The Costs of Training Medical Parasitology and Mycology Students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Background: Training of expert human resources is one of the main and basic objectives of developed countries. One of the important challenges for attainment of this objective is shortage in funding and financial resources. This is while medical branches, due to being specialized and requiring vast practical courses, need spending considerable financial costs for training competent students. Objectives: The present study aimed to estimate the costs of training medical parasitology and mycology students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This was a descriptive research. The data collection tool was a form designed by researchers using various resources. Educational and non-educational costs of the academic year of 2017-2018, with a top-down approach, were analysed to estimate the costs of training and educating post-graduate students. Analyses were made using Microsoft Excel 2013 software. Results: The costs of educating master students in parasitology, Ph.D. students in parasitology, and master students in mycology in the academic year of 2017-2018 were 11,144, 18,365, and 7,821 USD, respectively. Forty-five percent of the total of educational costs was allocated to training Ph.D. students in parasitology alone, and a major share (81%) of these costs had been paid to human resources. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that the financial costs of training and educating students in the parasitology and mycology fields are high, needing the prompt attention of the policymakers of the national medical education system. Keywords: Cost, Parasitology, Mycology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Ph.D. program, MSc. progra

Clustering and Switching Strategies in Verbal Fluency Tasks: Comparison between Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Healthy Controls

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that ALS patients suffer from cognitive and language impairments. One of the most striking and consistent cognitive dysfunctions in these patients is verbal fluency deficits. The aim of this study is the determination of verbal fluency performance of Persian speakers with ALS. Methods: It was a cross-sectional, analytical-descriptive study. In this study, 30 individuals (15 patients with ALS, and 15 healthy people) were examined by verbal fluency test. Verbal fluency test is a cognitive-linguistic test that has two subtests: phonemic fluency and semantic fluency; in each of them, words normally fall in clusters. Finally, the total number of words, mean cluster sizes and number of switches between clusters are counted and the results are compared between patients with ALS and healthy control groups. Results: Mean score of total naming, switching, and clustering in verbal fluency in the patient group was 39.80, 22.53, and 0.809. For the control group, it was 55.26, 31.86 and 1.00. Difference between the two groups in total naming (P≤0.05) and in switching (P≤0.05) was significant, but not in clusters (P≥0.05). Conclusion: Result of this study shows that ALS patients have a deficit in total naming and switching parts of verbal fluency test, but they have no impairment in clustering part. Based on these results, it seems that these patients may have problems in searching in the lexicon, but no problem in accessing words in clusters

Spiritual health in cancer patients at OMID hospital affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences -2012

For downloading the full-text of this article please click here.Background and Objectives: Due to high prevalence of cancer and its destructive impact on spiritual health of patients, this study aim to investigate Spiritual health in cancer patients at OMID hospital affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 2012. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the study population was 106 cancer patients referred to hospital. Paloutzian-Ellison questionnaire (1982) and convenience sampling were used to collect data which were analyzed using SPSS 16.Results: The mean scores of spiritual health, religious health and existential health were 97±1.2, 52.1±6.4 and 44.8±8.4 respectively .There was not statistical significant relationship between Spiritual health and  demographic factors. Conclusion: Spiritual health in cancer patients was intermediate. Promotion of spiritual health in diseases such as cancer that it is effective on the body, mind and spirit be taken into consideration specifically, because the Promotion of spiritual health leads to physical and mental health promotion. Keywords: Cancer, Spiritual health, HospitalFor downloading the full-text of this article please click here

Time Series Model for Forecasting the Prevalence of Some Important Parasitic Infections in Slaughtered Sheep in North-Central Iran

Uncontrolled parasitic infections in livestock can increase the potential risk of transmission between human societies. Owing to the socioeconomic challenges of these diseases in slaughtered sheep, the current study aimed to forecast the prevalence of these infections in a central slaughterhouse in Alborz Province, north-central Iran. Data from 2009 to 2018 on parasitic infections in slaughtered sheep presented at a slaughterhouse were compiled and the prevalence of these diseases was computed. The prevalence has been considered as a time series and afterward, RStudio software using the best-fitted ARIMA model was applied to forecast the monthly variation in prevalence rates. From 2009 to 2018, a total of 1,339,196 sheep were slaughtered in the studied slaughterhouse. The Iranian Afshari breed was the most slaughtered sheep and, a total of 77.6% of these animals were raised under traditional farming system. In addition to the Alborz province, slaughtered sheep were brought from five other provinces, including Zanjan, Qazvin, Qom, Kurdistan, and East Azerbaijan. The highest and lowest total prevalence of studied parasitic zoonoses in slaughtered livestock were cystic echinococcosis (12.76%) and Taenia ovis infection (0.01%), respectively. An approximate stationary trend for fascioliasis and CE and a mild decreasing trend for dicrocoeliasis and sarcocystosis has been forecasted for the next 10 years. Forecasting the prevalence of T. ovis infection showed that without implementing control strategies, this infection would be increased in the years ahead. The current study has demonstrated for the first time the predicting of some important parasitic infections in sheep in Iran. The results provide helpful data for authorities for controlling these diseases in the frontline of meat production. Vast and in-depth forecasting investigations is required to find evidence-based data about these infections for entire the country of Iran

