Hypergravity conditions may subject the kidney to intrinsic stress and lead to hemodynamic kidney dysfunction. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. Accumulation of ...unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (i.e., ER stress) is often observed in kidney diseases. Therefore, this study investigated whether hypergravity stress alters acetaminophen-induced renal toxicity in vivo, as well as the molecular mechanisms involved in this process. C57BL/6 mice were submitted to one or three loads of +9 Gx hypergravity for 1 h with or without acetaminophen (APAP) treatment. The protein levels of cell survival markers, including pAKT and pCREB, were decreased in the kidney after acetaminophen treatment with a single hypergravity load. Additionally, the combined treatment increased kidney injury markers, serum creatinine, and
,
, and
transcript levels and enhanced ER stress-related markers were further. Moreover, multiple hypergravity loads enabled mice to overcome kidney injury, as indicated by decreases in serum creatinine content and ER stress marker levels, along with increased cell viability indices. Similarly, multiple hypergravity loads plus APAP elevated miR-122 levels in the kidney, which likely originated from the liver, as the levels of primary miR-122 increased only in the liver and not the kidney. Importantly, this phenomenon may contribute to overcoming hypergravity-induced kidney injury. Taken together, our results demonstrate that APAP-exposed mice submitted to a single load of hypergravity exhibited more pronounced kidney dysfunction due to increased ER stress, which may be overcome by repetitive hypergravity loads presumably due to increased production of miR-122 in the liver. Thus, our study provides novel insights into the mechanisms by which hypergravity stress plus APAP medication induce kidney injury, which may be overcome by repeated hypergravity exposure.
•Consumption of 500mg aronia berry extract increased plasma and urine polyphenols.•Peonidin-3-O-galactoside was a significant anthocyanin metabolite in plasma and urine.•Anthocyanins and colonic ...catabolite tmax values were from 1 to 6.3h.•Colonic polyphenol catabolites exceeded anthocyanin precursors in plasma and urine.
A single-dose pharmacokinetic trial was conducted in 6 adults to evaluate the bioavailability of anthocyanins and colonic polyphenol metabolites after consumption of 500mg aronia berry extract. UHPLC-MS methods were developed to quantitate aronia berry polyphenols and their metabolites in plasma and urine. While anthocyanins were bioavailable, microbial phenolic catabolites increased ∼10-fold more than anthocyanins in plasma and urine. Among the anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside was rapidly metabolized to peonidin-3-O-galactoside. Aronia polyphenols were absorbed and extensively metabolized with tmax of anthocyanins and other polyphenol catabolites from 1.0h to 6.33h in plasma and urine. Despite significant inter-individual variation in pharmacokinetic parameters, concentrations of polyphenol metabolites in plasma and urine at 24h were positively correlated with total AUC in plasma and urine (r=0.93, and r=0.98, respectively). This suggests that fasting blood and urine collections could be used to estimate polyphenol bioavailability and metabolism after aronia polyphenol consumption.
Excellent color purity with a tunable band gap renders organic–inorganic halide perovskite highly capable of performing as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Perovskite nanocrystals show a ...photoluminescence quantum yield exceeding 90%, which, however, decreases to lower than 20% upon formation of a thin film. The limited photoluminescence quantum yield of a perovskite thin film has been a formidable obstacle for development of highly efficient perovskite LEDs. Here, we report a method for highly luminescent MAPbBr3 (MA = CH3NH3) nanocrystals formed in situ in a thin film based on nonstoichiometric adduct and solvent-vacuum drying approaches. Excess MABr with respect to PbBr2 in precursor solution plays a critical role in inhibiting crystal growth of MAPbBr3, thereby forming nanocrystals and creating type I band alignment with core MAPbBr3 by embedding MAPbBr3 nanocrystals in the unreacted wider band gap MABr. A solvent-vacuum drying process was developed to preserve nanocrystals in the film, which realizes a fast photoluminescence lifetime of 3.9 ns along with negligible trapping processes. Based on a highly luminescent nanocrystalline MAPbBr3 thin film, a highly efficient green LED with a maximum external quantum efficiency of 8.21% and a current efficiency of 34.46 cd/A was demonstrated.
A chemical stability between polysulfides and electrolyte is considered to be crucial to achieving good electrochemical performance of lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries since long-chain polysulfides ...which dissolve easily into common electrolyte can trigger substantial electrolyte decomposition due to their nucleophilic nature. In this work, we investigated the chemical reactivity of polysulfides toward carbonate-based electrolytes through a simple probing experimental method and found that the polysulfides react with carbonate-based electrolytes via a nucleophilic addition or substitution reaction leading to a sudden capacity fading of lithium sulfur cells by loss of active sulfur. This study strongly suggests that electrolytes for Li–S system should not possess an electrophilic functionality to avoid undesired chemical reaction with polysulfides. In addition, we show that the methodology developed in this work for the verification of chemical stability between polysulfides and electrolyte can be widely applicable to screening other potential electrolyte candidates.
This study attempts to identify the direction of urban regeneration projects in declining areas by using the concept of urban resilience to cope with climate change and disaster. To this end, urban ...resilience was classified into a Green Resilient Infrastructure (GRI) and an Interactive Safety System (ISS), through a review of previous studies, and categorized into vulnerability, adaptability, and transformability. A total of 12 detailed indicators were derived and indexed using Euclidean distance. Using the indicators, three Korean urban regeneration targets, in Daegu, Mokpo, and Seosan, were selected to evaluate resilience before and after the urban regeneration plan. Consequently, the postplanning resilience index improved in all three target sites, compared to before the regeneration plan. Additionally, previously the regeneration plan showed lower index values in comparison to places not designated as urban regeneration areas. These results suggest that urban resilience needs to be considered in future urban regeneration projects, and that resilience indicators can be used as a means to set the direction of urban regeneration projects. To improve the overall resilience of a region, these indices can help local government establish a reference point for urban resilience in its region.
With the rapid growth of the elderly population, the number of elderly welfare centers has expanded significantly. However, the current regulations and standards for foodservice management in these ...centers are inadequate. To address this issue, this study aimed to develop objective and integrated performance indicators based on the Balanced Scorecard for foodservice programs in elderly welfare centers. To evaluate the validity and reliability of the performance indicators, two Delphi studies were conducted in April 2017. The Delphi survey included the evaluation of strategic goals, financial perspective, customer perspective, learning and growth perspective, and the internal process perspective. The degree of consensus among experts was assessed using Kendall’s W-test. As a result of the study, the study ultimately identified 33 performance indicators from 12 strategic goals in four perspectives, which could be used as an efficient tool to evaluate, supplement, and improve foodservice in elderly welfare centers.
This paper presents the performance improvement of a microstrip patch antenna (MPA) using a novel double‐layer concentric rings metaplate (DLCRM) for fifth‐generation (5G) millimeter wave (mmWave) ...applications. To improve the performance of the proposed antenna, a DLCRM is placed above the MPA having an air gap. The design procedure is explained using the different shapes of DLCRM, and the double negative (DNG) characteristic of metamaterial is verified. Moreover, the effects of the DLCRM on the MPA are validated by experimental results. The proposed antenna attains a high‐gain of 11.59 dBi and has an impedance bandwidth from 27.1 GHz to 29.56 GHz (8.68%) which is the potential 5G mmWave band. The measurement result shows that the bandwidth of the antenna is improved by 2.04%, and broadside gain is increased by 4.69 dBi compared to the MPA without a DLCRM. Thus, the antenna provides high gains with wide bandwidth that makes it a suitable candidate for 5G mmWave applications.
The low-frequency Raman signals of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), appearing in the range of 100-300 cm
, have been interpreted as radial-breathing mode (RBM) comprising pure radial ...Eigenvectors. Here, we report that most of the low-frequency and intermediate-frequency signals of SWNTs are radial-tangential modes (RTMs) coexisting radial and tangential Eigenvectors, while only the first peak at the low-frequency side is the RBM. Density functional theory simulation for SWNTs of ~ 2 nm in diameter shows that dozens of RTMs exhibit following the RBM (~ 150 cm
) up to G-mode (~ 1592 cm
) in order with Landau regulation. We specify the RBM and the RTM on Raman spectra obtained from SWNTs, where both appear as prominent peaks between 149 and 170 cm
and ripple-like peaks between 166 and 1440 cm
, respectively. We report that the RTMs have been regarded as RBM (~ 300 cm
) and ambiguously named as intermediate-frequency mode (300-1300 cm
) without assignment. The RTMs gradually interlink the RBM and the G-mode resulting in the symmetric Raman spectra in intensity. We reveal high-resolution transmission microscope evidence for a helical structure of SWNTs, informing the typical diameter of commercial SWNTs to be 1.4-2 nm.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis involves complex inflammatory events and cell death. Although IBD involves mainly necrosis in the digestive tract, pyroptosis has also been recognized. ...Nonetheless, the underlying basis is elusive. Gα12/13 overexpression may affect endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. This study examined how Gα12/13 and ER stress affect pyroptosis using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis models. Gα12/13 levels were increased in the distal and proximal colons of mice exposed to a single cycle of DSS, as accompanied by increases of IRE1α, ATF6, and p-PERK. Moreover, Il-6, Il-1β, Ym1, and Arg1 mRNA levels were increased with caspase-1 and IL-1β activation, supportive of pyroptosis. In the distal colon, RIPK1/3 levels were enhanced to a greater degree, confirming necroptosis. By contrast, the mice subjected to three cycles of DSS treatments showed decreases of Gα12/13, as accompanied by IRE1α and ATF6 suppression, but increases of RIPK1/3 and c-Cas3. AZ2 treatment, which inhibited Gα12, has an anti-pyroptotic effect against a single cycle of colitis. These results show that a single cycle of DSS-induced colitis may cause ER stress-induced pyroptosis as mediated by Gα12 overexpression in addition to necroptosis, but three cycles model induces only necroptosis, and that AZ2 may have an anti-pyroptotic effect.
Li-metal anode (LMA) is considered promising for overcoming the energy density limit of current Li-ion batteries. However, LMAs in large-scale cells are limited by uneven and excessive anode ...swelling, owing to the notorious buildup of a highly porous passivation (“dead” Li) layer. To demonstrate the impact of the pressure environment on the LMA swelling behavior and cycling stability, the distribution of the actual stack pressure was visualized in pouch cell platforms using pressure-sensitive films. If the stack pressure is not uniform, pouch cell failure occurs regardless of how high the applied pressure is. Conformal stack pressure assisted by the modified pressure setup with force redistributing pads enabled stable cycling even at a lower external pressure. By correlating with the thickness distribution of the “dead” Li layer over the LMA surfaces after cycling, it is suggested that a uniform stack pressure is crucial for mitigating anode swelling and the stable cycling of Li metal pouch cells.
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