Risk factors for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients: An observational study based on a survey in a tertiary care center in Türkiye.

Introduction: Long COVID is a multisystem disease with various symptoms and risk factors. We aim to investigate the post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 and related risk factors in a tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: In this observational study, based on a survey of 1.977 COVID-19 patients hospitalized from April 2020 to January 2021, a retrospective assessment was carried out on 1.050 individuals who were reachable via telephone to determine their eligibility for meeting the inclusion criteria. Results: The data of 256 patients who reported at least one persistent symptom were analyzed. Long COVID prevalence was 24.3%. Among 256 patients (median age 52.8; 52.7% female; 56.63% had at least one comorbidity), dyspnea, fatigue, arthralgia-myalgia, cough, and back pain were the most common post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (42.4%; 28.29%; 16.33%; 13.15% and 7.17%, respectively). The risk factors for the persistence of dyspnea included having lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a history of intensive care support, the requirement for long-term oxygen therapy, and a history of cytokine storm (p= 0.024, p= 0.026, p< 0.001, p= 0.036, p= 0.005, respectively). The correlation between lung involvement with post-discharge cough (p= 0.041) and dizziness (p= 0.038) was significant. No correlation between the symptoms with the severity of acute infection, age, and gender was found. When a multivariate regression analysis was conducted on the most common long COVID-related symptoms, several independent risk factors were identified. These included having lung disease for dyspnea (OR 5.81, 95% CI 1.08-31.07, p= 0.04); length of hospital stay for myalgia (OR 1.034, 95% CI 1.004-1.065, p= 0.024); and pulmonary involvement of over 50% during COVID-19 infection for cough (OR 3.793, 95% CI 1.184-12.147, p= 0.025). Conclusion: COVID-19 survivors will require significant healthcare services due to their prolonged symptoms. We hope that our findings will guide the management of these patients in clinical settings towards best practices.

Characterization of phenolics and tocopherol profile, capsaicinoid composition and bioactive properties of fruits in interspecies (Capsicum annuum X Capsicum frutescens) recombinant inbred pepper lines (RIL).

In this study, 104 RIL (Recombinant Inbred Pepper Lines: F6) populations which generated by selfing Capsicum annuum (Long pepper) × Capsicum frutescens (PI281420) F6 population were characterized in terms of detailed bioactive properties, major phenolic composition, tocopherol and capsaicinoid profile. Total phenolics, flavonoid and total anthocyanin contents of the red pepper lines were in the range of 7.06-17.15 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dw, 1.10-5.46 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g dw and 7.9-516.6 mg/kg dw extract, respectively. Antiradical activity and antioxidant capacity values also ranged between 18.99 and 49.73% and 6.97-16.47 mg ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE)/kg dw, respectively. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin levels showed a wide variance with the range of 27.9-1405.9 and 12.3-640.4 mg/100 g dw, respectively. Scoville heat unit revealed that the 95% of the peppers were highly pungent. The major tocopherol was alpha tocopherol for the pepper samples with the highest level of 1078.4 µg/g dw. The major phenolics were detected as p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, myricetin, luteolin and quercetin. Pepper genotypes showed significant differences in terms of the characterized properties and principal component analysis was applied successfully to reveal the similar genotypes.

Effects of gradually increasing drying temperatures on energy aspects, fatty acids, chemical composition, and in vitro ruminal fermentation of acorn.

Acorns are commonly used to meet energy, protein, and mineral needs of livestock in various parts of the world. However, since acorns have quite a high moisture content at harvest, they should be stored as dried to prevent loss of nutrients and spoilage throughout storage periods. The aim of this study is to determine the drying kinetics, color, energy aspects, crude protein, crude ash, crude oil, fatty acid composition, ADF, NDF, condensed tannin, and mineral composition properties of acorns dried at gradually increasing drying temperatures. Drying processes were carried out in an air-convective dryer at temperatures of 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 °C. The Logistic model was identified as the best model for describing current drying conditions. Increasing drying temperatures reduced L* (lightness) values and increased thermal efficiency and effective moisture diffusion values. In terms of energy efficiency, the best outcomes were achieved at 80 °C and 120 °C drying temperatures. Drying temperatures had highly significant effects on nutritional traits of acorn samples. Increasing drying temperatures increased fiber content, gas-methane production, and energy values and reduced crude protein and oil contents. Some minerals decreased and some others increased with increasing drying temperatures. Increasing drying temperatures caused slight changes in fatty acid compositions. In terms of animal drying and feeding characteristics, it was determined that a drying temperature of 80 °C was ideal for acorn drying.

Physical and Mental Health-Related Quality of Life Trajectories Among People With Multiple Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Most studies of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in multiple sclerosis (MS) have been cross-sectional. The few longitudinal studies have not accounted for potential heterogeneity in HRQOL trajectories. There may be groups of individuals with common physical and mental HRQoL trajectories over time. Identification of early risk factors for membership in trajectories with poor HRQoL would inform on those at risk. We aimed to identify physical and mental HRQoL trajectories among people with MS and early risk factors for membership in the trajectory groups with the worst HRQoL. METHODS: Between 2004 and 2020, we queried NARCOMS participants regarding HRQoL using the RAND-12, demographics, fatigue, and physical impairments (using Patient Determined Disease Steps). We included participants who were enrolled in the NARCOMS registry within three years of MS diagnosis, lived in the United States, reported physician-confirmed MS, and had ≥3 HRQoL observations. We used group-based trajectory modelling to determine whether there were distinct clusters of individuals who followed similar HRQoL trajectories over time. We evaluated whether baseline participant characteristics associated with the probability of trajectory group membership using a multinomial logit model. RESULTS: We included 4,888 participants who completed 57,564 HRQoL questionnaires between one and 27 years after MS diagnosis. Participants had a mean (SD) age of 41.7 (9.5) years at diagnosis, and 3,978 participants (81%) were women. We identified five distinct physical HRQoL trajectories and four distinct mental HRQoL trajectories. Older age at diagnosis, worse physical impairments, and worse fatigue were associated with increased odds of being in the group with the worst physical HRQoL when compared to the four other groups. Income ≤$50,000 and no post-secondary education were associated with increased odds of membership in the group with the lowest mental HRQoL when compared to the other three groups. DISCUSSION: We identified groups of people with MS who reported similar physical and mental HRQoL trajectories over time. There are early risk factors for membership in the groups with the worst HRQoL that are easily identifiable by clinicians, providing an opportunity for early interventions.

A detailed comparative investigation on structural, technofunctional and bioactive characteristics of protein concentrates from different common bean genotypes.

In this study, a comparative investigation on the structural, technofunctional and bioactive properties of protein concentrates from different common bean genotypes was performed. Protein extractions were carried out at different pH and salt concentrations and the highest protein content for the concentrates (77.7%) was determined for pH 11 and 0.4% of salt. The protein content of the common bean flour and their protein concentrates was in the range of 22-26.93% and 72.97-77.99%, respectively. For bioactive properties, total phenolic content ranged between 578.9 and 1355.9 and 313.5-1219.1 mg GAE/kg, for bean flours and protein concentrates, respectively. Two genotypes (G7 and G8) were the samples showing the superior biofunctional properties compared to the others. Thermal characterization showed that Td and ΔH values were in the range of 64.95-94.33 °C and 76.64-122.3 j/g, respectively. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the major band corresponded to the 7S vicilin. Principal component analysis showed that G2 and G6 had different characteristics in terms of technofunctional parameters while G7 and G8 were differed from the other genotypes in terms of bioactivity. The results showed that the proteins of common beans could be evaluated as good source due to high bioactivity for the enrichment of food formulations.