[Ranking of Iranian pharmacy school websites based on web impact factor]

Considering the importance of websites in informing users and establishing communications, universities have started to design their own websites for organizing and making their information accessible. Evaluation of these websites through webometric methods will help recognize pitfall and strong points to reach a better quality and constant improvement. This study was aimed at ranking Pharmacy School Websites in Iran by Web Impact Factor[WIF]. The webometric method was used in this study. The Data were collected via two search engines: Google and Yahoo. The population of the study consisted of 13 Pharmacy Schools in Iran. Excel and SPSS were used for statistical analysis. The results showed that website of Mashhad Pharmacy School with an WIF of 9.66 in Yahoo and with 44.96 in Google was at the highest rank. While Zanjan Pharmacy School with the WIF of 0.05 in Yahoo and with 0.067 in Google had the lowest rank. The results suggest that despite the low WIF, elements such as number of pages, mass of information and related links have an influence on WIF causing differences in ranking of Pharmacy Schools

Clinical manifestations and treatment results of patients with cervical cancer: a report from Iran

Cervical cancer is one of the major causes of cancer and death among women aged 40 to 60 in developing countries. There is some difference, however, in the incidence of this cancer in Iranian women compared to women living in western and south-east Asian countries. We aimed at investigating the epidemiologic aspects and treatment results of cervical cancer among Iranian patients. Medical records of patients with cervical cancer who were referred to Mortazavi Radiation Oncology Center [Imam Hossein Hospital] between 2000 and 2004 were evaluated retrospectively. Clinical data such as stage of the disease, type pf chemotherapy, radiation technique and sequence of treatment was recorded. A total of 220 patients with a median age of 55 years [range: 28 to 89] were studied. The majority of them [37.3%] were referred with stage IIB of the disease. Other stages, in order of frequency, were IIA, IIIA and IB. Most of the patients [74%] were treated with two opposed field radiotherapy with a dose of 50 Gy or less [64%]. Disease recurred in 46 patients [21%], 153 patients [74%] received two opposed field radiotherapy and 54 [36%] patients were treated with four fields. On the other hand, 113 patients [55%] did not receive brachytherapy, 36 [18%] only received ovoid brachytherapy and 56 [27%] were treated with ovoid and tandem brachytherapy. Recurrence was more prevalent if the radiotherapy dose was less than 50 Gy and also in patients treated with four-field box technique. The most frequent site of recurrence was pelvic area [71%]. Our report revealed that most of the patients in Iran are diagnosed in advanced stages, a finding that can influence treatment results. Also, using external beam radiotherapy techniques, accessibility to brachytherapy devices and better patient support may improve treatment results

Aging coefficient in different religious groups in Iran

Aging Coefficient [AC], or aged'child ratio, is the number of individuals aged 65 years and over, divided by the number of individuals aged 0-14, multiplied by 100. In this point'descriptive study, the aging coefficient has been calculated for the followers of four different religions, for the past four respective decades, according to sex and locality. Overall age composition in different religious groups, in a decreasing order is: Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians showed a slight decrease in the 80's and a higher increase afterward. Moslems show a more consistent mode, but with a slight increase in the last decade; but in all cases AC has been lower than 15, presenting a higher proportion of a young population or lower aged group. The increase of AC in each group can be caused by the old age survival, i.e. increasing life expectancy, or decreasing birth rate