Distinguishing Parkinson's Disease with GLCM Features from the Hankelization of EEG Signals.

This study proposes a novel method that uses electroencephalography (EEG) signals to classify Parkinson's Disease (PD) and demographically matched healthy control groups. The method utilizes the reduced beta activity and amplitude decrease in EEG signals that are associated with PD. The study involved 61 PD patients and 61 demographically matched controls groups, and EEG signals were recorded in various conditions (eyes closed, eyes open, eyes both open and closed, on-drug, off-drug) from three publicly available EEG data sources (New Mexico, Iowa, and Turku). The preprocessed EEG signals were classified using features obtained from gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features through the Hankelization of EEG signals. The performance of classifiers with these novel features was evaluated using extensive cross-validations (CV) and leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) schemes. This method under 10 × 10 fold CV, the method was able to differentiate PD groups from healthy control groups using a support vector machine (SVM) with an accuracy of 92.4 ± 0.01, 85.7 ± 0.02, and 77.1 ± 0.06 for New Mexico, Iowa, and Turku datasets, respectively. After a head-to-head comparison with state-of-the-art methods, this study showed an increase in the classification of PD and controls.

Modeling DNA Methylation Profiles and Epigenetic Analysis of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Seedlings Exposed to Copper Heavy Metal.

Heavy metals are chemical elements with high density that can be toxic or poisonous even at low concentrations. They are widely distributed in the environment due to industrial activities, mining, pesticide use, automotive emissions and domestic wastes. This study aimed to investigate the toxic effects of copper (Cu) heavy metal on safflower plants in terms of genetic and epigenetic parameters. Safflower seeds were exposed to different concentrations of Cu heavy metal solution (20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280 mg L-1) for three weeks, and changes in the genomic template stability (GTS) and methylation pattern in the root tissues were analyzed using PCR and coupled restriction enzyme digestion-random amplification (CRED-RA) techniques. The results indicated that high doses of Cu have genotoxic effects on the genome of safflower plants. Epigenetic analysis revealed four different methylation patterns, with the highest total methylation rate of 95.40% observed at a 20 mg L-1 concentration, and the lowest rate of 92.30% observed at 160 mg L-1. Additionally, the maximum percentage of non-methylation was detected at 80 mg L-1. These results suggest that changes in the methylation patterns can serve as an important mechanism of protection against Cu toxicity. Furthermore, safflower can be used as a biomarker to determine the pollution in soils contaminated with Cu heavy metal.

Effect of the Management in Nursing course on students' time management and career planning attitudes: A single-group pre-test post-test study.

AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of the Management in Nursing course on the time management and career planning attitudes of nursing students. BACKGROUND: University education is important for young people to develop their time management skills, plan their careers, and implement these plans. DESIGN: This is a semi-experimental study used single-group pre-test post-test design. METHODS: This study sample included 133 fourth-year nursing students who enrolled for the Management in Nursing course in the 2019-2020 academic year. Introductory Information Form, Career Futures Inventory (CFI), and Time Management Questionnaire (TMQ) were used for data collection. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was found between the pre- and post-test time planning and TMQ scores. Moreover, a significant difference was found between the pre- and post-test career adaptability, career optimism and CFI scores. No significant difference was found between the pre- and post-test scores for the TMQ's time attitudes and time wasters subdimensions; similarly, the CFI's perceived knowledge of the job market subdimension indicated no significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicated that the Management in Nursing course improved the time management skills of fourth-year nursing students as well as increased adaptability and optimism in their career planning attitudes.

Validity and reliability study of the mental illness micro-aggression scale-perpetrator version.

This study was conducted to determine the Turkish Validity and Reliability of the Mental Illness Micro-Aggression Scale- perpetrator version. This methodological study was conducted with 302 nursing students studying at two different universities in Turkey. The data of the study were collected via introductory information form, the Mental Illness Micro-Aggression Scale-Perpetrator Version, and Community Attitudes to Mental Illness. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, the original three-factor structure of the scale was changed and a four-factor structure emerged. The Turkish version of the Mental Illness Micro-Aggression Scale-Perpetrator Version was found to be a valid and reliable measurement tool to measure micro-aggression towards people with mental illness.

