In the case of a Cu-Mo-W polymetallic ore, the wastewater from the scheelite cleaning flowsheet contains large amounts of residual flocculants and metal ions, and the separation of chalcopyrite and molybdenite require a large number of environmentally harmful depressants. Therefore, it is necessary to find new methods to reduce the environmental and cost pressures of wastewater treatment and the use of depressants. In this work, the flotation wastewater from scheelite cleaning flowsheet for the separation of chalcopyrite and molybdenite by selective surface passivation was investigated for the first time. Flotations of single minerals and artificially mixed minerals with or without immersion pretreatment in the presence and absence of aeration were performed. The results showed that pulp pH had no effect on the flotation of either mineral, and a molybdenite recovery of 93.22% with chalcopyrite recovery of 10.77% was achieved under the conditions of 10 days of immersion pretreatment with aeration, 350 mg/L of kerosene, and 100 mg/L of MIBC. By combining the electrochemical cyclic voltammetry analysis and characterization by XRD and SEM, the selective surface passivation mechanism of chalcopyrite was discussed, which could be due to the coverage of the insoluble oxidation products, especially jarosite. This work has simultaneously achieved the depressant-free flotation separation of molybdenite and chalcopyrite and the reuse of scheelite flotation wastewater, which is of great significance for environmental protection and cost saving.

Green manure could improve soil nutrients and crop production, playing a significant role in sustainable agriculture. However, the impacts of green manure on crop health and the roles soil microbial communities play in the process haven’t been clarified clearly yet. In this study, we investigated soil microbial community composition and structure in four tobacco farmlands, which were treated with different green manure (control, ryegrass, pea and rape), using 16S rRNA gene amplicons sequencing. Results showed that green manure had significant impacts on soil properties, microbial communities and tobacco health. First, soil total C, N and Ca content increased significantly in groups treated with green manure than control. Second, soil community diversity was significantly higher in groups treated with green manure. Third, green manure especially ryegrass, decreased tobacco disease (bacterial wilt) rate dramatically, and the process might be mediated by soil microbial communities. On the one hand, several microbial populations were found to be potentially disease inducible or suppressive. For example, the abundances of Dokdonella and Rhodanobacter were positively correlated to tobacco disease rate, while Acidobacteira_Gp4 and Gp6 had negative correlations with tobacco disease. On the other hand, soil microbial communities were shaped by soil properties (e.g., pH, C and N content). In conclusion, our research showed that green manure could increase soil nutrients directly, and further improve tobacco health mediated by soil microorganisms, which may shed light on revealing interactions among soil properties, microorganisms and plants.

As one of the typical deposits in Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou Pb-Zn metallogenic province, the Daliangzi Pb-Zn deposit has a close genetic relation with the structural system of “black/fracture zone” formed under the action of NWW-approx. EW strike-slip structures in the metallogenic province, but the mechanism of rock and ore-controlling action of the structural system remains unclear. Based on detailed analysis of tectonite-mineralized alteration lithofacies of R1 “black/fracture zone”, the tectonite-mineralized alteration lithofacies zones can be divided into 4 types in succession outward from the Pb-Zn mineralization center, i.e., ① brecciated and stockwork-like Pb-Zn mineralization-complex breccia facies zone, ② stockwork-like Pb-Zn mineralization-simple breccia and cataclasite facies zone, ③ veined pyrite-sulfide-dolomitic cataclasite facies zone, and ④ fine-veined calcite-black carbonized dolomite facies zone; Cl- and SO42--rich high-temperature oxidizing ore-bearing fluid mixes with reducing fluid in Zone ① while migration and precipitation occur in Zone ④. With the evolution of ore-forming fluid, the homogenization temperature decreases from Zone ① to Zone ④, the salinity increases from Zone ① to Zone ② and then decreases to Zones ③ and ④, and the fluid density has little change on the whole; the contents of Zn, Pb, Cu, Ga, Ge, Cd, Ag, and other metallogenic elements, the Zn/Pb ratio, and the CaO/MgO mole ratio decrease gradually from Zone ① to Zone ④; and REE fractionation, calcilization, silicification, and pyritization enhance gradually from Zone ① to Zone ④. This series of changes are the product of diapirism (cryptoexplosion) of strike-slip structures and “black/fracture zone”, among which the second-order structures (F5, F100, and other faults) derived from NWW-approx. EW striking dextral shear-tension faults F1 and F15 control the brecciated and stockwork-like Pb-Zn mineralized complex breccia facies zones and the stockwork-like Pb-Zn mineralized simple breccia and cataclasite facies zones. Therefore, this paper establishes the zoning mode of tectonite-mineralized alteration lithofacies of “black/fracture zone” and proposes that Zones ① and ② are important prospecting criteria. conclusions.

Salt stress is a major limiting factor for alfalfa yield due to its relatively low salt tolerance. High soil salinity adversely impacts alfalfa growth and development, leading to reduced yield. Melatonin (MT) is known to play a significant role in enhancing plant resistance to abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated abiotic stress responses, particularly salt stress, are not well understood. To address this gap, we conducted a study focusing on germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress. Physiological indexes and transcriptomics analyses were carried out on the germinated seeds to investigate the effects of melatonin on alfalfa seedlings under salt stress conditions. Our results revealed that the application of melatonin led to an increase in shoot length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings under salt stress. Moreover, key physiological indexes such as peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were enhanced, while levels of malondialdehyde and superoxide anions decreased. Transcriptomic analysis identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes in the salt-treated group, with 726 up-regulated and 1,405 down-regulated genes, while the MT-treated group showed 2896 differentially expressed genes, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated. Further, KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted the enrichment of differentially expressed genes in pathways including flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolism, and the MAPK signaling pathway, with these pathways more significantly enriched in the MT-treated group. These findings collectively suggest that melatonin plays a crucial role in alfalfa's response to salt stress and offer new insights into the genomic mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated salt tolerance in alfalfa.

Multiphase systems are important in minerals processing, and usually include solid-solid and solid-fluid systems. Examples of operations in multiphase systems include flotation, dewatering, and magnetic separation, among several other unit operations. In this paper, the current trends in the process system engineering tasks of modeling, design, and optimization, in multiphase systems, are analyzed. Different scales of size and time are included, and therefore the analysis includes modeling at the molecular level and unit operation level, and the application of optimization for the design of a plant. New strategies for the modeling and optimization of multiphase systems are also included, with a strong focus on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and the combination of experimentation and modeling with response surface methodology (RSM). The paper finishes with tools to study the uncertainty, both epistemic and stochastic, which is present in all mineral processing operations. It is shown that all these areas are very active and can help to understand, operate, design, and optimize mineral processing that involves multiphase systems.

Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that lead to crop yield reduction worldwide. Melatonin (MT), an endogenous hormone synthesized in plants, plays an important role in responding to abiotic stimuli such as drought, salinity, heat, cold, etc. However, the molecular mechanisms of MT-mediated abiotic stresses remain to be better understood. In order to explore the key genes and pathways of melatonin in alleviating salt stress, physiological and biochemical indicators as well as transcriptomics profile were conducted in alfalfa seedlings. The results showed that the germination rate, bud length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings added with melatonin were higher than those treated with salt alone. In addition, Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Superoxide anion (O2-) contents also displayed a decreasing trend. The activity and content of Superoxide dismutase (SOD)、peroxidase (POD) and Glutathione (GSH) increased to varying degrees. In order to further reveal the molecular mechanism of MT-mediated salt tolerance of alfalfa, transcriptome analysis was performed on alfalfa seedlings. 2,181 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the salt-treated group, including 780 upregulated genes and 1,401 down-regulated genes, while 4,422 DEGs were obtained in the MT group, among which 1,438 were upregulated and 2,984 were downregulated. By using GO functional annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment, we found that DEGs were mainly enriched in the biosynthesis of flavonoids, isoflavones, plant hormones, Glutathione (GSH), soluble sugars and other substances, as well as in the ABC transporter and MAPK signaling pathways. Among them, the DEGs in the MT group was more enriched in these pathways, suggesting that MT can combat salt stress by regulating the expression of genes related to phytohormone and antioxidant capacity, which has important reference value for the breeding of salt-tolerant alfalfa and other crops.

A low-cost bio-mass-derived carbon substrate has been employed to synthesize MoS₂@carbon composites through a hydrothermal method. Carbon fibers derived from natural cotton provide a three-dimensional and open framework for the uniform growth of MoS₂ nanosheets, thus constructing hierarchically coaxial architecture. The unique structure could synergistically benefit fast Li-ion and electron transport from the conductive carbon scaffold and porous MoS₂ nanostructures. As a result, the MoS₂@carbon composites, when served as anodes for Li-ion batteries, exhibit a high reversible specific capacity of 820 mAh g^-1, high-rate capability (457 mAh g^-1 at 2 A g^-1), and excellent cycling stability. The superior electrochemical performance makes the MoS₂@carbon composites to be low-cost and promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries.

In this study, we successfully synthesized a novel branched polyamide 6 with ε-caprolactam(CPL) and α-Amino-ε-caprolactam(ACL) through hydrolytic ring-open co-polymerization. The NMR characterization and rheological test result proved the existence of branched chain structure additionally. The branched chain structure caused a remarkable enhancement in the rheological properties. The met index(MFR),zero shear rate viscosity and storage modulus at low frequency region had a remarkable increase.The shear thinning phenomenon became more obvious. The thermal properties test determined by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) showed that the melting point and crystallinity of co-polymers decreased with the increase of ACL addition.However, the crystal structure of the samples remained unchanged. The appropriate addition amount of ACL can improve the tensile mechanical properties of the co-polymers. When the amount of ACL was 1%, the tensile strength and fracture elongation rate of the co-polymers had the most significant increase.

In the era of mounting water scarcity, particularly in arid regions, the agricultural sector is striving to optimize the water resource management practices. Treated wastewater (TWW) has emerged as a viable alternative to freshwater for irrigation, offering a sustainable solution to water conservation. However, ensuring the safety and quality of TWW is paramount to safeguard for both crop health and environmental integrity. Electrical conductivity (EC), a critical factor in assessing TWW suitability for irrigation, can significantly impact crop yields and soil health since it is directly linked to the concentration of dissolved salts and ions. Therefore, this study delves into the development of advanced predictive models for EC assessment by employing supervised machine learning (ML) techniques like the Support Vector Regression (SVR), Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). The TWW samples collected from Al-Qatif area, Saudi Arabia were assessed in the lab through a sensor-based real-time monitoring system integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) network and a multiprobe device. The key water quality parameters assessed involved, temperature (T), pH, Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), Resistivity (RES), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Salinity and Turbidity which served as the foundation for these models, given their profound influence on and their anticipated impact on EC levels. Following feature selection, two distinct model combinations were identified for the SVR, ANFIS and MLR models. Furthermore, to evaluate prediction performance, four statistical criteria, including coefficient of determination (R²), correlation coefficient (R), mean square error (MSE), and root mean square error (RMSE), were employed. Overall, the comparative performance results proved that ANFIS-M2 indicated the strongest predictive capability with the R² value of 0.99572 and 0.75145 and the RMSE values of 0.00965 and 0.01134, respectively in both calibration and verification stages.

The mechanism underlying microbiologically induced carbonate precipitation have not been thoroughly characterized, although numerous scholars and experts have specifically investigated questions regarding minerals induced by bacteria. The study of the precipitation of carbonate minerals induced by halophilic bacteria has aroused wide concern. The present study aimed to investigate the characterization and process of biomineralization in high salt systems by a halophilic bacterium, Chromohalobacter israelensis strain LD532 (GenBank: KX766026), which was isolated from the Yinjiashan Saltern in China. Carbonate minerals induced by LD532 were investigated in several sets of comparative experiments that employed magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride as Mg resources. Magnesium calcite and aragonite were induced by LD532 bacteria, whereas these minerals did not appear in the control group. The mineral phases, micromorphologies, and crystal structures were analysed using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray detection. The carbonic anhydrase and urease secreted by strain LD532 through metabolism increased the pH value of the liquid medium and promoted the process of carbonate precipitation. Further study using high resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray detection and analysis of ultrathin slices showed that the nucleation sites of carbonate minerals were located on extracellular polymeric substances and the membranes of intracellular vesicles of LD532 bacteria, which provided favourable conditions for the growth of carbonate mineral crystals. The morphologies and compositions of minerals formed in solutions of MgSO₄ and MgCl₂ display significant differences, indicating that different sources of Mg²⁺ may also affect the physiological and biochemical activities of microorganisms and thus mineral deposition. This study will be of some interest for the interpretation of carbonate biomineralization in natural salt environments and has some value as a reference in understanding sedimentary carbonates in ancient marine environments, such as tidal flats.

Deadlock is a real problem that can cause expensive, time-dependent hang-ups or failures in distributed computing systems. Some studies have been conducted with deadlock detection and resolution in generalized request computing models, most of these studies are based on the diffusing computation scheme, where forward and backward propagated probe and reply messages respectively are diffused between dependent processes. The replies carry the dependency information between processes for the initiator. Using this dependency information initiator can detect and resolve the deadlock cycle. It has been proven in the literature that a deadlock cycle length distribution is skewed with a large majority of cycles (90%) having length two. Based on this fact an improved algorithm is proposed for handling deadlock detection in distributed computing systems under the distributed request model where each process has several requests at a time. The improved algorithm depends mainly on message propagation and timeout policy. Probe and reply messages are propagated between the initiator and its successors only to detect deadlock cycles between them. Global timeout policy is used to detect potential deadlock cycles with large length distribution. The proposed algorithm can handle concurrent executions. Simulation experiments are performed to see the effectiveness of the improved algorithm. It is found that the improved algorithm compares favorably with other existing algorithms and it shows better results for several performance metrics especially in reducing deadlock latency and execution time.

Three-dimensional V₂O₅ hollow structures have been prepared through a simple synthesis strategy combining solvothermal treatment and a subsequent thermal annealing. The V₂O₅ materials are composed of microspheres 2–3 μm in diameter and with a distinct hollow interior. The as-synthesized V₂O₅ hollow microspheres, when evaluated as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries, can deliver a specific capacity as high as 273 mAh·g⁻¹ at 0.2 C. Benefiting from the hollow structures that afford fast electrolyte transport and volume accommodation, the V₂O₅ cathode also exhibits a superior rate capability and excellent cycling stability. The good Li-ion storage performance demonstrates the great potential of this unique V₂O₅ hollow material as a high-performance cathode for lithium-ion batteries.

Contamination in coastal regions attributed to fluoride and nitrate cannot be disregarded, given the substantial environmental and public health issues they present worldwide. Maintaining water quality is crucial for environmental well-being. This comprehensive study was performed to assess the spatial as well as indexical water quality, identify contamination sources, and evaluate associated health risks pertaining to nitrate and flouride in AlHassa region, KSA. The physiochemical results revealed a pervasive pollution of the overall groundwater. The dominant water type was Na-Cl, indicating saltwater intrusion and reverse ion exchange impact. Spatiotemporal variations in physicochemical properties suggest diverse hydrochemical mechanisms, with geogenic factors primarily influencing groundwater chemistry. The groundwater pollution index varied between 0.8426 and 4.7172, classifying samples as moderately to very highly polluted. Similarly, the synthetic pollution index (in the range of 0.5021-4.0715) revealed that none of the samples had excellent water quality, with various degrees of pollution categories. Nitrate Health Quotient (HQ) values indicated chronic human health risks ranging from low to severe, with newborns being the most vulnerable. Household use of nitrate-rich groundwater for showering and cleaning did not pose significant health risks. Fluoride HQ decreased with age, and children faced the highest risk of fluorosis. The Hazard Index (HI) yielded moderate to high-risk values. Nitrate risks were 1.21 times higher than fluoride risks, as per average HI assessment. All samples fell into the vulnerable category based on the Total Hazard Index (THI), with 88.89% classified as very high risk. This research provides valuable insights into groundwater quality, guiding water authorities, inhabitants, and researchers in identifying safe water sources and vulnerable human populations. The results highlight the need for appropriate treatment techniques and long-term coastal groundwater management plans.

Sea cucumber peptides are small molecular peptides with biological function obtained from fresh sea cucumber as feedstock, which were hydrolyzed by protease, separated ,and purified. As the main product of sea cucumber refinement, it more accurately expresses the nutritional effect of sea cucumber and has a wide range of potential applications. It has been demonstrated that sea cucumber has a certain value-added effect on bone mineral density regulation, but the differences in bone mineral density regulation of extracts from different parts of sea cucumber and the techniques contributing to the efficient isolation of bone sea cucumber peptides have not been reported. Firstly, the aim of this study was to reveal the differences in osteogenic activities of enzymatic peptides from three major parts of sea cucumber: the body wall, the egg protein, and the intestinal protein. Then, the bone-enhancing sea cucumber peptides were isolated based on the characteristics of the dif-ferences in molecular weight distribution, hydrophilicity, and ionisation degree of sea cucumber, and to explore the possible mechanisms of their action. The findings indicated that sea cucumber peptides extracted from three distinct sites exhibited a dose-dependent enhancement of osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Upon evaluating the three methods of sea cucumber peptide separation based on molecular weight distribution, hydrophilicity, and ionization, it was observed that the fraction isolated by hydrophobicity and

MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) radar provides much more flexibility than the traditional radar for its ability to realize far more observation channels than the actual number of T/R (transmit and receive) elements. Designing the array of MIMO imaging radar, the commonly used virtual array theory generally assumes that all elements are placed on the same line. However, due to the physical size of the antennas and coupling effect between T/R elements, a certain height difference between T/R arrays is essential, resulting in the defocusing of edge points of the scene. On the other hand, the virtual array theory implies far-field approximation, leading to inevitable high grating lobes in the imaging result of near-field edge points of the scene observed by common MIMO array. To tackle these problems, this paper derives the relationship between target’s PSF (point spread function) and pattern of T/R arrays, by which the design criterion of near-field imaging MIMO array is presented. Firstly, the proper height between T/R arrays is designed to focus the near-field edge points well. Secondly, the far-field array is modified to suppress the grating lobes in the near-field area. Finally, the validity of the proposed methods is verified by simulations and an experiment.

Proteomics research has become one of the most important topics in the fields of life science and natural science. At present, research on protein–protein interaction networks (PPINs) mainly focuses on detecting protein complexes or function modules. However, existing approaches are either ineffective or incomplete. In this paper, we investigate function module detection mechanisms in PPIN, including open databases, existing detection algorithms and recent solutions. After that, we describe the proposed solution based on simplified swarm optimization (SSO) algorithm and gene ontology knowledge. The proposed solution implements SSO algorithm for clustering proteins with similar function, and imports biological gene ontology knowledge for further identifying function complexes and improving detection accuracy. Furthermore, we use four different categories of species dataset for experiment: Fruitfly, Mouse, Scere, and Human. The testing and analysis result show that the proposed solution is feasible, efficient and could achieve a higher accuracy of prediction than existing approaches.

Accurate power curve modelling is essential to continuously evaluate the performance of a wind turbine (WT). In this work, we characterize the wind power curves using SCADA data acquired at a frequency of 5 minutes in a wind farm (WF) consisting of 5 WTs. Regarding the non-parametric methods, we select artificial neural networks (ANNs) to make curve estimations. Given that, we have the curves provided by the manufacturer of the WTs given by some very precisely measured pair of wind speed and power points. We can evaluate the difference between the manufacturer characterization and the ones estimated with the data provided by the SCADA system. Before the estimation, we propose a method of filtering the anomalies based on the characteristics provided by the manufacturer. We use three-quarters of the available data for curve estimation and one-quarter for the test. One WT suffered a break in the test part, so we can check how the test estimates reflect this problem in its wind-power curve compared to the estimations obtained in the WTs that worked adequately.

In order to correct attenuated millimeter-wavelength (Ka-band) radar data and address the problem of instability, an attenuation correction methodology (attenuation correction with variation trend constraint; VTC) was developed. Using synchronous observation conditions and multi-band radars, the VTC method adopts the variation trends of reflectivity in X-band radar data captured with wavelet transform as a constraint to adjust reflectivity factors of millimeter-wavelength radar. The correction was evaluated by comparing reflectivities obtained by millimeter-wavelength cloud radar and X-band weather radar. Experiments showed that attenuation was a major contributory factor in the different reflectivities of the two radars when relatively intense echoes exist, and the attenuation correction developed in this study significantly improved data quality for millimeter-wavelength radar. Reflectivity differences between the two radars were reduced and reflectivity correlations were enhanced. Errors caused by attenuation were eliminated, while variation details in the reflectivity factors were retained. The VTC method is superior to the bin-by-bin method in terms of correction amplitude and can be used for attenuation correction of shorter wavelength radar assisted by longer wavelength radar data.

Reducing the hardness of hard water is of great concern nowadays due to some adverse effects on water pipes, boilers and soap consumption. Using the method of biomineralization to precipitate calcium and magnesium ions to become carbonate minerals was one of the most important innovations for reducing the hardness of hard water. The present study sought to explore the physical and chemical conditions of carbonates bio-precipitation and the potential use of Bacillus licheniformis SRB2 strain (GenBank: KM884945.1) isolated from sludge sample of Moshui River (Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, China) in reducing the hardness of hard waters by the induction of carbonate minerals. In this study, B. licheniformis SRB2 strain was identified based on the morphological, biochemical and 16S rDNA gene sequence homology analysis. The carbonate minerals induced by B. licheniformis bacteria in the liquid culture medium with 3% NaCl and Mg/Ca molar ratio of 0, 6, 8, 10 and 12 were investigated. The culture medium was inoculated with the bacterial liquid seed was set as the experimental group and the other culture medium was inoculated with the same volume of distilled water was set as the control group. The mineral phases, micromorphologies, and crystal structures were analyzed using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray detector, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction. The bacterial concentrations and pH values of the solution were measured by a spectrophotometer and a pH meter, respectively. The urease secreted by B. licheniformis SRB2 was found to greatly increase the pH values of the liquid medium, which favored the formation of calcium carbonate.As a result, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ion concentrations decreased greatly due to the biomineralization of calcium carbonate and nesquehonite minerals in the presence of B. licheniformis SRB2 bacterium. There were only few calcium carbonates and no nesquehonite minerals in the control groups. It was also found that the minerals of nesquehonite induced by B. licheniformis SRB2 had a phenomenon of preferred orientation. What was more, even though Mg²⁺ ions inhibited the precipitation of Ca²⁺ ions, but under the action of B. licheniformis SRB2 bacteria, the inhibition effect was significantly declined. The bio-precipitation of calcium carbonate and nesquehonite minerals may represent a new method of pretreatment for the hardness reduction of hard water. The accomplished study is of certain interest for interpretation of the carbonates biomineralization in natural environment, and maybe also has a certain application value in the former processing of hard water

A series of waterborne polyurethane (WBPU)/modified lignin amine (MLA) adhesives was prepared using modified lignin amine (MLA) as a chain extender by a prepolymer mixing process. A successful Mannich reaction was achieved during the synthesis of MLA by reacting lignin with bis(3-aminopropyl)amine. Higher tensile strength, Young’s modulus and thermal stability were recorded for WBPU/MLA adhesives with higher MLA contents. The WBPU/MLA adhesive materials were used to coat PVC substrates. The adhesive strength increased with increasing MLA content. More importantly, the MLA also enhanced the WBPU/MLA coating in terms of adhesive strength at moderately high temperatures as well as under natural weather exposed conditions. The adhesive strength was essentially unaffected with 6.48 mole% MLA in the WBPU/MLA coating after exposure to natural weather conditions for 180 days.

A new Mg-Zn-Zr-Ca alloy in powder state was obtained via mechanical alloying method, from pure elemental powder. Further, the obtained powder-alloy was processed by selective laser melting (SLM) procedure to obtain 3D printed samples for small biodegradable implants. A series of microstructural, mechanical and corrosion analysis were performed. The SEM analysis of powder-alloy reveal a good dimensional homogeneity, with uniform colored, no agglutinated and almost rounded particles, suitable for selective laser melting procedure. Further, the SLM samples reveal a robust and unbreakable morphology, with a suitable porosity and without undesirable balling effect. The tested Young’s modulus of the SLM samples, of 42 GPa, is close to cortical bone one, of 30 GPa. The corrosion tests performed in PBS (Phosphate-buffered saline) solution show that the corrosion parameters have a satisfactory evolution.

Aquatic animals have unique physiological mechanisms to absorb and retain minerals from their diets and water. Research and development in the area of mineral nutrition of farmed fish and crustaceans have been relatively slow and major gaps exist in the knowledge of trace element requirements, physiological functions and bioavailability from feed ingredients. Quantitative dietary requirements have been reported for three macroelements (calcium, phosphorus and magnesium) and six trace minerals (zinc, iron, copper, manganese, iodine and selenium) for selected fish species. Mineral deficiency signs in fish include reduced bone mineralization, anorexia, lens cataracts (zinc), skeletal deformities (phosphorus, magnesium, zinc), fin erosion (copper, zinc), nephrocalcinosis (magnesium deficiency, selenium toxicity), thyroid hyperplasia (iodine), muscular dystrophy (selenium) and hypochromic microcytic anaemia (iron). An excessive intake of minerals from either diet or gill uptake causes toxicity and therefore a fine balance between mineral deficiency and toxicity is vital for aquatic organisms to maintain their homeostasis either through increased absorption or excretion. Release of minerals from uneaten or undigested feed and from urinary excretion can cause eutrophication of natural waters, which requires additional consideration in feed formulation. The current knowledge in mineral nutrition of fish is briefly reviewed.

