فهرست مطالب sara nemati

Leishmaniasis is an important public health parasitic infection, which is endemic in many parts of the world, including Iran. We aimed to investigate genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship among different Leishmania isolates using multilocus sequence typing (MLST).

Totally, 41 isolates collected either from patients referred to Leishmaniasis Diagnostics and Treatment Center at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran or from animals during 2019-2021, were subjected to the study. They included L. major and L. tropica from human, L. infantum from canine, and L. turanica from rodents from different endemic foci of Iran analyzed using MLST including gp63, g6pdh, lack, nagt, and hsp70 genes.

A total of 5010 bps was analyzed from each isolate. The three targets, nagt, lack, and g6pdh, generated better topology comparing to the other genes. In the 44 isolates, 22 haplotypes (STs) were identified. Leishmania tropica contained the highest number of haplotypes (n=12) comparing to L. major (n=8), L. infantum (n=1) and L. turanica (n=1). All five genomic loci caused separation of Iranian Leishmania species at the species level, indicating conservation of these genes in the Leishmania parasite.

The highest number of haplotypes belonged to L. tropica, indicating that the genetic diversity of this species is higher than that of L. major. It was further confirmed that the MLST is a suitable method to examine genetic variation of Leishmania parasites with respect to evolutionary and epidemiological studies.

The present study aimed to investigate the organizational pathology of addiction treatment centers in responding to the demands of the external environment.

The current research was a case study based on a qualitative approach. The  research population included four groups of individuals referring to addiction treatment centers, managers and heads of addiction treatment centers, assistant social workers at these centers, and experts in the field of addiction. Using the theoretical purposeful sampling method and relying on theoretical data saturation, 37 people were selected; the first three groups working in 11 centers across the country. A semi-structured interview was used to collect research data, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

The research results indicated that addiction treatment centers were facing numerous damages inside the organization (organizational cultural damages, organizational structure damages, human resource management damages, and financial damages) and outside the organization (environmental cultural damages, detrimental  institutional pressures, and lack of institutional support ).

The identified damages can be explained and analyzed from a political point of view. Therefore, in order to create effective accountability, addiction treatment centers need to adopt political strategies, including marketing and negotiating to attract institutional support, and also re-engineering their organizational structure.

Blastocystis sp., is a prevalent protist isolated from humans and animals, which its opportunistic role in immunocompromised patients is still controversial. The current study aimed to evaluate the subtype and alleles distribution of Blastocystis sp., among immunocompromised patients.

Totally, 33 microscopically Blastocystis-positive stool samples, isolated from Guilan province during April 2018 to May 2019 were investigated. Total DNA extraction was performed and the barcoding region of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene was amplified. Targeted fragments were sequenced to characterize subtypes and relevant alleles. Phylogenetic tree was constructed using Maximum-likelihood and Tamura 3-parameter to illustrate the correlation between subtypes and certain immunodeficiency.

Subtype analysis revealed the presence of ST1, ST2, ST3, and ST7 among 13/33 (39.4%), 5 (15.2%), 14/33 (42.4%), and 1/33 (3%), of samples, respectively. ST1 was the major subtype among cancer patients 5/7 (71.42%), while ST3 was the predominant subtype among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients 3/6 (50%), internal ward patients 5/10 (50%), and asthma and allergy patients 2/3 (66.66%). ST7 was isolated from a patient hospitalized in internal ward. No significant correlation was seen between the type of immunodeficiency and subtypes (P-value = 0.771). The phylogenetic tree showed no separation regarding the type of immunodeficiency.

Among studied immunocompromised patients, ST3 was the most prevalent subtype followed by ST1. There was no specific correlation between subtypes and alleles with type of immunodeficiency. Putative zoonotic alleles were highlighted the probability of zoonotic transmission for Blastocystis sp.

gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the common metabolic diseases among pregnants that needs delicate monitoring and control to improve the metabolic condition and reduce pregnancy complications. Despite scarce data on the effect of probiotic supplementation on glycemic control and serum lipids concentrations in women with GDM, probioticsupplements and their effect on pregnancy outcome has become the center of focus in research. We aim to determine the impact of probiotic supplementation on glycemic control, lipid profiles, pregnancy, and infancy outcomes in GDM patients. 

in this clinical trial study, 120 GDM patients underwent a specific diet. Patients are divided into two separate groups to receive either probiotic supplements (N=60) or a matching placebo (n=60). Through the study group, nutrition counseling performed and the patients received treatment for 6 weeks. Demographic characteristics (age of participants, gestational age, gravidity, and BMI) evaluated and serum levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), Triglyceride, Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol examined before and after the intervention, respectively. Besides, Weight of newborn infants, Apgar scores, the requirement of using insulin among pregnants, and pregnancy outcomes examined carefully. SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) software was used for statistical analysis. 

there were no significant differences in demographic characteristics criteria between the two groups. All the participants were in the early second trimester period. After 6 weeks of intervention, probiotic supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in FBS (p=0.01) and the requirement for insulin administration was significantly lower in comparison with the control group (P=0.026). In addition, we observed elevated lipid profiles in both groups. A significant rise in serum HDL (P=0.01) was seen following supplementation with the probiotics and a significantly elevated serum level of LDL was seen in the control group (P=0.01). In the group with the probiotic supplementation diet, the weight of newborn infants (P=0.001) and pregnancy complications (P=0.028) were also significantly lower in comparison with the control group.

the result of our study demonstrated that using probiotic supplements in women with GDM had beneficial effects on glycemic control, reduce the requirement of insulin treatment, serum LDL cholesterol concentration, serum HDL cholesterol concentration, and less adverse pregnancy and infancy outcomes

Due to its distinct color, flavor and beneficial compound, the Saffron plant is extensively used in pharmaceutical and food industries, but because of its sensitive nature, its active compounds are lost in adverse environmental conditions. In this research, the preparation of water-in-oil nanoemulsion containing saffron extract was studied as an effective method for maintaining active compounds of saffron. For this purpose, nanoemulsions were synthesized by using span 80 and tween 80 as emulsifiers in three levels of 10, 12.5 and 15 percent, using ultrasound. The amount of aqueous phase (saffron extract with 12% dry matter) was 15% (wt) in all formulations and n-decan used on three levels: 70, 72.5 and 75% as oil phase. Particle size, polydispersity index and stability of each formulation at light conditions during 28 days after production were evaluated. The results showed the particle size and polydispersity index in the emulsion containing 15% emulsifier was less than the other emulsions and did not change in terms of physical stability.

In this study, a double emulsion system was developed based on an optimized initial simple emulsion with the view to increase the stability of effective saffron compounds (crocin, picrocrocin and safranal). To this end the effect of various concentrations of surfactant (10, 12.5 and 15%) and different types of carbohysrates (sucrose, sorbitol, and dextran) on the stability of simple emulsion was investigated. The principal component analysis method was used to identify the relationships between the quantitative changes of the active components and quality attributes of the emulsion. Based on the results, day 7 was recognized as a critical point on which dramatic changes in the quality attributes of the emulsion coincided with the loss of saffron active compounds. In other words, physical changes in the stability of emulshion correlated well with the destruction trend of active compounds, although picrocrocin changes were found to be of independents. Also, it was revealed that the incorporation of 1% w/w sorbitol into the aqueous extract of saffron significantly decreased the loss rate of saffron active compounds in the emulsion. In addition, the double emulsion increased the half-life of saffron active compounds during a 14 day storage period. The results showed that double emulsion system was a suitable method for saffron extract, but the qualitative properties of initial emulsion also had a great influence on their stability. Multivariate analysis methods can also be used to clarify the relationships between the qualitative properties of the emulsion and the active compounds entrapped within it.