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Spin current historically referred to the flow of electrons carrying spin information, in particular since the discovery of giant magnetoresistance in the 1980s. Recently, it has been found that spin current can also be mediated by spin-triplet supercurrent, superconducting quasiparticles, spinons, magnons, spin superfluidity and so on. Here, we review key progress concerning the developing research direction utilizing spin current as a probe of quantum materials. We focus on spin-triplet superconductivity and spin dynamics in the ferromagnet/superconductor heterostructures, quantum spin liquids, magnetic phase transitions, magnon-polarons, magnon-polaritons, magnon Bose–Einstein condensates and spin superfluidity. The unique characteristics of spin current as a probe will be fruitful for future investigation of spin-dependent properties and the identification of new quantum materials. Progress in utilizing spin current as a probe of quantum materials,—including topological insulators, superconductors, spin liquids, magnonic systems and spin superfluidity,—is reviewed.

Background Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a common digestive disorder, of which the prevalence decreased in the past few decades. However, the decreasing tendency has plateaued in recent years due to changes in risk factors associated with the etiology of PUD, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use. In this study, we investigated the epidemiological and the sociodemographic characteristics of PUD in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019 based on data from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries and Risk Factors (GBD) Study. Methods Demographic characteristics and annual prevalence, incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and age-standardized death rate (ASR) data associated with PUD were obtained and analyzed. According to the sociodemographic index (SDI), the numbers of patients, ASRs, estimated annual percentage changes and geographical distributions were assessed with a generalized linear model and presented in world maps. All evaluations of numbers and rates were calculated per 100,000 population with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Results In 2019, the global prevalence of PUD was approximately 8.09 [95% UI 6.79–9.58] million, representing a 25.82% increase from 1990. The age-standardized prevalence rate was 99.40 (83.86–117.55) per 100,000 population in 2019, representing a decrease of 143.37 (120.54–170.25) per 100,000 population from 1990. The age-standardized DALY rate in 2019 was decreased by 60.64% [74.40 (68.96–81.95) per 100,000 population] compared to that in 1990. In both sexes, the numbers and ASRs of the prevalence, incidence, deaths and DALYs were higher in males than in females over 29 years. Regionally, South Asia had the highest age-standardized prevalence rate [156.62 (130.58–187.05) per 100,000 population] in 2019. A low age-standardized death rate was found in the high-income super-region. Among nations, Kiribati had the highest age-standardized prevalence rate [330.32 (286.98–379.81) per 100,000 population]. Regarding socioeconomic status, positive associations between the age-standardized prevalence, incidence, death rate, DALYs and SDI were observed globally in 2019. Conclusions Morbidity and mortality due to PUD decreased significantly from 1990 to 2019, while a gradual upward inclination has been observed in recent 15 years, which might be associated with changes in risk factors for PUD. Attention and efforts by healthcare administrators and society are needed for PUD prevention and control.

The development and utilization of bulk resources provide the basic material needs for industrial systems. However, most current resource utilization patterns are unsustainable, with low efficiencies and high carbon emissions. Here, we report a quantitative tool for resource-based industries to facilitate sustainable and low-carbon transitions within the regional economy. To evaluate the effectiveness of this tool, the saline Qinghai Lake region was chosen as a case study. After optimizing the industrial structure, the benefits of economic output, resource efficiency, energy consumption, solid waste reduction, and carbon emission reduction can be obtained. The scenario analyses exhibit disparities in different transition paths, where the carbon mitigation, economic output, and resource efficiency that benefit from optimal development paths are significantly better than those of the traditional path, indicating the urgency of adopting cleaner technology and industrial symbiosis for regional industries. This study reports a quantitative tool for resource-based industries aimed at supporting sustainable, low-carbon regional transitions. The results provide optimal transition paths over traditional methods, highlighting the need for cleaner technology and industrial symbiosis.

