Assessment of teachers' perceptions of organizational citizenship behaviors and psychological empowerment: An empirical analysis in Turkey

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCM) are discretionary individual behaviors that are not directly recognized by the reward system, but in the aggregate promote the overall effectiveness and functioning of the organization. Scholarly concern in OCB has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Nevertheless, there are significant research gaps and key issues yet to he addressed. Furthermore, employee empowerment can be conceptualized as the symbolic construction of the personal state of employees characterized by competence, or the skill and ability to perform effectively, and control, or the authority and autonomy to act. The main purpose of our study is to measure of organizational citizenship behaviors and psychological empowerment on teachers.This empiric research is planned to be realized by surveying method. Teachers in province Bursa have been reached and asked to participate in the study. We reached to 332 participants. The survey instrument included organizational citizenship behaviors, psychological empowerment and demographic questions about the participants. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Atherosclerosis in geriatric patients known to be healthy

Background: The aim of the present study is to determine the presence of atherosclerosis in geriatric patients who are known to be healthy and examine sociodemographic and laboratory parameters affecting the presence of atherosclerosis.Method: 90 healthy volunteers including 66(73.3%) non-geriatric ones and 24(26.7%) geriatric ones were included in the study. It was analyzed whether there was a correlation between the two groups in terms of the parameters of gender, age average, alcohol consumption, smoking, carotid intima-media thickness (CA-IMT), and pulse wave velocity (PWV). Sociodemographic and laboratory parameters of the volunteers with and without atherosclerosis in the geriatric group were examined. Results: Among geriatric volunteers (Group 1), 13(54.2%) were male; whereas, among non-geriatric volunteers (Group 2), 41(62.1%) were male. CA-IMT was determined to be higher in Group 1 (averagely 0.80±0.12 mm) than Group 2 (averagely 0.62±0.14 mm) (p:<0.001). PWV was significantly higher in Group 1 (averagely 10.32±1.44 m/s) than Group 2 (6.26±1.09 m/s) (p:<0.001). After PWV or CA-IMT examination, atherosclerosis findings were determined in 12 healthy geriatric volunteers (50%) in Group 1.Conclusion: It should be remembered that even though atherosclerosis can be frequently observed in geriatric individuals who are known to be healthy, it may also go unnoticed. Determination of atherosclerosis with noninvasive methods will be helpful in preventing complications that might be caused by atherosclerosis.

Investigation of the blastocystis hominis frequency in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

AimIn this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between Blastocystis hominis infection and inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods: In this study, the frequency of B. hominis in the stool samples of 52 patients applied to Microbiology laboratory and pre-diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome in January 2013-June 2013 was investigated, retrospectively. Microscopic investigations were evaluated after macroscopic examination. For this purpose, the stool samples of the diarrheal cases were investigated by trichrome staining after they were prepared by native-lugol and formol ethyl acetate concentration method. The results were compared with the examination of 2160 stool samples sent to our laboratory during the same period. Results: Stool samples of 52 patients pre-diagnosed with IBS were accepted to our laboratory in January 2013-June 2013. 13 of the patients were found as B. hominis positive. Weight loss and anorexia was identified only in one patient while abdominal pain, diarrhea and gas complaints were identified in all of the IBH and B. hominis positive patients. During the same period, parasites were detected in 96 (4.4%) of 2160 stool samples sent to our laboratory and the most common was B. hominis 48 (2.2%). 452 of these patients applied with diarrhea symptoms and B. hominis was detected in 36 samples (7.96%). Conclusion: The limited studies investigating the presence of B. hominis in patients with irritable bowel syndrome are far from illuminating the role of this agent in disease pathogenesis. We believe that further investigations should be performed. In this study, 25% of the patients were found as positive. J Clin Exp Invest 2014; 5 (2): 242-24

A Survey of Social Network Forensics

Social networks in any form, specifically online social networks (OSNs), are becoming a part of our everyday life in this new millennium especially with the advanced and simple communication technologies through easily accessible devices such as smartphones and tablets. The data generated through the use of these technologies need to be analyzed for forensic purposes when criminal and terrorist activities are involved. In order to deal with the forensic implications of social networks, current research on both digital forensics and social networks need to be incorporated and understood. This will help digital forensics investigators to predict, detect and even prevent any criminal activities in different forms. It will also help researchers to develop new models / techniques in the future. This paper provides literature review of the social network forensics methods, models, and techniques in order to provide an overview to the researchers for their future works as well as the law enforcement investigators for their investigations when crimes are committed in the cyber space. It also provides awareness and defense methods for OSN users in order to protect them against to social attacks

Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to improve the health and social care and wellbeing of minoritised ethnic groups with chronic conditions or impairments: protocol for the mixed methods intersectional asset-based study CICADA

BACKGROUND: The pandemic has inequitably impacted the experiences of people living with ill health/impairments or from minoritised ethnic groups across all areas of life. Given possible parallels in inequities for disabled people and people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, their existence before the pandemic and increase since, and the discriminations that each group faces, our interest is in understanding the interplay between being disabled AND being from a minoritised ethnic group. OBJECTIVE: The overarching aim of the CICADA project, building on this understanding, is to improve pandemic and longer-term support networks and access to and experiences of care, services and resources for these under-served groups, both during the pandemic and longer term, reducing inequities and enhancing social, health and wellbeing outcomes. METHODS: This mixed methods study involves three 'sweeps' of a new UK survey, secondary analyses of existing cohort and panel surveys, a rapid scoping review, a more granular review, and qualitative insights from over 200 semi-structured interviews including social network/map/photo elicitation methods, and two subsequent sets of remote participatory research workshops. Separate stakeholder co-creation meetings, running through the study, will develop analyses and outputs. Our longitudinal study design enables us to explore significant relationships between variables in the survey data we collect, and also changes in variables with time, including consideration of varying pandemic contexts. The qualitative data will provide more granular detail. We will take a strengths and assets-based approach, underpinned by the social model of disability and by intersectional considerations, to challenge discrimination. Our exploration of the social determinants of health and wellbeing is framed by the social ecological model. RESULTS: The CICADA project was funded by the Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in March 2021 and began in May 2021. Further work within the project (84 interviews) was commissioned in March 2022, focussing on mental health specifically in North-East England, Greater Manchester and the North-West Coast. Data collection began in August 2021, with the last participants due to be recruited in September 2022. As of January 2022, 5,792 survey respondents and 227 interviewees had provided data. From April 2022, the time of article submission, we will recruit participants for the sub-study and wave 2 of the surveys and qualitative work. We expect results to be published by winter 2022. CONCLUSIONS: In studying the experiences of disabled people with impairments and those living with chronic conditions who come from certain minoritised ethnic groups, we are aiming for transformative research to improve their health and wellbeing. CLINICALTRIAL: INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT: DERR1-10.2196/38361

Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to improve the health and social care and wellbeing of minoritised ethnic groups with chronic conditions or impairments: protocol for the mixed methods intersectional asset-based study CICADA

The pandemic has inequitably impacted the experiences of people living with ill health/impairments or from minoritised ethnic groups across all areas of life. Given possible parallels in inequities for disabled people and people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, their existence before the pandemic and increase since, and the discriminations that each group faces, our interest is in understanding the interplay between being disabled AND being from a minoritised ethnic group. OBJECTIVE: The overarching aim of the CICADA project, building on this understanding, is to improve pandemic and longer-term support networks and access to and experiences of care, services and resources for these under-served groups, both during the pandemic and longer term, reducing inequities and enhancing social, health and wellbeing outcomes. METHODS: This mixed methods study involves three 'sweeps' of a new UK survey, secondary analyses of existing cohort and panel surveys, a rapid scoping review, a more granular review, and qualitative insights from over 200 semi-structured interviews including social network/map/photo elicitation methods, and two subsequent sets of remote participatory research workshops. Separate stakeholder co-creation meetings, running through the study, will develop analyses and outputs. Our longitudinal study design enables us to explore significant relationships between variables in the survey data we collect, and also changes in variables with time, including consideration of varying pandemic contexts. The qualitative data will provide more granular detail. We will take a strengths and assets-based approach, underpinned by the social model of disability and by intersectional considerations, to challenge discrimination. Our exploration of the social determinants of health and wellbeing is framed by the social ecological model. RESULTS: The CICADA project was funded by the Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in March 2021 and began in May 2021. Further work within the project (84 interviews) was commissioned in March 2022, focussing on mental health specifically in North-East England, Greater Manchester and the North-West Coast. Data collection began in August 2021, with the last participants due to be recruited in September 2022. As of January 2022, 5,792 survey respondents and 227 interviewees had provided data. From April 2022, the time of article submission, we will recruit participants for the sub-study and wave 2 of the surveys and qualitative work. We expect results to be published by winter 2022. CONCLUSIONS: In studying the experiences of disabled people with impairments and those living with chronic conditions who come from certain minoritised ethnic groups, we are aiming for transformative research to improve their health and wellbeing

Honey Plants of Düzce University Ornamental and Medicinal Plants Botanical Garden

In this study, melliferous plants that the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) can benefit from among the taxa planted in Düzce University Ornamental and Medicinal Plants Botanical Garden, are presented. Among the 451 taxa planted in the botanical garden, those with these characteristics were determined by reviewing studies on the subject. Of the 165 taxa (36.58%) included in the honey plant class; 119 contain both nectar and pollen, 25 contain pollen, 13 contain nectar, 4 contain both pollen and insect secretion (IS) or sweet sap (SS), 2 contain pollen, nectar and IS or SS, 1 contain both nectar and SS, 1 contain only IS. In order to prevent the decrease in pollinator and pollinator insects, whose numbers are decreasing due to global climate change, a "Bee and Insect Hotel" was placed in the botanical garden. For this reason, the majority of the plants selected for planting were chosen from taxa with honey plant properties. The main purpose here is both to pollinate the plants in the botanical garden and to show and explain the effects of insect species on pollination through nature education

Non-invasive diagnostic tests for Helicobacter pylori infection

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection has been implicated in a number of malignancies and non-malignant conditions including peptic ulcers, non-ulcer dyspepsia, recurrent peptic ulcer bleeding, unexplained iron deficiency anaemia, idiopathic thrombocytopaenia purpura, and colorectal adenomas. The confirmatory diagnosis of H pylori is by endoscopic biopsy, followed by histopathological examination using haemotoxylin and eosin (H & E) stain or special stains such as Giemsa stain and Warthin-Starry stain. Special stains are more accurate than H & E stain. There is significant uncertainty about the diagnostic accuracy of non-invasive tests for diagnosis of H pylori. OBJECTIVES: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of urea breath test, serology, and stool antigen test, used alone or in combination, for diagnosis of H pylori infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic people, so that eradication therapy for H pylori can be started. SEARCH METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Science Citation Index and the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Database on 4 March 2016. We screened references in the included studies to identify additional studies. We also conducted citation searches of relevant studies, most recently on 4 December 2016. We did not restrict studies by language or publication status, or whether data were collected prospectively or retrospectively. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included diagnostic accuracy studies that evaluated at least one of the index tests (urea breath test using isotopes such as13C or14C, serology and stool antigen test) against the reference standard (histopathological examination using H & E stain, special stains or immunohistochemical stain) in people suspected of having H pylori infection. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened the references to identify relevant studies and independently extracted data. We assessed the methodological quality of studies using the QUADAS-2 tool. We performed meta-analysis by using the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) model to estimate and compare SROC curves. Where appropriate, we used bivariate or univariate logistic regression models to estimate summary sensitivities and specificities. MAIN RESULTS: We included 101 studies involving 11,003 participants, of which 5839 participants (53.1%) had H pylori infection. The prevalence of H pylori infection in the studies ranged from 15.2% to 94.7%, with a median prevalence of 53.7% (interquartile range 42.0% to 66.5%). Most of the studies (57%) included participants with dyspepsia and 53 studies excluded participants who recently had proton pump inhibitors or antibiotics.There was at least an unclear risk of bias or unclear applicability concern for each study.Of the 101 studies, 15 compared the accuracy of two index tests and two studies compared the accuracy of three index tests. Thirty-four studies (4242 participants) evaluated serology; 29 studies (2988 participants) evaluated stool antigen test; 34 studies (3139 participants) evaluated urea breath test-13C; 21 studies (1810 participants) evaluated urea breath test-14C; and two studies (127 participants) evaluated urea breath test but did not report the isotope used. The thresholds used to define test positivity and the staining techniques used for histopathological examination (reference standard) varied between studies. Due to sparse data for each threshold reported, it was not possible to identify the best threshold for each test.Using data from 99 studies in an indirect test comparison, there was statistical evidence of a difference in diagnostic accuracy between urea breath test-13C, urea breath test-14C, serology and stool antigen test (P = 0.024). The diagnostic odds ratios for urea breath test-13C, urea breath test-14C, serology, and stool antigen test were 153 (95% confidence interval (CI) 73.7 to 316), 105 (95% CI 74.0 to 150), 47.4 (95% CI 25.5 to 88.1) and 45.1 (95% CI 24.2 to 84.1). The sensitivity (95% CI) estimated at a fixed specificity of 0.90 (median from studies across the four tests), was 0.94 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.97) for urea breath test-13C, 0.92 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.94) for urea breath test-14C, 0.84 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.91) for serology, and 0.83 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.90) for stool antigen test. This implies that on average, given a specificity of 0.90 and prevalence of 53.7% (median specificity and prevalence in the studies), out of 1000 people tested for H pylori infection, there will be 46 false positives (people without H pylori infection who will be diagnosed as having H pylori infection). In this hypothetical cohort, urea breath test-13C, urea breath test-14C, serology, and stool antigen test will give 30 (95% CI 15 to 58), 42 (95% CI 30 to 58), 86 (95% CI 50 to 140), and 89 (95% CI 52 to 146) false negatives respectively (people with H pylori infection for whom the diagnosis of H pylori will be missed).Direct comparisons were based on few head-to-head studies. The ratios of diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) were 0.68 (95% CI 0.12 to 3.70; P = 0.56) for urea breath test-13C versus serology (seven studies), and 0.88 (95% CI 0.14 to 5.56; P = 0.84) for urea breath test-13C versus stool antigen test (seven studies). The 95% CIs of these estimates overlap with those of the ratios of DORs from the indirect comparison. Data were limited or unavailable for meta-analysis of other direct comparisons. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: In people without a history of gastrectomy and those who have not recently had antibiotics or proton ,pump inhibitors, urea breath tests had high diagnostic accuracy while serology and stool antigen tests were less accurate for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection.This is based on an indirect test comparison (with potential for bias due to confounding), as evidence from direct comparisons was limited or unavailable. The thresholds used for these tests were highly variable and we were unable to identify specific thresholds that might be useful in clinical practice.We need further comparative studies of high methodological quality to obtain more reliable evidence of relative accuracy between the tests. Such studies should be conducted prospectively in a representative spectrum of participants and clearly reported to ensure low risk of bias. Most importantly, studies should prespecify and clearly report thresholds used, and should avoid inappropriate exclusions

Lightweight Design of a Rear Axle Connection Bracket for a Heavy Commercial Vehicle by Using Topology Optimisation: A Case Study

An important design challenge of modern vehicles is mass reduction. Hence in many cases, mechanical design of vehicle components covers different optimization processes. One important structural optimization technique which is highly utilised in weight reduction applications is the topology optimization. This paper contains a multi-stage optimization based on the topology and design optimizations. During this study, the mechanical design of a rear axle-chassis connection bracket is achieved. First of all, the design load of the bracket was determined through a multibody dynamics analysis. This load case was determined among various driving conditions and the most critical load case was indicated as the design load of the bracket. This process was executed by using Adams/CarT software. Subsequently, a design volume for the bracket was decided, which specifies the domain of topology optimization that will be employed later on. The determination of the design domain was made by considering the structural position of the design component, the neighbor components of the rear axle and the chassis. In this manner, the basic shape and dimensions of the bracket were created. The unnecessary volume of the draft design, which is not properly loaded under the design conditions was determined and removed from the design by means of topology optimization. The topology optimization was run in topology optimization module of ANSYS (R) Workbench 18.2 finite element analysis (FEA) software package. In the light of the primary shape obtained from the topology optimization study, a producible initial design model was built. This model was then subjected to FE analysis under the same circumstances with the draft model, in order to perform strength and deformation assessments of the initial design. Correspondingly, the critical regions were determined where stress concentrations were observed. The model was updated in a way that the stress values were reduced in these regions through the response surface methodology (RSM). The comparisons between the result and the initial geometries reveal that the mass of the connection bracket was reduced by 63%. Besides, the total deformation which was dropped by the design optimization is 13% lower than the initial design that was generated with the influence of topology optimization result

A Survey of Social Network Forensics

Social networks in any form, specifically online social networks (OSNs), are becoming a part of our everyday life in this new millennium especially with the advanced and simple communication technologies through easily accessible devices such as smartphones and tablets. The data generated through the use of these technologies need to be analyzed for forensic purposes when criminal and terrorist activities are involved. In order to deal with the forensic implications of social networks, current research on both digital forensics and social networks need to be incorporated and understood. This will help digital forensics investigators to predict, detect and even prevent any criminal activities in different forms. It will also help researchers to develop new models/techniques in the future. This paper provides literature review of the social network forensics methods, models, and techniques in order to provide an overview to the researchers for their future works as well as the law enforcement investigators for their investigations when crimes are committed in the cyber space. It also provides awareness and defense methods for OSN users in order to protect them against to social attacks