Herpes Simplex virus meningitis in children in South East of Caspian Sea, Iran

Background: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a member of Herpesviridae and a leading cause of human viral diseases. Meningitis occurs as a complication of HSV-1 or HSV-2 primary infection. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate HSV meningitis in children in Gorgan province, Iran. Patients and Methods: Forty-five cerebrospinal fluid samples were taken from children referred with meningitis symptoms. Samples with negative bacterial culture results were tested for viral, biochemical and cytological assays. DNA extraction and PCR were performed. Results: HSV-1 detected in 4 (8.8%) samples without any HSV-2 infections. Cases with positive results had fever and CSF pleocytosis. Vomiting, headache and higher count of WBC were observed in 3, 2 and 3 cases respectively. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose and protein levels were normal and 3 cases showed positive C-reactive protein (CRP) results. Also erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was higher than normal in all positive cases. Conclusions: Distribution of HSV types in children with meningitis in our area predominantly was type 1 compared with type 2, which has been reported more in other area. © 2014, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences; Published by Kowsar Corp

Fisheries management of the green tiger prawn (Penaeus semisulcatus, De Haan,1844) in Bushehr waters, Persian Gulf

Stock assessment and the opening and closure seasons of the green tiger prawn were surveyed in Bushehr waters from July 2004 to September 2006. The study area encompassed Motaf area (27 degree 30' N" and 51 degree 30' E) to Daylam waters (30 degree 00' N and 50 degree 00' E) the northern part of the Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf. Assessment was conducted using 45 stations on 15 transect in water depths less than 10m, 10-20m and 20-30m. Sampling was done by bottom trawl net. Results showed that the shortest mean length of the prawn were 11.3, 11.8 and 11.9cm in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. Also, the maximum catch per unit effort for the prawns in these years was foun d to be 10.8, 14.7 and 9.7kg per hour. At the opening of fishing season in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, the CPUE of the prawn fishing launches were 100, 150 and 120kg per day. Based on length frequency of the green tiger prawn, the opening times of prawn fishing was proposed to be 22, 11 and 20, August of years 2004 , 2005 and 2006, respectively. Also, the closure times were derived from the shrimp commercial catch data and defined to be 25, 27 and 28 of September in 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. Investigation of the shrimp stock density in Bushehr waters shows that the green tiger prawns enter the fisheries areas from the southeastern parts of Bushehr waters. The Motaf, Nakhilou, Ras-e-khan and Mond River are the areas that green tiger prawn schools are first emerged in the Bushehr province waters

Human adenoviruses role in ophthalmic pterygium formation

Background: Ophthalmic pterygium is a common benign lesion of unknown origin and the pathogenesis might be vision-threatening. This problem is often associated with exposure to solar light. Recent evidence suggests that potentially oncogenic viruses such as human papillomavirus and Epstein-Barr virus may be involved in the pathogenesis of pterygia. Expression of specific adenovirus genes such as E1A and E1B, which potentially have many functions, may contribute to their oncogenic activity as well as relevance to cellular immortalization. Objectives: For the first time, we aimed to investigate involvement of adenoviruses in pterygium formation. Patients and Methods: Fifty tissue specimens of pterygium from patients undergoing pterygium surgery (as cases), 50 conjunctival swab samples from the same patients and 10 conjunctival biopsy specimens from individuals without pterygium such as patients undergoing cataract surgery (as controls) were analyzed for evidence of adenovirus infection with polymerase chain reaction using specific primers chosen from the moderately conserved region of the hexon gene. Furthermore, ß-globin primers were used to access the quality of extracted DNA. Data was analyzed using SPSS (version 16) software. Results: Of 50 patients, 20 were men and 30 women with mean age of 61.1 ± 16.9 years ranged between 22 and 85 years. All samples of pterygia had positive results for adenoviruses DNA with polymerase chain reaction, but none of the negative control groups displayed adenoviruses. The pterygium group and the control groups were ß-globin positive. Direct sequencing of PCR products confirmed Adenovirus infection. Conclusions: Adenoviruses might act as a possible cause of pterygium formation and other factors could play a synergistic role in the development. However, further larger studies are required to confirm this hypothesis. © 2015, Kowsar Medical Publishing Company. All rights reserved

Mutations in pre-core and basal-core promoter regions of hepatitis B virus in chronic HBV patients from Golestan, Iran

Objective(s): It has been reported that the mutation of the pre-core (PC) and basal-core promoter (BCP) may play an important role in the development of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study the PC and BCP mutations were investigated in chronic HBV patients. Materials and Methods: In this study, 120 chronic HBV patients from Golestan, Northeast of Iran who were not vaccinated against HBV, were recruited from the year 2008 to 2012. HBV-DNA extraction from plasma and PCR were performed and positive PCR products were subjected to automated sequencing. Results: One hundred out of 120 (83.3%) patients were HBeAg negative. Comparison of our nucleotide sequences with reference sequence showed high rate mutation in BCP and PC region (96.66%). Frame shift mutation was found in 78 (65%) of patients in BCP region, among them 8 (6.6%) patients showed mutation in PC region. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated high rate of mutations in BCP and PC regions among HBV chronic patients in Northeast of Iran

Efficacy of aftercare services for people with severe mental disorders in Iran: A randomized controlled trial

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether after-care services reduced the number of rehospitalizations and length of hospital stay among patients with severe mental disorders. Methods: A total of 120 patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective or bipolar disorder between the ages of 15 and 65 were recruited from 2010 to 2012 for a randomized controlled trial. The participants were followed up for 20 months after discharge from a university-affiliated hospital in Tehran, Iran. The selection procedure was random sampling. Sixty patients received aftercare services, which included treatment follow-up, family psychoeducation, and patient social skills training, and 60 patients received treatment as usual. Number of hospitalizations and length of hospital stay were primary outcome measures, and severity of psychopathology and severity of illness were secondary outcome measures. The quantitative primary and secondary outcomes measures were compared by using repeated-measures analysis. Results: Three members of the control group did not complete the study. The cumulative number of hospitalizations during the follow-up period was 55 for the control group and 26 for the intervention group. Length of stay was significantly greater in the control group compared with the intervention group (rate ratio=2.38, 95 confidence interval=2.17-2.62). Psychopathology was less severe in the intervention group compared with the control group (p<.001). Conclusions: Aftercare services are efficacious for reducing both the need for rehospitalization and the severity of psychopathology. © 2015, American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved

The comparison of attentional control deficits in the three group of normal, with social anxiety disorder and with comorbidity (social anxiety disorder and depression) students of Lorestan University

Background and aims: One of the mechanisms that thought to underlie social anxiety disorder is dysfunction in attentional control. The current study was designed to compare attentional control deficits in the three group: normal, with social anxiety disorder and with comorbidity (social anxiety disorder and depression) students. Methods: The design of present study was causal-comparative. Statistical population of this study contained all normal female students, with social anxiety disorder, and with comorbidity of social anxiety disorder and depression in Lorestan University in academic years 2015-2016. With a single-stage cluster sampling method, 534 students completed the social anxiety and depression questionnaires. Then, according to the cutoff point of questionnaires, students were qualified enter the stage of clinical interview. Finally, 90 students, 30 students were selected in each group, and then performed color-word Stroop test. The results were analyzed with SPSS software, MANOVA and Tukey post hoc test. Results: Results showed that between social anxiety disorder and normal groups was not significant difference in the attentional control (P<0.07), but group with comorbidity of social anxiety disorder and depression significantly have a poorer performance in the attentional control task rather than Social anxiety disorder and normal groups (P<0.001). Conclusion: People with Social anxiety disorder only when showed attentional control deficiencies, they suffering from current comorbid depression. These finding revealed in addition to helping in identifying the underlying mechanisms involved in this disorder, importance therapy attention to attentional control deficiencies when person suffering from comorbidity of social anxiety and depression

A Comparison of Dysphonia Severity Index in Female Teachers With and Without Voice Complaints in Elementary Schools of Tehran, Iran

Background: Teachers are the greatest group of professional voice users. Prolonged, continuous speaking in a loud voice at school may entail a bad vocal health. It seems that their occupational circumstances make them more likely to develop voice disorders in comparison with other groups. Objectives: The purposes of this study are 1) to compare teachers with and without voice complaint on the Dysphonia Severity Index and 2) to compare component measures that establish Dysphonia Severity Index. Materials and Methods: This study included 40 female teachers with voice complaint and 40 female teachers without voice complaint between the ages of 30 and 50 years who were teaching in elementary schools of Tehran city. Simple non-random sampling was done for selected teachers in two groups. The examinees were asked to produce the vowel /a/ three times for calculating any variables, then measures of maximum phonation time, jitter, highest phonational frequency, and lowest intensity were obtained for each subject with Praat and Phonetogram softwares and incorporated into multivariate Dysphonia Severity Index formula. Kolmogoro- Smirnov one sample test and independent sample T-Test was used, the significance level was set at P < 0.05. Results: Results indicate that female teachers without voice complaint have significantly higher Dysphonia Severity Index scores than female teachers with voice complaint (mean Dysphonia Severity Index: 3.58 vs. 1.05, respectively), also significant differences are observed between groups of with and without complaint for four of components of the DSI (F0 high, I low, jitter and maximum phonation time) (P value = 0.001). Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant difference in Vocal Quality between teachers with and without voice complaint. This finding may indicate teachers with voice complaint have worse vocal quality that means they are at risk for voice problems. This information may be very important for voice professionals and, speech and language pathology to advice teachers with voice complaint and manage to advocate "good vocal health”

The effect of Aluminum on the increasing risk of developing anemia among workers of tile production plants

Background and aims: The aluminum-containing compounds are used as glaze in tile and ceramic production plants. It means that the workers working in these plants are in direct exposure to aluminum-containing compounds. The aim of this study was to assess the potential damages caused by aluminum among tile plant workers. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 workers whom were in direct exposure to glazing material were enrolled as case group and 112 workers whose jobs were different from the case group and who had no exposure to the chemical materials in tile plants were considered as control group. After taking fasting blood samples, it was performed cell count tests using an automated blood cell counter. Serum iron and liver function test were measured using auto analyzer. Serum aluminum measurement was done by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and ferritin was measured by ELISA. Results: The serum aluminum level was significantly higher in the case group (7.26±2.63) than the control group (5.48±1.75) (P<0.001), as well as the mean hemoglobin level was lower in the case group (14.28±0.88) than the control group (15.44±1.19) (P<0.011). However, the mean level of iron and ferritin as well as liver tests exhibited no significant difference between two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Occupational exposure to aluminum in tile production industries could increase the serum aluminum level but may decrease blood hemoglobin concentration, which is a predisposing factor for anemia possibly through intervening in blood iron and ferritin