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Objectives: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a disease with high mortality due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) secondary to viral pneumonia. In addition to its effects on the respiratory system, coronavirus is known to have serious systemic effects on the cardiovascular system. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between prolonged QTc duration and COVID-19 specific pulmonary involvement Methods: Between December 2020 and February 2021, 112 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in our COVID-19 outpatient clinic and met the inclusion criteria were evaluated for the association between cardiac variables (heart rate, PR width, QRS width, fQRS, and QTc interval), other patient characteristics and lung involvement. Results: A significant difference was found between the QTc intervals of COVID-19 patients with and without lung involvement (p < 0.026). In the ROC analysis for the QTc interval, which was found to be significant in the multivariate regression analysis, the cut-off value of 419.5 ms had a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 51.6% in predicting pulmonary involvement. Conclusions: Prolonged QTc duration may be useful in predicting COVID-19 pulmonary involvement in patients admitted to the emergency department.

OBJECTIVE: Our study examined young, middle, and oldest-old patients who visited the emergency department (ED) and their differences. METHODS: The research was executed retrospectively, utilizing the medical data of patients aged 65 and over who applied to the ED of a research hospital in Kayseri for the two years between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021. The patients were young-old, between 65 and 74 years old; aged 75 to 84 were middle-old, and those aged 85 and over were classified as oldest-old. RESULTS: 84415 (13.7%) older patients visited the ED during the study period. The patients’ median age was 74 years, IQRs (69- 80) and 53.9% (n=45466) were female. 53.4% of the patients were young-old, 33.4% middle-old, and 13.2% were oldest-old. 7.2% (n=6060) of the hospitalized patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 7.8% (n=1719) died. Among the first three reasons for admitting the patients to the ED, 20% (n=16874) had COVID-19, 14.4% (n=12131) had gastrointestinal symptoms, and 13.9% (n=11718) had circulatory system symptoms. Oldest-old patients were brought to the ED by ambulance more (38.4% vs. 50.9% vs. 63.2% p< 0.001), stayed longer in the ED (81 vs. 103 vs. 116 minutes, p

There is remarkable interest in the fabrication of polymeric composite nano/micro-fibers by electrospinning for many applications ranging from bioengineering to water/air filtration. In almost all of these applications, the mechanical properties of both the polymer fibers and their assemblies, are significant. In this study, unmodified, 3-Glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) or 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) modified halloysite clay nanotube (HNT) reinforced polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were successfully synthesized via the electrospinning. The morphology and mechanical features of the obtained electrospun fibers were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and AFM-based nanoindentation for single fibers in nanoscale, respectively. Besides, scanning electron microscopy and tensile strength tests were used to investigate whole fibrous structures in microscale. The AFMresults, accompanied by SEM and tensile strength, support the conclusion that silane-modification affected positively the morphology and mechanical characteristics of electrospun PCL nanofibers. Therefore, it was concluded that the morphological and mechanical features from the single fibers in the nanofiber mats were related to the whole fibrous structure.

Bulbul, Y. Emre/0000-0003-1885-5026; Tort, Serdar/0000-0003-4945-5420; DEMIRTAS KORKMAZ, FUNDA/0000-0003-3978-9427 WOS: 000469332700010 PubMed: 31063838 Potential usage of biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric nanofibers is the most attention grabbing topic for the drug delivery system. In order to fabricate ultrafine fibers, electrospinning, one of the well-known techniques, has been extensively studied in the literature. In the present study, the objective is to achieve the optimum blend of hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers to be used as a drug delivery vehicle and also to obtain the optimum amount of doxycycline (DOXH) to reach the optimum release. In this case, the biodegradable and biocompatible synthetic polymers, poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), were blended with different ratios for the production of DOXH-loaded electrospun PCL/PEO membranes using electrospinning technique, which is a novel attempt. The fabricated membranes were subsequently characterized to optimize the blending ratio of polymers by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and water contact angle analysis. After the characterization studies, different amounts of DOXH were loaded to the optimized blend of PCL and PEO to investigate the release of DOXH from the membrane used as a drug delivery vehicle. In vitro drug release studies were performed, and in vitro drug release kinetics were assessed to confirm the usage of these nanofiber materials as efficient drug delivery vehicles. The results indicated that 3.5% DOXH-loaded (75:25 w/w) PCL/PEO is the most acceptable membrane to provide prolonged release rather than immediate release of DOXH. Gazi University Research FundGazi University [BAP 06-2018/15]; Scientific and Technical Research Council of TurkeyTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [TUBITAK-BIDEB 2211] This work was supported by the Gazi University Research Fund [BAP 06-2018/15]; and S. Melda Eskitoros-Togay was awarded scholarships by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey [TUBITAK-BIDEB 2211].

Electrospun fiber membranes have been utilized to delivery hydrophilic/hydrophobic drugs in the drug delivery systems. They offer several features such as high surface area to volume ratio, high porosity and high productivity. In this paper, quercetin (QU)-loaded and unloaded electrospun membranes were prepared via electrospinning of polycaprolactone (PCL) blended with polyethylene oxide (PEO), polylactic acid (PLA), and polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA). The prepared membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and drop shape analysis (DSA). In vitro release of QU from the QU-loaded membranes was examined in simulated physiological condition by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The results of morphological analysis revealed that electrospun membrane prepared by the mixture of PCL and PEO polymers with QU had more smooth, beadless and random morphology. Due to the release study, the highest amount of QU release was obtained within 240 min period. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity study indicated that the QU-loaded membranes exhibited toxicity on human breast carcinoma cells in 24 h. These results showed that quercetin-loaded PCL and PEO membranes can be used in drug delivery systems as a drug carrier vehicle.