Gas emissions and active tectonics within the submerged section of the North Anatolian Fault zone in the Sea of Marmara

The submerged section of the North Anatolian fault within the Marmara Sea was investigated using acoustic techniques and submersible dives. Most gas emissions in the water column were found near the surface expression of known active faults. Gas emissions are unevenly distributed. The linear fault segment crossing the Central High and forming a seismic gap – as it has not ruptured since 1766, based on historical seismicity, exhibits relatively less gas emissions than the adjacent segments. In the eastern Sea of Marmara, active gas emissions are also found above a buried transtensional fault zone, which displayed micro-seismic activity after the 1999 events. Remarkably, this zone of gas emission extends westward all along the southern edge of Cinarcik basin, well beyond the zone where 1999 aftershocks were observed. The long term monitoring of gas seeps could hence be highly valuable for the understanding of the evolution of the fluid-fault coupling processes during the earthquake cycle within the Marmara Sea

Persistent Cell-Autonomous Circadian Oscillations in Fibroblasts Revealed by Six-Week Single-Cell Imaging of PER2::LUC Bioluminescence

Biological oscillators naturally exhibit stochastic fluctuations in period and amplitude due to the random nature of molecular reactions. Accurately measuring the precision of noisy oscillators and the heterogeneity in period and strength of rhythmicity across a population of cells requires single-cell recordings of sufficient length to fully represent the variability of oscillations. We found persistent, independent circadian oscillations of clock gene expression in 6-week-long bioluminescence recordings of 80 primary fibroblast cells dissociated from PER2::LUC mice and kept in vitro for 6 months. Due to the stochastic nature of rhythmicity, the proportion of cells appearing rhythmic increases with the length of interval examined, with 100% of cells found to be rhythmic when using 3-week windows. Mean period and amplitude are remarkably stable throughout the 6-week recordings, with precision improving over time. For individual cells, precision of period and amplitude are correlated with cell size and rhythm amplitude, but not with period, and period exhibits much less cycle-to-cycle variability (CV 7.3%) than does amplitude (CV 37%). The time series are long enough to distinguish stochastic fluctuations within each cell from differences among cells, and we conclude that the cells do exhibit significant heterogeneity in period and strength of rhythmicity, which we measure using a novel statistical metric. Furthermore, stochastic modeling suggests that these single-cell clocks operate near a Hopf bifurcation, such that intrinsic noise enhances the oscillations by minimizing period variability and sustaining amplitude

Paratethyan - Mediterranean connectivity in the Sea of Marmara region (NW Turkey) during the Messinian

Geodynamics geophysics and tectonics

In vitro susceptibility of respiratory isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes to telithromycin and 11 other antimicrobial agents: Turkish results of e-BASKETT-II surveillance study [Solunum yolu enfeksi·yonu etkenleri· Streptococcus pneumoniae ve Streptococcus pyogenes'i·n teli·tromi·si·n ve 11 anti·mi·krobi·k i·laca i·n vi·tro duyarliligi: E-BASKETT-II sürveyans çalişmasinin türki·ye sonuçlari]

PubMed ID: 17427547In respiratory tract infections, therapy is often empirical and there is a need for local data on the rate of resistance to available antimicrobials. In this multicentre study which is a part of the international e-BASKETT-II surveillance study, respiratory isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae (n=260) and Streptococcus pyogenes (n=312) collected between September 2002 and June 2003 from 18 hospitals in Turkey were tested against penicillin G, amoxicillin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin, clindamycin, telithromycin, tetracycline, levofloxacin and vancomycin. Antibiotic susceptibilities were determined with disk diffusion method and confirmed with broth dilution method following the CLSI guidelines. Isolates which were resistant to erythromycin were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction. In S.pneumoniae 11.5% of the isolates were highly and 22.7% were intermediately resistant to penicillin. Rate of resistance to erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin was 17.3%, and 21.5% of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline. Resistance to levofloxacin and vancomycin was not observed and only one isolate was found intermediately resistant (MIC=2µg/mL) to telithromycin. Genotypes in erythromycin-resistant isolates were ermB (77.8%), mefA (17.8%) and ermB+mefA (2.2%). S.pyogenes isolates were uniformly susceptible to beta-lactams and vancomycin, and only one isolate was intermediately resistant to levofloxacin. Macrolide resistance was observed in 1.3% of the isolates and three out of these harboured the mefA gene. One isolate with an MIC of 4µg/mL for telithromycin had ermB gene. Telithromycin has demonstrated a good in vitro activity against macrolide-resistant respiratory tract isolates. As a result, e-BASKETT-II surveillance study has been one of the most extensive in vitro studies comparing telithromycin to available antimicrobial agents for respiratory tract infections in Turkey

A two-step process for the reflooding of the Mediterranean after the Messinian Salinity Crisis

The Messinian Salinity Crisis is well known to have resulted from a significant drop of the Mediterranean sea level. Considering both onshore and offshore observations, the subsequent reflooding is generally thought to have been very sudden. We present here offshore seismic evidence from the Gulf of Lions and re-visited onshore data from Italy and Turkey that lead to a new concept of a two-step reflooding of the Mediterranean Basin after the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The refilling was first moderate and relatively slow accompanied by transgressive ravinement, and later on very rapid, preserving the subaerial Messinian Erosional Surface. The amplitude of these two successive rises of sea level has been estimated at ≤500 m for the first rise and 600–900 m for the second rise. Evaporites from the central Mediterranean basins appear to have been deposited principally at the beginning of the first step of reflooding. After the second step, which preceeded the Zanclean Global Stratotype Section and Point, successive connections with the Paratethyan Dacic Basin, then the Adriatic foredeep, and finally the Euxinian Basin occurred, as a consequence of the continued global rise in sea level. A complex morphology with sills and sub-basins led to diachronous events such as the so-called ‘Lago Mare’.This study helps to distinguish events that were synchronous over the entire Mediterranean realm, such as the two-step reflooding, from those that were more local and diachronous. In addition, the shoreline that marks the transition between these two steps of reflooding in the Provence Basin provides a remarkable palaeogeographical marker for subsidence studies

Zigomicose após transplante hepático em adultos: relato de três casos Zygomycosis following liver transplantation in adults: report of three cases

Relatam-se três casos de zigomicose após transplante hepático em uma série de 300 pacientes. O diagnóstico foi anatomopatológico (dois casos à necropsia e um à cirurgia). A doença manifestou-se de diferentes formas: rinomaxilar, gastrointestinal e, em um paciente, comprometeu a anastomose da artéria hepática. Neste caso, retirada cirúrgica da região comprometida e uso de anfotericina-B possibilitaram a cura.<br>We report three cases of zygomycosis following liver transplant in a series of 300 patients. Diagnosis was determined via anatomicopathological examination (on necropsy in two cases and during surgery in one case). The disease had different manifestations: rhinomaxillary, gastrointestinal and, in one case, it compromised the liver artery anastomosis. In this case, surgical removal of the affected region and use of amphotericin B achieved resolution