The informational synthesis of neural structures, processes, parameters and characteristics that allow a unified description and modeling as neural machines of natural and artificial neural systems is presented. The general informational parameters as the global quantitative measure of the neural systems computing potential as absolute and relative neural power were proposed. Neural information organizing and processing follows the way in which nature manages neural information by developing functions, functionalities and circuits related to different internal or peripheral components and also to the whole system through a non-deterministic memorization, fragmentation and aggregation of afferent and efferent information, deep neural information processing representing multiple alternations of fragmentation and aggregation stages. The relevant neural characteristics were integrated into a neural machine type model that incorporates unitary also peripheral or interface components as the central ones. The proposed approach allows overcoming the technical constraints in artificial computational implementations of neural information processes and also provides a more relevant description of natural ones.

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), each sensor node can estimate the global parameter from the local data in distributed manner. This paper proposed a robust diffusion estimation algorithm based on minimum error entropy criterion with self-adjusting step-size, which are referred to as diffusion MEE-SAS (DMEE-SAS) algorithm. The DMEE-SAS algorithm has fast speed of convergence and is robust against non-Gaussian noise in the measurements. The detailed performance analysis of the DMEE-SAS algorithm is performed. By combining the DMEE-SAS with diffusion minimum error entropy (DMEE) algorithms, an Improving DMEE-SAS algorithm is proposed, in non-stationary environment where tracking is very important. The Improving DMEE-SAS algorithm can avoid insensitivity of the DMEE-SAS algorithm due to the small effective step-size near the optimal estimator, and obtain a fast convergence speed. Numerical simulations are given to verify the effectiveness and advantages of these proposed algorithms.

A co-curing resin system consisting of 9368 epoxy resin for prepreg and 6808 epoxy resin for resin transfer molding (RTM) was developed. A corresponding preparation method of novel polymer composite bolted T-joint with internal skeleton and external skin was proposed based on prepreg-RTM co-curing process, and novel T-joints were fabricated. A series of conventional configuration T-joints based on RTM process and T-joints made of 2A12 aluminum alloy were prepared simultaneously. Bending performances were studied on these T-joints experimentally. The results indicate that 9368 epoxy resin and 6808 epoxy resin exhibit good compatibility in rheological and thermophysical properties. The novel T-joints prepared with prepreg-RTM co-curing process show no obvious fiber local winding or resin-rich regions inside, and the interface quality between internal skeleton and external skin is excellent. The main failure modes of the novel T-joint under bending load include separation of skin and skeleton and fracture along the thickness on the base panel; the skeleton carries the main bending load, but there is still load transfer between external skin and internal skeleton through their interface. The internal damages of the novel T-joint are highly consistent with surface damages observed visually, facilitating the detection and timely discovery of damages. The initial stiffness, damage initiation load, and ultimate load of the novel T-joint are 1.65 times, 5.89 times, and 3.45 times that of conventional T-joint, respectively. When considering the influence of density, the relative initial stiffness and relative ultimate load of the novel T-joint are 1.44 times and 2.07 times that of aluminum alloy T-joint, respectively.

A set of polymer composite bolted T-joints with novel configuration consisting of internal skeleton and external skin was fabricated using a prepreg-RTM co-curing molding process. Experiments were conducted to study their mechanical properties under bending load. A finite element model with a polymer resin area between the skin and skeleton was established and verified by the experimental results. Then, the damage propagation process and failure mechanism of the joint and the influence of three factors related to the layer characteristics of the skin and skeleton were investigated by the validated models. The results show that the bending stiffness and the yield limit load of the novel composite T-joint are 0.81 times and 1.65 times that of the 2A12 aluminum T-joint respectively, while at only 55.4% of its weight. The damage of the joint initiates within the resin area and leads to a degradation of the joint bending performances. The preferred stacking sequence of the skeleton is [0/+45/90/-45]ns when primarily subjected to bending loads. The decrease in bending performances is within 5% with the inclining angle of the skeleton less than 12 degrees. The more layers of 90° in the skin, the better bending performances of the joints, while the more layer of 0°, the poorer bending performances.

With continuous increase in integration of the semiconductor devices, the requirements on size accuracy and surface quality of the etched lead frame are higher. The etchant is a key factor on etching process and etched surface quality, while effects of the difference in etchants on microscopic etched surface morphology of the Cu alloy have not been directly studied. In this study, the aqua regia, acidic FeCl3 and CuCl2 solutions were used as etchants, and the CuCrSn alloy specimens with different microstructure were etched and characterized. The results show that the etching rate in aqua regia is high, and the grain orientation, grain boundary (GB) and dislocation have significant influence on the local etching rate. The preferential etching of some atomic planes forms steps between grains with different orientations, and the preferential etching around the GB and dislocation group forms grooves, resulting in high surface roughness. For etching of the FeCl3 and CuCl2 etchants, the steps and grooves become blurred, and almost invisible on the surface etched by the CuCl2 etchant, thus the surface roughness is much lower. The CuCrSn alloy surface etched by the aqua regia is clean, with little Cr-rich particles, while high density Cr-rich particles are remained on the surfaces etched with the FeCl3 and CuCl2 etchants. For the same kind of etchant, the ion concentration can affect the etching mechanism and etching surface morphology.

.(1) Background: Groundwater resources management in dry lands, characterized by climate var-iability and population growth, is difficult. Exploration and exploitation of groundwater, due to inadequate surface water is very costly. The present study employed Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS to identify Ground-Water Potential (GWP) areas in a semi-arid region of Nigeria; (2) Methods: Land-use-land-cover, drainage density, slope, rainfall, static water level, soil media, vadose media and aquifer media were selected for GWP analysis. Parameters weights were de-termined using AHP and ranked based on their contribution to GWP by experts. The parameters were then integrated using weighted overlay tool in ArcGIS 10.5 to produce GWP map of the study area. Boreholes yield data from 245 wells were collected to determine the model accuracy and model validation; (3) Results: Results classified the study area into very high GWP (1.9%), high GWP (8.8%), moderate GWP (62%), low GWP (20.70%) and very low GWP (6.6%). Validation of the AHP model with boreholes yield data shows a correlation coefficient of 71.3% giving a good prediction; (4) Conclusions: AHP and GIS can be used to successfully map GWP areas which could serve as an exploration guide for sustainable management of groundwater resources in semi-arid areas.

With the increasing interest in CM as a potential source of nutrients and bioactive compounds, there arises a necessity to delve into methods for its processing and drying. Over recent decades, a significant amount of research has been conducted on the chemical composition of CM and its potential health benefits. Consequently, this study is directed towards examining CM drying technology, including an analysis of the influence of different drying methods on its chemical composition and nutri-tional properties. The objective of this review is to systematically summarize the available literature on CM drying processes and their impact on its chemical composition. Special attention is devoted to comparing various drying methods such as freeze-drying, spray drying, and freeze-drying, as well as investigating factors affecting the quality of dried CM. To achieve this goal, we scrutinize a series of studies published between 2003 and 2022 to identify optimal drying methods that promote the maximum preservation of CM's nutritional components and bioactive compounds. Additionally, we explore possibilities for reducing drying time to enhance production efficiency. This research is grounded in the analysis of data from diverse scientific research databases, including Scopus and Google Scholar, encompassing a systematic review of scientific literature and a comparative analysis of the obtained results.

This work presents a new discussion about the vibrational properties of the carbonate ion displayed in several different environments, not only the microparameters introduced by cation substitution and different crystal lattices but also the crystal aggregation, showing how their active Raman modes are affected by these changes by using data obtained with four different laser excitation sources. New Raman spectra excited at 1064 nm are reported for calcite, aragonite, and dolomite groups, also including magnesite, witherite, rhodochrosite, siderite, malachite and azurite. These new data contribute to the discussion and understanding of these materials and their spectra, bringing new observations based on the Raman modes, focusing on the internal symmetrical and asymmetrical stretching and bending modes of the carbonate ion, highlighting the differences observed in the relative intensity and width of the bands. The results indicate some evidence of the influence of the crystal habit and/or the growth of the mineral itself in the Raman spectrum. In addition, the data show the influence of the cation substitution upon the Raman band width and that small cations contribute to less rigid crystalline structures and, consequently, larger Raman bandwidths.

Solid waste management in Accra is a major challenge to the Metropolitan Authorities and inhabitants. The rapidly increasing population coupled with poor capacity of the municipal and private waste management companies to management waste effectively has created issues of environmental concern. Due to poor waste managements systems, most household dispose waste indiscriminately leading to floods and health issues. The study showed that about 60% of household waste is organic materials which has the potential to be converted to compost for agriculture purpose. Meanwhile plastics and rubbers which litters the environment as well as blocking major storm drains and gutters hence creating huge environmental hazard is made of 11% of the total component of most household waste generated daily. The study also revealed that among the methods of disposing waste, dumping waste in skip containers located at authorized places was the preferred means of disposing waste by household though others also dispose waste by other means such as burying and burning. Inadequate skip containers per population of household in an area coupled with irregularity of tracks picking these containers makes skip containers dumping site ugly scene, hence creating health issues. Among the constraints that impact negatively on sustainable waste management in Accra Metropolis, economic constraints was perceived as the main challenge which affect efficient waste management. Currently the country is going through serious economic challenges so government does not release money timely to fund projects which waste management is key. Most donor partners that use to support the government with funds have either reduced or redrawn their services as they have no confidence in the state of Ghana economy. Aside the constrains, the study also indicated that factors such as poor public attitude towards waste management, poor enforcement of sanitation by-laws, inadequate and untimely release of government funds were also seen as the main factors affecting waste management.

Flooding is one major environmental problem facing urban cities causing varying degree of damages to properties and disruptions to socio-economic activities. Nigeria is the most populated African country and Kano metropolis is the second largest urban center in Nigeria and the most populated in Northern Nigeria. The aim of the paper is to conduct flood risk assessment of Kano metropolis. The city is divided into two hydrological basins; Challawa and Jakara Basins. Flood frequency analysis for 2 to 100-year return periods were carried out for both the basins using Log-Pearson Type III distribution and flood inundation and hazard mappings were carried out. Social vulnerability to flood of both basins were carried out using MOVE framework. Assessment of flood risk were carried out using map algebra spatial analyst tool in ArcGIS 10.7. The result shows that an area of 50.91 and 40.56 km2 were vulnerable to a 100-year flood. The flood risk map for the two basins show that 10.50 km2 and 14.23 km2 of land in Challawa and Jakara basins respectively are affected by the risk of a 100-year flood out of which 11.48 km2 are built-up area. As the city is densely populated, with a population density of well over 20,000 persons per square kilometer in the highly built-up locations, this means that much more than 230,000 persons will be affected by the flood risk in the two basins

In contemporary construction, the prevalence of vibration serviceability issues in lightweight and slender structures has become increasingly common, owing to advancements in building materials and construction methods. While these structures often meet the criteria for ultimate limit states, they can still elicit complaints due to excessive vibrations induced by human activity. To address this challenge, the Integral Resonant Control (IRC) technique has emerged as a favored approach for actively damping vibrations in various systems. This study introduces a fresh perspective on implementing a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) IRC scheme for active vibration control (AVC) specifically tailored for pedestrian structures utilizing inertial mass actuators. Building upon a common framework and design methodology outlined in previous research, this work presents a novel application of MIMO IRC for AVC. The designed controller is rigorously tested and implemented on a laboratory floor structure to validate its efficacy.

The structural, elastic, and electronic properties of orthorhombic Cd2SiO4 and Hg2GeO4 were examined under varying pressure conditions using first-principles calculations based on densi-ty-functional theory employing the projector augmented wave method. The obtained cell pa-rameters at 0 GPa were found to align well with existing experimental data. We delved into the pressure-dependence of normalized lattice parameters and elastic constants. In Cd2SiO4, all lat-tice constants decreased as pressure increased, whereas in Hg2GeO4, parameters a and b de-creased while parameter c increased under pressure. Employing the Hill average method, we calculated the elastic moduli and Poisson’s ratio up to 10 GPa, noting an increase with pressure. Evaluation of ductility/brittleness under pressure indicated both compounds remained ductile throughout. We also estimated elastic anisotropy and Debye temperature under varying pres-sures. Cd2SiO4 and Hg2GeO4 were identified as indirect band gap insulators, with estimated band gaps of 3.34 eV and 2.09 eV, respectively. Interestingly, Cd2SiO4 exhibited a significant increase in band gap with increasing pressure, whereas the band gap of Hg2GeO4 decreased under pres-sure, revealing distinct structural and electronic responses despite their similar structures.

The use of clays in beauty care comes from ancient times, with therapeutic use since prehistory, and it is considerably relevant in the current cosmetic industry worldwide. In our review, we described types of clay and clay minerals used in cosmetics and dermocosmetics, compositions, usages as active compounds and excipients, and observations about formulation techniques. From this research, we could notice that although many scientific and specialized literature reported the characterization of clays, only some involving efficacy tests when incorporated into cosmetic products, mainly concerning haircare applications. By the exposed, our review could be considered and encouraged in the coming years to provide scientific and technical information for the cosmetic industry regarding the multifunctional use of clays and clay minerals.

