On Legal Aspects of the Independence Referendum of Iraqi Kurdistan

In the referendum held on 25 September 2017, the voters of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) went to the polls to decide whether they wanted an independent state. In this independence referendum, the voters were asked the following question: “Do you want the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and Kurdistani territories that are outside KRI to become an independent state?” With a turnout around 72 %, more than 90% of the voters voted for independence. This note aims to provide a brief analysis on the legal nature of this referendum. For this purpose, I will first define the concept of the independence referendum in general and locate the Kurdish referendum within this concept. Then I will analyze the decision of the KRG to hold the independence referendum from both aspects of constitutional and international laws.

Pediatrik Üriner Sistem Taş Hastalarında Micro-Perc Cerrahisinin Etkinliği

Amaç: Pediatrik hastalarda böbrek taşlarınının cerrahi tedavisinde mikro-PERC’nin etkinliğini ve güvenilirliğini araştırmayı amaçladık..Gereç ve Yöntem: Kliniğimizde Ocak 2015 - Ocak 2017 tarihleri arasında pediatrik böbrek taş hastalığı nedeniyle mikro-PERC uygulanan 32 pediatrik hastanın bilgileri retrospektif olarak değerlendirildi. Operasyon süreleri, floroskopi süresi, hastanede yatış süreleri, komplikasyon oranları ve taştan yoksunluk oranları kayıt edildi.Bulgular: Toplam 32 hastanın ortalama yaşları 5±4.1 yıl, ortalama taş boyutu ise 13.35±3.12 mm olarak hesaplandı. Operasyon süresi açısından bakıldığında 74.2±14.2 dakika iken, ortalama floroskopi süreleri 109±31.2 saniyeydi.Sonuç: Mikro-PERC gibi minimal invazif yöntemler çocuklarda etkin ve güvenilir bir tedavi yöntemidi

A study in Istanbul on the importance of ethics in accounting profession and measuring ethics perceptions of candidate accountants

Bu çalışmada İstanbul ilinde Ticaret Meslek Lisesi, Lise, Ön lisans, Lisans ve Yüksek Lisans seviyelerindeeğitim ve öğretimine devam eden muhasebe meslek mensubu adayı öğrencilerin muhasebe meslek etiğialgılarını belirlenmesi ve oluşum düzeylerinin tespit edilmesi ve eğitim görülen kademe ve daha önce etikeğitimi alıp almama durumu ile etik algıları arasındaki ilişkilerin belirlenmesine yönelik nicel araştırmayöntemlerinden anket tekniği kullanılarak bir araştırma yapılmış ve sonuçları değerlendirilmiştir.Sakarya ve Kara (2010) tarafından geliştirilen, Dürüstlük, Tarafsızlık, Mesleki Yeterlilik ve Gerekli Özen,Gizlilik ve Mesleki Davranış ilkeleri olmak üzere 5 alt boyut, toplam 25 ifadeden oluşan “Etik Algısı ÖlçeğiAnketi” veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Muhasebe meslek etiği ölçeği kapsamında katılımcılardanveriler 5’li likert ölçek ile toplanmıştır.IBM SPSS 25.0 programı ile katılımcıların sosyo-demografik bilgileri arasındaki ilişkinin tespitinde BağımsızÖrneklem T Testi, Tek Yönlü Varyans Analizi (ANOVA) ve Pearson Korelasyon Analizi kullanılmıştır. Anlamlıçıkan sonuçlar için farklılığın hangi gruplar arasında olduğu varyans homejenliği varsayımına göre “LSD”Post-Hoc Testleri uygulanmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda muhasebe meslek mensubu adaylarının eğitimhayatları boyunca etik algılarının ne derecede olacağı ve nasıl yönetileceği konusunda öneriler sunulmasıve çeşitli kademelerde eğitim gören muhasebe meslek mensubu adaylarından elde edilecek olanverilerden hareketle ulaşılacak sonuçların farklı araştırmacılara yol gösterici bir nitelik taşımasıamaçlanmaktadır.In this study, in Istanbul province at Trade Vocational High School, High School, Associate Degree, BachelorDegree, Graduate Degree levels, a research was carried out using questionnaire technique, one of thequantitative research method, to determine the professional ethical perceptions of candidate students ofaccountancy attending their education and training, and find out the occurrence levels and determine thestate of having or not having ethics classes at education level before and for the time being, and reviewthe relations between their ethical perceptions.“Ethical Perception Scale Questionnaire”, developed by Sakarya and Kara (2010), consisting of a total of25 statements 5 of which are sub-scale of such principles as Integrity, Objectivity, ProfessionalCompetence and Due Diligence, Confidentiality and Professional Conduct, was used as data collection tool.The data were collected from the participants within the framework of accounting professional ethicsscale.Independent Sampling T Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Pearson Correlation Analysiswere used with IBM SPSS 25.0 program in determining the relations between the socio-demographicinformation of the participants. “LSD” Post-Hoc Tests were applied according to variance homogeneityhypothesis to find in which groups the differences are for significant results. At the end of the study, it isaimed to provide suggestions about what level the ethical perceptions of accounting profession candidateswill see throughout their education life and how this will be managed, and to have a pathfinder propertywith the obtained results for various researchers setting out the data that will be achieved from theaccounting profession candidates having education at different levels.Publisher's Versio

