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Infill density used in additive manufacturing incorporates a structural response change in the structure. Infill pattern creates a microstructure that affects the mechanical performance as well. Whenever the length ratio of microstructure to geometry converges to one, metamaterials emerge and the strain-gradient theory is an adequate model to predict metamaterials response. All metamaterial parameters are determined by an asymptotic homogenization, and we investigate the effects of infill density and pattern on these parameters. In order to illuminate the role of infill characteristics on the strain-gradient parameters, an in-depth numerical investigation is presented for one, widely used case in three-dimensional (3D) printers, rectangular grid.

Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) has been widely used for the cutting of hard materials such as rocks. The AWJ cutting of rocks has been well documented in the relevant literature. In these studies, one-pass cutting is employed as the cutting mode. There is no study focusing on the two-pass AWJ cutting of rocks. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap. Therefore, in the current study, the physicomechanical properties of the rock subjected to cutting are first determined. Following, the workpieces are cut with both one-pass and two-pass cutting modes. In the tests, cutting time is kept constant to compare the performances of cutting modes in terms of the smooth cutting depth and surface roughness. Kerf profiles of the cutting modes are also compared. In the study, significant relationships were not determined between the cutting parameters (abrasive flow rate and standoff distance) and performance outputs for the cutting modes. This may be attributed to the cutting parameters studied in a narrow range. The results indicate that two-pass cutting with higher speeds provides higher smooth depths than one-pass cutting at lower speeds. Two-pass cutting increases smooth depth up to 47%. Results show that surface quality could be improved by two-pass cutting, expanding the smooth zone and reducing the sizes of the striations. The results also show that two-pass cutting improves surface roughness by up to 25%. It is revealed that kerf wall inclination is reduced by two-pass cutting in the upper and lower parts of the kerf. A widened portion caused by the first pass is observed in the final kerf. It can be noted that two-pass cutting cannot provide any improvement in the top kerf width.

Purpose To document time analysis of detailed workflow steps for the online adaptive magnetic resonance–guided radiation therapy treatments (MRgRT) with the ViewRay MRIdian system and to identify the barriers to and solutions for shorter treatment times. Methods and Materials A total of 154 patients were treated with the ViewRay MRIdian system between September 2018 and October 2019. The time process of MRgRT workflow steps of 962 fractions for 166 treatment sites was analyzed in terms of patient and online adaptive treatment (ART) characteristics. Results Overall, 774 of 962 fractions were treated with online ART, and 83.2% of adaptive fractions were completed in less than 60 minutes. Sixty-three percent, 50.3%, and 4.2% of fractions were completed in less than 50 minutes, 45 minutes, and 30 minutes, respectively. Eight-point-three percent and 3% of fractions were completed in more than 70 minutes and 80 minutes, respectively. The median time (tmed) for ART workflow steps were as follows: (1) setup tmed: 5.0 minutes, (2) low-resolution scanning tmed: 1 minute, (3) high-resolution scanning tmed: 3 minutes, (4) online contouring tmed: 9 minutes, (5) reoptimization with online quality assurance tmed: 5 minutes, (6) real targeting tmed: 3 minutes, (7) beam delivery with gating tmed: 17 minutes, and (8) net total treatment time tmed: 45 minutes. The shortest and longest tmean rates of net total treatment time were 41.59 minutes and 64.43 minutes for upper-lung-lobe-located thoracic tumors and ultracentrally located thoracic tumors, respectively. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first broad treatment-time analysis for online ART in the literature. Although treatment times are long due to human- and technology-related limitations, benefits offered by MRgRT might be clinically important. In the future, implementation of artificial intelligence segmentation, an increase in dose rate, and faster multileaf collimator and gantry speeds may lead to achieving shorter MRgRT treatments.

Background Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is effective for thoracic cancer and metastases; however, adverse effects are greater for central tumors. We evaluated factors affecting outcomes and toxicities after SABR for patients with primary lung and oligometastatic tumors. Patients and methods We retrospectively identified consecutive patients with centrally located lung tumors that were treated at our hospital from 2009-2016. The effects of patient, disease, and treatment-related parameters on local control (LC), overall survival (OS), and toxicity-free survival (TFS) were evaluated with multivariate analyses. Results Among 65 consecutive patients identified with 70 centrally located tumors, 20 tumors (28%) were reirradiated. Median (range) total dose for all tumors was 55 (30–60) Gy in 5 (3–10) fractions. Radiographic complete response was obtained in 43 lesions (61%). None of the analyzed factors were correlated with complete response. After a median follow-up of 57 (95% CI, 48–65) months, 10 tumors (14%) relapsed and 37 patients (57%) died; the actuarial 2- and 5-year OS rates were 52% and 28%, respectively. Median OS was significantly lower in patients with grade 3 or higher toxicity vs. lower toxicity (5 vs. 39 months; P < 0.001). Among 17 severe toxicities, 5 were grade 5, and 3 of them were reirradiated to the same field. Grade 3 to 5 TFS was lower with vs. without reirradiation (2-year TFS, 63% vs. 96%; P = 0.02). Conclusions Our study showed that modern SABR is effective for central lung tumors, and toxicities are acceptable. SABR for reirradiated central lung lesions and possibly for lesions abutting the tracheobronchial tree may result in higher risk of serious toxicities.

