Observation of Size-Dependent Electron–Phonon Scattering and Temperature-Dependent Photoluminescence Quenching in Triangular-Shaped Silver Nanoparticles

Plasmonics - Research studies on plasmonic properties of triangular-shaped silver nanoparticles might lead to several interesting applications. However, in this work, triangular-shaped silver...     

Numerical and Analytical Modeling of Plasmonic Filter with High Q-Factor Based on “Nanostructured Resonator”

Plasmonics - In this paper, to achieve high-quality filters, nanostructured plasmon resonators are proposed. The structure of proposed resonator is based on metal-dielectric-metal configuration and...     

Light and Electron Microscopic Studies of “Myogranules” in a Child with Hypotonia and Muscle Weakness

Examination by light and electron microscopy of more than 100 muscle biopsies revealed one very unusual case. A 4-year-old boy with non-progressive muscle weakness and hypotonia was found to have small particles, termed “myogranules”, in many muscle fibres from two gastrocnemius biopsies. Paraffin sections and thin sections of plastic-embedded muscle showed that the rod-shaped myogranules measured between 0.1 and 5 microns in length, and were usually orientated in the long axis of the fibre. Normal cross-striations could not be seen in areas occupied by myogranules, although adjacent parts of the same fibre were normal. Electron micrographs showed myofilaments running through the myogranules and a periodicity similar to sections of recrystallized muscle protein paramyosin. It is possible that this child has a disturbance of muscle proteins.     

Revealing the Truth About “Trapped Rainbow” Storage of Terahertz Waves in Plasmonic Grating

Plasmonics - Graded grating has been commonly used to trap the plasmonic surface waves of different frequencies, called “trapped rainbow.” The physical origin is believed that the group...     

Effects of Peptide and Non-Peptide Opioids on Protective Reaction of the Cockroach Periplaneta americana in the “Hot Camera”

The ability of morphine, naloxone, and several opioid peptides of the group of beta-casomorphines to change the time of the stay of cockroaches Periplaneta americana in a hot camera (t = 47°C) was studied. It has been shown that the morphine dose ED₅₀ increasing twice the stay amounts to 200 µg/g, while hat of naloxone, to 40, of heptapeptide YPFPGPI, to 440, and of pentapeptide YPFPG, to 420 µg/g. Hexapeptide YPFPGP free of the N-terminal tyrosine had no statistically significant effect on the stay duration. The earlier changes of the stay duration (in 15–60 min after injection; the most pronounced for morphine and naloxone) corresponded to the ability of these drugs to act on the mu-type opioid receptors. The high peptide affinity to the delta-type receptors led to development of the later effects (in 90–150 min after injection; the most pronounced for heptapeptide YPFPGPI). A combined injection of naloxone and heptapeptide lead to the mutual inhibition of their effect: the peptide eliminated the early effect of naloxone on the stay duration, whereas naloxone, the late effects of beta-casomorphine. The obtained results indicate an important role of the endogenous opioid system in control of protective behavior of insects, as well as heterogeneity of the receptor components of the system.     

A Comprehensive Energy and Economic Assessment of Biofuels: When “Green” Is Not Enough

Referee: Dr. Charles A. S. Hall, Department of Environmental Studies, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 Biofuel production systems are sometimes claimed to be able to fill in for future fossil fuel shortages as well as to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. As such, they are often promoted as a “green” alternative to fossil fuels. I present a comprehensive, system-based case study of biofuel production from maize or corn (Zea mays L.) and evaluate it critically in this review. The case study is taken as an example of the comprehensive approach that I suggest for any energy crop. I conclude that the biofuel option on a large scale is not a viable alternative based on economic, energy and eMergy (amount of available energy [exergy] of one form [usually solar] that is directly or indirectly required to provide a given flow or storage of exergy or matter) analyses of the case study data and estimated possible improvement of yield and efficiency. This is true for developed countries due to their huge energy demand compared with what biofuel options are able to supply as well as for developing countries due to the low yield of their agriculture and competition for land and water for food production. However, biofuels may contribute to optimizing the energy and resource balance of agricultural, livestock, or industrial production systems at an appropriate scale. I present a proposal to integrate ethanol production with industrial activities within a “zero emission framework” as a suggestion for optimization strategies capable of making the biofuel option more sustainable and profitable in those cases where it is appropriate.     

Getting “Just Deserts” or Seeing the “Silver Lining”: The Relation between Judgments of Immanent and Ultimate Justice

People can perceive misfortunes as caused by previous bad deeds (immanent justice reasoning) or resulting in ultimate compensation (ultimate justice reasoning). Across two studies, we investigated the relation between these types of justice reasoning and identified the processes (perceptions of deservingness) that underlie them for both others (Study 1) and the self (Study 2). Study 1 demonstrated that observers engaged in more ultimate (vs. immanent) justice reasoning for a “good” victim and greater immanent (vs. ultimate) justice reasoning for a “bad” victim. In Study 2, participants'' construals of their bad breaks varied as a function of their self-worth, with greater ultimate (immanent) justice reasoning for participants with higher (lower) self-esteem. Across both studies, perceived deservingness of bad breaks or perceived deservingness of ultimate compensation mediated immanent and ultimate justice reasoning respectively.     

Tangential Flow Ultrafiltration: A “Green” Method for the Size Selection and Concentration of Colloidal Silver Nanoparticles

Nowadays, AgNPs are extensively used in the manufacture of consumer products,¹ water disinfectants,² therapeutics,^{1, 3} and biomedical devices⁴ due to their powerful antimicrobial properties.^3-6 These nanoparticle applications are strongly influenced by the AgNP size and aggregation state. Many challenges exist in the controlled fabrication⁷ and size-based isolation^4,8 of unfunctionalized, homogenous AgNPs that are free from chemically aggressive capping/stabilizing agents or organic solvents.^7-13 Limitations emerge from the toxicity of reagents, high costs or reduced efficiency of the AgNP synthesis or isolation methods (e.g., centrifugation, size-dependent solubility, size-exclusion chromatography, etc.).^10,14-18 To overcome this, we recently showed that TFU permits greater control over the size, concentration and aggregation state of Creighton AgNPs (300 ml of 15.3 μg ml^-1 down to 10 ml of 198.7 μg ml^-1) than conventional methods of isolation such as ultracentrifugation.¹⁹TFU is a recirculation method commonly used for the weight-based isolation of proteins, viruses and cells.^20,21 Briefly, the liquid sample is passed through a series of hollow fiber membranes with pore size ranging from 1,000 kD to 10 kD. Smaller suspended or dissolved constituents in the sample will pass through the porous barrier together with the solvent (filtrate), while the larger constituents are retained (retentate). TFU may be considered a "green" method as it neither damages the sample nor requires additional solvent to eliminate toxic excess reagents and byproducts. Furthermore, TFU may be applied to a large variety of nanoparticles as both hydrophobic and hydrophilic filters are available.The two main objectives of this study were: 1) to illustrate the experimental aspects of the TFU approach through an invited video experience and 2) to demonstrate the feasibility of the TFU method for larger volumes of colloidal nanoparticles and smaller volumes of retentate. First, unfuctionalized AgNPs (4 L, 15.2 μg ml^-1) were synthesized using the well-established Creighton method^22,23 by the reduction of AgNO₃ with NaBH₄. AgNP polydispersity was then minimized via a 3-step TFU using a 50-nm filter (460 cm²) to remove AgNPs and AgNP-aggregates larger than 50 nm, followed by two 100-kD (200 cm² and 20 cm²) filters to concentrate the AgNPs. Representative samples were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectrophotometry, Raman spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. The final retentate consisted of highly concentrated (4 ml, 8,539.9 μg ml^-1) yet lowly aggregated and homogeneous AgNPs of 1-20 nm in diameter. This corresponds to a silver concentration yield of about 62%.     

Bioprospecting microalgae as potential sources of “Green Energy”—challenges and perspectives (Review)

Microalgae and cyanobacteria are potential food and feed, sources of high-value bioactive molecules and biofuels, and find tremendous applications in bioremediation and agriculture. Although few efforts have been undertaken to index the microalgal germplasm available in terms of lipid content, information on suitability of strains for mass multiplication and advances in development of methods for extraction and generating biofuel are scarce. Our review summarizes the potential of microalgae, latest developments in the field and analyzes the “pitfalls” in oversimplification of their promise in the years to come. Microalgae represent “green gold mines” for generating energy; however, the path to success is long and winding and needs tremendous and concerted efforts from science and industry, besides political will and social acceptance for overcoming the limitations. The major advantages of second generation biofuels based on microalgal systems, include their higher photon conversion efficiency, growth all around the year, even in wastewaters, and production of environment friendly biodegradable biofuels.     

Electron diffraction study of hydrated phospholipid single bilayers. Effects of temperature,hydration and surface pressure of the “precursor” monolayer

The molecular packing and phase transition of hydrated dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine single bilayers are studied by electron diffraction, using an electron microscope equipped with a hydration stage. The phase transition and area per molecule are measured as functions of temperature, hydration and the surface pressure of the monolayer from which the bilayer is formed. The transition temperature of a bilayer agrees with calorimetric measurements on bulk lipid/water mixtures. The molecular packing of a bilayer corresponds to that of the precursor monolayer at a surface pressure of 47 dyne/cm.     

Design and Theoretical Analyses of Tip–Insulator–Metal Structure with Bottom–Up Light Illumination: Formations of Elongated Symmetrical Plasmonic Hot Spot at Sub-10 nm Resolution

Ag tip–insulator–metal structure with bottom–up light illumination is proposed and theoretically analyzed. It shows that there is a strong plasmonic coupling between Ag tip and metallic surface. Different from oblique light illumination, this novel design possesses unique advantages of symmetrical hot spot profile and enlarged depth of focus at a sub-10-nm spatial resolution. Influences of tip size, insulator, and metallic layer thickness are studied. It is found that the metallic layer thickness greatly affects the plasmonic hot spot quality. Meanwhile, the thickness of photoresist plays a major role in controlling light spot size, indicating that much higher resolution can be achieved for the Ag tips with large curvature radius.     

International Conference on “Photosynthesis and Hydrogen Energy Research for Sustainability-2017”

Photosynthesis Research -     

Energy transfer in “parasitic” cancer metabolism: Mitochondria are the powerhouse and Achilles' heel of tumor cells

It is now widely recognized that the tumor microenvironment promotes cancer cell growth and metastasis via changes in cytokine secretion and extra-cellular matrix remodeling. However, the role of tumor stromal cells in providing energy for epithelial cancer cell growth is a newly emerging paradigm. For example, we and others have recently proposed that tumor growth and metastasis is related to an energy imbalance. Host cells produce energy-rich nutrients via catabolism (through autophagy, mitophagy and aerobic glycolysis), which are then transferred to cancer cells, to fuel anabolic tumor growth. Stromal cell derived L-lactate is taken up by cancer cells and is used for mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), to produce ATP efficiently. However, “parasitic” energy transfer may be a more generalized mechanism in cancer biology than previously appreciated. Two recent papers in Science and Nature Medicine now show that lipolysis in host tissues also fuels tumor growth. These studies demonstrate that free fatty acids produced by host cell lipolysis are re-used via β-oxidation (β-OX) in cancer cell mitochondria. Thus, stromal catabolites (such as lactate, ketones, glutamine and free fatty acids) promote tumor growth by acting as high-energy onco-metabolites. As such, host catabolism via autophagy, mitophagy and lipolysis may explain the pathogenesis of cancer-associated cachexia and provides exciting new druggable targets for novel therapeutic interventions. Taken together, these findings also suggest that tumor cells promote their own growth and survival by behaving as a “parasitic organism.” Hence, we propose the term “parasitic cancer metabolism” to describe this type of metabolic-coupling in tumors. Targeting tumor cell mitochondria (OXPHOS and β-OX) would effectively uncouple tumor cells from their hosts, leading to their acute starvation. In this context, we discuss new evidence that high-energy onco-metabolites (produced by the stroma) can confer drug resistance. Importantly, this metabolic chemo-resistance is reversed by blocking OXPHOS in cancer cell mitochondria, with drugs like Metformin, a mitochondrial “poison.” In summary, parasitic cancer metabolism is achieved architecturally by dividing tumor tissue into at least two well-defined opposing “metabolic compartments:” catabolic and anabolic.Key words: mitochondria, cancer metabolism, autophagy, mitophagy, aerobic glycolysis, lipolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, beta-oxidation, Metformin, drug discovery, drug resistance, chemo-resistance, Warburg effect, oncometabolite, parasite, metabolic compartments     

Could Probiotics and Postbiotics Function as “Silver Bullet” in the Post-COVID-19 Era?

We are currently experiencing the realities of the most severe pandemic within living memory, with major impacts on the health and economic well-being of our planet. The scientific community has demonstrated an unprecedented mobilization capability, with the rapid development of vaccines and drugs targeting the protection of human life and palliative measures for infected individuals. However, are we adequately prepared for ongoing defense against COVID-19 and its variants in the post-pandemic world? Moreover, are we equipped to provide a satisfactory quality of life for individuals who are recovering from COVID-19 disease? What are the possibilities for the acceleration of the recovery process? Here, we give special consideration to the potential and already-demonstrated role of probiotics and traditional medical approaches to the management of current and potential future encounters with our major virus adversaries.