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Abstract Background Progressive pulmonary fibrosis is the symptomatic, physiological, and radiological progression of interstitial lung diseases. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between progressive pulmonary fibrosis and demographic characteristics and to evaluate the effect on clinical outcomes and mortality. Methods This cross-sectional study included 221 patients diagnosed with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis interstitial lung diseases who were followed in the last 5 years. Patient symptoms, clinical, radiological, and demographic data were examined. Risk factors for the development of progressive pulmonary fibrosis and the relationship with clinical outcomes and mortality were examined. Results Of the patients, 33.0% (n = 73) had fibrotic idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (iNSIP), 35.7% (n = 79) had fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonia (HP), 18.1% (n = 40) had fibrotic connective tissue disease (CTD) interstitial lung diseases (ILD), and 13.1% (n = 29) had postinfectious fibrotic ILD. The progressive pulmonary fibrosis development rates of the subtypes were 46.5% iNSIP (n = 34), 86.0% fibrotic HP (n = 68), 42.5% fibrotic CTD-ILD (n = 17), and 20.7% postinfectious ILD (n = 6). The presence of progressive pulmonary fibrosis was associated with the development of respiratory failure and mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 2.70, 95% CI: 1.04–7.05 and OR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.23–3.69). Progressive pulmonary fibrosis development was higher in hypersensitivity pneumonia patients with farmer’s lung (OR: 5.06, 95% CI: 1.02–25.18). Conclusion Progressive pulmonary fibrosis was more prevalent in older patients. Farming was an important risk factor in the development of hypersensitivity pneumonia-progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Respiratory failure and mortality were higher in those who developed progressive pulmonary fibrosis.

The prerequisite for teaching many skills and behaviors to children with intellectual disabilities is that the child has acquired the basic concepts. Teaching concepts plays a very active role in the independence of the child with intellectual disabilities and in the acquisition of higher level skills that they will learn in the future. The studies conducted in recent years show that technology-based applications are effective in teaching concepts to children with intellectual disabilities. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a technology-enhanced concept teaching application enriched with digital animations in teaching basic concepts to children with intellectual disabilities. Two male students diagnosed with intellectual disabilities participated in the study. In determining the ethics of technology-enhanced concept teaching practice, the multiple probe between skills model, which is one of the methods of single-subject research, was used. As a result of the study, it was found that the use of technology-assisted concept teaching was effective in teaching basic concepts to children with intellectual disabilities, that the children continued the concepts learned after the end of the instruction, and that they generalized them to different situations.

It is important to support children's appropriate behaviors and social skills to extinguish problem behaviors at an early stage as much as possible. Therefore, researchers are in search of effective evidence-based interventions to deal with the problem behaviors of young children. The "Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Approach" seems to be the most widespread approach since the 2000s. PBIS aims to increase the quality of life of the child by making positive changes in the environment of the child. The study explores the effectiveness of the School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Turkish education model (SWPIBS-TR) on problem behaviors and social skills within the early childhood settings. The intervention was carried out in four main stages and 14 steps. The study was conducted with the school managers, teachers, school staff, primary caregivers, and all children with and without disabilities in a preschool/kindergarten in Turkey. The research is mixed-method research and the "parallel convergent research" model has been adopted. The findings indicated significant decreases in the problem behaviors of children and increases in the social skills level. So, researchers, policymakers, and teachers should put the SWPBIS-TR approaches in their curriculum in Turkey.

Cancer immunotherapy has witnessed rapid advancement in recent years, with a particular focus on neoantigens as promising targets for personalized treatments. The convergence of immunogenomics, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence (AI) has propelled the development of innovative neoantigen discovery tools and pipelines. These tools have revolutionized our ability to identify tumor-specific antigens, providing the foundation for precision cancer immunotherapy. AI-driven algorithms can process extensive amounts of data, identify patterns, and make predictions that were once challenging to achieve. However, the integration of AI comes with its own set of challenges, leaving space for further research. With particular focus on the computational approaches, in this article we have explored the current landscape of neoantigen prediction, the fundamental concepts behind, the challenges and their potential solutions providing a comprehensive overview of this rapidly evolving field.

