Examination of Dynamic Mental Constructs and their Change Regarding Phases of the Moon

An immense body of literature on astronomy studies has provided evidence that individuals perceive the lunar phases concept as difficult. Furthermore, many studies showed what erroneous explanations or alternative conceptions of lunar phases are. However, there is also a need to understand how individuals construct an explanation of the phases of the Moon. This paper aims to explore pre-service science teachers' construction process of their explanation regarding lunar phases via clinical interviews. The data were obtained from fourteen pre-service science teachers and analyzed, identifying their nodes and dynamic mental constructs. The results indicated that most pre-service science teachers did not organize their nodes consistent with normative scientific explanations. In addition, pre-service science teachers changed their dynamic mental construct while explaining different lunar phases, utilizing different media such as drawing and three-dimensional models, and responding to prompted questions. It was suggested that different opportunities, including technology-enriched activities regarding phases of the Moon, should be provided for pre-service science teachers to reorganize their nodes

University students’ behaviors pertaining to sustainability: A structural equation model with sustainability-related attributes

The purpose of this study is to construct a structural equation model to examine the links among attitudes, values, and behaviors pertaining to sustainability, participation in outdoor recreation as well as gender and tendency to follow mass media for university students. The data were collected by on-line administration of a survey to 958 students at Middle East Technical University during February-June of 2008. It needs to be stressed that gender emerged as a strong factor explaining sustainability-related attributes. It was reflected that female students having higher tendency to follow media held more favorable attitudes and behaviors toward sustainable life styles, and more ecocentric values. Furthermore, attitudes and values were found to be significant determinants of university students' behaviors pertaining to sustainability. It was also reported that higher tendency to follow media yielded more favorable attitudes, higher levels of ecocentric values, and engagement in outdoor recreational activities such as walking in nature, bird watching, and camping. These results implied that the university campus should be well equipped with the necessary infrastructures that will satisfy the needs and encourage female students as well as male students to motivate them take appreciative outdoor activities. A gender perspective should be integrated into existing mainstream institutions and all programmatic areas or sectors, including education in order to hinder gender inequality. In addition, during the rehabilitation of sustainability issues in higher education institutions, favorable attitudes and values of university students should be regarded as an auxiliary agent

The Views of the Parents and their Children who Used the Bursa Ali Paşa Toy Library

International audienceThe aim of this study is to examine the views of the children and parents who use the Bursa Ali Paşa Toy Library, which was a part of a joint project between Uludağ University and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. "Mobile Educational Toy Library Project" was initially carried out in Turkey by two of the researchers named above. The research was carried out utilizing both qualitative research and general scanning methodologies. 53 parents and children of three parents, who come to the library, participated in the study. 50 parents, who use Bursa Ali Paşa Toy Library, completed the questionnaire, three parents were interviewed and their children were individually interviewed. As a result of the research, it was seen that the parents considered toy library an extremely useful facility worthy of recommendation. It was established that most of the parents, who participated in the research, played games with their children and played games with their children on a daily basis

Prevalence and factors associated with sleep disturbance in adult patients with psoriasis

Background: Sleep, which is crucial for restoring of physiological functions and health, is reportedly impaired in psoriasis. The role of different potential sleep confounding factors, including detailed pruritus characteristics, and the complex interplay between psychological variables (anxiety and depression), pruritus and sleep disturbance in psoriasis remain insufficiently investigated. Objectives: To investigate sleep characteristics and to identify clinical, demographic and psychological factors associated with sleep disturbance in psoriasis. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 334 psoriasis patients (response rate 86%) and 126 control subjects (response rate 82%). Measures included sleep quality [Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)], psoriasis severity, pruritus characteristics, including average pruritus intensity [visual analogue scale (VAS)], severity of comorbidities, anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - HADS) and quality of life (Dermatology Life Quality Index - DLQI, and Short Form 12 - SF12). Results: Fifty-nine per cent of patients and 34% of control subjects (P 5). Patients slept 1 h less than control subjects (median 6 vs. 7 h, P < 0.001). Patients without pruritus had less impaired sleep (global PSQI) than patients with strong (P < 0.001) and very strong pruritus (P < 0.001). Anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D) levels were the strongest predictors of sleep impairment, followed by pruritus exacerbation at night, age, female sex, pruritus exacerbation in the morning, average pruritus intensity (VAS), diagnosed depression and gastroesophageal reflux disease, altogether explaining 32%-37% of the variance in global sleep quality. Both anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D) were significant mediators explaining the association between pruritus intensity (VAS) and sleep impairment in 42% and 37% respectively. Conclusions: Sleep disturbance in patients with psoriasis is highly prevalent. Patients with psoriasis should be assessed for sleep impairment, pruritus, anxiety and depression. Reduction in pruritus should be considered as an important therapeutic goal, along with therapies aimed at reducing anxiety and depression

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure &lt; 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate &lt; 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

