A comparative study has been carried out to investigate the effects of electrical stimulation and ultrasound on wound healing. Eighty-four female rats were divided into four groups depending on the treatment received. The first group was given electrical stimulation of 300 microA direct current, 30 minutes daily, starting with negative polarity and then changed after 3 days of treatment. Group 2 received sham electrostimulation treatment. The third group received 0.1 W/cm2 pulsed ultrasound using the moving applicator technique for 5 minutes a day. Group 4 received sham ultrasound treatment. A total of 7 days of treatment was given to all groups. Histopathologic and biochemical analyses on the fourth and seventh days and wound breaking strength on the twenty-fifth day were performed for all groups. By accelerating the inflammatory phase, electrical stimulation had progressed the proliferative phase of wound healing earlier than ultrasound had done. Both electrical stimulation and ultrasound have positive effects on proliferative phases, but electrical stimulation was superior to ultrasound at the maturation phase. There was no difference between the two experimental groups on the mast cell reduction effect. Although ultrasound treatment may seem to be efficient in terms of time, when the effects of electrical stimulation and ultrasound on wound healing with the methods employed in our study are considered, it is concluded that electrical stimulation is a means of treatment superior to ultrasound in wound healing.

This study clearly shows the anthropometric variation for fronto-occipital circumference, inner canthal distance, outer canthal distance, near and distant interpupillary distance, canthal index, and circumference-interorbital index with age. These developmental data and the normal values of these measurements in healthy subjects are useful for dysmorphologists in the early identification of some craniofacial syndromes, hyper- and hypotelorism, and congenital or posttraumatic telecanthus and of planning surgical intervention. We suggest that the comparison of craniofacial dimensions of a patient must be performed with normal standards specific for age as well as sex and race.

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60C arpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral neuropathy of an upper extremity, and it is caused by an entrapment of the median nerve at the level of the carpal tunnel (1). The carpal tunnel is formed by the carpal bones, which form a concave arch, and the transverse carpal ligament, which lies on the arch. The ligament is also fused to the pisiform, the hook of the hamate at the ulnar side, the tubercle of the navicular bone, the crest of the trapezium, and the radial styloid (2).CTS is a common disorder with an estimated 8% annual incidence rate, and an accurate diagnosis can be achieved by considering the patient's electrodiagnostic features and symptom characteristics. Electrodiagnostic testing is considered the single most accurate method of diagnosis, but a high rate of false negatives and positives are also well documented. If electrodiagnostic findings are not available, then the patient's characteristic symptoms and physical examination may provide the best diagnostic information (3).Fat-saturated, T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can reveal morphological changes in CTS patients, such as nerve enlargement, nerve flattening, increased nerve signal intensity, and bowing of the flexor retinaculum at the level of the hamate hook. However, the sensitivity and specificity of MRI findings are low; therefore, conventional MRI may provide insufficient diagnostic data for clinically assessing CTS (1).Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an advanced MRI technique that is used to measure the diffusion of water in tissue (4). In white matter, water diffusion is anisotropic due to its impermeable boundaries, and this anisotropy can be measured with DTI; therefore, its main clinical application is white-matter tract visualization, but recently, it has been shown that DTI can be useful for imaging non-neural tissue, such as peripheral nerves (5-8), muscle (9), and prostate (10). There are a few preliminary reports in the literature on the application of DTI for diagnosis of CTS, but they include a limited number of subjects. Nevertheless, these reports found decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased radial diffusivity at the median nerve within the carpal tunnel (8,11,12).Here, we investigated DTI's diagnostic utility in a large group of CTS patients using two quantitative measures: FA and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). We also measured the correlation between CTS severity and FA. Materials and methods PatientsWe prospectively evaluated 57 wrists in 38 CTS patients (34 females and 4 males; mean age, 48 years; age range, 25-73 years; median age, MUSCULOSKELETAL IMAGING ORIGINAL ARTICLE Diffusion tensor imaging in carpal tunnel syndromeNeslihan Taşdelen, Bengi Gürses, Özgür Kılıçkesmez, Zeynep Fırat, Geysu Karlıkaya, Mustafa Tercan, Aziz Müfit Uluğ, Ahmet Nevzat Gürmen PURPOSEWe aimed to investigate the efficacy of diffusion tensor imaging in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome and to obtain a quantitative parameter that may contribute to the diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METH...

