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Abstract Background and objective The prevalence of thyroid cancer (TC) has exhibited an upward trajectory in recent years. An accelerating amount of evidence shows a significant association between Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) and TC. The present study encompasses a meticulously designed systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim of scrutinizing the risk of TC and clarifying sex disparities in HT. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted across reputable online databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science. English-language publications on the correlation between HT and TC were examined without temporal restrictions. Two authors independently screened the articles and extracted pertinent data. The collected data underwent statistical analysis using the STATA software, enabling the calculation of the pooled Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Additionally, a supplementary analysis was conducted on studies incorporating sex-specific data to determine the OR (female vs. male) and the sex-based prevalence of TC in HT. Results A total of 2,845 records were obtained, and 26 retrospective studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated a significant role for HT in TC (OR: 2.22, 95% CI: 1.85–2.67). Supplementary analysis indicated that the prevalence of TC in HT patients was lower in women (0.31, 95% CI: 0.17–0.45) than in men (0.37, 95% CI: 0.21–0.53). However, the result was not statistically significant. Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis provide evidence that HT is associated with increasing odds of TC. Regular review of HT patients holds positive clinical significance.

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor among women worldwide. GREB1L is a protein-coding gene. Previous studies have shown that GREB1L plays a vital role in lung and gastric adenocarcinoma. Currently, there is no relevant report about its role in breast cancer. Methods The Cancer Genome Atlas database was used to compare the expression level of GREB1L between tumor and normal tissues. The TISIDB website was used for prognosis analysis. The LinkedOmics database was used to predict the potential biological mechanism of GREB1L in breast cancer. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the GREB1L expression level in breast tissue. Western blotting was used to detect the GREB1L expression level in cell lines. Transwell assays, CCK-8 cell proliferation assays, and colony formation assays were used to detect the migration, invasion, proliferation, and colony formation abilities of cells. Subcutaneous xenograft models were used to detect the in vivo tumor formation abilities of cells. Results GREB1L is highly expressed in breast cancer tissues and breast cancer cells. KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that GREB1L participates in the regulation of the Hedgehog signaling pathway; changes in GREB1L expression affected the migration and invasion abilities of MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Although changes in GREB1L expression did not affect their proliferation and colony formation abilities in vitro and in vivo, they affected the expression of tumor metastasis-related genes in vivo. The overexpression of GREB1L in breast cancer predicted a favorable prognosis. Conclusion These results showed that GREB1L is involved in the development of breast cancer, and it may be a potential molecular marker for predicting the prognosis of breast cancer.

In order to obtain an optimal trajectory for indoor AGV, this paper combined an improved ACO and fuzzy DWA (IACO-DWA) algorithm, which can provide an optimal path with collision-free under higher optimization efficiency. The highlights of this paper are detailed as follows: Firstly, an improved adaptive pseudo-random transition strategy is adopted in the state transition probability with an angle factor. A reward and punishment mechanism is introduced in the pheromone updating strategy, then a path optimization strategy called IACO is proposed for the more optimized path. Secondly, IDWA adopted three fuzzy controllers of direction, security and adjustment coefficients through evaluating directional and safety principles, then improving the angular velocity by processing the linear velocity with linear normalization. By adapting to the changes of the environment, the IDWA parameters can be dynamically adjusted to ensure the optimal running speed and reasonable path of AGV. Thirdly, aiming to deal with the path-planning problem in complex environments, we combined IACO with IDWA, the hybrid algorithm involves dividing the globally optimal path obtained from IACO planning into multiple virtual sub-target points. IDWA completes the path planning by switching between these local target points, thereby improving the efficiency of the path planning. Finally, simulations is verified by Matlab and experiment results on the QBot2e platform are given to verify IACO-DWA algorithm's effectiveness and high performance.

