This pooled analysis shows that the incidences of BRAF and NRAS mutations in cutaneous melanomas differ according to histological type and tumour location based on the degree of sun exposure.

2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitides called MXenes have attracted much attention due to their outstanding properties. However, MXene's potential in laser technology is not explored. It is demonstrated here that Ti CN, one of MXene compounds, can serve as an excellent mode-locker that can produce femtosecond laser pulses from fiber cavities. Stable laser pulses with a duration as short as 660 fs are readily obtained at a repetition rate of 15.4 MHz and a wavelength of 1557 nm. Density functional theory calculations show that Ti CN is metallic, in contrast to other 2D saturable absorber materials reported so far to be operative for mode-locking. 2D structural and electronic characteristics are well conserved in their stacked form, possibly due to the unique interlayer coupling formed by MXene surface termination groups. Noticeably, the calculations suggest a promise of MXenes in broadband saturable absorber applications due to metallic characteristics, which agrees well with the experiments of passively Q-switched lasers using Ti CN at wavelengths of 1558 and 1875 nm. This study provides a valuable strategy and intuition for the development of nanomaterial-based saturable absorbers opening new avenues toward advanced photonic devices based on MXenes.

Objective: No consensus exists on the association between papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). To resolve this controversy, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the two conditions using a meta-analysis. Methods: We searched relevant published studies using citation databases including PubMed, Embase, and ISI Web of Science. The effect sizes of clinicopathologic parameters were calculated by odds ratio (OR), weighted mean difference, or hazard ratio (HR). The effect sizes were combined using a randomeffects model. Results: Thirty-eight eligible studies including 10 648 PTC cases were selected. Histologically proven HT was identified in 2471 (23.2%) PTCs. HT was more frequently observed in PTCs than in benign thyroid diseases and other carcinomas (ORZ2.8 and 2.4; P!0.001). PTCs with coexisting HT were significantly related to female patients (ORZ2.7; P!0.001), multifocal involvement (ORZ1.5; PZ0.010), no extrathyroidal extension (ORZ1.3; PZ0.002), and no lymph node metastasis (ORZ1.3; PZ0.041). Moreover, PTCs with HT were significantly associated with long recurrence-free survival (HRZ0.6; PZ0.001). Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed that PTC is significantly associated with pathologically confirmed HT. PTC patients with HT have favorable clinicopathologic characteristics compared with PTCs without HT. However, patients with HT need to be carefully monitored for the development of PTC.