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Background: The ability to respond to any emergency before happening is a potential issue that manifests as operational readiness. This study aimed to evaluate the preparedness of prehospital emergency services of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in response to the epidemic of COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in April 2020 using a translated standard checklist of the Pan American World Health Organization (PAHO). The list consists of four components of call management (6 items), first responders (operational codes with 3 items), medical transportation (including primary and interhospital with 16 items), and emergency medical services administration (including medical guidelines, human resources, and education with 11 items). Results: There were 168 operational logistics facilities and 555 personnel to cover organizational missions. Except for two items that scored half a point, the rest of the measures received total points (35 out of a maximum of 36 points with 97% of the total points). According to the complete scores, operational readiness was at a good level. Conclusion: The preparedness of the Center for Disaster Management and Medical Emergencies at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic has been at a good level. However, because of the continuation of the epidemic, strengthening the supply chain and empowering personnel are essential to sustainable readiness.

Background and purpose: Hospitals are one of the vital pillars of the health system. Hospital preparedness in epidemics is a dynamic, complex and multidimensional process that shows the developed capacities and capabilities of the hospital in predicting, reducing the effects, resistance, response, and recovery in the face of biological events. The aim of this study was to investigate the readiness of hospitals in response to the pandemic of COVID-19 disease in Mazandaran province, Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in April 2020 using the standard checklist of the Pan American World Health Organization (PAHO 2019). The checklist consists of ten components: incident management system (7 items), coordination (2 items), information management (2 items), logistics (7 items), finance and administration (1item), detection (3 items), diagnosis (3 items), isolation (3 items), cases management (4 items), and prevention and infection control (10 items). Data were analyzed applying Kruskal-Wallis test in SPSS V18. Results: We studied 39 hospitals in the province, including university hospitals (n=26), social security hospitals (n=4), and private hospitals (n=9). Social security hospitals showed the highest level of readiness (mean score= 82 out of 84), university hospitals had moderate level of readiness (mean score= 72.72 out of 84), and private hospitals had the lowest mean score for readiness (72.5 out of 84). According to the total scores, operational readiness was at a good level. Conclusion: The readiness of the hospitals in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic was at a good level in Mazandaran province. However, due to the prolonged pandemic and uncertainty about when it comes to an end, monitoring the key components is essential to maintain high level of preparation.

Objectives: The elderly are at higher risks for developing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Besides, when generating the illness, they have a higher risk of death. Recognizing clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality in the elderly is necessary to prevent mortality in similar infectious diseases. Methods & Materials: This descriptive research explored the data of all geriatrics admitted following COVID-19 in the medical centers affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. These data were collected from February 20, 2020, to February 20, 2021. Data analysis was performed by SPSS using logistic regression analysis. P

After presenting the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in china, it has spread rapidly in the community and now has declared as a pandemic causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). At the date of writing this report, the COVID-19 has affected 192 countries and one international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan) around the world with the total cases of 341,529. In Iran, the emergence of the disease was reported with two cases of COVID-19 deaths in Qom city on February 19, 2020, that caused great concern for the health system and the general public. It was rapidly spread around the country and reach to 21,638 definite cases by March 22, 2020. The special nature of the disease in rapid transmission among individuals in society requires urgent measures and serious actions to control it as quickly as possible. In this report, we describe the current status of the COVID-19 response strategy for reducing transmission in public and patient load in hospitals in Iran. Although Iran has tried to use the successful experience of other countries, such as China, for various reasons, such as non-quarantine of Qom province, as the primary site of disease propagation, lack of public quarantine, lack of seriousness by some citizens and officials, the lack of facilities and personal protective equipment needed for staff use, and restrictions regarding purchasing equipment from other countries due to international sanctions, have served as obstacles to achieve good results.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cause of worldwide cancer. Also in contrast to the huge advances in curing, the chance of living is very low even in surgery cases. Having a genetic predisposition plays an important role in cancer development. The association between Metallothionein-2A gene polymorphisms and the risk of adenocarcinoma has been widely studied, yet there is only one study on stomach diseases. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between 2 (MT-2A) polymorphisms and adenocarcinoma. METHODS: This cross-sectional case control study was performed between Mach 2014 and January 2015 at the Tuba Hospital of Sari, Iran. Peripheral blood samples were collected in EDTA tube. DNA extraction was performed using the spin column procedure. The MT-2A polymorphisms MT-2A (rs1610216), (rs28366003) were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 95 a topic adenocarcinoma patients and 90 healthy individuals from Iranian population. RESULTS: The MT-2A rs1610216 polymorphism increased the risk of adeno carcinoma in our Iranian population [OR: 3.8533; 95%CI, 1.3155-11.2869; P=0.0139] and rs28366003 [OR: 4.0978; 95%CI, 1.2521-13.4108; P=0.0197]. CONCLUSION: The MT-2A gene polymorphism was associated with the risk of adenocarcinoma in the Iranian population.

