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Kjell EJ Håkansson,1 Katrine Fjaellegaard,2,3 Andrea Browatzki,4 Melda Dönmez Sin,1 Charlotte Suppli Ulrik1,5 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital - Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark; 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Zealand University Hospital Næstved, Næstved, Denmark; 3Institute of Regional Health Research, University Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; 4Department of Respiratory Medicine, North Zealand Hospital, Hillerød, Denmark; 5Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, DenmarkCorrespondence: Kjell EJ HåkanssonRespiratory Research Unit 237, Copenhagen University Hospital - Hvidovre, Kettegård Allé 30, 2650, Hvidovre, DenmarkEmail kjell@kjell.dkBackground and Objective: Prescribing inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for bronchiectasis (BE) in the absence of obstructive lung disease is controversial. Studies investigating ICS therapy and impact on morbidity and mortality in BE are sparse.Methods: This study comprises all patients with BE managed at respiratory outpatient clinics at two university hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark 2014– 2015. Baseline data were obtained from patient medical records, and patients were followed until April 2020.Results: Out of 264 patients, 122 (46%) were prescribed ICS with no demographic differences between users/non-users of ICS. Among patients prescribed ICS, 21% did not have a concomitant diagnosis of asthma or COPD. Patients prescribed ICS had lower lung function (median FEV1 65.2 vs 80.9%pred, p< 0.001) and a higher symptom burden in terms of cough (p 0.028), sputum production (p < 0.001) and dyspnea (p < 0.001). Pseudomonas-positive sputum cultures were more common in ICS-treated patients (6.5 vs 20%, p 0.010), as were previous severe exacerbations (41% vs 21%, p < 0.001). In terms of mortality, high-dose ICS use was associated with increased mortality in multivariable Cox regression adjusted for age, sex, FEV1 and concomitant asthma/COPD (HR 4.93 [95% CI 1.73– 14.0], p 0.003).Conclusion: In this cohort, close to one out of five patients with BE were prescribed ICS despite having no concomitant diagnosis of asthma or COPD. Overall, ICS treatment was associated with higher morbidity and mortality, though causation is difficult to establish.Keywords: follow-up cohort, descriptive study, all-cause mortality, ICS, non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis

Room temperature ionic liquids continue to be at the forefront of chemistry, covering a broad spectrum of research areas from electrochemistry and energy to catalysis and green chemistry. Therefore, it is of great value to fully understand the chemical and electrochemical reactivity and stability of ionic liquids utilized in these applications. In this context, we have investigated the electrochemical generation of an N-heterocyclic carbene and its CS2 adduct from the ionic liquid [bmim][PF6], and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) proved to be a highly effective spectroscopic tool to study such systems. Initially, the dithiocarboxylate adduct was chemically synthesized as a reference compound starting from both [bmim][PF6] and [bmim][OAc], and characterized by HRMS, and 1H- and 13C-NMR, FTIR, visible and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. While a simple mixture of [bmim][PF6] and CS2 revealed no evidence of adduct formation, the application of an electrochemical stimulus led to the formation of the dithiocarboxylate adduct as evidenced optically and through the newly formed S2p peak in the XP spectrum. Further evidence for the electrochemical reduction of [bmim][PF6] to the corresponding N-heterocyclic carbene came from the XPS analysis via the appearance of a new N1s peak in the XP spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Room temperature ionic liquids continue to be at the forefront of chemistry, covering a broad spectrum of research areas from electrochemistry and energy to catalysis and green chemistry. Therefore, it is of great value to fully understand the chemical and electrochemical reactivity and stability of ionic liquids utilized in these applications. In this context, we have investigated the electrochemical generation of an N-heterocyclic carbene and its CS2 adduct from the ionic liquid [bmim][PF6], and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) proved to be a highly effective spectroscopic tool to study such systems. Initially, the dithiocarboxylate adduct was chemically synthesized as a reference compound starting from both [bmim][PF6] and [bmim][OAc], and characterized by HRMS, and 1H- and 13C-NMR, FTIR, visible and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. While a simple mixture of [bmim][PF6] and CS2 revealed no evidence of adduct formation, the application of an electrochemical stimulus led to the formation of the dithiocarboxylate adduct as evidenced optically and through the newly formed S2p peak in the XP spectrum. Further evidence for the electrochemical reduction of [bmim][PF6] to the corresponding N-heterocyclic carbene came from the XPS analysis via the appearance of a new N1s peak in the XP spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We estimated the prevalence and incidence, clinical features, treatment, and prognosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in the Thrace region of Turkey. Methods