Search

This study was conducted to evaluate three species of Dunaliella microalgae (Dunaliella salina, Dunaliella viridis, and Dunaliella sp.) indigenous to Iran as new sources of natural chemical and bioactive compounds for exploring pharmaceutical and nutraceutical potential applications. The results showed that the fat, carbohydrate (mono‐ and di‐saccharide), dietary fiber, and protein content of Dunaliella were in the range of 13.19–25.02, 7.59–12.37, 42.10–48.82, and 17.68–22.50 (%), respectively. Dunaliella salina contained a pigment fraction of 11.50%, which was largely composed of carotenoid (7.41%) and chlorophyll (4.09%). Antioxidant capacity and inhibition of 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) of Dunaliella salina were 34.54 mg/1000 g and 55.63%, respectively. The lipid profile also revealed that three isolated Dunaliella are remarkable sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids (25.42%–40.13%). Further, the ratios of ∑n‐3/∑n‐6 (2.79%), docosahexaenoic acid (6.15%), and eicosapentaenoic acid (11.26%) were the highest in Dunaliella salina. The results, thus, proved that Dunaliella spp., especially Dunaliella salina (IBRC‐M 50030), which originates from a lake in Semnan province, Iran, has potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries due to its appropriate biopigment, protein, lipid, antioxidant activity, long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This report presents a fatal case of disseminated strongyloidiasis in a patient with myasthenia gravis and diabetes mellitus who had received corticosteroid therapy. Case Report: The patient was a 67-year-old woman living in a rural area endemic for Strongyloides stercoralis in northern Iran. Disseminated strongyloidiasis was diagnosed in the advanced stage of the disease, with enormous numbers of larvae demonstrated in direct smears prepared from stool samples and stomach biopsy. Despite treatment with ivermectin and antibiotics, the patient succumbed to the severity of the infection. Conclusion: Clinicians working in endemic areas should be mindful of the possibility of gastric involvement in strongyloidiasis, even if symptoms are nonspecific. We recommend that high-risk individuals be screened for S. stercoralis prior to immunosuppressive therapy in endemic regions to raise awareness and prevent similar cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The consumption of uncooked or undercooked food from infected intermediate hosts can result in Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans. However, few studies have investigated the genetic diversity of this protozoan parasite in Iran. The aim of the present study was to genetically characterize isolates of T. gondii from intermediate host animals in Mazandaran Province, Iran. Methods: Blood and heart tissue samples were collected from 204 ruminants, and brain tissue was collected from 335 birds. The prevalence of T. gondii infection in these samples was determined serologically using the modified agglutination test and by conventional PCR assays. Those PCR samples positive for T. gondii DNA and 13 DNA samples extracted from aborted fetuses in a previous study were genotyped with 12 genetic markers using the multilocus-nested PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (Mn-PCR–RFLP) technique. Results: Antibodies for parasites were found in 35.7% of the ruminant (39.1% of sheep and 26.4% of goats) samples and in 51.3% of the bird (100% of geese, 52.3% of free-range chickens and 46% of ducks) samples. Molecular detection by PCR of the repetitive 529-bp DNA fragment revealed contamination of 13.2% of ruminant (14.6% of sheep and 9.4% of goats) samples and of 9.6% of bird (11.1% of chickens, 5.7% of ducks and 0% of geese samples). The results from 30 DNA samples revealed five ToxoDB (genome database for the genus Toxoplasma) PCR–RFLP genotypes, including #1 (Type II), #2 (Type III), #10 (Type I), #27 and #48, with genotype #1 the most predominant. Conclusions: As evidenced by the results of this study, ruminants and birds are infected with T. gondii in the region, suggesting that they are likely to be involved in the transmission of T. gondii to humans through meat consumption. The identification of different genotypes may suggest a higher genetic diversity of this parasite in Mazandaran, reflecting local environmental contamination. These results have important public health implications for the prevention and control strategies of infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic obligatory intracellular protozoan parasite that infects a wide range of warm-blooded species. This study aimed to obtain further information on the role of T. gondii infection in ruminant abortion (sheep, goats and cattle) using bioassay and PCR methods in Mazandaran province, northern Iran. Methods: Overall, 104 aborted fetuses (52 bovine, 48 ovine, 4 caprine) were collected at different stages of gestation during the lambing seasons in various parts of Mazandaran Province from Mar 2016 to May 2017. Brains of 104 aborted fetuses were bioassayed in female BALB/c mice. DNA was extracted from all brain samples using phenol-chloroformisoamyl Alcohol instructions. RE gene was used for detection all of T. gondii DNA by conventional PCR assay. Results: The results of the bioassayed samples were negative because no tachyzoites or cyst were observed in the peritoneal and brain specimens of the mice. The detection of T. gondii DNA was confirmed by observation