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Introduction: Mobile health (mHealth) technology-based applications provide strong medical health-care support. Applications have an important impact as tools to improve the knowledge and support the health-care team practice. In this study, an over-the-counter (OTC) therapy application was developed based on Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS). CDSS is a key to improve health-related decisions and healthcare delivery. Furthermore, the quality and effectiveness of this application were evaluated among community pharmacists. Methods: The application was designed and developed for 10 topics of OTC therapy. After the approval of the expert panel, 40 pharmacists affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) participated in this before and after quasi-experimental study. The related scenarios and checklists were designed for the ten topics. The participants had to manage the scenarios first by their knowledge and then with the application. The knowledge and pharmaceutical skills in OTC therapy were evaluated based on the obtained scores and the time recorded. The quality of the application was evaluated by pharmacists using user version of mobile application rating scale (uMARS) questionnaire. To compare before/after measurements of parametric and non-parametric data, we used the paired t-test and Wilcoxon matched-pairs test, respectively. Besides, the variables was compared using Mann-Whitney test. The statistical significance was considered at P<0.05. The analyses were performed using the statistical software Stata (ver. 13). Results: All scores after using the application increased, and the P-value was not significant. Also, the recorded time was increased after the use of the application, and the P-value was not significant. The minimum mean scores of the six uMARS questionnaire sections were 3. It means that acceptable scores were obtained in all sections of the questionnaire. The "App quality score" section of the application was reported 3.45±0.94. No relationship was found between gender and the median score of each section of the uMARS questionnaire. Conclusion: The OTC therapy application developed in this study will help Persian-speaking pharmacists to increase their knowledge and pharmaceutical skills.

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Background: Smoking is one of the major risk factors for cancers, especially in the oral cavity. Nuclear changes occur in the early stages of cancer. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate nuclear changes and calculate a "repair index" for the buccal mucosa of smokers. Material and Methods: This historical cohort study was conducted by selecting samples including smokers and non-smokers. In addition, the smoker group were divided into 2 subgroups with a smoking history of >10 and ≤10 years. Buccal mucosa smears were obtained and Papanicolaou staining was employed to detect nuclear changes. Micronuclei, karyorrhexis and karyolysis were assessed and eventually a repair index was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using the t-test. Results: In the 60 samples studied, differences were significant in smopkers vs. nonsmokers for micronuclei, (P=0.002) but not karyorrhexis or karyolysis. (P=0.789 and P=0.578, respectively). Also, the repair index demonstrated no statistically significant variation (P=0.107). Comparison of the two subgroups of smokers demonstrated that the frequency of micronuclei in those with a history >10 years was significantly higher and the RI was significantly lower than with ≤10 years (P=0.0001 and 0.04, respectively). While karyorrhexis and karyolysis were also higher in the longer exposure individuals the differences were not significant (P=0.07 and 0.78, respectively). Conclusion: Among the nuclear changes investigated, micronuclei proved the more reliable indicator to assess the adverse effects of smoking on the oral mucosa, becoming prominent with increase in smoking history. In addition, while a "repair index" may have benefits for assessment of nuclear damage caused by smoking, further research is necessary in this field.

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OBJECTIVE: To determine the distribution of Duffy blood group genotypes in Balouch population as a major ethnic group that living in a sub-tropical area in south East of Iran. METHODS: In this study, the Duffy blood group FY phenotypes were determined using indirect anti-globulin technique and also genotype by PCR-RFLP in 160 vivax malaria patients and 160 control individuals. RESULTS: The results showed that the most common Duffy genotype was FYA/FYB (46.6%) followed by FYA/FYA (15.3%), FYA/FYO (14.4%), FYB/FYO (11.9%), FYB/FYB (10%) and FYO/FYO (1.9%). In case individuals, frequency of FYA, FYB and FYO alleles were 0.471, 0.431 and 0.097, respectively compaired to 0.444, 0.353 and 0.203, respectively in control (non-infected) group. CONCLUSIONS: This data provide evidence that individuals with the FYA/FYB genotype have higher susceptibility to malaria and there are significant associations between Duffy blood group variants and susceptibility or resistance to vivax malaria.

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BACKGROUND: Heart disease is the main cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with beta thalassemia, rendering its early diagnosis vital. We studied and compared echocardiographic findings in patients with beta thalassemia major, patients with beta thalassemia intermedia, and a control group. METHODS: Eighty asymptomatic patients with thalassemia major and 22 asymptomatic cases with thalassemia intermedia (8-25 years old) were selected from those referred to Ali Asghar Hospital (Zahedan-Iran) between June 2008 and June 2009. Additionally, 80 healthy individuals within the same age and sex groups were used as controls. All the individuals underwent echocardiography, the data of which were analyzed with the Student t-test. RESULTS: The mean value of the pre-ejection period/ejection time ratio of the left ventricle during systole, the diameter of the posterior wall of the left ventricle during diastole, the left and right isovolumic relaxation times, and the right myocardial performance index in the patients with beta thalassemia major and intermedia increased significantly compared to those of the controls, but the other parameters were similar between the two patient groups. The mean values of the left and right pre-ejection periods, left ventricular end systolic dimension, and left isovolumic contraction time in the patients with thalassemia intermedia increased significantly compared to those of the controls. In the left side, myocardial performance index, left ventricular mass index, isovolumic contraction time, and deceleration time exhibited significant changes between the patients with thalassemia major and those with thalassemia intermedia, whereas all the echocardiographic parameters of the right side were similar between these two groups. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the systolic and diastolic functions of the right and left sides of the heart would be impaired in patients with thalassemia major and thalassemia intermedia. Consequently, serial echocardiography is suggested in asymptomatic patients with beta thalassemia for an early diagnosis of heart dysfunction and proper treatment.