Turkey's foreign policy implementation in sub-Saharan Africa: A post-international approach

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Turkey's activism in Africa has been extensively noted. It has been argued that non-state actors like business and civil society organizations take part in Turkeys Africa initiative. Nevertheless, state/non-state interaction in Turkey's foreign policy implementation has not been accounted for in theoretical terms in Turkish foreign policy literature. This paper combines post-international theory and foreign policy implementation in looking at Turkey's foreign policy towards sub-Saharan Africa. We argue that adapting to the multi-centric world, the Turkish government has moved beyond conventional state-to-state dealings in implementing its foreign policy and increasingly relies on the cooperation of non-state actors

Understanding Turkish foreign affairs in the 21st century : a homegrown theorizing attempt

Ankara : The Department of International Relations, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2014.Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Bilkent University, 2014.Includes bibliographical references leaves 306-330.For Turkish scholars, understanding especially the last decade of Turkey’s international politics has been a great challenge. Answering fundamental questions, -and many others-, requires collection of reliable, complete and uniform data and interpreting them on conceptual terms. The purpose of this thesis is to understand and explain Turkey’s foreignl affairs in a holistic way and offer a homegrown model based on original data. Building an original event dataset, this thesis accounts for the empirical observations made out of Turkey’s international practice and conceptualizes it as a complex system. It accounts for foreign policy change in complex systems, introduces concepts such as domestic responsivity, domestic, international nodes as well as intermestic and international nexus, and puts forward a helical model of power accumulation, as an outcome of successful foreign policy change.Biltekin, GoncaPh.D

Non-material sources of Turkish Armed Forces' political power : a "military in society" approach

Ankara : The Department of International Relations, The Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University, 2007.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2007.Includes bibliographical references leaves 156-159.This thesis is an attempt to understand the non-material sources of Turkish Armed Forces’ political power. For that purpose, the thesis looks at theories of power and relevant civil-military relations literature and illustrates that the current civil-military relations literature employs an institution-based formal decisionmaking approach to military’s political power, where non-material sources of armed forces political power is mostly overlooked. Moreover, current literature presumes the existence of a conflictual relationship between the military and the society where interests of the society and the military clash. Therefore, there is a theoretical gap which makes it problematic to study armies like Turkish Armed Forces, which enjoy a long-term and considerable support from their societies. In order to provide for an answer to such a gap, the thesis develops a “military in society” approach and establishes that the political power of the Turkish Armed Forces emanates from its distinctive relationship with its society which has historical, cultural, social and discursive dimensions.Biltekin, GoncaM.S

Novel sprayable thermosensitive benzydamine hydrogels for topical application: Development, characterization, and in vitro biological activities

Benzydamine hydrochloride (BZD) having analgesic, anesthetic, and anti-inflammatory effects is used orally or topically in the treatment of disorders such as joint inflammation and muscle pain. Within the scope of this study, sprayable thermosensitive BZD hydrogels were developed using thermoresponsive poloxamers to avoid systemic side effects and to provide better compliance for topical administration. Also, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) was employed to improve the mechanical strength and bioadhesive properties of the hydrogel. The addition of BZD generally decreased the viscosity of the formulations (p 0.05); the release profiles of BZD from the formulations were similar according to model-independent kinetic (f2 > 50). HPMC and poloxamers had important roles in the accumulation of BZD in the skin. In vitro biological activity studies demonstrated that the formulations presented their anti-inflammatory activity with TNF-α inhibition but did not have any effect on the inhibition of COX enzymes as expected. As a result, thermosensitive hydrogels containing BZD might be an appropriate alternative, providing an advantage in terms of easier application compared to conventional gels. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]BAS

ACE2 and LOX enzyme inhibitions of different lavender essential oils and major components linalool and camphor

