 0.05). IL-10 mRNA expressions were higher in UI than fertile-controls (P< 0.05). Spearman test demosrated positive correlation between cytokines in the UI group (P< 0.05). Our findings highlight that depending on the patients’ immunity, decreased expressions of IL-12A, IL-17A, LIF, TNF-α, and higher expressions of IL-10 in the endometrium of UI patients may be one of the potential cellular/molecular alteration mechanisms of infertility. Better understanding of these complex mechanisms may provide newer therapeutic targets for managing UI