Disconnected Skeleton: Shape at its Absolute Scale

We present a new skeletal representation along with a matching framework to address the deformable shape recognition problem. The disconnectedness arises as a result of excessive regularization that we use to describe a shape at an attainably coarse scale. Our motivation is to rely on the stable properties of the shape instead of inaccurately measured secondary details. The new representation does not suffer from the common instability problems of traditional connected skeletons, and the matching process gives quite successful results on a diverse database of 2D shapes. An important difference of our approach from the conventional use of the skeleton is that we replace the local coordinate frame with a global Euclidean frame supported by additional mechanisms to handle articulations and local boundary deformations. As a result, we can produce descriptions that are sensitive to any combination of changes in scale, position, orientation and articulation, as well as invariant ones.Comment: The work excluding {\S}V and {\S}VI has first appeared in 2005 ICCV: Aslan, C., Tari, S.: An Axis-Based Representation for Recognition. In ICCV(2005) 1339- 1346.; Aslan, C., : Disconnected Skeletons for Shape Recognition. Masters thesis, Department of Computer Engineering, Middle East Technical University, May 200

Does climate change affect bank lending behavior?

We examine how banks adjust credit supply in areas with higher exposure to climate risks by utilizing the province-level air pollution and loan growth data of a large emerging market, Turkey, following the Paris Agreement in 2015. Our results show that banks limit their credit extension to more polluted provinces in the post-agreement interval, implying that banks consider climate change-related risks and adjust their credit provisioning accordingly. Our baseline findings are intact against a myriad of robustness checks. We also find that the shift in the climate risk-credit provisioning nexus is asymmetric depending on the levels of air pollution.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Demirci Halı Dokumacılığında Kullanılan Terimler ve Derleme Sözlüğü’ndeki Yeri

Bu çalışmada Demirci halı dokumacılığında kullanılan bazı terimler üzerinde durulmuş ve bunların Türk Dil Kurumu tarafından yayınlanmış olan on iki ciltlik Derleme Sözlüğü’nde yer alıp almadığı araştırılmıştır. Veri toplamada, ilgili çalışmalar da gözden geçirilerek, Demirci’de halı dokuyan kaynak kişilerden yararlanılmıştır. Üç yüz yıllık dokumacılık tarihinde Demirci halıları gündelik kullanımda önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Bu durum son yıllarda makine halıcılığının gelişmesiyle gerilemiş, Demirci’de halı dokuyanların sayısı azalmaya başlamıştır. Bu sebeple özellikle ilçeye özgü terimlerin en kısa zamanda tespit edilmesi ve halk ağzından derlemeler sözlüğüne kazandırılması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmayla bir nebze de olsa ağız çalışmalarına katkı koymak amaçlanmıştır. Yapılan çalışma sonucunda argaç, arış, kirkit gibi bazı terimlerin Derleme Sözlüğünde yer almasına rağmen tespit edilen bölge adlarında Demirci’ye rastlanmaması dikkatimizi çekmiştir. Bazıları da sözlükte başka anlamlarla verilmiştir. Tespit ettiğimiz terimlerden ara urganı, e'lik/eklik, gıyı örneği, iç örneği, ters ilme gibi bazılarının da Derleme Sözlüğü'nde yer almadığı görülmüştür

Development and in orbit testing of an x ray detector within a 2U cubesat

A CdZnTe based semiconductor X-ray detector (XRD) and its associated readout electronics is developed by the Space Systems Design Laboratory of Istanbul Technical University and High Energy Astrophysics Detector Laboratory of Sabanci University along with an SME partner. The detector will utilize 30 orthogonal cross strip electrodes (and 3 steering electrodes in between anodes) whose geometry is optimized by an extensive set of simulations and energy resolution measurements. The signals will be read by RENA 3b ASIC controlled by MSP 430 microcontroller. The system will have its own battery and will be turned on intermittently due to power constraints. CdZnTe based X-ray detectors have been utilized in space, but they are either pixellated (NuStar), or they consist of many individual crystal pieces (BAT in Swift satellite). The aim of the XRD is to show that large volume crystals with orthogonal strips are viable alternatives, especially for small satellite systems with medium energy resolution requirement. XRD will also characterize the hard X-ray background in 20-200 keV at low Earth orbit conditions as a function of altitude. Due to power and telemetry constraints, the individual events will be corrected for hole trapping on-board, histogrammed, and only the X-ray spectra will be transmitted to the ground station along with a small set of raw data for diagnostic purposes. The XRD is planned to travel into space, as a secondary science mission, on board BeEaglesat which is a 2U CubeSat developed as one of the possible double (2U) CubeSats for the QB50 project. QB50 is a European Framework 7 (FP7) project carried out by a number of international organizations led by the von Karman Institute of Belgium. Its main scientific objective is to study in situ the temporal and spatial variations of a number of key constituents and parameters in the lower thermosphere with a network of about 50 double and triple CubeSats, separated by few hundred kilometers and carrying a determined set of sensors

Lumbar opening pressure and radiologic scoring in idiopathic intracranial hypertension : is there any correlation?

