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Schematic shows the preparation of pure active water.

Our previous study suggests that upregulated RAB35 is implicated in etiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). We hypothesized that upregulated RAB35 results from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in RAB35 gene promoter. We identified SNPs within RAB35 gene promoter by analyzing DNA samples of discovery cohort and validation cohort. SNP rs17525453 within RAB35 gene promoter (T>C at position of -66) was significantly associated with idiopathic PD patients. Compared to normal controls, sporadic PD patients had higher C allele frequency. CC and CT genotype significantly increased risk of PD compared with TT genotype. SNP rs17525453 within RAB35 gene promoter leads to formation of transcription factor TFII-I binding site. Results of EMSA and supershift assay indicated that TFII-I binds to rs17525453 sequence of RAB35 gene promoter. Luciferase reporter assays showed that rs17525453 variant of RAB35 gene promoter possesses an augmented transcriptional activity. Our results suggest that functional variant rs17525453 within RAB35 gene promoter is likely to enhance transcriptional activity and upregulate RAB35 protein, which could lead to increased risk of PD in Taiwanese population.

In this letter, we formulate computationally efficient precoder and detector design problems for symbol-level generalized precoding-aided spatial modulation (GPQSM) systems with phase-shift-keying signaling. We first present a novel low-complexity decoupled detector. Subsequently, we formulate two new precoders using constructive interference (CI) techniques to enhance the performance of the proposed decoupled detector. We then demonstrate that both precoder design problems share a unified form, which enables them to be solved efficiently using the existing iterative closed-form algorithm. Finally, we show that our proposed CI precoders under efficient implementation strike the best balance between performance and complexity relative to other benchmark algorithms through numerical simulations.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction, as indicated by epithelial hyperpermeability and high levels of mucosal-associated bacteria. Changes in gut microbiota may be correlated with IBD pathogenesis. Additionally, microbe-based treatments could mitigate clinical IBD symptoms. Plasmon-activated water (PAW) is known to have an anti-inflammatory potential. In this work, we studied the association between the anti-inflammatory ability of PAW and intestinal microbes, thereby improving IBD treatment. We examined the PAW-induced changes in the colonic immune activity and microbiota of mice by immunohistochemistry and next generation sequencing, determined whether drinking PAW can mitigate IBD induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) and dysbiosis through mice animal models. The effects of specific probiotic species on mice with TNBS-induced IBD were also investigated. Experimental results indicated that PAW could change the local inflammation in the intestinal microenvironment. Moreover, the abundance of

Bulk water is generally considered to be an inert solvent because of its tetrahedral hydrogen-bonded structure. Recently, unusual properties of confined water in nanosized environments have aroused...

Biochar has been found to be a potentially suitable amendment for landfill cover material and agricultural soil. The addition of biochar can improve the physical (e.g., adsorption capacity) and hydrological properties (e.g., water/gas permeability) of soil. However, no experimental study is available about the effect of biochar content (BC) on the gas diffusion coefficient (DP) of soil. The present study investigated the effect of BC on DP under different degree of compaction (DOC; 85%, 90%, and 95%) and soil air contents (SAC; 5%, 10%, and 15%). It was found that DOC and BC had negligible effects on DP when SAC was low (~ 5%). In contrast, when the SAC was relatively high (~ 15%), soil with DOC of 85% had the largest DP for BC ranging from 0 to 15% (w/w). Only when the SAC was large (~ 15%), the addition of biochar generally increased DP.

The payment system has a great impact on the overall growth of medical expenses, the distribution of medical resources as well as medical efficiency and quality. To quickly integrate the existing civil service, labor, and farmers’ insurance system, the fee-for-service approach was adopted as the primary National Health Insurance (NHI) payment system at the beginning of its establishment. The content also elaborates the concept and operation mechanism of the global budget payment system and various supplemental payment methods in the NHI, such as case payment, per diem payment, pay-for-performance and Taiwan diagnosis-related groups (Tw-DRGs). The challenge of securing relative value units (RVUs) or RVU value to foster specific healthcare services is discussed in this chapter. The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) continues to revise the fee schedule to reflect technological progress, real clinical needs and reasonable rewards for health professionals. In this chapter, we introduce the process for the revision of the fee schedule and the integration of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in decision-making. To close the inevitable budget gap, self-management of the global budget for each NHI district and payment department was designed to contain medical costs.

This chapter explains why National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) decoupled the premium payment and right to health care to safeguard the medical right of the financially disadvantaged. Furthermore, various programs have been carried out to improve the accessibility and comprehensiveness of medical care for residents of remote and offshore islands. The National Health Insurance (NHI) has also progressively covered orphan drugs to meet the medical needs of patients with rare diseases.In addition to eliminating geographic and economic health disparity, the NHIA strives to improve health literacy and knowledge of the health insurance system of the public. “My Health Bank” was launched to enable its users to query personal medical and health information in real time to encourage self-health management and enhance the safety and quality of medical care. The NHI was introduced to elementary school pupils to acquaint the younger generation with its concept and have a more profound influence.

Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world and possesses a wide range of beneficial effects for human health. The modulation of tea on gut microbiota has gained much interest in recent years. The present study discussed the modulation effect of various types of tea on gut microbiota, which plays crucial roles in human health, as investigated by in vitro animal and human studies. The currently available findings from a total of 23 studies support the modulation effects of tea liquid, tea extract, and its major active components, including polyphenols, polysaccharides, and teasaponin, on gut microbiota. Overall, tea possesses prebiotic-like effect and can alleviate the gut microbiota dysbiosis induced by high-fat diet in gut microbiota, despite the detailed bacterial taxa may alter depending on the types of tea supplemented. Current evidence implies that the modulation effect on gut microbiota may be an important action mechanism underlying the beneficial effect of tea consumption in daily life and also the great potential of strategically chosen tea extract to develop functional foods.

The innovative plasmon-activated water (PAW) with reduced hydrogen bonds exhibits intrinsically distinct properties at room temperature, which are significantly different from the properties of untreated conventional deionized (DI) water. Examples of this are their ability to scavenge free radicals and higher vapor pressure. However, distinct properties of energetic PAW decay within the day after its creation in a metastable liquid state. In this work, we report a facile method for persisting its distinct activities by letting as-prepared PAW be quickly frozen in liquid nitrogen and letting the frozen PAW (for one month before further measurements) be quickly melted to room temperature in a warm-water bath (called treated PAW). Experimental results indicate that the activity of the higher evaporation rate of treated PAW compared to DI water can be maintained ca. 90% of magnitude, as compared to the as-prepared PAW. Also, its abilities to scavenge free hydroxyl and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals can be maintained at ca. 70 and 80% of magnitudes, respectively. Moreover, this strategy of quickly freezing and melting treatments to PAW on persisting in distinct activity of PAW is effective in oxygen evolution reactions. This promises the stored energy and the distinct property of created liquid PAW being available in water-related fields after long-term storage.

Plasmon-activated water (PAW) with reduced hydrogen-bonded (HB) structure is created from conventional deionized (DI) water. Compared to DI water, PAW owns distinctly higher diffusion coefficient and electron transfer rate constant for electrochemical reactions. In this work, we discuss the more efficient oxygen (or hydrogen) evolution reaction (OER or HER) performed in PAW solutions, as compared to DI water solutions, in different concentrations of electrolytes at different applied potentials. Basically, the higher recorded currents based on PAW solutions are more significant when experiments are performed in lower concentrations of electrolytes and at lower applied overpotentials. Interestingly, the increased current density in percentage for OERs and HERs performed in PAW solutions compared to experiments performed in DI water solutions is less significant as the applied overpotential is increased. These interesting findings suggest that utilizing PAW with higher diffusion coefficient and electron transfer rate constant for more efficient electrochemical reactions is suitable in well diffusion- and kinetics-controlled systems. Also, in the Randles-Sevcik reaction, using the PAW solution takes more advantages in a lower concentration of K3Fe(CN)6 at a lower scan rate. This innovative concept has emerged as a promising strategy for effectively utilizing PAW in electrochemical reactions.

