The effect of birth season on diurnal variation of blood pressure in hypertensive patients

Background. Birth season has been found to be related to cardiovascular disorders, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between birth season and diurnal variation in blood pressure (BP) parameters in hypertensive patients. Material and methods. We enrolled 194 patients. The date of birth was recorded with the season of birth determined as winter (December-February), spring (March-May), summer (June-August) or autumn (September-November). All patients underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for evaluation of dipper or non-dipper status. We searched for the relationship between birth season and non-dipper status and other ABPM parameters. Results. 93 patients were classified into the dipper hypertensive group and 101 patients were in the non-dipper hypertensive group. We did not find any association between non-dipper status and birth season in hypertensive patients (p = 0.517). However, we found a significant relationship between diurnal variation in BP and birth season. This difference was observed between winter and spring season. We found a significant relationship between birth season and 24-hour diastolic BP, awake diastolic BP, sleep diastolic BP and sleep mean BP (p = 0.035, p = 0.037, p = 0.036, p = 0.032, respectively). These ABPM parameters were lower in patients born in winter than in those born in spring. Conclusion. Birth season was found to be related to diurnal variation in blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Hypertensive individuals born in winter had lower blood pressure than those born in spring

The effect of air-lock technique on pain at the site of intramuscular injection

Objectives: To investigate the effects of air-lock technique (ALT) on pain of intramuscular (IM) injection delivered to the ventrogluteal and dorsogluteal site (DS). Methods: A randomized controlled trial design was used to assess the pain intensity associated with IM injections administered using 2 different methods and injection sites. Recruitment of patients was carried out between April and August 2013 at the Department of Brain Surgery, Cekirge State Hospital, Bursa, Turkey. The sample comprised 60 patients who developed no complications at the IM site, and had no illness that could affect their perception of pain. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups of 30 patients. Patients in the first group received injections in the ventrogluteal site (VS), while the DS was used for injections in the second group. Patients in each group received 2 injections, one using ALT and one not using the technique. After each injection, the pain felt by patients during the injection was immediately assessed using a visual analog scale. Results: The mean pain score after injections to the DS by the ALT was 3.30 +/- 2.70, while the mean pain score after injections to the VS using the same technique was 2.53 +/- 2.52. Conclusion: Although the difference between groups was not significant, the results of the study supported the idea that injections delivered to the VS by ALT are less painful than those delivered to the DS

Methylene blue ameliorates colonic injury in acetic acid-induced colitis model

Aim: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a serious health problem affecting the quality of life. IBDs caused by various pathophysiological mechanisms, including genetic, immunological, inflammatory, and environmental factors. Although it has been widely investigated, treatment of IBDs remains a difficult clinical problem. We aimed to investigate the healing of mucosal damage and anti-inflammatory effects of methylene blue (MB) in experimental colitis model. Material and Methods: Twenty-eight rats were randomly divided into four equal groups: group 1 (Sham), group 2 (control), group 3 (topical treatment), and group 4 (topical and systemic treatment). In groups 2, 3, and 4, acetic acid-induced colitis model was created. Normal saline to group 2, topical MB to group 3, and topical and systemic MB to group 4 were given. Results: The levels of hydroxyproline were lower in the treatment groups than in the control group (p=0.017 for group 3 and p=0.004 for group 4). There was no difference between groups according to the TNF- alpha levels. The results of macroscopic scores were significantly lower in treatment groups (group 3-4) than In the control group (group 2) (p=0.005 for group 3 and p=0.002 for group 4). There was a significant difference between the treatment groups and the control group according to the epithelial loss and inflammatory infiltrate (p=0.022 for group 3, p=0.026 for group 4 for both histopathological values). Discussion: MB ameliorates colonic injury in acetic acid-induced colitis model This effect of MB was observed both locally and with local + systemic administration

Zonguldak Bölgesinde kömür madeni işçilerinde leptospiroz seroprevalansı

Amaç: Leptospiroz, dünya çapında en yaygın görülen zoonotik hastalıklardan birisidir. İnsanlara çoğunlukla fare dışkısı ve idrarıyla kontamine olan su ve toprakla temas sonucu mikroorganizmanın bütünlüğü bozulmuş deriden veya mukozadan vücuda girmesiyle bulaşır. Çiftçiler, çeltik işinde çalışanlar, kanalizasyon işçileri, maden işçileri, avcılar, askeri personel, gemiciler, çobanlar, süt sağıcıları, mezbaha işçileri, kasaplar, veteriner hekimler ve laboratuvar çalışanları leptospiroz açısından riskli meslek gruplarıdır. Bu çalışmada Zonguldak bölgesinde kömür madeni işçilerinde leptospiroz seroprevalansının belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntemler: Zonguldak ve Bartın illerindeki Türkiye Taşkömürü Kurumu’na bağlı 5 farklı kömür madeninde çalışan toplam 185 gönüllü maden işçisinden, 2013 Haziran-Temmuz aylarında kan örnekleri alınmıştır. Serum örnekleri -80°C’de saklanmıştır. Ayrıca maden işçilerinin yaş, yerleşim bölgesi, madende çalışma süresi, başka mesleklerle uğraşma, madende fare ve/veya fare pisliği görme, madende farelerin eşya ve/veya yiyecek içecekle temasını tespit etme ve madende el hijyeni gibi demografik ve epidemiyolojik verileri için anket yapılmıştır. Leptospiroz seroepidemiyolojik çalışmalarında referans test yöntemi olarak kullanılan mikroskopik aglütinasyon testi (MAT) Ankara Etlik Veteriner Kontrol Merkez Araştırma Enstitüsü Spiroket Hastalıkları Teşhis Laboratuvarı’nda Haziran 2014’te yapılmıştır. MAT ile 8 ayrı serotip için (Leptospira grippotyphosa Moskva V, L. australis Bratislava Jez Bratislava, L. canicola Hund Utrech IV, L. hardjo Hardjoprajitno, L. pomona Pomona, L. icterohaemorrÖzgün hagiae Ictero 1, L. hebdomadis Hebdomadis ve L. patoc Patoc 1) anti-Leptospira antikor düzeyleri araştırılmıştır. Bulgular: Tamamı erkek olan işçilerin yaş ortalamaları 36±6 yıl idi. Madende yeraltında çalışma süresi ortalama 11±6 yıl, yeraltında haftalık çalışma süresi ortalama 44±6 saat olarak saptandı. İşçilerin %18.9’u köyde, %50.3’ü ilçede, %30.8’i il merkezinde ikamet etmekteydi. İşçilerin %7.0’si çiftçilik, %2.7’si avcılık, %0.5’i gemicilik ve %0.5’i besicilik de yapmaktaydı. İşçilerin %82.7’si maden içerisinde her gün fare gördüklerini, %35.7’si madende fare pisliği gördüklerini ifade ettiler. İşçilerin %68.1’i madende kullandıkları giyeceklerde ve yiyecek-içecek kaplarında fare yeniği gördüklerini belirtiler. İşçilerin %91.9’u madene götürdükleri yiyecekleri yemek vaktine kadar poşet/kese kâğıdı içerisinde sakladıklarını bildirdiler. Madende işçilerin %76.2’sinin el temizliği yaptığı, bunların da %94.3’ünün sadece suyla el temizliği yaptığı saptandı. Leptospiroz açısından riskli bir ortam tanımlanmasına rağmen maden işçilerinin hiçbirinin serum örneğinde MAT ile seropozitiflik saptanmadı. Sonuçlar: Madenciler tarafından leptospiroz bulaşması açısından riskli bir ortam ve davranış modelleri tanımlanmakla birlikte, Zonguldak bölgesinde kömür madencilerinden toplanan 185 serum örneklerinde leptospiroz seropozitifliği saptanmadı

Assessment of Relation Between Subjectıve Memory Complaınts and Objective Cognitive Performance of Elderly Over 55 Years Old Age

ABSTRACT Introduction: This study investigated the frequency of forgetfulness in elderly individuals over 55 years of age and examined the association of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) with objective cognitive functions,, depression and other risk factors

Comparing classification success of k-nearest neighbor, artifical neural network and decision trees.

Tıp alanında bulunan mevcut veri oldukça fazla ve hayati öneme sahiptir. Veri madenciliği teknikleri ile hayati öneme sahip olan bu verilerden daha fazla yararlanmak mümkündür. Veri madenciliği son yıllarda oldukça önemli bir konu haline gelmesine ve hemen hemen her alanda uygulama sahası bulmasına rağmen ülkemizde sağlık alanında çok yaygın kullanılmamaktadır. Bu tez çalısmasında veri madenciliği yöntemlerinden, k-en yakın komşuluk, yapay sinir ağları ve karar ağaçları yöntemlerinin sınıflandırma başarılarının karşılastırılması amaçlanmıstır. Bu amaçla Bülent Ecevit Üniversitesi Uygulama ve Araştırma Hastanesi Kadın Hastalıkları ve Doğum Polikliniği’ne başvuran erken ve zamanında doğum yapan gebelerden elde edilen veri setine bu üç teknik uygulanarak, sınıflandırma başarıları hesaplanmıstır. Yapılan analizler sonucunda doğru sınıflandırma oranları, k-en yakın komşuluk analizi için % 78.3, yapay sinir ağı tekniği için % 90.8 ve karar ağacı yöntemi için ise % 82.5 olarak bulunmuş ve yapay sinir ağı tekniğinin diğer iki yönteme göre sınıflandırma başarısının daha iyi olduğu görülmüştür.The amount of medical data is huge and vital. It is possible to obtain more benefit from these data by data mining techniques. Although the data mining has been becoming a very important subject and being used in almost all fields in recent years, it has no widely use in the health sector in our country. In this thesis study, it was aimed to compare of the classification success of the knearest neighbor, artifical neural network and the decision trees techniques. For this purpose, these three techniques were applied and the classification success was measured on the pregnants those gave preterm birth and those gave birth in time in Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Bulent Ecevit University. After the analysis of the results, the correct classification ratios found to be 78.3 % for knearest neighbor method, 90.8 % for artifical neural network, 82.5 % for decision trees method and it was concluded that the artifical neural network is more successful than the other two methods

Kronik Bel Ağrısında Basınç Ağrı Eşiği ve Yaygın Ağrının Değerlendirilmesi

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, kronik bel ağrısı olan hastalar ve sağlıklı bireyler arasında basınç ağrı eşiği değerleri açısından farkı belirlemek, aynı zamanda kronik bel ağrısı olan hastalarda farklı anatomik bölgelerde basınç ağrı eşiği test edilerek yaygın ağrıyı incelemektir.Gereç ve Yöntemler: Kronik bel ağrılı 70 hasta ve 62 sağlıklı kontrol çalışmaya dahil edildi. Basınç ağrı eşiği, her iki grupta, Amerikan Romatizma Cemiyeti tarafından belirlenen 18 fibromiyalji hassas noktası, 12 siyatik valleks noktası ve 4 lomber paravertebral nokta olmak üzere toplam 34 noktada değerlendirildi. Basınç ağrı eşiği ölçümleri, yüzey alanı 1 cm2 olan elektronik basınç algometre cihazı ile yapıldı. Bulgular: Kronik bel ağrılı hastalarda tüm noktalarda ortalama basınç ağrı eşiği, sağlıklı kontrollere göre anlamlı düzeyde düşük bulundu (p=0,001). Sonuç: Bu çalışma, kronik bel ağrılı hastalarda sağlıklı kontrollere göre tüm vücutta basınç ağrı eşiğinin düşük olduğunu gösterdi. Bu sonuç, kronik bel ağrısı olan hastaların değerlendirilmesinde yaygın ağrının göz önünde bulundurulması gerektiğini düşündürür niteliktedir.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine differences in pain pressure threshold (PPT) values between patients with chronic low back pain (CLPB) and healthy people and to also evaluate widespread pain sensitivity by testing PPT in different sites of patients with CLBP.Material and Methods: Seventy subjects with CLBP and 62 healthy controls were included in the study. PPT values were evaluated for a total of 34 points, including 18 tender points defined for fibromyalgia syndrome by the American College of Rheumatology, 12 points for testing of sciatic valleix, and 4 lumbar paravertebral points, in both groups. An electronic pressure algometer was used to measure PPT with a stimulation surface area of 1 cm2. Results: A significantly lower mean PPT was determined for all test sites in the patients with CLBP compared with healthy controls (p=0.001).Conclusion: The study showed that patients with CLBP have significantly lower PPT values at every individual site compared with healthy controls. This result suggests that widespread pain should be taken into account in the evaluation of patients with CLBP

Gender differences in romantic jealousy and attachment styles

Objective: We examined the gender differences and attachment styles with regard to the phenomenology of jealousy among married individuals. Method: The study included 86 married couples who presented to the Marriage Counselling Centre at the Bakırköy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neurosurgery. Subjects were evaluated in terms of sociodemographic data, the Romantic Jealousy Questionnaire, and the Adult Attachment Style Scale. Results: In our population, 79% of males and 66% of females defined themselves as jealous. Females had higher emotional and cognitive scores than male participants. Females had higher scores on the negative effects of jealousy. Female commitment scores were higher than those of males. Ambivalent attachment was positively correlated with physical, emotional, and behavioural responses to jealousy and inadequacy as a reason for jealousy. Conclusions: We suggest that a multidimensional approach permits to identify and guide responses to the challenge of romantic jealousy

Advanced analysis of finger-tapping performance: A preliminary study

Background: The finger-tapping test is a commonly employed quantitative assessment tool used to measure motor performance in the upper extremities. This task is a complex motion that is affected by external stimuli, mood and health status. The complexity of this task is difficult to explain with a single average intertap-interval value (time difference between successive tappings) which only provides general information and neglects the temporal effects of the aforementioned factors. Aims: This study evaluated the time course of average intertap-interval values and the patterns of variation in both the right and left hands of righthanded subjects using a computer-based finger-tapping system. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Methods: Thirty eight male individuals aged between 20 and 28 years (Mean±SD = 22.24±1.65) participated in the study. Participants were asked to perform single-finger-tapping test for 10 seconds of test period. Only the results of right-handed (RH) 35 participants were considered in this study. The test records the time of tapping and saves data as the time difference between successive tappings for further analysis. The average number of tappings and the temporal fluctuation patterns of the intertap-intervals were calculated and compared. The variations in the intertap-interval were evaluated with the best curve fit method. Results: An average tapping speed or tapping rate can reliably be defined for a single-finger tapping test by analysing the graphically presented data of the number of tappings within the test period. However, a different presentation of the same data, namely the intertap-interval values, shows temporal variation as the number of tapping increases. Curve fitting applications indicate that the variation has a biphasic nature. Conclusion: The measures obtained in this study reflect the complex nature of the finger-tapping task and are suggested to provide reliable information regarding hand performance. Moreover, the equation reflects both the variations in and the general patterns associated with the task.Background: The finger-tapping test is a commonly employed quantitative assessment tool used to measure motor performance in the upper extremities. This task is a complex motion that is affected by external stimuli, mood and health status. The complexity of this task is difficult to explain with a single average intertap-interval value (time difference between successive tappings) which only provides general information and neglects the temporal effects of the aforementioned factors. Aims: This study evaluated the time course of average intertap-interval values and the patterns of variation in both the right and left hands of righthanded subjects using a computer-based finger-tapping system. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Methods: Thirty eight male individuals aged between 20 and 28 years (Mean±SD = 22.24±1.65) participated in the study. Participants were asked to perform single-finger-tapping test for 10 seconds of test period. Only the results of right-handed (RH) 35 participants were considered in this study. The test records the time of tapping and saves data as the time difference between successive tappings for further analysis. The average number of tappings and the temporal fluctuation patterns of the intertap-intervals were calculated and compared. The variations in the intertap-interval were evaluated with the best curve fit method. Results: An average tapping speed or tapping rate can reliably be defined for a single-finger tapping test by analysing the graphically presented data of the number of tappings within the test period. However, a different presentation of the same data, namely the intertap-interval values, shows temporal variation as the number of tapping increases. Curve fitting applications indicate that the variation has a biphasic nature. Conclusion: The measures obtained in this study reflect the complex nature of the finger-tapping task and are suggested to provide reliable information regarding hand performance. Moreover, the equation reflects both the variations in and the general patterns associated with the task

Advanced analysis of finger-tapping performance: A preliminary study

Background: The finger-tapping test is a commonly employed quantitative assessment tool used to measure motor performance in the upper extremities. This task is a complex motion that is affected by external stimuli, mood and health status. The complexity of this task is difficult to explain with a single average intertap-interval value (time difference between successive tappings) which only provides general information and neglects the temporal effects of the aforementioned factors. Aims: This study evaluated the time course of average intertap-interval values and the patterns of variation in both the right and left hands of righthanded subjects using a computer-based finger-tapping system. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Methods: Thirty eight male individuals aged between 20 and 28 years (Mean±SD = 22.24±1.65) participated in the study. Participants were asked to perform single-finger-tapping test for 10 seconds of test period. Only the results of right-handed (RH) 35 participants were considered in this study. The test records the time of tapping and saves data as the time difference between successive tappings for further analysis. The average number of tappings and the temporal fluctuation patterns of the intertap-intervals were calculated and compared. The variations in the intertap-interval were evaluated with the best curve fit method. Results: An average tapping speed or tapping rate can reliably be defined for a single-finger tapping test by analysing the graphically presented data of the number of tappings within the test period. However, a different presentation of the same data, namely the intertap-interval values, shows temporal variation as the number of tapping increases. Curve fitting applications indicate that the variation has a biphasic nature. Conclusion: The measures obtained in this study reflect the complex nature of the finger-tapping task and are suggested to provide reliable information regarding hand performance. Moreover, the equation reflects both the variations in and the general patterns associated with the task.Background: The finger-tapping test is a commonly employed quantitative assessment tool used to measure motor performance in the upper extremities. This task is a complex motion that is affected by external stimuli, mood and health status. The complexity of this task is difficult to explain with a single average intertap-interval value (time difference between successive tappings) which only provides general information and neglects the temporal effects of the aforementioned factors. Aims: This study evaluated the time course of average intertap-interval values and the patterns of variation in both the right and left hands of righthanded subjects using a computer-based finger-tapping system. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Methods: Thirty eight male individuals aged between 20 and 28 years (Mean±SD = 22.24±1.65) participated in the study. Participants were asked to perform single-finger-tapping test for 10 seconds of test period. Only the results of right-handed (RH) 35 participants were considered in this study. The test records the time of tapping and saves data as the time difference between successive tappings for further analysis. The average number of tappings and the temporal fluctuation patterns of the intertap-intervals were calculated and compared. The variations in the intertap-interval were evaluated with the best curve fit method. Results: An average tapping speed or tapping rate can reliably be defined for a single-finger tapping test by analysing the graphically presented data of the number of tappings within the test period. However, a different presentation of the same data, namely the intertap-interval values, shows temporal variation as the number of tapping increases. Curve fitting applications indicate that the variation has a biphasic nature. Conclusion: The measures obtained in this study reflect the complex nature of the finger-tapping task and are suggested to provide reliable information regarding hand performance. Moreover, the equation reflects both the variations in and the general patterns associated with the task