Arman Bahari, Behnoosh Moody,
Volume 15, Issue 4 (oct & Nov 2021)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Increasing the use of smartphones, improving the state of World Wide Web, and also the need for flexibility in the education process have made the implementation of e-learning in human society inevitable, eliminated time and space limitations, and provided equal education. However, the pace of its creation and development, especially in universities and higher education centers in developing countries such as Iran, is very slow. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the factors affecting the creation and development of e-learning from the viewpoint of students of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences.
Materials and Methods: This is an applied and descriptive-survey study. The sample includes 313 students studying at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences during 2016-2017, who were selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed using statistical tests and SPSS software.
Results: The findings show that the six selected factors of this study affect the creation and development of e-learning from the viewpoint of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences students. From the highest to the lowest effect, these factors include the quality of information and content (4.25), learners’ willingness (4.11), system quality (4.10), facilitators (4.05), student-professor interaction (3.98) and professor quality (3.84).
Conclusion: According to the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that policy makers and university administrators, considering the importance of each factor, invest and develop e-learning to provide better services to students and faculty.
Seyedeh Nasim Mirbahari, Sina Salari, Shabnam Shahrokh, Mohammadreza Zali, Mehdi Totonchi,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (3-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Oncolytic viruses, as novel and advanced tools in the field of treating various types of cancer, have played a very important role in medical developments. The term “oncolytic” refers to the ability of these viruses to destroy and damage cancer cells while preserving the surrounding healthy cells.
Materials and Methods: To conduct this study, a total of 270 initial results were collected through searching in the PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases from 2012 to 2024. The primary researcher reviewed 68 relevant articles, extracted and summarized the contents, and finally compiled the findings.
Results: The findings from this review study demonstrate that cancer cells possess distinct characteristics that differentiate them from normal cells, including continuous growth signaling, resistance to anti-growth signaling, evasion of apoptosis, increased angiogenesis, and invasion into other body parts. Oncolytic viruses utilize these distinctive features to selectively target and infect cancer cells. Most oncolytic viruses directly eliminate host tumor cells, resulting in viral replication and induction of host antiviral responses. Moreover, these viruses can destroy cancer cells through the production of specific proteins. The cytotoxic potential of oncolytic viruses depends on viral type, genetic manipulation, optimal virus dosage for injection, natural and induced viral tropism, and cancer cell sensitivity to various forms of cell death. The mechanism driving the selective replication of oncolytic viruses in cancer cells likely relates to defects in signaling pathways specific to tumor cells. Phase III clinical trials have demonstrated significant improvements in the treatment outcomes of various cancers, including head and neck cancer, melanoma, glioblastoma, and bladder cancer, through the use of H101 (Oncorine), T-Vec, ECHO-7, and Teserpaturev (Delytact) viruses.
Conclusion: Oncolytic viruses are constructed from various types of viruses and are currently being evaluated in laboratory, preclinical, and clinical stages. The use of these viruses for the treatment of cancer as a new and targeted approach has been proposed, which requires further investigation and achievement of more precise mechanisms for their better performance.
