Endoscopic vs Robotic Thyroidectomy: Which is Better?

published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

MMIC Amplifier Produces Gain of 10 dB at 235 GHz

The first solid-state amplifier capable of producing gain at a frequency >215 GHz has been demonstrated. This amplifier was fabricated as a monolithic microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) chip containing InP high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) of 0.07 micron gate length on a 50- m-thick InP substrate

Community-based HIV-1 Early Diagnosis and Risk Behavior Analysis of Men Having Sex with Men in Hong Kong

The increasing prevalence of HIV-1 among men having sex with men (MSM) calls for an investigation of HIV-1 prevalence and incidence in MSM by early diagnosis to assist with early preventive interventions in Hong Kong. The participants were recruited randomly from MSM communities within a one-year period. Rapid HIV Test (RHT) and real-time dried blood spot (DBS)-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (DBS-qPCR) were used for the early diagnosis of 474 participants. Risk behavior analysis was performed by studying information obtained from the participants during the study period. The HIV-1 prevalence and incident rates in the studied MSM population were 4.01%(19/474) and 1.47% (7/474), respectively. Three infected participants were found at the acute phase of infection by DBS-qPCR. Only 46.4%(220/474) MSM were using condoms regularly for anal sex. HIV infection significantly correlated with unprotected receptive anal sex and syphilis infection. An increased number of infections was found among foreign MSM in Hong Kong. This study is the first to use DBS-qPCR to identify acutely infected individuals in a community setting and to provide both the prevalence and incident rates of HIV-1 infection among MSM in Hong Kong. The risk analysis provided evidence that behavior intervention strengthening is necessary to fight against the increasing HIV-1 epidemic among MSM in Hong Kong and surrounding regions in Asia.published_or_final_versio

A comparison of surgical outcomes between endoscopic and robotically assisted thyroidectomy: the authors’ initial experience

Background: The gasless, transaxillary endoscopic thyroidectomy (GTET) offers a distinct advantage over the conventional open operation by leaving no visible neck scar, and in an attempt to improve its ergonomics and surgical outcomes, the robotically assisted thyroidectomy (RAT) was introduced. The RAT uses the same endoscopic route as the GTET but with the assistance of the da Vinci S robotic system. Excellent results for RAT have been reported, but it remains unclear whether RAT offers any potential benefits over GTET. Methods: From June to December 2009, 46 patients underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy. Of these patients, 39 had surgery without the robot (GTET) and 7 had surgery with the robot (RAT). Demographics, surgical indications, operative findings, and postoperative outcomes were compared between the two groups. All the patients were followed up for at least 6 months after surgery. Results: Patient demographics, surgical indications, and extent of resection were similar between the two groups. The median total procedure time was significantly longer for RAT (149 min) than for GTET (100 min; p = 0.018), but the contralateral recurrent laryngeal nerve was more likely to identified in RAT (100%) than in GTET (42.9%; p = 0.070). On the average, GTET needed one more surgical assistant than RAT (1 vs. 0; ppublished_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Service delivery challenges in HIV care during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a site assessment survey across the global IeDEA consortium.

INTRODUCTION Interruptions in treatment pose risks for people with HIV (PWH) and threaten progress in ending the HIV epidemic; however, the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on HIV service delivery across diverse settings is not broadly documented. METHODS From September 2020 to March 2021, the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) research consortium surveyed 238 HIV care sites across seven geographic regions to document constraints in HIV service delivery during the first year of the pandemic and strategies for ensuring care continuity for PWH. Descriptive statistics were stratified by national HIV prevalence (<1%, 1-4.9% and ≥5%) and country income levels. RESULTS Questions about pandemic-related consequences for HIV care were completed by 225 (95%) sites in 42 countries with low (n = 82), medium (n = 86) and high (n = 57) HIV prevalence, including low- (n = 57), lower-middle (n = 79), upper-middle (n = 39) and high- (n = 50) income countries. Most sites reported being subject to pandemic-related restrictions on travel, service provision or other operations (75%), and experiencing negative impacts (76%) on clinic operations, including decreased hours/days, reduced provider availability, clinic reconfiguration for COVID-19 services, record-keeping interruptions and suspension of partner support. Almost all sites in low-prevalence and high-income countries reported increased use of telemedicine (85% and 100%, respectively), compared with less than half of sites in high-prevalence and lower-income settings. Few sites in high-prevalence settings (2%) reported suspending antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic services, and many reported adopting mitigation strategies to support adherence, including multi-month dispensing of ART (95%) and designating community ART pick-up points (44%). While few sites (5%) reported stockouts of first-line ART regimens, 10-11% reported stockouts of second- and third-line regimens, respectively, primarily in high-prevalence and lower-income settings. Interruptions in HIV viral load (VL) testing included suspension of testing (22%), longer turnaround times (41%) and supply/reagent stockouts (22%), but did not differ across settings. CONCLUSIONS While many sites in high HIV prevalence settings and lower-income countries reported introducing or expanding measures to support treatment adherence and continuity of care, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in disruptions to VL testing and ART supply chains that may negatively affect the quality of HIV care in these settings

The association of RANTES polymorphism with severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong and Beijing Chinese

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chemokines play important roles in inflammation and antiviral action. We examined whether polymorphisms of <it>RANTES, IP-10 </it>and <it>Mig </it>affect the susceptibility to and outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We tested the polymorphisms of <it>RANTES, IP-10 </it>and <it>Mig </it>for their associations with SARS in 495 Hong Kong Chinese SARS patients and 578 controls. Then we tried to confirm the results in 356 Beijing Chinese SARS patients and 367 controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>RANTES </it>-28 G allele was associated with SARS susceptibility in Hong Kong Chinese (<it>P </it>< 0.0001, OR = 2.80, 95%CI:2.11–3.71). Individuals with <it>RANTES </it>-28 CG and GG genotypes had a 3.28-fold (95%CI:2.32–4.64) and 3.06-fold (95%CI:1.47–6.39) increased risk of developing SARS respectively (<it>P </it>< 0.0001). This -28 G allele conferred risk of death in a gene-dosage dependent manner (<it>P </it>= 0.014) with CG and GG individuals having a 2.12-fold (95% CI: 1.11–4.06) and 4.01-fold (95% CI: 1.30–12.4) increased risk. For the replication of <it>RANTES </it>data in Beijing Chinese, the -28 G allele was not associated with susceptibility to SARS. However, -28 CG (OR = 4.27, 95%CI:1.64–11.1) and GG (OR = 3.34, 95%CI:0.37–30.7) were associated with admission to intensive care units or death due to SARS (<it>P </it>= 0.011).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>RANTES </it>-28 G allele plays a role in the pathogenesis of SARS.</p

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

CD9 shapes glucocorticoid sensitivity in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Resistance to glucocorticoids (GCs), the common agents for remission induction in pediatric B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), poses a significant therapeutic hurdle. Therefore, dissecting the mechanisms shaping GC resistance could lead to new treatment modalities. Here, we showed that CD9- BCP-ALL cells were preferentially resistant to prednisone and dexamethasone over other standard cytotoxic agents. Concordantly, we identified significantly more poor responders to the prednisone prephase among BCP-ALL patients with a CD9- phenotype, especially for those with adverse presenting features including older age, higher white cell count and BCR-ABL1. Furthermore, gain- and loss-of-function experiments dictated a definitive functional linkage between CD9 expression and GC susceptibility, as demonstrated by the reversal and acquisition of relative GC resistance in CD9low and CD9high BCP-ALL cells, respectively. Despite physical binding to the GC receptor NR3C1, CD9 did not alter its expression, phosphorylation or nuclear translocation but potentiated the induction of GC-responsive genes in GCresistant cells. Importantly, the MEK inhibitor trametinib exhibited higher synergy with GCs against CD9- than CD9+ lymphoblasts to reverse drug resistance in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our results elucidate a previously unrecognized regulatory function of CD9 in GC sensitivity, and inform new strategies for management of children with resistant BCP-ALL

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities