The effect of web-mediated, blended, and purely online learning on EFL learners' writing achievement in the Iranian context: A comparative study.

In the era of web-based technology, the conventional instructions seem archaic and need to be replaced or improved with more novel technology-enhanced instructions (TEIs) that have been reported to enrich the instructional settings by providing further innovative teaching and learning opportunities. As a result, the present study aimed at not only examining but also comparing the effectiveness of web-mediated, blended, and purely online learning instructions on EFL learners' writing achievement in the Iranian context. Therefore, 49 homogenous participants were randomly assigned into the web-mediated leaning (WML) group that attended the workshop physically at predetermined times, the enriched virtual blended learning (EVBL) group that not only was provided with online sessions but also received compulsory in-person instructional sessions, and the purely online leaning (POL) group that merely received an online instruction. All learners delivered four argumentative essay writing pre-tests, performed the WebQuest tasks, engaged in pair/group works, completed all the sub-tasks, and finally wrote four essays as post-tests. The results of paired-samples t-tests revealed that EFL learners' achievement in writing skill as a whole and writing sub-skills improved significantly from pre-tests to post-tests in all the WML, EVBL, and POL groups. The mentioned finding was vindicated considering the peculiar characteristic of EFL learners and the distinctive nature of TEIs. In addition, the results of one-way between-groups ANOVA indicated that WML and EVBL groups outperformed the POL group in the overall writing achievement, which was explained in the light of technology-related dimension, the interaction dimension, and the conventional perspective of education dimension. The presented findings can provide insights for stakeholders to incorporate more TEIs in developing EFL contexts.

Evaluation of the efficacy of topical sucralfate on healing haemorrhoidectomy incision wounds and reducing pain severity: A randomised clinical trial.

The healing of haemorrhoidectomy wounds is a main concern of surgeons and patients. Various modalities can improve the quality of wound care after surgery. Antibiotics and topical agents, such as solutions and ointments, have been evaluated. The current research investigates the effects of sucralfate ointment on wound healing (epithelialisation) and postoperative pain after open haemorrhoidectomy. This trial involves two groups of randomly collected patients (n = 40) who underwent open haemorrhoidectomy surgery by the Milligan-Morgan method. A 10% topical sucralfate ointment was applied to the investigated group's wounds, while the control group patients used Vaseline as a placebo. The present work measured the two outcomes as follows: pain severity by a Visual Analogues Scale (VAS) score and epithelialisation by a surgeon's visual inspection. During the postoperative phase, the mean VAS was 3.70 for the investigated group and 6.90 for the control group. On the average, the completion of epithelialisation for the investigated group was on day 13 as opposed to day 20 for the control group. The topical application of sucralfate ointment on post-haemorrhoidectomy wound is an effective method for the promotion of healing, also lessens the severity of pain, and reduces the need for analgesics.

Effect of intra-peritoneal induction of ascites fluid on the rate of postoperative intraabdominal adhesion in a rat model.

Introduction: Intra-abdominal adhesions (IAAs) are secondary to peritoneal injuries such as previous surgery or intra-abdominal infections (IAIs). Accordingly, it is crucial to employ fitting techniques to minimize the likelihood of adhesions in any surgery. Due to a paucity of similar data available, this study sought to explore the effects of induced high serum ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) and low serum ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) on the rate of post-operative microscopic and macroscopic adhesion in a mouse model. Material and methods: Sixty mice were compared in six groups of ten each. Control groups (1 &4) received normal saline, groups 2&5 received high SAAG ascites fluid, and groups 3&6 received low SAAG ascites fluid intraperitoneally. These groups underwent exploratory laparotomy on day zero, followed by the same procedure on the 10th (groups 1,2,3) and the 30th (Groups 4,5,6) day of surgery. Then, microscopic and macroscopic IAAs were evaluated. Data were analyzed in SPSS software and compared with a p-value less than 0.05. Results: By comparison, the least microscopic and macroscopic IAAs after 10 and 30 days were found in the low SAAG ascites group. Revealing a statistically significant difference compared to the other two groups (P = 0.01). After 10 days of surgery, macroscopic IAA in the high SAAG group was significantly lower compared to the control and Low SAAG ascites groups. Conclusion: Intraabdominal low SAAG ascites fluid can significantly decrease the probability of postoperative fibrosis and adhesion band formation. Protocol number: IR. BUMS.REC.1399.503.