Introduction: The main focus of early intervention is to strengthen the interaction of parents with young children with disabilities, and to ensure that parents become active participants in the development and education of their children. The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of an Early Intervention Program based on Naturalistic Teaching (DÖDEM), which has been developed in order to strengthen the interaction of parents with their children with Down syndrome and to introduce naturalistic teaching strategies to them. Methods: The DÖDEM program was provided face-to-face through group family training sessions and home visits for a group of participants, while it was followed remotely by another group of participants via a tablet computer. The study was conducted with 10 parents and their children with Down syndrome aged 25-48 months. A mixed method research design was used in this study. Results: The findings demonstrate that the parents in both groups made significant progress in interactional behaviours and increased the usage frequency of naturalistic teaching strategies. Furthermore, parents think that the program contributes positively to their interactions with their children and support the development of their children. Conclusion: The results obtained demonstrated that following the DÖDEM program in both ways contributed to significant improvement in the parents' interactional behaviours and the frequency of use of naturalistic teaching strategies. Thus, it can be said that this process has led to a change in both the parents' and children's behaviours.

In the current study, face-to-face and web-based naturalistic teaching teacher education program for pre-school teachers (NTEPP), who are among the main stakeholders of inclusive education, was developed and examined its effectiveness on teacher outcomes (naturalistic teaching knowledge level, interactional behavior levels, and level of using naturalistic teaching strategies in the education processes). In addition, opinions the targeted teachers on the programs were gathered. A total of 30 teachers in the Face-to-Face (Experimental-1=14) and Web-based (Experimental-2=16) NTEPP groups participated in the study, which was designed with the "embedded design, one of the mixed research methods." In the study, face-to-face and web-based programs were found to be effective in increasing teachers' total scores for naturalistic teaching knowledge, interactional behaviors, and naturalistic teaching strategies used in leisure time and art activities. However, the results revealed that the face-to-face education program had a more permanent effect on the total scores for naturalistic teaching knowledge and naturalistic teaching strategies used in leisure time activities compared to the web-based program. Accordingly, it was determined that web-based programs, the contents of which were designed with visual and written materials, could be as effective as face-to-face programs on teachers' targeted performance levels. Finally, it was observed that teachers' opinions on the programs were quite positive.

This study aims to determine the opinions of science teachers working in secondary schools in Kars province of Turkey regarding the comparison of the High School Entrance Exam (LGS) which is currently being applied in Turkey and the transition from primary to secondary education (TEOG) which was applied in Turkey before this exam system. The study was conducted with a screening model and data was collected through structured questions. The study group consists of 48 Science Teachers, who have teaching experience "1-10, 10-20 and over 20 years", working in 13 different secondary schools in Kars. The main categories were tried to be determined using explanatory and inferential codes that appeared in the analysis of forms for teachers' views. As a result of the research, it was found that most science teachers expressed the opinion that it was not necessary to abolish the TEOG and enact the LGS, and that the TEOG exam served its purpose better than the LGS. Again, as a result of the research, it was found that science teachers who thought that TEOG was a stronger test than LGS expressed the opinion that TEOG should be more systematic, process-oriented, be compensated, have more impact on written exams in school, and that the exam should be a process-oriented exam spanning two semesters. It was determined that science teachers who thought that LGS was a stronger test than TEOG had expressed the opinion that LGS was a highly distinguishable test and that LGS questions were questions based on high-level thinking, high selectivity, based on interpretation, requiring knowledge, far from recitation, covering all subjects.

The aim of this qualitative case study was to determine the cognitive and metacognitive strategies used by the Secondary School 6th grade students while reading science texts in a Biology unit titled "Support and Motor System", and to compare these strategies in accordance with the type of their school (private or state school), their grade point averages and their perceptions concerning the difficulty level of the chapter. The number of the participant students was 6; 3 from a private school and 3 from a state school. After the students read the texts in the unit, semi structured interviews were administered in order to determine their strategy types, to compare and contrast these strategies in accordance with the type of their schools, their grade point averages and their perceptions concerning the difficulty level of the chapter. The results of the study revealed that the private school students had "High" and "Very high" grade point averages and assessed the chapter as "Easy" and "Very Easy", used a higher number and a wider variety of cognitive and metacognitive strategies whereas the state school students had "Low" and "Very Low" grade point averages and assessed the chapter as "Difficult" and "Very Difficult".

This study aims to scrutinise the cognitive and metacognitive strategies of the 6th-grade students while answering multiple-choice questions on "Human Body Systems" within the domain of their Biology course. In determining these strategies, the characteristics of multiple-choice questions (figures, graphs, explanations, etc.) were also considered. Participants of the study included three 6th-grade students, who were studying in a private school located in the province of Kars. The study was designed as a qualitative "case study". In the selection of the participants, purposive sampling method was adopted in that; the Science teachers' opinion was considered and the students whose overall grade point averages were "Very Good" became eligible. The data were collected during the implementation phase via multiple choice quizzes, video recordings, and semi-structured interviews. For the data analysis, the computer programs for qualitative data analysis were used. The results showed that, the participant students used a diverse range of cognitive strategies such as visualizing, expressing in their own words, analyzing figures, and comparing the given alternative options to answer the multiple-choice questions. Additionally, they also made use of such metacognitive strategies as re-examining the answer, underlining or circling the clues, marking the explanations in the text of the question, and eliminating the incorrect options. The features of the items (figures, graphics, explanations, etc.) were other factors affecting the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies.

The purpose of this research is to determine the sources of cognitive and metacognitive strategies that 7th-grade students use when studying the "Cell and Divisions" unit that belongs to the field of Biology. In the study, the case study which is one of the qualitative research methods was used. A total of 6 students from 3 different secondary schools in Kars participated in the study. In the research, 6 7th grade students who study in 3 different secondary schools read the "Cell and Divisions" unit in the 7th grade Science Textbook. Students were observed by the researcher in their process of reading this unit. Students were asked to think aloud to determine the cognitive and metacognitive strategies used in the process of reading the unit. To determine whether the strategies used in reading the unit are cognitive or metacognitive, and to determine the sources (from, where or how) of these cognitive and transcriptional strategies they are using, semi-structured interviews were conducted with them immediately after reading the unit. The observation records of the students' reading process of the unit and transcripts of the data obtained from the semi-structured interviews with the students after reading the unit were made. The transcripts of the data were analyzed. According to the results of the research; It was determined that the sources of the cognitive strategies used by the two students who study in the 1st secondary school and have high grade point averages while reading the "Cell and Divisions" unit were themselves and their teachers and the sources of metacognitive strategies of them were their teachers and friends. It was determined that the sources of the cognitive and metacognitive strategies used by the two students who study in the 2nd secondary school and have medium grade point averages were only themselves. It was determined that the sources of the cognitive strategies used by the two students who study in the 3rd school and have low grade point averages were only themselves, But it was determined that the sources of the metacognitive strategies of one student were himself/herself but since the other student did not use metacognitive strategies the sources of the strategies could not be determined.

Turkey's Mediterranean aquaculture industry is the world leader in European seabass aquaculture and the European leader in meagre aquaculture. In this study, carbon footprint (CF) values of four partial harvests of European seabass in earthen pond aquaculture (EPES) and meagre in earthen pond aquaculture (EPM) were determined. The average values of total CF expended for EPES and EPM, which reached a final harvest weight of approximately 1,500 g in 1,061 and 633 days were 3.38 and 2.26 kg CO2e kg−1, respectively. The lowest and highest rates of CF expended on consumed compound diet (CFCD) were 63.92 and 65.59% in EPES, and 62.44 and 66.70% in EPM, respectively. The rates of CF general management were 32.0 and 33.57% in EPES and 30.98 and 34.98% in EPM, respectively. Against this high proportion of the compound diet, the second highest value was the lowest and highest proportion of partial harvests of electricity, 28.20 and 29.59% in EPES and 27.09 and 30.51% in EPM, respectively. CF input and CF output per kg values of meagre were decreased with increasing weight, therefore meagre can be defined as a species with high global food security and resilience against climate change. HIGHLIGHTS The carbon footprint (CF) can be used to determine climate identity.; While the CF expended value decreased with increasing harvesting weight of meagre, it increased in European seabass.; Fast-growing species may be important in combating climate change.; The most important inputs of earthen pond farming are compound diet and electricity.; Meagre aquaculture should be carefully considered by policymakers.;

