The value of non-enhanced MRI in the evaluation of patients with suspected idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.

INTRODUCTION/AIMS: The performance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosing suspected idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) remains controversial. Furthermore, the role of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CE-MRI) sequences is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a non-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (NE-MRI) protocol compared to a CE-MRI protocol in adult patients with confirmed IIM. METHODS: This study retrospectively enrolled patients with suspected IIM who underwent MRI of the upper thigh between 2008 and 2020. The protocol consisted of a T1-weighted (T1w) sequence, a turbo inversion recovery magnitude (TIRM) sequence and a contrast-enhanced T1-weighted sequence (CE-T1w). After randomly stratifying patients into a group with only the T1w and TIRM sequences available and another group with additional availability of CE-T1w, three blinded readers assessed the presence of IIM based on characteristic imaging features. Confirmation of the diagnosis was determined based on the 2017 ACR/EULAR criteria. RESULTS: Of the 80 patients (mean age 49.0 ± 21.1 years; 42 female, 38 male) included, 54 (67.5%) had a positive diagnosis of IIM. Cumulated sensitivity and specificity for MRI to detect IIM was 87.1% and 83.3% in the NE-MRI group versus 87.0% and 63.0% in the CE-MRI group. The group differences for sensitivity and specificity were non-significant for each of the three readers, respectively (p ≥ .081). DISCUSSION: NE-MRI detects suspected IIM with high diagnostic accuracy and performs equivalently to CE-MRI. Therefore, it may be appropriate to omit the use of contrast agents in MRI scans performed for suspected IIM.

Work expectations, their fulfillment, and exhaustion among radiologists of all career levels: what can be learned from the example of Germany.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate work expectations of radiologists at different career levels, their fulfillment, prevalence of exhaustion, and exhaustion-associated factors. METHODS: A standardized digital questionnaire was distributed internationally to radiologists of all career levels in the hospital and in ambulatory care via radiological societies and sent manually to 4500 radiologists of the largest German hospitals between December 2020 and April 2021. Statistics were based on age- and gender-adjusted regression analyses of respondents working in Germany (510 out of 594 total respondents). RESULTS: The most frequent expectations were "joy at work" (97%) and a "good working atmosphere" (97%), which were considered fulfilled by at least 78%. The expectation of a "structured residency within the regular time interval" (79%) was more frequently judged fulfilled by senior physicians (83%, odds ratio (OR) 4.31 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.95-9.52]), chief physicians (85%, 6.81 [95% CI 1.91-24.29]), and radiologists outside the hospital (88%, 7.59 [95% CI 2.40-24.03]) than by residents (68%). Exhaustion was most common among residents (physical exhaustion: 38%; emotional exhaustion: 36%), in-hospital specialists (29%; 38%), and senior physicians (30%; 29%). In contrast to paid extra hours, unpaid extra hours were associated with physical exhaustion (5-10 extra hours: OR 2.54 [95% CI 1.54-4.19]). Fewer opportunities to shape the work environment were related to a higher probability of physical (2.03 [95% CI 1.32-3.13]) and emotional (2.15 [95% CI 1.39-3.33]) exhaustion. CONCLUSIONS: While most radiologists enjoy their work, residents wish for more training structure. Ensuring payment of extra hours and employee empowerment may help preventing burnout in high-risk groups. KEY POINTS: • Most important work expectations of radiologists who work in Germany are "joy at work," a "good working atmosphere," "support for further qualification," and a "structured residency within the regular time interval," with the latter containing potential for improvement according to residents. • Physical and emotional exhaustion are common at all career levels except for chief physicians and for radiologists who work outside the hospital in ambulatory care. • Exhaustion as a major burnout criterion is associated with unpaid extra hours and reduced opportunities to shape the work environment.

Gender differences and cooperation in medical authorships - an analysis of the recent ten years in five key medical disciplines.

