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This study examines the development of a STEM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and parent-involved engineering design curriculum for early childhood education and investigates its design principles and contributions to children's STEM-related learning. This research utilized a design-based research methodology broken into three main phases (preliminary research, prototyping, and assessment). The data were gathered over a 2-year span, and the curriculum was designed and revised during the prototyping phase's three iterative cycles. This paper presents the findings of a field test that involved two early childhood education teachers, five preschool children, and five parents. Findings validated eight key design principles of the curriculum and revealed that the curriculum contributes to the knowledge, skills, feelings, and dispositions children have towards STEM. The findings suggest that the developed curriculum can be used as a novel way of integrating STEM into early childhood education, with a particular focus on engineering, while encouraging parental involvement.

Kişinin kendisini ahlaklı hale getirmekle yükümlü olduğu düşüncesi Kant felsefesinde önemli bir yer edinmektedir. Bunun yolu da kişinin rasyonel-özerk bir birey olmasından; yani özgürlüğünü kullanmasından geçmektedir. Kişinin kendisine karşı ahlaki ödevleri vardır ve kişi ancak bu ödevlere uygun yaşarsa ahlaki bir özne olabilir. Ancak, bazen kusurlu yapısı gereği bazen de kasıtlı bir şekilde, kişinin bu doğrultuda eylemde bulunmadığı görülmektedir. Bu durum kişinin iradesinin ahlak yasası tarafından mı yoksa kendi çıkarını düşünme ilkesi tarafından mı belirlendiğiyle ilgilidir. Kant, insanların özgürlük fikrine göre hareket etmeleri gerektiğini ve iradelerinin duy(g)usal eğilimler veya dışsal unsurlar tarafından değil de ahlak yasası tarafından belirlenmesi gerektiğini söyler. Kant’ın sözü edilen ahlak felsefesi ile eğitime yönelik yaklaşımı arasında doğrusal bir ilişki vardır. İnsanın ahlaki karakterinin nasıl gelişeceğine yönelik bir arayış eğitsel açıdan son derece önemlidir. O nedenle Kant, akademik yaşamının temel amacının iyi karakterler yetiştirmek olduğunu belirtir. Kant’ın bu konudaki yaklaşımı bu makalenin temel tartışma alanını oluşturmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Kantçı bir perspektiften hareketle sorunu irdelemeyi hedeflemektedir.

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in newborns. Our study aimed to determine the neurodevelopmental outcomes, risk factors, and the relationship between risk factors and prognosis of cases followed up with HIE diagnosis and who were treated with hypothermia treatment. Medical records of 23 patients who were followed up with HIE diagnosis in the pediatric neurology outpatient clinic between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2021, and treated with therapeutic hypothermia in the newborn period were retrospectively reviewed. Denver Developmental Screening Test II was used in the developmental evaluation. Neurodevelopment was normal in 12 (52.2%) of 23 cases and retarded for age in 11 (47.8%) cases. Variables such as Sarnat encephalopathy score in the neonatal period, need for prolonged ventilation, presence of severe acidosis at birth, Apgar scores at the 1st and 5th minutes, and abnormal cranial magnetic resonance (Mrg) findings were determined to be major factors in determining neurodevelopmental prognosis in asphyxic cases. The male gender was found to be riskier in terms of prognosis. Of the patients with HIE, retardation was determined for fine motor skills in 52.2%, speaking in 39.1%, gross motor skills in 26.1%, and personal development in 21.7%. Epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and speech disorders were the most common chronic period problems in patients with HIE. Despite therapeutic hypothermia treatment, neurodevelopmental problems are still observed in newborns with HIE. We found that male gender, low Apgar score, severe acidosis, and abnormal cranial Mrg findings in the neonatal period are risk factors in determining the neurodevelopmental prognosis of newborns with HIE. Monitoring and supporting the development of HIE cases with risk factors from the first months of life and intervening in developmental problems promptly are crucial in order to improve long-term outcomes.

