The energy sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a key player in the control of energy metabolism. AMPK regulates hepatic lipid metabolism through the phosphorylation of its well-recognized downstream target acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC). Although AMPK activation is proposed to lower hepatic triglyceride (TG) content via the inhibition of ACC to cause inhibition of de novo lipogenesis and stimulation of fatty acid oxidation (FAO), its contribution to the inhibition of FAO in vivo has been recently questioned. We generated a mouse model of AMPK activation specifically in the liver achieved by expression of a constitutively active AMPK using adenoviral delivery. Indirect calorimetry studies revealed that liver-specific AMPK activation is sufficient to induce a reduction in the respiratory exchange ratio and an increase in FAO rates in vivo. This led to a more rapid metabolic switch from carbohydrate to lipid oxidation during the transition from fed to fasting. Finally, mice with chronic AMPK activation in the liver display high fat oxidation capacity evidenced by increased [C14]-palmitate oxidation and ketone body production leading to reduced hepatic TG content and body adiposity. Our findings suggest a role for hepatic AMPK in the remodeling of lipid metabolism between the liver and adipose tissue.

A simple fabrication method in the surface modification of electroosmotic silicon microchannel using thermal dry oxidation is presented. The surface modification is done by coating the silicon surface with a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) layer using thermal oxidation process. The process is aimed not only to improve the surface quality of the channel to be suitable for electroosmotic fluid transport but also to reduce the channel width using a simple technique. Initially, the parallel microchannel array with dimensions of 0.5 mm length and width ranging from 1.8 µm to 2 µm are created using plasma etching on the 2x2 cm <100> silicon substrate. The oxidation of silicon channel in a thermal chamber is then conducted to create the SiO₂ layer. The layer properties and the quality of the surface are analyzed using SEM and surface profiler, respectively. The results show that the maximum oxidation growth rate occurs in the first 4 hours of oxidation time and the rate decreases by time as the oxide layer becomes thicker. It is also found that the surface roughness is reduced with the increase of process temperature and oxide thickness. The scallop effect on the vertical wall due to plasma etching process also improved with the presence of the oxide layer. After the oxidation, the channel width is reduced by ~40%. The demonstrated method is suggested for the fabrication of a uniform channel cross section with high aspect ratio in sub-micro and nanometer scale that will be useful for the electroosmotic flow (EOF) manipulation of the biomedical fluid sample.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women globally. Early diagnosis and treatment improvements are leading to a growing population of survivors. This has increased the risk of developing contralateral breast cancer (CBC), a distinct occurrence in the opposite breast of a previously diagnosed patient. The treatment options for breast cancer are often mas-tectomy or lumpectomy. Patients with lumpectomy frequently undergo a contralateral reduc-tion procedure to achieve more symmetry after the primary breast cancer surgery. The reduc-tion specimen is usually routinely examined by pathology to check for malignancies. The exci-sion in pieces and the absence of specific markers or ink make an examination of tumor size and margin status more challenging, impacting treatment decisions. A new protocol introduced in July 2022 seeks to improve diagnostic precision and treatment planning by excision in toto, marking, and inking excised reduction tissue to examine and treat potential CBC more effectively.

Four different Mn and Re catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction have been studied by IR spectroelectrochemistry (SEC) in dry acetonitrile. In the case of Mn(apbpy)(CO)3Br (apbpy= 4(4-aminophenyl)-2,2’-bipyridine) SEC suggests that a very slow catalytic reduction of CO2 occurs in acetonitrile also in the absence of proton donors, but at rather negative potentials. On the contrary, the corresponding Re(apbpy)(CO)3Br clearly displays a slow catalytic conversion already at the first reduction potential. Switching to saturated CO2 solutions in a mixture of acetonitrile and 5% of water as proton donor, the SEC of Mn(apbpy)(CO)3Br displays faster catalytic behavior.

Parametric models have been widely used in pertinent literature for reconstructing, modifying and representing a wide range of airfoil and/or hydrofoil profile geometries. Design spaces corresponding to these models can be exploited for modeling and profile-shape optimization under various performance criteria. Accuracy requirements, along with the need for modeling local features, often lead to high-dimensional design spaces that hinder the process of shape optimization and design through analysis. In this work, we propose a shape-informed dimensional reduction approach that attempts to tackle this deficiency by producing low-dimensional latent design spaces that can be efficiently used in shape representation and optimization. Furthermore, geometric moments are introduced in an attempt to cost-effectively capture analysis-relevant information that is generally expensive to produce. Specifically, geometric integral properties, although intrinsic features of the shape, are quite commonly related to performance indicators employed in performance optimization and therefore provide a cost-effective physics-informed component in the description of the design in the latent space. To this end, we employ the generalized Karhunen-Loeve expansion to produce a shape- and physics-informed subspace retaining the highest possible geometric variance and robustness, that is, lack of invalid designs. At the same time, a series of shape discretizations, encoding the foil's shape profile, are examined with regards to their effect on the resulting latent space's quality and efficiency. Our results demonstrate a significant reduction in the dimensionality of the original design space while maintaining a high representational capacity and a large percentage of valid geometries that facilitate fast convergence to optimal solutions in performance-based optimization.

Emerging infectious disease threats are becoming more frequent due to various social, political and geographical pressures including increased human-animal contact, global trade, transportation and changing climate conditions. As a result, the threat that emerging agents can be spread by blood contact or transfusion of blood products also becomes increasingly problematic. Blood transfusion is essential in treating patients with anemia, blood loss, and other medical conditions. However, these lifesaving components can become a vector for spreading diseases, particularly to vulnerable populations. New methods have been implemented on a global basis for prevention of transfusion transmission via plasma, platelet, and whole blood products. Implementing proactive pathogen reduction methods can significantly reduce the likelihood of disease transmission via blood transfusion, even for newly emerging agents whose transmissibility and susceptibility are still being evaluated as they emerge. In this review, we consider the Mirasol PRT system for blood safety which is based on a photochemical method involving Riboflavin and UV light. We provide examples of how emerging threats such as Ebola, SARS-CoV-2, Hepatitis E, monkeypox and other agents have been evaluated in real time regarding effectiveness of this method for reducing the likelihood of disease transmission via transfusion. Keywords: transfusion; blood; pathogen reduction; emerging infectious diseases.

The rapid development of electrochemical CO2 reduction offers a promising route to convert in-termittent renewable energy into products of high value-added fuels or chemical feedstocks. However, low faradaic efficiency, low current density, and a narrow potential range still limited the large-scale application of CO2RR electrocatalyst. Herein, monolith 3D bi-continuous nano-porous Bismuth (np-Bi) electrodes are fabricated via a simple one-step electrochemical dealloying strategy from Pb-Bi binary alloy. The unique bi-continuous porous structure ensures highly effective charge transfer, meanwhile the controllable millimeter-size geometric porous structure enables easy catalyst adjustment to expose highly suitable surface curvatures with abundant reactive sites. This results in a high selectivity of 92.6% and superior potential window (400 mV, selectivity >88%) for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formate. Our scalable strategy provides a feasible pathway for mass-producing high-performance and versatile CO2 electrocatalysts.

Given a polynomial $P(x_{1}, x_{2}, \ldots, x_{n})$ which is the sum of terms, where each term is a product of two distinct variables, then the problem $APSS$ consists in calculating the total sum value of $\sum_{\forall U_{i}} P(u_{1}, u_{2}, \ldots, u_{n})$, for all the possible assignments $U_{i} = \{u_{1}, u_{2}, ... u_{n}\}$ to the variables such that $u_{j} \in \{0, 1\}$. $APSS$ is the abbreviation for the problem name Algebraic Polynomial Sum Solver Over $\{0, 1\}$. We show that $APSS$ is in $\#L$ and therefore, it is in $FP$ as well. The functional polynomial time solution was implemented with Scala in \url{https://github.com/frankvegadelgado/sat} using the DIMACS format for the formulas in $\textit{MONOTONE-2SAT}$.

Abstract: The paper defines the characteristics of two proto-quark stars (M_b=1.22M_? and M_b=1.62M_(?"\ " )) that were formed after the explosion of the supernova. It is assumed that the changes in the energy and lepton charge of the central regions of the pre-supernova star can be neglected during the implosion. The equation of state for hot quark matter is determined based on the MIT bag theory taking into account the presence of neutrinos. The possible maximum values of the central temperatures of these stars are determined. The energy of neutrinos in the studied proto-quark stars is of the order of 250-300 MeV. The decrease in the mass of these stars during cooling is about 0.16 for M_b=1.22M_? and 0.25 for M_b=1.62M_(?"\ " ).

Background: Twitter is a major tool for communication in emergencies such as natural disasters. This online social network allows the user to produce content, and it is not designed exclusively for news releases, as opposed to other service providers. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate Twitter uses in natural disasters and pandemics. Methods: The included studies reported the role of Twitter in natural disasters. The studies that report in settings other than the natural disasters (such as man-made disasters) and other social media were excluded. Electronic databases for a comprehensive literature search including MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and EMBASE were used to identify the records that match the mentioned inclusion criteria published till May 2020. The study characteristics were extracted from the qualified studies including year of publication, findings, and geographical location of the study conduct. A narrative synthesis for this literature review was used. Results: The search identified 822 articles of which 780 articles were removed, 256 were not available, 311 papers were not relevant, 16 were duplicated articles, and 197 were non-related to the emergencies. 45 articles met the selection criteria and were included in the review. eleven themes were found in the narrative synthesis including early warning, disseminating information and misinformation, advocacy, personal gains, assessment, various roles of organizations, public mood, geographical analysis, charity, using influencers, and trust. Conclusions: It is recommended that influential individuals be identified in each country and community before disasters occur so that the necessary information can be disseminated in response to disasters. Preventing the spread of misinformation is one of the most important issues in times of disaster, especially pandemics. Disseminating accurate, transparent, and prompt information from relief organizations and governments can help. Also, analyzing Twitter data can be a good source for understanding the mental state of the community, estimating the number of injured people, estimating the points affected by natural disasters, and modeling the prevalence of epidemics. Therefore, various groups such as politicians, the government, non-governmental organizations, aid workers, and the health system can use this information to plan and implement interventions.

With an increasing demand for quality of care and lower costs, hospitals are looking for industry-based methods to improve efficiency in their processes. This study aims to reduce waste in a public hospital in Mexico by improving the medical supply process for the operating room. To this end, a lean healthcare (LH) implementation following the DMAIC approach (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) is carried out. We analyze the value stream of the supply process, including main surgical procedures and their related medical supplies, and identify different causes of inefficiency, which are evaluated and controlled through different tools, including a value stream map, Kanban, and the 5S program. As a result, five types of waste were reduced. Over-processing requests were reduced by 15.3%, defective identification numbers were reduced by 46.5%, redundant processing was improved by 94.8%, near 2.8% of the unnecessary inventory was reduced, and transportation waste was reduced by up to 16.7%. Finally, the lead-time for the main supplies was reduced by 33 days. This work demonstrates that LH and DMAIC are effective in reducing waste and are highly conducive to improving sustainability in healthcare processes. Moreover, it provides practical insights for practitioners regarding the implementation of LH in public hospitals in developing countries.

Changes in the amount and the distribution of mean and turbulent quantities in the free shear layer wake of a 2D NACA 0012 airfoil and AR 4 NACA 0012 wing with passive segmented rigid trailing edge (TE) extensions was investigated at the University of Dayton Low Speed Wind Tunnel (UD-LSWT). The TE extensions were intentionally placed at zero degrees with respect to the chord line to study the effects of segmented extensions without changing the effective angle of attack. Force based experiments was used to determine the total lift coefficient variation of hte wing with seven segmented trailing edge extensions distributed across the span. The segmented trailing edge extensions had negligible effect of lift coefficient but showed measurable decrement in sectional and total drag coefficient. Investigation of turbulent quantities (obtained through Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV)) such as Reynolds stress, streamwise and transverse RMS in the wake, reveal a significant decrease in magnitude when compared to the baseline. The decrease in the magnitude of turbulent parameters was supported by the changes in coherent structures obtained through two-point correlations. Apart from the reduction in drag, the lower turbulent wake generated by the extensions has implications in reducing structural vibrations and acoustic tones.

In this work the influence of the structure forming agent on the composition, morphology and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of Fe-N-C catalysts was investigated. As structure forming agent (SFA), dicyandiamide (DCDA) (nitrogen source) or oxalic acid (oxygen source) or mixtures thereof were used. For characterization, cyclic voltammetry and rotating disc electrode (RDE) experiments were performed in 0.1 M H2SO4. In addition to this, N2 sorption measurements and Raman spectroscopy were performed for the structural characterization. The role of metal, nitrogen and carbon sources within the synthesis of Fe-N-C catalysts has been pointed out before. Here, we show that the optimum in terms of ORR activity is achieved if both N- and O-containing SFAs are used in almost similar fractions. All catalysts display a redox couple, whereat its position depends on the fractions of SFAs. The SFA has also a strong impact on the morphology: Catalysts that were prepared with a larger fraction of N-containing SFA revealed a higher order in graphitization, indicated by bands in the 2nd order range of the Raman spectra. Nevertheless, the optimum in terms of ORR activity is obtained for the catalyst with highest D/G band ratio. Therefore, the results indicate that the presence of an additional oxygen-containing SFA is beneficial within the preparation.

