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In peer observation of teaching, an experienced colleague in the educational environment of a faculty member observes the educational performance of that faculty member and provides appropriate feedback. The use of peer review as an alternative source of evidence of teaching effectiveness is increasing. However, no research has been done in the field of tool design and development to peer review in classrooms that use a learning management system (LMS). This study used mixed methods. In the qualitative stage, after studying sources and interviewing professors active in virtual education, a question bank was prepared and a 26-item initial questionnaire created. In the quantitative stage, the psychometric properties of the developed instruments, such as the face, content, and structural validity, were examined, and reliability tests were performed. IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 20) was used for analysis. Five categories, including content preparation, content presentation, effective interactions, motivation management, and support services, and 26 subcategories were determined to be effective indicators in peer observation in LMS-based classes in medical sciences. During content analysis, 9 items were removed due to lack of necessary criteria. Then, using principal component analysis and varimax rotation in the present mode (Watkins, 2018), 5 components with eigenvalues higher than 1 were extracted, which explained a total of 70.55% of the total variance. The inter-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.88. Thus, the peer observation measurement tool, designed with 17 expressions using the answer method "yes/no", showed good validity and reliability. The research results demonstrate that the evaluation of virtual classes of professors by their peers is effective and that the results can be used in e-learning promotion plans.

This study investigates the effect of removing magnetic nanoparticles from the outer surface of magnetic wood flour (MWF) particles as a filler phase on the microstructural, physical, and mechanical properties of the prepared MWF‐polypropylene nanocomposites. For producing MWF with a surface free of magnetic nanoparticles (called LFMWF), in contrast to the commonly produced MWF (called FFMWF), magnetic wood chips were first prepared and then milled. No significant changes were observed in the tensile and flexural strength of the composite specimens prepared with the LFMWF filler instead of the FFMWF. The samples containing the LFMWF filler showed lower water uptake and higher thickness swelling after 400 h of immersion. The coupling agent's effect on improving the mechanical properties of the specimens was more pronounced than its effect on the water uptake and thickness swelling of the specimens. The saturation magnetization of LFMWF was about 4.3 emu/g, while that of FFMWF was 0.94 emu/g. After melt compounding the MWFs with the polymer matrix, the saturation magnetization decreased; this decrease was about 9.9% higher for the FFMWF‐containing magnetic nanocomposites than for the LFMWF‐containing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effects of two transparent UV curing coatings (i.e. epoxy acrylate and urethane acrylate) modified by zero, 0.2, and 0.5 loading percent of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZN) on the weathering resistance of thermally modified timber were investigated. Both coatings improved the weathering resistance of the modified wood; however, epoxy acrylate showed much better performance compared to urethane acrylate. ATR-FTIR results showed no considerable oxidation or chain scission in the epoxy acrylate-coated specimens after six months of weathering, while significant chemical changes occurred in the urethane acrylate-coated specimens. The addition of the nanoparticles reduced the discoloration of both coatings; however, the contact angle and roughness were not significantly affected. Results also showed that the adhesion strength was reduced for both coatings as a result of weathering with the urethane acrylate coating having a lower adhesion strength than the epoxy acrylate. The addition of the ZN, particularly at the higher content, reduced the adhesion strength of the urethane acrylate coating. Generally, the method of fast and simple UV-cured coating of epoxy acrylate alone or coupled with zinc oxide nanoparticles was found to be effective for the protection of thermally modified timber against weathering in outdoor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The controversial role of ethics in clinical education and its ability to draw the attention of a large audience is inevitable. The issues and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed the clinical education environment. This study was conducted to explore the challenges and ethical requirements of medical sciences education during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The study was qualitative research and the instrument was a semi-structured interview. The participants included faculty members of the basic and clinical Sciences at Iran University of Medical Sciences. After 16 rounds of interviews, theoretical saturation was achieved. Qualitative data were analysed using conventional content analysis, which resulted in 81 preliminary codes and 28 sub-categories. Finally, two themes of "ethical challenges" and "ethical requirements", and 10 categories were achieved. The sub- categories were consisted of "being patient-centred", "social accountability of curriculums", "ethical challenges of the clinical environment", "the poor performance of the clinical faculty members and students", "being justice-centred", "raising awareness", "observing clinical research ethics", "preservation and promotion of mental health", "patient confidentiality", and "respect for individuals". We hope the ethical challenges in medical education that were created due to the emergence of Covid-19 can be reduced and eliminated by defining a framework for ethical requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Patients generally have the right to be informed of their condition, but the debate over the issue of truth disclosure is still present. The attempt of this study is to review the approaches toward truth-telling to cancer patients in Iran. Materials and Methods: This study is a narrative review that included articles published in Iran on attitudes toward telling the truth to cancer patients. The present study extracted data from articles published in PubMed, Science Direct, Scientific Information Database (SID), Magiran, Iran Medex, Google Scholar, Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology with key terms such as truth disclosure, breaking bad news, death awareness and disclosure of diagnosis without any time restriction. Results: Totally, 21 articles including 14 in English and 7 in Persian were selected and reviewed. The results of the study have shown that although treatment team and caregivers are unwilling to disclose the truth to patients, they have a tendency to obtain more information about their disease. Conclusion: As the incidence of cancer has increased worldwide, telling the truth to patients seeking more information about cancer disease would be inevitable, but more studies are required to provide scientific procedures based on evidence for truth disclosure, not the whole, to cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to the changing conditions of education, research, and treatment in the world, especially the recent pandemic, and more use of virtual space, there is a need for evaluation of digital professionalism in faculty members as the most influential people who have a direct and deep impact on the next generation., Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2023 on 149 faculty members of Iran University of Medical Sciences, they were invited to participate in the study through various methods (SMS, E-mail, and media messages). The link to the Persian standardized questionnaire was made available for participants. If a person received less than 70% of the score in each area, he/she would receive solutions to improve his/her situation in that area at the end of answering the questions. The self-administered questionnaire has 5 fields and 33 questions. Maximum scores were 10 points. Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficients and statistical tests consisting of chi-square, t-test, Mann-Whitney U, one-way ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis H were used in the analysis., Results: The mean overall score of people in principles of digital professionalism was 0.8. Women and basic sciences faculties had a significantly better status than men and clinical faculties in the principles of digital professionalism as a whole ( P = 0.001 and P = 0.049, respectively). The domain of "knowledge management and information literacy" had significantly lower scores in professors in comparison with other degree (instructors, assistant professors, and associate professors ( P = 0.039)., Conclusion: The mean score of the principles of digital professionalism is acceptable at 80%. Coherent, timely, and up-to-date training to ensure the effective, safe and appropriate use of digital technology, especially for men, professors and clinical faculty members who had a lower score than others, should be done., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 Iran University of Medical Sciences.)

Background: Nurses' and physicians' collaboration is a precedent for patient care. This study examined attitude change and interprofessional collaboration competencies among medical and nursing students of Iran University of Medical Sciences., Methods: This study was quantitative cross-sectional. The study tools were two questionnaires, Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Education and IPEC Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies, which were completed by 211 medical and nursing students in online or in-person forms. The collected quantitative data were analyzed by SPSS 19 software., Results: The results showed that nurses and physicians constituted 35.5% and 64.5% of the sample. The results of the independent T-test displayed no statistically significant difference in the mean age of both groups ( P = 0.054). There was a statistically significant difference in the participants' attitudes toward interprofessional learning, and the medical group (46.68) obtained a higher mean score than the nurse group (34.92) ( P = 0.001). The two groups with varying mean scores (179.34 for medical students and 131.72 for nursing students) were significantly different in their interpersonal collaboration competencies ( P = 0.001). Considering Mauchly's test, there were statistically significant differences among medical students of varying academic years in their attitudes toward interprofessional education ( P < 0.001). Nursing students were also different in their attitudes toward interprofessional education based on their academic years., Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the attitude of nursing students towards interprofessional education and interpersonal collaboration competencies should be increased in line with medical students in order to improve the quality of medical and health services., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2023 Iran University of Medical Sciences.)