The Role of Horizontal Probe Drill Data in Tunnel Excavations: A Case Study from Istanbul Bosphorus Tunnel

Research methods are needed during excavations with TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) to ensure safe excavation conditions because it is not possible to see and continuously monitor the excavation face completely. One of the most dangerous conditions expected in the tunnels that will be opened underwater is sudden and high water ingress. To detect possible water ingress, one of the most reliable methods that can be used is to perform horizontal probe drills. With water flow, the dimension of the danger increases more if weak ground conditions and fault and/or crush zones are monitored intensively. Such conditions may cause serious damage to TBM, and sudden washing can cause collapse and deviations in the vertical and horizontal axes. In this sense, considering the negativities of the geological and hydrogeological conditions of the Bosphorus Tunnel passing beneath the Bosphorus Strait, it was set as a contract condition that TBM excavation would be performed according to the results of the horizontal probe drills. During the excavation along the tunnel route, horizontal probe drills were performed at an average of 36 m. The Instantaneous Advance Speed (IAS) with 1-cm intervals, Thrust Pressure (TP), Torque (TQ), and washing water thrusts of the horizontal probe drills were recorded in this respect. In this article, the Instantaneous Advance Speed (IAS) values recorded during drilling were normalized with torque and thrust values, respectively. In this way, the changes in advance speeds were determined, and it was determined whether these changes were caused by increased thrusts, and/or torque or lithological changes. The relations between normalized Instantaneous Advance Speed (IAS) values and the RQD values at the tunnel excavation level of 14 vertical drillings built on the tunnel route were revealed. These relationships showed that the speed of Instantaneous Advance Speeds decreased as RQD values increased. This study must be proceeded by analyzing statistical data with a database containing more vertical drilling data to develop the TBM performance prediction model in such a way that the relations between formation characteristics and horizontal probe drill performance are revealed based on horizontal probe drill data

The Techno-Typology of the Tayacian Tool Industry of Karain Cave

Within the scope of our study, totally 261 chipped stone tools which are found from the Lower Paleolithic layers of Karain Cave have been analyzed techno-typologically. The studies revealed that the chipped stone tool industry shows Lower Paleolithic Tayacian culture's features. The radiolarite sources near Karain had been preferred frequently in the production of Tayacian Industry. Also it was seen that the intstone was used in more lower ratios. The technological data which were detected on chipped stone tools show that the technique of direct percussion with hard hammer had been preferred. There is no evidence that reects Levallois technology. According to the typological observations, many different chipped stone tool types have been identified. Also, based on the studies conducted on the tools, it is seen that the predominant retouch type is the scaled type retouch. The results in the scope of the study offer a database that provides a better understanding of the Karain Lower Paleolithic chipped stone tool industry

Modeli biomase stabala kalabrijskog bora u mediteranskom području Turske

The aim of this study was to develop allometric equations for the estimation of above-ground biomass components of Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) tree in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Using regression analysis, different allometric equations were fitted for the tree components of the above-ground biomass using diameter at breast height (dbh) and tree height as estimators. Two hundred and ninety-two trees between 0.4 and 63.0 cm in dbh were randomly sampled throughout 292 natural, pure Calabrian pine stands in Turkey’s Mediterranean Region, where it forms diverse stand structures. Finally, the allometric equations were developed for the tree components of the Calabrian pine tree for the stem, bark, branch, needle and total above-ground biomass. The stem, bark and total biomass equations explained more than 90% of the observed variability, while the branch and needle biomass equations explained 82% and 65%, respectively.Cilj istraživanja bio je razvoj alometrijskih jednadžbi radi procjene nadzemnih sastavnica biomase stabala kalabrijskog bora (Pinus brutia Ten.) u mediteranskom području Turske. Uporabom regresijske analize, dobivene su različite alometrijske jednadžbe za pojedine sastavnice nadzemne biomase stabla. Ukupno je 292 stabla prsnog promjera između 0,4 i 63,0 cm slučajno uzorkovano unutar prirodnog rasprostranjenja Kalabrijskog bora na mediteranskom području Turske, gdje tvori različite sastojinske strukture. Pri modeliranju i određivanju jednadžbi korišteni su prsni promjeri i visine uzorkovanih stabala kao procjenitelji. Dobivene su alometrijski jednadžbe za nadzemnu biomasu stabala Kalabrijskog bora i to zasebno za deblo, koru, grane, iglice i za ukupnu nadzemnu biomasu. Jednadžbe za deblo, koru i ukupnu biomasu objašnjavaju više od 90% ukupne varijabilnosti, dok jednadžbe za biomasu grana i iglica objašnjavaju 82 %, odnosno 65 % od ukupne varijabilnosti

Angle Modulated Artificial Bee Colony Algorithms for Feature Selection

Optimal feature subset selection is an important and a difficult task for pattern classification, data mining, and machine intelligence applications. The objective of the feature subset selection is to eliminate the irrelevant and noisy feature in order to select optimum feature subsets and increase accuracy. The large number of features in a dataset increases the computational complexity thus leading to performance degradation. In this paper, to overcome this problem, angle modulation technique is used to reduce feature subset selection problem to four-dimensional continuous optimization problem instead of presenting the problem as a high-dimensional bit vector. To present the effectiveness of the problem presentation with angle modulation and to determine the efficiency of the proposed method, six variants of Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithms employ angle modulation for feature selection. Experimental results on six high-dimensional datasets show that Angle Modulated ABC algorithms improved the classification accuracy with fewer feature subsets

Diagnosis and Management of Rectosigmoid Perforations

Rectosigmoid colon, starting from the descending colon to the anus, having the peritoneal and retroperitoneal parts, is provided through the superior mesenteric artery and the inferior mesenteric artery. Many etiological reasons may be responsible for the perforation of the rectosigmoid colon, which may be usually perforated due to causes of iatrogenic and traumatic origins. The rectosigmoid perforations, which can be diagnosed preoperatively through examination, laboratory, and radiological examinations, may not be detected even in the intraoperative period sometimes. In its treatment, applications, such as conservative approaches, endoclip, laparoscopy, and open surgery, can be performed

Mnogie atypowe nawrotowe oponiaki po 13 latach od radioterapii z powodu jednostronnego siatkówczaka: opis przypadku i przegląd piśmiennictwa

Radiotherapy is an important treatment modality for intracranial malignancies. Improved survival rates were achieved via a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. On the other hand, improved survival rates made long-term complications of radiotherapy more apparent. Secondary neoplasms due to cranial irradiation are encountered more commonly in neurosurgical practice. Radiation-induced meningiomas are recognized as a common late complication of radiotherapy. However, radiation-induced meningiomas after radiotherapy for retinoblastoma have been reported rarely. Herein we report a patient who harboured multiple meningiomas 13 years after radiotherapy for unilateral retinoblastoma, which were recurrent despite surgical removal and chemotherapy.Radioterapia jest ważną metodą leczenia złośliwych guzów śródczaszkowych. Dzięki łącznemu stosowaniu leczenia chirurgicznego, chemioterapii i radioterapii osiąga się zwiększony odsetek przeżyć, ale jednocześnie sprawia to, że częściej ujawniają się odległe powikłania radioterapii. Guzy wtórne do napromieniania w obrębie głowy są znanymi i częstymi powikłaniami radioterapii. Rzadko opisywano jednak oponiaki wywołane napromienianiem prowadzonym z powodu siatkówczaka. W niniejszym artykule opisano przypadek pacjenta, u którego po 13 latach od radioterapii z powodu jednostronnego siatkówczaka wystąpiły mnogie oponiaki, które miały charakter nawracający mimo leczenia chirurgicznego i chemioterapii

Solving set union knapsack problems with adaptive binary artificial bee colony

Meta-heuristic and swarm intelligence algorithms have long been used to provide approximate solutions to NP-Hard optimization problems. Especially when it comes to combinatorial and binary problems, operator functions used to generate neighbor solutions embedded in algorithms play an important role in the success of algorithms while imposing limitations on the variety of search. To avoid such limitations and improve diversity, it is preferable to use multiple operators via a selection scheme rather than a single operator. Previously, using a set of operator selection schemes to solve various combinatorial problems with different swarm intelligence and meta-heuristic algorithms has been used to achieve higher efficiency. In this article, set-join knapsack problems, for the first time, It is solved by a binary artificial bee colony algorithm with multiple operators selected through alternative operator selection schemes. Different loan assignment approaches, different sliding window sizes and parameter configurations are tested for the proposed method. The properties of selection schemes are extensively studied on 30 comparison problems. The best performing algorithm configuration is proposed for these problem sets. The study presents an adaptive binary artificial bee colony algorithm with a successful selection scheme. The properties of selection schemes are extensively studied on 30 comparison problems. The best performing algorithm configuration is proposed for these problem sets. The study presents an adaptive binary artificial bee colony algorithm with a successful selection scheme. The properties of selection schemes are extensively studied on 30 comparison problems. The best performing algorithm configuration is proposed for these problem sets. The study presents an adaptive binary artificial bee colony algorithm with a successful selection scheme

Effect of monoamine oxidase B A644G variant on nicotine dependence and/or schizophrenia risk

Objectives: Schizophrenia (Sch) is a severe and chronic mental illness. Smoking prevalence is higher in patients with Sch than general population. We aimed to investigate the effects of MAOB gene A644G variant on nicotine dependence (ND) and Sch+ND risk in Turkish population and to evaluate by bioinformatic analysis. Methods: Present study included 161 individuals with ND, 223 patients with Sch+ND, and 96 non-smoker controls. MAOB A644G variant was analyzed using PCR-RFLP method. As the MAOB gene is located on the X chromosome, each gender was analysed separately. Results: The total distributions of AA, AG and GG genotypes of MAOB gene A644G were 44.7%, 22.4% and 32.9% in the ND group, 45.3%, 25.1% and 29.6% in the Sch+ND group and, 44.8, 22.9% and 32.3% in non-smoker controls. No significant differences were observed between groups for the MAOB A644G genotype and allele frequencies when female group compared to male group (p > 0.05). Examination of disease associations of SNPs from each miRNA gene region in GWAS databases yielded results for aging, bipolar disorder, autoimmune, and neurological diseases. Discussion: Our results indicate that the MAOB gene A644G variant is not associated with ND and/or Sch susceptibility in the Turkish population

XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to both nicotine dependence and/or schizophrenia

Background: Oxidative stress induced DNA damage has been assumed to contribute to the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia (Sch). Smoking prevalence was more common in patients with Sch. The X-ray repair cross-complementation group 4 (XRCC4) gene plays an important role in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism has a relationship both in nicotine dependence (ND) and Sch+ND risk. Methods: One hundred and four patients with Sch+ND, 133 subjects with ND only and 70 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism was analyzed using PCR-RFLP assay. Results: The frequency of XRCC4 rs6869366 GG genotype was more common in the ND and Sch+ND group than controls (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). XRCC4 rs6869366 TT genotype was lower in both ND and Sch+ND group compared to controls (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). Also, XRCC4 rs6869366 G allele was higher in Sch+ND group than controls (p = 0.001) while XRCC4 rs6869366 T allele was lower in ND group than healthy controls (p=0.001). XRCC4 rs6869366 GT genotype was lower in ND group than control group (p = 0.003). Discussion: These results suggested that the XRCC4 rs6869366 polymorphism G related genotype/allele was associated with susceptibility to both ND and Sch+ND in a Turkish population

Massive cutaneous fistula secondary to an odontogenic submandibular abcess in an immunocompromised patient: a case report

Extraoral sinus tracts of dental origin often are a diagnostic challenge. A delay in correctly diagnosing these types of lesions can result in ineffective and inappropriate treatment. A 64 year-old immunocompromised female with a huge cutaneous draining tract was referred to our clinic complaining of a purulent discharge from her skin on her right submandibular area. In clinical examination and radiographic assessment, periapical lesion associated with roots of lower right first molar was noticed. According to the patient history, she had kidney transplantation 17 years ago. Following the identification of the source of infection, it was surgically and medically resolved, and skin closure was performed. Her postoperative healing period was supported with hyperbaric oxygen therapy as well. Sinus tract was successfully treated