Jakarta belongs to the cities with the highest flood risk in the world. Its flood hazard is driven by land subsidence, soil sealing, changes in river discharge and increasingly sea level rise. As all of these trends are set to continue, Jakarta’s flood hazard is expected to intensify in the future. Designing and implementing risk reduction and adaption measures is therefore of utmost importance. Against the background, the paper draws on a discourse analysis and original empirical household survey data to review and evaluate current adaptation measures and to analyze in how far they describe a path that is transformative from previous risk reduction approaches. The results show that the focus is clearly on engineering solutions, foremost in the Giant Sea Wall project. The project is likely to transform the city’s flood hydrology. However, it cements rather than transforms the current risk management paradigm which gravitates around the goal of controlling flood symptoms, rather than addressing their anthropogenic root causes. The results also show that the planned measures are heavily contested due to concerns about ecological impacts, social costs, distributional justice, public participation and long-term effectiveness. On the outlook, the results therefore suggest that the more the flood hazard will intensify in the future, the deeper a societal debate will be needed about the desired pathway in flood risk reduction and overall development planning – particularly with regards to the accepted level of transformation, such as partial retreat from the most flood-affected areas.

Nickel molybdate, NiMoO₄, nanoparticles were synthesized via calcination of an oxalate complex in static air at 500 °C. The oxalate complex was analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The as-synthesized nickel molybdate was characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller technique (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and its catalytic efficiency was tested in the reduction reaction of the three-nitrophenol isomers. The nickel molybdate displays a very high activity in the catalytic reduction of the nitro functional group to an amino. The reduction progress was controlled using UV-Vis absorption.

Methionine oxidation to the sulfoxide form (MSox) is a poorly understood post-translational modification of proteins associated with nonspecific chemical oxidation from reactive oxygen species (ROS) whose chemistries are linked to various disease pathologies including neurodegeneration. Emerging evidence shows MSox site occupancy is in some cases under enzymatic regulatory control mediating cellular signaling including phosphorylation and/or calcium signaling, raising questions as to the speciation and functional nature of MSox across the proteome. The 5XFAD lineage of the C57BL/6 mouse has well-defined Alzheimer’s and aging states. Using this model, we analyzed age, sex and disease dependent MSox speciation in mouse hippocampus. In addition, we explore chemical stability and statistical variance of oxidized peptide signals to understand needed power for MSox based proteome studies. Our results identify mitochondrial and glycolytic pathway targets with increases in MSox with age as well as neuroinflammatory targets accumulating MSox with AD in proteome studies of mouse hippocampus. Further, the paper establishes a foundation for reproducible and rigorous experimental MSox-omics appropriate for biological discovery novel target identification, and biomarker analysis in ROS and other oxidation linked diseases.

Salmonella infections can lead to intestinal inflammation and metabolic disorders in birds. However, whether ARA metabolism is involved in Salmonella-induced intestinal inflammation remains unclear. This experiment investigated the changes in cecal flora and arachidonic acid (ARA) metabolism in Hainan Wenchang chickens infected with S. Typhimurium using 16s rDNA sequencing and targeted metabolomics. The results showed that the levels of ARA metabolites were increased in the cecum tissue of Wenchang chickens after infection with S. Typhimurium, including prostaglandin E2, prostaglandin F2α, lipoxin A4, ±8(9)-EET, ±11(12)-EET, and ±8,9-DiHETrE. The content of key enzymes for ARA production and metabolism (PLA2 and COX-2) in chicken cecum tissues was increased after S. Typhimurium infection. The relative mRNA levels of inflammatory factors were also increased after infection, including IFN-γ, TGF-β1, IL-4, and IL-6. In HD11 cells, the use of a cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor reduced the increased levels of COX-2 and PGF2α induced by S. Typhimurium infection and effectively reduced the inflammatory response. In addition, the number of beneficial genera (e.g., Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Odorobacterium) in the cecum of Wenchang chickens was significantly reduced after infection with S. Typhimurium. In this study, we revealed the structure of the cecal flora of Wenchang chickens infected with S. Typhimurium and demonstrated that S. Typhimurium can mediate the onset and development of intestinal inflammation through the activation of the metabolic pathway of ARA cyclooxygenase in Wenchang chickens. The results can provide data support and theoretical support for the prevention and control of avian salmonellosis.

Electronic waste (e-waste), characterized by the widespread disposal of electronic devices, shows a growing environmental challenge. In this study, we explore the electrocatalytic potential of gold nanoparticles supported on Vulcan obtained from e-waste for their application as electrocatalysts for the methanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media. Gold nanoparticles are synthesized from gold coatings recovered from Intel Pentium 4 processor pins, highlighting their sustainability as electrocatalyst precursors. Comprehensive characterization, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray dif-fraction, is performed to assess the electrocatalyst's structural properties. Electrochemical evalu-ation is carried out in 0.5 M KOH electrolyte employing the rotating disk electrode technique, us-ing cyclic voltammetry for the study of methanol oxidation. Remarkably, the gold nanoparticles show electrocatalytic activity on par with commercially synthesized counterparts, demonstrating the feasibility of this approach for sustainable electrocatalyst production. Thus, this research opens new routes for utilizing e-waste as a source of valuable catalyst materials, addressing en-vironmental and technological challenges in the field of alkaline fuel cells.

In the context of high-temperature water vapor treatment, Zn-Mg-Al alloy-coated steel sheets exhibit the emergence of a black surface. This study aims to explore the factors and mechanisms contributing to surface blackening by inducing black surfaces on Zn-Mg-Al alloy-coated steel sheets, which were fabricated through molten coating subjected to water vapor treatment at 150 degrees Celsius. The surfaced composition was predominantly identified as ZnO, a zinc oxide film, validated through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Morphological analysis of the surface and cross-section post-water vapor treatment revealed a disrupted lamellar structure with diffused features, resulting in the formation of an oxide film. Optical properties analysis demonstrated an increased absorbance and a decreased bandgap energy after water vapor treatment, indicative of an augmented blackening effect. Consequently, the high-temperature water vapor treatment led to the formation of oxides on the surface, with the highly reactive Mg and Al extracting oxygen from the predominantly present ZnO surface. This process resulted in the creation of an oxygen-deficient oxide, ultimately causing surface blackening.

Naphtho[1,8-de][1,2]oxazin-4-ol and its acyl or benzyl derivatives ring open to various 2,8-dihydroxy-1-naphthonitriles, that undergo methylation, reduction, demethylation and debenzylation reactions, to afford the target compound (E)-2-hydroxy-8-methoxy-1-naphthaldehyde. The best overall yield of the latter was 28.7%. This compound was converted to its corresponding (E)-2-hydroxy-8-methoxy-1-naphthaldehyde ox-ime, which was oxidatively o-cyclized with phenyliodine(III) diacetate (PIDA) to 9-methoxynaphtho[1,2-d]isoxazole 2-oxide. The latter in deuterated DMSO, at room temperature, rearranged to its isomer to 2-hydroxy-8-methoxy(naphthalen-1-yl)nitrile oxide. The isomeriza-tion was detected by a time-course plot 1H NMR spectroscopy and further identified from its13C NMR and HRMS spectra. The nitrile oxide was stable in (non)deuterated DMSO for at least 18 hours. A 3,4-bis(2-hydroxy-8-methoxynaphthalen-1-yl)-1,2,5-oxadiazole 2-oxide as a dimeriza-tion product or an isocyanate as a rearrangement isomer were both ruled out, the former by the absence of the relevant molecular ion in its HRMS spectrum while the latter by 1,3-dipolar cy-cloaddition reactions with various dipolarophiles that gave substituted isoxazoles, thus con-firming the nitrile oxide structure.

The reaction of pyridinium chlorochromate with furan to give enedione derivatives cannot be performed by using commercial PCC. Homemade and commercial PCC had different color and showed some differences in the XRD spectrum. XPS showed the presence of relevant amount of Cr(III) in the homemade reagent. DFT calculations showed that Cr(III) impurities in the reagent can catalyze the reaction with furan derivatives, if oxygen atom in the Cr(III) derivative attacks the furan ring, while it is reoxidized by PCC, through a migration of a chlorine atom.

The work presents a mathematical model of a thermogravimetric curve for the growth and simultaneous sublimation of scale on a metal or alloy surface. Reduction of the reaction area as a result of the formation of oxides of alloying elements (for obtaining the basic oxide) is considered for the alloy. For metals, the case where this area is increased as a result of powder metal crushing is also considered. The equations that were obtained are employed to explain the kinetic curves of the mass change of the samples.

Simultaneously with the development of industrial society, wastewater with organic pollutants has caused various environmental problems. The most majority of organic pollutants in water and wastewater are persistent, reason which can cause serious problems for human health, animal health, and for the whole environment. Therefore, efficient treatment methods for wastewater with highly concentration of organic compounds are immediately necessary. During the last years, the prescribed and non-prescribed consumption of antibiotics has grown a lot worldwide. Big quantities of antibiotics are discharged into wastewater because their incomplete absorption by living organisms, but at small concentrations present in aquatic environments represents a major risk for the human health and environment protection. The paper presents the main advantages and disadvantages of advanced oxidation processes, but also current state and new perspectives in the field of environment protection. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are often used in the field of treatment of different types of wastewater. AOPs are based on physicochemical processes that create significant structural changes in chemical species, their commercialization at a wide scale may result in cost reductions that are desirable for environmental applications. The majority of antibiotics may be eliminated using physicochemical processes, such as photo-Fenton, photolysis, ozonation, electrooxidation, heterogeneous catalysis, and other bio processes. In comparison to conventional chemical processes, AOPs provide superior oxidation efficiency, ideal operating costs, and zero secondary pollutants.

A conventionally cast CoNiFeMn0.5Cr1.5 alloy and two versions with 0.25C&amp;3.7Ta or 0.25C&amp;3.7Hf were tested in oxidation at 1000°C for 50h with thermogravimetric recording of the oxidation kinetic. In all cases the obtained mass gain curves are parabolic. Their parabolic constants are much lower than the Kp previously determined for the original alloys with an equimolar base (CoNiFeMnCr). However, the post–mortem exploitation of the oxidized samples revealed analogous oxidation features on surface and subsurface, with here too external oxide strata on surface with different Mn and Cr contents, and rather great Mn–depletion in addition to a moderate Cr–depletion, in subsurface. Globally, the oxidation behavior is significantly better than earlier observed for the equimolar version of these alloys.

MCrAlYHf bond coats are employed in jet and aircraft engines, stationary gas turbines, and power plants, which require strong resistance to oxidation at high temperatures. The oxidation behavior of a free-standing CoNiCrAlYHf coating was investigated in this study. Isothermal oxidation tests were performed in air at 1050 °C on the specimens with various levels of surface roughness to investigate the oxidation kinetics. X-ray diffraction, focused ion beam, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the surface oxides. The surface roughness was examined using a contact profilometer and SEM. An empirical model was proposed to elucidate the impact of surface roughness on the oxidation behavior based on the correlation between the surface roughness level and oxidation rates.

It is at the chemistry-biology interface that this work that we have carried out takes place. Indeed, the expected goal is to develop simple molecules, capable of activating the catalytic action of certain metalloenzymes such as tyrosinase. The official name of an enzyme includes the type of reaction catalyzed, the name of the substrates involved. In this work, we carried out the study of the catalytic activity of the complexes of organotin carboxylates synthesized vis-à-vis the oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatecchol. The results obtained show that the various complexes exhibit good catalytic activity for the oxidation of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatecchol under mild conditions. The complexes that showed good catalytic activity are the compounds C1 and C2.

A FIB/STEM interfacial study was performed on a TBC/Ti₂AlC MAX phase system, oxidized in an aggressive burner rig test (Mach 0.3 at 1300°C for 500 h). The 7YSZ TBC, a-Al₂O₃ TGO, and MAXthal 211 Ti₂AlC base were variously characterized by TEM/STEM, EDS, SADP, and HRTEM. The YSZ was a mix of ‘clean’ featureless and ‘faulted’ high contrast grains. The latter exhibited ferro-elastic domains of high Y content tetragonal t'' variants. No martensite was observed. The TGO was essentially a duplex a-Al₂O₃ structure of inner columnar plus outer equiaxed grains. It maintained a perfectly intact, clean interface with the Ti₂AlC substrate. The Ti₂AlC substrate exhibited no interfacial Al-depletion zone, but rather numerous faults along the basal plane of the hexagonal structure. These are believed to offer a means of depleting Al by forming crystallographic, low-Al planar defects, proposed as Ti_2.5AlC_1.5. These characterizations support and augment prior optical, SEM, and XRD findings that demonstrated remarkable durability for the YSZ/Ti₂AlC MAX phase system in aggressive burner tests.

