To determine biological and clinical features of papillary and follicular thyroid carcinomas associated or not associated with chronic thyroiditis.
The study was conducted by retrospective analysis ...of medical histories of 2,459 patients with thyroid cancer. Tumor size, its category according to the TNM system, multi-focal properties of tumor growth, carcinoma invasiveness, as well as disease stage, rates of relapses and metastasis, and also cumulative survival rates were analyzed.
The tumor size in patients with papillary or follicular carcinoma associated with thyroiditis was smaller compared to the patients without thyroiditis. In the first case, the invasion frequency into extrathyroid structure and into the capsule was also lower. Multi-focal growth of both carcinoma types was registered more frequently in the presence of thyroiditis. The frequency of papillary carcinoma metastasis to lateral cervical lymph nodes was lower in the presence of thyroiditis, the frequency being equal for metastasis into lymph nodes of the VI lymph outflow zone in both groups of patients (with and without thyroiditis). In the presence of thyroiditis, the frequency of distant papillary carcinoma metastasis was decreased, no metastases were detected in patients with follicular carcinoma. In the group of patients with papillary carcinoma there was found no relation between the presence of thyroiditis and disease stage, relapse rates, and mortality levels; however, the risk of follicular carcinoma relapse was significantly lower in patients with thyroiditis.
The presence of chronic thyroiditis in papillary carcinoma patients showed a certain positive impact on the course of the disease, in particular, primary tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. Such effect is even more expressed in the patients with follicular thyroid carcinoma.
The correlation between the radon influx into the atmosphere and the formation of ions has been studied from the data of observations at the Fonovaya Observatory of Institute of Atmospheric Optics, ...Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. This correlation is shown to be stable in the period from October to January. In the other months, the correlation is disturbed. However, if the events of nucleation and lightning discharges are removed from the data set, then the correlation is kept throughout the year.
We compared the efficiency of transduction by an HIV-1-based lentiviral vector to that by a Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV) retroviral vector, using stringent in vitro assays of primitive, ...quiescent human hematopoietic progenitor cells. Each construct contained the enhanced green fluorescent protein (GEP) as a reporter gene. The lentiviral vector, but not the MLV vector, expressed GFP in nondivided CD34+cells (45.5% GFP+) and in CD34+CD38-cells in G0(12.4% GFP+), 48 hr after transduction. However, GFP could also be detected short-term in CD34+cells transduced with a lentiviral vector that contained a mutated integrase gene. The level of stable transduction from integrated vector was determined after extended long-term bone marrow culture. Both MLV vectors and lentiviral vectors efficiently transduced cytokine-stimulated CD34+cells. The MLV vector did not transduce more primitive, quiescent CD34+CD38-cells (n = 8). In contrast, stable transduction of CD34+CD38-cells by the lentiviral vector was seen for over 15 weeks of extended long-term culture (9.2± 5.2%, n=7). GFP expression in clones from single CD34+CD38-cells confirmed efficient, stable lentiviral transduction in 29% of early and late-proliferating cells. In the absence of growth factors during transduction, only the lentiviral vector was able to transduce CD34+and CD34+CD38-cells (13.5± 2.5%, n=11 and 12.2± 9.7%, n=4, respectively). The lentiviral vector is clearly superior to the MLV vector for transduction of quiescent, primitive human hematopoietic progenitor cells and may provide therapeutically useful levels of gene transfer into human hematopoietic stem cells.
Single crystals of the quaternary chalcogenide BaCuGdTe
were obtained by direct reaction of elements allowing for a complete investigation of the intrinsic electrical and thermal properties of this ...previously uninvestigated material. The structure was investigated by high-resolution single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction, revealing an orthorhombic crystal structure with the space group
Although recently identified as a semiconductor suitable for thermoelectric applications from theoretical analyses, our electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements show metallic conduction, the latter revealing strong phonon-drag. Temperature dependent hole mobility reveals dominant acoustic phonon scattering. Heat capacity data reveal a Debye temperature of 183 K and a very high density of states at the Fermi level, the latter confirming the metallic nature of this composition. Thermal conductivity is relatively high with Umklapp processes dominating thermal transport above the Debye temperature. The findings in this work lay the foundation for a more detailed understanding of the physical properties of this and similar multinary chalcogenide materials, and is part of the continuing effort in investigating quaternary chalcogenide materials and their suitability for use in technological applications.
