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Canopy temperature (CT) is used as a selection tool to improve crop adaptation to drought. The aim of this work was to investigate association of some photosynthetic characters with CT during grain filling in three cereal species. For this objective, a twoyear study (2009-2011) was carried out in Kurdistan Province in western Iran. Four genotypes of triticale, three cultivars of bread wheat, and a new variety of barley were compared under well watered (WW, Ψsoil water= -3 bar) and deficit water (DW, Ψsoil water= - 12 bar) conditions in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split-plot arrangement. Compared with well-watered plants, water stressed plants displayed 1.44°C higher canopy temperature irrespective of plant species. Under water stress condition, the high yielding genotypes had lower canopy temperature than low yielding ones by 1.23°C. Results showed that under water deficit condition triticale relative to commercial cultivar of wheat and barley had a higher adaptability to drought as indicated by its higher yield (59.5 g m-2 more than average) and lower CT (0.28°C lower than average). The main physiological traits correlated with canopy temperature under DW treatment were stomatal conductance (gs) (r= -0.73*), photosynthetic rate (Pn) (r= -0.76*), the maximal quantum yield of primary photochemistry (Fv/Fm) (r= - 0.71*), chlorophyll content at grain filling (r= -0.72*) and leaf temperature (LT) (r= 0.82**). Thus, canopy temperature seems to play an important role in the physiological basis of grain yield in different cereal species, and can be used as a selection tool in breeding programs under water deficit condition in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we simulate rareffed gas flow between two moving nano/micro parallel plates maintained at the same uniform temperature using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. We perform simulations for monatomic argon and diatomic nitrogen gas and compare mon/diatomic gas behavior. For both gases, we study heat transfer and shear stress and investigate the e ects of compressibility and rarefaction in the entire Knudsen regime and for a wide range of wall Mach numbers. Slip velocity, temperature jump, wall heat flux and wall shear stress are directly sampled from the particles striking the surfaces and reported for monatomic and diatomic cases for different rarefaction regimes. We also study deviation from the equilibrium using the probability density function for argon and nitrogen gas molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to compare photosynthetic features of triticale, bread wheat, and barley under water deficit conditions, this experiment was carried out in Kurdistan province in western Iran. Four genotypes of triticale, three cultivars of bread wheat, and a new variety of barley were compared under well watered (Ψsoil= -3 bars) and soil water deficit (Ψsoil= -12 bars) conditions in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split-plot arrangement. Biomass production at anthesis accompanied with gas exchanges and chlorophyll fluorescence of flag leaves, as indicators of photosynthetic function of plant, were determined in each treatment. The results showed that by imposing water deficit, photosynthetic rate (Pn) was reduced in all studied genotypes irrespective of plant species. Under water deficit conditions, the highest Pn (6.86 and 5.90 μmol m-2 s-1) was found in bread wheat variety Pishgam and, triticale genotype No. 1, while the lowest value (3.63 μmol m-2 s-1) was found in barley variety Bahman. Similar trend was observed for the maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry (Fv/Fm) and performance index (PI). Significant positive correlations were found between biomass production at anthesis and both Pn (r= 0.83**) and Fv/Fm (r= 0.77*). Our data revealed the better performance of Pishgam than Alvand and Zarrin in the reduction rate of biomass at anthesis and photosynthetic features against soil water deficit conditions. Overall, triticale was less affected by water deficit in comparison with wheat and barley in terms of photosynthetic function as indicated by less reduction in Pn, PI, and Fv/Fm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sardari is one of the most important landraces of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that is mainly cultivated in drylands and mountainous area of Iran. Moreover, it shows a high level of genetic diversity. In the present research a total of 73 Sardari wheat ecotypes were evaluated for drought tolerance. Genetic diversity was analyzed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) marker based on three pairs of primer combinations. Of the 2,431 AFLP bands detected, 1,582 (73.92%) were polymorphic. Cluster analysis divided all ecotypes into eight major groups. Ecotypes also showed genetic diversity for drought tolerance and were classified into three groups. The first group consisted of forty-two of the 73 landraces and had a low stress tolerance index (STI), ranging from 0.165 to 0.401, while the second (23 