The objectives of this study were: 1) to confirm superoxide anion radical (O ) formation, and 2) to monitor in real time the rate of O generation in an operating anion exchange membrane (AEM) fuel cell using in situ fluorescence spectroscopy. 1,3-Diphenlisobenzofuran (DPBF) was used as the fluorescent molecular probe owing to its selectivity and sensitivity toward O in alkaline media. The activation energy for the in situ generation of O during AEM fuel cell operation was estimated to be 18.3 kJ mol . The rate of in situ generation of O correlated well with the experimentally measured loss in AEM ion-exchange capacity and ionic conductivity attributable to oxidative degradation.

Podocytes are epithelial cells adhering glomerular capillaries, which regulate the integrity of glomerular filtration barrier. Irreversible podocyte injury induces glomerular inflammation and causes chronic renal diseases. Kcnq1ot1, a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), participates in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy and cardiomyopathy. However, its function in podocyte injury is elusive. Pyroptosis of murine podocyte MPC5 was triggered by sublytic complement C5b-9 (sC5b-9) for subsequent in vitro functional and mechanistic investigation. Gain/Loss-of-function analysis was conducted to examine the functional role of Kcnq1ot1 in podocyte pyroptosis. Meanwhile, the molecular mechanism of Kcnq1ot1's effect on podocyte injury was explored by identifying downstream molecules and their intermediate interactions. Kcnq1ot1 was upregulated in sC5b-9-induced podocytes, and silencing Kcnq1ot1 could inhibit sC5b-9's effect on podocyte pyroptosis. We also identified the interaction between Kcnq1ot1 and miR-486a-3p, through which Kcnq1ot1 mediated miR-486a-3p inhibition by sC5b-9. Furthermore, miR-486a-3p reduced the transcriptional activity of NLRP3, while the overexpression of NLRP3 enhanced sC5b-9's effect on podocyte pyroptosis through activating NLRP3 inflammasome. sC5b-9 induces pyroptosis in podocytes through modulating the Kcnq1ot1/miR-486a-3p/NLRP3 regulatory axis, and these uncovered key molecules might facilitate podocyte-targeted treatment for renal inflammatory diseases.

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Solar-driven desalination, which involves the conversion of solar energy to heat for freshwater generation, has been recognized as an attractive and sustainable desalination technology to alleviate freshwater shortage. In particular,...

V–Ce RFBs (∼100% CE and ∼70% EE over 100 cycles) using a CH3SO3H-based electrolyte and a AEM separator shows 30% higher capacity and 0.024% capacity fade/cycle vs. 5% capacity fade/cycle for H2SO4 supported V–Ce ED-RFBs.