Reduced Form Research Articles

How hydrophobicity, side chains, and salt affect the dimensions of disordered proteins.

Despite the generally accepted role of the hydrophobic effect as the driving force for folding, many intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), including those with hydrophobic content typical of foldable proteins, behave nearly as self-avoiding random walks (SARWs) under physiological conditions. Here, we tested how temperature and ionic conditions influence the dimensions of the N-terminal domain of pertactin (PNt), an IDP with an amino acid composition typical of folded proteins. While PNt contracts somewhat with temperature, it nevertheless remains expanded over 10-58°C, with a Flory exponent, ν, >0.50. Both low and high ionic strength also produce contraction in PNt, but this contraction is mitigated by reducing charge segregation. With 46% glycine and low hydrophobicity, the reduced form of snow flea anti-freeze protein (red-sfAFP) is unaffected by temperature and ionic strength and persists as a near-SARW, ν ~ 0.54, arguing that the thermal contraction of PNt is due to stronger interactions between hydrophobic side chains. Additionally, red-sfAFP is a proxy for the polypeptide backbone, which has been thought to collapse in water. Increasing the glycine segregation in red-sfAFP had minimal effect on ν. Water remained a good solvent even with 21 consecutive glycine residues (ν > 0.5), and red-sfAFP variants lacked stable backbone hydrogen bonds according to hydrogen exchange. Similarly, changing glycine segregation has little impact on ν in other glycine-rich proteins. These findings underscore the generality that many disordered states can be expanded and unstructured, and that the hydrophobic effect alone is insufficient to drive significant chain collapse for typical protein sequences.

The Role of Glutathione in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic disease that usually develops in older people. Pathogenetic changes in this disease include anatomical and functional complexes. Harmful factors damage the retina and macula. These changes may lead to partial or total loss of vision. The disease can occur in two clinical forms: dry (the progression is slow and gentle) and exudative (wet-progression is acute and severe), which usually starts in the dry form; however, the coexistence of both forms is possible. The etiology of AMD is not fully understood, and the precise mechanisms of the development of this illness are still unknown. Extensive genetic studies have shown that AMD is a multi-factorial disease and that genetic determinants, along with external and internal environmental and metabolic-functional factors, are important risk factors. This article reviews the role of glutathione (GSH) enzymes engaged in maintaining the reduced form and polymorphism in glutathione S-transferase theta-1 (GSTT1) and glutathione S-transferase mu-1 (GSTM1) in the development of AMD. We only chose papers that confirmed the influence of the parameters on the development of AMD. Because GSH is the most important antioxidant in the eye, it is important to know the influence of the enzymes and genetic background to ensure an optimal level of glutathione concentration. Numerous studies have been conducted on how the glutathione system works till today. This paper presents the current state of knowledge about the changes in GSH, GST, GR, and GPx in AMD. GST studies clearly show increased activity in ill people, but for GPx, the results relating to activity are not so clear. Depending on the research, the results also suggest higher and lower GPx activity in patients with AMD. The analysis of polymorphisms in GST genes confirmed that mutations lead to weaker antioxidant barriers and may contribute to the development of AMD; unfortunately, a meta-analysis and some research did not confirm that connection. Unspecific results of many of the parameters that make up the glutathione system show many unknowns. It is so important to conduct further research to understand the exact mechanism of defense functions of glutathione against oxidative stress in the human eye.

Performance of negatively screened sustainable investments during crisis

We investigate the market performance of negatively screened environment social and governance (ESG) portfolio or sustainable investments prior to and during crisis. A general and simple method is developed under the ESG Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) framework for the assessment. The novelty is that this method can be employed when the parent portfolio is not a market portfolio. In this situation, both coefficients, alpha and beta, in the reduced form of regression have special interpretations and are informative. This paper examines 24 negatively screened ESG indices from the S&P, DJSI and MSCI data across various regions, firm sizes, and criteria of screening, for 2017 to 2021. Markov Switching Autoregressive (MSAR) model is adopted to identify the crisis regime. Our results show that the negatively screened ESG indices provide positive investors’ surpluses for ESG-motivated investors during the crisis, when the corresponding parent indices are the market portfolios. For ESG investments where market portfolios are not their parent indices, half of ESG indices under consideration still provide positive surplus with similar systematic risks as their parent indices during the crisis. The remaining ESG indices under-performs but has relatively lower systematic risks, implying resilience as compared to the corresponding parent indices during the crisis. Furthermore, we demonstrate the sensitivity analysis of treating a parent index as a market portfolio.

