AN APPLICATION OF SOFT COMPUTING TECHNIQUES TO PREDICT DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF MOORING SYSTEMS

A spread mooring system (SMS) allows a ship or a floating platform to moor the seafloor using multiple mooring lines at a restricted region with a fixed heading in harsh weather. These systems can be used for the operations of ships of different tonnage at different sea depths. The optimal design of these systems is a challenging engineering problem because of the effects of many design parameters and changing environmental conditions. Modern soft computing techniques allow difficult engineering problems to be solved easily and precisely and are becoming more and more popular. In this paper, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) as soft computation techniques have been chosen to estimate the hawser tensions and displacements of a spread mooring system. The attained results show both techniques can give consistent indicators for the modelling of dynamic systems. Although these techniques performed very well, the ANFIS model is relatively superior to the ANN technique, considering the accuracy of hawser tensions and displacements in terms of the relative errors and coefficient of correlation obtained for the ANN and ANFIS

Effects of land-use regime on soil erodibility indices and soil properties in Unye, Turkey

We evaluated the effects of land-use regime on soil erodibility indices and several soil properties in forested, deforested, and cultivated areas in the village of Unye, Turkey. Twelve sample plots (spaced 150 m apart) with northern aspects were established in each land-use regime, and samples were taken at soil depths of 0–20, 20–50, and 50– 80 cm. Soil organic matter (SOM), soil reaction (pH), total lime (CaCO3), texture (sand, silt, and clay), dispersion ratio (DR), erosion ratio (ER), colloid-moisture equivalent ratio (C-MER), structural stability index (SSI), field capacity (FC), wilting point (WP), and available water capacity (AWC) were analyzed. The average (of the three soil depths) AWC, FC, and WP values were not affected by the site, although site, soil depth, or both significantly affected other analyzed soil variables. Deforestation and subsequent tillage practices resulted in an almost 20% decrease in clay content, a 33% decrease in SOM, a 15% decrease in AWC, a 51% decrease in total CaCO3, a 24% decrease in SSI, a 60% increase in DR, and a 98% increase in ER relative to undisturbed forest soil. At cultivated and forested sites, the ER and DR increased with increasing soil depth. At deforested sites, ER and DR were lowest at 50–80 cm. SOM was the highest at 0–20 cm in the forested sites. Decreasing SOM, clay content, and SSI, as well as increasing DR and ER were outcomes of deforestation. These results indicate that the conversion of forest into cropland deteriorates some soil properties, especially SOM and SSI, and alters the stability of soil aggregates, thus increasing the susceptibility of deforested sites to erosion

Efficiency Measurement in Turkish Coal Enterprises Using Data Envelopment Analysis and Data Mining

Gradual population growths, skyrocketing technological developments and inter-State competitions increase the energy demands continuously. Although the countries try to diverse their energy sources in order to sustain their developments, they also have to pay attention to protect their energy independences. Thus, it is very important to develop their self-resources. Coal is the most common natural source which can meet our energy needs. However, coal mine enterprises have to be administrated cost-effectively in order get minimum energy costs. In this study, the efficiency of Turkish coal enterprises between the years 2003-2010 is measured by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Then, indicators which are the most important in estimating the efficiency were determined by using the efficiency scores obtained by DEA in the Data Mining technique

The relationship between economic growth and employment: A dynamic empirical analysis for TurkeyEkonomik büyüme istihdam ilişkisi: Türkiye için dinamik bir uygulama

