Sirtuins as Important Factors in Pathological States and the Role of Their Molecular Activity Modulators

Sirtuins (SIRTs), enzymes from the family of NAD⁺-dependent histone deacetylases, play an important role in the functioning of the body at the cellular level and participate in many biochemical processes. The multi-directionality of SIRTs encourages scientists to undertake research aimed at understanding the mechanisms of their action and the influence that SIRTs have on the organism. At the same time, new substances are constantly being sought that can modulate the action of SIRTs. Extensive research on the expression of SIRTs in various pathological conditions suggests that regulation of their activity may have positive results in supporting the treatment of certain metabolic, neurodegenerative or cancer diseases or this connected with oxidative stress. Due to such a wide spectrum of activity, SIRTs may also be a prognostic markers of selected pathological conditions and prove helpful in assessing their progression, especially by modulating their activity. The article presents and discusses the activating or inhibiting impact of individual SIRTs modulators. The review also gathered selected currently available information on the expression of SIRTs in individual disease cases as well as the biological role that SIRTs play in the human organism, also in connection with oxidative stress condition, taking into account the progress of knowledge about SIRTs over the years, with particular reference to the latest research results.     

Influence of temperature on acoustic emission source location accuracy in underground structure

An acoustic emission (AE) experiment was carried out to explore the AE location accuracy influenced by temperature. A hollow hemispherical specimen was used to simulate common underground structures. In the process of heating with the flame, the pulse signal of constant frequency was stimulated as an AE source. Then AE signals received by each sensor were collected and used for comparing localization accuracy at different temperatures. Results show that location errors of AE keep the same phenomenon in the early and middle heating stages. In the later stage of heating, location errors of AE increase sharply due to the appearance of cracks. This provides some beneficial suggestions on decreasing location errors of structural cracks caused by temperature and improves the ability of underground structure disaster prevention and control.     

Maskless Preparation of Spatially-Resolved Plasmonic Nanoparticles on Polydimethylsiloxane via In Situ Fluoride-Assisted Synthesis

Here, a fluoride-assisted route for the controlled in-situ synthesis of metal nanoparticles (NPs) (i.e., AgNPs, AuNPs) on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is reported. The size and coverage of the NPs on the PDMS surface are modulated with time and over space during the synthetic process, leveraging the improved yield (10×) and faster kinetics (100×) of NP formation in the presence of F⁻ ions, compared to fluoride-free approaches. This enables the maskless preparation of both linear and step gradients and patterns of NPs in 1D and 2D on the PDMS surface. As an application in flexible plasmonics/photonics, continuous and step-wise spatial modulations of the plasmonic features of PDMS slabs with 1D and 2D AgNP gradients on the surface are demonstrated. An excellent spatially resolved tuning of key optical parameters, namely, optical density from zero to 5 and extinction ratio up to 100 dB, is achieved with AgNP gradients prepared in AgF solution for 12 minutes; the performance are comparable to those of commercial dielectric/interference filters. When used as a rejection filter in optical fluorescence microscopy, the AgNP-PDMS slabs are able to reject the excitation laser at 405 nm and retain the green fluorescence of microbeads (100 µm) used as test cases.     

Nacre-Inspired,Liquid Metal-Based Ultrasensitive Electronic Skin by Spatially Regulated Cracking Strategy

The realization of liquid metal-based wearable systems will be a milestone toward high-performance, integrated electronic skin. However, despite the revolutionary progress achieved in many other components of electronic skin, liquid metal-based flexible sensors still suffer from poor sensitivity due to the insufficient resistance change of liquid metal to deformation. Herein, a nacre-inspired architecture composed of a biphasic pattern (liquid metal with Cr/Cu underlayer) as “bricks” and strain-sensitive Ag film as “mortar” is developed, which breaks the long-standing sensitivity bottleneck of liquid metal-based electronic skin. With 2 orders of magnitude of sensitivity amplification while maintaining wide (>85%) working range, for the first time, liquid metal-based strain sensors rival the state-of-art counterparts. This liquid metal composite features spatially regulated cracking behavior. On the one hand, hard Cr cells locally modulate the strain distribution, which avoids premature cut-through cracks and prolongs the defect propagation in the adjacent Ag film. On the other hand, the separated liquid metal cells prevent unfavorable continuous liquid-metal paths and create crack-free regions during strain. Demonstrated in diverse scenarios, the proposed design concept may spark more applications of ultrasensitive liquid metal-based electronic skins, and reveals a pathway for sensor development via crack engineering.     

Performance evaluation of structural concrete using controlled quality coarse and fine recycled concrete aggregate

This paper presents the fresh, mechanical, and durability performance, of a structural concrete mix classified as C-1, by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) made with controlled quality Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA). Five mixes with water-to-cementing material (w/cm) ratio of 0.40 were produced with various RCA contents and tested against two 0% RCA control mixes made with General Use (GU) cement, and General Use Limestone cement (GUL). The RCA contents in the mixes were 10%, 20%, and 30% by coarse aggregate volume replacement, as well as 10% and 20% fine and coarse (granular) aggregate volume replacement. All evaluated mixes met the specifications from the CSA for fresh, mechanical, and durability properties. The coarse RCA mixes performed better than the granular RCA mixes in terms of flexural and splitting tensile strengths, linear drying shrinkage, water sorptivity, and rapid chloride-ion permeability, where the test results were significantly affected by the ultra fines present in the granular RCA.     

Event-triggered variable horizon Supervisory Predictive control of hybrid power plants

The supervision of a hybrid power plant, including solar panels, a gas microturbine and a storage unit operating under varying solar power profiles is considered. The Economic Supervisory Predictive controller assigns the power references to the controlled subsystems of the hybrid cell using a financial criterion. A prediction of the renewable sources power is embedded into the supervisor. Results deteriorate when the solar power is unsteady, owing to the inaccuracy of the predictions for a long-range horizon of 10 s. The receding horizon is switched between an upper and a lower value according to the amplitude of the solar power trend. Theoretical results show the relevance of horizon switching, according to a tradeoff between performance and prediction accuracy. Experimental results, obtained in a Hardware In the Loop (HIL) framework, show the relevance of the variable horizon approach. Power amplifiers allow us to simulate virtual components, such as a gas microturbine, and to blend their powers with that of real devices (storage unit, real solar panels). In this case, fuel savings, reaching 15%, obtained under unsteady operating conditions lead to a better overall performance of the hybrid cell. The overall savings obtained in the experiments amount to 12%.     

In Silico Analysis and Experimental Validation of Active Compounds from Cichorium intybus L. Ameliorating Liver Injury

This study aimed at investigating the possible mechanisms of hepatic protective activity of Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) in acute liver injury. Pathological observation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection and measurements of biochemical indexes on mouse models proved hepatic protective effect of Cichorium intybus L. Identification of active compounds in Cichorium intybus L. was executed through several methods including ultra performance liquid chromatography/time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-TOF-MS). Similarity ensemble approach (SEA) docking, molecular modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were applied in this study to explore possible mechanisms of the hepato-protective potential of Cichorium intybus L. We then analyzed the chemical composition of Cichorium intybus L., and found their key targets. Furthermore, in vitro cytological examination and western blot were used for validating the efficacy of the selected compounds. In silico analysis and western blot together demonstrated that selected compound 10 in Cichorium intybus L. targeted Akt-1 in hepatocytes. Besides, compound 13 targeted both caspase-1 and Akt-1. These small compounds may ameliorate liver injury by acting on their targets, which are related to apoptosis or autophagy. The conclusions above may shed light on the complex molecular mechanisms of Cichorium intybus L. acting on hepatocytes and ameliorating liver injury.