Sumerler, M.Ö. 5. binde Mezopotamya topraklarına gelerek M.Ö. 4. bine doğru bu bölgenin güneyine inmişlerdir. Kendi bildikleri ya da geliştirdikleri teknikler ile Basra Körfezi’ne yakın bataklıkları kurutarak tarımsal üretime uygun hâle getirmişlerdir. Bu sayede kendilerinden sonra kurulacak olan devletlere de bir takım kültürel aktarımlarda bulunmuşlardır. Son yıllarda yapılan bazı çalışmalarda, Tufan neticesinde toprağın tuzlaştığı, bunun tarımsal verimi düşürdüğü ve bu verimsizliğin Sumerlerin yıkılışında önemli bir rol oynadığı ifade edilmiştir. Bu çalışmada tuzlaşma teknik olarak açıklanarak, Sumerlerin tarih sahnesinden çekilmesinde etkili olan faktörler üzerinde durulacaktır. Bu faktörler arasında tuzlaşmanın, Sumerlerin yıkılışındaki rolünün hangi ölçüde olduğu tespit edilmeye çalışılacaktır. Toprağın tuzlanmasının Sumerler üzerindeki ekonomik, sosyal ve politik etkilerini daha iyi tespit edebilmek için, ağırlıklı olarak kendilerinden sonra bölgede hâkimiyeti sağlayan Akkadların durumundan bahsedilecektir.

Bir bölgeyi ele geçirerek oraya derinlemesine nüfuz edebilmenin en ideal yolu demiryolları inşa etmekten geçer. Alman ekonomisi ve diplomasisi, 1903 yılında imzalanan Bağdat Demiryolu anlaşması ile doğu politikasındaki ilk ciddi büyük başarısını elde etmiştir. Bu sayede, Almanya dönemin taşımacılıkta en hızlı ulaşım ağına hakim olarak, doğu batı ticaretini elinde bulunduran İngiltere’nin egemenliğini kırmış olacaktı. Bu çalışmada, Bağdat demiryolu projesinin 2400 kilometrelik Konya-Bağdat-Basra hattı üzerinde yer alan Mardin demiryolu hattının günümüz Mardin il sınırı dikkate alınmak suretiyle, Mardin’in Gürpınar mahalli ile projenin Anadolu hattının doğudaki son istasyonu olan Nusaybin arasındaki demiryolunun inşa süreci, milli mücadele dönemindeki işlevi ve güzergah üzerinde yer alan istasyon ve durak noktalarının günümüzdeki faal durumu ele alınıp değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmanın ekler kısmına, demiryolu hattı üzerinde inşa olunan köprüler ile istasyon binalarının günümüzdeki son halleri ve şematik planları, hattın krokisi ve projeye dair bazı harita ve fotoğraflar ilave edilmiştir.

Aim: This study aimed to estimate the association of coronary artery disease complexity with non-HDL-C levels in premature CAD. Background: Primary prevention has utmost importance in terms of minimizing the number of patients who had premature coronary artery disease (CAD). Non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) contains potentially atherogenic lipoprotein fractions. Material and methods: Coronary angiographic recordings of two hundred acute coronary syndrome patients were evaluated by two cardiologists. Clinical, demographic and lipid parameters of the patients were compared with SYNTAX score. Results: Median age of the study group was 41 (18-45) years. One hundred eighty five (90.5%) of them were male, nineteen (9.5%) of them were female. Median SYNTAX score and ejection fraction of the patients were 17 (4.5-39) and 50 (33-68), respectively. SYNTAX score of the male patients was significantly higher compared to females [17 (4.5-39) vs 12 (8-26), p=0.048), similarly, diabetic patients had higher values of syntax score compared to non-diabetic patients [19 (10-39) vs 16 (4.5-37), p=0.005), There were no differences of SYNTAX score with respect to presence of hypertension, smoking status and family history of CAD. There were very strong positive correlation between SYNTAX score and non-HDL-C, TC and LDL-C levels (r=0.958, r=0.946 and r=0.921, respectively, p Conclusion: non-HDL-C was a valuable tool in assessing the complexity of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in young patients.

The aim of this study is to address and analyse pre-service teachers' mathematical reasoning skills in relation to mathematical thinking processes. For these purposes, pre-service teachers' mathematical reasoning skills namely generalising/abstraction/modelling, ratiocination, development and creative thinking skills and the relationships among these skills are examined. Apart from these, it is explored whether grade level and gender have an effect on the application of these skills. The study is based on a mixed method research design and is carried out with 197 pre-service teachers of different grade levels in the school of education of a public university. One of the data collection tools used in the study is mathematical thinking and reasoning skills test which was developed by Basaran (2011) and comprises 21 open-ended questions on real-life problems. The second one is the Mathematical Reasoning Skills and Indicators developed by the researchers in the light of a study by Alkan and Tasdan (2011). Content analysis is performed on the data gathered from the pilot study conducted as the first step of the data analysis and the content of the quantitative data analysis is defined. As the second step, some parametric and nonparametric tests are utilized using the SPSS 15.0 software. As a result of the study, it has been revealed that pre-service teachers' scores on generalising/abstraction/modelling and ratiocination skills are close to average whereas their scores on development and creative thinking skills are below average. It has also been concluded that all the relationships among pre-service teachers' reasoning skills are significant and that correlations among the skills which are associated with stages that follow one another are stronger than the others. Another result of the study is that, in relation to the gender variable, there is a significant difference among the scores concerning generalising/abstraction/modelling and ratiocination skills, yet there are not any significant differences among the development and creative thinking skills scores. In relation to the grade variable, on the other hand, there are not any significant differences among the scores concerning generalising/abstraction/modelling (GAM) and reasoning (R) and improving (I) skills, yet there are significant differences among the creative thinking skills scores of freshman and sophomore pre-service teachers and among those of the sophomore and junior pre-service teachers. Results of the present study are discussed in relation to the relevant literature and some recommendations for future studies pertaining to the subject and to learning environment quality are presented.

IntroductionInhibitory control develops gradually from infancy to childhood and improves further during adolescence as the brain matures. Related previous studies showed the indispensable role of task-related alpha power during inhibition both in children and young adults. Nonetheless, none of the studies have been able to investigate the direct differences in brain responses between children and young adults when confronted with a stimulus that should be inhibited. Because, unlike event-related designs, task-related designs involve continuous tasks over a certain period, which precludes the possibility of making such a comparison. Accordingly, by employing event-related design, the present study first time in the literature, aimed to analyze the event-related alpha phase locking and event-related alpha synchronization/ desynchronization to differentiate the inhibitory processes in children compared to young adults.MethodsTwenty children between the ages of 6 to 7 years and 20 healthy young adult subjects between the ages of 18 to 30 years were included in the study. Day-night Stroop task was applied to all subjects during 18-channel EEG recordings. Event-related time-frequency analysis was performed with the complex Morlet Wavelet Transform for the alpha frequency band (8–13 Hz). Event related spectral perturbation (ERSP) in three different time windows (0–200 ms, 200–400 ms, 400–600 ms) and Event-related phase locking in the early time window (0–400 ms) was calculated.ResultsThe children had increased alpha power in early and late time windows but decreased alpha phase locking in the early time windows compared to young adults. There were also topological differences between groups; while young adults had increased alpha phase-locking in frontal and parietal electrode sites, children had increased occipital alpha power and phase locking.DiscussionThe shift in event-related alpha power observed from posterior to anterior regions with age may suggest a progressive maturation of the frontal areas involved in inhibitory processes from childhood to adulthood. The results of the present study showed that children and young adults had different EEG oscillatory dynamics during inhibitory processes at alpha frequency range.

Carotenoids are hydrophobic pigments produced exclusively by plants, fungi, and specific microbes. Microalgae are well suited for the production of valuable carotenoids due to their rapid growth, efficient isoprenoid production pathway, and ability to store these compounds within their cells. The possible markets for bio-products range from feed additives in aquaculture and agriculture to pharmaceutical uses. The production of carotenoids in microalgae is affected by several environmental conditions, which can be utilized to enhance productivity. The current study focused on optimizing the extraction parameters (time, temperature, and extraction number) to maximize the yield of carotenoids. Additionally, the impact of various nitrogen sources (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and urea) on the production of lutein and loroxanthin in Scenedesmus obliquus was examined. To isolate the carotenoids, 0.20 g of biomass was added to 0.20 g of CaCO3 and 10.0 mL of ethanol solution containing 0.01% (w/v) pyrogallol. Subsequently, the extraction was performed using an ultrasonic bath for a duration of 10 min at a temperature of 30 °C. This was followed by a four-hour saponification process using a 10% methanolic KOH solution. The concentration of lutein and loroxanthin was measured using HPLC–DAD at 446 nm, with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min using a Waters YMC C30 Carotenoid column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 μm). The confirmation of carotenoids after their isolation using preparative chromatography was achieved using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) probe and UV–vis spectroscopy. In summary, S. obliquus shows significant promise for the large-scale extraction of lutein and loroxanthin. The findings of this study provide strong support for the application of this technology to other species.

Neuromorphic systems are designed to emulate the principles of biological information processing, with the goals of improving computational efficiency and reducing energy usage. A critical aspect of these systems is the fidelity of neuron models and neural networks to their biological counterparts. In this study, we implemented the Izhikevich neuron model on Intel’s Loihi 2 neuromorphic processor. The Izhikevich neuron model offers a more biologically accurate alternative to the simpler leaky-integrate and fire model, which is natively supported by Loihi 2. We compared these two models within a basic two-layer network, examining their energy consumption, processing speeds, and memory usage. Furthermore, to demonstrate Loihi 2’s ability to realize complex neural structures, we implemented a basal ganglia circuit to perform a Go/No-Go decision-making task. Our findings demonstrate the practicality of customizing neuron models on Loihi 2, thereby paving the way for constructing spiking neural networks that better replicate biological neural networks and have the potential to simulate complex cognitive processes.

Objective:The purpose of the present study was to specify whether there are mesiodistal tooth size discrepancies in the anterior region in patients with dentoskeletal Class III malocclusion who underwent orthognathic surgery and orthodontic treatment and to assess the relationship between anterior Bolton ratio and dentoskeletal cephalometric measurements.Methods:The diagnostic dental casts and lateral cephalometric radiographs of 113 nongrowing patients (54 females and 59 males; mean age: 19.96 ± 4.42 years) with dentoskeletal Class III malocclusion who underwent orthognathic surgery and orthodontic treatment were included in the study. The mesiodistal widths of the 6 anterior teeth were measured from dental casts using a digital caliper accurate to 0.01 mm and anterior Bolton ratios were calculated. Lateral cephalograms were digitalized and used to measure 4 skeletal and 4 dental parameters.Results:The mean anterior ratio of Class III surgical patients was 80.1% with a standard deviation of 2.8%. Clinically significant anterior tooth size discrepancies (greater than ±2 standard deviation) were found in 40.7% of the sample, 97.8% of those patients having anterior mandibular tooth excess. No significant correlation was found between the anterior Bolton ratio and cephalometric measurements.Conclusion: Clinicians should consider the probability of tooth size discrepancy in the diagnosis and treatment planning of Class III surgical patients and should perform interventions to eliminate these discrepancies during presurgical orthodontic treatment.

Abstract The coupling of gamma oscillation (~ 40+ Hz) amplitude to the phase of ongoing theta (~ 6 Hz) oscillations has been proposed to be directly relevant for memory performance. Current theories suggest that memory capacity scales with number of gamma cycles that can be fitted into the preferred phase of a theta cycle. Following this logic, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) may be used to adjust theta cycles (increasing/decreasing theta frequency) to decrease or increase memory performance during stimulation. Here, we used individualized EEG-informed theta tACS to (1) experimentally “slow down” individual theta frequency (ITF), (2) evaluate cognitive after effects on a battery of memory and learning tasks, and (3) link the cognitive performance changes to tACS-induced effects on theta-band oscillations as measured by post EEG. We found frequency- and task-specific tACS after effects demonstrating a specific enhancement in memory capacity. This tACS-induced cognitive enhancement was specific to the visual memory task performed immediately after tACS offset, and specific to the ITF-1 Hz (slowing) stimulation condition and thus following a protocol specifically designed to slow down theta frequency to enhance memory capacity. Follow-up correlation analyses in this group linked the enhanced memory performance to increased left frontal-parietal theta-band connectivity. Interestingly, resting-state theta power immediately after tACS offset revealed a theta power increase not for the ITF-1 Hz group, but only for the ITF group where the tACS frequency was ‘optimal’ for entrainment. These results suggest that while individually calibrated tACS at peak frequency maximally modulates resting-state oscillatory power, tACS stimulation slightly below this optimal peak theta frequency is better suited to enhance memory capacity performance. Importantly, our results further suggest that such cognitive enhancement effects can last beyond the period of stimulation and are linked to increased network connectivity, opening the door towards more clinical and applied relevance of using tACS in cognitive rehabilitation and/or neurocognitive enhancement.

Abstract Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) receive significant attention due to their outstanding electronic and optical properties. In this study, we investigate the electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of single and few layer $$\hbox {WTe}_2$$ WTe 2 in detail utilizing first-principles methods based on the density functional theory (DFT). Within the scope of both PBE and HSE06 including spin orbit coupling (SOC), the simulations predict the electronic band gap values to decrease as the number of layers increases. Moreover, spin-polarized DFT calculations combined with the semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory are applied to estimate the anisotropic thermoelectric power factor (Seebeck coefficient, S) for $$\hbox {WTe}_2$$ WTe 2 in both the monolayer and multilayer limit, and S is obtained below the optimal value for practical applications. The optical absorbance of $$\hbox {WTe}_2$$ WTe 2 monolayer is obtained to be slightly less than the values reported in literature for 2H TMD monolayers of $$\hbox {MoS}_2$$ MoS 2 , $$\hbox {MoSe}_2$$ MoSe 2 , and $$\hbox {WS}_2$$ WS 2 . Furthermore, we simulate the impact of defects, such as vacancy, antisite and substitution defects, on the electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of monolayer $$\hbox {WTe}_2$$ WTe 2 . Particularly, the Te- $$\hbox {O}_2$$ O 2 substitution defect in parallel orientation yields negative formation energy, indicating that the relevant defect may form spontaneously under relevant experimental conditions. We reveal that the electronic band structure of $$\hbox {WTe}_2$$ WTe 2 monolayer is significantly influenced by the presence of the considered defects. According to the calculated band gap values, a lowering of the conduction band minimum gives rise to metallic characteristics to the structure for the single Te(1) vacancy, a diagonal Te line defect, and the Te(1)- $$\hbox {O}_2$$ O 2 substitution, while the other investigated defects cause an opening of a small positive band gap at the Fermi level. Consequently, the real ( $$\varepsilon _1(\omega )$$ ε 1 ( ω ) ) and imaginary ( $$\varepsilon _2(\omega )$$ ε 2 ( ω ) ) parts of the dielectric constant at low frequencies are very sensitive to the applied defects, whereas we find that the absorbance (A) at optical frequencies is less significantly affected. We also predict that certain point defects can enhance the otherwise moderate value of S in pristine $$\hbox {WTe}_2$$ WTe 2 to values relevant for thermoelectric applications. The described $$\hbox {WTe}_2$$ WTe 2 monolayers, as functionalized with the considered defects, offer the possibility to be applied in optical, electronic, and thermoelectric devices.

ChatGPT, an advanced language model based on artificial intelligence developed by the OpenAI, was released to internet users on November 30, 2022, and has attracted a great deal of attention. The feelings and thoughts of those who first experienced ChatGPT are valuable feedback for evaluating the success and positive and negative aspects of this technology. In this study, sentiment analysis of ChatGPT-themed tweets on Twitter was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the feelings and thoughts of users during the first two months following the announcement of ChatGPT. Approximately 788.000 English tweets were analyzed using the AFINN, Bing, and NRC sentiment dictionaries. The findings indicate that a large portion of the initial users of ChatGPT found the experience to be successful and was satisfied with ChatGPT. However, negative emotions such as fear and concern were also observed in some users. This study presents the most comprehensive sentiment analysis on ChatGPT. In future studies, specialized research can be conducted on the performance of ChatGPT in a specific field.

Objective:Termination of pregnancies without medical indications causes debates in terms of humanitarian, ethical and religious values. In this context, the aim of our study is to investigate the perspectives/opinions of midwifery students regarding unindicated pregnancy terminations.Methods:In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 329 students studying at the Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, of a Public University participated. To collect the data, a 17-question questionnaire form prepared in line with the literature was used. In the analysis of the data, number-percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation and chi square test were used.Results:In marriage, termination of pregnancies up to 10th weeks in health institutions with the consent of the person is more accepted as the class of students increases. In the same circumstances, the idea that the legal period for termination of pregnancy should be less than 10 weeks was defended more as the class increased. Termination of pregnancies after 10th week was rejected with high rates by all grades. At the same time, the idea that mother should be punished in case of terminating the pregnancy regardless of gestational age and without obtaining father’s consent was accepted in all classes. However, the idea that it was appropriate to terminate pregnancies as a result of rape in authorized health institutions without observing legal limits was accepted in all classes.Conclusion:In the study, it was determined that students’ perspectives on termination of pregnancy other than medical necessity differed between classes. The main reason for the differences was thought to be the theoretical and practical knowledge of the students, which increased from the 3rd grade.

