The Impacts of Study Abroad Opportunities on International Students

The emerging global structure requires interaction between societies and the international flow of knowledge. Exchange of students and study abroad programs are components of this internationalization process. The Erasmus program, the most common study abroad program in Turkey, has a great impact on the exchange of cultures and academic knowledge. This study will reveal different kinds of Erasmus experiences, the cultural and academic impacts of the program, how the program changes the expectation of participants, and how participants experience the return home after their study abroad program. Data were collected via a qualitative method--a semi-structured interview, as the objective of the study is to gather personal feelings and ideas. Nine former Erasmus students from Anadolu University Tourism Department, Turkey, were interviewed via Skype or phone call between April 20 and May 9, 2014. The data from the interviews were grouped and analyzed under the study objectives subgroups based on the literature and themes that the students mentioned during the interviews. The study reveals that tourism major students consider study abroad programs and international experiences as vital for their major. According to participants, after the Erasmus program they became more open-minded and tolerant, and they state these characteristics are important for the tourism field to accommodate people from diverse backgrounds. For that reason students believe that institutions should provide more international opportunities to exchange cultures and experience different education and learning styles. In addition, although academic expectations are not the drivers that make students decide to participate in the program, during the program they recognize some differences between home and host institutions in terms of learning environments and different teaching methods. These differences make students expect more from their home institutions and motivate them to continue their education or career abroad. Additionally, as the program provides an opportunity to experience different cultures and lifestyles, returning from such an experience is seen as challenging by students as Turkey and Europe have different lifestyles in terms of social life, recreational activities, and way of life. Although the students are not naming this problematic process as a reverse culture shock, their desire to go back addresses one of reverse culture shock\u27s indicators as mentioned in the study of Cohen (2003). Therefore, the adjustment of the returnees should be considered more in depth. The study would be beneficial for students who would like to join study abroad programs or other kinds of internationalization activities such as international field trips or other exchange programs. It also could be used by the professors, institutions, and international offices of the universities to accommodate the students, as their expectations and satisfaction levels change after abroad experiences and their returning process has some difficulties to consider

The Iwasawa Main conjecture for elliptic curves and its applications to the birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture

Lo scopo della tesi è presentare la congettura principale di Iwasawa per curve ellittiche e mostrare una sua applicazione per risolvere un caso particolare della congettura di Birch e Swinnerton-Dyer. L'idea principale che sta dietro alla teoria di Iwasawa per curve ellittiche è quella di studiare l'aritmetica di una curva ellittica E (definita su un campo di numeri K) su un'estensione di K con gruppo di Galois su K isomorfo al gruppo additivo degli interi p-adici. In questo modo, utilizzando tecniche coomologiche e di analisi p-adica, è possibile trovare relazioni fra invarianti algebrici e analitici associati ad E. Queste relazioni possono essere utilizzate per dimostrare un caso particolare della congettura di Birch e Swinnerton-Dyer, uno dei famosi "problemi del Millennio".ope

Tuition Prices are through the Roof

Tuition prices have increased at a rate that is making it difficult and impossible for students to not accumulate debt. Education is a necessity for society because it gives students opportunities to pursue any career they have interest or desire in. There are many discussions and conversations about the higher education system being too expensive but there have not been any changes or solutions to make college more affordable for students. Loans, federal aid, and other scholarships that help students with the cost of college will never be enough to help with the overwhelmingness of tuition prices and student debt. This essay looks at practical solutions to decrease the price of higher education. It will also discuss the driving factors behind the constant increase in institution prices. Higher education is another steppingstone that someone can take in life. People should not be limited to certain careers or paths because education has become unaffordable for many. Without higher education society would suffer and without the decrease in education costs society is looking at a decrease in enrollment at colleges and higher education

Effect of Color Space on High Dynamic Range Video Compression Performance

High dynamic range (HDR) technology allows for capturing and delivering a greater range of luminance levels compared to traditional video using standard dynamic range (SDR). At the same time, it has brought multiple challenges in content distribution, one of them being video compression. While there has been a significant amount of work conducted on this topic, there are some aspects that could still benefit this area. One such aspect is the choice of color space used for coding. In this paper, we evaluate through a subjective study how the performance of HDR video compression is affected by three color spaces: the commonly used Y'CbCr, and the recently introduced ITP (ICtCp) and Ypu'v'. Five video sequences are compressed at four bit rates, selected in a preliminary study, and their quality is assessed using pairwise comparisons. The results of pairwise comparisons are further analyzed and scaled to obtain quality scores. We found no evidence of ITP improving compression performance over Y'CbCr. We also found that Ypu'v' results in a moderately lower performance for some sequences

The impact of fibromyalgia syndrome on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in terms of pain threshold, daytime symptoms, anxiety, depression, disease severity, and sleep quality: a polysomnographic study

BackgroundCurrent studies have focused on the association of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and obsctructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Results of these studies on the effect of this association have been inconsistent. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of FMS on OSAS regarding sleep quality, pressure pain threshold, fatigue, daytime symptoms, anxiety, and depression, and also to determine the relationship between OSAS severity and FMS.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, patients diagnosed with OSAS were evaluated in two groups comparing those with and those without FMS. Data on demographics, headache, morning fatigue, and chronic pain duration were collected. Questionnaires including the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were completed. Pressure pain threshold, tender points, and polysomnographic data were recorded.ResultsOf 69 patients, 27 were diagnosed with FMS + OSAS and 42 were diagnosed as OSAS only. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in VAS, pain duration, morning fatigue, headache, BAI, tender point count, FIQ and FSS scores, and algometer measurements. All polysomnografic data were compared, and no statistically significant differences were found between the two groups. There were no statistically significant differences in the algometer, BDI, BAI, FIQ, and FSS scores when analyzed according to the severity of OSAS.ConclusionThe findings suggest that FMS has no effect on polysomnographic parameters of OSAS. Headache, daytime fatigue, anxiety, depression, pain duration, and pain intensity are higher while the pressure pain threshold is lower when FMS is present. No correlation was found between OSAS severity and FMS, fatigue, pressure pain threshold, depression, and anxiety.Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT05367167/date: April 8, 2022

Clinical activities suspended: How the COVID-19 affected the self-confidence of Italian dental students

Introduction: COVID-19 emergency caused several effects on the dental educational system, especially affecting courses including practical activities. The study aims to evaluate the impact of the suspension of dental clinical activities on the Italian dental students' self-confidence. Furthermore, the other purpose of the research is to find an integrative didactics solution to improve the clinical training of dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was administered to evaluate the impact of the suspension of clinical activities on dental students' self-confidence. A 67-questions survey tested the students' self-confidence in several dental disciplines (Conservative Dentistry, Endodontics, Oral Surgery and Dental Emergency). The study reached a sample of 193 dental students and the answers from 9 different Italian dental schools were analysed. Results: The degree of students' self-confidence for all the dental disciplines investigated was found statistically different between the periods before and after the interruption of clinical activities. The students proposed, as a potential solution to improve their practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, to combinate the use of a video tutorials and dental simulators. Conclusion: The interruption of the training in clinical practice significantly affected the educational career and the self-confidence of students. An alternative teaching method involving the use of video tutorials as support in teaching clinical procedures deserves to be considered

Optimal Cut-Off Points of 4-meter Gait Speed to Discriminate Functional Exercise Capacity and Health Status in Older patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background: Gait speed, a vital sign of health and functional capacity, is commonly used to measure mobility. Although studies have assessed gait speed in older adults and individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) separately, few have evaluated gait speed in older adults with COPD. Therefore, the primary objective of our study was to determine the threshold point for the 4-meter gait speed test (4MGS) to better discriminate between functional exercise capacity and health status in older patients with COPD. The second objective was to determine possible predictors of gait speed. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we assessed participants’ pulmonary function, dyspnea, health status (COPD Assessment Test [CAT]), gait speed (4MGS), functional exercise capacity (6-minute walk test [6MWT]), and physical activity. Results: For-ty-five older patients with COPD participated in this study. The predicted 6MWT and CAT scores were independent and significant determinants of the 4MGS score, explaining 54% of the vari-ance (p<0.001). We identified gait speeds of 0.96 m/s and 1.04 m/s as thresholds to predict abnormal functional exercise capacity (sensitivity 85% and specificity 56%) and impaired health status (sensitivity 90% and specificity 69%), respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that gait speed can discriminate between abnormal functional exercise capacity and impaired health status in older patients with COPD. Moreover, functional exercise capacity and health status are predictors of gait speed. © 2022 by The Korean Geriatrics Society

A Retrospective Cohort Study of Traumatic Root Fractures in Primary Dentition: Can Splinting Type Improve Therapeutic Outcomes?

(1) Introduction: Deciduous traumatic dental injuries pose a serious global health concern. Root fractures show an incidence rate of approximately 2%; however, the literature is limited regarding the appropriate treatment and prognosis of affected teeth. This retrospective study aims to analyze the long-term outcomes of orthodontic splinting using brackets compared with composite resin-only splinting in two homogeneous samples affected by root fractures. The study also examines the onset and patterns of root resorption. (2) Methods: The first group included 25 patients with 27 deciduous upper incisors affected by root fracture; Group 2 consisted of 35 patients with 38 root fractures of maxillary deciduous teeth. The categorical data for both groups were analyzed using the chi-squared homogeneity test. Age groups were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test; p &lt; 0.005 was considered statistically significant. (3) Results: In both groups, the male gender predominated similarly. In Group 1, early decidual loss occurred in 16% of cases, whereas in Group 2 it occurred in 51% of cases. Pulp canal obliteration was observed in 68% of deciduous teeth in Group 1, compared with 30% in Group 2. No complications affecting permanent teeth were noted in Group 1; in Group 2, 29% developed enamel dysplasia and 26% experienced delayed eruption, with statistically significant differences in these proportions. Apical fragment resorption was observed in 92% of cases in Group 1 and 30% in Group 2. (4) Conclusions: The treatment of deciduous tooth root fractures using orthodontic splints can yield significant benefits, such as reduction of early tooth loss. Furthermore, the study confirms that early resorption of the distal fragment of fractured roots is a common physiological phenomenon in primary teeth and typically occurs within a year following trauma

L’espace (post-)ottoman au prisme du genre

Ce numéro de Clio. FGH se propose de revisiter l’histoire de la transition entre Empire et État-nation en interrogeant la relation multiforme et complexe qui lie changements de régime politique et changements de régime de genre. L’espace analysé est celui qui recouvre une partie de l’Empire ottoman et des États qui lui ont succédé, plus précisément les Balkans et l’Asie Mineure. Cet espace, partagé à l’heure actuelle en une dizaine d’États, constitue un véritable laboratoire pour les sciences..