Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for- ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi- crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol- ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies. In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific areas of health biotechnology are discussed

Ozon, Kantaron, Kekik ve Gül Yağlarının Bazı Patojenik Mikroorganizmalara Karşı Antimikrobiyal Aktivitelerinin Belirlenmesi

AMAÇ: Antibiyotiklere dirençli bakterilerin sayısındaki artış, tedavi basamağında alternatif bitkisel ürünlerin kullanılmasına olan ilginin dramatik bir şekilde artışına da sebep olmuştur. Bu çalışmadaki amacımız, ticari olarak elde ettiğimiz ozon, gül, kantaron ve kekik yağlarının klinik olarak önemli bakteri ve mantarlara karşı olan antimikrobiyal etkilerinin gösterilmesidir.YÖNTEM: Ozon, gül, kantaron ve kekik yağlarının Escherichia coli, Proteusvulgaris, Proteusmirabilis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Enterococcus spp., Acinetobacter baumannii, Streptococcus spp., Citrobacter freundii, Staphylococcus aureus ve Candida albicans isimli mikroorganizmalara karşı antimikrobiyal aktiviteleri test edilmiştir; Disk difüzyon metodu (Kirby-Bauer) kullanılmış ve oluşan zon çapları ölçülerek anti-mikrobiyal etki ortaya konulmuştur.BULGULAR: Sadece birkaç antibiyotiğe karşı duyarlı olan Stenotrophomonas maltophilia başta olmak üzere birçok bakteri, kekik yağına karşı duyarlı olarak tespit edilmiştir. Gram pozitif bakterilerin ve Kandida suşlarının kekik yağına, Gram negatif bakterilerden daha dirençli oldukları görülmüştür. Bunun yanı sıra Escherichia coli ve Staphylococcus aureus suşlarının ise gül yağına karşı duyarlı oldukları tespit edilmiştir. Bazı herbal yağların ve ozon yağının muhtemel antimikrobiyal etkileri bu çalışma ile ortaya koyulmaya çalışılmıştır.SONUÇ: Kekik yağının antimikrobiyal etkinliği ozon, gül ve kantaron yağından oldukça yüksek düzeyde tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak başta kekik yağı olmak üzere bitkisel uçucu yağlar, antimikrobiyal aktivitelerinden dolayı tıbbi ilaç uygulamalarına iyi bir alternatif olabilme potansiyeli taşımaktadır.AIM: The increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria has dramatically revived the interest in plant products as alternative antimicrobial agents to prevent the efficiency of pathogenic microorganisms. Our aim in this study is to show the antimicrobial activities of commercially obtained thyme, rose, centaury and ozone oils against the clinically important bacteria and yeasts.METHODS: The antimicrobial activity of the thyme, rose, ozone and centaury oils were tested against Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus mirabilis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Enterococcus spp., Acinetobacter baumannii, Streptococcus spp., Citrobacter freundii, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans strains. Disc diffusion method (Kirby-Bauer) was used to show the antimicrobial activity by measuring the zone diameters.RESULTS: Most bacteria including Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (which is only sensitive to a few antibiotics) are found sensitive to the thyme oil. Gram positive bacteria and yeasts found more resistant than the Gram negative bacteria to the thyme oil. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus found sensitive to the rose oil. The anti-microbial activities of some herbal oils and ozone oil and rose oil were tried to be shown.CONCLUSION: The thyme oil has a stronger antimicrobial activity than the rose, ozone and centaury oils. Herbal essential oils, especially thyme oil, are candidates to be alternatives in medical applications due to their anti-microbial effects

Does Maintaining a Targeted Abdominal Perfusion Pressure Reduce Renal Damage in Patients with Septic Shock?: A Randomized, Controlled, and Open-label Study

Background:Increased intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) in patients admitted to the intensive care unit leads to reduced abdominal perfusion pressure (APP), causing circulatory insufficiency and organ failure.Aims:To investigate the effect of maintaining a targeted APP on renal injury and the effect of increased IAP on the mortality rate in patients with septic shock.Study Design:Randomized, controlled, open-label study.Methods:A total of 72 patients were randomly divided into two groups (MAP65 or APP60). The MAP target for patients in the MAP65 group (n = 36) was 65 mmHg according to the Surviving Sepsis Guidelines. In the APP60 group (n = 36), the target APP was set to > 60 mmHg. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR), inotrope consumption, and IAP were recorded daily. The need for renal replacement therapy, decrease in GFR, and 30- and 90-day mortality rates were compared between the two groups.Results:In both the groups, the IAP was statistically similar (p = 0.458). The decreased in GFR was similar in both groups during the first 2 days. From day 3, there was a more statistically significant rapid decline in GFR in the MAP65 group than in the APP60 group. The GFR p-values on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th days were 0.040, 0.043, and 0.032, respectively. Eight patients (22.2%) in the MAP65 group and three patients (8.3%) in the APP group required renal replacement therapy (p = 0.101). The 30-day mortality rates in the MAP65 and APP60 groups were 61.1%, and 47.7%, respectively (p = 0.237). The 90-day mortality rates in the MAP65 and APP60 groups were 66.7% and 66.7%, respectively (p = 1).Conclusion:Setting an APP target limited the reduction in GFR. The mortality rates were similar in the two groups and there was no difference in the rate of end-stage renal failure between the groups

Suboptimal use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants: Results from the RAMSES study

WOS: 000384041400052PubMed ID: 27583892This study aimed to investigate the potential misuse of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) and the physicians' adherence to current European guideline recommendations in real-world using a large dataset from Real-life Multicenter Survey Evaluating Stroke Prevention Strategies in Turkey (RAMSES Study).RAMSES study is a prospective, multicenter, nationwide registry (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02344901). In this subgroup analysis of RAMSES study, patients who were on NOACs were classified as appropriately treated (AT), undertreated (UT), and overtreated (OT) according to the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines. The independent predictors of UT and OT were determined by multivariate logistic regression.Of the 2086 eligible patients, 1247 (59.8%) received adequate treatment. However, off-label use was detected in 839 (40.2%) patients; 634 (30.4%) patients received UT and 205 (9.8%) received OT. Independent predictors of UT included >65 years of age, creatinine clearance 50mL/min, urban living, existing dabigatran treatment, and HAS-BLED score of <3, whereas that of OT were creatinine clearance <50mL/min, ongoing rivaroxaban treatment, and HAS-BLED score of 3.The suboptimal use of NOACs is common because of physicians' poor compliance to the guideline recommendations in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Older patients who were on dabigatran treatment with good renal functions and low risk of bleeding were at risk of UT, whereas patients who were on rivaroxaban treatment with renal impairment and high risk of bleeding were at risk of OT. Therefore, a greater emphasis should be given to prescribe the recommended dose for the specified patients