Wet Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in industrialized nations, often resulting in blindness. Biologics, therapeutic agents derived from biological sources, have been effective in AMD, albeit at a high cost. Due to the high cost of AMD treatment, it is critical to determine the binding affinity of biologics to ensure their efficacy and make quantitative comparisons between different drugs. This study evaluates the in vitro VEGF binding affinity of two drugs used for treating wet AMD, monoclonal antibody-based bevacizumab and fusion protein-based aflibercept, performing quantitative binding measurements on an Interferometric Reflectance Imaging Sensor (IRIS) system. Both biologics can inhibit Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). For comparison, the therapeutic molecules were immobilized on to the same support in a microarray format, and their real-time binding interactions with recombinant human VEGF (rhVEGF) were measured using an IRIS. The results indicated that aflibercept exhibited a higher binding affinity to VEGF than bevacizumab, consistent with previous studies using ELISA and SPR. The IRIS system’s innovative and cost-effective features, such as silicon-based semiconductor chips for enhanced signal detection and multiplexed analysis capability, offer new prospects in sensor technologies. These attributes make IRISs a promising tool for future applications in the development of therapeutic agents, specifically biologics.

This study aimed to evaluate the dimensional stability of maxillary diagnostic casts fabricated from a biobased model resin, which consists of 50% renewable raw materials for sustainable production, a model resin, and stone, over one month. A master maxillary stone cast was digitized with a laboratory scanner to generate a reference file. This master cast was also scanned with an intraoral scanner to additively manufacture casts with a biobased model resin (BAM) and a model resin (AM). Polyvinylsiloxane impressions of the master cast were also made and poured in type III stone (CV) (n = 8). The same laboratory scanner was used to digitize each model one day (T0), 1 week (T1), 2 weeks (T2), 3 weeks (T3), and 4 weeks (T4) after fabrication. Deviations from the reference file were calculated with an analysis software and analyzed with generalized linear model analysis (α = 0.05). The interaction between the material and the time point affected measured deviations (p < 0.001). Regardless of the time point, CV had the lowest and AM had the highest deviations (p < 0.001). BAM mostly had lower deviations at T0 and mostly had higher deviations at T4 (p ≤ 0.011). AM had the highest deviations at T4 and then at T3, whereas it had the lowest deviations at T0 (p ≤ 0.002). The measured deviations of CV increased after each time point (p < 0.001). BAM casts had deviations within the previously reported clinically acceptable thresholds over one month and had acceptable dimensional stability. Therefore, tested biobased resin may be a viable alternative for the sustainable manufacturing of maxillary diagnostic casts that are to be used clinically.

The effectiveness of Responsive Teaching (RT) Early Intervention Program which is one of the relationship-focused interventions (RFI) on five children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their mothers was studied. The study was conducted in "Mixed Research Design" in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative data of the study were collected through single group pretest-posttest model and qualitative data were collected from field notes, diaries, video analyses and interviews. Findings gathered from pretest and posttest quantitative results revealed that the RT program was effective on interactive behaviors of five children with ASD and their mothers. Qualitative results supported the quantitative findings and revealed that mothers stated they became more sensitive and responsive to their children behaviors by using RT strategies.

The purpose of this study is to describe and compare pragmatic language skills of Turkish students with typical development and inclusive education students with mild intellectual disability. Participants included 152 primary school students (75 students were students with typical development-STD, and 77 students were inclusive education students with mild intellectual disability-IES) aged between 5 and 12. Data were collected via Turkish version of Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (TV-PLSI, Alev, Diken, Ardiç, Diken, Sekercioglu and Gilliam, 2014). Results indicated that out of 75 students with typical development (STD), 58 (77,4%) had average or above average pragmatic language skills whereas out of 77 inclusive education students (IES), only 17 (22,1%) showed average or above average pragmatic language skills. More specifically, 60 (77,9) IES had below average, poor and very poor pragmatic language skills. Results on comparisons of two groups also revealed that students with typical development showed higher pragmatic language skills than inclusive education students with mild intellectual disability on total score and three subtest scores of the TV-PLSI. Suggestions were provided.

Dental anksiyete, hem hastanın tedaviden kaçınmasına neden olması, hem de mevcut tedavi sürecini olumsuz etkilediğinden dental tedavi sürecini hekim ve hasta açısından oldukça zorlaştırmaktadır. Bu çalışmada hastaların yaşı, eğitim düzeyi, cinsiyeti ve hastalarda dental anksiyete varlığının OHIP-14 ile ilişkisini değerlendirmek amaçlanmıştır. Çalışma Kırıkkale Üniversitesi ve Biruni Üniversitesi’ne tedavi görmek amacıyla başvuran 500 gönüllü ile gerçekleştirildi. Gönüllülere rutin planlanmış olan tedavi öncesi ve sonrasında MDAS, DKS ve OHIP-14 anketlerindeki sorular yöneltildi. Alınan cevaplarla edinilen veriler bir istatistiksel yazılım programı aracılığıyla analiz edildi. İstatistiksel analizlere göre yaş, cinsiyet ve eğitim durumunun dental anksiyete ve dental korku skalasi ile OHIP-14 arasinda pozitif ilişki olduğu sonucuna varıldı.

Background: The aim of this study was to arrange the treatment according to the etiology following the differential diagnosis in patients who had presented to the Orthopedics and Traumatology and General Surgery outpatient departments, and to emphasize the post-treatment success. Method: The charts of 156 patients who had presented to the Orthopedics and Traumatology, General Surgery Departments of the Kafkas University Faculty of Medicine between July 2012 and June 2021 were retrospectively reviewed after permission was obtained from the ethics committee in this study. The demographic findings and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) results for those with a symptom of pain as detected during the physical examination were recorded from the patient charts. Results: A total of 156 patients who had presented with traumatic and non-traumatic conditions to the Orthopedics Clinic complaining of pain, burning, sensitivity, discharge and hyperemia at the coccyx region were included in the study. The reason for the lumbosacralgia was found to be traumatic as in heavy lifting or working physically difficult jobs in 62 of the 95 patients (65.26%) who presented with lumbosacralgia and pain referred to the coccyx. The mean VAS was 7.37 before treatment and 2.32 following conservative treatment. There was a history of falling on the coccyx region in 8 of the 14 patients with traumatic isolated coccydynia. The pre-treatment mean VAS was 8.64 in the patients with a diagnosis of coccydynia while the post-treatment mean VAS was 0 in 8 patients with full recovery, 4.33 in 3 patients with partial recovery, and 9.66 in 3 patients with no recovery. The pre-treatment mean VAS was 7.58 in the 29 patients with thrombosed hemorrhoids, decreasing to 0 after treatment. The pre-treatment mean VAS was 4.16 in the 18 patients with a pilonidal sinus, again decreasing to 0 after treatment. Conclusion: Possible underlying etiological factors should be taken into account when making a diagnosis in patients with coccydynia and the treatment should be determined in a multidisciplinary manner.

