Search Results (11,451)

Background/Objectives: Studies have demonstrated significant morbidity and mortality associated with airway management, especially when provided outside of the operative setting. The goal of this study was to compare baseline measurements of airway management procedures between anesthesia providers (CRNAs and anesthesiologists) and respiratory therapists using high-fidelity manikins. Methods: This prospective study assessed anesthesia providers and respiratory therapists performing direct laryngoscopy (DL), video laryngoscopy (VL), and LMA placement. The same Laerdal SimMan high-fidelity manikin (Laerdal, Stavanger, Norway) was used in all assessments, with the detection of end-tidal “carbon dioxide” serving as evidence of success for each procedure. Each procedure was performed twice, once under “Healthy Patient” SimMan settings, and once under the “Limited Cervical Range of Motion (ROM)” (DL), “Pharyngeal Obstruction” (VL), and “Full Tongue Edema” (LMA) settings, respectively, to simulate a moderately difficult airway. The order in which the techniques were performed was randomized for each participant. Completion time and number of attempts were recorded for each procedure and compared between the groups. Results: Sixty-two providers (30 anesthesia providers and 32 respiratory therapists) were enrolled. There were no significant differences in average time to completion for any procedure, except respiratory therapists took longer than anesthesia providers in VL with simulated pharyngeal obstruction (p = 0.0004). There were no differences in number of attempts needed for successful completion. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that while completion times for DL and LMA placement were similar amongst provider groups, average time to completion of VL for respiratory therapists was longer under difficult simulated settings. These results reflect potential areas of improvement for other provider groups that may have airway privileges at their respective institutions. Full article

This study aims to present the results from the assessment of carbonation depth, corrosion, and compressive strength of real marine structures in a 49-year-old gas processing industry. The assessment was achieved through visual observations and non-destructive tests, including rebound hammer test, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) test, and potential corrosion mapping, conducted in the field. Several cylindrical samples were also cored to test the concrete compressive strength and carbonation depth. The results were subsequently used to calculate the remaining load-bearing capacity of the structures. The observations and measurements showed that carbonation depth ranged from 0 to 63% of the concrete cover, and potential corrosion was at a low to medium level in areas where corrosion had not occurred, while the actual compressive strength is still above the design strength. Moreover, based on the UPV test, the pulse velocity of the concrete is around 3600 m/s, indicating a good concrete quality. Meanwhile, severe corrosion of reinforcing steel occurred locally and only at certain places, which caused a very significant reduction in the diameter and cracks as well as spalling of the concrete cover. The process further led to a significant reduction in the load-bearing capacity. Therefore, repairing and strengthening of the structures were proposed using epoxy resin with corrosion inhibitor, cementitious, polymer-modified repair mortar containing reactive micro-silica, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) rods, and CFRP sheets. The proposed method can be applied to these structures and also serves as a reference for repairing and strengthening other structures experiencing the same issue. Full article

Cloud computing has transformed modern IT infrastructure by enabling scalable, on-demand access to virtualized resources. However, the rapid growth of cloud services has intensified energy consumption across data centres, increasing operational costs and carbon footprints. Traditional load-balancing methods, such as Round Robin and First-Fit, often fail to adapt dynamically to fluctuating workloads and heterogeneous resources. To address these limitations, this study introduces a Reinforcement Learning-guided hybrid optimization framework that integrates the Black Eagle Optimizer (BEO) for global exploration with the Pelican Optimization Algorithm (POA) for local refinement. A lightweight RL controller dynamically tunes algorithmic parameters in response to real-time workload and utilization metrics, ensuring adaptive and energy-aware scheduling. The proposed method was implemented in CloudSim 3.0.3 and evaluated under multiple workload scenarios (ranging from 500 to 2000 cloudlets and up to 32 VMs). Compared with state-of-the-art baselines, including PSO-ACO, MS-BWO, and BSO-PSO, the RL-enhanced hybrid BEO–POA achieved up to 30.2% lower energy consumption, 45.6% shorter average response time, 28.4% higher throughput, and 12.7% better resource utilization. These results confirm that combining metaheuristic exploration with RL-based adaptation can significantly improve the energy efficiency, responsiveness, and scalability of cloud scheduling systems, offering a promising pathway toward sustainable, performance-optimized data-centre management. Full article

