Improving Ride Comfort of a Bus Using Fuzzy Logic Controlled Suspension

In this study an active controller is presented for vibration suppression of a full-bus model. The bus is modelled having seven degrees of freedom. Using the achieved model via Lagrange Equations the system equations of motion are derived. The suspensions of the bus model include air springs with two auxiliary chambers are used. Fuzzy logic controller is used to improve the ride comfort. The numerical results, verifies that the presented fuzzy logic controller improves the ride comfort

Evaluation of in vitro antifungal activity of potassium bicarbonate on Rhizoctonia solani AG 4 HG-I, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Trichoderma sp.

The effect of increased concentrations of potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) as a possible alternative to synthetic fungicides for controlling Rhizoctonia solani AG 4 HG-I and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was evaluated in vitro, in this study. In addition, the effect of potassium bicarbonate on Trichoderma sp., a natural antagonist on R. solani AG 4 HG-I and S. sclerotiorum was determined. Potassium bicarbonate substantially inhibited (P<0.05) the growth of the three fungal strains. Mycelial growth of R. solani AG 4 HG-I significantly decreased as the concentration of bicarbonate increased, especially at concentrations greater than 200 mM. Similarly, mycelial growth of both S. sclerotiorum and Trichoderma sp. dramatically reduced in increasing concentrations of KHCO3. Mycelial growth of either fungi was completely inhibited when exposed to 100 mM bicarbonate. In addition, KHCO3 concentrations higher than 10 mM caused significant (P<0.05) reduction of the sclerotium formation of S. sclerotiorum. Also, sclerotium germination and de novo sclerotium formation were significantly inhibited as the concentrations of KHCO3 increased. As a result, it was concluded that potassium bicarbonate was an alternative chemical agent for  controlling R. solani AG 4 HG-I and S. sclerotiorum. Also, KHCO3 was found to have negative effects on Trichoderma sp.Key words: Antifungal effect, KHCO3, soil borne pathogens, sclerotium germination

Relationship between childhood abuse experiences, cognitive distortions and loneliness levels of high school students

Objective: Childhood abuse experiences and their traumatic consequences have the characteristics that greatly affect the individual's future life. For this reason, it is thought that determining the variables related to neglect and abuse will be a guide for awareness-raising and prevention efforts to be made. In this study, the relationship between childhood abuse experiences, cognitive distortions and loneliness levels of high school students was investigated. Method: Study group consisted of 703 high school students. The participants were asked to complete Demographic Information Form, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, The Interpersonal Distortions Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale. The data were analysed using Spearman’s Brown Rank Test and multiple regression. Results: The results of the data analysis indicated that a statistically significant relationship was found between physical abuse sub-dimension of childhood abuse experiences and avoidance from proximity subdimension of interpersonal distortions in positive way; mind reading sub-dimension of interpersonal distortions in negativeway. Also, therewas a significant positive correlation between sexual abuse sub-dimension of childhood traumatic experiences and avoidance from proximity sub-dimension of interpersonal distortions. It was found out that emotional abuse sub-dimension of childhood abuse experiences displayed a significant relationship with avoidance of proximitysub-dimension of interpersonal distortions in positive way; whereas with unrealistic expectations of relationships and mind reading sub-dimensions of interpersonal distortionsin negative way. Also it was found that childhood abuse experiences explained the 5% of the avoid proximity sub-dimension of cognitive distortions and 17% of the loneliness level. Discussion: Results of the study indicated that all subdimensions of childhood abuse experiences were related to sub-dimensions of cognitive distortions and loneliness levels

Benchmarking Distributed Coordination Systems: A Survey and Analysis

Coordination services and protocols are critical components of distributed systems and are essential for providing consistency, fault tolerance, and scalability. However, due to lack of a standard benchmarking tool for distributed coordination services, coordination service developers/researchers either use a NoSQL standard benchmark and omit evaluating consistency, distribution, and fault-tolerance; or create their own ad-hoc microbenchmarks and skip comparability with other services. In this paper, we analyze and compare known and widely used distributed coordination services, their evaluations, and the tools used to benchmark those systems. We identify important requirements of distributed coordination service benchmarking, like the metrics and parameters that need to be evaluated and their evaluation setups and tools

Genetic Diversity and Pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia spp. Isolates Associated with Red Cabbage in Samsun (Turkey)

A total of 132 Rhizoctonia isolates were recovered from red cabbage plants with root rot and wirestem symptoms in the province of Samsun (Turkey) between 2018 and 2019. Based on the sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region located between the 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA genes and including nuclear staining, these 124 isolates were assigned to multinucleate Rhizoctonia solani, and eight were binucleate Rhizoctonia. The most prevalent anastomosis group (AG) was AG 4 (84%), which was subdivided into AG 4 HG-I (81%) and AG 4 HG-III (3%), followed by AG 5 (10%) and AG-A (6%), respectively. The unweighted pair group method phylogenetic tree resulting from the data of 68 isolates with the inter-PBS amplification DNA profiling method based on interspersed retrotransposon element sequences confirmed the differentiation of AGs with a higher resolution. In the greenhouse experiment with representative isolates (n = 24) from AGs on red cabbage (cv. Rondale), the disease severity index was between 3.33 and 4.0 for multinucleate AG isolates and ranged from 2.5 to 3.17 for AG-A isolates. In the pathogenicity assay of six red cabbage cultivars, one isolate for each AG was tested using a similar method, and all cultivars were susceptible to AG 4 HG-I and AG 4 HG-III isolates. Redriver and Remale were moderately susceptible, while Rescue, Travero, Integro, and Rondale were susceptible to the AG 5 isolate. The results indicate that the most prevalent and aggressive AGs of Rhizoctonia are devastating pathogens to red cabbage, which means that rotation with nonhost-crops for these AGs may be the most effective control strategy. This is the first comprehensive study of Rhizoctonia isolates in red cabbage using a molecular approach to assess genetic diversity using iPBS-amplified DNA profiling

Interaction between design studio and curriculum courses: Bilkent university case

A major aim of the design studio is to educate students to be well-equipped designers. To do so, a student should be able to grasp the divergent information of various courses and integrate that knowledge into their design problems. But are students aware of the emphasis placed on incorporating different curriculum courses into the design studio? Do they find it beneficial while developing a design project? To what extent do they think this integration has an impact on their success in the design studio and in their adaptation to professional practice? This paper seeks to find out whether the integration between the design studio and other curriculum courses is productive from students' perspectives and determine if there is a consensus between students and instructors on the significance of transferring knowledge from curriculum courses to design projects. In addition, the paper examines the position of the design studio as an integrative medium between education and practice in the Turkish context

Henoch-Schönlein purpura in children: A cross sectional study

Background: Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a leukocytoclastic vasculitis with small vessel involvement and mainly affects the skin as well as joints, the gastrointestinal system (GIS), kidneys, and, more rarely, other organs. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics, and clinical and laboratory findings of patients diagnosed with HSP. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study done to find out the sociodemographic data, clinical, laboratory findings, and treatment information of patients diagnosed with HSP and was admitted to the Pediatric Clinic of a tertiary care hospital between January 1, 2008, and August 31, 2013. The data were obtained from the hospital’s data processing system. HSP cases were validated according to EULAR/PRINTO/PRES criteria. Mean standard deviation, median, lowest and highest, frequency, and ratio values were used in the descriptive statistics of the data. Results: The study included 85 patients between the ages of 2 and 16 years, wherein 49 patients (57.6%) were male and 36 (42.4%) were female. The mean age was 9.9±3.3 years and 53 patients (62.4%) were under 10 years of age. The most common precipitating factor was upper respiratory tract infections. Purpura was the only symptom observed in all the patients and joint involvement was the second most common symptom (60%). GIS involvement was observed in 46 patients (58.8%) and intussusception was observed in one patient. Nine patients (10.6%) had renal involvement with mild nephropathy. The most frequently observed laboratory findings were increased C-reactive protein (47%) and leukocytosis (31%). Conclusion: HSP is commonly seen in children and leads to life-threatening complications in a minority of patients. Whole patients with GIS and renal involvement should be examined and monitored to assess the severity of the disease and any complications

Acute effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy on arterial distensibility and serum norepinephrine levels in advanced heart failure

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has become an accepted method fortreating refractory heart failure (HF). Arterial distensibility is an index of arterial stiffnessand a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis. The present study aims to assess the acute effects of ventricular resynchronization therapy with biventricular stimulation on arterial distensibility, echocardiographic parameters and serum norepinephrine levels in patients with drugrefractory HF.Methods: Fourteen cardiac HF patients (53.6 ± 9.1; 39–67 years, 7 woman) were enrolled for CRT. Patients had an advanced cardiac HF (NYHA III–IV functional class) due to non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 35% and QRS duration ≥ 120 ms. Blood samples for norepinephrine and B-type natriuretic peptidewere collected before 24 h biventricular implantation and after 48 h of CRT. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to evaluate arterial distensibility and cardiovascular condition.Results: Although systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, LV end-diastolic diameter, LV end-systolic diameter, serum B-type natriuretic peptide, and serum norepinephrine levels significantly decreased after CRT implantation; EF and aortic distensibility significantly increased (p < 0.05). There was no significance in the hemodynamic and echocardiographic values, norepinephrine and B-type natriuretic peptide levels in pre- and post-CRT between man and woman.Conclusions: The major findings of this study are that in patients with cardiac HF in acute period, after implantation of CRT serum norepinephrine levels decrease and the arterial distensibility improves

5-Fluorouracil, epirubicin and cisplatin in the treatment of metastatic gastric carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 68 patients

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death. The majority of gastric cancers show distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis. At present, there is no general agreement over one standard chemotherapy regimen for metastatic gastric cancer. AIMS: We evaluated the activity and toxicity of the combination of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), epirubicin and cisplatin (FEP) in previously untreated patients with metastatic gastric cancer. SETTING AND DESIGN: Medical Oncology Department of Uludag University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa; retrospective study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-eight patients received 5-FU 300 mg/m2 on Days 1-5, epirubicin 50 mg/m2 on Day 1 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1, every 4 weeks. A median of 3.5 cycles was administered. The response rate, time to disease progression, survival and toxic effects were analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Overall survival and time to progression were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: There were 4 partial responses and 1 complete response (overall response rate 7.3%); 16 patients had stable disease. Median progression-free and overall survival rates were 3.1 months (95% CI 1.9-4) and 6 months (95% CI 4.2-7), respectively. The principal toxicity was myelosupression. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 27.9%, anemia in 17.6%, and thrombocytopenia in 11.7% of patients. Non-hematological toxicity was mild and manageable. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that FEP combination as used at the doses and schedules in this study has inferior activity against metastatic gastric cancer

Comparison of prognostic scores and surgical approaches to treat spinal metastatic tumors: A review of 57 cases

Surgical treatment of metastatic spinal cord compression with or without neural deficit is controversial. Karnofsky and Tokuhashi scores have been proposed for prognosis of spinal metastasis. Here, we conducted a retrospective analysis of Karnofsky and modified Tokuhashi scores in 57 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for secondary spinal metastases to evaluate the value of these scores in aiding decision making for surgery. Comparison of preoperative Karnofsky and modified Tokuhashi scores with the type of the surgical approach for each patient revealed that both scores not only reliably estimate life expectancy, but also objectively improved surgical decisions. When the general status of the patient is poor (i.e., Karnofsky score less than 40% or modified Tokuhashi score of 5 or greater), palliative treatments and radiotherapy, rather than surgery, should be considered