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Background & Aim: Vascular events and strokes are third leading causes of death worldwide. There are also major causes of human morbidity. Various pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments are proposed to patients with stroke. The purpose of this study was to determine effect of foot reflexology, as a nonpharmacological procedure, on systolic and diastolic blood pressures in patients with stroke. Methods & Materials: In this clinical trial, 68 patients with stroke were selected and divided randomly into two experiment (n=34) and control (n=34) groups. Each patient in the experiment group received foot reflexology for 30 minutes. Data were recorded in the demographic and blood pressure record form. Data were analyzed using t-tests and ANOVAs in the SPSS-20. Results: There were no significant differences between the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures of patients in experiment and control groups at baseline. The blood pressure was significantly reduced among the experiment group after receiving the foot reflexology (P<0.05). The mean systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced in the experiment group after 10 and 30 minutes of massage; and the diastolic blood pressure was reduced significantly in all measured times (P<0.05). Conclusion: Results showed positive effects of foot reflexology on reducing blood pressure in patients with stroke. Foot reflexology should be recommended as a supplement treatment in patients with stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in pediatrics. Due to lack of uniformity in pediatric antimicrobial prescribing and the emergence of antibiotic resistance, appropriate drug utilization studies have been found to be crucial to evaluate whether these drugs are properly used. Methods: Data were collected between January 2014 and February 2014 in 16 Iranian pediatric hospitals using a standardized method. The point prevalence survey included all inpatient beds. Results: Of 858 children, 571 (66.6%) received one or more antimicrobials. The indications were therapeutic in 60.6%. The parenteral route was used in 92.5% of therapeutic indications. Ceftriaxone was the most prescribed antimicrobials for therapeutic indications (32.4%) and combination-therapy was the most type of therapy in pediatric intelligent care unit (PICU). Conclusion: According to results of this study, antibiotics' prescribing in pediatrics wards of Iranian hospitals is empirical. Therefore, for quality improvement of antimicrobial use in children continuous audit process and antibiotic prescriptions require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The use of information-based solutions such as dashboards is on the rise for taking fact-based actions against the COVID-19 crisis. This scoping review aimed to comprehensively investigate COVID-19 dashboards from different technical perspectives., Subject and Methods: Three main bibliographic databases, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, were searched on 28 August 2021 to retrieve relevant studies. Arksey and O'Malley's (Int J Soc Res Methodol 8(1):19-32, 2005) methodological framework and the enhanced version of this methodology developed by Levac et al. (Implement Sci 5(1):1-9, 2010) were adopted for conducting this review., Results: In total, 26 articles were included. The COVID-19 dashboards mainly focused on the infected (n = 25), deceased (n = 17), and recovered cases (n = 13), as well as the performed test (n = 10). Most of the dashboards were interactive, with public accessibility targeting various user groups. While some dashboards were both informative and supportive (38%), most were mainly informative (92%). The dashboard data were generally analyzed using simple techniques (58%) and delivered through web-based applications (88%)., Conclusion: Dashboards can help immediately manage, analyze, and summarize a huge amount of information about a COVID-19 outbreak. The findings revealed that the developed COVID-19 dashboards share more or less analogous characteristics that could lay the groundwork for designing and developing dashboards for any other pandemic., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an important condition during pregnancy. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effects of self-management education based on 5A model on the quality of life and blood glucose level of women with GDM., Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 54 pregnant women referred to the urban health care centers affiliated to the Gonabad University of Medical Sciences from March 2019 to March 2020 based on purposive sampling method. Participants were randomly allocated into intervention and control groups based on stratified random sampling using permuted block randomization method. The intervention group received self-management education program based on 5A model in five sessions during two months. Demographic data, blood glucose level, and diabetes quality of life (DQOL) questionnaire were collected for each participant. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS software version 16 and the level of statistical significance was set at 0.05., Results: Mean age of the participants was 33.11 ± 5.35 years old. At the end of the intervention, the mean blood glucose level of the participants in the intervention group was significantly lower compared to the control group (p < 0.001). The quality of life in the intervention group was significantly improved at the end of the intervention compared to the control group (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Self-management education based on 5A model can effectively improve quality of life and blood glucose levels in women with GDM., (©2022 Pacini Editore SRL, Pisa, Italy.)

Background: The development of hospital information systems (HISs) has a significant effect on care processes. In this regard, the clinical staff's perspective is very important in evaluating the success of these systems. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical staff's perspective at hospitals affiliated to Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences on the effectiveness of the HIS in improving their performance and strategies for increasing the system effectiveness., Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, 120 clinical staff who actively worked with the HIS were included. A two-part questionnaire was used for data gathering., Results: From the perspective of the research population, the effective score of HIS was %64.42 in improving their performance, and %81.85 in the case of developed HIS according to the suggested strategies. According to the research scale, the effectiveness of the system could be improved from good to excellent in the case of implementation of strategies, so that there was a statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-effectiveness (P<0.001)., Conclusion: Positive population perspective on the effectiveness of HIS in-performance improvement of the clinical staff indicated that there was a good context for the development and utilization of information technology in the hospitals. The clinical staff's opinions and work needs as the primary group of patient care should be taken into consideration in order to increase the effectiveness of the HIS., (Copyright© 2021, Galen Medical Journal.)

Introduction: New technologies, including health information technologies, play an important role in effectiveness of management and nursing care services., Aim: This study was aimed to determining the use of health information technology in patient care management in a case study in Iran., Methods: This Mixed method study was conducted in 2018 in Kowsar Hospital of Semnan, Iran. Data gathered by an observational checklist and one questionnaire included two main parts, one demographic and another assessment of information technology use in care management of inpatients. The researcher prepared the questionnaire and its validity was verified. The data were organized and analyzed in the form of a descriptive analytic report. In the process of data collection, 10 participants including nurses, head nurses, physicians, radiology experts and Information Technology (IT) managers were interviewed and data analyzed using Directed Content Analysis., Results: Nurses were satisfied with the computerized system and believed it can facilitate the affair. From the nurse's viewpoint, the most common use of the Health Information Technology (HIT) were access (observation) of patients admit and discharge information (100%), providing medicine and equipment, transfer of patients (92.3%). The least of them were retrieve of evidence in the care process (0 %) and judgment and analysis of radiological diagnostic procedures (0%). The potential of electronic record is not still applicable., Conclusion: Use of modern information and communication technology in hospitals facilitates access and transfer of information, and also accelerates patient's admission and discharge process, relation between hospital units, providing medical equipment supporting affairs' process and diagnostic procedures. However, modifying organizational policies, improve the infrastructure and enhancing nurses' motivation in documenting nursing reports can be effective in increasing the impact of information technology in care management processes especially in electronic record and nurse's clinical judgment and evidence-based care., Competing Interests: There is no conflict of interest to be declared., (© 2019 Hesamedin Askari-Majdabadi, Ali Valinejadi, Ali Mohammadpour, Hamid Bouraghi, Zahra Abbasy, Sefollah Alaei.)

Introduction: In spite of the fact that telemedicine has various advantages; similarly as in some other data systems, it is essential to investigate clients' perspective of technology. Besides, the clients' awareness and satisfaction of the telemedicine are significant issues that ought to be considered before starting a telemedicine program. The present examination in this way looks to assess Iranian doctors' demeanor and recognition toward the infrastructures of telemedicine development and implementation., Methods: The participants of this examination included doctors working in health care organizations subsidiary to Semnan University of Medical Sciences during 2019 in Iran. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used in order to evaluate the subjects' attitudes., Results: The mean score of physicians' attitudes towards human factors was 3.43 ± 0.59, towards educational factors was 3.68 ± 0.94 and towards security factors was 3.50 ± 0.52. Regression analysis showed that there were significant relationships between physicians' knowledge and their attitudes towards human (P < 0.001), educational (P < 0.001) and security (P = 0.046) infrastructures., Conclusion: the findings of this study show that there are several obstacles that can be reduced through teaching, change-management methods and personal patient-to-provider communication. These techniques can improve acceptance and continuous usage of telemedicine among Iranian physicians., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: All authors report no conflict of interest., (© 2019 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.)

Introduction: Non-adherence in patients with hypertension directly exacerbates clinical outcomes. The purpose of the present research is to study the recognition of the relationships between the perceived social support and self-efficacy and the satisfaction of health care agents and the interaction of the patient with therapeutic personnel and access to health care and the behaviors of adherence to treatment in the patients who suffer hypertension., Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional correlation study recruited 250 patients from a specialized hypertension clinic in Semnan, who completed the following questionnaires: Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, self-efficacy, adherence to treatment, access to and satisfaction with health care, and the patient's interaction with treatment personnel., Results: An overall statistical description of the sample consists of 89 (35.6%) men and 161 (64.4%) women (SD = 10.41, range = 51.98). Regression coefficient of previous variables (three steps) shows that self-efficacy share, consent form civil services, and job could demonstrate with 99% certainty in the changes of treatment conformity in a meaningful way., Conclusions: High self-efficacy, satisfaction with health care, and a favorable job have a high direct effect on adherence to treatment in patients with hypertension and controlling hypertension. Social support and education do not have a significant impact on adherence to treatment., (© 2018 The Author(s).)

Objectives: To optimize the extraction method using response surface methodology, extract the phenolic compounds, and identify the antioxidant and biological properties of Stachys parviflora L. extracts., Materials and Methods: Maceration and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) (4, 7, 10 min treatment time, 40, 70, 100 % high-intensity and 60, 80, 100 % (v v-1) methanol purity) were applied to obtain the extracts. SEM was conducted to provide the microstructure of the extracted plant. MICs (colorimetric assay), MFCs (colony diameter), total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, radical scavenging capacity and extraction efficiency were determined. HPLC analysis was applied to measure the existent phenolic compounds., Results: A quadratic model (4 min treatment time, 74.5 % high-intensity and 74.2 % solvent purity) was suggested as the best (TPC: 20.89 mg GAE g-1 d.m., TFC: 6.22 mg QEs g-1 d.m., DPPH IC50: 21.86 µg ml-1 and EE: 113.65 mg g-1 d.m.) UAE extraction model. The optimized UAE extract was generally more effective against Gram-positive microorganisms (MIC: 10-20; MBC: 10-40 (mg ml-1)) than Gram-negative ones (MIC: 40; MBC: >40 (mg ml-1)). Moreover, it (MGI: 2.32-100 %) revealed more anti-mold activity than maceration (MGI: <28.77 %). Explosive disruption of the cell walls, therefore, enhanced extraction yield by acoustic cavitation, was elucidated using SEM. Caffeic acid, tannic acid, quercetin, trans ferulic acid and rosmarinic acid were determined as the phenolic compounds in the optimized extract., Conclusion: RSM optimization was successfully applied for UAE from S. parviflora. The considerable antioxidant and biological properties were attributed to the phenolic compounds.

Aim: In this paper, the temperature and stress distributions in an exact 3D-model of a restored maxillary second premolar tooth are obtained with finite element approach., Objective: The carious teeth need to restore with appropriate restorative materials. There are too many restorative materials which can be used instead of tooth structures; since tooth structures are being replaced, the restorative materials should be similar to original structure as could as possible., Materials and Methods: In the present study, a Mesial Occlusal Distal (MOD) type of restoration is chosen and applied to a sound tooth model. Four cases of restoration are investigated: two cases in which base are used under restorative materials and two cases in which base is deleted. The restorative materials are amalgam and composite and glass-inomer is used as a base material. Modeling is done in the solid works ambient by means of an exact measuring of a typical human tooth dimensions. Tooth behavior under thermal load due to consuming hot liquids is analyzed by means of a three dimensional finite element method using ANSYS software. The highest values of tensile and compressive stresses are compared with tensile and compressive strength of the tooth and restorative materials and the value of shear stress on the tooth and restoration junctions is compared with the bond strength. Also, sound tooth under the same thermal load is analyzed and the results are compared with those obtained for restored models., Results: Temperature and stress distributions in the tooth are calculated for each case, with a special consideration in the vicinity of pulp and restoration region. Numerical results show that in two cases with amalgam, using the base material (Glass-ionomer) under the restorative material causes to decrease the maximum temperature in the restorative teeth. In the stress analysis, it is seen that the principal stress has its maximum values in composite restorations., Conclusion: The maximum temperatures are found in the restoration case of amalgam without base. Besides, it is found that restoration has not any influence on the stress values at DEJ, such that for all cases, these values are close to sound tooth results.