The positive association of education with the trust in science and scientists is weaker in highly corrupt countries

One of the most prominent correlates of trust in science and scientists is education level, possibly because educated individuals have higher levels of science knowledge and thinking ability, suggesting that trusting science and scientists relies more on reflective thinking abilities. However, it is relatively more reasonable for highly educated individuals to suspect authority figures in highly corrupt countries. We tested this prediction in two nationally representative and probabilistic cross-cultural data sets (Study 1: 142 countries, N = 40,085; Study 2: 47 countries, N = 69,332), and found that the positive association between education and trust in scientists (Study 1) and science (Study 2) was weaker or non-existent in highly corrupt countries. The results did not change after statistically controlling for age, sex, household income, and residence. We suggest future research to be more considerate of the societal context in understanding how education status correlates with trust in science and scientists.

Effective health communication depends on the interaction of message source and content: two experiments on adherence to COVID-19 measures in Türkiye

OBJECTIVE

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, authorities recommended preventive measures to reduce infection rates. However, adherence to calls varied between individuals and across cultures. To determine the characteristics of effective health communication, we investigated three key features: message source, content, and audience.

METHODS

Using a pre-test and two experiments, we tested how message content (emphasizing personal or social benefit), audience (individual differences), message source (scientists or state officials), and their interaction influence adherence to preventive measures. Using fliers advocating preventive measures, Experiment 1 investigated the effects of message content and examined the moderator role of individual differences. Experiment 2 presented the messages using news articles and manipulated sources.

RESULTS

Study 1 found decreasing adherence over time, with no significant impact from message content or individual differences. Study 2 found messages emphasizing 'protect yourself' and 'protect your country' to increase intentions for adherence to preventive measures. It also revealed an interaction between message source and content whereby messages emphasizing personal benefit were more effective when they came from healthcare professionals than from state officials. However, message source and content did not affect vaccination intentions or donations for vaccine research.

CONCLUSION

Effective health communication requires simultaneous consideration of message source and content.

How to activate intuitive and reflective thinking in behavior research? A comprehensive examination of experimental techniques

Experiments comparing intuitive and reflective decisions provide insights into the cognitive foundations of human behavior. However, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the frequently used experimental techniques for activating intuition and reflection remain unknown. In a large-scale preregistered online experiment (N = 3667), we compared the effects of eight reflection, six intuition, and two within-subjects manipulations on actual and self-reported measures of cognitive performance. Compared to the overall control, the long debiasing training was the most effective technique for increasing actual reflection scores, and the emotion induction was the most effective technique for increasing actual intuition scores. In contrast, the reason and the intuition recall, the reason induction, and the brief time delay conditions failed to achieve the intended effects. We recommend using the debiasing training, the decision justification, or the monetary incentives technique to activate reflection, and the emotion induction, the cognitive load, or the time pressure technique to activate intuition.

Competition and moral behavior: A meta-analysis of forty-five crowd-sourced experimental designs

Does competition affect moral behavior? This fundamental question has been debated among leading scholars for centuries, and more recently, it has been tested in experimental studies yielding a body of rather inconclusive empirical evidence. A potential source of ambivalent empirical results on the same hypothesis is design heterogeneity-variation in true effect sizes across various reasonable experimental research protocols. To provide further evidence on whether competition affects moral behavior and to examine whether the generalizability of a single experimental study is jeopardized by design heterogeneity, we invited independent research teams to contribute experimental designs to a crowd-sourced project. In a large-scale online data collection, 18,123 experimental participants were randomly allocated to 45 randomly selected experimental designs out of 95 submitted designs. We find a small adverse effect of competition on moral behavior in a meta-analysis of the pooled data. The crowd-sourced design of our study allows for a clean identification and estimation of the variation in effect sizes above and beyond what could be expected due to sampling variance. We find substantial design heterogeneity-estimated to be about 1.6 times as large as the average standard error of effect size estimates of the 45 research designs-indicating that the informativeness and generalizability of results based on a single experimental design are limited. Drawing strong conclusions about the underlying hypotheses in the presence of substantive design heterogeneity requires moving toward much larger data collections on various experimental designs testing the same hypothesis.

Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public health behaviour, we present a dataset comprising of 51,404 individuals from 69 countries. This dataset was collected for the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 project (ICSMP COVID-19). This social science survey invited participants around the world to complete a series of moral and psychological measures and public health attitudes about COVID-19 during an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and June 2020). The survey included seven broad categories of questions: COVID-19 beliefs and compliance behaviours; identity and social attitudes; ideology; health and well-being; moral beliefs and motivation; personality traits; and demographic variables. We report both raw and cleaned data, along with all survey materials, data visualisations, and psychometric evaluations of key variables.

