The effect of the “Oral-Gut” axis on periodontitis in inflammatory bowel disease: A review of microbe and immune mechanism associations

Periodontitis and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that share common features of microbial-induced ecological dysregulation and host immune inflammatory response. The close relationship between periodontitis and IBD is characterized by a higher prevalence of IBD in patients with periodontitis and a higher prevalence and severity of periodontitis in patients with IBD, indicating that periodontitis and IBD are different from the traditional independent diseases and form an “Oral-Gut” axis between the two, which affect each other and thus form a vicious circle. However, the specific mechanisms leading to the association between the two are not fully understood. In this article, we describe the interconnection between periodontitis and IBD in terms of microbial pathogenesis and immune dysregulation, including the ectopic colonization of the gut by pathogenic bacteria associated with periodontitis that promotes inflammation in the gut by activating the host immune response, and the alteration of the oral microbiota due to IBD that affects the periodontal inflammatory response. Among the microbial factors, pathogenic bacteria such as Klebsiella, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum may act as the microbial bridge between periodontitis and IBD, while among the immune mechanisms, Th17 cell responses and the secreted pro-inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α play a key role in the development of both diseases. This suggests that in future studies, we can look for targets in the “Oral-Gut” axis to control and intervene in periodontal inflammation by regulating periodontal or intestinal flora through immunological methods

DOA Estimation Algorithm for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Co-Prime Linear Array Based on Multiple Signal Classification Approach

Co-prime linear arrays (CLAs) provide an additional degree of freedom (DOF) with a limited number of physical sensors, and thus help to improve the resolution of direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms. However, the DOF of traditional CLA is restrained by the structure of the array, which cannot be adjusted after deployment. In this paper, we propose a DOA estimation algorithm for reconfigurable intelligent surface co-prime linear array (RIS CLA) based on the multiple signal classification approach. Specifically, an RIS CLA is first constructed on the ground of RIS antenna, by turning on/off specific elements at different times. Then, the covariance matrix of the received signal is vectorized, so as to construct a virtual difference array, whose aperture is considerably expanded. Finally, a spectral peak search on the noise subspace of the received signal of the difference array is conducted to obtain the DOA estimation result. Simulations verify the improvement of the proposed algorithm in terms of DOF and resolution. To be specific, the DOF provided by RIS CLA outnumbers that of CLA by more than 30%, and the resolution of the proposed DOA estimation algorithm is effectively improved, with its accuracy increased up to 70% under the low signal-noise-ratio (SNR) scenario, compared with existing algorithms

Optimal transmission and limited feedback design for OFDM/MIMO systems in frequency selective block fading channels

In this paper, we propose a systematic design framework to deal with the problem of limited CSIT feedback for MIMO-OFDM systems with correlated subcarriers. Based on the framework, we obtain the optimal transmission and CSI feedback strategies given the limited CSI feedback constraint. We propose a MIMO-OFDM design with combined adaptive power control and beam-forming framework for optimizing MIMO-OFDM link capacity with limited feedback in frequency selective fading channels. We derive a computationally efficient algorithm which exploits subcarrier correlation to search for the design of the optimal transmission and feedback strategy. We found that with a small number of bits for CSIT feedback, there is already significant capacity gain in the MIMO-OFDM systems

Organ regeneration: integration application of cell encapsulation and 3D bioprinting

3D bioprinting has shown great promise in the field of tissue engineering, which offers a vital and significant platform for organ regeneration. Therefore, an increasing focus on 3D bioprinting, coupled with a growing knowledge of cell–cell interaction and cell encapsulation, has driven researchers to discover the preferable biomaterials that enable the greatest possible to reconstruct artificial organs with the different cells and hydrogel. One important challenge is to adapt materials selected to improve the cell survival rate. In this paper, we firstly summarise the fundamentals and the latest application of biomaterials that have significant characteristics such as porous, biodegradability, biological compatibility, and adaptability, and further describe formation mechanisms of droplet under the different cell encapsulation technologies, and finally highlight integration application of cell encapsulation and 3D bioprinting

How does early-life famine experience influence household energy transition?

