Purpose: Vertical root fractures (VRFs) remain a major diagnostic challenge in endodontics due to image noise and artifacts in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), particularly those caused by intracanal posts. This study evaluated the effect of an advanced noise reduction (ANR) algorithm on CBCT performance in detecting VRFs inmaxillary second premolars and examined how different post materials influenced diagnostic outcomes. Materials and Methods: Seventy extracted maxillary second premolars with single canals were divided into 5groups according to post material (cast, fiberglass, titanium, stainless steel, and brass). VRFs were induced in half of the specimens using a universal testing machine under standardized conditions. CBCT scans were obtainedusing a Carestream 9600 device with fixed parameters, both with and without ANR. Two experienced radiologists independently evaluated the images using a 5-point scale. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and interobserveragreement were analyzed using SPSS version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results: The application of ANR increased overall sensitivity and interobserver agreement compared with conventional images. Specificity varied by post material: fiberglass posts demonstrated the highest diagnostic accuracy, while stainless steel and brass produced stronger artifacts and lower sensitivity. Conclusion Incorporating ANR into CBCT imaging improves VRF detection by improving sensitivity and observerconsistency, especially in cases with minimal metallic interference. These findings highlight the clinical benefits of ANR and support further research integrating noise and metal artifact reduction techniques with artificial intelligenceto optimize diagnostic precision.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A recent study revealed increasing incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Iran. The Iranian Registry of Crohn's and Colitis (IRCC) was designed recently to answer the needs. We reported the design, methods of data collection, and aims of IRCC in this paper. METHODS: IRCC is a multicenter prospective registry, which is established with collaboration of more than 100 gastroenterologists from different provinces of Iran. Minimum data set for IRCC was defined according to an international consensus on standard set of outcomes for IBD. A pilot feasibility study was performed on 553 IBD patients with a web-based questionnaire. The reliability of questionnaire evaluated by Cronbach's α. RESULTS: All sections of questionnaire had Cronbach's α of more than 0.6. In pilot study, 312 of participants (56.4%) were male and mean age was 38 years (standard deviation=12.8) and 378 patients (68.35%) had ulcerative colitis, 303 subjects (54,7%) had college education and 358 patients (64.74%) were of Fars ethnicity. We found that 68 (12.3%), 44 (7.9%), and 13 (2.3%) of participants were smokers, hookah and opium users, respectively. History of appendectomy was reported in 58 of patients (10.48%). The most common medication was 5-aminosalicylate (94.39%). CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, IRCC is the first national IBD registry in the Middle East and could become a reliable infrastructure for national and international research on IBD. IRCC will improve the quality of care of IBD patients and provide national information for policy makers to better plan for controlling IBD in Iran.
Administrative Personnel ; Appendectomy ; Colitis ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Consensus ; Cooperative Behavior ; Data Collection ; Dataset ; Education ; Feasibility Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Iran ; Male ; Mesalamine ; Middle East ; Opium ; Pilot Projects ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies

Toxoplasma gondii is an important opportunistic agent especially in immunocompromised hosts and can cause significant morbidity and mortality. Hence, detection and monitoring of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies are of a great interest in HIV-infected patients. A study on the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and associated risk factors was carried out among HIV-infected patients in Jahrom, southern Iran. The prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies was 21.1% in HIV-infected patients by ELISA. PCR was performed on all of the samples, and 1 of the blood samples was positively detected. Among the HIV patients, anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were significantly higher in age group of 30–39 years old (P=0.05). The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in patients with CD4+<100 cells/μl was 33.3% that was significantly higher than the other groups (P=0.042) with or without IgG antibodies. The CD4+ count mean of seropositive patients was lower than that of seronegative patients. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in patients with highly active antiretroviral therapy was significantly less than patients without therapy (P=0.02). In conclusion, this study showed low seroprevalence of latent toxoplasmosis among HIV-infected patients in the region and confirmed the need for intensifying prevention efforts among this high-risk population and also the risk of toxoplasmosis reactivation which could be important among this population.
Antibodies ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; HIV* ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Immunoglobulin G ; Iran* ; Mortality ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies* ; Toxoplasma* ; Toxoplasmosis

Objectives: Widespread use of β-lactam antibiotics could cause resistance to this group of antibiotics in pathogenic bacteria through the production of the enzyme β-lactamases. The aim of this study is to determine the molecular detection of AmpC β-lactamases among clinical Escherichia coli isolated from Ilam hospitals in Ilam, Iran. Methods: One hundred and twelve clinical isolates of E. coli were collected from hospitalized patients and were identified by biochemical tests. They were evaluated for extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) production, and the positive strains were subjected to AmpC enzymes; for detection of AmpC cluster genes, multiplex polymerase chain reaction was applied. Results: The analysis showed 62.5% of isolates were ESBLs positive and that five strains revealed the AmpC cluster genes. This is the first report of FOXM cluster genes in E. coli in Iran. Conclusion Based on our results, the prevalence of AmpC β-lactamases is increasing in Iran, which caused failure in antibiotic therapy. So, the current study recommended the revision of antibiotic policy in Iranian hospitals.