Effect of blending conditions on the properties of EPDM/organoclay nanocomposites

17th International Conference on Composite Materials, ICCM-17; Edinburgh; United Kingdom; 27 July 2009 through 31 July 2009The effects of blending conditions on the microstructural and mechanical properties of EPDM / organo modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites at various clay loadings were investigated. The effects of the processing conditions were manifested in both the morphology and mechanical properties, which showed significant increase when optimized process conditions are applied.TÜBİTAK-MAG project 106M15

Social Skills, Problem Behaviors and Classroom Management in Inclusive Preschool Settings

This study aimed to determine preschool teachers’ classroom management skills and investigate the relationships between teachers’ classroom management skills and inclusion students’ social skills and problem behaviors. Relational screening model was used as the research method. Study group consisted of 42 pre-school teachers working in Kocaeli province and 42 inclusion students aged 4-7. Personal Information Form, Classroom Management Skills Inventory for Pre-school Teachers and Pre-School and Kindergarten Behavior Scale were used to collect data. Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis methods were utilized to analyze the descriptive statistics. Results revealed that participating pre-school teachers had high level of perceived classroom management skills, teachers’ classroom management skills did not differ based on inclusion students’ age and gender but they significantly differed based on teachers’ age, seniority, type of school they graduated from and staff status. Inclusion students were found to have moderate social skills and high level of problem behaviors. Children scores in social skills and problem behavior scales did not change based on age but they significantly differed based on gender. According to the results, no meaningful relationships existed between teachers’ classroom management skills and inclusion students’ social skills and problem behaviors

Zooplankton of Çat Dam Lake (Malatya-Turkey) with a new record for Turkish rotifers Lecane intrasinuata (Olofsson, 1917)

There are many studies on the zooplankton of Turkish lakes, many of which are about seasonal fluctuations, distribution and hydrological changes. In recent years many scientists focused their attention on the zooplankton of Turkish inland waters (Dumont and De Ridder, 1987; Segers et al., 1992). The family Lecanidae consists of one genus, Lecane Nitzsch, 1827 with about 200 species. This genus is the most common rotifer species inhabiting in various aquatic environments (Segers 1994, 1995, 2008). They are from Monogonont rotifers and are diagnosed by the retractile head, the structure of the foot and toes and by the trophy in the female (Segers, 1995). Lecanids have got a loricate body and the body is compressed dorso-ventrally. The dorso ventral plates are connected by a flexible membrane. The feet have got two primitive segments of which only the posterior is movable. Toes varied remarkably within individuals of the same species (Arora, 1965). Their bodies resemble each other which cause difficulties in identifying species (Segers et al., 1992).

COVID-19 infection, vaccine status, and avoidance behaviors in adults with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder: A cross-sectional study

ObjectiveWe aim to examine infection risk and vaccine status of COVID-19 in attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and evaluate the impact of demographic, clinical, and COVID-19-related factors on the infection status and behavioral avoidance of COVID-19. MethodsThis cross-sectional study assessed adults with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder recruited from an outpatient psychiatry clinic. Patients and healthy controls completed a survey on sociodemographic data, COVID-19 infection status, and vaccine status. COVID-19 Disease Perception Scale, COVID-19 Avoidance Attitudes Scale, Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccine Scale, Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Self-report Screening Scale for DSM-5, Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Self-Report Scale Symptoms Checklist, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were applied. ResultsNinety patients and 40 healthy controls participated. Patients did not differ from controls in COVID-19 infection and vaccine status, and behavioral avoidance of COVID-19. No demographic and clinical factor significantly affected the COVID-19 infection status. Patients scored higher than controls in the perception of COVID-19 as contagious (p = 0.038), cognitive avoidance of COVID-19 (p = 0.008), and positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine (p = 0.024). After adjustment of possible factors, a positive perception of the COVID-19 vaccine and a perception of COVID-19 as dangerous were the two factors significantly affecting behavioral avoidance of COVID-19 [R-2 = 0. 17, F(2) = 13.189, p < 0.0001]. ConclusionInfection and vaccine status of COVID-19 in patients did not significantly differ from controls. No demographic and clinical factor significantly affected the COVID-19 infection status. Approximately four-fifths of the patients were fully vaccinated as recommended by national and global health organizations. This has increased the knowledge base showing that the COVID-19 vaccine is acceptable and receiving the vaccine is endorsed by ADHD patients. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder itself may provoke no kind of mental disturbance in sense of perception of the danger of this disease. Our findings have increased the knowledge base showing that the COVID-19 vaccine is acceptable and the actual practice of receiving the vaccine is endorsed in this population. Our message for practice would be to take into account not only the core symptoms and the comorbidities of the disorder but also the perception of the disease while exploring its link with COVID-19

Clustering mobile trajectories for resource allocation in mobile environments

The recent developments in computer and communication technologies gave rise to Personal Communication Systems. Due to the nature of the PCS, the bandwidth allocation problem arises, which is based on the notion of bandwidth-on-demand. We deal with the problem of how to predict the position of a mobile client. We propose a new algorithm, called DCP, to discover user mobility patterns from collections of recorded mobile trajectories and use them for the prediction of movements and dynamic allocation of resources. The performance of the proposed algorithm is examined against two baseline algorithms. The simulation results illustrate that the proposed algorithm achieves recall that is comparable to that of the baseline algorithms and substantial improvement in precision. This improvement guarantees very good predictions for resource allocation with the advantage of very low resource consumption. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003

Mating type idiomorphs of Pyrenophora teres in Turkey

Pyrenophora teres f. maculata (Ptm) and Pyrenophora teres f. teres (Ptt) causes spot form and net form of net blotch diseases of barley, respectively. Although both forms of P. teres are morphologically similar, their symptoms and genetic background differ. In this study, 175 single spore (109 Ptm and 66 Ptt) isolates obtained from different regions of Turkey were evaluated for their mating type distribution and prevalence. Fungal isolates of both forms were verified using species-speci.c polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers. For mating type determination studies, duplex PCR was performed using MAT-specific single nucleotide polymorphism primers. Sixty and 49 of 109 Ptm isolates were found as MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 types, respectively and 43 and 23 of 66 Ptt isolates were found as MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 types, respectively. These results show the possibility of sexual reproduction among the Ptm isolates in Turkey and Ptt population of Central Anatolia, Turkey. However, the overall pattern of Ptt isolates did not support the sexual reproduction hypothesis in Turkey. Sexual reproduction in the life cycle of P. teres is important since it could lead to genetic and pathogenic variation. As a result of new sexual combinations more virulent pathotypes of P. teres may occur