Advancing Open Science

Producing high-density rice straw bales requires a model that captures the anisotropic deformation and breakage of fresh straw during compression. We therefore developed and calibrated a spherocylinder-based discrete element model for rice straw baling. The model represents hollow elliptical cross-sections, distinct stem and node structures, and anisotropic bonding, and its mechanical and breakage responses were evaluated before its application to compression baling device optimization. Calibration via single-factor, Plackett–Burman, steepest ascent, and Box–Behnken experiments using the angle of repose as the target identifies three key parameters: straw–straw rolling friction (0.593), straw–steel rolling friction (0.188), and node Poisson’s ratio (0.411). The calibrated model reproduced the measured angle of repose with a relative difference of 0.39% and reproduced the compression and shear responses within 10% error. Compared with a multi-sphere model, the spherocylinder model reduces the particle count by 90.25%, simulation time by 72.52%, and memory usage by 89.83%. Adams–EDEM co-simulation reproduced the progressive deformation and localized breakage observed during baling, without excessive pulverization. Simulations across different tapered opening angles identified a balanced density–torque configuration, which was validated by field trials with a relative density error of 1.23%. These results demonstrate the model’s accuracy, efficiency, and practicality for simulating rice straw in compression molding machinery.

Microalgal fucoxanthin is a marine xanthophyll relevant to environmental medicine because it links sustainable resource recovery with prevention-oriented research on environmentally driven metabolic disorders. Methods: This critical narrative review synthesizes recent peer-reviewed studies, related reviews, and regulatory documents on fucoxanthin chemistry, microalgal sources, cultivation, downstream processing, bioavailability enhancement, safety, and translational evidence. Findings: Diatoms and haptophytes, including Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Tisochrysis lutea, Isochrysis galbana, Nitzschia laevis, Cyclotella meneghiniana, and Conticribra weissflogii, are candidate production platforms, while Poterioochromonas malhamensis currently lacks the safety and regulatory evidence required for food use. Evidence for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), obesity, diabetes, inflammation, lipid metabolism, microbiota modulation, and chemoprevention remains predominantly preclinical or is derived from macroalgal or combined marine formulations. No randomized clinical trial evaluating a standardized microalgal fucoxanthin formulation with pharmacokinetic characterization was identified in the literature reviewed. Wastewater-derived biomass faces a strict regulatory barrier to oral human use and is currently best suited to environmental and agricultural applications unless contaminant clearance and product-specific safety are demonstrated. Conclusions: Bioavailability is constrained by instability, poor aqueous dispersibility, intestinal de-esterification to fucoxanthinol, and hepatic oxidation to amarouciaxanthin A, but encapsulation and lipid-matrix systems are promising. Translation requires authenticated strains, human-grade cultivation, validated processing, product-specific toxicology, regulatory dossiers, and controlled clinical studies.

This study evaluated the distribution and potential ecological risk of mercury in sediments from the Recuerdo Marsh, located in the Atrato River basin (Chocó, Colombia), and explored the potential of sawdust biochar for mercury removal from water. Surface sediments, a sediment core, and water samples were collected and analyzed for total mercury (THg) using thermal decomposition atomic absorption spectrometry. Potential ecological risk was assessed through contamination factor (CF), geoaccumulation index (I_geo), and potential ecological risk index (PERI). In parallel, sawdust biochar was characterized using BET surface area analysis, SEM-EDS, XRD, and FTIR spectroscopy; and its Hg adsorption capacity was assessed. THg concentrations in surface sediments ranged from 50.3 to 367 µg kg⁻¹, with an average of 129.9 ± 97.1 µg kg⁻¹, while ecological risk indices revealed moderate to considerable potential ecological risk. The biochar exhibited a high specific surface area (477 m² g⁻¹) and achieved up to 88.7% removal of Hg²⁺ from aqueous solutions within only 15 min. These results suggest that the wetlands of the Atrato basin act as sinks for mercury contamination and highlight the potential of a locally derived sawdust biochar as a low-cost and sustainable strategy for mercury removal and water treatment for local communities.

Background/Objectives: This study characterized an ethanol-eluted, semi-purified fraction (F4) from Myrtus communis L. leaves and compared its anti-inflammatory activity in free and nanoemulsified forms. Methods: F4 was obtained by C8 fractionation, examined by colorimetric assays, targeted LC–MS (SIM) and COX-2 docking, and incorporated into an oil-in-water nanoemulsion. Oral activity at 200 and 400 mg/kg was assessed in male Wistar rats with carrageenan-induced paw edema (seven groups; n = 6/group). The primary endpoint was the individual area under the curve (AUC) of edema over 1–5 h. Results: Targeted LC–MS tentatively annotated ten compounds. The total phenolic content of F4 was 186.75 ± 0.43 mg GAE/g, and apigenin had the most favorable predicted COX-2 docking score (−8.1 kcal/mol). The nanoemulsion measured 119.07 ± 16.28 nm on day 0 and showed no phase separation under stress tests. Free F4 and F4 nanoemulsion (F4 NE) reduced AUC versus the inflamed control, and F4 NE reduced AUC versus the blank nanoemulsion (Holm-adjusted p < 0.0001). Compared with free F4, nanoemulsification decreased mean AUC by 37.7% and 42.9% at 200 and 400 mg/kg (Holm-adjusted p = 0.0362 for both comparisons). After baseline adjustment, the difference persisted at 400 mg/kg (−2.94 mL·h; 95% CI −5.16 to −0.72; Holm-adjusted p = 0.0304) but not at 200 mg/kg (−1.61 mL·h; 95% CI −4.27 to 1.06; Holm-adjusted p = 0.2053). Conclusions: Orally administered F4 had anti-inflammatory activity, and nanoemulsification produced improved anti-inflammatory efficacy under the tested conditions, as shown by the lower cumulative edema. Bioavailability was not assessed; pharmacokinetic studies are needed to determine whether it underlies this effect.

Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors are widely used to measure pressure and temperature. However, when both are subjected to a coupled environment, the Bragg wavelengths influence each other, causing biased measurements if not properly calibrated. Most calibration models assume linear sensitivity, which may not hold across the entire operating range. This study proposes a five-step statistical calibration framework for a single FBG sensor under coupled pressure–temperature conditions: data preparation; fitting linear, quadratic, and cubic models; model selection using AIC/BIC; local sensitivity calculation; and contribution decomposition via Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The framework was tested on experimental data from an FBG sensor mounted on a metal membrane, at pressures of 0 MPa–2.0 MPa and temperatures of 5 °C–45 °C. Nonlinear models outperformed linear ones, with ${\overline{R}}^2$ values of 0.9725–0.9992. The model was validated using Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation (LOOCV), yielding an out-of-sample RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) of 0.0452 nm. Pressure sensitivity remained constant at 0.2250 nm/MPa, while temperature sensitivity decreased from 0.0224 nm/°C at 5 °C to 0.0069 nm/°C at 45 °C. RSM showed that pressure influences the slope and temperature influences the offset, with no significant interaction. Residual analysis satisfied the regression assumptions, and the combined uncertainty (0.008 nm/MPa; 0.0003 nm/°C) was much smaller than the observed sensitivity range, confirming that the variations are physical, not instrument noise. This framework is practical and statistically sound for single FBG sensor calibration.

Walnut protein is a promising candidate for the development of functional health supplements. In this study, peptides were prepared via the limited trypsin hydrolysis of walnut protein, and their immunomodulatory effects on macrophages were evaluated through both in vivo and in vitro experiments. We found that peptide administration modulated systemic arginine metabolism. In macrophages, the peptides induced transcriptional reprogramming toward a pro-inflammatory phenotype, regardless of their immunosuppressive status. Specifically, peptide treatment upregulated Slc7a2 expression, concomitant with enhanced arginine uptake, while concurrently suppressing the arginine-to-guanidinoacetic acid/creatine pathway. These findings reveal a mechanistic role of walnut-derived peptides in regulating macrophage polarization through arginine metabolic reprogramming. Consequently, the stimulation of M2-polarized macrophages with these peptides reversed their tumor-promoting propensity and restored their cytotoxicity against tumor cells. Together, these findings provide a scientific basis for the value-added processing and high-end utilization of walnut proteins in nutraceutical applications.

Birdsong can alter the perception of an urban soundscape; however, its acoustic effects are not fully described by conventional sound level measures. The presence of singing birds introduces additional acoustic components that can influence the overall character and experience of an urban environment. This study examines bird-enriched urban soundscapes using the Total Distraction Coefficient (TDC), an objective acoustic parameter based on loudness, loudness growth rate, and sharpness, which was developed to estimate how strongly sudden and unexpected loudness changes disrupt concentration. Five park soundscapes containing different singing bird vocalizations were analyzed and compared with the same park background without birds. Compared with this background (TDC = 0.303), the addition of birdsong did not increase the TDC calculated with the original model. Instead, the TDC decreased to 0.242–0.267, mainly because the birdsong raised the mean loudness, so that the loudness peaks of the background stood out less. Sharpness, on the other hand, differed clearly between the soundscapes and increased with the peak frequency of the bird vocalizations. Furthermore, the acoustic character of the same urban environment changed depending on which bird species was added. These findings are compared with the listeners’ ratings of the same soundscapes on bipolar adjective pairs, obtained in a previous study, which describe features such as pleasantness, naturalness, diversity, and soothing quality. In an exploratory comparison of the five soundscapes, TDC did not follow listeners’ appraisal, suggesting that birdsong can change how an urban soundscape is perceived without increasing its distraction potential as estimated by TDC.

Viral nervous necrosis (VNN), caused by nervous necrosis virus (NNV), is a devastating viral disease affecting marine fish aquaculture worldwide, particularly during larval and juvenile stages. Although NNV has a broad and expanding host range, the susceptibility of greenfin horse-faced filefish (Thamnaconus septentrionalis) has not been established. To determine whether T. septentrionalis is susceptible to NNV, we investigated an outbreak of abnormal mortality in juveniles from a marine aquaculture farm in Rizhao, Shandong Province, China. A comprehensive etiological investigation combined bacterial isolation and identification, real-time quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR), tissue-distribution analysis, histopathology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and RNA2-based phylogenetic analysis. Diseased fish exhibited characteristic VNN-like neurological signs, including spiral swimming, loss of equilibrium, anorexia, and body darkening. Several bacterial taxa, including Vibrio- and Tenacibaculum-related isolates, were recovered from diseased fish, indicating the possibility of bacterial involvement. However, the concurrent detection of abundant NNV RNA in neural tissues, together with characteristic neurological signs, compatible histopathological lesions, and NNV-like particles, provided convergent evidence supporting natural NNV infection. NNV RNA was detected in all ten diseased fish, whereas the other screened viral pathogens were not detected. Pooled brain–eye samples contained 4.62 × 10⁸ to 1.33 × 10⁹ NNV RNA copies/μg total RNA, and abundant NNV RNA was also detected in brain, spleen, kidney, and trunk tissues. Histological examination showed vacuolar and degenerative lesions in the brain and retina, and TEM revealed numerous non-enveloped, spherical virus-like particles approximately 25 nm in diameter in neural tissues, consistent with NNV morphology. Phylogenetic analysis of the RNA2 capsid protein gene placed the detected virus within the RGNNV RNA2 lineage. Together, the neurological signs, NNV RNA detection, compatible histopathological lesions, NNV-like particles in neural tissues, and RNA2 phylogenetic evidence provide evidence of natural NNV infection in T. septentrionalis. These findings document evidence of natural NNV infection in T. septentrionalis under aquaculture conditions, highlight the need for further investigations into pathogenicity and transmission, and provide a basis for VNN surveillance and biosecurity management in filefish aquaculture.