Objectives: To determine the prevalence of habitual snoring (HS) and its association with both day- and nighttime symptoms, school performance and behavioral disturbances in a sample of primary school children. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 1,605 children (819 boys and 786 girls) aged 7–13 years from 9 randomly selected primary schools located within the city limits of Isparta, Turkey. HS and sleep problems were assessed using a 55-item multiple-choice questionnaire. Results: Of the 1,605 questionnaires, 1,164 were fully completed and returned, giving a response rate of 72.5%. The overall prevalence of snoring was 38.9%, while HS accounted for 3.5%. The prevalence of HS among boys (25, 3.0%) was higher than among girls (16, 2.0%; χ² for trend: p < 0.001, OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.01–3.66). There was an association between younger age and HS, as children aged 7–8 years had the highest prevalence (χ² for trend: 0.054, OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 0.81–4.22). Habitual snorers had more daytime and nighttime symptoms. Allergic symptoms, daytime mouth breathing, shaking the child for apnea, restless sleep and hyperactivity were significant and independent risk factors and sleep-related symptoms for HS. A significant and independent association was found between poor school performance and hyperactivity, nocturnal enuresis, tooth grinding and low parental/maternal education in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Children with HS were more likely to have sleep-related daytime and nighttime symptoms. No significant associ- ation was determined between HS and poor school performance.

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Objective: To investigate the value of C-reactive protein (CRP) as a marker of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations or specifically bacterial exacerbations and to evaluate a correlation between raised CRP levels and other markers of inflammation in patients with an acute exacerbation (AECOPD). Subjects and Methods: The medical records of patients with AECOPD were retrospectively analyzed. They were categorized according to the nature of sputum as mucoid or purulent and to the findings on chest radiographs as with pneumonia (PCOPD) or without pneumonia. Stable COPD (SCOPD) patients and a group of asymptomatic nonsmokers were also included in the study. Results: All COPD patients (SCOPD: 30; AECOPD: 51; PCOPD: 32) and control subjects (30) were male. The mean CRP levels and WBC counts of the groups were PCOPD: 108.1 ± 61.8 mg/l and 13.7 ± 6.8 × 10⁹/l; AECOPD: 36.8 ± 43.9 mg/l and 11.4 ± 4.8 × 10⁹/l; SCOPD: 3.9 ± 1.4 mg/l and 7.9 ± 1.9 × 10⁹/l; control: 2.1 ± 0.9 mg/l and 7.7 ± 1.1 × 10⁹/l. The mean CRP level of AECOPD was statistically different from those of PCOPD and SCOPD (p = 0.0001, p = 0.002, respectively). The sensitivity and specificity of CRP to determine an acute exacerbation were 72.5 and 100%, respectively. Among the patients with AECOPD, 25 had purulent sputum and a mean CRP level of 46.4 ± 48.6 mg/l, which is significantly higher than the CRP level (28.0 ± 44.5 mg/l) of the 18 patients with mucoid expectoration (p = 0.015). Among the mucoid-expectorating subgroup, the patients with leukocytosis had significantly higher CRP levels than the patients without leukocytosis (p = 0.034). Conclusion: A high serum CRP value may indicate an infectious exacerbation in COPD patients and it correlates with sputum purulence and increased serum WBC counts.

EGFR and KRAS mutation profile in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) shows wide variations due to geographic and ethnic background. We aimed to determine the frequency and types of EGFR and KRAS mutations in a sample group of Turkish NSCLC cases. The study included 14 adenocarcinomas (ACs), 11 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients selected from archival material including small biopsy or surgical specimens. Their formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues were used for genomic DNA extraction for EGFR exon 19 and 21, and KRAS exon 2 mutations. Eleven NSCLCs (44 %) had EGFR mutations. Exon 19 and 21 mutations were found in 8 (32 %) and 5 (20 %) cases. Two cases showed double EGFR mutations. In ACs, 5 (35.7 %) patients had EGFR gene mutation, 3 in exon 19 and 3 in exon 21. In SCCs, 6 (54.5 %) cases had EGFR mutation, 5 in exon 19 and 2 in exon 21. All exon 19 mutations were deletion-type mutations. For exon 21, 3 cases had L858R point mutation (CTG>CGG) and two cases showed deletion-type mutations. Six (24 %) NSCLCs showed KRAS mutations (three ACC, three SCC), 5 codon 12 mutations (G>T, T>C, G>A) and one codon 13 mutation (G>T). Three NSCLC cases showed both EGFR and KRAS mutations together. The profile of KRAS mutation in our AC cases was quite similar to those seen in the Western countries; however, frequency and clustering of EGFR mutations were similar to those seen in the Eastern countries.

We aimed to investigate the effects of body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) on cardio-pulmonary functions and on depression in subjects with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Eight subjects (2 female, 6 male) with incomplete SCI participated in this study. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP) and resting pulmonary function parameters were obtained from each subject at baseline and after BWSTT. The training programme was scheduled five times per week for six weeks. The psychological status was evaluated by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The post-BWSTT HR value was lower than the pre-training HR value (p< 0.05). In comparison of pre- and post-BWSTT pulmonary parameters, there were only significant improvement in FVC and IC (p< 0.05). The mean BDI score was lower after BWSTT compared to before BWSTT value. As a conclusion, 6 weeks BWSTT had positive effect on heart rate and limited effect on pulmonary functions. There was an improvement in depression level of the SCI subjects.