Evaluation of the functional status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease via the modeling approach

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is common worldwide. COPD has negative effects on the quality of life of the patient due to restrictions on daily activities. It can cause a major healthcare burden according to the stage and grade of disease. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the physical and psychological functional capacity factors affecting patients' functional performance and to develop a COPD-specific functional status model using these factors. Methods: A group of randomly selected patients (n=183) diagnosed with COPD at a university hospital in Turkey comprised the study sample. Physical examinations were carried out on all patients and they completed questionnaires that included socio demographic and disease characteristics, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Functional Performance Inventory and Short Form-36 Survey. The proposed theoretical model was analyzed in the LISREL program using the structural equation modeling approach. Results: We found that the independent latent variable of the physiological functional capacity yielded a significant positive effect on the dependent latent variable of functional performance, while the psychological functional capacity produced no significant effect. Conclusions: The COPD-specific functional status model should prove to be an effective and beneficial tool for issues such as treatment maintenance and for the preservation or improvement of patients' quality of life

Attitudes toward violence against women and the factors that affect them in Kutahya, Turkey

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to determine the attitudes of women and men living in Kutahya, Turkey towards violence against women, and the factors that affect them. The data were collected using an Information Form for Women, an Information Form for Men, and the Attitude towards Violence Scale. The study was completed with 2959 participants; 1481 women and 1478 men. In the study, 41.3% of the women and 22.6% of the men reported being subject to violence. The mean score of the attitude towards violence scale was 41.57±11.83 for women and 49.38±11.52 for men (p<0.001). The mean scores on the attitude towards violence scale were found to be statistically significantly related to gender, education status, occupation, income status, co-educational status, co-occupation, marital age, family type, and subjection to violence (p<0.05). Socio-demographic and socio-cultural factors were found to influence the attitudes of women and men towards violence against women. The attitudes towards violence against women were found to be more positive in women. The rate of accepting violence as natural (acceptable) phenomena was found to be higher among men. That is, the attitudes of men towards violence against women are closer to the traditional approach, away from the modern approach

The quality of life and dyadic adjustment of couples receiving infertility treatment

The aim of this study was to determine the factors that affect the dyadic adjustment and quality of life of individuals receiving infertility treatment and to evaluate the effect of dyadic adjustment on their quality of life. This study was conducted as a descriptive and cross-sectional study with 209 males and 213 females. The study data was collected using an introductory information form about socio-demographic characteristics, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the FertiQol Scale. The main findings of the study were that gender and marital status influenced dyadic adjustment and quality of life (p<0.05), and that income status affected only dyadic adjustment (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant relationship (37%) between scores for dyadic adjustment and scores for quality of life (p<0.001). It was determined that females in infertility treatment had lower dyadic adjustment and quality of life than men

Evaluation of shear bond strength of zirconia-based monolithic CAD-CAM materials to resin cement after different surface treatments

Objective: To compare the shear bond strength of resin cement to zirconia-based monolithic CAD-CAM materials subjected to different surface treatments. Methods: 2 brands of monolithic zirconia blocks (Vita YZ HT, Sirona inCoris TZI), yttrium-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (IPS e.max ZirCAD) and zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate ceramic (Vita Suprinity) were divided into six groups according to the surface treatment received: no treatment (control), HF acid etching, sandblasting, sandblasting + Er:YAG laser irradiation, Er:YAG laser irradiation and CoJet. Composite resin cylinders were bonded to blocks with self-adhesive resin cement (Theracem). Shear bond strength was evaluated after thermocyling. Failure modes were examined using SEM. Data was analyzed statistically by using 2-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey's test (P < 0,05). Results: The bond strength was significantly affected by the surface treatment and the type of CAD-CAM blocks (P < 0,001). Surface treatment with CoJet revealed significantly higher bond strength compared to sandblasting in Y-TZP and monolithic zirconia specimens. Conclusions: Monolithic zirconia blocks showed higher bond strength values compared to Y-TZP zirconia block in sandblasting and CoJet groups. HF acid etching is more effective than sandblasting and CoJet for Vita Suprinity