BACKGROUND Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is usually detected in advanced stages resulting in a very poor prognosis. Early diagnosis needs identification of clinically relevant precancerous lesions which could become the target of screening and early treatment. Our aim was to check whether esophagitis could serve as a relevant histological precursor of ESCC in Northern Iran. METHODS ...

The midgut microbiota associated with Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles maculipennis (Diptera: Culicidae) was investigated for development of a paratransgenesis-based approach to control malaria transmission in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Here, we present the results of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and biochemical-based approaches to identify the female adult and larvae mosquitoe m...

Random Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) data were analyzed from eighteen taxa of Cupressus from the eastern hemisphere. The following fourteen taxa were distinct in their RAPDs: Cupressus assamica (India), C. atlantica (Morocco), C. austrotibetica (Tibet), C. cashmeriana (Bhutan), C. chengiana (Sichuan), C. darjeelingensis (India), C. duclouxiana (Yunnan), C. dupreziana (Algeria), C. funebris...

The rise of an inlaid metalwork industry in Khurasan, eastern Iran, during the second half of the twelfth century constitutes one of the canonical subjects of Islamic art history. The spectacular candlesticks, ewers and pen-boxes that form the most common products of the Khurasani metalwork industry are among the objects of Islamic art most familiar to any museumgoer in Europe or the United Sta...

CONTEXT Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is characterized by a high degree of genetic heterogeneity and classified into 7 genotypes and different subtypes. It heterogeneously distributed through various risk groups and geographical regions. A well-established phylogenetic relationship can simplify the tracing of HCV hierarchical strata into geographical regions. The current study aimed to find genetic p...

The major factors of insecurity in the East, away from the security of geopolitical area were because of the formation of political management in the nineteenth century colonial style. The security factor in the vast region of the East that encompasses at least three countries of Iran and Afghanistan and Pakistan is very important and highly effective. It reached its peak colonial Anglo-Russian...

BACKGROUND β-Thalassaemia is a common genetic blood disorder in the Middle Eastern region. Mandatory premarital screening and genetic counselling (PMSGC) programmes are implemented in 8 Middle East countries to reduce at-risk marriages and thus disease prevalence. A scoping review was conducted to explore the effectiveness of these programmes. METHODS The 6-stage scoping framework of Arksey a...

INTRODUCTION Parkinsonism occurs in all ethnic groups worldwide; however, there are wide variations in the prevalence rates reported from different countries, even for neighboring regions. The huge socioeconomic burden of parkinsonism necessitates the need for prevalence studies in each country. So far, there is neither data registry nor prevalence information on parkinsonism in the Iranian pop...

Colonoscopy is typically performed with sedation. Intravenous benzodiazepines with or without opioids have long been used to induce sedation for both colonoscopy and more complex endoscopic procedures. In recent years, we have observed a rapid transformation from the use of opioids and benzodiazepines to sedation with propofol in Western countries.1 However, most endoscopy centers in the Middle...

twenty-seven species of odonata were collected in the present survey in the freshwaters of south-eastern iran, kerman province, in contrast to 11 species that were recorded previously from this region. in this study, 528 specimens were collected from more than 30 sites in kerman province during 2006-2008. it seems that in this region due to its special biogeographic conditions, species diversit...