Impact of reclassifying noninvasive follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma on the risk of malignancy in The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology.

BACKGROUND: Recent discussions have focused on redefining noninvasive follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (NI-FVPTC) as a neoplasm rather than a carcinoma. This study assesses the potential impact of such a reclassification on the implied risk of malignancy (ROM) for the diagnostic categories of The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC). METHODS: The study consisted of consecutive fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) cases collected between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014 from 5 academic institutions. Demographic information, cytology diagnoses, and surgical pathology follow-up were recorded. The ROM was calculated with and without NI-FVPTC and was presented as a range: all cases (ie, overall risk of malignancy [OROM]) versus those with surgical follow-up only. RESULTS: The FNAB cohort consisted of 6943 thyroid nodules representing 5179 women and 1409 men with an average age of 54 years (range, 9-94 years). The combined average ROM and OROM for the diagnostic categories of TBSRTC were as follows: nondiagnostic, 4.4% to 25.3%; benign, 0.9% to 9.3%; atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), 12.1% to 31.2%; follicular neoplasm (FN), 21.8% to 33.2%; suspicious for malignancy (SM), 62.1% to 82.6%; and malignant, 75.9% to 99.1%. The impact of reclassifying NI-FVPTC on the ROM and OROM was most pronounced and statistically significant in the 3 indeterminate categories: the AUS/FLUS category had a decrease of 5.2% to 13.6%, the FN category had a decrease of 9.9% to 15.1%, and the SM category had a decrease of 17.6% to 23.4% (P < .05), whereas the benign and malignant categories had decreases of 0.3% to 3.5% and 2.5% to 3.3%, respectfully. The trend of the effect on the ROM and OROM was similar for all 5 institutions. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this multi-institutional cohort indicate that the reclassification of NI-FVPTC will have a significant impact on the ROM for the 3 indeterminate categories of TBSRTC

Temperature-based prediction and validation of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella infestation on cotton crop

Pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella infestation on cotton now a days found to be a major alarm to cotton crop in Pakistan. The effect of past and future temperatures climatic factors on the infestation rate of pink bollworm needs to be extensively studied. Field visits were organized in different areas across 17 main districts of Punjab, Pakistan, for eight consecutive years from 2012 to 2019. Based on past data, the pink bollworm infestation rate for the year 2040 was estimated. Our results showed an extensive infestation of pink bollworm on cotton throughout the visited locations between 0.1 and 35.7 % range above the economic threshold level, that cause reasonable cotton productivity losses. Based on the results of historical data of infestation rate, the nine of the 17 districts (53 %), Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Jahang, Mianwali, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahimyar Khan, and Lodhran, showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher pink bollworm infestation rate than the other cotton-growing areas. Moreover, the systematic increase level of pink bollworm infestation was predicted in 2040, especially in the five districts, Bhakar, Jahang, Khanewal, Faisalabad, and Vehari. Considering the importance of biological parameters, different temperature regimes (21 °C, 28 °C, and 35 °C) were tested for the validity of temperature-based prediction. Our results showed that growth capacity of P. gossypiella were increased at 28 °C. It revealed that, variation in weather due to current climatic condition with decreases of temperature increases P. gossypiella infestation on cotton crop. In this investigation, the effects of a severe outbreak of pink bollworm infections in Punjab's cotton-growing regions are discussed