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The introduction of non-native species causes a variety of negative ecological and economic-social impacts on aquatic ecosystems. One of the first studies conducted on these species was the study of their composition and abundance in recipient ecosystems. The present study aimed to investigate the distribution, composition, and abundance of non-native fishes in the lower Tigris basin in a fishing year from fall 2014 to summer 2015. To update and compare the information, the latest fishing situation in the fishing year 2022-2023 was also examined. In total, 31 species from 15 families, including eight non-native species were caught from the studied water bodies. According to the results, non-native species are widely spread to the most aquatic ecosystems of the studied area, among which tilapia, including the redbelly tilapia Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848) and the blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner, 1864) were the most abundant species. The redbelly tilapia showed the most distribution in the studied area. According to the local fishermen, the amount of catch in many areas of inland waters of Khuzestan province has decreased compared to 2014-2015, and their statements indicate that they are not satisfied with the state of fishing.

Background: Identifying protein interactions is one of the main challenges in the fields of biostructure and molecular biology. Despite extensive progress, the exact patterns of protein-protein interactions are still unknown. The main goal of this study is to computationally evaluate the interactions of fibronectin-1 in the extracellular matrix of decellularized trachea and integrins in adipose tissue stem cells in order to provide the most accurate possible visualization of these interactions and their role in biological processes. Methods: After decellularization of the sheep trachea through the detergent-enzyme method, histological evaluations and ultrastructure photography of the samples were done by scanning electron microscopy. Also, the simulations of fibronectin1 binding of extracellular matrix protein with integrin αvβ1 and α5β3 of stem cells derived from adipose tissue were investigated, and interaction energy analysis was applied to predict the structure of protein-protein complexes using the algorithms available in HDOCK and ClusPro servers. Results: The findings indicated the preservation of extracellular matrix components and scaffold ultrastructure. Also, in order to find the most favorable connection states in terms of energy, some of them were reported as stable interactions among the top types of connections. This insight provides a valuable understanding of cell-matrix adhesion, migration, and signaling, with potential implications for therapeutic development. Conclusion: The prepared scaffolds are ideal for engineering applications for which computational analysis and experimental data have been used for visualization of stable connection states with energy efficiency between fibronectin and integrin. Also, more studies on cell adhesion modeling in connection with tissue engineering science can provide a suitable field for the development of regenerative medicine in further studies.

The present study was carried out to assess the risk of non-native Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in Iran. The common invasive risk assessment protocols of non-native species were examined according to specific criteria, and the invasive risk assessment of this species was applied based on the selected method and auxiliary tools of species distribution models. The Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) received the highest score for assessing the invasive risk of non-native fishes in the freshwaters of Iran. The results showed that the risk of the species in Iran is high, and its impacts are significant. The mean scores of the Basic Risk Assessment (BRA) and the total risk assessment (BRA+Climate Change Assessment) were obtained as 41.5 and 53.5, respectively, which are much higher than the threshold values of the model for Iran (i.e., 21). Also, according to the results of other protocols used, the species has a high risk. Overall, the Nile tilapia possess a high potential invasive risk in the country, and unfortunately, its control is complicated, costly and mostly impossible in the recipient ecosystems. Therefore, as the best management measure, preventing the introduction of this species should be considered.

Background: Cold executive functions, working memory and cognitive flexibility are among the main cognitive functions that play a role in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Cognitive rehabilitation has been proposed as an efficacy and non-pharmacological treatment method in improving and promoting cognitive functions in a wide range of mental and behavioral disorders, but until now, the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation of inhibitory control on the cold executive functions of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has been less studied despite the importance and necessity of improving and strengthening these structures. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigating the efficacy of inhibitory control cognitive rehabilitation on cold executive functions such as working memory, cognitive flexibility in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Methods: The research design was semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up plan with a control group. The statistical population of the study included male and female students of 7-12 years of elementary school in Tehran in the academic year 2020-2021 who were suffering from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The statistical sample included 30 students who were selected by purposeful sampling, they were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The SNAP Questionnaire (SNAP-IV, Swanson, Nolan and Pelham, 1980), the Computerized Previous Multiple Stimulus Test (N-BACK, Kirchner, 1958) and the Wisconsin Computerized Test (WSCT, Grant & Berg, 1948) were used to collect information. For data analysis, mixed variance analysis method with repeated measurements and SPSS24 software were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that there is a difference in the performance of the experimental group and the control group in the components of active memory and cognitive flexibility (P

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the emotion regulation method based on the Gross model and muscle relaxation technique on perceived stress, anxiety, and resilience in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Material & Methods: This study quasi-experimental study had a pretest-posttest design and follow-up and control groups. The statistical population included all patients in the age range of 30-50 years with coronary heart disease who were referred to medical centers and private cardiology clinics in Ilam, Iran, in 2020, of whom 60 people were selected using a random sampling method and divided into three groups by random distribution method. The data collection tools included standard scales of perceived stress, anxiety, and resilience. Findings: The results of repeated measures analysis of variance showed the effectiveness of Benson’s relaxation exercises on perceived stress, anxiety, and resilience as well as the effectiveness of emotion regulation training based on the Gross model on perceived stress and anxiety in patients. The comparison of the two treatment models showed that Benson’s relaxation exercises could reduce patients’ perceived stress and anxiety more effectively. However, emotion regulation training based on the Gross model has been more effective in increasing patients’ resilience than Benson’s relaxation exercises. Discussion & Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, emotion regulation training based on the Gross model and muscle relaxation exercises can be used as an effective intervention to complement medical treatment and improve patients' general health.

غIntroduction: Curriculum evaluation should be concerned with solving problems and improving the present situation. The goal of the general dentistry curriculum is to train dentists with the minimum expected ability. The present study aimed to determine the views of faculty members and dental students on the educational curriculum during the academic year 2018-19.Materials and Methods: The present study was descriptive cross-sectional and enumerative. A total of 61 fourth- to sixth-year dental students and 18 faculty members of the School of Dentistry of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran participated in the present study during the academic year 2018-19. Inclusion criteria were students who were studying at the time of conducting the study. Data were collected using two questionnaires by Elon Kashkoli. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software (version 21). Descriptive data were presented with mean and standard deviation. Kolmogorov-Smirnov, t-test, Spearman correlation, ANOVA, and Tukey's test were used. A P-value of less than 0.05 is considered to be statistically significant.Results: The mean score of the attitude of students and faculty members were 68.87 and 62.11, respectively. The attitude of faculty members was moderate and that of students was positive toward the educational curriculum (P= 0.083). The mean scores of the attitude of fourth and fifth-year students are not significantly different from each other (P=0.883). Sixth-year students scored significantly higher compared to the other students (P= 0.01).Conclusion: Overall, the mean score of the attitude of faculty members and students toward the educational curriculum was moderate. The educational curriculum seems to need to be reviewed in educational titles and practical and theoretical education should be considered in modern teaching methods.

