Numerous plants have been documented to contain phenolic compounds. Thymol is one among these phenolic compounds that possess a repertoire of pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, ...anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antimicrobial effects. Despite of the plethora of affects elicited by thymol, its activity profile on gastric cancer cells is not explored. In this study, we discovered that thymol exerts anticancer effects by suppressing cell growth, inducing apoptosis, producing intracellular reactive oxygen species, depolarizing mitochondrial membrane potential, and activating the proapoptotic mitochondrial proteins Bax, cysteine aspartases (caspases), and poly ADP ribose polymerase in human gastric AGS cells. The outcomes of this study displayed that thymol, via an intrinsic mitochondrial pathway, was responsible for inducing apoptosis in gastric AGS cells. Hence, thymol might serve as a tentative agent in the future to treat cancer.
The conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are based on a set-point control approach that only considers the temperature of the environment without reflecting the ...thermophysiological status of the occupant. This approach not only fails to fully satisfy individual thermal preferences, but it also makes an HVAC operation energy-inefficient. One possible solution is to control the indoor thermal condition based on an accurate prediction of the occupant's thermal comfort to prevent any unnecessary energy consumption. Here, we present an artificial intelligence (AI) wearable sensor-based human-in-the-loop HVAC control system that is operated on a real-time basis reflecting the thermophysiological condition of the occupant to automatically improve their thermal comfort while reducing the energy consumption of the building. The wristband-type, AI-based, three-point wearable temperature sensor offers excellent thermal comfort prediction accuracy (93.9%), enabling a human-centric HVAC control operation. A proof-of-concept demonstration of closed human-in-the-loop HVAC control using the AI-enabled wearable sensor system confirms both the accuracy of the thermal comfort prediction and the energy-efficiency of this approach, demonstrating its potential as a new solution that improves the occupant's thermal comfort and provides building energy savings.
•AI-enabled soft wearable temperature sensor that captures the individual’s thermal comfort was newly developed for human-in-the-loop HVAC control.•Our soft wearable temperature sensor and AI model offer fully wireless operation that predicts real-time thermophysiological status in the closed-loop temperature control.•Successful proof-of-concept demonstration of closed human-in-the-loop HVAC system was performed.•Human-in-the-loop system improves occupant’s thermal comfort while reducing building energy consumption.
This Protocol Extension describes the low-cost production of rapidly customizable optical neural probes for in vivo optogenetics. We detail the use of a 3D printer to fabricate minimally invasive ...microscale inorganic light-emitting-diode-based neural probes that can control neural circuit activity in freely behaving animals, thus extending the scope of two previously published protocols describing the fabrication and implementation of optoelectronic devices for studying intact neural systems. The 3D-printing fabrication process does not require extensive training and eliminates the need for expensive materials, specialized cleanroom facilities and time-consuming microfabrication techniques typical of conventional manufacturing processes. As a result, the design of the probes can be quickly optimized, on the basis of experimental need, reducing the cost and turnaround for customization. For example, 3D-printed probes can be customized to target multiple brain regions or scaled up for use in large animal models. This protocol comprises three procedures: (1) probe fabrication, (2) wireless module preparation and (3) implantation for in vivo assays. For experienced researchers, neural probe and wireless module fabrication requires ~2 d, while implantation should take 30-60 min per animal. Time required for behavioral assays will vary depending on the experimental design and should include at least 5 d of animal handling before implantation of the probe, to familiarize each animal to their handler, thus reducing handling stress that may influence the result of the behavioral assays. The implementation of customized probes improves the flexibility in optogenetic experimental design and increases access to wireless probes for in vivo optogenetic research.
Beyond its traditional role as an L-amino acid producer,
Corynebacterium glutamicum
has recently received significant attention regarding its use in the production of various biochemicals and ...recombinant proteins. However, despite these attributes, limitations in genetic tools are still hampering the engineering of
C. glutamicum
for use in more potential hosts. Here, we engineered a
C. glutamicum
via adaptive laboratory evolution to enhance the production of recombinant proteins. During the continuous cultivation,
C. glutamicum
producing enhanced green fluorescent proteins was screened using high-speed flow cytometer, and in the end, we successfully isolated an evolved strain with a fluorescence intensity 4.5-fold higher than that of the original strain. Extensive analysis of the evolved strain confirmed that the plasmid prepared from the evolved strain contains the nonsense mutation in the
parB
locus, which mutation contributed to increasing the copy number of plasmid by approximately 10-fold compared to that of the wild type. To validate the usefulness of the high-copy-number plasmid, we examined the secretory production of endoxylanase and the bioconversion of xylose to xylonate using xylonate dehydrogenase. In the fed-batch cultivation, the use of the high-copy-number plasmid led to 1.4-fold increase in the production of endoxylanase (~ 1.54 g/L in culture medium) without cell growth retardation comparing cultivation with cells harboring original plasmid. The expression of xylonate dehydrogenase in the high-copy-number plasmid also improved the bioconversion into xylonic acid by approximately 1.5-fold compared to the original plasmid.
Solid tumors are frequently associated with resistance to chemotherapy because the fraction of hypoxic tumor cells is substantial. To understand the underlying mechanism of hypoxia on silver ...nanoparticle (AgNPs)-induced apoptosis, the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, a hallmark of hypoxia, was measured in the presence and absence of AgNPs. The results showed that HIF-1α expression was upregulated after AgNPs treatment under both hypoxic and normoxic conditions. Cell viability assays showed that AgNPs promoted cell death in cancer cells but not in non-cancer cells, as cancer cells are slightly more acidic than normal cells. However, reactive oxygen species generation induced by AgNPs in lung cancer cells caused high susceptibility to oxidative stress, whereas pre-exposure to hypoxia blocked AgNPs-induced oxidative stress. Notably, HIF-1α inhibited AgNPs-induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis by regulating autophagic flux through the regulation of ATG5, LC3-II, and p62. Further, cell viability after treatment of cancer cells with AgNPs under hypoxic conditions was lower in HIF-1α siRNA-transfected cells than in control siRNA-transfected cells, indicating that HIF-1α knockdown enhances hypoxia induced decrease in cell viability. Our results suggest that hypoxia-mediated autophagy may be a mechanism for the resistance of AgNPs-induced apoptosis and that strategies targeting HIF-1α may be used for cancer therapy.
Due to its flexibility, transparency, easy fabrication, and high negative polarity, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has been considered as one of the most appropriate materials for the use in ...triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) applications. Here, we report the significantly enhanced triboelectric surface charge of PDMS simply by sprinkling of NaOH solution. Fresh PDMS-based TENGs generated an open-circuit voltage of 3.8V and a closed-circuit current of 65nA after the contact/separation from an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. After sprinkling the PDMS surface with 1M NaOH, in contrast, the resulting TENG generated voltage of 10.4V and current of 179nA. Exposing the PDMS to ultraviolet-ozone prior to sprinkling with NaOH solution resulted in a triboelectric voltage and current of 49.3V and 1.16μA, respectively, which are almost 15-fold larger than those of fresh PDMS. The origin of the enhanced triboelectric charge is related with an increase of polar SiO bonds at the expense of non-polar Si–CH3 bonds in PDMS. This work demonstrates a cost-effective method for producing large-area and high-efficiency PDMS-based TENGs and helps clarify the triboelectric mechanism of PDMS.
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•Enhance the triboelectric charge of PDMS by sprinkling of NaOH solution.•Increase of Si‐O bonds with ultraviolet-ozone and NaOH treatments.•Large-area and low-cost TENG application using transparent and flexible PDMS.
Electronics that are capable of destroying themselves, on demand and in a harmless way, might provide the ultimate form of data security. This paper presents materials and device architectures for ...triggered destruction of conventional microelectronic systems by means of microfluidic chemical etching of the constituent materials, including silicon, silicon dioxide, and metals (e.g., aluminum). Demonstrations in an array of home‐built metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors that exploit ultrathin sheets of monocrystalline silicon and in radio‐frequency identification devices illustrate the utility of the approaches.
Triggerable transient electronics are presented with the use of wireless microfluidics to enable complete dissolution of conventional microelectronic systems on demand in a controlled, programmable manner. Demonstration examples include triggered destruction of home‐built metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors and commercial microchips in radio‐frequency identification device.
Loss of green color in leaves results from chlorophyll (Chl) degradation in chloroplasts, but little is known about how Chl catabolism is regulated throughout leaf development. Using the staygreen ...(sgr) mutant in rice (Oryza sativa), which maintains greenness during leaf senescence, we identified Sgr, a senescence-associated gene encoding a novel chloroplast protein. Transgenic rice overexpressing Sgr produces yellowish-brown leaves, and Arabidopsis thaliana pheophorbide a oxygenase-impaired mutants exhibiting a stay-green phenotype during dark-induced senescence have reduced expression of Sgr homologs, indicating that Sgr regulates Chl degradation at the transcriptional level. We show that the leaf stay-greenness of the sgr mutant is associated with a failure in the destabilization of the light-harvesting chlorophyll binding protein (LHCP) complexes of the thylakoid membranes, which is a prerequisite event for the degradation of Chls and LHCPs during senescence. Transient overexpression of Sgr in Nicotiana benthamiana and an in vivo pull-down assay show that Sgr interacts with LHCPII, indicating that the Sgr-LHCPII complexes are formed in the thylakoid membranes. Thus, we propose that in senescing leaves, Sgr regulates Chl degradation by inducing LHCPII disassembly through direct interaction, leading to the degradation of Chls and Chl-free LHCPII by catabolic enzymes and proteases, respectively.
Five perylene acid dyes were synthesized to manufacture water-based inks for the high-speed ink jet printing process, including digital textile printing. All the synthesized perylene dyes exhibited ...superior stability and optical properties compared to a commercially used azo dye. Their water solubility was efficiently enhanced by introducing bulky and hydrophilic substituents to ensure excellent long-term stability when formulated as water-based inks. The water-based inks with these perylene dyes showed outstanding print clarity with the colours different from the basic colour composition of the existing digital textile printing inks. They also exhibited good ejection performance and helped conduct well-controlled pattern printing when used in a commercial ink jet printing machine.
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•The five Perylene acid dyes were synthesized and suitably formulated into inks.•The optical properties and the stability of synthesized dyes were excellent.•The long-term stability of the prepared inks was excellent.•The inks were helpful for expressing the expanded colour range in DTP application.•The inks exhibited excellent ejection properties during inkjet printing.
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