An Applied Study on Educational Use of Facebook as a Web 2.0 Tool: The Sample Lesson of Computer Networks and Communication

The main aim of the research was to examine educational use of Facebook. The Computer Networks and Communication lesson was taken as the sample and the attitudes of the students included in the study group towards Facebook were measured in a semi-experimental setup. The students on Facebook platform were examined for about three months and they continued their education interactively in that virtual environment. After the-three-month-education period, observations for the students were reported and the attitudes of the students towards Facebook were measured by three different measurement tools. As a result, the attitudes of the students towards educational use of Facebook and their views were heterogeneous. When the average values of the group were examined, it was reported that the attitudes towards educational use of Facebook was above a moderate level. Therefore, it might be suggested that social networks in virtual environments provide continuity in life long learning.Comment: 11 page

EMERGENCY DISTANCE EDUCATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH FROM A SPECIAL EDUCATION PERSPECTIVE

It is a fact that the world was caught unprepared for the Covid-19 outbreak. Especially when the epidemic broke out in many countries, educational activities were suspended for a while, and then distance education was started. Since this process is the result of a sudden transition, it has been seen that it brings with it many difficulties. Among these difficulties, perhaps the most prominent was the situation of students who need special education and special education teachers. In this direction, the aim of the study is to determine the difficulties experienced by students with special needs and special education teachers in this process. This research was carried out within the framework of the qualitative method. Within the scope of the research, 20 special education teachers were reached, and their opinions were taken with a semi-structured interview form. The responses received were divided into codes and categories, which were analyzed by content analysis, one of the qualitative analysis methods. According to the findings, special education teachers stated that they had the most difficulty in communicating with their students while negating the distance education process. Accessibility problem was also stated as an important problem and the problems caused by low parental technology literacy were emphasized. Although special education teachers find positive justifications for ensuring that education somehow continues in the distance education process, they make several valuable suggestions for structuring the system more inclusive and for all potential users. Platforms for students who need special education in the distance education process can be designed to support topics such as content, interaction, socialization. The family can take a more active role in this process as a stakeholder. For this, family members can be motivated with the necessary prior information and demands full of expectations

The Cytotoxicity, Characteristics, and Optimization of Insulin-loaded Nanoparticles

Controlled release systems for insulin are frequent subjects of research, because it is rapidly degraded by proteolytic enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract and minimally absorbed after oral administration. Controlled release systems also provide significant contribution to its stability.  Different techniques are used for the preparation of drug-loaded nanoparticles, and many novel techniques are being developed. The size and morphology of insulin-loaded nanoparticles may vary according to performed techniques, even if the same polymer is used. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the cytotoxicity of insulin loaded nanoparticles and the effect of various synthesis parameters on the particle size, polydispersity index (PdI), loading efficiency, and particle morphology. In the experiments, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and insulin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles were prepared using the double emulsion (w/o/w) method. The characterization of the nanoparticles were performed with a UV spectrometer, the Zeta-sizer system, FTIR spectroscopy, and a scanning probe microscope. Cell toxicity of different concentrations was assayed with MTT methods on L929 fibroblast cells. The optimum size of the insulin-loaded PLGA nanoparticle was obtained with a 96.5% encapsulation efficiency, a 224.5 nm average particle size, and a 0.063 polydispersity index. This study obtained and characterized spherical morphology, determined that the nanoparticles have very low toxicity, and showed the effect of different parameters on particle size and polydispersity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v9i1.934 &nbsp

Evaluation of cognitive functions in diabetic patients

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia. In this study, authors investigated cognitive functions in the diabetes and control group with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Authors analyzed the association of cognitive status with age, sex, duration of diabetes, insulin use and HbA1c in diabetic patients.Methods: Fifty patients with diabetes diagnosed between the ages of 50 and 70 who applied to this Diabetes and General Internal Medicine Clinics between January 2017 and September 2017 were included. Fifty patients with nondiabetes diagnosed with similar age and demographic characteristics were included in the control group. MMSE was applied to both groups. In the diabetic group, cognitive functions were investigated in relation with age, gender, duration of diabetes, insulin usage and HbA1c.Results: The MMSE score in diabetic patients was lower than the control group (p<0.05). In addition, cognitive impairment in diabetic patients was associated with duration of diabetes and HbA1c level. There wasn't significant difference was found between cognitive impairment and age, sex, insulin use.Conclusions: Diabetes Mellitus is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia with many possible mechanisms. In the routine, there is no screening for cognitive impairment and dementia in diabetic patients; but if authors detect early cognitive impairment, authors can prevent cognitive impairment progression to dementia with medical treatment and cognitive exercises

Sıcaklığa Duyarlı PNIPAM Hidrojellerde Çapraz Bağlayıcı ve Başlatıcı Sisteminin Karşılaştırılması

Thermoresponsive hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer networks which undergo conformational changes in aqueous media depending on the external temperature. As the lower critical temperature (LCST) is close to the body temperature, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) is the main thermoresponsive hydrogel used for biomedical applications. Below LCST, PNIPAM hydrogels swell in aqueous media, above LCST they become insoluble and shrink. This behavior makes it possible to design drug release systems controlled by external temperature. Swelling/shrinking response of PNIPAM hydrogel depends on several factors such as crosslinker type, crosslinking density, hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance and initiator type. In this study, the effects of the initiation system and the crosslinker type on different thermoresponsive hydrogels were compared. For this purpose, thermoresponsive hydrogels were synthesized by using ethylene glycol dimethylacrylate (EGDMA) and N,N′-ethylene bisacrylamide (EBAM) as crosslinkers via photo and thermal initiation systems. The hydrogels were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Effects of the initiation system and the crosslinker type on the release, swelling behavior, morphology and the biocompatibility behavior of the hydrogels were investigated. The hydrogels synthesized with EBAM demonstrated more promising results compared to the one synthesized EGDMA. It was concluded that poly(EBAM-co-NIPAM)-P has the highest swelling ratio and poly(EBAM-co-NIPAM)-T is the most biocompatible hydrogel. In terms of release characteristics, there was not a significant difference between the hydrogels, even though their swelling characteristics differ

Učinak prilagodljive okoline za učenje kod poučavanja pojma broja učenika s intelektualnim poteškoćama

The objective of the study is to research evidence of the effectiveness of adaptive computer software that enables students with intellectual disabilities to acquire mathematical skills. The hybrid method, in which quantitative and qualitative research patterns are used together, is our research model. For the quantitative pattern of the research, an authentic experimental model including a pre-test and a final test, was used with the experimental and control group, but for the qualitative pattern, a descriptive model was used with the aim to describe participants’ views of the process. The research was conducted on a group of thirty participants – students in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth grades. The materials used in the research had been developed by the researchers. Additionally, overall assessment forms, achievement tests and detailed assessment forms were used in the research. For the analysis of the data, two-way ANOVA for mixed measures and descriptive analysis were used. The analyses indicated that, while there was a significant difference between pre-test and post-test, a significant difference could not be found between the traditional learning environment and adaptive learning environment in terms of effectiveness of the education. Moreover, the participants\u27 views of the application were examined.Cilj je ovoga istraživanja proučiti dokaze o učinkovitosti prilagođenog računalnog softvera koji omogućuje učenicima s intelektualnim poteškoćama da usvoje matematičke vještine. Hibridna metoda, u kojoj se zajedno koriste kvantitativni i kvalitativni istraživački uzorci, naš je model istraživanja. Za kvantitativni uzorak istraživanja koristio se autentični eksperimentalni model koji podrazumijeva predtest i konačni test s eksperimentalnom i kontrolnom skupinom. Za kvalitativni uzorak koristili smo se deskriptivnim model putem kojega smo mogli opisati mišljenja ispitanika vezana uz sam proces. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od trideset ispitanika – učenika iz četvrtoga, petoga, šestoga, sedmoga i devetoga razreda. Materijale koji su korišteni u istraživanju razvili su sami istraživači. Nadalje, u ovome su se istraživanju koristili cjelokupni obrasci za ocjenjivanje, testovi postignuća i detaljni evaluacijski obrasci. Za analizu podataka koristila se dvosmjerna ANOVA za mješovita mjerenja i deskriptivna analiza. Na kraju analize, iako je uočena značajna razlika između predtesta i završnoga testa, značajna razlika nije utvrđena između tradicionalne okoline za učenje i prilagođene okoline za učenje s obzirom na učinkovitost obrazovanja. Štoviše, također su bila ispitana mišljenja sudionika u istraživanju o samoj primjeni

The Cytotoxicity, Characteristics, and Optimization of Insulin-loaded Nanoparticles

Controlled release systems for insulin are frequent subjects of research, because it is rapidly degraded by proteolytic enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract and minimally absorbed after oral administration. Controlled release systems also provide significant contribution to its stability.  Different techniques are used for the preparation of drug-loaded nanoparticles, and many novel techniques are being developed. The size and morphology of insulin-loaded nanoparticles may vary according to performed techniques, even if the same polymer is used. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the cytotoxicity of insulin loaded nanoparticles and the effect of various synthesis parameters on the particle size, polydispersity index (PdI), loading efficiency, and particle morphology. In the experiments, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and insulin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles were prepared using the double emulsion (w/o/w) method. The characterization of the nanoparticles were performed with a UV spectrometer, the Zeta-sizer system, FTIR spectroscopy, and a scanning probe microscope. Cell toxicity of different concentrations was assayed with MTT methods on L929 fibroblast cells. The optimum size of the insulin-loaded PLGA nanoparticle was obtained with a 96.5% encapsulation efficiency, a 224.5 nm average particle size, and a 0.063 polydispersity index. This study obtained and characterized spherical morphology, determined that the nanoparticles have very low toxicity, and showed the effect of different parameters on particle size and polydispersity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v9i1.934

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI