Detection of new translocation in infant twins with concordant ALL and discordant outcome

About 2-5 of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases in pediatric patients are infants with an unfavorable prognosis because of high relapse probability. Early detection of the disease is, therefore, very important. Despite the fact that leukemia in twins occurs rarely, more attention has been paid to it in genetic studies. In the present study, through cytogenetic testing, a special case of concordant ALL in monozygotic twins was presented with different outcomes. In spite of an acceptable initial consequence to medical treatment in twins, in another brother (Twin B), early relapse was observed. In the cytogenetic study, both twins expressed t (4; 11) (q21; q23) while twin A expressed t (2; 7) (p10; q10). No cases have previously reported this mutation. Whether this translocation has a protective role for leukemia with mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangement is still unclear. The difference in the translocation identified in the identical twins is also subject to further investigations. © 2020 by the authors

Effect of Foliar Application of Phosphorus and Water Deficit on Yield and Yield Components of Winter Wheat (Cultivar Alvand)

In order to study the effects of foliar application of phosphorus (P) and water deficit on yield and yield components of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Alvand), a split-plot experiment, with completely randomized blocks design and three replications, was carried out at the Research Farm of Boyer Ahmad Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station, 13 km west of Yasouj, in 2008-2009. The main plots were irrigation at three levels (1- full irrigation (control), 2- deficit irrigation from the stem elongation to booting stage, and 3- deficit irrigation from booting stage to the end of growth period) and the subplots were five levels of foliar application of P fertilizer (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 kg/ha KH2PO4). The results showed that the effects of different irrigation regimes and foliar application of P were significant on all traits, and their interaction was significant on plant height, number of grain per spike, grain yield and biological yield. Full irrigation and foliar application of 6 kg/ha P produced the highest grain and biological yield (6000 and 14170 kg/ha, respectively) and deficit irrigation from the stem elongation to booting stage without foliar application of P produced the lowest grain and biological yield (2920 and 8219 kg/ha, respectively). Foliar application of P affects significantly the evaluated traits only in drought-stress treatments and its effect was not significant in full irrigation treatment. In general, foliar application of 9 kg/ha P compensated the losses in wheat due to drought stress

The Effect of Occupational Exposure on Blood Parameters of Radiology Staffs in Yasuj

Background & aim: Radiology staffs are exposed to low doses of the occupational ionizing radiation. The long term intermittent exposure to low radiation doses may damage cells and result in various adverse biological effects. The blood cells have been found to be the most radiosensitive cells to ionizing radiation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between low dose of occupational exposure to ionizing radiations and hematological parameters, including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelet counts of the radiology staffs of Yasuj hospitals. Methods: In the present case-control study, seventeen radiology staffs (8 females and 9 males) and seventeen healthy non-radiation workers were participated. Occupational radiation histories were determined by film badge dosimeter recordings for each radiology staff. The hematological parameters of the participated in the study were recorded by means of cell counter sysmix machine. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 21. The statistical analyses were done by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: The values of total white blood cells and platelet count were significantly lower among radiology staffs compared to the control group, but no significant difference was found between their red blood cells. No significant correlation was observed between gender and work experience with blood parameters. The file badge records for all of the radiology staffs were under occupational dose limits. Conclusion: Platelet and white blood cells parameters were found to be sensitive to low dose occupational ionizing radiation for radiology staffs. We suggest that the radiology staffs should use their personal dosimeters while their hematopoietic system should be evaluated by blood cells count

Cytotoxic activity of two cembranoid diterpenes from Nicotiana sylvestris against three human cancer cell lines

Background: Two cembranoid diterpenes, [(1S, 2E, 4R, 6R, 7E, 11E)-2, 7, 11-cembratriene-4, 6-diol] (1) and its epimer [(1S, 2E, 4S, 6R,7E,11E)-2, 7, 11-cembratriene-4, 6-diol] (2) were isolated from surface dichloromethane washings and chloroform extract of Nicotiana sylvestris leaves. Methods: The compounds were purified using silica gel column- thin layer- and flash column chromatography methods. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic analysis and their 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic data were compared with those of authentic samples reported in the literature. The cytotoxic activity of 1 and 2 against three human cancer cell lines, including LS180 (human colon adenocarcinoma), MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and MOLT-4 (human lymphoblastic leukemia) were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric bioassay

Tunable localized surface plasmon graphene metasurface for multiband superabsorption and terahertz sensing

We propose a plasmon induced tunable metasurface for multiband superabsorption and terahertz sensing. It consists of a graphene sheet that facilitates perfect absorption where the graphene pattern at the top layer creates an enhanced evanescent wave that facilitates the metasurface to work as a sensor. The modelling and numerical analysis are carried out using Finite Element Method (FEM) based software, CST microwave studio where a genetic algorithm (GA) is used to optimize the geometric parameters, and metasurface tunability is achieved via an external gate voltage on the graphene. By exploiting graphene’s tunable properties we demonstrate a multiband superabsorption spectra having a maximum absorption of 99.7% in a frequency range of 0.1–2.0 THz that also maintain unique optical performance over a wide incidence angle. Further results show how the superabsorber can be used as a sensor, where the resonance frequency shifts with the refractive index of the surrounding environment.M.S. Islam, J. Sultana, M. Biabanifard, Z. Vafapour, M.J. Nine, A. Dinovitser, C.M.B. Cordeiro, B.W.-H. Ng, D. Abbot