مسعود نادرپور

Traumatic rupture of the eardrum is one of the most common cases following traumatic events, requiring medical care and sometimes surgery for treatment, which means the imposition of financial costs on the individual and society. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing treatment duration in patients with traumatic eardrum rupture.

In this cross-sectional analytical study, 100 patients were selected in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Based on the otoscopic examination of the tympanic membrane, a small tear (Pin Point) was defined as a case that was less than 1.4 (quarter) of the tympanic membrane, and a medium tear (Medium) was defined as a rupture that was less than 1.4 (quarter) of the tympanic membrane. Up to half of the tympanic membrane and large ruptures (Large) included more than half of the tympanic membrane and to determine the extent of hearing loss in these patients in decibels, audiogram, tympanogram, ECV, SDS and SRT were performed on all patients.

The mean age of the patients was 35.44±11.70 years with a median of 33 years. The minimum age of the patients was 10 years and the maximum was 63 years. 72% of patients were male and 28% were female. Regarding the location of rupture of the eardrum in the studied patients, it was observed that in 60 cases (60%) the rupture was in the lower posterior location, in 38 cases (38%) it was in the upper posterior location and only in 2 cases (2%) it was in the middle location of the eardrum. Eleven percent of patients recovered in the first month, 44 percent in the second month, 21 percent in the third month, and 24 percent did not recover.

It can be concluded that eardrum rupture seems to occur most frequently around the age of 30 and is more common in males. Also, the lack of improvement in the present study was 24%. In addition, in the present study, there was a statistically significant relationship between extensive bleeding of the eardrum and the space behind the eardrum and the time of repair. Practical Implications. in traumatic perforation of tympanic membrane proper care and prevention of infection cause high healing rate.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is widely grown in different environments, forming the fourth largest crop in the world, with a production of almost 321 million metric tons. Seed potato degeneration, the reduction in yield or quality caused by an accumulation of pathogens and pests in planting material due to successive cycles of vegetative propagation, has been a long-standing production challenge for potato growers around the world. In developed countries this problem has been overcome by general access to and frequent use of the seed, produced by specialized growers, that has been certified to have pathogen and pest incidence below established thresholds, often referred to as certified seed. Potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) and potato virus Y (PVY) are the most important viruses infecting potato crops and also reduce the size as well as a number of potato tubers with annual global yield losses of up to 20 million tonnes. In Iran, PLRV and PVY are widely distributed in most potato-growing areas in Iran and have caused severe yield losses of up to 40 percent.This study was carried out to evaluate the amount of potato seed field’s infection to potato leaf roll virus and potato virus Y in different regions of Hamedan province and to survey the sensitivity of cultivars to studied viruses.

Leaf samples were prepared from potato seed field (S seed class) which has a 3-years rotation and 400 meters isolated distance from other potato growing fields. Studied potato seed fields were located in three regions of Hamedan province included: KaboodarAhang, Goltappe and Razan. These regions are the main potato production areas in Hamedan province of Iran. Leaf samples infection to potato leafroll virus and potato virus Y was determined by DAS-ELISA test using specific antiserum (Patho Screen Kit, supplied by Agdia Incorporated, USA) following the fundamental protocol outlined by Clark and Adams (1977) ELISA assay. The yield of all studied fields was determined after harvesting. Meteorological information of three seed production areas included average temperature, rainfall and wind speed was collected during the studied period.

Results showed that infected potato plants by both studied viruses (potato leaf roll virus and potato virus Y) were seen in KaboodarAhang region, while potato plants infected by studied viruses were not seen in the other regions (Goltappe and Razan). The probable cause of higher virus infection in KaboodarAhang region could be due to the wider migration of carriers and their greater activity in the region which had higher average temperature and rainfall than the other two studied areas. In Goltappe region which was diseases free, the temperature means and the amount of rainfall was lower than the other regions during the growth period. Maximum wind speed (25 m.s-1) in the infected region (KaboodarAhang) was higher than regions which were free of diseases (Goltappe and Razan). The wind blowing provides the possibility of transmission of viral infection by aphids (especially Myzus persicae) from neighbor infected fields.  However, portable flight capacity such as the aphid Myzus persicae may rarely exceed 100 meters, but Wind-assisted flight can carry aphids for several hundred kilometers. Therefore, what matters more than the isolated distance between potato seed production fields is the health of the seed production area and the speed and direction of the wind.Among studied cultivars, Agria and Arinda cvs. were infected by both studied viruses, while the other studied cultivars (Sante, Banba and jelly) were not infected.In Agria cv. and in the range of infection between 1 and 3%, the relationship between yield and potato plants infection to PLRV and PVY was not found, but in Arinda cv., the yield of virus (PLRV and PVY) free fields were much higher than those of infected by PLRV and PVY.

Since the Agria and Arinda cvs. were infected by potato leaf roll virus and potato virus Y, this can be concluded that these cultivars are sensitive to potato leafroll virus and potato virus Y. It seems Goltappe and Razan regions are suitable for potato seed production in Hamedan province. In the low range of viral infection, no logical relation was seen between potato plant’s yield and viral infection of plants. Among studied meteorological parameters, temperature mean and the amount of rainfall in the free of diseases region are lower than infected region.

Nucleic acid-based diagnostic approaches are significant methods in detection and identification of viruses due to their small genome structures and minimal nucleotide differences among virus isolates or strains. In this study, dead or diseased larvae of Helicoverpa sp. were collected from tomato fields in distinct geographic areas in Iran and baculovirus infection was assayed by occlusion body extraction using an optimized Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate method. Two sets of specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer pairs (Pol-a and Pol-b) were designed based on the conserved polyhedrin gene region of 26 fully sequenced HearSNPV/HzNPV isolates. Accordingly, infection by HearSNPV was confirmed in 28 out of 34 tested larvae by PCR amplification of monomorphic fragments of about 370 and 790 nucleotides, respectively. Cloning and sequencing of fragments showed that they belong to the corresponding polyhedron gene from nucleopolyhedriviruses of H. arimegra and H. zea species with 99.6% sequence identity. The phylogeny trees developed for Iranian isolates based on their polyhedron gene sequences showed that they all belong to the Group II Alphabaculovirus and formed one clade with other HearSNPV isolates. This, further confirmed the efficiency of the developed method for baculovirus detection and characterization. To our knowledge, this is the first report of introduction and molecular characterization of some HearSNPV isolates, circulating in these pests in Iran, using a robust DNA-based approach. The excellent efficacy of this method in virus detection makes it a valuable tool for rapid screening of insect cadavers for HearNPV infection, phylogenic studies and virus monitoring in bioinsecticides application.

Mahaleb (Prunus mahaleb) plant is one of the most important sources of cherry clonal and seed base rootstock production in Iran. Obtaining seed-borne viruse-free (Prune dwarf virus, Plum pox virus, Prunus necrotic ringspot virus) sources for selected mahaleb rootstocks (NB5176, NBVP1, NBVP2), For this purpose, the viral infection status of genotypes was initially studied in orchard using ELISA serological method. Then the meristem tips were cultured in vitro and 6 months later, transferred to MS medium containing 0.5mg/l BAP and 0.1 mg/l NAA, DKW contacting 0.5 mg/l BAP and WMP contacting 0.3 mg/l pectin. After the initial proliferation stage, the plantlets were heat-treated and then health status of the remained plantlets was studied using RT-PCR. Then the healthy plants were rooted and transferred to pots. Based on ELISA result, some genotypes were probably infected to PNRSV and PDV. The highest shoot tip establishment was recorded as 42.5% by NBPV1. No genotype was proliferated in MS and WPM, so only DKW was apropriate for proliferation. For plantlet rooting, 1/2DKW and modified QL containing 1.5 mg/l IBA were appropriate. NBVP2 was the best in all rooting media. Most of plantlets from three genotypes toleratedin-vitro thermotherapy condition and were free of PNRSV, PDV, PPV based on RT-PCR result. The healthy plants were transferred to pots and could be cultured in an isolated orchard to obtain healthy mahaleb seeds.

External laryngeal trauma is rare. It has a population incidence of 1 in 137,000 in adults. In developing countries blunt trauma is more common than penetrating trauma. Blunt trauma may occur due to accidents, sports injuries or hanging. Laryngeal trauma manifests as a spectrum of symptoms and signs ranging from cardiopulmonary arrest to subtle changes in voice quality. The most common presenting feature of laryngeal trauma is hoarseness, followed by dysphagia and pain. Although blunt laryngeal trauma is rare, but it can be life threatening. So, its early and proper management will remarkably affect the immediate probability of patient’s survival and their long term quality of life.

In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, medical records of 30 patients with blunt laryngeal trauma, who were admitted in ENT ward of Imam Reza hospital over a 10-year period, were evaluated.

30 patients, including 27 (90%) males and 3 (10%) women were studied. Mean age of patients was 36.13±10.53 years. The most common cause of blunt laryngeal trauma was vehicle accidents. The most common presenting symptoms were neck pain and tenderness. Subcutaneous emphysema was the most common radiological finding. The most common laryngoscope findings were swelling and hematoma of true vocal cords. Treatment modalities were supportive therapy performed on 26(86.7%) patients, tracheotomy on 3(10%) patients and open surgery on 1(3.3%) patients. Also 2 (6.7%) patients required intubation.

In most patients suffering from mild trauma, conservative therapy is mostly administered. Any delay in early and proper diagnosis and treatment may be life threatening. So in such situations the patient's airway should be evaluated by skillful experts and emergency procedures have to be applied. Also any changes in patient's signs should be monitored frequently and the required diagnostic and therapeutic procedures must be applied.

True-to-type and pathogen-free plant propagating materials are among the most necessary inputs to achieve sustainable agriculture. Some of plant pathogens and pests are transmitted via true seeds to the next generations in certain circumstances but all are transmitted through vegetative plant propagating materials. Using informal propagating materials and successive cycles of vegetative propagation has caused accumulation of pathogens and pests specifically in plants propagated by means of tubers, corms and rhizomes. This, in turn, has resulted in crop yield reduction in quantitative, qualitative and salability points of view. This phenomenon called seed degeneration and is very common in regions where farmers, for any reason (s), use informal seeds produced on-farm or acquired from markets. Several factors including climate, life cycles of pathogens and pests and their relation with other entities and environment influence seed degeneration. The present article focuses on details of seed degeneration, related factors and finally on integrated strategy based on these factors to prevent/mitigate this phenomenon.

In spite of existing of several methods for detection of viruses, time consuming is major limitation of them. So, developing faster and real time method is important to certificate the plant materials in quarantine stations and virus management. In the recent research, nanotechnology was employed to detect Potato virus S (PVS) using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Colloidal AuNPs were prepared through citrate reduction and conjugated to a specific antibody against PVS coat protein. Conjugation was optimized by changing the pH of AuNPs and antibody concentration. Antibody coated nanoparticles were used to detect different concentrations of antigen using spectrophotometry. After binding the antibody to the gold nanoparticles which cause an increase in particle size, the SPR peak was displaced in range of 4-5 nm and shifted from 524 to 530 nm. The binding of the antigen to the nanoparticle also caused a change in the particle size and an increase maximum absorbance from 530 to 539 nm. No spectral change were seen when PVY and CMV used as controls. This study is the first attempt of nanoparticle usage in quick and easy detection of PVS

Fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora is one of the most important diseases of pome fruits worldwide. In this research, the resistance of 24 selected apple genotypes was evaluated using a mixture of four Erwinia amylovora strains collected from Alborz, Kordestan, West Azarbijan and Khorassan Razavi. The plant material was grafted on apple seedlings in 2013. The grafted plants were transferred to the greenhouse and evaluated for fire blight resistance in spring 2015 and 2016- using shoot-tip inoculation method. Five weeks after inoculation, the blight severity were scored and recorded based on the progression of necrotic area on shoots. Based on the results, the fire blight severity was higher in 2015 than 2016 (24.54% and 17.68%, respectively). The results also indicated that seedling (SSB) and Shemirani Tabestaneh (SH2) genotypes were susceptible and three genotypes including Bigi Kenar Roundkhameh (B-K-Kh), Torbati (T-R1) and Kouzehei Salmasi (Go-Sa) were resistant. Genotypes were grouped into four classes including; susceptible (4.35%), moderately susceptible (13.04%), moderately resistant (17.39%) and resistant (65.52%), and there was no highly susceptible genotype. The results showed that most of the local apple genotypes examined in this research were resistant to fibre blight disease.

In order to study molecular identification and genetic diversity of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), 149 leaf samples from 37 orchards of pome and stone fruit trees of Kurdistan province were collected and tested by RT-PCR using a PNRSV-F3/PNRS-R3 specific primer pair. Results showed that 20.8% of the samples were infected by PNRSV.In the next stage of the study, 13 isolateswere selected based on the host and geographic region and their amplified fragments were ligated into the pTG19-T plasmid, transformed to E. coli DH5α, and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis showed that PNRSV isolates formed three clades PV96, PV32, and PE5, and all new-sequences from Kurdistan (in this research) were categorized in PV96 phylogenetic clade, which is close to other Iranian isolates. The new isolates shared 99 ± 0.002 identities together and 94/9 ± 0.005 with other previously PNRSV reported isolates at the nucleotide level. Pairwise comparisons of sequences showed that isolates peach from Kamyaran (KH10), pear from Sanandaj (SZ93), and peach from Dehgolan (D7) had the highest nucleotide similarity (98%) with Iranian isolate nectarine (KX353935) whereas isolate pear from Sanandaj (SZ26) had the lowest nucleotide identity with isolate plum from Poland (DQ983499). The low dN/dS ratio in all populations of the virus showed that negative selection plays important role in PNRSV-CP evolution and recombination. There is no recombination event in this domain of PNRSV genome of these isolates.

Gene expression in bacteria have already been used to study the protein of viruses and to produce specific antibodies. In this research, potato samples were collected from eight provinces of Iran and were tested for Potato virus S, as one of the most destructive viruses of potato fields, by DAS-ELISA and RT-PCR. Dominant isolate of PVS was selected according to coat protein (CP) gene sequences following phylogenetic analysis. Full length CP gene was amplified, cloned and sequenced, then was digested from pJET1.2/blunt vector, ligated into the expression vector pET-28a and the construct (pET-28a:PVS:CP) was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 strain. Gene expression was optimized by induction with 0.5, 1 and 2 mM final concentrations of IPTG for 3, 4 and 6 h and was verified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. Based on the nucleotide analysis, the Iranian isolates of PVS were divided into three groups that one group with 22 members known as the dominant group. The expression of recombinant CP of about 34 kDa was proved by western blotting. Induction by 1 mM IPTG for 4 h proved to be the most efficient method of expression. This is the first report of the expression of PVS CP gene, which is important for the preparation of anti-PVS antibody.

The present study aimed to evaluate different Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) genotypes in sugar beet research stations in Iran including Toroq, Zarqan, Miandoab and Ekbatan. Some samples were also collected from sugar factories’ field in Torbat-e Jam, Nahavand, Kamalabad, Naqadeh and Qazvin and also sugar beet fields in Arak. A total of 58 infected sugar beet root samples were collected. In addition, 30 soil samples were collected from sugar beet fields in Moghan, Toroq, Zarqan and Kamalabad, and a susceptible cultivar was planted in them to determine the causal agent type. To detect type A or B of the virus, TGB region of the virus genome was multiplied using multiplex-PCR. Moreover, partial multiplication of RNA5 using RT-PCR and specific primers was performed to detect type P or J. Only 324 bp fragment was multiplied using multiplex-PCR and specific primers designed for type A or B. Therefore, among 88 samples, only type A was detected. No BNYVV isolates containing RNA5 was observed in any of the samples.

Tympanosclerosis is one of complications of chronic otitis media with accumulation of hyaline and calcified deposits intra tympanic membrane and middle ear's membrane. In most cases these plaques are of minimal clinical significance and result in trivial hearing dysfunction.
60 patients diagnosed with chronic otitis media and tympanosclerosis who were candidates for operation and met inclusion criteria were evaluated. Audiometric evaluations were assessed before and after surgery. Intra operative findings and Post operative clinical results were also evaluated after surgery.
25(43.1%) patients were male and 33(56.9%) were female. Hearing dysfunction was monolateral in 62.1% and bilateral in 37.9%. The most common location of ossicular chain fixation is between incus and malleus reported in 24(41.3%) patients.
Middle ear surgery result is astonishing although other factors such as severity of sclerosis and fixation localization may also be influential in surgical results.

Mycoflora of hybrid sorghum seeds in line production areas of Khorasan Razavi Seed health analysis was carried out on 30 Sorghum bicolor cv. speed feed(line AS9) seed samples belonging to two growing seasons (2001-2004) which were routinely submitted by Feizabad Research Center, Khorasan Razavi provience to Seed and Plant Certification and Registration Institute, Iran. Applying simple blotter-, deep freezing blotter-, and agar plate- methods for detection of seedborne mycoflora revealed the presence of Fusarium verticilloides, Bipolaris sorghicola, Cladosporium sp., Alternaria sp., Penicillium spp.,and Cephalosporium acremonium in seed samples at the rates of 0.5, 4.5, 16, 19.25, 21 and 0.75 percent, respectively. Using washing test, teliospores of Sphacelotheca cruenta and Sporisorium sorghi at the rates of 12 and 42 teliospores/Kg seed were detectedon the basis of teliospore morphology.

Most of the middle ear surgeries are performed by using microscope and bloodless surgical field plays an important role in the vision of surgeon and consequently in the quality of surgery. There are different methods to reduce systemic blood pressure to overcome bleeding. Two of the best methods are total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol plus remifentanil and inhalation anesthesia with isoflorane. This study aimed at comparing hemodynamic changes of these two methods of anesthesia in middle ear surgery. In this single-blinded clinical trial, 60 adults candidate for elective middle ear surgery were randomly divided into two groups: group 1 was anesthetized with isoflorane and group 2 was anesthetized with TIVA. Thereafter, the hemodynamic changes of two groups were compared during surgery with equal bispectral index system (BIS) range. There were no statistically significant differences between two groups regarding the mean arterial pressure (MAP), BIS and SaO2 as well as degree of the surgeon’s satisfaction with bleeding severity in operating field. The mean heart rate after intubation and also during surgery in group 1 was significantly higher than group 2. During middle ear surgery with BIS ranged 45±5, the degree of decrease in MAP and also the degree of surgeon’s satisfaction would not be significantly different between inhalation anesthesia (with isoflorane) and TIVA (with propofol plus remifentanil). However, a decrease in heart rate in TIVA method is more than that in the inhalation method.