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Problem Statement: Decision making is a critical cognitive process in every area of human life. In this process, the individuals play an active role and obtain outputs with their functional use of decision-making skills. Therefore, the decision-making process can affect the course of life, life satisfaction, and the social relations of an individual. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the psycho-educational group-based program which aims to develop the highly-significant decision-making skills of university students during the transition to adulthood Purpose of the Study: This paper aimed to examine the effect of decision-making skill training group practices based on decision-making styles of university students and to evaluate the permanence of this effect Method: A pre-test-post-test control group true experimental model was used in the study. The personal information form, interview form, and Melbourne Decision-Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) were applied before experimental procedures as pre-test measures. The study was conducted on 44 students studying at Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Education within a period of six weeks from February through March 2013. Twenty-two participants (twelve female and ten male) were included in the treatment group (mean age 22.1) and 22 participants (thirteen female and nine male) were included in the control group (mean age 21.9 years). Findings: The analysis results showed that there was a significant difference at each sub-scale between the adjusted post-test average scores; there existed a significant difference at each subscale between the adjusted post-test average scores; following the observations made by the leader, the total scores achieved by the participants at each session from the Group-Related Measures Survey Form were 17 and higher. Conclusion and Recommendations: In conclusion, it was observed that decision-making training group practices increased self-esteem and positive coping style scores of the students and decreased the negative coping style scores. This increase and decrease in relevant scores are also supported by the qualitative data. Decision making is one of the major abilities that affects individuals' lives in direct and indirect ways. It would be beneficial if young individuals gain positive decision-making skills in the early stages of their lives. As a consequence, we recommend that decision-making training groups, workshops and courses should be a part of the curriculum program in the entire education process.

Contractions play a considerable role in the theory of fractals. However, it is not easy to find contractions which are not similitudes. In this study, it is shown by counter examples that an affine transformation of the plane carrying a given triangle onto another triangle may not be a contraction even if it contracts edges, heights or medians. Then, a sufficient condition is given for such a transformation to be a contraction. (Contains 6 figures.)

Bacteremia in the febrile neutropenic patients significantly increases the mortality. It takes a long time to complete the blood culture for the diagnosis of bacteremia. Therefore, quick and specific markers are needed for the prediction of bacteremia. The purpose of this study are to compare the diagnostic value of lactate, procalcitonin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels in a patient with febrile neutropenia, and to evaluate its usefulness in predicting bacteremia. This study was designed to be prospective case-control study. Forty-eight patients and forty control cases aged 18 years or older who were monitored between May 2016 and May 2017 were included in the study. P-value as

Intensifying of particularly the physical and social infrastructure services in large cities today increases the demand for such cities. As a result, new settlement areas are needed and new master plans and revised master plans come to the agenda. The natural and cultural inheritance is destructed and cannot be protected with speed gradually increasing. Therefore, policies are required to protect the existing natural and cultural assets during the preparation of master plans. The Visual Landscape Analysis (VLA) is among the tools to be used in the frame of this protection. VLA ensures the protection of the landscape in the urban areas or in close surroundings and determining the landscape protection areas with priority. Amasra District in Bartin Province was selected as the survey area. The answer to the question 'What the contents of the visual landscape analysis in relation with the master plans must be in the Amasra example?' was searched for in the frame of the study, and the relation between VLA and master plans was defined for Amasra example. The study consists of two stages. Stage I was completed in 2008 and the second stage - in 2014. This way, it was questioned whether or not the areas with high value as regards the visual quality determined with VLA in the study area have changed in our times and where or not there are any new/prioritised landscape areas and maps of these areas were created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecotourism is a type of tourism that raises the awareness of administration mechanisms in protected areas, aims to use and maintain natural and cultural values without harming them, and contributes to solving the financial problems of the people living in and around that area. The ethics which form the core of the economic, social and political system determine the relationship between human beings and nature, what human behaviours are like, and how human beings perceive the nature. Sogutlu village in Bartin which is in the buffer zone of the Kastamonu-Bartin Kure Mountains National Park has been chosen as the study area. The purpose of the study is to take necessary ethical precautions and to define the ethical boundaries before the ecotourism activities begin. The research has been carried out in five stages: acquisition of data; field analysis; in-depth interviews carried out with the local administrators, questionnaires with local people, results and conclusions. The principles of ecotourism ethics have been identified by using the parameters in 'Global Code of Ethics for Tourism' in order to improve ecotourism in protected areas and as in the local case of Sogutlu. As a result of the research, participating in an effective certification system which applies global ethical codes will help in ensuring the sustainability of ecotourism. It is expected that all stakeholders will show the required sensitivity with regard to ethical principles and will be effective in the protection of the natural-cultural-visual landscape quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To evaluate ex vivo the incidence of microcracks in root dentine after canal preparation with ProTaper Universal ( PTU), RaCe or Safesider instrumentation systems using microcomputed tomography (micro- CT). Methodology Thirty freshly extracted mandibular molars with two separate mesial canals and foramina were used. The roots were allocated into three similar groups according to curvature angles and radii of the canals and lengths of the roots. Distal roots were removed and mesial roots were embedded in acrylic resin and instrumented with the PTU, RaCe or Safesider systems up to size 30 (F3 for PTU, size 30, 0.04 taper for RaCe and Safesider) for all instrumentation groups. Dentinal microcracks were evaluated on micro- CT images of the apical 10 mm of the roots with 1-mm intervals. Two experienced observers evaluated the images twice in a blinded fashion. The presence of dentinal microcracks (complete/incomplete cracks and craze lines) was noted and analysed statistically using McNemar and chi-square tests ( P = 0.05). Results There were microcracks on uninstrumented root sections. All instrumentation systems significantly increased the number of dentinal microcracks when compared to preoperative specimens ( P < 0.05). There were new microcracks on the postoperative samples. The PTU system (42%) led to greater number of post-instrumentation microcracks than Safesider (35%) and RaCe (25%) systems, respectively. The difference between PTU and RaCe system was significant ( P < 0.05). Conclusions All instrumentation systems significantly increased the number of microcracks compared with preoperative specimens. The PTU system generated more post-instrumentation dentinal microcracks than the RaCe system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]