Efficient and Stable Red Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes via Thermodynamic Crystallization Control.

Efficient and stable red perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) demonstrate promising potential in high-definition displays and biomedical applications. Although significant progress has been made in device performance, meeting commercial demands remains a challenge in the aspects of long-term stability and high external quantum efficiency (EQE). Here, an in situ crystallization regulation strategy is developed for optimizing red perovskite films through ingenious vapor design. Mixed vapor containing dimethyl sulfoxide and carbon disulfide (CS2) is incorporated to conventional annealing, which contributes to thermodynamics dominated perovskite crystallization for well-aligned cascade phase arrangement. Additionally, the perovskite surface defect density is minimized by the CS2 molecule adsorption. Consequently, the target perovskite films exhibit smooth exciton energy transfer, reduced defect density, and blocked ion migration pathways. Leveraging these advantages, spectrally stable red PeLEDs are obtained featuring emission at 668, 656, and 648 nm, which yield record peak EQEs of 30.08%, 32.14%, and 29.04%, along with prolonged half-lifetimes of 47.7, 60.0, and 43.7 h at the initial luminances of 140, 250, and 270 cd m-2, respectively. This work provides a universal strategy for optimizing perovskite crystallization and represents a significant stride toward the commercialization of red PeLEDs.

Mendelian randomization supports causal effects of inflammatory biomarkers on myopic refractive errors.

AIMS: To determine whether inflammatory biomarkers are causal risk factors for more myopic refractive errors. METHODS: Northern Sweden Population Health Study (NSPHS), providing inflammatory biomarkers data; UK Biobank, providing refractive errors data. 95,619 European men and women aged 40 to 69 years with available information of refractive errors and inflammatory biomakers. Inflammatory biomarkers including ADA, CCL23, CCL25, CD6, CD40, CDCP-1, CST5, CXCL-5, CXCL-6, CXCL-10, IL-10RB, IL-12B, IL-15RA, IL-18R1, MCP-2, MMP-1, TGF-ß1, TNF-ß, TWEAK and VEGF-A were exposures, and spherical equivalent (SE) using the formula SE = sphere + (cylinder/2) was outcome. RESULTS: Mendelian randomization analyses showed that each unit increase in VEGF-A, CD6, MCP-2 were causally related to a more myopic refractive errors of 0.040 D/pg.mL-1 (95% confidence interval 0.019 to 0.062; P = 2.031 × 10-4), 0.042 D/pg.mL-1 (0.027 to 0.057; P = 7.361 × 10-8) and 0.016 D/pg.mL-1 (0.004 to 0.028; P = 0.009), and each unit increase in TWEAK was causally related to a less myopic refractive errors of 0.104 D/pg.mL-1 (-0.152 to -0.055; P = 2.878 × 10-5). Tested by the MR-Egger, weighted median, MR-PRESSO, Leave-one-out methods, our results were robust to horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity in VEGF-A, MCP-2, CD6, but not in TWEAK. CONCLUSIONS: Our Mendelian Randomization analysis supported the causal effects of VEGF-A, MCP-2, CD6 and TWEAK on myopic refractive errors. These findings are important for providing new indicators for early intervention of myopia to make myopic eyesight threatening consequences less inevitable.

Chemical Reaction Modulated Low-Dimensional Phase Toward Highly Efficient Sky-Blue Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

Blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are crucial avenues for achieving full-color displays and lighting based on perovskite materials. However, the relatively low external quantum efficiency (EQE) has hindered their progression towards commercial applications. Quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskites stand out as promising candidates for blue PeLEDs, with optimized control over low-dimensional phases contributing to enhanced radiative properties of excitons. Herein, the impact of organic molecular dopants on the crystallization of various n-phase structures in quasi-2D perovskite films. The results reveal that the highly reactive bis(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)phosphine oxide (BTF-PPO) molecule could effectively restrain the formation of organic spacer cation-ordered layered perovskite phases through chemical reactions, simultaneously passivate those uncoordinated Pb2+ defects. Consequently, the prepared PeLEDs exhibited a maximum EQE of 16.6 % (@ 490 nm). The finding provides a new route to design dopant molecules for phase modulation in quasi-2D PeLEDs.

