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This study aims to analyze the time-varying effects of global economic policy uncertainty (GEPU) shocks on macroeconomic activity in Turkey over the quarterly period of 1999q1 to 2020q4. To this end, the study uses the GEPU index developed by Davis (Working paper 22740, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016) and employs the time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) model. Empirical evidence shows that the GEPU shocks have adverse effects on the macroeconomic activity as they result in declines in share prices, investment, employment, consumption, and GDP growth. It is also evident that these effects vary over time, with the highest impact observed following the crises periods such as the 9/11 attacks, the Iraq invasion, the global financial crisis (GFC), and the Covid-19 pandemic. The time-varying impacts typically reach the maximum in the first and second lag periods, and the most severe impacts of uncertainty are observed on share prices and investment. The study also examines three substantial events (the 9/11 attacks, the GFC, and the Brexit referendum) and finds that the responses of the underlying variables to GEPU shocks vary both in magnitude and signs over the sample period. The responses of the variables are mainly more severe during the periods when geopolitical and economic concerns are high compared to periods of political crises. Overall, the findings from the analyses indicate that the Turkish economy still maintains its fragile structure and suggest that the adverse macroeconomic effects of foreign uncertainty shocks do not remain the same over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first summarises the up-to-date knowledge and provides an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and key developments in the various subdomains of the field. The second offers a wide-ranging list of areas where Operational Research has been applied. The article is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion and used as a point of reference by a diverse pool of readers: academics, researchers, students, and practitioners. The entries within the methods and applications sections are presented in alphabetical order. The authors dedicate this paper to the 2023 Turkey/Syria earthquake victims. We sincerely hope that advances in OR will play a role towards minimising the pain and suffering caused by this and future catastrophes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Trauma & Emergency Surgery / Ulusal Travma ve Acil Cerrahi Dergisi is the property of KARE Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this study is to look at femicide from a different perspective, even though it may seem unrelated at first. Accordingly, it investigated the existence of a link between foreign exchange, which was a major cause of the crises and unemployment, and femicide, which was the outcome of violence against women other than murder. The data were acquired from the We Will Stop Femicide Platform and the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey in light of the study's goal. According to the findings of the investigation, there is a long-term cointegrating association between the foreign exchange rate and femicide in Turkey. After 22.6 days, the deviation induced by a 1% change in the currency rate could be balanced. This study is notable for approaching femicide from a hitherto overlooked economic perspective, as well as demonstrating that exchange rate changes are "vital" in terms of non-economic reality and public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert has been studied for its potential economic value. Its seeds contain valuable starch granules, triterpenic saponins, and cyclopeptides. In the present study, sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and microsatellite simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of V. hispanica genotypes. The plant material belonged to 66 genotypes collected from different parts (27 squares, with at least two locations in each square) of Türkiye. The application of 49 SRAP primer pairs produced 476 bands, of which 197 (41.38%) were polymorphic. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.12 to 0.46 with a mean of 0.30. The genetic distance coefficients among the accessions ranged from 0.52 to 0.91, with an average of 0.70. The 17 SSR primers previously developed for related species produced a total of 69 alleles and 42 polymorphic alleles, and the number of polymorphic alleles produced in each locus ranged from 1 to 6, with an average of 2.47 alleles per locus. The PIC ranged from 0.21 to 0.49 with a mean of 0.40. The unweighted pair group method of arithmetic averages (UPGMA) dendrogram obtained based on the markers revealed that the genotypes were genetically different from each other and were partially geographically grouped. Bayesian Structure analysis carried out using the marker data divided the genotypes into two subpopulations. It showed a general agreement with the UPGMA dendrogram on the genetic relationships among the accessions and clustering. Thus, it was determined that genetically distinct genotypes exist, and subpopulations for breeding can be established using the characterized genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Geomatics & Information Science of Wuhan University is the property of Geomatics & Information Science of Wuhan University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The most common viral hemorrhagic fever is Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphisms have been linked to both hemorrhagic fevers and viral diseases. The study's goal is to evaluate if the eNOS gene 4a/4b and T786C polymorphisms are related to CCHF. The study included 54 CCHF RNA-positive patients and 60 control subjects. The Bosphore CCHF virus Quantification Kit v1 was used to obtain CCHF RNA, and the Magnesia 16 isolation device was used to isolate DNA (Anatolia Gene works, Turkey). Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism were used to genotype the samples. The frequency of the eNOS 4a/4a, 4a/4b, and 4 b/4b genotypes in patients and the control was 6.6% versus 1.7%, 37.0% versus 43.3%, and 57.4% versus 55%, respectively. 4a: 24.07% of patients and 23.33% of controls; and 4 b: 75.92% of patients and 76.66% of controls. The frequency of the eNOS-786 T/C, T/T, T/C, and C/C genotypes in patients and the control group was 35.2% versus 68.3%; 51.9% versus 26.73%; and 13.0% versus 5.0%, respectively. The allele and genotype frequencies of the eNOS T786C variant differ statistically between patients and the control (p < 0.05). The eNOS T786C variant could be a genetic determinant for susceptibility to CCHF. To our knowledge, this is the first study to figure out the association between eNOS gene T786C polymorphisms and CCHF disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Load modeling is crucial in improving energy efficiency and saving energy sources. In the last decade, machine learning has become favored and has demonstrated exceptional performance in load modeling. However, their implementation heavily relies on the quality and quantity of available data. Gathering sufficient high-quality data is time-consuming and extremely expensive. Therefore, generative adversarial networks (GANs) have shown their prospect of generating synthetic data, which can solve the data shortage problem. This study proposes GAN-based models (RCGAN, TimeGAN, CWGAN, and RCWGAN) to generate synthetic load data. It focuses on Türkiye's electricity load and generates realistic synthetic load data. The educated synthetic load data can reduce prediction errors in load when combined with recorded data and enhance risk management calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sign language recognition (SLR) is one of the crucial applications of the hand gesture recognition and computer vision research domain. There are many researchers who have been working to develop a hand gesture-based SLR application for English, Turkey, Arabic, and other sign languages. However, few studies have been conducted on Korean sign language classification because few KSL datasets are publicly available. In addition, the existing Korean sign language recognition work still faces challenges in being conducted efficiently because light illumination and background complexity are the major problems in this field. In the last decade, researchers successfully applied a vision-based transformer for recognizing sign language by extracting long-range dependency within the image. Moreover, there is a significant gap between the CNN and transformer in terms of the performance and efficiency of the model. In addition, we have not found a combination of CNN and transformer-based Korean sign language recognition models yet. To overcome the challenges, we proposed a convolution and transformer-based multi-branch network aiming to take advantage of the long-range dependencies computation of the transformer and local feature calculation of the CNN for sign language recognition. We extracted initial features with the grained model and then parallelly extracted features from the transformer and CNN. After concatenating the local and long-range dependencies features, a new classification module was applied for the classification. We evaluated the proposed model with a KSL benchmark dataset and our lab dataset, where our model achieved 89.00% accuracy for 77 label KSL dataset and 98.30% accuracy for the lab dataset. The higher performance proves that the proposed model can achieve a generalized property with considerably less computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Eurasia Social Sciences / Uluslararasi Avrasya Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of International Journal of Eurosia Social Sciences / Uluslararasi Avrasya Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study describes the geochemical characteristics of the metals and the environmental pollution of sediments of upstream in Ulutaş Erzurum, Turkey. Stream sediment samples were taken from 93 sites. The majority of samples showed high Ag, As, Au, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn concentrations and were the major pollutants in the study area. Analytical data were evaluated by statical methods. The total variance of the three factors obtained from the data was determined as 55.66%. Associated elements are as follows: Ag–Cu–Mn–Mo–S–Se–Zn, As–Pb–Sb and Cr–Ni–W. Factor 1 is close to mineralization and shows mechanical enrichment (Ag, Cu, Mn, Mo, S, Se and Zn). Factor 2 (As, Pb, Sb and Bi) probably indicates hydromorphic transport with water solutions. Factor 3 (Au, Cr, W and Ni) indicates that granodioritic rocks are weathered and associated with these rocks. Statistical analyzes were made to determine the concentration values and distribution of the elements in the studied stream sediments. Ag, As, Au, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Pb, Sb and Zn elements show the anomaly distributions in the study