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Abstract Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained significant attention in dentistry due to its potential to revolutionize practice and improve patient outcomes. However, dentists’ views and attitudes toward technology can affect the application of AI. This perception and attitude can be affected by the personality traits of individuals. This study aims to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of dentistry students toward AI. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on dental students at Ordu University Faculty of Dentistry, involving a sample of 83 students. The study utilized the Big Five 50 Test to evaluate personality traits and a 5-point Likert scale to gather data on 20 statements regarding AI in dentistry. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, and a chi-square test was employed to assess the relationship between the personality traits of dental students and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence, as well as the relationship between the gender of dental students and their attitudes towards artificial intelligence. Statistical significance was set at P

IntroductionWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and drinking-water treatment plants (DWTPs) are critical for public health due to the potential risks posed by microorganisms that may persist after treatment. The aim of this study was to detect the microbiome profiles of waters from both DWTPs and WWTPs under the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI), identify the antimicrobial resistance profiles in all these facilities, and observe the differences in the microbiome between the inlet and outlet of different WWTPs.MethodsA total of 52 samples were examined, comprising 18 samples from DWTPs and 34 samples from WWTPs. All water samples underwent pre-isolation filtration. DNA isolation was conducted using filter material, followed by sequencing on a NovaSeq 6000 instrument. Kraken2 tools and R scripts were used for statistical analysis and data visualization.ResultsThe microbial metagenomic analysis identified 71 phyla, 113 classes, 217 orders, 480 families, and 1,282 genera across all samples. There were unclassified microbes (53.14% vs. 58.75%), Eukaryota (3.64% vs. 3.5%), Archaea (0.08% vs. 0.03%), bacteria (42% vs. 36.25%), and viruses (0.02% vs. 0.04%) in the raw water and ozonation unit outlet of DWTPs. The inlet and outlet of WWTPs showed unclassified microbes (52.68% vs. 59.62%), Eukaryota (0.6% vs. 1.72%), Archaea (0.26% vs. 0.15%), bacteria (46.43% vs. 38.43%), and viruses (0.05% vs. 0.04%). No statistically significant results were found in the analysis of raw waters collected from DWTPs and samples taken from the ozonation unit outlet—from the phylum level to the genus level (p > 0.05). The inlet and outlet points of WWTPs showed no statistically significant results from the phylum to species levels (p > 0.05). The most detected genera were Desulfobacter (4.82%) in preliminary WWTPs, Thauera (1.93%) in biological WWTPs, Pseudomonas (1.44%) in advanced biological WWTPs, Acidovorax (1.85%) in biological package WWTPs, and Pseudomonas (11.55%) in plant-based WWTPs. No antimicrobial resistance gene markers were detected in water samples from raw water inlets and ozonation unit outlets from DWTPs, membrane wastewater recovery plants, or ultraviolet (UV) recycling facilities. The ANT(3″), Erm, and Sul resistance gene markers were detected in all raw WWTPs samples.DiscussionThere were no significant microbial risk differentiation between biological WWTPs and advanced biological WWTPs. The data could serve as preliminary information for future research. More extensive studies are needed, with multiple sample tracking in these facilities and their feeding basins.