Background & objectives: One of the functions of RNA editing is to change the RNA sequence without changing the genomic DNA sequence and changing the fate of cellular RNA. Therefore, studying the clinical application of RNA editing for targeted therapies is necessary. Methods: All articles related to the subject of the study were searched in the Scopus, PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar database. Results: The changes that occur within the RNA editing are A to I base replacement by adenosine deaminase (ADAR) on RNA and C to U replacement by the apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide1 (APOBEC1). Recently, the role of RNA editing in human diseases has been reported. Conclusion: RNA editing can be used as a new strategy to identify new disease biomarkers and more personalized treatments for various diseases.

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The association between diabetes and cardiovascular disease is complex and multifaceted. This study aimed to investigate the possible association between rs8192688 Polymorphism of the FABP-4 gene and the CVD susceptibility in T2DM patients in Ilam Province, Iran. Material & Methods: The statistical population consisted of 210 cases (T2D patients with CVD [n=70], T2D patients without CVD [n=70], and healthy controls [n=70]). The frequency of polymorphisms was investigated using the Tetra-Primer-ARMS-PCR method. (Ethic code: IR.IAU.SHK.1399.011) Findings: The results showed that TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C in the T2D group with CVD were significantly increased, compared to those in the T2D group (P

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection and respiratory tract infection at the same time cause pathogenicity increase and death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the co-occurrence of upper respiratory tract disorders and gastrointestinal infections of H. pylori. Methods: The present study was conducted as a systematic review and meta-analysis, from August 2019 to Agusut 2020, at Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. Articles in the international databases (April 2001-December 2018) on the coexistence of upper respiratory tract disorders with H. pylori gastrointestinal infections were examined. The random effect model with a 95% confidence level was used to analyze the data. Results: The highest prevalence of respiratory disorders co-occurrence associated with adenoid tissue (33%), nasal polyps (100%), chronic rhinosinusitis (71%) and gastrointestinal infections of H. pylori was reported in 2006 in Turkey, 2011 in Poland and 2015 in Egypt. Concurrent prevalence of the disease, according to the type of upper respiratory tract disorders in all studies, the estimated effect size according to the random model was 53% in chronic rhinosinusitis, 63% in nasal polyps, 62% in adenoid tissue and 60% in total, which was significant (P=0/000). The prevalence of co-occurrence of upper respiratory tract disorders with gastrointestinal infections of H. pylori in patients was estimated to be 61% at the age of more than 27 years and 60% at the age of fewer than 27 years. Pooled estimation of the concurrent prevalence of infection (in total) was estimated to be 60% and was significant among the studies (P=0/000). Conclusion: The concurrent prevalence of upper respiratory tract disorders with gastrointestinal infections of H. pylori was observed to be almost equal and significant in elderly and young patients. Due to the fact that the simultaneous occurrence of two types of infections and diseases in people is very dangerous, screening of patients with each of these infections is necessary to identify the other infection and prescribe appropriate drugs.

Background and Aim PBK is a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPKK) among MEK1/2 and MEK7 and can phosphorylate P38, JNK, and ERK in many cellular functions. The E2F transcription factor family also belongs to a class of cellular regulators acting as oncogenes and tumor suppressors. This study aims to investigate the expression of PBK and E2F7 in the early stages of colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to advanced stages based on the experimental and TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) database. Methods & Materials A total of 32 tissue samples of patients with CRC with the approval of a pathobiologist were collected according to the examination and criteria reported from different stages. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, the RT-qPCR technique was used to evaluate the expression of the desired genes in the study groups. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was also used to determine the ability of each of the selected genes to differentiate the two populations: stage I+II and stage III+IV. Ethical Considerations In all stages of this research, codes of ethics of research and publication were observed. Results In this study, it was shown that the expression of PBK and E2F7 significantly increased in stage I+II samples compared to stage III+IV. These data were confirmed by laboratory results and information extracted from the TCGA database. Also, based on the area under curve obtained from the ROC curves, these two genes are significantly distinguishable between stage I+II and III+IV populations in CRC. Conclusion According to the results of this study, PBK and E2F7 genes are good markers in the diagnosis of CRC.

Introduction: In recent studies, methylation of FOXE1 in colorectal cancer has been reported as a diagnostic biomarker. In this study for the first time, the expression of FOXE1 and PTCSC2 in colorectal cancer was investigated and their expression patterns in two healthy and tumor tissues of patients were compared. Methods: In this study, 40 tumor tissues with colorectal cancer and 40 adjacent normal samples were collected. Total RNA was extracted and cDNA synthesis followed. Then, the specific genes for lncRNA PTCSC2 and FOXE1 were amplified. The results were statistically analyzed by Graph Pad Prism software and a T-test was used to compare the expression levels of lncRNA PTCSC2 and FOXE1 in the patients and healthy group; p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant difference criteria. Results: In this study, the FOXE1 expression level was significantly decreased in tumor tissue (p-value = 0.005), whereas the lncRNA PTCSC2 expression level in tumor tissue was not significantly changed (p-value = 0.65). In addition, the expression levels of FOXE1 and lncRNA PTCSC2 did not show a significant relation with disease progression and age of the patients. ROC curve for changes in FOXE1 and lncRNA PTCSC2 expression showed that theFOXE1 gene could be a relatively appropriate independent variable (p-value = 0.03) to differentiate between the two study groups. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, changes in FOXE1 gene expression were significantly reduced in tumor samples and can be used as a biomarker in tumor diagnosis in colorectal cancer.

Aims: Risk-taking is a behavior that endangers a person's health and provides the basis for a person to suffer from physical and psychological diseases. Substance dependence disorder includes cognitive, behavioral, and psychological symptoms along with a pattern of repetition and withdrawal tolerance consequences. The aim of the current research was the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation and phototherapy on the risk-taking of people with substance dependence disorder. Materials and Methods: The research method is based on the practical purpose and from the point of view of data collection, it is a part of quantitative and semi-experimental research, with a pre-test, and post-test design with a control group with a 2-month follow-up. In this research, the statistical population was all clients of Nik, Golrizan and Hami drug abuse treatment clinics in Tehran in 2020. First, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task [23] was performed on the clients who volunteered to participate in the sessions. Then, using available sampling method, among these people, those who scored higher than the others, 63 people were selected as available and randomly assigned in groups (21 people in the cognitive rehabilitation group, 21 people in the phototherapy group and 21 people in the control group). Informed consent to participate in the research, not having specific physical and psychological diseases, at least high school education and an age range of 18 to 50 years were the criteria for entering the research. Absence of more than 2 sessions in therapy sessions, simultaneous participation in other courses and therapeutic interventions at the same time as the research, failure to answer the post-test questions and failure to participate in the follow-up level were the criteria for exiting the research. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART): This test was first introduced in 2002 by Lejuez [23]. A higher score in this variable indicates a riskier decision [24]. This computer test examines the possibility of checking a person's level of risk-taking in real conditions and measures the performance or bias of the risk-taking strategy [25]. Because there are 30 computerized balloons in this test, it does not have a range of responses and the adjusted score in the main score of the test and the respondent's riskiness index [26]. In the original version, the convergent validity of the survey test and its Pearson correlation with the survey impulsivity test and the coefficient of 0.43 and significance at the 0.01 level has been obtained [27]. In Iran, this test has been standardized on young Iranians, and to examine its concurrent validity, the high-risk decision-making test in social situations [23] with the subscales of health riskiness, novelty, ambiguity, and economic riskiness and depression, anxiety, and stress scale with three subscales of depression, anxiety and stress have been used as a general construct [25]. The correlation coefficient with risk-taking in social situations was 0.45 and significant at the 0.05 level, and the correlation coefficient with the anxiety/depression/stress test was 0.81 and significant at the 0.05 level and also Cronbach's alpha was used to check its reliability and the coefficient was 0.79 [24]. In the present study, the reliability of the test was calculated and the total coefficient of the questions was calculated as 0.73 using Cronbach's alpha method. In this test, the indicators of the adjusted score, which is equivalent to the average number of times the balloons inflated that did not burst, the unadjusted score, which is equivalent to the average number of times the balloons are inflated, the number of times the balloons burst and the maximum and a minimum number of times a balloon is inflated are measured [23]. In the cognitive rehabilitation part, which was adapted from previous studies [14, 19], 12 sessions of cognitive rehabilitation were used using Stop Signal Software (Sina Psychology Software Company), and two symbols of a circle and a square were used in each test. The size of the visual stimuli was equal to 1.5 cm2, which remained on the screen for 1.250 milliseconds. Respondents should respond to the stimuli as quickly as possible with the left and right clicks of the computer mouse. In a way that they responded to the circle stimulus by right-clicking and to the square stimulus by left-clicking. In 20% of the tests, an audio stimulus (750 Hz-75 ms) was presented shortly after the visual stimulus, and when hearing it, the respondent had to stop responding immediately (stop signal). Also, the phototherapy sessions were adapted from previous studies [28], where 12 sessions of low-power laser treatment were used using a German RJ device, and the subjects were exposed to infrared light (IR) radiation and directly exposed to the skull. Infrared light with a maximum wavelength of 810 nm and 32 J/cm2 was irradiated on the entire frontal and prefrontal with a distance of one centimeter. During this period, 12 sessions were conducted (2 times a week). Ethical Permissions: This article was taken from the PhD thesis titled "The combined effect of cognitive rehabilitation and phototherapy on drug craving and cognitive performance of clients of drug addiction clinics" with the ethical code of IR.IAU.K.REC.1399.054, and all the ethical principles of the research were observed. Statistical Analysis: After checking the defaults of parametric tests, a mixed analysis of variance was used. Also, Bonferroni's post hoc test and SPSS 24 software were used to compare treatment interventions. Findings: The average age of the cognitive rehabilitation group was 34.19±8.27, the phototherapy group was 32.76±7.68, and the control group was 33.33±7.73. The F statistic obtained from the comparison of the frequencies of the 3 groups in the age variable was equal to 0.174, which was not statistically significant (p=0.841) and indicated that the groups were equal in terms of age. Also, the amount of Chi-Square analysis results from the comparison of 3 groups in the education variable was equal to Chi-Square= 2.313, which this amount was not statistically significant (p=0.678) and indicated that the three groups were equal in terms of education. The average risk of the rehabilitation group and the phototherapy group decreased in the post-test compared to the pre-test (Table 1). Considering that the purpose of this article was to investigate the number of balloons bursting before and after the therapeutic intervention and to compare the experimental and control groups; therefore, the examination of the subscales of Barrett's test was omitted and only the criterion of the total number of burst balloons was calculated. To check the significance of the changes obtained in the post-test and follow-up, mixed variance analysis was used and the results of which are included in Tables 2, 3 and 4. The results of mixed analysis of variance showed that cognitive rehabilitation and phototherapy had a significant effect on reducing risk (Table 2). A two-by-two comparison of the mean adjustment of test levels (pre-test, post-test and follow-up) on risk-taking showed that the difference between the mean of post-test and follow-up (intervention stability effect) was not significant, so cognitive rehabilitation and phototherapy did not have a lasting effect over time (Table 3). The results of Bonferroni's post hoc risk test to identify more effective treatment showed that the average difference between the phototherapy group and the control group was greater than the average difference between cognitive rehabilitation and the control group, and phototherapy was more effective than cognitive rehabilitation in reducing risk. The difference between the mean risk factors of the cognitive rehabilitation group and the control group was 2.111, which was statistically significant (p=0.001), the mean difference between the risk variable in the phototherapy group and the control group was 2.857, and this difference was also statistically significant (p=0.001). The results showed that this average difference between the phototherapy and control groups was greater than the average difference between the cognitive rehabilitation group and the control group. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this article, the use of low-power laser plays a significant role in helping to improve the harmful effects of addiction and reducing cravings and in a short time, it produces significant results in improving the brain function of people involved in addiction, and it can be used along with drug therapy and psychotherapy. Clinical & Practical Tips in POLICE MEDICINE: Due to the very low side effects of phototherapy and the possibility of its implementation in different conditions, this method can be used as a new method in controlling the high-risk conditions of the military forces. The findings of the present study can be used to formulate new treatment programs and interventions in addiction treatment and counselling centers. Acknowledgements: The researchers sincerely appreciate all the people who helped us in this research and were involved in coordinating and conducting the research. Conflict of Interest: The authors stated that there is no conflict of interest in the present study. Authors' Contribution: First author, presentation of the idea and design of the study; second author, data analysis; third author, data analysis; fourth author, statistical analysis of data; fifth author, data collection; sixth author, data analysis; all the authors participated in the initial writing of the article and its revision, and all accept the responsibility for the accuracy and correctness of the contents of this article with the final approval of this article. Financial Sources: This project was done with the financial support of Karaj Islamic Azad University.

Background and Aim: In every age of history, human beings have been afflicted with the fear of disease. Undoubtedly, cancer is among the most concerning diseases; cancer pain is among the major pains. The present study aimed to compare the effects of cognitive-behavioral group therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on multidimensional pain symptoms in patients with breast cancer. Methods & Materials: The present study was applied concerning the purpose and applied a quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest, a two-month follow-up, and control group design. The statistical population was all women with breast cancer referring to Tehran Cancer Research Center in 2018 who were selected by convenience sampling method, consisting of 30 patients. They were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and the control group. The repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the obtained data. The research instrument was a multidimensional pain questionnaire (West Hyun-Yale) to evaluate multiple pain indices. Results: The current study results suggested that cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy were effective on pain experience (P

Background and Aim: The protein encoded by the SGO1 gene is a member of the shugoshin family of proteins and protects the centromere during mitosis. lncRNAs are non-coding RNA with 200 nucleotides lengths, i.e., involved in regulating gene expression. The current study aimed to evaluate the expression of SGO1 and SGO1-AS1 in different stages of disease progression; we also compared their expression pattern in tumor tissues with healthy tissues in colorectal cancer patients. Methods & Materials: In total, 40 tissue samples of patients with colorectal cancer were reported according to the examination and criteria with the approval of a pathologist. Besides, 40 normal tissues were sampled from a completely healthy part of the intestine of the same patients. After RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, the Real-time RT-PCR technique was used to evaluate the expression of the desired genes in the study groups. ROC curve analysis was also used to determine the ability of each selected gene to diagnose the disease. Ethical Considerations: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shahrekord Azad University (Code: IR.IAU.SHKREC.1398.020). Results The obtained data suggested that SGO1 significantly decreased in the colorectal cancer tumor samples (P

Introduction: Gas5 lncRNA is a long non-coded RNA that is involved in regulating gene expression. Studies have shown that the expression of GAS5 lncRNA is reduced in the serum of diabetic patients. Considering the role of GAS5 lncRNA, the present study aimed to investigate the association between rs13476 polymorphism in the gene encoding this lncRNA with the incidence of type 2 diabetes in Isfahan, Iran. Materials & Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 200 healthy individuals and 200 patients with type 2 diabetes who were randomly selected from the target population. The individualschr('39') genotypes were determined for the polymorphism using the PCR-RFLP method, and some samples were sequenced to confirm the results. Afterward, the frequency of genotypes, and consequently, the frequency of alleles was analyzed in order to obtain the relationship of this polymorphism with risk of type 2 diabetes, gender, and disease incidence. Ethics code: IR.IAU.SHK.REC.1398.021 Findings: After amplification of 380 bp fragment containing rs13476 polymorphism in all samples and then enzymatic digestion by BCCI, all samples showed TT genotype. Moreover, the sequence results of a number of samples confirmed the results of enzymatic digestion. The frequency of TT genotype in the target population was 400 cases (100%), and the frequency of T allele was 800 cases. On the other hand, allele A was not observed in the target population. Discussions & Conclusions: Due to the lack of association between polymorphism and risk of diabetes in this population, this polymorphism cannot be used to screen diabetic patients in Isfahan, Iran. Further studies are required to evaluate the importance of polymorphism studied in different populations.

Introduction: Implementing a method that can help individuals diagnose or prevent mental disorders can be an important step in preventing and controlling these disorders especially in the early stages. The objective of this research was to apply data mining techniques for intelligent diagnosis of severity of depressive disorder. Method: The present applied research was carried out by going to a number of psychiatric clinics in Tehran and investigating patients' medical records. A total of 420 subjects who responded to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI, 71 questions) were selected through convenience sampling as the sample of the study (300 subjects were diagnosed with different degrees of depression and 120 subjects showed no symptoms of depression). The answer sheet of MMPI and the diagnosis of the psychiatrist were used as data for developing the model by k--Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Decision Tree, and Support Vector Machine algorithms. About 70 percent of the data were applied for training and 30 percent of the data were used for validating the model. MATLAB software was used for data analysis. Results: The results of the evaluations showed that Decision Tree algorithm with accuracy of 99.16% had higher accuracy compared to other algorithms. Furthermore, by implementing the developed models on each question of MMPI, the influence of each question on evaluation was determined. Conclusion: Classifying patients with data mining approach and based on the most important characteristics can be a useful and effective tool for analyzing and improving the decision-making process of physicians regarding the treatment of patients.

Introduction: Diagnosing anxiety in the early stages by psychiatrists is one of the important steps in preventing and controlling these types of disorders. This study endeavors to present a method to diagnose the severity of anxiety using fuzzy C-means clustering (FCM) algorithm. Moreover, the influence of each feature on measuring anxiety and clustering of clients is determined. Methods: This was a quantitative and descriptive study with a dataset including 300 clients related to three psychiatric clinics in Tehran, Iran provided based on the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Then, the FCM algorithm was utilized to segment the clients and determine the severity of their anxiety in each cluster. Additionally, this algorithm was employed for each feature separately. Results: The psychiatric clinics' clients were divided into four clusters with the labels including no, minimal, moderate, and severe anxiety. Using the FCM algorithm, the anxiety of the clients was diagnosed with 90.66% accuracy. Moreover, as a result of implementing the algorithm on each feature, the influence of the features on measuring anxiety and clustering of clients was determined. Conclusion: The FCM algorithm diagnosed the anxiety of clients with a high accuracy. Segmenting patients by the clustering approach and based on the important features can be a dependable instrument for psychiatrists to make a decision in diagnosing the severity of anxiety in the early stages.

