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Publication Metadata only “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” to decrease psychological distress during Covid-19: a rammed controlled pilot trial(Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2022) Uygun, Ersin; Karaoğlan Kahiloğulları, Akfer; Department of Psychology; Department of Psychology; N/A; Acartürk, Ceren; Kurt, Gülşah; İlkkurşun, Zeynep; Faculty Member; Teaching Faculty; Master Student; Department of Psychology; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; 39271; 368619; N/ADespite the increasing psychological distress during Covid-19, utilisation of face-to-face psychological interventions decreased profoundly. The aim of this study involving two parallel, two-armed pilot randomised controlled trials was to examine the effectiveness of a guided self-help intervention "Doing What Matters in Times of Stress" (DWM) in decreasing psychological distress in Turkish and Syrian participants. Seventy-four Turkish nationals and 50 Syrian refugee adults with psychological distress were randomly allocated to a DWM group or wait-list control group. The primary outcome measure was the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 postintervention. Secondary outcome measures were the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II postintervention. Although this study was not powered to detect a significant effect for DWM postassessment between DWM and the control group, results showed a significant improvement in depression symptoms among Turkish participants in the DWM group (d = 0.46) and in PTSD symptoms among Syrian participants in the DWM group (d = 0.67) from pre- to postintervention assessment. These results indicate the potential of DWM to decrease mental health problems during the pandemic and importance of a fully powered, definitive controlled trial to examine its effectiveness both for the host community and refugees to reduce psychological distress during Covid-19.Publication Metadata only “Smart poisoning” of Co/SiO2 catalysts by sulfidation for chirality-selective synthesis of (9,8) single-walled carbon nanotubes(2016) Yuan, Yang; Karahan, H. Enis; Wei, Li; Zhai, Shengli; Lau, Raymond; Chen, Yuan; N/A; Yıldırım, Cansu; Birer, Özgür; Master Student; Researcher; Koç University Surface Science and Technology Center (KUYTAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Yüzey Teknolojileri Araştırmaları Merkezi (KUYTAM); N/A; N/A; N/AThe chirality-selective synthesis of relatively large (diameter > 1 nm) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is of great interest for a variety of practical applications, but only a few catalysts are available so far. Previous studies suggested that S (compounds) can enhance the chirality-selectivity of Co catalysts in SWCNT synthesis, however, the mechanism behind is not fully understood, and no tailorable methodology has yet been developed. Here, we demonstrate a facile approach to achieve the chirality-selective synthesis of SWCNTs by the sulfidation-based poisoning of silica-supported Co catalysts using a mixture of H2S and H2. The UV-vis-NIR, photoluminescence, and Raman spectroscopy results together show that the resulting SWCNTs have a narrow diameter distribution of around 1.2 nm, and (9,8) nanotubes have an abundance of ∼38% among the semiconducting species. More importantly, the carbon yield achieved by the sulfided catalyst (2.5 wt%) is similar to that of the nonsulfided one (2.7 wt%). The characterization of the catalysts by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and H2 temperature-programmed reduction shows that the sulfidation leads to the formation of Co9S8 nanoparticles. However, Co9S8 nanoparticles are reduced back to regenerate metallic Co nanoparticles during the synthesis of SWCNTs, which maintain a high carbon yield. In this process, Co9S8 nanoparticles seemingly intermediate the production of Co nanoparticles with narrow size distribution. Due to the fact that the poisoning step improves the quality of the end-product rather than hampering the growth process, we have coined the process developed as “smart poisoning”. This study not only reveals the mechanism behind the beneficial role of S in the selective synthesis of relatively large SWCNTs but also presents a promising method to create chirality-selective catalysts with high activity for scalable synthesis.Publication Metadata only ‘Anti-commutable’ local pre-Leibniz algebroids and admissible connections(Elsevier, 2023) Department of Physics; N/A; Dereli, Tekin; Doğan, Keremcan; Faculty Member; PhD Student; Department of Physics; College of Sciences; Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; 201358; N/AThe concept of algebroid is convenient as a basis for constructions of geometrical frameworks. For example, metric-affine and generalized geometries can be written on Lie and Courant algebroids, respectively. Furthermore, string theories might make use of many other algebroids such as metric algebroids, higher Courant algebroids, or conformal Courant algebroids. Working on the possibly most general algebroid structure, which generalizes many of the algebroids used in the literature, is fruitful as it creates a chance to study all of them at once. Local pre-Leibniz algebroids are such general ones in which metric-connection geometries are possible to construct. On the other hand, the existence of the 'locality operator', which is present for the left-Leibniz rule for the bracket, necessitates the modification of torsion and curvature operators in order to achieve tensorial quantities. In this paper, this modification of torsion and curvature is explained from the point of view that the modification is applied to the bracket instead. This leads one to consider 'anti-commutable' local pre-Leibniz algebroids which satisfy an anti-commutativity-like property defined with respect to a choice of an equivalence class of connections. These 'admissible' connections are claimed to be the necessary ones while working on a geometry of algebroids. This claim is due to the fact that one can prove many desirable properties and relations if one uses only admissible connections. For instance, for admissible connections, we prove the first and second Bianchi identities, Cartan structure equations, Cartan magic formula, the construction of Levi-Civita connections, the decomposition of connection in terms of torsion and non-metricity. These all are possible because the modified bracket becomes anti-symmetric for an admissible connection so that one can apply the machinery of almost-or pre-Lie algebroids. We investigate various algebroid structures from the literature and show that they admit admissible connections which are metric-compatible in some generalized sense. Moreover, we prove that local pre-Leibniz algebroids that are not anti-commutable cannot be equipped with a torsion-free, and in particular Levi-Civita, connection.Publication Metadata only (Bis)phosphonic acid-functionalized poly(ethyleneimine)- poly(amido amine)s for selective in vitro transfection of osteosarcoma cells(Amer Chemical Soc, 2021) Güven, Melek Naz; Altuncu, Seçkin; Konca, Yeliz Utku; Avcı, Duygu; N/A; Department of Chemistry; Demirci, Gözde; Acar, Havva Funda Yağcı; Master Student; Faculty Member; Department of Chemistry; Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; College of Sciences; N/A; 178902Osteosarcoma is aggressive bone cancer, whose treatment has not changed significantly for the past few decades. Although gene therapy methods have emerged as potential treatment routes, the need for efficient and nontoxic gene delivery systems targeting osteosarcoma cells remains a challenge. High-molecular-weight poly(ethyleneimine)s (PEIs) are used as universal transfection agents; however, they cause significant cytotoxicity. on the other hand, poly(amido amine)s (PAAs) are biocompatible, biodegradable polymers with promising transfection efficiency, which should be improved further. In this paper, we combined low-molecular-weight branched PEI (1800 Da) and PAA macromers functionalized with various amounts of (bis)phosphonic acid groups and pentanol (via 5-amino-1-pentanol (AP)). The (bis)phosphonic acid groups on these polymers (PAEIs) are intended to facilitate bone targeting. The molecular weights of the PAEI polymers were between 2600 and 8600 g/mol. Their cytotoxicities and green fluorescence protein (GFP) transfection efficiencies were tested on an osteosarcoma cell line (U-2 OS cells), which is challenging to transfect, and healthy muscle cells (C2C12). Both the cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency of PAEIs were affected by the phosphonic acid (via APA, 2-aminoethyl phosphonic acid) or bisphosphonic acid (via ALE, sodium alendronate) content of the polymers. PAEIs are more cytocompatible than both linear and branched 25 kDa PEI. ALE-containing PAEIs provided better transfection than APA-containing ones. The most efficient PAEI polymer, containing a 0.7:0.3 AP/ALE ratio, displayed a transfection efficiency that was five times higher than that of 25 kDa PEI with dramatically better cytocompatibility. This is comparable to FuGENE, but PAEI is more advantageous in selective transfection of the U-2 OS. This set of polymers may be promising candidates for targeted gene therapy of osteosarcoma.Publication Metadata only (Im)moral borders in practice(Taylor & Francis, 2021) El Qadim, Nora; Isleyen, Beste; de Vries, Leonie Ansems; Hansen, Signe Sofie; Lisle, Debbie; Simonneau, Damien; N/A; Karadağ, Sibel; Researcher; Migration Research Program at Koç University (MIReKoç) / Göç Araştırmaları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi (MIReKoç); N/A; N/AThis Forum aims to push existing debates in critical border and migration studies over the featuring of morals, ethics and rights in everyday practices relating to the governance of the mobility of non-citizen populations. Its contributors steer away from the actual evaluation or advocacy of the good/just/ethical, focusing instead on the sociological examination of morals and ethics in practice, i.e. how actors understand morally and ethically the border and migration policies they implement or resist. A proliferating interest in the discursive and non-discursive materialisation of moral and ethical elements in asylum and migration policies has examined the intertwinement of care and control logics underlying the management of refugee camps, borders and borderzones, and hotspots alongside the deployment of search-and-rescue operations. Nevertheless, recent research has shown the need to unpack narratives and actions displaying values and symbols that are not necessarily encompassed within this intertwinement of compassion and repression. We argue that there is a need to pay more attention to the diversity, plurality and the operation of morality, ethics and rights in settings and geographies, and of including a diversity of actors both across and beyond EUrope.Publication Metadata only 1200 nm pumped Tm3+:Lu2O3 ceramic lasers(Optical Soc Amer, 2018) Özharar, Sarper; N/A; Department of Physics; Toker, Işınsu Baylam; Sennaroğlu, Alphan; PhD Student; Faculty Member; Department of Physics; N/A; College of Sciences; N/A; 23851We report on an experimental demonstration of a 1200-nm pumped Tm3+:Lu2O3 ceramic laser. By using a gain-switched, tunable Cr4+:forsterite laser, the excitation spectrum was measured, with optimum pumping bands centered near 1198 nm, 1204 nm, and 1211 nm. The highest slope efficiency of 21.5% was obtained at the pump wavelength of 1204 nm. Comparative energy efficiency measurements performed near 1200-nm and 800-nm pumping further showed that nearly 40% improvement was obtained in slope efficiency measured with respect to the incident pump energy for 1200-nm pumping. A transition was further observed from single-wavelength operation at 2066 nm to dual-wavelength operation near 2066 nm and 1967 nm for absorbed pump energies above 50 mu J. In this regime, two consecutive output pulses were observed in the time domain. The shortest temporal duration of the first pulse was 1.1 mu s at the incident pulse energy of 105 mu J. The duration and build-up time of the second pulse remained around 5.9 mu s and 18.5 mu s. We believe that the improved energy efficiency demonstrated for the 1.5% Tm3+:Lu2O3 ceramic with 1200-nm pumping can be used as an alternative scheme for the excitation of Tm3+:Lu2O3 ceramic lasers.Publication Metadata only 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in a patient with a rare diagnosis of sarcomatoid malignant peritoneal mesothelioina(Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013) Tokmak, Handan; Demirkol, Onur M.; Kaban, Kerim; N/A; Mandel, Nil Molinas; Dilege, Şükrü; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; School of Medicine; School of Medicine; 194197; 122573Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is an uncommon but deadly disease arising from serosal surfaces of the peritoneum. Asbestos exposure is the most recognized risk factor. We report a case of diffuse, sarcomatoid malignant peritoneal mesothelioma who presented to the hospital with abdominal pain. The patient had an abdominal MRI scan as initial scanning which demonstrated nonspecific findings suspected of peritoneal carcinomatosis. The patient was admitted to our department for the metabolic characterization of the lesions with F-18-FDG PET/CT imaging and the diagnosis of the primary malignancy. F-18-FDG PET/CT imaging revealed diffusely increased metabolic activity throughout the peritoneum and the histopathological features were compatible with sarcomatoid malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.Publication Metadata only 18F-FDG PET/CT mean suv and metabolic tumor volume for mean survival time in non-small cell lung cancer(Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2015) Kurtipek, Ercan; Çaycı, Mustafa; Düzgün, Nuri; Esme, Hıdır; Terzi, Yüksel; Bakdık, Süleyman; Ünlü, Yaşar; Burnik, Cengiz; Bekçi, Taha Tahir; N/A; Aygün, Murat Serhat; Teaching Faculty; School of Medicine; Koç University Hospital; 291692Objective: The study was designed to determine the relationship between survival time of standardized uptake value (SUVmax and SUVmean) and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and examine the impact of demographic, clinical, and radiological data of these patients on survival. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the records of 79 patients with NSCLC who presented to our hospital between May 2010 and March 2013, received a final diagnosis, and underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT for staging. Clinical, radiological, and 18F-FDG PET/CT parameters with an impact on prognosis such as the SUVmax of the primary tumor as calculated by the volumetric region of interest in the 18F-FDG PET/CT scans during initial diagnosis, mean SUV of the tumor, and MTV obtained with a threshold of SUVmax greater than 2.5 were recorded and statistically analyzed. A statistical analysis was carried out based on the clinical, radiological, and PET/CT findings of the patients who were divided into 2 groups: survivors and nonsurvivors. Results: Seventy patients (88.6%) were men, and 9 (11.4%) were women. The mean age was 63.65 ± 11.51 years in the nonsurvivor group (n = 40) versus 62.74 ± 10.60 years in the survivor group (n = 39) (Table 1). The mean survival time from diagnosis was 7.9 ± 6.52 months in the nonsurvivor group versus 14.09 ± 7.41 months in the survivor group. The mean survival time was 12.9 ± 7.9 months for those aged 60 or younger, whereas it was 9.9 ± 7.2 years for those aged 60 or older. According to the Cox regression analysis, higher MTV [relative risk (RR), 1.006; P = 0.03] and mean SUVmax (mSUV) (RR, 1.302; P = 0.03) had a significant impact on shortening of the mean survival time. However, no statistical significance was reached for SUVmax measurements (RR, 0.970; P = 0.39). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between increased tumor size (andlt;2 cm, 2-4 cm, and ≥4 cm) and shortened mean survival time (P = 0.03). Conclusion: The present study showed that MTV and mSUV of FDG PET/CT scans of the tumor, but not SUVmax, had a significant impact on survival time of patients with NSCLC. Based on this result, we believe that we might have more accurate information about the survival time of our patients if we also evaluate mSUV and MTV in combination with mSUV, which is frequently used for diagnosis and monitoring of patients with NSCLC during our daily practice. © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.Publication Metadata only 18F-FDG PET/CT texture analysis of anthracotic lymph nodes detected with EBUS and comparison with cytological findings(P.Ziti and Co, 2022) N/A; N/A; N/A; N/A; N/A; N/A; N/A; N/A; Çağlayan, Benan Niku; Fırat, Pınar Arıkan; Seymen, Hülya; Bulutay, Pınar; Falay, Fikri Okan; Demirtaş, Elif; Demirkol, Mehmet Onur; Meriçöz, Çisel Aydın; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Teaching Faculty; Teaching Faculty; Teaching Faculty; Master Student; Faculty Member; Teaching Faculty; School of Medicine; School of Medicine; School of Medicine; School of Medicine; School of Medicine; Graduate School of Health Sciences; School of Medicine; School of Medicine; 230719; 207545; 350778; 133565; 246484; N/A; 196946; 162418Objective: Lymph node metastasis is the most important factor both in the selection of treatment since many alternatives have been created in recent years, and in the evaluation of prognosis in lung cancer. The most unpredictable cause of lymph node false positivity in fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is anthracosis. The aim of this study is to compare 18F-FDG PET/CT texture information of anthracotic (ALN) and metastatic (MLN) lymph nodes, after re-evaluation of the cytological samples obtained from anthracotic lymph nodes by EBUS-TBNA. Subjects and Methods: Ninety nine patients, 78 of whom had primary lung cancer were included in the study. Two hundred and three lymph nodes from 99 patients sampled by EBUS-TBNA and diagnosed cytologically as ALN or MLN were evaluated retrospectively. All ALN were classified as grades 1, 2 and 3 cytologically. Volume of interest (VOI) of 203 lymph nodes was re-drawn and maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) values were recorded. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in MTV and TLG values in MLN and all ALN grades. However, only grade 1-2 ALNs could be differentiated from MLNs with SUVmax, and no statistically significant difference was found in grade 3 ALN and MLN. Metabolic tumor volume and TLG values over 4.10cm3 and 26.57 showed 60% and 59% sensitivity and 83% and 94 specificity respectively for the identification of MLN. Conclusion: The contribution of MTV and TLG values of 18F-FDG PET/CT to the differential diagnosis of ALN is much more valuable than SUVmax values, especially for grade 3 anthracosis. It was thought that cytological reporting of only grade 3 ALN could make a better contribution to the 18F-FDG PET/CT evaluation analysis.Publication Metadata only 2.3-μm Tm3+: YLF laser passively Q-switched with a Cr2+: ZnSe saturable absorber(Optical Soc Amer, 2017) N/A; N/A; Canbaz, Ferda; Yorulmaz, İsmail; Sennaroğlu, Alphan; PhD Student; PhD Student; Faculty Member; Koç University Surface Science and Technology Center (KUYTAM) / Koç Üniversitesi Yüzey Teknolojileri Araştırmaları Merkezi (KUYTAM); Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; Graduate School of Sciences and Engineering; College of Sciences; N/A; N/A; 23851We report, what is to our knowledge, the first passively Q-switched operation of a 2.3-mu m Tm3+ : YLF laser by using a Cr2+ : ZnSe saturable absorber. In the experiments, a tunable Ti3+ : sapphire laser was used to end pump the Tm3+ : YLF gain medium inside an x cavity. A Cr2+ : ZnSe saturable absorber was also included in the cavity to initiate passive Q switching. At all pump power levels above lasing threshold, passively Q-switched operation of the Tm3+ : YLF laser could be obtained at 2309 nm with pulse durations and repetition frequencies in the ranges of 1.21.4 mu s and 0.3-2.1 kHz, respectively. Analysis of power dependent repetition rate data further gave an estimated value of 3.1% for the round-trip saturable loss of the Cr2+ : ZnSe saturable absorber.