A Study Towards the Interaction Between Developed and Developing Countries’S Stock Exchanges and Turkish Stock Exchange

DergiPark: 326131trakyasobedWith the phenomenon of globalization, there seems to be an acceleration in the tendency of integration between financial markets. In this study, the relationship between developed and developing countries' stock exchanges and Turkish stock exchange has been researched, by using stock index figures at the period of January 2009 and August 2014. It is concluded that the findings of the study demonstrates Turkish stock Exchange is more sensitive to emerging countries’s stock exchanges comparing to developed countries’s stock exchangesKüreselleşme olgusuyla birlikte finansal piyasalar arasındaki bütünleşme eğiliminde bir hızlanma görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülke borsaları ile Türk borsası arasındaki ilişkiler, Ocak 2009 ile Ağustos 2014 dönemi için ülkelere ait hisse senedi endeks değerleri kullanılmak suretiyle araştırılmıştır. Veriler analiz edildiğinde Türk borsasının, gelişmiş ülke borsalarına kıyasla gelişmekte olan ülke borsalarına daha duyarlı olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştı

Serum macrophage migration inhibitory factor levels in Hashimoto's thyroiditis; a case control study

Objective: The cell-mediated immune process by CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocyte subsets of T-cells has a major role in the pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). However, the exact mechanisms of initiation and progression of thyroid autoimmunity have not been completely clarified yet. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is commonly recognized as playing vital roles in various autoimmune diseases. Ee aimed to investigate serum MIF levels in subjects with HT and correlate them with the level of thyroid hormones and autoantibodies. Materials and methods: This study included 93 patients with untreated Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 53 healthy controls. We measured serum levels of TSH, free T4 (FT4), free T3 (FT3), anti-Thyroglobulin autoantibody (TGAb) and anti-Thyroid peroxidase autoantibody (TPOAb) in all patients and thyroid ultrasonography was performed. The concentration of MIF was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results: We enrolled 93 patients with HT (mean age; 31.3 ± 11.1 years), and 53 healthy control group (mean age; 29.3 ± 8.5 years) in the current study. The patient group consisted of 52 with euthyroid autoimmune thyroiditis, 31 with subclinical hypothyroidism and 10 with overt hypothyroidism. Serum levels of MIF were higher in patients with overt hypothyroidism (6300.9 ± 2504.3 pg/ml) than the euthyroid patients (3955.2 ± 3013.6 pg/ml) (p = 0.036). Conclusion: MIF increases in overt hypothyroidism due to the Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Further investigations are needed to explore the role of MIF in pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. © 2014 Ayaz et al

Biochemical, biomechanical and imaging biomarkers of ischemic stroke:Time for integrative thinking

Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability affecting millions of people worldwide. Post-stroke cognitive and motor impairments diminish quality of life and functional independence. There is an increased risk of having a second stroke and developing secondary conditions with long-term social and economic impacts. With increasing number of stroke incidents, shortage of medical professionals and limited budgets, health services are struggling to provide a care that can break the vicious cycle of stroke. Effective post-stroke recovery hinges on holistic, integrative and personalized care starting from improved diagnosis and treatment in clinics to continuous rehabilitation and support in the community. To improve stroke care pathways, there have been growing efforts in discovering biomarkers that can provide valuable insights into the neural, physiological and biomechanical consequences of stroke and how patients respond to new interventions. In this review paper, we aim to summarize recent biomarker discovery research focusing on three modalities (brain imaging, blood sampling and gait assessments), look at some established and forthcoming biomarkers, and discuss their usefulness and complementarity within the context of comprehensive stroke care. We also emphasize the importance of biomarker guided personalized interventions to enhance stroke treatment and post-stroke recovery.</p

The Mediating Role of Self-Concept and Coping Strategies on the Relationship Between Attachment Styles and Perceived Stress

The aim of this study was to examine the role of attachment style, self-concept, and coping strategies, in order to explain the differences in perceived stress factors and stress symptoms, in a mediation model. Participants were 515 university students (302 female and 213 male) aged 17-28 years. The assessment instruments were: Social Comparison Scale, Ways of Coping Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-II, Brief Symptom Inventory and University Students Stress Factors Scale. The results indicated that the effect of anxious attachment on perceived stress factors and stress symptoms was partially mediated by self-concept and coping styles. Our findings revealed that the level of anxious attachment is an important factor to explain perceived stress and stress-related variables

Increased fuel burn up in a CANDU thorium reactor using weapon grade plutonium

Weapon grade plutonium is used as a booster fissile fuel material in the form of mixed ThO2/PuO2 fuel in a Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) fuel bundle in order to assure the initial criticality at startup. Two different fuel compositions have been used: (1) 97% thoria (ThO2) + 3%PuO2 and (2) 92% ThO2 + 5% UO2 + 3% PuO2. The latter is used to denaturize the new 233U fuel with 238U. The temporal variation of the criticality k? and the burn-up values of the reactor have been calculated by full power operation for a period of 20 years. The criticality starts by k? = ~1.48 for both fuel compositions. A sharp decrease of the criticality has been observed in the first year as a consequence of rapid plutonium burnout. The criticality becomes quasi constant after the second year and remains above k? &gt; 1.06 for ~20 years. After the second year, the CANDU reactor begins to operate practically as a thorium burner. Very high burn up could be achieved with the same fuel material (up to 500,000 MW·D/T), provided that the fuel rod claddings would be replaced periodically (after every 50,000 or 100,000 MW·D/T). The reactor criticality will be sufficient until a great fraction of the thorium fuel is burnt up. This would reduce fuel fabrication costs and nuclear waste mass for final disposal per unit energy drastically.This work has been supported by the Research Fund of the Gazi University, Project #07/2003-14