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The envelope (env) protein of SARS-CoV-2, a pivotal component of the viral architecture, plays a multifaceted role in viral assembly, replication, pathogenesis, and ion channel activity. These features make it a significant target for understanding virus–host interactions and developing vaccines to combat COVID-19. Recent structural studies provide valuable insights into the conformational dynamics and membrane topology of the SARS-CoV-2 env protein, shedding light on its functional mechanisms. The strong homology and highly conserved structure of the SARS-CoV-2 env protein shape its immunogenicity and functional characteristics. This study examines the ability of the recombinant SARS-CoV-2 env protein to stimulate an immune response. In this study, recombinant envelope proteins were produced using the baculovirus expression system, and their potential efficacy was evaluated in both in vivo and in vitro models. Our results reveal that the env protein of SARS-CoV-2 stimulates humoral and cellular responses and highlight its potential as a promising vaccine candidate for combating the ongoing pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: One of the most common reasons for pediatric cardiology referrals is chest pain in childhood. Although it is mostly innocent in character, it is rarely associated with life-threatening pathologies. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the etiological causes in children with chest pain. Methods: Our study included 1000 children who were referred to the pediatric cardiology clinic with the complaint of chest pain between January 2019 and June 2022. Demographic characteristics, accompanying complaints, echocardiographies, electrocardiographies, 24-h rhythm holters, treadmill exercise test, computed tomography angiography, and non-cardiac findings related to etiology were analyzed retrospectively from the file archives of the patients. Results: Five hundred and nine (50.9%) of the patients were female and 491 (49.1%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 11.3 y (range: 3-18 years). Cardiological pathology associated with chest pain was detected in only 6.8% of the patients. Among the etiologies of chest pain, mitral valve prolapse (MVP) was the most common cardiological pathology with a rate of 2.1%. In the non-cardiac etiological evaluation of chest pain, idiopathic causes with a frequency of 48%, musculoskeletal pathologies with a frequency of 22.6%, respiratory pathologies with a frequency of 7.9%, psychiatric pathologies with a frequency of 7.3%, gastrointestinal pathologies with a frequency of 4.1%, and familial Mediterranean fever with a frequency of 2.4%, miscellaneous with a frequency of 1.1% were found, respectively. Conclusion: In the study, it was determined that non-cardiac causes were more common among the etiological causes of chest pain in the pediatric age group. In addition, MVP was the most common cause of cardiac chest pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive method used to assess the status of autonomic function of the heart. The aim of this prospective study was to assess HRV and cardiac function in children with epilepsy. In addition, the effects over HRV of epilepsy type, therapy regimens, refractory and well controlled epilepsy were investigated. Material and Method: Between September 2013 and March 2014, 61 epileptic children and 53 healthy children were included in the study. All subjects were evaluated by electrocardiography, echocardiography, and 24 hours rhythm holter. Results: In the children with epilepsy, it was determined a significant reduction in all the time domain (SDNN, SDNN index, SDANN, RMSSD, pNN50 p-values 0.011, 0.001, 0.021, 0.001, 0.001, respectively) and frequency domain (LF, HF, VLF p-values 0.001, 0.001, 0.001 respectively) parameters. There were not statistically significant differences in both time and frequency domain parameters between children with partial and generalized epilepsy. There was a significant reduction in SDNN, SDNN index, SDANN, RMSSD, LF, HF, VLF (p-values 0.009, 0.008, 0.015, 0.039, 0.004, 0.010, 0.005, respectively) values in the children who underwent polytherapy regimen. Conclusion: Epilepsy is associated with suppressed HRV values indicating decreased vagal activity. Having pathological EEG findings, and polytherapy regimen associated with refractory epilepsy are effective on suppressed HRV. In addition, cardiac systolic functions may be affected in patients with epilepsy under drug therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to characterise a bio-waste natural material and investigate its reuse for other purposes. Menengic (Pistacia terebinthus) coffee bio-waste (MCW) was characterised and used to remove malachite green oxalate (MGO) and methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. Characterisation of adsorbent was performed with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Adsorption parameters such as pH, amount of adsorbent, contact time, mixing speed, initial dye concentration, and temperature were investigated by classical batch adsorption process. Maximum dye adsorption (99.59 ± 0.05% for MGO and 96.54 ± 0.21% for MB) onto MCW were observed at pH values of 8 and 6, and 150 mg and 200 mg of adsorbent in 200 mg/L dye solution at 25°C for 45 min with a mixing speed of 400 rpm, respectively. In this context, Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms were tested and it was found that the most suitable isotherm for the experimental data was the Langmuir isotherm with an R2 value of 0.9915 for MB and 0.9852 for MGO. In addition, the maximum adsorption capacity for MGO and MB was determined as 59.17 mg/g and 32.68 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption characteristics of MGO and MB indicate that they coincided with pseudo-second-order kinetics. According to this kinetic model, the mechanism is compatible with chemisorption as the rate determination step and the thermodynamic data suggested the spontaneous and exothermic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pectus anomalies constitute 95% of chest anomalies. Pectus carinatum (PC) and excavatum (PE) are often asymptomatic in childhood. However, symptoms and signs such as chest pain, dyspnea, and mitral valve prolapse (MVP) can be seen in pectus anomalies. Demographic characteristics and accompanying cardiac signs in children with pectus deformity were investigated. Methods: In this study, the clinical findings for children with pectus deformity, and the incidence of MVP and other concomitant heart diseases detected in echocardiographic examinations were evaluated. Results: Eighty‐two children with PE, 27 with PC, and 107 healthy children were included in this study. In the echocardiographic examination of PE, PC patients, and healthy children, MVP was detected with frequencies of 25%, 33%, and 2% respectively. Conclusions: The study showed that pectus anomalies were associated with an increased incidence of MVP. All patients with pectus deformity should therefore undergo a screening echocardiogram in adolescence to assess for the presence of MVP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The heart is one of the organs frequently affected by the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Cardiac involvement in patients with MIS-C was evaluated with physical examination findings, biochemical test, and cardiological imaging tests. We reported the degree of cardiac involvement in patients with MIS-C. Methods: In this retrospective study, the complaints, physical examination, and cardiac findings of patients with MIS-C were evaluated. Results: Sixteen patients (four males and 12 females) with MIS-C were included in the study. The median age was 6 (5-17) years. In patients, palpitations (6%), chest pain (12%), ECG changes (50%), valve insufficiency (50%), low ejection fraction (6%), coronary dilatation (6%), troponin (38%), and d-dimer (88%) elevation were detected. One patient died. Valve insufficiency persisted in 5 (31%) patients. Conclusion: Severe cardiac involvement can be seen in MIS-C patients. Due to its serious effects on mortality and morbidity, cardiac involvement should be evaluated with cardiac imaging tools such as echocardiography and ECG in all MIS-C patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the synthesis of an easily synthesized, non-toxic and inexpensive material and its use in dye removal have been demonstrated. The synthesis of novel material, tin(IV) chelate compound, was carried out using simple and inexpensive Schiff base ligands. This novel material was used for the first time as an adsorbent to remove murexide dye from a model aqueous solution. 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, MS, and elemental analysis techniques were performed for the characterization of the new tin-based adsorbent and the open structure of the compound was proposed. Murexide dye removal from a model aqueous solution was performed by examining five important factors of adsorption. Batch adsorption is the easiest way to remove dyes at a low cost. The optimum parameter values to maximize the adsorption efficiency were obtained at pH 3, 100 mg/L dye concentration, 20 min of contact time, 40 mg adsorbent dose, and 25°C. The highest adsorption recovery value and the adsorption capacity found at optimum parameters were 99.00%, and 248.8 mg/g, respectively. Three adsorption isotherms were calculated at 25°C. The highest R2 value was found at 0.99 for the Langmuir isotherm model, the adsorption kinetic obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetics, and the thermodynamic data suggested a spontaneous and exothermic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Southern Clinics of Istanbul Eurasia is the property of KARE Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Pediatric Infection / Çocuk Enfeksiyon Dergisi is the property of Journal of Pediatric Infection / Cocuk Enfeksiyon Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to show whether mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet-crit (PCT) were useful tools for determining and following up inflammation during the acute phase and follow-up after treatment in patients with acute rheumatic fever (ARF) compared to the healthy group. Material and Method: 47 children with ARF and 40 healthy children were included in the study. Platelet indices and inflammatory parameters were measured for all children. Platelet indices of acute and remission phase of the disease were compared with the values of healthy children. Results: It was not detected statistically significant differences between children with ARF and healthy children with respect to age, gender and body mass index. MPV value in ARF group was lower than the healthy group. However, the detected this decrease was not statistically significant (p=0.177). PCT value was significantly higher in children with ARF (p<0.001). By the children with ARF it was determined that white blood cells count and platelet count (PLT) values have shown a significant increase, while hemoglobine values determined also significant decrease (p<0.001 for all parameters). It was not detected a significant difference between MPV values of acute and remission phase in the patients with ARF. PCT and PLT values in the both acute and remission phase by the patients with ARF were significantly higher compared the healthy group (p-0.021, p=0.015: p=0.006, p=0.029, respectively). Conclusion: We consider that PCT as well as PLT may be used as valuable parameters in follow-up of patients diagnosed with ARF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive method used to assess the status of autonomic function of the heart. The aim of this study was to evaluate HRV in healthy children. Material and Method: 51 healthy children were included in the study. HRV of all subjects were evaluated using the data in 24 hours Bolter monitoring. IIRV was measured by calculating five time-domain (SDNN, SDNN-indeks, SDANN, RMSSD. pNN50), and four frequency-domain (LF. HF. VLF. LF/HF ratio) indices. Results: The mean age of 51 healthy children included in the study was 10.78 ± 3.80 years (range 4-17 years). There was no statistically significant difference in the heart rate parameters detected between females and males. SDNN, SDNN-index, SDANN, LF. VLF, total power parameters of the heart rate variability showed a significant positive correlation with age (r:0.30l. p:0.032; r:0.278 p:0.048; r:0.335 p:0.016: r:0.334 p:O.OI7; r:0.361 p:0.009; r: 0.321 p:0.021; respectivelyj. There was no correlation detected between body mass index and the parameters of HRV. Conclusion: HRV parameters denoting vagal activity did not show significantly difference between female and male children The majority of HRV parameters increased with increasing age. F1RV which is a noninvasive method could be used to evaluate the risk of the possible cardiac arrhythmia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: One of the most common reasons for pediatric cardiology referrals is chest pain in childhood. Although it is mostly innocent in character, it is rarely associated with life-threatening pathologies. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the etiological causes in children with chest pain., Methods: Our study included 1000 children who were referred to the pediatric cardiology clinic with the complaint of chest pain between January 2019 and June 2022. Demographic characteristics, accompanying complaints, echocardiographies, electrocardiographies, 24-h rhythm holters, treadmill exercise test, computed tomography angiography, and non-cardiac findings related to etiology were analyzed retrospectively from the file archives of the patients., Results: Five hundred and nine (50.9%) of the patients were female and 491 (49.1%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 11.3 y (range: 3-18 years). Cardiological pathology associated with chest pain was detected in only 6.8% of the patients. Among the etiologies of chest pain, mitral valve prolapse (MVP) was the most common cardiological pathology with a rate of 2.1%. In the non-cardiac etiological evaluation of chest pain, idiopathic causes with a frequency of 48%, musculoskeletal pathologies with a frequency of 22.6%, respiratory pathologies with a frequency of 7.9%, psychiatric pathologies with a frequency of 7.3%, gastrointestinal pathologies with a frequency of 4.1%, and familial Mediterranean fever with a frequency of 2.4%, miscellaneous with a frequency of 1.1% were found, respectively., Conclusion: In the study, it was determined that non-cardiac causes were more common among the etiological causes of chest pain in the pediatric age group. In addition, MVP was the most common cause of cardiac chest pain., Competing Interests: None declared., (©Copyright 2023 by The Medical Bulletin of Sisli Etfal Hospital.)

Objective: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), whose definition, diagnosis and treatment has been the subject of debate in the scientific community for a long time, is the most common neurobehavioral disorder in childhood. There are many studies on the pathophysiology of attention deficit. However, there is no study in the literature based on direct or indirect measurement of cerebral venous circulation in ADHD, and the effect of methylphenidate (MPH) treatment on cerebral venous circulation. Therefore, it was aimed to noninvasively measure superior vena cava (SVC) flow, which is an indirect indicator of cerebral venous flow, by transthoracic echocardiography in patients with ADHD., Methods: In the study, 44 healthy children, and 40 ADHD patients who were planned to start on osmotic-release oral system (OROS)- MPH were included. SVC flows were measured in healthy children and before and after drug therapy of ADHD patients., Results: SVC flow was found to be higher in ADHD patients compared to healthy children. A significant decrease was found in SVC flow of ADHD patients after OROS-MPH treatment. There was no decrease in SVC flow of patients who did not respond adequately to MPH treatment., Conclusion: This first study of SVC flow in children with ADHD showed that ADHD was associated with increased SVC flow and MPH treatment had a reducing effect on this increased SVC flow. We believe that noninvasive, easily measurable, and reproducible SVC flow may be a new focus of interest for future comprehensive studies as a biomarker to support clinical evaluation in the diagnosis and treatment follow-up of ADHD patients.

Objectives: The heart is one of the organs frequently affected by the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Cardiac involvement in patients with MIS-C was evaluated with physical examination findings, biochemical test, and cardiological imaging tests. We reported the degree of cardiac involvement in patients with MIS-C., Methods: In this retrospective study, the complaints, physical examination, and cardiac findings of patients with MIS-C were evaluated., Results: Sixteen patients (four males and 12 females) with MIS-C were included in the study. The median age was 6 (5-17) years. In patients, palpitations (6%), chest pain (12%), ECG changes (50%), valve insufficiency (50%), low ejection fraction (6%), coronary dilatation (6%), troponin (38%), and d-dimer (88%) elevation were detected. One patient died. Valve insufficiency persisted in 5 (31%) patients., Conclusion: Severe cardiac involvement can be seen in MIS-C patients. Due to its serious effects on mortality and morbidity, cardiac involvement should be evaluated with cardiac imaging tools such as echocardiography and ECG in all MIS-C patients., Competing Interests: None declared., (©Copyright 2022 by The Medical Bulletin of Sisli Etfal Hospital.)