Investigation of middle school teachers' open-ended question writing skills

In this study, the skills of middle school teachers to write open-ended questions that measure higher-order mental skills were examined. For this purpose, 18 middle school teachers who worked in Artvin, Turkey and volunteered to participate in the study were asked to write questions. Teachers wrote open-ended questions for a total of 4 courses (Sciences, Mathematics, Turkish, and Social Studies) in accordance with the specified outcomes. In the study designed in the document review pattern of qualitative research methods, questions were analyzed using an evaluation form. As a result of the evaluations, it was observed that teachers were more concerned with the content dimension of the outcomes while writing questions but disregarded the cognitive level of the outcome. It was also found that teachers were inadequate in terms of language and expression in all branches, showed a tendency to copy questions from a source, or could not move away from the question writing style they adopted. However, it was determined that there were especially expression errors, subject-verb agreement problems, and punctuation marks were not used correctly in the questions written

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ IMAGES OF SCIENTISTS AFTER A PROJECT CALLED “ARTVIN NATURE AND SCIENCE CAMP”

The aim of this study was to investigate middle school students’ images of scientists who participated in a local project called Artvin Nature and Science Camp. This project was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey with 115B089 code. For the purpose of the study, 30 middle school students were selected. Survey method was used. In order to evaluate students’ stereotypic images, “Draw a Scientist Test” was used. The data obtained from this study were analyzed based on percentage and frequency. It was found that girls mostly draw scientists as wearing daily clothes; with well-groomed hair; in laboratory; test tube or beaker around him/her; and portrayed happy, young woman with glasses. In their drawing, boys described scientists as messy hair; in laboratory; test tube or beaker around him/her; and as young man without accessories. Boys also do not specify definite outfit on their images.  Article visualizations

Primary spinal cord tumors of childhood: effects of clinical presentation, radiographic features, and pathology on survival

To determine the relationship between clinical presentation, radiographic features, pathology, and treatment on overall survival of newly diagnosed pediatric primary spinal cord tumors (PSCT). Retrospective analysis of all previously healthy children with newly diagnosed PSCT at a single institution from 1995 to present was performed. Twenty-five pediatric patients (15 boys, average 7.9 years) were diagnosed with PSCT. Presenting symptoms ranged from 0.25 to 60 months (average 7.8 months). Symptom duration was significantly shorter for high grade tumors (average 1.65 months) than low grade tumors (average 11.2 months) (P = 0.05). MRI revealed tumor (8 cervical, 17 thoracic, 7 lumbar, 7 sacral) volumes of 98–94,080 mm3 (average 19,474 mm3). Homogeneous gadolinium enhancement on MRI correlated with lower grade pathology (P = 0.003). There was no correlation between tumor grade and volume (P = 0.63) or edema (P = 0.36) by MRI analysis. Median survival was 53 months and was dependent on tumor grade (P = 0.05) and gross total resection (P = 0.01) but not on gender (P = 0.49), age of presentation (P = 0.82), duration of presenting symptoms (P = 0.33), or adjuvant therapies (P = 0.17). Stratified Kaplan–Meier analysis confirmed the association between degree of resection and survival after controlling for tumor grade (P = 0.01). MRI homogeneous gadolinium enhancement patterns may be helpful in distinguishing low grade from high grade spinal cord malignancies. While tumor grade and gross total resection rather than duration of symptoms correlated with survival in our series, greater than one-third of patients had reported symptoms greater than 6 months duration prior to diagnosis

Comparison of sevoflurane and isoflurane effects on cardiovascular and respiratory system during spontaneous ventilation in Angora goats

