Archives of Razi Institute
Volume:79 Issue: 1, Jan-Feb 2024

Leprosy is still found mainly in lower middle income countries. Breaking the chain of leprosy transmission requires various ways, especially by increasing knowledge of leprosy prevention through health education. Several studies have mentioned the effectiveness of health education, but regarding which method is dominant to use, it is still uncertain. Therefore, the review question should be answered: what forms of health education have been developed about Leprosy in the community?.This review study complies with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) version 2020. The search for relevant literature involved PubMed, Sciencedirect, ERIC, Cochrane, and Proquest databases for the studies published in 2000 to 2023 period with the inclusion criteria such as Increasing knowledge, changing attitudes and behavior, and increasing positive stigma. Quality of the study was assessed using CASP, and the Risk of Bias using Cochrane RoB tool. Overall search on databases resulted in a total of 184,681 articles. Only 6 studies were declared eligible to be included in this review. There are various educational method used in the eligible studies including MH Mobile, the myth or Truth on Leprosy game, Posters, leaflets, community meetings, Tele education: the web, discussion lists, chats, activity diaries, iconographic 3D video, classes in video streaming, video conference, case simulation, lecture, and the contact intervention (education, testimonies (direct contact), videos, and comics). All of the method used had a potential to improve knowledge, attitude, and practice including reducing negative stigma regarding Leprosy. There is no methods superior to another method of health education on Leprosy prevention.

Escherichia coli is a normal gut inhabitant, that is able to cause various diseases such as enteric, urinary tract, cystitis, and systemic infections in humans and animals. The alarming increase in the prevalence of profiles for the extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing and carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli isolates is a serious problem all over the world. Colistin is well known as a last-resort antibiotic for the treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections. Inappropriate use of colistin and other classes of antibiotics in combination with poor infection control especially in developing countries could lead to serious complications in public health settings. The global increase of colistin resistance has been reported in many parts of the world, as well as in the Middle East region. Colistin is used to treat infections caused by extensively drug-resistant gram-negative bacteria. The reliable epidemiological data of the colistin-resistant in E. coli isolates is very scarce, however, information for colistin-resistant E. coli from Asia, the world's largest, most populous, and most diverse continent, is generally limited in comparison to Europe and the United States of America. The data of this review article were collected from the respective articles in connection with isolated colistin-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from humans, animals, and food-producing animals sections. In the Middle east, colistin-resistant E. coli isolates has been reported from Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Israel, and Lebanon between 2010 and 2022. While colistin resistance is most frequently observed in E. coli isolates, data indicated that the mcr genes have been found to be the most common genes associated with colistin resistance in E. coli isolates, in comparison with mutations in the pmrAsB, phoQ, and mgrB genes.

The appearance of an array of data on the study of the intestinal microbiota in Metazoa has significantly expanded our understanding of the role of commensals in the control of a wide range of physiological functions in higher organisms in norm and pathology. In the intestine, where the microbial load significantly exceeds the number of microorganisms of other ecosystems, the components of the intestinal microbiota are a constant source of stimuli that induce activation of the host immune systemThe introduction into practice of biomedical research of innovative high-resolution methods, including multi-omix technologies, has brought data that change our understanding of intestinal commensals, including probiotics with GRAS status, widely used in medicine, agriculture and biotechnology. The ability of these bacteria to induce negative processes in the host body that are beneficial for bacterial proliferation and expansion revealed a clear lack of our knowledge about the logic of their life and the mechanisms of interaction with eukaryotic cells. This determines the urgent need for comprehensive research of probiotics and the development of standardization of their safety assessment. Apriori's confidence in the exceptional benefit of the bacteria widely used in medicine, agriculture and biotechnology has determined the seriously omission in our control system today - the lack of standardization of studies for the safety assessment of bacteria with GRAS status . The moment has come when it became clear that this gap should be promptly filled and that only exact understanding the molecular base of interacting the microbes with eukaryotic cells can provide the foundation for effective practical developments in controlling the evolution of bacterial virulence and probiotic safety strategy, as well as the competent use of genetic technologies for monitoring the environment and managing infectious processes, thus avoiding the dramatic consequences of large-scale interventions in the micro and macro worlds.

