Mixed Methods Research in Special Education in Turkey: Learning from Researcher Experiences in Graduate Thesis

As a relatively young approach, mixed methods research (MMR) is a highly practical method to employ in special education due to its challenges and gains for the researchers. In this qualitative study, our aim is to explore the experiences and opinions of the researchers who completed their graduate thesis studies via MMR in special education in Turkey. We depended on hermeneutic (interpretive) phenomenological design and conducted focus group discussions with eight participants. Inductive thematic analysis has yielded four themes: (1) discovering the nature of MMR, (2) the reasons to opt for MMR, (3) the experience in conducting MMR, and (4) suggestions. The findings have revealed that understanding the mixed paradigm is a challenging task which requires a change in the mindset of researcher. Its strong functional features for special education have directed researchers towards MMR. However, many challenges raise the question: “to what extent do studies meet the MMR quality standards?” The limitations we observed in the theses have indicated that the quality standards are not adequately reflected. The relatively new nature of the method, researchers’ lack of knowledge and experience, and insufficient support from the supervisor were the sources of the challenges according to our findings. We can say that there is also a need for studies discussing the implementation of the method in special education and for guidelines that will plot a route

Assessment of Probiotic Properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Traditional Sourdoughs for Bread-Making in Turkey against Some Gut Conditions

This study aims to assess the probiotic properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria isolated from the traditional sourdoughs used for bread making in Turkey against some gut conditions. A total number of 29 samples from twelve provinces of Turkey were collected, and screened for the presence of lactic acid bacteria using microbiological methods. The microbiological screening yielded 148 presumptive isolates. Of them, 62.8% were characterized as lactic acid strains by VITEK® MS. Following that, the characterized isolates were subjected to probiotic property testing, including gastric acid resistance, bile resistance and hydrophobic ability. The results showed that 44.1% exceeded gastric pH resistance, 33.3% survived under gastrointestinal system bile salt conditions, and 10.8% exhibited high hydrophobicity ability. In conclusion, our study revealed that only 4.3% (1 Enterococcus faecium, 1 Lactobacillus brevis, 1 Lactobacillus pentosus, and 1 Lactobacillus plantarum) out of 93 lactic acid bacteria isolated from the traditional sourdoughs could meet all probiotic requirements against some gut conditions.

Torasemide Improves the Propionic Acid-Induced Autism in Rats: A Histopathological and Imaging Study

Objective: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disease in which impaired social behaviors, impaired sociality, and restricted and repetitive behaviors are seen. Bumetanide is a loop diuretic that inhibits Na+-K+-2Cl(-) cotransporter 1 and it is currently used in clinical phase studies in patients with autism spectrum disorder. In present research, it is purposed to demonstrate the beneficial effects of torasemide which is another Na+-K+-2Cl(-) cotransporter 1 inhibitor on an experimental autism model induced with propionic acid by providing imaging and brain tissue investigations. Methods: Male Wistar rats were used in the present study (n = 30). Propionic acid of 250 mg/kg/day was administrated intraperitoneally in rats to induce autism for 5 days. Three groups were created for present study as follows: group 1, normal control (n = 10); group 2, propionic acid and saline given group (n = 10); group 3, propionic acid + torasemide -administrated group (n = 10). Results: Torasemide group scored higher on behavioral tests compared to saline group. The brain levels of malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-2, interleukin-17, and Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-kappa B), Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were remarkably higher in propionic acid + saline group. In histopathology assessments, torasemide group had higher neuronal count of Cornu Ammonis 1, neuronal count of Cornu Ammonis 2 in hippocampus, and Purkinje cells in cerebellum. GFAP immunostaining index (Cornu Ammonis 1) and cerebellum were lower in torasemide group. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that mean lactate value was higher in propionic acid + saline group compared to torasemide group. Conclusion: Our experimental results showed that torasemide might enhance gamma-aminobutyric acid activity. Torasemide can be considered another promising Na+-K+-2Cl(-) cotransporter 1 inhibitor in the treatment of autism with a longer half-life and less side effects after further studies

AN EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST FOR STUDENT MOBILITY

University education is characterized by the atmosphere and opportunities offered to students to help master new skills, develop existing ones, realize and accept cultural diversity, hence broaden their horizons. Compared to past, students now have numerous alternatives either in the university in their home country or abroad. According to the statistics, 10% of the students graduated from university in the mid-1990s had studied abroad for different time periods (Jahr, Schomburg & Teichler, 2002). Undoubtedly, this number has probably increased given the fact that developments in technology have resulted in obvious easiness in communication and transportation. More importantly, there are now student exchange programs like Erasmus+ that help support student mobility.  Article visualizations

Childhood Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome With Prominent Neurological Involvement

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization.1 The difference in clinical severity between adults and children may be due to the differences in renin- angiotensin system receptors and altered inflammatory pathogen responses.