KUMANDAS, ALI/0000-0002-7679-2126WOS: 000359122700018Seven healthy Angora goats were used to compare the effects of isoflurane and sevoflurane on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems during anesthesia periods. Once anesthesia was induced with propofol at 5.1 +/- 0.9 mg/kg, it was maintained with isoflurane at 1%-3% in the first treatment period and sevoflurane at 2%-4% in the second treatment period after a 15-day interval. Heart rates measured immediately after anesthesia induction and 5 min later were found to be statistically significant between anesthetic groups (P < 0.05). Mean blood pressure in the isoflurane group decreased (75.7 +/- 7.2 to 59.8 +/- 9.8 mmHg) (P < 0.05) throughout the anesthesia period. It was determined that respiratory rate in sevoflurane treatment was lower than that in isoflurane treatment. In terms of time to stand up, sevoflurane-administered animals recovered significantly faster than animals intubated with isoflurane anesthesia (13.1 +/- 4.4 and 25.0 +/- 8.6 min) (P < 0.05). According to cardiopulmonary values, the respiratory rate was lower in the sevoflurane-applied animals compared to that of those receiving isoflurane anesthesia, although the difference was not statistically significant, and hypercapnia were not observed in either group. Consequently, it was determined that in the Angora goat, propofol-sevoflurane anesthesia exerts lower pressure on the cardiovascular system than isoflurane anesthesia. At the same time, recovery from sevoflurane anesthesia was shorter, and therefore it can be preferred to other anesthesia agents for routine anesthesia.Kirikkale University Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit (KUBAP)Kirikkale University [2009/02]This study was supported by the Kirikkale University Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit (KUBAP No: 2009/02)

SERUM OSTEOCALCIN LEVELS IN TYPE-I DIABETES-MELLITUS

Serum osteocalcin levels are a marker of bone formation. In this study, bone and mineral metabolism in type I diabetes mellitus (DM) were investigated, and the changes related to diabetic microvascular complications were examined. Serum calcium (Ca), inorganic phosphate (P), osteocalcin (OC) and parathyroid hormone (PM) levels were measured in 42 type I diabetic subjects. Diabetics were subdivided into those with or without complications. Age and sex-matched control subjects were used for comparisons with the diabetic groups. Serum P and PTH levels were not different from those of controls. Serum Ca levels were significantly increased (p < 0.001) although the values were within the normal range. CC levels were significantly lower in the complicated (retinopathy and/or protenuria) diabetic group (p < 0.005). In Type I diabetes mellitus, the serum OC level is influenced by the presence of microvascular complications

Levetiracetam monotherapy in newly diagnosed cryptogenic west syndrome

The combination of axial spasms in clusters, hypsarrhythmia, and psychomotor delay beginning in the first year of life defines West syndrome. Adrenocorticotrophic hormone remains the choice of treatment for many neurologists. Recent controlled studies support vigabatrin as first-line therapy, and open-label studies suggest that topiramate, lamotrigine, and zonisamide may be useful in treating spasms. Studies regarding the efficacy and safety of such treatments often come from small, uncontrolled trials and are often inconclusive. Levetiracetam is effective for treating localization-related epilepsy, but it is uncertain whether it is effective for treating West syndrome. To evaluate the efficacy of levetiracetam monotherapy in newly diagnosed cryptogenic West syndrome, levetiracetam was used initially in the treatment of five patients with cryptogenic West syndrome. On admission, levetiracetam (30 mg/kg) tablets were crushed and administered via nasogastric tube. Two patients were seizure free, two patients experienced a 50% reduction in seizure frequency, and one patient had no improvement in seizure frequency. There were no relapses in the two patients at 6 months after the cessation of seizures. It appears that levetiracetam may be effective in the initial treatment of selected patients with cryptogenic West syndrome. (C) 2007 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Flow-cytometric comparison of RNA content in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of down syndrome patients and control individuals

Objective: Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of mental retardation associated with the immunologic and other known defects. Extra chromosome 21 of DS patients contains an average of 40 extra copies of rRNA genes and the in vivo regulation of these genes' activity is not known. Because over 80% of total cellular RNA is rRNA, the measurement of total cellular RNA provides information on rRNA content. The aim of this work was to determine whether or not the additional chromosome 21 causes any increase in total cellular RNA content in mononuclear cells from peripheral blood (PBMNCs) of these patients and whether or not this content is modified with age