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We examine the relationship among geopolitical risks (GPR), WTI oil, and gold prices utilizing the time-varying causality and quantile regression approaches. The sample period spans from January 1986 to January 2022, comprising 433 monthly observations and representing the longest common period of data availability. The results show that there is no causality between the pairs of GPR–WTI, and GPR–gold prices for the full sample period, while the causality between gold and WTI is unidirectional, running from gold to WTI. Using the rolling causality test, however, we find that the dynamic causal relations strengthen over time. The Granger causality from the gold prices to GPR and WTI is stronger than the other way around, suggesting that the gold market dominates the other two variables in terms of strength of the lead-lag structure of causality. Besides, we observe the strongest causation effects between GPR and WTI spot prices. Before 2009, the causal relationship between WTI and GPR is mostly unidirectional while also a bidirectional linkage emerges, coinciding with the crisis periods including the Dot-Com and 2007 US Subprime crises. During the causal periods, these variables respond negatively to changes in others. For the COVID19 period, the direction of causality considerably changes in favor of WTI for the GPR–WTI pair whereas it is unchanged for the WTI–gold pair. The results indicate that WTI has positive and negative predictive powers for GPR and gold while it receives negative and positive causation effects from GPR and gold during the pandemic, respectively.

In this paper, the impacts of the Covid-19 mortality rates on the agricultural spot prices were investigated by using both standard techniques and wavelet-based cohesion and Granger causality tests. Our dataset consisted of daily observations of the mortality rates as well as corn, oats, rapeseed, rice, soybeans, and wheat prices during the period January 22 to September 18, 2020. The findings of the paper revealed that the mortality rate was cointegrated with the prices of corn, oats, rapeseed, and soybeans. Further, the VECM results showed that the mortality rate unidirectionally Granger-caused the corn and rapeseed prices in the long-run, and the oat prices in the short- and long-run. On the other hand, the wavelet cohesion results revealed that the dynamics of the interdependence of the underlying variables were time-varying and heterogeneous over time horizons. The wavelet-based Granger-causality test, however, indicated that the mortality rates negatively caused most of the agricultural prices. These findings yield some important implications for policymakers.

Ekonomik büyüme kavramı ülke ekonomilerinde ana hedeflerden biridir. Ekonomilerde kalkınma ve refah seviyesinin artırılması için ekonomik aktivitelerin de artış göstermesi gerekir. Kıt kaynakların doğru bir şekilde değerlendirilmesi, teknolojiye yönelik olarak sermayenin artışı ve bunların yanında emek faktörünün rasyonel kullanımı ekonomik büyümenin sürekliliğini sağlamaktadır. Fakat yoksulluk, gelir dağılımındaki adaletsizlik ve işsizlik gibi sorunlar çözüme ulaşamamıştır. Bu sorunlar kadın işgücü üzerinde de olumsuz etkiler bırakmaktadır. Ekonomik büyüme ve kalkınmada insan faktörü vazgeçilmez bir ögedir. Bu yüzden nüfusun yaklaşık yarısını oluşturan kadın emeği olmadan bir ülkede kalkınmadan bahsedilemez. Kadınların mevcut konumlarını kuvvetlendirmek de ekonominin amaçları arasındadır. Bu kapsamda çalışmanın temel amacı, Türkiye’ de kadın işgücünün genel görünümünü vermek ve kadın istihdamı ile ekonomik büyüme arasındaki uzun dönemli ilişkiyi ekonometrik analizlerle incelemektir. Ayrıca büyüme ve kadın istihdamı değişkenler arasındaki nedensellik ilişkisini ortaya çıkarmaktır. Kadın istihdamı ve ekonomik büyüme arasındaki uzun dönemli ilişki ARDL eşbütünleşme testi ve hata düzeltme modeli uygulanarak bulunmuştur. Analiz sonuçları kısa dönemde kadın istihdamı ile ekonomik büyüme arasında pozitif bir ilişkiyi, uzun dönemde ise bu ilişkinin yönünün negatif olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Uygulanan nedensellik testinde ise değişkenlerin birbirlerinin nedeni olmadığı görülmüştür.

The variation in rainfall amount is found to be more forceful in poorer or agriculture-dependent countries and seems to be less effective for industrial economies. As Turkey is a newly industrialised country with a growing service economy, it is categorized as an emerging economy in the world. However, agricultural industry still plays a significant role in the economy especially in terms of the level of employment. The aim of the study is to examine the impact of rainfall on economy through economic outcomes of drought on agricultural industry. There seems to be a positive correlation between rainfall and agricultural industry in over the investigated period. As the growth in agricultural industry is highly correlated, similarly rainfall and overall economic growth appear to be coinciding and moving together. When there is drought in the country, economic crises follow this pattern. Besides rainfall, another variable, temperature, is allowed to identify whether it has any effect on the growth. Contrary to rain, temperature has no influence on agricultural output. The descriptive figures note that while agricultural industry involves a small share of the whole economy, the results of the study imply rainfall amount in Turkey has more impacts on economic growth than thought.

Bu çalışma 2002 ve 2016 yılları arasında Türkiye’de politik istikrarın ekonomik büyüme üzerindeki uzun dönemli ilişkisini inceleyecektir. Politik istikrar, demokratik yönetim sistemleri ile beraber düşünüldüğünde ülkelerde güçlü kurumların yerleşmesine neden olmakta ve bu durumun bu ülkelerde ekonomik kalkınmayı hızlandırdığı ampirik çalışmaların sonuçlarında ileri sürülmüştür. Bu çalışma öncelikle politik istikrar endeksinin Türkiye’nin ekonomik çıktısıyla GSYIMH nasıl bir ilişki içinde olduğuna odaklanacak ve daha sonra ise politik istikrar ile diğer önemli makro-ekonomik değişkenler- bu değişkenler sırasıyla enflasyon oranı tüketici fiyat endeksi , döviz kuru ve kısa vadeli faiz oranları- arasındaki uzun dönemli ilişkisine bakacaktır. Bu amaçla, iki değişkenli regresyon modelinde ARDL yöntemi kullanılacaktır. Bu çalışmada, Pesaran’ın Sınır Testi yöntemi kullanıldığında politik istikrar endeksinin tek bir bağımsız değişken olarak kullanıldığı iki değişkenli regresyon modelinde politik istikrar ile diğer kullanılan makro-ekonomik değişkenler, ekonomik büyüme değişkeni dâhil olmak üzere, arasında uzun dönemli bir ilişki bulunamamıştır. Daha sonra çok değişkenli ekonometrik modelleme yapılarak politik istikrar endeksi diğer makroekonomik değişkenlerle beraber ekonomik büyüme üzerinde her hangi bir ilişkilerinin olup olmadığı incelenmiştir. Uzun dönemde böyle bir ilişkinin bulunabilmesi için çok değişken ekonometrik modelleme sonucunda politik istikrarın ekonomik büyüme ile uzun dönemde bir ilişki içinde olduğu bulunmuş, ancak bu ilişki kısa dönemde ise istatistikî olarak elde edilememiştir. Bununla beraber, enflasyon ile ekonomik büyüme arasında negatif bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Türkiye’de enflasyon yükseliş eğilimi gösterdiğinde ekonomik büyümenin bundan olumsuz etkilendiği görülmektedir. Öte yandan, gecikmeli döviz kurundaki değerlerin ekonomi üzerinde baskı oluşturduğu istatistiki olarak anlamlı görünmektedir.

This paper will analyse the unit root properties of main macro-economic variables of Turkey. These macro-economic variables are always in demand by policy makers. This is why we have chosen 10 variables for investigation. This study will try to see whether these macro-economic variables are level stationary or first difference stationary. We applied traditional unit root and newly generated unit root tests which takes structural breaks into account for macro-economic variables of Turkey. Gross domestic product, real money supply of M1, Borsa Istanbul stock exchange index and non-agricultural unemployment rates seems to be non-stationary at their level; However, we found some mixed results for long term interest rates and interest rate spread. They appear to be either level stationary or first difference stationary. Though in most cases they are level stationary according to test results. Unemployment rate and capacity utilization rates are stationary in their level formation. Consumer Price Index of Turkey appears to be non-stationary both at level and when first differenced

Abstract Protease-containing ABC transporters (PCATs) couple the energy of ATP hydrolysis to the processing and export of diverse cargo proteins across cell membranes to mediate antimicrobial resistance and quorum sensing. Here, we combine biochemical analysis, single particle cryoEM, and DEER spectroscopy in lipid bilayers along with computational analysis to illuminate the structural and energetic underpinnings of coupled cargo protein export. Our integrated investigation uncovers competitive interplay between nucleotides and cargo protein binding that ensures the latter’s orderly processing and subsequent transport. The energetics of cryoEM structures in lipid bilayers are congruent with the inferred mechanism from ATP turnover analysis and reveal a snapshot of a high-energy outward-facing conformation that provides an exit pathway into the lipid bilayer and/or the extracellular side. DEER investigation of the core ABC transporter suggests evolutionary tuning of the energetic landscape to fulfill the function of substrate processing prior to export.

