OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease 2019 is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, a novel type of coronavirus, which causes pneumonia in some hosts. No specific scoring ...method exists for mortality evaluation in novel coronavirus pneumonia. The aim of this study was to investigate factors affecting coronavirus disease 2019 mortality and comparison of pneumonia scoring systems, pneumonia severity index, CURB-65, and MuLBSTA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In th is single-center clinical study, 151 patients who had been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 infection and pneumonia between March 11 and May 31, 2020, were evaluated retrospectively. Correlation between patients' symptoms, comorbidities, drugs in use, radiological findings, and mortality was investigated. Parameters were also evaluated regarding their contribution to additional treatment requirements and days of fever response. RESULTS: A correlation between mortality and higher scores of pneumonia severity index, CURB-65, and MuLBSTA was found. When parameters were investigated separately, elevated glucose and urea levels, presence of diabetes, renal failure, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular events and known malignancies, lymphocyte count, smoking history, radiological findings, and age correlated with mortality. In addition to these parameters, elevated calcium, potassium, brain natriuretic peptide, troponin, D-dimer, C-reactive protein, HC03, and lactate dehydrogenase levels were found significant regarding mortality. These parameters were not found statistically relevant regarding additional treatment requirement, fever response day, and total treatment duration. CONCLUSION: A modified version of present pneumonia scoring systems will be required to rigorously evaluate the severity of a patient's condition. A new scoring system that uses components of the present ones may prove useful and with further studies, a similar follow-up algorithm may be created. KEYWORDS: Clinical Protocol, COVID-19, mortality, pneumonia, scoring methods, risk factor scores
We aimed to underline the importance of serum S100B protein as a useful biochemical marker in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).
Forty-three newly diagnosed patients with OSAS ...(median apnea-hypopnea index AHI, events/ hour: 37.5 range 11.3-137) and 25 subjects with AHI < 5 (median AHI: 4.4 range 0.7-4.8) were included in the study. Serum S100B protein level was tested in serum samples taken after polysomnography in both groups and the difference between OSAS patients and the control group regarding that level was assessed. In addition, the association of S100B protein serum level with age, body mass index, AHI, mean O2 saturation percentage during sleep, minimum O2 saturation value (%) at the end of the apneas, and the time spent at an O2 saturation less than 90% were analyzed in the OSAS patient group.
Median serum S100B protein level was 133.7 pg/ mL (range 20.97-230.70 pg/mL) in patients with OSAS and 16.1 pg/mL (range 10.1-22.9 pg/mL) in the control group (p < 0.005). Serum S100B protein level did not correlate with any studied variable (p > 0.05 for each correlation coefficient).
Serum S100B protein level is increased in patients with OSAS and may be a useful biochemical marker in those patients.
The aim of the study was to assess the markers of oxidant–antioxidant status in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) who underwent uvulopalatal flap (UPF) surgery. Twenty-five ...patients who underwent UPF surgery participated in this study. Polysomnographic examinations were performed before and after the surgery to assess sleep apnea in all patients and to determine the success of the UPF surgery regarding the improvement in the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI). Descriptive factors (BMI, age, gender and neck thickness, etc.) of patients were recorded before operation. Blood samples were taken preoperatively, and repeated postoperatively at 6-month intervals to determine the changes in serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) levels. The mean age at surgery was 45.6 ± 9.9 years (range 25–63 years). There was a significant difference between preoperative and postoperative AHI, MDA and MMP-9 values (
p
< 0.05). There was no significant correlation between categorical variables. There was no correlation between postoperative ODI, MMP-9 and MDA. These results indicate that OSAS is associated with abnormal lipid peroxidation, which can be improved by UPF surgery. OSAS may increase risks of cardiovascular morbidity; however, UPF might be useful for decreasing these risks in patients with OSAS who are suitable candidates for UPF surgery.
Ghrelin and obestatin are a single gene products and are a multiple functional peptides that regulates energy homeostasis, and food intake. In the present work, we studied the secretion of ghrelin ...and its co-secreted peptide obestatin in 44 patients with ischemic heart disease with that of 27 healthy matched controls. Here we first conducted using an immunohistochemistry assay to screen whether human salivary glands have any obestatin immunoreactivity. Then, serum and saliva obestatin and acylated ghrelin levels were determined by using Radioimmunoassay. Our immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that obestatin was localized in the striated and excretory duct of human salivary gland. We also report for the first time that obestatin, like ghrelin, is present in human salivary gland and saliva. No evidence of the role of obestatin or ghrelin saliva levels in the context of ischemic heart disease was found. Salivary ghrelin and obestatin levels are correlated in controls with the blood levels. Determination of salivary values could represent a non-invasive alternative to serum ones that can be useful in clinical practice.
Today, the development and change in many fields have a great impact on the management of enterprises.. Responding to the change in development and increasing competition in the globalized world has ...led to the need for strategic management of companies instead of the traditional management style. Therefore, strategic planning has become a necessity in companies. With the strategic plans they create to achieve the ultimate goals of the company in the future, they can better evaluate both their existing and potential resources. In Turkey, the principle of creating a strategic plan and adhering to that plan was introduced for all public administrations in 2003. While strategic management in public enterprises generally focuses on the quality of public goods and services, in the private sector the focus is on profit maximization. In this study, two state universities that are at the beginning and end of Turkey's URAP (College Ranking by Academic Performance) 2021-2022 were selected as samples. In this context, the study analysed Hacettepe University, Middle East Technical University, Batman University and Siirt University, which are in URAP ranking. The aim of the study is to compare and interpret the strategic plans of these universities, which are considered as public enterprises, by converting the qualitative data into quantitative data using the content analysis method. In particular, the terms used in the context of strategic management; strategic management, effectiveness, efficacy, efficiency, accountability, transparency, performance, participative management, governance, total quality management, localization, SWOT analysis, portfolio analysis, cost-benefit analysis, risk analysis, value chain analysis, supply chain management, benchmarking, outsourcing, corporate scorecard, learning organization, downsizing, corporate engineering, scenario analysis a frequency analysis of concepts such as was performed. It is expected that the results obtained will provide a forecast especially universities and also private and public institutions/organizations
The aim of this study was to investigate the histologic response to MTA or Super EBA when used for the repair of furcation perforations in dogs' teeth.
Ninety mandibular premolar and molar teeth of 9 ...mongrel dogs were used in this study. The teeth were divided into 3 groups. Seventy-two teeth were repaired with either MTA or Super EBA (36 each), and 18 teeth were not repaired and used as negative controls. All groups were histologically examined at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after treatment. Histologic evaluation was done with regard to inflammation and type of healing.
The Super EBA group showed moderate inflammation in 1 month; the inflammation decreased over time, but most of specimens showed inflammatory reaction from mild to severe at the end of 6 months. The perforation area was filled by connective tissue in specimens in which no inflammation was seen. In the MTA group, mild inflammation was seen in 1 month, it decreased in 3 months, and no inflammation was detected in 6 months. New cementum formation was taken in place in 4 specimens in 1 month, in 8 specimens in 3 months, and in all specimens in 6 months.
MTA showed less inflammation than Super EBA. MTA specimens showed healing with new cementum formation in the perforation area, whereas Super EBA specimens in which no inflammation was seen showed connective tissue healing.
PDF
