Structural Transformation, Culture, and Women’s Labor Force Participation in Turkey

Turkey has experienced important structural and social changes that would be expected to facilitate women’s participation in market work. Social attitudes toward working women have changed in recent years; women are becoming more educated; they are getting married at a later age; and fertility rates are declining. Despite these factors, women’s labor force participation rates are very low in comparison to the countries at a similar development stage. This dissertation analyzes the underlying causes of low female labor force participation in Turkey. In addition to a background chapter (Chapter 2) analyzing structural transformation and employment generation patterns, the dissertation has three main chapters. In Chapter 3, I investigate the role of patriarchal norms and religiosity in constraining women’s labor force participation using 2008 Demographic and Health Survey data. Employing an instrumental variable estimation, I find that internalization of patriarchal norms has a negative impact on female labor force participation. In Chapter 4 I use qualitative data from in-depth interviews based on field research in 2013 to investigate women’s preferences as well as their actual behavior. I analyze women’s labor force participation decisions, past schooling decisions and fertility decisions in light of their individual preferences and aspirations on one hand, structural constraints and household dynamics on the other, and I question the common assumption that paid employment leads to empowerment of women. I find that women are not given equal opportunity to make their life choices from an early age. Many women express a preference for work outside the home but face constraints including the burden of care work and husband’s disapproval. The interviews with working wives, on the other hand, reveal that the gender division of labor in the household is not changed substantially by the employment status of women. In Chapter 5 I examine the impact of an employment subsidy enacted in Turkey in 2008 on women’s employment, accounting for variations across culturally diverse provinces. I estimate a difference-in-differences model using a monthly panel of province-level employment data from the Social Security Administration of Turkey. I find that the employment package increased the female share of employment in the provinces where positive discrimination was effective. Moreover, I find that there is not a statistically significant difference between conservative and progressive provinces in terms of the effectiveness of the policy: a demand-side policy can increase women’s employment despite cultural constraints that are normally thought to prohibit female labor supply. The findings of the dissertation support the premise that understanding the low female labor force participation in Turkey requires taking into account complex social, economic, and cultural factors. Using complementary quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the dissertation shows that both supply-side and demand-side constraints are in play, implying need for policy-makers to address both sides of the labor market to raise women’s employment

Magnetic resonance imaging based kidney volume assessment for risk stratification in pediatric autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

IntroductionIn the pediatric context, most children with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) maintain a normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) despite underlying structural kidney damage, highlighting the critical need for early intervention and predictive markers. Due to the inverse relationship between kidney volume and kidney function, risk assessments have been presented on the basis of kidney volume. The aim of this study was to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based kidney volume assessment for risk stratification in pediatric ADPKD and to investigate clinical and genetic differences among risk groups.MethodsThis multicenter, cross-sectional, and case-control study included 75 genetically confirmed pediatric ADPKD patients (5–18 years) and 27 controls. Kidney function was assessed by eGFR calculated from serum creatinine and cystatin C using the CKiD-U25 equation. Blood pressure was assessed by both office and 24-hour ambulatory measurements. Kidney volume was calculated from MRI using the stereological method. Total kidney volume was adjusted for the height (htTKV). Patients were stratified from A to E classes according to the Leuven Imaging Classification (LIC) using MRI-derived htTKV.ResultsMedian (Q1-Q3) age of the patients was 6.0 (2.0–10.0) years, 56% were male. There were no differences in sex, age, height-SDS, or GFR between the patient and control groups. Of the patients, 89% had PKD1 and 11% had PKD2 mutations. Non-missense mutations were 73% in PKD1 and 75% in PKD2. Twenty patients (27%) had hypertension based on ABPM. Median htTKV of the patients was significantly higher than controls (141 vs. 117 ml/m, p = 0.0003). LIC stratification revealed Classes A (38.7%), B (28%), C (24%), and D + E (9.3%). All children in class D + E and 94% in class C had PKD1 variants. Class D + E patients had significantly higher blood pressure values and hypertension compared to other classes (p > 0.05 for all).DiscussionThis study distinguishes itself by using MRI-based measurements of kidney volume to stratify pediatric ADPKD patients into specific risk groups. It is important to note that PKD1 mutation and elevated blood pressure were higher in the high-risk groups stratified by age and kidney volume. Our results need to be confirmed in further studies

Teknoloji ve iktisat tarihine kurumsal yaklaşımlar.