Magnesium (Mg) stands out in temporary biomaterial applications due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low Young's modulus. However, controlling its corrosion through next-generation polymer-based functional coatings is crucial due to the rapid degradation behavior of Mg. In this study, the function of 2D lamellar Ti3C2Tx (MXene) in Hydroxyapatite (HA) and Halloysite nanotube (HNT) hybrid coatings in biodegradable poly– (lactic acid) (PLA) was investigated. The morphological and structural characterizations of the coatings on Mg were revealed through HRTEM, XPS, SEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR, and contact angle analyses/tests. Electrochemical in vitro corrosion tests (OCP, PDS, and EIS-Nyquist) were conducted for evaluate corrosion resistance under simulated body fluid (SBF) conditions. The bioactivity of the coatings in SBF have been revealed in accordance with the ISO 23,317 standard. Finally, antibacterial disk diffusion tests were conducted to investigate the functional effect of MXene in coatings. It has been determined that the presence of MXene in the coating increased not only surface wettability (131°, 85°, 77°, and 74° for uncoated, pH, PHH, and PHH/MXene coatings, respectively) but also increased corrosion resistance (1857.850, 42.357, 1.593, and 0.085 × 10–6, A/cm2 for uncoated, pH, PHH, and PHH/MXene coatings, respectively). It has been proven that the in vitro bioactivity of PLA-HA coatings is further enhanced by adding HNT and MXene, along with SEM morphologies after SBF. Finally, 2D lamellar MXene-filled coating exhibits antibacterial behavior against both E. coli and S. aureus bacteria.

Abstract This study explores the relationship between the quality of coach-athlete relationships, transformational leadership style, and team resilience in elite football players. The coach-athlete relationship is an essential factor affecting many performance-related properties of athletes, such as mental health, psychological needs, motivation, and resilience. The study examines how the quality of coach-athlete relationships explains the team resilience feature through transformational leadership. The research group includes 210 elite players from the Super League, First League, Second League, and Third Leagues of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) in the 2020–2021 football season. The study used descriptive and relational models to explore the current state of the dependent and independent variables and examine their relationships. The findings revealed insights into the mediating role of the coach’s transformational leadership qualities, highlighting how the quality of coach-athlete relationships impacts team resilience.

Abstract Objective To compare the results of the lateral internal sphincterotomy(LIS) technique and high dose botulinum toxin, which is one of the treatments applied when medical treatment is insufficient in anal fissure. Materials and methods The files and outpatient clinic notes of the patients who underwent lateral internal sphincterotomy and botulinum toxin injection due to lack of response to medical treatment due to anal fissure between May 2020 and May 2023 were examined retrospectively. Preoperative and postoperative visual analog scale (VAS) scores, five-point horizontal scale (FPHS) scores, hospitalization times, fissure locations, follow-up periods, anesthesia type, and postoperative complications of the patients were recorded. Results Total 30 LIS and 24 botulinum toxin-treated patients were included. Hospitalization time was shorter in botulinum toxin groups than in the LIS group (p < 0.001). First-week VAS score was lower than botulinum toxin injection group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of FPHS scores, follow-up periods, and recurrence (p:0.15, p:0.07, p:0.14). Conclusion: While LIS is faster in the early period, botulinum toxin injection can be considered as an alternative to surgical treatment for long-term results.

Abstract Here we used cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), double electron-electron resonance spectroscopy (DEER), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, to capture and characterize ATP- and substrate-bound inward-facing (IF) and occluded (OC) conformational states of the heterodimeric ATP binding cassette (ABC) multidrug exporter BmrCD in lipid nanodiscs. Supported by DEER analysis, the structures reveal that ATP-powered isomerization entails changes in the relative symmetry of the BmrC and BmrD subunits that propagates from the transmembrane domain to the nucleotide binding domain. The structures uncover asymmetric substrate and Mg2+ binding which we hypothesize are required for triggering ATP hydrolysis preferentially in one of the nucleotide-binding sites. MD simulations demonstrate that multiple lipid molecules differentially bind the IF versus the OC conformation thus establishing that lipid interactions modulate BmrCD energy landscape. Our findings are framed in a model that highlights the role of asymmetric conformations in the ATP-coupled transport with general implications to the mechanism of ABC transporters.

Preventing plunge pool scouring in hydraulic structures is crucial in hydraulic engineering. Although many studies have been conducted experimentally to determine relationship between the scour depth and water jets in several fields, available equations have deficiencies in calculating the exact scour due to complexity of scour process. This study investigated local scour depth in plunge pool using Metaheuristic Artificial Bee Colony-Optimized Feed Forward Neural Network (ABCFFNN), variational mode decomposition (VMD) and ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) techniques. To set modeling, the input parameters are impact angle, densimetric Froude number, impingement length, and nozzle diameter. The models' training and testing were conducted using data available in the literature. The models' performances were compared with experiments. The results demonstrate that scour depth, length, width, and ridge height can be calculated more accurately than available equations. A rank analysis was also applied to obtain the most critical parameter in predicting scour parameters in water jet scouring. ABC-FFNN, VMD-ABCFFNN and EEMD-VMD-FFNN hybrid models were performed to obtain scour parameters. As a result, ABC-FFNN algorithms produced the best solution to predict the scour due to circular water jets, with the values for training (R2: 0.331 to 0.778) and testing (R2: 0.495 to 0.863). HIGHLIGHTS This study analyzed the scour due to water jets using metaheuristic algorithms based on artificial bee colony ABC.; Metaheuristics optimized feed forward neural network (ABC-FFNN) and pre-processing techniques were used to predict the scour characteristics.;

