Background: Repeated implantation failure (RIF) is considered one of the major challenges facing clinician in assisted reproduction technologies (ART) despite the significant advances that have been made in this field. Platelet rich plasma (PRP), also known as autologous conditioned plasma, is a protein concentrate with anti-inflammatory and pro-regenerative characteristics. The use of PRP in women undergoing ART has been studied in the past, with varying degrees of success. The goal of this trial was to see if injecting PRP into the uterus improves pregnancy outcomes in women receiving ART.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Clinical Trials were among the databases searched (CENTRAL), from 2015 to 2021. The pooled estimates were calculated using a meta-analysis with a random-effects model. There were 14 studies with a total of 1081 individuals (549 cases and 532 controls).

Results: There was no difference in miscarriage rates between women who got PRP and those who received placebo (P≤0.90). Chemical pregnancy (P≤0.00), clinical pregnancy (P ≤0.001), and implantation rate (P≤ 0.001) were all significantly higher in women. Endometrial thickness increased in women who got PRP vs women who received placebo after the intervention (P ≤0.001).

Conclusion: PRP may be an alternate therapeutic approach for individuals with thin endometrium and RIF, according to the findings of this comprehensive study. To determine the subgroup that would benefit the most from PRP, more prospective, big, and high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed.

Over the last decade, we were facing medical struggle by the emergence of multi-resistant bacteria, especially methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA infections are still causing a growing global concern due to the rapid adaptive multidrug resistance to conventional antibiotics in human, community and veterinary medicine. Here we provide an overview about MRSA epidemiology, transmission and alternative potential treatments particularly new discovered phytochemicals with biological activity. In this narrative review, bibliographic data was collected from literature search databases: Google Scholar, web of science and PubMed/MEDLINE during recent years (2016 to 2021). MRSA is responsible of wide spectrum life threatening infections such us septicemia, endocarditis, and wound infections. It has epidemic potential in hospitals, that is responsible of most nosocomial infections leading to mortality and constitute a real burden for the healthcare systems. Effective preventive strategies for management of MRSA are highly required moreover, the identification and development of novel drugs or active biomolecules through phytochemicals are time challenging to face new resistant strains.

Background: Digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and laptops are used for various purposes. The digital display quality has been improved, making it less tiring and more favoured among users. This study aimed to review the visual comfort of digital devices and the preferences of digital display settings that enhance the visual comfort experienced by digital device users.

Methods: A search of PubMed, EBSCO host MEDLINE Complete, Scopus database, Google Scholar, and manual citation review was conducted, covering the period between 2010 and 2022. The criteria were selected based on the PRISMA statements. The search mainly focused on finding the existing literature on digital devices that contribute to visual discomfort and digital device settings that provide better visual comfort.

Results: The database search resulted in 533 references via the application of Microsoft Excel. There were 28 studies included in the final assessment. Twelve studies accounted for digital devices that contributed to visual discomfort, while another sixteen studies for digital device settings provided better visual comfort.

Conclusion: Digital displays with high luminance contrast, positive polarity and adequate colour were preferred for better visual comfort. Meanwhile, smaller fonts were preferred for desktops and laptops, while larger fonts were favoured for smartphones. This study provides insights for digital display developers to learn and improve their display technology to fit the preferences expressed.

Background: The single risk factors of pancreatic cancer (PC) has been extensively studied. We aimed to synthesize results from such studies to identify and estimate multiple independent risk factors of PC.

Methods: Articles published up to Feb 28, 2020 in English or Chinese reporting risk factors of PC were reviewed. The fixed-effects model with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to calculate the pooled Odds Ratio (OR). Data were analyzed using RevMan 5.3.

Results: PC was significantly associated with smoking (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.61–1.92, P < 0.00001, I² = 6%), diabetes (OR: 2.69, 95% CI: 2.52-2.88, P < 0.00001, I² = 0%), family history of PC (OR: 2.58, 95% CI: 2.13-3.11, P < 0.00001, I² = 0%), and chronic pancreatitis (OR: 5.84, 95% CI: 3.63-9.41, P < 0.00001, I² = 0%).

Conclusion: Smoking, diabetes, family history of PC, and chronic pancreatitis were independent risk factors for PC. These independent risk factors have an important role in identifying high-risk groups, which is of great significance to reduce the incidence of PC and improve the quality of life and prognosis of patients.

Executive functions (EFs) skills are necessary for regulating the thoughts, emotions, and actions which are associated with many aspects of daily functioning. Executive dysfunction (EDFs) is present in a wide range of mental disorders. New study indicates that EFs may predict health behavior and make it easier to engage in a variety of healthy activities. In this narrative review, EFs and public health are briefly discussed. In general, 133 articles met the inclusion criteria (published 2018-2023) which were reviewed. EFs affect the mental and physical health. Besides individual problems, people with mental problems have heavy costs to society. Mental health cannot be considered separately from general health. Consequently, preventive and therapeutic approaches to mental health should be considered not only at the level of the whole society, but also at the global level.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the world's most common etiology of chronic liver disease. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we estimated the prevalence of NAFLD in the Iranian children and adult population.

Methods: A comprehensive search of five international databases, including PubMed, ISI/WOS, ProQuest, Scopus, and Google Scholar, was done from inception to Nov 2022. Studies on NAFLD patients and their risk factors were selected for meta-analysis. The quality of the included studies was assessed by The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for cross-sectional, and cohort studies. The heterogeneity between studies was investigated using Cochran test and I² statistics. Random and fixed effect models were used for heterogenic and non-heterogenic studies, respectively. We used Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3 for conducting meta-analysis.

Results: Twenty studies were finally included. The total prevalence of NAFLD in children, boys, and girls was 6.7% (95% CI: 0.02-0.18), 12.5% (95% CI: 0.04-0.29) and, 10.1% (95% CI: 0.04-0.21), respectively. The total prevalence of NAFLD in obese children, obese boys, and obese girls was 42% (95% CI: 0.18-0.69), 44% (95% CI: 0.13-0.80), and 33 % (95% CI: 0.13-0.62), respectively. The total prevalence of NAFLD in adults was 36.9% (95% CI: 0.31-0.42). The prevalence of NAFLD in men and women was 33.8% (95% CI: 0.27-0.41) and 29.9% (95% CI: 0.21-0.40), respectively.

Conclusion: NAFLD prevalence in Iranian adults and obese children is considerable; however, data about the children population was insufficient.

Background: Asbestos is one of the most important environmental and occupational carcinogens. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which asbestos fiber exposure causes chronic diseases are not fully understood. We performed the first systematic review on the epidemiological evidence to examine the association between occupational exposure to asbestos and oxidative stress and DNA damage.

Methods: In this systematic review study, the PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for English-language publications. Eleven cross-sectional studies were included in the systematic review. A literature search was conducted by the main keywords including "Asbestos", "crocidolite", "chrysotile", "amphibole", "amosite", "Oxidative Stress", "DNA Damage", and "DNA injury". To evaluate the quality of studies, the "Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale" (NOS) was used.

Results: Overall, 1235 articles were achieved by searching in databases. Finally, by considering the inclusion, and exclusion criteria, 11 articles were conducted for this study. These studies were published between 1986 and 2020. Oxidative stress and DNA damage can occur in exposure to asbestos. Among various biomarkers, 8-OHdG is the best. The analysis of 8-oxodG in asbestos workers can help identify subjects with a higher level of genotoxic damage.

Conclusion: This systematic review suggests that oxidative stress and DNA damage are two main outputs of asbestos exposure. Therefore, oxidative stress and DNA damage biomarkers can be used for identifying subjects at higher risk of cancer. These findings support policy initiatives aimed at detecting and eliminating asbestos fiber exposure and preventing potential health hazards in occupational settings.

Background: Autism is a lifelong condition that seriously affects many aspects of children's and families' lives. The experience attained by living with a child with autism can be a valuable source of information to provide support and satisfactory services to children with autism and their families. We aimed to investigate the lived experiences of Iranian parents of children with autism.

Methods: The search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar, CINAHL, PsychInfo, SID, and Magiran until Nov 2021. Two reviewers screened the articles, applied inclusion criteria, critically evaluated articles using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP), and extracted study details according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. Thematic synthesis was used to analyze included studies. 

Results: From 2772 articles in the initial search, sixteen studies entered the final analysis. Four themes emerged, including treatment-related lived experience, individual lived experience, social lived experience, and occupational lived experience. Iranian parents of children with autism are confronted with negative experiences, including inaccurate diagnostic processes, lack of adequate support at the diagnosis time, low-quality treatment, psychological problems, and concern about the child's future. Also, Parent's experiences showed family problems, stigma, and problems with doing occupations.

Conclusion: Practitioners, policy-makers, and regulatory organizations should urgently consider issues mentioned in the parents' experiences to provide proper healthcare services for children with autism and their families. 

Background: Integration of healthcare services for preterm neonates at home and hospital by mobile technology is an economical and convenient intervention, which is being increasingly applied worldwide. We aimed to classify the outcomes of mobile applications tailored to parents of premature infants.

Methods: This systematic review was conducted by searching the six main databases until May 2021. Mobile applications tailored to parents of premature infants and the reported outcomes of this technology were identified and classified. Quality of screened articles checked by MMAT tool.

Results: Overall, 10703 articles were retrieved, and after eliminating the duplicated articles, 9 articles were reviewed ultimately. Identified outcomes were categorized into three groups parental, application, and neonatal outcomes. In the parental outcomes, maternal stress/stress coping, parenting self-efficacy, satisfaction, anxiety, partnership advocacy/improved parent-infant relationship, feeling of being safe, reassurance and confidence, increase awareness, as well as discharge preparedness, were identified. In the application outcomes, application usage, ease of use/user-friendly, and usability of the designed application were placed. Finally, the neonatal outcomes include health and clinical items.

Conclusion: Mobile applications can be useful in prematurity for educating pregnant mothers, managing stress and anxiety, supporting families, and preparing for discharge. Moreover, due to the coronavirus condition, providing remote services for parents is an appropriate solution to reduce the in-person visits to neonatal care centers. Development of tailored apps can promote the neonates' health and reduce their parents’ stress.

Background: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disease, usually occurring in the third trimester of pregnancy. Its typical clinical manifestations are itching and elevated serum total bile acid levels, which are more harmful to the fetus, and can lead to a variety of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This paper discusses the expressions of galectin -1 and 3 in the serum and placenta of ICP patients and their relationship with the effect of the incidence of ICP.

Methods: Galectin-1 and 3 in serum and placenta were detected in 22 pregnant women with ICP and 20 healthy pregnant women admitted to the obstetrics Department of Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital from May 2021 to February 2022.

Results: Serum levels of galectin-1 and galectin-3 in ICP pregnant women were significantly higher than those in controls, with significant differences (P<0.05). Placental galectin-1 and 3 were higher in normal pregnant women, and there were statistical differences between groups (P<0.05).

Conclusion: In ICP, the maternal serum and placental galectin-1 and 3 levels were significantly increased, both of which may play an important role in the development of ICP, which may be the initiation factor of ICP pathophysiology, a marker of ICP prediction, and a target of ICP prevention strategies.

Background: We aimed to retrospectively analyze the level of appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) in adult males and its influencing factors for early screening and intervention of sarcopenia.

Methods: From January 2020 to December 2021, adult male medical examiners from the Health Management Center of the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Chengdu City, China were selected as the research subjects. The ASMI level was measured by bioelectrical impedance (BIA) method. The subjects were divided into four groups according to the quartiles of ASMI level, the levels of related indicators between the groups were compared, and the related factors affecting the ASMI level were analyzed.

Results: The detection rate of sarcopenia was about 1.09% (78/7787). One-way ANOVA or nonparametric test results showed that age, BMI, WHR, SBP, DBP, FPG, HbA1c, AST, ALT, GGT, Cr, UA, TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C and FT3 levels were significantly different among the four ASMI groups (P < 0.05). ASMI was positively correlated with BMI, WHR, SBP, DBP, FPG, HbA1c, AST, ALT, GGT, Cr, UA, TG, TC, LDL-C, FT3, and TSH (all P < 0.05); negatively correlated with age and HDL-C (all P < 0.05). Age, WHR and TG were independent risk factors for ASMI level, and BMI was an independent protective factor for ASMI level.

Conclusion: The ASMI level in healthy adult males is related to age, obesity, blood pressure, glucose and lipid metabolism disorder, inflammation and thyroid hormone, among which age, BMI, WHR and TG are independent influencing factors of ASMI level.

Background: Scant information exists on Iranian women's protective behaviors mainly constant condom use. Inconsistent condom use seems prevalent among women with substance use problems. We aimed to investigate risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) and condom use barriers in Iranian women with substance use disorders (SUDs).

Methods: In our cross-sectional study, we recruited 300 women who sought treatments for their SUDs from the active outpatient drug free (ODF) and Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT) centers in Tehran, Iran during 2017-2021. We used three batteries including demographic questionnaire, the Risky Sexual Behavior Questionnaire (RSBQ); and the Condom Barriers Scale (CBS). The statistical software R, analysis of variance post hoc and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) logistic regression tests were used in data analysis

Results: The majority reported at least one lifetime experience of RSBs. Our results show that only 22% of the participants 'always' use condom in their sexual encounters. The lowest and highest subscale scores of the CBS were related to Sexual Experience (SE) (2.47 ± 0.86) and access/availability structure (3.52 ± 0.7), respectively. RSBs had negative significant association with Partner Barrier (PB) subscale scores (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.73) and effect on SE subscale scores (OR= 0.54; 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.94).

Conclusion: RSBs was prevalent among our study population. RSBs and condom use barriers are significantly interwoven. The condom use barriers were highly associated with the types of sexual encounters such as group sex or casual sexual relations than specific mean of sexual performance (i.e. anal sex). Gender-specific RSBs, STIs/HIV/AIDS prevention program is recommended for women with SUDs.

Background: A resting heart rate may be correlated with an increased risk of stroke. Therefore, we explored the independent and joint influences of heart rate and body mass index on the incidence of stroke and its subtypes in a Chinese rural population.

Methods: Cox proportional hazard models were adopted for measuring the influence exerted by heart rate on stroke in the Tongxiang China Kadoorie Biobank prospective cohort analyses, in which 23,132 men and 32,872 women were included. Incident stroke refers to ‘24-hour acute focal disorder, considered to result from ischemia or intracranial hemorrhage’.

Results: Over a 6.9 year mean follow up period, 986 men and 925 women developed stroke, representing an incidence of 6.35 and 4.00 per 1,000 person-years. In contrast to men with heart rate < 69 beats/minute, men at heart rate ≥ 90 beats/minute could more probably develop stroke and ischemic stroke with representing hazard ratio [95% confidence interval (CI)] 1.29 (1.05 – 1.58), and 1.35 (1.06 – 1.71). An adjusted hazard ratio of 1.37 (95% CI = 1.06 - 1.74) and 1.46 (95% CI = 1.08 – 1.96) were respectively identified for stroke and ischemic stroke in non-overweight/obese male patients with heart rate ≥ 90 beats/minute. Joint analyses also favored the results. Unfortunately, non-significant results were found in women.

