Attitudes of Different Religions Toward Surrogacy: Analysis of 11 Countries' Situation Using Machine Learning Approach and Artificial Neural Networks.

Individuals may develop different attitudes on bioethics in general and reproductive ethics in particular, due to the effects of different sociocultural environments. Individuals' attitudes toward surrogacy are affected positively or negatively depending on religious and cultural environments. This study was conducted to determine and compare the attitudes of different religions toward surrogacy. This study is cross-sectional and collected from individuals living in Turkey, India, Iran, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Mexico, England, and Japan between May 2022 and December 2022. The study was conducted with individuals belonging to Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Atheism. The study was conducted with 1177 individuals from different religions who agreed to participate in the study by snowball sampling method. The introductory Information Form and "Attitude Questionnaire Toward Surrogacy" were used as data collection tools. R programming language 4.1.3 was used for regression analysis with machine learning approach and artificial neural networks, and SPSS-25 was used for other statistical analyses. There was a significant difference between the total mean score of the individuals' Attitudes toward Surrogacy Questionnaire and their religious beliefs (p < 0.05). When the results of the analysis of the regression model with the dummy variable, which was carried out with the aim of revealing the effects of religious belief on the attitude toward surrogacy, are examined, statistical estimates of the regression model show that the model is significant and usable F(4,1172) = 5.005, p = 0.001). It explains 1.7% of the total variance of the level of religious belief's attitude toward surrogacy. In the regression model, when the t-test results regarding the significance of the regression coefficient are examined, among the participants, it was determined that the mean score of those who believed in Islam (t = - 3.827, p < 0.001) and those who believed in Christianity (t = - 2.548, p < 0.001) was lower than the mean score of those who believed in Hinduism (Constant) (p < 0.05). Individuals' attitudes toward surrogacy differ according to their religion. The best performing algorithm for the prediction model was random forest (RF) regression. The contributions of the variables to the model were calculated with Shapley values (Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP)). The SHAP values of the variables in the best performing model were examined to avoid bias in terms of comparison in the performance criterion. SHAP values (Shapley Additive Explanations) show the contribution or importance of each variable in the estimation of the model. It is determined that the most important variable that should be in the model to predict the Attitude Toward Surrogacy Survey variable is the Nationality variable. It is recommended that studies on attitudes toward surrogacy should be conducted by taking religious and cultural values into consideration.

Analytical Evaluation of Vitamin D Measurements in Routine Laboratories.

BACKGROUND: Its increasing clinical importance has turned 25-hydroxy-Vitamin D (25(OH)D) into an indispensable test in clinical laboratories. In this study, we aimed to analyze the analytical performances of two widely used immunoassays, namely new restandardized Abbott product Architect 25-OH Vitamin D test and the Beckman Coulter product Access 25(OH) Vitamin D Total Test by making comparisons with the reference method liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). METHODS: The new restandardized Architect I2000SR System (Abbott Laboratories, IL, USA; ref 5P02) and Access2 (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA; ref B24838) immunoassay were compared with LC-MS/MS (Shimadzu LCMS-8030, Kyoto, Japan) method 25(OH)D test for precision and reproducibility in 90 serum samples. In comparison with reference method, Deming Regression analysis and Bland Altman graphs were used. RESULTS: Within run coefficient of variation (CV%) for Architect was found to be lower than 3.1%. Within run coefficient of variation (CV%) for Access2 was lower than 7.04%. When compared with LC-MS/MS, R value of Architect 25-OH Vitamin D kit was 0.911 (intercept 1.62, slope 1.06), mean bias was -0.04% and for Access 25(OH) Vitamin D Total kit, R value was 0.841 (intercept 9.43, slope 0.92) and mean bias of 6.9%. CONCLUSIONS: When renewed 5P02 Abbott Architect 25(OH)D and Beckman Coulter Access2 25(OH)D Total tests were compared with LC-MS/MS method in our study, they were found to have appropriate analytical values.

Analytical performance evaluation of Sysmex CS-2500 and Stago STA Compact.

: The Sysmex Coagulation System-2500 (CS-2500) is a fully automated coagulation analyzer that uses the optical reaction method. In this study, we aimed to evaluate performance characteristics of the CS-2500 in two coagulation tests [prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT)] at our hospital laboratory. PT and aPTT measurements were performed using the CS-2500 and STA-Compact Diagnostica Stago coagulometers (STA-Compact). Then, precision, accuracy, reference range verification, and method comparison statistics were performed. In the precision study, which was performed with normal and pathologic controls for the PT-international normalized ratio (INR) and aPTT tests, all coefficient of variation% were found less than 3.5%. In the comparison study, the Passing-Bablok regression analysis demonstrated the good agreement between each analyzer for PT-INR (y = -0.081 + 1.07x and r = 0.962) and for aPTT (y = 5.498 + 0.86x and r = 0.944). Both analyzers exhibited less than 9.9% bias in the accuracy study. The reference range verification analyses revealed that the manufacturer ranges were acceptable. The verification studies of the CS-2500 coagulation system were acceptable; however, in the comparison studies, there were small differences between STA-Compact. Overall, we propose that these differences could be eliminated in future standardization studies performed to use the same reference ranges for all systems.

The use of complementary medicine in patients with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a growing health problem with serious complications. The chronic and progressive nature of the disease often leads patients to use complementary and integrative medicine. The present study aimed to investigate the frequency of use of alternative medicine by patients with DM and the products used. METHODS: Between September 2014 and May 2015, 301 patients with DM were selected from Bezmialem Foundation University Hospital Diabetes Clinic to participate in the study. RESULTS: The results of the study indicate that 81 (26.9%) patients had tried alternative medicine, and 50 (16.6%) patients continued to use some form of alternative medicine product. A total of 43 (14.3%) patients used such products every day and 24 (8%) patients had used alternative medicine products for up to 6 months. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were significantly decreased in patients using alternative medicine products compared to the remainder of patients in the study (p=0.017). No other significant difference was found between the two groups. It was observed that among patients using alternative medicine products, only 10 (12%) had informed their physicians. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that patients with diabetes are very likely to use alternative medicine products. Additional studies are needed to further determine the efficacy of these products. Patients as well as health providers must be educated about complementary medicine and alternative products.

Serum endocan levels in women with restless legs syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Endocan is a recently introduced marker of endothelial dysfunction. The objective of this study was to compare serum endocan levels in patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) and control subjects in order to elucidate whether RLS is associated with endothelial dysfunction. METHODS: A total of 31 drug naïve female patients with RLS and 31 age- and BMI-matched women were included in the study. Patients with pathological or physiological conditions or with a history of medication use that could potentially influence endothelial functions were excluded, as well as those with alcohol or drug abuse history. The two groups were compared with routine blood tests and serum endocan levels. RESULTS: Patients with RLS had lower serum endocan levels than the controls (P=0.037). There was a negative bivariate correlation between RLS severity score and serum endocan levels (r=-0.406, P=0.023). While white blood cell count was significantly higher in RLS group, 25-hydroxy vitamin D3, vitamin B12, transferrin saturation rate, and HDL-cholesterol were significantly lower. Creatininemia and diastolic blood pressure were also marginally insignificantly lower in RLS group. Due to the presence of differences between two groups in these variables, a linear regression analysis was performed that showed a positive association between endocan and creatininemia (ß=0.310, P=0.022), and a negative association between endocan and RLS (ß=-0.502, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study seem to suggest that patients with RLS may have better endothelial functions when compared with the general population and that these patients may be better protected against atherosclerosis.