Solid oxide cells are capable of efficiently converting various chemical energy carriers to electricity and vice versa. The urgent challenge nowadays is the faster degradation rate compared with other fuel cell/electrolyzer technologies. To understand the degradation mechanisms, simulation of a solid oxide cell is helpful. Since most previous research developed models using commercial software, such as COMSOL and ANSYS Fluent, a gap for knowledge transfer is being gradually formed between academia and industry due to licensing issues. This paper introduces a multiphysics model, developed by a computational code, openFuelCell2. The code is implemented with an open-source library, OpenFOAM. It accounts for momentum transfer, mass transfer, electrochemical reactions and metal interconnect oxidation. The model can precisely predict I-V curves under different temperatures, fuel humidity and operation modes. Comparison between OpenFOAM and COMSOL simulations shows good agreement. The metal interconnect oxidation is modelled, which can predict the thickness of the oxide scale under different protective coatings. Simulations are conducted by assuming an ultra-thin film resistance on the rib surface. It is revealed that coatings fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying can efficiently prevent metal interconnect oxidation, with a contribution of only 0.53 \% to the total degradation rate.

ECM provides various mechanical cues that are able to affect the self‑renewal and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). Little is known however how these ques work in a pathological environment, such as acute oxidative stress. To better understand the behavior of human adipose tissue-derived MSC (ADMSC) in such conditions here we provide morphological and quantitative evidence for significantly altered early steps of mechanotransduction when adhering to oxidized collagen (Col-Oxi). This affects both focal adhesion (FA) formation and YAP/TAZ signaling events. Representative morphological images show that ADMSCs spread better within 2 h of adhesion on native collagen (Col), while they tended to round up on Col-Oxi. It correlates also with the less development of the actin cytoskeleton and FA formation, confirmed quantitatively by morpho-metric analysis using ImageJ. As shown by immunofluorescence analysis, oxidation also affected the ratio of cytosolic to nuclear YAP/TAZ activity, concentrating in the nucleus for Col while remaining in the cytosol for Col-Oxi, suggesting abrogated signal transduction. Comparative AFM studies show that native collagen forms relatively coarse aggregates, much thinner with Col-Oxi, possibly reflecting its altered ability to aggregate. On the other hand, the corresponding Young's moduli were only slightly changed, so viscoelastic properties cannot explain the observed biological differences. However, the roughness of the protein layer decreases dramatically, from RRMS equal to 27.95 + 5.1 nm for Col to 5.51 + 0.8 nm for Col-Oxi (p<0.05), which dictates our conclusion that it is the most altered parameter in oxidation. Thus, it appears to be a predominantly topo-graphic response that affects the mechanotransduction of ADMSCs by oxidized collagen.

The synergistic effect of silicon and cerium addition on the oxidation resistance of pack cementation aluminide coating applied on Ni-based superalloy substrate was investigated. The effect of cerium and silicon on the scale morphology, oxidation behavior, and scale spallation tendency are discussed based on the experimental results, using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses (EDX). In addition, the oxidation resistance was evaluated by measuring the weight of samples after each 16-hour cycle at 1100˚C for 50 cycles. The experiments indicated that silicon addition to aluminide coating improves the oxidation resistance through the formation of β-NiAl1-nSin and δ-Ni2Al3-nSin and δ-Ni2Si phases. Furthermore, the addition of 1% cerium to modified aluminide enhances the formation of the fine-grained microstructure of the β-NiAl and δ-Ni2Al3 and reduces the outward/inward diffusion of elements (so-called blocking effect) which significantly modifies the hot oxidation resistance. The addition of 2% cerium, owing to the distortion of the β-NiAl and δ-Ni2Al3 phases, strictly decreases the hot oxidation resistance and the coating is exfoliated after 450 h at 1100 °C. The cyclic oxidation tests showed that the samples containing 1% cerium and 6% silicon possess the highest hot oxidation resistance in which 2 mg/cm2 weight loss of Ce-Si-aluminide was reported after 800 h. This is attributed to the simultaneous effect of cerium and silicon during the deposition process which reduces the oxygen diffusion and reduces the growth rate of α-Al2O3 during oxidation tests. The α-Al2O3 oxidation layer morphology showed that finer grains are formed in samples containing optimum ratios of cerium and silicon which indicates that these elements improve the coating adhesion and oxidation resistance simultaneously.

The catalytically active vanadium-containing system on γ-Al2O3 was studied using a wide range of physical and chemical methods depending on the synthesis conditions. It is shown that the vanadium-containing system includes several complexes with different thermal stability and catalytic activity. Low-active complexes are destroyed with the formation of more active ones based on V2O5 oxide as the temperature of heat treatment increases. It can be assumed that the V2O5 oxide has the decisive role in its catalytic activity. It was concluded that the vanadium-containing catalytic system on aluminum oxide, in the studied temperature range, is thermal stable and shows high activity not only in the reduction of nitrogen oxides but also in the oxidation of hydrocarbons (even of the most difficult ones, such as oxidizable methane). These properties of the system make it quite promising in the field of application for purification of exhaust gases of motor transport and industrial enterprises from environmentally harmful components as well as for understanding the mechanism of the action of catalysts in these processes, which is very important for solving the problems of decarbonization and achieving carbon neutrality.

Mn-doped CeO2 and CeO2 with the same morphology (nanofiber and nanocube) were synthesized through hydrothermal method respectively. When applied to benzene oxidation, the catalytic properties of Mn-doped CeO2 were higher than those of CeO2, which was related with the concentration of O vacancy. Compared to CeO2 with the same morphology, more oxygen vacancies were formed on the surface of Mn-doped CeO2, due to Mn ion replacing Ce ion. The lattice replacement was analyzed through XRD, Raman, electron energy loss spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance technology. The formation energies of oxygen vacancy on the different exposed crystal planes [(110) and (100)] for Mn-doped CeO2 were calculated by applying the density functional theory (DFT). The data showed that the oxygen vacancy was easier to be formed on the (110) plane. The factors influencing catalytic behavior were elaborated, which indicated that surface oxygen vacancy played an important part in catalytic reaction.

This article presents, for the first time, the kinetics and the general conversion features of free radical polymerization (FRP) in a 3-component system (A/B/N), with [A] being the initiator, and [B] and [N] are additives, based on the proposed mechanism of Rahal et al. Higher FRP can be achieved by additives [B] and [N], via the dual function of (i) regeneration [A], and (ii) generation of extra radicals (R) via the radicals (S' and S) produced by N.The initiator (coumarin) shows a dual photo-oxidation and photo-reduction character for high efficacy. The FRP conversion efficacy (CE) depends not only on the property of the initiator [A], the additives [B] and [N}, but also the types of monomers. For example, when [A]=CoumC, [A]/NPG is more efficient than [A]/Iod, but revserse trend occurs in some monomers. However, 2-component systems (with CE=0% to 80%) are always less efficient than that of 3-component systems (with CE=70% to 86%, in TMPTA). Specific systems with [A]=coumarins, [B]=Iodonium salt, and N=NPG are analyzed. Analytical formulas for the role of each component concentration, light intensity and coupling rates on the conversion efficacy are derived.

The SiBOC precursor ceramics were fabricated by polymer-derived method SiBOC precursors with different B/Si molar ratios were synthesized by controlling monomer content. The effects of different process conditions on SiBOC ceramics and the oxidation resistance of SiBOC ceramics at a high temperature (1400 ℃) were studied. The SiBOC precursor’s bonds of Si-O-C, Si-O-Si, and Si-O-B were detected by FTIR. The precursor is converted to a rigid ceramic material that has an 85.3 wt % ceramic yield of SiBOC ceramics with B/Si=0.4 by TG-DSC. The results of SEM analysis show that the SiBOC ceramics surface bulges and folds increase with the increase of boric acid content. With the increase of pyrolysis temperature and pyrolysis time, the size and number of pores on the surface of SiBOC ceramics also increase. Static oxidation tests show that SiBOC ceramics with B/Si=0.4 have better oxidation resistance under other conditions being the same.

Different water treatment regiments are revealed to have potential in enriching antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based disinfection techniques have been studied widely in the recent times due to their advantages over conventional treatment methods. However, bacterial response and adaptations against the hostile environments of AOPs is not clearly understood yet. Based on the existing knowledge on the ways in which bacteria surpass the antibiotic treatment, here we propose few important aspects of bacterial adaptation which could be true for AOPs as well since both antibiotics and AOPs generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) during their modes of action. We discuss the plausible role of ROS in the selection of ARB and bacterial heterogeneity as a strategy to bypass the lethal action of AOPs. Understanding bacterial adaptation during disinfection plays a vital role in devising strategies to outclass the bacterial survival. Hence, more importance should be given to such studies in the near future for the successful implementation of AOPs.

In two-dimensional materials research, oxidation is usually considered as a common source for the degradation of electronic and optoelectronic devices or even device failure. However, in some cases a controlled oxidation can open the possibility to widely tune the band structure of 2D materials. In particular, we demonstrate the controlled oxidation of titanium trisulfide (TiS₃), a layered semiconductor that attracted much attention recently thanks to its quasi-1D electronic and optoelectronic properties and its direct bandgap of 1.1 eV. Heating TiS₃ in air above 300 °C gradually converts it into TiO₂, a semiconductor with a wide bandgap of 3.2 eV with applications in photo-electrochemistry and catalysis. In this work, we investigate the controlled thermal oxidation of individual TiS₃ nanoribbons and its influence on the optoelectronic properties of TiS₃-based photodetectors. We observe a step-wise change in the cut-off wavelength from its pristine value ~1000 nm to 450 nm after subjecting the TiS₃ devices to subsequent thermal treatment cycles. Ab-initio and many-body calculations confirm an increase of the bandgap of titanium oxysulfide (TiO_2-xS_x) when increasing the amount of oxygen and reducing the amount of sulfur.

This review describes major advances in the use of functionalized molecular metal oxides (polyoxometalates, POMs) as water oxidation catalysts under electrochemical conditions. The fundamentals of POM-based water oxidation are described together with a brief overview of general approaches to designing POM water oxidation catalysts. Next, the use of POMs for homogeneous, solution-phase water oxidation is described together with a summary of theoretical studies shedding light on the POM-WOC mechanism. This is followed by a discussion of heterogenization of POMs on electrically conductive substrates for technologically more relevant application studies. Stability of POM water oxidation catalysts are discussed on selected examples where detailed data is already available. The review finishes with an outlook on future perspective and emerging themes in electrocatalytic polyoxometalate-based water oxidation research.

The aim of this study was to examine the oxidation of human serum albumin (HSA) caused by oxidative stress after an exhaustive exercise such as ultra-marathon race. Thus, blood samples from 12 adult runners who underwent a 103 km mountain ultra-marathon race were collected pre- and 24, 48 and 72 h post race. HSA was partially purified using affinity chromatography and then was subjected to Western blot analysis for disulfide dimers determination, indicating oxidation. The results were correlated with those from a previous study in which the same samples were analyzed using different oxidative stress markers and a good correlation with protein carbonyls (PC) at all time points was observed. Moreover there was a significant correlation with static oxidation-reduction potential (sORP) at 24 h, and a negative correlation with capacity oxidation-reduction potential (cORP) at 24 and 48 h. In addition, an individual analysis of albumin dimers exhibited great inter-individual differences. This inter-individual variability in the oxidation of HSA may suggest different interventions (e.g. through diet) in order to confront the effects on athletes’ organism after a strenuous exercise. In conclusion, this study supported the importance of the assessment of albumin dimers as a predictive marker for exercise-induced oxidative stress.

The commercial oxygen-free copper sheets were cold-rolled with reduction rates ranging from 20% to 87% reduction rate and annealed at 400, 500 and 600 °C. The microstructure and texture evolution during cold-rolling and annealing processes were studied using optical microscopy (OM), the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). The results show that the deformation textures of {123} (S) , {112} (Copper) and {110} (Brass) were continuously enhanced with the increase of cold-rolling reduction. The orientations along the α-oriented fiber converged towards Brass and the orientation density of β fiber obviously increased when the rolling reduction exceeded 60%. The recrystallization texture was significantly affected by the cold-rolling reduction. After 60% cold-rolling reduction, Copper and S textures components gradually decreased and {011} recrystallization texture component formed with the increase of annealing temperature. After 87% cold-rolling reduction, a strong Cube texture formed and other textures were inhibited with the increase of annealing temperature. The strong Brass and S deformation texture was conducive to the formation of a strong Cube annealing texture. The density of annealing twin boundary decreased with the increase of annealing temperature, and more annealing twin boundaries formed in the oxygen-free copper sheets with the increase of cold rolling reduction.