BACKGROUND: Career prospects in academic medicine are strongly linked to scientific authorship and this marker has been widely used as an indicator of gender equity in academia. However, direct comparisons of medical disciplines regarding their proportion of female physicians (FP) in different countries are missing. This study examines the gender parity and gender cooperation using first authorships (FA) and senior authorships (SA) of scientific publications in five medical disciplines and six different OECD countries over a 10-year time-trend. METHODS: Articles from three high-impact journals in each of the medical discipline radiology, urology, surgery, gynecology, and pediatrics from the years 2007/8 and 2017/18 were retrospectively reviewed. The gender and affiliation location of the FA and SA of original research articles and reviews were assigned and compared with the proportion of in each discipline for the United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. Mantel-Haenszel test and multinomial logistic regression models were used to calculate differences in proportions of women authors and FP and to assess trends and proportions of FA and SA. RESULTS: 30,803 articles were evaluated. Equally, with rising proportions of FP in all disciplines, the number of women authors increased across years. The shares of women FAs were either significantly higher (urology/surgery/gynecology) or balanced (pediatrics/radiology) compared to the proportion of FP. In contrast, the shares of women SA were balanced only in disciplines with a low proportion of FP (urology and surgery) and otherwise reduced. Women same-gender cooperation was as common as men same-gender cooperation and preferred over a women-led mixed gender cooperation in disciplines where this seemed to be practicable due to the high proportions of FP. CONCLUSION: In contrast to FA, a significant disparity persists in SA, particularly in disciplines with a high proportion of FP. The discrepancy between FA and SA may reflect, among others, dropout from an academic career in early or mid-academic levels, for example, due to structural inequality; together with the findings on gender preference in authorship collaborations, this may inform future strategies for promoting equal career advancement for women physicians.

Push-out bond strength of fiber posts to irradiated and non-irradiated intraradicular dentin.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of ionizing radiotherapy on the resin-dentin interface in endodontically treated teeth restored with fiber posts using a dual-cure resin cement performed with the etch-and-rinse (ER) and self-etch (SE) approaches in terms of push-out bond strength (MPa), and to analyze the post/cement/dentin interface using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-six single-rooted human teeth were used and randomly assigned into two main groups (n = 38): one non-irradiated group (NoRad) and one group subjected to a cumulative radiation dose of 60 Gy (Rad). All root canals were instrumented and were further subdivided into two subgroups (n = 19) following the adhesive approach: ER (RadER; NoRadER) and SE (RadSE; NoRadSE) used for fiber post luting with the universal adhesive and dual cure resin cement. Each root was sectioned perpendicularly to its long axis and sections from the middle third of the roots were chosen for SEM analysis and push-out bond strength test. Two-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey tests and a dummy variable linear regression analysis were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Regardless of the adhesive approach, push-out bond strength in irradiated teeth resulted in significantly lower values than non-irradiated teeth (p = 0.0001). There were no significant differences between the ER and SE approaches in non-irradiated teeth (p = 0.955), whereas the ER approach showed significantly higher bond strengths than the SE approach in irradiated teeth (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Ionizing radiotherapy resulted in dentin structure disruption and negatively affected the push-out bond strength of fiber posts to intraradicular dentin. The reduction in bond strength was also more significant with the SE approach than with the ER approach. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The alterations resulting from root dentin irradiation seem to influence adhesive systems bond strength to dentin, as these changes contribute to lower push-out bond strength in irradiated groups before fiber post luting. Thus, clinicians should prepare patients with a reasonable restorative treatment plan prior to radiotherapy and simultaneously initiate a preventive program during radiotherapy.

Gender trends in authorships and publication impact in Academic Radiology-a 10-year perspective.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the development of publication numbers of female authors in high-, medium-, and low-impact radiological journals. METHODS: In this bibliometric analysis, gender of the first (FA) and senior author (SA) was assigned to all original research articles and reviews, published in 10 high-, medium-, and low-impact radiological journals in 2007/8 and 2017/18. The adjusted event rate (AER) and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) were calculated using mixed logistic and multinomial logistic regression models to assess and compare female publications according to impact factor, journal, author position, and combination. RESULTS: The proportion of female FA and female SA in N = 6979 (2007/2008) and N = 7383 (2017/2018) articles increased to 29.1% and 16.1% in 2017/2018, respectively. While most female authorships were continuously observed in medium-impact journals, the strongest increase occurred for both female FA (AOR 2.0; p < .0001) and SA (AOR 2.1; p < .0001) in low-impact journals. Female SA published significantly more often in a low- (AOR 1.5) or medium- (AOR 1.8) than in a high-ranking journal. Among the high-ranking journals, female FA published most frequently in European Radiology (32.4%; 95% CI [29.3-35.8]; p < .0001), female SA in Investigative Radiology (15.9%; 95% CI [13.7-18.4]; p < .0001). Male same-sex authorships decreased (AOR 0.9), but remained at least twice as common as all-female or mixed authorships. CONCLUSION: The increase in female authorship is reflected in all impact areas. Female FA and SA increased most in low-ranking journals but are most common in medium-ranking journals. Female SA remain rare, especially in high impact journals. KEY POINTS: • Compared to the proportion of female radiologists worldwide, female senior authors are underrepresented in all impact areas, in particular in high-impact journals. • Among the included high-ranking radiological journals, female first authors and senior authors were strongest represented in European Radiology and Investigative Radiology, while across all impact areas they mostly published in medium-ranking journals. • Female author combinations were more frequent in low- and medium- than in high-ranking journals, whereas male author combinations remained more common than female senior author collaborations in all impact areas.

Evaluation of senior dental students' general attitude towards the use of rubber dam: a survey among two dental schools.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the general attitude of senior dental students towards rubber dam use, specifically focusing on endodontic practices prior to starting to serve community. Questionnaires were distributed to senior year students of a private school and a state school in Istanbul. Questions were asked about areas where the students used rubber dam, its advantages and difficulties, and whether they agreed or disagreed with some aspects of the rubber dam. The private school students rated isolation whereas those of the state school selected prevention of aspiration which the top advantage rubber dam provides. Students of the state school agreed with the opinion that isolation cannot be achieved without rubber dam and it extended the procedure with a significantly higher ratio compared to the private school. Within the limitations of the present study, it can be concluded that the perceptions of dental students on rubber dam needs to be improved and strategies should be developed so that this valuable adjunct will comprise one of the indispensable elements of dental care.

Comparision of two different preparation protocol of Ni-Ti Rotary PathFile-ProTaper instruments in simulated s-shaped canals.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to compare the root canal transportation with the PathFile-ProTaper recommended protocol, PathFile-ProTaper modified protocol and stainless steel K-flexofiles. METHODS: Forty-five ISO 15, 0.02 taper S-shaped Endo Training Blocks were divided randomly into three groups of 15 each and prepared as follows: PathFile-Protaper recommended protocol, Pathfile-Protaper modified protocol and manual preparation with K-Flexofiles. The amount of transportation was assessed by scanning the blocks before and after preparation and superimposing the images. The cutting effects of the instruments from the inner and outer aspects of the root canals were measured and statistically analyzed with the One-way Anova test and Tukey HSD test. RESULTS: Manual preparation caused significantly more transportation than both PathFile-Protaper systems. There was no significant difference regarding transportation between the two Pathfile-Protaper protocols. CONCLUSION: The modified Pathfile-Protaper protocol transported the canal similar to the recommended Pathfile-Protaper protocol. It may be suggested that, while working safety remains unchanged, the shaping procedure and consequently working time can be shortened with fewer instruments. The results of this study can help clinicians to reduce the preparation time with the PathFile-ProTaper rotary system while the preparation quality remains the same.

Surface roughness and cyclic fatigue resistance of a novel shaping system: An in-vitro study.

Recently developed Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) instruments with practical changes have resulted in safer instrumentation. In addition, topographical features on the file surface are a contributing factor to clinical durability. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate both the cyclic fatigue resistance and the roughness change of MTwo and Rotate instruments (VDW, Munich, Germany). Each instrument (n = 6/each group) was scanned with an atomic force microscopy prior to and after instrumentation. In addition, cyclic fatigue testing was conducted for each instrument (n = 11/each group) with stainless-steel blocks, including 45°-60°-90° degrees of curvature milled to the instruments' size. The roughness parameters increased for both systems after instrumentation (p<0.05). Both systems presented an increased roughness following instrumentation (p<0.05). The cyclic fatigue resistance was lowest at 90° for both systems (p<0.05), whereas the Rotate files presented a higher resistance than that of the Mtwo files (p<0.05). Compared to the Mtwo files, Rotate files presented better resistance, while the resistance decreased as the curvature increased.

Treatment of right hepatic artery stump bleeding after pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy by covered stent endoprosthesis placement.

Serious complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy include rupture of pseudoaneurysms arising from pancreatic fistula and pancreatojejunostomy leakage. We report a case of successful endovascular minimally invasive treatment using a covered stent endoprosthesis of a right hepatic artery stump bleeding following pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy that was not suitable for coil or glue embolization due to an insufficiently short neck.

A prospective randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of music on patients' anxiety in venous catheter placement procedures.

The aim of the study was to assess the influence of music on anxiety levels compared to standard patient care in patients undergoing venous catheter placement procedures. This prospective randomized controlled trial included patients undergoing placement procedures for peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICC), ports and central venous catheters (CVC). Patients were randomly assigned to a music intervention group (MIG) and a control group (CTRL). State and trait anxiety levels were assessed as primary outcome using the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) before and after the procedures. Secondary outcomes comprised averaged heart rate for all participants and time of radiological surveillance for port placement procedures exclusively. 72 participants were included into the final analysis (MIG n = 40; CTRL n = 32). All procedures were successful and no major complications were reported. Mean levels for post-interventional anxieties were significantly lower in the MIG compared to the CTRL (34.9 ± 8.9 vs. 44 ± 12.1; p < 0.001). Mean heart rate in the MIG was significantly lower than in the CTRL (76.1 ± 13.7 vs. 93 ± 8.9; p < 0.001). Procedure time for port implantation was significantly longer in the MIG by 3 min 45 s (p = 0.031). Music exposure during central venous catheter placement procedures highly significantly reduces anxiety and stress levels and can be used to improve patients' overall experience in the angio suite.

Tablets as an Option for Telemedicine-Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance and Efficiency in Intracranial Arterial Aneurysm Detection.

Purpose: To evaluate a commercially available mobile device for the highly specialized task of detection of intracranial arterial aneurysm in telemedicine. Methods: Six radiologists with three different levels of experience retrospectively interpreted 60 computed tomography (CT) angiographies for the presence of intracranial arterial aneurysm, among them 30 cases with confirmed positive findings. Each radiologist reviewed the angiography datasets twice: once on a dedicated medical-grade workstation and on a commercially available mobile consumer-grade tablet with an interval of 3 months. Diagnostic performance, reading efficiency and subjective scorings including diagnostic confidence were analyzed and compared. Results: Diagnostic performance was comparable on both devices regardless of readers' experience, and no significant differences in sensitivity (66-87.5%) and specificity (79.4-87%) were found. Results obtained with tablets and medical workstations were also comparable in terms of subjective assessment across all reader groups. Conclusions: There was no significant difference between tablet and workstation readings of angiography datasets for the presence of intracranial arterial aneurysm. Sensitivity, specificity, efficiency and subjective scorings were similar with the two devices for all three reader groups. While medical workstations are 10 times more expensive, tablets allow higher mobility especially for radiologists on call.

Foreign Healthcare Professionals in Germany: A Questionnaire Survey Evaluating Discrimination Experiences and Equal Treatment at Two Large University Hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To identify facilitators and barriers and derive concrete measures towards better workplace integration of migrants working in the German healthcare sector. DESIGN: Two-centre cross-sectional quantitative online survey of experiences of discrimination among healthcare professionals with a migration history in two large German university hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: 251 participants fully completed the questionnaires. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Experiences of discrimination and perception of inequality. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of migrant health workers had had at least some command of German before arriving in Germany. Members of all professional groups surveyed expressed experiences of discrimination related to language, nationality, race/ethnicity, and sex/gender. The proportions of staff with experiences of discrimination by peers differed significantly among occupational roles, with nurses and technologists having the most experiences of discrimination. The perception of inequality was reported more frequently than experiences of discrimination and had a negative impact on workplace satisfaction. Specifically, the compulsion to compete was a frequent feeling stated by participants. CONCLUSION: The mechanisms of discrimination and structural inequality revealed by our survey could inform specific measures, for example at the management level, to increase workplace satisfaction and attract migrant health workers in the long term.

