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OBJECTIVE: In this retrospective study, we compared the functionality and clinical outcomes of patients with severe varus knees who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) that used prostheses with either a posterior stabilized (PS) design or an ultra-congruent (UC) design. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Primary TKA was performed in 161 patients; the UC device was used in 82 (51%) cases and the PS device in 79 (49%). Preoperatively and at the final follow-up examination, all patients were evaluated by orthoroentgenography. The mechanical axis angle and radiolucent lines were evaluated according to the Knee Society Roentgenographic Evaluation System on preoperative and 5-year follow-up radiographs. Total Knee Society Score (KSS) (knee score/function score) and Visual Analog Scale scores were obtained at the final follow-up examination. Demographic and surgical data and revision rates were evaluated for all patients. RESULTS: Postoperative angle values were significantly decreased in both the UC and PS groups (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Postoperative flexion range of motion values were significantly increased in both the UC and PS groups (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). The postoperative KSS function scores were not significantly different between the groups (p=0.194). The mean surgical time of the PS group (54.99±4.18 minutes) was significantly higher than that of the UC group (46.02±4.48 minutes) (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: No notable differences were found between the UC and PS groups with respect to the clinical and functional parameters examined. Based on these results, UC TKA can be considered a safe alternative to PS TKA in severe varus knees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Advancements in ureteroscope and stone basket design have introduced ureteroscopy to the forefront of surgical stone management. However, different issues, such as stone migration and ureteral injury, remain a challenge among urologists. The Deniz™ rigid stone basket is a patented product (patent number: TR 2016 00421 Y) manufactured in Turkey. Herein, we report our initial experience with the Deniz™ rigid stone basket for managing urinary calculi and compare the use of this device with other methods to optimize ureteroscopic stone management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients undergoing ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy for urinary calculi were retrospectively evaluated by two surgeons. The Deniz™ rigid stone basket was utilized to prevent retrograde ureteral stone migration or to facilitate fragmentation and extraction of ureteral calculi. RESULTS: In total, 29 men and 21 women, with a mean age of 46.5 (range: 21-69) years, were treated for upper (n = 30), medium (n = 7), and lower (n = 13) ureter calculi. The mean stone diameter was 13.08 (range: 7-22) mm; the mean operative time, 46 (range: 20-80) min; the mean energy utilization, 2.98 (range: 1.5-3.5) kJ; and the mean laser frequency, 6.96 (range: 6-12) hz. None of the patients developed complications, and 46 (92%) patients who underwent ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy using the Deniz™ rigid stone basket were declared stone-free. Four patients had residual stones measuring < 3 mm on post-operative imaging. CONCLUSIONS: The Deniz™ rigid stone basket is safe and effective for preventing stone migration and facilitating ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy procedure and stone extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belediyeler, vatandaşların yerel politikalara katılımını teşvik etmek ve onların yerel hizmetlerden memnuniyetlerini geri bildirimlerle iletmelerini sağlamada birincil yerel yönetim mecralarıdır. Bu nedenle, temel yönetim birimleri olarak nitelendirilebilecek olan belediyelerin vatandaşlarla güçlü iletişimi, yerel katılım mekanizmalarının güçlendirilmesinde sıklıkla tercih edilen bir alternatif haline gelmiştir. Sosyal medya platformlarından Twitter, belediye yönetimleri ve vatandaşlar arasında sağladığı anlık ve çift yönlü iletişim ve etkileşim sayesinde, kamu politikalarına vatandaş katılımını sağlamanın önemli bir aracı olma potansiyeline erişmiştir. Bu noktada, Twitter’ın yerel yönetimlerde politika yapım sürecine halk katılımının sağlanmasında belediyelere nasıl katkı sağladığı ve bu sağladığı katkının yerel katılım düzeyini nasıl etkilediği önemli bir araştırma sorusu olarak ortaya çıkmaktadır. Halk katılımı seviyelerini Kamusal Katılım Yelpazesi, Arnstein’ın Katılım Merdiveni ve White’ın Katılım Tipolojisi olmak üzere üçlü bir bağlamda analiz eden bu çalışma, Türkiye’deki büyükşehir belediyelerinin kamu politikalarına halk katılımının sağlanmasında sosyal medya kullanımını Twitter özelinde incelemektedir. Çalışmada, Türkiye’deki büyükşehir belediyelerinin Twitter’da seçilen ve 1 Nisan 2019’dan 1 Nisan 2020 tarihleri arasında paylaştıkları toplamda 39.972 adet tweete içerik analizi uygulanmıştır. Araştırmanın bulgularına bakıldığında büyükşehir belediyelerinin Twitter kullanımının, mevcut halk katılımını politika yapım sürecinde bir üst düzeye çıkartmakta yetersiz kaldığı tespit edilmiştir.

