Abstract

Background and Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate chemical composition, antibacterial and antifungal effect and antioxidant property of Salvia officinalis, Mentha piperita and Mentha Longifolia.

Material and Methods: At first, chemical analysis of essential oils was determined using GC/MS. Then the antibacterial and antifungal effect of tested essential oils on L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, S. typhimurium and E. coli and two fungal strains including A. niger and A. flavus were determined using disk diffusion agar and broth microdilution methods.  The antioxidant property of essential oils was evaluated using DPPH assay.

Results: Linalool (14.38%), l. menthone (19.03%) and δ-terpinene (21.78%) were the major components of Salvia officinalis, Mentha piperita and Mentha Longifolia, respectively. all tested essential oils had antibacterial effect on foodborne pathogens, which was comparable with tetracycline’s effect. In addition, all essences had appropriate antioxidant potential compared with BHT.

Conclusion: based on the results, Salvia officinalis, Mentha piperita and Mentha Longifolia can be introduced as appropriate natural preservatives.

Keywords: Salvia officinalis; Mentha piperita; Mentha Longifolia, Antibacterial Agents.

Abstract

Background and Objective:  With regard to high prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its being significantly affected by nutritional factors, we aimed  to determine the relationship between  zinc serum level and  ADHD.

Material and Methods:  This ex-post- facto (causal comparative research) design study was conducted on 60 children, selected via convenience sampling. Thirty of them were ADHD children diagnosed by a psychiatrist using DSM IV checklist, as a case group, and the rest were healthy ones located in control group. Having their family informed consent, their Zinc level was measured via Colorimetric method.

Results: The results show that Zinc serum level of ADHD children are lower than that of healthy ones.  Using t- test, it was indicated that the difference is not significant. Besides, the result of Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there is no significant relation between Zinc and ADHD.

Conclusion: given that the zinc level was lower in ADHD children, the difference was not significant. Therefore, we recommend conducting further research with a larger sample size.

Key words: Zinc; ADHD; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity.

Abstract

Background and Objective: Multi-criteria comparison between laboratories is important for laboratory management to improve performance and for policymakers to make strategic decisions. In this study, those aspects of performance are considered that are beyond the traditional evaluation carried out by checklist.

Material and Methods: After the identifying the effective measures, a comprehensive performance evaluation model was presented and the performance of each laboratory was evaluated regarding the use of resources, including personnel, materials, equipment, space and facilities. Data envelopment analysis (DEA), using output -oriented model with constant returns to scale (CRS), was used to evaluate the efficiency of the labs.

Results: the input variables were different kinds of the costs related to staff  , material , equipment , space and facilities ; physical standards associated with  personnel, equipment,  materials , space and facilities; process standards: safety , pre-test process , test process , quality control and after-test process  ; systems standards related to purchase and inventory, communications and information.

Conclusion: The application of the proposed procedure for comparing the performance of 18 selected laboratories has shown that only 17% were efficient. The model is also used to determine the causes of inefficiency and to propose the policy for improving performance.

Keywords: Efficiency; Diagnosis, Laboratory; Operations Research

Abstract

       Background and objective: Peroxidases catalyze protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation. The activity of these enzymes in nerve cells is involved in causing disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. This study investigated the effect of Citrus aurantium, Foeniculum vulgare and Rosmarinus officinalis essential oils on activity of peroxidase enzyme.

      Methods: All three medicinal plants were dried at room temperature. Their essential oil was extracted by steam distillation using a Clevenger apparatus. Optimal reaction conditions were determined in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and guaiacol as substrate and hydrogen donor, respectively. Enzyme kinetics of zucchini peroxidase were evaluated by increasing the amount of essential oils in optimal reaction conditions. Enzyme reaction rate for each of the essential oils and the K_m and V_max values were determined.

      Results: The results indicated concentration-dependent effect of the extracted essential oils on enzyme kinetics at optimum temperature of 50 °C and optimal pH of 6.5. The essential oil of Citrus aurantium had non-competitive inhibitory effects on the enzyme with K_m of 6.25 mM, while the enzyme’s V_max significantly reduced by increasing the concentration. Foeniculum vulgare showed mixed inhibition effect with K_m of 7.14 mmol per 20 μl of the essential oil, but had a decreasing effect on the V_max in smaller amounts. Finally, Rosmarinus officinalis showed activating effects by reducing the K_m to 4-5.88 mM.

