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Abstract Tinnitus is a common sensorineural complication that can occur de novo or after cancer treatments involving cisplatin or radiotherapy. Considering the heterogeneous etiology and pathophysiology of tinnitus, the extent to which shared genetic risk factors contribute to de novo tinnitus and cancer treatment-induced tinnitus is not clear. Here we report a GWAS for de novo tinnitus using the UK Biobank cohort with nine loci showing significantly associated variants (p

Abstract Visual object tracking, crucial in aerial applications such as surveillance, cinematography, and chasing, faces challenges despite AI advancements. Current solutions lack full reliability, leading to common tracking failures in the presence of fast motions or long‐term occlusions of the subject. To tackle this issue, a 3D motion model is proposed that employs camera/vehicle states to locate a subject in the inertial coordinates. Next, a probability distribution is generated over future trajectories and they are sampled using a Monte Carlo technique to provide search regions that are fed into an online appearance learning process. This 3D motion model incorporates machine‐learning approaches for direct range estimation from monocular images. The model adapts computationally by adjusting search areas based on tracking confidence. It is integrated into DiMP, an online and deep learning‐based appearance model. The resulting tracker is evaluated on the VIOT dataset with sequences of both images and camera states, achieving a 68.9% tracking precision compared to DiMP's 49.7%. This approach demonstrates increased tracking duration, improved recovery after occlusions, and faster motions. Additionally, this strategy outperforms random searches by about 3.0%.

The migratory lifestyle of nomadic communities, combined with the lack of a suitable health-related organizational structure, has made it difficult to provide health care services that can improve their health status. To achieve the concept of justice in health and sustainable development, it is imperative to improve the health status of all citizens in Iran, which consists of the nomadic communities, and urban and rural populations. In this ecological study national health indexes in nomadic tribespeople was Identified and prioritized by expert panel and fuzzy Delphi method. In the first step, the national health indexes were extracted from the literature, and then indexes that can be measured, evaluated and representative of the nomadic communities were extracted and prioritized by using fuzzy Delphi and TOPSIS methods, Questionnaire options were analyzed according to 3 criteria of economic efficiency, measurability, and simplicity in the form of 13 components and their indicators. The analysis of the results of the fuzzy Delphi method shows that the mental health component has the lowest real score in the criteria of measurability, simplicity and economic efficiency. The child care component has the highest real score in terms of economic efficiency and the vaccination component has the highest real score based on the criteria of measurability and simplicity in nomadic communities. The results of the TOPSIS method show that the components of vaccination, maternal care and child care have the highest priority for attention and investigation of their indicators in this segment of the population. In general, by designing and implementing systems to record the information of priority indexes extracted from the present study, it is possible for responsible organizations to make effective decisions and plans for the improvement of the health status of nomadic communities.

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infectious virus that can have devastating effects on physical and mental conditions of patients. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between social support and CD4 count of patients living with HIV in Beha­vioral Diseases Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Material and methods The present research was a descriptive-analytical study, and included 200 HIV-positive patients from Behavioral Diseases Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital using available sampling method. Participants responded to social support and resilience scale, and CD4 count was extracted from their files. Structural equation modeling and PLS modeling were applied to analyze data. Results The results showed that social support confirmed 47% of the variance of resilience. Furthermore, social support variables predicted 47.1% of CD4 count changes by calculating this dependent variable, and the rest of explanation related to other factors. Conclusions Based on this study findings, it can be concluded that the structure of resilience can strengthen the effect of social support on CD4 of HIV-positive patients in Behavioral Diseases Counseling Center of Imam Khomeini Hospital, as a mediating variable.

Abstract Purpose Deficits in speech understanding constitute one of the most severe consequences of hearing loss. Here we investigate the clinical and genetic risk factors for symmetric deterioration of speech recognition thresholds (SRT) among cancer survivors treated with cisplatin. Methods SRT was measured using spondaic words and calculating the mean of measurements for both ears with symmetric SRT values. For clinical associations, SRT‐based hearing disability (SHD) was defined as SRT≥15 dB hearing loss and clinical variables were derived from the study dataset. Genotyped blood samples were used for GWAS with rank‐based inverse normal transformed SRT values as the response variable. Age was used as a covariate in association analyses. Results SHD was inversely associated with self‐reported health (p = 0.004). Current smoking (p = 0.002), years of smoking (p = 0.02), BMI (p

