Countering state-supported terrorism : the PKK and Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East

Cataloged from PDF version of article.his thesis analyzes the support provided to the PKK by Syria and Iran, and attempts to determine its impact on Turkish foreign policy towards the Middle East. Some states have adopted supporting terrorist groups as a means to further foreign policy, even to the extent of pursuing an undeclared warfare against rival countries. Similarly, Syria and Iran have supported and encouraged the PKK hoping that they could gain advantage over issues involving Turkey. In the post-Cold War era, separatist PKK terrorism grew to be the primary threat to the security and territorial integrity of Turkey. Realizing that her low-profile attitude in the region failed to deter the foreign support to the PKK by her southern neighbors, Turkey revised her traditional policies in the Middle East. Consequently, Turkey was forced to pursue more assertive policies in the region, which made her an active actor of the Middle East sub-system despite her Western identity.Selvi, İsmailM.S

Making accident data compatible with ITS-based traffic management: Turkish case

One of the most important reasons of the high rate of accidents would largely lend itself to ineffective data collection and evaluation process since the necessary information cannot be obtained effectively from the traffic accidents reports (TAR). The discord and dealing with non-relevant data may appear at four levels: (1) Country and Cultural, (2) Institutional and organizational, (3) Data collection, (4) Data analysis and Evaluation. The case findings are consistent with this knowledge put forward in the literature; there is a transparency problem in coordination between the institutions as well as the inefficient TAR data, which is open to manipulation; the problem of under-reporting and inappropriate data storage prevails before the false statistical evaluation methods. The old-fashioned data management structure causes incompatibility with the novel technologies, avoiding timely interventions in reducing accidents and alleviating the fatalities. Transmission of the data to the interest agencies for evaluation and effective operation of the ITS-based systems should be considered. The problem areas were explored through diagnoses at institutional, data collection, and evaluation steps and the solutions were determined accordingly for the case city of Izmir.The Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Institut

Removal of the broken part of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator's electrode causing pulmonary embolism via femoral vein

AbstractA 66-year-old patient with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy underwent transvenous extraction of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. The distal part of the electrode was broken during manual traction through the left subclavian vein. In the present case, we showed a rare complication of transvenous lead extraction and its management

Pyeloplasty in the Pelvic Kidney: A Step-by-step Video

Ectopic kidneys, with a prevalence of 1/1000-4000, often manifest in the pelvic region, can be complicated with problems such as ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction. This video article presents a case of open pyeloplasty in a 15-month-old infant with a pelvic kidney, emphasizing technical details for educational purposes. The patient was prenatally diagnosed with pelvic kidney hydronephrosis at 22 weeks of gestation, progressing to grade 4 postnatally. MAG-3 scintigraphy confirmed UPJ obstruction, warranting open pyeloplasty. A Pfannenstiel incision provided access to the Retzius space. The ureter was dissected, revealing the adhered renal pelvis. Stay sutures facilitated dissection, and 5/0 polyglactin sutures were strategically placed due to anatomical anomalies. Ureteropelvic anastomosis was performed using 6/0 PDS sutures. A 3-Fr Double J catheter preceded the closure of the renal pelvis. The procedure was concluded with meticulous layer closure. The operation lasted for 50 min, with minimal blood loss (10 mL). Drain was removed on postoperative day 2, and the patient was discharged. Ureteral stent was removed at 4 weeks. A 3-month follow-up ultrasound revealed a notable reduction in hydronephrosis, with an anteroposterior diameter of 6 mm. This video article elucidates the nuances of open pyeloplasty in pelvic kidneys and serves as a valuable resource for residents and fellows. The concise procedure, with a brief operative time and minimal blood loss, indicates the efficacy of the surgery

Graft survival and postoperative complications following orthotopic renal transplantation

The iliac fossa is the most commonly used site to place the graft in renal transplantation in adults. However, iliac fossa may not be used in various conditions. Thus, orthotopic renal transplantation becomes a viable alternative for these selected patients. Given the technically challenging surgery and limited number of patients, data on the long-term outcomes on this regard are scarce. This narrative review serves as an update on the clinical outcomes after orthotopic renal transplantation, focusing on overall recipient survival and renal graft survival, as well as postoperative complications. We found that studies to date showed a comparable survival rate in both recipients and renal grafts in the postoperative follow-up period after orthotopic renal transplantation with a lower complication rate compared to the published data on heterotopic renal transplantation. The results of our review may encourage transplant centers to reevaluate their policies to consider orthotopic renal transplantation as an alternative technique in cases where heterotopic kidney transplantation is not possible