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Objective Application of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) for thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA) is controversial. Therefore, ROSE has not been universally applied. This study aimed to evaluate the value of ROSE for ultrasound-guided thyroid FNA. Methods A total of 997 patients with 1103 suspicious thyroid nodules had ultrasound-guided FNA performed from January 2016 to February 2018. There were 513 nodules with ROSE and 590 nodules without ROSE. The cytological nondiagnostic rate, needle passes, and procedural times of thyroid FNA with or without ROSE were compared. The nondiagnostic rates of subsets of suspicious thyroid nodules were further compared. Results There was no significant effect of ROSE on the nondiagnostic rate of FNA. However, FNA with ROSE significantly reduced the numbers of sub-centimeter, mixed solid-cystic, macrocalcified, and hypervascular nodules. There was a significantly smaller number of needle passes and less procedural times with ROSE than without ROSE. There was no significant difference in the complication rate of FNA with and without ROSE. Conclusion ROSE for thyroid FNA reduces the number of needle passes and procedural times. ROSE has a higher clinical application value in subsets of thyroid nodules, which tend to be difficult to diagnose with FNA.

It is not clear what effects of CD34- and CD133-specific antibody-coated stents have on re-endothelialization and in-stent restenosis (ISR) at the early phase of vascular injury. This study aims at determining the capabilities of different coatings on stents (e.g. gelatin, anti-CD133 and anti-CD34 antibodies) to promote adhesion and proliferation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). The in vitro study revealed that the adhesion force enabled the EPCs coated on glass slides to withstand flow-induced shear stress, so that allowing for the growth of the cells on the slides for 48 h. The in vivo experiment using a rabbit model in which the coated stents with different substrates were implanted showed that anti-CD34 and anti-CD133 antibody-coated stents markedly reduced the intima area and restenosis than bare mental stents (BMS) and gelatin-coated stents. Compared with the anti-CD34 antibody-coated stents, the time of cells adhesion was longer and earlier present in the anti-CD133 antibody-coated stents and anti-CD133 antibody-coated stents have superiority in re-endothelialization and inhibition of ISR. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that anti-CD133 antibody as a stent coating for capturing EPCs is better than anti-CD34 antibody in promoting endothelialization and reducing ISR.

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Amyloid-β (Aβ) is known to exert cytotoxic effects by inducing mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, the mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1), which is involved in the release of apoptotic proteins with possible relevance in Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology, plays an important role in maintaining mitochondrial function and integrity. However, the application of therapeutic drugs, especially natural products in (AD) therapy via VDAC1-regulated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway has not aroused extensive attention. In the present study, we investigated neuroprotective effects of hesperidin, a bioactive flavonoid compound, on Aβ25-35-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells and also examined the potential cellular signalling mechanism. Our results showed that treatment with hesperidin significantly inhibited Aβ25-35-induced apoptosis by reversing Aβ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, including the mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening, intracellular free calcium increase and reactive oxygen species production. Further study indicated that hesperidin can decrease the level ofVDAC1 phosphorylation through inhibiting the activity of the glycogen synthase kinase-3b and increase the level of hexokinaseI in mitochondria, preventing release of cytochrome c from mitochondria [corrected]. Furthermore, hesperidin inhibited mitochondria-dependent downstream caspase-mediated apoptotic pathway, such as that involving caspase-9 and caspase-3. These results demonstrate that hesperidin can protect Aβ-induced neurotoxicity via VDAC1-regulated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, and they raise the possibility that hesperidin could be developed into a clinically valuable treatment for AD and other neuronal degenerative diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the risk factors and clinical value of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and missed central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) using preoperative ultrasound (US) in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC).MethodsThis retrospective study included 521 patients who underwent thyroidectomy for confirmed PTMC based on a final histological examination between January 2014 and June 2015. Based on the presence of LNM, 521 cases were divided into two groups: metastasis (218) and non-metastasis (303). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to analyse the US and clinical characteristics of the primary tumour.ResultsWe defined LNM based on the tumour diameter with an optimal critical value of 0.55 cm using ROC analysis with a sensitivity of 65.6% and specificity of 59.6%. We defined US-missed CLNM based on the optimal critical value of 0.65 cm using diagnostic ROC analysis with a sensitivity of 66.0% and specificity of 73.0%. The odds ratios of significant factors with LNM by US were 10.3 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 6.2–17.0), 5.3 (95% CI, 3.3–8.7), 2.7 (95% CI, 1.1–6.5), 4.3 (95% CI, 1.7–10.5), 2.5 (95% CI, 1.5–4.1), and 2.7 (95% CI, 1.7–4.4) for extrathyroidal invasion, blood flow, multifocality, tumour diameter greater than 0.55 cm, male sex, and age younger than 47 years, respectively.ConclusionsUS characteristics, such as extrathyroidal invasion, blood flow, tumour diameter, sex, and age, may improve the efficacy of predicting LNM and facilitating diagnosis of PTMC. Furthermore, tumour invasion to the extracapsular thyroid and a diameter greater than 0.65 cm indicate CLNM.

Atherosclerosis (AS) commonly occurs in the regions of the arterial tree with haemodynamic peculiarities, including local flow field disturbances, and formation of swirling flow and vortices. The aim of our study was to confirm low-density lipoprotein (LDL) concentration polarization in the vascular system in vitro and in vivo, and investigate the effects of LDL concentration polarization and flow field alterations on atherosclerotic localization. Red fluorescent LDL was injected into optically transparent Flk1: GFP zebrafish embryos, and the LDL distribution in the vascular lumen was investigated in vivo using laser scanning confocal microscopy. LDL concentration at the vascular luminal surface was found to be higher than that in the bulk. The flow field conditions in blood vessel segments were simulated and measured, and obvious flow field disturbances were found in the regions of vascular geometry change. The LDL concentration at the luminal surface of bifurcation was significantly higher than that in the straight segment, possibly owing to the atherogenic effect of disturbed flow. Additionally, a stenosis model of rabbit carotid arteries was generated. Atherosclerotic plaques were found to have occurred in the stenosis group and were more severe in the stenosis group on a high-fat diet. Our findings provide the first ever definite proof that LDL concentration polarization occurs in the vascular system in vivo. Both lipoprotein concentration polarization and flow field changes are involved in the infiltration/accumulation of atherogenic lipids within the location of arterial luminal surface and promote the development of AS.

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