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Illegal logging, one of the crimes that damage the forests most, may cost human life as well as tax losses in the world. Only even with commercial concerns, 908 people were killed in 35 countries between 2002 and 2013 due to environmental conflicts. However, the absence of comprehensive international legal norms on forest crimes indicates that domestic law is primarily responsible for determining the nature, scope and consequences of these crimes. In this study, Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are among the top countries that suffer the most from forest crimes, and Türkiye, which experienced a significant increase in forest crimes after 2015, were examined in terms of illegal logging crime, forest law and the fine balances related to this crime. It is aimed to discover if there is a relationship between punishment/fine and the number of crimes.

HBV is a DNA virus and the causative agent of hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B is a contagious disease and is still a major health problem all over the world. When the infection become chronic, it may cause serious diseases such as fibrosis, cirrhosis and/or hepatocellular carcinoma. Interferon/pegylated interferon by intravenous route and nucleoside/nucleotide (NA) analogues such as lamivudine, adefovir, entecavir, telbivudine and tenofovir given by oral route are used in the treatment. Antivirals given by oral route are mostly preferred in the treatment. However, because of the replication strategy and biological properties of HBV, mutations that cause antiviral resistance against these drugs can occur at different rates, although they can vary from drug to drug over time. It is possible that drug resistant virus may transmit from patient to healthy individuals. Therefore, there is a possibility of infection with drug-resistant HBV before treatment. Antiviral resistance mutations are divided into four categories; i) Nucleos(t)ide analog resistance (NAr)-related mutations, ii) primary drug resistance mutations, iii) secondary/compensatory mutations, iv) putative antiviral resistance mutations and pre-treatment variations. Recent studies have focused particularly on putative mutations and pre-treatment variations. The aim of this study was to better understanding of the antiviral resistance profiles of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated and untreated with NA, and help to prevent unnecessary drug use, minimize the side effects and economic damages. A total of 124 patients who have received nucleoside analog (NA) drug treatments (n= 72) and patients without NA treatment (n= 52) were included in the study. Viral DNA was isolated from the plasma samples of the patients. A DNA fragment, which is 551 bp, was amplified and sequenced including the binding side of all nucleoside analogs containing the B, C and D domains located in the reverse transcriptase region in the HBV genome. Different types of mutations were detected in 13 (18.05%) of 72 treated patients and in 18 (34.61%) of 52 untreated patients (p< 0.05). Primary drug resistance mutations such as rtI169T, rtA181T/V, rtT184A/C/F/G/I/L/M/S, rtA194T, rtS202C/G/I, rtM204I/V/S, rtN236T, rt M250I/L/V and rtV173L were not detected in any of the patient samples. However, potential drug resistance mutations such as rtR164R, rtG165D/A, rtG172Q, rtS176N, rtF178V, rtA181G, rtS185N/G/C, rtV207M, rtQ215H/S, rtL231V, rtI233K, rtN238S, rtV253T, rtC256G/S and rtI266R/V were detected in untreated patient samples in B, C, D and D domains of reverse transcriptase region. Our results have suggested that the detection of pretreatment variations could be helpful for choosing the correct antiviral drug for the better treatment management.

