A Critical Perspective on CO₂ Conversions into Chemicals and Fuels.

In this paper, we aim to focus on the utilization of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a feedstock for synthetic applications in chemical and fuel industries, through catalytic carboxylation and reduction reactions. Thermal catalytic conversion as well as non-thermal plasma assisted and photocatalytic conversion CO₂ into fuels such as methane, methanol, and long-chain hydrocarbons using different catalyst especially nano catalyst are also thoroughly compared and reviewed in this paper. Among currently available technical routes, the thermal catalytic conversion of CO₂ via the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis using nanoscale catalyst offers the most feasible, practical and mature alternative for industrial-scale applications on the short term basis, converting gigantic quantity of CO₂ captured from power plants into hydrocarbons.

A brain-targeting lipidated peptide for neutralizing RNA-mediated toxicity in Polyglutamine Diseases.

Polyglutamine (PolyQ) diseases are progressive neurodegenerative disorders caused by both protein- and RNA-mediated toxicities. We previously showed that a peptidyl inhibitor, P3, which binds directly to expanded CAG RNA can inhibit RNA-induced nucleolar stress and suppress RNA-induced neurotoxicity. Here we report a N-acetylated and C-amidated derivative of P3, P3V8, that showed a more than 20-fold increase in its affinity for expanded CAG RNA.