Free triiodothyronine/free thyroxine (FT3/FT4) ratio is strongly associated with insulin resistance in euthyroid and hypothyroid adults: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Insulin resistance (IR) is a key and early pathogenetic mechanism of cardiometabolic diseases with huge potential if detected early and mitigated, for lowering the burden of the disease. Available data are conflicting to what extent adult thyroid dysfunction is associated with IR. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association and to identify which thyroid parameters are predictors of IR. Material and methods: After undergoing basic anthropometric and biochemical studies including thyroid hormones, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and insulin, 1425 middle-aged individuals were divided into three groups according to thyroid parameters: overt hypothyroidism (OH), subclinical hypothyroidism (SH), and euthyroidism (EU). Results: The homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR), fasting insulin, and two-hour glucose levels of OGTT showed a steady, yet insignificant, increase from EU through SH to OH. The strongest noted correlations were those of insulin levels with free triiodothyronine/free thyroxine (FT3/FT4) ratio (r = 0.206, p < 0.001) and FT3 (r = 0.205, p < 0.001). Also in the case of HOMA-IR, the only statistically significant correlations were observed for FT3 (r = 0.181, p < 0.001) and the FT3/FT4 ratio (r = 0.165, p < 0.001). Among other thyroid hormones, linear logistic regression proved the FT3/FT4 ratio as the only significant predictor of HOMA-IR (linear coefficient = 5.26, p = 0.027) and insulin levels (linear coefficient = 18.01, p = 0.023), respectively. Thyroid-stimulating hormone was not associated with IR in either correlation or regression analysis. Conclusions: The FT3/FT4 ratio should be more emphasised in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders. Patients could benefit from a pharmacological reduction of the FT3/FT4 ratio, potentially leading to a decrease in insulin resistance, and thus a corresponding decrease in the risk of the cardiometabolic diseases.

Revisiting ab initio carcinoembryonic antigen and CA19-9 tumor markers in colorectal carcinoma in association with anatomotopographic location and staging of disease

OBJECTIVE: This study purposed to evaluate preoperative two tumor markers, namely, carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen (CA)19-9, in colorectal cancer for anatomotopographic location with disease stage and to assess their utility for diagnostic staging purposes. METHODS: The study retrospectively incorporated patients who had undergone surgery for colorectal cancer at our department in 2015-2018 and in whom carcinoembryonic antigen and CA19-9 tumor markers had been preoperatively analyzed. The obtained data were then statistically processed using R-project. RESULTS: A total of 155 patients had been incorporated, of whom 96 (62%) were men and 59 (38%) were women. Rectum was the most common location (74 patients, 48%), and the least represented stage was IV (18, 12%). The marker carcinoembryonic antigen was obtained in all 155 cases, while CA19-9 was in 105. The median carcinoembryonic antigen was 3 (0.34-1104.25), and the median CA19-9 was 12 (0.18-840.00). A significance was recognized between median carcinoembryonic antigen and disease stage (p-value=0.016), with stages I, II, and III (medians 2, 3, and 2) different from stage IV (median 13), while no significance for CA19-9 was recognized (p-value=0.343). No significance between either marker and location (carcinoembryonic antigen: p=0.276; CA19-9: p=0.505) was detected. The testing was performed at a significance level of alpha=0.05. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a significance between the marker carcinoembryonic antigen, but not CA19-9, and the disease stage, while no relationship of either of these markers with tumor location was found. Herewith, the study confirmed that higher carcinoembryonic antigen values may suggest the finding of more advanced forms of colorectal cancer and thus a worse prognosis of this malignant phenomenon

Occupational exposure to nickel and hexavalent chromium and the risk of lung cancer in a pooled analysis of case-control studies (SYNERGY)

There is limited evidence regarding the exposure-effect relationship between lung-cancer risk and hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) or nickel. We estimated lung-cancer risks in relation to quantitative indices of occupational exposure to Cr(VI) and nickel and their interaction with smoking habits. We pooled 14 case-control studies from Europe and Canada, including 16 901 lung-cancer cases and 20 965 control subjects. A measurement-based job-exposure-matrix estimated job-year-region specific exposure levels to Cr(VI) and nickel, which were linked to the subjects' occupational histories. Odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for study, age group, smoking habits and exposure to other occupational lung carcinogens. Due to their high correlation, we refrained from mutually adjusting for Cr(VI) and nickel independently. In men, ORs for the highest quartile of cumulative exposure to CR(VI) were 1.32 (95% CI 1.19-1.47) and 1.29 (95% CI 1.15-1.45) in relation to nickel. Analogous results among women were: 1.04 (95% CI 0.48-2.24) and 1.29 (95% CI 0.60-2.86), respectively. In men, excess lung-cancer risks due to occupational Cr(VI) and nickel exposure were also observed in each stratum of never, former and current smokers. Joint effects of Cr(VI) and nickel with smoking were in general greater than additive, but not different from multiplicative. In summary, relatively low cumulative levels of occupational exposure to Cr(VI) and nickel were associated with increased ORs for lung cancer, particularly in men. However, we cannot rule out a combined classical measurement and Berkson-type of error structure, which may cause differential bias of risk estimates

Amplifying Cyber Threat Intelligence Analysis with Honeypots

Tato práce se věnuje nasazení honeypotů jako zdroje dat pro analýzu kybernetických hrozeb. Za tímto účelem je nakonfigurován honeypot a vystaven v cloudu na internet po určitou dobu pro sběr dat. V další části je navrhnut nástroj v jazyce Python pro dotazování tří zdrojů informací o hrozbách, který slouží k získávání metadat o indikátorech. Užitečnost nástroje je demonstována v praxi tím, že je využit k získávání metadat o indikátorech, které byli extrahovány ze sesbíraných dat. Poslední část práce se zabývá výsledky a trendy v chování útočníků na základě shromážděných a zpracovaných dat. V případové studii se práce zaměřuje na jednu SSH a relaci a výsledkem je zmapování technik útočníků na MITRE ATT&CK model.This thesis aims to research honeypots as a source of data for cyber threat intelligence analysis. To conduct this, a honeypot instance is configured and exposed to the internet in the cloud for a specified period. In the next part, a Python tool for querying three threat intelligence feeds is proposed. This tool serves for indicator enrichment. The utility of the tool is demonstrated in practice by enabling the analysis of indicators observed on the honeypot infrastructure. The last part of the work discusses the results and trends in the attacker’s behaviour based on the collected and processed data. In a case study, the focus is given to a single SSH session of interest and the acquired knowledge from it is mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework revealing attackers tactics, techniques and procedures.

Amplifying Cyber Threat Intelligence Analysis with Honeypots

Tato práce se věnuje nasazení honeypotů jako zdroje dat pro analýzu kybernetických hrozeb. Za tímto účelem je nakonfigurován honeypot a vystaven v cloudu na internet po určitou dobu pro sběr dat. V další části je navrhnut nástroj v jazyce Python pro dotazování tří zdrojů informací o hrozbách, který slouží k získávání metadat o indikátorech. Užitečnost nástroje je demonstována v praxi tím, že je využit k získávání metadat o indikátorech, které byli extrahovány ze sesbíraných dat. Poslední část práce se zabývá výsledky a trendy v chování útočníků na základě shromážděných a zpracovaných dat. V případové studii se práce zaměřuje na jednu SSH a relaci a výsledkem je zmapování technik útočníků na MITRE ATT&CK model