A Review of the Prevalence and Diagnostic Points of Cryptosporidium Species in Immunocompromised and Healthy Human Samples in Iran

Cryptosporidium species are important intestinal pathogens with widespread distribution in humans and other hosts. Whereas the parasite causes acute and self-limiting gastroenteritis in people with healthy immune systems, many reports on this infection around the world are limited to people with defective or suppressed immune systems who suffer from a persistent and deadly infection. Using laboratory-serological and molecular methods for the detection of Cryptosporidium species in immunocompromised and healthy human samples, recent studies in Iran indicated that the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in different samples varied between 0 to 14%. The samples in Iranian studies included human fecal and diarrheic samples from diarrheic children, patients with gastroenteritis, immunocompromised individuals, and people in contact with livestock. Furthermore, some species were reported based on molecular studies including Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis. Some studies have also reported Cryptosporidium meleagridis. In this review study, data were collected regarding the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis in high-risk individuals such as children and immunocompromised individuals. The results revealed that the higher prevalence of C. parvum in Iranian studies in the last 10 years may be attributed to the transmission of infection from animal sources.

A SHORT STORY OF MULLAH NASREDDIN IN THE ANBARĀNI DIALECT OF THE TALYSHI LANGUAGE: TEXT, TRANSLATION, GLOSSARY AND COMMENTS

Talyshi, classified as belonging to the Northwestern Iranian group of languages, includes a wide range of dialects, which, based on phonological, grammatical and lexical factors, are traditionally divided into three main clusters: Northern, Central and Southern (see Bazin 1980; Stilo 1981; Yarshater 1996). Anbarāni is a Northern Talyshi dialect spoken in Anbarān district (baxš) of Namin sub-provincial district (šahrestān) (Ardabil province) of Iran, in the city of Anbarān and adjacent villages. Relatively a large number of studies deal with the Northern Talyshi dialects spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan. For example, “The Talyshi Texts” by Professor of Iranian Studies Boris Miller, includes short stories, anecdotes, conversations, poetic verses (see Miller 1930) written down in these dialects. Unlike the Northern Talyshi dialects spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Anbarāni dialect is little known and less studied therefore the number of texts, published in this dialect, is quite limited. The aim of this paper is to broaden the scope of knowledge on Anbarāni by introducing a short story of Mullah Nasreddin and analyzing a number of morphological, syntactical and lexical dialectal features based on the text.

THE OUTSTANDING SCIENTIST-ORIENTALIST, IRANIST, ART CRITIC (IN MEMORY OF A. A. IVANOV)

The article is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding scientist – the scholar of Iranian studies, art critic, head of the Department of the East of the State Hermitage Museum A. A. Ivanov, who worked at the Hermitage for al-most 70 years and distinguished himself with encyclopedic knowledge in many fields of science, was the greatest expert on antique values of many countries of the East. His role in the study of the culture and art of Iran, the study and promotion of Kubachinsky art is evaluated. The great role of A. A. is Ivanov in the study of Dagestan culture, arts and crafts of the village of Kubachi.

Ancient Iran

One major challenge of the study of ancient Iran is that it does not exist in Western academia as a discrete field of study. Prehistory, for example, which ends in the 3rd millennium in Elam but persists into the 1st millennium bce elsewhere on the Iranian plateau, has been studied primarily by anthropologists, the Iron Age by Assyriologists, the Parthians by classical archaeologists, and the Sasanians by scholars of Iranian studies. As a result, ancient Iran does not belong to any individual academic discipline, and in the context of Near Eastern studies, perhaps its most obvious home, it has been treated largely as an ancillary field. Thus Iran has seen less archaeological fieldwork, including excavation, regional survey, and study of standing architectural remains, than other parts of the Near East. This problem has been further compounded by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which effectively barred foreign archaeologists from the country and severed contacts between them and their Iranian colleagues. This situation has improved in recent decades, but there are nevertheless relatively few scholars working on ancient Iran and comparatively little scholarship on its architecture, especially compared to Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, or the Mediterranean. To study Iranian architecture, therefore, it is necessary to extract relevant examples from archaeological reports, both preliminary and final. This is especially true for prehistoric periods before the advent of stone masonry, but even for the Sasanian period most architectural scholarship documents individual sites or buildings. The titles listed here thus provide only the raw material for studying ancient Iranian architecture. This bibliography is dedicated to the memory of David Stronach (b. 1931–d. 2020), a prolific and consummate archaeologist and scholar whose contributions to the study of Iranian architecture have been enormous.

Genotypic and phenotypic prevalence of Nocardia species in Iran: First systematic review and meta-analysis of data accumulated over years 1992-2021

Background Nocardia species belong to the aerobic actinomycetes group of bacteria which are gram-positive and partially acid-fast Bacilli. These bacteria may sometimes be associated with nosocomial infections. Nocardia diseases are not required to be reported to public health authorities in Iran. Hence, the present study was designed to determine the prevalence of human Nocardia spp. in Iran by using a systematic review and meta-analysis according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-Analyses statement. Methods The data of the prevalence of Nocardia species were collected from databases such as Embase, PubMed/MEDLINE via Ovid, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar as well as national Iranian databases, including SID, Magiran. Analyses were conducted by STATA 14.0. Results The meta-analyses showed that the proportion of Nocardia spp. in Iranian studies varied from 1.71(1.17, 2.24) to 0.46(0.09, 0.83). N. asteroides (21% [95% CI 1.17, 2.24]), N. cyriacigeorgica (17% [95% CI 0.99, 1.77]), N. facanica (10% [95% CI 0.75, 1.00]) were considered to be common causative agents. Conclusions Our study presents that despite the fact that Nocardia spp. are normally are saprophytic organisms, are currently accounts as emerging pathogens due to an increase in immunocompromised patients among Iranian populations. Considering our results, the establishment of advanced diagnostic facilities for the rapid detection of Nocardia infections are required for optimal therapeutic strategies of Nocardia spp. in Iran. Our findings could help the programmatic management of the disease within the context of Nocardia control programs.

Requirements for Third Generation University: A Conceptual Review of Iranian Studies

Introduction: For more than a decade, Iranian researchers have been concerned about the third- generation university and have conducted various studies in this field. Collecting and analyzing the ideas presented in these studies may pave the way for finding a path for transformation into third-generation university. This study tries to introduce the requirements of moving Iranian universities towards the third generation university by reviewing reliable articles. Methods: This study formed on the conceptual review method using the framework introduced by Arksey and O'Malley in eight steps. All original articles of the last three years (2017-2019) in journals with scientific-research index were extracted from the database for information of national publication and the database of the Scientific Information Center for education, culture and research. By considering the exclusion criteria, 12 articles remained in this study. Result: Conceptual review of articles, separation and recombination of components led to the formation of 9 intra-university requirements divided into: intermediate requirements (entrepreneurship culture and development), basic requirements (vision, mission, goals and strategy, and management and leadership), and providing platform and support (entrepreneurial policy-making, and university development). Conclusion: It appears that the proposed model in this study is suitable for starting to move towards university entrepreneurship and taking the first steps. Of course, depending on the growth rate of entrepreneurship in each university, intense studies of these requirements may be necessary.

On the Concept of Iran and the Iranian Cultural Sphere

This book is in fact an attempt to make the geographical borders between today's Iran, its neighbors and the Persian as one of the historical cultural achievements more precise. Since the aim is interdisciplinary the participation of international scholars - but also international artists - this book serves a new format, which stimulates the reader to further research, perhaps also instructs for innovation. If researchers of the field consisting of contemporary and ancient Iranian studies, music ethnologists, filmmakers, historians, poets/songwriters, philologists, Islamic studies scientists, sociologists and political scientists contribute, the result will be this book. With contributions by Safar Abdullah, Homayun Alam, Ali M. Ansari, John Baily, Reza Deghati, Bert Fragner, Gabriele Dold Ghadar, Ahmad Karimi Hakkak, Philipp Gerrit Kreyenbroek, Sardar Kohistani, Makhmalbaf Film House, Nahid Morshedlou, Richard Stoneman, Hamid Reza Yousefi and Farid Zoland.