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•Thickness of NTO/Ag/NTO multilayer films was optimized for highest figure of merit.•The influence of N+ ion implantation on the properties of multilayers was analyzed.•Electrical ...conductivity was improved on implantation due to substitutional impurity.•Figure of merit of multilayer films was increased after 40 keV N+ ion implantation.
Multilayer structures with optimized Nb (3.7 at.%) doped TiO2 (NTO) having the layers as NTO/Ag/NTO (NAN) were fabricated to obtain high optical transmittance and low electrical resistivity which could be a suitable replacement of the conventional transparent conducting electrodes used in the energy conversion and optoelectronics devices. These optimized pristine films of NAN layers were deposited by sputtering and implanted with 40 keV N+ ions with fluences ranging from 1 × 1014 to 1 × 1016 ions/cm2. The N+ ion implantation leads to the improvement in the electrical conductivity of NAN films, confirmed by the Hall measurement. The resistivity of pristine film is 9.6 × 10−5 Ω cm which decreases to 5.5 × 10−5 Ω cm after ion implantation for the N+ ion fluence of 1 × 1016 ions/cm2. Electrical transport properties were studied in the temperature range of 80–340 K, and the results show stable behavior of films. This substitutional doping causes narrowing of band gap and improvement in the electrical conductivity. The optimized NAN multilayer films show a low sheet resistance of 6.9 Ω/□ and a high transmittance of ∼81% for the 1 × 1016 ions/cm2 fluence. The Haacke figure of merit (FOM) of 18 × 10−3 Ω−1 was obtained for the highest fluence (1 × 1016 ions/cm2). The X-ray photoemission spectroscopy study of the implanted samples revealed substitution of Ti by Nb in NTO film and appearance of Ti3+ state. The work function of pristine NAN films, measured using ultravoilet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) was found to 4.63 eV, which matches with the work function of active layer of photovoltaic cell. On implantation, the O ions are replaced by N+ ions. These results indicate that the NAN films with N+ ion implantation are suitable for potential transparent conducting electrode (TCE) applications in photovoltaics due to their high transmittance, low electrical resistivity and compatibility for growth of further layers.
Enterotypes are used for classifying individuals based on the gut microbiome. A number of studies are available to find the Enterotypes in healthy individuals; however, most of them lack comparisons ...at the world level. We analyzed the healthy human gut microbiomes of 495 datasets available in the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) database derived from fifteen countries from four continents. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the two most abundant phyla in the healthy human gut, worldwide. A high ratio of Proteobacteriato Actinobacteria and a low abundance of Prevotella were identified as the indicators of IBD. Prevotella, Bacteroides, and Bifidobacterium were identified as the Enterotypes in the inter-continental comparisons. At the intra-continental level, two (Bacteroides and Ruminococcaceae), four (Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Clostridiales), and two (Prevotella, Bacteroides/Bifidobacterium) Enterotypes were identified in the American, European, and Asian continents, respectively. In addition, a high abundance of the unknown genus of Ruminococcaeae was observed in the Colombian human gut microbiome. A substantial impact of the geographical distance was observed on human gut microbiome variations, demonstrating a cumulative effect of factors, including dietary habits, genetics, lifestyle, environment, and climate, etc.
Role of kinase inhibitors in various diseases is well established and discovery of imatinib opens up new paradigms in kinase inhibition. Furthermore, presence of heterocyclic moiety in a kinase ...inhibitor seems to be essential now. However, the potential of a single heterocyclic moiety was discussed in variety of reviews but a focus review considering the potential of different heterocyclic moieties is unavailable. Based on this, we classify prospective kinase inhibitors on the basis of number of heterocyclic moieties present and summarize the prospective kinase inhibitors. Finally, important key points, current challenges and future prospects of kinase inhibitors are also discussed.
In this report, we report a green, rapid and scalable synthetic route for the production of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) using an environment-friendly reducing agent (l-glutathione/L-Glu) to test its ...feasibility for CO & NO2 gas sensing. The structure, morphology, and thermal stability of as-synthesized rGO are investigated via Raman spectroscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Field emission scanning electron microscope, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The L-Glu-rGO shows higher sp2 carbon hybridization (42at.%) than graphene oxide (GO) (29 at.%). The results indicate that L-Glu-rGO exhibits good relative response at 150 °C to both gases (10 ppm of NO2 and CO). Further, L-Glu-rGO shows a smaller response time (∼10.61 s for NO2 and ∼5.05 s for CO) than GO (∼16.64 s, ∼11.92 s to NO2 and CO respectively) at 150 °C, indicating the potential application of L-Glu-rGO for gas sensing.
•Reduced graphene oxide synthesized by using an organic reducing agent l-glutathione.•XPS shows high percentage (42%) of sp2 carbon in L-Glu-rGO.•GO reduced through green method used for gas sensing of CO and NO2 gases.•Lower response and recovery time observed for L-Glu-rGO as compared to that for GO for both gases.
Conjugation of an antibody to a drug can produce heterogeneous species that may have different physical stabilities and safety profiles. We explored the effect of thermal stress on the physical ...stability, specifically aggregation, of an antibody drug conjugate (ADC), ADC 1, wherein the antibody was linked to the val-cit-Monomethyl Auristatin E (vc-MMAE) linker drug through the reduction of interchain disulfides. We also explored the effects of conjugation on the secondary and tertiary structures of ADC 1. Circular dichroism, intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, and differential scanning calorimetry showed that for species with high drug loading, conjugation does not measurably alter the secondary structure, but it does render the CH2 domain less stable to thermal stress such that ADC 1 rapidly forms high molecular weight species (HMWS) at 40 °C. Characterization of the HMWS using chromatographic and electrophoretic methods showed that it is an irreversible, noncovalent, and structurally altered form of ADC 1 primarily composed of molecules with six or eight drugs. Furthermore, the variable domain of the antibody may contribute to the extent of aggregation, since eight ADCs with over 90% sequence homology exhibited monthly rates of HMWS formation that differ by up to a factor of 2.
Data comparing results of off-pump and conventional operations in octogenarians is very limited. Thus we chose to compare early adverse events between off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting ...(OPCABG) and on-pump CABG (ONCABG) in patients older than 80 years.
Systematic review of multiple databases was performed to obtain original studies fulfilling search criteria. End points--early mortality, stroke, respiratory failure, atrial fibrillation, and myocardial infarction--were compared between these cohorts. A random-effects weighted analysis was performed using the trim-fill adjustment when necessary. Results are presented as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs); p < 0.05 is considered statistically significant.
Sixteen retrospective studies (9,744 ONCABG and 8,566 OPCABG patients) were included in the systematic review. OPCAGB patients received significantly fewer grafts (2.54 ± 0.16) compared with ONCABG patients (3.22 ± 0.41). Early mortality was comparable at 4.6% and 5.2% in the OPCABG and ONCABG cohorts, respectively (risk ratio RR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.64-1.28; p = 0.598). Stroke rates were higher in the ONCABG cohort (RR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.49- 0.87; p < 0.01). Respiratory failure was higher with ONCABG (RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.97; p = 0.03). New-onset renal failure (p = 0.99), atrial fibrillation (p = 0.27), and myocardial infarction (p = 0.99) were comparable.
Coronary artery bypass in octogenarians can be performed safely with low early mortality. Although off-pump operations reduce the risk of early stroke, all other adverse events are comparable in on- and off-pump coronary artery bypass operations. Data regarding late mortality is at present limited; however, both on- and off-pump procedures appear to produce comparable survival.
•Efficient phenotyping methods to evaluate wheat genotypes under field conditions are needed to breed for high-yielding and water stress tolerant wheat varieties.•Here, we phenotyped the response of ...553 genotypes of wheat to water stress and collected aerial imagery and physiological dataset.•Vegetative indices derived from multispectral data and stress indices computed from growth and yield data were used for yield modeling as well as effectively ranked wheat genotypes for water stress tolerance and susceptibility.•Among machine learning regression algorithms, deep learning H2O-3 model was most reliable with R2 of 0.8 for wheat yield prediction.
