ABSTRACT
The detection of a novel coronavirus in patients from the Arabian Peninsula in late 2012 raised serious concerns of a possible international outbreak. Ministries of health of the three affected countries invited missions from the World Health Organization to participate in a review of data and capacity to detect and respond to further cases. Recommendations were made for investigations to answer critical questions about human-to human transmission and the geographic extent of the virus. Additional recommendations were made to improve surveillance capacity by acquiring the capacity to test for the virus and enhance syndromic surveillance. Available evidence continues to suggest an unknown animal reservoir for the virus with sporadic zoonotic transmission as the primary epidemiological pattern of transmission. Human-to-human transmission, while it can occur, does not appear to be sustained in the community
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections , Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeABSTRACT
Introduction: Adjuvant Online! [AOL] is used extensively by oncologists in Iran to treat patients with breast cancer; however, it has never been validated for use in Iran, and its predictions might not be applicable to Iranian patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of this program in predicting the outcomes of Iranian patients with breast cancer
Patients and methods: 368 patients who were treated between 1997 and 2010 at Jorjani Cancer Center entered the study. Data for each patient, including tumor size, number of positive nodes, tumor grade, ER status, and adjuvant systemic therapy, were entered into the AOL program [version 8.0], and the calculated disease free survival [DFS] was compared with the observed one. Analyses were performed using Cox regression modeling and SPSS 17.0 software, and P values < 0.05 were considered significant
Results: Observed disease free survival [DFS] in our study was 72 months, while the calculated DFS by AOL was 68 months. In all subgroups of AOL, calculated DFS was less than observed DFS except for patients receiving Tamoxifen + Aromatase Inhibitors + Ovarian Ablation hormone therapy, for whom the calculated DFS was 2 percent more than the observed one
Conclusion: AOL underestimated overall survival and disease free survival rates in Iranian patients with breast cancer, which in our opinion was mainly due to the shorter period of follow-up in our study. Although AOL is widely used by Iranian oncologists, we believe that developing an Iranian version of a prediction tool would better predict the prognosis of our patients
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sperm chromatin anomalies on fertilization outcome post ICSI
Material and Methods: Therefore along with semen parameters, CMA3 staining for protamine deficiency, aniline blue staining for excessive histones, SDS for sperm chromatin stability and SDS+EDTA for ability of sperm to undergo decondensation were carried out on 55 semen samples from patients referring for ICSI to Isfahan fertility and infertility center
Result: The results showed that among the aforementioned tests and semen parameters, only CMA3 showed a significant correlation with fertilization outcome post ICSI. Patients were also grouped according to CMA3 level of <30% or >30 % or fertilization rate of <50%, or >50%. The results showed that the mean percentage fertilization and mean percentage of CMA3 positivity is different in both groups respectively. The area under ROC curve showed that CMA3 is a highly sensitive and specific test for prediction of fertilization outcome post ICSI
Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that sperm protamine deficiency has profound effect on fertilization failure in ICSI
ABSTRACT
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I [HTLV-I] was the first human retrovirus associated with malignancy. The prevalence of HTLV-I infection varies significantly in different regions of the world. In this study, the prevalence of HTLV-I infection among ethnic Jews living in Shiraz, South of Iran, was investigated. 286 blood samples were obtained. HTLV-1 antibody assay on serum samples was done by standard ELISA method. Western blot method was applied for confirmation of borderline results. None of the subjects was found HTLV-I seropositive using both ELISA and western blotting methods. Our preliminary results indicate that HTLV-I is not endemic in Jewish people living in Shiraz, the southwest of Iran
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Human T-lymphotropic virus 1/pathogenicity , HTLV-I Infections/diagnosisABSTRACT
A project was conducted in a rural area in September 1994 with the aim of decreasing the incidence of protein-energy malnutrition among children under 5 years, by nutritional intervention through the primary health care system. An initial situation analysis revealed the region's resources and causes of malnutrition. Practical instruction on feeding methods, deworming, environmental sanitation, the promotion of home-grown vegetables and reinforcement of the growth monitoring programme were chosen as the routes for intervention. All indices were reassessed in the region after 1 year. Results showed that nutritional awareness had grown among mothers, and that the incidence of malnutrition had dropped from 6.5% to 1.8%, as measured against the weight-for-height index