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Photobioelectrocatalysis has recently attracted particular research interest owing to the possibility to achieve sunlight-driven biosynthesis, biosensing, power generation, and other niche applications. However, physiological incompatibilities between biohybrid components lead to poor electrical contact at the biotic-biotic and biotic-abiotic interfaces. Establishing an electrochemical communication between these different interfaces, particularly the biocatalyst-electrode interface, is critical for the performance of the photobioelectrocatalytic system. While different artificial redox mediating approaches spanning across interdisciplinary research fields have been developed in order to electrically wire biohybrid components during bioelectrocatalysis, a systematic understanding on physicochemical modulation of artificial redox mediators is further required. Herein, we review and discuss the use of diffusible redox mediators and redox polymer-based approaches in artificial redox-mediating systems, with a focus on photobioelectrocatalysis. The future possibilities of artificial redox mediator system designs are also discussed within the purview of present needs and existing research breadth.

PurposeOptimisation of daylight admission through window is crucial for alleviating glare while maintaining useful daylight levels in order to enhance occupants' health, visual comfort and moderating lighting energy consumption. Amongst various solutions, fixed external shade is an affordable solution for housing spaces that need to be sophisticatedly designed, especially during the period of increasing home spaces as working environments. In the humid subtropical region, daylight control plays an important role in indoor comfort, particularly with areas with a high window to wall ratio (WWR). Due to the insufficient amount of such study on non-office spaces in Australia, shading-related standards are not addressed in Australian building codes.Design/methodology/approachThe chosen methodology for the research is a quantitative data collection and analysis through field measurement and simulation simultaneously. The first step is a multi-objective optimisation of shading elements through a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) on parametric modelling via Rhino3D CAD and simulation engines (DIVA and ClimateStudio). In the second phase, the Pareto front solutions are validated by experimental measurements within a room with a single north-facing window (the most probable for the daytime glare in Sydney) for the seven most common local window configurations.FindingsThrough the simulation of ten genes, 1,560 values and 2.4 × 1,019 of search space, this study found an optimum shade for each local common window layout, resulted in +22% in (UDI) and −16% in views with discomfort glare on average. Moreover, an all-purpose polygonal shade showed an average of 4.6% increase in UDI and a 5.83% decrease in the percentage of views with discomfort glare.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are subject to the room dimensions, window dimensions and layouts, and orientation of windows for selected residential buildings in Sydney.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the development of highly accurate fixed external shading systems with rectangular and tapered-form external shapes. A real-time measurement by luminance-metre sensors and HQ cameras located at six eye levels is conducted to corroborate simulation results of the visual comfort.

Stress‐induced apoptosis is mediated primarily through the intrinsic pathway that involves caspase‐9. We previously reported that in caspase‐9‐deficient cells, a protein complex containing ATG5 and Fas‐associated death domain (FADD) facilitated caspase‐8 activation and cell death in response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Here, we investigated whether this complex could be activated by other forms of cell stress. We show that diverse stress stimuli, including etoposide, brefeldin A and paclitaxel, as well as heat stress and gamma‐irradiation, caused formation of a complex containing ATG5‐ATG12, FADD and caspase‐8 leading to activation of downstream caspases in caspase‐9‐deficient cells. We termed this complex the ‘stressosome’. However, in these cells, only ER stress and heat shock led to stressosome‐dependent cell death. Using in silico molecular modelling, we propose the structure of the stressosome complex, with FADD acting as an adaptor protein, interacting with pro‐caspase‐8 through their respective death effector domains (DEDs) and interacting with ATG5‐ATG12 through its death domain (DD). This suggests that the complex could be regulated by cellular FADD‐like interleukin‐1β‐converting enzyme–inhibitory protein (cFLIPL), which was confirmed experimentally. This study provides strong evidence for an alternative mechanism of caspase‐8 activation involving the stressosome complex.

Photobioelectrocatalysis (PBEC) adopts the sophistication and sustainability of photosynthetic units to convert solar energy into electrical energy. However, the electrically insulating outer membranes of photosynthetic units hinder efficient extracellular electron transfer from photosynthetic redox centers to an electrode in photobioelectrocatalytic systems. Among the artificial redox-mediating approaches used to enhance electrochemical communication at this biohybrid interface, conducting redox polymers (CRPs) are characterized by high intrinsic electric conductivities for efficient charge transfer. A majority of these CRPs constitute peripheral redox pendants attached to a conducting backbone by a linker. The consequently branched CRPs necessitate maintaining synergistic interactions between the pendant, linker, and backbone for optimal mediator performance. Herein, an unbranched, metal-free CRP, polydihydroxy aniline (PDHA), which has its redox moiety embedded in the polymer mainchain, is used as an exogenous redox mediator and an immobilization matrix at the biohybrid interface. As a proof of concept, the relatively complex membrane system of spinach chloroplasts is used as the photobioelectrocatalyst of choice. A "mixed" deposition of chloroplasts and PDHA generated a 2.4-fold photocurrent density increment. An alternative "layered" PDHA-chloroplast deposition, which was used to control panchromatic light absorbance by the intensely colored PDHA competing with the photoactivity of chloroplasts, generated a 4.2-fold photocurrent density increment. The highest photocurrent density recorded with intact chloroplasts was achieved by the "layered" deposition when used in conjunction with the diffusible redox mediator 2,6-dichlorobenzoquinone (-48 ± 3 μA cm-2). Our study effectively expands the scope of germane CRPs in PBEC, emphasizing the significance of the rational selection of CRPs for electrically insulating photobioelectrocatalysts and of the holistic modulation of the CRP-mediated biohybrids for optimal performance.

A series of gold(I) complexes with the general formula [Au(L2)(L′)] (L2=4‐phenyl‐N‐(prop‐2‐yn‐1‐yl)quinazoline‐2‐carboxamide, L′=PPh3 (triphenylphosphine), 1; TPA (1,3,5‐triaza‐7‐phosphaadamantane), 2, and Me2‐imy (1,3‐dimethylimidazol‐2‐ylidene), 3) were synthesized and fully characterized by spectroscopic methods. The alkynyl ligand L2 belongs to the quinazoline carboxamide class of ligands that are known to bind to the translocator protein (TSPO) at the outer mitochondrial membrane. 1 and 2 exert cytotoxic effects in bladder cancer cells with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. Further mechanistic analysis indicated that the two complexes both act by inducing reactive oxygen species and caspase‐mediated apoptosis. The complexes inhibit thioredoxin reductase, an established target of anticancer gold(I) complexes. Docking studies confirmed that after ligand exchange the free ligand L2 can interact with the TSPO binding site., Alkynyl gold(I) complexes with phosphane and NHC co‐ligands have been prepared that are potent inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase. The complexes containing phosphane co‐ligands are also potent cytotoxins that reduce cell viability by inducing reactive oxygen species and caspase‐dependent apoptotic cell death.

The popularity of herbal products has been on increase throughout the world; but one major challenge facing it is lack of guaranteed safety with respect to heavy metals contamination. In this study, Chinese, Indian and Nigerian phytomedicine were evaluated for Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn) in order to ascertain and compare their safety or level of contamination. The samples were purchased, processed and analyzed using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (FAAS). The results obtained were presented as mean concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn in the Nigerian, Chinese and Indian phytomedicine as 1.23±0.03μg/g, 5.46±0.04μg/g, 5.16±0.01μg/g (Cu), 2.07±0.04μg/g, 9±0.06μg/g, 6.28±0.03μg/g (Cd), 4.42±0.18μg/g, 7.74±0.07μg/g, 5.05±0.06μg/g (Pb) and 2.90±0.04μg/g, 6.40±0.04μg/g, 2.53±0.04μg/g (Zn) respectively. The results indicated all the Nigerian herbal remedies analyzed and 33.33% of the Chinese and Indian herbal remedies contained cadmium above WHO permissible limit (0.3 μg/g) for herbals. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results obtained at p-value 95% (p ˂ 0.050) ranges from significant to non-significant difference of means among the three countries. The correlation coefficient (r) also ranges from negative to strong degree of association. The variability of the heavy metals content could be associated to geographical, environmental, anthropogenic factors and heavy metals absorption potentials of the medicinal plants used. Environmental monitoring of herbal materials is required in order to ensure their safety from chemical pollutants that could lead to bio-accumulation of heavy metals in herbal materials.

Considering the share of 40% and 35% of buildings in energy consumption as well as CO

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common form of kidney cancer. Despite therapeutic advances, long term survival in patients diagnosed with advanced disease is low. Efforts to understand the mechanisms promoting disease progression will likely produce novel therapeutic targets. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is activated when unfolded protein accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) upon cellular stress. Constitutive UPR activation is a characteristic of many malignancies. We discuss the accumulating evidence that describes a role for the UPR in ccRCC. Studies focused on UPR signalling may provide compelling avenues for therapeutic intervention in the future.

In this paper, the effect of rice husk ash (RHA), as silicate impurities, on the microstructure and mechanical properties of calcium aluminate cement concrete (CACC) is explored. Various mechanical...

Synthesis of hybrid drug molecules from naturally occurring organic compounds has potential applications in several fields, including theranostics. In this work, we report the extraction of plumbagin from the roots of Plumbago indica L. and used it as a precursor to prepare plumbagin-functionalized magnetite nanoparticles (PFMNPs). The derived PFMNPs were analyzed using analytical techniques to understand their structural characteristics and chemical environment. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the possibility of atomic interactions between plumbagin and magnetite nanoparticles. More importantly, we demonstrated the slow-release behavior of plumbagin and antimicrobial activity of the synthesized PFMNPs, which exhibited exciting activity, signifying the potential possibility of these materials in pharmaceutical industries. In general, pristine plumbagin’s practical applicability is very limited due to its high volatility and low photo and thermal stability. However, plumbagin’s magnetite functionalization was found to improve the photo-thermal stability, displaying significant control over release behavior. More importantly, the synthesized PFMNPs exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility, demonstrating the potential possibility of these materials in pharmaceutical industries.