Migration of highly educated Belgian and Dutch Turks : ‘Young Brains’ of Turkey

The aim of this research is to reflect the social imaginaries of highly educated Turkish migrants on their migration to their parents’ home country. Based on fieldwork and interviews with 19 Turkish-origin Belgian and Dutch citizens in a post-migration setting, this study demonstrates their pre- and postmigration lifestyles, and propounds the way they attribute meaning to their movement. The gap between personal wills of the actors of migration and expectations of them clearly shows how policies are flawed in their considerations of socio-cultural and economic development through ‘development agents’

A highly resilient and zone-based key predistribution protocol for multiphase wireless sensor networks

Pairwise key distribution among the sensor nodes is an essential problem for providing security in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The common approach for this problem is random key predistribution, which suffers from resiliency issues in case of node captures by adversaries. In the literature, the resiliency problem is addressed by zone-based deployment models that use prior deployment knowledge. Another remedy in the literature, which is for multiphase WSNs, aims to provide self-healing property via periodic deployments of sensor nodes with fresh keys over the sensor field. However, to the best of our knowledge, these two approaches have never been combined before in the literature. In this paper, we propose a zone-based key predistribution approach for multiphase WSNs. Our approach combines the best parts of these approaches and provides self-healing property with up to 9-fold more resiliency as compared to an existing scheme. Moreover, our scheme ensures almost 100% secure connectivity, which means a sensor node shares at least one key with almost all of its neighbors

Extension of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets to New Universal

Atanassov [1] defined the union, intersection and inclusion of intuitionistic fuzzy sets on the same universal. In [2], Riecan and Atanassov defined new intuitionistic fuzzy sets on different universals and they examined the union, intersection and inclusion of these sets. In this paper we gave counterexamples for the results of union, intersection and inclusion of these sets. For these situations we defined new intuitionistic fuzzy sets. In addition, we studied some properties of new intuitionistic fuzzy sets to be considered in their new universals

How the EU should respond to Erdoğan's constitutional coup d’état. CEPS Commentary, 1 March 2017

Apart from weak Council conclusions adopted last November and a non-binding resolution of the European Parliament condemning the repressive measures taken in the wake of the failed coup, most EU leaders and institutions have been conspicuously silent about the profound crisis of true democracy that has seized Turkey. In this Commentary, CEPS researchers Steven Blockmans and Sinem Yilmaz insist that the writing is on the wall and that the EU leadership must deliver a strong value statement in response

Turkey and the Codification of Autocracy. CEPS Policy Insights No 2017/10 March 2017

Turkey’s Parliament has approved a constitutional reform bill that will come into effect if approved in the national referendum on 16 April 2017. This controversial package seeks to replace the current parliamentary system with a fully fledged executive presidential system, without checks and balances. If President Erdoğan’s constitutional reform bill is approved, it will centralise power around the presidency and the current separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches will cease to be. This raises the question of whether Turkey, with its new constitution, will continue to satisfy the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership. Most EU leaders and institutions have remained conspicuously silent on the matter of constitutional ‘reform’ in Turkey. Considering the country’s backsliding on compliance with the Copenhagen political criteria, the authors of this paper argue that it is time for the EU to deliver a strong message that draws attention to the undemocratic nature of the amendments and the possibility of suspending accession talks if the bill is passed. The EU’s red line on the reintroduction of the death penalty should not become a red herring to divert attention from the deeply problematic constitutional ‘reform’ process. Similarly, Turkey’s strategic importance should not override the Union’s core democratic principles

Why the EU should terminate accession negotiations with Turkey. CEPS Commentary, 19 April 2017

Dictators do not simply come and go. And when they go, they rarely go quietly. The test of a dictator like President Erdoğan isn't how he came to power but how he treats critics, journalists, minorities, and whether he can still be outvoted. Now that a narrow majority of Turkish voters in the referendum has supported the codification of autocracy, any hope for the democratic removal of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has evaporated. Given this sorry state of affairs, the EU has no other choice but to terminate Turkey’s accession process. By constitutionalising an executive presidential system that erases the separation of powers and frees Erdoğan’s hands to deepen repression, Turkey will be in breach of the ‘political’ criteria for EU membership for years, if not decades, to come.1 Rather than merely ‘suspending’ accession negotiations in an attempt to keep up appearances – bureaucratic language that will be lost on Erdoğan as much as it will be on liberal Turks and European citizens – the EU should stand behind its core values and reset its relationship with the Republic of Turkey on a more credible and strategic footing, while pressing the regime on respect for human rights and working with civil society to keep the flame of ‘deep’ democracy alive