Background and purpose: Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most common endocrine diseases. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is higher than other types, accounting for 85-90% of all diabetic cases. The current research aimed at investigating the association between rs4541843 in miR-182 and type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: In this case-control study, healthy individuals (n=196) and type 2 diabetic patients (n=199) were randomly selected from a target population in Isfahan, Iran. The genotypes for the polymorphism were determined by PCR-RFLP method and the results were confirmed by sequencing. Then, the frequency of the genotypes and alleles were analyzed to determine the association between rs4541843 in miR-182 and the risk of type 2 diabetes, sex, and age at disease onset. Results: The study showed no significant difference between different genotypes in healthy individuals and diabetic patients (P

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common disease of the central nervous system, and the incidence of this disease in women is twice that of men. Considering the importance of miRNA polymorphisms in the expression and function of mRNAs as well as the risk of disease, this study investigated the association of rs6977848 polymorphism (a genetic variant in 19-nucleotide downstream of miR-148a coding gene) with the risk of MS disease in Isfahan City population in Iran, for the first time. Methods: In this case-control study, a population of 95 healthy individuals and 99 patients were assayed. The genotype of the individuals for the polymorphism was determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). To confirm the results, a number of samples were sequenced. Then, the frequency of genotypes and alleles were evaluated. Findings: Considering the total dominance of T allele, the total TT and TG genotypes significantly increased the susceptibility to MS disease compared with the GG reference genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 2.27, P = 0.043); while considering the genotype GG as reference genotype, there was a significant difference between the TG and the reference genotypes in this population with a risk of disease (P < 0.050). However, no significant difference was observed between genotype TT and GG genotype as reference genotype. Conclusion: Findings indicate that rs6977848 polymorphism in miR-148a coding gene downstream may be effective in influencing the performance of this miRNA as well as its expression level. Moreover, the incidence of the ability of individuals to affect this disease is not significantly related to the incidence of disease in the studied populations.

Background and Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common systemic inflammatory disease. The FOXP3 gene is an agent that activates during the course of the disease and accumulates in the sinus arthritis of the inflamed joints, resulting in persistent inflammation and ultimately tissue damage. Regarding the role of polymorphism in promoter regions in gene expression, this study was conducted to determine the association of rs2232365 polymorphism in promoter of FOXP3 gene with the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in Iranian population. Methods: In this case-control study, in order to investigate the relationship between FOXP3 gene rs2232365 polymorphism and rheumatoid arthritis, 77 patients and 67 healthy subjects were evaluated. The genotype of individuals for polymorphism rs2232365 was determined by PCR-RFLP method. Results: The highest genotypic frequency was related to CC genotype with 89% frequency in two healthy and diseased populations and no difference was observed in genotypic and allelic abundance in healthy and patient populations. Different genotypes of this polymorphism did not have a significant relation with the risk of RA, while it had a significant correlation with the level of CCP factor and CC genotype was associated with the progression of RA disease by increasing the level of CCP (P

Background: Psychological well-being has been widely defined as the feeling of happiness and lack of stress in life, and numerous studies have been conducted regarding predictive models of psychological well-being based on resilience, but the mediating role of perceived stress on this process has not been examined. Aims: The present study aimed to determine the fit of predictive model of psychological well-being based on resilience considering the mediating role of perceived stress in university students. Method: The research method was descriptive-correlational and of structural equation modeling type. The statistical population was all undergraduate students who were studying at Tehran universities during the academic year 2017-2018. A total of 382 university students were selected using multistage random sampling. The research instruments included the Conor-Davidson Resilience Questionnaire (2003), Reif's Psychological Well-being Questionnaire (1989), and Cohen's Perceived Stress Questionnaire (1983). For data analysis, structural equation modeling was used. Results: The results showed that the fit indices of the research model were acceptable. Conclusions: The resilience variable had both direct and indirect effects on psychological well-being (through perceived stress) (p

Background A. cinetobacter baumannii is an important agent of nosocomial infections. There are several reports on the presence of disinfectants-resistant A. cinetobacter baumannii developed by qacE and qacEΔ1 genes in medical centers. Objective The current study aimed to assess the relevant antimicrobial susceptibility and to determine the frequency of genes encoding resistance to disinfectants in A. baumannii isolates. Methods In the current cross-sectional study, 141 A. baumannii were collected from hospitals in Qazvin Province, Iran. All bacterial isolates were identified using standard laboratory methods and by the presence of the blaOXA-51-like gene. The antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the standard Kirby- Bauer Test. Furthermore, the presence of qacE and qacEΔ1 genes was investigated using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing techniques. Findings In total, 133 (94.32%) isolates suggested a Multidrug Resistance (MDR) pattern; 84 (59%) and 24 (17%) isolates harbored qacEΔ1 and qacE genes, respectively. There was a significant association between the presence of resistance genes and MDR patterns (P=0.001). Conclusion The obtained results indicated a significant rate of resistance against disinfectants in A. cinetobacter baumannii isolates among the studied hospitals; thus, more attention should be paid to the infection control committees of medical centers.

Background: Iron deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. Diet and Helicobacter pylori infection are among the main causes of this disorder. Objective: In this study, the effect of black tea extract and sodium bicarbonate with Helicobacter pylori on the genes involved in iron absorption and storage, as well as cell proliferation, were studied. Methods: Simultaneous cultivation of MDCK and Helicobacter pylori cell lines was performed at concentrations of 10, 20, 40 and 80 μg/ml of tea extract and 30, 40, 60 and 100 mM sodium bicarbonate at 24 and 48 hours. The effect of treatment on cell survival was investigated by trypan blue staining and expression of MYC, TFRC, FTH1, IRP2, IRP1, and NDRG1 genes by real-time PCR and analyzed by ANOVA and independent T-test. Findings: There was no significant change in the expression of the genes involved in iron metabolism under the influence of tea, sodium bicarbonate and Helicobacter pylori treatment in MDCK cell line. Upregulation MYC gene expression was observed in the presence of Helicobacter pylori after 24 hours treatment with tea extract, and sodium bicarbonate, and in the absence of Helicobacter pylori upregulation with tea extract after 48 hours (P

Objective: There is a large theoretical literature regarding stock market manipulation. However, empirical evidence of manipulation remains scare especially in emerging markets like Iran. So, it is vital to detect and prevent. Manipulation distorts prices, thereby reducing market efficiency and harms public confidence. Distorted prices increase market volatility and risk. This study empirically investigates which firms are more susceptible to successful deceptive manipulation. Methods: We collect the data set consisting of manipulation cases of entering spoofing order in Iranian stock market in two periods. In the first three-month period, the index was downward and in the second one, it was upward. Panel Logit regression was used to determine and interpret results. Results: The regression results showed that small firms, with high trade volume, low information transparency, high information asymmetry and high volatility are more prone to stock price manipulation. Indeed, there is an inverse relationship between manipulation and fluctuation index. Conclusion: Index change is an effective variable on stock manipulation. Manipulation is more probable in bear market, because most of the stocks are upward in bullish markets and there are fewer motives for stock manipulation.