Conclusion: Higher resting heart rate acts as an independent predictor of any stroke and ischemic stroke risk in adult Chinese male but not in female. This relationship was particularly evident among non-overweight/obese male participants.

Background: Obesity, one of the independent risk factors affecting children’s physical and mental health, has become a serious public health problem in the 21st century. Given physical anxiety and other psychological factors, obese children experience negative impact on their mental health and intellectual development from their loneliness, unwillingness to communicate with others, and lack of peer interaction. Therefore, exploring an effective psychological intervention model that can relieve loneliness in obese children is necessary.

Methods: From February to October 2022, a quasi-experimental study was conducted on obese children recruited from communities in Harbin, China. The children recruited were evaluated with the UCLA Loneliness Scale. According to the evaluation results, one hundred and five children were selected and randomly divided into experiment group (52) and control group (53). The experiment group was given an eight-week solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) intervention based on empowerment theory. The control and experiment groups were measured and compared before and after the intervention.

Results: The loneliness score of the experiment group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.001). The self-efficacy score of the experiment group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.001). The subjective well-being score of the experiment group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.001).

Conclusion: SFBT intervention based on empowerment theory has an effective intervention effect on loneliness in obese children and can improve their subjective well-being and self-efficacy. The results of this study provide a new perspective for the intervention on psychological problems in obese children.

Background: Within the scorpion family Buthidae, some of the most dangerous venomous genera are Androctonus (A), Buthus (B), and Leiurus (L). This venom is valuable raw material for numerous therapeutic formulations because of its pharmacological potential; however, because of its high prices in the global market, fake “venom mixes” are being made to market illegally, and it is important that these unknown mixes be evaluated. A fast and accurate response to the request for this identification is necessary.

Method: This study was conducted in Turkey in 2022. Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a linear positive-ionization mode was used for identification of scorpion species. The mass spectra of the three scorpion venoms were examined in detail. The peptide and protein profiles in the venoms of congenerous three scorpion venoms and the proportional differences in these venoms were investigated. For interspecific variation, a principal component analysis of all venoms was conducted, and variance values and distance-proximity indices were determined.

Results: The top three peptide masses in the highest relative abundance for A. australis, B. mardochei, and L. quinquestriatus quinquestriatus, respectively, were 6901, 7431, and 7447; 4238, 5283, and 4055; and 3828, 7868, and 6799 Da. While the variance rate between A. australis and the other two venoms was 40%, this rate was 38% between B. mordochei and L. quinquestriatus quinquestriatus venoms.

Conclusion: A very simple protocol of species identification using scorpion venom samples was created using recent advances in MALDI-TOF MS.

Background: Competition among countries becomes fiercer with progress in globalization. As the future and hope of national development, the youth are undertaking intensifying competitive pressures. More youths suffer psychological health issues, such as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), depression, and aggressive behaviors. What are the relationships among suicidal self-injury, aggression, and depression? There’s few systematic study on these two aspects yet. Thus, we examined the relationship between aggression and NSSI in youths, as well as the mediating effects of depression in such a relationship.

Methods: A total of 770 youths (comprising university students, community youths and rural migrant workers) in Zhejiang, Anhui and Henan in China were investigated from August to December 2022 by using the aggression scale, NSSI scale, and depression scale. The relationship among aggression, NSSI and depression in youths was discussed through a t-test, correlation analysis, and multivariate regression analysis.

Results: With respect to abuse experiences during childhood, parental emotional status and family conditions, the total scores in aggression, NSSI, and depression of youths differed significantly (P<0.05). A significantly positive correlation existed between aggression and NSSI of youths (r=0.41, P<0.01), a significantly positive correlation existed between aggression and depression (r=0.42, P<0.01), and a significantly positive correlation exists between NSSI and depression (r=0.42, P<0.01). Aggression of youths had not only direct and positive prediction effects on NSSI (B=0.41, P<0.001) but also indirect effects on NSSI through depression.

