دکترمجید فصیحی هرندی

Persian, one of the world's most ancient languages and a member of the Indo-European language family, has undergone significant changes and transformations due to various political and social factors. Despite having no linguistic relationship with Persian, Arabic language has exerted the most influence on it, contributing numerous words, phrases, and idioms. Persian language is fundamentally distinct from Arabic language in terms of word origin and structure; they share no familial or kinship ties. The most notable manifestation of Arabic influence on Persian is found in vocabulary, though minor traces can be observed in other areas, such as syntax, where there is gender agreement in adjectives. Another clear example of these influences is the adoption and use of the Arabic morpheme "al". Persian contains borrowed compounds from Arabic, some of which include the morpheme "al". In Arabic, the indicative morpheme "al" functions to introduce nouns and their adjectival dependents. This research compares the morphological, grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic functions of the morpheme "al" as used in Arabic and as adopted into Persian.

Studies on the use of the Arabic "al" morpheme in the Persian language, compiled in textbooks and articles by specialists, have aimed to analyze and investigate the data using both analogical and inductive methods from descriptive and methodological perspectives. This research involves a thorough review of the literature to discuss the linguistic behavior of "al" in Arabic and its function in Persian, followed by an assessment of its productivity in Persian. The data were extracted from the Sokhan, Moin, Amid, and Farhange-Farsi-ye-Emrouz dictionaries. These sources contain approximately 3,886 entries of Arabic compounds with "al." The research has quantitatively analyzed these data, and the results are reported at the conclusion of the study.

The prefix "al-" in Arabic linguistics serves as the definite article, but it is not solely used for definiteness; it also has other types and applications. Generally, three main types and functions of "al-" are recognized: definition, redundant, and relative.a) Definition "al-": This is used before nouns to make them definite. This morpheme has two main roles, referred to as generic "al-" and specific "al-".b) Redundant "al-": Sometimes, "al-" appears in words without adding definiteness and does not make the word definite. This type of "al-" is termed redundant and is divided into two categories: transitive and intransitive. For instance, in words that are inherently definite, the addition of "al-" does not serve as a marker of definiteness but is considered redundant, as seen in the Quranic words: "al-Lat", "al-Uzza", "al-An", and "al-Yasa". Similarly, the "al-" in relative pronouns is also redundant, such as "alladhi", "alladhani," "alladhina," "allati", and "allati".c) Relative "al-": This "al-" functions as a relative pronoun and is used with active and passive participles, provided it does not imply generic or specific definiteness, as in "wal- ‘adiyat dhabhan", "fal-muriyate qadhan", "fal-mughirate subhan", and "inna al-mussaddiqina wal-mussaddiqat wa-aqradu allaha qardan hasanan".In the process of linguistic exchange and borrowing from Arabic, the Arabic "al-" has found its way into Persian and is used in the language. The Sokhan, Moin, Amid, and Farhang-e Farsi-ye Emrooz dictionaries contain over 3,886 entries of Arabic compounds with   "al-". Not only are there many Arabic-derived compounds in Persian that include this prefix, but there are also numerous new compounds formed with Persian words using "al-". However, most Persian grammar books and works regard these compounds as entirely Arabic and dismiss their use as incorrect and against Persian grammatical rules.This raises the question of whether Persian speakers perceive "al" as an inflectional bound morpheme with an independent role or meaning, or merely as a phonetic component of a word. While the "al" morpheme in Arabic has specific roles and even types, this is not the case in Persian. The primary function of "al-" in Arabic is to indicate definiteness, which it does not achieve in Persian. Adding "al-" to a Persian word does not convey this meaning to speakers and it is never seen that a noun or adjective in Persian is first presented without "al-" and then with it.Morphologically, the mechanisms of definiteness and indefiniteness in Persian are entirely different from those in Arabic. In Persian, definiteness has no marker and no special sign for definite nouns. Therefore, "al-" cannot be considered a marker of definiteness in Persian, nor can it be regarded as a morphological morpheme, distinguishing it from "al-" in Arabic. Since Persian speakers do not recognize "al-" alone as a morpheme, three hypothetical reasons for its presence in Persian can be suggested:By analogy with Arabic compounds borrowed into Persian, specialists in various fields have adopted these compounds, further creating and expanding new compounds with "al-" using Persian lexemes.The widespread use of such compounds has led to the phenomenon where "al-" appears in compounds where one or both components are Persian, creating new combinations with "al-" as an intermediary morpheme.In compounds such as "mamnu'ol," where "al-" follows "mamnu," it carries no specific meaning and serves as a redundant linking element between words.