of a 529 bp band in 15 out of 104 fetuses (14.4%). The highest prevalence rate of T. gondii detected from sheep (16.6%) followed by cattle (13.4%) and goats (0%). The highest prevalence of the infection was observed in east area, while the lowest prevalence of the infection was observed in west area. Conclusion: T. gondii infection may partly be responsible for abortion and economic losses in livestock husbandry in this region. Therefore, further additional researches such as genotyping T. gondii and designing control strategies for improving management in livestock flocks are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of Enterobius vermicularis (E. vermicularis) in appendectomies in Iran from 1993 to 2018. Methods: Data were systematically collected on the electronic databases including PubMed, GoogleScholar, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, Irandoc (Bareket), IranMedex, and Scientific Information Database in English or Persian. Six articles including 29 694 cases of appendicitis with 258 positive cases of infection with E. vermicularis were eligible to enter into this systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of E. vermicularis in appendicitis in Iran was 1% (95%CI=0.00-0.02) with the highest rate of 3% (95%CI=0.02-0.03) and lowest rate of 0% (95%CI=0.00-0.01). Conclusions: Prevalence of E. vermicularis infectionin appendicitis in Iran is low and has no statistically significant correlation with age and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Coronary artery bypass grafting is a surgical operation that bypasses atherosclerotic coronary vessels and restores blood flow to the ischemic zone of hearts. And two different conventional methods are ON-pump CABG, and Off-pump CABG. Altogether, the efficacy and safety of these two types of surgical procedures are still under debate. In this study, we aim to compare the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of these two different methods in admitted patients to Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad in Iran during 2006 to 2016. Materials and Method: In this prospective cohort study, 533 patients who underwent CABG in Imam Reza hospital in Mashhad during 2006 to 2016 were identi2ied. The data was collected using hospital records including demographic data, chief complaint, history of previous disease, ejection fraction, number of graft, blood transfusion, time of anesthesia, time of surgery, days of hospitalization, days of ICU stay, needs for reoperation, post-operative complication, expenses of hospitalization. Results: Of 533 patients were 347 patients of whom male. The mean age was 59.53±10.21 and the mean BMI was 26.38±5.4. The most common chief complaint of the patients was chest pain. 38 patients of 533 cases underwent on-pump surgery and 495 underwent off-pump technique. There were no significant differences for age, and gender. The prevalence of HTN, diabetes, MI, and hyperlipidemia had no differences among two groups. Renal failure was more common in on-pump group; whereas, pulmonary disease was more common in off-pump group. On-pump surgery required significantly longer hospitalization and ICU care. Also needs for reoperation was more common among on-pump surgery. Total expenses were significantly higher in onpump group.10.5% of those who underwent on-pump surgery died after surgery. This rate was only 3.1% among off-pump group. Conclusion: In this study we showed that, the patients who underwent on-pump surgery, required longer hospitalization, and ICU care. Total expenses were significantly higher in onpump group. In addition, the mortality rate of on-pump group was significantly higher than the off-pump group. Also needs for reoperation was more common among on-pump surgery. Altogether, it seems that off-pump surgery is safer with low expenses than on-pump CABG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii in Iranian human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients using multilocus-nested polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (Mn-PCR-RFLP). A total of 102 serum samples obtained from infected patients were collected from the laboratory centres in northern Iran. Anti- T. gondii antibodies and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) detection were accomplished by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and PCR. The Mn-PCR-RFLP method was used for the genotyping of T. gondii. Overall, 68.6% (70/102) and 11.7% (12/102) of the individuals were tested positive for anti- T. gondii immunoglobulin G and T. gondii DNA, respectively. Complete genotyping was performed on 10/12 (83.3%) PCR-positive samples. Accordingly, the samples were classified as genotype #1 (type II clonal; n = 3, 30%), genotype #2 (type III clonal; n = 2, 20%), genotype #10 (type I clonal; n = 2, 20%), genotype #27 (type I variant; n = 1, 10%), genotype #35 (type I variant; n = 1, 10%) and genotype #48 (type III variant; n = 1, 10%). The results were indicative of the high frequency of the type I and type I variant of T. gondii strains in HIV-positive patients in northern Iran. Given the high prevalence of T. gondii and frequency of pathogenic types (pathogen in laboratory mice) in the patients, special measures should be taken to prevent the possible increased incidence of encephalitis by T. gondii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, descriptive evaluation has been introduced as a new model for educational evaluation of Iranian students. The current descriptive evaluation method is based on four-valued logic. Assessing all students with only four values is led to a lack of relative justice and creation of unrealistic equality. Also, the complexity of the evaluation process in the current method increases teacher error's likelihood. As a suitable solution, in this paper, a fuzzy descriptive evaluation system has been proposed. The proposed method is based on fuzzy logic, which is an infinite-valued logic, and it can perform approximate reasoning on natural language propositions. By the proposed fuzzy system, student assessment is performed over the school year with infinite values instead of four values. In order to eliminate the diversity of assigned values to students, at the end of the school year, the calculated values for each student will be rounded to the nearest value of the four standard values of the current descriptive evaluation method. It can be implemented in an appropriate smartphone application, which makes it much easier for teachers to assess the educational process of students. In this paper, the evaluation process of the elementary third-grade mathematics course in Iran during the period from the beginning of the MEHR (the seventh month of Iran) to the end of BAHMAN (the eleventh month of Iran) is examined by the proposed system. To evaluate the validity of this system, the proposed method has been simulated in MATLAB software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Postoperative bleeding in cardiac surgery is not an uncommon complication and can be evaluated with surgical and nonsurgical causes. Although any type of coagulopathy should be treated before, during, and after the surgical procedure, cardiac surgeons should have perfect surgical techniques for step by step hemostasis to minimize blood loss. Materials and Method: This retrospective study was conducted on 85 patients out of 1075 (0.07%) ones required Reexploration of the Mediastinal to control the excessive bleeding after different cardiac procedures in Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad of Iran from January 2018 to January 2019. Results: Out of 85 patients who required Mediastinal Reexploration, 61 (71%) and 24(29%) patients underwent the off-pump procedure and cardiopulmonary bypass, respectively. The most common sites for surgical bleeding in the order were missed branches of left internal mammary artery / saphenous vein graft (65%), proximal or distal coronary anastomosis (18%), and aortic /atrial suture line (16%). The death in patients under study was 7 (8%), half of which were not related to Mediastinal Reexploration. Conclusion: The possibility of postoperative bleeding can be minimized through correction of clotting factor deficiencies, improvement of surgical techniques in hemostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The larval stage of the tapeworm (cestode) Echinococcus granulosus is the etiological agent of hydatidosis or cystic echinococcosis, which is the zoonotic parasitic disease causing morbidity and mortality in both humans and livestock. Due to a lack of accurate data on the human isolates of E. granulosus in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran, the current study aimed to survey the population genetic pattern of cystic echinococcosis isolated from humans by sequencing the mitochondrial genes of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1). Methods: Overall, 47 formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPT) blocks were collected from patients' files in various pathology departments of Mazandaran Province in Iran from 2003 to 2015. PCR was performed to amplify a 398bp DNA fragment of mitochondrial nad1. PCR products were sequenced by Bioneer Corporation (South Korea), and the resulting data were analyzed via relevant software to determine the genotypes. Results: The nad1 gene was successfully amplified on 10 from all of the E. granulosus isolates. Overall, 66.6% and 33.3% of the isolates in the studied area displayed the G1 and G2–G3 genotypes, respectively. Conclusion: This study may provide the foundation for further studies in revealing the regional transmission patterns and also in designing adequate control procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the farming industry, the productivity of livestock herds depends on the fertility efficiency of animals. The accurate diagnosis of a broad range of aetiological agents causing fetal death is often difficult. Our aim was to assess the prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Brucella spp. infections in ruminant abortion using bacteriological culture and molecular techniques in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. Samples were collected from 70 aborted sheep, goat, and cattle fetuses between September 2014 and December 2015. Necropsy was performed on all the received samples, and brain tissue and abomasal content were obtained from the aborted fetuses. Protozoan infections were detected by specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bacterial agents using bacteriological examinations and PCR assay. Infectious pathogens were detected in 22 out of 70 (31.4%) examined fetuses. Moreover, T. gondii, N. caninum, and B. melitensis were verified in 13 (18.6%), four (5.7%), and two (2.85%) samples, respectively. Our results showed that infection with the mentioned pathogenic agents may lead to fetal mortality, which can be a major cause of economic loss. The listed pathogens could be