ABSTRACT
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 hit the city of Izmir (Turkey) on 30 October 2020, resulting in 117 deaths (in Turkey) and considerable economic losses. The earthquake also triggered a tsunami. Following the earthquake, field surveys are being conducted in a Covid-secure way to study and document the damages caused. The earthquake caused significant damages to residential buildings mainly located in the district of Bayrakli and Bornova. However, no damages were observed in railway and roadway bridges or tunnels and that helped the rescue operations. The damages were mainly structural which included the so-called pancake collapse (where the entire building collapsed) and soft storey type collapse (weak storey characterised with weak columns collapsed), and in some cases, only the ground floor completely collapsed. Due to the proximity of the epicentre and the geology of the area, it seemed that the ground motions were amplified. This technical note provides a summary of the seismological and recorded ground characteristics of the earthquake together with the lessons learnt.
ABSTRACT
Background: To investigate the prevalence and clinical and laboratory characteristics of the cases with pulmonary embolism (PE) in the pace of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Materials and methods: COVID-19 patients' records were retrospectively scanned from the hospital's automation system and recorded on patients' files. Results: Of 1452 COVID-19 patients, 17 (1.2%) were diagnosed with PE. Compared cases with PE with controls, it was seen that mean age was higher (p=0.036), male gender was prominent (p=0.016), patients presented with dyspnea symptoms further (p<0.001), while O2 saturation measured at room air on admission was lower (p=0.002). In PE patients, glucose (p=0.007), D-dimer (p<0.001), C-reactive protein (p<0.001) and ferritin levels (p=0.002) were higher than controls. In Receiver-Operator Characteristics analysis, the cut-off value of D-dimer in predicting PE was found to be 4211 ng/mL (p<0.001). COVID-19 patients were diagnosed with PE median five (min:max=0:36) days after hospitalization. Additionally, PE patients were found to have longer hospitalization time (p<0.001), the requirement for caring in the intensive care unit (p<0.001), and intubation (p=0.001), and non-invasive mechanical ventilation (p<0.001) in more patients, compared to controls. Mortality rates were similar in both groups, with three and 106 deaths in PE and control groups, respectively. Lower-extremity Doppler ultrasonography was performed in 196 patients, and thrombi were detected in the femoral vein in four patients, also presenting with PE. Conclusions: Even if there is no embolism without any obvious clinic of PE in all cases with COVID-19, such cases should be screened for PE in the presence of significant D-dimer elevation. © 2021 A. CARBONE Editore. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of different mask types in limiting the dispersal of coughed air. Method: The Schlieren method with a single curved mirror was used in this study. Coughed air has a slightly higher temperature than ambient air, which generates a refractive index gradient. A curved mirror with a radius of curvature of 10 m and a diameter of 60 cm was used. The spread of the cough wavefront was investigated among five subjects wearing: (1) no mask;(2) a single surgical mask;(3) a double surgical mask;(4) a cloth mask;(5) a valveless N95 mask;and (6) a valved N95 mask.