The concept that excess superoxide production from mitochondria is the driving, initial cellular response underlying diabetes complications has been held for the past decade. However, results of ...antioxidant-based trials have been largely negative. In the present review, the data supporting mitochondrial superoxide as a driving force for diabetic kidney, nerve, heart, and retinal complications are reexamined, and a new concept for diabetes complications--mitochondrial hormesis--is presented. In this view, production of mitochondrial superoxide can be an indicator of healthy mitochondria and physiologic oxidative phosphorylation. Recent data suggest that in response to excess glucose exposure or nutrient stress, there is a reduction of mitochondrial superoxide, oxidative phosphorylation, and mitochondrial ATP generation in several target tissues of diabetes complications. Persistent reduction of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation complex activity is associated with the release of oxidants from nonmitochondrial sources and release of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines, and a manifestation of organ dysfunction. Restoration of mitochondrial function and superoxide production via activation of AMPK has now been associated with improvement in markers of renal, cardiovascular, and neuronal dysfunction with diabetes. With this Perspective, approaches that stimulate AMPK and PGC1α via exercise, caloric restriction, and medications result in stimulation of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation activity, restore physiologic mitochondrial superoxide production, and promote organ healing.
Continuous increase in world’s population, rapid industrialization, urbanization, and economic growth force for continuously increase in fossil fuel consumption to meet growing energy demand. ...Continuous emissions from burning of fossil fuel will create the need to find the appropriate and sustainable replacement for fossil fuels. Biodiesel is appropriate alternate solution for diesel engine due to its renewable, non-toxic and eco-friendly nature. According to EASAC biodiesel evolution is classified into four generations. Cultivation in arid and semi arid land or water, crop yield, effect on food supply, yield of biodiesel, energy content, carbon-neutral economy, easy availability, and economic viable are the main factors behind the evolution of biodiesel generations. This article highlights a comprehensive assessment of various feedstocks used for different generation biodiesel production with their advantages and disadvantages. Different production methods for biodiesel with yield calculation are also explained. Algae based third generation feedstocks are better in comparison with first and second generation due to their high energy content, high oil content and less polluting nature. Forth generation of biodiesel produced from synthetic biology, which will enhance the various physiochemical properties of biodiesel to achieve carbon neutral economy. Among the all biodiesel production processes; transesterification is the most suitable process, because it produces biodiesel of high yield, comparable properties with diesel. This process is also feasible as per economic point of view. The energy demand of future can be met by the blending of different generation oil feedstocks.
Abstract
We present a novel scenario in which light (∼few eV) dark fermions (sterile neutrinos) interact with a scalar field as in mass-varying neutrino dark energy theories. As the eV sterile states ...naturally become nonrelativistic before the matter–radiation equality (MRE), we show that the neutrino–scalar fluid develops strong perturbative instability followed by the formation of neutrino nuggets, and the early dark energy (EDE) behavior disappears around MRE. The stability of the nugget is achieved when the Fermi pressure balances the attractive scalar force, and we numerically find the mass and radius of heavy cold nuggets by solving for the static configuration for the scalar field. We find that for the case when dark matter nugget density is subdominant and most of the EDE go into scalar field dynamics, it can in principle relax the Hubble anomaly. Especially when a kinetic-energy-dominated phase appears after the phase transition, the DE density dilutes faster than radiation and satisfies the requirements for solving the
H
0
anomaly. In our scenario, unlike in originally proposed early DE theory, the DE density is controlled by (eV) neutrino mass and it does not require a fine-tuned EDE scale. We perform a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis and confront our model with Planck + SHOES and baryon acoustic oscillation data and find evidence for a nonzero neutrino–scalar EDE density during MRE. Our analysis shows that this model is in agreement to nearly 1.3
σ
with SHOES measurement, which is
H
0
= 74.03 ± 1.42 km s
−1
Mpc
−1
.
A novel and simplified method is introduced for synthesizing a transparent sensor based on graphene-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown single-layer graphene on the ...PDMS substrate suffers from low conductivity due to defects at grain boundaries. The fabricated sensor incorporates a polyaniline (PANI) layer between two graphene layers to maintain enhanced conductivity even when subjected to strain, due to its flexibility. The tri-layer structure of graphene-PANI-graphene (G-P-G) achieves approximately 90% transmittance and a lower sheet resistance (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\approx 84~\Omega </tex-math></inline-formula>/Sq) on a flexible substrate that surpasses those achieved with a single-layer graphene on PDMS and other sandwich structures on a PDMS substrate. The developed transparent and highly conductive G-P-G sensor exhibits effective sensing for finger tapping/touch, strain detection, human motion detection, wrist pulse detection, breathing detection, and traditional NADI detection. This underscores its versatility for various sensing applications. In summary, the demonstrated results indicate the potential of this single transparent conductive sensor structure for deployment in diverse and multifunctional sensing applications.
Heavy metal contamination of soil resulting from wastewater irrigation is a cause of serious concern due to the potential health impacts of consuming contaminated produce. In this study an assessment ...is made of the impact of wastewater irrigation on heavy metal contamination of
Beta vulgaris (palak); this is a highly nutritious leafy vegetable that is widely cultivated and consumed in urban India, particularly by the poor. A field study was conducted at three major sites that were irrigated by either treated or untreated wastewater in the suburban areas of Varanasi, India according to normal practice. Samples of irrigation water, soil, and the edible portion of the palak (
Beta vulgaris L. var All green H1) were collected monthly during the summer and winter seasons and were analyzed for Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Mn, and Ni. Heavy metals in irrigation water were below the internationally recommended (WHO) maximum permissible limits set for agricultural use for all heavy metals except Cd at all the sites. Similarly, the mean heavy metal concentrations in soil were below the Indian standards for all heavy metals, but the maximum value of Cd recorded during January was higher than the standard. However, in the edible portion of
B. vulgaris, the Cd concentration was higher than the permissible limits of the Indian standard during summer, whereas Pb and Ni concentrations were higher in both summer and winter seasons. Results of linear regression analysis computed to assess the relationship between individual heavy metal concentration in the vegetable samples and in soil showed that Zn in soil had a positive significant relationship with vegetable contamination during winter. Concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Mn in soil and plant showed significant positive relationships only during summer. Concentration of Cr and Pb during winter season and Zn and Ni during summer season showed significant negative relationships between soil and plant contamination. The study concludes that the use of treated and untreated wastewater for irrigation has increased the contamination of Cd, Pb, and Ni in edible portion of vegetables causing potential health risk in the long term from this practice. The study also points to the fact that adherence to standards for heavy metal contamination of soil and irrigation water does not ensure safe food.
The efficacy of commercial microbial treatment on plant growth, nutrient uptake and yield is very well recognized for medicinal plants grown in field conditions. However, the use of commercial and ...native microbes for Cymbopogon citratus has rarely been exploited under field conditions. Therefore, in the present study we evaluated the efficacy of single and native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species (AMF) to mixture of mycorrhizal fungal species plus commercial plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR) on morphological, biochemical and traits of mycorrhizal fungi associated with C. citratus. Two native AMF species, i.e. Glomus mosseae (G) and Acaulospora laevis (A), and Pseudomonas fluorescens (P) as commercial PGPR were used in this study. Three different treatments composition of selected microbes, i.e. G, G+P, and G+A+P, were utilized along control for crop production under open field conditions in a randomized complete block design. The plantlets were grown without external application of synthetic fertilizers. The results showed that the mixture of AMF and PGPR significantly increased the survival, biomass, P content of shoot as well as root, essential oil yield, and in vitro antibacterial potential of C. citratus against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. In general, this study provides useful insight into the mixture AMF and PGPR treatment that can be applied to improve not only the biomass, phosphorus content, antibacterial potential, and yield attributes of C. citratus under open field conditions but also to improve AMF diversity in rhizosphere soil.
Equilibrium knots are common in biological polymers-their prevalence, size distribution, structure, and dynamics have been extensively studied, with implications to fundamental biological processes ...and DNA sequencing technologies. Nanopore microscopy is a high-throughput single-molecule technique capable of detecting the shape of biopolymers, including DNA knots. Here we demonstrate nanopore sensors that map the equilibrium structure of DNA knots, without spurious knot tightening and sliding. We show the occurrence of both tight and loose knots, reconciling previous contradictory results from different experimental techniques. We evidence the occurrence of two quantitatively different modes of knot translocation through the nanopores, involving very different tension forces. With large statistics, we explore the complex knots and, for the first time, reveal the existence of rare composite knots. We use parametrized complexity, in concert with simulations, to test the theoretical assumptions of the models, further asserting the relevance of nanopores in future investigation of knots.
To combat infection and antimicrobial resistance, it is helpful to elucidate drug mechanism(s) of action. Here we examined how the widely used antimicrobial polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) kills ...bacteria selectively over host cells. Contrary to the accepted model of microbial membrane disruption by PHMB, we observed cell entry into a range of bacterial species, and treated bacteria displayed cell division arrest and chromosome condensation, suggesting DNA binding as an alternative antimicrobial mechanism. A DNA-level mechanism was confirmed by observations that PHMB formed nanoparticles when mixed with isolated bacterial chromosomal DNA and its effects on growth were suppressed by pairwise combination with the DNA binding ligand Hoechst 33258. PHMB also entered mammalian cells, but was trapped within endosomes and excluded from nuclei. Therefore, PHMB displays differential access to bacterial and mammalian cellular DNA and selectively binds and condenses bacterial chromosomes. Because acquired resistance to PHMB has not been reported, selective chromosome condensation provides an unanticipated paradigm for antimicrobial action that may not succumb to resistance.
Despite major improvements in the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus, many patients still suffer from progressive diabetic kidney disease. More research is needed to improve treatment and ...to understand why some patients develop complications while others do not. Mitochondrial dysfunction has turned out to be central to the pathogenesis of diabetes, and we will review some new aspects in this field and the potential for treatment. The conventional theory has been that the intracellular surplus of glucose leads to mitochondrial overproduction of superoxide that contributes to general cell damage and activation of deleterious pathways specific for diabetes complications. However, recent data suggests that reduced mitochondrial activity could be the basis for disease progression and complications through increased inflammation and pro-fibrotic factors. Physical exercise is a very strong stimulus to mitochondrial biogenesis, and we now understand many of the underlying signaling pathways. Clinical trials have also shown that training, especially high-intensity training, can delay the onset of diabetes and improve insulin resistance. Furthermore, intermittent fasting and various pharmacological agents are other potential options for stimulating mitochondrial function and reducing the risk of development and progression of diabetic kidney disease.
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