Explore the vast range of titles available.

Damage to the colon mucus barrier, the first line of defense against microorganisms, is an important determinant of intestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, and disorder in extraintestinal organs. The mucus layer has attracted the attention of the scientific community in recent years, and with the discovery of new mucosal components, it has become increasingly clear that the mucosal barrier is a complex system composed of many components. Moreover, certain components are jointly involved in regulating the structure and function of the mucus barrier. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the functional components of the mucus layer is clearly warranted. In this review, we summarize the various functional components of the mucus layer identified thus far and describe their unique roles in shaping mucosal structure and function. Furthermore, we detail the mechanisms underlying mucus secretion, including baseline and stimulated secretion. In our opinion, baseline secretion can be categorized into spontaneous Ca 2+ oscillation-mediated slow and continuous secretion and stimulated secretion, which is mediated by massive Ca 2+ influx induced by exogenous stimuli. This review extends the current understanding of the intestinal mucus barrier, with an emphasis on host defense strategies based on fortification of the mucus layer. Gut health: Mucus barrier is key to intestinal defences The intestine’s mucus barrier is a multi-component system that, aided by a continual flow of mucus secretions, helps to protect the gut from pathogens. Xiaohong Zhang, Yuping Zhou and colleagues from Ningbo University, China, review the mucin proteins, antimicrobial peptides and other proteins that collectively determine the structure and function of the thick gel-like mucus that covers the surface of the gut. Specialized secretory cells in the gut lining produce this intestinal mucus, both through a continuous steady baseline process and in response to stress and other stimuli. Impaired secretion or loss of the protective mucus layer can expose intestinal cells to pathogenic microbes that contribute to inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer and other gut disorders. A better understanding of mucosal components and turnover could therefore lead to new therapies for these diseases.

DNA computing based image encryption is a new, promising field. In this paper, we propose a novel image encryption scheme based on DNA encoding and spatiotemporal chaos. In particular, after the plain image is primarily diffused with the bitwise Exclusive-OR operation, the DNA mapping rule is introduced to encode the diffused image. In order to enhance the encryption, the spatiotemporal chaotic system is used to confuse the rows and columns of the DNA encoded image. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed encryption algorithm is of high key sensitivity and large key space, and it can resist brute-force attack, entropy attack, differential attack, chosen-plaintext attack, known-plaintext attack and statistical attack.

Constipation, a common gastrointestinal disorder, significantly impacts quality of life.Its association with gut microbiota has garnered attention.Dietary factors play a crucial role in the development and management of constipation.The recently introduced dietary index for gut microbiota (DI-GM), a measure of gut microbiota diversity, offers insights into this connection.The association between dietary gut microbiota index and constipation is a critical public health issue.This study investigated the association between DI-GM and constipation prevalence in the American population using data from 11,819 individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2005 and 2010.Constipation was defined using Bristol stool form scale types 1 and 2.Dietary recall information was used to determine the DI-GM score, indicating the dietary influence on the gut microbiome. Multivariate weighted logistic regression, adjusted for confounders, was performed to analyze the association between DI-GM scores and constipation prevalence.Further analyses included a subgroup analysis and restricted cubic splines to explore this association [restricted cubic spline(RCS)].An increased DI-GM index, indicating a healthier gut microbiome, was related to a decreased risk of constipation.A similar association was observed with a more favorable score for beneficial gut microbiota.Non-linear associations between DI-GM scores and constipation were identified through RCS analysis.Subgroup and interaction analyses confirmed the consistency of these findings across strata, suggesting no significant heterogeneity.These findings suggest that dietary adjustments may be an important method for preventing constipation.

Immunotherapy shows a promise for treating glioblastoma (GBM), the most malignant and immunosuppressive glioma. The mesenchymal phenotype of cancer cells was frequently reported to be associated with their induction of immunosuppression within the cancer microenvironment. Overexpressed insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) promotes GBM cell migration and invasion, and contributes to glioma progression and cancer recurrence and poor survival in GBM. However, whether IGFBP2 can induce immunosuppression in GBM was not reported yet. Thus, the study applied a syngeneic mouse GBM model, human GBM samples, and cancer-immune cell co-culture experiments to investigate the effect of IGFBP2 on GBM exposed immune cells and its association with the mesenchymal induction. We found that IGFBP2 promoted the mesenchymal feature of GBM cells. The inhibition of IGFBP2 relieved immunosuppression by increasing CD8+ T and CD19+ B cells and decreasing CD163+ M2 macrophages. Further, the IGFBP2-promoted immunosuppression was associated with its induction of the mesenchymal feature of GBM cells and the inhibitory phosphorylated FcγRIIB of GBM exposed immune cells. Blocking IGFBP2 suppressed tumor growth and improved survival of tumor bearing mice in the mouse GBM model. These findings support the notion that targeting the IGFBP2 may present an effective immunotherapeutic strategy for mesenchymal GBMs.

Integrating superconductivity with high optical transparency is critical for advancing quantum technologies, yet remains fundamentally challenging due to photon damping at conventional superconductor interfaces. Here, we report the integrated circuit process compatible and scalable fabrication of transparent superconducting tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films by RF magnetron sputtering without post-treatment. Combining Aslamazov-Larkin fluctuation theory and Ginzburg-Landau analysis, a superconducting transition temperature T c of 1.43 K and the zero-temperature coherence length of 18.14 nm are determined. The two-dimensional nature of superconductivity is corroborated by a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition near 0.8 K. These ITO films exhibit high transmittance across visible and near-infrared wavelengths, meeting the demands of quantum photonic applications. Comparative magneto-transport studies reveal that disorder suppresses electron-phonon coupling, thereby reducing T c or even quenching superconductivity, while superconductivity itself suppresses weak localization (WL) signatures. Based on these observations, we propose a four-stage model describing the evolution from a normal metallic state to a phase-coherent superconducting phase through an interactive regime and a pre-pairing fluctuation regime. This work provides a simple and easy growth method for transparent ITO superconducting films and paves the way of exploring transparent superconductor for promising quantum material platforms.

