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Depression has been reported as one of the most prevalent psychiatric illnesses globally. This study aimed to obtain information on the global burden of depression and its associated spatiotemporal variation, by exploring the correlation between the global burden of depression and the social development index (SDI) and associated risk factors. Using data from the Global Burden of Disease study from 1990 to 2019, we described the prevalence and burden of disease in 204 countries across 21 regions, including sex and age differences and the relationship between the global disease burden and SDI. The age-standardized rate and estimated annual percentage change were used to assess the global burden of depression. Individuals with documented depression globally ranged from 182,183,358 in 1990 to 290,185,742 in 2019, representing an increase of 0.59%. More patients experienced major depressive disorder than dysthymia. The incidence and disability-adjusted life years of depression were the highest in the 60–64 age group and much higher in females than in males, with this trend occurring across all ages. The age-standardized incidence and adjusted life-years-disability rates varied with different SDI levels. Relevant risk factors for depression were identified. National governments must support research to improve prevention and treatment interventions.

Facing growing uncertainty and rapid technological change, traditional supply chain management can no longer meet the complexity and performance needs of manufacturing firms. Consequently, supply chain quality management (SCQM) has gained increasing attention as a key approach. At the same time, supply chain quality integration (SCQI), supply chain strategy (SCS), supply chain capability (SCC), and digital intelligence (DI) are recognized for their potential to enhance coordination, adaptability, and value creation across the supply chain. In this study, we investigate the impact of SCQM on firm performance (FP), focusing on the mediating roles of SCQI, SCS, and SCC and the moderating role of DI. Based on survey data from Chinese manufacturing enterprises, structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to analyze these relationships. The results reveal that SCQM positively affects FP and significantly enhances SCQI, SCS, and SCC. Furthermore, SCQM influences FP indirectly through SCQI and SCS, underscoring the key mediating roles of the latter. DI is also found to significantly moderate the SCQM–FP relationship, strengthening the dynamic interaction among these variables and offering practical insights for improving FP via DI in SCQM frameworks. In this research study, we build a new theoretical model grounded in the Structure–Conduct–Performance (SCP) paradigm, filling a gap in the existing literature. For the first time, we jointly explore the mediating effects of SCQI and SCS and the moderating role of DI in the SCQM–FP link, providing an innovative contribution that enriches both academic understanding and managerial practice.

Vertical three-dimensional integration of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors holds great promise, as it offers the possibility to scale up logic layers in the z axis 1 – 3 . Indeed, vertical complementary field-effect transistors (CFETs) built with such mixed-dimensional heterostructures 4 , 5 , as well as hetero-2D layers with different carrier types 6 – 8 , have been demonstrated recently. However, so far, the lack of a controllable doping scheme (especially p-doped WSe 2 (refs. 9 – 17 ) and MoS 2 (refs. 11 , 18 – 28 )) in 2D semiconductors, preferably in a stable and non-destructive manner, has greatly impeded the bottom-up scaling of complementary logic circuitries. Here we show that, by bringing transition metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS 2 , atop a van der Waals (vdW) antiferromagnetic insulator chromium oxychloride (CrOCl), the carrier polarity in MoS 2 can be readily reconfigured from n- to p-type via strong vdW interfacial coupling. The consequential band alignment yields transistors with room-temperature hole mobilities up to approximately 425 cm 2  V −1  s −1 , on/off ratios reaching 10 6 and air-stable performance for over one year. Based on this approach, vertically constructed complementary logic, including inverters with 6 vdW layers, NANDs with 14 vdW layers and SRAMs with 14 vdW layers, are further demonstrated. Our findings of polarity-engineered p- and n-type 2D semiconductor channels with and without vdW intercalation are robust and universal to various materials and thus may throw light on future three-dimensional vertically integrated circuits based on 2D logic gates. We develop a method for high-density vertical stacking of active-device multi-layers, implementing memory and logic functions, using unique VIP-FETs where a van der Waals intercalation layer modulates the p- or n-type nature of the FETs.

Light travels in a zero-index medium without accumulating a spatial phase, resulting in perfect spatial coherence. Such coherence brings several potential applications, including arbitrarily shaped waveguides, phase-mismatch-free nonlinear propagation, large-area single-mode lasers, and extended superradiance. A promising platform to achieve these applications is an integrated Dirac-cone material that features an impedance-matched zero index. Although an integrated Dirac-cone material eliminates ohmic losses via its purely dielectric structure, it still entails out-of-plane radiation loss, limiting its applications to a small scale. We design an ultra-low-loss integrated Dirac cone material by achieving destructive interference above and below the material. The material consists of a square array of low-aspect-ratio silicon pillars embedded in silicon dioxide, featuring easy fabrication using a standard planar process. This design paves the way for leveraging the perfect spatial coherence of large-area zero-index materials in linear, nonlinear, and quantum optics.Zero-index media: ultra-low lossCalculations suggest that a new design of engineered medium can simultaneously yield a refractive index of zero and low optical loss at the telecommunications wavelength of 1550 nm. The development could lead to applications in nonlinear and quantum optics benefiting from an infinite coherence length. The approach of Tian Dong and coworkers from China and the US is to embed an array of silicon pillars (about 180 nm in radius and 1100 nm high) into a matrix of silicon dioxide to create a Dirac-cone photonic-crystal slab. Importantly, if the pillar height is chosen correctly any upwards and downwards radiation out of the slab can be made to destructively interfere thus reducing propagation loss to a level of 0.15 dB/mm. The slab should be possible to fabricate using standard processes.

The problem of graph-based X-secure T-private linear computation (GXSTPLC) is to allow a user to retrieve a linear combination of K messages from a set of N distributed servers that store the messages in a graph-based fashion, i.e., each message is restricted to be distributed among a subset of servers. T-privacy requires that the coefficients of the linear combination are not revealed to any group of up to T colluding servers, and X-security guarantees that any set of up to X colluding servers learns nothing about the messages. In this paper, we propose an achievability scheme for GXSTPLC that enables a storage–communication trade-off by exploiting non-replicated storage codes. Novel aspects of our achievability scheme include the usage of the idea of cross-subspace alignment null shaper that addresses various challenges posed by the graph-based storage structure. In addition, unlike previous works, our scheme allows a direct transformation into a quantum one to achieve a superdense coding gain by leveraging the idea of N-Sum Box abstraction of quantum “over-the-air” computing.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) employs light to acquire high-resolution 3D images and is widely applied in fields such as ophthalmology and forensic science. A popular technique for visualizing the top view (en face) is to slice it with flat horizontal plane or apply statistical functions along the depth axis. However, when the target appears as a thin layer, strong reflections from other layers can interfere with the target, rendering the flat-plane approach ineffective. We apply Otsu-based thresholding to extract the object’s foreground, then use least squares (with Tikhonov regularization) to fit a polynomial curve that describes the sample’s structural morphology. The surface is then used to obtain the latent fingerprint image and its residues at different depths from a translucent tape, which cannot be analyzed using conventional en face OCT due to strong reflection from the diffusive surface, achieving FSIM of 0.7020 compared to traditional en face of 0.6445. The method is also compatible with other signal processing techniques, as demonstrated by a thermal-printed label ink thickness measurement confirmed by a microscopic image. Our approach empowers OCT to observe targets embedded in samples with arbitrary postures and morphology, and can be easily adapted to various optical imaging technologies.

In this study, a Mg–Zn–Y–Zr alloy was laser cladded with Al–SiC powder using different weight percentages and different grain sizes of SiC to improve its surface properties. We observed that the laser-cladded layer primarily comprised α-Mg, Mg2Si, Mg17Al12, Al2Y and Al3Y phases. Moreover, the cladded layer exhibited a progressive microstructure and composition, and the volume fraction and size of the Mg17Al12, Al2Y and Al3Y phases decreased with the increase in depth. Because of the formation of these hardened phases, the average hardness of the sample with 10% of nSiCp was 4.06 times that of the substrate. In comparison with four laser-cladded samples, the sample cladded with 5% of nSiCp had the lowest friction coefficient and the highest wear resistance. The potentio-dynamic polarisation curves, measured in an aqueous NaCl (3.5 wt%) solution, demonstrated that for samples with a cladding of 10% nm, the corrosion potential increased from − 1.63 V for the untreated Mg–Zn–Y–Zr alloy to − 1.32 V for the laser-cladded alloy. The corrosion current density significantly decreased from 3.60 × 10−5 to 4.03 × 10−6 A cm−2. These results demonstrate that laser cladding with nano-SiC is an effective method to significantly improve the surface properties of Mg-rare earth alloys.

Protein condensates and filaments are both intracellular structures characterized by their ability to facilitate specific biological functions. Their formation is primarily driven by phase separation, which can be elucidated by fluorescence microscopy or electron microscopy. Here we summarize the main studies on protein condensates and filaments organized according to the techniques used, including fluorescence methods like localization screening, fluorescence co-localization spectroscopy, methods based on photobleaching, super-resolution imaging, and electron methods including negative-stain electron microscopy and cryo-EM. We also discuss correlative light/electron microscopy (CLEM), which integrates fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy to provide complementary insights. Collectively, these methods offer temporal and spatial insights into investigating the phase separation of protein condensates and filaments, and promote the discovery of unexplored structures and their yet-to-be-characterized biological roles.

Overwhelming evidence has demonstrated that the aberrant expression of the human trophoblast cell-surface antigen (TROP2) was associated with tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis in a variety of human cancers, however the roles of TROP2 in cervical cancer have not been investigated. The purpose of our study was to elucidate the prognostic significance of TROP2 expression in patients with cervical cancer and determine its effect on tumor progression. Immunohistochemistry assay showed that 88.7% (94/106 cases) of cervical cancer specimens were positively stained with TROP2, and the overexpression of TROP2 was closely related with FIGO stage, histological grades, lymphatic metastasis, invasive interstitial depth and high expression of Ki-67. Patients with TROP2-positive staining exhibited a significantly decreased overall survival and progression free survival; it was also an independent predictor for prognosis according to multivariate analysis. Moreover, down-regulation of TROP2 mediated by siRNA in Siha and CaSki cells resulted in a strong inhibition of proliferation and invasion, TROP2 abrogation also elevated the apoptotic ratio and caused G1 arrest. Conversely, enforced expression of TROP2 in HeLa and C33A cells remarkably promoted cell growth, migration and invasion. In addition, the tumorigenic function of TROP2 was associated with the increased expressions of cyclin D1, cyclin E, CDK2 and CDK4 but reduced expression of p27 and E-cadherin via the activation of Erk1/2 signaling pathway. Furthermore, the inhibition of TROP2 expression in cervical cancer cell lines enhances sensitivity to cisplatin. The present study suggest that overexpression of TROP2 may play crucial roles in the development and pathogenesis of human cervical cancer, therefore, TROP2 may represent a prospective prognostic indicator and a potential therapeutic target of cervical cancer.

Compared to terrestrial transportation systems, the expansion of urban traffic into airspace can not only mitigate traffic congestion, but also foster establish eco-friendly transportation networks. Additionally, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) task allocation and trajectory planning are essential research topics for an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) scenario. However, heterogeneous tasks, temporary flight restriction zones, physical buildings, and environment prerequisites put forward challenges for the research. In this paper, multigene and improved anti-collision RRT* (IAC-RRT*) algorithms are proposed to address the challenge of task allocation and path planning problems in UAM scenarios by tailoring the chance of crossover and mutation. It is proved that multigene and IAC-RRT* algorithms can effectively minimize energy consumption and tasks’ completion duration of UAVs. Simulation results demonstrate that the strategy of this work surpasses traditional optimization algorithms, i.e., RRT algorithm and gene algorithm, in terms of numerical stability and convergence speed.