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"Hasan, M."
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The Possible Role of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain-Axis in Autism Spectrum Disorder
New research points to a possible link between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the gut microbiota as many autistic children have co-occurring gastrointestinal problems. This review focuses on specific alterations of gut microbiota mostly observed in autistic patients. Particularly, the mechanisms through which such alterations may trigger the production of the bacterial metabolites, or leaky gut in autistic people are described. Various altered metabolite levels were observed in the blood and urine of autistic children, many of which were of bacterial origin such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), indoles and lipopolysaccharides (LPS). A less integrative gut-blood-barrier is abundant in autistic individuals. This explains the leakage of bacterial metabolites into the patients, triggering new body responses or an altered metabolism. Some other co-occurring symptoms such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress in cells, altered tight junctions in the blood-brain barrier and structural changes in the cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and cerebellum were also detected. Moreover, this paper suggests that ASD is associated with an unbalanced gut microbiota (dysbiosis). Although the cause-effect relationship between ASD and gut microbiota is not yet well established, the consumption of specific probiotics may represent a side-effect free tool to re-establish gut homeostasis and promote gut health. The diagnostic and therapeutic value of bacterial-derived compounds as new possible biomarkers, associated with perturbation in the phenylalanine metabolism, as well as potential therapeutic strategies will be discussed.
Journal Article
Harnessing Solar Power: A Review of Photovoltaic Innovations, Solar Thermal Systems, and the Dawn of Energy Storage Solutions
The goal of this review is to offer an all-encompassing evaluation of an integrated solar energy system within the framework of solar energy utilization. This holistic assessment encompasses photovoltaic technologies, solar thermal systems, and energy storage solutions, providing a comprehensive understanding of their interplay and significance. It emphasizes the importance of solar energy as a renewable resource and its role in addressing global energy demand and mitigating climate change. The review highlights the significance of advancements in various solar energy technologies, focusing on their environmental benefits, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction and air and water pollution mitigation. It explores the evolution of photovoltaic technologies, categorizing them into first-, second-, and third-generation photovoltaic cells, and discusses the applications of solar thermal systems such as water heaters, air heaters, and concentrators. The paper examines key advancements in energy storage solutions for solar energy, including battery-based systems, pumped hydro storage, thermal storage, and emerging technologies. It references recent published literature to present findings on energy payback time, carbon footprint, and performance metrics. Challenges to widespread adoption are discussed, including cost and economic viability, intermittency, environmental impacts, and grid integration. Strategies to overcome these challenges, such as cost reduction, policy support, energy storage integration, and sustainable practices, are presented based on published literature. By bridging gaps in existing literature, this comprehensive resource aims to equip researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals with insights into forging a sustainable and renewable energy future.
Journal Article
Topological kagome magnets and superconductors
A kagome lattice naturally features Dirac fermions, flat bands and van Hove singularities in its electronic structure. The Dirac fermions encode topology, flat bands favour correlated phenomena such as magnetism, and van Hove singularities can lead to instabilities towards long-range many-body orders, altogether allowing for the realization and discovery of a series of topological kagome magnets and superconductors with exotic properties. Recent progress in exploring kagome materials has revealed rich emergent phenomena resulting from the quantum interactions between geometry, topology, spin and correlation. Here we review these key developments in this field, starting from the fundamental concepts of a kagome lattice, to the realizations of Chern and Weyl topological magnetism, to various flat-band many-body correlations, and then to the puzzles of unconventional charge-density waves and superconductivity. We highlight the connection between theoretical ideas and experimental observations, and the bond between quantum interactions within kagome magnets and kagome superconductors, as well as their relation to the concepts in topological insulators, topological superconductors, Weyl semimetals and high-temperature superconductors. These developments broadly bridge topological quantum physics and correlated many-body physics in a wide range of bulk materials and substantially advance the frontier of topological quantum matter.
Recent key developments in the exploration of kagome materials are reviewed, including fundamental concepts of a kagome lattice, realizations of Chern and Weyl topological magnetism, flat-band many-body correlations, and unconventional charge-density waves and superconductivity.