Copyright of Archives of the Turkish Society of Cardiology / Türk Kardiyoloji Derneği Arşivi is the property of KARE Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Scabies, caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei var hominis mite burrowing into the skin, is a highly contagious disease characterized by intense nocturnal itching. Its global impact is considerable, affecting more than 200 million individuals annually and posing significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Transmission occurs primarily through direct skin‐to‐skin contact, contributing to its widespread prevalence and emergence as a substantial public health concern affecting large populations. This review presents consensus‐based clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing and managing scabies, developed through the fuzzy Delphi method by dermatology, parasitology, pediatrics, pharmacology, and public health experts. The presence of burrows containing adult female mites, their eggs, and excreta is the diagnostic hallmark of scabies. Definitive diagnosis typically involves direct microscopic examination of skin scrapings obtained from these burrows, although dermoscopy has become a diagnostic tool in clinical practice. Treatment modalities encompass topical agents, such as permethrin, balsam of Peru, precipitated sulfur, and benzyl benzoate. In cases where topical therapy proves inadequate or in instances of crusted scabies, oral ivermectin is recommended as a systemic treatment option. This comprehensive approach addresses the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges associated with scabies, optimizing patient care, and management outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthquake-induced crush syndrome and subsequent acute kidney injury are important issues that affect morbidity and mortality. Fasciotomies prolong the length of stay in intensive care unit in patients with compartment syndrome due to the complications it causes. Infections and delayed wound healing are two common complications among these. Therefore, early closure of fasciotomy wounds is recommended. Although different treatments can be applied for treatment of wounds, data on this subject in pediatric patients are insufficient. We report the case of a 15-year-old girl who developed acute renal failure due to crush syndrome after being trapped in the wreckage for 9 hours and undergoing fasciotomy procedures for four locations, in the left extremity, two in the thigh and two in the cruris. Hemodialysis, antihypertensive, and antibiotic treatment were administered during the intensive care follow-up due to acute kidney injury, hypertension, and sepsis. With negative pressure therapy, silver alginate wound dressing, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, all wounds epithelialized within two months. However, rehabilitation for drop foot syndrome caused by nerve cuts in the left extremity continues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel composite electrode was developed based on graphene oxide (GO)/MnO2:h‐MoO3 nanocomposite for sensitive and selective voltammetric detection of acetaminophen (ACP). The composite electrode materials were characterized using X‐Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X‐Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetric (CV) techniques. In the optimum conditions, the oxidation peak current (Ipa) of ACP was increased linearly with its concentration over two linear ranges from 0.06 to 10.0 μmol L−1 and 20.0 to 80.0 μmol L−1 with a detection limit of 0.0133 μmol L−1. Due to its higher selectivity and long term stability, the composite electrode was applied to the detection of ACP in pharmaceutical formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the relationship between hotel employees' perceptions of human resources practices (HRP), employee satisfaction, and engagement, as well as the mediating role of satisfaction. It also examines whether the relationship between these variables is different for different employee groups (city-resort hotel and frontline-backline employees). The results showed that HRP positively affect employee satisfaction and job engagement and employee satisfaction mediated the relationship between these two variables. However, the relationship between HRP and employee satisfaction differs for city and resort hotel employees. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ranaviruses, members of the genus Ranavirus within the family Iridoviridae, have become a significant concern for amphibian populations globally, along with other cold‐blooded vertebrates, due to their emergence as a significant threat. We employed bioinformatics tools to examine the codon usage patterns in 61 DNA pol genes from Ranavirus, Lymphocystivirus, Megalocytivirus, and two unclassified ranaviruses, as no prior studies had been conducted on this topic. The results showed a slight or low level of codon usage bias (CUB) in the DNA pol genes of Ranavirus. Relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) analysis indicated that the predominant codons favored in Ranavirus DNA pol genes terminate with C or G. Correlation analysis examining nucleotide content, third codon position, effective number of codons (ENC), correspondence analysis (COA), Aroma values, and GRAVY values indicated that the CUB across DNA pol genes could be influenced by both mutation pressure and natural selection. The neutrality plot indicated that natural selection is the primary factor driving codon usage. Furthermore, the analysis of the codon adaptation index (CAI) illustrated the robust adaptability of Ranavirus DNA pol genes to their hosts. Analysis of the relative codon deoptimization index (RCDI) suggested that Ranavirus DNA pol genes underwent greater selection pressure from their hosts. These findings will aid in comprehending the factors influencing the evolution and adaptation of Ranavirus to its hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gazi Medical Journal is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Structural income inequality – the uneven income distribution across regions or countries – could affect brain structure and function, beyond individual differences. However, the impact of structural income inequality on the brain dynamics and the roles of demographics and cognition in these associations remains unexplored. Methods: Here, we assessed the impact of structural income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient on multiple EEG metrics, while considering the subject‐level effects of demographic (age, sex, education) and cognitive factors. Resting‐state EEG signals were collected from a diverse sample (countries = 10; healthy individuals = 1394 from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Turkey and United Kingdom). Complexity (fractal dimension, permutation entropy, Wiener entropy, spectral structure variability), power spectral and aperiodic components (1/f slope, knee, offset), as well as graph‐theoretic measures were analysed. Findings: Despite variability in samples, data collection methods, and EEG acquisition parameters, structural inequality systematically predicted electrophysiological brain dynamics, proving to be a more crucial determinant of brain dynamics than individual‐level factors. Complexity and aperiodic activity metrics captured better the effects of structural inequality on brain function. Following inequality, age and cognition emerged as the most influential predictors. The overall results provided convergent multimodal metrics of biologic embedding of structural income inequality characterised by less complex signals, increased random asynchronous neural activity, and reduced alpha and beta power, particularly over temporoposterior regions. Conclusion: These findings might challenge conventional neuroscience approaches that tend to overemphasise the influence of individual‐level factors, while neglecting structural factors. Results pave the way for neuroscience‐informed public policies aimed at tackling structural inequalities in diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Over the past few years, it has become standard to describe brain anatomical and functional organisation in terms of complex networks, wherein single brain regions or modules and their connections are respectively identified with network nodes and the links connecting them. Often, the goal of a given study is not that of modelling brain activity but, more basically, to discriminate between experimental conditions or populations, thus to find a way to compute differences between them. This in turn involves two important aspects: defining discriminative features and quantifying differences between them. Here we show that the ranked dynamical stability of network features, from links or nodes to higher-level network properties, discriminates well between healthy brain activity and various pathological conditions. These easily computable properties, which constitute local but topographically aspecific aspects of brain activity, greatly simplify inter-network comparisons and spare the need for network pruning. Our results are discussed in terms of microstate stability. Some implications for functional brain activity are discussed.