Objective To present norms and demonstrate the anthropometric variations in fronto-occipital circumference, inner and outer canthal distances, near and distant [far] anatomical interpupillary distance, canthal index, and circumference-interorbital index across age and sex in urban Turkish subjects. Participants Three thousand four hundred forty-eight subjects (1852 male, 1596 female) aged 7 to 40 years were included in this study. Methods Three age groups were studied: children aged 7 to 15 years, young adults aged 16 to 25 years, and adults aged 26 to 40 years. Mean values for each measured parameter were determined at each age between 7 and 25 years. Subjects were also divided into nine age subgroups to observe the change of each parameter with advancing age. Results The fronto-occipital circumference and outer canthal distance of males was significantly (p < .001) wider than females in all age groups. The near and distant interpupillary distances of male subjects were, on average, wider than the female subjects with greater differences with advancing age. Across all subjects aged 7 to 40 years, the mean of all measured parameters and calculated indexes of men and boys was significantly different from girls and women (p < .001). The mean for interpupillary distances in our study in both sexes were found to be similar to Arabian, Hong Kong, and British children; larger than those of Chinese, Black, Indian, and Caucasians; and smaller than those of Mexican children and a mixed European population. Conclusion This study clearly shows the anthropometric variation for fronto-occipital circumference, inner canthal distance, outer canthal distance, near and distant interpupillary distance, canthal index, and circumference-interorbital index with age. These developmental data and the normal values of these measurements in healthy subjects are useful for dysmorphologists in the early identification of some craniofacial syndromes, hyper- and hypotelorism, and congenital or posttraumatic telecanthus and of planning surgical intervention. We suggest that the comparison of craniofacial dimensions of a patient must be performed with normal standards specific for age as well as sex and race.

The short-term and the long-term effects of abdominoplasty on the respiratory function of healthy adults are not known because of a lack of studies on this subject. Theoretically one might suggest that abdominoplasty can cause respiratory decompensation resulting from musculofascial plication, which reduces the respiratory reserve by decreasing intra-abdominal volume and diaphragmatic excursion. This prospective study was performed to evaluate the short-term effects of abdominoplasty on the pulmonary function of 14 consecutive otherwise healthy subjects. Calculation of the body mass index, measurement of the waist circumference, and the distance from xiphoid to umbilicus, and spirometry were performed for each subject preoperatively, and they were repeated at 10 and 30 days after the operation. The mean values of body mass index (p < 0.001), waist circumference (p < 0.05), and the distance from xiphoid to umbilicus (p < 0.001) were all decreased significantly by postoperative day 10. Comparison of the spirometric measurements showed a significant improvement in the mean forced vital capacity (p < 0.01) on day 30 postoperatively, whereas the mean forced expiratory volume in first second did not change throughout the study period. The authors conclude that abdominoplasty could improve pulmonary function in healthy subjects by increasing the forced vital capacity.

Despite burgeoning evidence for the effectiveness of intergroup contact on prejudice reduction, relatively less is known about how much individuals' internal control and active choice is involved in the formation of intergroup contact. Through four correlational studies (Ntotal = 1043, Study 1 in Cyprus and Studies 2–4 in Turkey), we investigated the construct of ‘contact volition’—the extent to which one engages in intergroup contact deliberately. Studies 1–3 showed that intergroup contact perceived as primarily intentional and pursued by the active choice of the self (volitional contact) was associated with greater intimacy and positivity and thereby more positive attitudes, compared to contact that is primarily based on external/situational conditions (contingent contact). Study 4 showed that contact quantity was associated with more positive attitudes and behavioral tendencies through greater intimacy and positivity, only when contact was volitional. Findings contribute to the recently emerging research literature on motivated contact behavior that can help maximize the effectiveness of contact.

This study was performed to compare the effects of direct current with ultrasound on fracture healing. Thirty-two rats were subjected to the experiment. Each rat's right legs were used as the experimental sample, and their left legs were used as the control. Four groups were formed, each consisting of 16 ultrasound, 16 electrostimulation, 16 ultrasound control, and 16 electrostimulation control animals. Fibular osteotome was applied to the rats under anesthesia. In the electrostimulation and electrostimulation control groups, a stainless steel cathode electrode was installed in the fractured side. In the electrostimulation group, 10 microA of direct current for 30 min, using a semi-invasive method, was given one day after fracture, for 15 days. On the control side, the aforementioned protocol was followed but sham treated. The ultrasound group was treated with 0.1 W/cm2 ultrasound for 2 min every second day for 6 days after fracture (4 times). Rats were killed on the 7th and 14th days to investigate the macroscopic, radiologic, and histopathologic parameters of fracture healing. There was a difference (P < 0.05) between the electrostimulation and the electrostimulation control groups on the 7th day. There was a difference (P < 0.05) between the ultrasound and ultrasound control groups on the 14th day. After statistical evaluation of the experimental results, it was found that in both the ultrasound and the electrostimulation groups, the fracture healing had been accelerated more so than in the control groups. There was no observed statistical difference between ultrasound and electrostimulation effects.