The Diagnostic Value of Various Immunohistochemical Biomarkers in the Detection of Papillary and Follicular Thyroid Cancers: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis

Background: Thyroid neoplasia is the most common endocrine malignancy worldwide. Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules has a low sensitivity in distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions. Evaluation of the rate of expression and diagnostic value of immunohistochemical biomarkers in differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid lesions and different types of malignant lesions is the main purpose of this study.Methods: Sixty articles were reviewed in this systematic review and meta-analysis study. The rate of detection of various immunohistochemistry (IHC) biomarkers in several thyroid lesions was examined by meta-analysis. Specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for each marker. The accuracy of each test was evaluated by calculating the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). ROC (receiver operating characteristic) analysis was performed for three markers.Results: Sensitivity and specificity of CK-19, Gal-3, and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) for detection of thyroid malignancies were 81% and 73%, 82% and 81%, and 77% and 83 %, respectively. The combination of these three markers showed the sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 97%, and diagnostic odds ratio of 95.1. Additionally, uPAR, Sialyl Lewis X, MIB-1, and Hector Battifora mesothelial-1. (HBME-1) can effectively differentiate the follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC) from follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) as they are significantly more common in FVPTCs (P<0.05).Conclusion: We showed that CK-19, Gal-3, and CEA had an important and statistically significant role in differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid lesions. In addition, according to our results, urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), Sialyl Lewis X, MIB-1, and HBME-1 can effectively differentiate FVPTC from FTC with acceptable sensitivity and specificity

Essential Role of SIRT1 Signaling in the Nucleus Accumbens in Cocain and Morphine Action

Sirtuins (SIRTs), class III histone deacetylases, are well characterized for their control of cellular physiology in peripheral tissues, but their influence in brain under normal and pathological conditions remains poorly understood. Here, we establish an essential role for brain reward region. We show that chronic cocain administration increases SIRT1 and SIRT2 expression in the mouse NAc, while chronic morphine administration induces SIRT1 expression alone, with no regulation of all other sirtuin family members observed. Drug induction of SIRT1 and SIRT2 is mediated in part at the transcriptional level via the drug-induced transcription factor ΔFosB and is associated with robust histone modifications at the Sirt1 and Sirt2 genes. Viral-mediated overexpression of SIRT1 or SIRT2 in the NAc enhances the rewarding effects of both cocain and morphine. In contrast, the local knockdown of SIRT1 from the NAc of floxed Sirt1 mice decreases drug reward. Such behavioral effects of SIRT1 occur in concert with its regulation of numerous synaptic proteins in NAc as well as with SIRT1-mediated induction of dendritic spines on NAc medium spiny neurons. These studies establish sirtuins as key mediators of the molecular and cellular plasticity induced by drugs of abuse in NAc, and of the associated behavioral adaptations, and point towards novel signaling pathways involved in drug action

Stages of Mammography Adoption based on Stages of Change Model and its Relationship with Perceived Threat and Fatalism Beliefs: a study on Turkmen Women

Background: Mammography is one of the best methods for early detection and appropriate treatment of breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate stages of mammography adoption and its relationship to perceived threat and fatalism beliefs among Turkmen women. Methods: In this descriptive study, 558 Turkmen women over 40 years old living in Gonbade-Qabous and Turkmen districts were selected through systematic clustered sampling. Data were gathered using perceived threat section of Champion Health Belief Scale, Rakowski mammography stage adoption questionnaire and fatalism beliefs questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whithney, Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher exact tests, throgh SPSS 15 software. Results: From all studied samples, 479 women (85.5%) were in pre-contemplation stage, 65 ones (11.6%) were in contemplation stage, 12 ones (2.2%) were in action stage and 2 women (0.4%) were in maintenance stage. None of them were in relapse stage. Mammography adoption stage showed significant relationship with job, city of residence, educational level and history of breast cancer in first degree relatives. Mean score of perceived susceptibility increased along transition stages, but not significantly. Meanwhile, fatalism score decreased along transition stages but this decrease was not significant. Conclusion: The majority of Turkmen women had inappropriate practice in regard to mammography. Also, their perceived susceptibility toward breast cancer was low, while their fatalism beliefs were high. Keywords: Breast Cancer, Mammography, Perceived threat, Fatalism Believes, Stages of Change, Turkmen Wome

A logit-based model for measuring the effects of transportation infrastructure on land value

Mutual interactions between transportation and land use have long been debated. Despite progress made in computational technology, the study of these interactions is not adequately developed. The most important aspect of such interactions is given by the changes in land values due to changes in transportation infrastructures. We consider the behavioural features of these interactions along with the constraints on the land and/or zoning restrictions and propose a reliable model for the first time to predict land value changes with respect to changes in transportation facilities and accessibility. The proposed model is a logit-based mathematical programming methodology where the relative price of land is predicted with respect to transportation accessibility, neighbourhood amenities, location premium, availability of land, and zoning regulations. A real-world case study is used to exhibit the applicability of the proposed methodology and demonstrate the efficacy of the algorithms and procedures

A multi-user decision support system for online city bus tour planning

Abstract Tourism is rapidly becoming a sustainable pathway toward economic prosperity for host countries and communities. Recent advances in information and communications technology, the smartphone, the Internet and Wi-Fi have given a boost to the tourism industry. The city bus tour (CBT) service is one of the most successful businesses in the tourism industry. However, there exists no smart decision support system determining the most efficient way to plan the itinerary of a CBT. In this research, we report on the ongoing development of a mobile application (app) and a website for tourists, hoteliers and travel agents to connect with city bus operators and book/purchase the best CBT both in terms of cost and time. Firstly, the CBT problem is formulated as an asymmetric sequential three-stage arc routing problem. All places of interest (PoI) and pickup/dropout points are identified with arcs of the network (instead of nodes), each of which can be visited at least once (instead of exactly once). Secondly, the resulting pure integer programming (IP) problem is solved using a leading optimization software known as General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS). The GAMS code developed for this project returns: (1) the exact optimal solution identifying the footprints of the city bus relative to all the arcs forming the minimal cost network; (2) the augmenting paths corresponding to the pickup stage, the PoI visiting stage and the drop-off stage. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the mobile app/website via a pilot study in the city of Melbourne (Australia). All the computations relative to the initial tests show that the ability of the app to answer users’ inquiries in a fraction of a minute

Effect of synbiotic bread containing lactic acid on blood lipids and apolipoproteins in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial

Recently, the use of synbiotics for managing various diseases has dramatically increased. Synbiotics have been shown to be a good approach to influence the composition of the gut microbiota with positive health effects. Management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) complications is one of the reasons for the ingestion of synbiotics and so the aim of the current study was to determine the effects of synbiotic bread intake on markers of lipid profile in T2DM patients. One hundred T2DM patients (age between 20 and 60 years) were randomly assigned to four groups to consume different types of synbiotic bread, three times/day, for 8 weeks: “synbiotic + lactic acid” (n = 25; IV), “synbiotic” (n = 25; III), “lactic acid brad” (n = 25; II), or “control” (n = 25; I). The measured outcomes included anthropometric characteristics, glycemic control parameters, blood lipids, and apolipoproteins. The consumption of “synbiotic + lactic acid bread” (group IV) and “lactic acid bread” (group II) led to a significant decrease in total cholesterol (TC) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) compared to the “control bread.” The HbA1c levels were also significantly lower when compared to group II. Additionally, apolipoprotein A (Apo A1) levels were significantly decreased in group IV, compared to control and other groups (post hoc analysis). No significant differences between groups were observed for triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and apolipoprotein B100 (Apo B100) levels. The observed results show that the synbiotic bread (with or without lactic acid) promoted a decrease in total cholesterol (TC) and Apo A1 in diabetic patients when consumed daily for 8 weeks