December 2019 was momentous, since it experienced the trajectory of another novel pathogenic HCoV recognized as 2019-nCoV in Wuhan, China, which further unfurled to all the countries in the entire globe; at a lightning stride. Majority of covid-19 vaccines are being manufactured using protein subunit, viral vector, inactivated virus, DNA and mRNA vaccine platforms. To do a gender-based review of the Covid Vaccine Hesitancy among general population and conduct bibliometric analysis. Various articles related to covid vaccine hesitancy, either in the title, abstract or as keywords in search strategy was done. For COVID vaccine hesitancy; we used the definition of “ Reluctance to receive safe and recommended available vaccines”. Thus 408 articles remained for complete evaluation. Finally, these were taken for bibliometric analysis. Data Analysis was done using the Vos viewer Software vs. The strength of co – cited publications showed strong contributors from American and Asian continents. Words with maximum weightage based on their occurrences were female, health personnel, acceptance, social media, socio-economic factors, ethnic groups etc as covered in the red cluster. Whereas, Overlay Visualization on the right-hand side based on the total link strength of MeSH items shows largest clusters with items such as females, attitude to health, trust, cross-sectional studies, acceptance of health care, rural population, public health, parents etc which were towards the centre. The terms towards periphery which have less weightage, need more surveys. Greater perceived susceptibility, risk perception and benefits as well as low levels of barriers and self-efficacy were the prime reasons a person would intent to vaccinate and more specifically among females. The female being the decision maker of the family in most instances, needs to be attended first who can further change the mindset of the entire family and carry the future forward.

Campylobacter spp. genera are one of the most common causes of microbial enteritis worldwide. This research aims to discover how common Campylobacter organisms are in raw meat from large livestock in Iran and their antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Several 550 fresh ready-to-eat meat samples were gathered from the slaughterhouse, butcher shops, and restaurants in the research region, including cattle (n = 138), goat (n = 102), camel (n = 56), and sheep (n = 254) meats samples. Using routine bacteriological procedures and PCR, Campylobacter spp. was isolated and identified. PCR was used to perform genotype pattering in the identification of virulence genes. The disc diffusion technique was used to determine antibiotic susceptibility. The two Campylobacter spp. were found in 84 (15.27%) of the 550 meat test samples. Cattle and camel samples had the greatest (52.38 %) and lowest (3.57%) frequency of Campylobacter spp., respectively. There were significant variations in the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in cattle compared to others (P < 0.01; 2 = 43.04 or OR = 7.68, CI = 3.40–17.30). C. jejuni and C. coli amounted to 82.14 % (69 samples) of the Campylobacter spp. they were isolated from the raw meat. C. jejuni was found in 39.28% of the samples (33 samples), whereas C. coli was found in 42.85% (36 samples). Other Campylobacter spp. made up 17.85 % (15 samples). The most prevalent genotypes pattering observed in C. jejuni bacteria collected from several sorts of large livestock samples were ciaB (100%) and flaA (100%), and virbll (7.69 %) were the C. jejuni strains found with the least incidence in various large livestock specimens. ciaB (100 %), flaA (100 %), were the most common genotypes found in C. coli bacteria. The C. coli isolates dnaJ (0%), wlaN (0%), virbll (0%), and ceuE (0%) discovered with the least frequency in a range of large livestock samples. Campylobacter spp. isolated from various sample types and sources were 100% sensitive to aphA-3-1 and GM10. Resistance to E15 (76.93 %), cmeB (69.24 %), aadE1 (69.24 %), CIP5 (69.24 %), and AM10 (69.24 %) was found in the isolates.

The biosynthesis of agglutinogenic and adsorbing group A and B glycotopes of erythrocyte's membrane is mediated by the activity of specific glycosyltransferases. The aim of the study – to assess the nature of the biosynthesis of A antigenic glycotopes, depending on pH of the medium during the cultivation of erythrocytes and on antigenic (transferase) characteristics of the donor serum of the other group. Monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) were obtained from IGBRL and under the program IV of the International Workshop on Monoclonal Antibodies and Red Blood Cell Antigens. Biosynthesis was performed with erythrocytes, fresh serum, medium 199 and antibiotic solution. Eleven of thirty three samples changed the agglutinogenic characteristics by the end of the cultivation period due to the acquisition of additional agglutinogen corresponding to the donor serum. None of the samples lost their inherent agglutinogen due to its absence in the donor serum. Four of six samples of O (I) erythrocytes acquired the ability to be agglutinated by anti-A reagents, especially strongly by polyclonal anti-A, and the manifestation of agglutination depended on the reaction time. Two of the three samples with initial A(II) agglutinogenic specificity added to the donor serum with Bc'+ characteristic of the erythrocytes acquired this characteristic. However, none of five A(II)Ac'+ samples cultured in the serum of Ac'- O(I)Ac'-Bc'+ and O(I)Ac'-Bc'- donor lost its inherent earlier Ac'+ characteristic. The investigation of inhibitory ability of alkaline and acidic glycoconjugates isolated from membranes revealed, that alkaline Alp-00 and Alp-1 glycotopes isolated from glycolipids showed the highest inhibitory activity, and the degree of inhibition of polyclonal anti-A antibodies was even higher than that of monovalent BRIC-131. The possibility of biosynthesis of non-agglutinogenic specific A and B glycotopes under the influence of a different group serum as a source of the corresponding transferase was shown.

Selenium is a class 2B element according to ICH Q3D guidelines. Selenium sulfide is an anti￾infective agent with antifungal and antibacterial properties used to treat dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis. The literature survey revealed that most of the analytical techniques to estimate selenium were found to be time-consuming and/or required high skill. The process involved identifying the isotopes, selecting the measuring approach, and optimizing a typical microwave-aided digesting procedure. To the samples, ammonium hydrogen difluoride, water, and concentrated nitric acid were added. The confirmed microwave digestion program was a two-step program where in the initial step, the samples were ramped at 200°C for 20 minutes and held for 5 minutes. Later, samples were cooled and neutralized by boric acid, then ramped for 20 minutes to a temperature of 180°C and held for 10 minutes. Selenium was estimated at 196.090 nm by ICP-OES. System suitability was run before initiating analysis to ensure that system performance was consistent. Analytical validation parameters like the specificity of the method were demonstrated at 196.090nm, linearity was proven from 10 ppm to 150 ppm of selenium concentration, the detection limit was 1.28 ppm and the limit of quantification was 3.89 ppm. Robustness was confirmed for small changes to ICP-OES operating conditions. The method's precision was demonstrated by analyzing the percentage relative standard deviation for six injections was found to be less than 2.0%. Accuracy was confirmed from 10 ppm to 150 ppm, and all the samples were found to be within the range of 95-105%. A common microwave-assisted digestion technique was developed and the same was validated. The preciseness, specificity, linearity, accuracy, and robustness of the method for estimating selenium in selenium sulfide drug substances and various pharmaceutical dosage forms weredemonstrated. This newly developed microwave-assisted digestion technique has optimum sensitivity, highly reproducible and time saving than the existing methods. This method can be applied to numerous matrices for a finished dosage of selenium sulfide formulations.

Group A rotaviruses are the most important cause of gastroenteritis in children under five years of age worldwide. Rotavirus gastroenteritis can be associated with mild to severe diarrhea in children, and in some cases, it can lead to death due to severe dehydration. The annual death from rotavirus infection is approximately 146,480 worldwide, and most of these deaths occur in low-income countries in Africa and Asia. Since there are no specific effective drugs for the treatment of rotavirus infection, and only supportive care is available for infected patients, there is a need to develop new antiviral agents. Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs), have various applications in magnetic, electrical industries, and biology. The antiviral effect of nanoparticles (CuONPs) is well documented. The aim of this study was to investigate the antiviral effects of CuONPs on rotavirus. The cytotoxic effects of CuONPs on MA-104 cells were investigated by MTT assay. In addition, anti-rotavirus activity of CuONPs was evaluated by TCID50 and Real-Time PCR assay. Our results showed that exposure of rotavirus-infected cells to different non-toxic concentrations of CuONPs did not lead to a decrease in the virus titer compared to the control. While, the virucidal effect of CuONPs on rotavirus was observed at concentrations of 80 and 100 μg/ml (P value < 0.001). Our study indicated that CuONPs are associated with significant antiviral activity against rotavirus multiplication. While the exact mechanism of the anti-rotavirus activity of CuONPs remained unknown. But according to the virucidal test, it seems that loss of capsid integrity and genome destruction in the presence of CuONPs are possible mechanisms of its anti-rotavirus effect.

BCG vaccines on the market have employed a Mycobacterium bovis sub-strains derived from the initial strain. To date, there has been no recommendation regarding the sub-strains with the highest effectiveness when administered to humans. Because it remains the standard for Tuberculosis treatment, the BCG vaccine's quality must be verified. One of the parameters for BCG vaccine quality control is the test for viability. The culture method has become the gold standard for viability testing with various testing media. This study aims to evaluate the performance of Lowenstein Jensen and Ogawa media for the viability test of Pasteur 1173P2 and Russian (Moscow) – 384 sub-strains of M. bovis in the BCG vaccine. The number of culturable particles of each sub-strain in the BCG vaccine was estimated and statistically evaluated using the t-test. The Colonies of the Pasteur 1173P2 has characteristics; tended to clump on both mediums with tiny, rough, and pale yellow/cream colors. While the colony character of the Russian (Moscow) – 384 generally has similar feature but did not cluster and had a smooth texture. In terms of growth rate, Lowenstein Jensen and Ogawa media performed similarly for Pasteur 1173P2 and Russian (Moscow) – 384 sub-strains. Maximum growth is reached by week 5. The culturable particles of Pasteur P1173P2 sub-strains did not differ between mediums. Whereas the growth of the Russian (Moscow) - 384 sub-strains was statistically better on Ogawa media. The results of this study reveal that the performance of the media used for determining the number of culturable particles is based on the sub-strains of M. bovis present in the BCG vaccine.

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) frequently experience urinary tract infections. Many studies indicated that diabetes patients experience higher treatment costs, morbidity, and death due to UTI as a result of the spread of resistant bacterial strains in hospitals. In the current study, we looked at how glycemic control affects diabetic patients' rates of UTI, the pathogens that cause them, the presence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) organisms, and the infections' relation to diabetes. Diabetes patients' midstream urine (MSU) samples were taken in a sterile, spotless, and dry wide-mouthed bottle. After following the standard methodology to collect and identify the organisms, disc diffusion antibiotic sensitivity tests were conducted. HbA1c measured for all patients. Using the SPSS 16.0 version, the data were examined. In the current study, 500 diabetic patients provided urine samples, after analyzing of urines it was revealed that189 (37.2%) of those individuals had UTI. Compared to 59 patients with managed glycemia, 130 individuals in the uncontrolled glycemic group experienced the most UTI cases. In both diabetic groups, females had a significantly higher prevalence of UTI than males (88.4% and 11.6%, respectively, 𝑃 < 0.004). 52.3% of women over 46 with uncontrolled glycemia experienced UTIs. The most common bacterial isolate, E. coli, displayed 58.4% MDR. These findings demonstrate that, regardless of age or gender, glycemic control in diabetes patients is essential for decreasing UTI rates. It should be noted that, the best empirical treatment for diabetic patients with UTI should involve regular monitoring of the uropathogenic susceptibility patterns.

