Search

Two algorithms for establishing a connection between correlations before and after ordinalization under a wide spectrum of nonnormal underlying bivariate distributions are developed by extending the iteratively found normal-based results via the power polynomials. These algorithms are designed to compute the polychoric correlation when the ordinal correlation is specified, and vice versa, along with the distributional properties of latent, continuous variables that are subsequently ordinalized through thresholds dictated by the marginal proportions. The method has broad applicability in the simulation and random number generation world where modeling the relationships between these correlation types is of interest.

Surgery is regarded as a common treatment option for patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy due to hippocampal sclerosis but sometimes deciding this diagnosis can be very difficult. We aim to investigate the shape differences in the temporal lobe of mesial temporal sclerosis epilepsy patients compared with healthy controls, investigating the side difference and, if present, assessing the clinical application of this situation. The MRI scans of mesial TLE patients and controls were retrospectively reviewed. Temporal lobe data were collected from the two-dimensional digital images. Standard anthropometric landmarks were selected and marked on each digital image using TPSDIG 2.04 software. Eight anatomic landmarks were marked on images. A generalized Procrustes analysis was used to evaluate the shape difference. The shape deformation of the temporal lobe from control to patient was evaluated using the TPS method. There were statistically significant TL shape differences between groups. High level deformations for the left and right side from the control to patient group were seen in the TPS graphic. The highest deformation was determined at the inferior lateral temporal midpoint of the middle temporal gyri and superior temporal landmark points of both the right and left sides. Our study for the first time demonstrated temporal shape differences in TLE patients using a landmark-based geometrical morphometric method by taking into consideration the topographic distribution of TL.

Most of the studies in medical and biological sciences are related with the examination of geometrical properties of an organ or organism. Growth and allometry studies are important in the way of investigating the effects of diseases and the environmental factors effects on the structure of the organ or organism. Thus statistical shape analysis has recently become more important in the medical and biological sciences. Shape is all geometrical information that remains when location, scale and rotational effects are removed from an object. Allometry, which is a relationship between size and shape, plays an important role in the development of statistical shape analysis. The aim of the present study was to compare two different models for allometry which includes tangent coordinates and principal component scores of tangent coordinates as dependent variables in multivariate regression analysis. The results of the simulation study showed that, the model constructed by taking tangent coordinates as dependent variables is more appropriate than the model constructed by taking principal component scores of tangent coordinates as dependent variables, for all sample sizes.

The purpose of this study was to establish facial soft tissue norms for Turkish young adults. Anthropometric measurements of the facial soft tissue were taken from 281 female and 149 male Turkish adults aged between 18 and 24 years. The soft tissue facial profiles were digitally analyzed using linear (17 vertical and 10 horizontal) measurements made with standardized photographic records, taken in a natural head position, to determine the average soft tissue facial profile for males and females. A statistically significant difference was found between males and females in 20 of 27 measurements taken (p < 0.001). The most prominent differences between the sexes were observed in the measurements taken from the face region. Results were compared with other ethnic groups.

The aim of this study was to compare serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) with those of nonapneic controls and to determine the risk factors of low IGF-1 levels in patients with OSAS. The study included 39 newly diagnosed moderate-to-severe OSAS patients and 36 nonapneic controls. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) was performed in all patients. The circulating levels of IGF-1 in the OSAS group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p < 0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between IGF-1 and logarithmic transformation (Ln) of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), duration of apnea-hypopnea, arousal index, average desaturation, and oxygen desaturation index (ODI). The result of stepwise regression analyses showed that OSAS (p = 0.001) was a risk factor for a low IGF-1 level, independent of age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Our findings demonstrated that there was a significant negative correlation between IGF-1 and Ln AHI and that OSAS reduced the circulating levels of IGF-1.

A retrospective analysis of 385 consecutive admissions to a regional burns unit in a period of 6 years is presented. The majority were flame burns, followed by scalds. The male to female ratio was 3:1. More than half of the patients were adults (more than the age of 16 years) and most of the injuries occurred at home. In the group of patients under 2 years of age, scalds were the leading cause of burns and among them hot tea spill was the most common reason. Many of the electrical burns occurred at the workplace and at home were resulted from inappropriate close location of high voltage lines to constructions and houses, and inappropriate use of paint thinner was found to be an important cause for flame burns occurred at the work place. The mean hospitalization time was 27.1 days and the overall mortality rate was 14% (n=54). In this paper, regional characteristics of some etiologic factors, together with some descriptive analysis in burn injury and some preventive measures are presented.