Evaluation of HER2 cell surface protein expression in differentiated thyroid cancers and its relationship with tumor size and stage

Background & Aim: we aimed to evaluate the expression of HER2 marker in differentiated thyroid cancers and its correlation with tumor size and stage. Materials and Methods: this is a cross-sectional study that was performed at Tehran Shohada-E-Tajrish hospital from 2015 to 2019. Patients with differentiated thyroid cancer were enrolled in the study. Patients’ baseline characteristics and tumor properties were recorded. Expression of tumor marker testing was conducted with IHC. Analysis was performed with SPSS version 20. Results: fifty cases of thyroid cancer with a mean age of 46.6 years (78% females) were evaluated. 86% of cases were PTC, 10% FTC, and 4% hurthle cell carcinoma. HER2 positivity rate was 34% totally. HER2 positivity in FTC and PTC patients was 40% and 34.9%, respectively. 84% of patients had a sporadic tumor. HER2 positivity rate in sporadic tumors was 28.6% and 62.5% in familial cases (p=0.063). HER2 status did not correlate with clinicopathologic factors, significantly. Conclusion: with the findings of our study, HER2 can’t be considered a prognostic factor associated with clinicopathologic parameters

Magnetostatic waves in metallic rectangular waveguides filled with uniaxial negative permeability media

The propagation characteristics of magneto-quasistatic waves, more commonly, known as magnetostatic waves in a long, metallic rectangular waveguide filled with a metamaterial slab are comprehensively investigated. The metamaterial slab consists of split-ring resonators as an anisotropic uniaxial medium with transversal negative effective permeability. Some analytical relations and numerical validations on the characteristics of these waves are presented. The results include the dispersion relations, mode patterns (field distributions) that can be supported by such media and their corresponding cutoff frequencies, group velocities, power flows, and storage energies of magnetostatic waves. The findings from the present research study can be advantageous to advance the synthesis and development of negative permeability materials with peculiar features in guiding structures.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Prevalence of Different Subtypes of Renal Cell Carcinoma among Patients who have Undergone Nephrectomy; Statistics of a Referral Medical Center in Iran

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the third most common genitourinary cancer in the world, and has the highest mortality rates among these types of cancers. In the present cross-sectional assessment, the prevalence of RCC subtypes in a sample of Iranian patients diagnosed with RCC which have undergone nephrectomy surgery between years 2014 to 2019 in a referral medical center has been investigated. We have studied 68 patients, including 47 male and 21 female individuals with an average age of 55. The patients have been studied for demographic and pathologic information such as age, sex, tumor size, tumor subtype, TNM staging, Fuhrman nuclear grading, and other pathological information. The statistical analysis was done via SPSS software version 21. Quantitative data were examined by T test and qualitative data were assessed by Chi square test. As we observed in the results, the most common RCC subtype among these patients was clear cell 53%, followed by papillary 22% and chromophobe 19%, emphasizing the higher rates of chromophobe RCC compared to the statistics worldwide

A Textbook Evaluation of Speech Acts and Language Functions in High School English Textbooks (I, II AndIII) and Interchange Series, Books I, II, And III

Although English textbooks are considered as a key component in English language teaching programs, they have been criticized for not offering classroom learner’s adequate opportunity for learning authentic language (Vellenga, 2004). This is because, instead of making use of language samples that native speakers actually produce, many textbooks have drawn on native speakers’ intuition about language use, which might not always be reliable. This study investigated the use of speech acts presented in Iranian high School English Textbooks I, II, and III and New Interchange series (I, II, III) which are quite popular in Iranian language schools and institutions. For this purpose, speech acts in the conversations were analyzed to see how they were presented through Searle’s (1976) speech act model. There were 1100 different speech acts used in New Interchange series while there were only 275 speech acts used in high school textbooks. The language functions in the two mentioned series were also compared, there were a variety of language functions used in the New Interchange series while in the high school English textbooks they were presented unequally and some of them recurred throughout the books which followed no specific pattern. Since high school English textbooks in Iran are not communicatively oriented, the researcher concluded that these books cannot develop the pragmatic competence in the language learners or students. Finally, some recommendations were offered for the textbook designers and language teachers in dealing with the speech acts in high school English textbooks

A Textbook Evaluation of Speech Acts and Language Functions in High School English Textbooks (I, II AndIII) and Interchange Series, Books I, II, And III

Although English textbooks are considered as a key component in English language teaching programs, they have been criticized for not offering classroom learner’s adequate opportunity for learning authentic language (Vellenga, 2004). This is because, instead of making use of language samples that native speakers actually produce, many textbooks have drawn on native speakers’ intuition about language use, which might not always be reliable. This study investigated the use of speech acts presented in Iranian high School English Textbooks I, II, and III and New Interchange series (I, II, III) which are quite popular in Iranian language schools and institutions. For this purpose, speech acts in the conversations were analyzed to see how they were presented through Searle’s (1976) speech act model. There were 1100 different speech acts used in New Interchange series while there were only 275 speech acts used in high school textbooks. The language functions in the two mentioned series were also compared, there were a variety of language functions used in the New Interchange series while in the high school English textbooks they were presented unequally and some of them recurred throughout the books which followed no specific pattern. Since high school English textbooks in Iran are not communicatively oriented, the researcher concluded that these books cannot develop the pragmatic competence in the language learners or students. Finally, some recommendations were offered for the textbook designers and language teachers in dealing with the speech acts in high school English textbooks

A Textbook Evaluation of Speech Acts and Language Functions in High School English Textbooks (I, II AndIII) and Interchange Series, Books I, II, And III

Although English textbooks are considered as a key component in English language teaching programs, they have been criticized for not offering classroom learner’s adequate opportunity for learning authentic language (Vellenga, 2004). This is because, instead of making use of language samples that native speakers actually produce, many textbooks have drawn on native speakers’ intuition about language use, which might not always be reliable. This study investigated the use of speech acts presented in Iranian high School English Textbooks I, II, and III and New Interchange series (I, II, III) which are quite popular in Iranian language schools and institutions. For this purpose, speech acts in the conversations were analyzed to see how they were presented through Searle’s (1976) speech act model. There were 1100 different speech acts used in New Interchange series while there were only 275 speech acts used in high school textbooks. The language functions in the two mentioned series were also compared, there were a variety of language functions used in the New Interchange series while in the high school English textbooks they were presented unequally and some of them recurred throughout the books which followed no specific pattern. Since high school English textbooks in Iran are not communicatively oriented, the researcher concluded that these books cannot develop the pragmatic competence in the language learners or students. Finally, some recommendations were offered for the textbook designers and language teachers in dealing with the speech acts in high school English textbooks

Adrenal Cavernous Hemangioma Associated with Myelolipoma; a Case Report

Adrenal cavernous hemangioma is a rare benign tumor, most commonly diagnosed incidentally on imaging studies. Hereby we report a case of adrenal cavernous hemangioma with myelolipoma in a 39-year-old female presenting with epigastric pain for six months. CT scan of abdomen and pelvis showed a 38*27 mm left adrenal mass with heterogeneous enhancement and calcification. Laparoscopic left adrenalectomy was performed and pathologic examination grossly showed an encapsulated oval mass with multicystic cut surfaces containing hematoma. Microscopically, blood filled dilated vascular channels lined by endothelial cells with foci of adipose tissue admixed with normal hematopoietic cells were seen. Positive immunostaining for CD31 and CD34 confirmed the diagnosis of cavernous hemangioma. So, cavernous hemangioma associated with myelolipoma of the adrenal gland should always be considered as a differential diagnosis of adrenal masses

Comparison of bone cell viability and proliferation in 3D scaffold to Monolayer cell culture

Introduction: Today, due to high rates of accidents and fractures leading to bone defects and due to the limited possibility of bone graft bonding, using the patient’s cell culture on appropriate scaffolds and transferring it to the defect area is suggested as one of the treatment plans.Materials and methods: Bone samples of 8 male subjects that were under craniotomy surgery in the hospital were collected. First, the samples were cut into smaller pieces and then, transferred to incubator culture dishes. Two weeks later, the osteoblast activity on the bone matrix began and on average, the cells covered the dishes within two weeks. The first generation of the cells was removed by Trypsin_EDTA method from the opaltes, then were divided into two parts, one was added to alginate gel and the other to monolayer culture. In order to prove the osteoblast activity on the bone matrix and investigate these activities, Van Kossa staining method was used, and also to investigate the cell viability, MTT method was employed.  Results: There was a significant difference in the number of the cells created in alginate gel and those created in monolayer after two weeks (P <0.001). Moreover, the difference between mean cell counts in alginate gel and monolayer was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The results of the MTT test in second week showed that the number of alive cells is significantly higher in alginate gel (P <0.001). Finally, the result of the Van Kossa method proved extracellular matrix in both experimental groups.Conclusion: Results showed that alginate gel better can support duplication and survival of osteoblasts compared to monolayer culture. This may be attributed to the biological properties of this gel; alginate gel porosity provides conditions under which cellular and metabolic activities are accelerated.

Hemangioblastoma of the Central Nervous System: A Case Series of Patients Surgically Treated at

Objective: Hemangioblastoma refers to a benign vascular neoplasm that comprises stromal and capillary cells. Based on the classification of nervous system tumors proposed by the World Health Organization, hemangioblastomas are classified as Grade I meningeal tumors of uncertain origin. These tumors are found almost exclusively in the central nervous system (CNS) and account for 0.9 to 2.1% of all primary CNS tumors.Methods: In this descriptive retrospective study, the archives of pathology reports were reviewed in the department of pathology of Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital and patients with definite diagnosis of hemangioblastoma made through histpopathological examinations during 2004-2014 were identified. Age, gender and the location of tumor were extracted from the medical records and entered into SPSS statistical software v.22 for analysis.Results: A total of 30 patients including 16 males (53.3%) and 14 females (46.7%) were identified. The mean age of the patients was calculated to be 41.2±13.47 years, ranging from 19 to 62 years old. The majority of lesions had been found in the cerebellum of the patients (93.3%); only one had occurred in the cerebrum (3.3%) and another in the fourth ventricle (3.3%). Conclusion: Cerebellum is the most commonly affected location in patients with CNS hemangioblastomas, and a male preponderance is observed in these cases.

The Relationship Between BMI and Spermogram Indices in Male Iranians Aged 20 to 50 Years Old

Introduction: Male factor infertility is the cause of 20 to 30% of infertile couples in population, and there are reports that obesity in men may be one of the factors affecting fertility. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and semen parameters in 20 to 50 year-old Iranian men.Materials and Methods: The archives of two major laboratories in Tehran were screened and the results of semen analyses from 640 nonvasectomized men referring during 2009-2013 were collected. Data on height, weight, BMI, age, sperm count, percentage of sperm motility, normal sperm morphology, and sperm viability was recorded. Anal-ysis of these data was performed using SPSS software.Results: The mean age of subjects and their mean BMI were 30.2 ± 5.9 years and 26.0 ± 4.1 kg/m2, respectively. The average values of semen parameters were as follows: total sperm count = 53.7 ± 33.6 million, pH = 8.2 ± 0.3, normal sperm morphology = 50.1 ± 10.9%, viability = 69.46 ± 12.6%, and grade-A sperms = 39.4 ± 16.8%. BMI had no significant correlation with the semen parameters including sperm morphology, viability, pH, and motility.Conclusion: No significant correlation between BMI and semen parameters was observed in the sample of Iranian males evaluated in this study.