Semiocide: An introduction to semiotics of destruction of the meaningful

The aim of this article is to expand on the concept of semiocide which, in broad terms, is the destruction of signs and semiosis. Taking its point of departure from Ivar Puura’s article on the concept, this essay attempts to find conceptual parallels and historical examples of the term, expanding its range through a critique of its original conception. Departing from the initial conservatism of Puura’s definition, the article will argue for a more diverse understanding of the term, suggesting a view that positions semiocide not just as a descriptor for lamentable losses, but also as a potential avenue for emancipatory praxis, whereby established, hegemonic and oppressive meanings can be undermined and new possibilities of representation and identity explored.    &nbsp

Determination of apoptotic effects of clinoptilolite on human T lymphocytes

Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute Of Technology, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, İzmir, 2008Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 23-26)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishviii, 26 leavesZeolites are defined as aluminum silicates that have made up of oxygen, aluminum and silicon. SiO4 and Alo4 tetrahedrals are the smallest units that give the specific shape to the molecule. There are more than 40 types of natural and over 150 types of synthetic zeolites occurs and those zeolites are used in agriculture, animal husbandry, architecture, pharmaceuticals and metallurgy. Recent years in literature it was shown that these zeolites can have regulatory effects on immune system. Also it was shown that they can influence the development of cancer and have a role on the expression of tumor suppressor genes. However there is no evidence can be found on how these molecules affect the function of specific cell types in the molecular level and also the mechanism of this effect.In this study the apoptotic effects of clinoptilolite which is a natural zeolite found in Gördes region of Turkey, on human T lymphocytes were studied. T cells were chosen in this study because they are the main players in the immune system. These cells can establish immune regulation and organize immune response. As a result, they are important in pathology and therapy. Peripheral blood mono nuclear cells (PBMCs) in which T cells can be found were isolated from the healthy donors blood by Ficoll Hypaque Gradient Method and then these cells were incubated with clinoptilolite in the RPMI 1640 media. Apoptosis were measured in FacsArray after appropriate immunofluorescent labeling and by agarose electrophoresis technique after DNA fragmentation assay done

Parameteric thermal process models of friction stir welding

A Dissertation for the Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering School of Mechanical, Industrial & Aeronautical Engineering Date: 02/02/2017The Friction Stir Welding process is a rotating tool, that consists of a specialy designed shoulder and pin, that is plunged into the joining line of the required material and traverses along this line. The friction is induced by the rotating tool causes the workpiece material to rise to an operating temperature of 70% to 90% of the workpiece material's melting temperature and resulting in, no phase change, nor any defects associated with phase change, occurs in the workpiece. The increased temperature of the material causes the shear yield strength to drastically decrease thus allowing the two pieces to plasticise, easily stir around the tool and subsequently join. As the tool traverses along the workpiece, the softened material cools in the wake of the rotating tool and recrystallises, forming a ne grained microstructure. Attempts to develop an innovative tool to correlate the resulting of thermal models with process parameters are scarce. In this work, 6056-T4 and 6082-T6 Aluminum alloy sheets are friction stir welding at different rotational and translational speeds during the experimental aspect and material 2024-T3 for the analytical calculations. The effects of process parameters on the resulting thermal and mechanical properties are investigated. The results show that the use of coolant during the friction stir weld decrease heat generation substantially, this can also affect the force of the weld. It is also observed that the shear strenght of the processed sheet depends strongly on the rotational and translational speeds as weld as the thermal aspect and varies widely within the processed region, this was shown in this study by evaluating the thermal aspects of different weld types namely the Standard tool, Bobbin tool and the innovative tool. In addition. The proposed approach involves determination of the use of the friction stir welding in different thermal conditions and championing the use of an innovative tool.MT201

Optimization of extraction conditions for active components in equisetum arvense extract

Response surface methodology was applied to predict optimum conditions for equisetum arvense extraction. Central composite design was used to monitor the effects of temperature, stirring speed, ethanol percent, extraction time, solid-liquid ratio on dependent variables such as, extract yield percent, total phenol content, total antioxidant capacity, silicic acid amount. According to the mathematical models obtained from the analysis, the highest values for yield percent, total phenol content, total antioxidant capacity and silicic acid amount were found to be 18.67 %, 123 mg gallic acid gr-1 dry weight extract, 1608 μM TEAC mg-1 dry weight extract and 0.0049 mg silicic acid mg-1 dry weight extract, respectively. The plant extracts were analyzed with HPLC to determine the phenolic content and compositional differences of extracts obtained at different extraction conditions. Plant extracts were also analyzed for their cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities. The high total antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content resulted in an increased cytotoxic effect on fibroblast cells. Equisetum arvense extracts showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli bacteria, however showed no effect against Candida albicans. © 2013 University of Bucharest

On The Dynamics Of The Difference Equation

In this paper, we studied the global behavior of the difference equation nbspwith non-negative parameters and the initial conditions nbspare non-negative real numbers

Genetic Diversity of Some Quercus (Fagaceae) and their Putative Hybrids in Turkey

In the study, Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) method was used to identify and differentiate between twelve different white oaks to show their genetic diversity. On the other hand, interspecific hybridization is quite common among oak species. This situation makes the hybridization between closely related parents possible. Besides genetic diversity of some white oaks, the five putative hybrids which are morphologically indistinguishable were also studied. ISSR markers produced a total of 89.71 %25 polymorphism with Quercus taxa and a total of 175 bands were revealed by 11 ISSR primers. Statistical analysis softwares, Minitab, NTSYS-pc (Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System) and POPGENE (Population Genetic Analysis) softwares were used to reveal variations between these white oaks. Effective allelic frequency, Shannon index, genetic distance was calculated by the POPGENE software. The most distance taxon was Q. pontica, then Q. vulcanica found to be genetically distant among the taxa. The results of the two analyses, cluster (CA) and principal component (PCA) are in correlation with each other and giving four groups among the studied oak taxa. Putative hybrids are usually located between their presumed parents in the dendrogram and graphs. Consequently, this preliminary study showed that ISSR markers can be used with confidence for genetic diversity of white oaks. It can also be helpful for putative hybrids to some extent

Antioxidant activity of sesame oil on oxidative stability of olive oil

In this study, the effects of blending sesame oil with olive oil at different concentrations (5%, 15% and 25%) and storing the oil blend at 60C for 30 days in relation to the physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition were determined. Peroxide value, free fatty acid, p-anisidine, K232 and K270 values were analyzed on the 15th and 30th days in olive oil as well as sesame/olive oil blend. After 15 days of storage, the lowest peroxide value (3.73 meq O2/kg) was obtained in olive oil containing 5% sesame oil, while olive oil containing 25% sesame oil has lowest peroxide value of 4.95 meq O2/kg after 30 days of storage. The lowest free fatty acid values were found in olive oils, with the values of 1.45% for 15th day and 1.67% for 30th day. The result revealed that peroxide and p-anisidine values increased, while the free fatty acid and ultraviolet absorption at 232 and 270 nm decreased during storage at 60C. Minimum free fatty acid (1.45%) was found in olive oil stored for 15 days, while the K values were in the range (0.01-0.02) following analysis on 30th day. This study revealed that addition of sesame oil to olive oil improved the antioxidative property of oil blends

The Effectiveness of Urban Green Spaces and Socio-Cultural Facilities

This paper aims to develop a theoretical approach for mapping and determining the effectiveness of green spaces and socio-cultural facilities as providers of urban ecosystem services and urban services in the case of Adana, Turkey. Firstly, green spaces and socio-cultural facilities per capita have been determined and indexed for the neighbourhoods in the city. Then, a distance-based method for estimating the effectiveness of these facilities was used. The distances between the various neighbourhoods and between a given facility and the farthest threshold have been measured and these values have been used to determine the facility effectiveness change value for each neighbourhood. Then, effective values have been calculated and indexed by incorporating the green space and socio-cultural facility values and the effectiveness change values for the neighbourhoods. Finally, point-based effective green spaces and socio-cultural facilities index values have been converted to continuous surface values in a GIS (geographic information system) environment in order to utilize as a base map for urban physical planning purposes. According to the outcomes of this study, the distribution of green spaces and socio-cultural facilities of the neighbourhoods are imbalanced and index values of these facilities range in between 45 and 84 out of 100.This paper aims to develop a theoretical approach for mapping and determining the effectiveness of green spaces and socio-cultural facilities in the case of Adana, Turkey. Firstly, green spaces and socio-cultural facilities per capita has been determined and indexed for the neighbourhoods in the city. Then, a distance-based method for estimating the effectiveness of these facilities was used. The distance amongst the neighbourhoods and between a facility and the farthest threshold has been measured initially and these values have been used to determine the facility effectiveness change value of each neighbourhood. Secondly, effective values have been calculated and indexed by incorporating the green space and socio-cultural facility values and the effectiveness change values of the neighbourhoods. Finally, point based effective green spaces and socio-cultural facilities’ index values have been converted to continuous surface values in a GIS environment in order to utilize as a base map for urban physical planning purposes. According to the outcomes of this study, the distribution of green spaces and socio-cultural facilities of the neighborhoods are imbalanced and index values of these facilities are ranged in between 45-84 out of 100

Exploring the relationship between total vertical jump load and block performance in elite volleyball players: Position-specific analysis

Aim: The study aimed to examine the relationship between total load jumps and negative block performance of elite male volleyball players. Method: During the research, 18 elite volleyball athletes were monitored, composed of 7 middle players, 8 spikers, and 3 opposite players. The total vertical jump and block performance of volleyball players were assessed during 23 demo matches completed in routine training sessions. The tracking of vertical jump count was facilitated by employing a vert belt, while the assessment of block performance relied on the application of Data Volley 4 Pro software. The statistical analysis of the data was conducted using the SPSS 22.0 package program for Windows. The Spearman correlation test was applied to assess the relationship between jump load and block performance. Results: A negative, weak, and significant relationship was found between vertical jump load and ineffective block (r=-,206; p<0,05) and a weak but insignificant relationship for block error (r=,100; p>0,05) for middle players. A positive, insignificant relationship was found between vertical jump load and block error (r=,007; p>0,05), and a negative, insignificant, for the ineffective block (r=-,079; p>0,05) for spikers. A positive, insignificant relationship between total jump load and ineffective block (r=,054; p>0,05), and block error (r=,027; p>0,05). Conclusion: Across all players, the findings suggest that the total jump load is not significantly related to either block errors or ineffective blocks. The positive correlations observed between jump load and both block errors and ineffective blocks are not statistically significant for the entire group