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Introduction: Alimentary  parasitic  infections  are  still  one  of  the  main  problem  in  developing  countries, and  their  relation  with  environmental  factors  are  important.  Since  children  are  more  vulnerable  to  these  infections, in  basic  researchers  this  group  is  more  targeted.
Materials  and  Methods:  This  descriptive-analytical  cross-sectional  study  was  carried  out  on  1-13  years  children  who  were  living  in  Shahrak-e-Valiasr  Arak.  Simple  random  sampling  was  used  for  selecting  385  children.  Three  days  collected  feces  samples  from  each  person  were  examined  using  formaline-ether  concentration  technique. Data  were  analyzed  by  Chi  square  method.
Results:  The  results  showed  a  prevalence  of  42.3%  of  intestinal  parasitic  infections  in the  children. From  these, 17.4%  were  pathogen  parasits. The  highest  prevalence  was  reported  for  Giardia  lambia  (16.6%).  Girls  were  more  infected  than  boys.  The  level  of  infection  was  significantly  increased  by  age. The  prevalence  of  the  infection  was  more  in  orphans  or  in  children  who  had  uneducated  parents.
Conclusion:  Since  date  indicated  of  a  high  prevalence  of  intestinal  parasitic  infections  in  the  children. It  is  suggested  to  use  washed  and  clean  vagetables   and  fruits  and  also  emphasize  on  personal  and  environmental  hygiene.

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Introduction: Different hormonal responses may appear in severe head injured patients (including increase in serum Cortisol & GH level). These changes can also be seen in recovery and rehabilitation periods, so influencing the patients, outcome.
Materials and Methods: Forty severely head injured patients, referred to emergency units of Alzahra & Kashani hospitals were studied in a cohort study (selected by convenient sampling) after dividing into two equal groups. Craniotomy was performed for one group and conservative (non-surgical) therapy for the other. In the first and seventh day of admission serum Cortisol and growth hormone were checked (using RIA method). Data was analyzed by paired and student t tests.
Results: There were significant differences between mean of GH in the first and also in the seventh day(both with P<0.05) and between mean of GH and Cortisol from first to seventh day in two study groups(P<0.05). But there were no significant differences between mean of Cortisol in the first or seventh day in two study groups.
Conclusion: Results of this study showed that craniotomy as an independent factor can raise serum GH and Cortisol levels in severely head injured patients.

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Background: Inappropriate feeding is one of the major causes of malnutrition in children. This study was carried out to get an insight into mothers’ views and beliefs about the role of complementary feeding in children under the age of two. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study, data were collected through 11 focus-group discussions (FGDs) with mothers, who had children under the age of two, in urban and rural areas of Damavand in 2007. Each FGD was held in the presence of a moderator, two note takers, and an observer. At the end of field work, all notes were collected and coded according to the objectives of the study. Then the subgroups for each objective were obtained, and emerging themes were extracted and reported. Results: In the study, six general themes were identified:(1) The mothers viewed complementary feeding as simple, soft, light foods which are especially made for children (2) the best time for introducing complementary feeding was 6 months of age (3) there were no complementary local foods in Damavand (4) for children under the age of one, a different type of food was separately prepared (5) home-made complementary food was preferred over the ready made type, and (6) children were fed with table food from the first year of life. Conclusion: Despite their sufficient knowledge about the advantages of complementary feeding, the majority of mothers, due to some socio-cultural limitations, had a weak performance. In this regard, in addition to making revisions in current training programs and protocols, providing effective and goal-oriented educational programs for mothers and others who take care of children is strongly recommended.

