DETERMINATION OF ASEISMIC DEFORMATION ON NORTH ANATOLIAN FAULT IN ISMETPASA AND DESTEK REGIONS USING GPS DATA, TURKEY

The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) is one of the most destructive fault in the eastern Mediterranean region. After Izmit and Düzce earthquakes, the projects on monitoring the fault motion increase using instrumental tools like GPS, InSAR, LIDAR, creepmeter, etc. The eastern and central part of the NAFZ from Karlıova to Vezirköprü has almost strike slip mechanism. The western part of the central NAFZ from Vezirköprü to Bolu has transpressive character. The aseismic fault deformation (creep) is also important phenomena for these two sections. The InSAR and LIDAR studies showed that the Ismetpasa and Destek regions have creep motions. For this purpose, the new project has been started to proof this phenomena with GPS data and to determine quantitatively the rate of convergence and its variation along segment of the NAF between Bolu and Çorum. The main aim of this study is determination of creep rate with geodetic measurements and combination of the data obtained from seismology, geodesy and geophysics to understand fault mechanism. Therefore, in this paper we discuss tectonic phenomena on the central part of the NAFZ and present the first results of the project

Metarhizium brunneum Blastospore Pathogenesis in Aedes aegypti Larvae: Attack on Several Fronts Accelerates Mortality

Aedes aegypti is the vector of a wide range of diseases (e.g. yellow fever, dengue, Chikungunya and Zika) which impact on over half the world's population. Entomopathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana have been found to be highly efficacious in killing mosquito larvae but only now are the underlying mechanisms for pathogenesis being elucidated. Recently it was shown that conidia of M. anisopliae caused stress induced mortality in Ae. aegypti larvae, a different mode of pathogenicity to that normally seen in terrestrial hosts. Blastospores constitute a different form of inoculum produced by this fungus when cultured in liquid media and although blastospores are generally considered to be more virulent than conidia no evidence has been presented to explain why. In our study, using a range of biochemical, molecular and microscopy methods, the infection process of Metarhizium brunneum (formerly M. anisopliae) ARSEF 4556 blastospores was investigated. It appears that the blastospores, unlike conidia, readily adhere to and penetrate mosquito larval cuticle. The blastospores are readily ingested by the larvae but unlike the conidia are able infect the insect through the gut and rapidly invade the haemocoel. The fact that pathogenicity related genes were upregulated in blastospores exposed to larvae prior to invasion, suggests the fungus was detecting host derived cues. Similarly, immune and defence genes were upregulated in the host prior to infection suggesting mosquitoes were also able to detect pathogen-derived cues. The hydrophilic blastospores produce copious mucilage, which probably facilitates adhesion to the host but do not appear to depend on production of Pr1, a cuticle degrading subtilisin protease, for penetration since protease inhibitors did not significantly alter blastospore virulence. The fact the blastospores have multiple routes of entry (cuticle and gut) may explain why this form of the inoculum killed Ae. aegypti larvae in a relatively short time (12-24hrs), significantly quicker than when larvae were exposed to conidia. This study shows that selecting the appropriate form of inoculum is important for efficacious control of disease vectors such as Ae. aegypti

Determination of in vivo toxicity and in vitro cytotoxicity of lipopolysaccharide isolated from Salmonella Enteritidis and its potential use for production of polyclonal antibody

WOS: 000299640200008In the present study, the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from Salmonella Enteritidis were investigated by in vivo and in vitro methods. The mean lethal dose of 50% death (LD(50)) was determined by a Probit test as 450-mu g/mouse after 72 h post-treatment of LPS. Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK), baby hamster kidney (BHK), mouse fibroblastic cell-lines (L929), and hybridoma cell lines were treated with different amounts of LPS (0-100 mu g/ml) cultivated for 72 h in 24 well tissue culture plates. Morphological investigation was done with inverted microscope after Giemsa staining. The results suggested that MDBK, BHK, and L929 cell lines were resistant to LPS cytotoxicity due to lack of the specific membrane receptor unlike hybridoma cells. After immunisation, one priming and seven booster's diluted sera (1:100) antibody level was found to be 2.00 +/- 0.06-2.41 +/- 0.07 optical density (OD) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on day 142. This result indicated that the LPS, instead of whole bacteria, have potential application in the immunisation

The effects of botulinum-A toxin on bladder function and histology in spinal cord injured rats: Is there any difference between early and late application?

Purpose: We explored the effects of early and late application of botulinum-A toxin (BTX-A) on reservoir function and histological bladder changes in spinal cord injured rats. Materials and Methods: The study was done in 30 Sprague-Dawley rats randomly allocated into 5 groups. Group 1 of 6 rats underwent sham operation only. Group 2 of 6 rats underwent spinal cord transection. Group 3 of 6 rats underwent spinal cord transection followed by BTX-A application into the detrusor muscle 7 days later. Group 4 of 6 rats underwent spinal cord transection, followed by BTX-A application into the detrusor muscle 28 days later. Group 5 of 6 rats underwent spinal cord transection followed by saline injection into the detrusor muscle after 28 days. Spinal cord injury was created by transecting the cord at the T9 to T10 level. All rats underwent cystometric examination initially and on day 42 before sacrifice. The bladders were removed and examined histologically for fibrosis and hyperplasia. Results: On cystometric examination BTX-A caused an improvement in baseline pressure, and the frequency and amplitude of uninhibited detrusor contractions (p 0.05). Histologically BTX-A led to decreased fibrosis and hyperplasia (p 0.05). Conclusions: BTX-A has a functional and histological healing effect on detrusor hyperreflexia subsequent to spinal cord injury in rats. Although administering BTX-A in the early period had better quantifiable functional and histological outcomes compared to the late period, the difference was not statistically significant