Globalisation as a facilitator of terrorism

Terrorism is a phenomenon that develops over time, always bringing about gradual change of form and activity. Terrorist groups organize terrorist attacks based on ideologies. Terrorism is one of the biggest problems facing the world today. Terrorists are always at odds with the rule of law, with the norms and ideals of civilization itself. Terrorism is the use of fear or violence to overthrow a government and society in accepting a radical political or social change. It is geographically widespread and ideologically selected. The process of globalization, which includes the technological, economic boom, cultural boundaries between countries around the world has fostered a culture corrupt market in traditional communities. Many places consider this as a threat to their country. Globalization has somewhat helped terrorism, moreover has brought the involvement of the latest and latest technologie

Legal Aspects of International Trade

International law serves to increase international trade, investment and promote prosperity. These laws and mechanisms fall into two main categories, the private law of international trade and international public law, albeit there is a significant overlap between the categories. The law on private trade deals with the rights and obligations of international traders and investors facing each other. Here, there is a need for mechanisms to resolve the conflicts of laws between persons from different legal systems. There is also a value in promoting harmonization initiatives to reduce trade transaction costs between people from different legal cultures. Where there is a law on international trade, there is a need to develop an appropriate compromise between the sovereign rights of the nation states and the desire for cooperative behavior between them. Here, there is a special need to identify processes and mechanisms to promote the normative effect of international rules, given the lack of any form of coercion over national states. Insufficient and inefficient laws and mechanisms will be a disincentive to trade and productive investment

Clinical and laboratory findings in mad honey poisoning: A single center experience

Objective: This study is aimed at analyzing the demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as the hematological.biochemical parameters of patients who admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis of mad honey poisoning.Materials and Methods: A total of 16 patients who were admitted with mad honey intoxication symptoms and treated in Emergency Department of Sakarya Education and Research Hospital between January 2009 and December 2012 were included in the study. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients and hematological, biochemical parameters were obtained from hospital records. Heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure on admission and at discharge were obtained retrospectively.Results: Sixteen patients (10 males and 6 females, mean age 58.5 ± 10 years, range between 41 and 79) were included in our study. Heart rate was 42± 6 beats/min, systolic blood pressure was 73 ± 19 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure was 45 ± 17 mmHg on admission. In the evaluation of the patients' heart rhythms on admission to the emergency room, nine  (56.3%) patients had sinus bradycardia, three (18.8%) patients had nodal rhythm, two (12.5%) patients had first degree atrioventricular block, and two (12.5%) patients had atrial fibrillation. Atropine 1.1 ± 0.4 mg and saline 1125 ± 465 ml were used to treat patients. Patients were discharged with a stable condition after an average 27.7 ±7.2 h of follow.up. Heart rate was 75 ± 8 beats/min, systolic blood pressure was 132 ± 7 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure was 82 ± 6 mmHg at discharge. Mortality was not observed. Hematological and biochemical parameters measured at the time of admission were within normal ranges.Conclusion: Mad honey poisoning should be considered in previously  healthy patients with unexplained symptoms of bradycardia, hypotension, and cardiac dysrhythmias. Therefore, diet history should carefully be  obtained from the patients admitted with bradycardia and hypotension, and mad honey intoxication should also be considered in the differential  diagnosis, as well as primary cardiac, neurologic, and metabolic disorders. Mad honey poisoning may be presented with life.threatening symptoms without any hematological and biochemical disorder.Key words: clinical and laboratory findings, mad honey, poisonin

Cdk5 interacts with Hif-1α in neurons: A new hypoxic signalling mechanism?

