Testing Purchasing Power Parity for the New EU Members and Turkey : Panel Cointegration Analysis with Disaggregated CPI

This study applies multivariate panel cointegration technique to evaluate PPP hypothesis by using consumer price sub-indices of new EU member transition economies and Turkey. We aim not only to compare parameter estimates across the sectors of an economy but also across the economies at different EU transition stages. We find that failure to get evidence for cointegration to support PPP can be attributed to the inclusion of non-tradable goods in the aggregated data, as well as to the extent of trade relationship.Purchasing Power Parity, Panel cointegration, European Union, Transition economies, Turkey

Yeni Endekslerle 2003-2010 Donemi Reel Efektif Doviz Kuru Gelismelerine Iliskin Gozlemler

Calismada Turkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankasi (TCMB) tarafindan takip edilen reel efektif doviz kuru endekslerine iliskin guncelleme ozetlenmektedir. Olusturulan yeni endekslerle yakin donemdeki dis ticaret gelismelerinin efektif kur gostergeleri uzerine yansitilmasi amaclanmistir. Bu cecevede, hesaplamaya dahil edilen ulke sayisi artirilirken, ulke agirliklari 2006-2008 donemi ticaret akimlari kullanilarak guncellenmistir. Bunlara ek olarak, alternatif endeksler olusturularak, reel efektif doviz kuru gelismeleri farkli acilardan incelenmistir.

Turkiye icin Yeni Reel Efektif Doviz Kuru Endeksleri

Bu calismanin amaci Turkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankasi tarafindan ilan edilen reel efektif doviz kuru endekslerinin guncellenmesidir. Bu cercevede olusturulan yeni endekslerle hesaplamaya dahil edilen ulke sayisi 19’dan 36’ya cikarilmis, ulke agirliklari icinse kullanilmakta olan 1988-1990 donemine ait ticaret verileri yerine 2006-2008 donemi ticaret akimlari kullanilarak, yakin donem ticaret gelismelerinin degisen agirliklar tarafindan kapsanmasi amaclanmistir. Bunlara ek olarak, fonksiyonel reel efektif kuru endeksleri olusturularak, bolgesel analize imkan veren, ic-dis pazar siniflandirmasinda rekabet kompozisyonu ayriminin yapilabilmesini saglayan endekslerle, TUFE ve UFE bazli endekslerin yaninda birim isgucu maliyetleri, gayri safi yurtici hasila deflatoru ve ihracat fiyatlari bazli endeksler de turetilmistir.Reel Efektif Doviz Kurur Endeksi, Turkiye

Dis Ticarette Kuresel Egilimler ve Turkiye Ekonomisi

Onceki yuzyil uluslararasi ticaretinin temelini olusturan endustriler arasi ticaret, yerini endustri içi ticarete birakirken, gelismekte olan ulkelerin ihracatinda sanayiinin, gelismis ulkelerin ihracatinda ise hizmetlerin payi artmistir. Teknolojik ilerlemeler, uluslararasi rekabetin artmasi, tasimacilik maliyetlerinin ve tarifelerin gerilemesi, uretim aktivitelerinin, farkli faktor yogunluguna sahip kucuk alt sureclere bolunerek, her bir surecin farkli bir ulkede gerceklestirilmesine olanak vermektedir. Yeni kuresel uretim surecleri bir taraftan gelismekte olan ulkelerin endustri urunleri ihracatini artirirken diger taraftan uretimin ithal sermaye ve aramali kullanimini artirmaktadir. Calismanin bulgulari, sekiz gelismekte olan ve sekiz gelismis ulke arasinda 1990'lardan 2000'lere dikey anlamda uretimde uzmanlasma yapisinin degistigini gostermektedir. Soz konusu donemde gelismis ulkelerin karsilastirmali ustunlukleri ara mallarinda kuvvetlenirken gelismekte olan ulkelerin nihai mallarda goreli avantajlari artmaktadir. Turkiye'nin tekstil ve makine-techizat sektorleri nihai mallarindaki aciklanmis karsilastirmali ustunluk endeksi, son on yilda, sinirli bir oranda iyilesme gosterirken, ana metal ve ulastirma araçlari sektorlerinde hizli bir sekilde artmistir. Gelismekte olan ulkeler arasinda Turkiye en yuksek, Cin ise en dusuk ara mali ithalat-ihracat oranina sahiptir. Sektorel olarak en fazla ara mali ithalati ulastirma araclari sektorunde yapilirken, onu ana metal sektorunun takip etmektedir. Cokuluslu sirketleri gelismekte olan ulkelerin uretim ve ihracat yapilarinin donusumunde onemli rol oynamaktadir. Turkiye'ye de ise dogrudan yatirimlar-ihracat ve buyume iliskisi goreli olarak daha zayifti.Dikey Uzmanlasma, Dogrudan yatirimlar, Ithalat bagimliligi, Aciklanmis karsilastirmali ustunluk.

Histopathological effects of maternal hair dye use on the cornea

The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the histopathological effects of hair dye additives, 2-amino-5-nitrophenol (2A5NP) and 2-nitro-p-phenylendiamin (2NPPD) on cornea of neonates from pregnant rats that have been administered these additives subcutaneously. The study included 90 neonates of 26 nulligravida wistar-albino rats among which ten were given 100 mg/kg/day 2A5NP (Group I), ten rats received 150 mg/kg/day 2NPPD (Group II) and control rats received saline (Group III) injections subcutaneously between 7th and 15th gestational days. No sign of toxicity was observed during the treatment and there was no gross abnormality in both the study and control groups. Histopathological changes of cornea were seen in 22 of 30 newborn rats in Group I (73.4%), in 23 of 30 rats in Group II (76.7%) and only 5 of 30 rats in the control saline injected Group III (16.7%). Histopathological effect of the two additives were statistically significant when compared to the control group (Chi-square: 27.63, p = 0.0001), but there was no difference between the effects of 2A5NP and 2NPPD additives on cornea (Chisquare:0.089, p = 0.766). The present experimental study on rats confirmed the histopathological effect of 2A5NP and 2NPPD on cornea beyond doubt. In the light of which, we can speculate that maternal exposure of hair dyes during pregnancy has some teratogenic effects on newborn rat cornea

Ubiquitin-Proteasome Axis, Especially Ubiquitin-Specific Protease-17 (USP17) Gene Family, is a Potential Target for Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

###EgeUn###Objectives: To investigate gene expression differences and related functions between primary tumor, malignant cells in ascites, and metastatic peritoneal implant in high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Methods: Biopsies from primary tumor, peritoneal implant, and ascites were collected from 10 patients operated primarily for high-grade, advanced-staged serous ovarian cancer. Total RNA isolation was performed from collected tissue biopsy and fluid samples, and RNA expression profile was measured. Messenger RNA expression profiles of 3 different groups were compared. Functional analyses of candidate genes were carried out by gene ontology and pathway analysis. Results: There were significant differences in the expression of 5 genes between primary tumor and peritoneal implant, 979 genes between primary tumor and malignant cells in ascites, and 649 genes between peritoneal implant and malignant cells in ascites. Three commonly enriched gene ontology functions between "primary tumor and malignant cells in the ascites" and "peritoneal implant and malignant cells in the ascites" were protein deubiquitination, ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolism, and apoptotic processes. All genes related to these functions belonged to USP17 gene family. Conclusion: Gene expression difference between primary tumor and the peritoneal implant is not as much as the difference between primary tumor and free cells in the ascites. These results show that malignant cells in the ascites return into its genetic origin after they invade on the peritoneum. Significantly increased expression of DUB-enzyme genes, SNAR gene family, and ribosomal pathway genes in epithelial-mesenchymal transition suggests that this regulation is ubiquitin-proteasome dependent. Especially, this is the first study that offers USP17 as a potential target for epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [214S334]The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The study was supported by "The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)" with the grant number 214S334

Anatolian Honey Is Not Only Sweet but Can Also Protect from Breast Cancer: Elixir for Women from Artemis to Present

Natural products with bioactive components are widely studied on various cancer cell lines for their possible cytotoxic effects, recently. Among these products, honey stands out as a valuable bee product containing many active phenolic compounds and flavonoids. Numerous types of multifloral honey and honeydew honey are produced in Turkey owing to its abundant vegetation. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of particular tree-originated honeys from chestnut, cedar, pine, and multifloral honey on cell lines representing different types of the most common cancer of women, breast cancer, MCF7, SKBR3, and MDAMB-231, and fibrocystic breast epithelial cell line, MCF10A as a control. All honey samples were analyzed biochemically. The dose- (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 mu g/mL) and time (24th, 48th, and 72nd hours)-dependent effects of ethanol/water solutions of the honey samples were scrutinized. Cell viability/cytotoxicity was evaluated by the water soluble tetrazolium Salt-1 (WST-1) method. Apoptotic status was detected by Annexin V-PI assay using FACSCalibur. The statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism 6 and the clustering data analysis with the R programming language. The biochemical analyses of the honey samples showed that the tree-originated honey samples contained more total phenolic compounds than the multifloral honey. Phenolic content of the honey types increases in order of multifloral, pine, cedar, and chestnut, respectively, which is compatible with their cytotoxic affectivity and dark color. In addition, the antioxidant capacity of the studied honey types was observed to increase in order of multifloral pine> cedar> multifloral in the Annexin V-propidium iodide (PI) analysis. Chestnut, cedar, and pine honey displayed a remarkably cytotoxic effect on breast cancer cell lines, MCF7, SKBR3, and even on the most aggressive MDAMB 231, representing the triple negative breast cancer, which lacks of targeted anticancer therapy. The chestnut and cedar honeys stand out to be the most cytotoxic on all cell lines, while pine honey was found to be the least toxic on control cells with appropriate toxicity on the cancer cells. (c) 2017 IUBMB Life, 69(9):677-688, 201

A broad clinical spectrum of PLC epsilon 1-related kidney disease and intrafamilial variability

Background The phenotypic and genotypic spectrum and kidney outcome of PLC epsilon 1 -related kidney disease are not well known. We attempted to study 25 genetically confirmed cases of PLC epsilon 1-related kidney disease from 11 centers to expand the clinical spectrum and to determine the relationship between phenotypic and genotypic features, kidney outcome, and the impact of treatment on outcome