An Analysis of the Link between Metacognitive Beliefs and Academic Health-oriented Lifestyle Preventive Behaviours Mediated by Self-efficacy during the COVID-19 Pandemic

[EN] The outbreak of the coronavirus and its ramifications, including lockdown and shutting down of many learning centers magnified the necessity of turning to virtual learning, has given rise to concerns about students learning and their reaction to the new teaching methods and the challenges they entail. The present study attempts to examine the link between metacognitive beliefs and behaviors that prevent health-oriented lifestyles through academic self-efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistical sample consisted of 239 randomly selected undergraduate students of engineering at Azad University of Shahre-e Rey in the second semester of 1399-1400. The data were gathered using academic health-oriented life style test Salehzadeh et al. (2018) Academic Self-Efficacy Beliefs Questionnaire (ASEBQ), and Wells Metacognition Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30). Findings of the study indicated that metacognitive beliefs are related to behaviors preventing academic health-oriented life style factors, such as learned helplessness and effort withdrawal, through self-efficacy. It is suggested that, According to the positive relationship that exists between metacognitive strategies and academic achievement. As well as these strategies are scalability learners need to be trained in skills such as self-regulation self- monitoring planning and goal setting. Until they dominate decided cognitive strategies and professors can also encourage students to use orientation by designing assignments, teaching study strategies, and using new teaching methods.Moradi, F.; Aghaei Sabet, S.; Soufi, S. (2022). An Analysis of the Link between Metacognitive Beliefs and Academic Health-oriented Lifestyle Preventive Behaviours Mediated by Self-efficacy during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Multidisciplinary Journal for Education, Social and Technological Sciences. 9(1):39-58. https://doi.org/10.4995/muse.2022.1687939589

Isolation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) from Wharton’s Jelly (WJ) Tissue of Human Umbilical Cord (hUC); a Protocol

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) with their spindle like shapes are a lineage of stem cells with the capacity to self-renew and differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes, and chondrocytes and with CD105, CD73, and CD90 expression and the lack of CD34, CD14, CD45, and HLA - DR expression. The immunomodulatory, angiogenic, antiapoptotic, antimicrobial, and antioxidative characteristics of these cells made them more attractive in the field of cell - therapy for several autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including diabetes, neurological disorders, sepsis, cardiac ischemia, and GvHD. For this reason, various protocols have been proposed to isolate mesenchymal stem cells from different tissue sources, such as adipose tissue (AT), umbilical cord (UC), Wharton’s jelly (WJ), bone marrow (BM), dental pulp, and even menstrual fluid. Considering the ease of access to the umbilical cord tissue and the fact that this tissue is rich in MSCs with embryonic origin and higher proliferation rate and lower senescence of the cells, the umbilical cord became a suitable source for explant MSC culture. In this study, we decided to introduce an explant culture protocol of MSCs that is less expensive and cost - effective achieving a high yield of MSCs

Predicción de la satisfacción del alumnado con la educación virtual a partir de las conductas de estilo de vida orientadas a la salud

The aim of this study was to investigate student satisfaction with virtual education based on their health-oriented lifestyle behaviours. The present study was a descriptive correlational study. The statistical population included all undergraduate students in engineering and psychological fields at Islamic Azad University of Shahre Rey during the second semester of 2020-2021. Of these students, 188 (93 engineering students and 95 psychology students) were randomly selected. To collect the data, an instrument for measuring satisfaction with virtual education as well as the measurement scale for health-oriented academic lifestyle behaviours (Salehzadeh et al., 2017) were used. Findings revealed that the components of a health-oriented lifestyle as a whole explain 37.4% of the variance in student satisfaction with virtual education. The relationship between health-oriented lifestyle facilitators (academic optimism, mastery goal orientation, and academic resilience) and student satisfaction with virtual education was positive and significant. The relationship between health-oriented lifestyle inhibitor components (learned helplessness and procrastination) and student satisfaction with virtual education was negative and significant. The relationship between effort withdrawal and student satisfaction with virtual education was not significant (p>0.05). There was no difference between the components of a health-oriented lifestyle and student satisfaction with virtual education according to educational groups. Accordingly, creating a resilient educational environment, trying to participate, and teaching towards meaningful and problem-based learning will prevent students from avoiding virtual education.El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la satisfacción del alumnado con la educación virtual a partir de sus conductas de estilo de vida orientadas a la salud. La presente investigación fue un estudio descriptivo correlacional. La población estadística incluyó a todos los estudiantes de grado en ingeniería y psicología en la Universidad Islámica de Azad, rama Shahre Rey en el segundo semestre de 2020-2021, de los cuales 188 conformaron la muestra (93 estudiantes de ingeniería y 95 de psicología), que fue seleccionada al azar. Para recopilar los datos se utilizó un instrumento para medir la satisfacción con la educación virtual, además de una escala para las conductas de estilo de vida académico orientadas a la salud (Salehzadeh et al., 2017). Los hallazgos indicaron que los componentes del estilo de vida orientado a la salud en conjunto explican el 37.4% de la varianza de la satisfacción del alumnado con la educación virtual. La relación entre los facilitadores del estilo de vida centrado en la salud (optimismo académico, orientación a metas y resiliencia académica) con la satisfacción de los estudiantes respecto a la educación virtual fue positiva y significativa. La relación entre los componentes inhibidores del estilo de vida centrado en la salud (impotencia aprendida y procrastinación) con la satisfacción del alumnado con la educación virtual fue negativa y significativa. La relación entre el componente de retirada de esfuerzo y la satisfacción de los estudiantes con la educación virtual no fue significativa (p > 0.05) y no hubo diferencia entre los componentes del estilo de vida orientado a la salud y la satisfacción del alumnado con la educación virtual en función de grupos educativos. Como consecuencia, al crear un entorno educativo resiliente con la intención de participar y enseñar para lograr un aprendizaje significativo y basado en problemas, el alumnado apostará por la educación virtual

La relación entre las actitudes de los estudiantes hacia el uso de la educación virtual y su nivel de satisfacción durante la pandemia de COVID-19

The move to new approaches to higher education has required many universities around the world to use e-learning in their courses. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the attitudes of the students toward using virtual education and their satisfaction level during the Covid-19 crisis. The research methodology used was descriptive. A sample of 165 undergraduate students (89 technical engineering and 76 psychology students) were randomly selected at Islamic Azad University Shahre Rey in the first semester of 2020-2021. Attitude and satisfaction level toward virtual education questionnaires were used to collect data. The analyses were carried out through SPSS software (26 version), by using the Pearson correlation and t-tests on two independent samples. Findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between attitudes toward virtual education and satisfaction for all participants. Therefore, it can be concluded that the more positive attitudes towards e-learning and virtual education are, the higher the satisfaction level toward virtual education is. In addition, there was no difference between the attitudes and satisfaction level toward virtual education in the two target groups. A more accurate analysis of the questions showed that virtual education generated more problems for technical students when it came to understanding the main concepts. While both groups believed that online examinations were more appropriate given the pandemic circumstances, some difficulties such as internet speed and challenges while uploading the response sheets affected their attitude in a negative way. The findings also indicated that psychology students found using the internet and online platforms more challenging than engineering students.El avance hacia nuevos enfoques de la educación superior, ha requerido a muchas universidades alrededor del mundo que emplean educación virtual en sus cursos. El objetivo de este estudio es investigar la relación entre las actitudes de los estudiantes frente al uso de educación virtual con el nivel de su satisfacción durante la crisis del covid-19. Este estudio fue diseñado como una investigación descriptiva aplicada. Una muestra aleatoria de 165 estudiantes fue recogida de la población de los estudiantes de pregrado de cursos de Ingeniería Técnica y de psicología (89 estudiantes técnicos y 76 estudiantes de psicología) de la Universidad Islámica Azad de Shahre Rey-Irán, durante el primer semestre de 2020-2021. para recopilar datos sobre la actitud y el nivel de satisfacción de los estudiantes, un cuestionario fue utilizado. el análisis fue realizado fue realizado a través de programa spss (versión 26), utilizando la correlación de Pearson y Prueba T para muestras independientes Los hallazgos indicaron que hay una relación significativa entre las actitudes hacia a la educación virtual y la satisfacción de todos los participantes. Además, no hubo diferencia entre las actitudes y el nivel de satisfacción hacia la educación virtual entre los dos grupos. Hay que tener en cuenta, que un análisis más preciso sobre la pregunta demuestra que la educación virtual ha creado más problemas en la comprensión de los conceptos principales para los estudiantes técnicos. Aunque ambos grupos opinaron que los exámenes on-line eran más apropiados dado las circunstancias de la pandemia, algunas dificultades como la velocidad de internet, los desafíos en cargar la hoja de respuestas y afectó sus actitudes en una manera negativa. Los resultados del estudio también demostraron que los estudiantes de psicología encuentran más desafiante usar el internet y plataformas en línea, comparado con estudiantes de ingeniería. Según los hallazgos de este documento, se puede suponer que al diseñar infraestructuras de e-learning si el material debe ser entregado de manera productiva y eficaz, hay que tener en cuenta el contenido educativo de las diferentes áreas de estudio