Background Higher cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) numbers in the tumor microenvironment (TME) predict pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and positive long-term outcomes in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). pCR to NAC is achieved only in 30–40% of patients. The combination of NAC with pembrolizumab increases the pCR rate but at the cost of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Based on these considerations, we tested if systemic infusion of the chemokine modulatory regimen (CKM; selective toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) agonist rintatolimod, interferon (IFN)-α2b, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor celecoxib) regimen can be safely combined with NAC to enhance intratumoral CTL numbers and NAC effectiveness.Methods Phase I study NCT04081389 evaluated nine patients with early-stage TNBC who received 3 weeks of paclitaxel with CKM (dose-escalation of IFN-α2b), followed by 9 weeks of paclitaxel alone, dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, and surgery. Primary and secondary endpoints were safety and clinical efficacy, respectively.Results The combination treatment was well-tolerated with no dose-limiting toxicities or irAEs. 5/9 patients achieved pCR and one patient had microinvasive disease (ypTmic). We observed elevated IFN signature and uniform decreases in CTL numbers (average 8.3-fold) in the blood of all treated patients. This was accompanied by reciprocal uniform increases in CD8β (overall 5.9-fold), CD8α/FoxP3 (2.11-fold), and CCL5 (4.73-fold) transcripts in TME, particularly pronounced in patients with pCR. Multiplex immunohistochemistry revealed selectively increased numbers of CTL (but not regulatory T cells) in both the epithelial and stromal tumor compartments and early decreases in the numbers of αSMA+ vascular/stromal cells in the tumors of all pCR patients.Conclusions Combined paclitaxel/CKM regimen was safe, with desirable TME changes and preliminary indications of promising pCR+ypTmic of 66%, comparable to the combination of NAC with pembrolizumab.

The soluble solid content (SSC) in fruits significantly influences consumers' taste, aroma, and flavor preferences. It also plays a crucial role for farmers and wholesalers in determining the optimal harvest period for marketing. Dielectric spectroscopy, an innovative and non-invasive technique, has shown promise for various applications in the food and agriculture sectors. This study introduces an open-ended coaxial line probe measurement system to non-invasively determine the SSC of sweet cherries at different radio and microwave frequencies. Key parameters such as the dielectric constant (ε′), loss factor (ε′′), loss tangent (tan δ), and SSC of sweet cherries were measured across different harvest periods. The dielectric property frequency ranges were down-sampled from 300 MHz to 15 MHz. Using dielectric spectroscopy, we implemented predictive models: support vector regression (SVR) and multilayer perceptron (MLP), that demonstrated extremely low MAE and RMSE, with correlation coefficients (R) exceeding 0.97 for SVR and 0.96 for MLP. The down-sampled frequency ranges for dielectric properties yielded consistently high performance across all subsets, demonstrating comparable results. These findings suggest that a dielectric measurement system designed for SSC estimation using fewer frequencies could effectively reduce costs while maintaining accuracy.

Objective To evaluate both humoral and cellular immune responses to the COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA; BNT162b2) vaccine in patients with childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) compared with healthy controls and patient controls (kidney transplant (KTx) recipients).Methods This single-centre, cross-sectional and case–control study included 16 patients with cSLE, 19 healthy controls and 19 KTx recipients. We assessed SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral (anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, neutralising antibody (nAb)) and cellular (interferon gamma release assay (IGRA)) immune responses at least 1 month after administration of two doses of the mRNA vaccine.Results Humoral immune response rates (anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and nAb seropositivity) in patients with cSLE were comparable to healthy controls (100% vs 100% and 100% vs 95%, respectively) but significantly higher than in KTx recipients (74% and 42%, p

Background and Aims: Serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block (SPSIPB) is a novel technique that can provide analgesia in the hemithorax, shoulder, and back of the neck. This study aimed to evaluate the post-operative analgesic effect of SPSIPB in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Methods: It is a double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Twenty-four adult patients who underwent VATS via the uniportal technique were randomised into two groups: the SPSIPB group (n = 12) received SPSIPB along with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with tramadol, whereas the control group (n = 12) received only PCA with tramadol. At the end of the surgery, patients in the SPSIPB group received a unilateral SPSIPB under ultrasound guidance with the use of 30-mL bupivacaine 0.25%. The primary outcome was the numerical rating scale (NRS) scores of the patients. Secondary outcomes included the amount of tramadol and rescue analgesic (paracetamol) consumed by the patients, followed up for post-operative 24 hours. Categorical variables were compared using the Chi-Square Test. Mann-Whitney U Test was used to compare groups of variables that were not normally distributed. Results: The SPSIPB group had lower NRS values during post-operative 24 hours (P < 0.001). Mean (standard deviation) total tramadol consumption was 58.33 (26.23) mg in the SPSIPB group and 144.17 (13.11) mg in the control group (P < 0.001). Rescue analgesic need was lower in the SPSIP group in the first 18 post-operative hours (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block provides good analgesia in the thoracic region after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Keywords: Acetaminophen, bupivacaine, facial plane block, opioid, pain, patient-controlled analgesia, serratus posterior superior intercostal plane block, tramadol, Author(s): Onur Avci [1]; Oğuz Gundogdu [1]; Fatih Balci [1]; Muhammed N. Tekcan [1]; Mahmut Ozbey [2] INTRODUCTION Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is a more minimally invasive type of surgery [...]

Background Compared with the general population, the immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines is lower in adult kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). However, data is limited for pediatric KTRs. In this study, we aimed to assess humoral and cellular immune responses to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in pediatric KTRs. Methods This multicenter, prospective, case-control study included 63 KTRs (37 male, aged 12-21 years), 19 dialysis patients, and 19 controls. Humoral (anti-SARS-CoV2 IgG, neutralizing Ab (nAb)) and cellular (interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA)) immune responses were assessed at least one month after two doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Results Among COVID-19 naïve KTRs (n = 46), 76.1% tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, 54.3% for nAb, and 63% for IGRA. Serum levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and nAb activity were significantly lower in KTRs compared to dialysis and control groups (p < 0.05 for all). Seropositivity in KTRs was independently associated with shorter transplant duration (p = 0.005), and higher eGFR (p = 0.007). IGRA titer was significantly lower than dialysis patients (p = 0.009). Twenty (43.4%) KTRs were positive for all immune parameters. Only four of 11 seronegative KTRs were IGRA-positive. COVID-19 recovered KTRs had significantly higher anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and nAb activity levels than COVID-19 naïve KTRs (p = 0.018 and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusions The humoral and cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine are lower in pediatric KTRs compared to dialysis patients. Further prospective studies are required to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of the mRNA vaccine in KTRs. This prospective study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05465863, registered retrospectively at 20.07.2022). Graphical abstract, Author(s): Ruveyda Gulmez [sup.1] , Dogukan Ozbey [sup.2] , Ayse Agbas [sup.1] , Bagdagul Aksu [sup.3] [sup.4] , Nurdan Yildiz [sup.5] , Diana Uckardes [sup.6] , Seha Saygili [sup.1] , [...]

Despite a plethora of research on vaccine developments and the adverse effects of the vaccineworldwide, there are several research studies on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy or rejection. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on treatment and the factors that contributed to the vaccine concerns. Methods: After one month of being approved by the ethics committee, a descriptive cross-sectional research was conducted using online resources. Samples were randomly selected from the study population. The current study included adults (>18 years old) who were randomly selected from different provinces of Turkey. Results: Most participants were young adults 18–23 years old (47.9%), female (64.8%), married (36.1%), with university education (70.4%), and without medical illness (60.9%) (mean age = 28 years old). Both vaccination doses were given to 53% of the individuals. The most frequent symptom was discomfort at the injection site (0.14%), followed by asthenia muscle pain (0.01%) and edema (24.5%) at the injection site. More symptoms were reported by women than by men. Social media accounts and websites of professional organizations, namely the Dental Association, the Ministry of Health, and the World Health Organization (WHO), were the main sources of COVID-19 information. Hesitancy was induced by concerns about side effects (67.7%), safety (69.7%), lack of information (43.1%), inadequate data on the vaccine clinical trials (55.9%), lack of information on how long protective and effectiveness of vaccines (69.4%), lack of information on how effectiveness against variants (74.8%), think COVID-19 is not dangerous (69.7%), not effectiveness (22.6%) of the vaccine, not safe (32.6%), change my genetic make-up and cause it reproductive sterilite (20.2%), high number of deaths due to COVID-19 (60.8%), the presence of dangerous materials such as aluminum, mercury and others in the content of vaccines, concerns about the country producing the vaccine (38.2%), being afraid of the injection (22%), being against vaccination in general (11%), negative news in the press and social media (38.6%), being risky for only people over 60 (15.9%), having a strong immune system (38.4%), religious (4.7%) and cultural factors (7.4%), believing in natural and traditional medicine (25.4%), and being influenced by friends or family members (19.6%). Hesitancy to accept the COVID-19 vaccine was observed in subjects with hypercholosterolemia and diabetes mellitus. In conclusion, Vaccine hesitancy was primarily related to safety apprehensions. Educational and demographic traits were associated with vaccine admissibility. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-05-022 Full Text: PDF

