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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic, non-specific inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract including primarily Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which are affected by multiple factors. Periodontitis is a type of disease characterized by plaque biofilm as the initiating factor and chronic destruction of alveolar bone via resorption. An increasing number of studies have reported a correlation between periodontitis and IBD, but the relationship between the two remains unclear. In this study, we explore the internal relationships between the two diseases from three dimensions, including epidemiological, biological, and associated treatment evidence. Based on epidemiological evidence, periodontitis was found to be associated with an increased risk of IBD, which also affects periodontal health, although the bidirectional correlation needs to be further studied by expanding the number of data sources. From the biological evidence, both clinical studies and animal experiments show that IBD and periodontitis are interconnected. Based on evidence from association therapy, drugs that are beneficial for the treatment of IBD are also effective in the prevention and treatment of periodontitis. In addition, drugs that are good for improving periodontitis can also significantly alleviate IBD. The interaction mechanism between IBD and periodontitis includes the microbial pathway and the immunization route. The microbial pathway refers to the increase in the probability of intestinal tract ectopic colonization by oral bacteria transmitted through the mouth-gut axis or blood, resulting from the increase in the proportion of opportunistic pathogens in the oral cavity of patients with periodontitis and the influence of IBD on the secretion of gastric juice and the balance of intestinal flora. These microorganisms further aggravate IBD inflammation by releasing virulence factors, destroying the intestinal mucosal barrier, and triggering inflammatory responses. In periodontitis, adaptive immunity is activated in the mouth, leading to the production of a large number of immune cells, including Th17 containing the intestinal homing marker α4β7 integrin on their surface. Increased ligand expression of α4β7 integrin in the intestinal mucosa of patients with IBD accelerates oral Th17 cell transfer to the intestine, thereby worsening intestinal inflammation. In parallel, the abnormal expression of cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-10, IL-6, IL-21, soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), IL-23, and INF-γ, in the oral cavity of patients with IBD was observed, suggesting that IBD may affect periodontitis through immunity. These cytokines represent targets for the treatment of both diseases and provide a research direction for their prevention and treatment in the future.

The digestion and retrogradation performance of chestnut starch constrains the development of chestnut food industry. It is of great significance to select reasonable processing methods to regulate the digestion and retrogradation properties for the development of nutritious and healthy chestnut foods with high quality. Therefore, the effects of pullulanase enzymatic hydrolysis coupled with hydrothermal treatment on digestibility, long-term retrogradation and multi-scale structure of chestnut starch were investigated. Results showed that enzymatic hydrolysis increased amylose content, and changed chain length distribution. Short-range ordered and crystalline structures were also improved, and the starch digestibility were also reduced. Hydrothermal treatment promoted starch chain interactions, and improved short-range ordered, crystalline and nano-aggregate structures of starch, leading to the lower starch digestibility. During long-term retrogradation, due to the increase of shorter A chains and the decrease of B1 chains which are easy to rearrange, starch crystalline and nano-aggregate structures decreased, which retarded starch retrogradation. Hydrothermal treatment promoted the interactions among A chains and other molecules, and further inhibited the degree of starch molecule rearrangement, which could lead to the lower degree of retrogradation. Therefore, enzymatic hydrolysis coupled with hydrothermal treatment can be used as an effective method to regulate the digestion and retrogradation performance of starch, which could promote the development of chestnut starch-based foods with slower digestion rate and lower retrogradation degree.

With the development of quantum computers, the classical public key encryption system is not capable enough to guarantee the communication security of internet of things (IoT).Because the mathematical puzzles which post-quantum encryption algorithms are based on cannot yet be broken by quantum computers, these new algorithms have good anti-quantum computing security.In particular, the lattice-based cryptography is expected to become the main technology of the next generation public key cryptosystem.However, post-quantum encryption algorithms have the disadvantages of large amount of computation and high storage space.The communication efficiency of IoT will be affected if post-quantum encryption algorithms are directly applied to the lightweight device under IoT environment.In order to better guarantee the communication security and improve the commutation efficiency of IoT, Sym-BRLWE (symmetrical binary RLWE) encryption scheme was proposed.Sym-BRLWE was improved from the existing post-quantum encryption scheme based on BRLWE (binary ringlearning with errors) problem.Specifically, Sym-BRLWE encryption algorithm met the efficiency requirements of IoT via improving the random number selection on the discrete uniform distribution and the calculation of the polynomial multiplication.Sym-BRLWE encryption algorithm achieved high efficiency and high security via adding encryption security precautions, then it is more suitable for IoT lightweight devices.From the security analysis, the proposed Sym-BRLWE encryption scheme had high security.It could theoretically resist lattice attacks, timing attacks, simple power analysis (SPA) and differential power analysis (DPA).From simulation experiments, which were carried out in a binary computing environment simulating an 8-bit micro-device, the proposed Sym-BRLWE encryption scheme has high efficiency and small key size in encryption and decryption.It could reduce the total encryption time by 30% to 40% when compared with other BRLWE-based encryption schemes with the parameter selection of the 140 bit quantum security level.

