Survival rate and prognostic factors of esophageal cancer in east Azerbaijan province, North-west of Iran. (17/24)

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer in Iran is the sixth most common cancer and is particularly important in east Azerbaijan. The aim of this study was to calculate survival rates and define prognostic factors in esophageal cancer patients. METHODS: In this study, all patients with esophageal cancer registered in the Radiation Therapy Center, during March 2006 to March 2011, were analyzed and followed up for vital status. Data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Out of 532 patients, survival information was available for 460, including 205 (44/5%) females and 255 (55/4%) males. The mean age was 65.8+/-12.2, ranging from 29 to 90 years at the time of diagnosis. 1- , 3- and 5-year survival rates after diagnosis were 55%, 18% and 12%, respectively, with a median survival time of 13.2 +/- .7 (CI 95%=11.8-14.6) months. In the univariate analysis, age (P=0/001), education (P=0/001), smoking status (P= 0/001), surgery (P=0/001), tumor differentiation (P=0/003) and tumor stage (P=0/001) were significant prognostic factors. Tumor morphology, sex, place of residence, tumor histology and tumor location did not show any significant effects on the survival rate. In multivariate analysis, age (P=0/003), smoking (P=0/01) and tumor stage (P=0/001) were significant independent predictors of survival. CONCLUSION: In summary, prognosis of esophageal cancer in North West of Iran is poor. Therefore, reduction in exposure to risk factors and early detection should be emphasized to improve survival.  (+info)

Random amplified polymorphic markers as indicator for genetic conservation program in Iranian pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). (18/24)

The objective of present study was identification of genetic similarity between wild Iran and captive Azerbaijan Pheasant using PCR-RAPD markers. For this purpose, in overall, 28 birds were taken for DNA extraction and subsequently 15 arbitrary primers were applied for PCR-RAPD technique. After electrophoresis, five primers exhibited sufficient variability which yielded overall 65 distinct bands, 59 polymorphic bands, for detalis, range of number of bands per primer was 10 to 14, and produced size varied between 200 to 1500 bp. Highest and lowest polymorphic primers were OPC5, OPC16 (100%) and OPC15 (81%), respectively. Result of genetic variation between two groups was accounted as nonsignificant (8.12%) of the overall variation. According to our expectation the wild Iranian birds showed higher genetic diversity value than the Azerbaijan captive birds. As general conclusion, two pheasant populations have almost same genetic origin and probably are subpopulations of one population. The data reported herein could open the opportunity to search for suitable conservation strategy to improve richness of Iran biodiversity and present study here was the first report that might have significant impact on the breeding and conservation program of Iranian pheasant gene pool. Analyses using more regions, more birds, and more DNA markers will be useful to confirm or to reject these findings.  (+info)

Education, household wealth and blood pressure in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine: findings from the Demographic Health Surveys, 2005-2009. (19/24)

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Screening of household family members of brucellosis cases and neighboring community members in Azerbaijan. (20/24)

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Starmerella caucasica sp. nov., a novel anamorphic yeast species isolated from flowers in the Caucasus. (21/24)

Taxonomic analysis of budding yeast strains isolated from flowers of Wisteria sinensis (Fabales, Fabaceae) abundantly visited by flying insects, mainly bees in city parks of Baku is described. The isolates forming slightly pink colonies and propagating by budding represent a hitherto unknown yeast species for which the name Starmerella caucasica is proposed. The sequences of the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA genes and the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 regions were highly similar in the isolates and indicated a close relationship with Candida kuoi and Starmerella bombicola in the phylogenetic analysis. S. caucasica can be separated from these species by its growth on glucosamine and D-tryptophan, in vitamin-free medium and at 37 degrees C, and its inability to grow on citrate, ethylamine, cadaverine and in media supplemented with 0.01% of cycloheximide. The type strain is 11-1071.1(T). It has been deposited in Centralbureau voor Schimmelcultures (Utrecht, the Netherlands) as CBS 12650(T), the National Collection of Agricultural and Industrial Microorganisms (Budapest, Hungary) as NCAIM Y.02030(T) and the Culture Collection of Yeasts (Bratislava, Slovakia) as CCY 90-1-1(T). The GenBank accession numbers for nucleotide sequences of S. caucasica are JX112043 (D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA gene) and JX112044 (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2). Mycobank: MB 800536.  (+info)

The mystery of missing female children in the Caucasus: an analysis of sex ratios by birth order. (22/24)

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Thalassaemia in Azerbaijan. (23/24)

beta thalassaemia is present throughout the southern regions of the former USSR. We have defined the clinical picture of the disorder, the spectrum of beta thalassaemia mutations, and the role of customary consanguineous marriage in Azerbaijan, where thalassaemia presents a public health problem of the same order as that in Greece. Contrary to earlier suggestions, we found that the common form of the disorder is typically severe. Typical Turkish, Mediterranean, Azeri, Kurdish, and Asian Indian mutations were found, consistent with the history of the region. The common Mediterranean beta 0 thalassaemia mutation (codon 39) was not found. Three mutations (codon 8-AA, IVS2-1 and IVS1-110) account for over 80% of beta thalassaemia genes. Consanguineous marriage appears to contribute relatively little to the frequency of affected births. These observations provide the basis for a thalassaemia prevention programme in Azerbaijan.  (+info)

Drug resistant tuberculosis in prisons in Azerbaijan: case study. (24/24)

OBJECTIVES: To document the existence of drug resistance in a tuberculosis treatment programme that adheres strictly to the DOTS principles (directly observed treatment, short course) and to determine the extent of drug resistance in a prison setting in one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. DESIGN: Case study. SETTING: Central Penitentiary Hospital in Baku, the referral centre for tuberculosis patients from all prisons in Azerbaijan. SUBJECTS: Prisoners with tuberculosis: 28 selected patients not responding clinically or bacteriologically to the standard treatment (group 1) and 38 consecutive patients at admission to the programme (group 2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains grown from sputum. RESULTS: All the non-responding patients (group 1) had strains resistant to at least one drug. 25 (89%) of the non-responding patients and nine (24%) of the consecutive patients had M tuberculosis strains resistant to both rifampicin and isoniazid. A further 17 patients in group 2 had strains resistant to one or more first line drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Drug resistant M tuberculosis strains are common in prisons in Azerbaijan. Tuberculosis problems tend to be worse in prisons, but prisoners and former prisoners may have an important role in the transmission of tuberculosis, particularly of drug resistant forms, in the community. National programmes to control tuberculosis will have to take into account and address the problems in prisons to ensure their success.  (+info)