Controlling gain of cortical activity is essential to modulate weights between internal ongoing communication and external sensory drive. Here, we show that serotonergic input has separable suppressive effects on the gain of ongoing and evoked visual activity. We combined optogenetic stimulation of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) with wide-field calcium imaging, extracellular recordings, and iontophoresis of serotonin (5-HT) receptor antagonists in the mouse visual cortex. 5-HT1A receptors promote divisive suppression of spontaneous activity, while 5-HT2A receptors act divisively on visual response gain and largely account for normalization of population responses over a range of visual contrasts in awake and anesthetized states. Thus, 5-HT input provides balanced but distinct suppressive effects on ongoing and evoked activity components across neuronal populations. Imbalanced 5-HT1A/2A activation, either through receptor-specific drug intake, genetically predisposed irregular 5-HT receptor density, or change in sensory bombardment may enhance internal broadcasts and reduce sensory drive and vice versa. © 2020, Azimi et al.Progressive realisation of equitable access to health services is a fundamental measure of a state's resolve to achieve universal health coverage. The World Health Organization has reprioritised the importance of oral health services as an integral element of the roadmap towards health equity. This study sought to determine whether there is an indication of progressive realisation of equitable spatial access to public dental services for Australians less then 18 years of age through a comparison of travel times to the nearest public dental clinic at successive census dates. The distribution of children classified by rural remoteness and level of socioeconomic disadvantage, as well as the location of public dental clinics at the 2011 and 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics censuses, was mapped using geographic imaging software. OpenRouteService software was used to calculate the travel time by car between each statistical census district and the nearest public dental clinic. There has been an improvement in the percentage of the population less then 18 years of age living within a reasonable travel time of a public dental clinic. The most socioeconomically disadvantaged groups in more densely populated areas have better spatial access to publicly funded dental services than less disadvantaged groups. Children living in very remote areas continue to experience lengthy travel times to access fixed oral health services.It has been an established fact that exosomes act as a mediator in tumor microenvironment as well as participate actively in intercellular communication between cancer cells. Exosomes carry a variety of molecular cargoes that prevent cyclic degradation and represent the cells of their origin. In this study, the difference in expression levels of exosomes was measured for diagnosis of gastric cancer. We isolated exosomes from plasma by size-selective method. The morphology of the exosomes was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, and the particle size and concentration of the exosomes were detected by NanoSight's Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis. Results indicated that the expression level of exosomes in gastric cancer patients was higher than that in healthy individuals. The specificity and sensitivity were 65.2% and 73.1%, respectively. Currently, clinical tumor markers for gastric cancer detection mainly included Carbohydrate antigen 72-4 (CA72-4), Alpha-fetoprotein, Carbohydrate antigen 125, Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), Carcinoembryonic Antigen, Carbohydrate antigen 242. When we combined positive rate for combined gastric cancer biomarkers, results showed that exosomes concentration +CA19-9 and exosomes concentration +CA72-4 in the two-combined test can provide enough positive rate. Therefore, it can be concluded that for gastric cancer, the concentration of exosomes may be regarded as a diagnostic indicator, eventually.The purpose of this study is to develop betulinic acid loaded nanoliposomes to improve the chemotherapy effect of colorectal cancer. The cellular uptake and anti-tumor effects of betulinic acid loaded nanoliposomes in vitro were characterized and evaluated, and their effects on glycolysis, glutamine decomposition and key anti-cancer targets were analyzed. Moreover, their anticancer efficacy was assessed in vivo. Compared with free betulinic acid in vitro, the cellular uptake and anti-tumor activity of betulinic acid-loaded nanoliposomes were significantly enhanced; these nanoliposomes significantly suppressed the proliferation and glucose uptake of colorectal cancer cells. VP-16 Antineoplastic and I chemical Mechanistically, the anti-colorectal cancer effect of betulinic acid-loaded nanoliposomes was confirmed by their triggering of cellular apoptosis and regulating the potential glycolytic and glutaminolytic targets and pathways. After tumor proliferation was inhibited and colorectal cancer cells apoptosis, the anticancer effect of betulinic acid loaded nanoliposomes in vivo was significantly enhanced. All in all, betulinic acid loaded nanoliposomes are expected to be an effective drug delivery system for colorectal cancer treatment.Functionalized carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) show great promise for various drug delivery applications. These CNPs have distinct physical and chemical properties, such as low solubility, very high conductivity, and drug loading capability, and are thus important nanodevices for cancer therapy. Cancer is a highly challenging disease, because its therapy involves distinguishing diseased cells from healthy ones. This study aimed to determine the ability of CNPs conjugated with a chemotherapeutic agent to inhibit cancer cell growth. We developed two models to determine the effectiveness of paclitaxel (PTX) as an antitumor agent bonded to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) varying in radius (r). The models were used to mathematically evaluate the energy arising from the PTX-SWCNT interaction. The first model divided the PTX molecule into 15 subcomponents 4 imidazole rings, 1 group of atoms forming a cylindrical nanotube, 6 methyl groups (small spheres represented as individual CH₃ molecules), 3 carboxyl groups (medium-sized spheres represented as individual CO₂ molecules), and 1 large sphere.