In this study, the friction factor of turbulent pipe flow for dried rice malt extract solutions is reduced experimentally to that of a Newtonian fluid. The friction factor is measured for four types of solutions at different culture times and concentrations. The results indicate that the experimental data points of the test solutions diverge from the maximum drag reduction asymptote at and above Re√f ≅ 200 and align parallel to those of Newtonian fluids. This drag reduction phenomenon differs from that of artificial high molecular polymer solutions. It is classified as a Type B drag reduction phenomenon of biopolymer solutions and fine solid particle suspensions. The order of drag reduction corresponds approximately to that of 5–50 ppm xanthan-gum solutions reported previously. Furthermore, the velocity profile in a turbulent pipe flow was predicted using a semi-theoretical equation, in which the friction factors were determined using the difference between the experimental results of the tested solutions and Newtonian fluids. The results indicate a more considerable thickening of the viscous sublayer in the turbulent pipe flow of the test solutions than that of Newtonian fluids.

Attribute reduction is a core technique in the rough set domain and an important step in data preprocessing. Researchers have proposed numerous innovative methods to enhance the capability of attribute reduction, such as the emergence of multi-granularity rough set models, which can effectively process distributed and multi-granularity data. However, these innovative methods still have many shortcomings, such as how to deal with complex constraints and how to perform multi-angle effectiveness evaluations. Based on the multi-granularity model, this study proposes a new method of attribute reduction, namely using multi-granularity neighborhood information gain ratio as the measurement criterion. This method combines both supervised and unsupervised perspectives, and by integrating multi-granularity technology with neighborhood rough set theory, constructs a model that can adapt to multi-level data features. This model can select the optimal granularity level or attribute set according to the requirements. Finally, the proposed method is experimented with on 15 UCI datasets against six other attribute reduction algorithms. The experimental outcomes, upon analysis and comparative review, substantiate the reliability and consistency of the attribute reduction approach introduced in this study.

Ammonia can be considered a relevant compound in the future energy sector, playing a significant role as an energy carrier, storage, or carbon-free fuel. However, the production of this molecule has a high energy demand, and the use of natural gas, which is not free of controversy due to the accidental leakage into the atmosphere produced during extraction and the fact that it is a non-renewable source, contributes to increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing the process’s energy demand and carbon footprint will be essential to making ammonia a clear alternative for a carbon-free economy. Given the vast experience in ammonia production and handling, this gas seems to be the logical step forward in the evolution of the energy sector. However, the current uncertainty in the global market requires cautiousness in decision-making. Several factors may impact economic growth and human welfare, thus needing a careful assessment before taking any transcendental decisions that could affect worldwide energy prices and raw material availability.

The use of hyperthermia is one of the effective methods of treating cancer. In this case, the problem arises of constructing and predicting the distribution of the thermal field inside tissues depending on their type. This paper discusses the use of linear and polynomial regression methods, as well as regression algorithms based on decision tree, random forest and K nearest neighbors methods to recover missing temperature values. The influence of the size of the training sample when performing regression on the quality of the reconstructed values is investigated. Experimental recommendations on sample size are given for the selected decision tree and random forest methods. The possibility of a significant (10 times or more) reduction in the initial sample size, without leading to a decrease in the R² metric by more than 0.05 for various tissues, has been shown.

Background and objectives: Thoracolumbar fracture – dislocations (AO type C) are rare injuries that occur due to very high-energy trauma, and the result is transitional and rotational instability of the spinal column and neurological impairment. Several reduction maneuvers have thus far been published, each of which can be of use in certain specific situations. We developed a novel modification to the previously described reduction technique. Materials and methods: This is a retrospective review of the management of thoracic AO type C fracture-dislocations managed with a modified novel reduction technique. The success of the reduction and intraoperative iatro-genic complications such as dural tear and screw pull out were the outcomes analyzed. Results: A total of 4 cases were successfully reduced with this novel reduction technique. We did not note any complications such as a dural tear or screw failure with this modified novel reduction tech-nique. Conclusion: The novel modification to the reduction technique employed in the management of thoracic fracture-dislocations resulted in a successful reduction without the risk of iatrogenic complications due to the reduction maneuver.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of reducing the amount of organic waste on the weight of cats in Tehran. The weight of 4192 cats was measured from spring 2016 to the end of winter 2020. They were classified into 6 age groups, 2 gender groups, and 13 geographical areas. Their weight was measured for 48 months (16 seasons). The statistical parameters analysis showed no weight loss in 2017, but since 2018, cats have been losing weight every year. They had lost about 178g of their weight in 2018. The sharpest annual decrease was observed in 2019 when about 301g of weight loss was recorded. In the winter of 2020, 115g of weight loss took place. In the spring of 2017, no weight change was observed, but in the spring of 2018, the cats lost 155g of their weight. Their weight loss intensified in the spring of 2019 and about 299g of weight loss was observed. In the summer of 2017, as in the spring of the same year, no weight loss was recorded, but for the summer of 2018, the weight loss was evident and about 205g of the weight of the cats had been reduced. The weight loss in the summer of 2019 not only continued but intensified and about 304g of weight loss was recorded for cats. Weight change was not observed in the fall of 2017 as in the spring and summer of the same year. In the fall of 2018, weight loss was recorded for cats. They had lost about 324g of their weight in the fall of 2018. Also, they experienced a weight loss of about 218g in the fall of 2019. During the spring, summer, and autumn of 2017, no weight loss was observed in the cats for the winter of 2018, but in the winter of 2019, the cats faced the most severe weight loss (seasonally). They lost about 401g of weight in the winter of 2019. Of course, in the winter of 2020, about 186g of weight loss was observed in cats. The results showed that female cats did not lose weight in 2017 but experienced weight loss in 2018 with a weight loss of 181g. The weight loss of females intensified in 2019 and 294g of weight loss was recorded. Female cats lost 186g of their weight in the winter of 2020. Male cats did not lose weight like female cats in 2017. But in 2018, a weight loss of 166g was observed in male cats. The weight loss of male cats continued in 2019 and 311g of weight loss was recorded for them. However, in 2020, unlike females, weight loss was not observed in male cats. It can be said that both sexes lost more weight in the winter of 2019 than in other seasons. In 2017, weight loss was observed only for the region of 10, and in the same year, weight gain was recorded for the region of 15. But in 2018, except for regions 3, 4, 15, and 19, weight loss was observed in other regions. In 2019, the weight loss of cats spread and weight loss was observed in all regions except the region of 12. In winter 2020, weight loss was recorded only in the region of 4. In the end, it can be concluded that the weight of cats has decreased since the spring of 2018 because the beginning of the decrease in the amount of organic waste has been recorded since the winter of 2018. So, there is a direct relationship between the weight of cats and the amount of organic waste (access to food). The amount of garbage has been decreasing since the winter of 2018, and the average weight of cats has also been decreasing since the spring of 2018 due to the decrease in access to food.

This study investigated the development of Aedes aegypti density in houses of the urban locality of Poblado Miguel Alemán Valdes, in the Sonora state of Mexico, after application of 1% propoxur paint as full wall coverage (IP) and targeted indoor painting (IP 1m) in comparison to IRS with propoxur 70% WP (full wall coverage). The 1% propoxur paint was applied by the homeowners by brushing and rolling at the recommended dose of 1L/8 m², equivalent to 1.5 g a.i./m², while IRS was conducted by professionals with Propoxur 70% WP at a dose of 1 g a.i./m². Adult mosquito surveys were conducted in a random sample of houses in each block one week before the interventions and at week 1, month 1 to 4, month 6, month 9 and month 12 post-interventions. All three propoxur based treatments provided similar reductions (43.7%, 44.9% and 41.3% for IP, IP 1m and IRS respectively) in the fraction of houses positive in female Aedes aegypti resting indoor and outdoor as one year average of 8 follow up surveys. Indoor resting density of Aedes females during the one-year evaluation was reduced by 77.5% through IP followed by IP 1m with 64.2% reduction and 30% reduction with IRS. Culex mosquitoes’ interior density was affected as well by the insecticide treatments with similar average reductions for IP 1m (50.0%) and IRS (57.8%) in comparison with control. Aedes breeding was impacted by the insecticide paint in similar extent for both interventions, expressed by a substantial reduction of the House Index (20.1% IP, 31.2% IP 1m) and especially the Container Index (51.8% IP, 61.7% IP 1m) during the one-year surveys in comparison to control. In contrast, IRS treated block experienced an increase in both indexes. However, despite IP and IP 1m impacted in Aedes adult and immature indexes with noticeable reductions, the differences in all cases were not significative among the different insecticide treatments. The low sample size and mosquito population levels may have influenced the statistical outcomes. More than 80% of the interviewed residents were satisfied with the effectiveness of the paint and IRS treatments. The determination of the blood cholinesterase activity of tested individuals after the use of the carbamate paint and IRS in this study did not exceed acceptable inhibition limits. This study suggests that the application of propoxur paint by homeowners as full house coverage or as targeted indoor painting can be a safe and accepted intervention method for density reduction of Aedes aegypti populations in urban environments.

(1) Background: We reviewed the logistics of the implementation of pathogen inactivation (PI) using the INTERCEPT Blood System™ for platelets and the experience with routine use and clinical outcomes in the patient population at the Sírio-Libanês Hospital of São Paulo, Brazil. (2) Methods: Platelet concentrate (PC), including pathogen reduced (PR-PC) production, inventory management, discard rates, blood utilization, and clinical outcomes were analyzed over the 40 months before and after PI implementation. Age distribution and wastage rates were compared over the 10 months before and after approval for PR-PC to be stored for up to 7 days. (3) Results: A 100% PR-PC inventory was achieved by increasing double apheresis collections and production of double doses using pools of two single apheresis units. Discard rates decreased from 6% to 3% after PI implementation and further decreased to 1.2% after 7-day storage extension for PR-PCs. The blood utilization remained stable, with no increase in component utilization. A significant decrease in adverse transfusion events was observed after the PI implementation. (4) Conclusion: Our experience demonstrates the feasibility for Brazilian blood centers to achieve a 100% PR-PC inventory. All patients at our hospital received PR-PC and showed no increase in blood component utilization and decreased rates of adverse transfusion reactions.

This paper aims to delve into how gender dimensions observed before, during and after a disaster, have been addressed in two internationally recognised frameworks developed for reducing risks of disasters: Hyogo Framework Action (2005-2015) and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030). Building on a systematic review, we evaluate 33 scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles, including book chapters and websites in areas of gender, disaster risk reduction and vulnerability. This study documents a comparative picture of these two frameworks and shows the practical implications of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) by addressing women’s empowerment in the light of their active participation in disaster risk reduction process. The findings of the study suggest that the frameworks have discussed the reduction of women’s socioeconomic vulnerabilities, as well as encouraged their empowerment. Comparing the two frameworks, it appears in the current study that there has been a significant gap in the existing literature that does not explicitly document comparing and contrasting features of a gender lens in the policy documents.

Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) nuts have become an essential commodity crop in Malawi. The nuts are a lucrative commodity and are used for household consumption and income generation among farming families and as a foreign exchange earning crop at country-level. In addition, macadamia production has increased significantly in recent years in the country. Currently, Malawi is the seventh top producer of macadamia nuts, with a global market share of three percent (1,846 metric tonnes on kernel basis). In 2018, exports of macadamia kernel had a value of US$24.3 million (£19.8 million or MKW 18.01 billion). However, the bulk (85%) of the crop is grown on large commercial plantations, but the smallholder sector is emerging as vital for the future growth of the macadamia sub-sector in Malawi. Furthermore, Malawian smallholders consider macadamia production to be a low-input crop with large returns per unit area (US$14.37 kg^-1ha^-1 or MKW 10,701kg^-1ha^-1) thus a lucrative crop with high potential for poverty reduction and wealth creation among these farming families. This paper, therefore, explores: (i) the historical and current trends in macadamia nut production in Malawi; (ii) analyses the country’s macadamia value chain and (iii) discusses the constraints of macadamia production in Malawi for informed policymaking. Thus, the synthesis of the Malawian macadamia sub-sector provides an understanding of the vital contributions of macadamias to Malawi’s economic growth and improvement of livelihoods.

A new generation of universal tools and languages for modeling and simulation multi-physical domain applications emerged and became widely accepted, which generate large-scale systems of differential algebraic equations (DAEs) automatically. Motivated by the characteristics of DAEs systems with large dimension, high index or block structures, we first propose a modified Pantelides’ algorithm (MPA) for any high order DAEs based on its Σ matrix, which is similar to Pryce’s Σ method. By introducing a vital parameter vector, a modified Pantelides’ algorithm with parameter has been presented.It leads to a block Pantelides’ algorithm (BPA) naturally which can immediately compute the crucial canonical offsets for whole (coupled) systems with block-triangular form. We illustrate these algorithms by some examples. And numerical experiments show that the time complexity of BPA can be reduced by at least O(ℓ) compared to the MPA, which is mainly consistent with the results of our analysis.

In addition to being a source of freshener, coffee has an enormous possibility to be developed as a source of antioxidants for functional beverages. However, efforts to increase the value added of coffee as a health functional drink are still hindered by the presence of high level of caffeine, which is thought to have adverse effects on health, especially for coffee lovers who are vulnerable to caffeine. This study aims to optimise the steaming duration to produce low caffeine coffee while maintaining the sensory attributes and antioxidant compounds contained in it. Indonesian Arabica (Leksana variety) green coffee beans were steamed with multi-level steaming durations (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 min) followed by roasting (medium-dark roast degree), grinding, and brewing (espresso method). The results indicate that caffeine content in the coffee was inversely proportional to the steaming duration. The lowest caffeine content was obtained from the treatment of 80 min steaming with a decrease of caffeine level up to 28.73%. However, the longer process of steaming caused a significant decrease in polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. The hedonic test shows that the steaming treatment of coffee can increase preferences of panellists. There were two driving attributes that influence the overall liking of coffee, namely: bitterness and aftertaste. Coffee obtained from the treatment of 60 min steaming was most preferred by panellists. The results of APLSR biplot mapping show that there was a big change in almost all attributes in the coffee samples after 40 min steaming.

Biological nitrogen (N) provisioning is a seminal function of the gut microbes in several terrestrial insects, given the unbalanced carbon (C) and N ratios of their diets. Although freshwater insects face comparable dietary N limitations like terrestrial insects, little is known about this function by their gut microbiomes. In this study, we investigated microbial nitrate reduction to ammonium pathways as possible routes of biological N provisioning in two freshwater insects; filter-feeding Hydropsychidae and grazers/collectors Baetidae. After incubation in filtered (microbe-free) artificial stream water (ASW) containing dissolved ¹⁵N-labeled nitrate (treatment) or standard nitrate (control), bulk δ¹⁵N values of treatment samples (Baetidae = 100.62 ± 10.23, mean ± S.E.; Hydropsychidae = 76.82 ± 7.20) were significantly higher than controls (Baetidae = 10.14 ± 0.12 ; Hydropsychidae = 9.03 ± 0.20) in both functional feeding groups (F _{(3, 13)} = 296, P < 0.0001). The treatment δ¹⁵N values are cautiously interpreted as reflecting uptake and incorporation of microbe-derived ¹⁵N-metabolites (¹⁵NH₄ or ¹⁵N-amino acids) into host tissues following nitrate reduction to ammonium pathways in the gut lumen. Microbial nitrate reduction to ammonium activities was assessed via the quantification of dissimilatory (nrfA) and assimilatory (nasA) nitrate reduction to ammonium gene transcripts. There were no significant differences between control and treatment groups within each insect groups. Overall, this study provides a demonstration of the feasibility of applying ¹⁵N-stable isotope analysis for investigating, potential symbiotic functions of freshwater insect gut microbiomes, despite the preliminary nature of the results.

One of the key areas of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) programme of work is the analysis of renewable technology costs and performance and the dissemination of these results to as wide an audience as possible. In addition to analysis, IRENA seeks to engage a broad range of stakeholders in the context of this work through the Renewable Costing Alliance. The Costing Alliance brings together companies, industry association, governments and researchers to share, confidentially, data for real-world renewable energy project cost and performance, helping to build further on IRENA’s costing work to date. In this context the authors analyse the current cost differentials and cost reduction potentials for solar PV in Japan compared to best practice levels and identify the reasons for higher costs in Japan and how to reduce them. This study analyses the current installed cost differentials for utility-scale, commercial and residential rooftop solar PV systems. In addition to identifying the reasons for the cost differentials, potential policy recommendations to reduce the cost differential are identified.

The recently proposed Holography-inspired approach to quantum gravity is reviewed and expanded. The approach is based on the foliation of the background spacetime and reduction of the offshell states to the physical states. Careful attention is paid to the boundary conditions. It is noted that the outstanding problems such as the cosmological constant problem and black hole information can be tackled from the common thread of the quantized gravity. One-loop renormalization of the coupling constants and the beta function analysis are illustrated. Active galactic nuclei and gravitational waves are discussed as the potential applications of the present quantization scheme to astrophysics.

Addition of the bulky redox-active diphosphine 1,8-bis(diphenylphosphino)naphthalene (dppn) to [Fe2(CO)6(-edt)] (1) (edt = 1,2-ethanedithiolate) affords [Fe2(CO)4(2-dppn)(-edt)] (3) as the major product, together with small amounts of a P-C bond cleavage product [Fe2(CO)5{1-PPh2(1-C10H7)}(-edt)] (2). The redox properties of 3 have been examined by cyclic voltammetry and it has been tested as a proton-reduction catalyst. It undergoes a reversible reduction at E1/2 = –2.18 V and exhibits two overlapping reversible oxidations at E1/2 = –0.08 V and E1/2 = 0.04 V. DFT calculations show that while the HOMO is metal-centred (Fe-Fe -bonding), the LUMO is primarily ligand-based but also contains an antibonding Fe-Fe contribution, highlighting the redox-active nature of the diphosphine. It is readily protonated upon addition of strong acids to afford two isomeric hydride complexes and catalyzes the electrochemical reduction of protons at Ep = –2.00 V in the presence of CF3CO2H. The catalytic current indicates that it is one of the most efficient diiron electrocatalysts for the reduction of protons, albeit operating at quite negative potential.

Polymeric drag reducers have been developed over many years due to the great number of practical applications. In all of them, the molecular stability is an essential requirement. Usually, polymers break down under turbulent flows, which causes a decrease in their efficiency as drag reducers. Besides that, some specific applications, in agro and biomedical fields, impose a specific requirement that must be fulfilled, which is the use of non-toxic materials. A suitable stable material that is elected to accomplish this necessity is the mucilage of aloe vera, which is a bio-polymer that can be used as an alternative to the synthetic ones. Here, we investigate the role played by the aging of aloe vera on its capacity to reduce drag. The results obtained by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance indicate that the compositions of young and mature leaves of aloe vera are different and such a difference plays an important role on their efficiency as drag reducers. Tests were performed to analyse the drag reduction in a rotating apparatus and in a pipeline system and the efficiencies of leaves of different ages were compared to their composition. The main conclusion of these experiments is that the young mucilage samples, which are richer in complex polysaccharides and exhibit lower acid contents, are more efficient drag reducers.

The photoreduction of CO2 is an intriguing process, which allows the synthesis of fuels and chemicals. One of the limitations for CO2 photoreduction in the liquid phase is its low solubility in water. This point has been here addressed by designing a fully innovative concept of pressurized photoreactor, allowing operation up to 20 bar and applied to improve the productivity of this very challenging process. The photoreduction of CO2 in the liquid phase was performed using commercial TiO2 (Evonink P25), TiO2 obtained by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) and gold doped P25 (0.2 wt% Au-P25) in the presence of Na2SO3 as hole scavenger (HS). The different reaction parameters (catalyst concentration, pH and amount of HS) have been addressed. The products in liquid phase were formic acid and formaldehyde. Moreover, for longer reaction time and with total consumption of HS, gas phase products formed (H2 and CO) after accumulation of significant amount of organic compounds in the liquid phase, due to their consecutive photoreforming. Enhanced CO2 solubility in water was achieved by adding a base (pH= 12-14). In basic environment, CO2 formed carbonates which further reduced to formaldehyde and formic acid and consequently formed CO/CO2+H2 in the gas phase through photoreforming. The deposition of small Au nanoparticles (3-5 nm) (NPs) onto TiO2 was found to quantitatively influence the products distribution and increase the selectivity towards gas phase products.

The consumer’s acceptability of hamburgers elaborated with the flank of culling cows in which the content of salt or fat had been partially replaced was studied. A mixture of potassium chloride, potassium ferrocyanide and sodium ferrocyanide was used as substitutes for the salt. Oat flakes or a mixture of chia and flax seeds were used as substitutes for the fat. The hamburgers were tasted by 34 consumers. Consumers did not detect significant differences between the control and the rest of the formulations. Neither the gender nor the age of the consumers influenced the sensory appraisal. However, many comments regarding texture failures were recorded. Therefore, the substitution of salt and / or fat in the composition of hamburgers made with the flank of cows is a viable alternative for the commercialization of these pieces of low commercial value as long as the texture of the same is adjusted to resemble it to the control.

A simple, effective and environmental-friendly method was adopted for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of g-C3N4 in the reduction of aqueous Cr(Ⅵ) under visible-light irradiation. The enhancement was achieved via treatment of g-C3N4 in organic solvent with addition of NaOH particles by ultrasonic process for two hours. The results demonstrated that the treated g-C3N4 exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than pristine g-C3N4 in the reduction of Cr(VI) . Under visible light irradiation for 120 min, the reduced ratios of Cr(VI) with the initial concentration of 50 mg/L in the presence of the treated g-C3N4and pristine g-C3N4 were 100% and 37.1%, respectively. With the addition of fulvic acid, Cr(VI) was efficiently removed at 40 min. Based on the characterization results of the structures and other physiochemical properties of the treated g-C3N4 and pristine g-C3N4 by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and UV Vis diffuse reflectance, the possible reasons responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the treated g-C3N4 were proposed. The yield and mechanism of different exfoliation methods were compared by semi-quantitative method.

Background. Increasing evidence demonstrate that concentration of protein in infant formula >1.9g/100Kcal with high levels of insulinogenic aminoacids is associated with accelerated weight gain, increased fat mass accumulation and risk of adiposity. Purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review to determine the metabolic effects in infants feed with infant formula optimized in protein. Methods. Systematic review was conducted according PRISMA Statement. RCTs with one intervention group (infant formula with 1.6-1.9gr of protein/100Kcal) and at least one comparative control group (infant formula with >1.9gr of protein/100Kcal) were included. Standardized mean differences (SMD), through random model were calculated. Results. 15 RCT were included. Optimized protein in infant formula was associated with less gain of BMI at 24 months of follow-up (SMD -0.25, IC95% -0.36 to -0.13, p 0.01) and less fat mass accumulation (SMD -0.68, IC95% -0.98 to -0.37, p 0.01). Optimized protein was also associated to less gain of weight, weight/age Z-score, weight/length Z-score, BUN (mmol/dL) and IGF1 (ng/ml). No effect on length/age Z-score was observed. Conclusions. Robust evidence showed optimized protein (1.6gr/100Kcal to 1.9gr/100Kcal) in infant formula is associated with metabolic benefits in infants with less weight gain, BMI and fat mass accumulation.

This paper aims to contribute to refining the e-values for testing precise hypotheses, especially when dealing with nuisance parameters, leveraging the effectiveness of asymptotic expansions of the posterior. The proposed approach offers the advantage of bypassing the need for elicitation of priors and reference functions for the nuisance parameters and the multidimensional integration step. For this purpose, starting from a Laplace approximation, a posterior distribution for the parameter of interest only is considered and then a suitable objective matching prior is introduced, ensuring that the posterior mode aligns with an equivariant frequentist estimator. Consequently, both Highest Probability Density credible sets and the e-value remain invariant. Some targeted and challenging examples are discussed.

Metal-catalyzed lipid oxidation is a major factor in food waste, as it reduces shelf life. Addressing this issue, our study investigates the potential of hydrolysates derived from potato protein, a by-product of potato starch production, as metal chelating antioxidants. Through sequential enzymatic hydrolysis using Alcalase or Trypsin combined with Flavourzyme, we produced various hydrolysates, which were then fractionated via ultrafiltration. Using a combination of peptidomics and bioinformatics, we predicted the presence of metal-chelating and free radical scavenging peptides across all hydrolysate fractions, with a trend indicating a higher content of antioxidant peptides in lower molecular weight fractions. To validate these predictions, we utilized Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and a 9-day emulsion storage experiment. While SPR demonstrated potential in identifying antioxidant activity, it faced challenges in differentiating between hydrolysate fractions due to significant standard errors. In the storage experiment, all hydrolysates showed lipid oxidation inhibition, though not as effectively as EDTA. Remarkably, one fraction (AF13) was not significantly different (p < 0.05) from EDTA in suppressing hexanal formation. These results highlight SPR and peptidomics/bioinformatics as promising yet limited methods for antioxidant screening. Importantly, this study reveals the potential of potato protein hydrolysates as antioxidants in food products, warranting further research.

