Patterns of COVID-19-related headache: A cross-sectional study

Background: Headache is the most common COVID-19-related neurological symptom. We investigated the characteristics of COVID-19-related headache and their relationship with clinical severity in Kirs , ehir Province, Turkey. Methods: This cross-sectional study prospectively enrolled 226 COVID-19-positive patients who developed headache during acute infection. Demographic data, headache characteristics, and infection symptoms were recorded. The clinical severity of COVID-19 was documented in each participant. Result: New-onset COVID-19-related headaches lasting 4 days were reported in 164 patients (72.5 %); these were mostly bilaterally or localized to the forehead (58.4 %), pulsating (42.5 %), moderate to severe intensity (30.1 %), with a partial response to paracetamol (23.5 %). The other 62 patients (27.4 %) reported headaches before COVID-19. Their COVID-related headaches were fiery type (p = 0.025), of very severe intensity (p = 0.008), had a holocranial distribution (p = 0.004), and were less response to paracetamol (p = 0.003); the headaches were significantly more frequent after COVID-19 than before COVID-19. Older age, high body mass index, and low education level were significantly higher in the severe group (all p < 0.001). Female sex (p = 0.019) and being a healthcare worker (p < 0.001) were significantly more frequent in mild cases. Conclusions: Bilateral, prolonged, moderate to severe headaches that were analgesic resistant are more frequent in patients with COVID-19 infection. Further study should examine whether the headache characteristics distinguish COVID-19-related headaches from other types, particularly in asymptomatic subjects

Plasma biomarkers of brain injury in COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms

Objective: Neurological symptoms (NS) were often reported in COVID-19 infection. We examined the plasma levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S100B together, as brain injury biomarkers, in relation to persistent NS in a cohort of patients with COVID-19 during the acute phase of the disease.Methods: A total of 20 healthy controls and 58 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled in this prospective study. Serum GFAP and S100B levels were measured by using enzymle linked immunoassay method from blood samples.Results: Serum GFAP levels were found to be significantly higher in the severe group than in the controls (p = 0.007). However, serum S100B levels were similar between control and disease groups (p > 0.05). No significant results for GFAP and S100B were obtained between the disease groups depending on whether the sampling time was below or above 5 days (p > 0.05). We did not find a correlation between serum GFAP and S100B levels and the presence of NS (p > 0.05). However, serum S100B levels were slightly higher in patients with multiple NS than in those with a single symptom (p = 0.044).Conclusions: Elevated GFAP was associated with disease severity but not with NS in COVID-19 patients. Whereas, high serum S100B was associated with the multipl NS in these patients. Our data suggest that GFAP and S100B may be of limited value currently in order to represent the neuronal damage, though serving a basis for the future work

Supersymmetry and the relationship between a class of singular potentials in arbitrary dimensions

Abstract The eigenvalues of the potentials r 6 and of the special cases of these potentials such as Kratzer and GoldmanKrivchenkov potentials, are obtained in N -dimensional space. The explicit dependence of these potentials in higher-dimensional space is discussed, which has not been previously covered

The Synthesis of Styrene-Oligoester Copolymer and Investigation of Their Physico-mechanical Properties

The copolymerization reaction of commercial propylene oxide with glycidylmethacrilate in the presence of BF3·O(C2H5)2 catalyst have been investigated. The composition and structure of copolymerization products and anchored functional groups have been determined using IR and gel chromatographic methods. The physico-mechanical properties and utility of polyfunctional unsaturated oligoester were investigated. The obtained thermoset product via the reaction of the oligoester with both styrene and oligostyrene obtained from the bottom of column as a waste material during the rectification operation of styrene in the presence of radicalic initiator has a good adhesion capability, hardness and high heat and water resistance. Thus the waste material was converted to the high valuable polymeric material

Supersymmetry and the relationship between a class of singular potentials in arbitrary dimensions

The eigenvalues of the potentials $V_{1}(r)=\frac{A_{1}}{r}+\frac{A_{2}}{r^{2}}+\frac{A_{3}}{r^{3}}+\frac{A_{4 }}{r^{4}}$ and $V_{2}(r)=B_{1}r^{2}+\frac{B_{2}}{r^{2}}+\frac{B_{3}}{r^{4}}+\frac{B_{4}}{r^ {6}}$, and of the special cases of these potentials such as the Kratzer and Goldman-Krivchenkov potentials, are obtained in N-dimensional space. The explicit dependence of these potentials in higher-dimensional space is discussed, which have not been previously covered.Comment: 13 pages article in LaTEX (uses standard article.sty). Please check "http://www1.gantep.edu.tr/~ozer" for other studies of Nuclear Physics Group at University of Gaziante

