Nonlinear metasurface engineering with disordered gold nanorods on ITO: a cost-effective approach to broadband response, polarization-independence, and weak nonlinear index dispersion.

The strong coupling of epsilon-near-zero materials with nanoantennas has demonstrated enhanced nonlinear optical responses, yet practical challenges persist. Here, we propose an alternative: an ultrathin metasurface featuring broadband response with a weakly dispersive nonlinear index, achieved through a simple implementation. Our metasurface, comprising a disordered gold nanorod array on indium tin oxide, exhibits polarization-independent behavior and a large average nonlinear refractive index of 5 cm2/GW across a broad wavelength range (1000-1300 nm). Enhanced performance is attributed to the weak coupling between gold nanorods and indium tin oxide, offering a cost-effective method for nonlinear optical metasurfaces and a flexible design in nanophotonic applications.

Global burden and prediction study of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma from 1990 to 2030: A systematic analysis and comparison with China.

Background: China has the highest number of new cancer cases and deaths globally. Due to particularly low scores in health care quality for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), the country's cSCC burden requires greater awareness. Consequently, we aimed to evaluate and predict the trend of the cSCC burden globally and in China from 1990 to 2030. Methods: We retrieved data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, which provided estimates of the incidence, mortality, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of cSCC from 1990 to 2019. We set up joint-point analyses and Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) models to predict the disease burden of cSCC up to 2030. Results: In 2019, China reported age-standardised rates of cSCC prevalence, incidence, mortality, and DALYs of 2.54, 2.12, 0.88, and 16.76 per 100 000 population, respectively. The country's prevalence and incidence rates from 1990 to 2019 were lower than the global levels, but its mortality and DALY rates were higher. The age-standardised rates were higher for males, and the disease burden increased with each age group globally and in China. Moreover, the average annual percentage change showed all indicators were growing faster than the global levels. According to the BAPC model, there will be an upward trend in the prevalence and incidence globally and in China between 2020 and 2030, with a decrease in mortality and DALYs. Conclusions: We observed an upward trend in the cSCC burden over the past 30 years in China. Prevalence and incidence are expected to continue at a higher rate than the global average in the next decade, while mortality and DALYs are predicted to decrease. As the Chinese population ages, efforts toward managing and preventing cSCC should be targeted towards the elderly population.

The Impacts of Flattening Fiscal Reform on Health Expenditure in China.

Introduction: A number of provinces have implemented a fiscal reform of flattening government since the first decade of this century in China. This study aims to quantitatively analyze the influences of this government fiscal reform on county-level health expenditure. We also bring forward policy suggestions for improving county-level fiscal system and healthcare delivery. Methods: We collected a novel longitudinal county-level data from 2003 to 2010, including counties' socioeconomic data, fiscal revenue, and health expenditure. Jilin Province, Hebei Province, and Anhui Province were selected as representative samples for this policy evaluation. The study employed a time-varying difference-in-difference model specification to investigate the impacts of flattening fiscal reform on health expenditure. Results: The analyses find that the fiscal system reforms of the three provinces have a significantly positive impact on the health expenditure of county-level governments. However, we find no policy effects on the proportion of health expenditure to fiscal expenditure of county-level governments. The estimation results are robust after controlling several background variables. Conclusion: The results yield important policy insights that public finance and its reform significantly impacts health expenditures in China. The government may still need to strengthen the transfer payment system to guarantee the social welfare provision in healthcare.

Development of a sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for high-throughput detection and risk assessment of aflatoxin B1 in animal-derived medicines.

Animal-derived medicine is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Studies have shown that many animal-derived medicinal products are susceptible to contaminate of aflatoxins, nevertheless, the rapid detection for animal-derived medicine is prone to be ignored. Here we developed a sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) for rapid screening of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in ground beetle, cockroach, silkworm and earthworm. The sensitivity of the icELISA method was significantly enhanced. The IC50 for the four animal-derived medicinal samples ranged from 0.092 to 0.135 ng mL-1; the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.008-0.020 ng mL-1. To obtain high accuracy, the extraction solution and time were evaluated. By using this method, a total of 138 samples were investigated, and the detection rates of AFB1 in ground beetle and earthworm samples were 26.6% and 16.7%, respectively. The result was validated by liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry, and an excellent correlation was observed between the two datasets, with a R2 value of 0.999. Our results indicate that the proposed method can be used for the rapid detection of AFB1 in animal-derived medicine. Furthermore, the quantitative risk assessment was conducted for ground beetle and earthworm based on the results, demonstrating that the intake of AFB1 in ground beetle had a slight threat to the risk of cancer.