Journal Article
The Role of Gut Bacterial Metabolites in Brain Development, Aging and Disease
In the last decade, emerging evidence has reported correlations between the gut microbiome and human health and disease, including those affecting the brain. We performed a systematic assessment of the available literature focusing on gut bacterial metabolites and their associations with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The bacterial metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as well as non-SCFAs like amino acid metabolites (AAMs) and bacterial amyloids are described in particular. We found significantly altered SCFA levels in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), affective disorders, multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Non-SCFAs yielded less significantly distinct changes in faecal levels of patients and healthy controls, with the majority of findings were derived from urinary and blood samples. Preclinical studies have implicated different bacterial metabolites with potentially beneficial as well as detrimental mechanisms in brain diseases. Examples include immunomodulation and changes in catecholamine production by histone deacetylase inhibition, anti-inflammatory effects through activity on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and involvement in protein misfolding. Overall, our findings highlight the existence of altered bacterial metabolites in patients across various brain diseases, as well as potential neuroactive effects by which gut-derived SCFAs, p-cresol, indole derivatives and bacterial amyloids could impact disease development and progression. The findings summarized in this review could lead to further insights into the gut–brain–axis and thus into potential diagnostic, therapeutic or preventive strategies in brain diseases.
Journal Article
Flexible oxygen concentrators for medical applications
Medical oxygen concentrators (MOCs) are used for supplying medical grade oxygen to prevent hypoxemia-related complications related to COVID-19, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis and pneumonia. MOCs often use a technology called pressure swing adsorption (PSA), which relies on nitrogen-selective adsorbents for producing oxygen from ambient air. MOCs are often designed for fixed product specifications, thereby limiting their use in meeting varying product specifications caused by a change in patient’s medical condition or activity. To address this limitation, we design and optimize flexible single-bed MOC systems that are capable of meeting varying product specification requirements. Specifically, we employ a simulation-based optimization framework for optimizing flexible PSA- and pressure vacuum swing adsorption (PVSA)-based MOC systems. Detailed optimization studies are performed to benchmark the performance limits of LiX, LiLSX and 5A zeolite adsorbents. The results indicate that LiLSX outperforms both LiX and 5A, and can produce 90% pure oxygen at 21.7 L/min. Moreover, the LiLSX-based flexible PVSA system can manufacture varying levels of oxygen purity and flow rate in the range 93–95.7% and 1–15 L/min, respectively. The flexible MOC technology paves way for transitioning to an envisioned cyber-physical system with real-time oxygen demand sensing and delivery for improved patient care.
Journal Article
Changes of Colonic Bacterial Composition in Parkinson’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases
In recent years evidence has emerged that neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are strongly associated with the microbiome composition in the gut. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most intensively studied neurodegenerative disease in this context. In this review, we performed a systematic evaluation of the published literature comparing changes in colonic microbiome in PD to the ones observed in other NDs including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To enhance the comparability of different studies, only human case-control studies were included. Several studies showed an increase of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Verrucomicrobiaceae and Akkermansia in PD. A decrease of Faecalibacterium spp., Coprococcus spp., Blautia spp., Prevotella spp. and Prevotellaceae was observed in PD. On a low taxonomic resolution, like the phylum level, the changes are not disease-specific and are inconsistent. However, on a higher taxonomic resolution like genus or species level, a minor overlap was observed between PD and MSA, both alpha synucleinopathies. We show that standardization of sample collection and analysis is necessary for ensuring the reproducibility and comparability of data. We also provide evidence that assessing the microbiota composition at high taxonomic resolution reveals changes in relative abundance that may be specific to or characteristic of one disease or disease group, and might evolve discriminative power. The interactions between bacterial species and strains and the co-abundances must be investigated before assumptions about the effects of specific bacteria on the host can be made with certainty.
Journal Article
COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories: The need for cognitive inoculation against misinformation to improve vaccine adherence
Rumors and conspiracy theories, can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Monitoring online data related to COVID-19 vaccine candidates can track vaccine misinformation in real-time and assist in negating its impact. This study aimed to examine COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, understand their context, and then review interventions to manage this misinformation and increase vaccine acceptance.
In June 2020, a multi-disciplinary team was formed to review and collect online rumors and conspiracy theories between 31 December 2019-30 November 2020. Sources included Google, Google Fact Check, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, fact-checking agency websites, and television and newspaper websites. Quantitative data were extracted, entered in an Excel spreadsheet, and analyzed descriptively using the statistical package R version 4.0.3. We conducted a content analysis of the qualitative information from news articles, online reports and blogs and compared with findings from quantitative data. Based on the fact-checking agency ratings, information was categorized as true, false, misleading, or exaggerated.
We identified 637 COVID-19 vaccine-related items: 91% were rumors and 9% were conspiracy theories from 52 countries. Of the 578 rumors, 36% were related to vaccine development, availability, and access, 20% related to morbidity and mortality, 8% to safety, efficacy, and acceptance, and the rest were other categories. Of the 637 items, 5% (30/) were true, 83% (528/637) were false, 10% (66/637) were misleading, and 2% (13/637) were exaggerated.
Rumors and conspiracy theories may lead to mistrust contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Tracking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in real-time and engaging with social media to disseminate correct information could help safeguard the public against misinformation.
Journal Article