In this study, activated carbon is produced from defatted hazelnut bagasse at different activation conditions. The catalytic activities of activated carbons are evaluated for NaBH4 methanolysis and ...electrooxidation. These materials are characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption, FTIR, SEM-EDS and XPS and results show that these materials are prepared successfully. N2 adsorption-desorption results reveal that activated carbon (FH3-500) has the highest BET surface area as 548 m2/g, total pore volume as 0.367 cm3/g and micropore volume as 0.205 cm3/g. On the orher hand, as a result of hydrogen production studies, FH3-500 activated carbon catalyst has the highest initial hydrogen production rate compared to other materials. At 50 °C, this metal-free activated carbon catalyst has a high initial hydrogen production rate of 13591.20 mL/min.gcat, which is higher than literature values. Sodium borohydride electrooxidation measurements reveal that FH2-500 also has the highest electrocatalytic activity and stability. Hazelnut pulp-based activated carbons are firstly used as a metal-free catalyst in the methanolysis and electrooxidation of sodium borohydride, and its catalytic activity is good as a metal-free catalyst. The results show that the hazelnut pulp-based activated carbon catalyst is promising as a metal-free catalyst for the methanolysis and electrooxidation of sodium borohydride.
•Hazelnutt bagasse based activated carbon (HBAC) is prepared and characterized succesfully.•HBAC catalyst has good performance with 13591.20 mL/min g cat value for NaBH4 methanolysis.•HBAC has good perfomace for NABH4 electrooxidation with 1.8 mA/cm2 current density value.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Objective
After radical prostatectomy, prostate‐specific antigen(PSA) value measuring ≥0.1 ng/mL is defined as persistent PSA(pPSA) and in many studies, it was found to be associated with aggressive ...disease and poor prognosis. Our aim in this study is to point out the pathological and clinical factors affecting pPSA among the patients who underwent robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy(RARP) in an experienced academic centre and to make a useful risk grouping algorithm that can predict pPSA value based on operative data.
Methods
We examined records of 1273 patients who underwent RARP retrospectively. Preoperative, operative and postoperative data were collected. Based on the PSA values (ng/mL) measured after 4‐to‐8 weeks of RARP, patients were divided into two groups as pPSA group (Group1)(n = 97) with PSA values ≥0.1 ng/mL and undetectable PSA group (Group2)(n = 778) with PSA values <0.1 ng/mL. Later on, Group1 was further divided into Group1a (PSA:0.1‐0.2 ng/mL) and Group 1b (PSA≥0.2 ng/mL) to evaluate biochemical recurrence(BCR).
Results
Multivariate logistic regression analyses of the collected data revealed that preoperative PSA≥20 ng/mL, operation time, a postoperative international society of urological pathology (ISUP) grade of ≥4, pT 3‐4 and pN were independently associated with pPSA. Based on these results, a risk grouping algorithm predicting pPSA was developed. By looking at the risk grouping algorithm pPSA was found in 98.9% of the cases with a preoperative PSA value of ≥20 ng/mL, an operation time of 150 min, a postoperative ISUP grade of 4‐5, a positive lymphovascular invasion (LVI) status, pT3‐T4, and pN+; while pPSA was found in 25.5% of the cases with a preoperative PSA value of <20 ng/mL, an operation time of 100 min, a postoperative ISUP grade of <4‐5, a negative LVI status, pT<3‐4 and pN‐. The estimated BCR‐free survival time was 16.3 months in Group 1a and 57.0 months in Group2 (P < .001). Adjuvant treatment ratio was 64.9% in Group1 and 7.1% in Group2 (P < .001).