This thesis is an attempt to reassess the long debated issues of economic history from the perspective of institutional economics. Besides examining different approaches to technology and its impact on economic and social life, it analyzes the role of institutions in history. It discusses the institutional interpretations of the critical developments of economic history such as, the Industrial Revolution and the Great Divergence, with an emphasis on differences between the two scholarly traditions, namely, the Original Institutional Economics and the New Institutional Economics. Although the arguments of New Institutionalists concerning the role of technology in history have been effectively incorporated into the economic history research, the potential contributions of the Original Institutional Economics to the study of economic history have remained for the most part unexplored. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the relevance and importance of original institutional analysis with respect to technology and economic history.M.S. - Master of Scienc

Cutaneous manifestations in pediatric oncology patients

Background/Objectives Oncology patients present with various skin manifestations related to primary disease and treatments. Although these skin toxicities are well described in adults, studies of pediatric oncology patients are limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cutaneous findings in pediatric oncology patients receiving chemotherapy

Clinical and subclinical acute kidney injury in children with mild-to-moderate COVID-19

Background Our aim was to identify acute kidney injury (AKI) and subacute kidney injury using both KDIGO criteria and urinary biomarkers in children with mild/moderate COVID-19. Methods This cross-sectional study included 71 children who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of COVID-19 from 3 centers in Istanbul and 75 healthy children. We used a combination of functional (serum creatinine) and damage (NGAL, KIM-1, and IL-18) markers for the definition of AKI and subclinical AKI. Clinical and laboratory features were evaluated as predictors of AKI and subclinical AKI. Results Patients had significantly higher levels of urinary biomarkers and urine albumin-creatinine ratio than healthy controls (p < 0.001). Twelve patients (16.9%) developed AKI based on KDIGO criteria, and 22 patients (31%) had subclinical AKI. AKI group had significantly higher values of neutrophil count on admission than both subclinical AKI and non-AKI groups (p < 0.05 for all). Neutrophil count was independently associated with the presence of AKI (p = 0.014). Conclusions This study reveals that even children with a mild or moderate disease course are at risk for AKI. Association between neutrophil count and AKI may point out the role of inflammation in the development of AKI. Impact The key message of our article is that not only children with severe disease but also children with mild or moderate disease have an increased risk for kidney injury due to COVID-19. Urinary biomarkers enable the diagnosis of a significant number of patients with subclinical AKI in patients without elevation in serum creatinine. Our findings reveal that patients with high neutrophil count may be more prone to develop AKI and should be followed up carefully. We conclude that even children with mild or moderate COVID-19 disease courses should be evaluated for AKI and subclinical AKI, which may improve patient outcomes

Table1_Magnetic resonance imaging based kidney volume assessment for risk stratification in pediatric autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.xlsx

IntroductionIn the pediatric context, most children with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) maintain a normal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) despite underlying structural kidney damage, highlighting the critical need for early intervention and predictive markers. Due to the inverse relationship between kidney volume and kidney function, risk assessments have been presented on the basis of kidney volume. The aim of this study was to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based kidney volume assessment for risk stratification in pediatric ADPKD and to investigate clinical and genetic differences among risk groups.MethodsThis multicenter, cross-sectional, and case-control study included 75 genetically confirmed pediatric ADPKD patients (5–18 years) and 27 controls. Kidney function was assessed by eGFR calculated from serum creatinine and cystatin C using the CKiD-U25 equation. Blood pressure was assessed by both office and 24-hour ambulatory measurements. Kidney volume was calculated from MRI using the stereological method. Total kidney volume was adjusted for the height (htTKV). Patients were stratified from A to E classes according to the Leuven Imaging Classification (LIC) using MRI-derived htTKV.ResultsMedian (Q1-Q3) age of the patients was 6.0 (2.0–10.0) years, 56% were male. There were no differences in sex, age, height-SDS, or GFR between the patient and control groups. Of the patients, 89% had PKD1 and 11% had PKD2 mutations. Non-missense mutations were 73% in PKD1 and 75% in PKD2. Twenty patients (27%) had hypertension based on ABPM. Median htTKV of the patients was significantly higher than controls (141 vs. 117 ml/m, p = 0.0003). LIC stratification revealed Classes A (38.7%), B (28%), C (24%), and D + E (9.3%). All children in class D + E and 94% in class C had PKD1 variants. Class D + E patients had significantly higher blood pressure values and hypertension compared to other classes (p > 0.05 for all).DiscussionThis study distinguishes itself by using MRI-based measurements of kidney volume to stratify pediatric ADPKD patients into specific risk groups. It is important to note that PKD1 mutation and elevated blood pressure were higher in the high-risk groups stratified by age and kidney volume. Our results need to be confirmed in further studies.</p