Akdeniz University

Recommender systems are subject to well‐known popularity bias issues, that is, they expose frequently rated items more in recommendation lists than less‐rated ones. Such a problem could also have varying effects on users with different gender, age, or rating behavior, which significantly diminishes the users' overall satisfaction with recommendations. In this paper, we approach the problem from the view of user personalities for the first time and discover how users are inclined toward popular items based on their personality traits. More importantly, we analyze the potential unfairness concerns for users with different personalities, which the popularity bias of the recommenders might cause. To this end, we split users into groups of high, moderate, and low clusters in terms of each personality trait in the big‐five factor model and investigate how the popularity bias impacts such groups differently by considering several criteria. The experiments conducted with 10 well‐known algorithms of different kinds have concluded that less‐extroverted people and users avoiding new experiences are exposed to more unfair recommendations regarding popularity, despite being the most significant contributors to the system. However, discrepancies in other qualities of the recommendations for these user characteristics, such as accuracy, diversity, and novelty, vary depending on the utilized algorithm.

The active/passive heatsinks have recently garnered much attention due to their benefit to keep the temperature of the electronic device and PCB/ICs in a certain range. They are expected both to perform a maximum cooling thermally and to have a minimum of the radiation in electromagnetic terms since it causes electromagnetic interference (EMI) in devices around. In this paper, many studies discussing the EMI performance of natural convection heatsinks in the literature are investigated. Especially in devices operating at high frequencies, these structures behave like semi-antennas if their electrical dimensions are comparable to λ-λ/20 wavelengths. Accordingly, they act as both a monopole and a patch antenna. To eliminate the EMI effect from a heatsink, the grounding, shielding , and filtering techniques are studied. In the literature, the grounding methods are studied up to 2 GHz and it is determined that it provides improvement up to 12 dB. For 1-40 GHz it is possible to have up to 20 dB improvements in EMI by using absorbers and shielding methods. Finally, the effects of heatsink geometry, design parameters, fin-types, and excitation points on RE are discussed.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide evidence of the effectiveness of virtual reality interventions on the physiological and psychological outcomes of adults with cardiovascular disease. Design: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Database searches were carried out in CINAHL, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Ovid without restriction of year up to December 2021. The study was carried out in accordance with PRISMA 2020 and Cochrane 2021 recommendations. The intervention effects were pooled using the random effects model. The Risk of Bias 2 tool was' used to assess the risk of bias. Heterogeneity and publication bias were also assessed. Findings: In total, 14 trials were included. The included studies found a significantly higher effect on anxiety (Hedge's g = -0.85, 95% CI: -1.55 to -0.14, p = 0.01) and a medium effect on physical functional capacity (Hedge's g = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.01 to 1.08, p = 0.05), stress (Hedge's g = -0.36, 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.11, p = 0.01), and depression (Hedge's g = -0.39, 95% CI: -0.68 to -0.11, p = 0.01) compared to the control group. The Cochrane GRADE approach showed low level evidence for the effect of virtual reality on anxiety and moderate level evidence for stress, depression, and physical functional capacity. Conclusions: The effect size and grade evaluation results showed that virtual reality may be an effective intervention to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression and to increase physical functional capacity in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, more study is necessary in order to establish evidence. Registration: Registered in the PROSPERO database: PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews Registration number: CRD42022296578.

Designing deep learning based methods with medical images has always been an attractive area of research to assist clinicians in rapid examination and accurate diagnosis. Those methods need a large number of datasets including all variations in their training stages. On the other hand, medical images are always scarce due to several reasons, such as not enough patients for some diseases, patients do not want to allow their images to be used, lack of medical equipment or equipment, inability to obtain images that meet the desired criteria. This issue leads to bias in datasets, overfitting, and inaccurate results. Data augmentation is a common solution to overcome this issue and various augmentation techniques have been applied to different types of images in the literature. However, it is not clear which data augmentation technique provides more efficient results for which image type since different diseases are handled, different network architectures are used, and these architectures are trained and tested with different numbers of data sets in the literature. Therefore, in this work, the augmentation techniques used to improve performances of deep learning based diagnosis of the diseases in different organs (brain, lung, breast, and eye) from different imaging modalities (MR, CT, mammography, and fundoscopy) have been examined. Also, the most commonly used augmentation methods have been implemented, and their effectiveness in classifications with a deep network has been discussed based on quantitative performance evaluations. Experiments indicated that augmentation techniques should be chosen carefully according to image types.

Background The types of Wormian bones may play a role in population affinity and differential diagnosis of several clinical syndromes. This study investigates the distribution of types in adult skulls, their correlation to sex, population affinity, and several impairments based on the literature. One hundred ten adult Turkish skulls, 80 (72.7%) males and 30 (27.2%) females, were investigated according to type, frequency, location, and sex. Horizontal and vertical diameters and distances from the mastoid process (MP) were measured with a digital caliper. SPSS 25 was used for all statistical analyses. Results A total of 58 (52.72%) Wormian bones were identified from 110 skulls, 38 (65.5%) males and 20 (34.5%) females. The types of Wormian bones revealed significant differences between being on the right, left, or center (p = 0.012). The most frequent type was type 6 (n = 14, 24.1%) in males and type 7 (n = 8, 13.8%) in females. The most frequent type was type 7 in the lambdoid suture and type 8 in the parietomastoid suture. Conclusions The present study revealed significant differences regarding the asymmetric distribution of Wormian bones and unilateral asymmetrical types in Turkish skulls. Several factors could contribute to this, including underlying clinical syndrome, deficiencies in embryological development, and population affinity.

Background Antibiotic-associated diarrhea is one of the most frequent side effects of antimicrobial therapy. We assessed the epidemiological data of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in pediatric patients in our region. Methods The prospective multi-center study included pediatric patients who were initiated an oral antibiotic course in outpatient clinics and followed in a well-established surveillance system. This follow-up system constituded inclusion of patient by the primary physician, supply of family follow-up charts to the family, passing the demographics and clinical information of patient to the Primary Investigator Centre, and a close telephone follow-up of patients for a period of eight weeks by the Primary Investigator Centre. Results A result of 758 cases were recruited in the analysis which had a frequency of 10.4% antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Among the cases treated with amoxicillin-clavulanate 10.4%, and cephalosporins 14.4% presented with antibiotic-associated diarrhea. In the analysis of antibiotic-associated diarrhea occurrence according to different geographical regions of Turkey, antibiotic-associated diarrhea episodes differed significantly (p = 0.014), particularly higher in The Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia. Though most commonly encountered with cephalosporin use, antibiotic-associated diarrhea is not a frequent side effect. Conclusion This study on pediatric antibiotic-associated diarrhea displayed epidemiological data and the differences geographically in our region.

In this paper, we propose an adaptive sliding mode-based fault tolerant control for mobile robots. While a mobile robot is tracking a given trajectory, several fault cases may occur, such as sensor model and controller faults, changes in the dynamic equation due to robot body shape or weight changes, and loss of actuator effectiveness. Disturbance signals are caused by the actuator faults and, for various reasons, can be considered the primary issue for the robots. In real-time applications, the Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) is insufficient if the robot parameters are unknown, the robot model is non-linear, and the overall system is subject to disturbances. An adaptive law is used to support the SMC to maintain the sliding surface and solve the problems of unknown system parameters, actuator faults, and disturbances. Besides SMC, the kinematic controller is also used, and its gain values are optimized using a neural network and a kinematic controller. The stability of the overall system is proven by using the Lyapunov theory. Besides actuator faults, the system is disturbed by defining a disturbance signal, which is added to the control signals. To show the effectiveness of the proposed controller, it is compared with traditional SMC and PID.

CRISPR/Cas9 is one of the most robust technologies for plant breeding enabling precise and efficient modifications in a genome. This technology is being used for the manipulation of target genes in a host to develop resistance against the plant pathogens. Cucumis sativus elF4E is one of the target genes playing a key role in viral infection during interaction with potyvirus viral proteins genome linked (VPg). Nevertheless, the allelic and positional effect of elF4E mutations in C. sativus is to be clarified in elF4E-VPg interaction. In addition, there are entanglements in the massive production of pathogen-resistant cultivars suitable for commercial production using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Therefore, we targeted different positions of the elF4E in G27 and G247 inbred lines, using specific gRNA1 and gRNA2 for the first and third exons, respectively, and 1,221 transgene-free plants were selected in segregated T1 generation, where 192 G27 and 79 G247 plants had the least mutation at Cas9 cleavage site of gRNA1 or gRNA2. Crossing was performed to see allelic effects of elfF4E mutations in F1 populations, which were homozygous and heterozygous single (elF4E_1DEL or elF4E_3DEL) and double (elF4E_1-3DEL) mutants. Disease symptoms of watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), and zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) were evaluated in both non-edited and edited F1 plants, and we did not observe any symptom in homozygous elF4E_1-3DEL and elF4E_1DEL mutants. However, homozygous elF4E_3DEL was positive in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), even if there were no significant symptoms on the inoculated leaves. ELISA and qRT-PCR indicated lower viral accumulation in homozygous elF4E_3DEL than heterozygous and non-edited plants. Regeneration and transformation protocols were also optimized comprehensively for both the genotypes. The average number of shoots/100 explants was determined for both G27 and G247 as 13.6 and 18.0, respectively. We could not detect any distinguishing difference between the non-edited and edited F1 plants for yield and morphology. Our results demonstrate an effective route for mass production of viral resistant cultivars of cucumber to WMV, ZYMV, and PRSV. In this way, the pathogen-resistant cultivars could be generated to reduce the losses caused by these pathogens in cucumber production.

Purpose To evaluate the quality and reliability of YouTube videos about Thyroid Orbitopathy. Methods A YouTube search was performed using the keyword 'Graves eye disease’, ‘thyroid eye disease’, ‘thyroid orbitopathy’, ‘thyroid ophtalmopathy' in the search bar of YouTube. The first 50 videos were analyzed for each keywords, and the first 100 videos that came out were included in the study. The numbers of views, likes, dislikes, comments, daily viewing rate (number of views per day), uploaded source, country of origin, video type (patient experience, scholarly information), and described treatment technique were evaluated for all videos. They were also evaluated regarding their DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), global quality score (GQS) and usefulness score by two independent ophthalmologists. Results Of the top 100 videos, 94 videos met the criteria. The mean DISCERN, JAMA, GQS and usefulness score were 55.27 ± 16.57, 3.04 ± 0.64, 3.44 ± 0.93 and 3.23 ± 1.1. If we look at the upload source 53 (56.4%) videos were uploaded by physicians, 30 (31.9%) videos by institutions/private health institutions, 7 (7.4%) videos by health channels, 4 (4.3%) videos by patients. All scoring systems showed a statistically significant and strong positive correlation with each other (p < 0.001). A statistically significant positive correlation between viewing rate, likes and comments was observed. As the duration of the video increased, a significant increase in the scores in other scores was observed. Conclusion We observed that the tests we used in the scoring were correlated with each other. Most of the thyroid orbitopathy videos on YouTube were of good quality. Ophthalmologists should guide their patients who want to get information on YouTube to watch videos uploaded by health care professionals.

