Factors Affecting E-Wallet Usage: A Study in Türkiye

Günümüzde hızla dijitalleşen dünyada elektronik cüzdan (e-cüzdan) kavramı, geleneksel fiziksel cüzdanların yerini almaya başlamıştır. Bu teknolojik yenilik, kullanıcıların zaman ve mekân sınırlaması olmaksızın dünyanın farklı bölgelerindeki kişi ve işletmelerden ürün veya hizmet satın alabilmelerine olanak tanımaktadır. Teknolojik yeniliklerin benimsenmesini ve kullanıcılar tarafından kabul edilmesini açıklamak amacıyla bugüne kadar çeşitli teorik modeller geliştirilmiş ve sürekli olarak iyileştirilmiştir. Bu modellerin en yaygın kullanılanlarından biri Teknoloji Kabul Modeli (TAM)’dir. Bu çalışmada, e-cüzdan kullanımına ilişkin kullanıcı deneyimi, algılar ve davranışsal niyetler TAM çerçevesi temelinde incelenmiştir. Araştırmaya toplam 330 gönüllü katılımcı dâhil edilmiştir. Katılımcıların internet ortamında e-cüzdan kullanımına yönelik tutum ve deneyimlerini belirlemek amacıyla yapılandırılmış bir anket uygulanmıştır. Anket formunda algılanan fayda, algılanan kullanım kolaylığı, kullanım niyeti, sistem güvenliği, kültürel uyum, sosyal imaj ve sistem kalitesi gibi değişkenler 5’li Likert tipi ölçekle ölçülmüştür. Elde edilen veriler SPSS 23 programı aracılığıyla analiz edilmiş; bulgular betimleyici istatistikler, normallik testi, faktör ve güvenirlik analizleri ile regresyon analizleri kullanılarak raporlanmıştır.In today’s increasingly digitalized world, the concept of the electronic wallet (e-wallet) is rapidly replacing the traditional physical wallet. This technological transformation enables consumers to conveniently purchase products and services from any person or store around the world, regardless of time and place. Over the years, many theoretical models have been developed and improved to explain the acceptance and adoption of such innovations, starting with the well-known Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). In this study, user experience and behavioral intentions related to e-wallet usage were examined based on the TAM framework. A total of 330 individuals voluntarily participated in the research. A structured questionnaire was administered to the participants to gather their opinions and experiences regarding the use of e-wallets on the internet. In the survey, items about perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, intention to use, system security, cultural congruity, social image, and system quality were measured using a 5-point Likert-type scale. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS 23, and the results were reported using descriptive statistics, normality tests, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis

Management of Peyronie's disease: recommendations from the Fifth International Consultation on Sexual Medicine (ICSM 2024)

Introduction There is no ideal treatment for Peyronie's Disease (PD) since every patient has different needs with varying perceived risks versus benefits of individual treatment options, coupled with the degree of impact relating to PD on sexual function and beyond.Objectives The 5th International Consultation on Sexual Medicine (ICSM) guideline on PD provides an update to the previous ICSM with an aim to provide a clinical framework and best-evidenced consensus recommendations to assist clinicians in managing PD.Methodology Available literature was reviewed, and a modified Delphi consensus was undertaken by leading sexual medicine experts to achieve a set of Quality of Evidence and strength of recommendations. This guideline was developed as an authoritative best-evidenced consensus incorporating state-of-the-art knowledge and contemporary literature.Results A total of thirty-one recommendations were made on PD guidelines. New updates to the 4th ICSM on PD have been made in definition, pathophysiology, and treatment strategies. The presence of penile pain with erection could occur in the chronic phase due to torque or stretch on the penile scar and surrounding tissue. Oral therapy works best during the acute phase and should be provided concurrently with other treatment modalities. Penile traction therapy can reduce penile deformity as monotherapy or may be offered as part of a multimodal therapy approach. There is no convincing evidence supporting cellular-based therapy. The type of plication procedure used depends on the surgeon and patient preference, although excision of the tunica followed by plication may have a higher complication rate. There is currently no ideal graft, and graft contracture can occur postoperatively. Adjunctive procedures such as penile modeling, tunical plication, plaque incision/excision and grafting can be performed when penile deformity and/or penile curvature persist following penile prosthesis implantation.Conclusions The management of PD should be individualized based on the patient's needs and preferences while balancing the benefits and risks of each treatment option

The impact of organizational blindness on nurses' commitment in healthcare settings

Purpose-This study investigates the relationship between organizational blindness and organizational commitment among nurses, exploring how demographic and professional factors shape affective, normative and continuance commitment. By emphasizing workforce well-being, organizational transparency and sustainable healthcare management, the study supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Decent Work and Economic Growth. Design/methodology/approach-A cross-sectional design was used with 269 nurses employed in a private hospital in T & uuml;rkiye. Data were collected using a Demographic Information Form, the Organizational Commitment Scale and the Organizational Blindness Scale. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, linear regression and logistic regression were conducted. Assumptions of normality, homoscedasticity, autocorrelation, and outlier independence were confirmed. Findings-Nurses reported moderate levels of organizational blindness and commitment. Blindness was significantly and negatively but low correlated with commitment (r = -0.266, p < 0.001), explaining 7.1% of the variance (R-2 = 0.071). Being married (OR = 2.05, p = 0.031) and having longer professional experience (p = 0.045) predicted higher commitment, whereas male gender and rotating shifts were linked to greater blindness. Research limitations/implications-The single-site, cross-sectional design limits causal inference and generalizability. Future multi-center and longitudinal studies are recommended. Practical implications-Healthcare leaders should promote open communication, fair scheduling, mentorship and professional development to enhance commitment and reduce blindness. Social implications-Addressing organizational blindness and strengthening commitment can improve nurse retention, organizational culture and patient care quality. Originality/value-A focused literature search (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science; 2000-2025) revealed no prior Turkish empirical study on this link

Investigation of the Effects of Human Factors on Occupational Accidents and Accident Prevention Systems

İş sağlığı ve güvenliği (İSG) çalışanların sağlığının ve güvenliğinin korunmasını, üretim güvenliğinin sağlanmasını, güvenli ve sağlıklı bir çalışma ortamının sürdürülmesini amaç edinen multidisipliner bir alandır. Çalışma ortamında, çalışanları ve işyerlerini doğrudan etkileyecek İSG tehlikeleriyle karşı karşıya kalınmaktadır. İSG tehlikelerinin önlenmesine yönelik tedbirler uygulamaya koyulamaz ise iş kazaları kaçınılmaz olmaktadır. İş kazalarına yol açan makine, ortam, insan ve yönetim gibi nedenler olmakla birlikte işyerlerinde gerçekleşen iş kazalarının önemli bir kısmı insan kaynaklı olarak gerçekleşmektedir. İnsan kaynaklı iş kazalarına yönelik proaktif yaklaşımla önleyici faktörlerin geliştirilmesi iş kazalarının azaltılması noktasında önemli bir katkı sunacaktır. Bu bağlamda çalışmada iş kazaları ile insan faktörü arasındaki ilişkinin ve insan faktörü etkenli iş kazalarının önlenmesine yönelik sistemlerin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Amaca yönelik olarak gerçekleştirilen sistematik taramada, Web of Science, Scopus ve Science Direct veri tabanlarında 2010-2024 yılları arasındaki literatür taranmıştır. Belirlenen anahtar kelimelere ve dahil etme kurallarına göre ulaşılan literatür, PRISMA modeli ile analiz edilmiş ve nihai olarak 61 çalışmaya ulaşılmıştır. Çalışmalar, insan faktörü ve iş kazası ilişkisini ele alış biçimlerine göre incelenmiştir. Çalışmaların genelinde, iş kazası ve insan faktörü ilişkisinin doğrulandığı ve insan faktörlü iş kazalarını önlemeye yönelik risk analizinin gerçekleştirildiği görülmüştür. İş kazası tahmin yöntemlerinin ve işyerlerinde sürekli izleme sistemlerinin geliştirildiği çalışmalara daha az rastlanmakla birlikte konuya verilecek önem ile iş kazalarının önlenmesi yönünde kritik bir adım atılacağı düşünülmektedir.Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field that aims to protect the health and safety of employees, ensure production safety and maintain a safe and healthy working environment. OHS hazards that will directly affect workers and workplaces are encountered in the working environment. If measures to prevent OHS hazards cannot be implemented, occupational accidents are inevitable. Although there are reasons such as machinery, environment, human and management that cause occupational accidents, a significant portion of workplace occupational accidents are human-induced. Developing preventive factors with a proactive approach toward human-induced occupational accidents will significantly contribute to reducing occupational accidents. In this context, the study aims to examine the relationship between occupational accidents and human factors and systems for preventing occupational accidents caused by human factors. This systematic review searched the literature between 2010 and 2024 in Web of Science, Scopus and Science Direct databases. The literature accessed according to the determined keywords and inclusion rules was analyzed with the PRISMA model, and finally, 61 studies were found. The studies were analyzed according to how they addressed the relationship between human factors and occupational accidents. In most of the studies, it was observed that the relationship between occupational accidents and human factors was confirmed and risk analysis was carried out to prevent human factor occupational accidents. Although there are fewer studies in which occupational accident prediction methods and continuous monitoring systems in workplaces are developed, it is thought that a critical step will be taken towards preventing occupational accidents with the importance to be given to the subject

Joint Deep Learning for Simultaneous Clutter Removal and Buried Object Detection in GPR

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data presents a challenging problem for detecting subsurface targets due to surface reflections and the complex clutter caused by heterogeneous soil structures. While traditional methods treat clutter removal and target detection as separate processes, this study presents an integrated deep learning approach that simultaneously optimizes both tasks. In the first phase of the study, the first proposed model, Dec-YOLO (Model I), demonstrated that 'joint training' of clutter removal networks (UNet, CR-Net, DC-ViT) from the literature with a detection network improves detection performance compared to sequential methods. Building on this finding, the second phase proposes the original RAFDeC-YOLO (Model II) architecture. This architecture features a specialized denoising block (decoder) that branches off from the standard YOLOv12 backbone. The fundamental innovation of this branch is that it feeds back the cleaned and enriched feature maps it produces back to the relevant neck layers of the YOLO architecture via the proposed Residual Adapter Fusion mechanism. This strategic feature transfer maximizes discriminative power, particularly in challenging scenarios such as weak dielectric targets and asphalt-covered surfaces, by enabling the detection network to access both noisy raw data and cleaned spatial details. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms state-of-the-art methods, achieving over 25.8% higher localization accuracy on hybrid datasets and an 87.5% improvement in challenging real-world scenarios, while reducing computational complexity by approximately 43% for efficient deployment. © 2013 IEEE.Istanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, IT; Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Birimi, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, BAP, (MGA-2025-46531); Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Birimi, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, BAP; Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TUBITAK, (120E234); Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TUBITA

Multi-criteria optimization of photovoltaic-based hydrogen refueling stations under behavioral and financial uncertainty: A case study

The large-scale deployment of hydrogen refueling stations remains critically constrained by renewable intermittency, temporal demand variability, and macroeconomic volatility, which is particularly acute in emerging economies such as T & uuml;rkiye. Existing studies largely rely on static or annual-average demand profiles and seldom capture the effects of high economic uncertainty, including inflation, discount rate fluctuations, and investment risk, on the techno-economic feasibility of hydrogen projects. Unlike conventional approaches, this work develops a behavior-driven, high-resolution microsimulation framework that generates realistic, temporally detailed hydrogen demand profiles synchronized with solar availability, seasonal transitions, and user refueling behavior. A five-dimensional scenario matrix, spanning electrolyzer power, hydrogen storage capacity, photovoltaic capacity and investment cost, and discount rate, enables multi-criteria optimization of the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), self-sufficiency, and carbon footprint under real-world economic uncertainty. Results reveal that na & iuml;ve oversizing strategies drive curtailment above 44% and LCOH beyond 11.8 $/kg, while demand-synchronized, economically robust configurations achieve 7.06-8.76$/kg LCOH, 82% self-sufficiency, and up to 75% CO2 reduction. By explicitly incorporating behavioral variability, temporal demand dynamics, and macroeconomic risk, the proposed framework offers a policy-relevant, investment-oriented decision-support tool for designing hydrogen refueling stations that are cost-optimal and financially resilient, effectively bridging the gap between techno-economic modeling and real-world station deployment planning

Development of Chitosan and Silk Fibroin Nanofibers Incorporated With ZnO and TiO2 Nanoparticles for Wound Dressing Applications

Wound infections remain a significant challenge, often complicating the healing process. Consequently, there is a growing need for innovative alternatives to conventional treatment strategies. In recent years, electrospun nanofibers (NFs) made from natural or synthetic polymers have gained popularity as wound dressing materials due to their structural similarity to the extracellular matrix and ability to incorporate bioactive agents. This study aimed to develop multifunctional wound dressings by incorporating zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) separately into polymeric NFs made of chitosan (CS), silk fibroin (SF), and polyethylene oxide (PEO). The NFs were fabricated using the electrospinning technique, and three formulations were prepared: plain CS/SF NFs, CS/SF/ZnO NFs, and CS/SF/TiO2 NFs. These were systematically characterized and compared in terms of their physicochemical, mechanical, and biological properties to evaluate their potential for wound dressing applications. The chemical composition, thermal stability, morphology, and mechanical properties of the prepared NFs were evaluated using FTIR, TGA, SEM, and tensile strength tests, respectively. FTIR analysis confirmed the successful integration of the polymers and nanoparticles. The addition of ZnO and TiO2 NPs improved the thermal stability and mechanical strength of the NFs. SEM images revealed that all NFs exhibited long, continuous, and bead-free morphologies. Additionally, the swelling ratio, degradation behavior, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) were assessed. Swelling studies indicated a high water absorption capacity with pH-dependent behavior, especially under acidic conditions. Biodegradation tests showed a slower degradation rate in the NFs containing NPs. The WVTR results confirmed that all NF formulations are suitable for maintaining an optimal moisture environment for wound healing. Cell viability assays demonstrated good biocompatibility, while antimicrobial studies revealed strong bactericidal activity in CS/SF/ZnO NFs. In contrast, CS/SF/TiO2 NFs exhibited limited antimicrobial activity in the absence of UV light. Overall, the findings suggest that CS/SF-based NFs, particularly those containing ZnO, are promising candidates for advanced wound dressing applications due to their enhanced structural integrity and biological functionality.Health Institutes of Turkiye (TUSEB) [28428]This work was supported by the Health Institutes of Turkiye (TUSEB) (project no: 28428)

