Influence Of Financial Technology (Fintech) On Financial Industry

Jovanovic, Stefan/0000-0003-2797-3016; Ozer, Mustafa/0000-0001-9852-8441WOS: 000504638600007The financial technology (hereinafter: fintech) industry is growing rapidly which is supported by the fact that it received more than $20 billion in investment last year alone. This article surveys historical development of fintech and its influence on market structure in banking industry, efficiency, strategic plans of participants, and stability of financial market. Based on World Bank database, the paper tests the fundamental premise - whether there is a relationship between country GDP and population and usage of new technology and smartphones in financial transactions and payment processing. the results of the study provide evidences of statistically significant positive relationships between per capita GDP and usage of new technology and smartphones in financial transactions and payment processing. Also, they indicate statistically significant positive relationships between per capita GDP and payment of utilities and received wages through a mobile phone. Thus, the results of study should be taken into consideration when forming the policies regarding the use of new technology and smartphones in financial transactions and payment processing. (C) 2019 EA. All rights reserved

Examining the level of enjoyment and anxiety among Turkish EFL students

This research examines the role of positive and negative emotions in language learning. To this end, enjoyment and anxiety, which are widely studied emotions in language education, were chosen for the current study. A quantitative research design was adopted to provide a deeper understanding of learners' language enjoyment and anxiety levels as well as the determinants of those emotions. 233 fifth-grade students studying in secondary school participated in the study. The results indicated that participants experience a higher level of enjoyment and moderate anxiety in language learning. The anxiety and enjoyment levels of participants appeared to be unaffected by gender differences. The difference between the three achievement groups for anxiety and enjoyment was significant. Further analysis showed that language anxiety was the best predictor of language enjoyment. © 2021 JLLS and the Authors-Published by JLLS

Evaluation of the Gonial Angle in the Anatolian Populations: From Past to Present

Biometrical studies on ancient skeletal series and comparison with modern people by using radiological methods are quite limited in Turkey. Previous studies showed that measurements obtained from orthopantomographs are highly correlated with the actual size of the bones. The aim of the present study is to determine the possible change in gonial angle over time in ancient Anatolian populations with the present. Also an aim was attempted to demonstrate the symmetry of the gonial angle in the jaws and the sexual dimorphism. Gonial angle values (right and left) were taken from 267 Turkish adults with no craniomandibular disorders, orthodontic history or treatment by using panoramic radiographs. Data of the past populations were collected from previous studies. Comparison between right and left sides and the sexual differences were tested by paired student t-test and discriminant analyses were conducted. The results showed that there were no significant differences between the right and left gonial angles of the individuals but there was a significant difference at the left gonial angle between sexes (p<0.01). Furthermore, no statistically significant difference was found for the gonial angle between the selected past populations with the present sample

Polyp in concha bullosa: a case report and review of the literature

Polyp originating within a concha bullosa is uncommon; we report only the third such case in the English literature. A 45-year-old man presented with nasal obstruction and headache. Examination of the nose revealed right septal deviation and a hypertrophic left middle concha. Computed tomography confirmed right septal deviation and identified left concha bullosa with thickening of the mucosa covering this lesion. The lateral lamella of the affected turbinate was removed and a mass was excised. Histopathologic examination of the excised mass revealed polypoid hyperplasia. The rare finding of polyp in concha bullosa is discussed with a review of the literature. In any case of concha bullosa, computed tomography images should be carefully evaluated before surgery to check for other pathologies that might have arisen within the lesion

Investigation of Hypothetico-Creative Reasoning Skills of Teacher Trainees in Terms of Their Thinking Styles

