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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 3
    Citation - Scopus: 3
    The Role of Honor Concerns in Disclosing (vs. Hiding) COVID-19 Diagnosis: Insights from Turkiye
    (Springer/plenum Publishers, 2023) Ceylan-Batur, Suzan; Dogulu, Canay; Akbas, Gulcin; Yet, Barbaros; Uskul, Ayse K. K.
    Members of honor cultures value engaging in moral behaviors and managing their social image to maintain their honor. These two goals reflect reputation and integrity concerns, which also have bearing on gender roles. In the current study, we examined a) evaluations of women and men described as diagnosed with COVID-19 and as either hiding or disclosing their diagnosis, b) the moderating role of honor concerns (reputation and integrity) and the gender of the infected person in these evaluations, and c) the relationship between honor concerns and individuals' own disclosure preferences among participants living in Turkiye, a country that exemplifies an honor culture. Findings revealed that participants with stronger reputation concerns evaluated a woman's hiding behavior more favorably than that of a man's. Moreover, higher integrity concerns were associated with lower levels of participants' own preference to hide a diagnosis for both men and women, whereas reputation concerns were positively associated with a preference for hiding a diagnosis among men only. Furthermore, a content analysis of participants' open-ended explanations of their views on women's and men's motivation to hide a diagnosis revealed further evidence for the gendered nature of reputation concerns. Our findings point to the importance of prioritizing integrity concerns (and downplaying reputation concerns) in public health campaigns in honor cultures.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 12
    Citation - Scopus: 13
    Gender Differences in Turkish Undergraduate Students' Values
    (Springer/plenum Publishers, 2012) Dirilen-Gumus, Ozlem; Buyuksahin-Sunal, Ayda
    The objectives of the present study were to explore gender differences in Turkish students' values. A total of 231 (125 female, 106 male) undergraduate students from various universities in Ankara (the capital city of Turkey) participated in the study. They were given the Portrait Values Questionnaire along items related to demography. It is predicted that firstly, females would have higher scores on universalism, benevolence and security than males; secondly, males would have higher score on power than females. The results showed that females reported higher levels of hedonism, universalism, benevolence and security than males. The findings were discussed in the light of the relevant literature. The present study can be considered as a contribution to the existing literature on gender-based differences on value priorities by examining a rarely investigated culture-that is, Turkish.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 3
    Citation - Scopus: 3
    Detection of spermatogonial stem/progenitor cells in prepubertal mouse testis with deep learning
    (Springer/plenum Publishers, 2023) Kahveci, Burak; Onen, Selin; Akal, Fuat; Korkusuz, Petek
    PurposeRapid and easy detection of spermatogonial stem/progenitor cells (SSPCs) is crucial for clinicians dealing with male infertility caused by prepubertal testicular damage. Deep learning (DL) methods may offer visual tools for tracking SSPCs on testicular strips of prepubertal animal models. The purpose of this study is to detect and count the seminiferous tubules and SSPCs in newborn mouse testis sections using a DL method.MethodsTesticular sections of the C57BL/6-type newborn mice were obtained and enumerated. Odd-numbered sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), and even-numbered sections were immune labeled (IL) with SSPC specific marker, SALL4. Seminiferous tubule and SSPC datasets were created using odd-numbered sections. SALL4-labeled sections were used as positive control. The YOLO object detection model based on DL was used to detect seminiferous tubules and stem cells.ResultsTest scores of the DL model in seminiferous tubules were obtained as 0.98 mAP, 0.93 precision, 0.96 recall, and 0.94 f1-score. The SSPC test scores were obtained as 0.88 mAP, 0.80 precision, 0.93 recall, and 0.82 f1-score.ConclusionSeminiferous tubules and SSPCs on prepubertal testicles were detected with a high sensitivity by preventing human-induced errors. Thus, the first step was taken for a system that automates the detection and counting process of these cells in the infertility clinic.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 68
    Citation - Scopus: 76
    Why Do Women Endorse Honor Beliefs? Ambivalent Sexism and Religiosity as Predictors
    (Springer/plenum Publishers, 2016) Glick, Peter; Sakalli-Ugurlu, Nuray; Akbas, Gulcin; Orta, Irem Metin; Ceylan, Suzan
