The Knowledge Level and Opinions of Physicians about the Medical and Legal Procedures Related to Physical Child Abuse.

Background: In order to diagnose child abuse, physicians need to consider the possibility of abuse in every child they encounter, have sufficient information about the topic and manage the cases according to current law.

Aims: To determine the knowledge level of physicians on child abuse and to learn their opinions about the procedures when they suspect child abuse.

Study Design: A questionnaire (cross-sectional) study.

Er:Yag Laser Treatment of Simple Snorers in an Outpatient Setting.

Objective: Snoring occurs as a result of soft tissue vibration caused by a partial upper airway collapse during sleep. This study evaluated the effectiveness and potential adverse side effects associated with the use of a nonsurgical, erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser treatment for patients with snoring conditions.

Materials And Methods: In total, 33 patients with different degrees of snoring were analyzed retrospectively.

Evaluation of the usability of a serious game aiming to teach facial expressions to schizophrenic patients.

In some psychological disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, loss of facial expression recognition skill may complicate patient's daily life. Information technology may help to develop facial expression recognition skill by educational software and games. We designed and developed an interactive web-based educational program with which we performed a usability study before investigating its effectiveness on the schizophrenia patients' ability of emotion perception.

Analysis of social networks among physicians employed at a medical school.

Social network analysis is a well-known method for discovering the social complexities of relationships. In this paper, we present the results of its application in a healthcare environment, i.e.

Genomic large rearrangement screening of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in high-risk Turkish breast/ovarian cancer patients by using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assay.

In this study, MLPA assay was performed for detection of large rearrangements of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in 16 familial, 29 early onset, 3 male breast cancer, and 2 bilateral breast/ovarian cancer high risk Turkish index cases. MLPA assay for all exons of both genes and for 1100delC variant of CHEK2 gene were performed. Analyses, revealed no large genomic rearrangements in both genes, and, no 1100del variant in CHEK2 gene.

Serum ghrelin concentrations are increased in children with growth hormone insensitivity and decrease during long-term insulinlike growth factor-I treatment.

Background: Ghrelin increases food intake, body weight, and growth hormone (GH) secretion. Serum concentrations of ghrelin are low in obese hyperinsulinemic persons, are reduced by infusion of insulin into normal-weight subjects, and are increased in underweight hypoinsulinemic patients with anorexia nervosa. Laron syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder of GH insensitivity that results in decreased insulinlike growth factor-I (IGF-I) synthesis and growth failure.

A random-pattern skin-flap model in streptozotocin diabetic rats.

Background: Flap operations are frequently performed in diabetic patients. Nevertheless, we could find no experimental study examining diabetes mellitus's effect on the flaps' survival. For this reason, we designed this study as a random-pattern skin-flap model of diabetic rats in 1999.

Physical training increases renal injury in rats with chronic NOS inhibition.

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in regulation of vascular tone and renal hemodynamics. Inhibition of NO synthase (NOS) by Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) promotes systemic hypertension and glomerular damage. Exercise is effective in reducing elevated blood pressure in hypertensive individuals and rats treated with L-NAME.

Comparison of training modalities for performing laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: experience with 1,000 patients.

Purpose: We report a detailed analysis of different training modalities on the transferability of laparoscopic radical prostatectomy to generations of surgeons.

Material And Methods: The first generation surgeon with experience with 600 cases and the second generation surgeon with 150 were trained in open retropubic radical prostatectomy and laparoscopy, whereas the third generation surgeon with 150 cases was trained only laparoscopically. The fourth generation of surgeons with a total of 50 cases was trained in our fellowship program.

The potential role of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity in the testicular dysfunction associated with varicocele: an experimental study.

Nitric oxide (NO) has been reported to be increased in the spermatic veins of men affected by varicocele. The aim of the present study was to determine whether iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase) has a role in testicular dysfunction associated with varicocele, immunohistochemistry analyze was used to study iNOS activity in testis of adolescent rats with experimental left varicoceles. Rats were randomly divided into three groups.

Stratification of penile vascular pathologies in patients with Peyronie's disease and in men with erectile dysfunction according to age: a comparative study.

Purpose: Erectile dysfunction (ED) occurs in 20% to 54% of men with Peyronie's disease (PD). We investigated the role of vascular status in the pathophysiology of ED in patients with PD.

Materials And Methods: A total of 509 consecutive men with PD (group 1--impotent 259, 1a, and potent 250, 1b, mean age +/- SD 54.

An application of a genetic algorithm in conjunction with other data mining methods for estimating outcome after hospitalization in cancer patients.

Background: We investigated which factors predicted the risk of in-hospital mortality in a general population of cancer patients with non-terminal disease and whether employing the genetic algorithm technique would be useful in this regard.

Material/methods: A total of 201 cancer patients, including all cases of in-hospital mortality over a 2-year period, as well as a control group of subjects discharged during the same period, all having an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of of < or =3 at the time of admission, were retrospectively evaluated. Indicators of in-hospital mortality were determined by multivariate logistic regression, recursive partitioning analysis, neural network, and genetic algorithm (GA) techniques.

Geometric and dosimetric variations of ICRU bladder and rectum reference points in vaginal cuff brachytherapy using ovoids.

Purpose: To investigate the interfractional geometric and dose variations of rectal reference point (R) and bladder reference point (BL) doses in patients receiving vaginal cuff irradiation using high-dose-rate brachytherapy with 2 ovoids and the change in calculated radiobiologic-equivalent dose of R and BL.

Methods: ICRU-38 R and BL reference doses were calculated. The variation in positions of ovoids, R, and BL were determined.

Apoptotic and proliferative index after Alpha-1-adrenoceptor antagonist and/or finasteride treatment in benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Introduction: The induction of apoptosis has emerged as a potential target for optimization of the medical management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), recently. The influence of alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist (alpha1-ARA), 5-alpha reductase inhibitor and their combination on prostatic cell apoptotic and proliferative indices of benign hyperplastic prostate gland were investigated.

Materials And Methods: A total of 49 male patients with BPH (mean age: 66.

Effect of experimental varicocele in rats on testicular oxidative stress status.

The present experiments were undertaken to determine the levels of MDA, SOD and catalase in the testis of adolescent rats with experimental left varicoceles. Male Wistar rats, 7 weeks old and weighing 160-170 g, were randomly allocated into three groups. The first group of rats underwent partial ligation of the left renal vein (n = 15).