Social commerce has become a hot topic since the beginning of Web 2.0 era; however, relevant research is scarce in emerging economies. This study aims to fill this research gap and answer the main research question of ?what type of relevant personality traits and shopping motivations affect social commerce adoption intentions?. The research model was developed upon personality traits (openness to experience, need for uniqueness and buying impulsiveness) that are deemed to be relevant to online shopping and social media use. An online questionnaire was conducted on social media users. A total of 269 valid questionnaires were analyzed via structural equation modeling to test for the proposed relationships, majority of which emerged as non-linear. The findings highlight the significance of socialization motives in addition to utilitarian and hedonic shopping motives on social commerce adoption intentions. Openness to experience emerged as a significant trait that has an indirect effect on social commerce adoption intentions. Age and education materialized as significant demographics influencing shopping motivations in a social commerce setting.

Changes in consumer behavior enabled by social networking technologies is leading to a transformation in e-commerce. Consumers' use of social media sites and relevant technologies for different aspects of shopping has become an issue of utmost concern to retailers and related businesses. Adopting a uses and gratifications theory (UGT) perspective, the article aims to demonstrate motives of users utilizing social media in their purchase decisions. Drawing from digital marketing and e-commerce literature, relevant uses and gratifications for social commerce (s-commerce) were chosen as information access, escape, entertainment, passing time, cool and new trends, and socialization. The proposed model was analyzed and tested via OLS regression and ANOVA analysis using the data collected from a survey study on 361 subjects in Turkey. Information access, relaxing entertainment, and socialization motives emerged as significant antecedents of s-commerce intentions. No significant effect of demographics on social commerce intentions were observed in the analysis.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) ranges from 3% to 25%. However demographic, clinical, and angiographic characteristics of AF patients who admitted with de novo MI are unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of patients presenting with de novo MI with AF. METHODS: The study was performed as a sub-study of the MINOCA-TR (Myocardial Infarction with Non-obstructive Coronary Arteries in Turkish Population) Registry, a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational, all-comer registry. MI patients without a known history of stable coronary artery disease and/or prior coronary revascularization were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into AF and Non-AF groups according to presenting cardiac rhythm. RESULTS: A total of 1793 patients were screened and 1626 were included in the study. The mean age was 61.5 (12.5) years. 70.7% of patients were men. The prevalence of AF was 3.1% (51 patients). AF patients were older [73.4 (9.4) vs. 61.0 (12.4) years, p

Changes in consumer behavior enabled by social networking technologies is leading to a transformation in e-commerce. Consumers' use of social media sites and relevant technologies for different aspects of shopping has become an issue of utmost concern to retailers and related businesses. Adopting a uses and gratifications theory (UGT) perspective, the article aims to demonstrate motives of users utilizing social media in their purchase decisions. Drawing from digital marketing and e-commerce literature, relevant uses and gratifications for social commerce (s-commerce) were chosen as information access, escape, entertainment, passing time, cool and new trends, and socialization. The proposed model was analyzed and tested via OLS regression and ANOVA analysis using the data collected from a survey study on 361 subjects in Turkey. Information access, relaxing entertainment, and socialization motives emerged as significant antecedents of s-commerce intentions. No significant effect of demographics on social commerce intentions were observed in the analysis.

The emergence of social networking systems as mainstream applications and an inherent element of daily life is a phenomenon observed throughout the world as the worldwide social media users exceeds 2.7 billion. Similar to other sectors, healthcare organizations have also started benefiting from social media in distinct ways such as collecting feedback, educating, communicating and supporting patients and citizens. Social networks can act as remarkable channels for healthcare providers, governmental institutions, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and others to educate, communicate to, listen, connect to and engage existing and potential customers, patients, physicians and healthcare professionals. Despite the various benefits offered, health institutions, health professionals and stakeholders are reluctant to utilize social media due to several barriers and lack of expertise. This chapter aims to provide a better understanding on the ways healthcare companies can utilize social networks in detail to overcome use barriers and obtain related benefits.

