Comparison of FAIM3 gene expression between new cases of ALL and relapsed ALL

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of the major lymphoid malignancies and the most common hematologic malignancy in children. ALL is characterized by the presence of malignant lymphoblasts in the blood so that immature lymphocytes cannot become mature and thus do not have an adult cell function. Although it is not unusual in adults, it usually affects children. Most children with this disease are recovered from therapeutic protocols. But the relapse is common after recovery or during the treatment. Various factors are supposed to contribute to the relapse of the disease. One of these factors that is likely to be effective in the recurrence of ALL is the FAIM3 protein (an FCuR), or the Fas inhibitory molecule-3 (FAIM3). The aim of this study was to investigate FAIM3 (TOSO) as a new prognostic factor in ALL. Materials and methods: In this study, 19 patients with newly diagnosed and 17 patients with relapsed ALL were included.  FAIM3 gene expression was measured with the qRT-PCR method. Results:  The expression level of FAIM3 in relapsed patients was 5.44 folds higher than newly diagnosed ALL patients. Conclusion: Prognosis of ALL is usually well-proven in children and can be cured. However, recurrence of the disease is common. At the molecular level, there are several factors that are referred to as the "factor involved in the relapse" of the disease. These factors increase the survival of the leukemic cells. According to the results of the present study, gene expression level of FAIM3 as an anti-apoptotic factor has increased in relapsed ALL lymphoblasts, compared with new diagnosed patients. Therefore, FAIM3 can be considered as a contributing factor in the relapse of the disease

Determination of serum vitamin D3 levels in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Background: Regarding the role of vitamin D3 as a steroid hormone in regulating the metabolism of minerals and bone homeostasis, its antitumor role has been confirmed in epidemiologic and empirical studies. Accordingly, this investigation conducted on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients to understand whether vitamin D3 has role in increasing the risk of getting ALL or not.Materials and Methods:In this study, 40 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were included after confirmation of cytological tests in Hamedan, Qazvin and Tehran. Moreover, 40 healthy persons without any hematologic diseases in both themselves and their immediate relatives were selected. The level of vitamin D3 in blood serum of patients and control group was measured with Chemiluminscence method.Results:Ninety percent of the subjects in the experimental group and 75% of the control group suffered from severe vitamin D3 deficiency. 10% of the experimental group and 20% of the control group had a mild to moderate vitamin D3 deficiency and range from 10 - 19 ng / ml. Among ALL patients, none of them had the desired level (20- 50 ng / ml) of vitamin D3, while two persons in the control group had a desirable level of vitamin D3 with a range of 20- 50 ng / ml. It is found that there is a significant difference between mean of vitamin D3 level in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients and healthy control group (p <0.05).Conclusion:It seems that there is a correlation between the incidence of ALL and serum vitamin D3 level. However, additional studies are needed to understand more about the mechanisms of this.

A Cross-disciplinary Study of Hedging Expressions in English Articles of Iranian Writers

Research on the use of hedging strategies as one of the key issues of rhetorical organization of academic texts has gained growing attention during the past few decades. The present study aimed to explore the frequency and form of hedging expressions in the abstracts of Iranian writers’ English research articles where findings and claims were more explicitly projected. To this end, a random sample of 200 abstracts (50 each) was drawn equally from the four subfields of chemistry and mathematics, and philosophy and English randomly selected from the two academic fields of Soft Sciences and Hard Sciences respectively as suggested in Biglan’s (1973) typology of academic disciplines. The tally and analysis of the tokens of the hedge expressions indicated that the abstracts from the soft sciences differed from those from the hard sciences in terms of both frequency and form. The results revealed that the writers from the soft sciences tended to employ more hedge expressions than hard sciences writers. More specifically, whereas soft sciences writers utilized more modals, verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, their counterparts opted for more conditional expressions. Moreover, epistemic and cognition verbs were found to be the most frequently used hedging expressions in both sciences. This study discusses the research and pedagogical implications of the findings in the context of Iranian academia

Local Residents’ Preferences for Second Home Tourism Development Policies: A Choice Experiment nalysis

This paper is concerned with the preferences of the rural residents living in areas subject to rapid second home tourism development in Iran. Since second home development could have positive and negative social, cultural, economical and environmental impacts for local residents, planning policies should take into consideration public opinions and preferences for future planning and developments. Using a choice experiment method, we attempt to estimate the values that the rural households in Tehran province would place on different impacts of second home development policies.second home, tourism, choice experiment method, Tehran

The effect of cell derived microparticles in transfusion medicine and adaptive immune system

This article reviews will focus on the concept and formation of micro particles (MPs) in circulation and their role in transfusion medicine and immune system. MPs are cell membrane derived vesicles which express markers of their parent cells and are found in circulation at low levels. Exact functions of MPs are unclear. In here, Physiological almost all types of circulating MPs including platelets MPs (PMPs), leukocytes MPs (LMPs), red blood cells MPs (RMPs) and endothelial cells MPs (EMPs) have been discussed. Furthermore, MPs present in plasma and blood products and their levels increase during storage. Thus, it can be stated that MPs are likely to cause transfusion reactions, particularly thrombotic complications and Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). Also, it is shown that the MPs may affect the immune system. However, to prove these, more and extensive studies both in vivo and in vitro need to be done

The influence of mesiodistal dimension of abutment preparation design on stress distribution in fiber-reinforced composite inlay fixed partial dentures: a finite element study

Introduction: Fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs) arecomprised of fiber and composite resin. Use of this materialin conservative dentistry for fabricating fixed partialdentures is growing. Although different studies have investigatedFRC inlay fixed partial dentures, the reportedresults have been controversial. Due to the limitations ofexperimental studies for assessment of masticatory forcesin the oral cavity, computer software was used in thepresent study to simulate oral environment. The aim ofthis study was to compare stress distribution in FRC inlaybridges with two abutment preparation designs with differentmesiodistal (MD) dimensions using a 3-dimensionalfinite element analysis.Method: ABAQUS software version 6.3-1 (HKS Inc.) wasused to create a 3D design. Two 3-unit inlay bridges weredesigned with two different abutment preparations inthe anterior teeth with different MD dimensions: dovetailpreparation with larger MD dimension and box preparationwith smaller MD dimension. Next, 50 N load was appliedwithin one second to the cingulum.Results: The maximum stress in the two bridges was concentratedat the connector areas between the abutmentsand the pontic. The difference in this respect was statisticallysignificant. The stress was approximately 10 timeshigher in the box preparation with smaller MD dimensionthan dovetail preparation.Conclusion: The stress distribution was more uniform indovetail preparation with greater mesiodistal dimensionthan in the smaller box design

Effect of different conditioning methods on the surface roughness of dental amalgam: SEM analysis

The purpose of this study was incorporation of SEM micrographs for evaluating the effect of different mechanical and chemical treatments on surface roughness of dental amalgam. Amalgam was condensed in 18 plastic molds and the following modification methods were accomplished on samples surface: 1) Chemical solutions (5 groups) on fresh amalgam 2) Chemical solutions (5 groups) on aged amalgam 3) Sandblast on aged amalgam 4) Sandblast on fresh amalgam (2 groups) before & after primary setting. 5) Use of diamond bur (0.10 coarse) on aged amalgam. 6) Acid etch (37% phosphoric acid) on fresh amalgam. 7) Metal etch on fresh amalgam. 8) Varnish solvent in amalgam capsule, trituration &condensation (fresh). 9) Standard sample without any treatment. All groups were analyzed by SEM (×l00, ×500 magnifications were used for roughness quantification and chemical analysis respectively). The numbers of surface peaks were counted in 5 area of each micrograph and consequently the data were assessed by K-S & student T- tests. All groups have statistically significant difference with control except three ones (incorporation of phosphoric acid, EDTA+NH3, and NaOH+I2 on fresh amalgam). Sandblast, diamond bur & metal etch reduced surface roughness and use of chemical solutions showed different reactions

Effect of different conditioning methods on the surface roughness of dental amalgam: SEM analysis

The purpose of this study was incorporation of SEM micrographs for evaluating the effect of different mechanical and chemical treatments on surface roughness of dental amalgam. Amalgam was condensed in 18 plastic molds and the following modification methods were accomplished on samples surface: 1) Chemical solutions (5 groups) on fresh amalgam 2) Chemical solutions (5 groups) on aged amalgam 3) Sandblast on aged amalgam 4) Sandblast on fresh amalgam (2 groups) before & after primary setting. 5) Use of diamond bur (0.10 coarse) on aged amalgam. 6) Acid etch (37% phosphoric acid) on fresh amalgam. 7) Metal etch on fresh amalgam. 8) Varnish solvent in amalgam capsule, trituration &condensation (fresh). 9) Standard sample without any treatment. All groups were analyzed by SEM (×l00, ×500 magnifications were used for roughness quantification and chemical analysis respectively). The numbers of surface peaks were counted in 5 area of each micrograph and consequently the data were assessed by K-S & student T- tests. All groups have statistically significant difference with control except three ones (incorporation of phosphoric acid, EDTA+NH3, and NaOH+I2 on fresh amalgam). Sandblast, diamond bur & metal etch reduced surface roughness and use of chemical solutions showed different reactions

Assessment the prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in 15 to 45 years old women

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in incidence and the first genital cancer in women around the world, which 95% of them are related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. The risk of cervical cancer increases 10-12 time in women with HPV infection. This study aim to evaluate the prevalence of high-risk HPV infections among 15-45 years old women.Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on 92 normal women who admitted at Semnan hygiene center and has 15-45 years old. Cervical samples were collected using Cytobrush cell collector and consequently DNA extraction was performed using commercial DNA extraction kit. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was done using HPV (GP5, GP6) universal primers accompanied by positive and negative control in each PCR run. In order to extracted DNA template quality control, actin gene used as housekeeping gene.Results: In this investigation, study subjects age range found to be 15-45 with mean of 30±0.9 years old. HPV infection was not found in patient group. Thus, further approach in order to HPV16 and HPV18 types detection, was not performed. However, other studies represented low to moderate prevalence for HPV in some regions of Iran.Conclusion: Cervical cancer is one the major health concern and the fourth most common cancer around the world. This cancer is more common in developing countries than developed countries due to lack of screening program. Regard to possible high prevalence rate of HPV virus and its association with cervical cancer, we suggest further determination of the HPV prevalence as well as planning in large-scale vaccination in high risk group