A rare cause of recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax: Birt-hogg-dube syndrome

Birt-Hogg-Dube (BHD) syndrome is an unusual disorder characterized by the triad of cutaneous lesions, renal tumors and lung cysts. In cases with BHD syndrome, the frequency of recurrent pneumothorax is increased due to presence of multiple lung cysts. It is important to evaluate the BHD syndrome in differential diagnosis of recurrent pneumothorax especially with multiple lung cysts predominating in the lung base. In these patients, the presence of accompanying kidney and other tumors should be investigated. Herein, we report a case of BHD syndrome presenting with recurrent pneumothorax. © 2018 by Turkish Thoracic Society

Visa trial of international trade: evidence from support vector machines and neural networks

International trade depends on networking, interaction and in-person meetings which stimulate cross-border travels. The countries are seeking policies to encourage inbound mobility to support bilateral trade, tourism, and foreign direct investments. Some nations have been implementing liberal visa regimes as an important part of facilitating policies in view of security concerns. Turkey has been among the nations introducing liberal visa policies to support trade in the last decade and recorded significant increases in the volumes of exports. In this paper, we employed machine learning methodologies, Support vector machines (SVM) and Neural networks (NN), to investigate the facilitating impact of liberal visa policies on bilateral trade, using the export data from Turkey for the period of 2000–2014. The research disentangled the variables that have the strongest impact on trade utilizing SVM and NN models and exhibited that visa policies have significant impacts on the bilateral trade. More relaxed visa policies are recommended for the countries in the pursuit of increasing exports

The Role of Spatial Ability on Architecture Education

Spatial ability is one of the most important key points for technical professions such as architects and engineers and is directly related with the success in educational and professional business life. In this regard, “Techniques of Architectural Presentation”, a first semester architectural department course at Gebze Technical University, aims to provide these skills through a variety of techniques such as two-dimensional, three-dimensional representations and models. In this study, the contribution of this course on spatial skills were researched considering students' spatial experiences and innate abilities before architectural education. Pre-test and post-test research were applied and analysed with Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) version 18 software. The pre-test and post-test results have concluded that significant progression was seen between spatial visualisation-spatial perception and spatial orientation tests, while no significant progression was seen between mental rotation and spatial relation- mental rotation tests. The evaluation of the data indicates that the mentioned course is highly effective in the development of spatial skills in total and in the context of spatial visualisation and spatial orientation and the skills can be enhanced by training. Therefore, the syllabus of the course needs to be improved in terms of mental rotation and spatial relation

A Review of 2625 Isolated Hydrocele Cases in Children

Introduction: Inguinal hernias and hydroceles are the most frequently performed procedures in pediatric surgery departments. In this study, we aimed to define the spontaneous regression rate in different types of  hydroceles, the regression age, the timing of surgery, and the optimal treatment approaches for each hydrocele type in cases with isolated hydroceles in children.Material &Methods: This historical cohort study included 2625 patients which were admitted between January 2004 and December 2012. The hydroceles were classified as: ‘non-communicating hydroceles’, ‘communicating hydroceles’, ‘spermatic cord hydroceles’ and ‘abdomino-scrotal hydroceles’ (ASH). Patients were divided into two groups with regard to their ages at diagnosis as follows: those presenting in the newborn period and before 24 months of age (Younger– Group 1) and those presenting after 24 months of age (Older – Group 2). Determining the type of isolated hydrocele, the decision making for follow-up or surgery, and the follow-up period were conducted by 7 attending pediatric surgeons and 6 residents. Results: In Group 1, 93% of 1086 non-communicating hydroceles, 40% of 158 cord hydroceles, and 15% of 34 communicating hydroceles resolved during the follow-up, and the remaining patients with each type of hydrocele underwent surgery. In Group 2, 8.7% of 183 non-communicating hydroceles resolved during the follow-up.Conclusion: The primary treatment of patients with isolated hydrocele should be decided regarding the type of hydrocele, along with age at admission, and accordingly, conservative or surgical treatment should be considered

Research on Expectations of Generations for Management Policies

This study is intended to determine difference in perception of management between generations in business life and reveal expectations regarding to proper leadership styles based on such perception. The survey prepared under the study has been applied to 964 people in the Marmara Region and analyzed in SPPS 21 statispackaged software. The survey is designed to determine generations’ expectations of business conditions and personality traits with two question groups. First, with ANOVA testing, it has been etermined whether answers given to each item by generations have a significant difference in between. Then, answers given to scaling questions by generations have been subjected to distribution analysis by departments, and Two-Way MANOVE test has been used to analyze how the variables of generation and department vary by each item in the scale and whether or not there is a significant difference between them. As the result of the analysis, management perceptions and expectations for leadership styles of all generations have been similar to characteristics determined for Generation Y irrespective of age or experience. It has been concluded that management perception among generations and work life order in Turkey is not parallelwith the Western societies in this respect

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Turkey and an Analysis in the Context of Turkish Higher Education

Open and distance learning has evolved on the basis of openness philosophy in education and benefited from various approaches to this philosophy. Different MOOC platforms have emerged in Turkey as a reflection of these developments. The main purpose of this study is to examine MOOCs in the context of Turkish higher education. For this purpose, by adopting the qualitative embedded single case design, the Akadema, AtademiX and Bilge Is MOOC platforms were examined. The findings indicate that MOOCs successfully serve the universal ideals such as offering equal opportunities in education, democratization of education, and liberation of knowledge in Turkey. Besides, MOOCs were found to contribute to adapting to the changes paralleling the transformations in the globalizing world and in the digital knowledge age; strengthening communication and cooperation channels between the society, industry and university; and finally, fostering social justice with an inclusive approach by increasing operational capabilities in diverse educational domains

GPS Velocity and Strain Rate Fields in Southwest Anatolia from Repeated GPS Measurements

Southwestern Turkey is a tectonically active area. To determine kinematics and strain distribution in this region, a GPS network of sixteen stations was established. We have used GPS velocity field data for southwest Anatolia from continuous measurements covering the period 2003 to 2006 to estimate current crustal deformation of this tectonically active region. GPS data were processed using GAMIT/GLOBK software and velocity and strain rate fields were estimated in the study area. The measurements showed velocities of 15–30 mm/yr toward the southwest and strain values up to 0.28–8.23×10−8. Results showed that extension has been determined in the Burdur-Isparta region. In this study, all of strain data reveal an extensional neotectonic regime through the northeast edge of the Isparta Angle despite the previously reported compressional neotectonic regime. Meanwhile, results showed some small differences relatively with the 2006 model of Reilinger et al. As a result, active tectonic movements, in agreement with earthquake fault plane solutions showed important activity

GNSS station design for global climate change monitoring in Antarctica: ınstallation of TUR1 and TUR2 GNSS stations on Horseshoe Island in Antarctica During The 4th Turkish Antarctic Science Expedition

Son yıllarda uzay tabanlı konumlama sistemleri, GNSS Meteorolojisi ve GNSS Reflektometresi teknikleri kullanılarak gözlemlenen atmosferik su buharı, deniz, buz ve kar seviyeleri gibi önemli parametrelerle küresel iklim değişikliğinin izlenmesinde etkili bir destekleyici araç haline gelmiştir. Küresel ölçekte tüm bölgelerden daha hızlı ısınan Antarktika'da iklim değişikliğini incelemek, gelecekteki iklim değişikliğini daha doğru tahmin etmek için çok önemlidir. Dünya'nın iklim değişikliği etkilerinin izlenebilmesi amacıyla, 118Y322 No’lu TÜBİTAK projesi kapsamında GNSS Meteorolojisi ve GNSS Reflektometresi teknikleri ile 24 Şubat 2020 tarihinden itibaren Antarktika’da atmosferik su buharı değişimleri, kar derinliği ve buz kalınlığı değişimleri gözlemlenmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Troposfer ve Deniz Seviyesi Gözlem İstasyonu (TUR1) ile Troposfer ve Kar / Buz Seviyesi Gözlem İstasyonunun (TUR2) tasarım çalışmaları ve 4. Ulusal Antarktika Bilim Seferi’nde Antarktika Horseshoe Adası’na kurulum aşamaları anlatılmıştır. Bu çalışmalar, meteorolojik koşullar, şebekeden bağımsız ve batarya ile bütünleşik enerji sisteminin en sağlıklı şekilde güneş ve rüzgâr enerjisinden beslenmesi ve bölgede oluşabilecek buzul oluşumu ve kayaç parçalanması gibi jeolojik parametreler de göz önüne alınarak yapılmıştır.In recent years, space-based positioning systems have become an effective supporting tool for monitoring global climate change by important parameters such as atmospheric water vapor, sea, ice and snow levels observed by using GNSS Meteorology and GNSS Reflectometry techniques. Studying climate change in Antarctica, which is warming faster than all of the regions on a global scale, is very important to predict future climate change more accurately. In order to monitor climate change effects of the Earth, tropospheric water vapor variations, snow depth and ice thickness changes have been observing in Antarctica since 24 February 2020 by means of GNSS Meteorology and GNSS Reflectometry techniques within the scope of the TUBITAK Project No. 118Y322 In this study, designing studies of Troposphere and Sea Level Observation Station (TUR1) and Troposphere and Snow / Ice Level Observation Station (TUR2) and installation steps to Horseshoe Island in Antarctica during the 4th National Antarctic Science Expedition are explained. These studies was carried out by taking into account the meteorological conditions, the healthiest feeding of the off grid battery integrated energy system from solar and wind energy and geological parameters such as glacial formation and rock fragmentation that may occur in the region

Determination of drillability in hard rocks

Bu çalışmada, makina ekipman ve kesici uç (keski) özelliklerine bakılmaksızın kayaç özelliklerine bağlı olan delinebilirlik teriminin, çeşitli laboratuar deneyleri ile tanımlanması hedeflenmiştir. Bu amaçla; belirli bölgelerden alınan karot ve küp şekilli numunelere birim hacim ağırlık, gözeneklilik oranı, tek eksenli basınç dayanımı, deformasyon, shore sertliği gibi temel kaya mekaniği deneylerinin yanı sıra, delinebilirlik deneylerinde kullanılan DRI laboratuar deneyleri olan kırılganlık ve minyatür delme deneyi (Brittleness testi ve Sievers' J deneyi) yapılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlar birbiri ile karşılaştırılmıştır. In this thesis; defining of the term of drillability which is depended on rock properties regardless of machine, equipment and cutter bit properties, is aimed with various laboratory tests. To this end; density, porosity, uniaxial compressive strength, deformation, shore hardness and DRI (Brittleness and Sievers' J tests) tests are applied to cubical and cylindirical shaped samples which received from certain locations. Eventually, test results compared with drilling rate index