Capacitive Energy Harvesting Using Highly Stretchable Silicone–Carbon Nanotube Composite Electrodes

Capacitive energy harvesters utilizing elastic dielectrics offer a simple way to harvest energy from natural mechanical energy sources. While the technology is promising due to its simplicity and low cost combined with high efficiency and energy density, there are still material challenges that must be addressed. For effective energy conversion, the dielectric material should have low dielectric and mechanical losses, while the compliant electrodes should be able to withstand large strains over an extended lifetime without any substantial loss of conductivity. The development of soft flexible and stretchable silicone–carbon nanotube composite electrodes is presented for use in capacitive energy harvesting and strain sensing. The composite is capable of being stretched to over 150% strain with a minimal increase in the baseline resistance and excellent recovery of electrical properties upon relaxation. The electrode displays excellent strain‐rate stability and is capable of being stretched at a strain rate of 1000% s^?1 with only a small increase in resistance. The electrode also displays excellent electrical stability. Applications of the composite electrode include highly stretchable soft capacitors and energy generators. The capacitance change along with stretching could be either linear for sensor purposes or superlinear for improved energy gains as an energy harvester.     

Sex-specific pleiotropic changes in emotional behavior and alcohol consumption in human α-synuclein A53T transgenic mice during early adulthood

Point mutations in the α-synuclein coding gene may lead to the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). PD is often accompanied by other psychiatric conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and drug use disorders, which typically emerge in adulthood. Some of these point mutations, such as SNCA and A30T, have been linked to behavioral effects that are not commonly associated with PD, especially regarding alcohol consumption patterns. In this study, we investigated whether the familial PD point mutation A53T is associated with changes in alcohol consumption behavior and emotional states at ages not yet characterized by α-synuclein accumulation. The affective and alcohol-drinking phenotypes remained unaltered in female PDGF-hA53T-synuclein-transgenic (A53T) mice during both early and late adulthood. Brain region-specific activation of ceramide-producing enzymes, acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), and neutral sphingomyelinase (NSM), known for their neuroprotective properties, was observed during early adulthood but not in late adulthood. In males, the A53T mutation was linked to a reduction in alcohol consumption in both early and late adulthood. However, male A53T mice displayed increased anxiety- and depression-like behaviors during both early and late adulthood. Enhanced ASM activity in the dorsal mesencephalon and ventral hippocampus may potentially contribute to these adverse behavioral effects of the mutation in males during late adulthood. In summary, the A53T gene mutation was associated with diverse changes in emotional states and alcohol consumption behavior long before the onset of PD, and these effects varied by sex. These alterations in behavior may be linked to changes in brain ceramide metabolism.

     

Spectroscopic aspects of the coordination modes of 2,4-dithiohydantoins: Experimental and theoretical study on copper and nickel complexes of cyclohexanespiro-5-(2,4-dithiohydantoin)

The complexation of cyclohexanespiro-5-(2,4-dithiohydantoin), L, with copper and nickel was studied by means of experimental and theoretical methods. The Cu(I) and Ni(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized using ¹³C CPMAS NMR, IR and FAB-MS. Reduction of Cu(II) ions and the formation of Cu(I) complexes with dithiohydantoin was proved. Various coordination modes were investigated on the basis of calculated (DFT-GIAO) shielding constants of the free ligand and model structures of the complexes. General trends in the changes of spectroscopic parameters (NMR chemical shifts, vibrational modes) upon different types of coordination were outlined. Dimeric structures for the Cu(I) and Ni(II) complexes were proposed in which the ligands were coordinated in N3^S4- and N3^S2-bridging ways, respectively, acting as monoanions. The results demonstrate that the combined experimental (¹³C CPMAS NMR, IR) and theoretical (DFT) approach can be used to characterize the molecular structure of solid complexes for which crystallographic data are not available.     

The pretreatment effect on wheat straw saccharification

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is potentially an attractive method for converting cellulose into glucose which can then be used as a chemical feed or as a growth substrate for a number of microorganisms to produce microbial products. An enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat straw with cellulase preparation “Trichocease” was made. The wheat straw used was pretreated mechanically and with NaOH. A procedure of pretreatment was investigated in 26 variants. The dynamics of enzymatic hydrolysis was studied. An assay of this dynamics based on the amount of reducing sugars formed during the cellulase reaction and depending upon enzyme and substrate concentration and time of action was carried out.     

Geometric invariant core for the CL and CH1 domains of immunoglobulin molecules.

A previously developed algorithmic method for identifying a geometric invariant of protein structures, termed geometrical core, is extended to the C(L) and C(H1) domains of immunoglobulin molecules. The method uses the matrix of C(alpha) - C(alpha) distances and does not require the usual superposition of structures. The result of applying the algorithm to 53 Immunoglobulin structures led to the identification of two geometrical core sets of C(alpha) atom positions for the C(L) and C(H1) domains.     

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Induced Synthesis of a Novel Viral Factor Mediates Efficient Replication of Genotype-1 Hepatitis E Virus

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes acute hepatitis in many parts of the world including Asia, Africa and Latin America. Though self-limiting in normal individuals, it results in ~30% mortality in infected pregnant women. It has also been reported to cause acute and chronic hepatitis in organ transplant patients. Of the seven viral genotypes, genotype-1 virus infects humans and is a major public health concern in South Asian countries. Sporadic cases of genotype-3 and 4 infection in human and animals such as pigs, deer, mongeese have been reported primarily from industrialized countries. Genotype-5, 6 and 7 viruses are known to infect animals such as wild boar and camel, respectively. Genotype-3 and 4 viruses have been successfully propagated in the laboratory in mammalian cell culture. However, genotype-1 virus replicates poorly in mammalian cell culture and no other efficient model exists to study its life cycle. Here, we report that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress promotes genotype-1 HEV replication by inducing cap-independent, internal initiation mediated translation of a novel viral protein (named ORF4). Importantly, ORF4 expression and stimulatory effect of ER stress inducers on viral replication is specific to genotype-1. ORF4 protein sequence is mostly conserved among genotype-1 HEV isolates and ORF4 specific antibodies were detected in genotype-1 HEV patient serum. ORF4 interacted with multiple viral and host proteins and assembled a protein complex consisting of viral helicase, RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), X, host eEF1α1 (eukaryotic elongation factor 1 isoform-1) and tubulinβ. In association with eEF1α1, ORF4 stimulated viral RdRp activity. Furthermore, human hepatoma cells that stably express ORF4 or engineered proteasome resistant ORF4 mutant genome permitted enhanced viral replication. These findings reveal a positive role of ER stress in promoting genotype-1 HEV replication and pave the way towards development of an efficient model of the virus.     

Robust compensator control of continuous fermentation processes

The paper deals with the robust compensator control of continuous fermentation processes described by a set of three non-linear differential equations. For the design purposes the non-linear model is transformed into linear one with interval parameters. Robust state space compensator is designed by the internal model principle, which ensures robust step-wise set points asymptotic tracking and external disturbances rejection in the wide working range. The effectiveness of the algorithm designed is performed by computer simulation experiments. An important feature of the proposed algorithms is their robustness over parameter uncertainties in the process models.     

Characterization of human,mouse and rabbit anti-gliadin antibodies by ELISA and western blotting

Monoclonal, hyperimmune rabbit and human serum anti-gliadin antibodies were analyzed by ELISA and immunoblotting techniques. In Western blotting the difference in reactivity between monoclonal and human antibodies was quantitative rather than qualitative. Rabbit antisera differed in reactivity according to the protein used for immunization. The rabbits immunized by the peptic-tryptic pancreatic digest of gliadin reacted similarly to the patients. In ELISA, significantly higher reactivity with crude, A-, glyc-gli, α-, β- and ω-gliadins was found in the patients' sera than in controls. Dedicated to Prof. MUDr. Ctirad John, DrSc. on the occasion of his 75th birthday