The plasmon-activated water (PAW) that reduces hydrogen bonds is made of deionized reverse osmosis water (ROW). However, compared with ROW, PAW has a significantly higher diffusion coefficient and electron transfer rate constant in electrochemical reactions. PAW has a boiling point of 97 °C and specific heat of0.94, the energy of PAW is also 1121 J/mol higher than ordinary water. The greater the force of hydrogen bonds between H2O, the larger the volume of the H2O cluster, and the easier it is to lose the original characteristics. The hydrogen bonding force of PAW is weak, so the volume of its cluster is small, and it exists in a state very close to a single H2O. PAW has a high permeability and diffusion rate, which can improve the needs of biological applications and meet the dependence of biological organisms on H2O when performing physiological functions. PAW can successfully remove free radicals, and efficiently reduce lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced monocytes to release nitric oxide. PAW can induce expression of the antioxidant gene Nrf2 in human gingival fibroblasts, lower amyloid burden in mice with Alzheimer’s disease, and decrease metastasis in mice grafted with Lewis lung carcinoma cells. Because the transferring plasmon effect may improve the abnormality of physiological activity in a biological system, we aimed to evaluate the influence of PAW on orthotopic allograft transplantation (OAT)-induced vasculopathy in this study. Here, we demonstrated that daily intake of PAW lowered the progression of vasculopathy in OAT-recipient ACI/NKyo rats by inhibiting collagen accumulation, proliferation of smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts, and T lymphocyte infiltration in the vessel wall. The results showed reduced T and B lymphocytes, plasma cells, and macrophage activation in the spleen of the OAT-recipient ACI/NKyo rats that were administered PAW. In contrast to the control group, the OAT-recipient ACI/NKyo rats that were administered PAW exhibited higher mobilization and levels of circulating endothelial progenitor cells associated with vessel repair. We use the transferring plasmon effect to adjust and maintain the biochemical properties of water, and to meet the biochemical demand of organisms. Therefore, this study highlights the therapeutic roles of PAW and provides more biomedical applicability for the transferring plasmon effect.

Patients undergoing orthotopic allograft transplantation (OAT) will certainly suffer from vasculopathy. Although there are many immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents that are administered to patients, chronic rejection- induced vasculopathy cannot be entirely managed. Moreover, the implanted graft might become dysfunctional. In the past, we have used deionized reverse osmosis water (ROW) to stream via gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) at room temperature under powerful illumination, in order to prepare plasmon-activated water (PAW) with fewer hydrogen bonds. Compared to ROW, stable PAW can successfully remove free hydroxyl and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals, and efficiently reduce lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced monocytes to release nitric oxide. Moreover, PAW can considerably induce the expression of the antioxidant gene Nrf2 in human gingival fibroblasts. Moreover, it might lower amyloid burden in mice with Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, PAW decreased metastasis in mice grafted with Lewis lung carcinoma cells and boosted the overall survival in combination with cisplatin. Because of this possibility that PAW could prevent systemic disease, we aimed to evaluate the influence of PAW on OAT-induced vasculopathy. Here, we demonstrated that daily intake of PAW lowered the progression of vasculopathy in OAT-recipient ACI/NKyo rats by inhibiting collagen accumulation, proliferation of smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts, and T lymphocyte infiltration in the vessel wall. Moreover, the results showed reduced T and B lymphocytes, plasma cells, and macrophage activation in the spleen of the OAT-recipient ACI/NKyo rats that were administered PAW. Finally, in contrast to the control group, the OAT-recipient ACI/NKyo rats that were administered PAW exhibited higher mobilization and levels of circulating endothelial progenitor cells associated with vessel repair. Therefore, this study highlights the therapeutic roles of PAW in vasculopathy.

Patients with familial type 17 of Parkinson’s disease (PARK17) manifest autosomal dominant pattern and late-onset parkinsonian syndromes. Heterozygous (D620N) mutation of vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) is genetic cause of PARK17. We prepared heterozygous VPS35D620N/+ knockin mouse, which is an ideal animal model of (D620N) VPS35-induced autosomal dominant PARK17. Late-onset loss of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons and motor deficits of Parkinson’s disease were found in 16-month-old VPS35D620N/+ mice. Normal function of VPS35-containing retromer is needed for activity of Wnt/β-catenin cascade, which participates in protection and survival of SNpc DAergic neurons. It was hypothesized that (D620N) VPS35 mutation causes the malfunction of VPS35 and resulting impaired activity of Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Protein levels of Wnt1 and nuclear β-catenin were reduced in SN of 16-month-old VPS35D620N/+ knockin mice. Downregulated protein expression of survivin, which is a target gene of nuclear β-catenin, and upregulated protein levels of active caspase-8 and active caspase-9 were observed in SN of VPS35D620N/+ mice at age of 16 months. VPS35 is involved in controlling morphology and function of mitochondria. Impaired function of VPS35 caused by (D620N) mutation could lead to abnormal morphology and malfunction of mitochondria. A significant decrease in mitochondrial size and resulting mitochondrial fragmentation was found in tyrosine hydroxylase-positive and neuromelanin-positive SNpc DAergic neurons of 16-month-old VPS35D620N/+ mice. Mitochondrial complex I activity or complex IV activity was reduced in SN of 16-month-old VPS35D620N/+ mice. Increased level of mitochondrial ROS and oxidative stress were found in SN of 16-month-old VPS35D620N/+ mice. Levels of cytosolic cytochrome c and active caspase-3 were increased in SN of VPS35D620N/+ mice aged 16 months. Our results suggest that PARK17 mutant (D620N) VPS35 impairs activity of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and causes abnormal morphology and dysfunction of mitochondria, which could lead to neurodegeneration of SNpc DAergic cells.

