[Frequency of depression in 207 patients with copd in Qom city, 2008]

Depression is one of the common problems of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]. Depending on the severity of lung disease in patients and the kind of study, the prevalence of depression has been reported to lie between 10%-80%. Depression may not be diagnosed in routine examinations, so the patients may not receive appropriate treatment. Due to the lack of similar studies in Iran, the main purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression in COPD patients in Qom. In this cross-sectional study, 207 known cases of COPD were evaluated for depression and its severity by using standardized tests of Beck depression screening. Other variables in the study such age, sex, educational level, marital status and smoking rates were taken into account. SPSS version 15 and Chi square test were utilized for data analysis [p<0/05]. Data analysis showed that 83.3% of patients suffer edfrom varying degrees of depression, of whom 12.9% had severe or very severe depression. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between depression and education level. Depression is one of the common problems in COPD patients reducing their quality of life. It can be treated by physicians which can lead to improved quality of life for these patients

Selection of the most appropriate medium for assessing motility and DNA uptake of bovine spermatozoa

The aim of this study was to select the best medium to maintain sperm motility during sperm-DNA incubation and assess the DNA uptake by spermatozoa of Iranian Holstein bulls and its effects on sperm motility. Frozen sperms from an Iranian Holstein bull were thawed and centrifuged. Motile sperms were separated through Puresperm gradient [40/80%] followed by two times washing in SP-TALP medium. Then, sperms were washed once [PBS, Opti-MEM and SP-TALP] and incubated with DNA in each media followed by sperm motility estimation. The plasmid pEGFP-C1 was linearized and incubated with sperms at 37°C for 1 hour. Sperm-DNA mixture was treated with DNase I and the sperm pellet was washed with PBS. DNA extraction from sperms and supernatants from the last washing were used as template for PCR. Data was analyzed using SAS package and mean comparisons between sperm motility in different media were performed. Sperm motility after incubation in PBS, Opti-MEM and SP-TALP were 40[ +/- 2.89], 2[ +/- 1.53] and 54[ +/- 4.41] percent, respectively. PCR results from transfected sperms indicated that EGFP transgene internalized into the bovine sperms and DNaseI treatment could not eliminate it. In conclusion the best medium for sperm and DNA incubation was SPTALP. The DNA not only could attach to the post acrosomal region of spermatozoa but also could integrate into it. So bovine spermatozoa can be used as transgene carrier into oocyte

[Ten year trends in faculty members' evaluation results in Jondi Shapour University of Medical Sciences]

A comprehensive and valid evaluation system with continuous performance is required in order to assess faculty members' educational practice correctly, and plan for quality improvement. This study was done to determine the ten year trends in faculty members' evaluation results in Jondi Shapour University of Medical Sciences. In a cross-sectional study, evaluation scores of 84 non-clinical faculty members of Jondi Shapour University of Medical Sciences, from 1996 till 2005 were investigated. Faculty members' evaluation scores were taken from the archive of Educational Development Center of the University and were analyzed by SPSS software using repeated measure ANOVA, Pearson correlation coeficient, and t-test. The trends in evaluation scores had minimal changes between 3.95 and 4.02. The mean of faculty members' evaluation scores had no significant difference in different years. Also, the mean of the evaluation scores of male and female faculty members in different years showed no significant difference. Pearson correlation coeficient showed a weak to average correlation between faculty members' evaluation scores in some of the years. [0.22 at minimum and 0.65 at maximum]. Faculty members' evaluation by students was invariable in 10 years, despite the fact that students population performing the evaluation, had changed during the period. It is necessary to revise the method of educating teaching skills to faculty members in order to improve their evaluation scores

[Evaluation of serum anti-HBS concentration in children vaccinated with recombinant hepatitis B vaccine at birth]

Vaccination with the major surface antigen of hepatitis B virus [HBsAg] induces anti-HBs antibody production and level of 10 IU/L is considered protective. It has been shown that the level of anti-HBs antibody does wane after vaccination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the persistence of anti-HBs antibodies in healthy Iranian children 10 years after primary vaccination. Blood samples were collected from 146 children, 10 years after completion of primary hepatitis B vaccination course at birth. The sera were tested for anti-HBs, antibody to hepatitis B core antigen [anti-HBc] and HBsAg by use of ELISA technique. At 10 years after primary vaccination, 70 [47.9%] children had protective levels of antibody [anti-HBs> 10 IU/L] with mean titer of 68.1 IU/ml. Moreover, 45 [30.82%] children were negative for anti-HBs antibody. Distribution of children according to anti-HBs concentration revealed that the proportion of subjects with antibody titer of 0-10 IU/L, 10-100 IU/L, 100-500 IU/L and 500-1000 IU/L was 52.1%, 24.6%, 20.5% and 2.7%, respectively. All children were negative for HBsAg, although anti-HBc was positive in 11 [7.5%] children. There was no difference in the seroprotection rates of males and females. The results of present study show that after 10 years after primary vaccination with recombinant HB vaccine, 47.9% of the children had protective levels of anti-HBs antibody. On basis of the HBsAg and anti-HBc results, it seems that effective immunological memory exists in children. Additional follow-up studies need to be conducted to determine the duration of protection

Typhoid fever: an epidemiologic survey of suspected cases referred to diagnostic laboratories in Rasht, 2002-2003

Typhoid fever has been endemic in Iran throughout its history. This Study was conducted in response to the rising number of cases reported from Rasht [capital of Gilan province in northern Iran]. we performed a descriptive study on 2031 suspected cases referred to city's diagnostic laboratories in 2002 and 2003. A [definite] diagnosis was defined as Vidal test titers rising 80-fold or more over a period of one week, or a positive bacteriologic test. We completed questionnaires for the definite cases, and used the EPI-INFO computer package to analyze the data. The serologic prevalence was 3.94%, and 25% of the seropositive individuals had positive bacterial cultures. The geometric mean of the reciprocal titers [GMRT] was 1: 1 80. The prevalence was the same in both sexes and among all age groups. Factors showing a statistically significant relationship with prevalence include occupation [the greatest frequency was seen in housewives], education level, place of residence, and source of drinking water. We conclude that high prevalence rates coupled with the ecological conditions in this area could favor the occurrence of salmonellosis outbreaks: the issue requires more extensive research for further clarification

Effects of experimental hyper- and hypocalcemia on bile flow and composition in sheep

Experiments were carried out on sixteen Iranian cross-bred sheep aged between 2-2.5 years old, with body weight between 35-45 kg. All operative procedures were performed under anaesthesia by intra-juguglar infusion of sodium thiopental. One cannula into the proximal duodenum and the second into gallbladder were inserted. Experiments commenced approximately 10 days after surgical preparations. Bile and blood samples were obtained simultaneously at one-hour intervals for six hours. Bile flow and concentrations of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, cholesterol, bilirubins, total solids of bile and calcium of serum were measured. Bile flow and composition as well as calcium of serum in this stage were considered as control group. Hypercalcemia was induced by intra-jugular adminstration of calcium borogluconate. Blood and bile samples were obtained using the same procedure as control group. After 10 days, hypocalcemia was induced by intra-jugular adminstration of Na2EDTA. Blood and bile samples were obtained using the same procedure as control group. The results indicated that, bile flow decreased significantly in hypercalcemic group [P<0.05], but did not change significantly in hypocalcemic group. The concentrations of biliary calcium, total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin and total solids increased significantly in hypercalcemic group [P<0.05]. During hypocalcemia the concentration of biliary potassium decreased significantly [P<0.05]. Bile flow and biliary calcium decreased respectively and increased significantly more in male than in female sheep [P<0.05]. In conclusion hypercalcemia decreases bile flow and increases biliary calcium, but hypocalcemia did not change bile flow and biliary calcium