ABSTRACT
Introduction: A novel coronavirus defined as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first detected in China at the end of 2019 and spread rapidly all over the world. As the covid 19 pandemic has led to changes in life all over the world, the prognosis of diseases have also been affected. This study presents how early puberty has been affected during the pandemic period. Method(s): A total of 210 subjects;113 individuals ( 94 girls;3 boys) after the covid19 (2020-2021) and 97 individuals (104 girls;9 boys) before covid19 (2018-2019) evaluated with suspicion of precocious puberty at the Pediatric Endocrinology department of Erciyes university. Age, sex, the time of pubertal signs, initial admission findings, exposure to endocrine disruptors, bone age, anthropometric measurements and tanner stages at the first examination, MRI results, peak FSH, peak LH and basal E2 levels, the time between bone age and chronological age, uterine long axis and ovarian measurements were collected from clinical records. Result(s): Before covid19, the median age of 97 patients was 7,58 (3.6-9.8) years while after covid19, the median age of 113 patients was 8,04 (5,1-10,6) years. The increase was observed in patients with precocious puberty during covid19 period. The mean of bone ages before covid19 were 8.5 years (+1.81) while after covid19 was 9.4 years (+1.51). The time between bone age and chronological age;pre-pandemic mean was 1.1 (+1.14);post-pandemic was 1.4 (+1.24). The body mass index (BMI) SD value was:0.81 (+1.1) at the first admission before the pandemic, it was 1.14 (+1.08) after the pandemic. Before and after the pandemic statistically bone ages (p<0.01), BMI (p:0.032) SD value, patient ages (p<0.01), FSH peaks (p:0.034) were evaluated and the results were significant. Girls presented with precocious puberty more frequently in both periods before and after the pandemic. The most common complaint was thelarche in both periods. Endocrine disruptor exposure was found to be increased in the post-pandemic group and it was statistically significant. Conclusion(s): The Covid 19 epidemic was effective in precocious puberty cases as well as in many diseases. During this period, a significant increase was observed in endocrine disrupting exposure and the increase in bone age and BMI SD value of the patients were notable.
ABSTRACT
Objective: This study aimed to present the impact of coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic on seeking treatment in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) and compare the clinical characteristics, demographics, and laboratory analysis of patients with ED during and before the pandemic period. Materials and Methods: The clinical and demographic characteristics and laboratory analysis of patients with ED were compared between the time interval of March 9, 2020, to June 1, 2020, and the previous 3 months from the pandemics. The International Index of Erectile Function-5 questionnaire was used to assess ED and the results from two groups were compared. Results: A 76.4% decreased total number of outpatient clinics and a 70.9% decreased number of patients with ED was observed;however a significant increase was detected in the ratio of patients with ED to the total number of patients during the pandemic period (1.7% vs. 2.1%, p=0.008). The median age of patients was smaller in the pandemic period. Mild ED was significantly higher in the pandemic period and moderate ED was detected higher in the period before the pandemic. Conclusion: The admission rate of patients with ED has increased in the pandemic period. The patients presenting with ED during the pandemic period were younger, with milder ED symptoms.
ABSTRACT
Today, the dramatic impact of digital transformation on business, education and private life are becoming more apparent each day. Considering the effect of major environmental events such as the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, technology has become even more influential. In this context, the very rapid developments in technologies such as cloud computing, internet of things, machine learning, artificial intelligence and 5G and consequently the need for continuous upskilling of expert human resources have made the adaptation of traditional learning and teaching methods to this new human condition a vital issue. While the aforementioned phenomenon is being experienced, a talent gap is observed between the competencies of the graduates of Computer Science Engineering, Software Engineering, Industrial Engineering and other related departments and industry expectations as a result of the traditional education approaches of the universities. The shortening of the lifespan of the produced vocational knowledge day by day continues to increase this gap. For this reason, it has become more important than ever that higher education institutions have an approach that is more suitable for this dynamic environment. In this study, it has been examined whether the agile methods, which have become widespread within software industry in the last 15 years, have similar potential when used as a training method. During the study, 49 students from the engineering faculty of a Turkish University participated in the "Agile Software and Product Development"course. The curriculum design, learning experiences, student performance considerations and the other results have been shared. In this course, 3 Sprints are designed with 8 Agile Project Teams that are self-organized with the Scrum framework. Continuous team learning opportunities were evaluated and the difficulties encountered in applying "agility"approach to students while developing innovative ideas and the effect of agile method on the performance of learning were examined. The study is considered to provide useful information for universities, faculty members, agile coaches, students, and firms and professionals in the Information and Communication Technologies industry. © 2020 IEEE.