Nosocomial hepatitis C virus infection in a renal transplantation center

AbstractNosocomial hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections were recorded in the renal transplantation unit of the university hospital. There were cases of acute HCV infection with aggressive clinical courses diagnosed from a positive HCV RNA test in the early post-transplantation period and which remained anti-HCV negative. Their anti-HCV seronegativity was attributed to them having acquired HCV under intense immunosuppressive therapy and suggested that the aggressive clinical course could be due to the deficient immune response resulting in an inability to limit viral replication. There were also donors diagnosed as having acute HCV infection in the early post-operative period. Genotyping and sequence analysis for HCV were performed on the isolates of eight of these patients who were consecutively transplanted and of three donors whose recipients were infected with HCV prior to transplantation, and who acquired acute HCV infection after transplantation. Of the eight recipients in the first group three were genotype 1a, three were genotype 1b, one wasgenotype 3a, and the last one was genotype 4 according to Simmond's classification. Of the three donor-recipient couples both the HCV isolates from one couple were genotyped as 1b and the phylogenetic analysis indicated that the patients were infected with a common variant of HCV, but the genotypesof HCV isolates from the other couples were different. Recipients were genotype 1b and the donors were genotype 1a in these couples. Genotype results of the first group and donor-recipient couples, and sequence analysis of genotype 1b and 1a isolates, showed that the source of infection was not a unique strain and there were multiple breaks in universal precautions while managing these patients

Feather growth, bodyweight and body temperature in broiler lines with different feathering rates

Two early feathering sire lines (B1 and B2), two late feathering dam lines (A1 and A3), and an early feathering dam line were evaluated to determine differences in growth, in lengths of primary feathers, in under-wing and rectal temperatures, and in feed intake until the birds were 20 weeks old. The chicks were hatched from eggs collected from 35-week-old hens of pure line broiler flocks. Data were collected at hatch, and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 20 weeks old Thirty males and 30 females were evaluated for each line. The early feathering genotypes (A2, B1 and B2) had longer primary feathers until they were six weeks old. They also had higher under-wing and rectal temperatures and higher live weight compared with the late-feathering lines (A1 and A3) at one and two weeks old. The males were heavier than females at all ages. However, under-wing and rectal temperatures were similar in males and females at all ages. A positive correlation was observed between the length of primary feathers and live weight in A2, B1, and B2 at six weeks, whereas a negative correlation was observed between the rectal temperature and the length of primary feathers in A1 and A3 at 4 and 20 weeks old

Alternative biofuel materials for microbial fuel cells from poplar wood

In this study, biofuel properties of poplar wood materials rich in organic materials were investigated for microbial fuel cells. Therefore, in this study, investigates the chemical, biochemical properties with electrochemical performance of single chamber microbial fuel cell manufactured using poplar biomass materials, natural soil, graphite anode electrode and graphite cathode electrode. With the increase in the weight of the poplar tree in the microbial fuel cells, the power density increased. SEM, EDS, FTIR analyses showed that bacillus and coccus type bacteria in the natural structure of the soil act as the catalyst in the anode electrode. Poplar wood, electrodes and bacteria have served in harmony. According to experimental results, the maximum power reaches to 16.88 mW and microbial fuel cell successfully displays a maximum power density of 8555 mW/m2. All these results indicate that poplar wood may be appropriate biofuel sources for electrical energy generation as an effective environmentally microbial fuel cell technology

Kompost mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri için titanyum elektrot performansının incelenmesi