landraces) and the third group (7 landraces) had a medium and high STI ranging from 0.425 to 0.640 and 0.662 to 0.817, respectively. Discriminant analysis (DA) identified twenty-four markers selected from 218 AFLP markers that accounted for the difference between the three phenotypic groups. By using the selected markers, DA validated the phenotypic grouping, with a zero error rate. The results showed a high degree of genetic diversity between the Sardari ecotypes, suggesting that Sardari can be used as a germplasm source for wheat improvement toward releasing more desirable cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Eating disorders are identified as chronic debilitating psychiatric illnesses, which are refractory to treatment in many patients. The mortality rate associated with eating disorders is known to be the highest of any psychiatric disorder. Aims The aim of the present article was to review pharmacological treatments available for patients with eating disorders. Moreover, mechanism of action, dosages and algorithm of use of the available treatments were discussed. Some optional new treatments undergoing clinical trials were also mentioned. Methods Studies were identified by searching electronic databases of Medline, Cochrane Library, and Clinical Trial Registers. All eligible studies investigating efficacy and safety of the pharmacological treatments of patients with eating disorders conducted between 2000 and 2015 were included in the present article. Results Current pharmacotherapies include Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), atypical antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, androgen receptor antagonists, serotonin antagonists and antihistamines. However, level of evidence for pharmacotherapy of each category of eating disorders are not the same. Conclusions The use of pharmacotherapy integrated with behavioral and cognitive therapies are recommended. There are still gaps in the knowledge regarding pharmacotherapy of eating disorders. Development of agents with more efficacy and better safety profiles are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Major depression is known to carry the heaviest burden of disability among mental and behavioral disorders. It may have negative impact on both personal and professional level. There have been several studies investigating prevalence of major depression among different population. However, its prevalence among a group of healthcare professionals, namely community pharmacists have not yet been studied. Aims The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of major depression across a sample of Iranian community pharmacists. Methods One hundred and eighty surveys were distributed among community pharmacists attending different continuous medical education programs from all over the country during winter 2015. Beck Depression Inventory was used to measure characteristic attitudes and symptoms of depression. Descriptive statistics were utilized to find prevalence of mild, moderate or severe depression among the study sample. Independent sample t -tests were used to find possible differences between age and gender of the respondents and prevalence of depression. Results Survey response rate was calculated to be 84.7%. According to the results, 72.7% of the respondents were categorized to be normal, whereas 12.8% were found to have mild, 11.7% moderate, and 2.8% severe depression. Moreover, no significant relationship was found between age of the respondent and prevalence of depression ( P > 0.05). However, the prevalence was found to be higher among females ( P < 0.001). Conclusions Prevalence of depression among community pharmacists was reported to be low. However, it may affect healthcare services that they provide in the healthcare system. Further studies with larger sample size are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nightmare disorder is associated with functional impairment, distress, and low quality of life; however, studies on pharmacotherapy of this debilitating disorder yielded mixed results. Prazosin, a non-selective α 1 blocker is reported to be effective in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder-related nightmares. We aimed at investigating therapeutic effects of tamsulosin which has higher affinity for blocking α 1A and α 1D adrenoceptors in treatment of nightmare disorder. A randomized, double blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted. Patients were randomly assigned to receive Tamsulosin 0.4 mg once daily or placebo for period of four weeks. Following a 2-week wash-out period, they were crossed over to the other group and received drug or placebo for duration of 4 additional weeks. Nightmare frequency and intensity measurements were carried out using Disturbing Dreams and Nightmares Severity Index (DDNSI). Blood pressure measurements were also performed. According to per protocol analysis, mean DDNSI scores decreased following administration of tamsulosin and a statistical trend towards significance was reported (p=0.065, d=0.236). Results of intention to treat analysis showed significant