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This study aimed to evaluate the oncological outcomes and surgical completeness of transoral robotic thyroidectomy (TORT) for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) compared with conventional transcervical thyroidectomy.We analyzed 489 patients with PTC who underwent thyroidectomy with or without central neck dissection (CND; 311 conventional thyroidectomy and 178 TORT) between January 2017 and December 2021. Patients with gross invasion of the surrounding structures, revision or completion thyroidectomy, and lateral neck dissection were excluded. Propensity score-matched analysis was performed using eight covariates, including age, sex, extent of thyroidectomy, tumor size, extrathyroidal extension (ETE), radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and CND.Before propensity score matching (PSM), age, male-to-female ratio, and body mass index were lower in the TORT group. The ratio of total thyroidectomy and CND, tumor size and bilaterality, LVI, and RAI ablation were higher in the conventional group. PSM generated two matched groups of 100 patients each. After PSM, significant differences between the two groups in the baseline analysis disappeared. In the matched samples, the recurrence rate (2% and 0% in the conventional and TORT groups, respectively) and recurrence-free survival curves did not differ between the two groups. The mean thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-stimulated thyroglobulin level in the RAI group and TSH-suppressed thyroglobulin level in the non-RAI group were not different between the two groups.The 5-year oncologic outcomes and surgical completeness of TORT were comparable with those of conventional thyroidectomy in patients with small, localized, low-risk PTC when performed by experienced surgeons.

A metering roundabout where traffic is controlled by traffic lights with phase times influenced by queue detector occupancy might be the solution to enhance performance when there are unbalanced traffic flows at roundabouts. There have, however, been minimal studies on how the distance of the queue detector from the stop line affects signal phase time durations and the queuing lengths. This research, therefore, seeks to develop a Cuckoo Search/Local search Algorithm using parameters such as arrival volumes, conflicting volumes, detector distance and phase time to investigate the relationship of signal setting, detector location and queuing formulations. Also, some additional statistical tests were performed for the fitness of the data. In order to conduct solid model calibrations and validations, model output data was compared against the AIMSUN model. The results from the analyses demonstrated that the queue detector distance can affect phase time durations and vehicle queuing lengths on the controlling approach as well as queuing lengths on the metered approach. This study showed that, based on the study for the Old Belair Road roundabout, the total queue length (controlling + metered) will be minimized from 689 to 499 m by the proposed methods when the detector is relocated at 210 m from the roundabout stop line, giving longer phase green times and resulting in decreased intersection queuing lengths.

In a power plant that uses seawater as a coolant, a debris filter (DF) is required to remove foreign substances from the seawater, and differential pressure leads to a decrease in the coolant flow rate, leading to a decrease in the power generation efficiency. In this study, an analysis was performed for the cases wherein the initial flow velocity conditions of the DF used in the condenser tube cleaning system (CTCS) were 1.5 m/s, 2.0 m/s, and 2.5 m/s using Ansys Fluent 2021, and the flow characteristics were identified. The flow and differential pressure characteristics of a CTCS with an installed DF were considered in a comparative analysis of the velocity, pressure, and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) distributions. The results confirmed that a vortex was generated in the pipe with the DF, apparently due to the collision of the flow with the bracket of the DF. As the flow rate increased, the range of the vortex increased, causing a loss in flow.

In a power plant that uses seawater as a coolant, a debris filter is required to remove foreign substances from the seawater, and differential pressure leads to a decrease in the coolant flow rate, leading to a decrease in power generation efficiency. In this study, analysis was performed under different initial flow velocity conditions of 1.5m/s, 2.0m/s, and 2.5m/s for a debris filter used in a power plant to understand flow characteristics in CTCS. The flow and differential pressure characteristics of a CTCS with an installed debris filter were considered in a comparative analysis of velocity, pressure, and turbulent kinetic energy distribution. The results confirmed that a vortex was generated in the pipe with the debris filter, apparently due to the collision of the flow with the bracket of the debris filter. As the flow rate increased, the range of the vortex increased, causing a loss in flow.

A synthetic strategy for the formation of C(sp3)-N bonds, particularly through a copper-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling, is rare. Herein, we report a novel synthetic approach for the preparation of tertiary sulfonamides via copper-catalyzed intra- and intermolecular oxidative C(sp3)-N cross-coupling reactions. This method allows the utilization of the readily available C(sp3)-based pinacol boronate as a substrate and the tolerance of a wide range of functional groups under mild reaction conditions. The success of this strategy relies on the unprecedented additive effects of silanol and NaIO4.

Background : This study aimed to evaluate cardiovascular risk in subjects with pre-diabetes and diabetes in Korea. Methods : In this pan-Korean, non-interventional, cross-sectional study, data were collected from medical records of 10 hospitals between November 2013 and June 2014. Subjects (aged ≥40 years) with medical records of dysglycemia and documentation of total cholesterol level, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure, and smoking status in the past 6 months were included. The primary endpoint was to determine the Framingham risk score (FRS). The relationships between FRS and cardiovascular risk factors, glycated hemoglobin, and insulin usage were determined by multiple linear regression analyses. Results : Data from 1,537 subjects with pre-diabetes (n=1,025) and diabetes (n=512) were analyzed. The mean FRS (mean±standard deviation) in subjects with pre-diabetes/diabetes was 13.72±8.77. FRS was higher in subjects with diabetes than pre-diabetes (P

Cellular dynamics and fate decision in early human embryogenesis remain largely unknown owing to the challenges of performing studies in human embryos1. Here, we explored whole-genomes of 334 single-cell colonies and targeted deep sequences of 379 bulk tissues obtained from various anatomical locations of seven recently deceased adult human donors. Using somatic mutations as an intrinsic barcode, we reconstructed early cellular phylogenies that demonstrate (1) an endogenous mutational rate that is higher in the first cell division but decreases to approximately one per cell per cell division later in life; (2) universal unequal contribution of early cells to embryo proper, resulting from early cellular bottlenecks that stochastically set aside epiblast cells within the embryo; (3) examples of varying degrees of early clonal imbalances between tissues on the left and right sides of the body, different germ layers and specific anatomical parts and organs; (4) emergence of a few ancestral cells that will substantially contribute to adult cell pools in blood and liver; and (5) presence of mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy in the fertilized egg. Our approach also provides insights into the age-related mutational processes and loss of sex chromosomes in normal somatic cells. In sum, this study provides a foundation for future studies to complete cellular phylogenies in human embryogenesis. Adult human tissues from diverse sites around the body are used to reconstruct cellular phylogenies from early development, using somatic mutations as an internal barcode.

Blood vessels are three-dimensional (3D) in structure and precisely connected. Conventional histological methods are unsuitable for their analysis because of the destruction of functionally important topological 3D vascular structures. Tissue optical clearing techniques enable extensive volume imaging and data analysis without destroying tissue. This study therefore applied a tissue clearing technique to acquire high-resolution 3D images of rat brain vasculature using light-sheet and confocal microscopies. Rats underwent middle cerebral artery occlusion for 45 min followed by 24 h reperfusion with lectin injected directly into the heart for vascular staining. For acquiring 3D images of rat brain vasculature, 3-mm-thick brain slices were reconstructed using tissue clearing and light-sheet microscopy. Subsequently, after 3D rendering, the fitting of blood vessels to a filament model was used for analysis. The results revealed a significant reduction in vessel diameter and density in the ischemic region compared to those in contralesional non-ischemic regions. Immunostaining of 0.5-mm-thick brain slices revealed considerable neuronal loss and increased astrocyte fluorescence intensity in the ipsilateral region. Thus, these methods can provide more accurate data by broadening the scope of the analyzed regions of interest for examining the 3D cerebrovascular system and neuronal changes occurring in various brain disorders.

Background Metabolic syndrome closely associated with development of various chronic complications, including impaired kidney function. However, previous indices for insulin resistance (IR) have some limitation in precision estimating metabolic abnormality. Objective We investigate that higher triglycerides x glucose index (TyG) may be an alternative to predicting early impairment of kidney function. We analyzed biochemical and spirometry data from a nation-wide, population-based, case-control study (the KNHNES IV and V). The homeostasis model assessment, the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index, and TyG were uses as a surrogate marker of IR. Eligibles as cases were all native Korean who were aged 20 years or more and had no any medical illness. Results A total of 14534 participants were divided into 2 groups according to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, mL·min-1·1.73 m-2) as follows: Group I (n = 10189), ≥ 90 and ≤ 120; and Group II (n = 4345), ≥ 60 and < 90. Group I had lower TyG (8.43 ± 0.01 vs. 8.60 ± 0.01, P Conclusions In this study, we demonstrated that TyG may be useful indicator of early renal impairment. To confirm these findings, large population-based prospective clinical should be needed. Presentation: Sunday, June 12, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

BACKGROUND: In humans, after fertilization, the zygote divides into two 2n diploid daughter blastomeres. During this division, DNA is replicated, and the remaining mutually exclusive genetic mutations in the genome of each cell are called post-zygotic variants. Using these somatic mutations, developmental lineages can be reconstructed. How these two blastomeres are contributing to the entire body is not yet identified. This study aims to evaluate the cellular contribution of two blastomeres of 2-cell embryos to the entire body in humans using post-zygotic variants based on whole genome sequencing. METHODS: Tissues from different anatomical areas were obtained from five donated cadavers for use in single-cell clonal expansion and bulk target sequencing. After conducting whole genome sequencing, computational analysis was applied to find the early embryonic mutations of each clone. We developed our in-house bioinformatics pipeline, and filtered variants using strict criteria, composed of mapping quality, base quality scores, depth, soft-clipped reads, and manual inspection, resulting in the construction of embryological phylogenetic cellular trees. RESULTS: Using our in-house pipeline for variant filtering, we could extract accurate true positive variants, and construct the embryological phylogenetic trees for each cadaver. We found that two daughter blastomeres, L1 and L2 (lineage 1 and 2, respectively), derived from the zygote, distribute unequally to the whole body at the clonal level. From bulk target sequencing data, we validated asymmetric contribution by means of the variant allele frequency of L1 and L2. The asymmetric contribution of L1 and L2 varied from person to person. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that there is asymmetric contribution of two daughter blastomeres from the first division of the zygote across the whole human body. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13770-022-00443-7.

Background Airborne particulate matter (PM), a complex mixture of organic and inorganic compounds, is a major public health concern due to its adverse health effects. Understanding the biological action of PM is of particular importance in the improvement of public health. Differential methylation of repetitive elements (RE) by PM might have severe consequences for the structural integrity of the genome and on transcriptional activity, thereby affecting human health. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of inhaled and non-inhaled PM (PM2.5, PM10, and PM10-PAH) exposure on DNA methylation. We quantitatively measured the methylation content of Alu and LINE1 in PM-treated normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) and normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) by using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and pyrosequencing. Results All PMs exposure significantly lowered Alu and LINE1 methylation in both cells than in mock-treated controls. Hypomethylation was more prominent in PM10-PAH exposed-NHBE and PM10 exposed-NHEK. Alu and LINE1 methylation change exhibited different sensitivity according to the subfamily evolutionary ages, with stronger effects on the oldest L1-M and Alu J in NHBE, and oldest L1-M and youngest Alu S in NHEK. Conclusions These results demonstrate that the differential susceptibility of PM-induced hypomethylation of Alu and LINE1 depends upon RE evolutionary age and PM type.