An associational study on pre-service early childhood teachers' nature relatedness in education for sustainability

WOS: 000490544600007There is significant global concern with current environmental problems, yet people's behaviour towards the environment has been resistant to change. Young people have the opportunity to bring about desirable changes through environmental behaviours and attitudes. The goal of this study is to better understand the scope of nature relatedness as an attribution interacting with pro-environmental behaviours for Turkish pre-service early childhood teachers. We examined the associations between the domains representing nature relatedness and also sought to identify any differences in nature relatedness with respect to their year of enrolment in a teacher education program. The participants were 402 students attending an Early Childhood Teacher Education Program at one of the two public universities in the capital of Turkey. A Turkish-adapted version of the Nature Relatedness Scale developed by Nisbet, Zelenski, and Murphy was administered to gather the data. Participants were found to have a mostly positive external nature-related worldview. Furthermore, the statistical analysis indicated non-significant differences in their nature relatedness with respect to the year of enrolment in the teacher education program. In terms of the relationships between the constructs representing nature relatedness, the internalized identification with nature was positively correlated with two constructs which refer to his/her physical familiarity as well as attraction to nature, and how individual's relationship with the environment is provoked by his/her behaviour. This research indicates that pre-service teachers, who are regarded as important agents for the future implementation of sustainability education, are actually lacking in their nature relatedness constructs and need to develop key competencies in a field that presupposes that they have already acquired sufficient experience of physical and emotional interaction with nature

The effect of chronic stress and obesity on sperm quality and testis histology in male rats; a morphometric and immunohistochemical study

Objective. Stress and obesity lead structural and functional abnormalities in many organs. This research investigated the effect of these two risk factors on sperm parameters and histologic structure of testis in rat model. Materials and methods. Twenty-four male rats were divided into four groups with six rats in each group as control, stress, obesity, and stress-obesity groups. The rats of obesity and stress-obesity groups were fed highfat diet for 12-week and obesity was created. Control and stress groups were given standard rat chow for the same time. Through last 4-week, stress and stressobesity groups were applied to chronic mild stress procedure. At the end of the experiment, epididymal sperm was collected from vas deferens and testes were harvested from sacrificed animals. Sperm samples were evaluated in terms of concentration and motility by using Makler Chamber. Sperm smears were stained with Eosin-Y stain for morphological evaluation, and also histochemically for GABA transporter-1 (GAT1) expression assessment. Testis sections were dyed with Hematoxylin-Eosin and Johnsen scores were assessed. GAT1 expression was detected in testis sections by immunohistochemistry, and TUNEL method was used for determining apoptosis in testis. Results. In comparison with the control samples in stress, obesity, and stress-obesity groups sperm concentration and motility decreased, and also the number of sperm with abnormal morphology increased. Stress, obesity, and stress-obesity groups showed a significantly decreased in sperm concentration and motility in comparison with the control group, and also in these groups had significantly increased number of abnormal sperm compared to control. Additionally, the testicular structure was deteriorated, and Johnsen scores decreased. And also GAT1 expression and apoptosis were prominent. These negative results, especially, testicular weight, sperm concentration, and Johnsen score were more observed in the stress-obesity group. Conclusions. Stress and obesity may induce male infertility by disrupting both sperm quality and testis histology. When stress and obesity are coexisting, these adverse effects are more severe. And also, increased GAT1 expression may be associated with these effects

The Assessment of Memory under Total Intravenous Anesthesia

Background and objectives: In this study, we aimed to assess implicit and explicit memory in patients who had abdominal surgery under total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and remifentanil, in which anesthesia level was controlled by bispectral index (BIS) monitoring. Method: Total intravenous anesthesia was administered to 60 adult patients, to obtain BIS levels of 40-60. Patients were randomly allocated to three groups according to tapes they listened to. Patients in the category group (CT) listened to a tape containing five animal names. Patients in the word recognition group (WM) listened to a tape containing five intermediate-frequency words, adapted into Turkish. Patients in the control group (CG) listened to sea sounds until the end of surgery. Two hours after surgery, tests were administered to each patient in the recovery room to assess memory. Results: There was a difference between the CT and CG groups in their Mini-Mental State Examination scores, all values were > 20. The results of the category and word recognition tests that were applied to assess implicit memory were not statistically different among the groups. There was no evidence of implicit memory in any of the patients. One patient remembered hearing ‘the sound of water’ as a proof of explicit memory. Eleven patients said they had dreamt. Conclusions: Although no evidence of implicit memory under adequate anesthesia with TIVA was found, one patient showed explicit memory. Although adequate depth of anesthesia provided by BIS monitoring supports our implicit memory results, it does not explain the explicit memory results. Keywords: Memory, Short-Term, Consciousness Monitors, Anesthesia, Intravenous, Propofol, Piperidines/remifentanil

Avaliação da memória sob anestesia venosa total Evaluación de la memoria bajo anestesia venosa total The assessment of memory under total intravenous anesthesia

JUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: Neste estudo, objetivamos avaliar a memória implícita e explícita em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia abdominal sob anestesia venosa total (AVT) com propofol e remifentanil, na qual o nível de anestesia foi controlado pelo monitoramento do índice bispectral (BIS). MÉTODO: Anestesia venosa total foi administrada a 60 pacientes adultos para obter níveis de BIS de 40-60. Os pacientes foram randomicamente divididos em três grupos, de acordo com as gravações que ouviram. Os pacientes do grupo categoria (CT) ouviram uma fita gravada contendo cinco nomes de animais. Os pacientes do grupo recordar palavras (RP) ouviram uma fita gravada contendo cinco palavras de frequência média na língua turca, depois de adaptadas. Os pacientes do grupo controle (GC) ouviram os sons do mar até o fim da cirurgia. Duas horas após a cirurgia, os testes foram administrados a cada paciente na sala de recuperação para avaliar a memória. RESULTADOS: Houve uma diferença entre os escores dos grupos CT e GC no Miniexame do Estado Mental (MMSE); todos os escores foram > 20. Os resultados dos testes de categoria e recordar palavras, aplicados para avaliar a memória implícita, não foram estatisticamente diferentes entre os grupos. Não houve evidência de memória implícita em nenhum dos pacientes. Um paciente lembrou-se de ouvir "o som de água" como uma prova de memória explícita. Onze pacientes declararam não ter sonhado. CONCLUSÕES: Apesar de não termos encontrado nenhuma evidência de memória implícita sob anestesia adequada com AVT, um paciente apresentou memória explícita. Embora a profundidade adequada da anestesia fornecida pelo monitoramento do BIS corrobore nossos resultados para a memória implícita, ela não explica os resultados para a memória explícita.JUSTIFICATIVA Y OBJETIVOS: En este estudio evaluamos la memoria implícita y explícita en pacientes sometidos a la cirugía abdominal bajo anestesia venosa total (AVT), con propofol y remifentanilo, en la cual el nivel de anestesia fue controlado por el monitoreo del índice bispectral (BIS). MÉTODO: Anestesia venosa total que fue administrada a 60 pacientes adultos para obtener niveles de BIS de 40-60. Los pacientes fueron aleatoriamente divididos en tres grupos de acuerdo con las grabaciones que oyeron. Los pacientes del grupo categoría (CT) oyeron una cinta grabada que contenía cinco nombres de animales. Los pacientes del grupo recordar palabras (RP), escucharon una cinta grabada que contenía cinco palabras de frecuencia media en lengua turca, después de haber sido adaptadas. Los pacientes del grupo control (GC) oyeron los sonidos del mar hasta el final de la cirugía. Dos horas después de la cirugía, los test fueron administrados a cada paciente en la sala de recuperación para evaluar la memoria. RESULTADOS: Hubo una diferencia entre las puntuaciones de los grupos CT y GC en el Mini Examen del Estado Mental (MMSE) y todas las puntuaciones fueron > 20. Los resultados de los test de categoría y recordar palabras aplicados para evaluar la memoria implícita no fueron estadísticamente diferentes entre los grupos. No hubo evidencia de memoria implícita en ninguno de los pacientes. Un paciente recordó escuchar "el sonido del agua" como una prueba de memoria explícita. Once pacientes dijeron que no habían soñado. CONCLUSIONES: A pesar de no haber encontrado ninguna evidencia de memoria implícita bajo anestesia adecuada con AVT, un paciente tuvo memoria explícita. Aunque la profundidad adecuada de la anestesia suministrada por el monitoreo del BIS corrobore nuestros resultados para la memoria implícita, ella no explica los resultados para la memoria explícita.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to assess implicit and explicit memory in patients who had abdominal surgery under total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and remifentanil, in which anesthesia level was controlled by bispectral index (BIS) monitoring. METHOD: Total intravenous anesthesia was administered to 60 adult patients, to obtain BIS levels of 40-60. Patients were randomly allocated to three groups according to tapes they listened to. Patients in the category group (CT) listened to a tape containing five animal names. Patients in the word recognition group (WM) listened to a tape containing five intermediate-frequency words, adapted into Turkish. Patients in the control group (CG) listened to sea sounds until the end of surgery. Two hours after surgery, tests were administered to each patient in the recovery room to assess memory. RESULTS: There was a difference between the CT and CG groups in their Mini-Mental State Examination scores, all values were > 20. The results of the category and word recognition tests that were applied to assess implicit memory were not statistically different among the groups. There was no evidence of implicit memory in any of the patients. One patient remembered hearing 'the sound of water' as a proof of explicit memory. Eleven patients said they had dreamt. CONCLUSIONS: Although no evidence of implicit memory under adequate anesthesia with TIVA was found, one patient showed explicit memory. Although adequate depth of anesthesia provided by BIS monitoring supports our implicit memory results, it does not explain the explicit memory results