Comparison of the Effects of Isokinetic, Isometric, and Isotonic Exercises on Knee Osteoarthritis Using Ultrasound.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to investigate the effects of different types of exercise on pain, functional capacity, muscle strength measured by an isokinetic dynamometer, and femoral cartilage (FC) thickness measured using ultrasound in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: Sixty patients were randomized to isokinetic, isometric, and isotonic exercise groups, and exercise programs were completed five days a week over three weeks. The FC thickness for each knee was evaluated in medial, intercondylar, and lateral areas using ultrasound, and muscle strength was assessed by an isokinetic dynamometer. Activity levels were also measured using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). At three weeks from baseline, follow-up clinical measurements of knee muscle strength and FC thickness were performed. RESULTS: A significant decrease was observed in all three groups in post-treatment visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores. In terms of evaluation of WOMAC scores, no significant difference was observed between the groups. In the isokinetic group, a significant increase was detected in extensor and flexor muscle strength measurements at the angular velocities of 60º/s and 180º/s. In the isotonic group, a statistically significant increase was detected in peak torque values of extensor and flexor muscles at 60º/s in the left knee only. Regarding FC thickness, a significant increase was found in the intercondylar area and the lateral condyle measurements of the left knee in the isokinetic group and the intercondylar area measurements of the right knee in the isometric group. In the isokinetic group, a statistically significant decrease was detected in the medial condyle of the right knee. It was observed that isokinetic exercise ended up with a significant increase in FC thickness in the intercondylar area and the lateral condyle of the left knee and a significant decrease in the medial condyle of the right knee. CONCLUSION: Isokinetic exercise is functionally superior to isometric and isotonic exercise, providing more significant improvements in muscle strength measurements and FC thickness. Further research is needed to determine the interactions among therapeutic exercises in patients with KOA that impact knee cartilage quantities.

The Most Frequently Cited References in the Articles Published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery Between 1995 and 2020.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to examine the cited-references in the articles published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery between 1995 and 2020. On February 20, 2021, all articles published before January 1, 2021, in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery were listed using advanced search in the Web of Science database. The journal's ISSN and e-ISSN numbers were used to perform this search. All information about these articles has been marked and exported to Tab-delimited (Win) format. It was then analyzed with the VOSviewer software. In the Web of Science database, it was investigated that a total of 11,888 articles were published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery between 1995 and 2020. A total of 137,829 different cited-references were used in these 11,888 articles. The top 15 most cited-references were identified. It was found that the first 3 most cited journals were Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (n: 21,700; 15.74%), Journal of Craniofacial Surgery (n: 12,199; 8.85%), and Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (n: 9383, 6.81%), respectively. As far as we know, the present study is the first study to analyze the cited-references in the field of craniofacial surgery. The authors think that the publications determined in this study are fundamental building blocks for both the field of craniofacial surgery and the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.

A Radiological Evaluation of Lumbar Spinous Processes and Interspinous Spaces, Including Clinical Implications.

Background and objective The aim of this study was the examination of morphometry of the spinous process (SP) and interspinous space (ISS) of the lumbar region to help provide a basis for the design and implantation of interspinous devices. Methods Between 2017 and 2019, 215 individuals underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar region for various reasons. No pathology was detected in these images, and the participants' age, height, and weight information when available were included in the study. From these images, the height and length of the SP and ISS in the lumbar region were noted. The heights of the SP and ISS were measured at three levels as anterior, middle, and posterior (respectively, anterior height of the spinous process [AHSP], middle height of the spinous process [MHSP], as well as posterior height of the spinous process [PHSP] for the height of SP, and anterior ISS, middle ISS and posterior ISS for the height of ISS). All measurements were compared according to the gender, age, weight, height, and body mass index of the individuals. Results The level with the lowest SP height and length was L5 vertebra. The ISS height and length were lowest at L4-L5. In addition, we observed a statistically significant difference at multiple levels with age, weight, height, and body mass index of the reference ranges. Conclusion We think that these changes should be considered when designing and implanting interspinous devices. Since there are few studies examining all these correlations, we think that the results of this study will make a unique contribution to the literature.

A Bibliometric Keyword and Term Analysis of the Articles Published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery Between 1995 and 2020.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to analyze the terms in the abstract section and keywords of articles published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery (J Craniofac Surg) bibliometrically. Using the advanced search section in the Web of Science database on February 26, 2021, all articles published in the J Craniofac Surg from 1995 to 2020 were listed. All records of the detected 11,888 articles were exported and both terms in the abstract and keywords used in the articles were determined through the VOSviewer (version 1.6.16) software. It was found that the 10 most common terms in the abstract were patient (n: 6820), study (n: 4729), surgery (n: 3422), case (n: 3230), year (n: 2585), treatment (n: 2430), author (n: 2303) complication (n: 2150), month (n: 2061), and technique (n: 2002), respectively. It was found that the 10 most common keywords were craniosynostosis (n: 408), distraction osteogenesis (n: 257), orthognathic surgery (n: 243), mandible (n: 225), cleft palate (n: 214), reconstruction (n: 206), surgery (n: 157), cranioplasty (n: 150), cleft lip (n: 133), and computed tomography (n: 132), respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first bibliometric keyword and term analysis in the field of craniofacial surgery. This study will enable us to have an idea about the past and current trends and the visibility of the articles published in the J Craniofac Surg.

The 25 Most Cited Articles in The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery: A Study Based on the Web of Science From 1995 to 2020.

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to identified and analyzed the top 25 most cited articles among the articles published in The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery (J Craniofac Surg) from 1995 to 2020 in the Web of Science database. Using the advanced search section in the Web of Science, all articles published in the J Craniofac Surg were listed. The distribution of the numbers of publications by years was determined. It was determined that a total of 11,888 articles were published in the J Craniofac Surg between 1995 and 2020. A total of 84,218 citations were made to these articles, and the h-index of these articles was 73. The top 25 most cited articles were determined. The top three countries that made the most cited to these 25 articles were the USA (n: 1112), China (n: 292), and Germany (n: 251), respectively. The top three journals that made the most cited to these 25 articles were the J Craniofac Surg (n: 378), Plast Reconstr Surg (n: 179), and J Oral Maxillofac Surg (n: 120), respectively. The authors think that this study may benefit researchers in this field by identifying the most cited articles in the J Craniofac Surg.

The effects of COVID-19 on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Turkey in the first month of pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The outbreak of novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) has affected Turkey very seriously, as well as all around the world. Many urgent and radical measures were taken due to the high contagious risk and mortality rate of the outbreak. It is noteworthy that isolation recommendations and the provision of health services for pandemic have a negative impact on Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) services. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on the PMR services and physiatrists immediately after the first month of pandemic in Turkey. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An online survey consisting of 45 items was sent to the members of the Turkish Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The main goal of the survey was to evaluate the changes in the provided service of PMR and conditions of physiatrists one month after the first reported COVID-19 case in Turkey. RESULTS: A total of 606 PMR specialists and residents responded to the survey. The mean number of the patients visited the outpatient clinics was 148.2±128.5 per week before the pandemic, it significantly decreased to 23.4±33.1 per week after the first month of the reported first COVID-19 case. Similarly, the mean number of the patients of inpatient service significantly decreased from 21.7±39.3 per week to 2.5±10.0 per week after the first month of the pandemic. Most of the residents (69%) reported that their training was seriously affected due to pandemic. From the economic aspect, 69.2% of the participants who were working at private hospitals reported a decrease in their monthly salary, and 21% of them were sent to an unpaid vacation. A total of 21.9% of private-practice institutions paused their services. During the first month, 46.9% of the participants were assigned to the different services such as COVID-19 inpatient service, emergency or COVID-19 outpatient clinics. According to the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Health guideline and algorithm, 15.7% of the physicians were in the category of healthcare workers with suspected COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic affected seriously both the services and the PMR physicians as early as the first month. This effect is expected to become worse, when the duration of pandemic prolongs. Proper arrangements and measures should be planned to ameliorate the negative effects of the pandemic on the patients and PMR physicians.

"Tesrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümâni Kibale-i Feylesûfan": the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Ottoman-Turkish medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Semseddîn-i Itâkî is a key Turkish scientist in the field of anatomy. His book entitled Tesrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümâni Kibale-i Feylesûfan which was written in the seventeenth century is accepted as the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Turkish language. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this article, it was examined an original copy of Tesrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümâni Kibale-i Feylesûfan, which is available at the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, Turkey, as well as the transliteration of this book from old Turkish (Ottoman-Turkish) alphabet to contemporary Turkish alphabet by Esin Kâhya. In this book, the anatomical drawings and their descriptions were evaluated. RESULTS: In this ancient handwriting, Itâkî begins with thanking God and then describes the general structure of the organs, bones, nerves, muscles and vessels, supporting with various illustrations. These illustrations are mainly focused on cranial bones, muscles, cranial nerves, spinal nerves, stomach, intestines, urogenital system, bladder, trachea, larynx and bronchi. CONCLUSION: While some of these illustrations are similar to the illustrations of the earlier authors such as Ahmed Ibn Mansur, Andreas Vesalius and Juan Valverde de Amusco, others are peculiar to this book. This book is highly significant for it's being the first Turkish book in the field of anatomy in Ottoman-Turkish medicine and the text's being supplemented by illustrations. This book is also a fundamental source for translation of anatomical terms into Turkish. Our knowledge of anatomy continues to improve thanks to the contributions of leading scientists such as Itâkî and, therefore, he deserves praise.

Numerical solutions and error estimations for the space fractional diffusion equation with variable coefficients via Fibonacci collocation method.

In this study, the Fibonacci collocation method based on the Fibonacci polynomials are presented to solve for the fractional diffusion equations with variable coefficients. The fractional derivatives are described in the Caputo sense. This method is derived by expanding the approximate solution with Fibonacci polynomials. Using this method of the fractional derivative this equation can be reduced to a set of linear algebraic equations. Also, an error estimation algorithm which is based on the residual functions is presented for this method. The approximate solutions are improved by using this error estimation algorithm. If the exact solution of the problem is not known, the absolute error function of the problems can be approximately computed by using the Fibonacci polynomial solution. By using this error estimation function, we can find improved solutions which are more efficient than direct numerical solutions. Numerical examples, figures, tables are comparisons have been presented to show efficiency and usable of proposed method.

A comparison of the effectiveness of low-, moderate- and high-dose ultrasound therapy applied in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare and evaluate the effects of ultrasound (US) treatment applied at low-, medium- and high-power-pain threshold (HPPT) doses to trigger points in the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). METHODS: The study comprised 61 (40 female and 21 male) patients diagnosed with MPS, aged between 18 and 60 years. The patients were randomly allocated to three groups for the US application at different dosages. Group I patients received treatment of medium-dose US (1.5 Watt/cm(2)), Group II received HPPT US, and Group III received low-dose US (0.5 W/cm(2)). The patients were evaluated pre-treatment and 3 weeks after treatment in respect of visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, number of trigger points (NTP), pressure pain threshold (PPT), Range of Tragus-Acromioclavicular joint (RT-AJ) and neck pain disability scores (NPDS). RESULTS: A significant improvement was determined after treatment in all scores except PPT in Group I, in all scores in Group II, and only in the VAS score in Group III. When the groups were compared post-treatment in respect of improvement in NTP, VAS, RT-AJ and NPDS scores, Group II showed significant superiority over Group I, and Group I was determined to have significant superiority over Group III in respect of VAS, RT-AJ and NPDS scores (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In the treatment of MPS, US therapy at HPPT dose can be considered as an alternative therapy method, which is more economical and more effective than low-dose and conventional US therapy.