Problem types used in math lessons: the relationship between student achievement and teacher preferences

WOS: 000378815600004The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the problems teachers preferred in mathematics lessons and student achievement in different types of problems. In accordance with this purpose, nine mathematics teachers were interviewed, and corresponding problems were prepared and administered to 225 eighth-grade students. The findings indicate that problem types are dependent on teacher preferences. It was found that curriculum-dependent and routine problems were dominant for teacher preferences. Students are more successful at with missing data, problems that are visual and do not require the use of different strategies. They have lower success at long problems, those that contain irrelevant data, problems that require the use of different strategies and difficult problem types. It was found that problem types at which students were successful and which teachers preferred were related. These results relay information about problems used in the learning environment and effect of problem-solving experiences on students' success

Water soluble distyryl-boradiazaindacenes as efficient photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy

We introduce a novel class of water soluble, extended conjugation boradiazaindacene dyes which are efficient singlet oxygen generators and have spectacular photoinduced cytotoxicity when excited in the "therapeutic window" of the electromagnetic spectrum

GNRI And Conut Scores: Simple Predictors of Sarcopenia in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

Objective To evaluate the correlation between sarcopenia and inflammation- and nutrition-based markers in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. Materials and methods Age, body mass index (BMI), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS), prognostic nutrition index (PNI), cachexia index (CIn), skeletal muscle index (SMI), controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score, and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) were evaluated in 185 patients. Ideal cut-off values for the GNRI score were determined with the ROC curve analysis, and the patients were divided into two groups as low and high GNRI. Sarcopenia was diagnosed using CT scanning, the gold standard method. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were done based on the above-listed parameters to assess the correlation between sarcopenia and changes in immuno-nutrition and inflammatory response. Kaplan-Meier analysis was also done to evaluate survival. Results Univariate analysis of the 185 patients based on the EGWSOP 2018 threshold values showed correlation between the presence of sarcopenia and male gender, diagnosed colon cancer, history of metastasectomy, BMI = 45, high CONUT score, and low GNRI score (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, low GNRI (HR: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.03-5.544; p = 0.040), and high-CONUT scores (HR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.06-3.73; p = 0.029) were identified as independent prognostic factors for the presence of sarcopenia. Conclusion GNRI and CONUT scores are elementary and practical predictors for sarcopenia, a condition which is associated with poor outcomes in mCRC patients

Retesting the psychometric characteristics of the European cancer research and treatment organization’s quality of life questionnaire palliative care 15 Turkish version (EQRTC QLQ C15-PAL) and evaluating the influencing factors

Purpose: The study aimed to retest the reliability and validity of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Core Quality of Life-15 Items Questionnaire for Palliative Care (EQRTC QLQ-C15-PAL) for the Turkish society and examine the influencing factors. Methods: The study was conducted in cancer patients who applied palliative treatment in the Dokuz Eylul University Oncology Institute Medical Oncology Division between May of 2014 and January of 2015. The demographic data collection form, performance status, and the EQRTC QLQ-C15-PAL scale were employed in order to gather data. Results: A total of 164 patients completed the study. The total Cronbach's alpha value for the scale was 0.794. The mean scores including the overall questionnaire, and subscales, which were calculated after two measurements conducted at an interval of three weeks, presented a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01). Patients with higher and lower ECOG scores had significant differences in terms of total QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire scores as well as its subscales of physical, emotional functioning (PF, EF), and fatigue (FA) (p < 0.05). The statistically significant differences between patients' ECOG scores and QLQ-C15-PAL total score, and PF, EF, FA, and pain (PA) scores were 0.375, 0.439, 0.245, and 0.221, respectively (p < 0.001). The QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire is able to measure 94.0% of the factors measured by the QLQ-C30-PAL. The variables included in the model affected the patients' quality of life to the extent of 44.0%. Conclusion: It has been shown that the scale is a valid/reliable instrument to detect the quality of life of Turkish cancer patients. Keywords: Cancer, Palliative care, Quality of lif

A cross-sectional optical coherence tomography study in patients on taxane-based therapy and a case report with the literature review