Role of bcl-2 family members in 4-hne induced apoptosis

In this study we have investigated the role of Bcl-2 protein family members in response to 4-HNE induced apoptosis by using endothelial cells and monocytes as models for atherosclerosis. Cell viability and Annexin-V staining experiments demonstrated that 4-HNE was cytotoxic for both human umbilical vein endothelial cells (huv-ec-c's) and human leukemic monocyte lymphoma cell line (U937 cells) and induced apoptosis in a dose dependent manner. In order to gain further insight into the apoptotic mechanism, the protein levels of Bcl-2 family members were investigated by immunoblot analysis. In 20 μM 4-HNE treated huv-ec-c's, Bcl-XL and Bax were upregulated within 4 hours of treatment, followed by a sharp decrease in the prosurvival Bcl-2 protein. Among proapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family; Bid truncation occurred prior to Bcl-2 down-regulation. In 20μM of 4-HNE treated U937 cell line for 12 hours, Bcl-XL was downregulated at an early time point of 2 hours, then restored back to control level at the 4th hour, whereas prosurvival Bcl-2 had a sharp decrease in a time dependent manner. Contrary to Bcl-2 and BC1-XL, the protein level of Mcl-1 did not change in 12 hours time after 4-HNE treatment. The proapoptotic member of Bcl-2 family, Bax was upregulated however Bak, responsible for pore formation on the mitochondria membrane, was downregulated after the 4-HNE treatment in 2 hours time. In 10μM of 4-HNE treated U937 cell line for 24 hours, Bcl-XL down-regulation took place between 2 to 8 hours and Bcl-2 was downregulated at 2 to 12 hours then Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 protein levels were reestablished at 12 hours and 24 hours respectively. Mcl-1 and Bak protein levels did not change. Bax was also upregulated similar to high dose treatment. Protein levels of Bim and Bid were also studied by immunoblotting and were not found to change In our experimental system, several cell lines (huv-ec-c's and U937 cells) and several Bcl-2 family proteins' levels (Among prosurvival; Bcl-2, Bcl-XL and Mcl-1, among proapoptotics; Bax, Bak, Bid, Bim) were studied in response to 4-HNE treatment. Shortly, Bcl-2 proteins mainly responded in cell specific manner. Among these proteins, in huv-ec-c's BC1-XL and Bax were upregulated, Bcl-2 was downregulated. In U937 cells, Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 were downregulated at early time points, Mcl-1 level remained the same whereas Bax was upregulated. Only Bak protein responded in dose dependent manner in monocytes. In order to enlighten the role of Bak in the apoptotic mechanism, further investigations are necessary. Finally, these results indicate the involvement of mitochondrial pathway and sequential activation of Bcl-2 family proteins in high and low doses of 4-HNE induced apoptosis in two different cell lines

Development of an Entrepreneurial Small Business’ (Abler by Robomedika’s) Strategic Plan by Shortened Systematic Strategic Planning (SSP)—Case Study

As many sources exhort managers to “think strategically”, only a few addresses how to make this happen. Shortened Systematic Strategic Planning (SSP) consists of a pattern of step-wise procedure for straight-forward planning, and the fundamentals involved in any strategic planning project. The use of shortened SSP is more suitable for the development of strategic plans for small- and medium-size businesses. SSP has been applied to and tested on different businesses’ subject issue and has been generated by the composition of the cause-and-effect relations of them. The intention here is to provide a new perspective and benefit for the strategic planners by introducing this new systematic methodology and demonstrating its implementation on an entrepreneurial and new business called Abler. Accordingly, let shortened version of SSP easily understood and universally applied to any small- and medium-size businesses. You are guided how to identify in what circumstances you might use its specific tools and how to target them directly at achieving effective results. The data that are used in this case are fictitious and only help for this study. Though, the given case does not cover all the steps of a typical SSP and use all the recommended techniques, it still reflects the basics

