Energy conservation in the residential sector:The role of policy and market forces

In recent years, energy conservation has been a hot topic of debate among policy makers and researchers due to the concerns about global climate change and energy dependency. From a policy perspective, residential sector has been an important target for energy conservation policies as it is a major contributor to the total energy consumption and has a high potential for saving energy through efficiency measures. This dissertation focuses on three main research topics that are associated to the assessment and design of residential energy conservation policies. The first chapter investigates the impact of residential energy efficiency policies on household energy consumption. The second chapter examines the magnitude of rebound effect in residential energy consumption. Finally, the last chapter investigates the capitalization of energy efficiency in the housing market and examines the impact of Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) on the capitalization rate

Environmental urbanization assessment using gis and multicriteria decision analysis: a case study for Denizli (Turkey) municipal area

In recent years, life quality of the urban areas is a growing interest of civil engineering. Environmental quality is essential to display the position of sustainable development and asserts the corresponding countermeasures to the protection of environment. Urban environmental quality involves multidisciplinary parameters and difficulties to be analyzed. The problem is not only complex but also involves many uncertainties, and decision-making on these issues is a challenging problem which contains many parameters and alternatives inherently. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a very prepotent technique to solve that sort of problems, and it guides the users confidence by synthesizing that information. Environmental concerns frequently contain spatial information. Spatial multicriteria decision analysis (SMCDA) that includes Geographic Information System (GIS) is efficient to tackle that type of problems. This study has employed some geographic and urbanization parameters to assess the environmental urbanization quality used by those methods. The study area has been described in five categories: very favorable, favorable, moderate, unfavorable, and very unfavorable. The results are momentous to see the current situation, and they could help to mitigate the related concerns. The study proves that the SMCDA descriptions match the environmental quality perception in the city. © 2018 Erdal Akyol et al

Corporate Sector Financial Structure in Turkey : A Descriptive Analysis

This paper presents and discusses some stylised facts of the corporate sector financial structure in Turkey using the Company Sector Accounts compiled by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT). The findings of the paper suggest that non-financial firms in Turkey have been heavily exposed almost all of the basic balance sheet risks. The corporate sector appears to be excessively leveraged with relatively lower asset tangibility creating also a credit risk for the lenders. The firms rely heavily on foreign currency denominated and short-term debt instruments making them vulnerable to both exchange rate and interest rate shocks through currency and maturity mismatches. The corporate sector can be characterised as financially constrained as the deepening of the Turkish bank-based financial system is rather low and the bank credits to the private sector tend to be crowded out by the mode of domestic debt finance. The corporate sector vulnerabilities to maturity, interest rate and currency risks are found to be improving with the firm size. With the relatively stable macroeconomic environment and stricter prudential regulation on the financial system, the corporate sector balance sheet risks, albeit still are at high levels, tend to be improving after the financial crisis of 2001.Balance sheets, Capital structure, Corporate sector, Debt composition, Financial crowding-out, Liability dollarisation, Turkey

Antibacterial and Washing Resistance Improvement of Cotton Fabric Using Some Metal Oxides

Cu2O, CuO, ZnO-microparticles with different size and morphology directly influences their antimicrobial potential. In this study, the possible improvement of the antibacterial and washing resistance up to 20 washing cycles performance of 100% cotton fabrics were investigated. At high temperatures, carboxylic acids form ester-type crosslinking with cellulose molecules and provide antibacterial activity. For this purpose, carboxylic acids such as BTCA and CA were used in this study.The purpose of this research was to evaluate 1,2,3,4-butantetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) and citric acid monohydrate (CA) as an crosslinking agent for washing resistance of 100% cotton textile substrates against, Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 43300), Bacillus subtilis (NRRL NRS -744), Escherichia coli (ATCC 35218) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 70063). Cupper oxide and zinc oxide were assimilated in the coating bath for the antibacterial property. BTCA concentration in the solutions influenced the antibacterial and washing properties of the cotton fabrics. The Fourier Transform Infra-Red -Attenuated Total Reflection (FTIR-ATR) spectra showed a new summit that confirmed the ester linkage formation and crosslinking reaction for application.Namik Kemal University Scientific Research Projects CommissionNamik Kemal University [NKUBAP.06, 16.064]This work was supported by the Namik Kemal University Scientific Research Projects Commission (NKUBAP.06.GA.16.064

Monostotic fibrous dysplasia involving occipital bone: a case report and review of literature

Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a progressive systemic bone tumour of young and it can be seen on cranial  bones. FD is divided into three types according to radiological features. The second most common  subtype is polyostotic subtype. With this article, we aimed to review and present clinical features, radiological examination, differential diagnosis and treatment management of a case of solitary  monostotic fibrous dysplasia of occipital bone. 15 years old female patient admitted to our hospital for a bump and in the back of his head that she  noticed 1 month ago. Her physical and neurological examination was normal. On cranial CT examination we detected a bony defect. Her gadolinium enhanced cranial MRI revealed bony defect along with massive  gadolinium enhancement in adjacent tissue. On histopathologic examination; PANCK, CD68, CD1a were found negative and CD45, S-100, Vimentine were found positive. Ki-67 was 4,8%. In conclusion, fibrous dysplasia is a progressive bone disease of the young patients. Despite its resemblance to a benign lesion by not being symptomatic it can progress and cause severe bony defects and skin lesions. Total surgical resection is  necessary and sufficient for total treatment.Key words: Fibrous dysplasia, cystic, cranial, monostotic, occipital, traum

The Effects of Biomechanical Factors to Teach Different Hook Punch Techniques in Boxing and Education Strategies

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of biomechanic factors to teach different hook punches in boxing. Eight light middleweight boxing athletes (mean age±SD 19.00±2.00 yrs, mean height±SD 173.88±3.89 cm, mean weight±SD 64.25±4.66 kg) participated in this study. Athletes performed a trial using three different hook punch techniques on a sandbag. The techniques were recorded using eight cameras using a frequency of 120 Hz. Qualisys Track Manager was used to analysis on motion. Mean acceleration of the sandbag, stride length, angles of the knee, shoulder, and elbow were calculated. The forces of impact were also calculated. Hook punch data were compared with Friedman test using SPSS 20.0. The results indicated a significant difference was found only in stride length. Stride length using a southpaw stance was shorter than the other stances (p<0.05). Athletes need more practice increasing stride length and use a repeating method in Mitt workout, models, sandbag trainings, self- monitoring and regional trainings

Work motivation and related demographic factors in unemployed patients with schizophrenia

Objective: Working rate in patients with schizophrenia is considerably low. Nonetheless, unemployed patients might have desire to work and look for a job. Identifying the reasons underlying the patients' work motivation and related factors can be instructive for the vocational rehabilitation services. The purpose of this study was to determine the reasons for work motivation and to identify the predictors of motivation in unemployed patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Sociodemographic and working life information of 379 unemployed patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder diagnosed for at least two years was collected from six different centers. The patients were questioned about their desire to work and its reasons. Having desire to work and job seeking behavior together was considered as work motivation. Patients with and without having work motivation were compared regarding to their sociodemographic information and illness characteristics. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to find the factors predicting the work motivation. Results: The participants' mean age was 42, level of education was nine years, duration of illness was 18 years, and majority consisted of males and single patients. It was found that 33% of the patients were motivated to work. While distinct underlying reasons of the work motivation were found as financial needs (45%) and will for independent living (35%), idea of not being able to deal with the requirements of the job (66%) and not receiving social welfare payment (24%) were dominant in patients who weren't motivated to work. The predictors of work motivation were found as male gender (OR=2.0), having a profession (OR=2.0), having work experience after the illness (OR=1.2), level of education (OR=1.1), and duration of illness (OR=0.9). Conclusion: We found that one-third of unemployed patients with schizophrenia have work motivation as an important finding. The patients may feel more comfortable and motivated to work if they would continue to receive social welfare payment after they started a job. It could be concluded patients who have a profession, high level of education, previous job experience, and who are at the early stage of their illness are suitable candidates for the vocational rehabilitation services

A nutritional evaluation of the berry of a new grape: 'Karaerik' (Vitis vinifera L.)

Grape berries are a good source of nutrients and nutraceuticals and have many benefits for human health. Growing interest in the export potential and consumption of a new grape (cv. Karaerik), cultivated as a table grape in Turkey, encouraged us to profile its major nutrient contents from six different locations. Due to its popularity, the nutritional value of this grape berry needs to be investigated to ascertain its potential economic and health benefits. The most abundant sugars in the grape berry were fructose and glucose (peel/whole fruit; averages 236.57 and 127.87, and 183.36 and 108.60 (g kg-1 fresh weight), respectively), while the major organic acids were tartaric and malic acids (7.17 and 2.81, and 2.61 and 1.76(g kg-1 fresh weight), respectively). Linoleic acid (peel/whole fruit/seed; 37.14, 33.12 and 57.83%, respectively) was the predominant fatty acid, while potassium (peel/whole fruit/seed; 9331.5, 10226.33 and 5354 mg/g dry weight, respectively) was the predominant mineral, followed by phosphorus (1592.8, 2672 and 3072.67) in the berry. Our results demonstrate that the nutrient components and physicochemical parameters varied significantly among the sampling locations. The grape berry contains considerable quantities of potentially beneficial healthy nutrients worthy of further evaluation