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The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the 5-item Turkish Reduced Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ) for the first time. The study involved 875 university students in an adaptation and validation study. Participants completed the rMEQ, MEQ, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Short Form (BIS-SF), and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Short Form (OHQ-SF). The factor structure, convergent validity, internal consistency, sensitivity, and specificity of the rMEQ were examined. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the rMEQ had a one-dimensional structure with good fit indices (χ2/df = 2.94, CFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.979, RMSEA = 0.047, and SRMR = 0.019). There was a significantly strong correlation between rMEQ and MEQ. In addition, we found a significantly weak correlation between rMEQ and DASS-21, ISI, BIS-SF, and OHQ-SF. The internal consistency coefficients of rMEQ were Cronbach's α = 0.706 and McDonald's ω = 0.740. The sensitivity and specificity of rMEQ were 83.3%–92.7% for morning types and 86.3%–87.3% for evening types. The Turkish rMEQ has adequate psychometric properties and can be used to assess an individual's chronotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycogen storage disorder (GSD) IXb is characterized by liver and muscle involvement. We present a GSD IXb patient with an incidental union of nephrotic syndrome. A 4 year-old-patient was diagnosed with GSD IXb at 13 months of age with mildly elevated transaminases and hepatomegaly. During the follow-up period, there was no hypoglycemia. Development and growth were normal. In the last month, the onset of generalized edema was reported. Urinalysis showed a high protein level. He had low serum albumin, high serum triglycerides cholesterol. Complement levels were normal. The patient was diagnosed as minimal change disease with a renal biopsy. He was treated with oral prednisone. Minimal Change Disease is the most common cause of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome cases in children, and the first step for therapy is the usage of corticosteroids. This is the first report of nephrotic syndrome associated with GSD IXb disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could emerge not only as viral pneumonia but also as a cardiovascular disease. Thromboprophylaxis has been recommended by the current guidelines, especially COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized. On the other hand, these drugs might cause serious bleeding complications. Hereby, we aimed to report three cases with spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma (RSH) developed after being administered thromboprophylaxis for severe COVID-19 pneumonia. In this case series, we draw attention to the rare, but mortal complication of the COVID-19 thromboprophylaxis regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objectives. We examined IgG antibody seroprevalence and risk factors for anti- Toxoplasma gondii and anti- Borrelia sp. in schizophrenic patients. Methods. This case-control study included 30 schizophrenic patients and 60 healthy individuals. Serological analyses were identified by using ELISA technique. Results. In the case group the Toxoplasma seropositivity was 33.3% and Borrelia seropositivity was 13.3%, while in the control group the Toxoplasma positivity was 21.7% and Borrelia seropositivity was 15.0%. There was no significant difference with regard to seroprevalence between the groups ( P = 0.232; P = 0.832, respectively). There was statistically significant difference between case and control groups related to hand and kitchen utensil hygiene after dealing with raw meat ( P = 0.001). Conclusions. Our data showed the rate of Toxoplasma antibodies was higher in the case group, while the rate of Borrelia antibodies was higher in the control group. In both groups the high rates of seropositivity for Toxoplasma gondii and Borrelia sp. is thought to be due to neglect of personal hygiene. The present study also is the first to examine the association between Borrelia sp. and schizophrenia. Further studies are needed to determine whether there is an association between Borrelia sp. and schizophrenia or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the embryonic heart, blood flow is distributed through a bilaterally paired artery system composed of the aortic arches (AAs). The purpose of this study is to establish an understanding of the governing mechanism of microstructural maturation of the AA matrix and its reversibility, toward the desired macroscopic vessel lumen diameter and thickness for healthy, abnormal, and in ovo repaired abnormal mechanical loading. While matrix-remodeling mechanisms were significantly different for normal versus conotruncal banding (CTB), both led to an increase in vessel lumen. Correlated with right-sided flow increase at Hamburger & Hamilton stages 21, intermittent load switching between collagen I and III with elastin and collagen-IV defines the normal process. However, decreases in collagen I, elastin, vascular endothelial growth factor-A, and fibrillin-1 in CTB were recovered almost fully following the CTB-release model, primarily because of the pressure load changes. The complex temporal changes in matrix proteins are illustrated through a predictive finite-element model based on elastin and collagen load-sharing mechanism to achieve lumen area increase and thickness increase resulting from wall shear stress and tissue strain, respectively. The effect of embryonic timing in cardiac interventions on AA microstructure was established where abnormal mechanical loading was selectively restored at the key stage of development. Recovery of the normal mechanical loading via early fetal intervention resulted in delayed microstructural maturation. Temporal elastin increase, correlated with wall shear stress, is required for continuous lumen area growth. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present study undertakes comparative analyses of the mechanistic differences of the arterial matrix microstructure and dynamics in the three fundamental processes of control, conotruncal banded, and released conotruncal band in avian embryo. Among other findings, this study provides specific evidence on the restorative role of elastin during the early lumen growth process. During vascular development, a novel intermittent load-switching mechanism between elastin and collagen, triggered by a step increase in wall shear stress, governs the chronic vessel lumen cross-sectional area increase. Mimicking the fetal cardiovascular interventions currently performed in humans, the early release of the abnormal mechanical load rescues the arterial microstructure with time lag.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to investigate Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence and risk factors in pregnant women., Methods: A total of 196 patients, admitted to the clinic in the first trimester and with ongoing pregnancy follow-up of between May 2012 and January 2013, were included in the study. Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies were detected by ELISA test in blood samples obtained from patients during routine screening. SPSS statistical software, version 19.0 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Chi-square test was used for categorical variables. p-value for statistical significance was defined as p<0.05., Results: The mean age was 29.07±5.3 years in our study group. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies were found in 28.8% and 2.7%, respectively; 58.9% of pregnant women in the study reported that they had done at least one risky behavior during their pregnancy. However, there was no significant association between T. gondii IgG antibody positivity and risk factors, such as pregnancy, feeding animals in the past years, and consumption of raw food products (p>0.05)., Conclusion: We found that Toxoplasma IgG antibody seropositivity (28.8%) was similar to that found in the other studies from western Turkey.