OBJECTIVE To establish an indirect immunofluorescent test so as to improve the sensitivity and specificity of examination of antibodies to beta(2)-glycoprotein METHODS Full-length beta(2)GP cDNA was obtained from human hepatocellular cancer cell line HepG2 by RT-PCR and cloned into the mammalian expression vector pEGFP-C1 The recombinant plasmid pEGFP-beta(2)GP was transfected into HEp-2 cells RT-PCR, immunoblotting (IBT), confocal fluorescence microscopy, and indirect immunofluorescent test (IIF) were used to confirm the expression, localization, and antigenicity of fusion protein of green fluorescent protein (GFP) Serum specimens from 19 patients suspected as with secondary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), 1 patient diagnosed as with primary APS, and 10 normal persons were detected with IIF-IgG-beta(2)GP1, ELISA-IgG-ACL, and ELISA-IgG-beta(2)GP I simultaneously RESULTS (1) The HEp-beta(2)GP I cells thus obtained retained their ability of expression of beta(2)GP-I-GFP for more than ten generations This beta(2)GP-I-GFP showed the antigenicity of beta(2)GP-I with a characteristic feature (2) Seven of the 20 serum specimens from APS patients showed characteristic immunofluorescent pattern No serum specimen from normal persons showed immunofluorescent staining The comparison of results of the three methods showed that the concordance between IIF-IgG-beta(2)GP I and ELISA-IgG-beta(2)GP I was the most perfect (Kappa = 0886) (3) HEp-beta(2)GP I retained the immunofluorescent property of HEp-2 cell CONCLUSION As a new kind of substrate of IIF, beta(2)GP I transfectant can be used to detect anti-beta(2)GP-I antibodies Transfeted HEp-2 cells keep the immunofluorescent property of HEp-2 cells in IFANA test and can be used as substrate for routine IFANA detection

[Expression of fusion proteins in beta(2)GP I gene-transfected HEp-2 cells and its clinical application].

The ocean circulation is a cause and consequence of fluid scale interactions ranging from millimeters to more than 10,000 km. Although the wind field produces a large energy input to the ocean, all but approximately 10% appears to be dissipated within about 100 m of the sea surface, rendering observations of the energy divergence necessary to maintain the full water-column flow difficult. Attention thus shifts to the physically different kinetic energy (KE) reservoirs of the circulation and their maintenance, dissipation, and possible influence on the very small scales representing irreversible molecular mixing. Oceanic KE is dominated by the geostrophic eddy field, and depending on the vertical structure (barotropic versus low-mode baroclinic), direct and inverse energy cascades are possible. The pathways toward dissipation of the dominant geostrophic eddy KE depend crucially on the direction of the cascade but are difficult to quantify because of serious observational difficulties for wavelengths shorte...

Ocean Circulation Kinetic Energy: Reservoirs, Sources, and Sinks

The continental slope is a steep, narrow fringe separating the coastal zone from the deep ocean. During low sea-level stands, slides and dense, sediment-laden flows erode the outer continental shelf and the continental slope, leading to the formation of submarine canyons that funnel large volumes of sediment and organic matter from shallow regions to the deep ocean(1). During high sea-level stands, such as at present, these canyons still experience occasional sediment gravity flows(2-5), which are usually thought to be triggered by sediment failure or river flooding. Here we present observations from a submarine canyon on the Gulf of Lions margin, in the northwest Mediterranean Sea, that demonstrate that these flows can also be triggered by dense shelf water cascading (DSWC)-a type of current that is driven solely by seawater density contrast. Our results show that DSWC can transport large amounts of water and sediment, reshape submarine canyon floors and rapidly affect the deep-sea environment. This cascading is seasonal, resulting from the formation of dense water by cooling and/or evaporation, and occurs on both high- and low-latitude continental margins(6-8). DSWC may therefore transport large amounts of sediment and organic matter to the deep ocean. Furthermore, changes in the frequency and intensity of DSWC driven by future climate change may have a significant impact on the supply of organic matter to deep-sea ecosystems and on the amount of carbon stored on continental margins and in ocean basins.

Flushing submarine canyons

Zooplankton fecal pellets, marine snow, phytodetritus and the ocean’s biological pump

Publisher Summary The Mediterranean Region has many morphologic, geographical, historical, and societal characteristics, which make its climate scientifically interesting. The concept of Mediterranean climate is characterized by mild wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers and occur on the west side of continents between about 30° and 40° latitude. However, the presence of a relatively large mass of water is unique to the actual Mediterranean region. The Mediterranean Sea is a marginal and semi-enclosed sea; it is located on the western side of a large continental area and is surrounded by Europe to the North, Africa to the South, and Asia to the East. The chapter discusses that the climate of the Mediterranean region is to a large extent forced by planetary scale patterns. The time and space behavior of the regional features associated with such large-scale forcing is complex. Orography and land–sea distribution play an important role establishing the climate at basin scale and its teleconnections with global patterns. Different levels of services of readiness to emergencies, technological, and economic resources are likely to result in very different adaptation capabilities to environmental changes and new problems. The different economic situations and demographic trends are likely to produce contrasts and conflicts in a condition of limited available resources and environmental stress.

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The Mediterranean climate: An overview of the main characteristics and issues

Drastic changes have occurred in the vertical structure of the deep waters of the eastern Mediterranean in the early 1990s, as dense water of Aegean origin has displaced lighter waters of Adriatic origin at the bottom of the deep basins. This work suggests that the initiation of this process took place in the North Aegean in the winter of 1986/1987 and was intensified by another formation event in 1992/1993. The available observations from the North Aegean support such a scenario. Furthermore, we propose that the outflow of Black Sea waters into the Aegean through the Dardanelles could act as an insulator of the deeper layer from the atmosphere, thus absorbing a large part of the heat and salt exchange; despite this fact, the existence of the densest bottom water of the Mediterranean in the North Aegean, and the continuation of density increase for a large period of time, suggests that it is a region of formation, thus that the insulation layer may at times be penetrated. We suggest that reduced Black Sea outflow into the North Aegean could facilitate dense water formation during the passage of cold atmospheric fronts in the winter.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2000JC900131

The role of the North Aegean in triggering the recent Eastern Mediterranean climatic changes

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01780370/document

Carbon flow in the planktonic food web along a gradient of oligotrophy in the Aegean Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/58723.pdf

Phytoplankton size-based dynamics in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean)

The combination of two research projects offered us the opportunity to perform a comprehensive study of the seasonal evolution of the hydrological structure and the circulation of the North Aegean Sea, at the northern extremes of the eastern Mediterranean. The combination of brackish water inflow from the Dardanelles and the sea-bottom relief dictate the significant differences between the North and South Aegean water columns. The relatively warm and highly saline South Aegean waters enter the North Aegean through the dominant cyclonic circulation of the basin. In the North Aegean, three layers of distinct water masses of very different properties are observed: The 20-50 m thick surface layer is occupied mainly by Black Sea Water, modified on its way through the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles. Below the surface layer there is warm and highly saline water originating in the South Aegean and the Levantine, extending down to 350-400 m depth. Below this layer, the deeper-than-400 m basins of the North Aegean contain locally formed, very dense water with different θ /S characteristics at each subbasin. The circulation is characterised by a series of permanent, semi-permanent and transient mesoscale features, overlaid on the general slow cyclonic circulation of the Aegean. The mesoscale activity, while not necessarily important in enhancing isopycnal mixing in the region, in combination with the very high stratification of the upper layers, however, increases the residence time of the water of the upper layers in the general area of the North Aegean. As a result, water having out-flowed from the Black Sea in the winter, forms a separate distinct layer in the region in spring (lying between “younger” BSW and the Levantine origin water), and is still traceable in the water column in late summer.

/pdf/hydrology-and-circulation-in-the-north-aegean-eastern-29llrmggqn.pdf

Vassilis Zervakis

Papers

The role of the North Aegean in triggering the recent Eastern Mediterranean climatic changes

Carbon flow in the planktonic food web along a gradient of oligotrophy in the Aegean Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

Phytoplankton size-based dynamics in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean)

Hydrology and circulation in the North Aegean (eastern Mediterranean) throughout 1997 and 1998

Comments on “Cascades of dense water around the world ocean”