THE STUDENT PERSPECTIVES OF COMMON PROBLEMS WHILE GAINING ENGLISH SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS AND THEIR PROPOSED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE SKILLS AUTONOMOUSLY

The importance of learning multiple languages is accepted universally. Improving language skills of the entire population is a priority for Turkey to increase the international competitiveness and also for the perspective integration to EU. Despite the fact that a long history and extensive efforts devoted to foreign language teaching in Turkey, the success has been noted to be limited. In this study, the potential problems and challenges during foreign language education in the higher education institutions were evaluated based on interviews with undergraduate students who were learning English. The study was conducted with a total of 32 students enrolled to various departments at Kafkas University. The results revealed that the students identified a number of challenges that they face while gaining the language skills along with personal strategies to overcome such challenges. Heavy grammar based teaching strategy and evaluation along with low level of native exposure and inadequate student participation were the main problems suggested by students.   Article visualizations

THE ATTITUDES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS SPORTS: ATTITUDE AND METAPHORICAL PERCEPTION

The reactions and values that individuals possess towards objects or situations reflect their attitudes. A metaphor is to describe a situation or object by establishing an analogy to another situation or object. The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate students studying at various faculties towards sports. The present study, in which a mixed method design was used, was conducted with undergraduate students of Gazi University in the 2017-2018 academic year. In this context, the sample of the study was comprised of a total of 481 (241 female, 240 male) undergraduate students studying at various departments, such as Physical Education Teaching, Banking and Insurance, Political Science and Public Administration, Law, Statistics, Finance, Chemical Engineering, Banking, Conservatory, and Psychological Counseling and Guidance (PCG). Data collection tools were "Demographic Information Form" developed by the researchers, "The Sports-Oriented Attitude Scale" developed by Koçak (2014), and "semi-structured form" prepared by researchers to collect qualitative data. In the analysis of the data, frequency, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation values were calculated and t-test and ANOVA were applied to the quantitative data. Besides, content analysis was applied to the qualitative data. Significant positive correlations were found between the subdimensions of the attitudes of university students towards sports and age. It was found that the subdimensions of the attitudes toward sports showed significant differences in favor of female participants, and the subdimensions of psychosocial development and mental development were found to be significantly different in favor of the students’ of departments of teaching. There were significant positive correlations between the subdimensions of the attitudes of university students towards sports and age. In the context of the qualitative data of the study, it was discovered that metaphors obtained from the participants were found to be clustered under the categories as life source, benefit provider, value, food, delighting, professional association, nature, addiction, and necessity. It was concluded that the attitudes of university students towards sports were moderate. It was also determined that metaphors for sports were often composed of positive ones.  Article visualizations

Yenilenebilir Enerji Politikaları ve Rüzgâr Enerjisi Açısından Bir Karşılaştırma: Çin, Almanya ve Türkiye Örneği

Yenilenebilir kaynakların etkin ve verimli kullanılması, ülkelerin enerji arz güvenliği, hava-su-toprak kirliliği, hayat standartları, ithal bağımlılık oranları gibi unsurları etkilemek suretiyle ekonomik koşulları etkilemektedir. Almanya, Çin ve Türkiye bu nedenlerden dolayı rüzgâr enerjisine önemli yatırımlar yapmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı, rüzgâr enerjisi alanında öne çıkan iki ülke olan Çin ve Almanya ile Türkiye arasında izlenen politikalar açısından çıkarımlar yapmak ve bu bağlamda politika önerileri sunmaktır. Çin son 5 yıl içerisinde rüzgâr enerjisine yönelik geliştirdiği özel politikalar nedeniyle lider konumdadır. Almanya, kurulu güç bakımından Çin'in gerisinde olmasına rağmen teknolojisi ve sanayisi ile bu alanda söz sahibi konumdadır. Türkiye ise, son dönemde rüzgâr enerjisine yönelik politikalar ve teşvik mekanizmaları geliştirmiştir. Türkiye'nin, geçmişle kıyaslandığında önemli bir yatırım trendi yakalamasına rağmen, Çin ve Almanya ile karşılaştırıldığında gerek kurulu güç ve teknoloji yatırımları, gerekse kanun ve politika tercihleri bakımından oldukça geride kaldığı görülmektedir

