Fabrication of a Fully Printed Ammonia Gas Sensor Based on ZnO/rGO Using Ultraviolet-Ozone Treatment.

In this study, a room-temperature ammonia gas sensor using a ZnO and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite is developed. The sensor fabrication involved the innovative application of reverse offset and electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) techniques to create a ZnO/rGO sensing platform. The structural and chemical characteristics of the resulting material were comprehensively analyzed using XRD, FT-IR, FESEM, EDS, and XPS, and rGO reduction was achieved via UV-ozone treatment. Electrical properties were assessed through I-V curves, demonstrating enhanced conductivity due to UV-ozone treatment and improved charge mobility from the formation of a ZnO-rGO heterojunction. Exposure to ammonia gas resulted in increased sensor responsiveness, with longer UV-ozone treatment durations yielding superior sensitivity. Furthermore, response and recovery times were measured, with the 10 min UV-ozone-treated sensor displaying optimal responsiveness. Performance evaluation revealed linear responsiveness to ammonia concentration with a high R2 value. The sensor also exhibited exceptional selectivity for ammonia compared to acetone and CO gases, making it a promising candidate for ammonia gas detection. This study shows the outstanding performance and potential applications of the ZnO/rGO-based ammonia gas sensor, promising significant contributions to the field of gas detection.

Harnessing CRISPR-Cas adaptation for RNA recording and beyond.

Prokaryotes encode clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) arrays and CRISPR-associated (Cas) genes as an adaptive immune machinery. CRISPR-Cas systems effectively protect hosts from the invasion of foreign enemies, such as bacteriophages and plasmids. During a process called 'adaptation', non-self-nucleic acid fragments are acquired as spacers between repeats in the host CRISPR array, to establish immunological memory. The highly conserved Cas1-Cas2 complexes function as molecular recorders to integrate spacers in a time course manner, which can subsequently be expressed as crRNAs complexed with Cas effector proteins for the RNAguided interference pathways. In some of the RNA-targeting type III systems, Cas1 proteins are fused with reverse transcriptase (RT), indicating that RT-Cas1-Cas2 complexes can acquire RNA transcripts for spacer acquisition. In this review, we summarize current studies that focus on the molecular structure and function of the RT-fused Cas1-Cas2 integrase, and its potential applications as a directional RNA-recording tool in cells. Furthermore, we highlight outstanding questions for RT-Cas1-Cas2 studies and future directions for RNA-recording CRISPR technologies. [BMB Reports 2024; 57(1): 40-49].

Humidity Sensors Based on Cellulose Nanofiber Fabricated on a Three-Dimensional (3D) Curved Surface.

Traditional printed electronics processes have recently been utilized within 3D-printed structures where components and interconnects are introduced during manufacturing disruptions. The dielectric performance of 3D-printed materials has a low-resolution problem, and many technologies have been proposed for direct printing on a 3D curved surface or structure. This paper reports a humidity sensor fabricated with a 3D-printed electrode and cellulose nanofibers on a curved surface. The electrode part of an interdigital electrode (IDE) sensor is printed on a flat glass substrate and a 3D-curved glass substrate using a double blanket reverse offset. Subsequently, a cellulose nanofiber emulsion is coated onto the IDE pattern as a sensing layer with a dispenser. The electrical impedance of the sensor is measured with the relative humidity (RH) changes between 10% and 90% RH. The sensor demonstrates a high repeatability and sensitivity, even on a 3D curved substrate. This technology provides a promising method to integrate humidity sensors and 3D deformable surfaces.

Integrated Temperature-Humidity Sensors for a Pouch-Type Battery Using 100% Printing Process.

The performance, stability, and lifespan of lithium-ion batteries are influenced by variations in the flow of lithium ions with temperature. In electric vehicles, coolants are generally used to maintain the optimal temperature of the battery, leading to an increasing demand for temperature and humidity sensors that can prevent leakage and short circuits. In this study, humidity and temperature sensors were fabricated on a pouch film of a pouch-type battery. IDE electrodes were screen-printed on the pouch film and humidity- and temperature-sensing materials were printed using a dispenser process. Changes in the capacitance of the printed Ag-CNF film were used for humidity sensing, while changes in the resistance of the printed PEDOT:PSS film were used for temperature sensing. The two sensors were integrated into a single electrode for performance evaluation. The integrated sensor exhibited a response of ΔR ≈ 0.14 to temperature variations from 20 °C to 100 °C with 20% RH humidity as a reference, and a response of ΔC ≈ 2.8 to relative humidity changes from 20% RH to 80% RH at 20 °C. The fabricated integrated sensor is expected to contribute to efficient temperature and humidity monitoring applications in various pouch-type lithium-ion batteries.

The role of depressive symptoms between neighbourhood disorder, criminal justice contact, and suicidal ideation: Integrating an ecological stress model with General Strain Theory.

BACKGROUND: While much literature has examined the independent effect of perceived neighbourhood disorder on criminal behaviour and/or mental disorder, comparatively little is known about the role of depressive symptoms on these associations over time. AIMS: Our aim was to examine whether depressive symptoms mediate association between perceived neighbourhood disorder, future criminal justice contact, and future suicidal ideation. METHODS: We grounded this research in primary arguments derived from General Strain Theory (GST). Data were drawn from structured self-reports in surveys of over 2000 young adult participants from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, who are the offspring born to the women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Information on neighbourhood disorder and depressive symptoms were used from the 2012 data collection period, while information on criminal justice contact and suicidal ideation were drawn from the 2014 period. Structural equation modelling was used to examine both direct and indirect pathways between neighbourhood disorder, depression, contact with the justice system, and suicidal ideation from 2012 to 2014. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were found to partially mediate the effect of perceived neighbourhood disorder on future criminal justice contact, with the strength of this effect varying across categories of race/ethnicity. The association between perceived neighbourhood disorder and suicidal ideation was fully mediated by depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our findings are consistent with an ecological stress framework integrated with arguments from GST to understand the associations between neighbourhood disorder, criminal justice contact, and severe mental illness. Future research is needed on gender and racial/ethnic pathways. The reported findings suggest that, in addition to neighbourhood improvements, ready access to mental health services could not only reduce the risk of suicide but support safer communities.

Activity modulation of anti-sigma factor via cysteine alkylation in Actinobacteria.

σR (SigR) is an alternative sigma factor that enables gene expression in Streptomyces coelicolor to cope with thiol oxidation and antibiotic stresses. Its activity is repressed by a zinc-containing anti-sigma (ZAS) factor RsrA that senses thiol oxidants and electrophiles. Inactivation of RsrA by disulfide formation has been well studied. Here we investigated another pathway of RsrA inactivation by electrophiles. Mass spectrometry revealed alkylation of RsrA in vivo by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) at C61 and C62 located in the C-terminal loop. Substitution mutation (C61S/C62S) in RsrA decreased the induction of σR target genes by electrophiles and made cells more sensitive to electrophiles. In contrast to stable protein of oxidized RsrA, alkylated RsrA is subjected to degradation partly mediated by ClpP proteases. RsrA2, a redox-sensitive homolog of RsrA in S. coelicolor lacking cysteine in the terminal loop, did not respond to electrophiles. However, redox-sensitive RsrA homologs in other Actinobacteria also harboring terminal loop cysteines all responded to electrophiles. These results indicate that the activity of RsrA can be modulated via cysteine alkylation, apart from disulfide formation of zinc-coordinating cysteines. This pathway expands the spectrum of signals that the σR -RsrA system can sense and reveals another intricate regulatory layer for optimal survival of Actinobacteria.

Simultaneous Activation of Iron- and Thiol-Based Sensor-Regulator Systems by Redox-Active Compounds.

Bacteria in natural habitats are exposed to myriad redox-active compounds (RACs), which include producers of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive electrophile species (RES) that alkylate or oxidize thiols. RACs can induce oxidative stress in cells and activate response pathways by modulating the activity of sensitive regulators. However, the effect of a certain compound on the cell has been investigated primarily with respect to a specific regulatory pathway. Since a single compound can exert multiple chemical effects in the cell, its effect can be better understood by time-course monitoring of multiple sensitive regulatory pathways that the compound induces. We investigated the effect of representative RACs by monitoring the activity of three sensor-regulators in the model actinobacterium Streptomyces coelicolor; SoxR that senses reactive compounds directly through oxidation of its [2Fe-2S] cluster, CatR/PerR that senses peroxides through bound iron, and an anti-sigma factor RsrA that senses RES via disulfide formation. The time course and magnitude of induction of their target transcripts were monitored to predict the chemical activities of each compound in S. coelicolor. Phenazine methosulfate (PMS) was found to be an effective RAC that directly activated SoxR and an effective ROS-producer that induced CatR/PerR with little thiol-perturbing activity. p-Benzoquinone was an effective RAC that directly activated SoxR, with slower ROS-producing activity, and an effective RES that induced the RsrA-SigR system. Plumbagin was an effective RAC that activated SoxR, an effective ROS-producer, and a less agile but effective RES. Diamide was an RES that effectively formed disulfides and a weak RAC that activated SoxR. Monobromobimane was a moderately effective RES and a slow producer of ROS. Interestingly, benzoquinone induced the SigR system by forming adducts on cysteine thiols in RsrA, revealing a new pathway to modulate RsrA activity. Overall, this study showed that multiple chemical activities of a reactive compound can be conveniently monitored in vivo by examining the temporal response of multiple sensitive regulators in the cell to reveal novel activities of the chemicals.

Induction of a stable sigma factor SigR by translation-inhibiting antibiotics confers resistance to antibiotics.

Antibiotic-producing streptomycetes are rich sources of resistance mechanisms against endogenous and exogenous antibiotics. An ECF sigma factor σ(R) (SigR) is known to govern the thiol-oxidative stress response in Streptomyces coelicolor. Amplification of this response is achieved by producing an unstable isoform of σ(R) called σ(R'). In this work, we present evidence that antibiotics induce the SigR regulon via a redox-independent pathway, leading to antibiotic resistance. The translation-inhibiting antibiotics enhanced the synthesis of stable σ(R), eliciting a prolonged response. WblC/WhiB7, a WhiB-like DNA-binding protein, is responsible for inducing sigRp1 transcripts encoding the stable σ(R). The amount of WblC protein and its binding to the sigRp1 promoter in vivo increased upon antibiotic treatment. A similar phenomenon appears to exist in Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well. These findings reveal a novel antibiotic-induced resistance mechanism conserved among actinomycetes, and also give an explicit example of overlap in cellular damage and defense mechanisms between thiol-oxidative and anti- translational stresses.