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The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of story writing on the story writing skills of primary school students with the collaborative story map method. This quantitative study has a quasi-experimental design with a pretest-posttest comparison group. The study group consists of 131 primary school 2nd-grade students, 60 boys and 71 girls. There are two experimental groups and one control group in the study. The study lasted 12 weeks and 2 class hours per week. In the collaborative story map writing group, story writing was practiced with a collaborative story map. In the individual story map writing group, story writing work according to the individual story map. In the control group, a free story writing activity was conducted. The data were collected through the Story Grammar Elements Rating Scale. T-Test and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. In conclusion, writing stories with primary school students in the method of collaborative mapping and individual story mapping improves students' story writing skills. However, there is no difference between preparing a story map collaboratively or individually in terms of story writing skills.

This study examined the effect of the Building Blocks mathematical education program on 4-year-old Turkish preschool children's recognition level of geometrical shapes. A pretest-posttest control group experimental design was employed. The sample group was composed of randomly selected 39 preschool children (of whom 21 were in the experimental group, and 18 in the control group). A geometric shapes recognition test was used for data collection. Results indicated meaningful differences in the mean scores of the triangle and rectangle shapes in favor of the experimental group. When the children's responses to the geometric shapes recognition test were examined in detail, it was observed that in the post-test the children in the experimental group, as compared to the ones in the control group, were more inclined to define geometrical shapes with their qualitative features rather than visual features.

The study was carried out to determine whether Turkish primary school 1st graders experienced reading loss during the summer holidays and whether giving book support to disadvantaged students during the summer holidays was effective in preventing this loss. The research was conducted with 26 students at a rural primary school. The pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used, and while the experimental group including 12 students carried out reading activities during the summer holiday as part of the 'Telafide Ben De Varim' (I Am in for the Remedial) program, the control group consisting of 14 students did not participate in any summer reading. In the study, the "Error Analysis Inventory" prepared by Akyol (2020) based on Harris and Sipay (1990), Ekwall and Shanker (1988) and May (1986) was used as the data collection tool. With the Error Analysis Inventory consisting of Comprehension Scale, Setting Scale, and Articulation Scale, three types of reading levels are measured: anxiety level, instructional level and independent level. The results of the pre-test administered before the start of the summer vacation using this inventory revealed that the students in both groups generally showed poor reading performance and their average reading level was at the "anxiety" level. The post-test administered after the opening of the schools showed that the level of the control group did not change, while the experimental group increased to the "instructional" level. As a result of book reading activities, the reading level scores of the experimental group increased significantly compared to before the intervention, while there was a significant decrease in the control group. Based on these findings, the importance of providing book support to students living in disadvantaged areas to prevent summer reading loss and increasing book reading during the summer is strongly recommended. [This study was presented as an oral presentation at the IPTES congress (Antalya-Turkey) in 2022.]

Designed as action research, this qualitative study aims to develop the informational text writing skills of gifted students through the strategies of "all about" books and "biography writing frames". The study group of the research consists of 21 gifted 4th-grade students studying in the field of general mental ability in a Science and Art Center in the spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. An eight-week action plan was prepared to support the development of these students' ability to write informational texts. The first 4 weeks were planned with the strategy of "all about" books, and the last 4 weeks with the strategy of biography writing frames. The data were collected with student and teacher diaries, observer reports, and student products were scored through Informational Text Writing Rubric. Content analysis was used for the analysis of the collected data. The analysis of the data revealed that while the informational text writing skills of the students were at a moderate level at the beginning, they reached a high level at the end of the process. Based on the findings, some suggestions were presented to teachers and researchers to improve students' ability to write informational texts.

The present study aims to examine the preservice middle school mathematics teachers' ability to perform the process of mathematizing and to identify their competencies within this context. For this purpose, the study was conducted with 43 preservice teachers attending a state university. The research method used is descriptive research. As the data collection tool, a real-life problem called "cylinder packing problem" was presented to preservice teachers, with a view to finding the optimal and lowest-cost packing scheme for a hazelnut grower. The solutions presented by the preservice teachers were subjected to content analysis as well as descriptive analysis. The preservice teachers' competencies were examined to see their level of effectiveness in the use of notations that are indicators of mathematizing, in achieving mathematical results in the process of problem-solving. The research findings indicate that the preservice teachers generally lacked sufficient comprehension of the problem in the real-life contexts and could not perform the requirements of important skills such as using notations, mathematical models and generalization method which are important in making abstract inferences in the mathematizing process. In light of these findings, further studies to contribute to preservice teachers' mathematical sophistication levels are recommended in order to improve their competencies in mathematizing.

Choosing a writing topic poses a particularly serious challenge for young learners. Topic selection affects all other steps of the writing process. Therefore, the writing topic should be related to a subject that the student knows about, is interested in, and can produce content on. Basing writing on students' immediate environment and experiences will contribute positively to their writing process. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of writing activities based on immediate environment and experiences on the development of narrative and informative text writing skills. The study is designed as a multiple probe model, which is one of the single-subject research designs. The study group consists of two primary school students (one girl and one boy). A 14-week program was implemented that required writing based on immediate environment and experiences. The data of the study were collected using "the Story Elements Evaluation Scale" and "the Informative Text Rating Scale". The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, graphical representation, and effect size calculation method. According to the results obtained, writing activities based on the immediate environment and experiences have a significant effect on improving the students' ability to write narrative and informative texts, as well as their development of story elements and informative text elements. However, it was also concluded that it does not affect the external structure of the text and its language and expression. Considering these results, writing teachers are strongly encouraged to conduct writing activities related to their students' immediate environment and experiences.