Abstract Purpose Cisplatin is a critical component of first‐line chemotherapy for several cancers, but causes peripheral sensory neuropathy, hearing loss, and tinnitus. We aimed to identify comorbidities for cisplatin‐induced neurotoxicities among large numbers of similarly treated patients without the confounding effect of cranial radiotherapy. Methods Utilizing linear and logistic regression analyses on 1680 well‐characterized cisplatin‐treated testicular cancer survivors, we analyzed associations of hearing loss, tinnitus, and peripheral neuropathy with nongenetic comorbidities. Genome‐wide association studies and gene‐based analyses were performed on each phenotype. Results Hearing loss, tinnitus, and peripheral neuropathy, accounting for age and cisplatin dose, were interdependent. Survivors with these neurotoxicities experienced more hypertension and poorer self‐reported health. In addition, hearing loss was positively associated with BMIs at clinical evaluation and nonwork‐related noise exposure (>5 h/week). Tinnitus was positively associated with tobacco use, hypercholesterolemia, and noise exposure. We observed positive associations between peripheral neuropathy and persistent vertigo, tobacco use, and excess alcohol consumption. Hearing loss and TXNRD1, which plays a key role in redox regulation, showed borderline significance (p = 4.2 × 10−6) in gene‐based analysis. rs62283056 in WFS1 previously found to be significantly associated with hearing loss (n = 511), was marginally significant in an independent replication cohort (p = 0.06; n = 606). Gene‐based analyses identified significant associations between tinnitus and WNT8A (p = 2.5 × 10−6), encoding a signaling protein important in germ cell tumors. Conclusions Genetics variants in TXNRD1 and WNT8A are notable risk factors for hearing loss and tinnitus, respectively. Future studies should investigate these genes and if replicated, identify their potential impact on preventive strategies.

The problem of the present research is the answer to the question that the social damage of arrogance, according to its Quranic concept and dimensions, what consequences has it had and has in the field of culture and civilization of human societies throughout history? Based on the findings of the present research, through the method of intra-textual and extra-textual interpretation in the Qur'an verses, the cultural consequences of arrogance include conflict and confrontation with religious culture, anti-cultural discourse, anti-cultural flow and aristocracy in lifestyle. The civilizational consequences of arrogance include de-security of people, creation of class differences and weakening or destruction of social solidarity in religious society. Of course, these two types of consequences sometimes appear together. As a result, it was found that arrogance is a common harm in every period of human history, and its consequences are not specific to religious and ideological fields, and secondly, it can be formed and manifest its consequences not only in the non-believing society, but also in the believing society.

In this paper, the heat transfer and ablation thermal insulators in solid rocket motor are investigated. Therefore, by collecting and solving the thermal ablation equations, a computer program, using MATLAB software, is developed which can predict the thermal response of insulators in different operating conditions and compare the performance of these insulators. The heat and mass transfer equations are considered in two dimensions in a solid body. We used the equations, finite volume method with implicit formulation for time dependency to solve equations. The reaction equation which written in the form of Arrhenius, is solved using Runge-Kutta method, and the density and the flux of the gas produced at each step are obtained. Also we represent a model for the rate of recession.

Laying hen activities in modern intensive housing systems can dramatically influence the policies needed for the optimal management of such systems. Intermittent monitoring of different behaviors during daytime cannot provide a good overview, since daily behaviors are not equally distributed over the day. This paper investigates the application of deep learning technology in the automatic recognition of laying hen behaviors equipped with body-worn inertial measurement unit (IMU) modules in poultry systems. Motivated by the human activity recognition literature, a sophisticated preprocessing method is tailored on the time-series data of IMU, transforming it into the form of so-called activity images to be recognized by the deep learning models. The diverse range of behaviors a laying hen can exhibit are categorized into three classes: low-, medium-, and high-intensity activities, and various recognition models are trained to recognize these behaviors in real-time. Several ablation studies are conducted to assess the efficacy and robustness of the developed models against variations and limitations common for an in situ practical implementation. Overall, the best trained model on the full-feature acquired data achieves a mean accuracy of almost 100%, where the whole process of inference by the model takes less than 30 milliseconds. The results suggest that the application of deep learning technology for activity recognition of individual hens has the potential to accurately aid successful management of modern poultry systems.