Melatonin is a lipophilic antioxidant generally dissolved in organic solvent before delivery. However, the presence of organics may severely depress the functional effects of melatonin. By rendering deionized water (DIW) flow through gold nano-particles under localized surface plasmon resonant illumination, we developed plasmon-activated water (PAW) which successfully increases the solubility of melatonin to 150.325%. Melatonin dissolved in PAW also exhibits stronger anti-viral and anti-oxidative activities than that dissolved in DIW in which the percentage of dengue virus infected human hepatocellular carcinoma cells is remarkably decreased (14.7% vs. 20.6%) whilst the clearance rate of hydroxyl radical is significantly enhanced (11.9% vs. 6.69%), respectively. Moreover, in vivo approaches further show that following chronic sleep deprivation, the level of oxidative stress, hepatic bioenergetics, anti-oxidative enzyme activity, and metabolic function are all significantly improved in rats received melatonin prepared in PAW than that in DIW. As the bio-activity of melatonin depends largely on its solubility, utilizing PAW as a non-organic solvent will not only enhance the anti-viral and anti-oxidative function of melatonin, but also offer great potential for clinical use of melatonin as a therapeutic strategy to depress virus infection and counteract oxidative damage in a more natural, more economic and more efficient way.

Liquid water, as the most environmentally friendly polar solvent, is popularly used in physical processes and chemical reactions. Its unique properties and activities come from the presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonds (HBs) with itself and other species. Scientists have been discussing properties other than known bulk water for a long time. However, the particular application of water being researched is limited today. Mass-produced active and stable plasmon-activated water (PAW) with a reduced HB network based on hot electron transfer (HET) from resonantly illuminated gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) was first created in 2014. In this work, we report its distinct intermolecular HBs with water-soluble alcohols and the solubility of hydrophobic solutes. Interestingly, the densities of PAW in methanol, ethanol, and propanol at various ratios all increased due to stronger HBs between PAW and the alcohols, particularly seen with propanol, compared to deionized water (DIW)-based systems. Moreover, these results reflect the decreased evaporation rates of PAW/alcohol solutions, especially observed for the solution with the maximum increased density, compared to DIW-based systems. Compared to DIW, the solubilities of hydrophobic antioxidants of curcumin and melatonin in PAW increased by ca. 240% and 120%, respectively. Moreover, sunflower oil was more soluble in the more-lipophilic PAW compared to conventional DIW. The distinct increased density of the alcohol/PAW solution lasted for at least 1 week. Innovative PAW has emerged as a promising green active solvent applicable for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic solutions.

Most of chemical reactions are performed in aqueous solutions, which are conventionally prepared using laboratory-ready and environmentally friendly deionized (DI) water. Water is generally considered as a passive reactant or as a spectator solvent. In this work, we demonstrate the added reagents for reactions in aqueous solutions can be effectively reduced by utilizing plasmon-activated water (PAW) with reduced hydrogen-bonded (HB) structure instead of conventional DI water with strong HB structure. For electrochemical reactions performing the similar currents the electrolytes used in PAW-based systems are ca. 90% concentrations compared to those used in DI water-based systems. Moreover, these concentrations used in PAW in situ-based systems can be further reduced to ca. 80% of magnitudes for maintaining the similar current levels. More interestingly, the recorded current of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on a catalytic Pt electrode in the PAW-based system (0.09 M KOH) is significantly higher than that in the DI water-based system (0.1 M KOH). That means that the efficiency of the OER performed in a low-electrolyte-concentration alkaline solution can be markedly enhanced by utilizing PAW in spite of the electrolyte concentration is reduced by 10% of magnitude compared to the DI water-based system. These interesting findings promise the PAW for the effective and green reactants and solvents.

Water scarcity is one of the most serious global challenges of our time. One of the currently resolutions to this shortage is desalination. So far, most research on desalination has focused on preparing photothermal materials which possess the property of light-to-heat conversion. However, changing the intrinsic properties of water to improve the efficiency of solar evaporation has rarely been discussed. A new concept to increase the efficiency of desalination via destroying hydrogen bonds based on gold nanoparticles-adsorbed ceramic rods (AuNPs@CRs) is proposed here for the first time. Weakening the strength of interactions within water molecules by illumination with resonant light produces easily evaporable plasmon-activated water (PAW). This proposed system exhibits high efficiencies of steam generation in different experimental environments. Meanwhile, it was 140.0% and 107.5% more efficient than untreated water in an oven and an indoor environment, respectively. The source of resonant light from sunlight on a sunny or cloudy day can also achieve this performance. In addition, the results of water pump suction and direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) further demonstrated that the illuminated AuNPs@CR system exhibits high potential for desalination.

The strength of hydrogen bonds (HBs) decides water’s properties and activities. It is recognized that the properties of confined liquid water, or liquid water in contact with hydrophobic surfaces, significantly differ from those of bulk liquid water. However, these unique properties of water are only found within the interfacial phase and a confined environment; thus, their applications are limited. Nowadays, environmentally friendly science, health and energy are main concerns in the world. In this review, an innovative and facile method for preparing mass-produced plasmon-activated water (PAW) with reduced HBs by letting bulk water flow through gold-supported nanoparticles (AuNPs) under resonant illumination at constant temperature is reported. The resulting stable PAW exhibits distinct properties and activities, which significantly differ from those of untreated bulk water. In addition, this PAW has the obvious advantages in environmentally friendly science, green energy, water saving and medicine.

Conventionally, electrochemical polymerization of polypyrrole (PPy) was generally performed in deionized (DI) water-based electrolyte. In this work, an innovative and facile strategy to substantially enhance the electroactive surface areas of electrochemically polymerized PPy is proposed by using plasmon-activated water (PAW)-based electrolyte. Compared to the DI water-based system, the prepared PPy with higher electron transfer rate and more-reversible redox performance was observed by using PAW-based system. In addition, a greater electroactive surface area of three-dimensional PPy was obtained with PAW-based electrolyte. These distinct properties of PPy electrodes prepared with PAW were responsible for their better performances in supercapacitors (with ca. 25.2% increased capacitance) and sensors (with ca. 50.0% increased sensitivity), compared to those prepared with DI water. These encouraging findings show the potential of PPy prepared with newly developed PAW for application to PPy-related devices to further enhance various performances.

Ischemic stroke is a devastating disease with limited therapeutic options. It is very urgent to find a new target for drug development. Here we found that the blood level of MIF in ischemic stroke patients is upregulated. To figure out the pathological role of MIF in ischemic stroke, both in vitro and in vivo studies were conducted. For in vitro studies, primary cortical neuron cultures and adult rat brain endothelial cells (ARBECs) were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)/reoxygenation. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) rodent models were used for in vivo studies. The results show that MIF exerts no direct neuronal toxicity in primary culture but disrupts tight junction in ARBECs. Furthermore, administration of MIF following MCAo shows the deleterious influence on stroke-induced injury by destroying the tight junction of blood-brain barrier and increasing the infarct size. In contrast, administration of MIF antagonist ISO-1 has the profound neuroprotective effect. Our results demonstrate that MIF might be a good drug target for the therapy of stroke.

Water is the most environmentally friendly solvent, but bulk water is conventionally considered to be a bystander in reactions performed in it. For decades, scientists have been discussing the characteristics of water that differ from bulk water in special environments. Recently, various small amounts of treated water were developed to create specific applications. In 2014, comprehensively active and stable plasmon-activated water (PAW), which was mass-produced and innovatively created by utilizing hot electron transfer (HET) from gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), was first reported. In this work, we report the maintenance of activity of purified Au-free PAW collected from water condensed from PAW vapor (PAW-V). Interestingly, the metastable PAW-V was still active with a structure of electron-doping and reduced hydrogen bonding (HB), which were confirmed by zeta potentials and the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation time (T1). Like PAW, PAW-V enhanced hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) and oxygen evolution reactions (OERs), compared to deionized water (DIW). The PAW-V itself exhibited the ability to more rapidly evaporate due to reduced HBs between homogeneous molecules, while a PAW/isopropanol solution evaporated more slowly due to enhanced HBs between heterogeneous molecules. Also, PAW-V could scavenge free 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and reduce the strong KMnO4 oxidant. The unique properties of PAW-V were maintained after storage for 3 days at room temperature in the dark. The condensed Au-free PAW has emerged as a promising green active solvent applicable in various fields of physics, chemistry and biomedicine.