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Serological Widal test is a fast, reliable and easy to perform and this test still is a suitable diagnostic method for diagnosing of typhoidal disease in many clinical laboratories. However, there are some doubtful reports regarding diagnostic value and credibility of this test, which was a motivation for present research. In this study, a total of 378 patients in two groups including 182 typhoidal patients with positive culture for Salmonella Typhi and para-Typhi A, B, C and 196 non-typhoidal febrile patients with negative culture for Salmonella, were studied in Hamadan city during 1994-97. All patients had at least one Widal test. In first group, 52.7% of patients have a titer of ?1:40 using anti-O (A, B, D) and 42.3% of patients also have a titer of ?1:80 using anti-O (A, B, D). In second group, 7.2% of patients have a titer of ?1:40 and 5.6% of them have a titer of ?1:80. In first group, 66.4% of patients had positive blood culture for S.typhi, however, 31.3% of them had positive antibody for OD titer. The results of this study indicated that sensitivity of Widal test for titer of ?1:80 was 86%, specificity 64% and PPV 42% and NPV 95%, therefore the negative Widal test did not have significant effect on the clinical diagnosis of typhoid disease.

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Background&Objective: The papanicolaou (pap) smear has been used to screen women for cervical cancer since 1940. Unsatisfactory results induce anxiety in patients and doctors. Recently, a number of new technologies have been developed to improve the detection of cervical cancer. Increase the early detection of meaningful pap smear abnormalities, reduce the number of unsatisfactory smears and false negative results and provide fewer ambiguous results one of these method is the new test, include liquid-based to improve the quality and quantity of the cervical pap smear. The aim of this study is to evaluate rate of unsatisfactory smear of cervical cytology in two methods, conventional pap smear (CP) and liquid-Based (L.B).
Materials&Methods: A comparison cross – sectional study was performed from 2004-2005 on 1500 patients referred to the Ghaem hospital and private clinic. From all patients cervical cytology was taken randomly via two methods CP and L.B. Subsequently frequency unsatisfactory cervical cytology in tow methods evaluated. Statistical analysis using the SPSS soft ware was done and t-test and ?2 used for comparative evaluation.
Results: Considering the incidence of unsatisfactory cervical cytology in CP method %0.3 was and in LB method %1 was. Sensitivity of the C.P method was 68.8% and that of the L.B method was 83.1%.
Conclusion: In this study incidence unsatisfactory rate in L.B method was higher than C.P method.

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Background and Objective: Hemoglobinopathies are among the most prevalent genetic disorders worldwide, and occur as a result of mutations in the gene involved in synthesizing hemoglobin chains. By now more than 1000 defects in hemoglobin chains are discovered. Hemoglobin D (Hb D) is one of these disorders, identified by a single nucleotide mutation on codon 121 of beta globin chain. This study was carried out to evaluate Hb D mutations through molecular methods in Mazandaran province of Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive laboratory study was done on 70 patients with an electrophoresis band in hemoglobin-S zone in Mazandaran province of Iran during 2010-11. Capillary zone electrophoresis was done to find out Hb D in 51 patients. Subsequently, PCR-RFLP was performed to evaluate the samples at molecular level. Results: Molecular investigation revealed all cases are carriers of hemoglobin D-Punjab. Two patients were shown to be homozygote carriers of the abnormal gene. Conclusion: This study showed all Hb D affected patients were carriers of Hb D Punjab.

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Background and Objective: Bunium percicum is often used in Iranian traditional medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders particularly gastric ulcer.This study was done to evaluate the antiulcerogenic effect of Bunium percicum Boiss.essential oil against indomethacin and ethanol – induced ulcer models in Wistar rats. Methods: This experimental study was carried out on rats weighing 200-220 g in veterinary college of Urmia University, Iran. LD₅₀ was calculated based on Lorke’s method. To evaluate the short term oral toxicity, animals were allocated into four group of six each. In groups 1-3 animals were received orally 250, 125, 80 mg/kg/bw of Bunium percicum Boiss.essential oil, respectively. Controls were received Tween 80 (2%) orally for 14 consecutive days and monitored daily. Bunium percicum Boiss. essential oil was administered orally at doses of 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg/bw and cimetedin (10 mg/kg/bw) and omopirazol (30 mg/kg/bw) in indomethacin and ethanol–induced ulcer models. Results: The LD₅₀ was 375 mg/kg/bw. Daily single oral doses of Bunium percicum Boiss.essential oil tolerated behaviorally after 14 days without any alterations in body and organs weight, food, water consumption and serum total protein, alanine and aspartate aminotransferase activity. The preventive index in doses of 40 and 80 mg/kg/BW of Bunium percicum Boiss.essential oil was 37.98% and 59.21%, respectively in the indomethacin -induced ulcer model (P<0.05). In the model of ethanol -induced ulcer, the preventive index in doses of 40 and 80 mg/kg of Bunium percicum Boiss. essential oil was 12.40% and 22.05%, respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion: The essential oil of Bunium percicum Boiss is completely ‘‘safe’’ and at the doses of 40 and 80mg/kg/bw significantly prevent gastric ulcers in animal model.

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Background and Objective: Despite enormous progress in the understanding of human reproductive physiology, the underlying cause of male infertility remains undefined in about 50.0% of cases, which are referred to as idiopathic infertility and affects about 5.0-7.0% of the general male population. Human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (ApE1) is a multifunctional protein that has an important role in the base excision repair (BER) pathway. ApE1 SNP T>G found in exon 5 led to substitution of Asp>Glu at codon 148. This study was done to evaluate the association of ApE1 Asp148Glu polymorphism and the risk of idiopathic male infertility. Methods: In this case-control study, blood samples were collected from 90 patients diagnosed with idiopathic male infertility and 90 healthy men, genotyped by Allele-Specific PCR (AS-PCR) method by using specific primers that were designed and the association between genotype and allele frequencies in cases and controls were estimated. Results: There was no significant association between ApE1 gene polymorphism at codon 148 in case and control groups. Conclusion: No significant association was found between the Asp148Glu polymorphism and idiopathic male infertility.

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Background and Objective: Bioabsorbat is one of the most effective methods for the removal of heavy metals from industrial sewages. This study was done to assess the evaluation of Copper removal from industrial sewages by the Green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris.

Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was done on three samples from Bahonar Kerman copper industry sewage samples and 63 copper biosorption synthetic samples by Green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris at a constant temperature of 25°C, optimum pH 6 and contact time of 60 minutes and adsorbent concentration of 2 g/L. The rate of residual copper was determined using atomic absorption instrument. The adsorption isotherms and metal ions kinetic modeling on to the adsorbent were determined based on Langmuir isotherm, Freundlich and kinetics of type I and II.

Results: The removal efficiency was determined as 82.62% and 91.5 % in Copper real examples and synthetic samples, respectively. Based on the obtained results, copper absorption followed Langmuir model and second order kinetic equation (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Due to high absorption potential of Green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris, this method can be effectively used for copper removal from industrial sewages.

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Background and Objective: Ferula assa foetida (Ferula assa-foetida L.) is an herbaceous wild plant native to Iran which is used in the traditional medicine for treating stomach and intestinal disorders. This study was done to determine the antidiarrheal effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Ferula assa foetida in rat.

Methods: In this experimental study, Wistar adult male rats randomly allocated into negative control, positive control and interventional groups. Animals in negative control groups were recived normal salin orally. Animals in positive control groups were recived Atropine (0.1 mg/kg/bw) for evaluation of intestinal propulsive movement and Loperamide (3 mg/kg/bw) for evaluation of diarrhea. In interventional group 1, 2 and 3 animals were received hydroalcoholic extract of Ferula assa foetida 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/bw, resepectively. One hour after administration of extracts and medicine diarrhea induced using castor oil in animals. Induced diarrhea, intestinal propulsive movement and intestinal fluid accumulation were evaluated in rats.

Results: Gavage of the extract (5 g/kg) did not produce any toxic effect in rats. The mean peristaltic index in Gavage for doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/bw, control and atropine groups was 97.00%, 65.88%, 62.23%, 86.19% and 52.86%, respectively. The extract at the lowest dose in combination with atropine was significantly reduced peristaltic index rather than of the atropin alone (P<0.05). The extract produced a non-significant reduction in the volume of intestinal fluid accumulation and propulsive movement in the castor oil-induced intestinal transit in rats. In a dose-dependent manner, the extract delayed the onset of diarrhea. Loperamide and highest dose of extract (400 mg/kg/bw) produced a significant reduction in the frequency of defecation and severity of diarrhea (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The hydroalcoholic extract of F. assa foetida showed anti-diarrheal activity due to its inhibitory effect on intestinal fluid accumulation.

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Background and Objective: Dogs are associated with more than 60 types of common diseases with humans, among which parasitic diseases play an important role in public health. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of gastrointestinal helminths fauna among dogs in Gorgan, Iran.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was done on 70 dogs (37 male and 33 female) consisting of 40 shelter dogs, 18 pet dogs and 14 guard dogs in Gorgan (Iran) from November 2019 to January 2020. Age, gender and housing places of the dogs were recorded, and dogs' fecal samples were examined for gastrointestinal helminths by flotation method with Sheather's solution.
Results: The eggs of gastrointestinal helminths were detected in 41 dogs (58.6%), including Toxocara canis (29.3%), Echino-taenia (26.8%), hookworms (24.4%), Trichuris vulpis (7.3%) and Toxascaris leonina (12.2%). The highest and lowest rates of infection were related to Toxocara canis (31.8%) in female dogs Trichuris vulpis (5.3%) in male dogs, respectively. Also, in female dogs, 69.7% of the samples were infected with at least one gastrointestinal parasite, and there was a significant relationship between parasitic disease and female gender (P<0.05). Also, the highest infection rate was observed in shelter dogs (61%).
Conclusion: The frequency of gastrointestinal helminths among dogs in Gorgan is high, particularly among female dogs.
 

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Background and Objective: Celiac disease is a malabsorption disorder that could result in various psychological consequences if patients do not adhere to a gluten-free diet. This study aimed to determine the frequency of major depressive disorder and its relationship with adherence to a gluten-free diet among patients with celiac disease.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 47 patients with celiac disease (30 women and 17 men) with an average age of 40.88 ± 10.7 years who had been referred to the Golestan Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology during the summer of 2019. Patients were invited to complete a 13-item Beck Inventory. Celiac Dietary Adherence Test (CDAT) was used to assess adherence from the patients' point of view, and Standardized Dietician Evaluation (SDE) was used to evaluate adherence to the diet from the interviewer's perspective.
Results: Overall, 28 people (59.6%) with celiac disease reported some degree of depression. Based on the SDE, the adherence rate of patients to a gluten-free diet was 83%. The association between adherence to a gluten-free diet and the prevalence of depression was not significant. There was also no significant association between the prevalence of depression and the gender and age of patients.
Conclusion: Based on the results, a high percentage of patients with celiac disease have symptoms of depression. However, there is no significant relationship between adherence to a gluten-free diet and the prevalence of depression.