Detecting respiratory motion artefacts for cardiovascular MRIs to ensure high-quality segmentation

While machine learning approaches perform well on their training domain, they generally tend to fail in a real-world application. In cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR), respiratory motion represents a major challenge in terms of acquisition quality and therefore subsequent analysis and final diagnosis. We present a workflow which predicts a severity score for respiratory motion in CMR for the CMRxMotion challenge 2022. This is an important tool for technicians to immediately provide feedback on the CMR quality during acquisition, as poor-quality images can directly be re-acquired while the patient is still available in the vicinity. Thus, our method ensures that the acquired CMR holds up to a specific quality standard before it is used for further diagnosis. Therefore, it enables an efficient base for proper diagnosis without having time and cost-intensive re-acquisitions in cases of severe motion artefacts. Combined with our segmentation model, this can help cardiologists and technicians in their daily routine by providing a complete pipeline to guarantee proper quality assessment and genuine segmentations for cardiovascular scans. The code base is available at https://github.com/MECLabTUDA/QA_med_data/tree/dev_QA_CMRxMotion

An Investigation of the Effectiveness of the 577- nm Pro-yellow Laser in Patients with Vascular Disorders

Objective: Vascular disorders severely impair the psycho-social status of individuals. Various laser and light systems, which have advantages and disadvantages, including the pro-yellow laser are used for the therapy of these disorders. Aim: The goal of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of the 577 nm pro-yellow laser for a broad range of indications including erythematelangiectatic rosacea, facial erythema, post-acne erythema, facial telangiectasis, hemangioma, genital angiokeratoma, and port wine stain nevus. Methods: A total of 98 patients (25 male, 73 female) older than 15 years who were treated with the pro-yellow laser for vascular disorders at the cosmetology unit between 2017 and 2019 were retrospectively included in the study. Results: The mean rate of recovery was 100% in genital angiokeratoma, 94.4% in spider angioma, 83.3% in facial telangiectasis, 74.8% in erythematotelangiectatic rosacea, 72% in facial erythema + facial telangiectasis, and 68.3% in facial erythema. Over 60% of improvement was observed in most patients with vascular disorders. There was no significant link between the Fitzpatrick skin type and treatment success. Treatment success was significantly low in cases with nasal involvement. Conclusion: The current study concluded that pro-yellow laser is an efficient and safe laser modality that may yield satisfactory outcomes regardless of the different skin types

Evaluation of phytotherapeutic activities and phytochemical content of Phormidium autumnale Gomont from natural freshwater sources

The information available on microalgae-sourced compounds, especially antibiotics and other bioactive compounds, and their potential commercial applications is still insufficient. In this study, antibacterial activity, metabolites, and molecular characterization of Phormidium autumnale, which was isolated from samples collected from different natural freshwater sources in Ankara, Turkey, were investigated. Sequencing results of 16s rDNA confirmed the molecular identification of P. autumnale by 99%. It was determined that the peak values of some phenolic compounds and cyclic peptides were consistent with the 1653-1389 cm(-1) band regions in the FTIR spectra of the species. The antibacterial activities of P. autumnale cyanobacteria (CBA) extracts that were obtained by using different solvents were tested on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, methicillin-resistant (MR) Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Enterococcus faecalis by using a disc diffusion method. Also, the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and antimicrobial indexes of all extracts were determined. It was found that P. autumnale methanol extracts showed antibacterial activity on all test bacteria, whereas acetone extracts showed effects only on E. coli. For the inhibition of MR S. aureus, the control methanol extract was found to give very similar results to those exhibited by the control antibiotics, and the antimicrobial index results were determined to be 58.7-67.5%. According to the results of the analysis of methanol extract, gentisic acid, vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, and catechin (especially phenolic compounds) were determined to be the active compounds. It can be concluded that P. autumnale is an alternative to current commercial applications as an antibacterial agent in phytotherapy

The relationship between attitude toward physical activity and weight gain in children and young adolescence

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to investigate the association between attitudes toward physical activity and weight gain among children and young adolescents with an additional focus on the impact of gender on these attitudes.MethodsEmploying a descriptive survey method, data were systematically gathered via purposive sampling from 11 specific cities in Türkiye, ensuring representation from all seven regions. A total of 3,138 students, aged between 9 and 14 years, participated in this study, with a distribution of 46% girls and 54% boys. To assess the attitudes of children and young adolescents toward physical activity, the Youth Physical Activity Attitude Scale was utilized. Height and body weight measurements were taken to determine the body mass index of participants. SPSS 26.0 software facilitated the statistical analyses, including Pearson correlation analysis to explore relationships between variables. Multivariate Analysis of Variance was employed to evaluate the impact of age, BMI, and gender on attitudes toward physical activity.ResultsParticipants classified as normal weight exhibited a more positive attitude towards physical activity compared to their obese and overweight counterparts. Moreover, a significant gender difference emerged, with boys demonstrating significantly higher positive attitudes toward physical activity than girls. However, no significant difference was observed in negative attitudes based on gender. The study also revealed that an escalation in negative attitudes towards physical activity correlated with students being categorized as underweight, overweight, or obese, as opposed to having a normal weight status. Additionally, a statistically significant divergence in both positive and negative attitudes towards physical activity was found based on age. Specifically, the results indicated that students aged 9 and 14 exhibited lower levels of positive attitude when contrasted with their counterparts of different age groups. Conversely, in the domain of negative attitudes, students at the age of 9 scored higher than their peers in other age categories.DiscussionAttitudes towards physical activity can serve as a convenient indicator and guide for assessing the effectiveness of various practices or interventions aimed at promoting physical activity, with recognition of the significant gender difference in positive attitudes among children and young adolescents

Ergenlerin stres yaşantılarında kullandıkları başaçıkma stratejilerinin benlik imajı ile ilişkisi

TEZ3841Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- Çukurova Üniversitesi, Adana, 2001.Kaynakça (s. 74-81) var.x, 81 s. ; 30 cm.

The dermoscopic patterns and evolution of acquired melanocytic nevi in pediatric age group

Kazanılmış melanositik nevuslar, doğumdan sonra oluşmaya başlayan nevomelanosit depolanmaları ile karakterize, yaşamın ikinci ve üçüncü dekadında sayıları artan, beyaz ırkta en sık saptanan neoplazilerdir. İnsidansı giderek artmakta olan malign melanomların yaklaşık üçte biri melanositik nevuslar ile ilişkilidir. Kazanılmış melanositik nevus sayısının fazlalığı ve nevus morfolojisindeki düzensizlik melanom gelişimi için risk oluşturmaktadır. İnvaziv olmayan, optik büyütme ile ayrıntılı inceleme olanağı sağlayan dermoskopinin kullanıma girmesi ile malign melanoma tanısı kolaylaşmıştır. Kazanılmış melanositik nevus dermoskopik yapısı için, farklı dermoskopik morfolojik pigment ağ yapıları tanımlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada, pediatrik yaş grubunda kazanılmış melanositik nevusların sayıları, dağılımları, patern yapıları, pigment ağ yapıları ve bir yıllık takip sonunda bu parametrelerdeki değişimleri araştırmayı amaçladık. Mart 2011- Haziran 2012 tarihleri arasında dermatoloji polikliniğine başvuran hasta ve sağlıklı gönüllüler tarafından oluşturulan 0-18 yaş arasında, kazanılmış melanositik nevus sahibi 150 gönüllü çalışmaya alınmıştır. Gönüllüler, Türkiye'de ergenlik dönemi için bazal yaş olarak nitelendirilen 7 yaşa göre iki gruba ayrılmıştır. Gruplar, 7 yaş ve altı, 8 yaş ve üzeri olarak oluşturulmuştur. Toplamda 998 kazanılmış melanositik nevus kayıt altına alınmış olup, bunlardan da gövde ve ekstremite yerleşimli 845 nevusun patern ve pigmet ağ yapısı incelenmiştir. Tüm kazanılmış melanositik nevuslar ilk muayene ve takip eden bir yılın sonunda, lokalizasyonlarına göre sınıflandırılmıştır. Gövde ve ekstremite yerleşimli nevusların ardışık iki görüntüsü bilgisayar ekranında yanyana yerleştirilerek; büyüklük, patern ve pigment ağ yapıları incelenmiştir. 8 ve üstü yaş grubundaki gönüllülerin nevus sayıları, 7 yaş ve altı yaş grubuna göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede yüksek bulunmuştur. Her iki grupta da gövde lokalizasyonundaki nevus sayısının ekstremiteler ve baş boyun lokalizasyonundaki nevus sayısından istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede daha fazla olduğu görülmüştür. 8 yaş ve üstü grubundaki nevus boyutunun, 7 yaş ve altı grubundaki nevus boyutundan ve her iki grupta da kendi içlerinde takipteki nevus boyutunun başlangıç boyutundan büyük olduğu görülmüştür. Her iki yaş grubunda da en fazla görülen pigment ağ yapısının üniform olduğu bulunmuştur. 8 yaş ve üstü grubundaki nevuslarda, 7 yaş ve altı grubuna göre santral pigment ağ yapı oranınında artma görülmüştür. Bir yıllık takipte 8 yaş ve üstü grubunda retiküler ve homojen patern yapısına sahip nevus yüzdesi artmıştır. Patern yapılarının boyutları incelendiğinde globüler paterne sahip nevus boyutunun diğer patern yapılarına sahip nevuslardan daha fazla olduğu bulunmuştur. Pigment ağ yapılarının boyutları incelendiğinde ise santral pigment değişikliğine sahip nevus boyutlarının diğer pigment ağ yapılarına sahip nevuslardan daha fazla olduğu bulunmuştur. Tüm bu bulgular ışığında; çocukluk çağında dinamik bir yapı sergileyen melanositik nevusların yıllık takiplerle incelenmesi gerekmekte olup, nevogenez için önemli yatkınlık oluşturan güneş maruziyetinin özellikle pediatrik yaş grubunda önlenebilmesi nevus sayı, boyut ve yapı değişimi için önemlidir.Acquired melanocytic nevi are neoplasias characterized by accumulations of nevomelanocytes that occur after birth, that increase in number in the second and third decades of life and that are most commonly seen in caucasians. About one third of malignant melanomas of which the incidence is increasing, are associated with melanocytic nevi. The abundance in number of acquired melanocytic nevi and the irregularity in nevus morphology create a risk for development of malignant melanoma. The diagnosis of malign melanoma has become easier with the entry of dermoscopy into clinical practice. Dermoscopy non-invasively provides detailed examination of pigmented skin lesions through optical magnification. Various dermoscopic morphologic pigment web patterns have been defined for the structure of acquired melanocytic nevi. In this study, we aimed to research numbers, distributions, structure patterns, pigment web patterns of melanocytic nevi acquired in pediatric age group and changes in these parameters in one year. 150 volunteers have been included to the study, consisting of patients and healthy volunteers who applied to the dermatology out patient clinic between March 2011-June 2012, whose ages were between 1 to 18 and who had acquired melanocytic nevi. The volunteers have been divided into two groups according to the age of 7, which is the accepted baseline age for puberty in Turkey. The groups were formed as 7-years-old and younger and 8-years-old and older. A total of 998 melanocytic nevi were recorded, of which 845 with trunk and extremity localization were assessed for pattern and pigment web structure. All melanocytic lesions were classified according to their localizations at the first examination and at the end of the following year. The consecutive two images of the nevi located at trunk and extremities were placed side by side on computer screen and were assessed for size, pattern and pigment web structures. The number of the nevi of the volunteers at and above the age of 8 was found to be statistically significantly higher than the ones at and below the age of 7. In both groups, nevi on trunk were found to be statistically significantly higher in number than the ones on extremities, head and neck. Nevus size in the group aged 8 years and older was found to be larger than the group aged 7 and younger; and in both groups, nevus size at follow-up was found to be larger than the size at the beginning. In the group of 8 years and older, central pigment web structure was found to be increased compared to the group of 7 years and younger. At one year follow-up, the percentage of nevi with reticular and homogenous pattern structure was increased in the group aged 8 years and older. When the sizes of pattern structures were assessed, nevus size with globülar pattern was found to be more abundant than nevi with different pattern structures. As to the sizes of pigment web structures, sizes of nevi with central pigment change were found to be larger than nevi with other pigment web structures. According to all these findings, melanocytic nevi which exhibit a dinamic structure in chilhood should be examined by yearly follow-ups and it is important to prevent sun exposure, which causes important predisposition for nevogenesis, for the changes in number, size and structure

A Case of Staphylococcal Scalded Skin Syndrome in a 1-Year Old Boy with Otitis Media

WOS:000449352600003Introduction: Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS), also known as Ritter’s Disease, is a severe disease seen mostly in newborns and children aged 5 years, and the mortality rate might reach to 4% despite an appropriate treatment. Exfoliative toxins cause intraepidermal separation in the stratum granulosum and lead to a condition that is characterized with widespread epidermolysis all over the body and bullae with positive Nikolsky’s sign. SSSS might be fatal due to loss of skin barrier. Immediate initiation of an anti-staphylococcal drug therapy is required for the treatment of this toxin-dependent disease, which is one of the emergencies of dermatology practices. Case Report: A 1-year-old boy was referred to a dermatology clinic from pediatric emergency service with widespread epidermolysis all over the body, including erosion and bullous formation that had been appeared in the inguinal region. SSSS was suspected in this case, and skin biopsy was performed to confirm the diagnosis. He was hospitalized in the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Service, and treatment comprising intravenous administration of (i.v.) vancomycin (40 mg/kg/day) and 3 gIVIG ( intravenous immunoglobulin) was initiated. Conclusion: Staphylococcus aureus, a rather rare agent of otitis media, is remarkable in terms of causing the complication of SSSS, which is very rare. In our case report, we aimed to remark to this rare condition (association of otitis media and SSSS). Keywords: Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome, Staphylococcus aureus, otitis media

