Physics, Chemistry and Biology Teachers’ Reasons for Choosing the Profession of Teaching and Their Levels of Job Satisfaction with Respect to Certain Variables

The purpose of this study was to determine teachers’ reasons for choosing the profession of teaching and their level of job satisfaction and to investigate the effects of certain variables on their job satisfaction. The research data were collected via a questionnaire form to determine the demographic backgrounds of the participants and a Job Satisfaction Scale made up of 32 items in five parts. For the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, t-test and Scheffe test were used. Of all the participants, 34.8% of them preferred to be a teacher just because they wanted to do the profession of teaching; 20.8% of them reported that they incidentally became a teacher; 16.8% of them stated they became a teacher as it was easy to get employed after graduation; and only 0.7% of them believed the salary was satisfactory. The mean score of the participating teachers’ overall responses to the scale was calculated as 66.5, which demonstrated that the teachers had a moderate level of satisfaction with their jobs. Moreover, it was seen that the teachers’ levels of job satisfaction differed significantly with respect to their gender, age and fields of teaching

The Colourful Look of the Maussolleion at Halikarnassos

This paper aims to investigate the painting remains and with the help of parallel examples to propose a restitution of the original colourful look of the Maussolleion at Halikarnassos which is the monumental tomb of Karian satrap Maussollos who died in 353/352 BC. It is known that the Maussolleion stood intact at Halikarnassos until an earthquake in the 12th century AD. The monumentality and artistic effect of the building influenced many architects of its time who later constructed several monumental buildings and it was listed as one of “the Seven Wonders of the World” by the ancient writers. It is well known that ancient builders coloured all the building parts including sculptures, and the Maussolleion was originally richly coloured. The colouring was not only for visual effect but it also created protection layers for the monument as we know stood intact more than fifteen centuries. Newton reported that he had observed parts of the colours were still visible on the newly excavated fragments but he also mentioned that they quickly disappeared after the exposure. A coat of varnish should have protected these colours, which were mostly organic based. The polychromy of the ancient buildings and sculptures has long been in discussion because of the remains of organic colours are scarce and not easily visible by naked eye but the advanced technics applied on the remains in recent times proved that the use of colour in antiquity was extensively common. The investigations and analyses on the existing remains of the Maussolleion also point to the colourful look. Blue, red and creamy white varnish were the dominant colours used especially on the architectural details of the monument, but yellow, brown, light blue, purple and green were also used on the mouldings and sculpture. The technique of gilding and attachments from bronze, precious stones, gold etc. were also employed for the decoration. The use of bluish limestone on the lower parts of the cella, podium, plinthoi and probably for chamber walls was also for decorative purpose and this enriched the look of the monument. All of the evidence helps us to propose the best possible reconstruction on colouring of the monument. Further investigations in the future might reveal more evidence but for now, it seems this colourful look is quite acceptable and it is more than a hypothetical reconstruction for the most parts. The examples from Halikarnassos, Labraunda and Priene indicate the usage of a standard way of painting and point to the unity of the Hekatomnids’ architectural decoration as seen on many parts of the architectural progress of the region

Anticorrosion and Antimicrobial Tannic Acid-Functionalized Ti-Metallic Glass Ribbons for Dental Abutment

In this study, a recently reported Ti-based metallic glass (MG), without any toxic element, but with a significant amount of metalloid (Si-Ge-B, 18 atom %) and minor soft element (Sn, 2 atom %), was produced in ribbon form using conventional single-roller melt-spinning. The produced Ti60Zr20Si8Ge7B3Sn2 ribbons were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction to confirm their amorphous structure, and their corrosion properties were further investigated by open-circuit potential and cyclic polarization tests. The ribbon's surface was functionalized by tannic acid, a natural plant-based polyphenol, to enhance its performance in terms of corrosion prevention and antimicrobial efficacy. These properties can potentially be exploited in the premucosal parts of dental implants (abutments). The Folin and Ciocalteu test was used for the quantification of tannic acid (TA) grafted on the ribbon surface and of its redox activity. Fluorescent microscopy and zeta-potential measurements were used to confirm the presence of TA on the surfaces of the ribbons. The cytocompatibility evaluation (indirect and direct) of TA-functionalized Ti60Zr20Si8Ge7B3Sn2 MG ribbons toward primary human gingival fibroblast demonstrated that no significant differences in cell viability were detected between the functionalized and as-produced (control) MG ribbons. Finally, the antibacterial investigation of TA-functionalized samples against Staphylococcus aureus demonstrated the specimens' antimicrobial properties, shown by scanning electron microscopy images after 24 h, presenting a few single colonies remaining on their surfaces. The thickness of bacterial aggregations (biofilm-like) that were formed on the surface of the as-produced samples reduced from 3.5 to 1.5 mu m