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Molecular characterization of current field isolates of zoonotic parapoxviruses and their growth characteristics
Get PDFParapoxviruses (PPVs), including Bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV), Pseudocowpox virus (PCPV), and ORF virus (ORFV), are zoonotic pathogens affecting wild and domesticated ruminants. Between 2023 and 2024, erosive papules and ulcers on the lips, nose, and tongue of calves, as well as proliferative oral lesions in lambs, were reported in various Turkish regions. In two geographically distant beef herds, nodular hand lesions in animal handlers indicated zoonotic transmission. Suspected samples were confirmed by PCR using B2L genespecific primers. Three isolates representing BPSV, PCPV, and ORFV were sequenced and compared to global data. PCPV showed closest similarity to strains from Bangladesh and Finland, while BPSV was most similar to strains from China and Iran. Virus isolation was attempted on four cell lines: primary fetal lamb kidney (PLK), Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK), sheep fetal thymus (SFT-R), and African green monkey kidney (VERO). PLK cells showed 100 % isolation success for all three viruses. In serial passages, ORFV replicated best in PLK cells, consistently yielding the highest viral titers. This study provides molecular and phylogenetic characterization of currently circulating zoonotic PPVs in T & uuml;rkiye and compares their in vitro replication efficiency. PLK cells were identified as the most sensitive and productive system, particularly for ORFV, which is of interest due to its immunomodulatory potential
Approaches in diagnosis, follow-up and treatment of patients with progressive pulmonary fibrosis: A questionnaire study
Get PDFBACKGROUND AND AIM: Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF), depending on the underlying disease, lacks a complete consensus on diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment approaches, both in our country and worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the approaches of pulmonologists and rheumatologists to PPF patients using a questionnaire. METHODS: A web-based questionnaire consisting of 23 questions was prepared to assess the facilities of physicians' departments and their approaches to the diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment of patients with PPF. The questionnaire was sent to doctors' personal email addresses and the participants' responses were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 91 pulmonologists and 39 rheumatologists completed the online survey. Among the participants, 44% had less than 10 years, 35% had 10-25 years, and 21% had more than 25 years of professional experience. Multidisciplinary councils were conducted in 63% of hospitals, 71% had thoracic radiologists, and 40% collaborated with pathologists specializing in interstitial lung diseases (ILD). The most common underlying primary diseases were rheumatoid arthritis-associated ILD (46.2%) and systemic sclerosis-associated ILD (45.4%). During follow-ups, the most commonly used methods included respiratory function tests (90%), carbon monoxide diffusion tests (84%), high-resolution computed tomography (79%), and pulmonary symptoms evaluations (79%). First-line medications for the underlying disease were steroids (85%), while second-line medications were mycophenolate mofetil (58.5%). Antifibrotic drug treatment was prescribed by 85% of participants, and 78.5% of them reported that they would use a combination of antifibrotic and immunosuppressive agents. While 28% of participants reported no hesitation in the diagnosis and treatment of PPF, the absence of a multidisciplinary team (35%) and challenges in interpreting radiological findings (31.5%) were the most commonly cited obstacles. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of multidisciplinary councils for physicians managing patients with PPF. Although the management of PPF patients varied, the physicians' approaches to diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment of PPF patients aligned closely with recommendations in PPF guidelines
Evaluation of the interaction of food dye fast green fcf with the digestive enzyme trypsin
Get PDFFast green FCF (FCF) is used for dyes, cosmetics, drugs, and food. Due to the adverse effects of dyes on human macromolecules, these effects need to be investigated to obtain clear information on the harmful effects of these dyes. Trypsin is one of the main digestive enzymes. Researching the interaction between the two essentials for human health. The effects of the FCF on the structure and activity of the trypsin were carried out using electronic absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy (type of quenching, binding constant, number of binding locations, thermodynamic parameters, synchronous fluorescence, FRET analysis, 2D, and 3D fluorescence analysis, effect of coexistent drugs and metal ions), FTIR, thermal stability, kinetic and molecular docking techniques. Fluorescence quenching and electronic absorption results showed that the quenching process was a static mode. The bonding process's main driving force was hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces with negative enthalpy and entropy changes. Synchronous, 2D and 3D fluorescence analyses suggested that the binding of the FCF to trypsin leads to some microenvironmental and conformational changes in the enzyme. The thermal stability study indicated that the FCF and the trypsin interaction could lead to a higher Tm point and stability for the enzyme. Additionally, kinetic studies showed that the FCF inhibited the trypsin activity in a mixed inhibition model. Molecular docking studies validated the above experimental results. Molecular docking simulations were conducted to assess the interactions between the FCF and the amino acid residues of trypsin. The findings demonstrate strong binding affinity scores within the active site of trypsin, which agree with fluorescence quenching, thermodynamic analyses, and solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) calculations. This consistency suggests that docking can effectively validate experimental observations, providing complementary insights into the molecular interactions governing the FCF binding and its potential impact on enzyme activity