Inter-relations among motivation, self-perceived use of strategies and academic achievement in science: a study with spanish secondary school students

The relationship between motivation and the use of learning strategies is a focus of research in order to improve students' learning. Meaningful learning requires a learner's personal commitment to put forth the required effort needed to acquire new knowledge. This commitment involves emotional as well as cognitive and metacognitive factors, and requires the ability to manage different resources at hand, in order to achieve the proposed learning goals. The main objectives in the present study were to analyse: (a) Spanish secondary school students' motivation and self-perception of using strategies when learning science; (b) the nature of the relationship between motivation and perceived use of learning strategies; (c) the influence of different motivational, cognitive, metacognitive and management strategies on students' science achievement. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was administered to 364 middle and high-school students in grades 7-11. For each participant, the academic achievement was provided by the respective science teacher. The results obtained from the Pearson product-moment correlations between the study variables and a stepwise regression analysis suggested that: (1) motivation, cognitive and metacognitive, and resource management strategies, have a significant influence on students' science achievement; (2) students' motivation acts as a kind of enabling factor for the intellectual effort, which is assessed by the self-perceived use of learning strategies in science; and, (3) motivational components have a greater impact on students' performance in science than cognitive and metacognitive strategies, with self-efficacy being the variable with the trongest influence. These results suggest a reflexion about the limited impact on science achievement of the self-perceived use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and highlight the importance of students' self-efficacy in science, in line with previous studies

Real-world efficacy and safety of Ledipasvir plus Sofosbuvir and Ombitasvir/Paritaprevir/Ritonavir +/- Dasabuvir combination therapies for chronic hepatitis C: A Turkish experience

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the real-life efficacy and tolerability of direct-acting antiviral treatments for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with/without cirrhosis in the Turkish population.Material and Methods: A total of 4,352 patients with CHC from 36 different institutions in Turkey were enrolled. They received ledipasvir (LDV) and sofosbuvir (SOF)+/- ribavirin (RBV) ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir +/- dasabuvir (PrOD)+/- RBV for 12 or 24 weeks. Sustained virologic response (SVR) rates, factors affecting SVR, safety profile, and hepatocellular cancer (HCC) occurrence were analyzed.Results: SVR12 was achieved in 92.8% of the patients (4,040/4,352) according to intention-to-treat and in 98.3% of the patients (4,040/4,108) according to per-protocol analysis. The SVR12 rates were similar between the treatment regimens (97.2%-100%) and genotypes (95.6%-100%). Patients achieving SVR showed a significant decrease in the mean serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels (50.90 +/- 54.60 U/L to 17.00 +/- 14.50 U/L) and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores (7.51 +/- 4.54 to 7.32 +/- 3.40) (p<0.05). Of the patients, 2 were diagnosed with HCC during the treatment and 14 were diagnosed with HCC 37.0 +/- 16.0 weeks post-treatment. Higher initial MELD score (odds ratio [OR]: 1.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22-2.38; p=0.023]), higher hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.31-2.28; p=0.038), and higher serum ALT levels (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.21-1.83; p=0.042) were associated with poor SVR12. The most common adverse events were fatigue (12.6%), pruritis (7.3%), increased serum ALT (4.7%) and bilirubin (3.8%) levels, and anemia (3.1%).Conclusion: LDV/SOF or PrOD +/- RBV were effective and tolerable treatments for patients with CHC and with or without advanced liver disease before and after liver transplantation. Although HCV eradication improves the liver function, there is a risk of developing HCC.Turkish Association for the Study of The Liver (TASL

The assosication between fabp-1 levels and histopathologic features in chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C and nonalcholic fatty liver disease

