Learning To Become An English Language Teacher: Navigating The Self Through Peer Practicum

Pre-service English language teachers\u27 school practicum is key to their learning to become a teacher. However, a number of challenges are observed in its implementation. This paper addresses this issue by investigating how engaging in practicum as peers can function as mentoring support and how this process can influence their selves. A cohort of 16 senior pre-service English teachers was invited to participate in the study from a state university in the west of Turkey. We collected qualitative data through dialogic verbal records and post-practicum interviews. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that pre-service teachers provided for each other different forms of sustained psychosocial support in discovering knowledge about teaching and developing a sense of self as a teacher through dialogic interaction with peers. The paper discusses the implications of peer practicum for reconstructing practicum models already in practice in the research context and beyond

Kinetic evaluation of L-Dopa loaded WGA-grafted nanoparticles

Drug release is a critical parameter in the discipline of drug delivery for years. The determination of in vitro release kinetics of active substances from drug systems plays a critical role in predicting and managing of both efficacy and safety. Kinetics is more than a scientific goal; it is a fundamental quality parameter of all type of drugs. Kinetic models are developed to determine drug release from delivery systems which the released drug amount (Q) is plotted versus time; t or as a function of time Q=f (t). Kinetic models facilitate the understanding of release pattern in enabling to design an effective formulation. In this study wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) conjugated, L-Dopa loaded, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles were analyzed for determining the release pattern of L-Dopa. Higuchi, zero order, first order, Hixon Crowell and Korsmeyer-Peppas models were investigated. Hixson Crowell model was found to be the best fitted kinetic model in L-Dopa loaded nanoparticles (r2 =0.9828). [Med-Science 2020; 9(2.000): 385-8

Inflammatory cell patterns in the nasal mucosa of patients with idiopathic rhinitis.

Background: Nonallergic rhinitis comprises many subgroups of rhinitis (vasomotor rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis with eosinophilia syndrome, occupational rhinitis, idiopathic rhinitis, etc. in which its main feature is known to be free of allergy. We evaluate the cellular infiltrate of subjects with idiopathic rhinitis and compare them with allergic and control counterparts for detecting underlying pathophysiology

Homocysteine Levels in Parkinson’s Disease: Is Entacapone Effective?

Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels may increase in levodopa-treated patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) as a consequence of levodopa methylation via catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Results from previous studies that assessed the effect of COMT inhibitors on levodopa-induced hyperhomocysteinemia are conflicting. We aimed to evaluate the effects of levodopa and entacapone on plasma Hcy levels. A hundred PD patients were enrolled to the study and divided into three treatment groups (group I: levodopa and/or dopamine agonists; group II: levodopa, entacapone, and/or a dopamine agonist; and group III: dopamine agonist alone). We measured the serum B12, folic acid, and Hcy levels in all patients. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of modified Hoehn and Yahr stages, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale II/III, Standardized Mini-Mental Test scores, and serum vitamin B12 and folic acid levels. Plasma median Hcy levels were found above the normal laboratory values in groups I and II, but they were normal in group III. However, there was no statistically significant difference in plasma Hcy levels between groups. Our results showed that levodopa treatment may cause a slight increase in the Hcy levels in PD compared with dopamine agonists and that COMT inhibitors may not have a significant effect on preventing hyperhomocysteinemia

Hydatid cyst in unusual location: Pterygopalatine fossa-infratemporal fossa

Introduction: Hydatid Cyst is a zoonotic infection most commonly caused by larvae of the Echinococcus granulosus. Humans are an accidental intermediate host following ingestion of the larvae