The Effect of Myofascial Release Applied to Thoracolumbar Fascia on Flexibility, Muscular Endurance, and Balance in Healthy Young Adults: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

Context: Although cranial distant effects occur in self-myofascial release interventions for lower-extremity muscles and fascia, the results of caudal distant effects are still unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the distant effects of myofascial release applied to the thoracolumbar fascia together with exercise training on balance, lower-extremity flexibility, and muscular endurance in healthy young adults.

Design: Single-blinded randomized control trial design.

The Prevalence, Serogroup Distribution and Risk Factors of Meningococcal Carriage in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults in Turkey Meningo-Carr-TR Study PART 3: COVID-19 Pandemic Situation.

Background: The prevalence of meningococcal carriage and serogroup distribution is crucial for assessing the epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease, forecasting outbreaks and formulating potential immunization strategies. Following the meningococcal carriage studies conducted in Turkey in 2016 and 2018, we planned to re-evaluate meningococcal carriage in children, adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Methods: In the MENINGO-CARR-3 study, we collected nasopharyngeal samples from 1585 participants 0-24 years of age, across 9 different centers in Turkey.

Clinical characteristics of male lymphedema: A single center-experience.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of male patients.

Methods: Retrospective data were collected from the files of 52 male patients with lymphedema. Duration, diagnostic category, localization and stage of lymphedema, and complaints were analyzed and reported.

The Relationship Between ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 Enzyme Levels in Patients With Degenerative Disc Disease: A Prospective Biochemical Study.

Study Design: Prospective biochemical study of comparison of A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs-4 (ADAMTS-4) and A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin motifs 5 (ADAMTS5) levels in preoperative and postoperative venous blood, as well as in disc tissue obtained during surgery, in patients undergoing surgery for intervertebral disc disease, with enzyme levels in venous blood from a control group.

Objective: To compare the levels of ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 between patients with degenerative intervertebral discs and a healthy control group, aiming to identify biomarkers associated with intervertebral disc degeneration.

Literature: Although numerous studies have investigated the relationship between ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 enzymes and degeneration in experimental rat models and human tissues, no study has correlated their serum levels with intervertebral disc degeneration.

Evaluation with finite element analysis of a ball attachment overdenture prosthesis of a patient.

This study aimed to apply finite element analysis (FEA) to simulate the oral environment of a patient with an implant-supported overdenture prosthesis. A 3D mandibular model was created for a 45-year-old female patient from CT images, with mucosal thickness measured at 3 mm on average using ultrasonography. The overdenture prosthesis was scanned with an intraoral scanner and placed onto the 3D mandibular model.

Biomarkers in patients with autoimmune optic neuritis not associated with multiple sclerosis: Demographic, clinical and prognostic features.

Background: The new optic neuritis (ON) classification leads to a change in how ON patients are grouped. Our aim is to appraise the clinical features and prognoses of patients with autoimmune ON not associated with MS.

Methods: Patients referred to our neuro-ophthalmology laboratory were enrolled to this retrospective study.

Is there a comparable Mp-MRI for incidental prostate uptake on 18 F-FDG PET/CT?

Purpose: Although 18 F-FDG-PET/CT is helpful in defining many types of cancer, localized prostate cancer should not be treated with this technique. This study describes the use of multi-parametric MRI (mpMRI) to characterize incidental 18 F-FDG uptake in the prostate.

Methods And Materials: While 18 F-FDG-PET/CT is useful for characterizing a variety of cancers, it is not advised for prostate cancer that is localized.

Evaluation of Post-Transfer Clinical Status of Cystic Fibrosis Patients Transferred to Adult Chest Diseases Clinic.

Introduction: Proper transfer of patients from pediatric to adult chest clinic has critical importance. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the follow-up data of the patients in the first 12 months after transfer.

Methods: Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients previously transferred to adult chest clinics were included.

Evaluation of White Matter Integrity by Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Patients with Presbycusis.

Rationale And Objectives: This study aims to evaluate white matter microstructure integrity in patients diagnosed with presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and to investigate the relationship between DTI parameters and hearing loss severity.

Materials And Methods: Patients aged 50 and above with presbycusis (pure-tone average [PTA] ≥20dB) were categorized as mild (PTA 20-34dB), moderate (PTA 35-49dB), or severe (PTA ≥50dB). Fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were measured in 16 white matter regions.

Clinical Features and Natural Course of Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Turkey: A Multicenter Study.

Introduction: The natural history, the progression of a disease process in an individual over time, has not yet been fully elucidated in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). In this large multicenter study, we aimed to investigate the natural history of HS and its gender differences.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 827 patients.