Mikrobiyal yakıt hücresi, hem atıksu arıtımı hem de elektrik üretiminin aynı anda gerçekleştiği güzel bir enerji üretim teknolojisidir. Yeşil enerjiye olan talep artıyor ve mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri gibi biyoelektrokimyasal cihazlar bu amaç için kullanılabilir. Kompost mikrobiyal yakıt hücresi, kompost malzemelerden elektrik enerjisi üretmenin umut verici bir yoludur. Bir kompost mikrobiyal yakıt hücresinde, organik kompost malzemeleri, mikrobiyal yakıt hücresindeki bakterilerle ayrışır ve organik materyallerdeki mikrobiyal etki ile biyoenerji üretmek için kullanılır. Kompost malzemelerinden salınan organik madde, organik maddelerin yakınında toprakta bulunan bakteriler tarafından elektronlara ve protonlara dönüştürülür. Elektronlar, anot elektrottan ve dış devreden katot elektrotuna gider. Protonlar, elektrolit aracılığıyla katot elektrotuna gider. Elektronlar, protonlar ve havadan gelen oksijen katod elektrodunda birleşir. Böylece, mikrobiyal yakıt hücresi elektrik enerjisi ve su üretir. Bu çalışmada, farklı miktarlarda organik kompost malzemelerle beslenen, elektrotlar olarak titanyum plakaları olan, tek odacıklı, membransız mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri 10 gün boyunca çalıştırıldı. Ağırlıkça % 1, % 10 ve% 20 kompost malzemeleri içeren mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri, sırasıyla, MYH-I, MYH-II ve MYH-III olarak adlandırılmıştır. Elde edilen maksimum enerji, 4.025 mW/m2 değerinde bir maksimum güç yoğunluğu ile ifade edildi ve bu değer MYH-III'e aittir. Kompost mikrobiyal yakıt hücrelerinin açık devre gerilimleri (Voc) 10 günlük çalışma sırasında zamanla değişir. MYH I, MYH-II ve MYH-III'ün en yüksek açık devre gerilimleri sırasıyla 375 mV, 380 mV ve 383 mV olarak ölçülmüştür. Bu çalışmada mikroskop görüntüleri ile görüntülenen coccus türü bakteriler, MYH-I, MYH-II ve MYH-III için biyokatalizör görevi gördü. Bu çalışma, titanyum elektrotların kompost mikrobik yakıt hücreleri için elektrik üretme kabiliyetine sahip olduğunu göstermiştir. İlaveten, titanyum elektrotlarının karbon bezi, grafit, grafen oksit gibi elektrotlara alternatif bir elektrot olduğu bulunmuştur.Microbial fuel cell is a nice energy production technology where both wastewater treatment and electricity generation take place concurrently. There is increasing demand for green energy, and bioelectrochemical devices, such as microbial fuel cells, can be used for this goal. The compost microbial fuel cell is one promising way to produce electrical energy from compost materials. In a compost microbial fuel cell, organic compost materials are decomposed with the bacteria at the microbial fuel cell and used to generate bioenergy by the microbial action on organic materials. The organic matter released through from compost materials is converted into electrons and protons by the bacteria present in soil near the organic materials. The electrons are go to to cathode electrode through from anode electrode and the external circuit. Protons are go to the cathode electrode through the electrolyte. The electrons, protons, and oxygen from air combine in the cathode electrode. Thus, the microbial fuel cell produces electrical energy and water. In this study, the single chambered, non-membrane microbial fuel cells with titanium plates as electrodes, fed with the different quantities organic materials of compost, were run for 10 days. Microbial fuel cells containing 1%, 10% and 20% by weight of compost materials were named as MYH-I, MYH-II and MYH-III, respectively. The maximum energy obtained was expressed by a maximum power density of 4.025 mW/m2 value and this value belongs to MYH-III. The open circuit voltages (Voc) of compost microbial fuel cells varies over time in 10 days of operation. The highest open circuit voltages of MYH I, MYH-II and MYH-III were measured as 375 mV, 380 mV and 383 mV, respectively. In this study, coccus type bacteria, which were imaged with microscope images, acted as biocatalysts for MYH I, MYH-II and MYH-III. This study demonstrated that titanium electrodes has the ability to produce electricity for compost microbial fuel cells. In addition, titanium electrodes have been found to be an alternative electrode to electrodes such as carbon cloth, graphite, graphene oxide

Mikrobiyal yakıt hücrelerinde kullanılan saf kültür mikroorganizmaları ve genel özellikleri

