Background: Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (r-ESWT) is accepted as one of the most effective treatment modalities for plantar fasciitis (PF). Also kinesio taping (KT) applicationis effective for the treatment of PF. However, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of the combination of these two modalities in the treatment of PF. This prospective randomized clinical trial was planned to investigate the acute effects of KT application in addition to r-ESWT application on pain, foot function and flexibility. Methods: The study was performed on 42 patients with unilateral PF, that were randomly assigned into two groups receiving four sessions of either r-ESWT or r-ESWT+KT treatment once per week. All patients performed home exercises. Patients’ pain levels were evaluated via the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and foot function via the Foot Function Index (FFI). Flexibility was evaluated through gastro-soleus and plantar fascia flexibility tests. The evaluations were done before and one week after the final treatment. Two Way Analysis of Variance with Repeated Measures and Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) methods were used in statistical analyses. Results: As a result, rest pain and activity pain decreased in both groups and there is no differences between the groups (respectively p: 0,831; p: 0.331). FFI pain and disability subscores decreased and were also similar between the groups (respectively p: 0.304; p: 0.978). FFI activity limitation subscore decreased in the r-ESWT group more than r-ESWT+KT group (p: 0.002). Night pain, gastro-soleus and plantar fascia flexibility did not change in both goups (respectively p: 0.713; p: 0.413; p: 0.475). Conclusion: Adding KT to r-ESWT application did not create an additional pain relieving effect, on the contrary, resulted in less improvement in activity limitation. This may be related to the fact that KT application to the sole and heel region creates a hard surface on the heel. r-ESWT application may be more beneficial in PF where activity limitation are prominent. ClinicalTrials.gov: The registration number: NCT06516393

Background and Objectives: Tobacco use and exposure to tobacco products remain a major public health challenge, even among athletes. This study aimed to evaluate tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure in athletes through urinary cotinine levels and exhaled air carbon monoxide (CO) measurements. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included licensed athletes who visited the sports medicine outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital. Participants completed an electronic questionnaire on smoking habits and second-hand smoke exposure. Urine samples were analysed for cotinine levels, while CO levels were measured in exhaled breath. Results: A total of 421 athletes participated (57.8% male, median age: 18 years). Tobacco use was reported by 29.9% (n = 126) of participants. Median urinary cotinine levels were 22.9 ng/mL among daily tobacco users and 17.4 ng/mL among athletes exposed daily to second-hand smoke, with a statistically significant difference between exposure levels (p < 0.05). The optimal cut-off value for detecting second-hand smoke exposure was identified as 12.5 ng/mL. Median exhaled air CO levels were 5 ppm in daily tobacco users. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that tobacco use prevalence among athletes mirrors Türkiye’s national rates. Despite legal measures to curb tobacco use, direct use and second-hand smoke exposure remain pressing issues among athletes.

Introduction: Youth smoking and passive exposure is a serious public health problem. This study examined the prevalence of tobacco use and passive exposure to smoke among adolescent athletes. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ankara, Türkiye, in 2023. It was based on the...

Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) is used to analyze repeated measurements taken from subjects at equal time intervals and is applicable in presence of missing data. In this study, we aimed to introduce Quasi-Least Squares Regression (QLS), which is an extension of GEE and applicable when time intervals are unequal, and compare model performances under different scenarios in terms of efficiency using a comprehensive simulation study. The simulated datasets were analyzed using GEE and QLS, and the results were evaluated. In the simulation study, we produced 9 datasets with 1000 replicates using 3 correlation structures and 3 different correlation values . We obtained 36 scenarios by using 4 working correlation structures on these datasets. According to the results, in general, QLS has superiority over GEE in terms of the efficiency of estimations. In GEE method, a convergence problem was encountered for "Tri-diagonal" working correlation structure. However, in QLS method, there was no problem in convergence for this correlation structure. In order to make better comparisons of GEE and QLS results, Markov working correlation structure should be applicable to GEE as well as QLS. QLS gains an advantage over GEE when repeated measurements are collected at unequal time intervals and there are missing measurements.

The unique properties of chitosan make it stand out as an ideal adjuvant candidate. However, the low solubility of chitosan in non-acidic aqueous media limits its use as an adjuvant. In this study, a method was offered to overcome this limitation, without any structural modifications of chitosan. The proposed method incorporated the preparation of Pickering emulsions via self-aggregation of the chitosan particles. As a model for this preparation, a w/o/w emulsion formulation of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine was utilized. Two vaccine formulations, with and without chitosan, were prepared and compared regarding their physicochemical properties. Laboratory animal (guinea pigs) trials were conducted to reveal the immune response in terms of neutralizing antibody levels. The sera were collected from two animal groups and tested for neutralizing antibody levels using a homologous virus neutralization test (VNT). Statistical analyses of the test results were performed at a 5% significance level using Quasi-Least Squares Regression (QLS). The incorporation of chitosan into the w/o/w vaccine formulation did not compromise the physicochemical properties of the emulsion. Statistical analysis reveals that the presence of chitosan enhances the antibody response. The effect of time and group on the neutralizing antibody titer levels (NATL) was found to be significant (p < 0.05). Our results suggest that the limitation of the use of chitosan as an adjuvant could be overcome by the Pickering emulsion preparation approach, without a need for further structural modifications. The presence of chitosan in such a vaccine formulation could enhance the immune response.