Lead Isolation and Capture in Perovskite Photovoltaics toward Eco-Friendly Commercialization.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are developed rapidly in efficiency and stability in recent years, which can compete with silicon solar cells. However, an important obstacle to the commercialization of PSCs is the toxicity of lead ions (Pb2+) from water-soluble perovskites. The entry of free Pb2+ into organisms can cause severe harm to humans, such as blood lead poisoning, organ failure, etc. Therefore, this work reports a "lead isolation-capture" dual detoxification strategy with calcium disodium edetate (EDTA Na-Ca), which can inhibit lead leakage from PSCs under extreme conditions. More importantly, leaked lead exists in a nontoxic aggregation state chelated by EDTA. For the first time, in vivo experiments are conducted in mice to systematically prove that this material has a significant inhibitory effect on the toxicity of perovskites. In addition, this strategy can further enhance device performance, enabling the optimized devices to achieve an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.19%. This innovative strategy is a major breakthrough in the research on the prevention of lead toxicity in PSCs.

Magnetic-biased chiral molecules enabling highly oriented photovoltaic perovskites.

The interaction between sites A, B and X with passivation molecules is restricted when the conventional passivation strategy is applied in perovskite (ABX3) photovoltaics. Fortunately, the revolving A-site presents an opportunity to strengthen this interaction by utilizing an external field. Herein, we propose a novel approach to achieving an ordered magnetic dipole moment, which is regulated by a magnetic field via the coupling effect between the chiral passivation molecule and the A-site (formamidine ion) in perovskites. This strategy can increase the molecular interaction energy by approximately four times and ensure a well-ordered molecular arrangement. The quality of the deposited perovskite film is significantly optimized with inhibited nonradiative recombination. It manages to reduce the open-circuit voltage loss of photovoltaic devices to 360 mV and increase the power conversion efficiency to 25.22%. This finding provides a new insight into the exploration of A-sites in perovskites and offers a novel route to improving the device performance of perovskite photovoltaics.

Electronically Manipulated Molecular Strategy Enabling Highly Efficient Tin Perovskite Photovoltaics.

Buried interface modification can effectively improve the compatibility between interfaces. Given the distinct interface selections in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the applicability of a singular modification material remains limited. Consequently, in response to this challenge, we devised a tailored molecular strategy based on the electronic effects of specific functional groups. Therefore, we prepared three distinct silane coupling agents, and due to the varying inductive effects of these functional groups, the electronic distribution and molecular dipole moments of the coupling agents are correspondingly altered. Among them, trimethoxy (3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)-silane (F3 -TMOS), which possesses electron-withdrawing groups, generates a molecular dipole moment directed toward the hole transport layer (HTL). This approach changes the work function of the HTL, optimizes the energy level alignment, reduces the open-circuit voltage loss, and facilitates carrier transport. Furthermore, through the buffering effect of the coupling agent, the interface strain and lattice distortion caused by annealing the perovskite are reduced, enhancing the stability of the tin-based perovskite. Encouragingly, tin PSCs treated with F3 -TMOS achieved a champion efficiency of 14.67 %. This strategy provides an expedient avenue for the design of buried interface modification materials, enabling precise molecular adjustments in accordance with distinct interfacial contexts to ameliorate mismatched energetics and enhance carrier dynamics.

Regulating Perovskite Crystallization through Interfacial Engineering Using a Zwitterionic Additive Potassium Sulfamate for Efficient Pure-Blue Light-Emitting Diodes.

Quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskites are emerging as efficient emitters in blue perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), while the imbalanced crystallization of the halide-mixed system limits further improvements in device performance. The rapid crystallization caused by Cl doping produces massive defects at the interface, leading to aggravated non-radiative recombination. Meanwhile, unmanageable perovskite crystallization is prone to facilitate the formation of nonuniform low-dimensional phases, which results in energy loss during the exciton transfer process. Here, we propose a multifunctional interface engineering for nucleation and phase regulation by incorporating the zwitterionic additive potassium sulfamate into the hole transport layer. By using potassium ions (K+ ) as heterogeneous nucleation seeds, finely controlled growth of interfacial K+ -guided grains is achieved. The sulfamate ions can simultaneously regulate the phase distribution and passivate defects through coordination interactions with undercoordinated lead atoms. Consequently, such synergistic effect constructs quasi-2D blue perovskite films with smooth energy landscape and reduced trap states, leading to pure-blue PeLEDs with a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 17.32 %, spectrally stable emission at 478 nm and the prolonged operational lifetime. This work provides a unique guide to comprehensively regulate the halide-mixed blue perovskite crystallization by manipulating the characteristics of grain-growth substrate.