For a wide field of view (FoV) wavefront coding athermalized infrared imaging system with a single decoding kernel, the off-axis aberration tends to cause artefacts. In order to correct off-axis aberration, many pieces of lenses will reduce the transmission efficiency and increase the weight and cost. To meet requirements for wide FoV, wide operating temperature and low weight of infrared imaging systems, this paper reports a wide-FoV wavefront coding athermalized infrared imaging system with a two-piece lens. Its principle, design, manufacture, measurement and performance validation are successively discussed. This paper constructs an optimization problem which maximizes the weighted mean of PSF consistency for both the FoV and operating temperature range. The two-piece lens contains four surfaces, where three aspheric surfaces are introduced to reduce optical off-axis aberrations and a cubic surface is introduced to achieve athermalization. The optical phase mask containing an aspheric surface and a cubic surface is manufactured by nano-metric machining of ion implanted material(NiIM). Experimental results validate that our wide-FoV wavefront coding athermalized infrared imaging system has a full FoV of 26.10° and an operating temperature over -20°C to +70°C.

Infant foods and formulae may contain toxic substances and elements which can be neo-formed contaminants or derived from raw materials or processing. The content of minerals, toxic elements and hydroxymethylfurfural in infant foods and formulae were evaluated. The effect of storage temperature on HMF formation in infant formulae and its potential as a quality parameter was also evaluated. Prune-based foods contained the highest HMF content. HMF significantly increased when storage temperature was elevated to 30 ℃ for 21 days. All trace elements were present in adequate amounts while the concentration of nickel was higher when compared to those of other studies. The study indicates that HMF can be used as quality indicator for product shelf-life and that the concentrations of minerals and toxic elements vary greatly due to the diverse compositions of foods and formulae. Such contaminants need to be monitored as infants represent a vulnerable group compared to adults.

Innovation and technology are important tools of minerals sector efficiency and productivity im-provement. The uptake of technologies has proven important levelrs to improve the productivity of mining sector. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of mine-level productivity by using a global data of copper, gold, and platinum from 1991-2020. Various drivers of proioductivity have been analysed to draw policy insights. Empirical findings reveal significant disparities in technical efficiency and productivity across mines and regions. A further decomposition of TFP into its different components suggest that the adoption of innovative practices and investment in technology adoption could improve the overall productivity of these commodities. The findings also suggest that an appropriate input mix and optimal scale of production could boost platinum mining productivity. Regional disparities in productivity in different commodities (e.g., South Africa vs. Zimbabwe) give policymakers with insights into how to support production scale and productivity through appropriate input mixtures.

Until recently, the classic approach to mineral exploration studies is to bring the field samples/drill cores collected during field studies to the laboratory followed by laborious analysis procedures to generate the analytical data. This is very expensive, time consuming and difficult for exploring vast areas. But rapid technological advances in field portable analytical instruments such as portable ultraviolet–visible and near-infrared spectrophotometers, gamma ray spectrometer, pXRF, pXRD, pLIBS, and µRaman spectrometer have changed this scenario completely and increased their on-site applications in mineral exploration studies. These instruments are currently providing direct, rapid, on-site, real-time, non-destructive, cost-effective identification, and determination of target elements, indicator minerals and pathfinder elements in rock, soil, and sediment samples. These portable analytical instruments are currently helping to obtain accurate chemical and mineralogical information directly in field with minimal or no sample preparation, and providing decision-making support during field work as well as during drilling operations in several successful mineral exploration programs. In this article, the developments in these portable devices, and their contributions in the platinum group elements (PGE), rare earth elements (REE), gold, base metals, and lithium exploration studies both on land and on ocean bed have been summarized with examples.

Prebiotic organic synthesis reactions catalyzed by Earth-abundant metal sulfides are key processes for understanding the evolution of biochemistry from inorganic molecules, yet the catalytic functions of sulfides have remained poorly explored in the context of the origins of life. Past studies on prebiotic chemistry have mostly focused on a few types of metal sulfide catalysts, such as FeS or NiS, which form limited types of products with inferior activity and selectivity. To explore the potential of metal sulfides on catalyzing prebiotic chemical reactions, here, the chemical diversity (variations in chemical composition and phase structure) of 304 natural metal sulfide minerals in a mineralogy database was surveyed and approaches to rationally predict the catalytic functions of metal sulfides are discussed based on advanced theories and analytical tools of electrocatalysis such as proton-coupled electron transfer, structural comparisons between enzymes and minerals, and in-situ spectroscopy. To this end, we introduce a model of geo-electrochemistry driven prebiotic synthesis for chemical evolution, as it helps us to predict kinetics and selectivity of targeted prebiotic chemistry under “chemically messy conditions”. We expect that combining the data-mining of mineral databases with experimental methods and theories developed in the field of electrocatalysis will facilitate the prediction and verification of catalytic performance under a wide range of pH and Eh conditions, and aid in the rational screening of mineral catalysts involved in the origins of life.

High level of noise is a disturbance to the human environment. Noise in industries is also an occupational hazard because of its attendant effects on workers’ health. Noise presents health and social problems in industrial operations, and the source is related to the machineries used in the industries. One of the unique features of the noise associated with wood machinery is the level of exposure and duration. Equipment used in a factory can be extremely loud. They can produce noise at decibels high enough to cause environmental health and safety concerns. The mechanically driven transport and handling equipment, cutting, milling, shaping and dust extractor installations in the wood industry generate noise. The sources of noise pollution have increased due to non-compliance with basic safety practices. The increased use of locally fabricated machine in the industry has increased the level of noise and vibration. The effects of industrial noise pollution as discussed include: increase in blood pressure; increased stress; fatigue; vertigo; headaches; sleep disturbance; annoyance; speech problems; dysgraphia, which means reading/learning impairment; aggression; anxiety and withdrawal. As presented in this paper, noise control techniques include; sound insulation, sound absorption, vibration damping and Vibration isolation.

Enamel erosion is a process which happens every time we eat and it may be accelerated by some particular acid foods, drinks or other agents. Dental enamel when damaged by low pH substances becomes chalky, rough, opaque, yellowed and it can be related to dentinal hypersensitivity. To the present day, several possible solutions are available, therefore the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a biocompatible minerals serum based on calcium silicate, sodium phosphate and fluoride (Regenerate™) on the damaged enamel by four different acid liquids. 135 ovine teeth were equally divided into 5 groups and submerged for one week into lemon juice, energy drink, coffee, tea and physiologic solution for the negative control. The first 4 groups were evaluated for their color with an analogical color scale (Vita® Scale) and for their surface assigning a qualitative aspect among opaque, rough, chalky or smooth. Then they were treated with hydroxyapatite gels and re-evaluated for the same parameters. Data were checked for the normal distribution with Shapiro-Wilk test and analyzed with dependent t-test or Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, every test with a p≤0.05. Both color and surface aspect showed a strongly significant improvement after the treatment. Biocompatible minerals serum based on hydroxyapatite is able to reverse teeth erosion, improve the color and restore the smoothness of the dental enamel.

Ultramafic rocks become promising candidates for carbon sequestration by enhanced carbon dioxide (CO2) mineralization strategies due to their highly CO2-reactive mineral composition and its abundant availability. This study reports a mineralogy and microtextures of a representative ultramafic rock from the Ma-Hin Creek in northern Thailand and observes evidence of CO2 mineralization occurring through the interaction between CO2 and the rock with the existence of water under ambient conditions. After sample collection, rock description was determined by optical petrographic analysis. The rock petrography reveals a cumulated wehrlite comprising over 50% olivine and minor amounts of clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and chromian spinel. Approximately 25% of the wehrlite has altered to serpentine and chlorite. A series of CO2 batch experiments were conducted on six different rock sizes at a temperature of 40°C and pressure of 1 atm over five consecutive days. The post-experimental products were dried, weighed, and geochemically analyzed to detect changes in mineral species. Experimental results showed that product weight and the presence of calcite increased with reducing grain size. Additionally, the modal mineralogy of the wehrlite theoretically suggests a potential CO2 uptake of up to 53%, which is higher than the average uptake values of mafic rocks. These findings support the suitable rock investigation approach and the preliminary assessment of carbon mineralization potential, contributing to enhanced rock weathering techniques for CO2 removal that could be adopted by mining and rock supplier industries.

This work studied sorption regularities and assessed thermal stability and resistance to microbial degradation of humic acid as a result of 3 sorption cycles on bentonite clay, kaolinite, and muscovite using TGA/DSC, XRD, hydrophobic chromatography, light and electron microscopy, etc. The experiment revealed that kaolinite sorbed more humic acids (HAs) in terms of unit surface area (1.03 × 10-3 C, g/m2) compared to bentonite (0.35 × 10-3 C, g/m 10-3 g/m2). Sorption at pH 4.5 was accompanied by HA fractionation in amphiphilicity and chemical composition. HA was sorbed mainly due to hydrophobic components on the surface of all sorbents. HA was not intercalated into the interlayer spaces of montmorillonite during sorption. Sorption due to hydrophilic interactions was mostly performed on muscovite and bentonite than on kaolinite. Sorption was followed by a change in the chemical composition of HA and decreased C/N compared to free HA, indicating selective sorption of nitrogen-containing compounds which is most characteristic of muscovite. Only a relatively thermolabile HA fraction was adsorbed on all minerals while its thermal stability increased compared to that before the experiment. Thermal stability and ratio of the Exo2/Exo1 peak areas on the DSC curves of sorbed HA increased with each subsequent sorption cycle. Thermal stability and resistance to microbial oxidation of sorbed HA showed the following relationship: the higher the thermal stability, the less available is sorbed HA for utilization by microorganisms.

We report a prebiotically relevant solution to the N1-ribosylation of pyrimidine nucleobases, a well-known challenge in the RNA World hypothesis. It is found that the presence of metal cations and clay mineral enables the previously unachievable direct ribosylation of uracil, providing by far the highest yield. Spectroscopy and chromatography analyses confirmed the formation of ribosylated uracil. The method can also be extended to the ribosylation of 2-pyrimidinone. These findings are also compatible with the metal-doped-clay model developed by our lab for the unified route of the selection of ribose and subsequent syntheses of nucleotide and RNA.

The circular economy is based on maintaining a circular flow of resources. Policymakers face difficulties in balancing national security and circular economy aspects in the field of mineral resources policy. With a uniquely expanded input-output table, this study estimates the final destination of several critical minerals (lithium, cobalt, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and dysprosium) and base metals (iron, copper and aluminum) in the Japanese economy for 2015. Our model shows quite a good similarity between the estimated composition and the actual data of products. The results reveal a detailed distribution of critical minerals and indicate prioritized implementation for creating and maintaining a circular flow of critical minerals. Developed decision flow guidance provides a comprehensive approach to national security and circular economy aspects for policymakers. For further actions, inclusive indicator development is required for policymakers to support the determination of implementation possibilities from social and technological aspects.

The corrosion inhibition behavior of cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) on mild steel in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution was examined using measurement techniques such as Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The studies were carried out within a 25°C temperature range. The surface morphology of the corroded steel samples was investigated using FESEM and AFM. The results show that cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC), a mild steel corrosion inhibitor, effectively prevents corrosion in 0.5 M H2SO4 and, when present, increases corrosion resistance. CPC has a stronger inhibitory effect on mild steel. The FESEM and AFM images clearly show how surface morphology changes when additives are present. The weight loss results were confirmed by en-ergy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy analysis, and a value of 98.54% was obtained from potentiodynamic polarization studies at 0.0077M CPC. CPC acts as an important corrosion in-hibitor.

Hyperspectral imaging data holds great potential for the different stages of the mining life cycle in active and post-mining environments. However, the technology has yet to reach the stage of large-scale industrial implementation and acceptance. While hyperspectral satellite imagery can achieve high spectral resolution, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and global availability with break-through satellite systems like EnMAP, EMIT and PRISMA, limited spatial resolution poses chal-lenges for sectors like mining, which require decimetre to centimetre scale resolution for applica-tions such as reconciliation, ore/waste estimates, geotechnical assessments and environmental monitoring. Hyperspectral imaging from drones (referred to herein as Uncrewed Aerial Systems; UASs) offers high spatial resolution data relevant to the camp/ mine scale, with the capability for frequent, user-defined re-visit times. This has been made possible by the miniaturization of hy-perspectral imaging systems. Collection of data in the visible to near and shortwave infrared (VNIR-SWIR) wavelength regions enables the detection of different minerals and surface altera-tion patterns potentially revealing crucial information for exploration, extraction, re-mining, waste remediation, and rehabilitation. In this paper, we provide a review of relevant studies de-ploying hyperspectral imaging in or applicable to the mining sector, especially for the use of hy-perspectral VNIR-SWIR Uncrewed Aerial Systems. Where required, we draw on previous in-sights derived from satellite or ground-based systems. We also discuss UAS survey planning, and sampling considerations for validation and interpretation.

