Fasting serum glucose, thyroid-stimulating hormone, and thyroid hormones and risk of papillary thyroid cancer: A case-control study.

Background: This study was to investigate the association of fasting serum glucose (FSG), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroid hormones with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

Methods: A total of 649 participants were included in this case-control study. The associations of FSG, TSH, free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) with PTC were estimated using an unconditional logistic regression.

Survival in Papillary Thyroid Microcarcinoma: A Comparative Analysis Between the 7th and 8th Versions of the AJCC/UICC Staging System Based on the SEER Database.

Considerable modifications have been introduced in the new edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control (AJCC/UICC) TNM staging system. Based on the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, this study aimed to compare the 7th and 8th editions of the AJCC/UICC TNM staging system for patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) and follicular variant papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (FVPTMC). A Data from 2004 to 2014 of 39,032 patients registered in the SEER database were included.

Rational choice of induction chemotherapy-based larynx preservation for hypopharyngeal cancer.

Unlabelled: Backgroud: Induction chemotherapy, as a larynx preservation treatment, has been available for over 20 years. We conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy of this protocol with taxene, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil in Chinese patients with hypopharyngeal cancer that chose preservation strategy.

Material And Methods: 170 patients with locally advanced hypopharyngeal cancer were assigned to receive induction chemotherapy.

Expression and clinical significance of basic transcription factor 3 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Basic transcription factor 3 (BTF3), a transcription factor and modulator of apoptosis, is differentially expressed in carcinoma. To acquire further understanding of the involvement of BTF3 in carcinoma, the present study analyzed the expression of BTF3, as well as its role in cell function in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). BTF3 transcription rates in human NPC samples (n=46) and adjacent normal tissue samples (n=46) were analyzed using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry.

Crossing exceptional points without phase transition.

We show that the theoretical framework linking exceptional points (EPs) to phase transitions in parity-time (PT) symmetric Hamiltonians is incomplete. Particularly, we demonstrate that the application of the squaring operator to a Jx PT lattice dramatically alter the topology of its Riemann surface, eventually resulting in a system that can cross an EP without undergoing a symmetry breaking. We elucidate on these rather surprising results by invoking the notion of phase diagrams in higher dimensional parameter space.

Enhanced Stain Removal and Comfort Control Achieved by Cross-Linking Light and Thermo Dual-Responsive Copolymer onto Cotton Fabrics.

Enhanced capabilities of stain removal and comfort control are simultaneously achieved by the light and thermo dual-responsive copolymer poly(triethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate- co-ethylene glycol methacrylate- co-acrylamide azobenzene) (P(MEOMA- co-EGMA- co-AAAB)) cross-linked on cotton fabrics. P(MEOMA- co-EGMA- co-AAAB) is synthesized by sequential atom transfer radical polymerization with a molar ratio of 8 (MEOMA):1 (EGMA):1 (AAAB). The MEOMA units induce a thermoresponsive behavior to the copolymer.

Arsenic Exposure and Incident Hypertension of Adult Residents Living in Rural Areas Along the Yangtze River, Anhui, China.

Objective: As a widespread toxic metal, arsenic had potential effect for hypertensive. We evaluated the association between urinary arsenic and the incidence of hypertension in adult residents along the Yangtze River of China.

Methods: We conducted the study of 1358 adults 18 to 74 years of age from Chizhou, Maanshan, and Tongling of Anhui province, who participated in the baseline study in 2014 to 2015.

Winding around non-Hermitian singularities.

Non-Hermitian singularities are ubiquitous in non-conservative open systems. Owing to their peculiar topology, they can remotely induce observable effects when encircled by closed trajectories in the parameter space. To date, a general formalism for describing this process beyond simple cases is still lacking.

LncRNA UCA1 is necessary for TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and stemness via acting as a ceRNA for Slug in glioma cells.

The 5-year survival rate of patients with glioma is < 5%, and therefore there is an urgent need to find novel potential targets for facilitating its diagnosis and treatment. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) UCA1 has been shown to promote the proliferation and invasion of cervical cancer cells through regulating miR-206 expression, but the involvement of UCA1 in regulating the stemness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of glioma cells is unknown. Here, we report that the expression of UCA1 is significantly increased by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) treatment in glioma cells and is greater in glioma tissues than in normal adjacent tissues.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cells with 4-1BB Co-Stimulatory Domain Present a Superior Treatment Outcome than Those with CD28 Domain Based on Bioinformatics.

Background: The second-generation CD19-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T co-stimulatory domain that is commonly used in clinical practice is CD28 or 4-1BB. Previous studies have shown that the persistence of CAR-T in the 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain appears to be longer.

Methods: The expression profile data of GSE65856 were obtained from GEO database.

Boron(III)-Catalyzed C2-Selective C-H Borylation of Heteroarenes.

A BF ⋅Et O-catalyzed C2-selective C-H borylation of indoles with bis(pinacolato)diboron was developed to afford indole-2-boronic acid pinacol esters. A variety of functional groups were tolerated, and other heteroarenes like pyrrole and benzo[b]thiophene were also suitable substrates. An electrophilic substitution mechanism was proposed based on the preliminary mechanistic studies.