Abstract In this paper, two novel high order numerical algorithms are proposed for solving fractional differential equations where the fractional derivative is considered in the Caputo sense. The total domain is discretized into a set of small subdomains and then the unknown functions are approximated using the piecewise Lagrange interpolation polynomial of degree three and degree four. The detailed error analysis is presented, and it is analytically proven that the proposed algorithms are of orders 4 and 5. The stability of the algorithms is rigorously established and the stability region is also achieved. Numerical examples are provided to check the theoretical results and illustrate the efficiency and applicability of the novel algorithms.

In this work, the grafting of maleic anhydride onto two types of linear low density polyethylene with hexene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-H1) and butene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-B1), in the presence of styrene monomer (St) and dicumyl peroxide initiator (DCP) has been studied. The combined influences of MAH, St and DCP on the grafting efficiency via a melt reactive mixing process have been investigated using response surface methodology and the central cubic design has been employed for experimental design and data analysis. IR spectroscopy, contact angle measurements and adhesion test have been used to evaluate the extent of grafting reaction. The results showed that LLDPE-H1 with a 2.2% maximum grafting content showed more grafting content than the LLDPE-B1 (1.86%). This effect could be attributed to the type of comonomer in LLDPE-H1 which made it more prone to chain scission than LLDPE-B1, and a higher level of grafting was achieved. The gel content measurement showed that lower cross-linked structure was formed during the grafting process in the LLDP-H1 than that in the LLDPE-B1. The optimum conditions of maximum grafting and minimum gel content were statically investigated. The optimum percentage of grafting for LLDPE-H1 was 1.82% and it was 1.74% for LLDPE-B1, with the minimum gel content of 6.5% and 9%, respectively. It was found that the amount of grafted percentage was sensitive to the concentrations of the MAH, DCP, and St, while the extent of the gel content was more sensitive to the percentage of DCP.

Purpose – The aim of this study was to compare the defined indicators of tuberculosis (TB) control program in the intervention and control prisons, after implementation of the national clinical protocol for TB and HIV management in Iranian prisons, suggesting active health service provision in all steps of service provision. Design/methodology/approach – This was quasi-experimental study conducted among inmates of two prisons in Iran. Great Tehran prison was purposively chosen as the intervention prison and Karaj prison was purposively chosen as control prison as well. Intervention and control prisons were compared in terms of the TB indicators within three periods (before intervention, during implementation and follow-up period) from October 2013 to June 2014. Findings – Number of inmates with TB symptoms who underwent TB workup was four times more in intervention prison compared to control prison (9.3 vs 2.5 cases out of 1,000 inmates per month in the case prison compared to the control prison). Such difference was also significant in the intervention prison, comparing before and during the intervention period. The patient finding in case prison increased significantly after the intervention (223.6 vs 81.8 cases out of 100,000 inmates per year). The number of TB cases who received HIV testing increased from 50 to 100%. Originality/value – Active health service provision has significantly improved indicators in the intervention prison. The authors recommend implementation of this guideline in all prisons of Iran. Integration of other diseases with high burden among prisoners is also recommended in the active health services provision.

Today, Blockchain technology is seen as a revolutionary technology in the business environment, and the peak of its prosperity was the introduction of Bitcoin in 2008. Blockchain networks allow centralized databases and general ledgers to be replaced, protected, and distributed databases to network members recognized as network verifiers. The most important part of the Blockchain network structure is the consensus algorithm, which determines how a new block between all nodes in the verifying network is agreed to be appended. In other words, consensus algorithms decide rules and protocols that define which block and by which member to connect to the main chain, and prevent parallel and conflicting structures. Consensus algorithms can be divided into two principal classes. The first category is proof-based consensus algorithms, which allow the nodes that enter the verifying network to demonstrate that they are more eligible and better than the others to do the new block that is to be added. The second group is consensus algorithms focused on voting, allowing nodes in the network to share their results from checking a transaction or a new block before making the final decision. In this paper, we discuss consensus algorithms that have been researched and are currently being applied in some well-known Blockchain applications, while discussing and comparing key features in various aspects.

In this paper, the heat transfer and ablation thermal insulators in solid rocket motor are investigated. Therefore, by collecting and solving the thermal ablation equations, a computer program, using MATLAB software, is developed which can predict the thermal response of insulators in different operating conditions and compare the performance of these insulators. The heat and mass transfer equations are considered in two dimensions in a solid body. We used the equations, finite volume method with implicit formulation for time dependency to solve equations. The reaction equation which written in the form of Arrhenius, is solved using Runge-Kutta method, and the density and the flux of the gas produced at each step are obtained. Also we represent a model for the rate of recession.

Distributed ledger technologies have recently attracted much attention, and blockchain, as the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, is the focal point of this attention. Blockchain has been used in various domains, such as cloud, fog, and edge computing and Internet of Things (IoT). However, it is faced with some limitations and cannot support frequent transactions. Besides, edge computing, after cloud and fog computing, serves as the key enabler for many future technologies like 5G, IoT, and vehicle-to-vehicle communications by connecting cloud computing resources and services to the end-users and extends them at the edge of the network. At the same time, it is currently confronted with challenges in decentralized management and security. Incorporating blockchain and edge computing in one system can provide reliable access and control of the network, storage, and computation distributed at the edges. It provides a large scale of network servers, data storage, and validity computation near the end in a secure manner. Notwithstanding the benefits of integrated blockchain and edge computing systems, their scalability enhancement, self-organization, resource management, functions integration, and security issues need to be addressed before widespread implementation. This paper reviews recent studies about enabling the integrated blockchain and edge computing system. Several critical aspects of the integration of blockchain and edge computing are identified. Finally, some of the effects of this integration on the business are discussed.

Remote screening physical frailty (PF) may assist in triaging patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are in clinical priorities to visit a clinical center for preventive care. Conventional PF assessment tools have however limited feasibility for remote patient monitoring applications. To improve the safety of PF assessment, we previously developed and validated a quick and safe PF screening tool called Frailty Meter (FM). FM works by quantifying weakness, slowness, rigidity, and exhaustion during a 20-second repetitive elbow flexion/extension task using a wrist-worn sensor and generates a frailty index (FI) ranging from zero to one; higher values indicate progressively greater severity of frailty. However, the use of wrist-sensor limits its applications in telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. In this study, we developed a sensor-less FM based on deep learning-based image processing, which can be easily integrated into mobile health and enables remote assessment of physical frailty. The sensor-less FM extracts kinematic features of the forearm motion from the video of 20-second elbow flexion and extension recorded by a tablet camera, and then calculates frailty phenotypes and FI. To test the validity of sensor-less FM, 11 COPD patients admitted to a Telehealth pulmonary rehabilitation clinic and 10 healthy young volunteers (controls) were recruited. All participants completed the test indicating high feasibility. Strong correlations (0.72

In this research, the 3D grain burnback with quasi-one-dimensional internal ballistic in a solid rocket motor is simulated using the Level set theory and the utilization of Sections method, while achieving high accuracy in the simulation of green's post-back analysis time can also be significantly reduced. By using Section method, 3D grains are divided to many 2D grain, then 2D Level set is utilized to analyse grain burnback. Finally, the burning port of 3D grains are calculated by means of Interpolation. Also, to predict the internal pressure of the motor and the burning rate, a numerical code is written and coupled with grain burnback programme.

Abstract Background Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) show a great promise as a renewable source of cells with broad biomedical applications. Since insulin has been used in the maintenance of hiPSCs, in this study we explored the role of insulin in culture of these cells. Methods We report conditions for insulin starvation and stimulation of hiPSCs. Crystal violet staining was used to study the adhesion and proliferation of hiPSCs. Apoptosis and cell cycle assays were performed through flow cytometry. Protein arrays were used to confirm phosphorylation targets, and mRNA sequencing was used to evaluate the effect of transcriptome. Results Insulin improved the seeding and proliferation of hiPSCs. We also observed an altered cell cycle profile and increase in apoptosis in hiPSCs in the absence of insulin. Furthermore, we confirmed phosphorylation of key components of insulin signaling pathway in the presence of insulin and demonstrated the significant effect of insulin on regulation of the mRNA transcriptome of hiPSCs. Conclusion Insulin is a major regulator of seeding, proliferation, phosphorylation and mRNA transcriptome in hiPSCs. Collectively, our work furthers our understanding of human pluripotency and paves the way for future studies that use hiPSCs for modeling genetic ailments affecting insulin signaling pathways.

