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Mitochondrial deficits or altered expressions of microRNAs are associated with the pathogenesis of various diseases, and microRNA-operated control of mitochondrial activity has been reported. Using a retrovirus-mediated short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) system, we observed that miR-24-mediated H2AX knockdown (H2AX-KD) impaired both mitochondria and the insulin signaling pathway. The overexpression of miR-24 decreased mitochondrial H2AX and disrupted mitochondrial function, as indicated by the ATP content, membrane potential and oxygen consumption. Similar mitochondrial damage was observed in shH2AX-mediated specific H2AX-KD cells. The H2AX-KD reduced the expression levels of mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) and mitochondrial DNA-dependent transcripts. H2AX-KD mitochondria were swollen, and their cristae were destroyed. H2AX-KD also blocked the import of precursor proteins into mitochondria and the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of IRS-1 (Y632) and Akt (S473 and T308). The rescue of H2AX, but not the nuclear form of ΔC24-H2AX, restored all features of miR-24- or shH2AXmediated impairment of mitochondria. Hepatic miR-24 levels were significantly increased in db/db and ob/ob mice. A strong feedback loop may be present among miR-24, H2AX, mitochondria and the insulin signaling pathway. Our findings suggest that H2AX-targeting miR-24 may be a novel negative regulator of mitochondrial function and is implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. KCI Citation Count: 18

Polymeric liners, one of the main components of hydrogen tanks, have attracted significant research interest because of their lightweight and high-impact strength. Despite their advantages, high gas permeability limits their applications. Thus, numerous studies have been conducted to improve the gas barrier properties of polymer-based composites. In this study, we used a polyamide 6 (PA6)/ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) blend as a matrix for high hydrogen gas barrier properties and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber as reinforcement for injection moldability. The ternary polymer blends were successfully injection molded, and their morphology, mechanical properties, and gas permeability were measured. In addition, we performed a rheological investigation to analyze the processability of the ternary polymer blends. As a result, the developed material system showed a 28% reduction in hydrogen permeability and a 11% improvement in tensile strength compared to a commercial material. This study will be a valuable resource for the research of polymeric liners with efficient and reliable performance. Graphical Abstract

Lithium is one of the highly used elements in various industries such as ceramics, polymer and battery. Considering the enormous demand of lithium based battery, the importance of lithium is getting higher in these days. To recover lithium in environmentally friendly manner, lithium binding peptide displaying recombinant Escherchia coli was constructed. The display of peptide was conceived by employing OmpC as an anchoring motif. The ability of the peptide to bind lithium was evaluated in three different media, and the selectivity of the peptide towards lithium was estimated. The physio-chemical and optical parameter of the adsorbed lithium nanoparticles was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), UV, and Raman spectroscopy.

We report the results of an investigation of the Rayleigh-like instability during the solid-state dewetting of stripe patches patterned from 30-nm-thick single-crystal Ni(100) and Pd(100) films. The stability of the dewetting lines is shown to be highly anisotropic, leading to a strong dependence of the interspacing of the dewetted particles on the crystallographic orientations of the patches. The dewetting lines are most stable against the Rayleigh-like instability in the or the direction, resulting in maximum interparticle spacing. The stability of the and that of the lines are observed to increase under the condition in which oxygen adsorption on the film’s surface decreases and increases, respectively. The mean interspacing of the particles can be controlled by using artificial perturbations along the patch edges, and its dispersion is significantly narrowed in the direction in which the spontaneous wavelength is comparable to or greater than the characteristic length scale of a given artificial perturbation.

The utilisation of industrial by-products and waste materials as supplementary materials in cement-based composites offers a sustainable approach towards reducing environmental impact and optimising resource utilisation in construction. This study investigates the potential use of ferronickel slag (FNS) aggregates in cement mortar, focusing on their influence on alkali silica reactivity (ASR) and mechanical properties. The compressive strength of mortar mixes was evaluated at different water to cement ratio, with varying proportions of FNS as a replacement for natural sand. The results revealed that a 50% replacement of standard sand with FNS aggregates yielded the highest compressive strength, reaching a maximum of 59.49 MPa. Full replacement with FNS aggregates ASR expansion tests indicated that FNS aggregates are highly reactive in NaOH solutions, with expansion levels exceeding ASTM limits. However, innocuous expansion was observed in water and Ca(OH)₂ environments, highlighting their stabilizing effect. Regression analysis showed that use of FNS aggregates present challenges in strongly alkaline environments, they hold significant potential for enhancing the mechanical properties of cement mortar, particularly when used in balanced proportions.

Background: Several noninvasive tools are available for the assessment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) including clinical and blood biomarkers, transient elastography (TE), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, such as proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). In the present study, we aimed to evaluate whether magnetic resonance (MR)-based examinations better discriminate the pathophysiologic features and fibrosis progression in NAFLD than other noninvasive methods.Methods: A total of 133 subjects (31 healthy volunteers and 102 patients with NAFLD) were subjected to clinical and noninvasive NAFLD evaluation, with additional liver biopsy in some patients (n=54).Results: MRI-PDFF correlated far better with hepatic fat measured by MR spectroscopy (r=0.978, P<0.001) than with the TE controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) (r=0.727, P<0.001). In addition, MRI-PDFF showed stronger correlations with various pathophysiologic parameters for cellular injury, glucose and lipid metabolism, and inflammation, than the TE-CAP. The MRI-PDFF and TE-CAP cutoff levels associated with abnormal elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase were 9.9% and 270 dB/m, respectively. The MRE liver stiffness measurement (LSM) showed stronger correlations with liver enzymes, platelets, complement component 3, several clinical fibrosis scores, and the enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) score than the TE-LSM. In an analysis of only biopsied patients, MRE performed better in discriminating advanced fibrosis with a cutoff value of 3.9 kPa than the TE (cutoff 8.1 kPa) and ELF test (cutoff 9.2 kPa).Conclusion: Our results suggest that MRI-based assessment of NAFLD is the best non-invasive tool that captures the histologic, pathophysiologic and metabolic features of the disease.

L-serine is a non-essential amino acid which has a wide range of applications and plays an important role as a building block for growing cells. L-serine microbial development is considered a difficult activity due to L-serine’s central role in cellular metabolism with 2 main degradation pathways. A novel strategy is needed to overcome the L-serine degradation pathway and low L-serine tolerance of Escherichia coli for efficient L-serine production. A synthetic protein scaffold between SerB and EamA was introduced in this study to physically combine the two enzymes. Through this strategy, the L-serine production is more efficient than in competing pathways. By the introduction of a synthetic protein scaffold without metabolic pathway engineering or addition of glycine, 1.8 g/L of L-serine was produced at pH7 and 37°C. By fermentation, 9.4 g/L of serine was produced at a yield of 0.34 mol/mol glucose. These results suggest that the carbon flux was successfully directed to the L-serine secretion pathway without knocking out a competing pathway or adding expensive glycine.

Although the post functionalization of versatile polydopamine (pD) films enables the expression of functional groups of interest on target substrates, their immobilization generally lacks site-selectivity within a surface platform. In this paper, we report a site-selective conjugation method to functionalize pD films based on the combination of simple photolithographic techniques. The essence of the chemical functionalization strategy was the use of the aryl azide group, whose photolysis induces the generation of reactive nitrene groups that functionalize hydrocarbon networks of pD films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) analyses indicated that the pD film was functionalized primarily with aryl azide groups under UV irradiation and the introduction of a photomask enabled the pattern generation of the initiator that was tethered with the aryl azide group. A subsequent surface-initiated polymerization on their substrates produced a patterned polymer brush, expressing their own functionality on the surface platform.

Due to the development of leisure sports industry and the increase in delivery demand, the demand for two-wheeled vehicles such as the motorcycle is increasing every year; moreover, the motorcycle accident rate is increasing. The motorcyclist’s body is exposed to the outside, and in cases of accidents, the head and the neck are particularly vulnerable. This paper proposes a study about an air bag equipped with Artificial Intelligence to protect the driver’s neck spine from motorcycle accidents. Through the six-axis sensor, it receives the driver’s motor condition data about the acceleration and angular velocity data and measures real time speed and angle; combines them with algorithms that can judge accidents through Artificial Intelligence learning to activate airbags in real time. Data were collected and learned by dividing the types of accidents; for Artificial Intelligence learning, the general Neural Network method was not used however, a mix of parallel Neural Network with an existing Neural Network were used instead. The Artificial Intelligence learning method proposed in this paper has been found to have more improved accuracy, stability and learning time compared to the existing Neural Network.

Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines have become a prevalent immunization method, even as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic recedes. However, the potential adverse effects using mRNA vaccines need to be explored in this evolving landscape. In this study, 60 participants were randomly assigned to receive either an mRNA vaccine, specifically for COVID-19, or a conventional vaccine for meningococcal disease. Symptom records and blood samples were collected on Days 0, 3, and 7 after vaccination. Results showed that recipients of mRNA vaccines exhibited elevated levels of serum acute-phase proteins, such as haptoglobin and C-reactive protein, alongside decreased white blood cell counts compared to those receiving conventional vaccines. Proteomic analysis identified significant changes in nine proteins, including interactions involving complement component C9, haptoglobin, and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, suggesting implications for complement activation and inflammatory responses. Furthermore, variability in anti-polyethylene glycol antibody levels was noted among mRNA vaccine recipients compared to conventional vaccine recipients. This research aims to provide useful information to help develop future vaccination strategies and shape research directions to mitigate individual adverse effects.