Overseas teaching experience: student teachers’ perspectives of teaching practicum

AbstractThis study assesses the extent to which teaching experience in Turkish schools affected the educational philosophies and expectations of foreign and Turkish student teachers. Five foreign student teachers and 8 Turkish student teachers were examined for a 3 weeks teaching practicum in English lessons. The students participated to a pre-teaching survey consisting of 6 open-ended questions related to perceptions, expectations and attitudes towards language teaching. The students also kept a journal during their practicum program. The findings indicated that pre-teaching experience had an important impact on both foreign and Turkish student teachers’ professional and personal development

Regional Roles of Central Trkb Receptors in Energy Balance and Regulation by Ptp1b

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a ubiquitously expressed phosphatase implicated in energy balance regulation. CNS-specific PTP1B-deficiency results in a lean phenotype with resistance to diet-induced obesity. PTP1B antagonizes actions of leptin, which regulates central energy balance by suppressing food intake and elevating energy expenditure. Although the metabolic effects of PTP1B-deficiency have been largely attributed to improved leptin sensitivity, mice lacking both leptin and PTP1B weigh less compared to the mice lacking leptin only, suggesting leptin-independent metabolic effects of PTP1B-deficiency. Biochemical studies have identified tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) as a potential substrate for PTP1B. Since TrkB ligand brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a key player in energy balance, this dissertation tests the hypothesis that PTP1B is a physiological regulator of central BDNF/TrkB signaling and further examines the metabolic role of endogenous hypothalamic and hindbrain BDNF/TrkB signaling. To assess whether PTP1B is a physiological regulator of central BDNF/TrkB signaling, an immortalized human neuronal SH-SY5Y-TrkB cell line was utilized in biochemical studies in vitro, and a mouse model of global PTP1B-deficiency (Ptpn1-/-) was used to test the metabolic response to exogenous central BDNF delivery in vivo. In SH-SY5Y-TrkB cells, PTP1B overexpression and PTP1B inhibition impairs and augments TrkB signaling, respectively. Furthermore, PTP1B interacts with the BDNF-activated TrkB receptor. Ptpn1-/- mice exhibit enhanced hypothalamic TrkB phosphorylation, and are hypersensitive to central BDNF-induced increase in core temperature. Whether Ptpn1-/- mice show increased hypothalamic neurogenesis was explored through BrdU studies. To further elucidate the role of endogenous BDNF/TrkB signaling in central metabolic control, hypothalamus (Nkx2.1-Ntrk2-/-) or hindbrain (Phox2b-Ntrk2+/-) specific TrkB-deficient mice were generated and their metabolic phenotype was analyzed in comparison to wild type controls. Nkx2.1-Ntrk2-/- mice display increased body weight and adiposity due to alterations in food intake and energy expenditure, and have glucose homeostasis impairments. Interestingly, female mice lacking TrkB in the hypothalamus have a more robust metabolic phenotype. Phox2b-Ntrk2+/- mice exhibit pronounced hyperphagia despite the absence of a body weight phenotype. In summary, these data clearly establish PTP1B as a novel, physiological regulator of central BDNF/TrkB signaling, and that endogenous hypothalamic and hindbrain TrkB signaling are essential to central metabolic control

The effect of having COVID-19 on insomnia, fatigue, and quality of life: A comparative study with vaccinated and unvaccinated COVID-19–negative patients

Aim: To compare insomnia, fatigue, and activities of daily living of patients who were infected during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with those who did not have the infection, according to their vaccination status. Methods: A total of 176 volunteers (104 women and 72 men) participated in the study. The study group was divided into three groups: patients who had COVID-19, individuals who did not have COVID-19 and were vaccinated, and those who did not have COVID-19 and were not vaccinated.  The data collection tools were a personal information form; insomnia, fatigue and activities of daily living short questionnaire; and anxiety and depression inventories, which evaluated psychological status. Results: There was no difference in terms of depression, insomnia, fatigue, and quality of life scale scores between the groups. Work and education status did not affect scores. The fatigue rate was higher in those who had COVID-19 (10.7%, p=0.007). Women's fatigue scores were higher (p<0.001), and their physical and psychological health scores in the quality of life scale were lower than men's (p=0.025 and p=0.007, respectively). The anxiety score of married participants was higher (p=0.021). The rate of insomnia was high in the entire study group (41.7%). Depression and anxiety were positively correlated with insomnia and fatigue. Depression was negatively correlated with all sub-parameters of quality of life, and anxiety was negatively correlated with physical, psychological health, and environment. There was no difference between insomnia, fatigue, depression, and quality of life scale scores between the groups, irrespective of COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: The high rates of insomnia and depression suggested that the progression of the pandemic also brought about chronic health problems. Therefore, it is important to conduct extensive preventive health programs for the population

A Comparative Study Of The Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, And Readiness Of American Versus Turkish Language Teachers

Contrasting studies of foreign language teacher education have become a growing interest among educationists and researchers in different countries (Yoder, 1992; McKay & Montgomery, 1995; Baker & Giacchino-Baker, 2000; Stachowski & Sparks, 2007; Firmin, M. W., Firmin, R & MacKay, F. M., 2008; LaFond & Dogancay-Aktuna, 2009; Ozek, 2009). Such studies emphasize the importance of comparing and understanding different education programs and enables student teachers to think more globally with respect to their language career. These contrasting studies investigate different aspects of foreign language (FL) teaching programs. The present study reports a comparison of the student teachers of an American and Turkish university regarding their satisfaction and readiness in language teaching, and their attitudes towards language teaching theories and teacher education program. The study aims to discover the teacher trainees’ perceptions with an in-depth understanding and compare the differences among them. Therefore, the researcher employed an interconnection of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires and interviews. The results indicated that there were some significant differences between the subjects in two groups regarding their readiness, their attitudes towards their education programs and their self-perceptions as teacher candidates

University Students\u27 First Online Exam Experience: Is It Stressful or Joyful?

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine university students’ views on online exams during the pandemic. The study was carried out with the participation of 15 undergraduate students studying at an engineering university in Azerbaijan. Methods: Interpretive phenomenology guided the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Research findings showed that students experienced various problems in the online exam process. The inability to solve the technical problems encountered during exams and the perception that the instructors did not have sufficient knowledge about the conduct of the online exams made it difficult for the exam process to be carried out effectively. Conclusion: Research results indicated that students who are taking their first online exam bring attention to both the positive and negative aspects of the process and discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of online exams in this context. Implications: It is critical to develop infrastructure and train human resources at this point in order to easily adapt to different crisis situations that may arise in the future that require nontraditional assessment methods

Towards Federalizing U.S. International Commercial Arbitration Law

Leaves of Juglans regia L. collected from two different locations [Adana (A) and Ankara (BA from Turkey were subjected to hydrodistillation in a Clevenger type apparatus to yield the essential oils (EOs). GC/MS and GC-FID analyses revealed that the A EO was rich in thymol (23.1%), while caryophyllene oxide (33.8%) was found as the main constituent of B EO. Both contained beta-eudesmol (1.4% - 9.5%), (E)-geranyl acetone (3.7% - 5.8%) and the eudesmane type constituent juglaterpene A (3.1% - 11.0%). Using a HP Innowax preparative capillary column connected to a preparative fraction collector, an unknown constituent, juglaterpene A (1, 11-hydroxy-2,4-cycloeudesmane), was isolated in a rapid one-step manner with > 94.0% purity. Structure determination was accomplished from 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic data. Oil B demonstrated significant larvicidal activity against 1st instar Aedes aegypti L

Uncertainty Quantification in Neural-Network Based Pain Intensity Estimation

Improper pain management can lead to severe physical or mental consequences, including suffering, and an increased risk of opioid dependency. Assessing the presence and severity of pain is imperative to prevent such outcomes and determine the appropriate intervention. However, the evaluation of pain intensity is challenging because different individuals experience pain differently. To overcome this, researchers have employed machine learning models to evaluate pain intensity objectively. However, these efforts have primarily focused on point estimation of pain, disregarding the inherent uncertainty and variability present in the data and model. Consequently, the point estimates provide only partial information for clinical decision-making. This study presents a neural network-based method for objective pain interval estimation, incorporating uncertainty quantification. This work explores three algorithms: the bootstrap method, lower and upper bound estimation (LossL) optimized by genetic algorithm, and modified lower and upper bound estimation (LossS) optimized by gradient descent algorithm. Our empirical results reveal that LossS outperforms the other two by providing a narrower prediction interval. As LossS outperforms, we assessed its performance in three different scenarios for pain assessment: (1) a generalized approach (single model for the entire population), (2) a personalized approach (separate model for each individual), and (3) a hybrid approach (separate model for each cluster of individuals). Our findings demonstrate the hybrid approach's superior performance, with notable practicality in clinical contexts. It has the potential to be a valuable tool for clinicians, enabling objective pain intensity assessment while taking uncertainty into account. This capability is crucial in facilitating effective pain management and reducing the risks associated with improper treatment.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, 9 table

Review and Analysis of Pain Research Literature through Keyword Co-occurrence Networks

Pain is a significant public health problem as the number of individuals with a history of pain globally keeps growing. In response, many synergistic research areas have been coming together to address pain-related issues. This work conducts a review and analysis of a vast body of pain-related literature using the keyword co-occurrence network (KCN) methodology. In this method, a set of KCNs is constructed by treating keywords as nodes and the co-occurrence of keywords as links between the nodes. Since keywords represent the knowledge components of research articles, analysis of KCNs will reveal the knowledge structure and research trends in the literature. This study extracted and analyzed keywords from 264,560 pain-related research articles indexed in IEEE, PubMed, Engineering Village, and Web of Science published between 2002 and 2021. We observed rapid growth in pain literature in the last two decades: the number of articles has grown nearly threefold, and the number of keywords has grown by a factor of 7. We identified emerging and declining research trends in sensors/methods, biomedical, and treatment tracks. We also extracted the most frequently co-occurring keyword pairs and clusters to help researchers recognize the synergies among different pain-related topics

Hand hygiene compliance of health care workers in a neonatal intensive care unit: a prospective observation study

Background: We aimed to determine hand hygiene (HH) compliance of the healthcare workers (HCW’s) and evaluate if there is an epidemiological relation between the microorganisms isolated from the hands of HCWs and patients clinical materials in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Methods: HH compliance was observed in two unannounced phases in March and in August within the scope of 5 indications determined by WHO. Between two phases personnel was trained to improve HH by educational sessions and introduction of Semmelweis system hand in scan (HIS, Sysmex) in the unit.  A total of 22 nurses, 11 physicians and 5 staff was working in the NICU. Hand samples taken from HCW by glove juice method were inoculated quantitatively in culture plates and colonies were identified by MALDI-TOF MS. Epidemiological relation between clinical isolates and hand samples was investigated with arbitrary primed PCR.Results: Although overall compliance remained only 50%, a significant increase in compliance was detected in August prior to aseptic procedures and after contact with patients and body fluids. Alcohol scrub was preferred as 60.4% in March and 75.2% in August. HH efficacy reached to 72% by implementing HIS. During this period, 10.7% of 607 patient’s samples revealed clinically significant growth. Potential pathogens were isolated in 5.2% of 144 hand samples, but any epidemiological correlation with patient isolates was detected.Conclusions: HH compliance observations should be done at regular intervals and current technology could be utilized in trainings to overcome hospital related infections

HISTIOCITOSE DE CÉLULAS DE LANGERHANS AUTOLIMITADA E DE INÍCIO TARDIO: RELATO DE UMA ENTIDADE RARÍSSIMA

RESUMO Objetivo: Relatar um caso de histiocitose de células de Langerhans autolimitada e de início tardio. Descrição do caso: Paciente com 4 meses e meio de idade do sexo feminino, apresentando uma erupção cutânea eritematosa purpúrea, foi submetida a uma biópsia de pele, sendo diagnosticada com histiocitose de células de Langerhans cutânea isolada. As lesões regrediram em poucos meses e ela foi diagnosticada, retrospectivamente, com histiocitose de células de Langerhans autolimitada e de início tardio, após não apresentar nenhum envolvimento cutâneo ou sistêmico durante um seguimento de quatro anos. Comentários: A histiocitose de células de Langerhans autolimitada caracteriza-se pela proliferação clonal das células de Langerhans e apresenta-se com lesões cutâneas, sendo uma variante autolimitada rara de histiocitose. A doença só pode ser diagnosticada de forma retrospectiva, após o paciente não apresentar nenhum envolvimento sistêmico durante vários anos. Embora existam casos de manifestações ao nascimento ou durante o período neonatal, apenas alguns casos de histiocitose de células de Langerhans de idade tardia foram relatados. Lesões purpúreas que aparecem após o período neonatal podem sugerir histiocitose de células de Langerhans autolimitada e de início tardio. Uma vez confirmado o diagnóstico por biópsia cutânea, tais pacientes devem ser acompanhados regularmente, pois pode haver comprometimento sistêmico