Background & aim: Klebsiella pneumonia, is the most significant member of the enterobacteiaceae, which is one of the most important pathogen involved in health care associate infections. The capsular polysaccharide is a prominent virulence factor in the pathogenesis of this organism and serotypes K1and K2 are the most virulent types in human infections. The main aims of this study were to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility and to determine the distribution of serotypes K1, K2 by detecting of wzc and orf10 genes in clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae. Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, a total number of 149 clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae were collected from patients admitted to educational hospitals of Qazvin. Bacterial identification was performed by standard laboratory methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by standard Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method according to the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline. PCR assay was further performed for the detection of wzc and orf10 genes related to serotypes K1 and K2, respectively. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and chi-square. Results: totally, 98 (65.8%) of isolates showed multidrug resistance (MDR) pattern among those ceftazidime (61.8%) and cefotaxime (60.4%) showed the highest rates of resistance whereas amikacin and ciprofloxacin revealed high susceptibility rates as 91.3% and 59.1%, respectively. Results of the PCR assay showed that 79 (53%) isolates related to K1serotype, 19 (12%) to K2 serotype and 51 (34%) of isolates were belonged to non K1/ K2 serotypes. no significant association was seen between serotypes K1, K2 and MDR pattern (P< 0.05). Conclusion: the present study indicated considerable rate of serotypes K1, K2 with MDR pattern among clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae collected from Qazvin hospitals. Considering the major role of these serotypes with high rates of drug resistance in different clinical infections, using of appropriate infection control measures and treatment strategies are essential to prevent further dissemination of these virulent and resistant isolates in studied hospitals.

Background and Aim: Nowadays, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the world. Considering the high prevalence, identification of diagnostic markers can be useful for early diagnosis and cancer management. In recent years many studies have been conducted to determine the role of cytokines in cancers, but role of IL-37 in breast cancer has not been determined, yet. The aim of this study was to investigate IL-37 expression in tumor tissues from breast cancer patients and its relationship with pathologic and clinical symptoms. Material and Methods: In this case-control study we examined 50 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tumoral tissues from breast cancer patients and 50 non-tumoral adjacent tissues. After informed consent, clinical information of the samples were recorded. Total RNA was extracted and complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized. Then, the relative gene expression was determined by using quantitative real-time RT PCR (qRT-PCR) and evaluated by method. Finally, the expression pattern was analyzed by statistical analysis. Results: The results of this study indicated that, the mean relative expression of IL-37 in tumor tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent healthy tissues and there was statistically a significant difference between them with a 95% confidence level (P = 0.003). The results also indicated a significant decrease in the expression of this cytokine in the tumoral tissues with sizes of >3cm (P = 0.02). The reduction in gene expression was clearly observed in the tumors of grade 2 and 3, which showed a significant relationship between gene expression and grade 3 tumors (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: The results of this study revealed IL-37 can be regarded as a potentially sensitive and valuable biomarker for diagnosis of breast cancer and also tumor size determination. The results of this study can also be used in clinical and diagnostic studies on breast cancer

Background and Aim: Nowadays, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the world. Considering the high prevalence, identification of diagnostic markers can be useful for early diagnosis and cancer management. In recent years many studies have been conducted to determine the role of cytokines in cancers, but role of IL-37 in breast cancer has not been determined, yet. The aim of this study was to investigate IL-37 expression in tumor tissues from breast cancer patients and its relationship with pathologic and clinical symptoms. Material and Methods: In this case-control study we examined 50 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tumoral tissues from breast cancer patients and 50 non-tumoral adjacent tissues. After informed consent, clinical information of the samples were recorded. Total RNA was extracted and complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized. Then, the relative gene expression was determined by using quantitative real-time RT PCR (qRT-PCR) and evaluated by method. Finally, the expression pattern was analyzed by statistical analysis. Results: The results of this study indicated that, the mean relative expression of IL-37 in tumor tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent healthy tissues and there was statistically a significant difference between them with a 95% confidence level (P = 0.003). The results also indicated a significant decrease in the expression of this cytokine in the tumoral tissues with sizes of >3cm (P = 0.02). The reduction in gene expression was clearly observed in the tumors of grade 2 and 3, which showed a significant relationship between gene expression and grade 3 tumors (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: The results of this study revealed IL-37 can be regarded as a potentially sensitive and valuable biomarker for diagnosis of breast cancer and also tumor size determination. The results of this study can also be used in clinical and diagnostic studies on breast cancer.

Quinolones are synthetic and commonly used antibiotics for treatment of multiple clinical infections in the world. Quinolones are clinically important antibiotics, as an ideal component, because of high potency, broad-spectrum activity, good bioavailability and a potentially low incidence of side-effects. These antibiotics are not originated from biological source. In addition to chromosomal mutations in the target genes which confer resistance to these antibiotics, in recent years, plasmids-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) have made difficult to treat infections caused by resistant organisms. PMQR plays a very important role in resistance to these antibiotics due to the rapid spread between the bacteria. So far, three types of PMQR have been identified, including the aac(6')-Ib-cr, the qepA efflux pump and the qnr proteins. In this research, the role of qnr proteins in the development of drug resistance to the quinolone compounds has been studied.

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the main causes of mortality in women. BACH2 gene is required in regulating the development and function of diverse immune cell types (B and T cell, macrophage). The BACH2 gene is a prominent susceptibility locus for multiple autoimmune and allergic diseases. Nevertheless, the expression and potential function of BACH2 in breast cancer stay unclear. Therefore, this study was performed with aim to evaluate BACH2 gene expression in breast tumor samples. Methods: In this case-control study which used paraffin tissues of breast cancer to evaluate gene expression, 40 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumoral of breast cancer and 40 healthy tissue provided from pathology department of Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan were enrolled. The samples of paraffin blocks were prepared during 2014 to 2015. After completing the consent form, the clinical information for all samples were taken. Total RNA was extracted and complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized. The relative gene expression was determined using quantitative method of real-time RT PCR (qRT-PCR) and was evaluated by method. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 22) and t-test and ANOVA. P

Background: Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the major cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in hospital settings. Attachment to the target is the essential step to colonization of this organism in human host. S and A fimbriae are important virulence factors causing urinary tract infection in uropathogenic E. coli strains. Objective: To determine the frequency of S and A fimbriae encoding genes in uropathogenic E. coli isolated from patients admitted in teaching hospitals of Qazvin. Methods: In this descriptive study, 126 E. coli isolates were collected from urine samples between 2012 and 2013. All isolates were identified using standard laboratory techniques and further evaluated for the frequency of sfa and afa genes using PCR and sequencing methods. Findings: In total, 37 (29.4%) and 13 (10.3%) isolates were positive for the presence of sfa and afa genes, respectively. The afa and sfa-positive isolates were mostly collected from patients admitted in intensive care unit (5 isolates, 4%) and internal medicine (23 isolates, 18.3%) wards, respectively. Conclusion: The findings showed a considerable rate of sfa and afa virulence factors in urinary E. coli isolates. According to clinical importance of this virulence factors in establishment and progress of urinary tract infection, using useful treatment strategy is essential for eradicating of this pathogen in studied hospitals.