Conclusion
For the patients who underwent RARP, factors associated with aggressive disease can predict the PSA persistence. To plan our treatment modalities accurately, an applicable risk grouping algorithm in daily practice would be useful.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Mechanical properties of the castings are directly affected negatively by the inclusions, such as its own oxide occurring during melting, if proper and logical liquid metal processes could not be ...carried out. To overcome this issue, different compositions and types of fluxes were practiced. Na2SiF6, NaF/AlF3 (cryolite ratio) = 1.85, 2.8, and 3, NaF, Na3AlF6 (commercial cryolite) added with different ratios to the mixture of NaCl+KCl, and also only Na2SiF6 to the mixture of MgCl2+KCl were appended to the liquid metal to remove inclusions, such as old oxide bifilms. Average effectiveness values of the fluxes concerning mechanical properties were investigated as well. The change in the melt cleanliness before and after degassing has been taken into account to establish a model that correlates bifilm index and tensile properties. Since bifilm index is directly interested in porosity shape and amount to quantify liquid metal quality, any other techniques, such as density index, were not be consulted. In addition, the main focus was based on how much the melt was cleaned rather than the cleanliness of the melt after degassing. Thus, the difference of bifilm index as a melt cleanliness indicator firstly was introduced to the literature. In addition to this, the contour plots of mechanical properties and bifilm index values were used to evaluate the correlation, and it was found that there was an exponential relationship, a quality index, between elongation at fracture, tensile strength, and bifilm index.
Limited data are available on the short‐ to midterm levels of antibodies to the CoronaVac vaccine and quantitative change in humoral response after homologous or heterologous booster doses. In this ...prospective cohort study, we evaluated the anti‐receptor‐binding domain (RBD) immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels after two doses of CoronaVac and heterologous/homologous booster administration among healthcare workers in a university hospital in Turkey. Quantitative anti‐RBD IgG antibody levels were measured at first and fourth months in 560 healthcare workers who had completed two doses of CoronaVac vaccine, and within 2 months after the third dose of CoronaVac or BNT162b2. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire during the first blood draw. The seropositivity rate was 98.9% and 89.1%, and the median antibody level was 469.2 AU/ml and 166.5 AU/ml at first and fourth month, respectively. In the fourth month, a mean reduction of 61.4% ± 20% in antibody levels was observed in 79.8% of the participants. The presence of chronic disease (odds ratio OR: 1.76, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.15–2.69) and being in the 36–50 age group (OR: 2.11, 95% CI: 1.39–3.19) were identified as independent predictors for low antibody response. The antibody level increased 104.8‐fold (median: 17 609.4 vs. 168 AU/ml) and 8.7‐fold (median: 1237.9 vs. 141.4 AU/ml) in the participants who received BNT162b2 and CoronaVac, respectively. During the follow‐up, 25 healthcare workers (4.5%) were infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Considering the waning immunity and circulating variants, a single booster dose of messenger RNA vaccine seems reasonable after the inactivated vaccine especially in risk groups.
Highlights
The seropositivity rate was quite high with two doses of inactivated CoronaVac vaccine.
Chronic disease and preobesity caused lower antibody response.
There was a significant decrease in the antibody levels at the fourth month after the second dose of CoronaVac.
An increase in antibody levels was detected with both homologous and heterologous booster (messenger RNA vaccine BNT162b2) administration approximately 5 months after the second dose of CoronaVac.
A Heterologous booster with BNT162b2 provided a marked increase in antibody response compared to a homologous booster (104.8‐ vs. 8.7‐fold, respectively).
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
COVID-19 has been a threat throughout the world since December 2019. In attempts to discover an urgent treatment regime for COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ) have been ...on solidarity clinical trial. However, many countries have pulled HCQ and CQ from their COVID-19 treatment regimens recently, some countries still continue using them for patients who have previously started HCQ and CQ and they may complete their course under the supervision of a doctor. HCQ and CQ are 4-aminoquinoline drugs and it is safe to use them for autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and malaria as well. Determination of CQ, HCQ and their metabolites in biologic fluids and in pharmaceuticals has great importance, especially for pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and epidemiological studies. In this review, liquid chromatographic methods developed in the last 10 years were summarized focusing on sample preparation and detection methods for HCQ and CQ determination in biological fluids and pharmaceutical preparations. It is hoped that this article could be helpful to facilitate the use of these drugs in clinical trials or drug research studies as it provides comprehensive information on the reported analytical methods.
