In situ preservation of the inferior parathyroid gland during central neck dissection for papillary thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Postoperative hypocalcaemia due to dysfunction of the parathyroid glands is the most common complication after total thyroidectomy plus central neck dissection (CND). There is a lack of surgical techniques described to help preserve the inferior parathyroid gland in situ during CND. The objective of this study was to introduce the 'TBP layer' (layer of thymus-blood vessel-inferior parathyroid gland) concept for preserving the inferior parathyroid gland in situ during CND, and to evaluate its effectiveness.

METHODS

The study group included patients with primary papillary thyroid cancer who underwent total thyroidectomy with CND using the new surgical concept between January and December 2014. The control group included sex- and age-matched patients who underwent conventional total thyroidectomy with CND between January 2012 and December 2013. The proportion of inferior parathyroid glands preserved in situ and postoperative hypoparathyroidism rates in the two groups were compared.

RESULTS

There were 181 patients in the study group and 306 in the control group. There were no significant differences between the groups in tumour size, multifocality, extrathyroidal extension, and number of harvested and metastatic central lymph nodes. The rate of inferior parathyroid gland preservation in situ was significantly improved from 37·9 to 76·3 per cent on the left side (P < 0·001), and from 52·0 to 77·9 per cent on the right side (P < 0·001), in the study group compared with the control group. The incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism decreased significantly from 35·0 to 7·2 per cent (P < 0·001).

CONCLUSION

Applying the proposed surgical concept improved the rate of inferior parathyroid gland preservation in situ and decreased the incidence of transient postoperative hypoparathyroidism.

Identification of atypical porcine pestivirus infection in swine herds in China

Atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV) have been detected in swine herds from the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and most recently in Austria, suggesting a wide geographic distribution of this novel virus. Here, for the first time, we reported APPV infection in swine herds in China. Newborn piglets from two separate swine herds in Guangdong province were found showing typical congenital tremors in July and August 2016. RT-PCR, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed APPV infection occurred. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Chinese APPV strains, GD1 and GD2, formed independent branch from the USA, Germany and the Netherlands. Nucleotide identities between members of the APPV ranged between 83.1% and 83.5%, and this showed APPV is highly diverse. It is apparent that this provides the first molecular evidence of APPV infection in swine herds in China.

Thyrotropin Alters T Cell Development in the Thymus in Subclinical Hypothyroidism Mouse Model

Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is highly prevalent in the general population and is associated with potential deleterious effects. Although developing T cells express thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSH-R), the changes of T cell development in thymus in SCH have not been fully clarified. SCH mouse model, which is characterized by elevated serum TSH but similar thyroid hormone levels, was used to study the role of TSH in T cell development. Thymus weight of SCH mice increased 18% compared with controls. Importantly, the frequencies of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ single-positive (SP) thymocytes increased 38% and 44%, respectively. We demonstrated that TSH protected thymocytes from apoptosis as evidenced by a significant decrease of Annexin V-positive thymocytes in SCH mice. Further analysis showed that extracellular-regulated kinases (ERK) 1/2 in thymus were activated in SCH mice. With analysis of T cell receptor excision circles (TREC), we found that TSH increased recent thymic emigrants (RTE) in spleen tissue in SCH mice. Thus, these results suggest that TSH promoted T cell development and enhanced the thymic recent output in SCH mice, possibly by suppression of apoptosis of thymocytes, indicating that modification of the ERK signalling pathways.

Successful Recovery of Acute Renal Transplant Failure in Recurrent Hepatitis C Virus-Associated Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis

Recurrence of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) in the kidney transplant may lead to continuous graft deterioration and the need for further renal replacement therapy. The novel direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) allow a highly effective and interferon-free treatment option for chronic HCV-infected patients. Data on the therapeutic safety and efficacy in HCV-infected renal transplant patients are sparse, especially for patients with severe renal impairment. We report the case of a 63-year-old female HCV-positive renal transplant patient with biopsy-proven recurrence of MPGN in the renal graft 3 years after transplant. Because of rapid loss of transplant function and consecutive need for hemodialysis, we initiated a combined anti-HCV-directed therapy regimen consisting of daclatasvir and simeprevir over 12 weeks. Viral clearance of HCV was obtained as early as 2 weeks after start of treatment. No adverse therapy-associated side effects were observed, and immunosuppressive dosing remained unchanged. Importantly, graft function fully recovered and hemodialysis was stopped 2 mo after the end of daclatasvir/simeprevir treatment. We report the first case of successful recovery of dialysis-dependent renal transplant failure after treatment of recurrent HCV-associated MPGN in a kidney transplant recipient by curing the underlying HCV infection with a combination of novel DAAs.

[Short-term outcomes of lung transplant recipients using organs from brain death donors]

Objective: To assess short-term outcomes after lung transplantation with organs procured following brain death. Methods: Between April 2015 and July 2016, all 17 recipients after lung transplantation using organs from brain death donors (DBD) at Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine were enrolled in this study. All patients were male, aging (60±7) years, including 11 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 5 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, 1 silicosis. Seventeen donors were 16 males and 1 female, with 10 traumatic brain injury, 5 cerebrovascular accident and 2 sudden cardiac death. Of 17 recipients receiving DBD lung transplant, 16 were single lung transplant. Data were collected including intubation duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay, incidence of pulmonary infection bronchus anastomosis complications, primary graft dysfunction (PGD), and acute rejection, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) as well as mortality of 90-day after lung transplantation. Results: Median duration of intubation were 2 (2) days (M(Q_R)) in recipients after lung transplantation. The incidence of pulmonary infection and bronchus anastomosis complications were 15/17 and 5/17, respectively. Median length of stay in hospital were 56 (19) days. The ratio of readmission 1 month after discharge were 10/17. Mortality of 90-day post-transplant were 2/17. The incidence of PGD and BOS were 1/17 and 2/17, respectively. Conclusion: Recipients with DBD lung transplantation have an acceptable survival during short-term follow-up, but with higher incidences of complications related to infection post-transplantation.

Ultra-low-frequency vertical vibration isolator based on a two-stage beam structure for absolute gravimetry

To reduce seismic and environmental vibration noise, ultra-low-frequency vertical vibration isolation systems play an important role in absolute gravimetry. For this purpose, an isolator based on a two-stage beam structure is proposed and demonstrated. The isolator has a simpler and more robust structure than the present ultra-low-frequency vertical active vibration isolators. In the system, two beams are connected to a frame using flexural pivots. The upper beam is suspended from the frame with a normal hex spring and the lower beam is suspended from the upper one using a zero-length spring. The pivot of the upper beam is not vertically above the pivot of the lower beam. With this special design, the attachment points of the zero-length spring to the beams can be moved to adjust the effective stiffness. A photoelectric detector is used to detect the angle between the two beams, and a voice coil actuator attached to the upper beam is controlled by a feedback circuit to keep the angle at a fixed value. The system can achieve a natural period of 100 s by carefully moving the attachment points of the zero-length spring to the beams and tuning the feedback parameters. The system has been used as an inertial reference in the T-1 absolute gravimeter. The experiment results demonstrate that the system has significant vibration isolation performance that holds promise in applications such as absolute gravimeters.

Histone Acetylation and Plant Development

Reversible histone acetylation and deacetylation at the N-terminus of histone tails play a crucial role in regulation of gene activity. Hyperacetylation of histones relaxes chromatin structure and is associated with transcriptional activation, whereas hypoacetylation of histones induces chromatin compaction and gene repression. Histone acetylation and deacetylation are catalyzed by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), respectively. Emerging evidences revealed that plant HATs and HDACs play essential roles in regulation of gene expression in plant development and plant responses to environmental stresses. Furthermore, HATs and HDACs were shown to interact with various chromatin-remodeling factors and transcription factors involved in transcriptional regulation of multiple developmental processes.

Experimental investigation on dynamic characteristics and strengthening mechanism of laser-induced cavitation bubbles

The dynamic features of nanosecond laser-induced cavitation bubbles near the light alloy boundary were investigated with the high-speed photography. The shock-waves and the dynamic characteristics of the cavitation bubbles generated by the laser were detected using the hydrophone. The dynamic features and strengthening mechanism of cavitation bubbles were studied. The strengthening mechanisms of cavitation bubble were discussed when the relative distance parameter γ was within the range of 0.5-2.5. It showed that the strengthening mechanisms caused by liquid jet or shock-waves depended on γ much. The research results provided a new strengthening method based on laser-induced cavitation shotless peening (CSP).

Effects of short-term glucocorticoid administration on bone mineral density, biomechanics and microstructure in rats’ femur

The effects of short-term use of oral glucocorticoid (GC) on the skeleton are not well defined. To address this gap, the influences of 7 days, 21 days of GC administration on femurs of intact rats were investigated. Forty 4-month-old female Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group (Cont) and prednisone-treated group (Pre) and administered either distilled water or prednisone acetate at doses of 3.5 mg/kg/day for 0, 7 and 21 days, respectively. All the femurs were harvested for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan, biomechanical testing and micro computed tomography scan. The whole body weight, femur bone mineral density (BMD), all three-point bending test parameters, microstructural parameters increased or improved significantly in Cont at day 21 when compared to day 0. The whole body weight, distal femur BMD, Young’s modulus, bending stiffness, density of tissue volume and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) decreased, while structure model index and trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) increased significantly in Pre at day 21 when compared to age-matched control but had no significant differences between day 7 and day 21. Our data demonstrate that 7-day use of prednisone does not influence on rats’ femur, and 21-day use of prednisone slows in rate of whole body weight gain, decreases femur metaphysis BMD and bone stiffness which mainly due to the deteriorated bone microstructure.

Neurosensory effects of chronic human exposure to arsenic associated with body burden and environmental measures

Exposure to arsenic in drinking water is known to produce a variety of health problems, including peripheral neuropathy. Auditory, visual and somatosensory impairment have been reported in Mongolian farmers living in the Yellow River Valley, where drinking water is contaminated by arsenic. In the present study, sensory tests, including pinprick and vibration thresholds, were administered to 320 residents with well-water arsenic levels, ranging from non-detectable to 690 μg/L. Vibration thresholds in the second and fifth fingers of both hands were measured using a vibrothesiometer. Drinking water, urine and toenail samples were obtained to assess arsenic exposure and body burden. Regression analyses indicated significant associations of pinprick scores and vibration thresholds with all arsenic measures. Vibration thresholds were more strongly associated with urinary than water or nail arsenic measures, but odds ratios for decreased pinprick sensitivity were highest for the water arsenic measure. Results of the current study indicate neurosensory effects of arsenic exposure at concentrations well below the 1000 μg/L drinking water level specified by NRC, and suggest that non-carcinogenic end-points, such as vibration thresholds, are useful in the risk assessment of exposure to arsenic in drinking water.

Pressure coefficients for direct optical transitions in MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2 crystals and semiconductor to metal transitions

The electronic band structure of MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, crystals has been studied at various hydrostatic pressures experimentally by photoreflectance (PR) spectroscopy and theoretically within the density functional theory (DFT). In the PR spectra direct optical transitions (A and B) have been clearly observed and pressure coefficients have been determined for these transitions to be: αA = 2.0 ± 0.1 and αB = 3.6 ± 0.1 meV/kbar for MoS2, αA = 2.3 ± 0.1 and αB = 4.0 ± 0.1 meV/kbar for MoSe2, αA = 2.6 ± 0.1 and αB = 4.1 ± 0.1 meV/kbar for WS2, αA = 3.4 ± 0.1 and αB = 5.0 ± 0.5 meV/kbar for WSe2. It has been found that these coefficients are in an excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. In addition, a comparative study of different computational DFT approaches has been performed and analyzed. For indirect gap the pressure coefficient have been determined theoretically to be -7.9, -5.51, -6.11, and -3.79, meV/kbar for MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, respectively. The negative values of this coefficients imply a narrowing of the fundamental band gap with the increase in hydrostatic pressure and a semiconductor to metal transition for MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, crystals at around 140, 180, 190, and 240 kbar, respectively.

Male pattern baldness and risk of colorectal neoplasia

Background:

Male pattern baldness is positively associated with androgens as well as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and insulin, all of which are implicated in pathogenesis of colorectal neoplasia.

Methods:

From 1992 through 2010, we prospectively followed participants in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Hair pattern at age 45 years was assessed at baseline with five image categories (no baldness, frontal-only baldness, frontal-plus-mild-vertex baldness, frontal-plus-moderate-vertex baldness, and frontal-plus-severe-vertex baldness). Cancer analysis included 32 782 men and used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Restricted to men who underwent at least one endoscopy over the study period, adenoma analysis included 29 770 men and used logistic regressions for clustered data to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs.

Results:

Over the mean follow-up of 15.6 years, 710 cases of colorectal cancer (478 for colon, 152 for rectum, and 80 unknown site) developed. Significantly increased risks associated with frontal-only baldness and frontal-plus-mild-vertex baldness relative to no baldness were observed for colon cancer with respective HR being 1.29 (95% CI, 1.03–1.62) and 1.31 (95% CI, 1.01–1.70). Over the 19-year study period, 3526 cases of colorectal adenoma were detected. Evidence for an increased risk of colorectal adenoma relative to no baldness was significant with frontal-only baldness (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.06–1.26) and borderline insignificant with frontal-plus-severe-vertex baldness (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.98–1.33).

Conclusions:

Subtypes of male pattern baldness at age 45 years were positively associated with colorectal neoplasia. Future studies are warranted to confirm our results and to determine the predictive value of male pattern baldness to identify those at high risk for colorectal neoplasia.