Examination of liver and muscle glycogen and blood glucose levels of Capoeta umbla (Heckel, 1843) living in Hazar Lake and Keban Dam Lake (Elazig, Turkey)

This study was conducted between December 2006 and November 2007 on Capoeta umbla fish species obtained from Hazar Lake and Keban Dam Lake (Elazig, Turkey). It was determined that the GSI values reached maximum in May and started decreasing after this month; the liver glycogen and condition factor values started decreasing after May when gonadal development is maximum. This decrease continued until June and then started increasing again. It was also determined that blood glucose values reached maximum when energy requirement is high and start to decrease after May when reproduction starts. In the summer, it was determined that glycogen and glucose reserves were at low levels when temperature is high. But they were at high levels at autumn and winter when the temperature is lower. Glycogen and glucose reserves generally showed parallel changes with oxygen reserves.Key words: Capoeta umbla, Hazar Lake, Keban Dam Lake, liver glycogen, muscle glycogen, blood glucose

A comparative study on the abundance and elemental composition of POM in three interconnected basins: the Black, the Marmara and the Mediterranean Seas

The abundance and elemental composition of suspended particulate organic matter in the upper layers of the interconnected Mediterranean, Marmara and Black Seas having different ecosystems were determined in 1990-1998. The aim was principally to compare the C:N:P ratio of seston and understand factors controlling the seston composition in near- and off-shore waters of these seas. In the Marmara Sea, euphotic zone average particulate concentrations varied regionally and seasonally between 10-35 ìM for POC, 0.4-4.5 ìM for PON and 0.05-0.45 ìM for PP. These concentrations are mostly above the off-shore Black Sea values but much greater than those measured in the open waters of the north-eastern Mediterranean whose near-shore data are comparable with the seston content of the deep Black Sea. Comparison of C:N:P ratios of seston reveals that atmospheric and land-based phosphorus input influences the C:P and N:P ratios in the near-shore waters. Apparent nutrient deficiencies observed in the water column were not as remarkable in the elemental composition of seston. Unexpectedly, in the NE Mediterranean, N:P ratios from regression analyses of particulate data are very low (7-9) in the coastal region but slightly increase to levels of 10-15 in the open sea. In the Sea of Marmara, the N:P ratios (7-12) of seston are as low as in the Mediterranean, being consistent with the particulate ratios of the Black Sea inflow and NO3:PO4 ratios of the Marmara sub-halocline water. The Black Sea seston is relatively rich in carbonaceous compounds with N:P ratio ranging merely between 15-17 in the open sea but 9-27 in coastal waters where riverine discharges markedly influence the stoichiometry of seston

Discovery of Delta Scuti variables in eclipsing binary systems II.Southern TESS field search

The presence of pulsating stars in eclipsing binary systems (EBs) makes these objects significant since they allow us to investigate the stellar interior structure and evolution. Different types of pulsating stars could be found in EBs such as Delta Scuti variables. Delta Scuti stars in EBs have been known for decades and the increasing number of such systems is important for understanding pulsational structure. Hence, in this study, a research was carried out on the southern TESS field to discover new Delta Scuti stars in EBs. We produced an algorithm to search for detached and semi-detached EBs considering three steps; the orbital period (P$_{orb}$)'s harmonics in the Fourier spectrum, skewness of the light curves, and classification of \textsc{UPSILON} program. If two of these steps classify a system as an EB, the algorithm also identifies it as an EB. The TESS pixel files of targets were also analyzed to see whether the fluxes are contaminated by other systems. No contamination was found. We researched the existence of pulsation through EBs with a visual inspection. To confirm Delta Scuti-type oscillations, the binary variation was removed from the light curve, and residuals were analyzed. Consequently, we identified 42 Delta Scuti candidates in EBs. The P$_{orb}$, $L$, and M$_{V}$ of systems were calculated. Their positions on the H-R diagram and the known orbital-pulsation period relationship were analyzed. We also examined our targets to find if any of them show frequency modulation with the orbital period and discovered one candidate of tidally tilted pulsators.Comment: Published in MNRA

Malarial Hemozoin Is a Nalp3 Inflammasome Activating Danger Signal

BACKGROUND: Characteristic symptoms of malaria include recurrent fever attacks and neurodegeneration, signs that are also found in patients with a hyperactive Nalp3 inflammasome. Plasmodium species produce a crystal called hemozoin that is generated by detoxification of heme after hemoglobin degradation in infected red blood cells. Thus, we hypothesized that hemozoin could activate the Nalp3 inflammasome, due to its particulate nature reminiscent of other inflammasome-activating agents. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that hemozoin acts as a proinflammatory danger signal that activates the Nalp3 inflammasome, causing the release of IL-1beta. Similar to other Nalp3-activating particles, hemozoin activity is blocked by inhibiting phagocytosis, K(+) efflux and NADPH oxidase. In vivo, intraperitoneal injection of hemozoin results in acute peritonitis, which is impaired in Nalp3-, caspase-1- and IL-1R-deficient mice. Likewise, the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria is dampened in Nalp3-deficient mice infected with Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, while parasitemia remains unchanged. SIGNIFICANCE/CONCLUSIONS: The potent pro-inflammatory effect of hemozoin through inflammasome activation may possibly be implicated in plasmodium-associated pathologies such as cerebral malaria

Malarial Hemozoin Is a Nalp3 Inflammasome Activating Danger Signal

BACKGROUND: Characteristic symptoms of malaria include recurrent fever attacks and neurodegeneration, signs that are also found in patients with a hyperactive Nalp3 inflammasome. Plasmodium species produce a crystal called hemozoin that is generated by detoxification of heme after hemoglobin degradation in infected red blood cells. Thus, we hypothesized that hemozoin could activate the Nalp3 inflammasome, due to its particulate nature reminiscent of other inflammasome-activating agents. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that hemozoin acts as a proinflammatory danger signal that activates the Nalp3 inflammasome, causing the release of IL-1beta. Similar to other Nalp3-activating particles, hemozoin activity is blocked by inhibiting phagocytosis, K(+) efflux and NADPH oxidase. In vivo, intraperitoneal injection of hemozoin results in acute peritonitis, which is impaired in Nalp3-, caspase-1- and IL-1R-deficient mice. Likewise, the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria is dampened in Nalp3-deficient mice infected with Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, while parasitemia remains unchanged. SIGNIFICANCE/CONCLUSIONS: The potent pro-inflammatory effect of hemozoin through inflammasome activation may possibly be implicated in plasmodium-associated pathologies such as cerebral malaria

Explorative imaging and its implementation at the FleX-ray laboratory

In tomographic imaging, the traditional process consists of an expert and an operator collecting data, the expert working on the reconstructed slices and drawing conclusions. The quality of reconstructions depends heavily on the quality of the collected data, except that, in the traditional process of imaging, the expert has very little influence over the acquisition parameters, experimental plan or the collected data. It is often the case that the expert has to draw limited conclusions from the reconstructions, or adapt a research question to data available. This method of imaging is static and sequential, and limits the potential of tomography as a research tool. In this paper, we propose a more dynamic process of imaging where experiments are tailored around a sample or the research question; intermediate reconstructions and analysis are available almost instantaneously, and expert has input at any stage of the process (including during acquisition) to improve acquisition or image reconstruction. Through various applications of 2D, 3D and dynamic 3D imaging at the FleX-ray Laboratory, we present the unexpected journey of exploration a research question undergoes, and the surprising benefits it yields

Sense of place in the changing process of house form: Case studies from Ankara, Turkey

This paper aims to investigate the impact of typomorphological changes of residential environments on residents’ sense of place’. Seven housing developments representing different types introduced in Ankara, Turkey since the late 19th-century are selected as case studies. Their morphological characters at the building, street and neighbourhood scales are examined, and typological transformations among the cases in terms of the degrees of continuity are identified. The paper proposes a conceptual model consisting of ten indicators to assess sense of place at the building, street and neighbourhood scales of the residents of the seven cases. The scores of sense of place are generated through structured interviews with the residents and analysed in SPSS. The results show that sense of place is negatively affected by typomorphological changes over time, particularly when mutational changes occur. Continuity in typomorphological transformation helps to maintain sense of place at a desirable level. Furthermore, physical changes at the street and neighbourhood scales have larger impact on sense of place than that at the building scale. The research thus suggests that planning and design should be responsive to traditional types in residential development, particularly at the street and neighbourhood scales to maintain residents’ sense of place

Accounting Problems Under the Excess Profits Tax

DNA vaccines based on subunits from pathogens have several advantages over other vaccine strategies. DNA vaccines can easily be modified, they show good safety profiles, are stable and inexpensive to produce, and the immune response can be focused to the antigen of interest. However, the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines which is generally quite low needs to be improved. Electroporation and co-delivery of genetically encoded immune adjuvants are two strategies aiming at increasing the efficacy of DNA vaccines. Here, we have examined whether targeting to antigen-presenting cells (APC) could increase the immune response to surface envelope glycoprotein (Env) gp120 from Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV- 1). To target APC, we utilized a homodimeric vaccine format denoted vaccibody, which enables covalent fusion of gp120 to molecules that can target APC. Two molecules were tested for their efficiency as targeting units: the antibody-derived single chain Fragment variable (scFv) specific for the major histocompatilibility complex (MHC) class II I-E molecules, and the CC chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3). The vaccines were delivered as DNA into muscle of mice with or without electroporation. Targeting of gp120 to MHC class II molecules induced antibodies that neutralized HIV-1 and that persisted for more than a year after one single immunization with electroporation. Targeting by CCL3 significantly increased the number of HIV-1 gp120-reactive CD8(+) T cells compared to non-targeted vaccines and gp120 delivered alone in the absence of electroporation. The data suggest that chemokines are promising molecular adjuvants because small amounts can attract immune cells and promote immune responses without advanced equipment such as electroporation.Funding Agencies|Research Council of Norway; Odd Fellow</p

Biallelic variants in ADAMTS15 cause a novel form of distal arthrogryposis

Purpose We aimed to identify the underlying genetic cause for a novel form of distal arthrogryposis. Methods Rare variant family-based genomics, exome sequencing, and disease-specific panel sequencing were used to detect ADAMTS15 variants in affected individuals. Adamts15 expression was analyzed at the single-cell level during murine embryogenesis. Expression patterns were characterized using in situ hybridization and RNAscope. Results We identified homozygous rare variant alleles of ADAMTS15 in 5 affected individuals from 4 unrelated consanguineous families presenting with congenital flexion contractures of the interphalangeal joints and hypoplastic or absent palmar creases. Radiographic investigations showed physiological interphalangeal joint morphology. Additional features included knee, Achilles tendon, and toe contractures, spinal stiffness, scoliosis, and orthodontic abnormalities. Analysis of mouse whole-embryo single-cell sequencing data revealed a tightly regulated Adamts15 expression in the limb mesenchyme between embryonic stages E11.5 and E15.0. A perimuscular and peritendinous expression was evident in in situ hybridization in the developing mouse limb. In accordance, RNAscope analysis detected a significant coexpression with Osr1, but not with markers for skeletal muscle or joint formation. Conclusion In aggregate, our findings provide evidence that rare biallelic recessive trait variants in ADAMTS15 cause a novel autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder, resulting in a distal arthrogryposis syndrome