The legal structure of competition policy in Turkey

The purpose of this study is to introduce readers to the basics of Turkish Antitrust Law and its enforcement practices. In this respect, the chapter is categorized into four parts. The first part covers the background and the sources of the Turkish Antitrust Law. After the legislative background is mentioned, the main legal sources of the law are specified. The second part is devoted to the main concepts prescribed in the Act such as the relevant market and the concept of undertaking. Substantive provisions are explained in the third part, and this part is organized under three headings. First, restrictive agreements are expounded along with the exemption rule. Subsequently, the monopoly provision is illustrated with some examples of abuse. And finally, the provision and the secondary legislation governing the concentrations are explained. Here, the procedural issues are of importance. Enforcement authorities and sanctions are discussed in the final part. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

EVALUATION OF DEM DERIVED BY REPEAT-PASS X-BAND STRIPMAP MODE PAZ DATA

Abstract. This paper, presents the initial results of digital elevation model (DEM) extraction from PAZ Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite images using repeat-pass interferometric analysis. We used a multi-temporal high-resolution strip-map mode X-band satellite image that has a single polarization. Five main classes, i.e., volcanic structures, agriculture, settlement, sand dune and plain bareland are considered depending on the structure of the region. Within the category, the coherence value and DEM value are evaluated. In the accuracy assessment analysis, a reference map produced from aerial photogrammetry is used. Additionally, global DEM TanDEM-X data is also tested in the study region. In the analysis, quality metrics, mean error (ME), root means square error (RMSE), standard deviation (STD), and the normalized median absolute deviation (NMAD) are used. The results showed that as the temporal baseline increases the coherence values and the quality of the DEM product decrease. The RMSE values range between 2.36 m to 7.09 m in different classes. The TanDEM-X data provided high accuracies over each class range from 0.88 m to 2.40 m. Since the study area is vulnerable to sinkhole formation, sinkhole-like signals were also observed in the interferograms obtained from different and sequential pairs. The high-resolution repeat-pass PAZ data pointed out its potential for interferometric products generation

MONITORING THE SLOWLY DEVELOPING LANDSLIDE WITH THE INSAR TECHNIQUE IN SAMSUN PROVINCE, NORTHERN TURKEY

Landslides are prominent natural events with high destructive power. Since they affect large areas, it is important to monitor the areas they cover and analyse their movement. Remote sensing data and image processing techniques have been used to monitor landslides in different areas. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, particularly with the Interferometric SAR (InSAR) method, is used to determine the velocity vector of the surface motion. This study aims to detect the landslide movements in Samsun, located in the north of Turkey, using persistent scattering InSAR method. Archived Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite images taken between 2017 and 2022 were used in both descending and ascending directions. The results revealed surface movements in the direction of the line of sight, ranging between −6 and 6 mm/year in the study area. Persistent Scatterer (PS) points were identified mainly in human structures such as roads, coasts, ports, and golf courses, especially in settlements. While some regions exhibited similar movements in both descending and ascending results, opposite movements were observed in some regions. The results produced in both descending and ascending directions were used together and decomposed into horizontal and vertical deformation components. It was observed that the western coastal part experienced approximately 4.5 cm/year vertical deformation, while the central part there is more significant horizontal deformation, reaching up to approximately 6 cm/year

Sestrin2 Modulates AMPK Subunit Expression and Its Response to Ionizing Radiation in Breast Cancer Cells

Background: The sestrin family of stress-responsive genes (SESN1-3) are suggested to be involved in regulation of metabolism and aging through modulation of the AMPK-mTOR pathway. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an effector of the tumour suppressor LKB1, which regulates energy homeostasis, cell polarity, and the cell cycle. SESN1/2 can interact directly with AMPK in response to stress to maintain genomic integrity and suppress tumorigenesis. Ionizing radiation (IR), a widely used cancer therapy, is known to increase sestrin expression, and acutely activate AMPK. However, the regulation of AMPK expression by sestrins in response to IR has not been studied in depth. Methods and Findings: Through immunoprecipitation we observed that SESN2 directly interacted with the AMPKa1b1c1 trimer and its upstream regulator LKB1 in MCF7 breast cancer cells. SESN2 overexpression was achieved using a Flag-tagged SESN2 expression vector or a stably-integrated tetracycline-inducible system, which also increased AMPKa1 and AMPKb1 subunit phosphorylation, and co-localized with phosphorylated AMPKa-Thr127 in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, enhanced SESN2 expression increased protein levels of LKB1 and AMPKa1b1c1, as well as mRNA levels of LKB1, AMPKa1, and AMPKb1. Treatment of MCF7 cells with IR elevated AMPK expression and activity, but this effect was attenuated in the presence of SESN2 siRNA. In addition, elevated SESN2 inhibited IR-induced mTOR signalling and sensitized MCF7 cells to IR through an AMPK-dependent mechanism

The effect of racemic gossypol and AT-101 on angiogenic profile of OVCAR-3 cells: a preliminary molecular framework for gossypol enantiomers

To compare the effect of racemic gossypol with its (–)/(–) enantiomer (AT-101) on expression profiles of angiogenic molecules by mRNA levels in human ovarian cancer cell line OVCAR-3. Methods: Cell viability assay (2,3-bis (2-methoxy-4-nitro-5- sulfophenyl)-5-[(phenylamino) carbonyl]-2H-tetrazolium hydroxide) was used to detect cytotoxicity of gossypol enantiomers. DNA fragmentation by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay was used to evaluate the rate of apoptosis. The mRNA expression levels of angiogenic molecules were investigated by Human Angiogenesis RT2 ProfilerTM PCR Array (SuperArray, Frederick, MD). Results: Both racemic form and AT-101 resulted in a significant cytotoxicity and induced apoptosis. This effect was observed in a dose- and time dependent manner. However, AT-101 was much more potent. In addition, the treatment of 10 μM of racemic gossypol alone and 3 μM of AT-101 alone resulted in significant down-regulation (≥ 3 fold) in mRNA levels of some pivotal angiogenic molecules in OVCAR-3, but altered gene profiles were different by the treatment of each enantiomer. Conclusion: The efficacy of two gossypol enantiomers in OVCAR-3 cells showed distinction. AT-101 was much more potent than racemic gossypol, not only by means of cell death and apoptosis, but also by modulation of angiogenic molecules released from OVCAR-3 cells. Further studies with endothelial cells should be done to verify the anti-angiogenic effect of gossypol enantiomers in cancer treatment

Metformin : on ongoing journey across diabetes, cancer therapy and prevention

Cancer metabolism is the focus of intense research, which witnesses its key role in human tumors. Diabetic patients treated with metformin exhibit a reduced incidence of cancer and cancer-related mortality. This highlights the possibility that the tackling of metabolic alterations might also hold promising value for treating cancer patients. Here, we review the emerging role of metformin as a paradigmatic example of an old drug used worldwide to treat patients with type II diabetes which to date is gaining strong in vitro and in vivo anticancer activities to be included in clinical trials. Metformin is also becoming the focus of intense basic and clinical research on chemoprevention, thus suggesting that metabolic alteration is an early lesion along cancer transformation. Metabolic reprogramming might be a very efficient prevention strategy with a profound impact on public health worldwide

AN APPLICATION OF ROLL-INVARIANT POLARIMETRIC FEATURES FOR CROP CLASSIFICATION FROM MULTI-TEMPORAL RADARSAT-2 SAR DATA

Crops are dynamically changing and time-critical in the growing season and therefore multitemporal earth observation data are needed for spatio-temporal monitoring of the crops. This study evaluates the impacts of classical roll-invariant polarimetric features such as entropy (H), anisotropy (A), mean alpha angle (α) and total scattering power (SPAN) for the crop classification from multitemporal polarimetric SAR data. For this purpose, five different data set were generated as following: (1) Hα, (2) HαSpan, (3) HαA, (4) HαASpan and (5) coherency [T] matrix. A time-series of four PolSAR data (Radarsat-2) were acquired as 13 June, 01 July, 31 July and 24 August in 2016 for the test site located in Konya, Turkey. The test site is covered with crops (maize, potato, summer wheat, sunflower, and alfalfa). For the classification of the data set, three different models were used as following: Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Random Forests (RFs) and Naive Bayes (NB). The experimental results highlight that HαASpan (91.43 % for SVM, 92.25 % for RF and 90.55 % for NB) outperformed all other data sets in terms of classification performance, which explicitly proves the significant contribution of SPAN for the discrimination of crops. Highest classification accuracy was obtained as 92.25 % by RF and HαASpan while lowest classification accuracy was obtained as 66.99 % by NB and Hα. This experimental study suggests that roll-invariant polarimetric features can be considered as the powerful polarimetric components for the crop classification. In addition, the findings prove the added benefits of PolSAR data investigation by means of crop classification

Effects of retinoic acid on compensatory lung growth

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated the effect of Retinoic acid in the growth of contralateral lung after pneumonectomy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twentyone adult male Wistar albino rats from the same colony were used. They were divided into three groups (Group A, B and C). Group A undergone only left posterolateral thoracotomy. In Group B and C, the rats were subjected to left posterolateral thoracotomy and left pneumonectomy. In Group C, rats were given intraperitoneal Retinoic acid during the operation and continued to be given everyday postoperatively. Rats were sacrificed on the 10^thday and their total body, right lung weights and right lung volumes were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The volume and weight indices of the lung were found to be higher in Group C. In histopathological examination, there was a reduction in the mean number of alveoli in Group B and C. A significant rise in the mean dimension and average wall thickness of the alveolar structure were determined in Group C.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Retinoic acid contributes to the compensatory growth of the residual lung tissue.</p