INDEPENDENT REGULATORY AGENCIES IN TURKEY AND THEIR FORMAL INDEPENDENCE LEVELS

This article aims to examine IRAs in Turkey in terms of structural and functional situation, place of in Turkish administrative structure and control and to evaluate their formal independence levels. However, before doing that we will briefly explain reasons of creating IRAs and the concept of independence of IRAs because of their importance to evaluate IRAs and their formal independence levels in Turkey

Effective transfer entropy approach to information flow between exchange rates and stock markets

We investigate the strength and direction of information flow between exchange rates and stock prices in several emerging countries by the novel concept of effective transfer entropy (an alternative non-linear causality measure) with symbolic encoding methodology. Analysis shows that before the 2008 crisis, only low level interaction exists between these two variables and exchange rates dominate stock prices in general. During crisis, strong bidirectional interaction arises. In the post-crisis period, the strong interaction continues to exist and in general stock prices dominate exchange rates. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

AAV2-Mediated Subretinal Gene Transfer of hIFN-α Attenuates Experimental Autoimmune Uveoretinitis in Mice

BACKGROUND: Recent reports show that gene therapy may provide a long-term, safe and effective intervention for human diseases. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) based human interferon-alpha (hIFN-α) gene therapy in experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), a classic model for human uveitis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An AAV2 vector harboring the hIFN-α gene (AAV2.hIFN-α) was subretinally injected into B10RIII mice at two doses (1.5×10(6) vg, 1.5×10(8) vg). AAV2 vector encoding green fluorescent protein (AAV2.GFP) was used as a control (5×10(8) vg). The expression of hIFN-α in homogenized eyes and serum was detected by ELISA three weeks after injection. The biodistribution of vector DNA in the injected eyes, contralateral eyes and distant organs was determined by PCR. EAU was induced by immunization with IRBP(161-180) three weeks following vector injections, and evaluated clinically and pathologically. IRBP-specific proliferation and IL-17 expression of lymphocytes from the spleen and lymph nodes were assayed to test the influence of the subretinal delivery of AAV2.hIFN-α on the systemic immune response. hIFN-α was effectively expressed in the eyes from three weeks to three months following subretinal injection of AAV2.hIFN-α vector. DNA of AAV2.GFP was observed only in the injected eyes, but not in the distant organs or contralateral eyes. Subretinal injection of both doses significantly attenuated EAU activity clinically and histologically. For the lower dose, there was no difference concerning lymphocyte proliferation and IL-17 production among the AAV2.hIFN-α, AAV2.GFP and PBS injected mice. However, the higher dose of AAV2.hIFN-α significantly suppressed lymphocyte proliferation and IL-17 production. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Subretinal delivery of AAV2.hIFN-α lead to an effective expression within the eye for at least three months and significantly attenuated EAU activity. AAV2.hIFN-α was shown to inhibit the systemic IRBP-specific immune response

Mídias Sociais e Administração Pública: Análise do sentimento social perante a atuação do governo federal brasileiro

Este estudo procurou identificar como a análise de sentimento, baseada em textos extraídos de mídias sociais, pode ser um instrumento de mensuração da opinião pública sobre a atuação do governo de forma a contribuir para a avaliação da administração pública. Trata-se de um estudo aplicado, interdisciplinar, exploratório, qualitativo e quantitativo. Foram revisadas as principais formulações teóricas e conceituais acerca do tema e realizadas demonstrações práticas, utilizando-se uma ferramenta de mineração de opinião que proporcionou precisão satisfatória no processamento de dados. Para fins de demonstração, foram selecionados temas que motivaram a realização da onda de protestos que envolveu milhões de pessoas no Brasil em junho de 2013. Foram coletadas, processadas e analisadas, aproximadamente, 130.000 mensagens postadas no Facebook e no Twitter sobre esses temas em dois períodos distintos. Por meio desta investigação, observou-se que a análise de sentimento pode revelar a opinião polarizada dos cidadãos quanto à atuação do governo

ANNALS OF OPHTHALMOLOGY & GLAUCOMA

This study reports on the intracellular effects of photocoagulation and photothrombosis applications on experimental corneal neovascularization created in rabbit eyes. Some vessels were left untreated as controls while others were subjected to argon laser photocoagulation and photothrombosis. The resulting ultrastructural changes, which take place relatively moderately in photocoagulation compared with those in photothrombosis, were responsible for the vessel blockage occurring at low energy levels in photothrombosis

Mental Health Needs Of Children In Care In Turkey: Stakeholders’ Perspective And Experiences Of Stakeholders

Background: Looked after children have high levels of unmet mental health needs across the world. This service gap is particularly pronounced in low- and middle-income countries such as Turkey. Research aims. The aims of this research were to explore the views and experiences of looked after children, carers, social workers and mental health professionals in relation to their mental health needs,supports within the care system, and interventions from mental health services. Methods: A qualitative design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 children aged 14-18 years from four care homes in Istanbul, who had previously attended mental health services. In addition, interviews were undertaken with carers (n=9), social workers (n=7) employed in care settings, and psychiatrists (n=5). These were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and analysed through a thematic framework. Results: difficulties, available supports within the are system, and experiences of mental health services. Children often felt abandoned and rejected within care settings, which led them to develop their own coping strategies such as through withdrawal, crying, isolation and loneliness. Fear of stigma, poor referral systems and lack of inter-agency working were perceived as key barriers to access and engage with mental health services. Interventions were largely based on pharmacological treatment, which was mostly viewed as ineffective. Engagement of children, psychotherapeutic interventions, inter-agency collaboration, and capacity-building for carers and staff were the main recommendations by stakeholders. Conclusions: These findings can enable policy-makers, service developers and professionals to better understand the nature of mental health needs experienced by looked after children and gaps in service provision; thus use this evidence-base to improve the quality of their mental health care in Turkey and other similar contexts around the world.</div