Serum microRNA profiling to distinguish papillary thyroid cancer from benign thyroid masses

Objectives: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is increasing in incidence. Fine needle aspiration is the gold standard for diagnosis, but results can be indeterminate. Identifying tissue and serum biomarkers, like microRNA, is therefore desirable. We sought to identify miRNA that is differentially expressed in the serum of patients with PTC. Methods: Serum miRNA was quantified in 31 female thyroidectomy patients: 13 with benign disease and 18 with PTC. qPCR results were compared for significant fold-changes in 175 miRNAs, against a pooled control. Results: 128 miRNA qualified for analysis. There were identifiable fold-changes in miRNA levels between benign and control, and between PTC and control. There were statistically significant fold changes in the level of four miRNAs between benign and PTC: hsa-miR-146a-5p and hsa-miR-199b-3p were down-regulated, while hsa-let7b-5p and hsa-miR-10a-5p were up-regulated. Conclusions: MicroRNA is differentially expressed in the serum of patients with PTC. Serum miRNA has the potential to aid in thyroid cancer diagnosis

HARQ in Poisson Point Process-based Heterogeneous Networks

Abstract-Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) plays an important role in improving the transmission efficiency and the robustness of wireless networks. Considering K-tier heterogeneous networks (HetNets) and modelling the locations of the base stations (BSs) as a homogeneous Poisson point process (PPP), this paper investigates the performance of HetNets implementing HARQ. We give closed-form expressions for the quality of service (QoS) coverage probability which is defined in terms of whether the received signal quality is above a predetermined threshold, and the per-user throughput with HARQ. We show that using HARQ can indeed improve the QoS coverage probability. However, depending on the channel conditions, the per-user throughput of the HetNets may decrease by the implementation of HARQ. Furthermore, we show that the small cell density has negligible effect on the QoS coverage probability and the peruser throughput, and the per-user throughput may increase with the small cell path loss

Domestic Water Demand During Droughts in Temperate Climates: Synthesising Evidence for an Integrated Framework

In the upcoming years, as the population is growing and ageing, as lifestyle changes create the need for more water and as fewer people live in each household, the UK water sector will have to deal with challenges in the provision of adequate water services. Unless critical action is taken, every area in the UK may face a supply-demand gap by the 2080s. Extreme weather events and variations that alter drought and flood frequency add to these pressures. However, little evidence is available about householders’ response to drought and there are few if any studies incorporating this evidence into models of demand forecasting. The present work lays the groundwork for modelling domestic water demand response under drought conditions in temperate climates. After discussing the current literature on estimating and forecasting domestic water consumption under both ‘normal’ and drought conditions, this paper identifies the limited ability of current domestic demand forecasting techniques to include the many different and evolving factors affecting domestic consumption and it stresses the need for the inclusion of inter and intra household factors as well as water use practices in future demand forecasting models

A cost-effectiveness analysis of delayed breast reconstruction with pedicled flaps from the back

Background: Variability in breast reconstruction methods provides an opportunity to investigate whether a method is superior to another with regard to cost, quality, or both. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) study based on tertiary endpoint data from a randomized clinical trial to compare the cost-effectiveness of delayed breast reconstruction by either a latissimus dorsi flap (LD) or a thoracodorsal artery perforator flap (TAP). Material &amp; methods: A total of 50 women were included for unilateral delayed breast reconstruction and were randomized to reconstruction by either the LD flap (n = 18) or the TAP flap (n = 22). The CEA was based on differences in shoulder function after the reconstruction. Direct and indirect costs relating to the two procedures were assessed by the Danish Diagnosis-Related Groups tariffs. Results: Our analysis showed a significant positive effect of introducing the TAP flap on the total shoulder score with an additional cost of $2779. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was$4481 and based on a willingness to pay (WTP) $500, we found an estimated net benefit of$519, which was statistically significant (p = 0.0375). The cost-effectiveness acceptability curve indicated that there is a 96.3% probability for the TAP flap being cost-effective to the LD flap at a WTP threshold of $500. Conclusion: From a societal perspective, our cost-effective analysis demonstrated that the TAP flap is the more cost-effective method of breast reconstruction compared to the LD flap with respect to patient-reported shoulder-related disability.</p

Mapping the structure-function landscape of semiconducting polymers.

The molecular design of semiconducting polymers (SCPs) has been largely guided by varying monomer combinations and sequences by leveraging a robust understanding of charge transport mechanisms. However, the connection between controllable structural features and resulting electronic disorder remains elusive, leaving design rules for next-generation SCPs undefined. Using high-throughput computational methods, we analyse 100+ state-of-the-art p- and n-type polymer models. This exhaustive dataset allows for deriving statistically significant design rules. Our analysis disentangles the impact of key structural features, examining existing hypotheses, and identifying new structure-property relationships. For instance, we show that polymer rigidity has minimal impact on charge transport, while the planarity persistence length, introduced here, is a superior structural characteristic. Additionally, the predictive power of machine learning models trained on our dataset highlights the potential of data-driven approaches to SCP design, laying the groundwork for accelerated discovery of materials with tailored electronic properties

Compression wraps as adjuvant therapy in the management of acute systolic heart failure

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend targeting decongestion in management of decompensated HF, with lower extremity edema often serving as the clinical target. LECW are seldom used in the acute setting, with a paucity of data on efficacy in HF, despite serving as a cornerstone of chronic lymphedema management. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Study the efficacy and safety of LECW in acute decompensated HF. METHODS: Open-label, randomized, parallel-group clinical trial. PRIMARY OUTCOMES: Days on intravenous (IV) diuretic therapy, total hospital length of stay (LOS), and 30-day all-cause readmission. RESULTS: 32 patients were enrolled, with 29 patients completing the study. Enrollment was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall LOS was shorter in the intervention group (3.5 vs 6 days, p = 0.05), with no significant difference in total days on IV diuresis or 30-day readmission rate with use of LECW. Fewer patients required continuous diuretic infusion after treatment with LECW (0 vs 7 patients, p = 0.027). The intervention group scored significantly better on the MLWHF (55.5 vs 65, p = 0.021), including both the physical and emotional dimension scores. No adverse events were reported with use of LECW, including a significantly lower incidence of AKI (1 vs 13 patients, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The use of LECW resulted in reduced hospital LOS compared to standard therapy, with no difference in days of IV diuresis administration or 30-day readmission. Treatment with LECW also resulted in less continuous IV diuretic therapy, fewer incidence of AKI, and improved quality of life. Trends toward less escalation of diuresis, and greater reduction in edema were also observed

Theoretical Aspects of Immunity

The immune system recognizes a myriad of invading pathogens and their toxic products. It does so with a finite repertoire of antibodies and T cell receptors. We here describe theories that quantify the immune system dynamics. We describe how the immune system recognizes antigens by searching the large space of receptor molecules. We consider in some detail the theories that quantify the immune response to influenza and dengue fever. We review theoretical descriptions of the complementary evolution of pathogens that occurs in response to immune system pressure. Methods including bioinformatics, molecular simulation, random energy models, and quantum field theory contribute to a theoretical understanding of aspects of immunity.Comment: 49 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Annual Review

Social Climber attachment in forming networks produces phase transition in a measure of connectivity

Formation and fragmentation of networks is typically studied using percolation theory, but most previous research has been restricted to studying a phase transition in cluster size, examining the emergence of a giant component. This approach does not study the effects of evolving network structure on dynamics that occur at the nodes, such as the synchronization of oscillators and the spread of information, epidemics, and neuronal excitations. We introduce and analyze new link-formation rules, called Social Climber (SC) attachment, that may be combined with arbitrary percolation models to produce a previously unstudied phase transition using the largest eigenvalue of the network adjacency matrix as the order parameter. This eigenvalue is significant in the analyses of many network-coupled dynamical systems in which it measures the quality of global coupling and is hence a natural measure of connectivity. We highlight the important self-organized properties of SC attachment and discuss implications for controlling dynamics on networks.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure