Tunable Gain SnS2/InSe Van der Waals Heterostructure Photodetector.

Due to the favorable properties of two-dimensional materials such as SnS2, with an energy gap in the visible light spectrum, and InSe, with high electron mobility, the combination of them can create a novel platform for electronic and optical devices. Herein, we study a tunable gain SnS2/InSe Van der Waals heterostructure photodetector. SnS2 crystals were synthesized by chemical vapor transport method and characterized using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The exfoliated SnS2 and InSe layers were transferred on the substrate. This photodetector presents photoresponsivity from 14 mA/W up to 740 mA/W and detectivity from 2.2 × 108 Jones up to 3.35 × 109 Jones by gate modulation from 0 V to +70 V. Light absorption and the charge carrier generation mechanism were studied by the Silvaco TCAD software and the results were confirmed by our experimental observations. The rather high responsivity and visible spectrum response makes the SnS2/InSe heterojunction a potential candidate for commercial visible image sensors.

Diagnosis of Latent Tuberculosis in Liver Transplant Candidates, a Single Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in liver transplant patients, so it is valuable to diagnose latent tuberculosis in liver transplant candidates by an accurate screening test prior to transplantation. Tuberculin skin test (TST) is the standard test for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis. Currently interferon-gamma release assays (QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT)) have been proposed as the best screening test, especially in the geographic areas with widespread BCG vaccination. In this research, we will compare these two tests in the largest liver transplant center in the south of Iran. METHODS: Both TST and QFT were performed in 50 liver transplant patients and 50 normal healthy individuals. RESULTS: TST was positive in 6 cases and 4 controls. QFT was positive in 5 cases and 9 controls. Sensitivity and negative predictive value were higher in QFT but the specificity and positive predictive value were higher in TST. CONCLUSIONS: There is no significant difference between QFT and TST in evaluation of latent tuberculosis in liver transplant patients, however TST is less expensive and more feasible in Iran.

Metastatic Tumors to the Pancreas, a Single Center Study.

BACKGROUND: Most pancreatic masses are primary ductal adenocarcinomas; however, with the advent of new imaging studies and increasing survival of cancer patients, there are more cases with the diagnosis of secondary metastatic cancer to the pancreas. There is no study regarding cancer metastases to the pancreas from Iran. In this study, we retrieved all of the cases with the diagnosis of secondary cancer of pancreas in the affiliated hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. METHODS: In 5 years (2012-2017), we evaluated all cases with the diagnosis of any pancreatic tumors and extracted all of the demographic and clinicopathologic findings of the cases with the diagnosis of metastatic pancreatic tumors from the clinical charts and pathology reports. RESULTS: For the duration of 5 years in our center, there were 131 cases of pancreatic tumors with different diagnoses, 9 of which were diagnosed as metastatic cancers from other organs. Two cases were diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma, 2 cases were colonic adenocarcinoma, one case was lung small cell carcinoma, 2 cases were renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and one case was gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). The mesenchymal metastatic cancer to the pancreas has been a case of pleomorphic sarcoma of retroperitoneum. CONCLUSION: Pancreas is not a common location for metastases; however, colon, stomach, kidney and lung seem to be the most common primary tumors with metastases to the pancreas. Our report is the first study about pancreatic metastatic tumors from Iran.

Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis, an emerging infection in the immunocompetent host: a report of 14 patients.

Zygomycosis is characterized by tissue invasion with broad, non-septate hyphae of species such as Rhizopus, Rhizomucor, Lichtheimia (Absidia) and Basidiobolus. Basidiobolus ranarum usually causes subcutaneous infection, and gastrointestinal manifestations in immunocompetent patients have rarely been reported. It is difficult to diagnose gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis because of the non-specific clinical presentation and the absence of a definite risk factor. This study identified 14 cases of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis, all of which were diagnosed after surgery by characteristic histopathological findings. Diagnosis of this disease requires a high index of suspicion in patients presenting with abdominal symptoms, fever, gastrointestinal mass and eosinophilia accompanied by a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Preparation and characterization of nano- and non-nanoscale Co3O4 spinels obtained from different methods and study of their performance in combustion of aromatics from polluted air-A comparison with Pt/γ-Al2O3 performance.

This article reports the development of oxidative precipitation (OP) method for synthesis of Co(3)O(4) as an environmental catalyst and comparison of its performance with that of obtained from conventional sol gel combustion (SG) method and industrial Pt/γ-Al(2)O(3) in remediation of toluene from air. Catalytic studies were carried out in a fixed bed reactor at 100-350°C under atmospheric pressure. Co(3)O(4) (OP) showed the highest activity in combustion of toluene. The half conversion temperature of toluene (T(50%)) was 160, 258, and 229°C on Co(3)O(4) (OP), Co(3)O(4) (SG) and Pt/γ-Al(2)O(3), respectively. The higher activity of Co(3)O(4) (OP) was ascribed to nanostructure and reducibility of catalytic sites at lower temperatures, approved by TPR results. The study confirmed that preparation method has a large influence on the chemical-physical properties and activity of the catalyst. The study indicated that oxidative precipitation method could be a promising method to synthesize environmental catalysts considering the simplicity and needless to calcine catalyst at higher temperatures.

Primary glomus tumor of the liver: a rare case report and review of the literature.

Glomus tumor is a rare neoplasm of the distal extremities. It occurs very rarely in the deep visceral organs such as stomach, lung, pancreas, ovary, and liver. Herein, we report a very rare case of glomus tumor of the liver in a 50-year-old woman presenting with abdominal mass which was diagnosed after surgery. The tumor was large and cystic; however, the morphology was similar to the ordinary soft-tissue glomus tumor. Tumor cells were reactive with CD34 and SMA. The patient's follow up failed to show any evidence of malignant behavior or tumor recurrence. This report is the third primary glomus tumor of the liver in the English literature.

Hepatic angiosarcoma of childhood: a case report and review of literature.

Angiosarcomas are rare tumors that predominantly affect adults. Hepatic angiosarcoma in a child is an extremely rare event and is associated with a poor prognosis. Herein, we report our experience in a case of hepatic angiosarcoma in a child who presented with a huge unresectable mass that underwent liver transplantation.

Differential expression of haptoglobin isoforms in chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis and HCC related to HBV infection.

The three main complications of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are chronic active hepatitis (CAH), liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed serum proteins among the three liver complications in patients with HBV infection. Differentially expressed proteins have been shown to be potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis, prognosis and therapy guidance. Two-dimensional polyacrylamid gel electrophoresis (2DE) combined with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was performed on sera from CAH, cirrhosis and HCC patients with HBV infection, as well as those obtained from healthy individuals. Of 54 differentially expressed (≥1.5-fold and p<0.05) protein spots, 35 spots were identified by LC-MS/MS. The identified spots correlated to 13 proteins. The proteins included haptoglobolin α-2 and ß isoforms, haptoglobin cleaved ß isoforms, retinol-binding protein, transthyretin, ficolin, leucine-rich-α-2-glycoprotein, α-1-antitrypsin and clusterin. Of particular interest is the significant increase of haptoglobin α-2 isoforms in HCC patients compared to cirrhosis ones. In contrast, a significant decrease of the isoforms was noted among cirrhosis patients.

Prevalence of ATP7B Gene Mutations in Iranian Patients With Wilson Disease.

BACKGROUND: Wilson disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder. The WD gene, ATP7B, encodes a copper-transporting ATPase involved in the transport of copper into the plasma protein ceruloplasmin and in excretion of copper from the liver. ATP7B mutations cause copper to accumulate in the liver and brain. OBJECTIVES: We examined the ATP7B mutation spectrum in Wilson disease patients in Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from patients with Wilson disease. The entire coding region of the ATP7B gene was amplified using PCR and analyzed using direct sequencing. RESULTS: We identified five novel mutations in 5 Iranian patients with Wilson disease. The first was a transversion, c.2363C > T, which led to an amino acid change from threonine to isoleucine. The second mutation was a deletion, c.2532delA (Val845Ser), which occurred in exon 10. The third mutation was a transition mutation, c.2311C > G (Leu770Leu), which occurred in the TM4 domain of the ATP7B protein. The fourth mutation was a transversion, (c.3061G > A) (Lys1020Lys), in exon 14. Lastly, we identified a transversion, c.3206C > A (His1069Asn) in exon 14 which led to a change in function of the ATP loop domain of the ATP7B protein. The H1069Q mutation was identified as the most common mutation in our study population. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our findings, the H1069Q may be a biomarker that can be used in a rapid detection assay for diagnosing WD patients.

Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder after liver transplantation: report of 5 cases among more than 550 liver transplants in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are a spectrum of diseases defined as polyclonal or monoclonal proliferations of lymphocytes which occur after solid organ transplants. In this study, we report our first experiences with PTLD following liver transplantation in Iran. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed five cases of PTLD which followed liver transplantation among more than 550 liver transplants in our center. Of these, three were pediatric cases and two were adults. The underlying causes were tyrosinemia, autoimmune hepatitis, and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) in the three pediatric cases. HCV hepatitis was the primary cause for cirrhosis in one of the adults and the other adult was labeled as cryptogenic cirrhosis. All cases, except for one, developed PTLD during the first year following liver transplantation. RESULTS: Patients were diagnosed as PTLD, B-cell, MALT and Hodgkin-like (according to the WHO classification of PTLD). The three pediatric patients died despite discontinuation of immunosuppressive drugs and chemotherapy. Fortunately both adult patients, until now, are still alive. CONCLUSION: The incidence of PTLD in our center is lower than previous reports from other centers (0.9%), with a 60% mortality rate and worse prognosis in the pediatric age group.

Pathology of pediatric liver tumors, a single center experience from south of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric hepatic malignancies are rare, accounting for 1-4% of all solid childhood tumors. The histopathology of childhood hepatic tumors guides the treatment and prognosis, and is the cornerstone for precise diagnosis. Until now, there has been no documented study on pediatric liver tumor cases from this center; in this report, we show our experience about the common types of childhood hepatic tumors during five years (2002-2007) and compare them with other studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During five years (2002-2007), all the hepatic tumors of childhood (under 18 year-old) from the pathology file of Namazi Hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences are recorded. This includes both resected specimens and biopsies. All the slides were reviewed and the pathologic diagnosis was confirmed. RESULTS: We detected 53 liver tumor cases in children (below 18 years of age). Among these tumors, 36 (67.9%) were malignant. Male to female ratio was 1.5 to 1. Hepatoblastoma was the most common liver tumor in this age group accounting for 22 patients (41.5%). The second most common primary tumor was hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with five patients. Another malignant tumor was embryonal sarcoma. Benign tumors included adenoma, mesenchymal hamartoma, vascular tumors, focal nodular hyperplasia, and inflammatory pseudo tumor. There were also seven metastatic tumors during these five years. CONCLUSIONS: The spectrum of hepatic tumors in children is different from that found in the older age group (adults) and also different in different populations.

Pattern of injury in Shiraz.

OBJECTIVE: Injury is a major neglected health problem in developing countries. The first step in dealing with injury problem is to identify the injury patterns and characteristics. Therefore, we aimed to demonstrate the current status of trauma admissions to hospitals in Shiraz, as a major city of Iran. METHODS: A hospital-based study was conducted in 2002. All injured patients admitted during 6 months in emergency departments of two general hospitals of Shiraz, Nemazi and Chamran were included. RESULTS: A total of 1,765 injured patients were registered during the study period, with mean age of 33 years. Manual workers were the most vulnerable group among occupational categories. Inner-city roads were the most common place of injury and traffic accident was the major cause of injury. Overally, falling injury was the second common cause of injury in males and the first cause in females (especially at the age of over 60). CONCLUSION: As other studies conducted in our society, traffic accidents are the major cause of morbidity and mortality and this can emphasize on the obligation to take legislative action in the field of driving and road safety, directing resources and educating the public and raising the awareness of the community in prevention of this iceberg-like problem.

Transplantation of a horseshoe kidney.

Experience with horseshoe kidney transplantation is limited. Horseshoe kidney may be underutilized for transplantation because of the greater incidence of vascular and other associated urological anomalies. Nowadays, owing to a greater number of patients waiting for a kidney donation and to a shortage of organs donated, more suitable organ acceptance criteria have been formulated. The aim of this paper is to present the first Iranian experience with horseshoe kidney transplantation.