Psikolojik İhtiyaçlar Ölçeğinin Geliştirilmesi: Güvenirlik ve Geçerlik Çalışması

Bu araştırma genç yetişkin bireylerin psikolojik ihtiyaçlarını belirlemek amacıyla geliştirilmiş olan“Psikolojik ihtiyaçlar Ölçeğinin” geçerlik ve güvenirliğini test etmek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Ölçeğingeliştirilmesi sırasıyla; madde havuzu oluşturulabilmesi için ön veri toplama, nitel verilerin analiziyapılarak ölçeğin; maddelerini hazırlama, kapsam geçerliği için uzman görüşü alma, denemeuygulaması, verilerin analizinde Açımlayıcı Faktör Analizi ve Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi ile aracıngüvenirlik - geçerlik çalışmasının yapılması, şeklinde bir yol izlenmiştir. Araştırmanın örneklemini2019-2020 yılı içinde Kafkas üniversitesinin farklı fakültelerinde öğrenim görmekte olan 18-27 yaşarası toplam 1075 üniversite öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Ölçeğin Taslak maddeleri, Murray’inkuramında yer verdiği 25 psikolojik ihtiyacı ve toplam 356 maddeyi kapsayacak biçimdeoluşturulmuştur. Analiz sonuçlarına göre güvenilir bulunmayan maddeler çıkarılmış ve son olarak 50maddelik ve 4 boyutlu bir ölçek yapısı ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu boyutlar sırasıyla 1. faydalı olma/şefkatgösterme (olumlu sosyal davranış) 20 maddeden (Açıklanan varyans %22.47), 2. cinsellik 9 maddeden(Açıklanan varyans %13.59), 3. üstünlük/başatlık/gösteriş yapma 12 maddeden (Açıklanan varyans%13.68), 4. kendini açma 9 maddeden (Açıklanan varyans %9.21) maddeden oluşmaktadır. Ölçek%58.96 luk bir varyans açıklamıştır. Bu değerler ölçeğin açıkladığı varyans yükünün yeterli olduğunugöstermektedir. Ölçeğin güvenirliği için madde analizine bağlı olarak hesaplanan Cronbach Alpha içtutarlılık katsayıları .909 olarak bulunmuştur. Sonuç olarak, üniversite öğrencileri örneklemindegeliştirilen Psikolojik İhtiyaçlar Ölçeğinin yetişkinlerin psikolojik ihtiyaçlarını ölçmede geçerli vegüvenilir bir araç olduğu ortaya konmuştur

Postoperative mechanical alignment analysis of total knee replacement patients operated with 3d printed patient specific instruments: A prospective cohort study

Objective: Total knee replacement (TKR) is a surgical treatment for final stage gonarthrosis. The lifespan of the prosthetic implants used in TKR surgery is a major interest for the orthopaedic research community.Previously, proper implant alignment of the implants has been advocated for longevity of the TKR surgery. Recently, patient-specific (PSI) instruments have been proposed to improve the mechanical alignment of the TKR by permitting better implant positioning over conventional TKR surgery. The aim of this study is to compare the mechanical alignment results of patients operated with PSIs and conventional instruments. Methods: Two groups of 20 patients chosen in a quasi-random manner have been compared in this study. In the first group femoral distal and tibial osteotomies were made by a PSI which was produced by the patients’ computed tomography scans. All osteotomies in the control group were made with the TKR set's routine instruments by conventional means. Patients’ preoperative and postoperative mechanical femorotibal angles (mFTA), femoral coronal angles (FCA), tibial coronal angles (TCA) were measured and the number of outliers which showed more than 3° of malalignment were counted in both groups for comparison. Results: The average postoperative mFTA was found to be 2.09° for the PSI group and in was found to be 284° for the control which was not statistically significant. The comparison of postoperative FCA and TCA also did not show significant difference between the groups. The number of outliers showing more than 3° of malalignment per group were found to be 1 out of 20 (5%) for the PSI group and 7 out of 20 (35%) for the control which was statistically significant. Conclusion: In this study patient-specific instrumentation provided significantly better mechanical alignment compared to conventional TKR for the frequency of outlier cases with malalignment beyond 3°. PSI proved no significant difference when the groups were compared for mFTA, FCA and TCA. Our findings support that PSI may improve TKR alignment by improving the ratio of the outlier patients with marked malalignment. Level of Evidence: Level III, Therapeutic Study

The impact of admission red cell distribution width on long-term cardiovascular events after primary percutaneous intervention: A four-year prospective study

Background: Red cell distribution width (RDW) is an indicator of erythrocyte in different size, and its prognostic value has been demonstrated in numerous cardiac and non-cardiac diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of RDW on the long- -term cardiovascular events in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: Ninety-six consecutive patients (mean age 60.6 ± 12.5 years, 77.1% male) with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), who were treated with primary PCI, were analyzed prospectively. Baseline RDW and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured. The patients were followed up for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) for up to 48 months after discharge. Results: There were 30 patients with long-term MACE (Group 1) and 66 patients without long-term MACE (Group 2). Age, admission RDW, hs-CRP and creatine kinase-MB levels, heart rate after PCI, previously used angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, left anterior descending artery lesion, and electrocardiographic no-reflow were higher in Group 1. Admission hemoglobin levels were lower in Group 1. An RDW level ≥ 13.85% measured on admission had 80% sensitivity and 64% specificity in predicting long-term MACE on receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. In multivariate analyses, only admission RDW (HR 5.26, < 95% CI 1.71–16.10; p = 0.004) was an independent predictor of long-term MACE. Conclusions: A high baseline RDW value in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI is independently associated with increased risk for long term MACE

Is routine echocardiography necessary after catheter ablation of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia?

