Criteria for a "good" urbanrenewal project: The case of Kadifekale Urban Renewal Project (İzmir, Turkey)

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, City and Regional Planning, Izmir, 2009Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 121-127)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishx, 130 leavesUrban renewal project strategies such as; urban rehabilitation, urban redevelopment, urban revitalization, urban regeneration have been taking an important place in the public discussions and urban planning agenda especially for the last two decades. Because urban renewal projects that have been applied in various urban areas such as; urban decline areas, disaster prone areas, squatter housing areas, old, historical quarters of cities not only causing changes in the physical structure of cities, they are also affecting the social, economic and environmental dynamics in the built environment. These widespread applications bring out questions whether the urban renewal projects are good or not. The aim of the study is to develop criteria for a good urban renewal project.Thus, this thesis assesses the urban renewal projects in terms of planning outcome (physical, economic, social, environmental criteria) and planning process. The case of the thesis is the on the on-going .Kadifekale Urban Renewal Project (KURP). in Izmir and the study tries to answer the question whether KURP is a good urban renewal project depending on the developed set of criteria.Key Words: Urban Renewal, Criteria for a Good Urban Renewal Project

Optimal Status Updating with a Finite-Battery Energy Harvesting Source

We consider an energy harvesting source equipped with a finite battery, which needs to send timely status updates to a remote destination. The timeliness of status updates is measured by a non-decreasing penalty function of the Age of Information (AoI). The problem is to find a policy for generating updates that achieves the lowest possible time-average expected age penalty among all online policies. We prove that one optimal solution of this problem is a monotone threshold policy, which satisfies (i) each new update is sent out only when the age is higher than a threshold and (ii) the threshold is a non-increasing function of the instantaneous battery level. Let $\tau_B$ denote the optimal threshold corresponding to the full battery level $B$, and $p(\cdot)$ denote the age-penalty function, then we can show that $p(\tau_B)$ is equal to the optimum objective value, i.e., the minimum achievable time-average expected age penalty. These structural properties are used to develop an algorithm to compute the optimal thresholds. Our numerical analysis indicates that the improvement in average age with added battery capacity is largest at small battery sizes; specifically, more than half the total possible reduction in age is attained when battery storage increases from one transmission's worth of energy to two. This encourages further study of status update policies for sensors with small battery storage.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Achieving the Age-Energy Tradeoff with a Finite-Battery Energy Harvesting Source

We study the problem of minimizing the time-average expected Age of Information for status updates sent by an energy-harvesting source with a finite-capacity battery. In prior literature, optimal policies were observed to have a threshold structure under Poisson energy arrivals, for the special case of a unit-capacity battery. In this paper, we generalize this result to any (integer) battery capacity, and explicitly characterize the threshold structure. We obtain tools to derive the optimal policy for arbitrary energy buffer (i.e. battery) size. One of these results is the unexpected equivalence of the minimum average AoI and the optimal threshold for the highest energy state

Effect of various beverages on adhesion of repaired CAD/CAM restorative materials

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of commonly consumed beverages on the bond strength of three different computer-aided design-computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) resin-ceramic hybrid materials repaired with resin-based composite (RBC) materials. (2) Materials and Methods: Rectangular prism specimens (N = 138) measuring 6 mm x 5 mm x 2 mm were obtained from GC Cerasmart (GC), Lava Ultimate (LU), and Vita Enamic (VE) blocks. These blocks were polished and then subjected to thermal cycling (10,000 cycles, 5 & DEG;C to 55 & DEG;C). After the surface treatment was applied, the average surface roughness value was measured. All the surfaces were repaired with RBC. Thermal cycling was performed for the second time. Each group was then distributed into three subgroups according to the beverage used: tea (t), cola (c), and distilled water (0) (n = 15). The specimens were stored in these solutions for 28 days and then subjected to the shear bond strength (SBS) test. Statistical analysis was performed using a two-way ANOVA test with Bonferroni adjustment. (3) Results: The surface roughness of the materials presented no significant difference after different surface treatments (p > 0.05). No significant difference was observed among the materials (p > 0.05). Tea and cola presented similar SBS values (p > 0.05). Both were significantly lower than distilled water (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). (4) Conclusions: Consumption of beverages reduces the bond strength in surfaces repaired with RBC to CAD/CAM resin-ceramic hybrid materials. (5) Clinical Significance: Repairing damaged resin matrix dental restorations with RBC is advantageous in terms of time and cost by achieving adequate bond strengths. Frequently consumed beverages reduce the bond strength of repaired CAD/CAM resin-ceramic hybrid materials

DMBA ile Meme Kanseri Oluşturulmuş Sıçanlarda Artan Uterus Doku Hasarı Çinko ve Melatonin Desteğiyle Önlenir

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı dişi sıçanlarda DMBA ile oluşturulmuş meme kanserinde çinko ile melatonin uygulamasının uterus dokusundaki lipit peroksidasyonu üzerine olan etkilerinin araştırılmasıdır.Gereç ve Yöntem: Wistar cinsi sütten yeni kesilmiş toplam 42 adet dişi sıçan kullanılan araştırmada hayvanlar 5 gruba ayrıldı: Grup 1 Kontrol, Grup 2 DMBA Kontrol, Grup 3 DMBA+Çinko, Grup 4 DMBA+Melatonin, Grup 5 DMBA+Melatonin ve Çinko. Grup 1 dışındaki hayvanlara meme kanseri oluşturmak için kolza yağı kanola içinde 80 mg/kg dozunda DMBA gavaj yoluyla verildi. Çinko ve melatonin uygulanan gruplara 5 mg/kg/gün dozunda ip çinko, melatonin ve çinko+melatonin 4 hafta boyunca verildi. Hayvanlardan alınan uterus doku örneklerinde MDA malondialdehid ve GSH glutatyon düzeylerispektrofotometrik yöntemle tayin edildi.Bulgular: En yüksek uterus MDA seviyeleri DMBA ile meme kanseri oluşturulmuş kontrol G2 grubunda elde edildi

Age and sex-based distribution of lumbar multifidus muscle atrophy and coexistence of disc hernia: an MRI study of 2028 patients

PURPOSEWe aimed to investigate the prevalence of lumbar multifidus muscle (LMM) atrophy in patients having mechanical low back pain with and without disc hernia.METHODSIn total, 2028 lumbar magnetic resonance imaging scans of low back pain patients (age range, 18–88 years) were re-evaluated retrospectively. LMM atrophy was visually assessed in axial sections of L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels.RESULTSLMM atrophy prevalence at both levels was significantly higher in subjects ≥40 years compared with younger adults (P < 0.001). LMM atrophy was significantly more frequent in women than in men (P < 0.001). Among patients with low back pain without hernia, LMM atrophy was significantly more frequent than normal muscle (n=559 vs. n=392; P < 0.001). Frequency of LMM atrophy in low back pain patients without disc hernia was 13%. Hernia was more frequent in patients with LMM atrophy compared with patients without atrophy (P < 0.001).CONCLUSIONLMM atrophy is more common in women; its prevalence and severity are observed to increase with advancing age, and disc hernia is found more frequently in individuals with LMM atrophy

The Effect of Prevention For Peer Bullying in Secondary School

DergiPark: 481899tmsjAims: Peer bullying is a frequent problem among adolescents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of complementary prevention for peer bullying in 11-14-year-old adolescents with family, teacher, student collaboration and to assess the effect of peer bullying on the quality of life. Methods: Seven hundred sixty students registered in school between ages 11-14, and who accepted to participate in the study were included in our investigation. Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory were used as data collection tools in the study. After the pre-test, school teachers and two selected students from each class; a total of 48 students were trained in peer bullying in small group. Interactive awareness activities were organized for the students at the school with all trained students and teachers to raise awareness of peer bullying. Afterwards, information brochures were distributed to the children and parents. 3 weeks after the training post-test was applied. The statistical evaluation of the study was carried out by using Chi-square and Student’s t-tests. Results: The questions about bullying and victimization were analyzed. In the study, the rate of victim students reduced from 43.2% to 30.4%; the rate of bully students reduced from 23.4% to 21.7%. There was a significant reduction in the rate of people involved in peer bullying. Nevertheless, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory assessment of health-related quality of life in our group showed that the quality of life of students who were not involved in peer bullying was significantly higher. After our training, quality of life significantly increased in students who were not involved in bullying, compared to the ones who are involved in bullying. Conclusion: In our study group, it was observed that the quality of life of students who were not involved in peer bullying was significantly higher. The number of people involved in peer bullying decreased significantly. The low number of invalid surveys revealed that our research was successful in attracting the attention of the target group

Relapsed refractory multiple myeloma with CNS involvement successfully treated with Elranatamab: First reported case

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in multiple myeloma (MM) is a rare and challenging complication associated with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Emerging T-cell directing therapies, such as bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) and chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T), have shown remarkable success in treating MM, but their efficacy in CNS involvement remains unclear. Elranatamab, a humanized bispecific antibody targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and CD3-expressing T cells, has demonstrated promising results in relapsed refractory MM. However, its efficacy in treating CNS-MM has not been reported. We present a case of a 37-year-old male MM patient with CNS involvement who has been successfully treated with Elranatamab

Factors associated with substance use among preclinical medical students in Turkey: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Medical students experience high levels of stress due to their rigorous training, which can negatively affect their mental health. This study aimed to investigate substance use habits of medical students at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa and the association on their mental health and demographic factors. Methods: This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in March-April 2022 among preclinical medical students (years 1-3 of a 6-year program). A confidential, anonymous online survey consisting of four sections on sociodemographic and educational characteristics, nicotine use and dependence [Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND)], alcohol use [Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT)], mental health status [12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)], was distributed to 1131 students via WhatsApp and Telegram text messages. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests compared variables’ distribution in the questionnaire categories. Spearman's correlation assessed associations between scales. Significance was p &lt; 0.05. Results: The study included 190 medical students. A total of 26.3% of the participants were smokers, with 8.4% showing moderate to high levels of nicotine dependence. An estimated 45.8% and 8.4% reported low-risk consumption and risky usage of alcohol, respectively. There were statistically significant associations between substance use and demographic factors such as sex, GPA, and religious belief. The study found a statistically significant correlation between FTND scores and GHQ-12 scores, and, between FTND scores and AUDIT scores. Conclusion: The findings of this study will inform the development of interventions to improve the mental health and academic performance of medical students at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa. Furthermore, it will raise awareness about the importance of addressing substance use among medical students in Turkey