Damages of Masonry School Buildings on 2010 Karakocan - Elazig Earthquake

Masonary school buildings were damaged very heavly or coolapsed in Karakocan-Elazig-Turkey earthquake with M=6.0 occurred on 08 March 2010 at 04:32 a.m. (local time) at eastern Turkey and caused the loss of life and heavy damages, as well. The majority of the damaged structures were seismically deficient unreinforced masonry structures.. In this paper, results of the site survey of Earthquake region -the damaged masonary school buildings are presented and the reasons behind the damages are discussed.One of the most common reasons was the use of wrong material. Red bricks, Rubble stone, shaped soft stone blocks and very low guality mortar as binding material were the wall materials commonly used in the damaged buildings. Red brick, Soft stone blocks have low strength values. Another common reason is lack of interlocking element to connect the inner and outer leaves of the masonary walls to each other. Because of this deficiency, the unsupported length of the outer leaf of the wall was doubled, but its effective thickness was decreased to the half of the wall thickness.Insufficient connection of the walls to each other was also a common reason of the damages . As a result of this deficiency the free span of the external wall was too much to resist aganist out of plane failure.Wrong placement of the openings in the walls was among the most common damage reasons.Insuffucient bond beams along the walls and a heavy - inclined roof were also important reasons.Topography of the region was also effective in the damages. Many of the damaged buildings were located on the hills with a high slope

Cfd investigation of spacer-filled channels for membrane distillation

The membrane distillation (MD) process for water desalination is affected by temperature polarization, which reduces the driving force and the efficiency of the process. To counteract this phenomenon, spacer-filled channels are used, which enhance mixing and heat transfer but also cause higher pressure drops. Therefore, in the design of MD modules, the choice of the spacer is crucial for process efficiency. In the present work, different overlapped spacers are investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and results are compared with experiments carried out with thermochromic liquid crystals (TLC). Results are reported for different flow attack angles and for Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging from ~200 to ~800. A good qualitative agreement between simulations and experiments can be observed for the areal distribution of the normalized heat transfer coefficient. Trends of the average heat transfer coefficient are reported as functions of Re for the geometries investigated, thus providing the basis for CFD-based correlations to be used in higher-scale process models

Morphometric features of the thyroid gland: a cadaveric study of Turkish people

Background: Although racial and ethnic variations in the morphology of anatomical structures are defined well, the size, shape, and weight of the thyroid gland have not previously been reported in Turkish people. This study provides data about the morphometric features of the thyroid gland, thyroid lobes, and pyramidal lobe, and highlights some anatomical variations in people from the Marmara region in Turkey. Material and methods: The material for the present study consisted of thyroid glands obtained from 75 male and 15 female adult cadavers aged between 18 and 80 years. A dissection was carried out and the thyroid glands were exposed. The glands were weighed and measured according to the various age groups of the patients. Results: A pyramidal lobe was found to be present in 57.8% of the cadavers (52/90). During midline dissection of the neck 2 males out of 90 cadavers, giving an incidence of 2.22%, did not show an isthmus. The mean thyroid weight was 26.11 ± 8.14 g. In males it was 26.93 ± 7.96 g while in females it was 21.93 ± 7.98 g. Conclusions: This is the first reported morphometric study on cadaveric thyroid glands from Turkey and it highlights individual and ethnic/racial variations. In order to perform safe and effective surgery and for the accurate diagnosis of thyroid disorders, knowledge of normal anatomy and the variations of the thyroid gland are essential. (Folia Morphol 2011; 70, 2: 103–108

Dual-Band Transmitter and Receiver with Bowtie-Antenna in 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS for Gas Spectroscopy at 222 - 270 GHz

This paper presents a transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX) with bowtie-antenna and silicon lens for gas spectroscopy at 222-270 GHz, which are fabricated in IHP’s 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The TX and RX use two integrated local oscillators for 222 – 256 GHz and 250 – 270 GHz, which are switched for dual-band operation. Due to its directivity of about 27 dBi, the single integrated bowtie-antenna with silicon lens enables an EIRP of about 25 dBm for the TX, and therefore a considerably higher EIRP for the 2-band TX compared to previously reported systems. The double sideband noise temperature of the RX is 20,000 K (18.5 dB noise figure) as measured by the Y-factor method. Absorption spectroscopy of gaseous methanol is used as a measure for the performance of the gas spectroscopy system with TX- and RX-modules

BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Turkish breast/ovarian families and young breast cancer patients

To date, BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in breast and/or ovarian patients have not been characterized in the Turkish population. We investigated the presence of BRCA mutations in 53 individuals with a personal and family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, and 52 individuals with a personal history of breast cancer diagnosed below age 50 without additional family history. We have identified 11 mutations (nine BRCA1 and two BRCA2) using combined techniques involving protein truncation test, direct sequencing and heteroduplex analysis. We found eight out of 53 patients (15.1%) with a family history to carry BRCA gene mutations (seven BRCA1 and one BRCA2). Of these, four were found in 43 families presenting only breast cancer histories, and four were found in families presenting ovarian cancer with or without breast cancer. We also demonstrated two BRCA1 and one BRCA2 mutations in three out of 52 (5.8%) early-onset breast cancer cases without additional family history. Three of nine BRCA1 and both BRCA2 mutations detected in this study were not reported previously. These mutations may be specific to the Turkish population. The BRCA1 5382insC mutation, specific to Ashkenazi and Russian populations, was found twice in our study group, representing a possible founder mutation in the Turkish population. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Caused by Coxsackievirus A6: A Preliminary Report from Istanbul

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Integration of Hi-C with short and long-read genome sequencing reveals the structure of germline rearranged genomes

Here the authors characterize structural variations (SVs) in a cohort of individuals with complex genomic rearrangements, identifying breakpoints by employing short- and long-read genome sequencing and investigate their impact on gene expression and the three-dimensional chromatin architecture. They find breakpoints are enriched in inactive regions and can result in chromatin domain fusions.Structural variants are a common cause of disease and contribute to a large extent to inter-individual variability, but their detection and interpretation remain a challenge. Here, we investigate 11 individuals with complex genomic rearrangements including germline chromothripsis by combining short- and long-read genome sequencing (GS) with Hi-C. Large-scale genomic rearrangements are identified in Hi-C interaction maps, allowing for an independent assessment of breakpoint calls derived from the GS methods, resulting in >300 genomic junctions. Based on a comprehensive breakpoint detection and Hi-C, we achieve a reconstruction of whole rearranged chromosomes. Integrating information on the three-dimensional organization of chromatin, we observe that breakpoints occur more frequently than expected in lamina-associated domains (LADs) and that a majority reshuffle topologically associating domains (TADs). By applying phased RNA-seq, we observe an enrichment of genes showing allelic imbalanced expression (AIG) within 100 kb around the breakpoints. Interestingly, the AIGs hit by a breakpoint (19/22) display both up- and downregulation, thereby suggesting different mechanisms at play, such as gene disruption and rearrangements of regulatory information. However, the majority of interpretable genes located 200 kb around a breakpoint do not show significant expression changes. Thus, there is an overall robustness in the genome towards large-scale chromosome rearrangements