Greater Istanbul metropolitan area planning experience (1965-1980)

Following the enforcement of the Urban Development Act in 1956 and the foundation of the Ministry of Reconstruction and Settlement in 1958, the first regional plan was developed for the Eastern Marmara Region in Turkey. The regional plan, which was prepared by the Ministry of Reconstruction and Settlement, in collaboration with the State Planning Office aimed at directing the industrial developments, the distribution of the industrial population and defining the hierarchy of urban settlements in the region respectively. The Regional Plan proposed an urban and regional infrastructure and a linear settlement development model for the Greater Istanbul area for the first time. The cities in Turkey were subject to a rapid urbanization due to a continuous flow of population from rural areas to the cities, which accelerated after 1950s. As a result, a multiplicity of new municipalities outside the existing limits of the major cities were formed, which necessitated a holistic planning in metropolitan scale. With this objective, three metropolitan planning offices were established for the major cities, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir under the Ministry of Reconstruction and Settlement. In continuity with the principal decisions of the East Marmara Regional Plan, the planning studies for the Greater Metropolitan Area of Istanbul started with the foundation of Greater Istanbul Metropolitan Planning Office in 1965. The distribution of population between European and Asian sides of Istanbul metropolitan area was studied, and a linear pattern of settlement units separated by green areas was adopted in line with the regional plan. A strategic planning model was adopted in the last stage of the metropolitan planning. Based on an extensive survey, the demands of different sectors were defined. Alternative development strategies and scenarios were proposed with regard to the demands of the sectors. Beginning with the regional planning scale, the distribution of the residential and working areas, different strategies were tested with respect to their performances in achieving the initial development objectives. Based on an extensive data, projections, and regional development strategies updated, a plan that could guide the urban development policies was achieved. The metropolitan plan was completed and approved by the Ministry in July 1980. The Metropolitan Plan of Greater Istanbul constituted the first metropolitan plan, in Turkey, where the strategic planning approach was applied by comparing alternative development strategies. However, it could not be implemented properly as the planning authority was transferred to the Greater Municipality. Yet, with its holistic approach, this metropolitan plan that defined strategies of urban development and natural and urban conservation in metropolitan scale, could have prevented unplanned, piecemeal operations if it could be implemented. In the present paper, the metropolitan planning experience of Greater Istanbul is studied with a focus on the 1980 master plan. The role of the planning decisions in the urban development of the metropolitan city will be discussed at the end of the paper

On the Modern Cult of Authenticity: Prolegomena to a Study of Berlin’s Pergamon Museum

The main concern of this essay is to sketch out a theoretical framework for a study of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin (conceived in 1907 and completed in 1930), Germany’s most ambitious presentation of the Middle Eastern antiquities and a self-acclaimed “museum of ancient architecture.” I am particularly interested in exploring the historical intersections between the German reconstruction of antiquity and the emergence of an international discourse of authenticity in the twentieth century, whose ramifications can be seen in a variety of fields from the disciplinary practices of museology and historic preservation to the popular conceptions of cultural heritage

Unfolded states under folding conditions accommodate sequence-specific conformational preferences with random coil-like dimensions

Proteins are marginally stable molecules that fluctuate between folded and unfolded states. Here, we provide a high-resolution description of unfolded states under refolding conditions for the N-terminal domain of the L9 protein (NTL9). We use a combination of time-resolved Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) based on multiple pairs of minimally perturbing labels, time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), all-atom simulations, and polymer theory. Upon dilution from high denaturant, the unfolded state undergoes rapid contraction. Although this contraction occurs before the folding transition, the unfolded state remains considerably more expanded than the folded state and accommodates a range of local and nonlocal contacts, including secondary structures and native and nonnative interactions. Paradoxically, despite discernible sequence-specific conformational preferences, the ensemble-averaged properties of unfolded states are consistent with those of canonical random coils, namely polymers in indifferent (theta) solvents. These findings are concordant with theoretical predictions based on coarse-grained models and inferences drawn from single-molecule experiments regarding the sequence-specific scaling behavior of unfolded proteins under folding conditions

Atomistic structural ensemble refinement reveals non-native structure stabilizes a sub-millisecond folding intermediate of CheY

The dynamics of globular proteins can be described in terms of transitions between a folded native state and less-populated intermediates, or excited states, which can play critical roles in both protein folding and function. Excited states are by definition transient species, and therefore are difficult to characterize using current experimental techniques. Here, we report an atomistic model of the excited state ensemble of a stabilized mutant of an extensively studied flavodoxin fold protein CheY. We employed a hybrid simulation and experimental approach in which an aggregate 42 milliseconds of all-atom molecular dynamics were used as an informative prior for the structure of the excited state ensemble. This prior was then refined against small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data employing an established method (EROS). The most striking feature of the resulting excited state ensemble was an unstructured N-terminus stabilized by non-native contacts in a conformation that is topologically simpler than the native state. Using these results, we then predict incisive single molecule FRET experiments as a means of model validation. This study demonstrates the paradigm of uniting simulation and experiment in a statistical model to study the structure of protein excited states and rationally design validating experiments

Novel Evidence of HBV Recombination in Family Cluster Infections in Western China

Two hepatitis B virus (HBV) C/D recombinants were isolated from western China. No direct evidence indicates that these new viruses arose as a result of recombination between genotype C and D or a result of convergence. In this study, we search for evidence of intra-individual recombination in the family cluster cases with co-circulation of genotype C, D and C/D recombinants. We studied 68 individuals from 15 families with HBV infections in 2006, identified individuals with mixed HBV genotype co-infections by restriction fragment length polymorphism and proceeded with cloning and DNA sequencing. Recombination signals were detected by RDP3 software and confirmed by split phylogenetic trees. Families with mixed HBV genotype co-infections were resampled in 2007. Three of 15 families had individuals with different HBV genotype co-infections in 2006. One individual (Y2) had a triple infection of HBV genotype C, D and C/D recombinant in 2006, but only genotype D in 2007. Further clonal analysis of this patient indicated that the C/D recombinant was not identical to previously isolated CD1 or CD2, but many novel recombinants with C2, D1 and CD1 were simultaneously found. All parental strains could recombine with each other to form new recombinant in this patient. This indicates that the detectable mixed infection and recombination have a limited time window. Also, as the recombinant nature of HBV precludes the possibility of a simple phylogenetic taxonomy, a new standard may be required for classifying HBV sequences

Eco-efficiency measurement and material balance principle:an application in power plants Malmquist Luenberger Index

Incorporating Material Balance Principle (MBP) in industrial and agricultural performance measurement systems with pollutant factors has been on the rise in recent years. Many conventional methods of performance measurement have proven incompatible with the material flow conditions. This study will address the issue of eco-efficiency measurement adjusted for pollution, taking into account materials flow conditions and the MBP requirements, in order to provide ‘real’ measures of performance that can serve as guides when making policies. We develop a new approach by integrating slacks-based measure to enhance the Malmquist Luenberger Index by a material balance condition that reflects the conservation of matter. This model is compared with a similar model, which incorporates MBP using the trade-off approach to measure productivity and eco-efficiency trends of power plants. Results reveal similar findings for both models substantiating robustness and applicability of the proposed model in this paper