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According to the Turkish Penal Code, Section 456, an assailant is punished in a correlation to the severity of the victim's injury. In this study, the injury scale used in Turkey in the basis code 456 is compared with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). For this aim, a total of 984 cases out of the total amount reported at the Traumatology Section of the Turkish Council for Forensic Medicine were randomly selected and evaluated retrospectively. In all, 40.7% of injuries were caused by blunt trauma, whereas 59.3% were caused by a penetrating trauma. According to the Turkish Injury Scale (TIS), 40.3% of the cases were scored to be of a first degree of injury, 15.6% as second degree and 44.1% as third degree. When compared, the score points 3, 4 and 5 in the AIS were seen to be nearly equivalent to the TIS of third degree. From this point of view, in the modified AIS 91.1% of first degree of injury, 51.2% of second degree and 97.2% of third degree of injury are harmonious with TIS. Generally, 83.2% of the cases are harmonious with the AIS system. The purpose of this study is to determine what was the source of differences and to focus on particular traumatic lesions in order to determine a possible rearrangement of the Turkish Injury Scale.

Background: Generalized aggressive periodontitis is described as a clinical entity affecting both deciduous and permanent dentition with extensive alveolar bone loss, mobility, and exfoliation of all or many teeth. Controversy exists on dental implant use to restore missing dentition in younger patients., Methods: This case report presents a patient diagnosed with aggressive periodontitis who has lost all but 4 of her teeth. Her personal and functional desires led us to include implant therapy in her treatment plan. The hematological data are presented with an analysis of the immunological profile., Results: Dental implants were placed, and following 3 months of osseointegration, an implant-supported prosthesis was completed. The patient was followed up for 36 months., Conclusions: This case report presents an alternative treatment for rehabilitating dentition in a young patient treated for aggressive periodontitis. Similar case studies may help eliminate some of the controversy that exists regarding the use of dental implants in aggressive periodontitis patients.

Suicide methods may differ widely. One of these methods is jumping from a height. The people who choose a high bridge for jumping may be considered as a special group. In this study, we evaluated the demographic data, mortality rates and postmortem findings of individuals who jumped from the 64m high Bosphorus Bridge of Istanbul. For this purpose, we reviewed registration forms of two police centers on both sides of the bridge, court archives, and postmortem examination reports of the deceased for a period of 10 years between 1986 and 1995. During this period, 65 people had jumped from the Bosphorus Bridge of Istanbul. The mortality rate was 96.9%, as two individuals survived their suicide attempt. The male/female ratio for attempts was 15:1 (61 males, four females) in this study in contrast to the male/female ratio of 1.6:1 for all suicidal cases in Turkey. The average age of subjects was 29.2 (median: 26, range: 16-54). The frequency was highest in the 15-24 age group with a rate of 38.4%. People who jumped from the bridge were younger than other reported cases of suicide. For all methods of suicide in Turkey 53.5% of subjects are under the age of 35. However, in our study, 75.8% of individuals who committed suicide from the Bosphorus Bridge were under the age of 35. Unmarried people accounted for 56% of the individuals whose marital status was known. 20.8% of the individuals whose employment status was known were unemployed. 59% of the cases whose education was known were high school graduates. The highest rate of suicide by jumping was in 1990, and occurred during the fall and winter months, primarily between the hours of 24.00 and 06.00. The Bosphorus Bridge is forbidden to pedestrians. Arrival method to the bridge was by a taxicab in 53.3% of the cases. 91% of the recovered bodies had been discovered during the first 2 days of jumping. Positions on impact with the water were estimated according to external and internal injuries. Among the cases in which the position of impact could be assessed by external and internal injury patterns, combined lateral and horizontal positions were most common.

Congenital fusion of the maxillary alveolar process and mandible is a very rare entity. A one day old male newborn was referred to our clinic with a diagnosis of a 'absence of oral cavity'. Physical examination revealed that there was no mouth opening bilaterally in the posterior region due to maxillary and mandibular bone fusion; and in the front there was only 1 mm of mouth opening. Examination of the intraoral space could not be achieved. No other congenital anomaly was detected on general examination. The infant, who was fed via a nasogastric tube for 1 month, was operated on. An intra-oral device which separated maxillary and mandibular alveolar arches from each other was designed and used for 8 weeks to avoid recurrence of the fusion. An adequate mouth opening was obtained and the infant could be fed orally.

Vasectomy is a male contraception method that its side effects and reversibility rate are still controversial. Effects of vasectomy on epididymal morphology and function, which plays a crucial role in sperm maturation and storage, have not yet fully described. Therefore the present study was planned to find out the effects of vasectomy on epididymal structure, and comparisons of these effects were also made with the effects of a persistent infertility model, experimental cryptorchidism. To do this, 15 male Swiss albino rats were divided into 3 groups. While 5 animals were sham-operated, the rest were undergone either vasectomy (5 rats) or experimental cryptorchidism (5 rats) procedures. Epididymal tissue samples were collected prepared for light microscopy. Tissue sections were stained using appropriate staining techniques and evaluated under the light microscope. While there were distinct alterations in the epididymal morphology following experimental cryptorchidism, vasectomized rat epididymal features seemed similar to those seen in the sham-operated group. In conclusion, it could be suggested that the vasectomy might be a convenient method for male contraception.

The aim of this three-phase prospective study was to determine the effects of a primary-primary prevention program on the oral health of children. Eighty-six pregnant women from various social backgrounds participated in the first phase of this study. In the second phase (at 3 years of age) 54 of the mother-child couples and in the third phase (at 4 years of age) 47 of the mother-child couples remained. Participants were recalled every 6 months and received individual prophylactic care. The following clinical parameters were assessed at each examination period for mother and child: DMF-S or dmf-s, proximal plaque index, and the salivary level of Streptococcus mutans (Dentocult SM). The control group consisted of 65 (at 3 years of age) and 45 (at 4 years of age) children from various kindergartens. All children in the second phase of the study group revealed a naturally healthy dentition with an API of 0-25% and a salivary S. mutans score of 0 (0-10(3) cfu/ml). In the third phase, only four of the 47 children of the study group showed caries, with a mean dmf-s of 1.5. No S. mutans could be detected in 20 (42.6%) children. Ten (21.3%) children of the study group showed a S. mutans score of > or = 2 (> 10(5) cfu/ml). In contrast, only 53 of the 65 children of the control group (second phase) and 26 of the 45 control children (third phase) revealed a naturally healthy dentition. The remaining 19 children of the control group revealed a mean dmf-s of 7.0 at 4 years of age. In the control group, no S. mutans could be detected in 25 (38.5%) children at 3 years of age whereas 21 (32.3%) children showed a S. mutans score of > or = 2. In the third phase, a salivary S. mutans score of > or = 2 was found in 27 (60%) children of the control group. The statistical comparison between the study and the control groups revealed significant differences for all results determined (P < 0.001). Additionally, all mothers revealed a significant improvement in oral health and a reduction of salivary S. mutans colonization. From our data we conclude that a pre- and postnatal prevention program (primary-primary vs primary prevention) may significantly improve the oral health of mother and child.

Vancomycine and amikacin combined is an effective antibiotic combination used in the treatment of serious Gram-positive bacteremia in childhood. However, both drugs may have a potential nephrotoxic effect when used individually. The present study investigates whether the nephrotoxicity of these drugs that display a nephrotoxic effect when used separately increases when used in a combined manner. Ten 2-month-old rats were subjected to intraperitoneal injections of vancomycine (100 mg/kg) and amikacin (80 mg/kg) and ten other 2-month-old rats were administered amikacin (80 mg/kg) for a period of 15 days. The control group of animals consisting of five 2-month old rats were untreated. The renal tissues obtained by laparotomy were processed for both light and electron microscopy. Paraffin sections and ultrathin sections were evaluated in order to determine the renal structure of the control and the experimental groups. In addition, serum creatinine and blood, urea and nitrogen (BUN) levels were measured in blood samples obtained from the rats. In the amikacin and combined amikacin-vancomycine treatment groups, renal morphological changes were observed at the glomerular and tubular levels when compared to the control group, and the serum creatinine and BUN levels were also higher in these groups. Although both experimental groups were different from the control group, they had similar morphological and biochemical features. It was concluded that vancomycine did not influence the nephrotoxic effect of amikacin and both drugs could be used in a combined manner.

The isoquinoline alkaloids are of great importance to humanity because of their medicinal value and different structure. During the last ten years, many isoquinoline alkaloids were isolated from Fumaria and Corydalis species growing in Turkey. There have been many researches on the antimicrobial activity of extracts of higher plants, but relatively few pure compounds have been investigated.