Corporate Credit Risk Assessment of BIST Companies

Assessing credit risk allows financial institutions to plan future loans freely, to achieve targeted risk management and gain maximum profitability. In this study, the constructed risk assessment models are on a sample data which consists of financial ratios of enterprises listed in the Bourse Istanbul (BIST). 356 enterprises are classified into three levels as the investment, speculative and below investment groups by ten parameters. The applied methods are discriminant analysis, k nearest neighbor (k-NN), support vector machines (SVM), decision trees (DT) and a new hybrid model, namely Artificial Neural Networks with Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS). This study will provide a comparison of models to build better mechanisms for preventing risk to minimize the loss arising from defaults. The results indicated that the decision tree models achieve a superior accuracy for the prediction of failure. The model we proposed as an innovation has an adequate performance among the applied model

Effects of Chloramine-T And CuSO4 On Enzyme Activity Of Glucose 6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase From Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Myskiss) Erythrocytes In Vitro An In Vivo

Traditional treatments of parasitic and bacterial diseases are based on chemotherapeutic com- pounds such as chloramine-T and CuSO4. Although many compounds are used in fish treat- ments, their undesirable effects are not known. In this study, glucose 6-phosphate dehydroge- nase (G6PD) was purified from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) erythrocytes by hemolysate preparation, ammonium sulfate precipitation and 2', 5'-ADP Sepharose 4B affinity gel chromatography in a single day. The enzyme, with a specific activity of 14.51 EU/mg protein, was purified 906.8-fold with a yield of 70.38%. To check the purity of the enzyme, SDS poly- acrylamide gel electrophoresis was performed, which showed a single band. The effects of chlo- ramine-T and copper sulfate (CuSO4) on the G6PD were investigated in vitro. Chloramine-T and CuSO4 had inhibitory effects on the enzyme. I50 values of the chemotherapeutic compounds were determined by plotting percent activity and Ki values, and types of inhibition were deter- mined for each compound by means of Lineweaver-Burk graphs. In vivo studies showed that G6PD in rainbow trout erythrocytes was significantly inhibited by CuSO4 in one hour but not inhibited by chloramine-T

A Patient with Suspected Myocarditis Associated with Legionnaires' Disease: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Legionnaires' disease (LD) is a systemic infectious disease caused by Legionella species. It mainly presents with lung involvement. Herein, we present a case with suspected myocarditis associated with LD and review of the relevant literature. An 81-year-old male tourist patient with high fever, cough, imbalance while walking, and confusion presented to the emergency department. The patient was diagnosed with LD based on increased density in the left lower zone on chest x-ray and a positive Legionella urine antigen test. He was administered a combination of claritromycin and levofloxacine on the day of admission. The diagnosis of acute myocarditis was made after worsening of the cardiac functions, ST elevation and troponin I positivity. The patient's symptoms regressed with antibiotic therapy and the patient was transferred to his home country by ambulance plane ten days after admission. A search of PubMed and Web of Science using the keywords "Legionella and myocarditis" revealed 15 case reports, nine of which were in English and were reviewed. There were three female and six male patients with a mean age of 44 years (range: 32-56 years). Seven were diagnosed with LD by urine antigen testing, one by serological testing and culture, and one by direct fluorescent-antibody staining and culture. Myocarditis was diagnosed by biopsy in two patients and by clinical and laboratory findings in the rest. Myocarditis without existing pneumonia was detected in one case. Electrocardiography abnormalities such as atrial flutter, atrioventricular block, torsade de pointes, sinus tachycardia, QT prolongation, ST elevation, and T wave inversion were detected in seven patients. Ventricle dysfunction on echocardiography and cardiac marker abnormality were detected in all but one of the patients (not tested in one patient). Antimicrobial monotherapy was chosen for three of the cases. One patient died due to myocarditis. In conclusion, myocarditis may develop rarely during the course of LD. Clinical suspicion is essential for the diagnosis. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment may be life-saving

RESEARCH BURDEN OF INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES IN TURKEY - RBILD

Introduction: The aim of our study is to investigate the etiological distribution of ILD in Turkey by stratifying the epidemiological characteristics of ILD cases, and the direct cost of initial diagnosis of the diag-nosed patients. Material-Method: The study was conducted as a multicenter, prospective, cross-sectional, clinical observation study. Patients over the age of 18 and who accepted to participate to the study were included and evaluated as considered to be ILD. The findings of diagnosis, examination and treatment carried out by the cent-ers in accordance with routine diagnostic procedures were recorded observationally. Results: In total,1070 patients were included in this study. 567 (53%) of the patients were male and 503 (47%) were female. The most frequently diagnosed disease was IPF (30.5%). Dyspnea (75.9%) was the highest incidence among the presenting symptoms. Physical examination found bibasilar inspiratory crackles in 56.2 % and radiological findings included reticular opacities and interlobular septal thickenings in 55.9 % of the cases. It was observed that clinical and radiological findings were used most frequently (74.9%) as a diagnostic tool. While the most common treatment approaches were the use of systemic steroids and antifibrotic drugs with a rate of 30.7% and 85.6%, respectively. The total median cost from the patient's admission to diagnosis was 540 Turkish Lira. Conclusion: We believe that our findings compared with data from other countries will be useful in showing the current situation of ILD in our country to discuss this problem and making plans for a solution

Process development for an effective COVID-19 vaccine candidate harboring recombinant SARS-CoV-2 delta plus receptor binding domain produced by Pichia pastoris

Abstract Recombinant protein-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are needed to fill the vaccine equity gap. Because protein-subunit based vaccines are easier and cheaper to produce and do not require special storage/transportation conditions, they are suitable for low-/middle-income countries. Here, we report our vaccine development studies with the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Plus strain (RBD-DP) which caused increased hospitalizations compared to other variants. First, we expressed RBD-DP in the Pichia pastoris yeast system and upscaled it to a 5-L fermenter for production. After three-step purification, we obtained RBD-DP with > 95% purity from a protein yield of > 1 g/L of supernatant. Several biophysical and biochemical characterizations were performed to confirm its identity, stability, and functionality. Then, it was formulated in different contents with Alum and CpG for mice immunization. After three doses of immunization, IgG titers from sera reached to > 106 and most importantly it showed high T-cell responses which are required for an effective vaccine to prevent severe COVID-19 disease. A live neutralization test was performed with both the Wuhan strain (B.1.1.7) and Delta strain (B.1.617.2) and it showed high neutralization antibody content for both strains. A challenge study with SARS-CoV-2 infected K18-hACE2 transgenic mice showed good immunoprotective activity with no viruses in the lungs and no lung inflammation for all immunized mice

Clinical and molecular evaluation of MEFV gene variants in the Turkish population: a study by the National Genetics Consortium

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a monogenic autoinflammatory disorder with recurrent fever, abdominal pain, serositis, articular manifestations, erysipelas-like erythema, and renal complications as its main features. Caused by the mutations in the MEditerranean FeVer (MEFV) gene, it mainly affects people of Mediterranean descent with a higher incidence in the Turkish, Jewish, Arabic, and Armenian populations. As our understanding of FMF improves, it becomes clearer that we are facing with a more complex picture of FMF with respect to its pathogenesis, penetrance, variant type (gain-of-function vs. loss-of-function), and inheritance. In this study, MEFV gene analysis results and clinical findings of 27,504 patients from 35 universities and institutions in Turkey and Northern Cyprus are combined in an effort to provide a better insight into the genotype-phenotype correlation and how a specific variant contributes to certain clinical findings in FMF patients. Our results may help better understand this complex disease and how the genotype may sometimes contribute to phenotype. Unlike many studies in the literature, our study investigated a broader symptomatic spectrum and the relationship between the genotype and phenotype data. In this sense, we aimed to guide all clinicians and academicians who work in this field to better establish a comprehensive data set for the patients. One of the biggest messages of our study is that lack of uniformity in some clinical and demographic data of participants may become an obstacle in approaching FMF patients and understanding this complex disease