Toyota Kata as a Scaffolding for Human-Centric Manufacturing: Applying Lean Thinking for a Digital and Sustainable Factory of the Future

Industry has a key role in leading the digital and green transitions for the economic and societal transformations that we are experiencing. The approach towards a sustainable, human-centric, and resilient European industry, so-called Industry 5.0, complements the existing “Industry 4.0” approach by focusing on a circular, human-oriented, and durable industry. Thus, industrial systems need to have a focus shift from technology to human so that technology will serve human and not vice versa. In this way, human play a central role between technology and organizations. This paper seeks the challenge of this focus shift and how lean thinking and practicing soft lean tools such as Toyota Kata may contribute to the development of a human-centric approach in the industry. A literature review was conducted to answer these questions, and a conceptual modified Toyota Kata methodology, the so-called Human-centric Kata, was suggested to assist industry in reaching its goals towards a human-centric green-digital era.acceptedVersio

Near-field radiation from nano-particles and nano-antennas illuminated with a focused beam of light

The interaction of photons with metallic nanoparticles and nanoantennas yields large enhancement and tight localization of electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of nanoparticles. In the first part of this study, the interaction of a spherical nanoparticle with focused beams of various angular spectra is investigated. This study demonstrates that the focused light can be utilized to manipulate the near-field radiation around nanoparticles. In the second part of this study, the interaction between linearly and radially polarized focused light with prolate spheroidal nanoparticles and nano-antennas is investigated. Strong and tightly localized longitudinal components of a radially polarized focused beam can excite strong plasmon modes on elongated nanoparticles such as prolate spheroids. The effect of a focused beam on parameters such as the numerical aperture of a beam and the wavelength of incident light, as well as particle geometry and composition are also studied

Effective Learning Method Using Extended Reality: Digital TWI

Training within Industry was created under World War II by the U.S. Department of War, within the War Manpower Commission, to assist defense industries meet the high production output demand from less or inexperienced labor. It ran from 1940 to 1945, made its way to Japan after the war and became a foundational component of the Toyota Production System (TPS). TWI is a well-proven lean education methodology consists of four main modules: Job Instructions (JI), Job Relations (JR), Job Methods (JM) and Program Development. This paper aims to explore combining TWI Job Instructions (JI) module with extended reality (XR) smart glasses and technologies that may create an effective and innovative lean education program.acceptedVersio

Prevalence of tick-borne haemoparasites in small ruminants in Turkey and diagnostic sensitivity of single-PCR and RLB

Background: Tick-borne haemoparasitic diseases (TBHDs), caused by Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia, are common in regions of the world where the distributions of host, pathogen and vector overlap. Many of these diseases threaten livestock production and some also represent a concern to human public health. The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the above-mentioned pathogens in a large number of blood samples (n = 1979) collected from sheep (n = 1727) and goats (n = 252) in Turkey. A secondary aim was to assess the diagnostic sensitivity of a number of species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and the reverse line blotting (RLB) assay. DNA samples were screened using species-specific PCR for the presence of Theileria ovis, Theileria sp. MK, T. lestoquardi, T. uilenbergi, T. luwenshuni, Babesia ovis, Anaplasma ovis and A. phagocytophilum while RLB was undertaken to test for the presence of all known Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species. The diagnostic sensitivity of these two approaches was then compared in terms of their ability to detect single species and mixed infections. Results: Overall, 84 and 74.43% of the small ruminants sampled were identified as hosting one or more pathogen(s) by species-specific PCR and RLB respectively. The presence of Theileria sp. OT1, T. luwenshuni and T. uilenbergi in Turkey was revealed for the first time while the presence of Babesia motasi, B. crassa and T. separata in Turkish small ruminants was confirmed using molecular methods. A high prevalence of mixed infection was evident, with PCR and RLB approaches indicating that 52.24 and 35.42% of animals were co-infected with multiple species, respectively. More than 80% of the mixed infections contained T. ovis and/or A. ovis. The RLB approach was found to be capable of detecting mixed infections with species such as Theileria sp. OT1, Theileria sp. OT3, T. separata, B. crassa and Babesia spp. Conclusion: The results indicated that pathogens causing TBHDs are highly prevalent in sheep and goats in Turkey. The diagnostic sensitivity of species-specific single PCR was generally higher than that of RLB. However, the latter approach was still capable of identifying a high proportion of individuals containing mixed-species infections. The use of species-specific single PCR is recommended to accurately estimate pathogen prevalence and to identify co-infected hosts

Loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of Theileria annulata DNA

In the past three decades, as an alternative to PCR (polymerase chain reaction) new diagnostic techniques like LAMP (loop mediated isothermal amplification) whereby target DNA can be amplified under isothermal conditions without using thermocycler have been developed. The LAMP method allows the synthesis of large amounts of DNA in a short time with high specificity and rapid and easy detection of generated products. In this study, specificity and sensitivity of LAMP method was evaluated for the detection of T. annulata in acute infected and/or carriers cattle using primer pair specifically designed to amplify merozoite surface antigen gene (Mero1), 30 kDa major merozoite surface antigen gene (Tams-1) and cytochrome b gene of T.annulata. Primer pairs with highest sensitivity were used to evaluate the applicability of LAMP to the field samples. Two LAMP primers (CYTOB1 and CYTOB341) targeting cytochrome b gene specifically amplified DNA of different T. annulata isolates successfully while no amplification was seen in other species DNAs and BL20. CYTOB1 primers detected T. annulata Ankara / D7 DNA up to 2 fg, however the detection limit of CYTOB341 was 10 fold lower. The sensitivity of CYTOB1 LAMP assay was same with F3/B3 PCR, however when compared with that of cytob1 PCR a 10 fold lower sensitivity was found. The LAMP product was confirmed by restriction digestion and sequencing. Results obtained from this study indicated that none of the designed primer pairs specific to target genes (Tams-1 and Mero1), except cytochrome b gene was able to specifically and sensitively detect different isolates of T. annulata. Consequently, it was shown that LAMP method using CYTOB1 primers is less effective than the cytob1 PCR in terms of detecting T. annulata in the field sample

The Sufficiency of Assistant and Intern Doctors’ Knowledge About Basic and Advanced Life Support: A Survey Study

Objective:We aimed to evaluate the level of assistant and intern doctors’ knowledge about basic and advanced life support.Material and Methods: In this study, the current knowledge of 357 assistant and intern doctors at the hospital of Cumhuriyet University was reviewed via a questionnaire of 40 questions about basic and advanced life support. The participants' consent was received before administering the questionnaire. The findings were reported in figures and percentages. While the Kruskal-Wallis Variance analysis test was used for statistical calculations, the chi-square test was used for statistical comparisons. p<0.05 was accepted as significant. This study consists of questions prepared about the recent changes in the guide for cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the American Heart Association (AHA) released in 2010.Results: This study weights the answers from both of the participant groups equally even though the practical experience of assistant doctors is greater than the interns’. The ratio of right answers to the questions about general knowledge of basic and advanced life support is found to be low in this particular study. However, assistant doctors aged between 20-30 achieve a higher rate of true answers compared to the other participant doctors.Conclusions:This study has concluded that the knowledge level of assistant and intern doctors is insufficient and not up-to-date. It has also shown that insufficient knowledge may cause danger, given the fact that basic and advanced life support cannot be applied effectively without correct and accurate information

The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the quality of life in chronic neurological diseases: the results of a COVQoL-CND study

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and lockdown period may induce an impairment in quality of life (QoL), disruption in treatment (DIT), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in chronic neurological diseases (CNDs). To reach this information, a multicenter, cross-sectional study (COVQoL-CND) was planned. Parkinson's disease (PD), headache (HA), multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy (EP), polyneuropathy (PNP), and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) were selected as the CND. Methods: The COVQoL-CND study includes demographic data, the World Health Organization Quality of Life short form (WHOQOL-BREF), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) forms. Results: The mean age of a total of 577 patients was 49 +/- 17 (19-87 years), and the ratio of female/male was 352/225. The mean age of patients with PD, HA, MS, EP, PNP, and CVD were 65 +/- 11, 39 +/- 12, 38 +/- 10, 47 +/- 17, 61 +/- 12, and 60 +/- 15 years, respectively. The IES-R scores were found to be higher in the younger group, those with comorbid disease, contacted with CO-VID-19 patients, or diagnosed with COVID-19. In the group with a high IES-R score, the rate of DIT was found to be high. IES-R scores were negatively correlated with QoL. IES-R total scores were found highest in the CVD group and lowest in the PD group. The ratio of DIT was found highest in the PNP group and the lowest in the EP group. Contact with CO-VID-19 patients was high in the EP and HA group. Conclusions: The results of the COVQoL-CND study showed that lockdown causes posttraumatic stress and deterioration in the QoL in CND

Disiplinler Arası Bir Doğa Eğitimi Projesinin Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Çevreye Yönelik Duyuşsal Özelliklerine ve Çevre Bilinçlerine Etkisi

Bu çalışmada 2017 ve 2018 yıllarında TÜBİTAK 4004 Doğa Eğitimi ve Bilim Okulları kapsamında desteklenen doğa eğitimi projelerine katılan ortaokul öğrencilerinin çevreye yönelik duyuşsal eğilimleri ile çevre bilinçlerinin değişimi araştırılmıştır. Tek grup ön test-son test deneysel desen esas alınarak yürütülen araştırmanın çalışma grubunu her yıl 30’ar olmak üzere toplamda 60 ortaokul öğrencisi oluşturmuş ve veriler Çevreye Yönelik Duyuşsal Eğilimler Ölçeği ve Çevre Bilincinin Kazanılmışlığına Yönelik Anket formu ile toplanmıştır. Ayrıca, bir çevre sorunu olan asit yağmurları hakkında yapılan bir etkinlikte katılımcılara uygulanan Bilgi-İstek-Öğrenme kartlarından elde edilen nitel verilerin içerik analizi yapılmıştır. Çalışma bulgularına göre, doğa eğitimi projesinin bitiminde katılımcıların çevreye yönelik duyuşsal özellikler ve çevre bilinci açısından hedeflenen düzeylere ulaştığı ve bu değişkenler açısından anlamlı artışlar sağlandığı belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın sonuçları ışığında, doğa eğitimi projelerinin yaygınlaştırılması ve Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı (MEB) ve üniversiteler arasındaki etkin işbirliği ile standart okul müfredatında bu tür okul dışı öğrenme imkânlarına daha fazla yer verilmesi önerilmiştir

CAN HOMEOPATHY BE A "REMEDY" FOR LOSS OF SMELL AND TASTE IN PATIENTS WITH COVID-19?

Background: Homeopathy is applied as a supportive in the treatment of viral infections and in relieving their symptoms. Objective: To create an awareness that effective remedial results can be obtained by homeopathy in patients with loss of smell and taste in Coronavirus Disease 2019. Methods: A prospective, cohort and randomized study was conducted. The main inclusion criterion was the loss of smell and taste for at least one week. Homeopathic remedies were also applied as supportive therapy. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the loss of smell and taste perception before and after treatment. Results: A total of 30 patients, 32.17±10.25 years, were included in the study. The mean pre-treatment VAS-smell perception of the patients was 0.67±1.24, while the mean VAS-taste perception was 2.57±3.01. After the treatment, the mean of VAS-smell perception was 8.67±1.92, while the mean of VAS-taste increased to 9.43±1.22. There was a strong positive correlation between ΔVAS-smell perception and ΔVAS-taste perception (r: 0.563, p: 0.001). There was also a strong negative correlation between ΔVAS-taste perception and the level of ferritin (r: -0.552, p: 0.002). Conclusion: The present study on the effective improvement via homeopathy treatment in patients with loss of smell and taste in COVID-19 that “has spoiled the taste of life and living” should be supported by further studies

Human Activity in Palaeolithic Period in Çanakkale Province

It is acknowledged in the light of today's information that human species first appeared in Africa and spread to other parts of the world. It is one of the most important issues to determine which routes human species took during this process and where their living areas were located. Due to its position between Africa, Asia and Europe, the Anatolian peninsula is a region of critical importance for the investigation of this issue. In Çanakkale province, which is located in a key region in terms of fossil human population spread to Europe, 40 locality where Paleolithic chipped stone finds were found were determined during the surveys carried out between 2014 and 2017. This number is expected to increase as a result of the research to be carried out in the following years. During these researches, 16 caves were found and excavations were initiated in İnkaya Cave, which has an intensive human settlement. In this study, field surveys in Çanakkale province that have been ongoing for 4 seasons and the fossil human traces in the light of the findings obtained from these studies are discussed