Vertical transhumance of sheep and goats identified by intra-tooth sequential carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic analyses: Evidence from Chalcolithic Köşk Höyük, central Turkey

Vertical transhumance is a crucial animal management strategy that provides livestock with fresh pasture on a seasonal basis while simultaneously expanding the scale of landscape usage by the pastoralist component of complex agro-pastoralist societies. Here, we explore the use of vertical transhumance in Anatolia during the Early and Middle Chalcolithic periods (6200–4500 cal BC), a time of socio-political transformation that presaged the rise of early state level societies in the region supported by a pronounced intensification in the exploitation of domesticated sheep and goats for their wool – a valuable commodity. We examine the carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) composition of sequentially sampled tooth enamel from Chalcolithic sheep and goats from Köşk Höyük. The pattern of inverse cyclical isotopic variation characterized by high summer season δ18O values coincident with low δ13C values suggests livestock were moved to moist, high elevation pastures supporting 13C-depleted graze during the summer months or supplied with 13C-enriched fodder during the winter months. Inter-individual variation in absolute δ18O values and the amplitude of intra-tooth oxygen isotopic change reflects either differences in the spatial location of pastures, differences in the relative contribution of 18O enriched leaf water to caprine body water, or a combination of both. The incorporation of pasturing strategies involving vertical transhumance into livestock management systems, in conjunction with zooarchaeological evidence for increasing pastoral specialization and wool production at Köşk Höyük, suggests an intensification of smallstock production that provided important economic support for increasingly complex political landscapes

Economic analysis of soilless and soil-based greenhouse cucumber production in Turkey

Since the onset of the commercial application of soilless culture, this production approach has evoluted at a fast pace, gaining popularity among growers throughout the world. As a result, a lot of information has been developed by growers, advisors, researchers, and suppliers of equipment and substrate. This study aimed to determine the cost and return of soilless greenhouse cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) production and to prepare a sample budget for growers. Soilless cultivation is an alternative production method for Turkish growers and it is being practised on a commercial basis on 180 ha. Cost and return budgets can be useful for growers because they allows growers to compare total production cost and revenue varying grower type, production time, geographical location, operation size, and cost structure. Growers can identify items in their budget that have a greater effect on profitability, and make adjustments. In this study, economic aspects of soilless and soil-based greenhouse cucumber production was analysed as comparative. Total costs were subtracted from total gross revenue to calculate the net return of soilless and soil-based greenhouse cucumber production. The cost items of soilless and soil-based greenhouse cucumber production were initial investment costs, variable costs, and fixed costs. Net return obtained from cucumbers grown in a mixture of perlite and zeolite was determined as € 1.84 m-2, whereas it was € 1.48 m-2 in conventional soil-based production. Production and market risks both affect profitability and economic viability of soilless grown vegetables.Desde o início da implantação de cultivos comerciais sem solo suas técnicas de produção tem evoluido em ritmo acelerado, ganhando popularidade entre agricultores de todo o mundo. Como resultado, uma grande quantidade de informação tem sido desenvolvida pelos produtores, consultores, pesquisadores e fornecedores de equipamentos e substratos. Determinaram-se o custo e retorno financeiro da produção de pepino (Cucumis sativus L.) e preparou-se um exemplo de orçamento para produtores. Na Turquia o cultivo sem solo é um método alternativo de produção para agricultores e é praticado em bases comerciais em 180 hectares. Por conseguinte, avaliações de custos e retornos podem ser úteis para produtores porque permitem aos mesmos comparar o custo total da produção e o retorno segundo variações de tipo de olericultor, tempo de produção, localização geográfica, tamanho do empreendimento e custo das estruturas. Os produtores podem assim identificar quais itens em seus orçamantos tem maior efeito na rentabilidade e fazer ajustes. Nesse estudo aspectos econômicos de cultivos de pepino em casas de vegetação sem solo e com solo foram analisados e comparados.Os custos totais foram subtraidos das receitas brutas para fins de cálculo do retorno líquido de produções de pepino em cultivos com e sem solo. Os custos dos itens dos cultivos com e sem solo foram: investimentos iniciais, custos variáveis e custos fixos. O retorno líquido obtido pelos produtores de pepino cultivados em um substrato de perlita e zeolita foi de € 1.84 m-2 e de € 1.48 m-2 para o cultivo convencional com solo. Contudo, riscos de produção e de mercado afetam a rentabilidade e viabilidade econômica de hortaliças cultivadas sem solo

Effect of Penicillium chrysogenum SO30 on Turkish type fermented sausages - Physicochemical properties

In this study the effect of Penicillium chrysogenum SO30 on Turkish type fermented sausage production was examined. On day 0, 7 and 14 of fermentation pH, water activity, moisture, fat, salt, total free fatty acid, nitrosomyoglobin, remnant nitrite, TBA, remnant potassium sorbate analyses were carried out. In the control sausages pH values between 5.1 and 4.2 were found, values between 5.1 and 4.5 were determined in moulded sausages. The moisture content was between 45.2 % and 17.6 % in control samples, between 45.2 % and 20.0 % in mould treated samples, nitrosomyoglobin ranged from 63.1 % to 41.0 % and from 63.1 % to 36.6 %, respectively. Thiobarbituric acid was between 0.50 µg MA/kg and 1.57 µg MAAg in control sausages and between 0.50 µg MA/kg and 0.86 µg MA/kg In moulded sausages. In control samples salt and fat contents of 2.83 % to 5.40 %, respectively 8.0 % to 30.0 % were determined, while in mould treated samples the salt and fat contents ranged from 2.83 % to 5.33 %, and from 8.0 % to 28.6 %, respectively. The analysis of total free fatty acid resulted in values between 1.0 % and 3.3 % (control) and between 1.0 % and 2.5 % (moulded). The water activity of the control sausages was between 0.94 and 0.86, while the water activity of mould treated sausages was between 0.94 and 0.87. On day 14 the remnant nitrite amount of the control samples was lower (0.06 ppm) than that of the moulded samples (0.15 ppm). No remnant sorbate amount could be determined on the 14th day in control samples. Only concerning texture and sensory analysis differences were found between the samples with the use of mould improving the sensory quality of the sausages. As a result, Penicillium chrysogenum is found to be appropriate as a starter/protective culture according to physicochemical properties in production of Turkish type fermented sausages. © M.&H. SchaperGmbH

Relationship between chromosomal aberrations and gene expressions in the p53 pathway in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a neoplasm characterized by excessive accumulation of B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes. We assessed the expressions of 22 genes in the p53 pathway in 30 CLL patients and 15 healthy subjects by a RT2 Profiler PCR (polymerase chain reaction) Array technique and their relation to cytogenetic aberrations detected by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Our Student’s t-test results indicated that ATM, ATR, BAX, CASP9, CDK4, CDKN2A, CHEK1, CHEK2, E2F3, MCL1, MDM2, MDM4, PCNA, RB1, P53 and BCL2 genes were statistically significant (p <0.001). For six genes (APAF1, CDKN1A, E2F1, GADD45A, PTEN and PTX3) were not statistically significant. The ATM, ATR, BAX, CASP9, CDK4, CDKN1A, CDKN2A, CHEK1, CHEK2, MDM2, MDM4, PCNA, RB1, P53, E2F1, GADD45A and BCL2 genes were found to be upregulated by the 2-ᐃᐃCt (relative fold change in gene expression) method. The highest up-regulation was detected in CDKN2A and BCL2 genes, 10.22- and 8.51-fold, respectively. On the other hand, the PTX3 gene with a fold regulation of 1.84 was found to the highest downregulation. Overall, the CDNK2A BCL2 and PTX3 genes are related to the mechanism of the disease in the p53 pathway and may be an important predictor of the prognosis of the disease. The BCL2 gene may be associated with increased risk of developing CLL. We suggest that the PTX3 gene may be considered as a marker associated with CLL disease. The CDKN2A gene expression seems to play a protective role in CLL