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Background and Objectives: Intestinal pathotypes of Escherichia coli belong to the companion animals may poses po- tential risk to public health following zoonotic transmission. Therefore, this study was proposed to determine the virulence genes associated to diarrheagenic E. coli strains isolated from healthy pet dogs and their owners in the southeast of Iran, Kerman province. Materials and Methods: Totally 168 E. coli isolates were collected from 49 healthy household dogs and their owners. Sev- enty isolates were obtained from non-pet owners as control group. Presence or absence of the virulence genes including eae, stx1, stx2, st1, lt1, ipaH, cnf1 and cnf2 were screened by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and dissemination pattern of the genes were studied among the various hosts. Results: PCR examinations showed that the most frequent virulence gene was ipaH (6.1%) in dogs followed by eae in dog owners (6.1%) and in controls (8.6%). The most frequent pathotypes in dogs, their owners and controls were EIEC (6.1%), EHEC (4.08%) and EPEC (8.5%), respectively. In one of studied houses, both of dog and its owner harbored E. coli strains with same virulence profile (stx1/eae) and pathotype (EHEC). Conclusion: These results collectively indicate that healthy household dogs probably are the mild reservoir of potential virulent E. coli strains with possible active transmission to their contact owner. However, even non-pet owners seemed to be a notable source of intestinal pathotypes, especially EPEC, for their environment. Transmission of E. coli pathotypes may occurs by direct contact with the reservoirs or ingestion of contaminated food. These pathotypes are potentially virulent and creates public health hazards. Further studies are needed for better understanding of dissemination mechanisms of E. coli pathotypes among humans and their pets.

Background and Aim: Cystic echinococcosis (CE), as a major zoonotic helminth infection, imposes remarkable socioeconomic burden on many endemic countries across the world, including Iran. Due to the high importance of free-roaming dogs in the transmission of CE, epidemiological and molecular studies in this type of hosts are required in the endemic regions. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology and genotyping of Echinococcus granulosus isolated from stray dogs in Kerman, Southeast Iran. Materials and Methods: Eighty-four samples were isolated from stray dogs in the city and suburbs of Kerman in coordination with the health authorities and the municipality office for rabies control and dog population management. Dog demographic data, including age and sex were collected. The worm was isolated by necropsy and genomic DNA was extracted and partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene was amplified using specific primers. Phylogenetic and Templeton-Crandall-Sing (TCS) network analyses were carried out on the sequence data. Results: The overall prevalence of CE in the surveyed dogs was 10.7% (9/84 cases). Out of 84 stray dogs, 33 (39.3%) and 51 (60.7%) cases were male and female, respectively. There was not a statistically significant difference between the infection and gender of dogs. However, infection is shown more in dogs under one year of age with a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). The results of molecular studies indicated E. granulosus G1 genotype for all isolates. The high presence of free-roaming dogs in urban and peri-urban areas and high frequency of parasite in this animal is a risk factor for humans in the region. Haplotype sequence analysis on the dog isolates revealed a close relationship with other E. granulosus isolates in Kerman. Conclusion: The findings of this study provide evidence-based data about the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of CE in dog definitive hosts of Southeast Iran. Further studies are required to understand the prevalence and parasite genotypes in dogs in Iran.

Introduction: Teeth can be used to determine age in forensic medicine if none of the other techniques of identification are appropriate. The researchers used panoramic radiographs from patients referred to Yazd Shahid Sadoughi Dental School to determine age using pulp/tooth perimeter ratio. Methods: In this diagnostic study, 800 panoramic digital radiographs were examined and the age of the patients was recorded. The pulp/tooth perimeter ratio of the maxillary canine was calculated by using AutoCAD software, and the patient's age was estimated by using a regression equation. Then, a comparison was made between the estimated age and the actual age using this method. The role of sex, tooth placement in each quadrant and decade of age was examined in this ratio. For analysis, linear regression and paired T-test and correlation coefficients according to age and gender were used in SPSS 16 statistical software. Results: A linear regression model was used to estimate the age using pulp/tooth perimeter ratio. As a result, the Pearson correlation coefficient between age and pulp/tooth perimeter ratio was r = -0/08. We discovered a negative and significant correlation between these two variables with a P= 0.024. Likewise, the correlation coefficient in women was calculated r = -0.087, which with P= 0.037, this correlation is also significant and inverse. Conclusion: The study showed that estimating age using the pulp/tooth perimeter ratio of the maxillary canine is a reliable method and the pulp/tooth perimeter ratio on the left side is correlated with dental age. Thus, using the pulp/tooth perimeter ratio to estimate age in women is also valid.