Previous studies have suggested that probiotic supplements in dairy products may affect the oral microbial ecology, but the effect in orthodontic patients has not previously been reported. The aim of ...the present study was to examine whether short-term consumption of fruit yogurt containing probiotic bifidobacteria would affect the levels of salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli in patients with fixed orthodontic appliances. A double-blind, randomized crossover study was performed and 24 healthy adolescents (12–16 years) undergoing orthodontic treatment were followed over four periods. During periods 2 and 4 (2 weeks each), the subjects ingested 200 g fruit yogurt containing Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173010 (2 × 108 colony forming units/g) once daily or a control yogurt without viable bacteria. Periods 1 and 3 were run-in and wash-out periods of 1 and 6 weeks, respectively. Salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli were enumerated with chair-side kits before and after the yogurt consumption periods. Pre- and post-treatment values within each regimen were compared with a two-tailed marginal homogeneity test for categorical data. A statistically significant reduction of salivary mutans streptococci was recorded after probiotic yogurt consumption (P < 0.05), which was in contrast to the control yogurt. No significant alterations of the salivary lactobacilli counts were observed. Short-term daily consumption of fruit yogurt containing Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173010 may reduce the levels of mutans streptococci in saliva during orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances.
•Breakthrough infections can occur in vaccinated healthcare workers.•Pre-infection antibody levels was no difference between the cases and controls.•There was no cut-off value of antibodies that ...shows the risk of infection.•Keeping up with infection control measures is important, when case numbers rise.
To evaluate anti-RBD IgG antibody levels and neutralizing antibody titers between the health care workers (HCWs) with breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection and controls.
In this nested case-case control study, we followed 548 vaccinated HCWs with homologous (only with inactivated vaccine) or heterologous (both with inactivated and BNT162b2 vaccine) vaccination for 11 months, prospectively. We obtained blood samples from the participants for quantitative anti-RBD IgG and surrogate neutralization test. The participants with SARS-CoV-2 PCR positivity (at least 14 days after the last vaccination) were considered breakthrough infection. We chose 1:2 matched controls from the cohort, according to age, sex and vaccination status. We used R version 4.0.2 for the statistical analysis.
Sixty-five cases and 130 controls were included in the study. The number of the breakthrough infections in HCWs were correlated with the pandemic waves in Türkiye and peaked during Omicron outbreak. The median age of the cases was 39 and 78.5% were female. The cases had more comorbidities than controls, significantly (p = 0.021). All cases experienced no or mild symptoms and recovered completely. Both pre-infection anti-RBD antibody and neutralizing antibody titers did not differ between cases and matched controls (p = 0.767, p = 0.628).
In this study, we showed that there was no comparable difference in humoral response after homologous or heterologous vaccination between the cases of breakthrough infection and matched controls. Compliance with infection control measures should be ensured, in combination with vaccination.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Infants and other children can be affected by various acute, chronic and many of them rare illnesses. Developing drugs for children is very challenging since they cannot intake tablets or hard oral ...solid dosage forms. Besides, most of the prescribed pediatric medications are unlicensed. The biggest issue that clinicians have to solve is that dosing in children is not based on weight or surface area of the body, as it happened in adults but is related to age variations in drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. Thus, for pediatric patients, various therapeutic approaches have been proposed so as to develop suitable formulations such as liquid dosage forms, flexible capsules, milk-based products, etc. In addition, the administration of current pharmaceutical products to children might lead to some serious side effects which can also happen in adults but with a lower risk. Especially, infants are at high risk of getting poisoned by taking drugs used for adults. Moreover, children are very sensitive to the taste and smell of some pharmaceutical vehicles and can resist to intake them and this situation leads parents to search for tasteless and odorless medications. In this study, the current formulations for various diseases intended to be used in pediatric patients as well as various chronic and acute diseases of childhood are summarized. Authors believe that this review can help professionals who want to work with pediatric formulations to design more efficient and child-friendly drug delivery systems.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Aluminium and its alloys have been widely used in the automotive industry for some time and A356 is one of the most popular aluminium alloys today in the sector. It contains approximately 7 wt.% Si ...and 0.3 wt.% Mg. Due to the defects that may be present in the cast parts, expected mechanical properties may not be reached and this alloy may perform in service under its potential. In a low pressure die casting, several precautions have to be taken in order to produce high quality and defect-free castings. Temperature of casting and the schemical composition of the melt is recorded continuously. Die temperature, pressure levels and their durations are optimized; degassing and fluxing operations are performed. Yet, regardless of the precautions, there could still be rejected parts. It is becoming clear that a good quality raw material is one of the most underrated points of the industry and that the starting material has a great effect on the final product and it should be taken in to account more seriously. Therefore, regarding the first rule of Campbell’s 10 Rules of Casting, in this study, the quality of the starting material of supply chains for a wheel manufacturer was investigated. Chemical compositions were compared, fluidity tests, mechanical tests and bifilm indexes of these various sources and ingots were measured and a final quality index was proposed to create a reference for the quantification of quality of supplier’s ingots. This new index was compared with the rejection rates.
Giriş: Dünyada pandemiye yol açan COVID-19 hastalığının klinik özelliklerinin anlaşılması, hastalığın kontrol altına alınması açısından önemlidir.Amaç: Çalışma çocuk acil servisine başvuran COVID-19 ...tanılı hastaların klinik özelliklerinin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapıldı.Yöntem: Retrospektif tipteki araştırmanın evrenini 11 Mart 2020 - 1 Temmuz 2020 tarihleri arasında, İstanbul’daki bir hastanenin çocuk acil servisine COVID-19 şüphesi ile başvuran hastalar (N = 183), örneklemini ise Polymerase Chain Reaction test sonucu pozitif çıkan 1 ay-18 yaş arasındaki tüm çocuklar (n = 30) oluşturdu. Verilerin analizinde, tanımlayıcı istatistiksel yöntemler kullanıldı.Bulgular: Araştırmanın yapıldığı çocuk acil servisine COVID-19 şüphesi ile 183 hastanın başvurduğu, bu hastaların %16,39'unun (n = 30) Polymerase Chain Reaction testi sonucunun pozitif olduğu belirlendi. Polymerase Chain Reaction test sonucu pozitif olan çocukların %50'sinin erkek, %50’sinin kız, yaş ortalamalarının 7,2 ± 5,41 yıl (Minimum-Maksimum: 53 gün-17 yaş) olduğu, %96,7’sinin ailesinde de pozitif vaka bulunduğu belirlendi. Çocukların klinik belirtileri ateş (%53,3), öksürük (%36,7), halsizlik (%30), baş ağrısı (%13,3), tat duyusu kaybı (%10) idi. Klinik belirtiler asemptomatik (%16,7), hafif (%70) ve orta (%13,3) şiddette idi.Sonuç: Çocuklarda COVID-19 tanısı alma sıklığının düşük olduğu, hastalığın hafif bulgular ile seyrettiği, en sık görülen bulguların ateş ve öksürük olduğu belirlendi.
Introduction: Understanding the clinical features of the COVID-19 disease, which causes a pandemic in the world, is important in terms of controlling the disease.Aim: The study was carried out to determine the clinical characteristics of patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 those who applied to the pediatric emergency ward.Method: The content of the retrospective design type research was formed by patients (N =183) who applied to the pediatric emergency ward of a hospital in Istanbul with the suspicion of COVID-19 between 11 March 2020 and 1 July 2020; the sampling consisted from children aged 1 month-18 years with a positive Polymerase Chain Reaction test result (n=30). Descriptive statistical methods were used in the analysisof the data.Results: It was determined that 183 patients were admitted to the pediatric emergency service with the suspicion of COVID-19, and the Polymerase Chain Reaction test results of 16.39% (n=30) were positive. Fifty percent of the children with positive Polymerase Chain Reaction test results were male and their mean age was 7.2±5.41 years (Minimum-Maximum: 53 days-17 years). It was found that 96.7% of the children had a positive case in their family. Children's symptoms were fever (53.3%), cough (36.7%), weakness (30%), and headache (13.3%), loss of sense of taste (10%). Clinical symptoms were asymptomatic (16.7%), mild (70%), moderate (13.3%).Conclusion: It was deduced that the diagnosis frequency of COVID-19 in children was low; that the disease progressed with mild symptoms, and that the most common findings were fever and cough.
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