Mapping human rights to democratic policing through the ECHR

This article examines how human rights relate to democratic policing. We differentiate policing for democracy, which protects democracy, from democratically responsive policing, where police are governed democratically. Using this two-fold distinction to examine European Court of Human Rights cases, we find a close match between Convention rights and policing for democracy. Regarding democratically responsive policing, the Court provides responsiveness within the structural limits of reacting to individual complaints, and as one element in the broader landscape of governance. Further, cases show how that landscape features in Court judgments. We argue that robust enforcement, and careful attention to case law during drafting and implementation of police legislation and governance arrangements, help protect democracy and enhance democratically responsive policing.WOS:000596737400005Emerging Sources Citation IndexArticleAralık2020YÖK - 2020-2

A Cyclic True Triaxial with Rigid-Rigid-Flexible Boundary for Determination of Cross-Anisotropic Nature of Geomaterials

This paper describes a custom-designed Soil Poly-Axial Test System, SPAX-3000, developed to investigate the cross-anisotropic material properties of geomaterials under varying loading conditions. SPAX-3000, a mixed-boundary type of large-scale cyclic true triaxial apparatus (CTTA), is capable of applying a wide range of principal stress combinations on prismatic specimens of dimensions 152 × 152 × 304 mm. Two vertical and two horizontal load actuators on two opposite faces apply principal major (σ1) and intermediate (σ2) stresses independently to evaluate the performance of pavement structures under anisotropic stress states through resilient modulus (MR) testing. SPAX-3000 is controlled through software (CATS Software, provided by the manufacturer to provide advanced digital servo control of stresses and deformations). In this study, SPAX-3000 capabilities were evaluated through MR testing of both isotropic (urethane rubber) and cross-anisotropic materials (base, subbase, and subgrade) for the development of stress histories. The test results showed that SPAX-3000 is capable of determining MR independently of the anisotropy characteristics of the tested materials. Stress-hardening and stress-softening behaviors were observed for the coarse- and fine-grained geomaterials under different loading conditions. Anisotropy ratios (ratio of horizontal MR [MhR] to the vertical MR [MvR]) were determined for the base, subbase, and subgrade materials. MR test results showed that higher MvR results were obtained than that of MhR regardless of the loading conditions. The anisotropy ratios ranged from 0.08 to 0.21, 0.38 to 0.87, and 0.05 to 0.50 for the base, subbase, and subgrade materials, respectively. The highest MvR values (200–590 MPa) were obtained for the base material, whereas subbase material yielded the highest MhR (35–169 MPa). In general, stress-hardening behavior was observed for the geomaterials tested in both directions except for the stiffness of subgrade and subbase materials in the vertical direction.This article is published as C. Aydin, M. Hatipoglu, B. Cetin, and H. Ceylan, “A Cyclic True Triaxial with Rigid-Rigid-Flexible Boundary for Determination of Cross-Anisotropic Nature of Geomaterials,” Geotechnical Testing Journal 46, no. 1 (January/February 2023): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1520/GTJ20220049. Copyright © 2022 by ASTM International. Posted with permission

COVID-19 pandemic effect on female sexual function

Objectives: To determine the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on female sexual functions among Turkish women. Material and methods: The present study was performed by using the previous study data that was conducted before the pandemic to detect female sexual function by using questionnaires. Comparison of Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores in women during and before the pandemic. Participants were asked to fill questionnaire forms again. Results: FSFI scores of the participants were higher before the pandemic, however, this finding was not statistically significant (21.8 vs 21.0, p = 0.27). BAI and BDI scores with high scores accompanied by anxiety and depression were found statistically significantly higher in the study (11.2 vs 13.3, p < 0.01; 10.0 vs 13.7, p < 0.01; respectively). BAI scores had a negative correlation with FSFI scores, however, BDI scores had not a significant correlation with FSFI scores in the present study (p < 0.01, correlation coefficient = –0.302; p = 0.07; correlation coefficient = –0.183; respectively). Conclusions: Pandemic seems not to affect female sexual behavior. However, the pandemic is associated with anxiety and depression

Distance laboratory applications ERRL: A study on radio communication in electronic field

In the last decade, the effect of internet usage in education is gradually increased. When we look from academic perspective, the new technologies provided alternatives for students learning. As distance education becomes important everyday, the indispensable elements of teaching and education, laboratories must be reachable via remote connection. Consequently, the education that is going to be given to the students will be more flexible with respect to place and time constraints and students can reach laboratory facilities at any time and anywhere not only in lectures and practical hours. In this study, European Remote Radio Laboratory (ERRL) which is a distance remote Radio Frequency (RF) laboratory designed for electrical-electronics students, is described generally. The software architecture, infrastructure and experiment that can be done with a remote connection have been described

Selective molecular recognition by nanoscale environments in a supported iridium cluster catalyst

The active sites of enzymes are contained within nanoscale environments that exhibit exquisite levels of specificity to particular molecules. The development of such nanoscale environments on synthetic surfaces, which would be capable of discriminating between molecules that would nominally bind in a similar way to the surface, could be of use in nanosensing, selective catalysis and gas separation. However, mimicking such subtle behaviour, even crudely, with a synthetic system remains a significant challenge. Here, we show that the reactive sites on the surface of a tetrairidium cluster can be controlled by using three calixarene–phosphine ligands to create a selective nanoscale environment at the metal surface. Each ligand is 1.4 nm in length and envelopes the cluster core in a manner that discriminates between the reactivities of the basal-plane and apical iridium atoms. CO ligands are initially present on the clusters and can be selectively removed from the basal-plane sites by thermal dissociation and from the apical sites by reactive decarbonylation with the bulky reactant trimethylamine-N-oxide. Both steps lead to the creation of metal sites that can bind CO molecules, but only the reactive decarbonylation step creates vacancies that are also able to bond to ethylene, and catalyse its hydrogenation

Geographical and temporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 clades in the WHO European Region, January to June 2020

We show the distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) genetic clades over time and between countries and outline potential genomic surveillance objectives. We applied three genomic nomenclature systems to all sequence data from the World Health Organization European Region available until 10 July 2020. We highlight the importance of real-time sequencing and data dissemination in a pandemic situation, compare the nomenclatures and lay a foundation for future European genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Effect of Mannitol Infusion on Optic Nerve Injury After Acute Traumatic Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Brain Injury

The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the neuroprotective and antiinflammatory effects of mannitol on optic nerve injury after acute traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and brain injury in rat models. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (tSAH) were produced by a custom-made weight-drop impact acceleration device. Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups. Group I (n = 10) was the sham group, group II (n = 10) received TBI, and group III (n = 10) received TBI thorn mannitol (1 mg/kg intravenously). Optic nerve tissue glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) levels were measured 4 hours after the trauma. The authors used Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis and Mann-Whitney U tests for statistical analysis. Optic nerve tissue GPx levels were significantly higher in group III than in groups I and II (P<0.05). Optic nerve tissue IL-1 beta levels were significantly lower in group III than in group II (P<0.05) and higher than in group I (P<0.05)