Disseminated Strongyloidiasis in an Immunodeficient Patient (Pemphigus Vulgaris) Due to Corticosteroid Therapy: A Case Report

Strongyloidiasis is a frequent misdiagnosed parasitic infection in the world that caused by Strongyloides stercoralis. In Iran, the disease is predominantly reported from warm and humid climate provinces. The patient was a 54-yr-old man, originated from Khuzestan Province with a history of pemphigus and diabetes that was treated with high-dose of corticosteroid drugs before admission in a non-private hospital in Shiraz, Iran in 2014. After different primary diagnosis and administrating of several drugs, endoscopy and histopatholgical biopsy revealed a massive S. stercoralis infection in the duodenal mucosa and gastric wall. In spite treating with anti-helminthic drugs in the last days, due to using different steroid drugs, clinical manifestations of the patient were exacerbated and he was expired on the seventeenth day due to severe dyspnea. Physicians’ awareness and using various diagnosis methods like serology, endoscopy, and biopsy should be considered in the endemic areas. In suspicious cases, anthelmintic drugs should be started before the initiation of immunosuppressive therapy

Prevalence of Intestinal Parasites among Food-handlers in Shiraz, Iran

Background: Parasitic intestinal infections are still among socioeconomic prob­lems in the world, especially in developing countries like Iran. Food-handlers that directly deal with production and distribution of foods between societies are one of the most important sources to transmit parasitic infections to humans. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among food-handlers in Shiraz, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1021 feces samples were randomly col­lected from food-handlers in Shiraz, central Iran from August to September 2013. Two different methods, routine direct fecal examination and Formalin –Ethyl ace­tate concentration as a complementary technique, were done to detect parasites. Results: The prevalence of parasitic organisms was 10.4% in the food-handlers. The most species of the protozoan parasites were G. lamblia, E. coli and B. hominis; meanwhile, only one infection by H. nana (0.1%) was detected in this group. Mixed infections were observed in 13.2% (n=14/106) of positive cases. The majority of participants were male (57%); however, data analysis showed significant statistical difference in the rate of infection between females 11.9% (n=53/444) and males 9% (n=52/577) (P=0. 024). There was no significant statistical difference in the rate of infection among different educational and occupation groups. Conclusion: Although decreasing of helminthic infections is distinct, but infecting with protozoan parasites is still important in food-handlers. Concentration tech­nique is more useful than direct smear technique, especially for detection parasites in low number. High level of education in our study showed that training courses in this group could be effective in the implementation of control and prevention programs

Molecular Studies on Cystic Echinococcosis of Camel (Camelus dromedarius) and Report of Echinococcus ortleppi in Iran

Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is one of the most important zoonotic diseases; caused by different genotypes of Echinococcus spp. Camels have an important role in transmission cycle of E. granulosus especially, in desert areas. This study aimed to investigate molecular characterization of hydatid cysts isolates from one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) and to show its molecular and phylogenic status in this important CE host in the central part of Iran. Methods: Twenty hydatid cyst samples (14 fertile and 6 calcified) were collected from 56 slaughtered camels in Central part of Iran. Extraction of DNA from 14 fertile samples was achieved followed by molecular studies on two mitochondrial genes (nad1 and cox1). Results: Blast and phylogenetic analysis on sequenced genes showed the presence of G1 (28.6%), G3 (28.6%) and G6 (35.7%) genotypes in the samples. However, one sample was detected as E. ortleppi (G5) with 99% homology with G5 isolated from camel in Egypt (AB921055) and Sudan (JX912709). Conclusion: Presence of E. ortleppi, originally the cattle genotype, is reported for the first time in Iran. Due to the potential of infecting human by E. ortleppi; more attention should be paid to this zoonotic genotype in this region

The Verbal & Non-Verbal Communication Screening Checklist for Persian Speaking Children From 12 to 24 Months and Its Validity and Reliability

Objectives: Identification of developmental disabilities in the initial years of life provides an opportunity for early intervention. However there are limitations in this procedure, like the lack of appropriate instruments. The purpose of this study was to develop a verbal and non-verbal communication screening instrument and determining its validity and reliability in Persian-speaking children aged between 12 and 24 months. Methods: Parents of 147 children aged between 12 and 24 months participated in this study. Prior to the data collection, we reviewed communication tests and texts in Persian and English articles. We determined the content validity by calculating impact score of content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI). Test-retest reliability was calculated within an interval of 1 week. Results: The CVR score for the first group was between 0.57 and 1, and for the second group, between 0.79 and 1. These values were acceptable. CVI score for both groups was within 0.79-1 range. Impact score for items in the first group was 3-4.7, and in the second group, 2.9-4.8. By calculating interclass correlation, the Cronbach α coefficient and Spearman’s rho in two administrations within 1-week interval, the test-retest reliability was evaluated, which was acceptable. Discussion: The findings of this study show that this checklist has reasonable validity and reliability for both groups. The checklist is an integrated instrument for screening children who are at risk of verbal and non-verbal communication delay or disorders