A SURVEY OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN THE WORLD IN COMPARISON WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION AND TURKEY PRACTICES

As public became more aware of the possible hazardous effects of the conventional farming products, organic agriculture practices have been increasingly spreading all over the world. Since the 1980’s, organic agriculture has been an important topic in the research agenda of the scientists active in various fields from science to biology or even economics. Economic Unions have been increasingly important in the last decade, in which one of them is the European Union (EU) being the most integrated of all. It is an enlarging body that has achieved considerable degree of economic integration. The EU is considered to be important for Turkey. The EU has a supporting role in agricultural policy. Organical agriculture, which is considered to have an important role in EU economics, became more important issue between Turkey and EU relations, due to Turkey’s agriculture potential. Organic agriculture started in Turkey through the demand from foreign countries in 1990’s. Due to the lack of information sharing on organic agriculture, organic agriculture sector in Turkey was not aware of its potential. It is one of the factors that affects organic farming sector negatively. By creating the body which enables data sharing system by more number of people and significant support by organic agriculture sides would lead the sector to benefit from the existing potential. Organic agriculture market in Turkey will have a chance to compete with other world organic agriculture markets. Organic agriculture’s products are healthy for consumers. On the other hand what is also argued within this thesis is organic agriculture’s beneficial effects on the nature

Environmental Fate and Transformations of Aniline-Based Herbicides with Special Reference to Chlorpropham

The work described in this thesis is principally an investigation into the fate and possible transformations of the aniline-based herbicides or phenylamides with particular reference to chlorpropham in potatoes. This xenobiotic chemical also known as isopropyl N-3-chlorophenylcarbamate or CIPC, has been widely used since the early 50's as a selective herbicide. It is also used on staple food-potatoes, which are often eaten without peeling, to suppress sprouting during storage. Special attention has been focussed on three aspects including: (1) Analysis of the peel of laboratory and commercially treated and stored potatoes for residual chlorpropham and three of its potential metabolites, (2) Photolysis of chlorpropham in aqueous and organic solvents, and (3) The effect of horseradish peroxidase, HRP, system on chlorpropham and related anilines. A comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to the environmental fate of phenylamides revealed that chemicals belonging to this group all have in common an amide linkage which Is susceptible to hydrolysis at least enzymatically especially where no organophosphorus or methylcarbamate insecticides exist. Hydrolysis of the aniline-based herbicides produces aniline or substituted aniline(s), which are very unstable and may undergo various competing reactions with the possibility of forming ultimately more or less toxic derivatives than their precursors. In chapter three analytical methods with high precision and good overall recoveries were developed which allowed simultaneous determination of chlorpropham and three suspected metabolites viz. 3,3-dichloroazobenzene, 3,3-dichloroazoxybenzene and 4-methoxy-chlorpropham. Some effort was given to synthesising and identifying these metabolites. Quantification of the chlorpropham was made possible by GC-ECD or GC-FID, while for the azo and azoxy derivatives quantification was best made only by GC-ECD and for the methoxy metabolite by GC-FID. The minimum detection limits were 4, 8, 8 and 20 ng g-1 for the chlorpropham, the azo, azoxy and methoxychlorpropham respectively. Analysis results revealed on the one hand the existence of significant amounts of chlorpropham in potato peel, on the other hand, that none of the analysed peel samples from laboratory and commercially treated and stored potatoes contain any of the questionable metabolites within the detection limits already stated even after long periods of storage. The photolysis investigation in chapter four demonstrated that chlorpropham is a photolabile chemical especially under the uv-lamp. The rate of its phototransformation followed first order kinetics with the highest rate at the lowest concentration, and was affected by the nature of the solvent in the order, water>hexane>methanol. The principal pathways of chlorpropham photolysis in the various media were reductive dechlorination to the more stable propham, solvolysis and coupling or dimerization with the formation of chlorpropham-propham or propham-propham biphenyl dimers. Finally, the enzymatic work in this study clarified that chlorpropham did not respond to the peroxidase even after a long period of incubation, similar to the behaviour of nitroaniline and sulfanilamide, probably because chlorpropham hydrolyses too slowly if at all in the buffer media of the enzyme system providing not sufficient chloroaniline to react with the enzyme. The susceptibility of other tested anilines to react with HRP especially where no efficient reducing agent such as Na2S2O4 or ascorbic acid was present, correlated in a positive manner with the electron densities on the nitrogen atoms. Susceptibilities were in the order: P-anisidine> 2-amino-p-chlorophenol>3-chloro-p-anisidine>> 3-chloroaniline. A complex mixture of products and oligomers such as substituted acylanilide, azo, azoxy, anilino azo, diphenylamine, benzoquinone and phenazine type compounds were successfully isolated from the reaction media by thin layer chromatography and eventually identified by GC-MS and/or mass spectroscopy. The mass spectra of forty compounds are reported. In the light of these findings, together with the controversial and/or undiscovered toxicity of chlorpropham and many of the identified products, it may be adviseable to stay alert to the possibility that such metabolites may contaminate the environment and to suggest that chlorpropham treated potatoes should as a first precaution be peeled before consumption or processing

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Arab Americans

(1) Background: Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines have a significant impact on reducing morbidity and mortality from infection. However, vaccine hesitancy remains an obstacle in combating the pandemic. The Arab American (AA) population is understudied; thus, we aimed to explore COVID-19 attitudes within this community. (2) Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. An anonymous online survey was distributed to members of different AA associations and to the community through the snowball method. (3) Results: A total of 1746 participants completed the survey. A total of 92% of respondents reported having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 73% reported willingness to receive a booster, and 72% plan to give their children the vaccine. On multivariate analysis, respondents were more likely to be vaccine-hesitant if they were hesitant about receiving any vaccine in general. They were less likely to be vaccine-hesitant if they were immigrants, over the age of 40, up to date on their general vaccination and if they believed that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective in preventing an infection. The belief that all vaccines are effective at preventing diseases was also associated with lower hesitancy. (4) Conclusions: This sample of AAs have higher vaccination rates and are more willing to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 when compared to the rest of the population. However, a reemergence of hesitancy might be arising towards the boosters

A Theoretical Performance Bound for Joint Beamformer Design of Wireless Fronthaul and Access Links in Downlink C-RAN

It is known that data rates in standard cellular networks are limited due to inter-cell interference. An effective solution of this problem is to use the multi-cell cooperation idea. In Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN), which is a candidate solution in 5G and future communication networks, cooperation is applied by means of central processors (CPs) connected to simple remote radio heads with finite capacity fronthaul links. In this study, we consider a downlink C-RAN with a wireless fronthaul and aim to minimize total power spent by jointly designing beamformers for fronthaul and access links. We consider the case where perfect channel state information is not available in the CP. We first derive a novel theoretical performance bound for the problem defined. Then we propose four algorithms with different complexities to show the tightness of the bound. The first two algorithms apply successive convex optimizations with semi-definite relaxation idea where other two are adapted from well-known beamforming design methods. The detailed simulations under realistic channel conditions show that as the complexity of the algorithm increases, the corresponding performance becomes closer to the bound.Comment: 30 pages, single column, 11 figures, submitted to Transactions on Wireless Communications in Oct. 20, 2020. Major Revision decision was made in Jan. 16, 2021. After the revision, it will be resubmitted to the same journal until the end of February, 202

Beamformer Design with Smooth Constraint-Free Approximation in Downlink Cloud Radio Access Networks

It is known that data rates in standard cellular networks are limited due to inter-cell interference. An effective solution of this problem is to use the multi-cell cooperation idea. In Cloud Radio Access Network, which is a candidate solution in 5G and beyond, cooperation is applied by means of central processors (CPs) connected to simple remote radio heads with finite capacity fronthaul links. In this study, we consider a downlink scenario and aim to minimize total power spent by designing beamformers. We consider the case where perfect channel state information is not available in the CP. The original problem includes discontinuous terms with many constraints. We propose a novel method which transforms the problem into a smooth constraint-free form and a solution is found by the gradient descent approach. As a comparison, we consider the optimal method solving an extensive number of convex sub-problems, a known heuristic search algorithm and some sparse solution techniques. Heuristic search methods find a solution by solving a subset of all possible convex sub-problems. Sparse techniques apply some norm approximation ($\ell_0/\ell_1, \ell_0/\ell_2$) or convex approximation to make the objective function more tractable. We also derive a theoretical performance bound in order to observe how far the proposed method performs off the optimal method when running the optimal method is prohibitive due to computational complexity. Detailed simulations show that the performance of the proposed method is close to the optimal one, and it outperforms other methods analyzed.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, submitted to IEEE Access in Feb. 03, 2021. It is a revised version of the paper submitted to IEEE Access in Nov. 23, 2020. Revisions were made according to the reviewer comment

Metformin: An Emerging New Therapeutic Option for Targeting Cancer Stem Cells and Metastasis

Metastasis is an intricate process by which a small number of cancer cells from the primary tumor site undergo numerous alterations, which enables them to form secondary tumors at another and often multiple sites in the host. Transition of a cancer cell from epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype is thought to be the first step in the progression of metastasis. Recently, the recognition of cancer stem cells has added to the perplexity in understanding metastasis, as studies suggest cancer stem cells to be the originators of metastasis. All current and investigative drugs have been unable to prevent or reverse metastasis, as a result of which most metastatic cancers are incurable. A potential drug that can be considered is metformin, an oral hypoglycemic drug. In this review we discuss the potential of metformin in targeting both epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cells in combating cancer metastases

Human Papillomavirus Infection and Cervical Dysplasia in a Subset of Arab American Women

Background: With limited health data on Arab Americans (AAs), we sought to describe the health-seeking behaviors, prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) serotypes, and the relationship with socioeconomic factors among a subset of AA women. Methods: Retrospective observational cohort study of women undergoing routine cancer screening at the Arab-American Center for Economic and Social Services clinic. Data collected included demographics, tobacco use, gross monthly income, prior Papanicolaou (Pap) smear history, and results of cervical cytology and high-risk HPV testing. Results: Of 430 women, 74 (17%) reported that they had never had a Pap smear. Three hundred eighty-eight (90%) women had cervical cytology interpreted as negative for intraepithelial lesion, the remaining 42 (10%) women had abnormal results. Thirteen (3%) women reported prior abnormal Pap smear, which was significantly associated with additional abnormal Pap smear on multivariable analyses (odds ratio 65.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 17.01-338.62; p \u3c 0.001). One hundred twenty-five (29%) women were tested for high-risk HPV serotypes; 106 (91%) had negative results, 4 (3%) were positive for HPV-16, 7 (6%) were positive for other high-risk serotypes, and 8 results were not recorded. A negative HPV screen was significantly associated with a negative Pap smear (Fisher\u27s exact test p = 0.006). There was no significant association between abnormal cervical cytology and evaluated socioeconomic factors. Conclusions: Additional population based-studies to determine cervical dysplasia/cancer and HPV prevalence in women of Middle Eastern descent are needed

Davranış Araştırmalarında Kuram, Ölçüm ve Analiz Yöntemi Birlikteliğinin Önemi: Birey-Örgüt Uyumu Üzerine Ampirik Bir Çalışma

Bilimsel araştırmanın değişkenler arasında istatiksel ilişkiler bulmaya indirgenerek değişkenlerin yansıttığı kavramlar ve kuramsal arka planın göz ardı edilmesi, davranış bilimleri alanında gözlenen en önemli sorunlardandır. Bu çalışmada, farklı kavramsallaştırma ve ölçüm araçlarının hızla çoğaldığı birey-örgüt uyumu yazını bir vaka olarak incelenmektedir. Çalışmanın amacı doğrultusunda birey-örgüt uyumuna ilişkin farklı kavramsallaştırma (atomistik, moleküler ve molar) ve ölçüm yaklaşımlarını (korelasyon, fark ve polinomiyal regresyon) içeren iki ayrı araştırma tasarlanmıştır. Çok düzeyli atomistik ve moleküler yaklaşım çerçevesinde birey-örgüt uyumu ölçümü yapılan ilk araştırmanın verileri, bir çokuluslu imalat işletmesinde toplam 295 kişiden oluşan iki ayrı örneklemden toplanmıştır. Birey-örgüt uyumunun tek düzeyli atomistik ve molar yaklaşım temelinde ölçüldüğü ikinci araştırmanın örneklemi ise bir süpermarket zincirinde çalışan 93 kişiden oluşmaktadır. İlgili yazında birey-örgüt uyumu ile ilişkilendirilen örgütsel özdeşleşme, örgütsel vatandaşlık davranışı ve örgütten ayrılma niyeti bağımlı değişkenler olarak analizlere dahil edilmiştir. Sonuçlar, birey-örgüt uyumunun bağımlı değişkenler üzerindeki etkilerinin araştırmacının kavramsallaştırma, ölçüm ve analiz yöntemi tercihlerine bağlı olarak farklılaştığını ve kuram-ölçüm-analiz yöntemi arasında doğru bir eşleşme kurgulanmadığı sürece bulguların gerçeğe ulaşma açısından tartışmalı olacağını ampirik olarak göstermektedir. İkinci araştırmanın bulguları ayrıca, polinomiyal regresyon yönteminin değişkenler arası ilişki örüntüsünü ortaya koymak açısından diğer yöntemlere göre daha üstün olduğu savını desteklemektedir. Davranış çalışmalarında kuram-ölçüm-analiz yöntemi birlikteliğinin önemi kuramsal ve pratik sonuçlar açısından tartışılmıştır. Reducing scientific inquiry to identifying statistically significant relationships among variables while the common disregard for the underlying theoretical and conceptual foundation is one of the most important problems in organizational behavior research. In this study we investigated the person-organization fit literature as a case that can be characterized by proliferation of conceptualizations and operationalizatons. To that end, two separate studies that employed different operationalization of person-organization fit construct (atomistic vs. molecular vs. molar) and method of analysis (correlation vs. difference vs. polynomial regression) were designed. For the first study, where person-organization fit was measured via cross-level atomistic and molecular fit approaches, we collected data from a total of 295 individuals in two separate samples in a multinational manufacturing company. For the second study, where single-level atomistic and molar fit approaches were used, the sample consisted of 93 individuals working for a supermarket chain. Organizational identification, organizational citizenship behavior, and turnover intention were chosen as dependent variables given their proposed relationship with person-organization fit in the literature. Results empirically demonstrated that choices with regard to conceptualization, operationalization and analysis may alter the findings and misalignment between these components may render the findings questionable in terms of explaining the phenomenon under investigation. Moreover, the findings of the second study provided supporting evidence that polynomial regression analysis has advantages over other methods in terms of identifying more sophisticated network of relationships between fit and other variables. Theoretical and practical implications of the importance of alignment between theory, operationalization, and analysis in organizational behavior studies are discussed

Trakya Bölgesinde Organik Şaraplık Üzüm Yetiştiriciliği ve Şarap Yapımı

Dünyada geniş alanlarda uygulanan klasik tarımın giderek doğal dengeyi bozması sonucu örgütlenen üreticiler doğayı tahrip etmeyen, insan sağlığında yan etki yapmayan tarımsal ürünleri tercih etmeye başlamışlardır. AB ve FAO tarafından da klasik üretime alternatif olacak tarzda ortaya çıkan bu üretim şekli ekolojik veya organik tarım olarak isimlendirilmektedir. Ülkemizde 1985 yılında başlayan organik tarım ürünleri üretimi 2000’li yıllarda Dünya organik tarım pazarlarına talep yaratma çabaları ile yen bir boyut kazanmıştır.1999 yılında 92 tarım ürünü organik olarak üretilmiş olup bu üretimde üzümün payı 7182 ton’dur. Pestisit kalıntısı bulunmayan çevre dostu ürünlere, şarap sektörü de ilgi duymuş ve ekolojik şarapçılık gündeme gelmiştir. Ülkemizde şaraplık üzüm üretiminde büyük bir paya sahip Trakya Bölgesinde ekolojik ürün sertifikasyonuna sahip bağlar ve bu bağlardan elde edilen üzümlerden uygun yöntemlerle ekolojik şarap elde edilmesi için Enstitümüz tarafından proje bazında çalışmalar başlatılmıştır. Böyle çalışmaların üretici koşullarında ve çiftlik sistemleri araştırmaları kapsamında yürütülmesinin gerçekçi sonuçlar ortaya koyacağı düşünülmektedir

Efficient spectrum occupancy prediction exploiting multidimensional correlations through composite 2D-LSTM models

In cognitive radio systems, identifying spectrum opportunities is fundamental to efficiently use the spectrum. Spectrum occupancy prediction is a convenient way of revealing opportunities based on previous occupancies. Studies have demonstrated that usage of the spectrum has a high correlation over multidimensions, which includes time, frequency, and space. Accordingly, recent literature uses tensor-based methods to exploit the multidimensional spectrum correlation. However, these methods share two main drawbacks. First, they are computationally complex. Second, they need to re-train the overall model when no information is received from any base station for any reason. Different than the existing works, this paper proposes a method for dividing the multidimensional correlation exploitation problem into a set of smaller sub-problems. This division is achieved through composite two-dimensional (2D)-long short-term memory (LSTM) models. Extensive experimental results reveal a high detection performance with more robustness and less complexity attained by the proposed method. The real-world measurements provided by one of the leading mobile network operators in Turkey validate these results