Investigating social factors affecting academic ranking and providing a comprehensive model

Background: A new competitive factor between universities is the production of knowledge, in which the material benefits are gained. Competition in achieving such a situation has created the new systems of ranking and evaluation of universities. The purpose of the present study was to present an appropriate model for university ranking and to evaluate the effectiveness of social factors in the final ranking model.Methods: First, the indexes of 29 global ranking systems were studied and analyzed using content analysis method. Then, an interview was conducted with faculty members and the model was presented through theme analysis and open coding. A questionnaire was designed for the study and to confirm the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. Also, the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed using the expert opinions. Convergent validity technique was also used using Amos graphics softwareResults: The importance of social factors affecting academic ranking was obtained through calculation of the means. Based on our results, the importance of the factors from the largest to the smallest was as follows: 1. educational performance 2. research performance 3. entrepreneurship and employment 4. scientific rank, national and international image, and 5. the ability of the university to meet the needs of the society. All of which show moderate to high levels.Conclusion: Based on the results, the calculated values of fitness indices were in desirable range and the proposed model for the ranking of universities was suitable with empirical data and enjoys a favorable situation.

Anti –MBP autoantibody changes as a predictor of response to treatment in MS patients

Myelin basic protein (MBP) is one of the most important constituents of the CNS myelin sheaths. It is supposed that an autoimmune response directed against MBP is crucial in the demyelination process in patients with multiple sclerosis. Studies have proved that free anti-MBP level in CSF of MS patients is declined when the patient entered into clinical remission. Some researchers evaluate the changes in serum or CSF level of this antibody during immunomodulatory therapy; the results are different and the relation between the changes in this antibody and response to treatment is poorly investigated. The objective of this study was to assess the relation between the changes in serum level of anti-MBP and clinical remission in patients during treatment with fingolimod. 37 MS patients that were non responder to interferon and glatiramer acetate and were candidates to receive fingolimod were nominated for this study.  In this study, the serum level of anti-MBP was evaluated before and after 3 and 6 months of therapy and clinical remission was assessed by changes in Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores. The result of this study showed that MS patients, after treatment with interferon, have lower serum anti-MBP level than healthy control group and this difference is statistically significant (p =0.03).  The present study demonstrated that the serum anti-MBP level in MS patient during 6 months of treatment with fingolimod significantly decreased (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in EDSS of MS patients during 6 months of treatment with fingolimod ( p < 0.001)

Comparative Study of Serum levels of Granzyme H & Estrogen In Patients Suffering From Breast Cancer

GranymeH is a functional cytotoxic serine protease of NK cell granules,which expands the cell death-inducing repertoire of innate immune system.The purpose of this study was to determine GranymeH(GZMH)level in breast cancer(BC) and healty women.This study was performed on 30 patients with BC and 30 healty woman.GZMH and Estrogen levels were measured in cancer patients  and healty women subsequently using ELISA and Radioimmunoassay(RIA) methods. Mean GZMH value was lower in BC than healty women(p<0.0001) and  mean Estrogen level was  higher  in BC patients  in comparison to healty women (p<0.003).Our finding indicates probability of existance of suppressor or a problem in production of GZMH in cancer patient

Evaluation of the relationship between serumsVisfatin and Resistin levels with BMI in PCOS young women

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine / metabolic disorder in women of reproductive age .Abdominal adiposity and obesity are frequently present in PCOS. It now appears that, obesity is associated with a low-grade inflammation of white adipose tissue.Adipokines play a significant role in the pathogenesis of a low-grade inflammation associated with obesity. Among variety of adipokines, resistin and visfatin are proposed as important pro inflammatory mediators and they have recently been suggested to be associated with obesity related diseases.The aim of this study is to evaluate the correlation of visfatin and resistin serum levels and the ratio of these two adipokines with BMI in PCOS women under age of 35 years old. Twenty eight young women with clinically confirmed PCOS disease (14 lean and 14 obese), and 12 young, healthy and lean women with stable weight and BMI<25 were enrolled. Blood was obtained from the included persons, and visfatin and resistin were assessed by ELISA method. We did not observe any significant differences in serum visfatin and resistin concentrations and also in the Visfatin/Resistin ratio between PCOS and control group. Also we did not found a significant correlation between visfatin and resistin with BMI. This study demonstrated that serum resistin and visfatin levels do not seem to be directly involved in the pathology of PCOS

A national school-based screening program for mental health problems among children aged 6 to 12 years in Iran:scale development and psychometric evaluation

Schools are an ideal setting in which to measure and promote mental health difficulties. The aim of present study was to develop the Nemad Electronic Mental-Health Assessment Devices for Children (NEMAD-C) aged 6 to 12 years in Iran. A sample of parents and teachers (N = 10,163) were recruited to complete the parent and teacher reports. Totally, explorative and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the eight-factor model provides a better fit for both parental report and teacher report versions. Results revealed a screening tool consisting of eight dimensions: child abuse risk, self-harm, anxiety, depression, disruptive behavior disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders, academic achievement deficit, and self-regulation. Findings showed that the internal consistency coefficients of the subscales were high, and convergent validity was evidenced by significant correlations with theoretically related constructs. Therefore, the NEMAD-C has adequate reliability and validity and could be used for multi-dimensional assessment of mental health problems in Iran

Comparative study of serum levels of Perforin in Prostate Cancer and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia patients

Perforin(p) is the primary mediator of short term cytotoxicity, it is accumulated in response to proinflammatory  cytokines and stored in T lymphocyte , NK cells and NKT cells are released upon activation. Perforin is a prototypical cytotoxic molecule involved in cell mediated immunity against various pathogens , alloantigens and particularly different tumors.The purpose of this study was to determine perforin level in prostate cancer (P.Ca) and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) This is study was performed on 59 patients consisting of 28 patients with P.Ca and 31 patients with BPH.Perforin and PSA levels were measured in cancer and BPH patients  using ELISA method.   Mean Perforin value was significantly lower in P.Ca patients than in BPH patients ( p < 0.01)  where as mean serum PSA level was significantly higher in the cancer patients in comparison to the BPH group (P < 0.01 Our finding indicate probability of problem in expression of cytotoxic molecule ,perforin in and around the tumor

Conceptual model of the internationalization of medical education: Iranian faculty members’ perspective

Background and Objective: For about three decades, the internationalization concept has been crucial and necessary for medical education from the viewpoint of universities and the government. The "internationalization" definition depends on the educational conditions in related studies is not the same and indicated diverse concepts. Developing a conceptual model of medical faculties’ perspective is the first step to stimulating and localizing the internationalization program in Iran. Materials and Methods: A mixed-method was applied. Semi-structured interviews with experts were performed and an expert panel was formed by the snowball method. To complete the construction of the questionnaire, based on the experts' viewpoint, the internal consistency of the components was evaluated by Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W). The questionnaires were distributed randomly stratified selected 450 faculty members of medical universities and their responses were quantitatively analyzed using SPSS24 software. Cronbach's alpha index was applied to examine the reliability of the questionnaire-research tool. To identify the structural relationship between the components and dimensions, the method of Structural Equations with Partial Least Squares (PLS) was performed. Results: The developed conceptual model extracted and emphasis on two dimensions of at-home and cross-border. Conclusions: The model suggested that policymakers should consider internal and external internationalization dimensions and their seven rationales. Regardless of the higher significance of the external dimension, the hidden components of the internal dimension (in specific planning, and facilities/budget) demonstrated the highest impact factor on the internationalization of medical education. &nbsp