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Objectives To evaluate the complication rates and describe the possible complications of ultrasonography-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of benign thyroid nodules (BTN) and recurrent thyroid cancers (RTC), and to compare the complication rates between BTN and RTC. Methods This retrospective study reviewed 875 patients who underwent RFA for BTN (746 patients; 83.5%) or RTC (129 patients; 14.7%). Medical records were reviewed for all types of complications occurring during and after the RFA procedure. The baseline characteristics and the complication rates of BTN and RTC were compared. Results The overall complication rate was 3.5% (31/875), and the major complication rate was 1.6% (14/875). The major complication rate of RTC was significantly higher than that of BTN (5.4% vs. 0.9%, P  = 0.002), while there were no significant differences in the minor complications rate. New complications, such as Horner syndrome, spinal accessory nerve injury, and complications due to lidocaine toxicity, were also revealed. Conclusions Various complications of RFA may occur in both BTN and RTC, although the complication rate is low. To understand the broad spectrum of complications and minimise the complications and sequela, the suggested technical tips and cervical anatomy are essential. Key Points • The overall complication rate was 3.5% (31/875). • The major complication rate was 1.6% (14/875). • The major complication rate of RTC was significantly higher than BTN. • There were only four patients showing persistent symptoms (0.5%). • Unreported new complications were also demonstrated.

Here, we investigated the potential roles of Mitofusin-2 (MFN2) in thyroid cancer progression. MFN2 regulates mitochondrial fusion/division in cells and plays an important role in various aspects of cell metabolism. MFN2 might involve in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, and differentiation, and it might play a role as a tumor suppressor in carcinogenesis. We evaluated the prognostic impacts of MFN2 expression in thyroid cancer by analyzing TCGA data. In vitro and in vivo, MFN2 was knocked out using CRISPR/Cas9 or siRNA, and MFN2 was stably overexpressed in two thyroid cancer cell lines (Cal62 and HTH83). TCGA analysis revealed that MFN2 expression was lower in thyroid cancer than in normal tissues and significantly associated with a degree of differentiation, RAS mutations, and less lymph node metastasis. MFN2 expression was significantly correlated with cell adhesion molecules and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in a gene-set enrichment assay. MFN2 knock-out (KO) in Cal62 and HTH83 cells using CRISPR/Cas9 or siRNA significantly promoted cell migration and invasion in vitro. The same trends were observed in MFN2 KO mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) compared to those in the controls (MFN2 WT MEFs). Conversely, MFN2 overexpression in cancer cell lines greatly inhibited cell migration and invasion. However, there was no difference in colony formation and proliferation in Cal62 and HTH83 cells after modulating MFN2, although there were significant differences between MFN KO and WT MEFs. EMT-associated protein expression was induced after MFN2 KO in both cancer cell lines. The mechanistic results suggest that MFN2 might modulate EMT through inducing the AKT signaling pathway. EMT-associated changes in protein expression were also confirmed by modulating MFN2 in xenograft tumors. Thus, MFN2 acts as a tumor suppressor in thyroid cancer progression and metastasis by modulating EMT.

Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) usually has an excellent prognosis. To evaluate the three-dimensional structures of PTMCs, using serial neck ultrasonography (US) in patients under active surveillance. A retrospective cohort study. In total, 192 patients diagnosed with PTMC under active surveillance for >1 year were included in a median 30-month follow-up. Changes in tumor size were evaluated not only using the maximal tumor diameter but also the tumor volume. The median age of patients was 51.3 years and 145 patients (76%) were female. The median initial maximal tumor diameter and tumor volume were 5.5 mm and 48.8 mm3, respectively. The tumor size increased in 27 patients (14%); 23 patients showed a tumor volume increase >50% without a maximal diameter increase of ≥3 mm. The other four patients had both an increasing tumor volume and increasing maximal tumor diameter ≥3 mm. One patient (0.5%) had newly appeared cervical lymph node (LN) metastasis at 3 years after the initial diagnosis. There were no significant risk factors associated with increased tumor size, such as age, sex, or Hashimoto thyroiditis. Twenty-four patients (13%) underwent delayed thyroid surgery at a median of 31.2 months and seven (29%) had cervical LN metastasis on pathologic examination. Some PTMCs could grow significantly after a relatively short period of active surveillance. We also found that the change in tumor volume was more sensitive to detect tumor progression than the change in the maximal tumor diameter.

