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The synthesis of transparent thermoelectric materials, particularly at low processing temperature possesses a good promise for future power generation by renovating waste heat into electrical energy. The fabrication of invisible thermoelectric module is hindered by limited choices of appropriate p-type transparent thermoelectric materials so far. The present study deals with the growth and characterization of optically transparent p-type copper iodide (γ-CuI) thin films. Thermal annealing (maximum up to 200 °C) was performed to tune the electrical and optoelectronic properties for nurturing the thermoelectric performance. Annealing induced microstructural modifications instigated the preferential crystal growth by regulating the surface morphology. Low thermal conductivity is credited to strong phonon scattering leading to improved thermoelectric performance. Consequently, we attain a record Seebeck coefficient of ∼270 μV/K and power factor of ∼20 μW/(m·K2) that is almost two-order of magnitude higher as compared to conventional p-type transparent TE materials, indicating the potential of transparent γ-CuI thin films regarding its practical applicability in transparent thermoelectric devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous silicon structures are effective in trapping light due to the abundance of pores on their surface, finding widespread use in optical applications like photoelectric conversion, photon collection, and detection. We have successfully created micro-porous silicon with exceptionally high antireflection performance through electrochemical etching using different concentrations of silver catalysts. Results show that this germanium coated porous silicon structure has a smaller range of pore sizes, leading to a reduced reflectivity of 2.6 % under light radiation with wavelengths. To understand the antireflective mechanism further, we explored the surface reflectivity of porous silicon structures by coating the germanium metal on the porous structure. Importantly, germanium coated porous silicon structures with high surface quality and well-preserved pore integrity are identified as beneficial for achieving lower reflectivity in the incident light wavelength range of 300–1200 nm. These findings are significant for the design of porous silicon antireflective materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph contrastive learning (GCL) aims to contrast positive–negative counterparts, whereas graph data augmentation (GDA) in GCL is employed to generate positive–negative samples. Existing GDA techniques, such as 1-dimensional (1D) feature masking, suffer from having a high probability of augmenting partially homogeneous views. Homogeneous views encode identical embeddings, induce substandard positive–negative samples, and enforce the performance responsibility on structural augmentation. Thus, previous work requires plenty of negative samples, converges slower, consumes more memory for training, and offers trivial performance improvements on downstream tasks. To overcome these issues, firstly , we introduce a novel 2-dimensional (2D) feature masking technique in GCL to mask the feature matrix in 2-dimensions. Secondly , we introduce heterogeneous augmentation, a combination of 1D-2D feature masking and edge dropping. Thirdly , we present a negative samples-based GCL framework: Heterogeneous D ata A ugmentation in Graph Contrastive Learning for E ffective N egative S amples (DAENS). The effectiveness of the DAENS's induced positive–negative samples can be quantified as using only inter-view negative samples improves node classification performance up to 5.84% on 8 benchmark datasets. DAENS converges faster, takes less time per epoch, and is more memory efficient than existing state-of-the-art methods. Lastly , we empirically examine the feature and structural augmentation effect on sparse and dense graphs with DAENS. The implementation of DAENS is available at https://github.com/mhadnanali/DAENS. • Earlier graph data augmentation methods are more likely to augment homogeneous views. • We introduce a framework (DAENS) based on 2D masking to create heterogeneous views. • DAENS improves the node classification up to 5.84% accuracy of 8 benchmark datasets. • DAENS converges faster, takes less time per epoch, and is memory efficient. • Empirically examine the feature and structural augmentation on benchmark datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role and molecular mechanisms of intermittent fasting (IF) in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and its transition to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are unknown. Here, we identified that an IF 5:2 regimen prevents NASH development as well as ameliorates established NASH and fibrosis without affecting total calorie intake. Furthermore, the IF 5:2 regimen blunted NASH-HCC transition when applied therapeutically. The timing, length, and number of fasting cycles as well as the type of NASH diet were critical parameters determining the benefits of fasting. Combined proteome, transcriptome, and metabolome analyses identified that peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and