Organometal Halide Perovskite-Based Photoelectrochemical Module Systems for Scalable Unassisted Solar Water Splitting.

Despite achievements in the remarkable photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of photoelectrodes based on organometal halide perovskites (OHPs), the scaling up of small-scale OHP-based PEC systems to large-scale systems remains a great challenge for their practical application in solar water splitting. Significant resistive losses and intrinsic defects are major obstacles to the scaling up of OHP-based PEC systems, leading to the PEC performance degradation of large-scale OHP photoelectrodes. Herein, a scalable design of the OHP-based PEC systems by modularization of the optimized OHP photoelectrodes exhibiting a high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 10.4% is suggested. As a proof-of-concept, the OHP-based PEC module achieves an optimal PEC performance by avoiding major obstacles in the scaling up of the OHP photoelectrodes. The constructed OHP module is composed of a total of 16 OHP photoelectrodes, and a photocurrent of 11.52 mA is achieved under natural sunlight without external bias. The successful operation of unassisted solar water splitting using the OHP module without external bias can provide insights into the design of scalable OHP-based PEC systems for future practical application and commercialization.

Photoelectrochemical Selective Oxidation of Glycerol to Glyceraldehyde with Bi-Based Metal-Organic-Framework-Decorated WO3 Photoanode.

The conversion of glycerol to high-value-added products via photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation has emerged as a promising approach for utilizing a sustainable and clean energy source with environmental and economic benefits. Moreover, the energy requirement for glycerol to produce hydrogen is lower than that for pure water splitting. In this study, we propose the use of WO3 nanostructures decorated with Bi-based metal-organic frameworks (Bi-MOFs) as the photoanode for glycerol oxidation with simultaneous hydrogen production. The WO3-based electrodes selectively converted glycerol to glyceraldehyde, a high-value-added product, with remarkable selectivity. The Bi-MOF-decorated WO3 nanorods enhanced the surface charge transfer and adsorption properties, thereby improving the photocurrent density and production rate (1.53 mA/cm2 and 257 mmol/m2·h at 0.8 VRHE). The photocurrent was maintained for 10 h, ensuring stable glycerol conversion. Furthermore, at 1.2 VRHE, the average production rate of glyceraldehyde reached 420 mmol/m2·h, with a selectivity of 93.6% between beneficial oxidized products over the photoelectrode. This study provides a practical approach for the conversion of glycerol to glyceraldehyde via the selective oxidation of WO3 nanostructures and demonstrates the potential of Bi-MOFs as a promising cocatalyst for PEC biomass valorization.

Maternal probiotic intake attenuates ileal Crh receptor gene expression in maternally separated rat offspring.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh) and its receptors (Crhr) mediate stress-induced gastrointestinal dysfunctions. Neonatal maternal separation (MS) increased ileal Crhr1 transcript quantities in young rat offspring. Exposure to either MS or adulthood restraint stress increased ileal Crhr1 and Crhr2 transcript quantities only in adult female offspring. Maternal probiotic intervention reversed Crhr overexpression, suggesting a potential early prophylaxis against stress-induced gut dysfunctions.

Mixed Biopolymer Systems Based on Bovine and Caprine Caseins, Yeast ß-Glucan, and Maltodextrin for Microencapsulating Lutein Dispersed in Emulsified Lipid Carriers.

Lutein is an important antioxidant that quenches free radicals. The stability of lutein and hence compatibility for food fortification is a big challenge to the food industry. Encapsulation can be designed to protect lutein from the adverse environment (air, heat, light, pH). In this study, we determined the impact of mixed biopolymer systems based on bovine and caprine caseins, yeast ß-glucan, and maltodextrin as wall systems for microencapsulating lutein dispersed in emulsified lipid carriers by spray drying. The performance of these wall systems at oil/water interfaces is a key factor affecting the encapsulation of lutein. The highest encapsulation efficiency (97.7%) was achieved from the lutein microcapsules prepared with the mixed biopolymer system of caprine αs1-II casein, yeast ß-glucan, and maltodextrin. Casein type and storage time affected the stability of lutein. The stability of lutein was the highest (64.57%) in lutein microcapsules prepared with the mixed biopolymer system of caprine αs1-II casein, yeast ß-glucan, and maltodextrin, whereas lutein microcapsules prepared with the biopolymer system of bovine casein, yeast ß-glucan, and maltodextrin had the lowest (56.01%). The stability of lutein in the lutein microcapsules dramatically decreased during storage time. The antioxidant activity of lutein in the lutein microcapsules was closely associated with the lutein concentration.

Stability of Fucoxanthin in Pasteurized Skim and Whole Goat Milk.

Obesity has become a worldwide problem giving rise to several health issues. Fucoxanthin, a marine carotenoid with anti-obesity activity, has potential application as a biofunctional ingredient in human food. The objective of this study was to evaluate the thermal stability of fucoxanthin at pasteurization temperature and, subsequently, its storage stability in goat whole milk (WM) and skim milk (SM) at refrigeration temperature for four weeks. Additionally, the effect of supplementation of fucoxanthin on the composition of milk, pH, acidity, color, and lipid oxidation of WM and SM was evaluated during the four week storage period. Fresh goat WM and SM were supplemented with fucoxanthin at a concentration of 10.67 µg/mL (2.56 mg/240 mL of milk, one serving), pasteurized at 64 °C for 30 min and stored at 4 °C for four weeks. The quantification of fucoxanthin in WM and SM was performed every week using a HPLC method. Moreover, the effect of supplementation of fucoxanthin on the composition of WM and SM was evaluated by a LactiCheck milk analyzer, and the color was evaluated by reflectance using a HunterLab colorimeter. Lipid oxidation, as the 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) at A532, was determined using a Spectramax Plus spectrophotometer during storage. Data were analyzed by a split-plot design using PROC MIXED of SAS. The recovery yields of fucoxanthin from the pasteurized WM and SM were 96.17 ± 1.5 % and 96.89 ± 1.5 %, respectively. Both milks exhibited high recovery yields of fucoxanthin. Fucoxanthin was stable in goat WM and SM during storage at 4 °C for four weeks. The addition of fucoxanthin, at the concentration reported to have an anti-obesity effect in humans, to pasteurized WM and SM did not affect the composition or the physicochemical properties of milks but influenced the color, especially increasing the yellowness in the samples. These results revealed that goat milk can be used as a suitable matrix for the supplementation of fucoxanthin as a biofunctional ingredient in human foods.

Bendable BiVO4-Based Photoanodes on a Metal Substrate Realized through Template Engineering for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

Unlike planar photoelectrodes, bendable and malleable photoelectrodes extend their application to mechanical flexibility beyond conventional rigid structures, which have garnered new attention in the field of photoelectrochemical water splitting. A bendable metal (Hastelloy), which has both bendability and compatibility with various oxide layers, allows high-temperature processes for crystallization; therefore it is far superior as a substrate than a conventional flexible polymer. In this study, we fabricate bendable BiVO4 crystalline thin films on the metal substrates by employing template layers (SrRuO3/SrTiO3) to reduce the structural misfits between BiVO4 and the substrate. The crystallinities were verified through X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, and photocatalytic performances were examined. The crystallinity of BiVO4 was significantly improved by utilizing similar lattice constants and affinities between BiVO4 and the oxide template layers. We also formed a type II heterojunction by adding a WO3 layer which complements the charge separation and charge transfer as a photoanode. The photocurrent densities of tensile-bent BiVO4/WO3 thin films with a bending radius of 10 mm are comparable to those of pristine BiVO4/WO3 thin film in various aqueous electrolytes. Moreover, photostability tests showed that the tensile-bent crystalline photoanodes retained 90% of their initial photocurrent density after 24 h, which proved their exceptional durability. Our work demonstrates that the bendable photoelectrodes with crystallinity hold great potential in terms of device structure for solar-driven water splitting.

Interface Compositions as Determinants of Resveratrol Stability in Nanoemulsion Delivery Systems.

The incorporation of hydrophobic ingredients, such as resveratrol (a fat-soluble phytochemical), in nanoemulsions can increase the water solubility and stability of these hydrophobic ingredients. The nanodelivery of resveratrol can result in a marked improvement in the bioavailability of this health-promoting ingredient. The current study hypothesized that resveratrol can bind to caprine casein, which may result in the preservation of the biological properties of resveratrol. The fluorescence spectra provided proof of this complex formation by demonstrating that resveratrol binds to caprine casein in the vicinity of tryptophan amino acid residues. The caprine casein/resveratrol complex is stabilized by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. Hence, to study the rate of resveratrol degradation during processing/storage, resveratrol losses were determined by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) in nanoemulsions stabilized by bovine and caprine caseins individually and in combination with polysorbate-20. At 48 h oxidation, 88.33% and 89.08% was left of resveratrol in the nanoemulsions stabilized by caprine casein (αs1-I)/polysorbate-20 complex and caprine (αs1-II)/polysorbate-20 complex, while there was less resveratrol left in the nanoemulsions stabilized by bovine casein/polysorbate-20 complex, suggesting that oxygen degradation was involved. The findings of this study are crucial for the food industry since they imply the potential use of caprine casein/polysorbate-20 complex to preserve the biological properties of resveratrol.

Direct In Situ Growth of Centimeter-Scale Multi-Heterojunction MoS2/WS2/WSe2 Thin-Film Catalyst for Photo-Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution.

To date, the in situ fabrication of the large-scale van der Waals multi-heterojunction transition metal dichalcogenides (multi-TMDs) is significantly challenging using conventional deposition methods. In this study, vertically stacked centimeter-scale multi-TMD (MoS2/WS2/WSe2 and MoS2/WSe2) thin films are successfully fabricated via sequential pulsed laser deposition (PLD), which is an in situ growth process. The fabricated MoS2/WS2/WSe2 thin film on p-type silicon (p-Si) substrate is designed to form multistaggered gaps (type-II band structure) with p-Si, and this film exhibits excellent spatial and thickness uniformity, which is verified by Raman spectroscopy. Among various application fields, MoS2/WS2/WSe2 is applied to the thin-film catalyst of a p-Si photocathode, to effectively transfer the photogenerated electrons from p-Si to the electrolyte in the photo-electrochemical (PEC) hydrogen evolution. From a comparison between the PEC performances of the homostructure TMDs (homo-TMDs)/p-Si and multi-TMDs/p-Si, it is demonstrated that the multistaggered gap of multi-TMDs/p-Si improves the PEC performance significantly more than the homo-TMDs/p-Si and bare p-Si by effective charge transfer. The new in situ growth process for the fabrication of multi-TMD thin films offers a novel and innovative method for the application of multi-TMD thin films to various fields.

Roles of hCG in Advancing Follicular Growth to Ovulation after Concurrent Injections of PGF(2α) and GnRH in Postpubertal Holstein Heifers Bearing a CL.

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that injecting Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) concurrently with Prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF(2α)) followed by an injection of human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), would advance follicular growth to ovulation in Holstein heifers bearing a corpus luteum (CL). After manual examination of the CL, group 1 (PGF; n = 12) received an injection of PGF(2α) (25 mg, im). Group 2 (PGF + GnRH; n = 13) received an injection of GnRH (100 µg, im) immediately after an injection of PGF(2α). Group 3 (PGF + GnRH + hCG; n = 12) received concurrent injections of PGF(2α) and GnRH followed with hCG (1500 IU, im) two days later. Follicular size and day of ovulation were monitored by daily ultrasonographic examination from days 1 to 10. Blood was collected on days-7, 0 (PGF(2α) administration), 2, and 7. Progesterone was not different (P > .05) on days-7, 0, and 2 between the experimental groups. However, it was higher (P < .005) in the PGF + GnRH + hCG group on day 7 compared to PGF + GnRH heifers, but not significantly higher than the PGF. Additionally, heifers in the PGF + GnRH + hCG group ovulated earlier (P < .05) than heifers in the PGF + GnRH and the PGF group. This data indicates that hCG advances follicular growth to ovulation in spite of high levels of progesterone when injected 48 h after concurrent treatments of GnRH and PGF(2α) on heifers bearing a CL.

A copula method for modeling directional dependence of genes.

BACKGROUND: Genes interact with each other as basic building blocks of life, forming a complicated network. The relationship between groups of genes with different functions can be represented as gene networks. With the deposition of huge microarray data sets in public domains, study on gene networking is now possible. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the reconstruction of gene networks from gene expression data. Recent work includes linear models, Boolean network models, and Bayesian networks. Among them, Bayesian networks seem to be the most effective in constructing gene networks. A major problem with the Bayesian network approach is the excessive computational time. This problem is due to the interactive feature of the method that requires large search space. Since fitting a model by using the copulas does not require iterations, elicitation of the priors, and complicated calculations of posterior distributions, the need for reference to extensive search spaces can be eliminated leading to manageable computational affords. Bayesian network approach produces a discretely expression of conditional probabilities. Discreteness of the characteristics is not required in the copula approach which involves use of uniform representation of the continuous random variables. Our method is able to overcome the limitation of Bayesian network method for gene-gene interaction, i.e. information loss due to binary transformation. RESULTS: We analyzed the gene interactions for two gene data sets (one group is eight histone genes and the other group is 19 genes which include DNA polymerases, DNA helicase, type B cyclin genes, DNA primases, radiation sensitive genes, repaire related genes, replication protein A encoding gene, DNA replication initiation factor, securin gene, nucleosome assembly factor, and a subunit of the cohesin complex) by adopting a measure of directional dependence based on a copula function. We have compared our results with those from other methods in the literature. Although microarray results show a transcriptional co-regulation pattern and do not imply that the gene products are physically interactive, this tight genetic connection may suggest that each gene product has either direct or indirect connections between the other gene products. Indeed, recent comprehensive analysis of a protein interaction map revealed that those histone genes are physically connected with each other, supporting the results obtained by our method. CONCLUSION: The results illustrate that our method can be an alternative to Bayesian networks in modeling gene interactions. One advantage of our approach is that dependence between genes is not assumed to be linear. Another advantage is that our approach can detect directional dependence. We expect that our study may help to design artificial drug candidates, which can block or activate biologically meaningful pathways. Moreover, our copula approach can be extended to investigate the effects of local environments on protein-protein interactions. The copula mutual information approach will help to propose the new variant of ARACNE (Algorithm for the Reconstruction of Accurate Cellular Networks): an algorithm for the reconstruction of gene regulatory networks.

The effects of bimatoprost and unoprostone isopropyl on the intraocular pressure of normal cats.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects on intraocular pressure (IOP), pupillary diameter (PD), blepharospasm score, conjunctival injection score, and aqueous humor flare score when either 0.03% bimatoprost solution is applied once daily or 0.15% unoprostone isopropyl solution is applied twice daily topically to the eyes of normal cats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The aforementioned parameters were evaluated daily in each of 12 cats throughout the entirety of the study. During an initial 10-day treatment phase a single eye of six of the cats was treated with 0.03% bimatoprost solution while a single eye of the remaining six cats was treated with buffered saline solution (BSS) once daily. During a second 10-day treatment phase a single eye of six of the cats was treated with 0.15% unoprostone isopropyl solution while a single eye of the remaining six cats was treated with BSS twice daily. Contralateral eyes of all cats remained untreated at all time points. RESULTS: Blepharospasm score, conjunctival injection score, and aqueous humor flare score never rose from a value of 0, for any eye of any cat during the study. The mean +/- SD of IOP for eyes treated with 0.03% bimatoprost solution and BSS were 16.55 +/- 3.06 mmHg and 18.02 +/- 3.52 mmHg, respectively. The mean +/- of PD for eyes treated with 0.03% bimatoprost solution and BSS were 5.7 +/- 1.57 mm and 6.39 +/- 1.78 mm, respectively. The mean +/- SD of IOP for eyes treated with 0.15% unoprostone isopropyl solution and BSS were 15.7 +/- 2.91 mmHg and 17.2 +/- 2.9 mmHg, respectively. The mean +/- SD of PD for eyes treated with 0.15% unoprostone isopropyl solution and BSS were 5.8 +/- 1.43 mm and 6.9 +/- 1.37 mm, respectively. There was no significant difference (P > or = 0.05) in IOP or PD between eyes treated with 0.03% bimatoprost solution vs. eyes treated with BSS. Similarly, there was no significant difference (P > or = 0.05) in IOP or PD between eyes treated with 0.15% unoprostone isopropyl solution vs. eyes treated with BSS. CONCLUSION: Neither once daily topical administration of 0.03% bimatoprost solution nor twice daily topical administration of 0.15% unoprostone isopropyl solution significantly affect the IOP of normal cats. Both 0.03% bimatoprost solution and 0.15% unoprostone isopropyl solution induced no significant ocular side effects in normal cats when dosed over a 10-day treatment period.