Genetic variation among selected pure lines from Turkish barley landrace 'Tokak' in yield-related and malting quality traits

Aim of study: Improvement of barley cultivars for malting traits suffers from narrow genetic pool in barley for these traits. Landraces are resources that could be used for this purpose. The present study was conducted to determine the variation for malting quality traits within a Turkish barley landrace. Area of study: The study was undertaken in Tokat, a province in Black Sea Region of Turkey. Material and methods: Twenty-five diverse lines, out of 42 unique genotypes previously identified in ‘Tokak’ landrace (PI 470281) based on DNA markers, were evaluated for malting quality traits along with the malting barley cv. ‘Tokak 157/37’ in four field trials. Thousand-seed weight, test weight, grain yield, lodging, malt extract percentage, diastatic power, alpha amylase and malt beta glucanase activities, malt protein and starch contents were determined. Main results: Principal component analysis of malting quality traits revealed that thousand-seed weight, alpha amylase activity, beta glucanase activity and diastatic power were the most discriminatory traits for the lines. As the average of four trials, 15 of the 25 lines evaluated had higher grain yields and 10 of 25 lines had higher malt extract percentages than the standard cultivar ‘Tokak 157/37’. Malt extract was highest in Line 59 in all environments, and this line also had the highest values for beta glucanase activity and starch content. Line 215 had highest values for alpha amylase activity. Lines 59 and 215 clearly had superior malting quality. Research highlights: These lines could harbor novel alleles for these traits to be used in malting barley improvement

Comparison of the accelerated and classic vaccination schedules against Hepatitis B: three-week Hepatitis B vaccination schedule provides immediate and protective immunity

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus infection although preventable by vaccination remains an important health issue throughout the world due to its morbidity, mortality and economical losses. Early seroprotection is desirable for people at high risk of exposure. The aim of this study was to determine whether three-week hepatitis B vaccination (on days 0, 10 and 21) provide seroprotection or not. METHODS: The 120 subjects enrolled into the study were divided into two groups and vaccinated by the classic (months 0, 1, and 2) or the accelerated (days 0, 10, and 21) schedules and antibody response determined on days 30, 60, and 90 and, if below 10 mIU/ml(-1), again on day 180. For each individual in the classic group (B) three subjects were enrolled in the accelerated group (A). Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (Gen-Hevac B, Pasteur) was given as 20 micrograms intramuscular injections via the deltoid muscle. A booster dose on day 365 was administered for each group. Family members of hepatitis B carriers and volunteer health personnel were enrolled into group A. To the B group only volunteers who wanted vaccination against hepatitis B were included. RESULTS: After three doses of vaccine, Anti-HBs titers reached protective levels in both groups. The number of vaccinees with seroprotective levels of Anti-HBs (≥10 mIU/ml(-1)) on day 30 was 53 (58.9%) in group A and 9 (30.0%) in group B (p < 0.05). On day 60, there was no difference between group A and B, with response rates of 84.4% (n = 76) and 80.0% (n = 24) respectively (p > 0.05). On day 90 there was no difference between group B and group A; with 26 (86.7%) and 79 (87.7%) responders respectively. In both groups those with Anti-HBs levels <10 mIU/ml(-1 )attained protective levels by day 180. CONCLUSION: In this study, the three-week vaccination provided protective antibody titers within a shorter time compared to the classic schedule. Therefore, in order to provide rapid antibody production against hepatitis B virus, the accelerated vaccination schedule seems to be a good preference

Authentication in Internet of Things Systems via Mobile Communication Technologies

The Internet of things (IoT) has become a popular workplace that has been used frequently nowadays. The message queue telemetry transport (MQTT) protocol, which is used in communication of devices with each other without human interactions, is preferred in this study because it is advantageous with its minimum data size and more message transmission with high bandwidth in IoT scenarios. In addition to the username and password authentication features that exist in the MQTT protocol, (one-time password - OTP) has been generated to provide device authentication via the global system for mobile communications (GSM) technology over different communication channel by considering the restriction of devices to operate and avoiding encryption algorithms that require heavy computation. The aim of the scope of this study, security is provided that in case of there is no secure channel between client and server, system is not accessible since OTP is not validated by the user even if username and password are obtained by attacker

Whipple's Disease: A Case Report

Objective: Whipple's disease is a very rare systemic infectious disease with an annual incidence of 3 in one million, which may be fatal if not diagnosed and treated appropriately. Clinical Presentation and Intervention: Herein we describe a 49-year-old patient admitted to the hospital with symptoms of severe malabsorption and diagnosed with Whipple's disease. The diagnosis was based on the histopathological findings of small intestine biopsies and PCR analysis. Conclusion: Whipple's disease should be kept in mind while dealing with patients with severe malabsorption, even in the absence of accompanying features of the disease

Investigation of IL-1 Beta, IL-1 Receptor Antagonist and IL-8 Gene Polymorphisms in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B and C

WOS: 000336195500008PubMed: 24819264The host immune response is closely related to the prognosis of disease and viral persistence in hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Althought it is well known that cytokines and genetic factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of chronic HBV and HCV infections, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study was conducted to determine the role of interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-1 receptor antagonist (1L-1RA) and IL-8 gene polymorphisms in chronic hepatitis B and C infections. A total of 361 subjects, 171 with chronic hepatitis B (62 female, 109 male; age range: 18-74 yrs) and 104 with chronic hepatitis C (63 female, 41 male; age range: 25-79 yrs), and a control group of 86 healthy subjects (41 female, 45 male; age range: 18-72 yrs) were included in the study. Following the DNA extractions from peripheral blood leukocytes of the study groups, single nucleotide polymorphisms of 1L-1 beta -31, -511, +3954; IL-1RA and IL-8 -251, -353, -738, -845 gene regions were investigated by using specific primers with real-time PCR method. It was found that the genotype frequency of IL-8 -251 AT (OR: 7.895, p= 0.003) and IL-8 -738 TA (OR: 6.317, p= 0.007) in patients with chronic hepatitis B and the genotype frequency of IL-1 beta -31 CT (OR: 6.757, p= 0.001), IL-1 beta -511 CT (OR: 4.060, p= 0.004), IL-8 -251 AT, (OR: 13.622, p= 0.001), IL-8 -738 TA (OR: 14.058, p= 0.001), and IL-8 -845 TC (OR: 2.539, p= 0.004) in patients with chronic hepatitis C was significantly higher than the control group. When the allelic frequency was compared between chronic hepatitis B patients and the control group, it was determined that IL-1 beta +3954 T allel increased the disease risk 1.5 times (p 0.05). In conclusion, IL-1 beta -31, -511 and IL-8 -251, -738, -845 gene polymorphisms may play a role in the chronicity of hepatitis B and C infection. In order to determine the importance of this cytokine polymorphisms in hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections, large-scale studies with different patient groups such as carriers, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma should be conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease process

Investigation of the Association between Chronic Hepatitis B and C Infection and Interleukin 2 (-330) Gene Polymorphism