Short- and long-term evaluation of disease-specific symptoms and quality of life following uterine artery embolization of fibroids.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to evaluate uterine artery embolization (UAE) for the management of symptomatic uterine leiomyomas regarding changes in quality of life after treatment in a large patient collective. This study retrospectively analyzed prospectively acquired standardized questionnaires of patients treated with UAE. Clinical success was evaluated before and after embolization. Patients were stratified into short- (≤ 7 months) and long-term (> 7 months) follow-up groups depending on the time of completion of the post-interventional questionnaire. Uterine leiomyomas were furthermore divided into small (< 10 cm) and large (≥ 10 cm) tumors based on the diameter of the dominant fibroid. RESULTS: A total of 245 patients were included into the final data analysis. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a cumulative clinical success rate of 75.8% after 70 months until the end of follow-up (9.9 years). All questionnaire subscales showed a highly significant clinical improvement from baseline to short- and long-term follow-up (p < 0.001). Patients with small fibroids showed a significantly better response to UAE in multiple subcategories of the questionnaire than patients with fibroids ≥ 10 cm who had a twofold higher probability of re-intervention in the Cox-regression model. CONCLUSIONS: UAE is an effective treatment method for symptomatic fibroids that leads to quick relief of fibroid-related symptoms with marked improvement of quality of life and is associated with a low risk for re-interventions. Patients with small fibroids tend to show a better response to UAE compared to patients with large fibroids. Trial registration Charité institutional review board, EA4/167/20. Registered 27 November 2020-Retrospectively registered. https://ethikkommission.charite.de/.

Perihematomal Edema and Clinical Outcome in Intracerebral Hemorrhage Related to Different Oral Anticoagulants.

BACKGROUND: There is a need to examine the effects of different types of oral anticoagulant-associated intracerebral hemorrhage (OAC-ICH) on perihematomal edema (PHE), which is gaining considerable appeal as a biomarker for secondary brain injury and clinical outcome. METHODS: In a large multicenter approach, computed tomography-derived imaging markers for PHE (absolute PHE, relative PHE (rPHE), edema expansion distance (EED)) were calculated for patients with OAC-ICH and NON-OAC-ICH. Exploratory analysis for non-vitamin-K-antagonist OAC (NOAC) and vitamin-K-antagonists (VKA) was performed. The predictive performance of logistic regression models, employing predictors of poor functional outcome (modified Rankin scale 4-6), was explored. RESULTS: Of 811 retrospectively enrolled patients, 212 (26.14%) had an OAC-ICH. Mean rPHE and mean EED were significantly lower in patients with OAC-ICH compared to NON-OAC-ICH, p-value 0.001 and 0.007; whereas, mean absolute PHE did not differ, p-value 0.091. Mean EED was also significantly lower in NOAC compared to NON-OAC-ICH, p-value 0.05. Absolute PHE was an independent predictor of poor clinical outcome in NON-OAC-ICH (OR 1.02; 95%CI 1.002-1.028; p-value 0.027), but not in OAC-ICH (p-value 0.45). CONCLUSION: Quantitative markers of early PHE (rPHE and EED) were lower in patients with OAC-ICH compared to those with NON-OAC-ICH, with significantly lower levels of EED in NOAC compared to NON-OAC-ICH. Increase of early PHE volume did not increase the likelihood of poor outcome in OAC-ICH, but was independently associated with poor outcome in NON-OAC-ICH. The results underline the importance of etiology-specific treatment strategies. Further prospective studies are needed.

Clinical and Imaging Characteristics in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Acute Intracranial Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Intracranial hemorrhage has been observed in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (COVID-19), but the clinical, imaging, and pathophysiological features of intracranial bleeding during COVID-19 infection remain poorly characterized. This study describes clinical and imaging characteristics of patients with COVID-19 infection who presented with intracranial bleeding in a European multicenter cohort. METHODS: This is a multicenter retrospective, observational case series including 18 consecutive patients with COVID-19 infection and intracranial hemorrhage. Data were collected from February to May 2020 at five designated European special care centers for COVID-19. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was based on laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. Intracranial bleeding was diagnosed on computed tomography (CT) of the brain within one month of the date of COVID-19 diagnosis. The clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and pathologic findings, therapy and outcomes in COVID-19 patients presenting with intracranial bleeding were analyzed. RESULTS: Eighteen patients had evidence of acute intracranial bleeding within 11 days (IQR 9-29) of admission. Six patients had parenchymal hemorrhage (33.3%), 11 had subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (61.1%), and one patient had subdural hemorrhage (5.6%). Three patients presented with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) (16.7%). CONCLUSION: This study represents the largest case series of patients with intracranial hemorrhage diagnosed with COVID-19 based on key European countries with geospatial hotspots of SARS-CoV-2. Isolated SAH along the convexity may be a predominant bleeding manifestation and may occur in a late temporal course of severe COVID-19.

