The 2005 - 2007 Bala (Ankara, central Turkey) earthquakes: a case study for strike-slip fault terminations

An intense seismic activity has been observed after the Bala (Ankara, NW central Turkey) earthquakes (30 July 2005: Mw=5.3, 20 December 2007: Mw=5.4, and 26 December 2007: Mw=5.3), continuing up to the present. The epicenters and the focal mechanism solutions of the earthquakes indicate that the right lateral strike-slip Afşar fault, trending N55-60°W, is responsible for the main shocks. The Afşar fault is thought to be the NW continuation of the Tuzgölü fault zone, which is one of the main neotectonic elements in central Anatolia. On the other hand, the aftershock distributions of the 2005 event have a NNE trend, and those of the 2007 event show a NW trending. Some focal mechanism solutions of the 2005 Bala earthquake aftershocks indicate normal and oblique normal faulting that corresponds to the NNE-trending Karakeçili fault. It seems that seismic activation of the NNE-trending Karakeçili fault was triggered by the 2005 main shock (Mw=5.3) that occurred on the NW trending right lateral strike-slip Afşar fault. The overall neotectonic framework is that the northwestern edge of the Tuzgölü fault zone, represented by the Afşar fault in Bala, terminates in an extensional system represented by the oblique-slip Karakeçili fault

Data and model driven hybrid approach to activity scoring of cyclic pathways

Analysis of large scale -omics data based on a single tool remains inefficient to reveal molecular basis of cellular events. Therefore, data integration from multiple heterogeneous sources is highly desirable and required. In this study, we developed a data- and model-driven hybrid approach to evaluate biological activity of cellular processes. Biological pathway models were taken as graphs and gene scores were transferred through neighbouring nodes of these graphs. An activity score describes the behaviour of a specific biological process was computed by owing of converged gene scores until reaching a target process. Biological pathway model based approach that we describe in this study is a novel approach in which converged scores are calculated for the cellular processes of a cyclic pathway. The convergence of the activity scores for cyclic graphs were demonstrated on the KEGG pathways. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

European Vegetation Archive (EVA): An integrated database of European vegetation plots

© 2016 International Association for Vegetation Science. The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation- plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on-going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management of multiple databases that use different species lists. This is facilitated by the SynBioSys Taxon Database, a system of taxon names and concepts used in the individual European databases and their corresponding names on a unified list of European flora. TURBOVEG 3 also includes procedures for handling data requests, selections and provisions according to the approved EVA Data Property and Governance Rules. By 30 June 2015, 61 databases from all European regions have joined EVA, contributing in total 1 027 376 vegetation plots, 82% of them with geographic coordinates, from 57 countries. EVA provides a unique data source for large-scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database

Comparison of the effects of bupivacaine and bupivacaine-tramadol combination on postoperative analgesia used in brachial plexus blockade [Brakiyal pleksus blogu uygulanan olgularda tek başina bupivakain ile bupivakain-tramadol kombinasyonunun postoperatif analjezi üzerine etkilerinin karşilaştirilmasi]

We aimed to asses the duration and quality of postoperative analgesia in patients with tramadol HCl supplemented to bupivacaine in brachial plexus blockade. After the approval by the faculty ethic committee and a written consent from patients were taken, 30 patients undergoing upper limb surgery or arterio-venous fistula operation were included in the study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups and Group I received bupivacaine 0.375 % in total volume of 40 ml as blockade, whereas Group II received the same dosage and volume of bupivacaine plus tramadol HCl 50 mg. Following the performance of the procedure, the duration to initation of the surgery, analgesia and sedation levels, hemodynamic variables were recorded. Same measurements were recorded in determined intervals in the postoperative period. Patients were inquired about pain at the postoperative second day. Side effects were also recorded. There were no differences between the patients due to demographic and hemodynamic parameters. The durations to initation of the surgery were 21.6 ± 2.4 min in Group I, and 17.3 ± 3.1 min in Group II (p<0.05). VAS, VRS and sedation values were 0 the at peroperative period for both of the groups. After the blockade, the durations to the first pain report were 8.5 ± 0.9 h in Group I, and 14.1 ± 1.0 h in Group II (p<0.05). We concluded that when the tramadol was added to bupivacaine in brachial plexus blockade, the duration to initation of the surgery was reduced, and the duration of analgesia was enhanced

Does adenosine deaminase activity play a role in the early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy?

Early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy (EP) is important due to life-threatening consequences in the first trimester of pregnancy. In this study we aimed to investigate the role of adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in the prediction of EP. Forty-one patients with unruptured ectopic pregnancy comprised the case group and forty-two first trimester pregnant women with shown foetal heart beating in ultrasound comprised the control group. The mean ADA level in EP (10.9 ± 3.0 IU/L) was higher than that in control group (9.2 ± 3.6 IU/L) (p = 0.018). Receiver operating characteristics or ROC curve identified ADA value of 10.95 IU/L as optimal threshold for the prediction of EP with 56% sensitivity and 67% specificity. High ADA levels are valuable in the early diagnosis of EP. However more comprehensive studies are required. © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC