Spatial implications of the organization of production in the automotive industry in Turkey

Since the 1980s, the restructuring tendencies of capital have been calling for the reorganization of production, reshaping of enterprises and reconsiderations of geographical space. Globalization and japanization emerged as the new concepts of the postfordist production era, the former implying the geographical enlargement of economic operations and markets while the latter representing a certain managerial model which has come to be considered a crucial element of the globalization process in the postfordist organization of production. Radical improvements in transportation and communication technologies resulted in the reduction of the associated costs which, in turn, made resources and markets all over the world accessible. However, this accessibility destroyed the oligopolistic advantages of business firms due to? their proximity to local markets (Thisse, 1994). Globalization forced them to seek for other types of competition whereby the survival of a firm depends on its performance in the diversity of its products, quality of goods and asociated services, its responsiveness to demand, ability to reduce lapse of time, and innovating capacity (Veltz, 1994). This new type of competitiveness requires intense interaction and cooperation inside firms, between various phases in the production cycle, between firms and their suppliers and clients, as well as between commodity markets and labour markets (Thisse, 1994). Thus, a new type of proximity becomes important for competitiveness. Territorial and local considerations are reinterpreted in reference to the global restructuring process of capital. Several questions are raised in this context: Will the big cities be increasingly interlinked in a global urban network? Will small towns which are not well linked to the network be facing increasing degeneration and poverty? What new links should be established between cities and their surrounding areas? (Derycke,1994). There are antithetic answers to those questions as far as urban hierarchy and local development is concerned. Some authors argue that the new form of competition would be to the detriment of traditional subcontracting networks based on proximity because of ?world sourcing?. Meanwhile, it would increase urban polarization because the new criteria of competitive survival and the need for flexibility against escalating uncertainty require location in large metropolises. On the other hand, other autors argue that ?global toyotaism, in comparison to global fordism, localizes more of the production process and therefore seems to be more conducive to local development in host nations? (Fujita&Hill, 1995). This paper attempts to analyse the spatial implications of the shift from fordist production to postfordist production, toyotaism in special, on the basis of data collected in the automotive industry in Turkey.

Psychometric validation of the Turkish nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short Form (IGDS9-SF)

The main aims of the current study were to test the factor structure, reliability and validity of the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9- SF), a standardized measure to assess symptoms and prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). In the present study participants were assessed with the IGDS9-SF, nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale (IGDS) and the Young's Internet Addiction Test-Short Form (YIAT-SF). Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the factor structure (i.e., the dimensional structure) of the IGDS9-SF was satisfactory. The scale was also reliable (i.e., internally consistent with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.89) and showed adequate convergent and criterion-related validity, as indicated by statistically significant positive correlations between average time daily spent playing games during last year, IGDS and YIAT-SF scores. By applying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) threshold for diagnosing IGD (e.g., endorsing at least five criteria), it was found that the prevalence of disordered gamers ranged from 0.96% (whole sample) to 2.57% (e-sports players). These findings support the Turkish version of the IGDS9-SF as a valid and reliable tool for determining the extent of IGD-related problems among young adults and for the purposes of early IGD diagnosis in clinical settings and similar research

The Patterns of High-Level Magnetic Activity Occurring on the Surface of V1285 Aql: The OPEA Model of Flares and DFT Models of Stellar Spots

Statistically analyzing Johnson UBVR observations of V1285 Aql during the three observing seasons, both activity level and behavior of the star are discussed in respect to obtained results. We also discuss the out-of-flare variation due to rotational modulation. Eighty-three flares were detected in the U-band observations of season 2006 . First, depending on statistical analyses using the independent samples t-test, the flares were divided into two classes as the fast and the slow flares. According to the results of the test, there is a difference of about 73 s between the flare-equivalent durations of slow and fast flares. The difference should be the difference mentioned in the theoretical models. Second, using the one-phase exponential association function, the distribution of the flare-equivalent durations versus the flare total durations was modeled. Analyzing the model, some parameters such as plateau, half-life values, mean average of the flare-equivalent durations, maximum flare rise, and total duration times are derived. The plateau value, which is an indicator of the saturation level of white-light flares, was derived as 2.421{\pm}0.058 s in this model, while half-life is computed as 201 s. Analyses showed that observed maximum value of flare total duration is 4641 s, while observed maximum flare rise time is 1817 s. According to these results, although computed energies of the flares occurring on the surface of V1285 Aql are generally lower than those of other stars, the length of its flaring loop can be higher than those of more active stars.Comment: 44 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables, 2011PASP..123..659

Applied nanotechnologies in anticoagulant therapy: from anticoagulants to coagulation test performance of drug delivery systems

Heparin-based delivery systems have been explored to improve their therapeutic efficacy and to reduce toxicity for different administration routes. Regardless of the applied drug delivery system (DDS), the evaluation of anticoagulant performance is instrumental for the development of a suitable DDS. The understanding of the range of anticoagulant assays, together with their key applications and limitations, is essential both within the context of scientific research and for clinical usage. This review provides an overview of the current anticoagulant therapy and discusses the advantages and limitations of currently available anticoagulant assays. We also discuss studies involving low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH)-based nanocarriers with emphasis on their anticoagulation performance. Conventional anticoagulants have been used for decades for the treatment of many diseases. Direct oral anticoagulants have overcome some limitations of heparins and vitamin K antagonists. However, the lack of an accurate laboratory assessment, as well as the lack of a factor xaban (Xa) inhibitor reversal agent, remains a major problem associated with these anticoagulants. LMWHs represent anticoagulant agents with noteworthy efficacy and safety, and they have been explored to improve their outcomes with various nanocarriers through several administration routes. The main problems related to LMWHs have been surmounted, and improved efficiency may be achieved through the use of DDSs.This work was supported by the Banco do Nordeste (grant FUNDECI/2016.0015), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe (Fapitec), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). Eliana B. Souto would like to acknowledge the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and the European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) for the project UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pollution profile and waste minimization study for a corn processing industry

Bu çalışmada Marmara Bölgesi’nde faaliyet gösteren büyük bir mısır işleme endüstrisi için kirlenme profili oluşturularak, çeşitli atık azaltım önerileri getirilmiştir. Bu amaçla söz konusu tesiste oluşan atıksu kaynak ve miktarları ile atıksu dışındaki atıkların tür, miktar ve özellikleri incelenmiştir. Tesiste üretim sürekli olup, ıslak öğütme ve rafineri olmak üzere iki temel proses mevcuttur. Tesisin üretim kademesindeki her bir işlem esnasında oluşan kirlilik konsantrasyonu belirlenerek kirlilik profili oluşturulmuştur. Endüstrinin biyolojik ve kimyasal kısımdan oluşan üç kademeli ileri atıksu arıtma tesisinin verimi ile deşarj suyunun kalitesi incelenerek ulusal ve uluslararası deşarj standartlarıyla kıyaslanmıştır. Kirlenme profilinin oluşturulmasında 2004-2005 dönemine ait bir yıllık kompozit numune bazlı analiz sonuçları dikkate alınmıştır. Kirlenme profili için KOİ yükü, deşarj suyunun değerlendirilmesinde ise KOİ, amonyak, nitrat, toplam fosfor ve askıda katı madde parametreleri incelenmiştir. Tesis için oluşturulan kirlenme profili incelendiğinde birim ürün başına oluşan atıksu miktarının rafineri prosesinde literatürle uyumlu olduğu; ıslak öğütme prosesinde ise literatür değerinin üstünde olduğu görülmüştür. Birim ürün başına KOİ yükleri incelendiğinde ise tesis değerlerinin literatür değerinin altında kaldığı görülmüştür. Atıksu oluşumu ve kirlilik açısından en önemli payı ıslak öğütme prosesinde yer alan evaporatör kondanse suyu oluşturmaktadır. İşletmenin arıtma tesisi performansına bakıldığında ise çıkış suyu değerlerinin ilgili ulusal ve uluslar arası yönetmelik limitlerini rahatlıkla sağladığı görülmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Atık azaltımı, ileri atıksu arıtımı, kirlenme profili, mısır işleme endüstrisi.Products such as starch, gluten, glucose, dextrin, fructose etc. can be obtained from corn processing. Corn based glucose products are key ingredients in the growing international markets. As the intermediate products, the vegetable oil is bought by catering factories, protein and whole-wheat are bought by the farmers for animal feed, and fructose obtained from the starch is bought by food processing industries for sweetening and beverage. Effluent from corn milling industry is known as high strength wastewater due to its high protein and starch content. Wastewater from corn wet mill industries has high COD?s (chemical oxygen demand) mainly of soluble and biodegradable character, with an initial inert COD content of less than 15%. This character has promoted the application of biological processes as appropriate treatment technology. Anaerobic and/or aerobic biological treatment systems have been used to treat these types of effluents. In this paper, a pollution profile study for a corn processing industry located in Marmara Region as 21 ha was performed and some waste minimization approaches were proposed. For this purpose, the sources and the quantities of wastewater and other types of wastes generated in the industry were investigated. Around 264000 tons of corn are processed and 997000 tons of water are used annually in the investigated industry. The mean specific water usage can be calculated as  about 3.8 m3/t-corn including regeneration and washing waters. The studied industry has a three-stage advanced wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) including anaerobic expanded granular sludge bed reactor (EGSB), intermittently aerated single sludge activated sludge system for biological nitrogen (N) removal and chemical post treatment unit for phosphorus (P) removal. Simultaneous C and N removal is achieved by the aerobic treatment stage. Chemical P removal has been performed by using FeCl3 as the coagulant in the third stage. The final effluents from the WWTP are discharging to a nearby creek. The related corn processing plant has two main production steps including wet mill and starch slurry production. In the wet mill process, corn germ, fiber, gluten and starch slurry are produced from corn by steeping. The starch slurry is further processed to produce glucose, fructose and dextrin in the starch slurry derivatives units. Efficiency of the existing three stage advanced wastewater treatment plant and the quality of effluents from the WWTP were investigated and compared with national and international discharge standards. One year data set (2004-2005) was considered to generate the pollution profile. All analytical measurements have been carried out by APHA standard methods at the wastewater laboratory of the industry. Control analyses have also been performed by Environmental Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University on monthly basis. COD parameter for the pollution profile and parameters including COD, ammonium, nitrate, total phosphorus, suspended solids and pH were considered for the evaluation of effluents from the WWTP. The identified three wastewater sources from the wet mill process and seven wastewater sources from refinery process were characterized and the pollution profile was generated. The pollution profile have shown that the amount of wastewater generated per ton of raw material in the refinery process is consistent with the related literature, however in wet milling process the corresponding value is above the literature figure. The COD loading values are also in agreement with the previous works. According to pollution profile, wastewater generation and pollutant loads as COD are mainly originated from evaporator vapor condensate. The efforts should be on the way to minimize the pollution loading and wastewater generation of this process. Some advices were given for this purpose in the study. For example, recycled cooling water from evaporator may be treated by mechanically instead chemical treatment to reduce energy and water consumptions in the plant. The quality of the final effluent meets the discharge limits of Aquatic Products and Water Pollution Control Regulations of Turkey and European Union (EU) Urban Wastewater Directive for Sensitive Regions. The whole WWTP has been operated very successfully and it is one of the best plants in this sector. The biosolids from the WWTP is planning to produce compost by mixing the residual corn wastes by applying windrow composting. Keywords: Advanced wastewater treatment, corn processing industry, pollution profile, waste minimization

Highlights of the ERS Lung Science Conference 2022

This article presents the highlights of the ERS Lung Science Conference 2022, including a session organised by the Early Career Member Committee (ECMC) dedicated to career development https://bit.ly/3tarCXc Every year, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) organises the Lung Science Conference (LSC), in Estoril, to discuss basic and translational science. The topic of the 20th LSC was “Mucosal immunology of the lung: balancing protective immunity and chronic inflammation”. This was the first time that the LSC was organised as a hybrid congress with both in person and online attendance. In addition to an outstanding scientific programme, the LSC provides excellent opportunities for career development and inclusion of early career members (ECMs). All scientific and poster sessions are chaired by an ECM who is paired with a senior faculty to allow ECMs to become acquainted with session chairing, and there is a session organised by the Early Career Member Committee (ECMC) dedicated to career development. Moreover, travel bursaries are made available to abstract authors, and all bursary recipients and first-time attendees are invited to take part in a mentorship lunch. In this article, we provide the names of the ECM awardees and describe the scientific highlights of the LSC 2022 for those who could not attend.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Early impact of COVID-19 outbreak on eye care: Insights from EUROCOVCAT group

The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a public health emergency worldwide. The scientific community has put in much effort and published studies that described COVID-19’s biology, transmission, clinical diagnosis, candidate therapeutics, and vaccines. However, to date, only a few data are available on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ophthalmological care in different health care systems, its future consequences in terms of disability, and access to sight-saving cures for many patients. To reduce human-to-human transmission of the virus and also ensure supply of infrastructures, human resources, and disposable medical devices to many regions, it is crucial to assess risks and postpone non-essential outpatient visits and elective surgical procedures, especially in older patients and those with comorbidities. This delay or suspension in essential eye procedures may cause significant and rapid vision impairment to irreversible blindness. Determining the risk-benefit profile of treating these ocular pathologies is a public health issue of supreme priority, even though many patients benefiting from therapeutic treatments are elderly, who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. If not reversible, this process could lead to a dramatic increase in disability and unsustainable social costs for many Governments

Perillyl alcohol in Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN-PA): Cytotoxicity and antitumor potential in sarcoma 180 mice model

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells. These cells invade organs and tissues by extension or direct dissemination and can spread to other regions of the body. Nanomedicine offers many possibilities to prevent the spread of cancer tissue and help cure the disease. In this work, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were used to encapsulate perillyl alcohol (PA), a volatile monoterpene with proven anticancer activity. Encapsulation of PA into SLN (SLN-PA) is expected to promote controlled release, increase PA bioavailability, and impair the volatility of the monoterpene. SLN-PA prepared by high-shear homogenization showed average particle diameter around 254 nm, polydispersity index ~ 0.35, zeta potential ~ -14.7 mV, and encapsulation efficiency 84.6%. Scanning electron microscope analysis revealed a decrease in crystallinity, suggesting the encapsulation of PA in the SLN, confirming the spherical shape and the loading of the monoterpene in the SLN. In vitro cytotoxicity assays against murine fibroblasts (L929) showed that SLN-PA in both treated doses did not induce any cytotoxicity on non-tumoral cells. In vivo antitumor effect of the SLN-PA was evaluated in sarcoma 180-transplanted mice. The in vivo results demonstrated a significant tumor inhibition rate of 51.76 and 54.49% via intraperitoneal application of SLN-PA at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg/day (p < 0.05), respective when compared to the negative control (dimethyl sulfoxide). Adverse side effects of SLN-PA were not noticed in the liver, the kidney, or spleen tissue. The developed SLN-PA can be considered as a safe approach for site-specific antitumor effect in vivo, reinterpreting new nanoparticles- based cancer therapy.This work was supported by the Banco do Nordeste (grant FUNDECI/2016.0015), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe (Fapitec) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). Eliana B. Souto would like to acknowledge the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and from European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) for the project UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio