Search Results (771)

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a transboundary animal pathogen that causes reproductive disorders in ruminants, necessitating standardized molecular surveillance. Adhering to the Chinese national standard GB/T 43159—2023, we developed armored RNA quality control materials using MS2 bacteriophage technology targeting the conserved SBV S segment and comprehensively characterized their physicochemical properties. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed icosahedral symmetric virus-like particles (VLPs, approximately 25 nm), with the stock concentration determined to be 3.48 × 10¹⁰ copies/mL via digital PCR (dPCR). The armored RNA control effectively withstood RNase A degradation and remained stable at 37 °C for over 30 days. In bovine serum matrix simulation assays at identical medium concentrations, the serum armored RNA group (Ct 26.57) was detected 4.89 cycles earlier than the degraded serum naked RNA group (Ct 31.46). This confirms the physical protective efficacy of the MS2 capsid. Concurrently, the serum armored RNA group showed a delay of only 2.17 cycles compared to the aqueous armored RNA group (Ct 24.40), exhibiting a typical matrix effect. Overall, this armored RNA enables full-process quality control encompassing extraction, reverse transcription, and amplification, providing a safe and stable technical reference to support molecular surveillance and diagnostic preparedness for cross-border SBV. Full article

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a neglected tropical disease of relevance due to its chronic complications and limited therapeutic options. Current treatments, mainly benznidazole and nifurtimox, are limited by toxicity, adverse effects, and reduced efficacy in chronic infection. Therefore, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have emerged as promising candidates for identifying new antiparasitic strategies because of their ability to affect multiple cellular targets. In this study, we evaluated the anti-trypanosomal activity, host-cell cytotoxicity, and cellular alterations induced by the human salivary peptide Histatin 5 (Hist 5) against T. cruzi epimastigotes. The reversibility of the antiparasitic effect was assessed through washout assays after 48 h of exposure. Cytotoxicity was evaluated in Vero cells and RAW264.7 macrophages, whereas parasite susceptibility was determined using dose–response curves. The reversibility of the antiparasitic effect was assessed through washout assays after 48 h of exposure. Ultrastructural alterations induced by Hist 5 were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Cell death-associated events were assessed using Annexin V/PI staining and TUNEL assays to detect phosphatidylserine externalization and DNA fragmentation, respectively. Reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide production were quantified using 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H₂DCFDA) fluorescence and the Griess reaction. Hist 5 showed limited cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells and reduced parasite viability in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Following peptide removal, parasite growth recovered only partially, indicating that the antiparasitic effect was not completely reversible. Hist 5 also induced marked ultrastructural damage, apoptosis-like cell death, increased intracellular ROS levels, and enhanced NO production. These findings suggest that Hist 5 affects T. cruzi epimastigotes through multiple cellular alterations while exerting limited effects on host-cell viability. Full article

Asbestos contamination in drinking water remains an underexplored environmental issue despite the widespread historical use of asbestos-cement materials in water infrastructure and buildings worldwide. This study evaluated the occurrence and removal of asbestos fibers throughout the drinking water treatment chain in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from source contamination to household filtration. Synthetic asbestos-contaminated water prepared from asbestos-cement roofing materials was treated using coagulation–flocculation with aluminum sulfate, a pilot-scale conventional treatment train, membrane filtration, and household point-of-use filtration systems. Asbestos quantification and mineral identification were performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with results reported as million fibers per liter (MFL). Coagulation–flocculation achieved the highest removal efficiencies, reaching up to 99.8% at aluminum sulfate dosages between 35 and 45 mg/L. The pilot-scale treatment system substantially reduced asbestos concentrations, with granular filtration representing the principal removal barrier. Membrane filtration exhibited moderate and highly variable performance, with an average removal efficiency of 44.7%, whereas household filters showed inconsistent behavior and occasional concentration peaks associated with possible breakthrough or remobilization processes. The results demonstrate that asbestos removal is strongly governed by the treatment mechanism, with particle destabilization and aggregation outperforming technologies relying exclusively on physical retention. These findings support the progressive replacement of asbestos-containing water infrastructure as the primary long-term preventive strategy, complemented by targeted monitoring and optimized asbestos-removal treatment where fiber contamination is detected or a risk of release from legacy materials exists. Full article

This study presents a gas chromatography-based electronic nose (GC-E-nose) approach for screening and classifying the response patterns of nine predefined odorants in drinking water. The PLSR models provided compound-level concentration prediction, with R² values ranging from 0.86 to 0.99 and RMSE values below 27 µg/L. LDA effectively visualized compound- and concentration-dependent response patterns. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) showed moderate discrimination among the response classes of representative standards; preparation-level leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) of the 225 valid standard-solution observations yielded an overall sample-level accuracy of 74.7% and a macro-averaged sensitivity of 77.6% across the six predefined response classes. Because none of the target ODCs was detected in the field samples, CDA could not be externally validated. Instead, matrix-matched spiked samples were used to evaluate PLSR, supporting the proposed method as a rapid screening tool prior to confirmatory GC-MS analysis. Full article

Real-time visual detection is essential for personnel safety control in firework manufacturing workshops, where inadequate personnel-count control can increase safety risks in hazardous production zones. This study proposes a visual detection and multi-zone personnel safety control method that combines edge-oriented personnel detection, cross-camera identity association, and polygon-based boundary filtering. The detection module is built on YOLO26, which supports inference without non-maximum suppression (NMS). A Global Attention Mechanism (GAM) is adopted instead of the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) because its sequential channel-spatial attention preserves cross-dimensional interactions without the global pooling operations used in CBAM, thereby retaining weak spatial cues from small personnel targets. GAM is incorporated after the Spatial Pyramid Pooling-Fast (SPPF) module to improve detection under overhead views, dust, and occlusion. A cross-camera person re-identification (ReID) layer maintains identity consistency across workshops, while an Irregular Electronic Fence (IEF) excludes detections outside hazardous operating boundaries. On in-situ data collected from Deren Firework Co., Ltd., the proposed method achieves a 98.3% mean average precision at an intersection-over-union threshold of 0.5 (mAP@0.5) with a per-image central processing unit (CPU) processing time of 36.5 ms. Compared with YOLOv8n, this represents a 5.9 percentage point improvement in mAP@0.5 and a 54.6% latency reduction. A three-month field deployment detected 15 safety breaches and supported timely intervention in 4 critical overcrowding incidents, indicating the practical applicability of the method under the evaluated factory conditions. Full article

Background/Objectives: The multi-attribute method (MAM) is a powerful LC-MS workflow for site-specific monitoring of critical quality attributes (CQAs) in biopharmaceutical products, but its sensitivity to LC drift, ionization variability, and mass-calibration shifts has slowed adoption in routine quality control. A blank injection confirms that the system is clean; it does not confirm that the system is ready. This work evaluates a system performance check (SPC) workflow, built around a 13-peptide LC/MS reference standard designed against the system-readiness metrics in USP General Chapter 1060, as a readiness assessment performed before MAM sample analysis. Methods: The workflow was run on a recently installed Agilent 6230C LC/TOF with OpenLab CDS and the integrated MAM for OpenLab CDS, following routine instrument tune and calibration. The 13-peptide mix probes mass accuracy, retention time, peak area and height, in-source fragmentation, methionine oxidation, chromatographic resolution, and sodium and iron adduct formation; it also includes a heavy-to-light peptide pair for a single-point, low-abundance response check and a deamidated peptide pair to monitor a clinically important post-translational modification. Triplicate injections were evaluated against per-target acceptance criteria: mass accuracy (±10 ppm or ±13 ppm for EYK), retention-time %RSD (≤0.5%), and, for a subset of targets, peak-area %RSD (≤10%). Results: Across the three replicates, all thirteen peptides met every acceptance criterion applied to them. The twelve primary targets met their mass-accuracy and retention-time criteria, and the relative-area monitors (sodium and iron adducts, methionine oxidation, the heavy/light detector check, and the deamidation pair) met theirs. The asparagine deamidation pair was detected and reproducibly measured as a relative-area ratio at the +2 and +3 charge states in every replicate (6.7 to 7.0% at +2 and 7.5 to 7.8% at +3, against a <8% criterion), demonstrating reproducible relative monitoring of a clinically important post-translational modification. Conclusions: The SPC workflow provides a single, evidence-backed readiness measurement prior to MAM sample analysis, and it produces documentation, including the audit trail and electronic-signature functionality in OpenLab CDS 3.0, aligned with data-integrity expectations. Full article

Unmanned aerial vehicles have become indispensable components of modern defense systems by conducting Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions to collect critical operational information through onboard sensing technologies, supporting secure communication and information sharing among distributed military assets, and enhancing battlefield situational awareness through real-time sensing and data fusion. In addition, UAVs are increasingly capable of executing a wide range of defense missions, including target search and tracking, electronic warfare, search-and-rescue, and combat support. The integration of AI into UAV-based systems has the potential to enhance these operational capabilities by enabling intelligent perception, autonomous decision-making, adaptive mission planning, autonomous navigation, resilient communications, and cooperative multi-UAV coordination, thereby enabling the autonomous and collaborative execution of complex defense missions. This paper presents an up-to-date review of AI-enabled UAV-based defense systems, focusing on major operational domains including autonomous air combat and cooperative UAV operations, path planning and autonomous navigation, target tracking/detection/classification, cybersecurity, electronic warfare protection, and resilient UAV operation. In addition to surveying the recent literature, this paper provides an integrated system architecture, a functional classification framework, and an analysis of the AI paradigms enabling next-generation UAV-based defense systems. Furthermore, this review synthesizes the key technological trends, lessons learned, and cross-domain research challenges identified across the reviewed studies, providing a unified perspective on the current state of the field. Finally, this paper highlights promising future research directions for resilient, scalable, secure, and intelligent next-generation AI-enabled UAV-based defense systems. Full article

Background: As a common clinical anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX) easily triggers obvious doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC) during clinical application. Accumulating evidence has proven that ferroptosis dominates the pathological process of DIC yet efficient targeted treatment strategies remain scarce. The present work mainly focused on clarifying the protective role of quercetin (QUE) against DIC. Methods: In vivo rat models and in vitro cardiomyocyte injury models were constructed to mimic DIC. Echocardiographic detection and histological staining were adopted to observe overall cardiac function and myocardial fibrotic changes. Ultrastructural alterations of intracellular mitochondria were observed under a transmission electron microscope. Relevant ferroptosis and oxidative stress levels were further determined. Moreover, a Western blot assay and NRF2 gene transfection technique were applied to confirm the involvement of the NRF2 signaling pathway. Results: In vivo and in vitro experimental outcomes showed that QUE treatment effectively relieved abnormal cardiac function and myocardial fibrotic lesions and improved damaged mitochondrial morphology. It also markedly restrained excessive iron accumulation and abnormal lipid peroxidation and restored disturbed redox balance in cardiomyocytes. Further mechanism exploration revealed that QUE could facilitate NRF2 entry into the cell nucleus and activate downstream SLC7A11/GPX4 signaling to maintain cellular glutathione homeostasis. Silencing NRF2 expression could fully reverse the above beneficial influences of QUE. Conclusions: Collectively, our experimental data demonstrated that QUE confers cardioprotective effects against DIC within subacute rat models and cultured cardiomyocyte injury models. Further mechanistic observations revealed that this protective phenotype is closely linked to the activation of NRF2/SLC7A11/GPX4 signaling alongside obvious reductions in multiple characteristic ferroptosis markers. Full article

The demand for a versatile and portable point-of-use (POU) sensor platform has surged due to the pandemic, especially in countries with limited medical laboratory facilities. We recently unveiled a portable, non-planar, interdigitated, flow-through, porous electrode platform that automatically measures electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) signals from various biomarkers. However, the packed powder exhibited a loss of performance over time due to displacement, leaching, and poor stability. Herein, we modified the packing strategy by synthesizing the sensing material within the channel, thereby improving adhesion, structural integrity, and stability. Leveraging the exceptional thermal stability, mechanical strength, and chemical resistance of polyimide (PI), we developed a novel fabrication approach that combines liquid-phase inversion and breath-figure techniques to create a porous PI manifold with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) under varying humidity conditions. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis revealed that lower relative humidity (RH) conditions yield larger but less uniformly distributed pores, leading to increased channel pressure. The manifold demonstrated exceptional stability under rigorous flow conditions, withstanding a high flow rate of 30 µL/min while maintaining consistent pressure-EIS responses. The device produced a measurable proof-of-concept impedance response following exposure to a femtomolar concentration of complementary target ssDNA in 1× PBS within 15 min. A formal limit of detection was not determined in the present study. We developed a mechanically stable sensor design with improved durability under repeated flow conditions by systematically optimizing synthesis conditions and manifold configuration. This innovative fabrication strategy demonstrates the importance of packing methodology in sensor design and paves the way for robust, scalable, and efficient diagnostic solutions in resource-limited settings. Full article

First detected in environmental matrices in the early 2010s, UV-328 has aroused widespread concern due to its toxic risks to terrestrial vascular plants. However, its impacts on photosynthetic performance of bryophytes remain unclear. In this study, we exposed the moss Niphotrichum japonicum to a range of UV-328 concentrations and examined its morphological changes, oxidative stress, photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics, and energy allocation. Our results show that UV-328 caused dose-dependent leaf yellowing, surface shrinkage, and papillae collapse. It degraded photosynthetic pigments, disrupted chlorophyll a/b balance, and induced excess reactive oxygen accumulation. Chlorophyll fluorescence data indicated that UV-328 noticeably lowered Fv/Fm, Y(II), and qP. OJIP kinetics confirmed multi-target damage to the photosynthetic chain, including disruption of the oxygen evolving complex, decline of PSII energetic grouping, blockage of electron transfer from QA⁻ to QB, inhibition of plastoquinone pool turnover, and PSI terminal electron transport. Energy flux parameters pointed to fewer active PSII reaction centers and a higher light-harvesting load on each remaining center, which uncoupled light capture from electron transfer. The concentration that caused clear photosynthetic damage fell between 100 and 150 μM. In conclusion, UV-328 impacts moss photosynthesis through oxidative stress, structural damage, blocked electron transport, and energy imbalance. Full article

Meat flavor significantly influences consumer preference and market value, particularly for indigenous pig breeds renowned for distinctive sensory characteristics. While traditional research has focused on genetic factors and feeding regimens, emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiota plays a crucial role in meat quality attributes. However, the specific contribution of bacterial–fungal co-occurrence to meat flavor formation remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to characterize the associations between intestinal bacterial–fungal co-occurrence networks and the muscle flavor-related metabolite profiles of CX pigs, using an integrated multi-omics approach. Twenty male pigs (10 CX and 10 LAN, 12 months old) were subjected to comprehensive analyses, including meat quality evaluation, electronic nose analysis, 16S and 18S rRNA sequencing, and untargeted metabolomics. CX pigs exhibited significantly superior meat quality characteristics, including higher moisture content (p < 0.001), fat content (p = 0.008), and meat color scores (p < 0.001). Electronic nose analysis revealed significantly higher response values across all ten aroma sensors in CX pigs (p < 0.001), with the most pronounced differences observed in sensors detecting sulfur compounds and organic compounds. Untargeted metabolomics identified 40 differential metabolites, with 27 up-regulated in CX pigs, including key flavor compounds such as glycocholic acid, isorhamnetin, and pantothenic acid. Microbiome analysis demonstrated significantly higher bacterial alpha diversity in CX pigs (p < 0.05), with enrichment of beneficial bacteria, including Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Prevotellaceae_UCG_003, and Phascolarctobacterium, while fungal communities showed enrichment of Candida_Lodderomyces_clade. Correlation network analysis revealed that Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group demonstrated strong positive correlations with flavor compounds (r = 0.575 for isorhamnetin, r = 0.535 for pantothenic acid, p < 0.001) and all electronic nose responses (r = 0.434–0.691, p < 0.001). Bacterial–fungal co-occurrence networks showed synergistic relationships, with Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group positively correlated with Candida_Lodderomyces_clade (r = 0.711, p < 0.001) while exhibiting antagonistic relationships with Piromyces (r = −0.714, p < 0.001). These findings offer novel insights for developing microbiome-targeted strategies to enhance meat quality in pig production systems. Full article

