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Article Citation - WoS: 24Citation - Scopus: 27The Pimpled Gold Nanosphere: a Superior Candidate for Plasmonic Photothermal Therapy(Dove Medical Press Ltd, 2020) Nasseri, Behzad; Turk, Mustafa; Kosemehmetoglu, Kemal; Kaya, Murat; Piskin, Erhan; Rabiee, Navid; Webster, Thomas J.Background: The development of highly efficient nanoparticles to convert light to heat for anti-cancer applications is quite a challenging field of research. Methods: In this study, we synthesized unique pimpled gold nanospheres (PGNSs) for plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT). The light-to-heat conversion capability of PGNSs and PPTT damage at the cellular level were investigated using a tissue phantom model. The ability of PGNSs to induce robust cellular damage was studied during cytotoxicity tests on colorectal adenocarcinoma (DLD-1) and fibroblast cell lines. Further, a numerical model of plasmonic (COMSOL Multiphysics) properties was used with the PPTT experimental assays. Results: A low cytotoxic effect of thiolated polyethylene glycol (SH-PEG400-SH-) was observed which improved the biocompatibility of PGNSs to maintain 89.4% cell viability during cytometry assays (in terms of fibroblast cells for 24 hrs at a concentration of 300 mu g/mL). The heat generated from the nanoparticle-mediated phantom models resulted in Delta T=30 degrees C, Delta T=23.1 degrees C and Delta T=21 degrees C for the PGNSs, AuNRs, and AuNPs, respectively (at a 300 mu g/mL concentration and for 325 sec). For the in vitro assays of PPTT on cancer cells, the PGNS group induced a 68.78% lethality (apoptosis) on DLD-1 cells. Fluorescence microscopy results showed the destruction of cell membranes and nuclei for the PPTT group. Experiments further revealed a penetration depth of sufficient PPTT damage in a physical tumor model after hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining through pathological studies (at depths of 2, 3 and 4 cm). Severe structural damages were observed in the tissue model through an 808-nm laser exposed to the PGNSs. Conclusion: Collectively, such results show much promise for the use of the present PGNSs and photothermal therapy for numerous anti-cancer applications.Article Citation - WoS: 58Fast Neutron Imaging With Semiconductor Nanocrystal Scintillators(Amer Chemical Soc, 2020) McCall, Kyle M.; Sakhatskyi, Kostiantyn; Lehmann, Eberhard; Walfort, Bernhard; Losko, Adrian S.; Montanarella, Federico; Kovalenko, Maksym, VFast neutrons offer high penetration capabilities for both light and dense materials due to their comparatively low interaction cross sections, making them ideal for the imaging of large-scale objects such as large fossils or as-built plane turbines, for which X-rays or thermal neutrons do not provide sufficient penetration. However, inefficient fast neutron detection limits widespread application of this technique. Traditional phosphors such as ZnS:Cu embedded in plastics are utilized as scintillators in recoil proton detectors for fast neutron imaging. However, these scintillation plates exhibit significant light scattering due to the plastic-phosphor interface along with long-lived afterglow (on the order of minutes), and therefore alternative solutions are needed to increase the availability of this technique. Here, we utilize colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) in hydrogen-dense solvents for fast neutron imaging through the detection of recoil protons generated by neutron scattering, demonstrating the efficacy of nanomaterials as scintillators in this detection scheme. The light yield, spatial resolution, and neutron-vs-gamma sensitivity of several chalcogenide (CdSe and CuInS2)-based and perovskite halide-based NCs are determined, with only a short-lived afterglow (below the order of seconds) observed for all of these NCs. FAPbBr(3) NCs exhibit the brightest total light output at 19.3% of the commercial ZnS:Cu(PP) standard, while CsPbBrCl2:Mn NCs offer the best spatial resolution at similar to 2.6 mm. Colloidal NCs showed significantly lower gamma sensitivity than ZnS:Cu; for example, 79% of the FAPbBr(3) light yield results from neutron-induced radioluminescence and hence the neutron-specific light yield of FAPbBr(3) is 30.4% of that of ZnS:Cu(PP). Concentration and thickness-dependent measurements highlight the importance of increasing concentrations and reducing self-absorption, yielding design principles to optimize and foster an era of NC-based scintillators for fast neutron imaging.Article Citation - WoS: 39Citation - Scopus: 44A Novel Treatment Strategy for Preterm Birth: Intra-Vaginal Progesterone-Loaded Fibrous Patches(Elsevier, 2020) Cam, Muhammet Emin; Hazar-Yavuz, Ayse Nur; Cesur, Sumeyye; Ozkan, Ozan; Alenezi, Hussain; Sasmazel, Hilal Turkoglu; Edirisinghe, MohanProgesterone-loaded poly(lactic) acid fibrous polymeric patches were produced using electrospinning and pressurized gyration for infra-vaginal application to prevent preterm birth. The patches were intravaginally inserted into rats in the final week of their pregnancy, equivalent to the third trimester of human pregnancy. Maintenance tocolysis with progesterone-loaded patches was elucidated by recording the contractile response of uterine smooth muscle to noradrenaline in pregnant rats. Both progesterone-loaded patches indicated similar results from release and thermal studies, however, patches obtained by electrospinning had smaller average diameters and more uniform dispersion compared to pressurized gyration. Patches obtained by pressurized gyration had better results in production yield and tensile strength than electrospinning; thereby pressurized gyration is better suited for scaled-up production. The patches did not affect cell attachment, viability, and proliferation on Vero cells negatively. Consequently, progesterone-loaded patches are a novel and successful treatment strategy for preventing preterm birth.Article Citation - WoS: 11Citation - Scopus: 20The Taylor Series Method and Trapezoidal Rule on Time Scales(Elsevier Science inc, 2020) Georgiev, Svetlin G.; Erhan, Inci M.The Taylor series method for initial value problems associated with dynamic equations of first order on time scales with delta differentiable graininess function is introduced. The trapezoidal rule for the same types of problems is derived and applied to specific examples. Numerical results are presented and discussed. (c) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Article Citation - WoS: 1Citation - Scopus: 1Personal Response Systems Through the Prism of Students' Experiences(Wiley, 2020) Mishra, Deepti; Chew, Esyin; Ostrovska, Sofiya; Wong, JojoPersonal response systems (PRSs) today offer an opportunity to the field of education in terms of improving teaching and learning outcomes through active engagement in classrooms. The present paper investigates students' attitudes to different types of PRSs, namely, Socrative and Clickers. Both qualitative and quantitative data are gathered and classified. The performed thematic analysis reveals major categories within the framework of this study, namely educational efficacy, psychological aspects, technology-related issues, and administrative issues. It has been found that Socrative fares better in the "educational efficacy" and "administrative issues," whereas Clickers outperforms Socrative in the "technological-related issues." It is worth pointing out that both Socrative and Clickers are tantamount in "psychological aspects" yielding no negative experiences. The results of this study reveal that two main factors, cost and technological infrastructure, are determinative in the incorporation and appreciation of such systems in an educational setting.Article Queer Lives in the Social Media Prism: Precarious LGBTQIA Plus Visibility and Lateral Surveillance in Azerbaijan(Sage Publications Inc, 2025) Seyidov, Ilgar; Pentzold, ChristianIn countries where state institutions and the public largely reject LGBTQIA+ identities and issues, queer people struggle with visibility. Next to governments and technology providers, what queer people do, who they connect to, and how they express themselves is being watched and scrutinized by their families and proximate relations. This lateral surveillance is afforded by social media that establish, as we argue in this article, a prism. Here, LGBTQIA+ lives become refracted as extensive though incoherent patterns of digital traces. How queer people respond to this situation where the binary of visible versus invisible falls apart is poorly understood. To address that gap, we interrogate the precarious management of visibility attempted by LGBTQIA+ people in Azerbaijan with its heteropatriarchal, honor-driven culture. Based on our exploratory interview study, we find that queer Azerbaijanis were confronted with a highly ambivalent scopic setup where context collision loomed large. In effect, they supported LGBTQIA+ visibility but had personally decided not to live or promote it. Yet whilst their attempts to remain opaque may contradict their activistic compliancy, this was a logical reaction to too hard to handle terms of visibility.Article Citation - WoS: 21Citation - Scopus: 35Deep Learning-Based Computer-Aided Diagnosis (cad): Applications for Medical Image Datasets(Mdpi, 2022) Kadhim, Yezi Ali; Khan, Muhammad Umer; Mishra, AlokComputer-aided diagnosis (CAD) has proved to be an effective and accurate method for diagnostic prediction over the years. This article focuses on the development of an automated CAD system with the intent to perform diagnosis as accurately as possible. Deep learning methods have been able to produce impressive results on medical image datasets. This study employs deep learning methods in conjunction with meta-heuristic algorithms and supervised machine-learning algorithms to perform an accurate diagnosis. Pre-trained convolutional neural networks (CNNs) or auto-encoder are used for feature extraction, whereas feature selection is performed using an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm. Ant colony optimization helps to search for the best optimal features while reducing the amount of data. Lastly, diagnosis prediction (classification) is achieved using learnable classifiers. The novel framework for the extraction and selection of features is based on deep learning, auto-encoder, and ACO. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated using two medical image datasets: chest X-ray (CXR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the prediction of the existence of COVID-19 and brain tumors. Accuracy is used as the main measure to compare the performance of the proposed approach with existing state-of-the-art methods. The proposed system achieves an average accuracy of 99.61% and 99.18%, outperforming all other methods in diagnosing the presence of COVID-19 and brain tumors, respectively. Based on the achieved results, it can be claimed that physicians or radiologists can confidently utilize the proposed approach for diagnosing COVID-19 patients and patients with specific brain tumors.Article Citation - WoS: 27Citation - Scopus: 28Generalized Meir-Keeler Type Contractions on g-metric Spaces(Elsevier Science inc, 2013) Mustafa, Zead; Aydi, Hassen; Karapinar, ErdalIn this manuscript, we introduce generalized Meir-Keeler type contractions over G-metric spaces. Moreover, we show that every orbitally continuous generalized Meir-Keeler type contraction has a unique fixed point on complete G-metric spaces. We illustrate our results by some given examples. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Article Citation - WoS: 33Citation - Scopus: 37Discrete Sizing Optimization of Steel Trusses Under Multiple Displacement Constraints and Load Cases Using Guided Stochastic Search Technique(Springer, 2015) Azad, S. Kazemzadeh; Hasancebi, O.The guided stochastic search (GSS) is a computationally efficient design optimization technique, which is originally developed for discrete sizing optimization problems of steel trusses with a single displacement constraint under a single load case. The present study aims to investigate the GSS in a more general class of truss sizing optimization problems subject to multiple displacement constraints and load cases. To this end, enhancements of the GSS are proposed in the form of two alternative approaches that enable the technique to deal with multiple displacement/load cases. The first approach implements a methodology in which the most critical displacement direction is considered only when guiding the search process. The second approach, however, takes into account the cumulative effect of all the critical displacement directions in the course of optimization. Advantage of the integrated force method of structural analysis is also utilized for further reduction of the computational effort in these approaches. The proposed enhancements of GSS are investigated and compared with some selected techniques of design optimization through six truss structures that are sized for minimum weight. The numerical results reveal that both enhancements generally provide promising solutions with an insignificant computational effort.Article Citation - Scopus: 1A User Task Design Notation for Improved Software Design(PeerJ Inc., 2021) Ozcan,E.; Topalli,D.; Tokdemir,G.; Cagiltay,N.E.System design is recognized as one of the most critical components of a software system that bridges system requirements and coding. System design also has a significant impact on testing and maintenance activities, and on further improvements during the lifespan of the software system. Software design should reflect all necessary components of the requirements in a clear and understandable manner by all stakeholders of the software system. To distinguish system elements, separation of concerns in software design is suggested. In this respect, identification of the user tasks, i.e., the tasks that need to be performed by the user, is not currently reflected explicitly in system design documents. Our main assumption in this study is that software quality can be improved significantly by clearly identifying the user tasks from those that need to be performed by the computer system itself. Additionally, what we propose has the potential to better reflect the user requirements and main objectives of the system on the software design and thereby to improve software quality. The main aim of this study is to introduce a novel notation for software developers in the frame of UML Activity Diagram (UMLAD) that enables designers to identify the user tasks and define them separately from the system tasks. For this purpose, an extension of UML-AD, named UML-ADE (UML-Activity Diagram Extended) was proposed. Afterwards, it was implemented in a serious game case for which the specification of user tasks is extremely important. Finally, its effectiveness was analyzed and compared to UML-AD experimentally with 72 participants. The defect detection performance of the participants on both diagrams with two real-life serious game scenarios was evaluated. Results show a higher level of understandability for those using UML-ADE, which in turn may indicate a better design and higher software quality. The results encourage researchers to develop specific design representations dedicated to task design to improve system quality and to conduct further evaluations of the impact of these design on each of the above mentioned potential benefits for the software systems. © Copyright 2021 Ozcan et al.