Impact of postnatal nutrition on neurodevelopmental outcome in rat model of intrauterine growth restriction

OBJECTIVE

There are limited data on nutritional management of infants with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Postnatal protein supplementation for promoting growth is a common clinical practice in neonatology. The present study aims to investigate the consequences of protein supplementation on long-term growth, brain and body weight, brain histology and behavioral outcome in a rat model of IUGR.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-four IUGR-formed rat puppies and 12 healthy puppies were included in the study. IUGR model was established by low (10%) protein diet throughout pregnancy together with intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Pups were started to be fed with either standard protein (SP), or high protein (HP) diet until postnatal day (PN) 35. Puppies in the control group were given SP diet for 35 days. Six pups from each group were sacrificed at PN7, remaining six were evaluated by Morris water maze test between PN 30 to 35 days and then sacrificed at PN35. Histologic evaluation of brain tissue was performed at PN7 and PN35.

RESULTS

IUGR group displayed lower body and brain weights at PN7 when compared with control. At PN35, SP group achieved similar brain/body weight ratios with control, whereas HP group displayed lowest brain/body weight ratio. The number of TUNEL positive cells was significantly higher and myelin basic protein and oligodendrocyte marker O4 immunoreactivity were significantly lower in HP group when compared with SP at PN35. Neuronal density in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus at PN7 were similar among SP and HP groups, but significantly lower in HP group when compared with SP at PN35. SP group displayed better results in the Morris water maze test when compared with HP group.

CONCLUSIONS

Although postnatal HP support is associated with increase in body weight at PN35, it did not result in better brain/body weight ratios in the rat model of IUGR. In IUGR rats, HP diet was associated with increased apoptosis in brain tissue with lower neuronal density and decreased myelination when compared to SP. Furthermore, better neurodevelopmental scores were achieved by SP diet rather than HP support in IUGR.

Hounsfield units: A promising non-invasive tool for diagnosing benign prostatic hyperplasia

OBJECTIVE

The clinical symptoms in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are directly proportional to prostate volume. We aimed to show whom and when to intervene in a noninvasive way, correlating the patient's subjective symptoms with objective diagnostic tools.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was evaluated in patients who consulted the urology outpatient clinic for the first time with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Subsequently, PSA, urea, creatinine, complete urinalysis, uroflowmetry, urinary tract ultrasound and non-contrast lower abdominal computed tomography (CT) examinations were requested. Prostate central (transitional zone) zone and peripheral zone HU scores, prostatic urethral length and bladder wall Hounsfield units (HU) scores were recorded by using computed tomography (CT). The ellipsoid formula was used for ultrasonographic and tomographic measurements of prostate size (anteroposterior diameter × transverse diameter × longitudinal diameter × 0.52).

RESULTS

A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the prostate peripheral zone/central zone HU ratio and the maximum flow rate measured in the uroflowmetry test.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study in the literature to evaluate the correlation between voiding parameters such as Qmax, Qave and IPSS scores, and prostate and bladder wall HU scores obtained by computed tomography examination in BPH patients. A significant relationship has been detected between the peripheral zone/central zone HU ratio and Q max. Additional studies with larger patient populations could better clarify the contribution of HU in the diagnosis of BPH and treatment decision making of these patients.

Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution-individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic.

Hematological, serum biochemical results, and treatment approach of an Arabian mare with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva - case report

ABSTRACT A 20-year-old Arabian mare, was brought to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic with the complaint of an unknown wound in the genital area. Although the mare's general condition was good, examination of the genital area revealed a wide-open wound in the vulva and posterior vagina, characterized by fibrotic growth. The biopsy sample was sent to the pathology laboratory. A diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was made after histopathological examination. Blood samples for serum biochemistry and hematological tests were collected from the jugular vein. Hematological and serum biochemical findings are generally used to diagnose diseases in animals and humans. Hematological and serum biochemical findings are important with genital SCC. Therefore, the findings of these values are given in this case report.

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = -0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.

Is negativity bias intuitive for liberals and conservatives?

Previous research suggests that conservatives (right-wingers) tend to show more negativity bias than liberals (left-wingers) in several tasks. However, the majority of these studies are based on correlational findings and do not provide information on the cognitive underpinnings of this tendency. The current research investigated whether intuition promotes negativity bias and mitigates the ideological asymmetry in this domain in three underrepresented, non-western samples (Turkey). In line with the previous literature, we defined negativity bias as the tendency to interpret ambiguous faces as threatening. The results of the lab experiment revealed that negativity bias increases under high-cognitive load overall. In addition, this effect was moderated by the participants' political orientation (Experiment 1). In other words, when their cognitive resources were depleted, liberals became more like conservatives in terms of negativity bias. However, we failed to conceptually replicate this effect using time-limit manipulations in two online preregistered experiments during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the baseline negativity bias is thought to be already at peak. Thus, the findings provide no strong evidence for the idea that intuition promotes negativity bias and that liberals use cognitive effort to avoid this perceptual bias.

Clinical characteristics, quality of life and risk factors for severity in palmoplantar pustulosis: a cross-sectional, multicentre study of 263 patients

BACKGROUND

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is a rare, chronic, inflammatory skin disease characterized by sterile pustules on palmar or plantar areas. Data on PPP are scarce.

AIM

To investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors for disease severity in a large cohort of Turkish patients with PPP.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional, multicentre study of patients with PPP recruited from 21 tertiary centres across Turkey.