This paper examines the changing industrial landscape of East Asia by focusing on the eight core economic regions (Kanto, Kinki and Chubu of Japan, Zhujiang, Changjiang and Jing-Jin-Ji of China, and Korea’s Seoul capital and Yeongnam region). The three Japanese regions have been leading the formation of industrial geography of East Asia in the past three decades. Since the reform and opening of China in the 1980s, the industrial landscape has significantly changed from a unipolar structure to a multipolar structure. Three Chinese coastal regions advanced successfully in manufacturing production and they became a substantial force in shifting economic balance towards China away from Japan and Korea. Obviously, the rise of the three Chinese coastal regions has expanded trade and investment relations with other economic regions and they are now becoming centers of expanding inter-regional trading networks of East Asia. The three Japanese core regions, however, seem to retain their influence over other regions perhaps due to Japan’s investment and production networks built over the past decades. The continued growth of Chinese coastal regions suggests a different configuration of inter-regional relations in the future, posing an important question of whether the rise of coastal China will make inter-regional relations complementary or competitive in the future.

This study evaluated changes in the peripheral blood immune cell population in patients with advanced thyroid cancer receiving lenvatinib treatment to confirm the immune-modulatory effect of lenvatinib. After obtaining informed consent from patients, we prospectively collected 20 ml of whole blood at 2–3 months intervals 2–4 times from each patient; peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated, and the Maxpar Direct Immune Profiling Assay was performed. A total of 10 patients were enrolled, and 31 blood samples were obtained. The median age of patients was 65 years, and all patients showed durable responses to the lenvatinib treatment. When we compared the PBMC profiles between the pre-treatment, on-treatment, and off-treatment samples, the peripheral natural killer (NK) cell proportion differed significantly. The proportion of NK cells among total live cells significantly increased from 9.3 ± 4.5 (%) in the pre-treatment samples to 20.8 ± 7.9 (%) in the on-treatment samples ( P  = 0.009) and decreased to 13.3 ± 3.1 (%) in the off-treatment samples ( P  = 0.07). There was a significant increase in the peripheral NK cell population with lenvatinib treatment in advanced thyroid cancer patients. This finding confirms the immune-modulatory effect of lenvatinib.

The concept of “green‐ammonia‐zero‐carbon emission” is an emerging research topic in the global community and many countries driving toward decarbonizing a diversity of applications dependent on fossil fuels. In light of this, electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) received great attention at ambient conditions. The low efficiency (%) and ammonia (NH3) production rates are two major challenges in making a sustainable future. Besides, hydrogen evolution reaction is another crucial factor for realizing this NH3 synthesis to meet the large‐scale commercial demand. Herein, the (i) importance of NH3 as an energy carrier for the next future, (ii) discussion with ENRR theory and the fundamental mechanism, (iii) device configuration and types of electrolytic systems for NH3 synthesis including key metrics, (iv) then moving into rising electrocatalysts for ENRR such as single‐atom catalysts (SACs), MXenes, and metal–organic frameworks that were scientifically summarized, and (v) finally, the current technical contests and future perceptions are discussed. Hence, this review aims to give insightful direction and a fresh motivation toward ENRR and the development of advanced electrocatalysts in terms of cost, efficiency, and technologically large scale for the synthesis of green NH3. This review aims to give insightful direction and a fresh motivation toward the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia via nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR). We proposed emerging electrocatalysts toward ENRR such as single‐atom catalysts, MXenes, and metal–organic frameworks for the synthesis of green ammonia.

Reactive lithium metal renders it prone to corrosion, which severely limits calendar life and practicality in energy storage. Despite its importance, corrosion-induced degradation remains largely qualitative and lacks a clear mechanistic understanding. Here, we present a quantitatively integrated and experimentally validated framework that correlates lithium corrosion with interphase growth kinetics and interfacial morphological evolution. Guided by this model, a bi-layered anti-corrosive passivation layer composed of lithium polyacrylate embedded with lithium silver alloy-fluoride interphase is rationally designed. The outer polymer-rich layer resists swelling and blocks corrosion, while the underlying LiAg/LiF-rich interphase enhances interfacial transport kinetics. Operando X-ray microscopy reveals that calendar-aged lithium regions are particularly vulnerable to accelerated corrosion, which intensifies dendritic formation and is effectively suppressed by the passivation layer. Consequently, full-cells show a high-rate capacity of 133 mAh g −1 at 10 C (6 min) and retain 74.6% capacity after 400 cycles at 0.5 C (120 min), with Coulombic efficiency above 99.9%. Under a four-hour rest protocol for calendar life evaluation, full-cells maintain 75.1% capacity after 200 cycles, and further pouch cell testing shows 85.5% capacity after 640 cycles. This study offers insights into corrosion dynamics and informs the design of passivation strategies for improving calendar life in lithium metal batteries. Reactive lithium metal readily corrodes, but its behavior is mainly understood qualitatively with limited mechanistic insight. Here, authors present a quantitative framework linking lithium corrosion to interphase growth and morphology evolution, guiding a bi-layered passivation design strategy.

Lobectomy is preferred in thyroid cancer to decrease surgical complications and avoid lifelong thyroid-hormone replacement. However, postoperative hypothyroidism, requiring thyroid-hormone replacement, may occur. We aimed to identify the incidence and risk factors of postoperative hypothyroidism to develop a surveillance strategy after lobectomy for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). This historical cohort study involved 335 patients with PTMC treated by lobectomy. Postoperative thyroid functions were measured regularly, and patients were prescribed levothyroxine according to specific criteria. Patients not satisfying hormone-replacement criteria were closely followed up. Postoperative hypothyroidism occurred in 215 patients (64.2%) including 5 (1.5%) with overt hypothyroidism and 210 (62.7%) with subclinical hypothyroidism. Forty patients (11.9%) were required thyroid hormone replacement. One hundred nineteen patients (33.5%) experienced temporary hypothyroidism and spontaneously recovered to euthyroid state. High preoperative thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was the most important factor predicting postoperative hypothyroidism and failure of recover from hypothyroidism (odds ratio [OR], 2.82 and 1.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.07 to 3.95 and 1.22 to 2.63; P < 0.001 and 0.002, respectively). Of the 215 patients eventually developing postoperative hypothyroidism, 70 (32.6%) developed hypothyroidism after the first postoperative year. Postoperative 1-year TSH levels were able to differentiate patients developing late hypothyroidism or euthyroidism (OR, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.68 to 3.26; P < 0.001). Preoperative and postoperative TSH levels might be predictive for patients who develop postlobectomy hypothyroidism and identify those requiring long-term surveillance for hypothyroidism. Additionally, mild postoperative hypothyroidism cases should be followed up without immediate levothyroxine replacement with the expectation of spontaneous recovery.

Anode-supported proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (PC-SOFCs) fabricated with two representative proton-conducting oxides, BaCe0.7Zr0.1Y0.1Yb0.1O3-δ (BCZYYb) and BaZr0.8Y0.2O3-δ (BZY), were compared to obtain the insight into the electrochemical performances when fueled with syngas at 700°C and the correlation between the anode thickness (0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 mm) and operational stability. We have demonstrated that, in stability tests, the BCZYYb cells exhibited significantly higher maximum power density (MPD) than the BZY cells when operating on H2, 1.22 and 0.48 W/cm2 for the BCZYYb and BZY cells, but the BCZYYb cells degraded more rapidly than the BZY cells when operating on syngas. In addition, decreasing the anode thickness significantly enhanced the stability of BCZYYb cells operating on syngas, a reduction of 81, 76, and 71% in MPD for 1.6, 0.8, and 0.4 mm anode after 30 min. The electrochemical impedance spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the rapid degradation of cerate-based cells with syngas could be mainly attributed to the considerable increase in polarization resistance due to the phase decomposition of the electrolyte powder in the anode. Heterogeneous catalysis was performed to study the catalytic reaction of the H2–CO mixture over anode powders prepared with the two proton-conducting oxides (Ni-BCZYYb and Ni-BZY) in a fixed bed reactor, and the CO conversion and selectivity to CO2 and CH4 were determined. For all anode powders, continuous CO2 production was initially observed with CH4 formation, and no significant difference in catalytic activity trends was observed between both anode powders. An increased residence time substantially decreased the normalized CO2 yield, which was associated with the potential secondary reaction of CO2 with H2, CH4, or perovskite oxide. Based on the results of heterogeneous catalysis with both anode powders, the observed cell degradation on both cells during operation with syngas may be primarily attributed to carbon coking due to CO disproportionation; however, more than 4 times rapid degradation of the cerate-based cell when operating with syngas was clearly demonstrated to be attributed to the decomposition of the electrolyte powder in anode by the resulting CO2 from the catalytic reaction of the H2–CO mixture.

In this work, we show that finding and controlling optimum pH environments with Pt-based alloy catalysts can create high catalytic performances for electrocatalytic glycerol oxidation reaction (EGOR). Compared to a Pt/C catalyst, the PtCu/C alloy catalyst has higher reaction rate and turnover frequency (TOF) values by increasing the pH. Specifically, the reaction rate and TOF of the PtCu/C catalyst at pH 13 were 2.93 and 6.65 times higher than those of Pt/C, respectively. The PtCu/C catalyst also showed lower onset potential value and higher mass and specific activities than the Pt/C by increasing the pH. This indicates that the Cu in the PtCu alloy improves the catalytic activity for the EGOR in an OH− group-rich environment. In the case of the PtCu/C catalyst at a high pH condition, the selectivities of tartronic acid and oxalic acid tended to increase as the selectivity of lactic acid decreased. This result means that the PtCu alloy follows primary alcohol oxidation pathways, which are more favorable in an OH− group-rich environment than with only Pt. This study proposes that it is critical to optimize and control the reaction conditions for developing efficient EGOR catalysts.