Background: To investigate correlation between lumbar opening pressure (LOP) and radiological scores based on cranial MRI and contrast-enhanced MR venography in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Material/Methods: Patients with IIH who underwent brain MRI and contrast-enhanced MR venography before measurement of LOP between 2010-2014 were evaluated retrospectively. Three experienced radiologists (blinded to LOP values) evaluated a total of 51 patients. They reached a consensus on the presence or absence of 6 radiological findings identified in the literature as characteristic for IIH: empty sella, perioptic dilation, optical tortuosity, flattening of the posterior globe, swelling of the optic disc, and bilateral transverse sinus stenosis. The radiological score was obtained by giving 1 point for the presence of each finding, with the highest possible score of 6 points. The correlation between the calculated radiological scores and LOP was evaluated. Results: There was no significant correlation between LOP and radiological scores (r=0.095; p=0.525, Spearman's rank coefficient). Similarly, no significant correlation was detected between LOP and each of the radiological findings (partial empty sella [p=0.137], perioptic dilation [p=0.265], optical tortuosity [p=0.948], flattening of the posterior globe [p=0.491], swelling of the optic disc [p=0.881], and bilateral dural sinus stenosis [p=0.837], Mann-Whitney U test). Conclusions: There was no significant correlation between LOP and reliable radiological features of IIH

Doğu Karadeniz Şehirlerine Yönelik Marka Şehir Tutumları Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Şehirler, bir yerleşim yeri olmakla birlikte aynı zamanda sosyal, kültürel ve ekonomik etkileşim merkezleridir. Şehirlerin en önemli görevlerinden biri vatandaşlarının huzurunu ve refahını artırmaktır. Şehirlerin bu görevlerini yerine getirebilmeleri için somut değerlerin yanında soyut değerler de üretmeleri gerekmektedir. Bu soyut değerlerin başında marka yer almaktadır. Şehirlerin markalaşma yolu ile soyut değerlere sahip olması, bir ürünün ulaşamayacağı derecede yüksek gelire ulaşması anlamına gelmektedir. Bu yüksek gelire ulaşmak isteyen şehirlerin son yıllarda markalaşma çalışmalarına önem verdikleri görülmektedir. Markalaşma çalışmaları çoğunlukla dış hedef kitleye yönelik yapılmaktadır. Ancak, iç hedef kitlede markalaşmayan hiçbir ürün, hizmet veya değer, gerçekten markalaşmış olmaz. Markanın en önemli temsilcilerinden olan iç hedef kitle, aynı zamanda markanın bir taşıyıcısı ve inşa edicisi konumundadır. İç hedef kitleye diğer bir ifadeyle o şehirde ikamet eden bireylere odaklanan bu araştırma, bireylerin kendi şehirleriyle ilgili marka tutumlarını ölçmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Doğu Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde yer alan yedi şehir üzerinde gerçekleştirilen bu araştırmada, her bir şehirde yaşayan şehir sakinlerine kendi şehirleri ile ilgili marka tutumları sorulmuş ve elde edilen cevaplar analiz edilmiştir. İstatistik paket programı yardımıyla analiz edilen sonuçlar, temelde iki farklı boyutta incelenmiştir. İlk boyut tüm şehirlerden toplanan verilerle bölge şehirlerinin geneline yönelik tutumları içerirken, ikinci boyutta ise her bir şehir ayrı ayrı analiz edilmektedir. Frekans, güvenilirlik ve faktör analizlerinden yararlanılan bu araştırma, 1315 kişi üzerinde uygulanmış ve 1221 anket araştırmaya dahil edilmiştir. Bu çalışmada bölge şehirlerine yönelik genel marka tutumlarının beş faktör çerçevesinde kavramsallaştırılabildiği görülmektedir. Bunlar; aidiyet, özdeğer, farkındalık, kalite ve çekiciliktir

