alireza sharif

The current research was conducted with the aim of analyzing the factors affecting the general success of campaigns in social media. The research method is a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, and the statistical population of the qualitative part is formed by media experts with more than 10 years of experience in social networks and advertising. In the quantitative part, the statistical community includes Telegram and Instagram social media users who are members of virtual campaigns. In the qualitative part, the findings of the research show that from the point of view of the interviewees, the exponential increase of members, the possibility of easy sending to friends, the ability simultaneous membership in several campaigns, easy and quick cancellation of membership, getting to know other campaign members and identifying their goals and motives, the possibility of membership with a false identity, making settings to receive or not receive messages from the campaign, the possibility The participation of Iranians from all over the world in the campaign and the possibility of real-time statistics of users by campaign managers are considered as the most important strengths of cyberspace campaigns. In the quantitative part, the findings show that there is a direct and meaningful relationship between the components of social communication, economic benefits, interaction and user satisfaction from social network campaigns. On the other hand, based on the findings of the research, the observance of values and norms do not have a significant effect on the popularity of the mentioned campaigns.

 Enterococci bacteria are part of the intestinal microbial flora of humans and animals. However, the widespread use of antibiotics causes antibiotic resistance among these bacteria, making it necessary to identify effective antimicrobial agents against them.

 This study aimed to investigate the phenotypic prevalence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in the clinical samples of patients admitted to Beheshti hospital in Kashan.

 This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 110 enterococci isolated from the clinical samples of hospitalized patients during 2017-2018. Vancomycin-resistant cases were identified and recorded after recording clinical and demographic information. Finally, the groups were statistically compared using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests.

 The present study findings demonstrated that the prevalence of VRE was 37.3%. There was a significant association between the prevalence of VRE and older age, diabetes, history of antibiotic use, and more extended hospital stays. Conversely, no significant relationship was found between VRE prevalence and gender, blood pressure, heart disease, year of sampling, and type of clinical sample.

 Overall, the incidence of vancomycin resistance in enterococci is increasing, which can be reduced by identifying effective antimicrobial agents and providing appropriate training to the medical staff and the general public.

In the early verses of Surah Al-Isra (the children of Israel chapter) has been referred to two corruptions of the children of Israel.In verses from Surah Ma'idah (the table spread), a group of true jewish believers are excluded from the rest.But many of them insist on corruption and incitement to war which, of course, their attributes correspond the Zionist government.The article deals with the chronological order of the verses and describing how the repression of the corruption of the children of Israel occurred in the apocalypse by "uli ba-sin shadidin" -those of strong (severe) power/might- using a kind of contemplation method; that is paying attention to the continuity of the verses of the Qur'an and analyzing the apparent implications contained in the text of the verses sequentially and finally, knows the probability of the occurrence of one of the two corruptions of this people in contemporary period stronger than other probabilities.According to the narrations and reasons presented in this article, the successive chain of adventures of corruption of the children of Israel and their great insolence in the apocalypse will be at the end of the period of the great absence and leading to the advent of Imam Mahdi -May God Almighty hasten his honorable return.

Coronavirus, a common infectious disease in the 21st century, has not been studied enough in children. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and outcomes of children with Covid-19 admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan during 2020-2022.

In this retrospective cohort study, the medical records of children with covid-19 referred to Shahid Beheshti hospital in Kashan between February 2020 and March 2022 were reviewed. The information extracted from the patient's medical records included demographic variables, clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and the outcome of covid-19. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS 16, using descriptive statistics (frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (chi-square test and ANOVA).

The findings of 271 children (159 boys; 52% of the age group≤5 years) showed that fever (57.6%), cough (39.9%), nausea-vomiting (31.7%), and diarrhea were the most common clinical symptoms. Also, the majority of patients were in the abnormal range in terms of Monocyte (89.3%), PTT (84.7%), Lymphocyte (83.6%), Neutrophil (80.4%), and LDH (74.5%). Pulmonary involvement was present in 12.5% of children. Finally, four children (1.5%) died.

Severity of lung involvement and the outcome of the covid-19 disease (admission to the ICU and death) among children were at a low level, and in fact, it shows the better condition of children than adults in relation to this disease.

In Surah Al-Isra', two corruptions of the children of Israel are mentioned. Some commentators have considered the occurrence of these corruptions in the past. Among these, a significant part of the interpretations consider the occurrence of this corruption and its suppression in the time of Bakhtunssar. However, in none of the narrations is the example of "uli ba`sin shadidin/of great might" applied to people in the past, and consequently the corruption of the children of Israel and also its suppression by the "uli ba`sin shadidin" will be realized in the end of the time, akhir ul-zaman. The author of Jame 'al-Bayan considers the occurrence of this corruption and its suppression at the time of Bakhtunassar, but other commentators have either not presented a new theory in this regard or have simply quoted his opinion without commenting on it. The present article reviews the analysis of interpretive texts and examines the possibility of corruption mentioned in the fourth verse of Surah Isra before Islam. It rejects the occurrence of corruption and its suppression in the pre-Islamic period, especially by Bakhtunassar, based on the available historical evidence, narrative reasons and logical analysis, and views the possibility of this promise occurring first in the post-Islamic period and then more precisely around akhir ul-zaman.

In this study, the effect of chemical modification on adsorption behavior of scleroglucan polymer on carbonate rock of oil reservoir was studied. The chemical modification was performed to increase hydrophobicity of scleroglucan while substituting ionic and hydrophobic groups on its structure simultaneously. Investigation of adsorption behavior of the samples on carbonate rock surfaces revealed an increase in uptake of the modified samples compared to the original one. Evaluation of various factors affecting the adsorption process showed that the Langmuir isotherm can describe the adsorption behavior of primary and hydrophobic scleroglucan samples better that Freundlich & Temkin isotherms. However, the adsorption behavior of the ionic-hydrophobic sample was hard to explain using the Langmuir model. A pseudo-second-order & Intra-particle diffusion models could express uptake kinetics of the samples. Thermodynamic studies indicated the temperature-dependency of free energy, ΔG, and the dominant role of entropic phenomena, rather than enthalpic phenomena, in the adsorption process of samples. In addition, ΔH values of different samples (about 6 KJ/mol for the primary scleroglucan, 5 KJ/mol for the hydrophobic scleroglucan and 9 KJ/mol for the ionic-hydrophobic scleroglucan) suggested the physical adsorption of samples onto the carbonate particles surface in both water and brine solutions.

Translators of revelation have considered some words equally in the translation of the Qur’an. Sometimes they use one meaning for different words. While paying attention to the exact meaning of the words is the way to solve the mystery of some verses and traditions and by using the imaginary translation, we can achieve wider meanings than what the fariqain interpreters have expressed in their works.
The word of “Erteqab” in interpretations of fariqain has been considered “entezar” -to be waiting- and its semantic delicacies has been ignored.
This analysis attempts to compare shia and sunni interpretative views in order to consider the neglected points in translation. The concept of this word (Erteqab) is discussed by using the imaginary interpretation method and by relying on the Qur’an itself and the verses of the story of saleh’s (P.B.U.H.) camel in “Qamar” surah (chapter).
In addition to maintaining the conceptual structure and consistency with the concept presented in the vocabulary books, the imaginary interpretation method in this research, provides a more precise, more rugged and more practical meaning for the given word in line with the divine programs of the Qur’an. Among the early interpretations of fariqain, Zaid bin Ali, Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, Hassan ibn Abi Al-Hassan, Abu Saeed Khadri and at the head of them Imam Ali (P.B.U.H) have paid more attention to the issue of "Dukhaan Erteqab".

In the last decades, the development of nanotechnology has been rising and nanomaterials have been widely used in combination with many traditional materials. The prominent chemical and physical properties of nanomaterials enable them to play an important role in various applications such as modifying the structure of materials, improving the properties of composites, and manufacturing new multifunctional products. The building industry has not been exempted from this rule. Many studies have been carried out on the effect of nanoparticles on concrete performance and most of them demonstrated the improvement of concrete properties. There are a lot of studies on the effect of nanoclay on cement composites. However, there are little researches on the halloysite nanotube (HNT) effect, as subcategories of nanoclay, on the properties of cement composites. Halloysites are a kind of mineral clay which are often produced by air-induced erosion or by thermal transformation of ultramafic rocks, volcanic glasses, and pumice. They are chemically similar to kaolinite but, unit layers in halloysites are separated by a monolayer of water molecules. In general, halloysites have different shapes and exist in the plate, spherical, and tubular forms. The tubular structure is the dominant form of halloysite in nature. Chemically, the outer surface of the HNTs has properties similar to SiO2 while the inner cylinder core is related to Al2O3. Due to the tubular geometry, HNTs like carbon nanotubes could be classified as one-dimensional nanoparticles. Halloysite can grow into long multi-walled tubules, which morphologically resemble to multi-walled carbon nanotubes. In terms of dimensional characteristics, HNTs have an external diameter of about 30 to 190 nm, an inner diameter of about 10 to 100 nm and a length between 3 to 30 µm. Halloysite characteristics could be sum up as high length to diameter (L/D) ratio, high specific surface, large pore volume, low density in surface, and pozzolanic properties. Mechanical properties of HNTs could make them an ideal reinforcing additive to improve the mechanical properties of cement composites. In addition, due to the nano scale size of HNTs, they can play the role of filler and make a denser and stronger microstructure. Therefore, in this research, the effect of HNTs on the performance of cement mortar was evaluated and the workability and permeability of mortar samples containing 3% halloysite nanotubes were presented. The results indicated an increase of more than 28% of electrical resistance, a decrease of approximately 26% of water absorption rate, 23% reduction in water repellent, a decrease in the workability, and an increment in the rate of hydration of cement mortar due to the incorporation of 3% halloysite nanotube. These results indicate that halloysite nanotubes can be used as an appropriate nanoparticle to improve the properties of cementitious composites. The pozzolanic properties of HNTs enable them to decrease the permeability of cementitious matrices. Silicate of HNTs react with calcium ions of hydrated cement and increase the calcium silicate hydrate gel. This could lead to an enhancement in the durability of cementitious matrices. This paper can provide more insights on the application of nanoparticles with cementitious composites.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that is accompanied by some complications, such as diabetic foot ulcers, which account for 50,000-60,000 amputations annually. The non-treatment of the complications caused by these ulcers would result in significant costs. Regarding this, the present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of platelet rich plasma (PRP) dressing with that of normal saline dressing in the improvement of diabetic wounds
Materials and Methodgy: This clinical trial was conducted on 60 diabetic patients with grades 1 and 2 diabetic foot ulcers based on Wagner classification, who referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan, Iran. After the collection of the demographic data, the patients were visited by an infectious disease specialist and entered in the study in case of meeting the inclusion criteria. Subsequently, the participants were randomly assigned into two groups of PRP and normal saline dressing. The two groups were examined in terms of the depth and area of the wound at the beginning and end of the first, second, and third weeks of the intervention. The data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test, Chi-square test, and t-test.
Out of the 60 patients referring to Shahid Beheshti Hospital, 10 patients were excluded from the study. Therefore, the study was continued with 50 patients divided equally into two groups. According to the results, 45 males had type 2 diabetes mellitus, and the rest suffered from type 1 diabetes. The mean disease duration was 12.78±6.76 years. Furthermore, 41 and 9 patients received insulin injections and oral medications, respectively. The mean glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting blood glucose were 12.28±0.98 and 232.66 mmol/L, respectively, which were not statistically different between the two groups at the beginning of the study. However, there was a significant difference between the study groups at the end of the first, second, and third weeks in terms of the area and depth of wound. .
As the findings indicated, PRP dressing was more effective in improving the diabetic foot ulcer as compared to the normal saline dressing As the findings indicated, PRP dressing was more effective in improving the diabetic foot ulcer as compared to the normal saline dressing.

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a defective RNA virus that depends on the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for its replication. Infection with hepatitis D virus in hepatitis B virus chronic carriers causes accelerated progression to chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatic carcinoma. In studies conducted in Iran and different countries, different prevalence of HDV had been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of hepatitis D virus infection in chronic hepatitis B patients in Arak city.
Patients and This cross-sectional study was conducted on 95 chronic hepatitis B patients in Arak city. Demographic characteristics and risk factors for HDV transmission were recorded. Hepatitis D antibody (Anti-HDV) was determined by ELISA in the serums of patients.
In this study 95 chronic hepatitis B patients were enrolled. 61% of cases were male and 39% were female. Anti-HDV was detected in 2 (2.1%) of chronic hepatitis B patients. There was no significant association between HBV/HDV co-infection and sex, age, education level and occupation (P values: 0.74, 0.52, 0.95 and 0.65 respectively). There was no history of injection drug use, unprotected sexual contacts, tattooing and history of familial contact in hepatitis D infected patients.
Our results showed that Arak is an area of low HDV infection in Iran.

In recent years, much attention has been paid to aerogel materials (especially carbon aerogels) due to their potential uses in energy-related applications, such as thermal energy storage and thermal protection systems. These open cell carbon-based porous materials (carbon aerogels) can strongly react with oxygen at relatively low temperatures (~ 400°C). Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the thermal performance of carbon aerogels in view of their energy-related applications at high temperatures and under thermal oxidation conditions. The objective of this paper is to study theoretically and experimentally the oxidation reaction kinetics of carbon aerogel using the non-parametric kinetic (NPK) as a powerful method. For this purpose, a non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis, at three different heating rates, was performed on three samples each with its specific pore structure, density and specific surface area. The most significant feature of this method, in comparison with the model-free isoconversional methods, is its ability to separate the functionality of the reaction rate with the degree of conversion and temperature by the direct use of thermogravimetric data. Using this method, it was observed that the Nomen-Sempere model could provide the best fit to the data, while the temperature dependence of the rate constant was best explained by a Vogel-Fulcher relationship, where the reference temperature was the onset temperature of oxidation. Moreover, it was found from the results of this work that the assumption of the Arrhenius relation for the temperature dependence of the rate constant led to over-estimation of the apparent activation energy (up to 160 kJ/mol) that was considerably different from the values (up to 3.5 kJ/mol) predicted by the Vogel-Fulcher relationship in isoconversional methods

In this research, the effects of the presence of additives such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (as a surfactant) and sodium carbonate (as acid acceptor) on the top layer characteristics and gas separation properties of composite membranes, prepared by an interfacial polymerization method, were studied ATR-FTIR and SEM techniques showed the important role of the additives on the structural density and thickness of the top layer. As a result, the top layer of the prepared sample in the presence of both additives was the densest and the thickest while that of the sample prepared in the absence of both additives was the thinnest one. Furthermore, based on the AFM results, the composite membrane prepared in the presence of just sodium carbonate presented the roughest (Rmax = 520 nm) and that prepared in the presence of both additives shows the smoothest (Rmax = 148 nm) surface. Investigation of the gas permeances of membranes shows that the membrane with top layer prepared in the presence of just sodium carbonate has the highest CO2 permeance (25.2 GPU), due to its thin and rough top layer. Moreover, the highest CO2/CH4 selectivity (58) was obtained by the composite membrane prepared in the presence of both additives. On the other hand, the highest CO2/N2 and CO2/O2 selectivities (63 and 54, respectively) were achieved through the utilization of the composite membrane prepared in the presence of just sodium dodecyl sulfate.

Some of the studies confirmed the effectiveness of platelet rich plasma (PRP) in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). However, these studies had small sample size and used different methods such as PRP gel or PRP injections. The results are also contraversial..
This study aimed to investigate the effect of PRP dressing on healing of DFUs..
Patients and A randomized, controlled trial was conducted on 50 patients with DFUs referred to Kashan’s Shahid Beheshti hospital. Patients were randomly allocated to control (n = 25) and experimental (n = 25) groups. Data collection instrument consisted of two checklists; one for gathering demographic information and the other one included questions about ulcer characteristics and its treatment. After surgical debridement, ulcers depth and surface area were measured. Then, the ulcers of the control group were irrigated and dressed with sterile gauzes. However, in the intervention group, ulcers were dressed with sterile gauzes impregnated with PRP. Ulcers depth and surface area of all ulcers were measured on the days 0, 7, 14 and 21 after debridement. Independent-samples t-test, Mann–Whitney U and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to analyze data..
At baseline, the mean ulcer depth were 15.08 ± 10.43 and 19.08 ± 14.01 mm in the control and intervention groups, respectively (P = 0.26), which decreased to 13.03 ± 14.1 and 4.560 ± 5.76 after three weeks (P = 0.04). Moreover, the mean ulcer surface area were 14.17 ± 8.52 and 12.791 ± 14.86 mm2 in control and intervention groups respectively (P = 0.69), which decreased to 11.88 ± 13.65 and 2.68 ± 5.94 after three weeks (P = 0.03)..
PRP dressing could significantly decrease the depth and surface area of DFUs in a three-week period..

Context: Despite advancements in the science of surgery, minimizing bleeding from parenchymal tissue of the liver continues to be one of the challenges surgeons are facing to protect patients’ lives. However, the number of surgeries needing incisions in the liver tissue, e.g. metastatectomy, is constantly increasing. Evidence Acquisition: A MEDLINE and conventional search of the past 50 years of the medical literature was performed to identify relevant articles on hemostasis in the liver parenchymal tissue.

The studies that have been published on hemostasis in the liver parenchymal tissue can be classified into 3 categories: 1. surgical procedures; 2. methods affecting body hemodynamic; 3. pharmacological methods. The purpose of these studies are to identify the best therapeutic approaches that not only minimize the bleeding, but also save the maximum amount of the liver tissue and minimize the use of partial liver resections.

The excessive blood loss and the long time needed to control the bleeding during liver surgery impose several side effects and complications on patients. Topical hemostatic agents such as ferric chloride, potassium aluminum sulfate (alum) and aluminum chloride are safely applicable in patients. These agents might be used along with other current methods to minimize the blood loss and the need for blood products during liver surgeries.

Diabetic foot ulcers are one of the main health problems in diabetic patients. Nowadays, there are several ways for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, but some patients with bone destruction are still forced to amputation. Here, we report a rare case of complete reconstruction of osteomyelitis-induced bone degeneration using ANGIPARS in diabetic foot ulcer. Case Report: A 59-year-old man with a history of type 2 diabetes mellitus presents to Kashan Shahid-Beheshti hospital, Iran, with a diabetic foot ulcer (3cm × 2cm) in his right thumb. Foot X-ray revealed complete resorption of the distal phalanx. The patient received parenteral broad-spectrum antibiotics including meropenem, vancomycin and ciprofloxacin, with a diagnosis of osteomyelitis. He was discharged after one month with oral antibiotics and topical and oral ANGIPARS. After 2 months follow-up, complete osteogenesis was seen in serial radiographs. In addition to healing the diabetic foot ulcer, ANGIPARS can also cause to reconstruct the degenerated bone and prevent debility due to limb amputation. Thus, the oral and topical application of ANGIPARS in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer is recommended and more research is needed to reveal the benefits of ANGIPARS.

Immunologically, End Stage renal Disease (ESRD) is associated with some disorders in both innate and adaptive immune system in such a form that there is a coexistence of both immune activation and immune suppression. Although these disorders are complex yet thoroughly unknown, there is a close relation between the progressively defective immune system with side effects as well as mortality causes including cardiovascular problems, infections, and malignancies. From the other point, chronic inflammation as a major determinant of «dialysis syndrome» (including malnutrition, cachexia, and vasculopathy) is considered as the main factor of inability and mortality in dialysis patients. Such inflammation is generally arisen from immune system response to uremia and individual''s repetitive contact with dialysis instruments and, in the long term, leads to premature aging via intensifying tissue degeneration. Therefore, the immune system is known as one of the most important therapeutic targets to reduce morbidity and mortality in uremic and dialysis patients. This review addresses different aspects as well as mechanisms of immune system dysfunction and possible therapeutics in dialysis patients.

Influenza A (H1N1) imposed a considerable burden on our health community. This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical and paraclinical pattern of the disease in influenza A (H1N1) patients in Kashan. This descriptive study was carried out on 87 definite cases of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) diagnosed from July to January 2009 in Kashan. The clinical and paraclinical information were collected and analyzed by SPSS-13. The majority of patients were in age group 16-25 years and 50.6% of patients were male. The most common clinical symptoms were fever (92%), cough (78.2%) and dyspnea (54%). The most important paraclinical findings were: leokocytosis (41.3%) increased ESR (46.6%), positive CRP (48.7%). The mortality was seen in 8 patients (9.2%). Regarding to majority of death has occurred in patients with underlying disease, annual prophylaxis by influenza vaccine and early treatment to prevent of morbidity and mortality is recommended.

The purpose of the present study was to further assess the underlying factor structure of the Connectedness to school, teachers, and family (Waters & Cross, 2010) using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Sample in this study consists of 346 school student (192 female and 154 male). The results of our analysis support the theoretical suppositions of Waters and Cross (2010) three composite scales of Connectedness to school, teachers, and family. Confirmatory Factor analyses for Connectedness to school and teacher's scales confirmed one factor. Confirmatory Factor analyses for Connectedness to family scale revealed three factors: closeness, presence and listens. Internal consistency and test-re test reliability coefficients were 0/91 and 0/84. Respectively the subscale reliabilities were acceptable. Convergent and divergent validity coefficients were appropriate.

Kikuchi، histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis، is a rare inflammatory disease that typically affects the cervical lymph nodes. Kikuchi is a benign disorder which most commonly resolved spontaneously over several weeks to months. This disease may mimic lymphoma and is definitely diagnosed by lymph node pathology. Case Report: The case was a 26-year-old woman with fever، chill، right-sided neck swelling accompanied by lower extremity pain، nausea، loss of appetite، and headache since 10 days ago. On examination، the spleen was palpable about 5 cm below the costal margin. Despite the continuation of antibiotic therapy and persistent fever، cervical lymphadenopathy، splenomegaly، leukopenia and elevated ESR، biopsy of lymph nodes was performed to rule out lymphoma and to establish Kikuchi’s disease. After 20 days the patient was discharged from the hospital. In every patient، especially young woman، with prolonged fever and enlarged lymph node، Kikuchi disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis and consequently the lymph node biopsy is recommended.

Hepatitis E is a viral disease that is transmitted through contaminated water and foods. This disease is variable e from a simple asymptomatic infection to a fulminant disease. Its mortality is about 1-4% but in pregnant women increases the amount of about 20%. his study was performed in children in Kashan to determine prevalence of hepatitis E serological positive and relationship by age and sex. This cross-sectional study using cluster sampling was conducted on 558 children 1 to 15 years in Kashan and Anti-HEV IgG was evaluated using the ELISA method. The prevalence of hepatitis E in the study population was 3.7%(21 people). The prevalence of positive cases was significantly correlated with age and number of family members, but was not related to child sex. The findings suggest that HEV infection is endemic in the region. Thus, the use of appropriate health programs, public health, public education will be effective in controlling the infection.

Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases caused by the intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania which are transmitted by sand flies. Visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) is usually caused by Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica in children less than 5 years of age living in large areas of the Mediterranean basin، including Iran. Such disease accompanied by significant morbidity and mortality; if not treated it would have a mortality of 85-90%. Case Report: The patient is an 18-month-old boy from the Nashalj village in Kashan، Iran، who suffered from occasional fevers of unknown origin، associated with pallor and decreased appetite since 2 months before admission. One week before the admission، he had persistent fever which was associated with splenomegaly and finally during the disease follow-up and after the two hospitalizations، the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis was established and he was fully recovered. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (salak) is considered to be an endemic disease in Kashan، but so far no cases of visceral leishmaniasis have been reported in this city. This case is the first case of the disease in the region and considering the serious complications and mortality of the visceral form of the disease، careful follow-up is needed to detect the contaminated people or resources and to properly treat them.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease and it’s still endemic in Iran. There are some reports regarding brucellosis infection in family members sharing same risk factors and remain unrecognized. However, few studies on the importance of family screening are available. We aimed to screen household members of index cases with acute brucellosis for detecting additional unrecognized cases in central province of Iran. 163 family members of 50 index cases were enrolled in the study. Standard Tube Agglutination Test (STA) and 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) agglutination were checked in all samples. A case with STA titer ≥ 1:80, 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) agglutination ≥ 40 and compatible signs and symptoms was considered positive for brucellosis. 15 (9.2%) of family members were seropositive for Brucella agglutinin and among them, 8 (53.3%) were asymptomatic and 7 (46.7%) were symptomatic. STA titer ranged from 1:80 to 1:640 in seropositive members. 4 of the 15 seropositive cases who identified by screening came from one index case with 6 family members. All symptomatic seropositive cases treated for Brucella infection and recovered without any complications in 6 months follow up. On the basis of our data, family members of brucellosis patients are at risk of disease acquisition, and screening of household members provides an effective way for early diagnosis and prompt treatment. However cost benefit of screening should be evaluated to reach definite decision for the implementation of the screening as a nationwide program.

Animal bite is one of the major health and economic problems in human societies that is also growing in our country each year. The present study was designed to investigate the epidemiology of animal bite and candidate factors in Samirom city since 2008 to 2012. During the study period of 5 years, data were collected from the Animal Bites form of questionnaires in Anti-Rabies Center in Samirom. Then data classification and statistical analysis was performed. During the years 2008 to 2012, 1246 animal bite cases have been reported in Samirom. Aggressive dogs with 63.4% are known as the most biting animals. Most bites occurred in the age range 10 to 19 years with rate of 63.4% and the lowest in the age group 0 to 4 years (2.32%). Bites were 76%in men and 24% in women. Students by 23.5% and employees by 5.5% had the most and little bites. Legs with 67% and head and face with 23% were injured as the highest and the lowest bite wound. Due to the increase of animal bites and the importance of complications as one of the major health and economic problems, Increased training activities especially for target groups and other preventive measures in collaboration with various organizations are considerably effective in controlling it.