Bir erken Cumhuriyet modernist mimarı: Seyfi Arkan

This article investigates the architectural understanding of an early Turkish Republican era modernist architect, Seyfi Arkan, who was one of the most influential architects between the years of 1930-40. Some documents on Arkan’s private life, the journals entitled Mimar /Arkitekt published in 1931 onwards and other sources that shed light on the era and Arkan’s buildings have been investigated in some detail. Arkan went to Berlin as a graduate student on a scholarship awarded due to his outstanding success as a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in İstanbul. In Berlin, he became a student of Professor Hans Poelzig, who influenced and partially shaped his architectural understanding and practice when he also worked in his office. Upon Atatürk’s invitation Arkan built Çankaya Presidential Residence in the new capital city of the Turkish Republic, Ankara. On his accomplishment he was appointed to build many other official and governmental buildings in Ankara. This made him the brightest and the most influential state architect of the era.  Arkan tragically lost the support of the State and his popularity after Atatürk’s death. Nevertheless, he still continued his modernist architectural designs and buildings without any compromise, even though he encountered various difficulties in his career afterwards. Modern architecture entered Turkey with the designs of foreign architects in 1927. These architects had been selected by the State to construct the prestige buildings in Ankara and to turn the city to a modern capital. Additionally, it became better well-known as a result of a series of publications in professional journals, Mimar/Arkitekt starting from 1931 on. However, modern architecture did not naturally come into picture with its essence that resulted from some economic, socio-cultural, and aesthetic concerns; but rather as the Zeitgeist of the era and as a by-product of the modern revolution and its ideology. In 1930’s, there was a radical change in the architectural paradigm in Turkey. Modern avant-garde movements in the early 20th Century in the West, namely movements before Bauhaus, were never influential and never exercised in the Turkish architectural practice. The main concern was to construct Ankara, the capital city of the new Nation-State, as a prestige project rather than constructing residential buildings. Since a modern capital was essential for the new republic, modern architecture was preferred. The problems of Turkish architecture in that era were numerous: Preference of foreign architects to conduct the prestige project, thus demoting Turkish architects’ status to a secondary position, lack of autonomy in the context of architecture, the existence of economic and technical problems were among these problems.  Arkan’s architecture is not like other modernist architects of the era abroad. Arkan’s architecture differed from others in the sense that it did not consist of a national identity characteristic which can be detected at first glance. For example, unlike in the case of Arkan, Aalto’s architecture contains influences from both his Finnish background and modernism, and Barragan’s architecture reflects both his Mexican origin and modernist tradition.  Arkan preferred universal architectural principles over local ones although he had a few architectural works, in which he synthesized universal and local architectural features. Arkan’s buildings are representatives of various interpretations from International style, to classicist characteristics, local and authentic variations, as well as Deco aesthetic, and modernist styles. Arkan’s attitude was that of an architect’s who softened the canonical components of the orthodox modern architecture, combining them with already existing conditions and Deco aesthetic interpretations through his professional experience and empathy. Arkan was an architect who was well aware of the fact that modernism was a project which attempted to grasp the spirit of the era. Yet, it is difficult to understand the intellectual background of his architectural designs. The most important factor that gives his designs their spirit was his commitment to the idea of total design. Arkan reflected this attitude in his designs from the smallest artifacts to the larger scale designs like the building itself.  This can be observed in nearly all of his modernist buildings. Arkan’s projects, which might appear to be stereotypical in the context of the Western architecture, are not at all stereotypical in Turkish architecture. In fact, Arkan’s attempts are considered to be more valuable than solely reducing modern architecture to principles and replicating one building after another. Keywords: Seyfı Arkan, modernism, modern architecture: 1930-40.    Bu makalede Erken Cumhuriyet döneminin modernist mimarı olan ve 1930-40 yılları arasındaki yapılarıyla döneme imzasını atmış olan Seyfi Arkan’ın bu aralıktaki yaşamı, eğitimi ve mimarlık anlayışı ele alınacaktır. Arkan’ın özel yaşamına ilişkin çeşitli dökümanlar ile 1931’den itibaren dö-neme ışık tutan Mimar / Arkitekt dergileri, diğer kaynaklar ve Arkan’ın yapıları incelenmiştir. Ar-kan’ın profesyonel kariyeri ve özel yaşamı oldukça trajiktir. Yabancı mimarların Türkiye’deki pro-jeler kapsamında çok gözde olduğu bir devirde Arkan’ın şansı, diğer Türk mimarlarının tersine devlet tarafından görevlendirilmesi olmuştur. Atatürk’ün ölümü sonrası resmi desteğin azalmasıyla yapı etkinliği de azalmaya başlamıştır. Yine de, modernist çizgisini ve yapı etkinliğini sıkıntılarla da olsa ödünsüz sürdürmüştür. Türkiye’de modern mimari Batı’daki gelişiminden daha farklı bir biçimde gelişmiştir. Batı’nın 1930’lar öncesi yaşadığı avangard dönemini Türkiye yaşamamıştır.  Modern mimari, Batı’dakinin tersine Türkiye’ye bir devlet politikası olarak tepeden inme biçimde girmiştir. Bu bağlamda Türkiye’de her alanda ağırlığı hissedilen 1930-40’lı yıllar arası modern mimariye sadece Batı’nın geçirdiği evreler açısından bakmak Türk mimarisi için tek açıklayıcı ölçüt olamaz. Arkan’ın mimarlık anlayışı, bazı yapılarında uluslararası üslubun tasarım ilkeleri doğrultusunda geliştirildiyse de bazı yapılarının biçimlenişinde klasisist, yerel ve Deco estetik tavırlar görülür. Bu bağlamda Arkan mimarlığı uzlaşmacı ve yumuşatılmış bir modernizmdir. Batı modern mimarisi ile kıyaslanırsa, belki stereotipik gibi görünen Seyfi Arkan’ın projeleri Türk mimarisi özelinde stereotipik değildir.  Anahtar Kelimeler: Seyfi Arkan, modernizm,1930-40 yıllarında modern mimarlık

Comprehensive investigation of the extremely low lattice thermal conductivity and thermoelectric properties of BaIn2Te4

Recently, an extremely low lattice thermal conductivity value has been reported for the alkali-based telluride material BaIn2Te4. The value is comparable with low-thermal conductivity metal chalcogenides, and the glass limit is highly intriguing. Therefore, to shed light on this issue, we performed first-principles phonon thermal transport calculations. We predicted highly anisotropic lattice thermal conductivity along different directions via the solution of the linearized phonon Boltzmann transport equation. More importantly, we determined several different factors as the main sources of the predicted ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of this crystal, such as the strong interactions between low-frequency optical phonons and acoustic phonons, small phonon group velocities, and lattice anharmonicity indicated by large negative mode Gruneisen parameters. Along with thermal transport calculations, we also investigated the electronic transport properties by accurately calculating the scattering mechanisms, namely the acoustic deformation potential, ionized impurity, and polar optical scatterings. The inclusion of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) for electronic structure is found to strongly affect the p-type Seebeck coefficients. Finally, we calculated the thermoelectric properties accurately, and the optimal ZT value of p-type doping, which originated from high Seebeck coefficients, was predicted to exceed unity after 700 K and have a direction averaged value of 1.63 (1.76 in the y-direction) at 1000 K around 2 x 1020 cm-3 hole concentration. For n-type doping, a ZT around 3.2 x 1019 cm-3 concentration was predicted to be a direction-averaged value of 1.40 (1.76 in the z-direction) at 1000 K, mostly originating from its high electron mobility. With the experimental evidence of high thermal stability, we showed that the BaIn2Te4 compound has the potential to be a promising mid- to high-temperature thermoelectric material for both p-type and n-type systems with appropriate doping.Eskisehir Technical University [ESTU-BAP 22ADP150]C.S. acknowledges the support from the Eskisehir Technical University (ESTU-BAP 22ADP150). The numerical calculations reported in this paper were partially performed at TUBITAK ULAKBIM, High Performance and Grid Computing Center (TRUBA resources)

Recent Advances in Health Biotechnology During Pandemic

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in 2019, cut the epoch that will make profound fluctuates in the history of the world in social, economic, and scientific fields. Urgent needs in public health have brought with them innovative approaches, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. To exceed the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, various scientific authorities in the world have procreated advances in real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based diagnostic tests, rapid diagnostic kits, the development of vaccines for immunization, and the purposing pharmaceuticals for treatment. Diagnosis, treatment, and immunization approaches put for- ward by scientific communities are cross-fed from the accrued knowledge of multidisciplinary sciences in health biotechnology. So much so that the pandemic, urgently prioritized in the world, is not only viral infections but also has been the pulsion in the development of novel approaches in many fields such as diagnosis, treatment, translational medicine, virology, mi- crobiology, immunology, functional nano- and bio-materials, bioinformatics, molecular biol- ogy, genetics, tissue engineering, biomedical devices, and artificial intelligence technologies. In this review, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of various scientific areas of health biotechnology are discussed

Real-world efficacy and safety of Ledipasvir plus Sofosbuvir and Ombitasvir/Paritaprevir/Ritonavir +/- Dasabuvir combination therapies for chronic hepatitis C: A Turkish experience

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the real-life efficacy and tolerability of direct-acting antiviral treatments for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with/without cirrhosis in the Turkish population.Material and Methods: A total of 4,352 patients with CHC from 36 different institutions in Turkey were enrolled. They received ledipasvir (LDV) and sofosbuvir (SOF)+/- ribavirin (RBV) ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir +/- dasabuvir (PrOD)+/- RBV for 12 or 24 weeks. Sustained virologic response (SVR) rates, factors affecting SVR, safety profile, and hepatocellular cancer (HCC) occurrence were analyzed.Results: SVR12 was achieved in 92.8% of the patients (4,040/4,352) according to intention-to-treat and in 98.3% of the patients (4,040/4,108) according to per-protocol analysis. The SVR12 rates were similar between the treatment regimens (97.2%-100%) and genotypes (95.6%-100%). Patients achieving SVR showed a significant decrease in the mean serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels (50.90 +/- 54.60 U/L to 17.00 +/- 14.50 U/L) and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores (7.51 +/- 4.54 to 7.32 +/- 3.40) (p<0.05). Of the patients, 2 were diagnosed with HCC during the treatment and 14 were diagnosed with HCC 37.0 +/- 16.0 weeks post-treatment. Higher initial MELD score (odds ratio [OR]: 1.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22-2.38; p=0.023]), higher hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.31-2.28; p=0.038), and higher serum ALT levels (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.21-1.83; p=0.042) were associated with poor SVR12. The most common adverse events were fatigue (12.6%), pruritis (7.3%), increased serum ALT (4.7%) and bilirubin (3.8%) levels, and anemia (3.1%).Conclusion: LDV/SOF or PrOD +/- RBV were effective and tolerable treatments for patients with CHC and with or without advanced liver disease before and after liver transplantation. Although HCV eradication improves the liver function, there is a risk of developing HCC.Turkish Association for the Study of The Liver (TASL

İstanbul’un göç olayı ve etnik hayat üzerine

İstanbul yüzyıllardan beri tüm dünyada önem sahibi bir şehir olmuştur. Gerek başkentlik yaptığı yıllar gerekse günümüzde bu önem hiç azalmamıştır. Ve bu yüzden sürekli göç olaylarına maruz kalmış olup nüfusu sürekli artmıştır. Bunun nedenleri dönemler içinde değişse de İstanbul büyük şehir olmaktan hiç vazgeçmemiştir. Ekonomik, siyasi ve kültürel açıdan gelişiminde nüfus hep ön planda olmuştur. Türkiye’nin en hızlı nüfus artışına sahip olan şehir yerli ve yabancı her kesimin görmek istediği yer olmuştur. İstanbul nüfusunda İstanbul dışı doğumlular daha büyük paya sahiptir. Bu da hızlı nüfus artışı olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Şehir hızlı nüfus artışa bağlı olarak bazı sorunlar yaşamaktadır. Alt yapı, ihtiyaçların yeterli düzeyde karşılanamaması gibi sorunlar dönemler içinde değişikliğe uğrasa da varlıklarını hep korumuştur

Türkiye’deki Suriyeli mültecilerin eğitimi: uygulamadan yansıyanlar

Günümüz dünyasının en önemli sorunlarından biri savaşlar ve savaşların kaçınılmaz sonuçları arasında yer alan mültecilik sorunudur. Türkiye, sahip olduğu coğrafi konumdan ötürü dünyada en çok mülteci nüfusu barındıran ülkelerden biridir. Bu mültecilerin büyük bir çoğunluğunu ise sayıları yaklaşık üç buçuk milyonu bulan Suriyeli mülteciler oluşturmaktadır. Mültecilerin barınma ve beslenme gibi temel ihtiyaçlarının yanı sıra eğitim ihtiyaçları da Türkiye tarafından büyük bir özveri ile yerine getirilmeye çalışılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada Türkiye'de bulunan Suriyeli mülteci çocuklara eğitim veren Türk öğretmenlerin görüşlerinin alınması ve mülteci çocukların eğitimine yönelik çeşitli öneriler getirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Nitel araştırma yöntemine göre tasarlanan bu çalışmada veriler, yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşmelerle toplanmış, veri toplama aracı olarak ise araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen ve on beş sorudan oluşan görüşme formu kullanılmıştır. Görüşmelerden elde edilen veriler ise içerik analizi ile analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada, mülteci çocuklara eğitim veren öğretmenlerin daha önce mültecilik ile ilgili bir bilgiye sahip olmadıkları, lisans eğitimleri süresince mülteci eğitimine yönelik uzun ve nitelikli bir eğitim sürecinden geçmeyip sadece mezun olduktan hemen sonra iki haftalık bir eğitimle mülteci çocuklara eğitim verdikleri, eğitim ortamında Suriye uyruklu diğer öğretmenler ile kurulan iletişimde cinsiyetin önemli bir engel teşkil ettiği, kültürel farklılıkların ve eğitim sistemi farklılıklarının mülteci çocukların eğitiminde diğer önemli engeller arasında olduğu, öğrencilerin pek çoğunda akran zorbalığı gibi şiddete dayalı davranış bozukluklarının ve psikolojik sorunların görüldüğü, özellikle de çatışma ortamına tanıklık etmiş öğrencilerin duygusal ihtiyaçlarının giderilmesinin gerektiği gibi bulgulara ulaşılmıştır