The effects of baseline heart rate recovery normality and exercise training protocol on heart rate recovery in patients with heart failure

Objective: It is unclear which exercise training protocol yields superior heart rate recovery (HRR) improvement in heart failure (HF) patients. Whether baseline HRR normality plays a role in the improvement is unknown. We hypothesized that an exercise training protocol and baseline HRR normality would be factors in altering HRR in HF patients. Methods: In this prospective, randomized, controlled and 3 group parallel study, 41 stable HF patients were randomly assigned to 3-timesweekly training sessions for 12 weeks, consisting of i) 30 minutes of interval training (IT) (n=17, 63.7±8.8 years old) versus ii) 30 minutes of continuous training (CT) (n=13, 59.6±6.8 years old) versus iii) no training (CON) (n=11, 60.6±9.9 years old). Each patient had cardiopulmonary exercise testing before and after the training program. Maximum heart rates attained during the test and heart rates at 1 and 2 min (HRR1 and HRR2) during the recovery phase were recorded. Paired samples t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for comparisons before and after training. One-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis was used for comparisons among groups. Results: HRR1 was unchanged after training. HRR2 improved in the IT group after training, and post-training HRR2 values were significantly faster in the IT group than in controls. Both HRR1 and HRR2 was significantly faster, irrespective of exercise protocol in patients with abnormal baseline values after training. Conclusion: HRR1 did not improve after training. HRR2 improved only in the IT group. Both HRRs in patients with abnormal baseline values improved after both exercise protocols. IT might be superior to CT in improving HRR2. Baseline HRR might play a role in its response to exercise. © 2015 by Turkish Society of Cardiology

Repetitions in Turkish: Talk among Friends

Las repeticiones son recursos para mantener la intersubjetividad y la creación de significado colaborativo al hablar. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar las repeticiones con mayor detalle en términos de tipos de repeticiones (yo-otro) para determinar sus funciones en las conversaciones que involucran amigos que están hablando en turco. Luego de una comparación con otra colección de conversaciones entre miembros de familia, se propuso que el uso y funciones de las repeticiones en la conversación fueron influidos y modificados por la calidad y tipo de relación entre los participantes.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1202227Wiederholungen sind Ressourcen zum Aufrechterhalten von Intersubjektivität und zur gemeinsamen Sinn(re)konstruktion in Gesprächen. In der hier vorgestellten Studie ist es darum gegangen, Wiederholungen spezifischer zu untersuchen mit Blick auf die Art der Wiederholungen (Selbst – Andere/r) in Gesprächen von Türkisch sprechenden Freund/innen. Nach einem Vergleich mit einem anderen Datenbestand zu Familiengesprächen ist ein zentrales Ergebnis, dass Nutzung und Funktion von Wiederholungen wesentlich abhängen von der Qualität und der Art der Beziehung zwischen den Gesprächsteilnehmenden.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1202227Repetitions are resources for maintaining intersubjectivity and collaborative meaning-making in talk. The aim of this study was to investigate repetitions in more detail in terms of types of repetitions (self–other) to determine the functions of repetitions in conversations involving friends speaking in Turkish. After a comparison with another collection of conversations among family members, it was proposed that the use and functions of repetitions in conversations were influenced and modified by the quality and type of relationship among the participants.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs120222

Predictive power of different obesity measures for the presence of diastolic dysfunction

Objective: Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) as measures of obesity have some limitations. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether one measure could predict the presence of diastolic dysfunction (DD) more accurately than the other measures. Methods: A total of 91 obese patients without any other risk factors for DD were prospectively enrolled. Echocardiographic examination was performed. DD was defined and categorized according to recent guidelines. The study participants were divided into 2 groups according to the presence of DD. Weight, height, and WC were measured; BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated; and a body shape index (ABSI) was calculated as WC/(BMI2/3height1/2). The associations between ABSI, BMI, WHR, and WC and the presence of DD were examined using logistic regression analyses. Analysis of covariance was used to examine the differences. Results: WC and BMI were significantly greater in subjects with DD (p=0.049 and 0.051, respectively). A greater BMI, WC, and WHR increased the risk of the presence of DD (BMI-DD: odds ratio [OR]=1.096, p=0.024; WC-DD: OR=1.059, p=0.007; WHR-DD: OR=2.363, p=0.007). After adjustment for age and sex, only BMI continued to be significantly associated with DD (p=0.031). ABSI was not associated with DD. Conclusion: After adjustment for age and sex, BMI was the only predictor of DD in obesity. Despite its limitations, BMI may still be a potentially more accurate measure of DD compared with other obesity measures. © 2018 Turkish Society of Cardiology

