Biomedical subjects

Nadi Bakirci

Publications and source records attributed to Nadi Bakirci.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Across-shift lung function variation in cottonseed oil workers.

BACKGROUND: The effects of cotton dust on pulmonary function among workers employed in cotton-spinning mills are well known. However, little data exist on the prevalence of this disorder in 'non-textile' cotton industries, including cottonseed oil mills, where high levels of exposure to dust have been demonstrated. AIMS: This study was performed in order to determine the across-shift and across-week decline of FEV(1) and respiratory symptoms among workers in a cottonseed oil mill. METHODS: Sixty-six exposed and 48 unexposed workers of a cottonseed oil mill in Turkey were investigated by questionnaire and lung function test (LFT). LFTs were performed before and after shift on all the working days of the week. Acute airway response was defined as an across-shift decline in FEV(1) of 5% or more on the first working day. RESULTS: Smoking was the only risk factor for having respiratory symptoms. Acute airway response was more frequently observed in the exposed group as compared to the unexposed group (OR = 6.2, 95% CI = 2.3-16.7). The median across-shift decline in FEV(1) on the first day (120 ml) significantly improved on the following days (10, 50, 60 and -30 ml). CONCLUSION: Smoking appears to be the main risk factor for having respiratory symptoms. Cottonseed dust may cause an acute pulmonary function decline on the first working day, but not on the following days of the week. This decline is associated with respiratory symptoms in exposed workers.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Vaccination coverage and reasons for non-vaccination in a district of Istanbul.

BACKGROUND: In order to control and eliminate the vaccine preventable diseases it is important to know the vaccination coverage and reasons for non-vaccination. The primary objective of this study was to determine the complete vaccination rate; the reasons for non-vaccination and the predictors that influence vaccination of children. The other objective was to determine coverage of measles vaccination of the Measles Immunization Days (MID) 2005 for children aged 9 month to 6 years in a region of Umraniye, Istanbul, Turkey. METHODS: A '30 x 7' cluster sampling design was used as the sampling method. Thirty streets were selected at random from study area. Survey data were collected by a questionnaire which was applied face to face to parents of 221 children. A Chi-square test and logistic regression was used for the statistical analyses. Content analysis method was used to evaluate the open-ended questions. RESULTS: The complete vaccination rate for study population was 84.5% and 3.2% of all children were totally non-vaccinated. The siblings of non-vaccinated children were also non-vaccinated. Reasons for non-vaccination were as follows: being in the village and couldn't reach to health care services; having no knowledge about vaccination; the father of child didn't allow vaccination; intercurrent illness of child during vaccination time; missed opportunities like not to shave off a vial for only one child. In logistic regression analysis, paternal and maternal levels of education and immigration time of both parents to Istanbul were found to influence whether children were completely vaccinated or non-vaccinated. Measles vaccination coverage during MID was 79.3%. CONCLUSION: Efforts to increase vaccination coverage should take reasons for non-vaccination into account.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2003

The utility of cytokeratins 7 and 20 (CK7/20) immunohistochemistry in the distinction of short-segment Barrett esophagus from gastric intestinal metaplasia: Is it reliable?

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present correlative immunohistochemical study was to assess the utility of cytokeratin (CK7 and CK20) expression in the diagnosis of short-segment Barrett esophagus, particularly its efficacy in differentiating Barrett mucosa from intestinal metaplasia of the gastric cardia and corpus. METHODS: Two groups of endoscopic biopsy specimens were examined, including 20 endoscopic biopsy specimens of short-segment Barrett esophagus (Group A) and equal number exhibiting Helicobacter pylori associated intestinal metaplasia of the gastric cardia and corpus (Group B). All were investigated by immunohistochemistry using the standard ABC method for CK7 and CK20 expression. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analysis of Barrett CK7/20 and gastric CK7/20 patterns between the groups. RESULTS: The anticipated pattern of reactivity in Barrett mucosa (CK7: strong diffuse positivity in superficial and deep glands; CK20: positivity in surface epithelium and superficial glands) was seen in 2 cases of Group A specimens. The expected gastric pattern (CK7: patchy immunostaining with variable involvement of deep glands; CK20: patchy immunostaining of superficial and deep glands in incomplete intestinal metaplasia / absence of CK7 immunoreactivity with strong CK20 staining in superficial and deep glands in complete intestinal metaplasia) was seen in 8 cases of Group B specimens. The respective sensitivity and false-negativity values of CK7/20 staining for Barrett pattern in Group A were 10% and 90%, respectively. These values for gastric pattern in Group B were 40% and 60%, respectively. The specificity and false-positivity values of both patterns were same (100% and 0%, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference for Barrett pattern between the two groups (P = 0.487), while the observation of gastric pattern was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that these hypothesized and recently applied diagnostic criteria involving CK7 and CK20 immunoreactivity are not reliable in distinguishing short-segment Barrett esophagus from intestinal metaplasia as seen in gastric cardia and corpus.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of smoking on pregnancy-associated plasma protein A, free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, and nuchal translucency in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Data were collected from 1275 pregnant Turkish women screened prospectively for chromosomal anomalies to determine whether first-trimester levels of maternal serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) and the thickness of nuchal translucency are affected by smoking and other covariables. Only normal singleton pregnancies were included. After weight correction, comparisons were made between smokers and nonsmokers. Mean values of PAPP-A and beta-hCG were reduced in women who smoked 5 or more cigarettes a day compared with nonsmokers. The median beta-hCG level decreased significantly as gravidity and parity increased; no effect was noted on PAPP-A. Median PAPP-A and beta-hCG levels tended to increase, but not significantly in women who had had 2 or more miscarriages. Smoking alters maternal levels of serum analytes, with the magnitude of the impact related to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. This effect can be detected in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Adult↗