Dear readers of the Hacettepe Journal of Biology and Chemistry,

We are pleased to introduce you the second issue of the 38th volume. This volume is composed of 11 papers. Our motivation for the publication of this journal comes from the increasing number of submissions authored by a distinguished group of scientists. Up to now we have published number of papers in the biology and chemistry area, as well as special issues dedicated to the special topic or conference.  

Developing of new techniques for detecting important biologic molecules are one of the aims of molecular imprinting. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) is a biogenic amine that acts as a neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. It is present in a variety of organisms, ranging from humans to species such as worms that have primitive nervous systems, and mediates a variety of physiological responses in distinct cell types. Serotonin is one of the indolic compound which has a clinical importance. Serotonin imprinted polymers were synthesized by using different functional monomers. Best results were taken with 2-(trifluoromethyl) acrylic acid and methacrylamide. The binding capacities in different solvents were evaluated. The specifity of polymer was tested by real blood sample. 

Acylation reaction of a variety of cyclic ketones via acylation of the corresponding enamines is well-defined in the literature. Enamine acylation of carbonyl compounds is a significant synthetic method because of its mildness and the ease of preparing various β- diketones.The pyrrolidine and morpholine enamines of cyclic ketones such as cyclohexanone and cyclopentanone were successfully reacted with phenylacetyl chloride and chloroacetyl chloride respectively, to yield various acetylated or diacetylated enamines. No trace of acetylated pyrrolidine was observed where acylated morpholine was isolated in good yields when morpholine enamines were reacted. 

Creatinine (2-amino-1-methyl-5H-imidazol-4-one) is an amino acid that occurs in vertebrate tissues and in urine. The mid and far infrared spectra of creatinine were recorded in the solid phase. The optimized structure of creatinine was obtained using DFT/B3LYP method with 6-311+G(d,p) and LANL2DZ basis sets. The harmonic frequencies of creatinine were calculated using DFT/B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) method. The complete assignments were performed on the basis of the total energy distribution (TED) of the vibrational modes, calculated with scaled quantum mechanics (SQM) method. The creatinine-metal {cadmium [Cd(II)], zinc [Zn(II)] and mercury [Hg(II)]} halogen [chloride (Cl-) and bromide (Br-)] complexes were synthesized. DFT calculations, DFT-B3LYP/LANL2DZ were performed for the determination of geometrical structure and vibrational assignment for metal- complexes. 

This study is about examining the macro element ingredients of soil and leaf samples in the entegrated garden where Salihli and Sapıkısa types in Kemalpaşa Region are grown. At the soil analysis of organic gardens, nitrogen (N) and magnesium (Mg) were found in medium, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in low, calcium (Ca) in high quantities. It has been discovered in gardens where entegrated production is made that K, Ca, and Mg had the same properties with the gardens where organic production is made but, N and P had high values. In both production methods, it has been found out that N which is a leaf food element had values much lower than the value it should have had, P and Mg had sufficient values, K and Ca had lower values. The relations between the results were examined and the total nutrition and nutrition balance data between N, P, K and K, Ca, Mg in leaf samples were evaluated. 

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the neurosecretory material (NSM) in median neurosecretory cells (MNC) on reproduction of endoparasitic Pimpla turionellae L.. For this purpose, the egg maturation and amount of the NSM in MNC of the insects were examined by the serial cross sections of the brain. Egg maturation was determined by measuring the terminal oocyte length in the ovariole. The sections of insect brains were stained by paraldehyde fuchsin to determine the amount of the NSM in the neurosecretory granules of the MNC. The amount of the NSM in MNC was at a certain level in the first day of egg development. While terminal oocyte was reaching the maximum length, amount of NSM in MNC decreased the minumum level. During the egg laying phase, the amount of the NSM in MNC reached the maximum level. These observations give us the idea that the neurosecretory material in median neurosecretory cell of this insect may be related to the egg development. 

In this study, morphological, palynological and ecological features of Dianthus engleri Hausskn. & Bornm. were investigated. D. engleri is a local endemic species for Turkey and its type specimen was collected from Karababa Mountain (Sivas) in 1889 by Bornmüeller. This species is very different from other Dianthus species in terms of taxonomy. In the result part of this study, the description of species was enlarged and a new treath category was proposed. Besides, a pollen description was composed for D. engleri according to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM) studies. 

Orobanche palaestina Reut. is a species that was first described from Palestine by Reuter in 1847. Orobanche L. is a large genus mainly distributed throughout subtropical and tem- perate regions of the northern hemisphere. The Mediterranean region is one of the most important centers of diversity. The species was collected for the first time from the seashore of Samandağ in Hatay and it is a new record for the flora of Turkey. The description, pic- tures of the type species from the Geneva herbarium and field, and a distribution map are given. Diagnostic characters and its taxonomic relationship with closely allied taxa are dis- cussed here. The genus Orobanche has been represented by 39 species due to this new record in Turkey. 

Dextranase (α-1,6-D-glucan, 6-glucanohydrolase; E.C.3.2.1.11) is an enzyme which hydrolizes the α-1,6 glucosidic linkages in dextran, found in higher plants, mammalian tissues, fungi and bacteria. 17 fungal strains were screened for their ability to produce dextranase enzyme. Paecilomyces lilacinus was selected as the best fungal source to dextranase production among them. The production of dextranase from P. lilacinus was investigated and a number of factors affecting enzyme production, i.e. cultivation time, temperature, initial pH and rotation speed were optimized. Maximum dextranase production was obtained in 7 day cultures at 100 rpm. Optimum pH and temperature for dextranase production were pH: 6 and 30oC, respectively.