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• We found a correlation between asthma and Crohn's disease, whereas there seems to be no association with ulcerative colitis. However, this result is not yet robust and further research is needed. • The present study seems to further confirm the existence of gut-lung axis. • Clinicians should be aware of possible links between asthma and gut and assess for comorbidities. : Based on the findings of current observational studies, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) are associated; however, their causal association cannot be established due to methodological limitations. : we use two-sample bidirectional mendelian randomization (MR) to overcome the confounding factors and explore the causal link between asthma and inflammatory bowel disease. : After selecting asthma and IBD-related genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data and screening single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), MR analysis was performed by four methods: inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, maximum likelihood, and weighted median (WM), while Cochran's Q test was used to detect heterogeneity and MR-Egger intercept to detect horizontal pleiotropy. Finally, we used the leave-one-out method and funnel plot to perform sensitivity analysis. : We screened 57, 59, and 60 SNPs in the association analysis of asthma and IBD, CD, and UC, respectively. The results of MR analysis showed that asthma only increased the risk of CD (IVW: OR = 1.1712, 95% CI = 1.0418-1.3167, P value = 0.0082; maximum likelihood: OR = 1.1739, 95% CI = 1.0428-1.3215, P value = 0.0080). Neither forward nor reverse MR analysis revealed heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy. Similarly, we did not find potential directional pleiotropy by funnel plot, and the leave-one-out method did not suggest a significant effect of a single SNP on the overall results. : we found a negative correlation between asthma and Crohn's disease, but more research is needed to confirm this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports an effective and facile strategy for developing multifunctional nanoplatforms by the in situ doping of manganese metal into stellate mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Mn-SMSN). The resulting Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780 effectively integrated enhanced chemodynamic therapy (CDT) combined with tumor imaging in a single platform after additional loading of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and IR-780 iodide (IR-780) onto Mn-SMSN. Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780 demonstrated excellent in vitro efficacy in killing cancer cells and inhibiting cancer cell migration and invasion. Further mechanistic investigations demonstrated that Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780 effectively promoted the production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species to kill tumor cells. Moreover, Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780 efficiently delivered DOX and IR-780 into cells, indicating potential for chemodynamic therapy and tumor imaging. In summary, the developed Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780 integrated CDT and image guidance, which can provide insights for future biomedical research applications concerning efficient prostate cancer treatment. [Display omitted] • Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780 is developed by in situ doping of manganese metal into Mn-SMSN. • Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is integrated with tumor imaging by Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780. • This is achieved by loading of doxorubicin hydrochloride and IR-780 iodide onto Mn-SMSN. • Mn-SMSN@DOX-IR-780 promoted cytotoxic reactive oxygen species to kill tumor cells. • CDT and image guidance integration can provide insights for prostate cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered TiS 2 is of great potential in thermoelectrics for room temperature and medium temperature applications due to its tunable transport properties, low environmental impact, low cost, and lightweight. Herein, we prepared Fe x TiS 2– δ with x varying from 0 to 0.05 through a two-step process, involving initial synthesis in sealed tubes followed by spark plasma sintering. Mössbauer spectroscopy indicated that Fe atoms occupy the octahedral sites in the van der Waals gaps and exist in the form of Fe2+ with a high spin state. Fe x TiS 2– δ with x ≤ 0.02 exhibit high in-plane power factors, reaching an average of ∼ 1.2 mWm–1K–2. The structural disorder caused by Fe intercalation leads to a significant decrease in out-of-plane lattice thermal conductivity. The anisotropy in the figure of merit, ZT , of Fe x TiS 2– δ is suppressed due to Fe intercalation. Fe 0.01 TiS 2– δ possesses the highest ZT of 0.39 at 625 K along the in-plane direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-substitution of Eu and Nb into insulating CaTiO 3 can make it a good n-type potential thermoelectric (TE) material. In the present work, solid solution compounds with the nominal composition Ca 0.8 Eu 0.2 Ti 1– x Nb x O 3– δ (x = 0.05, 0.08, 0.1, 0.12) were synthesized and sintered in different atmospheres, including argon (Ar) and forming gas (5 vol% H 2 in Ar). Notably, the different reduction effects of these atmospheres resulted in significant differences in phase formation, grain size, oxygen deficiency, and TE properties of the synthesized samples. Introducing additional electrons to the system by donor substitution of Ti with Nb leads to significant changes in the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. The most favorable TE performance of the prepared samples was found in the sample with x = 0.05, primarily attributed to its proper charge carrier concentration. This work highlights the crucial role of the sintering atmosphere in manipulating the TE performance of n-type CaTiO 3 -based ceramics, an effect similar to donor doping. [Display omitted] • Sintering atmospheres play a vital role in determining thermoelectric transport properties of titanate perovskites. • Nb is an efficient electron donor in the titanate perovskite system. • Tungsten carbide impurity can significantly enhance the thermal conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a significant risk factor for development of gastric cancer (GC), one of the deadliest malignancies in the world. However, the mechanism by which H. pylori induces gastric oncogenesis remains unclear. Here, we investigated the function of IL-6 in gastric oncogenesis and macrophage-epithelial cell interactions. We analyzed publicly available datasets to investigate the expression of IL-6 and infiltration of M2 macrophages in GC tissues, and determine the inter-cellular communication in the context of IL-6. Human gastric epithelial and macrophage cell lines (GES-1 and THP-1-derived macrophages, respectively) were used in mono- and co-culture experiments to investigate autocrine-and paracrine induction of IL-6 expression in response to H. pylori or IL-6 stimulation. We found that IL-6 is highly expressed in GC and modulates survival. M2 macrophage infiltration is predominant in GC and drives an IL-6 mediated communication with gastric epithelium cells. In vitro , IL-6 triggers its own expression in GES-1 and THP-1-derived macrophages cells. In addition, these cell lines are able to upregulate each other's IL-6 levels in an autocrine fashion, which is enhanced by H. pylori stimulation. This study indicates that IL-6 in the tumor microenvironment is essential for intercellular communication. We show that H. pylori enhances an IL-6-driven autocrine and paracrine positive feedback loop between macrophages and gastric epithelial cells, which may contribute to gastric carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]