The effect of economic growth on employment has become an important topic in the literature with the effect of jobless growth debate in recent years. When we investigate the studies in the literature, we could find a few empirical studies which employ dynamic analysis in order to investigate effects of economic growth on employment for the Turkish economy. In order to fill this gap, we investigate the effect of economic growth on employment dynamically for the Turkish economy covering the period of 2000-2012 employing Kalman filter model. Our results indicate that, we found increasing effect of economic growth on employment at high growth term after the global financial crisis which different from high growth term between 2004-2005. We think that these results depend on the realization of demand postponed in the crisis period. Shortly, the usage of unemployed capacities showed positive effect on growth and employment in the economy after the global crisis.Ekonomik büyümenin istihdam üzerindeki etkisi son yıllarda istihdamsız büyüme tartışmalarının da etkisiyle gittikçe önemi artan konulardan biri haline gelmektedir. Geçmişteki çalışmalar dikkate alındığında Türkiye için büyüme ve istihdam ilişkisini dinamik olarak inceleyen çalışma eksikliği dikkati çekmektedir. Bu boşluğu biraz olsun doldurabilmek amacıyla, bu çalışmada 2000-2012 döneminde Türkiye ekonomisi için ekonomik büyümenin istihdam üzerindeki etkisi dinamik olarak Kalman Filtresi yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Çalışma sonucunda, 2004-2005 dönemindeki yüksek büyüme dönemlerinden farklı olarak, küresel finansal kriz sonrası yaşanan        yüksek büyüme dönemlerinde büyümenin istihdam üzerindeki etkisinin artığı görülmektedir. Bu sonucun, kriz süresince ertelenen talebin realize edilmesine bağlı olduğunu düşünmekteyiz. Kısacası, kriz sonrası artan büyüme-istihdam ilişkisi atıl kapasitelerin kriz sonrasında kullanılması ile ilişkilendirilmektedir

Unilaterally posterior lumbar interbody fusion with double expandable peek cages without pedicle screw support for lumbar disc herniation

Objectives Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is usually bilateral procedure, and it is combined with posterior by bilateral pedicle screw support or with fixation. The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the surgical outcomes of simple discectomy and PLIF without pedicle screw support in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Patients and methods 60 patients with single segment LDH were operated between February 2010 and June 2013. 40 patients were treated with simple discectomy (Group 1) and 20 patients were treated with PLIF using double expandable polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages without instrumentation (Group 2) unilaterally. Pain and function were evaluated by the visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) before and 18 months after surgery. Besides, PLIF patients were evaluated with computerized tomography (CT) scan of lumbar vertebra for the evaluation of the height of the disc, instability and fusion. Results Both leg and low back pain VAS scores were significantly improved 18 months after surgery in both of the groups (p<0.001). Significant decrease in VAS low back pain scores was seen in group 2 when compared to group 1 (p<0.001). Height of the intervertebral disc space was preserved and no instability was detected in group 2. No recurrence and 80% fusion rate was achieved in group 2. Conclusion This study showed that unilateral PLIF intervention with double expandable PEEK cages without pedicle screw support would be sufficient in the management of single segment lumbar disc herniation in patients whom are thought to have lumbar stabilization

Karşıt Akışlı Ranque– Hilsch Vorteks Tüpünün Makine Öğrenmesi Metotları ile Performans Analizi

Bu çalışmada, basınçlı oksijen gazı kullanarak aynı anda hem soğutma hem de ısıtma yapabilen ve kontrol vanası dışında hareketli parçası bulunmayan basit borudan meydana gelen Karşıt Akışlı Ranque-Hilsch Vorteks Tüp (KARHVT) kullanılmıştır. KARHVT’nün tasarımında boru 7 mm iç çapında ve 100 mm gövde uzunluğunda imal edilmiştir. KARHVT’ünde, nozul olarak pirinç, çelik, alüminyum ve polyamid üretilen 2, 3, 4, 5 ve 6 orfisli malzemesi kullanılmıştır. Yapılan deneylerde sıcak akışkan tarafında bulunan kontrol vanası tam açık konumda bırakılmış olup, giriş basıncı ilk 150 kPA olarak ayarlanmıştır. Daha sonra 50 kPa aralıklarla 700 kPa kadar veriler alınmıştır. KARHVT’de çıkan soğuk akışın sıcaklığı (Tsoğ) ve çıkan sıcak akış sıcaklığı (Tsck) ile arasındaki fark (ΔT) cinsinden bulunarak KARHVT’ün performansı optimizasyonu yapılmıştır. KARHVT’nün performansının optimizasyonunu, makine öğrenimi metotlarından Lineer Regresyon (LR), Regresyon Ağaçları (RA) ve Ağaç Toplulukları (AT) yöntemleri kullanılarak literatürdeki eksikliğin tamamlanması amaçlanmıştır. Çalışmada makine öğrenimi metotlarının her birinin analizi için, tüm verinin %80’i eğitim verisi, tüm verinin %20’si ise test verisi olarak kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonunda eğitilen modeller sonunda gerçekleşen tahmin sonuçları ile gerçek deney sonuçları karşılaştırılarak yorumlanmıştır

Küreselleşmenin Medya Üzerinde Etkileri: Küresel Medyaya “Sürükleniş” / The Effects of Globalization on Media: "Drifting" into the Global Media

Abstract Globalization affects the lives of individuals by showing themselves in many areas. The notion of globalization, which is particularly influential in the field of economy, politics and culture, has led to change and transformation through important influences both in the media and in the news cycle. In this context, with the globalization of the media, attempts have been made to create a uniform culture all over the world. Movies, TV programs, music video clips, have also changed in support of this argument. The global news cycle, which is in the hands of international agencies, causes an imbalance in the global flow as it is published due to the views of western imperialism of a certain capital. In this context, "news" is only in the hands of certain agencies; the dominance is maintained. In particular, although they are working to correct them on the effects of the global media and on the imbalances in the news cycle, they have not yet reached a sufficient level. Because of the international cycle of communication, the global media environment is in the hands of certain capitalists, imbalances are also felt in the environment. In this study, it will be discussed how the globalization phenomenon, especially the reflection of the media, and as a result, the news and other visual media messages affect the target audience. Following the identification of the situation, this structure will be referred to the work that can be described as "contradictions" and this particular emphasis on local / new media actors that may create alternatives will be addressed. Öz Küreselleşme, pek çok alanda kendini göstererek, bireylerin yaşamlarını etkilemektedir. Özellikle ekonomi, siyaset ve kültür alanında etkili olan küreselleşme kavramı, medyada ve haber döngüsünde de önemli etkileri vasıtasıyla değişim ve dönüşüme yol açmıştır. Buna kapsamda, medyanın küreselleşmesiyle birlikte, tüm dünya üzerinde tek tip bir kültür oluşturulması girişimleri de söz konusu olmuştur. Filmler, tv programları, müzik klipleri de bu savı destekler nitelikte değişimler göstermiştir. Uluslararası ajansların elinde olan küresel haber döngüsü ise belli bir sermayeye ait batı emperyalizmi görüşlerine bağlı olarak yayınlandığı için küresel akışta bir dengesizliğe sebep olmaktadır. Bu kapsamda, “haber” sadece belli ajansların elinde olup; söz konusu hakimiyet sürdürülmektedir. Özellikle, küresel medyanın etkilerinde ve haber döngüsündeki dengesizlikler üzerinde bunları düzeltmeye yönelik çalışmalar olsa da, henüz yeterli düzeye erişilememiştir. İletişimdeki uluslararası döngü, küresel medya ortamı belli sermayelerin elinde olduğu için ortamda dengesizlikler de kendini hissettirmektedir. Bu çalışmada küreselleşme olgusunun özellikle medyaya yansımaları ve bunun sonucunda haberlerin ve diğer görsel medya iletilerinin hedef kitleyi nasıl etkileyip, yönlendirdiği tartışılacak; durum tespiti ardından, bu yapıya “karşı çıkışlar” olarak nitelenebilecek çalışmalara değinilecek ve  alternatif oluşturabilecek yerel/yeni medya aktörlerinin bu husustaki önemi ele alınacaktır

Phytocontact dermatitis due to Ranunculus arvensis mimicking burn injury: report of three cases and literature review

Ranunculus arvensis (corn buttercup) is a plant species of the genus Ranunculus that is frequently used in the Far East to treat rheumatic diseases and several dermatological disorders. In Turkey, the plant is seen in the eastern and southeastern Anatolian highlands, which are underdeveloped areas of the country. Herein, we report three patients who used Ranunculus arvensis for the treatment of arthralgia and osteoarthritis. A distinctive phytodermatitis developed on the right thumb in one patient (48-year-old male), on the anterior aspect of both knees in another patient (70-year-old female) and all around both knees in a third (59-year-old female). The patients were treated with topical antibiotics and daily wound dressing, and none of them experienced any complications. Ranunculus arvensis was confirmed as the cause of the phytodermatitis in the three cases. Poultices of plants applied to the skin demonstrate beneficial effects on many dermatological and rheumatic diseases; however, they have several adverse effects that should not be ignored. In this study, we also present a review of 25 cases reported in the literature