Thinking styles more boradly intellectual styles refers to people’s partly fixed, relatively stable and innate preferences about information processing and handling with the tasks that they may confront (Zhang & Sternberg, 2005). Sternberg’s (1988) introduced of the theory of mental self-government, where intellectual style specifies 13 thinking styles that fall along five dimensions of mental self-government: (a) functions, (b) forms, (c) levels, (d) scopes, and (e) leanings of government as applied to individuals (Zhang, Sternberg, Rayner, 2002: 14).Hypothetico-Creative reasoning model developed by Duran (2014) can be defined skills including logical and creative thinking skills in 12 dimensions. This study, is a descriptive study based on, relational screening model among the screening models.The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between learning styles proposed by Sternberg (1988) and hypothetico-creative reasoning skills proposed by Duran (2014) in the context of the characteristics of left an right brains or thinking modes emphasized by Zhang (2002). The population consists of all the second grade students (N=383) in those departments in the education period 2015-2016 in English Teaching Department, Preschool Education Department, Department of Elementary Education, The Department of Computer Education and Instruction, The Department of Psychological Counseling And Guidance. It was found thatstudents are more prone to use their right brains, that is lateralization of hepispheric specialization is thought to be in right side. Hence students perceive themselves to use Type I thinking, holistic mode of thinking styles indicating that they use right brain hence perceive themselves to be more holistic, creative and experiantial learners

The effect of subretinal recombinant tissue plasminogen activator application for submacular hemorrhage

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcomes of subretinal tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA) injection with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in patients with submacular hemorrhage (SMH) extending towards the fovea. Materials and Methods: The study included 10 eyes of 10 patients who underwent subretinal r-tPA injection with 23 G PPV due to SMH extending towards the fovea. Following standard 23 G PPV, r-tPA (Actilyse, 10 mg/mL, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Germany) at a concentration of 25 µg/0.1 ml was injected into the subretinal space with a 41 G needle at a concentration of 0.2-0.3 ml. Subsequently, fluid-air-12% C3F8 exchange was performed and intravitreal 1.25 mg bevacizumab was administered. After surgery, the patient was given appropriate head position according to the bleeding site. Results: The mean age of the patients was 73.9 ± 4.7 years, 4 (40%) were male and 6 (60%) were female. Two patients (20%) developed SMH due to retinal macroaneurysm rupture, while choroidal neovascular membrane was the cause of hemorrhage in 8 patients (80%). Best corrected visual acuity was 2.53 ± 0.49 logMAR preoperatively, 1.28 ± 0.66 at one month, 1.08 ± 0.64 at three months and 1.04 ± 0.62 at six months postoperatively and the difference was significant (p<0.001 for each parameter). Conclusions: In patients with submacular hemorrhage, r-tPA administered subretinally provides significant visual acuity improvement without serious complications. Copyright © 2024 The author(s)

Genetic Diversity and Pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia spp. Isolates Associated with Red Cabbage in Samsun (Turkey)

A total of 132 Rhizoctonia isolates were recovered from red cabbage plants with root rot and wirestem symptoms in the province of Samsun (Turkey) between 2018 and 2019. Based on the sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region located between the 18S and 28S ribosomal RNA genes and including nuclear staining, these 124 isolates were assigned to multinucleate Rhizoctonia solani, and eight were binucleate Rhizoctonia. The most prevalent anastomosis group (AG) was AG 4 (84%), which was subdivided into AG 4 HG-I (81%) and AG 4 HG-III (3%), followed by AG 5 (10%) and AG-A (6%), respectively. The unweighted pair group method phylogenetic tree resulting from the data of 68 isolates with the inter-PBS amplification DNA profiling method based on interspersed retrotransposon element sequences confirmed the differentiation of AGs with a higher resolution. In the greenhouse experiment with representative isolates (n = 24) from AGs on red cabbage (cv. Rondale), the disease severity index was between 3.33 and 4.0 for multinucleate AG isolates and ranged from 2.5 to 3.17 for AG-A isolates. In the pathogenicity assay of six red cabbage cultivars, one isolate for each AG was tested using a similar method, and all cultivars were susceptible to AG 4 HG-I and AG 4 HG-III isolates. Redriver and Remale were moderately susceptible, while Rescue, Travero, Integro, and Rondale were susceptible to the AG 5 isolate. The results indicate that the most prevalent and aggressive AGs of Rhizoctonia are devastating pathogens to red cabbage, which means that rotation with nonhost-crops for these AGs may be the most effective control strategy. This is the first comprehensive study of Rhizoctonia isolates in red cabbage using a molecular approach to assess genetic diversity using iPBS-amplified DNA profiling