Purpose It is known that vitamin D has positive effects on graft functions (reduce fibrosis, suppress excessive inflammatory response, improve graft functions). In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the effects and predictive roles of vitamin D, the expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR) in lymphocytes, monocytes, natural killer cells on chronic rejection and graft functions in kidney transplant patients. Methods Seventy one people were included in the study and analyses were made by dividing them into 3 groups. Group 1: Healthy control (n = 29), Group 2: Kidney transplant patients with stable kidney function (n = 17), and Group 3: Kidney transplant patients with chronic rejection diagnosis (n = 25). Serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, 1.25 dihydroxycholecalciferol levels and VDR percentages in CD4 + , CD8 + , CD14 + , CD56 + cells were measured in 3 groups. ROC analyses and logistic regression models were performed to predict rejection and long-term graft functions. Results The percentage of VDR expression in CD4 + lymphocytes (p < 0.001) and CD14( +) monocytes (p < 0.001), 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and 1.25 dihydroxycholecalciferol levels were lower in group 3 was detected. In ROC analyses and logistic regression models, VDR expression in CD4( +)T lymphocytes was shown to have a statistically significant value in the development of chronic rejection (Odds ratio 0.86: 0.76–0.92; p = 0.001/AUC = 0.941, p < 0.001) and prediction of 5th-year graft functions (Odds ratio 0.93: 0.88–0.98; p = 0.017/AUC = 0.745, p = 0.007). Conclusion In our study, it was shown that low vitamin D and VDR expression is associated with poor outcome and VDR expression in CD4( +)T lymphocytes is predictive in terms of graft function and rejection.

Introduction: Encapsulation of the bioactive ingredients in biodegradable and edible polymers is an alternative novel application method to keep these kind of natural products stable. Objective: The purpose is to optimize the encapsulation system of olive leaf extract by spray drying method, and to apply the products into a model food. Methods: Olive leaf extract was encapsulated in arabic gum/maltodextrin blend by spray drying method. Combined design approach under I-optimal design type was used to optimize the system. Characterisation studies under moisture content, water activity, solubility, bulk density, tapped density, Carr index, particle size distribution, powder morphology and glass transition temperature were applied to the microparticles obtained under optimum conditions. The bioavailability of the encapsulated active material was tested by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Furthermore, microparticles produced under optimum conditions were also evaluated for a potential functional food application. Results: The optimum conditions were achieved by arabic gum/maltodextrin (3.7:6.3) with 10% (w/v) in the mixture of wall material and active material under 165.5°C to achieve maximum encapsulation efficiency (86.92%), encapsulation yield (71.32%) and antioxidant activity (5.74 mg Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity/g dry microparticle). Conclusions: Olive leaf extract encapsulated in arabic gum/maltodextrin may be a good alternative additive to prevent the lipid oxidation in fat-containing food products as well as improvement of the product quality by functional properties.

Background: Understanding the relationship between fear of gynecological cancer and awareness of cancer in women may help oncology nurses increase women's participation in gynecological cancer screening. Objective: To examine the relationship between women's gynecological cancer awareness and cancer fear using social media and the affecting factors. Methods: In a descriptive and cross-sectional study design, online data were collected from 1231 women aged 20 to 69 years through social media using the Descriptive Information Form, the Gynecological Cancer Awareness Scale (GCAS), and the Cancer Worry Scale (CWS). Analytic tests included paired t tests, analysis of variance, and post hoc correlations and structural equation modeling. Results: The women's total mean GCAS score was above moderate (152 ± 17), and their mean CWS score was high (19 ± 5). There was no relationship between the GCAS and CWS mean scores. Characteristics of participants with high awareness of gynecological cancer were being young, having a high educational level, having children, living in a province, having a history of cancer or family history of cancer, and having regular gynecological examinations, Papanicolaou smear tests, breast self-examination, and vulva examinations (P < .05). The fear of cancer was higher in women with children, a family history of cancer, and regular gynecological examination behaviors (P < .05). Conclusion: Awareness of gynecological cancer was not significantly statistically associated with fear of cancer. Certain sociodemographic and gynecological characteristics are associated with awareness of gynecological cancer and/or fear of cancer. Implications for practice: Oncology nurses may plan individualized or large-scale educational events that may make use of social media to enhance accurate awareness of gynecological cancer and related examinations in women.

In this study, the effects of the potential application of digestate as an agricultural fertilizer obtained from anaerobically digested microalgae treated by three pretreatment methods, namely alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP), high temperature and pressure (HTP), and hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) on some properties of soil, and wheat growth and yield were investigated. For this purpose, pretreated and anaerobically digested microalgae digestates alone or together with diammonium phosphate (DAP) as a chemical fertilizer were applied to soil for wheat growth. The highest dosage of AHP pretreated digestate combined with a half dose of DAP applied to soil was rich in nutrients as 0.25%N and 7.19 mg kg-1 compared to all groups. The properties of the soils were enhanced by applying the highest dosage (0.06 g kg-1) of microalgae digestate combined with a half dose of DAP. 0.02 g kg-1 dosage of HC pretreated digestate combined with a half dose of DAP also greatly improved nitrogen use efficiency indices by up to 104%. The soils' enzyme activities increased in wheat growth experiments by applying either raw or pretreated microalgae digestates. The soils' β-glycosidase, alkaline phosphatase, and urease enzyme activities increased to 1.38 mg pNP g-1 soil, 4.91 mg pNP g-1 soil, and 2.27 mg NH4-N 100 g-1soil respectively by the application of highest dosage of HC pretreated digestate. The digestates did not have a toxic effect on wheat growth, it was determined that applied pretreatment processes did not cause significant changes in wheat plant height or wet and dry weight.

A company’s environmental sensitivity primarily depends on its sustainability. Hence, investigating the factors that affect sustainable business performance contributes to the literature on the environment. Based on a resource-based view, dynamic capabilities, and contingency theory, this study examines the sequential relationships between the absorptive capacity, strategic agility, sustainable competitive advantage, and sustainable business performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as the mediating role of sustainable competitive advantage in the relationship between strategic agility and sustainable business performance. The data for the study was collected from 421 SMEs operating as family businesses and analyzed using SEM. Research fndings show that the sub-dimensions of absorptive capacity, acquisition, and exploitation afect strategic agility; strategic agility affects sustainable competitive advantage, and sustainable competitive advantage affects sustainable business performance. In addition to these sequential relationships, sustainable competitive advantage was found to play a full mediating role in the relationship between strategic agility and sustainable business performance. The fndings of the study highlight the process to achieve sustainable performance for SMEs, which are the backbone of developing economies in today’s highly turbulent economic conditions

Background: First-degree biological relatives of individuals with breast cancer have a higher risk of breast cancer. Objective: The purpose of this study was to create a protocol for evaluating the effect of the Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program (BrCaRRP) on the participation of women at risk in screening and on their health beliefs and risk reduction behaviors. Methods: The research was planned as a single-site, single-blind randomized controlled experimental study with a parallel group. Participants will be assigned to intervention and control groups using the Stratified Permuted Block Randomization method. The BrCaRRP will be applied to the intervention group within the theoretical framework of the Health Belief Model and the Health Promotion Model. The BrCaRRP is a 12-week program that encompasses 6 meetings, the first being face-to-face and the others via phone. Multidisciplinary experts calculated the content validity index of BrCaRRP as being 0.954 (high); its weighted kappa statistic is 0.70 (high). Results: The difference in the likelihood of participation in breast cancer screening between the BrCaRRP and control groups will be evaluated after the interventions. Findings will be presented in terms of our hypotheses. Conclusions: The BrCaRRP is a nurse-led program based on the Health Belief Model and the Health Promotion Model. The BrCaRRP has high content validity and interrater reliability. Implications for practice: This protocol can be tested as an intervention in a randomized controlled study.

The placenta provides maternal–fetal nutrient transport. The primary source of energy for fetus development is glucose and maternal–fetal glucose transport occurs through glucose transporters (GLUTs). Stevioside, a component of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, is used for medicinal and commercial purposes. We aim to determine the effects of stevioside on GLUT 1, GLUT 3, and GLUT 4 proteins expressions in diabetic rat placentas. The rats are divided into four groups. A single dose of streptozotocin (STZ) is administered to form the diabetic groups. Pregnant rats receive stevioside to form the stevioside and diabetic + stevioside groups. According to immunohistochemistry results, GLUT 1 protein is found in both the labyrinth and junctional zones. GLUT 3 protein is limited in the labyrinth zone. GLUT 4 protein is detected in trophoblast cells. According to Western blotting results, on the 15th and 20th days of pregnancy, there is no difference in the expression of GLUT 1 protein between groups. On the 20th day of pregnancy, the expression of GLUT 3 protein in the diabetic group is statistically higher compared to the control group. On the 15th day and 20th day of pregnancy, the expression of GLUT 4 protein in the diabetic group is statistically lower compared to the control group. Insulin levels in blood samples derived from rat abdominal aorta are determined by the ELISA method. According to the ELISA results, there is no difference in insulin protein concentration between groups. Stevioside treatment reduces GLUT 1 protein expression under diabetic conditions.

The non-destructive samplings are very important in not damaging seagrasses and seaweed under protection, at the field studies. The grasses are prominent in the assessment of the ecological status of the marine environments. One of the effective non-destructive samplings was the acoustical methods which need a low level of the sea and atmospheric conditions as compared to the other remote sensing system. Like the others, acoustic data alone are inherently ambiguous concerning the identities of the scatterers and need sea-truthing at the field studies. Considering the requirements above and the advantages of the acoustical methods, an acoustical in situ study was conducted to discriminate two dominant seagrasses along the western Turkish Mediterranean coast in August (in the year 2012) when biometrics of both species was at maxima. Four different regions were involved in the study during data collection using a split beam echosounder operated at 206 kHz since each region had different strengths of their biometrics reflecting regional variations of the acoustical measurements. For discrimination, a statistical approach based on the acoustical parameters and their statistics was enriched and validated with multivariate analyses (Silhouette, k-means, PCA and CAP analyses). Posidonia oceanica was correlated with mean, median, SD and maximum value of Sa, whereas Cymodocea nodosa was characterized by hardness and roughness of leaf echo, followed by skewness and kurtosis of Sa. The acoustics of C. nodosa were related to regional differences, but P. oceanica was related to the depthwise difference. Both species had highly different densities (g/cm 3), followed by biomass. The present study will interactively help acoustical studies to be more common and comprehensible and the other previous studies published did as well.

Background Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ-OA) is a degenerative disease and manifests itself with pain and limitation of movement in the jaws. Arthrocentesis alone or in combination with intraarticular injections is one of the most commonly used treatment methods in these patients. The aim of the study is to examine the effectiveness of arthrocentesis plus tenoxicam injection and to compare it with arthrocentesis alone in patients with TMJ-OA. Methods Thirty patients with TMJ-OA who were treated randomly with either arthrocentesis plus tenoxicam injection (TX group) or arthrocentesis alone (control group) were examined. Maximum mouth opening (MMO), visual analog scale (VAS) pain values, and joint sounds were the outcome variables, which were evaluated at pre-treatment and at 1, 4, 12, and 24 weeks after treatment. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results The gender distribution and mean age were not significantly different between the two groups. Pain values (p < 0.001), MMO (p < 0.001), and joint sounds (p < 0.001) improved significantly in both groups. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of outcome variables [pain (p = 0.085), MMO (p = 0.174), joint sounds (p = 0.131)]. Conclusions Arthrocentesis plus tenoxicam injection showed no better outcomes in terms of MMO, pain, and joint sounds compared with arthrocentesis alone in patients with TMJ-OA. Trial registration Injection of Tenoxicam Versus Arthrocentesis Alone in the Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis, NCT05497570. Registered 11 May 2022. Retrospectively registered, https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/prs/app/action/SelectProtocol?sid=S000CD7A&selectaction=Edit&uid=U0006FC4&ts=6&cx=f3anuq