A Study on the Status, Citation Analysis, and Altmetric Indices of Journals of Golestan University of Medical Sciences

Background: Journals are regarded as the most important media for transferring knowledge and research results, accordingly their promotion is conditioned by continuous evaluation and improvement of performance. The present study aimed to determine the status, citation analysis, and altmetric indices of journals published by Golestan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by a descriptive approach with scientometric and citation analysis methods in 2019. The statistical population consisted of 5 journals of Golestan University of Medical Sciences. Data collection tool was a researcher-made checklist consisting of 28. Altmetric indices of journals were also evaluated. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics; and the results were presented in diagrams and tables. Results: All the studied journals had all "publication requirements. Only one journal had the requirement, "at least half of editorial board should be outside of the publication". Moreover, 37 percent of 105 editorial board members in the under examined journals had extra-organizational affiliation and only 8 percent were from abroad. The articles of "Journal of Gorgan University of Medical Sciences” was the most-cited article regarding citation bases. Conclusions: Journals of Golestan University of Medical Sciences need to revise their structures, especially for editorial board members namely being international, having an organizational affiliation outside the university, as well as the presence of editorial board members with further research activity and background

A Study on the Status, Citation Analysis, and Altmetric Indices of Journals of Golestan University of Medical Sciences

Background: Journals are regarded as the most important media for transferring knowledge and research results, accordingly their promotion is conditioned by continuous evaluation and improvement of performance. The present study aimed to determine the status, citation analysis, and altmetric indices of journals published by Golestan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by a descriptive approach with scientometric and citation analysis methods in 2019. The statistical population consisted of 5 journals of Golestan University of Medical Sciences. Data collection tool was a researcher-made checklist consisting of 28. Altmetric indices of journals were also evaluated. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics; and the results were presented in diagrams and tables. Results: All the studied journals had all "publication requirements. Only one journal had the requirement, "at least half of editorial board should be outside of the publication". Moreover, 37 percent of 105 editorial board members in the under examined journals had extra-organizational affiliation and only 8 percent were from abroad. The articles of "Journal of Gorgan University of Medical Sciences” was the most-cited article regarding citation bases. Conclusions: Journals of Golestan University of Medical Sciences need to revise their structures, especially for editorial board members namely being international, having an organizational affiliation outside the university, as well as the presence of editorial board members with further research activity and background

Effect of Probiotics on Infantile Colic Using the Quadratic Inference Functions

Background: Infantile colic is defined as episodes of extreme and excessive crying due to unknown causes. Various results have been reported regarding the management of colic with probiotics in terms of effectiveness, with no side effects or health risks in the infants. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of probiotics on the infants with colic using the quadratic inference functions (QIF).Methods: This single-blind, randomized, clinical trial was conducted on 98 infants admitted to the pediatric gastroenterology clinic of Bu Ali Sina Hospital in Sari, Iran. The neonates were diagnosed with infantile colic by a pediatric gastroenterologist. Patients were randomly divided into two groups (49 subjects per each). In the control group, the infants received placebo, and in the case group, the neonates were administrated with BioGaia probiotic oral drops for 21 days. The QIF method was fitted to analyze the influential factors in the improvement of infantile colic.Results: According to the QIF results in data analysis, mean duration of crying had a significant difference between the infants in the case and control groups (

Efficiency evaluation of quadratic inference functions in the analysis of longitudinal medical data

Background ― In medical research, longitudinal studies have important and functional roles. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) is used for the analysis of longitudinal and correlated data required to determine the correlation structure among responses. If this structure is set incorrectly, the parameter estimates will be consistent thus this method may not work. To improve the efficiency of parameter estimates, the quadratic inference function (QIF) method is therefore proposed. The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the performance of these two methods. Methods ― This study was designed to compare the efficiency of parameter estimates using data from one blinded randomized clinical trial on the impact of probiotic drops on infantile colic. The effect of probiotic drops on crying time was modeled by GEE and QIF methods. Based on parameter estimates, the efficiency of the two methods was compared. Results ― The coefficient estimates of the two methods changed only slightly however, the relative efficiency of the parameter estimates from GEE and QIF was 1.23, when used on a mis-specified first-order autoregressive correlation structure. Therefore, for the specified correlation structure that is exchangeable, the relative efficiency was 1.001. The findings obtained from the QIF method showed that the mean baby crying had a significant difference on time between the two cases and control groups (P<0.001). Time (first, second and third weeks) was shown to be a major determinant of healing in infantile colic (P=0.001). Conclusion ― When selecting an incorrect correlation structure, the QIF method is more efficient than GEE. Thus, GEE can help researchers obtain more reliable results herein

Morphological and Physiological Traits in Seedlings’ Populations Obtained from the Hybridization of Promising Genotypes of Quince ( Cydonia oblonga

Some morphological and physiological traits of seedlings in eight quince populations from seeds obtained in 2015 (350 progenies per population) were evaluated in 2017 and 2018. They resulted from open pollination of ‘Viduja’, KVD2 and KVD4 genotypes as well as from the crossings of ‘Viduja’ × KVD4, KVD2 × ‘Viduja’, KVD2 × KVD4, KVD4 × ‘Viduja’ and KVD4 × KVD2. Populations showed significant differences in some measured traits, including height and diameter of seedlings, canopy width, annual growth, leaf iron, and chlorophyll content, as well as catalase and peroxidase activities. Based on the results of descriptive statistics, a high variation coefficient was observed in canopy width, peroxidase activity, chlorophyll, and iron content traits. Results of simple correlation showed that there were significant positive correlations between leaf iron content and catalase activity as well as canopy width with both annual growth and leaf length. Cluster analysis among populations based on total traits divided the populations into four distinct groups. The role of the female parents was visible in reciprocal crosses of ‘Viduja’ × KVD4 and KVD2 × KVD4, but all populations with similar female parents were not grouped in the same clusters