A response prediction model for taxane, cisplatin, and 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy in hypopharyngeal carcinoma.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide. The five-year survival rate of HNSCC has not improved even with major technological advancements in surgery and chemotherapy. Currently, docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5-fluoruracil (TPF) treatment has been the most popular chemotherapy method for HNSCC; but only a small percentage of HNSCC patients exhibit a good response to TPF treatment.

Droplet-digital polymerase chain reaction for detection of clinical hepatitis B virus DNA samples.

This study aimed to establish a quantitative droplet-digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) detection system for clinical hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in samples from patients with HBV infection with the aim of monitoring fluctuations and planning future antiviral treatments. Primers and probes for the conserved region of HBV DNA sequence (GenBank: AB554017.1) were designed by sequence alignment with the HBV DNA sequence in GenBank.

Effect of chain architecture on the swelling and thermal response of star-shaped thermo-responsive (poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene) block copolymer films.

The effect of chain architecture on the swelling and thermal response of thin films obtained from an amphiphilic three-arm star-shaped thermo-responsive block copolymer poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate)-block-polystyrene ((PMDEGA-b-PS)) is investigated by in situ neutron reflectivity (NR) measurements. The PMDEGA and PS blocks are micro-phase separated with randomly distributed PS nanodomains. The (PMDEGA-b-PS) films show a transition temperature (TT) at 33 °C in white light interferometry.

Early experience in endoscopic transoral resection for parapharyngeal space tumors.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of the resection of parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors via an endoscopic transoral approach. We reviewed 9 patients who were diagnosed with PPS tumors and who were treated with an endoscopic transoral approach. PPS tumors ranging from 2.

UGT1A1*6 and UGT1A1*28 polymorphisms are correlated with irinotecan-induced toxicity: A meta-analysis.

Background: Previous articles explored the role of UGT1A1 polymorphism on predicting irinotecan-induced toxicity, but the conclusions were still inconsistent and not comprehensive. We performed this meta-analysis to investigate the association between UGT1A1 polymorphism and irinotecan-induced toxicity.

Methods: PubMed and Web of Science were searched for articles before July 2017.

[Prevalence of hypertension and its influencing factors in rural areas along the Yangtze River in Anhui Province in 2014-2015].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence, awareness, treatment, control and related influence factors of hypertension among rural adult residents in areas along the Yangtze River in Anhui Province.

Methods: Totally 2873 rural adult residents in seven typical towns along the Yangtze River of Chizhou, Tongling and Ma'anshan Cities, Anhui Province were selected, with multistage-stratified random cluster sampling, to perform questionnaires and physical measurements from year 2014 to 2015.

Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 30.

MiRNA-221/222 in thyroid cancer: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: A meta-analysis was performed to observe whether a difference in miRNA-221/222 expression exists in thyroid cancer with normal thyroid or BTLs (benign thyroid lesions) and, under this premise, assess its diagnostic efficacy for thyroid cancer.

Methods: Systematic electronic literature searches were conducted to include PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science. The combined fold change (FC) was calculated, and pooled estimates of sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were calculated.

Comparative characterization of SHED and DPSCs during extended cultivation in vitro.

Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) are types of human dental tissue‑derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These cells possess a capacity for self‑renewal, multilineage differentiation potential and immunomodulatory functions. Previous studies have reported that DPSCs and SHED may be beneficial in regenerative treatments and immunotherapy.

Relationship between plasma trans-fatty acid isomer concentrations and self-reported cardiovascular disease risk in US adults.

The effect of different individual TFA isomers on cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been a limited study, especially for stroke. We aimed to investigate the relationships between four major plasma TFA isomer (elaidic, vaccenic, palmitelaidic and linolelaidic acid) concentrations and the risk of CVD, stroke and non-stroke CVD. A cross-sectional study was conducted, utilising a nationally representative sample of US adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Influence of Ethylene Glycol Methacrylate to the Hydration and Transition Behaviors of Thermo-Responsive Interpenetrating Polymeric Network Hydrogels.

The influence of ethylene glycol methacrylate (EGMA) to the hydration and transition behaviors of thermo-responsive interpenetrating polymeric network (IPN) hydrogels containing sodium alginate, -isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), and EGMA were investigated. The molar ratios of NIPAAm and EGMA were varied from 20:0 to 19.5:0.

Use of methylation profiling to identify significant differentially methylated genes in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells from acute myeloid leukemia.

The present study aimed to characterize the epigenetic architecture by studying the DNA methylation signature in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM‑MSCs) from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Microarray dataset GSE79695 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially methylated sites and differentially methylated CpG islands were identified in BM‑MSC samples from patients with AML compared with controls.

Impact of 36 h of total sleep deprivation on resting-state dynamic functional connectivity.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using static functional connectivity (sFC) measures have shown that the brain function is severely disrupted after long-term sleep deprivation (SD). However, increasing evidence has suggested that resting-state functional connectivity (FC) is dynamic and exhibits spontaneous fluctuation on a smaller timescale. The process by which long-term SD can influence dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) remains unclear.