Notwithstanding its cultural wealth, archaeologists have hitherto given little consideration to Meshkinshahr County of Iran’s Ardabil Province. The region is remarkably rich in graves, as is evident from the various types of graves with simple inhumation, dolmen, rectangular stone-built, and Kurgan. In the spring of 2019, a rare example of Kurgan was investigated near the city of Fakhrabad. Unlike all other graves excavated in Northwest Iran, its structure consisted of a combination of stones and mud bricks. This paper presents the preliminary results from the excavation of this Kurgan. While introducing the Kurgan, an assemblage of small artifacts and its structure were examined, and a relative chronology was then proposed. The Kurgan arguably occupies a special place in archaeology of Iran and South Caucasus given a combination of stones with mud bricks it has in its construction. Such Kurgan type still remains unreported from the region.

Background: Mycetismus or mushroom poisoning is an important health concern and a potentially fatal state that usually occurs after incidental ingestion of mushroom’s sexual organs or fruiting bodies of fungus among the mycologists and the one who desire a natural or organic diet. The vast majority of mortality due to mushroom poisonings is attributed to fungus belonging to genus Amanita.Materials and methods: This report describes 34 cases with A. phalloides mushroom poisoning regarding the epidemiological presentation, clinical manifestation and laboratory findings. These patients were admitted in three hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences during 1989-1994.Results: The age of victims ranged from 4-75 years. Diagnosis of A. phalloides mushroom poisoning was confirmed by mycologist in 12 cases, toxicological studies in 5 cases and combined mycological and toxicological approaches in 3 cases. It was only suspected in 14 cases as the patients had died before being admitted or immediately after hospitalization. Ingestion of doubtful mushrooms was found either in their histories or mushrooms poisoning was documented in their relatives. Most of the victims (68%) were affected in spring, while no case was reported in summer. Conclusion: Mushroom poisoning should be considered in differential diagnosis of any case of acute gastroenteritis, especially during spring and fall when moderate temperature and moist conditions facilitate mushroom’s growth.

Background: The economic burden of asthma is a major public health concern. This study estimates the economic burden of asthma in Northwest of Iran. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted between 2017 and 2018 in Tabriz (Iran) using the Persian version of the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire. Direct and indirect costs associated with asthma were estimated based on the societal perspective, prevalence-based approach, and bottom-up method. Annual indirect costs were estimated using the human capital (HC) method. The structural equation model was used to evaluate the relationship between costs, sex, and asthma severity. Results: A total of 621 patients with asthma were enrolled in the study. Significant differences were found between female and male patients for the mean cost of radiology (P=0. 006), laboratory (P=0. 028), and diagnostic (P=0. 017) tests at baseline, and for laboratory (P=0. 012), and diagnostic (P=0. 027) tests at one-year follow-up. The more severe asthma, the more significant the costs for annual physician office visits (P=0. 040) and medications (P=0. 013). As asthma severity increased, significantly higher expenditures were observed in women for days lost from work at baseline (P=0. 009) and one-year follow-up (P=0. 001), and in men for productivity loss at work due to impairment at baseline (P=0. 045). A significant association between indirect costs and the cost of impairment-related lost productivity at work (β, =3. 29, P<0. 001), and between severe asthma and indirect costs (β, =32. 36, P<0. 001) was observed. Conclusion: High costs are incurred by Iranian asthma patients, especially because of impairment-related productivity loss at work associated with asthma exacerbation.

Almost 12 kilometers to the east of Mahneshan city in Zanjan province, Northwest Iran, there is a collection of hoodoos with an average height of 250 meters nearby Bihistan village that can be seen from great distances. These hoodoos consist of some colossal columns which look like huge mushrooms nicknamed as “Jinni’s Chimney”. Several rock-cut spaces have been uniquely carved inside these sedimentary bedrocks on various levels and the whole site is known as the Qala (stronghold) among the locals. As a result of the occasional lack of documentation for certain phases of its construction and extension, different scholars of Iranian and Islamic architectural history have proposed different theories regarding its historic revolution, some of which seem contradictory. This study aims to determine more precisely the architectural development of this rock-cut site and to study its probable function besides suggesting a relative chronology for the architectural remains.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of amblyopia screening in Ardabil Province in three examination levels by kindergarten teacher, optometrist, and ophthalmologist.Methods: In a cross‑sectional study, the results of the national amblyopic prevention program in 2–6 years old children in Ardabil Province were investigated in 2012. The results pertained to the examinations of children participating in this research were collected in the national approved forms.The data were entered into the computer and were analyzed using statistical methods in SPSS 18.Results: Around 38, 844 children (51.7%) out of 75173 with 2–6 years old qualified children participated in the screening program in Ardabil Province. In the first stage of screening, 1068 children (33.1%) are visually impaired in one eye and 2160 children (66.9%) are visually impaired in two eyes. In the second stage, the results related to the examinations by optometrists indicated that the prevalence of refractive errors, strabismus, and others were 70%, 27.8%, and 2.2%, respectively. Refractive errors problem was most prevalent in Ardabil city (72.6%).The prevalence of refractive errors, strabismus, and other reasons in amblyopic children was 51.3%, 23.9%, and 24.8%; respectively.Conclusions: The present investigation showed that coverage of amblyopia screening program was not enough in Ardabil Province. To increase the screening accuracy, standard instruments and examination room must be used; more optometrists must be involved in this program and increasing the validity of obtained results for future programming.