Corrugation Enabled Asymmetrically Ultrastretchable (95%) Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells with High Efficiency (19%)

Stretchable solar cells are of growing interest due their key role in realizing many applications such as wearables and biomedical devices. Ultrastretchability, high energy‐efficiency, biocompatibility, and mechanical resilience are essential characteristics of such energy harvesting devices. Here, the development of wafer‐scale monocrystalline silicon solar cells with world‐record ultrastretchability (95%) and efficiency (19%) is demonstrated using a laser‐patterning based corrugation technique. The demonstrated approach transforms interdigitated back contacts (IBC) based rigid solar cells into mechanically reliable but ultrastretchable cells with negligible degradation in the electric performance in terms of current density, open‐circuit voltage, and fill factor. The corrugation method is based on the creation of alternating grooves resulting in silicon islands with different shapes. The stretchability is achieved by orthogonally aligning the active silicon islands to the applied tensile stress and using a biocompatible elastomer (Ecoflex) as a stretchable substrate. The resulting mechanics ensure that the brittle silicon areas do not experience significant mechanical stresses upon asymmetrical stretching. Different patterns are studied including linear, diamond, and triangular patterns, each of which results in a different stretchability and loss of active silicon area. Finally, finite element method based simulation is conducted to study the generated deformation in the different patterned solar cells.     

GPCR-MPredictor: multi-level prediction of G protein-coupled receptors using genetic ensemble

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are transmembrane proteins, which transduce signals from extracellular ligands to intracellular G protein. Automatic classification of GPCRs can provide important information for the development of novel drugs in pharmaceutical industry. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary approach, GPCR-MPredictor, which combines individual classifiers for predicting GPCRs. GPCR-MPredictor is a web predictor that can efficiently predict GPCRs at five levels. The first level determines whether a protein sequence is a GPCR or a non-GPCR. If the predicted sequence is a GPCR, then it is further classified into family, subfamily, sub-subfamily, and subtype levels. In this work, our aim is to analyze the discriminative power of different feature extraction and classification strategies in case of GPCRs prediction and then to use an evolutionary ensemble approach for enhanced prediction performance. Features are extracted using amino acid composition, pseudo amino acid composition, and dipeptide composition of protein sequences. Different classification approaches, such as k-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), probabilistic neural networks (PNN), J48, Adaboost, and Naives Bayes, have been used to classify GPCRs. The proposed hierarchical GA-based ensemble classifier exploits the prediction results of SVM, KNN, PNN, and J48 at each level. The GA-based ensemble yields an accuracy of 99.75, 92.45, 87.80, 83.57, and 96.17% at the five levels, on the first dataset. We further perform predictions on a dataset consisting of 8,000 GPCRs at the family, subfamily, and sub-subfamily level, and on two other datasets of 365 and 167 GPCRs at the second and fourth levels, respectively. In comparison with the existing methods, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed GPCR-MPredictor in classifying GPCRs families. It is accessible at .     

Seed Treatment with Auxins Modulates Growth and Ion Partitioning in Salt-stressed Wheat Plants

Experiments were performed to determine whether seed priming with different concentrations （100, 150, and 200 mg/L） of auxins （indoleacetic acid （IAA）, indolebutyric acid （IBA）, or their precursor tryptophane （Trp）） could alter salinity induced perturbances in salicylic acid and ion concentrations and, hence, growth in wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） cultivars, namely M.H.-97 （salt intolerant） and tnqtab-91 （salt tolerant）. Primed and non-primed seeds were sown in Petri dishes in a growth room, as well as in a field treated with 15 dS/m NaCl salinity. All priming agents, except IBA, increased the final germination percentage in both cultivars. The seedlings of either cultivar raised from Trp-treated seeds had greater dry biomass when under salt stress. In field experiments, Trp priming was much more effective in mediating the increase in grain yield, irrespective of the cultivar, under salt stress. The alleviatory effect of Trp was found to be associated with reduced uptake of Na^＋ in the roots and subsequent translocation to the shoots, as well as increased partitioning of Ca^＋ in the roots of salt-stressed wheat plants. Plants of both cultivars raised from Trp-and IAA-treated seeds accumulated free salicylic acid in their leaves when under salt stress. Overall, the Trp priming-induced improvement in germination and the subsequent growth of wheat plants could be related to ion homeostasis when under salt stress. The possible involvement of salicylic acid in the Trp priming-induced better growth under Conditions of salt stress is discussed.     

Antistaphylococcal and biofilm inhibitory activities of acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Boswellia serrata</Emphasis>

Background  

Boswellic acids are pentacyclic triterpenes, which are produced in plants belonging to the genus Boswellia. Boswellic acids appear in the resin exudates of the plant and it makes up 25-35% of the resin. β-boswellic acid, 11-keto-β-boswellic acid and acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid have been implicated in apoptosis of cancer cells, particularly that of brain tumors and cells affected by leukemia or colon cancer. These molecules are also associated with potent antimicrobial activities. The present study describes the antimicrobial activities of boswellic acid molecules against 112 pathogenic bacterial isolates including ATCC strains. Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA), which exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity, was further evaluated in time kill studies, postantibiotic effect (PAE) and biofilm susceptibility assay. The mechanism of action of AKBA was investigated by propidium iodide uptake, leakage of 260 and 280 nm absorbing material assays.     

Synthesis and evaluation of isosteres of N-methyl indolo[3,2-b]-quinoline (cryptolepine) as new antiinfective agents

Isosteres of cryptolepine (1) were synthesized and evaluated for their antiinfective activities. Overall, the sulfur isostere, 5-methyl benzothieno[3,2-b]quinolinium salt (5b), was equipotent to 1 and has shown no cytotoxicity at 23.8 microg/mL. Compound 5b was also found to have a broad spectrum of activity. Both the carbon and oxygen isosteres were less potent than cryptolepine. A limited library of 2-substituted analogs of 5b has been synthesized and evaluated in antifungal screens but did not show increase in potency compared to the unsubstituted 5b. Similarly, evaluation of tricyclic benzothieno[3,2-b]pyridines while showing promise in individual screens did not produce an overall increase in potency. Overall, the evaluation of the activities of 5b compared with standard antifungal/anti-protozoal agents suggests that the benzothienoquinoline scaffold could serve as a lead for optimization.     

Seasonality and vertical structure of light-attracted insect communities in a dipterocarp forest in Sarawak

Nocturnal flying insects were collected monthly for 13 months using ultra violet light-traps set at various vertical levels in a weakly-seasonal, tropical lowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. Abundance, faunal composition, size distribution and guild structure of these samples were analyzed with respect to temperal and vertical distributions. The nocturnal flying insect community in the canopy level was highly dominated by fig wasps (84%) in individual number, and by scarabaeid beetles (28%) in weight. A principal component analysis on monthly catches detected non-random, seasonal trends of insect abundance. The first two principal trends were an alternation of wetter (September to January) and less wet seasons (February to August) and an alternation between the least wet (January to March) and the other seasons. Many insect groups were less abundant in the least wet season than the other seasons, whilst inverse patterns were found in Scarabaeidae and Tenebrionidae. Significantly positive and negative correlations between monthly catch and rainfall were detected only in ovule-feeders and in phloem-feeders, respectively. Delayed, significant negative correlations between monthly catch and 1–3 month preceding rainfall were more frequently detected in phytophages, phloem-feeders, seed-feeders, wood-borers and scavengers. The peak in abundance along vertical levels were found at the canopy level (35 m) for phloem-, ovule-, seed-, root-, fungal-feeders and nectar collectors, at an upper subcanopy level (25 m) for scavengers and aquatic predators, and at a middle subcanopy level (17 m) for ants. Catches at the emergent level (45 m) did not exceed those at the canopy level.     

Possible role of metal ionophore against zinc induced cognitive dysfunction in <Emphasis Type=SmallCaps>d-</Emphasis>galactose senescent mice

Metal ionophores are considered as potential anti-dementia agents, and some are currently undergoing clinical trials. Many metals are known to accumulate and distribute abnormally in the aging brain. Alterations in zinc metal homeostasis in the glutaminergic synapse could contribute to ageing and the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The present study was designed to investigate the effect of metal ionophores on long term administration of zinc in D-galactose induced senescent mice. The ageing model was established by combined administration of zinc and D-galactose to mice for 6 weeks. A novel metal ionophore, PBT-2 was given daily to zinc-induced d-galactose senescent mice. The cognitive behaviour of mice was monitored using the Morris Water Maze. The anti-oxidant status and amyloidogenic activity in the ageing mouse was measured by determining mito-oxidative parameters and deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain. Systemic administration of both zinc and D-galactose significantly produced memory deficits, mito-oxidative damage, heightened acetylcholinesterase enzymatic activity and deposition of amyloid-β. Treatment with PBT-2 significantly improved behavioural deficits, biochemical profiles, cellular damage, and curbed the deposition of APP in zinc-induced senescent mice. These findings suggest that PBT-2, acting as a metal protein attenuating compound, may be helpful in the prevention of AD or alleviation of ageing.     

A simple and efficient method for DNA extraction from grapevine cultivars andVitis species

A quick, simple, and reliable method for the extraction of DNA from grapevine species, hybrids, andAmpelopsis brevipedunculata (Vitaceae) has been developed. This method, based on that of Doyle and Doyle (1990), is a CTBA-based extraction procedure modified by the use of NaCl to remove polysaccharides and PVP to eliminate polyphenols during DNA purification. The method has also been used successfully for extraction of total DNA from other fruit species such as apple (Malus domestica), apricot (Prunus armeniaca), cherry (Prunus avium), peach (Prunus persica), plum (Prunus domestica), and raspberry (Rubus idaeus). DNA yield from this procedure is high (up to 1 mg/g of leaf tissue). DNA is completely digestible with restriction endonucleases and amplifiable in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), indicating freedom from common contaminating compounds.     

Unsymmetrically disubstituted urea derivatives: A potent class of antiglycating agents

A series of unsymmetrically disubstituted urea derivatives 1–28 has been synthesized and screened for their antiglycation activity in vitro. Compounds 26 (IC₅₀ = 4.26 ± 0.25 μM), 1 (IC₅₀ = 5.8 ± 0.08 μM), 22 (IC₅₀ = 4.26 ± 0.25 μM), 6 (IC₅₀ = 6.4 ± 0.02 μM), 5 (IC₅₀ = 6.6 ± 0.26 μM), 2 (IC₅₀ = 7.02 ± 0.31 μM), 3 (IC₅₀ = 7.14 ± 0.84 μM), 27 (IC₅₀ = 7.27 ± 0.36 μM), 4 (IC₅₀ = 8.16 ± 1.04 μM), 21 (IC₅₀ = 8.4 ± 0.15 μM), 23 (IC₅₀ = 9.0 ± 0.35 μM) and 13 (IC₅₀ = 15.22 ± 6.7 μM) showed an excellent antiglycation activity far better than the standard (rutin, IC₅₀ = 41.9 ± 2.3 μM). This study thus provides a series of potential molecules for further studies of antiglycation agents.