Early gamma response in human neuroelectric activity is correlated with neuropsychological test scores.

The goal of this study was to investigate whether early, time-locked 'sensory' gamma band response is correlated with a set of scores derived from neuropsychological tests. Neuroelectric responses were obtained under active auditory oddball paradigm. Of 67 reportedly healthy adults, 35 displayed time-locked early gamma, G (+), and 24 did not, G (-). Out of 52 neuropsychological test scores, G (+) and G (-) groups differed on the basis of Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised and Serial Digit Learning Test scores. Results of logistic regression analysis was statistically reliable (overall success rate of prediction: 93.33%). The results showed that early gamma response can be classified on the basis of neuropsychological test performance and is thus associated with higher cognitive functions, supporting the view that brain integrates bottom-up with top-down processing.

Analysis of tractor-related deaths.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the properties of tractor-related death cases and discuss the precautions in order to prevent such events. For this aim, reports made between 2006 and 2009 by the First Specialty Board of Council of Forensic Medicine (FSBCFM), Turkey, were evaluated retrospectively. Forty-one tractor-related death cases were included in this study. Thirty-five (85.4%) of the cases were male. The mean age was 42.52 ± 25.1 (with a range between 1 and 84 years old). The average time interval between the incident and death was 13.76 ± 33.53 days (range: 0-176 days) and 20 (48.8%) cases died on the incident spot or during transportation to the hospital. Among the cases, 34.1% (n = 14) were drivers, whereas 39.0% (n = 16) were passengers and the remaining were pedestrians (26.9%, n = 11). The accident was caused by the tractor rolling over in 34.1%, the victim being run over in 22.0%, and the victim falling from the tractor or trailer in 22.0% of the cases. Most of the events (56.1%) occurred on the road. In conclusion, tractors must not be used as a transportation vehicle for passengers. Periodic training of drivers can be useful for reducing tractor-related accidents.

Comparison of the three age estimation methods: which is more reliable for Turkish children?

BACKGROUND: Three atlases-the GOK, the Greulich-Pyle (GP), and the Tanner-Whitehouse (TW3)-are used frequently for age determination in Turkey. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of these three methods related to the skeletal age assessment for Turkish adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The conventional roentgenograms of the left hands and wrists, elbows, shoulders, and pelvises of 333 healthy Caucasian children (164 females, 169 males) who fit the study and the criteria of each atlas were obtained. The mean differences (+/- standard deviation [S.D.] in years) between the chronologic age (CA) and the skeletal age (BA), which were obtained by using each age estimation method, were calculated and tested using t-test. RESULTS: For girls, the most accurate method was the TW3 (mean differences (d): -0.21 (p<0.05)), following by the GP (d: 0.66 (p<0.001), and the GOK (d: 2.99 (p<0.001)). For boys, the most accurate method was the GP (d: -0.02 (p>0.05)), followed by the TW3 (d: -0.18 (p<0.05)) and GOK (d: 1.05 (p<0.001)). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Results show that the TW3 (for girls) and the GP (for boys) methods are more appropriate than the GOK atlas for estimating the BA. GOK could be used for boys aged 11-14 years but it should not be used for girls.