Effect of progestin on thyroid function in female Wistar rats.

Introduction: To characterize the influence of female-specific hormones on women's thyroid function, the study investigated the influence of extra progestin from oral contraceptives on inducing thyroid dysfunction. Methods: Sixty female Wistar rats were divided into six groups based on levonorgestrel or desogestrel administration as the main active agents: control, low (0.0039 mg*20-fold), medium (0.0039 mg*100-fold), high (0.0318 mg*100-fold) levonorgestrel (pure product); and low (0.0083 mg*20-fold) and high (0.0083 mg*100-fold) desogestrel (pure product). Progestin was administered by gavage every 4 days for 1 month. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way analysis of variance and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Following levonorgestrel gavage, serum free T4 and thyroidstimulating hormone levels were significantly lower in the experimental group than that in the control group (p=0.013 and 0.043). After desogestrel gavage, the serum free T4 and free T3 levels were lower in the experimental group than that in the control group (p=0.019 and 0.030). Thyroid hormone antibody concentrations were lower in rats administered levonorgestrel and desogestrel than that in control rats. Moreover, exposure to progestin upregulated the expression of the thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor and sodium iodide symporter in thyroid. Discussion: Progestin stimulation enhanced the proliferation of follicular epithelial cells in rat thyroid tissues. Progestin exposure could cause thyroid dysfunction by upregulating the transcription of thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor and sodium iodide symporter in thyroid, thus inducing pathomorphological changes in rats' thyroid.

Associations of phthalates with accelerated aging and the mitigating role of physical activity.

Phthalates are positioned as potential risk factors for health-related diseases. However, the effects of exposure to phthalates on accelerated aging and the potential modifications of physical activity remain unclear. A total of 2317 participants containing complete study-related information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2010 were included in the current study. We used two indicators, the Klemera-Doubal method biological age acceleration (BioAgeAccel) and phenotypic age acceleration (PhenoAgeAccel), to assess the accelerated aging status of the subjects. Multiple linear regression (single pollutant models), weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, Quantile g-computation, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were utilized to explore the associations between urinary phthalate metabolites and accelerated aging. Three groups of physical activity with different intensities were used to evaluate the modifying effects on the above associations. Results indicated that most phthalate metabolites were significantly associated with BioAgeAccel and PhenoAgeAccel, with effect values (ß) ranging from 0.16 to 0.21 and 0.16-0.37, respectively. The WQS indices were positively associated with BioAgeAccel (0.33, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.54) and PhenoAgeAccel (0.50, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.82). Quantile g-computation indicated that phthalate mixtures were associated with accelerated aging, with effect values of 0.15 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.28) for BioAgeAccel and 0.39 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.67) for PhenoAgeAccel respectively. The BKMR models indicated a significant positive association between the concentrations of urinary phthalate mixtures with the two indicators. In addition, we found that most phthalate metabolites showed the strongest effects on accelerated aging in the no physical activity group and that the effects decreased gradually with increasing levels of physical activity (P < 0.05 for trend). Similar results were also observed in the mixed exposure models (WQS and Quantile g-computation). This study indicates that phthalates exposure is associated with accelerated aging, while physical activity may be a crucial barrier against phthalates exposure-related aging.

Transcriptomics-based analysis reveals the nephrotoxic effects of triphenyltin (TPT) on SD rats by affecting RAS, AQPs and lipid metabolism.

Triphenyltin (TPT) is a class of organotin compounds that are extensively used in industry and agriculture. They have endocrine-disrupting effects and cause severe environmental contamination. Pollutants may accumulate in the kidneys and cause pathological complications. However, the mechanism of TPT's toxicological effects on the kidney remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the toxic effects and mechanism of action of TPT exposure on renal impairment in rats. Male SD rats were divided into four groups: the Ctrl group (control group), TPT-L group (0.5 mg/kg/d), TPT-M group (1 mg/kg/d), and TPT-H group (2 mg/kg/d). After 28 days of exposure to TPT, we observed the morphology and structure of kidney tissue using HE, PASM, and Masson staining. We also detected serum biochemical indexes, performed transcriptome sequencing of rat kidney tissue using RNA-seq. Furthermore, protein expression levels were measured through immunohistochemistry and gene expression levels were determined using RT-qPCR. The study results indicated a decrease in kidney weight and relative kidney weight after 28 days of exposure to TPT. Additionally, TPT caused damage to kidney structure and function, as evidenced by HE staining, PASM staining, and serum biochemical tests. Transcriptomics identified 352 DEGs, and enrichment analyses revealed that TPT exposure primarily impacted the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). The expression levels of water channel proteins were reduced, and the expression levels of RAS and lipid metabolism-related genes (Mme, Ace, Fasn, Cyp4a8, Cpt1b and Ppard) were significantly decreased in the TPT-treated group. In summary, exposure to TPT may impair renal structure and function in rats by affecting RAS, AQPs, and lipid metabolism.

Quantitative parameters of dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography for evaluating Ki-67 and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression in colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Ki-67 and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) are key biomarkers in evaluating the prognosis of colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRAC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of quantitative parameters in dual-layer spectral detector computed tomography (SDCT) for evaluating the expression of Ki-67 and HER2 in CRAC. Methods: In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, 88 eligible patients with pathologically confirmed CRAC were selected from Taicang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between May 2021 and April 2023. The study participants underwent enhanced SDCT of the whole abdomen within 2 weeks before to surgery, did not receive antitumor therapy, and had complete immunohistochemical (IHC) indexes. Patients with nonadenocarcinoma pathologic types, poor quality of spectral CT images, or no complete immunohistochemistry results were excluded. Spectral parameters including CT values at 40 and 100 keV, effective atomic number, iodine concentration (IC), the slope of the spectral Hounsfield unit (HU) curve (λHU), and normalized iodine concentration (NIC) in the arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP) were analyzed for their value in distinguishing between the high and low expression of Ki-67 and HER2-positive and -negative status in CRAC. The statistical significance of the SDCT parameters between the different groups of Ki-67 expression and those of HER2 status was assessed with the Mann-Whitney test. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the SDCT parameters and the extent of Ki-67 expression and HER2 expression status. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Results: The SDCT parameters of CT values at 40 keV, effective atomic number, IC, and the λHU in the VP showed significant differences between the Ki-67 high- and low-expression groups in CRAC (P=0.035, P=0.041, P=0.036, and P=0.044, respectively), with AUCs of 0.639 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.512-0.766], 0.634 (95% CI: 0.508-0.761), 0.638 (95% CI: 0.510-0.766), and 0.633 (95% CI: 0.504-0.762), respectively. The expression of CRAC Ki-67 was positively correlated with CT values at 40 keV (r=0.227; P=0.034), effective atomic number (r=0.219; P=0.040), IC (r=0.225; P=0.035), and the λHU in VP (r=0.216; P=0.043). SDCT parameter values showed no statistical difference between negative and positive expression in HER2 (all P values >0.05). There was no significant correlation between SDCT parameters and the expression of HER2 in CRAC (all P values >0.05). Conclusions: The quantitative parameters of SDCT in the VP provide valuable information for distinguishing between the low expression and high expression of Ki-67 in CRAC.

Effect of adding hip exercises to general rehabilitation treatment of knee osteoarthritis on patients' physical functions: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Hip adductor and abductor strength were both reduced in KOA patients. But to date, most of the researches have only focused on quadriceps combined with hip abductor strengthening versus quadriceps strengthening. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of adding hip abductor and adductor strengthening to quadriceps strengthening on lower limb strength, knee pain and physical function in patients with medial compartmental knee osteoarthritis. METHODS: In this study, 42 participants, were randomly divided into two groups: the general treatment group (GT group) and the added-hip-exercise group (AH group). All participants were given a general rehabilitation treatment. The AH group performed hip abductor and adductor strengthening in addition to the general rehabilitation treatment. Knee and hip muscle strength, Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test (FTSST), the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores were assessed at baseline and 6 weeks. A two-sided 2-sample unpaired t test was performed to compare the difference in mean change scores between AH and GT groups. RESULTS: Finally, 36 participants completed the study: both groups consist of 18 participants. In the per-protocol analysis, the AH group had a greater improvement in knee extension strength (mean changes, 7.84 versus 36.48; P < 0.001) and hip abduction strength (mean changes, 5.05 versus 26.62; P = 0.001) than the control group. Similarly, the AH group had a greater improvement in the FTSST time (mean changes, 0.40 s versus 3.57 s; P < 0.001) and the TUFT time (mean changes, 0.18 s versus 1.67 s; P = 0.002) than the GH group. No statistical difference was found in the change of WOMAC pain scores and NRS between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with knee OA in the AH group had superior muscle strength, symptoms and daily activity performance at the 6th week than those in the GT group. And adding hip exercises could expedite improvement of pain at the 2th week, but not at the 6th week. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trial registration numbers and date of registration: ChiCTR-IOR-16009124, Registered 30 August 2016.

Metabolomic profiles, polygenic risk scores and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based cohort study in the UK Biobank.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between metabolomic profiles, genome-wide polygenic risk scores (PRSs) and risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: 143 nuclear magnetic resonance-based plasma metabolic biomarkers were measured among 93 800 participants in the UK Biobank. The Cox regression model was used to assess the associations between these metabolic biomarkers and RA risk, and genetic correlation and Mendelian randomisation analyses were performed to reveal their causal relationships. Subsequently, a metabolic risk score (MRS) comprised of the weighted sum of 17 clinically validated metabolic markers was constructed. A PRS was derived by assigning weights to genetic variants that exhibited significant associations with RA at a genome-wide level. RESULTS: A total of 620 incident RA cases were recorded during a median follow-up time of 8.2 years. We determined that 30 metabolic biomarkers were potentially associated with RA, while no further significant causal associations were found. Individuals in the top decile of MRS had an increased risk of RA (HR 3.52, 95% CI: 2.80 to 4.43) compared with those below the median of MRS. Further, significant gradient associations between MRS and RA risk were observed across genetic risk strata. Specifically, compared with the low genetic risk and favourable MRS group, the risk of incident RA in the high genetic risk and unfavourable MRS group has almost elevated by fivefold (HR 6.10, 95% CI: 4.06 to 9.14). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested the metabolic profiles comprising multiple metabolic biomarkers contribute to capturing an elevated risk of RA, and the integration of genome-wide PRSs further improved risk stratification.

Association between ambient air pollution and thyroid hormones levels: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Growing studies have focused on the effects of ambient air pollution on thyroid hormones (THs), but the results were controversial. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted by pooling current evidence on this association. METHODS: Four databases were searched for studies examining the associations of particulate matter [diameter ≤10 µm (PM10) or ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5)] and gaseous [sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO)] pollutants with THs levels. Random effects models were used to pool the changes in THs levels with increasing air pollutant concentrations. Subgroup analyses were constructed by region, design, sample size, pollutant concentrations, evaluated methods, and potential risk exposure windows. RESULTS: A total of 14 studies covering 357,226 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results showed significant associations of exposure to PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO with decreases in free thyroxine (FT4) with percent changes (PC) ranging from -0.593 % to -3.925 %. PM2.5, NO2, and CO were negatively associated with levels of FT4/FT3 (PC: from -0.604 % to -2.975 %). In addition, results showed significant associations of PM2.5 with hypothyroxinemia and high thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Subgroup analyses indicated that PM2.5 and NO2 were significantly associated with FT4 in studies of Chinese, and similar significant findings were found in studies of PM2.5 and FT4/FT3 in areas with higher concentrations of air pollutants and larger samples. PM2.5 exposure in the first trimester was found to be associated with lower FT4 levels in pregnant women. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that exposure to air pollution is associated with changes in THs levels. Enhanced management of highly polluted areas, identification of harmful components and sources of PM, and protection from harmful exposures in early pregnancy may be of great public health importance for the population's thyroid function.

Detection and Reconstruction of Passion Fruit Branches via CNN and Bidirectional Sector Search.

Accurate detection and reconstruction of branches aid the accuracy of harvesting robots and extraction of plant phenotypic information. However, the complex orchard background and twisting growing branches of vine fruit trees make this challenging. To solve these problems, this study adopted a Mask Region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) architecture incorporating deformable convolution to segment branches in complex backgrounds. Based on the growth posture, a branch reconstruction algorithm with bidirectional sector search was proposed to adaptively reconstruct the segmented branches obtained by an improved model. The average precision, average recall, and F1 scores of the improved Mask R-CNN model for passion fruit branch detection were found to be 64.30%, 76.51%, and 69.88%, respectively, and the average running time on the test dataset was 0.75 s per image, which is better than the compared model. We randomly selected 40 images from the test dataset to evaluate the branch reconstruction. The branch reconstruction accuracy, average error, average relative error of reconstructed diameter, and mean intersection-over-union (mIoU) were 88.83%, 1.98 px, 7.98, and 83.44%, respectively. The average reconstruction time for a single image was 0.38 s. This would promise the proposed method to detect and reconstruct plant branches under complex orchard backgrounds.

Metabolic Signature of Healthy Lifestyle and Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Observational and Mendelian Randomization Study.

BACKGROUND: Although substantial evidence reveals that healthy lifestyle behaviors are associated with a lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the underlying metabolic mechanisms remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the metabolic signature reflecting a healthy lifestyle and investigate its observational and genetic linkage with RA risk. METHODS: This study included 87,258 UK Biobank participants (557 cases with incident RA) aged 37-73 y with complete lifestyle, genotyping, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics data. A healthy lifestyle was assessed based on 5 factors: healthy diet, regular exercise, not smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, and normal body mass index. The metabolic signature was developed by summing the selected metabolites' concentrations weighted by the coefficients using elastic net regression. We used the multivariate Cox model to assess the associations between metabolic signatures and RA risk, and examined the mediating role of the metabolic signature in the impact of a healthy lifestyle on RA. We performed genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) to obtain genetic variants associated with the metabolic signature and then conducted Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to detect causality. RESULTS: The metabolic signature comprised 81 metabolites, robustly correlated with a healthy lifestyle (r = 0.45, P = 4.2 × 10-15). The metabolic signature was inversely associated with RA risk (HR per standard deviation (SD) increment: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.70-0.83), and largely explained the protective effects of healthy lifestyle on RA with 64% (95% CI: 50.4-83.3) mediation proportion. 1- and 2-sample MR analyses also consistently showed the associations of genetically inferred per SD increment in metabolic signature with a reduction in RA risk (HR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.75-0.94; and P = 0.002 and OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73-0.97; and P = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings implicate that the metabolic signature reflecting healthy lifestyle is a potential causal mediator in the development of RA, highlighting the importance of early lifestyle intervention and metabolic status tracking for precise prevention of RA.

Systemic Inflammation Response Index Predicts Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) After the Treatment of Intravenous Thrombolysis.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) is one of the most important means of therapy for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). After cerebral infarction, the inflammatory response fulfills an essential role in the pathobiology of stroke, affecting the process of recanalization. Hence, we evaluated the usefulness of the systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) for the prognosis of patients with AIS. METHODS: A total of 161 patients suffering from AIS were retrospectively analyzed. SIRI was introduced and calculated using the absolute neutrophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte numbers from the admission blood work. The study outcomes were determined using a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at the 3-month timepoint, and a favorable clinical outcome was calculated in the mRS score range of 0 to 2. The analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was performed to determine the values of the optimal cutoff of SIRI for the prediction of clinical outcomes. In addition, multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the association between clinical outcomes and SIRI. RESULTS: The ROC curve analysis revealed that the ideal SIRI cutoff was at 2.54 [area under the curve, 78.85%; 95% CI, 71.70% to 86.00%; sensitivity, 70.89%; and specificity, 84.14%]. Multivariate analysis indicated that SIRI ≤2.54 (odds ratio, 1.557, 95% CI, 1.269 to 1.840; P =0.021) was an independent predictor of favorable clinical outcomes in patients suffering from AIS after treatment with IVT. CONCLUSIONS: We preliminary speculate that SIRI may serve as an independent predictor of clinical outcomes with AIS following IVT.

The roles and mechanisms of gut microbiome and metabolome in patients with cerebral infarction.

As the most common type of stroke, ischemic stroke, also known as cerebral infarction (CI), with its high mortality and disability rate, has placed a huge burden on social economy and public health. Treatment methods for CI mainly include thrombectomy, thrombolysis, drug therapy, and so on. However, these treatments have certain timeliness and different side effects. In recent years, the gut-brain axis has become a hot topic, and its role in nervous system diseases has been confirmed by increasing evidences. The intestinal microbiota, as an important part of the gut-brain axis, has a non-negligible impact on the progression of CI through mechanisms such as inflammatory response and damage-associated molecular patterns, and changes in the composition of intestinal microbiota can also serve as the basis for predicting CI. At the same time, the diagnosis of CI requires more high-throughput techniques, and the analysis method of metabolomics just fits this demand. This paper reviewed the changes of intestinal microbiota in patients within CI and the effects of the intestinal microbiota on the course of CI, and summarized the therapeutic methods of the intervention with the intestinal microbiota. Furthermore, metabolic changes of CI patients were also discussed to reveal the molecular characteristics of CI and to elucidate the potential pathologic pathway of its interference.

Association between Meteorological Factors and Outpatient Visits for Herpes Zoster in Hefei, China: A Time-Series Analysis.

This study sought to investigate the relationship between meteorological factors and outpatient visits for herpes zoster. In this time-series analysis, we used data from two major hospitals in Hefei, collected between 2015 and 2019, to evaluate the impact of meteorological factors on the risk of herpes zoster. After controlling for confounders, we adopted a distributed lag nonlinear model to probe the relationship between meteorological factors and outpatient visits for herpes zoster. The analysis was stratified according to age (<40 years, ≥40 years) and sex (male, female). A total of 43,547 cases of herpes zoster were reported, and compared with the median value, a high temperature and high relative humidity had a significant risk effect on the incidence of herpes zoster. The maximum harmful effect of high temperature on herpes zoster occurred on the lag0 (RR: 1.027, 95% CI: 1.002-1.053) and further declined over the following days. The cumulative effect increased with the extension of lag days, and the cumulative RR was the largest on the sixth day of lag (RR1.031, 95% CI: 1.006-1.056) when the relative humidity was 85.7% (77.0% as the reference). The stratified analysis results reveal that females and the elderly (≥40 years) were more susceptible to temperature and relative humidity. This study shows that high-temperatures may lead to herpes zoster, indicating that those infected with varicella zoster virus need to take measures over the course of several days when not exposed to the best appropriate temperature conditions.

Quality of clinical practice guidelines relevant to rehabilitation of knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review summarized the rehabilitation recommendations for treating and managing knee osteoarthritis (OA) in practice guidelines and evaluated their applicability and quality using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, PEDro, Guideline central, Guideline International Network and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) were used to search for relevant studies published between 1 January 2008 and 31 May 2022. METHODS: AGREE II was used to evaluate the included guidelines quality, SPSS 25.0 statistical software was used for data analysis, and the intra-group correlation coefficient value was calculated to verify the consistency between the raters. The two-way random effects model was used to calculate concordance scores, and each domain's total scores were calculated. Additionally, the median and interquartile range for domain and total scores were calculated. RESULTS: Twenty-four guidelines recommending knee OA rehabilitation were included. Inter-rater consistency evaluation ranged from 0.62 to 0.90. The domains where the guideline's overall and rehabilitation parts scored highest and lowest were scope and purpose (domain 1) and applicability (domain 5), respectively. The highly recommended rehabilitation opinions included aerobic exercise programs (21/24), weight control (16/24), self-education and management (16/24), gait/walking aids (7/24), and tai chi (6/24). However, the orthopedic insole and hot/cold therapy roles remain controversial. CONCLUSION: The clinical practice guidelines' overall quality for knee OA rehabilitation is good; however, the applicability is slightly poor. Therefore, we should improve the promoting factors and hindering factors, guideline application recommendations, tools, and resources when developing relevant guidelines.

Spatial architecture of the cochlear immune microenvironment in noise-induced and age-related sensorineural hearing loss.

The cochlea encodes sound stimuli and transmits them to the central nervous system, and damage to sensory cells and synapses in the cochlea leads to hearing loss. The inner ear was previously considered to be an immune privileged organ to protect the auditory organ from reactions with the immune system. However, recent studies have revealed the presence of resident macrophages in the cochlea, especially in the spiral ligament, spiral ganglion, and stria vascularis. The tissue-resident macrophages are responsible for the detection, phagocytosis, and clearance of cellular debris and pathogens from the tissues, and they initiate inflammation and influence tissue repair by producing inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Insult to the cochlea can activate the cochlear macrophages to initiate immune responses. In this review, we describe the distribution and functions of cochlear macrophages in noise-induced hearing impairment and age-related hearing disabilities. We also focus on potential therapeutic interventions concerning hearing loss by modulating local immune responses.

Short-term effect of ambient temperature and ambient temperature changes on the risk of warts outpatient visits in Hefei, China: a retrospective time-series study.

Concerns are growing about the adverse health effects of ambient temperature and ambient temperature changes. However, the association between ambient temperature and ambient temperature changes on the risk of warts outpatient visits is poorly understood. Our study used the distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) aimed to evaluate the association between ambient temperature, ambient temperature changes (including temperature change between neighboring days (TCN) and diurnal temperature range (DTR)), and warts outpatient visits. We also performed subgroup analyses in order to find susceptible populations by gender and age groups. The maximum relative risk (RR) of low ambient temperature (0 °C) for warts outpatient visits was 1.117 (95% CI: 1.041-1.198, lag 04 days), and the maximum RR of high ambient temperature (32 °C) for warts outpatient visits was 1.318 (95% CI: 1.083-1.605, lag 07 days). The large temperature drop (TCN = - 3 °C) decreased the risk of warts visits, with the lowest RR value at the cumulative exposure of lag 7 days (RR = 0.888, 95% CI: 0.822-0.959), and the large temperature rise (TCN = 2 °C) increased the risk of warts visits, with the highest RR value at the cumulative exposure of lag 7 days (RR = 1.080, 95% CI: 1.022-1.142). Overall, both low and high ambient temperatures and large temperature rise can increase the risk of warts visits, while large temperature drop is a protective factor for warts visits. However, we did not find any association between DTR and warts visits. Furthermore, subgroup analyses showed that males and the young (0-17 years old) were more sensitive to low and high ambient temperatures, and the elderly (≥ 65 years old) were more susceptible to TCN. The results may provide valuable evidence for reducing the disease burden of warts in the future.

Protection of Vitamin C on Oxidative Damage Caused by Long-Term Excess Iodine Exposure in Wistar Rats.

Vitamin C was reported to be able to protect against oxidative damage due to its reducibility. 120 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 × 2 groups, including normal iodine (NI), high iodine (HI), low vitamin C (HI + LC), and high vitamin C (HI + HC); potassium iodide (KI) and potassium iodate (KIO3) were commonly used as additives for iodized salt, so every group was also divided into KI and KIO3 groups. After 6 months' feed, the activities of antioxidant enzymes and Lipid Peroxide (MDA) content in serum, liver, kidney, brain, thyroid and lens were determined. In serum, for males, long-term excess iodine intake caused oxidative damage; in the liver, male rats in the HI + LC group had the highest MDA content, which showed that low-dose vitamin C might promote oxidative damage; in kidneys, the MDA content in the HI and HI + LC groups of females was higher; in the brain, high-dose vitamin C could increase the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), which was decreased by high iodine intake, and it also decreased MDA content; in the thyroid, for KIO3, the activity of SOD in the HI group was lower than NI and HI + LC; in the lens, the MDA content in females was lower than males. Long-term excess iodine exposure caused oxidative damage and showed sex difference, and vitamin C had a protective effect on it, especially for high-dose vitamin C.

Clinical analysis of 13 cases of primary squamous-cell thyroid carcinoma.

Objective: To analyze the clinical features, ultrasonographic manifestations, pathological features, treatment and prognosis of primary thyroid squamous cell carcinoma (PSCTC) and summarize the experience in diagnosis and treatment of this condition. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who were admitted to Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from 2007 to 2021 due to thyroid nodules or thyroid malignant tumors that were ultimately confirmed by postoperative pathology as primary thyroid squamous cell carcinoma. We summarize the general situation, clinical information, laboratory examination, ultrasonic image characteristics, pathological examination, clinical treatment and prognosis of the patients. Results: PSCTC is most often seen in older men and progresses rapidly. In laboratory tests, some patients had elevated levels of tumor markers (CA199, squamous cell carcinoma antigen level), thyroglobulin levels and tumor-related substances, but all these indicators lacked specificity. The ultrasound features of PSCTC are mainly hypoechoic, hard, substantial nodules with gross borders and a grade 1-2 blood flow signal, sometimes with signs of necrosis and calcification. In terms of treatment, PSCTC is mainly surgically resected, though some patients in this study underwent iodine-131 radiation therapy, local radiotherapy, and chemotherapy with unclear results. None of the patients survived for very long after treatment, but the prognosis of patients with highly differentiated squamous carcinoma was significantly better than that of patients with poorly differentiated squamous carcinoma. Papillary thyroid carcinoma may be one of the causes of PSCTC. Conclusion: PSCTC is a malignant tumor with high malignancy and rapid clinical progression. Treatment options are mainly based on surgical resection and can be supplemented with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but there is still a lack of a standardized treatment management system, and more cases and reports are needed to accumulate data.

The landscape of extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) in the normal hematopoiesis and leukemia evolution.

Elevated extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA) has been reported to accelerate tumor pathogenesis. Although the eccDNA profiles of other tumors have been established, the landscape of the eccDNA of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not been revealed. Our study first depicted the eccDNA profile of normal hematopoiesis and AML evolution by exploiting the ATAC-seq and RNA-seq data from nine healthy donors and 12 AML patients, which contained a total of 137 cell samples and 96 RNA-seq samples (including 16 blood cell types of the normal hematopoietic and AML hierarchies). We found the number of eccDNAs generally increased with the evolution of normal hematopoiesis and AML. The ecDNAs and ring chromosomes were found to reappear both in normal hematopoiesis and AML cells. Furthermore, we compared the eccDNAs of AML with normal cells. There were almost 300 AML-specific genes, including the known oncogenes NRAS, MCL1, EVI1, GATA2, WT1, and PAK1. And the ecDNA (chr11: 58668376-58826008) occurred in five out of 17 AML evolution-related cells, which was associated with the high expression of the GLYATL1 gene and the high expressed GLYATL1 was a poor prognostic factor. In conclusion, the eccDNA profiles of normal hematopoiesis and AML evolution were depicted and the recurrent eccDNAs we revealed might be utilized in the treatment of AML as biomarkers.

Zero Discharge of Nutrient Solution to the Environment in a Soilless Greenhouse Cucumber Production System.

With the development of the economy and society, more attention is being paid to energy costs and the potential environmental pollution caused by vegetable cultivation. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of zero discharge of nutrient solutions on cucumber growth, leaf photosynthesis, and the yield and quality of cucumber under greenhouse conditions. The results show that zero discharge treatment did not change plant height, stem diameter, internode length, leaf area, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (Tr), and leaf relative chlorophyll content on the most measurement days. Only Pn and relative chlorophyll content were significantly reduced after 16 days of treatment but soon recovered over time. Cucumber plants can adapt to treatment circumstances over the course of days. Leaf mineral element contents showed significant differences on some treatment days compared to the control, and trace elements of Fe, Mn, Cu, and Mo can be appropriately supplied during the treatment days. The cucumber yield and fruit quality in the zero discharge treatment did not change during the whole experimental period. This study confirmed that the irrigation method of a nutrient solution with zero discharge can be applied in cucumber cultivation practices. The strict management of irrigation strategy, plant growth, and greenhouse climate are very important for zero discharge cultivation. The cultivation method with zero discharge of nutrient solution can reduce the energy costs of disinfection, save water and fertilizers, and reduce the environmental pollution in cucumber cultivation.

The relationship between different iodine sources and nutrition in pregnant women and adults.

Background: Different iodine supplement measures emerge along with the economy development in China. The article objectives are to compare and explore the relationship between iodine sources and nutrition of pregnant women and adults. Methods: A total of 2,145 pregnant women and 1,660 adults were investigated by multi-stage random method. Questionnaire was used to collect basic information and the consumption of food, water, and iodine preparations. Household salt and individual urine and blood samples were collected, and thyroid function and morphology of pregnant women were measured. Results: The median urinary iodine concentration (MUIC) of pregnant women (164.49 µg/L) was lower than adults (187.30 µg/L, p < 0.05). Iodine supplement with IS (iodized salt) was the main measure for pregnant women and adults, and the difference was mainly on the consumption of iodine preparations between pregnant women (5.19%) and adults (0.85%). Moreover, adults' dietary iodine intake from food (100.6 µg/day), IS (140.8 µg/day), and drinking water (6.0 µg/day) was higher than those of pregnant women (86.5, 107.2, and 3.5 µg/day, respectively). Compared with iodine supplement with IS, ISFP (IS + iodine-rich food + iodine preparations) could reduce the risk of iodine deficiency for pregnant women. The MUICs for pregnant women and adults of iodine supplements with IF (iodine-rich food) and ISF (IS + iodine-rich food) were lower. For pregnant women, thyroid nodule (11.90%) and peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) positive (9.32%) were high prevalent thyroid diseases, and habitation (urban/rural), gestation, annual income, and drinking water type would affect them. Conclusion: Pregnant women and adults had adequate iodine nutrition in four provinces. Their iodine supplement measures were different, the consumption of iodine preparations in pregnant women was higher, and their dietary iodine intake was lower than adults. ISFP was an effect measure for pregnant women to supplement iodine.