Consequences of atmospheric contamination by radioiodine: the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents

Historical context, process, and development trends of pediatric thyroid cancer research: a bibliometric analysis

Objective

At present, the structure of knowledge in the field of childhood thyroid cancer is not clear enough, and scholars lack a sufficient understanding of the developing trends in this field, which has led to a shortage of forward-looking outputs. The purpose of this research is to help scholars construct a complete knowledge framework and identify current challenges, opportunities, and development trends.

Methods

We searched the literature in the Web of Science Core Collection database on August 7, 2023 and extracted key information from the top 100 most cited articles, such as the countries, institutions, authors, themes, and keywords. We used bibliometric tools such as bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace for a visualization analysis and Excel for statistical descriptions.

Results

The top 100 most cited articles fluctuated over time, and the research was concentrated in European countries, the United States, and Japan, among which scientific research institutions and scholars from the United States made outstanding contributions. Keyword analysis revealed that research has shifted from simple treatment methods for pediatric thyroid cancer (total thyroidectomy) and inducing factors (the Chernobyl power station accident) to the clinical applications of genetic mutations (such as the BRAF and RET genes) and larger-scale genetic changes (mutation studies of the DICER1 gene). The thematic strategy analysis showed an increasing trend towards the popularity of fusion oncogenes, while the popularity of research on traditional treatments and diagnostics has gradually declined.

Conclusion

Extensive research has been conducted on the basic problems of pediatric thyroid cancer, and there has been significant outputs in the follow-up and cohort analysis of conventional diagnostic and treatment methods. However, these methods still have certain limitations. Therefore, scholars should focus on exploring fusion genes, the clinical applications of molecular targets, and novel treatment methods. This study provides a strong reference for scholars in this field.

Impact of (nano ZnO/multi-wall CNTs) prepared by arc discharge method on the removal efficiency of stable iodine 127I and radioactive iodine 131I from water

Radioactive iodine isotopes especially 131I are used for diagnosis and treatment of different types of cancer diseases. Due to the leak of radioactive iodine into the patient's urine in turn, the wastewater would be contaminated, so it is worth preparing a novel adsorption green material to remove the radioactive iodine from wastewater efficiently. The removal of 127I and 131I contaminants from aqueous solution is a problem of interest. Therefore, this work presents a new study for removing the stable iodine 127I- and radioactive iodine 131I from aqueous solutions by using the novel nano adsorbent (Nano ZnO/MWCNTs) which is synthesized by the arc discharge method. It is an economic method for treating contaminated water from undesired dissolved iodine isotopes. The optimal conditions for maximum removal are (5 mg/100 ml) as optimum dose with shacking (200 rpm) for contact time of (60 min), at (25 °C) in an acidic medium of (pH = 5). After the adsorption process, the solution is filtrated and the residual iodide (127I-) is measured at a maximum UV wavelength absorbance of 225 nm. The maximum adsorption capacity is (15.25 mg/g); therefore the prepared nano adsorbent (Nano ZnO/MWCNTs) is suitable for treating polluted water from low iodide concentrations. The adsorption mechanism of 127I- on to the surface of (Nano ZnO/MWCNTs) is multilayer physical adsorption according to Freundlich isotherm model and obeys the Pseudo-first order kinetic model. According to Temkin isotherm model the adsorption is exothermic. The removal efficiency of Nano ZnO/MWCNTs for stable iodine (127I-) from aqueous solutions has reached 97.23%, 89.75%, and 64.78% in case of initial concentrations; 0.1843 ppm, 0.5014 ppm and 1.0331 ppm, respectively. For the prepared radio iodine (131I-) solution of radioactivity (20 µCi), the dose of nano adsorbent was (10 mg/100 ml) and the contact time was (60 min) at (pH = 5) with shacking (200 rpm) at (25 °C). The filtration process was done by using a syringe filter of a pore size (450 nm) after 2 days to equilibrate. The removal efficiency reached (34.16%) after the first cycle of treatment and the percentage of residual radio iodine was (65.86%). The removal efficiency reached (94.76%) after five cycles of treatment and the percentage of residual radio iodine was (5.24%). This last percentage was less than (42.15%) which produces due to the natural decay during 10 days.

The environmental burden on endocrine neoplasia: a review on the documented impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals

INTRODUCTION

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have gained more importance in the past decade, mostly due to their role in the pathogenesis of disease, especially in carcinogenesis. However, there is limited literature on the environmental burden on some of the less common endocrine neoplasia.

AREAS COVERED

This review focuses on both observational and experimental studies linking exposure to EDCs and endocrine neoplasia specifically pituitary, thyroid, adrenal and neuroendocrine tumors. Following PRISMA guidelines, a search of English peer-reviewed literature was performed using Medline and Google Scholar, giving preference to recent publications.

