Background:Obesity has emerged as an important health problem affecting the whole world in recent years. In this study, it was aimed to examine the obesity awareness of university students studying in the field of health.

Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (morning sickness) is one of the most common symptoms. It is an important problem in terms of maternal and infant health. There is no generally accepted effective medical treatment. Acupuncture may be an advantageous option when evaluated with its efficacy and side-effect profile. In this article, acupuncture application in a patient, who was suffering from morning sickness that was not relieved with medical treatment, will be described.

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is defined as a term involving physical, psychical and behavioral alterations that repeat in several cycles. The present study aimed to analyze the prevalence and affecting factors of premenstrual syndrome in students in a medical faculty. Material andMethods: We designed a sectional study conducted in between July and October 2016 among the single students aged between 17 and 49 years. “Survey of PMS” and “Menstrual Distress Questionnaire” were performed on the participants. Results: The mean age of the participants (n=286) was 20.67±1.91 years and the mean age of first menstruation was 13.07±1.19 years. PMS was present in 18.9% (n=54). The mean age of initial menstruation of students having PMS was observed to be lower (p<0.05). The ratio of students diagnosed with PMS who considered that this period was a physiological period was lower than those not diagnosed with PMS (p<0.05). For having diagnosis of PMS, the most common complaints before the menstruation were anxiety (78.8%), during the menstruation period was stomachache (72.2%), and skin spot and ache (29.6 %) in other days. Negative sensation subgroup was the overall most common complaints in the pre-menstruation period, in the course of menstruation and post-menstruation period. Conclusions: The recorded complaints about PMS are negatively affecting the familial conditions and social integration of the patients. It is important to define the disease and provide treatment to avoid biopsychosocial factors in women and their families.

Background:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still spreading rapidly around the world, and early detection before its severe symptoms begin is important, but challenges in early detection remain. There is also very little data on the effects of COVID-19 on amino acid metabolism.The aim of this study is to analyze the free amino acid profile in the blood serum of COVID-19 patients and to determine their biomarker potential for diagnosis.Materials and Methods: In this study, blood samples were taken from 30 COVID-19 patients and 30 healthy individuals, and their amino acid profile was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Biomarker and pathway analyzes from multivariate statistical analyzes were performed with the MetaboAnalyst program.Results: Among the amino acids we analyzed, 6 of them were amino acids with strong potential to be used in the diagnosis of COVID-19. According to the AUC value (>0.800), these amino acids are alpha-aminoadipic acid, arginine, proline, alanine, sarcosine and citrulline, respectively. In addition, according to the pathway analysis, it was found that arginine and proline metabolisms were significantly impaired in COVID-19 disease (p<0.001 and impact value: 0.356). Conclusions: This study showed that changes in the amino acid profile of COVID-19 patients may be important in diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. According to our results, alpha-aminoadipic acid may be an excellent candidate for diagnosis.

Background: Dental studies have shown that caries or periodontal disorders in the mouth are the result of dental plaque. An adequate oral hygiene is possible with sufficient removal of the dental plaque. Different tools are used in order to achieve a healthy oral hygiene.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on adults working in Nyala Sudan Training and Research Hospital. The present study included 104 individuals including 43 (41.35%) males and 61 (58.65%) females with age ranging between 20 and 57 years. Individuals were asked to fill out a questionnaire aiming to measure their oral hygiene habits and dental plaque knowledge.Result: In the present study where oral hygiene habits were examined, a significant difference was detected between the genders in terms of tooth brushing habits and women fulfill these habits more regularly (p<0.05). Furthermore, it was concluded that women use mouthwash more regularly (p<0.05). On the other hand, it was observed that their knowledge level about dental plaque was lower than men (p<0.05). The review of the age variable revealed that individuals over 40 years of age had brushing habits once a day when compared to other age groups (p<0.05). Different levels of knowledge about age could not be reached in individuals.Conclusion: It was reached out that the knowledge and attitudes of the participants on oral hygiene and the frequency of visits to the dentist were insufficient. It was observed that knowledge and habits on oral hygiene vary between individuals

Background:Cisplatin is one of the most widely used and most potent chemotherapy drug, due to its side effects in normal tissues and organs, especially its nephrotoxic effects in the kidneys, its use was limited. Therefore, new studies are being conducted to elucidate the mechanism of nephrotoxicity and to identify new protective agents in order to reduce the side effects of cisplatin. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of cisplatin on amino acid metabolism of embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293).Materials and Methods: In the study, HEK-293 were incubated with cisplatin at different doses (1-20µg) in appropriate medium for 24 hours, and then the cells were homogenized. The intracellular free amino acid profile in the samples was analyzed by LC-MS/MS method.Results: Compared to the control group, a significant decrease was observed in 1-methylhistidine, 3-methylhistidine, aspartic acid and cystine levels, while a significant increase was found in other amino acids. As a result of conducting advanced bioinformatic analyzes through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Variable Importance in Projection (VIP), it was determined that the most significant difference that was realized between the control and cisplatin applied groups was in glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, arginine and lysine amino acids. Conclusions: It was observed that high doses of cisplatin can inhibit protein synthesis in kidney cells and increase the amount of free amino acids by increasing the digestion of intracellular damaged proteins.

