Reserve requirements, liquidity risk, and bank lending behavior

Although reserve requirements have been used in emerging markets to smooth credit cycles, the exact transmission mechanism remains to be explored. Using bank level data, this study looks inside the black-box to unveil the interaction of reserve requirement policy with bank lending. We identify a new channel that works through a decline in bank liquidity and loan supply due to an increase in reserve requirements. We show that "quantitative tightening" through reserve requirements affect the funding needs and the liquidity position of the banking system. The consequent changes in bank liquidity have a significant impact on the bank lending behavior

The contributions of the republican period to Turkish psychology studies

Psikolojiyi, geçmişi uzun ancak tarihi kısa bir bilim dalı olarak tanımlamak mümkündür. Dünya tarihindeki psikoloji biliminin ortaya çıkışı ile Türkiye’deki psikoloji çalışmalarının başlangıç tarihi nispeten eşzamanlılık göstermektedir. Bu eşzamanlılık, ülkemizdeki psikolojik çalışmaların tarihsel dizgesini de analiz etmeyi zorlaştırmaktadır. Türkiye’deki psikoloji alanındaki çalışmalar, Cumhuriyet dönemi ile birlikte üniversite çatısı altında kurumsal olarak başlamakla birlikte, bu çabaların asıl kökenlerini ilk sistematik Batılılaşma eğilimlerinin başladığı Tanzimat ve I. Meşrutiyet dönemlerinden aldığını bilmekteyiz. Batı’da psikoloji bilimince kişilik, irade, şuur ve bilinç gibi dönemin popüler çalışma konuları, Osmanlı akademisyenleri tarafından oldukça ilgi görmüştür. Pek çok edebi ve felsefi eser bu dönemde meydana getirilmiştir. Bu ilginin altında, bu konuların, zaten Türk-İslam düşünce geleneği içerisinde “ilmü’n-Nefs” başlığı altında çalışılıyor olması yatmaktadır. Bu anlamda, aslında, psikoloji alanı, felsefe ve teoloji alanlarının bir alt dalı olarak görülmekteydi. Öte yandan, Türk psikolojisi, Cumhuriyet dönemiyle birlikte, daha önceki dönemlere göre bağımsız bir bilim dalı olarak ayrı bir kimlik kazanmıştır. Türk psikolojisi, sadece pratik birtakım sorunlara çözüm getirmeye çalışan yüzeysel Batı yönelimli bilgi ithalatı yerine, Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan gibi isimlerle, pek çok yerel ve milli dinamikleri de dikkate alan bir bilim dalı haline gelmeye başlamıştır. Bu bağlamda, bu yazının amacı, Türk psikoloji tarihinde, Cumhuriyet dönemi ve öncesinin önemini ortaya koymak ve Cumhuriyet döneminin psikoloji bilimine sunduğu katkıları gözden geçirmektir.T It is possible to define psychology as a science with a long but short history. The emergence of psychology in world history and the beginning of Turkish psychological studies are relatively simultaneous. This simultaneity makes it challenging to analyze our country’s historical sequence of psychological studies. Although the studies in psychology in Turkey started institutionally under the university's roof during the Republican era, these efforts originated from the Tanzimat and I. Constitutional periods, when the first systematic Westernization tendencies began. Popular study subjects of the period, such as personality, free-will, and consciousness, in Western psychology, received much attention from Ottoman academics. Many literary and philosophical works were created during this period. Underlying this interest lies the fact that these subjects are already being studied under “ilmü'nNefs” within the tradition of Turkish-Islamic thought. In this sense, psychology was in fact considered as a philosophy and theology sub-branch. On the other hand, Turkish psychology gained a separate identity as an independent discipline during the Republican period compared to previous periods. Turkish psychology, instead of a superficial Western-oriented import of knowledge that only attempts to solve some practical problems, with the names such as Prof. Dr. Mümtaz Turhan, has started to become a branch of science considering many local and national dynamics. In this context, this article aims to reveal the importance of the Republican period and before in the history of Turkish psychology and to review the contributions of the Republican period to the science of psychology

Portable Lightboard Use in Online Higher Education

The emergency distance education period has led to new instructional experiences and unique practices in higher education. This study focuses on one such practice that included portable lightboards designed as a cost-effective solution to support instructors’ online teaching processes from their homes. Using a case study design, data were collected via using through interviews with eight students and nine instructors who used the lightboard for the first time in order to to explore their perceptions and lived experiences. The findings obtained in this study showed that the instructors could benefit from the writing/drawing feature supported by the dynamic drawing principle of multimedia learning from their homes. Student engagement was enhanced due to offering a sustainable learning environment resembling face-to-face courses with unique limitations. The results offer key aspects of portable lightboards with great potential for future online or blended learning environments

Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes Related to Iron Deficiency Anemia and Serum Ferritin Status: A Multicenter Prospective Study From Eastern Marmara, Turkey

Aim:The aim was to evaluate the incidence of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy in the East Marmara region of Turkey in order to determine its prevalence along with the effects and associations of iron supplementation on maternal and neonatal outcomes.Materials and Methods:This study was conducted in six centers and included a total of 1102 pregnant women. Blood samples were collected for hematological status and serum ferritin levels during pregnancy, and the adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes were determined. Iron deficiency anemia was diagnosed according to the World Health Organization criteria as hemoglobin level of < 11 g/dl and ferritin level of <15 μg/dL.Results:The rate of anemia was 19.8%, with 44% of them receiving iron supplementation. The maternal age was lower in the anemic group (26.5 vs. 27.7, p = 0.01). Selective iron use was more frequent in the anemic group, while routine iron use was more frequent in the non-anemic group (47.1% vs. 29.3%; p = 0.01).Conclusion:Iron deficiency anemia is a frequent problem in pregnancy. However, many anemic pregnant women do not receive iron therapy. Iron supplementation may have positive effects on maternal and perinatal outcomes. In order to combat iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy, wide spread use of iron supplements should be established

Which factors help to determine the long-term response to first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: A Turkish multi-centre study

Many developing countries lack access to recommended first-line treatments for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) or ICI-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combinations. As a result, predictive markers are necessary to identify patients who may benefit from single-agent TKIs for long-term response. This study aims to identify such parameters. This was a multi-centre, retrospective study of patients with mRCC who were undergoing first-line treatment with sunitinib or pazopanib. Patients who had been diagnosed with mRCC and had not experienced disease progression for 36 months or more were deemed to have achieved a long-term response. Predictive clinical and pathological characteristics of patients who did not experience long-term disease progression were investigated. A total of 320 patients from four hospitals were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 60 years (range 20-89 years). According to the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) risk classification, 109 patients were classified as having favourable risk and 211 were in the intermediate-poor risk group. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for all patients were 12.5 months and 76.4 months, respectively. In the long-term responder’s group, the median PFS was 78.4 months. Among all patients, prior nephrectomy, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status (PS) <1, and the absence of brain metastasis were predictive factors for long-term response. For patients in the favourable risk group, the lack of brain metastasis was a predictor of long-term response. In the intermediate-poor risk group, prior nephrectomy and ECOG PS <1 were predictive factors for long-term response. Some individuals with mRCC may experience a durable response to TKIs. The likelihood of a long-term response can be determined by factors such as nephrectomy, ECOG PS < 1, and the absence of brain metastases

Cytotoxic and apoptotic effect of soloxolone methyl as a glycyrretinic acide derivative against breast cancer cell lines

Kadınlarda kansere bağlı ölümlerin en önemli nedenlerinden olan meme kanserinin tedavisinde doğal bileşiklerden elde edilen çeşitli kemoterapötik ajanlar kullanılmaktadır ve yeni ilaç geliştirme çalışmalarına devam edilmektedir. Glycyrrhiza glabra (meyan kökü) bitkisinin sekonder metaboliti olan Glisiretinik asitin potansiyel bir antikanser ajan olduğu daha önce yapılan çalışmalarda gösterilmiştir. Bu tez çalışmasında, Rusya Bilim Akademisi, Kimyasal Biyoloji ve Temel Bilimler Enstitüsü'nde sentezlenen, Glisiretinik asitin yarı sentetik bir türevi olan Soloksolon metil bileşiğinin sitotoksik ve apoptotik etkileri insan meme kanseri hücre soylarında (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 ve T-47D) araştırılmıştır. Soloksolon metil'in hücre canlılığı üzerine olan etkisi (24 ve 48 saat) MTT ve ATP canlılık testleriyle belirlenmiştir. Hücrelerde ölüm modunu (apoptoz ve nekroz) belirlemek amacıyla floresan boyama (Hoechst 33342 ve propidyum iyodür) ve kaspazla kırılmış sitokeratin 18 (M30) metodları kullanılmıştır. Buna ilaveten apoptozis, gen (PCR yöntemi) ve protein (Western Blot) düzeyinde araştırılmıştır. Soloksolon metil'in her üç hücrede doza ve zamana bağlı olarak hücre canlılığını azalttığı, 48 saat sonrasında IC50 değerleri MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 ve T-47D hücrelerinde sırayla 4,22 µM, 5,97 µM ve 6,18 µM olarak belirlenmiştir. Hücrelerde Soloksolon metil'in 10 µM dozunun, 24 ve 48 saat sonrasında erken apoptoza (piknotik nükeus ve propidyum iyodür negatifliği); 72 saat sonrasında geç apoptotik/sekonder nekroza (piknotik nükleus ve propidyum iyodür pozitifliği) neden olduğu gözlenmiştir. MCF-7 ve MDA-MB-231 hücrelerinde Soloksolon metil etkisiyle apoptotik gen ekspresyonlarının arttığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca MDA-MB-231 hücre soyunda apoptotik proteinlerin yanı sıra endoplazmik retikulum stresiyle ilişkili proteinlerin (IRE1-α, Bip, CHOP) artışı da belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, Soloksolon metil bileşiğinin MCF-7 ve MDA-MB-231 hücre soyları üzerine olan etkisinin sitotoksik etkisini apoptozis üzerinden gerçekleştirdiği, özellikle MDA-MB-231 hücre soyunda endoplazmik retikulum aracılı apoptozis yolağından ilerlediği belirlenmiştir. Alınan sonuçlar Soloksolon metil'in meme kanseri tedavisinde etkili bir ajan olabileceğini ileri analizlerin (in vitro ve in vivo) yapılması gerektiği sonucuna varılmıştır.Being one of the leading causes of cancer death among women, various chemotherapeutic agents isolated from natural compounds are used in breast cancer treatment and studies to develop new drugs still continues. There are several studies on glycyrrhetinic acid, a secondary metabolite which is found in Glycyrrhiza glabra (Liquorice), as a potential anticancer agent. In this thesis, the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of soloksolon methyl compound, a semi-synthetic derivative of glycyrrhtenic acid synthesized by the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chemical Biology and Basic Sciences Institute in Siberia were investigated on breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MBA-231 and T-47D). The antigrowth effects (24 and 48 hours) of Soloksolon methyl were determined using MTT and ATP assays. To identify the mode of cell death (apoptosis/necrosis), fluorescent staining (Hoechst 33342 and Propidium iodide) and caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 (M30) test were used. In addition, apoptotic genes and protein levels were investigated by PCR method and Western Blotting. Soloksolon methyl decreased cell viability in all three cell lines in a dose and time-dependent manner. The IC50 values in MCF-7, MDA-MBA-231, and T-47D cells after 48 hours of treatment are 4,22 µM, 5,97 µM and 6,18 µM respectively. Soloksolon methyl induces early apoptosis (pyknotic nuclei and negative Propidium iodide) at 10 µM after 24 and 48 hours, and late apoptosis or secondary necrosis (pyknotic nuclei and positive Propidium iodide) after 72 hours in all cell lines. An increase of apoptotic gene expressions was determined in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells treated with Soloksolon methyl. Moreover, an increase of apoptotic proteins related to endoplasmic reticulum (IRE1-α, Bip, CHOP) stress was also determined in MDA-MB-231 cell line. In conclusion, Soloksolon methyl is found to be cytotoxic on MCF-7 and MDA-MBA-231 cells by inducing apoptosis, especially in MDA-MB-231 cell line where ER stress-induced apoptosis is triggered. Advance analyses (in vitro and in vivo) should be performed to elucidate the potential of Soloksolon methyl as anticancer agent in breast cancer treatment

Evaluation of the European Neighbourhood Policy on the basis of the ENP countries

Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası, amacı AB'nin doğusunda ve güneyinde bulunan ülkelerin AB ile bağlarını güçlendirmek olan bir Avrupa Birliği dış ilişkiler aracıdır. Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası (AKP); farklı komşular için farklı ilişkileri içerir. AKP ortakları; İsrail, Ürdün, Moldova, Fas, Filistin Hükümeti, Tunus, Ukrayna, Ermenistan, Azerbaycan, Gürcistan ve Lübnan'dır. Mısır ile AKP Eylem Planı henüz uyarlanamamıştır. Cezayir ile 2005 sonlarından beri Ortaklık Anlaşması yürürlüktedir. Belarus, Libya ve Suriye ile de yürürlükte herhangi bir anlaşma bulunmamaktadır. Rusya AB ile stratejik ortakklık anlaşması yapmıştır.Rusya ile 2005 yılında Stratejik Ortaklık temelinde dört ortak alan belirlenmiştir; ekonomik alan, özgürlük, güvenlik ve adalet, dış güvenlik, araştırma ve eğitim. AKP hedefleri; Avrupa Birliği'nin dış politika önceliğini baz alarak siyasi, ekonomik, sosyal konularda ortakların reform süreçlerinin desteklenmesi ve karşılıklı refah, istikrar ve güvenliği arttırmaktır. AKP Eylem Planı, siyasi dokümanlar baz alınarak, kısa ve orta dönem önceliklerin (3-5 yıl) belirlendiği operasyonel araçlardır. Siyasi diyalog ve reformlar, ekonomik ve sosyal işbirliği, ticaret ile ilgili konular, adalet, özgürlük ve güvenlik konuları AKP Eylem Planı'nın kapsamına giren hususlardır. Avrupa Komisyonu'nun AKP bütçesi 2007-2013 yılları arasında yaklaşık 12.4 milyar é¬ olarak planlanmıştır. AKP'nin bundan sonraki dönemlerde daha güçlü ve etkin rol oynaması için ele alınması gereken öncelikli konular; ekonomik ve ticari bütünleşme, hareketlilik, daha fazla insana ulaşmak, tematik boyutu güçlendirmek, siyasi işbirliğini geliştirmek, bölgesel işbirliğini artırmak ve daha fazla finansman desteği sağlamaktır.The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union (EU) which seeks to strengthen relationship between those countries to the east and south of the Europe with the EU. The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP); comprises different policies to different neighbours. Israel, Jordan, Moldova, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Tunisia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Lebanon are the partners of ENP. ENP Action Plan has not yet been adopted over Egypt. Association Agreement became in force since late 2005 with Algeria. On the other hand, Belarus, Libya and Syria have no agreements in force.Russia concluded strategic partnership agreement with ENP. This includes four main components; economical issues, freedom, security and justice, external security and research and education. ENP aims to support partners' own reform processes in political, economic and social domains under the perspective of EU foreign policy priorities. Also mutual prosperity, stability and security are the strategic goals of ENP. ENP Action Plan is a key operational instrument which based political documents, short and medium term priorities (3-5 years) are determined. Political dialogue and reforms, economic and social cooperation, trade issues, justice, freedom and security issues are matters within the scope of the ENP Action Plan. The European Commission's 2007-2013 ENP budget is planned approximately é¬ 12.4 billion. In the next periods, for playing a strong and active role, ENP has to make some necessary subjects such as economic and commercial integration, mobility to reach more people, strengthening the thematic dimension, improve political cooperation, strengthening regional cooperation and ensure leverage for more finance

A Hybrid Approach for Credibility Detection in Twitter

Nowadays, microblogging services are seen as a source of information. It brings us a question. Can we trust information in a microblogging service? In this paper, we focus on one of the popular microblogging services, Twitter, and try to answer which information in Twitter is credible. Newsworthiness, importance and correctness are the dimensions to be measured in this study. We propose a hybrid credibility analysis which combines feature based and graph based approaches. Our model is based on three types of structures, which are tweet, user and topic. Initially, we use feature based learning to construct a prediction model. In the second step, we use the results of this model as input to authority transfer and further refine the credibility scores for each type of node. The same process is used for measuring each of the dimensions of newsworthiness, importance and correctness. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid method improves the prediction accuracy for each of these credibility dimensions