Effects of land-use changes on landslides in a landslide-prone area (Ardesen, Rize, NE Turkey).

Various natural hazards such as landslides, avalanches, floods and debris flows can result in enormous property damages and human casualties in Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. Mountainous topographic character and high frequency of heavy rain are the main factors for landslide occurrence in Ardesen, Rize. For this reason, the main target of the present study is to evaluate the landslide hazards using a sequence of historical aerial photographs in Ardesen (Rize), Turkey, by Photogrammetry and Geographical Information System (GIS). Landslide locations in the study area were identified by interpretation of aerial photographs dated in 1973 and 2002, and by field surveys. In the study, the selected factors conditioning landslides are lithology, slope gradient, slope aspect, vegetation cover, land class, climate, rainfall and proximity to roads. These factors were considered as effective on the occurrence of landslides. The areas under landslide threat were analyzed and mapped considering the landslide conditioning factors. Some of the conditioning factors were investigated and estimated by employing visual interpretation of aerial photos and topographic data. The results showed that the slope, lithology, terrain roughness, proximity to roads, and the cover type played important roles on landslide occurrence. The results also showed that degree of landslides was affected by the number of houses constructed in the region. As a consequence, the method employed in the study provides important benefits for landslide hazard mitigation efforts, because a combination of both photogrammetric techniques and GIS is presented.

New monoclonal antibody specific for a 6.5 kDa glycoprotein which presents mainly on a B cell of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a most common form of adult leukemia. No specific marker for CLL has been defined until today. We attempt to produce a specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) to CLL B cells. For this purpose, Balb-C mice were immunised with peripheral blood lymphocytes of a patient with CLL. After the fusion, the immunised mouse spleen cells and SP2/0 myeloma cell line, antibody secreting clones were selected by ELISA and specific antibody was determined by flow cytometry. Leukemic cells from different patients, different cell line and lymphoid tissue were tested with this mAb using flow cytometry and immunoperoxidase methods. Ligand of the mAb on cell surface was identified using epitope analysing method. We have shown that this mAb is specific to a molecule with 6.5 kDa molecular weight, which is present mainly on B CLL cells (63.7+/-16.4%). It has also been shown that this molecule was a glycoprotein. Amongst the different cell lines that were tested, Raji cell, Molt-3 and P3HR-1 cells were expressing this molecule. We, therefore, suggest that it is a novel molecule with unknown function and is mainly present on the B cells of CLL.

Radiologic findings in primary pulmonary leiomyosarcoma.

Leiomyosarcomas are uncommon smooth muscle tumors most commonly encountered in the female genital organs, gastrointestinal tract, and soft tissues. They are rarely encountered as primary pulmonary neoplasms. Herein we describe the conventional radiographic and computed tomographic findings in a patient with a pulmonary leiomyosarcoma.

Phenotypic characteristics of B cells in Behçet's disease: increased activity in B cell subsets.

OBJECTIVE: Increased numbers of spontaneous Ig secreting B cells and elevated immunoglobulin levels have been described in Behçet's disease (BD), in addition to changes in numbers and activities of T cells, natural killer cells, and monocyte-macrophages. We investigated other characteristics of B cells in BD. METHODS: B lymphocyte subsets (CD19+CD5+, CD19+CD13+, CD19+CD28+, CD19+CD33+, CD19+CD80+, CD5+CD19+CD45RA+, CD5+CD19+CD45RO+) were phenotypically evaluated in 50 patients with BD, 80 healthy subjects, and 20 other patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and sepsis. RESULTS: Although the B cell number (CD19+) was normal, CD13 and CD33 positive B cells were more numerous in BD and sepsis compared to healthy controls and patients with RA and SLE. The percentage of CD45RO positive B cells was higher in both BD and sepsis, while the percentage of CD80 positive B cells was high only in BD. There was no increase in the CD5+CD19+ B cell subset, previously shown to be increased in several autoimmune diseases. Naive (CD45RA) and memory (CD45RO) status of CD5+CD19+ and CD5-CD19+ B cells showed that CD45RA expression was higher in CD5+CD19+ B cells, whereas expression of both CD45RA and CD45RO was higher in the CD5-CD19+ B cell group compared with healthy controls. CONCLUSION: Although the total B cell number was normal, increased levels of activated and memory B cell subsets suggest a modified B cell function in BD, which may be related to a weak stimulus by an unknown external antigen.

Clinical application of Tc-99m tetrofosmin scintigraphy in patients with cold thyroid nodules. Comparison with color Doppler sonography.

We prospectively studied 26 patients with cold thyroid nodules (five malignant and 21 benign nodules) on Tc-99m pertechnetate scintigraphy to investigate the diagnostic value of Tc-99m tetrofosmin scintigraphy and color-Doppler sonography in differentiating malignant from benign thyroid nodules. In each patient, Tc-99m Tetrofosmin uptake in the nodule and intranodule vascularity were assessed semiquantatively. Both the uptake and vascularity were classified as low, Iso or high. Eight out of 26 nodules showed high Tc-99m tetrofosmin uptake; five of them were malignant. Eight (including four malignant tumors) out of 26 nodules showed increased vascularity compared with normal thyroid tissue on color-Doppler sonography. In six out of eight patients with high uptake of Tc99m-tetrofosmin, increased vascularity was observed. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value of Tc-99m tetrofosmin scintigraphy and color-Doppler sonography were determined to be 100% and 80%, 85% and 80%, 62% and 50%, and 100% and 94%, respectively. We conclude that color-Doppler sonography seems to have limited value in the detection of malignant thyroid nodules. However, Tc-99m tetrofosmin scintigraphy is a sensitive method to use in diagnosing malignant nodules, although it is not specific for the detection of malignant nodules.