Seed Transmission of Broad Bean Stain Virus in the Wild Legume Vicia Palestina Boiss

Abstract Seed-transmissibility of brood bean stain virus (BBSV) was investigated in a number of wild legume species. Genninating axes of seeds coliected from BBSV -infected plants were tested by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The virus was found to be seedtransmitted in Vida pal«stina.

Benchmarking mentoring practices : a case study in Turkey

Throughout the world standards have been developed for teaching in particular key learning areas. These standards also present benchmarks that can assist to measure and compare results from one year to the next. There appears to be no benchmarks for mentoring. An instrument devised to measure mentees’ perceptions of their mentoring in primary science was administered to 304 preservice teachers in Turkey. Results indicated that the majority of mentees perceived they received mentoring practices, however, 20% or more claimed they had not received 24 of the 34 practices outlined on the researchbased survey. Establishing benchmarks for mentoring practices may assist educators to identify needs and developing programs that address these needs. This survey instrument can aid the identification of mentoring practices through the recipient’s perspective for advancing mentoring, which may ultimately have an effect on improving teaching practices.

The variant concept of transportation disadvantaged : evidence from Aydin, Turkey and Yamaga, Japan

Transportation disadvantaged groups, in the previous studies, are defined as those who are low income earners, family dependent, limited access to private motor vehicles and public transport services, and also those who oblige to spend relatively more time and money on their trips. Additionally those disable, young and elderly are considered among the natural groups of transportation disadvantaged. Although in general terms this definition seems correct, it is not specific enough to become a common universal definition that could apply to all urban contexts. This paper investigates whether travel difficulty perceptions vary and so does the definition of transportation disadvantaged in socio-culturally different urban contexts. For this investigation the paper undertakes a series of statistical analysis in the case study of Yamaga, Japan, and compares the findings with a previous case study, where the same methodology, hypothesis, and assumptions were utilized in a culturally and demographically different settlement of Aydin, Turkey. After comparing the findings observed in Aydin with the statistical analysis results of Yamaga, this paper reveals that there can be no explicitly detailed universal definition of transportation disadvantaged. The paper concludes by stating characteristics of transportation disadvantage is not globally identical, and policies and solutions that work in a locality may not show the same results in another socio-cultural context.

Wild weather hampers Brisbane’s popular CityCat services

The heavy rain falls that we have been experiencing have had their impact on the public transport system, especially the ferries. September 2010 was the Brisbane area’s wettest on record, and early to mid October has shaped up much the same. So much so that the South East Queensland’s main water storages, the Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams, which are fed by the Stanley and Brisbane Rivers’ upper catchments, have filled to capacity. SEQ Water consequently released the floodgates on the Wivenhoe Dam for the first time in almost a decade, with bipartisan support of State and Local Governments.

International regional planning educational experience : learnings from Malaysia, Korea and Turkey study trips

In an era of rapidly changing economic, social and environmental conditions, urban and regional planning education must be resilient, innovative and able to deal with the complex political and socio-economic fabric of post-modern cities. As a consequence, urban and regional planning education plays a fundamental role in educating and forming planning practitioners that will be able to tackle such complexity. However, not many tertiary education institutions provide a trans-cultural engagement opportunity for students, where the need to internationalise planning education has been widely recognised worldwide. The aim of this paper is to communicate the findings of three overseas study trips (Kuala Lumpur-Malaysia, Daejeon-Korea, Istanbul and Gallipoli-Turkey) that students of Queensland University of Technology are taken to where these study trips trailed the provision of an innovative tertiary education experience of teaching regional planning in an international context. The findings of the pedagogic analyses of the study reveal that the exposure of students to different planning processes and practices give them a new outlook on what they knew from their own country and provide them with useful insights on international planning issues and cultural differences and barriers.

Wild Things

Creative non-fiction published by Voiceworks.