Urtikarija kao rijetka nuspojava polietilen glikola-3350 kod djeteta: prikaz slučaja

Polyethylene glycol electrolyte (PEG-3350) solution is usually used for bowel emptying before co-lonoscopy in adults. It has also been reported to be safe in children. It is thought that bowel irrigation with this solution can be a useful treatment alternative for poisoning with slow releasing drugs, swallowed packaged substances, enteric coated drugs, drugs not binding to charcoal, and heavy metals in children. Due to high molecular weight of PEG-3350, its absorption from the intestinal mucosa is very low (0.2%). Therefore, it is less likely to have side effects. A three-year-old girl bit and ate one-third of an alkali battery and was brought to our pediatric emergency unit. Vital signs and results of physical examination and laboratory investigations were normal. Irrigation of the bowels with PEG-3350 solution given orally at a rate of 20 mL/kg/h was initiated. Upon excretion of feces of normal appearance in the sixth hour, irrigation was continued. Since rashes and itching started throughout her body in the thirtieth hour after administration of 9 L PEG-3350, the irrigation was discontinued and the patient was administered antihistamines. Rashes and itching regressed within one hour of its discontinuation. This suggested that they were due to the irrigation solution. There are five adult cases of allergic reactions to PEG-3350 reported in the literature. The case presented is the first pediatric patient developing allergic reaction to PEG-3350.Otopina polietilen glikola (PEG-3350) najčešće se primjenjuje za pražnjenje crijeva prije kolonoskopije u odraslih osoba, a opisuje se kao sigurno sredstvo i u djece. Smatra se da ispiranje crijeva ovom otopinom može biti korisna alternativa za liječenje otrovanja lijekovima sa sporim otpuštanjem, progutanim pakovanjima nekih tvari, lijekovima sa zaštitnom ovojnicom za probavni sustav, lijekovima koji se ne vežu na ugljen te teškim metalima u djece. Zbog velike molekularne težine vrlo mali dio PEG-3350 (0,2%) se apsorbira iz crijevne sluznice pa su stoga nuspojave manje vjerojatne. Djevojčica u dobi od tri godine zagrizla je i progutala jednu trećinu alkalne baterije pa je dovedena u našu hitnu pedijatrijsku službu. Vitalni znaci kao i rezultati fizikalnog pregleda i laboratorijskih pretraga bili su normalni. Započeto je ispiranje crijeva otopinom PEG-3350 peroralno, 20 mL/kg/h. Nakon što je dijete imalo stolicu normalnog izgleda u šestom satu, ispiranje je nastavljeno. Međutim, nakon što je djevojčica primila 9 L PEG-3350, u tridesetom satu davanja otopine nastupio je osip i svrbež po čitavom tijelu pa je ispiranje crijeva prekinuto i djetetu su dani antihistaminici. Osip i svrbež su se povukli unutar jednog sata od prestanka ispiranja otopinom PEG-3350. U literaturi je opisano pet slučajeva alergijskih reakcija na PEG-3350 u odraslih osoba. Ovaj prikaz opisuje prvi slučaj alergijske reakcije na PEG-3350 u djeteta

Detection of α-Thalassemia by Using Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification as an Additional Method for Rare Mutations in Southern Turkey

α-thalassemia is the most common single gene disorder in the Cukurova Region in Turkey. It is therefore routinely screened, including premaritally, in our region. The heterogeneous molecular basis of the disease makes α-thalassemia mutation detection difficult and complex. Besides well established methods, multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is known as an effective, simple and specific method for the detection and characterization of deletions and duplications. We employed MLPA testing to 30 patients with hematological parameters suggestive of α-thalassemia carrier status but was negative for α-thalassemia with conventional reverse dot blot hybridization (RDB). We found α-globin gene deletions in 3 out of 30 (10 %) patients with MLPA. We propose that MLPA can be used as a second tier test in addition to other techniques such as RDB to identify α-thalassemia carriers in high prevalence regions such as ours, thereby allowing clinicians to provide accurate genetic counselling