Browsing by Subject "Africa"
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Item Open Access Common telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter mutations in hepatocellular carcinomas from different geographical locations(WJG Press, 2015) Cevik, D.; Yildiz G.; Ozturk, M.AIM: To determine the mutation status of human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT ) promoter region in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from different geographical regions. METHODS: We analyzed the genomic DNA sequences of 59 HCC samples comprising 15 cell lines and 44 primary tumors, collected from patients living in Asia, Europe and Africa. We amplified a 474 bp DNA fragment of the promoter region of TERT gene including the 1295228 and 1295250 sequence of chromosome 5 by using PCR. Amplicons were then sequenced by Sanger technique and the sequence data were analyzed with by using DNADynamo software in comparison with wild type TERT gene sequence as a reference. RESULTS: The TERT mutations were found highly frequent in HCC. Eight of the fifteen tested cell lines displayed C228T mutation, and one had C250T mutation with a mutation frequency up to 60%. All of the mutations were heterozygous and mutually exclusive. Ten out of forty-four tumors displayed C228T mutation, and additional five tumors had C250T mutation providing evidence for mutation frequency of 34% in primary tumors. Considering the geographic origins of HCC tumors tested, TERT promoter mutation frequencies were higher in African (53%), when compared to non-African (24%) tumors (P = 0.056). There was also a weak inverse correlation between TERT promoter mutations and murine double minute 2 single nucleotide polymorphism 309 TG polymorphism (P = 0.058). Mutation frequency was nearly two times higher in established HCC cell lines (60%) compared to the primary tumors (34%). CONCLUSION: TERT promoter is one of most frequent mutational targets in liver cancer, and hepatocellular carcinogenesis is highly associated with the loss of telomere-dependent cellular senescence control. © The Author(s) 2015.Item Open Access Conradian quest versus dubious adventure: Graham and Barbara Greene in West Africa(Taylor and Francis., 2015) Kennedy, V.Graham Greene's Journey Without Maps (1936) largely conforms to the masculine tradition of imperialist travel writing, where the male protagonist emerges as the (sometimes conflicted) hero of his own narrative. Much of Journey Without Maps explores Liberia and Greene's psyche, creating parallels between Africa, the narrator's childhood, and the childhood of the human race, and embodying these parallels in a dense web of tropes and allusions. By contrast, as a woman, Barbara Greene is much less implicated in the imperialist tradition of travel writing, and at times Too Late to Turn Back disrupts some of the assumptions of this tradition through the demystification of the trope of adventure and excitement, the sporadic mockery of self and others, the self-deprecation, and the greater emphasis on reciprocity than is to be found in Journey Without Maps.Item Open Access The English school theory of international relations and peacebuilding : an analysis of peacebuilding interventions in Liberia and Sierra Leone through the world society framework(Bilkent University, 2015-12) Halistoprak, Burak ToygarAlthough the world society (WS) framework appears to be an important cornerstone in the theoretical triad of the English School (ES), it is the least developed concept amongst others (Buzan 2004). This dissertation's objective is to contribute to the literature which aims to develop and revitalize the WS framework, which is one of the three pillars of the ES of International Relations (IR). It uses this theoretical approach in the analysis of peacebuilding intervention practices. The dissertation proposes three specific parameters which constitute the progress from the international to world society framework. In this regard, changes in the (1) normative context, (2) agency and (3) identity appear as themes which differentiate the WS framework as a distinct theoretical category. The dissertation develops the argument that the progress from the international to world society overlaps with the change in the nature of intervention which have been evolving from traditional peacekeeping to new peacebuilding. The empirical sections of the dissertation focus on the peacebuilding experiences in Liberia and Sierra Leone. These cases are analyzed with specific references to the parameters emphasized in the theoretical chapters. Both qualitative analysis and quantitative content analysis methods are employed in the empirical chapters. According to the results, I suggest that the peacebuilding interventions are better understood and explained through the lenses of the WS framework compared to the international society framework which remains rather state-centric in terms of its normative context and agents. The results also challenge several long established arguments in the peacebuilding literature which suggest that the normative center of the peacebuilding is built upon the understanding of human/individual security.Item Restricted Gönül ve düşünce adamı: Fethi Gemuhluoğlu(Bilkent University, 2020) Şabudak, Ahmet Kerem; Gemuhluoğlu, Fethi Alican; Mutlu, Muhammed Fatih; Şanlı, Utku; Acuner, MertFethi Gemuhluoğlu 1950-1970 yılları arasında Türkiye'de önemli bir birleştirici güç ve fikir adamı olarak ortaya çıktı. Bu çalışmada Fethi Gemuhluoğlu'nun çocukluğu ve yetiştiği çevre, üniversite hayatı ve yazılarından bahsedildi. Gemuhluoğlu'nun Türkiye'de görev aldığı kurumlar ve etkilediği insanların Türkiye'ye etkisi tartışıldı. Kendisi çok göz önünde bulunmayı istemediği için Türkiye'ye sunduğu ilim, hizmet ve etkilere ışık tutulmaya çalışıldı.Item Restricted Joseph Conrad'ın "Karanlığın yüreği" adlı romanında imge ve anlam(1992) Elbir, BelginItem Open Access Mdm2 Snp309 G allele displays high frequency and inverse correlation with somatic P53 mutations in hepatocellular carcinoma(Elsevier, 2010) Acun T.; Terzioǧlu-Kara, E.; Konu, O.; Ozturk, M.; Yakicier, M. C.Loss of function of the p53 protein, which may occur through a range of molecular events, is critical in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) evolution. MDM2, an oncogene, acts as a major regulator of the p53 protein. A polymorphism in the MDM2 promoter, SNP309 (T/G), has been shown to alter protein expression and may thus play a role in carcinogenesis. MDM2 SNP309 is also associated with HCC. However, the role of SNP309 in hepatocarcinogenesis with respect to TP53 mutations is unknown. In this study, we investigated the distribution of the MDM2 SNP309 genotype and somatic TP53 (the p53 tumor suppressor gene) mutations in 99 human HCC samples from Africa, Europe, China and Japan. Samples exhibited striking geographical differences in their distribution of SNP309 genotypes. The frequency and spectrum of p53 mutations also varied geographically; TP53 mutations were frequent in Africa, where the SNP309 T/T genotype predominated but were rare in Europe and Japan, where the SNP309 G allele was present more frequently. TP53 mutations were detected in 18% (4/22) of SNP309 T/G and G/G and 82% (18/22) of SNP309 T/T genotype holders; this difference was statistically highly significant (P-value = 0.0006). Our results indicated that the presence of the SNP309 G allele is inversely associated with the presence of somatic TP53 mutations because they only coincided in 4% of HCC cases. This finding suggests that the SNP309 G allele may functionally replace p53 mutations, and in addition to known etiological factors, may be partly responsible for differential HCC prevalence. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Item Open Access The Relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Kanem-Bornu During the reign of Sultan Murad III(Bilkent University, 2016-09) Flynn, SébastienThis thesis focuses on the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Kanem-Bornu during the reign of Sultan Murad III (1574-1595) and that of mai Idris Alooma. It looks at the history of one of the main factors that led the Ottoman Empire in Africa, the Sahara trade. It describes the history of both the Ottomans in Tripoli and that of Kanem-Bornu. It analyses the role that the Ottoman Empire played in Tripoli and the regions south of it during the reign of Sultan Murad III. This research attempts to better contextualize the presence of the Ottoman Empire in Africa during the second half of the sixteenth century.