Publications by authors named "Mehmet Ali Balcı"

This study investigates disruptions in functional brain networks in Parkinson's Disease (PD), using advanced modeling and machine learning. Functional networks were constructed using the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model, which captures nonlinear and asymmetric dependencies between regions of interest (ROIs). Key network metrics and information-theoretic measures were extracted to classify PD patients and healthy controls (HC), using deep learning models, with explainability methods employed to identify influential features.

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This study conducts an in-depth analysis of clustering small molecules using spectral geometry and deep learning techniques. We applied a spectral geometric approach to convert molecular structures into triangulated meshes and used the Laplace-Beltrami operator to derive significant geometric features. By examining the eigenvectors of these operators, we captured the intrinsic geometric properties of the molecules, aiding their classification and clustering.

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This study investigates the clustering patterns of human β-secretase 1 (BACE-1) inhibitors using complex network methodologies based on various distance functions, including Euclidean, Tanimoto, Hamming, and Levenshtein distances. Molecular descriptor vectors such as molecular mass, Merck Molecular Force Field (MMFF) energy, Crippen partition coefficient (ClogP), Crippen molar refractivity (MR), eccentricity, Kappa indices, Synthetic Accessibility Score, Topological Polar Surface Area (TPSA), and 2D/3D autocorrelation entropies are employed to capture the diverse properties of these inhibitors. The Euclidean distance network demonstrates the most reliable clustering results, with strong agreement metrics and minimal information loss, indicating its robustness in capturing essential structural and physicochemical properties.

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Bumblebees are crucial pollinators, providing essential ecosystem services and global food production. The success of pollination services relies on the interaction between sensory organs and the environment. The antenna functions as a versatile multi-sensory organ, pivotal in mediating chemosensory/olfactory information, and governs adaptive responses to environmental changes.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers analyzed data from 330 patients diagnosed with GCA, finding that 18.8% experienced relapses during a follow-up period, and only 23.8% were able to stop GC treatment entirely.
  • * The study highlighted that a significant portion of patients (66.2%) had at least one indication of damage due to vasculitis, and there were also considerable side effects related to GC treatment.
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Objectives: Paraneoplastic arthritis (PA) is one of the paraneoplastic syndromes. Both laboratory and clinical findings similar to rheumatological diseases can be seen. In this study we aimed to present the clinical and laboratory findings, malignancy types and pathological diagnoses of patients with paraneoplastic arthritis.

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One of the most important policies of the European Union is regional development, which comprises measures of enhancing economic growth and citizens' living standards via strategic investment. Considering that economic growth and wellbeing are intertwined from the perspective of EU policies, this study examines the relationship between wellbeing-related infrastructure and economic growth in 212 NUTS 2 regional subdivisions across the members of Eu-28 during the period 2001-2020. We therefore analyzed data from 151 Western Europe regions and 61 Central and Eastern Europe regions by means of a panel data analysis with the first-difference generalized method of moments estimator.

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Article Synopsis
  • Graph kernels are effective in analyzing discrete geometric data by preserving graph topological structures and enabling machine learning on vector data that evolves into graphs.
  • A unique kernel function is proposed to assess the similarity of point cloud data, which is essential for various applications.
  • This research highlights the effectiveness of the new kernel in measuring similarity and categorizing point clouds based on their underlying discrete geometry.
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Although many studies have shown that deep learning approaches yield better results than traditional methods based on manual features, CADs methods still have several limitations. These are due to the diversity in imaging modalities and clinical pathologies. This diversity creates difficulties because of variation and similarities between classes.

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Objectives: In this study, we aimed to identify patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who are genetically at risk for developing atherosclerosis.

Patients And Methods: Between November 2014 and May 2016, a total of 38 patients with SLE (36 females, 2 males; mean age: 37.6 years; range, 18 to 71 years) and 32 healthy females (mean age: 31.

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Objective: To compare the clinical features, laboratory findings, and prognosis of Behçet's disease (BD) patients with and without Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS).

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study investigated 61 (M/F: 41/20) patients with BD, having coexistent BCS, and 169 (M/F:100/69) BD patients as the control group without BCS from 22 different centers of Turkey diagnosed between 1990 and 2017.

Results: Of the total 61 BD patients with BCS, the onset of the first symptom and the median age of diagnosis were earlier in contrast to BD patients without BCS (p = 0.

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  • The study aimed to evaluate the impact of anti-TNF-α drugs on liver and kidney functions in patients with ankylosing spondylitis over a one-year period.
  • 148 patients were analyzed, with their disease activity and laboratory results compared before and after treatment at 3, 6, and 12 months.
  • Results showed significant improvement in disease activity without major liver or kidney damage, even though slight increases in liver enzymes were observed, indicating that these drugs did not lead to hepatotoxicity or nephrotoxicity in this case.
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Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of long-term use of hydroxychloroquine (HQ) on the pachymetric, aberrometric, and densitometric values of the cornea and corneal endothelium in lupus patients.

Method: Twenty-two eyes (study group) of 22 patients using HQ for treatment of lupus and 25 eyes (control group) of 25 healthy individuals were included in this prospective study. A specular microscopy was used to measure corneal endothelial cell density (ECD), percentage of hexagonal cells (HEX%), coefficient of variation of the cell size (CV).

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Nowadays, increase of analyzing stock markets as complex systems lead graph theory to play a key role. For instance, detecting graph communities is an important task in the analysis of stocks, and as planar maximally filtered graphs let us to get important information for the topology of the market. In this study, we first obtain correlation network representation of UK's leading stock market network by using a novel threshold method.

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Objective: Approximately 30-45% of patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) have been reported to have attacks despite colchicine treatment. Currently, data on the treatment of colchicine-unresponsive or colchicine-intolerant FMF patients are limited; the most promising alternatives seem to be anti-interleukin-1 (anti-IL-1) agents. Here we report our experience with the off-label use of anti-IL-1 agents in a large group of FMF patients.

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Dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare disease that may affect the skeletal muscles and the skin. Literature data on its incidence and prevalence are limited. There are no data on its incidence or prevalence in Turkey.

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Although gout is potentially curable, the management of this disease is often suboptimal. In this study, we investigated the treatment of gout in Turkey and also compared the management approaches to gout in different clinical specialties. Three hundred and nineteen consecutive patients (mean age 58.

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In our study, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of the new ACR/EULAR 2013 criteria to the ACR 1980 criteria in our systemic sclerosis (SSc) population. Three rheumatology centers from Turkey participated into this study. The medical records of SSc patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2014 were retrospectively reviewed, and their features at disease onset were recorded.

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