Laryngoscopic examination during the COVID-19 pandemic Turkish voice speech and swallowing disorders society and Turkish professional voice society recommendations

COVID-19 is highly transmissible and spreads rapidly in the population. This increases the occupational risk for health care workers. In otolaryngology clinic practice, patients with upper respiratory tract infection symptoms are common. Also, routine head and neck examinations such as oral cavity examination, nasal/nasopharyngeal examination, or video laryngostroboscopic evaluation are highly risky because of the aerosol formation. To emphasize this issue, two leading otolaryngology organizations in Turkey; 'Voice Speech and Swallowing Disorders Society', and 'Professional Voice Society' gathered a task force. This task force aimed to prepare a consensus report that would provide practical recommendations of the safety measurements during routine clinical care of laryngology patients. To fulfill this, universal aim, on the 2nd and 9th of May 2020, two web-based meetings were conducted by 20 expert physicians. This eighteen items list was prepared as an output

Laryngoscopic Examination During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Turkish Voice Speech and Swallowing Disorders Society and Turkish Professional Voice Society Recommendations

COVID-19 is highly transmissible and spreads rapidly in the population. This increases the occupational risk for health care workers. In otolaryngology clinic practice, patients with upper respiratory tract infection symptoms are common. Also, routine head and neck examinations such as oral cavity examination, nasal/nasopharyngeal examination, or video laryngostroboscopic evaluation are highly risky because of the aerosol formation. To emphasize this issue, two leading otolaryngology organizations in Turkey; 'Voice Speech and Swallowing Disorders Society', and 'Professional Voice Society' gathered a task force. This task force aimed to prepare a consensus report that would provide practical recommendations of the safety measurements during routine clinical care of laryngology patients. To fulfill this, universal aim, on the 2nd and 9th of May 2020, two web-based meetings were conducted by 20 expert physicians. This eighteen items list was prepared as an output

The frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease in children with isolated transaminase elevation: results from the observational VICTORIA study

IntroductionElevated transaminases and/or creatine phosphokinase can indicate underlying muscle disease. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) in male children and Pompe disease (PD) in male and female children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.MethodsThis multi-center, prospective study enrolled patients aged 3–216 months with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and/or aspartate transaminase (AST) levels >2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) for ≥3 months. Patients with a known history of liver or muscle disease or physical examination findings suggestive of liver disease were excluded. Patients were screened for creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and molecular genetic tests for DMD/BMD in male patients and enzyme analysis for PD in male and female patients with elevated CPK levels were performed. Genetic analyses confirmed PD. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the patients were analyzed.ResultsOverall, 589 patients [66.8% male, mean age of 63.4 months (standard deviation: 60.5)] were included. In total, 251 patients (188 male and 63 female) had CPK levels above the ULN. Of the patients assessed, 47% (85/182) of male patients were diagnosed with DMD/BMD and 1% (3/228) of male and female patients were diagnosed with PD. The median ALT, AST, and CPK levels were statistically significantly higher, and the questioned neurological symptoms and previously unnoticed examination findings were more common in DMD/BMD patients than those without DMD/BMD or PD (p < 0.001).DiscussionQuestioning neurological symptoms, conducting a complete physical examination, and testing for CPK levels in patients with isolated hypertransaminasemia will prevent costly and time-consuming investigations for liver diseases and will lead to the diagnosis of occult neuromuscular diseases. Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04120168

Yeasts as Ripening Adjunct Cultures in Turkish White Brined Cheese Production

WOS: 000260504100002The present study aimed to determine the possibility of using yeasts as adjunct cultures in the production of white brined cheese, which is quite important to the Turkish dairy industry, and to evaluate the effects of these yeasts on cheese ripening. In addition to starter culture (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis + Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris), adjunct yeast cultures of Yarrowia lipolytica, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Kluyveromyces marxianus were separately co-inoculated to each cheese vat and, therefore, 4 different experimental cheese samples were produced, including the control cheese. Some chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of the samples were monitored during the 90-day ripening period.The Ege University Research FundEge University [2002-ZRF-017]This study was supported by The Ege University Research Fund (2002-ZRF-017). Thanks to Oguz Gursoy for critically reading the manuscript and to Ozer Kinik for the informative assistance

Identification, biochemical and technological properties of Enterococcus species isolated from raw milk and traditional dairy products

WOS:000616627300005Introduction. The purpose of research was isolation and identification of Enterococcus species from raw milk and traditional dairy products and their biochemical properties were examined. Some biochemical and technological properties of the strains were determined. Materials and methods. Raw milk and some dairy product samples (Izmir Tulum cheese, Koy cheese, White cheese, butter, Ezine cheese, kefir grain, kefir drink, Armola, Tire Camur cheese, Herby cheese, Goat cheese and Cecil cheese) were collected in different regions of Turkey and samples were inoculated in Kanamycin Aesculin Azide Agar, Slanetz Bartley and M-17 Agar media and Enterococcus spp. were isolated. Acidification properties, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production, lipolytic and proteolytic activity, and decarboxylation activity of Enterococcus strains, which were diagnosed phenotypically and biochemically with different techniques were investigated. Results and discussion. 167 lactic acid bacteria were identified after Gram staining and catalase tests. Due to the analysis, 122 of these isolates identified as Enterococcus faecium, 18 as Enterococcus durans, 17 as Enterococcus faecalis, 8 as Enterococcus faecium var. and 2 as Enterococcus hirae. Some biochemical and technological properties of these species were studied. It was determined that E. faecium and E. faecalis strains produced higher acidity compared to E. durans and E. hirae, a total of 19 strains were capable of producing EPS, while 9 strains showed poor EPS production. Also, it was performed 17 E. faecium, 2 E. faecalis, 1 E. durans and 1 E. hirae strains showed lipolytic activity and 95 E. faecium, 12 E. durans, 5 E. faecalis var., 3 E. faecalis and 2 E. hirae decarboxylated to lysine and ornithine amino acids. It was observed that Enterococcus spp. isolated from raw milk and traditional dairy products showed differences especially technological characteristics according to the source, species and strain. Conclusions. Raw milk and dairy products are important source for isolation of enterococci species. The characteristics of Enterococcus species such as acidification, exopolysaccharide production ability, proteolytic and lipolytic activity, decarboxylase activity differed by species and strain.Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination UnitEge University [2011-ZRF-010]This study is supported by Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (Project Number: 2011-ZRF-010)