The transition of households towards cleaner energy is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals. However, the impacts and associated mechanisms of early-life experiences on household energy transition have not been considered. Based on data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, this study aimed to investigate whether people experiencing China's Great Famine (1959–1961) in their early life promoted household energy transition in adulthood. The varying severity of the Great Famine in different provinces was characterised as a quasi-natural experiment and was used to perform difference-in-differences (DID) estimation analysis for birth cohorts. The results showed that the transitions from firewood, agricultural waste, and animal waste to liquefied petroleum gas and electricity were significant in households with the Great Famine experiences. Specifically, the long-term energy transition effect of the famine was exhibited mostly in those who experienced the famine during childhood (4–11 years old) and adolescence (12–17 years old). Besides, early-life famine experiences led to poor physical health, and more modern forms of energy, such as electricity, were consumed to avoid further deteriorating health. Early-life famine experience also brought psychological trauma to people at that time, which led them to increase Internet use to gain emotional support, and the increased Internet use provided better access to information about the energy transition. Moreover, the household energy transition influenced by early-life famine experience occurred more in female-headed, rural, more educated, and low-income households. Our results illustrated the role of early-life famine experience in household energy transition and provided new insights into developing effective energy policies

DOA Estimation Algorithm for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Co-Prime Linear Array Based on Multiple Signal Classification Approach

Co-prime linear arrays (CLAs) provide an additional degree of freedom (DOF) with a limited number of physical sensors, and thus help to improve the resolution of direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms. However, the DOF of traditional CLA is restrained by the structure of the array, which cannot be adjusted after deployment. In this paper, we propose a DOA estimation algorithm for reconfigurable intelligent surface co-prime linear array (RIS CLA) based on the multiple signal classification approach. Specifically, an RIS CLA is first constructed on the ground of RIS antenna, by turning on/off specific elements at different times. Then, the covariance matrix of the received signal is vectorized, so as to construct a virtual difference array, whose aperture is considerably expanded. Finally, a spectral peak search on the noise subspace of the received signal of the difference array is conducted to obtain the DOA estimation result. Simulations verify the improvement of the proposed algorithm in terms of DOF and resolution. To be specific, the DOF provided by RIS CLA outnumbers that of CLA by more than 30%, and the resolution of the proposed DOA estimation algorithm is effectively improved, with its accuracy increased up to 70% under the low signal-noise-ratio (SNR) scenario, compared with existing algorithms

3D Printing of Artificial Blood Vessel: Study on Multi-Parameter Optimization Design for Vascular Molding Effect in Alginate and Gelatin

3D printing has emerged as one of the modern tissue engineering techniques that could potentially form scaffolds (with or without cells), which is useful in treating cardiovascular diseases. This technology has attracted extensive attention due to its possibility of curing disease in tissue engineering and organ regeneration. In this paper, we have developed a novel rotary forming device, prepared an alginate–gelatin solution for the fabrication of vessel-like structures, and further proposed a theoretical model to analyze the parameters of motion synchronization. Using this rotary forming device, we firstly establish a theoretical model to analyze the thickness under the different nozzle extrusion speeds, nozzle speeds, and servo motor speeds. Secondly, the experiments with alginate–gelatin solution are carried out to construct the vessel-like structures under all sorts of conditions. The experiment results show that the thickness cannot be adequately predicted by the theoretical model and the thickness can be controlled by changing the parameters. Finally, the optimized parameters of thickness have been adjusted to estimate the real thickness in 3D printing

Effects of Straw Mulching Thickness on the Soil Health in a Temperate Organic Vineyard

Soil mulching is one of the common measures applied in organic agricultural production which could replace plastic films and protect the environment. In order to fully evaluate the effects of different straw mulching thicknesses on soil health, maize straw was mulched with the thicknesses of 0 cm (CK), 2 cm, 4 cm and 6 cm on soil surface to assess the effects on soil temperature (ST) and moisture (SM), soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N, soil aggregates and soil bulk density (SBD) in a temperate organic vineyard. We found that straw mulching had a significant regulating effect, with soil moisture being elevated with increasing mulching thickness by 5.8%, 9.0% and 11.1% compared with CK. The soil SOC content increased by 3.0%, 2.4% and 2.3%. Although soil pH and C/N significantly (p < 0.05) increased, they fluctuated with increasing mulch thickness. Straw mulching also increased the content of >2 mm soil particle size and elevated the mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD). The increasing mulching thickness prolonged the effect on the stability of soil aggregates. The 4 cm maize straw mulching thickness has the best effect for ecologically and environmentally managing warm-temperate organic vineyards so it may have a great application prospect on a global scale