Academic and Social Problems Faced by Visually Impaired Students during University Education

In rapidly developing universities in Turkey, although it is aimed to fulfil the support services for disabled students as required by the students and to best meet the needs of the students, it is seen that the needs of students with disabilities cannot be adequately met. Despite the fact that every university administration in higher education supports the creation of accessible university environment for disabled students, the problems of such students remain in practice. In this scope, it is observed that the needs of visually impaired students studying at a public university have not been met at expected level despite the efforts to this end. The aim of this study is to reveal the academic and social problems faced by visually impaired students who are studying at the "Faculty of Education" campus of the state university, to develop suggestions for solving these problems and to contribute to creation of accessible university environment. The study was carried out with "interviews" as a type of qualitative research methods. For data collection, a 'Semi-structured Interview Form' developed by researchers was used. Participants included 5 visually impaired students studying at the Faculty of Education of the state university. Voice recordings were taken at interviews and transcripts of each interviewer were made and the data were analyzed using the "Descriptive Analysis" method. Results showed that although the needs of visually impaired students are tried to be met, they face problems in the academic environment in arrangement of the examination setting and the examiner to give it. Also they reported that they are not informed about the social activities held in the university campus and lack of public transportation line within the campus. Keywords: Higher Education, Visually Impaired Students, Barrier-free University, Measurement-Evaluation Practice

Soil quality of a cropland and adjacent natural grassland in an arid region

Maintaining and improving the quality of soils are vital to provide the food and fiber demands of increasing human population and support the sustainability of the ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of land use change on soil quality and related functions of natural grassland and adjacent cropland which has been used as grassland till 2008. Rotation of forage crops including rye, triticale, barley and second crop silage corn has been applied in the cropland after the conversion from rangeland. Manure (50 ton ha-1) was applied to all croplands at the beginning of the crop production. A total of 200 surface soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected in June 2012, 68 of which were from cropland and 132 from natural grassland. Soil samples were analyzed for bulk density, aggregate stability, available water content, water-filled pore space, total organic carbon, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio, plant available phosphorus and extractable potassium concentrations to determine the soil quality index using Soil Management Assessment Framework method. Nutrient cycle, water relations, physical stability and support, filtration and storage, and resilience and resistance sub-functions were examined under the soil quality. Indicators defining the soil functions were determined using expert opinion and principal component analysis (PCA), and weights for each indicator were assigned by using simple additive and weighted additive methods. The aggregate stability included in the data set with the expert opinion was removed from the data set by the PCA approach. Total organic carbon, sodium adsorption ratio and EC were the most frequently used indicators to define soil functions in the study area. Soil quality assessment determined by PCA and expert opinion methods produced significantly different results. The mean sodium adsorption ratio values of cropland and natural grassland were 4.30 and 7.19, and the EC values were 2.48 and 3.66 dS m-1, respectively. High sodium adsorption ratio decreased the soil quality in both lands. In addition, lower total organic carbon and higher EC values in natural grassland were other causes of low soil quality. Manure addition, crop rotation and irrigation in cropland increased the total organic carbon and decreased the sodium adsorption ratio and EC values compared to the natural grassland. Therefore, contrary to the expectations that converting rangelands into the croplands leads to negative changes in soil functions, conversion of natural grassland to cropland in study area, improved the soil quality. The simplicity and quantitative flexibility of soil management assessment framework allowed to compare and assess the effects of rangeland conversion into cropland. © 2020 Earth and Environmental Team, Romania

Early Intervention in Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Early intervention is services for infants and toddlers who have developmental deficiency or considered high risk due to the environmental or biologic factors. The aim of the early intervention is increasing the physical, cognitive and emotional capacities of infants/toddlers with protecting them from the environmental or biological risk factors. Early intervention should start as soon as possible for obtaining the best results for the child and family. First 3 years of life are critical period of the child development because neurologic development still continues. Infants and toddlers are providing physical, cognitive, sensory and social development with different experiences and various sensory stimuli from the environment in this period. Occupational therapists evaluate and implement interventions to activity, environment, infant/toddlers and their families for minimizing the developmental risks. For these reasons, occupational therapists are considered important members of early intervention team