COVID-19 Pandemi Sürecinde Sağlık Çalışanlarının Beslenme Alışkanlıklarındaki Değişikliklerin Değerlendirilmesi

Objective: The workload and working hours of healthcare professionals have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate how COVID-19 outbreak restrictions affect dietary habits among healthcare professionals. Material and Method: The study population was 239 adults aged between 18-65 years. An online survey including questions about demographic variables, health information, lifestyle behaviors, and dietary habits were sent via an online platform. Self-reported weight, and height before and during the pandemic were also collected. Results: The percentage of those who skip the main meals during the lockdown (48.1%) has increased compared to before the lockdown (43.9%). The most skipped main meal and snack were breakfast and mid-morning, respectively. Among the study population, 48.1% reported that they increased their vegetable-fruit consumption, 38.1% reported increased water intake and 45.6% reported consuming more home-cooked food. The most preferred snacks were fruits-vegetables (62.3%), and nuts (55.6%). Approximately half of the participants (46.0%) reported an increased appetite and 50.6% of the participants stated an increase in body weight during COVID-19. The weight gain of the 51-64 age group (3.73±4.13 kg) was statistically significantly higher than the 18-50 age group (0.43±4.51 kg) (p=0.014). The rate of those who reported doing at least 150 minutes of exercise per week before COVID-19 (43.9%) decreased during the pandemic (30.5%). Conclusion: Body weight, appetite, some dietary habits, and physical activities were generally adversely affected among healthcare workers during the pandemic. Older groups are most prone to weight gain during the lockdown.This research was funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) 2209-A Projects Funding Program, grant number: 1919B01200108

Plasma homocysteine is associated with ischemic findings without organic stenosis in patients with slow coronary flow

AbstractAimTo investigate the plasma concentrations of homocysteine (Hcy) in slow coronary flow (SCF) patients before and at the end of the exercise test and compare with the values of healthy controls.MethodsStudy population consisted of 41 patients with SCF [68% men, aged 49±8 years], and 41 subjects with normal epicardial coronary arteries [56% men, aged 50±9 years]. Exercise test was performed in all study participants. Blood samples were drawn at rest and immediately at the end of exercise testing after 12h of overnight fasting.ResultsThe baseline Hcy value of the SCF patients was higher than that of the control subjects (p<0.0001), and this difference continued after exercise test between the groups (p<0.0001). Median post-exercise increases in Hcy levels were higher in the SCF group than in the control group, without a significant difference (p=0.088). In the SCF group after exercise, Hcy levels in 17 patients with angina and 18 patients with ST depression were higher than those without angina and ST depression (p<0.0001 and p<0.0001, respectively). In addition, Hcy values in patients with both angina and ST depression were greater than those with either angina (p<0.05) or ST depression (p<0.05).ConclusionThe results of this study show that there is an important pathophysiologic link between the increased levels of plasma Hcy, the degree of ischemic findings, and the severity of slow flow in SCF patients

