SELECTION OF DATA CONVERSION TECHNIQUE VIA SENSITIVITY-PERFORMANCE MATCHING: RANKING OF SMALL E-VANS WITH PROBID METHOD

Sensitivity analyses are frequently performed to determine the robustness of MCDM methods, of which there are more than 200 types. In the past, rankings were compared to each other rather than to an external ranking. Thus, the direction and meaning of sensitivity can become unclear and complex. In addition, sensitivity analysis is usually performed only based on weight coefficients, but the effect of the normalization type is neglected. In this study, the most appropriate data conversion technique was investigated through an innovative sensitivity procedure to select the e-Small Van, which is an environmentally friendly logistics and transportation vehicle. Seven different normalization types based on the PROBID method (and two additional alternative MCDM methods) were used as parameters, resulting in 105 different MCDM rankings. According to the findings, MCDM rankings, which have low sensitivity, were also the performing methods that produced the highest correlation with price. What is striking is that careless choice of normalization type can be so effective as to manipulate the results. Although the most appropriate technique may vary depending on the data type, the fixed gold standard we recommend offers a flexible solution for all applications. A suitable data converter will result in the choice of a reliable electric vehicle

Six miRNA expressions in the saliva of smokers and non-smokers with periodontal disease

BackgroundIt has been stated that microRNA (miRNA) plays an important role in development, homeostasis, and immune functions, and abnormal miRNA expression may cause faster disease progression. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine miR-203, miR-142-3p, miR-146a, miR-146b, miR-155, and miR-29b gene expressions in the saliva of smokers and non-smokers with the periodontal disease before and after non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). MethodsA total of 90 individuals, 30 with periodontitis, 30 with gingivitis, and 30 periodontally healthy (control group), were included. These three groups were divided into subgroups as smoking and non-smoking individuals, with 15 people in each group. NSPT was applied to patients with periodontitis and gingivitis. Saliva samples and clinical parameters were obtained at baseline and repeated 6 weeks after NSPT. ResultsSaliva miR-203, miR-142-3p, miR-146a, miR-146b, and miR-155 gene expressions were significantly upregulated in patients with periodontal disease compared to the control group both in smokers and non-smokers, and also these miRNAs' gene expressions were significantly higher in the periodontitis group than in the gingivitis group at baseline (p .05). ConclusionsThese results suggest that salivary miR-146a, miR-146b, miR142-3p, miR-155, and miR-203 gene expressions increased with the progression of periodontal disease, but unchanged after periodontal treatment. Moreover, smoking may contribute to an increase in the levels of salivary miR-142-3p in the periodontal health and disease

The investigation of the relationship between the factors that prevent university students from attending to the recreational activities and the life satisfaction of the participantsÜniversite öğrencilerinin rekreatif etkinliklere katılımlarına engel teşkil eden faktörler ile katılımcıların yaşam doyumları arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi

The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between the factors that prevent university students from attending to the recreational activities and the life satisfaction of the participants with the demographic variance. In accordance with this purpose, totally 263 students that are 140 (53.2%) “women” and 123 (46.8%) “men” who have been chosen with random sampling method attended to the study voluntarily.In this investigation, “Free Time Obstacles” ,which has been developed by Gürbüz and Karaküçük to determine the factors that might obstruct the attendance of the participants to the recreational activities and evaluates the factors that might prevent the university students from attending to recreational activities, was used. LSS (Life Satisfaction Scale) ,which has been created by Diener and his colleagues (1985) and adapted to Turkish by Yetim(1993), was used to evaluate the life satisfaction of the participants.Percentage (%) and frequency (f) methods were used to determine the distributions personal information of the participants; Shapiro Wilks normality test was used to determine whether data have normal distribution or not and as a result of these, after it is understood that the data are appropriate to the conditions of non-parametric test; Mann- Whitney U and Kruskall Wallis tests were used to determine the significant differences; and Spearman Correlation Test was carried out to determine the relationship between Free Time Obstacles Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale.As a result; it is observed that there is no significant relationship between Free Time Obstacles Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale; there is no significant difference between Life Satisfaction and gender variance considering gender variance; according to the Free Time Obstacles, there is only significant difference at the time sub-dimension; according to the doing sport, there is only significant difference at the Lack of Interest among the Free Time Obstacles; according to the Life Satisfaction, there is significant difference because of the people that don’t participate to the sportive activities. While according to the wealth level, a significant difference was determined at Life Satisfaction level, it is was determined that there is no significant difference at Free Time Obstacles and wealth level. Also, it is determined that there is a significant difference between Life Satisfaction and having difficulty in taking advantage of free time; there is a significant difference between having difficulty in taking advantage of free time and Free Time Obstacles at facility-service and time sub-dimension.Extended English abstract is in the end of PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetÇalışmanın amacı üniversite öğrencilerin rekreatif etkinliklere katılımlarına engel teşkil eden faktörler ile katılımcıların yaşam doyumları arasındaki ilişkinin demografik değişkenler ile birlikte incelenmesidir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda tesadüfi örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilmiş olan 140 (%53.2) “Kadın” ve 123 (%46.8) “Erkek” toplam 263 üniversite öğrencisi çalışmaya gönüllü olarak katılmıştır.Araştırmada, katılımcıların rekreasyonel faaliyetlere katılımlarına engel teşkil edebilecek faktörlerin belirlenmesi için Gürbüz ve Karaküçük tarafından geliştirilen üniversite öğrencilerinin rekreasyonel etkinliklerine katılmalarına engel teşkil edebilecek unsurları değerlendiren “Boş Zaman Engelleri” kullanılmıştır. Katılımcıların yaşam doyumlarını ölçmek amacıyla ise Diener ve arkadaşları (1985) tarafından geliştirilen ve Yetim (1993) tarafından Türkçe’ye uyarlanan YDÖ (Yaşam Doyumu Ölçeği) kullanılmıştır.Katılımcıların kişisel bilgilerinin dağılımlarının belirlenmesi için yüzde (%) ve frekans (f) yöntemleri; verilerin normal bir dağılıma sahip olup olmadığının belirlenmesi için Shapiro Wilks normallik testi uygulanmış ve bunun neticesinde verilerin non parametrik test koşullarına uygun olduğunun anlaşılmasından sonra anlamlı farklılıkların belirlenmesi için Mann-Whitney U ve Kruskall Wallis testleri, Boş Zaman Engelleri Ölçeği ile Yaşam Doyumu Ölçeği arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi için ise Spearman Korelasyon testi uygulanmıştır.Sonuç olarak; boş zaman engelleri ile yaşam doyumu arasında, cinsiyet değişkeni açısından bakıldığında yaşam doyumu ile cinsiyet değişkeni arasında anlamlı bir farklılık olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Boş zaman engelleri açısından ise sadece zaman alt boyutunda anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu, spor yapma durumuna göre boş zaman engelleri arasında da sadece ilgi eksikliği boyutunda anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu saptanmış, yaşam doyumuna göre incelendiğinde ise sportif etkinliklere katılmayan kişilerden kaynaklı anlamlı bir farklılığın olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Refah düzeyi değişkenine göre incelendiğinde yaşam doyumu düzeyinde anlamlı bir farklılık saptanmasına karşın boş zaman engelleri açısından refah düzeyinde ise anlamlı bir farklılık olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca yaşam doyumu ile boş zamanları değerlendirme güçlüğü çekmek arasında anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu, boş zaman değerlendirme güçlüğü çekmek ile boş zaman engelleri arasında ise tesis-hizmet ve zaman alt boyutlarında anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu tespit edilmiştir

X-ray detector XRD on BeEagleSat and the development of the improved x-ray detector iXRD

Many interesting astrophysical objects are intense X-ray emitters. Hard X-ray observatories in various sizes have been operating in space and providing exciting scientific results that we cannot obtain in our laboratories on Earth. Nanosatellites with CdZnTe hard X-ray detectors have been launched into orbit as well, and the future holds great promise with such small satellites contributing significantly to high energy astrophysics. One of those satellites is the BeEagleSat which carried the X-ray detector (XRD)to low Earth orbit. The XRD has a 15⨯15⨯3 mm 3 volume CdZnTe detector, a cross-strip electrode design, a RENA readout chip controlled by an MSP 430 microcontroller. Due to a communication problem with the receiver, no science data could have been downloaded from the XRD. Recently, an improved version of the XRD has been designed (called the iXRD)and currently it is in the production phase. The improvements compared to the XRD are the larger volume crystal with almost three times the collecting area, a collimator to limit the field of view for focused scientific return, and a motherboard-daughterboard design to reduce electronic noise

Evaluation of different irrigation activation techniques in root canals

Bu çalışmanın amacı farklı yöntemlerin irrigasyon etkinliklerinin karşılaştırılarak kök kanallarında hangi yöntem ya da yöntemlerin daha iyi sonuç verdiğinin incelenmesidir. Çalışmada 40 adet çekilmiş tek köklü ve tek kanallı mandibular premolar diş kullanıldı. Dişlerin kronları uzaklaştırılarak kökler 17 mm ve çalışma uzunluğu 16 mm olarak standart olarak hazırlandı. Kapalı bir kanal sistemi oluşturmak amacı ile kök apeksleri siyanoakrilat ile kapatıldı. Kökler M-Two nikel titanyum döner aletlerle 40 numaraya kadar genişletildi. Her eğe değişimininde örneklere ara yıkama yapıldı. Daha sonra örnekler 4 gruba ayrılarak her grupta sırasıyla EndoVac, EndoActivator, NSK Varios 750 cihazı ve şırınga irrigasyonu ile son yıkamalar yapıldı. Oluklandırılan örnekler ikiye ayrılarak etüvde kurutuldu. Daha sonra örnekler SEM görüntülemesi için platin ile kaplanarak hazırlandı ve SEM incelemesi yapılarak her bir örneğin orta üçlüsü ve apikal üçlüsünde kalan debris ve smear skorlaması yapıldı. İstatistiksel analiz yapılarak bulgular elde edildi. EndoVac smear'ın uzaklaştırılmasında hem orta hem de apikal üçlüde kontrol grubundan daha başarılı sonuçlar verdi. Debrisin uzaklaştırılması açısından orta üçlüde gruplar arasında anlamlı fark bulunmazken apikal üçlüde NSK Varios 750 ve EndoVac grupları kontrol grubundan daha etkili oldu.The aim of this study was to compare the cleaning efficacy of different irrigation activation techniques on root canal debridement. 40 extracted mandibular premolar teeth having a single root canal were selected for the study. The teeth were decoronated to obtain a standardized root length of 17mm, with a working length of 16mm. To simulate a closed-end root canal system the apex was sealed with cyanoacrylate. The root canals were prepared with M-Two nickel-titanium instruments. After each instrument change the root canals were irrigated. After instrumentation the specimens were divided into 4 groups and a different final irrigation was performed for all groups by using EndoVac, EndoActivator, NSK Varios 750 and syringe. After irrigation the roots were split into two halves and dried in a sterilizer. The specimens were platinum-sputtered for SEM evaluation, examined under SEM and the amount of remaining debris and smear layer at the apical and middle third was scored. Statistical analysis was performed after scoring and results were obtained. EndoVac showed better results than the control group in removing smear layer both at apical and middle third. For debris removal, no significant differerence were found among the groups in the middle third, whereas NSK Varios 750 and EndoVac were more effective than the control group at the apical third

Adsorption of malachite green onto bentonite: Equilibrium and kinetic studies and process design

The adsorption of malachite green onto bentonite in a batch adsorber has been studied. The effects of contact time, initial pH and initial dye concentration on the malachite green adsorption by the bentonite have been studied. Malachite green removal was seen to increase with increasing contact time until equilibrium and initial dye concentration, and the adsorption capacity of bentonite was independent of initial pH in the range 3-11. Four kinetic models, the pseudo first- and second-order equations, the Elovich equation and the intraparticle diffusion equation, were selected to follow the adsorption process. Kinetic parameters; rate constants, equilibrium adsorption capacities and correlation coefficients, for each kinetic equation were calculated and discussed. It was shown that the adsorption of malachite green onto bentonite could be described by the pseudo second-order equation. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich equations. Adsorption of malachite green onto bentonite followed the Langmuir isotherm. The thermodynamic parameters, such as Delta H degrees, Delta S degrees and Delta G degrees, were also determined and evaluated. A single stage batch adsorber was designed for different adsorbent mass/treated effluent volume ratios using the Langmuir isotherm. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Equilibrium and kinetic data and process design for adsorption of Congo Red onto bentonite

The adsorption of Congo Red onto bentonite in a batch adsorber has been studied. Four kinetic models, the pseudo first- and second-order equations, the Elovich equation and the intraparticle diffusion equation, were selected to follow the adsorption process. Kinetic parameters; rate constants, equilibrium adsorption capacities and correlation coefficients, for each kinetic equation were calculated and discussed. It was shown that the adsorption of Congo Red onto bentonite could be described by the pseudo second-order equation. The experimental isotherm data were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin equations. Adsorption of Congo Red onto bentonite followed the Langmuir isotherm. A single stage batch adsorber was designed for different adsorbent mass/treated effluent volume ratios using the Langmuir isotherm. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved