mohammad hajizadeh

Viral diseases are one of the limiting factors for cucurbit production around the world that some of these viruses can cause a severe reduction in crop yield. In the present study, 92 leaf and fruit samples of various species of cucurbits were collected from different farms in Zanjan and Hamedan provinces, based on descripted symptoms such as yellowing, mosaic, deformation, leaf asymmetry, and wrinkling of leaf veins, to detect and investigate the incidence of some important viruses in cucurbit fields. After total RNA extraction, RT-PCR were conducted using specific primers for Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV), Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), Squash mosaic virus (SqMV), Ourmia melon virus (OuMV), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), and general primers of the Orthotospovirus genus to amplify a part of the genome corresponded with each of these viruses. The results showed evidence of the presence of CMV, CGMMV, ZYMV, and CABYV, in the tested samples, while OuMV, SqMV and Orthotospoviruses were not detected in any of the tested samples. Among the detected viruses, CABYV was detected as the most common virus. Phylogenetic analysis of the new isolates and other isolates from different countries showed that CMV strains were placed in both subgroups I and II. The detected ZYMV strains from Zanjan were clustered with the Vietnamese , and CGMMV strains were grouped with strains from India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, and Spain in the cluster II. CABYV strains were grouped in the Mediterranean, Asian, and a new independent group, along with the Taiwanese and Indonesian. In addition, mixed infections of those virus infections were detected commonly in squash and cucumber. Especially, CGMMV+CABYV, CMV+CABYV and the infection of ZYMV+CABYV+CMV, ZYMV+CGMMV+CMV, and ZYMV+CGMMV+CABYV mixed infections were detected. This results will be useful in developing management strategies to manage of cucurbit viruses.

Goal: 

production of antibodies against the coat protein of Apple stem grooving virus and their application in diagnostic assays and biosensor design represents a crucial strategy for effective plant virus detection. ASGV is a significant pathogen affecting pome fruit trees. The objective of this study was to express the coat protein gene of ASGV in E. coli, generate antibodies against the expressed protein, and assess their effectiveness in diagnostic assays.

In the PCR, we successfully amplified a 714 bp fragment corresponding to the complete coding region of the ASGV coat protein gene. The amplified fragment was then cloned into the pTG19 vector. Subsequently, the desired fragment was subcloned into the pET28a (+) expression vector using BamHI and EcoRI restriction enzymes. The resulting construct was then introduced into E. coli BL21(DE3) cells for gene expression. To determine the optimal conditions for protein expression, the transformed cells were induced with one mM IPTG for various durations (3, 4, 6, and 16 hours). The expression of the protein was confirmed through SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and western blot analysis. Following the purification of the expressed protein, it was utilized as an antigen for immunizing rabbits. Immunoglobulins (IgGs) were subsequently purified from the rabbit serum, and some of them were employed for conjugate production. The efficacy of the conjugates was evaluated in serological assays.

Sequencing analysis of the amplified fragments conclusively verified their correspondence to the ASGV coat protein gene. Moreover, PCR and enzymatic digestion of the resulting clone provided further evidence of the successful construction of pET28-ASGV-CP. Comprehensive sequence analysis of the constructed plasmid in both directions confirmed the accurate insertion of the coat protein gene into the expression vector, while also confirming the absence of any nucleotide mutations. Following optimization, the expression of the ASGV coat protein was successfully achieved, resulting in an approximate size of 27 kDa. This confirmation was attained through SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and subsequent western blotting, conducted four hours after induction. The direct, indirect, and dot-blot assays were performed to assess the efficiency of the conjugate. The results indicated that the optimal concentration of the conjugate was approximately 1:1000.

The generated and conjugated antibodies exhibit suitable titers relative to the antigen concentration and demonstrate specificity and effectiveness in the detection and identification of Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV). These antibodies can be utilized for various serological diagnostic kits, including ELISA, offering valuable applications in virus detection and identification.

Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV) is one of the most important viruses infecting fruit trees. Preparation antibodies, ELISA kit and, biosensors are one of the applicable strategies to rapid and efficient screen a number of viral samples. To aim, the recent study was conducted to raise recombinant polyclonal antibodies to rapid detection of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus by expressing coat protein gene in the prokaryotic system. First, the pTG19-ACLSV-CP was transformed to E. coli DH5α, the replicated plasmids were extracted and double digested was optimized by restriction enzymes, then the released fragment (Coat protein gene) was cloned into pET28 as an expression vector. Next, the expression construct (pET28a-ACLSV-CP) was transformed into E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) to express the coat protein gene. After optimization of expression the transformed cells, a protein band an approximate size of 27 kDa (22 kDa for coat protein and about 5 kDa for histidine tags) was observed at four hours after induction. The recombinant protein was purified by native methods using Ni-NTA Agarose column, then purified proteins were injected into New Zealand female rabbits in four steps as antigen. IgGs were purified from serums raised from immunized rabbits using an IgG purification kit. The efficiency of purified IgGs was approved that a 1: 1000 concentration of recombinant anti-ACLSV-CP antibodies are efficient to detect the desired antigens. The results showed the raised antibodies have enough specificity to detect Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus in gardens and seedlings.

In line with the global trend, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been growing vulnerable to the direct and indirect health effects of climate change including death tolls due to climatological disasters and diseases sensitive to climate change since the industrial revolution. Regarding the limited capacity of MENA countries to adapt and respond to these effects, and also after relative failures of the previous negotiation in Glasgow, in the upcoming COP27 in Egypt, the heads of the region’s parties are determined to take advantage of the opportunity to host MENA to mitigate and prevent the worst effects of climate change. This would be achieved through mobilizing international partners to support climate resilience, a major economic transformation, and put health policy and management in a strategic position to contribute to thinking and action on these pressing matters, at least to avoid or minimize the future adverse consequences.

Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) is one of the important viruses infecting apple trees. In this research, 87 symptomatic and symptomless leaf and bark samples were collected from the apple orchards in west and south west of Zanjan and east of Kurdistan provinces to detect ASGV. After total RNA extraction from 50 out of 87 samples, cDNAs were synthesized by reverse primer and PCR optimized using a pair of specific primer corresponding to complete coat protein gene. A DNA segment with 728 bp length corresponding to complete coat protein gene was amplified from twelve samples by RT-PCR. Nine PCR-products including four samples cloned into pTG19 and five samples without cloning were sequenced. The sequencing and blast results revealed that the fragments belong to coat protein gene of Apple stem grooving virus. Phylogenetic analysis of new Iranian isolates and those retrieved from GenBank by MEGA 7 and Neighbor-Joining methods in Jukes-Cantor model showed that the new Iranian isolates were placed in a sub-clade with reported Iranian, Indian, South Korean and Chinese isolates. The result revealed that the least dN/dS ratio belonging to Iranian isolates and the most gene flow was calculated between isolates from Iran, China and South Korean. This is the first report of Apple stem grooving virus from the Zanjan region.

 Viroids are classified in two families including Avsunviroid that consists of three genera (Pelamoviroid, Avsunviroid and Elaviroid) and pospiviroid including five genera (Apscaviroid, Hostuviroid, Cocaviroid, Coleviroid and Pospiviroid). Grapevine-infecting viroids belong to the three genera in the pospiviroid family. A total of 121 symptomatic and non- symptomatic leaf and green shoot samples were collected from the main vineyards in Zanjan province to detect the important viroids infecting grapevines. Total RNAs were extracted from the samples and then cDNAs were synthesized by cDNA synthesize Kit with a random hexamer primer. Specific primers used to detect Grapevine yellow speckle viroid 1(GYSVd-1), (GYSVd-2) Grapevine yellow speckle viroid 2, (HSVd) Hop stunt viroid, Australian grapevine viroid (ASGVd) in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results revealed that the specific DNA fragments corresponding to each viroids were amplified in PCR. Percentage of infections were 14%, 16%, 20% and 22% for GYSVd-1, GYSVD-2, HSVd and ASGVd relative to total number of examined samples, respectively. Sequencing of seven selected PCR-amplified fragments showed that each newly sequenced segment was classified in a clade with the previously reported respective isolates from Iran. In addition, the most mixed infection related to HSVd and other viroids. This is the first assay to detect the four important viroids infecting vineyards form Zanjan province.

Death has been one of the most important but ambiguous aspects of human life throughout history. Although we have little knowledge of this familiarity, we can be sure that early humans had a ritualistic view of their dead. A view that is still valid.Looking at the burial methods in the Achaemenid period, we can see the traces of two elements of fear and respect among the people of this era. From the different structures and shapes of the Achaemenid tombs, it can also be concluded that they are a special look at death and ammunition. Have had it.Given the diversity of religious thought, religion can be considered a decisive element in this period. Signs of this influence can be seen in the variety of burials in this period, which have taken place in various forms. , Also mentioned social situations, and political connections and affiliations.In the Achaemenid period, five methods of burial of tombs, burial of tombs, burial of coffins, burial of masters, a simple pit can be seen, which is hidden behind each of these methods of burial of new thought. Like Tatarli in Asia Minor and Haji Nabi in Syria, another part of this article deals with the common traditions of this empire in these two areas.The present study, according to the existing definitions, is among the types of basic research and qualitative research, and its purpose is to search to discover the facts or to reach the limits of correct knowledge of the phenomenon. Examination of museum works and documents has been used.

Because of the small size of viroids (~246- 436 nucleotides), lack of protein-coding capacity, and causing some sever diseases, the virulence mechanism of viroids in host is being one of the interesting aspects of their study. Direct and indirect interaction between viroids and host factors in various studies has been proved; resulting to change in proteome and host transcripts and finally disease in plants. Latest presented model for these changes is the RNA silencing mechanism that has been proved for both viroid families. This review highlights the latest finding on pathogenicity mechanisms of viroids.

This research was conducted in order to identify the concept of responsibility and extract its components from Islamic sources - including verses, hadiths and opinions of Islamic thinkers.
The method of this research is qualitative content analysis of religious texts with an interpretive approach in which the word in question and its synonyms in dictionaries were first searched.
In the next stage, the words found were found in Islamic sources and after summarizing the findings, the components were taken from the results of verses and hadiths. Then, by presenting the obtained components to experts in psychology and religious sciences, the level of relevance and necessity of the components for the documents as well as the accuracy of the inference of the components from the documents were evaluated by the researcher.
According to experts, the approved components of responsibility are cognitive components (awareness of responsibility), emotional (persistence in responsibility and concern) and behavioral components (care, accountability, fulfillment of responsibility, perseverance in action, struggle and Lack of laxity, being task-oriented and not making excuses).

The association between gender and time of receiving services(TRS) after traumatic injuries is rarely documented in developing countries. This study aimed to examine gender differences in time between occurring injuries and receiving services in hospital after trauma injuries in northern Iran.

A total of 7085 injured patients were included in this study. Data on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were extracted from the Guilan province trauma system registry (GTSR) from July 2017 to July 2018. The Oaxaca– Blinder (OB) method was used to explain the gender differences in the TRS after traumatic injuries.

There were significant differences between men and women in marital statues (P < 0.001), education level (P < 0.001), time of injury (P = 0.025), occupation (P < 0.001), type of trauma (P < 0.001), mode of transfer (P < 0.001), mean age (P < 0.001), average distance from hospital (P = 0.052), and average transfer time to the hospital (P < 0.001). We found gender differences in TRS after falling trauma (P = 0.006) when the transfer was performed by emergency medical services(EMSs) and in penetrating trauma (P < 0.001) when the transfer was performed by private vehicles. The difference in the observed characteristics of men and women explained 67% of gender differences in TRS (P = 0.06).

The gender difference in the transfer of injured patients was in favor of men, depending on the socio‑demographic and clinical factors. In OB analysis, the gender differences in falling trauma and transfer by EMS and the gender differences in penetrating trauma and private transmission to the hospital were also confirmed. Steps need to be taken to ensure that services are equally beneficial to both men and women.

The financial burden of cigarette smoking on households’ budget is not well documented in Iran. We aimed to identify the determinants of cigarette consumption and its financial burden among households in Iran. Study design: A cross-sectional study.

A total of 39,864 Iranian’s households from 31 provinces were included in the analysis. Data on sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics (age, sex, household size, education level, employment status, income and wealth index), living area, number of cigarettes smoked and cigarette expenditures for households were extracted from the 2016 Household Income and Expenditures Survey (HIES). Tobit model was used to identify the determinants of cigarette smoking frequency and expenditures among Iranian households.

The average number of cigarettes smoked and cigarettes expenditures by all household members was 85.25 cigarettes and US$ 2.64 per month. Living in urban areas, wealth index of households, household income, household size and low educational attainment of household members were positively associated with frequency and expenditures of cigarette smoking. Results also indicated increasing patterns in the number of cigarettes smoked and cigarettes expenditures from east to west of the country. East Azerbaijan, Hamadan, Markazi and Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari provinces had higher cigarette smoking frequency and expenditures in Iran.

Tobacco control interventions in Iran should focus more on households living in urban areas and low-educated households. As the frequency of cigarette smoking was higher in the western region of Iran, comprehensive tobacco control policies should be adopted in western provinces.

Adherence of nurses to hand hygiene is important for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections. This study aims to systematically review the existing studies that assess Iranian nurses' adherence to hand hygiene and estimate their amount with meta-analysis.

We performed a systematic search for peer-reviewed journals published from 2005 to 2018. The systematic search was conducted using both international (Google Scholar, PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Sciences) and Iranian databases (Scientific Information Database, IranMedex, Magiran, and MedLib). The search was carried out using a combination of the following terms: “adherence”, “compliance”, “hand hygiene”, “nurse”, “Iran”, “nursing practice”, “nursing”, and “guidelines”. The combinations of these words with Boolean operators like ‘AND’, ‘OR’ and ‘NOT’ were used.

A total of 22 articles were used in the final analyses. The pooled proportion of hand hygiene adherence was 40.5 percent [95% confidence interval [CI]: 31.1–49.8]. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that the overall estimated pooled proportion of hand hygiene adherence did not vary significantly with the elimination of any of the 22 studies, observer or self-reported hand hygiene, instrument of measurement, unit of measurements, sample size, and time.

The level of adherence of Iranian nurses to hand hygiene can potentially increase the chance of healthcare-associated infections and put patients and nurses at risk. Hospital and nursing managers should take practical steps to investigate factors contributing to the failure of hand hygiene adherence among nursing staff. They should ensure the continuous implementation of hand hygiene improvement strategy.

Despite progressive universal drug coverage and pharmaceutical policies found in other countries, Canada remains the only developed nation with a publicly funded healthcare system that does not include universal coverage for prescription drugs. In the absence of a national pharmacare plan, a province may choose to cover a specific sub-population for certain drugs. Although different provinces have individually attempted to extend coverage to certain subpopulations within their jurisdictions, out-of-pocket expenses on drugs and pharmaceutical products (OPEDP) accounts for a large proportion of out-of-pocket health expenses (OPHE) that are catastrophic in nature. Pharmaceutical drug coverage is a major source of public scrutiny among politicians and policy-makers in Canada. In this editorial, we focus on social inequalities in the burden of OPEDP in Canada. Prescription drugs are inconsistently covered under patchworks of public insurance coverage, and this inconsistency represents a major source of inequity of healthcare financing. Residents of certain provinces, rural households and Canadians from poorer households are more likely to be affected by this inequity and suffer disproportionately higher proportions of catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses on drugs and pharmaceutical products (COPEDP). Universal pharmacare would reduce COPEDP and promote a more equitable healthcare system in Canada.

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First year of university is a critical life transition period with an increased probability of taking risky behaviors. We aimed to examine the transitions in risky behaviors in the first year of college in the northwestern Iran using latent transition analysis (LTA). Study design: A longitudinal study.

A random sample of 1406 freshmen enrolled in three universities in Tabriz City (the capital city of East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran) were evaluated twice in November 2014 and 2015. A multiple-choice self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on risky behaviors and demographic characteristics of students. LTA was performed to examine the prevalence and changes in risky behaviors (cigarette and hookah smoking, illicit drug use, alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviors) among the students.

The LTA model revealed four interpretable statuses. The prevalence data showed that 77.1%, 12.3%, 8.3% and 2.3% of students were “risk-free”, “tobacco user”, “sexual risk-taker” and “multiple risk-tacker”, respectively in the first assessment. Over the period of one year, 4.2% and 6.1% of risk-free students became tobacco user and sexual risk-takers, respectively, and 22.4% of tobacco user students, transfer to the multiple risk-taker group.

The prevalence of risk-taking behaviors increased during the freshman year. Tobacco smoking was  predispose acquiring more risky behaviors. Probability of transition to the multiple risk-taker group was higher among tobacco users.

In the summer of 2018, viral symptoms corresponded to Strawberry mottle virus</em> (SMoV) in some strawberry fields were observed and 48 leaf samples/plants were collected from different fields from Kurdistan Province. In the preliminary test, some samples were inoculated to Fragaria vesca</em> by strawberry aphid (Chaetosiphon fragaefolii</em>) and SMoV-symptoms were observed after about two weeks. Then, total RNA of samples was extracted by silica-capture method and subjected to cDNA synthesize with random hexamer primers. RT-PCR was done by specific SMoV pair primer and amplified fragments were observed on 1.2% agarose gels. RT-PCR results were showed that 28 out of 48 samples were infected by SMoV. Based on the geographical origin, cultivar and symptoms, five isolates were selected, ligated to pTG-19 and transformed to Escherichia coli</em>. Recombinant plasmids were sequenced and analyzed for molecular characterization and phylogenetic studies on SMoV 3΄NCR. Mean genetic distance between the isolates from Iran was 0.005 ± 0.002 but between these isolates and the other isolates available in GenBank was 0.084 ± 0.008. The highest and lowest genetic distance was found between K3 with NSper51 (0.093 ± 0.008) and SQA/AG with NB926 (0.019 ± 0.017) from Canada, respectively. This is the first report on occurrence of SMoV on strawberry in Kurdistan Province.

In this study, 174 leaf samples from main apple growing areas in Kurdistan and western Azarbaijan Provinces were examined for infection by Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV). The result of RT-PCR showed that 17 samples (9.7%) were infected by ACLSV in both provinces. Subsequently, the genetic structure of ACLSV was determined based on the full coat protein (CP) sequences of eight isolates from this study and those recently published from Iran and worldwide. In phylogenetic analysis, ACLSV isolates from apple clustered into three known phylogenetic types; B6, P205, and SHZ, which are characterized by three amino acids at positions of 40, 75 and 79. The new Iranian ACLSV isolates showed the CP amino acid sequence of Ser40-Tyr75-Glu79 which placed them with the B6 type. Further analyses showed that the Iranian ACLSV isolates (the new and previously published isolates) had lower genetic variability compared to isolates from other countries except for Brazilian population. Most of the CP codons were under negative selection (dN/dS < 1) except for one codon at position 92 which was under positive selection. This study suggests that negative selection was most important evolutionary factor driving the genetic evolution of ACLSV.

The Apple chlorotic leafspot virus (ACLSV) is among of the most common virus infecting pome and stone fruit trees around the world. The virus has spread throughout the world and has been reported in many hosts such as; apples, pears, peaches and cherries. The purpose of this study is to express the coat protein (CP) of ACLSV in E. coli. CP expression in E. coli has been developed to prepare antigen for antibody production without needs to purify the virus from infected plant. In this study, complete CP gene (582 bp) from an isolate of ACLSV (SSa) was amplified by specific primers, MF and MR. The amplified CP gene was ligated to TA cloning vector (pTG19-ACLSV CP) and transformed into E. coli strain DH5α. Transformed cells were selected on LB containing ampicillin, X-Gal and IPTG, and recombinant plasmids were confirmed by restriction analysis. Then, the pTG-ACLSV CP was sub-cloned into pET28a (+) as expression vector that digested by BamHl and XhoI restriction enzymes. Finally, the pET28a-ACLSV CP was transformed into E. coli strain BL21 by heat shock method. For ACLSV CP expression, the cells containing pET28a-ACLSV CP were induced by 1 mM of IPTG and the protein was extracted two and four hours after induction and analyzed in SDS-PAGE. The SDS-PAGE result showed that ACLSV CP have been expressed that is expected based on additional tags from plasmid.

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.

There is a very limited information on the obscenity of cigarette and hookah smoking among adolescents. Using a large and representative longitudinal sample of adolescents (n = 4820) aged 14–19 years from Tabriz (a metropolitan city in northwestern Iran), this study aimed at comparing the obscenity of cigarette and hookah smoking and assessing factors associated with obscenity of smoking. Moreover, we examined how the obscenity of cigarette and hookah smoking
affected by the progress in the stages of cigarette and hookah smoking. In this longitudinal study, a random sample of high‑school students was selected in Tabriz in 2010. Using a valid and reliable self‑administered questionnaire, the data from the sampled students were collected twice at two points in time, 12 months apart. Multivariate backward logistic regression was used to determine the effect of the transition in cigarette (or hookah) smoking stages on the obscenity of cigarette (or hookah) smoking. While 3,079 (63.9%) students expressed that obscenity of cigarette smoking is higher than obscenity of hookah smoking, 1,741 (36.1%) students expressed that obscenity of hookah smoking is higher than obscenity of cigarette smoking. The results of multivariate backward logistic regression indicated that the transition in cigarette (hookah) smoking stages was not related to the obscenity of cigarette (hookah) smoking. The results showed that obscenity of hookah smoking was less than obscenity of cigarette smoking, especially among females. Further study is required to understand the effect of obscenity on smoking and transition to different stages of cigarette and hookah smoking.