Kula is a district rich in cultural values. There are many historical and traditional residences in this region. These historical structures have undergone great and different changes over time. It is aimed to determine the transformations related to facade, structural element, and interior use in traditional houses. In addition, by looking at the obtained data, namely the architectural changes, it was determined as a secondary purpose to make suggestions about conservation. The study consists of a combination of two basic methods: literature research and field research. After determining the subject of the study, written sources related to the subject were searched and the research was supported by field studies. The method of the study is the comparison of the data obtained from the sources and the evidence in the field study. Findings were obtained by analyzing the detected differences. In the study, which was carried out with the comparative analysis method, the historical process was examined, and information, architectural drawings and photographs were obtained about the conditions of the buildings 50 years ago. For this reason, scope of the study consists of both the data obtained and the houses that provide both conditions depending on the availability of these data today. In this context, the study is limited to 14 traditional Turkish residences in the Kula site, from which both historical data and locations can be accessed. In the studies carried out in the field of architectural restoration and conservation, the current situations are examined in the studies on conservation. However, in this study, not only the current situation of the buildings, but also the conditions of the previous years and even the comparison of the data was obtained. Although this study was carried out within the scope of Kula district, it gives an idea about the change and usage of interiors of the residences.

Introduction: Distal femoral shaft fractures are characterized by their increasing incidence and complexity, presenting a significant challenge in management. The objective of this retrospective study was to compare the clinical and radiological results of patients with extra-articular distal third femoral shaft fractures treated using either retrograde Talon Distal Fix nail or a distal femur locking plate. Material and Method: The study comprised 40 patients aged >18 years who presented at our hospital with a distal third femoral shaft fracture between January 2017 and January 2023. The patients were divided into two groups: Group TDN, treated with retrograde Talon Distal Fix nailing (n=18), and Group DLP, treated with a distal locking plate (n=22). Demographic data, follow-up period, operating time, time to union, range of motion (ROM), mechanism of injury (traffic accident, fall from height, workplace accident, gunshot injury), fracture type, complications, and surgical method were retrospectively recorded. Clinical evaluation included deformity, knee ROM, pain, and the knee total score (KSS) for walking and knee stability. Results: The mean age of the patients was 48.03±12.31 (min-max: 23-69) years, and the mean follow-up time for all patients was 15.88±2.32 (12-21) months. The mean time to union was 25.55±1.86 (22-30) weeks. Delayed union and non-union rates were similar between the research groups (P=1.000, P=0.673, respectively). Union time (weeks) and mean ROM were not significantly different between the groups (P=0.881, P=0.892, respectively). The mean operation time of the TDF group (48.78±3.94 minutes) was significantly lower than that of the DLP group (62.45±3.33 minutes) (P

A budget is an economic plan, a political document in which the legislature authorizes the executive to receive revenues and make expenditures.The first document in which the budget right is included the Magna Carta Libertatum. Other countries and Turkey were also affected by this document that appeared in the UK, and budgets in the modern sense began to be made in accordance with the classical budget system in the Tanzimat Period. Since the General Accounting Law No. 1050, which was accepted as the financial constitution in Turkey, could not adapt to the developing and changing public financial management, the Public Financial Management and Control Law No. 5018 was adopted in 2003 and started to be implemented. With Law No. 5018, which is a financial reform in Turkey, the process of preparing, implementing and auditing the budget has completely changed and a performance-based budget system has been introduced. The aim of this study is to investigate the budget process in Turkey based on the development of the budget right in the United Kingdom, France, the United States and Germany. The legal bases and budget systems of the budget applied from the Ottoman Empire to the present are discussed. Due to the problems experienced in the performance-based budget system, the performance-based program budget system was gradually introduced in 2020. This budget system, it is aimed to provide the budget-plan relationship and an output-result-oriented understanding. However, it is expected that the targets will be reached in time in the system, which is still in its infancy.

In this study, copper(II) fluoroborate, one of the special boron products, was synthesized by high energy impacted ball milling method and characterization studies were carried out by means of FTIR and BF4- ion selective electrode. Copper fluoride and elemental boron were used as reactants in the study. Mechanochemical method by means of ball milling was carried out, in a three-dimensional spex-type ball mill in an argon atmosphere. Specimens were prepared at different mole ratios and mechanically milled in a ball mill for a fixed time to determine the optimum mole ratio and the reaction period was optimized in the next step. As a result of the experiments, the most efficient reaction was obtained when reactant mole ratio (nB/nCuF2 ) of 0.85:1 and reaction period of 1500 minutes. Copper(II) fluoroborate was produced with a yield of 84.5% under the optimum conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:To evaluate the association of etiology, continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) findings and neuroimaging findings with short-term outcomes for patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for acute encephalopathy.Materials and Methods:A total of 24 children admitted to a PICU for acute encephalopathy were enrolled into this study. The etiology, treatment, duration of stay in the PICU, their demographic information and their past medical history were recorded. cEEG was initiated as quickly as possible following admission to the PICU and continued for at least 24 hours. Their short-term prognosis was evaluated by the Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score (PCPC) at PICU discharge.Results:The most common cause was traumatic brain injury comprising 25% (n=6) of all cases. Other common causes were asphyxia (hanging, foreign body aspiration, drowning) (n=4, 16.67%) and intoxication (n=3, 12.5%). Twenty-two patients underwent cranial imaging. The most common findings in CT were hemorrhage (n=6, 30%) and ischemia/edema (n=6, 30%). Fourteen patients had unfavorable PCPC outcome scores. There was a tendency for poorer outcomes in those patients with hemorrhage/fracture or ischemia/edema in the imaging and for those patients who needed either pre-hospital CPR or had non-convulsive seizures but without statistical significance.Conclusion:cEEG in critically ill children is useful for detecting both epileptic and non-epileptic events. The use of cEEG in PICUs can be helpful for the better management of cases.