In this study, we investigate the tangent bundle TM of an n-dimensional (pseudo-)Riemannian manifold M equipped with a Ricci-quarter symmetric metric connection ∇˜. Our primary goal is to establish the necessary and sufficient conditions for TM to exhibit characteristics of various solitons, specifically conformal Yamabe solitons, gradient conformal Yamabe solitons, conformal Ricci solitons, and gradient conformal Ricci solitons. We determine that for TM to be a conformal Yamabe soliton, the potential vector field must satisfy certain conditions when lifted vertically, horizontally, or completely from M to TM, alongside specific constraints on the conformal factor λ and the geometric properties of M. For gradient conformal Yamabe solitons, the conditions involve λ and the Hessian of the potential function. Similarly, for TM to be a conformal Ricci soliton, we identify conditions involving the lift of the potential vector field, the value of λ, and the curvature properties of M. For gradient conformal Ricci solitons, the criteria include the Hessian of the potential function and the Ricci curvature of M. These results enhance the understanding of the geometric properties of tangent bundles under Ricci-quarter symmetric metric connections and provide insights into their transition into various soliton states, contributing significantly to the field of differential geometry.

Let $ (M, g) $ be an $ n $-dimensional (pseudo-)Riemannian manifold and $ TM $ be its tangent bundle $ TM $ equipped with the complete lift metric $ ^{C}g $. First, we define a Ricci quarter-symmetric metric connection $ \overline{\nabla } $ on the tangent bundle $ TM $ equipped with the complete lift metric $ ^{C}g $. Second, we compute all forms of the curvature tensors of $ \overline{\nabla } $ and study their properties. We also define the mean connection of $ \overline{\nabla } $. Ricci and gradient Ricci solitons are important topics studied extensively lately. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the tangent bundle $ TM $ to become a Ricci soliton and a gradient Ricci soliton concerning $ \overline{\nabla } $ are presented. Finally, we search conditions for the tangent bundle $ TM $ to be locally conformally flat with respect to $ \overline{\nabla } $.

Interoperability remains to be one of the main challenges in the Internet of Things. The increasing number of IoT data sources from various vendors augments the complexity of integrating different sensors and actuators on the existing platforms, requiring human involvement and becoming error prone. To improve this situation, devices are usually coupled with a semantic description of their attributes. Such semantic descriptions, Things Descriptions, TD, are therefore an abstraction of devices, that is helpful to achieve a smoother integration of devices into IoT platforms. However, TD are usually vendor-based, so for large-scale IoT infrastructures, the integration complexity increases, as there will be different descriptions of similar sensors, provided by different vendors to be interconnected into IoT platforms. In this context, the paper assesses different ML-based semantic matchmaking approaches, against a sentence-based statistical similarity approach. For the ML approaches, the paper focuses on clustering and Natural Language Processing. The three approaches have been implemented on a realistic testbed, and experiments carried out show that the best performance achieved in terms of accuracy, time to completion of a matchmaking request, and memory usage is the NLP-based approach.

The Euphrates-Tigris basin in Turkey suffers from sedimentation and erosion problems. The purpose of this study was to estimate streamflow, sediment yield, and identification of soil erosion-prone areas for the Murat River Basin which is the headwater of Euphrates River, with Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The model was calibrated and validated with observed streamflow and sediment yield data obtained from two gauging stations. The statistical model performance was evaluated by using NSE, R2, and PBIAS. NSE values were calculated as 0.57, 0.50 and 0.77, 0.75 for the stations E21A074 and E21A077, respectively, in the monthly streamflow calibration and validation periods. Monthly sediment yield generated the NSE values for stations E21A074 and E21A077 were 0.54, 0.69 and 0.62, 0.35 in the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Spatial analysis indicates that 3.9% of the basin is under very severe (>20 t/ha/y), and 21.3% is under severe (>10 t/ha/y) soil erosion conditions. Most of the soil erosion occurs at the barren land use and in the sub-watersheds with a slope greater than 25%. Overall, the SWAT model satisfactorily simulated the streamflow and sediment yield, and identified the erosion-prone areas at the sub-watershed scale at the Murat River Basin for water resource management. HIGHLIGHTS Streamflow and sediment yield simulated satisfactorily with the SWAT model.; Soil erosion is much sensitive to land use and slope.; Barren land with the combination of areas with steep slope generates more soil erosion.; This study can help watershed managers to prioritize measures.;

