Search Results (1,845)

The global transition towards sustainable food systems has intensified the search for alternative protein sources that can meet human nutritional demands with reduced environmental impacts. Although microalgae are rich in protein, their applications in food remain limited due to thick cell walls and intense green color. The aim of this study is to modify Chlorella vulgaris by high-pressure homogenization (HPH) and decolorization to improve its processability for extrusion-based 3D printing. Microalgal biomass was pretreated by HPH at different pressures (10,000, 15,000, 20,000 psi) for one to three passes, followed by pigment removal using ethanol of different concentrations (70, 85, 100%). Microscopic imaging shows that HPH effectively disrupted microalgal cell walls and caused cell disintegration, resulting in increased foaming stability (22–28%) but lower solubility (up to 24%), with other functional properties largely preserved. Ethanol treatments markedly decolored microalgae and increased their water-holding capacity (10–45%) and solubility (6–11%). The formulation of HPH-treated decolorized microalgae with soy protein isolate and xanthan gum increased the viscosity (66–179%) and elasticity (78–235%) of printing inks. The resulting 3D prints show higher hardness (47–128%), springiness (up to 155%) and chewiness (47–408%). The information obtained from this study provides guidance for modifying the functional and rheological properties of microalgae and contributes to advancing the formulation and manufacturing of microalgae-based foods. Full article

In response to the complex erosion environment caused by periodic water level fluctuations, dry–wet cycles, and long-term water flow scouring on the Yangtze River bank, three typical soil-fixing and bank-protecting plants, Cynodon dactylon, Carex breviculmis, and Digitaria sanguinalis, which can adapt to both aquatic and terrestrial conditions, were selected for planting experiments. Tests on root–soil composite shear strength, disintegration, and water flow scouring were conducted to investigate the effects of different bank-protecting plants on bank stabilization. The results show that: 1. The root systems of the three plants significantly enhance the soil shear strength at various soil depths, but the reinforcing effect decreases with increasing soil depth. The cohesion strength of the root–soil composites ranks as Carex breviculmis > Digitaria sanguinalis > Cynodon dactylon, with maximum increases of 54.83 kPa, 20.66 kPa, and 6.5 kPa, respectively, equivalent to 3.16, 1.82, and 1.26 times that of bare soil. 2. Under dry–wet cycling, the water stability of the root–soil composites is significantly higher than that of bare soil. The disintegration residual rate of Cynodon dactylon and Digitaria sanguinalis decreased from 81.76% to 38.23% and from 80.18% to 34.34%, respectively, whereas Carex breviculmis showed only a slight decrease from 80.41% to 75.1%. Carex breviculmis exhibits the strongest stability and is least affected by dry–wet cycles, while the water stability of Cynodon dactylon and Digitaria sanguinalis declines noticeably with increasing cycle numbers. The plants’ ability to improve soil water stability ranks as Carex breviculmis > Cynodon dactylon > Digitaria sanguinalis. 3. The enhancement of bank erosion resistance is mainly attributed to the formation of a root-reinforced network, which strengthens the soil through root–soil interlocking and anchorage, thereby increasing resistance to flow-induced shear stress and reducing particle detachment under hydraulic action. The bank erosion resistance index ranks as Carex breviculmis > Cynodon dactylon > Digitaria sanguinalis, and decreasing with increasing runoff velocity. Compared to bare soil slopes, the maximum enhancement effects on bank erosion resistance are 75.1%, 63.3%, and 54.2% respectively. Full article

Three food-like tablet types, with Young’s moduli similar to those of real foods, were prepared to investigate breakup during digestion using caffeine as a model solute. Texture was evaluated in situ during simulated digestion by measuring Young’s moduli and fracturability at various time points, providing indicators of stiffness and toughness. Type 1 disintegrated immediately; Type 2 dissolved first, followed by breakup at (1.5 ± 0.2) min, and Type 3 underwent dissolution. Young’s modulus decreased rapidly for Type 1 within a minute (from 1.00 to 0.38 MPa), while Type 2 exhibited a decrease at 1.5 min (0.94–0.58 MPa) before breakup. Type 3 resisted disintegration due to its higher modulus of elasticity. The time-dependent decrease in Young’s modulus is consistent with previous studies, suggesting that soft materials are more readily broken down. In simulated gastric fluid (SGF), Type 2 displayed similar dissolution and breakup behaviour (1.8 ± 0.04) min, followed by structural stabilisation due to swelling, with a slight decrease in modulus and fracturability at breakup. The study introduces a novel method that combines time-resolved, in situ textural measurements with real-time visual observation under physiologically relevant pulsatile flow, using purpose-designed food-like model materials to support the prediction of food breakdown behaviour and the design of foods with controlled digestion. Full article

Background/Objectives: Tablet development requires simultaneous optimization of multiple quality attributes under limited experimental budgets, yet formulation–property relationships are highly nonlinear in mixture systems. To support pre-formulation decision-making prior to extensive tablet prototyping, this study proposes an AI framework that organizes formulation and process data together with raw-material property records into a reusable database, and enriches conventional composition/process features with physically motivated mixture descriptors derived from raw-material properties and formulation/process settings. Methods: Mixture-level scalar descriptors are constructed by composition-weighted aggregation of material properties, and particle size distribution (PSD) is incorporated via a compact set of summary statistics computed from composition-weighted mixture PSDs. Three feature sets are compared: (i) Materials + Processes (MP), (ii) MP with scalar Descriptors (MPD), and (iii) MPD with PSD summaries (MPDD). Five target properties are modeled: hardness, disintegration time, flow function, cohesion, and thickness. We train and evaluate Random Forest, Extra Trees Regressor, Lasso, Partial Least Squares, Support Vector Regression, and a multi-branch neural network that processes the three feature blocks separately and concatenates them for prediction. For interpolation assessment, repeated Train/Dev/Test splitting (5:3:2) across multiple random seeds is used, and the effect of feature augmentation is quantified by paired RMSE improvements with bootstrap confidence intervals and paired Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. To assess robustness under practical formulation updates, rolling-origin time-series splits are employed and Applicability Domain indicators are computed to characterize out-of-distribution coverage. Results: Across interpolation evaluations, mixture-descriptor augmentation (MPD/MPDD) improves hardness and disintegration time in most settings, whereas gains for flow function are smaller and cohesion/thickness show mixed effects under limited sample sizes. Conclusions: Under extrapolation-oriented evaluation, the descriptors can improve hardness but may degrade disintegration-time prediction under covariate shift, emphasizing the need for careful descriptor selection and dimensionality control when deploying pre-formulation predictors. Full article

Children are often underserved by adult-oriented oral medicines, leading to off-label use and dosage-form manipulation that may compromise dosing accuracy. This review summarises recent advances in paediatric orodispersible tablets (ODTs), focusing on manufacturing technologies, superdisintegrants, taste masking, and in vitro disintegration testing. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance and a protocol registered with the International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols (registration number INPLASY2025110022), we searched PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar for experimental studies on paediatric-relevant ODT formulation and evaluation. Two reviewers screened studies and extracted data on manufacturing methods, excipients, disintegration/dissolution testing, and key outcomes. Risk of bias was assessed using a six-domain framework. Overall, 65 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. Direct compression was the dominant method, with freeze-drying, sublimation, spray-drying, nanoparticle-in-tablet systems, and semi-solid extrusion/3D printing also reported. Crospovidone, croscarmellose sodium, and sodium starch glycolate were the most common superdisintegrants, while natural and co-processed disintegrants showed promise as cost-effective alternatives. Disintegration was usually assessed using pharmacopoeial methods, with some modified set-ups to better simulate oral conditions. Paediatric ODT development is advancing rapidly. Broader translation requires harmonised disintegration testing, age-stratified acceptability reporting, and GMP-ready workflows, alongside benchmarking of superdisintegrants and attention to dose flexibility, packaging, and affordability. Full article

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are widely used, structurally complex mixtures of chlorinated alkanes whose ecological risks in aquatic ecosystems have raised increasing concern. However, the toxic effects and molecular mechanisms of CPs on primary aquatic producers remain poorly understood. In this study, we used the eukaryotic green algae Chlorella sp. and the prokaryotic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) as test organisms to systematically investigate the effects of CPs with different carbon chain lengths, namely short-chain CPs (SCCPs), medium-chain CPs (MCCPs), and long-chain CPs (LCCPs), on algal growth, photosynthetic pigment content, antioxidant systems, cellular ultrastructure, and the underlying molecular responses. Our results showed that CPs toxicity to algae is significantly dependent on both CPs carbon-chain length and algal species. Exposure to 1.0 mg/L SCCPs for 96 h produced a growth inhibition of Chlorella sp. of 14.45%. CPs’ exposure significantly altered algal Chl-a content and elicited antioxidant defense responses, and affected the synthesis and extracellular release of MC-RR and MC-LR in M. aeruginosa. Ultrastructural observations revealed cell surface wrinkling and deformation in both Chlorella sp. and M. aeruginosa. Chlorella sp. additionally exhibited thylakoid disintegration and plasmolysis. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that CPs with different chain lengths significantly downregulated genes in Chlorella sp. associated with DNA replication and mismatch repair, suggesting impairment of replication initiation and elongation and compromised genome stability. Concurrently, genes encoding photosynthetic antenna proteins and carbon fixation were upregulated. In M. aeruginosa, CPs exposure markedly disturbed energy metabolism pathways, including glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation, which were generally downregulated. This study provides a comparative assessment of CPs’ toxicity between the eukaryotic algae Chlorella sp. and the prokaryotic algae M. aeruginosa, revealing that toxicity is co-determined by carbon chain length and algal species. Additionally, it provides critical toxicological data and establishes a theoretical foundation for the scientific assessment of the aquatic ecological risks posed by CPs with different carbon chain lengths. Full article

Traditional dwellings as the products of the combined effects of time, space and agency possess both a dynamic nature and historical continuity. With the progression of globalization and urbanization, the patterns of villages in Southwest China have transformed from enclosed, stable and homogeneous into open, dynamic and diverse. As crucial representations of rural spatial reconstruction and cultural evolution, the form and function of traditional dwellings are undergoing profound transformation and reorganization. The introduction of modern building methods and the shift in living concepts and aesthetic preferences intensify the impact on traditional building techniques, leading to a rupture in the traditional dwelling typological system. From a typological perspective, this study analyzes the transformation process and organizational characteristics of the traditional courtyard house prototype, as well as the social structures and cultural logic it reflects, by integrating the family life cycle, spatial concepts, and residential practices of Dai households. The findings indicate that Dai dwellings have undergone a four-phase typological process. The initial transformation was evident in the architectural details of the main rooms. Secondly, the spatial sequence embodying the clan order gradually disintegrated, and spaces with religious functions were continuously weakened, eventually being replaced by modern residential space dominated by standardized functional zoning. Concurrently, the layout of Dai dwellings was simplified from a four-sided courtyard house into a three-sided courtyard house and ultimately transformed into the layout primarily composed of independent, non-courtyard buildings. Its typological process reflects proactive adaptations to modern residential culture. However, this adaptive transition has also undermined the traditional Dai spatial order and cultural meaning, revealing a tension between cultural adaptation and cultural dissolution. Full article