DC motorlarının kontrolü RF ASK ile yapılan kameralı takip sistemi

06.03.2018 tarihli ve 30352 sayılı Resmi Gazetede yayımlanan “Yükseköğretim Kanunu İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun” ile 18.06.2018 tarihli “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” gereğince tam metin erişime açılmıştır.Teknolojinin hızla gelişmesi ile birlikte insan hayatı daha kolay bir hale gelmeye başlamıştır. Özellikle robotik alanındaki gelişmelerle birlikte pek çok işlem insan gücüne gerek kalmaksızın otomatik makineler kullanılarak yapılmaya başlanmıştır. Gerek çalışanların işgücünden kazanmak gerekse insanların kullanılamayacağı yerlerde kullanılmak amacıyla pek çok robot geliştirilmiş ve geliştirilmeye devam edecektir.Bu tez çalışmasının amacı uzaktan kontrol edilebilen ve çevre görüntülerini kumanda merkezine aktarabilen bir takip sistemi geliştirmektir. Kumanda merkezi ve araç arasındaki kablosuz iletişimi sağlamak amacıyla RF ASK kullanarak iletişim yapan modüller kullanılmıştır.Tez çalışmasında alıcı ve verici devre olmak üzere iki adet uygulama devresi tasarlanmıştır. Verici devre kontrol panelinin içerisinde bulunmaktadır ve kullanıcının butonları kullanarak verdiği hız ve yön bilgilerini alıcı devreye aktarmaktadır. Kablosuz bu veri aktarımı 2400 bps hızında gerçekleştirilmektedir. Kumanda panelinde araç üzerinde bulunan kameranın yatay ve dikey hareketini sağlamak üzere dört adet yön tuşunun yanı sıra bu motorların hızlarını ayarlayabilmek için iki adet de hız tuşu bulunmaktadır. Bu tuşlar yardımıyla dört farklı hız kademesinde kamera yatay ve dikey hareket yapabilmektedir. Kablosuz kameradan alınan görüntüleri izleyebilmek amacıyla kontrol panelinin üzerine 7 inchlik bir LCD ekran yerleştirilmiştir.By the help of fast growing technology, the human life started to get easier. Especially, with the improvernents in the field of robotic lots of process started to be fulfilled by the automatic machines. Many robots were improved and are going to be improved not only to gain from the worker?s labour force but to use at the areas where people cannot be used.This thesis? goal is to develop a following system which can be remotely controlled and can transfer the surroundings? images to the headquarter. In order to provide the wireless connection between the vehicle and the headquarter, the modules which makes connections by using RF ASK was used.In this thesis work, two application circuits were designed as a receiver and transmitter. Transmitter circuit takes place in the control panel and it transfers the speed and direction information to the receiver circuit. This wireless data transfer occurs by the speed of 2400 bps. On the control panel, besides four direction keys which are for providing vertical and horizontal motions of the camera on the vehicle, there are also two speed keys to adjust the speed of the motors. By the help of these keys, the camera can do vertical and horizontal movements in four different speed levels. In order to watch the images which are acquired by the wireless camera, a 7 inch LCD screen was placed

ON FRAMED TZITZEICA CURVES IN EUCLIDEAN SPACE

Investigations are very important for non-regular curves in differential geometry. Framed curves have been used recently to study singular curves, and they have many contributions to singularity theory. In this study, framed Tzitzeica curves are introduced with the help of framed curves. In addition, some framed special curves that satisfy the Tzitzeica condition are given. New results have been obtained among the framed curves of these curves

PREDICTING PERCEIVED DIFFICULTY OF ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION (EMI) UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

Despite extensive research on students’ language-related difficulties, there is still little known about the predictors of difficulty of undergraduate courses for English Medium Instruction (EMI) students. The aim of the study was to investigate the predictive effect of several variables on the perceived difficulty of EMI from undergraduate students’ perspectives. Data came from a questionnaire applied to 511 undergraduate students from three EMI universities in Turkey. A binary logistic regression was used for the analysis of multiple determinants that could predict the difficulty of undergraduate courses as perceived by students. Findings indicated that gender, department, type of secondary school, the amount of time for self-study in English, duration and perceived usefulness of English preparatory training, and perceived ability in writing, speaking, and grammar were not statistically significant predictors of perceived difficulty. However, age, grade level, perceived ability in reading, listening, and vocabulary as well as receiving additional language support were found to be the significant predictors of the perceived difficulty in undergraduate courses in Turkish EMI settings. EMI students may benefit from orientation programs that can assist them in adjusting to university life, as well as personal academic advising that provides strategies for developing learning skills in undergraduate courses. Keywords: EMI students, undergraduate courses, perceived difficulty, logistic regression analysis

Non–Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants, Clinical Use, Real-World Data, and Reversal of Anticoagulant Effect

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice and is associated with a higher risk of thromboembolic events. CHA2DS2VASc score enables identification of those patients with AF who will most benefit from anticoagulation therapy and low-risk patients with AF who do not need any antithrombotic therapy. Antithrombotic drugs especially oral anticoagulants (OACs) are the mainstay of therapy to prevent stroke in patients with AF. Although vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) were the only available drugs for decades, numerous non–vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been developed and marketed for stroke prevention in recent years. The risk of stroke was reported to decline up to 68 % with OAC therapy, associated with good anticoagulation control with VKAs, assessed by time in therapeutic range (TTR). In low TTR values, VKAs were found to be associated with severe complications, and a minimum TTR of 58 % should be achieved to expect a net benefit from being on OAC therapy. Narrow therapeutic index, drug-drug interactions, and the need for close monitoring are the main disadvantages of VKAs, and management of patients have dramatically improved after the introduction of NOACs. NOACs have a more predictable anticoagulant affect which allows a fixed-dose regimen. The efficacy and safety of NOACs have been shown not only in large randomized controlled clinical trials but also in observational studies. The main advantages of NOACS such as “fixed-dose regimen” and “no need for regular anticoagulant therapy monitoring” may also be the Achilles heel of the use of these agents. Fixed-dose regimen may not be appropriate for elderly, for patients with chronic kidney disease, and for patients using interacting drugs. Adherence to NOAC therapy is another concern as it may be as low as 50 % in the chronic use of cardiovascular drugs, especially if the drug has no apparent affect to the patient. Thus, appropriate use of OACs among non-valvular AF (NVAF) patients is essential for stroke prophylaxis. We intended to review the use of OAC therapy among (NVAF) patients