A soluble biopolymer (SBP) was obtained by hydrolysis in pH 13 water at 60 °C. The dry product was re-dissolved in plain water at pH 10 and used as control against the same solution added with hydrogen peroxide at 0.1-3 H2O2 moles per SBP carbon mole. The control and test solutions were kept at room temperature, in the dark or in a climatic chamber under irradiation with simulated solar light, until the solutions pH remained constant. Afterwards, the solutions were processed to recover and analyze the crude soluble products. For the control solution, the results indicated significant production of CO2, production of organic carboxyl functional groups and de-polymerization of the pristine SBP organic matter. These findings demonstrate the oxidation of SBP by water, which could only occur through the production of O and OH radicals catalyzed by SBP. The present work reports the results obtained from the control solution and for the test solution treated in the presence and absence of H2O2, with and without pH control, in the dark and under irradiation with simulated solar light. The paper discusses the perspectives of further implementation of the autocatalytic properties of SBP for the realization of a municipal biowaste-based biorefinery producing value added bio-products for consumer’s use.

Abstract: Important variables that affect the quality and functionality of sperm and may affect male reproductive health and fertility include telomere length, mitochondrial content, and the ratio of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to nuclear DNA (nDNA). The purpose of this study was to look at the connections between these three sperm characteristics and how they might affect a woman's ability to conceive. Methods: Data were collected from 82 men who underwent IVF/ICSI at the University Hospital of Ioannina's IVF Unit in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. Evaluations included sperm morphology, sperm count, sperm motility, and participant history. To address this, males of reproductive age who were categorized into three body mass index (ΒΜΙ) groups—normal, overweight, and obese—had their sperm samples tested. Results: Our findings indicate a negative correlation between relative telomere length and ΒΜΙ for both the normal and overweight groups. Conversely, a positive correlation was observed for the obese group, indicating a possible relationship between mitochondrial health and telomere maintenance. The results were statistically significant only for the obese group. Furthermore, a negative correlation was observed between telomere length and mitochondrial content in both the normal and overweight groups, indicating that a lower mitochondrial content may be linked to longer telomeres. Nonetheless, there was a positive correlation for the group that was obese. For all three groups, the data did not reach statistical significance. Given that mitochondrial con-centration and telomere length are both markers of cellular integrity and health, these correla-tions may have an impact on the quality of sperm. Furthermore, the relative telomere length of the normal and overweight groups had a negative correlation with the ratio of mtDNA to nDNA, though the obese group showed a positive correlation. The findings were not statistical-ly significant in any of the groups under investigation. According to this, male fertility may be negatively impacted by an imbalance in the copy number of the mitochondrial genome com-pared to the nuclear DNA in sperm. Conclusions: Our research, in essence, emphasizes the interaction among human sperm telo-mere length, mitochondrial concentration, and the mtDNA to nDNA ratio. Gaining knowledge of these correlations could help explain the reasons behind male infertility and open up new treatment options for reproductive health problems. The functional importance of these correla-tions and possible uses in therapeutic contexts require more investigation.

This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the formation, composition, and behaviour of oxide layers during the high-temperature oxidation of four different steel alloys (16Mo3, 13Cr, T24 and P91) at a uniform temperature of 650 °C. The research combines CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) calculations, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and advanced microscopy techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), to elucidate the complex mechanisms controlling oxidation kinetics and oxide layer development. CALPHAD calculations were used to determine the thermodynamically stable phases for each steel type at 650 °C. The results showed different phase compositions, highlighting the importance of steel composition in the formation of oxide layers. Each steel grade exhibited different kinetics, with 16Mo3 steel showing the highest oxidation rate, followed by 13Cr, T24 and P91. This variability highlights the role of steel composition, particularly chromium content, in determining oxidation behaviour. These results have significant implications for temporary overheating in industrial applications and contribute to a deeper understanding of oxidation processes in steels.

Influence of reaction time on silver nanoparticles-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) was evaluated via probing the oxidation process by recording the UV-Visible absorbance of the resulting colored products of TMB oxidation by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of silver nanoparticles as peroxides mimics. The time curve of the oxidation process was constructed, revealed that the concentration of the oxidation product was increased by increasing the reaction time and then levled off because the nanozyme active nodes were saturated after a certain reaction time and consequently the steady-state condition can be observed. The maximal activity of the silver nanozymes was achieved after a very short reaction time as short as 3.0 min and after this time, the color intensity of the oxidation products remained constant, revealing saturation of active nodes of nanoparticles with nanozyme-substrate.

Ultra-high temperature oxidation-resistant alloys (UTORAs) have received a lot of attention due to the increased research demand for deep space exploration around the world. But UTORAs have the disadvantages of easy oxidation and chalking. So, in this study, a UTORA was prepared by hot-press sintering on VZrHfNbTa (HEA) substrate coated with hafnium. The bonding mechanism, resistance to high-temperature oxidation, and hardness of the sample tests were carried out. The results show that zirconium in the matrix will diffuse into the hafnium coating during the high-temperature sintering process and form the HfZr alloy transition layer, the coating thickness of the composite is about 120 μm, and the diffusion distance of zirconium in the hafnium coating is about 60 μm, this transition layer chemically combines the hafnium coating and the HEA substrate into a monolithic alloy composite. The results of high-temperature oxidation experiments show that the oxidation degree of the hafnium-coated VZrHfNbTa composite material was significantly lower than that of the VZrHfNbTa HEA after oxidation in air at 1600 °C for 5 h. The weight gain of the coated sample after oxidation is 56.56 mg/cm2, which was only 57.7 % compared to the weight gain of the uncoated sample (98.09 mg/cm2 for uncoated), and the surface of the uncoated HEA showed obvious dents, oxidation, and pulverization occurred on the surface and interior of the sample. In contrast, the coated composite alloy sample mainly underwent surface oxidation sintering to form a dense HfO2 protective layer, and the internal oxidation of the hafnium-coated VZrHfNbTa composite alloy was significantly lower than that of the uncoated VZrHfNbTa HEA.

When oxidizing reduced sulfur compounds, the phototrophic sulfur bacterium Allochromatium vinosum forms spectacular sulfur globules as obligatory intracellular – but extracytoplasmic – intermediates. The globule envelope consists of three extremely hydrophobic proteins: SgpA and SgpB are very similar and can functionally replace each other. SgpC is involved in the expansion of the sulfur globules. The presence of a fourth protein, SgpD, has been suggested by comparative transcriptomics and proteomics of enriched sulfur globules. Here, we investigated the in vivo function of SgpD by coupling its carboxy-terminus to mCherry. This fluorescent protein requires oxygen for chromophore maturation, but we were able to use it in anaerobically growing A. vinosum provided the cells were exposed to oxygen for one hour prior to imaging. While mCherry lacking a signal peptide resulted in low fluorescence evenly distributed throughout the cell, fusion with SgpD carrying its original Sec-dependent signal peptide targeted mCherry to the periplasm and co-localized it exactly with the highly light-refractive sulfur deposits seen in sulfide-fed A. vinosum cells. Insertional inactivation of the sgpD gene showed that the protein is not essential for the formation and degradation of sulfur globules.

Carbazole is one of the typical heterocyclic aromatic compounds (NSO-HETs) observed in pol-luted urban atmosphere, which has become a serious environmental concern. The most im-portant atmospheric loss process of carbazole is the reaction with OH radical. The present work investigated the mechanism of OH-initiated atmospheric oxidation degradation of carbazole by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the M06-2X/6-311++G(3df,2p)//M06-2X/6-311+G(d,p) level. The rate constants were determined by the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory. The lifetime of carbazole determined by OH was compared with other typical NSO-HETs. The theoretical results show that the degradation of carbazole initiated by OH radical includes four types of reactions: OH additions to “bend” C atoms, OH additions to “benzene ring” C atoms, H abstractions from C-H bonds and the H ab-straction from N-H bond. The OH addition to C1 atom and the H abstraction from N-H bond are energetically favorable. The main oxidation products are hydroxycarbazole, dialdehyde, carba-zolequinone, carbazole-ol, hydroxy-carbazole-one and hydroperoxyl-carbazole-one. The calcu-lated overall rate constant of carbazole oxidation by OH radical is 6.52 × 10−12 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 and the atmospheric lifetime is 43.92 h under the condition of 298 K and 1 atm. The lifetime of carbazole determined by OH radical is similar with that of dibenzothiophene oxidation but longer than those of pyrrole, indole, dibenzofuran and fluorene. This work provides a better understanding of the reactivity of carbazole in the atmospheric environment, the formation of secondary organic aerosols, and the chemical degradation and removal of carbazole in the at-mospheric environment.

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is one of the most common emerging contaminants released to the aquatic environment through domestic and pharmaceutical wastewater. Due to its high persistence through conventional degradation treatments, is considered a typical indicator for anthropogenic activities. This study tested the removal of CBZ through two different clay-based purification techniques: adsorption of relatively large concentrations (20-500 μmol L-1) and photocatalysis of lower concentrations (&lt;20 μmol L-1). The sorption mechanism was examined by FTIR measurements, exchangeable cations released, and colloidal charge of the adsorbing clay materials. Photocatalysis was performed in batch experiments under various conditions. Despite the neutral charge of carbamazepine, the highest adsorption was observed on negatively charged montmorillonite-based clays. Desorption tests indicate that adsorbed CBZ is not released by washing. The adsorption/desorption processes were confirmed by ATR-FTIR analysis of the clay-CBZ particles. A combination of synthetic montmorillonite or hectorite with low H2O2 concentrations under UVC irradiation exhibits efficient homo-heterogeneous photodegradation at μM CBZ levels. The two techniques presented in this study suggest solutions for both industrial and municipal wastewater, possibly enabling water reuse.

Traditional refractory materials such as nickel-based superalloys have been gradually unable to meet the performance requirements of advanced materials. The Mo-Si-based alloy, as a new type of high temperature structural material, has entered the vision of researchers due to its charming high temperature performance characteristics. However, its easy oxidation and even "pesting oxidation" at medium temperatures limit its further applications. In order to solve this problem, researchers have conducted large numbers of experiments and made breakthrough achievements. Based on these research results, the effects of rare earth elements like La, Hf, Ce and Y on the microstructure and oxidation behavior of Mo-Si-based alloys were systematically reviewed in the current work. Meanwhile, this paper also provided an analysis about the strengthening mechanism of rare earth elements on the oxidation behavior for Mo-Si-based alloys after discussing the oxidation process. Furthermore, the research focus about the oxidation protection of Mo-Si-based alloys in the future was prospected to expand the application field.

The screening and treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) using Na₂FeO₄ has been explored. Elemental composition was performed using an ICP-OES for the raw and treated AMD. The AMD samples were collected from three different sampling sites (RTW1, RTW2 and RTW3) in Pretoria, South Africa with acidic pH ranging between 2.50 and 3.13. Total dissolved solids and Electrical Conductivity of AMD samples ranged between 960 and > 1000 mg. L^-1, 226 and 263 µS. cm^-1, respectively. The final pH of treated water samples increased up to ≥ 9.5 after treatment with Na₂FeO₄. Sodium ferrate showed dual functions by removing metals and raising the pH of the treated water. Concentrations of most trace elements were not complying with WHO and DWAF guideline standards in raw AMD while after treatment with Na₂FeO₄ the concentrations were below guidelines for domestic and irrigation purposes.

We first explore negative-ion formation in fullerenes C44, C60, C70, C98, C112, C120, C132 and C136 through low-energy electron elastic scattering total cross sections calculations using our Regge-pole methodology. Water oxidation to peroxide and water synthesis from H₂ and O₂ are then investigated using the anionic catalysts C44ˉ to C136ˉ. The fundamental mechanism underlying negative-ion catalysis involves hydrogen bond strength-weakening in the transition state. DFT transition state calculations found C60ˉ numerically stable for both water and peroxide synthesis, C100ˉ increases the energy barrier the most and C136ˉ the most effective catalyst in both water synthesis and oxidation to H2O2.

Ti and Ti alloys are materials usually used in contact with hard tissue for applications such as artificial joints and dental implants. Ti6Al4V is a very common alloy used for dental implants, owing to its good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Nevertheless, because of uncertainties regarding the toxicity of vanadium and its influence on the human body, other Ti alloys containing no vanadium and retaining suitable properties are used. In this work Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb were oxidized in a water solution of calcium acetate (Ca(CH3COO)2) and calcium glycerophosphate (Ca(PO4CH(CH2OH)2) by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) for 20 minutes and then were hydrothermally treated (HTT) in water (pH=7) and in potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution (pH=11) for 2 hours at 200°C in a pressurized reactor. The surface morphologies, elemental composition and phase components were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), respectively. The surface roughness was measured by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and thickness measurements were made by SEM and thickness gauge. Also, corrosion tests were made to evaluate the corrosion behavior of the two alloys. The aim of this study is to compare two viable Ti alloys, Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al7Nb, and to attain on their surface hydroxyapatite (HA) coating improving the osseointegration, as it simulates a human bone.