The basal core promoter (BCP) and precore (PC) gene regions of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome are important for the viral replication and synthesis of "e" antigen. Genetic variability has been described in PCP and PC gene regions, commonly in HBeAg negative patients. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of the predominant mutation patterns of BCP/PC gene regions and their correlations with HBeAg status, HBV-DNA levels, and liver biochemical profiles in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients infected with genotype D, in Mersin province which is located at Mediteranean part of Turkey. A total of 54 CHB patients (33 male, 21 female; mean age: 40.05±12.91 years) infected with HBV genotype D were enrolled in the study. Serum HBV-DNA levels, serological markers (HBsAg, anti-HBs, HBeAg, anti-HBe, anti-HBc) and biochemical profiles (ALT and AST) were analyzed in all patients. BCP and PC gene regions were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and mutations of these regions were determined by direct sequencing of PCR products then aligned with known wild-type HBV sequences. BCP [nucleotide (nt.) 1753-1762/1764] and/or PC (nt. 1896) mutations were detected in 87.75% (43/49) of the patients. Mutation rates were detected as 97.1% (33/34) and 66.7% (10/15) in the HBeAg negative and in HBeAg positive patient groups, respectively (p=0.008). PC nt. G1896A mutation was more common in HBeAg negative samples than in HBeAg positive samples (73.5% vs. 20%, p=0.001), however there was no significant differences in the occurrence of BCP mutations between the two groups (p=0.331). No correlation was found between the presence of BCP and/or PC mutations and serum HBV-DNA or ALT-AST levels. Our study reveals that significant number of chronically infected patients with genotype D HBV have BCP and PC variants. G1896A stop codon mutation in precore region seems to have a significant role in the loss of HBeAg in our patients. The results of our study provided important data about the frequency and the genetic heterogeneity of different kinds of mutations occurring at BCP and PC gene regions.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family and the RNA genome e x hibit high genetic heterogeneity. Six major genotypes were phylogenetically determined and each genotype contains different subtypes. The distribution of HCV genotypes varies geographically throughout the world. Determination of viral genotype has great importance in the selection of antiviral therapy, treatment duration and monitoring the response to treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of HCV genotypes in Mersin province located at the Southern part of Turkey. A total of 236 patients (137 females, 99 males; mean age: 53.28 ± 14.99 years) with chronic HCV infection who were admitted to Mersin University Hospital Microbiology Laboratory during March 2010-May 2012 period were included in the study. The patients were anti-HCV (ELISA; Abbott Laboratories, USA) and HCV-RNA (Cobas TaqMan 48, Roche Diagnostic, USA) positive. HCV genotype analysis was determined by using a commercial LiPA kit (Line Probe Assay; AMPLIQUALITY HCV-TS; AB Analitica, Italy) based on the reverse hybridization of amplification products of viral 5'-UTR region. Out of the 236 patients, genotype 1b was observed in 84.7% (n= 200), genotype 3a in 4.2% (n= 10), genotype 1 in 3.8% (n= 9), genotype 1a/1b in 2.1% (n= 5), genotype 4a in 2% (n= 2), genotype 1a in 1.7% (n= 4), genotype 2b in 1.3% (n= 3), genotype 2 in 0.4% (n= 1), genotype 2a/2c in 0.4% (n= 1) and genotype 6 in 0.4% (n= 1). In the cases infected with genotype 1b, statistically significant differences were detected between gender distribution with the mean serum ALT (46.14 IU/L in females, 63.9 IU/L in males; p= 0.029) and HCV-RNA (634 x 103 IU/L in females, 20 x 105 IU/L in males; p= 0.005) levels. This was the first study that reflected the distribution of HCV genotypes in southern Turkey region. Genotype 1b, associated with poor prognosis and which had the highest prevalence in Turkey, was also determined as the most common genotype with a rate of 84.7% in our region. In addition, low rates of genotype 1a, 2b, 3a and 4a which were identified with low frequency in our country and newly introduced genotype 6 were also demonstrated.

Currently, ten genotypes (A-J) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) are identified based on the nucleic acid sequence heterogeneity, and these genotypes have been shown to have distinct geographic distribution. Reports of previous studies indicated that the genotype D is the predominant type among hepatitis B patients in different regions of Turkey, however there is no data for HBV genotypes to date from Mersin region. The aim of this study was to investigate the HBV genotypes by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in chronic hepatitis B patients in Mersin province (located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey). A total of 54 serum samples were obtained from the chronic hepatitis B patients (33 male, 21 female; mean age: 40.05 years) followed-up at Gastroenterology Clinic of Mersin University Hospital. Patients had detectable HBV-DNA levels in their serum samples, and they were under antiviral therapy for at least one year. Genotyping of HBV was performed by RFLP analysis with the use of AvaII and MboI restriction enzymes after amplification of pre-S gene region by PCR. Confirmation of selected 18 cases was carried out with direct DNA sequencing. The genotypes were determined by phylogenetic comparison with 43 reference NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) HBV sequences. Genotype determination was not successful in seven cases; since three of them were negative in preS-PCR, three of them yielded non-specific bands, and one of them exhibited a deleted PCR product, at the 300 bp level that was shorter than expected. Four different restriction patterns were determined in PCR-RFLP analysis of the remaining 47 samples. One of these patterns which was AvaII [-]/MboI [306/89/51], was clearly discriminated in 72.3% (34/47) of the samples as genotype D. Genotype discrimination of three patterns could not be done properly and these patterns were AvaII [- ]/MboI [357/306/89/51] (7/47, 14.9%), AvaII [300/146]/MboI [306/89/51] (5/47, 10.7%), and AvaII [- ]/MboI [357/89/---] (1/47, 2.1%). Phylogenetic comparison of HBV sequences demonstrated that all patterns in our cases were clustered in NCBI genotype D sequences. Patterns of AvaII [300/146]/MboI [306/89/51] and AvaII [-]/ MboI [357/89/---] and deleted sample were recognized as pre-S gene variants of HBV isolates. Our data indicated that the predominant HBV type was genotype D as commonly seen in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries. The results of this study also showed that the genotype uniformity and pre-S gene variants within the HBV isolates could be crucial in terms of understanding the molecular epidemiology of HBV circulating in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.

Helicobacter pylori is reported as the etiological agent of gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcer, gastric adenoid carcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. In the diagnosis of H.pylori infections invasive (culture, histopathological examination, rapid urease test and molecular tests) and non-invasive (urea breath test, serological tests, stool culture and stool antigen/nucleic acid tests) methods may be used. Clarithromycin, amoxicillin and combination of metronidazole and protonpump inhibitor or ranitidine bismuth citrate triple treatment protocol is applied in order to treat and eradicate the infection. However, increasing rates of antibiotic resistance among H.pylori strains reduces the success of eradication therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of H.pylori in the gastric antral biopsy specimens and to determine the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. A total of 149 gastric antral biopsy specimens obtained from patients (age range: 17-83 years; 73 were male) who admitted to Mersin University Faculty of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine Gastroenterology clinic with dyspeptic complaints were included in the study. H.pylori presence was investigated by culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and urease test from gastric biopsy specimens, and H.pylori-specific antigen (HpSA) was investigated by ELISA in the stool samples of patients. Resistance to tetracycline, amoxicillin, metronidazole and levofloxacin was determined with E-test method. Clarithromycin resistance was determined both by E-test and PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) methods. H.pylori was detected in 29.6% (43/145) of patients with culture, 55.2% (80/145) of patients with urease test, 57% (65/114) of patients with HpSA test and 71.3% (102/143) of patients with PCR. The sensitivity and specificity of culture, PCR, HpSA and urease tests were determined as 52.4% and 100%, 96.3% and 62.3%, 80.3% and 81.4%, 86.6% and 85.7%, respectively. According to the E-test results, resistance to clarithromycin was 18.2%, to tetracycline 9.1%, to metronidazole 45.5%, to levofloxacin 18.2% and no resistance was determined to amoxicillin. Clarithromycin resistance was searched in 94 of PCR positive 102 samples, and 17 (18.1%) of them yielded clarithromycin resistance. Of them 11 (64.7%) harbored A2144G (at 2144. nucleotide), and 6 (%35.3) harbored A2143G (at 2143. nucleotide) point mutations. In our study, PCR was determined as the most sensitive method, however due to its low specificity, the results should be confirmed with at least one of the other methods. The specificity of culture method was high, but sensitivity was found to be quite low compared with other methods. The sensitivity and specificity of urease and HpSA tests were found to be similar. In conclusion, in cases which endoscopy could not be done, non-invasive, rapid and practical HpSA method can be used in diagnosis and monitorization of the treatment. In the case of treatment failure, culture should be performed for antibiotic susceptibility testing of the isolate.

We present a 35-year-old male patient with an eight-year history of endoscopic nasal polypectomy followed by five episodes of meningitis (4 episodes in the past 3 years). His major complaints were right-sided nasal obstruction, frequent watery nasal discharge, headache, and fever. Physical examination revealed a mass in the right nasal cavity. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a defect in the cribriform plate and an ethmoidal meningocele. The patient was referred to the neurosurgery department for surgical reparation.