Background: The United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS)recommends that adults achieve 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity.Most African American women do not meet these guidelines. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of an intervention based on the fourth generation, multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change for initiating and sustaining physical activity among African American women when compared to a first generation, knowledge-based intervention. Methods: The randomized controlled trial (RCT) utilized a pre-test, post-test and 6-week followup evaluation with an experimental (n=25) group and a comparison group (n=23). Process evaluation for satisfaction and program fidelity was conducted along with impact evaluation for changes in MTM constructs, intent to initiate and sustain physical activity, minutes of physical activity, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and blood pressure in hypertensives. Results:The MTM-based intervention proved significantly efficacious in increasing the minutes of physical activity from pre-test mean of 37 minutes to 172 minutes at follow-up (mean difference135.08 minutes, 95% CI: 106.04 to 164.13, P

The refining industry is one of the most water consuming industries. Hence, reclamation of effluents can be useful as a sustainable, permanent, and available source of water for refineries. Therefore, this research was conducted aimed to evaluate the efficiency of integrated processes of ultrafiltration, mixed bed ion exchange and multioxidant disinfectant (MOX) as an advanced treatment of oil refinery effluent in order to provide makeup water in cooling towers. Integrated pilot including polysulfone membrane, two types of strong acid cationic resin and strong base anionic resin were used for real effluent reclamation. Finally, the treated effluent was disinfected using on site generated solution of MOX disinfectant. In the optimum Trans Membrane Pressure of 1 bar, removal efficiency of COD (57%), TDS (80%), Turbidity (94%), SiO2 (67%), Oil (88%), HPC (99%) was achieved. Integrated processes was efficient in reclamation of oily effluents in order to provide makeup water in cooling towers.

Background: Hypertension affects the quality of life of patients and their caregivers. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and self-care behaviors and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among hypertensive people Methods: All people aged 35 years and older with hypertension were invited to participate in this study. Information on self-care behavior for hypertension (H-scale), and health-related quality of life (WHOHRQOL-BRFF) were completed by trained interviewer. Data analysis was done using SPSS 16.Results: The median age of hypertensive patients was 62.5(25th to 75th percentile: 55 to 72 years), the correlation between quality of life and overall self-care scores was not significant(r =-0.048, P =0.520). Physical activity was the only significant predictor for quality of life,showing that the quality of life of hypertensive people increased by 3.371 units per day of being physically active in the cohort study (β =0.223, P

After studying the speeches of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supereme Leader of Islamic Republic of Iran, about the urgancy of using Jihadi management within all fields, the researcher of the presesnt study decided to find a way in order to achive the pioneer media of islamic revolution. Therefore, he tended to create a bilateral relation between madia management and Jihadi management. In the present study, the researcher adopted ranking delphi as research method. Ranking delphi also is clssified within three interrelated and sucsessive phases: brain storming (to achive maximal indicators), narrowing down (to acieve the most important indicators), and ranking (to prioritize the most important indicators). First of all, the characteristics (134 characteristics) of Jihadi media manger identified in interviewing of 21 elites as: media managers, and management and communications professors at the first phase of delphi method. With the most important indecators and characteristics identified in the second phase of delphi method (two rounds) by questionnaire in 3 categories of pentamerous, theire prioritization was carried out in the third phase (two rounds). A questionnaire was used to ranking and by Kendall W coefficient, the consensus of the participants in the panel were measured. The result obtained from ranking delphi method were categorised into three types of characteristics: creativity, qualification and selectiveness, decipline, high motivation, and braveness as the general characteristics; media pioty, having political and cultural insight, being aware of media and its paraphernalia, exploration for the golden point of audiences’ tastes, needs and goodness, and having skills of influencig audience as the media characteristics; and finally, believ in media jihad, insightfulness, God-obidientness, vilayah-centeredness, and sincerity as the jhadi characteristics of media manager.

Despite enhancements in the development of robotic systems, the energy economy of today's robots lags far behind that of biological systems. This is in particular critical for untethered legged robot locomotion. To elucidate the current stage of energy efficiency in legged robotic systems, this paper provides an overview on recent advancements in development of such platforms. The covered different perspectives include actuation, leg structure, control and locomotion principles. We review various robotic actuators exploiting compliance in series and in parallel with the drive-train to permit energy recycling during locomotion. We discuss the importance of limb segmentation under efficiency aspects and with respect to design, dynamics analysis and control of legged robots. This paper also reviews a number of control approaches allowing for energy efficient locomotion of robots by exploiting the natural dynamics of the system, and by utilizing optimal control approaches targeting locomotion expenditure. To this end, a set of locomotion principles elaborating on models for energetics, dynamics, and of the systems is studied.

