Payavard Salamat
Year:2018 | Volume:12 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:9

Background and Aim: At the present time one of the strategies in vaccine design is generation of fusion proteins containing (including) immunogen of infectious agents and adjuvants. In this study design and construction of E2-fliC fragment as a vaccine candid was conducted by using flic gene from Salmonella enterica and E2 gene from hepatitis C virus.Materials and Methods: To prepare the E2-fliC construct, E2 and fliC fragments were first amplified from pBluscript-E2 and pBluscript-fliC, respectively by PCR method. To generate pcDNA-E2-fliC plasmid, E2 was subcloned into plasmid pcDNA3.1 (+) which was extracted from DH5a cells. ThefliC sequence was then cloned into the pcDNA3.1-E2. To evaluate the expression of E2-fliC construct, it was inserted into the pEGFP-N3 expression vector. Then COS-7 cells were transfected with pEGFPN3- E2-fliC to evaluate the expression of the fusion protein by observation of the EGFP signal under the fluorescence microscope.Results: By development of GFP fluorescent using fluorescence microscopy the most expression of E2-fliC construct was observed at 24h after transfection. The accuracy of the recombinant plasmid pcDNA-E2-fliC was confirmed by PCR, restriction enzymes and DNA sequencing.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that E2-FliC fusion protein has expressed efficiently and most likely similar to HCV E2 protein induces immune system of mice after their immunization with pcDNA-E2-fliC.

Background and Aim: Scientific journals are known as one of the basic tools in knowledge development in today's world and have a special place in publication of the newest achievements of human knowledge and science. This study aimed to evaluate Iranian journals of medical sciences in Scopus database and determine their level in the world.Materials and Methods: This is an analytical-descriptive study with Scientometrics approach. The research population includes all Iranian journals in the field of medicine which are indexed in Scopus database until 2016. We used SPSS and Excel software to analyze data and NodeXL to draw shapes and pictures.Results: The findings show that the number of Iranian journals increased from 2 in 1999 to 78 in 2015. Also, 15 cities and 29 centers and universities have played a role in publishing those journals. Meanwhile, the findings show that Iranian indexed journals are at a lower level compared with those of the developed and industrial countries.Conclusion: The most important reasons for Iranian journals' growth were "the policy of Scopus to increase scientific journals", "observance of standards and compliance with international fashion and standards of medical journals”, and the like. We concluded that Iranian journals compared with those of other countries are not at a good quality position and that it is essential to have an appropriate policy by the Ministry of Health and its subordinate Universities.

Background and Aim: Successful implementation and optimum use of telemedicine technology depends on providing the necessary infrastructure and the success factors of this technology, such as high-speed broadband. The present study is aimed at feasibility study on the implementation of telemedicine in selected hospitals of Iran.Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted in selected hospitals in 2016. The data gathering tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that its content validity and structure were measured by four professors of health information management. Reliability of the questionnaire was determined using internal correlation test (Cronbach's alpha=0.83). The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (average and standard deviation) and inferential statistics.Results: According to the findings, 82.2% of the hospitals had no access to high-speed broadband and only 5.5% had optics fiber. Insurance and repayment obstacles and shortages of technical staff were identified as the main barriers and medical personnel's resistance and licensing issues were identified as the low importance barriers to the implementation of this technology. Organizational and cultural factors (p-value=0.001), technical infrastructure (p-value=0.005) and financial requirements (p-value=0.021) of telemedicine technology had a significant difference of 5% error rate with education level and orientation.Conclusion: Due to barriers such as lack of video conferencing tools, the lack of high-speed broadband, and inadequate funding for the purchase and implementation of the necessary equipment, the studied hospitals currently were not able to provide telemedicine services.

Background and Aim: With the development of the Internet and databases and the increasing need to institutionalize evidence-based medicine, physicians' awareness and use of evidence-based medical databases and concepts are considered to be necessary. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge and use of evidence-based medical concepts and databases among residents of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU).Materials and Methods: The present study is an applied and descriptive research.The population of this study comprised 192 SBMU residents in 2016. A questionnaire was used for data collection and SPSS software was applied for data analysis.Results: The findings showed that residents obtained 2.99 for knowledge and 2.73 for the use of evidence-based medical databases out of a total average of 5 points, which indicates that their knowledge and practical use of evidence based medical databases are moderate. Databases about which residents have the highest knowledge and practical use are UpToDate, PubMed Clinical Queries, and Cochrane, respectively.Conclusion: The majority of residents at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences do not have sufficient awareness about databases and concepts of evidence-based medicine; in fact, most of the resources that are used to answer their information needs are non-evidence-based resources. Therefore, planning to accept evidence-based medicine and databases and teach them to residents is essential.

Background and Aim: The Ovarian epithelial cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancers in women. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the most effective factors in predicting and detecting Ovarian cancer in the form of a decision tree to facilitate the Ovarian cancer diagnosis.Materials and Methods: The present study was a descriptive-developmental study.The main research tool applied in this study was a checklist which was designed based on the medical records, published studies, scientific references, and expert consultation. To determine the content validity of the checklist, the CVR method was applied. Next, survey research was done with aid of Likert-based checklist based on expert opinions in gynecology. Finally, to develop the decision tree, the results of the expert survey were analyzed and the final model was implemented based on the survey results.Results: The data elements of final decision tree were derived from the result of expert surveys, guidelines, clinical pathways and strategies in context of diagnosis and screening of Ovarian cancer. The leaf nodes in the tree include different types of tumor markers, following up, therapeutic measures, and referrals. The accuracy of the decision tree was approved by the experts. The most important tumor markers that obtained from the decision model in this study were CA19-9, ROMA (CA125 +HE4) and CEA.Conclusion: Clinical decision models can provide specific diagnosis and therapeutic suggestions by creating patient information integration framework. The model developed in this study can improve the diagnosis of epithelial Ovarian cancer considerably by facilitating decision making.

Background and Aim: Ranking of hospital libraries based on standard criteria and taking pattern of top libraries would improve the quality of library services. The purpose of this study was to rate hospital libraries based on LibQual criteria and Vikor model.Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a survey method. The statistical population was 3850 actual users of the library of 8 governmental hospitals (with capacities up to 320 beds) in Tehran in 2016. To achieve the goals, The LibQual questionnaire and AHP technique were used. The validity of both questionnaires has been confirmed in various studies. Cronbach's alpha coefficient greater than 70 percent For LibQual questionnaire and inconsistency rates less than one percent for Vikor questionnaire confirm the reliabilities. Data analysis was performed using the expert choice software. Ranking were done using the Vikor technique.Results: According to three main dimensions for LibQual, "library as a place" weighing 0.379 was the first preference, and "quiet space for individual activities" weighing 0.364 was the first in this dimension too. The dimension of "information control" weighs in 0.318 at the second, and "service impact" weighs 0.303 was in the third grade. In the ranking based on the Vikor criteria, the Library of Firoozgar hospital was in the first place.Conclusion: The library of Firoozgar hospital in Iran university of medical sciences was the forefront and could be an exemplar for the other libraries.

Background and Aim: Choosing thesis topic is one of the most important decisions of postgraduate students and many factors affect such decision. This study aimed to prioritize the criteria for choosing thesis topic from Ph.D. students’ viewpoint, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and ranking methods.Materials and Methods: This analytical study was carried out on the School of Public Health PhD students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), who were in thesis topic selection phase. For data collection, a questionnaire was used; it consisted of three parts: demographic questions, pairwise comparison of criteria, and ranking the criteria affecting thesis topic selection. Data was analyzed using the AHP method, and descriptive and inferential statistics (Mann-Whitney).Results: A total of 80 Ph.D. students participated in this study, of whom 43 (53.8%) were male. Based on the AHP method results, the most important criterion for thesis topic selection was the novelty of subject matter and the least important one was the location of study setting. The most important criterion based on the ranking method was the participants’ interest in the topic and the least important one was the location of study setting.Conclusion: Although the results of the two methods used to prioritize the thesis topic selection criteria were somewhat different, based on both method results, the most important criteria from the viewpoint of School of Public Health PhD students were the novelty of subject matter, supervisor’s proficiency in it, access to required resources, and participants’ interest in subject matter.

Background and Aim: To understand veterans’ needs and to make future generations familiar with the culture of self-sacrifice and martyrdom, we need a database to store information. The first step for designing a base is to provide a conceptual framework of the base. This study aims to provide a conceptual model to create the national base of veterans in Iran.Materials and Methods: This research was conducted in a two-step, mixed approach. The first step was conducted using content analysis method (quantitative) and the second step using Delphi (qualitative) technique. Data collection tool was Excel 2016 software. With the help of Delphi technique, a researcher-made conceptual pattern was sent to the experts in three rounds. Based on their views, the final plan of national base of veterans was formed.Results: Among the main components, introduction to the war was removed, history of war changed to history of wars, link to links, other materials to other contents, art and war to war and art, and the sub-component of possibilities turned into the main component. Veterans’ personal information turned into veterans’ database that changed into subsidiary components of the martyrs / veterans / prisoners-of-war / warriors database.Conclusion: The main components of the conceptual pattern of national base of veterans of Iran include: home page, introduction, conflicts and operations, equipment, war zones, facilities, news, cemeteries of martyrs, veterans’ rules, questions and answers, history of wars, war and art, veterans’ database, archives, links, guide, contact with us, FAQs, other content, resources, about the base, search, map.