MICRO CREDIT SYSTEM FOR INCREASING FEMALEEMPLOYMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN TURKEY

Women labor participation rate is very low in Turkey. Although the governmentincentive policies have relatively improved, positive developments expected in thisarea have not taken place at the desired level. The micro-credit scheme aiming atproviding relatively smaller amount of loans to entrepreneur women to start theirbusiness began in 1980s in the world, and became operational in our country atthe beginning of 2000s. Currently, certain level of successful is observed throughin many Turkish provinces through this system. To this day, nearly 200thousandfemale entrepreneur established their business through small capital provided bythe micro credit system in Turkey. Moreover, they have already paid back all theloans that they used. In this study, the application of micro-credit system forincreasing female participation in labor force and business life is investigated.The labor participation level of women in Turkey has remained quite low.Although the government incentive policies have relatively provided improvement,the positive developmentsexpected in this area have not taken place at the desiredlevel. The micro-credit scheme aiming at providing relatively lower amount ofloans to women to start their business began in 1980s in the world, and becameoperational in our country at the beginning of 2000s. Currently, we see successfulwork is done through this scheme in many Turkish provinces. In this study, theapplication of micro-credit system for increasing the participation of women inworking life is elaborated

PERCEPTIONS OF THE PSYHOLOGICAL CONTRACT IN WORKING LIFEAND AN APPLICATION IN THE SERVICE SECTOR

Unlike employment agreement, psychological contract comprises not only bothsides of the covenant in an employment relation but also involves the promisesand obligations being dependent on all types of perceived spoken messages,attitudes, and behaviours between the parties. As the individuals in various wayscan form this perception, the results during the process and the reflections to theworking life may display differences. The purpose of this study is to investigatethe impacts of the psychological contract on the relationship between employeeand employers. It is also within the scope of this study to evaluate the effects ofthe demographic characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, academicbackground, job tenure on psychological contract. In this study, firstly, the term“psychological contract” is examined, then employees’ ideas related topsychological contract are tried to be identified in health facilities and retailing sector in which flexible working is intensely implemented. The analyses of datacollected from the questionnaires have revealed the employees’ opinions abouttheissues within the context of psychological contract. When the results of this studyare assessed, it is concluded that demographic characteristics stated by theparticipants did not show any significant variation in the perception of bothorganizational and employees’ commitments

Is There a Relationship Between First-Trimester Aneuploidy Screening Serum Biomarker Values and Nuchal Translucency Measurements and the Development of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in Premature Infants?

Purpose The purpose of this study is the evaluation of serum biomarker and nuchal translucency (NT) values measured during first-trimester aneuploidy screening in terms of the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature infants and investigation of whether the development of ROP is associated with these parameters. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 3,750 premature infants who underwent ROP screening from 2016 to 2021 were identified from the hospital medical record system. Among 2,130 premature babies screened for first-trimester aneuploidy, 166 babies whose mothers had single pregnancies were screened by the same method and showed the same clinical course in both eyes were included in the study. The infants were divided into two groups according to the presence of ROP, and those with ROP were further evaluated in two groups according to the presence of proliferation. The groups were compared in terms of the serum values of human chorionic gonadotropin and pregnancy-associated plasma protein A, among aneuploidy screening biomarkers, and NT measurements. Results There was no significant difference in the evaluated serum biomarker values and NT measurements between the ROP and non-ROP groups or between the proliferative ROP, non-proliferative ROP, and non-ROP groups. Conclusion Our results showed that first-trimester aneuploidy screening serum biomarker values and NT measurements were not associated with the development of ROP in premature infants

Metformin promotes apoptosis in primary breast cancer cells by downregulation of cyclin D1 and upregulation of P53 through an AMPK-alpha independent mechanism

Background/aim: In the present study we aimed to figure out the effect of metformin on the expression of AMPK-alpha, cyclin D1, and Tp53, and apoptosis in primary breast cancer cells (PBCCs).Materials and methods: PBCCs were treated with two doses of metformin (0 mM, 25 mM). Proliferation was determined by BrdU as-say. Real-time PCR was used to assess AMPK-alpha, cyclin D1, and Tp53 gene expressions; apoptotic indexes of PBCCs were analyzed using flow-cytometry.Results: Twenty-four-hour incubation with 25 mM metformin reduced the proliferation of PBCCs. AMPK-alpha gene expression in PBCCs was not affected by 25 mM metformin treatment compared with the control group. PBCCs treated with 25 mM metformin had lower cyclin D1 expression compared with nontreated cells; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Twenty-five mil-limolar dose of metformin increased p53 expression significantly compared with the nontreated group. The high concentration of met -formin elevated the number of annexin V-positive apoptotic cells, and the increase in the apoptotic index was statistically significant.Conclusion: Metformin can modulate cyclin D1 and p53 expression through AMPK-alpha-independent mechanism in breast cancer cells, leading to cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction

Anti-cancer effect of metformin on the metastasis and invasion of primary breast cancer cells through mediating NF-kB activity

Current evidence strongly suggests that aberrant activation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) signaling cascade is connected to carcinogenesis. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) which are also the key agents for tumor metastasis may be potent candidates for tumor diagnosis in clinics. In this in vitro study, we hypothesized that metformin with an effective dose can inhibit tumor cell proliferation and metastasis by modulating the expressions of MMP-2 and 9 and interfering with NF-kB signaling in primary breast cancer cells (PBCCs). 300 000 cells per ml were obtained from biopsies of breast tumors from five human donors. The cell viability and proliferation were tested. Immunocytochemistry was performed for MMP 2, MMP 9, and NF-kB, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for NF-kB activity, quantitative real-time PCR for RELA/p65, IkBa, MMP-2, and MMP 9. Three different doses of metformin (5, 10, and 25 mM) (Met) reduced the viability and proliferation of PBCCs in a dose-dependent manner, maximum inhibition was observed at 25 mM Met. The expression of RELA/p65 was not affected by 25 mM Met. Nuclear immunoreactivity and activity of NF-kB reduced while cytoplasmic NF-kB (p65) elevated by 25 mM Met compared to non-treatment (P < 0.05). The expression and immunoreactivity of MMP 9 but not MMP 2 were decreased by 25 mM Met treatment, compared with the non-treatment (P < 0.05). Metformin may have an essential antitumor role in the invasion and metastasis pathways of PBCCs by downregulating the MMP 9 expression blocking both the activity and nuclear translocation of NF-kB