Eriksendenton0311

Many bird species occupy habitats where environmental temperatures fall well below their thermoneutral zone (TNZ), so they must deal with high energy costs of thermoregulation to keep in heat balance. In such circumstances, specific dynamic action (SDA) - also referred to as heat increment of feeding - could be used to substitute for these high thermoregulatory costs. If birds ingest food before going to roost in cold environments, the SDA will be beneficial as an energy-conserving mechanism by thermal substitution. We investigated the magnitude and duration of SDA in a small-sized shorebird, the dunlin Calidris alpina, while feeding on living prey. We simulated in the aviary the food availability of a semidiurnal tidal cycle, and calculated the thermal substitution by SDA below their TNZ at the beginning of the "high tide" (resting period), after feeding ad libitum during the "low tide" (feeding period). Within TNZ (25 °C), dunlins consumed 12% (2.15 kJ) of the gross energy intake in excess by the SDA, with a duration of ~95 min. At 10 °C, i.e. below the lower critical limit of TNZ, SDA magnitude and duration were reduced by 29% and 31%, respectively. The amount of food ingested significantly affected the duration and magnitude of SDA, as well as the dunlin's body temperature. Thermal substitution by SDA saved 11% of the dunlin's theoretical daily energy requirement during winter. This thermal substitution could be commonly used by birds going to roost in cold climates. Interacting with other different behavioral and/or physiological strategies would help to maintain lower energetic costs and enhance survival in cold environments. During the 25 years since the US Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), the law that transformed the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) authority to regulate dietary supplements, the dietary supplement market has grown exponentially. Retail sales of herbal products, a subcategory of dietary supplements, have increased 83% from 2008 to 2018 ($4.8 to $8.8 billion USD). Although consumers often equate "natural" with "safe", it is well recognized by scientists that constituents in these natural products (NPs) can result in toxicity. Additionally, when NPs are co-consumed with pharmaceutical agents, the precipitant NP can alter drug disposition and drug delivery, thereby enhancing or reducing the therapeutic effect of the object drug(s). With the widespread use of NPs, these effects can be underappreciated. We present a summary of a symposium presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology 2019 (12 March 2019) that discussed potential toxicities of NPs alone and in combination with drugs. INTRODUCTION Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS) is a rare fibroblastic tumor characterized by a prolonged clinical course and malignant biological behavior. Given its deceptively bland cytomorphology, a diagnosis can be quite challenging notably on fine-needle aspiration (FNA). In an attempt to shed light on some of the distinctive cytomorphologic characteristics, this study was conducted to review all cases of LGFMS in our database, correlating available clinical data, immunohistochemical findings, and molecular analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS This series included 20 FNAs from 18 patients with a histologically confirmed LGFMS diagnosis from 3 large academic institutions. Detailed cytomorphologic analysis for each case was documented in conjunction with corresponding clinical characteristics and provided ancillary testing. RESULTS Out of 14 adequate FNA samples, 9 (64.2%) demonstrated a mixture of fibrous and myxoid pattern; the majority of cases were composed of deceptively bland tumor cells with rare nuclear pleomorphism and nuclear membrane irregularities. A MUC4 immunostain was performed on 5 specimens; all tested positive (100%). FUS rearrangement was detected in 4 out of 5 cases (80%). Follow-up information revealed 5-year recurrence in 1 case and metastatic disease in 2 cases, to the lung/pleura (8 years) and fourth rib (1 year), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The presence of bland spindle cells and associated with myxoid matrix material, in the appropriate clinical setting, can suggest LGFMS and direct additional confirmatory testing. selleck products A definitive diagnosis of LGFMS on FNA requires adequate sampling, familiarity with key cytomorphologic features, acquisition of diagnostic material for a cell block preparation and ancillary testing, and clinicoradiologic correlation. INTRODUCTION Insulinoma-associated protein 1 (INSM-1) is expressed in both normal tissues and neoplasms with neuroendocrine differentiation such as small cell lung carcinoma and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the INSM-1 expression in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in the aspirated material and its preoperative diagnostic value. MATERIALS AND METHODS MTC cases with available cytological material from 5 institutions were retrospectively identified. INSM-1 expression was analyzed in 48 cell blocks prepared from fine-needle aspiration samples from histologically confirmed cases of MTC. Twenty-nine samples were aspirates from primary thyroid lesions and 19 from secondary lesions lymph node or liver lesions. INSM-1 immunostain was done using the Ventana Automatic System (Ventana Medical Systems, Tucson, AZ). The control group consisted of 20 samples from histologically confirmed cases of papillary, follicular, and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas and secondary thyroid malignancies (squamous cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma). RESULTS The male to female (MF) ratio in MTC group was 11.5 and the average age was 55.6 years (range 24-84 years). INSM-1 nuclear staining in at least 5% of cells was considered positive. Forty-five (93.75%) MTC samples were positive including all primary tumor aspirates. All control samples were negative. CONCLUSIONS INSM-1 nuclear positivity is a reliable marker of MTC neuroendocrine differentiation on cytology material from both primary tumor and metastases. INSM-1 can also discriminate MTC from other primary and secondary thyroid carcinomas when there are cytomorphologic overlaps.