Road transport in the European Union is responsible for approximately 60% of PM10 emissions and 45% of PM2.5 emissions. Acoustic agglomeration is researched to be the most effective after-treatment method to control particle pollution. Recent experimental research suggests that at a frequency of around 20 kHz and a sound pressure level of 140 dB, particles can be agglomerated. The kinetic energy of the particles is influenced by the presence of acoustics, and this enhances the collision efficiency between the particles. These collided fine particles increase in size and can be easily filtered through conventional filters. Additionally, clean burning biofuels produce comparatively fewer particles; hence RME is used for experiments along with its two blends of isopropanol (RME95I5 and RME90I10). The results are then compared to those of standard diesel fuel. With an increase in load, an average reduction of 20% in fine particles is observed along with an increase in large-sized particles. The aggregation of smaller particles is observed in a range of 0–50% in almost all tested conditions. With the increase in isopropanol from 5 to 10%, oxygen content in the fuel increased by 7%, a 1% reduction in carbon and a 2% reduction in C/H ratio is observed which led to a 6 and 9% reduction in particle emissions at 60 Nm and 90 Nm, respectively. At higher loads, D100, RME95I5 and RME90I10 recorded an agglomeration of 10%, 111% and 189%, respectively. Similar results are observed for the tendency for agglomeration at lower loads. Full article

β-blockers are among the most widely prescribed cardiovascular drugs and are increasingly recognised as emerging pollutants due to their persistence, continuous release into aquatic environments, and potential toxicological effects on aquatic organisms. Their removal in conventional wastewater treatment plants is often inefficient, highlighting the need for biological remediation strategies. This study aimed to identify bacterial strains with the highest potential for the biotransformation of β-blockers. Therefore, we isolated and characterised bacterial strains capable of transforming two commonly used β-blockers—propranolol and metoprolol. The strains BB2 and BB3, which were able to transform propranolol and metoprolol, respectively, were identified as Raoultella terrigena and Stenotrophomonas terrae, respectively. BB2 showed broad metabolic versatility, utilising a wide range of carbon sources, whereas BB3 exhibited limited substrate utilisation. Antibiotic resistance profiling further distinguished the strains, with BB2 resistant across multiple antibiotic classes and BB3 largely sensitive. Co-metabolic assays demonstrated that supplementation with specific carbon and nitrogen sources markedly enhanced β-blocker removal, increasing propranolol biotransformation from 5% to 50% and metoprolol from 4% to 36%. These findings demonstrate the bioremediation potential of newly isolated strains and emphasise the importance of aligning microbial metabolic traits with nutrient conditions to improve pharmaceutical removal in wastewater treatment systems. Full article

With the continuous expansion in China’s vehicle fleet, emissions of CO₂ and air pollutants from the on-road transportation sector are widely projected to be rising, posing a challenge to realizing China’s targets of carbon peaking in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060, as well as the national target for air quality improvement. Therefore, vehicle electrification in the on-road transportation sector is urgently needed to reduce emissions of CO₂ and air pollutants, as it serves as a key pathway to align transportation development with sustainability goals. While vehicle electrification is supposed to be the primary solution, there is a research gap in quantifying the provincial, environmental, and economic impacts of implementing such a policy in China. To bridge this gap, we projected the provincial-level ownership of different types of vehicles based on historical trends, assessed the emission reduction potential for CO₂ and air pollutants using the LEAP model from 2021 to 2060, and predicted the provincial marginal abatement costs at different mitigation stages under various scenarios with different strategies of vehicle electrification and development patterns of electricity structure. Our results show that the implementation of vehicle electrification lowers the national carbon peak by 0.2–0.6 Gt yr⁻¹ and advances its achievement by 1–3 years ahead of 2030. The marginal abatement cost ranges from $532 to $3466 per ton CO₂ (tCO₂⁻¹) in 2025 and from −$180 to −$113 tCO₂⁻¹ in 2060 across scenarios. The provincial marginal abatement cost curves further indicate that China’s vehicle electrification should be prioritized in cost-effective regions (e.g., Shanghai and Guangdong), while concurrently advancing nationwide grid decarbonization to guarantee the supply of low-carbon electricity across the country. This optimized pathway ensures that transportation decarbonization aligns with both environmental and economic requirements, providing actionable support for China’s sustainable development strategy. Full article

