Sinovac is an inactive vaccine produced against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for almost a year. No sufficient information is available concerning provaccine immunogenicity. We investigated the efficacy of antibody response following vaccination of SARS-CoV-2-infected and noninfected healthcare workers by a two-dose inactive vaccine against COVID-19. The immunogenicity acquired on the 27th day and 42nd day after the first dose of vaccine (corresponding to Day 14 after the second dose) were compared by the demographics, immunosuppression, comorbidities, postvaccination reaction, and IgG levels of 120 subjects. The overall rate of second postvaccine seropositivity was 97.5% (n = 117) of all individuals, and 44 of these were seropositive after the first dose. The percentage of having a previous COVID-19 (59.1%) among seropositive individuals

Objective: Bloodstream infections (BSIs) appear to be important causes of morbidity and mortality. Escherichia coli (E. coli) causes various serious diseases such as BSIs. The emergence of multidrug resistance in E. coli has become a global concern. E. coli has the capability to colonize and survive on several surfaces in different time periods. This is achieved by adhering to inert and cellular substrates and forming a biyofilm layer. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of biyofilm formation to antibiotic resistance in E. coli isolates which are isolated from hemocultures.Material and Method: E. coli strains were isolated from blood samples of patients with bacteremia who were hospitalized in intensive care units and in other departments of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine Hospital. Blood cultures were analyzed with the Bactec 9120 system (Becton Dickinson, USA). The identification and antimicrobial resistance of 62 E. coli strains were determined by the Phoenix automated system (BD Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, MD) according to the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) and the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI). Biofilm formation was determined by the Congo red agar method.Results: Biofilm formation was detected in 42 (67.7%) of the sixty-two E. coli isolates. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production was 38 (61.2%) and carbapenemase production was 12 (19.3%). 28 (66.6%) of the biofilm-positive isolates were ESBL-positives and 10 (23.8%) were carbapenemase-positives. Nine isolates were both ESBL and carbapenemase positives. Ten isolates were biofilm, ESBL and carbapenemase were positive at all.

Hepcidin is an important peptide hormone for iron homeostasis. It was shown to be increased in COVID-19 patients and may be a prognostic marker. In this study, the aim was to investigate serum hepcidin values and other iron metabolism parameters following the first and second COVID-19 vaccination. Thirty-eight healthcare workers were included in the study. Serum ferritin, hepcidin, iron, COVID-19 IgG and unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) values were measured after the first vaccination (PRE) and second vaccination (POST). Changes and associations of serum parameters were statistically analyzed. It was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between the pre and post levels of ferritin (p=0.122), serum iron (p=0.127) or UIBC (p=0.145). Hepcidin was found to be significantly different between PRE and POST samples (p=0.0001). Hepcidin (PRE) was found to be significantly higher than the POST levels. Interestingly, there was no statistically significant relationship between the PRE and POST changes of ferritin and hepcidin (p=0.063). The association of PRE and POST changes of other parameters were also analyzed and a significant negative correlation between PRE and POST changes of serum iron and UIBC were found (rho=-0.751, p=0.0001). It was observed a decrease in hepcidin measures after second vaccination compared to the values after first vaccination. Vaccination affects serum hepcidin and this may be related with the interaction of hepcidin and the immune response.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is that evaluate the analytical performance with six sigma metrics between the same brand devices actively working in the laboratory and answer the question of which tests will be performed on these devices according to the laboratory test working rates. METHODS: In the research, all tests were studied on Abbott brand, Architeck c8000, and Architeck ci4000 model devices for 6 months. Glucose (Glc), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (CREA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total cholesterol (CHOL), triglycerides (Tg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chlorine (Cl) parameters were evaluated in the sigma values were calculated according to the performance approach. The comparisons were drew between these two devices. Total allowable error (TEa) is derived from the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Amendments (CLIA) guidelines. RESULTS: In the comparative follow-up performed for 6 months, the determination of the parameters to be worked on which device on monthly basis varied. Since the sigma values of the glucose, urea and creatinine tests, which are the most studied in our laboratory, are lower in the Architeck ci4000 device than the Architeck c8000 device. It was decided to run these tests only on the Architeck c8000 device. All metrics have been obtained until October 2019. An increase in the sigma value was detected with the start of working of electrolytes on a single device six months later. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Six sigma metrics should be used monthly to monitor tests with particularly low biological variation to evaluate the method performance of same-brand devices which is used for thousands of tests.