A novel energy capturing technique for wasted parasitic magnetic noise based upon a magneto-mechano-electric (MME) generator, consisting of piezoelectric single crystal fibers and Ni metal plate in the form of cantilever structure.

Nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various human diseases, including cancer and arthritis. However, therapeutic agents inhibiting NFAT5 activity are currently unavailable. To discover NFAT5 inhibitors, a library of > 40,000 chemicals was screened for the suppression of nitric oxide, a direct target regulated by NFAT5 activity, through high-throughput screening. We validated the anti-NFAT5 activity of 198 primary hit compounds using an NFAT5-dependent reporter assay and identified the novel NFAT5 suppressor KRN2, 13-(2-fluoro)-benzylberberine, and its derivative KRN5. KRN2 inhibited NFAT5 upregulation in macrophages stimulated with lipopolysaccharide and repressed the formation of NF-κB p65-DNA complexes in the NFAT5 promoter region. Interestingly, KRN2 selectively suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory genes, including Nos2 and Il6, without hampering high-salt-induced NFAT5 and its target gene expressions. Moreover, KRN2 and KRN5, the latter of which exhibits high oral bioavailability and metabolic stability, ameliorated experimentally induced arthritis in mice without serious adverse effects, decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Particularly, orally administered KRN5 was stronger in suppressing arthritis than methotrexate, a commonly used anti-rheumatic drug, displaying better potency and safety than its original compound, berberine. Therefore, KRN2 and KRN5 can be potential therapeutic agents in the treatment of chronic arthritis.

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Asymmetric and symmetric magnetoelectric (ME) laminates structures of piezoelectric macro-fiber composite (MFC)/nickel (Ni) were fabricated and investigated their ME and magneto-mechano-electric (MME) energy harvesting responses to an applied magnetic/ mechanical stimulations. Both the structures strongly revealed the dependence of ME voltage coefficient (α ME ) on applied magnetic field directions with an important feature of a zero-bias field ME response. This is much more beneficial for designing the magnetic field sensors. The fabricated MFC/Ni structures exhibited good energy harvesting response to applied simultaneous magnetic/ mechanical vibrations of lab magnetic stirrer. The electric power was successfully harnessed from magnetomechanical stimulations; the resulting potential and power were up to ,20 V p-p and ,6 μW respectively, which are quite enough power to light a commercial red LED with traditional rectifier circuit and capacitor. Hence, the present MFC/Ni ME generators provide their future feasibility having self-biasing feature for designing the magnetic field sensors as well as for powering small consumer electronic devices and wireless sensor network systems by exploiting mechanical/magnetic stimulations from surrounding.

Flexible self-charging capacitor systems, which exhibit the combined functions of energy generation and storage, are considered a promising solution for powering flexible self-powered electronics. Here, we present a new approach to demonstrate a flexible self-charging, ultrafast, and high-power-density (SUHP) capacitor system by integrating an aerosol-deposited nanograined relaxor ferroelectric Pb­(Mg1/3Nb2/3)­O3–PbTiO3 (PMN–PT) capacitor and piezoelectric Pb­(Zr x ,Ti1–x )­O3 (PZT) harvester. The as-designed flexible SUHP capacitor system can generate electric energy with an open-circuit voltage of 172 V and a short-circuit current of 21 μA under a biomechanical bending force of human fingers. This energy can be stored in the integrated flexible capacitor part and then discharged with a high energy density of 2.58 J/cm3 within an ultrafast time of 480 ns. Moreover, a high power density of 5.38 MW/cm3 from the flexible SUHP capacitor suggests that the proposed approach for self-charging and energy storage may be an efficacious way to drive future flexible pulsed-power electronic devices.