Prognostic significance of N-Terminal Pro-BNP in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia without previous history of heart failure

Introduction:The objective of the present research was to evaluate the possible association between the N-terminal pro-brain type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels and in-hospital mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia patients who did not have pre-existing heart failure (HF). Methods:A total of 137 consecutive patients without pre-existing HF and hospitalized due to COVID-19 pneumonia were enrolled into the current research. The main outcome of the research was the in-hospital death. The independent parameters linked with the in-hospital death were determined by multivariable analysis. Results: A total of 26 deaths with an in-hospital mortality rate of 18.9% was noted. Those who died were older with an increased frequency of co-morbidities such as hypertension, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, stroke and dementia. They had also increased white blood cell (WBC) counts and had elevated glucose, creatinine, troponin I, and NT-pro-BNP levels but had decreased levels of hemoglobin. By multivariable analysis; age, NT-pro-BNP, WBC, troponin I, and creatinine levels were independently linked with the in-hospital mortality. After ROC evaluation, the ideal value of the NT-pro-BNP to predict the in-hospital mortality was found as 260 ng/L reflecting a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 93% (AUC:0.86; 95%CI:0.76-0.97). Conclusion: The current research clearly shows that the NT-proBNP levels are independently linked with the in-hospital mortality rates in subjects with COVID-19 pneumonia and without HF. Thus, we believe that this biomarker can be used as a valuable prognostic parameter in such cases

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

The evaluation of some flexural properties of a denture base resin reinforced with various aesthetic fibers

This study was performed to determine whether some flexural properties of a denture base resin material could be improved through reinforcement with five types of aesthetic fibers at 3% concentration by weight and in 2, 4, and 6 mm length. Five specimens of similar dimensions were prepared for each of the test groups; base resin and the same resin with glass, rayon, polyester, nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 fibers in three different lengths. Flexural properties were evaluated by using a 3-point bending test. A visual examination was also made to determine mode of fracture of the specimens. The incorporation of different fibers in varying lengths had no significant effect on flexural strength of the resin. The specimens reinforced with nylon 6,6 fibers of 6 mm length showed the highest flexural strength. Young's modulus and maximum load suggests that such reinforcement makes resin resistant to fracture

Tensile Bond Strength of a Highly Cross-Linked Denture Tooth to the Compression-Molded and Injection-Molded Denture Base Polymers

This study compared tensile bond strengths between conventional compression-molded heat (HC)-, auto (AP)-, and microwave-polymerized (MC) poly(methyl methacrylate)-based denture resins and a relatively new injection-molded, microwave-polymerized polyurethane based resin (MI) bonded to a highly cross-linked denture tooth. In the first part of the experiments, denture teeth were used as received. In the second part, they were treated with dichloromethane to see its effect on bonding of conventional denture bases (HCS and APS). Bond strength was tested in tension according to ADA specification No.15. The results showed that the HC group failed cohesively because of higher interface bonding (49.95MPa) compared with those of the others (AP: 25.41MPa; MC: 22.06MPa; MI: 20.02MPa). The application of dichloromethane improved bond strengths of HCS and APS groups (60.61 and 32.03MPa, respectively). It was suggested that dichloromethane could be applied on the denture teeth ridge lap area prior to denture base processing to enhance adhesion between the tooth/resin

Effect of Maleic Anhydride Pretreatment on Tensile Bond Strength of a Silicone Soft Liner to a Denture Base Polymer

Purpose: To determine the effect of resin surface treatment with dissolved maleic anhydride in butanone added into primer on the tensile bond strength between an acrylic denture base resin and a silicone soft liner

Effects of Different Denture Cleansers on the Tensile Bond Strength of Denture Liners

The effect of two denture cleansers (Polident (R) and Protefix (R)) on the tensile bond strength between four soft liner materials (Molloplast B (R), Permaflex (R), Sofreliner Tough Medium (R), and GC Reline Soft (R)) and a conventional denture base resin was investigated. For each of the liner materials 35 test specimens were prepared according to test the requirements and assigned into seven groups (n=5). Before tensile testing, five of the liner specimens were kept in water or soaked in two cleansing solutions during 2 and 7 d. Five other samples served as a control group subjected directly to tensile testing. The bond strength values were obtained using a universal testing machine and compared statistically. The type of failure was assessed visually. No significant difference was found between the groups for the tested conditions used (p0.05). The most frequent failure mode was cohesive for Molloplast and Permaflex specimens, adhesive for Sofreliner Tough Medium, and a mixed type of failure was observed for GC Reline Soft material

Peel Bond Strength of Two Silicone Soft Liners to a Heat-cured Denture Base Resin

Purpose: This study investigated the peel strength of two different soft liners to a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) denture base resin before and after thermocycling

The Effect of Surface Treatments on Tensile Bond Strength between a Silicone Soft Liner and a Heat-Cured Denture Base Resin

This study evaluated tensile bond strength of a denture soft lining material to a poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) denture base resin subjected to different surface treatment modalities and thermocycling. The materials tested were a silicone-based liner, Molloplast B (R), and a heat-cured denture base resin, Meliodent (TM). The denture soft lining material was packed against cured PMMA base resin, which was smoothed; sandblasted with 250-mu m Al2O3 particles; or lased with a KTP laser; or against uncured PMMA dough (n = 10). In each group, five specimens were thermocycled in a water bath (5-55 degrees C; 3000 cycles) before testing, whereas the other five were directly tested after 24 h. A tensile test was performed using a universal testing machine. Data showed that different treatment modalities of resin surfaces affected adhesion between these two materials and the highest bond values were recorded for cured/smoothed samples under each condition tested. Thermocycling of specimens had no significant reducing effect on measured bond strength values