The heating and cooling of enclosure space consume a large part of the global energy and contribute to the rise of extreme weather and the greenhouse effect. The radiative cooling and heating function by emitting infrared waves is a passive thermal management strategy, yet most of the research ignored the effect of inner radiance on the object temperature in enclosed spaces. Herein, a tunable Janus emitter with two types of multilayer configuration consisting of VO2/SiO2/ITO was designed and achieved controllable unidirectional emission for thermal management of enclosed spaces. The Fabry-Perot cavity helps create asymmetrical infrared emission on the separate sides, as well as tunable emissions are produced on both sides when the metal-insulating transition of VO2 occurs. This design results in not only remarkable thermal management within enclosed spaces, but also controllable heat insulation and release ability for outdoor spaces. This work may provide new strategies for energy saving, personal thermal management, and other facilities.

Objective To identify risk factors related to structural incomplete response (SIR) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and develop a nomogram for PTC patients. Methods In this respective study, clinical, ultrasonic, and pathological data of PTC patients treated at our institute between 2016 and 2020 were analyzed. Patients were randomly split into training and validation sets at a ratio of 7:3. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was conducted to determine independent prognostic factors. On the basis of these factors, a nomogram was built to predict SIR. P value, concordance index, calibration plots and decision curve analysis were used to evaluate the model. Results Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that BRAF V600E status, lymph node metastasis, sex, tumor size, margin, and surgical procedure were independent prognostic factors. In the validation set, the concordance index of the nomogram was 0.774 (95% confidence interval: 0.703–0.845). Calibration plots at 3 and 5 years showed no apparent difference between predicted SIR probability and the actual SIR proportion. Additionally, the nomogram had good net clinical benefit according to the decision curve analysis compared with cases that were treat-all or treat-none. Conclusion We build a nomogram to predict individualized outcomes and help postoperative surveillance in PTC patients.

Background: A long-term consumption of saturated fat significantly increases the concentration of saturated fatty acids in serum, which accelerates the appearance of senescence markers in β-cells and leads to their dysfunction. An understanding of the mechanisms underlying β-cell senescence induced by stearic acid and the exploration of effective agents preventing it remains largely unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of metformin against stearic acid-treated β-cell senescence and to assess the involvement of miR-297b-5p in this process. Methods: To identify senescence, we measured senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity and the expression of senescence-related genes. Gain and loss of function approaches were applied to explore the role of miR-297b-5p in stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence. Bioinformatics analysis and a luciferase activity assay were used to predict the downstream targets of miR-297b-5p. Results: Stearic acid markedly induced senescence and suppressed miR-297b-5p expression in mouse β-TC6 cells, which were significantly alleviated by metformin. After transfection of miR-297b-5p mimics, stearic acid-evoked β-cell senescence was remarkably prevented. Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor was identified as a direct target of miR-297b-5p. Inhibition of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor prevented stearic acid-induced β-cell senescence and dysfunction. Moreover, metformin alleviates the impairment of the miR-297b-5p inhibitor in β-TC6 cells. Additionally, long-term consumption of a high-stearic-acid diet significantly increased senescence and reduced miR-297b-5p expression in mouse islets. Conclusions: These findings imply that metformin alleviates β-cell senescence by stearic acid through upregulating miR-297b-5p to suppress insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor expression, thereby providing a potential target to not only prevent high fat-diet-induced β-cell dysfunction but also for metformin therapy in type 2 diabetes.

DPP4 (dipeptidyl peptidase 4) is expressed in many cancers, but the relationship between DPP4 and thyroid carcinoma (THCA) is incompletely understood. We aim to explore the expression of DPP4 in THCA and the correlation between DPP4 expression with the prognosis of THCA and antitumor immunity. We systematically analyzed data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and explored DPP4 expression, its impact on prognosis, and its relationship with antitumor immunity in THCA. Next, we collected 18 pairs of fresh THCA and adjacent paracancerous tissues and performed RT-qPCR to validate the DPP4 mRNA level. Concurrently, immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was performed on 12 pairs of paraffin-embedded tissues of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and paracancerous tissues to validate the DPP4 protein level. Bioinformatics analysis showed that DPP4 mRNA expression in THCA was significantly higher than that in paracancerous tissues (p

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films with pure Monoclinic phase could be transformed from B-phase by inserting TiO2 buffer layers on transparent amorphous glass substrates at the low temperature of 400 °C. This crystalline transformation might be ascribed to oxygen-deficient environment induced by the TiO2 buffer layer and the template effect of TiO2 layer for M-VO2 phase. The simplicity in phase regulation of the present method and the superior optical and electrical properties of the films may allow its wide applications in thermo-opto-electro sensing devices. Keywords: Vanadium dioxide, TiO2 buffer layers, Photoelectric properties

