Force monitor for training manual skills in the training of chiropractors

As part of their training, students of Chiropractic Medicine at Zürich are trained to acquire and then improve their manual and manipulative skills, especially their ability to deliver manipulative thrusts with a defined preloading force, an impulse that is delivered with an adequate and reproducible force within a defined time without letting up on the preload-pressure. In order to facilitate this process, objective feedback is paramount. This led to the idea of developing a force-measurement and -monitoring system. The newly developed system consists of a wireless device with a force sensor and an app that is running on standard smartphones. The device records the force applied to the sensor and transmits it via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to the app. There it is visualised as a graph and can be evaluated. The system allows us to provide all students with a tool to develop their manual skills, and especially their thrusting technique. As the feedback given by the system can be record ed, progress can be monitored and students can be mentored accurately according to their strengths and weaknesses

Robust capacity expansion and routing in networks

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this thesis, we consider a robust capacity expansion-routing problem with uncertain demand. Given a network with source and demand nodes and a capacity budget, the capacity expansion problem is related to the determination of the arcs on which additional capacity will be installed in order to minimize the overall routing cost while satisfying the demand of the nodes. We make use of the Robust Counterpart (RC) approach in the literature in order to make capacity installation and routing decisions. RC approach is important since it does not allow any constraint violation for any realization of the uncertainty and such approaches are often necessary in engineering applications in real life. We apply the classical RC formulation to our problem that results in a simple one-stage model. The two-stage version of the RC formulation, namely the Adjustable Robust Counterpart (ARC), is also applicable to our problem. The formulation of the ARC is given but since it is not computationally tractable, an approximation to ARC developed recently, namely Affinely Adjustable Robust Counterpart (AARC) formulation, is applied to our problem and solved. The efficiencies of the RC formulation and AARC formulation are tested via two different sets of numerical studies in the experimental part. The main model that allows capacity installation in continuous amounts as well as two extensions that make use of the modular capacity approach are used in the experimental study. The computational experiments illustrate that AARC approach provides robust solutions at a much cheaper cost in terms of objective function value when compared to RC approach. In addition the loss of optimality due to application of AARC formulation is minor.Kahramanoğlu, İbrahim EvrenM.S

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic Process on the Incidence of Intestinal Parasites; Aydın Province Example

Objective:The Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which started in our country in March 2020, has caused a sudden and dramatic change in our habits. As a result of the pandemic measures directly effective in the transmission of parasites, it has become important to investigate the possible effect of the COVID-19 pandemic process on the incidence of intestinal parasites.Methods:In order to examine the situation before and after the pandemic, all stool and cellophane tape test results examined from March 11, 2018 to March 11, 2022 in Aydın Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Medicine Parasitology Laboratory were evaluated retrospectively. The relationship between the socio-demographic characteristics of the cases, the distribution of the months and years of diagnosis and the prevalence of parasites were also evaluated.Results:Of the 13,036 stool samples examined, 67.42% belong to the pre-pandemic and 32.58% belong to the post-pandemic period. In total, 1.959 stool samples were positive for at least one parasite, of which 71.41% were from the pre-pandemic. Blastocystis spp. was the most frequently detected parasite both before (14.63%) and after the pandemic (12.59%). Of the 3.194 cellophane tape examined, 72.32% belonged to the pre-pandemic and 27.68% post-pandemic period, and Enterobius vermicularis eggs were detected in 246 (7.70%) of all. The majority of E. vermicularis positive samples (82.11%) were belonged to the pre-pandemic period. The number and positivity rates of stool and cellophane tape samples examined in the post-pandemic period showed a significant decrease (p<0.05).Conclusion:It was observed that the incidence of intestinal parasites decreased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Important developments in terms of public health, such as measures such as social distance and quarantine during the pandemic process, increased sensitivity to personal hygiene, and informing the public through various tools during the pandemic, are thought to be the reason for the decrease in the prevalence of intestinal parasites

Real-time elastography for differentiation of breast lesions

Backroung: To investigate the diagnostic performance of the elastography-based strain index ratio in the differential diagnosis of malignant and benign breast lesions. Material/Methods: Seventy-nine breast masses that were classified as BI-RADS category 3, 4, and 5 on B-mode ultrasonography (US) were further prospectively evaluated by real-time sonoelastography (RTE). To obtain an optimal cut-off value of the strain ratio for differentiating between malignant and benign breast lesions, RTE findings were compared with histopathology of core needle biopsy samples or with ultrasound follow-up data of the analyzed masses. Results: Seventy-nine breast lesions [BI-RADS category 3 (n=15), BI-RADS category 4 (n=34), and BI-RADS category 5 (n=30)] were classified as malignant (n=36) or benign (n=43). The mean strain index value was 6.59±3.44 (range 0.6-14) for malignant lesions and 2.79±2.16 (range 0.6-8.7) for benign lesions, respectively (p<0.05). As regards the detection of malignant lesions, US was characterized by sensitivity and specificity of 100% (CI 95%; 88-100) and 90% (CI 95%; 76-97), respectively. When an optimal value of the strain ratio (4.25) was obtained by ROC curve analysis, the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing malignant lesions were 86% (CI 95%; 70-95) and 76% (CI 95%; 60-87), respectively. Conclusions: RTE can play an important role in the differentiation between malignant and benign breast masses, but it should be used in conjunction with ultrasonography

Fen Bilimleri Dersinde Algodoo Kullanımına Yönelik Öğrenci Görüşleri

Bu araştırmada 6. Sınıf fen bilimleri dersinde "kuvvet ve hareket" ve "ışık ve ses" ünitelerinde Algodoo yazılımı ile geliştirilmiş simülasyonların kullanımına dair öğrenci görüşlerinin tespit edilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Durum çalışması desenlerinden bütüncül tek durum deseninin kullanıldığı araştırmanın çalışma grubunu 6 öğrenci (4 kız, 2 erkek) oluşturmaktadır. Yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşme yöntemi ile toplanan araştırmanın verileri içerik analizi ve sürekli karşılaştırmalı veri analizi yöntemleriyle analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda öğrencilerin Algodoo yazılımının her iki ünitedeki temel kavramları öğrenmelerine katkı sağladığını düşündükleri ve fen bilimleri derslerinde Algodoo kullanımına yönelik olumlu yönde görüşlere sahip oldukları tespit edilmiştir

Astronomical Site Selection for Turkey Using GIS Techniques

A site selection of potential observatory locations in Turkey have been carried out by using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) coupled with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery which in turn reduced cost and time and increased the accuracy of the final outcome. The layers of cloud cover, digital elevation model, artificial lights, precipitable water vapor, aerosol optical thickness and wind speed were studied in the GIS system. In conclusion of MCDA, the most suitable regions were found to be located in a strip crossing from southwest to northeast including also a diverted region in southeast of Turkey. These regions are thus our prime candidate locations for future on-site testing. In addition to this major outcome, this study has also been applied to locations of major observatories sites. Since no goal is set for \textit{the best}, the results of this study is limited with a list of positions. Therefore, the list has to be further confirmed with on-site tests. A national funding has been awarded to produce a prototype of an on-site test unit (to measure both astronomical and meteorological parameters) which might be used in this list of locations.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Experimental Astronom

Nomophobia Prevalence among Pre-service Teachers: A case of Trakya University

Mobil telefonlar, modern insan hayatının vazgeçilmez bir parçası haline gelmiştir. Cep telefonları ve akıllı telefonların kullanımı bireyin yaşamını kolaylaştırırken, aşırı kullanımı yüzünden bağımlılık, kaygı, korku veya huzursuzluk gibi bazı olumsuz durumlar ortaya çıkmaktadır. Son zamanlarda modern çağın fobisi olarak bahsedilen nomofobi, bireyin mobil cihazına erişemediğinde yaşadığı korku ve kaygı olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Özellikle akıllı telefonların yaygınlaşması ile toplumda bireylerin mobil iletişim teknolojileri ile daha etkileşimde olmalarının nomofobiyi beslediği düşünülmektedir. Nomofobi, bireyin yaşamının her alanında işlerine yoğunlaşmasını olumsuz yönde etkiler. Nomofobik davranışlar, özellikle uyku düzenini ve derse konsantre olma gibi günlük alışkanlıklarımızı değiştirebilmekte, özellikle öğrencilerin nomofobi yüzünden yaşadığı olumsuzluklar okul yaşantılarına ve akademik başarılarına da etki edebilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın da amacı, 2015-2016 öğretim yılı güz döneminde bir devlet üniversitesinde farklı branşlarda olmak üzere öğretmenlik bölümlerinde öğrenim gören 818 öğretmen adayı arasında nomofobinin yaygınlığını incelemektir. Nedensel-karşılaştırma yöntemiyle gerçekleştirilen çalışmanın analiz aşamasında betimsel istatistikler, bağımsız örneklem t-testi ve tek yönlü varyans analizi kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre, ölçekten alınan ortalama puan üzerinden öğrencilerin nomofobi düzeylerinin ortalamanın üzerinde olduğu ve iletişim kaybı ve bilgiye erişememe konusunda öğretmen adaylarının endişe duyduğu tespit edilmiştir. Çalışmanın diğer bulgularına göre öğretmen adayların cep telefonu kullanma süresi değişkenine göre anlamlı bir fark bulunmazken, cinsiyet açısından kadın öğrencilerin, erkek öğrencilere göre daha nomofobik olduğu görülmüştür. Ayrıca yaş değişkenine göre yaş arttıkça nomofobinin azaldığı, fakat akıllı telefon kullanma süresi arttıkça nomofobinin arttığı görülmüştür.Mobile phones has become an indispensable tool for modern society. Although usage of cellular and smart phones make individual's life easier, they may also create some negative consequences such as addiction, anxiety, fear or unrest due to overuse. Nomophobia, which is called as phobia of modern era, is defined as fear and anxiety feelings that an individual feels while he/she cannot access or reach to mobile devices. Especially, with the prevalence of smart phones, it is thought that increased interaction with mobile communication technologies also boots nomophobia of individuals in the society. Nomophobia impair individuals focusing on their works in every part of their lives. Nomophobic behaviors may change daily habits such as sleeping habits and concentration on lessons, especially nomophobia affects students in a negative way in terms of school life and academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to investigate nomophobia prevalence among 818 pre-service teachers who are students in different departments at a state university in Turkey during the 2015-2016 fall semester. In this causal-comparative study, descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA analyses were used. Results showed that according to mean score of the instrument, pre-service teachers' nomophobia levels are higher than the mean and they feel anxious about not being able to communicate and not being able to access information. In addition to this, although there is not a significant different in terms of mobile phone usage hours, female pre-service teachers were found more nomophobic than males. Moreover, it is seen that when age increases nomophobia decreases, however in terms of smart phone usage frequency it is different: as usage frequency of smart phones increases, nomophobia increases as well

Determining Risk Factors of Bleeding in Patients on Warfarin Treatment

Background. Warfarin is a commonly used oral anticoagulant agent. The most common adverse effects of warfarin are bleeding complications. Methods. We performed a 1-year retrospective chart review of emergency department patients using warfarin. A total of 65 patients with bleeding disorder (study group) and 63 patients without bleeding (control group) were included, making up a total of 128 subjects. Demographic data, frequency of international normalized ratio (INR) checks, and routine blood results were extracted. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine which factors were most closely associated with bleeding complications. Results. Median age was 62.0±14.4 and 61.9±14.5 for study group and control group, respectively. Educational status and frequency of INR checks were similar in both groups (P=0.101 and P=0.483, resp.). INR levels were higher in the study group (5.45±3.98 versus 2.63±1.71, P<0.001). Creatinine levels were also higher in the study group (1.14±0.57 mg/dL versus 0.94±0.38 mg/dL, P=0.042). Acetylsalicylic acid use was more frequent in the study group and was associated with a 9-fold increase in bleeding complications (P<0.001). Conclusions. High INR levels, high creatinine levels, and acetylsalicylic acid use were associated with bleeding complications in ED patients using warfarin

STMS markers related to Ascochyta blight resistance in chickpea

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the important legume crops and is cultivated in large-scale throughout Türkiye as well as the world. Ascochyta blight, caused by the fungal phytopathogen Ascochyta rabiei, is the leading reason for the highest yield losses among the diseases known for chickpea. The pathogen exhibits high genetic diversity in Türkiye. Therefore, resistancy using Sequence Tagged Microsatellite Site (STMS) markers related with the genes that provide resistant against Ascochyta blight was investigated for the 205 chickpea breeding lines grown in different parts of Türkiye. The analysis for Ascochyta blight resistance was performed using Ta2, Ta146 and Ts54. It was demonstrated that Ta2, Ts54 and Ta146 were the STMS markers having distinguishable features for the detection of Ascochyta blight resistance and were shown to be used in credible fashion for the selection of resistant chickpea breeding lines