Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi Kurumsal Akademik Arşivi
DSpace@RTEÜ, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi tarafından doğrudan ve dolaylı olarak yayınlanan; kitap, makale, tez, bildiri, rapor, araştırma verisi gibi tüm akademik kaynakları uluslararası standartlarda dijital ortamda depolar, Üniversitenin akademik performansını izlemeye aracılık eder, kaynakları uzun süreli saklar ve yayınların etkisini artırmak için telif haklarına uygun olarak Açık Erişime sunar.
Güncel Gönderiler
Clinical significance of neutralizing antibodies in COVID-19: implications for disease prognosis
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2025) Çolak, Sudem Mahmutoğlu; İlgar, Tuba; Bahçeci, İlkay; Özkaya, Esra; Hüner Yiğit, Merve; Durmuş, Hilal; Atiş, Feyza; Ertürk, Ayşe; Yazıcı, Zihni Acar
The pathogenesis of COVID-19 highlights a complex relationship between disease severity and neutralizing antibodies (NAbs). We aimed to investigate the relationships among the total NAb (tNAb) levels, the presence of potential neutralization antibodies (pNAbs), and the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Patients aged ≥18 years diagnosed between October 2021 and September 2022 were grouped by symptom severity. Blood samples were taken at two time points and data on demographics, epidemiology, and vaccination were recorded. The tNAbs and pNAbs were measured by an enhanced chemiluminescence assay and a surrogate virus neutralization test, respectively. The tNAbs of 68 and the pNAbs of 52 patients were analyzed. Twenty-six (38.2%) patients had severe infection. The 28-day mortality rate was 16.2% (n = 11). The tNAb levels in the control blood samples (CBSs) were significantly higher than those of the admission blood samples (ABSs) (p < 0.001). The statistical analysis showed no relationship between disease severity and pNAbs. Vaccinated patients had significantly higher tNAbs in the ABSs and CBSs (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). The presence of pNAbs in the ABSs was correlated with a lower 28-day mortality (p = 0.026) and a milder disease course (p = 0.041). Although these findings support a correlation between tNAbs and disease severity and mortality, their presence seems to be unrelated to favorable clinical outcomes.
Novel preprocessing-based sequence for comparative MR cervical lymph node segmentation
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2025) Tarakçı, Elif Ayten; Çeliker, Metin; Birinci, Mehmet; Yemiş, Tuğba; Solak, Merve; Kaba, Esat; Çeliker, Fatma Beyazal; Coşkun, Zerrin Özergin; Erdivanlı, Özlem Çelebi
Background and Objective: This study aims to utilize deep learning methods for the automatic segmentation of cervical lymph nodes in magnetic resonance images (MRIs), enhancing the speed and accuracy of diagnosing pathological masses in the neck and improving patient treatment processes. Materials and Methods: This study included 1346 MRI slices from 64 patients undergoing cervical lymph node dissection, biopsy, and preoperative contrast-enhanced neck MRI. A preprocessing model was used to crop and highlight lymph nodes, along with a method for automatic re-cropping. Two datasets were created from the cropped images-one with augmentation and one without-divided into 90% training and 10% validation sets. After preprocessing, the ResNet-50 images in the DeepLabv3+ encoder block were automatically segmented. Results: According to the results of the validation set, the mean IoU values for the DWI, T2, T1, T1+C, and ADC sequences in the dataset without augmentation created for cervical lymph node segmentation were 0.89, 0.88, 0.81, 0.85, and 0.80, respectively. In the augmented dataset, the average IoU values for all sequences were 0.91, 0.89, 0.85, 0.88, and 0.84. The DWI sequence showed the highest performance in the datasets with and without augmentation. Conclusions: Our preprocessing-based deep learning architectures successfully segmented cervical lymph nodes with high accuracy. This study is the first to explore automatic segmentation of the cervical lymph nodes using comprehensive neck MRI sequences. The proposed model can streamline the detection process, reducing the need for radiology expertise. Additionally, it offers a promising alternative to manual segmentation in radiotherapy, potentially enhancing treatment effectiveness.