RESULTS

In total, 263 patients (165 women, 98 men) were evaluated. Most patients (75.6%) were former or current smokers. The mean Palmoplantar Pustulosis Area and Severity Index (PPPASI) was 8.70 ± 8.06 and the mean Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score was 6.87 ± 6.08, and these scores were significantly correlated (r = 0.52, P < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that current smoking was significantly associated with increased PPPASI (P = 0.03). Coexisting psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) was reported by 70 (26.6%) patients. Male sex prevalence, PPP onset incidence, disease duration, DLQI, and prevalence of nail involvement and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were significantly increased among patients with PPP with PsV. Of the 263 patients, 18 (6.8%) had paradoxical PPP induced by biologic therapy, and these patients had significantly increased mean DLQI and prevalence of PsA (r = 0.03, P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that smoking is a risk factor for both PPP development and disease severity. Patients with PPP with PsV present distinct clinical features and patients with biologic therapy-induced paradoxical PPP have reduced quality of life and are more likely to have PsA.

Validation of Morality as Cooperation Questionnaire in Turkey, and Its Relation to Prosociality, Ideology, and Resource Scarcity

Abstract. The theory of morality as cooperation (MAC) argues that there are seven distinct and evolved universal moral foundations. Curry, Chesters, and Van Lissa (2019) developed a scale to test this theoretical approach and showed that the Relevance subscale of the MAC questionnaire (MAC-Q) fits data well, unlike the Judgment and full-form. However, an independent test of the validity of this questionnaire has not been hitherto conducted, and its relation with ideology is unknown. In the first study, we attempted to validate the Turkish form of MAC-Q and then examined the relationship with prosociality and political ideology. The results showed that the fit indices of MAC-Q Relevance are above the standard criteria, unlike the Judgment and full form ( n = 445), and significant relationships with prosociality and political ideology provided additional evidence for the validity. We used the MAC-Q Relevance in Study 2 ( n = 576, Turkey) and Study 3 ( n = 921, US), and investigated whether manipulating resource scarcity influences the endorsement of MAC. Although there was no effect of the manipulation, correlational findings provided some support for the predictive validity of MAC-Q. Overall, MAC-Q Relevance performs well in representing the lay notions of morality in both Turkey and the US, unlike full-form.

Does arterial stiffness increase in patients with early surgical menopause?

Introduction

Surgical early menopause is early menopause due to medical reasons rather than the natural aging process. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx) are simple and non-invasive parameters for assessment of arterial stiffness. The aim of this study investigated the arterial stiffness in the surgical early menopause patients.

Method

We included 40 patient early surgical menopause and 40 control group patients with clinically and demographically similar characteristics. Oscillometric measurement method with Mobil-O-Graph 24h-ABPM NG® arteriography was used to measure the arterial stiffness and cardiovascular hemodynamic parameters.

Results

Of the 40 patients who underwent surgical early menopause, 27 (67.5%) had malignancy, 11 (27.5%) with myoma and 2 (5%) with bleeding. There were no differences in baseline demographic, laboratory, echocardiographic parameters and coronary artery disease risk factors.In terms of arterial stiffness parameters, PWV were significantly higher in the early surgical menopause group than in the control group (6.5±0.8; 5.6±1.2 p&lt;0.001), but there was no statistically significant difference in Alx (28.3±10.9; 27.4±9.0 p=0.69).Also, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of cardiac hemodynamic parameters and central aortic pressures.

Conclusion

When arterial stiffness is noninvasively evaluated by oscillometric method, it is significantly increased in surgical early menopause patients independent of other risk factors.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Morphometric analysis and three-dimensional computed tomography reconstruction of the long bones of femoral and crural regions in Van cats

BACKGROUND

This study was conducted to determine the morphometric features and to make the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the images obtained by computed tomography (CT) of the main long bones (femur, tibia, fibula) in Van cats, and to reveal the biometric differences between these measurement values of both sexual dimorphism and homotypic variations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 16 adult Van cats, 8 male and 8 female, were used in the study. The pelvic limb long bones of the cats, which were anesthetized with the ketamine-xylazine combination, were scanned with a CT device and their images were obtained. These images were converted to a 3D structure by means of MIMICS 20.1 (The Materialise Group, Leuven, Belgium) software programme. Then, morphometric, volumetric, surface arae measurements of these bones were calculated and statistical analyses were performed.

RESULTS

In the analysis, it was observed that right greatest length (GL), left GL, right greatest length from caput ossis femoris (GLc), left greatest breadth of the distal end (Bd), right volume (V), and left V measurement values of the femur; left GL1, right greatest breadth of the proximal end (Bp), right Bd, left Bd, right smallest breadth of the diaphysis (SD), right V, left V, and right surface area (SA) measurement values of the tibia; right V, left V, right SA, and left SA measurement values of the fibula were statistically significantly higher in male cats than in female cats (p < 0.05). The volume and surface area measurement values of the femur, tibia and fibula of male and female cats were determined as 8.57 ± 1.33 cm3 and 7.00 ± 0.49 cm3, 64.28 ± 6.72 cm2 and 59.42 ± 4.72 cm2; 7.56 ± 1.28 cm3 and 6.15 ± 0.52 cm3, 56.89 ± 6.47 cm2 and 52.72 ± 3.15 cm2; 1.10 ± 0.17 cm3 and 0.83 ± 0.05 cm3, 14.18 ± 1.61 cm2 and 11.95 ± 0.48 cm2, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The statistical differences between the sexes in terms of the measurement parameters of the femur, tibia and fibula in adult Van cats were determined. We believe that these differences can be used in determining morphological variations of Van cats. In addition, it is thought that the data obtained from the present study would be beneficial to veterinary physicians in the clinical application areas in order to evaluate the pathological conditions related to these bones and to the studies in the field of zooarchaeology.

Rehabilitation of the completely edentulous young patient with the "Malo Bridge": A case report

It is possible to rehabilitate fully edentulous patients with implantsupported fixed or removable prostheses; however, implantsupported fixed prostheses are the gold standard for patients who not prefer to use removable dentures. This case report, prosthetic rehabilitation of a completely edentulous young patient with an implantsupported fixed hybrid prosthesis using the "Malo Bridge" technique is described. A 18 years old male patient was referred to the clinic with complaints of tooth loss, aesthetics, function, and phonetic. A total of 5 implants were placed in both the jaws. Considering that screw holes may cause aesthetic problems due to the Class III occlusion, these problems have been solved with the implant-supported hybrid prosthesis called Malo bridge. With the Malo Bridge design, the patient's aesthetic, functional and phonetic loss was eliminated, patient comfort and quality of life were improved, and patient expectations were met. It is a viable treatment option to rehabilitate completely edentulous jaws with a cross relationship and increase interarch distance using Malo Bridge to support a fixed prosthesis.

Relevance between clinical status and exhaled molecules related to neutrophilic inflammation in pediatric cystic fibrosis

INTRODUCTION

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is characterized with chronic inflammation with neutrophil and related cytokines in airway secretions. We aimed to measure the levels of neutrophil related inflammatory markers as nitric oxide, IL-8, IL-17, leukotriene B4 and neutrophil elastase as well as e-cadherin in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), and to determine their relation with clinical findings.

METHODS

We consecutively enrolled cystic fibrosis patients into our clinics between the age of six and eighteen years who could cooperate for exhaled breath condensate to this case-control study (n = 30). The age and sex matched control group (n = 26) was enrolled. Spirometry was performed during the stable period and EBC samples were obtained for measurement of the markers.

RESULTS

The mean age of the subjects enrolled was 12.1(4.2) years and 40% were positive for P.Aeruginosa in sputum. Subjects who had P.Aeruginosa in sputum cultures had significantly lower FEV1, FVC and FEF 25/75 values compared to the ones without P.Aeruginosa (p = 0.002, p = 0.002 and p = 0.005 respectively). EBC neutrophil elastase levels were significantly higher in the CF patients compared to non-CF controls (3.11 ± 4.71 versus 0.90 ± 2.68, p = 0.04). Nitric oxide, IL-17, IL-8, e-cadherin, neutrophil elastase or leukotriene B4 levels in EBC of CF patients were not related to P.Aeruginosa s infection, FEV1 levels or hospital admission in the last year.

CONCLUSION

In our study, neutrophil elastase levels in EBC are higher in CF patients compared to non-CF controls. This is independent of acute infection and is evidence to the persistence of neutrophilic lung injury. However, EBC NO, IL-8, IL-17, e-cadherin, neutrophil elastase and leukotriene B4 levels as inflammatory markers, are not correlated with disease progression or clinical findings.

Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: Evidence from Turkey

COVID-19 pandemic has led to popular conspiracy theories regarding its origins and widespread concern over the level of compliance with preventive measures. In the current preregistered research, we recruited 1088 Turkish participants and investigated (a) individual differences associated with COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs; (b) whether such conspiracy beliefs are related to the level of preventive measures; and (c) other individual differences that might be related to the preventive measures. Higher faith in intuition, uncertainty avoidance, impulsivity, generic conspiracy beliefs, religiosity, and right-wing ideology, and a lower level of cognitive reflection were associated with a higher level of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories. There was no association between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures while perceived risk was positively and impulsivity negatively correlated with preventive measures. We discuss the implications and directions for future research.

Morphometric characterization and estimating body weight of two Algerian camel breeds using morphometric measurements

This study was carried out in order to identify the body measurements of two different Dromedary camel breeds raised in Algeria. The animal material of the study consisted of a total of 115 animals belong to Steppe (n = 55) and Sahraoui (n = 60) camel breeds. Eye and coat colors along with body measurements such as head length, neck length, neck girth, tail length, distance between eyes, distance between ears, body length, withers height, chest girth, and live weight were determined. Least squares means for head length, neck length, neck girth, tail length, distance between eyes, distance between ears, body length, withers height, chest girth, and live weight are found 48.2, 116.9, 65.7, 55.6, 24.1, 22.5, 152.2, 184.5, 141.2 cm, and 217.2 kg for Steppe and 48.1, 101.2, 56.2, 51.2, 23.4, 18.3, 135.6, 167.3, 176.8 cm, and 298.9 kg for Sahraoui camel breeds, respectively. The distribution of brown and black eye colors for the Steppe camel breed is as 58.2% and 41.8%, respectively, while all of the Sahraoui camels studied had a brown eye color. The proportional distribution in terms of body color included are coffee, dark coffee, and red colors for 1.8%, 83.6%, and 14.6% in the Steppe camel and 98.3%, 1.7%, and 0.0% for the Sahraoui camel, respectively. As a result, this study concluded that the withers height and chest girth could estimate the body weight in the two breeds of camels with different ages.

