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Objective: COVID-19 has been a stressful experience for healthcare providers (HCPs) and created additional distress for dialysis HCPs due to patients' higher risk of infection, symptom severity, and death. This study aims to investigate Turkish dialysis HCPs' levels of psychological difficulties during COVID-19's initial outbreak. Materials and Methods: The study has recruited physicians, nurses, and healthcare workers in dialysis centers. The participants completed an online survey that includes the screening questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The study conducts the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis H test, Spearman correlation, and linear regression analyses. Results: The study involves 953 respondents, with nurses making up the majority (n=465, 48.8%), followed by healthcare workers (n=402;42.2%) and physicians (n=86;9%). HCPs' most significant concerns were getting infected with COVID-19 and transmitting the disease to their loved ones. Single participants, those without children, those who had trouble finding equipment, and those worried about being able to find equipment in the future, being in contact with COVID-19 (+) people, those whose tobacco and alcohol use increased, and those who declared sleep, appetite, and/or somatic problems had higher DASS-21 scores. When compared respectively to healthcare workers and physicians, nurses were found to be more worried about getting COVID-19 (94.6% compared to 90.6% and 84.7%;p < 0.001), experience equipment shortages (52.9% compared to 29.4% and 26.3%;p<0.001), have sleep (62.2% compared to 43.5% and 34%;p<0.001) and somatic problems (58.4% compared to 50% and 28.2%;p<0.001), and higher DASS-21 scores (Range=5-21 compared to 3-15 and 0-12;p<0.001). Conclusion: Worries and lifestyle changes associated with the outbreak are seen to have been be related to psychological difficulties. An adequate level of knowledge, self-protection, and social support are essential issues for HCPs. While this study recommends that HCPs express and share their worries, institutions should also focus on the psychological status of their staff and provide immediate interventions. © 2023 The authors.
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Background: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) created unexpected impacts worldwide. Objective(s): This study aimed to examine the association of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in pregnant women with maternal disease severity and neonatal outcomes. Method(s): In this retrospective cohort study, 55 pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 and their newborn infants were included. The association between maternal viral load (tested by cycle threshold) and maternal disease severity/neonatal outcomes was examined. Result(s): Infants had a median gestational age of 38 (29-41) weeks and birth weight of 3200 (630-4570) grams. The median Ct value of pregnant women was 30 (20-37). No significant difference was detected among mild, moderate or severely ill pregnant women in terms of median Ct values (30, 28.5, and 30, respectively;P > 0.05). The median Ct value of pregnant women who gave preterm delivery was similar to those who had term delivery [30 (21-36) vs. 30 (25-35);P > 0.05]. The median Ct values were similar among pregnant women who died or survived [32.5 (30-34) vs. 30 (21-36);P > 0.05]. Preterm delivery rates and overall mortality were not associated with SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR Ct values, (r = 0.04, P > 0.05). No correlation was found between maternal SARS-CoV-2 viral load and maternal disease severity/neonatal outcomes. Conclusion(s): To the best of our knowledge, this study was the first one examining the association between maternal SARS-CoV-2 viral load and maternal/neonatal outcomes. It was suggested that viral load may not have been used for predicting the severity of maternal disease and maternal/neonatal outcomes.Copyright © 2023, Author(s).
ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a great impact on patients' physical problems as well as psychological status. However, there is limited data about the impact of psychological problems on cardiac function during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between mental health disorders and subclinical early myocardial systolic dysfunction by left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) imaging in patients recovered from COVID-19.Methods: Of the 108 participants, 71 patients had recovered from COVID-19;the members of the study group were prospectively recruited to the study after COVID-19 recovery. Comparisons were made with a risk-factor matched control group (n=37). The psychological status of the subjects, namely, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and the Impact of Events Scale (IES-R) at follow-up visits, were assessed via questionnaire forms. The relationship between the psychological parameters and LVGLS values was subsequently evaluated.Results: Overall, 45.0% of patients with COVID-19 had some degree of anxiety after recovery. A significant negative correlation was found between LVGLS and DASS-21 total score, DASS-21 anxiety subscale score, IES-R total score, and IES-R intrusion subscale score (r=-0.251, p=0.02;r=-0.285, p=0.008;r=-0.291, p=0.007;and r=-0.367, p=0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the DASS-21 total score was identified as an independent predictor of LVGLS (b=-0.186, p=0.03).Conclusions: Patients who suffered from the COVID-19 disease may have experienced psychological distress symptoms due to COVID-19, which may be associated with silent impairment in myocardial systolic functions measured by global longitudinal strain analysis.
ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a great impact on patients' physical problems as well as psychological status. However, there is limited data about the impact of psychological problems on cardiac function during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between mental health disorders and subclinical early myocardial systolic dysfunction by left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) imaging in patients recovered from COVID-19. Method(s): Of the 108 participants, 71 patients had recovered from COVID-19;the members of the study group were prospectively recruited to the study after COVID-19 recovery. Comparisons were made with a risk-factor matched control group (n=37). The psychological status of the subjects, namely, Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and the Impact of Events Scale (IES-R) at follow-up visits, were assessed via questionnaire forms. The relationship between the psychological parameters and LVGLS values was subsequently evaluated. Result(s): Overall, 45.0% of patients with COVID-19 had some degree of anxiety after recovery. A significant negative correlation was found between LVGLS and DASS-21 total score, DASS-21 anxiety subscale score, IES-R total score, and IES-R intrusion subscale score (r= -0.251, p=0.02;r= -0.285, p=0.008;r= -0.291, p=0.007;and r= -0.367, p=0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the DASS-21 total score was identified as an independent predictor of LVGLS (beta= -0.186, p=0.03). Conclusion(s): Patients who suffered from the COVID-19 disease may have experienced psychological distress symptoms due to COVID-19, which may be associated with silent impairment in myocardial systolic functions measured by global longitudinal strain analysis. Copyright © 2022 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation
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The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been devastating human lives since 2019.While each country carries out their vaccination program, many of them also continue to work on vaccine development. Determination of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies offers important information for evaluating immune responses to the virus. Neutralization capacity can contribute to the understanding of subjects such as the immune status of individuals, the need for revaccination, relapse and recovery from the disease, as well as evaluation of vaccine efficacy. Neutralizing antibodies block the virus by preventing the interaction of the virus's S protein receptor binding domain (RBD) with human angiotensin converting enzyme-2(ACE-2). The most commonly used methods for the detection of neutralizing antibody titer are cell culture experiments with the virus such as the plaque neutralization assay. While these tests require biosafety level 3 conditions, ELISA tests can be performed in general laboratory without any sterile environment. Furthermore, while traditional methods take 2-3 days, ELISA stands out with its ease of application and can give results in just 90 minutes. In this study, we developed a prototype ELISA kit which is based on the principle of blocking the protein-protein interaction between RBD-HRP and ACE-2 with a possible neutralizing antibody in serum. For this purpose, the RBD protein was first labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Optimum use concentrations of RBD-HRP protein and human serum in the selected dilution buffer and the amount of ACE-2 protein to be coated on the ELISA plate were determined. As a result of repeated studies with a large scale of serum, the coefficients of variation(CV) for intra/inter-assay were calculated as 10% and 12%, respectively. Preliminary results of accelerated shelf-life studies showed that the ELISA kit maintained its shelf life up to 1 year at +4°C.
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The aim of this study was to determine the views of parents of primary school 1st grade children regarding their experiences in primary literacy teaching in the distance education process. For this purpose, qualitative phenomenology was used as a research design. The study group of the research consists of 76 parents of students studying in the firstgrade branches of two different primary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education. The data of the study were collected with a standardized interview form and demographic information test prepared by the researchers. The data collected with the standardized interview form were analyzed using content analysis. As a result of the analyzes, 4 themes and categories and codes were formed under these themes, based on the experiences and opinions of the parents regarding the first literacy learning in the distance education process. The themes revealed are, respectively, the theme of tools used or recommended outside of textbooks, the theme of teacher-parent communication in the distance education process, the theme of the role of parents in homework, and the theme of their views on online lessons in the distance education process.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects without distinction between the public and private sectors. Service industries that have been interrelated in different ways have felt the effects more. The airline industry is the most important service-intensive sector and the COVID-19 era has important effects on the demand and supply of the industry. The demand-side analysis of the industry, which has been consisted of the passengers, is important to understand in the COVID-19 era. The travel intention of airline passengers will play a critical role in the recovery process of the industry in the pandemic process. The study aims to reveal the antecedents of airline passengers' travel intentions in the COVID-19 era. The empirical data were collected through respondents in Turkey. The PLS-SEM was employed to test the hypotheses. Findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between travel intention and trust, perceived risk, perceived value, habit. Also, the findings show that there is no relationship between travel intention and social norms. According to the mediation analysis results, it was found that the trust and social norms in airline services directly affects the air travel intention, as well as indirectly by reducing the perceived risk.
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The negative effects on the macroeconomic indicators of the countries during the pandemic process that started with the Covid 19 epidemic made it necessary for individuals, investors, institutions, and governments to create a new policy. To determine the right policies, the effects of Covid 19 on the country's economy have been the subject of research by scientists. This study, it is aimed to investigate the effect of the pandemic on the stock market together with its sub-sectors. For this reason, in this study, the volatility of BIST100, known as the Turkish Stock Exchange, and its sub- indices, finance, service, and industry indices during the pandemic process were investigated. Working day data obtained from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey between 1/02/2020 10/11/2020 periods were used in the study. First, logarithmic transformation of the data was provided. Then, it was converted into a return series and included in the analysis.In order to obtain a consistent estimate, the series should not contain unit-roots. For this purpose, using the ADF unit root test, it was investigated whether the series contain unit root or not. According to the findings obtained from the study, it was determined that the most suitable variance model for BIST100 and Industrial indexes was the GARCH (1,1) model. It was found that the most suitable variance model in financial and services indices was the TARCH (1,1) model. In addition, while it is estimated that there is symmetrical volatility in BIST100 and Industrial indices, it is concluded that there are asymmetric and leverage effects in financial and services indices.