Modeling the influence of climate change on the water quality of doğancı dam in bursa, turkey, using artificial neural networks
Get PDFPopulation growth, industrialization, excessive energy consumption, and deforestation have led to climate change and affected water resources like dams intended for public drinking water. Meteorological parameters could be used to understand these effects better to anticipate the water quality of the dam. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are favored in hydrology due to their accuracy and robustness. This study modeled climatic effects on the water quality of Do & gbreve;anc & imath; dam using a feed-forward neural network with one input, one hidden, and one output layer. Three models were tested using various combinations of meteorological data as input and Do & gbreve;anc & imath; dam's water quality data as output. Model success was determined by the mean squared error and correlation coefficient (R) between the observed and predicted data. Resilient back-propagation and Levenberg-Marquardt were tested for each model to find an appropriate training algorithm. The model with the least error (1.12-1.68) and highest R value (0.93-0.99) used three meteorological inputs (air temperature, global solar radiation, and solar intensity), six water quality parameters of Do & gbreve;anc & imath; dam as output (water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, manganese, arsenic, and iron concentrations), and ten hidden nodes. The two training algorithms employed in this study did not differ statistically (p > 0.05). However, the Levenberg-Marquardt training approach demonstrated a slight advantage over the resilient back-propagation algorithm by achieving reduced error and higher correlation in most of the models tested in this study. Also, better convergence and faster training with a lesser gradient value were noted for the LM algorithm. It was concluded that ANNs could predict a dam's water quality using meteorological data, making it a useful tool for climatological water quality management and contributing to sustainable water resource planning
Examining the differential effects of reformulations and elicitations on turkish efl learners' uptake and use of english past counterfactual conditionals
No full textThe study investigated the differential effects of reformulations and elicitations during the use of a complex linguistic structure, namely, English past counterfactual conditionals. It also explored how proficiency level of learners mediated the successful use of the target form. Sixty Turkish EFL learners were employed and distributed into three groups: reformulations (n = 20), elicitations (n = 20), and control (n = 20). During the online delivery of courses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the learners met their instructors synchronously outside class times over a period of five weeks for the administration of the treatment and data collection. To prompt the use of the target linguistic structure, the researcher developed an oral production task. The immediate learner uptake measures and pretest-posttest results were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of both feedback strategies. The analysis comparing the measure of learner uptake indicated a greater number of successful corrections for reformulations. The data from the pretest-posttest measures also suggested that the reformulations group outperformed the elicitations and control group. It was also revealed that the proficiency level of learners had a mediating role only for reformulations. The findings of the study were discussed with reference to pedagogical implications
Premature deaths and socio-economic status: The role of fine particulate matter in Türkiye (2019)
Get PDFOBJECTIVE: Air pollution, particularly particulate matter (PM), is a leading environmental risk factor contributing to global morbidity and premature mortality. The World Health Organization's (WHO) AirQ+(c) software is a vital tool for assessing the health impacts of air pollution. Our study used this software to estimate premature deaths attributable to long-term particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure in T & uuml;rkiye in 2019 and explored its relationship with each province's socio-economic status. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted an ecological study using annual average PM2.5 levels from air quality stations. Due to limited PM2.5 measurements (only 16% of stations), we derived PM2.5 values from PM10 data using WHO's conversion coefficient for T & uuml;rkiye. RESULTS: We identified the provinces with the highest PM2.5 concentrations and associated mortality: I & gbreve;d & imath;r, & Scedil;& imath;rnak, & Ccedil;orum, D & uuml;zce, and Kahramanmara & scedil;had the highest concentrations, while Erzurum, & Ccedil;orum, I & gbreve;d & imath;r, Sinop, and K & uuml;tahya had the highest mortality rates per 100,000 population. No significant correlation was found between premature deaths and the socio-economic development index of each province. Our study estimated 37,768 premature deaths attributed to long-term PM2.5 exposure in adequately monitored provinces. CONCLUSION: In 2019, T & uuml;rkiye faced persistent air pollution, with PM2.5 levels exceeding WHO's 2021 limits across all provinces and stations. T & uuml;rkiye lacks specific PM2.5 limits legislation. Our findings provide a fresh insight into the literature, highlighting policy reform needs. However, data deficiencies hindered analysis in some provinces, affecting nearly 20% of the population aged 30 and above and 31% of the total surface area. Therefore, the actual burden of air pollution-related deaths may be higher than our estimates, underscoring the need to address these challenges urgently
Turkish cross-cultural adaptation of cultural humility scale for nursing students: A methodological research