Clay mineralogy, chemistry, and diagenesis of late devonian K-bentonite occurrences in northwestern Turkey

Thin beds of tephra (K-bentonites) formed by the diagenesis of volcanic ash are exposed within the limestone-dolomitic limestone successions of the Yilanli formation at Zonguldak and Bartin in northwestern Turkey. They were deposited on the Middle Devonian-Lower Carboniferous shallow carbonate platform of the Zonguldak terrane. In this study, K-bentonite samples collected from Gavurpinari and Yilanli Burnu limestone quarries are investigated in order to reveal their mineralogical and geochemical characteristics and diagenetic evolution. Illite is the major clay mineral in the studied K-bentonites. Additionally, kaolinite and mixed-layer illite-smectite are identified in some samples. The nonclay minerals calcite, dolomite, quartz, gypsum, feldspar, pyrite, and zircon are also found. Crystal-chemical characteristics (Kiibler index, d060 values, and polytypes of illites) from two different sampling locations do not show significant variations. Kiibler index values for the Yilanli Burnu and Gavurpinari sampling locations, 0.47-0.93 (average: 0.71 A°29) and 0.69-0.77 (average: 0.72 A°29), respectively, indicate that illites were affected by high-grade diagenetic conditions. The swelling (or smectite) component (~5%), crystallite size (N = 10-20 nm), and polytype (2M1 > 1Md) data of illites support the same conditions. Illite d060 values of 1.491-1.503 A correspond to a range of octahedral Mg+Fe values of 0.27-0.51 atoms per formula, indicating a composition between end-member muscovite and phengite unit. Trace and rare earth element-based chemical classification of the K-bentonite samples revealed that composition of original volcanic ash is basaltic. Illitization took place by fixation of K from volcanic minerals and ash, and diffusion of elements (Mg+Fe) into and out of the beds during diagenesis. Mineralogical-chemical data point out that these K-bentonites evolved in high-grade diagenetic conditions (approximately 100-150 °C) from the products of volcanic eruptions of disputed sources and distances during the Late Devonian time. © 2015 TÜBİTAK

Temperature effects on the properties of Ge thin films

The effects of substrate temperature (T-s) on the properties of vacuum evaporated p-type Ge thin films have been investigated for 25 < T-s < 400 degrees C. Increase in the substrate temperature improves the crystallinity and increases the grain size resulting a gradual change from amorphous to polycrystalline structure which was attained above a substrate temperature of 225 degrees C. Low resistive (1 x 10(-2) ohm-cm) and high mobility (280 cm(2)/V . s) films were obtained at T-s = 400 degrees C. It has been observed that the conduction mechanism in polycrystalline films was dominated successively by hopping, tunneling and thermionic emission as the sample temperature was increased from 40 to 400 K. In amorphous samples, conduction was described in terms of different hopping mechanisms. (C) 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers

Atypical Presentation of a Tick Paralysis in a Dog

An 11-month-old Guregh dog was admitted to the hospital with history of vomiting and regurgitation, gait disorder and unilateral thread-like hypersalivation for last a few days. Clinical and radiographic examinations revealed quadriplegia, facial paralysis, grave MGCS (5) and VAS (4) scores, severe megaesophagus and gas-filled distended intestines. In hematochemical analysis, leucocytosis due to granulocytosis with polycythemia, elevated BUN, creatinine, CPK and AST levels were determined. During careful clinical examination, engorged ticks were found in the head and neck region of the dog. After excluding diseases that may cause similar symptoms, diagnosis of atypical tick paralysis was made on the basis of clinical findings such as history of vomiting and regurgitation before the onset of gait abnormalities and the presence of megaoesophagus although the patient is less than 1 year old. The clinical appearance, MGCS and VAS scores improved after 5 days of hospitalization period. It was concluded that the presence of megaesophagus in young dogs with vomiting and/or regurgitation before the onset of neurological findings are observed in atypical tick paralysis and hospitalization of the patient, tick removal, supportive treatment administration and MGCS and VAS score assessments provide successful clinical results

Environmental risk factors in the aetiology of multiple sclerosis in Kayseri: a case control study

Background: our purpose is to evaluate the possible relationship between multiple sclerosis (MS) and environmental factors in Kayseri. Methods: this case control study was conducted on 100 patients with MS and 100 sex-aged and residential area matched control. Data was collected by using face to face interviews. Questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part was comprised of items related with the participants’ sociodemographic features. The second part was related with factors thought to be involved in the occurrence or aggravation of the disease. The Chi-square test and logistic regression were used for analysis. Results: logistic regression analysis revealed the following as possible risk factors in MS cases: economic status (Odds Ratio (OR): 0.14 adjusted 7.19; Confidence Interval 95% (CI): 0.05-0.43), having a sensitive personality (OR:4.51; 95% CI: 1.10-18.45), familial history of MS (OR:3.28; 95% CI: 1.3-8.27), history of cranial and spinal injury (OR: 2.99; 95% CI: 1.11-8.08), cooking oil consumption (OR:0.07 adjusted 13.5; 95% CI: 0.03-0.20), consumption of legumes and grains (OR: 0.11 adjusted 8.9; 95% CI: 0.03-0.41), and living in dwellings within a distance of 500 meters from transformer basestations (OR: 6.5; 95% CI: 1.54-28.21). Conclusions: we believe that it is necessary to inform the individuals about the risk of MS and their relatives of the results of large-scale joint studies and to offer suggestions based on the data obtained

Sustainable nutrition

Sustainability refers to the ability to endure and persist into the future. It was initially introduced by the World Commission on Environment and Development through their 1987 report entitled “Our Common Future”. When defining sustainable nutrition, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) places importance on respecting and safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as ensuring adequate, reliable, and nutritious food. The global population is presently experiencing rapid growth, which poses a risk of depleting nutritional resources over time. One of the primary objectives of sustainable nutrition is to preserve existing resources for future generations. Achieving this requires careful utilization of global resources. In recent years, there has been a particular focus on researching and altering dietary choices and patterns within communities. The emphasis has been on the applicability of nutrition models that exhibit low ecological, carbon, and water footprints as sustainable nutrition models. Examples of such plant-based sustainable nutrition models include the Mediterranean diet, the Double Pyramid model, the New Nordic diet, vegan and vegetarian diets, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, and the planetary health diet. Additionally, it is crucial to discover alternative food sources that resemble animal protein sources, are accessible to all, and gain widespread acceptance. Currently, the most extensively studied alternative food sources include insects, algae, and cultured meat

Opening the curtains: Adoption of transparency policy for eliminating in confidentiality of the faith groups

Transparency policies, which have become increasingly important in recent years, have become one of the most important implementation tools of accountability, especially for public administrations. The main purpose of this study is to examine a public policy that can be planned to be implemented in Turkish public administration under the leadership of the Presidency of Religious Affairs (PRA). In the public policy literature, policy transfer and adoption processes are considered a quick solution for developing countries. Because developing countries have two important constraints, such as time and resources, to produce a solution. The adoption process of the policy that is planned to be implemented in Turkey, compared to the transparency policies in faith group services carried out by the UK public institutions, is the focus of this study. Although belief groups are important for the spread of civil society, they can cause certain social and political problems. It is not possible to produce qualified solutions to these problems by ignoring belief groups or making them illegal with a radical approach. The principle of transparency in public policies plays a key role in solving the problems encountered in civil society. This case study and content analysis will both provide the PRA with a theoretical assessment of its transparency policy and provide a roadmap for academics to work on different public policies