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In this study, the perceptions of students and faculty members regarding the use of Moodle/Office365 system in educational activities were examined. Perceptions have been examined from three different perspectives: These are the effect, usefulness and ease of use of the technology used on students' motivation in learning activities. Students enrolled in Computer for Law (ITEC190) and Introduction to Computers (ITEC115) courses using the Moodle/Office365 system and the instructor of the course participated in the study in the spring semester of 2019-2020. This study was conducted within the framework of using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research group consists of 106 students enrolled in the courses in the Faculty of Education and other faculties and the lecturers of the courses. As a result of this study, it was understood that the participants believed that the Moodle/Office365 system was a useful and easy to use technology. It has been observed that students and faculty member find it useful to use this new system in learning environments. In addition, it is thought that the use of this new system by students and faculty has a positive effect on students' motivation in learning activities.

This paper discusses findings of a mixed method approach to a study of the development of a community of inquiry in an online and a blended learning environment. A graduate course delivered online and in a blended format was the context of the study. Data were gathered from the Community of Inquiry Survey, transcript analysis of online discussions, and interviews with students and the course instructor. Using multiple qualitative and quantitative data sources, the goal was to explore the developmental differences of the three presences (social, teaching, and cognitive) in the community of inquiry framework and students' perceptions of a community of inquiry. The results indicated that in both the online and blended course a community of inquiry developed and students could sense each presence. However, the findings revealed developmental differences in social and cognitive presence between the two course formats with higher perceptions in the blended course. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

For many reasons the use of computer-assisted assessment (CAA) is increasing. Although computer-based examinations increase in use, research is lacking about students' perceptions of online assessment in general and of categorized fields of online assessment systems. The aim of the study was to investigate students' perceptions of the use of CAA and to investigate the potential for using student feedback in the validation of assessment. To determine the students' perceptions of online assessment, an examination Web site was developed and implemented as part of the assessment of Masaustu Yayincilik (Desktop Publishing), a course given by the Department of Computer Science at Kocaeli University, Turkey. The study was descriptive, using a paper-based survey and interviews for data collection. Participants were third-year students enrolled in the course. Descriptive analysis of the questionnaire and interview data showed that the most prominent features of the online assessment system were immediate feedback, randomized question order, item analysis of the questions, and obtaining the scores immediately after the exam. Participants reported the effectiveness of the online assessment system. Although there is much room for improvement in online assessment systems in the near future, such systems are accepted by computer-friendly youth. (Contains 7 tables.)

Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills. Purpose: The study aims to understand how seventh grade students perceive a collaborative web-based science project in light of Wolff's design categories. The goal of the project is to develop their technological and collaborative skills, to educate them about technology integration practices, and to provide an optimum collaborative, PBL experience. Sample: Seventh grade students aged 12-14 (n = 15) were selected from a rural K-12 school in Turkey through purposeful sampling. Design and methods: The current study applied proactive action research since it focused on utilizing a new way to enhance students' technological and collaborative skills and to demonstrate technology integration into science coursework. Data were collected qualitatively through interviews, observation forms, forum archives, and website evaluation rubrics. Results: The results found virtual spaces such as online tutorials, forums, and collaborative and communicative tools to be beneficial for collaborative PBL. The study supported Wolff's design features for a collaborative PBL environment, applying features appropriate for a rural K-12 school setting and creating a digitally-enriched environment. As the forum could not be used as effectively as expected because of school limitations, more flexible spaces independent of time and space were needed. Conclusions: This study's interdisciplinary, collaborative PBL was efficient in enhancing students' advanced technological and collaborative skills, as well as exposing them to practices for integrating technology into science. The study applied design features for a collaborative PBL environment with certain revisions.

This paper reports the development and validation process of a self-assessment survey that examines technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) among preservice teachers learning to teach English as a foreign language (EFL). The survey, called TPACK-EFL, aims to provide an assessment tool for preservice foreign language teachers that addresses subject-specific pedagogies and technologies. Using mixed methods approach, survey items were generated first using qualitative methods (e.g. expert interviews and document analysis). The content validity of the items was established through expert and preservice teacher reviews. The survey was then validated through two rounds of exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the first with 174 preservice EFL teachers and the second with 204 preservice EFL teachers. The results of the first round indicated a five-factor structure: technological knowledge (TK), content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and a fifth factor that combined TCK, TPK, and TPACK items. After revising the survey, the second round of EFA results showed a seven-factor structure that was consistent with the TPACK framework. The final TPACK-EFL survey included a total of 39 items: 9 TK, 5 CK, 6 PK, 5 PCK, 3 TCK, 7 TPK, and 4 TPACK. The results offer survey developers and teacher educators insight into establishing clear boundaries between the TPACK constructs. In particular, subject-specific strategies were used to generate clear and distinct items within the TCK and TPK constructs. Implications for developing other subject-specific TPACK surveys and using the TPACK-EFL survey in other countries are discussed.

This study identified critical issues in the design of a blended learning environment by examining basic design considerations and implementation issues. Following a design-based research approach with the phenomenological tradition of qualitative research, the study investigated instructor experiences relating to the design, development, and implementation processes of a blended course. The results reveal that the design considerations centred on the pedagogical approach, course organization, materials preparation, interactions, and the instructor's and students' roles. The affordances of the implementation included the arousal of the students' interest and participation, flexibility, time conservation, the ability to track student progress, and the improvement of interaction, collaboration, and communication opportunities. The challenges were increased workload, course and time management, overlaps, and the creation of harmony between the face-to-face and online environments. The overall results show that the critical issues involved context, the pedagogical framework, instructor competency, and technical issues in the blended course design. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

Investigated the effectiveness of two computer literacy courses for preservice teachers, one offered online and one through traditional methods. Compared courses in terms of their effectiveness on computer attitudes and learning experiences about computers, and considered gender effects, previous computer courses, previous computer attitudes, and possession of home computers. (Author/LRW)

Compared hypermedia and traditional instruction in their contribution to declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge and retention using a pretest-posttest design. Data from ninth-grade biology students showed no significant difference between the groups in acquisition of declarative, conditional, and procedural knowledge. However, the hypermedia group retained all three types of knowledge significantly better than did the traditional group. (SM)

Abstract This study investigates the students' perceptions of problem-based online learning in regard to computer mediated communication, benefits for learning, online support, motivation, and online collaboration. A case study design [...]

Summary: Background: Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is a rare, chronic, inflammatory skin disease characterized by sterile pustules on palmar or plantar areas. Data on PPP are scarce. Aim: To investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors for disease severity in a large cohort of Turkish patients with PPP. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional, multicentre study of patients with PPP recruited from 21 tertiary centres across Turkey. Results: In total, 263 patients (165 women, 98 men) were evaluated. Most patients (75.6%) were former or current smokers. The mean Palmoplantar Pustulosis Area and Severity Index (PPPASI) was 8.70 ± 8.06 and the mean Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score was 6.87 ± 6.08, and these scores were significantly correlated (r = 0.52, P < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that current smoking was significantly associated with increased PPPASI (P = 0.03). Coexisting psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) was reported by 70 (26.6%) patients. Male sex prevalence, PPP onset incidence, disease duration, DLQI, and prevalence of nail involvement and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were significantly increased among patients with PPP with PsV. Of the 263 patients, 18 (6.8%) had paradoxical PPP induced by biologic therapy, and these patients had significantly increased mean DLQI and prevalence of PsA (r = 0.03, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Our data suggest that smoking is a risk factor for both PPP development and disease severity. Patients with PPP with PsV present distinct clinical features and patients with biologic therapy‐induced paradoxical PPP have reduced quality of life and are more likely to have PsA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering education has been gaining a place in today's schools within the STEAM framework. Computing is an integral part of the STEAM framework. Affective variables related to computer programming might have an effect on the quality of STEAM education. The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure middle school students' attitudes toward programming. In the first phase of the study, exploratory factor analysis was conducted with data collected from a total of 508 middle school students. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a one‐dimensional attitude scale. In the second phase of the study, confirmatory factor analysis was used on data obtained from 414 middle school students to examine factor structure. Analyses provided evidence for the factorial structure of the scale. The Cronbach α coefficient of the scale was found to be.93. Then scale was administered to 65 middle school students who attended after‐school coding clubs and who did not attend after‐school coding clubs. It can be concluded that the scale is a reliable and valid scale for measuring middle school students' attitudes toward programming. Moreover, the scale was used to compare the students' scores according to their grades and gender. The findings were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recursive least square (RLS) adaptive nonlinear filter transforms the nonlinear filter problem to a corresponding multichannel lattice structure for second-order Volterra systems. This is followed by a complete orthogonalization of the multichannel input signal, using sequential processing. Avoiding matrix inversion and vector operations as a result of orthogonalization of input signal, makes filter simple and reduces its complexity for VLSI implementations. An RLS lattice algorithm based on this structure exhibits fast convergence properties for filters.

Summary: Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, relapsing and debilitating inflammatory disease associated with profound morbidity. Aim: In this multicentre study, we investigated the demographic and clinical features of HS, and determined risk factors of disease severity. Methods: In total, 1221 patients diagnosed with HS from 29 centres were enrolled, and the medical records of each patient were reviewed. Results: The mean age of disease onset was 26.2 ± 10.4 years, and almost 70% (n = 849) of patients were current or former smokers. Mean disease duration was 8.9 ± 8.4 years with a delay in diagnosis of 5.8 ± 3.91 years. Just over a fifth (21%; n = 256) of patients had a family history of HS. The axillary, genital and neck regions were more frequently affected in men than in women, and the inframammary region was more frequently affected in women than in men (P < 0.05 for all). Acne (40.8%), pilonidal sinus (23.6%) and diabetes mellitus (12.6%) were the most prevalent associated diseases. Of the various therapies used, antibiotics (76.4%) were most common followed by retinoids (41.7%), surgical interventions (32.0%) and biologic agents (15.4%). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the most important determinants of disease severity were male sex (OR = 2.21) and involvement of the genitals (OR = 3.39) and inguinal region (OR = 2.25). More severe disease was associated with comorbidity, longer disease duration, longer diagnosis delay and a higher number of smoking pack‐years. Conclusions: Our nationwide cohort study found demographic and clinical variation in HS, which may help broaden the understanding of HS and factors associated with disease severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goldenberry (Physalis peruviana L) an important small fruit that is growing rapidly around the globe. Different colchicine treatments (0.0, 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9% w/v) were used to induce tetraploidy in goldenberry plants. Three colchicine treatment methods were evaluated; i) immersion of seeds in colchicines solution, ii) immersion of germinated seeds (with roots about 2 mm long) in colchicine and iii) incubation of seeds on semi solid Murashige and Skoog (MS, 1962) medium containing colchicines. Experiments were set up with three factors factorial experimental design with three replicates, where the colchicine application method was the main factor of variation, the concentrations was the secondary factor and the exposure time was the third factor. Twenty seeds for each treatment, with three replications were used. Diploid plants grown from untreated seeds were used as controls. The incubation of seeds on colchicine containing MS medium was found to be the only effective method and tetraploid plants were produced in this way. The highest tetraploidy was achieved by adding 0.06 and 0.09% colchicine to MS medium. An exposure time 21-30 d was sufficient to produce tetraploid plants. Ploidy determination was made by flow cytometry. The polyploidization rate ranged between 4.1-58.8%. Tetraploid plant could not be obtained from other treatments. Statistical analysis was not performed since data could not be obtained from the lowest groups. The induced tetraploid plants were with larger plants, fruits, leaves, and stomata, higher chlorophyll content and lower stomata density compared to diploid control plants. The results have shown that colchicine should be added to the in vitro culture medium at least 0.6% and 0.9% doses and the seeds should be cultured for at least 30 days. An analysis of variance (two sample T-test) was performed at the 5% significance level to comparison of the morphologic characteristics of diploid and tetraploid plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Although the determination of university students' attitudes towards computer programming is a significant issue, the issue has been rarely studied. The purpose of this study was to develop an attitude scale assessing university students' attitudes towards computer programming. In the first phase, the scale was administered to 522 university students. Explanatory factor analysis yielded three dimensions: affection, cognition, and behavior. In the second phase, final version of the 18 item-scale was administered to 553 university students. Results of confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for the factorial structure of the scale. The Cronbach alpha coefficients ranged from 0.80 to 0.90. Psychometric properties of Computer Programming Attitude Scale (CPAS) suggest that it is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring university students' attitudes towards computer programming. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput. Appl. Eng. Educ. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:667-672, 2015; View this article online at ; DOI [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates preservice teachers' perceptions of and experiences with asynchronous online discussions supporting face-to-face courses. Qualitative research approaches were used in data collection and analysis processes. The participants consisted of 98 preservice teachers who were enrolled in two semesters of undergraduate teacher education courses in Computer Education and Instructional Technology Department. The required data for the study were collected through open-ended questions, semi-structured interviews, and discussion forum transcripts. Study results provide evidence that learners were comfortable with and had positive perceptions of asynchronous online discussions. The majority of the preservice teachers believed asynchronous discussions to be effective instructional tools for easy interaction, equitable discussion areas, and detailed feedback, support of learner control and relationships, and engaging with others. The biggest limitation was the volume of posts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) leads to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). In vitro studies showed that amiodarone blocked cytokine production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of intra-operative amiodarone loading on SIRS. METHODS: This prospective randomized study included 24 patients who underwent on-pump coronary artery surgery. The patients were classified into control (n=12) and amiodarone (n=12) groups. Plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory (C-reactive protein - CRP, interleukin-6 - IL-6) and the anti-inflammatory markers (interleukin-10 - IL-10) were measured before the induction of anesthesia, 5 minutes after aortic declamping, after protamine administration and 24 hours after the CPB. The myocardial lactate production was calculated before CPB and 5 minutes after aortic declamping. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney U, Fischer's exact and ANOVA tests. RESULTS: In both groups, the IL-6 levels significantly increased after declamping (91.18+/-16.27 pg/ml and 86.37+/-14.66 pg/ml, p<0.01) and reached peak values after infusion of protamine (329.07+/-32.24 pg/ml and 354.31+/-29.61 pg/ml, p<0.01). The highest values of IL-10 were detected after infusion of protamine in the control and amiodarone groups (265.58+/-85.63 pg/ml, p<0.01 and 287.44+/-65.26 pg/ml, p<0.01). Amiodarone did not have any significant effect on release of cytokines. The CRP levels were significantly elevated in both groups at 24th hour after CPB, but no significant difference was found between the groups. Compared with pre-CPB values, lactate production increased significantly in two groups after aortic declamping. However there was no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that intraoperative loading of amiodarone, which is used for atrial fibrillation prophylaxis, does not seem to alter inflammatory response during CPB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although proline is one of the major computable organic solutes that accumulate in many plant species in abiotic stresses, a hot debate continues about whether proline accumulation is a reaction to abiotic stress, or a plant''s response is associated with stress tolerance. The effects of proline on antioxidative system in grape leaves of Vitis vinifera L. cv., ‘Öküzgözü’ exposed to oxidative stress by H2O2 was investigated. Endogenous proline, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, percentage of electrolyte leakage (EL), and some of the antioxidant enzyme activities; such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and guaiacol peroxidase (POD) were measured spectrophotometrically. Inhibitory effect of H2O2 on antioxidant enzyme activities, MDA, and EL was found. In the presence of proline, SOD and CAT activities decreased, while POD and APX activities increased. Proline pre-treatment resulted in a decrease in cellular H2O2 content, MDA, and EL, while cellular concentration of proline increased. Based on the finding, it was suggested that proline and H2O2 could play an important role in oxidative stress injury of grapevine leaves grown in vitro culture. Also, proline might have a direct positive effect on antioxidant enzyme system, membrane phase change, MDA, and EL. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents an object tracking framework based on the mean-shift algorithm, which is a nonparametric technique that uses statistical color distribution of objects. Tracking objects through highly similar-colored background is one of the problems that need to be addressed. In various cases where object and background color distributions are very similar, the color distribution obtained from single frame alone is not sufficient to track objects reliably. To deal with this problem, the proposed algorithm utilizes an adaptive statistical background and foreground modeling to detect the change due to motion using kernel density estimation techniques based on multiple recent frames. The use of multiple frames supplies more information than single frame and thus it provides more accurate modeling of both background and foreground. In addition to color distribution, this statistical multiple frame-based motion representation is integrated into a modified mean-shift algorithm to create more robust object tracking framework. The use of motion distribution provides additional discriminative power to the framework. The superior performance with quantitative results of the framework has been validated using experiments on synthetic and real sequence of images [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

BACKGROUND: High levels of homocysteine and oxidative stress are known to be associated with premature vascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to estimate homocysteine levels and oxidant-antioxidant status and to determine the relationship between them in type 2 diabetic patients with and without microalbuminuria. METHODS: Fasting blood samples were obtained from 48 diabetic patients (17 with and 31 without microalbuminuria) and 20 healthy subjects. Serum total homocysteine (tHcy), plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) erythrocyte glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity were measured in these patients and the results were compared with those of controls who were chosen among healthy subjects. RESULTS: MDA levels were found to be significantly lower and GSH levels and GPx activities were found to be significantly higher in control subjects when compared with patients with and without microalbuminuria (MDA: P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001; GSH: P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001; GPx: P < 0.0001, P < 0.001, respectively). MDA levels were found to be significantly higher in patients with microalbuminuria compared with patients without microalbuminuria (P < 0.0001), while similarly GSH levels were found to be significantly lower in patients with microalbuminuria (P < 0.0001). Although there were no significant differences with respect to tHcy levels and GPx activities between the microalbuminuric and normoalbuminuric patients (P > 0.05), there was a significant difference with respect to tHcy levels between healthy controls and patients with microalbuminuria (P < 0.05). The serum levels of tHcy correlated best with plasma MDA and erythrocyte GSH concentrations in all diabetic patients (r = 0.549, P < 0.0001; r = -0.385, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Decreased antioxidant levels, increased lipid peroxidation and increased tHcy levels were observed in patients with microalbuminuria. These changes may contribute to vascular disease, which is particularly prevalent in type 2 DM patients with microalbuminuria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]