Minerals play many important functions in plant and animal metabolism. Therefore, we investigated the concentration of Se and other minerals and their relationships in soils and fodder plants in Kosovo. Seventy-three samples of each soil and fodder plants (grass, maize, and wheat) from 30 farms were collected. Both soil and plant samples, after processing and digestion, were analyzed for mineral concentration by ICP-MS. Mineral concentrations in soil and fodder crops, and the best predicting/explanatory models for micro minerals concentration, achieved by stepwise linear regression, are presented. Results showed very low concentration of Se in most of the soil and all fodder samples. In addition, the concentration of Co, Zn and Fe was not sufficient to satisfy requirements for all categories of farm animals. Plant Se concentration showed a positive relationship with Se concentration in soils. Plant Zn, Mo, Mn, Fe and Pb, in general, showed no significant relationship with their concentration in soil, while plant Co and Cd showed positive relationship only in maize, and Cu in wheat grain. Among the soil properties, pH had the highest effect on the concentrations of Co, Mo, Mn, Cd and Pb in fodder crops.

Dietary inclusion of trace minerals (TM), such as copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) is of importance to cover the ever-evolving requirements for growth, production, and reproduction in ruminants. Various sources of TM are commercially available, such as inorganic (ITM), organic (OTM) or hydroxy (HTM) forms, however their bioavailability and efficiency to improve ruminant zootechnical parameters may be highly influenced by ruminal solubility and effects on the rumen environment. The objective of this review was to compile the most up-to-date information on the ruminal solubility of ITM, OTM and HTM, and their effects on fermentation parameters and rumen microbiota, aiming to support specialists from the animal feed industry when choosing TM products for ruminant supplementation. Some commonly used ITM sources, like sulfates, have a high ruminal solubility, while oxides are less soluble. The ruminal solubility of OTM is mostly found to be high, however data on these TM forms are still lacking. Regarding HTM, ruminal solubility is reported to be low, nevertheless results are inconsistent. Considering rumen fermentation, ITM show a negative effect, OTM might improve, while HTM do not affect parameters like dry matter degradability, volatile fatty acid production, pH, or microbial protein synthesis. As to rumen microbiota, ITM do not affect microbial populations; OTM could decrease abundance of some specific bacteria, like fibrolytic microorganisms, while studies with HTM are missing or inconclusive. Further research is necessary to better understand the ruminal solubility kinetics of TM sources and the different interactions with fermentation parameters and rumen microbiota to successfully apply precision TM supplementation of ruminants, tackling deficiency occurrences.

Measure While Drilling (MWD) refers to a comprehensive array of sensors employed to gather performance data throughout the process of rock drilling in mining blast holes. Multiple MWD metrics are collected by researchers depending on the setup of MWD sensors. Trends in MWD data can be correlated with pre-excavation subsurface conditions. The low-cost, extensive MWD data acquisition resolution of blast holes compared to expensive and sparsely collected exploration drill holes make the former one a desirable method for characterizing pre-excavation subsurface conditions. Nevertheless, the application of MWD technology in open pit mining is constrained by a substantial amount of data that requiring manual analysis within a short time. To address this limitation, computerized data acquisition and interpretation of MWD variables has been used to broadly determine open pit mining lithological boundaries. The results of artificial intelligence algorithms, such as Neural Networks, and Gaussian Processes, to recognize subsurface conditions, such as rock type, from MWD data have consistently returned >90% prediction accuracy. However, methods of evaluating the importance of each MWD feature, such as Principal Component Analysis, has not been optimally used. This review focuses on the progression of intelligent MWD analysis using Machine Learning methods in open-pit mining, to determine the geotechnical, geological, and geochemical subsurface characteristics before open-pit mining excavation.

The literature shows that both in laboratory and in industrial conditions, photocatalytic oxidation method copes quite well with the degradation of the most organic substances, including environmental toxins and molecular components of pathogenic microorganisms. However, the effective utilization of photocatalytic processes for environmental decontamination and disinfection require significant technological advancement both in the area of semiconductor material synthesis and its application. Here we focused on the presence and ‘photocatalytic capability‘ of photocatalysts among soil minerals, and their potential contribution to the environmental decontamination in vitro and in vivo. (The issue is sketched from the perspective of chemists and environmental scientist.) Reactions caused by sunlight on the soil surface are involved in its normal redox activity. It appears that some of them may take part in the soil decontamination. However, their importance for decontamination in vivo cannot be overstated due to diversity of soils on the Earth caused by the environmental conditions, such as climate, parent material, relief, vegetation etc. The solar-light induced reactions are just a part of extremely complicated processes dependent on a plethora of environmental determinates. Such multiplicity of affecting factors, which we tried to sketch from the perspective of chemists and environmental scientist, makes us rather sceptical about the effectiveness of the photocatalytic processes in vivo. On the other hand, there is a huge potential of the soils as the alternative source of useful photocatalytic materials of unique properties

Minerals might have played critical roles for the origin and evolution of possible life forms on Mars. The study of the interactions between “building blocks of life” and minerals relevant to Mars mineralogy under conditions mimicking the harsh Martian environment may provide key insight into possible prebiotic processes. Therefore, this contribution aims at reviewing the most important investigations carried out so far about the catalytic/protective properties of Martian minerals toward molecular biosignatures under Martian-like conditions. Overall, it turns out that the fate of molecular biosignatures on Mars depends on a delicate balance between multiple preservation and degradation mechanisms often regulated by minerals, which may take place simultaneously. Such a complexity requires more efforts in simulating realistically the Martian environment in order to better inspect plausible prebiotic pathways and shed light on the nature of the organic compounds detected both in meteorites and on the surface of Mars through in situ analysis.

The aim of this research work is to study the influence of temperature, solar irradiation and wind dust on the production of solar energy. In addition, it aims to study the assessment of water quality, in particular groundwater used for cooling and cleaning photovoltaic panels (quality analysis). it's an important source, stable and sustainable can be used entirely for cooling and cleaning PV modules from the sales dust, in order to improve their performance. To date, all research studies carried out in this context of cooling and cleaning using water have not taken account of the nature of this water. We have taken a sample of water from a well in a rural area in the Darra Tafilalet region of Morocco. This region has an arid and semi-arid climate, with very high temperatures and dust-laden winds, particularly in summer. These meteorological characteristics influence the efficiency of cells, particularly photovoltaic (PV) panels, reducing their performance. Next, the water sample was analysed in the laboratory. The results obtained show that the groundwater in this area is very sensitive to cooling and cleaning photovoltaic panels. Moreover, these results indicate that the temperature, solar irradiation and wind-blown dust have a significant influence on energy production.

Transportation systems through the ages have seen drastic evolutions in terms of transportation methods, speed of transport, infrastructure, technology, connectivity, influence on the environment, and accessibility. The massive transformation seen in the transportation sector has been fueled by the industrial revolutions which have continued expansion and progress into the fourth industrial revolution. However, the methodologies of data collection and processing used by the many drivers of this progress differ. The significance of standardized data and its mode of collection cannot be overstated as it has a major impact on the process outcomes. In order to achieve a better understanding of the impact of this, this study methodically reviewed the literature on the subject of the data collection and processing mechanism of 4IR technologies in the context of the transport industry with an emphasis on the areas of accomplishment of several studies and drawing attention to their limitations. Although the industry has advanced significantly as a result of the adoption and application of various research studies in this field, considerable focus needs to be placed in the areas of standardized data collection and computational approaches, which will ultimately assist in achieving various benefits in the transportation industry.

Historic expeditions are events that are flavored by exploratory, scientific, military or geographic characteristics. Such events are often documented in literature, journey notes or personal diaries. A typical historic expedition involves multiple site visits and their descriptions contain spatiotemporal and attributive contexts. Expeditions involve movements in space that can be represented by triplet features (location, time and description). However, such features are implicit and innate parts of textual documents. Extracting the geospatial information from these documents requires understanding the contextualized entities in the text. To this end, we developed a semi-automated framework that has multiple Information Retrieval and Natural Language Processing components to extract the spatiotemporal information from a two-volumes historic expedition gazetteer. Our framework has three basic components, namely, the Text Preprocessor, the Gazetteer Processing Machine and the JAPE (Java Annotation Pattern Engine) Transducer. We used the Brazilian Ornithological Gazetteer as an experimental dataset and extracted the spatial and temporal entities from entries that refer to three expeditioners’ site visits and mapped the trajectory of each expedition using the extracted information. Finally, one of the mapped trajectories was manually compared with a historical reference map of that expedition to assess the reliability of our framework. The reference map was manually prepared in previous research work by others.

Dissimilar welds between ferritic and austenitic steels represent a good solution for exploiting the best performance of stainless steels at high and low temperatures and in aggressive environments, while minimizing costs. Therefore, they are widely used in nuclear and petrochemical plants, however, due to the different properties of the steels involved, the welding process can be challenging. Fusion welding can be specifically addressed to connect low-carbon, or low-alloy steels, with high-alloy steels, which have similar melting point. Welding of thick plates can be performed with electric arc in multiple passes or in a single pass by means of a laser beam equipment. Since microstructure and consequently mechanical properties of the weld are closely related to composition, the choice of the filler metal and processing parameters, which in turn affects the dilution rate, plays a fundamental role. Numerous technical solutions were proposed for welding dissimilar steels and much research was developed on the weldment metallurgy; therefore, this article is aimed at a review of the most recent scientific literature on the issues relating to the fusion welding of ferritic / austenitic steels. Two specific sections are dedicated respectively to electric arc and laser beam welding; finally, metallurgical issues, related to dilution and thermal field are debated in the discussion section.

Abstract Global marine fish harvest has reached a plateau over the last decade. Efforts to increase aquaculture tend to face limitations in water resources and contamination problems. Of the current fish harvest at least 50% is discarded as waste. The chemical and microbiological contaminations limit the utilization of harvested fish. There is a need to improve fish preservation to minimize spoilage and process them into more appealing products. Instead of resorting to individual food processing methods, the efficiency of processing could best be increased by a combination of conventional and modern processing methods, or combinations of modern processing methods. Fish waste is a rich source of oils containing essential fatty acids, polypeptides, and amino polysaccharides that could be utilized through upscaling of the current scientifically proven methods, to new processing technologies. Separation of collagens, gelatins, bioactive peptides, edible fish oils, and chitosan form the primary stages in the utilization of fish waste. The products need purification to meet food quality and safety standards, and desirable industrial characteristics. The diversity of information and products generated through new methods requires advanced data handling and prediction systems, such as artificial intelligence, to address food safety and get the best out of fish processing and utilization.

Pyrochlore group minerals are the main raw phases in granitic rocks of the Katugin complex-ore deposit that stores Nb, Ta, Y, REE, U, Th, Zr, and cryolite. They are of three main generations: primary magmatic (I), early postmagmatic (II), and supergene (III) pyrochlores. The primary magmatic phase (generation I) is fluornatropyrochlore with high concentrations of Na2O (to 10.5 wt.%), F (to 5.4 wt.%) and REE2O3 (to 17.1 wt.%) but low CaO (0.6-4.3 wt.%), UO2 (to 2.6 wt.%), ThO2 (to 1.8 wt.%), and PbO (to 1.4 wt.%). Pyrochlore of this type is very rare in nature and limited to a few occurrences, such as rare-metal deposits of Nechalacho in syenite and nepheline syenite (Canada) and Mariupol in nepheline syenite (Ukraine). It may have crystallized synchronously with or slightly later than melanocratic minerals (aegirine, biotite, and arfvedsonite) at the late magmatic stage when Fe from the melt became bound making impossible the formation of columbite. Second generation pyrochlore formed at the early postmagmatic stage of the Katugin deposit. It differs from that of first generation in lower Na2O concentrations (2.8 wt.%), relatively low F (4 wt.%), and les occupancy of the A and Y sites at similar contents of other components. Generation III pyrochlore is a product of supergene alteration processes. It is compositionally heterogeneous and contains K, Ba, Pb, Fe, and significant Si concentrations but low Na and F. Its compositions mostly fall within the filed of hydro- and kenopyrochlore.

Volcanic fumaroles are openings in the earth's surface, where volcanic gases discharge to the atmosphere. Metallic and non-metallic elements contained in gases form specific mineral precipitates upon cooling. Although the presence of metals in fumarolic gases has long been known, their concentrations are generally low and difficult to measure directly. A laboratory model of a fumarole may resolve the situation if the complex gas composition could be accurately reproduced. Here we describe a new experimental approach that allows accurately simulating fumarolic gases in terms of their main components (H₂O, CO₂, S, HCl), as well as adding volatile metal compounds. Gas is generated inside a special flow-through reactor, at the outlet of which the elements contained in the gas form temperature-dependent mineral sequence inside the attached silica-glass tube. Using this installation, we obtained laboratory sublimates from reducing (H₂S-rich) gases similar to natural ones in terms of mineral composition and mineral habits. Twenty-one phases have been identified in sublimates, among which are simple and complex chlorides, simple sulfides and six sulfosalts. Comparison of the sublimate deposition from H₂O-rich gas at 1 bar with similar works performed in evacuated ampoules at low pressure showed that fumarolic gases behave like an ideal gas, in which molecules do not interact with each other, and reactive compounds in the gas serve in fact as an inert carrier of volatile metals species. Changing the composition of the gas at the outlet of the installation, its flow rate and temperature, we can observe the corresponding changes in mineral precipitates and in such a way study the factors affecting mineral formation on natural fumarolic fields.

At present, nanomaterials (NMs) show extreme potential for a wide range of applications ranging from aerospace to energy storage applications owing to a number of properties which, in a number of contexts have been reported to be superior as compared to those of bulk counterparts. However, the high surface area to volume ratio which yields extraordinary properties to NMs also turns out to be the major limitation in a number of different contexts. For instance, the high surface area to volume ratio in these materials leads to a high reactivity, especially in electrochemical environments which are prevalent during energy storage applications. In this context, it is worthwhile mentioning that processing of NMs play a crucial role in influencing their mechanical properties. On the other hand, surface engineering has emerged as a powerful tool to deconvolute bulk properties from surface characteristics and has been reported to exhibit tremendous potential for overcoming the aforementioned limitation of NMs. The present review therefore, is aimed at highlighting the present status of research in the field of processing and applications of surface engineered NMs. Moreover, challenges and future perspectives in the aforementioned avenue have been discussed.

Knowledge processing is an important feature of intelligence in general and artificial intelligence in particular. To develop computing systems working with knowledge, it is necessary to elaborate means of working with knowledge representations (as opposed to data) because knowledge is an abstract structure. There are different forms of knowledge representations derived from data. One of the basic forms is called a schema. The goal of this paper is the development of theoretical and practical tools for processing schemas. To achieve this goal, we use schema representations elaborated in the mathematical theory of schemas and use structural machine as a powerful theoretical tool for modeling parallel and concurrent computational processes. We describe the schema of autopoietic machines as physical realizations of structural machines. An autopoietic Machine is a technical system capable of regenerating, reproducing and maintaining itself by production, transformation and destruction of its components and the networks of processes downstream contained in them. We present the theory and practice of designing and implementing autopoietic machines as information processing structures integrating both symbolic computing and neural networks. Autopoietic machines use knowledge structures containing the behavioral evolution of the system and its interactions with the environment to maintain stability by counteracting fluctuations.

The escalating demand for multifunctional and advanced materials for growing industries has turned scientific exploration to graphene-based hybrid filler polymer composites. The introduction of graphene with other fillers into polymer matrices results in astonishing properties and thus has gained significant attention in recent years. This study addresses the significance of graphene-based hybrid filler polymer composites in progressive materials science and engineering. The paper encloses some traditional and current preparation techniques employed in the fabrication of composites and a comprehensive review of successfully prepared graphene hybrid polymer composites with enhanced mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties reported in published research. The role of different factors, e.g., filler type, aspect ratios, filler-matrix compatibility, dispersion effects, homogeneity, filler orientation through polymer matrices, and curing conditions, are summarized. Finally, the applications in heavy industries, e.g., aerospace, electronics, energy storage, and automotive sectors were also analyzed. We hope this study will serve as a practical resource for new researchers and practitioners to understand and harness the full potential of these composites in various scientific and industrial fields.

Competition over environmental and natural resources characteristically lies at the heart of armed conflicts in Africa. It is also common knowledge that some companies dealing in products such as laptops, smart phones and jewellery; import minerals from conflict-affected areas, thereby indirectly fuelling conflicts in these areas or undermining human rights. For a continent endowed with natural resources including minerals, Africa has suffered the brunt of this predicament. This state of affairs has lent impetus to the adoption of several regulations geared towards curbing irresponsible business practices by companies relying on such minerals, the goal being, amongst others, to guarantee the protection of human rights. In May 2017, the European Union adopted Regulations intended to stop the importation of conflict minerals in Europe, debatably making giant strides in the direction of protection of human rights. These Regulations are to come into force in 2021. However, can these regulations advance the much-desired goal of protection of human rights in Africa on issues pertaining to conflict minerals? By analyzing the 2017 EU Regulations in light of previous regulations of a similar nature, the paper concludes that the said regulations constitute a weak normative framework and could in fact have unintended consequences on the fundamental rights of civilians in natural resource-rich conflict areas of Africa.

Capturing atmospheric CO2 and storing it in natural rock systems (i.e., alkaline earth silicate and hydroxide minerals) through carbonation reactions is a promising greenhouse gas mitigation research, and largely depends on the use of hydrated ultramafic rocks (serpentinites), which are widespread in orogenic belts around the globe. The Jurassic ophiolites in the Southern Apennines represent a natural analogue and a great opportunity for the mineralogical sequestration of CO2. Serpentinites of the Pollino ophiolite Massif have been widely studied for their mineralogical, petrographic, and chemical characteristics, providing major findings on their impact on environmental and human health issues. Serpentinites here have been divided into cataclastic and massive types based on their structures and are characterized by pseudomorphic and vein textures. The mineralogy of the studied serpentinites consists of lizardite, antigorite, clino-crysotile, Cr-chlorite, magnetite, tremolite, actinolite, pyroxene and calcite, and the most commonly occurring serpentine minerals are polymorphs of serpentine including lizardite, clino-crysotile and antigorite. Systematic petrographic and mineralogical studies of serpentinites in ophiolites, such as those outcropping in the Southern Apennines can represent a starting point for the study of natural materials, which can be used for CO2 storage and sequestration. A particular attention must be given to those carbonate phases, produced by carbonation processes to check whether the serpentinites of the Pollino Massif can be used for the induced mineral Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). If successful, this technique and the Pollino Massif serpentinites can become highly significant in safeguarding the health of our planet's climate.

Mine waste rock and drainage pose lasting environmental, social, and economic threats to the mining industry, regulatory agencies, and society as a whole. Mine drainage can be alkaline, neutral, moderately or extremely acidic and contains significant levels of sulfate, dissolved iron, and frequently a variety of heavy metals and metalloids, such as cadmium, lead, arsenic, and selenium. In acid neutralization by carbonate and silicate minerals, a range of secondary minerals can form and possibly scavenge these potentially harmful elements. Apart from the extensively-studied microbial-facilitated sulfide oxidation, the diverse microbial communities present in mine rock and drainage may also participate in the formation, dissolution, and transformation of secondary minerals influencing the mobilization of these metals and metalloids. This article reviews major microbial-mediated geochemical processes occurring in mine rock piles that affect drainage chemistry, with a focus on the role of microorganisms in the formation, dissolution and transformation of secondary minerals. Understanding this is crucial for developing biologically-based measures to deal with contaminant release at the source, i.e., source control.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disease clusters are found in several countries worldwide. In the United States, ALS clusters are found in many states, largely within the northern United States. The cause of the increased rates of ALS in these areas remains indefinite. It is reported here that many ALS clusters are associated with sites of current or prior glacial lakes, or regions containing an abundance of silts and clay minerals. The potential significance of these findings in ALS is discussed.

Carbonate precipitation induced by microorganism has become a hot spot in the field of carbonate sedimentology, while the effect of different magnesium on biominerals has rarely been studied. Therefore, magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride were used to investigate the significant role played on carbonate minerals. In this study, Staphylococcus epidermidis Y2 was isolated and identified by 16S rDNA homology comparison. The ammonia, pH, carbonic anhydrase, carbonate and bicarbonate ions were investigated. The mineral phase, morphology and elemental composition were analyzed by XRD and SEM-EDS. The ultrathin slices of bacteria were analyzed by HRTEM-SAED and STEM. The result showed that this bacterium could release ammonia and carbonic anhydrase to increase pH, and elevate the supersaturation via a large number of carbonate and bicarbonate ions released through carbon dioxide hydration catalyzed by carbonic anhydrase. The crystal cell density of monohydrocalcite was lower in magnesium chloride medium than that in magnesium sulfate medium. The crystal grew in a mode of spiral staircas in magnesium sulfate medium, while in a concentric circular pattern in magnesium chloride medium. There was no obvious intracellular biomineralization. This study may be helpful to further understand the biomineralization mechanism, may also provide some references for the reconstruction of paleogeological environment.

Scientists are gradually becoming aware of the challenges in the understanding of the very root mechanisms of massively parallel computations that are observed in literally all scientific disciplines ranging from cosmology, physics, across chemistry, biochemistry, and ending in biology. This leads us to the main motivation and simultaneously to the central thesis of this review: “Can we design artificial, massively-parallel, self-organized, emergent, error-resilient, computational environments?” A large number of simulations along with examples and counter-examples, finalized by a list of the future directions, are giving hints and partial answers to the main thesis. This all together is opening the crucial question whether there is existing a deeper, beyond the Turing machine theoretical description of massively-parallel computing. Important information dealing with this topic is reviewed along with highly expressive animations generated by the open-source, Python software GoL-N24. The perspective, future directions including applications in robotics and biology of this research are discussed in the light of known information.

The need to develop novel lightweight materials and their manufacturing processes is sets out to meet the new aerospace, automotive and construction requirements. Within this context, this research work is proposed to develop a novel thermoplastic composite material with high mechanical properties. These composites will be based on thermoplastic matrixes made from polyamide and 35% short glass fiber filled-polyamide reinforced with different types of fabrics. As reinforcement, glass fiber fabrics will be used as the base. They will be treated with different processes, both chemical and physical, to promote adherence to the matrix. Textile overmoulding technology was selected for manufacturing these composites. This technology was primarily developed to manufacture aesthetic lined components and has achieved a great implantation. Once these new composites are manufactured, they will be submitted to different tests to evaluate their behavior regarding adhesion, impact strength and stiffness. It is expected an improvement on stiffness and impact absorption.

Smart living, a concept that has gained increasing attention in recent years, revolves around integrating advanced technologies in homes and cities to enhance the quality of life for citizens. Sensing and human action recognition are crucial aspects of this concept. Smart living applications span various domains, such as energy consumption, healthcare, transportation, and education, which greatly benefit from effective human action recognition. This field, originating from computer vision, seeks to recognize human actions and activities using not only visual data but also many other sensor modalities. This paper comprehensively reviews the literature on human action recognition in smart living environments, synthesizing the main contributions, challenges, and future research directions. This review selects five key domains: Sensing Technology, Multimodality, Real-time Processing, Interoperability, and Resource-Constrained Processing, as they encompass the critical aspects required for successfully deploying human action recognition in smart living. These domains highlight the essential role that sensing and human action recognition play in successfully developing and implementing smart living solutions. This paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to explore further and advance the field of human action recognition in smart living.

A single geological carbon dioxide (CO2) storage within salinity aquifer as a paramount stratagem in the context of forthcoming CO2 sequestration initiatives. Within the expansive tapestry of terrestrial salinity aquifers in China, replete with nuances in mineral composition and structural diversity, a paradigm distinct from the marine sedimentary basins of North America, a labyrinthine stratigraphic environment of elevated complexity unfolds. Consequently, conspicuous lacunae and insufficiencies manifest within the existing knowledge reservoir pertaining to CO2-water-rock (mineral) reaction mechanisms. Notably, a conspicuous dearth of insights prevails concerning the dissolution kinetics inherent to individual minerals embroiled in these reactions. The present investigation undertakes a scrupulous exploration into the dissolution and erosive processes manifest within four emblematic terrestrial minerals in conjunction with CO2. Furthermore, the study meticulously scrutinizes the evolution of ionic composition and pH within the formation water throughout the trajectory of the geochemical reactions. To accomplish this, a simulation apparatus is configured to emulate conditions germane to temperature, pressure, and mineralization characteristics characteristic of a prototypical salinity aquifer reminiscent of the Daqing oilfield in China. The findings that emerge from this scrutiny reveal that the erosive action of CO2 fluid begets varying degrees of dissolution within the four minerals under investigation. Moreover, our meticulous inquiry lays bare that, in the terminal phases of the reaction process, feldspar precipitates secondary minerals, characterized primarily by dawsonite, in response to the aquatic milieu typifying the profound salinity stratum of terrestrial sedimentation. This milieu is notably enriched with Na+ ions and NaHCO3. This phenomenon suggests that feldspar, under these specific conditions, assumes the mantle of a mineral amenable to carbon sequestration, thus enriching the reservoir for CO2 mineralization within the salinity stratum of terrestrial sedimentation.

This paper investigates the effect of alteration on the physicomechanical properties of igneous rocks from various areas from Greece used as aggregates. The studied lithologies include dunites, harzburgites, lherzolites, gabbros, diabases, dacites and andesites. Quantitative petrographic analysis shows that the tested samples display various percentages of secondary phyllosilicate minerals. Mineral quantification of studied rock samples was performed by using a Rietveld method on X-Ray diffraction patterns of the studied aggregates. The aggregates are also tested to assign moisture content [w (%)], total porosity [nt (%)], uniaxial compressive strength [UCS (MPa)] and Los Angeles abrasion test [LA (%)]. The influence of secondary phyllosilicate minerals on physicomechanical behavior of tested samples determined using regression analysis and their derived equations. Regression analysis shows positive relationship between the percentage of phyllosilicate minerals of rocks and moisture content as well as with the total porosity values. The relationships between phyllosilicate minerals in the ultramafic and mafic samples and their mechanical properties show that the total rates of phyllosilicate mineral products result negatively in their mechanical properties, while the low percentage of phyllosilicate minerals in volcanic rocks are not able to define set of their engineering parameters.

