Search Results (41)

This study presents a groundbreaking approach to water pollution management in arid regions through the development of a symmetry-aware Fokker–Planck stochastic model. Unlike typical deterministic treatments, our method itself creatively combines probability-density-based regulation with immediate monitoring to achieve a $40\%$ reduction in contaminant concentrations in the Saudi coastal regions during practical validations. Utilizing the natural front-spatial symmetries of aquifer systems, we have reduced computation cost by half while maintaining their accuracy (error within $1\%$). Through ensuring robust stability standards, the model produces control protocols that are tuned to address uncertain environmental conditions. Building on Saudi Vision 2030, this research—backed by detailed 21-day data in the field—presents a real and scalable approach to sustainable water management. The use of stochastic methods alongside symmetry analysis is a significant breakthrough in limiting water pollution in areas where water resources are minimal. Full article

Stem cells (SCs), distinguished by their capacity for self-renewal and multipotent differentiation, represent a cornerstone of regenerative medicine. These cells, which can be categorized according to their differentiation potential and developmental origin, have emerged as pivotal elements in both biomedical research and veterinary science. In herbivorous species, stem cell applications have yielded particularly promising advances across multiple domains, including reproductive biotechnology, tissue engineering and regeneration, therapeutic interventions, and immunomodulation. This review synthesizes contemporary research on stem cell biology in five economically significant herbivorous species: bovine, ovine, deer, equine, and camelid. Special emphasis is placed on stem cell isolation methodologies, culture optimization techniques, and the molecular mechanisms governing key signaling pathways. The discussion encompasses both the technical impediments facing stem cell research and the ethical framework necessary for responsible scientific advancement, with particular attention to animal welfare considerations in the development and implementation of stem cell-based technologies. Full article

The raw materials of cement contain radioactive elements that come from natural sources. Members of the decay chains of uranium, thorium, and potassium radioisotope ⁴⁰K are the primary sources of this radioactivity. The natural radionuclide concentration levels in cement differ greatly depending on different geographic areas. To estimate the radionuclides concentration in cement specimens from twelve diverse Pakistani companies, gamma-ray spectroscopy analysis was used in the study. ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K had activity concentration levels ranging from 18.08 to 43.18 Bq/kg, 16.73 to 23.53 Bq/kg, and 14.24 to 315.22 Bq/kg, respectively. The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) threshold for the ²²⁶Ra was surpassed by five of the studied samples. The indoor and outdoor dose rates as well as different radiological health hazard indices were also examined. The Indoor Absorbed Dosage (D_in) for some of the samples exceeded the permissible limit. These samples also had a high Indoor Effective Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) factor, which makes them unsafe for interior construction purposes. The outdoor dosages as well as the hazard indices were well within the permitted ranges. The outdoor ELCR factor is low for all the cement brands, which makes them safe for exterior construction purposes. The findings were compared with published data from other countries around the globe. Finally, a thorough statistical analysis was performed and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (r) exhibited a very strong correlation between the different outdoor and indoor radiological health hazard indices. Full article

Salinity is considered to be a global problem and a severe danger to modern agriculture since it negatively impacts plants’ growth and development at both cellular- and whole-plant level. However, cobalt (Co) and titanium (Ti), multifunctional non-essential micro-elements, play a crucial role in improving plant growth and development under salinity stress. In the current study, Co and Ti impact on the morphological, biochemical, nutritional, and metabolic profile of Pennisetum divisum plants under three salinity levels which were assessed. Two concentrations of Co (Co-1; 15.0 mg/L and Co-2; 25.0 mg/L), and two concentrations of Ti (Ti-1; 50.0 mg/L and Ti-2; 100.0 mg/L) were applied as foliar application to the P. divisum plants under salinity (S1; 200 mM, S2; 500 mM, and S3; 1000 mM) stress. The results revealed that various morphological, biochemical, and metabolic processes were drastically impacted by the salinity-induced methylglyoxal (MG) stress. The excessive accumulation of salt ions, including Na⁺ (1.24- and 1.21-fold), and Cl⁻ (1.53- and 1.15-fold) in leaves and roots of P. divisum, resulted in the higher production of MG (2.77- and 2.95-fold) in leaves and roots under severe (1000 mM) salinity stress, respectively. However, Ti-treated leaves showed a significant reduction in ionic imbalance and MG concentrations, whereas considerable improvement was shown in K⁺ and Ca²⁺ under salinity stress, and Co treatment showed downregulation of MG content (26, 16, and 14%) and improved the antioxidant activity, such as a reduction in glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione (GSSG), Glutathione reductase (GR), Glyoxalase I (Gly I), and Glyoxalase II (Gly II) by up to 1.13-, 1.35-, 3.75-, 2.08-, and 1.68-fold under severe salinity stress in P. divisum roots. Furthermore, MG-induced stress negatively impacted the metabolic profile and antioxidants activity of P. divisum’s root and leaves; however, Co and Ti treatment considerably improved the biochemical processes and metabolic profile in both underground and aerial parts of the studied plants. Collectively, the results depicted that Co treatment showed significant results in roots and Ti treatment presented considerable changes in leaves of P. divism under salinity stress. Full article