The present study aimed to examine the effects of the Quality Book Reading (NIKO) Early Intervention Program on Turkish mothers of children with Down syndrome aged between 2 and 6 years and their children. The research was conducted using the convergent parallel mixed design with 17 mother-child dyads determined by random assignment. Nine participants were included in the control group, and eight were included in the intervention group. The research was performed online. The research data were collected through video recordings of the mother-child dyads taken during the book reading activity before and after the intervention and semi-structured interviews conducted with the mothers after the intervention. Results revealed that the NIKO Program was effective on various variables, which are primarily children’s pivotal behaviours, interactional behaviours, and book reading behaviours displayed by mothers. Parents exhibited more quality reading behaviours and these behaviours positively impacted the pivotal behaviours and interactions of children. The above-mentioned results show that the NIKO Program can contribute to the development of children with Down syndrome and is an effective tool for parents to improve their book reading habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to describe the phonological awareness, reading comprehension, fluent reading levels and types of errors in the reading of individuals with DS who can read and to examine the relationship between these variables. This relational descriptive study consists of 44 individuals with DS aged between 7 and 30 years who can read. 'Early Childhood Phonological Sensitivity Scale (ECPSS)' and the 'Skill of Oral Reading and Reading Comprehension Test (SOBAT-II)' were used for data collection. It was observed that the level of phonological awareness of individuals with DS was moderate, their level of fluent reading and reading comprehension was insufficient, and that the type of reading mistake they did most frequently was letter skipping (80%). It was determined that according to their level of (mild or moderate) intellectual disability, there was a significant difference between phonological awareness, fluent reading, and reading comprehension levels, also, it was found out that there was a statistically significant correlation between these variables.

Perceptions of parents of young children receiving early intervention are important to understand. Parents have valuable opinions on the delivery of early interventions services and can provide critical feedback that can help professionals revise their existing early intervention delivery modalities. In the current study, we examined the perceptions of parents of young children with Down syndrome on early intervention services in Turkey. Specifically, we aimed to understand the parents' views on medical and educational evaluation and diagnosis processes. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional research design, which is one of the survey design methods. Data were collected from a total of 893 parents via an online survey. The results demonstrated that children with Down syndrome were diagnosed within an average of 2.3 months from birth, but the average age for starting education was 10.5 months. The majority of the parents evaluated the process until their children were diagnosed and accessed education services as a rather slow process that proceeded with their own means and efforts. Furthermore, the parents reported that during the diagnosis processes the type of materials, equipment, toys, and settings used were not relevant and time provided was insufficient. Moreover, the majority of the parents reported that the education services presented to them and their children were not sufficient and early intervention services were not provided within a system. As a result, although the legal regulations in Turkey are parallel to those in developed countries and studies in the field have been increasingly gaining momentum, issues such as the absence of an early intervention system model, insufficient cooperation between experts and institutions, and the shortage of expert staff in the field are still present and awaiting a solution.

Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is one of many scientific based practices used in the education of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is seen that many evidence based practices are limited to the studies conducted by universities and cannot become widespread. Involvement of parents in their children's education processes and utilization of evidence based practices play a very important role in overcoming the problems and achieving the desired results in children with ASD. In this study, the effectiveness of a group of family training programme, which has been developed to upskill parents to present DTT, was investigated on 14 mothers and 14 fathers. The result shows that there is a significant difference between experiment and control groups' DTT scores. On the other hand there is no significant difference between mothers' and fathers' DTT performance in experiment group. Also children whose parents in the experiment group improved imitation skills during the study. The parent training program has been found effective on teaching parents how to use DTT. All the parents indicated their satisfactions about the program and they also suggested the program to the other parents.

Abstract Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) requires a multidisciplinary approach owing to its multisystem involvement. Pulmonary rehabilitation may be required in patients with COVID-19. In our study, we aimed to examine the effect of the pulmonary rehabilitation program applied after the acute period of back pain in patients with severe pulmonary involvement, dyspnea and health profiles of the patients. Method: In our retrospectively planned study, 50 patients with advanced pulmonary involvement who were treated for COVID-19 and discharged from the hospital and who were diagnosed with shortness of breath, back pain and difficulties in daily living activities in the 1st month chest diseases polyclinic controls and who were given a pulmonary rehabilitation program for a period of 1 month were included in our study. Before and 1 month after the pulmonary rehabilitation program, back pain was evaluated with the VAS, respiratory functions were evaluated with the Modified Medical Research Council Scale, and activities of daily living were evaluated with the Notthingham scale. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the beginning and the end of the pulmonary rehabilitation program in the Modified Medical Research Council Scale scores (p