692 research outputs found
A Study on Reflective Reciprocal Peer Coaching for Pre-service Teachers: Change in Reflectivity
Reflective practice is considered as an effective way for professional development in order to gain awareness of oneās own teaching as well as to compete with the changing needs of the students. Especially in pre-service period, when pre-service teachers work cooperatively with their peers in a reciprocal fashion towards reflectivity, it has a potential to promote advancement in reflective practices and help them focus on the underlying meaning behind their actions. Based on these ideas, this study aimed at engaging pre-service teachers in a reflective reciprocal peer coaching experience and investigating whether such experience caused any changes in their reflectivity. For this purpose, 12 pre-service teachers in a Turkish ELT context participated in the study and a reflective reciprocal peer coaching program was implemented with a training aspect. In a mixed method study design, change in participantsā reflectivity was measured with a profile of reflective thinking attributes scale quantitatively and data were supported qualitatively with reflective diaries, video recordings of post-conference sessions and focus-group interviews. Results of quantitative and qualitative analyses put forward that the pre-service teachers advanced in their reflectivity throughout the reflective reciprocal peer coaching practice and benefited much from this experience before they embark into professional life. This study provides valuable implications to use reflection embedded in a peer coaching program and offers suggestions for teacher educators
Quantum phases in entropic dynamics
In the Entropic Dynamics framework the dynamics is driven by maximizing
entropy subject to appropriate constraints. In this work we bring Entropic
Dynamics one step closer to full equivalence with quantum theory by identifying
constraints that lead to wave functions that remain single-valued even for
multi-valued phases by recognizing the intimate relation between quantum
phases, gauge symmetry, and charge quantization.Comment: Presented at MaxEnt 2017, the 37th International Workshop on Bayesian
Inference and Maximum Entropy Methods in Science and Engineering (July 9-14,
2017, Jarinu, Brazil
Rotational Dynamics of Organic Cations in CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite
Methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) based solar cells have shown
impressive power conversion efficiencies of above 20%. However, the microscopic
mechanism of the high photovoltaic performance is yet to be fully understood.
Particularly, the dynamics of CH3NH3+ cations and their impact on relevant
processes such as charge recombination and exciton dissociation are still
poorly understood. Here, using elastic and quasi-elastic neutron scattering
techniques and group theoretical analysis, we studied rotational modes of the
CH3NH3+ cation in CH3NH3PbI3. Our results show that, in the cubic (T > 327K)
and tetragonal (165K < T < 327K) phases, the CH3NH3+ ions exhibit four-fold
rotational symmetry of the C-N axis (C4) along with three-fold rotation around
the C-N axis (C3), while in orthorhombic phase (T < 165K) only C3 rotation is
present. Around room temperature, the characteristic relaxation times for the
C4 rotation is found to be ps while for the C3 rotation ps. The -dependent
rotational relaxation times were fitted with Arrhenius equations to obtain
activation energies. Our data show a close correlation between the C4
rotational mode and the temperature dependent dielectric permittivity. Our
findings on the rotational dynamics of CH3NH3+ and the associated dipole have
important implications on understanding the low exciton binding energy and slow
charge recombination rate in CH3NH3PbI3 which are directly relevant for the
high solar cell performance
Genetic relationships among olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars native to Croatia and Turkey
The aim of the study is to determine genetic diversity and relationships among olive cultivars native to Croatia and Turkey. A total of twenty olive (Olea europaea L.) cultivars including fourteen from Croatia and six common cultivars from Turkey were analyzed for genetic diversity and relationships by using six microsatellite markers (DCA05, DCA09, DCA18, GAPU71B, GAPU101, UDO43). The number of polymorphic alleles ranged from 2 (UDO43) to 5 (DCA09), with an average of 3.6 Ā fragments per marker. UPGMA cluster analysis based on simple matching similarity matrix grouped cultivars into three main clusters. Two pairs of cultivars from Croatia ("Buža muÅ”ka" and Levantinka"; "VLMD6" and "Drobnica") were thought to be different, although they produced identical SSR profi les. Cluster analysis points to some genetic relationships between Croatian and Turkish olive cultivars. The results also indicate effi ciency of SSR markers to evaluate genetic diversity in olive and identify misnamed or synonym individuals
Single coronary artery incidence in 215,140 patients undergoing coronary angiography
Background: The aim of our study is to determine the incidence of single coronary artery (SCA). SCA is a rarely seen coronary anomaly in which the right coronary artery and the left main coronary artery arise from single aortic sinus. Although SCA has a benign course in most cases and its clinical significance is unknown, in some autopsy studies it was shown to be related to sudden cardiac death. Materials and methods: SCA patients detected among 215,140 coronary angiographies (CAG) performed between 1998 and 2013 in SANKO Hospital were included in our study. The classification of CAG was made according to the two different classifications defined by Smith and Lipton and colleagues. Results: A total number of 215,140 patients who underwent routine CAG were included in the study, and SCA was detected in 67 (0.031%) patients. There were 6 (9%) type R-I, 23 (34%) type R-II, 10 (15%) type R-III, 16 (24%) type L-I and 12 (18%) type L-II patients according to the angiographic classification. Conclusions: SCA is rarely seen during routine cardiac catheterisation and its incidence is 0.014ā0.066% in angiographic series. In our study, the incidence was shown to be similar to the previous studies.
Identification and Implementation of Patterns Towards a Model of Environmental Sustainability
Much like the Quality Revolution did in the 1980\u27s, corporate sustainability has the potential to drive significant changes in the processes and structure of various organizations in the coming decade. With a rapidly growing global population and an ever increasing global demand for resources (Population-Resource-Center, 2012). Sustainability has emerged as one of the primary challenges that organizations will have to deal with in the 21st century. An increasing realization among business executives that profitability by itself is not enough as a measure of success is also driving the increased adoption of sustainable practices in the corporate world (Lowitt and Grimsley, 2009). Many of the non-financial concerns associated with sustainability are being rapidly recognized as ways to provide shareholder value in the long run. Although sustainability in the corporate world should emphasize economic, environmental and social sustainability, in this paper we will concentrate on the environmental issue and present a new model of best-of-breed practices for implementing environmental sustainability into an organization. To help develop this model we will examine the current literature, including a review of various case studies of corporations engaging in environmentally sustainable practices. We aim to identify practices that have been successful in various organizations and can be generalized and applied to other corporations. We believe that such a model can contribute to the understanding of, and the successful implementation of, environmentally sustainable practices throughout the corporate world
Investigation of Conjunctival Fibrosis Response Using a 3D Glaucoma Tenonās Capsule + Conjunctival ModelFibrosis Response Within a 3D Tenonās + Conjunctival Model
Surgical techniques such as trabeculectomy aim to treat glaucoma by making an incision into the scleral tissue, to create an alternative drainage pathway for aqueous to flow into the sub-Tenonās/subconjunctival space. However, tissue fibrosis and wound healing occurring after the procedures can reduce the success rate. This study aims to investigate the synergistic effects of aqueous humor in combination with shear stress on the fibrosis response occurring in Tenonās capsule and conjunctival tissue (TCCT) after glaucoma surgery. Two-dimensional (2D) and 3D in vitro TCCT models were constructed by seeding porcine Tenonās capsule + conjunctival fibroblasts in collagen gel. These were used to investigate key growth factors (singular and natural form) with shear stress, which are believed to influence tissue fibrosis after glaucoma surgery. In addition to cell proliferation assessments, a nondestructive assay to quantify neocollagen synthesis in TCCT models, in response to these factors, has been applied up to 14 days. TCCT fibroblast proliferation increased significantly with doses of TGF-Ī², TNF-Ī±, and VEGF, in comparison with the control. Furthermore, fibroblasts exposed to 50% aqueous humor had significantly increased proliferation and actin expression. Shear stressāinduced mechanotransduction was also found to promote metabolic activity across experimental conditions. Neocollagen labeling cross validated the fibrosis process. Shear stress appeared to enhance the influence of key growth factors and further promoted fibrotic response within the model. These findings offer a useful insight for further study into the wound-healing response triggered by aqueous fluid outflow after glaucoma surgery
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