The grammatical morpheme "al-" is one of the borrowings that Persian language adopted from Arabic. Initially accompanying loanwords when it entered Persian, this morpheme was used over time in conjunction with both borrowed and native Persian words to create hybrid terms. Although limited, this morpheme has achieved some productivity in forming compounds with Persian words.Phonetically, there is no significant difference between "al-" in Persian and Arabic. Phonologically, however, "al-" in Arabic exhibits different phonetic manifestations depending on the phonetic context of the initial phoneme of the word it precedes. It is noteworthy that in Arabic, the vowel of the final word attached to "al-" reflects the syntactic states of the noun in the sentence structure, a feature known as "i‘rāb." In contrast, Persian lacks such markers. Therefore, in Persian compounds featuring "al-," the sound of the final part of the first segment is pronounced consistently as "-ol ʔ-."Structurally, "/ʔæl/" in Persian can be considered a "semi-fertile and semi-active mediation" in terms of its morphological role and structure. Syntactically, one of the roles attributed to "al-" in Arabic is to indicate definiteness, a role it does not fulfill in Persian. In Arabic, the morpheme "al-" has specific roles and meanings, including different types of definiteness. However, in Persian, "al-" does not function to convey definiteness. Adding "al-" to a word in Persian does not make it definite in the mind of a Persian speaker.In Persian, the role of "al-" is primarily to form compound constructions. For example, in compound words like ''ʔaxærolzæman'' and ''hæqolsokut'', where two nouns are joined to create a compound, the morpheme "/ʔæl/" functions similarly to a prepositional genitive construction. Thus, in Persian, "/ʔæl/" serves to connect two linguistic elements to form compound words.

Nowadays, one of the most important challenges for health policymakers is the phenomena of emigration of health graduates. The aim of this manuscript is to assess and analyze factors that influence retaining and maintaining health elites in Iran. Since this issue is complicated and multidimensional, and as it has happened gradually, It is simplistic to think that the problem can be resolved by providing a simple, quick and effective solution. However, it is possible to take measures to solve the problem. Accordingly, in this article, we have presented the existing challenges for faculty members and health elites staying in Iran, and subsequently, the existing strategies to maintain this group in the country.

The rapid and increasing growth of technology in the artificial intelligence era and its impact on fundamentals changes in the development of science including biomedicine and health presents a need for the future studies in medical sciences. This project is striving to provide a desirable model based on authentic forecasting models in order to clarify the probable and uncertain futures of medicine and health in Iran, with their complexities. 

The Jay Ogilvy’s eight steps scenario planning and strategic forecasting was engaged in a five phases model including the identification approach (phase 1) for detection of paradigms in medicine; the extrapolation approach (phase 2) for detection of megatrends and key technologies in medicine and healthcare; the convergence approach (phase 3) for discovering of critical uncertainties and achieving to the logic of scenario; the creative approach (phase 4) for composition of the scenario and technology roadmap; the policy making approach (phase 5) for planning of strategies and tactics.

In the first phase, it was revealed that the realm of medicine is under a huge disruption and the current medicine is going to systems medicine with precision medicine in its scope. In the second phase, it was clarified that the convergence of knowledge, technology and society (CKTS) is a megatrend that drives medical sciences to “deep medicine”. In the third phase, it was unfolded that CKTS and “deep medicine” including deep phenotyping of the patient using multiple omics technologies are cardinal key points that not realization of their goals in Iran would lead to a deep and critical gap in advanced and updated medicine and healthcare between Iran and the developed countries. In the fourth phase, four possible scenarios for the future of medicine and healthcare in Iran were described in which the ideal scenario would be flourishing of deep medicine along CKTS. In the fifth phase, three strategies were developed in order to realize the ideal scenario including 1/ the establishment of knowledge regions, mediated by universities; 2/ moving toward digital health and artificial intelligence; 3/ driving forces for precision medicine

The establishment of infrastructures and preparedness for realizing precision medicine and moving toward digital health and artificial intelligence are crucial strategies to achieve the ideal future of medicine in Iran. These important issues should be considered as national priorities by policy makers and programmers in the realm of medical sciences.

The Persian language, though not belonging to the family of Semitic languages, has borrowed the heaviest from the Arabic language (Farshidvard: 1879: 39). A brief examination of Persian shows how heavily Persian is indebted to Arabic, but, as some scholars have pointed out, this has occurred mostly in the lexicon area as Persian has been affected very little in terms of syntax or grammar (Majd, 2011: 39).  In addition to a great number of single lexical items, a number of grammatical morphemes have entered Persian. An example is the agreement of adjective and the noun it modifies in grammar in terms of gender, a characteristic which is peculiar to Arabic, and which was not common in the Dari Persian except in the sixth century AH, when Persian was heavily affected by Arabic. The first instance appeared in Aruzi’s Chahar Maghaleh. Examples include: Moluk-e Maziyeh and Ghoroon Khaliyeh, etc. (Farshidvard, 1989: 23). Another instance of Arabic influence is the wide-spread adoption and usage of Arabic plural-making morphemes.

In Persian, the Arabic morpheme «-at» is sometimes used to pluralize Arabic and Persian words. Many Persian authorities frown upon this usage and argue that even Arabic words entering Persian should, as far as possible, also be pluralized using the plural morphemes «-ha» and «-in».  Examples: Sokhanran enteghadhay-e (rather than enteghadat-e) ziyadi az chegoonegi-ye bargozariy-e marasem kard.[The lecturer made several criticisms of the way the ceremony was held]. However, a number of the Arabic plural forms have been established in Persian with certain words so much so that if the plural morphemes are changed the words sound unfamiliar and weird. Examples include: ettelaa’aat; emkaanaat, enteshaaraat, etc. Besides, for certain nouns ending in «-at» such as adabiyaat, dokhaniyaat, amaliyaat, labaniyaat and maliyaat, there is no single form in Persian. The question to ask here is whether the Arabic plural marker «-at» in Persian has the same morphological, semantic, pragmatic and grammatical function as its counterpart in Arabic. Or is it different while sharing certain characteristics?   

Contrary to what was initially believed that languages borrow just words from one another, the studies show that borrowing can occur in any part of language including phonemes, inflectional and derivational affixes, etc. However, borrowing words is more frequent than borrowing any other parts of the language. Although affixes can be borrowed, the common belief is that they are not directly borrowed but transferred indirectly from one language into another language. In other words, affixes, as part of the complex words, get transferred into another language. Theses affixes, as the borrowed words, can finally attach to the roots of the target language and produce hybrid words (Seifar, et.al, 2015). Recently, borrowing affixes have received remarkable attention and the focus in the published works has been on the way affixes are borrowed. There are two scenarios, direct and indirect, for the process of borrowing affixes (Winford, 2005:385-409). The indirect borrowing has two stages. In the first stage, the speaker borrows some complex words from another language and uses them. In the second stage, probably a lot later, the speaker parses the blended words and finally the affixes are used with the roots in the receiving language and get generated. In the second scenario, the direct borrowing, once the borrowing takes place, the speaker, drawing on his own knowledge of the source language, identifies the affixes and attaches them to the roots of his own language and uses them. The main difference between these two scenarios lies in the whereabouts of the borrowed affix. Where has the speaker received the affix before combining it with the roots of his own language? From the source language complex words (indirect borrowing) or from his own knowledge of the source language? (direct borrowing). It seems that the indirect scenario best describes the phenomenon of affix borrowing. Paul (1891) maintains that words are borrowed as a whole; that is, derivative and inflectional affixes are not borrowed alone on their own part. However, if the many words that get transferred into another language have one certain affix, they can develop as easy as the target language words as a group and are possible to generate on their own. Thus, the received affix, by way of analogy, can attach to the target roots and later get generated (Paul, 1891: 469-470).

One of the cases where Persian has been influenced by Arabic is the borrowing of Arabic plural morphemes including «-at». The plural morpheme entered Persian with certain Arabic plural nouns such as latamaat, majhoolat and mofradaat, but was later extended to pluralize originally Persian words such as baaghaat, gozareshaat and Shemiranaat, resulting in hybrid words.  In terms of Phonetics, «-at» is no different in Persian than its usage in Arabic, but in terms of phonology, the only difference is in cases where «-at» has entered Persian directly as part of a loan word. A case in point is the loan word latamaat. In terms of phonology, «-at» follows Persian rather than Arabic phonological rules. For example, the Persian words are pluralized as ghazaliyaat and kashfiyaat while the plural forms of their Arabic counterparts are ghazaliyeh and kashfiyeh respectively. Also, the Persian word pand is pluralized as pandiyaat, quite against Arabic morphological rules. The plural marker «-at» is used for feminine nouns, whereas Persian lacks the feminine-masculine distinction. «-at» is not used in Persian to pluralize humans and animates and inanimate nouns are gender-neutral. In fact, «-at» is used in Persian to pluralize inanimate and abstract nouns that are gender-free. In terms of meaning, «-at» in Arabic indicates plural (three and more), whereas in Persian it indicates kind and group. Even though there are cases in Persian where this plural marker indicates plurality, this plurality meaning is mixed with the meanings of kind and group.  This plural morpheme has undergone change in meaning and function, so that it is also clearly assumed a classifying function. Thus, we may speak of two types of «-at» one Arabic and one Persianized. The Arabic «-at» is the plural marker for feminine nouns, and the Persianized «-at» is the plural marker referring to groups. By group is meant a collection of things of various names but of the same nature. For example, shemiranat indicates a number of villages that are located in the same geographical area even though they have various names. Other examples include lavaasaanaat, noghaat as well as dahaat, baghaat and dastooraat. In fact. It may be said that this borrowed morpheme has assumed a merely morphological-grammatical function. Grammatical because it shows in some way the addition of a foreign plural-making element to the number of Persian plural-making markers. Morphological because it has assumed a derivative function in the word formation area. Also, it seems that in Persian, «Jat» is considered as a single morpheme and that sabzijaat no longer means sabzihaa; rather, various kinds of sabzi. On the other hand, words such as kompootjaat indicate the fact that what we do have here is not «-at», but «-Jat», which may be regarded as a form of the morpheme «-at».The question of the use of «-at» in Persian is a matter of debate. Generally, it is not approved as it is argued that the use of Persian plural markers is preferable. At first glance, this advice may seem warranted, specially because Persia has quite a lot of plural markers.  A close look shows, however, that «-at» though originally Arabic has undergone such a deep change that it is not to be counted as Arabic any more as it is used based on Persian and not Arabic rules. Also, its usage has productively increased. Thus, we may claim with certainty that the single morpheme «-at» is a plural marker that Persian has borrowed indirectly from Arabic and that it is now a plural morpheme belonging to the Persian Language.

The place of higher education in the process of development of countries has been very high and it is highly appreciated by nations and governments. Between different higher education courses, Postgraduate education is responsible for training a human resource specialist in the field of education, research and services. There has been a growing trend in the quantitative growth of postgraduate education in Iran and now its qualitative aspect is of interest to policy-makers and decision makers of higher education. The purpose of this study is to investigate the status of processes and outcomes of educational departments with postgraduate courses at Kerman University of Medical Sciences
Methods and Materials: The study employed a descriptive design and was conducted by checklist. The statistical population of the study was the basic science education departments with postgraduate education (Master of Science and PhD degrees) in Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The data have been analyzed using central dispersion measures. Score obtained from educational dashboard for a number of educational departments shows taking into account the maximum score of 72 dashboards, 39.1% groups have got more than 50% dashboard score. The highest score is belonging to Biostatistics and Epidemiology (63.88%), Parasitology (62.5%) and Neuroscience (62.5%) departments respectively. The dashboard is one of the new management tools. It makes it possible to analyze key performance indicators, and allows decision making to achieve the goals. It provides the correct image of the system, Identify weaknesses and strengths, diagnosis of the path of the strategies, achieving an overview of function of subgroups performance. It will increase the ability to make informed decisions and increase the power of monitoring performance.

Health labor training is the main mission of medical education system in order to improve accountability of education in community. Accordingly, the program on the development and innovation of medical education as strategic guidelines for health education in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been developed in the form of 11 operational packages. one of the things that actually ensures the correct implementation of the organizational policies is the regular and proportionate evaluation of the programs, the Plan for Monitoring and Evaluating these programs has been developed in the phase of development of Packages for Reform and Innovation in Medical Education and the evaluation of Packages, simultaneously with its implementation, is underway.
Methods and Materials: The Plan of Monitoring and Evaluation of Packages for Reform and was designed and implemented concurrent with the launch of these Packages. The steps include Formation of Evaluation Committees, Development of Indicators for Monitoring and Evaluation, Designing ATNA; a Platform for Collecting Indicators, Process Evaluation and Output Evaluation.
Results and Monitoring and evaluation of Packages for Reform and Innovation in Medical Education has been carried out in different stages and in evaluating these Packages, a combination of scientific patterns has been used.
Since February 2016 two evaluation phases were implemented in the field of medical education.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the biological traits of the native isolate (K29) of entomopathogenic nematode (EPN), Acrobeloides maximus, from Kerman region against the larvae of Zeuzera pyrina L. (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) the serious pest of walnut trees in Iran. Main purposes were determining the pathogenicity intensities in plate and branch, relationship between host body size and susceptibility to EPNs and reproduction and penetration potential of EPN. Plate assays were performed using a range of EPN concentrations (5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 infective juveniles (IJs) per larva) in laboratory. The LC50 of A. maximus K29 was 12.1 IJs larva-1 against Z. pyrina larvae after 72 h. This EPN caused high insect mortality in branch experiments and dissection of cadavers confirmed nematode infection. The addressing relation between host body size and susceptibility of larvae to nematode showed higher mortality rates in the larger larvae after exposing to A. maximus K29 isolate. The results of the penetration and reproduction assays indicated that A. maximus K29 was able to successfully penetrate and reproduce in the haemocoels of Z. pyrina and G. mellonella larvae. The highest reproduction was recorded at 20 IJs larva-1 in Z. pyrina (30560.5±559.3 IJs). In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that A. maximus K29, is virulent to Z. pyrina larvae and it causes infection and successfully recycles in this pest. Notwithstanding the effectiveness of this pathogenic agent on Z. pyrina larvae, further studies are required for better track of infection of treated larvae within the walnut tree trunks.

Educational decline among university students during the first university terms is generally observed as a reason of the big change in lifestyle and not being accustomed to dormitory atmosphere, or it can be as a result of being involved with emotional matters, due to the special age at which they enter university. This research concerns the situation of a medical student ((Mohammad)) who enters Kerman medical university with a perfect educational background and a top rank in entrance exam of university but he encounters a noticeable underachievement in educating as soon as he starts his courses at university. Mohammad who is from a relatively supportive family and has a suitable financial situation in his family, gets involved with an emotional case and its following problems and matters, facing a breakup at this stage, he is suffered with depression and severe educational decline. His family, in order to help him, acts mistakenly and it brings about bigger problems. Therefore, after finishing two university terms with conditional educational situation, he exposes with the warning of being dropped out of university.Noticing the importance of this stage of life among university students, more than the consideration of university teachers, needs the contribution of consulting center of university in an effective way. so that they can identify students with emotional conflicts that leads them toward educational underachievement, and then offering them suitable and helpful consultation aimed to help them pass this serious phase of life and moreover, how to adopt themselves with new situations, surely with having their family support as well.

Mycoplasmas can cause acute and chronic diseases at multiple sites with wide-range complications and have been implicated as cofactors in diseases. The infections influenced form genital mycoplasmas specifically Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma genitalium potentially affect reproductive disorders, and infertility.

Isolation and molecular identification of Mycoplasma genitalium from the genital tract of infertile male and vaginal discharge of infertile female referred to Infertility Center of Kerman in 2013.

This study was a randomized, prospective study. We included 100 infertile male and 100 infertile female that were referred to the Infertility Center of Kerman. Then for isolation and molecular identification of Mycoplasma genitalium from urethral and vaginal discharge polymerase chain reaction was performed on Mycoplasma genus and genitalium.

From a total of 100 semen samples 45 patients (45%) were mycoplasma-positive and 13 (28.8%) were genitalium species positive. Also, from a total of 100 women samples 43 women (43%) were mycoplasma-positive and 10 (23.2%) were genitalium species positive. Positive samples were sequenced and phylogenetic tree was drawn.

According to the results of this study, a high percentage of infertile male and female were infected with the Mycoplasma genitalium. For prevention of harmful and significant consequences of this infection, we suggest a screening program in symptomatic infertile couples.

Ph. D by research is one of the highest post-graduate education degrees in Iran. There are educational and research-based courses in this program. There was a need for revision in these courses because of some controversies in running the program. This study aimed to determine the required courses، their credit and objective of each course in the program. The study was done by the Delphi approach in two rounds. In the first round، the current program was evaluated by an internet survey and an expert panel. The expert panel consisted of professors and PhD by research students of medical sciences universities in Iran. At the end of the first round، the curriculum of the program was prepared. The curriculum consisted of course titles، credits، objective and core or non-core curriculums. In the second round، the curriculum was sent to PhD by research supervisors and students and their feedbacks were collected via e-mail. At the end of the study، the list of current courses (per credit) was confirmed. Advanced statistics (3)، advanced research (2)، ethics in research (1) and documentation (2) were considered as core courses. This was suggested to change project management (2) and research projects (4) to non-core courses. The electronic data management (2)، knowledge transfer (2)، laboratory techniques (2) and course thesis were suggested to consider as non-core courses. The essential courses that students need for their research were considered as core and the courses which require the educational center point of view were considered as non-core courses.

Giardiasis is one of the human parasitic diseases caused by a flagellate protozoan named Giardia duodenalis (G.lamblia). Giardia is one of the most common organisms causing diarrhea in human and also a common gastrointestinal parasite in vertebrates.

A total of 352 stool samples were collected from patients infected with giardiasis referred to health centers in Kerman city. Samples were examined by formalin- ether concentration procedure. First, DNA extraction was performed on 30 stool samples containing adequate Giardia cysts and then PCR-RFLP was done on glultamate dehydrogenase (gdh) marker. Clinical signs of patients were recorded in a questionnaire and their relationships with molecular results were analyzed.

The highest rate of infection was in the age group of 0-12 years with significant difference with other age groups (P<0.0001). The most common clinical signs were abdominal pain (71.7%), diarrhea (69%), abdominal cramping (54.1%) and the least common signs were malaise (20.4%) and fever (16.1%). Of all 30 isolates, 18 samples (60%) were found as genotype All, 5 ones (16.7%) belonged to Al assemblage and 7 samples (23.3%) were BIII assemblage. There was a significant difference between genotyping of Giardia and clinical signs of diarrhea, abdominal signs and nausea (P<0.05).

Higher prevalence of Giardiasis was found in the age group below 12 years, but clinical signs in different age groups and two sexes were identical. Assemblage A showed correlation with mild intermittent diarrhea and assemblage B had correlation with persistent diarrhea.

