Using image recognition for trading

This research aims to gain a deeper understanding of how image recognition can be applied in trading. In recent years, artificial intelligence has influenced various industries, including the financial sector. It can be observed that there are new ways of predicting stock trends. This paper aims to address the question to what extend convolutional neural networks can be used in trading. On the empirical side several convolutional neural networks have been analyzed and were compared with a zero-predictive model. This study’s results do not show reliable results that convolutional neural networks should be used for this sort of task

MODIFICATION OF VESICULAR STOMATITIS VIRUS G PROTEIN FOR TARGETED GENE DELIVERY INTO PSCA-POSITIVE TUMOR CELLS

Gene therapy is a promising treatment option for cancer. Ideally, a therapeutic gene is delivered specifically into tumor cells sparing the neighboring normal cells. For this purpose gene delivery vectors are designed that can recognize structures, which are exclusively expressed on tumor cells (i.e. the tumor-associated antigens -TAA-). Retroviral vectors are commonly used for gene therapy by modifying the envelope protein responsible for the recognition of the target cell. The Vesicular Stomatitis Virus G protein (VSV-G) is a well-liked choice for pseudotyping the retroviral vectors since it confers on the viral particle stability to allow concentration to high titers necessary for the clinical applications. However, the main drawback of VSV-G, the ubiquitously expressed receptor and thus the broad target range, hinders the use of this protein for targeted gene therapy. In this thesis, we aimed to modify the VSV-G for targeted gene therapy against Prostate Stem Cell Antigen (PSCA) -expressing tumors. Therefore we followed two approaches. The first approach comprised of the fusion of a single-chain antibody fragment against PSCA to the N-terminus of VSV-G. In the second approach the VSV-G was modified by insertion of a small epitope. We could demonstrate that two positions in the N-terminal region of VSV-G protein permit insertion of a ten amino acid long epitope. These mutant VSV-G proteins were successfully assembled into retroviral particles. We demonstrated that the mutant retroviral particles can be used for targeting to PSCA-positive cells using nanobeads. The nanobeads were chemically coupled to antibodies against the epitope in the VSV-G protein and PSCA on the tumor cell. These bispecific nanobeads allowed the recruitment of mutant retroviral particles to the PSCApositive cells. Our results point out the potential of these mutant retroviral particles in targeted gene delivery. Further studies will be necessary to assess the efficiency of in vivo targeted gene therapy using these mutant retroviral particles

The reshaped economic relations between Russia and Turkey after Western economic sanctions

Economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool is used by sender countries to change policy or behavior of a target country. The economic sanctions are multilevel phenomena that not only affects both sides of the action but also have implications for third parties, reshaping the political and economic relations of the sender and target countries with the other states. The effects of the economic sanctions imposed by the West on Russia and Turkey have direct implications for the balance of power in the region and globally. Therefore, this paper aims to examine how did economic sanctions (re)shape the economic relations between Russia and Turkey. In doing so, the paper applies explanatory sequential mixed methods. First, logarithmic regression model was conducted by time series data over the period ranging from 1992 to 2018. The paper confirms that economic sanctions imposed on target countries that already have trade relations increase the bilateral trade between them, especially for Turkish case. Subsequently, content analysis was conducted reviewing annual data starting from 1992 but mostly focusing on 2014-2018 period. The analysis shows that because the sender countries are important trade partners in the target countries, to counterbalance the effects of economic sanctions target countries choose to diversify their trade. According to the results, Russia diversified towards Asia and Central Asia while Turkey increased its trade with the EU which is mutual ally of the US and Turkey. Excluding the 2015 plane crisis between Russia and Turkey, the Western sanctions imposed on both countries increased the bilateral trade between them. However, these two countries are the first choice of each other when it comes to trade partner diversification.https://www.ester.ee/record=b5243218*es

Pomological and phenological characteristics of promising rose hip (Rosa) genotypes

This study was carried out to determine pomological and phenological characteristics of eleven promising rose hip (Rosa) genotypes chosen from wild populations in Tokat region of northern Anatolia, Turkey. Plants were propagated by cuttings and planted in 2000 at the research station of the Horticultural Department of Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey. Fruit characteristics and phenological observations were recorded from 2006 - 2007. Mean fruit weight ranged from 2.3 g to 5.1 g, the proportion of flesh in fruits varied between 66.0 and 80.2%, mean seeds number per fruit numbered was between 12.8 and 35.6, the vitamin C content varied between 190 and 1223 mg/100 g, and the total soluble solids varied from 15.3 to 26.0%. The results confirmed that some of the genotypes selected, such as MR-12, MR-15, MR-26, MR-84 and YL-04, were suitable for cultivation and qualified for registry by the National Variety Registration and Seed Certification Centre of Turkey for commercial production of rose hips.Key words: Rosa, pomology, rose hip

Investigation of microplastics removal methods from aquatic environments

Microplastics are less than 5 mm in length and are polymer chains containing carbon and hydrogen atoms. It poses a direct and indirect danger to all living things in the ecosystem. It is found in products such as microplastics, synthetic clothes, plastic bags and bottles, some cleaners, health and beauty products, toothpaste and causes both soil and water pollution from wastewater systems and solid waste. This situation not only threatens the life of creatures living in aquatic ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans but also penetrates the human body through the food chain, causing various health problems, especially cancer. As with all environmental pollutants, microplastics need to reduce pollution at the source. In this research, treatment methods applied to remove microplastics that cannot be prevented at source from the water ecosystem were investigated and evaluated. According to the results, in wastewater treatment plants, the highest efficiency of microplastic removal is provided by membrane bioreactors. However, by imitating the microplastic removal capabilities and structures of living things in nature, studies on the discovery of new methods of microplastic removal can also be conducted

Debt, deficits and inflation on the road to the EU: the case of Turkey

Turkey experienced a severe banking crisis in 2001 that resulted in huge social and fiscal costs since most defaulting banks had already been compulsorily transferred to a publicly-held fund (the deposit insurance fund). Basing ourselves on estimations by Burnside et al. [2003, NBER Working Paper], we further investigate the links between these fiscal costs and the subsequent debt deflation that occurred in Turkey after the crisis. Our analysis also draws extensively on the Fiscal Theory of the Price Level (FTPL) and on the empirical methodology originally proposed by Canzoneri et al. [2001, American Economic Review]. Our main results are twofold. First, the fiscal costs attributable to the banking crisis can be given a FTPL interpretation and debt deflation appears as a deliberate policy. Second, the FTPL interpretation is not reliable over a time span excluding the most recent years, and the public management of the banking crisis can be considered as an "exceptional circumstance". The policy implications are then that without a substantial improvement in the management of banks, a dramatic economic episode like the 2001 crisis could again occur and the Turkish disinflation efforts could be wasted and lost for a long period. Hence, converging towards the EU standards in terms of deregulation seems a reasonable condition for avoiding long years of high deficits and inflation