Optimal car dispatching for elevator groups using genetic algorithms

The car dispatching problem in an elevator group consists of assigning cars to the hall calls at the same time that car call are served. The problem needs to coordinate the movements of individual cars with the objective of operating efficiently the whole group. In this paper, we propose an elevator group control system based on a genetic algorithm which makes use of a novel fitness function to evaluate the individuals. The fitness function allows a quick execution of the algorithm. Tests are provided for various types of high-rise buildings to assess the elevator service performance. Comparative simulations show that our genetic algorithm outperforms traditional conventional algorithms developed in the industry. It is important to note that the algorithm is quickly evaluated allowing a real-life implementatio

A rare cause of acute urinary retention in women: meatal condyloma accuminata, a case report

Acute urinary retention in women is a rarely seen phenomenon due to pharmacological, neuromuscular, anatomical, functional and infectious causes. Human papillomaviruses causing condyloma acuminata is one of the rarely reported viral infectious cause of acute urinary retention in case reports. A 45-year-old woman with acute urinary retention was found to have a round solid lesion on external urethral meatus. Histopathological examination revealed as condyloma acuminata. Urethral condyloma can be treated by local excision as an effective method for early improvement of voiding function. Even if the genital condyloma can be locally excised, patients should be referred to the gynecologists for cervical cancer screening.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Düşük Maliyetli Havayolu Taşıyıcılarının Sosyal Medya Paylaşımlarına Dair Bir İçerik Analizi: Southwest, Ryanair ve Pegasus Karşılaştırması

Havayolu sektöründe sosyal medya kullanımının son yıllarda hızla arttığı görülmektedir. İnternet ve sosyal medya havayolları için birçok alanda önemli bir araç haline gelmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, interneti etkin bir şekilde dağıtım aracı olarak kullanan düşük maliyetli taşıyıcıların (DMT) sosyal medya paylaşımlarında kullandıkları söylemleri analiz ederek karşılaştırma yapmaktır. Çalışma, Türk havayolu sektöründeki öncü düşük maliyetli taşıyıcının sosyal medya paylaşımları ile ABD ve Avrupa’dan seçilen öncü DMT’ların paylaşımlarını derinlemesine irdeleyerek sosyal medya paylaşımlarının odak noktalarını karşılaştırmalı biçimde ortaya koymaktadır. Bu kapsamda Southwest Airlines, RyanAir ve Pegasus Havayolları’nın resmi sosyal medya hesaplarında 01 Nisan 2017 – 09 Haziran 2017 tarihleri arasında yaptıkları paylaşımlar, tümevarımcı bir yaklaşımla içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Bulgular; Southwest’in beklenenin aksine düşük fiyata çok nadir vurgu yaptığını, bunun yerine takipçileriyle etkileşim kurarak onlara verilen değerin ön planda tutulduğu paylaşımlara ağırlık verdiğini ortaya koymuştur. RyanAir ve Pegasus ise paylaşımlarında daha çok destinasyon tanıtımı, özel ödüllü/indirimli kampanyalar ve düşük fiyatlı biletler üzerinde durmuşlardır. Taşıyıcıların paylaşımlarında ortak olarak değindiği konular ise destinasyon tanıtımı, düşük fiyat, yan ürün/hizmetler, özel ödüllü/indirimli kampanyalar olmuştur

Effect of atorvastatin on spermatogenesis in rats: A stereological study

Purpose: To investigate the effects of oral atorvastatin on spermatogenesis in a rat model.Methods: Rats were equally assigned into control and study groups, the latter receiving atorvastatin (20 mg/kg/day). At the end of 12 weeks, spermatogenetic activity was evaluated using stereological and optical fractionator methods. Serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), total testosterone (TT), and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were measured using micro–ELISA kits. Total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL - C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were also measured by enzymatic colorimetric assays.Results: Testicular stereological analysis revealed that atorvastatin reduced Sertoli cell numbers (p < 0.001), spermatogonia (p < 0.001), spermatocytes (p < 0.001), and seminiferous tubule diameters (p < 0.001). LDL – C (p = 0.01) and TG (p = 0.01) values were significantly lower in the study group compared with the control group. There was no significant difference in FSH (p = 0.44), LH (p = 0.48),and TT (p = 0.06) levels between the groups.Conclusion: The findings show that atorvastatin causes deleterious effects on rat spermatogenesis. It should therefore be used with caution in clinical practice owing to its potential adverse effects, especially on male fertility. Keywords: Statin, Atorvastatin, Spermatogenesis, Stereology, Testi

