Lensless wide-field fluorescent imaging on a chip using compressive decoding of sparse objects.

We demonstrate the use of a compressive sampling algorithm for on-chip fluorescent imaging of sparse objects over an ultra-large field-of-view (>8 cm(2)) without the need for any lenses or mechanical scanning. In this lensfree imaging technique, fluorescent samples placed on a chip are excited through a prism interface, where the pump light is filtered out by total internal reflection after exciting the entire sample volume. The emitted fluorescent light from the specimen is collected through an on-chip fiber-optic faceplate and is delivered to a wide field-of-view opto-electronic sensor array for lensless recording of fluorescent spots corresponding to the samples. A compressive sampling based optimization algorithm is then used to rapidly reconstruct the sparse distribution of fluorescent sources to achieve approximately 10 microm spatial resolution over the entire active region of the sensor-array, i.e., over an imaging field-of-view of >8 cm(2). Such a wide-field lensless fluorescent imaging platform could especially be significant for high-throughput imaging cytometry, rare cell analysis, as well as for micro-array research

Populism, failures, and a sense of crisis

Scholars of populism literature mostly view crisis as one of the key causal independent factors for the emergence of populism. Instead of viewing crisis as an available initiator element, this study takes into account its perceptual dimension, views crisis indeed as failures, and accepts that they can only become crisis when they are perceived as crisis. This study aims to focus on Benjamin Moffitt’s claim that the ability of populism to remain power depends on its perpetuation failures as crisis. As taking Ernesto Laclau’s conception of populism as a base, to check whether this claim may seem to be true for Turkish case, a mixed method exploratory research has been run by combining case studies of recent economic failure periods with content analysis of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s discourses. While focusing on periods of failures, Erdoğan’s discourses have been categorized according to their potential ability to rise crisis perception of the people of Turkey. Whether Erdoğan’s crisis emphasizing populist rhetoric is greater than his crisis denying populist rhetoric has been checked per each case, while changes in sense of crisis of the people and support of the electorate to AKP have been presented. In that way, not an explanatory but an exploratory study has been run to find out whether Erdoğan may fit the “populist” profile that Moffitt uses for Hugo Chávez. However, under conditions like small number of cases and constraints of discursive data, findings point out Erdoğan may not fit such “populist” profile

Factors that promote effective listening

Ankara : Bilkent University Institute of Economics and Social Science, 1989.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1989.Includes bibliographical references leaves 76-79.Sencan, NilgünM.S

The contribution of background knowledge to L2 text-comprehension

Ankara : Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University, 1996.Thesis(Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1996.Includes bibliographical refences.Recent theories of reading, pioneered by Goodman's (1967) psycholinguistic model of reading, acknowledge that the readers' background knowledge, that is, what they already know, strongly affects their understanding of a text. The proponents of this view of reading propose that readers are active participants in the meaning-making process, as a reaction to the earlier assumption that readers are passive recipients of meaning on the printed page. This study intended to show the contribution of background knowledge to comprehension by looking at the process of reading in the task of interpreting a short story, using think-aloud protocols. It was hypothesized that different readers would interpret the same text differently as a consequence of their different backgrounds. Four subjects participated in the study. During the initial interview, introductory information about their background knowledge was obtained. Prior to the reading task, they were given a training session on think-aloud protocols to provide them with some guidance as to what they were expected to do. Then they were given the target text, and they verbalized their thoughts into a tape-recorder as they occurred to them while reading. Their think-aloud protocols were then transcribed and translated. In the post-processing interview, the subjects were asked how they arrived at the meanings they constructed. In the data analysis the text-related points that the subjects referred to were extracted from the text and the individual way each subject responded to those points were compared and contrasted to display how the text was activated by the four readers. Conversely, their background knowledge as activated by the text was examined in separate case descriptions of the four readers. In this two-way analysis, the information both from the protocols and the interviews was used to verify the proposed points. A coding scheme developed by the researcher was made use of to clarify the nature of background knowledge. The results show that readers do indeed generate different interpretations due to their background knowledge. It was found out that readers make use of their background knowledge in explicit and implicit ways, that is, directly and indirectly. The information the subjects gave about the reading strategies they used and their explanations of how they arrived at the meanings they expressed revealed that they were not very aware of the role of background knowledge in the process of understanding. The expanding, diversifying and also misleading features of background knowledge were also identified. The readers' background knowledge enabled them to elaborate on text-related points, and produce more than one interpretation for a particular point, while the same time causing them to misinterpret the text. Another outcome was that readers not only brought their background knowledge but also their very person to the task of reading; their personal characterictics were reflected through their protocols.Topaloğlu, SencanM.S

Theory of Mind in Major Depressive Disorder

Theory of mind refers to the ability to explain the appearing behavior of others with reference to their mental state. Theory of mind ability is thought to be an integral part of maintaining social functioning and interpersonal relationships. One of the important clinical features of major depressive disorder is the deterioration of social and interpersonal functions. Since interpersonal difficulties of people with major depression have become widespread, it is of great importance to have a more detailed understanding of the underlying cognitive mechanisms of these social deficits. The aim of this article is to find out current state of research on theory of mind in depressive disorders. When the findings of the studies are considered, it is thought that the difficulties in the social and interpersonal areas seen in the individuals with major depressive disorder may be due, at least in part, to the distortions in their ability to interpret the emotional stimuli and mental states correctly

Effect of cigarette smoking on the washout time of sevoflurane anesthesia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cigarette smoking affects the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic behavior of many drugs and causes deterioration of pulmonary mechanics. We have evaluated the effect of cigarette smoking on washout time after one minimum alveolar concentration-h (1 MAC-h) of sevoflurane anesthesia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated the washout time of sevoflurane in 30 non-smoking and 30 healthy cigarette smoking (≥20 cigarettes/day for>1 year) ASA I-II physical status patients, aged 18-63 years, who were candidates for otorhinolaryngologic elective surgery under 1MAC-h standardized sevoflurane anesthesia. At the end of the surgery, the sevoflurane vaporizer was turned off and the time taken for the sevoflurane concentration to decrease to MAC-awake (0.3) and 0.1 MAC levels were recorded. In addition, the ratio of the fractions of inspired concentration (Fi) and expired concentration of sevoflurane (Fexp) at 1 MAC and Fexp of sevoflurane at 0.1MAC were recorded. The patients were mechanically ventilated during the washout time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found no difference between the 2 study groups with regard to washout time of sevoflurane. The times of 1MAC down to MAC-awake (106 ± 48 sec in non-smokers vs 97 ± 37 sec in smokers, <it>p </it>> 0.05) and down to 0.1MAC (491 ± 187 sec in non-smokers vs 409 ± 130 sec in smokers, <it>p </it>> 0.05) were similar. Similarly, there were no significant differences in the ratios of Fi/Fexp at 1MAC (1.18 in non-smokers vs. 1.19 in smokers, <it>p </it>> 0.05) and Fexp of sevoflurane at 0.1MAC (0.26 in non-smokers vs. 0.25 in smokers, <it>p </it>> 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Washout time of 1MAC-h sevoflurane anesthesia is not appear to be effected by cigarette smoking in patients without significant pulmonary disease.</p

In Vivo Intraocular Pressure Measurements Using A Miniaturized Nano-Photonic Sensor Implant

Purpose : We have been developing a nanophotonic pressure sensor whose optical resonance is directly related to intraocular pressure (IOP). Bench testing has demonstrated sensor near-infrared (NIR) reflectance to accurately track pressures from 0-50 mmHg. The current study examined sensor performance following implantation into rabbit eyes for up to one month

Assessment of subjective sleep quality in iron deficiency anaemia

Objectives: We aimed to assess the effect of anemia on subjective sleep quality in patients with iron deficiency anemia (IDA).Methods: One hundred and four patients diagnosed with IDA and 80 healthy individuals, who are gender and age matched, were included in the study. All participants were requested to fill 3 forms: a socio-demographic form (age, gender, marital status, income level and educational status), hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) scale and pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI).Results: According to the HAD scale, the average anxiety score was found 9.24±4.37 in patients and 7.58± 4.07 in controls. And, the average depression score was 7.53±4.10 in patients and 6.41±2.74 in controls. The total sleep quality score was 6.71±3.02 in patients and 4.11±1.64 in controls. There was a statistically significant difference in terms of anxiety, depression and sleep quality scores. Linear regression analysis showed no association between anxiety and depression with poor sleeping.Conclusion: IDA affects sleep quality irrespective of psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety.Keywords: Iron deficiency anemia, sleep quality, anxiet