Background: This study aimed to investigate, from a scientific and formulation perspective, an oral semaglutide tablet incorporating sodium caprate (C10) as an intestinal absorption enhancer and to optimize its formulation performance using a Quality by Design (QbD)-based approach. Semaglutide—a peptide-based therapeutic—provides effective glycemic control and weight reduction; however, its extremely low oral bioavailability has limited administration to subcutaneous injection. Although various attempts have been made to improve peptide absorption, achieving consistent delivery through oral routes remains a significant challenge due to enzymatic degradation and poor membrane permeability. Methods: To overcome these limitations, an absorption enhancer (sodium caprate) was incorporated to enhance oral absorption, and a Quality by Design (QbD)-based approach was applied to systematically guide formulation development. Following the definition of the Quality Target Product Profile and critical quality attributes, risk assessments (Preliminary Hazard Analysis and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) were conducted to identify key formulation factors. A design of experiments approach was then employed to determine the optimal tablet composition. Results: Consequently, the resulting formulation met all predefined quality criteria, including hardness, disintegration, friability, and content uniformity. In addition, the in vitro dissolution profile demonstrated a release pattern comparable to that of the reference product, with similarity factor values of 74.4, 74.7, and 71.3 at pH 1.2, 4.0, and 6.8, respectively. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the formulation can achieve consistent and reproducible quality performance as an oral semaglutide dosage form. The QbD-based formulation design strategy presented in this study provides a robust and broadly applicable approach for developing oral delivery systems for peptide drugs, including semaglutide, and ultimately provides useful formulation insight for future peptide-based oral delivery research. Full article

The global shipping network, which handles over 80% of international trade volume, is increasingly exposed to disruptions from typhoons and other extreme weather events under climate change. However, conventional network vulnerability assessments often overlook the geographically heterogeneous nature of such natural hazards. Here, we introduce a typhoon-related systemic vulnerability model (GMSN-TV) that integrates three core components: typhoon exposure, port network sensitivity, and national adaptive capacity, to quantify the Typhoon Vulnerability Index (TVI) of 1075 major ports across 2017 and 2021. Our analysis reveals four key findings. First, the global shipping network became structurally sparser between 2017 and 2021, with edges declining by 17.84% and network efficiency decreasing by 4.22%, rendering it more susceptible to climate-related disruptions. Second, simulated TVI-based natural attacks and conventional degree-based deliberate attacks induce fundamentally different risk patterns: removing the top 10% high-TVI ports in 2021 caused a 6.3% decline in network efficiency, whereas removing the top 10% hub ports resulted in a 20.1% decline, a difference of 13.8 percentage points; however, natural attacks proved more effective at isolating peripheral ports, generating an isolated node ratio of 1.16% compared to 0.00% under deliberate attacks. Third, when removing the top 50% high TVI ports, the contribution of typhoon vulnerability to network degradation increased from 13.77% in 2017 to 15.87% in 2021. Fourth, high-vulnerability ports exhibit significant spatial clustering, with the Northwest Pacific region (50.8%) and the North Atlantic region (29.5%) collectively accounting for over 80% of global high-vulnerability ports in 2021. Compared to conventional topology-based assessments, the GMSN-TV analytical framework proposed in this study integrates typhoon hazard data with network topology, providing a novel scientific tool with enhanced identification efficacy and accuracy. It successfully captures local network disintegration effects entirely missed by traditional deliberate attacks, revealing an isolated node ratio of 12.5% after removing 70% of high-TVI ports. This demonstrates the tool’s precision in identifying hidden high-risk peripheral nodes, enabling decision-makers to prioritize climate adaptation investments for critical maritime infrastructure more accurately. Full article

Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a widely consumed beverage recognized for its high antioxidant content and bioactive compounds with health-promoting properties. Concentrating yerba mate extracts represents a valuable opportunity for industrial applications, including food packaging. Block freeze-concentration is a promising technology for concentrating food solutions while preserving functional compounds. In this context, the use of biodegradable polymers combined with natural components derived from by-products aligns with circular economy principles. This study aimed to develop an active and intelligent biopolymer film using residues from the block freeze-concentration of yerba mate extract (ice fraction). The film was produced by the casting method. Block freeze-concentration was performed in three stages, and process efficiency was evaluated using ice fraction 3. The films were characterized for physical, mechanical, thermal, antioxidant (total phenolic content, DPPH, and ABTS), and intelligent properties, including pH-responsive color changes, thickness, biodegradability, barrier performance, molecular structure by FTIR spectroscopy, and morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The main results showed a total phenolic content of 1.01 ± 0.02 mg GAE g⁻¹ of film, 2094 ± 5.00 µmol TE g⁻¹ for DPPH, and 1610.00 ± 8.00 µmol TE g⁻¹ for ABTS. Color changes observed at different pH levels (4, 7, 10, and 12) demonstrated the film’s potential for application in intelligent packaging as a freshness indicator. The film exhibited complete disintegration under soil burial conditions within 45 days. The film presented a water vapor permeability of (1.80 ± 0.01) × 10⁻⁷ g H₂O·m⁻¹·s⁻¹·Pa⁻¹ and an average thickness of 0.26 ± 0.03 mm. As a result, these findings indicate that products derived from block freeze-concentration residues of yerba mate extract can be effectively applied in sustainable food packaging systems, contributing to shelf-life extension through antioxidant preservation and intelligent functionality. Full article

Background: Nanostructured, rod-shaped microparticles represent a promising drug delivery platform for the pulmonary delivery and targeting of alveolar macrophages by exploiting the aerodynamic advantages of fiber-like geometries. These microrods feature a hierarchical architecture, designed for potential macromolecular payloads, and silica (SiO₂)-based systems have previously been shown to successfully deliver oligonucleotides in vitro. However, current microrod systems mainly rely on nanoparticulate SiO₂-based frameworks with limited biodegradability and lack a specific escape mechanism to the cytosol. Therefore, a nanostructured calcium phosphate (CaP) framework is proposed as a biodegradable and resorbable alternative, featuring pH-responsive dissolution under endolysosomal conditions. Methods and Results: This study presents the fabrication of nanostructured, rod-shaped calcium phosphate microparticles and discusses their suitability as a potential pulmonary drug delivery platform. The particles feature dissolution-driven disintegration in acidic and ion-rich environments relevant to phagolysosomes. In addition, the particles exhibited a favorable acute cytotoxicity profile in the murine alveolar macrophage cell line MH-S compared with their SiO₂-based counterparts. Comparative RNA-seq analysis of MH-S exposed to the particles indicates a mild transcriptomic response, while canonical signatures of classical or alternative macrophage activation programs were not observed, supporting a generally well-tolerated exposure profile of the carrier. Conclusions: Together, these findings establish key prerequisites for employing calcium phosphate microrods as a biodegradable pulmonary carrier platform in subsequent studies incorporating therapeutic cargos. Full article

This paper presents a theoretical framework for predicting molten jet breakup at the outlet of a rotating granulation system operating without forced excitation. The study focuses on the critical regime in which mechanical excitation is absent, and jet disintegration is governed solely by intrinsic hydrodynamic instabilities. The analysis is based on the linear stability theory of viscous liquid jets, employing the Rayleigh–Plateau and Tomotika approaches adapted to melt conditions typical of industrial granulation processes. The Navier–Stokes equations are formulated in a cylindrical coordinate system for an axisymmetric, incompressible viscous jet with appropriate kinematic and dynamic boundary conditions at the free surface. The breakup mechanism is characterized using key dimensionless parameters, including the Ohnesorge, Weber, Reynolds, and Capillary numbers, enabling identification of the dominant instability regime. Analytical expressions are derived for the most unstable wavelength, perturbation growth rate, breakup time, and characteristic droplet diameter. These relationships are evaluated for representative thermophysical properties of molten urea. Theoretical predictions obtained from classical Rayleigh theory, viscosity-corrected models, and modern empirical correlations show strong agreement, with deviations not exceeding 7%. Sensitivity analysis indicates limited dependence of the predicted droplet diameter on moderate variations in viscosity, surface tension, and jet velocity. The proposed model provides a physically grounded basis for predicting and controlling granule size distribution in rotating granulation systems operating without external mechanical excitation. Full article

The raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.), an economically important crop, is affected by the crumbly fruit disorder, a malformation that leads to fruit disintegration at harvest due to poor drupelet cohesion. Despite previous efforts to identify genetic determinants of this phenotype, its complex inheritance and strong environmental component have limited the development of robust predictive markers. This study assessed the behavior and transferability of previously reported SSR and SNP markers associated with crumbly fruit across plants from a diverse panel of 34 R. idaeus cultivars, including in adjacent genomic regions not screened previously. Phenotyping was based on multi-season fruit performance and drupelet cohesion, and genetic variation was analysed using PCR-based genotyping within a multilocus approach. Consistent clustering patterns were observed across multiple SSR and SNP loci, suggesting a reproducible association between these genomic regions and the crumbly phenotype. Overall, the results support a multilocus genetic architecture underlying crumbly fruit, but also demonstrate that previously reported markers are not universally transferable across genetic backgrounds. These findings highlight the importance of integrated, population-aware marker validation to enable more reliable implementation of marker-assisted strategies in raspberry breeding programs. Full article

Archaeological bone artifacts frequently exhibit diminished mechanical integrity as a result of organic matrix degradation. Under adverse environmental conditions, such artifacts are particularly susceptible to surface cracking and disintegration into powder. It is urgently necessary to develop protective materials that possess high permeability, strong reinforcing power and good compatibility. This study evaluated the protective performance of a novel Acrylate Metal Complex (AMC) and two conventional commercial consolidants (acrylic resin Paraloid B72 and ethyl silicate-based material Remmers 300) on fragile bone artifacts. Using simulated samples resembling bone artefacts, a systematic evaluation was conducted to assess the penetration, mechanical reinforcement efficacy, microstructural modifications, chromatic impact, and aging resistance of three consolidants. The results indicate that AMC demonstrates optimal permeation capability and can significantly enhance the surface hardness of bone specimens, achieving an increase of 7.7%. The colorimetric changes observed in all three reinforced materials following treatment remained within acceptable limits (ΔE* < 1.5). Accelerated aging tests—including 300 h of UV irradiation and 30 cycles of alternating dry-wet conditions—demonstrated that bone-mimetic composites reinforced with AMC exhibited significantly superior aging resistance relative to those treated with B72 and Remmers 300. In the actual application verification of the archaeological bone relics, the surface hardness of the reinforced AMC increased by 10%, the wave velocity increased by 14.8%, and there was no glare or crust on the surface. Comprehensive comparison shows that AMC outperforms traditional commercial materials in key performance indicators, demonstrating great potential as a next-generation bone relic conservation material. Full article

This study aimed to develop a 100 mg immediate-release (IR) tablet containing dasatinib monohydrate, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, using a Quality by Design (QbD) framework at laboratory scale. The development strategy focused on systematic identification and control of critical process parameters (CPPs) affecting tablet quality during wet granulation. Preformulation studies were conducted to evaluate key physicochemical properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), including solubility, particle size distribution, and crystallinity, which may influence dissolution behavior. A risk assessment approach based on preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was applied to identify high-risk process variables. Based on the risk assessment results, chopper speed during wet granulation and compression force during tableting were identified as critical process parameters. These factors were further investigated using a Design of Experiments (DoE) approach based on Define Custom Design (DCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) to evaluate their effects on critical quality attributes (CQAs), including dissolution performance, disintegration time, and tablet friability. Response surface analysis established a design space in which chopper speed ranged from approximately 2300–2500 rpm and compression force ranged from 11 to 13 kN, ensuring consistent tablet quality within the investigated operating range. The optimized process conditions produced tablets that satisfied predefined quality targets. Comparative dissolution studies demonstrated dissolution profiles comparable to the reference product across pH 1.2, 4.0, and 6.8 media, with similarity factor (f₂) values ranging from 51.18 to 85.23. The experimentally established design space demonstrated reproducible in vitro performance and physicochemical stability under accelerated storage conditions. Overall, this study demonstrates the practical application of a QbD-based development strategy integrating risk assessment and response surface optimization to improve process understanding and manufacturing robustness in wet granulation-based tablet production. Full article