Get PDFAimIn the world today, the wars and ethnic conflicts that emerged due to the expansionist policy brought about by globalisation bring along a multicultural structure formed by different ethnic groups. This situation has focused especially on health systems and approaches primarily on ethnic differences, inequality in health, and preventing discrimination. Cultural humility is the process of interacting openly, self-awarely, egoless, and self-judgmentally when interacting with different ethnic groups or communities. In order to provide effective health services to people from different cultures, nursing students are expected to gain this skill during their education processes. The aim of the study is to adapt the Cultural Humility Scale to Turkish and analyse its validity and reliability.DesignThis is a cross-sectional, methodological and descriptive study.MethodsSample of the study consist of 433 nursing students at the faculty where the study was conducted in the fall academic semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. "Socio-demographic Form" and "Cultural Humility Scale" were used to collect study data. After translating the scale and analysing its cross-cultural adaptation, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were evaluated in validity analysis while internal consistency reliability coefficient Cronbach alpha and test-retest reliability were evaluated in reliability analysis.ResultsAs a result of exploratory factor analysis, it was determined that the scale had a three-factorial construct, consisting of 19 items that explained 60.50% of total variance, and the internal consistency reliability coefficient was 0.906. Test-retest reliability coefficient was calculated as ICC3,1 = 0.874, and no significant difference was found between mean scores. Results obtained indicate that the Cultural Humility Scale has adequate validity and reliability for Turkish nursing students.Patient or Public ContributionNo patient or public contribution
Application of carbon-based nano adsorbents in the extraction of amphetamines from urine samples
No full textAmphetamines, as psychoactive drugs, are extensively abused in society and cause serious mental and physical disorders among young people. Furthermore, the extremely euphoric and excited sense of stimulant consumption leads to dramatic social problems. Determination of various analytes and related metabolites in the complex biological matrices at trace levels has made sample preparation an indispensable part of forensic sciences. According to the problems above, providing high sensitivity, solving some analytical problems like matrix effects in LC-MS-MS, and needing a cleaner extract are remarkable aspects of novel sample preparation methods in drug analysis. Application of nanotechnology and carbon-based nanocomposites seems to bring the above properties in developed and novel sample preparation methods. This review will try to provide an overview of different carbonic nano adsorbents used in sample preparation methods of amphetamines and discuss their superiority over the other nanomaterials
Genetic and clinical spectrum of PIEZO2-related disorders: Insights from a multicenter study of 26 patients
No full textPIEZO2 is a mechanosensitive ion channel essential for somatosensation, including proprioception, touch and interoception, enabling the detection of external and internal mechanical stimuli. Pathogenic variants in PIEZO2 cause mechanosensitivity disorders, predominantly affecting musculoskeletal system. This multicenter study reports on 26 patients (14 females and 12 males; ages 1–51 years) from 23 independent families; 21 with biallelic and 5 with heterozygous variants. We identified 20 unique PIEZO2 variants, including 14 novel variants. Patients with biallelic PIEZO2 variants presented with hypotonia, joint contractures, feeding and respiratory difficulties, followed by delayed motor milestones and progressive scoliosis. Findings of disrupted proprioception along with areflexia were key neurological findings, and electrophysiologic studies showed sensory neuropathy. Clinical characteristics were distinct; however, there were considerable variations in disease severity. Heterozygous variants (de novo variants in three cases) exhibiting clinical features associated with PIEZO2-related disorders led to a heterogeneous disease spectrum, including distal arthrogryposis, restricted eye movements, ptosis, short stature, scoliosis, cleft palate, metacarpal/metatarsal synostosis, glaucoma, keratoconus, and restrictive pulmonary function. This is the largest cohort of patients with biallelic PIEZO2 variants across ages. Our findings highlight the role of impaired proprioception in biallelic PIEZO2-related disease and channelopathy in heterozygous PIEZO2-related disorders, shaping diverse clinical presentations and expanding understanding of PIEZO2-related disorders
The role of illness representations and metacognitive beliefs on mood in people with type 2 diabetes: A study from the covid-19 period
Get PDFObjective: Diabetes poses a significant global health threat due to its increasing prevalence and associated comorbidities, straining healthcare systems worldwide. Depression and anxiety are frequent comorbidities in individuals with diabetes, and their underlying mechanisms have been a subject of research. This study investigated the influence of metacognitions and metacognitions about symptom control (MaSC) on depression and anxiety in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), specifically examining their effects beyond illness representations. Method: Conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study involved 153 T2D patients. Participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30), Metacognitions about Symptom Control Scale-Revised (MaSCS-R), and the Protection Motivation Theory Scale for COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors. Results: Hierarchical regression analysis showed that after controlling for socio-demographic variables, fear of COVID-19, and illness representations, negative metacognitions about symptom control predicted 2% of anxiety and 4% of depression; metacognitions predicted 10% of anxiety and 9% of depression. Conclusion: Metacognitions predicted both depression and anxiety, supporting the Self-Regulatory Executive Function (S-REF) model. Metacognitive therapy could be an alternative for managing emotional distress in T2D patients and may contribute to future research