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Background:The transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is parenteral, sexual and prenatal. Prevention of vertical transmission of HBV is extremely important, because HBV infection in early life usually results in a chronic carrier state. There has been so much debate about hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening in pregnant women.Objectives:The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBsAg+ among pregnant women referred to Beheshti hospital in Kashan in 2012.Patients and Methods:This descriptive study was carried out on 768 pregnant women, hospitalized in Beheshti Hospital of Kashan in 2012. After obtaining consent forms, the questionnaires including demographic and HBV infection-associated risk factors were filled through interview and then 5 mL blood was taken from each patient and HBsAg was examined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. These data were analyzed by statistical package for the social science (SPSS) software.Results:A total of 12 (1.56%) out of 768 pregnant women were HBsAg+. The mean age of HBsAg+ cases was 24.5 ± 4 years. Most of the HBsAg+ cases (66.6%) were uneducated; 17.7% of the pregnant women were not Iranian, of which 7.4% were HBsAg+. There was no high-risk job, recent dentistry interruption or skin tattoo among the HBsAg+ cases.Conclusions:In this study, 1.56% of pregnant women were HBsAg+, which was higher than the previous studies. This increasing prevalence may be due to the increase of non-Iranians’ migrations to Iran. Control of migration and screening and vaccination of these groups should be considered by health policy makers.

BackgroundCancer-related fatigue (CRF) is experienced by 50% to 90% of cancer patients and can severely affect their quality of life and functional capacity. Several randomized trials have recommended various ways to alleviate the symptoms of CRF with or without recourse to medications.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of processed honey and royal jelly on the symptoms of CRF in cancer patients who are undergoing hormone therapy, chemotherapy, chemo-radiation, or radiotherapy.MethodsFifty-two participants from the patients who visited the oncology clinic of Shohada-e-Tajrish hospital in Tehran (Iran) between May 2013 and August 2014 were selected and divided into two groups. The study group (26 patients) received processed honey and royal jelly, while the control group received pure honey. Both groups were instructed to consume their 5mL supplement twice daily for 4 weeks. Both groups were assessed at the beginning of the study, after 2 weeks, and then at the end of 4 weeks of treatment. Fatigue was measured using a visual analogue fatigue scale (VAFS) and fatigue severity scale (FSS). The results were compared between the two arms of study, and equality of probability distributions was assessed using a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test.ResultsThe mean age of the 52 patients was 54.84. After two and four weeks of treatment with processed honey and royal jelly, VAFS and FSS due to treatment was better in the study group than in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively).ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, our study provided support for the use of processed honey and royal jelly to ameliorate CRF. The positive results of this study warrant further studies in this field.Clinical Trial RegistrationThe study was registered in the Iranian Clinical Trial Registry Center (http://www.irct.ir) with the registration code: IRCT2015081423426N1.FundingThe authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of osteomyelitis is a key step of diabetic foot management. Procalcitonin (PCT) is a novel infection marker. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of procalcitonin and other conventional infection markers and clinical findings in diagnosis of osteomyelitis in diabetic foot patients. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This diagnostic value study was carried out on ninety patients with diabetic infected foot ulcers admitted in Kashan Beheshti Hospital, 2016. After obtaining consent, 10 cc blood sample was taken for measuring serum PCT, CBC, ESR, CRP and FBS. Clinical characteristics of the wounds were noted. Magnetic resonance imaging of the foot was performed in all patients to diagnose osteomyelitis. All statistical analyses were done with the use of SPSS-16. RESULTS: PCT levels were 0.13 ± 0.02 ng/mili patients with osteomyelitis (n= 45) and 0.04 ± 0.02 ng/ml in patients without osteomyelitis (n= 45). PCT, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein was found significantly higher in patients with osteomyelitis (p< 0.001). The ROC curve was calculated for PCT. The area under the ROC curve for infection identification was 1 (p< 0.001). The best cut-off value for PCT was 0.085 ng/ml. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 100%, 97.8%,97.8% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this group of patients, PCT was useful to discriminate patients with bone infection. Also, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein can be used as a marker of osteomyelitis in diabetic patients.

Iron deficiency and cognitive achievement among school-aged children and adolescents in the United States [3] Nutritional anaemias [4] Body iron is associated with cognitive executive planning function in college women [5] Effect of iron deficiency anemia on audiovisual reaction time in adolescent girls [6] Prevalence of anemia among pregnant women and adolescent girls in 16 districts of India [7] Prevalence of iron deficiency anemia among adolescent schoolgirls from Kermanshah, Western Iran [8] Status of iron deficiency anemia in female students at third degree level of high school in Kashan [9] Iron deficiency anemia in a group of Turkish adolescents: frequency and contributing factors [10] Iron deficiency anemia in Dubai Medical College for Girls: A preliminary study [11] The study of iron deficiency anemia prevalence among aja nursing faculty students, Tehran [12] Iron deficiency anaemia in reproductive age women attending obstetrics and gynecology outpatient of university health centre in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia [13] A method for preparing silica-containing iron (III) oxide adsorbents for arsenic removal [14] Homocysteine and vitamin B12 status and iron deficiency anemia in female university students from Gaza Strip, Palestine [15] Interaction of iron deficiency anemia and hemoglobinopathies among college students and pregnant women: A multi center evaluation in India [16] Prevalence of irondeficiency anaemia among university students in Noakhali region, Bangladesh [17] Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia and thalassaemia trait among undergraduate medical students [18] Prevalence of anemia and microcytic anemia among women in northwestern Tabriz [19] Iron deficiency anemia in adolescents; a literature review [20] Socioeconomic status and puberty are the main factors determining anaemia in adolescent girls and boys in East Java, Indonesia [21] Mean hemoglobin levels in venous blood samples and prevalence of anemia in Japanese elementary and junior high school students [22] Assessment of the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia, by serum ferritin, in pregnant women of Southern Iran [23] Prevalence and severity of anemia and iron deficiency: Cross-sectional studies in adolescent schoolgirls in western Kenya [24] Estimating the intake of dietary factors related to iron deficiency anemia in non-pregnant women aged 15-45 years old in Zanjan [25] Risk and prevalence of anemia among women attending public and private universities Aims Anemia occurs for different reasons. However the Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) is one of the most prevalent causes of anemia in all human communities. The goal of the present study was to assess the effect of serum Ferritin deficiency on anemia in medical students. Materials & Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in all educational stages in 2011. 323 students were selected randomly. The hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, MCH, MCHC, ferritin and RDW indices were measured. The data was analyzed by SPSS 13 statistical software usi...