Lipopolysaccharide is a frequent contaminant of plasmid DNA preparations and can be toxic to primary cells in the presence of adenovirus

Endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) is commonly found as a contaminant in plasmid DNA preparations. We demonstrate here that the quantities of LPS typically contaminating DNA preparations can generate a toxicity to primary cells (primary human skin fibroblasts, primary human melanoma cells) in the presence of entry-competent adenovirus particles. Toxicity can be observed with as little as 100 ng/ml free LPS or 100 pg/ml LPS when the LPS is assembled into polylysine/adenovirus complexes. Simple and effective methods of removing the contaminating LPS using either a polymyxin B resin or Triton X-114 extraction are described. Treatment of DNA samples to remove LPS eliminates the toxicity to primary cells

Development of Acute Encephalopathy Due to Vigabatrin Use in a Case of Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia

A 3-month-old boy with early myoclonic epilepsy owing to nonketotic hyperglycinemia developed acute encephalopathy after - vigabatrin was presented. Due to the use of vigabatrin, the elevated gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration in the brain together with the elevated levels of glycine enhanced the encephalopathy. Our observations indicate the risk of using vigabatrin in patients with nonketotic hyperglycinemia

Diversification of Europe further: the more the merrier or too much of a good thing?

Perception of migrant inflows as a negative phenomenon in Europe is generally attached with native populations. For some time, however, in particular with the rise of immigrants/asylum-seekers, patterns of similar anxiety have here become increasingly observable amongst the resident non-nationals. This paper provides evidence along these lines from a number of EU members. Accordingly, the non-nationals express today minimum as much concern about the expansion of immigrant size as the nationals are believed to have traditionally voiced

The North-South divide in Europe: an economic anomaly or more of an existential question?

The EU’s protracted debt crisis has been addressing an obvious split between its northern and southern members. Granted that contractions over the last decade have taken their toll in the goods, services and financial markets of the latter group far more heavily than in those of the former, the economic implications of the Greek bailout negotiations lately are overshadowed by deep-seated fissures at the public level. As the findings of this comparative study substantiate them, there exist currently significant signs of resentment between citizens of the EU’s northern and southern Member States

Psoralen Treatment of Adenovirus Particles Eliminates Virus Replication and Transcription While Maintaining the Endosomolytic Activity of the Virus Capsid

Adenovirus entry into its host cell transiently permeabilizes the cell allowing the coentry of reagents such as DNA. We compare here adenovirus inactivation with β-propiolactone and several psoralen derivatives, seeking reagents that disrupt the viral genome without impairing the viral entry functions. No virus replication can be detected after 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) modification. Viral transcription is not detectable by Northern analysis, and reverse transcriptase/PCR analysis demonstrates at least a 1000-fold decrease in viral transcription after 8-MOP treatment. Using [3H]8-MOP, the psoralen is found to enter the virus capsid and react throughout the viral genome, with approximately one psoralen modification per 100 bp of viral DNA. This inactivated adenovirus allows us to deliver DNA to target cells without interference from adenovirus gene expression or replication. Furthermore, we can now study the host cell response to adenovirus entry without the complications of adenovirus gene expression

Preserving and Rehabilitating The Historic Urban Landscape Of Istanbul:A Case Study Of The Büyükdere District

Büyükdere has been a settlement since the Byzantine period and was a popular summer destination for ambassadors and foreigners due to its natural beauty in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nevertheless, while the urban sprawl of Büyükdere continued during the Republican period, the settlement began to lose its cosmopolitan structure. The problematic legal processes of Bosporus caused deterioration in the historical fabric of Büyükdere, even though it was declared a “historical urban site” in 1983.As a unique part of Bosporus’ urban morphology, Büyükdere has not received enough attention, which can support the preservation of its urban fabric, from scholars and local authorities so far. Therefore, this study aims to fill the knowledge gap on Büyükdere by highlighting its preservation problems and thus, developing rehabilitation proposals for its historical urban fabric. The settlement was documented via various analyses, and through them: legal, physical, and socio-economic preservation problems were determined at the building and urban scales. In 2023, 10,2% of the buildings were determined unoccupied, whilst 10% of the buildings were observed as structurally in bad condition. While 50,9% of the existing building stock was determined as new buildings, 6,4% of the buildings on the site were newly constructed on listed parcels. When the numbers of listed buildings were compared in 1978, 1983, 2004, and 2022, it was determined that 167 heritage buildings were lost during the last decades. The primary cause of this heritage loss has been identified as legal procedures, which significantly impact the site's preservation status. In parallel with these, due to the decrease in the local population, abandonment and neglect were observed to impact the deterioration level of remaining heritage buildings.Consequently, new urban designs and interventions were proposed to revitalize the fabric and create a sustainable preservation environment.<br/

Interior Design Education in the Context of Climate Change:A Systematic Assessment of Existing Capacity in Türkiye

The increase in the global mean temperature leads to the climate change events we experience today. To limit global warming at +1.5-2°C, actors of the built environment -who are responsible for 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere- along with their institutions and authorities, should act. However, recent studies indicate that the awareness level of actors from the interior design field on their role in climate action is lower than that of other built environment-related disciplines. Nevertheless, higher education institutions that are dealing with complex, abstract concepts such as climate change itself, more often than other educational institutions, are thought to have a significant role in this awareness issue since awareness can be boosted by knowledge and learning. Yet, the nexus of design education and climate change in Türkiye has not been well-studied. However, assessing the existing capacity of individuals, institutions, and entities can provide guidance to cope with the impacts of climate change.Therefore, this study aims to assess the existing capacity of interior design education in Türkiye in the context of climate change via a systematic assessment to determine the awareness levels of higher education institutes, including the actors of interior design scholars and interior design students, in Türkiye. To achieve that, it employs a 3-phased assessment in the curriculums of (1) undergraduate programs, (2) graduate programs of interior design departments, and (3) theses which are conducted on the topic in Türkiye. Statistical results were interpreted under two main subjects: climate change-focused and climate change-related. While the significantly low results of focused ones addressed an educational gap in the curriculums, promising numbers of climate change-related courses and theses indicate an ongoing process that can be boosted by increasing the awareness levels of the educational actors.<br/

Transmedia Storytelling in education: English language teachers' acceptance of application of Transmedia Storytelling to teaching contexts

The increasing success of transmedia storytelling projects, which were mostly for marketing purposes, drew attention of the scholars and specialists from different areas. Followed by the modification and reconstruction of the term by the various other area scholars and specialists. And also, brought back the already existing analogous terms and applications related to the phenomena, into the question. One of such areas of inquiry is education, more specifically language teaching. It is assumed; the elements composing Transmedia Storytelling practice, might have implications for the teaching contexts and the same success is expected when the essence of the term, is applied to teaching contexts. The current study is based on these attempts to modify and adapt Transmedia Storytelling phenomena to the teaching contexts