The prevalence of previous coronavirus disease-19 in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism and its effect on embolism severity
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2025) Durmuş Koçak, Nagihan; Tutar, Nuri; Çil, Gizem; Afşin, Emine; Şentürk, Ayşegül; Özyurt, Songül; Pala, Ayşe
Background/Objectives: The association between past coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) infection and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a potential research topic. We aimed to research the prevalence of previous COVID-19 infection in patients with PTE and to determine whether there is a difference in embolism severity in these cases. Methods: Study design: Multicenter, observational, cross-sectional. Patients diagnosed with PTE between 11 March 2022 and 11 March 2023 were prospectively included in this study, excluding cases with PTE along with active COVID-19, patients under the age of 18, and pregnant patients. Group 1 consisted of PTE cases with previous COVID-19, and Group 2 consisted of PTE cases without previous COVID-19. Key variables are D-Dimer level, right ventricle/left ventricle (RV/LV) ratio, simplified pulmonary embolism severity score, and treatment type. Results: A total of 1185 patients (Group 1; n = 360, Group 2; n = 825) were included in this study. The proportion of patients with RV/LV ratio > 1 on computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) was significantly high in Group 2 compared to Group 1 (27.9% vs. 19.7%, p = 0.003). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the absence of any identifiable risk factor for PTE was found to be a 0.46-fold protective factor in the presence of previous COVID-19 (OR: 0.456 95% CI: 0.274–0.760, Wald = 9.070, df = 1, p = 0.003) and an RV/LV ratio > 1 on CTPA was found to be a 0.60-fold protective factor (OR: 0.603, 95% CI: 0.365–0.998, Wald = 3.874, df = 1, p = 0.049). Conclusions: The prevalence of previous COVID-19 infection in PTE cases was 30.4%, and 26.3% of idiopathic cases had previous COVID-19 infection. Although the parameters related to embolism severity were higher in the non-COVID-19 group, multivariate analyses revealed a 2.2-fold increased risk for idiopathic PTE and a 1.7-fold increased risk for RV/LV ratio > 1 on CTPA in patients without COVID-19 compared to those with prior COVID-19.
Charlson comorbidity index in patients diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease in the emergency department: determination of six-month mortality risk
(Turkish Geriatrics Society, 2025) Çakır, Ahmet Nurhak; Altuntaş, Mehmet; Çelik, Ali; Yavaşi, Özcan; Ersunan, Gökhan; Altuntaş, Gürkan; Bilir, Özlem
Introduction: Although peripheral arterial disease is often not the primary reason for an emergency department visit, acute peripheral arterial disease is nevertheless a critical condition with a high mortality rate. We sought to evaluate the performance of the Charlson comorbidity index in predicting six-month mortality in patients diagnosed with acute peripheral arterial disease in an emergency department. Materials and Method: This retrospective study included 197 patients (130 female, 67 male) admitted to the emergency department between January 2018 and December 2022 and diagnosed with acute peripheral arterial disease. The Charlson comorbidity index —a validated tool for assessing comorbidities— was used to evaluate the comorbidities of the patients and was compared with the six-month mortality. Results: The median age of those who died (83 years) was significantly higher than those who did not (78 years). Age was not a statistically significant independent predictor of mortality, but cerebrovascular disease, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hemiplegia, diabetes mellitus, and end-organ damage due to diabetes mellitus were. A one-unit increase in the Charlson comorbidity index score was found to increase mortality risk by 30%. Conclusion: The Charlson comorbidity index is a reliable predictor of mortality in patients with peripheral arterial disease and can be used effectively in the emergency department setting. © 2025, Turkish Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved.
The effects of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) added to ice on the quality and shelf life of horse mackerel (trachurus trachurus) under cold storage conditions (4±1°c)
(Central Fisheries Research, 2025) Kara, Ayşe; Çağlak, Emre; Kobya, Orhan; Örük, Öznur; Taşçı, Hilye Elif
In this study, the effects of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) incorporated into ice on the quality and shelf life of horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) under cold storage conditions (4 +/- 1 degrees C) were investigated. The primary objective was to assess the impact of PPE on various quality parameters throughout the storage period. Two experimental groups were established: a control group (C) and a PPE-treated group. The control group was stored with conventional ice, whereas the PPE group was stored with ice enriched with pomegranate peel extract. To evaluate the differences between the groups, a comprehensive set of physicochemical (proximate composition, pH, water activity, color, TBA, TVB-N), microbiological (TAMB, TAPB), and sensory quality analyses were conducted. By the end of the storage period, the TVB-N value reached 19.00 +/- 0.43 mg N/100g in the control group, while it remained significantly lower at 12.67 +/- 0.3 mg N/100g in the PPE-treated group. Similarly, the initial TBA value of 0.39 +/- 0.04 mg MA/kg increased to 5.84 +/- 0.19 mg MA/kg in the control group, whereas it only reached 1.64 +/- 0.20 mg MA/kg in the PPE group, indicating a substantial reduction in lipid oxidation. From a microbiological perspective, both groups remained below the critical threshold of 7 log cfu/g for total psychrophilic and mesophilic aerobic bacteria throughout the storage period. However, the PPE-treated group exhibited a notably lower bacterial load compared to the control, suggesting an antimicrobial effect of PPE. Color measurements (L*, a*, and b* values) were also monitored, revealing an increase in the b* value over time. However, this shift did not negatively impact sensory evaluations; on the contrary, the resulting yellowish hue was found to be visually appealing by the panelists. In the final sensory assessment, the control group was rated close to degraded fish quality, whereas the PPE-treated group was evaluated as being much fresher, underscoring the positive influence of PPE on fish quality. In conclusion, the application of PPE-enriched ice significantly extended the shelf life of horse mackerel by an additional five days under cold storage conditions. The strong antioxidant potential of pomegranate peel extract, functioning as a natural preservative, highlights its promising role in the long-term preservation of fishery products in similar applications.
