Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium in Patients with Benign and Malignant Ovarian Cancer by Nested PCR Method

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) and Mycoplasma genitalium (M. genitalium) are considered factors in cervical and ovarian cancer and are associated with flaky cell carcinoma of the cervix. The role of steady infection, leading to chronic inflammation, in the of ovarian cancer has received very little consideration, although a background of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is in a case-control study associate to higher risk for ovarian cancer. C. trachomatis, the most common and important cause of PID in the developed world is the genital and cervical infectious agent. The aim of this study was prevalence of C. trachomatis and M. genitalium in patients with ovarian cancer who referred to Imam Hossein Hospital of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive study that was conducted from January 2014 to April 2015, 124 samples were studied which obtained from patients with ovarian cancer who referred to medical centers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. After obtaining samples from ovarian cancer tissue by the pathologist, for extraction DNA, samples were transferred to the laboratory of university. To confirm the presence of C. trachomatis in samples of ovarian cancer, specific primers for the Major Outer Membrane Protein (MOMP) genes of C. trachomais, were designed and used Nested PCR method for detection of M. genitalium. Sequencing was performed on the PCR and Nested PCR product to confirm the presence of C. trachomatis and M. genitalium.Results: Out of 124 samples of ovarian cancer, 62 (50%) samples were malignant cancer and 62 (50%) were benign cancer as control group. From 65 malignant samples 14 (22.5%) were Chlamydia trachomatis positive. None of the tissue samples of benign cancer of ovary were positive for C. trachomatis. Notably, none of the 124 ovarian samples were positive in the M. genitalium standard PCR assay.Conclusion: The results suggest that the spread of C. trachomatis in the female with ovarian cancer may be common. This finding reflects a possible role of C. trachomatis in the carcinogenesis of ovarian tumors. C. trachomatis infection may play a relative role in the pathogenesis of ovarian carcinomas or it could facilitate its progression

A Deep Learning Approach to Persian Plagiarism Detection

ABSTRACT Plagiarism detection is defined as automatic identification of reused text materials. General availability of the internet and easy access to textual information enhances the need for automated plagiarism detection. In this regard, different algorithms have been proposed to perform the task of plagiarism detection in text documents. Due to drawbacks and inefficiency of traditional methods and lack of proper algorithms for Persian plagiarism detection, in this paper, we propose a deep learning based method to detect plagiarism. In the proposed method, words are represented as multi-dimensional vectors, and simple aggregation methods are used to combine the word vectors for sentence representation. By comparing representations of source and suspicious sentences, pair sentences with the highest similarity are considered as the candidates for plagiarism. The decision on being plagiarism is performed using a two level evaluation method. Our method has been used in PAN2016 Persian plagiarism detection contest and results in %90.6 plagdet, %85.8 recall, and % 95.9 precision on the provided data sets. CCS Concepts • Information systems → Near-duplicate and plagiarism detection • Information systems → Evaluation of retrieval results

10-Year Trends in Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Hamadan Province, West of Iran (2007–2016)

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most important infectious diseases in eastern Mediterranean countries. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological pattern of cutaneous leishmaniasis across a 10-year period in the Hamadan province. This study was considered necessary due to the lack of new information in recent years on the epidemiology of the disease.Methods: This is a descriptive study. The data of patients who were diagnosed with cutaneous leishmaniasis in Hamadan health centers were collected during 10 years (2007–2016) and were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: Of the 908 registered patients, 94% were male and 6% were female. The mean age was 32.7 ± 11.8. About 87.1% of patients had a history of travel to endemic areas. The highest incidence rate was observed in the year 2015 with a rate of 12.6, and the lowest was in 2008 at 1.5 per 100,000 people.Conclusion: Due to an increasing trend in the number of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Hamadan and the effect of occupation, high-risk groups such as lorry drivers should be informed of preventive measures such as using insect repellents. Also, considering the possibility of shaping a new hotspot in the province, thorough reviews and more comprehensive entomological studies are recommended

Ectoparasites of Rodents Captured in Hamedan, Western Iran

Background: Rodents with a population greater than the entire population of other mammals on earth are the source of economic losses and health conflicts. One of the major health problems with the rodents is their role as reservoir hosts of zoonotic diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the infestation of commensal rodents with ectoparasites in Hamedan City, Western Iran. Methods: The samples were collected by live traps during years 2012–2013. After transferring the samples to the Entomological Laboratory of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, their ectoparasites were collected and identified. Results: A total of 171 slides were prepared from 105 captured commensal rodents: Mus musculus, Rattus rattus and R. norvegicus comprising three orders namely Mesostigmata: Hypoaspis (Laelaspis) astronomica, Dermanyssius sp, Pachylaelapidae (male). Metastigmata: Rhipicephalus sp and Anoplura: Polyplax spinulosa were recovered in Hamedan City. Seventy (66.6%) rodents were found infested with at least one species of ectoparasites. Conclusion: The results of our study indicate that ectoparasites infestation in commensal rodents of Hamedan city is high and more attention by local health authorities is needed to prevent zoonotic diseases

Distribution and Seasonal Activity of Phlebotominae Sand Flies in Yazd and Its Outskirts, Center of Iran

Background. Phlebotominae sand flies are the main vectors of leishmaniasis and some other diseases. Materials and Methods. Using sticky traps, sand flies were collected fortnightly from outdoors and indoors areas of selected sites. Results. A total of 2032 specimens (498 in the city and 1534 in the outskirts of Yazd) belonging to 11 species were collected. The activity of sand flies started in early-April and ended in mid-November. There were two peaks of activity in the end of April and mid-September. Phlebotomus sergenti and P. papatasi were the most abundant species in the city and outskirts of Yazd city, respectively. Other species were P. salehi, P. ansarii, P. kazerouni, P. caucasicus, P. andrejevi, P. alexandri, P. mongolensis, Sergentomyia sintoni, and S. palestinensis. Conclusion. In comparison to some other parts of Iran, the extended period between two peaks suggests that the larvae to adult development of sand fly were delayed by the higher temperature of the summer months in Yazd province

Prevalence of zoonotic intestinal parasites in household and stray dogs in rural areas of Hamadan, Western Iran

Abstract. Zoonotic parasitic infections are a major global public and veterinary health problem and widespread among dogs. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites in stray and household dogs in the rural areas of Hamadan district. During 2012, 1,500 fresh fecal samples from 243 household and 1,257 stray dogs were examined by using direct wet mount, simple zinc sulfate flotation, and Lugol's solution staining. Of 1,500 dogs, 20.4% were positive for intestinal parasites. Helminthes eggs were more frequently found in fecal samples than protozoan cysts or trophozoites (15.9% vs. 4.5%, respectively). Toxocara canis was the most frequently detected parasite, with a prevalence of 6.3%, followed by Taenia/Echinococcus spp. (2.9%), Isospora spp. (2.7%), and Toxascaris leonina (2.6%). Helminthes and protozoa were significantly more prevalent in household dogs than in stray dogs (P<0.001). There were significant differences in the prevalence of Isospora spp., T. canis and D. caninum among three age groups (P<0.05). The wide range of isolated parasites indicated that people residing in this area are at risk of exposure to these potentially hazardous zoonotic pathogens. Mass education of the general population is highly recommended to increase awareness of the potential for horizontal transmission of these parasitic infections from dogs to humans

The bacterial infection of German cockroach (Blatella germanica) in hospitals of western Iran

Cockroaches are considered a serious health problem in some medical centers. They can move freely in hospital wards and transmit pathogenic organisms. This study was carried out in order to detect and identify bacterial infection on outer surface and in digestive organs of Blatella germanica as a dominant species of cockroach in hospitals. In this cross-sectional study 222 B. germanica were collected from 14 different wards and units of 5 hospitals in the city of Hamedan in western Iran. Most of them were collected from dining room (34.2%) followed by urology ward (13.5%). After applying anesthesia and washing in 2cc physiology serum, the culture was prepared from this suspension for identification of bacterial infection on outer surface. Next, the outer surface of each cockroach was sterilized and their guts were isolated from mouth to anus. Bacteria extraction and culture were done accordingly. A total of 12 bacteria species were identified from outer surface and digestive system of cockroaches. On outer surface, Escherichia coli was the most dominant species (40%) followed by Staphylococcus epidermidis (20%). In digestive system E. coli had also the highest percentage (45%) followed by Entrobacter aeroginosa (20%). This study can show the importance of cockroaches as potential vectors of medically important microorganisms such as pathogenic bacteria in hospitals. Control programs for removing cockroaches, especially in the hospitals are recommended

Species Composition and Seasonal Activity of Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Paveh County, West of Iran