In this present study, Lavandula angustifolia, Lavandula stoechas, and Lavandula x heterophylla essential oils and their main compounds linalool and camphor were evaluated in vitro for lipoxygenase enzyme (LOX) and for angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) inhibition potential. The chemical compositions of L. angustifolia, L. stoechas, and L. heterophylla essential oils were confirmed both by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection, where 22.4, 0.9, and 30.6% linalool and 17.8, 54.7, and 15% camphor were identified for each oil among other components, respectively. Enzyme inhibitory activity studies were performed at 20 mu g/mL for the tested essential oils, whereas for linalool and camphor concentrations, 5 mu g/mL was used. The ACE2 inhibitions of L. angustifolia, L. stoechas, and L. heterophylla essential oils were 25.4, 34.1, and 27.1%, while the LOX inhibitions were observed as 79, 49.1, and 86.7%, respectively. In addition, linalool and camphor showed remarkable ACE2 inhibition with 77.1 and 85.1%, whereas the LOX inhibition was observed at 92 and 67.2%, respectively. In conclusion of the initial findings, further detailed in vivo studies are needed to confirm the safe use.Anadolu University Scientific Research Projects Commissio

In vitro antiviral evaluations of coldmix(R): An essential oil blend against SARS-CoV-2

Coldmix® is a commercially available Eucalyptus aetheroleum and, Abies aetheroleum blend for medicinal applications. In this present study, the in vitro antiviral potential of Coldmix®, and its major constituents 1,8-cineole and α-pinene were evaluated by using the in vitro ACE2 enzyme inhibition assay as well as the direct contact test against SARS-CoV-2. The observed ACE2 enzyme inhibitory activity of Coldmix®, 1,8-cineole, and α-pinene were 72%, 88%, and 80%, respectively; whereas in the direct contact test in the vapor phase, the destruction of the virus was 79.9% within 5 min and 93.2% in the 30th min, respectively. In a similar Coldmix® vapor phase setup using the in vitro cytotoxicity cell assay, E6 VERO healthy cells were experimentally not affected by toxicity. According to the promising initial antiviral results of Coldmix® and the individually tested constituents, detailed further in vivo evaluation using different virus classes is suggested

The use of fluorescence technology and vital staining methods in the diagnosis of intraoral suspicious lesions: Experimental study

Amaç: Oral kavitenin skuamöz hücreli karsinomu en sık görülen ağız kanseridir. Oral mukozal lezyonların tespitinde inspeksiyon ve palpasyon gibi intraoral muayene yöntemleri, erken tanıda önemli yer tutmakta ve mortaliteyi düşürmektedir. Bu çalışmada amaç, oral kavitede oluşabilecek mukozal lezyonların erken teşhisinde yardımcı tanı aracı olarak vital boyama testinin ve otofloresan incelemenin (OralID) histopatolojik değerlendirmeye kıyasla etkinliğini değerlendirmektir. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmaya, klinik görsel muayenede tespit edilen ve inceleme sonrası histopatolojik değerlendirme için biyopsi alınan şüpheli lezyona sahip 54 hasta dâhil edildi. İntraoral muayenede tespit edilen tüm şüpheli lezyonlar, otofloresan incelemeye ve vital boyamaya tabi tutuldu. İncelemeler sırasında lezyonlar fotoğraflandı. Lezyonlardan histopatolojik inceleme için biyopsi alındı. Histopatoloji sonuçları altın standart olarak kabul edilip, verilerin istatistiksel analizleri yapıldı. Bulgular: Histopatoloji sonuçları ile karşılaştırıldığında otofloresan tekniğinde 0,33 değerinde zayıf düzeyde uyum görülürken, vital boyama tekniğinde 0,63’lük iyi düzeyde uyum görüldü. Otofloresan inceleme ve vital boyama tekniğinin pozitif öngörü değeri sırasıyla %73,1 ve %91,7; negatif öngörü değerleri ise sırasıyla %60,7 ve %73,3 olarak görüldü. Otofloresan incelemesi %63,3 ve %70,8 duyarlılık ve özgüllük gösterirken, vital boyama tekniği %73,3 duyarlılık ve %91,7 özgüllük gösterdi. Sonuç: Vital boyama ve otofloresan inceleme, histopatolojik doğrulama yapılması şartıyla oral kavitede görülen kanserler ve displazik lezyonlar için invaziv olmayan, basit ve hızlı bir yardımcı tanı aracı olarak kullanılabilir.Bu çalışma Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Koordinasyon Birimi Koordinatörlüğü tarafından 08.05.2019 tarihli 2019-89953602-01 proje no ile bireysel araştırma projesi olarak desteklenmektedir

Synthesis, characterization, COX1/2 inhibition and molecular modeling studies on novel 2-thio-diarylimidazoles

Heterocyclic compounds with diaryl substituents have been a milestone approach for selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX 2) inhibition by bioisosteric replacements and modifications. It is also known that thiazole derivatives have different pharmacological activities. In this study, nine novel 2-[(1,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazole-2-yl)thio]-N-(thiazole-2-yl)acetamide derivatives (Compound 1-9) were synthesized via the reaction of 1,5-disubstitued phenyl-imidazole-2-thiole and N-thiazole acetamide. The inhibitory effects of COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes were tested for the synthesized compounds. Enzyme-ligand interactions of the most active compound on COX subtypes were elucidated by molecular modeling studies. The percent inhibitory effect for compound 1, which is the naked derivative among all the compounds, was found to be the most active on COX-2 at 10 mu M concentration (C1(COX-2): 88%, SC-560(COX-2): 98.2%, C1(COX-1): 60.9%); whereas compound 9 showed the highest inhibitory effect and was found to be the most selective derivative on COX-1 isoenzyme (C9(COX-1): 85%, DuP-697(COX-1): 97.2%, C9(COX-2): 57.9%)

Mandibulada intraosseöz transmigre daimi kanin: Vaka serisi (8 vaka)

Dental transmigrasyon, sürmemiş dişlerin orta hattın karşı tarafına intraosseöz göçüdür. Etiyolojisi tam olarak bilinmemektedir. Genellikle asemptomatik olmakla beraber patoloji bulundurma ihtimali nedeniyle erken dönemde teşhis edilmesi tedavi planlaması için önem taşımaktadır. Kanin transmigrasyonu mandibulada maksillaya göre daha sık görülmektedir. Bu vaka serisinde 8 mandibular transmigre kanin vakası sunulmuştur

Chemical composition and in vitro mutagenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. essential oil from Turkey

The essential oil obtained from Lavandula angustifolia Mill. (Lavander) has many pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial and carminative effects. Lavandula angustifolia essential oil (LEO) contains monoterpene compounds, mainly linalool and linalyl acetate and various phenolic acids such as caffeic acid, vanillic acid, ferulic acid and chlorogenic acid. The hydrodistillation of the aerial parts of L. angustifolia produced a pale yellow oil. Gas chromatography-Gas chromatography/Massspectrometry (GC-GC/MS) results showed that LEO contains monoterpene alcohols that primarily include linalool (35.91%), 4-Terpineol (6.10%), α-Terpineol (4.49%) and lavandulol (2.49%). As a result of the cytotoxicity analysis of LEO, the IC50 value was found to be 0.372 mg/mL. LEO was found to be non-mutagenic against the bacterial test strain Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 with S9 fraction while the highest concentration (9.58 mg/mL) was found to be either mutagenic or cytotoxic against TA 98 without S9 fraction. The essential oil’s antioxidant capacity was found 6.522±0.069 mg/mL while the total phenolic content was 1.22±0.04 mg GAE/g extract (Gallic acid equivalent/g extract). Anti-inflammatory activity of LEO was 1.238± 0.026 mg/mL while that of indomethacine was 0.022±0.003 mg/mL. In conclusion, when the results are evaluated in terms of in vitro biological activities, LEO can be considered as a potential herbal product with active compounds that should be examined in future studies.Istanbul Medipol Universit