    Cultures of honor, such as Turkey, prioritize defending individual and family reputations, but in gender-specific ways (Nisbett and Cohen 1996). Men maintain honor via reputations for toughness, aggression, control over women, and avenging insults. Women maintain honor through obedience to men, sexual modesty, and religious piety. Honor beliefs support women's subordination, justifying violence against them (Sev'er and Yurdakul, Violence against Women, 7, 964-998, 2001) and therefore should be challenged. Understanding honor beliefs' ideological correlates may inform such efforts. We hypothesized that benevolent sexism, a subjectively favorable system-justifying ideology, would more strongly, positively predict Turkish women's (versus men's) honor beliefs; whereas hostile sexism, which is openly antagonistic toward women, would more strongly, positively predict Turkish men's (versus women's) honor beliefs. Additionally, due to justifications for gender inequality embedded in Islamic religious teachings, we expected Islamic religiosity to positively predict honor beliefs for both genders. A convenience sample of Turkish undergraduates (313 women and 122 men) in Ankara completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, Religious Orientation Scale, and Honor Endorsement Index. Regression analyses revealed that benevolent (but not hostile) sexism positively predicted women's honor beliefs, whereas hostile (but not benevolent) sexism positively predicted men's honor beliefs. Islamic religiosity positively predicted honor beliefs for both genders, but (unexpectedly) did so more strongly for men than women. We suggest that combating benevolent sexism and promoting feminist interpretations of Islamic religiosity may help to empower Turkish women to challenge honor beliefs.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 14
    Citation - Scopus: 15
    Leptin Promotes Proliferation of Neonatal Mouse Stem/Progenitor Spermatogonia
    (Springer/plenum Publishers, 2020) Yersal, Nilgun; Kose, Sevil; Horzum, Utku; Ozkavukcu, Sinan; Orwig, Kyle E.; Korkusuz, Petek
    Purpose To keep and increase spermatogonial stem cell number (SSC) is the only available option for pediatric cancer survivors to maintain fertility. Leptin is secreted by the epididymal white adipose tissue and has receptors on stem/progenitor spermatogonia. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate dose- and time-dependent proliferative effect of leptin on stem/progenitor spermatogonia cultures from prepubertal mice testes. Methods CD90.2 (+) stem/progenitor spermatogonia were isolated from the C57BL/6 mouse testis on postnatal day 6 and placed in culture. The proliferative effect of leptin supplementation was assessed by colony formation (diameter and number), WST proliferation assays, and xCELLigence real-time cell analysis (RTCA) on days 3, 5, and 7 of culture. Expressions of p-ERK1/2, p-STAT3, total STAT3, and p-SHP2 levels were determined by western blot analysis. Results Leptin supplementation of 100 ng/ml increased the diameter (p= 0.001) and number (p= 0.01) of colonies in stem/progenitor spermatogonial cultures and caused higher proliferation by WST-1 (p= 0.009) compared with the control on day 7. The EC50 was calculated as 114 ng/ml for leptin by RTCA. Proliferative dose of leptin induced increased expression of p-ERK1/2 (p= 0.009) and p-STAT3 (p= 0.023) on stem/progenitor spermatogonia when compared with the untreated group. Conclusion The results indicated that leptin supplementation exhibited a dose- and time-dependent proliferative effect on stem/progenitor spermatogonia that was associated with increased expression of ERK1/2 and STAT3 pathways while maintaining their undifferentiated state. This output presents a new agent that may help to expand the stem/progenitor spermatogonia pool from the neonatal testis in order to autotransplant after cancer treatment.
  • Article
    Serum Progesterone Variability on Embryo Transfer Day in Hormone Replacement Therapy Cycles Using Intramuscular Injections During Frozen Embryo Transfers
    (Springer/plenum Publishers, 2025) Boynukalin, Fazilet Kubra; Tohma, Yusuf Aytac; Demir, Berfu; Gultomruk, Meral; Polyzos, Nikolaos P.; Bahceci, Mustafa; Bozda, Gurkan
    Purpose To assess the intra-individual variability of serum progesterone (P) levels on embryo transfer (ET) day, when the same dose of intramuscular progesterone (IM-P) was used in two consecutive hormone replacement therapy (HRT) frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles. Methods A total of 75 patients undergoing two consecutive HRT-FET cycles in one year performed at Bahceci Ankara IVF Center between November 2019 and February 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Serum P levels were measured at the 117th-119th hours of support by a single laboratory. The two measurements of P levels performed on the day of the first and the second FET were compared to evaluate the intra-individual variability of serum P levels. Results Comparisons between the 1st and 2nd FET cycles revealed statistically significant intra-individual variation, with an average difference of -2.47 ng/mL (95% CI: -4.65 to -0.29, p = 0.027) between the two consecutive measurements. To assess their consistency, the limit of agreement was also tested with the Bland-Altman method, in which the mean difference (+ 1.96 x SD and -1.96 x SD) was -2.47 (16.1 and -21.1). Based on a previous study, the frequency of low P levels, as expressed by being > 20.6 ng/mL on ET day, was similar between the 1st and 2nd FET cycles (14.7% vs. 9.3%, p = 0.31). Notably, most patients had improved P levels in the second cycle if initially low, while decreases were rare among those with initially higher levels. Conclusion Serum P levels may vary within the same individual across FET cycles despite the use of the same dosage of IM-P. Increasing maternal age, high body mass index, and fluctuating estradiol levels on the day of ET were identified as risk factors contributing to this variability.