Assessing condition academic self-efficacy and related factors among medical students

Introduction: Academic self-efficacy is an important key structure along students' academic progress which can lead to increase learning. The aim of this study was to examine academic self-efficacy and related factors among the students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 385 students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Samples were selected through stratified sampling method. Data were collected through questionnaire of academic self-efficacy scale 32 that reliability and validity of that was confirmed. Data analysis was done through SPSS18 software. Descriptive statistics and independent t-test, ANOVA and correlation coefficient were performed at statistical significance level of 0.05. Results: The mean academic self-efficacy in boys was 107/75 (standard deviation [SD] = 16/10) and in girls 107/19 (SD = 15/82). The Pearson correlation test results showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between age with academic self-efficacy (P = 0.001, r = 0.170). Independent t-test results indicate that there is no significant statistical relationship between self-efficacy and location. According to the ANOVA, there was a significant correlation between the college degrees and academic self-efficacy (P = 0.003). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the importance of age and college degrees in forecasting academic self-efficacy of students

The relation between self-confidence and risk-taking among the students

INTRODUCTION: Self-confidence means recognizing your abilities, self-interest, and being aware of your feelings. Risk-taking is one of the personality traits that may be affected by confidence. It can be defined as behavior that increases the probability of negative consequences. Considering the importance of students' self-confidence and its relation with risk-taking, the aim of this study is to study the relation between self-confidence and risk-taking among the students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2017. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done on 363 students of TUMS by stratified sampling. The tool for collecting data is based on a self-confidence questionnaire and a risk-taking questionnaire developed by Moradi et al. Data analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 21.86 years and 54.5% of participants were girls and the rest were boys. No significant correlation was observed between risk-taking and self-confidence in students according to the Pearson's coefficient test (r = 0.05, P = 0.29). CONCLUSION: The results indicated that there is no relation between self-confidence and risk-taking among students, and students who have higher self-confidence are not exposed to high risks. Therefore, we need more studies in different age groups to validate this exact relationship

Proximity rule and Matthew effect in co-authorships of Iranian medical universities

One of the measures which used to calculate the scholarly collaboration of countries and organizations is co-authorship. Co-authorship is a process in which two or more authors/researchers collaborate with each other to create a joint work via collaboration channels and methods. Although many studies have been considered individual or domain co-authorships, but the organizational aspect of this type of collaboration has attracted less attention. Therefore, the aim of this study is to draw the organizational co-authorships among Iranian medical universities and to analyze the role of proximity and Matthew effect in this collaboration. Thus, 32 medical universities were selected based on a list prepared by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MHME), and the co-authored articles of these universities were extracted from Web of Science (WoS) database for the period 1990 to 2011. Findings show that top and first-rank universities in Iran such as Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences tend to collaborate more with universities like themselves. This confirms the Matthew effect in scholarly collaborations of top and first-rank universities. Besides, the proximity rule has an important role in the formation of scholarly collaboration in surveyed universities. Some suggestions made to improve this kind of organizational collaboration in Iranian universities

Naar een arbeidsmarktbewust HRM-beleid

Item does not contain fulltex

A comparison study on the behavior of human endometrial stem cell-derived osteoblast cells on PLGA/HA nanocomposite scaffolds fabricated by electrospinning and freeze-drying methods

Abstract Background An engineered tissue structure is an artificial scaffold combined with cells and signaling factors. Among various polymers, the polylactide-co-glycolide/hydroxyapatite (PLGA/HA) has attracted much attention due to their optimal properties. The aim of this study was to study the behavior of human endometrial stem cell (hEnSC)-derived osteoblast cells cultured on PLGA/HA nanocomposite scaffolds. Methods hEnSCs were isolated and exposed to osteogenic media for 21 days. Differentiated cells were cultured on PLGA/HA synthetic scaffolds. The PLGA/HA-based nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated using either electrospinning or freeze-drying methods. Behavior of the cells was evaluated a week after seeding hEnSC-derived osteoblast-like cells on these scaffolds. Osteogenesis was investigated in terms of alkaline phosphatase activity, gene expression, immunocytochemistry (ICC), proliferation, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, scaffold properties, such as pore size and morphology of the cells, onto the scaffolds were evaluated using SEM. Furthermore, biocompatibility of these scaffolds was confirmed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazoyl-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results The matrix mineralization was proved by alizarin red staining, and the osteogenic media-treated cultures positively expressed osteocalcin and osteopontin markers. Moreover, qRT-PCR results confirmed the positive gene expression of osteopontin and osteonectin in the differentiated osteoblast-like cells. The results of behavior assessment of the cultured cells on electrospinning and freeze-dried scaffolds showed that the behavior of the cultured cells on the freeze-dried PLGA/HA scaffolds was significantly better than the electrospinning PLGA/HA scaffolds. Conclusion It has been shown that the freeze-dried PLGA/HA nanocomposite scaffolds can appropriately support the attachment and proliferation of the differentiated osteoblast cells and are a suitable candidate for bone tissue engineering

A case report of crimean congo hemorrhagic Fever in ostriches in iran

Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral zoonosis, which is usually transmitted via tick bites or close contact with infected blood or tissue. This disease can cause a case fatality rate of up to 25%-30% in humans. CCHF Infection in birds is less documented. An ostrich can reproduce viruses and can also play the role of a mechanical vector, by transporting infected ticks without becoming ill. In March 2007, three butchers and one worker in an ostrich farm were infected with CCHF in central part of Iran. Considering the role ostriches play in transmitting the disease, serum samples from five ostriches of that farm were taken and sent to the laboratory for CCHF ELISA tests. The result of the IgG test was positive for one (20%) of the ostriches. At the same time, serum samples of eight sheep from the same farm were sent for IgG testing, two (25%) of which were positive. This was the first report of CCHF infection of an ostrich in Iran and tracing CCHF IgG against this ostrich and the afore-mentioned sheep may have revealed that the disease in the worker was the cause of transmission of this disease from these animals or their ticks

The Next-Generation of Combination Cancer Immunotherapy: Epigenetic Immunomodulators Transmogrify Immune Training to Enhance Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy harnesses the immune system by targeting tumor cells that express antigens recognized by immune system cells, thus leading to tumor rejection. These tumor-associated antigens include tumor-specific shared antigens, differentiation antigens, protein products of mutated genes and rearrangements unique to tumor cells, overexpressed tissue-specific antigens, and exogenous viral proteins. However, the development of effective therapeutic approaches has proven difficult, mainly because these tumor antigens are shielded, and cells primarily express self-derived antigens. Despite innovative and notable advances in immunotherapy, challenges associated with variable patient response rates and efficacy on select tumors minimize the overall effectiveness of immunotherapy. Variations observed in response rates to immunotherapy are due to multiple factors, including adaptative resistance, competency, and a diversity of individual immune systems, including cancer stem cells in the tumor microenvironment, composition of the gut microbiota, and broad limitations of current immunotherapeutic approaches. New approaches are positioned to improve the immune response and increase the efficacy of immunotherapies, highlighting the challenges that the current global COVID-19 pandemic places on the present state of immunotherapy