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Background: Leishmania major and leishmania tropica are the main causes of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran, especially in Isfahan and Bam regions. In this study, noticing the effect of diversity of this parasite strains on designing disease control strategies, human isolates were examined through PCR-RFLP to determine the type of strains. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 340 samples obtained from CL patients due to Leishmania were cultured and prepared for microscopic study and examined through PCR-RFLP. The products of some of these samples were sequenced and analyzed. ITS1 region of genomic DNA was extracted and amplified with LITSr and L5.8s primers. Data on sequencing the samples were related to ITS1 region that in extracted DNAs with LITSr and L5.8s primers appeared with four kinds of genotype patterns, two for L.major and two for L.tropica in Isfahan and Bam regions. Results: Genotypic groups, LmA and LmB, were detected from L.major isolates while LtA and LtB genotypic groups were indicated for L.tropica in these two regions. The most prevalent genotypes related to isolates of Isfahan were LmA geneotype, whereas LtA geneotype was mostly reported in isolates of Bam. Conclusion: Leishmania major and leishmania tropica, the causative agents of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Isfahan and anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in Bam, respectively, are genetically polymorphic species. There exists a relationship between genetic heterogeneousness and clinical manifestation and geographical regions of this disease in human

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Background: TEM, PER, and VEB are extended-spectrum betalactamase (ESBL) enzymes that are capable of hydrolyzing penicillins, cephalosporins, and aztreonam. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ESBL producing E.coli and molecular evaluation of TEM, PER, and VEB β-lactamases among E.coli strains. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 clinical strains of E.coli were isolated from clinical specimens and their antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion method. ESBL production was determined using the combined disk method with CAZ and CTX with clavulanic acid and alone. Minimum concentration inhibition (MIC) for CAZ and CTX with clavulanic acid and alone was determined by agar dilution method. Finally, PCR with specific primers was used for determining the presence of blaTEM, blaPER, and blaVEB genes. Results: Combined disk method confirmed 94 strains (47%) to be ESBL producing E.coli. Of the 94 ESBL producing strains, 36 samples had MIC=16, 44 samples had MIC between 32-256, and 10 samples had MIC≥512 for ceftazidime, whereas 8 samples had MIC=16, 68 samples had MIC between 32-256, and 21 samples had MIC≥512 for cefotaxime. The frequency of TEM was 44% however, blaPER and blaVEB genes were not detected by PCR among ESBL producing isolates. Conclusion:The results indicated that the high percentage of ESBL producing E.coli is 47% and PCR method showed a high frequency of TEM enzyme, but PER and VEB betalactamase were not found among them.

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Background: Occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is defined as the presence of HCV-RNA in liver or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in the absence of detectable hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV) or HCV-RNA in the serum. Although occult HCV infection is less aggressive than classic chronic HCV infection, nevertheless it is important in management of hemodialysis (HD) patients. Occult HCV infection has been described in two different clinical settings: in patients with normal liver enzymes or in patients with abnormal values of liver enzymes. The aim of this study was to detect the occult HCV infection in hemodialysis patients with elevated liver enzymes.

Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was performed in hemodialysis patients referring to 3 dialysis units in Tehran. In 30 anti-HCV negative HD patients with elevated liver enzymes, presence of HCV-RNA in plasma samples was tested by Reverse Transcriptase-Nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-nested PCR). In cases with negative anti-HCV and plasma HCV-RNA, HCV-RNA was checked in PBMC specimens by RT-nested PCR.

Results: A total of 30 HD patients with mean age 54.4± 14.1years and mean dialysis duration 81.2 ±64.4 months were enrolled in the study. All HD subjects were negative for HCV-RNA in plasma and occult HCV infection with RT-nested PCR method.

Conclusion: Occult HCV infection was rare in HD patients with elevated levels of liver enzymes.

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Background: Toxoplasma gondii is an important pathogenic protozoan. This parasite can cause severe infection and may lead to abortion. Abnormal levels of cholesterol and other lipids in blood samples of infected persons have raised some questions on the role of these factors in the pathogenesis of Toxoplasma.This study aimed to measure and compare lipid and testosterone levels and the relationship between them among a selected group of men with and without Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody.  

Materials and Methods: This case – control study was conducted on a group of 20 to 29 years old men referred to the pre-marital clinics in Arak city in 2012. After completing a questionnaire, a blood sample (5 ml) was taken from each subject. Then, required diagnostic tests for toxoplasmosis was conducted. According to diagnostic results, 100 men with Toxoplasma antibodies were defined as cases and another group with equal number but without antibodies was defined as controls. Then, levels of testosterone and lipids in serum of these two groups were measured and compared.

