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Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic affected people’s health behaviours and health outcomes. Political or affective polarization could be associated with health behaviours such as mask-wearing or vaccine uptake and with health outcomes, e.g., infection or mortality rate. Political polarization relates to divergence or spread of ideological beliefs and affective polarization is about dislike between people of different political groups, such as ideologies or parties. The objectives of this study are to investigate and synthesize evidence about associations between both forms of polarization and COVID-19 health behaviours and outcomes. Methods In this systematic review, we will include quantitative studies that assess the relationship between political or affective polarization and COVID-19-related behaviours and outcomes, including adherence to mask mandates, vaccine uptake, infection and mortality rate. We will use a predetermined strategy to search EMBASE, Medline (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, Global Health (Ovid), PsycInfo (Ovid), Web of Science, CINAHL, EconLit (EBSCOhost), WHO COVID-19 Database, iSearch COVID-19 Portfolio (NIH) and Google Scholar from 2019 to September 8 2023. One reviewer will screen unique records according to eligibility criteria. A second reviewer will verify the selection. Data extraction, using pre-piloted electronic forms, will follow a similar process. The risk of bias of the included studies will be assessed using the JBI checklist for analytical cross sectional studies. We will summarise the included studies descriptively and examine the heterogeneity between studies. Quantitative data pooling might not be feasible due to variations in measurement methods used to evaluate exposure, affective and political polarization. If there are enough relevant studies for statistical data synthesis, we will conduct a meta-analysis. Discussion This review will help to better understand the concept of polarization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and might inform decision making for future pandemics. Protocol registration PROSPERO ID: CRD42023475828.

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic affected people’s health behaviours and health outcomes. Political or affective polarization could be associated with health behaviours such as mask-wearing or vaccine uptake and with health outcomes, e.g., infection or mortality rate. Political polarization relates to divergence or spread of ideological beliefs and affective polarization is about dislike between people of different political groups, such as ideologies or parties. The objectives of this study are to investigate and synthesize evidence about associations between both forms of polarization and COVID-19 health behaviours and outcomes. Methods In this systematic review, we will include quantitative studies that assess the relationship between political or affective polarization and COVID-19-related behaviours and outcomes, including adherence to mask mandates, vaccine uptake, infection and mortality rate. We will use a predetermined strategy to search EMBASE, Medline (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, Global Health (Ovid), PsycInfo (Ovid), Web of Science, CINAHL, EconLit (EBSCOhost), WHO COVID-19 Database, iSearch COVID-19 Portfolio (NIH) and Google Scholar from 2019 to September 8 2023. One reviewer will screen unique records according to eligibility criteria. A second reviewer will verify the selection. Data extraction, using pre-piloted electronic forms, will follow a similar process. The risk of bias of the included studies will be assessed using the JBI checklist for analytical cross sectional studies. We will summarise the included studies descriptively and examine the heterogeneity between studies. Quantitative data pooling might not be feasible due to variations in measurement methods used to evaluate exposure, affective and political polarization. If there are enough relevant studies for statistical data synthesis, we will conduct a meta-analysis. Discussion This review will help to better understand the concept of polarization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and might inform decision making for future pandemics. Protocol registration PROSPERO ID: CRD42023475828.

The present research investigated the relationship between dysfunctional relationship beliefs (DRB) and alexithymia with a particular focus on gender among Turkish college students. Results indicated that different DRB predicts alexithymia in females and males. Intimacy avoidance predicted an increase of alexithymia scores in females, whereas intimacy avoidance and unrealistic relationship expectations predicted an increase of alexithymia scores in males. The results highlighted the association of intimacy avoidance with difficulty identifying and describing feelings in both genders, stronger in males when compared to other two DRB, namely unrealistic relationship expectations and mind reading. The results suggested that alexithymia is related to different forms of DRB in females and males, indicating potential intervention strategies and patterns in females' and males' alexithymia.

Selection of students who will benefit from scholarships given in the university are usually done by formed commission. Due to limited number of scholarships offered, commission are obliged to choose the most appropriate students. In this selection process, it is important to make objective evaluation. The commission should mostly interview the applicants face to face. This situation causes time and labour loss and a stressful environment for both members of the commission and the students. An objective scoring system could solve the problems discussed above. In this study, 200 students who applied for the scholarship at Akdeniz University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences to the scholarship were ranked. In this study, firstly the selection criteria of students for the scholarship was determined with the help of researchers and social aid service experts. Then, the weights of the criteria were calculated by the SWING method. These weights were used to rank the students who were eligible for the scholarship by using the VIKOR method. This method will make an objective evaluation and will accelerate the selection process.

Abstract Background The covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the role of living systematic reviews. The speed of evidence generated during the covid-19 pandemic accentuated the challenges of managing high volumes of research literature. Methods In this article, we summarise the characteristics of ongoing living systematic reviews on covid-19, and we follow a life cycle approach to describe key steps in a living systematic review. Results We identified 97 living systematic reviews on covid-19, published up to 7th November 2022, which focused mostly on the effects of pharmacological interventions (n = 46, 47%) or the prevalence of associated conditions or risk factors (n = 30, 31%). The scopes of several reviews overlapped considerably. Most living systematic reviews included both observational and randomised study designs (n = 45, 46%). Only one-third of the reviews has been updated at least once (n = 34, 35%). We address practical aspects of living systematic reviews including how to judge whether to start a living systematic review, methods for study identification and selection, data extraction and evaluation, and give recommendations at each step, drawing from our own experience. We also discuss when it is time to stop and how to publish updates. Conclusions Methods to improve the efficiency of searching, study selection, and data extraction using machine learning technologies are being developed, their performance and applicability, particularly for reviews based on observational study designs should improve, and ways of publishing living systematic reviews and their updates will continue to evolve. Finally, knowing when to end a living systematic review is as important as knowing when to start.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented amount of scientific publications, growing at a pace never seen before. Multiple living systematic reviews have been developed to assist professionals with up-to-date and trustworthy health information, but it is increasingly challenging for systematic reviewers to keep up with the evidence in electronic databases. We aimed to investigate deep learning-based machine learning algorithms to classify COVID-19-related publications to help scale up the epidemiological curation process. Methods In this retrospective study, five different pre-trained deep learning-based language models were fine-tuned on a dataset of 6365 publications manually classified into two classes, three subclasses, and 22 sub-subclasses relevant for epidemiological triage purposes. In a k-fold cross-validation setting, each standalone model was assessed on a classification task and compared against an ensemble, which takes the standalone model predictions as input and uses different strategies to infer the optimal article class. A ranking task was also considered, in which the model outputs a ranked list of sub-subclasses associated with the article. Results The ensemble model significantly outperformed the standalone classifiers, achieving a F1-score of 89.2 at the class level of the classification task. The difference between the standalone and ensemble models increases at the sub-subclass level, where the ensemble reaches a micro F1-score of 70% against 67% for the best-performing standalone model. For the ranking task, the ensemble obtained the highest recall@3, with a performance of 89%. Using an unanimity voting rule, the ensemble can provide predictions with higher confidence on a subset of the data, achieving detection of original papers with a F1-score up to 97% on a subset of 80% of the collection instead of 93% on the whole dataset. Conclusion This study shows the potential of using deep learning language models to perform triage of COVID-19 references efficiently and support epidemiological curation and review. The ensemble consistently and significantly outperforms any standalone model. Fine-tuning the voting strategy thresholds is an interesting alternative to annotate a subset with higher predictive confidence.

Objectives Infections by SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) might affect children and adolescents differently than earlier viral lineages. We aimed to address five questions about SARS-CoV-2 VOC infections in children and adolescents: (1) symptoms and severity, (2) risk factors for severe disease, (3) the risk of infection, (4) the risk of transmission and (5) long-term consequences following a VOC infection.Design Systematic review.Data sources The COVID-19 Open Access Project database was searched up to 1 March 2022 and PubMed was searched up to 9 May 2022.Eligibility criteria We included observational studies about Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron VOCs among ≤18-year-olds. We included studies in English, German, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Turkish.Data extraction and synthesis Two reviewers extracted and verified the data and assessed the risk of bias. We descriptively synthesised the data and assessed the risks of bias at the outcome level.Results We included 53 articles. Most children with any VOC infection presented with mild disease, with more severe disease being described with the Delta or the Gamma VOC. Diabetes and obesity were reported as risk factors for severe disease during the whole pandemic period. The risk of becoming infected with a SARS-CoV-2 VOC seemed to increase with age, while in daycare settings the risk of onward transmission of VOCs was higher for younger than older children or partially vaccinated adults. Long-term symptoms following an infection with a VOC were described in

Objective: This study was aimed to compare serum galectin-3 (Gal-3) levels in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and healthy pregnant women and to evaluate the relationship between insulin resistance parameters and serum Gal-3 levels. Materials and Methods: Fifty-nine pregnant women who were screened for GDM with oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) at the 24th–28th gestational weeks were included in the study. According to the results of OGTT, 34 pregnant women were included in the GDM group and 25 pregnant women were included in the control group. Results: Serum Gal-3 value was found to be similar in the GDM and control group (P < 0.471). However, there was a significant positive association between Gal-3 and fasting insulin (r = 0.509, P < 0.001) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r = 0.479, P < 0.001) in the whole pregnancies, and between Gal-3 levels and fasting insulin (r = 0.608, P < 0.001), HOMA-IR (r = 0.609, P < 0.001), and OGTT 60 min glucose (r = 0.444, P = 0.016) in the GDM patients. Conclusions: There was no difference in the last trimester serum Gal-3 levels between GDM and healthy pregnant women. However, a significant positive correlation was determined between Gal-3 and fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, and OGTT 60 min glucose values in the GDM group, and fasting insulin and HOMA-IR values in whole pregnancies. The results of our study support previous data reporting the relationship between Gal-3 and GDM through insulin resistance.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the effects of different kinds of diet, which were similar in total energy density but different in carbohydrate and fats, on some blood parameters in type 2 diabetics. Materials and Methods: In this study, 33 type 2 diabetics, participants were offered two different kinds of lunches within 7 days intervals. Venous blood samples were collected from the participants half an hour before and after the consumption of these meals (0-180 minutes). Blood parameters such as glucose, insulin, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and triglyceride were analyzed through blood samples. Results: There was no significance between the values of the change in blood glucose before and after their consumption of the standard meal and etli ekmek. After the consumption of the etli ekmek difference between the participants’ mean insulin level values at 60 and 90 minutes was lower than the standard meal. The values under the curve (AUC) were found to be significant (p

Objective. This study was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Cushing’s syndrome and the diagnostic performance of the 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test in class 3 obese patients.

In a Policy Forum piece, Dr. Nicola Low and colleagues define the research agenda for Mpox virus and transmission through sexual contact.

Amaç: Tip 2 diyabet (T2D), diyabetin en sık görülen türüdür ve tüm dünyada olduğu gibi ülkemizde de ciddi bir halk sağlığı sorunu haline gelmiştir. İnsülin sekresyonunun azalması ve/veya insülin direnci (İR) gelişimi, T2D patogenezinde yer alan iki ana bozukluktur. Kromozom 3p25'te yer alan peroksizom proliferatör aktive reseptör gama (PPARG) geni tarafından kodlanan ve esas olarak adipositlerde eksprese edilen PPARG2, glikoz ve lipid metabolizmasının düzenlenmesinde yer alan çok sayıda anahtar geni düzenler. Fonksiyonel önemi dolayısıyla, T2D gelişimi ile ilişkisi ilk rapor edilen aday gen PPARG2 (Pro12Ala varyantı)’dir. Çalışmamızda, PPARG genindeki Pro12Ala'nın IR gelişimi ve T2D riski üzerine etkilerini Konya bölgesinde yaşayan 387 (181 non-obez/ 206 obez) T2D ve 264 (137 non-obez/127 obez) sağlıklı birey olmak üzere toplam 650 kişide değerlendirmeyi amaçladık. Yöntem: Bireylerden alınan kan örneklerinden, T2D ilişkili biyokimyasal parametreler analiz edildi ve sonrasında HOMA-IR (HOMA indeksi) hesaplandı. HOMAIR indeksi 2.5'ten yüksek olan kişiler insüline dirençli olarak kabul edildi. İzole edilen DNA örneklerinde, Pro12Ala genotiplendirmesi RT-PCR tekniği ile yapıldı. İstatistiksel analiz için SPSS18.0 programı kullanıldı. P0.05). Sonuç: Hastalığın poligenik doğası ve çevresel faktörlerin karmaşıklığı, genlerin T2D patogenezindeki etkisinin anlaşılmasını zorlaştırmaktadır. Bu nedenle, PPARG'nin hastalığın genetik zeminindeki olası rolünü ortaya çıkarmak için daha büyük popülasyonlarda daha fazla çalışmaya ihtiyaç vardır. Çalışma Türk toplumunda PPARG ve T2D ilişkisi bakımından sunulan ilk rapordur.

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a type of clinical diabetes characterized by insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion because of environmental and genetic factors. The high risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in women with GDM and the high risk of developing GDM in women with a family history of T2D suggests that both diseases may have the same genetic basis. Therefore, genes and risk variants associated with the genetic architecture of T2D are being investigated for their effects on the development of GDM. In this study, we aim to investigate ABCC8, TCF7L2, Adiponectin, IRS1, and PPARG genes, which are known as T2D risk genes, to understand the genetic basis of GDM in a Turkish population. Materials and Methods: In our study, 74 pregnant women diagnosed with GDM according to the American Diabetes Association criteria and 49 healthy pregnant women were included. DNA isolations were made from peripheral blood cells collected from pregnant women and regions of targeted genes were scanned by the Polimerase Chain Reaction-Restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. The homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), which is an indicator of insulin resistance, was calculated for each individual in the biochemical examinations. The associations of genotypes detected in the target gene regions with the disease and their effects on the biochemical phenotypes were analyzed by establishing the dominant, recessive, and additive models along with calculating odd ratios. The P

BackgroundDebate about the level of asymptomatic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection continues. The amount of evidence is increasing and study designs have changed over time. We updated a living systematic review to address 3 questions: (1) Among people who become infected with SARS-CoV-2, what proportion does not experience symptoms at all during their infection? (2) What is the infectiousness of asymptomatic and presymptomatic, compared with symptomatic, SARS-CoV-2 infection? (3) What proportion of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a population is accounted for by people who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic?Methods and findingsThe protocol was first published on 1 April 2020 and last updated on 18 June 2021. We searched PubMed, Embase, bioRxiv, and medRxiv, aggregated in a database of SARS-CoV-2 literature, most recently on 6 July 2021. Studies of people with PCR-diagnosed SARS-CoV-2, which documented symptom status at the beginning and end of follow-up, or mathematical modelling studies were included. Studies restricted to people already diagnosed, of single individuals or families, or without sufficient follow-up were excluded. One reviewer extracted data and a second verified the extraction, with disagreement resolved by discussion or a third reviewer. Risk of bias in empirical studies was assessed with a bespoke checklist and modelling studies with a published checklist. All data syntheses were done using random effects models. Review question (1): We included 130 studies. Heterogeneity was high so we did not estimate a mean proportion of asymptomatic infections overall (interquartile range (IQR) 14% to 50%, prediction interval 2% to 90%), or in 84 studies based on screening of defined populations (IQR 20% to 65%, prediction interval 4% to 94%). In 46 studies based on contact or outbreak investigations, the summary proportion asymptomatic was 19% (95% confidence interval (CI) 15% to 25%, prediction interval 2% to 70%). (2) The secondary attack rate in contacts of people with asymptomatic infection compared with symptomatic infection was 0.32 (95% CI 0.16 to 0.64, prediction interval 0.11 to 0.95, 8 studies). (3) In 13 modelling studies fit to data, the proportion of all SARS-CoV-2 transmission from presymptomatic individuals was higher than from asymptomatic individuals. Limitations of the evidence include high heterogeneity and high risks of selection and information bias in studies that were not designed to measure persistently asymptomatic infection, and limited information about variants of concern or in people who have been vaccinated.ConclusionsBased on studies published up to July 2021, most SARS-CoV-2 infections were not persistently asymptomatic, and asymptomatic infections were less infectious than symptomatic infections. Summary estimates from meta-analysis may be misleading when variability between studies is extreme and prediction intervals should be presented. Future studies should determine the asymptomatic proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections caused by variants of concern and in people with immunity following vaccination or previous infection. Without prospective longitudinal studies with methods that minimise selection and measurement biases, further updates with the study types included in this living systematic review are unlikely to be able to provide a reliable summary estimate of the proportion of asymptomatic infections caused by SARS-CoV-2.Review protocolOpen Science Framework (https://osf.io/9ewys/).

Abstract Background Outbreaks of infectious diseases generate outbreaks of scientific evidence. In 2016 epidemics of Zika virus emerged, and in 2020, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We compared patterns of scientific publications for the two infections to analyse the evolution of the evidence. Methods We annotated publications on Zika virus and SARS-CoV-2 that we collected using living evidence databases according to study design. We used descriptive statistics to categorise and compare study designs over time. Results We found 2286 publications about Zika virus in 2016 and 21,990 about SARS-CoV-2 up to 24 May 2020, of which we analysed a random sample of 5294 (24%). For both infections, there were more epidemiological than laboratory science studies. Amongst epidemiological studies for both infections, case reports, case series and cross-sectional studies emerged first, cohort and case-control studies were published later. Trials were the last to emerge. The number of preprints was much higher for SARS-CoV-2 than for Zika virus. Conclusions Similarities in the overall pattern of publications might be generalizable, whereas differences are compatible with differences in the characteristics of a disease. Understanding how evidence accumulates during disease outbreaks helps us understand which types of public health questions we can answer and when.

Author(s): Nicola Low 1,*, Laura H. Bachmann 2, Dimie Ogoina 3, Robert McDonald 2, Aziz Mert Ipekci 1,4, Laura A. S. Quilter 2, Muge Cevik 5 Summary points A multicountry [...]