This study investigated the initial absorption dynamics and ultrastructural responses of soybean leaf tissue to foliar application of zinc-based (Zn²⁺) nanofertilizer, using brightfield light microscopy, electron scanning and transmission microscopy (SEM and TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. Anatomically, no relevant structural changes were detected in the roots or stems in any of the treatments. However, leaves treated with ionic Zn²⁺ (T1) exhibited thickening of the palisade parenchyma with Zn²⁺ accumulation in the adaxial epidermis. Samples treated with T2 and T3 revealed epidermal precipitates and intracellular deposits within leaf cells, as evidenced by brightfield optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. These aggregates were absorbed and subsequently dissolved, being no longer observed at the 30 min time point. Ultrastructural analysis confirmed the presence of nanofertilizers within the vacuoles and cytoplasm, suggesting absorption and translocation of Zn²⁺, reinforcing the ability of nano-enabled materials to overcome biological barriers. Our results indicate that zinc-based (Zn²⁺) nanofertilizers can alter cellular features without evident short-term phytotoxicity. Theoretically, this study provides mechanistic insights into nanoparticle dissolution dynamics, biological barrier penetration, and subcellular compartmentalization pathways in crop plants. From an applied perspective, the rapid absorption (<30 min) and preferential organelle targeting suggest potential for precision nutrient delivery systems, though long-term and efficacy evaluations are required before agricultural deployment can be recommended. Full article

This paper presents a frequency domain harmonic and modal analysis of a four-bus Zeta DC–DC converter, targeting the identification of resonance phenomena up to 200 MHz. The method is based on nodal admittance modeling and eigenvalue decomposition of the impedance matrix, enabling extraction of modal impedance and dominant resonance modes. Participation factors and sequential current injection at each bus are employed to evaluate spatial sensitivity and voltage amplification under different excitation scenarios. A two-stage frequency sweep, combining a coarse global scan with fine local refinement around detected peaks, ensures efficient and accurate resonance characterization. Simulation results demonstrate strong dependence of resonance severity on the injection location and highlight the dominant contribution of specific modes and reactive elements. The proposed framework provides physical insight and supports resonance-aware design of power electronic converters. Full article

Forensic diagnosis of drowning remains challenging because postmortem findings are often supportive rather than pathognomonic. The classical diatom test has long been used as an ancillary tool, but its interpretation remains controversial because of contamination, false positives, environmental ubiquity, and heterogeneous analytical workflows. This PRISMA-ScR scoping review mapped emerging diatom-based and adjacent aquatic biological approaches proposed beyond the classical test, with emphasis on analytical innovation, forensic applicability, and medico-legal validation. Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science Core Collection were searched for literature published between 2014 and 2026. After deduplication and screening, 165 studies were included. The literature covered targeted molecular and environmental-biological approaches, drowning-site inference, automated image analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/automated scanning electron microscopy (Auto-SEM) workflows, quantitative and tissue-to-medium comparisons, alternative substrates, contamination assessment, and medico-legal interpretation. Most evidence consisted of controlled experimental or comparative validation studies and case-based forensic applications; no study was classified as multicenter, externally validated, or operationally mature Level 5 evidence. Emerging approaches may strengthen drowning investigations by improving detection, comparison, quantification, and workflow reproducibility. However, they should currently be regarded as adjunctive tools rather than standalone proof of drowning or precise site attribution. Harmonized protocols, standardized environmental reference sampling, explicit contamination controls, external validation, and fit-for-purpose medico-legal interpretation remain central priorities. Full article

Coal ash-slag waste from coal-fired power plants is a high-volume technogenic material whose resource potential is controlled by particle-size heterogeneity, mineralogical composition, and the occurrence modes of valuable elements. This study investigated Au occurrence in ash-slag waste derived from Ekibastuz coal and evaluated gravity–magnetic preconcentration as a diagnostic first stage for separating Au- and Fe-bearing products. The material was characterized by particle-size analysis, X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis, optical and electron-probe microscopy, atomic absorption analysis (AAS), kinetic spectral analysis (KSA), gravity concentration, and magnetic separation. The feed was an aluminosilicate–ferruginous material dominated by mullite, magnetite, quartz, and hematite. In the coarse material, liberated native Au co-reported with heavy Fe-bearing phases: the vibratory spiral concentrate contained 0.99 g/t Au and 39.00% Fe, corresponding to 52.58% Au recovery and 66.49% Fe recovery. The combined spiral and centrifugal concentrates yielded 1.04 g/t Au at 63.22% recovery, representing an approximately eightfold upgrade relative to the 0.13 g/t feed. In contrast, gravity recovery from the finest fraction was approximately 1%, indicating ultrafine, poorly liberated, or matrix-associated Au. KSA gave higher Au values than AAS, reflecting matrix heterogeneity and method-dependent preparation and detection effects rather than analytical superiority. The results support a size-selective gravity–magnetic preconcentration route followed by targeted mineralogical verification and product-specific downstream extraction. Full article