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Introduction: Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and drinking-water treatment plants (DWTPs) are critical for public health due to the potential risks posed by microorganisms that may persist after treatment. The aim of this study was to detect the microbiome profiles of waters from both DWTPs and WWTPs under the Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI), identify the antimicrobial resistance profiles in all these facilities, and observe the differences in the microbiome between the inlet and outlet of different WWTPs. Methods: A total of 52 samples were examined, comprising 18 samples from DWTPs and 34 samples from WWTPs. All water samples underwent pre-isolation filtration. DNA isolation was conducted using filter material, followed by sequencing on a NovaSeq 6000 instrument. Kraken2 tools and R scripts were used for statistical analysis and data visualization. Results: The microbial metagenomic analysis identified 71 phyla, 113 classes, 217 orders, 480 families, and 1,282 genera across all samples. There were unclassified microbes (53.14% vs. 58.75%), Eukaryota (3.64% vs. 3.5%), Archaea (0.08% vs. 0.03%), bacteria (42% vs. 36.25%), and viruses (0.02% vs. 0.04%) in the raw water and ozonation unit outlet of DWTPs. The inlet and outlet of WWTPs showed unclassified microbes (52.68% vs. 59.62%), Eukaryota (0.6% vs. 1.72%), Archaea (0.26% vs. 0.15%), bacteria (46.43% vs. 38.43%), and viruses (0.05% vs. 0.04%). No statistically significant results were found in the analysis of raw waters collected from DWTPs and samples taken from the ozonation unit outlet—from the phylum level to the genus level (p > 0.05). The inlet and outlet points of WWTPs showed no statistically significant results from the phylum to species levels (p > 0.05). The most detected genera were Desulfobacter (4.82%) in preliminary WWTPs, Thauera (1.93%) in biological WWTPs, Pseudomonas (1.44%) in advanced biological WWTPs, Acidovorax (1.85%) in biological package WWTPs, and Pseudomonas (11.55%) in plant-based WWTPs. No antimicrobial resistance gene markers were detected in water samples from raw water inlets and ozonation unit outlets from DWTPs, membrane wastewater recovery plants, or ultraviolet (UV) recycling facilities. The ANT (3″), Erm , and Sul resistance gene markers were detected in all raw WWTPs samples. Discussion: There were no significant microbial risk differentiation between biological WWTPs and advanced biological WWTPs. The data could serve as preliminary information for future research. More extensive studies are needed, with multiple sample tracking in these facilities and their feeding basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) may mitigate the danger of increasing antimicrobial resistance. We aimed to determine the activities of catestatin, temporin A, nisin and cecropin A against Bacteroides fragilis ATCC 25285, Prevotella melaninogenica ATCC 25845, Cutibacterium acnes ATCC 6919, Peptostreptococcus anaerobius ATCC 27337 and Peptostreptococcus stomatis DSM 17678. strains. The susceptibility of all anaerobic bacteria was determined by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, agar dilution and broth microdilution method, recommended by CLSI. By broth microdilution the MIC of temporin A for P. anaerobius was 500µg/mL, and MBC >500µg/mL. The MIC of nisin for P. melaninogenica was 200µg/mL, with a MBC of 400µg/mL, for C. acnes, P. anaerobius, and P. stomatis, MIC were 40mg/mL. The MIC of cecropin A for B. fragilis was 50µg/mL, MBC was 500µg/mL. For C. acnes, the MIC was 4µg/mL, MBC was 8µg/mL. The MIC for P. melaninogenica, P. anaerobius and P. stomatis were 8µg/mL, with corresponding MBC values of 16, 32 and 50µg/mL, respectively. Conversely, catestatin proved ineffective against all strains. In conclusion, our study, demonstrated that cecropin A and nisin showed promising results against anaerobic standard strains. We believe that further research conducted to explore those AMPs could hold promise as a treatment option for anaerobic bacterial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There are very few studies demonstrating the seroprevalence of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) in patients with cirrhosis worldwide and in Turkey. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 in patients with cirrhosis and its effect on liver cirrhosis by clinical form in the postinfectious period. Methods: The study included 174 patients with cirrhosis. Patients with COVID-19 were identified using anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2-immunoglobulin G (SARS-CoV-2-IgG) and COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction assays and were divided into symptomatic and asymptomatic groups. The last polyclinic records of the patients before infection or testing were determined as 1st examination and the date of blood collection for anti-SARS-CoV-2-IgG was determined as the 2nd examination. Examination findings and liver tests of the patients in both periods were recorded; Child-Pugh Score (CPS) and Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD)-Na scores were calculated. Additionally, patients were evaluated for newly developed hepatic decompensation. Results: The seropositivity of anti-SARS-CoV-2-IgG was detected in 35.6% of our patients, and the rate of those who had symptomatic COVID-19 infection was 23.6%, whereas the rate of those who had asymptomatic infection was 12%. There was no significant difference in liver tests, CPS, and MELD-Na scores before and after COVID-19 infection between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, and new decompensation was found in 9.6% of patients with COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: The incidence of COVID-19 among patients with liver cirrhosis is notably high. Although high decompensation rates were reported in the acute phase of the disease, such rates were not observed in the postinfectious period. Ultimately, our results indicated no significant difference in the course of existing liver disease according to clinical form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Büyükçekmece and Terkos drinking water reservoirs occur in the European part of Istanbul, have been created by isolation of two coastal lagoon lakes from the sea, which supply approximately 25% of water consumption of the Metropolitan city. Methods: Treated waters of these two reservoirs have quite different trihalomethanes (THMs) concentrations although being adjacent basins that range between 10 - 30 (mean 20.8) ppb for the Terkos and 20 - 65 (mean 41) ppb for the Büyükçekmece reservoir. THMs concentration in treated water for both Büyükçekmece and the Terkos reservoirs increase in the summer and decrease in the spring. Furthermore, THMs of the treated water of Büyükçekmece reservoir are so higher than those of the other reservoir waters of İstanbul. Results: The main reason of the higher value of THMs for the Büyükçekmece reservoir water could be related to ongoing agricultural activity in the vicinity of drainage basin. Another important indicator parameter for the THM formation mechanism is Specific UV absorbance (SUVA) value, that showed both of reservoir's organics in water mostly composed with hydrophilic properties. Conclusion: Seasonal variations of low nitrate-high THMs in summer and high nitrate-low THMs in winter in treated lake waters can be explained by nitrogen run off from the land and consumption by photosynthesis when the water reach favourable temperature in summer. High nitrogen input into the Büyükçekmece reservoir could be associated with agricultural activity in the drainage basin which controls the high amount of organic carbon formation and high THMs generation during the treatment by chlorine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are inflammatory bowel diseases with uncertain etiology. We aimed to determine the amounts of Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the intestinal microbiota of these patients and to correlate their amounts with blood IL-8, IL-10, and IL-12 cytokine levels. Methods: Thirty UC, 30 CDs, and 46 healthy controls were included. IL-8, IL-10, and IL-12 levels of blood samples were analyzed by ELISA. The amounts of Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii were determined by the LightCycler 480 qPCR system. Results: F. prausnitzii, A. muciniphila, IL-10, and IL-12 decreased in patient groups, while IL-8 decreased in UC but increased in CD. A significant difference was detected between the patient and control groups in terms of F. prausnitzii, A. muciniphila, and IL-8, but not for others. The amount of F. prausnitzii was correlated with IL-8 and IL-10 in UC and with IL-10 in CD patients. Conclusions: The decrease in the amount of F. prausnitzii was associated with the increase in UC disease severity. A. muciniphila and F. prausnitzii were detected in lower amounts in both diseases. F. prausnitzii decreased more with the severity of UC, suggesting that these bacteria may have complex roles in their etiopathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of tests based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay, and lateral flow assay methods for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 immunoglobulin G with serum samples of people who received the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine or have been previously infected. Methods: The serum samples were taken 28 days after were CoronaVac vaccine, BNT162b2 vaccine, or diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019, were included in the study (n = 100). Neutralizing antibodies against the receptor-binding region of the spike protein S1 subunit of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, with antibody tests against 3 different principles (chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, lateral flow assay) (ARCHITECT IgG II Quant test, Abbott, USA/SARS-CoV-2 NeutraLISA, Euroimmun, Lübeck, Germany/ NeutraXpress™, JOYSBIO Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Tianjin China) were studied. Statistical Package for Social Sciences v21 package program (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used for the statistical evaluation of the data. Results: When the surrogate neutralizing antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was compared with the lateral flow assay neutralizing antibody test, the sensitivity was 74.7% and the specificity was 84%. In the lateral flow assay binding antibody test, the sensitivity was 93.3% and the specificity was 80%. When the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay was compared with the lateral flow assay neutralizing antibody test, the sensitivity was 63.2% and the specificity was 100%. In the lateral flow assay binding antibody test, the sensitivity was 78.9% and the specificity was 100%. Conclusion: According to our study, the diagnostic performance of lateral flow assay-based tests was not satisfactory. However, we think that tests with high sensitivity and specificity and compatible with plaque reduction neutralization test should be preferred in the evaluation of humoral immune response by immunological methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Compared with the general population, the immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines is lower in adult kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). However, data is limited for pediatric KTRs. In this study, we aimed to assess humoral and cellular immune responses to the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in pediatric KTRs. Methods: This multicenter, prospective, case–control study included 63 KTRs (37 male, aged 12–21 years), 19 dialysis patients, and 19 controls. Humoral (anti-SARS-CoV2 IgG, neutralizing Ab (nAb)) and cellular (interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA)) immune responses were assessed at least one month after two doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Results: Among COVID-19 naïve KTRs (n = 46), 76.1% tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, 54.3% for nAb, and 63% for IGRA. Serum levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and nAb activity were significantly lower in KTRs compared to dialysis and control groups (p < 0.05 for all). Seropositivity in KTRs was independently associated with shorter transplant duration (p = 0.005), and higher eGFR (p = 0.007). IGRA titer was significantly lower than dialysis patients (p = 0.009). Twenty (43.4%) KTRs were positive for all immune parameters. Only four of 11 seronegative KTRs were IGRA-positive. COVID-19 recovered KTRs had significantly higher anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and nAb activity levels than COVID-19 naïve KTRs (p = 0.018 and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusions: The humoral and cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine are lower in pediatric KTRs compared to dialysis patients. Further prospective studies are required to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of the mRNA vaccine in KTRs. This prospective study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05465863, registered retrospectively at 20.07.2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]