ABSTRACT
The economic crisis and the increasing severity of public health problems have reached different dimensions with their rapid spread in the Middle East. Therefore, the Middle East, in a broad sense, presents a war with the pandemic crisis. Middle Eastern countries face this war and silent death. What could be its role and reflex? Although there is no way to deal with the rapid spread of COVID-19, we are still determining where the economic consequences will lead. It is still too early to draw definite conclusions. COVID-19 has made dramatic changes in the Middle East region and has achieved secondary financial results. © 2023, IGI Global. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The most important point to be considered in terms of ‘sustainability' and ‘energy conservation' in a building is the design of the building envelope. Although the importance of thermal and sound insulation in the envelope has increased in Turkey, various problems are experienced due to regulations that have not been strictly implemented. In particular, the fact that people spend most of their time at home due to the COVID 19 pandemic has increased the importance of indoor comfort conditions. In order to increase user comfort, the first thing to do is to take the necessary measures for sound and thermal insulation, which have different physical working principles and parameters on the facades of existing buildings. It is important to design optimal facades that will meet the needs of both types of insulation. In this study, the existing building stocks that emerged as a result of the deficiencies in the zoning plans within the settlement pattern of Antalya 100. Yıl Boulevard are examined. Necessary improvement suggestions are presented in order to increase the performance, depending on the envelope. Within the scope of the study, both insulation performances of the facades are compared and solutions for the optimal envelope design were revealed. © 2022, TUBITAK. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Background and aim: It is important that the immune system is active and strong in protection from the COVID-19 pandemic. Folic acid and vitamin B12 are involved in the initiation, maintenance and regulation of both innate and adaptive immune reactions of the host against infections. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between serum folic acid and vitamin B12 levels of COVID-19 patients on the prognosis of the disease. Methods: The sample of the study consists of 529 individuals hospitalized in the Pandemic Chest Diseases Intensive Care Unit. General characteristics of the individuals, biochemical parameters checked routinely (white blood cell (WBC), platelet (PLT), lymphocyte, Neutrophil/Lympho-cyte (N/L) rate, C-reactive protein (CRP), oxygen (O2) saturation at the time of admission), serum vitamin B12 and folic acid levels, length of stay in intensive care units (ICUs) and hospitalization, and mortality were recorded. Results: The mean age of individuals was 62.8 +/- 15.12 years, and 50.9% were men and 49.1% were women. The mean level of serum folic acid in the subjects was 9.1 +/- 4.91 (ng/mL), and 2.4% had folic acid deficiency and 28.4% had folic acid insufficiency. The mean serum vitamin B12 was 295.6 +/- 229.98 (pg/mL), and vitamin B12 deficiency was observed only in 14.4%. The increase in serum folic acid levels reduces the total length of hospitalization and the risk of mortality (p<0.05). On the other hand, no correlation was found between B12 levels and the length of stay in ICU, hospitalization, and mortality. It was shown that WBC and N/L rates decreased as serum folic acid levels increased, and O2 saturation at the first hospital admission was higher. Conclusions: Folate deficiency and insufficiency are common among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and cause progression to severe disease. Therefore, examining COVID-19 patients in terms of nutritional deficiencies is critical in monitoring the clinical outcomes of the disease.
ABSTRACT
Coronaviruses are a very large group of virus families that can cause diseases in both different animal species and humans. Infections with different coronaviruses are seen in cats and dogs. The epidemic due to COVID-19 infection and its etiological agent SARS-CoV-2, which is a coronavirus, continues to spread very rapidly all over the world. In this article, we aimed to compile published studies on COVID-19 infections in cats and dogs, which we are in close contact with. When the studies were examined, it was understood that cats were more sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 than dogs after contact with COVID-19 positive individuals in quarantine. Cats may show symptoms in case of infection, compared to dogs. The RBD region where SARS-CoV-2 binds to ACE2 receptors is reported more similar to humans in cats than dogs. ACE2 protein seemed very similar to humans in both cats and dogs compared to other mammals. ACE2 receptor is highly expressed in different tissues of them, according to the study data examined. In a conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 can be detected because ACE2 is frequently expressed in different tissues in domestic animals such as cats and dogs, and the binding site is similar to human ACE2 receptors. In order to prevent zoonotic infections such as COVID-19 infections during the epidemic period when different disciplines need to work together with a single health approach, we believe that molecular surveillance studies should be carried out on our close friends such as cats and dogs. The data should be presented in public database and followed.