Necip Kutlu

SERUM TESTOSTERONE, GROWTH HORMONE, AND INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-1 LEVELS, MENTAL REACTION TIME, AND MAXIMAL AEROBIC EXERCISE IN SEDENTARY AND LONG-TERM PHYSICALLY TRAINED ELDERLY MALES

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of regular exercise on maximum oxygen uptake capacity (VO2max), reaction time (RT), testosterone (T), growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in athletes compared to sedentary controls. VO2max, RT, T, GH, and IGF-I levels were 31.2 ± 6.2 ml/min/kg, 106.7 ± 23.2 s, 8.3 ± 1.3 ng/mL, 1.6 ± 0.7 ng/mL, 106.5 ± 27.0 ng/mL in master athlete group and 18.8 ± 5.1 ml/min/kg, 148.3 ± 39.3 s, 5.4 ± 1.7 ng/mL, 0.8 ± 0.3 ng/mL, 90.2 ± 23.8 ng/mL in sedentary control group, respectively. The differ-ences between regularly exercising males and the control group of sedentary males were found to be statistically significant. The results showed that long-term exercise decreased RT and increased VO2max, T, and GH in elderly males; elevated serum T and GH levels may be advantageous for brain functions

Nurses’ knowledge regarding patients with intravenous catheters and phlebitis interventions

This study was planned and applied in 2 stages. Stage I was applied to determine the knowledge of nurses working in the internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and other services in Celal Bayar University Hospital about using intravenous catheter and intravenous fluid treatment, and the symptoms and treatment procedure for phlebitis. Stage II consisted of observation of all patients who had intravenous catheters for symptoms of phlebitis for 5 days and the interventions the nurses used for the patients who had phlebitis. In stage I, questionnaires were used to determine the knowledge of the nurses; in stage II, 2 investigators observed the patients. Results were evaluated using SPSS software with chi(2) statistical analysis. Nurses were found to have high knowledge levels, but their practices were not suitable to their knowledge levels. Of the patients who participated in the study, 67.24% showed symptoms of phlebitis. We found that there was a significant relationship (P <.05) between the selection of the vein and the occurrence of phlebitis in patients who had an intravenous catheter. We also found that the relationships between the age groups of the patients and phlebitis and the relationships between the diagnosis and phlebitis were statistically significant (P <.05).

Testosterone and Nonverbal Intelligence in Right-Handed Men With Successful and Unsuccessful Educational Levels

The relationship between serum total testosterone (T) concentration and fluid intelligence (nonverbal, spatial) was studied in consistently right-handed men with successful (S) or unsuccessful educational levels (NS). Hand preference was assessed by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Nonverbal intelligence was measured by Cartells Culture Fair Intelligence Test. Serum T level was determined using chemiluminescence en-zvme-immunoassav on hormone autoanalyzer. There was no significant difference between the mean T levels of the S subjects and NS subjects, although S-men tended to have higher T levels than NS-men. The mean IQ was found to be significantly higher in S-men than NS-men. In the total sample (S + NS men), the correlation between T to IQ was best described by a polynomial regression (3rd order), exhibiting an inverse U-shaped regression. In S-men, the relationship between T and IQ was best described by a polynomial regression equation of the 3rd order: however, the relationship was not U-shaped, but rather a positive correlation (low T: low IQ and high T high IQ). In NS-men. there was an inverse U-shaped correlation between T and IQ (low and very high T: low IQ and moderate T: high IQ). The present data suggest that (i) very low and very high serum T concentrations may be disadvantageous, (ii) moderate T levels may be advantageous for general fluid intelligence, and (iii) a prewired cerebral organization may be essential for the T effects on cognitive abilities.

Blood brain barrier in right- and left-pawed female rats assessed by a new staining method.

The asymmetrical breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was studied in female rats. Paw preference was assessed by a food reaching test. Adrenaline-induced hypertension was used to destroy the BBB, which was evaluated using triphenyltetrazolium (TTC) staining of the brain slices just after giving adrenaline for 30 s. In normal rats, the whole brain sections exhibited complete staining with TTC. After adrenaline infusion for 30 s, there were large unstained areas in the left brain in right-pawed animals, and vice versa in left-pawed animals. Similar results were obtained in seizure-induced breakdown of BBB. These results were explained by an asymmetric cerebral blood flow depending upon the paw preference in rats. It was suggested that this new method and the results are consistent with contralateral motor control that may be important in determining the dominant cerebral hemisphere in animals.

Significance of using a nonlinear analysis technique, the Lyapunov exponent, on the understanding of the dynamics of the cardiorespiratory system in rats

BACKGROUND/AIM Pneumocardiography (PNCG) is the recording method of cardiac-induced tracheal air flow and pressure pulsations in the respiratory airways. PNCG signals reflect both the lung and heart actions and could be accurately recorded in spontaneously breathing anesthetized rats. Nonlinear analysis methods, including the Lyapunov exponent, can be used to explain the biological dynamics of systems such as the cardiorespiratory system. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, we recorded tracheal air flow signals, including PNCG signals, from 3 representative anesthetized rats and analyzed the nonlinear behavior of these complex signals using Lyapunov exponents. RESULTS Lyapunov exponents may also be used to determine the normal and pathological structure of biological systems. If the signals have at least one positive Lyapunov exponent, the signals reflect chaotic activity, as seen in PNCG signals in rats; the largest Lyapunov exponents of the signals of the healthy rats were greater than zero in this study. CONCLUSION A method was proposed to determine the diagnostic and prognostic values of the cardiorespiratory system of rats using the arrangement of the PNCG and Lyapunov exponents, which may be monitored as vitality indicators.

Asymmetry, Handedness and Auricle Morphometry

El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar diversas mediciones morfometricas de la oreja, para investigar la asimetria y su relacion con el uso de las manos en ambos sexos. Se realizaron mediciones morfometricas de los pabellones auriculares y las manos de 400 estudiantes universitarios (200 hombres y 299 mujeres). Todas las medidas de las orejas fueron mayores en los hombres y todas las diferencias, excepto las correspondientes al ancho del lobulo auricular, fueron estadisticamente significativas. Todas las mediciones de los pabellones auriculares izquierdos y derechos presentaron diferencias estadisticamente significativas en ambos sexos, excepto en el caso de la longitud del lobulo auricular en los hombres, y la distancia desde el punto mas alto de la oreja a la parte inferior de la incisura intertragica en el lobulo auricular de las mujeres. La longitud de la oreja y la distancia desde el punto mas alto de la misma a la parte inferior de la escotadura intertragica tenian valores mas altos en el lado izquierdo y todas las demas mediciones fueron mas elevadas en el lado derecho. No hubo diferencia significativa entre las mediciones de las orejas correspondientes a los sujetos diestros y zurdos. Todas las mediciones fueron superiores en el lado derecho, excepto la longitud del pabellon auricular y la distancia desde el punto mas alto de la oreja a la parte inferior de la incisura intertragica en sujetos diestros y sujetos zurdos, y todas las diferencias, excepto la longitud del lobulo auricular, fueron significativamente diferentes en los sujetos diestros como en la poblacion total, pero en sujetos zurdos la diferencia de la anchura de la oreja no fue significativa. Se encontro una aparente asimetria en las orejas derecha e izquierda de los sujetos del presente estudio que debe tenerse en consideracion en las cirugias plasticas del oido externo, para el diseno de los dispositivos de audicion y para su aplicacion en estudios forenses de las huellas de la oreja.

Ege bölgesi elit sporcularında dermatoglifik, antropometrik ve biyokimyasal verilerinin değerlendirilmesi

Amac. Embriyonel hayatta tamamlanan kisiye ozel dermatoglifik ornek dagilimlarinin farkliligindan yola cikilarak calismamizdaki Ege Bolgesi erkek elit sporcularinin (ES) dermatoglifik orneklerinin, erkek sedanter bireylerden (SB) farkinin olup olmadiginin arastirilmasini ve her iki grubun antropometrik ve biyokimyasal verilerinin degerlendirilmesini amacladik. Yontem. Ege Bolgesindeki erkek ES’lerin (n=105) ve erkek SB’in (n=105) dermatoglifik ornek calismasini, el antropometrik olcumlerini ve biyokimyasal testlerini gerceklestirdik. Genetikte yardimci tani yontemlerinden olan dermatoglifik calismasiyla, erkek ES’larin ve erkek kontrol grubunun dermal orneklerini inceleyerek, erkek ES’larin, erkek kontrol grubundan farkli ornek dagilimina sahip olup olmadiklarini arastirdik. Bulgular. Erkek ES’larin ve SB’lerin parmak ucu dermal ornekleri incelenerek, erkek ES’lerin erkek SB’lerden farkli ornek dagilimina sahip olduklari saptandi. Antropometrik olcumlerle ES ve SB’lerin 2.parmak uzunlugu / 4. parmak uzunlugu (2d:4d) orani elde edildi. Erkek ES ve erkek SB’lerin ortalama 2d:4d oranlari sag (p=0,34) ve sol (p=0,06) elleri icin karsilastirildiginda, anlamli bir iliski bulunmadigi tespit edilmistir. Sag (p=0,17) ve sol (p=0,23) el, 2d:4d orani ile testosteron hormonu arasindaki korelasyon calismamizda anlamli bulunmamistir. Duzenli ve uzun sureli spor yapan kisilere ait bazi biyokimyasal parametrelerin yapmayanlara gore istatistiksel olarak anlamli farklar gosterdigi bulunmustur. Sonuc. Calismamiz, erkek ES ve erkek SB’lerin dermatoglifik ornek dagilimi ile ilgili Ege Bolgesinde yapilan ilk calismadir. Dermatoglifik bulgularimizin bu alanda calisacak arastirmacilara kaynak olusturabilecegini dusunmekteyiz