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether pericardial effusion (PE) detected by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was clinically significant and whether routine echocardiography was necessary after catheter ablation of atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT). Methods: A total of 202 patients with AVNRT were included in the study from three centers. The patients received basic electrophysiology-guided therapy, followed by radiofrequency ablation (RFA). All patients underwent TTE before and after RFA therapy. Results: The mean age of the study population was 46.2 ± 17.9 and 30.7% of the patients were male. Of these patients, six (3%) had postoperative PE, as detected by TTE. However, none of them had cardiac tamponade (CT). Four patients had minimal PE, while two had mild PE. Repeated TTE at one to three months showed resolved PE. No significant difference was seen among the patients with and/or without PE in terms of age, gender, the number of RFA applications, or RFA duration; however, significantly prolonged duration of fluoroscopy exposure was observed in the patients with PE. Conclusions: PE was detected in 3% of the patients by TTE and associated with prolonged duration of fluoroscopy exposure. However, no patients with moderate or large PE or cardiac tamponade were found in the study. In conclusion, we suggest that TTE should only be performed in the presence of clinical indications following ablation of AVNRT

Investigation of fetal cardiac function using tissue doppler imaging in fetuses compromised by growth restriction

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate fetal cardiac systolic and diastolic function using the tissue Dopplertechnique in pregnancies with complications of fetal growth restriction (FGR) and to examine the relationship betweenFGR with umbilical artery Doppler parameters and fetal cardiac function in complicated pregnancies.Material and methods: This study included 30 pregnant women with FGR complications and 46 pregnant women withoutFGR complications. Both groups were at 24–34 gestational weeks. Fetal cardiac examination was performed using pulsedDoppler and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in all pregnancies. In the analysis of myocardial tissue by tissue Doppler, thetracing obtained from the junction of the tricuspid valve annulus with the right ventricle was recorded by measuring theduration of the isovolumetric contraction wave (IVC), ejection time (ET), and isovolumetric relaxation time (IVR). Furthermore,we calculated the myocardial performance index (MPI) and then measured and recorded the early diastolic annular rate.Results: Based on the TDI studies, the mean IVC and IVR values were significantly longer and the ET values were significantlyshorter in the study group than those in the control group. The study group also had significantly longer MPI measurements.Conclusions: Because TDI is a considerably more sensitive method than cardiac sonographic evaluation using pulsedDoppler, tissue Doppler parameters facilitate the detection of cardiac dysfunction at a relatively early stage. In addition,TDI and myocardial evaluation in fetuses with FGR can be noninvasively performed in clinical practice

Increased mean platelet volume associated with extent of slow coronary flow

Background: Slow coronary flow (SCF) is characterized by delayed opacification of epicardial coronary vessels. SCF can cause ischemia and sudden cardiac death. We investigated the association between presence and extent of SCF, and cardiovascular risk factors and hematologic indices. Methods: In this study, 2467 patients who received coronary angiography for suspected or known ischemic heart disease were retrospectively evaluated between April 2009 and November 2010. Following the application of exclusion criteria, our study population consisted of 57 SCF patients (experimental group) and 90 patients with age- and gender-matched subjects who proved to have normal coronary angiograms (control group). Baseline hematologic indices were measured by the automated complete blood count (CBC) analysis. The groups were evaluated for cardiovascular risk factors and medications. Patients were categorized based on the angiographic findings of vessels with or without SCF. Moreover, patients with SCF were divided into subgroups relative to the extent of SCF. Results: Among the 147 patients (mean age 52.7 ± 10.0, 53.7% male), mean platelet volume (MPV) ranged from 6.5 fL to 11.7 fL (median 7.9 fL, mean 8.1 ± 0.8 fL). Diabetes (OR = 3.64, 95% CI 1.15–10.43, p = 0.03), hypercholesterolemia (OR = 4.94, 95% CI 1.99–12.21, p = 0.001), smoking (OR = 3.54, 95% CI 1.43–8.72, p = 0.006), hemoglobin (OR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.22–2.36, p = 0.002), and MPV (OR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.43–4.44, p = 0.001) were found to be the independent correlates of SCF presence. Only MPV (OR = 2.13, 95% CI 1.05–4.33, p = 0.03) was identified as an independent correlate of extent of SCF. Conclusions: Elevated baseline MPV value was found to be an independent predictor of the presence and extent of SCF