Topological lasers are immune to imperfections and disorder. They have been recently demonstrated based on many kinds of robust edge states, which are mostly at the microscale. The realization of 2D on-chip topological nanolasers with a small footprint, a low threshold and high energy efficiency has yet to be explored. Here, we report the first experimental demonstration of a topological nanolaser with high performance in a 2D photonic crystal slab. A topological nanocavity is formed utilizing the Wannier-type 0D corner state. Lasing behaviour with a low threshold of approximately 1 µW and a high spontaneous emission coupling factor of 0.25 is observed with quantum dots as the active material. Such performance is much better than that of topological edge lasers and comparable to that of conventional photonic crystal nanolasers. Our experimental demonstration of a low-threshold topological nanolaser will be of great significance to the development of topological nanophotonic circuitry for the manipulation of photons in classical and quantum regimes.Nanophotonics: Creating better performing topological lasersA high-performance topological laser could pave the way for its use in a wide range of nanophotonic applications. Semiconductor lasers are the most common type of laser, but their performance deteriorates if there are any structural defects in the lasing material. Topological lasers allow light to travel around a cavity of any shape without scattering, promising better performing lasers. However, creating a topological laser with a low threshold for lasing and high efficiency has proved challenging. A team of Chinese researchers led by Xiulai Xu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have now developed a topological laser made from a two-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavity slab with a lasing threshold of about one micro-watt and high spontaneous emission coupling factor of 0.25 and is comparable to the performance of conventional semiconductor lasers.

T cell exhaustion presents one of the major hurdles to cancer immunotherapy. Among exhausted CD8 + tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, the terminally exhausted subset contributes directly to tumor cell killing owing to its cytotoxic effector function. However, this subset does not respond to immune checkpoint blockades and is difficult to be reinvigorated with restored proliferative capacity. Here, we show that a half-life-extended interleukin-10–Fc fusion protein directly and potently enhanced expansion and effector function of terminally exhausted CD8 + tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes by promoting oxidative phosphorylation, a process that was independent of the progenitor exhausted T cells. Interleukin-10–Fc was a safe and highly efficient metabolic intervention that synergized with adoptive T cell transfer immunotherapy, leading to eradication of established solid tumors and durable cures in the majority of treated mice. These findings show that metabolic reprogramming by upregulating mitochondrial pyruvate carrier-dependent oxidative phosphorylation can revitalize terminally exhausted T cells and enhance the response to cancer immunotherapy. Tang and colleagues show that a half-life-extended IL-10–Fc fusion protein acts directly on terminally exhausted PD1 + TIM-3 + CD8 + T cells to enhance their proliferation and effector function by reprogramming the cellular metabolism to oxidative phosphorylation in a mitochondrial pyruvate carrier–dependent manner. Treatment of tumor-bearing mice with IL-10–Fc and adoptive T cell therapy led to eradication of their established solid tumors and durable cures.

Background Relevant studies focusing on epidemiological of profiles hypertensive disorders of pregnancy from global data that report the cause-specific prevalence and trends of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy at global, regional and national levels from 1990 to 2019 by age and sociodemographic index are still limited. Methods For hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, point prevalence, annual incidence, and years lived with disability numbers and age standardized rates per 100,000 population were compared at regional and national levels by age and sociodemographic index using data from the global Burden of Disease 2019 Study, covering populations from 204 countries and territories. Estimates are reported with uncertainty intervals to exhibit the changing trends during a specific period. Results The incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increased from 16.30 million to 18.08 million globally, with a total increase of 10.92 % from 1990 to 2019. The age-standardized incidence rate decreased, with an estimated annual percent change of -0.68 (95 % confidence interval [CI] -0.49 to -0.86). The number of deaths due to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was approximately 27.83 thousand in 2019, representing a 30.05 % decrease from 1990. Based on the incidence and prevalence, the number of deaths and years lived with disability were highest in the group aged 25–29 years, followed by the groups aged 30–34 and 20–24 years, while the lowest estimated incidence rate was observed in the group aged 25–29 years and higher incidence rates were observed in the youngest and oldest groups. Positive associations between incidence rates and the sociodemographic index and human development index were found for all countries and regions in 2019. Age-standardized incidence rates were higher in countries/regions with lower sociodemographic indices and human development indices. Conclusions Our study provides a comprehensive overview of the global burden of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The death and incidence rates are decreasing in most countries and all regions except for those with low sociodemographic and human development indexes. This difference is mainly due to the increasing attention to prenatal examinations and health education. Further investigations should focus on forecasting the global disease burden of specific hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and modifiable risk factors.