This study introduces a simple, sensitive, efficient, and low-cost gas detection method in the terahertz range. A mode-adjustable Fabry–Pérot cavity is proposed to enhance detection by tuning the cavity length to match the cavity’s resonant frequency with the gas absorption peak. Terahertz frequency domain spectroscopy (THz-FDS), offering MHz-level resolution, provides stronger applicability than other spectral systems. Carbon monoxide (CO) is used as the test gas, with its 465 GHz absorption peak validating the coupling enhancement. The experiment measures CO absorption spectra from 0.02 to 1.5 THz, achieving a detection limit of 7%. Using a vacuum cavity to eliminate water vapor interference, low concentrations are detected, with a mode number of m = 10 yielding a detection limit of 3500 ppm, 20 times better than previous results. The impact of different modes on coupling was analyzed, showing more effective coupling when the Q-value of the resonant peak closely matches that of the gas absorption peak. This method demonstrates high sensitivity and applicability for detecting low concentrations of toxic and harmful gases. Full article

The long-term viscoelastic behaviour of epoxy matrices in Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) tendons can lead to creep strains which must be accurately quantified to improve the current necessarily conservative design guidelines for bridge applications. However, the task of experimentally capturing such strains—typically in the range of 0.05%—requires sensors with reliable long-term accuracy and precision. This study investigates creep in CFRP tendons subjected to sustained tensile loading at 80% (for 7 days) and 88% (for 22 h) of their ultimate tensile strength. Four strain sensing techniques were employed to capture the creep strains of the CFRP tendons: bonded metal foil strain gauges, a contact extensometer, Digital Image Correlation, and distributed fibre optic strain sensing. This work precisely quantifies—for the first time in CFRP creep testing—the influence of experimental artefacts on the performance of the strain sensors, including test rig movement, temperature sensitivity, and localised surface inhomogeneities. Results reveal significant measurement distortions: the extensometer recorded strain increases of 250% during tendon slip, while distributed fibre optics detected localised strain peaks reaching 150% of the surface average. These findings demonstrate that sensor-induced noise can substantially contaminate creep strain data, underscoring the critical need for rigorous experimental protocols and thorough sensor validation in CFRP creep studies. Full article

Fungal endophytes can be identified in a wide range of plant species which help to protect from both abiotic and biotic stressors. This research focused on using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) analysis to gain insight into the foliar endophytic fungal diversity between Morinda tinctoria and Pithecellobium dulce. The study obtained a total of 118,547 sequencing reads, which were grouped into 266 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) with a 97% similarity threshold. M. tinctoria had more OTUs than P. dulce. Alpha diversity results show that both plant species support varied microbial communities with similar but distinct biodiversity profiles. The Shannon index revealed that M. tinctoria had considerably more fungal diversity than P. dulce. The correlation matrix and PCoA depicts the pairwise correlations between several soil metrics such as the total nitrogen level, entire phosphorus, overall potassium, and the electrical conductivity, total carbon from organic matter, pH levels, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, and boron. The OTUs were classified into 5 phyla, 18 classes, 40 orders, 70 families, and 36 genera, where the phylum Ascomycota has a relative abundance of (50–55%), followed by Basidiomycota at (55–60%). The most abundant genera were Wallemia (30–35%), Saitozyma (30–40%), and Talaromyces (20–25%), with average relative abundances. Unassigned genera show a significant proportion of fungal taxa that are still taxonomically unclear. A comparative analysis has been performed between the two plants, M. tinctoria has a higher fungal diversity, which is frequently associated with increased ecological stability, disease resistance, and better functional relationships with the host plant. Full article

