Genotyping, drug resistance and virulence factors of Candida species isolated from patients using long-term inhaled steroids.

AIMS: In this study, it was aimed to determine the isolation frequency and species distribution of Candida species isolated from asthmatic patients using long-term inhaled steroids. It was also aimed to determine the drug resistance patterns and the frequency of erg11, HWP1, ALS1, INT1, SAP1 PLB1 genes in isolates. METHODS: Genotyping of Candida strains isolated from patients and healthy control group was performed by PCR-RFLP method. Drug resistance was investigated phenotypically, and the presence of erg11 resistance genes and HWP1, ALS1, INT1, SAP1 PLB1 virulence genes were investigated by PCR method. RESULTS: C albicans was the most isolated species in steroid-using patients and healthy control groups (patients: 44.2%; control group: 30.8%). C tropicalis and C glabrata were found to have the highest rates of non-albicans Candida in patients with 17.4% and 13.77%, respectively. Azole resistance was found to be significantly higher in isolates isolated from patients compared to the control group. Similarly, the presence of erg11 resistance gene was highest in C albicans (17.65%), C glabrata (12.5%) and C tropicalis (8.3%) strains in the control group, while C parapsilosis was highest in patients. (57.1%) and C glabrata (54.2%) strains. Compared to the control group, the virulence of Candida strains isolated from the patients was found to be higher. Presence of HWP1, ALS1, INT1, SAP1 and PLB1 genes in patients were determined as 72.1%, 63.9%, 68.9%, 57.38% and 54.5%, respectively. These rates were 29.4%, 35.3%, 25.5%, 17.7% and 23.5% in the healthy control group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In asthma patients using long-term inhaled steroids, both Isolation rates of Candida species, drug resistance rates, presence of virulence genes were found to be significantly higher in patients than in the control group. We think that this may be due to the suppression of cellular immunity by long-term steroid use.

New chalcone derivatives as effective against SARS-CoV-2 agent.

AIMS: Flavonoids and related compounds, such as quercetin-based antiviral drug Gene-Eden-VIR/Novirin, inhibit the protease of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The alkylated chalcones isolated from Angelica keiskei inhibit SARS-CoV proteases. In this study, we aimed to compare the anti-SARS CoV-2 activities of both newly synthesized chalcone derivatives and these two drugs. METHODS: Determination of the potent antiviral activity of newly synthesized chalcone derivatives against SARS-CoV-2 by calculating the RT-PCR cycling threshold (Ct ) values. RESULTS: Antiviral activities of the compounds varied because of being dose dependent. Compound 6, 7, 9, and 16 were highly effective against SARS-CoV-2 at the concentration of 1.60 µg/mL. Structure-based virtual screening was carried out against the most important druggable SARS-CoV-2 targets, viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, to identify putative inhibitors that could facilitate the development of potential anti-coronavirus disease-2019 drug candidates. CONCLUSIONS: Computational analyses identified eight compounds inhibiting each target, with binding affinity scores ranging from -4.370 to -2.748 kcal/mol along with their toxicological, ADME, and drug-like properties.

Investigation of the prevalence of pressure ulcers and patient-related risk factors in hospitals in the province of Erzurum: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Pressure ulcers are a significant health care problem all across the world due to their associated high mortality and morbidity rates and high health care costs. The prevalence of pressure ulcers serves as one of the most important indicators of the quality of nursing care. STUDY AIM: This study aims to determine the prevalence of pressure ulcers and patient-related risk factors in inpatients receiving treatment in the province of Erzurum, located in the eastern part of Turkey. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: which included 832 inpatients hospitalized for at least 24 h after admission in five hospitals in the province of Erzurum. All of the study patients were 18 years of age or older and agreed to participate in the research. Patients hospitalized in the obstetric, emergency, and pediatric clinics were excluded from the study (due to the low probability of pressure ulcers in these clinics). INSTRUMENTS: For the collection of data, the "Introductory Information Form" was used to learn the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, and the "Braden Risk Assessment Scale" was used to determine the risk of pressure ulcers. The stage of the pressure ulcers of the patients was determined according to the classification of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP). METHODS: Since the study was planned as a point prevalence study, research data were gathered by the researchers and interviewers on a single day designated for each hospital during the first week of October 2016. RESULTS: Among the patients included in the study, 53.1% were male, mean age was 56.62 ±â€¯17.95, 57.2% were treated in internal clinics, and the mean hospital stay was 9.02 ±â€¯13.36 days. In terms of the patients' risk of pressure ulcers, it was determined that 28% were at risk. The overall prevalence of pressure ulcers was calculated to be 12.7% (for stages I-IV), with the overall prevalence decreasing by 6.7% when the patients with stage-I were excluded. Furthermore, it was found that 48.3% of the pressure ulcers were stage-I, and that the sacral region (37.3%) was the most affected region. According to the logistic regression analysis conducted to determine the factors, along with their weights, that affect the development of pressure ulcers, the age of the patient, the duration of the hospital stay, the presence of incontinence, albumin level problems, and a Braden score below 17 were found to have an impact (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, the prevalence of pressure ulcers was calculated to be 12.7%, with the highest prevalence found in intensive care clinics (35.3%). The age of the patient, the duration of the hospital stays, the presence of incontinence, albumin level problems, and a Braden score below 17 were found to be effective in the development of pressure ulcers.