Background and Aims: Overlapping of the proximal surfaces of posterior teeth in the panoramic radiography is a major concern. Therefore, an option has been developed in the panoramic unit of Planmeca Promax, namely improved interproximal mode. This mode causes lower horizental angle with the teeth contact region during the unit rotation decreasing overlapping of the panoramic images of the posterior teeth especially premolar teeth. The present study was done to compare the overlapping of posterior teeth using two techniques of improved interproximal panoramic Program and standard panoramic.Materials and Methods: In this diagnostic study, 32 patients requiring panoramic radiographies at their posterior teeth during their routine diagnosis and treatment process with the mean age of 27.3 years were participated. No patients showed crowding of posterior teeth or missed and restored posterior teeth. The participants' panoramic radiographies were randomly taken by two techniques of improved interproximal panoramic and standard panoramic using Planmeca Promax device. The overlapping of the panoramic images was blindly assessed by an oral radiologist. The overlapping in both techniques was reported by frequency and percentage. The comparisons were done by Chi-square test between two techniques and the odds ratio of overlapping was estimated using regression analysis.Results: In standard panoramic techniques, 38.5% (148 contacts of 384 contacts) of the proximal surfaces overlapped while the overlapping of the proximal surfaces was observed in 18.8% (72 contacts of 384 overall contacts) in improved interproximal technique. Significant differences were noted between two techniques regarding overlapping (P<0.001). Also 66.4% and 39.1% of 4-5 teeth contacts overlapped in standard and improved techniques. The values were reported to be 39.1% and 12.5% in contacts of 5-6 teeth and 10.2% and 4.7% in the contacts of 6-7 teeth in both techniques, respectively. The overlapping odds ratio in improved technique as compared to standard techniques was 2.72 more. While the odds ratio of overlapping in the contact regions of 4-5 and 5-6 teeth was 16.4 and 4.61 as compared to the contact region of 6-7 teeth (all: P<0.001). The lower or upper jaw with the patients' mouth side did not significantly influence the overlapping of the proximal surfaces in both panoramic techniques.Conclusion: Under the limitations of this study, improved interproximal panoramic significantly reduced the overlapping of proximal surfaces in the panoramic radiographies of posterior teeth as compared to the standard panoramic technique. Therefore, it can be used to detect proximal caries in the posterior teeth as a diagnostic tool. Using this option may affect other part of panoramic image which should be investigated in other research.

Background and Purpose: According to the strategies proposed by the World Health Organization in the development of traditional medicine, it is necessary to create research infrastructures in order to develop the scientific research bases of traditional medicine to improve public health, and it is necessary to monitor the performance and evaluate research outputs in order to estimate the level of achievement of the goals. Therefore, in this study, we aim to present the results of evaluating the research activities of traditional medicine research centers in a five-year period. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2023 during three stages: compilation and design of the evaluation system, implementation of the evaluation process, and data analysis. The evaluation was carried out in the three basic axes of governance and leadership, knowledge production, and impact with 20 indicators and the ranking results were presented. Results: This study included 13 research centers of traditional medicine, complementary medicine, history of medicine, Quran and Hadith medicine from 11 universities of medical sciences. The number of active researchers in these centers is 89 and during the evaluation years, 1455 articles published by these centers have been indexed in ISI-WOS, PubMed and Scopus. The ratio of articles to academic staff in these centers is on average 3. 26, and 22. 3% of articles are published in top 25% journals (Q1) and about 16% are published in international collaboration. In the ranking, Research Center for Traditional Medicine and History of Medicine of Shiraz, Herbal and Traditional Medicine Research Center of Kerman, and Persian Medicine and Pharmacy Research Center of Tehran ranked first to third, respectively. Conclusion: The development of research infrastructure in the field of traditional medicine and the expansion of interdisciplinary scientific communication inside and outside the country will be effective in developing the frontiers of knowledge and responding to research needs.

BACKGROUND: β-thalassemias (beta-thalassemia) is the most common genetic disorder; it is an inherited globinopathy which is transmitted to people due to a mutation in genes that create globin chain. In Iran, the disease gene is more common in the northern and southern regions. It is estimated that more than 60 mutations of the disease exist in different geographical areas of Iran. Iran has begun to adopt strategies to control the β-thalassemia for two decades; the most important of which is the screening of couples when they want to get marry. The present study aimed to review the thalassemia control Program in Iran, the history of the disease, and the disease control strategies. METHODS: This review was conducted according to hand and electronic resources. Books, guidelines and document that exist in thalassemia control Program were reviewed in the Iranian Ministry of Health, World Health Organization resources, PubMed, Google Scholar, SID (scientific information database), Magiran and, Iranmedex. RESULTS: Thalassemia Program was appropriately structured and has been achieved successes. Reduction the numbers of new cases of β-thalassemia were notably. In some areas, thalassemia Program has some defects and the Program faced some cultural barriers. CONCLUSION: Due to the improvements in the social and economic situation of the people, it seems necessary to focus on prenatal diagnosis (PND) and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PNG) technique strategies and provide their necessary facilities.

Background & Aims: Quality assurance of higher education, especially philosophiae doctor (PhD) education, is one of the concerns and priorities of higher education planning planners. Comparing educational systems can help to improve the quality of nursing Programe. The purpose of this study was to compare the educational system of Nursing Ph.D in Iran with The University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University and Duke University. Materials & Methods: This descriptive-comparative study was conducted in 2021. The four-stage Beredy model of description, interpretation, neighborhood, and comparison was used to compare the Iranian nursing education system with the top three nursing schools in the world in 2020. Data were collected by the reputable websites of the universities. Then, the data were compared according to the aim of the research. Results: the structure of nursing Ph.D Program in Iran and the top three nursing schools in the world are approximately similar to each. But, there are differences in the mission, general purpose, the content of courses and their relevance to the needs of society, the allocation of units to research and theoretical courses, training approaches and perspectives on clinical nursing. Conclusion: Given the comparisons and curriculum advantages of the top three Universities, it is appropriate for Iranian nursing education planners to makefundamental changes to the curriculum of this section in terms of mission, goals, courses, and pay attention to student’s critical thinking, educational needs, and competencies of the graduates.

MESOT Fellowship Program (MFP) is an initiative aimed at promoting and advancing organ transplantation in under-served areas of the Middle East by helping them to establish local transplantation Programs or to improve an existing Program. The fellowship Program gives a great opportunity to the young physicians and surgeons from this region willing to acquire some particular skills related to various aspects of organ transplantation and provides them with specific and hands-on training opportunities in host institutions. MESOT Fellows return home to share new skills and knowledge in medical and surgical transplantation and improve local standards.

Football medicine has developed in the world in recent years. AFC Medical Committee, established the idea of football medicine travelling fellowship two years ago and provided high-level healthcare services to football players in Asian countries. This is a report on my one month experience in a travelling fellowship Program for football medicine which is attempting to tell the reader about the interesting event that I experienced. This course has been held between Jan 15 to Feb 10, 2012 in 3 Asian countries: Qatar, Thailand and Malysia. The experience provided me with the valuable suggestions for future travelling fellowship periods.