Background Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and the severity of AKI is linked to adverse outcomes. In this study, we investigated the factors associated with ...in-hospital outcomes among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and AKI. Methods In this multicenter retrospective observational study, we evaluated the characteristics and in-hospital renal and patient outcomes of 578 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and AKI. Data were collected from 34 hospitals in Turkey from March 11 to June 30, 2020. AKI definition and staging were based on the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Patients with end-stage kidney disease or with a kidney transplant were excluded. Renal outcomes were identified only in discharged patients. Results The median age of the patients was 69 years, and 60.9% were males. The most frequent comorbid conditions were hypertension (70.5%), diabetes mellitus (43.8%), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) (37.6%). The proportions of AKI stages 1, 2, and 3 were 54.0%, 24.7%, and 21.3%, respectively. 291 patients (50.3%) were admitted to the intensive care unit. Renal improvement was complete in 81.7% and partial in 17.2% of the patients who were discharged. Renal outcomes were worse in patients with AKI stage 3 or baseline CKD. The overall in-hospital mortality in patients with AKI was 38.9%. In-hospital mortality rate was not different in patients with preexisting non-dialysis CKD compared to patients without CKD (34.4 versus 34.0%, p = 0.924). By multivariate Cox regression analysis, age (hazard ratio HR 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 1.01 1.0–1.03, p = 0.035, male gender (HR 95%CI: 1.47 1.04–2.09, p = 0.029), diabetes mellitus (HR 95%CI: 1.51 1.06–2.17, p = 0.022) and cerebrovascular disease (HR 95%CI: 1.82 1.08–3.07, p = 0.023), serum lactate dehydrogenase (greater than two-fold increase) (HR 95%CI: 1.55 1.05–2.30, p = 0.027) and AKI stage 2 (HR 95%CI: 1.98 1.25–3.14, p = 0.003) and stage 3 (HR 95%CI: 2.25 1.44–3.51, p = 0.0001) were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. Conclusions Advanced-stage AKI is associated with extremely high mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Age, male gender, comorbidities, which are risk factors for mortality in patients with COVID-19 in the general population, are also related to in-hospital mortality in patients with AKI. However, preexisting non-dialysis CKD did not increase in-hospital mortality rate among AKI patients. Renal problems continue in a significant portion of the patients who were discharged.
Nowadays, image processing applications are frequently preferred in such fields as industrial automation, security, health, and traffic control in parallel with the developments in technology. The ...most important criterion for the applications used in these fields is to ensure the system to run at high speed and real time. Thus, FPGAs are commonly used in such applications. In this study, some of the basic real time images processing algorithms are implemented in a FPGA-based development kit. The ZedBoard Znyq-7000 development kit produced by Xilinx Company was used in the study. As a result of grayscale conversion and convolution operations, such applications as edge detection, sharpening and blurring were realized on the images taken by video source. The processed images were viewed by the use of a monitor connected to HDMI output of the development kit. Verilog HDL was used for these operations.
This study aims to evaluate the communication problems of elderly before and after using hearing aids.
Thirty hearing aid users and 10 normal hearing control subjects with their relatives were ...enrolled in the study. Hearing aid users were divided into three subgroups based on the duration of use. Self Assessment of Communication (SAC) and Significant Other Assessment of Communication (SOAC) questionnaires were administered to hearing aid users, control subjects, as well as to their relatives for the evaluation of communication difficulties due to hearing loss. Intra-group comparisons were carried out in the patients using hearing aids, while inter-group comparisons were performed to evaluate the effects of different aided periods on communication skills.
It was found that the communication difficulties reduced in the patients who used hearing aid for minimum one month. For the patients with hearing loss, hearing aid use of six months or more increased SAC and SOAC scores to a level comparable with control subjects.
The present study conclude that the elderly patients of 60 years of age or more with moderate sensorineural hearing loss could catch up their normal hearing peers in their communication skills within six months only if they prescribed and used proper hearing aids.
Exhaustive exercise may generate oxidative stress in brain and reported findings are conflicting. Long term dietary restriction (DR) may be useful in the inhibiting of free oxygen radicals generated ...during exhaustive exercise in the brain of rat. Hence, in this study we evaluated beneficial effects of long term DR on the oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme systems in brain cortex and lung in rats after different intensities of swimming exercise. Sprague-Dawley rats (60) were assigned as DR and ad libitum (AL) groups, and each group was further subdivided into three groups namely control (sedentery), submaximal exercise (endurance exercise) and maximal exercise (exhaustive swimming exercise) groups. Animals in the endurance exercise group swam 5 days/week for 8 weeks while exhaustive swimming group was subjected to an acute bout of exercise. With the increase in intensity of exercise, degree of lipid peroxidation (LP) and protein oxidation (PO) were also increased in DR and AL groups; however rate of increase was lower in DR group than AL group. Glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity were lower but glutathione reductase (GR) activity was higher in DR group compared to AL group in endurance and exhaustive swimming exercise. With increase in exercise intensity, GSH and GR enzyme activity decreased, whereas an increase was observed in GSH-Px enzyme activity. There was no difference in LP, PO, GSH and GR activity between DR and AL groups. GSH-Px activity in brain cortex was significantly lower in DR group than in AL group and sedentary rats. Results indicate that long term dietary restriction may protect against endurance and exhaustive swimming exercise-induced oxidative stress in rats by inhibiting oxidative stress.
Summary
The incidence of Candida dubliniensis in immunocomprimised patients in Turkey has not yet been determined. In this study the presence of C. dubliniensis in oral rinse samples of human ...immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐positive patients and healthy controls were investigated. Phenotypic tests like inability of growth at 45 °C, colony formation on Staib agar, intracellular β‐d‐glucosidase activity, carbohydrate assimilation profiles and polymerase chain reaction with species‐specific primers (DUBF and DUBR) were carried out for differentiation of C. dubliniensis. Of the 35 patients, four (11.4%) had C.dubliniensis in their oral cavity. Antifungal susceptibility testing of these C. dubliniensis isolates showed fluconazole MICs ranging from <0.06 to 32 μg ml−1 and amphotericin B from <0.06 to 0.25 μg ml−1. One isolate was dose‐dependently susceptible to fluconazole (32 μg ml−1). This study demonstrates C. dubliniensis in HIV‐positive patients from Turkey.
Actinomycosis is an indolent, slowly progressive infection caused by gram-positive, anaerobic or microaerophilic bacteria. Hepatic involvement is rare and generally secondary to abdominal or thoracic ...actinomycosis. Hepatic actinomycosis in children may mimic a wide variety of diseases and thus make the diagnosis much more challenging. Here, we report a 5-year-old girl with apparently primary hepatic actinomycosis mimicking acute abdomen 2 weeks after varicella. The diagnosis was made by ultrasonic guided fine needle aspiration biopsy of a hypoechoic lesion of 3.5 cm diameter in the liver showing sulfur granules surrounded by neutrophils. Hepatic actinomycosis should be taken into account when evaluating acute abdomen symptoms in children.
Long-term zonal demand forecasting is a complex problem for electric distribution systems, particularly when the planner has limited data, and therefore, needs smart approaches along with proper ...estimations. This paper presents a novel methodology to determine saturation curves (S-curves) of demand zones which are classified based on municipality development plans. The methodology which is based on combination of top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top (also called end-use) approaches, is applied to the network of Akdeniz Distribution Company (DISCO) of Turkey. Genetic algorithm (GA) technique is utilized to determine zonal S-curves by utilizing top-to-bottom projections and expected saturation demands of the zones. Sensitivity analysis shows that the proposed method gives reliable results as long as top-to-bottom results represent the total demand of the zones satisfactorily and the planner defines the constraints reasonably.
NO is an important mediator in the generalized inflammatory response of the body during sepsis and septic shock. We investigated the possible effects of L-arginine and aminoguanidine on plasma NO ...levels and the interaction between NO levels and lung tissue damage and blood gases in sepsis. Fifty Wistar male rats were used in this study and divided into five groups: group 1, sham group; group 2, CLP (sepsis); group 3, CLP + 10 mg/kg L-arginine administration; group 4, CLP +15 mg/kg aminoguanidine administration; group 5: CLP + L-arginine + aminoguanidine given in similar doses. Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) method. Drugs were administered at postoperative hours 4 and 12. The levels in the aminoguanidine and aminoguanidine + L-arginine groups were similar to the sham group. Lung tissue damage in the sepsis and L-arginine groups was more severe than the other groups.
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