Background: Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnant women has important impacts on perinatal and neonatal outcomes. However, there are a limited number of studies investigating the effect of the pandemic period on newborns. With this study, we aimed to determine the impact of the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak on prenatal care, obstetric outcomes, neonatal mortality and morbidity. Methods: The retrospective results of patients hospitalized to the Tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between 1 March and 30 May 2020, the first peak period of the pandemic in our country, were compared with the data of the same period of the previous year. Results: A total of 307 cases were included in our study. The mean gestational weeks of the neonates hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit during the COVID-19 period were higher than those in the control group (p: 0.003). During the pandemic period, an increase was found in the frequency of pregnant women presenting to obstetric emergency services in emergencies requiring acute intervention (p: 0.01). Compared to the control group, there was an increase in the number of infants with small for gestational age (SGA) diagnosis, 5th-minute Apgar score of 0.05). Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was shown that pregnant women disrupted their regular antenatal care, and more pregnant women were admitted to the obstetric emergency department with emergencies requiring acute intervention. This led to an increase in the number of cases diagnosed with SGA and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in newborns. Our results will be useful for better management of current and future pandemic periods.

Vernacular heritage sites encompass customs, practices, places, objects, artistic expressions, and values that are innate to a particular place and time. Climate knowledge of the particular place and time is embedded in vernacular settlements and lifestyles along with other environmental, cultural, and societal determinants of the place. Rebuilt, restored, and adapted, vernacular settlements evolved with changing climate, cultural practices, community aspirations, and a gradual influx of modernization and urbanization. However, its legacy —as represented by traditional houses from the pre-industrial period that were built by laypeople— is challenged by climate and disaster risks, e.g., loss of lands, food sources, water resources, intangible values, and displacement. Although the impacts of climate change combined with anthropic influences have been recognized as a threat to cultural heritage by scholars, this underappreciated form of cultural heritage has not been the focus of the integrated understanding risks of climate and disaster discussions. The aim of this dissertation, therefore, is to reveal the deteriorations caused by changing climate and anthropic interventions on vernacular heritage at both spatial planning decisions such as urban development projects and at local level practices such as maladaptation from the case of Fındıklı of Rize in Turkiye. The factors behind the deterioration of vernacular heritage sites under changing climate and the ways to achieve climate resilience are analysed through interviews with local people, the observations of on-site visits conducted in January and July 2019 in addition to mapping.