area. The anomalies seen especially for Ag, As, Fe, Mn and Pb elements show very high anomaly with a strong contrast to other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea is a worldwide consumed herbal beverage and it was aimed in this study to reveal the major fractions of green and black tea in order to enlighten the in vitro inhibition potency on the well‐known drug metabolizing enzyme CYP2D6 activity. Methylxanthine fractions were extracted from green and black tea and a yield of 0.265 g (1.06%) for 25 g of dried black tea and 0.302 g (1.2%) for 25 g of green tea was calculated. High‐performance liquid chromatography analysis represented that the major components of the methylxanthine fractions were caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline. Methylxanthine content of black tea was 368.25 ± 4.6 μg/ml caffeine, 89.30 ± 2.3 μg/ml theobromine, and 3.40 ± 0.5 μg/ml theophylline, whereas that of green tea was 176.50 ± 3.7 μg/ml caffeine, 53.85 ± 1.4 μg/ml theobromine, and 2.06 ± 0.7 μg/ml theophylline. The results of concentration‐dependent inhibition studies were 76% green tea, 75% black tea, and 55% caffeine at concentration of 10 mg/ml. The inhibition rates of green and black tea on CYP2D6 activity were 76% and 75%, respectively, where that of quinidine, the well‐known inhibitor of CYP2D6, was 82%. Our results indicate that green and black tea is very likely to modify the CYP2D6 enzyme activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed method study investigated comparatively the effects of instructional video (IV) types used in online learning (OL). A total of 394 pre-service teachers (PTs) participated from two universities in Turkey. Results indicated that the IV type which includes interactive elements and a combination of the human embodiment and instructional contents on screen by using lightboard or green screen technologies are more effective. Not only the details of instructor's position, visibility, narrative style, facial movements, gestures, cues but also real-like learning settings and video duration enhance the effectiveness of IVs. The opinions of PTs were reported under six themes: video length, interaction elements, instructor's gestures and facial expressions, naturality and reality, immersion and flow, dynamic drawing. Implications on IV types, suggestions for future studies were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of dust is one of the main causes of power loss in photovoltaic (PV) farms, and the effect of dust particles' size and chemistry on system performance is often overlooked. This study has focused on a comprehensive analysis of the effect of different dust particles collected from common industrial production facilities in Turkey on the performance of PV panels in the indoor laboratory environment. The collected dust samples were analyzed to determine the dust sample particles' chemical properties, size, character, and topography. The data for dust samples at different weights with changes in maximum power point (MPP) of PV panel has been collected using the artificial solar irradiation source system. Thus, the mathematical correlations (R2≥0.965) between the PV panel Thevenin resistance (RTH), fill factor (FF), MPP, and pollution rate were obtained using these collected data and particle swarm optimization (PSO). According to the results of the obtained mathematical correlations, marble dust is 2.3, 3.4, and 4.2 times less polluting than cement, fly ash, and silica fume, respectively. Additionally, it was observed that smaller dust particles block more light than larger ones of the same weight and reduce MPP, FF while increasing the RTH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the last century, there has been a high demand for renewable energy sources due to the decrease in fossil-based energy sources and the intense pollution of these energy types. Bioenergy recovery from sludge biomass is an attractive renewable energy source. Electrochemical treatment is one of the investigated physicochemical methods to increase methane production from waste activated sludge (WAS) biomass. It can be used as a new and efficient pretreatment for the hydrolysis of WAS. In this study, electrochemical technology with platinum/titanium (Pt/Ti) mesh electrodes was first applied for WAS before aerobic digestion. The effects of various operating conditions such as current intensity and initial pH of the sludge were investigated. The study showed that the amount of soluble COD of WAS increased with increasing current intensity. In addition, the results obtained showed that pH values higher or lower than the pH value of WAS (6.2) are favorable for the degradation of organic substances. An approximately 358% increase in COD solubility was detected at the end of the reaction time of 30 min at a current intensity of 25 A. The conducted study showed that electrochemical pretreatment is feasible and that increasing the methane production rate for anaerobic digester-containing wastewater treatment plants in Turkey has the potential to provide environmental and economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our world, with the increase of factors such as the rapid and irresponsible consumption of natural resources, man-made environmental disasters, global warming, and pollution of water resources in our world, the need for more efficient storage and disposal of solid waste has arisen. The presentation of the data required to solve spatial problems such as storage, management, and location selection can be carried out extensively and effectively using geographic information systems (GIS). On the other hand, the unsatisfactory results obtained with GIS recently have made it mandatory to use spatial multiple criteria decision-making (S-MCDM) methods that include the decision-makers in the process. In this study, landfill site selection was carried out in eight provinces in the region under the responsibility of the Eastern Black Sea Project Regional Development Administration (DOKAP). GIS and S-MCDM were used together in this site selection process. A total of eight spatial data layers were used in the site selection application. Afterwards, storage areas determined as suitable via GIS analysis underwent additional evaluation, taking into account geological, seismic, and environmental factors as well as transportation costs. In addition to these multi-component evaluations, odor analyses were carried out on the proposed storage areas using the prevailing wind direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reflection of public values (PVs) could be monitored through some indicators, like institutional social media tools. The measurement of how PVs are reflected over local social media accounts is of great importance. Studies in the relevant literature are mainly focusing on the benefits of social media presence, drivers, or barriers or attitudes and expectations on social media presence. We, in this study, focus on the evaluation of whether and how selected PVs are reflected through social media accounts of metropolitan municipalities (MMs) in Turkey. By taking participation, collaboration, and transparency as the main PVs, we have formed an evaluation metric composed of five sub-criteria for each determinant. With the help of seven public administration experts holding a Ph.D. degree to form an expert graded scheme by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), we have employed a content analysis over Twitter accounts of 30 Turkish MMs using this expert graded scheme. We have found that Turkish MMs were found not to grasp the valuation of the selected PVs since most seem to fail to reflect them over their social media accounts to the full extent possible. Moreover, many Turkish MMs seem to have violated privacy and personal data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stormwater, which cannot penetrate the soil surface due to the impermeable layer created by urbanization, inevitably causes floods. Therefore, the change in urban areas and calculation of flood size are of great importance in urban flood management. In this study, five basins are examined which have been experiencing floods caused by increasing urbanization in Bodrum, one of Turkey's most important tourism centres. Firstly, the effect of urbanization changes on the flood size was calculated, according to satellite images from 1984, 2010, 2011 and 2019, using the Natural Resources Conservation Service curve number method. Then, the multi-criteria decision-making model was used to create flood-risk maps of basins. As a result of the study, it was determined that the increase in urbanization in the period from 1984 to 2019 caused the flood flows to increase as well as the size of the areas at risk to increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Thermopsis turcica is a perennial species endemic to Turkey and different extracts of T. turcica have an antiproliferative effect on cancer cells, but there has not been any report on HeLa (human cervical cancer) cells. Materials and methods: To get a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of anticancer activity of methanolic extracts of leaves (LE) and flowers (FE) of T. turcica, we employed 2-DE-based proteomics to explore the proteins involved in anticancer activity in HeLa cells. Results: T. turcica extracts showed a potent cytotoxic effect on HeLa cells with the IC50 values of 1.75 mg/mL for LE and 3.25 mg/mL for FE. The induction of apoptosis by LE and FE was also consistent with increased expression of caspase mRNAs and DNA fragmentation. In terms of the proteomic approach, 27 differentially expressed proteins were detected and identified through MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. These altered proteins were involved in cytoskeleton organization and movement, protein folding, proteolysis and translation, cell cycle and proliferation, signal transduction, cell redox homeostasis, and metabolism. Conclusion: Up-regulation of protein disulfide isomerases and down-regulation of Rho GDP-dissociation inhibitor, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins, and heat shock proteins may contribute to the induction of apoptosis and arresting of the cell cycle in HeLa cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromuscular diseases (NMDs) encompass a variety of ailments from muscular dystrophies to ataxias, in the course of which the functioning of the muscles is eventually either directly or indirectly impaired. The clinical diagnosis of a particular NMD is not always straightforward due to the clinical and genetic heterogeneity of the disorders under investigation. Traditional diagnostic tools such as electrophysiological tests and muscle biopsies are both invasive and painful methods, causing the patients to be reluctant. Next-generation sequencing, on the other hand, emerged as an alternative method for the diagnosis of NMDs, both with its minimally invasive nature and fast processing period. In this study, clinical exome sequencing (CES) was applied to a cohort of 70 probands in Turkey, 44 of whom received a final diagnosis, representing a diagnostic rate of 62.9%. Out of the 50 mutations identified to be causal, 26 were novel in the known 27 NMD genes. Two probands had complex/blended phenotypes. Molecular confirmation of clinical diagnosis of NMDs has a major prognostic impact and is crucial for the management and the possibility of alternative reproductive options. CES, which has been increasingly adopted to diagnose single-gene disorders, is also a powerful tool for revealing the etiopathogenesis in complex/blended phenotypes, as observed in two probands of the cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online Social Networks (OSNs) are extremely popular services that allow users to interact with each other and share content. Due to the large amounts of data shared by users, OSNs are also rich data sources for research in social network analysis. Studying the usage of OSNs helps to understand users' content-sharing behavior and privacy concerns. In order to do so, collecting data is a necessary first step. However, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) provided by OSN providers have several limitations which make it difficult to access secured information. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of an OSN crawler, discuss the challenges of this task and our workarounds towards accessing public OSN data. Moreover, we perform analyses of the collected data to indicate users' sharing behavior and give a detailed discussion of these analyses from the perspective of individual privacy protection over OSNs. Our crawler overcomes most of the restrictions of OSN APIs and collects all forms of OSN user interactions as well as every bit of public data posted on an OSN. Most of the existing studies collect OSN data using focused crawlers and therefore are capable of collecting only the desired type of data. Our crawler, on the other hand, provides a holistic view. On the popular Facebook OSN, our crawler captures user relationships like kinship, friendship and attributes like profile items, events, posts, comments, replies, meta-data of activities (i.e., posting time, location, tagged users etc.). To the best of our knowledge, ours is the most comprehensive OSN data collection effort and also the first study focused on the behavior of OSN users in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although tourism is one of the most critical sectors of an economy, the literature has highly ignored its role as a potential determinant of energy consumption. To fill this gap, we investigate the role of international tourism on the energy consumption of Turkey, from 1960 to 2015, in a multivariate framework. Powerful (Bayer, C., & Hanck, C. (2013). Combining non-cointegration tests. Journal of Time Series Analysis, 34(1), 83–95) cointegration and (Hacker, R. S., & Hatemi-J, A. (2006). Tests for causality between integrated variables using asymptotic and bootstrap distributions: theory and application. Applied Economics, 38(13), 1489–1500) bootstrap causality tests provide empirical evidence for the importance of the tourism sector on energy consumption for the sample investigated. Our findings can pave the way to establish sector-specific policy recommendation those will be important for several aspects such as sustainability of tourism led growth, competitiveness of the tourism sector and environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Faculty of Gaziosmanpasa University / Gazi Osman Pasa Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Gaziosmanpasa University, Agricultural Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Turkey is one of the traditional oriental tobacco producing countries. Oriental tobaccos produced in Turkey are ecotypes specific to certain regions, local varieties and landraces, and they have unique characteristics. The present study was conducted to reveal the general and interregional genetic diversity levels of tobacco genotypes collected from different regions of Turkey based on DNA markers., Methods and Results: A total of 319 ecotypes/lines of Turkish Oriental Tobaccos collected from different regions (Aegean Region, Marmara Region, Karadeniz Region, and East and Southeast Anatolia Regions) of Turkey and cultivars Xanthi 81, Xanthi 2A, Canik Sitmasuyu, Katerini, Canik 190-5 and NC 55 were subjected to SSR marker analysis. Eighty-nine alleles were obtained from 21 markers examined, and the average number of alleles per marker was 4.05. A total of 314 unique tobacco genotypes were found among 319 plants evaluated using 19 polymorphic SSR markers. In the dendrogram constructed using SSR marker data, genotypes were divided into six clades based on geographic regions and levels of genetic diversity., Conclusions: The presence of 314 unique genotypes among 319 tobacco plants evaluated indicated the high level of genetic diversity among Turkish tobaccos. While some of them were N. rustica tobaccos, some others were reminiscent of semi-oriental tobaccos. These genotypes merit further agronomic and technological characterizations, which could allow their utilization in future tobacco breeding., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Unemployment rate is one of the most critical indicators of labor market and is generally an important measurement tool to identify the status of the economies of countries. The impact of transitory shocks on unemployment is analyzed via the Natural Unemployment Rate-NAIRU and the Hysteresis Hypothesis. The term hysteresis