CO2 emissions resulting from the production of cement is a major issue, but can be limited by the partial substitution of cement by low-carbon-impact additions. The aim of this study was the formulation of a ternary binder based on ordinary Portland cement (OPC), ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) and flash-calcined sediment (FCS), a dredged waste which was valorized after applying a new heat treatment: flash calcination. The used materials were physically, chemically and mineralogically characterized. The composition of the formulations was optimized using mixture designs. Five formulations, one reference formulation RM (100% OPC), one binary formulation (50% OPC/50% GGBS), and three ternary formulations with a variable FCS rate (10%, 15%, 20%), were selected and characterized fresh and hardened. Results showed that the incorporation of FCS reduced the workability and increased the density. In addition, a decrease in the initial setting time and the heat of hydration peak were observed. In the hardened state, the formulation containing 10% FCS showed 90-day mechanical strengths superior to that of RM. The use of FCS in ternary binders could reduce the environmental impact by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

We propose a new approach to extending the notion of commutator and Lie algebra to algebras with ternary multiplication laws. Our approach is based on ternary associativity of the first and second kind. We propose a ternary commutator, which is a linear combination of six (all permutations of three elements) triple products. The coefficients of this linear combination are the cube roots of unity. We find an identity for the ternary commutator that holds due to ternary associativity of the first or second kind. The form of the found identity is determined by the permutations of the general affine group GA(1,5)⊂S5. We consider the found identity as an analogue of the Jacobi identity in the ternary case. We introduce the concept of a ternary Lie algebra at the cubic root of unity and give examples of such an algebra constructed using ternary multiplications of rectangular and three-dimensional matrices. We point out the connection between the structure constants of a ternary Lie algebra with three generators and an irreducible representation of the rotation group.

Timely and accurate acquisition of information on distribution of the crop planting structure in Loess Plateau of eastern Gansu Province, one of the most important agricultural areas in western China, is crucial for promoting fine management of agriculture and ensuring food security. In this study, the Object-Based Image Classification (OBIC), the Random Forest (RF) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models were employed to classify the crop planting structure of four representative test areas in Qingyang City in a precise manner. Firstly, different optimal segmentation scales for various crops were selected using the Estimation of Scale Parameter 2 (ESP2) tool and the Ratio of Mean Difference to Neighbors(ABS) to Standard Deviation (RMAS)model. The images were then segmented through multiresolution segmentation combined with the Canny Edge Detection algorithm. Secondly, the L1 regularized logistic regression model was utilized to select and optimize 39 spatial feature factors including spectral, textural, geometric, and index features, in conjunction with phenological factors. Lastly, under the multi-level classification framework, the Random Forest (RF) classifier and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model, combined with object-based multiresolution segmentation, was used to classify the crop planting structure. The findings show that: Thanks to the Canny Edge Detection algorithm, we can obtain a more complete boundary of the segmented objects and improve the separability. The optimal segmentation scales for corn, vegetables, and buckwheat were found to be 55, 70, and 35, respectively, while wheat and apple had optimal segmentation scales of 65. In addition to phenological characteristics, the number of selected spatial features for corn, vegetables, buckwheat, wheat, and apple were 9, 7, 16, 12, and 10, respectively. The CNN model demonstrated high consistency with the RF model in the classification results, but the accuracy of RF model is higher than that of CNN model on the whole. The overall accuracy of classification using RF model in four test areas registered 91.93%, 94.92%, 89.37% and 90.68%, respectively. This paper introduced crop phenological factors, effectively improving the extraction precision of shattered agricultural planting structure in the Loess Plateau of eastern Gansu Province. Its findings have important application value in crop monitoring, management, food security and other related fields.

Soil secondary salinization has seriously affected the greenhouse vegetable production in China. To improve the secondary salinization greenhouse soil and enhance the soil physical-chemical properties in an eco-environmental way, different organic amendments (straw, straw biochar, Trichoderma bio-organic manure, commercial organic manure) were applied using pot experiment for 60 day to comprehensively screen the optimal remediation method. In this study, soil nutrient condition and salt movement were assessed, and predictive models using multi-linear regression (MLR) and Random Forest (RF) were developed to estimate soil salinization parameters. The findings indicated a significant decrease in soil salt content following the application of organic materials compared to the control treatment. Specifically, the addition of straw at a rate of 250g/kg resulted in a 59.38% reduction in soil salt levels after 60 days (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the main salt ions exhibited dynamic changes over the course of the experiment, with reductions observed in Na+, Ca2+, Cl-, and NO3- content under the 250 g/kg straw treatment by 83.63%, 74.67%, 63.26%, 59.07%, respectively, compared to CK (P < 0.05). In addition, the SO42- content under 125 g/kg commercial organic manure amendment reduced by 48.94%, respectively (P < 0.05). Contrary to expectations, the addition of organic materials significantly increased the levels of total nutrients (N/P/K) and available potassium (AK) and phosphorus (AP) in the soil. Specifically, the addition of straw at a rate of 250 g/kg resulted in increases of 18.02%-87.38% in total potassium (TK), 66.67%-200% in total phosphorus (TP), and 142.87%-367.8% in AK after a period of sixty days (P < 0.05). Ultimately, the treatment involving the addition of 250 g/kg of straw demonstrated the most pronounced impact on the physical and chemical properties of the soil. The random forest method shows promise in accurately predicting soil salt and soil sodium adsorption ratio (SAR)indicators, thereby providing a valuable tool for estimating soil properties.

The Tibetan Plateau(TP) is known as ‘the water tower of Asian’, its precipitation variation play an important role in the eco-hydrological processes and water resources regimes. based on the monthly mean precipitation data of 65 meteorological stations over the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding areas from 1961-2015,variations, trends and temporal-spatial distribution were analyzed, furthermore, the possible reasons were also discussed preliminarily. The main results are summarized as follows: the annual mean precipitation in the TP is 465.54mm during 1961-2015, among four seasons, the precipitation in summer accounts for 60.1% of the annual precipitation, the precipitation in summer half year (May.- Oct.) accounts for 91.0% while that in winter half year (Nov.- Apr.) only accounts for 9.0%; During 1961-2015, the annual precipitation variability is 0.45mm/a and the seasonal precipitation variability is 0.31mm/a, 0.13mm/a, -0.04mm/a and 0.04mm/a in spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively on the TP; The spatial distribution of precipitation can be summarized as decreasing from southeast to northwest in the TP, the trend of precipitation is decreasing with the increase of altitude, but the correlation is not significant. The rising of air temperature and land cover changes may cause the precipitation by changing the hydrologic cycle and energy budget, furthermore, different pattern of atmospheric circulation can also influence on precipitation variability in different regions.

Monitoring the status and dynamics of desertification is one of the most important parts of combating desertification. In this study, 30m high-resolution information on land desertification and restoration in the HRB was extracted from the land cover database. The results indicate that land desertification coexists with land restoration in the HRB. At different periods, the area of land restoration is much larger than the area of land desertification in the HRB, and the HRB has been in a process of land restoration. Upstream of the HRB, there is a continuing trend of increasing land desertification associated with overgrazing in a context where climate change favors desertification reversal. In the middle and lower reaches, although both climate variability and human activities favor land desertification, the process of land desertification in the middle and lower reaches is still being reversed and land restoration dominates. The implementation of the Eco-Environmental Protection Project and desertification control measures, especially the EWDP, is contributing to the reversal of desertification in the middle and lower reaches of the HRB. However, the EWDP has indirectly led to the lowering of the water table in the middle reaches, resulting in local vegetation degradation. Therefore, there is therefore an urgent need to transform the economic structure of the middle reaches to cope with water scarcity and land desertification.

The great lockdown of the current COVID-19 pandemic has significant consequences on the global Higher Education Studies (HES).To find the relevance of eLearning in the HES, our study calculates the economic costs of higher education during Covid-19 in Bangladesh, which includes both stu-dents’ cost and institutional cost. The study used a purposive random sample survey conducted on 105 students enrolled in higher education in different categories of institutions to identify the stu-dents’ cost during this pandemic. The institutional cost of higher education is analyzed by breaking down the budget allocated in the education sector in Bangladesh and reviewing the literature. The result indicates that the HES of Bangladesh experiences a huge economic cost due to this pandemic and the study found eLearning can reduce the economic impact of HES. In the post-COVID-19 world, higher education will never be the similar because many institutions that already had experi-ence a huge advantage from online education. The findings of the study might be helpful for the policymakers to frame effective education policies during any bizarre situation that creates huge cost in higher education sector.

Pyrolyzed organic matter – commonly referred to as biochar – generally has positive effects on plant growth and can enhance early seedling development. Biochar-based seed coatings may thus be beneficial, specifically under adverse soil conditions such as high soil salinity. We evaluated germination and early plant development in radish (Raphinus sativa) seeds coated with conifer-feedstock slow-pyrolysis biochar; following the precedent of prior studies, polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) was used as the binding agent. Biochar-based seed coatings reduced germination rates and radicle extension in Petri dish trials; however, leaching of coated seeds largely eliminated this effect. PVAc applied in solution inhibited seed germination to a similar extent, suggesting that toxicity of PVAc or chemical products derived from it is the main mechanism for germination inhibition; a meta-analysis of published literature also indicates negative effects of biochar-based seed coatings using PVAc. In greenhouse trials the same biochar seed coatings improved aspects of plant growth and physiological status relative to controls, specifically enhancing root development. We conclude that biochar-based seed coatings have promise in promoting early seedling growth, and in combating salinity stress in agronomic and restoration applications. However, our findings contraindicate PVAc use as a binding agent. Further research is needed to test non-phytotoxic, readily biodegradable binding agents and to optimize biochars and seed coating processes for specific applications in agronomy and ecological restoration.

Since the 20th century, numerous studies have detected or isolated parasites from the Trypanosomatidae family in various tick species. However, the status of ticks as vectors of medically or veterinary important Trypanosoma and Leishmania remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to pro-vide new insights into the potential vector status of Leishmania and Trypanosoma, which have medical and veterinary significance. We searched three databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science) from 1912 to June 30, 2023, resulting in 94 and 86 papers included in the qualitative and quantitative analyses, respectively. All identified field studies were conducted in endemic areas and investigated the presence of Trypanosoma and Leishmania parasite, DNA, or antigen in ticks. We recorded a pooled prevalence of Trypa-nosomatidae detection in ticks at 15.48% [7.99-24.61%], with significant variations depending on the year, detection method, and geographical area. Most of positive tick species belonged to the genera Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Ixodes, and Rhipicephalus. Experimental laboratory work on transmission routes proved potential vector competence in both the Argasidae and Ixodidae tick families. Although our systematic review and meta-analysis provide unambiguous evidence of the natural infection of ticks by Trypanosomatidae para-sites with some evidence of non-traditional transmission routes, it does not provide conclusive evidence on the role of ticks as biological or mechanical vectors for veterinary and medically interest protozoan Trypa-nosomatidae species. All these unambiguously demonstrates the need of additional investigations to address this point.

We report the relative humidity (R.H.) sensing response of a resistive sensor, employing sensing layers based on a ternary nanohybrid comprising holey carbon nanohorns (CNHox), potassium chloride (KCl), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at mass ratios 7/1/2, 6.5/1.5/2, and 6/2/2 (w/w/w/w). The sensing structure comprises a silicon substrate, a SiO2 layer, and interdigitated transducer (IDT) electrodes. The sensing film is deposited on the sensing structure via the drop-casting method. The sensing layers' morphology and composition are investigated through Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.) and RAMAN spectroscopy. The ternary hybrid-based thin film resistance increases when the sensors are exposed to R.H., ranging from 0% to 100%. The manufactured devices show a room temperature response comparable to a commercial capacitive R.H. sensor and are characterized by excellent linearity, rapid response time, and good sensitivity. The presented sensors exhibit superior performance in terms of sensitivity compared to other similarly manufactured and tested sensors that employ a CNHox-based sensing layer. We explain the sensing role of each constituent of the ternary hybrid nanocomposites based on their chemical and physical properties, electronic properties, and affinity for water molecules. Different alternative sensing mechanisms are considered and discussed, such as the decreasing number of holes in the holey CNHox at the interaction with water molecules, proton conduction, and PVP swelling.

As the world’s second-largest economy, China has undergone rapid industrialization and urbanization, leading to high energy consumption and significant carbon emissions. This development has exacerbated conflicts between human-land relations and environmental conservation, contributing to global warming and urban air pollution, both of which pose serious health risks. This study utilizes nighttime light (NTL) data from 2005 to 2019, combined with scaling techniques and statistical analysis, to estimate city-scale energy carbon emissions over a 15-year period. Our focus is on Northeast China, a traditional industrial region comprising 36 cities across three provinces, rich in natural resources but now facing severe aging challenges. We analyzed the spatial patterns of energy carbon emissions, while spatiotemporal evolution was assessed through spatial autocorrelation and dynamic changes. These dynamic changes were further evaluated using standard deviation ellipse (SDE) parameters and SLOPE values. Additionally, we examined the conflict between city-scale emissions and economic growth using the Tapio decoupling index. Our findings for the 36 cities over the 15-year period include: (1) Heilongjiang shows low emissions with a downward trend; Jilin shows overall improvement; Liaoning has high and steadily increasing emissions. (2) The global spatial autocorrelation of energy carbon emissions is significant, with a positive Moran’s I, while significant local Moran’s I clusters are concentrated in Heilongjiang and Liaoning. (3) The SDE shows the greatest changes in city-scale emissions occurred in 2015, followed by 2019, 2005, and 2010. (4) Emission growth across the 36 cities is fastest in Heilongjiang, followed by Liaoning and Jilin. (5) Tapio decoupling analysis shows overall positive decoupling in Heilongjiang, a decline in decoupling quality in Jilin, and no significant change in Liaoning. Finally, we recommend strategies to reduce emissions from the perspectives of government, industry, and residents. This research offers a quantitative foundation for achieving dual carbon goals and supports the implementation of policies focused on energy transition and sustainable urban planning.

In this study, the determination of static E50 and υ parameters of rock materials was investigated using P-S wave velocities and Shore hardness (SH), non-destructive measurement methods. We used multiple linear regression (MLR), multiple non-linear regression (MNLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models to estimate and determine these parameters. When the models defined by MLR, MNLR, and ANN were compared to the R2 values, ANN models that estimate E50 and υ parameters of rock materials using non-destructive methods (Vp, Vs, Vp/Vs, d, and SH) could be determined with higher accuracy than MLR and MNLR models. The study’s originality is based on the fact that ores such as galena, chromite, and barite have been studied for the first time on rock mechanics, and in this respect, it offers an innovative perspective. In addition, the use of all non-destructive measurement methods, Vp, Vs, and Shore hardness tests, also increases the originality of the study.

Urbanization growth has intensified the challenge of managing and treating increasing amounts of municipal solid waste (MSW). Landfills are commonly utilized for MSW disposal because of their low construction and operation costs. However, this practice produces huge volumes of landfill leachate, a highly polluting liquid rich in ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), organic compounds and various heavy metals, making it difficult to treat in conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In recent years, research has shown that microbial biofilms, developed on carriers of different materials and called “Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors” (MBBRs), may offer promising solutions for bioremediation. This study explored the biofilm development and the nitrification process of moving bed biofilms (MBBs) obtained from high am-monia-selected microbial communities. Using Crystal Violet Staining and Confocal Laser-Scanning Microscopy, we followed the biofilm formation stages correlating nitrogen removal to metagenomic analyses. Our results indicate that MBBs unveiled a 10-fold more enhanced nitrification rate than the dispersed microbial community pre-sent in the native sludge of the Porto Sant’Elpidio (Italy) WWTP. Four bacterial families, Chitinophagaceae, Comamonadaceae, Sphingomonadaceae, and Nitrosomona-daceae accumulate in structured biofilms and significantly contribute to the high ammonium removal rate of 80% in 24 hours as estimated in leachate-containing wastewaters.

Cement production contributes to about 7% of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Despite our best efforts, we cannot find a competitive substitute that is both reliable and environmentally friendly. The simplest way to solve the problem is to rationalize the resources and try to minimize its use by substitute them with other materials. A concrete that contains a substantial amount of fly ash is already available, but its use is limited by the current shortage in the market and reduced initial resistance. In this context, ternary mixtures have been used to conduct an experiment. A significant volume of cement has been replaced with fly ash and metakaolin, which serves as a correction factor for the performance. In this work the main advantages and disadvantages of the simultaneous use of these two additions, which may reveal to be very interesting with high volumes of substitution will be presented. The performance of this ternary mixture is very promising. Provide a wide range of possibilities for replacing cement, maintaining or even improving its mechanical and durability properties. A solution for an ecological concrete with enhanced performance for general use in construction as an alternative to conventional concrete.

The growing demand for phycobiliproteins from microalgae generates a significant volume of by-products, such as extraction cakes. These cakes are enriched with products of interest for the cosmetic market, namely free fatty acids, particularly polyunsaturated (PUFA). In this work, two cakes, one of spirulina and one of Porphyridium cruentum, were valorized using innovative natural hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (NaDES) based on alkanediols. The most promising NaDES, as determined by physicochemical properties and screening, are mixtures of alkanediol and fatty acid. These include the mixture of 1,3-propanediol and octanoic acid (1:5, mol/mol) and 1,3-propanediol and octanoic and decanoic acid (1:3:1, mol/mol). Two extractive processes were implemented: ul-trasound-assisted extraction and an innovative mechanical process by dual asymmetric centrifu-gation. The second process resulted in the production of extracts significantly enriched in PUFA, ranging from 65 to 220 mg/g dry matter with the two cakes. The extracts and NaDES demonstrated good safety with respect to epidermal keratinocyte viability. The study of their impact on com-mensal and pathogenic cutaneous bacteria demonstrated significant effects on viability of Staphy-lococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis while preserving Corynebacterium xerosis and Cuti-bacterium acnes. These results highlight the potential of valorizing these co-products using al-kanediol-based NaDES, in a strategy combining an active vector (NaDES) and a growth regulator extract, for the management of cutaneous dysbiosis involving staphylococci.

While significant efforts have been made to recycle metals like lithium or cobalt for sustainable development in the battery industry, other high-value materials in the renewable energy sector, such as fluorinated carbon nanotubes (FCNTs), have not been adequately explored for re-utilization after their quality has been downgraded. FCNTs are expensive and energy-intensive to produce, making their sustainable use crucial. This study explores the potential of reusing quality-downgraded fluorinated carbon nanotubes (QD-FCNTs) as eco-friendly nano-additives in microgel composites for water retention applications. By employing a surface treatment process that avoids additional energy costs and environmentally harmful chemicals, we successfully enhanced the interaction between QD-FCNTs and microgels. This treatment significantly improved water retention time by reducing rapid evaporation, enabling sustained water release. Our findings demonstrate a promising avenue for the sustainable application of quality-downgraded fluorinated carbon nanotubes in agricultural and environmental technologies.

The present study identified the influence of green advertising and eco-labels on the attitude and environmental awareness of millennials who purchase ecological products in shopping centers in Ecuador. The research was quantitative, correlational and with a cross-sectional design. A total of 430 millennials participated in the study. A 20-question survey was applied in person outside the shopping centers of Quito and Guayaquil - Ecuador. The convergent and discriminant validity of the research model was verified using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Models (SEM). SPSS 20 and AMOS 24 programs were used for statistical analysis. The results show that green advertising influences environmental attitudes (β: 0,245) and awareness (β: 0,110) and specifically influences purchasing behaviour (β: 0,154) for green products. Although eco-labels do not directly influence purchasing behaviour (β: 0,128), they influence the attitudes (β: 0,406) and ecological awareness (β: 0,277) of millennials who buy organic products. This article is one of the first studies to identify the relationship between green advertising elements and green product purchasing behaviors among millennials in a developing country, concluding that marketing strategies based on green advertising and eco-labels have an impact on the attitude and environmental awareness of millennials, but only advertising directly affects purchasing behaviour while eco-labels do not. This research has social implications since it corroborates that millennials are concerned about environmental problems and are willing to contribute to sustainability.

In the context of global climate change, the frequency of sudden natural disasters is increasing. Assessing traffic road damage post-disaster is crucial for emergency decision-making and disaster management. Traditional ground observation methods for evaluating traffic road damage are limited by the timeliness and coverage of data updates. Relying solely on these methods does not adequately support rapid assessment and emergency management during extreme natural disasters. Social media, a major source of big data, can effectively address these limitations by providing more timely and comprehensive disaster information. Motivated by this, we utilized multi-source heterogeneous data to assess the damage to traffic roads under extreme conditions and established a new framework for evaluating traffic roads in cities prone to flood disasters caused by rainstorms. The approach involves several steps: First, extracting the surface area affected by precipitation using a threshold method constrained by confidence intervals derived from microwave remote sensing images; Second, collecting disaster information from the Sina Weibo platform, where social media information is screened and cleaned. A quantification table for road traffic loss assessment was defined, and a social media disaster information classification model combining text convolutional neural networks and attention mechanisms was proposed (TextCNN-Attention Disaster Classification); Finally, matching traffic road information on social media with basic geographic data, visualizing the classification of traffic road disaster risk levels, and completing the assessment of traffic road disaster levels based on multi-source heterogeneous data. Using the "7.20" rainstorm event in Henan Province as an example, this study categorizes the disaster impact on traffic roads into five levels: particularly severe, severe, moderate, mild, and affected, as interpreted from remote sensing images. The evaluation framework for flood disaster traffic roads based on multi-source heterogeneous data provides important data support and methodological support for enhancing disaster management capabilities and systems.

Over the past few decades, synthetic petroleum-based packaging materials have increased, and the production of plastics has surpassed all other man-made materials due to their versatility. However, the excessive usage of synthetic packaging materials has led to severe environmental and health-related issues due to their nonbiodegradability and their accumulation in the environment. Therefore, biobased packages are considered alternatives to substitute synthetic petroleum-based packaging material. Furthermore, the choice of packing material in the food industry is a perplexing process as it depends on various factors, such as the type of food product, its sustainability, and environmental conditions. Interestingly, due to proven mechanical, gas and water vapor barrier properties and biological activity, polysaccharide-based bioplastics show the potential to expand the trends in food packaging, including edible films or coatings and intelligent and active food packaging. This review discusses the structure, properties and recent developments in polysaccharide-based bioplastics as green and sustainable food packaging materials.

Fatigue performance and self-repairing activity of asphalt binders are two properties that highly influence the fatigue cracking response of asphalt pavement. There are still numerous gaps of knowledge to fill linked with these two characteristics. For instance, current parameters fail to fully accommodate these two bitumen phenomena. This study aims to propose a new procedure to address this issue utilizing the linear amplitude sweep (LAS) test, LAS with rest period (RP) (LASH) test, and simplified viscoelastic continuum damage (S-VECD) model. This research work used four different types of asphalt binders: neat asphalt (NA), self-healing thermoplastic polyurethane (STPU)-modified bitumen (STPB), self-healing poly (dimethyl siloxane) crosslinked with urea bond (IPA1w)-modified bitumen (IPAB), and styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS)-modified bitumen (SBSB). Before the testing process, all the materials were subjected to short-term and long-term aging. The new procedure showed a superior capacity to analyze and accommodate all bitumen fatigue performances and self-repairing activities compared to the current method. Another finding proved that asphalt binders with higher self-restoration behavior failed to show better fatigue performance. A breakthrough finding demonstrated that asphalt binder fatigue response augmented when the RP was applied at a higher damage intensity (S) value. STPBs and IPABs reached their highest increments of fatigue response, containing 1.0% of STPU and 0.5% of IPA1w, respectively. Those augmentations were 207.54% and 232.64%, respectively.

The Source Region of the Yellow River (SRYR), renowned as the "Water Tower of the Yellow River", serves as an important water conservation domain in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, significantly influencing water resources within the basin. Based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro) model, the key variables of the atmosphere-land-hydrology coupling processes over the SRYR during the 2013 rainy season are analyzed. The investigation involves a comparative analysis between the coupled WRF-Hydro and the standalone WRF simulations, focusing on the hydrological response to the atmosphere. The results reveal that the WRF-Hydro model's proficiency in depicting streamflow variations over the SRYR, yielding a Nash Efficiency Coefficient (NSE) of 0.44 and of  0.61 during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Compared to the standalone WRF simulations, the coupled WRF-Hydro model demonstrates enhanced performance in soil heat fluxes simulations, reducing the mean Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of surface soil temperature by 0.96 K and soil moisture by 0.01 m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}/m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}. Furthermore, the coupled model adeptly captures the streamflow variation characteristics with the NSE of 0.33. This underscores the significant potential of the coupled WRF-Hydro model for delineating coupled atmosphere-land-hydrology processes in regions characterized by cold climates and intricate topography.

Background: Escalating climate change concerns have prompted the healthcare sector, particularly anaesthesia, to reassess its practices to align with environmental sustainability. Anesthetic gases like desflurane, sevoflurane, and isoflurane significantly impact the environment due to their high Global Warming Potentials (GWPs) and prolonged atmospheric lifetimes. This manuscript investigates these impacts and advocates for strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of anesthetic care while maintaining patient safety. Methods: We reviewed the environmental impacts of anesthetic gases and explored various strategies for sustainable anaesthesia. These strategies include adopting anesthetics with lower GWPs, enhancing recycling and waste reduction techniques, transitioning to intravenous anaesthesia, and implementing low-flow anaesthesia methods. We also examined barriers to these strategies, such as educational gaps, technological challenges, resistance to change, and policy limitations. Results: Adopting anesthetics with lower GWPs, such as sevoflurane over desflurane, and implementing low-flow anaesthesia can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling and waste reduction techniques, though challenging, offer additional environmental benefits. Transitioning to intravenous anaesthesia can eliminate the direct GWP contributions from volatile anesthetic gases. However, these strategies require comprehensive education, advocacy for research and innovation, strategic change management, and supportive policies. Conclusions: Continuous monitoring and evaluation are crucial to ensure the effectiveness of sustainable practices in anaesthesia. Establishing robust Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and utilizing advanced analytical tools will enable the anaesthesia community to adapt and refine practices. Collaborative efforts among clinicians, policymakers, and stakeholders are essential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of anaesthesia and promote ecological responsibility within healthcare.