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the most important public health problems. There is scant information about NIHL, the prevalence and using patterns of headphones and music player devices in Iran. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and using patterns of earphones and investigate the relationship between earphone use and hearing loss in a sample of students from Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (QUMS). In this cross-sectional study, 890 students were randomly selected using a proportional cluster sampling method in April and May 2015. The students completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing the pattern of their earphone use and hearing loss. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the cut-off point for the questionnaire. The results suggested that 60.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 56.9 - 66.4) of the students reported a history of hearing loss and hearing impairment and 86.4% (95% CI: 84.0 - 88.5) of the participants reported using an earphone in the past. Most of the participants listened to music on their cell phones (81.7%) and 89.6% of them used headphones for listening to music. The results indicated that 51.3% of those who used earphones used earbud-style earphones, 42.2% used supra-aural earphones, and 6.5% used headphones. Students who used earphones, those who used earphones more frequently during the week, and those who used earphones for more years had higher hearing loss scores compared to other students. Students have a risky pattern of using personal listening devices. The higher hearing loss score among headphone users requires further attention in order to implement interventions to increase students’ awareness and attitude towards the use of headphones.

This study aimed to explore service quality in Iranian hospitals by a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature.

The literature search in the international (PubMed, Scopus, and the ISI) and Iranian (SID, Iranmedex, and Magiran) scientific databases was conducted to identify studies (published in English and Persian) used the service quality gap (SERVQUAL) model to examine service quality in Iranian hospitals between 2000 and 2016. The databases were searched using a combination of the following keywords: “hospital service quality”, or “healthcare service quality”, and “SERVQUAL model”, or “gap model”, and “Iran”. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used to investigate the quality of hospital care in Iran.

A total of 13 articles with 4,217 patients were included in the study. Results indicate that there are negative gap values between patient's expectations and perceptions in six SERVQUAL dimensions namely. tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and access. The overall mean score of patients’ expectations and perceptions of quality of hospital care in Iran were estimated 4.59 and 3.69, respectively (i.e., quality score gap= -0.9). The highest and lowest quality score gap values were related to the reliability and responsiveness dimensions, correspondingly.

The study found that expectations of patients from hospital care have not been met in Iran. Thus, improving service quality in Iranian hospitals warrants further attention by health professionals, health policy-makers, and hospital managers.

To determine incidence of nepoviruses in vineyards of zanjan province, 168 symptomatic and non-symptomatic samples were collected during season growing 2014-2015. Total RNA was extracted from the 57 leaves and green shoots of selected samples and then cDNAs were synthesized. Genomic segment of Arabis mosaic virus (ArMV), Grapevine deformation virus (GDeV), Grapevine fan leaf virus (GFLV) and Tomato ring spot virus (ToRSV) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. The result revealed that the expected bands were amplified at 15.7, 15.7, 10.5 and 14% of different samples belong to ArMV, GDeV, GFLV and ToRSV, respectively. Following sequencing and multiple alignment of nucleotide sequence of amplified fragments with isolates that retrieved from NCBI. Phylogenetic tree was created by MEGA6 software using Neighbour-Joining method. The result revealed that the Iranian isolates were grouped with reported isolates from different regions around the world based on geographical. This is the first comprehensive study based on molecular methods to determine grapevine nepoviruses in Zanjan province and the first report of GDeV from Zanjna based on our knowledge.

Equity in healthcare utilization is a major health policy goal in all healthcare systems. This study aimed to examine socioeconomic inequalities in public healthcare utilization in Kermanshah City, western Iran.
Study design: A cross-sectional study.
Using convenience sampling method, 2040 adult aged 18-65 yr were enrolled from Kermanshah City in 2017. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, behavioral factors, and utilization of public healthcare services (inpatient and outpatient care) over the period between from May to Aug 2017. The concentration index (C) was used to measure and decompose socioeconomic inequalities in the utilization inpatient and outpatient care in public sector. The indirect standardization method was used to estimate the horizontal inequity (HI) indices in inpatient and outpatient care use.
The utilization outpatient (C=-0.121, 95% CI: -0.171, -0.071) and inpatient care in public sector (C=-0.165, 95% CI: -0.229, -0.101) were concentrated among the poor in Kermanshah, Iran. Socioeconomic status, health-related quality of life, marital status and having a chronic health condition were the main determinants of socioeconomic-related inequalities in the utilization of inpatient and outpatient care in public sector among adults. The distributions of outpatient (HI=-0.045, CI: -0.093 to 0.003) and inpatient care (HI= -0.044 95% CI: -0.102, 0.014) in Kermanshah were pro-poor. These results were not statistically significant (P The utilization of public healthcare services in Iran are pro-poor. The pro-poor distribution of inpatient and outpatient care in public facilities calls for initiatives to increase the allocation of resources to public facilities in Iran that may greatly benefit the health outcomes of the poor.