Zr50Cu50, Zr47Cu44Al9, Zr46.3Cu43.4Al8.3Nb2 and Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu17.5Ni5Be22.5 thin film metallic glasses (TFMGs) were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on glass substrates at room temperature. The effect of thickness on the electrical and optical properties of the Zr-based TFMGs was investigated. It was found that the resistivity of the Zr-based TFMGs basically decreased as the thickness varied from 10 nm to 40 nm. Interestingly, while the transmittance in the visible region decreased significantly with the increase of thickness, the transmittance in the near-infrared range still remained at a high level of larger than 80%. Through the characterization of electrical properties, the high transmittance of the Zr-based TFMGs in the near-infrared range was attributed to their rather low carrier concentration. Our findings provided the possibility for TFMGs to be used as transparent electrodes in the field of near infrared sensors and solar cells. Keywords: Thin film metallic glass, Zr-based alloys, Transmittance, Near infrared

We reported here the studies of a series of Zr20Ti20Hf20M20Be20 (M = Cu, Ni and Co) quinary high entropy bulk metallic glasses. Glasses with critical diameters (Dc) of 3 mm, 8 mm and 5 mm, respectively has been successfully fabricated by copper mold casting. Strikingly, a plastic strain of 11.6% is achieved in the Zr20Ti20Hf20Cu20Be20 metallic glass. The dynamic fragility the Zr20Ti20Hf20Cu20Be20 alloy is determined from calorimetric measurements. The excellent plasticity is explained to be attributed to relatively higher fragility. Keywords: High entropy alloys, Bulk metallic glasses, Glass forming ability, Mechanical property and fragility

Closed supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle is a promising alternative to steam Rankine cycle due to higher cycle efficiency at equivalent turbine inlet conditions, which has been explored to apply to nuclear, solar power, waste heat recovery, and coal-fired power plant. This study establishes 300MW S-CO2 power system based on modified recompression Brayton cycle integrated with coal-fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler. The influences of two stages split flow on system performance have been investigated in detail. In addition, thermodynamic analysis of critical operating parameters has been carried out, including terminal temperature difference, turbine inlet pressure/temperature, reheat stages, and parameters as well as compressor inlet pressure/temperature. The results show that rational distribution of split ratio to the recompressor (SR1) achieves maximal cycle efficiency where heat capacities of both sides in the low temperature recuperator (LTR) realize an excellent matching. The optimal SR1 decreases in the approximately linear proportion to high pressure turbine (HPT) inlet pressure due to gradually narrowing specific heat differences in the LTR. Secondary split ratio to the economizer of CFB boiler (SR2) can recover moderate flue gas heat caused by narrow temperature range and improve boiler efficiency. Smaller terminal temperature difference corresponds to higher efficiency and brings about larger cost and pressure drops of the recuperators, which probably decrease efficiency conversely. Single reheat improves cycle efficiency by 1.5% under the condition of 600°C/600°C/25Mpa while efficiency improvement for double reheat is less obvious compared to steam Rankine cycle largely due to much lower pressure ratio. Reheat pressure and main compressor (MC) inlet pressure have corresponding optimal values. HPT and low pressure turbine (LPT) inlet temperature both have positive influences on system performance.

An optical limiter (OL) is a nonlinear device that protects sensitive photodetectors or human eyes from high-intensity illumination. However, current OLs have low open-state transmittance and a limited turndown ratio in some cases. In this study, first it is demonstrated that combining the insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) of vanadium dioxide (VO2) with anti-reflection layers can enable both high and broadband open-state transmittance (>-0.9 dB at the peak wavelength) while preserving a large turndown ratio (>21.8 dB). Furthermore, optothermal simulation is conducted to analyze the performance of the VO2 OL under ultrafast laser irradiation. The result reveals that IMT of the VO2 OL occurs at 0.23 µs when the incident laser intensity is 90 kW cm-2. These benefits offer a promising alternative to OLs in technologies ranging from sensor protection to human eye defense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]