High Energy Demand Research Articles

Oncogenic Fatty Acid Metabolism Rewires Energy Supply Chain in Gastric Carcinogenesis

Background & AimsGastric carcinogenesis develops within a sequential carcinogenic cascade from pre-cancerous metaplasia to dysplasia and adenocarcinoma, and oncogenic gene activation can drive the process. Metabolic reprogramming is considered a key mechanism for cancer cell growth and proliferation. However, it remains unclear how metabolic changes contribute to the progression of metaplasia to dysplasia. We have examined metabolic dynamics during gastric carcinogenesis using a novel mouse model that induces Kras activation in zymogen-secreting chief cells. MethodsWe generated a Gif-rtTA;TetO-Cre;KrasG12D (GCK) mouse model which continuously induces active Kras expression in chief cells following doxycycline treatment. Histological examination and imaging mass spectrometry were performed in the GCK mouse stomachs at 2 to 14 weeks after doxycycline treatment. Mouse and human gastric organoids were used for metabolic enzyme inhibitor treatment. The GCK mice were treated with a stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) inhibitor to inhibit the fatty acid desaturation. Tissue microarrays were used to assess the SCD expression in human gastrointestinal cancers. ResultsThe GCK mice developed metaplasia and high-grade dysplasia within 4 months. Metabolic reprogramming from glycolysis to fatty acid metabolism occurred during metaplasia progression to dysplasia. Altered fatty acid desaturation through SCD produces a novel Eicosenoic acid, which fuels dysplastic cell hyperproliferation and survival. The SCD inhibitor killed both mouse and human dysplastic organoids and selectively targeted dysplastic cells in vivo. SCD was upregulated during carcinogenesis in human gastrointestinal cancers. ConclusionsActive Kras expression only in gastric chief cells drives the full spectrum of gastric carcinogenesis. Also, oncogenic metabolic rewiring is an essential adaptation for high energy demand in dysplastic cells.

KAJIAN EKONOMI PEMANFAATAN PLTS ATAP DI GEDUNG RUMAH JABATAN GUBERNUR PROVINSI BALI

To meet the high demand for electrical energy, an alternative solution that can be applied is the use of New and Renewable EnergyIndonesia targets to achieve Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2060. Planning for a rooftop PLTS at the Office of the Governor of the Province of Bali is expected to be able to assist in the expansion of PLTS in the Province of Bali in terms of strengthening Governor Regulations/Regional Regulations that support the use of Solar Power Plants. The design of the rooftop PLTS at the Bali Province Governor's Office Building was carried out using 4 scenarios. Scenario 1 is a design that utilizes the roof area facing the north side. Scenario 2 is by utilizing the roof area only to meet the peak load of the building. Scenario 3 is a design that utilizes the entire roof area of the building that best meets the criteria. Meanwhile, scenario 4 is scenario 2 but uses a microinverter device. The Scenario 2 PLTS design is studied economically because the return on investment is the fastest compared to the other scenario PLTS designs. Based on the economic feasibility analysis of the investment, scenario 2 design has a Net Present Value (NPV) of Rp. 158,771,001, Profitability Index (PI) of 1.32 and a Discounted Payback Period (DPP) of 10.7 years.

Economy decarbonization using green hydrogen and electricity, forecasts and sensitivity analysis for the Canarian Islands in 2040