The relationship of childhood trauma experiences with cognitive distortions and sense of coherence in nursing students.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the relationship of childhood trauma experiences with cognitive distortions and sense of coherence in nursing students. DESIGN AND METHODS: This descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted with 359 nursing students. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Information Form, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS), and Sense of Coherence (SOC). FINDINGS: A positive correlation between CTQ and CDS and a negative correlation between CTQ and SOC were determined (p < 0.05). It was concluded that the CTQ sexual abuse variable had a significant (p = 0.008) effect on the SOC meaningfulness subscale. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: It is thought that it is essential to strengthen nursing students in terms of childhood traumatic experiences, and the sense of coherence will contribute positively to this situation.

Determining the effect of an intercultural nursing course on empathic skill and intercultural sensitivity levels: An intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Providing culturally sensitive healthcare services requires to command on content and concepts. Moreover, it is essential to train nurses who are sensitive toward cultural values and beliefs and who can provide holistic and individual nursing care in an increasingly diverse population. OBJECTIVE: This study determined the effect of the Intercultural Nursing Course on the empathic skill and intercultural sensitivity levels of nursing students in Turkey. DESIGN: This study was an interventional study that adopted a pretest-posttest design with a control group. PARTICIPANTS: The participants of the study were 165 nursing students from a school of health; these students were completing their fourth year of studies and in the spring term of the 2017-2018 academic year. However, the sample group comprised 113 students who agreed to participate in the study and completely filled out the administered forms. The intervention group consisted of 84 students admitted to Intercultural Nursing Course, whereas the control group consisted of 29 students who were not admitted to Intercultural Nursing Course. METHODS: Intercultural Nursing Course, one of the elective courses in the fourth grade of the nursing program, was a 14-week course that was conducted through two contact hours per week. Data from both the groups were collected at the beginning and at the end of the course by the researchers using the "Introductory Information Form," the "Empathic Skill Scale", and the "Intercultural Sensitivity Scale". Data were analyzed through descriptive tests, t-test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test using statistical package software. In addition, the required approval was procured from the ethics committee of the relevant university and School of Health before the study was conducted. RESULTS: No significant differences prevailed between the intervention and control groups in terms of total intragroup and intergroup Empathic Skill Scale and Intercultural Sensitivity Scale scores. However, a significant difference (Z = -4.000; p = 0.000) between the pretest and posttest scores was observed in the interaction confidence subdimension of the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale in the intervention group. CONCLUSION: Although Intercultural Nursing Course did not lead to a significant change in students' empathic skills and cultural sensitivity levels, it enhanced their cultural sensitivity and self-confidence in intercultural communication and ensured maintenance of their empathic skills. Intercultural Nursing Course can thus valuably contribute to the understanding of cultural structure and values of society and to the development of techniques that can provide nursing care accordingly.

Effects of water deficit on growth and performance of drip irrigated sweet potato varieties.

BACKGROUND: There are many scientific studies on performance of different sweet potato varieties under water deficits, however, no study on Koganesengan and Beniazuma varieties has been found in the literature. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of water deficit levels (control-WD0 , low-WD25 , medium-WD50 and high-WD75 water deficit levels) on growth, yield and quality parameters, water use efficiency and water-yield response factor values of these sweet potato varieties under drip irrigation. RESULTS: The seasonal water consumptions of varieties were calculated as 808 and 826 mm, respectively, under no water deficit. All of the growth (except average tuber length for Koganesengan) and yield parameters of both varieties were significantly affected by water deficit treatments. However, most of the quality parameters including total dry mater, starch, ß-carotene, ascorbic acid, protein, saccharose and glucose contents for both varieties; total ash, crude fiber and phenolic matter content for Beniazuma; and fructose content and antioxidant activity for Koganesengan variety had no response to water deficits at any level. Under high deficit and control, fresh and dry vine, tuber and total yields ranged from 4.80 to 14.54, 0.85 to 2.35, 1.59 to 10.97 and 6.40 to 25.52 t ha-1 for Koganesengan and 6.05 to 27.88, 0.99 to 4.09, 2.17 to 22.91 and 8.22 to 50.79 t ha-1 for Beniazuma, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results showed that Beniazuma variety is proportionally more sensitive to water deficit than Koganesengan. It can be concluded that both varieties can be grown in Mediterranean conditions by providing optimum irrigation applications. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Relationship between emotional eating and coping with stress of nursing students.

PURPOSE: This research aims to determine the relationship between the coping skills and emotional eating habits of young adults. DESIGN AND METHODS: The population consisted of 473 nursing students whom registered in the Faculty of Health Sciences at a state university in Turkey during 2018 and 2019 education terms. Data were collected through the Demographic Form, Turkish Emotional Eating Scale (TEES), and Coping Style Scale (CSS). FINDINGS: "Eating in anxiety" (r = -.174; P = .000) and "eating in the negative mood" (r = -.123; P = .007) subscale scores of TEES showed a statistically significant, negative correlation with the "self-confident approach" subscale score of CSS. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: In light of the data, it is suggested to increase the frequency of psychological counseling offered for these students and setup behavior change training either an individual or group settings. Besides, the conjoint effort of health professionals and psychiatric nurses would be highly beneficial for the development of effective assessment tools to determine students at risk and engage in appropriate prevention strategies such as training programs that would have a direct impact on the students' habitual diet. Subsequent research is recommended incorporating additional variables such as body perception, ideal female image, expectations of perfection toward the body, and self-worth defined thru the body.

The effect of psychiatric nursing students' internships on their beliefs about and attitudes toward mental health problems; a single-group experimental study.

BACKGROUND: It is important that nursing students develop positive beliefs and attitudes toward individuals with mental health problems during nursing education in order to provide an effective nursing care and create a therapeutic environment. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to analyze the effect of psychiatric nursing internship practice and the personal characteristics and preferences of psychiatric nursing interns on their beliefs and attitudes toward mental illnesses. DESIGN: This is a single group experimental study with a pre-test and post-test. PARTICIPANTS: The study sample included 33 fourth-year nursing students enrolled in the School of Health who participated in an internship in psychiatric nursing. METHODOLOGY: The study data were collected using a student information form, the Community Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill Scale (CAMI) and the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale (BMI) at the beginning and end of the 14-week internship of 32 h per week. FINDINGS: The students' beliefs and attitudes toward mental health problems were found to be moderate with no significant differences between mean pre-test and post-test scores. CONCLUSION: The psychiatry nursing internship practice yielded minimal positive changes in students' beliefs and attitudes toward mental health problems. Initiation of the process of developing positive attitudes and beliefs in the first year of nursing education and increasing the internship period may provide more effective results.

Cardiosphere-Derived Cells Demonstrate Metabolic Flexibility That Is Influenced by Adhesion Status.

Adult stem cells demonstrate metabolic flexibility that is regulated by cell adhesion status. The authors demonstrate that adherent cells primarily utilize glycolysis, whereas suspended cells rely on oxidative phosphorylation for their ATP needs. Akt phosphorylation transduces adhesion-mediated regulation of energy metabolism, by regulating translocation of glucose transporters (GLUT1) to the cell membrane and thus, cellular glucose uptake and glycolysis. Cell dissociation, a pre-requisite for cell transplantation, leads to energetic stress, which is mediated by Akt dephosphorylation, downregulation of glucose uptake, and glycolysis. They designed hydrogels that promote rapid cell adhesion of encapsulated cells, Akt phosphorylation, restore glycolysis, and cellular ATP levels.

Tinea pedis and onychomycosis frequency in diabetes mellitus patients and diabetic foot ulcers. A cross sectional - observational study.

OBJECTIVE: Impaired cellular immunity and reduced phagocytic function of polymorphonuclear leukocytes facilitate the development of skin fungal and bacterial infections due to uncontrolled hyperglycemia in diabetic patients. In our study, we aimed to assess onychomycosis and/or tinea pedis frequency in diabetic patients, and effects on the development of chronic complications, particularly foot ulcer. METHODS: We included 227 diabetic patients in the study. Forty-three patients had diabetic foot ulcer. We screened and recorded demographic characteristics, HbA1c levels of patients, and presence of complications We examined patients dermatologically, and collected samples by scalpel from skin between toes, and from sole, toe nail, and area surrounding nails from suspected to have fungal infection. RESULTS: Native positivity between toes was higher in men compared to women (p<0.05). We obtained significant relation between HbA1c elevation and native positivity between toes (p<0.05). Fungal infection between toes, at sole and toe nail significantly increased in patients with diabetic foot ulcer compared to patients without diabetic foot ulcer (p<0.05). Moreover, native positivity in patients with diabetic foot ulcer correlated with presence of fungal infection examination findings (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Fungal infections were more frequently observed in the presence of poor glycemic control and peripheral vascular disease in diabetic patients in compliance with the literature, and the presence of fungal infection may also responsible for the development of foot ulcers.