Effects of external nutrient sources and extreme weather events on the nutrient budget of a Southern European coastal lagoon

The seasonal and annual nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C) budgets of the mesotidal Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal, were estimated to reveal the main inputs and outputs, the seasonal patterns, and how they may influence the ecological functioning of the system. The effects of extreme weather events such as long-lasting strong winds causing upwelling and strong rainfall were assessed. External nutrient inputs were quantified; ocean exchange was assessed in 24-h sampling campaigns, and final calculations were made using a hydrodynamic model of the lagoon. Rain and stream inputs were the main freshwater sources to the lagoon. However, wastewater treatment plant and groundwater discharges dominated nutrient input, together accounting for 98, 96, and 88 % of total C, N, and P input, respectively. Organic matter and nutrients were continuously exported to the ocean. This pattern was reversed following extreme events, such as strong winds in early summer that caused upwelling and after a period of heavy rainfall in late autumn. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that ammonium and organic N and C exchange were positively associated with temperature as opposed to pH and nitrate. These variables reflected mostly the benthic lagoon metabolism, whereas particulate P exchange was correlated to Chl a, indicating that this was more related to phytoplankton dynamics. The increase of stochastic events, as expected in climate change scenarios, may have strong effects on the ecological functioning of coastal lagoons, altering the C and nutrient budgets.Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) [POCI/MAR/58427/2004, PPCDT/MAR/58427/2004]; Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT

Identifying the main sources of Silicate in coastal waters of the southern Gulf of Valencia (Western Mediterranean Sea)

[EN] Silicon is a major nutrient for siliceous primary producers, which can become a potential limiting nutrient in oligotrophic areas. Most of the silicon inputs to the marine environment come from continental discharges, from both superficial and ground waters. This study analyses the main sources of silicon and their dynamics along the southernmost 43 km of shoreline in the Gulf of Valencia (Western Mediterranean Sea). The salinity and silicate concentration in the different compartments (springs, freshwater wells, beach groundwater, surf zone and coastal waters) in this coastal area were determined. In addition, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton community were analyzed in the surf zone and coastal waters. Silicate concentrations in freshwater wells ranged between 130 and 150 mu M, whereas concentrations of this nutrient declined to 49 mu M in freshwater-seawater mixture transects. At the same time, there was a positive gradient in silicate for both freshwater and coastal waters southward. An amount of 18.7 t of dissolved silicate was estimated in the nearest first kilometre nearest to the coastline, 6 t of this silicate belonged to the background sea level. On the other hand, the sum of the main rivers in the area supplies 1.6 t of dissolved silicate per day. This implies that a large amount of the remaining 11.1 t must derive from submarine groundwater discharges, which would thus represent 59% of the coastal dissolved silicate budget. Overall, it is suggested that a subterranean transport pathway must contribute considerably to silicate concentrations throughout this zone, which is characterized as permeable. (c) 2017 Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier Sp. z o.o.The authors acknowledge the financial support for this study from the CNPq (Brazil - Grant 303672/2013-7). We are very grateful for the valuable comments of anonymous reviewers on previous versions of the manuscript.Sospedra, J.; Niencheski, LFH.; Falco, S.; Andrade, C.; Attisano, K.; Rodilla, M. (2018). Identifying the main sources of Silicate in coastal waters of the southern Gulf of Valencia (Western Mediterranean Sea). Oceanologia. 60(1):52-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceano.2017.07.004S526460

Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review

Toy M, Önder FO, Wörmann T, et al. Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review. BMC infectious diseases. 2011;11(1): 337.BACKGROUND: To provide a clear picture of the current hepatitis B situation, the authors performed a systematic review to estimate the age- and region-specific prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 339 studies with original data on the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Turkey and published between 1999 and 2009 were identified through a search of electronic databases, by reviewing citations, and by writing to authors. After a critical assessment, the authors included 129 studies, divided into categories: 'age-specific'; 'region-specific'; and 'specific population group'. To account for the differences among the studies, a generalized linear mixed model was used to estimate the overall prevalence across all age groups and regions. For specific population groups, the authors calculated the weighted mean prevalence. RESULTS: The estimated overall population prevalence was 4.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.58, 5.76, and the estimated total number of CHB cases was about 3.3 million. The outcomes of the age-specific groups varied from 2.84, (95% CI: 2.60, 3.10) for the 0-14-year olds to 6.36 (95% CI: 5.83, 6.90) in the 25-34-year-old group. CONCLUSION: There are large age-group and regional differences in CHB prevalence in Turkey, where CHB remains a serious health problem