Genetic characterization of four Algerian cattle breeds using microsatellite markers

Cattle plays a very important role in agriculture and food security in Algeria. In the present study, the genetic diversity and structure of Algerian indigenous cattle populations were evaluated by microsatellite markers. A total of 138 individuals belonging to four cattle breed populations were characterized using 22 microsatellite markers. A total of 360 alleles was detected across studied all loci. Results obtained for the mean number of alleles (16.36), expected heterozygosity (0.84) and polymorphic information content (0.82) indicated that the total analyzed populations are characterized by noticeable genetic variability. It can be said that there is a low genetic differentiation in the cattle populations studied considering obtained mean F_ST value (0.039). It was revealed 97.10% of the total genetic variation can be explained by genetic differences among individuals while 2.90% among populations. The structure, factorial correspondence analysis results and dendrogram showed that cattle populations studied are clustered in three groups. The present study has revealed an important knowledge about the genetic diversity and the relationship between some native cattle breeds raised in Algeria. The results showed that the breeds studied have a high genetic diversity. Moreover, it can be said that microsatellite markers used can be successfully used to determine genetic diversity and population structure in Algerian cattle breeds.

Successful outcomes in laparoscopic pyeloplasty using knotless self-anchoring barbed suture in children

INTRODUCTION

Laparoscopic pyeloplasty for ureteropelvic junction obstruction in children has gained increasing importance over the last decade. Intracorporeal knot tying still remains a technical challenge for the surgeon. Self-anchoring suture incorporates a new concept for tissue approximation and reduces intracorporeal knot tying problems. There are very few reports on self-anchoring knotless suture and its application for laparoscopic pyeloplasty in children. We present our results of a series of consecutive children undergoing laparoscopic pyeloplasty with knotless barbed sutures.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

We prospectively evaluate 15 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic pyeloplasty with knotless barbed sutures (V-Loc^TM, Covidien) for ureteropelvic anastomosis. The decision of the operation was given by pediatric nephrology-urology-radiologic imaging diagnostic team, and all patients were operated by a single surgeon. Pyeloplasty was performed without pelvic reduction, and the anastomosis was made by barbed sutures using running fashion.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients were 5.39 (3 months-17 years). Two cases had undergone a right-sided pyeloplasty, and thirteen had undergone a left-sided pyeloplasty. The duration of the operative procedure was 60-110 min. Neither intraoperative nor postoperative complication was encountered in any of the cases. Patients were followed by ultrasonographic evaluation. The anteroposterior diameter (AP) diameter of renal pelvis and hydronephrosis grade Society for Fetal Urology (SFU) are significantly different when compared with pre-operative and postoperative period (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). Owing to the renal parenchymal thickness change by age pre-operative and postoperative thickness comparison is adjusted by age, because age is considered as a covariate (confounder variable). We observed statistically significant (p = 0.003) difference in parenchymal thickness in all cases. Follow-up periods of the 15 consecutive pediatric pyeloplasty cases were 6-54 months.

CONCLUSION

In the present study, successful outcome of the laparoscopic pyeloplasty using barbed suture was shown for the first time in children in literature. We believe that successful outcome of laparoscopic pyeloplasty could be achieved by eliminating knots and less manipulation on the wound edge also minimizes tissue injury during the procedure.

ON THE ISSUE OF NECESSITY TO PERFORM THE DR-70 IMMUNOASSAY PRIOR TO PROSTATE BIOPSY IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN LEVEL AND ITS EFFICACY IN PREDICTING THE BIOPSY RESULTS