Prefabricated vertical drains combined with heating is a new approach to improving the mechanical properties of soft clay foundations. Rising temperatures cause the formation of concentric and radially aligned soil regions with distinct heterogeneous characteristics. This results in incomplete contact between adjacent soil layers, with the water in the interstices impeding heat transfer and manifesting as a thermal resistance effect. Based on the theory of thermo-hydro-mechanical coupling, a two-dimensional dual-zone axisymmetric marine soft soil model improved by a prefabricated vertical thermo-drain has been established. A generalized incomplete thermal contact model has been proposed to describe the thermal resistance effect at the interface of concentric soil regions. The effectiveness of the numerical solution presented in this paper is verified by comparison with semi-analytical solutions and model experiments. The thermal consolidation characteristics of concentric regions of soil at various depths under different thermal contact models were discussed by comprehensively analyzing the effects of different parameters under various thermal contact models. The outcomes indicate that the generalized incomplete thermal contact model provides a more accurate description of the radial thermal consolidation characteristics of concentric regions of soil. The influence of the thermal conductivity coefficient on the consolidation characteristics of the concentric regions soil is related to the thermal resistance effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by distinct facial features, intellectual disability, and multiple congenital anomalies. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the genetic and phenotypic spectrum of KS in a Taiwanese patient group of 23 patients. KMT2D variants were found in 22 individuals, with missense (26.1%), nonsense (21.7%), and frameshift (17.4%) variants being the most prevalent. One patient had a KMT2D variant of uncertain significance. The most common clinical characteristics included distinct facial features (100%), intellectual disability (100%), developmental delay (95.7%), speech delay (78.3%), hypotonia (69.6%), congenital heart abnormalities (69.6%), and recurrent infections (65.2%). Other abnormalities included hearing loss (39.1%), seizures (26.1%), cleft palate (26.1%), and renal anomalies (21.7%). This study broadens the mutational and phenotypic spectrum of KS in the Taiwanese population, highlighting the importance of comprehensive genetic testing and multidisciplinary clinical evaluations for diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertebral cage has been widely used in posterior lumbar interbody fusion. The risk of cage dislodgment is high for patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to use a lumbar fusion model to investigate the effects of cage dislodgment on different cage arrangements after PLIF. Finite element analysis was used to compare three PEEK cage placements, together with the fibula-type cage, with respect to the four kinds of lumbar movements. The results revealed that a horizontal cage arrangement could provide a better ability to resist cage dislodgment. Overall lumbar flexion movements were confirmed to produce a greater amount of cage slip than the other three lumbar movements. The lower part of the lumbar fusion segment could create a greater amount of cage dislodgment for all of the lumbar movements. Using an autograft with a fibula as a vertebral cage cannot effectively reduce cage dislodgment. Considering the maximum movement type in lumbar flexion, we suggest that a horizontal arrangement of the PEEK cage might be considered when a single PEEK cage is placed in the fusion segment, as doing so can effectively reduce the extent of cage dislodgment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) affect a substantial proportion of patients with Kabuki syndrome. However, the prevalence and type of CHD and the genotype–phenotype correlations in Asian populations are not fully elucidated. This study performed a retrospective analysis of 23 Taiwanese patients with molecularly confirmed Kabuki syndrome. Twenty-two patients presented with pathogenic variants in the KMT2D gene. Comprehensive clinical assessments were performed. A literature review was conducted to summarize the spectrum of CHDs in patients with Kabuki syndrome. In total, 16 (73.9%) of 22 patients with pathogenic KMT2D variants had CHDs. The most common types of CHD were atrial septal defects (37.5%), ventricular septal defects (18.8%), coarctation of the aorta (18.8%), bicuspid aortic valve (12.5%), persistent left superior vena cava (12.5%), mitral valve prolapse (12.5%), mitral regurgitation (12.5%), and patent ductus arteriosus (12.5%). Other cardiac abnormalities were less common. Further, there were no clear genotype–phenotype correlations found. A literature review revealed similar patterns of CHDs, with a predominance of left-sided obstructive lesions and septal defects. In conclusion, the most common types of CHDs in Taiwanese patients with Kabuki syndrome who presented with KMT2D mutations are left-sided obstructive lesions and septal defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]