Abstract Diagnosis of craniofacial morphea (CM) relies upon clinical examination of progressive craniofacial changes. We assess the utility of 3D stereophotogrammetry in documenting asymmetry of the face compared to clinical notetaking. This retrospective study of 3D images and clinical documentation included 32 patients (mean age 15.7 years) with CM. A panel of specialists identified additional areas of asymmetry (those highlighted in 3D photographs that were not noted in clinical documentation) and categorised them as likely, ambiguously or unlikely related to CM. 28 patients (87.5%) had asymmetries noted on 3D photos that were not documented in clinical notes. In 46.4% of them, additional areas were deemed consistent with CM. In the remaining patients, additional asymmetries were ambiguous (42.9%) or not thought to be related to CM (10.7%). Our results suggest that adjunctive use of 3D stereophotogrammetry enhances the documentation of CM at discrete clinical time points and therefore could be a better comparative reference during later re‐examination.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fped.2023.1240242.].

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on new diagnoses of recurrent fevers and autoinflammatory diseases is largely unknown. The Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) PFAPA/AID Working Group aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of pediatric patients evaluated for recurrent fevers and autoinflammatory diseases in North America. The absolute number of new outpatient visits and the proportion of these visits attributed to recurrent fever diagnoses during the pre-pandemic period (1 March 2019-29 February 2020) and the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic (1 March 2020-28 February 2021) were examined. Data were collected from 27 sites in the United States and Canada. Our results showed an increase in the absolute number of new visits for recurrent fever evaluations in 21 of 27 sites during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. The increase was observed across different geographic regions in North America. Additionally, the proportion of new visits to these centers for recurrent fever in relation to all new patient evaluations was significantly higher during the first year of the pandemic, increasing from 7.8% before the pandemic to 10.9% during the pandemic year (p

Abstract The development of taxane resistance remains a major challenge for castration resistant prostate cancer (CR-PCa), despite the effectiveness of taxanes in prolonging patient survival. To uncover novel targets, we performed an epigenetic drug screen on taxane (docetaxel and cabazitaxel) resistant CR-PCa cells. We identified BRPF reader proteins, along with several epigenetic groups (CBP/p300, Menin-MLL, PRMT5 and SIRT1) that act as targets effectively reversing the resistance mediated by ABCB1. Targeting BRPFs specifically resulted in the resensitization of resistant cells, while no such effect was observed on the sensitive compartment. These cells were successfully arrested at the G2/M phase of cell cycle and underwent apoptosis upon BRPF inhibition, confirming the restoration of taxane susceptibility. Pharmacological inhibition of BRPFs reduced ABCB1 activity, indicating that BRPFs may be involved in an efflux-related mechanism. Indeed, ChIP-qPCR analysis confirmed binding of BRPF1 to the ABCB1 promoter suggesting direct regulation of the ABCB1 gene at the transcriptional level. RNA-seq analysis revealed that BRPF1 knockdown affects the genes enriched in mTORC1 and UPR signaling pathways, revealing potential mechanisms underlying its functional impact, which is further supported by the enhancement of taxane response through the combined inhibition of ABCB1 and mTOR pathways, providing evidence for the involvement of multiple BRPF1-regulated pathways. Beyond clinical attributes (Gleason score, tumor stage, therapy outcome, recurrence), metastatic PCa databases further supported the significance of BRPF1 in taxane resistance, as evidenced by its upregulation in taxane-exposed PCa patients.

The energetic viability of the previously proposed biogenetic pathway for the formation of two unique monoterpenoid indole alkaloids, voacafricine A and B, which are present in the fruits of Voacanga africana, was investigated using density functional theory computations. The results of these calculations indicate that not only is the previously suggested pathway not energetically viable but also that an alternative biosynthetic precursor is likely.

This article contains a representative listing of fictional children's literature titles, which relate to selected geographic concepts. Texts in the picture books were examined based on their geographical concepts. Within the scope of the research, 82 picture storybooks selected through the criterion sampling method were analyzed via content analysis. Expressions devoted to location, place, interaction between human and environment, action and region themes were identified in the analyzed picture books. While statements regarding physical characteristics of at most one place seem to exist in the abovementioned expressions, these statements were determined to emphasize biodiversity the most. On the other hand, expressions about the region theme were seen to be the least in the picture books. Based on the obtained results, fulfilling the need for picture books including different geographical concepts was recommended.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and osteoporosis often coexist in the elderly. Although observational studies suggest an association between these two diseases, the pathophysiologic link between AD and skeletal health has been poorly defined. We examined the skeletal phenotype of 5xFAD mice, an AD model with accelerated neuron-specific amyloid-β accumulation causing full-blown AD phenotype by the age of 8 months. Micro-computed tomography indicated significantly lower trabecular and cortical bone parameters in 8-month-old male, but not female, 5xFAD mice than sex-matched wild-type littermates. Dynamic histomorphometry revealed reduced bone formation and increased bone resorption, and quantitative RT-PCR showed elevated skeletal RANKL gene expression in 5xFAD males. These mice also had diminished body fat percentage with unaltered lean mass, as determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and elevated Ucp1 mRNA levels in brown adipose tissue, consistent with increased sympathetic tone, which may contribute to the osteopenia observed in 5xFAD males. Nevertheless, no significant changes could be detected between male 5xFAD and wild-type littermates regarding the serum and skeletal concentrations of norepinephrine. Thus, brain-specific amyloid-β pathology is associated with osteopenia and appears to affect both bone formation and bone resorption. Our findings shed new light on the pathophysiologic link between Alzheimer's disease and osteoporosis.