Biyokütle enerjisi, günümüzün artan enerji taleplerini karşılamakta kaçınılmaz bir görev yürüten yenilenebilir bir enerjidir. Biyoyakıtların aksine, mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri organik malzemelerde toplanan enerjiyi doğrudan biyoelektrikliğe dönüştürür. Mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri, kalkınma odaklı ve çok yönlü bir yenilenebilir enerji teknolojisidir. Mikrobiyal yakıt hücresi (MYH), çeşitli organik malzemelerden (substratlardan) elektrik enerjisi üretimi için kullanılan çevre dostu bir teknolojidir. Mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri, doğrudan elektrik enerjisi üretimi için alternatif bir enerji dönüşüm sistemi olarak büyük ilgi gördü. Mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri (MYH’ler), atık ortamda yakıt kaynağı olarak düşük dereceli organik karbonları kullanabilir. Mikrobiyal yakıt hücrelerinin, yakıt kaynağı olarak düşük dereceli biyokütle veya hatta atık su kullanabilmesinden dolayı belirgin faydaları vardır. Mikrobiyal yakıt hücrelerinde elektrik üretiminin temeli, organik malzemelerin mikroorganizmalar tarafından katalize edilmesidir. Çünkü mikrobiyal yakıt hücreleri, organik maddeleri (substrat) oksitlemek için biyokatalizörler olarak mikroorganizmaları kullanır. Bir mikrobiyal yakıt hücresinde, organik maddeler (substratlar) elektron vericileridir. Organik malzemelerin oksidasyon (biyokataliz) çalışmalarından sonra anodik biyofilm bakterileri tarafından açığa çıkarılan elektronlar ilk önce anoksik koşullar altında anot elektrota aktarılır. Bu işlemleri yapan bakterilere elektrojen denir. Anot elektrot, elektrojenik biyofilm bakterileri tarafından anaerobik solunum için elektron alıcısı olarak kullanılır. Yani, anot ve mikroorganizma arasında bir elektron transfer işlemi gerçekleşir. Mikroorganizma ve elektrotlar arasındaki elektron transferi, doğrudan elektron transferi ve dolaylı (aracılı) elektron transferi olmak üzere iki mekanizmada gerçekleşir. Bu çalışmada, elektrojenik mikroorganizmalardan anot elektroduna elektron transfer mekanizması ayrıntılı olarak tartışılmıştır. Saf mikroorganizma kültürlerinin mikrobiyal yakıt hücrelerinde kullanımı anlatılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın sonucuna göre, yüksek elektrokimyasal aktivitelere sahip elektrojenik mikroorganizmaların keşfi, muhtemelen gelecekteki pratik sistem çalışmaları için mikrobiyal yakıt hücrelerinin gelişimini teşvik etmek için olağanüstü bir durum olacaktır

Performance of fast, medium and slow growing broilers in indoor and free-range production systems

This study compared growth and carcass traits of 2 medium-growth crossbred, 4 slow-growth crossbred, 1 commercial slow-growth and 1 commercial fast-growth broiler strains raised in indoor and free-range production systems. One hundred twenty chicks of each strain were raised in each production system. Chicks were raised in indoor pens at a density of 10 chicks per m2. From day 29 until slaughter at 84 days of age, chicks in the free-range system were given outdoor access through doors that were open between 8.00 - 17.00 hours. The study found live weight, feed efficiency, and mortality were significantly affected by strain. However, no significant differences were found between the production systems. Outdoor access varied significantly among strains, with the commercial high-growth and medium-growth crossbred strains making less use of outdoor areas. In terms of performance traits, none of the strains showed any significant differences in performance between the indoor and free-range production systems. However, significant differences among the strains in carcass traits, pH, and colour values of thigh and breast meat were observed in connection with differences in growth rate. Moreover, carcass and breast yields were greater in fast and medium-growth broilers, while ratios of edible inner organs were greater in medium and slow-growth broilers. Keywords: abdominal fat, animal welfare, breast to thigh ratio, feed efficiency, outdoor access, slaughter and carcass trait

Serum Adipokine and Ghrelin Levels in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Adipokines and ghrelin play role in insulin resistance, the key pathophysiological abnormality in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases. In the present study, relationship between nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and serum adipokine and ghrelin levels was investigated. Thirty seven patients with biopsy-proven NASH and 25 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. Ten of NASH patients (27%) had diabetes mellitus (n = 5) or impaired glucose tolerance (n = 5). Body mass index (BMI) was less than 30 kg/m(2) in 67.6% of patients, while in the remaining 32.4% it was more than 30 kg/m(2). Serum adiponectin, leptin, TNF-α, and ghrelin were determined. Serum leptin (15.49 ± 4.84 vs 10.31 ± 2.53) and TNF-α (12.1 ± 2.7 vs 10.31 ± 2.56) levels were significantly higher in the NASH group compared to in the control group (P < .001 for each). Nevertheless, adiponectin (11.1±2.1 vs 17.3±2.8) and ghrelin (6.46±1.1 vs 7.8±1.1) levels were lower in the NASH group than in the control group (P < .001 for each). Serum levels of the adipokines and ghrelin, however, were comparable in the subgroups of patients regardless of whether BMI was < 30 or > 30 or glucose tolerance was impaired or not (P > .05). Additionally, neither adipokines nor ghrelin was correlated with histopathological grade and stage (P > .05). In conclusion; there is a significant relationship between NASH and adipokines and ghrelin independent from BMI and status of the glucose metabolism. These cytokines that appear to have role in the pathogenesis of NASH, however, do not have any effect upon the severity of the histopathology

Synovial fluid profile dictates nanoparticle uptake into cartilage - implications of the protein corona for novel arthritis treatments

Objective: Drug delivery strategies for joint diseases need to overcome the negatively charged cartilage matrix. Previous studies have extensively investigated particle approaches to increase uptake efficiency by harnessing the anionic charge of the cartilage but have neglected to address potential interactions with the protein-rich biological environment of the joint space. We aimed to evaluate the effects of hard protein coronas derived from osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient synovial fluids as well as the commonly used fetal calf serum (FCS) on nanoparticle (NP) uptake into tissues and cells. Methods: We developed a NP panel with varying PEGylation and incubated them with synovial fluid from either OA, RA patients or FCS. We evaluated the effects of the formed NP-biocorona complex uptake into the porcine articular cartilage explants, chondrocytes and monocyte cell lines and primary patient FLS cells. Proteins composing hard biocoronas were identified using a quantitative proteomics approach. Results: Formed biocoronas majorly impacted NP uptake into cartilage tissue and dictated their uptake in chondrocytes and monocytes. The most suitable NP for potential OA applications was identified. A variety of proteins that were found on all NPs, irrespective of surface modifications. NP-, and protein-specific differences were also observed between the groups, and candidate proteins were identified that could account for the observed differences. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the impact of protein coronas from OA and RA patient synovial fluids on NP uptake into cartilage, emphasizing the importance of biological microenvironment considerations for successful translation of drug delivery vehicles into clinics

Diagnostic value of Chest CT and Initial Real-Time RT-PCR in COVID-19 Infection

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic value of the rtRT-PCR test and CT in patients presenting with typical clinical symptoms of COVID-19. Methods: The study with the participation of four center in Turkey was performed retrospectively from 20 March-15 April 2020 in 203 patients confirmed for COVID-19. The initial rtRT-PCR test was positive in 142 (70.0%) of the patients (Group-I) and negative in 61 patients (Group-II). Results: The mean age of the patients in Group-I was 49.718.0 years and the time between the onset of symptoms and admission to the hospital was 3.6 +/- 2.0 days; whereas the same values for the patients in Group-II were 58.1 +/- 19.9 and 5.3 +/- 4.2, respectively (p=0.004; p=0.026). Initial rtRT-PCR was found positive with 83.5% sensitivity and 74.1% PPV in patients with symptom duration of less than five days. It was found that rtRT-PCR positivity correlated negatively with the presence of CT findings, age, comorbidity, shortness of breath, and symptom duration, while rtRT-PCR positivity correlated positively with headache. Presence of CT findings was positively correlated with age, comorbidity, shortness of breath, fever, and the symptom duration. Conclusions: It should be noted that a negative result in the rtRT-PCR test does not rule out the possibility of COVID-19 diagnosis in patients whose symptom duration is longer than five days, who are elderly with comorbidities and in particular who present with fever and shortness of breath. In these patients, typical CT findings are diagnostic for COVID-19. A normal chest CT is no reason to loosen up measures of isolation in patients with newly beginning symptoms until the results are obtained from the PCR test