EMPLOYING TELEGRAM APPLICATION: LEARNERS’ ATTITUDE, VOCABULARY LEARNING, AND VOCABULARY DELAYED RETENTION

Using smartphones for learning a language has long been recommended by scholars. However, its effectiveness is still the subject of argument. Moreover, due to the limited time in the conventional language classes, students do not have the chance to practice all vocabulary items which may hinder the learning process. Accordingly, a mixed method only-post-test quasi-experimental study was conducted. Also, for the qualitative phase, data were gathered through a focus group interview with the participants chosen through purposive sampling. It was confirmed that there was a significant effect of online practicing on vocabulary learning of the language learners. Furthermore, it was found out that the participants held a positive attitude for practicing target words through Telegram. In addition, the study results showed that using Telegram application does not have a significant effect on the retention of the vocabulary of the learners. From the results of this study, the researcher proposed some pedagogical implications to EFL teachers, practitioners, material developers, policy makers, and other English education stakeholders.  Article visualizations

Unlocking therapeutic symphonies:Innovations in clinical decision support for drug-disease interactions in kidney transplantation

Introduction: Drug-disease interactions (DDSIs) are associated with increasing morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. These interactions are preventable if recognized and managed properly. Medication safety is critical in kidney transplant patients due to polypharmacy, co-morbidities, and susceptibility to adverse events. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) can play a key role therein. Therefore, this study aims to report on the process of developing an innovative, patient-centered, context-aware CDSS for managing DDSIs in kidney recipients. Material and Methods: Clinically important DDSIs were identified in the medications of patients at a kidney transplant outpatient clinic. Subsequently, rules for their detection and management were extracted based on pharmacology references and clinical expertise. A CDSS was developed and piloted following recommendations on medication CDSS design principles. Results: The knowledge base for this CDSS was developed with clinical context sensitivity. We defined priority levels for alerts, established associated display rules, and determined necessary actions based on the transplantation clinical workflow. The DDSI-CDSS correctly detected 37 DDSIs and displayed nine warnings and 28 cautionary alerts for the medications of 113 study patients (32.7% DDSI rate). The system fired three warnings for diltiazem in bradyarrhythmia, and two for each of the following medications and underlying diseases: aspirin in asthma, erythropoietin alfa in hypertension, and gemfibrozil in gall bladder disease. The potential consequences of the identified DDSIs were GI complications (17%), deterioration of the existing disease/condition (6.1%), and an increased risk of arrhythmias (2.6%), thrombosis (2.6%), and hypertension (1.7%). Complying with system alerts and recommendations would potentially prevent all these DDSIs. Conclusion: This study delineates the process of developing an evidence-based DDSI-CDSS for kidney transplantation, laying the groundwork for future advancements. Our results underscore the clinical significance of these interactions and emphasize the imperative for their accurate and timely detection, particularly in these vulnerable patients.</p

Effect of Angiography Room Orientation Tour on Anxiety of Patients Awaiting Cerebrovascular Angiography

Abstract Introduction: Cerebrovascular angiography is a method of diagnosing cerebrovascular disorders. Invasive procedures induce anxiety in patients. Poor management of anxiety may be life-threatening for patients. It is the duty of nurses to reduce anxiety. Given the prevalence of anxiety in patients awaiting cerebrovascular angiography and its detrimental complications and also the critical role of nurses in the psychosomatic support of patients and their struggle to reduce anxiety, the use of different methods of patient education such as familiarizing them with diagnostic and therapeutic processes is of utmost significance. This study investigated the effect of orientation tour on anxiety in candidates of cerebrovascular angiography. Methods: In this experimental study, 114 patients awaiting cerebrovascular angiography presenting to Imam Hussein Hospital and Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, capital of Iran, were selected with a convenient sampling method and assigned randomly to either case or control groups. The control group just received routine education in the ward. In contrast, the case group received routine education in the ward and instructions on performing angiography and its pre-, peri-, and post-operative care. Demographics questionnaire and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) were used to collect data. Patients' anxiety was measured twice with this instrument at hospitalization and after the intervention. The gleaned data were analyzed with SPSS21 using independent t-test, Chi-square test, and ANOVA. Results: Distribution of age was the same in both groups (P &lt; 0.11). Independent t-test showed a significant difference in the mean score of anxiety before intervention in the control group (9.2) and case group (7.2) (P = 0.02). This test also indicated a significant difference in the mean score of patients' anxiety after intervention in both the control group (9.7) and case group (6.7) (P = 0.001). However, using data collected before the orientation tour as the covariate, repeated measures ANOVA showed a significantly more significant reduction of anxiety in the case group. Conclusions: According to our findings, participation in the angiography room orientation tour leads to reduced anxiety in patients awaiting cerebrovascular angiography. The use of this method is advisable for patients before diagnostic and therapeutic processes

Development and optimization of the new ultrasonic-infrared-vacuum dryer in drying Kelussia odoratissima and its comparison with conventional methods

Among the post-harvest processing of medicinal plants, drying is an important and influential process. Given the numerous applications of medicinal plants, especially Kelussia odoratissima, in the food and pharmaceutical industries, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of the ultrasound-infrared radiation-vacuum method with conventional drying methods on the drying time, the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity of K. odoratissima. ANOVA result showed that the effects of drying methods, drying temperature and their interaction effect on phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant content were significant at 1% probability level. In the ultrasound-IR-vacuum method, by increasing temperature from 40 °C to 80 °C, the TFC increased by 35%. The highest antioxidant capacity was obtained for dry shade treatment, followed by dry sun treatment and three temperatures, i.e., 40 °C, 60 °C and 80 °C, in the combined method. The proposed optimal temperatures for the hot air, IR, and ultrasonic drying, were 63 °C, 66 °C and 71 °C, respectivel

Investigating the Effects of Combined Physical-cognitive Exercises on Executive Functions: A Home-based Exercise Approach

Purpose: Improving brain functions through physical exercises has been the focus of research in recent years. Accordingly, it is important to examine the kind of physical exercises and brain functions that are affected. This study aims to examine the effect of integrated physical cognitive exercises at home on the executive functions of adults. Methods: This was a field trial study, in which 28 people were examined in 2 groups. People in the experimental group participated in combined cognitive and physical exercises for 16 sessions, while the control group did their daily routines. Inhibition components were evaluated by the go/no-go test and working memory through the N-back test at the beginning and end of the training period. The data were analyzed via factorial analysis of variance through the SPSS software, version 19. Results: The findings indicated that the experimental condition, compared to the control condition, caused a significant improvement in the correct inhibition (P=0.002) and total correct response (P=0.047) components in the go/no-go test, along with the commission errors in the N-back test (P=0.003). Conclusion: The results showed that the combined physical and cognitive exercise had a positive effect on the core executive functions (attentional inhibition and working memory) and could prevent the performance decrement caused by quarantine and the reduction of daily activities that people were facing

Serum Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) levels in patients with alpha thalassemia

 Background: Alpha-thalassemia syndrome includes a group of hereditary anemia in which expression of alpha globin chains is decreased or absent. Impaired RBC in patients with thalassemia causes vessel involvement and endothelial cell vessel disturbance. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) is the most important regulator for endothelial cell proliferation. So, the aim of this study is to compare the serum VEGF levels in patients with alpha thalassemia and normal control group.Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 17 patients with alpha thalassemia and 40 healthy people. Serum VEGF levels were measured by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Then statistical analysis of results were performed using SPSS 16, value of P &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Mean serum VEGF levels in case and control groups were 2294.19±1552.39 and 598.09±988.17pg/ml, respectively. Serum VEGF levels were higher in patients with alpha thalassemia (P &lt;0.01). There was no significant correlation between serum VEGF levels and Hemoglobin. (P= 0.73).Conclusion: Our study revealed that patients with alpha thalassemia have elevated levels of serum VEGF than normal control group. Further studies with larger sample size are recommended to confirm these observations

Incidence of Lernaea (Crustacea: Copepoda) parasitic in the Mashkid River Basin, Southeast of Iran

In the present investigation, Lernaea parasite was reported in the examined fish species, collected from the Mashkid River basin, Southeast of Iran in 2012 and 2013. Lernaea parasites were isolated from the external surface of eye, fins, operculum and body of the Bangana dero, Cyprinion microphthalmus, Gonorhynchus diplocheilus (Cyprinidae), Aphanius dispar (Cyprinodontidae), Channa gachua (Channidae) in different water bodies. The highest infection was found in native fish, B. dero with nine parasites in single specimen. The exotic fishes were not infected

Investigating Personal Knowledge Management and Its Mediating Role on the Impact of Psychological Characteristics on Organizational Competencies in Information and Knowledge Services

Introduction: Today, the secret of the success of any organization is the knowledge management. Because knowledge is such, it should only be done by oneself individually. So, this causes raising different psychological concepts in knowledge management. Given the undeniable role of individuals in today's business excellence, personal knowledge management topics vs. organizational knowledge management topics are discussed. The aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of personal knowledge management on the impact of psychological characteristics on organizational competencies in information and knowledge services. Methodology: This is an applied study with a mixed method. The sample in qualitative section consisted of ones with research experiences in the field of personal knowledge management, and in the quantitative section, the staff of central libraries of Tehran’s state universities. For this purpose, a researcher-made questionnaire with the seven dimensions of retrieving, evaluating, organizing, collaborating, analyzing, providing, and securing information was used for studying personal knowledge management, and the Neo questionnaire was used for the study of psychological characteristics, and a researcher-made questionnaire was used with the five dimensions of external information awareness, internal knowledge dissemination, effective decision architecture, organizational focus, and continue innovation for measuring organizational competencies. The reliability of the questionnaire has been evaluated by Cronbach’s Alpha, which was equal to .728. Data was analyzed by the descriptive and inferential statistics methods. Findings: The results showed that the psychological characteristics have a direct effect on personal knowledge management and personal knowledge management has a direct effect on organizational competencies. The impact of psychological characteristics on organizational competencies was not confirmed, and the role of personal knowledge management was detected as a mediator. Conclusion: According to the results, in evaluating the personal knowledge of library staff, special attention should be paid on their personalities. To achieve the desired organizational competencies, the skills of library staff should be strengthen for their personal knowledge management

Investigating Personal Knowledge Management and Its Mediating Role on the Impact of Psychological Characteristics on Organizational Competencies in Information and Knowledge Services

Introduction: Today, the secret of the success of any organization is the knowledge management. Because knowledge is such, it should only be done by oneself individually. So, this causes raising different psychological concepts in knowledge management. Given the undeniable role of individuals in today's business excellence, personal knowledge management topics vs. organizational knowledge management topics are discussed. The aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of personal knowledge management on the impact of psychological characteristics on organizational competencies in information and knowledge services. Methodology: This is an applied study with a mixed method. The sample in qualitative section consisted of ones with research experiences in the field of personal knowledge management, and in the quantitative section, the staff of central libraries of Tehran’s state universities. For this purpose, a researcher-made questionnaire with the seven dimensions of retrieving, evaluating, organizing, collaborating, analyzing, providing, and securing information was used for studying personal knowledge management, and the Neo questionnaire was used for the study of psychological characteristics, and a researcher-made questionnaire was used with the five dimensions of external information awareness, internal knowledge dissemination, effective decision architecture, organizational focus, and continue innovation for measuring organizational competencies. The reliability of the questionnaire has been evaluated by Cronbach’s Alpha, which was equal to .728. Data was analyzed by the descriptive and inferential statistics methods. Findings: The results showed that the psychological characteristics have a direct effect on personal knowledge management and personal knowledge management has a direct effect on organizational competencies. The impact of psychological characteristics on organizational competencies was not confirmed, and the role of personal knowledge management was detected as a mediator. Conclusion: According to the results, in evaluating the personal knowledge of library staff, special attention should be paid on their personalities. To achieve the desired organizational competencies, the skills of library staff should be strengthen for their personal knowledge management