Ardabil University of Medical Sciences

With a five-year survival rate near 10%, pancreatic cancer is among the cancers with poor survival. Understanding the prognostic factors provides clinical insights for better decision-making. This meta-analysis aims to assess the prognostic value of the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade in patients with pancreatic cancer. A comprehensive search using "pancreatic cancer" and "ALBI grade" as keywords was conducted on the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Scopus until August 14, 2025. Studies investigating the prognostic value of the ALBI grade in patients with pancreatic cancer were included. The prognostic value was assessed through the hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). The meta-analysis was performed using R version 4.2.3. The meta-analysis comprised six studies with 1665 patients for overall survival (OS) analysis and three studies with 936 patients for recurrence-free survival/disease-free survival (RFS/DFS). A higher ALBI grade was associated with decreased OS in patients with pancreatic cancer (HR = 2.14, 95% CI [1.53, 3.00]). A higher ALBI grade was associated with decreased RFS/DFS (HR = 2.39, 95% CI [1.02, 5.58]). A sub-group analysis based on ALBI grade revealed that no significant differences between different grading approaches (high vs. low, 2 vs. 1 and 3 vs. 1) were observed in predicting OS. A higher ALBI grade was significantly associated with decreased OS and RFS/DFS in patients with pancreatic cancer. The ALBI grade could be considered a reliable prognostic marker for clinical applications in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Uterine myomas, benign genital tract tumors, commonly lead to troublesome symptoms in females of reproductive age. Despite various surgical and hormonal treatments available for myomas, their possible side effects warrant the exploration of complementary medicine for myoma management. Segmental electroacupuncture on acupoints located on myotomes with the same innervation as the uterus was performed for a patient diagnosed with myoma and menorrhagia, twice a week for 2 months in the acupuncture clinic of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed a reduction in the size of the myoma and ovarian cyst. Patient's heavy menstrual bleeding, clot passing and fatigue associated with the myoma decreased after 2 months of treatment and her quality of life adversely affected by myoma-related symptoms, improved. Electroacupuncture applied to acupoints that have the same innervation as the uterus has been shown to alleviate menorrhagia and dysmenorrhea associated with myomas, and it may serve as a safe substitute for conventional therapies for symptomatic myomas with low invasiveness and no adverse effects while preserving female fertility.

TBC1 domain-containing kinase (TBCK; MIM #616900) is implicated in autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorders with hypotonia and developmental delay. TBCK regulates mTOR signaling, lysosomal activity, and intracellular trafficking, but the full spectrum of pathogenic variants remains poorly understood. We investigated a consanguineous Iranian family with psychomotor delay. Whole exome sequencing (WES) identified a candidate TBCK variant, confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Functional studies were performed using amniotic fluid-derived cell culture, Western blotting, protein structural modeling, and molecular docking analyses. A novel homozygous frameshift variant, TBCK(NM_001163435.3): c.1969dupT (p.Cys657Leufs*17), was detected and absent from population databases. Clinically, the proband presented with severe developmental delay, hypotonia, seizures, and facial dysmorphism, and died at 9 months. Western blotting showed a significant decrease in TBCK expression (p < 0.007). Structural analysis of a theoretically modeled truncated protein indicated C-terminal truncation with loss of critical domains, while in silico docking demonstrated reduced binding affinity between mutant TBCK and Rab1B, suggesting impaired Rab-mediated trafficking. This study reports a novel pathogenic TBCK variant associated with severe neurodevelopmental delay, contributing to the clinical and molecular spectrum of TBCK syndrome. Our findings underscore the importance of genetic testing in rare neurodevelopmental disorders and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying TBCK dysfunction.

Late-stage cervical cancer diagnosis is a key driver of mortality in resource-limited settings. We aimed to synthesize available evidence on late-stage presentation and subsequently analyze the sources of variation and temporal trends across low- and middle-income countries. We performed a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of observational studies reporting stage distribution of invasive cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase from inception to August 1, 2025. We pooled study proportions using the Freeman-Tukey double-arcsine transformation and DerSimonian-Laird random-effects models. Prespecified sub-group analyses assessed potential sources of heterogeneity. Temporal trends were also examined. Analysis of 132 studies (189,716 women) from 37 low- and middle-income countries yielded a pooled late-stage prevalence of 51.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 48.2% to 54.2%, I2 = 98.9 %). Meta-regression identified the World Health Organization Universal Health Coverage index as a significant predictor of late-stage presentation (β = -0.0032, p = .002), whereas temporal analysis confirmed diagnostic stagnation over 3 decades (β = 0.003, p = .121). Significant variation was observed by region (Q = 44.90, p < .001), with the highest prevalence in Africa (55.9%, 95% CI 52.1% to 59.7%) and in low-income countries (55.9%, 95% CI 51.2% to 61.4%). Population-based registries reported significantly lower estimates (44.8%, 95% CI 38.4% to 51.2%) than clinical case series (Q = 9.43, p = .009). Sensitivity analyses confirmed that results were robust to study quality (p = .10) and staging frameworks (p = .40). One in 2 women in low- and middle-income countries is diagnosed at an advanced stage, with no significant improvement over time. The strong association between lower Universal Health Coverage levels and late presentation suggests that health-system-level barriers, rather than only individual-level factors, are primary drivers. Strengthening Universal Health Coverage frameworks and equitable screening access are quantitatively supported priorities to shift diagnosis toward earlier, curable stages.

Objective One of the most significant ethical challenges in using artificial intelligence (AI) is the presence of ethical dilemmas. An ethical dilemma, a type of ethical conflict, is defined as any incompatibility between motivations and desires, educational methods, values, and the fulfillment of moral duties and responsibilities. Ethical challenges associated with using AI in nursing care include dilemmas linked to patient privacy and data security, the impact on patient autonomy, informed consent, safety and clarity of guidelines, accountability, and transparency. Additionally, AI may have unintended consequences on nursing care provision. This study examined the ethical dilemmas of using AI in nursing through a systematic review. Materials &amp; Methods This research was conducted independently by two researchers based on the research objectives and the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) checklist. A comprehensive search of articles was performed from the beginning of January 2018 to the end of April 2025 across the databases Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, association for computing machinery (ACM) Digital Library, PubMed, as well as the Scientific Information Database (SID) and Magiran search engines. Moreover, the search employed a Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) strategy and the keywords “ethics,” “artificial intelligence,” and “nursing,” in both Persian and English, utilizing Boolean operators. The steps included designing the research question, article search and extraction, selection of relevant studies, tabulation and summarization of the information, and result reporting. Results Out of the 62 articles retrieved, 17 were reviewed and included in the study. The results revealed that, despite numerous benefits, using AI in healthcare is accompanied by many ethical challenges that must be considered. These challenges include safety and clarity of guidelines, informed consent, accountability, patient data privacy, and the effect on patient autonomy. Establishing clear guidelines and regulations is crucial to ensuring AI development and implementation in an ethical and accountable manner. The review showed that bias and discrimination received the most attention, being reported in 14 studies (82%). Following this, nurse autonomy was the second most frequently addressed topic, covered in 13 studies (76%), and the accountability and responsibility principle was also a focus in 12 studies (71%). The algorithmic transparency and interpretability topic was addressed in 10 studies (59%). Security, privacy, and human rights, as well as non-maleficence and beneficence, were each reported in 9 studies (53%). Justice was identified in 8 studies (47%), and finally, regulatory and legal frameworks were the least frequent ethical challenge or dilemma, appearing in 5 studies (29%). Conclusion This review demonstrates that ethical challenges in using AI in nursing care, particularly regarding justice, autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and accountability, are common. Therefore, a comprehensive examination and the creation of effective solutions are crucial to guarantee the ethical and responsible use of AI in healthcare.

Backyard poultry as reservoir and vector can transmit Newcastle disease virus to commercial poultry. The present study aimed to detect the seroprevalence of Newcastle disease virus among rural domestic birds in Ardabil province, northwest of Iran. In this study, a total of 940 birds’ serum samples (345, 376, and 219 in Ardabil, Namin, and Nir, respectively) were randomly collected from non-vaccinated backyard poultry aged 1–12 months from 40 villages in Ardabil province (15, 14, and 11 villages in Ardabil, Namin, and Nir, respectively). Hemagglutination inhibition test was performed on serum samples based on Office International des Epizooties (OIE) protocol to detect antibodies to Newcastle disease virus. In the hemagglutination inhibition test, 4log2 and higher were considered to be positive. In the present study, 23 (57.5%) villages out of 40 sampled villages were positive for Newcastle disease virus, which including ten (66.7%), eight (57.2%), and five (45.5%) villages in Ardabil, Namin, and Nir, respectively. Moreover, out of 940 birds sampled, 221 (23.5%) birds were found to be seropositive, with 84 (24.3%), 87 (23.2%), and 50 (22.8%) birds in Ardabil, Namin, and Nir, respectively. Among the investigated species (hens, turkeys, ducks, geese, roosters, pigeons, and others), the highest frequency of seropositives was observed in hens and roosters (p &lt; .05). The seroprevalence in young birds was significantly higher than in adults (p &lt; .05). Higher prevalence was in female birds than males and in summer than autumn. The findings of the current survey indicated a relatively high seroprevalence rate of Newcastle disease virus in both villages and birds, resulting in high virus circulation in the mentioned areas of rural domestic poultry, which can be a serious hazard for commercial poultry. Consequently, the implementation of appropriate prevention and control programs such as compliance biosecurity principles, routine vaccination, and continuous monitoring in rural poultry to reduce Newcastle disease virus prevalence, are essential. Cite this article as: Azizpour, A., &amp; Amirajam, Z. (2025). Seroprevalence of Newcastle disease virus among different non-vaccinated rural poultry species in Ardabil province, northwest of Iran. Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, 51, doi: 10.5152/actavet.2025.25114.

The widespread success of platinum-based drugs in the clinical treatment of different neoplasia has led the inorganic metal complexes to be at the forefront of the fight against cancer. In this context, thiosemicarbazones and their metal derivatives serve as promising starting points for developing anticancer agents. In current study, the new fluorescent thiosemicarbazone ligand L and its complexes with some non-toxic first row transition metals such as Mn(II), Fe(III), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) metal ions were attained as LMn, LFe, LNi, LCu, and LZn complexes. The molecular structures of the compounds were proved by chemico-physico techniques. The anti-proliferative activity of these compounds has been evaluated on human liposarcoma (SW-872) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) using the MTT assay. The morphology of cell death and cell cycle studied in SW-872 cancerous cells was performed via flow cytometry. Eventually, imaging of treated cancerous cells with LMn and LZn complexes was performed by fluorescence microscopy. Compounds were designed in order to achieve a hydrophilic/lipophilic balance and synthesized through a condensation reaction. All compounds revealed high solubility in water and remained stable for more than 72h in water as a neutral biological solvent. LMn and LZn complexes manifested good activity on SW-872 cancerous cells after 48h exposure time ( IC50: 134.8 ± 2.82µg/mL and IC50: 144.6 ± 2.07µg/mL, respectively). The morphology of cell death in SW-872 cancerous cells treated with the LZn complex showed an apoptosis type cell death. Additionally, cell cycle studies declared the cell cycle arrest in the S phase for LZn. In conclusion, the development of water-soluble thiosemicarbazone complexes with intrinsic fluorescent properties promises to facilitate the detection of these compounds in living cells, aiding the investigation of their wide-ranging biological activities.

BackgroundPartial monosomy of chromosome 21q is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations including intellectual disability, developmental delay, and distinctive craniofacial features. Concurrent deletions involving chromosome 15q26 are also infrequent and typically benign.ObjectiveThis study reports a rare case of de novo unbalanced translocation between chromosomes 15q26.3 and 21q22.11, resulting in partial monosomy 21q and a benign deletion of 15q26.3, highlighting the importance of comprehensive cytogenetic and molecular analysis.MethodsPeripheral blood samples from the proband and her parents were analyzed using GTG-banding karyotype, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and whole-genome oligo-array comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH).ResultsThe proband, a 36-year-old woman with intellectual disability and developmental delay, exhibited a karyotype of 45,XX,der(15)t(15;21)(q26.3;q22.11),-21. Array CGH revealed a 17.32 Mb deletion at 21q11.2q22.11 encompassing 37 genes, and a benign 673 kb deletion at 15q26.3 involving 13 genes. Clinical features included multiple craniofacial dysmorphisms, low birth weight, short stature, and dental anomalies.ConclusionThis case represents the first reported instance from Iran of a pathogenic partial monosomy 21q due to an unbalanced translocation with chromosome 15q26.3. The findings underscore the critical role of integrated cytogenetic and molecular diagnostics in identifying complex chromosomal rearrangements and contribute to the understanding of genotype–phenotype correlations in partial monosomy 21q.