We retrospectively evaluated 331 patients (307 female, 24 male, mean age 38.5 years) diagnosed with SLE between 2003 and 2014. Clinical features, treatments, and response to various treatment modalities were recorded. Our hospital has been the only tertiary referral center for rheumatological diseases for a mixed rural and urban population of 620,477 people (306,036 females, 314,411 males) for more than 16 years. Results The mean annual incidence of SLE was 4.44/100,000 (females, 8.4/100,000; males, 0.6/100,000). The overall prevalence of SLE was 51.7/100,000 (females, 97.7/100,000; males, 7/100,000). Major organ involvement was present in the following percentages: neurologic involvement: 20.1%; renal involvement: 28.2%; autoimmune hemolytic anemia: 9.6%; thrombocytopenia: 14.7%. Seventeeen SLE patients (13 females, four males) died at a median follow-up of 48 months. The five-year survival was 94.5%, and the ten-year survival was 89.9%. According to Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, poor prognostic factors were: male gender (p = 0.015); smoking (p = 0.02); pleural involvement (p = 0.011); thrombocytopenia (p = 0.021); myocarditis (p = 0.028); renal involvement (p = 0.037); treatment with cyclophosphamide (p = 0.011); and an initial high SLEDAI score (>4) (p = 0.02). Lymphopenia at the time of diagnosis appeared as a favorable prognostic factor (p = 0.008). Cox regression analysis revealed myocarditis (OR: 20.4, p = 0.018) and age at diagnosis (OR: 1.11, p = 0.035) to be poor, and lymphopenia at the time of diagnosis to be good prognostic factors (OR:0.13, p = 0.031). Conclusions The annual incidence and prevalence of SLE in the Thrace region of Turkey is lower than those reported in North America, however they are similar to those reported for European countries. Clinical manifestations appear to be milder, whereas survival was similar to those recorded in Western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the reliability and validity of the Lupus-QoL (LupusQoL-TR) score in evaluating the quality of life (QoL) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Turkey. The study used Lupus-QoL questionnaire to evaluate the patient understability of the Lupus-QoL. Results show that LupusQoL-TR domains was discriminative in patients with SLE.

An eco-friendly, simple, and sensitive solidification of floating organic drop based dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (SFODME) procedure was introduced for the separation and preconcentration of cadmium. After 2-(5-bromo- -2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)phenol (5-Br-PADAP) was complexed with cadmium ions in sample, the undecanol–ethanol–water ternary system was used as an organic solvent for extraction. The main factors relevant to the microextraction efficiency such as pH, concentration of 5-Br-PADAP, amount of extraction solvent were optimized. The detection limit is 0.01 μg L-1 along with preconcentration factor 266. The recovery of the analyte was between 98 % and 103 %, with relative standard deviation below 6 %. The developed procedure was successfully tested on the analysis of water, hair dye, and food samples.

Accessible summary Nurses in Turkey are subjected to verbal and/or physical violence from patients, visitors and health staff., However, nurses are not effectively attempting to stop the process of violence., The data obtained in the study will lead to improved awareness and understanding of this important issue among nurses., Abstract This research was conducted to analyse the violence experienced by nurses employed at six university hospitals. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. The research sample consisted of 441 nurses who worked in the emergency, intensive care and psychiatry units of six university hospitals in Turkey between June 2008 and June 2009 and who voluntarily agreed to participate. It was found that 60.8% of the nurses were subjected to verbal violence and/or physical violence from patients, visitors or health staff. Of the nurses who were subjected to workplace violence, 42.9% stated that their experience of verbal and/or physical violence had a negative impact on their physical and/or psychological health, and 42.9% stated that their work performance was negatively affected. Of these nurses, 1.8% stated that they received professional help, 13.6% stated that a report was made and 9.5% stated that they contacted the hospital police in some way. According to the findings of this research, similar to the situation worldwide, nurses in Turkey are subjected to verbal and/or physical violence from patients, visitors and health staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical properties of plastic products can be adjusted by adding a certain amount of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in the injection molding process. However, injection molding parameters should be arranged carefully due to their influence on electrical properties of CNT-reinforced plastic composites. In this study, polycarbonate/CNT nanocomposites, having three different CNT concentrations (1, 3 and 5 wt%), were produced and injection molded by using three different injection temperatures and speeds to investigate their influence on electrical resistivity. It was found that the electrical resistivity was influenced greatly by the injection temperature when 1 wt% amount of CNT was used in the nanocomposite. However, the effect of injection speed was negligible.