Soil degradation, declining fertility, and rising greenhouse gas emissions highlight the urgent need for sustainable soil management strategies. Among them, biochar has gained recognition as a multifunctional material capable of enhancing soil fertility, sequestering carbon, and valorizing biomass residues within circular economy frameworks. This review synthesizes evidence from 186 peer-reviewed studies to evaluate how feedstock diversity, pyrolysis temperature, and elemental composition shape the agronomic and environmental performance of biochar. Crop residues dominated the literature (17.6%), while wood, manures, sewage sludge, and industrial by-products provided more targeted functionalities. Pyrolysis temperature emerged as the primary performance driver: 300–400 °C biochars improved pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), water retention, and crop yield, whereas 450–550 °C biochars favored stability, nutrient concentration, and long-term carbon sequestration. Elemental composition averaged 60.7 wt.% C, 2.1 wt.% N, and 27.5 wt.% O, underscoring trade-offs between nutrient supply and structural persistence. Greenhouse gas (GHG) outcomes were context-dependent, with consistent Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) reductions in loam and clay soils but variable CH₄ responses in paddy systems. An emerging trend, present in 10.6% of studies, is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve predictive accuracy, adsorption modeling, and life-cycle assessment. Collectively, the evidence confirms that biochar cannot be universally optimized but must be tailored to specific objectives, ranging from soil fertility enhancement to climate mitigation. Full article

Expansive clay soils present major challenges for infrastructure due to their high swelling potential and low bearing capacity. While conventional stabilisers, such as lime and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), are effective, they are environmentally unsustainable due to their high carbon footprint. This study examines the potential of shredded recycled polyethene terephthalate (PET) fibres as a low-carbon alternative for stabilising high-plasticity clays. PET fibres were incorporated at dosages ranging from 0% to 1.2% by dry weight, and their influence on compaction characteristics, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), California Bearing Ratio (CBR), swelling behaviour, and microstructure was evaluated through laboratory testing and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Among the tested mixes, the 1.0% PET content exhibited the highest measured performance, resulting in a 37% increase in UCS, a 125% enhancement in unsoaked CBR, more than a two-fold increase in soaked CBR, and a 15% reduction in the Differential Free Swell Index (DFSI). SEM analysis indicated the formation of a three-dimensional fibre matrix, which improved particle interlock and reduced microcrack propagation. However, higher fibre dosages caused agglomeration and macrovoid formation, which adversely affected performance. Overall, the findings suggest that the inclusion of PET fibres can enhance both geotechnical and environmental performance, providing a sustainable stabilisation strategy that utilises plastic waste while reducing reliance on OPC. Full article

Boreholes in the Teleghma region of northeastern Algeria discharge thermal water with temperatures between 40 and 49 °C and total dissolved solids (TDS) ranging from 570 to 940 mg/L. The stable isotope compositions range from –7.8‰ to –6.2‰ for δ¹⁸O and –52.6‰ to –43.3‰ for δ²H, indicating a meteoric origin. Based on these isotopic signatures, the water is classified as immature and undersaturated with respect to the equilibrium line on the Giggenbach Na–K–Mg ternary diagram. The water exhibits a sodium–chloride (Na–Cl) facies, closely associated with Triassic formations rich in evaporitic deposits. This association was confirmed by the IIGR method, which illustrates the chemical evolution of the hydrothermal fluid as it ascends from the karstic carbonate reservoir through conduits and traverses clay formations. Consequently, computed saturation indices and applied inverse modeling significantly contributed to understanding the interactions between the hydrothermal water and the traversed rock. At the local scale, halite dissolution is the primary mineral phase driving chemical changes. Regionally, however, the processes are dominated by gypsum dissolution and cation exchange reactions between calcium and sodium ions. These findings offer valuable insights into the geochemical processes that shape the Teleghma geothermal system, with implications for resource management and potential applications. Full article