Introduction: Given the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in women prisoners, this study was aimed to investigate the effect of training rational-emotive-behavior therapy on mental health of women in prisons in Tehran (2011). Methods: Method: 148 prisoners in two groups of non-intervention and treatment of mental and emotional education of the Evin prison in Tehran. Tests SCL-90-R, one-sample Kolmogorov-smear, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample, t-test single sample and chi-square were used . Findings: All indices were significantly different between the two groups (p

Background As one of the most important components of harm reduction strategy for high-risk groups, following the HIV epidemics, Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) has been initiated in prisoners since 2003. In this paper, we aimed to assess the advantages and shortcomings of the MMT program from the perspective of people who were involved with the delivery of prison healthcare in Iran. Methods On the basis of grounded theory and through conducting 14 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), 7 FGDs among physicians, consultants, experts, and 7 FGDs among directors and managers of prisons (n= 140) have been performed. The respondents were asked about positive and negative elements of the MMT program in Iranian prisons. Results This study included a total of 48 themes, of which 22 themes were related to advantages and the other 26 were about shortcomings of MMT programs in the prisons. According to participants’ views “reduction of illegal drug use and high-risk injection”, “reduction of potentially high-risk behaviors” and “making positive attitudes” were the main advantages of MMT in prisons, while issues such as “inaccurate implementation”, “lack of skilled manpower” and “poor care after release from prison” were among the main shortcomings of MMT program. Conclusions MMT program in Iran’s prisons has achieved remarkable success in the field of harm reduction, but to obtain much more significant results, its shortcomings and weaknesses must be also taken into account by policy-makers.

The effects of pregnancy on the Oral Mucosa Disorder (OMD) have been sporadically documented in some developed countries. Less known is the status of OMD during pregnancy in less developed/developing countries. Iran is no exception. This study assesses the prevalence of OMD in 200 pregnant women and compares the findings with the findings from a 200 non-pregnant woman of similar age distribution in Iran. The participants had been referred to a clinic to receive reproductive age-related services. Participants suffering from systemic chronic diseases, those on medications/drugs, smokers, needing biopsies, and those with urgent Oral Mucosal Lesion (OML) treatments were excluded from the study. Oral mucosal of all 400 participants were examined. The participants’ age ranges were from 17 to 47; with the average age of 33.14 for one group; and 30.23 for the other group. Both groups had the same level of formal education. Out of 400 examined women; 62 had lesions, including 47 pregnant (23.5%); and 15 non-pregnant (7.5%) women. This result shows that the OMD rate of occurrence was significantly higher among the pregnant women. Higher OML prevalence in pregnant women, as compared to the non-pregnant women, indicates the importance of timely oral examination of pregnant women and subsequent treatment plans for them.

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Objective: This study among 400 undergraduate students enrolled at Jackson State University (JSU) study aimed to assess knowledge about HIV and AIDS among African-American undergraduate students attending a historically black college and university. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Data were collected using a validated, self-administered, and standardized questionnaire on knowledge regarding risks for HIV and AIDS. Three hundred and eighty-six students (96.5%) had good knowledge about HIV and AIDS, although some participants had misconceptions about the modes of HIV infection transmission. There were no significant gender differences for HIV and AIDS knowledge among the participants (χ2 = 3.05; P = 0.08). In general we concluded that JSU undergraduate students had adequate knowledge about HIV transmission modes and AIDS, although some participants had misconceptions about the routes of HIV infection transmission. Hence, this study calls for strengthening HIV and AIDS awareness education among undergraduate students.

HIV/AIDS epidemic is concentrated among injecting drug users in Iran. Like many other countries with HIV/AIDS concentrated epidemic, prisons are high risk areas for spreading HIV/AIDS. The aim of this paper was to study the trend of HIV/AIDS prevalence and related interventions administered in prisons of Iran during a 13 years period.This cross sectional study was conducted using the data collected from the sentinel sites in all prisons in the country and it also used the data about Harm Reduction interventions which has been implemented by Iran Prisons Organization. To evaluate the correlation between the prevalence and each of administered interventions in prisons the Correlation Coefficient Test was used for the second half of the mentioned time period.The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in prisons had increased rapidly in the early stages of epidemic, so that in 2002 the prevalence raised to 3.83%. Followed by the expansion of Methadone Maintenance Therapy and development of Triangular Clinics, HIV/AIDS prevalence in prisons declined. There was a relationship between interventions and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.In regions and countries where the epidemic is highly prevalent among injecting drug users and prisoners, Methadone Maintenance Therapy and development of Triangular Clinics can be utilized to control HIV/AIDS epidemic quickly.