Security issues in data analytical environments

Nowadays, data is ubiquitous and gives businesses capabilities they did not have access to before. Data analytics helps organizations transform raw data into valuable insights and is, therefore, a critical asset to any organization as a baseline for any important tactical, operational, and strategic decisions. However, although data analytics provides many benefits, new security challenges have emerged that hamper the effectiveness of organizational analytics efforts. New approaches to security are required to address these challenges. This research in progress paper provides an overview of security-related challenges surrounding data analytical solutions. In addition, the paper discusses shortcomings of current governance and security frameworks in addressing data analytics-specific security challenges and presents avenues for future research

Urinary extract profiles of illegal substances at psychiatry and dependency clinics: three years report

Background: Substance abuse is a serious problem all over the world. There are many studies report the illegal substance use profile but few studies present their toxicology laboratory analysis. This study reports a quantitative profile of (Urine Drug Screening)) for illegal substances in Sakarya-Turkey.Methods: This study presents the urine analysis of all illegal substances which were made in the laboratory of Sakarya Training Research Hospital between March 2012 and February 2015. The results obtained from socio-demographic data and urine tests of patients were analyzed by examining their hospital record files. Urine drug screening was conducted with immunoassay quantitative analysis.Results: People subjected to substance analysis (n=2948) ages vary between 12 and 76, their mean age was 28.30±9.46. 96.74% (n=2852) of them were males. Substance positivity was determined in 34.73% of all patients (n=1024/2948) and their ages varied between 14 and 70 and their mean age was 29.39±9.65. Distribution of the urine positivity of the substances contained: marijuana 79, 5% (n=814), amphetamine 30.17% (n=309), ecstasy 23.74% (n=199), benzodiazepine 9,1% (n=94), synthetic cannabinoid 4.9% (n=12/243); opioid 5.2% (n=54), cocaine 1.67% (n=14) and multiple substance 29.9% (n=308).Conclusions: According to this study, marijuana is the most frequently used substance and multiple substance use is common. Synthetic cannabinoid seems to take place rapidly among the users. Updating the kits is important to reach the correct information in drug screening tests

Impact of HLA on the Underlying Primary Diseases in Turkish Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

The number of patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) is increasing faster than the number of renal transplantations performed per year worldwide. Of the primary diseases leading to ESRD, diabetic nephropathy is the leading cause. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the association of HLA with the primary diseases leading to ESRD in Turkish patients. A total of 3230 individuals comprising 587 ESRD patients and 2643 healthy controls were enrolled into the study. Class I HLA-A, -B typing was performed by CDC method, while class II HLA-DRB1 typing was performed by low resolution PCR-SSP. We found a significant negative association between almost all A locus antigens and primary disease groups classified as chronic glomerulonephritis and hypertensive nephrosclerosis (p 0.05). HLA-B58 and HLA-DRB1*03 significantly correlated with amyloidosis and diabetic nephropathy, respectively. Determination of HLAs as risk factors for primary diseases leading to ESRD might be beneficial in preventing progression to ESRD and recurrence of the primary disease post-transplantation

Association of HLA phenotypes of end-stage renal disease patients preparing for first transplantation with anti-HLA antibody status.

Patients with pre-transplantation high levels of panel reactive antibody (PRA) have an increased risk of graft failure, and renal transplantation in sensitized patients remains a highly significant challenge worldwide. The influence of anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies on the development of rejection episodes depends on patient-specific clinical factors and differs from patient to patient. The HLA typing of the recipient might influence the development of anti-HLA antibodies. Some HLA antigens appear to be more immunogenic than others. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the distribution of HLA phenotypes in PRA-positive and PRA-negative end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on the basis of having sensitizing events or not. Our study included 642 (mean age: 41.54; female/male: 310/332) ESRD patients preparing for the first transplantation and who are on the cadaveric kidney transplantation waiting list of Istanbul Medical Faculty in 2008-2009. Class I HLA-A,B typing was performed by complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) method, whereas class II HLA-DRB1 typing was performed by low-resolution polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-sequence-specific primer (SSP). All serum samples were screened for the presence of IgG type of anti-HLA class I- and II-specific antibodies by enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA). PRA-negative group consisted of 558 (86.9%) and PRA-positive group included 84 (13.1%) patients. We have found statistically significant frequency of HLA-A3 (p = 0.018), HLA-A66 (p = 0.04), and HLA-B18 (p = 0.006) antigens in PRA-positive patients and DRB1*07 (p = 0.02) having the highest frequency in patients with sensitizing event history but no anti-HLA development suggesting that DRB1*07 might be associated with low risk of anti-HLA antibody formation.</

COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients: A multicenter experience in Istanbul.

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLCIntroduction: Management of COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients should include treatment of the infection, regulation of immunosuppression, and supportive therapy. However, there is no consensus on this issue yet. This study aimed to our experiences with kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19. Material and Methods: Kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 from five major transplant centers in Istanbul, Turkey, were included in this retrospective cohort study. Patients were classified as having moderate or severe pneumonia for the analysis. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoints were acute kidney injury, the average length of hospital stay, admission to intensive care, and mechanical ventilation. Results: Forty patients were reviewed retrospectively over a follow-up period of 32 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Cough, fever, and dyspnea were the most frequent symptoms in all patients. The frequency of previous induction and rejection therapy was significantly higher in the group with severe pneumonia compared to the moderate pneumonia group. None of the patients using cyclosporine A developed severe pneumonia. Five patients died during follow-up in the intensive care unit. None of the patients developed graft loss during follow-up. Discussion: COVID-19 has been seen to more commonly cause moderate or severe pneumonia in kidney transplant recipients. Immunosuppression should be carefully reduced in these patients. Induction therapy with lymphocyte-depleting agents should be carefully avoided in kidney transplant recipients during the pandemic period

The effect of the gastrectomy on survival in patients with metastatic gastric cancer: a study of ASMO

Aim: To investigate the role of surgical resection of primary tumor on overall survival (OS) in advanced gastric cancer patients at the time of diagnosis. Patients & methods: The survival rates of metastatic gastric cancer patients whose gastric primary tumor was resected at time of diagnosis were compared with metastatic gastric cancer patients whose primary tumor was nonresected. Results: The median progression-free survival and OS in operated and nonoperated group were 10 versus 6, 14 versus 9 months, respectively (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, gastric resection of primary tumor, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, second-line chemotherapy had a significant effect on OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.52 [95% CI: 0.38-0.71], HR: 0.57 [95% CI: 0.42-0.78], HR: 1.48 [1.09-2.01]; p <= 0.001, p = 0.001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Conclusion: Subpopulations of patients with metastatic gastric cancer might benefit from surgical removal of primary tumor

Mortality Risk Factors among Critically Ill Children with Acute COVID-19 in PICUs: A Multicenter Study from Turkish Pediatric Critical COVID-19 and MIS-C Study Group

© 2022 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the world has a large number of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths. Information on characteristics and mortality rate of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) cases with COVID-19 remains limited. This study aims to identify the risk factors for mortality related to COVID-19 in children admitted to PICU. Methods: A retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted between March 2020 and April 2021 at 44 PICUs in Turkey. Children who were 1 month-18-year of age with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to PICU were included in the study. Children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome and asymptomatic for COVID-19 were excluded. Results: Of 335 patients with COVID-19, the median age was 6.8 years (IQR: 1.2-14) and 180 (53.7 %) were male, 215 (64.2 %) had at least one comorbidity. Age and gender were not related to mortality. Among 335 patients, 166 (49.5%) received mechanical ventilation, 17 (5.1%) received renal replacement therapy and 44 (13.1 %) died. Children with medical complexity, congenital heart disease, immunosuppression and malignancy had significantly higher mortality. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, organ failure index [odds ratio (OR): 2.1, 95 confidence interval (CI): 1.55-2.85], and having congenital heart disease (OR: 2.65, 95 CI: 1.03-6.80), were associated with mortality. Conclusions: This study presents detailed data on clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 admitted to PICU in the first pandemic year in Turkey. Our study shows that having congenital heart disease is associated with mortality. In addition, the high organ failure score in follow-up predict mortality