Long-term changes in major ion chemistry-similarities and differences between inflow rivers and the lake in Taihu watershed, China.

The major ion chemistry in the Taihu watershed has dramatically changed due to human disturbances; however, little is known about the similarities and differences in the responses of the inflow rivers and Taihu lake to the disturbances. Using historical (1950s-1970s) and recent (2018-2021) water chemistry data of inflow rivers and the lake, as well as socioeconomic and land use data, we explored the drivers for the major ion chemistry change and different responses of the inflow rivers and the receiving lake. The results indicated that, compared with 1950s-1970s, all the major ions and TDS in rivers and Taihu lake significantly increased (by 91% for Mg2+ and by 395% for Cl- in rivers; by 68% for HCO3- and 134% for Na+ in the lake); however, their increases in major ion composition presented a clear difference, i.e., although current dominant cation remained Ca in inflow rivers, the second dominant cation has shifted from Mg2+ (1950s-1970s) to Na+ (2018-2021) for rivers, while for the lake, the second dominant cation has become frequently Na+ (2018-2021), followed by Ca2+, indicating a clear salinization tendency. Furthermore, the change of some indicative ratio indices of inflow rivers and the lake in the past decades presented an apparent difference, i.e., the river systems had a higher increase rate in Ca2+/Mg2+ and SO42-/Cl- than the lake, while the lake had a higher increase in (Ca2+ + Mg2+)/HCO3-, TH/TA, and Cl-/Na+ than the river systems. Analyses indicated that increased human disturbances were the major driver for the similar increase in the TDS and major ions for both river systems and the lake, while the different algal biomass in the rivers and lake, the land use change, and declined hydrological connectivity in this watershed played important roles in the different alterations of the water chemistry indices. Comparison of major ion correlation change between the running and stagnant waters indicated a clear "lacunification" trend of inflow rivers in terms of water chemistry characteristics in this dense river-network region. Our work revealed the cause and effect of the fundamental water chemistry change in a rapid development region and will provide scientific basis for the integrated management and recovery in the watershed.

Efficacy and safety of total glucosides of paeony in the treatment of 5 types of inflammatory arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate efficacy and safety of total glucosides of paeony in the treatment of 5 types of inflammatory arthritis METHODS: Databases such as Pubmed, Cochran Library, Embase were searched to collect RCTs about TGP in the treatment of inflammatory arthritis. Then, the RCTs were assessed for risk of bias and RCT data were extracted. Finally, RevMan 5.4 was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 63 RCTs were finally included, involving 5293 participants and 5 types of types of inflammatory arthritis: rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), osteoarthritis (OA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), psoriatic arthritis. For AS, TGP may improve AS disease activity score (ASDAS), decrease erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- α and interleukin (IL)- 6; for RA, TGP may improve disease activity of 28 joints (DAS28), decrease ESR, CRP, rheumatoid factor (RF), TNF-α and IL-6; for psoriatic arthritis, TGP may improve psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) and decrease ESR; for OA, TGP may improve visual analogue scale (VAS) and decrease nitric oxide (NO); for JIA, TGP may increase total efficiency rate, decrease ESR, CRP and TNF-α. For safety, RCTs showed that the addition of TGP did not increase adverse events, and may even reduce adverse events. CONCLUSION: TGP may improve symptoms and inflammation levels in patients with inflammatory arthritis. However, due to the low quality and small number of RCTs, large-sample, multi-center clinical trials are still needed for revision or validation.

Ion-Dipole Interaction Enabling Highly Efficient CsPbI3 Perovskite Indoor Photovoltaics.

Metal halide perovskites are ideal candidates for indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) because of their easy-to-adjust bandgaps, which can be designed to cover the spectrum of any artificial light source. However, the serious non-radiative carrier recombination under low light illumination restrains the application of perovskite-based IPVs (PIPVs). Herein, polar molecules of amino naphthalene sulfonates are employed to functionalize the TiO2 substrate, anchoring the CsPbI3 perovskite crystal grains with a strong ion-dipole interaction between the molecule-level polar interlayer and the ionic perovskite film. The resulting high-quality CsPbI3 films with the merit of defect-immunity and large shunt resistance under low light conditions enable the corresponding PIPVs with an indoor power conversion efficiency of up to 41.2% (Pin : 334.11 µW cm-2 , Pout : 137.66 µW cm-2 ) under illumination from a commonly used indoor light-emitting diode light source (2956 K, 1062 lux). Furthermore, the device also achieves efficiencies of 29.45% (Pout : 9.80 µW cm-2 ) and 32.54% (Pout : 54.34 µW cm-2 ) at 106 (Pin : 33.84 µW cm-2 ) and 522 lux (Pin : 168.21 µW cm-2 ), respectively.