Background. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of sleep problems in adolescents with epilepsy and their caregivers. We also examined the behavioural difficulties in adolescents with epilepsy and compared these behaviors with healthy controls. Methods. This observational case-control study included 37 adolescents with epilepsy and their caregivers, and 43 healthy age-matched adolescents and their caregivers. The Children`s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), DSM-5 Level 2 Sleep Disorders Scale for Children, and Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were used to evaluate sleep habits, sleep problems, and behavioural difficulties in adolescents. The DSM-5 sleep disorder scale for adults was used to evaluate the caregivers` sleep problems. Results. Adolescents with epilepsy had higher sleep problem scores such as daytime sleepiness and overall sleep problems compared with healthy controls. The psychopathological symptoms such as conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, and total behavior were also more frequent in adolescents with epilepsy. There was a nonsignificant increase in DSM-5 sleep disturbance score in caregivers of adolescents with epilepsy. Sleep onset delay had a significant negative correlation with total behavioral difficulties (r = -0.44, p < 0.01), and emotional problems (r = -0.47, p < 0.05) in adolescents with epilepsy. Sleep duration was negatively correlated with conduct problems (r = -0.33, p < 0.05), but positively correlated with prosocial score (r = 0.46, p < 0.01) in adolescents with epilepsy. Night waking was positively correlated with total behavioral difficulties (r = 0.35, p < 0.05) and hyperactivity score (r = 0.38, p < 0.05) in adolescents with epilepsy. Conclusions. Adolescents with epilepsy have more frequent sleep disturbances and maladaptive behaviors such as hyperactivity/inattention, and conduct problems compared with healthy controls, and their caregivers are more vulnerable to sleep problems. Moreover, we also demonstrated a strong association between sleep disturbances and behavioral problems in adolescents with epilepsy.

INTRODUCTION: Relapse is not common in patients with acute leukemia in childhood, however it is a serious complication with high mortality rate. We aimed to predict relapse among pediatric acute leukemia patients in remission by using complete blood parameters which are used routinely in clinical practice. METHODS: In all,279 children diagnosed with acute leukemia over a 20-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Fourty two children relapsed and 37 children non-relapsed acute leukemia cases, all of whose data were available, were included in the study. Blood count parameters and physical examination findings at the time of diagnosis and during the follow-up were evaluated retrospectively in all patients. RESULTS: In the relapse group;children were diagnosed with B-cell ALL(n=24), T-cell ALL(n=10), and AML(n=8). In non- relapse group;children were diagnosed with B-cell ALL(n=26), T-cell (n=10) and AML(n=1).Thrombocytopenia was observed in 24 patients for the relapse group, compared to nine children in non- relapse group. After remission, the risk of relapse was significantly higher in patients with thrombocytopenia (p= 0.003) than in patients without thrombocytopenia among both groups. During the remission period, relapse was observed in all patients with thrombocytopenia lasting for an average of 3.86 weeks. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Thrombocytopenia during the remission period of pediatric acute leukemia patients can be explained primarily by the effect of chemotherapeutic drugs used in treatment and possible infections on the bone marrow. We demonstrated that the presence of thrombocytopenia which develops after the remission period and lasts longer than three weeks can be used as an easy-to-access blood parameter in the prediction of relapse.

In this study, it is aimed to examine the theses written in the field of machine learning and decision trees with the bibliometric analysis method by evaluating them within the scope of various parameters. For this purpose, 368 theses were reached as a result of the search performed in May 2020 by using the keywords "machine learning", "decision trees" in the database of the Council of Higher Education's National Thesis Center. Theses reached; It was examined in detail in terms of bibliography taking into account the year, thesis type, language, university, institute, department, the number of pages, the software used, the methods used, the keywords. In view of the research questions defined for the theses, the data were obtained and transferred to the Excel program. In this software, all calculations, graphs and tables were made. As a result of the examinations, important findings were obtained regarding the theses written in the fields of machine learning and decision tree based on the supervised learning strategy. These include important findings such as the distribution of theses by years, the university, institute, department that contributed the most to the field, the most commonly used machine learning method, the feature selection methods used, the parameter optimization methods used, the hybrid approaches developed, the ensemble learning methods developed, the most popular programming language / software, etc.

