Payavard Salamat

Evaluation Of BIBR1532 And ATRA Combination In NB4 Cell Line

Seyed Hamidollah Ghaffari

Background and Aim: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a distinct type of leukemia which is caused due to a blockage in myeloid cells normal maturation. The most important therapeutic strategies include the use of ATRA and Arsenic trioxide. Although ATRA is generally well tolerated, some patients develop Retinoic acid syndrome. Some of the symptoms of this syndrome are directly or indirectly related to elevated WBC counts. This study aims to determine the effect of ATRA and BIBR1532 combination on WBC count as a factor leading to the formation of ATRA syndrome.

Materials and Methods: To investigate the effect of BIBR1532 and ATRA combination, NB4 cells were cultured in the presence of 30μ M and 1 μM densities of the drugs. To study the effect of drugs on living cells count, proliferation activity, and metabolic activity of the cells, Trypan blue, Brdu and MTT tests were used, respectively.

Results: The results of Trypan blue, MTT and Brdu suggest that the combination of ATRA and BIBR1532 is more effective than ATRA alone on the reduction of viable cell count, metabolic activity and proliferation of leukemic cells in the first five days of treatment.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the combination of ATRA and BIBR1532 is probably more effective in the treatment of APL patients. It seems that such improvement in results is more obvious especially among the patients who are at a higher risk of ATRA syndrome.

Are Health Institutions Involved In Health Care Induced Demand? (A Qualitative Study)

Elahe Khorasani

Background and Aim: The hypothesis of supplier induced demand has attracted a lot of attention over the past three decades. Most studies in this field agree that healthcare providers have the ability to influence the demand for their products. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of institutions in the phenomenon of induced demand. This study has been done using experts' experiences in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.

Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative study in which the semi-structured interview was used for data generation. The participants were those informed in this regard and considered as experts. For data saturation, purposive sampling was done. In this study, 17 people were interviewed, and criteria such as reliability and stability were considered. The anonymity of the interviewees was guaranteed. The data were transcribed and categorized, and then analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: In the present study, thematic analysis was conducted and 30 sub-themes and 2 main themes were extracted. The two main themes were healthcare insurance organizations and other health organizations. Each of the themes had its own sub-themes.

Conclusion: The findings help health policy-makers have a better picture regarding the role of various institutions in the phenomenon of induced demand.

The Lifestyle Of Allied Medical Students Studying At Tehran University Of Medical Sciences In 2012

Mehdi Raadabadi

Background and Aim: Due to certain problems including being away from their families, entering a large and full-of-tension environment, and having economic problems caused by lack of sufficient income, students are likely to lose their mental health. This study is aimed to investigate college students' conditions and lifestyle at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 120 students from School of Allied Medicine were selected through simple sampling. Data collection tools included demographic questions and a lifestyle questionnaire. After collecting the questionnaires and coding the questions, the obtained data were analyzed through such statistical tests as t-test and ANOVA using SPSS software version 18.

Results: Students' scores on lifestyle test were in the intermediate range and far from a desired situation. A two-sample t-tests did not show a significant relationship between students' lifestyle and their gender and marital status (P>0.05). Moreover, ANOVA test didn't show a significant relationship between students' age and educational level on the one hand and their lifestyle factor on the other.

Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that students' lifestyle scores were in the intermediate range and that the situation was far from good. Standard educational programs and interventions should be designed to change students' lifestyle. Nutritional and physical support systems and educational, cultural, and entertainment programs in the department of physical education can minimize the concerns and preoccupations of the studied population group.

Organization Of Non-Book Materials In Central Libraries Of Selected Universities Of Tehran

Mahnaz Ghaderabadi

Background and Aim: Organization and utilization of non-book materials is an essential issue therefore, this study aims to evaluate the organization of non-book materials in central libraries of selected universities of Tehran.

Materials and Methods: The present survey has been conducted as a cross-sectional, descriptive study in 2012. The population consisted of central libraries of selected universities of Tehran. Data gathering instrument was a questionnaire divided into three sections. The validity of the questionnaire was checked by the professionals of the field and its reliability turned out to be 88% using Cronbach's alpha test. Data analysis was performed with SPSS and excel. The findings were presented using descriptive and analytic statistics.

Results: Most of non-book cataloged and indexed materials are theses and compact discs (CDs). Most of the libraries of this study use the Library of Congress Classification System for organizing their materials, and all of them (100%) apply Anglo-American rules for cataloging. Regarding the staff of libraries, 40 (95%) had academic degrees in library studies. As to their familiarity with OPEC, 4 libraries ( 80%) were familiar with Library of Congress (LC) and 3 ( 60%) were familiar with National Library of Iran. NOSA software was used in 4 ( 80%) libraries , and Windows operating system in all (100%).

Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the organization of non-book materials in these libraries is not as desired.

The Features Of Social Research Network For Facilitating Research Activities From Medical Sciences Researchers’ Perspective

Zahra Batooli

Background and Aim: The importance of social networking sites (SNSs) is evident as a tool for research team working and for enabling researchers to share the results and experiences. The present study aims to identify the features of SRNs for facilitating research practices from the perspective of medical sciences researchers and to study the reasons why they use these networks.

Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative research that employed content analysis approach. The participants were 10 medical researchers who were active in ResearchGATE, and were selected through purposeful sampling. The selection criterion was their scores in ResearchGATE (RG). RG scores are allotted based on publications, questions, answers and followers.

The data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, and then were thematized and presented in the form of a list the list of SRNs' most important features for the field of medical sciences.

Results: The findings of data analysis revealed eight features for SRN's: presenting themselves and identifying other researchers, communicating and collaborating with other researchers, sharing information, finding information, managing resources and citations, keeping the researcher up to date, rating, and setting the network.

Conclusion: Due to the importance and role of SRNs in communication and collaboration between researchers and their scientific production management, introduction of features identified in this study can enhance these SNSs' efficiency and effectiveness. Information science professionals can use the findings of this research to design educational workshops on "Familiarity with the features of SNSs for researchers" as a new information service in libraries.

Teaching Competency Assessment Of PhD Students: Needs Based Assessment Study

Fatemeh Keshmiri

Background and Aim: In order to develop teaching competencies and prepare PhD candidates for future roles as faculty members of medical schools, the present study conducted to determine PhD candidates` educational needs and their skills concerning teaching competencies.

Materials and Methods: The present study was a descriptive- analytical and cross-sectional study that was conducted in year 2011. The Study population was PhD candidates who studied in Health School of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. In the present study a “Teaching Competencies Assessment” questionnaire was used that included 2 part s the demographic information and 16- items of educational competencies and needs. The validity and reliability of th e questionnaire was approved by alpha Cronbach’s coefficient (educational need 94% & educational skill 87%). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS.

Results: The result of the present study showed that teaching skills of PhD candidates were at “familiar without implementation capability” level. The lowest candidate s` skill was “Student Assessment” field. The candidates had educational needs in all 16 areas of teaching skill fields (3.85:5). “Lecture Presentation” (4.1:5), “logical structure of Presentation” (4.02:5) and “Motivating methods” (4.01:5) fields were the highest educational needs of PhD candidates.

Conclusion: The results of the present study confirmed the need for systematic planning in order to develop teaching competencies and prepare PhD candidates for teaching role in future.

Survey Of Telepathology Implementation Feasibility In The Teaching Hospitals Affiliated To Tehran University Of Medical Sciences

Malihe Sadeghi

Background and Aim: Tele pathology is one of the medical subdivisions that has opened a new approach in the telepathology, e specially to organize consultations. In this research, feasibility of Telepathology implementation in teaching hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Science was studied.

Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional and descriptive study. The study population was included 8 hospitals directors and administrator, 20 pathologists, and 8 informatics staffs, in four teaching hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. A researcher constructed questionnaire was used for data collection . The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by expert panel and using by Test – retest method confirmed its reliability. The data was collected and analyzed by SPSS software to prepare descriptive findings.

Results: The R esults showed that 65.6% of hospitals had hardware facilities . Procedures based on legal issues related to information security and privacy was 95.71%, while t here was no guideline for telemedicine and telepathology.

Conclusion: I t could be concluded that in line with considrating the importance and benefits of telepathology, it is necessary to provide software requirements and hardware infrastructure. It should be noted that available properties also must be improved in terms of implementation of telepathology. Also, rules to support patients’ and staff’s rights should be developed for better implementation of such new technologies

A Survey On Tehran University Of Medical Sciences Students’ Familiarity With Personal Information Management

Leila Abdollahi

Background and Aim: Personal Information Management (PIM) is a novel approach comprising three interactive parts of information resources, dimensions, and tools. The main aim of this study was to determine the degree of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) management and information science students’ familiarity with PIM process.

Materials and Methods: The present work is a qualitative-applied study and the population includes 145 TUMS management and medical information students in 2012. The subjects were randomly selected and the data were finally obtained from 73 persons through semi-structured interviews. The data collection tool was a questionnaire with 10 open-ended questions classified based on the conceptual framework of interviews. The questions were about how to acquire, organize, maintain, and retrieve information. To analyse the interviews, the qualititative data analysis software Nvivo 8 was employed.

Results: According to the obtained results, 51% (37 persons) of interviewed persons have applied methods and tools in order to organize and maintain information and have had exclusive methods to retrieve information. The most frequent worries were the information storage 49% (35 persons) and acquiring information 29% (21 persons).

Conclusion: It is noteworthy to say that the PIM approach is not very popular among university students, and many of them acquire, maintain, and organize their personal information inappropriately in spite of their need for the method. Therefore, educating the students and promoting their performance can result in the improvement of main PIM-related problems.