The aim is to discuss the contribution of the DR-70 for the patients with high PSA level and which cutofflevel of DR-70 must be consideredthe biopsy decision. 93 patients with high prostate specific antigen level were enrolled into the study. Before the prostate biopsy, total PSA (tPSA), free PSA (fPSA), free/total PSA rate (f/tPSA), PSA density (PSAD) and DR-70 levels were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups according to the pathological outcome of benign (G1) or malignant (G2). G1 and G2 were compared with Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's rho and ROC curve for analysis. The significance level is taken as .05 for all tests. The median age of patients in G1 and G2 was 62.52 and 68.22 years, respectively. The mean PV in G1 and G2 were 52.16 and 39.6 mL, respectively. The mean tPSA, PSAD and DR-70 levels in G1 and G2 were found as 7.19 and 18.74 ng/mL, 0.14 and 0.48 ng/mL/cc and 0.44 and 0.5 µg/mL, respectively. The mean age of the patients in G2 was statistically significantly higher than G1 (p=.001).The mean PV of the patients in G2 was statistically significantly lower than G1 (p=.001).The mean PSAD of the patients in G2 was statistically significantly higher than G1 (p=.001). There was no statistically significant difference on DR-70 levelsbetween G1 and G2 (p=.38). In Spearman's rhocorrelationanalysis, there was nostatistically significant relationships between DR-70 levels and pathology results in G2 (p=.24). ROC curve of tPSA, fPSA, f/tPSA, PSAD and DR-70 levelswere evaluated. ROC curve of PSAD shows a fair discriminant power with AUC = 0.71 (95% CI: 0.607-0.828) for differentiation between PCa and benign tissue in prostate biopsy with moderate specificity and high sensitivity (62.5% and 75.7%, resp., cut-off level: 0.1377 ng/mL). Contrary to literature and guidelines, cutoff level of PSAD as 0.13ng/mL/cc should be kept in mind and accordingly, a biopsy decision should be made. We think that DR-70 is no needed for additional evaluation before prostate biopsy.

Does an Abstract Mind-Set Increase the Internal Consistency of Moral Attitudes and Strengthen Individualizing Foundations?

Recent research suggests that experimentally inducing an abstract (vs. a concrete) mind-set enhances political sophistication by increasing the consistency in political attitudes; it also enhances individualizing moral foundations and decreases binding moral foundations. However, the evidence is mixed regarding whether abstract mind-set increases or decreases the strength of moral convictions in general. In this context, the aim of this study was 2-fold. In two preregistered studies on U.S. American and Turkish samples (aggregate N = 694), we tested (1) whether abstract mind-set increases the consistency in moral convictions, similar to the case of political attitudes, and (2) whether inducing an abstract mind-set increases individualizing and decreases binding foundations. The results did not provide support for any of the hypotheses and the past findings were not reproduced. Potential implications of these findings for construal level theory literature are discussed.

Protection with thymoquinone against formaldehyde-induced neurotoxicity in the rats

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to investigate the neurotoxic damage of formaldehyde (FA), which is commonly used in medicine and industrial fields, for the hippocampus of rats and the protective role of thymoquinone (TQ) against this neurotoxicity.

METHODS

There were five groups with eight rats in each. Two control groups were formed, in one of them physiological saline was applied and in the other one corn oil was applied. FA was injected in Group 3. Group 4 was exposed to FA and TQ simultaneously. Group 5 received TQ only. At the end of the experiment animals were sacrificed and brain tissues were removed for biochemical and histopathological investigation.

RESULTS

catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), all known as enzymes with antioxidant activities, were increased in FA and TQ simultaneously administered group. FA caused prominent subarachnoidal hemorrhage and vacuolization. Vacuolization was not observed but occasional subarachnoidal hemorrhage was detected in the FA+TQ group.

CONCLUSION

Neurotoxic damage in hippocampus induced by FA was reverted by administration of TQ (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 26).

Association between Dysphagia and Frailty in Community Dwelling Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

Dysphagia is described as a geriatric syndrome that occurs more frequently with aging. It is associated with the deterioration in functionality however, it is usually ignored. Frailty is a geriatric syndrome that is recognized more with its well-known adverse consequences. Very recently, dysphagia has been suggested to accompany frailty in older adults. We aimed to investigate the association between dysphagia and frailty in the community dwelling older adults.

DESIGN

Prospective, cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Geriatric outpatient clinic.

PARTICIPANTS

Older adults aged ≥60 years.

MEASUREMENTS

Dysphagia was evaluated by EAT-10 questionnaire and frailty by FRAIL scale. Handgrip strength (HGS) was evaluated by hand-dynamometer. Gait speed was evaluated by 4-meter usual gait speed (UGS). Nutritional status was assessed by mini-nutritional assessment-short form (MNA-SF).

RESULTS

1138 patients were enrolled. Mean age was 74.1±7.3 years. EAT-10 questionnaire was answered by all and FRAIL-scale by 851 subjects. EAT-10 score >15 points was regarded as significant dysphagia risk. The participants with EAT-10>15 points were older when compared to the participants with EAT-10<=15 points (p=0.002). Among participants with EAT-10>15 points, women gender and neurodegenerative diseases were more prevalent (p=0.04, p=0.002; respectively); number of chronic diseases, number of drugs and FRAIL score were higher (p=0.001 for each), and HGS, UGS, MNA-SF scores were lower (p=0.002, p=0.01, p<0.001; respectively). In multivariate analyses, the factors independently associated with presence of EAT-10 score>15 were FRAIL score and the number of drugs.

CONCLUSION

Dysphagia is associated with frailty irrespective to age, presence of neurodegenerative diseases, number of chronic diseases and drugs. To our knowledge, this is the largest serie in the literature providing data on independent association of dysphagia with frailty.