Aim We aimed to synthesize the current evidence on cost-effectiveness of screening for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and to meta-analyse the incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICER) to quantify the economic value of different COPD screening strategies on COPD development. Methods We searched for publications in MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases, until December 2024, without any restriction of countries or article type. ICER were retrieved and meta-analysis based on DerSimonian and Laird method was applied to pool ICER across studies. Results Of 1,108 originally retrieved papers, 12 articles fulfilled all search criteria which encompassed in total, 1,082,021 participants. Random effects meta-analysis revealed that the pooled ICER obtained from studies that used questionnaires for COPD screening against studies that did not perform any screening was $899.5 (95%CI [-1,903.9, 3,702.9]). The pooled ICER obtained from studies that used spirometry for COPD screening against studies that did not perform any screening was $521.3 (95%CI [116.0, 926.7]). When the analysis was based on studies that evaluated ICERs of the combination of spirometry testing plus questionnaires against no screening for COPD it was observed that the pooled ICER $15,305.8 (95%CI [5,364.2, 25,247.4]). Conclusion Despite variations in screening methods, the findings from this meta-analysis suggest that implementing COPD screening in primary care is cost-effective. It is recommended that policymakers prioritize screening for high-risk groups such as smokers and the elderly, and choose appropriate tools based on local economic conditions.

Carbon doping in GaN-on-Silicon (Si) epitaxial layers is an essential way to reduce leakage current and improve breakdown voltage. However, complicated occupy forms caused by carbon lead to hard analysis leakage/breakdown mechanisms of GaN-on-Si epitaxial layers. In this paper, we demonstrate the space charge distribution and intensity in GaN-on-Si epitaxial layers from 0 to 448 V by simulation. Depending on further monitoring of the trapped charge density of C N and C Ga in carbon-doped GaN at 0.1 μm, 0.2 μm, 1.8 μm and 1.9 μm from unintentionally doped GaN/carbon-doped GaN interface, we discuss the relationship between space charge and plateau, breakdown at C N concentrations from 6 × 10 16  cm −3 to 6 × 10 18  cm −3 . The results show that C N in different positions of carbon-doped GaN exhibits significantly different capture and release behaviors. By utilizing the capture and release behavior differences of C N at different positions in carbon-doped GaN, the blocking effect of space charge at unintentionally doped GaN/carbon-doped GaN interface on electron conduction was demonstrated. The study would help to understand the behavior of C N and C Ga in GaN-on-Si epitaxial layers and more accurate control of C N and C Ga concentration at different positions in carbon-doped GaN to improve GaN-on-Si device performance.

The effect of low Al concentrations on the electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of Al x Ga 1−x N/GaN (x = 0.1250, 0.1875, 0.2500, and 0.3125) heterojunctions was investigated using density functional theory and Boltzmann transport theory. Compared to Al x Ga 1−x N/GaN heterojunctions with different Al concentrations, it was found that: (1) The bandgap increases and the density of states (DOS) decreases near the Fermi level as the Al concentration increases in Al x Ga 1−x N/GaN heterojunctions. (2) The Seebeck coefficient of the Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN heterojunction reaches 1850.20 μV/K at 300 K. (3) For n-type samples, the increase of Al concentration leads to higher conductivity in Al x Ga 1−x N/GaN heterojunctions. (4) Power factor (PF) decreases with increasing Al concentration in Al x Ga 1−x N/GaN heterojunctions. At the lowest Al concentration, the power factor of the Al 0.125 Ga 0.875 N/GaN heterojunction reaches 1.48 × 10 11 W/(m·K 2 ·s) at 900K. (5) The maximum electronic thermoelectric quality factor (ZT e ) of the Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN heterojunction reaches 1.41, and at the same temperature, the n-type Al x Ga 1−x N/GaN heterojunctions exhibit significantly higher performance than the p-type. The results are useful for exploring the thermoelectric properties of GaN-based heterojunctions and improving the performance of thermoelectric devices.

ObjectiveTo analyse the rational prescription of medicines by village clinics following China’s implementation of the New Healthcare System Reform (NHCSR).DesignRetrospective study.SettingVillage clinics in a province in eastern China.Primary and secondary outcome measuresOur evaluation was based on the core drug use indicators reported in the study ‘How to Investigate Drug Use in Health Facilities: Selected Drug Use Indicators’.ResultsThe level of rational use of medicines (RUMs) in village clinics improved in 2018 compared with 2009; the average number of drugs per prescription decreased from 3.66 to 2.77, the percentage of prescriptions including antibiotics decreased from 65.40% to 46.00%, and the percentage of prescriptions including injections decreased from 55.75% to 37.48% (all p<0.01), whereas the percentage of drugs prescribed from the list of essential medicines increased from 66.50% to 80.34%, and the percentage of drugs prescribed by generic names increased from 61.29% to 70.65% (all p<0.01).ConclusionThe level of RUMs improved after the implementation of the NHCSR, however, it was found that there was still a gap between the level of RUMs in 2018 and the international reference value. Financial investments, electronic prescription systems, improved supervision and regular training are essential actions that must be implemented.