The serum amino acid profile in COVID-19

The pandemic of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 affects millions of people worldwide. There are still many unknown aspects to this infection which affects the whole world. In addition, the potential impacts caused by this infection are still unclear. Amino acid metabolism, in particular, contains significant clues in terms of the development and prevention of many diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to compare amino acid profile of COVID-19 and healthy subject. In this study, the amino acid profiles of patients with asymptomatic, mild, moderate, and severe/critical SARS-CoV-2 infection were scanned with LC–MS/MS. The amino acid profile encompassing 30 amino acids in 142 people including 30 control and 112 COVID-19 patients was examined. 20 amino acids showed significant differences when compared to the control group in COVID-19 patient groups with different levels of severity in the statistical analyses conducted. It was detected that the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) changed in correlation with one another, and l-2-aminobutyric acid and l-phenylalanine had biomarker potential for COVID-19. Moreover, it was concluded that l-2-aminobutyric acid could provide prognostic information about the course of the disease. We believe that a new viewpoint will develop regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis as a result of the evaluation of the serum amino acid profiles of COVID-19 patients. Determining l-phenylalanine and l-2-aminobutyric levels can be used in laboratories as a COVID-19-biomarker. Also, supplementing COVID patients with taurine and BCAAs can be beneficial for treatment protocols.

Evaluation of anticholinesterase effect of some Epilobium species and quantification of hyperoside by HPLC

This article presents the evaluation of anticholinesterase effects of aerial parts of Epilobium angustifolium, E. stevenii and E. hirsutum and isolated flavonoids from E. angustifolium, and quantification of the flavonoids by HPLC. Besides, the highest acetylcholinesterase inhibition was seen in the EtOAc sub-extracts of E. angustifolium and E. stevenii (36.51 ± 1.88 and 39.89 ± 3.09%, respectively), whereas EtOAc sub-extract of E. angustifolium had the best butyrylcholinesterase inhibition (62.09 ± 1.98%). Hyperoside showed strong inhibition activity on both enzymes. The active EtOAc sub-extract of E. angustifolium was quantitatively analyzed for their content of hyperoside (quercetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside) by HPLC. The content of hyperoside in EtOAc sub-extract of E. angustifolium was detected as 3.312%. The anatomical structures of the stem, leaf, sepal, petal, anther, and filament of E. angustifolium were investigated. The anatomical properties given in this study provide a description of E. angustifolium.

The effects of nursing interventions on the level of anxiety and care burden of the caregivers of bedridden patients

Background

Taking care of bedridden patients at home is a very difficult task for caregivers. In this care process, caregivers can be supported with the interventions given by the nurses at home.

Aim

This study mainly aimed to compare the anxiety and care burden levels of caregivers of bedridden patients at home after nursing interventions which a personal care handbook, regular home visits, and telephone counseling.

Subject and Methods

To proceed with this study, 51 caregivers have included in this study between January 1 and July 21, 2018. The Barthel Index for Activities of Daily Living (BIADL) was used to measure levels of independence in patient's activities, State and Trait Anxiety Scale (SAI and TAI) was used to measure the anxiety levels, and Burden Interview (BI) care burden problems of caregivers who participated in the study. Also, Sociodemographic Characteristics Form was used for demographic data of patients and caregivers.

Results

The analysis of the responses showed the proportions of the caregivers who had lower SAI- TAI and BI scores after taking nursing intervention at home. The state anxiety level of caregivers (pre-test: Mean; 54.06+-7.97; post-test: Mean; 38.43+-6.41) and the trait anxiety level of the caregivers (pre-test: Mean; 51.45+-5.94; post-test: Mean; 41.59+-7.05) and the burden level of caregivers (pre-test: Mean; 75.75+-11.41; post-test: Mean; 57.69+-13.39) was determined. The differences between the pre and post-test mean scores of SAI, TAI, and BI were statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our study highlights that the burden and anxiety levels of the caregivers had lower post-test levels than the pre-test levels.

Plasma metabolomic signatures after oral administration of ritonavir in COVID-19 treatment via chemometrics-assisted UPLC/Q-TOF/MS/MS

Understanding the pharmacodynamics of ritonavir through metabolomics offers insights into its side effects and helps in the development of safer therapies. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ritonavir treatment on the metabolic profiles of rabbits via a metabolomics approach, with the objective of elucidating its impact on various biochemical pathways and identifying relevant biomarkers. The rabbits were divided into control and ritonavir-treated groups, and their plasma samples were analyzed via ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF/MS/MS). Metabolites were identified on the basis of the masscharge ratio (m/z) and validated via XCMS software. Metabolites with a fold change ≥ 1.5 and P ≤ 0.01 were analyzed via principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) to distinguish between the groups. MetaboAnalyst 6.0 was used for pathway analysis to identify metabolic pathways affected by ritonavir. The PCA and OPLS-DA models revealed clear separation between the control and ritonavir-treated groups, with high R² and Q² values indicating robust model performance. Pathway analysis revealed that ritonavir treatment significantly affected several metabolic pathways, including those related to ether lipid, phenylalanine, sphingolipid, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. Particularly significant changes were observed in metabolites related to lipid metabolism, oxidative stress responses and cellular signaling. Ritonavir significantly impacts metabolic pathways, particularly those involved in lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress responses, which may influence immune responses and drug interactions. This study also highlights the potential of integrating metabolomics with personalized medicine approaches to optimize ritonavir treatment strategies and reduce adverse effects. These findings indicate that ritonavir significantly influences cellular homeostasis and metabolic processes in addition to its antiviral properties. This highlights the necessity of comprehending the metabolic effects of ritonavir to enhance its clinical application, especially in the management of COVID-19. Further research is warranted to explore these alterations and their implications for therapeutic strategies.

Identification of Schizosaccharomyces pombe ird Mutants Resistant to Glucose Suppression and Oxidative Stress

Glucose is both the favourite carbon and energy source and acts as a hormone that plays a regulating role in many biological processes. Calorie restriction extends the lifespan in many organisms, including Schizosaccharomyces pombe, while uptake of high glucose leads to undesired results, such as diabetes and aging. In this study, sequence analysis of Schizosaccharomyces pombe ird5 and ird11 mutants was performed using next-generation sequencing techniques and a total of 20 different mutations were detected. ird11 is resistant to oxidative stress without calorie restriction, whereas ird5 displays an adaptive response against oxidative stress. We selected nine candidate mutations located in the non-coding (6) and coding (3) region among a total of 20 different mutations. The nine candidate mutations, which are thought to be responsible for ird5 and ird11 mutant phenotypes, were investigated via forward and backward mutations by using various cloning techniques. The results of this study provide report-like information that will contribute to understanding the relationship between glucose sensing/ signalling and oxidative stress response components.