The cyclin dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5)/p35 complex is essential for regulation of cell survival during development and in models of neuronal excitotoxicity. Dysregulation of Cdk5, by cleavage of its neuronal specific activators p35 and p39, has been implicated in various neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, however targets of the complex that regulate neuronal survival physiologically and/or during pathogenesis are largely unknown. Since hypoxia is a key feature in the pathogenesis of several neuronal disorders we investigated a role for Cdk5/p35 in the neuronal hypoxic response. Our data shows that hypoxia modulates the p35/Cdk5 complex in primary cortical neurons at the transcriptional and protein level. Furthermore hypoxic induction of Cdk5 activity correlates with Hif-1α stabilisation, and direct interaction between these proteins can occur. Importantly, we demonstrate that Cdk5-mediated signaling is involved in Hif-1α stabilisation since inhibition of Cdk5 by roscovitine abrogates Hif-1α accumulation and induces cell death. Taken together our results show that the Cdk5/p35 complex may significantly contribute to modulation of Hif-1α stabilisation and impact neuronal survival during oxygen deprivation. Thus this study highlights a new hypoxia-mediated signaling pathway and implicates the cytoskeleton as a potential regulator of Hif-1α. Section: Cellular and Molecular Biology of Nervous Systems

Adolescent brain maturation and cortical folding: evidence for reductions in gyrification

Evidence from anatomical and functional imaging studies have highlighted major modifications of cortical circuits during adolescence. These include reductions of gray matter (GM), increases in the myelination of cortico-cortical connections and changes in the architecture of large-scale cortical networks. It is currently unclear, however, how the ongoing developmental processes impact upon the folding of the cerebral cortex and how changes in gyrification relate to maturation of GM/WM-volume, thickness and surface area. In the current study, we acquired high-resolution (3 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 79 healthy subjects (34 males and 45 females) between the ages of 12 and 23 years and performed whole brain analysis of cortical folding patterns with the gyrification index (GI). In addition to GI-values, we obtained estimates of cortical thickness, surface area, GM and white matter (WM) volume which permitted correlations with changes in gyrification. Our data show pronounced and widespread reductions in GI-values during adolescence in several cortical regions which include precentral, temporal and frontal areas. Decreases in gyrification overlap only partially with changes in the thickness, volume and surface of GM and were characterized overall by a linear developmental trajectory. Our data suggest that the observed reductions in GI-values represent an additional, important modification of the cerebral cortex during late brain maturation which may be related to cognitive development

Quantitative trait loci conferring grain mineral nutrient concentrations in durum wheat 3 wild emmer wheat RIL population

Mineral nutrient malnutrition, and particularly deficiency in zinc and iron, afflicts over 3 billion people worldwide. Wild emmer wheat, Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides, genepool harbors a rich allelic repertoire for mineral nutrients in the grain. The genetic and physiological basis of grain protein, micronutrients (zinc, iron, copper and manganese) and macronutrients (calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur) concentration was studied in tetraploid wheat population of 152 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), derived from a cross between durum wheat (cv. Langdon) and wild emmer (accession G18-16). Wide genetic variation was found among the RILs for all grain minerals, with considerable transgressive effect. A total of 82 QTLs were mapped for 10 minerals with LOD score range of 3.2–16.7. Most QTLs were in favor of the wild allele (50 QTLs). Fourteen pairs of QTLs for the same trait were mapped to seemingly homoeologous positions, reflecting synteny between the A and B genomes. Significant positive correlation was found between grain protein concentration (GPC), Zn, Fe and Cu, which was supported by significant overlap between the respective QTLs, suggesting common physiological and/or genetic factors controlling the concentrations of these mineral nutrients. Few genomic regions (chromosomes 2A, 5A, 6B and 7A) were found to harbor clusters of QTLs for GPC and other nutrients. These identified QTLs may facilitate the use of wild alleles for improving grain nutritional quality of elite wheat cultivars, especially in terms of protein, Zn and Fe

Subclinical iron deficiency is a strong predictor of bacterial vaginosis in early pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the single most common vaginal infection in women of childbearing age and associated with a sizeable infectious disease burden among both non-pregnant and pregnant women, including a significantly elevated risk of adverse pregnancy outcome. Overall, little progress has been made in identifying causal factors involved in BV acquisition and persistence. We sought to evaluate maternal iron status in early pregnancy as a putative risk factor for BV, considering that micronutrients, and iron deficiency in particular, affect the host response against bacterial colonization, even in the setting of mild micronutrient deficiencies. METHODS: In a nested case-control study, we compared maternal iron status at entry to prenatal care (mean gestational age 9.2 ± 2.6 weeks) between eighty women with healthy vaginal microflora and eighteen women with vaginosis-like microflora. Vaginal microflora status was assessed by assigning a modified Nugent score to a Gram-stained vaginal smear. Maternal iron status was assayed by an array of conventional erythrocyte and serum indicators for iron status assessment, but also by more sensitive and more specific indicators of iron deficiency, including soluble transferrin receptors (sTfR) as an accurate measure of cellular and tissue iron deficiency and the iron deficiency log(10)[sTfR/ferritin] index as the presently most accurate measure of body storage iron available. RESULTS: We found no statistically significant correlation between vaginal microflora status and routinely assessed iron parameters. In contrast, a highly significant difference between the healthy and vaginosis-like microflora groups of women was shown in mean values of sTfR concentrations (1.15 ± 0.30 mg/L versus 1.37 ± 0.38 mg/L, p = 0.008) and in mean iron deficiency log(10)[sTfR/ferritin] index values (1.57 ± 0.30 versus 1.08 ± 0.56, p = 0.003), indicating a strong association between iron deficiency and vaginosis-like microflora. An sTfR concentration >1.45 mg/L was associated with a 3-fold increased risk (95%CI: 1.4–6.7) of vaginosis-like microflora and after controlling for maternal age, gestational length, body mass, parity, and smoking habits with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.5 (95%CI: 1.4–14.2). CONCLUSION: We conclude that subclinical iron deficiency, presumably resulting from inadequate preconceptional iron supplies, is strongly and independently associated with vaginosis-like microflora during early pregnancy

Protective efficiacy of taurine against pulmonary edema progression: experimental study

Re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is an acute, rare and potentially lethal complication [1,2]. Its beginning is sudden and dramatic. The mechanism is not yet fully understood [1]. Some authors suggest that it may occur after rapid re-inflation of a collapsed lung [1]. It was reported by other authors that it may relate to surfactant depletion or may result from hypoxic capillary damage, leading to increased capillary permeability [1,3]. In RPE, unilateral lung injury is initiated by cytotoxic oxygen metabolites and temporally associated with an influx of polymorphonuclear neutrophils [1]. These toxic oxygen products are the results of re-oxygenation of a collapsed lung. Treatment of re-expansion pulmonary edema is basically preventive [4]

Protective efficiacy of taurine against pulmonary edema progression: experimental study

Re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is an acute, rare and potentially lethal complication [1,2]. Its beginning is sudden and dramatic. The mechanism is not yet fully understood [1]. Some authors suggest that it may occur after rapid re-inflation of a collapsed lung [1]. It was reported by other authors that it may relate to surfactant depletion or may result from hypoxic capillary damage, leading to increased capillary permeability [1,3]. In RPE, unilateral lung injury is initiated by cytotoxic oxygen metabolites and temporally associated with an influx of polymorphonuclear neutrophils [1]. These toxic oxygen products are the results of re-oxygenation of a collapsed lung. Treatment of re-expansion pulmonary edema is basically preventive [4]

Neurotrophin-3 Is Involved in the Formation of Apical Dendritic Bundles in Cortical Layer 2 of the Rat

Apical dendritic bundles from pyramidal neurons are a prominent feature of cortical neuropil but with significant area specializations. Here, we investigate mechanisms of bundle formation, focusing on layer (L) 2 bundles in rat granular retrosplenial cortex (GRS), a limbic area implicated in spatial memory. By using microarrays, we first searched for genes highly and specifically expressed in GRS L2 at postnatal day (P) 3 versus GRS L2 at P12 (respectively, before and after bundle formation), versus GRS L5 (at P3), and versus L2 in barrel field cortex (BF) (at P3). Several genes, including neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), were identified as transiently and specifically expressed in GRS L2. Three of these were cloned and confirmed by in situ hybridization. To test that NT-3–mediated events are causally involved in bundle formation, we used in utero electroporation to overexpress NT-3 in other cortical areas. This produced prominent bundles of dendrites originating from L2 neurons in BF, where L2 bundles are normally absent. Intracellular biocytin fills, after physiological recording in vitro, revealed increased dendritic branching in L1 of BF. The controlled ectopic induction of dendritic bundles identifies a new role for NT-3 and a new in vivo model for investigating dendritic bundles and their formation