Reproductive biology of the lentil bobtail squid, Rondeletiola minor (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae) from the eastern Mediterranean

WOS: 000317238100032A total of 208 Rondeletiola minor were sampled from the eastern Mediterranean with the depth contours of 150, 350 and 550 m. Body sizes of 32 mature females ranged from 11.8 to 19.5 mm dorsal mantle length (ML), that of mature males were 11.1-19.1 mm ML. Potential fecundity varied between 192 and 315 eggs in maturing females, and ripe egg sizes were 1.1-3.0 mm. Ripe egg amount did not exceed 15% of the fecundity. The average number of spermatophores was 176 with two extreme individuals that had 557 and 674 spermatophores, respectively. Spawning occurs continuously with an asynchronous ovulation pattern. Mature animals were found throughout the year with a peak in gonadosomatic index in spring. The life cycle of R. minor was estimated to be 10 months with different cohorts in reproduction depending on how temperature affects the hatching

A Strategy Based on the Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction of Cadmium in Environmental Samples Prior to Its Determination by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A simple method was developed by combining dispersive liquid-liquid microexraction (DLLME) and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). For the pre-concentration of trace amounts of cadmium, a new complexation chelate of 2-[(4-phenylpiperazine-5-Thioxo- 4,5-dihydro-1 ,3,4-oxadiazole-2- yl)methyl]-5-methyl-4-[2-(1H-indol e-3-yl)ethyl]-2,4-dihydro-3H-1, 2,4-Triazole-3-one (PPTOMDT) was used and mixed with the solvents of chloroform and methanol. The mixture of the extraction solutions was then directly injected into an aqueous solution containing Cd2+ ions. After centrifugation, the settled phase was diluted with 500 mu L of ethanol/nitric acid and aspirated into the FAAS. The limit of detection (LOD) was found at 0.69 mu g L-1 under optimum conditions. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for 15 replicates at a 3.75 mu g L-1 Cd2+ concentration level was 3.21%. The calibration plot was linear within the range of 2.5-15 mu g L-1 of Cd2+. After the analytical characteristics were determined, the CRM-TMDW-500 Drinking Water and CRM-SA-C Sandy Soil C, both certified reference materials, were analyzed in order to validate the method. The application of the DLLME method has been successfully tested for the determination of cadmium in solid and liquid samples. The recoveries of the spiked sample ranged between 92-96%

Reproduction in rare bathyal octopods Pteroctopus tetracirrhus and Scaeurgus unicirrhus (Cephalopoda: Octopoda) in the east Mediterranean as an apparent response to extremely oligotrophic deep seas

WOS: 000342260200007Reproductive patterns of two benthic bathyal octopods, Pteroctopus tetracirrhus and Scaeurgus unicirrhus have been studied in extremely nutrient-poor environment of the deep-sea Eastern Mediterranean. Both species were found to exhibit a reproductive tactics of producing eggs much larger than in the western part of the sea which likely results in larger hatchlings with higher viability. P. tetracirrhus exhibited a typical "deep-sea" spawning strategy of simultaneous maturation of a single batch of large eggs with atresia of excessive oocytes, whereas reproductive strategy of S. unicirrhus is particular for shelf octopodids: asynchronous maturation of numerous batches of small eggs with no obvious regulatory atresia. Existence of these two types of ovary development and utilisation of fecundity are closely related to two types of evolutionary stable reproductive strategies based on existence of either very large or very small eggs with a few species occupying the "intermediate" position. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.EBILTEM (Science and Technology Centre of Ege University)Ege University [2008/SUF/004]; Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [108Y102]Authors sincerely thank the EBILTEM (Science and Technology Centre of Ege University) (Project no. 2008/SUF/004) and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, Project no. 108Y102) for financial support, both anonymous reviewers and Dr. Chingiz Nigmatullin for valuable comments, and Dr. Marta Soffker for improving English

Ribavirin is not effective against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: observations from the Turkish experience