Reviewing the scientific literature concerning the analysis of different aspects of PhD education systems can help improve the knowledge promotion system in Iran. Different PhD training models around the world and their advantages and disadvantages have been investigated. The study explored the published papers using a systematic approach. Promotion plans in other countries were also investigated. Main databanks between 1998 and 2008 were systematically reviewed using ten standard and sensitive keywords. In the next step, the contents of eligible papers were analyzed and classified. Thirty-two eligible papers were included in the final analysis. The main themes in these papers were about the student admission, supervision of PhD students and evaluation methods. In addition, these papers discussed how universities might improve the links between their PhD students and the community and industry. Moreover, we found information about the variety of training method between different countries, the trends in the number of PhD students and their age, sex and ethnic compositions. Major challenges for Ph.D education include: discipline, law and order in Ph.D programs, quality of supervision, completion time, drop-out rates, increasing number of students, preparation for employment, labor market qualifications and skills, cost of education, inter- university student exchange programs and foreign students admission. Based on our findings, we need to pay more attention to diversify PhD training schemes particularly research-based PhD and professional PhD and to provide PhD education systems appropriate to the present and future needs of our society.

Toxoplasma gondii, a member of the Apicomplexa,is an obligatory intracellular parasite. Toxoplasma gondii infection during pregnancy can result in abortion, stillbirth and fetal malformation. Due to the geographic variation in the prevalence of the infection and in order to assess the role of Toxoplasma gondii in abortion in Kerman the present study was carried out. In a case-control design, 57 women whose pregnancy was spontaneously terminated prior to 20th week of gestation and 112 women with their pregnancy beyond 20 weeks, matched for age and were studied in Afzalipour Maternity Center. Blood samples were taken after obtaining informed consent and then sera were tested for anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM using ELISA technique. Data analysis performed by t-test and Chi square using SPSS 17. The seroprevalence of anti-toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies were 30.8% and 3.6%, respectivelyin the whole population studied. The seroprevalence of anti-toxoplasma IgM was not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.40). However, the seroprevalence of anti-toxoplasma IgG was significantly different between abortion and normal pregnancy groups (43.9% and 24.1%, respectively). No significant relationship was observed between anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies and education level, consumption of undercooked meat, unwashed vegetables, and contact with cats. Based on the above results we can conclude that chronic infection of toxoplasmosis implicates in abortion, while acute infection has no role in this regard. However, more investigation is needed.

Cystic Echinococcosis (CE) is a cosmopolitan and prevalent zoonosis in the world. It caused by larva of Echinococcus genus species. CE is medically and economically one of the important parasitic zoonoses in Iran especially Moghan Plain. So far no survey was conducted to determine the rate of CE in this region. The subjects of this descriptive- analytic study were people of the Moghan plain. The prevalence of the disease was determined with serologic examination using ELISA test. ELISA was carried out using HCF-Ag that obtained from a diseased sheep. Household information was recorded in questionnaires before collecting serum samples. The results were analyzed by SPSS using statistical tests. Out of 2008 samples, 1267 were female and 734 were male. At all 9.2 % (184) of sera were found to be positive. This survey determined more prevalence of Cystic Echinococcosis in women (%10) than men (%7.9) and infection is more in places that keep much Dogs

Human cystic Echinococcosis (CE) caused by larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, has a cosmopolitan distribution and is particularly more prevalent in rural regions. Iran is an endemic focus for CE and human cases are reported regularly from medical centers in different parts of Iran including Kerman. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of hydatidosis among rural communities in Shahdad and Chatroud in Kerman province. A total of 451 individuals (87 males and 364 females) were selected by randomized cluster sampling between 2006 and 2007. Demographic features were recorded in a questionnaire and abdominal ultrasonography was carried out. Then 5 ml venous blood sample was collected for ELISA test. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test and Multivariate logistic regression for risk factors analysis. Two hydatid cases (0.4%) were detected by ultrasonography. Serological results showed 8.8 % (37 cases) seropositivity, and females (9.7%) were more positive than males (4.9%). There was a significant difference in CE prevalence in different age groups (p=0.012). Results showed the seroprevalence of 8.5% and 9% in Shahdad and Chatroud respectively and there was no significant difference in CE prevalence rates between the two regions. Multivariate logistic regression showed that females were 4.6 times more likely to be infected than males (OR=4.6, 95% CI=1.27-16.79). Proper washing of vegetables decreased the probability of infection by 71% (OR=0.29, 95% CI=0.13-0.65).Dog ownership was not a significant risk factor of CE (OR=0.28, 95% CI=0.06-1.22, P=0.09). Housewives (9.6%) and farmers (9.1%) were more seropositve than other groups. Canclusion: The study showed that seroprevalence of hydatid disease is relatively high in rural regions of Shahdad and Chatroud

This study aimed to evaluate the current situation of PhD education of medical science fields in Iran and compare it with successful models in developed countries. In a qualitative design, we systematically collected and analyzed the academic staff’s perspectives that had studied abroad and were involved in training of post-graduate students in medical fields. In the first step we prepared a conceptual framework based on the findings in brain storming sessions and in-depth discussions. Then in semi-structural interviews, the pros and cons of the current dominant model were discussed and the proposed revisions along with their applications were tabulated. The main challenges in the current training system were listed as no-involvement of departments in the admission of their PhD students, insufficient attention to meta-capacities of enrolled students- e.g. their English skill, nonfunctional relationship of the universities with the industry, and poor supervision of doctorate students. As one of the potential advantages of the research-based PhD training model, it was mentioned that the students might obtain more capability to address the further needs of the industry and research system. Accordingly, we believe that the advantages of the current system should be kept, nonetheless a revision in the PhD training model, particularly with more attention to the research based training, may address more efficiently to needs in the future. Considering the limitations of the research-based model, such a reform should be implemented gradually using a comprehensive road map.

Cryptosporidiosis is one of the most important parasitic zoonoses of human and animals. This infection is common in mammals and caused by the coccidian parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium. The Present study was designed to determine the epidemiology of Cryptosporidium infection in cattle in Kerman by using conventional morphological as well as molecular methods for molecular characterization. Fecal samples of cattle were collected fresh and directly from the rectum. Cryptosporidium oocysts were isolated by using formalin-ether sedimentation method followed by modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. DNA of a number of isolates was extracted using QIAamp® DNA stool mini kit (Qiagen®). A nested PCR-RFLP protocol amplifying ~ 850 bp fragment of SSU-rRNA gene used to differentiate species and genotypes of the isolates, using SspI and VspI as two restriction endonucleases. For each slide at least 20 oocysts were measured. Seventy eight of 412 cattle (18.9%) were found to be infected. Cryptosporidium infection was associated with diarrhea (P=0.026) in a way that 31.8% of diarrheic cattle (14.44) and 17.4% of non diarrheic cattle (64.368) were infected. The rate of infection in suckling calves <2 months age was significantly higher than others (45.134 vs. 33.6%, P=0.000). In this study 4 isolates of C. andersoni and 8 isolates of C. parvum were found for the first time in Iran by using molecular techniques. Cryptosporidium infection is common in cattle of Kerman. Moreover, in spite of the presence of C.parvum as the dominant species in Iran, the presence of C.andersoni in Iran is reported for the first time by molecular techniques. Economic and public health problems resulted from infection by C.andersoni require more investigations in other parts of Kerman province and Iran.

Cryptosporidium is an important cause of illness in farm animals. The present study conducted in Kerman, Iran between 2003-2004 to elucidate the epidemiology of Cryptosporidium infection in sheep and goats. Fecal samples were collected fresh and transferred to the research lab. Cryptosporidium oocysts were concentrated using formalin-ether sedimentation method followed by the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining. The data analyzed using non-parametric tests and logistic regression. Of 774 animals, 434 sheep and 340 goats, 120 animals (15.5%) were infected. The infection rate in sheep and goats was 13.8% and 17.6% respectively. Age, season (spring and winter), fecal consistency, presence of other animal species and the herd size significantly correlated with the probability of Cryptosporidium infection. The study showed a remarkable rate of Cryptosporidium infection in sheep and goats. Regarding the risk factors of the infection improving animal husbandry is a prerequisite for effective control of the disease in livestock.