Rare earth rich magnesium alloys are used in aerospace and automotive fields because of their high specific strength and good castability. However, due to their low corrosion resistance, protective surface treatments, such as conversion coating or electroless plating are necessary, when they have to be used in humid or corrosive environments. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) and different surface roughness (Ra≈0.8 μm and Ra≈0.3 μm) on the rotating bending fatigue of an innovative Mg alloy, with a high content of Nd (up to 3.1 wt%) and Gd (up to 1.7 wt %). Fatigue tests revealed a 15% decrease in the fatigue strength of the PEO treated alloy (fatigue strength = 88 MPa) with respect to the bare alloy (fatigue strength = 103 MPa). The reduction of fatigue strength was mainly due to the residual tensile stresses induced by the PEO treatment. The effect of surface roughness on the bare alloy was, instead, negligible. The mechanisms of crack initiation were similar in the untreated and PEO treated alloy, with crack nucleation sites located in correspondence of large facets of the cleavage planes.

This study aims to enhance multimodal transportation systems by mitigating CO2 emissions and enhancing operational efficiency. It introduces a novel centralized cargo concentration approach tailored for regions facing geographical challenges. The method proposes for direct transportation of cargo from its loading origin to export ports, bypassing intermediate hubs. The mathematical model determines the most efficient means of transport for each route, factoring in variables like distance, volume, and cargo type. Research results indicate that, in scenarios with a high concentration of cargo, multiple hubs may not be necessary, which could streamline transportation and logistics operations. Modal preferences vary based on regional dynamics and cargo characteristics, with rail and sea transport emerging as preferable options under specific circumstances, surpassing the efficacy of road transport. The proposed model showcases reductions in both logistics costs and CO2 emissions compared to road-centric scenarios. It underscores the strategic integration of diverse transportation modes as pivotal for enhancing efficiency and sustainability. This study furnishes a framework adaptable to optimizing multimodal transportation systems in regions sharing similar geographical and logistical attributes.

Precision agriculture including camera-guided row detection and hydraulic steering are often used as an alternative because crop damage can be decreased and driving speed can be increased comparable to herbicide applications.The effects of different approaches as uncontrolled (UC), mechanical weed control (MWC), herbicide weed control (HWC) and mechanical + herbicide control (MWC+HWC) on weed density and yield of sugar beet were tested and evaluated in two trials (2021 and 2022) in South Transylvania at the tested intervals BBCH 19 and 31. Weed control efficacy (WCE) depends on the emergence of the weeds and a good timing of weed controls in all the trials and methods, though the highest yield of sugar beet roots was recorded in the treatment MWC+HWC, with an increase up to 12-15% (56.48 t ha-1) yield from HWC (50.22 t ha-1) and a yield increase of more than 35- 40% than MWC (42.34 t ha-1). Our trials show that is possible to increase yield and have less chemical applications with the introduction of the new precision technologies in agriculture included here the sensor-guided mechanical controls.

A fundamentally new synthetic approach to the synthesis of 2-aminopurine has been developed. It consists in the combination of creation of condensed polyazotic heterocyclic tetrazolopyrimidine structure, it’s transformation into triaminopyrimidine and subsequent cyclization into 2-aminopurine. The structure of the obtained compounds was established based on spectral characteristics and intermediate 5 directly by X-ray diffraction analysis.

We propose a forward-only multi-layer encoding-decoding framework based on the principle of Maximal Coding Rate Reduction (MCR$^2$), an information-theoretic metric that measures a statistical distance between two sets of feature vectors up to the second moment. The encoder directly transforms data vectors themselves via gradient ascent to maximize the MCR$^2$ distance between different classes in the feature space, resulting in class-wise mutually orthogonal subspace representations. The decoder follows a process symmetric to the encoder, and transforms the subspace feature vectors via gradient descent to minimize the MCR$^2$ distance between the reconstructed data and the original data. We show that the encoder transforms data to linear discriminative representations without breaking the higher-order manifolds, and the decoder reconstructs the data with high fidelity.

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction can lead to high value-added molecules production while helping decrease anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Copper can reduce CO2 to more than thirty different hydrocarbons and oxygenates, but it lacks the required selectivity. We present a computational investigation of the role of nano-structuring and alloying in Cu-based catalysts on the activity and selectivity of CO2 reduction to one-carbon products: carbon monoxide, formic acid, formaldehyde, methanol, and methane. The adsorption, activation, and conversion of CO2 were computed on monometallic and bimetallic (decorated and core-shell) 55-atom Cu-based clusters. The dopant metals considered were Ag, Cd, Pd, Pt, and Zn, located at different coordination sites. The relative binding strength of the intermediates at different applied potentials were used to identify the optimal catalyst for the selective CO2 conversion to one carbon products. It was discovered that single atom doping with Cd and Zn is optimal for the CO2 to carbon monoxide conversion. The core-shell models with Ag, Pd, and Pt provided higher selectivity for formic acid and formaldehyde. The Cu-Pt and Cu-Pd showed lowest overpotential for methane formation.

Abstract: Urban regeneration decision-making is a complex process, as it involves a wide range of decision-makers, public-private partnerships in finance and implementation, including the inevitable considerable amount of risk on a long-term basis. There are a multitude of stakeholders, the citizens being the key stakeholders. It is necessary to involve the citizens in the planning process. Such involvement allows the communities to express their needs and aspirations, which is useful in the policymaking, delivery of planning programs, and in the monitoring process. In such a context, Factor analysis was the statistical technique used (1) Carry out factor analysis based on the principal component analysis method using the software XLSTAT 2021.4.1.1205 - (2) Construct a factor model of Urban Regeneration. (3) Interpret and label the factor dimensions. The results of the analysis indicated that the first two principal components accounted for 60.04% of the total variance of the original dataset. All variables seemed to be, positively correlated to each other and contributed similarly to principal components PC1 &PC2. The observations were well clustered; except for very few outliers. The limitation of the work was that the perceptions of the citizens were limited to the variables derived by the researcher.

Increasing the quality factor (Q) of an optical resonator device has been a research focus to be utilized in various applications. Higher Q-factor means light is confined in a longer time which will produce a shaper peak and higher transmission. In this paper, we introduce a novel technique to increase further the Q-factor of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D PhC) cavity device by using an end loop-mirror (ELM). The technique utilizes and recycles the light transmission from the conventional 1D PhC cavity design. The design has been proved to work by using the 2.5D FDTD simulation with Lumerical FDTD and MODE softwares. By using the ELM technique, the Q- factor of a 1D PhC design has been shown to have increased up to 79.53 % from the initial Q value without the ELM. This novel design technique can be combined with any high Q-factor and very high Q-factor designs to increase more the Q-factor value of a photonic crystal cavity devices or any other suitable optical resonator devices. The experimental result shows that the device is measurable by adding a Y-branch component to the one-port structure and able to get the high-Q result.

As bread is the most consumed food by Tunisian population and the major source of salt, a pilot experience of salt reduction in bread has already begun in Bizerte city. Salt analysis in bread collected from Bizerte city was realized with Volhard titration method. Application of the “salt reduction programme” allowed a gradual decrease of salt content in bread by 35 % during three years without detection by Tunisian consumers. A final salt concentration of 1.1 ± 0.1 g/100 g was then achieved. The establishment of an effective salt reduction strategy with lifestyle education is needed to reduce hypertension that is the first cause of death in Tunisia.

Sparkling wine producing and consumption are in constant increase in the last decade and show no sign of slowing. Prior consumption, origin, grape variety, occasion, price and sensorial perception are factors that typically influence wine consumers’ purchasing and consumption behavior. The presence of volatile compounds in sparkling wines, with direct impact on their organoleptic characteristics, is influenced by several factors, such as the base-wine characteristics, grapes cultivar conditions, the used yeasts, the aging stage or wine-making practices. For this study, five sparkling wines variants from Muscat Ottonel grape variety were obtained. For the experimental samples, the grapes were processed by applying secondary fermentation in bottles. The base-wine was obtained through reverse osmosis and had a predetermined alcoholic concentration (10.5 % vol.). This study aimed to analyze the influence of different commercial yeasts (IOC FIZZ™, IOC DIVINE™, LEVULIA CRISTAL™, IOC 18-2007™) on the volatile composition of experimental sparkling wines. The obtained sparkling wines were characterized by the physical-chemical parameters (according to OIV methods of analysis) and volatile fraction (using gas-chromatography). Data showed an important impact on the concentration of the volatile compounds (p &lt; 0.05), depending on the type of inoculated yeast for the second fermentation and only a minor influence on the physical-chemical parameters was registered.

In mathematics, the Riemann hypothesis is a conjecture that the Riemann zeta function has its zeros only at the negative even integers and complex numbers with real part 1/2. Many consider it to be the most important unsolved problem in pure mathematics. It is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems selected by the Clay Mathematics Institute to carry a US 1,000,000 prize for the first correct solution. We prove the Riemann hypothesis using the Complexity Theory. Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and integer-valued functions. The Goldbach's conjecture is one of the most important and unsolved problems in number theory. Nowadays, it is one of the open problems of Hilbert and Landau. We show the Goldbach's conjecture is true using the Complexity Theory as well. An important complexity class is 1NSPACE(S(n)) for some S(n). These mathematical proofs are based on if some unary language belongs to 1NSPACE(S(log n)), then the binary version of that language belongs to 1NSPACE(S(n)) and vice versa.

We used the Bootstrap ARDL method to test the relationship between the export trades, FDI and CO₂ emissions of the BRICS countries. We found that China's foreign direct investment and the lag one period of CO₂ emissions have a cointegration on exports. South Africa's foreign direct investment and CO₂ emissions have a cointegration relationship with the lag one period of exports, and South Africa's the lag one period of exports and foreign direct investment have a cointegration relationship with the lag one period of CO₂ emissions. But whether it is China or South Africa, these three variables have no causal relationship in the long-term. Among the variables of other BRICS countries, Russia is the only country showed degenerate case #1 in McNown et al. mentioned in their paper. When we examined short-term causality, we found that CO₂ emissions and export trade showed a reverse causal relationship, while FDI and carbon emissions were not so obvious. Export trade has a positive causal relationship with FDI. Those variables are different from different situations and different countries.

In 2015, the new installed capacity of global renewable energy power generation exceeded the newly installed capacity of conventional energy power generation, marking a structural change in the construction of the global power system. With the continuous improvement of wind energy utilization technology, the global wind power industry has developed rapidly in recent years. The world's available wind energy is 20 billion kilowatts and has become one of the most economical green power. In China, wind power has become the third largest source of electricity, with the installed capacity increasing from 3.1% in 2010 to 9.2% in 2017. In 2017, China's new installed capacity was 19,660 MW, accounting for 37.45% of the world's new installed capacity. This paper evaluates and compares the efficiency of wind power industry in the four regions of eastern, central, western and northeastern China through EBM models based on radial and non-radial factors. This paper discusses the contribution of China's wind power industry to CO2 emission reduction from the relationship between installed capacity efficiency and CO2 emission reduction efficiency. The conclusions show that the overall efficiency score and ranking of wind power in 2013-2017 is the best in the eastern region, followed by the northeast region and the western and central regions.

Model-based image reconstruction has brought improvements in terms of contrast and spatial resolution to imaging applications such as magnetic resonance imaging and emission computed tomography. However, their use for pulse-echo techniques like ultrasound imaging is limited by the fact that model-based algorithms assume a finite grid of possible locations of scatterers in a medium -- which does not reflect the continuous nature of real world objects and creates a problem known as off-grid deviation. To cope with this problem, we present a method of dictionary expansion and constrained reconstruction that approximates the continuous manifold of all possible scatterer locations within a region of interest. The expanded dictionary is created using a highly coherent sampling of the region of interest, followed by a rank reduction procedure based on a truncated singular value decomposition. We develop a greedy algorithm, based on the Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP), that uses a correlation-based non-convex constraint set that allows for the division of the region of interest into cells of any size. To evaluate the performance of the method, we present results of 2-dimensional ultrasound image reconstructions with simulated data in a nondestructive testing application. Our method succeeds in the reconstructions of sparse images from noisy measurements, providing higher accuracy than previous approaches based on regular discrete models.

This study is framed on the Information Theory as a constructive criterion to generate probabilistic distributions –through the elaboration of Bayesian Networks- and to reduce the uncertainty in the occurrence and relationship between two key psychological variables associated with the sports’ performance: Self-Determined Motivation and Competitive Anxiety. We analyzed 674 universitary students/athletes who competed in the 2017 Universitary Games (Universiade) in México, from 44 universities, with an average age of 21 years old (SD = 2.07), and with a sportive experience of 8.61 years of average (SD = 5.15). Methods: Regarding the data analysis, first of all a CHAID algorithm was carried out for to know the independence links among variables, and then two Bayesian networks (BN) were elaborated. The validation of the BN revealed AUC values ranging from 0.5 to 0.92. Subsequently, various instantations were carried out with hypothetical values applied to the “bottom” variables. Results showed two probability trees that have Extrinisic Motivation and Amotivation at the top, while the anxiety/activation due to the worry for performance was at the bottom of probabilities. The instantiations carried out support the existence of these probabilistic relationships, demonstrating the little influence on the competition anxiety generated by the intrinsic motivation. In conclusion, the reduction of the uncertainty made up by the restricted BN may aloe to re-introduce Information Theory principles in psychosocial studies, allowing authors to obtain useful probabilities values upon target psychological variables related with sportive performance.