Background: Symptoms decrease during the first 4-weeks after the onset of COVID -19. The situation of patients whose symptoms persist longer or do not seems to be one of the current research topics. In regions with internal turmoil, such as Northwest Syria, emergency departments that carry the burden of emergency and trauma patients were occupied during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the post-discharge symptoms of COVID -19 patients hospitalized by the emergency department in northwestern Syria. Materials and Methods:Between 07/1/2020 and 01/05/2021, 163 patients who were hospitalized and discharged from the emergency department due to COVID-19 in northwest Syria were included in the study. A questionnaire based on the COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale was administered to all patients. The obtained data were processed into the data collection form and analyzedwith explanatory and comparative statistics. Results: After they developed COVID-19, we noted decreased dry cough, loss of taste and smell, headache symptoms, and increased fatigue and joint pain symptoms. We found that patients who were re-hospitalized following acute COVID-19 infection received longer treatment and those re-hospitalized patients had increased memory impairment, hoarseness, fatigue, and weakness in the post-COVID-19 period.Conclusion:We think that symptoms and complaints that do not resolve after COVID -19 may be among the common reasons for admission to the emergency department in the future. Emergency departments need to be better prepared to manage persistent COVID -19 symptoms.

Eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase (eEF-2K), also known as calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase III, is a member of the group of atypical a-kinases. eEF-2K is an essential regulatory molecule in cellular protein synthesis. It can control the protein chain elongation rate by phosphorylating/inactivating eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF-2). The activity of eEF-2K is dependent on calcium ions and calmodulin and is extensively regulated by posttranslational phosphorylation. Recent data show that eEF-2K helps protect cancer cells against nutrient restriction and energy depletion. It also exerts a cytoprotective effect in many conditions, including oxidative stress and hypoxia. In light of the foregoing, eEF-2K may be a new potential pharmacological target for cancer therapy.

Background:Over time, the integration of advancing technology into education gained speed due to the pandemic. Alternative education strategies to traditional education emerged. The study aims to examine whether web-based asynchronous (WBA) educationcan be used as an alternative to traditional face-to-face (FTF) education if the views of post-graduate students are in line with it.Materials and Methods:The opinions of 19 students who enrolled in the post-graduate biostatistics course in the spring semester of 2019-2020 and participated in both FTF and WBAwere consulted. Students were asked 17 questions about the distance education perception scale, educational strategies and 3 open-ended questions. Post-graduate students were grouped according to their answersto the question of which type of education would prefer if the students had to take the biostatistics course once again. Results:Thirteen of the students (68.4%) stated that if they would take this course once again, they would prefer WBA, 5 (26.3%) students FTF and only 1 (5.3%) student prefer online education. While FTF students were more satisfied with FTF training (p=0.014), WBA students stated that they were more satisfied with the WBA education (p=0.004). WBA students thought that WBA education provides more flexibility in terms of time (p=0.046) and resources (p=0.007). WBA students stated this education would be preferred more in the future (p=0.035). Conclusion: WBA education is a very good alternative for courses similar to biostatistics courses where computer programs are frequently used in practice. In case students and lecturers are provided with internet and necessary hardware and software support by the state and universities, the transition to WBA education may be permanent.

Background: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the complexity of coronary artery disease (CAD), determined by the SYNTAX score, and the resting and post-exercise Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI). Materials and Methods: Patients who were treated for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) were evaluated in our study. The patients were divided into two groups according to their SYNTAX Score =22 or >22. In addition, patients were evaluated in two groups as <30 and =30 in the SYNTAX II (PCI) scoring. The measurements of the resting ABI and the post-exercise ABI were done in these patients.Results: The mean age of 118 patients was 57.50±11.19 years and 26 (22%) patients were female. In the group with SYNTAX Score>22, lower resting ABI (p <0.001) and post-exercise ABI (p <0.001) were observed, whereas the higher SYNTAX II PCI (p= 0.005) score was found. While lower resting ABI (p<0.001) and post-exercise ABI (p<0.001) were observed in the group with SYNTAX II PCI Score =30, TIMI (0.015), GRACE score (0.004) and SYNTAX score (p= 0.001) were higher. As a result of the ROC analysis: resting ABI cut-off value was detected as 0.935 with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 75% [p<0.001; AUC(95% CI)= 0.786 (0.697-0.875)] and post-exercise ABI cut-off value was detected as 0.945 with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 81% to predict SYNTAX score >22 [p <0.001; AUC (95% CI)= 0.836 (0.761-0.912)]. Diabetes mellitus, history of CAD, resting and post-exercise ABI variables were found to be independent predictors of the extent of CAD, expressed as SYNTAX score >22 and SYNTAX II PCI score =30.Conclusion: In ACS patients, post-exercise ABI measurements have a stronger diagnostic power than resting ABI measurements in predicting CAD complexity. ABI measures at resting and post-exercise are independent predictors of CAD complexity in ACS patients.

A 20-year-old male patient under the treatment of Dasatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia was admitted with symptoms and signs of right heart failure. As a result of the transthoracic echocardiographic evaluation of the patient, severe enlargement of the right heart chambers was detected and systolic pulmonary arterial pressure was measured up to 105 mmHg. As a result of the other tests performed for pulmonary hypertension, it was thought that it might be secondary to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Dasatinib with the exclusion of the other causes of pulmonary hypertension. Echocardiographic and symptomatic improvement was observed in the follow-up after Dasatinib treatment was changed to another tyrosine kinase inhibitor, Nilotinib.