In this work, an artificial neural network based on the Cuckoo search algorithm (CS-ANN) is implemented for squeezing flow problems. Three problems are considered: the squeezing flow, the MHD squeezing flow, and the flow of the third-grade fluid past a moving belt. First, the approximation for the said nonlinear differential equations is explained and the proposed problems are transformed into the $L_2$ norms of minimization problems. Then, a well-known Cuckoo search algorithm is used to minimize the norms of each problem to get the best set of weights for artificial neural networks. The outcome of the proposed method is displayed through graphs. Two cases for each problem are discussed consisting of the solution, error, weights, and fitness function, respectively. The numerical results for the state variables are displayed in Tables. The error analysis in each case proves the accuracy of our implemented technique. The results are validated through graphs by comparing CS-ANN results with the gradient descent method. Full article

We analyze the transverse momentum ($p_T$) spectra of ${\pi }^{+}$, ${\pi }^{-}$, $K^{+}$, $K^{-}$, p, $\overline{p}$, $\Lambda$, $\overline{\Lambda }$, $\Xi$, $\overline{\Xi }$, ${\Omega }^{-}$, ${\overline{\Omega }}^{+}$ or ${\Omega }^{-}+{\overline{\Omega }}^{+}$ in different centrality intervals in gold–gold (Au–Au) and lead–lead (Pb–Pb) symmetric collisions at 200 GeV and 2.76 TeV, respectively, by Tsallis–Pareto-type function. Proton–proton collisions at the same centre of mass energies are also analyzed for these particles to compare the results obtained from these systems. The present work extracts the effective temperature T, non-extensivity parameter $\left(q\right)$, the mean transverse momentum spectra ($⟨p_T⟩$), the multiplicity parameter ($N_0$), kinetic freeze-out temperature ($T_0$) and transverse flow velocity (${\beta }_T$). We reported a plateau structure of $p_T$, T, $T_0$, ${\beta }_T$, $p_T$ and q in central collisions. Beyond the plateau region, the excitation function of all the above parameters decreases towards the periphery, except q, which has a reverse trend. The multiplicity parameter is also extracted, which is found to be decreasing towards the periphery from the central collisions. In addition, we observed that the excitation function of pp collisions is nearly the same to that of the most peripheral symmetric nucleus–nucleus collisions at the same colliding energy. Throughout the analyses, the same multiplicity parameters for particles and their antiparticles have been reported, which show the symmetric production of particles and their antiparticles. Full article

This paper investigates C₄H₂F₆, a promising environmentally friendly insulating gas that possesses high dielectric strength and a low global warming potential. The study focuses on examining the insulation properties of C₄H₂F₆ when combined with CO₂/N₂, aiming to assess its suitability as a substitute for SF₆ in gas-insulated applications. Finite element analyses are performed to evaluate the field utilization factor and electric field distribution in the proposed mixture. The properties of liquefaction temperature were examined in this study to determine the optimal mixing ratio for applications that require a minimum working temperature. Extensive experimental investigations were carried out to assess the dielectric strength characteristics of the gas mixture in both uniform and quasi-uniform electric fields. It was found that pure HFO-1336mzz (E) exhibits a dielectric strength approximately 1.2–1.6 times higher than SF₆. Experimental results have revealed that the insulation performance of a 30% HFO-1336mzz (E)/CO₂ mixture closely resembles that of SF₆, with a matching efficiency of up to 90% in a weakly uniform electric field. This remarkable performance can be attributed to a positive synergistic effect between HFO-1336mzz (E) and CO₂, combined with the gas mixture’s excellent self-recoverability property. These experimental findings are further supported by finite element analysis, which confirms the observed results. The 30% HFO-1336mzz (E)/CO₂ gas mixture at 0.15–0.20 MPa pressure and constant 0.6 mm air gap reveal superior insulation tolerance and less sensitivity to the electric field, confirming its promising medium-voltage engineering applications. The associated results of this research provide a critical reference for the engineering application of the alternating (AC) and direct current (DC) insulation characteristics of the HFO-1336mzz (E)/CO₂ gas mixture. Full article

In this work, we performed a comparative study between HIJING, Sibyll, and QGSJET model-based event generators. Such Monte Carlo (MC) models are used to simulate the interaction and propagation of high-energy cosmic radiation (e.g., coming from the sun) with the Earth’s atmosphere. The global event observables selected for the study were the transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}$) spectra and rapidity density distributions of strange particles (${\mathrm{K}}_{\mathrm{S}}^0$, $\Lambda$, and ${\Xi }^{-}$). This study was performed in the STAR and CMS fiducial phase spaces by simulating the strange particles in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{\mathrm{s}}$ = 200 GeV, 900 GeV, and 7 TeV, and the simulations were then compared to the experimental measurements. It was observed that none of the discussed model-based event generators ultimately predicted the experimental results, except QGSJET, which generally agrees reasonably with the data. However, QGSJET does not produce $\Xi$ particles; therefore, it does not provide any predictions for $\Xi$. The other two models reproduced the data only in a limited rapidity or transverse momentum region while mainly underpredicting the data in the rest of the areas. These cosmic radiation simulation models are capable of covering the mid-rapidity regions of density distributions. Utilizing model-based observations, some fundamental parameters can be re-tuned and extrapolations to the highest energies can be investigated. Furthermore, these observations can provide valuable insights that could potentially constrain and improve perturbative- and non-perturbative-based QCD event generators, thereby facilitating a better understanding of the underlying physics. Full article

The current study was designed to assess the comparative morphology of eight olive cultivars with different geographical origins and diverse genetic backgrounds, introduced to a new climatic zone. The morphological parameters of eight (five exotic and three domestic) olive cultivars (Bari Zaitoon-1, Bari Zaitoon-2, Favolosa (FS-17), Koroneiki, Balkasar, Ottobratica, Leccino, and Arbequina) were compared at the experimental area of the Department of Botany, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan (29°24′0″ North, 71°41′0″ East, 401–421 feet above sea level). Plant height, number of leaves/15 cm shoot, leaf size characteristics (leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, and length/width ratio), leaf shape characteristics (margin, leaf axil, base, and apex angles), leaf pigments (Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll contents, and carotenoids), phyllotaxy, and leaf color and venation were recorded. The highest plant height (28 cm) was obtained by Bari Zaitoon-2 followed by Bari Zaitoon-1 (24 cm), both of which are domestic cultivar of Pakistan, while the shortest height (5 cm) was obtained by Koroneiki. Leccino displayed the highest average number of leaves (17.8) on main shoot, followed by BARI-2 (16.4) and the lowest score was from Balkasar (10.4). Leaf area ranged from 5.66 cm² (Bari Zaitoon-1) to 3.08 cm² (Koroneiki). The longest leaf length (5.74 cm) was found in Bari Zaitoon-1 and the shortest (4.04 cm) in Koroneiki, while the broadest leaves were found in Leccino (1.54 cm) and the narrowest (1.12 cm) in Koroneiki. Bari Zaitoon-2 led in leaf length to width ratio (4.058) followed by Bari Zaitoon-1 (3.772) with small lanceolate leaves hardly reaching the value of 4, with the lowest value illustrated by Leccino. The total chloroplast pigments were highest in FS-17 followed by Bari Zaitoon-1 and Bari Zaitoon-2, while the lowest was in Arbequina. Chlorophyll a was highest in Bari Zaitoon-1 followed by FS-17 and Balkasar, with the lowest rate in Arbequina. Chlorophyll b content of FS-17 was the highest whereas the Chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll contents in Arbequina were the lowest of all the cultivars. The highest value of total carotenoids was found in Balkasar followed by FS-17 with the lowest value in Arbequina. The phyllotaxy was categorized into three types, i.e., alternate, opposite, and whorled. The combination of two or more types was usually observed on the same branch. The whorl of four leaves was also present in rare cases. Leaf venation was both pinnate and reticulate. The leaf base of most (four) of the olive cultivars, i.e., Arbequina, Balkasar, Leccino and FS-17, were cuneate having acute, rounded, apiculate, and cuspidate leaf tips, respectively. The findings revealed remarkable variations in olive morphology, especially in the leaves and a successful record of the preliminary data of olive cultivars from the study area was made. The present research demonstrated that local olive cultivars have unique characteristics that differentiate them from imported cultivars. Thus, local cultivars provide novel genetic resources that should be conserved. Full article

Owing to their surface active properties, surfactants have numerous applications in different fields of life. In the present research work, the solubilization of reactive red 2 (RR2) has been studied in single and mixed micellar systems (MMS) using UV-visible spectroscopy and electrical conductivity measurements. The interaction of RR2 with ionic micelles of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) was investigated. In order to probe the interaction of RR2 in MMS, mixtures of CPC and TX-114 (Triton X-114, a nonionic surfactant) were used. UV-visible spectroscopy has been used to obtain the degree of solubilization of RR2 in terms of the partition coefficient (K_c) and Gibbs free energy of partitioning (ΔG^°_p). Electrical conductivity data have been employed to detect the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the surfactant systems in the presence of RR2 and, accordingly, to calculate the thermodynamic parameters of the micellization. From the obtained data, it is concluded that the micellization is spontaneous at all studied temperatures. Moreover, the micellization was observed to be driven by both enthalpy and entropy. The results also indicated that MMS have better solubilizing power than single micellar solutions. Full article

We investigated biochar-induced drought tolerance in Leptocohloa fusca (Kallar grass) by exploring the plant defense system at physiological level. L. fusca plants were exposed to drought stress (100%, 70%, and 30% field capacity), and biochar (BC), as an organic soil amendment was applied in two concentrations (15 and 30 mg kg⁻¹ soil) to induce drought tolerance. Our results demonstrated that drought restricted the growth of L. fusca by inhibiting shoot and root (fresh and dry) weight, total chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate. Under drought stress, the uptake of essential nutrients was also limited due to lower water supply, which ultimately affected metabolites including amino and organic acids, and soluble sugars. In addition, drought stress induced oxidative stress, which is evidenced by the higher production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) including hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), superoxide ion (O₂⁻), hydroxyl ion (OH⁻), and malondialdehyde (MDA). The current study revealed that stress-induced oxidative injury is not a linear path, since the excessive production of lipid peroxidation led to the accumulation of methylglyoxal (MG), a member of reactive carbonyl species (RCS), which ultimately caused cell injury. As a consequence of oxidative-stress induction, the ascorbate–glutathione (AsA–GSH) pathway, followed by a series of reactions, was activated by the plants to reduce ROS-induced oxidative damage. Furthermore, biochar considerably improved plant growth and development by mediating metabolites and soil physio-chemical status. Full article

We present an analysis of the pseudorapidity $\eta$ and transverse momentum $p_T$ distributions of charged hadrons in $pp$ collisions for the kinematic range of $0<p_T<4$ GeV/c and $\left|\eta \right|<2.4$ at 0.9, 2.36, and 7 TeV. Charged particles are produced in $pp$ collision using several Monte Carlo event generators (Pythia Simple, Vincia, Dire showers, Sibyll2.3d, QGSJETII-04, EPOS-LHC) and compared with CMS data at LHC. It is observed that the Simple parton showers can explain the CMS data very well for $p_T>1$ GeV/c at 0.9 and 2.36 TeV within the experimental errors, while Dire overshoots and Vicia undershoots the data by 50% each. At 7 TeV, the Dire module presents a good prediction, whereas the Simple and Vincia modules underestimate the data within 30% and 50%. Comparing the Simple module of the Pythia model and the predictions of the CRMC models with the experimental data shows that at 0.9 TeV, EPOS-LHC has better results than the others. At 2.36 GeV, the cosmic rays Monte Carlo (CRMC) models have better prediction than the Simple module of Pythia at low $p_T$, while QGSJETII-04 predicts well at high $p_T$. QGSJETII-04 and EPOS-LHC have closer results than the Pythia-Simple and Sibyll2.3d at 7 TeV. In the case of the pseudorapidity distributions, only the Pythia-Simple reproduced the experimental measurements at all energies. The Dire module overestimates, while Vincia underestimates the data in decreasing order of discrepancy (20%, 12%, 5%) with energy. All CRMC models underestimate the data over the entire $\eta$ range at all energies by 20%. The angular ordering of partons and the parton fragmentation could be possible reasons for this deviation. Furthermore, we used the two-component standard distribution to fit the $p_T$ spectra to the experimental data and extracted the effective temperature ($T_{eff}$) and the multiplicity parameter ($N_0$). It is observed that $T_{eff}$ increases with the increase in the center of mass energy. The fit yielded $0.20368\pm 0.01$, $0.22348\pm 0.011$, and $0.24128\pm 0.012$ GeV for 0.9, 2.36, and 7 TeV, respectively. This shows that the system at higher energies freezes out earlier than lower ones because they quickly attain the equilibrium state. Full article

This manuscript presents a simulation study of a track-based analysis of the multiplicity distributions of the primary charged particle compared to experimental measurements in symmetric hadron–hadron collisions acquiring maximum energy for the new particle production. The data are compared to the simulations of EPOS, PYTHIA8, Sibyll, and QGSJET under the same conditions. The event generators in the current study are simple parton-based models that incorporate the Reggie–Gribov theory. The latter is a field theory based on the QCD that uses the mechanism of multiple parton interactions. It has been found that the PYTHIA8 model chases the data well in most of the distributions but depends on the momentum and the requirement of charged particles in a given track, due to its feature-like color reshuffling of quarks and gluons through the color re-connection modes and initial and final state radiations by incorporating the parton showers. The EPOS model could also reproduce some spectral regions and presents a good comparison after the PYTHIA8. All the other models could not produce most of the spectra except for the limited region, which also depends on the analysis’s cuts. Besides the model’s prediction, we used Tsallis–Pareto and Hagedorn functions to fit the aforementioned spectra of the charged particles. The fit is applied to the data and models, and their results are compared. We extract the temperature parameter T₀₁ (effective temperature (T_eff)) from the Tsallis–Pareto-kind function and T₀₂ (kinetic freezeout temperature) from the Hagedorn function. The temperatures are affected by p_T as well N_ch cuts. Full article

Prediction of new materials is crucial for the advancement of technology. Here, in this research work, the first-principle computation has been conducted utilizing the WIEN2K package to probe the structural, electronic, mechanical, and optical properties of barium-based chloroperovskites BaMCl₃ (M = Ag, Cu) compounds. The optimized lattice constants are calculated for both compounds which are 9.90 Bohr for BaAgCl₃ and 9.38 Bohr for BaCuCl₃. To obtain better and more precise results for the electronic band’s structure, TDOS and PDOS (total and partial density of states), and the TB-mBJ potential approximation are employed. The indirect band gap (R–Γ) is found for both compounds having values of 1.173 eV and 2.30 eV for BaCuCl₃ and BaAgCl₃, respectively, which depicts its semiconducting nature. The calculation of elastic properties is conducted with IRelast code. The Cauchy pressure, Bulk modulus, Young’s modulus, Shear modulus, anisotropic ratio, Kleinman parameters, and Poisson’s ratio are calculated from the obtained elastic constants. The computation of elastic parameters indicates that the interested chloroperovskites are anisotropic, mechanically stable, hard to scratch, and ductile. From 0 eV to 40 eV incident photon energy ranges, the various optical parameter such as refractive index, absorption coefficient, dielectric function, reflectivity, extinction coefficient, and optical conductivity are analyzed. These compounds absorb maximum light within 5 to 25 eV incident photon energy. Hence, these materials are good light absorbers, therefore, they can be used in optoelectronic devices for high-frequency applications. Full article

In this work, we analyzed the hybrid nanofluid (Ag+CuO+kerosene oil) flow past a bidirectionally extendable surface in the presence of a variable magnetic field. The hybrid nanofluid flow considered is electrically conductive and steady. For the simulation of the problem, the Cattaneo–Christov double-diffusion (CCDD) model was considered, which generalizes Fourier’s and Fick’s laws. The impact of the Hall current produced was taken into account. The physical problem was transformed into a mathematical form with the help of suitable transformations to reduce the complexity of the problem. The transformed system of coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) was solved with the semi-analytical method. The results are plotted in comparison with the ordinary nanofluid (CuO+kerosene oil) and hybrid nanofluid (Ag+CuO+kerosene oil). The impact of various parameters $(Pr,Sc,{\gamma }_0,m,M,Nb,Nt,{ϵ}_1,{ϵ}_2)$ on the state variables is described. The velocity gradient under the impact of the mass flux and magnetic parameter shows a decreasing behavior, while the Hall parameter and the stretching ratio show an increasing behavior. Moreover, the skin friction, rate of heat, and mass transfer are numerically displayed through tables. In this work, we found that the thermal and concentration relaxation coefficients showed a decreasing behavior for their increasing trends. For the validation of the implemented technique, the squared residuals are computed in Table 2, which shows that the increasing number of iterations decreases the squared residual error. The results show that Ag+CuO+kerosene oil has good performance in the reduction of the heat transfer rate. Full article