Adaptation of Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Towards Teaching Thinking Skills Scale Into English

Teaching thinking skills is core of the curriculum in many cultures. Although curricula have mutual points, the results were different from each other. Having different results of teaching thinking curriculums applied in different countries indicates importance of personal differences of teachers. Defining level of teacher’s self-efficacy makes a contribution to determining success level of curriculum. Developing a global scale contributes both researchers and practitioner while teaching thinking. The aim of this study is to adapt Teachers’ Self-efficacy towards Teaching Thinking Skills Scale (TSTS), developed in Turkish, into English. The scale consists of 20 items. Each item has 5 point Likert type. It has 3 factors as Design, Practice and Academic Competence. For this purpose, firstly linguistic equivalence was analyzed. For linguistic equivalence, both versions of the scale were applied to 28 candidate teachers of English with 20 day intervals. In the second step, Confirmatory Factor Analyses was administrated to data taken from 144 native English teachers. After the analysis, good level fitting indices were found. Cronbach Alpha coefficient value is .94. Construct validity (Convergence and Discriminating validity) study on correlations between sub-dimensions and average explained variance value has good sufficient level. Scale items were found discriminating. Results showed that English version of the scale was statistically valid and reliable

Prediction of stress in of X type folding and conventional booms and Taguchi analyses

Günümüz teknolojisinde, tarımsal ilaçlama makinelerinin genişliklerinin artmasıyla ilaç püskürtücükanatların katlanma ve montaj usullerinde farklılaşmaya gidilmiştir. Orta ve uzun kanatlı ilaçlamamakineleri, daha ekonomik ve hızlı ilaçlama avantajlarını sunmakla birlikte arazi, çevre koşulları vedüşük montaj rijitlik etkisiyle kanatlarda ürün ilaçlama kalitesini etkileyen stabilite problemlerine sebepolmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, tarımsal ilaçlama makinelerinde kullanılan X tipi katlanır kanatlar ilegeleneksel kanatlar; tasarım farklılığı, farklı yüklemeler altında oluşan gerilme ve gerinim bakımındanmukayese edilmiştir. Konuyla ilgili literatür araştırması yapıldıktan sonra, her iki kanat tipi tasarlanarakgerekli malzeme sabitlerine ve literatürde belirtilen farklı deplasman değerlerine göre yüklemeleraltında yapısal sonlu elemanlar analizleri (FEA) yapılmıştır. Taguchi deney tasarımına göre yapılan FEAneticesinde; X tipi katlanan kanatta maksimum gerilme ve gerinimler püskürtücü kanadın kayarmekanizmaya montaj konstrüksiyonunda, geleneksel kanatlarda profillerin kaynaklı montajbağlantılarında yoğunlaşmıştır. Ayrıca, FEA analiz sonuçları kullanılarak yapılan Taguchi analizi ileyorumlanarak imalata projeksiyon bilgiler elde edilmiştir.In today technology, differentiation has been made in methods of boom folding and mounting methodswith increased width of agricultural spraying machines. Spraying machines with middle and long boomsoffer advantage of more economical and fast spraying and cause stability problems affecting plantspraying quality due to terrain and environment condition, and also low rigid fixing. In this study, X typefolding boom compared with conventional boom in terms of stresses and strains and also designdifferences. After doing literature surveys, the X type and conventional spraying booms were designedand then the structural finite elements analyses (FEA) were performed by defining of materialsconstants and under the determined loading according to displacements of booms mentioned inliterature. As results of FEA analyses with Taguchi experimental design; the obtained stresses andstrains focused on the mounting construction to sliding mechanism of agriculture spraying machine, onthe other hand, stresses and strains localized on welding connection of boom profiles. The projectioninformation obtained with interpreting of the Taguchi analyses using FEA results to manufacturing ofsprayer boom

EVALUATION ON THE SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICS PROGRAM ARRANGEMENTS IN 2005 WITH RESPECT TO THE VIEWS OF PROSPECTIVE PHYSICS TEACHERS AND PHYSICS TEACHERS

ilgili görüĞ¢leriyle karĞ¢ılaĞ¢tırarak fizik programı düzenlemelerini değerlendirmektir. ÇalıĞ¢manın örneklemini, Ğ zmir‟deki bir devlet üniversitesinin fizik öğretmenliği programı 4. ve 5. sınıflarında okumakta olan 80 öğretmen adayı oluĞ¢turmaktadır. Veri toplama aracı olarak daha önce fizik öğretmenlerine uygulanan 35 kapalı uçlu ve 11 açık uçlu sorudan oluĞ¢an bir anket kullanılmıĞ¢tır. Ankette yer alan sorulardan elde edilen verilerin frekans dağılımları belirlenmiĞ¢tir. Öğretmen adayları ve öğretmenler fizik uygulama derslerinin yeniden programda yer alması ve fizik ders saatlerinin artırılması, 9. sınıf programındaki konuların genel kültür düzeyinde kalması, 10. sınıf programında mekanik konularının ve 11. sınıfta ise elektrik konularının tümünün yer alması gerektiğini belirtmiĞ¢lerdir. Bu bulgular doğrultusunda ortaöğretim fizik ders konularının yıllara göre sıralanması, aĞ¢amalılık ve önkoĞ¢ul ilkeleri dikkate alınarak tablo halinde sunulmuĞ¢tur. \r\n\r\nABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the physics program arrangements by determining the ideas of prospective physics teachers on the the secondary school physics program arrangements in 2005 following the increase from three years to four years period, and by comparing them with the ideas of the physics teachers on the same subject. The sampling of the study consisted of 80 prospective teachers who attend 4th and 5th classes at a state university‟s physics education program. In order to collect the views of prospective teachers, a questionnaire, including 35 close-ended and 11 open-ended questions was used. The frequency distribution of data that was obtained from close-ended and open-ended questions was determined. Suggestions of prospective teachers and physics teachers regarding the physics program arrangements are; Physics Application courses should be included in the program and the hours of the physics courses should be increased, making 9th degree physics program should only be on general culture level, the content of 10th level should be only for mechanical topics and the content of 11th level should be only for electrical topics. According to the findings, suggestions were presented as a table for listing year-based secondary school physics courses by considering the principles of progressiveness in unit order and prerequisite for other lessons

Predictors of Outcome in Patients with Advanced Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Testicular Tumors

Background: Predictor factors determining complete response to treatment are still not clearly defined. We aimed to evaluate clinicopathological features, risk factors, treatment responses, and survival analysis of patient with advanced nonseminomatous GCTs (NSGCTs). Materials and Methods: Between November 1999 and September 2011, 140 patients with stage II and III NSGCTs were referred to our institutions and 125 patients with complete clinical data were included in this retrospective study. Four cycles of BEP regimen were applied as a first-line treatment. Salvage chemotherapy and/or high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with autologous stem cell transplantation were given in patients who progressed after BEP chemotherapy. Post-chemotherapy surgery was performed in selected patients with incomplete radiographic response and normal tumor markers. Results: The median age was 28 years. For the good, intermediate and poor risk groups, compete response rates (CRR) were, 84.6%, 67.9% and 59.4%, respectively. Extragonadal tumors, stage 3 disease, intermediate and poor risk factors, rete testis invasion were associated with worse outcomes. There were 32 patients (25.6%) with non-CR who were treated with salvage treatment. Thirty-one patients died from GCTs and 94% of them had stage III disease. Conclusions: Even though response rates are high, some patients with GCTs still need salvage treatment and cure cannot be achieved. Non-complete response to platinium-based first-line treatment is a negative prognostic factor. Our study confirmed the need for a prognostic and predictive model and more effective salvage approaches

Resting-state EEG correlates of motor learning performance in a force-field adaptation task

Recent BCI-based stroke rehabilitation studies focus on exploiting information obtained from sensorimotor EEG activity. In the present study, to extend this focus beyond sensorimotor rhythms, we investigate associative brain areas that are also related with motor learning skills. Based on experimental data from twenty-one healthy subjects, resting-state EEG recorded prior to the experiment was used to predict motor learning performance during a force-field adaptation task in which subjects performed center-out reaching movements disturbed by an external force-field. A broad resting-state beta-power configuration was found to be predictive of motor adaptation rate. Our findings suggest that resting EEG beta-power is an indicator of subjects' ability to learn new motor skills and adapt to different sensorimotor states. This information can be further exploited in a novel BCI-based stroke rehabilitation approach we propose

Ultrasound Guided Infraclavicular Block for Pain Control After Upper Extremity Surgery

Background: Opioids added to local anesthetics for peripheral nerve blocks may intensify analgesia and prolong analgesic and sensorial block duration. These agents may also cause potentiation and prolongation of motor block. Objective: This study compared the postoperative effects of 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine +50 mcg fentanyl and 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine + 100 mcg fentanyl solutions for the ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block in patients undergoing elbow and forearm surgery. Methods: In this randomized double-blind study, thirty-six patients with risk of ASA class I-III were randomly allocated into 2 randomized groups. Ultrasound-guided infraclavicular blocks with 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine + 50 mcg fentanyl for group 1 and 30 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine + 100 mcg fentanyl for group 2 were performed before patients emerged from general anesthesia. After surgery, pain levels at rest and during movement were evaluated using the 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS) at recovery room admission, at the 15th and 30th minutes in the recovery room, and at the 2nd, 6th, 12th and 24th hours postoperatively. Both morphine and rescue analgesic requirements were recorded. Sensorial and motor block durations, patient satisfaction, and complications related to the infraclavicular block were recorded. Results: In both groups, no significant difference in VAS pain scores, total morphine and total rescue analgesic requirements, duration of sensorial and motor block, or patient satisfaction were observed. None of the patients experienced any complications. Conclusion: The mixtures of 0.25% bupivacaine + 50 mcg fentanyl and 0.25% bupivacaine + 100 mcg fentanyl showed similar postoperative effects

Prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and steatohepatitis in Türkiye: A forensic autopsy study

Background and aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a growing global epidemic in T & uuml;rkiye and worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of MASLD and steatohepatitis among adults who died of unnatural causes including sudden death and non-burn trauma. Method: We conducted a prospective review of all consecutive adult forensic autopsies for natural (sudden unexpected) and non-natural (Suicidal, homicidal and accidental) suspicious deaths carried out at the Istanbul Council of Forensic Medicine from February to May 2022. Four wedge biopsies were extracted from sagittal sectioned liver specimens. A liver pathologist with 20 years of experience examined each case for steatosis, ballooning, inflammation, and fibrosis. Results: Among 1797 autopsies, 62 met inclusion criteria. Overall, 43.3 % (n = 26) of autopsies showed evidence of steatotic liver disease, with a distribution of steatosis severity as: Grade I (28.3 %), Grade II (6.6 %), and Grade III (8.3 %). All these cases met at least one cardiometabolic criteria and diagnosed with MASLD. Ballooning was observed in 20.0 % of cases (5 cases grades 1 and 7 cases grade 2), and Inflammation was present in 51.7 % (9 cases with grade 0-1, 12 with 1-2, 7 with 2-3, and 3 with 5-6). Notably, 46.1 % (n = 12) of MASLD cases and 20.0 % (n = 12) of all cases were diagnosed with steatohepatitis, with three cases exhibiting delicate perisinusoidal fibrosis and one case showing portal fibrosis. Conclusion: The histopathological findings from this autopsy study confirmed the markedly high prevalence of MASLD and steatohepatitis within the general adult population, highlighting the concerning burden of steatotic liver disease in T & uuml;rkiye

MITF-MIR211 axis is a novel autophagy amplifier system during cellular stress

Macroautophagy (autophagy) is an evolutionarily conserved recycling and stress response mechanism. Active at basal levels in eukaryotes, autophagy is upregulated under stress providing cells with building blocks such as amino acids. A lysosome-integrated sensor system composed of RRAG GTPases and MTOR complex 1 (MTORC1) regulates lysosome biogenesis and autophagy in response to amino acid availability. Stress-mediated inhibition of MTORC1 results in the dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of the TFE/MITF family of transcriptional factors, and triggers an autophagy- and lysosomal-related gene transcription program. The role of family members TFEB and TFE3 have been studied in detail, but the importance of MITF proteins in autophagy regulation is not clear so far. Here we introduce for the first time a specific role for MITF in autophagy control that involves upregulation of MIR211. We show that, under stress conditions including starvation and MTOR inhibition, a MITF-MIR211 axis constitutes a novel feed-forward loop that controls autophagic activity in cells. Direct targeting of the MTORC2 component RICTOR by MIR211 led to the inhibition of the MTORC1 pathway, further stimulating MITF translocation to the nucleus and completing an autophagy amplification loop. In line with a ubiquitous function, MITF and MIR211 were co-expressed in all tested cell lines and human tissues, and the effects on autophagy were observed in a cell-type independent manner. Thus, our study provides direct evidence that MITF has rate-limiting and specific functions in autophagy regulation. Collectively, the MITF-MIR211 axis constitutes a novel and universal autophagy amplification system that sustains autophagic activity under stress conditions.No sponso

Pre-movement contralateral EEG low beta power is modulated with motor adaptation learning

Various neuroimaging studies aim to understand the complex nature of human motor behavior. There exists a variety of experimental approaches to study neurophysiological correlates of performance during different motor tasks. As distinct from studies based on visuomotor learning, we investigate changes in electroencephalographic (EEG) activity during an actual physical motor adaptation learning experiment. Based on statistical analysis of EEG signals collected during a force-field adaptation task performed with the dominant hand, we observe a modulation of pre-movement upper alpha (10-12 Hz) and lower beta (13-16 Hz) powers over the contralateral region. This modulation is observed to be stronger in lower beta range and, through a regression analysis, is shown to be related with motor adaptation performance on a subject-specific level