The complete implementation of clean energies in the final uses of energy is essential to meet the challenge of total decarbonization of the European economy. Although the autonomous operation of full renewable systems is difficult without the support of reliable generation sources. Therefore, this work explores their use in the Canary Archipelago, which has a high energy demand of about 19 TWh/year according to forecasts for 2040. Currently, the archipelago faces economic, social and environmental challenges to overcome its deep dependence on fossil fuels. One of the most delicate issues to solve stems from the intrinsic variability of the meteorological conditions on which the two main sources of renewable generation, the sun and the wind, are based. Therefore, the use of renewable systems is inescapably linked to the use of storage technologies and/or other generation sources that provide system reliability. For these purposes, this research work has modeled using HOMER software two scenarios that are considered the most probable for the year 2040. These scenarios include the consideration of the two currently used energy carriers, electricity and hydrogen. The first scenario maximizes the use of electricity in final energy consumption, while the second maximizes hydrogen demands. In both cases, the optimal generation mix has been determined, primarily based on economic criteria, but also taking into consideration the different aspects of engineering and land occupation, finally obtaining the lowest Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE). Then, the islands' most widespread renewable resources, solar and wind, have been harnessed. But other natural resources of the islands have also been used, such as geothermal energy, given the volcanic origin of the islands, as well as their own biomass resources. In addition, storage in the form of reversible pumping has also been maximized, taking full advantage of the different locations on the islands, given their rugged terrain. The simulations reach system LCOEs below 10 c€/kWh and surpluses below 10 % of the generated energy. Demonstrating the suitability and capacity of these fully renewable systems to operate reliably and autonomously, being able to generate, store and distribute the necessary energy to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and, therefore, be free of greenhouse gases (GHG).

Power politics: How electric grievances shape election outcomes

We argue in this study that higher electricity expenditures increase voter support for the radical right because these parties oppose costly climate mitigation policies. We use data from Sweden, which experiences extremely high demand for heating energy during winter months. The demand for electricity differs greatly between geographical regions due to large temperature differences, from 0 in the southern regions to −50 Celsius in the north. We create our independent variable of electric grievances based on this variation, which increases faster with the spot price of electricity in neighborhoods with a low disposable income relative to the average electricity bill in that area. Using this setup, we find that electric grievances are associated with increased support for the radical right. We argue that soaring electricity prices tend to hurt parties with a mainstream profile since voters associate them them with more ambitious decarbonization policies, while the radical right gain support, since they tend to oppose costly solutions. Our results suggests that the transition to renewable energy can grind to a halt when electricity prices rise higher because voters may abandon the parties who push for the green transition.

New Low Cost Sulfide Electrolytes for All Solid State Batteries

The low cost, safe and high energy storage technology is needed to ensure a continuous energy supply from renewal energy sources. However, current Li-ion batteries (LiBs) are facing challenges to fulfil the safety and high energy and power demands of fast-growing market of electric vehicles (EVs). In particular, liquid organic electrolytes used in conventional LIBs have raised the safety issues due to serious fire risk. Solid state batteries (SSBs) are considered to provide better safety as compared to LIBs because of solid electrolytes (SEs) are used in SSBs instead of flammable organic liquid based electrolytes [1-4].The various types of solid electrolytes have already been reported for SSBs which can be divided into oxides, sulfides, halides and polymers based on their properties, advantages and disadvantages [5]. Among these solid electrolytes, sulfide solid electrolytes have advantages over other due to high conductivity and ductile nature of sulfides [6]. The discovery of Li10GeP2S12 solid electrolyte called LGPS structured sulfide electrolyte have shown great potential to replace liquid electrolyte as ionic conductivity of LGPS was found 1.2×10-2 S cm-1 at room temperature comparable to the conductivity of organic liquid electrolyte [7]. However, Li10GeP2S12 electrolyte suffers with poor cyclability in solid state batteries due to reduction of Ge+4 ions to Ge0, and instable against lithium metal anode. Moreover, germanium (Ge) is a rare and expensive element, which limits the industrial application of Li10GeP2S12 [8, 9].Therefore, in the present work, we have developed LGPS structured based new Ge free solid electrolytes with high conductivity and better electrochemical stability. The phase identification of newly synthesized solid electrolytes is done by X-ray diffractometer technique along with Rietveld refinement analysis. The conductivity of prepared solid electrolytes is determined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The ionic conductivity of newly synthesised electrolytes has reached upto 0.67 mS cm-1 at room temperature. The electrochemical analysis of prepared solid electrolytes is done using Li-metal in both side (in symmetric cell) as well as using standard cathode and anode materials (full cell).

Emissions of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) from Coal-Fired Power Plants in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: First Attempts of a Validation of TROPOMI Satellite Products with Airborne In Situ Measurements

The Western Balkan region is known for emitting alarmingly high sulphur dioxide amounts from coal-fired power plants. Though a number of environmental regulations have been introduced in recent years (e.g. desulphurisation installations, construction of modern power plants), the pollution burden is still much higher than recommended by the authorities. A number of different montoring systems are required to observe the growing pollution situation in the Western Balkan region, partly caused by a high energy demand from outside (e.g. Western Europe).Several of the top ten SO2 polluters in Europe are located in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. Here we present the first in situ measurements of sulphur dioxide in this region conducted with a German research aircraft in cooperation with local scientists in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. Two of the strongtest emitting coalfired power plants were selected for the measurements in autumn 2020: Tuzla in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nikola Tesla in Serbia (Nikola Tesla). The measurements were mainly conducted in the boundary layer (below ~1 km altitude in winter). Downwind of the power plants, extremely high SO2 mixing ratios exceeding 100 parts per billion (ppb = nmol mol-1 ) were measured at a distance of ~20-40 km from the sources. The SO2 plumes from the power plants were trapped in well-defined inversion layers between ~500-1000 m altitude. The airborne measurements can be used to validate synchronous spaceborne SO2 measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Sentinel-5P satellite. A first intercomparison indicates some problems with dense smoke clouds frequently covering these countries in the winter months. However, it turned out that the Nikola Tesla flight is to some extent suited for a TROPOMI-SO2 validation, since it was obtained during cloud-free conditions with a well-defined vertical extension of the probed SO2 plume (needed to estimate the Vertical Column Density, VCD, measured by the satellite). In addition, these airborne measurements accompanied by model simulations can be used to determine the SO2 emission strength of the power plants and to compare it to the source strength reported by the power plant operators. The results indicate a reasonable agreement between the airborne measurements, model results, emission inventories, and satellite measurements for the Nikola Tesla power plants.

Early environmental sustainability guidance on supercritical water gasification technologies for sugarcane bagasse management

The sugar industry is considered a high-energy-demand and wasteful industrial sector in many developing countries. Such a high energy demand can undermine the sugar industry's economic and environmental aspects. Shifting from a linear economy model to a circular economy (CE) can help this industrial sector solve the current economic and environmental crises, decrease dependencies on fossil-based energies, increase circularity, and save considerable resources. However, such a transition necessitates comprehensive pre-feasibility studies to avoid problem shifts. Herein, we compared some novel waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies from a life cycle assessment (LCA) point of view; (a) integrated supercritical water gasification (SCWG) at 700 °C with solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), (b) integrated SCWG at 700 °C with combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT), (c) cogeneration (Boiler), (d) integrated fixed-bed gasification combined cycle (IFXBGCC), and (e) integrated fluidized-bed gasification combined cycle (IFLBGCC). Iran, as a developing country with high dependencies on fossil resources and less CE implementation, was selected as a case study. Scenarios were compared using a functional unit (FU) of thermal management of 1 tonne of bagasse. SCWG is found to be an environmentally superior approach when hydrogen production is the primary function of the system. Otherwise, using boiler and steam turbine is is still the best approach to generate heat and electricity from bagasse. Direct combustion in the boiler showed considerable savings in climate change, i.e., 469 kg CO2 eq saving/FU. The LCA results showed that bagasse to energy throughout direct combustion is a promising pathway to generating clean energy; in addition to helping industries earn more income, and contribute to sustainable development.

Novel approach for optimizing wind-PV hybrid system for RO desalination using differential evolution algorithm

Access to clean water is a basic human right, and reverse osmosis (RO) is a common method for producing potable water from seawater. However, the high energy demands of RO systems make them expensive to operate. Hybrid systems that combine renewable energy sources (RES), such as wind and photovoltaic (PV) systems, can reduce the energy costs associated with powering RO systems. In this paper, a novel approach that uses a differential evolution (DE) algorithm to optimize wind-PV hybrid systems for RO desalination is proposed. (DE) is a heuristic, population-based algorithm that searches for the global optimal solution. The approach aims to minimize the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and ensure that Desalinated water costs are within an appropriate range. The algorithm was used in a case study of the city of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, which faces significant water scarcity challenges. The results show that for an RO load demand of 1 kW, the optimized hybrid system's configuration includes a 26 PV panels with generation capacity of 7.67 kW, 2 wind turbines with 1 kW production capacity each and 9-battery storage system with 38.79 kWh storage capacity. The LCOE is 0.39 $/kWh for Dhahran city, and the cost of desalinated water falls between 1.98 and 2.16 $/m3, which is lower than the costs reported in the literature.

State of health estimation of second-life batteries through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and dimensionality reduction

When lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) reach the end of their useful life in electric vehicles (EVs), they can still be used in less demanding applications, a process known as second-life (SL). Nevertheless, to ensure a safe, efficient and reliable operation of the retired LiBs in a SL application, many tests and procedures should be done to determine their internal conditions, and naturally, one of the most important parameters to be determined in these procedures is the state of health (SoH). However, the tests to obtain this parameter are intrusive, requiring taking the LiBs out of service and performing successive discharge and charge cycles in laboratory benches with special equipment, which is costly, have a high energy demand, and is time-consuming. These limitations hinder the SL market since it is estimated that in the next few years, a significant amount of LiBs will be available for SL purposes. This work suggests an approach that employs experimental electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data and neural networks (NN) to assess the SoH of lithium-ion cells subjected to SL conditions. Also, a novel approach to perform the dimensionality reduction of the EIS measurements – reducing the time needed to perform the EIS measurement without the loss of significant data – is proposed, where the measurement time can be reduced to 19.10% of its original value, and the number of assets generated by the measurements can be reduced from 81 to 4. The proposed methodology was validated offline using two datasets of lithium-ion cells under SL conditions, the first one considers the EIS data of 395 Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) high-capacity cells, and the second one the EIS data of 36 Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) medium-capacity cells. Root mean square errors of 1.18% and 0.95% in the SoH estimation were obtained for the LFP and NMC cells, respectively. Therefore, the novel methodology that has been proposed in this work offers significant advantages over the conventional capacity test, including non-invasiveness, fast processing time and low energy consumption.

Comparative analysis of the Macroinvertebrate fauna of ecologically stable and traditional garden ponds

Freshwater habitats are considered to be highly vulnerable globally. For some species, mainly invertebrates, artificial ponds created in urban gardens give suitable habitat or function as stepping stones. However, traditional garden ponds use expensive pieces of equipment with high energy demand and might release harmful chemicals into their environment. In contrast, the ecologically stable garden ponds, which are distinguished from the traditional garden ponds by their design and the complex ecosystem that maintains them, offer a solution for the problems of eutrophication and succession and maintain optimal water quality in an environmentally and cost-effective way. This study aimed to compare the aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna diversity between traditional garden ponds and ecologically stable garden ponds designed and constructed by the first author. Five ponds of both types were examined, by collecting biological specimens from 90 sampling points. Altogether 42 species were identified, and one taxon at the genus level. Our statistical analysis indicates that the ecologically stable ponds host a much richer macroinvertebrate fauna in terms of species abundance compared to traditional garden ponds.

Electrothermal interfacial evaporation through carbon-nanostructured composite membranes

High energy demand required in membrane distillation (MD) process to heat feed water and maintain the necessary temperature gradient across the membrane presents a challenge to widespread adoption of MD. In response to this challenge, surface heating membrane distillation (SHMD) has emerged as a promising solution. SHMD can employ solar or electrical energy to directly heat the membrane and feed, eliminating the need for an external heat source to heat feed water. In this study, we explore electrothermally-driven interfacial evaporation using a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-based composite membrane and further envision its utilization for high-efficient SHMD. Upon application of voltage, the resistance of the MWCNT leads to the conversion of electrical energy into heat, which is then uniformly transferred to feeds. The MWCNT-based composite membrane exhibited an evaporative water flux of up to 2.34 kg m−2h−1 with an associated energy efficiency of 61% and demonstrated outstanding localized surface heating performance. The employed membranes exhibited no significant variations in either resistance or surface temperature, regardless of the direction of the applied electric field. Energy parameters from the electrothermal membranes showed quantitative agreement with values reported for various electrothermal MD systems, suggesting the potential of the composite membranes in energy-efficient and cost-effective localized heating MD applications.

Current Status of Renewable Energy in Türkiye

The usage of renewable energy has an increasing trend to replace fossil fuel or other forms of energy that damage the environment in the last decades. Many countries have been realized the need for clean energy to reduce the greenhouse effect and carbon emissions. Turkey signed the Paris Agreement in 2016 and ratified in 2021, and set net zero carbon target by 2053. The objective of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to 1,5-2 degrees Celsius compared to preindustrial levels. However, the high demand for energy for industry or high installation fees of renewable energy can be limiting factors for developing countries like Turkey. Turkey is rich in terms of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and biomass. Even though Turkey is considered having one of the highest hydropower, wind, and geothermal energy potential among the European countries, the installed capacity is much lower compared to its potential. The current status of renewable energy sources and renewable energy potential of Turkey are evaluated in this review study.

Energy and cost analysis for a crop production in a vertical farm

Nowadays, the agricultural sector is undermined by arable land and water availability. Vertical farms represent an interesting solution offering the possibility to overcome these issues also reducing pesticides use. However, their high energy demands make it crucial to develop an effective methodology to attribute the specific energy cost to the kilogram of each product harvested. A multi-level model considering the elements that intervene in the energy balance characterizing the cultivation phase in vertical farms is introduced below. A parametric analysis is carried out with it, considering different cities and multiple scenarios in terms of lighting efficiency and intensity, leaf surface temperature, electricity and natural gas cost. The results unveil a strong dependence of the total energy consumption and the specific cost of the product on external conditions, such as the climate, the efficiency of the electric national system and the energy cost. Notably, in Riyadh, the energy consumption (10.1 GWh∙year-1) is up to 86% higher than in Stockholm and 38% higher than in Naples. By means of the internal conditions’ optimization, the specific cost for energy of the lettuce production in the vertical farm growth chamber, is 0.85 €∙kg−1 in Stockholm, 1.35 €∙kg−1 in Naples and 1.75 €∙kg−1 in Riyadh.

Carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1A is potentially involved in bovine herpesvirus 1 productive infection

Bovine herpesvirus 1(BoHV-1) is an important bovine pathogen that causes great economic loss to cattle farms worldwide. The virus-productive infection in bovine kidney (MDBK) cells results in ATP depletion. The mechanisms are not well understood. Mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) is an important energy source in many tissues with high energy demand. Since carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1 A (CPT1A) is the rate-limiting enzyme of FAO, we investigated the interactions between virus-productive infection and CPT1A signaling. Here, we found that virus-productive infection at the later stage significantly decreased CPT1A protein levels in all the detected cells, including MDBK, A549, and Neuro-2A cells, differentially altered the accumulation of CPT1A proteins in the nucleus and cytosol, and re-localized the protein in the nucleus. Etomoxir (ETO), an irreversible inhibitor of CPT1A, inhibited viral replication and partially interfered with the ability of BoHV-1 to alter CPT1A accumulation in the nucleus but not in the cytosol. Furthermore, ETO consistently reduced RNA levels of two viral regulatory proteins (bICP0 and bICP22) and protein expression of virion-associated proteins during productive infection, further supporting the important roles of CPT1A signaling in BoHV-1 productive infection. These data, for the first time, suggest that CPT1A is potentially involved in BoHV-1 productive infection.

Analysis of Electrical Energy Consumption in Office Buildings of the Institute Technology of Sumatra in Energy Conservation and Efficiency Efforts

Electrical energy is one of the basic human needs in carrying out various activities or daily activities, especially in office buildings such as office buildings of state higher education institutions, namely the Sumatra Institute of Technology (ITERA). Office buildings are the third highest consumer of electrical energy after shopping centers and hotels. The high demand for electrical energy requires the user sector to make efficiency in energy use. Before making efficiency, it is necessary to know the profile of electrical energy consumption including energy consumption intensity (ECI) and significant energy users. Therefore, in this study, an analysis of electrical energy consumption in each ITERA office building was carried out, through observation and interviews according to SNI / ISO 50002: 2018 energy audit procedures. The results obtained show that the total energy use of the 6 largest buildings (A, B, C, D, E, and F) in May 2023 is 144768 kWh and from the calculation of the ECI value is in the very efficient category (7.44 kWh/m2/month). From 6 existing buildings, there are 3 buildings that are very efficient, 1 building is efficient, and 2 buildings are quite efficient. Then, significant energy users were found by 83% in building C AC. Recommendations for saving energy in the effort of energy conservation and efficiency that can be done include, making changes in habits / patterns of use of electrical energy user equipment, especially in air conditioners and dispensers, so as to save electricity 2-21%, and retrofitting refrigerant AC types of split ducts and cassettes that still use R-22 with MC-22 which can save electricity 15-25%.

Adsorption-based post-combustion carbon capture assisted by synergetic heating and cooling

Adsorption carbon capture has shown its superiority in energy consumption and cost investment when compared with common amine scrubbing technologies. However, high regeneration energy demand of adsorbents is still a challenge for large-scale application. This paper proposes a temperature vacuum swing adsorption system integrated with auxiliary heating and cooling technology. Absorption chiller and double-stage absorption heat transformer (DAHT) are introduced from the perspective of adsorption and desorption process of CO2 capture system. Results indicate that when the duration of each step increases from 25 min to 45 min, the CO2 recovery rate decreases from almost 100 %–75.7 %, and CO2 purity increases slightly from 89.6 % to 91.1 %. Considering the temperature grade of waste heat, heat consumption of the absorption chiller assisted system is lower than that of DAHT for original and adjusted cases at a generation temperature of 58 °C. If the desorption temperature decreases from 120 °C to 100 °C, heat consumption of the absorption chiller decreases from 1.90 GJ·ton−1 to 1.76 GJ·ton−1, but the average capture capacity decreases from 306.3 ton·ton−1ad to 272.1 ton·ton−1ad. It is demonstrated that both absorption chiller and absorption heat transformer could be promising solutions to reducing the energy consumption of CO2 capture system. Absorption chiller has a priority over DAHT in regions with low temperature heat sources. Moreover, a tradeoff between adsorbent loss and heat consumption should be found when choosing the appropriate heat pump for practical application.

To What Extent Could Alternative Economic Models Increase Investment in the Renovation of and Reduce Energy Poverty in Social Housing in Flanders?

An important share of the social housing stock in Flanders is outdated, resulting in a high energy demand for heating. Energetic renovation is hence urgently needed. The current economic model, however, does not stimulate this due to a split incentive. As energy prices have increased in the past few years, more tenants have suffered from energy poverty. This paper investigates three alternative economic models aiming at increasing the incentive for renovation, while financially protecting the tenants. In the first alternative model, tenants are protected by inducing a maximal cost of living based on their income. In the second alternative model, a fixed rent is applied, while the third alternative model proposes to share the cost benefits of the energetic renovation. The paper analyses the alternative models by assessing the costs and income for social housing companies and the costs for tenants for an unrenovated building, a renovation with a low investment cost and a deep energetic renovation. The results show that limiting the cost of living based on income seems most interesting as this is beneficial for the tenants and gives an incentive for the social housing companies to renovate. To reduce energy poverty, a deep renovation is necessary.

Comprehensive Analysis of Geopolymer Materials: Properties, Environmental Impacts, and Applications

The advancement of eco-friendly technology in the construction sector has been improving rapidly in the last few years. As a result, multiple building materials were developed, enhanced, and proposed as replacements for some traditional materials. One notable example presents geopolymer as a substitute for ordinary Portland concrete (OPC). The manufacturing process of (OPC) generates CO2 emissions and a high energy demand, both of which contribute to ozone depletion and global warming. The implementation of geopolymer concrete (GPC) technology in the construction sector provides a path to more sustainable growth and a cleaner environment. This is due to geopolymer concrete’s ability to reduce environmental pollutants and reduce the construction industry’s carbon footprint. This is achieved through its unique composition, which typically involves industrial byproducts like fly ash or slag. These materials, rich in silicon and aluminum, react with alkaline solutions to form a binding gel, bypassing the need for the high-energy clinker production required in OPC. The use of such byproducts not only reduces CO2 emissions but also contributes to waste minimization. Additionally, geopolymer offers extra advantages compared to OPC, including improved mechanical strength, enhanced durability, and good stability in acidic and alkaline settings. Such properties make GPC particularly suitable for a range of construction environments, from industrial applications to infrastructure projects exposed to harsh conditions. This paper comprehensively reviews the different characteristics of geopolymers, which include their composition, compressive strength, durability, and curing methods. Furthermore, the environmental impacts related to the manufacturing of geopolymer materials were evaluated through the life-cycle assessment method. The result demonstrated that geopolymer concrete maintains positive environmental impacts due to the fact that it produces fewer carbon dioxide CO2 emissions compared to OPC concrete during its manufacturing; however, geopolymer concrete had some minor negative environmental impacts, including abiotic depletion, human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, and acidification. These are important considerations for ongoing research aimed at further improving the sustainability of geopolymer concrete. Moreover, it was determined that silicate content, curing temperature, and the proportion of alkaline solution to binder are the major factors significantly influencing the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete. The advancement of geopolymer technology represents not just a stride toward more sustainable construction practices but also paves the way for innovative approaches in the field of building materials.

Impaired Mitochondrial Respiration in REM-Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Biomarker of Parkinson's Disease?

Idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is associated with prodromal Parkinson's disease (PD), but the mechanisms linking phenoconversion of iRBD to PD have not yet been clarified. Considering the association between mitochondrial dysfunction and sleep disturbances in PD, we explored mitochondrial activity in fibroblasts derived from iRBD patients to identify a biochemical profile that could mark the presence of impending neurodegeneration. The study involved 28 participants, divided into three groups: patients diagnosed with iRBD, PD patients converted from iRBD (RBD-PD), and healthy controls. We performed a comprehensive assessment of mitochondrial function, including an examination of mitochondrial morphology, analysis of mitochondrial protein expression levels by western blot, and measurement of mitochondrial respiration using the Seahorse XFe24 analyzer. In basal conditions, mitochondrial respiration did not differ between iRBD and control fibroblasts, but when cells were challenged with a higher energy demand, iRBD fibroblasts exhibited a significant (P = 0.006) drop in maximal and spare respiration compared to controls. Interestingly, RBD-PD patients showed the same alterations with a further significant reduction in oxygen consumption linked to adenosine triphosphate production (P = 0.032). Moreover, RBD-PD patients exhibited a significant decrease in protein levels of complexes III (P = 0.02) and V (P = 0.002) compared to controls, along with fragmentation of the mitochondrial network. iRBD patients showed similar, but milder alterations. Altogether, these findings suggest that mitochondrial dysfunctions in individuals with iRBD might predispose to worsening of the bioenergetic profile observed in RBD-PD patients, highlighting these alterations as potential predictors of phenoconversion to PD. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

3D bioprinted multilayered cerebrovascular conduits to study cancer extravasation mechanism related with vascular geometry

Cerebral vessels are composed of highly complex structures that facilitate blood perfusion necessary for meeting the high energy demands of the brain. Their geometrical complexities alter the biophysical behavior of circulating tumor cells in the brain, thereby influencing brain metastasis. However, recapitulation of the native cerebrovascular microenvironment that shows continuities between vascular geometry and metastatic cancer development has not been accomplished. Here, we apply an in-bath 3D triaxial bioprinting technique and a brain-specific hybrid bioink containing an ionically crosslinkable hydrogel to generate a mature three-layered cerebrovascular conduit with varying curvatures to investigate the physical and molecular mechanisms of cancer extravasation in vitro. We show that more tumor cells adhere at larger vascular curvature regions, suggesting that prolongation of tumor residence time under low velocity and wall shear stress accelerates the molecular signatures of metastatic potential, including endothelial barrier disruption, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, inflammatory response, and tumorigenesis. These findings provide insights into the underlying mechanisms driving brain metastases and facilitate future advances in pharmaceutical and medical research.