glucocorticoid-signaling-induced PCK1 act co-operatively as hepatic executors of the fasting response. In line with this, PPARα targets and PCK1 were reduced in human NASH. Notably, only fasting initiated during the active phase of mice robustly induced glucocorticoid signaling and free-fatty-acid-induced PPARα signaling. However, hepatocyte-specific glucocorticoid receptor deletion only partially abrogated the hepatic fasting response. In contrast, the combined knockdown of Ppara and Pck1 in vivo abolished the beneficial outcomes of fasting against inflammation and fibrosis. Moreover, overexpression of Pck1 alone or together with Ppara in vivo lowered hepatic triglycerides and steatosis. Our data support the notion that the IF 5:2 regimen is a promising intervention against NASH and subsequent liver cancer. [Display omitted] • IF 5:2 regimen prevents and ameliorates NASH and fibrosis and limits HCC development • Timing, length, and number of fasting cycles dictate the effectiveness of fasting • PPARα and PCK1 are hepatic executors of the beneficial effects of fasting in NASH • Pck1 overexpression lowers lipid accumulation and hepatic steatosis An intermittent fasting 5:2 regimen prevents and ameliorates NASH and fibrosis and limits HCC development in distinct diet-induced models of NASH and NASH-HCC. The timing, length, and number of fasting cycles dictate the effectiveness of fasting. PPARα and PCK1 are hepatic executors of the beneficial effects of fasting in NASH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of a maternal pool of heat shock factor (HSF) in Xenopus oocytes has been suggested by two lines of evidence from previous studies. First, heat shock response element (HSE)-binding activity is induced in heat-shocked eggs and embryos prior to expression of zygotic HSF. Second, expression from microinjected heat shock protein promoters in oocytes is induced upon heat shock. To date, however, endogenous oocyte HSF molecules have not been detected, nor has induction of HSE-binding activity been directly demonstrated. Here we report the detection of distinct stress-inducible and developmentally regulated HSE-binding activities of endogenous oocyte factors. Exposure of defolliculated oocytes to heat, cadmium, and arsenite resulted in the formation of an HSE-specific complex detectable by gel mobility shift assay. Induction of HSE-binding activity by each of these stressors corresponded to increased expression from a microinjected hsp70 promoter. The stress-inducible HSE-binding complex was recognized by antiserum against mammalian HSF1, but not by HSF2 antiserum, suggesting that a Xenopus homologue of HSF1 is the major component of this activity. The HSE-binding activity of HSF1 was induced by stress treatments of stage I through VI oocytes, an indication that it is responsive to stress throughout oogenesis. During recovery from heat shock, the HSF1-HSE complex rapidly declined to control levels, but was induced for prolonged periods in oocytes exposed to continuous stress, a pattern unlike the transient activation previously observed in fertilized eggs or embryos. The kinetics of HSF1 activation in oocytes suggests that a key protein(s) regulating attenuation of the stress response is present at exceedingly low levels or is somehow modified during preembry-onic development. We also detected an unusual constitutive HSE-binding complex in unstressed stage I and II oocytes, but not in later stage oocytes, eggs, developing embryos, or A6 cells. This constitutive complex was unaffected by heat or chemical treatments and was not recognized by either HSF1 or HSF2 antiserum. Appearance of the constitutive HSE-binding activity during oogenesis corresponded closely with peak levels of hsp70 mRNA detected by Northern blot analysis of RNA from staged oocytes. We suggest that the constitutive HSE-binding activity in early oocytes is formed by a unique developmentally regulated heat shock factor that may play a role in the expression of heat shock proteins during early stages of oogenesis.

Probiotic Beyaz peynir (white-brined cheese) was manufactured using two different adjunct probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus DSMZ 20079 and Bifidobacterium bifidum DSMZ 20456) and the influence of these bacteria and different packaging systems (vacuum package and under brine) on the changes in the volatilome and proteolysis throughout the ripening was investigated. Packaging type, addition of the adjunct culture, and ripening time changed the volatilome profile and proteolysis of the cheeses both qualitatively and quantitatively. A total of 54 volatile compounds and their levels greatly differed among the cheeses depending on the factors studied. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and heatmap clustering analysis were performed to distinguish the different components in the cheeses in relation to their ripening time, adjunct culture, and packaging types. PCA and heatmap clustering analysis results were in accordance with each other. The models provided a good tool for discriminating the volatile compounds of Beyaz peynir samples in terms of the treatments applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]