The severity of Puumala hantavirus induced nephropathia epidemica can be better evaluated using plasma interleukin-6 than C-reactive protein determinations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nephropathia epidemica (NE) is a Scandinavian type of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome caused by Puumala hantavirus. The clinical course of the disease varies greatly in severity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 levels associate with the severity of NE.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospectively collected cohort of 118 consecutive hospital-treated patients with acute serologically confirmed NE was examined. Plasma IL-6, CRP, and creatinine, as well as blood cell count and daily urinary protein excretion were measured on three consecutive days after admission. Plasma IL-6 and CRP levels higher than the median were considered high.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that high IL-6 associated with most variables reflecting the severity of the disease. When compared to patients with low IL-6, patients with high IL-6 had higher maximum blood leukocyte count (11.9 <it>vs </it>9.0 × 10⁹/l, <it>P </it>= 0.001) and urinary protein excretion (2.51 <it>vs </it>1.68 g/day, <it>P </it>= 0.017), as well as a lower minimum blood platelet count (55 <it>vs </it>80 × 10⁹/l, <it>P </it>< 0.001), hematocrit (0.34 <it>vs </it>0.38, <it>P </it>= 0.001), and urinary output (1040 <it>vs </it>2180 ml/day, <it>P </it>< 0.001). They also stayed longer in hospital than patients with low IL-6 (8 <it>vs </it>6 days, <it>P </it>< 0.001). In contrast, high CRP did not associate with severe disease.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>High plasma IL-6 concentrations associate with a clinically severe acute Puumala hantavirus infection, whereas high plasma CRP as such does not reflect the severity of the disease.</p

Adaptation abilities and quality parameters of selected soybean lines under double cropping in the Mediterranean region

The objective of this study was to determine the adaptation abilities and quality parameters of selected advanced soybean breeding lines at the double cropped growing conditions. 20 advanced Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] breeding lines (F 7 ) and four soybean varieties having maturity group III and IV (ARISOY, ATAEM-7, BRAVO and NOVA) were used. The differences between the lines and varieties were significant for the grain yield. The mean grain yield of breeding lines and varieties ranged from 2460 to 3488 kg ha -1 and from 2933 to 3440 kg ha -1 , respectively. Also KA-07-05-13 advanced soybean line had the highest grain yield in terms of two years’ average. The highest plant height was obtained from KA-07-08-15 (82.2 cm) and the lowest pod height from KA-07-08-15 (12.2 cm) and BDNA-19 (12.1 cm) lines. Significant differences were determined for pod number per plant among the 24 soybean genotypes. The pod number per plant was the higher in BDNA-12 and BDNA-13 lines than the varieties. In this research, the number of day for flowering varied between 33.0-42.1 days and the number of days for maturating ranged from 102.4 to 113.6 days. The earliest flowering time was detected from KA-07-08-14 line and the earliest maturating time was observed from BDNE-14 line. In a two-year average, 100-seed weight ranged between 14.2-20.8 g in breeding lines. The highest 100-seed weight was obtained from KA-07-03-5 (20.8 g) and KA-07-03-9 lines (20.1 g). While the highest oil percentage was obtained from ARISOY, the highest and statistically same oil percentage was recorded from KA-07-05-9 (21,6%), KA-07-08-12 (21,2%) and KA-07-05-5 (21,2%). The average protein content of soybean lines and cultivars varied from 41.6% to 49.3%. The higher protein percentage value was obtained from the BDAF-4 (49.3%) breeding line. © 2018, Society of Field Crops Science. All rights reserved.We are grateful to the TUBITAK “The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey” funded this research with the project codes of 113 O 082 and sub number: 113 O 086. -

GGE biplot analysis of genotype × environment interaction in soybean grown as a second crop

2-s2.0-85078119648The study was aimed to evaluate the adaptability and stability of the soybean genotypes based on the seed yield and the other observed characteristics in the sites cultivated second crop soybean of Turkey which have Mediterranean climate conditions using the GGE biplot analysis method. The experiments were performed under irrigated conditions in 2014, 2015 and 2016 in four different locations (Adana, Antalya, Izmir and Sanliurfa) of Turkey. Fourteen soybean genotypes consisting of 10 advanced soybean lines and four standard varieties were analyzed by a randomized complete block design with 4 replications. The combined analysis of variance revealed significant (P<0.01) effects for all sources of variation (environment, genotype, and G×E interaction) for the seed yield and yield components. Genotype and environment accounted for about 2.59% and 51.04% of the total variation for seed yield, respectively, while the GE interaction explained 20.84% of the total variation. According to the GGE principle, five mega-environments were formed in the present study. Results of the research revealed that genotypes G8 (KANA), G9 (KASM 02), G11 (ARISOY), G3 (BATEM 306), G1 (BATEM 207) and G12 (ATAEM 7) were found as stable. According to GGE Biplot analysis for all traits and genotypes, G4 (BATEM 317) had the largest values for plant height, first pod height, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity and seed yield. © 2019, Society of Field Crops Science. All rights reserved.113O082 Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik AraÅŸtirma Kurumu, TÃœBITAKThis research was funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, project number 113O082). The authors thank TUBITAK for their financial support

Electronic structure of highly ordered Sr2FeMoO6: XPS and XES studies

We have investigated the partial densities of states of Sr2FeMoO6 by applying soft x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) to the Fe L, the Mo M and the O K edges. We discuss the results in the light of complementary measurements of the valence band by means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and first-principles generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and LDA + U band structure calculations