Aim and introduction: Considering the recurrence and fecal incontinence rates in high anal fistulas, surgical treatment of anal fistulas is a challenging process, although many treatments have been defined today. The aim of our study is to evaluate the long-term results of laser ablation of the fistula tract in high anal fistulas. Material and methods: The files of patients who underwent laser ablation of the fistula tract due to high anal fistula between June 2020 and January 2022 were evaluated retrospectively. Moreover, their postoperative complications, preoperative and postoperative Cleveland fecal incontinence scores (CCFFSI score), postoperative first day and first-week visual analog scale (VAS) scores, follow-up times, and recurrence rates were analyzed. Results: 26 patients were included in the study. The mean follow-up period was 39.88±14.34 weeks, and the postoperative first and 7th day VAS scores were 4.61±1.41 and 0.8±1.02, respectively. Preoperative and postoperative CCFI scores were calculated as 1.8±1.41, 1.65±1.32, respectively. Recurrence was observed in 7 patients postoperatively. Postoperative anal abscess developed in 1 patient. Conclusion: Although laser ablation of the fistula tract can be safely performed as a technique that does not affect incontinence, recurrence rates should also be considered. Furthermore, more extensive randomized prospective studies on this technique should be performed.

IP3 receptors are intracellular calcium channels involved in numerous signaling pathways. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structures of type-3 IP3 receptors in multiple gating conformations, including the active state revealing the molecular mechanism of the receptor activation.

Volume-regulated anion channels (VRACs) mediate volume regulatory Cl- and organic solute efflux from vertebrate cells. VRACs are heteromeric assemblies of LRRC8A-E proteins with unknown stoichiometries. Homomeric LRRC8A and LRRC8D channels have a small pore, hexameric structure. However, these channels are either non-functional or exhibit abnormal regulation and pharmacology, limiting their utility for structure-function analyses. We circumvented these limitations by developing novel homomeric LRRC8 chimeric channels with functional properties consistent with those of native VRAC/LRRC8 channels. We demonstrate here that the LRRC8C-LRRC8A(IL125) chimera comprising LRRC8C and 25 amino acids unique to the first intracellular loop (IL1) of LRRC8A has a heptameric structure like that of homologous pannexin channels. Unlike homomeric LRRC8A and LRRC8D channels, heptameric LRRC8C-LRRC8A(IL125) channels have a large-diameter pore similar to that estimated for native VRACs, exhibit normal DCPIB pharmacology, and have higher permeability to large organic anions. Lipid-like densities are located between LRRC8C-LRRC8A(IL125) subunits and occlude the channel pore. Our findings provide new insights into VRAC/LRRC8 channel structure and suggest that lipids may play important roles in channel gating and regulation.

Our country has many species in fruit and vegetable cultivation. One of them is Gilaburu fruit (Viburnum Opulus), which has spread to different regions, especially in Kayseri. Longer preservation of products in fruits and vegetables; Drying process has been applied since ancient times to prevent deterioration caused by microbial and/or biochemical changes. One of them and the most common one is convectional drying in other words drying in a drying chamber under controlled hot air stream. In this study, Gilaburu fruits were obtained from a local producer in Kayseri. Drying processes were carried out in a convectional oven at 60, 70 and 80℃ in three repetitions. The effects of different drying conditions on the drying characteristics of Gilaburu fruits were examined. Drying time for Gilaburu fruits decreased with increasing temperature. As a color parameter total color change with respective to fresh fruit (ΔΕ) was investigated. The results indicated that it remained almost identical with temperature change. Similar trend was observed for rehydration rate. Titration acidity and pH values showed compatible changes. With temperature increase, titration acidity increased, as pH decreased. As textural properties, skin-hardness and elasticity of dried fruits were measured. As hardness increased, elasticity decreased with temperature elevation. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of dried samples were also examined. The results showed that there were increases in both of them with an increase in temperature.

In the last decade, organic-based food materials have taken an increasing marketing share due to consumers’ interests. Strawberry is one of the world’s most important berry crops, with growing production. This study aimed to evaluate the drying process of organic strawberries and to determine the influences of process conditions on drying characteristics. To improve drying performance, carbonic maceration (CM) was investigated as a pre-treatment. The experimental design and the optimization of the drying with pre-treatment conditions were performed using statistical modeling (response surface method (RSM), central composite design (CCD)). Using the RSM, dependent variables such as drying time, total phenolic compound, antioxidant capacity, ascorbic acid concentration, and hue value were optimized as a function of operating conditions of CM pre-treatment and following the drying process. The results indicated that drying performance varied depending on drying temperature as well as process conditions of CM. Drying time was reduced by more than 30% with CM treatment compared to control. Furthermore, ascorbic acid content, antioxidant activity, and surface color of dried samples were protected better in the case of CM-pre-treated strawberries. Results showed that the optimum drying temperature, maceration pressure, maceration temperature, and maceration time parameters were 64.8 °C, 3.54 bar, 4.2 °C, and 4 h, respectively. The high potential of CM should be considered in terms of process improvement and product quality for drying processes. Thus, this study provides key outcomes in this respect. According to the obtained results, the CM was assessed as a promising technique applied before the drying of organic strawberries.

The paper undertakes certain special forms of the quarter symmetric metric and non-metric connections on an ε-anti-Kähler manifold. Firstly, we deduce the relation between the Riemannian connection and the special forms of the quarter symmetric metric and non-metric connections. Then, we present some results concerning the torsion tensors of these connections. In addition, we find the forms of the curvature tensor, the Ricci curvature tensor and scalar curvature of such connections and we search the conditions for the ε-anti-Kähler manifold to be an Einstein space with respect to these connections. Finally, we study U(Ric)-vector fields with respect to these connections and give some results related to them.

Retail teas are blends of different tea grades in different proportions with varying quality and characteristics. Since there is not any available alternative, the ratio of stock teas in a blend is determined by expert tasters and sometimes supported by expensive chemical analyses. Instead of this relatively subjective expert dependant method, in this study, we present a novel and very economic approach to determine tea blending proportions. The approach is based on chemometric analysis of the data produced by spectral scanning of simple tea infusions (only prepared using boiling water as extraction solvent). For this purpose, UV–Vis spectra of 21 different stock tea samples were obtained and the data was processed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The blending proportions to produce a target tea mixture were calculated by a custom-developed algorithm, named TeaPot, with an easy-to-use graphical interface. In brief, a similar blend to the target is calculated from inversely proportioned Euclidean distances of tea samples’ PCA scores. These PCA scores were weighted with the associative variance explanation proportion of principal components. According to the validation results, over 90% similarity to the target is achieved from TeaPot's estimations. This proposed methodology and algorithm provide a simpler, faster, and affordable solution for tea manufacturers to avoid the effects of seasonal changes, process variables, and species-dependant differences in rental teas. As a result, TeaPot makes it possible to ensure product quality with very little expense and requiring no expertise.

This study investigated the effects of explicit teaching of formulaic language on the overall quality of Turkish EFL university students’ argumentative writing. Forty-four freshmen and twenty-seven sophomores participated in the study, with half of them assigned to the experimental group and the other to the control group. Forty target formulaic language items were explicitly taught to the experimental group with a variety of activities for four hours in two weeks. The experimental group was found to increase the overall quality scores of their writing significantly after the intervention. They also outperformed the control group in the immediate post-test although a decrease was observed in the delayed post-test. Moreover, a significantly positive correlation was observed between the frequency of the formulaic language items used and the overall quality scores of the essays. It seemed that the explicit instruction of the target items raised the students’ awareness of formulaic language and improved the overall quality of their writing.

Sphenoid sinus mucocele (SSM) is rare and constitutes 1-2% of all paranasal sinus mucoceles. In general, patients present with symptoms such as headache, swelling of the face, nasal obstruction, proptosis, disturbance of globe movements, diplopia and visual loss. In this article, we present a case of ophthalmoplegia which is diagnosed with rare SSM. A 72-year-old man was admitted with an upper respiratory tract infection and concomitant complaints of low left eye lid, diplopia and retroorbital headache. On examination, there were left ptosis and paralysis in all globe movements except for the outward gaze. The patients diplopia increased in downward gaze. Fundoscopy was normal. CT revealed a hypodense mass in the left sphenoid sinus that was compatible with a mucocele of about 3x2 cm. The patient was diagnosed with SSM and we performed emergency surgery. Sphenoid sinus mucoceles are very rare and benign lesions, but they can permanently damage the surrounding vital structures. Patients with headache and cranial nerve pathologies should be suspected of SSM. Surgical treatment of SSM by transnasal endoscopic approach can be preferred because of its ease of application and low morbidity and recurrence rates. Early surgical intervention can prevent the damages that will develop in patients. [Med-Science 2018; 7(1.000): 229-231]

Mucocele is a benign, cystic lesion of the paranasal sinus which grows slowly and becomes symptomatic after a long time. As its size increases the lesion expands out of the sinus. We reported a 16-year-old patient who presented with complaints such as left periorbital pain, shifting in the left eye and proptosis. Mucocele is most commonly seen in the frontal and ethmoid sinuses, while it is rare in the maxillary and sphenoid sinuses. We presented a case of maxillary sinus mucocele with orbital complaints. [Med-Science 2016; 5(4.000): 1042-5]

The high potential of thymoquinone as an ingredient and/or additive in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries has been well established in previous studies. However, its extraction from natural sources was considered in the limited studies and none of them included the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of a thymoquinone-rich extract and process optimization. In the present study, this high-value-added bioactive was aimed to extract from its well-known natural source, black cumin seed (Nigella sativa L.), using methanol as a solvent for all of the studied extraction methods. For extraction of a compound of interest, microwave-assisted extraction system having temperature controlling function was used and its performance was compared with common extraction methods, Soxhlet and conventional solid/liquid extraction. The results indicated that the MAE system provided a rich extract containing thymoquinone, which was 2 and 7 times higher than those produced by conventional solid/liquid extraction and Soxhlet, respectively. Influences of temperature, time and solvent/solid ratio on thymoquinone yield were investigated for MAE. The solvent/solid ratio was found to have the main effect on extraction performance, whereas an interaction effect of temperature and time was significant. Variables of MAE were optimized by response surface methodology to produce a thymoquinone-rich extract. Optimal conditions for the highest yield of thymoquinone were determined as 10 minutes extraction at 30 °C, using 30 ml solvent per gram of black cumin seed. The estimated thymoquinone yield of the extract was 628 mg/kg black cumin seed. It could be concluded that the currently optimized MAE with temperature controlling function is a promising technique to produce a thymoquinone-rich extract from black cumin seeds.

Aromatization of olive oil especially by spices and herbs has been widely used technique throughout the ages in Mediterranean diets. The present study was focused on aromatization of olive oil by rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). Aromatization process was optimized by response surface methodology as a function of malaxation’s conditions (temperature and time). According to authors’ best knowledge it was first time for examination of oil yield performance with antioxidant potential and pigments under effect of aromatization parameters. For all oil samples, values of the free acidity, peroxide, K232 and K270 as quality parameters fell within the ranges established for the highest quality category “extra virgin oil”. Oil yield (mL oil/kg olive paste) changed from 158 to 208 with respect to design parameters. Total phenolic content and free radical scavenging activity as antioxidant potential of olive oil samples were varied in the range of 182.44 – 348.65 mg gallic acid equivalent/kg oil and 28.91 – 88.75 % inhibition of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl-(DPPH•), respectively. Total contents of carotenoid, chlorophyll and pheophytin a as pigments in oil samples were found to be in between 0.09 – 0.48 mg carotenoid/kg oil, 0.11 – 0.96 mg chlorophyll/kg oil, 0.15 – 4.44 mg pheo α/kg oil, respectively. The proposed models for yield, pigments and antioxidant potential responses were found to be good enough for successful prediction of experimental results. Total phenolics, carotenoids and free radical scavenging activity of aromatized olive oil and oil yield were maximized to gather and optimal conditions were determined as 25°C, 84 min, and 2 % (Rosemary/olive paste; w/w).

Güdük apandisit, nadir bir komplikasyon olup apandektomi sonrası 1/50.000 oranında görülmektedir.Apendektomi öyküsü olan hastalarda güdük apandisit tanısı gözden kaçabilmektedir.Klinik olarak akut apandisite çok benzemektedir.Biz de bu makalemizde nadir görülen, acil serviste güdük apandisit tanısı konmuş bir vakayı sunacağız. ( Sakarya Tıp Dergisi 2016, 6(1):34-37 ) Anahtar Kelimeler: Nadir; Güdük; Apandisit

Objectives: Presbyacusis is one of the most common choronic diseases in geriatric patients. Most of the cases have only hearing loss however; accompanying subjective tinnitus might be the predominant symptom in a number of patients and a negative factor on quality of life. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of depression and anxiety in geriatric population who diagnosed with presbyacusis and also suffering from tinnitus.Methods: The study group consisted of patients older than 65 years those admitted to outpatient clinic between the dates of 11.01.2011 and 07.01.2012 with the complaints of hearing loss and tinnitus (n=30). Patients only diagnosed with presbyacusis was chosen as the control group (n=30). Basic laboratory tests were performed to the patients together with pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry and tympanometry. In addition, Beck anxiety and depression questionnaires filled out by interviewing method and the results were compared.Results: The main clinical and laboratory characteristics of the groups were similar. There was no significant difference in education and monthly income levels for each of the two groups. Beck anxiety and depression scores in patients with subjective tinnitus were found to be 17.8±3.6 and 19.8±4.2; in control group were 12.7±3.7 and 13.1±4.0 respectively (p

Objective: The coaxial circle system helps prevent heat loss during surgery, and it also acts as a humidifier. This study aimed to compare the coaxial breathing system and the conventional system in their ability to warm and moisturize inhaled gases, and we also analyzed lung function protection and saccharin clearance time in patients who underwent tympanomastoidectomy (TMT) with the aid of these two systems. Materials and Methods: Forty adult patients of ASA physical status I-II were scheduled for elective TMT. A standard volume-dependent ventilator setting was used to establish normocapnia. The coaxial circle system was used in the treated group (n=20), whereas the conventional circuit system was used in the control group (n=20). Saccharin clearance, VC (vital capacity), FRC (functional residual capacity), FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in 1 second), airway pressure, relative humidity and temperature of inspired gas, body temperature and adverse and hemodynamic effects were measured at different perioperative periods. Results: The relative humidity (mg H2O Lt -1) of inspired gas in the treated group was higher than in the control group at 5, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 minutes after anesthesia induction. The temperature of inspired gas (Centigrade) in the treated group was higher than in the control group (p

Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the contralateral normal ear affected by burr noise with acoustic reflex measurements before and after mastoid surgery.Methods:Seventeen patients requiring mastoid surgery in their diseased ears, with contralateral otoscopically and audiologically normal ears were included in this study. Pure tone audiometry was performed in normal ears only at preoperative period, whereas acoustic reflex measurements were recorded preoperatively, at the immediate postoperative period (0th day) and at 1st to 4th postoperative days until similar results with the preoperative levels were obtained.Results:The amplitudes of the acoustic reflexes of the contralateral normal ears were found to be affected immediately after the surgery (p

Objective. To investigate the question of whether duration of pain before surgery ultimately affects sperm parameters after varicocelectomy. Methods. Fifty patients with painful grade-3 varicocele were investigated prospectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to their symptom period. The patients having had grade-3 varicocele for less than 1 year were included in Group-1 (Ge, n=25). Twenty-five patients who had painful grade-3 varicocele for more than 1 year (Gs, n=25) were classified in Group-2. Semen analysis was performed after 3 days of sexual abstinence twice a month. Total sperm concentration (TSC), rapidly progressive motility (SPa), and slow or sluggish motility (SPb) rates were noted. Pain was evaluated by using 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS). Results. Postoperative TSC and %SPb were significantly higher in both groups (P=0.01). There was no difference between two groups for preoperative and postoperative TSC, %SPa, % and SPb values. VAS significantly declined in both groups (P=0.005). This postoperative decline was not significant for intergroup comparison. Conclusions. Our results show that increase in semen quality and decrease in the pain after microsurgery varicocelectomy do not depend on the duration of the preoperative pain.

An abstract summarizes the accompanying article in order to promote it. While many move-analysis studies of abstracts in applied linguistics (AL) have used similar coding frameworks and demonstrated similar rhetorical organizations, their findings have not yet been aggregated to show the overall picture. The present study aimed to both examine move structures in AL abstracts and compare the results with previous studies both synchronically and diachronically. Fifty abstracts were collected from articles published in the journal English for Specific Purposes (ESP) between 2011 and 2013. Sentences were coded using a five-move scheme adapted from previous studies. Combining the results from previous research and the present study showed that most AL abstracts give information on the purpose, methodology, and findings of the associated article, while about half of the articles omit introduction of the topic and discussion of the findings. It was also found that authors frequently violate the move sequence expected by current schemes. These findings consistent with previous research suggest that future researchers informed by move analyses should explore the connection between the findings of move analyses and teaching materials for academic writing.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the dynamic mechanism behind the transcriptional organization of genes in response to varying environmental conditions requires time-dependent data. The dynamic transcriptional response obtained by real-time RT-qPCR experiments could only be correctly interpreted if suitable reference genes are used in the analysis. The lack of available studies on the identification of candidate reference genes in dynamic gene expression studies necessitates the identification and the verification of a suitable gene set for the analysis of transient gene expression response. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, a candidate reference gene set for RT-qPCR analysis of dynamic transcriptional changes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was determined using 31 different publicly available time series transcriptome datasets. Ten of the twelve candidates (TPI1, FBA1, CCW12, CDC19, ADH1, PGK1, GCN4, PDC1, RPS26A and ARF1) we identified were not previously reported as potential reference genes. Our method also identified the commonly used reference genes ACT1 and TDH3. The most stable reference genes from this pool were determined as TPI1, FBA1, CDC19 and ACT1 in response to a perturbation in the amount of available glucose and as FBA1, TDH3, CCW12 and ACT1 in response to a perturbation in the amount of available ammonium. The use of these newly proposed gene sets outperformed the use of common reference genes in the determination of dynamic transcriptional response of the target genes, HAP4 and MEP2, in response to relaxation from glucose and ammonium limitations, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A candidate reference gene set to be used in dynamic real-time RT-qPCR expression profiling in yeast was proposed for the first time in the present study. Suitable pools of stable reference genes to be used under different experimental conditions could be selected from this candidate set in order to successfully determine the expression profiles for the genes of interest.

ABSTRACT Drying data of cape gooseberry was used to compare two fitting methods: namely 2-step and 1-step methods. Literature data was also used to confirm the results. To demonstrate the applicability of these methods, two primary models (Page, Two-term-exponential) were selected. Linear equation was used as secondary model. As well-known from the previous modelling studies on drying, 2-step method required at least two regressions: One is primary model and one is secondary (if you have only one environmental condition such as temperature). On the other hand, one regression was enough for 1-step method. Although previous studies on kinetic modelling of drying of foods were based on 2-step method, this study indicated that 1-step method may also be a good alternative with some advantages such as drawing an informative figure and reducing time of calculations.