Background and purpose: Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer worldwide and despite huge advances in treatments, the chance of survival is very low even in surgery cases. Having a genetic predisposition plays an important role in cancer development. Polymorphisms in the NQO1(NAD(P)H Quinone dehydrogenase 1) gene could affect the activity of the gene and also the susceptibility to gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the polymorphism of NQO1 gene on gastric cancer. Materials and methods: This case-control study was performed in 100 patients with gastric cancer and 100 healthy individuals as benchmarks. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes. Then, genotyping for detecting NQO1 -609 C>T promoter gene polymorphism was carried out using PCR-RFLP. Data analysis was performed in MedCalc V9. Results: NQO1 rs1800566 allelic and genotypic frequencies were not significantly different between the patients and controls (P= 0.14، χ2= 2.16( Conclusion: Screening of -609C>T NQO1 polymorphism was not found as a useful marker in detecting personal sensitivity to gastric cancer, therefore, would not be helpful in gastric cancer prevention and treatment processes.

Background and purpose: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most important pathogens of burn infections in hospitals. It causes infection by producing some virulence factors such as exoS and exoT cytotoxins. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of exoS and exoT genes among P.aeruginosa isolated from wound infections in burn patients and the relationship between the presences of these genes and antibiotic resistance. Materials and methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the wounds of 80 burned patients in Sari Zare Hospital were sampled during April, May, and June 2016. After identification by biochemical tests, 18 isolates of P.aeruginosa were obtained. Antimicrobial susceptibility to 8 antibiotics was determined by disk diffusion method. PCR was performed for detection of exoS and exoT genes. Data was analyzed in SPSS V21 applying Chi-square. The significance level was considered at P

Background and objectives: Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers of the gastrointestinal tract in the world, which also has a high prevalence in Iran. ERCC2 gene is considered one of the major genes related to gastric cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between rs13181 polymorphism of ERCC2 gene. The polymorphism in the promoter region of ERCC2 gene can affect the activity of this gene and thus the susceptibility to gastric cancer.Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 81 patients and 75 healthy individuals were recruited. Five cc peripheral blood of individuals was collected in EDTA-containing tubes. Genomic DNA was extracted using the Salting-out method and polymorphism was genotyped using the PCR-RFLP method.Results: The prevalence of rs13181 (G > T )genotype and polymorphism allele were significantly different between patients with gastric cancer and control group (both p Conclusion: Our results confirmed the association between rs13181 polymorphism of ERCC2 gene and the increased risk of gastric cancer in Mazandaran province.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Gastric adenocarcinoma is the fourth most common cause of cancer-associated death worldwide. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the immunological status of patients with gastric cancer before surgery and circulating cytokines as potential diagnostic biomarkers for gastric cancer. METHODS: We included 90 healthy controls and 95 patients with distal Gastric adenocarcinoma in Mazandaran, Sari, Iran. We measured serum IL-2, IL-10 and IL-12 Levels by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the IBL international GMBH kit. RESULTS: The serum IL-10 levels in the patients with Gastric adenocarcinoma were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls (P=0.02). There were no significant differences in serum IL-2 and IL-12 levels between patients with gastric cancer and healthy controls. CONCLUSION: Increased levels of IL-10 might be useful as diagnostic biomarkers for Gastric adenocarcinoma; however, this needs to be confirmed with larger number of patients and with control groups other than blood donors, properly age paired. These results suggest that positive expression of IL-10 may be useful as a molecular marker to distinguish stage of gastric cancers which can be more readily controlled.