Lactoperoxidase Inhibition of Celecoxib Derivatives Containing the Pyrazole Linked-Sulfonamide Moiety: Antioxidant Capacity, Antimicrobial Activity, and Molecular Docking Studies.

Celecoxib derivatives that contain the pyrazole-linked sulfonamide moiety were synthesized, and the in vitro inhibitory impacts of the aforesaid compounds against the lactoperoxidase (LPO) enzyme were researched. To this end, LPO was purified using the affinity chromatography technique with a yield of 12.63% (319.

Invasive Aspergillosis in Kidney and Liver Transplant Recipients From a Pediatric Donor.

Invasive aspergillosis is a rare but serious complication that can occur in solid-organ transplant recipients. This condition arises from an infection caused by Aspergillus, a widespread mold typically transmitted through the inhalation of its spores (conidia). This report presents 3 unique cases of invasive aspergillosis in patients who received either kidney or liver transplants from a 17-year-old deceased pediatric donor.

Multilayered Inverted Internal Limiting Membrane Flap Technique in Optic Disc Pit Maculopathy.

Objectives: To evaluate the anatomical and visual outcomes of the multilayered inverted internal limiting membrane (ML-ILM) flap technique in the treatment of optic disc pit maculopathy (ODPM).

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective interventional case series, medical records and macular spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images of patients who underwent combined pars plana vitrectomy with ML-ILM flap surgery for ODPM were analyzed. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) at postoperative 6 months were compared with baseline findings.

Super Learner Algorithm for Carotid Artery Disease Diagnosis: A Machine Learning Approach Leveraging Craniocervical CT Angiography.

This study introduces a machine learning (ML) approach to diagnosing carotid artery diseases, including stenosis, aneurysm, and dissection, by leveraging craniocervical computed tomography angiography (CTA) data. A meticulously curated, balanced dataset of 122 patient cases was used, ensuring reproducibility and data quality, and this is publicly accessible at (insert dataset location). The proposed method integrates a super learner model which combines adaptive boosting, gradient boosting, and random forests algorithms, achieving an accuracy of 90%.

A comprehensive survey of artificial intelligence adoption in European laboratory medicine: current utilization and prospects.

Background: As the healthcare sector evolves, Artificial Intelligence's (AI's) potential to enhance laboratory medicine is increasingly recognized. However, the adoption rates and attitudes towards AI across European laboratories have not been comprehensively analyzed. This study aims to fill this gap by surveying European laboratory professionals to assess their current use of AI, the digital infrastructure available, and their attitudes towards future implementations.

VI-RADS-based Algorithm for Bladder Cancer Management Randomized Retrospective Study.

Objective: To evaluate if VI-RADS can distinguish between nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancers (NMIBC), muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), and high-risk nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancers (HR-NMIBCs). It is unclear if the Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) can replace repeated transurethral resection of bladder tumor (Re-TURBT) as in the new VI-RADS-based algorithm.

Methods: Sensitivity, specificity, and positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values of the VI-RADS score were calculated for mpMRI performance in patients undergoing TURBT and HR-NMIBC patients for only Re-TURBT.

An Outbreak of Shiga Toxin-Positive Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli O104:H4 Related Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome in Turkey: A Multicenter Study.

Introduction: Serious outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (STEC-HUS) have been reported globally. In 2011, Germany experienced a significant outbreak of HUS caused by enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) O104:H4 strain.

Elevating precision: A thorough investigation of multiparametric prostate MRI for prolonged insights into early continence prediction after robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Background: While radical prostatectomy stands out as one of the most effective curative treatments for prostate cancer, it does come with annoying side effects, such as urinary incontinence (UI). We aimed to investigate the predictability of UI using MRI measurements, along with clinical and disease-related variables.

Methods: We included 191 patients who underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy between July 2020 and October 2022 in the study.

Peripapillary choroidal vascularity of paediatric myopic eyes with peripapillary hyperreflective ovoid mass-like structures.

Purpose: To assess the peripapillary choroidal vasculature in paediatric myopic patients with and without peripapillary hyperreflective ovoid mass-like structures (PHOMS).

Methods: This prospective study includes 60 eyes of 60 myopic (spherical equivalent [SE] <-1.00 dioptre [D]) patients with (n = 30) and without (n = 30) PHOMS (PHOMS [+] and PHOMS [-] groups, respectively), and 30 eyes of 30 age- and sex-matched emmetropic children (control group).