Factors associated with distant metastasis in pediatric thyroid cancer: evaluation of the SEER database

Objectives: Controversies regarding factors associated with distant metastasis in pediatric thyroid cancer remain among the scientific community. The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing distant metastasis in pediatric thyroid cancer. Methods: We reviewed 1376 patients (aged 2 to 18 years) with thyroid cancer treated between 2003 and 2014. Data collected and analyzed included sex, race, age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, pathological type, number of tumor foci, tumor extension, T-stage, N-stage, surgical procedure and radiation. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate factors influencing distant metastasis of pediatric thyroid cancer. Results: In the univariate analysis, factors influencing distant metastasis of thyroid cancer were age at diagnosis (P 0.05). Furthermore, according to chi-squared test, younger pediatric thyroid cancer patients with higher T- and N-stages are more likely to have distant metastasis. Conclusion: Age at diagnosis, T-stage and N-stage influence distant metastasis of thyroid cancer patients aged 2 to 18 years; accordingly, more radical treatments may need to be used for patients with those risk elements

Spectrophotometric flow injection determination of dissolved titanium in seawater exploiting in-line nitrilotriacetic acid resin preconcentration and a long path length liquid waveguide capillary cell

A sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of dissolved titanium (Ti) in seawater is developed. It involves in-line preconcentration and a long path length liquid waveguide capillary cell (LWCC). Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) resin is used to preconcentrate Ti from ∼25 mL seawater sample at pH 1.7, and elution is accomplished with 0.8 mol L−1 hydrochloride acid. The eluted Ti solution is buffered to pH 6.0 with 1.0 mol L−1 ammonium acetate and mixed with 1.5 mmol L−1 Tiron solution. The mixture is then injected into LWCC and measured by spectrophotometry at 420 nm. Before the preconcentration step, the sample is treated with 7 mmol L−1 ascorbic acid to reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II), in order to eliminate the Fe interference. The method is not interfered by Fe(III) and Cu(II) present in seawater samples at concentrations 50-fold higher in relation to Ti, and by Cd(II), Pb(II), Cr(VI), Mn(II), Al(III), Zn(II), and Ni(II) at concentrations 100-fold higher in relation to Ti. It is time efficient (7.5 minutes per sample), sensitive (0.10 nmol L−1 detection limit), precise (1.40% measurement RSD at 1.00 nmol L−1 Ti) and is characterized by a linear range of 0.50–5.00 nmol L−1 Ti. The method was applied to analysis of natural water samples collected from the Jiulongjiang Estuary, Fujian, China. [Display omitted] •Sensitive spectrophotometric detection of dissolved Ti in seawater is developed.•NTA resin is used to preconcentrate dissolved Ti in seawater at pH 1.7.•Fe(III) is reduced to Fe(II) before resin to avoid Fe retention and interference.•In-line preconcentration and detection is realized with flow analysis and LWCC.•Estuarine dissolved Ti is analyzed and reported

Buckle Pose Estimation Using a Generative Adversarial Network

The buckle before the lens coating is still typically disassembled manually. The difference between the buckle and the background is small, while that between the buckles is large. This mechanical disassembly can also damage the lens. Therefore, it is important to estimate pose with high accuracy. This paper proposes a buckle pose estimation method based on a generative adversarial network. An edge extraction model is designed based on a segmentation network as the generator. Spatial attention is added to the discriminator to help it better distinguish between generated and real graphs. The generator thus generates delicate external contours and center edge lines with help from the discriminator. The external rectangle and the least square methods are used to determine the center position and deflection angle of the buckle, respectively. The center point and angle accuracies of the test datasets are 99.5% and 99.3%, respectively. The pixel error of the center point distance and the absolute error of the angle to the horizontal line are within 7.36 pixels and 1.98°, respectively. This method achieves the highest center point and angle accuracies compared to Hed, RCF, DexiNed, and PidiNet. It can meet practical requirements and boost the production efficiency of lens coatings

Real-Time Redox Speciation of Iron in Estuarine and Coastal Surface Waters

An automated, shipboard-use system was developed for real-time speciation of iron in coastal surface waters. It comprised a towed Fish underway sampler and a modified reverse flow injection analysis system with a liquid waveguide capillary flow cell–spectrophotometric detection device. The detection was based on the reaction between ferrozine and Fe­(II). The detection limits of 0.3 and 0.7 nM were achieved for Fe­(II) and Fe­(II+III), together with their respective dynamic linear ranges of 0.5–250 and 0.9–250 nM. The system was successfully deployed and run consecutively for about 1 week during a cruise in August 2009 to the East China Sea off the Changjiang Estuary. The distribution of operationally defined field dissolvable Fe­(II) and Fe­(II+III) (expressed as Fe_a(II) and Fe_a(II+III)) in these areas was obtained, which showed that both Fe_a(II) and Fe_a(II+III) concentrations decreased with salinity when there were relatively high Fe_a(II) concentrations (up to about 120 nM) near shore. A distinct distribution of Fe_a(II) to Fe_a(II+III) ratios was also revealed, with a ratio of 0.58 in the water off Changjiang Estuary and 0.19 in the open ocean

Simultaneous determination of nanomolar nitrite and nitrate in seawater using reverse flow injection analysis coupled with a long path length liquid waveguide capillary cell

National Natural Science Foundation of China [41121091]A reverse flow injection analysis (rFIA) method coupled with 1 m liquid waveguide capillary cell and spectrophotometric detection for simultaneous determination of nanomolar nitrite and nitrate in seawater was developed. The design of two analytical channels sharing the same detection system in the proposed method allowed the analysis of both nitrite and nitrate with single sample injection. Different strategies of reagent injection were investigated to obtain a higher sensitivity and a better peak shape. A dual-wavelength detection mode was chosen to eliminate the light source shifting and sample matrix interference. Experimental parameters were optimized based on a univariate experimental design and the matrix effect from seawater was preliminarily investigated. The proposed method had high sensitivity with detection limit of 0.6 nmol L-1 for both nitrite and nitrate. The linearity was 2-500 nmol L-1 for both analytes, and the upper limit could be extended by choosing a lower sensitivity detection wavelength. The analytical results of 26 surface seawater samples obtained with the proposed method showed good agreement with those using a reference method operated using an automated segmented flow analyzer. The proposed method could greatly minimize the trouble introduced by bubbles in the segmented flow analyzer. It also had the advantages of high precision and high sample throughput (nitrite and nitrate detected in triplicate; 5 h(-1)). Compared to normal flow injection analysis, the rFIA method is superior due to its lower reagent consumption, less dispersion of sample, as well as higher sensitivity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

A sensitive flow-batch system for on board determination of ultra-trace ammonium in seawater: Method development and shipboard application

Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [41121091]; China National Basic Research Program ("973" Program) "Carbon cycling in China Seas-budget, controls and ocean acidification (CHOICE-C Project)" [2009CB421200]Combining fluorescence detection with flow analysis and solid phase extraction (SPE), a highly sensitive and automatic flow system for measurement of ultra-trace ammonium in open ocean water was established. Determination was based on fluorescence detection of a typical product of o-phthaldialdehyde and ammonium. In this study, the fluorescence reaction product could be efficiently extracted onto an SPE cartridge (HLB, hydrophilic-lipophilic balance). The extracted fluorescence compounds were rapidly eluted with ethanol and directed into a flow cell for fluorescence detection. Compared with the common used fluorescence method, the proposed one offered the benefits of improved sensitivity, reduced reagent consumption, negligible salinity effect and lower cost. Experimental parameters were optimized using a univariate experimental design. Calibration curves, ranging from 1.67 to 300 nM, were obtained with different reaction times. The recoveries were between 89.5 and 96.5%, and the detection limits in land-based and shipboard laboratories were 0.7 and 1.2 nM, respectively. The relative standard deviation was 3.5% (n = 5) for an aged seawater sample spiked with 20 nM ammonium. Compared with the analytical results obtained using the indophenol blue method coupled to a long-path liquid waveguide capillary cell, the proposed method showed good agreement. The method had been applied on board during a South China Sea cruise in August 2012. A vertical profile of ammonium in the South East Asia Time-Series (SEATS, 18 degrees N, 116 degrees E) station was produced. The distribution of ammonium in the surface seawater of the Qiongdong upwelling in South China Sea is also presented. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

A modified method for on-line determination of trace ammonium in seawater with a long-path liquid waveguide capillary cell and spectrophotometric detection

Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [41121091]An automated calorimetric method for the on-line determination of trace ammonium in seawater was established using a flow injection technique coupled with a 2.5-m liquid waveguide capillary cell. Using low ammonium seawater as a carrier, a sample was injected into the carrier and mixed with reagents to form indophenol blue dye, which was monitored at a wavelength of 690 nm. Different strategies of reagent injection were investigated to obtain a lower reagent blank and a higher detection sensitivity. Experimental parameters were optimized using a univariate experimental design, and the matrix effect of seawater was preliminarily investigated. The proposed method had high sensitivity with a detection limit of 3.6 nmol.L-1. The linearity was 10 to 500 nmol.L-1 and the upper limit could be extended to 30 mu mol.L-1 by choosing a less sensitive detection wavelength or lower reaction temperature. The recoveries were between 95.0 and 104.3% and the relative standard deviation was 4.4% (n = 7) for an aged seawater sample spiked with 50 nmol.L-1 ammonium. The sample throughput was 22 h(-1). The analytical results obtained with the proposed method showed good agreement with those using reference fluorescence methods. Compared with the normal indophenol blue (off-line) method, the proposed method was superior due to its lower reagent consumption, greater convenience, higher sample throughput, wider linear range (10 nmol.L-1 to 30 mu mol.L-1), as well as higher sensitivity. The method was applied in-field in Wuyuan Bay for 24 h on-line monitoring of ammonium concentrations in the surface seawater. In addition, it was also used to analyze surface seawater samples collected from the South China Sea for the study of ammonium distribution. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract Background The clinical indications of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in immunosuppressed patients are not clear. This study aimed to analyse the effectiveness of ECMO and to identify the risk factors for the mortality of ECMO in immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure. Methods This retrospective, cohort study included 46 confirmed immunocompromised patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure treated with ECMO between July 2014 and August 2020. The clinical features and outcomes of the survival group and the non‐survival group were statistically analysed. Results The mean age of the enrolled patients was 60.0 (50.0, 66.0) years; male patients accounted for 60.9% of patients, and the mean CD4 level was 213 cells/μL (150.3, 325.3). The hospital mortality rate of the cohort was 67.4% (31/46 patients). Patients in the survival group showed a higher rate of receiving awake ECMO (11/15 vs. 4/31; p = 0.006), a lower rate of acute kidney injury (AKI) receiving continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) (1/15 vs. 12/31; p = 0.035), fewer platelet transfusion units (0/15 vs. 2/31 units; p = 0.039) and a lower rate of ventilator‐associated pneumonia (2/15 vs. 19/31; p = 0.006). In a multivariate Cox regression analysis model, intubated ECMO (hazard ratio = 1.77, 95% confidence interval: 1.34–2.32, p < 0.001) and AKI requiring CRRT (1.37, 95% confidence interval: 1.14–1.61, p = 0.003) were identified as independent risk factors for mortality. Conclusions In‐hospital mortality has remained high in ECMO‐treated immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory failure. Intubated ECMO and AKI receiving CRRT during ECMO treatment may predict ECMO failure in immunocompromised patients with ARF. A primarily awake ECMO strategy seems feasible in some selected immunocompromised patients