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Introduction Autologous saphenous vein (SV) and internal mammary artery (IMA) are used as bypass conduits during coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Vasospasm of the arterial and venous grafts may constitute a significant clinical problem. Pretreatment with a vasodilator drug of the graft ex vivo or intraluminal injection before implantation may be used for spasm prophylaxis. This in vitro study was designed to assess the vasoactive effects and time-dependent changes of botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) and papaverine pretreatment on vasospasm of human SV and IMA grafts. Also, histomorphology of the vessels was assessed. Material and methods SV and IMA segments were suspended in organ baths, and isometric contraction responses to 2 different concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) were recorded after incubation with 2 different concentrations of BTX-A and papaverine at 2 time points (0 h and 2 h). Results The results revealed the following: 1) incubation with BTX-A and papaverine relaxes both SV and IMA rings contracted with 5-HT and ET-1; 2) the duration of the relaxant effect of BTX-A lasts longer than papaverine; and 3) no apparent histomorphological changes were observed in the grafts under light microscopy. Conclusions This study demonstrates that in human SV and IMA grafts, pretreatment with both BTX-A and papaverine are safe and have a potent inhibitory effect depending on the vessel and vasoconstrictor agent. The long-lasting vasodilatory effect of BTX-A on vascular smooth muscle may provide promising results in the prevention of venous and arterial graft spasm.

Supercapacitor devices are interesting owing to their broad range of applicability from wearable electronics to energy storage in electric vehicles. One of the key parameters that affect the efficiency of supercapacitor devices is selecting the ideal electrode material for a specific application. Regarding this, recently developed metal oxides, specifically nanostructured ZnO, and MXenes with their defect structures, size effects, as well as optical and electronic properties have been presented as electrode material in supercapacitor devices. The discussion of MXenes along with ZnO, although different in chemistry, also highlights the differences in dimensionality when it comes to defect-driven effects, especially in carrier transport. The volume under the influence of the defect centers is expected to be different in bulk and 2D structures, regardless of composition. Hence, analysis and discussion of both materials provide a fundamental understanding regarding the manner in which 2D structures are impacted by defects compared to bulk. Such an approach would therefore serve the scientific community with the material design tools needed to fabricate the next generation of supercapacitor devices.

Günümüzde bilgi transferinin temel ve en önemli lokomotiflerinden biri olan yükseköğretim kurumlarında verimlilik, etkinlik ve etkililik konuları yenilikçi stratejilerin kurgulanmasında politika yapıcılar ve yükseköğretim profesyonelleri için büyük önem arz etmektedir. Çalışmanın konusu üniversitelerin üçüncü rollerinden biri olarak değerlendirilen girişimcilik ve yenilikçilik faaliyetleri odağında üniversitelerin etkinliklerinin ölçülmesi üzerinedir. Çalışmanın amacı 2011–2016 yıllarına ait veriye dayanarak, TÜBİTAK tarafından yayınlanan "Girişimci ve Yenilikçi Üniversite Endeksi (GYUE)"nde 2012–2017 yılları arasında ilk 50'ye giren üniversitelerin üçüncü rolü (misyonu) olarak değerlendirilen girişimcilik ve yenilikçilik faaliyetleri odağında etkinliklerinin Veri Zarflama Analizi ile ölçülmesi ve etkinlik değerlerinin zaman içindeki değişiminin Malmquist Toplam Faktör Verimliliği Endeksi kullanılarak belirlenmesidir. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre çalışma kapsamına alınan Türkiye’deki 35 üniversitenin kaynaklarını etkin kullanmadığı, dönemsel olarak sistematik bir iyileşmenin sağlanmadığı gözlenmiştir. Çalışma, panel veri ile çalışılması ve üniversitelerin girişimcilik ve yenilik faaliyetleri kapsamında etkinliğinin ölçülmesi bakımından özgün değere sahiptir.

Abstract: Optimization is an iterative search process aimed at finding the best solution value for an objective function that satisfies constraints or bounded conditions in mathematically expressible problems. There are hundreds of books written in this field, and a new book is added to the list everyday. Since optimization is a very large field, each book is written for different disciplines. If you want to work on any subject related to this field, reaching the related book can be complicated and time consuming. The point to be reached in the research is to do an extensive research on the optimization books and to obtain relevant statistics. For this purpose, available optimization books related to the operations research of the last ten years were searched and examined in detail according to their topics. This work is aiming at leading the people who want to study about this topic by searching the literature about the optimization in the field of operations research. Öz: Optimizasyon, matematiksel olarak ifade edilebilen problemlerde, belirli kısıt ya da sınırlandırılmış koşulları sağlayan bir amaç fonksiyonu için en iyi çözüm değerinin bulunmasını amaçlayan iteratif bir arama sürecidir. Bu alanda yazılmış yüzlerce kitap bulunmaktadır ve her geçen gün listeye yeni bir kitap daha eklenmektedir. Optimizasyon çok geniş bir alan olduğundan, her kitap farklı disiplinlere yönelik olarak yazılmaktadır. Bu alanla ilgili herhangi bir konuda çalışılmak istenildiğinde ilgili kitaba ulaşmak karmaşık ve zaman alıcı olabilmektedir. Araştırmada ulaşılmak istenen nokta optimizasyon konusundaki kitaplara ve kitapların içerdikleri konulara ilişkin kapsamlı bir araştırma yapmak ve ilgili istatistiklerin elde edilmesidir. Bu amaçla son 10 yıla ait ulaşılabilen optimizasyon kitapları taranmış ve yöneylem araştırması ile ilgili olanlar detaylı olarak konularına göre incelenmiştir. Bu çalışma, uzun süren bir emeğin ürünüdür ve yöneylem araştırması alanında optimizasyon konusu ile ilgili kitaplara yönelik literatür dökümünü çıkararak, bu konuyla ilgili çalışma yapmak isteyenlere yol göstermeyi amaçlamaktadır.