Reduced OxyR positively regulates the prodigiosin biosynthesis in Serratia marcescens FS14

OxyR, a LysR family transcriptional regulator, plays vital roles in bacterial oxidative stress response. In this study, we found that the deletion of oxyR not only inhibited the antioxidant capacity of S. marcescens FS14, but also decreased the production of prodigiosin. Further study revealed that OxyR activated the prodigiosin biosynthesis at the transcriptional level. Complementary results showed that not only the wild-type OxyR but also the reduced form OxyRC199S could activate the prodigiosin biosynthesis. We further demonstrated that reduced form of wild type OxyR could bind to the promoter of pig gene cluster, and identified the binding sites which is different from oxidized OxyR binding sites in E. coli. Our results demonstrated that OxyR in FS14 uses oxidized form to regulate the expression of the antioxidant related genes and utilizes reduced form to activate prodigiosin production. Further in silico analysis suggested that the activation of prodigiosin biosynthesis by reduced OxyR should be general in S. marcesencs. To our knowledge, this is the first report to show that OxyR uses the reduced form to activate the gene's expression, therefore, our results provide a novel regulation mechanism of OxyR.

Physicochemical properties of coatings obtained from dispersions of graphene oxide and its reduced form

Physicochemical properties of coatings obtained from dispersions of graphene oxide and its reduced form

Electrochemical Assay of Mammalian Cell Viability

We present the first use of amperometric detection to assess the viability of mammalian cells in continuous mode, directly in the cell culture medium. Vero or HeLa cells were injected into electrochemical sensors equipped with a 3-electrode system and containing DCIP 50 µM used as the redox mediator. DCIP was reduced by the viable cells and the reduced form was detected amperometrically at 300 mV vs silver pseudo-reference. The continuous regeneration of the oxidized form of the mediator ensured a stable redox state of the cell environment, allowing the cells to survive during the measurement time. The electrochemical response was related to cell metabolism (no response with dead cells or lysed cells) and depended on both mediator concentration and cell density. The protocol was applied to both cells in suspension and adhered cells. It was also adapted to detect trans-plasma membrane electron transfer (tPMET) by replacing DCIP by ferricyanide 500 µM and using linear scan voltammetry (2 mV/s). The pioneering results described here pave the way to the development of routine electrochemical assays for cell viability and for designing a cell-based analytical platform.

Capsicum chinense Jacq.-derived glutaredoxin (CcGRXS12) alters redox status of the cells to confer resistance against pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV-I).

The CcGRXS12 gene protects plants from cellular oxidative damage that are caused by both biotic and abiotic stresses. The protein possesses GSH-disulphide oxidoreductase property but lacks Fe-S cluster assembly mechanism. Glutaredoxins (Grxs) are small, ubiquitous and multi-functional proteins. They are present in different compartments of plant cells. A chloroplast targeted Class I GRX (CcGRXS12) gene was isolated from Capsicum chinense during the pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) infection. Functional characterization of the gene was performed in Nicotiana benthamiana transgenic plants transformed with native C. chinense GRX (Nb:GRX), GRX-fused with GFP (Nb:GRX-GFP) and GRX-truncated for chloroplast sequences fused with GFP (Nb:Δ2MGRX-GFP). Overexpression of CcGRXS12 inhibited the PMMoV-I accumulation at the later stage of infection, accompanied with the activation of salicylic acid (SA) pathway pathogenesis-related (PR) transcripts and suppression of JA/ET pathway transcripts. Further, the reduced accumulation of auxin-induced Glutathione-S-Transferase (pCNT103) in CcGRXS12 overexpressing lines indicated that the protein could protect the plants from the oxidative stress caused by the virus. PMMoV-I infection increased the accumulation of pyridine nucleotides (PNs) mainly due to the reduced form of PNs (NAD(P)H), and it was high in Nb:GRX-GFP lines compared to other transgenic lines. Apart from biotic stress, CcGRXS12 protects the plants from abiotic stress conditions caused by H2O2 and herbicide paraquat. CcGRXS12 exhibited GSH-disulphide oxidoreductase activity in vitro; however, it was devoid of complementary Fe-S cluster assembly mechanism found in yeast. Overall, this study proves that CcGRXS12 plays a crucial role during biotic and abiotic stress in plants.

Theoretical Evaluation of Fluorinated Resazurin Derivatives for In Vivo Applications.

Primarily owing to the pronounced fluorescence exhibited by its reduced form, resazurin (also known as alamarBlue®) is widely employed as a redox sensor to assess cell viability in in vitrostudies. In an effort to broaden its applicability for in vivo studies, molecular adjustments are necessary to align optical properties with the near-infrared imaging window while preserving redox properties. This study delves into the theoretical characterisation of a set of fluorinated resazurin derivatives proposed by Kachur et al., 2015 examining the influence of fluorination on structural and electrochemical properties. Assuming that the conductor-like polarisable continuum model mimics the solvent effect, the density functional level of theory combining M06-2X/6-311G* was used to calculate the redox potentials. Furthermore, (TD-)DFT calculations were performed with PBE0/def2-TZVP to evaluate nucleophilic characteristics, transition states for fluorination, relative energies, and fluorescence spectra. With the aim of exploring the potential of resazurin fluorinated derivatives as redox sensors tailored for in vivo applications, acid-base properties and partition coefficients were calculated. The theoretical characterisation has demonstrated its potential for designing novel molecules based on fundamental principles.

Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide: The Redox Sensor in Aging-Related Disorders.

Significance: Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) represents the reduced form of NAD+, and together they constitute the two forms of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide whose balance is named as the NAD+/NADH ratio. NAD+/NADH ratio is mainly involved in redox reactions since both the molecules are responsible forcarrying electrons to maintain redox homeostasis. Recent Advances: NADH acts as a reducing agent, and one of the most known processes exploiting NADH function is energy metabolism. The two main pathways generating energy and involving NADH are glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, occurring in cell cytosol and in the mitochondrial matrix, respectively. Critical Issues: Although NADH is primarily produced through the reduction of NAD+ and consumed by its own oxidation, several are the biosynthetic and consumption pathways, reflecting the NADH role in multiple cellular processes. This review gathers all the main current data referring to NADH incorrelation with metabolic and cellular pathways, such as its coenzyme activity, effect in cell death, and on modulating redox and calcium homeostasis. Future Directions: Gene expression control, as well as the potential impact on neurodegenerative, cardiac disorders and infections, suggest NADH application in clinical settings.Thorough clinical trials and continued investigation into the long-term impacts of NADH are crucial to validate its effectiveness and safety, thereby facilitating its wider acceptance as a therapeutic option in medical practice.

Biochemical characterization of a multiple prenyltransferase from Tolypocladium inflatum

Prenylation plays a pivotal role in the diversification and biological activities of natural products. This study presents the functional characterization of TolF, a multiple prenyltransferase from Tolypocladium inflatum. The heterologous expression of tolF in Aspergillus oryzae, coupled with feeding the transformed strain with paxilline, resulted in the production of 20- and 22-prenylpaxilline. Additionally, TolF demonstrated the ability to prenylated the reduced form of paxilline, β-paxitriol. A related prenyltransferase TerF from Chaunopycnis alba, exhibited similar substrate tolerance and regioselectivity. In vitro enzyme assays using purified recombinant enzymes TolF and TerF confirmed their capacity to catalyze prenylation of paxilline, β-paxitriol, and terpendole I. Based on previous reports, terpendole I should be considered a native substrate. This work not only enhances our understanding of the molecular basis and product diversity of prenylation reactions in indole diterpene biosynthesis, but also provides insights into the potential of fungal indole diterpene prenyltransferase to alter their position specificities for prenylation. This could be applicable for the synthesis of industrially useful compounds, including bioactive compounds, thereby opening up new avenues for the development of novel biosynthetic strategies and pharmaceuticals.Key points• The study characterizes TolF as a multiple prenyltransferase from Tolypocladium inflatum.• TerF from Chaunopycnis alba shows similar substrate tolerance and regioselectivity compared to TolF.• The research offers insights into the potential applications of fungal indole diterpene prenyltransferases.Graphical abstract

Migration and the environment: A look across perspectives

The decisions related to migration – where to live, when to move, and where to move – have a long history in economics. Different fields, within economics and outside economics, have developed different empirical methods to study migration and its consequences. However, these literatures rarely cite each other and there is little crossover between them. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to provide a simple theoretical framework for understanding general equilibrium effects in migration models that can help researchers think through the specific contexts in which these will be a problem for reduced form estimation. Second, to examine the different literatures in economics that have addressed the question of the effects of environmental amenities on migration with an eye to the differences across them and the way they can complement each other.

Selective Hydrogenation of Azobenzene to Hydrazobenzene via Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer from a Polyoxotungstate Cluster.

In this report, we describe proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactivity at the surface of the Keggin-type polyoxotungstate cluster [nBu4N]3[PWVI12O40] (PW12) in acetonitrile. Bond dissociation free energies (BDFEs) of the O-H groups generated upon reduction of PW12 in the presence of acid are determined through the construction of a potential-pKa diagram. The surface O-H bonds are found to be weak (BDFE(O-H)avg < 48 kcal mol-1), comparable to the BDFE of H2. This is consistent with the observed formation of H2 upon addition of a suitably strong organic acid, H2NPh2+ (pKaMeCN = 5.98), to the reduced form of the cluster. The one-electron reduced form of PW12 is isolated and used in conjunction with acid to realize the stoichiometric semihydrogenation of azobenzene via PCET from the surface of the reduced cluster.

Machine learning surrogates for surface complexation model of uranium sorption to oxides

The safety assessments of the geological storage of spent nuclear fuel require understanding the underground radionuclide mobility in case of a leakage from multi-barrier canisters. Uranium, the most common radionuclide in non-reprocessed spent nuclear fuels, is immobile in reduced form (U(IV) and highly mobile in an oxidized state (U(VI)). The latter form is considered one of the most dangerous environmental threats in the safety assessments of spent nuclear fuel repositories. The sorption of uranium to mineral surfaces surrounding the repository limits their mobility. We quantify uranium sorption using surface complexation models (SCMs). Unfortunately, numerical SCM solvers often encounter convergence problems due to the complex nature of convoluted equations and correlations between model parameters. This study explored two machine learning surrogates for the 2-pK Triple Layer Model of uranium retention by oxide surfaces if released as U(IV) in the oxidizing conditions: random forest regressor and deep neural networks. Our surrogate models, particularly DNN, accurately reproduce SCM model predictions at a fraction of the computational cost without any convergence issues. The safety assessment of spent fuel repositories, specifically the migration of leaked radioactive waste, will benefit from having ultrafast AI/ML surrogates for the computationally expensive sorption models that can be easily incorporated into larger-scale contaminant migration models. One such model is presented here.

The high price of green energy: Adjustments in general equilibrium

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:16px"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"&gt;&lt;span dir="ltr" lang="EN-US"&gt;&lt;span style="color:black"&gt;The high price of energy due to green energy policy will cause adjustments across the US economy predicted in the present general equilibrium model that includes energy Btu input with capital and labor to produce manufactures and services.&amp;nbsp; This same model in trade theory examines the effects of a tariff on an imported factor of production such as a natural resource or capital.&amp;nbsp; Corresponding error correction estimates of the reduced form equations of the model in annual 1970-2018 data prove robust and suggest model modifications.&amp;nbsp; A parametric approach to noncompetitive pricing based on unit cost diminishing with output brings the model much closer to the estimates.&amp;nbsp; Manufactures are revealed to have a higher degree of noncompetitive pricing than services.&amp;nbsp; Assuming constant elasticity of substitution production, a weak degree is revealed to provide the best fit to the error correction estimates.&amp;nbsp; The high price of green energy will cause an inelastic decrease in energy input resulting in increased energy revenue.&amp;nbsp; Outputs of both sectors fall, more in manufactures due to its energy intensity.&amp;nbsp; The capital return and wage also fall given the weak substitution of capital and labor relative to the price of energy.&amp;nbsp; The wage rises slightly in the model but falls considerably in the error correction estimate.&amp;nbsp; The only clear winner is energy input with increased revenue.&amp;nbsp; The government owns a large share of hydrocarbon reserves and will benefit from a higher price of energy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Humoral complementomics – exploration of noninvasive complement biomarkers as predictors of renal cancer progression

ABSTRACT Despite the progress of anti-cancer treatment, the prognosis of many patients with solid tumors is still dismal. Reliable noninvasive biomarkers are needed to predict patient survival and therapy response. Here, we propose a Humoral Complementomics approach: a work-up of assays to comprehensively evaluate complement proteins, activation fragments, and autoantibodies targeting complement proteins in plasma, which we correlated with the intratumoral complement activation, and/or local production, focusing on localized and metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). In two prospective ccRCC cohorts, plasma C2, C5, Factor D and properdin were elevated compared to healthy controls, reflecting an inflammatory phenotype that correlated with plasma calprotectin levels but did not associate with CRP or with patient prognosis. Conversely, autoantibodies against the complement C3 and the reduced form of FH (a tumor neo-epitope reported in lung cancer) correlated with a favorable outcome. Our findings pointed to a specific group of patients with elevated plasma C4d and C1s-C1INH complexes, indicating the initiation of the classical pathway, along with elevated Ba and Bb, indicating alternative pathway activation. Boostrapped Lasso regularized Cox regression revealed that the most predictive complement biomarkers were elevated plasma C4d and Bb levels at the time of surgery, which correlated with poor prognosis. In conclusion, we propose Humoral Complementomics as an unbiased approach to study the global state of the complement system in any pathological plasma sample and disease context. Its implementation for ccRCC revealed that elevated C4d and Bb in plasma are promising prognostic biomarkers, correlating with shorter progression-free survival.

Magnetic graphene derivates for efficient herbicide removal from aqueous solution through adsorption.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is an herbicide and is among the most widely distributed pollutant in the environment and wastewater. Herein is presented a complete comparison of adsorption performance between two different magnetic carbon nanomaterials: graphene oxide (GO) and its reduced form (rGO). Magnetic functionalization was performed employing a coprecipitation method, using only one source of Fe2+, requiring low energy, and potentially allowing the control of the amount of incorporated magnetite. For the first time in literature, a green reduction approach for GO with and without Fe3O4, maintaining the magnetic behavior after the reaction, and an adsorption performance comparison between both carbon nanomaterials are demonstrated. The nanoadsorbents were characterized by FTIR, XRD, Raman, VSM, XPS, and SEM analyses, which demonstrates the successful synthesis of graphene derivate, with different amounts of incorporate magnetite, resulting in distinct magnetization values. The reduction was confirmed by XPS and FTIR techniques. The type of adsorbent reveals that the amount of magnetite on nanomaterial surfaces has significant influence on adsorption capacity and removal efficiency. The procedure demonstrated that the best performance, for magnetic nanocomposites, was obtained by GO∙Fe3O4 1:1 and rGO∙Fe3O4 1:1, presenting values of removal percentage of 70.49 and 91.19%, respectively. The highest adsorption capacity was reached at pH 2.0 for GO∙Fe3O4 1:1 (69.98mgg-1) and rGO∙Fe3O4 1:1 (89.27mgg-1), through different interactions: π-π, cation-π, and hydrogen bonds. The adsorption phenomenon exhibited a high dependence on pH, initial concentration of adsorbate, and coexisting ions. Sips and PSO models demonstrate the best adjustment for experimental data, suggesting a heterogeneous surface and different energy sites, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters showed that the process was spontaneous and exothermic. Finally, the nanoadsorbents demonstrated a high efficiency in 2,4-D adsorption even after five adsorption/desorption cycles.

Isolation of an H2-dependent electron-bifurcating CO2-reducing megacomplex with MvhB polyferredoxin from Methanothermobacter marburgensis.

In the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic pathway, formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase (Fmd) catalyzes the formation of formylmethanofuran through reducing CO2. Heterodisulfide reductase (Hdr) provides two low potential electrons for the Fmd reaction using a flavin-based electron-bifurcating mechanism. [NiFe]-hydrogenase (Mvh) or formate dehydrogenase (Fdh) complexes with Hdr and provides electrons to Hdr from H2 and formate, or the reduced form of F420, respectively. Recently, an Fdh-Hdr complex was purified as a 3-MDa megacomplex that contained Fmd, and its three-dimensional structure was elucidated by cryo-electron microscopy. In contrast, the Mvh-Hdr complex has been characterized only as a complex without Fmd. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a 1-MDa Mvh-Hdr-Fmd megacomplex from Methanothermobacter marburgensis. After anion-exchange and hydrophobic chromatography was performed, the proteins with Hdr activity eluted in the 1- and 0.5-MDa fractions during size exclusion chromatography. Considering the apparent molecular mass and the protein profile in the fractions, the 1-MDa megacomplex was determined to be a dimeric Mvh-Hdr-Fmd complex. The megacomplex fraction contained a polyferredoxin subunit MvhB, which contains 12 [4Fe-4S]-clusters. MvhB polyferredoxin has never been identified in the previously purified Mvh-Hdr and Fmd preparations, suggesting that MvhB polyferredoxin is stabilized by the binding between Mvh-Hdr and Fmd in the Mvh-Hdr-Fmd complex. The purified Mvh-Hdr-Fmd megacomplex catalyzed electron-bifurcating reduction of [13C]-CO2 to form [13C]-formylmethanofuran in the absence of extrinsic ferredoxin. These results demonstrated that the subunits in the Mvh-Hdr-Fmd megacomplex are electronically connected for the reduction of CO2, which likely involves MvhB polyferredoxin as an electron relay.

Enzyme-Mediated Bioorthogonal Cascade Catalytic Reaction for Metabolism Intervention and Enhanced Ferroptosis on Neuroblastoma.

It remains a tremendous challenge to explore effective therapeutic modalities against neuroblastoma, a lethal cancer of the sympathetic nervous system with poor prognosis and disappointing treatment outcomes. Considering the limitations of conventional treatment modalities and the intrinsic vulnerability of neuroblastoma, we herein develop a pioneering sequential catalytic therapeutic system that utilizes lactate oxidase (LOx)/horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-loaded amorphous zinc metal-organic framework, named LOx/HRP-aZIF, in combination with a 3-indole-acetic acid (IAA) prodrug. On the basis of abnormal lactate accumulation that occurs in the tumor microenvironment, the cascade reaction of LOx and HRP consumes endogenous glutathione and a reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide to achieve the first stage of killing cancer cells via antioxidative incapacitation and electron transport chain interference. Furthermore, the generation of reactive oxygen species induced by HRP and IAA through bioorthogonal catalysis promotes ferritin degradation and lipid peroxidation, ultimately provoking self-enhanced ferroptosis with positive feedback by initiating an endogenous Fenton reaction. This work highlights the superiority of the natural enzyme-dependent cascade and bioorthogonal catalytic reaction, offering a paradigm for synergistically enzyme-based metabolism-ferroptosis anticancer therapy.

Enhanced waste Plastics-to-Power in situ conversion through iron oxide as pseudofuel in solid oxide fuel cells

Waste plastics-to-power conversion via fuel cells is very attractive for its potential to be efficient and eco-friendly. Here we report a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating directly on waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with significantly improved performance due to the modification of anode with iron oxide (Fe2O3) that functions as pseudofuel in its reduced form (FeO). The pseudofuel performance, namely the discharge capacity of FeO, was improved significantly by optimizing the structure of Fe2O3, and owing to the synergistic interaction of FeO with the anodic materials, i.e. silver and gadolinia doped ceria. A mechanism is proposed to reveal the synergistic effect of these materials in the discharge process. The maximum discharge capacity of 340 mAh/g for FeO was obtained, approaching 91 % of the theoretical value. Based on the optimized pseudofuel, the electrochemical performance of SOFCs directly fueled by waste PET was markedly enhanced: The peak power density of the cell increased from 115 to 320 mW cm−2, and the electric energy output of the PET fuel did from 0.0018 to 0.26 Wh/g (140-fold more). This work shows that SOFCs with Fe2O3 modified Ag-based anode offer a promising platform for direct conversion of plastic waste to power in an efficient and green manner.

The Effects of Ubiquinol Intake and Sociophysical Training on the Activation of Psychological and Infrared Camera-Measured Body Temperature Physiology and Blood Molecular Markers: A Pilot Study among Healthy Female Older Adults

A combination of existing treatments with sensing technology may be the most appropriate approach for incurable neuropsychiatric disorders. Dietary antioxidant supplementation, exercise, and cognitive training are individually well-established treatments for neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, and other dementias. Therefore, in a double-blind randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the response of normal healthy older female subjects to coenzyme Q10 supplementation and simultaneous sociophysical training that was undertaken in a non-contact environment using infrared cameras. The current pilot study reports the results from a multivariate analysis of blood biomarkers, body surface temperature measured with infrared thermal cameras, and psychological questionnaire scores from this trial, in which 100 mg/day of supplemental ubiquinol (the reduced form of coenzyme Q10) was administered daily for one month. We found a significant positive correlation between ubiquinol supplementation and positive mood scores in the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory test (STAI-positive) and a weak inverse correlation between ubiquinol supplementation and serum interleukin 4 (IL-4), a systemic inflammatory marker. We also found a significant positive correlation between the standard deviation of body surface temperatures, detected with non-contact infrared image sensors, and both STAI-positive and serum antidiuretic hormone (ADH). The results from this small pilot study indicate the potential synergistic effects of oral ubiquinol intake and sociophysical training on neuropsychiatric health in healthy female older adults.