Aim: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) ranges widely and has been reported to be as high as 21%. However, the demographic, clinical, and angiographic characteristics of AF patients with de novo MI is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of patients presenting with de novo MI with AF. Methods: The study was performed as a sub-study of the MINOCA-TR (Myocardial Infarction with Non-obstructive Coronary Arteries in Turkish Population) Registry, a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational, all-comer registry. MI patients without a known history of stable coronary artery disease and/or prior coronary revascularization were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into AF and Non-AF groups according to their presenting cardiac rhythm. Results: A total of 1793 patients were screened and 1626 were included in the study. Mean age was 61.5 (12.5) years. 70.7% of patients were men. Prevalence of AF was 3.1% (51 patients). AF patients were older [73.4 (9.4) vs. 61.0 (12.4) years, p

Purpose To evaluate the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) quality assurance (OA) results of the multichannel film dosimetry analysis with single scan method by using Gafchromic (TM) EBT3 (Ashland Inc., Covington, KY, USA) film under 0.35 T magnetic field. Methods Between September 2018 and June 2019, 70 patients were treated with ViewRay MRldian (R) (ViewRay Inc., Mountain View, CA) linear accelerator (Linac). Film dosimetry OA plans were generated for all IMRT treatments. Multichannel film dosimetry for red, green and blue (RGB) channels were compared with treatment planning system (TPS) dose maps by gamma evaluation analysis. Results The mean gamma passing rates of RGB channels are 97.3\% +/- 2.26\%, 96.0\% +/- 3.27\% and 96.2\% +/- 3.14\% for gamma evaluation with 2\% DD/2 mm distance to agreement (DTA), respectively. Moreover, the mean gamma passing rates of RGB channels are 99.7\% +/- 0.41\%, 99.6\% +/- 0.59\% and 99.5\% +/- 0.67\% for gamma evaluation with 3\% DD/3 mm DTA, respectively. Conclusion The patient specific QA using Gafchromic (TM) EBT3 film with multichannel film dosimetry seems to he a suitable tool to implement for MR-guided IMRT treatments under 0.35 T magnetic field. Multichannel film dosimetry with Gafchromic (TM) EBT3 is a consistent QA tool for gamma evaluation of the treatment plans even with 2\% DD/2 mm DTA under 0.35 T magnetic field presence.

WOS: 000413325200001 Gamification has become an influential term in diverse fields ranging from education to systems development and marketing. The recent intensifying emphasis is attributable to enabling technologies and successful practical applications used for changing attitudes and increasing engagement. However, relevant academic studies are not wide-spread and this study aims to address this vital research gap. This study is structured to understand the factors affecting intention to use gamified systems and test whether they are affected by gender or age. An online survey study was conducted on a web-based gamified system (EmpireAvenue.com) and following a detailed screening process, a total of 168 fully complete questionnaires were attained. The theoretical model employed was developed upon technology acceptance model (TAM) and modified to incorporate an intrinsic motivation element, namely the "perceived enjoyment" construct. According to the findings, age and gender moderate the relationships between usefulness, ease of use, perceived enjoyment and intention to use the gamified system.

Social media sites are becoming more popular throughout the world. These sites are adopting advertisement supported business models to generate revenues and become profitable. Advertisement supported models are the preferred choice for these site with regards to the belief that users are not willing to pay money to use these ever free sites. In this study this belief was questioned and Facebook, the most popular of social media sites was chosen as the setting of the study. The attitudes towards social media advertisements and their antecedents were measured and their potential effects on users’ willingness to pay for not seeing ads were tested. A questionnaire was developed using well-cited and tested scales from the relevant literature and it was implemented over Internet to Facebook users. 281 out of 327 collected questionnaires were used in the analysis following a screening process. The analysis was carried out using structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that attitudes and its antecedents affect th intentions to pay for not seeing ads negatively.

WOS: 000463755500001 The present study assessed the social media use behavior of luxury hospitality facilities and offers suggestions to improve organic post effectiveness. All five-star tourism facilities operating in Turkey were incorporated into the study and publicly available post data on Facebook accounts of 441 facilities (out of a total of 612) were examined in the high tourist season (August) for one month. Data on 2,012 Facebook posts were obtained manually and filtered down to 1,847. The collected post data were subsequently coded using a content analysis form and analyzed via ordinal regression. The results highlighted the positive effects of interactive content and vivid content as well as the significance of the content type in achieving higher interaction among followers. The facility location and category (hotel, holiday village, thermal hotel) also emerged as significant factors affecting follower interactions. 本研究对豪华酒店设施的社交媒体使用行为进行了评估，并提出了 提高有机岗位效能的建议.所有在土耳其运营的五星级旅游设施均纳 入研究，并在Facebook账户上公开发布数据，其 441个设施（共 612个）在旅游旺季（8月）进行了为期一个月的调查.2012年facebook帖子的数据是手动获取的，并过滤到1847年.随后，使用内容 分析表对收集的岗位数据进行编码，并通过顺序回归进行分析.研究 结果突出了互动内容和生动内容的积极作用，以及内容类型对提高 追随者互动的意义. 设施位置和类别（酒店、度假村、热酒店）也成 为影响追随者互动的重 素.

WOS: 000458309000003 PubMed ID: 30632271 Purpose The electron energy characteristics of mobile intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) accelerator LIAC((R)) differ from commonly used linear accelerators, thus some of the frequently used detectors can give less accurate results. The aim of this study is to evaluate the output factors (OFs) of several ionization chambers (IC) and solid state detectors (SS) for electron beam energies generated by LIAC((R)) and compare with the output factor of Monte Carlo model (MC) in order to determine the adequate detectors for LIAC((R)). Methods The OFs were measured for 6, 8, 10, and 12 MeV electron energies with PTW 23343 Markus, PTW 34045 Advanced Markus, PTW 34001 Roos, IBA PPC05, IBA PPC40, IBA NACP-02, PTW 31010 Semiflex, PTW 31021 Semiflex 3D, PTW 31014 Pinpoint, PTW 60017 Diode E, PTW 60018 Diode SRS, SNC Diode EDGE, and PTW 60019 micro Diamond detectors. Ion recombination factors (k(sat)) of IC were measured for all applicator sizes and OFs were corrected according to k(sat). The measured OFs were compared with Monte Carlo output factors (OFMC). Results The measured OFs of IBA PPC05, PTW Advanced Markus, PTW Pinpoint, PTW microDiamond, and PTW Diode E detectors are in good agreement with OFMC. The maximum deviations of IBA PPC05 OFs to OFMC are -1.6%, +1.5%, +1.5%, and +2.0%; for PTW Advanced Markus +1.0%, +1.5%, +2.0%, and +2.0%; for PTW Pinpoint +2.0%, +1.6%, +4.0%, and +2.0%; for PTW microDiamond -1.6%, +2%, +1.1%, and +1.0%; and for PTW Diode E -+1.7%, +1.7%, +1.3%, and +2.5% for 6, 8, 10, and 12 MeV, respectively. PTW Roos, PTW Markus, IBA PPC40, PTW Semiflex, PTW Semiflex 3D, SNC Diode Edge measured OFs with a maximum deviation of +5.6%, +4.5%, +5.6%, +8.1%, +4.8%, and +9.6% with respect to OFMC, while PTW Diode SRS and IBA NACP-02 were the least accurate (with highest deviations -37.1% and -18.0%, respectively). Conclusion The OFs results of solid state detectors PTW microDiamond and PTW Diode E as well as the ICs with small electrode spacing distance such as IBA PPC05, PTW Advanced Markus and PTW Pinpoint are in excellent agreement with OFMC. The measurements of the other detectors evaluated in this study are less accurate, thus they should be used with caution. Particularly, PTW Diode SRS and IBA NACP-02 are not suitable and their use should be avoided in relative dosimetry measurements under high dose per pulsed (DPP) electron beams.

Objectives Improved soft-tissue visualization, afforded by magnetic resonance imaging integrated into a radiation therapy linear accelerator-based radiation delivery system (MR-linac) promises improved image-guidance. The availability of MR-imaging can facilitate on-table adaptive radiation planning and enable real-time intra-fraction imaging with beam gating without additional exposure to radiation. However, the novel use of magnetic resonance-guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) in the field of radiation oncology also potentially poses challenges for routine clinical implementation. Herein the early experience of a single institution, implementing the first MRgRT system in the country is reported. We aim to describe the workflow and to characterize the clinical utility and feasibility of routine use of an MR-linac system. Methods The ViewRay MRIdian MR-linac system consists of a split-magnet 0.35 T MR-imaging scanner with a double focused multi-leaf collimator (MLC) equipped 6MV linear accelerator. Unique to the system are the control console integrated on-table adaptive radiation therapy (oART) planning capabilities as well as automated beam gating based on real-time intra-fraction MR imaging. From the first day of clinical implementation, oART was performed according to physicians’ discretion when medically indicated. All fractions were delivered under real-time imaging with soft tissue-based automated beam gating with individualized gating boundary settings. Patients actively assisted in breath-hold beam gating with the help of custom designed prismatic glasses allowing sight of a computer monitor mounted on the back wall just behind the MRI system bore. Patient demographics and treatment experience, indications for MRgRT including diagnosis and disease site, radiation dose prescribed and fractionation scheme, utilization of oART, respiratory gating settings, as well as duration of each treatment phase were analyzed. Results Between September 2018 and May 2019, 72 patients with 84 tumor sites were treated with MRgRT in 500 total fractions. Median patient age was 66 years (range: 28-83 years). Among 84 tumor sites, the most frequently treated regions were upper abdominal and pelvic (n = 36, 43% and n = 29, 34%, respectively). The most common diagnosis was prostate cancer, with 14 patients treated. In 69 patients (93.2%) oART was used at least once during a treatment course. Twenty-nine targets (43.1%) with significant breathing-related motion were treated in breath-hold with patient visual feedback. Median prescribed dose was 36.25 Gy (range: 24-70 Gy) in median five fractions (range: 3-28 fractions). A gating boundary of 3 mm around a gating region of interest (gROI) was most commonly used (range: 3-5 mm) with 95% of the gROI (range: 93-97%) required to be within the gating boundary for the beam to automatically engage. Mean total treatment time was 47 min (range: 21-125 min) and mean beam-on time was 16.7 min (range: 6-62 min). Conclusions MRgRT afforded by an MR-linac system has been successfully implemented into routine clinical use at our institution as the first system of its kind in Turkey. While the overall number of patients treated and fractions delivered is still limited, we have demonstrated the feasibility of both on-table adaptive radiation therapy as well as automated real-time beam gating on a daily basis in acceptable time schedules.

WOS: 000456532200004 The present article aims to understand attitudes towards social media ads, one of the most recent and rapidly growing forms of digital advertisements. So far, little attention has been paid in developing countries to the most rapidly growing type of advertising and the present study aims to contribute to fill this research gap. A survey study was carried out to understand the attitudes using Ducoffe's advertising value model and extending it by the inclusion of "rewards" and "personalization" constructs. Facebook ads are used as a proxy for social media ads and a total of 327 questionnaires were collected from Turkish consumers, which were filtered down to 281 and analyzed using structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that credibility, personalization, informativeness and entertainment have direct positive effects on advertising value and have indirect effects on attitudes towards social media ads. Personalization emerged as a significant factor affecting all other related constructs.

WOS: 000458324000003 Bu çalışmada dünya genelinde hızla benimsenen yeni teknolojilerinin yol açtığı teknoloji bağımlılığı ele alınmıştır. Çalışmada teknoloji bağımlılığının, dijital ekosistemin üzerine kurulduğu dikkat ekonomisinin doğal bir sonucu olduğu ileri sürülmektedir. Literatürde internet bağımlılığı, sosyal medya, oyun, cep telefonu gibi birçok uygulama alt başlığında incelenen söz konusu bağımlılık çeşidi, bu çalışmada en genel ifadesiyle teknoloji bağımlılığı olarak isimlendirilmiştir. Dijital platform sahiplerinin, son yıllarda insan beyninin işleyişi ve davranışlarıyla ilgili ulaşılan bulgulardan hareketle karşı koyulması güç biçimde alışkanlık yapan deneyimler (uygulamalar, sistemler, oyunlar vd.) tasarlaması, ekran başında geçirilen sürenin gittikçe artmasının önemli bir nedeni olarak görülmektedir. Bu durumun kontrol altına alınabilmesi için dünyadaki güncel başarı örnekleri incelenerek bütünleşik bir bakış açısıyla çözüm önerileri geliştirilmiştir. Teknoloji bağımlılığıyla mücadelede, sırasıyla, bireysel olarak çocukların, ailenin, kurumların (okul vd. eğitim kurumları) ve nihayet toplum ve politika belirleyicilerin yapabilecekleri ilgili başlıklar altında gruplanarak incelenmiştir. This study argues that technology addiction is a natural consequence of current digital ecosystem characterized with attention economy. The fact that technology platforms architect addictive experiences by exploiting weaknesses of human brain results in consumers' spending prolonged periods of time on screens. To remedy this problem, this paper proposes various solutions and best practices using a comprehensive approach. Proposals at individual level, family level, organization level and ultimately societal and governmental level are discussed, in order, to overcome technology addiction problem.

Brain metastases are commonly seen complications in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The incidence of brain metastases is increasing as a result of more effective systemic targeted therapies with prolonged survival. The prognosis is usually poor, and up to six months of median survivals were reported with different therapeutic options. Here, we present an NSCLC case with multiple brain metastases treated with radiosurgery and systemic erlotinib therapy with prolonged survival. The use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in conjunction with either stereotactic radiosurgery or whole brain radiotherapy is not well established in terms of efficiency and toxicity. This reported case had an excellent response with a tolerable toxicity profile from the combination of either therapies.

Buçalışmanın amacı, Türkiye’de faaliyet gösteren turizm tesislerinin sosyalmedyadaki faaliyetlerinin etkinliğini Facebook özelinde ölçmek ve paylaşımlarınetkinliğinin artırılabilmesi için öneriler ortaya koymaktır. Bu doğrultudagerçekleştirilen araştırmada turizm tesislerinin Facebook hesabının kullanımdurumu ve sıklığı ölçülmüş, paylaşılan içerik tipinin, takipçilerin etkileşimiüzerindeki olası etkilerinin belirlenmesi hedeflenmiştir. Araştırmanın amacıkapsamında Türkiye’de faaliyet gösteren tüm 5 yıldızlı turizm tesisleriaraştırmaya dahil edilmiştir. Tesislerin belirlenmesinde T.C. Turizm ve KültürBakanlığı’ndan elde edilen turizm işletmesi belgeli kuruluşlar listesi esasalınmıştır. Listede yer alan toplam 612 turizm tesisinden aktif olarak Facebooksayfasını kullanan 441 adedi Facebook hesapları üzerinden veri toplanmıştır. Sözkonusu 441 adet 5 yıldızlı otelin 1 ay boyunca yaptıkları paylaşımlar araştırmayaesas alınmış ve bir içerik formu yardımıyla 2,012 paylaşımla ilgili veriye ulaşılmıştır.Paylaşım, içerik kategorisi, içerik dikkat çekiciliği, sunulan interaktiflik veelde edilen takipçi etkileşimi (beğeni, yorum sayısı ve yorumun niteliği)hakkında bilgi toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler filtrelenerek analiz içinuygun olan 1847 paylaşım SPSS programı yardımıyla analiz edilmiştir., The aim ofthis study is to measure the effectiveness of social media activities oftourism establishments operating in Turkey. Suggestions to improve theefficiency of these mediums are also aimed to be arrived at. In this study, Facebookaccount use behavior of tourism establishments’ was measured and possibleeffects of type and content of posts on followers' interaction were discussed.All 5-star tourism facilities operating in Turkey were included in the scope ofthe study. These institutions were obtained from Ministry of Tourism andCulture’s public information database that includes all certified tourismestablishment in Turkey. The Facebook accounts of the 441 hotels that actively useFacebook from a total of 612 hotels were examined. Their posts on Facebook for1 month were taken as basis of the data collection. Information on Facebookposts of hotels were collected using a traditional content analysis form. Atotal of 2,012 posts were collected that provide information on post contentcategory, content type, interactivity offered, follower interaction (likes andcomments). The obtained data were filtered down to 1847 posts, which were thenanalyzed in SPSS application.

Aydın, Gökhan (Arel Author), Purpose – Health-care tourism has become a major industry in the past decade. Following the increasing activity in health-care tourism, the decision-making process of consumers in choosing an international health-care facility has become increasingly important to the related parties. The present study aims to offer a holistic model of international health-care facility choice that incorporates the important dimensions by assessing the growth drivers and the alternative factors proposed in the literature and by validating them via a survey study.

WOS: 000414961600003 The objective of the present study is to determine the major factors influencing consumers' attitudes towards two major types of mobile marketing activities: SMS advertising and mobile application advertising. It also discusses the potential differences in antecedents of attitude between the two types of advertisements. The study was carried out in Turkey among university students, who are commonly targeted in mobile marketing studies due to their high mobile phone ownership rates and familiarity with new technologies. A total of 489 valid questionnaires were obtained and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that overall attitudes towards both mobile advertisement types are negative, SMS marketing being the inferior type. Differences in perceptions of the antecedents of attitudes towards SMS and mobile app ads were detected. On the other hand, the way variables affect attitudes (paths) among the two wireless advertisements types were quite similar.

Aim CyberKnife® is a robotic stereotactic radiotherapy system. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and the safety of CyberKnife® on treating head and neck paragangliomas and to report our results. Methods Between March 2009 and June 2014, 12 patients with head and neck paragangliomas have been referred to our clinic: in three cases had jugular paragangliomas, five cases had carotid body paragangliomas and three cases had tympanic paragangliomas. One patient had bilateral neck paragangliomas (right neck; carotid body paraganglioma, left neck; jugular pargangliomas). All of them received fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy with CyberKnife® up to a total median dose of 24 Gy (reference isodose 67–90%). The median tumor volume was 35.5 cc (range, 5.3—113.8 cc). The median follow up was 30 months (range, 0–66 months). Local tumor control was assessed according to RECIST criteria on follow-up imaging studies. Results There were no acute or late toxicity related with stereotactic radiotherapy after treatment. No local tumor progression was observed on magnetic resonance imaging and none of our patients showed progressive clinical status. Seven tumors shrinked in size (54%). Five tumors (46%) had stable size during follow up. Local control rate was 100%. Conclusion Stereotactic radiotherapy is a good alternative to surgery for the treatment of head and neck paragangliomas coming up with a clear benefit of acute and late side effects. CyberKnife® seems to be a safe and efficient system treating head and neck paragangliomas.

Background: Although the early re-polarization pattern known as a benign condition, it can result in idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of early repolarization pattern in young healthy men. Methods and Patients: Four hundred fourteen young healthy man were enrolled in the study. PR intervals, QRS durations, QT intervals and corrected QT durations were measured from electrocardiographic records. Early re-polarization pattern was defined as if an elevation J-point was greater than 0,1 mV according to the isoelectrical point. Results: The prevalence of early repolarization pattern was 23,2 % (n=96). Of these, we found early re-polarization pattern in inferior, lateral and inferolateral leads with 14,7%, 2,2% and 6,3% respectively. There was a significant relation between heart rate and elevation of J point. Conclusion: The prevalence of early repolarization pattern in young healthy men from Turkey was similar with the previously reported rates from different white populations.

Luxury consumption has an increasing trend despite the recent global economic crisis. Luxury tourism and luxury hospitality are among the leading categories that drive luxury consumption. The definition of luxury as well the luxury tourism destinations is not a constant and may vary from an individual to another. The destination to be travelled is one of the important criteria determining luxury perceptions. In this study, consumers’ luxury destination perceptions are sought to be determined in order to set a foundation to further develop upon in luxury destination studies that are in scarce supply in Turkey. This study area offers Turkey, which targets to achieve higher levels of tourism revenues in the next decade an important opportunity to realize this goal. The conspicuous luxury destinations and non-conspicuous destinations are determined by a two-stage survey study. The three conspicuous destinations appeared as Bodrum, Antalya and Çeşme as the outcome of the analysis carried out.

Aydın, Gökhan (Arel Author), Mobile devices and related services are attracting the interest of both marketing academicians and professionals as well as entrepreneurs. Mobile applications (apps) that work on these devices are promoted as individual service products or as supplementary services. In this context, this study aims to reveal the effect of visual elements in mobile app choice using app icons, the primary visual elements affecting consumer choice. The icons provide the first impression and are considered as the most frequently seen visual elements of apps. The visual and cognitive elements; color, symmetry, complexity, concreteness, familiarity and meaningfulness dimensions are used as icon characteristics. By utilizing the PAD model developed by Mahrabian and Russell, the effect of icon characteristics on users' dispositions and on download intentions was tested. Moreover, the effect of visual icon attributes on perceived quality was tested using the data collected through an online survey study. The analysis was carried out using structural equation modelling. This study aims to enable mobile app developers in improving their designs by revealing the effect of various visual elements on consumers' mobile app download intentions and expected to pioneer further studies in Turkey.

Aims and background We compared conformal, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) in early stage glottic cancer in terms of dosimetric features as target coverage, dose to the organs at risk and total treatment time. Methods and materials Five consecutive T1 glottic squamous cell carcinoma patients were selected for the study. Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), 3-field or 5-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (3F-IMRT and 5F-IMRT), or IMAT, which was in 2 different forms – a regular IMAT (R-IMAT) and an alternative IMAT (A-IMAT) with an unirradiated section, was planned for each patient. The prescribed dose was 63 Gy in 28 fractions. The minimum dose for 95% of the clinical target volume (D95), maximum dose point at clinical target volume (Dmax), total monitor units, left and right carotid artery doses (V35 and V50 – percentage of volume receiving 35 Gy and 50 Gy), and total treatment time were calculated for each plan. Results Median D95 values in the 5 plans studied with each technique ranged between 63 and 63.3 Gy (P = NS). Median Dmax values for each technique ranged between 65.4 and 70.8 Gy. The number of hot spots with IMRT and IMAT was significantly higher than with 3D-CRT plans. Conformal radiotherapy plans median V35 (93.6%) and V50 (76.6–83.3%) values for carotid arteries were significantly higher than with IMRT and IMAT (2.9%-11.4% and 0.0%). Average treatment times for 3D-CRT, 3F-IMRT, 5F-IMRT, R-IMAT and A-IMAT techniques were calculated as 64, 119, 147, 39 and 32 seconds, respectively. Conclusions IMAT has significantly decreased the treatment time compared to IMRT and 3D-CRT with acceptable homogeneous clinical target volume coverage and low carotid dose.

This study aims to understand the factors contributing to consumer attitude development towards and intention to use mobile payment systems. One of major mobile network operators’ mobile wallet application in Turkey was used as a proxy of the mobile payment systems. Survey methodology is used to collect data from subscribers by stratified random sampling among two distinct groups (users and nonusers). A total of 1395 questionnaires were collected from subscribers and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings highlight the importance of ease of use and usefulness in attitude development. On the other hand, security concerns were found to have low level of effects on attitudes and use intentions. Effect of social influence was found to be insignificant among the users. There were differences between users’ and non-users’ perceptions and beliefs indicated by significant differences in the majority of the constructs employed in the study.

The study was conducted to elucidate the possibility that a shift in color preferences of adults of the apple blossom beetle, Epicometis hirta, occurs sometime after the end of over-wintering and the onset blooming of Prunus spp. trees and between the termination of blooming and the death of the adults. Such information is needed to choose the best color of the traps used for the detection, monitoring and suppression of this major pest. In a randomized complete block experiment with 9 replicates at 3 different cherry orchard sites in Turkey, blocks of 11 differently colored traps each ere operated and serviced daily in cherry orchards from the end of hibernation of E. hirta the adults disappeared at the end of the season. The numbers of adult beetles captured in each of the 11 differently colored traps in each block were recorded daily. According to ANOVA and the Tukey's test (P < 0.01), significantly the largest numbers of E. hirta were sampled by floral white-colored traps in both the pre-bloom...

