- Preprint Article
- 10.2139/ssrn.6219600
The Invisible Battle between Memes and Genes (A Warning About the Extinction of a Species)
- Jan 01, 2026
- SSRN Electronic Journal
- Ramin Saadat
Publications from 2021 to 2026
Showing 10 of 28 papers
The Invisible Battle between Memes and Genes (A Warning About the Extinction of a Species)
From Threshold to Museum: Conserving a Rare Neolithic Footprint Feature
Located in Bursa Province, the site of Barcın Höyük yielded a residential complex of rectangular rooms dating to the seventh millennium BCE. Just inside the threshold of one of the dwellings dating to 6400 BCE, the 2014 excavations discovered a set of two human footprints. The preservation of such features is rare in archaeological contexts yet given the unusual sequence of burning and plastering episodes, the imprints survived the ensuing 8400 years practically unharmed. After presenting background on the Neolithic context of the footprints, the paper discusses the archaeological and symbolic aspects of footprints placed in thresholds in Anatolia and the Near East. While the discovery of a horned cattle cranium directly beneath the footprint adds to the symbolic nature of the find at Barcın Höyük, it nonetheless complicated the process of lifting the block unharmed. The main focus of the paper is the planning, lifting, conservation and restoration phases that enabled the feature to be removed as a complete block, which was eventually transported intact and delivered to the İznik Museum. Attention is given to the conservation and restoration treatments and techniques as well as the methods and materials used when the feature/block was supported, lifted carried, stored and installed.
Read moreSovereign risk in emerging and advanced economies: The divergent roles of policy credibility and growth
Reconstruction of a Damaged Region in Antakya with Seismic Isolation Technology
Eleven provinces along the East Anatolian fault line have been severly affected from the Pazarcık M7.7 and Elbistan M7.6 earthquakes which occured in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye on February 6, 2023. Many buildings in these provinces were totally collapsed. However, it is observed that several buildings located in the vicinity of the collapsed buildings which received adequate engineering services either sustained controlled damage or did not receive any damage at all in accordance with their design target. It is clearly observed that bearing soil conditions have a significant effect on the level of damage to buildings during these earthquakes. Most of the buildings that were destroyed or severely damaged during these earthquakes were built on very weak soil such as alluvium. However, it is another fact that the centers of the cities were located on soft soil near rivers or plains having agricultural value. In this case, it is clear that the first attempt to be made is to reconstruct the cities where they used to be. It is also of great importance that the city center of Antakya, which is known to have an important value in terms of the Middle East history and the history of religions is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Hence, the city has to be reconstructed in the place where it is used to be. Considering the importance of the methods to be developed using high technology to increase the earthquake performance for the construction of the city center, a pilot study is conducted by choosing an existing zone with 9 apartment blocks at the city center. For this purpose, a block in Antakya General Şükrü Kanatlı Quarter with 9 buildings consisting of 5 and 8 floors is chosen as the pilot project region. A method has been developed to reconstruct these 9 structures in the region with seismic isolation. The foundation, insulator and plinth floors of the pilot region are designed as a single monolithic base and separate residential blocks placed on it. Basement floor consists of parking lots and shops. This study offers an economical solution that is safe against earthquakes, solves the parking problem of the blocks, and enables using infrastructure services of the central region of the city by preserving the current location and silhouette of the region, seismically protected with advanced technology.
Read moreStructural transformation and sources of growth in Turkey
This study has been prepared within the UNU-WIDER project ETD -Economic Transformation Database.
Stephen Mitchell 26 May 1948 (Oxford) – 30 January 2024 (Berlin)
Born into a family of intellectual distinction in May 1948, Stephen's upbringing was deeply rooted in academia in Oxford.His
Read moreEnabling widespread use of rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems: challenges and needs in twenty-first-century Istanbul
ABSTRACT Water supply has been a chronic challenge in Istanbul since its foundation. Authorities have sought alternative methods since the Roman and Byzantine periods. Cisterns, channels and wells surveyed in urban heritage sites in Istanbul provide evidence of rainwater harvesting (RWH) as a working solution in the past. However, RWH systems have only been utilized in contemporary plans and policies very recently, particularly since the climate change crisis entered the political agenda in Turkey. Taking this as a point of departure, this paper investigates the challenges of widespread implementation of RWH systems in Istanbul through a participatory inquiry with water management actors. Challenges and needs are explored through a set of in-depth interviews and participatory workshops with representatives from water management institutions. The findings reveal that current challenges are related to planning and development, legislation and governance, financing, society, infrastructure, installation and operation of systems. The potential solution is the establishment of a governance mechanism that enables collective action among relevant actors.
Read moreDetermination of Accelerated Fatigue Life of Commercial Passenger Bus by Virtual Proving Ground
<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">This study is aimed to analyze the fatigue life of the commercial vehicle, which is planned to be produced by Anadolu Isuzu company operating in the automotive field, with the result data of the tests carried out on the virtual test road.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Within the scope of the project, the Adams/Car model, which is a flexible vehicle model created and verified by tests, was provided with the modal coordinate inputs required for fatigue life analysis by performing vehicle dynamics analysis on virtual road routes using the Virtual Proving Ground (VPG) module.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The virtual roads on which the vehicle will be driven were determined according to the damage scenario experienced on the real road. By using the experienced road information and VPG module, virtual vehicle analysis was carried out at the same distance and velocity values.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The test rig, Adams controller, and solver settings were manually adjusted to have correct maneuvering of the Adams/Car vehicle module on the VPG roads. This adjustment is applied manually with changing steering torque Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) values. The purpose of this adjustment is to reduce the path distance error.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">The obtained outputs were defined as inputs to the nCode DesignLife package program, and fatigue life analysis was performed. With the result of this analysis, the areas where the vehicle was damaged were determined.</div></div>
Read moreA Comprehensive Review on Microspheres
Microspheres are typically free flow powders consisting of proteins or synthetic polymers which are biodegradable in nature. And ideally having a particle size less than 200μm. Microsphere after ball bearing effects because of their spherical shape. The therapeutic efficacy of microspheres contain drug depends upon their characteristics that can be altered in required terms by altering materials, methods, polymers or techniques used. A Microspheres has its drug dispersed throughout the particle i.e. the internal structure is a matrix of drug and polymeric excipients. It is the reliable means to deliver the drug to the target site with specificity, if modified, and to maintain the desired concentration at the site of interest without untoward effects. Microspheres received much attention not only for prolonged release, but also for targeting of anticancer drugs to the tumor. In future by combining various other strategies, microspheres will find the central place in novel drug delivery, particularly in diseased cell sorting, diagnostics, gene and genetic materials, safe, targeted and effective in vivo delivery and supplements as miniature versions of diseased organ and tissues in the body.
Read moreEditorial
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