The effects of lecture-demonstration with self-learning methods on

Abstract:Background and aim: New teaching methods have not received much attention in practical andlaboratory classes for nursing students. With respect to the importance of nursing education ,improving traditional methods of teaching and application of new methods are of concern. The aimof this study was to compare two teacher centered and active learning methods- lecturedemonstrationwith self-learning- in working with microscope in a group of nursing students inShahid Beheshti Faculty of nursing and midwifery, Tehran Iran.Materials and Methods:50 freshman students were selected and randomly assigned in two groups.After completing a demographic questionnaire, the students were taught microscopic application as apart of their physiology laboratory course. The contents were the same in the two groups but, in theself-learning method, the students were given educational pamphlet. Before and after session,students took part in an evaluation test for their learning. In addition, they were tested after 8 monthsfor recalling evaluation. Data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software.Results:Findings showed that students ’ scores increased significantly in lecturedemonstration(25.41) and self-learning(19.16) groups. In addition, no significant difference wasfound in the recalling of the two groups. In lecture-demonstration group, most of the students leveledon good and excellent echelon(62.5%) and in self-learning on intermediate and low echelon(68%).Conclusion: In general, both methods were effective in learning and recalling of nursing studentswith no significant difference.Keywords: Teaching method , lecture- demonstration , self-learning ,nursing students

Metabolic Responses to High‐Fat Feeding and Chronic Psychological Stress Combination

ABSTRACT Introduction High‐fat diet (HFD) consumption and being exposed to daily psychological stress, common environmental factors in modern lifestyle, play an important role on metabolic disorders such as glucose homeostasis impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of high‐fat diet (HFD) and psychological stress combination on metabolic response to chronic psychological stress in male rats. Method Male Wistar rats were divided into HFD, and normal diet (ND) groups and then into stress and nonstress subgroups. The diets were applied for 5 weeks, and psychological stress was induced for 7 consecutive days. Then, blood samples were taken to measure glucose, insulin, free fatty acids (FFA), and leptin and corticosterone concentrations. Subsequently, glucose‐stimulated insulin release from pancreatic isolated islets was assessed. Results HFD did not significantly change fasting plasma glucose, insulin and corticosterone levels, whereas increased plasma leptin (7.05 ± 0.33) and FFA (p < 0.01) levels and impaired glucose tolerance. Additionally, HFD and stress combination induced more profound glucose intolerance associated with increased plasma corticosterone (p < 0.01) and leptin (8.63 ± 0.38) levels. However, insulin secretion from isolated islets did not change in the presence of high‐fat diet and/or stress. Conclusion HFD should be considered as an intensified factor of metabolic impairments caused by chronic psychological stress