Water stress is a significant challenge for global food production. Rainfall pattern is becoming unpredictable due to climate change that causes unprecedent water stress conditions in cereals production including wheat which is one of the important staple food crops. To sustain wheat production under water limiting conditions, there is an urgent need to develop drought-tolerant wheat varieties. For this, screening large numbers of wheat genotype for traits related to growth and yield under water stressed conditions is crucial. In this study, we deployed high-throughput phenotyping approaches, including uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV)-based multispectral imaging, advanced machine and deep learning regression models. Two separate field experiments, irrigated and rainfed, were conducted comprising 553 wheat genotypes, and collected dataset for traits such as plant height, phenology, grain yield, and timeseries multispectral imaging. UAV-multispectral imagery derived plant height measurements showed a high correlation (R2=0.75) with manual measurements. Vegetation indices derived from multispectral data differentiated growth pattern of genotypes under rainfed and irrigated conditions and were used in yield prediction modeling. Wheat genotypes were effectively ranked, and their response differentiated for water stress tolerance based on yield index, stress susceptibility index, and yield loss%. Importantly, yield prediction in genotypes was computed using four machine learning regression algorithms i.e., linear regression, support vector machine, random forest, and deep learning H2O-3, where H2O-3 was the most accurate model with R2=0.80. Results show that multispectral-driven traits combined with machine learning models effectively phenotyped large wheat population and such approaches can be integrated in crop breeding program to develop varieties tolerant to water stress.
The current review focuses on the plant Bacopa monnieri, one of prominent medical herbs in Indian ayurvedic system. The plant is well known for its cognitive and memory enhancing capabilities. The ...plant contains many useful alkaloids and secondary metabolites. Studies have shown that it has various promising pharmacological properties which have the potential to treat many illnesses and disorders such as asthma, bronchitis, rheumatism also in for renal disease, water retention, blood cleaning etc. This leads to the over exploitation of the plant which puts a stress on the naturally available stock of the plant, therefore, it becomes a necessity to find optimum methods for mass production of the plant and its important secondary metabolites. This review attempts to compile and to discuss the advancements in methods and techniques including type of culture vessels, plant growth regulators (PGRs), effect of stress, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) interactions; for in vitro propagation of Bacopa monnieri and the enhanced production of its important bioactive (bacoside) for its sustainable exploitation.
Elevated expression of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a histone H3K27 methyltransferase, was observed in gliomas harboring telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations. Given the ...known involvement of TERT and EZH2 in glioma progression, the correlation between the two and subsequently its involvement in metabolic programming was investigated. Inhibition of human telomerase reverse transcriptase either pharmacologically or through genetic manipulation not only decreased EZH2 expression, but also (i) abrogated FASN levels, (ii) decreased de novo fatty acid accumulation, and (iii) increased ataxia‐telangiectasia‐mutated (ATM) phosphorylation levels. Conversely, diminished TERT and FASN levels upon siRNA‐mediated EZH2 knockdown indicated a positive correlation between TERT and EZH2. Interestingly, ATM kinase inhibitor rescued TERT inhibition‐mediated decrease in FASN and EZH2 levels. Importantly, TERT promoter mutant tumors exhibited greater microsatellite instability, heightened FASN levels and lipid accumulation. Coherent with in vitro findings, pharmacological inhibition of TERT by costunolide decreased lipid accumulation and elevated ATM expression in heterotypic xenograft glioma mouse model. By bringing TERT‐EZH2 network at the forefront as driver of dysregulated metabolism, our findings highlight the non‐canonical but distinct role of TERT in metabolic reprogramming and DNA damage responses in glioblastoma.
Mutation in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter correlates with poor prognosis in glioblastoma (GBM). As elevated enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) and fatty acid synthase (FASN) levels were accompanied by heightened microsatellite instability in TERT‐mutant GBMs, their correlations were investigated. Genetic and pharmacological manipulation of TERT indicated the importance of TERT–EZH2 axis in regulating lipid metabolism and ataxia‐telangiectasia‐mutated (ATM) activation. This study provides better understanding of aberrant metabolic programming in GBM based on distinctive genetic alterations.
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