PCR bias Toward the wild-type k-ras and p53 sequences: Implications for PCR detection of mutations and cancer diagnosis

PCR-based cancer diagnosis requires detection of rare mutations in k- ras, p53 or other genes. The assumption has been that mutant and wild-type sequences amplify with near equal efficiency, so that they are eventually present in proportions representative of the starting material. Work on factor IX suggests that this assumption is invalid for one case of near- sequence identity. To test the generality of this phenomenon and its relevance to cancer diagnosis, primers distant from point mutations in p53 and k-ras were used to amplify wild-type and mutant sequences from these genes. A substantial bias against PCR amplification of mutants was observed for two regions of the p53 gene and one region of k-ras. For k-ras and p53, bias was observed when the wild-type and mutant sequences were amplified separately or when mixed in equal proportions before PCR. Bias was present with proofreading and non-proofreading polymerase. Mutant and wild-type segments of the factor V, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator and prothrombin genes were amplified and did not exhibit PCR bias. Therefore, the assumption of equal PCR efficiency for point mutant and wild-type sequences is invalid in several systems. Quantitative or diagnostic PCR will require validation for each locus, and enrichment strategies may be needed to optimize detection of mutants.

Thermal performance optimization of building aspect ratio and south window size in five cities having different climatic characteristics of Turkey

The aim of the study is to establish optimum building aspect ratios and south window sizes of residential buildings from thermal performance point of view. The effects of 6 different building aspect ratios and eight different south window sizes for each building aspect ratio are analyzed for apartments located at intermediate floors of buildings, by the aid of the computer based thermal analysis program SUNCODE-PC in five cities of Turkey: Erzurum, Ankara, Diyarbakir, Izmir, and Antalya. The results are evaluated in terms of annual energy consumption and the optimum values are driven. Comparison of optimum values and the total energy consumption rates is made among the analyzed cities.

Internet/computer addiction among juveniles in Turkey

Internet and computer addiction has been a popular research area since the 90s. Studies on Internet and computer addiction have usually been conducted in the US, and the investigation of computer and Internet addiction at different countries is an interesting area of research. This study investigates computer and Internet addiction among teenagers and Internet cafe visitors in Turkey. We applied a survey to 983 visitors in the Internet cafes. The results show that the Internet cafe visitors are usually teenagers, mostly middle and high-school students and usually are busy with computer and Internet applications like chat, e-mail, browsing and games. The teenagers come to the Internet cafe to spend time with friends and the computers. In addition, about 30% of cafe visitors admit to having an Internet addiction, and about 20% specifically mention the problems that they are having with the Internet. It is rather alarming to consider the types of activities that the teenagers are performing in an Internet cafe, their reasons for being there, the percentage of self-awareness about Internet addiction, and the lack of control of applications in the cafe.

Interaction of myxomatosis and Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease in wild rabbit

Increasing resistance of rabbits to myxomatosis in Australia has led to the exploration of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease, also called Rabbit Calicivirus Disease (RCD) as a possible control agent. While the initial spread of RCD in Australia resulted in widespread rabbit mortality in affected areas, the possible population dynamic effects of RCD and myxomatosis operating within the same system have not been properly explored. Here we present early mathematical modelling examining the interaction between the two diseases. In this study we use a deterministic compartment model, based on the classical SIR model in infectious disease modelling. We consider, here, only a single strain of myxomatosis and RCD and neglect latent periods. We also include logistic population growth, with the inclusion of seasonal birth rates. We assume there is no cross-immunity due to either disease. The mathematical model allows for the possibility of both diseases to be simultaneously present in an individual, although results are also presented for the case where co infection is not possible, since co-infection is thought to be rare and questions exist as to whether it can occur. The simulation results of this investigation show that it is a crucial issue and should be part of future field studies. A single simultaneous outbreak of RCD and myxomatosis was simulated, while ignoring natural births and deaths, appropriate for a short timescale of 20 days. Simultaneous outbreaks may be more common in Queensland. For the case where co-infection is not possible we find that the simultaneous presence of myxomatosis in the population suppresses the prevalence of RCD, compared to an outbreak of RCD with no outbreak of myxomatosis, and thus leads to a less effective control of the population. The reason for this is that infection with myxomatosis removes potentially susceptible rabbits from the possibility of infection with RCD (like a vaccination effect). We found that the reduction in the maximum prevalence of RCD was approximately 30% for an initial prevalence of 20% of myxomatosis, for the case where there was no simultaneous outbreak of myxomatosis, but the peak prevalence was only 15% when there was a simultaneous outbreak of myxomatosis. However, this maximum reduction will depend on other parameter values chosen. When co-infection is allowed then this suppression effect does occur but to a lesser degree. This is because the rabbits infected with both diseases reduces the prevalence of myxomatosis. We also simulated multiple outbreaks over a longer timescale of 10 years, including natural population growth rates, with seasonal birth rates and density dependent(logistic) death rates. This shows how both diseases interact with each other and with population growth. Here we obtain sustained outbreaks occurring approximately every two years for the case of a simultaneous outbreak of both diseases but without simultaneous co-infection, with the prevalence varying from 0.1 to 0.5. Without myxomatosis present then the simulation predicts RCD dies out quickly without further introduction from elsewhere. With the possibility of simultaneous co-infection of rabbits, sustained outbreaks are possible but then the outbreaks are less severe and more frequent (approximately yearly). While further model development is needed, our work to date suggests that: 1) the diseases are likely to interact via their impacts on rabbit abundance levels, and 2) introduction of RCD can suppress myxomatosis prevalence. We recommend that further modelling in conjunction with field studies be carried out to further investigate how these two diseases interact in the population.

The relationship between Bayesian motor unit number estimation and histological measurements of motor neurons in wild-type and SOD1 G93A mice

Objective: To assess the relationship between Bayesian MUNE and histological motor neuron counts in wild-type mice and in an animal model of ALS. Methods: We performed Bayesian MUNE paired with histological counts of motor neurons in the lumbar spinal cord of wild-type mice and transgenic SOD1 G93A mice that show progressive weakness over time. We evaluated the number of acetylcholine endplates that were innervated by a presynaptic nerve. Results: In wild-type mice, the motor unit number in the gastrocnemius muscle estimated by Bayesian MUNE was approximately half the number of motor neurons in the region of the spinal cord that contains the cell bodies of the motor neurons supplying the hindlimb crural flexor muscles. In SOD1 G93A mice, motor neuron numbers declined over time. This was associated with motor endplate denervation at the end-stage of disease. Conclusion: The number of motor neurons in the spinal cord of wild-type mice is proportional to the number of motor units estimated by Bayesian MUNE. In SOD1 G93A mice, there is a lower number of estimated motor units compared to the number of spinal cord motor neurons at the end-stage of disease, and this is associated with disruption of the neuromuscular junction. Significance: Our finding that the Bayesian MUNE method gives estimates of motor unit numbers that are proportional to the numbers of motor neurons in the spinal cord supports the clinical use of Bayesian MUNE in monitoring motor unit loss in ALS patients. © 2012 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology.

Enhancing women’s participation in Turkey through digital storytelling

This paper explores the process of introducing Digital Storytelling (DST) workshop practice to Turkey through a project called “Digital Stories from Amargi Women”, which was part of my Ph.D. research in the Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Australia. In the resulting dissertation, I examined the potential of Digital Storytelling workshop practice as a means to promote agency and self-expression in a feminist activist organization (such as Amargi Women), focusing in particular on whether or not Digital Storytelling can be used as a change agent – as a tool for challenging the idea of a single public sphere in ways that make it more inclusive of women’s participation. In order to explore the issue in depth, my thesis engaged with feminist scholarship’s critiques of the public/private dichotomy, as well as the concept of gender. The conducted workshops, the resulting digital stories, and in-depth interviews were analyzed to seek connections between these topics and narrative identity. The results indicated that the participating women defined new activist usages for digital stories, as well as their overall activated networking habits in the DST workshop settings. Digital Stories from Amargi Women became the first Digital Storytelling project that aimed to enable women’s participation in Turkey through facilitating a co-creative environment where the participants could share their stories and learn digital skills that they could make use of after the workshops.