Results:  Findings showed that testosterone levels were in normal range in both cases and controls, but the hormone level was significantly lower among cases. There was no significant difference in terms of serum lipid levels.

Conclusion:  Examination of relationship between blood testosterone and lipids levels among cases and controls showed that there was a significant negative correlation between testosterone and triglyceride levels. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between testosterone and HDL levels.

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Background: Catalase is a basic antioxidant enzyme that exits in human organs, mainly in the liver. The liver as a main tissue in the body that plays a substantial role in the catabolism and detoxification of drugs is a target of toxic and carcinogenic effects of many drugs. In the present study, the side effects of an anti-cancer compound of oxali-palladium on the function and structure of liver catalase were investigated.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, changes in the enzyme activity were studied by conversion in substrate (hydrogen peroxide) absorption at wavelength of 240 nm, using UV-visible spectroscopy in the absence and presence of different concentrations of oxali-palladium at room temperature. Furthermore, the effect of oxali-palladium on the tertiary structure of catalase was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy via studying the changes in the intrinsic enzyme emission in the absence and presence of different concentrations of oxali-palladiumat at both room and physiologic temperatures.

Results: Kinetics data showed that the Km value of bovine liver catalase was 26.8 mM. Moreover, in the presence of different concentrations of oxali-palladium‚ the enzyme activity showed a gradual decrease in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.001). Fluorescence data presented changes in the tertiary structure of the enzyme by quenching fluorescence emission‚ that indicated alteration in protein chromophore environment.

Conclusion: It could be concluded that inhibition of catalase enzyme by anticancer drug of oxali-palladium increases the content of reactive oxygen species. Increase in reactive oxygen species values is one of the chief mechanisms of different anticancer drugs.

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Background: Shigella is the causative agent of human shigellosis and its lipopolysaccharide is detected by TLR4. TLR4 belongs to Toll-like receptors family and many immunological pathways are triggered when these receptors are stimulated. Many researches showed increasing in TLR4 expression in mesenchymal stem cells through lipopolysaccharide treatment. The main goal of this study is detecting the optimum lipopolysaccharide between shigella strains through stimulation of immune system for vaccine studies.

Materials and Methods: In this experimental study human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells were treated with three distinct concentrations (0.1, 0.01, and 0.001) of shigella (S. flexneri, S. dysenteriae, S. sonnei) extract containing lipopolysaccharide. Then TLR4 expression in mRNA level was investigated by RT-PCR and Q-PCR. The cells treated with phosphate buffered saline have been considered as a control group.

Results: Expression of TLR4 was shown in all of case groups except treatment with concentration 0.001 of extracts from sonnei and dysenteriae and also control group. The variations in the expression of TLR4 was dose-dependent in all of case groups. The maximum expression of TLR4 related to treatment with extract from shigella flexneri strain and the minimum expression related to treatment with shigella sonnei extract. The use of lipopolysaccharide from E. coli as a positive control indicated that lipopolysaccharide in shigella extracts is responsible for the increased expression of TLR4.

Conclusion: The TLR4 expression level was increasesed by S. flexneri extract, so it could be recommended for increasing vaccine efficiency.

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Background: Toxocariasis is a parasitic disease caused by presence of Toxocara larva in human body. Soil as a reservoir maintained eggs of parasite and has important role in dissemination of disease because dogs and cats defecate eggs of parasite by feces. Despite there are large number of stray cats and dogs in urban areas such as Arak city, we need to collect information about soil pollution in public places. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate soil contamination with Toxocara eggs in public parks in Arak city.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 soil samples were collected from 15 public parks in the Arak city during the summer 2015. The soil samples were provided by flotation method and examined by microscope.

Results: The results of this study showed that 4 (26.6%) of 15 parks were infected with Toxocara eggs. The highest rate of infection was observed in the walking and picnic site of parks. Also, in this study, two contaminated parks were located in the center and two parks were located in the southeastern of city.

Conclusion: Considering that soil contamination with Toxocara eggs was high in Arak city, it seems that the health authorities should design and implement programs in order to prevent human infection.

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Background: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of preconception endurance exercise training with voluntary exercise activity during pregnancy in mother mice on lipid profile in adult offsprings.

Materials and Methods: Twenty four C57BL/6 female mice were randomly divided into four subgroups: trained in preconception period and exercised during pregnancy (TE)(20.3±1.02g); trained in preconception periods but unexercised during pregnancy (TC)(21.58±0.4g); untrained in preconception periods but exercised during pregnancy (CE)(21.02±0.23g); untrained and unexercised (CC)(19.23±0.45g). Trained mice were subjected to a protocol of moderate endurance exercise training over a period of 4 weeks for 5 days before pregnancy. The fasting blood samples were collected from adult mice(8 weeks old) and serum levels of glucose and lipid profile were measured. Data were analyzed using two way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test.

Results: The Glucose test results in offspring showed that there was a significant interaction between group and sex and group main effect (p<0.001) Glucose levels of male offspring were significantly lower in TC and TE groups. Results on LDL also showed that the sex main effect was significant (p<0.001), and LDL levels of male born to TE and TC dams lower than in female offspring.

Conclusion: Improving the mother's physical fitness by providing regular endurance training in the preconception period and maintaining it by exercise activty throughout pregnancy may have potential for eliciting positive changes in lipid profile of offspring, specially males.

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Background: Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder that leads patients to avoid any kind of activities. Since different factors are involved in migraine incidence and its triggers, so drugs are used to prevent or treat it are so variable. Also, combined medications are used to relieve migraine. This study examined the effectiveness of self-control training on quality of life in patients with migraine.

Materials and Methods: Statistic population of this study included all migraine patients in Ardabil in 2014(Estimation: N=1150) that 40 patients were selected by convenience sampling. Demographic and disease information questionnaire and quality of life questionnaire (SF-36) were used to collect data in clinical centers. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA) was used to analyze data, because present research was a experimental and clinical trial with pre-test and post-test with control group.

Results: The results showed that there is a significant difference between mean in quality of life in migraine patients and control subjects. It means that physical health and mental health of quality of life was different between control and experimental groups after self- control training.

Conclusion: Self-control training can be used to enhance quality of life in migraine patients. These results have important and effective applications in the treatment of migraine patients. Generally, specialists of clinical centers can use this method alongside other treatment interventions.

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Background: The efflux pumps are one of the main mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics in E. coli and K. pneumoniae strains. The aim of this study is to study the association between genes coding efflux pumps AcrAB and Qep A and ciprofloxacin resistance among E. coli and K. pneumoniae clinical strains

Materials and Methods: This study was done on 100 strains of E. coli isolated from Taleghani and Labbafinejad Hospitals and 100 strains of K. pneumoniae isolated from Taleghani and Mofid Children Hospitals. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed by disk diffusion method based on CLSI guidelines. Identification of genes encoding efflux pumps Acr AB and Qep A was done by PCR technique.

Results: In this study, fosfomycin and imipenem had the best effect against E. coli clinical isolates and fosfomycin and tigecycline had the best effect against K. pneumoniae clinical isolates. PCR assay demonstrated that the prevalence of AcrA, AcrB and QepA genes among E. coli isolates were 92%, 84% and 0%, respectively and among K. pneumoniae isolates were 94%, 87% and 4%, respectively.

Conclusion: The prevalence of genes encoding efflux pumps in E. coli and K. pneumoniae clinical strains, which causes resistance to fluoroquinolones, is cause for concern. Therefore, controlling infection and preventing the spread of drug-resistant bacteria needs to manage medication carefully and identify resistant isolates.

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Toxocariasis is human infection caused by larval stage of Toxocara helminthes. The adult Toxocara helminthes live in intestine of dog and cat, but if the human accidentally ingests the egg, the larva is released into the intestine and then penetrating to mucosal capillaries and by blood stream migrates to various organs. Considering to the larva of parasite cannot be adult in human body and finally is destroyed, but its placement in the organs leads to irritation and inflammation of the tissue and appearance of signs and symptoms. The parasite   affects liver, lung and central nervous system more than other organs. The most obvious symptoms of this disease are irregular fever, liver enlargement and sever eosinophilia. Other symptoms depend on the final location of the parasite, for example, respiratory symptoms (similar to asthma) will occur at the time of parasite settling in the lung and nervous disorder when the parasite is deployed in the nervous system (1). Sever clinical symptoms due to the disease is more common in 2 to 7 years old children, because of contacting with polluted playground soil or stray dog and cat, that the chance of them getting disease is increased (2). In developing countries including Iran, the diagnosis of the disease is done by collecting signs and symptoms, evaluating risk factor and laboratory results. Laboratory results which is considered on this disease containing eosinophilia, hypergammaglobulinemia and increasing of isohemagglutinin A and B. The serological test by ELISA technique was used for diagnosis of anti-parasite antibody in European countries and USA, the sensitivity and specificity of this test was 78 and 98%, respectively. There is no definitive guideline to the treatment of the disease but the most common treatment plan is 400 mg albendazole and 100 to 200 mg mebendazole, twice a day for 5 days (1). In recent years the number of dogs and cats in the human environment has been increased in our country and consequently the rate of soil contamination to eggs of Toxocara has been increased. The consequence of this phenomenon is an increasing chance of human contact the egg of this parasite and onset of toxocariasis. The studies in Iran is reported the rate of soil contamination to this parasite is minimum 3.9% (Urmia) to maximum 63.3% (Khoramabad), while the rate of contamination in soil of Arak parks is 26.6% (3-5). In addition, the results of serological study showed that the prevalence of toxocariasis in 5 to 15 years old asthmatic patients was 1.8%, in Arak (6). But the results of a review study showed that the prevalence of toxocariasis in general population of Iran was 15.8% and this rate is increasing (7). Changes in Ecosystem and abundance of garbage in Iranian cities have led to overabundance of dogs and cats in human environment. On the other hand, accepting some of cultural western lifestyle such as keeping pets, apart from their social and legal responsibility has been caused increasing risk of infectious disease transmitted by animals such as toxocariasis.  Due to the relatively high prevalence of Toxocara infection among dogs and cats in Iran, the need to pay attention to the disease caused by this parasite is felt as a potential medical and health hazard in the country. In this condition, holding workshops for remembering of symptoms, diagnosis method, treatment and prevention of the disease for clinician associate with infected patients, would has an important role for quick diagnosis and remedy of the patients and would reduce the corporal and psychological load of them. Also, performing the research studies would help to know current epidemiological situation and changes that have taken place in various parts of Iran. In the other side, encouraging scholars for isolation, purification and examine excretory-secretory antigens of this parasite that used for producing the serological diagnostic kits could increase accuracy and reduce cost of diagnosis test of disease and finally improve the level of health in community.

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Background and Aim: Sicne in many dosimetry calculations, the water and soft tissue phantoms are used, this study aimed to investigate the difference of these two phantoms with a phantom consisted of realistic liver materials in proton therapy for liver cancer.
Methods & Materials: Three phantoms with different materials of water, soft tissue and realistic liver materials were used for the study. A spherical tumor with 2 cm radius was considered in the liver. The Spread-out Bragg Peaks (SOBPs) were measured to cover the complete tumor for the three phantoms. Dose distribution and deposited dose ratio in tumor and surrounding organs were calculated using Monte Carlo N-Particle Extended (MCNPX) code. 
Ethical Considerations: The best proton energy interval to complete the coverage of tumor in the liver for phantoms with realistic and soft tissue materials was 90-120 MeV and for water phantom, it was 88-116 MeV. The shift of the Bragg peaks depth per energy in the water phantom mm relative to two other phantoms was about 4.5. The dose parameters were evaluated according to the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU), and the results showed no any significant difference between them. The dose distribution in the tumor and surrounding organs showed that for all three phantoms, the dose distribution around the tumor was negligible.
Results: The use of soft tissue phantom has more acceptable results than water phantom in simulating treatment and can be replaced with realistic liver tissue. More realistic phantoms should be used in treatment plan. 
Conclusion: The use of soft tissue phantom has more acceptable results than water phantom in simulating treatment and can be replaced with realistic liver tissue. More realistic phantoms should be used in treatment plan. 

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