Opinions of Academicians on Online Education: The Case of Akdeniz University Faculty of Communication in the COVID-19 Process

Distance education, which has become the only option for continuing education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has become a platform that needs to be explored and used effectively for both students and faculty members. The study aims to reveal the problems experienced in the transition to online education during the COVID-19 process and search for solutions. Using a basic qualitative research design, the study was conducted with 10 faculty members who had experience with the online education process at Akdeniz University Faculty of Communication. The data collected through a semi-structured interview form created by the researcher was analyzed through content analysis. The study revealed that the online education process interrupted social relations and interaction between the student and the instructor, but technically facilitated the academics' adaptation to the process by increasing their technological skills, and that the academics were satisfied with the distance education platforms offered by their institutions. Academics who survived the acclimation period said they had adapted to the new system and suggested that face-to-face and online education should be implemented in a hybrid form in the future.

ECMO in COVID–ARDS

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a complex pathologic manifesto of acute lung injury that causes noncardiogenic pulmonary edema in different clinical presentations and increases the mortality rate up to 40%. The main physiologic changes are alveolar collapse/de-recruitment, decreased lung compliance, higher pulmonary vascular resistance, and gas-exchange disturbance, which may be combined with the patient's own respiratory response or assisted ventilatory support due to regional heterogeneity of the underlying lung injury. Since the main clinical features of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pneumonia are hypoxemia and dyspnea, noninvasive oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation remains the cornerstone of managing more severe cases. The aim of this chapter is to summarize the current state of knowledge on the worst pulmonary manifestation of the long COVID-19 syndrome, namely, COVID–ARDS, including parenchymal and functional abnormalities, follow-up strategies for early identification, and timely therapeutic interventions including veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (vv-ECMO) management. Although only a limited proportion of COVID-19 patients develop severe respiratory failure refractory to advanced conventional treatments, it is of utmost importance to clearly define criteria for the use of vv-ECMO in this steadily growing patient population. The use of vv-ECMO in COVID–ARDS is a rescue treatment, if mechanical ventilation cannot guarantee appropriate gas exchange anymore, resulting in life-threatening or organ-damaging hypoxia and/or hypercapnia, whereas the vv-ECMO treatment modality still has a high all mortality rate in COVID–ARDS (> 50%). © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationship Between Viral Load and Laboratory Values and Radiological Findings in Patients with COVID-19

Introduction: This study investigates the relationship between the viral load calculated from oropharyngeal/nasopharyngeal swabs at diagnosis and the laboratory parameters and radiological findings in patients with Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).Materials and Methods: Sixty-seven patients who were positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 via quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) from their oropharyngeal/nasopharyngeal swabs and admitted to Malatya Turgut Ozal University Hospital were included in the study. Demographic data, laboratory parameters, and the severity of thorax computed tomography findings were recorded. The relationship between the viral load and these data was compared.Results: The mean age of the patients was 63.4 +/- 9.8 years, mean body mass index (BMI) was 28.6 +/- 5.4 kg/m2, and mean cycle threshold (Ct) values were 21.4 +/- 5.2 cycles. No correlation was found between Ct value and gender, age, and BMI. There was a significant relationship between radiological severity and Ct value, age, and gender. There was a significant correlation between the Ct value and C-reactive protein, leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, ferritin, albumin, and calcium levels. In contrast, no significant correlation was found betweenConclusion: The viral load amount shown by PCR during the early period predicts the condition of the patient's lung in the advanced immunological phase. The Ct value can be an independent factor for evaluating the patient's radiological and biochemical status.

COVID-19 Vaccine Development Studies and Nanotechnology Approaches

Despite the development of new antigens and adjuvants in conventional vaccine studies, different approaches are required in vaccine formulations due to the poor immunogenicity, in vivo intrinsic instability, toxicity, and the need for multiple administrations of conventional vaccines. To overcome these problems, nanotechnology approaches have recently been incorporated into vaccine formulations. As the development of vaccines is directed towards "minimal" compositions with low immunogenicity, there is an increasing need for new formulations that enhance the efficacy of antigens and adjuvants. There is an urgent need to regulate existing advanced treatment options for the global health threat posed by COVID-19, as well as to accelerate the development of new vaccines and drugs. Nano-sized carrier systems developed for the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, especially cancer, continue to maintain their importance in the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of nanoparticles in medicine started about 30 years ago, but gained momentum with the pandemic and reached many people in a short time with vaccine formulation. The rapid development, approval and delivery of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is one of the most important achievements in the history of medicine, and nanomedicine is part of that history. Within the scope of the review, up-to-date information was given about the use of nanotechnology and nanoparticles in COVID-19 vaccine development studies.

COVID-19 Vaccine Development Studies and Nanotechnology Approaches.

Despite the development of new antigens and adjuvants in conventional vaccine studies, different approaches are required in vaccine formulations due to the poor immunogenicity, in vivo intrinsic instability, toxicity, and the need for multiple administrations of conventional vaccines. To overcome these problems, nanotechnology approaches have recently been incorporated into vaccine formulations. As the development of vaccines is directed towards "minimal" compositions with low immunogenicity, there is an increasing need for new formulations that enhance the efficacy of antigens and adjuvants. There is an urgent need to regulate existing advanced treatment options for the global health threat posed by COVID-19, as well as to accelerate the development of new vaccines and drugs. Nano-sized carrier systems developed for the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, especially cancer, continue to maintain their importance in the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of nanoparticles in medicine started about 30 years ago, but gained momentum with the pandemic and reached many people in a short time with vaccine formulation. The rapid development, approval and delivery of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is one of the most important achievements in the history of medicine, and nanomedicine is part of that history. Within the scope of the review, up-to-date information was given about the use of nanotechnology and nanoparticles in COVID-19 vaccine development studies.Copyright © Telif Hakki 2022 Flora.

COVID-19 Vaccine Development Studies and Nanotechnology Approaches

Despite the development of new antigens and adjuvants in conventional vaccine studies, different approaches are required in vaccine formulations due to the poor immunogenicity, in vivo intrinsic instability, toxicity, and the need for multiple administrations of conventional vaccines. To overcome these problems, nanotechnology approaches have recently been incorporated into vaccine formulations. As the development of vaccines is directed towards "minimal” compositions with low immunogenicity, there is an increasing need for new formulations that enhance the efficacy of antigens and adjuvants. There is an urgent need to regulate existing advanced treatment options for the global health threat posed by COVID-19, as well as to accelerate the development of new vaccines and drugs. Nano-sized carrier systems developed for the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, especially cancer, continue to maintain their importance in the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of nanoparticles in medicine started about 30 years ago, but gained momentum with the pandemic and reached many people in a short time with vaccine formulation. The rapid development, approval and delivery of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is one of the most important achievements in the history of medicine, and nanomedicine is part of that history. Within the scope of the review, up-to-date information was given about the use of nanotechnology and nanoparticles in COVID-19 vaccine development studies.

A Child with Severe COVID-19 Complicated with Onychomadesis

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 infection are fever and cough;but may cause respiratory, enteric, hepatic, nephrotic, neurological, and skin involvement. Onychomadesis is the proximal separation of the nail plate from the nail matrix due to a temporary cessation of nail growth. Numerous studies about cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 were reported;however findings of nails were limited. This paper reported a case of onychomadesis which appeared on the nails after a severe COVID-19 infection (MIS-C). Copyright © 2022 Ankara Pediatric Hematology Oncology Training and Research Hospital. All rights reserved.

Effects of oxygen saturation on the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, subfatin, asprosin, irisin, c-reactive protein, maresin-1, and diamine oxidase in diabetic patients with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: Oxygen is essential for living organisms that perform aerobic respiration since cells begin to die when humans and animals are deprived of oxygen. Oxygen saturation decreases and shortness of breath occurs in coronavirus (COVID-19) disease. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine the changes in hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), subfatin, asprosin, irisin, C-reactive protein (C-RP), Maresin-1 (MaR-1), and diamine oxidase (DAO) molecules in diabetic patients with coronavirus according to their oxygen saturations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Participants were classified into 4 Groups of 22, including patients with oxygen saturation between 95% and 100% (Group I, control), between 80% and 85% (Group II), between 75% and 79% (Group III), and between 70% and 74% (Group IV). COVID-19 was diagnosed with PCR testing and 5 mL of blood was taken following the diagnosis. HIF-1α, subfatin, asprosin, irisin, MaR-1, and DAO values of the participants were measured with ELISA. Other parameters used in the study were obtained from the records of the patients. RESULTS: When Group I was compared to Groups II, there was no significant change in Group II while HIF-1α, subfatin, asprosin, irisin, C-RP, and DAO counts had increased significantly in Groups III and IV. When the MaR-1 values were examined, they were reported to have decreased significantly in Groups III and IV (p < 0.05). Similarly, when Group II and Group IV were compared, HIF-1α, subfatin, asprosin, irisin, C-RP, and DAO values of the participants in Group IV had significantly increased while MaR-1 values had significantly decreased (p < 0.05). In the case of oxygen saturation decreasing below the critical value (70-74%) in patients with coronavirus, the release of HIF-1HIF-1α, subfatin, asprosin, irisin, C-RP, and DAO increased while the MaR-1 values decreased (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Changes in these molecules in patients with coronavirus and diabetes according to their oxygen saturation suggested that they functioned as the "metabolic oxygen sensors" of the metabolism. Therefore, according to these data, it was predicted that these molecules had the potential to be used in the diagnosis and follow-up of diseases related to oxygen (such as asthma, and critical intensive care patients) in clinics in the future.

Consumers' smartphone preferences in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic

With its high population and high rate of young population, Turkey has an important potential in the field of consumer electronics. During the COVID-19 pandemic period, individuals' purchasing power decreased due to economic contractions in every country and individuals showed a more frugal attitude. This study aims to evaluate the Turkish smartphone market and understand the consumer preferences toward smartphones during the pandemic. For this purpose, a conjoint analysis was conducted by obtaining data from 452 respondents who were asked to evaluate products according to their brand, price, second-hand value, camera quality, and storage capacity. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the brand, price, and camera features had the highest utility scores reflecting the preferences of the Turkish consumers. Moreover, Chinese and Turkish brands were found to still hold a disadvantageous position in consumer perceptions having negative utility scores.

Do the rapid influenza diagnostic tests results reflect the truth?

Objectives: Influenza (flu) causes seasonal epidemics and has led to numerous pandemics worldwide. Its rapid diagnosis and treatment are critical. This study evaluated the correlation between rapid influenza diagnostic test (RIDT) results and clinical reflection. Materials and Methods: A total of 795 patients who were performed the RIDT during the 2018-2019 influenza season were included. According to the test results, the patients were then divided into two groups. The Flu+ group was composed of patients with positive diagnostic test results, while the Flu- group was those with negative test results.

Internet of Things Fermatean Fuzzy CRITIC Testing Procedure for New Normal

Digital disruption was crucial to corporate success even before COVID-19 pandemic. The need for speed digitization has grown even more pressing since the pandemic broke out, exposing firms’ digital inadequacies and jeopardizing their operational performance. If firms in all industries are to survive and prosper in the new normal, they must undergo a significant transition. Domestic manufacturers aim to embrace Industry 4.0 technology to close the labor price gap and to be cost competitive. Internet of things (IoT) is one of the key factors in adapting to the new normal. In this study, we determine the criteria for evaluating whether IoT devices are safe and ready to adapt to the new normal. We evaluated eight different criteria and determined their impacts on evaluation process with a Fermatean fuzzy CRITIC procedure. Finally, we determined the weights of criteria. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

May Hepatic Steatosis Be Associated with Gynecomastia and Epicardial Fat? A Retrospective Study of 599 Male Patients

Objective: There is no study in the literature investigating the association of hepatic steatosis both gynecomastia and epicardial fat thickness together. We determined the correlations between hepatic steatosis through liver density, gynecomastia and epicardial fat thickness in patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) scans due to suspected coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) symptoms. Methods: A total of 599 male patients who underwent chest CT scans because of a presumed diagnosis of COVID-19 in our radiology clinic were included in the study. Patients’ age, diameters of the subareolar glandular tissues of the right and left breasts, the right retroareolar fatty tissue, liver and spleen density, epicardial fat thickness and biochemical parameters were recorded and analyzed. Laboratory analyses were performed according to the standard methods. Results: The mean age of the patients was 47.21±15.00 years. The left subareolar tissue thickness and the right retroareolar fatty tissue thickness that are used to indicate gynecomastia were significantly correlated with liver density in the negative direction (r=-0.137, p<0.001;r=-0.172, p<0.001;respectively). Epicardial fat thickness was statistically significantly correlated with right subareolar tissue thickness (r=0.085, p=0.037), left subareolar tissue thickness (r=0.101, p=0.014) and right retroareolar fatty tissue thickness (r=0.148, p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that gynecomastia was significantly correlated with both age and hepatic steatosis. Epicardial fat thickness is also associated with hepatic steatosis. We demonstrated the significant correlations between epicardial fat thickness and gynecomastia for the first time. Nevertheless, our results need to be confirmed by further comprehensive studies.

A Study to Examine the Relationship Between Fear of COVID-19, Psychological Resilience, and Life Satisfaction

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effects of fear of COVID-19 and life satisfaction on the psychological resilience of individuals. In this context, the relationship between the fears of COVID-19 and life satisfaction of adults, which emerged during the pandemic period, with their psychological resilience has been discussed. Personal Information Form, COVID-19 Fear Scale, Psychological Resilience Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale were used as data collection tools for this study. The research sample consists of a total of 263 individuals, 206 women (78.3%) and 57 men (21.7%). Frequency, Correlation and Regression Tests were applied by using SPSS 19 package program in the analysis of the data obtained after the application. According to the results of the research, the fear of COVID-19 negatively affects the psychological resilience levels of individuals;life satisfaction has a positive effect on psychological resilience levels. The results of the research were discussed within the framework of the literature and suggestions were made in this direction.

Assessment of Features of MIS-C and Non-MIS-C Patients: Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Pediatric COVID-19 cases are typically known to be mildly symptomatic and show a good prognosis. However, more severe condition termed Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) is encountered in children. This research aimed to evaluate the differences between MIS-C and non-MIS-C (children who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 but did not develop MIS-C) patients according to demographics, comorbidities, and symptoms conditions, as well as clinical, laboratory, radiological findings, treatment, and prognosis. Materials and Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis were performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines using electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, Science-Direct, and LitCovid including articles on observational studies comparing the MIS-C and non-MIS-C cases published between 01 January 2020-15 January 2021. Results: Seventeen articles meeting the criteria were included. No difference was found in terms of gender and age from the demographic characteristics of the MIS-C and non-MIS-C groups. Black race and clinical findings such as fever, rash, fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea, and laboratory findings CRP and ferritin were found to be higher in the MISC group compared to the nonMISC group (p<0.05). Cardiac complications, use of some medical treatments (steroids, IVIG, inotropic therapy), and need for intensive care were also higher (p< 0.05). Conversely, the presence of comorbidity, presence of rhinoirhea, hemoglobin, lymphocyte, and platelet values were higher in the non-MIS-C group (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Evaluation of MIS-C and non-MIS-C patients for various characteristics revealed differences that will guide the diagnosis of and approach to MIS-C cases.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect outpatient presentations and consultation requests at a university hospital psychiatry clinic in Turkey?

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the change in sociodemographic characteristics and the diagnostic distribution of patients who presented at a psychiatric clinic in Turkey or were the subject of a consultation request during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared with the pre-pandemic period. Methods: The research included patients who presented at the Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Research and Practice Hospital Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic as well as consultation cases requested by the clinic during 3 periods that reflected conditions prior to and after the declaration of a pandemic: March 12-June 9, 2020, December 13, 2019-March 11, 2020, and March 12-June 9, 2019. An independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance or chi-squared test was used to provide statistically descriptive analyses and intergroup comparisons. Results: A total of 5139 cases, 4634 outpatient presentations and 505 consultations, were included in the study. The number of outpatient clinic presentations decreased significantly during the pandemic. The most common psychiatric diagnoses were anxiety disorders (35.8%) and depression disorders (30.2%). The proportional change in depression and sleep disorders was statistically significant during the pandemic;anxiety (n=94, 40.9%) and depression (n=89, 38.7%) complaints increased the most. Inpatient (n=95, 22.9%) and emergency room consultations (n=12, 13.3%) were lower during the pandemic period measured. There was no significant difference in the diagnostic distribution of inpatient consultations during the pandemic period;however, there was a significant increase in the number of requests for consultation from the emergency room for delirium cases. Conclusion: The number of outpatient clinic presentations and consultation requests decreased during the pandemic period. Patients with depression particularly experienced exacerbation, and the number of delirium consultations in the emergency room increased significantly. © 2021 by Journal of Psychiatric Nursing.

Overview of COVID-19’s relationship with thrombophilia proteins

COVID-19 is the most devastating pandemic situation we have experienced in our age, affecting all systems. Although it affects all systems, it shows its most important effect through thrombophilia. Therefore, the possible cause of sudden death due to COVID-19 may be embolism caused by thrombophilia. D-dimer amounts increase due to COVID-19. The thrombosis is associated with sudden death in COVID-19 disease in populations. Since individuals with thrombophilia will be more prone to death due to COVID-19, it may be appropriate to administer low doses of Clexane (Enoxaparin sodium) or low-weight heparin for prophylactic purposes in order to consider these individuals at high risk and to prevent deaths. Moreover, in order not to risk the lives of healthcare professionals with thrombophilia, it would be appropriate to keep them away from individuals with COVID-19 disease and to employ them in different healthcare services according to their fields of expertise. It should also not be forgotten that different symptoms related to COVID-19 appear day by day, these different symptoms probably show that the virus has undergone mutations in order to survive, but no matter what, its effect on thrombophilia has not been eliminated yet. This compilation aims to present the reasons and causes of death due to COVID-19, possible treatment options, and thrombophilia panel tests and new parameters that may have a place in the meticulous interpretation of these tests and possible etiopathology in the light of current information. Therefore, presenting this information in a rational manner and keeping the parameters of the thrombophilia panel under strict control predict that the deaths due to the virus will be partially reduced.