Students and faculty viewpoint of Ilam University of Medical Sciences about the students’ evaluation system of the instruction quality

Student evaluation of the quality of instruction is considered as one of the most widely used methods for assessing faculty in universities. This study aimed to identify and compare faculty and students' views about the evaluation system of the quality of faculty teaching in 2011-2012 in Ilam University of Medical Sciences. In this descriptive – analytical study, statistical population was included faculty members (n = 92) and students (n=1,100) that their viewpoint in three fields: competence of students for evaluation, assessment tools quality and factors affecting the results of the evaluation using two designed questionnaires and descriptive and inferential statistics analyzing data, were studied. Scores of participants' viewpoint was as follows: Students  capacity to do faculty proficiency evaluation (3.62±0.91), evaluation of teaching methods(1.01±3.72) evaluation and scoring methods(3.41± 1.01) and their suitability for evaluation of designing of the course content (3.16± 0.99), the number of questionnaire questions (3.25 ± 0.9) Matching evaluations  tools to evaluation goal or validity (3 ± 0.96) how to design questions (3.20± 0.96) and the rate of bias in the questionnaire (3.16± 1.02), In addition, the effect of factors on student evaluations was as follow: factors related to the student (3.62± 1.06), factors related to the course and class (3.29 ± 1.06), factors related to the instructor (3.64 ± 1.01), and factors related to the evaluation system (3.18± 1.11). Compare the viewpoints of faculty and students also showed significant differences in two groups' viewpoints (p <% 5).Despite the current evaluation system is partially confirmed by the study subjects but due to the influence of the results of variety of factors, significant objections have been raised, particularly from faculty, when it is used as the only source, so that in order to reduce weaknesses and strengthen the evaluation system, the review of evaluation form and methods of designing in line with increasing the validity and reliability should be done.

Diversity and ecotypic variation in the antioxidant and antigenotoxic effects of Thymus kotschyanus Boiss & Hohen

Thymus species are amongst the most popular medicinal plants because of their biological effects and pharmacological properties, and they are widely used in folk medicine for many disorders. Fourteen ecotypic Thymus kotschyanus essential oils were isolated, and the biological functionalities of ecotypic oils were characterized in terms of free radical scavenging and antigenotoxic properties. The most abundant ecotypic oil constituents were thymol and carvacrol (27.2–75.6%). The oils produced scavenging capacity, bleaching inhibitory capacity, and COMET-inhibitory capacity values in a dose-dependent manner ranging from 0.15 to 4.79 mg/ml, 0.04 to 3.1 mg/ml and 0.03 to 5.00 mg/ml, respectively. The benefits of T. kotschyanus essential oils from different regions vary, and they represent an inexpensive source of natural substances that have the potential to be used as antioxidative and antigenotoxic agents. Although the impacts of the microenvironment, climate difference and agronomical condition on the medical benefits of the plant were complex and highly context dependent, some correlations among the biological effects, main essential constituents, and the geographical environment were predicted. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyrigh

Economic Operation of Unit Commitment Using Multiverse Optimization Algorithm

Security Constraint Unit commitment (SCUC) is one of the challenging economic problem of the power utilities due to the ON and OFF status of the units. Indeed, in SCUC we should determine the status of the units for the day-ahead horizon. SCUC is a mixed-integer linear problem (MILP), which is hard to solve. Hence, in this paper, a new evolutionary algorithm, known as the multiverse optimization algorithm is developed to solve the problem

Economic Operation of Grid-Connected Microgrid By Multiverse Optimization Algorithm

In this paper, a new optimization algorithm known as the Multiverse Optimization Algorithm (MOA) is developed for optimal economic operation of the micrigrid (MG) in the grid-connected mode. Results show the merit of the proposed technique

Self- Supplied Microgrid Economic Scheduling Based on Modified Multiverse Evolutionary Algorithm

In this paper, a new evolutionary algorithm, known as the multiverse evolutionary algorithm (MEA) is developed for self-supplied microgrid operation. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, it has been tested on the modified IEEE 33 bus test system. Results demonstrates the economic merit of the proposed technique

Economic Operation of Unit Commitment Using Multiverse Optimization Algorithm

Security Constraint Unit commitment (SCUC) is one of the challenging economic problem of the power utilities due to the ON and OFF status of the units. Indeed, in SCUC we should determine the status of the units for the day-ahead horizon. SCUC is a mixed-integer linear problem (MILP), which is hard to solve. Hence, in this paper, a new evolutionary algorithm, known as the multiverse optimization algorithm is developed to solve the problem

Differentiation of Cocaine-Induced Midline Destructive Lesions from ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

Introduction: Cocaine-induced midline destructive lesions (CIMDL) are complications of regular nasal cocaine inhalation. CIMDL can mimic systemic diseases with positive anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), such as granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA).   Case Report: In this article, we describe the case of a young woman who presented with nasal perforation induced by cocaine, along with positive perinuclear ANCA test (proteinase 3 antigen), misdiagnosed as limited GPA. The patient was treated with immunosuppressive therapy, which partially improved her symptoms. Admittance of cocaine use aided in the diagnosis of CIMDL. This patient was advised to stop cocaine use. Three-month follow-up revealed no further complications.   Conclusion: Considering the seropositivity of ANCA in both CIMDL and GPA, early diagnosis of CIMDL and its differentiation from GPA is crucial, and clinicians play an important role in this regard. Lack of distinct histologic characteristics of vasculitis or unresponsiveness to standard therapeutic regimens may favor the diagnosis of CIMDL syndrome. It is crucial to recognize that these conditions may have similar presentations, so that undesired and potentially toxic treatments can be prevented

shRNA-mediated downregulation of α-N-Acetylgalactosaminidase inhibits migration and invasion of cancer cell lines

Objective(s): Extracellular matrix (ECM) is composed of many kinds of glycoproteins containing glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) moiety. The research was conducted based on the N-Acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) degradation of ECM components by α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (Nagalase) which facilitates migration and invasion of cancer cells. This study aims to investigate the effects of Naga-shRNA downregulation on migration and invasion of cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: In this study, MCF-7 cell line (human mammary carcinoma cell line) and A2780 (human ovarian carcinoma cell line) were used. The level of normalized Naga expression and Nagalase protein were evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay/western blotting, respectively. Migration and invasion were determined using transwell assays, and statistical analysis was carried out by ANOVA test. Results: Response to transduction by shRNA compared to the control group, migrative and invasive properties of the transfected cells were significantly inhibited. Conclusion: These results indicate that Nagalase may have an important role in migration and invasion of cancer cells and can be considered as a candidate for further studies

Analyzing Cytotoxic and Apoptogenic Properties of Scutellaria litwinowii Root Extract on Cancer Cell Lines

The Scutellaria species (Lamiaceae) is used as a source of flavonoids to treat a variety of diseases in traditional medicine. In spite of many reports about the cytotoxic and antitumor effects of some species of this genus, anticancer researches on one of the Iranian species S. litwinowii have not yet been conducted. The cytotoxic properties of total methanol extract of S. litwinowii and its fractions were investigated on different cancer cell lines including AGS, HeLa, MCF-7, PC12 and NIH 3T3. Meanwhile, the role of apoptosis in this toxicity was explored. The cells were cultured in DMEM medium and incubated with different concentrations of herb plant extracts. Cell viability was quantitated by MTT assay. Apoptotic cells were determined using propidium iodide staining of DNA fragmentation by flow cytometry (sub-G1 peak). Scutellaria litwinowii inhibited the growth of malignant cells in a dose-dependent manner. Among solvent fractions of S. litwinowii, the methylene chloride fraction was found to be more toxic compared to other fractions. The IC50 values of this fraction against AGS, HeLa, MCF-7 and PC12 cell lines after 24 h were determined, 121.2 ± 3.1, 40.9 ± 2.5, 115.9 ± 3.5 and 64.5 ± 3.4 μg/ml, respectively. Scutellaria litwinowii induced a sub-G1 peak in the flow cytometry histogram of treated cells compared to control cells indicating that apoptotic cell death is involved in S. litwinowii toxicity. Scutellaria litwinowii exerts cytotoxic and proapototic effects in a variety of malignant cell lines and could be considered as a potential chemotherapeutic agent in cancer treatment