Nature relatedness, flow experience, and environmental behaviors in nature-based leisure activities.

Introduction: Through nature-based leisure activities, spending time in nature offers opportunities to reduce stress, relax the mind, and enhance feelings of well-being. Being aware of the benefits provided by these activities increases the nature relatedness, and during the time spent in nature, it enables experiencing positive and satisfying moments by entering into a state of flow. The concepts of nature-relatedness and flow experience represent psychological experiences and characteristics that play an important role in enhancing psychological well-being and life quality. Methods: Based on structural equation models, the relationships among nature-relatedness, flow experience, and environmental behaviors were investigated. Data were collected from 379 individuals (212 male, 167 female) who regularly engage in nature-based leisure activities such as cycling, hiking, and fishing. The participants were predominantly male (55.9%) and aged 45 years and over (53.3%). Results: The nature-relatedness significantly influences flow experience (R 2 = 0.505, p < 0.01), environmental behavior (R 2 = 0.108, p < 0.01), environmental sensitivity (R 2 = 0.137, p < 0.01), and communication with nature (R 2 = 0.200, p < 0.01). Specifically, nature-relatedness directly enhanced environmental sensitivity (0.494 total effect), environmental behavior (0.604 total effect), and communication with nature (0.599 total effect) and did so both directly and indirectly through the mediation of flow experience. Discussion: A higher level of nature-relatedness can lead to a stronger flow experience, which in turn can increase positive. environmental behavior, environmental sensitivity, and communication with nature.

A Predictor of Oxidative Stress in the Children with Measles: Thiol-Disulfide Homeostasis.

OBJECTIVE: Measles is an infectious disease, in which oxidative stress increases. Thiols are an antioxidant substance which play a critical role in programmed cell death, detoxification, and regulation of cellular enzymatic activity, and the thiol-disulfide balance is associated with some diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the thiol-disulfide balance in children with measles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study included case and control groups. The plasma total oxidant status level was measured using the Erel method, and the groups were compared. Before the study, informed consent was obtained from patients and Ethics Committee approval was provided (No:17/Session:05, Date: May 2019). The Pearson's and Fisher's chi-square tests were applied in the comparisons of categorical data, and independent t-test/Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare the patient and the control groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the patient-control groups in terms of age and gender (P > .05). The total antioxidant status value was significantly lower, and the total oxidant status and oxidative stress index values were significantly higher (P < .05) in the patient group compared to the control group. Native thiol, total thiol, and native thiol/total thiol percentage values were significantly lower, and the disulfide, disulfide/native thiol, and disulfide/total thiol percentage values were significantly higher (P < .05) in the patients compared to the controls. CONCLUSIONS: The detection of oxidative stress in patients with measles is important, and these results show the possibility of using the thiol/disulfide homeostasis and oxidative stress index values as biomarkers of oxidative stress in patients with measles.

Oxidative stress and decreased Nrf2 level in pediatric patients with COVID-19.

The aim of this study was to investigate the change in nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (Nrf2), which plays a critical role in cytoprotection against oxidative stress, in pediatric patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection positivity, and to evaluate the relationship between Nrf2 and oxidative balance. The study included 40 children with confirmed COVID-19 infection and 35 healthy children. The groups were compared in respect of Nrf2, total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), and oxidative stress index (OSI), in addition to clinical findings of fever, cough, shortness of breath, contact history, and demographic data of age and gender. The mean Nrf2 values and TAS levels were determined to be statistically significantly low (p < 0.001) and the TOS level and OSI were statistically significantly high in the children with COVID-19 compared to the control group. A significant positive correlation was determined between Nrf2 and TAS (p < 0.01); as the Nrf2 value increased, so the TAS value increased. A significant negative correlation was determined between Nrf2 and TOS and OSI (p < 0.01); as the Nrf2 value increased, there was determined to be a significant decrease in the TOS and OSI values. COVID-19 infection in pediatric patients causes a decrease in the Nrf2 level. By causing a decrease in the TAS level and an increase in the TOS and OSI levels, the decrease in Nrf2 may explain the tissue damage which can be caused by COVID-19.

Investigation of the plasma copeptin level in cases with childhood migraine.

Copeptin is a hypothalamic stress hormone that is synthesized in the hypothalamus together with Arginine-vasopressin and circulated from the neurohypophysis in equimolar amounts and can indicate the individual stress level. The aim of this study was to investigate the plasma copeptin level for childhood migraine headache. In this study, total oxidant status (TOS); total antioxidant status (TAS); oxidative stress index (OSI); and copeptin were measured in the plasma samples of 61 migraine patients and 60 matched healthy participants. The median plasma copeptin levels in the patients group and control group were 298.25 and 194.35 pg/mL, respectively. Copeptin levels were significantly higher in migraine patients than in the healthy control group. The specificity and sensitivity of copeptin for 249.5 pg/dL cut off value predicting diagnosis of migraine were 67% and 64%, respectively. In addition, TOS and OSI levels were found to be higher and TAS levels were significantly lower in patients with migraine than healthy controls. Plasma copeptin levels are thought to increase in cases of childhood migraine secondary to increased oxidative stress. In the diagnosis of childhood migraine cases, it can be used together with oxidative stress biomarkers such as TAS, TOS and OSI as a complementary parameter.

Is mean platelet volume a predictive marker for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in children?

AIM: To investigate the mean platelet volume (MPV) in asymptomatic children infected with COVID-19. METHODS: The study included 55 children infected with COVID-19 and 60 healthy children for the comparison of leukocyte and thrombocyte count, MPV and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Demographic data and clinical findings of all the participants were recorded, including age, gender, weight, temperature, cough, shortness of breath and contact history. RESULTS: The MPV values were determined to be statistically significantly high (P < .001) and the lymphocyte values were significantly low (p:0.002) in the asymptomatic children infected with COVID-19 compared with the healthy control children. No difference was determined between the groups in respect of CRP level, leukocyte and thrombocyte counts (P > .05). The optimal cutoff point for MPV was determined as 8.74 fl (Area under the curve-AUC:0.932) with 81.82% sensitivity and 95% specificity for the determination of children infected with COVID-19. A cutoff value of <2.12/mm3 for lymphocytes (AUC:0.670) was determined with 49.09% sensitivity and 86.67% specificity for the prediction of COVID-19. Based on the ROC analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of MPV were determined to be higher than that of lymphocyte levels. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that MPV levels are significantly high in asymptomatic children infected with COVID-19 demonstrate that this is an important predictive value and has better predictive capacity than lymphocyte values. The evaluation of MPV and lymphocyte levels together could increase diagnostic success in asymptomatic COVID-19 patients.

C-Reactive Protein and Blood Gas Analysis in Cases of Neonatal Encephalopathy Treated with Therapeutic Hypothermia.

OBJECTIVE: Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) is one of the important causes of mortality and morbidity today. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) applied to moderate and severe NE patients has neuroprotective effects. The role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in determining the clinical severity of NE is not clear. METHODS: Medical records of 118 NE patients treated with TH were reviewed. The patients were divided into two groups as CRP positive (CRP-P) (≥1 mg/dL) and CRP negative (CRP-N) (<1 mg/dL) according to the CRP value measured immediately before rewarming phase during TH. Cord blood base deficits (BD) and pH were also examined. RESULTS: According to Sarnat&Sarnat classification, moderate NE cases were more frequent in the CRP-N group, whereas severe cases were more frequent in CRP-P group (p<0.001). There was a significant increase in CRP value during the rewarming phase of TH in both CRP-P and CRP-N groups (p<0.001). The specificity and sensitivity for CRP (measured during TH) predicting NE severity was 72% and 77%, respectively (AUC:0.742). For cord blood BD (AUC: 0.845) 79% sensitivity and 78% specificity were found, whereas pH (AUC: 155) had 10% sensitivity and 60% specificity. CONCLUSION: CRP level measured immediately before the rewarming phase may be useful biomarker for NE severity along with cord blood BD.

Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratios, Platelet/Lymphocyte Ratios, and Mean Platelet Volume Values in Patients with Measles.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to compare neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and mean platelet volume (MPV) values of patients with measles within the healthy control group and then determine the utility of these parameters for determination of inflammatory situation in patients with measles. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A total of 51 pediatric patients who had visited Harran University Medical Faculty Pediatrics Clinic between June 2018 and May 2019 and who had been diagnosed with measles after anamnesis, clinical, and serological evaluations were included our study; 49 healthy children who visited our clinic for various reasons and had taken hemogram tests were also added to our study as the control group. RESULTS: NLR and PLR values were observed higher than the control group for patients diagnosed with measles; however, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (p values 0.515 and 0.796, respectively). When MPV values of patients diagnosed with measles and control groups were compared, it was determined that MPV value was statistically lower in patients diagnosed with measles (p: 0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the parameters obtained through our study, it can be said that NLR and PLR are not suitable parameters for proving inflammation in patients with measles but MPV can be used as a convenient parameter for that purpose. However, prospective studies conducted with more patients are needed in this respect.