difference in DDNSI scores after drug use (p=0.030, d=0.651). Additionally, DDNSI scores dropped significantly following placebo use. However, intention to treat analysis showed no statistically significant difference pre and post placebo period (0.064, d=0.040). Tamsulosin may be effective in treatment of nightmare disorder. However, further larger clinical trials are recommended to clarify the effectiveness of tamsulosin and α 1 subtypes in pharmacotherapy of nightmares., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We described the rationale, structure, design, and components of a provincial pharmacy services network for patients with kidney disease as a model for enabling equitable access and universal care to pharmacy services and medications across a wide range of clinical conditions, and geographic expanse in British Columbia (BC)., Sources of Information: These include minutes from 53 Pharmacy Services and Formulary (PS&F) Committee meetings held from 1999 to November 2022, documentation available on the British Columbia Renal (BCR) website, direct observation and participation in committee meetings, as well as interviews with key individuals involved in different aspects of the program., Methods: We reviewed documents and data describing the evolution, rationale, and functioning of the BCR provincial pharmacy services system and used a variety of sources as mentioned above. In addition, a qualitative thematic synthesis of reports of chronic care models (CCMs) was conducted to map the program components into the chronic disease management models., Key Findings: The components of the provincial pharmacy program (PPP) include (1) a PS&F committee, with interdisciplinary and geographical representation; (2) a community of dispensing pharmacies with standardized protocols and information; (3) a dedicated medication and pharmacy services budget, and regular evaluation of budget, outcomes, and performance; (4) provincial contracts for specific medications; (5) communication and education; and (6) information management system. Program components are described in the context of chronic disease management models. The PPP includes dedicated formularies for people with kidney disease at different points in the disease trajectory, including those on and off dialysis. Equitable access to medications is supported across the province. All medications and counseling services are provided to all patients registered in the program, through a robust distributed model, including community- and hospital-based pharmacies. Provincial contracts managed centrally ensure best economic value, and centralized education and accountability structures ensure sustainability., Limitations: Limitations of the current report include lack of formal evaluation of the program on patient outcomes, but this is relative as the intention of this article is to describe the program which has existed for over 20 years and is fully functional. Formal evaluation of a complex system would include by costs, cost avoidance, provider, and patients' satisfaction. We are developing a formal plan for this reason., Implications: The PPP is embedded in the provincial infrastructure of BCR and enables the provision of essential medications and pharmacy services for patients with kidney disease throughout the spectrum. The leveraging of local and provincial resources, knowledge, and expertise to implement a comprehensive PPP, ensures transparency and accountability and may serve as a model for other jurisdictions., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: AL is the Executive Director of BCR and DM is Chair of Pharmacy Services and Formulary Committee, and receive funding for those positions., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, which is a probabilistic particle-based gas kinetic simulation approach, is employed in the present work to describe the physics of rarefied gas flow in super nanoporous materials (also known as mesoporous). The simulations are performed for different material porosities (0.5≤ϕ≤0.9), Knudsen numbers (0.05≤Kn≤1.0), and thermal boundary conditions (constant wall temperature and constant wall heat flux) at an inlet-to-outlet pressure ratio of 2. The present computational model captures the structure of heat and fluid flow in porous materials with various pore morphologies under rarefied gas flow regime and is applied to evaluate hydraulic tortuosity, permeability, and skin friction factor of gas (argon) flow in super nanoporous materials. The skin friction factors and permeabilities obtained from the present DSMC simulations are compared with the theoretical and numerical models available in the literature. The results show that the ratio of apparent to intrinsic permeability, hydraulic tortuosity, and skin friction factor increase with decreasing the material porosity. The hydraulic tortuosity and skin friction factor decrease with increasing the Knudsen number, leading to an increase in the apparent permeability. The results also show that the skin friction factor and apparent permeability increase with increasing the wall heat flux at a specific Knudsen number.

The present study evaluated adherence to antiemetic guidelines for prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in four tertiary university teaching hospitals in Tehran. This prospective observational study enrolled 382 adult patients on chemotherapy at oncology centers affiliated to medical universities located in Tehran. Patients were followed up during their chemotherapy cycles. Risk factors related to CINV were evaluated, and information on antiemetic prescribing patterns was gathered using direct interview and patient medical records. Guideline adherence was found to be low; however, 81.3% of the patients experienced chemotherapy without CINV. Low frequency of adherence to the guidelines in prescription patterns does not mean that prescription patterns were very different. Indeed, some drugs were added to base guideline recommendation regiments, since in high and moderate emetogenic chemotherapy categories, some novel antiemetics recommended by international guidelines are not yet included in Iranian pharmacopeia. It was shown that two drug classes were added as a common practice, namely, H1/H2 antagonists and dopamine receptor antagonist (metoclopramide). Statistically significant differences were found between antiemetic prescribing patterns of physicians and chemotherapy regimen category (aspect of emetogenic potential) (p < 0.001). The most commonly prescribed regimen in the minimal-emetic-risk category and the low-emetic-risk category was reported to be the combination of corticosteroids, 5HT3, and H1/H2 antagonists, 33% and 66.1% respectively. Moreover, corticosteroids +5HT3 and H1/H2 antagonists + NK1 antagonist were found to be the most frequently prescribed regimen in the moderate-emetic-risk category (39.7%) and high-emetic-risk category (41.8%). Antiemetic prescribing patterns were not completely compatible with the guidelines in moderate and high emetogenic chemotherapy categories. Differences were detected in two states of over- and undertreatment. The present study confirmed low level of adherence of antiemetic prescribing patterns with international guidelines. However, it could not be proved that high levels of adherence with the guidelines result in reduction of CINV incidence. Complete success in CINV control cannot be achieved only by adherence to the established guidelines as novel antiemetics recommended by the guidelines have not been included in the Iranian pharmacopeia as yet. The authors do recommend implementation of strategies for increasing guideline-compliant prescriptions with the aim of improving patients' outcomes. We also suggest that policymakers in healthcare system point more critically to overprescribing as an issue of concern., (© 2020. American Association for Cancer Education.)

Many patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) are reported to have higher levels of multiple inflammatory cytokines including interleukin 6 (IL-6). Recent studies both pre-clinical and clinical have advocated for the functional role of IL-6 in development of MDD and suggested a great potential for targeting this cytokine to open new avenues in pharmacotherapy of depression. The purpose of the present narrative review was to provide an integrated account of how IL-6 may contribute to development of depression. All peer-reviewed journal articles published before July 2020 for each area discussed were searched by WOS, PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, Google Scholar, for original research, review articles, and book chapters. Publications between 1980 and July 2020 were included. Alterations in IL-6 levels, both within the periphery and the brain, most probably contribute to depression symptomatology in numerous ways. As IL-6 acts on multiple differing target tissues throughout the body, dysregulation of this particular cytokine can precipitate a multitude of events relevant to depression and blocking its effects can prevent further escalation of inflammatory responses, and potentially pave the way for opening new avenues in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of this debilitating disorder.

Salicylic acid (SA) is a promising compound to increase plant tolerance to drought stress, and it can affect many aspects of physiological and biochemical processes. This study was focused on the changes in proteins, photosynthesis, and antioxidant system of Sardari wheat ecotypes leave in response to the application of SA under drought stress conditions. Treatments included Sardari wheat ecotypes (Baharband, Kalati, Fetrezamin, Gavdareh, Telvar, and Tazehabad), salicylic acid at 0.5 mM (controls were untreated), and drought stress (30% of the field capacity). The results showed that membrane electrolyte leakage, and lipid peroxidation of all six ecotypes, were obviously increased under drought stress conditions. On the other hand, drought stress decreased leaf chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, carboxylation efficiency, and transpiration rate. The results of SDS-PAGE indicated that the abundance of some protein spots was downregulated when the plants were exposed to drought stress, while other protein spots' abundance was upregulated in such a situation. Under stress conditions, the highest antioxidant enzymatic activity, photosynthetic performance, cell membrane stability, and numbers of protein bands were observed in Baharband and Telvar, while the lowest was related to Fetrezamin. Salicylic acid treatments effectively ameliorated the negative effects of drought stress on Sardari ecotypes through improving the photosynthetic performance, keeping membrane permeability, induction of stress proteins, and enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The above findings suggest that ecotype ability to maintain photosynthetic performance was important to cope with drought stress., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

The impetus of the current research is to use the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) algorithm to investigate fluid behaviour and gas transport in porous microchannels. Here, we demonstrate DSMC's capability to simulate porous media up to 40% porosity. In this study, the porous geometry is generated by a random distribution of circular obstacles through the microchannel with no interpenetration between the obstacles. The influence of the morphology along with rarefaction and gas type on the apparent permeability is investigated. Moreover, the effects of porosity, solid particle's diameter and specific surface area are considered. Our results demonstrate that although decreasing porosity intensifies tortuosity in the flow field, the tortuosity reduces at higher Knudsen numbers due to slip flow at solid boundaries. In addition, our study on two different gas species showed that the gas type affects slippage and apparent gas permeability. Finally, comparing different apparent permeability models showed that Beskok and Karniadakis model is valid only up to the early transition regime and at higher Knudsen numbers, the current data matches those models that take Knudsen diffusion into account as well.

This paper investigates anti-Fourier heat transfer phenomenon in a rarefied gas confined within a lid-driven cavity using a novel flow decomposition technique in the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method proposed by Stefanov and co-workers. An isothermal cavity with different degrees of flow rarefaction from near continuum to mid transition regimes was considered to investigate cold-to-hot heat transfer from ballistic/collision flow decomposition viewpoint. A new cold-to-hot heat transfer indicator in the form of a scalar product of normalized heat flow vector and normalized temperature gradient vector has been introduced for the overall, ballistic and collision parts of these vectors. Using the new indicator, contributions of ballistic and collision flow parts to temperature and heat flux components was investigated with a specific emphasis on the cold-to-hot heat transfer phenomenon. We demonstrated that both ballistic and collision flow parts contribute to the occurrence of cold-to-hot heat transfer. However, it was found out that considered separately both ballistic and collision parts of heat transfer, when related to corresponding ballistic and collision temperature fields, they are ever hot-to-cold for all degrees of flow rarefaction. Thus, cold-to-hot heat transfer is a result of a subtle interplay between ballistic and collision parts in the slip and transition Knudsen regimes.

A net gas flow can be induced in the gap between periodically structured surfaces held at fixed but different temperatures when the reflection symmetry along the channel axis is broken. Such a situation arises when one surface features a ratchet structure and can be augmented by altering the boundary conditions on different parts of this surface, with some regions reflecting specularly and others diffusely. In order to investigate the physical mechanisms inducing the flow in this configuration at various Knudsen numbers and geometric configurations, direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) simulations are employed using transient adaptive subcells for collision partner selection. At large Knudsen numbers the results compare favorably with analytical expressions, while for small Knudsen numbers a qualitative explanation for the flow in the strong temperature inhomogeneity at the tips of the ratchet is provided. A detailed investigation of the performance for various ratchet geometries suggests optimum working conditions for a Knudsen pump based on this mechanism., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Several studies have been in favor of fungi as a possible pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS); however, to date, there is no scientific consensus about the use of antifungal agents in disease management. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of intranasal fluconazole in improving disease symptoms and objective outcomes of patients with CRS. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted on 54 patients who were diagnosed with CRS and had not been responsive to routine medical treatments. They were randomly assigned to receive either fluconazole nasal drop 0.2 % or placebo in addition to the standard regimen for a duration of 8 weeks. Patients' outcomes were evaluated according to Sino-Nasal Outcome Test 20 (SNOT-20), endoscopic scores, and Computed Tomography (CT) scores. No statistically significant difference was found in SNOT-20 (p = 0.201), endoscopic (p = 0.283), and CT scores (p = 0.212) of the patients at baseline and after 8-week course of treatment between drug and placebo group. Similar to many studies, the use of topical antifungal treatment for patients with CRS was not shown to be significantly effective. However, further studies are needed to obtain high levels of consistent evidence in order to arrive at a decision whether antifungal therapy is effective in management of CRS or not.

The current paper discusses the peer review process in journals that publish research papers purveying new science and understandings (scientific journals). Different aspects of peer review including the selection of reviewers, the review process and the decision policy of editor are discussed in details. Here, the pros and cons of different conventional methods of review processes are mentioned. Finally, a suggestion is presented for the review process of scientific papers.