Current Overview of the Ketogenic Diet Effecst on Refractory Epilepsy

Epilepsi; nöbetler ile karakterize bir hastalıktır. Epilepsi hastalarının çoğunda nöbetler anti epileptik ilaçlar kullanılarak kontrol edilebilmektedir ancak dirençli epilepsi olarak adlandırılan epilepsi türünde, ilaçlar nöbet kontrolü üzerine etkili değildir. Buna ek olarak, bazı hastalarda ilaçların istenmeyen yan etkileri, antiepileptik ilaç kullanımının kesilmesine neden olmaktadır. Bu ve benzeri durumlarda, farmakolojik bir tedavi türü olmayan ketojenik diyet, alternatif tedavi yöntemi olarak önerilmektedir. Ketojenik diyetin epilepsi tedavisinde etkin rol oynayabileceğini düşündüren temel gerçeklik ise, nöronlar için ana enerji substratı olan glikoz yerine, açlık gibi bazı durumlarda keton cisimlerinin kullanılıyor olmasıdır. Keton cisimlerinin oluşmasını sağlayan ancak ketojenik diyete uygulama kolaylığı ve esnekliği sağlaması adına farklı ketojenik diyet türleri oluşturulmuştur. Dirençli epilepsi tedavisinde hastaların tolere edebilirliğine göre bu ketojenik diyet yaklaşımları kullanılabilmektedir. Bu derlemede, ketojenik diyet ve türlerinin dirençli epilepsi üzerine etkisinin derlenmesi amaçlanmıştır.Epilepsy is a disease characterized by seizures. In most patients with epilepsy, seizures can be controlled using anti-epileptic drugs, but in the type of epilepsy called resistant epilepsy, drugs are not effective on seizure control. In addition, the undesirable side effects of antiepileptic drugs in some patients lead to the cessation of antiepileptic use. In these and similar cases, the ketogenic diet, which is not a pharmacological treatment type, is considered as an alternative treatment method. The basic reality suggesting that the ketogenic diet can play an effective role in the treatment of epilepsy is that instead of glucose, which is the main energy substrate for neurons, ketone bodies are used in some cases such as hunger. Again, different ketogenic diets have been created to enable the formation of ketone bodies and provide ease and flexibility to the ketogenic diet. Depending on the tolerability of patients in the treatment of epilepsy, one of these ketogenic diet variations can be used. This review was conducted to evaluate the effect of ketogenic diet on epileps

Polimerik Güneş Hücrelerinde Ag Nanopartikül Katkılı TiO2 Tampon Tabakasının Kendiliğinden Organize Olan Tek Tabaka Moleküller (SAM) ile Modifiye Edilmesi

Organik güneş hücrelerinin performansları üzerinde yüzey modifikasyonu ve metal nanopartiküller önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Tek tabaka kendiliğinden organize olan (self assembly monolayer, SAM) organik malzemeler ucuz ve kolay uygulanabilir olmaları nedenleriyle diğer yüzey uygulama tekniklerine alternatif bir malzemelerdir. Metal nanopartiküllerin organik güneş hücrelerinde uygulama alanlarının geliştirilmesi son yıllarda önemli bir başlık haline gelmiştir. Bu çalışmada, sol-jel yöntemi ile sentezlenen TiO2 elektrot yapısına Ag np’ler katkılanmış ve Ag-/TiO2 yüzeyi SAM molekülü ile modifiye edilerek yeni bir tür elektrot tasarlanmıştır. TiO2 elektrotlu güneş hücresinde elde edilen verimlilik değeri % 2,25 iken, bu çalışmada tasarlanan Ag-TiO2/SAM elektrot yapısından elde edilen güneş hücre verimliliği % 2,84 olarak bulunmuştur

Association of Serum Adropin Levels with Nutritional Status and Lipid Profile in Patients with Kidney Failure with Replacement Therapy

Objective. This study aimed to determine serum adropin levels and to examine the relationship of serum adropin levels with nutritional status and lipid profile in patients with kidney failure with replacement therapy (KFRT). Methods. The study consisted of 88 subjects, including 30 patients treated with hemodialysis (HD), 29 patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD), and 29 patients who had undergone kidney transplantation (TX). The study included assessing anthropometric measurements, handgrip strength, bioelectrical impedance analysis, malnutrition-inflammation score, dietary intake, resting energy expenditure, and biochemical parameters. The patients’ food consumption was recorded for three days. The malnutrition-inflammation score (MIS) was calculated to assess the patients’ nutritional status. Blood samples were collected for serum adropin and other biochemical parameters. Results. Adropin levels were significantly higher in the TX group when compared to the HD group. Patients with low adropin levels had higher MIS, serum ferritin, and lower low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (total-C) levels. Serum adropin levels were negatively correlated with the MIS and positively correlated with total-C, LDL-C, and HDL-C levels. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the MIS (β=-0.25 p=0.038) and LDL-C level (β=0.29, p=0.007) were associated with serum adropin. Conclusions. Adropin may be considered as a new marker of nutritional status and possibly plays a role in the pathophysiological mechanisms and complications of patients with KFRT

Acute serious thrombocytopenia associated with intracoronary tirofiban use for primary angioplasty

Tirofiban, a specific glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, may cause extensive thrombocytopenia with an incidence of 0.2% to 0.5%. We report the case of a 50-year-old man who developed thrombocytopenia after tirofiban use (both intracoronary and peripheral) over hours and the successful management of this complication after primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. © 2014 Mustafa Yurtdaş et al