A Probabilistic Approach to Maximize Cross-Selling Revenues of Financial Products

Customer oriented approach and developing analysis for customers have become more important as the competition became a global issue, especially after technological advancements. Companies aim to sell more products to new customers and also to their current customers while keeping them in the portfolio and making sure that they are happy. Cross-selling of products and services to their customers is almost as important as gaining new customers. In this paper, a probabilistic and integrated method of cross-selling financial products is proposed. The proposed method first segments the customers based on the selected criteria and then calculates the probability of buying each product using product and customer relationship matrixes. Then, the expected yield for each group of customers and offer is calculated, and the best cross-selling strategy is determined. The proposed methodology is applied to a Turkish bank that aims to sell financial products through cross-selling. The results show that the methodology successfully determines the product order to be used in cross-selling in an effort to increase the success rate in the selling process and expected revenue

Öğretmen adaylarının kapsayıcı eğitime yönelik farkındalıklarının incelenmesi

This study aimed to examine the awareness of teacher candidates towards inclusive education. This mixed method study was performed with the convergent parallel mixed pattern. The sample of quantitative part of the study consisted of 708 teacher candidates in an education faculty determined by criterion sampling. The study group of the qualitative part of the research is 14 teacher candidates (preservice teachers) selected from among these participants. The research data were collected with Awareness Scale for Inclusive Education and Interview Form for Evaluation of Inclusive Education Course. The scale data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics, and the semi-structured interview data were analyzed by content analysis. The results revealed that the awareness of teacher candidates’ inclusive education was at a moderate level. In addition, the awareness level of the participants who had inclusive education training was higher than the participants who did not, and the female participants had higher awareness compared to the male participants. The interview results revealed that training on inclusive education increased teacher candidates’ awareness of its history, aims, the students it encompasses, and its applications. According to the results of the research, it has been suggested to expand the inclusive education provided to teachers before and during the service.Bu araştırmada, öğretmen adaylarının kapsayıcı eğitime yönelik farkındalıklarının incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Karma yaklaşıma sahip olan bu araştırma, yakınsayan parelel karma deseni ile yürütülmüştür. Araştırmanın örneklemini, ölçüt örneklemesi ile belirlenen bir eğitim fakültesinde öğrenim gören 708 öğretmen adayı oluşturmuştur. Araştırmanın nitel kısmının çalışma grubu ise, bu katılımcılar arasından seçilen 14 öğretmen adayıdır. Araştırmanın verilerinin elde edilmesinde Kapsayıcı Eğitime Yönelik Farkındalık Ölçeği, Kapsayıcı Eğitim Dersinin Değerlendirilmesine Yönelik Görüşme Formu kullanılmıştır. Ölçek verileri betimsel ve çıkarımsal istatistik, yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme verileri ise içerik analizi ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmada öğretmen adaylarının kapsayıcı eğitime yönelik farkındalıklarının orta düzeyde olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca, bu eğitime ilişkin öğrenim gören katılımcıların öğrenim görmeyen katılımcılara ve kadın katılımcıların erkek katılımcılara göre bu farkındalıklarının daha yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler sonucunda da kapsayıcı eğitime ilişkin öğrenim görmenin öğretmen adaylarının bu yaklaşımın tarihçesine, amaçlarına, dikkate aldığı öğrencilere ve uygulamalarına ilişkin farkındalığını artırdığı belirlenmiştir. Araştırmanın bu sonuçları doğrultusunda öğretmenlere hizmet öncesinde ve esnasında sağlanan kapsayıcı eğitime ilişkin eğitimlerin yaygınlaştırılması önerilmiştir

Bidirectional tachycardia in a patient with pulmonary embolism

We report a 55 year-old man with sudden cardiac arrest. Electrocardiography revealed runs of bidirectional ventricular tachycardia, and transthoracic echocardiography showed indirect findings of pulmonary embolism. (Cardiol J 2010; 17, 2: 194-195

Role of dopaminergic system in oxytocin analgesia: The missing part in a puzzle

Purpose: To investigate the analgesic effects of oxytocin (OT) and elucidate the role of dopaminergic system in its mechanisms.Methods: In this study, 72 male (n=6 for each group) 230-250 gr Wistar Albino rats were used. Firstly, dose studies were performed with 100 μg/kg, 200 μg/kg and 400 μg/kg to determine the optimal analgesic effect of oxytocin. Optimal dose was found at 200 μg/kg, and then animals were divided into nine groups: Saline, D1 agonist (SKF 38393; 0.1 mg/kg), D1 antagonist (SCH-23390; 0.1 mg/kg), D1 agonist + oxytocin, D1 antagonist + oxytocin, D2 agonist (Cabergoline; 0,5 mg/kg), D2 antagonist (Sulpride; 10 mg/kg), D2 agonist + oxytocin and D2 antagonist + oxytocin. Serum physiologic saline was given to the saline group and other drugs were administered intraperitoneally at the indicated doses. Tail-flick and hot-plate tests were used to measure analgesic effects. Analgesic tests were measured in 30 min-intervals (at 30th, 60th, 90th, and 120th min) and recorded in seconds. To evaluate maximum antinociceptive effect (% MPE), the tail-flick and hot-plate latencies were converted to the antinociceptive effectivenessResults: The results show that D1 antagonist SCH-23390 (0.1 mg/kg) and D2 agonist cabergoline (0.5 mg/kg) created strong analgesia while the D1 agonist SKF 38393 (0.1 mg/kg) and D2 antagonist sulpiride (10 mg/kg) did not have any analgesic effect. However, only D2 antagonist sulpiride blocked the analgesic effect produced by OTConclusion: OT may be one of the primary agents participating in spinal analgesia, and the dopaminergic system is one of the central mechanisms of action for this important molecule. The dopaminergic system may also be one of the targets for ‘descending’ analgesic system. Keywords: Oxytocin, Tail flick, Hot plate, Dopaminergic, Analgesic, Antagonist, Agonis

A simple method for studying the molecular mechanisms of ultraviolet and violet reception in vertebrates

The Νmaxs and A/B ratios of HBNs of ancestral and present-day pigments. (DOCX 43 kb

Sistolik kalp yetmezlikli hastalarda karvedilolün P dalga süresi ve dispersiyonu üzerine etkileri

Amaç: Karvedilol tedavisi, sol ventrikül ejeksiyon fraksiyonunu artırır, ventriküler disfonksiyonun şiddetini, morbidite ve mortaliteyi azaltır. Ancak sistolik kalp yetmezlikli hastalarda karvedilolün P dalga dispersiyonu ve süresi üzerine etkileri bilinmemektedir. Bu çalışmada kalp yetmezliği olan hastalarda karvedilolün P dalga süresi ve dispersiyonu üzerine olan etkilerini araştırdık. Hastalar ve Yöntemler: Sol ventrikül ejeksiyon fraksiyonu %40'ın altında olan kalp yetmezlikli 56 hasta ileriye dönük olarak çalışmaya alındı. Karvedilol kalp yetmezliğinin standart tedavisine ek olarak verildi. Başlangıçta ve karvedilol tedavisinin dördüncü ayında fizik muayene, radyonüklid çalışma ve başlangıç maksimum ve minimum P-dalga süresi ve P-dalga dispersiyonu ölçümleri yapıldı. Bulgular: Karvedilol tedavisi ile maksimum P dalga süresi ve P-dalga dispersiyonu belirgin olarak azaldı. Sol ventrikül ejeksiyon fraksiyonu ve NYHA fonksiyonel sınıfı karvedilol tedavisi sonrası düzeldi. (Maksimum P-dalga süresi; 126±9 ms'den 120±7ms'ye; p=0.001, P- dalga dispersiyonu; 51±7 ms'den 46±5 ms'ye geriledi; p=0.001). Sonuç: Karvedilol tedavisi maksimum P-dalga süresi ve P-dalga dispersiyonunu direkt (doğrudan) ve indirekt (dolaylı) olarak azaltır. Bu kalp yetmezliği olan hastalarda atriyal fibrilasyon görülme sıklığını azaltabilir.Objectives: Carvedilol therapy reduces the severity of the ventricular dysfunction, increases left ventricular ejection fraction and reduces the mortality and morbidity. However, the effect of carvedilol on P-wave dispersion and P-wave duration in patients with systolic heart failure is unknown. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of carvedilol therapy on P-wave duration and P-wave dispersion in patients with heart failure. Patients and Methods: Fifty-six patients with heart failure and a left ventricular ejection fraction less than 40% were prospectively included in the study. Carvedilol was administered in addition to standard therapy for heart failure. Clinical examination and radionuclide study and baseline maximum and minimum P-wave duration and P-wave dispersion measurements were performed for each patient at the beginning and at the end of the fourth month of carvedilol therapy. Results: Maximum P-wave duration and P-wave dispersion significantly decreased, left ventricular ejection fraction and NYHA functional class improved by carvedilol therapy (Maximum P-wave duration; from 126±9 ms to 120±7ms; p=0.001, P-wave dispersion; from 51±7 ms to 46±5 ms; p=0.001). Conclusion: Carvedilol therapy directly or indirectly reduces maximum P-wave duration and P-wave dispersion. This may lead to a reduction in the occurrence of atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure

Protective effect of clotrimazole on lung injury in an experimental model of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm

Background. Lungs are the target organs most affected by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, which is exacerbated when hemorrhagic shock occurs. Suppressing various proinflammatory cytokines, inflammation and oxidation that initiate and aggravate lung damage with various drugs or methods provides significant benefits in preventing lung damage. Objectives. This study aims to evaluate the protective effect of clotrimazole (CLT), an antimycotic drug, on lung injury and systemic inflammatory response in rats by creating an experimental model of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA). Materials and methods. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: sham, sham+CLT, sham+polyethylene glycol (PEG), shock+ischemia/reperfusion (SIR), and SIR+CLT. Saline, CLT and PEG were administered in the sham groups without shock and I/R. The hemorrhagic shock was developed in SIR groups by drawing blood for 1 h to keep the mean arterial pressure at 50 mm Hg. After 60 min, the SIR+CLT group was given 20 mg/kg CLT; then, the aortic clamps were opened, and rats were left for 120 min of reperfusion. The blood taken to create hemorrhagic shock was returned in a controlled manner during this time. At the end of the reperfusion procedure, samples were taken for cytokine levels in serum and lung tissue and for other biochemical analyses. Blood gas, histopathological examination and wet/dry weight measurements were performed to assess lung injury. Results. An increase was observed in all parameters in the SIR group compared to the sham group. In the SIR+CLT group, the serum myeloperoxidase (MPO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), lung MPO values, histologically lung injury scores, and lung tissue wet/dry ratio were decreased significantly when compared to the SIR group (p < 0.05). Conclusions. These results indicate that CLT may reduce the systemic inflammatory response and lung injury due to shock and I/R in an experimental model of RAAA

Correlation between oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) and oral disorders in a Turkish patient population

Objectives: The purpose of the present study is to determine the nature of the complaints that bring patients to our clinic and to what degree these complaints affect their quality of life (QoL). We also aimed to determine any associations between gender, education or harmful habits and each patient?s oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL). Methods: A total of 1090 patients, consisting of 651 females (59.7 %) and 439 males (40.3 %), were included in this study. Of these patients, 220 constituted healthy controls. Two patient-centered outcome measures, the 14 item OHIP-14 and the 16 item OHQoL-UK measures were used. Results: Most of the patients presented with toothache and caries (50.1 %), 11.2 % had suffered tooth loss and had denture needs, 9.2 % had periodontal problems, 1.8 % had temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, 3.8 % had buried third molars, 2.4 % had orthodontic and aesthetic disorders, 1.3 % had suffered injury due to trauma, and 20.2 % came only for control checkups. OHQoL was best in the control group and the worst in patients who had suffered trauma. In addition, we noted correlations between gender, education and harmful habits, and that of the patient?s oral health-related quality of life. Conclusion: According to our results, OHQoL is associated with the oral complaints of patients. Furthermore, OHQoL may not only be associated with the oral health status of patients, but factors such as gender, education and harmful habits may also play a role

Unilateral Optic Neuropathy and Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma following Snake Envenomation

Purpose. We aimed to describe a unique case in which a patient developed unilateral optic neuritis and angle-closure glaucoma as a result of snake envenomation. Case Report. Approximately 18 hours after envenomation, a 67-year-old female patient described visual impairment and severe pain in her left eye (LE). The patient’s best corrected visual acuity was 10/10 in the RE and hand motion in the LE. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed signs of neuropathy in the left optic nerve. In the LE, corneal haziness, closure of the iridocorneal angle, and mild mydriasis were observed and pupillary light reflex was absent. Intraocular pressure was 25 mmHg and 57 mmHg in the RE and LE, respectively. The patient was diagnosed with acute angle-closure glaucoma in the LE. Optic neuropathy was treated with intravenous pulse methylprednisolone. Left intraocular pressure was within normal range starting on the fourth day. One month after the incident, there was no sign of optic neuropathy; relative afferent pupillary defect and optic nerve swelling disappeared. Conclusions. Patients with severe headache and visual loss after snake envenomation must be carefully examined for possible optic neuropathy and angle-closure glaucoma. Early diagnosis and treatment of these cases are necessary to prevent permanent damage to optic nerves