Establishment and validation of a multivariate logistic model for risk factors of thyroid nodules using lasso regression screening

ObjectiveThis study aims to analyze the association between the occurrence of thyroid nodules and various factors and to establish a risk factor model for thyroid nodules.MethodsThe study population was divided into two groups: a group with thyroid nodules and a group without thyroid nodules. Regression with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) was applied to the complete dataset for variable selection. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between various influencing factors and the prevalence of thyroid nodules.ResultsBased on the screening results of Lasso regression and the subsequent establishment of the Binary Logistic Regression Model on the training dataset, it was found that advanced age (OR=1.046, 95% CI: 1.033-1.060), females (OR = 1.709, 95% CI: 1.342-2.181), overweight individuals (OR = 1.546, 95% CI: 1.165-2.058), individuals with impaired fasting glucose (OR = 1.590, 95% CI: 1.193-2.122), and those with dyslipidemia (OR = 1.588, 95% CI: 1.197-2.112) were potential risk factors for thyroid nodule disease (p<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for the Binary Logistic Regression Model is 0.68 (95% CI: 0.64-0.72).Conclusionsadvanced age, females, overweight individuals, those with impaired fasting glucose, and individuals with dyslipidemia are potential risk factors for thyroid nodule disease

Copy Number Variation of Immune-Related Genes and Their Association with Iodine in Adults with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

Background. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) are complex conditions that are caused by an interaction between genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers. Iodine is already known to be an environmental trigger for AITD, but genes associated with susceptibility need to be further assessed. Therefore, the aims of this study were to assess the association between copy number variations (CNVs) and AITD, to identify genes related with susceptibility to AITD, and to investigate the interaction between iodine status and CNVs in the occurrence of AITD. Methods. Blood samples from 15 patients with AITD and 15 controls were assessed by chromosome microarray to identify candidate genes. The copy number of candidate genes and urinary iodine level was determined in adults from areas of different iodine statuses including 158 patients and 181 controls. Results. The immune-related genes, SIRPB1 and TMEM91, were selected as candidate genes. The distribution of SIRPB1 CNV in AITD patients and controls was significantly different and was considered a risk factor for AITD. There was no significant association between urinary iodine level and candidate gene CNVs. Conclusion. SIRPB1 CNV and an excess of iodine were risk factors for AITD, but an association with the occurrence of AITD was not found

Contribution of basal ganglia activity to REM sleep disorder in Parkinson’s disease

Background: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is one of the most common sleep problems and represents a key prodromal marker in Parkinson’s disease (PD). It remains unclear whether and how basal ganglia nuclei, structures that are directly involved in the pathology of PD, are implicated in the occurrence of RBD. Method: Here, in parallel with whole-night video polysomnography, we recorded local field potentials from two major basal ganglia structures, the globus pallidus internus and subthalamic nucleus, in two cohorts of patients with PD who had varied severity of RBD. Basal ganglia oscillatory patterns during RBD and REM sleep without atonia were analysed and compared with another age-matched cohort of patients with dystonia that served as controls. Results: We found that beta power in both basal ganglia nuclei was specifically elevated during REM sleep without atonia in patients with PD, but not in dystonia. Basal ganglia beta power during REM sleep positively correlated with the extent of atonia loss, with beta elevation preceding the activation of chin electromyogram activities by ~200 ms. The connectivity between basal ganglia beta power and chin muscular activities during REM sleep was significantly correlated with the clinical severity of RBD in PD. Conclusions: These findings support that basal ganglia activities are associated with if not directly contribute to the occurrence of RBD in PD. Our study expands the understanding of the role basal ganglia played in RBD and may foster improved therapies for RBD by interrupting the basal ganglia-muscular communication during REM sleep in PD

An International Survey of Deep Brain Stimulation Utilization in Asia and Oceania: The DBS Think Tank East.

Introduction: To evaluate the current utilization and challenges in fully implementing the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment in Asia and Oceania. Methods: We conducted a medical literature search to identify DBS research performed by investigators with a primary affiliation in Asian and Oceania countries between March 1, 2013, and March 1, 2019, followed by an international survey-based study. Additionally, we obtained added information regarding the DBS challenges and opportunities from the technology/industry perspective within China and Japan. We also described the current situation of DBS in India. Results: Most publications (390/494; 78.95%) in the English language originated from East Asia. In West Asia, Turkey, Israel, and Iran accounted for most DBS publications. We found no publications from the remaining 35 Asian countries. Lack of community referrals to tertiary centers was identified as the most common limitation for the widespread use of DBS in Asia (68.97%). In China, despite an increasing number of centers performing DBS surgeries, most of them accomplished less than 10 cases per year. In contrast, the number of DBS cases in Japan has been decreasing. Centers offering DBS surgeries as well as corresponding fellowship training in India are limited. Conclusion: Appropriate referrals, access, infrastructure, and the presence of full multidisciplinary DBS teams are common limitations of DBS in Asia. Most centers in China, Japan, and India performed less than 10 cases per year and a future study is expected to address the impact on quality in centers performing such few cases

Metagenomics Response of Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (anammox) Bacteria to Bio-Refractory Humic Substances in Wastewater

Anammox-based processes have been widely applied for the treatment of wastewater (e.g., wastewater irrigation systems and constructed wetland) which consists of bio-refractory humic substances. Nonetheless, the impacts of bio-refractory humic substances on anammox consortia are rarely reported. In the present study, three identical lab-scale anammox reactors (i.e., HS0, HS1 and HS10), two of which were dosed with humic substances at 1 and 10 mg·L−1, respectively, were operated for nearly one year. The long-term operation of the reactors showed that the presence of humic substances in influent had no significant influence on nitrogen removal rates. Despite this, comparative metagenomics showed changes in anammox microbiota structure during the exposure to humic substance; e.g., the relative abundance of Candidatus Kuenenia was lower in HS10 (18.5%) than that in HS0 (22.8%) and HS1 (21.7%). More specifically, a lower level of humic substances (1 mg·L−1) in influent led to an increase of genes responsible for signal transduction, likely due to the role of humic substances as electron shuttles. In contrast, a high level of humic substances (10 mg·L−1) resulted in a slight decrease of functional genes associated with anammox metabolism. This may partially be due to the biodegradation of the humic substances. In addition, the lower dosage of humic substances (1 mg·L−1) also stimulated the abundance of hzs and hdh, which encode two important enzymes in anammox reaction. Overall, this study indicated that the anammox system could work stably over a long period under humic substances, and that the process was feasible for leachate treatment

Cure of Filament-Caused MBR Fouling in the Presence of Antibiotics: Taking Ciprofloxacin Exposure As an Example

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are ubiquitous in wastewater streams, but little is known regarding their roles in membrane fouling during the operation of membrane bioreactors (MBRs). This study attempted to understand the role of ciprofloxacin exposure in control of filamentous bulking as well as membrane fouling mitigation. Compared with the control MBR, results show that the ciprofloxacin could selectively inhibit and kill filaments present in the mixed liquor, and, as a consequence, the sludge settleability improved significantly. The addition of ciprofloxacin had little influence on organic removals and nitrification, but had an adverse effect on denitrification. In addition, the sludge flocs exposure to ciprofloxacin still kept in compact structure; specifically, granular sludge was finally formed possibly due to the increase of polysaccharides in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) corroborated the enrichment of polysaccharides in the EPS exposure to ciprofloxacin. On the other hand, because of the release of EPS and the decay of filaments, soluble microbial products (SMP), particularly soluble polysaccharides, increased significantly in the MBR exposure to ciprofloxacin. Despite this, the results of this study show that the presence of trace contaminants in wastewater streams may play some positive roles in MBR fouling control

Reactor performance and microbial ecology of a nitritation membrane bioreactor

Partial nitritation is an indispensable pretreatment for anaerobic ammonium oxidation process. However, the nitritation is limited by the low growth rates of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). In this study, a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was operated for 300 days to assess its nitritation performance and the shift of microbial community. Results showed that the reactor obtained satisfying nitritation after a startup period of 50 days, which finally achieved ammonium conversation rates of about 0.8 kg N/m(3)/d. The apparent half-saturation constant (K-m) and maximum ammonium oxidation rate (r(max)) of the AOB-enriched culture were determined to be 6.1 mg N/L and 1.1 kg N/g-VSS/d, respectively. In addition, lower fouling rates were found in the initial operating days that the reactor was fed with lower ammonium loads (day 0-day 150). However, the increased ammonium loads ( > 0.6 kg N/m(3)/d) in the following 150 days resulted in increases in extracellular polysaccharides, leading to much higher fouling rates. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing analysis showed clear changes in the microbial community populations during the MBR operation. Results also showed that ordinary heterotrophic organisms and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were successively inhibited; finally Nitrosomonas dominated in the nitritation MBR, with relative abundance of 40-46%. Moreover, the AOB-enriched culture was of higher microbial diversity than the seeding sludge. This study could not only improve our understanding of the bacterial community dynamics in nitritation processes, but also provide more alternatives for MBR applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Numerical Modeling and Experimental Verification for High-Speed and Heavy-Load Planar Mechanism with Multiple Clearances

Transmission mechanism is one of the most important parts of the Ultra-High Voltage (UHV) circuit breaker. It has specific characteristics such as fast response, high speed, and heavy load in the processes of open and close actions. This paper studies the effects of multiple clearances on the working characteristics of transmission mechanism system, especially the motion of its journal center path during operation. It builds a nonlinear kinetic model of transmission mechanism considering the system energy losses due to the impact and friction between the journal and bearing inside clearance joints. Also, an experimental platform is built to measure the displacement and velocity of the moving contact. The results show that the existence of 15 clearance joints in our mechanism system can cause hysteresis effects on the velocity and acceleration of the moving contact, as well as its acceleration fluctuation. Meanwhile, the increase of friction coefficient will stabilize the dynamic characteristic. In addition, both the experimental and simulation results indicate that the motion of the journal center, which is unevenly distributed along the circle, is characterized by three phases: free flight motion, contact motion, and impact motion