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral infection associated with a high mortality rate. Ribavirin is the only drug used in the treatment of this disease. Studies investigating the effectiveness of ribavirin in CCHF have been retrospective and to date have included only a small number of cases. In recent years, due to climate changes, the number of cases of CCHF in Turkey has increased, and experience in the treatment of CCHF has improved. Several studies have evaluated the efficacy of ribavirin in Turkey, including one randomized controlled trial and two studies with a large number of cases. In these studies, ribavirin therapy was not shown to decrease mortality rates; the mortality rate was 2-9% in patients treated with ribavirin and 5.6-11% in those who were not treated with this drug. These findings suggest that patients with CCHF should be followed with supportive care only until randomized controlled trials with larger groups have been conducted. (C) 2013 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Fatty liver disease might increase the risk of abdominal operation in patients with fatty liver and the prevalence of cancer in first-degree relatives (Retracted article. See vol. 26, pg. 290, 2015)

Background/Aims: We investigated the risk of abdominal operation in patients with fatty liver and the risk of any cancer in first-degree relatives of patients with fatty liver

N-acetylcysteine suppresses colistimethate sodium-induced nephrotoxicity via activation of SOD2, eNOS, and MMP3 protein expressions

Objective: To investigate the molecular mechanisms of colistimethate sodium-induced nephrotoxicity and the protective effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) against nephrotoxicity. Methods: Twenty-eight Wistar rats were divided into four groups comprised of control, colistin, NAC, and colistin–NAC co-treatment, respectively. Serum creatinine and urine N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) levels were measured at different time intervals. Histological changes, apoptosis, total oxidant and antioxidant status, and the expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), and matrix metalloproteinase 3 (MMP3) were evaluated in renal tissue. Results: In the colistin group, post-treatment creatinine levels were higher than pretreatment levels (p = .001). There was a significant increase in urine NAG level following colistin treatment on day 10, compared to the baseline value and the first day of treatment (p = .001 and .0001, respectively). Urine NAG levels were higher in the colistin group on the 10th day of treatment than in the other groups (p < .01). Colistin treatment increased the apoptosis index and renal histological damage score (RHDS) significantly and these changes were reversed in NAC co-treatment (RHSD and apoptosis index were 45 and 0 for sterile saline group, 29 and 2 for NAC group, 122 and 7 for colistin group, and 66 and 2 for colistin + NAC group). We observed no difference between groups regarding total antioxidant and total oxidant status in the kidneys. The expression levels of eNOS, SOD2, and MMP3 decreased significantly in the kidneys of colistin-treated rats; these changes were reversed in the kidneys of NAC co-treated rats. Conclusions: N-acetylcysteine prevented colistin-induced nephrotoxicity through activation of expression levels of SOD2, eNOS, and MMP3

First-line monotherapies of tenofovir and entecavir have comparable efficacies in hepatitis B treatment

WOS: 000337151300013PubMed ID: 24901822Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a health problem worldwide. Current treatment options for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are nucleoside or nucleotide analogues and pegylated interferons. Tenofovir and entecavir are much more commonly used as they have better efficacy, tolerability, and high genetic barriers to resistance. Aim The aim of this study was to assess the efficacies of tenofovir and entecavir in previously untreated CHB patients in a treatment cohort. Patients and methods We included CHB patients in a cohort including previously untreated HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative patients from 10 centers in Istanbul, Turkey. The patients were compared in terms of baseline characteristics, decrease in alanine transaminase (ALT), decrease in HBV-DNA to undetectable levels, HBeAg loss and anti-HBe development (among baseline HBeAg-positive patients), interventions to therapy because of lack of efficacy, side effects, severe side effects, and side effects that required change in treatment. Results The study included 121 patients who were administered tenofovir and 130 patients who were administered entecavir. The majority of patients were men, with mild to moderate histology in both treatment groups. The mean duration of follow-up was 18 and 20 months for tenofovir and entecavir, respectively. Patients receiving both drugs showed comparable rates of HBeAg loss, rates of undetectable HBV-DNA levels, rates of ALT normalization, ALT decrease, and decrease in HBV-DNA. Both drugs were well tolerated. Conclusion This study shows that although the baseline characteristics did not match, tenofovir and entecavir sustained comparable virological efficacies. More patients discontinued entecavir during follow-up. Both drugs provided effective viral control, with few side effects. (C) 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins