Design and fabrication of silicone-based composite tissue-mimicking phantoms for medical training

Silicone-based composite phantoms were fabricated to be used as an education model in medical training. A matrix of silicone formulations was tracked to mimic the ultrasonography, mammography, surgical, and microsurgical responses of different human tissue and organs. The performance of two different additives: i) silicone oil and ii) vinyl-terminated poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) were monitored with the acoustic setup and evaluated by the surgeons. Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among women, and early diagnosis significantly improves the patient outcomes. The surgeons-in-training necessitate the vast amount of practice to facilitate a noteworthy contribution to this outcome. Therefore, breast simulation models that contain skin layer, inner breast tissue, and tumor structures which allow the collection of samples with biopsy needle were fabricated to be used in ultrasonography, as well as mammography models to be used in tumor diagnostics, and breast oncoplasty models for surgeons to practice their suturing skills. Development of microsurgical techniques signifies a foremost advance in the intervention of the injured peripheral nerves and with the aid of the operating microscopes; it is possible to evaluate the severity of the neural trauma. The advanced microsurgical skills of surgeons are essential for the success of the microsurgery, and in turn for the preservation of the nerve continuity. With this motive, a peripheral nerve phantom that contains skin layer, fascia tissue, epineurium, connective tissue, the fascicles, and the muscle layer has been designed. Herein, we highlight the fabrication of a realistic, durable, accessible, and cost-effective training platform that contains breast ultrasonography, mammography, and oncoplasty models, as well as peripheral nerve with complex hierarchical layers. For training purposes, closest media to reality, fresh cadavers, are hard to obtain due to their price and/or unavailability. Hence, a variety of synthetic tissues were also designed through the optimization of formulations of silicone. Surgical simulation models that mimic various human tissue and organs such as i) multi layers of skin, ii) axilla and axillary lymph nodes, iii) veins, iv) isthmus of the thyroid gland, cricoid cartilage, tongue, larynx, esophagus, tracheal rings, and bronchial tree for the tracheostomy and bronchoscopy models were fabricated

Investigation of the Effect of Family Education Program on Primary Care Parents/Care Staff of Children

It is important to support the families who give primary care to the child, so that the child can gain the expressed skills and moreover, the family can be a healthy family. These supports should be started from a very early period. Under these considerations, in the research, it was aimed to develop a family education program about communication, parental attitudes and developmental needs for parents/caregivers who provide primary care to 36-72 months old children and to give this family education to parents/caregivers who provide primary care to children, as a result of the training provided. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effectiveness of education. The parallel mixed method model, which converges from mixed research methods, was used in the research. In this context, the research was carried out with the members of the City Council of Ankara Keçiören Municipality. After the research, it was seen that they stated that should be careful while communicating, the importance of paying attention to their parental attitudes, and that they developed awareness of how important communication is. In the light of the results obtained from the parents/caregivers at more frequent intervals. Keywords: family education, communication, parental attitudes, preschool period DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-7-04 Publication date:March 31st 202

Archaeological evidence for 9th and 8th millennia BC at Girmeler Cave near Tlos in SW Turkey

 A mound settlement in front of the Girmeler Cave near the major Lycian city of Tlos in SW Turkey revealed evidence for occupation during the late 9th and 8th millennia BC. The ccupation is characterized by a structure with at least two layers of lime-plastered floor, hearths and bins and a wattle-and-daub superstructure, all pointing to a sedentary community engaged in intensive hunting and gathering. The trial trenches at Girmeler Cave also yielded evidence of an Early Pottery Neolithic period at the end of the 8th millennium BC. The remains of several buildings with terrazzo floors and wattle-and-daub superstructures were found. It is likely that the cave served as a sacred site in the Early Pottery Neolithic period. There was a hiatus between the late 9th/early 8th millennium BC and the Early Pottery Neolithic occupations at the site.Naselbina na gomili pred vhodom v jamo Girmeler v bližini pomembnega likijskega mesta Tlos v jugozahodni Turčiji razkriva dokaze o poselitvi v času poznega 9. in 8. tisočletja pr. n. št. Značilnost poselitve je struktura z vsaj dvema plastema z apnom prekritih tal, ognjišč, odpadnih jam in butane nadgradnje, kar kaže na sedentarno skupnost, ki se je ukvarjala z intenzivnim lovom in nabiralništvom. Testne sonde v jami Girmeler so prinesle dokaze o poselitvi v obdobju zgodnjega keramičnega neolitika ob koncu 8. tisočletja pr. n. št. Odkriti so bili ostanki več zgradb s teraco tlemi in butano nadgradnjo. Verjetno je, da je jama v zgodnjem keramičnem neolitiku služila kot svet kraj. Med poznim 9./zgodnjim 8. tisočletjem pr. n. št. in poselitvijo v zgodnjem keramičnem neolitiku je prepoznana prekinitev

Leisure Time Use, Meaning of Life, and Psychological Distress: Comparing Canadian and Korean Older Adults

Older adults’ day-to-day leisure time activities both reflect and stimulate physical, cognitive, and social capacities that contribute to their quality of life. To better understand how leisure activity choices and possible impacts vary across two cultures, this questionnaire-based study compared leisure time use, perceived meaning of life, and psychological distress for 617 older adults in Canada (n=298) and the Republic of Korea (Korea) (n=319). Compared to Koreans, Canadian respondents spent more time overall in leisure activities and devoted a higher percentage of their total leisure time to active, rather than passive, activities. They spent significantly more of their time on cognitively active activities, while Koreans preferred socially and physically active ones and scored significantly higher on both meaning of life and psychological distress. Both groups spent more of their time watching television than on any other single reported activity. Age group, retirement status, health, education, and income varied across the two countries and were significantly associated with aspects of leisure time use for each group. The results identify areas for improvement if Canadian and Korean older adults’ leisure time use is to effectively support their aging well

The assessment of maternal deaths between 2015 and 2020 in Elazığ, Turkey

Objective: To determine the maternal deaths and the factors affecting them in our city. Methods: The maternal deaths occurred in our city between January 2015 and June 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. The review was conducted by checking “Maternal Death Registry Forms” of the Provincial Directorate of Health. In cases where additional data related with the cause of death were required, the relatives of the cases, associated family practitioner, The Council of Forensic Medicine or local authorities were contacted. The data of the cases including age, gravida, parity, abortion, delivery type, week of gestation during delivery, period of death and maternal deaths due to direct, indirect and incidental causes were recorded. Based on total live births and maternal deaths within 6.5 years, maternal mortality rate was found as the maternal death number per 100,000 live births. Descriptive statistics were used for the statistical analysis of the data. Results: A total of 46.618 live births occurred between 2015 and 2020 in Elazığ. The number of maternal deaths due to direct and indirect causes is 7, and maternal mortality rate was found 15.01/100,000. Hypertensive diseases during pregnancy (n=3, 42.8%), pulmonary embolism (n=1, 14.3%) and cerebral thrombosis (n=1, 14.3%) were among the natural causes of maternal deaths. Indirect cause for maternal death was cardiac diseases (n=2, 28.6%). When they were categorized according to the Three Delays Model, there were 3 death cases in the first delay model and 2 death cases in the third delay model, but there was no maternal death in the second delay model. Conclusion: Maternal death is an significant public health issue which develops due to the generally preventable causes and maintains its importance. The factors contributing to death should be paid attention in order to decrease maternal death rates

The association between olfaction and taste functions with serum ghrelin and leptin levels in obese women

Purpose: To investigate the olfaction and taste functions in obese female patients and the association between serum ghrelin and leptin levels compared with healthy controls. Methods: Fifty-two obese women, who have a body mass index >30 kg/m(2), and 15 healthy women were included in the study. After 8 hrs fasting, blood samples were taken for serum biochemical parameters, ghrelin, and leptin level measurement. For the quantitative assessment of olfactory function, all participants underwent an N-butanol threshold test and odor identification test using 12 Sniffin' Sticks (R) fragrance sticks. The gustatory function was tested by administering a whole-mouth above threshold test using sucrose solutions. Results: The sucrose taste threshold score in obese women was significantly higher than the controls (P = 0.004). We found positively significant correlation between serum ghrelin levels and n-butanol threshold scores in obese women (r = 0.300, P = 0.031). N-butanol smell threshold was not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.149), while the Sniffin' Sticks smell test scores were significantly lower in obese women compared with the controls (P = 0.007). Serum leptin levels were also significantly higher in obese women (P < 0.001) although there was no significant difference in serum ghrelin levels between the two groups (P = 0.768). There was no correlation between serum leptin levels and Sniffin' Sticks scores, n-butanol, and sucrose taste threshold scores in obese women. Conclusions: These results might suggest that leptin, which is an anorexigenic peptide, may have a negative effect on taste and smell functions. More studies are warranted to elucidate the exact role of ghrelin secretion on olfaction and taste functions

HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN RESPONSE TO EXERCISE

The aim of this study was to determine whether short-term heat acclimation (STHA) could confer increased cellular tolerance to acute hypoxic exercise in humans as determined via monocyte HSP72 (mHSP72) expression. Sixteen males were separated into two matched groups. The STHA group completed 3 days of exercise heat acclimation; 60 minutes cycling at 50%. VO2peak in 40 degrees C 20% relative humidity (RH). The control group (CON) completed 3 days of exercise training in 20 degrees C, 40% RH. Each group completed a hypoxic stress test (HST) one week before and 48 hours following the final day of CON or STHA. Percentage changes in HSP72 concentrations were similar between STHA and CON following HST1 (P = 0.97). STHA induced an increase in basal HSP72 (P = 0.03) with no change observed in CON (P = 0.218). Basal mHSP72 remained elevated before HST2 for the STHA group (P 0.05). Percent change in mHSP72 was lower after HST2 in STHA compared to CON (P = 0.02). The mHSP72 response to hypoxic exercise was attenuated following 3 days of heat acclimation. This is indicative of improved tolerance and ability to cope with the hypoxic insult, potentially mediated in part by increased basal reserves of HSP72