A survey of alfalfa aphids and their natural enemies in Isfahan, Iran, and the effect of alfalfa strip-harvesting on their populations

During a two-year (2004-2005) survey of alfalfa aphids and their natural enemies in Isfahan, a total of four aphid species and 58 species of their natural enemies comprised of 45 predatory species, 11 parasitoid species and two species of parasitic mites were collected and identified. Moreover, five hyperparasitoid species were collected. On each sampling date, six 20-sweep samples were taken using a 38cm-diameter sweep-net and also six 20-stem were sampled. The results showed that the mean percent of Hippodamia variegata Goeze, Nabis spp., Deraeocoris spp., Orius spp., Geocoris spp. and aphid parasitoids in strip-harvested field were 38%, 95%, 119%, 57%, 100% and 122%, respectively; higher than those in conventionally-harvested field. In contrast, the mean percent of Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) and Therioaphis trifolii (Monell) forma maculata (Buckton) were 24% and 28%, respectively; lower in strip-harvested field than in conventionally-harvested field

Co-infection of Malaria and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

Southeast of Iran is an endemic area for Malaria and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). In 1999, we faced with an outbreak of CCHF in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, in the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The most cases of Malaria in Iran are also reported from this area. This article presents a 17-year- old woman who admitted to our hospital because of acute fever, headache, epistaxis, hemorrhagic lesions on the skin and vaginal bleeding. Finally, she was recognized as a case that was co –infected with CCHF and malaria

The first report of silver fly, Leucopis argentata (Dip.: Chamaemyiidae) from Iran

در طی نمونه‌برداری‌های انجام‌شده از دشمنان طبیعی شته‌ها در اصفهان در سال 1385، لاروهای مگس شکارگر از خانواده‌ی Chamaemyiidae در حال تغذیه از شته‌ی Hyalopterus pruni (Geoffroy) روی گیاه نی Phragmites sp. جمع‌آوری شد و پس از پرورش آن‌ها در آزمایشگاه، حشرات کامل توسط دکتر Gaimari در آمریکا با نامLeucopis argentata Heeger شناسایی شد. طبق اطلاعات موجود، این گونه تخصص میزبانی روی شته‌ی H. pruni، و صرفاً روی گیاه نی Phragmites spp.، دارد

Chromogenic in situ hybridisation test for breast cancer patients with equivocal IHC results - A study from Iran

Background: HER2/neu overexpression on cell membranes of breast cancer cells is due to HER2/neu gene amplification and it is important to identify potential candidates for anti HER2 therapy with trastuzumab. IHC, FISH and CISH are standard FDA approved assays currently used to determine HER2 status in routine practice. The aim of this study was to determine HER2 gene amplification, using the CISH method in breast carcinoma samples which had IHC +2 reactions. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted from 2008-2010 using 334 consecutive breast carcinoma samples referred from local laboratories to Mehr Hospital. CISH assays were performed for all cases, and IHC tests were also done for determining efficacy and accuracy of local labs. HER2 status in local IHC tests was compared with central IHC and CISH results. Results: Of 334 breast cancer patients, 16 were negative for HER2 IHC (0, +1), 201 cases were equivocal (+2), and 31 positive (+3). Of 334 referral cases, 88 were CISH positive (26.3) and 246 were CISH negative (73.7). Of 201 IHC +2 cases, HER2 gene amplification was observed in 42 cases (kappa: 0.42). A 29.9 concordance was found between local IHC and central IHC. Sensitivity and specificity of local IHC were 90 and 53.8, respectively. Conclusions: Low accuracy of IHC results in local labs was associated with the following factors: using former FDA-approved criteria for HER2 interpretation, utilizing non-validated kits, and lack of any quality assurance program. Therefore, following the new 2014 ASCO/CAP guideline and comprehensive quality assurance should be implemented to ensure accuracy of HER2 testing

Mutation analysis of KRAS and BRAF genes in metastatic colorectal cancer: A first large scale study from Iran

Background: The investigation of mutation patterns in oncogenes potentially can make available a reliable mechanism for management and treatment decisions for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). This study concerns the rate of KRAS and BRAF genes mutations in Iranian metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients, as well as associations of genotypes with clinicopathological features. Materials and Methods: A total of 1,000 mCRC specimens collected from 2008 to 2012 that referred to the Mehr Hospital and Partolab center, Tehran, Iran enrolled in this cross sectional study. Using HRM, Dxs Therascreen and Pyrosequencing methods, we analyzed the mutational status of KRAS and BRAF genes in these. Results: KRAS mutations were present in 33.6 cases (n=336). Of KRAS mutation positive cases, 85.1 were in codon 12 and 14.9 were in codon 13. The most frequent mutation at KRAS codon 12 was Gly12Asp; BRAF mutations were not found in any mCRC patients (n=242). In addition, we observed a strong correlation of KRAS mutations with some clinicopathological characteristics. Conclusions: KRAS mutations are frequent in mCRCs while presence of BRAF mutations in these patients is rare. Moreover, associations of KRAS genotypes with non-mucinous adenocarcinoma and depth of invasion (pT3) were remarkable

Validity and reliability of a new food frequency questionnaire compared to 24h recalls and biochemical measurements: Pilot phase of Golestan cohort study of esophageal cancer

Background: A pilot study was carried out to evaluate validity and reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which was designed to be used in a prospective cohort study in a population at high risk for esophageal cancer in northern Iran. Methods: The FFQ was administered four times to 131 subjects, aged 35-65 years, of both sexes. Twelve 24-h dietary recalls for two consecutive days were administered monthly during 1 year and used as a reference method. The excretion of nitrogen was measured on four 24-h urine samples, and plasma levels of β-carotene, retinol, vitamin C and α-tocopherol was measured from two time points. Relative validity of FFQ and 24-h diet recall was assessed by comparing nutrient intake derived from both methods with the urinary nitrogen and plasma levels of β-carotene, retinol, vitamin C and α-tocopherol. Results: Correlation coefficients comparing energy and nutrients intake based on the mean of the four FFQ and the mean of twelve 24-h diet recalls were 0.75 for total energy, 0.75 for carbohydrates, 0.76 for proteins and 0.65 for fat. Correlation coefficients between the FFQ-based intake and serum levels of β-carotene, retinol, vitamin C and vitamin E/α-tocopherol were 0.37, 0.32, 0.35 and 0.06, respectively. Correlation coefficients between urinary nitrogen and FFQ-based protein intake ranged from 0.23 to 0.35. Intraclass correlation coefficients used to measure reproducibility of FFQ ranged from 0.66 to 0.89. Conclusion: We found that the FFQ provides valid and reliable measurements of habitual intake for energy and most of the nutrients studied. © 2006 Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved

Cohort profile: The Golestan Cohort Study-a prospective study of oesophageal cancer in Northern Iran

[No abstract available

Malaria training for community health workers in the setting of elimination: a qualitative study from China

Background: Continuous training of health workers is a key intervention to maintain their good performance and keep their vigilance during malaria elimination programmes. However, countries progressing toward malaria elimination have a largely decreased malaria disease burden, less frequent exposure of health workers to malaria patients, and new challenges in the epidemiology of the remaining malaria cases. Moreover, competing health priorities and usually a decline in resources and in political commitment also pose challenges to the elimination programme. As a consequence, the acceptability, sustainability, and impact of malaria training and education programmes face challenges. However, little is known of the perceptions and expectations of malaria training and education programmes of health workers being engaged in countries with malaria elimination programmes. Methods: This qualitative study provides information on perceptions and expectations of health workers of malaria training programmes from China, which aims to malaria elimination by the year 2020. This study was embedded into a larger study on the challenges and lessons learned during the malaria surveillance strategy in China, involving 42 interviews with malaria experts, health staff, laboratory practitioners, and village doctors at the provincial, city, county, township, and village levels from Gansu province (northwestern China) and Jiangsu province (southeastern China). Results: In the context of an increasing number of imported malaria cases in China, the majority of respondents emphasized the necessity and importance of such programmes and complained about a decreasing frequency of training courses. Moreover, they called for innovative strategies to improve the implementation and sustainability of the malaria training programmes until the elimination goal has been achieved. Perceptions and expectations of health workers from different health centres were quite different. Health workers from higher-level facilities were more concerned about technical training aspects, while health workers from periphery of the health system expected to receive more training on field work coordination and on specific public health actions with regard to case detection and focus investigation. Conclusions: There is need to guarantee an ongoing good training of health workers in China on malaria aspects until the year 2020 and probably beyond

Hereditary risk factors for the development of gastric cancer in younger patients

BACKGROUND: It is believed that the development of gastric cancer (GC) before the age of 50 has a hereditary basis. Blood group A and history of gastric cancer in first-degree relatives have been shown to be risk factors for GC. METHODS: In this case-control study, we enrolled patients with GC who were diagnosed before the age of 50. Patients who were diagnosed as having GC were selected. A total of 534 cases were found; of these, 44 diagnosed before the age of 50 were included in the case group. For the control group, 22 males and 22 females were randomly selected from the remaining subjects, who had diagnoses of GC after the age of 50. All the surviving patients and family members of the dead patients were interviewed about the history of cancer in the family and the age at which other family members developed cancer. The blood group of each subject was also obtained. RESULTS: forty-four cases under 50 years old (mean age: 36.2 years) and forty-four controls (mean age: 67.1 years) were enrolled in the study. At the time of the study, 59.1% of the study group and 50% of the control group were alive (P value = NS). In the study group, 68.1%, 13.6%, 13.6% and 4.5% had blood groups O, A, B and AB, respectively. In the control group the corresponding figures were 27.7%, 63.6%, 6.8% and 4.5%. First or second-degree relatives with cancer, including gastric (the most frequent), breast, lung, gynecological and hematological malignancies, were noted in 54.5% of the cases and 11.4% of the controls (p < 0.01). Family histories of cancer were accepted as valid provided that they were based on valid medical documents. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the development of GC before the age of 50 is likely to be accompanied by familial susceptibility. Interestingly, our study showed a significant correlation between blood group O and the development of gastric cancer under the age of 50

Family history of colorectal cancer in Iran

BACKGROUND: Previous reports show a high proportion of young CRC patients in Iran. In this study we aim to look for the clustering of colorectal cancer in families of a series of CRC patients from Iran. METHODS: The family history of cancer is traced in 449 CRC patients of which 112 were 45 yrs or younger and 337 were older than 45 yrs at time of diagnosis. The patients were admitted in two hospitals in Tehran, during a 4-year period. RESULTS: Clinical diagnosis of HNPCC was established in 21 (4.7%) probands. Family history of CRC was more frequently reported by early-onset than by late-onset patients (29.5% vs. 12.8%, p < 0.001). Distribution of tumor site differed significantly between those with and without family history of CRC. Right colon cancer was the most frequent site (23/45, 35.4%) observed in patients with positive family history of colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: The relatively high frequency of CRC clustering along with HNPCC in our patients should be further confirmed with larger sample size population-based and genetic studies to establish a cost effective molecular screening for the future