The position of a ball was measured by using the touchscreen of a mobile phone during its rolling motion. The translational speed of the ball was determined using the recorded position and time data. ...The speed was also calculated by a conventional method. The speed values determined by the two methods were consistent, thus it was proven that a touchscreen could be used to detect position in physics experiments. Touchscreens of other smart mobile devices and touch tables can also be used for the same purpose.
In this paper, we introduce a new software-based position sensor developed to analyze rolling motion using an iPhone. To demonstrate the usefulness and accuracy of the sensor, we present a sample ...experiment and activity. The freely available app that employs the sensor can be used to simultaneously collect position and velocity data. Therefore, the mathematical relationship between position and velocity concepts can be easily investigated. When two iOS devices are connected via Bluetooth, the app can also be used to teach position-time and velocity-time graphs.
Abstract
Equations, as mathematical models—used to explain facts—are simplified, especially when learning physics at a basic level, to help in the understanding of complex systems that depend on many ...variables. These simplifications are idealizations in the literature, where abstractions and approximations are also given for the same concept. When reading about a model, knowing that it is idealized, and realizing what the idealizations are, is very important in enabling the reader to understand complex operations correctly. The purpose of this study is to reveal whether or not students are aware of the idealizations used in some mathematical models to explain complex facts in physics education. This study is organized as a simple survey model. The data for the study were collected from a test consisting of 14 open-ended questions within a basic physics context. The test was given to 60 pre-service teachers studying physics and science education. The questions were prepared considering the idealizations in some mathematical models that are frequently used in physics lessons. The results of the study are given along with content analysis and frequency tables of the open-ended questions, with the help of rubrics developed by the researchers. The data obtained showed that the majority of the prospective teachers participating in the study were not aware of the idealizations in the equations, and those using the idealizations generally used irrelevant and incorrect idealizations.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is the standard front-line treatment modality in locally advanced breast cancer. Achieving pathological complete response (pCR) is a significant prognostic factor for ...prolonged disease-free and overall survival. Insulin resistance is defined as a pathological condition in which insulin effect is impaired in peripheral target tissues such as the skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. The relationship between breast cancer and insulin resistance is controversial. In this study, our aim is to evaluate the role of insulin resistance, body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome, and inflammation markers to predict complete response in breast cancer patients who underwent neoadjuvant treatment.
Data from 55 locally advanced non-diabetic breast cancer patients, treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 2015 and 2017, were retrospectively evaluated. Homeostatic model assessment, IR = insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated by using the obtained insulin and fasting blood glucose values before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (fasting insulin × fasting glucose/405). We considered a cut-off of 2.5 for insulin resistance. The systemic inflammatory index (SII), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated.
Twenty-five patients had no insulin resistance. The most common pathologic subtype (56%) was hormone receptor (HR) positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her-2)-negative invasive ductal carcinoma. Sixteen (29%) patients had a pathological complete response (pCR). We found that the probability of pCR in patients with insulin resistance was 4.7 times lower than that in patients without insulin resistance OR: 4.7 (95%CI 1.7-17.2), p = 0.01.
Our results revealed that insulin resistance may have a negative effect on pathological complete response (pCR) following neoadjuvant therapy particularly with hormone-positive and Her-2-negative cases of non-diabetic breast cancer.
Purpose
We aim to compare the efficiency and toxicity of three different 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) administration types in 5-FU, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) combination treatment for adjuvant ...therapy in colorectal cancer (CRC).
Methods
Five hundred and seventy patients with stage III colorectal carcinoma who received different FOLFOX regimens after curative resection were included. Patients were divided into three groups as FOLFOX-4, modified FOLFOX-6 (mFOLFOX-6), and mFOLFOX-4 for comparison of toxicity and disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) times.
Results
Three-year DFS rates for FOLFOX-4, mFOLFOX-6, and mFOLFOX-4 groups were 65%, 72%, and 72%, respectively. Five-year OS rates for FOLFOX-4, mFOLFOX-6, and mFOLFOX-4 groups were 69%, 75%, and 67%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the three treatment groups in terms of DFS and OS (
p
= 0.079, and
p
= 0.147, respectively). Among grade 1–2 adverse events (AE), thrombocytopenia, neuropathy, and stomatitis were more common in the mFOLFOX-6-treated group. The frequency of grade 1–2 nausea and vomiting were similar in mFOLFOX-6 (36.3% and 24%, respectively) and mFOLFOX-4 (32.4% and 24.7%, respectively) groups but were higher than that in the FOLFOX-4 (19.5% and 11.3%, respectively) group. Among the most common grade 3–4 AE, neutropenia (53.4%, 9%, and 13.5%, respectively) and diarrhea (10.5%, 2.2%, and 2.4, respectively) were more common in FOLFOX-4. The rate of anemia and febrile neutropenia was similar in treatment groups (
p
= 0.063, and
p
= 0.210, respectively).
Conclusion
In the adjuvant treatment of stage III CRC patients, three different 5-FU administration types in FOLFOX combination treatment can be used with similar efficiency and manageable toxicity.
Objective: To investigate and compare the effectiveness of various treatment protocols for the treatment of women with idiopathic detrusor overactivity.
Design: Prospective, randomized controlled ...trial.
Setting: Departments of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation and Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hacettepe University.
Subjects: Forty-six subjects were randomized to three groups.
Interventions: The first group received only pharmacotherapy, the second group received only physiotherapy and in the third group pharmacotherapy was combined with physiotherapy (combined therapy group).
Main measures: All patients were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of treatment. Assessment parameters were maximum cystometric capacity, electromyographic activity of pelvic floor muscles, voiding diary parameters, the amount of urine leakage and the quality of life score.
Results: The maximum cystometric capacity and the electromyographic activity of pelvic floor muscles increased significantly and the number of voids/day and incontinence episodes/day, and the amount of urine leakage reduced significantly (P < 0.05) in both physiotherapy and combined therapy groups while there was no significant difference in the pharmacotherapy group. After treatment, the number of voids/day increased by 0.3 ± 3.4 in the pharmacotherapy group (P > 0.05) and decreased by 5.1 ± 5.5 and 4.7 ± 5.6 in the physiotherapy and combined therapy groups, respectively (P < 0.05). Statistically significant improvements were observed in all groups according to the number of voids/night and the quality of life scores at the end of the treatment.
Conclusion: The physiotherapy protocol we introduced in the present study with or without anticholinergic therapy has a substantial positive impact on the treatment of female patients with idiopathic detrusor overactivity.
This study aims to explain the extent to which prospective physics teachers’ views and practices are consistent with the constructivist framework. A case study design was employed as the research ...approach. The study was conducted with 11 prospective physics teachers attending a state university in Turkey. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observation notes and lesson plans. The interview guide consisted of questions which allowed the interviewer to probe participants’ views of constructivism based on 5E learning model. Such questions as “how do you plan your teaching?” (introducing new topics, continuing the lecture, types of questions to ask, evaluating students’ understanding etc.) were included in the interview. Following the analysis of the interview data, participants’ profiles were classified into three categories: traditional, transition and constructivist under the dimensions “beginning of a lesson,” “learning process,” “learning environment” and “assessment.” Observations were carried out using an observation checklist consisting of 24 items based on 5E learning model. Another checklist developed by the researchers was used to evaluate participants’ teaching qualifications. Interview results showed that seven participants had transitional, three had constructivist and one had traditional views. However, none of the participants were observed to exhibit constructivist teaching styles. Moreover, observation and interview results were consistent only for six participants, indicating that almost half of the participants had difficulty putting their views into practice.
Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of connective tissue manipulation (CTM) on the severity of constipation and health-related quality of life in individuals ...diagnosed with chronic constipation. Methods Fifty patients with a diagnosis of chronic constipation according to Rome III criteria were recruited and randomized to an intervention (n = 25) or control group (n = 25). The intervention group received CTM in addition to the lifestyle advice, whereas the control group was given only lifestyle advice for constipation. All assessments were performed at baseline and at the end of 4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the Constipation Severity Instrument. Secondary outcomes included Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire, Bristol Stool Scale, and 7-day bowel diary. Differences between groups were analyzed with t tests, Mann-Whitney U test and χ2 test. Results Compared with the control group, subjects in the intervention group reported significantly greater improvement in total and subscale scores of the Constipation Severity Instrument and Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire ( P < .05). Based on the results from bowel diaries, the improvements in the number of bowel movements, duration of defecation, stool consistency, and the feeling of incomplete evacuation in the intervention group were also significantly more than the control group ( P < .05). Conclusion This study showed that CTM and lifestyle advice were superior to reducing symptoms of constipation and quality of life compared with lifestyle advice alone for patients with chronic constipation.
Chordoma is a rare malignant tumor of the skull base and axial skeleton, with an incidence of less than 0.1/100,000 per year. Patients with advanced chordoma have a poor prognosis due to locoregional ...recurrence with infiltration and destruction of surrounding bone and soft tissue. Cytotoxic chemotherapy or other systemic therapies have not been proven to be effective for these diseases. Therefore, several molecularly targeted therapies have been proposed as potentially beneficial, including tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib, sorafenib, lapatinib, and others.
We present three cases of advanced chordoma treated with molecular targeted therapies: a 52-year-old Caucasian man, a 72-year-old Caucasian woman, and a 38-year-old Caucasian woman.
Chordoma has few systemic treatment options and they have limited benefit. Randomized trials with large patient numbers are unfeasible in this rare disease. Targeted therapy might be a reasonable alternative treatment for chordoma. Still, new treatment strategies are needed for this rare disease.
Background
Anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitors, sunitinib and pazopanib, have proven efficacy in advanced renal cell carcinoma, with specific adverse events occurring during treatment process. ...Comorbidities can reflect functional status and have prognostic value in oncology patients. We aimed to assess the association of the Charlson Comorbidity Index with severe toxicities and mortality in renal cell carcinoma cases treated with front-line sunitinib or pazopanib.
Methods
Files of locally advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinoma patients who received first-line sunitinib or pazopanib were retrospectively examined. Charlson Comorbidity Index of each patient was calculated. Patients were also stratified into Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center risk groups. Predictors of dose-limiting toxicity were evaluated with binomial logistic regression analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were utilized to determine prognostic factors for survival.
Results
The study included 102 patients, 64 were treated with first-line sunitinib and 38 with pazopanib. In 42 patients (41.9%), Charlson Comorbidity Index was 9 or more. Dose-limiting toxicities were significantly more frequent in Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥9 group (69% vs. 40%, p = 0.004), and Charlson Comorbidity Index independently predicted dose-limiting toxicity (Hazard ratio (HR) = 4.30, p = 0.002). After adjusting for other variables, a Charlson Comorbidity Index of ≥9 is also a significant prognostic factor for progression-free (HR = 1.76, p = 0.02) and overall survival (HR = 1.75, p = 0.03).
Conclusions
Charlson Comorbidity Index may be a valuable method to estimate prognosis and optimize therapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma receiving first-line sunitinib or pazopanib.
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