New discoveries in bile acids, gut microbiota and host interactions in health and diseases.

Over the past 20 years, basic research has robustly demonstrated the regulatory role of bile acids in physiological processes, primarily by the discovery and the study of their specific receptors and the understanding of the pathways they modulate. The dysregulation of the bile acid pool and the perturbation of bile acid signaling have been implicated in the pathophysiology of various clinical conditions, including cardiometabolic, cholestatic and inflammatory diseases. Consequently, bile acids have emerged as promising therapeutic targets, with compounds to modulate bile acid metabolism and signaling being actively investigated in pre-clinical and clinical settings.

Interleukin 38 reduces antigen-presentation capacity and antibody production after vaccination.

The mechanisms that underpin low vaccine responses, which can lead to inadequate protection against infection, are still partially unclear. Interleukin (IL)-38 is a member of the IL-1 family, expressed by B cells among others, that regulates inflammatory responses. A recent study shows that IL-38 suppresses plasma cell generation and antibody production upon immune activation.

Recognising and evaluating the effectiveness of extortion in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma.

Establishing and maintaining mutual cooperation in agent-to-agent interactions can be viewed as a question of direct reciprocity and readily applied to the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. Agents cooperate, at a small cost to themselves, in the hope of obtaining a future benefit. Zero-determinant strategies, introduced in 2012, have a subclass of strategies that are provably extortionate.

Impact of Digital Inclusion Initiative to Facilitate Access to Mental Health Services: Service User Interview Study.

Background: Digital exclusion, characterized by a lack of access to digital technology, connectivity, or digital skills, disproportionally affects marginalized groups. An important domain impacted by digital exclusion is access to health care. During COVID-19, health care services had to restrict face-to-face contact to limit the spread of the virus.

Quantifying in vitro B. anthracis growth and PA production and decay: a mathematical modelling approach.

Protective antigen (PA) is a protein produced by Bacillus anthracis. It forms part of the anthrax toxin and is a key immunogen in US and UK anthrax vaccines. In this study, we have conducted experiments to quantify PA in the supernatants of cultures of B.