PURPOSE Patients with thyroid cancer are often assumed to have no quality of life (QOL) impairments after treatment because of thyroid cancer's good prognosis. However, the QOL implications of surgical complications and the necessity to take lifelong medication are seldom assessed. METHODS Patients who had surgery due to thyroid cancer at the University Medical Center Mainz between 2010 and 2015 and who had calcium or parathyroid hormone levels below the reference values immediately following surgery were eligible for this study. QOL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the thyroid cancer module EORTC QLQ-THY34. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with a worse QOL compared with a general population. RESULTS A total of 75 (56%) of 134 eligible patients participated in the study. Patients with persistent/prolonged calcium or vitamin D intake reported worse QOL in the domains of global health, physical functioning, role functioning, emotional functioning, and insomnia than patients without current intake. Current calcium and vitamin D intake, higher education, living with a partner, and age had an effect on the odds of having worse QOL than the age- and sex-adjusted general population. CONCLUSION Prolonged calcium and/or vitamin D intake are negatively associated with certain domains of QOL in thyroid cancer patients who are at least 1 year post surgery. Assessment of calcium and vitamin D and diagnosis of hypoparathyroidism are therefore important for the follow-up of thyroid cancer survivors since it may affect their QOL.Asgard is an archaeal superphylum that might hold the key to understand the origin of eukaryotes, but its diversity and ecological roles remain poorly understood. Here, we reconstructed 15 metagenomic-assembled genomes from coastal sediments covering most known Asgard archaea and a novel group, which is proposed as a new Asgard phylum named as the "Gerdarchaeota". Genomic analyses predict that Gerdarchaeota are facultative anaerobes in utilizing both organic and inorganic carbon. Unlike their closest relatives Heimdallarchaeota, Gerdarchaeota have genes encoding for cellulase and enzymes involved in the tetrahydromethanopterin-based Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. Transcriptomics showed that most of our identified Asgard archaea are capable of degrading organic matter, including peptides, amino acids and fatty acids, occupying ecological niches in different depths of layers of the sediments. Overall, this study broadens the diversity of the mysterious Asgard archaea and provides evidence for their ecological roles in coastal sediments.Optic neuropathies lead to blindness; the common pathology is the degeneration of axons of the retinal ganglion cells. In this study, we used a rat model of retinal ischemia-reperfusion and a one-time intravitreal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) injection; then we examined axon transportation function, continuity, physical presence of axons in different part of the optic nerve, and the expression level of proteins involved in axon transportation. We found that in the disease model, axon transportation was the most severely affected, followed by axon continuity, then the number of axons in the distal and proximal optic nerve. BDNF treatment relieved all reductions and significantly restored function. The molecular changes were more minor, probably due to massive gliosis of the optic nerve, so interpretation of protein expression data should be done with some caution. The process in this acute model resembles a fast-forward of changes in the chronic model of glaucoma. Therefore, impairment in axon transportation appears to be a common early process underlying different optic neuropathies. This research on effective intervention can be used to develop interventions for all optic neuropathies targeting axon transportation.Perimortem fracture patterns in long bones, defined in previous publications, include layered breakage, bone scales, crushed margins, flakes with flake defect, wave lines, and plastic deformation. The traits help professionals during trauma analysis to differentiate peri- from post-mortem fractures. This study will therefore investigate whether these traits can be recorded with Computed Tomography (CT) as the non-invasive 3D imaging technique is becoming more popular in forensic science. CT scans of macerated bone samples (n = 15; humerus n = 1; ulna n = 1; radius n = 1; femur n = 12) were investigated using multi-planar reconstructions (MPRs) and volume renderings. Tension lines and severe plastic deformation were visible on the individual multi-planar reconstructions (MPRs) and the 3D models. Additionally, layered breakage and flake defects were also clearly distinguishable on the volume renderings. Based on the results, CT imaging may be a useful and fast tool to document, visualize, and analyze findings of blunt force trauma.Formalin pigment deposition is a known artifact of autopsy histology, often anecdotally associated with decomposition of bodies. However, there is minimal data within the forensic literature demonstrating an association between formalin pigment deposition and length of postmortem interval. Furthermore, there is minimal data concerning other predisposing factors and patterns of distribution of formalin pigment deposition. In this study, we compare the amount and patterns of formalin deposition on histology slides from three categories of death 1) decomposed bodies, 2) critically ill at time of death, and 3) sudden cardiac death. We also compare the effectiveness of two relatively simple histology laboratory methods to remove formalin pigment deposition from histology slides. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/LBH-589.html Amongst the three categories of death, formalin deposition was highest in the decomposed category, second highest in the critically ill category, and lowest in the sudden cardiac death category. The organs most severely affected by formalin deposition were liver/spleen/pancreas and kidneys, and the organs least affected were brain and lung. Formalin pigment deposition correlated with length of postmortem interval. Histologic patterns of formalin deposition included the endothelial lining of vessels, perinuclear compartment of neurons and myocytes, and the basal epithelial compartment of renal tubular epithelial cells. The alcoholic ammonium hydroxide method (AAH) was slightly more effective than the alkylphenol ethoxylate (APE) method for removing formalin pigment, though both methods were effective. Because formalin pigment is strongly refractile under polarized light, a polarization filter can also be useful for distinguishing formalin pigment from other pigments.