Seismic performance evaluation of traditional timber hımış frames: capacity spectrum method based assessment

Timber constructions have been widely suggested to be seismically resistant based on post-disaster reconnaissance studies. This observation has, however, remained to a large extent anecdotal due to the lack of experimental work supporting it, especially for certain timber architectural forms, including traditional timber frame “hımış” structures. To fill this gap, the authors carried out an extensive full-scale testing scheme using frames of various geometrical configurations, tested under reverse-cyclic lateral loading with/without infill (brick and adobe) or cladding (bağdadi and şamdolma) (Aktas et al. in Earthq Spectra 30(4):1711–1732, 2014a, b). The tests concluded that hımış frames had high energy dissipation capabilities due mostly to nailed connections. Infill/cladding significantly helped improve stiffness and lateral load strength of the frames, and timber type did not seem to make a remarkable impact on the overall behaviour. The current paper, on the other hand, uses test data to calculate capacity/demand ratios based on capacity spectrum method and Eurocode 8 to elaborate more on the performance of “hımış” structures under seismic loading. The obtained results are discussed to draw important conclusions with regards to how frame geometry and infill/cladding techniques affect the overall performance

Revealing Landscape Planning Strategies for Disaster-Prone Coastal Urban Environments: The Case of Istanbul Megacity

Regarding the challenges of the twenty-first century, this study aims to explore the role of landscape architecture within the multidisciplinary setting of the studies on coastal disasters. Thus, it focuses on Istanbul, which deserves being one of the most well-known coastal megacities of the world, not only due to its long history dating back to 6700 BC but also due its unique coastal configuration. This ever-expanding but disaster-prone megacity stands on two peninsulas belonging to different continents, holds the only strait connecting the Black Sea to the other seas, and accommodates 12 lakes with more than 100 streams. These coastal features promote the vulnerability of the megacity to a wide range of natural and man-made disasters, such as earthquake, tsunami, flood, sea level rise, and salinization. The evaluation process of this study benefits from the GIS and comprises five major phases: examining the urban-landscape change, defining the major coastal disasters, identifying the disaster-prone environments, and defining multilayered landscape planning strategies. This study develops landscape planning strategies for disaster-prone coastal urban environments by deriving from the complex dynamics of the Istanbul megacity. This study is an attempt to further disaster-sensitive landscape studies in the belief that not only Istanbul but also the other coastal megacities will benefit from them

Fulminant Nocardia Colitis: A Case Report

Background: Nocardia infection is a rare but well-recognized side effect of immunosuppressive therapy including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) antagonists. However, Nocardia colitis has only been previously reported once in the English literature. Case Report: We present a 58-y-old female with history of Crohn disease maintained on multiple medications including infliximab (a TNF-α antagonist). The patient presented to the emergency department with hematochezia and abdominal pain. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed extensive pneumotosis throughout the bowel as well as mesenteric and portal venous gas. She underwent an exploratory laparotomy that revealed bowel edema without ischemia. No bowel was resected and at a planned second-look laparotomy 48?h later, the bowel appeared normal and the abdomen was closed. Post-operatively, the patient tested negative for Clostridium difficile infection. The blood and abdominal fluid cultures were positive for Nocardia farcinica. Conclusion: The patient had a complicated post-operative course and developed multiple hospital-acquired infections. However, she survived and was placed in sub-acute rehabilitation four weeks after the acute surgical intervention.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140345/1/crsi.2016.0013.pd

The Impact of Sincerity of Terrorists on Committing Terrorist Activities in Turkey

This study explores the impact of sincerity of terrorists on committing terrorist activities in Turkey. The researcher is a Chief of Police in Turkey and has worked in the Anti-terror Department for a considerable part of his professional career. His professional experience has shown that the more sincere a terrorist is the more violent or heedless the terrorist activity is. Thus this research academically and statistically examines this observation and finds that sincerity affects level of violence. Attachment and adherence to the terrorist organization turn even the characteristically non-violent people into blood seeking terrorists

Contributions to Causal Inference in Observational Studies

The electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of the patient chart. All clinically relevant patient information can be accessed from the EHR by professionals involved in the patient’s care. For researchers, the EHR is a rich, convenient source for data to address a vast range of medical research questions. In observational studies with EHR data, it is common to define the treatment/exposure status as a binary indicator reflecting whether patient was documented to receive a particular medication or procedure. The outcome can be any type of information on patient status documented in the EHR after the treatment has taken place. The EHR, although not designed primarily for research, can serve as a platform for observational studies in clinical medicine. An advantage of the EHR is that it can document treatments unequivocally, provided the treatment – medication or procedure – appears in the record. For example, in a study in which treatment is the route of medication (intravenous= treated, oral=control), the EHR makes it clear which route was used. This does not, however, relieve the investigator from the responsibility of defining and measuring confounding variables, and properly adjusting for them in comparative analyses. In Chapter 1, we demonstrate the use of longitudinal EHR data in an evaluation of the effects of treatment of 12,754 children with overweight/obesity in greater Dallas. Our objective in this study is to estimate the causal effect of clinician attention to elevated body v mass index (BMI), measured at up to 10 timepoints per child, on subsequent weight change. To account for bias from confounding, we use the propensity score stratification method, applied longitudinally at each timepoint. We specify the propensity score model to include baseline covariates, current values of time-varying covariates, and treatment status at the most recent visit. An alternative method of causal inference when treatments are applied longitudinally in an observational study relies on the marginal structural model (MSM). When estimating an MSM, one eliminates confounding bias by constructing a series of propensity score models for treatment at each time, then weighting the subjects based on these scores. The MSM has the interpretation of a causal model for the effect of the series of treatments on the outcome. Although MSMs are in wide use, there has been relatively little evaluation of the properties of model estimates in small samples. One can conduct a simulation study to assess properties such as the suitability of asymptotic approximations to moderate samples, best methods for computing the standard errors, choice of the weighting method, and robustness to incorrect assumptions about the MSM or the underlying propensity score model. Several simulation methods have been proposed, each with its pros and cons. In Chapter 2, we introduce a new, simplified simulation method that addresses the limitations of the existing methods. We demonstrate the use of our method in a Monte Carlo study to assess the properties of an estimated MSM involving treatment at two timepoints. An oft-cited concern with MSMs is the sensitivity of model estimates to large weights. This issue arises in particular when there are multiple timepoints. As the number of timepoints increases, an individual’s propensity score can become very small, while the estimation weights – defined as the inverse of the propensity score – becomes correspondingly large. Having a few subjects with large weights can result in an unstable estimate. In Chapter 3, we use the novel simulation method that we introduced in Chapter 2 to conduct a Monte Carlo assessment of the impact of large weights on the validity of MSM estimates. Finally, vi we estimate a series of MSMs for the child obesity example from Chapter 1 and interpret the results in light of our simulation findings

Destructive effects of murine arthritogenic antibodies to type II collagen on cartilage explants in vitro

Certain monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to type II collagen (CII) induce arthritis in vivo after passive transfer and have adverse effects on chondrocyte cultures and inhibit self assembly of collagen fibrils in vitro. We have examined whether such mAbs have detrimental effects on pre-existing cartilage. Bovine cartilage explants were cultured over 21 days in the presence of two arthritogenic mAbs to CII (CIIC1 or M2139), a non-arthritogenic mAb to CII (CIIF4) or a control mAb (GAD6). Penetration of cartilage by mAb was determined by immunofluorescence on frozen sections and correlated with changes to the extracellular matrix and chondrocytes by morphometric analysis of sections stained with toluidine blue. The effects of mAbs on matrix components were examined by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIRM). A possible role of Fc-binding was investigated using F(ab)(2 )from CIIC1. All three mAbs to CII penetrated the cartilage explants and CIIC1 and M2139, but not CIIF4, had adverse effects that included proteoglycan loss correlating with mAb penetration, the later development in cultures of an abnormal superficial cellular layer, and an increased proportion of empty chondrons. FTIRM showed depletion and denaturation of CII at the explant surface in the presence of CIIC1 or M2139, which paralleled proteoglycan loss. The effects of F(ab)(2 )were greater than those of intact CIIC1. Our results indicate that mAbs to CII can adversely affect preformed cartilage, and that the specific epitope on CII recognised by the mAb determines both arthritogenicity in vivo and adverse effects in vitro. We conclude that antibodies to CII can have pathogenic effects that are independent of inflammatory mediators or Fc-binding

A Novel Microwave Coaxial Slot Antenna for Liver Tumor Ablation

This paper is on the effect of a T-ring shape structure to enhance the capability of a microwave coaxial slot antenna (MCA) in the treatment of liver cancer. The MCA is composed of an interstitial coaxial line that is enclosed in a catheter. The T-ring shape structure is wrapped on the outer conductor of the MCA. Thanks to the new structure, the backward heating problem appearing in many coaxial antennas is reduced and the generated heat in front of the slot is higher than those for a classical MCA

Alterations within the Coastal Urban Environments: Case of the Coastal Squares of Istanbul Megacity

Two-thirds of the megacities of the world are standing on the coastal areas. Today, coastal megacities are under the impact of varying factors like human-induced changes such as urbanization and mega projects and the natural ones as global climate change and natural disasters. Many European coastal cities are examining the impacts of the sea level change due to the global climate change. Regarding its long history, interplay with the sea and the drastic population, Istanbul captures a significant place both in Turkey and in the world. It is standing as a city, which is phase by phase losing its interaction with the sea due to the mega projects generated within the last decades. Although their limited number; public squares and parks attached with the promenades are the only openings to the sea and they contribute maintaining the continuity and sustainability of coastal identity. This chapter handles five significant historical squares and interrogates their interplay with the natural and physical challenges of the twenty-first century. Regarding this aim, case areas are evaluated by parameters of morphological attributes, formation of squares, qualification of the surfaces and coastal-based natural disaster impacts such as sea level rise and tsunami through literature-based studies and spatio-temporal diagrammatic maps