Bireyin vergi ödeme/ödememe kararını vergi kültürü etkilemektedir. Vergi kültürü, bir ülkede bulunan vergi sistemi ve kültürden etkilenen dinamik bir yapıya sahiptir. Bu yönüyle her ülkede değişiklik göstermekte ve vergi uyumunu etkilemektedir. Vergi uyumu, vergi kültürünün yüksek olduğu ülkelerde artmakta ve yüksek vergi geliri elde edilmektedir. Danimarka en yüksek vergi gelirlerinin toplandığı ülkelerden birisidir. Bu çalışmada vergi kültürü, vergi kültürünü etkileyen faktörler temelinde Danimarka ve Türkiye’nin vergi kültür endeksi 2010-2017 dönemi için hesaplanmış ve vergi gelirlerinin gayri safi yurt içi hasıladaki (GSYİH) payı ile karşılaştırılmıştır. Vergi kültür endeksi; ülkenin gelişmişlik düzeyi (GD), eğitim sistemi (ES), bireylerin sosyal durumu (BSD) ile vergilendirme ilkeleri (Vİ), vergilendirme araçları (VA), mükellef bilinci (MB), mükellef vergi idaresi ilişkisi (MVİ) göstergeleri kullanılarak hesaplanmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda vergi kültür endeksi yüksek olan Danimarka’da vergi gelirlerinin gayri safi yurt içi hasıla içindeki payı yüksek; düşük-orta vergi kültür endeksine sahip olan Türkiye’de ise vergi gelirleri payı düşük tespit edilmiştir. Danimarka’da vergi kültür endeksi Türkiye’den ortalama bir buçuk kat fazla iken, vergi gelirlerinin payı iki kattan yüksektir.

Aim:A brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE) is characterized by sudden alterations in an infant’s breathing, color, tone, or responsiveness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the necessity of electroencephalography (EEG) in high-risk BRUE cases.Materials and Methods:Fifty-one patients’ cases were analyzed retrospectively. All of these patients were younger than 1 month so considered to be a high-risk group. The gestational week, the age of the patient, the duration of the event, the conditions related to the event, whether or not any intervention was needed, the type of intervention if done, if the event recurred, the number of recurrences, the state of consciousness during the event, respiratory pattern, muscle tone, sleeping position, suspicion of trauma, use of medication by mother and/or baby and smoking exposure were evaluated in detail.Results:The mean age of the patients was 15.74±14.96 days, 31 (60.78%) were male and 20 (39.21%) were female. The mean gestational age was 37.64±2.35 weeks. The neurological examinations of the patients were evaluated as normal. EEG was performed in 36 (70.58%) of the 51 patients and only one patient had sharp waves in the left hemisphere central region. In 11 patients hospitalized with a preliminary diagnosis of BRUE, final diagnoses were found as congenital pyloric stenosis, dehydration, fetal myocarditis, patent ductus arteriosus, lower respiratory tract infection and gastroesophageal reflux.Conclusion:It would be more appropriate to plan the tests to be carried out in the high-risk BRUE group by evaluating many factors such as recurrence of the event, family history, and neurological examination findings. As a result, even in the high-risk BRUE group, it would be cost effective to perform an EEG if only the clinical cues are strongly suggestive for the diagnosis of epilepsy.

Objective: The aim of this animal study was to investigate the short and long-term local histomorphologic effects and the utility of intra-articular application of ibuprofen. Methods: Forty-six Wistar Albino rats were used in the study. The rats were randomized into 5 groups of 8 and a sham group of 6. The 40 rats in the study groups were anaesthetised with 60 mg/kg of ketamine, then 0.25 ml ibuprofen (25 mg) was injected to the right knee joint of each rat (ibuprofen group) and 0.25 ml 0.9% saline to the left knee joint as the control group. To the 6 rats in the sham group, only puncture was applied to both knee joints. The rats in each of the 5 study groups were sacrificed on days 1, 2, 7, 14 and 21 respectively. The histomorphologic changes were graded on a 6-point scale regarding inflammation of the synovia, cartilage tissue, and subchondral bone. Inflammation scores were compared using the Mann Whitney U-test and comparisons of the sacrifice day and drug used were evaluated with the Kruskal Wallis test. The p values below 0.05 were considered as significant. Results: Statistically significant difference was found between the ibuprofen injected knees (10/40) and the saline injected (0/40) and sham knees (0/12) in respect of hematoma positivity (p = 0.002). Significantly higher inflammation scores were found in ibuprofen injected knees on the 1st, 2nd, 7th and 14th days compared to controls and sham (p 0.05). Inflammation of the ibuprofen injected group was most severe on day one and the severity of inflammation reduced gradually throughout the 3 weeks. Conclusion: Our results show that intra-articular injection of ibuprofen can cause intra-articular hematoma. It also leads to transient inflammation of the synovia that is more severe in the early period, which gradually recovers. Keywords: Ibuprofen, Intra-articular, Knee, Synovium, Cartilage