Effects of three medical nutrition therapies on nutritional metabolism and intestinal flora in overweight/obese with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Observational studies have shown that energy restriction could be beneficial for controlling bodyweight in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We aim to compare the effects of a high-protein diet (HPD), a high-protein and high-dietary fiber diet (HPHFD), and a calorie-restricted diet (CRD) on metabolic health and gut microbiota in overweight/obese PCOS patients. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: We will enroll a total of 90 overweight/obese PCOS patients into this eight-week open-label randomised controlled trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to three groups: CRD group (energy coefficient 20 kcal/kg.day, water ≥1500 mL, 0.8-1.2 g/kg protein, carbohydrate energize 55-60%, and fat energize 25-30%), HDP group (energy coefficient 20 kcal/kg.day, water ≥1500 mL, and 1.5-2.0 g/kg protein) and HPHFD group (based on the high protein diet with 15 g more dietary fiber supplement). The primary outcome is body weight, body fat percentage, and lean body mass. The secondary outcomes will include changes in blood lipids, inflammation, glucose tolerance, blood pressure, and gut microbiota compositions. Between-group differences in adiposity measurements at baseline will be compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Kruskal-Wallis test when appropriate. Within-group difference after 8-week intervention will be compared using paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test. Between-group differences in adiposity measurements after 8-week diet intervention will be compared using linear mixed model and ANCOVA. The gut microbiota will be analyzed using 16S amplicon sequencing and the sequencing data will be analyzed using the standardized QIIME2 piperline.

Assessment of causal direction between thyroid function and cardiometabolic health: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence have demonstrated that thyroid hormones have been involved in the processes of cardiovascular metabolism. However, the causal relationship of thyroid function and cardiometabolic health remains partly unknown. METHODS: The Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to test genetic, potentially causal relationships between instrumental variables and cardiometabolic traits. Genetic variants of free thyroxine (FT4) and thyrotropin (TSH) levels within the reference range were used as instrumental variables. Data for genetic associations with cardiometabolic diseases were acquired from the genome-wide association studies of the FinnGen, CARDIoGRAM and CARDIoGRAMplusC4D, CHARGE, and MEGASTROKE. This study was conducted using summary statistic data from large, previously described cohorts. Association between thyroid function and essential hypertension (EHTN), secondary hypertension (SHTN), hyperlipidemia (HPL), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), pulmonary heart disease (PHD), stroke, and non-rheumatic valve disease (NRVD) were examined. RESULTS: Genetically predicted FT4 levels were associated with SHTN (odds ratio = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.04-0.82,P = 0.027), HPL (odds ratio = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.18-0.88,P = 0.023), T2DM (odds ratio = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.42-0.86,P = 0.005), IHD (odds ratio = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.49-0.98,P = 0.039), NRVD (odds ratio = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.27-0.97,P = 0.039). Additionally, genetically predicted TSH levels were associated with HF (odds ratio = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.68-0.99,P = 0.042), PHD (odds ratio = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.32-0.82,P = 0.006), stroke (odds ratio = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.81-0.97,P = 0.007). However, genetically predicted thyroid function traits were not associated with EHTN and MI. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests FT4 and TSH are associated with cardiometabolic diseases, underscoring the importance of the pituitary-thyroid-cardiac axis in cardiometabolic health susceptibility.

Full-Dimensional Grain Boundary Stress Release for Flexible Perovskite Indoor Photovoltaics.

Perovskite photovoltaics are strong potential candidates to drive low-power off-grid electronics for indoor applications. Compared with rigid devices, flexible perovskite devices can provide a more suitable surface for indoor small electronic devices, enabling them have a broader indoor application prospect. However, the mechanical stability of flexible perovskite photovoltaics is an urgent issue solved. Herein, a kind of 3D crosslinking agent named borax is selected to carry out grain boundary penetration treatment on perovskite film to realize full-dimensional stress release. This strategy improves the mechanical and phase stabilities of perovskite films subjected to external forces or large temperature changes. The fabricated perovskite photovoltaics deliver a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.63% under AM 1.5G illumination, which is the highest one to date. The merit of low trap states under weak light makes the devices present a superior indoor PCE of 31.85% under 1062 lux (LED, 2956 K), which is currently the best flexible perovskite indoor photovoltaic device. This work provides a full-dimensional grain boundary stress release strategy for highly stable flexible perovskite indoor photovoltaics.

NF-κB perturbation reveals unique immunomodulatory functions in Prx1+ fibroblasts that promote development of atopic dermatitis.

Skin is composed of diverse cell populations that cooperatively maintain homeostasis. Up-regulation of the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathway may lead to the development of chronic inflammatory disorders of the skin, but its role during the early events remains unclear. Through analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data via iterative random forest leave one out prediction, an explainable artificial intelligence method, we identified an immunoregulatory role for a unique paired related homeobox-1 (Prx1)+ fibroblast subpopulation. Disruption of Ikkb-NF-κB under homeostatic conditions in these fibroblasts paradoxically induced skin inflammation due to the overexpression of C-C motif chemokine ligand 11 (CCL11; or eotaxin-1) characterized by eosinophil infiltration and a subsequent TH2 immune response. Because the inflammatory phenotype resembled that seen in human atopic dermatitis (AD), we examined human AD skin samples and found that human AD fibroblasts also overexpressed CCL11 and that perturbation of Ikkb-NF-κB in primary human dermal fibroblasts up-regulated CCL11. Monoclonal antibody treatment against CCL11 was effective in reducing the eosinophilia and TH2 inflammation in a mouse model. Together, the murine model and human AD specimens point to dysregulated Prx1+ fibroblasts as a previously unrecognized etiologic factor that may contribute to the pathogenesis of AD and suggest that targeting CCL11 may be a way to treat AD-like skin lesions.

Interfacial "Anchoring Effect" Enables Efficient Large-Area Sky-Blue Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

While tremendous progress has recently been made in perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), large-area blue devices feature inferior performance due to uneven morphologies and vast defects in the solution-processed perovskite films. To alleviate these issues, a facile and reliable interface engineering scheme is reported for manipulating the crystallization of perovskite films enabled by a multifunctional molecule 2-amino-1,3-propanediol (APDO)-triggered "anchoring effect" at the grain-growth interface. Sky-blue perovskite films with large-area uniformity and low trap states are obtained, showing the distinctly improved radiative recombination and hole-transport capability. Based on the APDO-induced interface engineering, synergistical boost in device performance is achieved for large-area sky-blue PeLED (measuring at 100 mm2 ) with a peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 9.2% and a highly prolonged operational lifetime. A decent EQE up to 6.1% is demonstrated for the largest sky-blue device emitting at 400 mm2 .

Risk of prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection in health care workers-an idiographic meta-analysis from a Chinese perspective.

BACKGROUND: China is one of the countries sharing the major burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the world. Health care workers (HCWs) are subject to a high risk of occupational latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI)-an asymptomatic state of TB disease. However, the heterogenic composition of healthcare professionals in terms of nature of their work leads to the inconsistency in predicting the prevalence of LTBI amongst them. Furthermore, the global statistics do not account for the analysis conducted within the Chinese population. Our study reflects a systemic and epidemiological meta-analysis to investigate the risk of contracting LTBI by the HCWs of China. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed to identify studies reporting LTBI prevalence or incidence among HCWs and a control groups in China. Risk of infection, as well as subgroup analysis was calculated by pooled effect estimates. Review Manager 5.0 was used to perform the meta-analyses. RESULTS: Twenty studies containing 9,654 HCWs met the inclusion criteria. The average prevalence of LTBI among HCWs was 51.5%, ranging from 27.9-88.8%. HCWs had a higher risk of prevalence of LTBI than the control groups [odds ratio (OR), 1.78, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.46-2.16]. In the subgroup analysis, the prevalence of LTBI in HCWs with respect to the control groups was observed to be highest in Eastern China (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.35-3.11). Furthermore, the pooled OR for LTBI was 1.90 and 1.65 separately from the results of the tuberculin skin test (TST) and the interferon-gamma release assay. Lastly, upon comparing the HCWs with the control groups from the community and the nosocomial source, it was observed that the pooled OR favored for the prevalence of LTBI, which was primarily community-sourced (3.12 and 1.54). HCWs had an increased risk of prevalence of LTBI than the control groups, both in general hospitals and TB specific hospitals (pooled OR 2.4 and 1.57). CONCLUSIONS: Risk of LTBI infection among HCWs is relatively high in China, especially in the eastern region, predisposed by the cumulative exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the community and the general hospitals. Overall, our data reflects an alarming risk posed to our HCWs, and calls for immediate reforms at the policy levels, so as to implement effective screening and treatment of affected HCWs in China.

Assessment of causal association between thyroid function and lipid metabolism: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid dysfunction is associated with cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of thyroid function in lipid metabolism remains partly unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the causal association between thyroid function and serum lipid metabolism via a genetic analysis termed Mendelian randomization (MR). METHODS: The MR approach uses a genetic variant as the instrumental variable in epidemiological studies to mimic a randomized controlled trial. A two-sample MR was performed to assess the causal association, using summary statistics from the Atrial Fibrillation Genetics Consortium (n = 537,409) and the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium (n = 188,577). The clinical measures of thyroid function include thyrotropin (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels, FT3:FT4 ratio and concentration of thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb). The serum lipid metabolism traits include total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. The MR estimate and MR inverse variance-weighted method were used to assess the association between thyroid function and serum lipid metabolism. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that increased TSH levels were significantly associated with higher TC (ß = 0.052, P = 0.002) and LDL (ß = 0.041, P = 0.018) levels. In addition, the FT3:FT4 ratio was significantly associated with TC (ß = 0.240, P = 0.033) and LDL (ß = 0.025, P = 0.027) levels. However, no significant differences were observed between genetically predicted FT4 and TPOAb and serum lipids. CONCLUSION: Taken together, the results of the present study suggest an association between thyroid function and serum lipid metabolism, highlighting the importance of the pituitary-thyroid-cardiac axis in dyslipidemia susceptibility.

Investigation on GaN HEMTs Based Three-Phase STATCOM with Hybrid Control Scheme.

The modern trend of decarbonization has encouraged intensive research on renewable energy (RE)-based distributed power generation (DG) and smart grid, where advanced electronic power interfaces are necessary for connecting the generator with power grids and various electrical systems. On the other hand, modern technologies such as Industry 4.0 and electrical vehicles (EV) have higher requirements for power converters than that of conventional applications. Consequently, the enhancement of power interfaces will play an important role in the future power generation and distribution systems as well as various industrial applications. It has been discovered that wide-bandgap (WBG) switching devices such as gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) offer considerable potential for outperforming conventional silicon (Si) switching devices in terms of breakdown voltage, high temperature capability, switching speed, and conduction losses. This paper investigates the performance of a 2kVA three-phase static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) based on a GaN HEMTs-based voltage-source inverter (VSI) and a neural network-based hybrid control scheme. The proportional-integral (PI) controllers along with a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) controller for fast reactive power control are designed in synchronous reference frame (SRF). Both simulation and hardware implementation are conducted. Results confirm that the proposed RBFNN assisted hybrid control scheme yields excellent dynamic performance in terms of various reactive power tracking control of the GaN HEMTs-based three-phase STATCOM system.

Chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea and its effects on fertility in long-term female survivors of classic osteosarcoma.

PURPOSE: To explore the effect of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) on female osteosarcoma patients' fertility function, we investigated and analyzed their marital status, fertility, and menstrual status in a retrospective cohort study. METHODS: We selected female osteosarcoma patients from database from January 2004 to December 2013. Patients' characteristics such as age, tumor location, marital status, menstrual status, and fertility status were collected. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22. RESULTS: A total of 122 female patients met these criteria and finally responded by questionnaire and telephone follow-up. The marriage rate of female osteosarcoma survivors was 50.8% (62/122), which was significantly lower than the control group (p = 0.000). The average marriage age of female osteosarcoma survivors was 25.5, which was obviously higher than the control group (p = 0.000). CIA occurred in 46 (36.1%) patients. We then found that the incidence of CIA was higher in older patients. (p = 0.011). All of the married patients wanted to have children, and 67.8% (42/62) of them had given birth after chemotherapy. The fertility of married patients with CIA was significantly reduced compared to that of married patients without CIA. (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The patients with CIA have higher risk of impaired reproductive function than those who did not. Fertility preservation option before the start of the chemotherapy is important. And it is much value to record menstrual pattern and detect sex steroid levels after 6 months of therapy in order to be able to evaluate the fertility status.