Photodynamic inactivation (PDI) is a new and promising strategy for eliminating foodborne pathogenic bacteria in food preservation, reducing associated health risks for consumers. This study aimed to develop an innovative PDI-based system to inactivate Salmonella Enteritidis PT4 on eggshells. The system includes 405 nm light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and the application of curcumin or carvacrol as photosensitizers. The antibacterial activity of the system was investigated in eggshells inoculated with S. Enteritidis PT4 at different temperatures (4, 25, and 37°C) and exposure times (15, 30, and 45 min). Carvacrol + LEDs application was completely inhibited S. Enteritdis PT4 at 4 (after 30 min), 25, and 37°C at the 45th min. Curcumin + LED completely inhibited bacterial growth after 45 min at 4 and 25°C. The results showed that simultaneous use of carvacrol or curcumin with LEDs at various temperatures exhibited significant antibacterial activity against the bacteria depending on the exposure time. The application of curcumin or carvacrol sourced via PDI in the originally developed system resulted in any significant changes in egg quality parameters and sensory properties. This study demonstrated that PDI-based system using curcumin or carvacrol as photosensitizers could be a potential tool for decontamination of eggs contaminated with S. Enteritidis PT4., (© 2025 The Author(s). Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study focused on optimizing the production of fermented Spirulina (FS) products using a bioactivity-guided strategy with Lactobacillus helveticus B-4526 and Kluyveromyces marxianus Y-329 in a 3-L bioreactor. Various operating conditions, including aeration rates and pH modes, were tested. While both microorganisms thrived under all conditions, the "cascade" mode, controlling dissolved oxygen, enhanced protein hydrolysis and antioxidant activity, as confirmed by SDS-PAGE and DPPH/TEAC assays, respectively. Screening revealed that "cascade" FS significantly decreased viability of colon cancer cells (HT-29) in a dose-dependent manner, with up to a 72 % reduction. Doses ≤ 500 μg mL -1 of "cascade" FS proved safe and effective in suppressing NO release without compromising cellular viability. Additionally, "cascade" FS exhibited diverse volatile organic compounds and reducing the characteristic "seaweed" aroma. These findings highlight "cascade" FS as a promising alternative food source with improved bioactive properties, urging further exploration of its bioactive compounds, particularly bioactive peptides., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to produce zinc oxide nanoparticles with Calendula officinalis flower extract (Co-ZnO NPs) using the green synthesis method. In addition, the antioxidant and wound healing potential of synthesized ZnO NPs were evaluated. The absorbance band at 355 nm, which is typical for ZnO NPs, was determined from the UV-Vis absorbance spectrum. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) measurements revealed a high zinc content of 42.90%. The x-ray diffractometer data showed Co-ZnO NPs with an average crystallite size of 17.66 nm. The Co-ZnO NPs did not have apparent cytotoxicity up to 10 μg/mL (IC 50 25.96 μg/mL). C. officinalis ZnO NPs showed partial cell migration and percent wound closure (69.1%) compared with control (64.8%). In addition, antioxidant activities of Co-ZnO NPs with 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2,2 diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazil (DPPH) were evaluated and radical scavenging activity of 33.49% and 46.63%, respectively, was determined. These results suggest that C. officinalis extract is an effective reducing agent for the green synthesis of ZnO NPs with significant antioxidant and wound healing potential., (© 2023 The Authors. International Wound Journal published by Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)