Prioritizing the Researchers’ Important Competencies in Research Centres

Changes caused by the knowledge economy, including the emergence of new idea flows in management, methods and structure of organizations, have led to a change in the roles and skills needed for researchers in organizations. As new age organizations focus on intellectual property, organizational aspirations and organizational change, the researchers, as the wealth creators, in order to quickly adapt to new situations and develop their competencies in the competitive market, need to constantly change and develop a new identity for themselves. Since competencies have a prudential feature through describing skills and behavioural approaches, identifying and explaining researchers’ competencies in research centres is of particular importance. Accordingly, the present paper seeks to identify the factors and indicators of researchers’ competencies in research centres using scientific methods and surveys and then identify, classify, and prioritize researchers’ important competencies using statistical methods. According to the results obtained from the present study, creativity and innovation, integration, accountability and customer orientation competencies have higher priorities; however, all identified important competencies have a significant positive distance to mean. With the help of the results of this study, researchers and managers can clarify expectations about each other

INVESTIGATING THE SYNTHESIS OF TRANSITION METAL OXIDE NANOSTRUCTURES IN A COUNTER-FLOW FLAME

In this dissertation, the synthesis and growth mechanisms of various transition metal oxide (TMO) nanostructures inside a counter-flow flame medium were investigated. Transition metal oxide nanostructures with distinctive properties have broad applications in microelectronic devices, gas sensors, lithium-ion batteries, and catalysts. A flame is an exothermic chemical reaction that provides required energy for inexpensive synthesis of TMO nanostructures. The counter-flow flame is characterized by high temperature and chemical species gradients, one-dimensional axial temperature variation, and an oxygen-rich zone suitable for growth of metal oxide nanomaterials. Transition metal oxide nanostructures can be grown and collected through both solid-support and gas-phase synthesis methods inside a counter-flow flame. Herein, grown TMO nanostructures include Nb2O5, ZnO, W-doped MoO3, and WOx nanostructures. The insertion of a high purity Nb probe in the flame resulted in an instantaneous formation of a material layer coating the surface of the probe. The results show that the material layer is composed of Nb2O5 nanorods. Size and growth rate of the Nb2O5 nanorods depend on the insertion positions of the Nb probe (source) inside the flame volume. Content of oxygen in the oxidizer stream plays an important role in the growth rate of Nb2O5 nanorods; higher oxygen content leads to higher growth rates. Low electron mobility of Nb leads to the basal growth mechanism for the synthesis of Nb2O5 inside the flame. On the other hand, transition metals with high electron mobility (such as Mo, W, and Zn) mainly form through the vapor-phase growth mechanism inside the flame. The vapor-phase growth mechanism was observed during the growth of ZnO nanostructures through the solid-support synthesis. It was found that the morphology of the grown ZnO nanocrystals strongly depends on the insertion position inside the flame. Structural variations of the synthesized ZnO nanostructures include nanorods and microprisms with a large number of facets, and microprisms with a protruding nanorod. Grown nanorods are less than 100 nm in diameter and less than 1µm in length. W-doped MoO3 nanocubes were synthesized through the gas-phase synthesis by introducing high purity Mo and W probes inside the counter-flow flame volume. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy elemental mapping shows evenly distributed W, Mo, and O2 in the nanocubes. The measured lattice spacing of the nanocubes showed expanded lattice spacing which was attributed to an intercalation of tungsten atoms in the MoO3 layers. Collected samples of fully grown W-doped MoO3 nanocubes in the upper region of the flame volume show that the nanocubes have widths of less than 100 nm and well-defined edges like their base structures of MoO3. By inserting a high purity W probe inside the flame volume, fragments of tungsten oxide material formed over the oxidizer side of the W probe. We found that this material can be converted to 1-D tungsten oxide nanorods with lower oxidation state (WOx) as exposed to the electron beam (EB) of a TEM. In this process, tungsten oxide nanorods reached ~90% of their final length within approximately one second of EB irradiation. The EB irradiation led to evaporation of a part of the fragment and subsequent growth of lower state tungsten oxide (WOx) nanorods in the vicinity of the irradiation spot. It revealed that grown WOx nanorods follow the vapor-phase growth mechanism. The evaporated material particles coalesced and deposited on the TEM grid to form seeds for further growth. These early seeds were the building blocks for the formation of fully grown structures. Further influx of tungsten particle deposition on the surface of the seeds caused growth of the seeds in the preferred direction and formation of the nanorods. The smooth surface was evidence of total diffusion of deposited particles into the surface of the early formed nanorods. The length of WOx nanorods was an exponential function of their distance to the irradiated spot. Longer nanorods were observed closer to the irradiated spot. This finding gives another unique characteristic of the flame to synthesize TMOs

Postpartum physico sexual problems and related factors

زمینه و هدف: آگاهی از مشکلات فیزیکی - جنسی بعد از زایمان و عوامل مرتبط با آن می تواند در مراقبت های بعد از زایمان مد نظر و بکار گرفته شود. لذا پژوهش حاضر با هدف تعیین مشکلات فیزیکی ـ جنسی بعد از زایمان و عوامل مرتبط با آن انجام گردیده است. روش بررسی: این پژوهش یک مطالعه توصیفی - تحلیلی بوده و در آن 384 نفر از زنانی که برای اولین بار بعد از زایمان به 12 مرکز بهداشتی درمانی شهر اصفهان مراجعه کرده بودند، مورد بررسی قرار گرفتند. ابزار گردآوری داده ها پرسشنامه خود ساخته مشتمل بر 3 قسمت مشخصات فردی، باروری و مشکلات فیزیکی - جنسی بود که به روش مصاحبه حضوری گردآوری گردید و با استفاده از روشهای آماری توصیفی و استنباطی (آزمون تی مستقل و مجذور کا) مورد تجزیه و تحلیل قرار گرفت. یافته ها: نتایج نشان داد که اکثریت زنان (6/77) مورد پژوهش دچار مشکلات فیزیکی ـ جنسی می باشند، به طوری که 2 از خشکی واژن در هنگام فعالیت جنسی، 7/3 از درد و ناراحتی پرینه (در محل اپی زیوتومی یا پارگی)، 5/14 از فقدان یا کاهش میل جنسی، 9/24 از احساس خستگی و 9/54 از ترکیبی از مشکلات شاکی بودند. با افزایش تعداد زایمان، تعداد فرزندان و مدت ازدواج، مشکلات فیزیکی ـ جنسی کاهش می یابد (05/0

Patient Satisfaction with Nursing and Medical Care in Hospitals Affiliated to Arak University of Medical Sciences in 2009

Background: Patient satisfaction is essential and must be taken into account when decisions are being made about changes and enhancements to services. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to assess patient satisfaction with the medical and nursing services provided to patients admitted to teaching hospitals affiliated to Arak University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2009. The study population consisted of all patients admitted to the study setting. The instrument consisted of a demographic questionnaire and patient satisfaction questionnaire. Study data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Pearson's and Spearman's rho correlation coefficient. Results: In terms of the medical and nursing care provided, 67% and 69% of the participants were satisfied, respectively. The ‘access to opportune nursing care’ and ‘physician’s manner’ items received 82.7% and 81.7% of scores, respectively. Satisfaction with medical and nursing care was significantly correlated with the participants’ education levels (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The study showed that patient satisfaction was at an average level, therefore, policy makers in the organizations should consider customer-based feedback and apply various methods to improve it

A study on burning behavior and convective flows in Methanol pool fires bound by ice

Abstract (ID: 2017-170) An experimental study on methanol pool fires bound by ice was carried to research the burning behavior and flow field (within the liquid-phase) of methanol. The experiments were conducted in two parts: 1- in a cylindrical ice cavity/pan (10.2 cm diameter and 6 cm depth) at three different conditions to analyze burning parameters of methanol, 2- in a square glass tray with outside dimensions of 10 × 10 cm and a depth of 5 cm to obtain flow field of methanol pool with a two-dimensional PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) system. The results of the experiments of the first part show the cold boundaries of the ice cavity/pan act as a heat sink causing considerable heat losses. Thus, burning rates and burning efficiencies are found to be lower with cold boundaries. However, the burning rate values in ice cavity are found to be the highest because of the melting of the ice and expansion of the cavity. The analysis of the results obtained by the PIV system showed the velocity magnitudes and flow patterns in the liquid-phase of icy methanol fire significantly change over the course of burning. In the instants after ignition a horizontal flow induced by Marangoni near the surface was observed. Later on, mixing of melt-water with methanol and sinking of this mixture caused a cycle in the tray that resulted in a vortex appearing in the middle of the pool. Magnitudes of velocity were also observed to increase after ignition. The increase in the velocity magnitudes is expected to significantly impact the melting and size of the lateral cavity.</jats:p

Teachers and student nurses’ attitudes towards caring for older adults in Arak, 2012

Background and aim: Nurses are an important part of the care team that in the care of the elderly plays a major role that their attitudes towards working with older people have an impact on the quality of care. This study was aimed to determine the attitude of teachers and nursing students towards the nursing care of the elderly. Methods: In this descriptive analytical study, all of 116 nursing students of third and fourth year and 22 clinical instructors in Arak University of Medical Sciences participated in this study in 2012. Samples were selected with census method. Data collection instrument was an investigator- made questionnaire that its validity and reliability was established. Scores of attitudes were arranged to three levels of weak, average and good after recoded in terms of accepted scores. Results: In terms of attitudes toward care of older people, findings showed that teachers (3.69±0.42) have more positive attitude toward caring for the elderly compared to students with an average of 3.45±0.32. This difference was significant (P=0.01). The majority of nursing students (83.6%) and teachers (72.7%) had moderate attitude towards the care of elderly patients. Conclusion: Although obvious weakness of this approach was less visible teachers can be a suitable model by knowledge and a change in their attitude for their students and try for induction understanding of health value for all members of society, and create better living conditions for them

Isolation of membrane-active fraction of Streptomyces spp. from soil

Purpose: To isolate and characterize the membrane-active antimicrobial fraction and isolate metabolite produced by Streptomyces in soil samples from IranMethods: More than 60 Actinomycete strains were isolated from soil samples in Iran. A total number of 16 strains were studied using antimicrobial assay against Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. Among these, three strains produced membrane-active metabolites based on artificial vesicle assay. Extracts of Streptomyces culture were obtained using ethyl acetate fractionation.Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by broth microdilution assay. Among these active extracts, one metabolite was isolated. Further fractionation and purification strategies were applied to finally identify the isolated metabolite using appropriate spectroscopic methods including thin layer chromatography (TLC), preparative thin-layer chromatography (PTLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC),nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS).Results: Three strains isolated from the soil samples, namely, strains 0811, 08346 and 08317 showed the highest antifungal and antimicrobial activity in Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) and International Streptomyces Projects 2 (ISP2) medium in the range of 46.8 to 62.5 μg/ml. Strain 08346 was selected for further chemical profiling based on TLC pattern and membrane activity. It yielded a purified compound which was determined to be a novel aromatic amino alkyne, named Sourin.Conclusion: Streptomyces-produced 08346 strain demonstrates good antimicrobial activities against bacteria and yeasts, suggesting its potential as an antimicrobial membrane-active agent.Keywords: Actinomycetes, Secondary metabolites, Streptomycetes, Membrane-active agen

Analysis of the post-phenomenological approach in virtual education and its implications for the educational system

The purpose of this study is to investigate the post-phenomenological approach in virtual education and its implications for the educational system. Analytical and inference methods have been used to achieve this goal. The growing influence of information and communication technology in the education system; on the other hand, the large increase in the number of applicants for education has led to challenges such as the superiority of virtual education over face-to-face education and has led to changes in education and its methods. One of the latest developments in this area is virtual education. The educational system, as the official institution of education, cannot be unaware of these changes and must, along with the technical view of the development of new technologies to philosophical research and how to change the perceptions and experiences of educators and educators when using these new technologies. Post-phenomenology with a focus on technology is one of the promising qualitative approaches for transparency in this field. The research findings showed that each of the post-phenomenological concepts such as Technological relations, multistability, and transparency in virtual education had implications for the education system. As a result, simultaneous attention to both engineering and humanities approaches in designing virtual learning environments is essential in the education system. This research is an attempt in the field of humanities approach to new technologies along with its quantitative and technical development