Background:Tuberculosis remains a global epidemic, especially in developing countries, including Iran. Rapid diagnosis of active Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection plays a critical role in controlling the spread of tuberculosis. Conventional methods may take up to several weeks or longer to produce results. In addition to multiplicity of steps involved in conventional detection, including isolation, identification and drug susceptibility testing, the slow growth rate of M. tuberculosis is also responsible for this lengthy time.Objectives:The aim of this study was to compare the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and culture methods for the detection of M. tuberculosis in different clinical specimens.Materials and Methods:This study was performed on different samples (urine, gastric aspirate, bronchoalveolar lavage, pleural fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, ascetic fluid and joint fluid specimens) of tuberculosis suspected patients. M. tuberculosis DNA was extracted directly from different samples using two different protocols. Next, PCR was performed using three sets of specific primers to detect members of Mycobacterium genus, M. tuberculosis complex and non-tuberculosis Mycobacteria. The results were then compared with that of the culture method, which is considered as the gold standard method.Results:The concordance rate between the three sets of primers was calculated and IS6110/buffer PCR method showed good agreement with the LJ culture method (κ = 0.627, P < 0.0001). The sensitivity of IS6110/buffer PCR was 58.33%, with specificity of 77.78%; the positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 78.26%, respectively. Buffer method for DNA extraction was proved to give a higher accuracy to PCR in comparison with the boiling method.Conclusions:PCR method is a valuable, cost-effective and alternative tool for quick diagnosis of active tuberculosis in different clinical specimens.

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Background: Survival time is one of the indicators used for evaluation of the quality of care in different types of malignancies, including breast cancer. The present study aimed to estimate the survival rate of breast cancer and its related factors among Iranian patients. Methods: Overall, 3148 cases of breast cancer who referred to the Cancer Research Center in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran during 1994-2017 participated in this longitudinal study. Survival estimates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Bayesian generalized Birnbaum–Saunders model with cure rate from geometric distribution. Clinical, pathological, and biological variables as potential prognostic factors were entered in univariate and multivariate analyses. In order to identify the significant prognostic factors, 95% highest posterior density (HPD) intervals were used. Results: The overall 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25-year survival rate were 95%, 75%, 60%, 47%, 46% and 46%, respectively. A significant relation was observed between survival time and the variables such as age, size of tumor, number of lymph nodes, stage, histological grade, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and lymphovascular invasion. Conclusion: The findings of this study might help the health managers to plan long-term programs considering regional determinants, public education, and screening for early detection of breast cancer cases which can eventually influence the overall survival rate of these patients.

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The estimation of flood hydrographs has a high level of importance in ungauged watersheds.Methods currently being widely used for the estimation of flood hydrographs utilize historical rainfallrunoff data. For ungauged watersheds, the unit hydrograph may be derived using the geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph (GIUH) and geomorphoclimatic instantaneous unit hydrograph (GcIUH) approaches. This research is aimed at comparing the accuracy of GcIUH-based Clark (GcIUH-Clark) and GIUH-based Nash (GIUH-Nash) models. For this purpose, the Clark-IUH model option of the HEC-HMS package and the Nash-IUH model were employed with and without the use of historical rainfall-runoff data, respectively, to determine shape, peak discharge, and time to peak of direct surface run-off (DSRO) hydrographs. The case study in this study was the Kasilian watershed, located in Mazandaran Province of Iran, with an area of 67.5 km 2 . The results obtained from these models were compared with observed DSRO hydrographs based on 3 performance criteria, namely EFF, PEP, and PETP.The results clearly revealed the accuracy and applicability of these 2 models (the GcIUH-Clark model and the GIUH-Nash model) for derivation of DSRO hydrographs.