describes a situation in which transitory shocks have persistent effects. According to hysteresis hypothesis, the cyclical supply shocks lead to structural changes and have a persistent effect on unemployment in the long run. Therefore this causes the natural unemployment rate to go up. Unemployment is an important economic problem for Turkish economy. Finding a solution to the unemployment problem that causes significant economic and social problems is one of the most important fields of work for policymakers. Therefore, it is important to identify the impact of transitory shocks on unemployment in order to develop effective employment policies to solve the unemployment problem. Different from the other studies in literature that made use of linear techniques, the presence of the hysteresis hypothesis for Turkey is analyzed using the nonlinear unit root tests Kapetanios et al. J Econom 112 359-379, (2003) and Kruse Stat Pap 52 71-85, (2011) for the period 1970-2014. The findings indicate that the hysteresis hypothesis is not valid for Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This retrospective multicenter study, centrally conducted and supported by the Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Turkey, aimed to evaluate the impact of free RET proto-oncogene testing in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) patients. Surgical timing, adequacy of the treatment, and frequency of prophylactic thyroidectomy (PTx) in mutation carriers were also assessed. Methods: Genetic testing for MTC and pheochromocytoma was conducted between July 2008 and January 2012 in 512 patients. Application forms and RET mutation analyses of these patients whose blood samples were sent from various centers around Turkey were assessed retrospectively. An evaluation form was sent to the physicians of the eligible 319 patients who had confirmed sporadic MTC, familial MTC (FMTC), multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), or who were mutation carriers. Physicians were asked to give information about the surgical history, latest calcitonin levels, morbidity, mortality, genetic screening, and PTx among family members. Twenty-five centers responded by filling in the forms of 192 patients. Results: Among the 319 patients, RET mutation was detected in 71 (22.3%). Cys634Arg mutation was the most prevalent mutation (43.7%), followed by Val804Met in 18 patients (25.4%), and Cys634Tyr in 6 patients (8.5%). Among 192 MTC patients, the diagnosis was sporadic MTC in 146 (76.4%), FMTC in 14 (7.3%), MEN2A in 15 patients (7.9%), and MEN2B in one patient. The number of mutation carriers among 154 apparently sporadic MTC patients was 8 (5.2%). Ten patients were submitted to PTx out of twenty-four mutation carriers at a mean age of 35±19 years. Conclusion: Turkish people have a similar RET proto-oncogene mutation distribution when compared to other Mediterranean countries. Despite free RET gene testing, the number of the PTx in Turkey is limited and relatively late in the life span of the carriers. This is mainly due to patient and family incompliance and incomplete family counselling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corn stalks, which are an abundant agricultural waste product in Turkey, have a high carbohydrate structural content and could be a valuable raw material for bioethanol production. In this study, stalks with crystalline cellulose and complex lignin and hemicellulose distribution in their structure were first steam-exploded and then chemically treated to achieve efficient hydrolysis. The conventional chemicals sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and an alternative chemical, sodium borohydrate (NaBH4), were utilized in the chemical treatment procedure. Results showed that the samples treated with NaOH (83.9%) and NaBH4(82.9%) gave higher glucan conversion in enzymatic hydrolysis compared to those treated with H2O2(74.5%) and H2SO4(56.6%). The highest ethanol yield from untreated stalks (97.4 g/kg) was obtained when the stalks were pretreated with 4% NaBH4for 90 min; the theoretical ethanol yield was found to be 72.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over 15 million tons of fly ash (FA) and 3 million tons of phosphogypsum (PG) are produced in Turkey every year. The utilization of these industrial by-product materials is important in terms of environmental and economical issues are concerned. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the technical possibilities of incorporating FA and PG in production of building blocks. Various mixtures were prepared by incorporating these industrial wastes by replacing clay with seven different weight proportions (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%). All specimens were fired at 1000°C peak temperature. The physical and mechanical properties of all specimens such as; unit weight, compressive strength, flexural strength, dimensional stability and water absorption values were recorded. The effect of PG incorporation on the properties of samples seems to be more dominant than the effect of FA incorporation. The test results showed that; PG incorporation increased the unit weight and mechanical strength values while lowering the water absorption values. Utilization of these wastes additives is not only for conservation of clay resources, but also an alternative solution to a difficult and expensive waste disposal problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences is the property of Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)