Efficient Detection of West Nile Virus in Urine Specimens by a Novel In-House RT-qPCR Detection Kit.

West Nile Virus (WNV) infection represents a major global public health challenge. Even though most of the patients are asymptomatic, some cases progress to critical condition which may be fatal. Diagnosis traditionally relies on serological methods, but their limitations, including cross-reactivity, highlight the need for alternative approaches.

Molecular Epidemiology of HIV-1 Subtypes and Primary Antiretroviral Resistance Profiles in Northern Cyprus: First Data Series.

The distribution of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) subtypes indicates difference from region to region and in risk groups acquiring the disease worldwide. Although subtype C is more in terms of total cases, subtype B is dominant in certain regions, especially in western and central Europe. Molecular epidemiological studies are essential for the control, effective treatment, and understanding in transmission routes of HIV-1 infection.

Assessment of UTI Diagnostic Techniques Using the Fuzzy-PROMETHEE Model.

Accurate diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is important as early diagnosis increases treatment rates, reduces the risk of infection and disease spread, and prevents deaths. This study aims to evaluate various parameters of existing and developing techniques for the diagnosis of UTIs, the majority of which are approved by the FDA, and rank them according to their performance levels. The study includes 16 UTI tests, and the fuzzy preference ranking organization method was used to analyze the parameters such as analytical efficiency, result time, specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value.

Altered expression levels of TAS1R2 and TAS1R3 genes among SARS-CoV-2 variants of concerns.

Background: The most common symptoms of coronavirus infections are fever, cough, shortness of breath, headache, ache of joints, a loss of smell and loss of taste, and etc. Early studies suggested that smell and taste receptors were associated with pathogenic detection and immunity. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the expression profile of gene receptors that are related to taste, smell, and appetite control in COVID-19 patients and their putative correlation with SARS-CoV-19 variants.

Long-COVID-19 in Asymptomatic, Non-Hospitalized, and Hospitalized Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study.

A substantial proportion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors continue to suffer from long-COVID-19 (LC) symptoms. Our study aimed to determine the risk factors for LC by using a patient population from Northern Cyprus. Subjects who were diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in our university hospital were invited and asked to fill in an online questionnaire.

Evaluation of lateral flow and ELISA techniques for detecting IgG and IgM antibodies in COVID-19 cases in Türkiye.

Background: Antibody testing can complement molecular assays for detecting COVID-19.

Aims: We evaluated the concurrence between lateral flow assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: The study was conducted at Kocaeli University, Türkiye.

Strong Association between Vitamin D Receptor Gene and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 Infectious Variants.

A coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has created significant concern since December 2019 worldwide. The virus is known to be highly transmissible. Heterogenic clinical features even vary more among SARS-CoV-2 variants from asymptomatic forms to severe symptoms.

Sex and ABO Blood Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Infection Susceptibility.

Data consisting of millions of cases cannot still explain the immunopathogenesis mechanism between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and host cell for ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemics. Epidemiological studies among different populations suggested different impacts of ABO and Rh antibodies on the COVID-19 susceptibility. Thus, the ABO blood group and the SARS-CoV-2 infection paradox remain unclear.

An Alternative Diagnostic Method for : Preliminary Results of Deep-Learning Based Detection Model.

is an opportunistic fungal pathogen with significant medical importance, especially in immunosuppressed patients. It is the causative agent of cryptococcosis. An estimated 220,000 annual cases of cryptococcal meningitis (CM) occur among people with HIV/AIDS globally, resulting in nearly 181,000 deaths.

Contribution of genotypes in Prothrombin and Factor V Leiden to COVID-19 and disease severity in patients at high risk for hereditary thrombophilia.

Thrombotic and microangiopathic effects have been reported in COVID-19 patients. This study examined the contribution of the hereditary thrombophilia factors Prothrombin (FII) and Factor V Leiden (FVL) genotypes to the severity of COVID-19 disease and the development of thrombosis. This study investigated FII and FVL alleles in a cohort of 9508 patients (2606 male and 6902 female) with thrombophilia.

The role of Mediterranean diet and gut microbiota in type-2 diabetes mellitus associated with obesity (diabesity).

The human body is made up of 10¹⁴ human cells and 10¹⁵ bacterial cells, forming a combined structure that is described as a "superorganism". Commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms in the human body, many of which are located inside the intestine, affect health conditions and diseases. An important factor contributing to the development of chronic diseases is dysbiosis, which occurs when the number of pathogenic microorganisms increases.

Fuzzy-Based PROMETHEE Method for Performance Ranking of SARS-CoV-2 IgM Antibody Tests.

Antibody tests, widely used as a complementary approach to reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction testing in identifying COVID-19 cases, are used to measure antibodies developed for COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the different parameters of the FDA-authorized SARS-CoV-2 IgM antibody tests and to rank them according to their performance levels. In the study, we involved 27 antibody tests, and the analyzes were performed using the fuzzy preference ranking organization method for the enrichment evaluation model, a multi-criteria decision-making model.

Investigation of Brucella canis and Brucella abortus Seropositivity by In-House Rapid Slide Agglutination Test and In-House ELISA in Northern Cyprus.

The incidence of Brucella canis (B. canis) in humans is unknown in Northern Cyprus. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of B.

The "vaccine" hubbub: Viral load comparisons of SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants against different vaccine-booster vaccine combinations.

There is a significant body of evidence showing that efficient vaccination schemes against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is helping control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, this goal cannot be achieved without real world data highlighting the impact of vaccines against viral spread. In this study, we have aimed at differentially investigating the impact of COVID-19 vaccines (CoronaVac, Pfizer/BioNTech, Astra/Zeneca Oxford, Janssen) used in North Cyprus in limiting the viral load of Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-COV-2.

Dynamics of Rilpivirine Resistance-Associated Mutation: E138 in Reverse Transcriptase among Antiretroviral-Naive HIV-1-Infected Individuals in Turkey.

Rilpivirine, one of the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors class anti-HIV agents, is used as an alternative drug to treat HIV-1-positive individuals according to current antiretroviral therapy (ART) guidelines. Mutation in the position E138 in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) leads to resistance to rilpivirine, alone reducing its susceptibility two to threefolds. The main aim of this study was to determine the dynamics of E138 mutation in the RT domain of the HIV-1 pol gene; in 6398 newly diagnosed and treatment-naive individuals in Turkey from 2013 to 2021.

Designing In-House SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR Assay for Variant of Concerns.

Variants (Alfa, Gamma, Beta, and Delta) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are circulating worldwide. These variants of concerns share some common mutations but they also have distinguishing mutations. These mutations affect transmissibility of virus and cause evasion from neutralizing antibodies.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants on viral burden and cycle threshold in BNT162b2-vaccinated 12-18 years group.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to impact the medical, economic, social, and political areas worldwide. Although it has been claimed that children are the most responsible for the outbreaks as of September 2021, the statistics showed controversary. Although it showed no difference in viral load and Ct values between symptomatic children and symptomatic adults, or between asymptomatic children and asymptomatic adults, the molecular mechanism remains unclear.

Seroprevalence of rickettsial infection in northern Cyprus: A study among hunters.

This study was conducted to investigate rickettsial seropositivity among hunters, a high-risk population for tick-borne diseases in northern Cyprus. Serum samples were collected from 300 hunters from different locations during the 2017-2018 hunting season (November 2017 - February 2018). The samples were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using slides coated with Rickettsia slovaca, a species belonging to the spotted fever group (SFG).

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 N501Y mutation among SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern circulating in Northern Cyprus.

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) carry signature mutations particularly in the spike protein. Most VOCs lineages that carry N501Y substitution have been reported to evade viral diagnostic tests and have impact on vaccine effectiveness. Therefore, monitoring the circulating variants represents a major requirement for a public health response worldwide.

The pediatric asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 IgG seropositivity in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Background: While children were initially thought to have serious contributions to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission, recent studies suggest otherwise. However, the possible effect of asymptomatic pediatric spread still has not yet received enough attention. The aim of our study was to estimate asymptomatic infection rates among children in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, by using pediatric patients admitted to a university hospital without any COVID-19-associated symptoms.

Positive Anti-HIV ELISA Results in Pregnancy: Is It Reliable?

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be transmitted from mothers to their babies during pregnancy, delivery through vaginal fluids or breastfeeding. As false positivity anti-HIV results due to pregnancy could be detected and no relevant study have been reported in Northern Cyprus so far, we aimed to estimate the false anti-HIV positivity rate in pregnant women.

Methods: A total of 11.

Scoping review on the role and interactions of hydroxytyrosol and alpha-cyclodextrin in lipid-raft-mediated endocytosis of SARS-CoV-2 and bioinformatic molecular docking studies.

Objective: The aim of the study was to show the effect that two naturally occurring compounds, a cyclodextrin and hydroxytyrosol, can have on the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into human cells.

Materials And Methods: The PubMed database was searched to retrieve studies published from 2000 to 2020, satisfying the inclusion criteria. The search keywords were: SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, lipid raft, endocytosis, hydroxytyrosol, cyclodextrin.

In vitro and clinical studies on the efficacy of α-cyclodextrin and hydroxytyrosol against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objective: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new coronavirus responsible for the current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This virus attacks cells of the airway epithelium by binding transmembrane angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Hydroxytyrosol has anti-viral properties.

Genetic characterisation of antibiotic resistance transposons Tn6608 and Tn6609 isolated from clinical Pseudomonas strains in Cyprus.

Objectives: Antibiotic therapy for Pseudomonas infections is becoming increasingly difficult. In this study, the transposons from two multidrug-resistant (MDR) clinical Pseudomonas strains containing related transposons responsible for giving rise to resistance determinants were characterised.

Methods: Two MDR clinical Pseudomonas isolates were obtained from a medical facility in Cyprus.