EXPERT OPINION

Exposure to EDC occurs not only in the household but also at work, whether it is in the office, factory, or farm and during transport from one location to another. Many studies have evaluated the effect of single environmental agents; however, humans are rarely exposed to only one EDC. Different EDCs and different levels of exposure may interact together to provide either a synergistic and/or an antagonistic disruption on human health, and hence a complex mechanism to elucidate. The ultimate adverse effect is difficult to predict, as it is not only influenced by the degree of exposure, but also by genetics, lifestyle, comorbidities, and other stressors.

Molecular reaction and dynamic mechanism of iodate reduction to molecular iodine by nitrogen(III) in aqueous solution

This work studies the molecular reaction and dynamic mechanism of iodate reduction by nitrogen(III) in aqueous solution using the ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) method based on density functional theory (DFT). Two possible reaction pathways (without and with H⁺) are proposed. The thermodynamic parameters of the proposed reaction pathways are calculated. The theoretical calculation aspects of iodate reduction, including the atomic dipole moment corrected Hirshfeld population (ADCH) atomic charge values, the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) curves, the calculated interaction regional indicator (IRI) isosurfaces with the corresponding sign(λ₂)ρ scatter plots, electrostatic potential (ESP) analysis and molecular reaction dynamics are discussed in-depth. The results show that the reaction pathway with H⁺ is confirmed based on the Gibbs free energy analysis. The transition state proved that the iodate reduction with nitrous acid undergoes four steps according to oxygen-atom deprivation. The IRC curves describe the energy change of the chemical bonds of the reactant conformations in the four steps, with an energy reduction of 71.95, 69.35, 130.15, and 125.87 kJ mol^-1, respectively. The ESP interpenetration diagram and IRI isosurfaces provide detailed information on the nucleophilicity and electrophilicity of the reactant conformations. By decreasing the O atom number in HIO_x (x = 1, 2, 3), the maximum positive charge decreases, and the positive charge coverage area increases, thus resulting in energy reduction and consequently a more stable conformation. Molecular reaction dynamics analytical results indicated that a relatively stable status of the reactants of the four steps was achieved after around 200 fs, and that the HIO₃-HNO₂ reaction released the highest energy.

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Current Position in Epidemiology, Genomics, and Classification

Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid malignancy both in adults and pediatric population. Since the 1980s, there are changes in criteria in labelling thyroid lesions as "papillary thyroid carcinomas." Radiation exposure is a well-established risk factor for papillary thyroid carcinoma. Other environmental risk factors include dietary iodine, obesity, hormones, and environmental pollutants. Papillary thyroid carcinomas could occur in familial settings, and 5% of these familial cases have well-studied driver germline mutations. In sporadic papillary thyroid carcinoma, BRAF mutation is common and is associated with clinicopathologic and prognostic markers. The mutation could aid in the clinical diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Globally, thyroid cancer is among the top ten commonest cancer in females. In both adult and pediatric populations, there are variations of prevalence of thyroid cancer and rising incidence rates of thyroid cancer worldwide. The increase of thyroid cancer incidence was almost entirely due to the increase of papillary thyroid carcinoma. The reasons behind the increase are complex, multifactorial, and incompletely understood. The most obvious reasons are increased use of diagnostic entities, change in classification of thyroid neoplasms, as well as factors such as obesity, environmental risk factors, and radiation. The prognosis of the patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma is generally good after treatment. Nevertheless, cancer recurrence and comorbidity of second primary cancer may occur, and it is important to have awareness of the clinical, pathological, and molecular parameters of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Spatial geochemical differentiation of the iodine-induced health risk and distribution of thyroid cancer among urban and rural population of the Central Russian plain affected by the Chernobyl NPP accident

The main goal was to study the spatial distribution of thyroid cancer (THYC) among the population of urban and rural settlements of four regions of Russia, which were characterized by different contents of stable iodine in soils and exposed to radioactive fallout of ¹³¹I from the Chernobyl NPP. Using GIS technologies, zoning of territories for the deficiency of ¹²⁷I and pollution with ¹³¹I was performed. The resulting risk maps were compared with the THYC distribution. The association between the spatial distribution of the total (natural and man-made) risk assessment and the incidence of THYC at the district level tended to have a higher positive correlation (r = 0.505, p < 0.001, n = 94) compared with the correlation of the latter parameter with a fallout density of ¹³¹I (r = 0.468, p < 0.001). After latent period, the incidence of THYC among residents of urban settlements of the Bryansk region was considerably higher than in rural, the difference increasing with time. The correlation between the assessed total risk and THYC distribution in risk zones was significant and higher in the rural areas than in the urban ones. A tendency for a negative significant correlation (r = - 0.55, p = 0.01) between daily iodine intake (based on the main components of the diet) and THYC cases among the rural population was found. A definite difference in the influence of geochemical environmental factors on the distribution of THYC among urban and rural populations deserves more detailed study to prevent this disease.