This interview with the writer Indra Sinha, conducted in Toulouse, France in June 2017 and reworked in January 2020, is a product of my research on the relatively recent theoretical endeavour to interrogate the relationship between postcolonial and ecocritical studies. Indra Sinha's fictional and non-fictional works have substantially contributed to the international visibility of human and environmental injustices around the world, suggesting his potential engagement with the relationship between these two theoretical frameworks. In the interview conducted within this context, Sinha's debut novel Animal's People (2007), shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker prize, is discussed as a postcolonial eco-socialist work offering a fictitious account of neo-colonial practices in India. The novel, particularly as the literary representation of the Bhopal disaster, sheds light upon the continuous destruction of human and non-human beings in postcolonial lands under neo-colonial policies. Yet, Sinha's ardent problematization of 'postcolonialism' as a label in particular, and of all labels in general for delineating literary works, complicates, albeit fruitfully, the course of the interview and our discussion of new theoretical frameworks emerging out of postcolonial theory. His responses on this issue are powerful statements calling for a particular focus on, if any -isms deemed necessary, transnational capitalism and 'traditional old-fashioned extortionism' instead of postcolonialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work employed end-grafted poly ethylene glycol PEG and hydroxyl-terminated poly 2-vinylpyridine P2VP polymer chains for selective immobilization and patterning of plasmonic nanoparticles NPs . A soft lithographic method which called micromolding in capillaries MIMIC used in this study. The polymers are deposited the capillary flow by the channels which formed by an elastomeric mold and substrate. The localized coatings are referred as polymer brushes and show great promise in the assembly of NPs due to the tunable interaction between the polymer chains and particles. The results show that the width of patterns defined by the channels is smaller than 1.5 µm with a length of around 0.5 cm. Also, the heights of the patterns are ~3.5 nm for P2VP and ~10 nm for PEG. The fabricated structures exhibited high levels of plasmonic activity and surface enhanced Raman scattering due to the immobilized Au NPs. The patterning polymer brushes and plasmonic NPS over large areas by a low-cost process show great promise for a variety of applications that range from molecular sensors to biotechnology

Amaç: İnsülin tedavisi altındaki kontrolsüz tip 2 diyabetes mellitus hastalarında glisemik kontrolü sağlamak için en sık tercih edilen yöntem insülin dozlarını arttırmaktır. Bu çalışmada, bu grup hastalarda insülin tedavisi yerine eksenatid ile oral antidiyabetik (OAD) kombinasyonunun etkisini değerlendirdik.Gereç ve Yöntem: 2015-2017 arasında, C-peptid düzeyleri 2 ng/ml’nin üzerinde olan, insülin ve metformin tedavisi altında kontrolsüz seyrederken eksenatid ve OAD tedavisine geçilen 61 hasta çalışmaya alındı. Hastalar kullandıkları insulin rejimlerine göre, sadece bazal insülin, bifazik insülin ve bazal-bolus insülin grubu olarak 3 gruba ayrıldı. Hastaların tedavi değişikliği öncesi ve tedavinin 6. ayında açlık kan şekerleri, HbA1c ve C-peptid düzeylerine bakıldı.Bulgular: Eksenatid bazlı tedavinin 6. ayında HbA1c düzeylerinde tedavi değişikliği öncesine göre anlamlı azalma görüldü. Çalışmanın sonunda, eksenatid ve OAD tedavisi alan 61 hastanın 14’ünde HbA1c değeri %7’nin altına düştü. Eksenatid ve OAD tedavisiyle açlık kan şekerinde de azalma görüldü.Sonuç: Bu çalışmada insülin ve metformin tedavisi altındayken kontrolsüz seyreden T2DM hastlarında eksenatid bazlı tedaviye geçişin glisemik kontrolü sağlamakta insülin dozunu arttırmaktan daha iyi bir tedavi seçeneği olduğunu gösterdik.

In the present study, an immunosorbent surface-based theophylline determination method was developed and validated. The procedure was tested on milk samples. Theophylline was removed from milk by an immunosorbent surface. The efficiency of theophylline removal was found to be between 95-97%. The proposed method is cost effective and does not require any special equipment. Detection and quantification limits of the proposed method were determined based on the standard deviation of 10 ng/mL theophylline and they were equal 3 and 11 ng/mL, respectively. Results were also validated for precision, accuracy and linearity., Author(s): Tugba Tunali Akbay [sup.1], Hazal Ipekci [sup.1], Aysen Yarat [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.16477.33, 0000 0001 0668 8422, Marmara University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, , [...]