Antioxidative properties comparison of Chenopodium quinoa leaves and seeds �extract: in vitro study

Backgrounds Quinoa (Quino Chenopodium.Willd ) is attended due to its high nutritional value �recently.�� �Nutrients� �of Quinoa including amino acids ,antioxidant compounds ,essential fatty �acids, minerals and vitamins led to research on the characteristics of this plant. While few studies �have been done in Iran on characteristics of Quinoa.�Materials and Methods To assess the nutraceutical potential of quinoa, the antioxidant capacity of �quinoa leaves and seeds was investigated. The antioxidant activity against DPPH radicals is �highly depends on the phenolic content of samples. In this research, using high performance liquid �chromatography (HPLC), the ingredients of seed and leaf extracts were separated and identified. �In addition, its antioxidant properties were measured by the evaluation of DPPH free radical �scavenging and were used to measure the content of phenolic compounds by Follin-Ciocalteu �method.�Results� �Total phenol content in the seeds and leaves extract of quinoa�,�� 54.4 and 76.3 (mg gallic �acid per gram of extract) respectively and flavonoids in extracts of quinoa seeds and leaves 26.3 �and 36.7 (mg quercetin per gram of extract) respectively were obtained. Analysis of variance �showed that the concentration of synthetic antioxidant have significant effect on DPPH free radical �scavenging� ��(

Study on Pollination and Selection of the Most Suitable Pollinizers for Commercial Pear Cultivars (Pyrus communis L.) in Iran

The cultivated pear is an economically important fruit tree species of genus Pyrus in which often gametophytic self-incompatibility occurs. Therefore, this species need to be pollinated by cross-compatible cultivars that bloom in the same time. Selection of appropriate pollinizers for pear cultivars is very important to produce commercial yield. ‘Sebri’, ‘ Shahmiveh’ and ‘Natanzi’ are the best commercial cultivars in Iran, but the lack of a suitable source of pollen can reduce productivity. In order to select the most suitable pollinizer for these pear cvs, an experiment was conducted in which they were considered as pollen recipients and ‘Coscia’, ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Sardroud’ along with ‘Sebri’, ‘Shahmiveh’ and ‘Natanzi’ were evaluated as pollen donors. This research was conducted as a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design for four years. Recipient and donor cultivars had almost overlapping flowering time. The flower buds on selected branches were emasculated at balloon stage and then were counted and isolated with cotton tissue bags. Pollen grains of these pollinizers were collected in the laboratory. Isolation bags were taken off from the branches and emasculated flowers were pollinated with pollen grains of listed pollinizers during receptibility of stigma. The number of pollinated flowers was counted, and branches were covered again with the bags. The results showed that for ‘Sebri’ the best pollinizer was ‘Coscia’ with 5.7% fruit set, for ‘Shahmiveh’ ‘Bartlett’ cv. with 5.8% of fruit set and for ‘Natanzi’, ‘Shahmiveh’ with 5.5% of fruit set

Exploring the Relationship between the Students\' Futuristic Skill Competence and the Quality of Students\' Learning Experiences

Introduction: Future research is an interdisciplinary study that can influence all sciences. Students are Future human resources for health systems; whose futures research ability can be improved through education over the years. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between future research ability and quality of learning experiences of medical students of Mashhad in 2018. Methods: In this descriptive correlational study, the research population was all students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 370 of whom were selected through two-stage stratified random sampling. Data collection tools included validity and reliability questionnaires of Parsa et al.'s future research ability and Neumann's quality of learning experiences. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, multiple regression and Spearman correlation tests. Results: Students' future research ability was slightly higher than average (138.5±24.5) and Mean quality of learning experiences was moderate (34.2±7.1). There was a direct and significant correlation between the dimensions of futuristic ability and the dimensions of the quality of learning experiences that the severity of this relationship was weak (p0). Conclusion: Given the weak relationship between students' futuristic skill and the quality of their learning experiences, there are likely to be stronger factors that can predict or enhance students' futuristic skill. Therefore, more studies are recommended to identify the factors affecting it in higher education as a human resources producer to achieve optimal development and future

Identification of self-incompatibility alleles in Quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.).

The Quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.), typically known for its self-compatibility, surprisingly presents a degree of self-incompatibility. This research focused on exploring the diversity within the self-incompatibility gene locus (S) in various C. oblonga genotypes. Through meticulous DNA sequencing, the study sought to unearth potential novel S alleles. In the process of genotyping the S gene across multiple quince genotypes, not only were the previously documented S1 and S2 alleles identified, but this investigation also uncovered two previously unrecognized alleles, termed S4 and S5. These alleles, particularly S4, emerged as the most prevalent among the tested genotypes. To corroborate the findings derived from DNA sequencing, the study employed pollen tube growth germination assays. These assays elucidated a higher pollen germination rate in the Ardabil2 genotype in contrast to Behta. Additionally, the study involved assessing pollen tube growth in both Ardabil2 and Behta through cross-pollination techniques, meticulously tracking the development of pollen tubes at various stages. Remarkably, the outcomes demonstrated that the Behta genotype possesses self-incompatibility, whereas the Ardabil2 genotype showcases a notable degree of self-compatibility. This groundbreaking discovery of new S alleles in quince not only affirms the species' self-compatibility but also sheds light on the complexities of allelic diversity and its impact on self-incompatibility. Such insights are invaluable for enhancing the yield of quince orchards through strategic breeding programs