Adipose Tissue Dysfunction and Obesity-Related Male Hypogonadism

Obesity is a chronic illness associated with several metabolic derangements and comorbidities (i.e., insulin resistance, leptin resistance, diabetes, etc.) and often leads to impaired testicular function and male subfertility. Several mechanisms may indeed negatively affect the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal health, such as higher testosterone conversion to estradiol by aromatase activity in the adipose tissue, increased ROS production, and the release of several endocrine molecules affecting the hypothalamus–pituitary–testis axis by both direct and indirect mechanisms. In addition, androgen deficiency could further accelerate adipose tissue expansion and therefore exacerbate obesity, which in turn enhances hypogonadism, thus inducing a vicious cycle. Based on these considerations, we propose an overview on the relationship of adipose tissue dysfunction and male hypogonadism, highlighting the main biological pathways involved and the current therapeutic options to counteract this condition.     

NGF Modulates Cholesterol Metabolism and Stimulates ApoE Secretion in Glial Cells Conferring Neuroprotection against Oxidative Stress

Cholesterol plays a crucial role in the brain, where its metabolism is particularly regulated by astrocytic activity. Indeed, adult neurons suppress their own cholesterol biosynthesis and import this sterol through ApoE-rich particles secreted from astrocytes. Recent evidence suggests that nerve growth factor (NGF) may exert neurotrophic activity by influencing cell metabolism. Nevertheless, the effect of NGF on glial cholesterol homeostasis has still not been elucidated. Thus, the aim of this project is to assess whether NGF could influence cholesterol metabolism in glial cells. To reach this objective, the U373 astrocyte-derived cell line was used as an experimental model. Immunoblot and ELISA analysis showed that proteins and enzymes belonging to the cholesterol metabolism network were increased upon NGF treatment in glial cells. Furthermore, NGF significantly increased ApoE secretion and the amount of extracellular cholesterol in the culture medium. Co-culture and U373-conditioned medium experiments demonstrated that NGF treatment efficiently counteracted rotenone-mediated cytotoxicity in N1E-115 neuronal cells. Conversely, neuroprotection mediated by NGF treatment was suppressed when N1E-115 were co-cultured with ApoE-silenced U373 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that NGF controls cholesterol homeostasis in glial cells. More importantly, NGF exerts neuroprotection against oxidative stress, which is likely associated with the induction of glial ApoE secretion.     

Fibrosis of Peritoneal Membrane as Target of New Therapies in Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an efficient renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. Even if it ensures an outcome equivalent to hemodialysis and a better quality of life, in the long-term, PD is associated with the development of peritoneal fibrosis and the consequents patient morbidity and PD technique failure. This unfavorable effect is mostly due to the bio-incompatibility of PD solution (mainly based on high glucose concentration). In the present review, we described the mechanisms and the signaling pathway that governs peritoneal fibrosis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition of mesothelial cells, and angiogenesis. Lastly, we summarize the present and future strategies for developing more biocompatible PD solutions.     

UNICORE 6 — Recent and Future Advancements

UNICORE is a European Grid Technology with more than 10 years of history. Originating from the Supercomputing domain, the latest version UNICORE 6 has turned into a general-purpose Grid technology that follows established standards and offers a rich set of features to its users. The paper starts with an architectural insight into UNICORE 6, highlighting the workflow features, standards and the different clients. Next, the current state of advancement is presented by describing recent developments. The paper closes with an outlook on future planned developments.     

Ionic‐Liquid Gating of InAs Nanowire‐Based Field‐Effect Transistors

Here, the operation of a field‐effect transistor based on a single InAs nanowire gated by an ionic liquid is reported. Liquid gating yields very efficient carrier modulation with a transconductance value 30 times larger than standard back gating with the SiO₂/Si₊₊ substrate. Thanks to this wide modulation, the controlled evolution from semiconductor to metallic‐like behavior in the nanowire is shown. This work provides the first systematic study of ionic‐liquid gating in electronic devices based on individual III–V semiconductor nanowires: this architecture opens the way to a wide range of fundamental and applied studies from the phase transitions to bioelectronics.     

Improved CO2 Capture from Flue Gas by Basic Sites,Charge Gradients,and Missing Linker Defects on Nickel Face Cubic Centered MOFs

The adsorptive properties of the isoreticular series [Ni₈(OH)₄(H₂O)₂(BDP_X)₆] (H₂BDP_X = 1,4‐bis(pyrazol‐4‐yl)benzene‐4‐X with X = H (1), OH (2), NH₂ (3)) can be enhanced by postsynthetic treatment with an excess of KOH in ethanol. In the case of X = H, NH₂, this treatment leads to partial removal of the organic linkers, deprotonation of coordinated water molecules and introduction of extraframework cations, giving rise to materials of K[Ni₈(OH)₅(EtO)‐(H₂O)₂(BDP_X)_5.5] (1@KOH, 3@KOH) formulation, in which the original framework topology is maintained. By contrast, the same treatment with KOH in the [Ni₈(OH)₄(H₂O)₂(BDP_OH)₆] (2) system, enclosing the more acidic phenol residues, leads to a new material containing a larger fraction of missing linker defects and extra‐framework cations as well as phenolate residues, giving rise to the material K₃[Ni₈(OH)₃(EtO)(H₂O)₆(BDP_O)₅] (2@KOH), which also conserves the original face cubic centered (fcu) topology. It is noteworthy that the introduction of missing linker defects leads to a higher accessible pore volume with a concomitant increased adsorption capacity. Moreover, the creation of coordinatively unsaturated metal centers, charge gradients, and phenolate nucleophilic sites in 2@KOH gives rise to a boosting of CO₂ capture features with increased adsorption heat and adsorption capacity, as proven by the measurement of pulse gas chromatography and breakthrough curve measurements of simulated flue gas.     

Moldless Printing of Silicone Lenses with Embedded Nanostructured Optical Filters

In this work, both light‐shaping and image magnification features are integrated into a single lens element using a moldless procedure that takes advantage of the physical and optical properties of mesoporous silicon (PSi) photonic crystal nanostructures. Casting of a liquid poly(dimethylsiloxane) pre‐polymer solution onto a PSi film generates a droplet with a contact angle that is readily controlled by the silicon nanostructure, and adhesion of the cured polymer to the PSi photonic crystal allows preparation of lightweight (10 mg) freestanding lenses (4.7 mm focal length) with an embedded optical component (e.g., optical rugate filter, resonant cavity, and distributed Bragg reflector). The fabrication process shows excellent reliability (yield 95%) and low cost and the lens is expected to have implications in a wide range of applications. As a proof‐of‐concept, using a single monolithic lens/filter element it is demonstrated: fluorescence imaging of isolated human cancer cells with rejection of the blue excitation light, through a lens that is self‐adhered to a commercial smartphone; shaping of the emission spectrum of a white light emitting diode to tune the color from red through blue; and selection of a narrow wavelength band (bandwidth 5 nm) from a fluorescent molecular probe.     

Function Follows Form: Correlation between the Growth and Local Emission of Perovskite Structures and the Performance of Solar Cells

Understanding the relationship between the growth and local emission of hybrid perovskite structures and the performance of the devices based on them demands attention. This study investigates the local structural and emission features of CH₃NH₃PbI₃, CH₃NH₃PbBr₃, and CH(NH₂)₂PbBr₃ perovskite films deposited under different yet optimized conditions using X‐ray scattering and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy, respectively. X‐ray scattering shows that a CH₃NH₃PbI₃ film involving spin coating of CH₃NH₃I instead of dipping is composed of perovskite structures exhibiting a preferred orientation with [202] direction perpendicular to the surface plane. The device based on the CH₃NH₃PbI₃ film composed of oriented crystals yields a relatively higher photovoltage. In the case of CH₃NH₃PbBr₃, while the crystallinity decreases when the HBr solution is used in a single‐step method, the photovoltage enhancement from 1.1 to 1.46 V seems largely stemming from the morphological improvements, i.e., a better connection between the crystallites due to a higher nucleation density. Furthermore, a high photovoltage of 1.47 V obtained from CH(NH₂)₂PbBr₃ devices could be attributed to the formation of perovskite films displaying uniform cathodoluminescence emission. The comparative analysis of the local structural, morphological, and emission characteristics of the different perovskite films supports the higher photovoltage yielded by the relatively better performing devices.     

Selective Functionalization of Microstructured Surfaces by Laser‐Assisted Particle Transfer

Microcavity arrays represent millions of different reaction compartments to screen, for example, molecular interactions, exogenous factors for cells or enzymatic activity. A novel method is presented to selectively synthesize different compounds in arrays of microcavities with up to 1 000 000 cavities per cm². In this approach, polymer microparticles with embedded pre‐activated monomers are selectively transferred into microcavities with laser radiation. After particle patterning, heating of the particle matrix simultaneously leads to diffusion and coupling of the monomers inside each microcavity separately. This method exhibits flexibility, not only in the choice of compounds, but also in the choice of particle matrix material, which determines the chemical reaction environment. The laser‐assisted selective functionalization of microcavities can be easily combined with the intensively growing number of laser applications for patterning of molecules and cells, which is useful for the development of novel biological assays.