In this study, the efficiencies of flat-plate and U-tube solar collectors were investigated experimentally when an Al₂O₃ nanofluid was used as a working fluid and compared to those of solar collectors using water. The energy saving and CO₂ and SO₂ generated were calculated and compared to those of solar collectors using water. In addition, based on the experimental results, an economic analysis of the use of solar collectors in various countries was performed. As the concentration of the Al₂O₃ nanofluid increased, the performance of the solar collector improved. The highest efficiency for the solar collectors was shown at the concentration of 1.0 vol% with the nanoparticle size of 20 nm. The maximum efficiencies of the flat-plate and U-tube solar collectors using 1.0 vol%-Al₂O₃ nanofluid with 20-nm nanoparticles was 74.9% and 72.4%, respectively, when the heat loss parameter was zero. The efficiencies of the flat-plate and U-tube solar collectors using Al₂O₃ nanofluid were 14.8% and 10.7 higher, respectively, than those using water. When 50 EA flat-plate solar collectors were operated for one year using Al₂O₃ nanofluid, the coal use, generated CO₂, and generated SO₂ were 189.99 kg, 556.69 kg, and 2.03 kg less than those of solar collectors using water, respectively. In addition, the largest electricity cost reduction was in Germany.

One of the most common limits to gas sensor performance is the presence of unwanted interference fringes or etalons arising, for example, from multiple reflections between surfaces in the optical path. Additionally, since the amplitude and the frequency of these interference depend on the distance and alignment of the optical elements, they are affected by temperature changes and mechanical disturbances, giving rise to a drift of the signal. In this work, we present a novel semi-parametric algorithm which allows the extraction of a signal, like the spectroscopic absorption line of a gas molecule, from a background containing arbitrary disturbances, without having to make any assumption on the functional form of these disturbances. The algorithm is applied first to simulated data and then to oxygen absorption measurements in presence of strong fringes.To the best of the authors' knowledge, the algorithm enables an unprecedented accuracy particularly if the fringes have a free spectral range and amplitude comparable to those of the signal to be detected. The described method presents the advantage of being based purely on post processing, and to be of extremely straightforward implementation if the functional form of the Fourier transform of the signal is known. Therefore it has the potential to enable interference-immune absorption spectroscopy. Finally, its relevance goes beyond absorption spectroscopy for gas sensing since it can be applied to any kind of spectroscopic data.

New corrosion inhibitor derived from coumarin-3-amine namely 3-((2-chlorobenzylidene)amino)coumarin was synthesized and characterized by CHN elemental analysis in addition to Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. The anti-corrosion ability of 3-((2-chlorobenzylidene)amino)coumarin to inhibit the impacts of corrosion has been demonstrated and damage reduction of the mild steel also. 3-((2-chlorobenzylidene)amino)coumarin, has been employed as a good corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in HCL solution. The efficiency of the inhibition was figured according to weight loss method and it was 74.6%.

By planting LEDs on the surfaces of orifice baffles, a novel batch oscillatory baffled photoreactor (OBPR) together with polymer-supported Rose Bengal (Ps-RB) beads are used to investigate reaction kinetics of a photo-oxidation reaction between α-terpinene and singlet oxygen (1O2). In the widely used NMR data analysis for this reaction, α-terpinene and ascaridole are treated as a reaction pair, assuming kinetically singlet oxygen is in excess or constant. We have, for the first time, examined the validity of the method, discovered that increasing α-terpinene initially leads to an increase of ascaridole, indicating that the supply of singlet oxygen is in excess. Applying kinetic analysis, a pseudo first order reaction kinetics is confirmed, supporting this assumption. We have subsequently initiated a methodology of estimating the 1O2 concentrations based on the proportionality of ascaridole concentrations with respect to its maximum under these conditions. With the help of the estimated singlet oxygen data, the efficiency of 1O2 utilization and the photo efficiency of converting molecular oxygen to 1O2 are further proposed and evaluated. We have also identified conditions where further increase of α-terpinene has caused decreases in ascaridole, implying kinetically that 1O2 has now become a limiting reagent, the method of treating α-terpinene and ascaridole as a reaction pair in the data analysis would no longer be valid under those conditions.

The effects of rare earth Y content on the microstructure and high-temperature oxidation properties of 47Fe-36Ni-15Cr-1.5Mn alloy at 1000°C were investigated. The results show that 47Fe-36Ni-15Cr-1.5Mn alloy oxidizes at 1000°C under laboratory atmospheric pressure to form an oxide film layer dominated by Cr2O3 and (Fe, Ni, Mn) Cr2O4 spinel, and the oxidation curve of the alloy follows the parabolic law. After the addition of rare earth Y, rare earth phases precipitated along the grain boundaries in the alloy, and the more Y content, the more precipitated phases in the grain boundaries. The alloy with added rare earths was oxidized at a high temperature of 1000 °C for 2160 min, the oxidation law still followed the parabolic law, while the rare earth phase at the grain boundary reacted with the oxygen atoms infiltrated from the outside to generate a rare earth Y-rich oxide residing at the boundary between the grain boundary and the precipitated phase of the alloy. Add 0.5 wt.% rare earth Y 47Fe-36Ni-15Cr-1.5Mn-0.5Y alloy 1000 ° C high temperature oxidation of the formation of spinel oxide crystalline particles, dense and complete oxide film layer, the surface of the addition of a small amount of (0.5 wt.%) rare earth Y after the refinement of the oxide particles, and in the alloy grain boundaries in the form of oxides reside in the alloy to inhibit the cations in the matrix and the oxygen negative ions. and oxygen-negative ions in the alloy matrix, improving the antioxidant performance of the alloy. With the further increase of rare earth Y, during the oxidation of the alloy at high temperature, the precipitation phase at the grain boundary promotes the inward diffusion of oxygen, resulting in the deterioration of the antioxidant property of the alloy.

Obesity and physical activity have opposing effects on cardiorespiratory fitness. This study aimed to investigate the impact of obesity measured by various anthropometric indicators and physical activity level on oxygen uptake and fat oxidation during moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in adults. Forty-eight individuals were recruited. Various anthropometric indicators (i.e., body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)) were measured. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (a short version). Total oxygen uptake (VO2tot) and fat oxidation were recorded during 30-minute aerobic exercise at moderate intensity. There were no differences in oxygen uptake and fat oxidation between obese and non-obese groups. Based on obesity and physical activity, VO2tot was significantly different among groups classified by WHR. Inactive obesity had significantly lower VO2tot 28.1% compared to active obesity and 29.2 % compared to active non-obesity. The inactive obesity had a 3.8%, 27.4%, and 4.3% lower fat oxidation than the active non-obesity, as classified by WC, WHR, and WHtR, respectively. However, the differences were not statistically significant. We conclude that active obesity, as measured by WHR, exhibited higher oxygen uptake compared to inactive obesity. Moreover, inactive obesity showed poorer oxygen uptake than active non-obesity.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) high-grade ore tonnage from Merensky reef keeps on depreciating forcing the metallurgical industry to explore beneficiating PGMs from upper group 2 (UG2) ore which has up to 60% content of chromite and from secondary sources. The PGMs are naturally associated with base metal sulphides and the efficacy of the PGMs extraction processes is dependent on the processing of PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides. These processes include concentrating PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides through flotation, oxidation, etc. prior the metal extraction processes. The evolving mineralogy of PGMs ores has necessitated the use of multiple reagents to enhance the efficiency of the concentration process. This has led to an increased amount of inor-ganic chemicals disposal to the environment and the processing of PGMs to be less economic. Bio-technology has been investigated as a potential low cost, ecologically safe substitute for many current minerals processing methods. The metabolites produced by microorganisms have been used for many years with great success in the leaching and flotation of metals from medium and low-grade sulphide minerals. The possible application of microorganism mainly Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans) in the metallurgical processing of PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides is systematically reviewed in this paper. The main emphasis is on the use of A. ferrooxidans in bio-oxidation and bioleaching, as well as their potential to substitute inorganic reagents in the flo-tation of PGMs-bearing base metal sulphides from primary and secondary sources

Abstract: An Al-Co-Y diffusion coating was prepared on a TiAl alloy by pack cementation process at a low temperature range of 650-720 ℃. The influence of different activators and co-deposition temperatures on the coating’s microstructure and formation process, and high temperature oxida-tion performance was studied. The results showed that NaF was a more suitable activator for preparing the Al-Co-Y diffusion coating on TiAl alloy compared to NH4Cl and AlCl3. A more compact coating structure can be obtained when deposition was performed at 680 ℃ using NaF as the activator. The coating was mainly composed of a TiAl3 outer layer, a TiAl2 inner layer, and a thin Al-rich TiAl inter-diffusion layer. The growth of the coating exhibited a positive linear correlation between coating thickness increase and the square root of deposition time. The high-temperature oxidation tests showed that a dense scale mainly composed of Al2O3 and a small amount of TiO2 formed on the coating after oxidation at 950 ℃ for 100 h. The scale possessed excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance, with a parabolic rate constant of the oxidation weight gain approximately 4.9×10-3 mg2/cm4 h, which is lower than that of the TiAl substrate by about three orders of magnitude, and lower than that of the pure Al diffusion coating more than one order of magnitude.

At present, in the field of aviation industry, titanium alloy is mainly used to manufacture parts such as compressor disc, blade and casing of aircraft engine. When working, titanium alloy parts produce high temperature due to high-speed running friction, which makes the high temperature oxidation resistance and friction resistance of titanium alloy greatly reduced. When their working environment contains salt, titanium alloys are subjected to thermal corrosion, which limits their wider practical applications. This paper introduce the aluminide coating and its preparation methods. The characteristics and functional mechanism of three functional coatings for service environment, such as high temperature resistant alumina-based coating, thermal corrosion resistant alumina-based coating and wear-resistant alumina-based coating are summarized. Finally, the development direction of composite coatings of titanium and titanium alloys for complex service environment is prospected.

In organisms that use reduced sulfur compounds as alternative or additional electron donors to organic compounds, transcriptional regulation of genes for enzymes involved in sulfur oxidation is needed to adjust metabolic flux to environmental conditions. However, little is known about the sensing and response to inorganic sulfur compounds such as thiosulfate in sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. In the Alphaproteobacterium Hyphomicrobium denitrificans, one strategy is the use of the ArsR-SmtB-type transcriptional regulator SoxR. We show that this homodimeric repressor senses sulfane sulfur and that it is crucial for the expression not only of sox genes encoding the com-ponents of a truncated periplasmic thiosulfate-oxidizing enzyme system but also of several other sets of genes for enzymes of sulfur oxidation. DNA binding and transcriptional regulatory activity of SoxR are controlled by polysulfide-dependent cysteine modification. The repressor uses the formation of a sulfur bridge between two conserved cysteines as a trigger to bind and release DNA and can also form a vicinal disulfide bond to orchestrate a response to oxidizing conditions. The importance of the sulfur bridge forming cysteines was confirmed by site directed mutagen-esis, mass spectrometry and gel shift assays. In vivo, SoxR interacts directly or indirectly with a second closely related repressor, sHdrR.

Recent reports suggest that dysregulation of lipid metabolism is a key feature of the most invasive cancers. To identify potential biomarkers of tumor aggressiveness, we compared the proteomes of two experimental models of malignant mesothelioma in rats exhibiting different invasive properties. Quantitative changes between the most invasive, M5-T1, versus the least invasive, F4-T2, first led to a list of 424 proteins. A second step, cross-comparing this list with 433 proteins distinguishing invasive vs non-invasive tumors, led to identifying 88 proteins that specifically increased and 157 that decreased, respectively, characterizing the most aggressive M5-T1 tumor. Among the 15 mitochondrial proteins found in these lists, the very long-chain specific acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, encoded by the Acadvl gene and involved in fatty acid beta oxidation, appeared to play an important role in the metabolic reprogramming of the tumor microenvironment. Immunohistochemical staining of tumor sections confirmed increased expression of Acadvl in the M5-T1 tumor. Finally, the dramatic increase and decrease, observed in 25 and 17 proteins, respectively, suggested the existence of a strong link between mitochondrial events and modifications of the extracellular matrix, immune cell components or other subcellular compartments. These findings highlight some important aspects of the tumor microenvironment changes linked to aggressiveness.