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Article Citation - WoS: 2Citation - Scopus: 4Optimum Cost Prediction of Reinforced Concrete Cantilever Retaining Walls(Mdpi, 2023) Akis, EbruReinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls (RCCRWs) are widely used in civil engineering projects as a common type of retaining structure. The design of these structures focuses on ensuring safety against various failure scenarios and compliance with standard building code requirements. This research aims to enhance the design process of RCCRWs by developing a specific code and optimizing it through a metaheuristic-based algorithm. In this study, the cost prediction of RCCRWs is also investigated through a parametric study involving key variables such as wall height, seismic zone, backfill material properties, and backfill inclination angle. To achieve this, non-linear regression analysis is employed to establish an empirical correlation, enabling cost estimation for optimized RCCRWs. The resulting prediction equation is simple to use, requiring only limited inputs. Therefore, it can be applied during the initial stages of a project, making a valuable contribution in determining approximate costs for RCCRW projects.Article Citation - WoS: 10Citation - Scopus: 15Increasing Innovative Working Behaviour of Information Technology Employees in Vietnam by Knowledge Management Approach(Mdpi, 2020) Quoc Trung Pham; Anh-Vu Pham-Nguyen; Misra, Sanjay; Damasevicius, Robertas; Pham-nguyen, Anh-vu; Pham, Quoc TrungToday, Knowledge Management (KM) is becoming a popular approach for improving organizational innovation, but whether encouraging knowledge sharing will lead to a better innovative working behaviour of employees is still a question. This study aims to identify the factors of KM affecting the innovative working behaviour of Information Technology (IT) employees in Vietnam. The research model involves three elements: attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control affecting knowledge sharing, and then, on innovative working behaviour. The research method is the quantitative method. The survey was conducted with 202 samples via the five-scale questionnaire. The analysis results show that knowledge sharing has a positive impact on the innovative working behaviour of IT employees in Vietnam. Besides, attitude and perceived behavioural control are confirmed to have a strong positive effect on knowledge sharing, but the subjective norm has no significant impact on knowledge sharing. Based on this result, recommendations to promote knowledge sharing and the innovative work behaviour of IT employees in Vietnam are made.Article Citation - WoS: 8Citation - Scopus: 9Refugees' Opinions About Healthcare Services: a Case of Turkey(Mdpi, 2021) Tengilimoglu, Dilaver; Zekioglu, Aysu; Budak, Fatih; Eris, Hilseyin; Younis, MustafaBackground: Migration is one of the most important social events in human history. In recent years, Turkey hosted a high number of asylum seekers and refugees, primarily because of continuing wars and radical social changes in the Middle East. Methods: Using a random sampling method, Syrian refugees aged 18 and over, who can communicate in Turkish, were reached via personal contact and a total of 714 refugees participated in the study voluntarily. Results: Turkey has mounted with some success and to point out that even though participating refugees in both provinces are young and healthy, almost 50% have bad or worse health status, 61% have chronic diseases, and 55% need regular medication. Participating refugees living in Sanliurfa stated that 'Hospitals are very clean and tidy.' (3.80 +/- 0.80). The answers given to the following statements had the highest mean for the participating refugees living in Kilis; 'Hospitals are clean and tidy.' (3.22 +/- 1.25). Conclusion: Due to financial and human resource deficiencies, there are problems in providing preventive and therapeutic health services, especially to refugees living outside the refugee camps in bad conditions. It is important that refugees are encouraged to apply to family health and community health centers in this context.Article Citation - WoS: 16Citation - Scopus: 20Forecasting Air Quality in Tripoli: an Evaluation of Deep Learning Models for Hourly Pm2.5 Surface Mass Concentrations(Mdpi, 2023) Esager, Marwa Winis Misbah; Unlu, Kamil DemirberkIn this article, we aimed to study the forecasting of hourly PM2.5 surface mass concentrations in the city of Tripoli, Libya. We employed three state-of-the-art deep learning models, namely long short-term memory, gated recurrent unit, and convolutional neural networks, to forecast PM2.5 levels using univariate time series methodology. Our results revealed that the convolutional neural networks model performed the best, with a coefficient of variation of 99% and a mean absolute percentage error of 0.04. These findings provide valuable insights into the use of deep learning models for forecasting PM2.5 and can inform decision-making regarding air quality management in the city of Tripoli.Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 4Effects of Sevoflurane and Fullerenol C60 on the Heart and Lung in Lower-Extremity Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes Mice(Mdpi, 2024) Ornek, Ender; Alkan, Metin; Erel, Selin; Sarıkaya, Badegül; Dursun, Ali Dogan; Sarıkaya, Badegül; Arslan, Mustafa; Dagli, Asli; Yigman, ZeynepBackground and Objectives: Lower-extremity ischemia-reperfusion injury can induce distant organ ischemia, and patients with diabetes are particularly susceptible to ischemia-reperfusion injury. Sevoflurane, a widely used halogenated inhalation anesthetic, and fullerenol C60, a potent antioxidant, were investigated for their effects on heart and lung tissues in lower-extremity ischemia-reperfusion injury in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Materials and Methods: A total of 41 mice were divided into six groups: control (n = 6), diabetes-control (n = 7), diabetes-ischemia (n = 7), diabetes-ischemia-fullerenol C60 (n = 7), diabetes-ischemia-sevoflurane (n = 7), and diabetes-ischemia-fullerenol C60-sevoflurane (n = 7). Diabetes was induced in mice using a single intraperitoneal dose of 55 mg/kg STZ in all groups except for the control group. Mice in the control and diabetes-control groups underwent midline laparotomy and were sacrificed after 120 min. The DIR group underwent 120 min of lower-extremity ischemia followed by 120 min of reperfusion. In the DIR-F group, mice received 100 mu g/kg fullerenol C60 intraperitoneally 30 min before IR. In the DIR-S group, sevoflurane and oxygen were administered during the IR procedure. In the DIR-FS group, fullerenol C60 and sevoflurane were administered. Biochemical and histological evaluations were performed on collected heart and lung tissues. Results: Histological examination of heart tissues showed significantly higher necrosis, polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration, edema, and total damage scores in the DIR group compared to controls. These effects were attenuated in fullerenol-treated groups. Lung tissue examination revealed more alveolar wall edema, hemorrhage, vascular congestion, polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration, and higher total damage scores in the DIR group compared to controls, with reduced injury parameters in the fullerenol-treated groups. Biochemical analyses indicated significantly higher total oxidative stress, oxidative stress index, and paraoxonase-1 levels in the DIR group compared to the control and diabetic groups. These levels were lower in the fullerenol-treated groups. Conclusions: Distant organ damage in the lung and heart tissues due to lower-extremity ischemia-reperfusion injury can be significantly reduced by fullerenol C60.Article Citation - WoS: 10Citation - Scopus: 12Does Job Embeddedness Mediate the Effect of Resilience on Cabin Attendants' Career Satisfaction and Creative Performance?(Mdpi, 2021) Eslamlou, Aram; Karatepe, Osman M.; Uner, Mehmet Mithat; Mithat Uner, MehmetAn increasing body of research suggests job embeddedness (JE) as a motivational variable influencing employees' attitudinal and behavioral outcomes such as quitting intentions and task performance. Personal resources have been reported to affect JE and these outcomes. However, little work has investigated the antecedents and consequences of JE among cabin attendants. There is also a dearth of empirical research regarding the mechanism linking resilience to cabin attendants' affective and performance outcomes. Therefore, drawing on conservation of resources and JE theories, we propose a conceptual model that examines the interrelationships of resilience, JE, career satisfaction (CSAT), and creative performance (CPERF). Moreover, the model explores JE as a mediator of the impact of resilience on CSAT and CPERF. These linkages were tested via data collected from cabin attendants and their pursers. The findings from structural equation modeling reveal that resilience boosts cabin attendants' JE, CSAT, and CPERF. As predicted, JE is a mediator between resilience and CSAT. Our paper culminates with implications for theory and practice as well as future research directions.Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 4Effects of Cerium Oxide on Kidney and Liver Tissue Damage in an Experimental Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Model of Distant Organ Damage(Mdpi, 2024) Gunes, Isin; Dursun, Ali Dogan; Ozdemir, Cagri; Kucuk, Aysegul; Sezen, Saban Cem; Arslan, Mustafa; Ozer, AbdullahBackground and Objectives: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a process in which impaired perfusion is restored by restoring blood flow and tissue recirculation. Nanomedicine uses cutting-edge technologies that emerge from interdisciplinary influences. In the literature, there are very few in vivo and in vitro studies on how cerium oxide (CeO2) affects systemic anti-inflammatory response and inflammation. Therefore, in our study, we aimed to investigate whether CeO2 administration has a protective effect against myocardial I/R injury in the liver and kidneys. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into four groups after obtaining approval from an ethics committee. A control (group C), cerium oxide (group CO), IR (group IR), and Cerium oxide-IR (CO-IR group) groups were formed. Intraperitoneal CeO2 was administered at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg 30 min before left thoracotomy and left main coronary (LAD) ligation, and myocardial muscle ischemia was induced for 30 min. After LAD ligation was removed, reperfusion was performed for 120 min. All rats were euthanized using ketamine, and blood was collected. Liver and kidney tissue samples were evaluated histopathologically. Serum AST (aspartate aminotransferase), ALT (alanine aminotransaminase), GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase), glucose, TOS (Total Oxidant Status), and TAS (Total Antioxidant Status) levels were also measured. Results: Necrotic cell and mononuclear cell infiltration in the liver parenchyma of rats in the IR group was observed to be significantly increased compared to the other groups. Hepatocyte degeneration was greater in the IR group compared to groups C and CO. Vascular vacuolization and hypertrophy, tubular degeneration, and necrosis were increased in the kidney tissue of the IR group compared to the other groups. Tubular dilatation was significantly higher in the IR group than in the C and CO groups. TOS was significantly higher in all groups than in the IR group (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, and p = 0.006, respectively). However, TAS level was lower in the IR group than in the other groups (p = 0.002, p = 0.020, and p = 0.031, respectively). Renal and liver histopathological findings decreased significantly in the CO-IR group compared to the IR group. A decrease in the TOS level and an increase in the TAS level were found compared to the IR group. The AST, ALT, GGT, and Glucose levels are shown. Conclusions: CeO2 administered before ischemia-reperfusion reduced oxidative stress and ameliorated IR-induced damage in distant organs. We suggest that CeO2 exerts protective effects in the myocardial IR model.Article Citation - WoS: 29Citation - Scopus: 50Non-Unique Fixed Point Results in Extended b-metric Space(Mdpi, 2018) Alqahtani, Badr; Fulga, Andreea; Karapinar, ErdalIn this paper, we investigate the existence of fixed points that are not necessarily unique in the setting of extended b-metric space. We state some examples to illustrate our results.Article Citation - WoS: 1Citation - Scopus: 1Recycling Decommissioned Wind Turbine Blades for Post-Disaster Housing Applications(Mdpi, 2025) Turhan, Cihan; Durak, Murat; Saleh, Yousif Abed Saleh; Kalayci, AlperThe growing adoption of wind energy has resulted in an increasing number of decommissioned wind turbine blades, which pose significant disposal challenges due to their size, material composition, and environmental impact. Recycling these blades has thus become essential. To this aim, this study explores the potential of using recycled wind turbine blades in post-disaster housing applications and examines the feasibility of re-purposing these durable composite materials to create robust, cost-effective, and sustainable building solutions for emergency housing. A case study of a post-earthquake relief camp in Hatay, T & uuml;rkiye, affected by the 2023 earthquake, is used for analysis. First, the energy consumption of thirty traditional modular container-based post-disaster housing units is simulated with a dynamic building simulation tool. Then, the study introduces novel wind turbine blade-based housing (WTB-bH) designs developed using the same simulation tool. The energy consumption of these (WTB-bH) units is compared to that of traditional containers. The results indicate that using recycled wind turbine blades for housing not only contributes to waste reduction but also achieves 27.3% energy savings compared to conventional methods. The novelty of this study is in demonstrating the potential of recycled wind turbine blades to offer durable and resilient housing solutions in post-disaster situations and to advocate for integrating this recycling method into disaster recovery frameworks, highlighting its ability to enhance sustainability and resource efficiency in construction. Overall, the output of this study may help to present a compelling case for the innovative reuse of decommissioned wind turbine blades, providing an eco-friendly alternative to traditional waste disposal methods while addressing critical needs in post-disaster scenarios.Article Citation - WoS: 10Citation - Scopus: 11Analysis of Space Efficiency in High-Rise Timber Residential Towers(Mdpi, 2024) Ilgin, Hueseyin Emre; Aslantamer, Ozlem NurHigh-rise timber residential towers (>= eight-stories) represent a burgeoning and auspicious sector, predominantly due to their capability to provide significant ecological and financial advantages throughout their lifecycle. Like numerous other building types, spatial optimization in high-rise timber residential structures stands as a pivotal design factor essential for project viability. Presently, there exists no comprehensive investigation on space efficiency in such towers. This study analyzed data from 51 case studies to enhance understanding of the design considerations influencing space efficiency in high-rise timber residential towers. Key findings included (1) the average space efficiency within the examined cases was recorded at 83%, exhibiting variances ranging from 70% to 93% across different cases, (2) the average percentage of core area to gross floor area (GFA) was calculated at 10%, demonstrating fluctuations within the range of 4% to 21% across diverse scenarios, and (3) no notable distinction was observed in the effect of various core planning strategies on spatial efficiency when properly designed, and similar conclusions were drawn regarding building forms and structural materials. This research will aid in formulating design guidelines tailored for various stakeholders such as architectural designers involved in high-rise residential timber building developments.
