Phaeoacremonium and Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) decline in Kerman province (Iran)

Common cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) is an east Mediterranean plant element and one of four native conifers in Iran. During spring and summer of 2012, a field survey was carried out in different areas of Kerman province (south-eastern Iran) to study cypress decline diseases. Samples were collected from crowns, trunks and branches of cypress trees showing yellowing, dieback, canker, wilting of leaves and internal wood discoloration. Isolations were made from symptomatic wood tissues. Based on morphological and molecular characteristics, four species of Phaeoacremonium, namely Phaeoacremonium parasiticum, Pm. aleophilum, Pm. iranianum and Pm. rubrigenum, and two species of the Botryosphaeriaceae, Botryosphaeria dothidea and Neofusicoccum parvum, were isolated and identified. Pathogenicity tests were undertaken to determine the role of these species on 2-year-old potted cypress plants and green shoots of grapevine. Neofusicoccum parvum was more virulent than the other species and caused the largest lesions on both hosts. The fungi were re-isolated from margins of lesions and healthy tissue, thus completing Koch’s postulates. This is the first report of B. dothidea, N. parvum, Pm. aleophilum, Pm. rubrigenum and Pm. iranianum as pathogens on Mediterranean cypress trees

Seroparasitological evaluation of Plasmodium vivax malaria and stability of the anti-plasmodial antibodies in Parsabad Ardabil province

زمینه و هدف: مالاریا یکی از مهمترین بیماری های انگلی در جهان و برخی از مناطق ایران محسوب می شود. علاوه بر مناطق آندمیک این بیماری در جنوب و جنوب شرقی، در سال های اخیر، شمال غربی کشور نیز با ظهور مالاریای ویواکس مواجه شده است. این مطالعه به منظور بررسی مقایسه ای سروپارازیتولوژی مالاریا با روش ایمونوفلوئورسانس غیر مستقیم (IFA) و پایداری آنتی بادی های ضد پلاسمودیومی شهرستان پارس آباد واقع در استان اردبیل در شمال غربی ایران صورت گرفته است. روش بررسی: این مطالعه توصیفی – تحلیلی بر روی 250 نمونه از افراد مبتلا به مالاریا که با روش میکروسکوپی تایید شده و تحت درمان با ترکیبات ضد مالاریا بوده اند و 250 نمونه از گروه شاهد منفی، بین سال های 84-1382 انجام پذیرفت. پایداری آنتی بادی‌های ضد پلاسمودیوم ویواکس در سرم های تهیه شده از گروه های آزمون و شاهد در پایان دوره مطالعه با استفاده از روش های ایمونوفلوئورسانس (IFA) و مستقیم مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفتند. داده های به دست آمده با استفاده از آزمون آماری آنالیز واریانس یک طرفه و t دانشجویی تجزیه و تحلیل گردید. یافته ها: در بررسی انجام شده به روش میکروسکپی، از مبتلایان به مالاریا همگی به پلاسمودیوم ویواکس آلوده و گروه شاهد همگی منفی بودند و هیچگونه آلودگی مضاعف با این روش مشاهده نشد. نتیجه بررسی سروپارازیتولوژیک با روش ایمونوفلوئورسانس نشانگر آن بود که 47 مورد (19) از گروه آزمون و 4 مورد (6/1) از گروه شاهد آنتی بادی ضد پلاسمودیوم ویواکس را دارا بودند (001/0

Crisis Management Aspects of Bam Catastrophic Earthquake: Review Article

Background: Bam earthquake was the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent years. The aim of this study was to review different aspects of crisis manage­ment during and after the catastrophic earthquake in Bam City, Iran.Methods: Data needed for this systematic review were collected through search­ing PubMed, EMBASE and SID databases, for the period from 2003 to 2011. Keywords included earthquake, Iran and Bam earthquake. The data were summarized and were analyzed using Content Analysis.Results: Out of 422 articles, 25 articles were included in the study. Crisis Manage­ment aspects and existing pitfalls were classified into seven categories including planning and organization, human resource management, management of logistics, international humanitarian aids, field performance of the military and security forces, health and medical service provision, and information manage­ment. Positive aspects and major pitfalls of crisis management have been introduced in all the mentioned categories. Conclusion: The available evidence indicated poor crisis management during Bam earthquake that resulted in aggravating the losses as well as diminishing the effect of interventions. Thus, concerning the importance of different aspects of the crisis management and the high prevalence of disasters in Iran, the observed vulnerability in disaster management process should be addressed

The Efficacy of Written Information Intervention in Reduction of Hospital Re-admission Cost in Patients With Heart Failure; A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: To assess the efficacy of written information versus non written information intervention in reducing hospital readmission cost, if prescribed or presented to the patients with HF. Methods: The study was a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched Medline (Ovid)and Cochrane library during the past 20 years from 1993 to 2013. We also conducted a manual search through Google Scholar and a direct search in the group of related journals in Black Welland Science Direct trough their websites. Two reviewers appraised the identified studies, and meta-analysis was done to estimate the mean saving cost of patient readmission. All the included studies must have been done by randomization to be eligible for study. Result: We assessed the full-texts 3 out of 65 studies with 754 patients and average age of 74.33.The mean of estimated saving readmission cost in intervention group versus control group was US $2751 (95$2047 (base year 2010) with (95% CI: 2004 – 2089). No publication bias was found by testing the heterogeneity of studies. Conclusion: One of the effective factors in minimizing the healthcare cost and preventing from hospital re-admission is providing the patients with information prescription in a written format.It is suggested that hospital management, Medicare organizations, policy makers and individual physicians consider the prescription of appropriate medical information as the indispensable part of patient’s care process

Rapid antidepressant effects of repeated doses of ketamine compared with electroconvulsive therapy in hospitalized patients with major depressive disorder.

Accumulating evidence suggests that N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists (e.g. ketamine) may exert rapid antidepressant effects in MDD patients. In the present study, we evaluated the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine compared with the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in hospitalized patients with MDD. In this blind, randomized study, 18 patients with DSM-IV MDD were divided into two groups which received either three intravenous infusions of ketamine hydrochloride (0.5 mg/kg over 45 min) or ECT on 3 test days (every 48 h). The primary outcome measure was the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), which was used to rate overall depressive symptoms at baseline, 24 h after each treatment, 72 h and one week after the last (third) ketamine or ECT. Within 24 h, depressive symptoms significantly improved in subjects receiving the first dose of ketamine compared with ECT group. Compared to baseline level, this improvement remained significant throughout the study. Depressive symptoms after the second dose ketamine was also lower than the second ECT. This study showed that ketamine is as effective as ECT in improving depressive symptoms in MDD patients and have more rapid antidepressant effects compared with the ECT