Interplay Between Digital Technologies and Business Performance in Banking Industry: Global and Regional Perspectives

In order to remain competitive on both domestic and global market as well as to satisfy evolving consumers’ needs, modern banks must not ignore the potential of digital and smart technologies. Taking into consideration the importance of digitalization as a new standard in business practice, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of digitalization on the performance of banking sector globally and in SEE region. The main purpose of this paper is to test if the investments in information and communication technologies (ICT) contribute to the growth of profitability of banking sector as well as to the reduction of OPEX. In order to test the influence of investments in ICT on banking performance adequately, the static panel data models of fixed effects models were used. The results indicate that the influence of investments in ICT on OPEX defers on global and regional level. The results also indicate statistically significant positive relationship between investments in ICT and banks’ profitability in SEE region

Membranous Nephropathy: Current Understanding in The Light of New Advances

Membranous nephropathy is the most common cause of primary nephrotic syndrome in adults. The most important mech-anism in its pathogenesis is loss of immune tolerance. New developments in membranous nephropathy are mostly related to the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, and until recently, the gold standard method in diagnosis was a kidney biopsy. In recent years, many membranous nephropathy-associated antigens and antibodies have been identified. The increased availability of these biomarkers is beneficial in predicting the treatment response, determining the treatment plan, and eliminating the necessity of kidney biopsy in the diagnosis of membranous nephropathy. Because of both the difference in treatment responses and the treatment-related side effects, membranous nephropathy treatment should be individualized. In addition, it is recommended to make a treatment plan by calculating the risk of progressive kidney fail-ure of the disease. Parallel to the changes in diagnosis and follow-up, treatment plans in membranous nephropathy have undergone severe changes in recent years. As the autoimmunity targets in the pathogenesis of the disease become clearer, treatment has turned to more specific therapies that are more selective in targeting antibody-producing cells, such as rituximab. This article described the new developments in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of membranous nephropathy.Scientific Research Fund of the Karadeniz Technical University [THD-2018-7309]Funding study was financed by the Scientific Research Fund of the Karadeniz Technical University (THD-2018-7309)

Diltiazem Increases the Liver Regeneration in Rats by Inhibiting TGF-β1

Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF- β1) is the most important inhibitory cytokine during the hepatic regeneration process. Diltiazem is a Ltype calcium channel blocker that has inhibitory effect on TGF- β1. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of diltiazem on hepatic regeneration. Sixty female Wistar Albino rats were used. Three groups were created; the control, low dose diltiazem and high dose diltiazem groups, each consisting of 20 rats. After partial liver resection (70% hepatectomy), saline was introduced to control group, 5 mg/kg diltiazem was introduced to low dose group and 15 mg/kg diltiazem to high dose group intraperitoneally. Ten rats in each group were sacrificed on the first postoperative day and the remaining rats on the fifth day. Liver weight, mitotic rate and the Ki-67 ratio were measured for determining hepatic regeneration. Liver regeneration rate on the fifth postoperative day was significantly higher both in the low dose and high dose diltiazem groups than the control group (Low diltiazem vs control: P&lt;0.001; High diltiazem vs control: P&lt;0.001). No significant difference was found between the groups regarding the number of mitoses on the first and fifth days following partial hepatectomy (P&gt;0.05). The Ki-67 ratio on the first postoperative day was significantly higher both in the low dose and high dose diltiazem groups than the control group (Low diltiazem vs control: P&lt;0.001; High diltiazem vs control: P&lt;0.001). Diltiazem increases liver regeneration by inhibiting TGF-β1