Assessment of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in patients with psoriasis by speckle tracking echocardiography: A Speckle Tracking Study.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disease and is reportedly associated with adverse cardiovascular risks. Left ventricular (LV) function has not been studied comprehensively in psoriasis. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to study LV mechanics in patients with psoriasis by speckle tracking echocardiography. METHODS: The study population consisted of 40 patients with psoriasis and 35 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Two-dimensional echocardiography images were obtained from LV apical four-chamber (4C), long axis (LAX), and two-chamber (2C) views. Peak longitudinal strain and strain rate were obtained from 4C, LAX, and 2C views. Global strain and strain rate were calculated by averaging data for the three apical views. RESULTS: Patients with psoriasis had significantly lower mean ± standard deviation (SD) 4C (17.1 ± 1.7 vs. 19.2 ± 2.3; P < 0.01), LAX (16.6 ± 1.5 vs. 19.5 ± 2.3; P < 0.01), and 2C (16.5 ± 1.5 vs. 19.4 ± 2.2; P < 0.01) peak longitudinal strain values compared with the control group. Moreover, mean ± SD LV global strain (16.6 ± 1.5 vs. 19.9 ± 2.1; P < 0.01) and strain rate (1.39 ± 0.30 vs. 1.51 ± 0.20; P < 0.01) values were found to be significantly lower in the psoriasis group. In a multiple regression model, global strain was independently associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (ß = 0.29, P = 0.04), duration of disease (ß = 0.35, P < 0.01), ejection fraction (EF) (ß = 0.38, P =0.01), and the ratio of early diastolic mitral inflow velocity to early diastolic annular velocity (E/E' ratio) (ß = 0.34, P =0.02). Also, in a multiple regression model, global strain rate was independently associated with duration of disease (ß = 0.36, P < 0.01), EF (ß = 0.32, P = 0.01), and E/E' ratio (ß = 0.35, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Using 2-D strain imaging, we have demonstrated that patients with psoriasis have lower LV functions.

Blue-colored sweating: four infants with apocrine chromhidrosis.

Apocrine chromhidrosis is a very rare, idiopathic disorder of the sweat glands characterized by the secretion of colored sweat. Because hormonal induction increases sweating, the symptoms of apocrine chromhidrosis usually begin after puberty. Although treatment may not be necessary in some cases, capsaicin cream and 20% aluminum chloride hexahydrate solution have been successfully used to treat patients requiring intervention. Here we report four cases with apocrine chromhidrosis. To the best of our knowledge, our patients are the youngest cases reported in the literature.

Hyaluronic acid-serum hydrogels rapidly restore metabolism of encapsulated stem cells and promote engraftment.

BACKGROUND: Cell death due to anoikis, necrosis and cell egress from transplantation sites limits functional benefits of cellular cardiomyoplasty. Cell dissociation and suspension, which are a pre-requisite for most cell transplantation studies, lead to depression of cellular metabolism and anoikis, which contribute to low engraftment. OBJECTIVE: We tissue engineered scaffolds with the goal of rapidly restoring metabolism, promoting viability, proliferation and engraftment of encapsulated stem cells. METHODS: The carboxyl groups of HA were functionalized with N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) to yield HA succinimidyl succinate (HA-NHS) groups that react with free amine groups to form amide bonds. HA-NHS was cross-linked by serum to generate HA:Serum (HA:Ser) hydrogels. Physical properties of HA:Ser hydrogels were measured. Effect of encapsulating cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) in HA:Ser hydrogels on viability, proliferation, glucose uptake and metabolism was assessed in vitro. In vivo acute intra-myocardial cell retention of (18)FDG-labeled CDCs encapsulated in HA:Ser hydrogels was quantified. Effect of CDC encapsulation in HA:Ser hydrogels on in vivo metabolism and engraftment at 7 days was assessed by serial, dual isotope SPECT-CT and bioluminescence imaging of CDCs expressing the Na-iodide symporter and firefly luciferase genes respectively. Effect of HA:Ser hydrogels ± CDCs on cardiac function was assessed at 7 days & 28 days post-infarct. RESULTS: HA:Ser hydrogels are highly bio-adhesive, biodegradable, promote rapid cell adhesion, glucose uptake and restore bioenergetics of encapsulated cells within 1 h of encapsulation, both in vitro and in vivo. These metabolic scaffolds can be applied epicardially as a patch to beating hearts or injected intramyocardially. HA:Ser hydrogels markedly increase acute intramyocardial retention (∼6 fold), promote in vivo viability, proliferation, engraftment of encapsulated stem cells and angiogenesis. CONCLUSION: HA:Ser hydrogels serve as 'synthetic stem cell niches' that rapidly restore metabolism of encapsulated stem cells, promote stem cell engraftment and angiogenesis. These first ever, tissue engineered metabolic scaffolds hold promise for clinical translation in conjunction with CDCs and possibly other stem cell types.

Clinical manifestations and genetic variation of Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica in Southern Turkey.

L. infantum was isolated from cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) skin lesions in patients having no signs and symptoms of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Similarly, L. tropica had previously been isolated from patients with VL in the absence of cutaneous lesions. It was not certain how visceralization occurred. Smears (207) and bone marrow samples (135) were taken from CL and VL-suspected patients, respectively. Microscopic examination, ITS1-PCR, RFLP and DNA sequencing for all samples were analyzed. The microscopic examination of smears was found to be 61.3% (127/207) in CL-suspected cases and bone marrow samples were found to be positive 8.8% (12/135) in VL-suspected cases. L. tropica 48.6% (72/148), L. infantum 35.8% (53/148), L. major 15.6% (23/148) in CL, and L. infantum 56.3% (18/32), L. donovani 31.2% (10/32), L. tropica 12.5% (4/32) in VL were found with PCR-RFLP. In addition, the DNA sequencing revealed a genetic variation in L. infantum (variants 1-3) and L. tropica (variants 1-5). We assume that the increased disease occurrence may have resulted from geographical expansion of disease, changing patterns of international travel, population migrations, non-immune people into endemic regions of infected people into non-endemic regions. In this study, L. infantum (variant 3) only in CL-patients and L. tropica (variant 2) only in VL-patients were identified. We hypothesize that genetic variation might play a role in the causation of CL and VL in southern Turkey and the genetic variants may differ according to the geographical location among Leishmania strains.

Relation of fragmented QRS to tissue Doppler-derived parametersin patients with familial Mediterranean fever.

BACKGROUND: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) may pose a risk for cardiovascular diseases due to continuous inflammatory status observed during the course of the disease. Recently, the presence of fragmented QRS (fQRS) has been recognized as a predictor of myocardial fibrosis. In this study, we aim to investigate the frequency of fQRS and its relation to Doppler-based indices. METHODS: This study consisted of 80 FMF patients and 30 healthy control subjects. fQRS pattern was defined as the presence of additional R waves or RSR', evidenced by notched R or S wave on electrocardiography (ECG). The patient and the control groups underwent conventional echocardiography and tissue Doppler echocardiography. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between groups regarding age (29 ± 12 vs 29 ± 15). FMF patients exhibited a statistically higher frequency of fQRS (% 56 vs % 13) (p < 0.01). E/Em ratio showed a statistically significant increase in the FMF group with fQRS (p < 0.0001), while the mean Em value was markedly lower (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: FMF patients displayed a statistically significant increase in frequency of fQRS. Doppler-derived diastolic index was statistically significantly impaired in FMF patients with fQRS as compared with the patients without fQRS. In conclusion, fQRS might be a new noninvasive marker for cardiac involvement in FMF patients.

Effect of remote ischemic postconditioning on left ventricular mechanics.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischemic postconditioning (RIPC) decreases infarct size and prevents left ventricular (LV) remodeling in patients with myocardial infarction. However, there is no study that evaluates the effect of RIPC on LV mechanics assessed by speckle tracking echocardiography. Therefore, we aimed to test the effects of RIPC on LV deformation parameters such as strain, strain rate, rotation, and twist in healthy subjects. METHODS: The study group consisted of 22 healthy subjects. To test the effects of RIPC, 3 cycles of reperfusion followed by ischemia (each lasting 10 or 30 seconds) were applied immediately after 20 minutes of nondominant arm ischemia. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was obtained at baseline and repeated 30 minutes after the completion of these cycles. In TTE images, apical 4-3-2 chamber longitudinal strain (LS)/strain rate, basal and apical circumferential strain/strain rate, and rotational parameters, such as basal rotation, apical rotation, and LV twist, were recorded. RESULTS: Apical 4-3-2 chamber LS and apical circumferential strain/strain rate measurements were comparable before and after RIPC, whereas basal circumferential strain was significantly decreased after RIPC (-23 ± 3.4 vs. -18.9 ± 6.9, P = 0.017). After RIPC, apical rotation was significantly increased (11.6 ± 3.7 vs. 16.7 ± 4.0, P < 0.001) and basal rotation was significantly decreased (-6.1 ± 2.1 vs. -4.7 ± 2.4, P = 0.03).Consequently, net LV twist was significantly increased (17.4 ± 4.5 vs. 21.7 ± 4.7). CONCLUSIONS: We proposed that RIPC affects the rotational mechanics of the heart rather than longitudinal mechanics. These results might give new insights into understanding the favorable effects of the post- conditioning.

