Evaluation of both expression and serum protein levels of caspase-8 and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 genes in patients with different severities of COVID-19 infection.

AIM: The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of caspase-8 (CASP8) and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) gene expression levels and their products on preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. METHODS: A total of 40 patients (men, 15 [37.5%]; women, 25 [62.5%]) with COVID-19 infection were included in the current study. The patients were divided into four main groups based on disease severity: mild (n = 7), moderate (n = 10), severe (n = 14), and critical (n = 9). Individuals aged < 18 years and pregnant women were excluded. Patients were classified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification system (WHO/2019-nCoV/clinical/2021.1). RESULTS: Considering all groups, statistically significant differences were detected among all groups for both CASP82-ΔΔCt (p = 0.006) and MAPK1 2-ΔΔCt values (p = 0.015). Moreover, statistically significant differences were detected between mild and moderate (p = 0.013), moderate and critical (p = 0.018), and severe and critical (p = 0.023) groups for lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: The CASP8/MAPK1 expression levels and/or its products are essential in preventing injury caused by COVID-19 infection. They play crucial roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis and viability. Furthermore, CASP8/MAPK1 levels can provide information about disease severity.

Effectiveness of a Transtheoretical Model-Based Foot Care Program in Improving Foot Care Behaviors and Self-Efficacy in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: An Assessor-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a transtheoretical model (TTM)-based foot care program on foot self-care behaviors and self-efficacy among adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). A prospective, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted between January 2020 and October 2020 at the endocrinology outpatient unit of a hospital in the north-west Turkey. The sample was composed of 51 adults with T2DM randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 25) and control group (n = 26). The intervention group received the TTM-based foot care program during a 6-month period. The data were analyzed using the two-way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA). After intervention, the intervention group's the diabetic foot care self-efficacy scale scores increased significantly at 3 and 6 months, compared with the control group. Similarly, the intervention group's the foot self-care behavior scale scores also increased significantly at 3 months and 6 months.