Conclusion: Aggression, NSSI and depression of youths were influenced significantly by abuse experiences during childhood, parental emotional status and family conditions. Depression has partial mediating effects between aggression and NSSI in youths.

Background: In order to explore new targets for the treatment of gastric cancer (GC), we investigated the regulatory mechanism of miR-934 in the malignant phenotype of gastric cancer.

Results: GC tissues and cell lines showed notably higher levels of miR-934. Overexpression of miR-934 promoted cell viability, migration and invasion, while inhibited cell apoptosis of GC cells. ZFP36 was predicted and verified to be the target of miR-934 and low protein levels of ZFP36 were observed in GC tissues. The ZFP36 protein expressions were suppressed by miR-934 overexpression, while were facilitated by miR-934 inhibition. Furthermore, the carcinogenic functions of miR-934 were partially reversed after ZFP36 overexpression. The results of in vivo experiments further demonstrated that miR-934 promoted tumor growth and repressed the protein expression of ZFP36.

Conclusion: miR-934 served as a tumor promoter in GC via targeting ZFP36, and ZFP36 overexpression could efficiently relieve malignant phenotypes caused by miR-934, which prompted an exploitable molecular target for GC treatment.

Background: Despite decreasing the global burden of measles disease after the introduction of vaccination, measles remains one of the most devastating childhood diseases. Since genotype B3 is reported as a predominant Measles Virus (MeV) genotype recently, the current study aimed to better understand MeV genetic variation by analyzing the complete sequence of Hemagglutinin (H) gene associated with outbreaks of circulated genotypes in Iran.

Methods: Nine positive measles specimens were selected from three circulated different genotypes H1, B3, and D4. Two different regions of MeV RNA were detected by RT-PCR assay. Sequence data and phylogenetic trees were analyzed and constructed by MEGA X software program. Moreover, missense and silent mutations in critical positions of the MeV-H protein were investigated.

Results: The result of phylogenetic analysis from the C-terminus of the Nucleoprotein gene (NP-450) and the complete H gene revealed that the mean sequence diversity was 0.06%-0.08% and 0.04%, respectively. Genotype H1 had the highest mutation in this study; however, the substitutions in genotype B3 fundamentally occurred in critical epitopes. Moreover, genotype D4 was more stable than genotypes B3 and H1.

Conclusion: Mutations were investigated in the whole sequence of H protein. Moreover, the mutations that occur in the critical sites of the protein have an important effect on the pathogenicity of the virus. In this way, we were able to illustrate why genotype B3 is more transmissible than other measles genotypes and is the most important circulating genotype around the world.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC), one of the most common cancer worldwide, remains the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. The etiology of GC may arise from genetic and environmental factors. This study aimed to determine the association between GC incidence and socioeconomic status in Iran.

Methods: An ecological study was designed to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the risk of GC incidence. The data of socioeconomic variables such as income changes, unemployment rate, urbanization ratio, inflation rate, and air pollution changes in 31 provinces were collected from the Statistical Center of Iran, and the data of GC of 31 provinces were provided from the Iranian National Population-based Cancer Registry (INPCR). Data from 2014 to 2017 was analyzed using panel data analysis, the fixed effects model by EViews software.

Results: Panel data model was suitable for the present study. Results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between GC incidence and socioeconomic factors including income changes (P≤ 0.001), unemployment rate (P≤0.01), inflation rate (P≤ 0.05), and air pollution changes (P≤ 0.001). The urbanization ratio showed a negative relationship and was not statistically associated with GC incidence (P> 0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest a positive and significant association between socioeconomic status and GC incidence, proposing a GC risk factor. The key public health policies and welfare policies' priority should therefore be to schedule for the GC management.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Besides, one-third of the world population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) while staying clinically asymptomatic; the situation is called latent TB infection (LTBI). MiR-21, miR-31, miR-146a, and miR-155 play an important role in many immune and inflammatory pathways. In the present study the expression levels of MiR-21, miR-31, miR-146a, and miR-155 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with active TB, latently infected individuals (LTBI), and healthy controls (HC) were investigated. Participants were recruited at the Bouali Hospital, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran from 2010 to 2011.

Methods: PBMCs were stimulated with PPD before RNA extraction. TaqMan RT-qPCR assay was used to analyze the expression levels of miRNAs.

Results: The results indicated no significant differences in the expression of miR-21 and miR-31 between different groups; however, in patients with active TB, the expression of miR-21 (P=0.03) and miR-31 (P=0.04) were significantly increased after stimulation with PPD compared to the unstimulated condition. The expression of miR-146 in response to PPD in both LTBI (P=0.02) and TB (P=0.03) groups compared to the HC group was increased. No significant differences were found in the expression level of miR-155 in response to PPD between LTBI and HC groups. However, the fold change was significantly higher in the TB group in comparison with the HC (P=0.03) and LTBI (P=0.05) groups.

Conclusion: The results confirm the main role of miR-146 and miR-155 in TB infection and suggest a role for miR-146 and miR-155 as infection and activation markers in tuberculosis infection, respectively.

Background: Salmonella is one of the most leading causes of food-born infection and death among infants and people with the poor immunity system. Because Salmonella spp. have diversity in the genome composition and pathogenicity, access to rapid identification and genotyping is necessary to control of salmonellosis. The CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) typing is a genotyping method that checks these variable sequences in the bacterial genome in a specific species. This study aimed to differentiate Salmonella strains using CRISPR region.

Methods: Salmonella isolates, previously identified via standard microbiological and molecular tests, were subjected to the study. Bacterial DNA was extracted and PCR was done using specific primers. The different PCR products were sequenced and the repeats patterns were used to identify additional or degenerate repeat clusters in the CRISPR region. All different sequences were analyzed using CRISPRtionary tool for dendrogram generation using the binary file.

Results: Overall, 119 strains of various Salmonella serovars were used. The result showed unique CRISPR and diversity in spacer both in sequence and the number. Analysis of the extracted sequence and band patterns illustrated that, except for S. infantis, both S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium isolates were classified as a separate cluster.

Conclusion: CRISPR genotyping could provide serotype/spacers dictionary and it is performed at low cost and high speed in comparison to the other typing methods. Therefore, the assessment of CRISPR and spacer content can be considered as a powerful and practical discriminatory method for subtyping of Salmonella isolates.

Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an important zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the larval stage or metacestode of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. Due to treatment protocols for different liver cysts, diagnosis of cyst stages is very important. Different antigens have been used for CE diagnosis. However, each one is more sensitive and effective for the diagnosis of specific CE stages is not known well. We aimed to compare Native Hydatid Cyst Fluid (HCF), Lyophilized Hydatid Cyst Fluid (LHCF), antigen B (AgB) and Lyophilized antigen B (LAgB) originated from E. granulosus sensu stricto (G1-G3) genotype, for sero- diagnosis of active, transitional and inactive human liver CE using ELISA technique.

Methods: The HCF was collected aseptically from liver CE cysts of sheep slaughtered from 2018 to 2019 in Shiraz slaughterhouse, Southern, Iran. The cysts were characterized by PCR and sequencing for genotype specification. Four types of antigens were used: HCF, LHCF, AgB and LAgB originated from E. granulosus sensu stricto (G1-G3) genotype. Thirty-three serum samples from active, transitional, and inactive human cysts were collected. Overall, 48 samples from other parasitic diseases and 60 samples from healthy subjects as negative controls were checked using four antigens by ELISA method.

Results: The best diagnostic sensitivity with 96.97% was observed by anti-LHCF IgG ELISA test. The best specificity with 95.37% was observed in ELISA test using LAgB.

Conclusion: Simultaneous test of sera with anti-LHCF IgG ELISA and anti-LAgB IgG ELISA would be the best in the diagnosis of human liver cystic echinococcosis. 

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