Innovation Vision of the Turkish Construction Industry: A Comparative Qualitative Content Analysis of Strategic Roadmaps

Construction plays a crucial role in Turkey’s economic development, accounting for nearly 8-9% of GDP.The growing global competitiveness of Turkish contractors also contributes significantly to the balance ofpayments of Turkey. It is widely acknowledged that competitiveness of firms depends on national“innovation systems,” that is shaped by government policy, and an innovation vision is needed at theindustry-level as well as supporting mechanisms such as funding schemes for research and developmentin the priority areas, and platforms to enable knowledge transfer between various stakeholders. In thispaper, we will discuss the innovation vision within the Turkish construction industry, by referring to variousconstruction industry-specific reports. Specifically, we will investigate the vision and conceptualization ofinnovation in the “Construction Industry Roadmap” as a part of the 10th Development Plan that wasprepared by the Turkish Ministry of Development. A comparative study has been carried out between thisreport and a white paper entitled as “Shaping the Future of Construction: Insights to redesign the industry”that was prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF) by conducting a content analysis using NVivo.Although the content of two documents in terms of the “drivers” and “enablers” of innovation coincides toa large extent, the innovation was approached in a broader sense considering concepts such as “systemicinnovation”, “lessons learned”, “disruptive innovation”, “eco-innovation”, “incremental innovation” and“open source innovation” in the WEF’s report. Potential benefits of looking at the innovation system froma wider lens will be discussed as well as recommendations for further studies

The fitness cost to females of exposure to males does not depend on water availability in seed beetles

Access to multiple males can benefit a female in terms of increased fecundity and/or offspring performance. However, the presence of more males can also impose costs on females that arise from an elevated mating rate (e.g. due to increased genital damage, loss of feeding opportunities) and/or increased harassment. Different environments might influence the relative magnitude of these costs and benefits, because they can influence how often males and females encounter each other as well as the nature of these encounters. In the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, water is a limiting resource for females that can be obtained from male ejaculates. Here we explored whether the net fitness of female seed beetles is affected by breeding in either a dry or a wet environment when housed with differing numbers of males (none, one or four). Consistent with costly male harassment, females housed with four males laid significantly fewer eggs than those housed alone or with a single male, but there was no effect of the number of males on female egg-laying rate, life span, larval development rate or egg–adult survival of offspring. Although females in the wet environment lived significantly longer, there was only tentative evidence that water availability affected the net fitness cost to females of being exposed to more males. We conclude that to understand the evolution of mating systems it is important to explore how the environment affects female fitness by balancing the costs and benefits of being exposed to males.This work was supported by Australian Research Council (M.J., DP160100285; M.H., Future Fellowship FT160100149)

A new gluten-free product: Brown rice bulgur, and its physical and chemical properties

In this research, a new alternative food product, defined as brown rice bulgur (BRB), rich in functional components compared to white rice and cooked in a short time compared to brown rice was developed for society especially individuals with gluten intolerance and celiac disease. BRB was produced with two different methods as boiling (BRB-B) and steaming (BRB-S). The cooking time of raw brown rice decreased from 30 to 9 min in BRB samples. The phytic acid content of BRB samples decreased by about 15% and enzyme resistant starch content of BRB-B and BRB-S samples increased by about 9% and 21% compared to brown rice, respectively. The produced BRB samples were in the medium GI food group. In conclusion, it was evaluated that the newly developed BRB is superior than brown rice, white rice, and wheat bulgur in terms of short cooking time, lower GI, and being gluten-free, respectively. Practical applications: In this study, brown rice bulgur has been produced from brown rice, unpreferable by consumers due to its long cooking time, hard texture, and dark color, with wheat bulgur production method. This new food product includes the advantages of wheat bulgur such as resistivity to insect and mold activity because of applied high-temperature thermal process and drying process, but do not include the disadvantages of brown rice such as long cooking time. Additionally, it could be attention to some consumers because of being a new gluten-free product. The obtained data can help diversify this product in the food industry

Serum renalase and cerebellin levels in acute central serous chorioretinopathy

Aim: To compare the blood renalase and cerebellin-1 levels of acute central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) patients with healthy subjects. Method: A total of 33 eyes with acute naïve CSC (less than 2 months duration) and 31 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Idiopathic CSC was diagnosed based on the presence of a serous detachment of the neurosensory retina involving the macula that was confirmed using optical coherence tomography and leakage at the retinal pigment epithelium level using fluorescein angiography. Blood samples were collected and centrifuged at 4000 g for 10 minutes. The serum samples were collected and stored at -80 °C until required for analysis. Serum renalase and cerebellin-1 levels were measured using an ELISA kit. Results: In CSC group 11 patients were female and 22 patients were male. In control group 10 participants were female and 20 were male. The sex was similar between groups. Mean age in CSC group was 41, 04±5, 94, in control group was 40, 67±6, 53. Mean ages were similar between groups. Mean renalase levels in CSC group was 27, 19±14, 01 ng/ml and in control group was 19, 12±15, 57 ng/mL. Mean renalase level was higher in CSC group. Mean cerebellin levels were 57, 76±29, 72  pg/mL and 52, 50±29, 25 pg/mL in CSC and in control groups, respectively. Mean cerebellin levels were similar in groups. Conclusion: Comparing with healthy subjects serum renalase levels were higher and cerebellin-1 levels were similar in CSC patients

Platelet to lymphocyte ratio in differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules

Aim: Differentiation of thyroid nodules, either as benign or malignant, is a real diagnostic challenge. Inflammation has an important role in development of the malignancy. Therefore, inflammatory markers are associated with malignant thyroid nodules. Platelet /lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is also one of the novel inflammatory indices derived from hemogram tests. We hypothesized whether PLR was associated with malignant thyroid nodules. For this purpose, we compared PLR levels of the patients with benign thyroid nodules to the PLR of the subjects with malignant nodules. Methods: The subjects who visited outpatient internal medicine clinics of our institution with a diagnosis of thyroid nodule were enrolled to the present retrospective study. According to the examination of the fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) specimen of the nodules, patients grouped into benign or malignant nodule groups. PLR of groups were compared. Results: Median PLR values of the benign and malignant thyroid nodule groups were 106 (48-432) % and 119 (48-365) %, respectively (p=0.001). PLR value higher than 106% has 69% sensitivity and 51% specificity in detecting malignant nodules (AUC: 0.59, p=0.001, 95% CI: 0.54-0.65). PLR was positively correlated with TSH level (r=0.10, p=0.34). Conclusion: We suggest that elevated PLR could be an additional tool to differentiate malignant thyroid nodules from benign ones in supportive of sonography, scintigraphy and cytology

A Classification Approach with Machine Learning Methods for Technical Problems of Distance Education: Turkey Example

Distance education is an education model in which the lessons can be taught simultaneously using technical material without time and space restrictions. It has gained importance after the Covid-19 pandemic processes and has been implemented as a valid educational model in all educational institutions. Due to the sudden pandemic measures, distance education has brought about a lot of technical problems at unprepared educational institutions against the pandemic. In this paper, a classification approach is proposed by machine learning methods on Twitter instead of the usual structured research methods such as survey, one-on-one meeting for technical problems of distance education. The most encountered and commented distance education problem, which can be defined in different languages by the proposed method, have been analysed with Turkey example. Sentiment analysis has been made from negative and neutral tweets about distance education. The problems have been classified by natural language processing methods based on Turkish word analysis.</p

Could triglyceride to high density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio predict hepatosteatosis?

Aim: The triglyceride / HDL cholesterol (TG/HDL-c) ratio is increased in a variety of diseases including, coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, its role in non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis is not well understood. In present study, we aimed to compare the TG/HDL-c levels of the patients with non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis to those of the healthy subjects. Methods: Medical data of the patients with non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis whom presented to the outpatient internal medicine clinics of our institution were retrospectively analyzed. Healthy subjects whom admissions to our clinics were due to check up were enrolled to the study as control group. TG/HDL-c of the groups compared. Results: TG/HDL-c level of the liver steatosis group (5 (2-22) %) was higher than the control group (2.7 (1-8) %), (p&lt;0.001). TG/HDL-c was significantly and positively correlated with fasting blood glucose (r=0.31, p&lt;0.001), C - reactive protein (r=0.25, p&lt;0.001) and LDL-cholesterol (r=0.3, p&lt;0.001) levels. A TG/HDL-c value greater than 3.1% has 91% sensitivity and 77% specificity in detecting hepatosteatosis. Conclusions: We suggest that TG/HDL-c ratio could be a useful marker of non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis due to its inexpensive and easy to assess nature

Millennium pandemic: A review of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Coronaviruses, a large family of single-stranded RNA viruses, can infect humans and animals, and can cause neurological, gastrointestinal and hepatic diseases as well as causing various lung diseases, including pneumonia, with shortness of breath, cough and fever. At the end of December 2019, a group of health authorities reported unidentified cases of pneumonia in a seafood market in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) used term 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to refer to a coronavirus that affected the lower respiratory tract of patients with pneumonia in Wuhan, China on 29 December and the WHO announced that the official name of the 2019 novel coronavirus was coronavirus disease (COVID-19). COVID-19 is seen in many countries around the World and has been accepted as a pandemic by WHO. It is defined as a suspicious case with fever, sore throat, cough, and people with a history of traveling to China or some parts of the country, or someone who contact with a patient who has a history of travel in China or contact with a confirmed COVID-19 infection patient. Currently, there is no proven vaccine or antiviral therapy that can be used against animal or human coronavirus. To control the outbreak, the drugs must be developed as soon as possible. Various drugs have been used in the treatment of COVID-19 and the main ones are chloroquine, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, oseltamivir, favipiravir. Since the virus affects the whole World, vaccines and/or new curative antiviral drugs are needed to end the pandemic. For this purpose, large-scale observational studies are needed

Exploring pattern of complexity in mega construction projects

Purpose: Megaprojects are known as complex projects that involve high levels of uncertainty. This interpretive study explores and portrays perceived complexity in mega construction projects by lived experiences of project managers. Methodology: This study utilises a ground theory approach to analyse data gathered from semi-structured interviews with 18 professionals involved in 11 mega projects. Findings: Complexity in mega construction projects is defined as a project property that stems from the interaction of project features, uncertain variables/conditions, and managerial actions forming a pattern, which emerges over time, based on the reflections of construction practitioners. Originality: This study defines complexity based on the reflections of the practitioners in the construction industry and uniquely identifies complexity patterns that may have implications for project management, particularly risk management

Temperature Effects Explain Continental Scale Distribution of Cyanobacterial Toxins

Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus on hepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g., anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to their potency. Most studies examine the relationship between individual toxin variants and environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light. In summer 2015, we collected samples across Europe to investigate the effect of nutrient and temperature gradients on the variability of toxin production at a continental scale. Direct and indirect effects of temperature were the main drivers of the spatial distribution in the toxins produced by the cyanobacterial community, the toxin concentrations and toxin quota. Generalized linear models showed that a Toxin Diversity Index (TDI) increased with latitude, while it decreased with water stability. Increases in TDI were explained through a significant increase in toxin variants such as MC-YR, anatoxin and cylindrospermopsin, accompanied by a decreasing presence of MC-LR. While global warming continues, the direct and indirect effects of increased lake temperatures will drive changes in the distribution of cyanobacterial toxins in Europe, potentially promoting selection of a few highly toxic species or strains.Peer reviewe