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The research aims to reveal the contribution of studies conducted in eTwinning schools to school culture and to determine what digital applications, e-safety applications, pedagogical innovation and creative approaches, continuous professional development, collaborative learning, and teaching practices are used in their schools, according to teachers and administrators. The study was conducted as a qualitative case study research, and one of the case study designs used was a multiple holistic case study design. To begin forming the participants, six eTwinning schools were chosen from the eTwinning schools in the province of Kütahya. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used as data collection tools in the study. According to the study's findings, teachers included digital applications in their classrooms, participated in professional development activities, and carried out activities that supported collaborative learning and teaching in order to create a technology-rich learning environment during the eTwinning project's implementation. Administrators who do not participate in eTwinning projects, on the other hand, are unable to motivate teachers to participate in projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large artery stiffness is an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality and a major determinant of pulse pressure. The stiff aorta may result in greater systolic, lower diastolic, and wider pulse pressures, which may decrease coronary artery perfusion. Shear stress has been implicated in the development of coronary collateral. Decreased coronary perfusion may reduce shear stress and thus collateral formation. The goal of this study was to assess the relation- ship between the development of coronary collateral and aortic stiffness in patients with coronary artery disease. In 106 patients with at least one coronary artery stenosis of 90% or greater, collateral vessels were assessed angiographically by the Rentrop grading (grade 0-3), establishing two groups: 50 patients with poor collateral vessels (Rentrop grade 0 or 1), and 56 patients with good collateral vessels (Rentrop grade 2 or 3). Internal aortic root diameters were measured at 3 cm above the aortic valve by use of two-dimensional guided M-mode transthoracic echocardiography, and arterial pressure was measured simultaneously at the brachial artery by sphygmomanometry. Two indexes of the aortic elastic properties were measured: aortic distensibility index was calculated by use of the formula: 2 x (systolic diameter - diastolic diameter)/(diastolic diameter) X (pulse pressure) in cm-2dyn-1 10-6. The aortic stiffness index was calculated by: (systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure)/pulsatile change in diameter/diastolic diameter. The aortic distensibility index and the aortic stiffness index were not significantly different between the patients with poor collateral vessels and those with good collateral vessels (5.1 ±2.3 vs 5.7 ±3.3 cm-2dyn-1106, p=0.31; 4.02 ±2.3 vs 4.43 ±3.7, p=0.49, respectively). There were no significant differences regarding the aortic elastic properties between the patients with poor collateral vessels and those with good collateral vessels, suggesting that collateral formation is a complex phenomenon consisting of several distinct processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Afterload is increased in hypertensive patients and increased afterload associated with both ventricular repolarization inhomogeneity and impaired elastic properties of aorta. Thus, we investigated whether QT dispersion (QTd), which is a reflection of ventricular repolarization inhomogeneity, is related to aortic elastic properties in patients with hypertension. Methods: Overall 113 patients with newly diagnosed hypertension and 25 normal control subjects were included in this cross-sectional case-controlled study. Aortic strain (AS) and aortic distensibility (AD) were calculated echocardiographically from the derived ascending aorta diameters. Electrocardiograms were recorded in all subjects, and QTd and corrected QTd (cQTd) were then calculated. Results: Patients as compared with control subjects had lower mean AS and AD (p<0.001, for both). The QT interval maximum and corrected QT interval maximum durations, QTd and cQTd were increased in patients compared with control subjects. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that corrected QTd was independently related to age, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), AS and AD (b=0.204, p=0.030, b=0.219, p=0.026, b=-0.238, p=0.021 and b=-0.208, p=0.032 respectively) in hypertensive patients. The QTd was independently related to AS (p=0.043) and AD (p=0.037), as well as age (p=0.003) and LVMI (p=0.008). Conclusion: The QTd and cQTd were increased in hypertensives. Aortic elastic properties may play a role in increased dispersion of QT and cQT intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abnormal origin of the Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA) syndrome is a rare congenital coronary anomaly (1/300000 live births). Generally most of the patients with the anomaly die in childhood because of several reasons. It is seen that only a few patients survive up to adulthood in the literature. We report a 39 years old man with the anomaly which reached adulthood and successfully treated surgically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author examines that the impact of Losartan and nifedipine therapy in patient with secondary pulmonary hypertension. He explains that pulmonary artrial hypertension (PAH) is a debilitating chronic disease of the small pulmonary arteries. The author also examines the study that implies that losartan is non-inferior to nifedipine for reducing PAP

The article presents a case study of an 18-year-old male patient who was admitted to a hospital with complaints of nocturnal chest pain. The patient was determined to have acute coronary syndrome. Oxygen therapy, iv nitrate and heparin, oral acetylsalicylic acid and proton pomp inhibitor treatments were administered to which calcium channel blocker was later added. The pains recurred after 2 weeks and then oral corticosteroid therapy was added to the treatment which led to successful results.

Objectives: Coronary artery fistula (CAF) in adults is a rare form of coronary artery anomaly. It is often diagnosed incidentally during coronary angiography. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and angiographic characteristics of adult patients with CAF., Study Design: We retrospectively reviewed the database of 70,850 patients who had undergone coronary angiography in five different invasive cardiology centers in the southeastern region of Turkey. Among them, 56 patients had CAF (39 males, 17 females, mean age: 63.7±10.4 years). Demographic data, clinical evaluation and cardiac catheterization reports were reviewed from the medical records., Results: A total of 58 fistulas were detected in 56 patients; two patients (3.6%) had bilateral fistulas originating from both the left and right coronary artery. In our angiographic series, CAF prevalence was 0.08%. Dyspnea on exertion and/or angina pectoris was the most common symptom (69%). Fifteen patients (26.8%) had concomitant obstructive coronary artery disease. Coronary artery fistulas originated mainly from the left anterior descending artery (n=30, 51.7%). Others originated from the right coronary artery (n=15, 25.9%), circumflex artery (n=6, 10.3%), and right sinus of Valsalva (n=3, 5.2%). In four patients (n=4, 7.1%), multiple micro fistula were draining into the left ventricle., Conclusion: In our angiographic series, the prevalence of CAF was 0.08%, and the most common site of origin was the left anterior descending artery.

Background: Patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and a patent infarct-related artery (IRA) experience lower mortality and better clinical outcome, but little is known about the predictors of IRA patency before primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the setting of STEMI., Objective: To assess possible predictors of patency of IRA before primary PCI in patients with STEMI., Methods: A total of 880 patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI were prospectively included (646 male, 234 female; mean [± SD] age 58.5±12.4 years). Blood samples were obtained on admission to investigate biochemical markers. Preinterventional thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow was assessed in all patients. The patients were divided into two groups according to the pre-PCI TIMI flow as impaired flow group (TIMI flow 0, 1 and 2) and normal flow group (TIMI flow 3). Transthoracic echocardiography was performed in all patients., Results: Eighty-three (9.43%) patients had pre-PCI TIMI 3 flow in IRA. Uric acid levels and neutrophil to lymphocyte (N to L) ratio in the normal flow group were lower than in the impaired flow group (P<0.001 for both). However, ejection fraction (EF) was higher in the normal flow group than in the impaired flow group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that IRA patency was independently associated with serum uric acid level (β 0.673 [95% CI 0.548 to 0.826]; P<0.001), N to L ratio (β 0.783 [95% CI 0.683 to 0.897]; P<0.001) and EF (β 1.033 [95% CI 1.006 to 1.061]; P=0.016)., Conclusion: Serum uric acid level, N to L ratio and EF are independent predictors of the pre-PCI patency of IRA in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI.

The aim of this study was to investigate heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) and other cardiac parameters in individuals who were exposed to a high static magnetic field. 30 healthy male volunteers aged between 20-30 years were included. The searching was divided into three phases: pre-magnetic field, during the magnetic field and post-magnetic field. Every phase lasted 30 minutes. Pulse, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respiration rate and elektrocardiography (ECG), recorded for 30 minutes, in all of the individuals were measured during three phases. The men were exposed to a 1.5 T static magnetic field. The levels of Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), Cl(-), CK-MB, troponin-I and HR and HRV parameters were investigated. There was an increase in the respiration rate, and no change in the systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse in the individuals exposed to the magnetic field. There was also an enhancement in the values of ions, CK-MB and troponin-I after exposure to the magnetic field. Heart rate parameters (minimum HR-I, maximum HR-I, average HR-I) were decreased and rMSSD, pNN50, power, VLF, HF, LF values increased during the magnetic field.