Ticks are important ectoparasites in equids which causes economic losses in animal husbandry of Iran and worldwide. This study was aimed to determine frequency and species diversity of hard ticks in equids in Turkman sahra, Iran. 240 equids were randomly selected and examined from 2018-2019. Ixodid ticks were collected from body surface of examined animals and identified. Of all examined equids, 37.91% horses, and 4.16% donkeys were infested with a total number of 357 ixodid ticks. Tick indices (tick number per animal) were 3.53.  The highest prevalence of hard ticks was found in ≥3 years-old equids in the region. There was significant difference between prevalence and different age groups of infested animals. Of all examined ticks (357), three genera including Hyalomma spp., Rhipicephalus spp. and Dermacentor spp. with four species. i.e. Hyalomma anatolicum (65.26%), H. marginatum (10.64%), Rhipicephalus bursa (22.12%) and Dermacentor marginatus (1.96%) were identified. Ixodid ticks’ infestations occured throughout the year with the highest prevalence in spring. There was significant difference between prevalence of hard ticks and seasons in this study. The results revealed that species diversity and ixodid ticks’ infestations were prevalent in the equids of Turkman sahra, Iran.

Background: Esophageal cancer is the 7th most common cancer in Iran. The northern part of the country shows the highest incidence for this malignancy. In this study we present some epidemiological and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with esophageal carcinoma in this region.Methods: In a cross sectional study, 238 Esophageal cancer patients were enrolled in a prospective study of neoadjuvant chemo-radiation treatment in a 4-year period (2006-2009). In an oncology clinic their epidemiologic characteristics and clinicopathological findings were registered in a preplanned file. Data consisted of age, sex, race, occupation, residential location, smoking, addiction history, signs and symptoms, blood biochemistry profile, imaging and endoscopic findings. The data were analyzed with the SPSS software. Results: The mean age of the patients was (55% female) 59 years. They were mostly Fars (63%) and Turkmen (13%). Seventy two percent were residents of rural area, 20% were smokers and 22.3% were opium addict and its analogues. Only 1.3% of patients consumed alcohol. The most common presenting symptom was dysphagia (93.7%), mainly grade III dysphagia (53%). Location of tumor in esophagus was in the middle third in 53.4% and lower segment in 44.5%. 65 % of the patients had an abnormal esophagogram. On endoscopic evaluation the most common types of tumors were polypoid, vegetative and fungoid, respectively. Mean tumor length was 5.7 cm. The most common histology type was squamus cell carcinoma (99.1%) which was moderately differentiated in 51.3% of these patients. No significant relationship was found between the grade of dysphagia with the macroscopic type and the pathologic grade of the tumor in this study. Conclusion: Squamous cell carcinoma comprised more than 99% of all esophageal cancers in our patients and this histological type is the prominent type in the Northeast of Iran. Middle esophageal segment is the major site for this type of cancer which unfortunately most patients present with grade III. Dysphasia reflects the advanced stage of the disease.

Background: Malignant neoplasms remain the second leading cause of death in children after accidents. The aim of this study was to assess the epidemiology of childhood cancer in children admitted to Dr sheikh hospital, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study had been done in Dr Sheikh Hospital in Mashhad University of medical science on 1764 children younger than 14 years old from 2006up to 2014 with cancer that has been pathologically confirmed. All information about the age, sex, type of cancers, and the residence of patients were collected and recorded from their medical records. Results: regarding gender, 1055 of cases were male and 709 female. The mean age of patients was 5. 8± 4. 2 years old while 30% were in age group of 3-6 years. Results showed that leukemia (56. 4%), Lymphomas (10. 3%), renal tumor (9. 3%), malignant bone tumor (4. 4%), and CNS tumor (4. 1%) were the most prevalent malignancies in children admitted to Dr Sheikh hospital in Mashhad, Iran. The most common form of leukemia was ALL (86. 9%). during the course of thestudy, the lowest and highest age standardized incidence rate was 114 (2006) and 142 (2014) cases out of each 1000, 000 person, respectively. Conclusion: Distribution of childhood cancer in terms of year revealed the increase of malignant tumor prevalence about 2. 5% from 2006 to 2014. Incidence of childhood cancers in Dr Sheikh hospital in Northeast of Iran was similar to neighboring province and other countries.

Background: Exfoliative dermatitis is a rare disorder with several etiologic factors. The frequency of different etiologies varies in the medical literatures. The purpose of this study was to reveal the demographic characteristic and etiologies of exfoliative dermatitis in our department.Method: We reviewed the records of the patients who were admitted to the dermatology ward of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, with a diagnosis of exfoliative dermatitis in a twenty-year period (1982-2002). Age, gender, the cause of exfoliative dermatitis, and the most probable drug cause were studied.Result: Fifty-nine cases were included in the study. Male-female ratio was 1.27: 1. The mean age of the patients was 50.11±19.37. The most common causes were psoriasis (40.7%), drugs (18.6%) and lymphoma (18.6%). The most common drugs that caused exfoliative dermatitis were co-trimoxazole (27.27%), carbamazepine (18.18%), and gold salts (18.18%).Conclusion: The most frequent of underlying cause of exfoliative dermatitis in our series was psoriasis. Co-trimoxazole was the most common drug that caused exfoliative dermatitis.

Onosma khorassanica is described from Khorasan Province and compared with its related taxon. Its illustration is also presented herewith.

Background: Considering the irreparable effects of decreased childbearing desire in Iran, the present study aimed to explore the state of childbearing desire and the associated factors in the Northeast of Iran. Methods: The present cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted on 807 married and unmarried men and women residing in Khorasan Razavi Province, using a multi-stage sampling method in 2023. The participants were divided into two desiring and undesiring groups according to their childbearing desires. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and two questionnaires on the reasons for childbearing desire: One for those likely to have children and another for those unlikely to have children in the future. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 26 using descriptive and inferential statistics. The significance level was set at <0.05.  Results: The mean age of participants was 36.45±9.24 years and the majority were female (78.8%). The results showed that 70% of participants did not desire to have children in the future. The main reason for childbearing desire was interest in children (71.9%), while another reason was the desire to have enough children (36.3%). The common reasons for the lack of desire for childbearing included already having enough children (43.7%) and concerns about their future (27.6%). The results of multiple logistic regression also showed significant relationships between marriage (OR=9.58, 95% CI, 4.38%, 20.94%, P<0.001), age and the number of children (OR=1.958, 95% CI, 1.61%, 2.37%, P<0.001) and childbearing desire. Conclusion: The present findings provide insights into the current state of Iranians’ childbearing desire and can serve as a valuable resource for policymakers in their planning efforts.

Introduction: Trauma is one of the most common health problems worldwide, resulting in many cases of physical disability every year. Considering the importance of the occurrence of trauma, this study was conducted to determine its epidemiology in trauma patients of the Trauma Center of Gorgan County, Golestan Province.Methods: This cross-sectional population-based study was conducted on 17, 941 Iranian trauma patients who attended the Trauma Center of 5 Azar Educational Hospital, Gorgan County, from the beginning of 2013 through 2014, using the census method. The patients’ data were collected using a checklist designed by the Treatment Deputy of Golestan University of Medical Sciences during morning, evening, and night shifts by trained personnel. The data were analyzed with the STATA software Version 12.Results: Most of the trauma patients were male and belonged to the age group of 21–35 years. Alley, street, and house were the most common trauma locations. Injuries, motorcycle accidents, and falls from height were the most common types of trauma. As for the outcome, most trauma patients were “treated” Conclusion: With advances in technology, because of the increase in the number and speed of vehicles and lifestyle changes, trauma is one of the major causes of mortality and disability in the world. Knowledge of the epidemiology of trauma in the world can help lower its prevalence and incidence.

Habitat eradication and loss of animal species have created a new international hazard for wildlife conservation. National parks are considered as suitable places that can serve dual functions of biodiversity conservation and ecotourism. As recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), microsatellites have been used for animal biodiversity assessment. For this reason, Iranian urials population genetic diversity was studied by analyzing of 10 microsatellite markers in 75 skeletal muscle samples that were collected from Tandooreh National Park, Northeastern of Iran. Species of samples validated by sequencing of the control region from mtDNA. Allelic frequencies for each locus in the population and different measurements of within-breed genetic variations were computed by the POPGENE32 software. The number of alleles per locus counted from 5 to 8, with an average of 6.1. The polymorphism information content was calculated between 0.66-0.74 with the average of 0.7. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.223 (MaF214) to 0.776 (OarFCB128) with an average about 0.584 while the average expected heterozygosity for all studied loci was 0.785 ranging from 0.765 (BM8125) to 0.807 (MaF36). High levels of expected heterozygosity can be attributed to some factors such as low level of inbreeding, low selection pressure, and high allele number. However, findings of the present study of the high variability of the Iranian urials showed the presence of a possible ‘hot spot’ genetic diversity for wild urial population in the Northeast of Iran. In conclusion, values of genetic diversity revealed that the Iranian urial population harbor unique and appreciable reservoirs of diversity.