The relationship between coronary collateral circulation and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in patients with coronary chronic total occlusion.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and coronary collateral circulation (CCC) in patients with coronary chronic total occlusion. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Our study population consisted of 275 consecutive patients with chronic total occlusion. One hundred and thirty-eight patients with chronic total occlusion were included in the study. They were classified into 2 groups as follows: impaired CCC (group 1: Rentrop grades 0-1) and good CCC (group 2: Rentrop grades 2-3). The NLR was calculated from the complete blood count. RESULTS: The NLR values of the patients with impaired CCC (4.5 ± 0.7) were significantly higher than of those with good CCC (2.7 ± 0.6, p < 0.001). In the multivariate logistic regression test, NLR (OR 33.36, 95% CI 8.189-135.7, p < 0.001), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP; OR 2.152, 95% CI 1.226-3.777, p = 0.008), estimated glomerular filtration rate (OR 1.167, 95% CI 1.049-1.298, p = 0.004) and systolic blood pressure (OR 1.068, 95% CI 1.009-1.1310, p = 0.025) were independent predictors of impaired CCC. The NLR value >3.55 yielded an area under the curve value of 0.957 (95% CI 0.921-0.992, p < 0.001) and demonstrated a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 90% for the prediction of CCC. A moderate correlation between NLR and hs-CRP was observed (r = 0.443; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal that NLR correlates with the impaired development of coronary collaterals.

Assessment of left ventricular dyssynchrony in patients with psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is an inflammatory disorder, which has been reported to be associated with cardiovascular (CV) risks. Although increased CV risks in psoriasis are well established, there are no data about changes of contraction synchrony in psoriasis. Therefore, we aimed to study the left ventricular (LV) contraction synchrony in patients with psoriasis with narrow QRS and normal ejection fraction. METHODS: Fifty patients with psoriasis and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects were included in the study. LV dyssynchrony was investigated by color-coded tissue Doppler imaging. RESULTS: In the psoriasis group, the mean high-sensitive C-reactive protein values were significantly higher compared with the controls. Peak A velocity, deceleration time, isovolumetric relaxation time, and E/E' values were higher in the psoriasis group; however, E/A ratio and average Em were higher in the control group. LV systolic dyssynchrony parameters [including standard deviation of Ts of the 12 LV segments (Ts-SD-12), maximal difference in Ts between any two of the 12 LV segments, standard deviation of Ts of the six basal LV segments, and maximal difference in Ts between any two of the six basal LV segments] were found to be higher in the psoriasis group. The patients with ventricular dyssynchrony (a Ts-SD-12 >34.4 ms) were higher in the psoriasis group than the control group (34% vs. 6%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In patients with psoriasis with normal ejection fractions and narrow QRS, LV systolic dyssynchrony is an early manifestation of heart involvement and may coexist with diastolic dysfunction.

Relation of presence and severity of metabolic syndrome with left atrial mechanics in patients without overt diabetes: a deformation imaging study.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate left atrium (LA) function by speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) and to show a possible relationship between the severity of MetSyn and LA function and to determine the predictors of low strain in MetSyn patients. METHODS: Our study design was observational and cross-sectional design consisted of 80 MetSyn patients without overt diabetes and 50 controls. The patients were classified into three groups based on the number of MetSyn criteria. The peak LA strain at the end of the ventricular systole (LAs-strain) as well as the LA strain with LA contraction (LAa-strain) was obtained. Correlation analysis performed to assess the association of LA strain parameters with the severity of MetSyn and logistic regression analysis performed to assess the relationship of low LA strain with MetSyn. RESULTS: Both LAs (37.5±8.7 vs. 26.0±10.2, p<0.001) and LAa (19.9±6.3 vs. 13.0±6.4, p<0.001) strain measurements were found to be significantly decreased in patients with MetSyn when compared to the control group. Moreover, both LAs and LAa were found to be significantly decreased with the increasing severity of the MetSyn. A multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the presence of MetSyn [OR:0.26 (95% CI 0.06-0.89), p=0.032] and left ventricular ejection fraction [OR:1.14 (95% CI 1.03-1.27), p=0.021] were independent predictors of LAs strain. CONCLUSION: MetSyn is associated with reduced LAs strain and LAa strain representing LA reservoir and pump function, respectively. Furthermore, LA mechanical function decreases even more with the increasing severity of the MetSyn.