In this study the direct-simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is utilized to investigate thermal characteristics of micro- or nanocavity flow. The rarefied cavity flow shows unconventional behaviors which cannot be predicted by the Fourier law, the constitutive relation for the continuum heat transfer. Our analysis in this study confirms some recent observations and shows that the gaseous flow near the top-left corner of the cavity is in a strong nonequilibrium state even within the early slip regime, Kn=0.005. As we obtained slip velocity and temperature jump on the driven lid of the cavity, we reported meaningful discrepancies between the direct and macroscopic sampling of rarefied flow properties in the DSMC method due to existence of nonequilibrium effects in the corners of cavity. The existence of unconventional nonequilibrium heat transfer mechanisms in the middle of slip regime, Kn=0.05, results in the appearance of cold-to-hot heat transfer in the microcavity. In the current study we demonstrate that existence of such unconventional heat transfer is strongly dependent on the Reynolds number and it vanishes in the large values of the lid velocity. As we compared DSMC solution with the results of regularized 13 moments (R13) equations, we showed that the thermal characteristic of the microcavity obtained by the R13 method coincides with the DSMC prediction. Our investigation also includes the analysis of molecular entropy in the microcavity to explain the heat transfer mechanism with the aid of the second law of thermodynamics. To this aim, we obtained the two-dimensional velocity distribution functions to report the molecular-based entropy distribution, and show that the cold-to-hot heat transfer in the cavity is well in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics and takes place in the direction of increasing entropy. At the end we introduce the entropy density for the rarefied flow and show that it can accurately illustrate departure from the equilibrium state.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the current status of sonographic characteristics of thyroid nodules in Isfahan, a previously iodine deficient area in central Iran., Material and Methods: In a cross-sectional study conducted in 2006, 2523 adult people (age > 20 years) were selected by a multistage clustering sampling method. Of these people, 263 volunteered persons were underwent sonographic evaluation. Thyroid examination was done by two expert sonographers. Serum T(3), T(3), T3RU, TSH, TPO Ab and Tg Ab, and urinary iodine were measured., Results: Forty-six per cent of the 263 people were women. Their mean age was 35.5 years with a range of 20-64 years. Median urinary iodine was 19.4 microg/dL. The prevalence of thyroid nodules on sonography was 22.4% in the whole group; 30% in women and 16.3% in men (OR = 2.2, P = 0.01). The prevalence of thyroid nodules increased with age (P = 0.006). The prevalence of thyroid nodules was higher in hypothyroid people than in euthyroid people (35.1% v. 20.5%, OR = 2.1, P = 0.04). Neither urinary iodine nor autoantibody concentrations correlated with the prevalence of thyroid nodules in sonography., Conclusions: The prevalence of thyroid nodule by sonography is still high despite relatively normal urinary iodine in this population.

Introduction: Thyroid nodules not detected in palpation but diagnosed following a radiological procedure or during surgery are called thyroid incidentalomas. We designed this study to investigate the prevalence of sonographic thyroid incidentaloma in Isfahan, Iran, for the first time., Material and Methods: By a multistage cluster sampling method, 2523 adults were selected randomly. From this group, 2045 had normal thyroid examination. 234 out of the 2045 were selected randomly for thyroid sonography. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) and antithyroid antibodies were measured., Results: The prevalence of thyroid incidentaloma was 13.2% [Confidence interval (CI) 95% = 8-18]. The average age of subjects with and without incidentaloma was 46.1 (12.4) and 38.4 (12.1), respectively (P = 0.002). It was more prevalent in females than in males (19% vs. 10%) [Odds ratio (OR) = 2.59, CI 95% = 1.17-5.76, P value (P) = 0.01]. Median UIC in the incidentaloma group (14 microg/dl) was significantly lower than in the group of subjects without nodules (20 microg/dl) (OR = 0.9, CI 95% = 0.91-0.99, P = 0.02). There was no difference in the levels of TSH and antithyroid antibodies between the two groups (P > 0.05). Mean diameter of nodules was 8.14 (3.43) mm., Conclusions: The prevalence of thyroid incidentaloma was 13.2% in Isfahan. It was higher in females than males and increased with age.