Here we studied the cytoprotective effect of lithium chloride and sodium valproate in the
in vivo
model of neonatal cerebral ischemia/hypoxia and analyzed the influence of these substances on the ...death of the major neurovascular unit components in experimental ischemia
in vitro
. Lithium chloride and sodium valproate effectively prevented death of neurons, astrocytes, and endothelial cells in the oxygen-glucose deprivation. This treatment protected the brain of newborn rats from ischemia/hypoxia injury. The results suggest that lithium and sodium valproate can be used for the treatment of neurodegenerative pathologies associated with hypoxia and ischemia in newborns.
The properties of an elastic abrasive tool are considered: specifically, its rigidity, elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and cutting microrelief. On that basis, the interaction of the tool with the ...machined surface is analyzed, and the material removed and the final surface roughness are determined.
Changes in the amounts and dynamics of the deposition of carbon and nitrogen in the soil surface of anthropogenic pasture and forest ecosystems created in places of natural steppe and desert plant ...associations in the Northern Cis-Caspian area were studied. For two years after input, the litter of oak stands (
Quercus robur
) deposited 1.3 times more carbon and about the same amount of nitrogen as compared to the steppe litter, even though the mass of litter input in the forest plantation was 1.4 times less than that in the grass ecosystem. The values of carbon and nitrogen contents in the soil under steppe vegetation and under plantation were similar, but there was a redistribution of carbon and nitrogen contents in the forest soil. The carbon contents in the forest litter and 0–5 cm layer make up 33% of the contents in the litter and in 0–50 cm soil layer. The respective value was 22% under the steppe vegetation; the nitrogen contents were 2.9 and 2.0%, respectively. Due to intensive grazing, the ecosystems of microdepressions obtain 1.6–1.7 times less carbon and nitrogen than those of virgin plots. This value was 1.4 for the ecosystem of microelevations. A significant decrease in the contents of carbon and nitrogen was observed in the litter and 0–5 cm layer of meadow–chestnut soils of microdepressions under the pressure of intensive grazing.
Translocations involving the mixed lineage leukemia gene (MLL), the human homolog of the Drosophila gene trithorax, are one of the most common genetic alterations in human acute leukemias. Each ...translocation involving MLL results in loss of one functional copy of MLL and the generation of a chimeric fusion protein with potential dominant negative or neomorphic activity. Mll is a positive regulator of Hox genes, which have been implicated in both axial skeleton patterning and hematopoietic development. Previous studies indicated that Hox gene expression is altered in Mll heterozygous (+/-) and homozygous (-/-) deficient mice. To study the role of Mll in hematopoiesis and to obtain insights into leukemogenesis, we have examined the effects of haplo-insufficiency or absence of Mll by in vitro differentiation of Mll +/+, +/-, and -/- yolk sac progenitor cells. Mll -/- colonies were fewer in number, took longer to develop, and contained fewer cells than their wild-type and heterozygous counterparts. Formation of colony-forming unit-granulocyte, erythroid, macrophage, megakaryocyte (CFU-GEMM), colony-forming unit-macrophage (CFU-M), and burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E) was markedly decreased in Mll -/- cultures, while numbers of colony-forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E), colony-forming unit-granulocyte (CFU-G), and colony-forming unit-granulocyte macrophage (CFU-GM) were essentially unaffected. Despite the decreased numbers of colonies present, Mll -/- cultures showed all cell types without morphologic evidence of maturation arrest. These studies indicate that Mll is required for normal numbers of hematopoietic progenitors and their proper differentiation, especially along the myeloid and macrophage pathways.
West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family of vector-borne pathogens. Clinical signs of WNV infection include neurologic symptoms, limb weakness, and encephalitis, which can result ...in paralysis or death. We report that the WNV-capsid by itself induces rapid nuclear condensation and cell death in tissue culture. Apoptosis is induced through the mitochondrial pathway resulting in caspase-9 activation and downstream caspase-3 activation. Capsid gene delivery into the striatum of mouse brain or interskeletal muscle resulted in cell death and inflammation, likely through capsid-induced apoptosis in vivo. These studies demonstrate that the capsid protein of WNV may be responsible for aspects of viral pathogenesis through induction of the apoptotic cascade.
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