This study investigated sawdust-derived activated carbon (SAC) as a sustainable reinforcing filler for vulcanized rubber bushings (VRBs). Two types SAC200 (75 µm, carbonized at 200 °C) and SAC400 (38 µm, carbonized at 400 °C) were chemically activated and incorporated into natural rubber (NR) at 25–55 phr loadings, while SAC free VRBs served as controls. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed that SAC400 exhibited stronger hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups, indicating higher surface reactivity compared with SAC200. The incorporation of SAC increased cross-linking density, thereby enhancing both curing behavior and mechanical performance. VRBs reinforced with SAC400 demonstrated higher maximum torque (up to 38.07 kg·cm), shorter scorch time (5 min 58 s), and reduced cure time (11 min 05 s) relative to SAC200 and the control. Mechanical properties improved markedly, with hardness and tensile strength rising from 45 Shore A and 5.52 MPa in the control to 70 Shore A and 13.40 MPa in SAC400. Although elongation at break decreased slightly, it remained within the acceptable range for dynamic applications. Swelling resistance also increased, reaching 101.76% at 25 °C and 106.61% at 100 °C. Overall, SAC400 consistently outperformed SAC200 and the control, highlighting its potential as a renewable, biomass-derived filler for high-performance rubber bushings and promising a sustainable alternative to conventional fillers in industrial applications. Full article

Microbial metabolism is intricately governed by thermodynamic constraints that dictate energetic efficiency, growth dynamics, and metabolic pathway selection. Previous research has primarily examined these principles under carbon-limited conditions, demonstrating how microbes optimize their proteomic resources to balance metabolic efficiency and growth rates. This study extends this thermodynamic framework to explore microbial metabolism under various non-carbon nutrient limitations (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur). By integrating literature data from a range of species, it is shown that growth under anabolic nutrient limitations consistently yields more negative Gibbs free energy ($\Delta G$) values for the net catabolic reaction (NCR) per unit of biomass than carbon-limited scenarios. The findings suggest three potentially complementary hypotheses: (1) proteome allocation hypothesis: microbes favor faster enzymes to reduce the proteome fraction used for catabolism, thus freeing proteome resources for additional nutrient transporters; (2) coupled transport contribution hypothesis: the more negative $\Delta G$ of the NCR may in part stem from the increased reliance on ATP-coupled or energetically driven transport mechanisms for nutrient uptake under limitation; (3) bioenergetic efficiency hypothesis: microbes prefer pathways with a more negative $\Delta G$ to enhance the cellular energy status, such as membrane potentials or the ATP/ADP ratio, to support nutrient uptake under anabolic limitations. This integrative thermodynamic analysis broadens the understanding of microbial adaptation strategies and offers valuable insights for biotechnological applications in metabolic engineering and microbial process optimization. Full article

Honey adulteration has long been a nuisance in local and international trade. Sugar syrup addition and false labeling of botanical origin have created a challenge in identifying fraudulent honey supplies and products. Stable carbon isotope ratio analysis (SCIRA) has been widely employed in honey authentication. While it is effective in identifying the addition of C4 plant-derived sugars, it does not provide information related to honey’s botanical source. This research investigated the combination of SCIRA and melissopalynology to provide a more robust assessment of honey integrity and showed that PCA analysis of δ¹³C together with sugar profiles could further improve the decision involving addition of sugar syrups. A total of 34 beekeeper honey samples were analyzed from 7 provinces of Thailand with a focus on longan honey. Twenty-four samples passed the δ¹³C criteria, exhibiting δ¹³C of bulk honey ranging from −28.53 ± 0.19‰ to −22.89 ± 0.08‰ and δ¹³C of extracted protein ranging from −29.30 ± 0.07‰ to −22.76 ± 0.03‰. Pollen profiling further eliminated honey of questionable and multifloral origins, yielding only eight samples that passed both criteria of being monofloral and not being adulterated with C4-derived sugars. These included six samples of longan honey and two honey samples of other botanical origins, yielding an overall passing rate of 23.5%. Our study showed that by combining SCIRA and melissopalynology, a robust determination of honey integrity could be achieved. Full article