WOS: 000386047900002Objective: Cytokines has an important role in the immunopathogenesis of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) secreted by Th1 cells which plays an important role in regulating both in activation of the immune system and homeostasis, is a cytokine having a wide spectrum of effects on the immune system. Although there are many studies investigating the relationship between IL-2-330 gene polymorphism and diseases, a few studied was found to investigate the role in the immunopathogenesis of HBV and HCV infections of this cytokine polymorphisms. This study was aimed to determine the relationship between IL-2-330 gene polymorphisms and chronic hepatitis B and C infections. Methods: A total of 139 patients with chronic hepatitis B, 101 patients with hepatitis C and 87 healthy subjects as control groups were included into this study. Approximately 2 ml of blood from patients and control groups were taken into tubes containing EDTA, and genomic DNA was isolated using DNA isolation kit. Single nucleotide polypmorphsim from the obtained DNAs was investigated using the polymerase chain reaction-confronting two-pair primers (PCR-CTPP) methods. Results: The genotype frequencies of IL-2-330 TT, GT, GG were detected as 23.7%, 53.2%, 23% in patients with chronic hepatitis B and 27.6%, 50.6%, 21.8% in control groups, respectively (p>0.05). The frequencies of TT, GT, GG genotypes were found to be 34.7%, 56.4%, 8.9% in patients with chronic hepatitis C and 27.6%, 50.6%, 21.8% in control group, respectively. GG genotype frequency was significantly lower in patient groups with hepatitis C compared with the control group (p0.05). The frequencies of T and G alleles were found to be 69.4%, 30.6% in patients with chronic hepatitis C and 52.9%, 47.1% in control groups, respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: In our study while there was no statistically significant relationship between chronic hepatitis B and IL-2-330 gene polymorphisms, significant association was found between GG genotype and chronic hepatitis C. According to our findings the GG genotype in the-330 position of IL-2 gene may be preventive effect in chronicy of hepatitis C in Turkish population, however, further research can contribute to clarify the issue

Investigation of the Association Between Chronic Hepatitis B and C Infections and TNF-alpha(-308) Gene Polymorphism

WOS: 000378184000007PubMed: 27175496Cytokines and genetic factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infections. Variations in cytokine genes may effect the gene expression and may lead to changes in the clinical manifestations of diseases. One of the single nucleotide polymorphisms in the promoter region of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) gene is the polymorphism at -308. position which was investigated in many studies by means of its relationship between CHB and CHC infections, however their results are incompatible. Furthermore, there is no sufficient data on this subject in our country. This study was aimed to determine the relationship between TNF-a(-308) gene polymorphism with CHB and CHC infections. A total of 271 patients with chronic hepatitis and 181 healthy subjects were included in the study. Of them 167 were CHB cases (67 female, 100 male; age range 18-74 years, mean age: 40.23 +/- 13.09) and 95 controls for CHB group (46 female, 49 male; mean age: 36.41 +/- 15.0 years), while 104 were CHC cases (63 female, 41 male; age range: 25-79 years, mean age: 52.8 +/- 12.6) and 86 controls for CHC group (41 female, 45 male; mean age: 36.4 +/- 14.9 years). After the isolation of genomic DNA from blood samples of the patient and control groups, TNF-alpha(-308)G/A (rs 1800629) polymorphism was investigated by using the real-time polymerase chain reaction from the obtained DNAs. Among CHB group, TNF-alpha(-308) GG, GA, AA genotypes were detected in 126 (75.4%), 38 (22.8%) and 3 (1.8%) of the patients, respectively, while these numbers were 84 (88.4%), 11 (11.6%) and 0 (0%) in control group, respectively. Among CHC group, TNF-a(-308) GG, GA, AA genotypes were detected in 37 (35.6%), 28 (26.9%) and 39 (37.5%) of the patients, respectively, while these numbers were 38 (44.2%), 8 (9.3%) and 40 (46.5%) in control group, respectively. The frequency of GA genotype was significantly higher in both patient groups compared to the control groups (p=0.024 for CHB and p= 0.006 for CHC). When the distribution of allele frequencies of TNF-alpha(-308)G/A polymorphism was evaluated in the patients and control groups, it was noted that G allele was found to be high in CHB patients comparing with controls (94.2% vs 86.8%), however A allele was identified to be lower than controls (5.8% vs 13.2%) (p= 0.008). In contrast, there was no significant difference in terms of allele frequency compared with CHC patients and the control group (p= 0.969). In conclusion, our data in accordance with the results of many studies in literature, determined that TNF-alpha(-308) polymorphisms can influence the chronicity of hepatitis B and C infections. Further studies on this subject would contribute to the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of chronic hepatitis B and C diseases