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Background: We aimed to investigate the associations between thyroid hormone sensitivity indices and diabetes in euthyroid adults in the United States and China. Methods: 2296 euthyroid adults from the NHANES in the United States and 8319 euthyroid adults from the SPEED-Shunde in China were involved. The thyroid sensitivity indices, namely TFQIFT4 and TFQIFT3, were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression, restricted cubic spline analysis, and general ordinal logit regression were utilized. Results: In the NHANES, compared with participants in quartile 1st (Q1), those in Q4 of TFQIFT3 (OR 2.12, 95% CI (1.18, 3.81)) and those in Q3 of TFQIFT4 (OR 2.31, 95% CI (1.18, 4.53)) (both P for trend < 0.05) were associated with a greater prevalence of diabetes. In the SPEED-Shunde, compared with participants in Q1, those in Q4 of TFQIFT3 had a greater prevalence of diabetes (OR 1.36, 95% CI (1.11, 1.66) (P for trend < 0.05), while no significant associations between TFQIFT4 and diabetes were found. Conclusions: TFQIFT3 was associated with a higher prevalence of diabetes both in the United States and China. However, TFQIFT4 was only associated with a higher prevalence of diabetes in the United States, not in China. Further prospective cohort studies are necessary to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 8-year-old female child presented with patchy hair loss for 1 year, accompanied by eyebrow loss for 6 months. Microscopic examination of the hair confirmed the features of active stage alopecia areata, with a Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score of 70%. The diagnosis was severe alopecia areata. The patient had a history of atopic dermatitis since infancy, with recurrent episodes of scattered papules and pruritus for 8 years. Initial treatment involved subcutaneous injections of dupilumab 300mg every 2 weeks for 6 months, resulting in a reduction of SALT score to 20% and improvement of atopic dermatitis symptoms. Discontinuation of Dupilumab and initiation of daily oral Baricitinib at a dose of 2mg for a duration of 5 months. According to the SALT score evaluation, the severity of hair loss was less than 10% and there was significant regrowth of hair. No significant adverse reactions were observed during the treatment period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the increasing integration of renewable energy generation in AC-DC power networks, investigating the dynamic behaviors of this complex system with a proper equivalent model is significant. This paper presents an equivalent modeling method for the AC-DC power networks with doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) based wind farms to decrease the simulation scale and computational burden. For the AC-DC power networks, the equivalent modeling strategy in accordance with the physical structure simplification is stated. Regarding the DFIG-based wind farms, the equivalent modeling based on the sequential identification of multi-machine parameters using the improved chaotic cuckoo search algorithm (ICCSA) is conducted. In light of the MATLAB simulation platform, a two-zone four-DC interconnected power grid with wind farms is built to check the efficacy of the proposed equivalent modeling method. From the simulation analyses and comparative validation in different algorithms and cases, the proposed method can precisely reflect the steady and dynamic performance of the demonstrated system under N-1 and N-2 fault scenarios, and it can efficiently achieve the parameter identification of the wind farms and fulfill the equivalent modeling. Consequently, the proposed approach’s effectiveness and suitability are confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Impaired sensitivity to thyroid hormones has been demonstrated to be positively associated with the prevalence of metabolic disorders. However, the relationship between sensitivity to thyroid hormones and metabolic dysfunction--associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and liver fibrosis remained unclear. Objective: We aimed to determine the associations of thyroid hormone sensitivity indices with MAFLD and its progression to liver fibrosis in Chinese euthyroid adults. Methods: This community-based study included 7906 euthyroid adults. We calculated the thyroid sensitivity indices, including free triiodothyronine to free thyroxine (FT3/FT4) ratio, Thyroid Feedback Quantile-based Index by FT4 (TFQIFT4), and Thyroid Feedback Quantile-based Index by FT3 (TFQIFT3), indicating peripheral and central thyroid hormone sensitivity respectively. Liver steatosis and fibrosis were diagnosed by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE). Multivariable logistic/linear regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis were conducted. Results: Compared with participants in the first quartile (Q1), the prevalence of MAFLD was increased by 62% in the fourth quartile (Q4) of FT3/ FT4 ratio (OR 1.62; 95% CI [1.38, 1.91]) and by 40% in Q4 of TFQIFT3 (OR 1.40; 95% CI [1.18, 1.65]) (both P < .05). No associations between TFQIFT4 and the prevalence of MAFLD were found. In addition, compared with participants in Q1, the prevalence of liver fibrosis was increased by 45% in Q4 of TFQIFT3 (OR 1.45; 95% CI [1.03, 2.06]) (P < .05) in participants with MAFLD. Conclusion: Impaired central sensitivity to FT3 was associated with MAFLD and its progression to liver fibrosis. More prospective and mechanism studies are warranted to confirm these conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The package structure of a high-G microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer was studied using the finite element method. When the Young's modulus of the potting resin is E < 1 GPa, vibration of the package behaved as vibration of the potting resin at natural frequencies much lower than those of the header. Potting resin with E ≥ 5 GPa was rigid enough and suitable for the potting of the accelerometer. Under a 100,000-G acceleration, the output voltage of the accelerometer decreased slightly (by about 0.1%) with the increase in Young's modulus or density of the potting resin. The simulated output voltage was close to the analytical solution, well linear with the acceleration applied. The potting effect on the output voltage of the accelerometer could be ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]