In this work, a new dynamical on-line learning algorithm for robust model-free neuro-adaptive control of a class of nonlinear systems with uncertain dynamics is proposed and experimentally tested in order to evaluate its performance and practical feasibility in industrial settings. The control application studied is the trajectory tracking control task for the first three joints of an open architecture articulated robot manipulator. The control scheme makes use of variable structure systems theory and the feedback-error-learning concept. An inner sliding motion is established in terms of the neurocontroller parameters, aiming to lead the error in its control signal towards zero. The outer sliding motion bears on the system under control, the state tracking error vector of which is simultaneously driven towards the origin of the phase space. The existing relation between the two sliding motions is shown. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed neural-network-based controller possesses a remarkable learning capability to control complex dynamical systems, virtually without requiring a priori knowledge of the plant dynamics and laborious start-up procedures. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study aims to find empirical evidence linking consumer based brand equity (CBBE) with financial performance of firms. Aaker’s CBBE approach is adopted and this equity is measured using a questionnaire developed from scales in existing literature. Differing from the extant literature, this study relates CBBE and firms’ performance by taking a direct approach in measuring financial performance by utilizing independently audited financial statements. A face-to-face survey study encompassing 28 companies from a variety of consumer goods industries was carried out in Turkey arriving at 505 valid responses. Firms’ financial performance was assessed using ten different performance indicators derived from financial statements submitted to Istanbul Stock Exchange. Following an exploratory factor analysis to reveal CBBE dimensions, a multiple regression analysis was carried out to test potential effects of CBBE factors on financial performance indicators. As an outcome of the analysis it has been seen that the components of CBBE positively affect most of the financial performance indicators to varying extents. Perceived quality dimension appears to be the major driver of financial performance followed by the composite factor encompassing brand awareness and brand association components.

Kullanımları dünya genelinde yaygınlaşan sosyal medya siteleri ciro yaratarak karlı birer işletme haline gelebilmek için günümüzde reklam destekli iş modelleri kullanmaktadır. Kullanıcıların ücretsiz olarak kullanmaya alıştığı bu platformlara erişim için ücret ödemek istemeyecekleri varsayımıyla reklam destekli modeller tercih edilmektedir. Bu çalışma içerisinde sosyal medya sitelerinin en yaygın kullanılanı olan Facebook üzerinde gösterilen reklamlara kullanıcıların tutumları ölçümlenmiş ve bu tutum ve tutumu oluşturan faktörlerin Facebook reklamlarını görmemek için para ödemeye etkisi test edilmiştir. Ödeme eğiliminde olan ve olmayan kullanıcılar arasında farklılar irdelenmiştir. Literatürde kabul görmüş ölçekler yardımıyla hazırlanan anket formu İnternet üzerinden Facebook kullanıcılarına dağıtılmış, elde edilen 327 soru formu bir ön-analiz sürecinden geçirilerek düşük kaliteli ve tam doldurulmamış anketler ayıklanarak 281 kullanılabilir soru formuna ulaşılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde yapısal eşitlik modellemesi kullanılmıştır. Gerçekleştirilen analiz sonuçlarına göre Facebook reklamlarına olan tutum ve tutumun öncülleri reklamları görmemek için ödeme niyetine olumsuz yönde etki etmektedir.

Rural tourism in Turkey has not received the interest it deserves compared to European countries. Theoretical studies along with applied projects are needed to increasethe awareness and draw interest to this important tourism area among populace and decision makers. The lack of extensive studies in Turkey creates an important research gap. To address this gap and improve the competitiveness of Turkey as a rural tourism destination, various applications that can improve awareness and attract interest are proposed in this study. Buyukcekmece Lake and Igneada Flood plain Forests were chosen as the application areas that have natural resources and unique historical heritage however lack amenities and relevant marketing activities to create interest. In this study both the destination competitiveness theories and worldwide applied best practices were analyzed. In this way a comparative analysis was carried out to assess and improve the rural tourism potential of these regions. Following the analysis, educational activities, agro/eco-tourism activities, touristic facilitiesthat can be constructed within the legal framework are proposed in detail. Establishment of a rural marketplace, development of nearby residential areas offeringaccommodation, food and commerce for visitors together with a tourism center were recommended asconstituents of a comprehensive rural tourism model. Keywords : Rural tourism, eco-tourism, destination marketing, tourism competitiveness, promoting rural tourism. JEL Classification: L83, O18, F13, M31