Moral foundations explain unique variance in political ideology beyond resistance to change and opposition to equality

Moral foundations theory (MFT), while inspiring much empirical work, has been the target of both methodological and theoretical criticism. One important criticism of MFT is that, in its attempt to explain variability in political ideology, it only repackages the core motives (resistance to change and opposition to equality) and does not actually provide additional explanatory potential. Indeed, some previous studies show that moral foundations do not explain variability in ideology beyond other relevant variables, and that the relation between moral foundations and political orientation is mediated by other ideological variables. In the present research, we examined whether moral foundations can explain variability beyond the core motives in samples from Turkey and the United States. Contrary to some previous findings, we found that moral foundations explain unique variance in general, social, and economic conservatism. These findings suggest that the moral foundations proposed by MFT cannot be reduced to other variables that have been used in the literature to measure ideological proclivities.

Meta-ethics and the mortality: Mortality salience leads people to adopt a less subjectivist morality

Although lay notions in normative ethics have previously been investigated within the framework of the dual-process interpretation of the terror management theory (TMT), meta-ethical beliefs (subjective vs. objective morality) have not been previously investigated within the same framework. In the present research, we primed mortality salience, shown to impair reasoning performance in previous studies, to see whether it inhibits subjectivist moral judgments in three separate experiments. In Experiment 3, we also investigated whether impaired reasoning performance indeed mediates the effect of mortality salience on subjectivism. The results of the three experiments consistently showed that people in the mortality salience group reported significantly less subjectivist responses than the control group, and impaired reasoning performance partially mediates it. Overall, the results are consistent with the dual-process interpretation of TMT and suggest that not only normative but also meta-ethical judgments can be explained by this model.

Lower Levels of Resistance to Change (but not Opposition to Equality) Is Related to Analytic Cognitive Style

Abstract. In recent years, there has been increasing research attention to cognitive style differences between liberals and conservatives. While some studies have found a negative relation between conservatism and analytic thinking tendency, others have not observed such a relation. None of these studies has measured the core motives underlying conservative ideology and investigated their relation with analytic cognitive style (ACS). We predicted that ACS is related to only one of the core motives underlying conservatism (resistance to change), but not the other (opposition to equality). This hypothesis was supported in three non-Western samples (total n = 1,552). This finding may clarify why some studies found a relation between cognitive style and conservatism, while others did not.

Comparing SARC-F with SARC-CalF to Screen Sarcopenia in Community Living Older Adults

OBJECTIVE

To compare the diagnostic value of the SARC-F combined with calf circumference (SARC-CalF) with the standard SARC-F to screen sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, diagnostic accuracy study.

SETTING

Geriatric outpatient clinic of a university hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Older adults >= 65 years.

MEASUREMENTS

Muscle mass (bioimpedance analysis device), muscle strength (hand grip strength-Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer), and physical performance (usual gait speed). Four currently used diagnostic criteria [European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP), Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS), and Society on Sarcopenia Cachexia and Wasting Disorders (SCWD) criteria] were applied. SARC-CalF was performed by using two different calf circumference threshold: standard cut-off 31 cm (SARC-CalF-31) and national cut-off 33 cm (SARC-CalF-33). The sensitivity/specificity analyses of the SARC-CalF and SARC-F tools were run. We used the receiver operating characteristics curves and the area under the receiver operating characteristics curves (AUC) to compare the diagnostic accuracy to identify sarcopenia.

RESULTS

We included 207 subjects; 67 male and 140 female with a mean age of 74.6±6.7 years. The prevalence of sarcopenia ranged from 1.9% to 9.2%. The sensitivity of SARC-F was between 25% (EWGSOP) and 50% (IWGS); specificity was about 82%. For SARC-CalF-31 and SARC-CalF-33 sensitivity was in general similar -between 25-50%- which pointed out that SARC-CalF was not superior to SARC-F for sensitivity in this sample. Corresponding specificities for SARC-CalF-31 and SARC-CalF-33 were higher than SARC-F and were between 90-98%. Additionally, the AUC values, which indicates the diagnostic accuracy of a screening test, were in general higher for SARC-CalF-33 than the SARC-F and SARC-CalF-31.

CONCLUSIONS

We reported that addition of calf circumference item to SARC-F tool improved the specificity and diagnostic accuracy of SARC-F but it did not improve the sensitivity in a community-dwelling Turkish older adult population sample that had low prevalence of sarcopenia. The performance of SARC-CalF tool to screen sarcopenia is to be studied in different populations and living settings.

DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR OSTEOPOROSIS (OSTEORISKAPP) USING A SYNDROMIC APPROACH

CONTEXT

DEXA is recommended for osteoporosis screening. However, the rate of screening with DEXA is very low. Therefore, methods that can be used more easily and cost effectively are needed.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to develop a clinical risk assessment tool of osteoporosis (OSTEORISKAPP) by using syndromic approach.

DESIGN

A methodological study was performed.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Three hundred and fifty-six participants who are above 50 years old are participants of study and take history and physical examination. Positive likelihood ratio (LR), pre and post test probability, is calculated. A logistic regression analysis and a ROC analysis are made with the model constructed by those criteria.

RESULTS

Eighteen different clinical risk indices are diagnosed. According to LR, 4 of these criteria are minimally effective, 11 of them are weakly effective and 3 of them are medium effective criteria According to results of logistic regression analysis, back pain, waist pain, and usage of cortisone for more than 3 months, vertebra tenderness in physical examination, having dorsal kyphosis and being obese are turned out to be statistically significant in 89.9% confidence interval. AUC is found to be 0.948 and diagnostic test is found to have perfect distinction ability.

CONCLUSION

Syndromic diagnostic criteria that will be used for osteoporosis screening of population and that is cost effective, no need to refer, practical, reliable and has tried to be developed.

Performance of SARC-F in Regard to Sarcopenia Definitions, Muscle Mass and Functional Measures

OBJECTIVE

To assess the reliability and validity of Turkish version of SARC-F in regard to screening with current definitions of sarcopenia, muscle mass and functional measures.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

PARTICIPANTS

Community-dwelling older adults aged >=65 years admitting to a geriatric outpatient clinic.

MEASUREMENTS

Muscle mass (bioimpedance analysis), handgrip strength, usual gait speed, chair sit-to-stand test, functional reach test, short physical performance battery, SARC-F questionnaire, FRAIL questionnaire Sarcopenia was evaluated with 4 current different definitions: European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People's (EWGSOP); Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), International Working Group on Sarcopenia (IWGS) and Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders (SCWD).

RESULTS

After cross-cultural adaptation, 207 subjects were analysed in the clinical validation study. Mean age was 74.6±6.7 years, 67.6% were women. Against EWGSOP, FNIH, IWGS and SCWD definitions of sarcopenia, sensitivity of SARC-F were %25, 31.6%, 50% and 40%; specificity were 81.4%, 82.4%, 81.8% and 81.7%, respectively. Positive predictive values were between 5.1-15.4% and negative predictive values were 92.3-98.2%. Against parameters of low muscle mass, sensitivity were about 20% and specificity were about 81%. Against parameters of function; for low hand grip strength, sensitivity of SARC-F were 33.7% (for Turkish cut-off); 50% (for FNIH cut-off); specificity were 93.7% (for Turkish cut-off) and 85.8% (for FNIH cut-off). Against low UGS, poor performance in chair sit to stand test, functional reach test, SPPB and presence of positive frailty screening sensitivity were 58.3%, 39.2%, 59.1%, 55.2% and 52.1% while specificity were 97.3%, 97.8%, 88.1%, 99.3% and 91.2%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The psychometric performance of Turkish SARC-F was similar to the original SARC-F. It revealed low sensitivity but high specificity with all sarcopenia definitions. Sensitivity and specificity were higher for muscle function tests reflecting its inquiry and input on functional measures. Our findings suggest that SARC-F is an excellent test to exclude muscle function impairment and sarcopenia. SARC-F is relatively a good screening test for functional measures.

The Effects of Darbepoetin on Peritoneal Fibrosis Induced by Chemical Peritonitis and on Peritoneal Tissue Mmp-2 and Timp-2 Levels in Rats

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of darbepoetin on the development of peritoneal fibrosis in rats induced by Chlorhexidine gluconate (0.1%) and ethanol (15%) and to determine the effect on peritoneal tissue levels of MMP–2 and TIMP–2, possible important factors in progression of peritoneal fibrosis. Twenty-four female Wistar albino rats were divided into three groups. The first group (CH group) received 3 ml/200g daily intraperitoneal injections of Chlorhexidine gluconate (0.1%) and ethanol (15%) dissolved in saline to induce chemical peritonitis; group 2 (ESA group) received 3 ml/200g daily injections of Chlorhexidine gluconate (0.1%) and ethanol (15%) dissolved in saline and also darbepoetin 12.5 microgr/ per kilogram/ day subcutaneously on the first and seventh days; group 3 (Control group) received intraperitoneal 0.9% saline (3 ml/200g/d) through the right lower quadrant by 21 gauge needle. The study duration was fourteen days. On the fifteenth day rats were sacrificed, parietal peritoneum samples were obtained from the left anterior abdominal wall. Pathological samples were examined using Hematoxyline & Eosin (HE) stains. The thickness, vasculpathy, and inflammation were determined by light microscopy. MMP-2 and TIMP-2 were studied immunohistochemically by monoclonal antibody staining. The activity of MMP-2 on peritoneal tissue was studied by gelatin zymography and TIMP–2 protein level was analysed by ELISA, biochemically. The decrease in thickness of parietal peritoneum in group ESA was statistically significant when compared to CH group (p<0.05). Inflammation scores, and vascularization score surfaces were not statistically different between these groups (p>0.05). Immunohistochemically, darbepoetin was shown to decrease MMP-2 expression on parietal peritoneum in CH group (p<0.05), but had no effect on TIMP-2 (p>0.05). Biochemically the ratio of active MMP–2 to proMMP–2 was more significantly increased in the ESA group than in the CH group (p<0.001), however, TIMP- 2 levels in both groups were decreased compared to the control group (p<0.05). Darbepoetin histopathologically reduced peritoneal fibrosis induced by Chlorhexidine gluconate. We can suggest that Darbepoetin does not cause peritoneal fibrosis and may prevent peritoneal fibrosis in rats possibly related to an effect on MMP-2 expression. Further research regarding the utility and dosage should be considered.