Dermatoloji ve Dermatopatolojide Sosyal Medya Araçlarının Kullanımı: Yeni Nesil Mesleki İletişim ve Eğitim Yöntemi

WOS:000437821200002Social media (SoMe) is an interactive communication type that uses computers (smart phone, tablet, notebook) and internet based technologies. With SoMe, ideas, videos, pictures and files can be easily shared; instant communication and cooperation can be installed with people in distant places. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube are highly efficient SoMe tools for information sharing. These sharings can be national or international level. In recent years, SoMe tools have provided quite good opportunities for communication between colleagues on behalf to increase patient-physician communication as well as vocational education and skills in medicine. Because, to reach big centers and experienced trainers for a good education is mostly difficult and labored due to time, cost and language problems. However, thanks to SoMe tools, this problem can be partially solved. Dermatology and dermatopathology are the most appropriate medical fields where these tools can be used for visual education. In this article, we wanted to share the clues by making the awareness that SoMe tools can provide positive contributions to vocational education and communication, and by emphasizing the importance of the use of SoMe tools in increasing the experience of practitioners in dermatology and dermatopathology education and practice in these fields.Sosyal medya (SoMe); bilgisayarlar (akıllı telefon, tablet, notebook) ve internet tabanlı teknolojileri kullanan interaktif bir iletişim şeklidir. SoMe ile fikir, video, resim ve dosyalar kolayca paylaşılabilir; uzak mesafelerdeki insanlarla anında iletişim ve iş birliği kurulabilir. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram ve Youtube bilgi paylaşımı için oldukça etkin SoMe araçlarıdır. Buralardaki paylaşımlar, ulusal ya da uluslararası düzeyde olabilir. Son yıllarda SoMe araçları, hasta-hekim iletişimi yanı sıra, tıp alanında mesleki eğitim ve becerilerin artırılması adına meslektaşlar arasında iletişim için oldukça güzel fırsatlar sunmaktadır. Çünkü, iyi bir eğitim için büyük merkezlere ve deneyimli eğiticilere ulaşmak zaman, maliyet ve dil problemleri nedeniyle çoğu zaman zor ve zahmetlidir. Ancak SoME araçları sayesinde bu sorun kısmen çözülebilmektedir. Dermatoloji ve dermatopatoloji ise görsel temelli eğitim için bu araçların en uygun kullanılabileceği tıbbi alanlardandır. Bu makalede, SoMe araçlarının mesleki eğitim ve iletişim için olumlu katkılar sağlayabildiğinin farkındalığını oluşturmak, bu alanlarda çalışan hekimlerin dermatoloji ve dermatopatoloji eğitim ve pratiği konusunda deneyimlerinin artırılmasında SoME araçlarının kullanımının öneminden bahsederek ipuçlarını paylaşmak istedik

The effect of psychoeducation on fear of childbirth and birth type: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective Psychoeducation is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention for women that provide information, support for a better understanding and coping with fear of childbirth (FOC). Although there have been some studies examining the effects of psychoeducation on FOC and cesarean section (CS), there is no high quality evidence. This systematic review and meta-analysis study aimed to investigate the effects of psychoeducation on FOC and CS rate. Methods Literature research was performed in CINAHL, PubMed, Science Direct, OVID, Medline, Science Citation Index (Web of Science) and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials until April 2018. This study is based on the recommendations of the Cochrane guidelines. The analysis was conducted using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Program Version 3. Results Four randomized controlled studies and three non-randomized controlled studies were selected; six studies were combined for FOC and four studies were combined for CS rate. Meta-analysis revealed that psychoeducation is effective in reducing pregnant women's FOC (hedges’ g 0.59, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.46–0.72, p = .000; 931 women) and the CS rate (Odds Ratio 1.730, 95% CI 1.285–2.330, p = .000; 682 women). Conclusion This study provides sufficient evidence that psychoeducation is an effective to reduce FOC and CS rate