Spectroscopic characterization of mitochondrial G-quadruplexes

Guanine quadruplexes (G4s) are highly polymorphic four-stranded structures formed within guanine-rich DNA and RNA sequences that play a crucial role in biological processes. The recent discovery of the first G4 structures within mitochondrial DNA has led to a small revolution in the field. In particular, the G-rich conserved sequence block II (CSB II) can form different types of G4s that are thought to play a crucial role in replication. In this study, we decipher the most relevant G4 structures that can be formed within CSB II: RNA G4 at the RNA transcript, DNA G4 within the non-transcribed strand and DNA:RNA hybrid between the RNA transcript and the non-transcribed strand. We show that the more abundant, but unexplored, G6AG7 (37%) and G6AG8 (35%) sequences in CSB II yield more stable G4s than the less profuse G5AG7 sequence. Moreover, the existence of a guanine located 1 bp upstream promotes G4 formation. In all cases, parallel G4s are formed, but their topology changes from a less ordered to a highly ordered G4 when adding small amounts of potassium or sodium cations. Circular dichroism was used due to discriminate different conformations and topologies of nucleic acids and was complemented with gel electrophoresis and fluorescence spectroscopy studiesThis research was funded by the Gobierno de España—Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, grant number CTQ2014-59020-R, the Xunta de Galicia, grant numbers ED431B 2019/18, ED431G 2019/03 Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019–2022, and Ph.D. fellowship to S.I. and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund—ERDF)S

Effect of CO2 Laser on the Prevention of White Spot Lesions During Fixed Orthodontic Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective:This study aimed to assess the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) laser on prevention of white spot lesions (WSLs) associated with fixed orthodontic treatment.Methods:In this parallel controlled trial, 554 maxillary anterior teeth in 95 patients with age range of 12-30 years were included. The samples were randomly divided in two groups: 1) CO2 laser (n=278) and 2) control (n=276) groups. Following bracket attachment, the teeth in the laser group were exposed to CO2 laser (0.4 mw, 10.6 μm, 5 Hz) for 20 s, and the control group received placebo light. Incidence, severity, and extent of the lesions were assessed in four surface regions (gingival, incisal, mesial, and distal) at baseline and 6 months post-irradiation. The inter-group comparison was performed by the Mann-Whitney U test and McNemar analysis.Results:A significant difference regarding WSLs incidence in all teeth was observed between the two study groups (p<0.001). The two study groups illustrated a significant difference in lesion extent and incidence in incisal, mesial, and distal regions (p<0.05). The WSLs were significantly different in terms of severity in the incisal and mesial sites (p<0.05).Conclusion:The CO2 laser irradiation seemed to effectively prevent incidence of WSLs. In addition, its effectiveness varied depending on the surface region

Phenotypes of adults with congenital heart disease around the globe: a cluster analysis

Objective To derive cluster analysis-based groupings for adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) when it comes to perceived health, psychological functioning, health behaviours and quality of life (QoL). Methods This study was part of a larger worldwide multicentre study called APPROACH-IS; a cross sectional study which recruited 4028 patients (2013–2015) from 15 participating countries. A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using Ward's method in order to group patients with similar psychological characteristics, which were defined by taking into consideration the scores of the following tests: Sense Of Coherence, Health Behavior Scale (physical exercise score), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, Illness Perception Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Visual Analogue Scale scores of the EQ-5D perceived health scale and a linear analogue scale (0–100) measuring QoL. Results 3768 patients with complete data were divided into 3 clusters. The first and second clusters represented 89.6% of patients in the analysis who reported a good health perception, QoL, psychological functioning and the greatest amount of exercise. Patients in the third cluster reported substantially lower scores in all PROs. This cluster was characterised by a significantly higher proportion of females, a higher average age the lowest education level, more complex forms of congenital heart disease and more medical comorbidities. Conclusions This study suggests that certain demographic and clinical characteristics may be linked to less favourable health perception, quality of life, psychological functioning, and health behaviours in ACHD. This information may be used to improve psychosocial screening and the timely provision of psychosocial care

Emotional Experience in Iranian Adolescents During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Study

This study was conducted to analyze the lived emotional experience of adolescents during the prevalence of COVID-19 and quarantine. The research method was phenomenological qualitative. To achieve information saturation, 25 adolescents aged 15-17 years were purposefully selected and responded to the research tool which was a semi-structured interview individually and online. After analyzing the six main themes of boredom, loneliness, homesickness, helplessness, stress, anger, and fear of judgment were extracted from the available data. The results of the present study are consistent with empirical evidence showing that although restrictions on quarantine are unavoidable, facilitating conditions to meet mental needs and maintain mental health, such as creating interpersonal relationships and supporting adolescents in critical situations, should be considered by healthcare providers, trainers, and parents

The relationship between student attitudes towards using virtual education and their satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic

El avance hacia nuevos enfoques de la educación superior, ha requerido a muchas universidades alrededor del mundo que emplean educación virtual en sus cursos. El objetivo de este estudio es investigar la relación entre las actitudes de los estudiantes frente al uso de educación virtual con el nivel de su satisfacción durante el crisis del covid-19. Este estudio fue diseñado como una investigación descriptiva aplicada. Una muestra aleatoria de 165 estudiantes fue recogida de la población de los estudiantes de pregrado de cursos de Ingeniería Técnica y de psicología (89 estudiantes técnicos y 76 estudiantes de psicología) de la Universidad Islámica Azad de Shahre Rey-Irán, durante el primer semestre de 2020-2021. para recopilar datos sobre el actitud y el nivel de satisfacción de los estudiantes, un cuestionario fue utilizado. el análisis fue realizado fue realizado a través de programa spss (versión 26), utilizando la correlación de Pearson y Prueba T para muestras independientes Los hallazgos indicaron que hay una relación significativa entre los actitudes hacia a la educación virtual y la satisfacción de todos los participantes. Además, no hubo diferencia entre las actitudes y el nivel de satisfacción hacia la educación virtual entre los dos grupos. Hay que tener en cuenta, que un análisis más preciso sobre la pregunta demuestra que la educación virtual ha creado más problemas en la comprensión de los conceptos principales para los estudiantes técnicos. Aunque ambos grupos opinaron que los exámenes on-line eran más apropiados dado las circunstancias de la pandemia, algunos dificultades como la velocidad de internet, los desafíos en cargar la hoja de respuestas y ... afectó sus actitudes en una manera negativa. Los resultados del estudio también demostraron que los estudiantes de psicología encuentran más desafiante usar el internet y plataformas en línea, comparado con estudiantes de ingeniería. Según los hallazgos de este documento, se puede suponer que al diseñar infraestructuras de e-learning si el material debe ser entregado de manera productiva y eficaz, hay que tener en cuenta el contenido educativo de los diferentes áreas de estudio.The move to new approaches to higher education has required many universities around the world to use e-learning in their courses. The present study aimed to tigate the relationship between the attitudes of the students toward using virtual education and their satisfaction level during the Covid-19 crisis. The research methodology used was descriptive. A sample of 165 undergraduate students (89 technical engineering and 76 psychology students) were randomly selected at Islamic Azad University Shahre Rey in the first semester of 2020-2021. Attitude and satisfac-tion level toward virtual education questionnaires were used to collect data. The analyses were carried out through SPSS software (26 version), by using the Pearson correlation and t-tests on two independent samples. Findings indicated that there was a significant relationship between attitudes toward virtual education and satisfaction for all participants. Therefore, it can be concluded that the more positive attitudes towards e-learning and virtual education are, the higher the satisfaction level toward virtual education is. In addition, there was no difference between the attitudes and satisfaction level toward virtual education in the two target groups. A more accurate analysis of the questions showed that virtual education generated more problems for technical students when it came to understanding the main concepts. While both groups believed that online examinations were more appro-priate given the pandemic circumstances, some difficulties such as internet speed and challenges while uploading the response sheets affected their attitude in a negative way. The findings also indicated that psychology students found using the internet and online platforms more challenging than engineering students.Keywords: attitude towards virtual education, satisfaction with virtual education, virtual education, e-learnin

Optimization of an ultrasonic-assisted biodiesel production process from one genotype of rapeseed (TERI (OE) R-983) as a novel feedstock using response surface methodology

In recent years, due to the favorable climate conditions of Iran, the cultivation of rapeseed has increased significantly. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of biodiesel production from one genotype of rapeseed (TERI (OE) R-983). An ultrasonic approach was used in order to intensify the reaction. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to identify the optimum conditions of the process. The results of this research showed that the conversion of biodiesel was found to be 87.175% under the optimized conditions of a 4.63:1 molar ratio (methanol to oil), 56.50% amplitude, and 0.4 s pulses for a reaction time of 5.22 min. Increasing the operating conditions, such as the molar ratio from 4:1 to 5.5:1, amplitude from 50% to 72.5%, reaction time from 3 min to 7 min, and pulse from 0.4 s to 1 s, increased the FAME (fatty acid methyl esters) yield by approximately 4.5%, 2.3%, 1.2%, and 0.5%, respectively. The properties of the TERI (OE) R-983 methyl ester met the requirements of the biodiesel standard (ASTM D6751), indicating the potential of the produced biodiesel as an alternative fuel