Prostate cancer is one of the major health problems and the second cause of cancer mortality in men over 40 years age in developed countries. Due to the incomplete screening methods for sensivity and spesificity detection prostate cancer, alternative methods with more specificity than are desired. With recent advances in molecular technology, numerous biomarkers have been suggested for the screening of prostate cancer with greater accuracy. MicroRNAs are oligonucleotides with 18-24 length that have key roles in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression as well as other cellular process (apoptosis, cell proliferation, differentiation and angiogenesis). Many studies have demonstrated changing of the expression levels of microRNAs in prostate cancer patients. Therefore, they can be implemented for the development of prognostic or diagnostic biomarkers. Owing to microRNAs can target molecular signaling pathways and genes involved in prostate cancer, they may also be applicable for therapeutic purposes. In this review article, we explain the roles of microRNAs in different cancer pathways and specifically the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

Background & aim: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most prevalent cancer worldwide and the second in Iran. Annually, esophageal cancer makes up 3.2% of all new cancer cases. Altered expression of stem cells self-renewal genes is of great importance in the tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to compare the TBX3 gene expression in tumoral samples of patients with squamous esophageal cancer and normal tissue samples of healthy individuals. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was performed on 40 samples, including 20 samples of tumor esophageal cancer tissue and 20 samples of normal tissue samples from Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahwaz, Iran. After extracting RNA from FFPE tissues and synthesizing cDNA, expression levels of TBX3 and GUSB (as internal control) genes were relatively quantified using qRT-PCR. Data were analyzed using t-test. Results: The results of the qRT-PCR analyses showed that the average relative gene expression in tumor samples was higher than normal samples. Furthermore, TBX3 gene expression exhibited greater expression in the tumor samples of the patients in the 26-50 years age range in compared with the 51-81 years age range Conclusion: According to the cancer stem cell theory, many tumors originated from stem cells leading to the inhibition of apoptosis and resistance to chemotherapy. Considering the role of TBX3 gene in self-renewal of stem cells and its increased expression in patients with squamous esophageal cancer, it seems that TBX3 gene might be used as a biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of esophageal cancer in future.

Background & aim: Urinary tract infections are the most common type of nosocomial infection. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most common cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the community and in clinics. The treatment of these infections is often difficult due to several virulence factors and drug resistance. Adhesions, enzymes and toxins are important virulence factors which promote colonization and pathogenicity of this organism. In the present study, frequency of hemolysin and cytotoxic necrotizing factor-encoding genes and antimicrobial susceptibility were evaluated in E. coli isolates collected from urine samples in the educational hospitals of Qazvin, Iran. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted during 2012-2013. Urine samples were collected from patients with urinary tract infection from different wards of Qazvin teaching hospitals. All of the isolates were identified using standard biochemical and microbiology tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility was further evaluated by Kirby-Baure method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guideline. For the presence of genes HLY and CNF, specific primers was used and then using polymerase chain reaction the strains were analyzed and sequenced. Data were analyzed using statistical tests. Results: Altogether, 49 (38.9%) isolates showed the multidrug resistant pattern in which the highest susceptibility rate was shown to amikacin (91.3%) and imipenem (88.9%) and the resistance rate was reported against cefotaxime (83.3%) and ceftazidime (73%), respectively. PCR assay showed that 40 (31.7%) and 24 isolates (19%) were positive for the presence of hly and cnf genes, respectively. Hly and cnf-positive isolates were mostly obtained from patients admitted in internal medicine wards. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated multidrug resistant isolates and a considerable rate of hemolysin and cytotoxic necrotizing virulence factors in E.coli collected from urine specimens in hospitalized patients in Qazvin, emphasizing the importance of these virulence factors in infection prevention and control strategies.

Background and Aims: According to concerns of technical errors in intraoral radiographs and reports of positive effects of central ray laser pointer on the students, technical errors and shortcomings of earlier research, this study was conducted at Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology of Tehran Azad University to determine the role and use of laser pointer in the technical error made by students. Materials and Methods: This clinical trials study was carried out at the Department of Radiology, Dental School of Azad Tehran University. A total of eighty students were divided into two groups of forty. In the first group the periapical technique was taught without laser guided indicator, while in the second group laser guided indicator was applied in training the students. All students took X-rays from the phantoms. Laser guided indicator is made of one low power red laser diodes.Totally 560 X-rays were taken and the technical errors and the quality of X-rays were evaluated. Data were analyzed statistically using Mann-Whitney and Chi Square tests (&alpha=0.05). Results: The X-rays taken by students showed significant differences in cone cutting (P

Background: Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most important cause of urinary tract infections in hospitalized patients especially in intensive care unit (ICU). Colonization of E. coli and its attachment to uroepithelium are mediated by adhesins such as type 1 (fimH) and P (papC) fimbriae. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of type 1 and P fimbriae-encoding genes among uropathogenic E.coli in ICUs. Methods: In this descriptive study, 120 clinical isolates of uropathogenic E.coli were collected from patients with urinary tract infection in ICUs of Qazvin and Karaj hospitals during 2013 and 2014. All bacterial isolates were identified by standard laboratory methods and the fimH and papC genes were detected using the PCR method. Findings: Forty (33.3%) isolates were positive for fimH gene and 5 (4.2%) isolates were positive for papC gene. Sixty six (55%) isolates were positive for both genes, and 9 (7.5%) isolates were negative for them. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed the high frequency of type 1 and P fimbriae among uropathogenic E.coli isolates from ICU patients in the studied hospitals.

Background and Objectives: Presence of class I integron in multidrug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates has created great concern in clinic. Given that various drug resistance genes are carried on integrons and can rapidly spread, identification of the integron-containing isolates provide useful information about the extent and development of drug resistance pattern. This study was performed aiming at evaluating the frequency of class I integron among MDR P. aeroginosa isolates collected from selected hospitals in Qazvin and Tehran. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 100 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa were collected using standard laboratory methods from selected hospitals in Qazvin and Tehran from June 2011 to June 2012. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of all isolates against selected antibiotics was determined using standard disk agar diffusion method. Then, PCR assay was performed for detection of the presence of class I integron, and Chi-square test was used to determine the association between the presence of integron and MDR patterns. The significance level was considered to be less than 0.05. Results: In total, 62 isolates showed MDR pattern, of which 36 isolates (58%) had class I integron, and a significant association was observed between the presence of class I integron and MDR pattern and also resistance to beta-lactam drugs, quinolones, and most aminoglycosides. Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of class I integron among P. aeruginosa isolates and its association with different MDR patterns, use of appropriate infection control and treatment strategies in studied hospitals are necessary to prevent further spread of these organisms.

Background and Objectives:Considering the increasing rate of drug-resistant strains among microorganisms, finding antimicrobial and antifungal compounds from natural materials, which certainly havefewer side-effects, has long been of interest to researchers. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate antibacterial and antifungal effects of ethanolic extract of red algae Gracilariaarcuata of ChabaharCoasts. Methods:After sampling, antimicrobial and antifungal effects of ethanolic extract of red algae Gracilariaarcuataagainst 5 bacterial strains of Proteus vulgaris, Vibrio cholera, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenesandone fungal species,Aspergillusflavus, were studied and the results were compared with standard antibiotics. Independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used for comparison between groups, and Duncan test was used to assess differences between means. Results:V. cholera hadthe highest sensitivityto red algae with an inhibition zone diameter of 11.25±0.35, so that there was a statistically significant difference compared tocommercial antibiotic neomycin(p

Objectives: Many of non-respiratory and respiratory disorders are associated with bioaerosols in indoor and outdoor air. The best conditions for bioaerosols life are high humidity and moderate temperatures, which exist usually in indoor spaces such as the prisons, where density of individual is high. Pathogen spreading centers cause the prisoners health at risk of disease outbreaks through airborne and breathing, sneezing, and coughing. Therefore, the aim of this research work was to measure concentration of particulate matters and also to identify and determine bacteria existing in the prisoners breathing air at high-density areas in one of the prisons and their relationship with each other. Materials & Method: we conducted this research during summer and winter of 2012. We used TSI apparatus for collecting particles (PM2.5 and PM10). Blood agar and EMB agar media were applied to measure bacteria in indoor air (bedchambers and clinical admission wards) of the prison. According to NIOSH 0800 method, High volume pump with 28.3 L/min flow and a Single-stage Anderson Impactor were used for sampling. The time of measuring for each plate was 2.5 min. Finally, the data achieved were analyzed using SPSS after counting and detecting bacterial colonies grown and determining its density (CFU/m³) for two consecutive seasons of summer and winter. The tests analyzed by SPSS were ANOVA, Post hoc, correlation, and Pearson correlation tests. Results: Amounts of particulate matter in bedchambers were exceeded than 24-hour EPA limits, while it was less than the limits in clinical admission wards. Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were found in three bedchambers (50% of the bedchambers); however, gram-positive bacteria were cultivated only in three bedchambers. The maximum bacterial contamination was measured at the main Lobby of the prison and bedchamber II and the minimum value was observed in admitted patient and TB patient wards. Results showed that there is no significant relationship between the particulate matters and the bacterial density during neither summer nor winter, but there is a strong and direct relationship between the prisoners population density, ventilation systems, and bacterial density n indoor air of the studied prison. Conclusion: Based on the results, the maximum contamination load and exceeded concentration was observed in public sections and bedchambers. This findings were attributed to the daily entry of new prisoners, high population density in prison, presence of ill prisoners, prisoners with hidden respiratory disease showing no symptoms yet, old building, climatic conditions of the region, low efficiency of ventilation systems, and influx of particulates. To filter and purify prison indoor air, it is crucial to take serious action plans such as reducing criminal population density, sanitary and engineering measures

The widespread uses of antibiotics have been resulted in resistant strains of microorganisms and increasing of worldwide antibiotic resistance. Thus the investigations on new natural antibacterial agents as new drugs are important. According to the previous researches, some multicellular marine algae have significant antibacterial properties. In the present study, antibacterial effects of organic and aqueous extracts of Sargassum glaucescens (collected from Chabahar’s coast, Oman Sea, Iran) were tested on three strains of Gram-negative bacteria: E. coli, Proteus vulgaris, Vibrio cholerae and two strains of Gram-positive bacteria: Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Extractions were obtained by immersion method after 48 hours. Antibacterial effects were investigated by the disk diffusion method and serial dilutions in tube to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration. The ethanolic extract showed the largest impact on the L. monocytogenes with significant di.....

Introduction: 20-30% of adult population has experiences of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. Primary step for reduction of pain and joint dysfunction is nonsurgical treatments like Intra-articular injection of glucocorticosteroid. The aim of this investigation was to determine optimal dose of triamcinolone injection in treatment of arthritis in order to control its side effects. Methods and Materials: In this experimental animal study, after the sedation of 25 rats, experimental chronic inflammation induced by injection of Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) in left TMJ of all 5 groups. After 7 days, injection of Triamcinolone acetonide performed differently in five groups: Group A. 0.1 mg/kg; Group B. 0.2 mg/kg; Group C. 0.5 mg/kg; Group D. 1 mg/kg; and group E. only equivalent volume of normal saline. After 10 days, rats were sacrificed and according to modified Gynther system, three factors of inflammatory cells infiltration, vascularity and number of synovial cell layers were evaluated and got scored. Results: All the groups with injection of Triamcinolone acetonide showed lower scores but only differences in vascularity and number of synovial cells in group B were statistically significant and in addition group B showed more predictable results than other groups in every three factors. Conclusion: We suggest that the best dose of intra-articular injection of Triamcinolone acetonide in rat TMJ is 0.2 mg/kg which caused the most reasonable therapeutic results. So evaluating the optimal dose for human joint leads to achieve the best results with the least side effects is recommended.Key words: TMJ arthritis, intra-articular injection, Triamcinolone acetonide, rat