Abstract Background This is the first study to report both cortical and trabecular bone evaluation of mandibles in bruxers, within the knowledge of the authors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of bruxism on both the cortical and the trabecular bone in antegonial and gonial regions of the mandible, which is the attachment of the masticatory muscles, by using panoramic radiographic images. Methods In this study, the data of 65 bruxer (31 female, 34 male) and 71 non-bruxer (37 female, 34 male) young adult patients (20–30 years) were evaluated. Antegonial Notch Depth (AND), Antegonial-Index (AI), Gonial-Index, Fractal Dimension (FD) and Bone Peaks (BP) were evaluated on panoramic radiographic images. The effects of the bruxism, gender and side factors were investigated according to these findings. The statistical significance level was set atP ≤ 0.05. Results The mean AND of bruxers (2.03 ± 0.91) was significantly higher than non-bruxers (1.57 ± 0.71; P

International students, often a noteworthy group, constitute about 10 per cent of the student population on many campuses throughout the world (OECD, 2009). At any time, there are likely to be over a million students and scholars attending institutions of higher learning abroad, and recent estimates have set the figure at about 4.5 million (Çetinsaya, G.2014). A significant portion of the contemporary literature has dealt with the problems of international students. Owing to the importance of international students to culturally diverse blend of colleges and universities, higher education institutions must develop support services to assist international students with a series of special needs ranging from adjusting to the academic requirements, to dealing with cultural factors of being drown in new community settings (Cho & Yu, 2015). Leisure, in the meanwhile, is an important experience for university students since it is a functional tool to create socially accommodating environments for this population. However, how active leisure participation impact on social adjustment has not been studied extensively in qualitative studies. Therefore, this qualitative study intended to examine the benefits and impacts of active leisure participation on social adjustment of international students in a mid-size metropolitan university in Manisa, Turkey. Overall, students demonstrated gains in social adjustment and reported psychological and physical benefits when they actively participated in leisure time activities. Study showed that international students have demands and expectations from the university in terms of leisure time activities.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antimicrobial effect of propolis ethanol extract collected from the Tarsus district of Mersin province, Kilis province, Yayladagi district of Hatay province in southern Türkiye and Sarkoy district of Tekirdag province of northwestern Türkiye against Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Helicobacter pylori (ATCC 43504), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213). Their chemical constituents were detected via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). They were used in a molecular docking approach to search the interactions between the propolis compounds. A total of 24 phenolic compounds were detected in all samples. 3-4 dimethoxycinnamic acid, caffeic acid and genistein were indicated to be the predominant phenolic compounds in propolis extracts by LC-MS/MS, while rutin was found in the lowest concentration. Phenolic compounds were detected in a high concentration of the propolis samples collected from the Tarsus district of Mersin province. The broth microdilution method determined minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values. MIC values ranged from 0.02 to 14 mg.mL-1. E. coli and S. aureus examined were as susceptible to the propolis extracts except for Mersin and Tekirdag propolis samples. The propolis sample collected from the Tarsus district of Mersin province presented the highest antibacterial activity on P. aeruginosa with MIC values of 1 mg.mL-1. Active substances in propolis were docked to the relevant target proteins (5LMM, 4NX9, 5YHG, and 5FXT) representing E. coli (ATCC 25922), H. pylori (ATCC 43504), P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), and S. aureus (ATCC 29213), and with the help of molecular simulation. With this study, we indicated that the ethanol extract of propolis had a stronger antibacterial activity on S. aureus isolates than that of E. coli, H. pylori, and P. aeruginosa. Although each component of propolis contributed to the antibacterial activity, the contribution of the vitexin component to the antibacterial activity was found to be quite significant.