1,601 research outputs found
The Influences of TSH Stimulation Level, Stimulated Tg Level and Tg/TSH Ratio on the Therapeutic Effect of 131I Treatment in DTC Patients
PurposeTo study the influences of pre-ablation TSH stimulation level, sTg and sTg/TSH ratio on the therapeutic effect of the first 131I treatment in DTCs.MethodsAccording to the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels (mU/l), all the 479 differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients were divided into two groups: TSH < 30 and TSH ≥ 30. The TSH ≥ 30 group was divided into three subgroups: 30 ≤ TSH < 60, 60 ≤ TSH < 90 and TSH ≥ 90. The clinical features and the therapeutic effects of the first 131I treatment were analyzed. The cutoffs of stimulated thyroglobulin (sTg) and sTg/TSH ratio were calculated to predict the therapeutic effect of 131I treatment.ResultsAmong the three subgroups, the TSH ≥ 90 subgroup was younger and less likely to be associated with cervical lymph node metastasis (LNM). The postoperative levothyroxine (L-T4) dose in the 60 ≤ TSH < 90 subgroup was the lowest. Between the two groups, patients in the TSH < 30 group had higher postoperative L-T4 dose and longer thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) time. The excellent response rates six months after the first 131I treatment among the three subgroups and between the two groups were not of statistical significance. The distribution of different TSH stimulation levels among each response group was similar. The cutoffs for the better therapeutic effect of the first 131I treatment in sTg and sTg/TSH were < 9.51 ng/ml and < 0.11, respectively. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regressions showed that cervical LNM, distant metastasis, higher sTg and higher sTg/TSH ratio predicted poorer therapeutic effect.ConclusionsThere was no significant influence of TSH stimulation levels before the first 131I treatment on the therapeutic effect of DTC. The sTg/TSH ratio can be considered as another predictor of 131I therapeutic effect
Immunotherapy with a biologically active ICAM-1 mAb and an siRNA targeting TSHR in a BALB/c mouse model of Graves’ disease
Objective
To study targeted therapies using a biologically active monoclonal antibody against intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1 mAb) and an siRNA targeting thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor (TSHR) in a BALB/c mouse model of Graves’ disease (GD).
Methods
An improved method for establishing a stable model of GD in BALB/c mice was developed by immunization with pcDNA 3.1/TSHR 289 and electroporation (EP). The mice in which GD was successfully established were divided into a nontreated control group, which was treated with continuous immunization, and treated groups, which were treated with the siRNA and ICAM-1 mAb. Normal mice were included as a blank group. These groups were used to compare the effects of treatment with the ICAM-1 mAb and siRNA.
Results
The two novel treatments markedly improved weight loss, serum thyroxine (T4) levels, thyroid-stimulating hormone antibody (TSAb) levels, thyroid-stimulating blocking antibody (TSBAb) levels and thyroid uptake of 99mTcO4 in GD model mice. Compared with the siRNA treatment, treatment with the ICAM-1 mAb produced more obvious benefits. The differences in the posttreatment indexes between the two treatment groups were statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusions
These preliminary data suggest that both the biologically active ICAM-1 mAb and the siRNA targeting TSHR were effective. The ICAM-1 mAb exerted a better therapeutic effect than the siRNA targeting TSHR. Both treatments showed potential efficacy as novel treatments for GD and may therefore represent therapeutic options in addition to the existing drugs or interventions
Observation of strong coupling between a mechanical oscillator and a cavity-magnon polariton
Cavity magnomechanics (CMM) is an emerging field and has received much
attention in the past decade. It deals with coherent couplings among microwave
cavity photons, magnons and vibration phonons. So far, all previous CMM
experiments have been operated in the weak-coupling regime. This considerably
limits prospective various applications of the system. Here, we demonstrate the
CMM system in the strong-coupling regime and observe the associated normal-mode
splitting. In this regime, the mechanical oscillator is strongly coupled to a
cavity-magnon polariton that is formed by strongly coupled cavity photons and
magnons, and the polariton-mechanics cooperativity reaches , which
is improved by three orders of magnitude than previous CMM experiments. The
system is then in the triple-strong-coupling regime and the normal modes of the
system are the hybridization of microwave photons, magnons and phonons. This is
achieved by significantly reducing the linewidth of the polariton mode using
coherent perfect absorption and the linewidth is reduced by four orders of
magnitude. The work paves the way towards full quantum control of phonons,
photons and magnons, and provides a new platform for the study of rich
strong-coupling effects in multipartite hybrid systems
Differential expression of ozone-induced gene during exposures to salt stress in Polygonum sibiricum Laxm leaves, stem and underground stem
The response of plants to environmental stresses is characterized by a number of physiological and biochemical changes that ultimately result from the selective increase or decrease in the biosynthesis of a large number of distinct proteins. In this report, we describe the characterization of an ozoneinduced transcript, PcOZI-1, which has been identified from Polygonum sibiricum Laxm by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends method (RACE). PcOZI-1 mRNA in untreated plants was detected at low levels in underground stem, leaves and at higher levels in stem. PcOZI-1 mRNA accumulation was transiently induced in stem 7-fold within the first 8 h of 3% NaHCO3 treatment. PcOZI-1 mRNA accumulation was also induced 22-fold in underground stem after 72 h. Sequence analysis of PcOZI-1 revealed that it encodes a 8.45 kDa basic protein that contains a putative signal peptide. Our results suggest that PcOZI-1 represents a novel stress-related protein that accumulates in response to the production of active oxygen species.Keywords: Polygonum sibiricum Laxm, PcOZI-1, rapid amplification of cDNA ends, gene expressionAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(33), pp. 5338-5342, 16 August, 201
Genome-wide analysis of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in tea plants (Camellia sinensis) lateral roots in response to nitrogen application
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the significant cash crops in China. As a leaf crop, nitrogen supply can not only increase the number of new shoots and leaves but also improve the tenderness of the former. However, a conundrum remains in science, which is the molecular mechanism of nitrogen use efficiency, especially long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). In this study, a total of 16,452 lncRNAs were identified through high-throughput sequencing analysis of lateral roots under nitrogen stress and control conditions, of which 9,451 were differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE-lncRNAs). To figure out the potential function of nitrogen-responsive lncRNAs, co-expression clustering was employed between lncRNAs and coding genes. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed nitrogen-responsive lncRNAs may involve in many biological processes such as plant hormone signal transduction, nitrogen metabolism and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum. The expression abundance of 12 DE-lncRNAs were further verified by RT-PCR, and their expression trends were consistent with the results of RNA-seq. This study expands the research on lncRNAs in tea plants, provides a novel perspective for the potential regulation of lncRNAs on nitrogen stress, and valuable resources for further improving the nitrogen use efficiency of tea plants
Capacitive coupling study of the HERD SCD prototype: preliminary results
The Silicon Charge Detector (SCD) is a subdetector of the High Energy Cosmic
Radiation Detection payload. The dynamic range of the silicon microstrip
detector can be extended by the capacitive coupling effect, which is related to
the interstrip capacitance and the coupling capacitance. A detector prototype
with several sets of parameters was designed and tested in the ion beams at the
CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The capacitive coupling fractions with readout
strip and floating strip incidences were studied using the beam test data and
SPICE simulation
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