A significant increase in persimmon production, combined with a higher percentage of fruits intended for export, led to the need to adapt post-harvest technology to ensure that the fruits reach the end consumer in optimal condition. Persimmon is a climacteric fruit, so the respiratory rate and ethylene production regulate its ripening during storage. Depending on the variety, it can be tart or impatient (initially). During mass harvesting, the pulp of persimmon, regardless of its variety, is usually very hard, but then it softens quickly, which creates problems during transportation. The fruit pulp of tart varieties of persimmon is usually lighter than that of tart varieties, but there are fewer filamentous fibers in the pulp of tart varieties that support its structure, therefore, during post-harvest aging, seedless astringent fruits soften faster than less tart fruits with 1-2 or more seeds. In addition, there are many intermediate varieties that change their food-tasting and technological properties depending on the degree of pollination in a single year. This encourages farmers to adhere to various strategies to reduce post-harvest losses. Persimmons are usually sold fresh or dried in the markets. In this article, we sought to compile an up-to-date and brief overview of the latest achievements in the persimmon drying technique, which may arouse interest among farmers and entrepreneurs seeking to implement their projects in this field of production activity.

Modern scientific research particularly radio astronomi- cal spectroscopic observations cannot be imagined without appropriate software suite. That is necessary because of two reasons 1) data are in digital form and 2) data processing is a complex multi-step process. In this paper created in VIRAC data processing suite for a single radio telescope, space maser observations are presented. Software Defined Radio (SDR) backend data processing is described. Implementation of the frequency switching algorithm, acquisition of observation data and their format for storing are discussed. Multiple ways to display the observation results are highlighted.

Even in the first quarter of XXI century, the presence of organic dyes in wastewaters is a normal occurrence in a series of countries, and being these compounds toxics, their removal from these waters is of a necessity. Among the separation technologies, adsorption processing appeared as one of the most widely used to reach this goal. The present work reviewed the most recent approaches (first half of 2021 year) about the use of a variety of adsorbents on the removal of, also, a variety of organic dyes of different nature.

It's been a growing concern that many microbes are developing resistance against many antibiotics, lowering the effectiveness and progress expected from that treatment option. To overcome the re-sistance developed by microbes, metallic and non-metallic-based nanoparticle treatments are starting to present a very promising approach. Furthermore, polyurethanes are used in a wide range of biomedical applications due to their variety of physical-chemical, mechanical, and structural properties, and biotic and abiotic degradation. They are widely used in bio-imaging procedures when metallic-based filler particles are incorporated, making the final product radiopaque. It would be advantageous, however, if polyurethanes with intrinsic radiopacity could be produced in their synthesis, avoiding a series of disadvantages in the processing and final product and also presenting potential antimicrobial activities. This review’s objective was to study the radiopacifying charac-teristics of nanoparticles as well as the physical principles of radiopacity and the variety of medical applications of polyurethanes with nanoparticles. It was found in this study that the synthetization of radiopaque polyurethanes is not only possible but also that the efficiency of synthetization was improved when using atoms with high electron density as part of the back chainbone or grafted, making them great multipurpose materials.

This research investigates the socio-economic impact of rattan cane processing on the livelihoods of practitioners in Ibadan Metropolis. It comprehensively assesses raw material availability, examines factors influencing demand and supply, and evaluates sales to determine the profitability of rattan processors. With the snowball and total enumeration sampling methods, the study engages with a diverse group of rattan processors. The study reveals a concerning 36% acknowledgement of a decline in the availability of canes attributed to deforestation and over-exploitation. Notably, it emphasizes that rattan product manufacturing in Ibadan Metropolis operates at a craft level, employing tools like saws, hammers, knives, gas cylinders, pinches, and tape rules, impacting production efficiency and product longevity. Additionally, the research underscores the absence of government support and credit facilities reported by all respondents. The Market Margin analysis highlights varying profitability levels across rattan products, with chairs exhibiting notably higher profitability (32.22%) than others. Individual profit margins for specific products, such as chairs (145.00%), underscore the significance of processing costs, production time, and market demand. The study offers strategic recommendations, advocating for district-level service centres for training, technology transfer, and support to enhance skills and technical efficiency. It calls for government intervention through incentives, facilities, tax breaks, and policies to fortify the rattan trade, improving production standards and unlocking export market potential. Furthermore, financial support, technical assistance, and mechanization should be employed to reduce production costs and time, ultimately elevating income generation in the rattan industry. This research contributes valuable insights to the discourse on sustainable livelihoods and economic viability within the rattan sector.

Cobalt, like other critical elements, is gaining in importance today. The great technological advances and the deep knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of this element have allowed to enhance its applications in various fields, such as: catalysts, paints, alloys for the mechanical and aerospace industries, as well as the medical sector and in recent times, its use within the rechargeable battery industry. The main exploitable deposits are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have economic potential due to a strong influence on their mineralization processes. However, the growing demand for cobalt and the search for less dependence on African deposits leads to targeting other regions, so it is necessary to carry out exhaustive exploration to find out the potential of its reserves for a subsequent benefit of the mineral. Generally, cobalt comes as a by-product of the extraction of other metallic minerals, mainly from Cu-Co, Ni-Co, Ni-Cu-Co deposits. From the above, a first review is carried out on the differences that exist in the geochemical, mineralogical and forecast properties that exist within the different deposits that harbor cobalt. As a second review topic, it delves into efficient processing for cobalt recovery, which is generally carried out by flotation, acid leaching, in addition to its recovery from secondary sources, such as batteries and metallurgical waste. However, generally speaking there is still a vast lack of fundamental knowledge about the processability of cobalt. Said processing has been affected from the point of view of mineralogy, that is, understanding and knowing the cobalt-bearing minerals, as well as gangue mineralogy, these aspects exercise significant control during their processing and selection of the most appropriate route. suitable for cobalt extraction (leaching and/or flotation). In this context, the document concludes with a vision of the challenges that the mining industry must implement to enter circular economy models, mainly in the creation of sustainable processes from secondary sources.

To live in the information society means to be surrounded by billions of electronic devices full of sensors that constantly acquire data. This enormous amount of data must be processed and classified. A solution commonly adopted is to send these data to server farms to be remotely elaborated. The drawback is a huge battery drain due to high amount of information that must be exchanged. To compensate this problem data must be processed locally, near the sensor itself. But this solution requires huge computational capabilities. While microprocessors, even mobile ones, nowadays have enough computational power, their performance are severely limited by the Memory Wall problem. Memories are too slow, so microprocessors cannot fetch enough data from them, greatly limiting their performance. A solution is the Processing-In-Memory (PIM) approach. New memories are designed that are able to elaborate data inside them eliminating the Memory Wall problem. In this work we present an example of such system, using as a case of study the Bitmap Indexing algorithm. Such algorithm is used to classify data coming from many sources in parallel. We propose an hardware accelerator designed around the Processing-In-Memory approach, that is capable of implementing this algorithm and that can also be reconfigured to do other tasks or to work as standard memory. The architecture has been synthesized using CMOS technology. The results that we have obtained highlights that, not only it is possible to process and classify huge amount of data locally, but also that it is possible to obtain this result with a very low power consumption.

The voice contains elementary social communication cues, conveying speech, as well as paralinguistic information pertaining to the emotional state and the identity of the speaker. In contrast to vocal-speech and vocal-emotion processing, voice-identity processing has been less explored. This seems surprising, given the day-to-day significance of person recognition by voice. A valuable approach to unravel how voice-identity processing is accomplished is to investigate people who have a selective deficit in recognising voices. Such a deficit has been termed phonagnosia. In the present chapter, we provide a systematic overview of studies on phonagnosia and how they relate to current neurocognitive models of person recognition. We review studies that have characterised people who suffer from phonagnosia following brain damage (i.e. acquired phonagnosia) and also studies, which have examined phonagnosia cases without apparent brain lesion (i.e. developmental phonagnosia). Based on the reviewed literature, we emphasise the need for a careful behavioural characterisation of phonagnosia cases by taking into consideration the multistage nature of voice-identity processing and the resulting behavioural phonagnosia subtypes.

Currently, maritime traffic is increasing with economic growth in several regions worldwide. However, this growth in maritime traffic has led to increased risk of marine accidents. These accidents have a higher probability of occurring in regions where geographical features, such as islands, are present. Further, the positioning of rescue ships in a particular ocean region with a high level of maritime activity is critical for rescue operations. This paper proposes a method for determining an optimal set of locations for stationing rescue ships in an ocean region with numerous accident sites in the Wando islands of South Korea. The computational challenge in this problem is identified as the positioning of numerous islands of varying sizes located in the region. Thus, the proposed method combines a clustering-based optimization method and an image processing approach that incorporates flood filling to calculate the shortest distance between two points in the ocean that detours around the islands. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method reduces the distance from rescue ships and each accident site by 5.0 km compared to the original rescue ship locations. Thus, rescue time is reduced.

Under optimal conditions, just 3–6 ms of visual stimulation suffices for humans to see motion. Motion perception on this time scale implies that the visual system under these conditions reliably encodes, transmits, and processes neural signals with near-millisecond precision. Motivated by in vitro evidence for high temporal precision of motion signals in the primate retina, we investigated how neuronal and perceptual limits of motion encoding relate. Specifically, we examined the correspondence between the time scale at which cat retinal ganglion cells in vivo represent motion information and temporal thresholds for human motion discrimination. The time scale for motion encoding by ganglion cells ranged from 4.6–91 ms, depended nonlinearly on temporal frequency but not on contrast. Human psychophysics revealed that minimal stimulus durations required for perceiving motion direction were similarly brief, 5.6–65 ms, similarly depended on temporal frequency but, above ~10%, not on contrast. Notably, physiological and psychophysical measurements corresponded closely throughout (r = 0.99), despite more than a 20-fold variation in both human thresholds and optimal time scales for motion encoding in the retina. These results demonstrate that neural circuits for motion vision in cortex can maintain and make use of the high temporal fidelity of the retinal output signals.

This paper investigates the influence of microorganisms and clay minerals on the deterioration process of ancient Egyptian murals in the Al-Qurna region, situated on the west bank of Thebes (Luxor), Egypt. To achieve this objective, an extensive examination of building materials (including bedrock, building stone, mortars, and plasters) from various tombs within the study area was conducted. The investigation employed a multidisciplinary approach, combining micro-biological analysis with advanced techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) as well as petrographic examination. These methods were employed to identify the composition of the materials and to assess the masonry structure’s response to deformation caused by endogenous factors, particularly clay minerals. Additionally, mycological analyses were performed using a swabbing cotton sterile technique, revealing the presence of several species, including Ascosphera apis, Aspergillus tamarii, Aspergillus ochraceus, Doratomyces sp, and Eurotium repens. Notably, swelling clays—such as smectite, illite, and chlorite—along with mixed layers of illite-smectite and illite-vermiculite were detected in the studied samples. The presence of such deleterious clay minerals and fungi imperils wall painting preservation, causing discoloration, surface alteration, physical decay, and structural instability. Informed conservation strategies must address these threats for sustained integrity.

Present research focus on the effect of different processing routes on physical and mechanical properties of nano Ti(CN) based cermet’s with metallic binders. Tungsten carbide (WC) is added as secondary carbide and Ni-Co are added as metallic binders in nano Ti(CN) based cermet processed via Conventional and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). Systematic comparison of composition and sintering conditions for different cermet’s’ systems is done to design the novel composition and sintering conditions. Nano TiCN powder was prepared by 30hr of ball milling. Highest density of >98.5% percent was achieved for SPS processed cermet’s sintered at 1200°C and 1250°C for 3 min. at 60 MPa pressure in comparison to conventionally sintered cermet’s at 1400°C for 1hr with two stage compaction process, uniaxially at 150 MPa and isostatically at 300 MPa pressure respectively. Comparison of XRD analysis of milled powders of different time intervals was done to understand the characteristics of the as received and milled powders. Peak broadening was observed after 5 hr. of ball milling, and it increased till 30hr. Also, peak broadening and refined carbide size was observed in XRD and SEM micrograph of SPS processed cermet. TEM analysis of milled powder showed internal structure having regular periodic arrangement of planes. SEM (BSE) images of all cermets primarily showed three major microstructural phases of core-rim-binder with black, grey and white contrast respectively. In the present sintering conditions high hardness of ~16 GPa and fracture toughness of ~9 MPa m1/2 was obtained for SPS processed cermets sintered at higher temperature.

Camel milk occupies a pivotal and essential position in the dietary customs of individuals residing in semi-arid and arid areas. Historically, the promotion and distribution of camel milk have been negligible, primarily due to the absence of processing facilities in areas where camels are raised. Consequently, the consumption of untreated camel milk has been predominantly limited to nomadic households. However, owing to its exceptional medicinal properties and health-enhancing effects, a substantial surge in the global demand for camel milk and its derivatives has been observed over the past two decades. This growing demand has prompted the dairy sector to introduce a diverse range of camel milk products, which are distinguished by their enhanced nutritional and functional properties. In contrast to products derived from bovine milk, the current market offers only a limited selection of food items sourced from camel milk. Recent advances in food processing technologies have enabled the production of an array of both dairy and non-dairy products derived from camel milk. This includes a variety of items such as powdered milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream. Moreover, in certain regions, camel milk is incorporated into customary cuisine, serving as a key ingredient in local culinary practices like fermented milk, camel milk tea, or as a fundamental component in various meals. This review underscores the possibility of transforming camel milk into a range of dairy products by addressing its intrinsic functional constraints. This objective can be realized by adjusting the processing parameters and modifying its chemical composition through enrichment techniques. Furthermore, further research avenues may focus on enhancing product quality and exploring innovative processing techniques.

Discussing quantum theory foundations, von Neumann noted that the measurement process should not be regarded in terms of a temporal evolution. A reason for his claim is insurmountability of the gap between reversible and irreversible processes. The time operator formalism that goes beyond such a gap is adequate framework for elaboration of the measurement problem. It considers signals to be stochastic processes, whether they correspond to variables or distribution densities. Signal processing like that utilizes statistical properties to perform its tasks, which is the definition of statistical signal processing. A hierarchy of the measurement process is indicated by crossing between states and devices, which implies an evolution in the temporal domain. The concept has generalized to an open system by the use of duality in frame theory.

The General Theory of Information (GTI) tells us that information is represented, processed and communicated using physical structures. The physical universe is made up of structures combining matter and energy. According to GTI, “Information is related to knowledge as energy is related to matter.” GTI also provides tools to deal with transformation of information and knowledge. We present here, the application of these tools for the design of digital autopoietic machines with higher efficiency, resiliency and scalability than the information processing systems based on the Turing machines. We discuss the utilization of these machines for building autopoietic and cognitive applications in a multi-cloud infrastructure.

Gradient-domain image processing is a technique where, instead of operating directly on the image pixel values, the gradient of the image is computed and processed. The resulting image is obtained by reintegrating the processed gradient. This is normally done by solving the Poisson equation, most oftenly by means of a finite difference implementation of the gradient descent method. However, this technique in some cases lead to severe haloing artefacts in the resulting image. To deal with this, local or anisotropic diffusion has been added as an ad-hoc modification of the Poisson equation. In this paper, we show that a version of anisotropic gradient-domain image processing can result from a more general variational formulation through the minimisation of a functional formulated in terms of the eigenvalues of the structure tensor of the differences between the processed gradient and the gradient of the original image. Example applications of linear and non-linear local contrast enhancement and colour image daltonisation illustrate the behaviour of the method.

The Ro60 autoantigen is an RNA-binding protein, and a core component of nucleocytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes. Ro60 is essential in RNA metabolism, cell stress response pathways, and cellular homeostasis. It stabilises and mediates quality control and cellular dis-tribution of YRNAs, retroelement transcripts, and misfolded RNAs. Ro60 transcriptional dysregulation or loss of function can result in the generation and release of RNA fragments from YRNAs and other small RNAs. Small RNA fragments can instigate an inflammatory cascade through endosomal TLRs and cytoplasmic RNA sensors, which typically sense patho-gen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and mount the first line of defence against invading pathogens. However, recognition of host-originating RNA moieties from Ro60 RNP complexes can activate inflammatory response pathways and compromise self-tolerance. Autoreactive B cells may produce antibodies targeting extracellular Ro60 RNP complexes. Ro60 autoantibodies serve as diagnostic markers for various autoimmune diseases including Sjögren's disease (SjD) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and they may also act as predictive markers for an-ti-drug antibody response among rheumatic patients. Understanding Ro60’s structure, function, and role in self-tolerance can enhance our understanding of the underlying molecular mecha-nisms of autoimmune conditions.

: The interaction of the Activating Transcription Factor 6 (ATF6), a key effector of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum, with the neuronal calcium sensor Downstream Regulatory Element Antagonist Modulator (DREAM) is a potential therapeutic target in neurodegeneration. Modulation of the interaction ATF6-DREAM with repaglinide (RP) induced neuroprotection in a model of Huntington´s disease. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with no cure, characterized by the progressive loss of motoneurons resulting in muscle denervation, atrophy, paralysis and death. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential therapeutic significance of DREAM as a target for intervention in ALS. We found that the expression of the DREAM protein was reduced in the spinal cord of SOD1G93A mice compared to wild type littermates. RP treatment improved motor strength and reduced the expression of the ALS progression marker collagen type XIX1 (Col191 mRNA) in the quadriceps muscle in SOD1G93A mice. Moreover, treated SOD1G93A mice showed reduced motoneuron loss and glial activation and increased ATF6 processing in the spinal cord. These results indicate that the modulation of the DREAM-ATF6 interaction ameliorates ALS symptoms in SOD1G93A mice.

The basis of the discrete-impulse energy supply (DIES) concept is the efficient use of supplied energy. The references describe in detail the general principles of DIES, examine the energy and thermodynamic aspects and the main mechanisms of intensification that can be initiated on the basis of this principle. DIES mechanisms conveniently can be divided into hard and soft ones. The former should be used to stimulate hydromechanical processes, and the latter to accelerate the processes of phase heat and mass transfer, or for the purpose of intensive mixing of multicomponent media. The authors have studied the possibility of using DIES to intensify the hydromechanical processes, in particular emulsification of milk fat (homogenization of milk, preparation of spreads), processing of cream cheese masses. Objects of research were whole non-homogenized milk, fat emulsions, cream cheese mass. In order to evaluate the efficiency of milk homogenization the homogenization coefficient change was studied, which was determined by centrifugation method as the most affordable and accurate one. Emulsions were evaluated according to the degree of destabilization, resistance and dispersion of the fat phase. The rheological characteristics of cheese masses were evaluated by the effective viscosity change.

A wealth of Full Waveform (FW) LiDAR data are available to the public from different sources, which is poised to boost the extensive application of FW LiDAR data. However, we lack a handy and open source tool that can be used by potential users for processing and analyzing FW LiDAR data. To this end, we introduce waveformlidar, an R package dedicated to FW LiDAR processing, analysis and visualization as a solution to the constraint. Specifically, this package provides several commonly used waveform processing methods such as Gaussian, adaptive Gaussian and Weibull decompositions, and deconvolution approaches (Gold and Richard-Lucy (RL)) with users’ customized settings. In addition, we also developed functions to derive commonly used waveform metrics for characterizing vegetation structure. Moreover, a new way to directly visualize FW LiDAR data is developed through converting waveforms into points to form the Hyper Point cloud (HPC), which can be easily adopted and subsequently analyzed with existing discrete-return LiDAR processing tools such as LAStools and FUSION. Basic explorations of the HPC such as 3D voxelization of the HPC and conversion from original waveforms to composite waveforms are also available in this package. All of these functions are developed based on small-footprint FW LiDAR data, but they can be easily transplanted to the large footprint FW LiDAR data such as Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) and Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) data analysis. It is anticipated that these functions will facilitate the widespread use of FW LiDAR and be beneficial for better estimating biomass and characterizing vegetation structure at various scales. The package and code examples can be found at https://github.com/tankwin08/waveformlidar.

The mitochondrial network is a dynamic organization within eukaryotic cells that participates in a variety of essential cellular processes, such as ATP synthesis, central metabolism, apoptosis and inflammation. The mitochondrial network is balanced between rates of fusion and fission that respond to pathophysiologic signals to coordinate appropriate mitochondrial processes. Mitochondrial fusion and fission are regulated by proteins that either reside or translocate to the inner or outer mitochondrial membranes or are soluble in the inter-membrane space. Mitochondrial fission and fusion are performed by GTPases on the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes with the assistance of other mitochondrial proteins. Due to the essential nature of mitochondrial function for cellular homeostasis regulation of mitochondrial dynamics is under strict control. Some of the mechanisms used to regulate the function of these proteins are post-translational proteolysis and/or turnover and this review will discuss these mechanisms required for correct mitochondrial network organization.

Mapping or quantitative inversion through remote sensing technology is an active way for mineral monitoring in large or uncultivated forest areas. Different spectral features of minerals, induced by ionic composition, can be identified which are related to mineral type or abundance. Based on the distinctive spectral absorption around 2.33µm induced by the carbonate ion, we use it as an analytic target to propose an improved continuum removal (ICR) algorithm to couple with normalized abundance to evaluate the relationship between continuum removal band depth (CRBD) and carbonate ion abundance. Through experimentally testing with synthetic and real image data, ICR with ratio abundance normalization can enhance the linear relation of CRBD and abundance. We find this technique performs best for abundance retrieval. The lowest root mean square error is 0.0400 for synthetic data and the mean relative error is as low as 6.80% for real image data. Compared with five other algorithms, coupling normalized carbonate mineral abundance with ICR can improve the quantitative retrieval accuracy of carbonate ion. By using a hyperspectral library, we also present a way to retrieve abundance without ground samples. These results make the quantitative inversion of mineral abundance more reasonable by distinct or enhanced features and provide great potential for use to extend mineral information extraction in the absence of sample data, even for surveys of the Moon and Mars for mineral quantitative analysis.

Dayaoshan, as an important metal ore producing area in China, is faced with the dilemma of resource depletion due to long-term exploitation. In this paper, remote sensing method is used to circle the favorable metallogenic areas and find new ore points for Gulong. Firstly, vegetation interference bas been removed by using mixed pixel decomposition method with hyperplane and genetic algorithm (GA) optimization; then, altered mineral distribution information has been extracted based on principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector machine (SVM) method; Thirdly, the favorable areas of gold mining in Gulong has been delineated by using ant colony algorithm (ACA) optimization SVM model to remove false altered minerals; Lastly, field survey verified that the extracted alteration mineralization information is correct and effective. The results show that the mineral alteration extraction method proposed in this paper has certain guiding significance for metallogenic prediction by remote sensing.

In the last few decades, glaucoma became the second biggest leading cause of irreversible vision loss. Because of its asymptotic growth, it is not properly diagnosed until the relatively late stage. To stop the severe damage by glaucoma it is needed to detect glaucoma in its early stages. Surprisingly diabetes also be the greatest cause of glaucoma. In the modern era, artificial intelligence makes great progress in the medical image processing field. Image analysis based on machine learning gives a huge success in diagnosis glaucoma without any misdiagnosis. The aim of this proposed paper is to create an automated process that can detect glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Here various Machine Learning models are used and results of these methods are presented.

Background: Removable prostheses have seen a fundamental change recently because of advances in polymer materials, allowing improved durability and performance. Despite these advancements, notable differences still occur amongst various polymer materials and processing technologies, requiring a thorough grasp of their mechanical, physical, and therapeutic implications. Methods: Fours different processing techniques, all utilizing Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as the main material, were used to construct complete dentures. The specimens underwent a mechanical test. Results: All the specimens broke under the influence of a certain force, rather than yielding through flow, as is characteristic for plastic materials. For each specimen, the maximum force (N) was recorded (figure 4), as well as the breaking energy, Conclusions: The best results were obtained in the case of the thermoplastic injection system and, surprisingly and contrary to those in the specialized literature, the worst results were recorded in the case of 3D printed samples.

Over the last decade, the prevalence of health issues has increased by approximately 29.1%, putting a substantial strain on healthcare services. This has accelerated the integration of machine learning in healthcare, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. The utilization of machine learning in healthcare has grown significantly, however many present approaches are unsuitable for real-world implementation due to high memory footprints and lack of interpretability. We introduce DeClEx, a pipeline designed to address these issues. DeClEx ensures that data mirrors real-world settings by incorporating gaussian noise and blur and employing autoencoders to learn intermediate feature representations. Subsequently, our convolutional neural network, paired with spatial attention, provides comparable accuracy to state of the art pre-trained models while achieving threefold improvement in training speed. Furthermore, we provide interpretable results using explainable AI techniques. We integrate denoising and deblurring, classification and explainability in a single pipeline called DeClEx.

One of the needs of the teaching and learning processes is the lack of information during the process, such as the emotions of students. Emotions influence learning, the ability to process information and accurately understand what we are dealing with. They profoundly affect students’ academic engagement and performance. One new way of getting such information is monitoring students' emotions. This research aims to expose 6 groups of secondary school students to video recordings for further analysis and categorization of their emotions. A model of emotional recognition (ER) during classroom learning was designed, with a custom-made code, from recorded videos to images to identify faces, action units (AUs) and consequently the emotions of each of the students shown on the screen. In addition, the ER model was optimized, from detecting few students to many students during a class. Emotions were then analysed according to the academic year, subject, and comparing the emotions at the beginning and at the end of the class. The results indicate the presence of a variety of emotions in the classroom and we found significant differences in the presence of some emotions depending on the time of class, subject and academic year, although there are no clear patterns. We discussed how emotions influence students' academic performance, and we suggest future research focus on teachers utilizing tools like this to improve student well-being and performance.