Kronik hepatit B (KHB), kronik hepatit C (KHC) ve non alkolik yağlı karaciğer (NAYKH) hastalığı toplumda sık görülen karaciğer hastalıklarındandır. Bu hastalarda hepatoselüler hasarı belirlemede karaciğer biyopsisi altın standarttır. Tedavi kararı vermede, hastalık takibinde ve proresyonunu belirlemede ideal bir noninvaziv marker saptamak için bir çok molekülle ilgil çalışmalar artarak devam etmektedir. FABP-1 15 kilodalton ağırlığındadır. Hepatosit içinde yüksek konsantrasyonda bulunur. Hepatosit dışında çok az sentez edilir bu nedenle karaciğere oldukça spesifiktir. Literatürde hepatosit hasarını ve histopatolojik değişiklikleri ortaya koymada FABP-1'in bir belirteç olarak çalışıldığı bir çalışmaya rastlayamadık. Biz çalışmamızda FABP-1 düzeyinin viral hepatit ve NAYKH olan hasta grubunda biyopsideki histopatolojik bulgularla ilişkisini ortaya koymak istedik. Çalışmaya 51'i KHB, 20'si KHC ve 18'i NAYKH'li 89 hasta alındı. Kontrol grubu ise 40 sağlıklı gönüllüden oluşturuldu. Histolojik bulguları değerlendirmede KHB ve KHC için İshak skorlama sistemi, NAYKH için Brunt skorlama sistemi kullanıldı. Serum FABP-1 seviyeleri kontrol grubunda 1.4, KHB grubunda 1.5, KHC grubunda 2.8, NAYKH grubunda 3.4 ng/ml olarak saptandı. Farklılık KHB ve NAYKH grubunda istatistiksel olarak anlamlıydı. Hasta gruplarının kendi içinde NİA ve fibrotik evrenin ağırlığına gore farklılık mevcuttu. Geniş hasta gruplarında bu bulguların desteklenmesi ile FABP-1'in hepatosit hasarının bir belirleyicisi olarak mümkün olacağını düşünmekteyiz.Chronic hepatitis C (CHC), Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and non alcholic fatty liver disease are quite common in population. Liver biopsy is still regarded as the gold standard for the staging of histological activity in these diseases. Various molecules are presently being studied for determining a optimal noninvasive marker for decision making before treatment, follow up and disease progression. FABP-1?s molecular weight 15 kDA and has high concentration in hepatocytes. Inconsiderable production in other tissues has led to high specifity. As far as we know there is no report for evaluating the relationship between FABP-1 and hepatocyte injury on the basis of histopathologic findings. In our study we aimed to identify this relation in patients with chronic viral hepatitis and NAFLD. We evaluated 89 patients (CHC: 20, CHB:51 and NAFLD:18) with liver biopsy and 40 healthy volunteers. Histological findings were evaluated blindly according to the Ishak and the Brunt classifications for CHB/CHC and NAFLD respectively. Serum FABP-1 levels significantly higher in CHC:2.8 and NAFLD:3.4 ng/ml, compared to control grup. Also within the groups there was difference in FABP-1 levels according to NİA ve FE grades. As these results supported through studies with large numbers, FABP-1 would be marker for hepatocyte injury

Re: Urinary Retention in Female OAB After Intravesical Botox Injection: Who is Really at Risk?

EDITORIAL COMMENT The prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB) in the general population is nearly 16% and it increases with age. In non-responders who are managed with oral therapies, there is a need for the intradetrusor injections of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox). Adverse effects, including the potential risk of urinary retention requiring catheterization are among the greatest concerns for OAB patients considering Botox injections. The efficacy of Botox (100 U) in the treatment of refractory OAB has been proven in several clinical trials, however, the risk factors for the occurrence of urinary retention after Botox injections are still not well recognized. Studies do not describe the factors for the prediction of urine retention after Botox (100 U) injections in patients with refractory OAB. As the dose of Botox increases, urinary retention risk increases, but recurrent injections decreases the risk. In this study, the risk factors for urinary retention was observed in 208 women who were treated with 100 IU Botox injections for refractory OAB. The study revealed the risk factors for urinary retention as 3 or more vaginal deliveries and advanced age. No need for clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) was seen for more than 12 weeks. The minimum duration of CISC was 20 days and a maximum of 83 days with a mean of 45.5 days. No potential risk factors for the duration of CISC were observed. Although all patients should be warned before receiving Botox injections about the potential risk of urine retention, elderly women and multiparous women are at an increased risk