considered important etiological agents of fetal loss in Mazandaran Province, for which appropriate control measures such as vaccination and biosecurity can be implemented to prevent infection and reduce reproductive loss in livestock farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasitic infections are a serious public health problem because they cause anemia, growth retardation, aggression, weight loss, and other physical and mental health problems, especially in children. Numerous studies have been performed on intestinal parasitic infections in Iranian preschool and school children. However, no study has gathered and analyzed this information systematically. The aim of this study was to provide summary estimates for the available data on intestinal parasitic infections in Iranian children. We searched 9 English and Persian databases, unpublished data, abstracts of scientific congresses during 1996–2015 using the terms intestinal parasite, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Enterobiusvermicularis , oxyure , school, children, preschool, and Iran. We conducted meta-analysis using STATA, and for all statistical tests, p -value less than 0.05was considered significant. Among the 68,532 publications searched as a result, 103 were eligible for inclusion in the study. The prevalence rate of intestinal parasitic infections was 38% (95% CI- 33%, 43%). Prevalence of protozoa, helminthic intestinal infections, and non-pathogenic parasites was 16.9%, 9.48%, and 18.5%, respectively, which affected 14.27% males and 15.3% females. The rate of infection in preschool and school children was 38.19% and 43.37% respectively. Giardia , Enterobiusvermicularis and Entamoeba coli were the most common among protozoa, helminthic, and non-pathogenic infections (15.1%, 16.5%, and 7.1%, respectively). The data analyses indicated that the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection is decreasing in Iranian preschool and school children. Improvement of sanitation, personal hygiene, increased awareness of people, seasonal variations, and health education can be effective in reducing parasitic infections in different communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent individuals is generally asymptomatic, in immunocompromised patients (HIV/AIDS, cancer, and transplant patients), it can lead to serious pathological effects. This study included a systematic review and meta-analysis to comprehensively assess the seroprevalence rate of Toxoplasma infection in immunocompromised patients in Iran. Electronic English and Persian databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Magiran, Scientific Information Database [SID], IranMedex, and IranDoc), parasitology congresses, and projects and theses of Iranian medical universities, were systematically searched from 1997 to 2013 (published or unpublished data). In this paper, several studies that used serological methods for diagnosis of toxoplasmosis were selected. Analysis of seroprevalence estimates was pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis. Twenty-two studies, comprising 2,805 individuals, were included in the meta-analysis. Overall seroprevalence rate of Toxoplasma infection in Iranian immunocompromised patients was 50.01% (95% confidence interval, 43.85 to 56.17); however, there was significant heterogeneity among study groups. The results showed that seroprevalence rate of toxoplasmosis among transplant recipients, HIV/AIDS, and cancer patients in Iran was 55.1%, 50.05%, and 45.06%, respectively. In addition, IgM seroprevalence rate was estimated to be 4.85% (95% confidence interval, 2.22 to 8.41). This systematic review and meta-analysis identified a high seroprevalence rate of Toxoplasma infection among immunocompromised patients (50%).Consideration of management, design and provision of appropriate control measures of toxoplasmosis is highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate morphological differentiation between the liver fluke species Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica is difficult. We evaluated PCR-restriction enzyme profiles of internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) that could aid in their identification. Fifty F. hepatica and 30 F. gigantica specimens were collected from different hosts in three provinces of Iran. For DNA extraction, we crushed fragments of the worms between two glass slides as a new method to break down the cells. DNA from the crushed materials was then extracted with a conventional phenol-chloroform method and with the newly developed technique, commercial FTA cards. A primer pair was selected to amplify a 463-bp region of the ITS1 sequence. After sequencing 14 samples and in silico analysis, cutting sites of all known enzymes were predicted and TasI was selected as the enzyme that yielded the most informative profile. Crushing produced enough DNA for PCR amplification with both the phenol-chloroform and commercial FTA card method. The DNA extracted from all samples was successfully amplified and yielded a single sharp band of the expected size. Digestion of PCR products with TasI allowed us to distinguish the two species. In all samples, molecular identification was consistent with morphological identification. Our PCR-restriction enzyme profile is a simple, rapid and reliable method for differentiating F. hepatica and F. gigantica, and can be used for diagnostic and epidemiological purposes., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)