Surveillance of respiratory viruses by aerosol screening in indoor air as an early warning system for epidemics.

The development of effective methods for the surveillance of seasonal respiratory viruses is required for the timely management of outbreaks. We aimed to survey Influenza-A, Influenza-B, RSV-A, Rhinovirus and SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in a tertiary hospital and a campus over 5 months. The effectiveness of air screening as an early warning system for respiratory viruses was evaluated in correlation with respiratory tract panel test results. The overall viral positivity was higher on the campus than in the hospital (55.0% vs. 38.0%). Influenza A was the most prevalent pathogen in both locations. There were two influenza peaks (42nd and 49th weeks) in the hospital air, and a delayed peak was detected on campus in the 1st-week of January. Panel tests indicated a high rate of Influenza A in late December. RSV-A-positivity was higher on the campus than the hospital (21.6% vs. 7.4%). Moreover, we detected two RSV-A peaks in the campus air (48th and 51st weeks) but only one peak in the hospital and panel tests (week 49). Although rhinovirus was the most common pathogen in panel tests, rhinovirus positivity was low in air samples. The air screening for Influenza-B and SARS-Cov-2 revealed comparable positivity rates with panel tests. Air screening can be integrated into surveillance programs to support infection control programs for potential epidemics of respiratory virus infections except for rhinoviruses.

SNUPN deficiency causes a recessive muscular dystrophy due to RNA mis-splicing and ECM dysregulation.

SNURPORTIN-1, encoded by SNUPN, plays a central role in the nuclear import of spliceosomal small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. However, its physiological function remains unexplored. In this study, we investigate 18 children from 15 unrelated families who present with atypical muscular dystrophy and neurological defects. Nine hypomorphic SNUPN biallelic variants, predominantly clustered in the last coding exon, are ascertained to segregate with the disease. We demonstrate that mutant SPN1 failed to oligomerize leading to cytoplasmic aggregation in patients' primary fibroblasts and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutant cell lines. Additionally, mutant nuclei exhibit defective spliceosomal maturation and breakdown of Cajal bodies. Transcriptome analyses reveal splicing and mRNA expression dysregulation, particularly in sarcolemmal components, causing disruption of cytoskeletal organization in mutant cells and patient muscle tissues. Our findings establish SNUPN deficiency as the genetic etiology of a previously unrecognized subtype of muscular dystrophy and provide robust evidence of the role of SPN1 for muscle homeostasis.

Temporal tendency, seasonality and relationship with climatic factors of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever cases (East of Turkey: 2012-2021).

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever continues to be an important public health problem by expanding its borders. To evaluate the temporal trend, seasonality, and relationship with the climatic factors of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever. Study data included cases treated in two different tertiary healthcare institutions between 2012 and 2021. The demographic characteristics of the cases and the dates of admission to the hospital were determined, and they were matched with the average of the measurements (temperature, cumulative precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed) of two different meteorology stations in the study area. By calculating the crude incidence rates, the trend in years was investigated. Estimates were created by removing the incidence rates, seasonality, and trend components using the additive decomposition technique. The temporal relationship between incidence rates and climatic factors was evaluated with the help of the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bound Test. Toda Yamamoto test was used for causality verification. The mean age of the cases (n = 974) included in the study was 47.6 ± 17.7 years, and the majority (57.3%) were in the group above 45 years of age. 56.6% of the cases were male and there was a male predominance in all age groups. Incidence rates ranged from 5.5 to 23.1/100,000 over the ten-year period and there was a significant upward trend (R2 = 0.691, p = 0.003). Cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever that started in March, peaked in July and ended in October, showed a clear seasonality. A cointegration relationship was observed between case incidence rates and air temperature, cumulative precipitation, and relative humidity (p < 0.05 for all). Climatic factors can only indirectly affect the occurrence of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever cases. However, climatic conditions that become progressively more favorable for vector ticks lead to the spread of the disease. The control measures to be taken should be prepared by considering the changing climatic conditions and prioritizing the risk groups. There is a need for information and awareness-raising studies about climate change and the growing dangers associated with it, also outside of endemic regions.