Phlebotomine sand flies are biological vectors of leishmaniasis in Iran and many other countries. In order to determine fauna and seasonal activity of sand flies, an investigation was carried out in Paveh County, Kermanshah Province, west of Iran. Using sticky traps sand flies collected in 5 sites of Paveh County from May to October of 2015. Activity of sand flies started in late April and ended in early October. Totally 2110 (71.1% male and 28.9% female) phlebotominae were collected from outdoors (64.6%) and indoors (35.4%) respectively. Twelve species in two genera were identified including: Phlebotomus alexandri, Ph. Sergenti, Ph. papatasi, Ph. major, Ph. tobbi, Ph. brevis, Sergentomyia sintoni, S. dentata, S. antennata, S. palestinensis, S. pawlowskyi and S. tiberiadis. Phlebotomus alexandri was predominant species in the region with 50% all of collected sand flies and Ph. brevis comprised only 0.04% of specimens. Due to documented report of seropositive cases of visceral leishmaniasis in Paveh County and presence of proven vectors in this area, further studies on epidemiological and entomological aspects of disease are recommended

Epidemiology of Chlamydia trachomatis in the Middle East and north Africa: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of Chlamydia trachomatis in the Middle East and north Africa is poorly understood. We aimed to provide a comprehensive epidemiological assessment of C trachomatis infection in the Middle East and north Africa. METHODS: We did a systematic review of C trachomatis infection as well as a meta-analysis and meta-regression of C trachomatis prevalence. We searched PubMed and Embase, as well as regional and national databases up to March 13, 2019, using broad search terms with no language or year restrictions. Any document or report including biological measures for C trachomatis prevalence or incidence was eligible for inclusion. We extracted all measures of current (genital or rectal), recent, and ever infection with C trachomatis. We estimated pooled average prevalence in different populations using random-effects meta-analysis. Factors associated with prevalence and sources of between-study heterogeneity were determined using meta-regression. FINDINGS: We identified a total of 1531 citations, of which 255 reports contributed to 552 C trachomatis prevalence measures from 20 countries. No incidence measures were identified. Pooled prevalence of current genital infection was 3·0% (95% CI 2·3-3·8) in general populations, 2·8% (1·0-5·2) in intermediate-risk populations, 13·2% (7·2-20·7) in female sex workers, 11·3% (9·0-13·7) in infertility clinic attendees, 12·4% (7·9-17·7) in women with miscarriage, 12·4% (9·4-15·7) in symptomatic women, and 17·4% (12·5-22·8) in symptomatic men. Pooled prevalence of current rectal infection was 7·7% (4·2-12·0) in men who have sex with men. Substantial between-study heterogeneity was found. Multivariable meta-regression explained 29·0% of variation. Population type was most strongly associated with prevalence. Additional associations were found with assay type, sample size, country, and sex, but not with sampling methodology or response rate (about 90% of studies used convenience sampling and >75% had unclear response rate). There was no evidence for temporal variation in prevalence between 1982 and 2018. INTERPRETATION: C trachomatis prevalence in the Middle East and north Africa is similar to other regions, but higher than expected given its sexually conservative norms. High prevalence in infertility clinic attendees and in women with miscarriage suggests a potential role for C trachomatis in poor reproductive health outcomes in this region. FUNDING: National Priorities Research Program from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)

Mosquito Fauna (Diptera: Culicidae) of Hamedan County, Western Iran.

Background: This study aimed to identify and determine the larval and adult mosquitoes (Culicidae) fauna in Hamedan County, western Iran. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study which took place in four area of the Hamedan County. Sampling methods for larvae, pupae and adults were dipping, hand catch, night catch and total catch. Larvae and adult mosquitoes col- lected and were sent to laboratory of Medical Entomology, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran for further identification to species level to determination of fauna. Data analysis was performed using SPSS soft- ware version19. Results: Three genera and eight species of family Culicidae were collected and identified in Hamedan County, Hamedan Province, West Iran, during May to October 2013. These species included: Culex theileri, Cx. pipiens, Cx. antennatus, Culiseta subochrea, Cs. langiareolata, Anopheles superpictus, An. maculipennis and An. stephensi. The species Cx. antennatus and An. stephensi were reported for the first time in Hamedan County. Conclusion: An. stephensi and Cx. antennatus caught had not been previously recorded in Hamedan Province. Due to vast agricultural activities in the province which provides suitable environment for the establishment of various species of mosquitoes and since many of them are potential vectors of human and domesticated animal pathogens,their ecology needs to be studied extensively