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Background: The prognosis of Graves' disease (GD) is reportedly related to sex, age, and genetic factors, although there is no consensus. The objective of this study was to investigate the relation...

Context The indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical practice have received great attention, but evidence regarding thyroid disease management is lacking. Objective We aimed to investigate the association between delayed follow-up visits during the pandemic and their serum thyrotropin (TSH) levels among patients being treated with levothyroxine. Methods This study included 25 361 patients who made a follow-up visit as scheduled (n = 9063) or a delayed follow-up visit ( Results The mean age was 52.8 years and women were 88%. Patients who were older and had a higher dose or longer duration of levothyroxine prescriptions were more likely to make a delayed follow-up visit during the pandemic. Changes in TSH were larger among the delayed-visit groups than the scheduled-visit group. We found increased risks of elevated TSH levels during the pandemic among the delayed visit groups, particularly those with delayed visit of 30 or more days (TSH > 4.5 mIU/L, aRR [95% CI] = 1.72 [1.60-1.85]; and TSH > 10 mIU/L, aRR [95% CI] = 2.38 [2.16-2.62]). Conclusion A delayed follow-up visit during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with less well-controlled TSH among patients with levothyroxine.

Siderophores are considered to have a good potential as decontamination agents owing to their metal-chelating abilities. In order to confirm whether siderophores can be used in the recovery of metal ions, a siderophore (or metallophore) exhibiting Co2+-chelating activity was screened to demonstrate its ability to recover Co2+ from an aqueous solution. A siderophore-producing bacterium, Pandoraea sp. HCo-4B, was identified from a screen of Co2+-resistant bacteria grown in an aerobic enrichment culture with a Co2+-supplemented medium. After incubation of the crude extracted siderophore in a Co2+-containing solution, the Co2+-siderophore complex was adsorbed on to a C18 column. The bound Co2+ was eluted from the column by the addition of 10 mM H2SO4. The recovered amount of Co2+ was proportional to the amount of the added siderophore. We observed that the siderophore identified in this study binds to Co2+ at a 1:1 ratio.

Background Thyroid stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb) is detected in the serum of patients with Graves’ disease (GD). This study aims to investigate the prevalence of euthyroid individuals showing positive results for TRAb and to clarify the clinical course of thyroid function and TRAb levels in these subjects. Objective Subjects were female patients who newly visited our hospital for a screening test prior to fertility treatment and showed normal thyroid function and volume without nodules between 2014 and 2017. After excluding subjects with a history of thyroid disease, 5,622 subjects were analyzed. Results Forty-seven of the 5,622 subjects showed positive results for TRAb (reference range, Conclusion GD developed over time in 12.8% of euthyroid young female patients showing positive TRAb within a median of 6.6 months. A positive result for TRAb itself did not mean development of GD, so other factors must be essential for the pathogenesis of GD.

Context Medical treatment of Graves disease during the first trimester has been the subject of controversy ever since treatment with an antithyroid drug during the first trimester was reported to possibly be associated with an increased risk of birth defects in newborns. Objective We investigated whether the incidence of birth defects among newborns born to mothers with Graves disease (GD) treated with propylthiouracil (PTU) during the first trimester of pregnancy was higher than in a control group that was not exposed to any medication. Methods We reviewed the cases of 1913 women with GD who gave birth between January 1, 2015, and May 31, 2019. Detailed information concerning the outcome of pregnancy and the presence of birth defects was collected at the first visit after the delivery and again 1 year after delivery. We classified the mothers and infants into 3 groups according to the treatment the mother had received for GD in the first trimester of pregnancy: a group in which the mothers had been treated with PTU alone (PTU group), a group in which the mothers had not been treated with any medication (control group), and a group in which the mothers had received some other medical treatment, such as thiamazole, potassium iodide, or 2 or more drugs (other treatment group). Results The incidence of malformed infant births was 5.5% (30/541 infants) in the PTU group and 5.7% (27/ 475 infants) in the control group. There were no specific birth defects in the PTU group, and there were no significant differences between PTU dosages or maternal thyroid function according to whether mothers had delivered a child with a birth defect. Conclusion The results of our retrospective study showed that treatment with PTU during the first trimester of pregnancy did not increase the incidence of birth defects among newborns.

Siderophores are considered to have a good potential as decontamination agents owing to their metal-chelating abilities. In order to confirm whether siderophores can be used in the recovery of metal ions, a siderophore (or metallophore) exhibiting Co

Background: The indirect influence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on clinical practice has received great attention. However, the evidence about how the pandemic has affected clinical management of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, two common diseases worldwide, is lacking. We therefore aimed to examine the trends in the number of outpatients with thyroid disorders and their thyrotropin (TSH) levels before and during the pandemic in Japan. Methods: This cohort study included all patients aged ≥20 years who visited Ito Hospital, one of the largest hospitals that specialize in thyroid disorders in Japan, during 2019/1-2020/6. Our outcomes of interest were 1) trends in the aggregated number of visits at the clinic and 2) trends in average TSH levels from January 2019 to June 2020. The trends in TSH according to the clinic visit in early 2020 were assessed utilizing difference-in-difference models controlling for age, sex, and city of residence, stratified by each medication use (i.e., levothyroxine [LT4], antithyroid drug [ATD], potassium iodine [KI], or no medication). Results: During 2019/1-2020/6, we observed 517,412 visits at Ito Hospital for thyroid disorders, and the average number of visits per month was significantly decreased for both the first visits (1,995 in 2019 vs. 1,268 in 2020; reduction rate, 36%; p

We have visualized redox and structural changes in the mitochondria of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a eukaryotic cell model using a genetically encoded yellow fluorescent protein (Y1-Yellow) and conventional fluorescence microscopy. Y1-Yellow originating from a yellow emitting luminous bacterium Aliivibrio sifiae Y1 was fused with a mitochondria-targeted sequence (mt-sequence). Y1-Yellow fluorescence arising only from the mitochondrial site and the color of yellow fluorescence could be easily differentiated from cellular autofluorescence and from that of conventional probes. Y1-Yellow expressing S. cerevisiae made the yellow fluorescence conspicuous at the mitochondrial site in response to reactive oxygen species (ROS) transiently derived in the wake of pretreatment with hydrogen peroxide. Based on our observation with Y1-Yellow fluorescence, we also showed that mitochondria rearrange to form a cluster structure surrounding chromosomal DNA via respiratory inhibition by cyanide, followed by the generation of ROS. In contrast, uptake of an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation is not responsible for mitochondrial rearrangement. These results indicate the utility of Y1-Yellow for visualization of mitochondrial vitality and morphology in living cells.

AgGaSe2 thin films, changing the Ag/Ga ratio from 0.4 to 1.5, on glass substrates were successfully grown by vacuum evaporation method. Fundamental absorption bandedges were clearly observed except for Ag/Ga ratios of 0.4 and 1.5 in the optical transmittance spectra at RT. The optical bandgap increased with increasing Ag/Ga ratio. This was due to the Bernstein-Moss shifts. Photoluminescence spectrum was strongly observed in the stoichiometric sample in comparison to Ag- and Ga-rich samples. This means that nonradiative recombination transition was a few in the stoichiometric sample because there were few defects in the samples Two distinct peaks at 1.77 and 1.70 eV were clearly observed in the stoichiometric sample. They were due to bound exciton emission and donor-acceptor pair (DAP) emission, respectively. The DAP emission is due to recombination between Se- and Ga vacancies. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

CuInS2 crystals were successfully grown by the Hot-Press method at 700 °C for 1 h under high pressure in Cu-rich region. The In-rich samples were found to contain a small amount of secondary phase (CuIn5S8). Crystalline grain sizes in the In-rich region increased with increasing Cu/In ratio, whereas they remained constant in the Cu-rich region. All samples exhibited a low Sulfur concentration. This indicated that Cu atoms on In sites and In interstitials, and/or S vacancies might lead to an enhancement in electrical conductivity in both p- and n-type material.

AgInS2 crystal could be grown by a Hot-Press (HP) method with pressure (10 ∼ 90 MPa) at 700 °C. From X-ray diffraction measurements, the samples grown at 10 ∼ 40 MPa were found to contain only AgInS2 phase. However, a signal from AgIn5S8 phase increased with increasing pressure above 40 MPa. The lattice parameters of a and c axes increased and were almost constants with increasing pressure below and above 40 MPa, respectively. A donor-type defect of interstitial Ag might be enhanced to electrical conductivity in the all samples because samples indicated n-type conductivity examined by thermoprobe analysis. Moreover, high purity sample could be obtained in the HP method because a free exciton emission was clearly and no deep emission was observed in the photoluminescence spectrum. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Undoped polycrystalline AgGaSe2 crystals were successfully grown at a low temperature (700 °C) using a hot-press method. The sizes of the samples were 2 cm in diameter. The grain size was approximately 55 nm. The presence of lattice defects such as Se vacancies and/or Ag interstitials may lead to an enhancement in electrical conductivity. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

In this paper, we investigate the property of an impulse force generator based on snap-through buckling of a robotic closed elastic rod which is considered as one of good examples of continuum robots. The impulse force generator considered here utilizes a snap through buckling of an elastic rod where its base end is pinned and driven by a rotary actuator forcibly while the tip end is pinned or clamped to the fixed point. One of the most fundamental design problems is to maximize the released elastic energy at each buckling state subject to limited ranges of driving torque and angle of a given actuator. From this design viewpoint, we show two findings obtained from quasi-static planar shape transition simulation of the closed elastica, which will be useful for a design of the robot, that is, the ratio of the elastica length and the endpoint distance decides 1) the buckling angle which relates to the range of an actuator driving angle, and 2) the released elastic energy per the maximum driving torque. We also provide a mathematical description of snap-through buckling based on which we can measure a distance to a buckling point.

Magnetic behaviors of the magnetic semiconductor Mn-doped AgGaSe2 with no secondary phases are reported. Magnetization measurements show that Mn-doped AgGaSe2 exhibits a superparamagnetic behavior while undoped AgGaSe2 shows diamagnetism. Significant anomalies are also seen in the temperature dependent ac susceptibility and specific heat at 190 and 275K. These results indicate that the substitution of Mn induces magnetism in AgGaSe2. The origin of the magnetic behaviors is discussed on the basis of the combined results of susceptibility, specific heat, and photoluminescence.

Undoped polycrystalline AgInSe2 crystals were successfully grown at low temperature (650°C) using a hot-press method. The sizes of the samples were 2 cm in diameter. The largest grain size was approximately 90 nm. The presence of lattice defects such as Ag interstitials might lead to an enhancement in n-type electrical conductivity. The crystals had a resistivity of 2.2 Ω cm, a carrier concentration of 4.2 × 1016 cm3 and a mobility of 70 cm2V-1s-1 obtained by Hall measurement at RT.