        Conclusion: The essential oils of Citrus aurantium and Foeniculum vulgare are inhibitors of the peroxidase enzyme and can be further studied as natural herbal medicines.

ABSTRACT

        Background and Objective: The current challenge of diabetes mellitus is to prevent its complications. These complications are directly associated with hyperglycemia in diabetics. The HbA1c measurement is essential for long-term glycemic control. Synchronization of HbA1c measurement is important in order to avoid discrepancies between results reported by laboratories. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy, precision and agreement of five HbA1c measurement methods with HPLC reference method.

       Methods: HbA1c levels of 55 samples were measured using six methods of microcapillary electrophoresis (Sepia), enzymatic method (Pishtaz Teb), immunoturbidometry (Pars Azmoon), boronate affinity (Nycocard), immunofluorescence (ichroma) and Tosoh G8 HPLC.

       Results: The five tested methods showed a good agreement with the HPLC method with correlation coefficient of less than 95%. Regression testing of HPLC method and other methods showed slope of 0.99 (P<0.05) for Sebia, 1.02 (P<0.05) for Pishtaz Teb, 0.79 (P<0.05) for Pars Azmoon, 0.82 (P<0.05) for Nycocard and 0.89 (P<0.05) for ichroma. Average inaccuracy for the Sebia, Pishtaz Teb, Pars Azmoon, Nycocard and ichroma in comparison with the HPLC reference method were -0.09, -0.004, -0.75, -0.79 and -0.78, respectively.

         Conclusion: The Sebia microcapillary method and Pishtaz teb enzymatic method have appropriate accuracy and precision. Therefore, these methods can be used as alternatives to the HPLC method for HbA1c measurement. Other methods such as Pars Azmoon, Nycocard and ichroma have significant shortcomings in terms of accuracy.

     

ABSTRACT

        Background and Objectives: sperm motility mainly depends on aerobic glycolysis, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a key enzyme in the last step of this process. On the other hand, fructose is considered as the main energy source for sperm motility. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the LDH activity and fructose levels and their correlation with sperm motion parameters in normospermic and asthenozospermic males.

       Methods: In this case-control study, 96 normospermic and 96 asthenozospermic males were enrolled.  The semen samples were analyzed by computer assisted semen analysis to identify sperm motion parameters. Seminal plasma fructose levels were measured using Seliwanoff's test. LDH activity in the samples was evaluated using commercially available kits. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16).

       Results: The levels of LDH activity and fructose concentration were not different between the two groups. There was no correlation found between LDH activity and fructose concentration or sperm motility parameters. However, LDH was significantly correlated with sperm concentration in both groups.

      Conclusion: Although LDH activity and fructose levels seem to be influenced by sperm motility, other factors such as sperm concentration and total sperm count can also affect their seminal plasma levels. Thus, when the sperm concentrations are equal in study groups, the level of these factors are expected to be equal.

         Keywords: Lactate Dehydrogenase, Fructose, Sperm Motility, CASA.

ABSTRACT

       Background and Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate epidemiology of risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission, and determine the association of its genotypes with viral load and response to treatment in patients referred to the Infectious Disease Clinic of Khorramabad.

        Methods: The study included patients infected with hepatitis C referred to the Infectious Disease Clinic of Khorramabad during 2011-14. Those who met the inclusion criteria were referred to counseling centers for risky behaviors. After collecting demographic and epidemiologic data on the modes of transmission, blood samples were collected for more accurate testing. The erum of patients with hepatitis C was evaluated in terms of HCV genotype and viral load using PCR.

        Results: Among 120 patients studied, 102 (85%) were male and 18 (15%) were female. The most prevalent genotypes were 3a (63.8%), 1a (25%), 1a/1b (5.2%) and 2 (1.7%). Intravenous drug abuse was the main route of transmission of hepatitis C in the study.  The genotypes 3a and 1a had a clear correlation with intravenous drug abuse and history of blood transfusion (P<0.05). It was also found that the patients with genotype 3a show a better initial response to treatment with interferon.

       Conclusion: The study shows that intravenous drug abuse is the main route of transmission, which highlights the need for intervention and education in this group of patients to prevent disease transmission.

         Keywords: Hepatitis C, Genotype, Intravenous Drug Abuse, HIV, Interferon.

ABSTRACT

          Background and Objectives: Diabetes is one of the most common endocrine disorders, which is associated with changes in testicular tissue. The present study investigated therapeutic and prophylactic properties of bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) juice on testicular tissue and spermatogenesis process.

          Methods: Forty streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats aged three months with mean weight of 170-200 g were divided into 4 groups including 1) control group, 2) diabetic control group, 3) diabetic group receiving 100mg/kg C. aurantium extract and 4) diabetic group receiving 200 mg/kg C. aurantium extract. The extract was administered to the rats for 56 days by gavage. After this period, the rats were anesthetized with ether and then their testes were fixed in 10% formalin for sample preparation. The testicular tissue was examined by haematoxylin and eosin staining under a light microscope with 10 and 40 magnifications. The mean number of Leydig and Sertoli cells, spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids were calculated.

           Results: A significant decrease was observed in mean weight of left testis in diabetic rats compared to that of controls (P≤0.05). The mean weight of testes showed no significant difference in diabetic rats treated with 200 mg/kg of extract compared with the control group. Diabetes reduced the number of spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids and Sertoli cells. The number of cells increased significantly in the diabetic group receiving 200 mg/kg of extract. The spermatocytes and spermatids in both groups treated with the extract increased significantly.

          Conclusion: This study shows the positive effect of bitter orange extract on complications of diabetes in testicular tissue. Therefore, this extract could be used for therapeutic purposes.

ABSTRACT
       Background and Objective: Nanobacteria are nanometer-scale particles with different shapes, which have been a subject of debate in modern microbiology. They belong to a proposed class of living organisms, specifically cell-walled microorganisms with a size much smaller than the generally accepted lower limit for life. Since some microorganisms are able to continue growth at high temperatures, we aimed to isolate thermophilic bacteria from Gheinarcheh hot spring in Ardabil (Iran) and identify the characteristics of these microorganisms.
       Methods: Microbial mats were found in cultures from Gheinarcheh hot spring in North West of Iran. Synthetic media were prepared and used for isolation of protease-producing thermophilic bacteria, and identification of the features of microbial mats. Cultures were incubated at temperature range of 60-120 oC. Scanning electron microscopy, DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction were used to further identify characteristics of the microbial biofilms.
        Results: Microbial biofilms of nanoparticles were detected in our samples. Growth of the bacteria increased at all temperatures tested. Results of scanning electron microscopy showed nano-sized particles in the scale of 60 nm. No band was visible in gel electrophoresis of polymerase chain reaction products.
Conclusion: This study is the first to report the presence of hyperthermophilic nanobacteria in Iran.
      Keywords: Nanobacteria, Hyperthermophile, Microbial Mat.

ABSTRACT
         Background and Objectives: Acinetobacter species are responsible for a wide range of clinical complications in hospitalized patients. Antimicrobial treatment of clinical strains of Acinetobacter baumannii may be compromised due to multiple-drug resistance to b-lactams. Aim of this study was to determine antibiotic resistance patterns and frequency of PER and VEB genes in A. baumannii isolates from hospitalized patients.
          Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 clinical strains of A. baumannii were isolated from patients hospitalized in Qom (Iran) using specific culture media and biochemical tests. The disk diffusion method was performed to determine resistance to some antibiotics. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for cefepime and ceftazidime was evaluated. Identification of ESBL-producing strains and presence of the PER and VEB genes were determined by combined disk test and polymerase chain reaction, respectively.
         Results: The isolates were highly resistant against cefixime, ceftriaxone and cefepime. Lowest level of resistance was against polymyxin B. In addition, 70% of the isolates were multi-drug resistant. MIC<128 µg/ml to ceftazidime and cefepime was observed in 84% and 91% of the strains, respectively. Moreover, 21% of the strains were ESBL-positive and frequency of the PER and VEB genes was 47% and 32%, respectively.
        Conclusion: Majority of A. baumannii isolates are highly resistant to the tested antibiotics. Due to presence of the PER and VEB genes in the isolated strains, there is the possibility of resistance spread to other bacteria. Therefore, it is recommended to modify the consumption pattern for antibiotics and pay more attention to standards of nosocomial infection control.
         Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii, Drug resistance, PER, VEB.

ABSTRACT
         Background and Objectives: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. Cardiovascular disease is one of the most important complications of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of six weeks of swimming on malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in the heart tissue of mice with breast cancer.
         Method: Breast cancer was induced in 30 female Balb/c mice (6-8 weeks old, weighing 150-200 g) by tumor transplantation. The tumor site was examined every day for the formation or absence of tumor. After becoming familiar with the laboratory environment and swimming pool, the subjects were randomly divided into three equal groups: 1. healthy control, 2. cancer control, and 3. swimming-cancer. The swimming group performed swimming training 60 minutes/day, five days a week, for six weeks. After the intervention, the levels of SOD and MDA in the heart tissue samples were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 16) using independent t-test at significance of 0.05.
         Results: The results showed that induction of breast cancer was accompanied by a significant increase in MDA and a significant decrease in SOD in the heart tissue of mice. Participation in the six-week swimming significantly reversed these effects.
         Conclusion: Swimming could have beneficial effects in improving oxidative factors in breast cancer patients.
         Keywords: Breast Neoplasms, Heart, Malondialdehyde, Superoxide Dismutase, Swimming.

ABSTRACT
            Background and objectives: Coronaviruses are the main causes of respiratory tract infections in humans. They are also the second leading cause of common cold after rhinoviruses, and can lead to otitis media and asthma. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular detection of coronaviruses in clinical samples of patients with flu-like symptoms.
            Methods: Specimens were taken from 297 patients with flu-like symptoms who were referred to the influenza laboratory of Golestan University of Medical Sciences during 2012-2014. RNA was extracted from the specimens using an RNA extraction kit. Accordingly, RNA was used for cDNA synthesis and GAPDH was used as the internal control. Synthesized cDNA was investigated for presence of human coronaviruses genome with real-time polymerase chain reaction using specific primers. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16.0 software. 
            Results: The coronavirus genome was not detected in the specimens of patients with flu-like symptoms.
            Conclusion: Genome of human coronaviruses is absent in samples from patients with upper respiratory tract infections and influenza-like symptoms, which may indicate the low prevalence of the virus in the Golestan Province, Iran.
            KEYWORDS: Human coronaviruses, Upper respiratory tract infection, Golestan Province.

ABSTRACT
             Background and objectives: Utilization of essential oils instead of chemical preservatives has received significant attention in recent years. The present study aims to evaluate chemical composition and antibacterial and antioxidant properties of essential oils of Zataria multiflora, Artemisia deracunculus and Mentha piperita.
             Methods: Chemical profile of the essential oils was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The microwell dilution and agar disk diffusion methods were used to evaluate the antibacterial properties of the essential oils. Total phenolic content, β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching test and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays were carried out to determine the antioxidant properties.
             Results: Menthol (39.18%) and mentone (21.64%) were the main components of the essential oil of M. piperita, while estragol (34.75%) and limonene (15.72%) were the major components of the essential oil of A. dracunculus. The main components of the essential oil of Z. multiflora were carvacrol (36.81%) and thymol (33.04%). The essential oils of M. piperita and Z. multiflora showed greater antimicrobial effects. Moreover, Z. multiflora showed the greatest antioxidant activity among the essential oils. The total phenolic content of Z. multiflora was 228.14±0.45 mg gallic acid equivalent/g.
             Conclusion: Given their favorable antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, the essential oils of Z. multiflora, A. deracunculus and M. piperita can be used as natural food preservatives.
             Keywords: Zataria multiflora, Artemisia deracunculus, Mentha piperita, antibacterial effect, antioxidant effect.   

ABSTRACT
              Background and Objectives: Prostate cancer is a highly prevalent malignancy with a high mortality rate in men. Many studies have investigated the diagnostic value of various genes involved in prostate cancer, but there is no data for Kallikrein 2 (KLK2) and Kallikrein 3 (KLK3) expression patterns among Iranian patients. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the expression of these two genes in Iranian patients with prostate cancer.
              Methods: In this case-control study, three groups consisting of healthy individuals, patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and patients with prostate cancer were studied. Peripheral blood samples were collected from all subjects, mRNA was extracted after cell lysis, and cDNA was synthesized. Real-time PCR was performed to assess gene expression levels relative to a reference gene (18s rRNA gene).
              Results: The KLK2 gene was overexpressed in patients with prostate cancer. KLK2 expression differed significantly between the cancer patients and controls. Relative expression of the KLK3 gene in the BPH group was higher than that in the control and cancer groups. However, we observed no significant difference in the expression of KLK3 between the control and cancer subjects.
              Conclusion: We demonstrate that analysis of KLK2 expression is a favorable method of diagnosing prostate cancer and discriminating normal individuals from those with BPH or prostate cancer. We also found that the KLK3 gene is highly overexpressed in individuals with BPH, which might indicate that this gene is not cancer-specific.
              Keywords: Prostatic Neoplasm, Prostatic Hyperplasia, Kallikreins, Gene Expression.

ABSTRACT
             Background and objectives: Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common type of cancer in the world. Considering the adverse effects of anticancer drugs and the emergence of chemotherapy resistance, plant-derived extracts and their constituents could be a valuable source of novel anticancer drugs. In this study, we investigated cytotoxic effects of Juniperus excelsa leaf extract on esophageal cancer cell line KYSE-30 and healthy fibroblast cells (HU02 cells).
             Methods: KYSE-30 cells and HU02 cells were cultured in DMEM medium. The cells were treated with different concentrations (1, 10, 100, 500 μg/ml) of the J. excelsa leaf extract for 24 and 48 hours. The cytotoxic effects of the extract were assessed using the MTT assay. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 19) and GraphPad Prism 5.
             Results: According to results of the MTT assay, the Juniperus excelsa’s leaf extract exerted significant cytotoxic effects on esophagus cancer cell line (KYSE-30) and healthy fibroblast cells (HU02) in a time- and dose-dependent manner (P<0.05).
             Conclusion: The J. excelsa leaf extract has cytotoxic effects against KYSE-30 esophageal cancer cells while causing lesser toxicity on healthy fibroblast cells. Our findings suggest that the potential anticancer effects of this extract should be further exploited in future studies.
             Keywords: Cytotoxic, MTT, Hu02, Kyse-30, Juniperus excelsa.

ABSTRACT
           Background and Objective: Strongyloides infection is usually asymptomatic in healthy individuals; however, immunocompromised patients are subject to potential hyperinfection involvement. Hereby, we report disseminated and hyperinfection strongyloidiasis in two immunosuppressed patients from north of Iran, an endemic region for Strongyloides stercoralis.
           Case description: After assessment of clinical symptoms, disseminated strongyloidiasis            was identified in the first case with pemphigus vulgaris by the presence of abundant larvae in direct stool smears and gastric biopsy. The second patient had metastatic carcinoma and was hospitalized with complicated symptoms. The infection was diagnosed by detection of numerous first-stage larvae in wet mount stool smears and agar plate analysis. Despite antiparasitic treatment, both patients died during the hospitalization.
           Conclusion: Delayed diagnosis of active strongyloidiasis in immunosuppressed patients can lead to hyperinfection syndrome. Thus, screening for S. stercoralis infection in these patients is recommended in endemic regions to reduce mortalities.
           Keywords: Strongyloides stercoralis, Disseminated strongyloidiasis, Hyperinfection.

ABSTRACT
              Background and Objectives: Cerebral ischemia causes irreversible structural and functional damage in certain areas of the brain, especially in the hippocampus. The aim of this study was to examine effects of exercise preconditioning on neuronal cell death and expression of neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in the hippocampal CA1 region following transient global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rat.
              Methods: Twenty-one male Wistar rats (weighing 250-300 g) were randomly divided into three groups (control+healthy, control+ischemia and exercise+ischemia). The rats in the exercise group ran on a treadmill five sessions a week for eight weeks. Ischemia was induced by occlusion of both common carotid arteries for 45 minutes. Cresyl violet staining was performed to assess cell death, and real-time PCR was carried out to evaluate expression of NT-4 and TrkB.
              Results: Cerebral ischemia was associated with significant neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region (P<0.05). Exercise significantly decreased the ischemia-induced cell death (P<0.05). NT-4 expression was significantly lower in the control+ischemia group and in the exercise+ischemia group compared to the control+healthy group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the control+ischemia group and the exercise+ischemia group in terms of NT-4 expression (P˃0.05). Moreover, TrkB expression did not differ significantly between the groups (P˃0.05).
              Conclusion: When used as a preconditioning stimulant before the induction of cerebral ischemia, exercise could have neuroprotective effects against cerebral ischemia-induced cell death, but it has no significant effect on NT-4 and TrkB expression.
              Keywords: Exercise Preconditioning, Ischemia/Reperfusion, NT-4, TrkB, Cell death.

ABSTRACT
              Background and Objectives: Cerebral ischemia causes irreversible structural and functional damage in certain areas of the brain, especially in the hippocampus. The aim of this study was to examine effects of exercise preconditioning on neuronal cell death and expression of neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in the hippocampal CA1 region following transient global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rat.
              Methods: Twenty-one male Wistar rats (weighing 250-300 g) were randomly divided into three groups (control+healthy, control+ischemia and exercise+ischemia). The rats in the exercise group ran on a treadmill five sessions a week for eight weeks. Ischemia was induced by occlusion of both common carotid arteries for 45 minutes. Cresyl violet staining was performed to assess cell death, and real-time PCR was carried out to evaluate expression of NT-4 and TrkB.
              Results: Cerebral ischemia was associated with significant neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region (P<0.05). Exercise significantly decreased the ischemia-induced cell death (P<0.05). NT-4 expression was significantly lower in the control+ischemia group and in the exercise+ischemia group compared to the control+healthy group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the control+ischemia group and the exercise+ischemia group in terms of NT-4 expression (P˃0.05). Moreover, TrkB expression did not differ significantly between the groups (P˃0.05).
              Conclusion: When used as a preconditioning stimulant before the induction of cerebral ischemia, exercise could have neuroprotective effects against cerebral ischemia-induced cell death, but it has no significant effect on NT-4 and TrkB expression.
              Keywords: Exercise Preconditioning, Ischemia/Reperfusion, NT-4, TrkB, Cell death.

Background and objectives: Aspergillosis is a widely distributed infectious disease, which is difficult to manage. According to recent studies, the prevalence of resistant Aspergillus fumigatus has increased from 3.3% to 6.6%. Acquired triazole resistance in Aspergillus species is an evolving global health challenge, which has made the control of diseases caused by Aspergillus a concern. This study was performed to investigate prevalence of azole resistance in Aspergillus isolates from environmental samples.
      Methods: In this study, 316 soil samples were collected from three hospitals and a university campus in Gorgan (Iran) from July to September 2017. Two grams of each sample were suspended in 5 ml of 0.2M NaCl with 1% Tween 20. Then, 100 µl of the suspension was plated on sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) supplemented with chloramphenicol, SDA supplemented with chloramphenicol and voriconazole (VOR, 1 mg/L) and SDA supplemented with chloramphenicol and itraconazole (ITC, 4 mg/L). The plates were incubated at 37 °C and examined for growth after 24, 48 and 72 hours.
      Results: We detected Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus nidulans isolates in 187(59.2%), 84(26.6%), 147(46.5%) and 65(20.6%) samples, respectively. We found no VOR resistant isolate. However, 21 (25%) A. flavus and 16 (8.6%) A. fumigatus isolates were intermediate for VOR. In addition, seven (8.3%) A. flavus, 68 (36.4%) A. fumigatus, 41 (27.9%) A. niger and three (4.5%) A. nidulans isolates were resistant to ITC.
      Conclusion: We were able to detect A.fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger from all four sampling sites in Gorgan, North of Iran. A. fumigatus is the most prevalent and most resistant isolate in the studied area. History of previous agriculture activity and use of pesticides in the proximity of sampling sites may have affected the rate of ITC resistance.