Newcastle disease virus from the Paramyxoviridae family is a single-stranded negative-sense RNA virus. NDV is an infection of domestic poultry and nearly all bird species. It has been a very severe difficulty for the poultry industry all over the world Even though it remains a potential threat to poultry industries, this virus is a powerful oncolytic virus as well. In this study a process was accomplished to achieve concentrated and highly purified NDV V4 strain particles. Downstream processing of Newcastle virus strain V4 was characterized by amplifying virus in embryonated chicken eggs. Through a sequence of steps, harvesting allantoic fluid, clarification by centrifuge, concentration by ultrafiltration, size exclusion separation, the reduced volume and pure virus particles were considered for the amount of ovalbumin, hemagglutinin activity, electron microscopy (TEM), electrophoresis, and additionally immunogenicity of prepared antigens. The results presented a high recovery of HA activity in concentrated and pure virus with removing of ovalbumin and the typical morphology based on TEM. Sepharose CL-4B was determined as the best media among all used resins to purify the virus. Prepared formulations as vaccines demonstrated a positive hemagglutinin inhibition for 6 months duration and stable for two years. Organized study provided strong evidence that this method was quite appropriate in concentrating and purifying of intact Newcastle disease virus to use in vaccine research, also in antiserum preparation, or probably like an oncotic agent as an alternative to conventional procedures. Though additional studies are being tested, this procedure can be used practically on a semi-industrial scale in the production of multiple vaccine components.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is recognized as one of the most deadly malignant cancers which ranks third among all annual cancer mortality rates. The hepatitis B virus (HBV) X protein (HBX) is known to play a key role in HCC. The HBX may alter the expression of multiple microRNAs (miRs), which are important in hepatocarcinogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the importance of HBX protein in mir21, mir22, mi122, mir132, and mir222 expression. In the present study, a recombinant vector, pcDNA3.1+ expressing HBx was developed. The Huh-7 cell line was transfected with HBx-pcDNA3.1+ recombinant plasmid. Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction was used to evaluate mir21, mir22, mi122, mir132, and mir222 expression in the cell line. It was found that expression of miR-21 and miR-222 was upregulated at all points of time since HBx transfection. The expression of miR-21 reached to 4.24-fold after 72 hours post-transfection. The miR-22 had a 7.69-fold downregulation after 24 hours. The miR-122 had a significant downregulation after 48 (10-fold) hours. The miR-132 expression reached its lowest rate at 12 hours after HBx-transfection (8.33-fold). The miR-222 expression was upregulated in transfected cells but was not significantly different (1.18 to 2.45-fold). Significant downregulation of miR-22, miR-122 and miR-132 implicate their inhibitory roles in the progression of HBV-associated HCC. The expression of these microRNAs could be used as a prognosis of the progression of HBV-associated liver disease. Also, in future studies, miR-21 and miR-22 can be used as a target in the development of therapeutic agents.

Rodents act as reservoirs, intermediate or definitive hosts for various zoonotic helminths. Parasitic diseases are among the critical factors affecting the survival and composition of wild rodent populations and wild rodents share their habitat with domestic free-grazing animals- mainly sheep, stray dogs, and cats, which allows the transmission of helminth infections to these animals: i.e., Toxocara and Trichinella. This study investigated the helminth parasite fauna of wild rodents in East Azerbaijan Province, North-Western Iran, and discussed the possibility of parasite transmission among wild rodents. A total of 204 rodents of seventeen different species have been collected in northwest Iran. Information about the genus, developmental stage and rodent species was recorded for each animal. The gastrointestinal tract, liver and diaphragm were examined for the presence of helminths. The recovered specimens were identified based on reference should be included.. The prevalence rate of helminths infection among the captured rodents was 67.16%. Meriones persicus showed the highest infection and diversity rates. This species harbored the zoonotic helminths Capillaria hepatica and species belonging to genera Toxocara, Syphacia, and Hymenolepis. M. persicus specimens from the mountainous area showed the highest infection rate. This study aimed at evaluating the potential role of wild rodent species as reservoirs of helminth infection in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. M. persicus is the more common species in our study and represents a higher proportion of the infected rodents in terms of helminths diversity and frequency. Harboring zoonotic helminths, M. persicus represents a health risk. - Further studies are recommended to evaluate the prevalence of these parasites in the human community and to inform the people concerned about the risk of disease transmission to humans through rodents.

Shellfishes are significant economic and nutritious seafood amongst people of different countries. Seafood products, particularly shellfish samples, are potential reservoirs of enteric viruses. This research investigated the incidence of RoV, NoV GI and GII, HAV, and HEV in shellfish samples from the Persian Gulf, Iran. One hundred and fifty shellfish samples were collected. RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis was performed using commercial kits. The real-time PCR assessed the presence of enteric viruses in extracted cDNA samples. Thirty-two out of 150 (21.33%) shellfish samples were contaminated with enteric viruses. Prevalence of NoV GI, NoV GII, HAV, and RoV amongst shellfish samples were 8.00%, 11.33%, 1.33%, and 0.66%, respectively. There were no contaminated shellfish samples with HEV. Simultaneous prevalence of HAV and NoV GI and HAV and NoV GII viruses were 0.66% and 0.66%, respectively. Examined viruses had a higher prevalence in shellfish samples collected through the winter season (P < 0.05). Prevalence of HAV, RoV, NoV GI, and NoV GII amongst shellfish samples collected through the winter season was 2.85%, 9.09%, 11.90%, and 20%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the incidence of enteric viruses, particularly HAV, NoV GI, NoV GII, and RoV, in shellfish samples from the Persian Gulf, Iran. Shellfish samples may serve as a potential source of enteric viruses for the human population. Therefore, routine viral assessments should be conducted. Completely cooking shellfish samples before consumption can significantly reduce the risk of HAV, RoV, NoV GI, and NoV GII infections. Furthermore, given the export value and importance of shellfish samples, their microbial quality and safety should be routinely monitored.

Toxoplasmosis is among the most pervasive zoonotic illnesses in the world. Human infection rates range from 10% to 80% in many countries. Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy are more susceptible to developing acute forms of toxoplasmosis, which can cause brain defects, neurological damage, and encephalitis. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of infection with Toxoplasma gondii in inducing interferon-gamma in breast cancer patients from Iraq. This cross-sectional descriptive work was carried out on women who were suffering from breast cancer referring to Al-Haboubi Teaching Hospital in Nasiriya City-Thi-Qar province (Iraq) during the period extended from January to September 2022. About 3 mL of blood was obtained from all participants and sera were collected. Sera were then tested using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits of Toxoplasma IgM, IgG, and IFN-γ (Nova Tec Immunodiagnostica GmbH, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s protocols. Before blood collection, a printed questionnaire with some demographical information, e.g., age and residence, was completed for participants. The total number of positive patients for T. gondii infection from breast cancer patients in the current study was 60 (85.7%). The results of the analyzing specimens by ELISA test revealed that 85.7% and 74.2% of the patients were positive for IgG and IgM, respectively. The mean level of IFN-γ in breast cancer patients with toxoplasmosis, without toxoplasmosis, and control group was 47.66, 0.00, and 0.57 pg/mL, respectively. Higher IgG and interferon-gamma levels were found in the group of breast cancer patients with toxoplasmosis compared to the group without. According to the ELISA findings, T. gondii was the most common parasite among cancer patients.

The Covid-19 disease is a newly emerging disease, and the covid-19 vaccine is one of the necessities to prevent this disease. The present study aimed to Investigate the side effects of covid-19 vaccines in southern Iran. We used convenience sampling to conduct this cross-sectional study on 647 people living in cities under the coverage in southern Iran, Kerman. The data collection tool included a researcher-maid questionnaire of vaccine symptoms and signs. The results were analyzed by SPSS software version 24 and ANOVA, and chi-square tests. The mean age of the participants was 40.19±15.20. The results indicated that 431 people (66.6%) reported post-vaccination side effects, with 18.23% of them having severe side effects. We noticed the most severe side effects in AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sputnik, and Bharat. Fever, headache, and pain at the injection site were the most common side effects after vaccination respectively, which had a statistically significant relationship with all types of vaccines (P=0.001). The side effects differed in the types of vaccines and most of the vaccines had mild to moderate side effects. People with B blood type showed the most severe side effects while those with AB showed the lowest rate of side effects. Therefore, the injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine in blood group B should be done with more caution. And it is recommended more attention should be paid to blood groups B and A in the injection of Covid-19 vaccines. also, health officials and the government should plan appropriate educational strategies to increase public knowledge and the importance of vaccines in eradicating viral infections

Numerous species of venomous snakes of medical importance exist in Iran. Pseudocerastes persicus one of the medically important snake that is also called the Persian horned viper, has a geographical spread that extends to the east, southwest, and central areas of the country and is endemic across the wider region. As a result, this species is responsible for a significant number of snakebite occurrences.Venom from Pseudocerastes persicus found in the central province of Semnan was found to contain phospholipase A2 and L-amino acid oxidase activities, and high toxic potency. The venom was fractionated by reverse-phase HPLC and analyzed by SDS-PAGE, Western blotting and two-dimensional electrophoresis. Using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), a range of components were identified, consistent with the biochemical and toxicological properties of the venom: proteins identified from 2D electrophoresis and shotgun methods included metallo- and serine proteases, phospholipases, oxidases, and Kunitz trypsin inhibitors along with many other components at lower qualitative abundance. This study provides a more detailed understanding of the protein profile of Iranian P. persicus venom, which can be effective in the production of an effective antidote against it. The analysis of the resulting data shows that there is a wide range of proteins in the venom of the Iranian Persian horned viper. This informations can provide a better understanding of how venom is neutralized by polyclonal antivenom. Considering the wide presence of this snake and its related species in Iran and surrounding countries, knowing the venom protein profile of this family can be of great support to antivenom producers such as Razi Institute in the preparation of regional antivenoms.

 Johne's disease occurs in domestic and wild animals worldwide. Paratuberculosis has severe economic impacts on the animal industry. Despite the significant economic losses, little knowledge is available on the epidemiological status of paratuberculosis in the animal population of Iran. The aim of this study was evaluating of the prevalence rate of the disease in the Iranian animals’ population with confidence interval and p-value. The search was conducted on the electronic international and national databases and screened. Then, sufficient and relevant data were extracted. Data were analyzed using STATA software v. 14. Prevalence disease rates were determined using random effect models. Fifty-two articles were included in the systematic review. According to the results, the overall disease incidence rate in Iran was 20.39%. The prevalence rate of JD was 22.33 (CI 95%, 18.87- 25.78) in the cattle population, and 25.61 (CI 95%, 21.43-29.78) in sheep. This study showed that cattle and sheep were the most commonly infected host. The highest prevalence rate of disease was 35.88 in Tehran (CI 95%, 16.77-54.99), followed by 32.86 (CI 95%, 25.07-40.65), and 20.10 (CI 95%, 14.63-25.58) in Khorasan Razavi, and Kerman, respectively. The lowest prevalence rate of JD was 2.27 in Ilam (CI 95%, 0.84- 3.70). Based on this result, molecular-based methods were proper compared to other diagnostic methods. This study reports MAP prevalence in dairy herds in the provinces of Iran. Due to infection transmission from animal sources to human and the potential role of MAP in human disease, is emphasize on the need for further study on this issue.

Obesity and its associated disorders, such as hyperlipidemia, have become a ‎global issue ‎following the consumption of unhealthy, high-fat, and high-‎carbohydrate foods, which ‎burdens the economies and the ‎health systems of human societies ‎worldwide‎.‎‏‎‏ ‏This study aimed to evaluate ‎the effect of oral consumption of 6-gingerol and L-arginine ‎supplements on ‎serum lipid profile (triglyceride, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and ‎low-density lipoprotein), obesity factors, insulin, corticosterone and testosterone hormones, ‎and ‎expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene in high-carbohydrate diet (HCD) ‎induced ‎obese rats. Thirty rats in five groups were fed a diet specific to each ‎group for 12 weeks ‎and then treated with the oral administration of L-arginine ‎‎(200 mg/day) and 6-gingerol (100 ‎mg/day) for twelve weeks. The food and water ‎intake and weight change were then measured‎. In addition, plasma glucose, ‎triglyceride, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein ‎‎(HDL), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)‎, low-density ‎lipoprotein (LDL), and serum ‎hormone levels, including corticosterone, testosterone, and insulin, were measured, and NPY, ‎Y1, and Y5 receptor gene expression were recorded using real-time PCR. Administration of ‎‎6-gingerol and L-arginine decreased food intake, ‎weight ‎gain‎, glucose levels, insulin levels, ‎and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index compared to ‎the ‎HCD control group. In addition, corticosterone and testosterone levels in the ‎study groups ‎showed a significant decrease (P