Competitiveness of Turkey’s Automotive Industry

This paper attempts to answer the question whether Turkey’s Automotive Industry, which was, in 2016, 14th largest automotive industry in the world, and the 5th in Europe, is competitive or not. To measure the competitiveness of the industry, Revealed Comparative Advantage index (RCA) has been benefited. What differs this study from the previous ones are the facts that: first, the time span that the study which covers a larger period than most of other studies benefiting RCA index, namely, the time coverage of the study is from 2001 to 2016, thus the results will also account for the RCA values of 2001 and 2008, which are the economic crisis years. Second, in addition to having a large time coverage, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this study’s results provides the most up-to-date RCA values for the industry

How Image Degradations Affect Deep CNN-based Face Recognition?

Face recognition approaches that are based on deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) have been dominating the field. The performance improvements they have provided in the so called in-the-wild datasets are significant, however, their performance under image quality degradations have not been assessed, yet. This is particularly important, since in real-world face recognition applications, images may contain various kinds of degradations due to motion blur, noise, compression artifacts, color distortions, and occlusion. In this work, we have addressed this problem and analyzed the influence of these image degradations on the performance of deep CNN-based face recognition approaches using the standard LFW closed-set identification protocol. We have evaluated three popular deep CNN models, namely, the AlexNet, VGG-Face, and GoogLeNet. Results have indicated that blur, noise, and occlusion cause a significant decrease in performance, while deep CNN models are found to be robust to distortions, such as color distortions and change in color balance.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

KONUTLARDA DÖŞEMELİ MOBİLYALARIN DEĞİŞTİRİLME SÜREÇLERİNİN İNCELENMESİ

KONUTLARDA DÖŞEMELİ MOBİLYALARIN DEĞİŞTİRİLME SÜREÇLERİNİN İNCELENMESİÖzetBu araştırmada, konut kullanıcılarının döşemeli mobilyalarını kullanım süreleri, değiştirme nedenleri, satın alma şekilleri ve satın alırken dikkate aldığı hususların belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu maksatla hazırlanmış olan ankete toplam 105 konut kullanıcısı katılmış olup, elde edilen sonuçlar SPSS programıyla değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre, konut kullanıcılarının yarısından fazlasının döşemeli mobilyalarını 3-8 yıl kullandığı, %50’den fazlasının ürünlerin eskimesi nedeniyle değiştirmek istediği ve kullanıcıların %82’sinin döşemeli mobilyalarını mağazadan satın aldığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, konut kullanıcılarının döşemeli mobilyaları satın alırken %17,2’si demonte olmasına, %14,7’si malzeme kalitesine, %12,8’i ölçü uyumuna, %23,5’i koltuk kılıfının yıkanabilir olmasına, %16,7’si kullanışlı olmasına ve %16,9’u ise modaya uygun olmasına dikkate aldığı belirlenmiştir.Anahtar Kelimeler: Döşemeli Mobilya, İç Mekân, Donatı Elemanı, Konut, TasarımINVESTIGATION OF REPLACEMENT PROCESS OF FLOORED FURNITURE IN RESIDENCESAbstractIn this study, it was aimed to determine the usage time of the upholstered furniture, the reasons for changing, the ways of purchasing and the issues that are taken into consideration while purchasing. A total of 105 residential users participated in the survey prepared for this purpose, and the results were evaluated with the SPSS program. According to the results of the research, it has been determined that more than half of the residential users use their upholstered furniture for 3-8 years, more than 50% want to replace them due to the aging of the products, and 82% of the users buy their upholstered furniture from the store. In addition, when purchasing upholstered furniture for residential users, 17.2% disassemble, 14.7% material quality, 12.8% size fit, 23.5% seat cover washable, %16.7 useful and 16.9% being trendy.Keywords: Upholstered Furniture, Interior, Equipment Element, House, Desig

Fragmented QRS complexes are associated with left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunctions in patients with metabolic syndrome

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is found to be associated with deterioration of the left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic functions. One of the factors for this impairment is myocardial fibrosis. Fragmented QRS (fQRS) complexes are found to be associated with myocardial fibrosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate if the presence of fQRS on electrocardiogram (ECG) can detect pronounced impairment in the LV systolic and diastolic functions in MetS patients. Methods: The study included 111 (mean age 47 ± 9, 49.5% male) MetS patients and 96 (mean age 45 ± 9, 58.3% male) control subjects without MetS. ECG was evaluated for the presence of fQRS. Each patient underwent conventional echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging. Results: Fragmented QRS was more common among MetS patients (26.1% vs. 14.6%, p = 0.041). MetS was associated with subclinical LV systolic and LV diastolic dysfunctions. In subgroup analyses of MetS patients, the presence of fQRS on ECG had a higher E/E’ ratio and lower E’ velocity, indicating pronounced diastolic dysfunction, as well as lower isovolumic acceleration (IVA), indicating profound subclinical LV systolic dysfunction. E/E’ ratio and IVA were independent predictors of fQRS presence in patients with MetS. Conclusions: Fragmented QRS is more common among MetS patients compared to non-MetS patients. The presence of fQRS is associated with pronounced subclinical LV systolic and diastolic dysfunctions in MetS patients

Evaluation of the Oxidative Effect of Long-Term Repetitive Hyperbaric Oxygen Exposures on Different Brain Regions of Rats

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) exposure affects both oxidative and antioxidant systems. This effect is positively correlated with the exposure time and duration of the treatment. The present study aims enlightening the relation of HBO2 with oxidative/antioxidant systems when administered in a prolonged and repetitive manner in brain tissues of rats. Sixty rats were divided into 6 study (n = 8 for each) and 1 control (n = 12) group. Rats in the study groups were daily exposed 90-min HBO2 sessions at 2.8 ATA for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 days. One day after the last session, animals were sacrificed; their whole brain tissue was harvested and dissected into three different regions as the outer grey matter (cortex), the inner white matter and cerebellum. Levels of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation and activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were measured in these tissues. Malondialdehyde, carbonylated protein and glutathione peroxidase levels were found to be insignificantly increased at different time-points in the cerebral cortex, inner white matter and cerebellum, respectively. These comparable results provide evidence for the safety of HBO treatments and/or successful adaptive mechanisms at least in the brain tissue of rats, even when administered for longer periods

Prediction of Force Measurements of a Microbend Sensor Based on an Artificial Neural Network

Artificial neural network (ANN) based prediction of the response of a microbend fiber optic sensor is presented. To the best of our knowledge no similar work has been previously reported in the literature. Parallel corrugated plates with three deformation cycles, 6 mm thickness of the spacer material and 16 mm mechanical periodicity between deformations were used in the microbend sensor. Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) with different training algorithms, Radial Basis Function (RBF) network and General Regression Neural Network (GRNN) are used as ANN models in this work. All of these models can predict the sensor responses with considerable errors. RBF has the best performance with the smallest mean square error (MSE) values of training and test results. Among the MLP algorithms and GRNN the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm has good results. These models successfully predict the sensor responses, hence ANNs can be used as useful tool in the design of more robust fiber optic sensors

Dose-dependant preventive effect of a herbal compound on crystal formation in rat model

Introduction: To analyze the dose-dependent preventive effect of a plant-based herbal product on the new crystal formation in a rat model. Materials and methods: A total of 42 rats were divided into 7 groups and zinc discs were placed into the bladder of rats to provide a nidus for the development of new crystal formation: Group 1: control, Group 2: 0.75 percent ethylene glycol (EG); Group 3: 0.75 percent EG plus 0.051 ml of the compound; Group 4: 0.75 percent EG plus 0.179 ml of the compound; Group 5: 0.75 percent EG plus 0.217 ml of the compound; Group 6: 0.75 percent EG plus 0.255 ml of the compound; Group 7 0.75 percent EG plus 0.332 of the compound). The analysis and comparison focused on the disc weights, changes in urinary oxalate and calcium levels, urinary pH, and the histopathologic evaluation of the inflammatory changes in the bladder after 14 days. Results: According to the evaluation of discs placed in the bladders of the animals, animals receiving the herbal compound on a dose-dependent basis showed a limited increase in the disc weights values after 14 days, despite a considerable increase in animals receiving EG alone (p = 0.001). Further evaluation of the increase in disc weights on a dose-dependent basis in different subgroups (from Groups 3 to 7) demonstrated that the limitation of crystal deposition began to be more prominent as the dose of herbal compound increased. This effect was more evident particularly in comparisons between group 7 and others, according to LSD multiple comparison tests (p = 0.001). As anticipated, there has been no discernible change in the weight of the discs in the control group. Although urinary calcium levels in animals of Groups 2, 6, and 7 were significantly higher than the other groups, we were not able to demonstrate a close correlation between urinary oxalate levels and the increasing dose levels. Even though mean urine pH levels were statistically considerably higher in Group 3, there was no statistically significant correlation between the oxalate and calcium levels between all groups, and no association was seen with the administration of herbal agents. The transitional epithelium between the three groups of animals' bladder samples did not exhibit any appreciable difference according to pathological analysis. Conclusions: In this animal model, the treatment of the compound was successful in lowering the amount of crystal deposition surrounding the zinc discs, most noticeably at a dosage of 0.332 ml, three times per day

Correction to: Two years later: Is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still having an impact on emergency surgery? An international cross-sectional survey among WSES members

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey, a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on patient flow through emergency rooms, daily routine and decision making in ES as well as their changes over time during the last two pandemic years. This second WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey investigates the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on ES during the course of the pandemic. Methods: A web survey had been distributed to medical specialists in ES during a four-week period from January 2022, investigating the impact of the pandemic on patients and septic diseases both requiring ES, structural problems due to the pandemic and time-to-intervention in ES routine. Results: 367 collaborators from 59 countries responded to the survey. The majority indicated that the pandemic still significantly impacts on treatment and outcome of surgical emergency patients (83.1% and 78.5%, respectively). As reasons, the collaborators reported decreased case load in ES (44.7%), but patients presenting with more prolonged and severe diseases, especially concerning perforated appendicitis (62.1%) and diverticulitis (57.5%). Otherwise, approximately 50% of the participants still observe a delay in time-to-intervention in ES compared with the situation before the pandemic. Relevant causes leading to enlarged time-to-intervention in ES during the pandemic are persistent problems with in-hospital logistics, lacks in medical staff as well as operating room and intensive care capacities during the pandemic. This leads not only to the need for triage or transferring of ES patients to other hospitals, reported by 64.0% and 48.8% of the collaborators, respectively, but also to paradigm shifts in treatment modalities to non-operative approaches reported by 67.3% of the participants, especially in uncomplicated appendicitis, cholecystitis and multiple-recurrent diverticulitis. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still significantly impacts on care and outcome of patients in ES. Well-known problems with in-hospital logistics are not sufficiently resolved by now; however, medical staff shortages and reduced capacities have been dramatically aggravated over last two pandemic years