A microbial biosensor based on Lactobacillus delbruecki sp. bacterial cells for simultaneous determination of lactic and pyruvic acid.

The aim of this study was mainly to develop a microbial biosensor for the simultaneous determination of lactic acid and pyruvic acid. In developing biosensor, lyophilised Lactobacillus delbruecki sp. bacterial cells were immobilised with polypyrrole on a platin electrode surface using electropolymerization method. Lactate concentration was determined based on the differences in amperometric responses at cathodic peak (+0.2V) of potassium ferricyanide, whereas pyruvate concentration was determined using the differences at anodic peak (+0.1V). The response of biosensor showed linearity between 0.1 and 1.0mM for both of two substrates. Optimisation studies were carried out for amount of microorganism, pyrrole concentration, pH and temperature. In the characterisation studies, substrate specificity, interference effect of some substances on the biosensor response, and storage stability were established.

Surgically induced astigmatism following medial rectus recession: short-term and long-term outcomes.

PURPOSE: The current study aimed to investigate short- and long-term postoperative ocular refractive effects of medial rectus recession on the involved eye and to describe the detectable effects in detail by the results of vector analysis. METHODS: Data of patients in whom medial rectus recession was performed between 2010 and 2012 were retrospectively evaluated. The study included 52 eyes of 32 patients. Patients with a history of previous ocular surgery, congenital or progressive corneal disease, familial or acquired posterior segment disease, glaucoma, a history of ocular trauma, or any neurological or systemic disease were excluded. Best-corrected and uncorrected visual acuities and refraction examination findings of the patients were recorded before the surgery and at the postoperative first month and first year. A vector analysis program was used to analyze surgically induced astigmatism. RESULTS: Significant myopic shift and astigmatic change were determined in the spherical equivalent refraction in the early postoperative period (first month); however, these changes disappeared in the long term (at the postoperative first year). A positive correlation was not observed between the amount of surgical recession and the results of ophthalmic examination at the postoperative first month and first year. CONCLUSIONS: Only postoperative first month spherical equivalent showed a positive correlation with the amount of surgical recession; however, this correlation disappeared at the postoperative first year.

Ultrasound as a basic and auxiliary process for dye remediation: a review.

Ultrasonic treatment of recalcitrant contaminants has been of utmost interest recently due to the advantages of the cavitation phenomenon, which enhances the efficiency of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). The current review summarizes the use of ultrasound with biochemical, electrochemical, ozonation, photolysis, photocatalysis and Fenton processes for the degradation of mostly textile dyes and dyebath. There is a few studies about ultrasonic degradation of textile effluents or wastewater due to highly variable contents. It was found that the most common use of ultrasonic irradiation for dye degradation is the combined with the heterogeneous catalysts/adsorbents. The reaction mechanism of the ultrasonic irradiation in heterogeneous media was well investigated and understood. However, there is still lack of information about the reaction mechanism of ultrasonic irradiation in the homogeneous solutions, especially containing ferrous ions. Fenton reaction is already fast itself and gives effective degradation during the oxidation. Therefore, addition of ultrasonic irradiation to Fenton oxidation was less effective compared to other auxiliary processes. It should also be noted that ultrasonic irradiation had a negative effect on dye degradation during combined with electro-oxidation process.

Sonolytic and sonocatalytic degradation of azo dyes by low and high frequency ultrasound.

The study describes degradation of two azo dyes at low and high frequency ultrasound (US) to compare their reactivity and to assess the impacts of frequency, OH, chemical structure and soluble/nonsoluble additives. Low frequency US alone was found totally ineffective for bleaching the dyes even after 2-h irradiation, while high frequency provided significant color decay in 30-min contact. The result was attributed to larger number of oscillations at high frequency that allowed a larger fraction of OH ejection to the bulk liquid. The difference in the rates of dye degradation was due to different substituents around the azo bonds that dictated the reactivities of the dyes with OH and other species. The performance of low frequency US was remarkably improved and exceeded that of high frequency in the presence of CCl(4), nano-sized TiO(2) and zero-valent copper. The effect was attributed to the advantage of low frequency for long bubble-life time, high collapse temperatures, turbulent flow conditions and high sonoluminescence intensity. The efficacies of the additives in terms of the reduction in dye concentration per unit mass of additive were: TiO(2)>CCl(4)>Cu, regardless of the dye structure and the operation frequency. Much better performance of TiO(2) than Cu was attributed to its larger surface area with a slight positive charge on it and to the effect of stable sonoluminescence that may have induced photocatalytic properties on semiconductor surface.

Adult strabismus and social phobia: a case-controlled study.

PURPOSE: To determine the social phobia rate, social anxiety level, severity of depressive symptoms, and disease-related disability in adult strabismus patients. METHODS: Forty-nine strabismus patients and 46 control subjects from 15 to 65 years of age were evaluated. A psychiatric interview focusing on social phobia and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) were administered to each participant. All participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a psychiatric symptom checklist (Symptom Checklist 90-Revised; SCL-90R), and the Sheehan Disability Scale. RESULTS: Social phobia was diagnosed in 26 of the 49 strabismus patients and in 8 of the 46 control subjects (p < 0.001). Strabismus patients demonstrated significantly greater scores in all of the subscores and the total scores of LSAS. They were more disabled in social life, family life, and at work. They also showed greater interpersonal sensitivity scores compared with the control group. Compared with strabismus patients without social phobia, the strabismus patients with social phobia demonstrated significantly greater depression scores in HADS and also scored in all dimensions of LSAS. Their social life and family life scores in disability scale and all scores in SCL-90-R except somatization were better than strabismus patients without social phobia. CONCLUSIONS: In adult strabismus patients, social phobia is a frequent psychiatric comorbidity. Adult patients with strabismus need to be carefully evaluated for social phobia for an appropriate referral and treatment.

Equilibrium and kinetic mechanism for Reactive Black 5 sorption onto high lime Soma fly ash.

Batch adsorption studies were carried out for the sorption of C.I. Reactive Black 5, a reactive dye, onto high lime fly ash, obtained from Soma Thermal Power Plant (Turkey), to be low cost adsorbent. The effect of various experimental parameters such as contact time, adsorbent dose and initial dye concentration were investigated. Determination of the adsorption equilibrium concentrations was determined by UV-vis spectrophotometry analytical method. Equilibrium data were fitted to the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm equations and the equilibrium data were found to be well represented by the Freundlich isotherm equation. The adsorption kinetics of C.I. Reactive Black 5 onto high lime fly ash were also studied to characterize of the surface complexation reaction. A pseudo-second-order mechanism has been developed to predict the rate constant of the adsorption, the equilibrium capacity and initial adsorption rate with the effect of initial concentration. A single-stage batch adsorber design of the adsorption of C.I. Reactive Black 5 onto high lime fly ash has been studied based on the Freundlich isotherm equation.

Removal of Cu(II) ions by activated poplar sawdust (Samsun clone) from aqueous solutions.

In this work, adsorption of Cu(II) ions on sawdust (SD) and activated sawdust (ASD) has been studied by using batch adsorption techniques. The equilibrium adsorption level was determined to be a function of the pH, initial Cu(II) concentration, and adsorbent dosage. The equilibrium nature of Cu(II) adsorption has been described by the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The experimental adsorption data were fitted to the Langmuir adsorption model both sawdust and activated sawdust. The equilibrium capacity of sawdust and activated sawdust were 5.432 and 13.495 mg copper per g adsorbent, respectively at room temperature and natural pH. The maximum adsorption capacity was obtained at the maximum zeta potential value that -74.5 mV (pH 5) for activated sawdust and at -48.4 mV (pH 4) for sawdust. It was observed that activated sawdust was a suitable adsorbent than sawdust for removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions.