Primary Epstein-Barr virus infection in a 40-day-old infant

Most cases of primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection during infancy and early childhood are mild or subclinical; therefore, the diagnosis of an EBV infection is not performed easily in this age group. Infectious mononucleosis (IM) is rarely reported during infancy. We report a 40-day-old infant with cervical node enlargement, cough, and coryza symptoms who was finally identified as having a case of primary IM based on the patient's clinical features and serological tests. © 2013 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

Efficacy of Hepatitis B Vaccination in Under Five-Year-Old Children in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study

Context: Hepatitis B viral infection, specially in children, is an unsolved global health issue. National and international vaccination programs, as the main means to prevent this infection, have been operating for years. This meta-analysis study was launched to investigate the vaccination efficacy in under five-year-old children in Iran. Evidence Acquisition: In this research, all national databases including, SID, Magiran, Iran medex, Iran doc, and Medlib, as well as international databases, including PubMed, Medline, and ISI were searched for published articles associated with evaluation of seroconversion rates after hepatitis-B vaccination in Iranian children. The search was performed in the Persian and/or English language and in under five-year-old children in Iran. The variance of each study was calculated using the binomial distribution formula. The results of studies were combined using random-effects meta-analysis model. Data were analyzed using STATA version 12. Results: In the present research, 11 studies, performed from 2000 to 2017, were investigated. The number of samples in these 11 studies were 3063 children (1592 males and 1471 females). In the studies, the efficacy range of the hepatitis-B vaccine in under five-year-old children in Iran was 89 (95 CI: 86 -93) with high heterogeneity (P value for heterogeneity was 0.001, I-2 = 92.9). Range of efficacy for males and females was 85 (95 CI: 78 to 91) and 88 (95 CI: 83 to 93), respectively. Conclusions: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination program in Iran seems to be highly effective although some questions, such as the effect of gender on responsiveness to vaccine and heterogeneity of different data, remain unclear

Actinomycosis may be presented in unusual organs: A report of two cases

Actinomycosis is a chronic granulomatous suppurative disease characterized by direct extension to the contagious tissue with the formation of multiple drainage sinus tracts through which tiny colonies of organisms called sulfur granules are discharged. Here, we report 2 cases of actinomycosis from Iran. One of them had actinomycosis on the hand and the other on the foot. Samples of tissue biopsy showed sulfur granules associated with colonies of actinomyces, thus confirming the diagnosis in both cases. The response to curettage and penicillin therapy was satisfactory in our patients. The chronic and indolent course of actinomycosis resembles tuberculosis, fungal infection and malignancy. So, increasing awareness among the clinicians and clinical microbiologists will help in the early diagnosis of the disease and in the initiation of early and proper treatment

Pulmonary tuberculosis and some underlying conditions in Golestan Province of Iran, during 2001-2005

Context: Pulmonary tuberculosis has been a major health problem in Golestan province of Iran. Aims: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the frequency of coexisting medical conditions and their effects on some epidemiologic factors in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Setting and Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods and Material: Demographic information, time of admission in the hospital and coexisting medical conditions (diabetes, chronic renal failure/hemodyalysis, corticosteroids consumption and malignancies) were extracted from the patient's file. Statistical analysis used: Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between variables. Results: Two hundred forty three patients with pulmonary tuberculosis during 5 years were studied. Out of all, 162 cases (66.7%) did not have any co-morbidities. Diabetes mellitus was found to be the most prevalent condition (23.05%) followed by chronic renal failure, corticosteroid consumption and malignancy ranking second, third and forth in the list (5.8%, 2.5% and 2 respectively). The mean age of the patients was 50.15±19 years old. In the group without co morbidities, male/ female ratio was 1.41/1, but co morbidity with diabetes was significantly more prevalent in females (p<0.05). Conclusions: We suggest screening of tuberculosis in patients with chronic renal failure and diabetes mellitus in our area. Also for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, diabetes screening should be considered essential

Timing performance of 30-nm-wide superconducting nanowire avalanche photodetectors

We investigated the timing jitter of superconducting nanowire avalanche photodetectors (SNAPs, also referred to as cascade switching superconducting single photon detectors) based on 30-nm-wide nanowires. At bias currents (IB) near the switching current, SNAPs showed sub 35 ps FWHM Gaussian jitter similar to standard 100 nm wide superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. At lower values of IB, the instrument response function (IRF) of the detectors became wider, more asymmetric, and shifted to longer time delays. We could reproduce the experimentally observed IRF time-shift in simulations based on an electrothermal model, and explain the effect with a simple physical picture