Purpose To evaluate the characteristics of macular retinal and subfoveal choroidal changes in patients already on taxane-based therapy by the help of spectral domain optical coherence tomograpy (SD-OCT) and determine the incidence of taxane- related cystoid macular edema (CME). Materials and methods In this cross-sectional case-control study, 202 patients who received taxane-based therapy due to treatment of various cancer and age and sex-matched 200 healthy control subjects were examined. Only patients who received at least 4 cycles of taxane-based therapy were taken into consideration for the taxane group. Taxane-based therapy was further divided into two subgroups; paclitaxel group (149 patients) and docetaxel group (53 patients). Central macular thickness (CMT) and central subfoveal choroidal thickness (CCT) were measured just once during their ongoing chemotherapy using SD-OCT and enhanced-depth imaging (EDI) OCT by Heidelberg OCT by a single examiner. Results Patients received a median of 7 cycles (range, 4-26) of paclitaxel or docetaxel and received a total cumulative dose of 852.81 +/- 368.82 mg/m(2)(range, 300-2310 mg/m(2)). Though the mean CMT was significantly thicker in the taxane group (224.9 +/- 28.4 mu m) than the healthy control group (215.9 +/- 19.7 mu m), there was no statistically significant difference between the paclitaxel (225.3 +/- 28.2 mu m) and docetaxel (224.2 +/- 20.1 mu m) groups. On the other hand, the CCT was not statistically significant different between the taxane versus control eyes and paclitaxel versus docetaxel patients. Taxane-related CME was detected only in one patient on paclitaxel. Overall, incidence of taxane-related maculopathy was 0.5% (1/202) of all patients in the taxane group. Conclusion In our group of taxane receiving patients, incidence of taxane-related CME was 0.5%. In light of our study, we believe that clinicians should be alert on the occurence of taxane-related CME and carefully scrutinize the patients whenever any suspicion is arisen

Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of National Comprehensive Cancer Network/Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Ovarian Symptom Index-18 (NFOSI-18) and Neurotoxicity-4 (NTX-4) for Patients with Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network/Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Ovarian Symptom Index-18 (NFOSI-18) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy/Gynecologic Oncology Group Neurotoxicity 4-item (NTX-4) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer (OC). Methods. Ninety-four women with OC were included. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the convergent validity between the European Quality of Life Survey-5 Dimension-3 Level (EQ-5D-3L) and the Turkish NFOSI-18 and NTX-4. The internal consistencies of the Turkish NFOSI-18 and NTX-4 were calculated using Cronbach's alpha. Turkish NFOSI-18 and Turkish NTX-4 were readministered to 62 (67.4%) patients with OC after 14-21 days to evaluate test-retest reliability.Results. Turkish NFOSI-18 and Turkish NTX-4 showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha: 0.919 and 0.917, respectively). The test-retest reliability of Turkish NFOSI-18 and Turkish NTX-4 was detected as good to excellent for total score (ICC [95%] = 0.93 [0.88-0.95] and ICC [95%] = 0.90 [0.85-0.94], respectively). Significant correlations were detected between the EQ-5D-3L total score, NFOSI-18 (r = 0.648, p < 0.01), and NTX-4 (r = 0.694, p < 0.01) indicating sufficient convergent validity. Conclusion. The Turkish NFOSI-18 and Turkish NTX-4 are reliable and valid tools to assess disease-related symptoms in patients with advanced OC

Prognostic Significance of Hematological Parameters in Patients with Early-Stage Malignant Melanoma

The prognosis of melanoma is extremely poor. There are no biomarker that indicate the prognosis. The indirect markers of the antitumoral response such as the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), derived NLR (dNLR), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) etc. have recently begun to be emphasized. Increased NLR, PLR and dNLR as a consequence of chronic inflammation have been found to be associated with poor prognosis in many cancers. The aim of this study is explore the role of this parameters in patients with early-stage melanoma. We retrospectively evaluated 120 patients admitted to our clinic with stage I-Ill melanoma with ANC, ALC, absolute platelet count(APC), as well as NLR, dNLR, and PLR values at the time of diagnosis, relaps and metastasis and evaluate their impact on prognosis. Patients with active infection, receiving steroids, with a chronic inflammatory disease that may alter the hematological parameters, and those with another malignancy other than melanoma were excluded. The median follow-up was 52 months. OS and DFS were significantly worse in patients with an NLR above 2.84. Also, in patients with a dNLR value above 1.96 (p= 0.007). The were no relationship between PLR value, OS and DFS, and between gender and OS. OS was significantly lower in patients over 65 years of age (p< 0.001). These results suggested that haematological parameters can be used to estimate the prognosis of melanoma. These results suggested that haematological parameters can be used to estimate the prognosis of melanoma

HALP score and GNRI: Simple and easily accessible indexes for predicting prognosis in advanced stage NSCLC patients. The Izmir oncology group (IZOG) study

ObjectiveThe Hemoglobin, Albumin, Lymphocyte, and Platelet (HALP) Score and the Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index (GNRI) are used as prognostic factors in different types of cancers. In this study we analyzed the prognostic value of the HALP Score and the GNRI calculated prior to first-line treatment in patients diagnosed with de novo metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC). Materials and methodsDe novo mNSCLC patients were retrospectively evaluated from January 2016 to December 2019. Patients with Driver's mutation, severe comorbidities, active infection, or insufficient organ function, and those receiving anti-inflammatory treatment were excluded from the study. Optimal cut-off points for the HALP score and the GNRI were calculated with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Predictive factors for overall survival (OS) were assessed with univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses, and OS was studied with the Kaplan-Meier analysis. ResultsThe study included 401 patients in total. In the ROC curve analysis, the cut-off points were found 23.24 (AUC = 0.928; 95% CI: 0.901-0.955, p < 0.001) for HALP, and 53.60 (AUC = 0.932; 95% CI: 0.908-0.955, p < 0.001) for GNRI. Groups with lower HALP scores and lower GNRI had significantly shorter OS compared to those with higher HALP scores and GNRIs. Univariate analysis showed that male gender, smoking, high ECOG score, low HALP score and low GNRI were associated with worse survival rates. Multivariate analysis showed that low HALP score (HR = 2.988, 95% CI: 2.065-4.324, p < 0.001); low GNRI score (HR = 2.901, 95% CI: 2.045-4.114, p < 0.001) and smoking history (HR = 1.447, 95% CI: 1.046-2.001, p = 0.025) were independent factors associated with worse OS rates. ConclusionOur study showed the HALP score and the GNRI to be of prognostic value as simple, cost-effective, and useful markers that predict OS in de novo mNSCLC patients

The comparison of functional status and health-related parameters in ovarian cancer survivors with healthy controls

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate functional status and health-related parameters in ovarian cancer (OC) survivors and to compare these parameters with healthy controls. The secondary purpose of this study was to compare these parameters in early and advanced OC survivors. Methods: Thirty-two OC survivors (n = 15 early stage; n = 17 advanced stage) with no evidence/suspicion of cancer recurrence after completing adjuvant local and systemic treatments for at least 12 months and 32 healthy controls were recruited for functional- and health-related assessments. Participants were assessed using the following methods of measuring the following: 6-min walk test (6MWT) for functional exercise capacity, 30-s chair stand test (30 s-CST) for functional fitness and muscle endurance, a handheld dynamometer for peripheral muscle strength, and a handheld dynamometer for lower extremity strength, Medical Micro RPM for respiratory muscle strength, International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) for physical activity level, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Scale (ECOG-PS) for performance status, Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) for fatigue, Treatment/Gynecological Oncology-Neurotoxicity (FACT/GOG-NTX) for neuropathy, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for anxiety and depression level, and the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) for generic quality of life. Results: All OC survivors underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and only 9.4% received radiotherapy in addition to chemotherapy. The median recurrence-free period post-completion of adjuvant treatments was 24.00 (12.00–75.00) months. OC survivors had lower 6MWT (m) (p < 0.001, r = 1.50), peripheral muscle strength (p = 0.005, r = 0.72), knee extension (p < 0.001, r = 1.54), and respiratory muscle strength (maximal inspiratory pressure) (p < 0.001, r = 1.90) (maximal expiratory pressure) (p < 0.001, r = 1.68) compared to healthy controls. HADS-A (p = 0.005, r = 0.75) and CIS scores (p = 0.025, r = 0.59) were also higher in the OC survivors. Early-stage OC survivors had better 6MWT (m) than advanced-stage OC survivors (p = 0.005, r = 1.83). Peripheral muscle strength was lower in advanced-stage OC survivors (p = 0.013, r = 0.92). FACT/GOG-NTX scores were higher in early-stage OC survivors (p < 0.001, r = 1.42). No significant differences were observed between early- and advanced-stage OC survivors in other measures (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings suggest functional status, and health-related parameters are negatively affected in OC survivors. Additionally, higher levels of fatigue, neuropathy anxiety, and depression were reported in advanced OC survivors