Ecological ternary cements (ECP) were perpared with powders of phosphogypsum (PG), fly ash (FA) and portland cement (PC). The evolution mechanism of the hydration product structure was characterized through macro and micro experiments.The thermodynamic characteristics of solid phase, solid solution phase and aqueous solution in process of hydration about phosphogypsum-fly ash-cement ternary cementitious system were studied based on the Gibbs-free-energy C-S-H thermodynamic model and GEM-Selektor software, and compared with experimental results. The results show that in the hydration reaction the thermodynamic interaction between mineral single-phase and hydration products plays an important role in the spatio-temporal distribution of ions in the cementitious system. The values of CaO、SiO2Hand H2Ohyd gradually increased with the increase of Ca/Si ratio, while the values of CaOext and H2OOH showed a positive proportional relationship, and the values of SiO2H and SiO2 showed an inverse proportional relationship. GEM-Selektor is accurate in the simulation calculation of the total amount of AFt and AFm mineral phases which quantitatively analysis the correlation between C-S-H gels formation and C3S with complex decomposition ion groups.

Incisional hernias have a particular dynamic related both to the repair method and to the absence or presence of a prosthetic material. The incidence of incisional hernias is estimated at 9.8% after 21 months and increases to 18.7% after ten years. This study presents a surgical method for the repair of recurrent incisional hernias, through open surgery and the use of existing mesh. The selection criteria regarding the use of this method are: the prosthesis is well integrated, without granulomas, suppurations, defect appearing on the same prosthetic abdominal area. The analyzed factors were the location of the incisional hernias, the duration of the operation, the duration of hospitalization, identified complications, the size of the parietal defect. The retrospective study carried out focused on recurrences of incisional hernias from a group of 631 patients operated on for incisional hernias in a general surgery department of Dr. Constantin Andreoiu County Emergency Hospital, Ploiești, Romania, during January 2018 - December 2022. Of the total of 18.22% relapses, 13.6% were relapsed eventrations after prosthetic procedures. Following the application of the selection criteria, several 8 patients with recurrent eventrations were operated by the open method using the existing mesh. In the case of recurrences after prosthetic procedures of incisional hernias, the recurrence can be solved by open surgery using the existing well-integrated prosthesis, without tension, absence of suppuration in the wound, and the peritoneal cavity. For the presented case, the return to daily activities occurred after 22 hours of hospitalization.

The present study concerns the application of electrochemical chloride extraction to concrete designed with partial replacements of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) from different binders, namely ground granulated blast furnace (GGBS), pulverized fly ash (PFA) and Silica Fume (SF), to attend the need of corrosion repair for modern constructions. Electrochemical Chloride Extraction (ECE) was applied to the specimens at a current density of 2A/m2 for 4 weeks. The chloride types and binding mechanisms appeared to have important implications on the different performance of treatment perceived for all binders. Considering total chlorides, removal was more significant for OPC and GGBS when compared to others. The main difference noted was that for GGBS the removal of bound chlorides was more significant due to a possible release of adsorbed chlorides from the silicate hydrates, present at higher intensities in this case. However, even though GGBS had greater rates of bound chloride removal it had still the same percentage as OPC for total efficiency due to the fact that in OPC the removal of free chlorides is more expressive.

Traditional silicon binary circuits continue to face challenges such as high leakage power dissipation and large area of interconnections. Multiple-Valued Logic (MVL) and nano-devices are two feasible solutions to overcome these problems. In this paper, we present a novel method to design ternary logic circuits based on Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors (CNFETs). The proposed designs use the unique properties of CNFETs, e.g., adjusting the Carbon Nanotube (CNT) diameters to have the desired threshold voltage and have the same mobility of P-FET and N-FET transistors. Each of our designed logic circuits implements a logic function and its complementary via a control signal. Also, these circuits have a high impedance state which saves power while the circuits are not in use. We show a more detailed application of our approach by designing a two-digit adder-subtractor circuit. We simulate the proposed ternary circuits using HSPICE via standard 32nm CNFET technology. The simulation results indicate the correct operation of the designs under different process, voltage and temperature (PVT) variations. Moreover, we designed a two-digit adder/subtractor and a power efficient ternary logic ALU based on the proposed gates. Simulation results show that the two-digit adder/subtractor using our proposed gates has 12X and 5X lower power consumption and PDP (power delay product) respectively, compared to previous designs.

Heavy metals are dangerous contaminants constituting a threat to human health because they persist in soils and are easily transferred into the food chain, causing damages to human health. Among heavy metals, nickel appears to be one of the most dangerous responsible for different disorders. Public health protection requires nickel detection in environment and food chains; a simple, rapid and sensitive method to detect nickel contamination is represented by biosensors. In this paper we report the setup of a whole-cell based system, in which protoplasts, obtained from Nicotiana tabacum leaves, were used as transducers to detect the presence of heavy metal ions and, in particular, nickel ions. Protoplasts were genetically modified with a plasmid containing the GFP reporter gene under the promoter region of a sunflower small HSP gene control. By this device the presence of heavy metal ions was detected. Thus, the possibility to use this whole-cell system as a novel tool to detect the presence of nickel ions in food matrices was assessed.

This study investigates the contribution of nano-alumina (nA: 1-3wt.% binder) to the performance of silica fume (SF-10%) blended mortar in ternary blended mortar. The fresh (workability, setting time) and hardened properties (compressive strength and thermal resistance (300 °C for 1 h)), were examined. Nano alumina (nA) contributed positively to the consistency of SF blended mortar such that similar workability could be achieved with OPC when 3% nA was added. The initial and final setting time of 180 and 220 mins were recorded in SF blended mortar and reduced by 18.4 and 21.8%, respectively by adding 3%nA. The optimum mixture that contained 10%SF and 2%nA had 3-d and 28-d compressive strengths of 28 and 43.2 MPa. In the absence of nA, this reduced by 14.3% and 29.4% while it reduced by 25.2% and 16.7%, respectively in OPC mortar. The main products characterizing SF-nA ternary blended binder with dense microstructural density were nepheline and tobermorite. Besides, it is more susceptible to carbonation despite its superior performance in thermal resistance when compared to SF blended and OPC mortars.

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are increasingly used in precast concrete industry to enhance concrete strength and durability. SCMs of large market share in precast concrete in-dustry include silica fume, also known as micro-silica and class C fly ash. The main objective of this research is to develop non-proprietary high strength concrete mixes for precast/prestressed concrete industry. Two SCMs are used simultaneously in partial replacement of portland cement to develop ternary mixes. Class c fly ash and silica fume incorporation in the mix design, in ad-dition to low water-to-powder ratio resulted in the successful development of high strength mixes with minimum 24-hour strength in excess of 70 MPa and a final compressive strength ex-ceeding 100 MPa at 28 days. Mechanical properties testing of developed concrete mixes showed that SCMs incorporation resulted in increased values for hardened concrete modulus of elasticity (MoE) and modulus of rupture (MoR). The enhanced concrete properties, mainly high early strength, are highly required in precast concrete industry as it allows for increased productivity of precast facilities and the possibility of pouring high strength slender sections for prestressed concrete applications

In recent decades, power consumption has become an essential factor in attracting the attention of integrated circuit (IC) designers. Multiple-valued logic (MVL) and approximate computing are some techniques that could be applied to integrated circuits to make power-efficient systems. By utilizing MVL-based circuits instead of binary logic, the information conveyed by digital signals increases, and this reduces the required interconnections and power consumption. On the other hand, approximate computing is a class of arithmetic computing used in systems where the accuracy of the computation can be traded-off for lower energy consumption. In this paper, we propose novel designs for exact and inexact ternary multipliers based on carbon-nanotube field-effect transistors (CNFETs). The unique characteristics of CNFETs make them a desirable alternative to MOSFETs. The simulations are conducted using Synopsys HSPICE. The proposed design is compared against existing ternary multipliers. The results show that the proposed exact multiplier reduces energy consumption by up to 6X. At the same time, the best inexact design improves energy efficiency by up to 35X compared to the latest state-of-the-art methods. Using the imprecise multipliers for image processing provides evidence that these proposed designs are a low-power system with an acceptable error.

An improved method for Fluctuation Enhanced Sensing (FES) is introduced. We enhanced the old binary fingerprinting method, where the fingerprint bit values were ± 1, by introducing ternary fingerprints utilizing a reference odor. In the ternary method, the fingerprint bit values are -1, 0, and +1 where the 0 value stands for the situation where the slope of the spectrum is identical to that of the reference odor. The application of the reference odor spectrum makes the fingerprint relative to the reference. This feature increases the information entropy of the fingerprints. The method is briefly illustrated by sensing bacterial odor in cow manure isolates.

Multiple valued logic (MVL) has proven to be a better alternative and solution to the challenges of traditional binary logic because of its fast computation, fewer interconnects, and small die. It is a potential candidate for future digital design because it allows energy-efficient, low-complex, and high-speed circuits. This paper introduces a new resistive-load two-dimensional field effect transistor-based ternary logic gates, wherein the active resistive-load is replaced with memristor to reduce chip area and power consumption. A memristor-based standard ternary inverter (STI) is designed using GNRFET, MoS2 FET, WSe2 FET, and FinFET, and their performance metric such as delay, power, and energy delay product (EDP) are analyzed. The results show that the proposed design achieves 50% reduction in circuit area, the average power dissipation is reduced by 11.7X, 6.8X, and 3.2X for GNRFET, MoS2 FET, and WSe2 FET, respectively, as compared to FinFET-based ternary inverter. Moreso, other logic gates such as OR, NOR, AND and NAND were simulated in T-SPICE EDA tool, and the results and truth table are in good agreement.

Water splitting plays an important role in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical conversion of energy devices. Electrochemical water splitting by the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a straightforward route to produce hydrogen (H2), which requires an efficient electrocatalysts to minimize energy consumption. Recent advances have created a rapid rise in new electrocatalysts, particularly those based on non-precious metals. In this review, we present a comprehensive overview of the recent developments of ternary and quaternary 6d-group transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) based electrocatalysts for water splitting, especially for HER. Detailed discussion is organized from binary to quaternary TMCs including, surface engineering, heterostructures, chalcogen substitutions, and hierarchically structural design in TMCs. Moreover, emphasis is placed on future research scope and important challenges facing these electrocatalysts for further development in their performance towards water splitting.

The objective of this study is to investigate the aquatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether with four different glyoxal concentrations (0, 1.4, 2.3 and 6.3%) in response to global chemical regulations, e.g., European Union Classification, Labeling and Packaging (EU CLP). Tests of the aquatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether on 11 freeze-dried microbial strains, Microcystis aeruginosa, Daphnia magna and zebrafish embryos were designed as an initial stage for toxicity screening, and were performed with the standardized toxicity test guidelines. Glyoxal-containing cellulose ether showed no significant toxic effects in the toxicity tests for the 11 freeze-dried microbial strains, Daphnia magna and zebrafish embryos. Alternatively, 6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether led to more than a 60% reduction of Microcystis aeruginosa growth after 7 days of exposure. Approximately 10% developmental abnormalities (e.g., bent spine) in zebrafish embryos were also observed in the group exposed to 6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether after 6 days of exposure. These results imply that <6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether results in non-toxic effects on the acute toxicity of aquatic organisms. However, ≥6.3% glyoxal-containing cellulose ether may affect the health of aquatic organisms with long-term exposure. In order to better evaluate the eco-safety of cellulosic products contained in glyoxal, further studies regarding the toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulose ether with long-term exposure are required. The results from this study allow us to evaluate the auatic-toxic effects of glyoxal-containing cellulosic products, under EU chemical regulations, on the health of aquatic organisms.

Due to the severe environmental impact of the CO2 emissions associated with the production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and the increasing demand for this commodity material, the development of alternative products has become a global concern. One alternative to OPC, or alitic-based clinkers, are amorphous-wollastonitic low calcium hydraulic binders (AWLCs). This new class of hydraulic binders, described in the literature for the first time in 2015, may significantly reduce the CO2 emissions associated with its production, resulting from its lower calcium content, but also from the fact that its production technology can be fully electrified. In this paper it is provided a state-of-the-art review, providing a comprehensive description on the latest research, summarizing both the physico-chemical and mechanical characteristics for this type of hydraulic binders, as well as possible routes for its production at an industrial scale.

Steel slag is a co-product of the steelmaking industry, this material is rarely used as a binder due to its low cementitious properties. Thus, it´s believed that the alkaline activation of steel slag can enable its use as a cementitious material. This work has the objective of making a systematic bibliographic review on the theme "slag melt as a precursor in activated alkali binders". To this end, the ProKnow-C method was used for the selection and analysis of relevant research on the topic. The portfolio resulted in 71 texts, mostly journals paper. Bibliometrics showed that the country with the most publications is China and the journal with the most publications is Construction and Building Materials. The critical analysis concluded that the XRD, XRF, and compressive strength tests are the most used for the characterization of the material. It is possible to establish that there are some knowledge gaps on the subject, such as better mechanical characterization and greater production of works with dosing by the one-part method.

Rice husk ash (RHA) is agricultural waste with high silica content that has had proven technical feasibility as a pozzolanic material since the 1970s. Notwithstanding, its use in mortars and concrete is limited by the standards currently utilized in some countries where RHA production is high and the aforementioned pozzolanic material is not standardized. This is the case of Spain, one of the main rice producers in Europe. Nowadays, the high pressure placed on the Portland cement production sector to reduce energy use and CO2 emissions has given rise to a keen interest shown in mineral admixtures for cement manufacturing. In this research, we intend to establish the contribution of different RHA types to final blended Portland cement properties (symbol “H” was used to identify RHA in standardized cements). The experimental results demonstrated that RHA with good pozzolanic properties (large specific surface and high amorphous silica content) had to be limited to 10% cement replacement because of the severe reduction in workability at higher replacement percentages. RHA with lower reactivity, such as crystalline RHA, or fly ash (FA), can be used to prepare binary and ternary blended cements with reactive RHA. It is possible to design the following cements: CEM II/A-H and CEM II/A-(H-V) It would also be possible to design cement (CEM II/B-(H-V) with replacement values up to 30% and the same 28-day mechanical performance observed for the Portland cement without mineral addition.

Binder jet printed components typically have low overall density in the green state and high shrinkage and deformation after heat treatment. It has previously been demonstrated that, by including nanoparticles of the same material in the binder, these properties can be improved as the nanoparticles can fill the interstices and pore throats between the bed particles. The beneficial effects from using these additive binder particles can be improved by maximising the binder particle size, enabling the space within the powder bed to be filled with a higher packing efficiency. The selection of maximum particle size for a binder requires detailed knowledge of the pores and pore throats between the powder bed particles. In this paper, a raindrop model is developed to determine the critical radius at which binder particles can pass between pores and penetrate the bed. The model is validated against helium pycnometry measurements and binder particle drop tests. It is found that the critical radius can be predicted, with acceptable accuracy, using a linear function of the mean and standard deviation of the particle radii. Percolation theory concepts have been employed in order to generalise the results for powder beds that have different mean particle sizes and size distributions. The results of this work can be employed to inform the selection of particle sizes required for binder formulations, to optimise density and reduce shrinkage in printed binder jet components.

Land use and cover change (LUCC) is an important method to investigate the causes of global environment change. We utilized the emergy ecological footprint (EEF) model to construct a land-use change model to be used as a systematic measuring tool for monitoring sustainable development trends. In particular, we estimated the eco-security of the Cing-jing region as a case study so that responsible agencies can use it to maintain a balance between ecological preservation and tourism development. The results indicated the following: First, the ecological environment of the Cing-jing region satisfied the safety standard in 2008–2014; however, the related indices increased considerably. Second, the grey model predicted a decrease in 2015–2024 ecological carrying capacities of Cing-jing and a large increase in capita EFs, resulting in a larger ecological deficit and higher EFI. The eco-security from 2015–2024 was higher compared to 7 years ago and is predicted to reach the Grade 2 intermediate level in 2022; thus the Cing-jing region is gradually becoming ecologically unsustainable. Strengths of our study included the use of EEF theory in a quantitative analysis of slope lands for the effective evaluation of ecological security. Finally, we expanded our research to include ecological security issues.

Microencapsulation using polymer materials is a potent process to protect and prolong the survival of probiotics. Cissampelos pareira leaf contains natural gelling agents that possess solidifying properties. This study aimed to investigate the development of microencapsulation containing Lacticaseibacillus paracasei using C. pareira extract as a natural encapsulating material. The absorption bands near 1603 cm−1 and 1725 cm−1 detected by Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were identified as pectin in C. pareira structure. The L. paracasei-C. pareira microcapsules (LP-CP) showed high encapsulation efficiency by 90.5% which was confirmed by the evaluation of their survival rate. Under thermal conditions (85oC), bacterial viability detected in the microcapsules was 69% as opposed to non-encapsulated bacteria where viability was as low as 5%. Furthermore, the microcapsule presented 75% bacterial viability whereas the free cells showed 30% under acidic conditions (pH 2). During storage conditions, LP-CP viability remained at 50% when the storage time was extended to 90 days whereas, the survival rate of free cells significantly decreased by 100% after 90 days. This information suggests that C. pareira is a potent polymer which can be used as an eco-friendly material for the microencapsulation of probiotics relevant as dietary supplementation for humans or animals.

The efficiency of organic solar cells (OSCs) is influenced by various factors, among which environmental temperature plays a significant role. Previous studies have shown that the thermal stability of these cells can be enhanced by incorporating a third component into their structure. Ternary organic solar cells, in particular, have shown promising results in improving thermal stability. A well-designed electron transport layer (ETL) can significantly bolster thermal stability by facilitating efficient charge transport and reducing charge recombination. In this study, we investigated the effect of temperature on the efficiency of inverted ternary structures, ranging from 300 K to 400 K. The structures examined include FTO/SnO2/PM6:D18:L8-BO/PEDOT: PSS/Ag, FTO/Spiro-OMeTAD/PM6:D18:L8-BO/PEDOT: PSS/Ag, and FTO/PC60BM/PM6:D18:L8-BO/PEDOT: PSS/Ag. Through simulations employing three different electron transport layers—SnO2, Spiro-OMeTAD, and PC60BM—we observed that at 340 K (65°C) these structures maintained 92% of their original high efficiency of ~20% at 300 K, which represents a high level of thermal stability under the high PCE condition.

Ternary ZnS/ZnO/graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) photocatalysts were prepared by coupling gCN sheets with ZnO nanorods under solvothermal conditions followed by sulfurization using Na2S. SEM and TEM analyses show that small-sized ZnS particles (ca. 7.2 nm) deposit homo-geneously on the surface of ZnO/gCN nanohybrids. Photoluminescence and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy show that ZnS allows an enhanced charge separation efficiency as well as prolonged lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers, leading to improved hydrogen photo-production under UV light irradiation compared to ZnO/gCN. Moreover, the deposition of ZnS nanoparticles improves the photostability of the ZnS/ZnO/gCN catalyst for hydrogen produc-tion. A double Z-scheme mechanism is proposed for hydrogen photoproduction using the ZnS/ZnO/gCN heterojunction.

The true ternary fission, the fission of a nucleus into three fragments of nearly equal mass, is an elusive and poorly known process influenced by shell effects. It has been envisaged an increase of the probability of this process with respect to the binary fission, very low in spontaneous and neutron-induced fission, by adopting heavy-ion induced reactions due to the possibility to increase the fissility parameter and the excitation energy of the compound nuclei. Nuclei with mass number around A=250, accessible in heavy-ion induced reactions, are favorable and should be investigated. It is still debated if the process takes place in a single step, direct ternary fission, or in two steps, sequential ternary fission. The purpose of this work is to define experimental conditions and observables that allow the disentangling of the products from the direct and sequential ternary fission as well as from the usual most probable binary fission. This step is essential to gain insight on the ternary fission dynamics and on the binary to ternary fission competition. The method proposed here is to simulate the kinematics of the ternary and binary fission processes to compute the energy distributions and angular correlations of direct and sequential ternary fission products, as well as those of binary fission. The reaction taken as benchmark is 40Ar+208Pb at 230 MeV supposed to form the 248Fm* compound nucleus. The simulation results have been filtered by considering the response function of a multi-coincidence detection system virtually constructed using the Geant4 simulation toolkit. The simulations support the possibility to separate the products of different multimodal fission decays with the proposed setup that consequently represents an effective tool to get insight on ternary fission from the observables selected.

The production associated with geopolymers is more environmentally friendly because it does not emit as much carbon dioxide as when OPCs are used. In addition, research has been initiated to produce a geopolymer with very good mechanical properties without the need to cure it at high temperatures. Bio-additives such as honey, cotton or molasses were found to have a good effect on the properties of the geopolymer. The purpose of this study was to develop a composition of geopolymer modified with bioaddi-tives (introduction of plant-derived materials containing sugars) in order to improve the strength para-meters of geopolymers cured at ambient temperature or to accelerate their setting process, and to identify whether it is possible to produce geopolymers with good strength parameters without the need for annealing. In this study, fly ash (FA)-based materials were made and addi-tionally modified with cane molasses and beet molasses in varying amounts. The made samples were subjected to surface morphology analysis (SEM), mechanical properties analysis - compres-sive and flexural strengths, phase composition analysis (XRD) and absorption analysis.

Eco-friendly betanin/clay minerals hybrid materials with good stability were synthesized combining natural betanin molecules extracted from beetroot with 2:1 type palygorskite (Pal) and 1:1 type halloysite (Hal), respectively. It was found that the adsorption, grinding and heating treatment played a key role to enhance the interaction between betanin and clay minerals during preparation process, which favored improving the thermal stability and solvent resistance of natural betanin. The L* and a* values of the betanin/Pal and betanin/Hal hybrid materials were 64.94 and 14.96, 62.55 and 15.48, respectively, indicating that betanin/Hal exhibited the better color performance. The structural characterizations confirmed that betanin was mainly adsorbed on the outer surface of Pal or Hal through hydrogen-bond interaction, and part of them also were entered into the inner surface of Hal via electrostatic interaction. Therefore, Hal preferred to improve the color properties, heating stability and solvent resistance of natural betanin due to its structural features compared with Pal.

This case study explores social media discourses of a virtual ecovillage community based in Central Romania, in a Hungarian speaking region of Transylvania. The investigated virtual community embraces the idea of ecovillage as a local constructive answer to the challenges of the global ecological crisis, based on strategies of revitalizing local ethnic traditions, promoting sustainable development solutions, and innovations. Our key question is the relationship between tradition and innovation—as revealed by the discursive practices of the ecovillage Facebook group most active members. Using ecolinguistic as a frame of reference, the investigation unveiled the role social media played in fostering the formation of a virtual intentional community, and in clarifying the shared values of the group. We found that the local ecovillage is part of a larger regional and global movement, unfolding the organic connection between the Hungarian and the Romanian intentional communities, and the reframing of traditional values within innovative, sustainable everyday practices.

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.

We propose a notion of a ternary skew-symmetric covariant tensor of 3rd order, consider it as a 3-dimensional matrix and study a ten-dimensional complex space of these tensors. We split this space into a direct sum of two five-dimensional subspaces and in each subspace there is an irreducible representation of the rotation group SO(3)↪SO(5). We find two independent SO(3)-invariants of ternary skew-symmetric tensors, where one of them is the Hermitian metric and the other is the quadratic form. We find the stabilizer of this quadratic form and its invariant properties. Making use of these invariant properties we define a SO(3)-irreducible geometric structure on a five-dimensional complex Hermitian manifold. We study a connection on a five-dimensional complex Hermitian manifold with a SO(3)-irreducible geometric structure, find its curvature and torsion. The structures proposed in this paper and their study are motivated by a ternary generalization of the Pauli’s principle proposed by R. Kerner.

The concept of "Eco-authoritarianism", although appeared in the 1970s, through the writings of Robert Heilbroner, William Ophuls etc., but Eco-authoritarianism as a theory has emerged very recently [1]. In this era of global environmental degradation and rampant defacement of green space in the rapidly expanding cities of developing countries especially in India, historical sites of green belts, or eco-space developed by royal dynasties or colonial rulers are still preserved by eco-authoritarianism and cultural praxis. A lot of such heritage sites and built-up eco-spaces have faded out over time but at the same time, huge numbers are still present due to the imposition of restrictions by the state or national government or statutory organizations. Built up eco-space under Burdwan Raj Dynasty during the 18th and 19th centuries is still preserved almost in its original form due to the eco-authoritarianism outlook of the present stakeholder (The University authority mainly and the Forest Department). People of this urban unit not only feel proud of such built up eco-space; they also give credit to the university authority for maintaining the legacy of the Raj Dynasty. This investigation attempts to capture not only the role of authoritarian legacy for the preservation and conservation of eco-space in the urban context but also clarify the benefits of this eco-space regarding the cultural ecosystem services and outlook of urbanites towards nature. To portray this, both the qualitative and quantitative methods have been applied to glean the whole perspective.

Huge amounts of chitin and chitosans can be found in the biosphere as important constituent of the exoskeleton of many organisms, as well as waste by worldwide seafood companies. Nowadays, politicians, environmentalists, and industrialists encouraged the use of these marine polysaccharides as renewable source, particularly when developed by alternative eco-friendly processes, especially in the production of regular cosmetics. The aim of this review is to outline the physicochemical and biological properties and the different bioextraction methods of chitin and chitosans sources, focusing on enzymatic deproteinization, bacteria fermentation, and enzymatic deacetylation methods. Thanks to their biodegradability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and bioactivity, the application of these marine polymers is widely used in the contemporary manufacturing of biomedical and pharmaceutical products. In the end, advanced cosmetic products based on chitin and chitosans are presented, analyzing different therapeutic aspects about skin, hair, nail, and oral care. The innovative formulations described can be considered as excellent solutions regarding problems in the various body anatomical sectors.

Coastal marine ecosystems worldwide, like Florida Bay, are increasingly affected by tide alteration and anthropogenic disturbances which affect water quality imbalance leading to algal blooms. Increased bloom persistence is a serious threat due to the long-lasting impact on processes like carbon cycle and services like species presence. However, exploring eco-environmental feedback patterns of algal blooms remains challenging and poorly investigated, also due to the paucity of data. Florida Bay, taken as an epitome, has long experienced algal blooms in its central and western regions, and in 2006 an unprecedented bloom occurred in the eastern habitats. We analyzed the occurrence of blooms from three perspectives: (1) the spatial spreading networks of chlorophyll-a (CHLa) that pinpoints source and unbalanced habitats; (2) the fluctuations of water quality factors pre- and post-bloom outbreaks to in assess environmental impacts of ecological dysbiosis and target prevention and control of algal of blooms; and (3) the biogeochemical-spreading network topological co-evolution to quantify ecosystemic stability and ecological shift likelihood in long-term. Here, we propose Transfer Entropy (TE) to quantify dynamical interactions between spatial areas and biogeochemical factors (ecosystem connectome) underpinning bloom emergence and spreading, as well as environmental effects; the Pareto principle is defined for identifying the salient eco-environmental interactions of CHLa. We quantified the spatial dynamics of algal blooms, and thus obtained areas in need for ecological monitoring and potential bloom control. Results show that algal blooms are increasingly persistent over space with long-term negative effects on water quality factor. A dichotomy is reported between spatial ecological corridors of spreading and biogeochemical networks as well as divergence from the optimal eco-organization: randomization of the former due to nutrients' overload and temperature increase leads to scale-free CHLa spreading and extreme outbreaks a posteriori. Subsequently this increases bloom persistence, turbidity and salinity with potentially strong ecological effects on highly biodiverse and vulnerable areas such as tidal flats and marshes. Algal blooms are important ecosystem regulators of nutrient cycles; however, beyond limit chlorophyll-a outbreaks cause aquatic species mortality due to their effect on water turbidity, nutrient balance (nitrogen and phosphorus in particular), salinity and temperature. Beyond compromising local environmental quality, socio-ecological services are also compromised at large scales, yet ecological assessment models like the one presented are in need of application in subtropical and tropical bays worldwide.

In the past decade, under the background of the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality era, the rapid development of new energy vehicles has put forward higher requirements for the performance of strike forces such as battery cycle life, energy density and cost. Lithium-ion batteries have gradually become the mainstream of electric vehicle power batteries due to their excellent energy density, rate performance and cycle life. At present, the most widely used cathode materials for power batteries are lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and ternary nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM). However, these materials exhibit the bottlenecks that limit the improvement and promotion of power battery performance. In this review, the performance characteristics, cycle life attenuation mechanism (including structural damage, gas generation and active lithium loss, etc.) and improvement methods (including surface coating and element-doping modification) of LFP and NCM batteries are reviewed. Finally, the development prospects of this field are proposed.

The exponential growth of the agricultural industry in the Amazon region has brought about notable economic advancements. However, this growth has substantially cost the region’s ecosystems, manifesting in increased deforestation and biodiversity degradation within the Amazon forest. This article is dedicated to assessing the eco-efficiency of agricultural production in Amazon biome municipalities. It places particular emphasis on identifying critical determinants through the utilization of the classic Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model for efficiency computation, super-efficiency models for distinctive characterization, bootstrap computational techniques for robust resampling, and the Malmquist index for calculating annual eco-efficiency indices of each Decision-Making Unit (DMU). An exploration of the correlation between efficiency and meteorological attributes of the municipalities is conducted. The findings of this study reveal several significant points: 1) Eco-efficient municipalities within the Amazon Biome can serve as benchmarks for other DMUs striving to attain optimal input-output levels. 2) Most municipalities in the Amazon Biome operate closely to the productive frontier due to the prevalent technology employed in their agricultural activities. 2) The nature of the technological frontier’s return suggests that small and large DMUs possess eco-efficiency potential. 4) The current dataset does not yield conclusive evidence regarding a direct correlation between the variables. Leveraging this information, strategic pathways can be formulated to drive economic development in tandem with the sustainability of Amazon Biome municipalities. These strategies promise to foster social, economic, and environmental benefits for the populace while providing valuable insights to inform future research within this thematic domain.

Two gallium porphyrins, a tetraphenyl GaCl porphyrin, termed as (TPP)GaCl, and an octaethylporphyrin GaCl porphyrin, termed as (OEP)GaCl were synthesized to use as electron cascade in ternary organic bulk heterojunction films. A perfect matching of both gallium porphyrins energy levels with that of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) or poly[N-9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) polymer donor and the 6,6-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) fullerene acceptor forming an efficient cascade system that could facilitate electron transfer between donor and acceptor was demonstrated. Therefore, ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) using the two porphyrins in various concentration were fabricated, where a performance enhancement was obtained. In particular, (TPP)GaCl-based ternary OSCs of low concentration (1:0.05 vv%) exhibited a ~17 % increase of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared with the binary device due to improved exciton dissociation, electron transport and reduced recombination. On the other hand, ternary OSCs with the (TPP)GaCl of high concentration (1:0.1 vv%) and (OEP)GaCl (1:0.05 and 1:0.1 vv%) showed poorest efficiencies due to very rough nanomorphology and suppressed crystallinity of ternary films when the GaCl porphyrin introduced in the blend, as revealed from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The best performed devices exhibited also improved photostability, when exposed to sunlight illumination for a period of 8 h than the binary OSCs, attributed to the suppressed photodegradation of the ternary (TPP)GaCl 1:0.05-based photoactive film.

Three ternary mixtures composed by choline chloride (ChCl), ethylene glycol (EG) and a second hydrogen bond donor (HBD) as ethanol (A), 2-propanol (B), and glycerol (C) were studied in terms of composition related to the band gap energy (BGE). A Design of Experiments (DoE) approach, and in particular a Simple Lattice three-components design, was employed for determining the variation of the BGE upon the composition of each system. UV-VIS analysis and subsequent Tauc plot methodology provided the data requested from the DoE and multivariate statistical analysis revealed a drop of the BGE in correspondence to specific binary compositions for systems A and B. In particular, a BGE of 3.85 eV was registered for the mixtures ChCl/EtOH (1:1), and ChCl/2-propanol (1:1), which represents one of the lowest values ever observed for these systems.

Butadiene-Styrene copolymer (SBS) to improve the mechanical and deformation properties of the binder used in its manufacture. However, the high cost and variability of processing limit its performance. A secondary modifier to solve these problems is nano and micro materials that allow the generation of unique properties in polymeric systems. Based on this, this study experimented with fly ash micro filler ((FA) in low proportions as a binder modifier with SBS for use in PA mixes. The FA residue is considered in 3% and 5% dosages on a base binder with 5% SBS. Rheological results show that FA improves classical, linear viscoelastic (LVE), and progressive damage properties compared to the modified binder. The PA blends with FA reduced binder runout, resulting in a thicker film, showing better abrasion resistance in dry and wet conditions. Samples with FA increase the post-cracking energy in indirect tension due to higher ductility. However, they decrease the fracture energy due to higher cracking before failure. In addition, the FA manages to decrease the difference between dry and wet ITS.

Ternary blended cements such as limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) represent a strategic binder type for the mitigation of environmental impact associated with cement production and are estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by about 40% compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). In this paper we explore the possibility of producing such ternary blends by utilizing secondary raw materials that may be locally available. Specifically, the primary limestone that is commonly used in LC3 is here substituted by quarry dust obtained by sourcing of “kunkur”, a carbonate-rich sedimentary rock (also known as caliche) that can be locally utilized for the production of ordinary OPC clinker. To optimize the blending proportions of ternary cements consisting of OPC, calcined clay and kunkur fines, a Design of Experiment (DoE) approach was implemented, with the further goal of exploring the possibility of reducing the amount of the OPC fraction to values lower than 50%. The properties of the formulated blends were assessed by a combination of techniques that comprise mechanical strength testing, XRD time-dependent quantitative phase analysis, SEM-EDS microstructural and microchemical analysis. The results suggest that ternary blended cements based on kunkur fines form hydration products, such as hemicarboaluminates, which are also observed in LC3. This shows that such a waste material can potentially be used in sustainable cement blends, however, the presence of kaolinite in the kunkur fines seems to affect the development of strength when compared to both OPC and conventional LC3.

The ternary Bi2MoO6-reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-TiO2 catalyst were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal method. The improvement of the photocatalytic decomposition efficiency of Bi2MoO6-rGO-TiO2 composite is 92.3% than the pure and binary photocatalyst. The effects of operational parameters like catalyst ratio, the different catalyst, different ratio rGO and different pH, have been analyzed. As prepared ternary photocatalyst is low Photoluminescence and high photocurrent density responsible, it exhibited that photon-induced electron and hole-recombination were suppressed and also charged separation is effective. The present study shows the rGO is an excellent electron transfer performance and enhanced the photocatalytic reaction stability.

The aim of this work is to analyze and investigate the shape preserving properties of ternary 4-point non-stationary interpolating subdivision schemes constructed by Beccari et al. [1] with a tension parameter !k+1 which can reproducing exponential. Moreover, the conditions on the initial control points are developed that allow user to generate shape preserving limit curves after a nite number of subdivision steps and generalize these results in limiting case. Signicance of derived conditions are illustrated through graphs and the whole discussion is followed by examples.

Preventing the rebound of black and odorous water bodies is critical for improving the ecological environment of water bodies. This study investigated the effect and mechanism of in-situ improvement of sediment microenvironment by nitrate in tailwater of wastewater treatment plants combined with aerobic denitrifying bacteria under low-DO regulation (TailN+CFM+LDO). On the 60th day of remediation, the dissolved oxygen and oxidation-reduction potential in the overlying water increased to 5.6 mg/L and 300 mV, respectively, the acid volatile sulfide in the sediment decreased by 70.4%, and the organic matter in the sediment was reduced by 62.7%, in which the HFOM was degraded from 105 g/kg to 56 g/kg, and the potential risk of water reverting to black and odorous conditions significantly decreased. Amplicon sequencing analysis revealed that the relative abundance of electroactive bacteria Thiobacillus and Pseudomonas with denitrification capacity was found to be significantly higher in the TailN+CFM+LDO group than in the other remediation groups. Functional prediction of 16S sequencing results indicated that both the quantity and activity of critical microbial enzymes involved in nitrification and denitrification processes could enhance in the TailN+CFM+LDO group. These results improved our understanding of the improvement of the sediment microenvironment and could thus facilitate its application.

Background: Garlic primarily reproduces through vegetative propagation using seed cloves due to infrequent sexual reproduction by true seeds. Growers encounter challenges with pathogens due to the larger size and vegetative nature of seed cloves, as well as the storage conditions conducive to fungal growth. Some Phyto-pathogenic fungi, previously unrecognized as garlic infections, can remain latent within bulb tissues long after harvest. Although outwardly healthy, these infected bulbs may develop rot under specific conditions. Aim of Review: Planting diseased seed cloves can contaminate field soil, with some fungal and bacterial infections persisting for extended periods. The substantial size of seed cloves makes complete eradication of deeply ingrained infections difficult, despite the use of systemic fungicides during pre-planting and post-harvest phases. Additionally, viruses, resistant to fungicides, persist in vegetative material. They are prevalent in much of the garlic used for planting and their host vectors are difficult to eliminate. To address these challenges, tissue culture techniques are increasingly employed to produce disease-free planting stock. Key Scientific Concepts of Review: This review delves into crucial scientific aspects related to garlic propagation and health. Garlic primarily reproduces through vegetative propagation using seed cloves, facing challenges due to their large size and susceptibility to fungal infections. Some fungal pathogens, recently identified as garlic threats, remain dormant within bulbs long after harvest, potentially causing rot under specific conditions. Planting infected seed cloves can introduce pathogens into the soil, where they may persist. Deeply ingrained infections can be challenging to eradicate due to the size of seed cloves. Additionally, viruses persist in garlic seeds and spread through their carrier vectors, unaffected by fungicides. To address these issues, tissue culture techniques offer a promising approach to produce disease-free garlic planting material. This review explores these concepts, emphasizing the importance of producing disease-free garlic seeds and strategies for mitigation.

In this study, to reduce the use of cement and sand, porous feldspar with excellent economic efficiency was used as a substitute in heat storage concrete layer. When cement was replaced with porous feldspar, the compressive strength was approximately 16%–63% higher compared with when cement was replaced with silicate minerals. To compensate for the reduction in strength owing to the decreased cement content, mechanical and chemical activation methods were employed. When the specific surface area of porous feldspar was increased, the unit weight was reduced by approximately 30% and the compressive strength was increased by up to 90%. When chemical activation was applied using a solidifying agent, the strength was increased by approximately 30% even though 70% of the cement content was replaced with porous feldspar. When cement and sand were replaced with porous feldspar, the compressive strength was approximately two times that of ordinary cement mortar. When the heat storage concrete layer material was replaced with porous feldspar in a pilot scale experiment, the thermal conductivity and heat storage characteristics were better than those of ordinary cement mortar, and an energy-saving effect of approximately 57% was observed, confirming the excellent applicability of porous feldspar as a building material.

In the past decade, considerable efforts have been devoted to the development of semitransparent organic solar cells. Numerous materials and architectures have been proposed for the future commercialization of these devices. Among these, the use of ternary active layers demonstrated a great promise for the development of efficient semi-transparent organic solar cells with the potential for future applications including self-powered greenhouses and powered windows. Researchers seek alternative solutions to the trade-off between device power conversion efficiency (PCE) and average visible transmittance (AVT), with photoactive materials being the key parameters that govern both (PCE) and (AVT) as well as device stability. Several new organic materials, including polymers and small molecules, were synthesized, and used in conjunction with a variety of techniques to achieve semitransparent conditions. In this review paper, we will look at the working principle and key parameters of semi-transparent organic solar cells, as well as the methods that have been used to improve the performance of ternary-based semi-transparent organic solar cells. The main approaches were concluded to be spectral enhancement and transparency increment of the active layer through bandgap tuning, utilizing novel organic semiconductors, and design architecture of the active layers.

Malignant tumors behave dynamically as cell communities governed by ecological principles. Massive sequencing tools are unveiling the true dimension of the heterogeneity of these communities along their evolution in most human neoplasms, clear cell renal cell carcinomas (CCRCC) included. Although initially thought to be purely stochastic processes, very recent genomic analyses have shown that temporal tumor evolution in CCRCC may follow some deterministic pathways that give rise to different clones and sub-clones randomly spatially distributed across the tumor. This fact makes each case unique, unrepeatable and unpredictable. Precise and complete molecular information is crucial for patients with cancer since it may help in establishing a personalized therapy. Intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) detection relies on the correctness of tumor sampling and this is part of the pathologist’s daily work. International protocols for tumor sampling are insufficient today. They were conceived decades ago, when ITH was not an issue, and have remained unchanged until now. Noteworthy, an alternative and more efficient sampling method for detecting ITH has been developed recently. This new method, called multisite tumor sampling (MSTS), is specifically addressed to large tumors that are impossible to be totally sampled, and represent an opportunity to improve ITH detection without extra costs.

Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) are of enormous significance to the emergence of flexible and wearable electronics and continued growth of modern devices. Versatile and tunable TCEs, featuring with not only high optical transmittance but also intriguing features of electrochemical energy-storage capability, remain a significant challenge. Here we develop capacitive active films comprised of graphene-conjugated V2O5@poly (3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) ternary composite (V2O5@PEDOT/rGO) on silver nanowire coated substrates as solid-state super/pseudocapacitors. The constructed electrodes exhibit improved electrolyte ions interaction with effective graphene layer, achieving high areal capacitance 0.6-1.2 mF.cm−2 with 0.5M LiCl electrolytes at optical transparency >60% with record durability. As demonstrated, the kinetic blocking of PEDOT layer and anchoring capability of graphene upon amphoteric soluble vanadium ions from layered V2O5 nanoribbons/nanobelts contribute synergistically to the unusual electrochemical stability, also shown using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) providing electroactivity sites and ion transportation rates. As-fabricated symmetric solid-state supercapacitors delivered broad potential window >1.4 V under two different electrolyte environments (aqueous LiCl and LiCl/PVA gel) and demonstrated higher power and energy density (0.27 μWh.cm−2) outperforming previously reported devices at <0.1 μWh.cm−2. The electrochemical properties are also discussed in terms of solvation in polymer gel electrolyte ions.

The present work presents and discusses experimental performance and gaseous emission results of the use of ternary mixtures of diesel oil, biodiesel and ethanol in an ASTM-CFR engine. Eight different mixtures with biodiesel content equal to 8%, 20% and 60%, and ethanol content equal to 0%, 5% and 8% were analyzed. After the selection and preparation of the mixtures, the determination of the cetane number for each one was performed following the ASTM D613 standard. After cetane number evaluation, two off-standard operating conditions were selected, and performance and emissions were obtained. A thermodynamic analysis and a Bayesian inverse approach were applied and physical quantities of interest, such as indicated work, maximum pressure, rate of heat released by the fuel, ignition delay, and combustion duration, were obtained. In-cylinder pressure data were obtained through an AVL Indicating system installed in the ASTM-CFR engine. The heating values of each mixture were determined using a bomb calorimeter and thermal and indicated efficiencies were evaluated based on the total heat released by the fuel and the indicated work. Finally, a gaseous emissions analysis was conducted to evaluate the influence of the blend compositions, as well as of their cetane numbers, on the formation of NOx, CO and CO₂.

In the present study Aprepitant (APT) ternary solid dispersions (SDs) were developed and evaluated for the first time. Specifically, ternary SDs of APT with Poloxamer 188 and Soluplus^® (SOL) were prepared via melt mixing and compared to binary APT/Poloxamer 188 and APT/SOL SDs. Initially, combined thermo-gravimetric and hot-stage polarized light microscopy studies indicated that all tested compounds were thermally stable up to 280 °C, while Poloxamer 188 acted as a plasticizer to SOL by significantly reducing the temperature required to fully solubilize the API during SD preparation. Differential scanning calorimetry combined with wide angle X-ray diffraction studies showed that crystalline API was dispersed in both binary and ternary SDs, while Fourier transformation-infrared spectroscopy studies revealed no molecular interactions among the components. Scanning electron microscopy combined with EDAX element analysis showed that the API was dispersed in nano-scale within the polymer matrices, while increasing APT content led to increasing API nano-crystals within the SDs. Finally, dissolution studies showed that the prepared formulations enhanced dissolution of Aprepitant and its mechanism analysis was further studied. A mathematical model was also investigated to evaluate the drug release mechanism

“Anti-stripping Agents" or "adhesion promoters” can enhance the chemical affinity between as-phalt and aggregate by increasing their mutual attraction. Various forms of anti-stripping agents have been proposed to mitigate pavement stripping, and siloxane-based Zychotherm is one of them. Choosing the appropriate type and dose of anti-stripping additives is no doubt vital to the intended performance. Therefore, it is critically important to determine the dose of the additives used in the modification of asphalt binders. This research developed a feasible detection method that can closely measure the dose (0.05% and 0.1%) of siloxane-based anti-stripping liquid agents. Related test methods including heat combustion test, residue visualization, burning, and ignition were implemented. Heat combustion results showed that with the addition of Zychotherm anti-stripping additive, average heat combustion value decreased by 1.34% and 1.72% for 0.05% and 0.1% Zychotherm modified binder respectively. In the burning and ignition process, the modified binder leaves yellowish substances in the residue, which is an indication of the presence of Zy-chotherm. The weight of the yellowish residue relates more to the quantity of Zychotherm in as-phalt binder.

Citation: To be added by editorial staff during production.

Achieving eco-efficiency in agriculture production at low environmental costs is key to sustainable agriculture. Using the DEA-SBM model, this study evaluated the agricultural eco-efficiency of the 77 counties and districts in China’s Jiangsu province from 1999 to 2018 and analyzed its spatio-temporal evolution pattern and influencing factors. The mains conclusions were as follows: (1) The overall agricultural eco-efficiency and its decomposition terms, pure technology efficiency and scale efficiency, exhibited a fluctuating downward trend. The regional inequality in agricultural eco-efficiency had been widening and exhibited a strong positive spatial association. (2) The agricultural eco-efficiency in Jiangsu province presented a “high south and low north” spatial pattern. High-level agricultural eco-efficiency areas were in the Taihu Plain in Sunan, while low-level agricultural eco-efficiency zones are distributed across Subei City. The High-High-type spatial association pattern is concentrated in the Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou region, while the Low-Low areas are mainly in the coastal regions of Subei and Suzhong. (3) The spatial pattern of PTE and SE generally exhibited a “high south and low north” distribution. Areas with positive growth in agricultural eco-efficiency, PTE, and SE, were situated in Xuzhou, Nanjing city, and the bordering regions between Yangzhou and Huai’an, and Changzhou and Wuxi. (4) The excessive redundant use and application of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, agricultural diesel, labor, land, and agricultural carbon emission have been the primary factor affecting Jiangsu's agricultural eco-efficiency. Irrigation had also signficantly impacted agricultural eco-efficiency, while mechanical power and agricultural film had minimal effect. The majority of counties and districts in Subei, Suzhong, and Ningzhen Yang Hilly region have issues regarding their excessive usage of chemical fertilizer, pesticide, chemical fertilizer, agricultural diesel, labor, and land. The findings of this study can contribute towards a better understanding of agricultural eco-efficiency and spatial association effect and can help policymakers increase agricultural eco-efficiency.

The social confinement resulting from the COVID-19 crisis temporarily reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Although experts consider that the decrease in pollution rates was not drastic, some surveys detect a growth in social concern about the climate. In this new climate-conscious environment, municipalities and local governments are promoting a new way of living and caring for cities, even before they can regain national and international freedom of movement. This work analyzes the connection between the new climate awareness arising from the COVID-19 crisis, the proposals of sustainable citizenship around the world, and its communication on Twitter to educate the new eco-conscious audience. The methodology mixes quantitative and qualitative analysis, using the Twitonomy Premium tool and the Twitter research tool, with data extracted at the end of December 2020. Among the top 10 most influential and active accounts, the results show educational institutions, local institutions, companies, neighborhood, associations, and influencers. The impossibility of living the city, has not prevented citizen education and commitment to make real change for when that city and its citizens return to normality. Although this new normality must be different: more ecological, more responsible, more sustainable and practiced from early childhood.

This research delves into the integration of green roofs with Building Information Modeling (BIM), a pivotal advancement in sustainable urban construction. Aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 11, the study explores how this integration can address global challenges like climate change and resource depletion. Using the Dynamo Visual Programming Language within Autodesk Revit, the research develops a computational modeling approach for green roofs, focusing on their thermal and structural characteristics under varied environmental conditions. Key findings demonstrate the significant influence of substrate and drainage material combinations on green roofs’ thermal performance, highlighting the need for tailored designs based on climatic conditions. The study also emphasizes the importance of considering structural performance in both dry and saturated conditions for overall building integrity. The research identifies gaps in current practices, such as limited focus on specific green roof materials and reliance on certain software tools, suggesting the need for broader material selection and software adaptability. Future research directions include expanding material selections, exploring diverse environmental conditions, and integrating green roofs with various BIM software platforms. The study's implications extend to stakeholders in the construction industry, offering a framework for architects, urban planners, and policymakers to design and implement green roofs aligned with environmental goals. This work contributes to the field by proposing a novel approach to sustainable construction, integrating ecological design with digital technology, and setting a new benchmark in the integration of green roofs with BIM. By addressing these aspects, the research paves the way for future developments in sustainable urban construction, enhancing the efficiency, sustainability, and resilience of urban communities in line with global sustainability objectives.

In the sustainable economy, consumer preferences are gradually coming to prioritise environmentally friendly products and services. A sustainable economy is directly linked to the growth of consumer welfare and environmental culture. The success of environmental projects is largely determined by approaches to the management of complex interconnected objects. Technological integration and the value chain from raw material extraction to the marketing of environmentally friendly products add to the growth factors. In this regard, we formulate the purpose of this study: to generalise the approaches and improve the mechanism of the ecological branding of the industrial complex of a region through conscious ESG transformation. For this purpose, we studied statistics and principles of management systems of Kazakh companies and their stakeholders. We analysed the situation of industrial complexes and their partners in the external environment to identify barriers to the development and implementation of eco-branding tools. The theoretical significance of the study helps to reveal the influence of ecological principles of modern production organisation on the speed of transition to green technologies. Its practical significance is seen in the formation of a system for measuring the level of readiness of companies to promote the ecological branding of a region’s industry outside its country.

This study describes an eco-friendly synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using aqueous oat extract. The advanced electrochemical and optical features of green synthesized ZnONPs displayed excellent antibacterial activity, and exhibited an important role in pharmaceutical determinations. The formation of nanoscale ZnO was confirmed using various spectroscopic and microscopic investigations. The formed nanoparticles were found to be around 100 nm. The as-prepared ZnONPs were monitored for their antibacterial potential against different bacterial strains. The inhibition zones for ZnONPs were found as E. coli (16 mm), P. aeruginosa (17 mm), S. aureus (12 mm) and B. subtilis (11 mm) using 30 µg mL-1 sample concentration. Also, ZnONPs exhibited significant antioxidant effects 58 to 67 % with an average IC50 value of 0.88 ± 0.03 scavenging activity and 53 to 71 % (IC50 value 0.73 ± 0.05) against the DPPH and ABTS scavenging free radicals, respectively. The photocatalytic potential of ZnONPs for Rhodamine B dye degradation dye under UV irradiation was performed. The photodegradation process was carried out as a function of time-dependent and the complete degradation (nearly 98 %) with color removal after 120 min. Conclusively, the synthesized ZnONPs using oat biomass might provide a great promise in the future for biomedical applications.

Contemporary climate change is exposing plant populations to novel combinations of temperatures, drought stress, [CO₂] and other abiotic and biotic conditions. These changes are rapidly disrupting the evolutionary dynamics of plants. Despite the multifactorial nature of climate change, most studies typically manipulate only one climatic factor. In this opinion piece, we seek to explore how climate change factors interact with each other and with biotic pressures to alter evolutionary processes. We first explore the ramifications of climate change for key life history stages (germination, growth and reproduction). We then examine how mating system variation influences population persistence under rapid environmental change and propose that mixed mating could be advantageous in future climates. Furthermore, we discuss how spatial and temporal mismatches between plants and their mutualists and antagonists could promote or constrain adaptive responses to climate change. For example, plant-virus interactions vary from highly pathogenic to mildly facilitative, and are partly mediated by temperature, moisture availability and [CO₂]. Will host plants exposed to novel, stressful abiotic conditions be more susceptible to viral pathogens? Finally, we propose novel experimental approaches that could illuminate how plants will cope with unprecedented global change, such as resurrection studies combined with experimental evolution, genomics or epigenetics.

A series of novel superabsorbent composites of poly(acrylic acid)/semicoke were prepared by polymerization of acrylic acid using ammonium persulphate as initiator, N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide as crosslinker and semicoke which was the by-product of coal carbonizing as the inorganic components. FTIR and SEM analysis indicated that the superabsorbent composites had been successfully polymerized and the semicoke participated into the construction of 3D polymeric network. Meanwhile, the effects of initiator, crosslinker, semicoke, neutralization degree as well as the pH value were investigated, and the results showed that superabsorbent composites containing 10% of semicoke possessed the maximum water absorbency of 584 g/g in distilled water and 75 g/g in 0.9 % NaCl solution. The superabsorbent composites kept the high water absorbency within a wide pH range of 4-11, and still exhibited better re-swelling capability even after seven times. The superabsorbent composite with the excellent performance is a potential water-retaining agent used in the agriculture.

Dams design and their operation cause strong environmental alteration and therefore a long-term debate is ongoing for the scale of these projects. At the same time, the concept of Environmental Flow Assessment (EFA) is a crucial element of modified ecosystems featuring large infrastructure such as dams and reservoirs for mitigating potential environmental degradation while they operate. Nowadays, integrated scientific frameworks are required to quantify the risks caused by large infrastructure. Through the use of stochastic analysis, it is possible to quantify these uncertainties, and present a solution that incorporates long-term persistence and environmental sustainability into a balanced reservoir simulation model. In this work, an attempt is made to determine a benchmark reservoir size incorporating hydrological and ecological criteria though stochastic analysis. The primary goal is to ensure the best possible conditions for the ecosystem, and then secondarily to allow a steady supply of water for other uses. Using a synthetic timeseries based on historical inputs, it is possible to determine and preserve essential statistical characteristics of a river’s streamflow, and use these to detect the optimal reservoir capacity that maximizes environmental and local water demand reliability.

An analysis of the physical and chemical phenomena accompanying the electrical discharges was carried out, principal factors inactivating microorganisms is studied. Characteristic factors of an electric discharge in cavitation mode providing a synergistic effect when disinfecting water with a discharge and chemical reagents are identified in order of importance. As a result of the integral action of cavitation, the inactivation of bacteria is intensified both due to the emergence of chem-ically active particles and due to local shock waves, acoustic currents and ultraviolet radiation in the area of cavitating bubbles. The similarity of cavitation processes in water systems implemented by underwater electric discharges and with the ultrasound has been experimentally proved. The main advantage of electric discharge cavitation in comparison with ultrasonic one is the wide band of ultrasonic frequencies of radiation inherent in electric discharge, high intensity and power of cav-itation processes, and, accordingly, the possibility of a significant increase in the volume of the disinfected liquid. The study enable better understanding and prediction of the effects that occur during a high-voltage underwater electrical discharge and have a bactericidal effect.

Mere similar grades of same excipients manufactured by two different manufacturers often differ significantly that they even have an impact on the variations in final product or dosage form. Solid lipids are one of the most available options as matrix former in sustained drug delivery. Due to their chemical and physical complexity, lipids may exhibit a complex behaviour (i.e. melting crystallization and polymorphism). The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of two Glyceryl Monostearate (GMS) lipids (Geleol from Gattefosse and Capmul GMS 50K from Abitec Corp. USA) and how these properties may affect during melt granulation process for sustained release applications. Thermal processing was applied on GMS samples to understand the polymorphic nature and suitability as meltable binders. Niacin was used as model drug. A thorough evaluation of GMS samples and sustained release tablets was undertaken using analytical techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD). Moreover, melt viscosity study assisted to apprehend the behaviour of GMS samples in hot melt extrusion processing. Surface morphology of the drug and extruded granules examined via SEM and AFM revealed high level of surface interaction and dense structure of drug inside lipid matrix. The DSC and XRD study confirmed that Geleol could not withstand the heat treatment applied during thecontinuous melt granulation processing. The shifting of stable β form to an unstable α form in Geleol was detected. In the contrary case, Capmul GMS 50K was able to withstand the heat treatment supported by the applied analytical techniques. Nonetheless,both GMS samples perform differently in final dosage form. This change in stable β form to an unstable α form affected dissolution profiles at 3 months storage in accelerated condition. This study helped to interpret the complex solid-state behaviour of solid lipid extrudates with different compositions, in order to the simply and outline a suitable formulation strategy for the development of lipid-based oral dosage forms.

Post-evaluation of ecological redevelopment is a good method for its achievements. The eco-engineering technologies and achievements of landscape water reconstructed from aquaculture ponds in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden have been introduced in this study. The sediments and water quality were also sampled and tested for basic physicochemical parameters and heavy metal concentration. The ecological redevelopment of landscape water reconstructed from aquaculture ponds was evaluated using the Nemero comprehensive pollution index method. The results shown that nutrients including organic matter, organic nitrogen and their ratio of sediment were found to be in a state of moderate pollution, while their ecological risk of heavy metals was low. Although total nitrogen and total phosphorus of water quality was really higher than that of other indexes, the decline trends of ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus was obvious presented over time. In general, this is a good example that redevelopment of water ecosystems from aquaculture ponds using eco-engineering technologies.

This research investigates the compatibility of conventional air conditioning with the principles of green building, highlighting the need for systems that enhance indoor comfort while aligning with environmental sustainability. Conventional cooling systems, though proficient in regulating indoor temperatures, encounter several issues when incorporated into green buildings. These include energy waste, high running costs, and a misalignment with eco-friendly practices, which may also lead to detrimental environmental effects and potentially reduce occupant comfort, particularly in retrofit situations. Given the emphasis on sustainability and energy conservation in green buildings, there is a pressing demand for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions that support these goals. This study emphasizes the critical need to reconsider traditional HVAC strategies in the face of green building advances. It advocates for the adoption of innovative HVAC technologies designed for eco-efficiency and enhanced comfort. These technologies should integrate seamlessly with sustainable construction, use greener refrigerants, and uphold environmental integrity, driving progress towards a sustainable and occupant-friendly built environment.

Eco-friendly and low-cost water-based nanolubricants containing rutile TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were developed for accelerating their applications in industrial-scale hot steel rolling. The lubrication performance of developed nanolubricants was evaluated in a 2-high Hille 100 experimental rolling mill at a rolling temperature of 850 ℃ in comparison to that of pure water. The results indicate that the use of nanolubricant enables to decrease the rolling force, reduce the surface roughness and the oxide scale thickness, and enhance the surface hardness. In particular, the nanolubricant consisting of 4 wt% TiO2, 10 wt% glycerol, 0.2 wt% sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) and 1 wt% Snailcool exhibits the best lubrication performance by lowering the rolling force, surface roughness and oxide scale thickness up to 8.1%, 53.7% and 50%, respectively. The surface hardness is increased by 4.4%. The corresponding lubrication mechanisms are attributed to its superior wettability and thermal conductivity associated with the synergistic effect of rolling, mending and laminae forming that are contributed by TiO2 NPs.

This paper investigates how blocks of buildings could fit into load shedding strategies. It focuses in particular on what could be the effects on peak shaving, occupants’ thermal comfort or CO2 emissions reduction and how to quickly quantify them. To achieve this goal, we focused on a new residential district, thermally fed by heat pumps. Four modeling approaches were confronted in order to estimate buildings' responses to load shedding orders. On the one hand, a quick estimation of the peak shaving impact can rely on experimental results if the buildings' envelope and uses of the experimentation match those of the study case. On the other hand, thermal simulation models allow us to assess thermal comfort while considering the building physical response. Finally, a hybrid modeling approach can provide a good compromise between modeling rapidity and accuracy of the impacts estimation. At district scale, it may be necessary to mix modeling approaches, from experimental results to detailed thermal models. Accuracy is not guaranteed for all approaches so that the choice should be made carefully in regards to study needs. However, results are sufficient to compare the effects of load shedding strategies on peak shaving, thermal comfort, and CO2 emissions reductions.

Environmental responsibility is crucial in both consumption and production processes. Increasing environmental concerns of societies require eco-innovative and nature-based solutions (NBS) for entrepreneurs. Young people's intentions as potential innovators and entrepreneurs on eco-entrepreneurship with mediating effects have not been investigated is a shortcoming in the literature. This study was conducted with 920 respondents from a public university (Düzce University) students to determine the underlying motivations of eco-entrepreneurship intentions using structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrap methodology. SEM results show that environmental concerns have a positive direct effect (β=0.62) on students’ eco-entrepreneurship intention. This study can serve the several sustainable development goals (SDGs) making suggestions for the efficient and effective use of production factors in terms of environmentally responsible behavior. Study results provide data for sustainable business applications and eco-innovative thinking. Study results intend the direction of modern environmental governance, policy makers and SEM developers.

At present, failure definition and damage characteristic curve (DCC) analysis included in the framework to assess bitumen fatigue cracking performance have an inconsistency in ranking bitumen fatigue behaviour. This study utilized two types of self-healing polymers (STP and IPA1w) to modify the neat asphalt (NA), and research four different types of bitumens: NA, STP-modified bitumen, IPA1w-modified bitumen, and styrene-butadiene-styrene modified bitumen (SBSB), to evaluate the above-mentioned framework. All bitumens were subjected to short-term and long-term aging and tested utilizing the Linear amplitude sweep (LAS) test and simplified viscoelastic-continuum-damage (S-VECD) model. The results showed that the SBSB exhibited the highest numbers of loading cycles (in long-term aging analysis) to reach failure points at 25°C, 28°C, and 31°C which were 2290, 2340, and 2510, respectively. However, this bitumen failed to exhibit the best performance in terms of DCC assessment under the same conditions, confirming the above-mentioned inconsistency. Besides, the current failure criterion could not accurately predict bitumen fatigue behaviour under certain test conditions because two R2 values were below 0.1. As a result, this study proposed a new failure definition and failure criterion to overcome these issues. The proposed failure definition agreed with the DCC analysis to rank bitumen fatigue performance, and the proposed failure criterion showed R2 values higher than 0.9. The new framework presented the modified bitumen containing 0.5% of STP as the asphalt binder with the best fatigue cracking performance, according to the selected test conditions.

The new diprotic ligand 3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylaldehyde 4-ethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone, abbreviated H2(3,5-t-Bu2)-sal4eT, exists as the thio-keto tautomer and adopts the E-configuration with respect to the imine double bond as evidenced by single-crystal X-ray analysis and corroborated by spectroscopic characterisation. Upon treatment with Cu(OAc)2·H2O in the presence of either 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (2,9-Me2-phen) or 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) as a co-ligand in MeOH, this thiosemicarbazone undergoes conformational transformation (relative donor-atom orientations: syn,anti → syn,syn) concomitantly with tautomerization and double deprotonation to afford the ternary copper(II) complexes [Cu{(3,5-t-Bu2)-sal4eT}(2,9-Me2-phen)] (1) and [Cu2{3,5-t-Bu2)-sal4eT}2(phen)] (2). Crystallographic elucidation has revealed that complex 1 is a centrosymmetric dimer of mononuclear copper(II) complex molecules brought about by intermolecular H-bonding. The coordination geometry at the copper(II) centre is best described as distorted square pyramidal in accord with the trigonality index (τ = 0.14). The co-ligand adopts an axial-equatorial coordination mode; hence there is a disparity between its two Cu–N coordinate bonds arising from weakening of the apical one as a consequence of the tetragonal distortion. The axial X-band ESR spectrum of complex 1 is consistent with retention of this structure in solution. Complex 2 is a centrosymmetric dimer of dinuclear copper(II) complex molecules exhibiting intermolecular H-bonding and π-π-stacking interactions. The two copper(II) centres, which are 4.8067(18) Å apart and bridged by the thio-enolate nitrogen of the quadridentate thiosemicarbazonate ligand, display two different coordination geometries, one distorted square planar (τ4 = 0.082) and the other distorted square pyramidal (τ5 = 0.33). Such dinuclear copper(II) thiosemicarbazone complexes, which are crystallographically characterised, are extremely rare. In vitro, complexes 1 and 2 outperform cisplatin as antiproliferative agents in terms of potency and selectivity towards HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cell lines.

The contamination of aquatic environments by pharmaceutical products consistently takes the attention of researchers due to the compounds' toxicity even at low concentrations. In response, we have developed an ecologically sustainable biosurfactant derived from a microorganism and incorporated into the bacterial cellulose. This bioproduct, along with the bacterial cellulose itself, was employed as a sorbent for pharmaceuticals (hormones and paracetamol) present in water. Bacterial cellulose membranes were generated through the cultivation of Gluconacetobacter xylinus ATCC 53582. The biosurfactant was produced by pre-inoculating Bacillus subtilis in a synthetic medium, followed by immersing the bacterial cellulose membranes in the biosurfactant solution, for incorporation. Tests were conducted using water experimentally contaminated with parace-tamol and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), evaluating the biosurfactant's effect on bacterial cellulose sorption. Paracetamol levels were analyzed using spectrophotometry, and EE2 levels were as-sessed using high-performance liquid chromatography. In summary, bacterial cellulose exhibited superior adsorption for EE2 compared to paracetamol. The incorporation of biosurfactant onto bacterial cellulose reduced hormone adsorption but enhanced paracetamol sorption. Our findings indicated that adsorption is more effective with bacterial cellulose in its original and freeze-dried forms, without the incorporation of biosurfactant. Notably, we achieved more promising results in remediating the hormone EE2 compared to the paracetamol.

The connectivity level of last-generation vehicles is constantly on the rise. The combined use of Vehicle-To-Everything (V2X) connectivity and autonomous driving can provide remarkable benefits through the optimization of the route and speed trajectory. In this framework, this paper focuses on vehicle eco-driving optimization in a connected environment. The virtual test rig of a premium segment passenger car was used for generating the simulation scenarios. The benefits, in terms of energy and time savings, that the introduction of V2X communication, integrated with cloud computing, can have in a real-world scenario were assessed. The Reference Scenario is a pre-defined Real Driving Emissions (RDE) compliant route, while the simulation scenarios were generated by assuming two different penetration levels of V2X technologies. The associated energy minimization problem is formulated and solved by means of a global optimization algorithm, i.e., Dynamic Programming (DP). The optimization framework includes information coming from the surrounding environment, e.g., traffic lights state, speed limits, distance to travel, etc. The simulations show that introducing a smart infrastructure along with optimizing the vehicle speed in a real-world route can potentially reduce the required energy by 54% while shortening the travel time by 38%. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed on the bi-objective optimization cost function to find a set of Pareto optimal solutions, between energy and travel time minimization.

The Textile and Clothing (T\&C) value chain is one of the most polluting in the world and one that produces the most waste. It is, therefore, important to encourage the Circular Economy (CE) model in this sector, to reduce pollution and mitigate the effects of waste production, and consequently increase environmental sustainability. For that, the involvement of the final consumer is essential. And, the final consumer's use of an Eco-gamified application for registering and promoting Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) and Consumer-to-Business (C2B) activities, which extends the life time of textile products, is of utmost importance. In this article, we survey gamification frameworks for analyzing system design level techniques that enable engaging the final consumer in the CE process. Then, we select and use one of such frameworks, Gameful Design Heuristics (GDH), for defining the gamification structure needed to implement on a Business-to-Consumer-to-Consumer (B2C2C) context of a circular economy. As result, we present a B2C2C circular business process model for the T\&C value chain, and propose the design model of a gamified platform for the final consumers, which allows them to register the C2B and C2C activities, from the circular value chain's business process, and benefit from a game-like experience. All model features have been mapped to GDH framework heuristics, validating that it is possible to support a set of defined heuristics of applied gamification for promoting CE in the T\&C value chain.

Exploring effective oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is crucial for progress in solid-state alkaline zinc-air batteries (ZAB). In this paper, silver-manganese dioxide-carbon nanotubes (SMC) ternary composites, which function as Electrocatalyst for air Electrodes, was produced via the pyrolysis of silver permanganate under microwave irradiation in one step. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and an energy dispersion spectrometer (EDS) have consistently determined that SMC consists of silver and alpha-manganese dioxide, which anchored on the surface of CNTs. Through polarization and chronoamperometery curves, the electrocatalytic activity of SMC for ORR was examined. The results reveal that SMC has higher catalytic activity than the chemically produced electrocatalyst for ORR in alkaline condition. Finally, a solid-state zinc-air cell with an electrocatalyst was constructed and tested. Constant current discharge curve of the zinc-air cell with SMC has a long discharge voltage plateau and a 60.03 mAh capacity at 30 mA · cm−2 . The mechanism of improvement in electrocatalytic activity was also discussed. In a summary, the strategy described in this study and the electrocatalyst produced can be regarded as an effective method for making a robust oxygen reduction catalyst toward solid-state zinc-air batteries.

The metal chelator PBT2 (5,7-dichloro-2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-8-hydroxyquinoline) acts as a terdentate ligand capable of forming binary and ternary Cu2+ complexes. It was clinically trialed as an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) therapeutic but failed to progress beyond phase II. The β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide associated with AD was recently concluded to form a unique Cu(Aβ) complex that is inaccessible to PBT2. Herein, it is shown that the species ascribed to this binary Cu(Aβ) complex in fact corresponds to ternary Cu(PBT2)NIm[Aβ] complexes formed by anchoring of Cu(PBT2) on imine nitrogen (NIm) donors of His side chains. The primary site of ternary complex formation is His6, having a conditional stepwise formation constant at pH 7.4 (K [M−1] ) of log K = 6.4 ± 0.1, and a second site is supplied by His13 or His14 (log K = 4.4 ± 0.1). The stability of Cu(PBT2)NIm[H13/14] is comparable with that of the simplest ternary complexes involving free imidazole (log K = 4.22 ± 0.09) and histamine (log K = 4.00 ± 0.05). The 100-fold larger formation constant for Cu(PBT2)NIm[H6] indicates that outer-sphere ligand–peptide interactions strongly stabilize its structure. Despite the relatively high stability of Cu(PBT2)NImH6, PBT2 is a promiscuous Cu2+-binding ligand capable of forming a ternary Cu(PBT2)NIm complex with any ligand containing NIm donor. These ligands include histamine, L-His, and ubiquitous His side chains of peptides and proteins in the extracellular milieu, whose combined effect should outweigh that of a single Cu(PBT2)NIm[H6] complex regardless of its stability. We therefore conclude that PBT2 is capable of accessing Cu(Aβ) complexes with high stability but not specificity. The results have implications for future AD therapeutic strategies and understanding the role of PBT2 in the bulk transport of transition metal ions. Given the repurposing of PBT2 as a drug for breaking antibiotic resistance, ternary Cu(PBT2)NIm and analogous Zn(PBT2)NIm complexes may be relevant to its antimicrobial properties.

A novel solution-processed graphene-based material was synthesized by treating graphene oxide (GO) with 2,5,7-trinitro-9-oxo-fluorenone-4-carboxylic acid (TNF-COOH) moieties, via simple synthetic routes. The yielded molecule N-[(carbamoyl-GO)ethyl]-N’-[(carbamoyl)-(2,5,7-trinitro-9-oxo-fluorene)] (GO-TNF) was thoroughly characterized and it was shown that it presents favorable highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels to function as a bridge component between the polymeric donor poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl] thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}) (PTB7) and the fullerene derivative acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric-acid-methylester (PC₇₁BM). In this context, a GO-TNF based ink was prepared and directly incorporated within the binary photoactive layer, in different volume ratios (1-3% ratio to the blend), for the effective realization of inverted ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) of the structure ITO/PFN/PTB7:GO-TNF:PC₇₁BM/MoO₃/Al. The addition of 2% v/v GO-TNF ink led to a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.71% that was enhanced by ~13% as compared to the reference cell.

The global focus on geopolymer binder production has increased due to the adoption of waste materials and industrial byproducts. Given the gradual decline of the availability of fly ash and ground granular blast furnace slag (GGBFS) resulting from the decarbonization process in electricity and steel productions, waste clay brick powder (WCBP), could be a viable substitute of these pozzolanic by-products. This research is dedicated to thoroughly investigate the techno-eco-efficiency performance of WCBP when utilized as a geopolymer precursor. The favorable mechanical characteristics exhibited by fly ash-GGBFS-WCBP-based geopolymer binder emphasize the importance of assessing its sustainability alongside its technical viability. The study employed life cycle analysis (LCA), following ISO 14040-44 standards, and using the Simapro software, to evaluate the environmental implications of the use of WCBP-based geopolymer mixtures. Human toxicity emerged as the primary impact. Moreover, the analysis of life cycle costs highlighted key financial factors, with around 65-70% attributed to alkaline activators of the total cost. The production of alkaline activators was identified as a critical point for both environmental impact and economic considerations due to energy consumption. While WCBP-rich samples exhibit a 1.7-0.7% higher environmental impact compared to the control mix (CM), their high mechanical strength and cost-effectiveness make them technologically and economically efficient geopolymer mixes. In conclusion, the portfolio analysis for techno-eco-efficiency affirms that mixes containing 40%, 30%, and 20% WCBP are more efficient than those using 10% and 0% WCBP, respectively.

The conducted investigation encompassed the comprehensive integration of mechanical, envi-ronmental, chemical, and microstructural evaluations of a composite amalgamating sandy soil and a synthetic polymer at two distinct concentrations (2.5% and %) across multiple curing in-tervals (0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 15, 30, and 45 days). The studied soil originates from an environmentally sig-nificant protected area in Brazil. The implementation of mechanisms for soil improvement in the region must adhere to technical criteria without causing environmental harm. Direct shear testing was conducted, permeability was assessed, and microstructure analysis and XRD and XRF/EDX studies of both the soil and composites were conducted. It was observed that longer curing times yielded improved results in shear stress, friction angle, and cohesive intercept, with SP_5% exhibiting the highest values compared to the soil and SP_2.5%. Adding the polymeric so-lution to the soil contributed to cementation and cohesion gains in the substrate. Through mi-crostructural characterization, the polymer's role as a cementing agent for the grains is evident, forming a film on the grains and binding them together. Based on the analyses and studies con-ducted in the research, it can be concluded that there is technical feasibility for applying the pol-ymeric solution at both dosages in geotechnical projects.

The move to a low carbon economy is very important for enhancing international competitiveness. The eco-innovation is the critical factor of the green paradigm. This study is designed to investigate deeply the determinants of eco-innovation of manufacturing firms in Korea by suggesting anticipated regulations, self-regulations, and industry-specific characteristics as external factors and open information sources as internal factors. The data used in the analysis is 1946 sample firms from Korean Innovation Survey 2010 based on the Oslo Manual. Using the multi-variate probit analysis and the zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression analysis, we have found out that the anticipated regulations and self-regulations have significant influences both on eco-process innovation and eco-product innovation, while industrial characteristics have no effects. The empirical results also show that the breadth of information sources has a positive effect on businesses in implementing eco-innovations. Our findings show that the Korean government should provide a good platform where firms can better understand the future trends of environmental policies, particularly policies on anticipated and self-regulations. At the same time, Korean firms should establish a voluntary system to control environmental activities so that they can improve eco-innovations through integrating external information.

The establishment and spread of exotic species is a contemporary major concern. Alien species may become invasive in their new habitat, leading to both/either environmental and/or economic impacts. I briefly reviewed the literature in the last decade about the relationship of exotic species and native communities. I identified that professionals usually approach the subject in two main points of view: (1) researchers tend to point out the impacts of alien species on entire communities, evaluating if the relationship is positive, negative or neutral; (2) they focus on the eco-evolutionary processes involved in the introductions, the dynamics of invasion, and individual study cases. When evaluating the response of introductions to entire communities, evidence seems to be ambiguous and may support positive, negative or neutral relationship, especially depending on the scale approached. The unique eco-evolutionary pathways of each introduction may be a great shortcoming in the searching for generalities. On the other hand, advances have been made in understanding the dynamics of invasion on different lineages through a more selective/individualized approach. I suggest that the dynamics of invasion might be studied through a perspective in which different eco-evolutionary processes, levels of organization (from gene to entire communities), the history of the organism(s) and time are taken into account. Individual cases might be compared in attempt to understand how the relationship exotic and native works and in the search for generalities.

In the European Union, the demand for polyurethane is continually growing. In 2017, the estimated production value of polyurethane was 700,400T, of which 27.3% is taken to landfill, which causes an environmental problem. In this paper the behaviour of various polyurethane foams from the waste of different types of industries will be analysed with the aim of assessing their potential use in construction materials. In order to this, the wastes were chemically tested by means of CHNS, TGA, and leaching tests. They were tested microstructurally by means of SEM. The processing parameters of the waste was calculated after finding out its granulometry and its physical properties i.e. density and water absorption capacity. In addition, the possibility of incorporating these wastes in plaster matrices was studied by determining its rendering in an operational context, finding out its mechanical resistance to flexion and compression at 7 days, its reaction to fire as well as its weight per unit of area and its thermal behaviour. The results show that in all cases, the waste is inert and does not undergo leaching. The generation process of the waste determines the foam’s microstructure in addition to its physical-chemical properties that directly affect building materials in which they are included, thus offering different ways in which they can be applied.

It is time that universities reexamine what is meant by globalization. Contemporary researchers in science and the humanities (Critchley, Chomsky, Mumford, Ostrom, Eisenstein, Ferry, Orr, Shiva, Klein, Margulis, Meadows, Capra and Tolba, just to name a few) have aptly redefined the concept of « world » as a biological and cultural ecosystem. This paper seeks ways to integrate the theory and practice of eco-citizenship into various cross-disciplinary aspects of higher education, with a focus on curricular adjustments that may be steered by World Languages and Cultures programs. While "global citizenship" is still often understood today as a form of supranational citizenship that may find its actualization through the valuable, yet often arrested efforts of the United Nations, or as the individualistic result of a neoliberal economic emancipation of markets and capital throughout the world, this notion must rather be embedded within a radically cultural, natural and ethical bedrock from which a more potent world citizenry will stem. Departments of World Languages and Cultures and cultures are ideally positioned in the academic landscape to foster the development of a greater eco-civic and biospheric awareness that can permeate new curricular orientations of universities in the US and abroad.

Concrete is a heterogeneous material, one of the most widely used materials on the Planet and a major consumer of natural resources. Carbon emissions are largely due to the extensive use of cement in its composition, which contributes to 7% of global CO2 emissions. Extraction and processing of aggregates is another sources of CO2 emissions. Many countries have succeeded in moving from a linear economy to a circular economy by partially or fully replacing non-renewable natural materials with alternatives from waste recycling. One such alternative consists in partially replacing cement by supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in concrete mixes. Thus, the work is based on the experimental investigation of the fresh and hardened properties of civil engineering concrete, hereafter referred to as road concrete, in which, crushed river aggregate have been replaced with recycled waste aggregates of uncemented concrete and partial replacement of cement with a SCM material in the form of glass powder that improves the durability characteristics of this sustainable concrete. The microstructure and compositional features of the selected optimum composite has been also investigated by polarized light optical microscopy (OM) Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction by the Powder method (PXRD) for the qualitative analysis of crystalline constitutive materials.

It is important for enterprises to decide their environmental policies after carefully examining their future paths based on the relationship between the environment and the economy. This study focused on Japanese minimum administrative divisions (municipalities) and attempted to quantify the annual environmental efficiency of production activities within each division according to the theory of life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA). This study leverages the assessment theory LIME2, which is an endpoint-type LCIA method developed in 2010 that integrates environmental loads for certain impact categories, such as global warming and land use into a simple indicator by monetary unit. First, annual environmental impact assessments were conducted for all Japanese municipalities based on statistical information that was reliable, verifiable, and comparable. Next, the environmental efficiency of productivity for each division was conceptualized by dividing the gross domestic product by the environmental damage amounts as calculated above. Assessment results for each municipality were placed on a map of Japan in order to visualize the regionality of each indicator. The findings revealed in this study will aid public administrators in their decision-making process with respect to environmental policies.