Laboratory performance of x-ray detector on 2U cubesat beeaglesat

A CdZnTe based semiconductor X-ray detector (XRD) and its associated readout electronics has been developed by the Space Systems Design and Testing Laboratory of Istanbul Technical University and the High Energy Astrophysics Detector Laboratory of Sabanci University along with an SME partner. The XRD will be the secondary science mission on board BeEagleSat, which is developed as one of the double CubeSats for the QB50 project. QB50 is a European Framework 7 project carried out by a number of international organizations led by the von Karman Institute of Belgium. The heart of the XRD is a 2.5 mm thick, 15 mm x 15 mm CdZnTe crystal with orthogonal electrode strips on top and bottom for position resolution on the crystal. There are 3 sets of steering electrodes in between anodes. A commercial off the shelf (COTS) high voltage source provides necessary potential difference to transport electrons and holes towards electrodes. The signals from each strip are read by a COTS ASIC, RENA-3b, controlled my MSP 430. The XRD board (single ~10 cm x 10 cm board) also carries the necessary power regulators and 7 COTS batteries. In a previous paper presented at the IAC 2014, we discussed the main design of the XRD and provided results from some of the early vibration tests of the mechanical design. At the time, the CdZnTe crystal has not been attached, and the readout electronics and software were still in development phase. In this paper, we present the laboratory performance of the electronic readout system and discuss the current phase of the XRD development

Astronomical Site Selection for Turkey Using GIS Techniques

A site selection of potential observatory locations in Turkey have been carried out by using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) coupled with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery which in turn reduced cost and time and increased the accuracy of the final outcome. The layers of cloud cover, digital elevation model, artificial lights, precipitable water vapor, aerosol optical thickness and wind speed were studied in the GIS system. In conclusion of MCDA, the most suitable regions were found to be located in a strip crossing from southwest to northeast including also a diverted region in southeast of Turkey. These regions are thus our prime candidate locations for future on-site testing. In addition to this major outcome, this study has also been applied to locations of major observatories sites. Since no goal is set for \textit{the best}, the results of this study is limited with a list of positions. Therefore, the list has to be further confirmed with on-site tests. A national funding has been awarded to produce a prototype of an on-site test unit (to measure both astronomical and meteorological parameters) which might be used in this list of locations.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Experimental Astronom

Clinical Study Comparison of Wide Conjunctival Flap and Conjunctival Autografting Techniques in Pterygium Surgery

Pterygium is an abnormal fibrovascular tissue extending on the cornea which is a degenerative and hyperplastic disorder. A stromal overgrowth of fibroblast and blood vessels is accompanied by an inflammatory cell infiltrate and abnormal extracellular matrix accumulation. The surgical excision is the main treatment method of pterygium, but recurrence is the most common postoperative complication. In the present study, we aimed to compare the wide conjunctival flap and the conjunctival autografting techniques in pterygium surgery according to time of operation, safety, and effectiveness. Results showed that the effect of wide conjunctival flap techniques on primary pterygium surgery was found close to the conjunctival autograft techniques. In addition, the flap technique has a shorter surgical time, the surgery does not require extreme experience, feeding of the flap is provided with own vessels since the vascular structure is protected on the upper temporal conjunctival area, reverse placement of the flap is not seen, it needs fewer sutures, so that suture disturbances may reduce, and it is less traumatic than autograft technique during conjunctival transport. Therefore, this technique may be preferred in suitable cases

TURKISH JOURNAL of ONCOLOGY Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis in a Krukenberg Tumor Associated with Signet Ring Cell Gastric Cancer

SUMMARY Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LCM) is a rare complication of gastric cancer. It usually occurs late in advanced stage of disease and is sometimes misdiagnosed as toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents. Here we report a rare case of gastric cancer that developed LCM in follow-up. A 28-year-old woman with signet ring cell gastric cancer associated with Krukenberg tumor was admitted with persistent headache, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, and diplopia. Linear appearance of contrast enhancement in cerebellar fissures and around cranial nerves was seen in magnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid was hypercellular with numerous carcinoma cells. LMC was confirmed and treated with intrathecal methotrexate and additional whole-brain irradiation. LCM is a rare complication, but occurs more often than expected and is often misdiagnosed. If patient who is being treated for gastric cancer presents with neurological symptoms, LCM should be kept in mind. Clinical improvement can be achieved with current treatment modalities, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or targeted molecules