Supervisors' perspective on medical thesis projects and dropout rates: survey among thesis supervisors at a large German university hospital.

OBJECTIVES: To identify underlying causes for failure of medical thesis projects and the constantly high drop-out rate in Germany from the supervisors' perspective and to compare the results with the students' perspective. SETTING: Cross-sectional survey. Online questionnaire for survey of medical thesis supervisors among the staff of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Published, earlier longitudinal survey among students for comparison. PARTICIPANTS: 1069 thesis supervisors participated. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data are presented using descriptive statistics, and the χ2 test served to compare the results among supervisors with the earlier data from the longitudinal survey of doctoral students. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: Not applicable. This survey is an observational study. RESULTS: Of 3653 potential participants, 1069 (29.3%) supervising 3744 doctoral candidates participated in the study. Supervisors considered themselves to be highly motivated and to offer adequate supervision. On the other hand, 87% stated that they did not feel well prepared for thesis supervision. Supervisors gave lack of timeliness of doctoral students and personal differences (p=0.024 and p=0.001) as the main reasons for terminating thesis projects. Doctoral students predominantly mentioned methodological problems and difficult subjects as critical issues (p=0.001 and p<0.001). Specifically, students felt ill prepared for the statistical part of their research-49.5% stated that they never received statistical assistance, whereas 97% of supervisors claimed to help their students with statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The authors found that both thesis supervisors and medical students feel ill prepared for their roles in the process of a medical dissertation. Contradictory reasons for terminating medical thesis projects based on supervisors' and students' self-assessment suggest a lack of communication and true scientific collaboration between supervisors and doctoral students as the major underlying issue that requires resolution.

Inadvertent apical extrusion of sodium hypochlorite with evaluation by dental volumetric tomography.

This case report describes the tissue injury caused by inadvertently extruded NaOCl through the apical constriction. A 56-year-old female patient with complaints of pain, swelling, and ecchymosis on the left side of her face was referred to our clinic. The symptoms had emerged following root canal treatment of the maxillary left first premolar, and a soft tissue complication due to apical extrusion of NaOCl was diagnosed. Antibiotics and analgesics were prescribed. DVT images revealed that the buccal root apex had perforated the maxillary bone. The patient was followed up every other day and became asymptomatic on the 10th day. Endodontic therapy was completed with routine procedures. Determining working length precisely and following irrigation protocols meticulously are indispensable to prevent this type of complication. 3D visualization of the affected area may reveal the cause of the incident.

Sediment concentrations of heavy metals in the Homa Lagoon (Eastern Aegean Sea): assessment of contamination and ecological risks.

The concentrations of heavy metals and organic carbon in sediment of the Homa Lagoon which is one of the most productive lagoons and commercial important active fish trap in the Eastern Aegean Sea, were investigated in order to describe the temporal and spatial distributions of metals. These results were used to evaluate possible ecological risks that could be a problem for the environment of the lagoon in the future. Sediments were enriched with Cr, Ni and considered as heavily polluted per the SQG. The C(f) of Ni and Cr were presented moderate level of contamination in this area. The C(d) levels indicated moderate degree of contamination at station B, C, D and E due to agricultural drainage water, industrial and domestic wastewater, are transported by the Gediz River. Sediments from Homa Lagoon were most toxic for Ni due to exceedances of the TEL and PEL values.

Size-associated Variation and Factors Affecting the Morphology of Brown Bodies in Glycera tridactyla (Polychaeta:Glyceridae)

Size-associated variations in brown body morphology (size and shape) were studied from the individuals of Glycera tridactyla. Variables related to size, length (BL) and width (BW) of the brown bodies were measured. On the basis of these measurements, other variables such as the surface area (SA), volume (V), surface area/volume ratio (SA/V) and elongation degree (ED) were calculated. Brown body shape was quantified by the elongation degree. The immature brown bodies were significantly smaller than the mature bodies, and therefore the smaller bodies had a higher SA/V. Results obtained from the regression analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between all the variables with the exception of SA/V:BW for the immature bodies and ED: BL for both groups of the bodies. The body size (proboscis length) of the worm and the sampling time (months) were the affecting factors on size and shape of the brown body. Brown bodies tend to be elongated as the proboscis length increased. The variation in size and/or shape of the brown bodies could refer to an adaptation to the movement along the coelomic fluid.