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Background & Objective: Some of the patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are categorized as good prognosis based on the Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R). However, these patients may have poor clinical outcomes. It seems that the current diagnostic tools and IPSS-R cannot consider genetic factors for determining the prognosis of MDS patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study included all adult MDS patients of both genders who were admitted from March 2015 to March 2020 to the Hematology wards of two educational tertiary hospitals in Iran (Namazi and Faghihi, affiliated with Shiraz University of medical sciences). Study data included relevant retrospective data from medical records and the results of immunohistochemical p53 staining on bone marrow biopsies. Results: Of the 84 patients, 65 (77.4%) showed p53 expression in bone marrow. They had shorter median survival than those without p53 expression. Considering both variables of P53 IHC results and IPSS-R score, the patients who died with low-risk IPSS-R score presented high p53 expression. Conclusion: This study shows that the investigation of p53 expression by IHC at the time of diagnosis is a valuable indicator of survival rate in MDS patients. These data suggest that the immunohistochemical analysis of p53 can be a prognostic tool for MDS and should be used as an adjunct test to make decisions on the best therapeutic choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adaptation is a process in which a person is actively involved for a period of time and uses different strategies. Roy's adaptation model sees individuals as an adaptive system in a stable interaction with internal and external environment; therefore, they constantly change and try to adapt. When the individual does not make the desired adaptation and hence ineffective responses, nurses learn about it. The present study aimed to systematically review the studies conducted in Iran on the Roy's adaptation model. Methods: This is a systematic review study, and it has been done purposefully by focusing on research purpose. A computerized search was performed systematically with no time limitation till October 2021, by using keywords: Roy's adaptation model, Nursing and Iran in Web of Sciences, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, IranDoc, SID and Magiran databases. The articles were evaluated using the Consort checklist. A total of 235 articles were found, and the systematic review of the articles was performed based on PRISMA. Finally, full text of 34 suitable articles were selected and analyzed after several steps of evaluation. Results: Out of the reviewed articles, 23.52% were published in international journals in English and 76.47% were published in Iranian journals in Persian and English. All the articles were original researches and intervention studies that 5.88, 47.05, 41.17, and 5.88% of them were experimental, quasi-experimental, clinical trial, and randomized controlled trials, respectively. Also, in all the studies pre-test and post-test were used, 5.88, 88.23, and 5.88% of them utilized random, availability, and block sampling, respectively. Conclusion: Application of care program based on the Roy's adaptation model increased physical and psychological adaptive (healthy) behaviors in patients with chronic diseases, which might improve the patients' psychological adaptation to the disease, proper disease control, reduction of complications, and quality of nursing care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of recently collected specimens in various regions of Iran, new data on jumping spiders (Salticidae) of this country are provided. One species, Salticus lucasi sp. nov. (), Isfahan Province, central Iran) is described as new to science, and three species (Chalcoscirtus platnicki Marusik, 1995, Mogrus larisae Logunov, 1995 and Phlegra yaelae Prószyński, 1998) are recorded in Iran for the first time. A further 21 species represent new provincial records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Necessity for promotion of education quality in course of medicine forced the educational authorities including those of Isfahan school of Medicine to take actions towards promotion of education using an accreditation evaluation model in this course parallel to worldwide motion. This article emphasizes on a model by which this study was conducted and reported. Methods: This is a descriptive study conducted on seven domains of general medicine curriculum. In the model used in this study, in addition to the current condition, optimal condition was determined. If 70% of the indicators were appropriate in each domain, that domain was considered as appropriate, between 40-70% as semi appropriate and less than 40% was considered as inappropriate. The study was conducted in some steps including forming internal assessment committee, determining factors criteria and indicators, holding educational workshop, preparing data collection tool, data collection and analysis, report preparation and suggestions. Result: In domain of mission 70%, educational planning 80%, faculty members 74%, resources 54%, top and executive management 75%, student 34%, evaluation 61% and finally overall ratio 57% of the indicators were appropriate. Conclusion: Domains of student, resources and evaluation need continuous programming and working. Researchers have some suggestions including taking defined strategies for selecting education managers, using modern educational policies, reinforcing tests assessment system and increasing school authority in having clinical education resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Curriculum assessment is part of educational systems. In the absence of an assessment of present situations, any intervention would be futile. This study was done to determine achievement rate of medical students in advanced clerkship (externship) courses through using logbooks. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was done on medical students' logbooks between June and December 2010 in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The students were passing their externship courses. Random sampling was done and 30 logbooks from departments of orthopedics, ENT, neurology, anesthesiology and toxicology, infectious diseases, and internal medicine were analyzed; descriptive statistics and SPSS were used for data analysis. Results: 180 logbook tables were analyzed. Average number of skill performances supervised once or more were found to be : 8 (out of 10) skills in anesthesiology and toxicology, 5(out of 11) skills in infectios diseases,7(out of 20)skills in internal medicine, 8 (out of 13) skills in orthopedics, 11 (out of 11) in ENT, and 10 (out of 10) in neurology. Conclusion: Findings showed that actual skills achievement is far from ideal in the studied departments. Therefore, interventional measures such as involving residents in instruction, more practical instructions in CSLC, using instructional films,arranging hospital shifts for interns, applying OSCEs, etc. should be taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the sixth most common malignancy in Iran. Cytogenetic analysis of leukemic blasts plays an important role in classification and prognosis in ALL patients. The purpose of this study was to define the frequency of chromosomal abnormalities of ALL patients in adults and children in Fars province, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated karyotype results of bone marrow specimens in 168 Iranian patients with ALL (154 B-ALL and 14 T-ALL) in Fars Province using the conventional cytogenetic G-banding method. Results: The frequency of cytogenetic abnormalities, including numerical and/or structural changes, was 61.7% and 53.8% in the B-ALL and T-ALL patients, respectively. Hyperdiploidy was the most common (32%) cytogenetic abnormality. Among structural abnormalities, the most common was t(9;22) in 11% of the patients. The children showed a higher incidence of hyperdiploidy and lower incidence of t(9;22) than adults (P<0.05). We found a lower incidence of recurrent abnormalities such as 11q23, t(1;19), and t(12;21) than those reported in previous studies. Conclusion: Normal karyotype was more frequent in our study. The frequencies of some cytogenetic abnormalities such as hyperdiploidy and t(9;22) in our study were comparable to those reported in the literature. The results of this study in Fars Province can be used as baseline information for treatment decision and research purposes in ALL patients. We recommend the use of advanced molecular techniques in the future to better elucidate cryptic cytogenetic abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous observational studies have highlighted the negative effects of serum hormone levels at the minimum threshold during frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles. However, still the questions regarding the maximum threshold level, and the highest allowed dosage of hormonal medications remain unresolved. The present study was conducted to determine whether there is any relationship between the serum progesterone and estradiol levels on the day of ET, and live birth rate (LBR) in patients receiving HRT in FET cycles., Methods: In this prospective cohort study, eligible women who were undergoing their first or second FET cycles with the top graded blastocyst stage embryos were included. All patients received the same HRT regimen. FET was scheduled 5 days after administration of the first dosage of progesterone. On the morning of ET, 4-6 h after the last dose of progesterone supplementation, the serum progesterone (P 4, ng/ml) and estradiol (E 2 , pg/ml) levels were measured., Results: Amongst the 258 eligible women that were evaluated, the overall LBR was 34.1 % (88/258). The serum P 4 and E 2 values were divided into four quartiles. The means of women's age and BMI were similar between the four quartiles groups. Regarding both P 4 and E 2 values, it was found that the LBR was significantly lower in the highest quartile group (Q 4 ) compared with the others, (P = 0.002 and P = 0.042, respectively). The analysis of the multivariable logistic regression showed that the serum level of P 4 on ET day, was the only significant predictive variable for LBR. The ROC curve revealed a significant predictive value of serum P 4 levels on the day of ET for LBR, with an AUC = 0.61 (95 % CI: 0.54-0.68, P = 0.002). The optimum level of serum P 4 , with 70 % sensitivity and 50 %specificity for LBR, was 32.5 ng/ml., Conclusions: The present study suggests that a serum P4 value at the maximum threshold on the day of FET is associated with reduced LBR following blastocyst transfer. Therefore, measuring and monitoring of P 4 levels during FET cycles might be necessary. However, the results regarding the necessity for the screening of serum E 2 levels before ET, are still controversial, and further prospective studies are required.

Cardiac glycosides are used for treatment of irregular heartbeats, cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failures. In this research, digitoxin as a cardiac glycoside was identified and isolated for the first time in the world from Adonis aestivalis and investigated for its cytotoxic activity against cervical cancer cell (HeLa) lines and human lymphocytes by MTT test. Digitoxin extracted from the aerial parts of the plant collected from west of Iran and purified by column and thin layer chromatographic techniques. The structure of isolated cardiac glycoside was identified by IR, 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR methods and so the presence of digitoxin was established. The half maximal inhibitory concentration values for cervical cancer and lymphocyte cells were obtained to be 5.62 and 412.94 μg/mL. The results of this study introduced the new resource of digitoxin which has considerable cytotoxic effects against HeLa cancer cells but did not damage normal human lymphocyte cells.

We introduce a case of disputed parentage with 2 presumptive related fathers, although using multiple genetic systems, neither of the 2 fathers may be excluded. Nineteen autosomal short tandem repeat typing and 12 X-chromosome markers could not clarify the case. We can conclude that forensic autosomic short tandem repeats included in commercial kits are not sufficient to definitively discriminate parent-offspring with related putative fathers in forensic laboratories, and supplementary investigations should be available for selected cases.

Objective: To assess the correlation between the levels of vitamin D in follicular fluid and serum, and to determine whether the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OH-D) in follicular fluid of infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) is associated with the outcome., Study Design: Eighty-two infertile women undergoing ART at an academic tertiary care centre were recruited for a prospective cohort study. Levels of 25OH-D in follicular fluid and serum were measured. Standardized regimens for pituitary downregulation and controlled ovarian hyperstimulation were employed. Patient and cycle parameters, and clinical pregnancy (defined as evidence of intra-uterine gestation sac plus heart rate on ultrasound) were determined., Results: A significant correlation was found between the levels of vitamin D in follicular fluid and serum (r=0.767, p=0.001). The overall rates of chemical, clinical and ongoing pregnancy were 35.5% (n=29), 29.3% (n=24) and 23.2% (n=19), respectively. No significant difference was found in these pregnancy rates between the tertiles of 25OH-D level in follicular fluid (p=0.959, 0.995 and 0.604, respectively). The median serum level of vitamin D was 8.13 (range 5.37-13.62)ng/ml in the clinically pregnant group and 8.29 (range 5.93-21.23)ng/ml in the non-pregnant group (p=0.235). Interestingly, the median level of vitamin D in follicular fluid was 9.19 (range 5.25-19.51)ng/ml in the clinically pregnant group and 10.34 (range 5.89-29.69)ng/ml in the non-pregnant group (p=0.433). The fertilization rate decreased significantly and the implantation rate increased (not significantly) with increasing tertiles of 25OH-D level in follicular fluid., Conclusions: The level of 25OH-D in follicular fluid is reflective of body stores of vitamin D. Most subjects in this study were deficient in vitamin D, but this study found that vitamin D deficiency does not play a pivotal role in the outcome of ART., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Although integrons by themselves are not mobile, due to their presence in plasmids and transposons, they can be transferred horizontally. For these reasons integrons are a major mechanism for the spread and maintenance of multidrug resistance (MDR). This study describes the distribution of integron gene cassette classes in a collection of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolated from children with community acquired urinary tract infection in Jahrom, Iran. E. coli strains isolated from urine samples were tested for susceptibility to 14 different antibiotics using the disk diffusion method and for integron classes by RFLP-PCR. Totally 96 strains of E. coli were isolated from urine samples. High prevalence of resistance to ampicillin (80.2%), co-trimoxazole ((76%) and tetracycline (70.8%) was seen among the UPEC isolates. All isolates were 100% sensitive to imipenem. Sixteen strains (16.6%) had the evidence ofintegron sequences with the prevalence of 6.25% (n = 6) and 10.41% (n = 10) for intI1 and intI2, respectively. No intI3 was detected in the isolates. The presence of integrons was significantly associated with resistance to certain antibiotics including gentamicin and ampicillin. Considering the MDR patterns and the low prevalence ofintegrons among the E. coli strains under the study, we suggest that the antibiotic resistance cassettes in these strains presumably are mostly carried on the other transposable elements rather than integrons.

Objective: To investigate the distribution of different genotypes of major virulence factors cagA, vacA and ureAB among Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) strains isolated from patients with ulcerative and nonulcerative diseases., Methods: This study was performed in Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, during November 2004 to October 2005. Sixty-five H. pylori strains, 30 from patients with gastric ulcer (ulcerative disease) and 35 from patients with gastritis (nonulcerative disease) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to investigate the presence of cagA, vacA and ureAB genes. The amplified fragments were then digested with the restriction enzymes HaeIII (for ureAB) HinfI (for cagA) and HphI (for vacA)., Results: We found a significantly higher prevalence of vacA-positive strains in ulcerative disease (UD) than that in nonulcerative disease (NUD) patients (p<0.05). Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis revealed 2 different patterns for cagA gene. The prevalence of pattern beta with 3 bands was significantly higher in both groups of patients. HaeIII digestion resulted in a strictly homogeneous pattern for 83.33% of the vacA+ strains isolated from the patients with UD. This pattern was significantly associated with UD status (p<0.05). The ureAB polymorphism analysis revealed 10 distinguishable DNA banding patterns among them the pattern named ureAB 5a was the most prevalent (47.61%) in all isolates. No association between a specific DNA pattern and clinical disease was observed for cagA and ureAB (p>0.05)., Conclusion: It seems that in our patients, the presence of cagA gene may not necessarily be a risk factor for ulcer disease, while a homologous genotype of vacA appears to be associated with an increase risk of UD development. Lastly, despite the existence of a high degree of genomic variability within ureAB, conserved DNA banding profiles are distributed in our areas.