Relationship Between the Visceral Adiposity Index and Peyronie’s Disease

Objective:We aimed to investigate the relationship between Peyronie’s disease (PD) and the visceral adiposity index (VAI), which is thought to predict visceral obesity homogeneously.Materials and Methods:We included 102 healthy volunteers (Group 1) and 89 patients with PD (Group 2) in this retrospective study. We recorded demographic, anthropometric, and clinical data, including age, comorbidity, International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), visceral adiposity index testosterone (VAI), serum fasting glucose, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglyceride (TG). For Group 2 participants, plaque size, duration of symptoms, and degree of penile curvature were recorded.Results:The mean ages of Group 1 and Group 2 were 55.12±9.51 years and 54.79±9.99 years, respectively (p>0.05). The mean BMI, WC, VAI, fasting glucose, and TG values were significantly higher in Group 2 (p0.05). The mean IIEF score was lower in Group 2 than in Group 1 (p=0.008). An increase of 1 unit in the VAI value increases the probability of having PD 1.2 times (p=0.001). Each VAI integer increase decreased 1.25 points in the IIEF score, a 1 mm increase in plaque size, and a 1.98-degree increase in curvature.Conclusion:Our study has shown that VAI can be used as a reliable, independent risk factor for plaque size and penile curvature in patients with patients with PD

The Effect of Teriparatide Treatment on Spinal Deformity Index in Severe Osteoporosis

Objective:This study’s purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of teriparatide (TPTD) therapy on back pain, quality of life, and spinal deformity index (SDI) in the presence of established postmenopausal osteoporosis.Materials and Methods:The mean ages of 21 patients with established osteoporosis were 72.43±4.06 years. The patients with L1-L4 mean vertebral and/or hip total T score -4 and less, and at least two vertebral and/or non-vertebral fractures, were included in the study. The patients received 20 microgram (μg)/day TPTD treatment and 800 IU/day vitamin D3 + 1200 mg/day calcium (Ca) treatment during six months. Biochemical parameters were examined before the treatment and sixth month controls. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used for back pain, short form 36 (SF-36) for quality of life, in addition, grading of vertebral fracture severity according to Genant method and SDI evaluation were performed.Results:The mean total alkaline phosphatase, uric acid, and 24-hour urinary Ca values of the patients demonstrated a statistically significant increase after TPTD treatment compared to the pre-treatment level (p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.05; respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in other biochemical markers according to the pre-treatment. A statistically significant increase was observed in the L1-L4 bone mineral density of the patients (p<0.01). After the treatment, there was a statistically significant improvement in SF-36 and VAS values of the patients according to pre-treatment (p<0.01). A statistically significant increase was detected in SDI after TPTD treatment (p<0.01).Conclusion:It has been determined that the treatment of TPTD treatment improves back pain and quality of life by decreasing the risk of new fracture developments in advanced age group and in patients with multiple fractures, however, the expected increase in SDI is still continuing in the present fractures

Oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder co-occurrence increases the risk of Internet addiction in adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Objectives The aims of this cross-sectional study were to assess the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) in a clinical sample of adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to detect the moderating effects of co-occurring oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD) on the association between ADHD and IA. Methods The study group comprised 119 adolescent subjects who were consecutively referred to our outpatient clinic with a diagnosis of ADHD. The Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale (T-DSM-IV-S) was completed by parents, and subjects were asked to complete the Internet Addiction Scale (IAS). Results The IAS results indicated that 63.9% of the participants (n = 76) fell into the IA group. Degree of IA was correlated with hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms but not with inattention symptoms. As compared to the ADHD-only group (without comorbid ODD/CD), ADHD + ODD/CD subjects returned significantly higher scores on the IAS. Conclusions As adolescents with ADHD are at high risk of developing IA, early IA detection and intervention is of great importance for this group. In addition, adolescents with ADHD + ODD/CD may be more vulnerable to IA than those in the ADHD-only group and may need to be more carefully assessed for IA

Supervised learning approaches to flight delay prediction

Delays in flights and other airline operations have significant consequences in quality of service, operational costs, and customer satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to predict the occurrence of delays and take necessary actions accordingly. In this study, we addressed the flight delay prediction problem from a supervised machine learning perspective. Using a realworld airline operations dataset provided by a leading airline company, we identified optimum dataset features for optimum prediction accuracy. In addition, we trained and tested 11 machine learning models on the datasets that we created from the original dataset via feature selection and transformation. CART and KNN showed consistently good performance in almost all cases achieving 0.816 and 0.807 F-Scores respectively. Similarly, GBM, XGB, and LGBM showed very good performance in most of the cases, achieving F-Scores around 0.810. Keywords: air transportation, flight delay prediction, machine learning, data science Mehmet Cemal ATLIOĞLU1 , Mustafa BOLAT1 , Murat ŞAHİN2 , Volkan TUNALI*3 , Deniz KILINÇ 1 Tav Technology, İstanbul, E-Mail: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1289-2715 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8169-0629 2 Manisa Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Technology, E-Mail: [email protected] ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2866-8796 * Corresponding Author: [email protected] 3 Maltepe University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2735-7996 4İzmir Bakırçay University, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture

Türkiye beden eğitimi öğretmenleri çevrim içi öğrenme topluluğu öncüleri mesleki gelişim yansımaları

Amaç: Türkiye’de beden eğitimi ve spor ile alakalı sosyal medya ortamlarında belirli bir takipçiye hitap eden sosyal medya öncülerinin deneyimlerini incelemek amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışma nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden olgu bilim (fenomenoloji) araştırmasıdır. Araştırmaya çevrim içi öğrenme alanında ön plana çıkmış, sosyal medyayı ve çevrim içi öğrenme alanlarını aktif olarak kullanan, yaşları 29 ile 50 arasında değişen, 6 erkek 2 kadın sosyal medya öncüsü 8 beden eğitimi öğretmeni katılmıştır. Veriler, beden eğitimi öğretmenlerinin, pandemi dönemi ve devamında yüz yüze eğitimden kısmen ve tamamen ayrı kaldıkları dönemde çevrim içi öğrenme ortamlarında karşılaştıkları durumları değerlendirmek için açık uçlu sorular kullanılarak çevrim içi ortamlarda toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Uzaktan eğitim sürecinde ve devamında çevrim içi öğrenme topluluklarındaki sosyal medya öncüsü beden eğitimi öğretmenlerinin mesleki gelişim yansımalarını incelemek için yapılan çalışmada 3 farklı seviyede sorular sorulmuştur: Bireysel seviye (içsel ve dışsal), sosyal seviye (yerel okul topluluğu, çevrim içi eğitimci topluluğu), fiziki çevre seviyesi (kültür ve toplum). Sorular çerçevesinde verilen cevaplar analiz edildiğinde 3 tema ortaya çıkmıştır: Mesleki gelişim, çevrim içi davranış, çevrim içi öğrenme. Sonuç: Çevrim içi öğrenme topluluklarına öncülük eden katılımcılar alanla ilgili yaptıkları paylaşımlarla kendilerini ve diğer grup üyelerini güncel tutmakta, grup üyelerinin talep ve isteklerine cevap vermektedirler. Uzaktan eğitim sürecinde daha çok ihtiyaç duyulan çevrim içi gruplarda alanla ilgili planlama ve yönlendirme kısımlarında sorumluluk almışlardır