The Reliability and Validity of DrGoniometer, a Smartphone Application for Measuring Elbow Flexion

This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the DrGoniometer smartphone application for measuring elbow flexion compared to the Universal Goniometer (UG). Fifty-six healthy participants were assessed by two physiotherapists, with anatomical landmarks marked by an independent examiner. Intra- and inter-rater reliability were calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and measurement error was assessed via the standard error of measurement (SEM) and Bland - Altman analysis. DrGoniometer showed excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC = 0.99; SEM = 0.69 degrees) and higher inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.87; SEM = 1.28 degrees) than UG (ICC = 0.54; SEM = 3.87 degrees). Cronbach's alpha values were also higher for DrG (0.929) than UG (0.704). Although Bland - Altman plots indicated no systematic bias, they revealed wide limits of agreement, suggesting limited interchangeability between tools. These findings support the DrGoniometer as a reliable tool for elbow flexion assessment, especially in contexts requiring high intra-rater consistency and digital precision

Optimization of 3D printing parameters for thermal conductivity of carbon fiber reinforced PLA components

This study investigates the optimization of printing parameters to improve the thermal conductivity of carbon fiber-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA-CF) components fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM). Four key process parameters - infill density, layer thickness, nozzle temperature, and print speed - were systematically evaluated using a Taguchi L16 orthogonal array design combined with analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings demonstrate that infill density is the most influential factor affecting thermal conductivity, followed by layer thickness, while nozzle temperature and print speed have moderate contributions. Interaction analyses reveal that high infill levels combined with thin layers substantially enhance thermal conductivity, especially when paired with moderate nozzle temperatures and low printing speeds. Conversely, at low infill densities, increasing nozzle temperature alone cannot compensate for the negative effects of porosity on heat transfer, highlighting the importance of parameter synchronization. Additionally, a regression model was developed, demonstrating a strong correlation between process parameters and thermal conductivity, enabling accurate estimation under different combinations of settings. The outcomes of this study provide practical guidelines for optimizing printing conditions and designing thermally functional PLA-CF components, expanding the potential of FDM-based composites in advanced engineering applications where enhanced heat dissipation is required

Dual-function antimicrobial and SERS-active colloidal silver nanoparticle platform for the detection of opportunistic pathogens assisted by machine learning

The rapid control of opportunistic pathogens-through both their detection and elimination-is crucial to mitigate health risks, especially for immunocompromised individuals. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized via a simple and environmentally friendly approach, using ascorbic acid reduction under medical steam sterilizer conditions, and evaluated as a dual-function colloidal platform that integrates antimicrobial activity and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based pathogen identification. Structural characterization using scanning electron microscopy, zeta potential, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction confirmed uniform morphology, high colloidal stability, and crystallinity. The AgNP substrates provided robust and reproducible SERS signals, achieving an analytical enhancement factor of approximately 106 at concentrations down to 1 nM, with sample-to-sample variability below 5%. The antimicrobial assays demonstrated rapid biocidal activity, with > 99% (R > 2) of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans eliminated within 1 h, and significant bactericidal efficacy (R > 6) maintained over 48 h. Importantly, the controlled antimicrobial interaction facilitated the release of intracellular components, yielding more consistent and distinctive spectral profiles that enhanced species-level discrimination. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed clear separation among pathogen-specific spectral clusters, while a linear support vector machine (SVM) classifier achieved 95.7% accuracy, confirming strong discriminative capability. Overall, this study serves as a proof of concept for a dual-function colloidal AgNP platform, synthesized via an accessible autoclave-assisted green approach, that combines antimicrobial action with SERS-based pathogen identification in a simple and reproducible format.Health Institutes of Turkiye (TUSEB) [35683]The author would like to thank Prof. Mustafa Serdar Onses (Erciyes University) for providing access to Raman spectroscopy facilities and for his valuable support. Some schematic elements used in Fig. 1 were created with the assistance of BioRender.com under a trial license. The author would like to express their gratitude to BioRender.com for providing this platform. The author thanks the Health Institutes of Turkiye (TUSEB) for providing microbiological testing resources through project support under project number 35683