Introduction The early diagnosis of sepsis remains a challenge. Recently, soluble cluster of differentiation 14 subtype (sCD14-ST), also known as presepsin, has been identified as a potential biomarker of sepsis. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic accuracy of presepsin for sepsis in patients with systemic inflammation. Methods We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, Web of Knowledge and Cochrane databases. Studies were included if they assessed the diagnostic accuracy of presepsin for sepsis in adult patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Furthermore, a 2 × 2 contingency table was constructed based on these results. Two authors independently judged the studies and extracted the data. The diagnostic accuracy of presepsin in sepsis was calculated using a bivariate meta-analysis model. The Q-test and I 2 index were used to test the heterogeneity. Results Eight studies involving a total of 1,815 patients were included in the present study. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 0.86 (95 % CI: 0.79-0.91), 0.78 (95 % CI: 0.68-0.85), 22 (95 % CI: 10–48), 3.8 (95 % CI: 2.6-5.7), and 0.18 (95 % CI: 0.11-0.28), respectively. The area under the summary receiver operator characteristic curve was 0.89 (95 % CI: 0.86–0.92). Meta-regression analysis revealed that consecutive patient selection, sample size and setting significantly accounted for the heterogeneity of sensitivity. Conclusions Our findings suggest that presepsin exhibits very good diagnostic accuracy (AUC=0.89) for the diagnosis for sepsis. Nevertheless, an overall assessment of all the clinical indexes for sepsis diagnosis and continual re-evaluation of presepsin during the course of the disease are needed.

A bstract For scalar theories accommodating spherically symmetric Q-balls, there are also towers of quasi-stable composite Q-balls, called charge swapping Q-balls (CSQs). We investigate the properties, particularly the lifetimes, of these long-lived CSQs in 2+1D and 3+1D using numerical simulations with efficient second order absorbing boundary conditions. We find that the evolution of a CSQ typically consists of 4 distinct stages: initial relaxation, first plateau (CSQ stage), fast decay and second plateau (oscillon stage). We chart the lifetimes of CSQs for different parameters of the initial conditions and of the potential, and show the attractor behavior and other properties of the CSQs.

Abstrict LINC00941 is a novel lncRNA that has been found to exhibit protumorigenic and prometastatic behaviors during tumorigenesis. However, its role in metastatic CRC remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the functions and mechanisms of LINC00941 in CRC metastasis. LINC00941 was shown to be upregulated in CRC, and upregulated LINC00941 was associated with poor prognosis. Functionally, LINC00941 promoted migratory and invasive capacities and accelerated lung metastasis in nude mice. Mechanistically, LINC00941 activated EMT in CRC cells, as indicated by the increased expression of key molecular markers of cell invasion and metastasis (Vimentin, Fibronectin, and Twist1) and simultaneous decreased expression of the main invasion suppressors E-cadherin and ZO-1. LINC00941 was found to activate EMT by directly binding the SMAD4 protein MH2 domain and competing with β-TrCP to prevent SMAD4 protein degradation, thus activating the TGF-β/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway. Our data reveal the essential role of LINC00941 in metastatic CRC via activation of the TGF-β/SMAD2/3 axis, which provides new insight into the mechanism of metastatic CRC and a novel potential therapeutic target for advanced CRC.