Effects of Electromagnetic Waves with LTE and 5G Bandwidth on the Skin Pigmentation In Vitro

With the rapid growth of wireless communication devices, the influences of electromagnetic fields (EMF) on human health are gathering increasing attention. Since the skin is the largest organ of the body and is located at the outermost layer, it is considered a major target for the health effects of EMF. Skin pigmentation represents one of the most frequent symptoms caused by various non-ionizing radiations, including ultraviolet radiation, blue light, infrared, and extremely low frequency (ELF). Here, we investigated the effects of EMFs with long-term evolution (LTE, 1.762 GHz) and 5G (28 GHz) bandwidth on skin pigmentation in vitro. Murine and Human melanoma cells (B16F10 and MNT-1) were exposed to either LTE or 5G for 4 h per day, which is considered the upper bound of average smartphone use time. It was shown that neither LTE nor 5G exposure induced significant effects on cell viability or pigmentation. The dendrites of MNT-1 were neither lengthened nor regressed after EMF exposure. Skin pigmentation effects of EMFs were further examined in the human keratinocyte cell line (MNT-1-HaCaT) co-culture system, which confirmed the absence of significant hyper-pigmentation effects of LTE and 5G EMFs. Lastly, MelanoDerm™, a 3D pigmented human epidermis model, was irradiated with LTE (1.762 GHz) or 5G (28 GHz), and image analysis and special staining were performed. No changes in the brightness of MelanoDerm™ tissues were observed in LTE- or 5G-exposed tissues, except for only minimal changes in the size of melanocytes. Collectively, these results imply that exposure to LTE and 5G EMFs may not affect melanin synthesis or skin pigmentation under normal smartphone use condition.     

Capsiate Intake with Exercise Training Additively Reduces Fat Deposition in Mice on a High-Fat Diet,but Not without Exercise Training

While exercise training (ET) is an efficient strategy to manage obesity, it is recommended with a dietary plan to maximize the antiobesity functions owing to a compensational increase in energy intake. Capsiate is a notable bioactive compound for managing obesity owing to its capacity to increase energy expenditure. We aimed to examine whether the antiobesity effects of ET can be further enhanced by capsiate intake (CI) and determine its effects on resting energy expenditure and metabolic molecules. Mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 per group) and fed high-fat diet. Mild-intensity treadmill ET was conducted five times/week; capsiate (10 mg/kg) was orally administered daily. After 8 weeks, resting metabolic rate and metabolic molecules were analyzed. ET with CI additively reduced the abdominal fat rate by 18% and solely upregulated beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue (p = 0.013) but did not affect the metabolic molecules in skeletal muscles. Surprisingly, CI without ET significantly increased the abdominal fat rate (p = 0.001) and reduced energy expenditure by 9%. Therefore, capsiate could be a candidate compound for maximizing the antiobesity effects of ET by upregulating beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue, but CI without ET may not be beneficial in managing obesity.     

Lithiophilic MXene-Guided Lithium Metal Nucleation and Growth Behavior

The positive effects of a lithiophilic substrate on the electrochemical performance of lithium metal anodes are confirmed in several reports, while the understanding of lithiophilic substrate-guided lithium metal nucleation and growth behavior is still insufficient. In this study, the effect of a lithiophilic surface on lithium metal nucleation and growth behaviors is investigated using a large-area Ti₃C₂T_x MXene substrate with a large number of oxygen and fluorine dual heteroatoms. The use of the MXene substrate results in a high lithium-ion concentration as well as the formation of uniform solid–electrolyte-interface (SEI) layers on the lithiophilic surface. The solid–solid interface (MXene-SEI layer) significantly affects the surface tension of the deposited lithium metal nuclei as well as the nucleation overpotential, resulting in the formation of uniformly dispersed lithium nanoparticles ( ≈ 10–20 nm in diameter) over the entire MXene surface. The primary lithium nanoparticles preferentially coalesce and agglomerate into larger secondary particles while retaining their primary particle shapes. Subsequently, they form close-packed structures, resulting in a dense metal layer composed of particle-by-particle microstructures. This distinctive lithium metal deposition behavior leads to highly reversible cycling performance with high Columbic efficiencies >  99.0% and long cycle lives of over 1000 cycles.     