Gezgin satıcı problemi, optimizasyon alanında araştırmacı ve akademisyenler tarafından üzerinde uzun yıllardır yoğun olarak çalışılan çözümü zor (NP-hard) bir problemdir. Genetik algoritmalar GSP (gezgin satıcı problemi) gibi çeşitli NP-hard problemleri çözmek için kullanılan en iyi yöntemlerden biridir. GSP problemi için çok sayıda çaprazlama operatörü önerilmiştir ve her çalışmada yenileri önerilmeye devam etmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı GSP çözümünü araştıran çalışmalarda kullanılan TSPLIB örnek olaylarının ve incelenen çaprazlama operatörlerinin detaylı bir envanterini çıkarmak ve bu konuda çalışmak isteyen araştırmacılara yön göstermektir. Literatürdeki çalışmalar geniş bir kapsamda (anahtar kelime ve yıl bazında) incelenerek ortak kullanılan örnek olayların ve bulunan sonuçların analizi yapılarak tablolaştırılmıştır.

Achieving repeatable and successful results without causing excessive collateral damage is of paramount importance for photothermal laser applications. Predetermined laser parameters cannot ensure patient safety and treatment success due to variance between optical and thermal characteristics among subjects. Controlling laser irradiation with tissue temperature feedback is the current gold standard for various photothermal treatments (PTT) which are rate processes described by the Arrhenius temperature integral. This study establishes the validity of our low-cost design that makes tissue surface temperature control during photothermal laser applications more accessible in resource limited clinical environments. We demonstrated the practical performance and potential of our system with ex-vivo bovine liver irradiation using an ytterbium fiber laser (λ=1071 nm) with two independent variables: laser power (3.4 W, 6.8 W and 10.2 W) and target surface temperature (55 °C, 65 °C and 75 °C). Our system efficiently maintained tissue surface temperatures at target values in all laser power groups. In contrast, fixed-dose application groups displayed a high final temperature range and variation in the control experiment. Temperature–time responses of samples varied significantly, in agreement with a wide range of optical and thermal coefficients. Long exposure duration groups (lower power, higher target temperature) displayed more radical differences suggesting a dominance of optical and thermal characteristics over the response. The low-cost surface-temperature-controlled medical laser system we have developed is capable of ensuring the success and reproducibility of PTT modalities and patient safety.

Abstract Background Radial artery (RA) is widely used in coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery and the prevention of spasm is crucial for graft patency. Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) and B are commonly used for aesthetic reasons and neuromuscular disorders. They are proven to raise blood flow and increase survival of ischemic skin flaps. In this study we evaluated and compared the vasodilator effects of BTX-A and papaverine on human RA grafts. Methods After resting 60 min in isolated organ baths, human RA grafts were examined. Contraction responses for different doses of serotonin (5-HT) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) were evaluated as a percent of maximum contraction response elicited by 80 mM potassium chloride (KCl). The inhibitory effects of BTX-A and papaverine on contraction responses taken at the 0th hour were compared with the 1st and 2nd hour responses. Inhibitory effects of BTX-A and papaverine against the contractile agent were evaluated by comparing the results of the first and last (0th and 2nd hour) application. Results In low concentrations, when we compared the effects of BTX-A (10− 8 M) and papaverine (10− 6 M) on 5-HT, papaverine was found to be more effective at both the 0th and 2nd hour (p

Amaç: Kolistin kolistimetat sodyum son yıllarda çoklu ilaç direnci gösteren gram negatif bakterilerin oluşturduğu nozokomiyal enfeksiyonların tedavisinde kullanılmaktadır. Kolistin kullanımı sonucu gelişen ciddi advers etkiler arasında nefrotoksisite önemli bir yer tutar. Geriatrik hastalarda kolistin ve nefrotoksisite ilişkisine yönelik çalışmalar kısıtlıdır. Amacımız Yoğun Bakım Ünitesinde Acinetobacter baumannii enfeksiyonu nedeniyle kolistin tedavisi alan geriatrik ≥65 yaş ve nongeriatrik

The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is octoploid (2n = 8x = 56) and has been the focused fruit species of which an increasing number of molecular and genetic research has been conducted in recent years. The aim of this study is to identify the relationships between sucrose metabolism, invertase enzyme activity and gene expression in four different fruit development periods (red, pink, green and white) of two commercially important strawberry varieties ‘Rubygem’ and ‘Fortuna’. The metabolite profiles (glucose, fructose, sucrose and total sugar content) of two varieties were discovered to be extremely similar. The highest amount of total sugar was found in red fruits, while the lowest was obtained from green fruits. Invertase represents one of the key enzymes in sucrose metabolism. The lowest invertase activity was obtained from the green fruits in ‘Rubygem’ and ‘Fortuna’ during four developmental periods. In these varieties, the amount of sucrose was found to be close to glucose and fructose and the lowest amount was detected in green period, while invertase activity was relatively high during red and pink periods and invertase gene expression was determined at high levels in both primers (St-4 and St-6) in the green period. The results of the study indicated that sugar content and invertase activity were positively correlated while enzyme activity and gene expression were negatively correlated.

The main aim of this study was to investigate metabolic responses of fruits, leaves, and shoots of pistachio trees (Pistacia vera L. cv. Kirmizi) during their development. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed significant increase in generation of semiquinone radicals in fruits and leaves of pistachio, while the flower cluster thinning application was conducted in relation to the control; especially at the second term of the plant material collection. Moreover, flower abscission caused an increase in the level of phytohormones such as indole-3-acetic acid and abscisic acid in fruits at the first term of fruits sampling. In turn, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed differences both in the profile as well as the contents of soluble sugars detected in pistachio organs. The highest total sugar content was found in fruits of pistachio where the flower cluster thinning application was made early. Total sugar levels were higher also in leaves and shoots of the above-mentioned pistachio plants in relation to the control until the third sampling time. The importance of high levels of fructose in the fruits following the flower abscission was observed. Additionally, analyses of mineral elements in organs showed that copper and phosphorus contents in fruits were higher after the flower abscission in relation to the control. To conclude, our findings signal on contribution of semiquinone radicals, paramagnetic manganese ions, phytohormones, nutrients, and sugars in pistachio organs development on the background of the flower cluster thinning which was applied before fructification.

The main purpose of this study is to confirm EPL (Entrepreneurship, professionalism and leadership) scale, which is developed by Chan et.al. (2012) for Turkish students. EPL scale measures students’ tendencies towards these components based on their motivation, efficacy and intent. Scale is used by the consent of Kim Yin Chan and results of the surveys are computed in terms of sums of scores as told by the evaluation scheme given by Chan. These summed scores are used in all analyses. EPL scale is composed of three main factors, namely motivation, intent and efficacy. Each main factor has three sub-factors: Entrepreneurship, professionalism and leadership. By a survey study on 903 of Manisa Celal Bayar University students, original EPL scale is examined by second order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and re-designed to fit Turkish students.

This study aims to investigate the level of sustainable environmental awareness (SEA) of 9th and 12th grade students and the ideas of students with regard to environment where they attained SEA behaviors. For this purpose, a SEA Scale was developed and implemented to 782 students. The scale comprised of 10 scenarios with three multiple choice options about them (Cronbach α=0.87). The result of this descriptive study shows that there was a significant difference between 9th graders and 12th graders in terms of SEA level (in favor of the 9th graders). In contrast, there was no significant difference between 9th and 12th graders in terms of achievement. In addition to this, all students stated that they acquired SEA behaviors mostly from TV, biology courses, family and the internet

Amaç: Çalışmanın amacı Karotid endarterektomi geçiren hastalarda kontrolsüz diyabetes mellitusun DM uzun süreli statin kullanan ve kullanmayan hastalarda Düşük Yoğunluklu Lipoprotein LDL seviyelerine etkisini araştırmaktı.Gereç ve yöntem: Ateroskleroz nedeniyle karotid endarterektomi geçiren 40 hastanın ameliyat öncesi LDL seviyeleri retrospektif olarak analiz edildi. Tüm hastalar en az 1 yıldır statin kullanıyordu. HbA1C seviyelerinin % 6,4’den fazla olması kontrolsüz DM kriteri kabul edildi D+ . Diğer hastalar diyabet olmayan gruplara alındı D- . Grup 1: D+ statin kullanan n=9 , grup 2: D- statin kullanan n=10 , grup 3: D+ statin kullanmayan n=8 , grup 4: D- statin kullanmayan n=13 hastalardan oluştu. İstatistiksel değerlendirme için Kruskal-Wallis ve Mann-Whitney testleri kullanıldı. p

In today’s competitive global economy, businesses must adjust themselves constantly to ever-changing markets. Therefore, predicting future events in the marketplace is crucial to the maintenance of successful business activities. In this study, sales forecasts for a global furniture retailer operating in Turkey were made using state space models, ARIMA and ARFIMA models, neural networks, and Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). Also, the forecasting performances of some widely used combining methods were evaluated by comparison with the weekly sales data for ten products. According to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first time that the recently developed state space models, also called ETS (Error-Trend-Seasonal) models, and the ANFIS model have been tested within combining methods for forecasting retail sales. Analysis of the results of the single models in isolation indicated that none of them outperformed all the others across all the time series investigated. However, the empirical results suggested that most of the combined forecasts examined could achieve statistically significant increases in forecasting accuracy compared with individual models and with the forecasts generated by the company’s current system.

The EFQM Excellence Model is a framework that helps organizations to achieve competitive advantage by measuring where they are on their path to excellence. However, it does not tell the organization what to do or how it should manage any of these areas. In this study, we suggest a structure to overcome this gap. We present a method, matrix reflections, to find a tool set that can be used for designing improvement approaches in order to reach desired results.

Many sources such as the immaturity, complexity and unpredictable evolution of the technologies themselves, and the difficulty of predicting the market demand generally cause uncertainty in the Information Technology (IT) projects. Managerial flexibility has value in the context of uncertain IT projects, as management can continuously gather information about uncertain project and market characteristics and, based on this information, change its course of action. As traditional capital budgeting (or project appraisal) approaches fail to consider embedded managerial flexibility in projects, the new investment evaluation approach called “real options” has come on the scene recently. “Options thinking,” an emerging investment management philosophy based on the theory of financial options can provide a promising foundation for hedging the risks under uncertainty. This paper aims at analyzing a real IT investment having growth opportunities by using real options approach. Specifically, the value of investing in a software project as well as embedded flexibility in this opportunity is modeled as an option contract. The expected costs required for completing the project and thereafter the resulting asset value are considered as the base-case parameters of this contract. Option values derived from Binomial method are used for evaluating the project and the optimal investment policy is determined based on these values. As a result, it is shown that the value of an IT project having flexibility can differ from one obtained with traditional capital budgeting methods and a rejected project which was seen as unprofitable before can turn a profitable one through embedded flexibilities.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the survival outcomes of women with ovarian carcinosarcoma according to platinum or doxorubicin based adjuvant chemotherapy protocols. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective study was performed at Etlik Zübeyde Hanım and Zekai Tahir Burak Women’s Health Education and Research Hospitals, which are tertiary centers in Turkey. A total of 31 women with ovarian carcinosarcoma between January 1999 and January 2013 were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 53.84±10.13. Most of the patients were diagnosed with stage IIIC ovarian carcinosarcoma (n=21, 67.7%). Maximal debulking and optimal debulking was performed to 23 (74.2%) and 8 (25.8%) patients, respectively. Disease free survival was significantly shorter in stage IIIC patients when compared to stage IIIB patients (p=0.048). Disease free survival for one and three years according to the treatment protocol (platinum or doxorubicin based) was not significantly different (p=0.574). Additionally, three and five years overall survival was not significantly different (p=0.891) between the platinum and doxorubicin based chemotherapy protocols. DISCUSSION: We did not find a significant difference in terms of disease free survival and overall survival between platinum and doxorubicin based adjuvant chemotherapy protocols in women with ovarian carcinosarcoma.

This research has two purposes, first, to examine the effects of demographic factors on organizational commitment and second, testing differences between employees’ cities and sectoral variables on organizational commitment types. A survey which defines organizational commitment types applied on 160 employees, at 8 organizations, in Manisa and Izmir. Choosen demographic factors are : Age, sex, education, marital status, total length of service, present length of service at same position. 5 hypothesis developed to test relationship between organizational commitment types and demographic factors. Results show that demographic factors are very effective on organizational commitment. This research may be an addition to organizational commitment literature.

Cervical cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in females worldwide. Recurrence of carcinoma of the uterine cervix mainly occurs locally or regionally after treatment. Rarely (0.1-1.3%) metastatic recurrence of squamous cervical carcinoma could be identified in the abdominal wall especially in sites of incision. We present a case with a second incisional site metastasis of cervical cancer after seventy five months following first operation.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of hematologic findings and the relationship between hemogram parameters and brucellosis stages in patients., Methods: This multi-center study included patients older than 16 years of age who were followed up with a diagnosis of brucellosis. Patients' results, including white blood cell, hemoglobin, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, mean platelet volume, platelet and eosinophil counts were analyzed at the initial diagnosis., Results: In this study 51.3% of the patients diagnosed with brucellosis were male. The age median was 45 years for female and 41 years for male. A total of 55.1% of the patients had acute brucellosis, 28.2% had subacute, 7.4% had chronic and 9% had relapse. The most common hematologic findings in brucellosis patients were anemia (25.9%), monocytosis (15.9%), eosinopenia (10.3%), and leukocytosis (7.1%). Pancytopenia occurred in 0.8% of patients and was more prominent in the acute phase. The acute brucellosis group had lower white blood cell, hemoglobin, neutrophil, eosinophil, and platelet counts and mean platelet volume, and higher monocyte counts compared to subacute and chronic subgroups., Conclusion: It was noteworthy that in addition to anemia and monocytosis, eosinopenia was third most prominent laboratory findings in the study. Pancytopenia and thrombocytopenia rates were low., (Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.)

Background: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections. Although culture is the gold standard diagnostic method, bacterial growth in blood cultures may not always occur due to various factors. We aimed to investigate demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings that may have predictive significance for bacteremia in brucellosis., Methods: Patients older than 18 years of age followed up with a diagnosis of brucellosis between 2012 and 2022 were included in this retrospective multicenter study. They were divided into two main subgroups according to their Brucella species reproductive status as bacteremic and non-bacteremic., Results: A total of 743 patients, 370 (49.80%) bacteremic and 373 (50.20%) non-bacteremic brucellosis patients, were enrolled. The mean age of the bacteremic group (36.74 years) was lower than the non-bacteremic group (43.18 yr). High fever, chills/cold, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss were more common in the bacteremic group. In the bacteremic group, white blood cell count, platelet count, hemoglobin level, mean platelet volume, eosinophil, and neutrophil counts were lower, and lymphocyte, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and ferritin levels were higher. According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, when the cut-off value of ferritin was considered 67, it was the parameter with the strongest predictive significance in Brucella bacteremia., Conclusion: High ferritin level, low eosinophil count, and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate were determined as the most critical laboratory findings in predicting bacteremia in brucellosis., (Copyright© 2024 Çelik et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)