Sourcing Local and Sustainable Tourism: The Case of Yesilyurt

Once tourism establishments in the destination choose to source their food & beverage stocks locally, this will cause remarkable changes for all parties involved. The small-scale producers will benefit increased demand and income and also find opportunities to diversify economic activities. The establishments will increase the quality of their food & beverage offer and lower their costs. The tourists will enjoy a more authentic and memorable experience. The destination will see higher multiplier effect and lower leakage, preservation of nature and culture, and a potential for a marketable brand image and regional identity, as well as product diversification. The decision has the potential to contribute to sustainability of the destination however, only if the local food & beverage and supporting cultural and natural elements are in coherence, to create a sense of place.

Proteomic analysis of flowers at two developmental stages in Thermopsis turcica (Fabaceae)

Flower development is a complex physiological phenomenon that is affected by environmental stimuli and endogenous signals. Several molecular approaches have provided a comprehensive view of the physiological processes associated with flower development, but little is known about proteomic changes. Therefore, we investigated the proteomic alterations during flower development in endemic Thermopsis turcica (Vuralia turcica), an unusual legume species with 3–4 free carpels in a single flower. A comparative proteomic analysis to identify proteins involved in flower development was carried out in T. turcica. Alterations in proteomes of the flower buds and fully opened flowers were studied by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. A total of 66 proteins were differentially expressed during flower development. Among them, 32 protein spots were identified by mass spectrometry. Functional annotation of these flower proteins revealed their involvement in transcription and protein metabolism, energy and carbohydrate metabolisms, plant defense, cell walls, photosynthesis, secondary metabolism, and amino acid metabolism. Moreover, most of these proteins were downregulated at the later stage of flower development. Proteins involved in protein metabolism, sugar metabolism, and stress defense are regulated during flower development, suggesting that they have possible roles in developmental regulation. These results have given new insights into the proteome alterations during flower development

Improved chemotaxis differential evolution optimization algorithm

The social foraging behavior of Escherichia coli has recently received great attention and it has been employed to solve complex search optimization problems.This paper presents a modified bacterial foraging optimization BFO algorithm, ICDEOA (Improved Chemotaxis Differential Evolution Optimization Algorithm), to cope with premature convergence of reproduction operator.In ICDEOA, reproduction operator of BFOA is replaced with probabilistic reposition operator to enhance the intensification and the diversification of the search space.ICDEOA was compared with state-of-the-art DE and non-DE variants on 7 numerical functions of the 2014 Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC 2014). Simulation results of CEC 2014 benchmark functions reveal that ICDEOA performs better than that of competitors in terms of the quality of the final solution for high dimensional problems

Investigation of teacher candidates’ university life quality and professional anxiety in terms of various variables

Bu araştırmada fen bilgisi, beden eğitimi ve spor, sosyal bilgiler ve müzik öğretmen adaylarının üniversite yaşam kalitesi ve mesleki kaygı düzeylerinin bölüm, sınıf, akademik başarı, cinsiyet, yaş ve ekonomik gelir değişkenlerine göre incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmada kesitsel tarama modeli benimsenmiştir. Araştırma 2019-2020 akademik yılında Atatürk Üniversitesi Kazım Karabekir Eğitim Fakültesi fen bilgisi eğitimi, beden eğitimi ve spor, sosyal bilgiler eğitimi ve müzik eğitimi anabilim dallarında öğrenim gören 400 öğretmen adayı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak Eriş ve Anıl (2016) tarafından geliştirilen Üniversite Yaşam Kalitesi Ölçeği ve Cabi ve Yalçınalp (2013) tarafından geliştirilen Mesleki Kaygı Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Sonuç olarak öğretmen adaylarının üniversite yaşam kalitelerinde öğrenim görülen bölüme, sınıf düzeyine, cinsiyete, gelir durumuna göre anlamlı farklılaşmalar olduğu belirlenmiştir. Öğretmen adaylarının mesleki kaygı düzeylerinde öğrenim görülen bölüme, cinsiyete, gelir durumuna göre farklılaşma olmadığı ve sınıf düzeyine göre anlamlı farklılaşma olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Öğretmen adaylarının üniversite yaşam kalitesi memnuniyetleri ile mesleki kaygıları arasında düşük düzeyde negatif ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.In this study, it was aimed to examine the university life quality and professional anxiety levels of science, physical education and sports, social studies and music teacher candidates according to the variables of department, grade, academic achievement, gender, age and economic income. Cross-sectional scanning model was adopted in the study. The research was carried out with 400 teacher candidates studying in the departments of science education, physical education and sports, social studies education and music education at Atatürk University Kazım Karabekir Education Faculty in the 2019-2020 academic year. The University Quality of Life Scale developed by Eriş and Anıl (2016) and the Occupational Anxiety Scale developed by Cabi and Yalçınalp (2013) were used as data collection tools. As a result, it was determined that there are significant differences in the quality of life of teacher candidates according to the department of education, class level, gender, and income level. It was determined that there are no differences in the occupational anxiety levels of the teacher candidates according to the department, gender, income level and there is a significant difference according to the grade level. It was concluded that there is a low level negative and significant relationship between teacher candidates' satisfaction with university life quality and their professional anxiety

Prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT for identifying high- and low-risk endometrial cancer patients

Objectives: To assess the usefulness of adding PET/CT as a preoperative test for determining the extent of endometrial cancer and discriminating low- and high-risk patients to identify candidates for surgical staging. Material and methods: We retrospectively reviewed 86 patients with pathologically proven endometrial cancer who had undergone preoperative 18F-FDG PET/CT. The prognostic relationships between PET/CT parameters and pathology reports were assessed. Results: The SUVmax was significantly higher in patients with FIGO stage IB or higher compared with those with stage IA; for stage III–IV compared with stage I–II; and for patients with lymph node metastasis compared with those without lymph node metastasis. Using 6.70 as a cut-off for SUVmax, low-risk patients can be identified with a sensitivity of 92.9%. Conclusions: PET/CT imaging can be used not only for determining malignancy and lymph node involvement but also for determining candidates for surgical staging with high sensitivity

Effect of Mitomycin C in the prevention of tendon adhesion after surgery and the effect of biomechanical stretching on tendon histology

Objective: In this study, optimal dose to reduce tendon adhesion, by using the dose-dependent fibroblast proliferation inhibition effect of Mit-C, and the level, which the tendon histologies are affected, using biomechanical stretching, is investigated. Methods: 56 chicken flexor tendons were used in this study. A total of 9 groups were formed. Mit-C were applied between the tendon and the sheath; 0.9% NaCl for surgical control groups (groupII, groupIII), 0.1mg/ml Mit-C (groupIV, groupVII), 0.2mg/ml Mit-C (groupV, groupVIII) 0.5 mg/ml Mit-C (groupVI, groupIX). Macroscopic, microscopic, synovial sheath thickness and active fibroblast count were compared between the groups that underwent biomechanical stretching (groups III,V,VII,IX) and groups without biomechanical stretching (groups I,II,IV,VI,VIII). Results: After the macroscopic and microscopic examination, it was observed that the groups with the most adhesion were surgical control groups. The best results from the experimental groups were seen in group VIII, but the results of the groups were similar. When active fibroblast count was examined, it was seen that group VIII had the least active fibroblast count. Conclusion: According to the results of the evaluation, Mit-C, by inhibiting fibroblast proliferation and decreasing synovial sheath thickness, decreased adhesion formation. At the same time, it was concluded that the optimal dose for adhesion prevention was 0.2mg/ml, biomechanical stretching affected tendon histology and the drug was suitable for clinical studies

Raspbraille: Conversion to Braille Alphabet with Optical Character Recognition and Voice Recognition Algorithm

It is quite difficult for visually impaired individuals to read a physically printed material. It is a necessity to provide information flow and communication between visually impaired individuals and other individuals. For this purpose, an alphabet has been developed for visually impaired individuals. With this alphabet, which is called the Braille alphabet, it is possible for visually impaired individuals to access written culture. There are special letters in the alphabet designed for the visually impaired. With the development of technology, studies in the field of Braille alphabet have increased. Optical character recognition technology can convert the letters on files such as pdf, pictures, photos into understandable data by selecting and separating them. Speech recognition algorithm, computer, tablet, mobile phone, voice recorder devices, etc. It is the process of detecting and recognizing the human voice through a microphone with technological products. Within the scope of the study, a device has been developed for Braille alphabet by using optical character recognition technology and speech recognition algorithm. First, the images of each page of the books that were requested to be translated into Braille alphabet were taken. Then, a transformation was performed using a specific character set with the optical character recognition algorithm. Audiobooks, on the other hand, were first converted into text and then into Braille alphabet using speech recognition algorithm. With these converted characters, a physical hardware device has been developed to display Braille letters that visually impaired individuals can read faster

Listeria monocytogenes’in Etken Olduğu Bir Menenjit Olgusu

Listeriosis, Listeria monocytogenes’in (L. monocytogenes) neden olduğu toplumda nadir görülen bir enfeksiyon hastalığıdır. L. monocytogenes genellikle yüksek riskli hastaları, özellikle yaşlılar, bağışıklığı baskılanmış hastalar ve gebeleri enfekte eden bir bakteridir. Burada diabetes mellitus, pemfigus vulgaris hastalıkları olan 79 yaşında erkek hastada L. monocytogenes’e bağlı menenjit gelişen bir olgu sunulmaktadır