AP2M1 Supports TGF-β Signals to Promote Collagen Expression by Inhibiting Caveolin Expression

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is important for normal development and disease states, including inflammation and fibrosis. To understand the complex regulation of ECM, we performed a suppressor screening using Caenorhabditis elegans expressing the mutant ROL-6 collagen protein. One cuticle mutant has a mutation in dpy-23 that encodes the μ2 adaptin (AP2M1) of clathrin-associated protein complex II (AP-2). The subsequent suppressor screening for dpy-23 revealed the lon-2 mutation. LON-2 functions to regulate body size through negative regulation of the tumor growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway responsible for ECM production. RNA-seq analysis showed a dominant change in the expression of collagen genes and cuticle components. We noted an increase in the cav-1 gene encoding caveolin-1, which functions in clathrin-independent endocytosis. By knockdown of cav-1, the reduced TGF-β signal was significantly restored in the dpy-23 mutant. In conclusion, the dpy-23 mutation upregulated cav-1 expression in the hypodermis, and increased CAV-1 resulted in a decrease of TβRI. Finally, the reduction of collagen expression including rol-6 by the reduced TGF-β signal influenced the cuticle formation of the dpy-23 mutant. These findings could help us to understand the complex process of ECM regulation in organism development and disease conditions.     

Validation of avenanthramide and other phenolic compounds in oats and sprouted oats and their antimicrobial properties against Escherichia coli O157:H7

Food Science and Biotechnology - Oat contains a variety of phenolic compounds, including avenanthramides, which are found only in oats. This study was conducted to establish the quantitative...     

The Effect of Interface Cracks on the Electrical Performance of Solar Cells

Among a variety of solar cell types, thin-film solar cells have been rigorously investigated as cost-effective and efficient solar cells. In many cases, flexible solar cells are also fabricated as thin films and undergo frequent stress due to the rolling and bending modes of applications. These frequent motions result in crack initiation and propagation (including delamination) in the thin-film solar cells, which cause degradation in efficiency. Reliability evaluation of solar cells is essential for developing a new type of solar cell. In this paper, we investigated the effect of layer delamination and grain boundary crack on 3D thin-film solar cells. We used finite element method simulation for modeling of both electrical performance and cracked structure of 3D solar cells. Through simulations, we quantitatively calculated the effect of delamination length on 3D copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cell performance. Moreover, it was confirmed that the grain boundary of CIGS could improve the solar cell performance and that grain boundary cracks could decrease cell performance by altering the open circuit voltage. In this paper, the investigated material is a CIGS solar cell, but our method can be applied to general polycrystalline solar cells.     

Variables Applicable to Benchmarking of Tap-Hole Life-Cycle Management Practices in Coke-Bed-Based Ferroalloy Production

Benchmarking is a tool available to furnace operators to evaluate their tap-hole life-cycle management practices against those of their peers. It allows furnace operators to challenge their own practices in order to increase furnace utilization. To facilitate the benchmarking process, it is necessary to define the variables to be considered and how they relate to one another. This article develops, from the literature and industry interviews, a holistic conceptualization of the variables that form part of tap-hole lifecycle management and performance. Specifically, the article focuses on the variables related to coke-bed-based processes (FeCr, SiMn, and HCFeMn) applying SAF technology of circular design.     

Removal of Antimony and Bismuth from Copper Electrorefining Electrolyte: Part II—An Investigation of Two Proprietary Solvent Extraction Extractants

Antimony and bismuth recovery from copper electrorefining electrolyte could reduce the impacts of these problem elements and produce a new primary source for them. Two proprietary phosphonic acid ester extractants were examined (REX-1 and REX-2) for the removal of antimony and bismuth from copper electrorefining electrolytes. Experimentation included shakeout and break tests to determine the basic parameters for the extractants in terms of maximum loading, break times, and extraction and stripping efficiency. Five permutations of extractant mixtures (100 wt.% REX-1 and 25 wt.%, 50 wt.%, 75 wt.% and 100 wt.% REX-2) were studied. It was determined that REX-2 was able to extract Sb and Bi from the electrolyte, but required some mixture with REX-1 to better facilitate stripping with 400 g/L sulfuric acid. The laboratory electrorefining electrolyte containing glue had faster disengagement times than a synthetic solution without glue.