Search Results (8,015)

This study investigates Bimi^® (Brassica oleracea Italica × Alboglabra), a hybrid between kailan and conventional broccoli, to evaluate its compositional, functional, and sensory properties in relation to industrial sous-vide processing and refrigerated storage. Proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and mineral content were determined in raw samples. Color, chlorophyll content, total polyphenols, and antioxidant capacity (FRAP, ABTS, DPPH) were analyzed before and after sous-vide treatment and following 60 days of storage. Microbiological and physicochemical stability was monitored over 90 days under standard (4 °C) and mildly abusive (6–10 °C) storage conditions. Sensory profiling of Bimi^® and conventional broccoli was performed on sous-vide samples. The results showed an increase in total polyphenols and antioxidant activity after processing, while chlorophylls decreased. Microbiological safety was maintained under all conditions, with stable water activity and only moderate acidification. Bimi^® provided a valuable source of protein (4.32 g/100 g FW, 8.63% RDA), appreciable amounts of dietary fiber (2.96 g/100 g FW, 11.85% RDA), and essential minerals such as potassium (15.59% RDA), phosphorus (14.05% RDA), and calcium (8.09% RDA). Sensory evaluation revealed a milder flavor profile than that of conventional broccoli, accompanied by an asparagus-like aroma. These findings support the suitability of Bimi^® for industrial sous-vide processing and its potential as a nutritious convenience food. Full article

The development of gas sensors with high sensitivity and low operating temperatures is essential for practical applications in environmental monitoring and industrial safety. SnO₂-based gas sensors, despite their widespread use, often suffer from high working temperatures and limited sensitivity to H₂ gas, which presents significant challenges for their performance and application. This study addresses these issues by introducing a novel SnO₂-based sensor featuring a three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure, designed to enhance sensitivity and allow for room-temperature operation. This work lies in the use of a 3D anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template to deposit SnO₂ nanoparticles through ultrasonic spray pyrolysis, followed by modification with platinum (Pt) nanoparticles to further enhance the sensor’s response. The as-prepared sensors were extensively characterized, and their H₂ sensing performance was evaluated. The results show that the 3D nanostructure provides a uniform and dense distribution of SnO₂ nanoparticles, which significantly improves the sensor’s sensitivity and repeatability, especially in H₂ detection at room temperature. This work demonstrates the potential of utilizing 3D nanostructures to overcome the traditional limitations of SnO₂-based sensors. Full article

This study investigates the thermal stability and microstructural evolution of the solid electrolyte medium used in DLyte^® dry electropolishing and dry anodizing processes. Samples were thermally aged between 30 °C and 45 °C to simulate Joule heating during industrial operation. Visual and SEM analyses revealed shape deformation and microcrack formation at temperatures above 40 °C, potentially reducing particle packing efficiency and electrolyte performance. Particle size distribution shifted from bimodal to trimodal upon aging, with an overall size reduction of up to 39.5% due to dehydration effects, impacting ionic transport properties. Weight-loss measurements indicated a diffusion-limited dehydration mechanism, stabilizing at 15–16% mass loss. Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed water removal while maintaining the essential sulfonic acid groups responsible for ionic conductivity. In dry anodizing tests on titanium, aged electrolytes enhanced process efficiency, producing TiO₂ films with improved optical properties—color and brightness—while preserving thickness and uniformity (~70 nm). The results highlight the need to carefully control thermal exposure to maintain electrolyte integrity and ensure consistent process performance. Full article

Maintaining well integrity is essential in the oil and gas industry to prevent environmental hazards, operational risks, and economic losses. Cement bond log (CBL) tools are essential in evaluating cement bonding and ensuring wellbore stability. This study presents a patent landscape review of CBL technologies, based on 3473 patent documents from the Lens.org database. After eliminating duplicates and irrelevant entries, 167 granted patents were selected for in-depth analysis. These were categorized by technology type (wave, electrical, radiation, neutron, and other tools) and by material focus (formation, casing, cement, and borehole fluid). The findings reveal a dominant focus on formation evaluation (59.9%) and a growing reliance on wave-based (22.2%) and other advanced tools (25.1%), indicating a shift toward high-precision diagnostics. Geographically, 75% of granted patents were filed through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and 97.6% were held by companies, underscoring the dominance of corporate innovation and the minimal presence of academia and individuals. The review also identifies notable patents that reflect significant technical innovations and discusses their role in advancing diagnostic capabilities. These insights emphasize the need for broader collaboration and targeted research to advance well integrity technologies in line with industry goals for operational performance and safety. Full article

The plant-based oil industry contributes significantly to food waste/by-products in the form of underutilized biomass, including oil pomace, cake/meal, seeds, peels, wastewater, etc. These waste/by-products contain a significant quantity of nutritious and bioactive compounds (phenolics, lignans, flavonoids, dietary fiber, proteins, and essential minerals) with proven health-promoting effects. The utilization of them as natural, cost-effective, and food-grade functional ingredients in novel food formulations holds considerable potential. This review highlights the potential of waste/by-products generated during plant-based oil processing as a promising source of bioactive compounds and covers systematic research, including recent studies focusing on innovative extraction and processing techniques. It also sheds light on their promising potential for valorization as food ingredients, with a focus on specific examples of food fortification. Furthermore, the potential for value creation in the food industry is emphasized, taking into account associated challenges and limitations, as well as future perspectives. Overall, the current information suggests that the valorization of plant-based oil industry waste and by-products for use in the food industry could substantially reduce malnutrition and poverty, generate favorable health outcomes, mitigate environmental concerns, and enhance economic profit in a sustainable way by developing health-promoting, environmentally sustainable food systems. Full article

Equestrian sports play a significant economic role in the horse industry. In recent years, numerous equine viruses have emerged, among which are equine Pegiviruses and the re-emerging Equine coronavirus (ECoV). These viruses are distributed globally and primarily cause subclinical infections with unknown morbidity, even if ECoV can occasionally induce febrile and diarrheic episodes. To broaden the data on the Italian equine population, a study was conducted to assess their prevalence in two distinct horse populations belonging to the Carabinieri Corps (CC) and the Italian Army (IA) of the Italian Armed Forces (IAF). Samples consisted of blood serum and rectal swabs of 436 horses collected within the national surveillance program for equine infectious anemia and gastrointestinal parasite monitoring and analyzed for Pegivirus (caballi and equi) and ECoV by Real-Time RT PCR. The prevalence detected were 6.56% and 3.53%, respectively, for Pegivirus caballi and equi for the IA, while for the CC, they were 10.13% and 0.84%. Only one sample tested positive for ECoV belonging to a horse of the CC. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on the PCR-positive samples that were sequenced using Sanger protocols. Understanding the epidemiology of these viruses is essential for evaluating the implementation of effective prevention strategies. Full article

This study examines the role of human capital, technological investment, and institutional quality in promoting economic complexity in South Africa, with implications for sustainable development and the strategic role of Small and Medium Enterprises. Motivated by the growing importance of productive sophistication for long-term development in emerging economies (notably SDG 8 and SDG 9), the study examines both long-run and short-run dynamics using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach, with robustness checks via Fully Modified Least Squares, Dynamic Least Squares, and Canonical Cointegration Regression. Structural Vector Autoregression is employed to assess the persistence of shocks, while the Toda–Yamamoto causality test evaluates causality. The results reveal that institutional quality significantly enhances economic complexity in the long run, while technological investment exhibits a negative long-run impact, potentially indicating absorptive capacity constraints within industries. Though human capital and income per capita do not influence complexity in the long run, they have short-term effects, with income per capita having the most immediate influence. Variance decomposition shows that shocks to technological investment are essential for economic complexity, and are the most persistent, followed by human capital and institutional quality. These findings show the need for institutional reforms that lower entry barriers for SMEs in industries, targeted innovation policies that support upgrading, and human capital strategies aligned with driven industrial transformation. The study offers insights for policymakers striving to influence structural drivers to advance sustainable industrial development and achieve the SDGs. Full article

Steel is an important product in many engineering sectors; however, steelmaking remains one of the largest ${\mathrm{CO}}_2$ emitters. Therefore, new governmental policies drive the steelmaking industry toward a cleaner and more sustainable operation such as the gas-based direct reduction–electric arc furnace process. To become carbon neutral, utilizing more scrap is one of the feasible solutions to achieve this goal. Addressing knowledge gaps regarding scrap heterogeneity (size, shape, and composition) is essential to evaluate the effects of increased scrap ratios in basic oxygen furnace (BOF) operations. This review systematically examines heat and mass transfer correlations relevant to scrap melting in BOF steelmaking, with a focus on low Prandtl number fluids (thick thermal boundary layer) and dense particulate systems. Notably, a majority of these correlations are designed for fluids with high Prandtl numbers. Even for the ones tailored for low Prandtl, they lack the introduction of the porosity effect which alters the melting behavior in such high temperature systems. The review is divided into two parts. First, it surveys heat transfer correlations for single elements (rods, spheres, and prisms) under natural and forced convection, emphasizing their role in predicting melting rates and estimating maximum shell size. Second, it introduces three numerical modeling approaches, highlighting that the computational fluid dynamics–discrete element method (CFD–DEM) offers flexibility in modeling diverse scrap geometries and contact interactions while being computationally less demanding than particle-resolved direct numerical simulation (PR-DNS). Nevertheless, the review identifies a critical gap: no current CFD–DEM framework simultaneously captures shell formation (particle growth) and non-isotropic scrap melting (particle shrinkage), underscoring the need for improved multiphase models to enhance BOF operation. Full article

This study evaluates the replacement of petroleum-based naphthenic oil with four types of soybean-derived alternatives—virgin soybean oil (SBO), epoxidized SBO (ESBO), expired SBO, and recycled SBO—in styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) composites. The materials were tested in both staining rubber (SR) and non-staining rubber (NSR) systems to assess processing characteristics, mechanical performance, and environmental durability. Among the alternatives, SBO demonstrated the best overall performance, improving processability and tensile strength by over 10%, while ESBO enhanced ozone resistance by 35% due to its epoxide functionality. Expired and recycled SBOs maintained essential mechanical properties within 90% of virgin SBO values. The full replacement of CH450 with SBO in tire prototypes resulted in burst strength exceeding 1000 kPa and stable appearance after 5000 km of road testing. To validate industrial relevance, the developed green tire was exhibited at the 2025 Taipei International Cycle Show, attracting interest from international buyers and stakeholders for its eco-friendly composition and carbon footprint reduction potential, thereby demonstrating both technical feasibility and commercial viability. Full article

As civil engineering projects grow increasingly complex, ensuring pile integrity is essential for pile bearing capacity and structural safety. Pile integrity testing (PIT) has long been a focal point for researchers and engineers. With the rapid development of industrial-level advancements and artificial intelligence technology, PIT methods have undergone significant technological advancements. This paper reviews traditional PIT techniques, including low-strain integrity testing and thermal integrity profiling. The review covers the principles, advantages, limitations, and recent developments of various testing techniques. Additionally, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, particularly in signal processing and data-driven recognition methods, are discussed. Finally, the advantages, limitations, and potential future research directions of existing methods are summarized. This paper aims to offer a systematic reference for researchers and engineers in PIT, synthesizing technical details of traditional methods and their AI-enabled advancements. Furthermore, it explores potential directions for integrating AI with PIT, with a focus on key challenges such as noisy signal interpretation and regulatory barriers in applications. Full article

The development of active food packaging has evolved rapidly in recent years, offering innovative solutions to enhance food preservation and safety while addressing sustainability challenges. This review compiles and analyzes recent advancements (2019–2024) in release-type active packaging, focusing on essential oils, natural extracts, and phenolic compounds as active agents. Primarily plant-derived, these compounds exhibit significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, extending shelf life and enhancing food quality. Technological strategies such as encapsulation and polymer blending have been increasingly adopted to overcome challenges related to volatility, solubility, and sensory impact. Integrating bio-based polymers, including chitosan, starch, and polylactic acid, further supports the development of environmentally friendly packaging systems. This review also highlights trends in compound-specific research, release mechanisms, and commercial applications, including a detailed analysis of patents and case studies across various food matrices. These developments have already been translated into practical applications, such as antimicrobial sachets for meat and essential oil-based pads for fresh produce. Moreover, by promoting the valorization of agro-industrial by-products and the use of biodegradable materials, emission-type active packaging contributes to the principles of the circular economy. This comprehensive overview underscores the potential of natural bioactive compounds in advancing sustainable and functional food packaging technologies. Full article

A shallow quaternary sedimentary aquifer within the river alluvial deposits of eastern Uzbekistan is increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities. Despite its essential role in supplying water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes, the aquifer system remains poorly understood. This study employed a three-dimensional MODFLOW-based groundwater flow model to assess climate change impacts on water budget components under the SSP5-8.5 scenario for 2020–2099. Model calibration yielded RMSE values between 0.25 and 0.51 m, indicating satisfactory performance. Simulations revealed that lateral inflows from upstream and side-valley alluvial deposits contribute over 84% of total inflow, while direct recharge from precipitation (averaging 120 mm/year, 24.7% of annual rainfall) and riverbed leakage together account for only 11.4%. Recharge occurs predominantly from November to April, with no recharge from June to August. Under future scenarios, winter recharge may increase by up to 22.7%, while summer recharge could decline by up to 100%. Groundwater storage is projected to decrease by 7.3% to 58.3% compared to 2010–2020, indicating the aquifer’s vulnerability to prolonged dry periods. These findings emphasize the urgent need for adaptive water management strategies and long-term monitoring to ensure sustainable groundwater use under changing climate conditions. Full article

Due to the increasing environmental concerns and the growing generation of electronic waste and plastic, sustainable waste management solutions are essential for the construction industry. This study explores the potential of using electronic waste toner powder (WTP) and recycled low-density polyethylene (LDPE), either individually or in combination as modifiers for asphalt binder to enhance pavement performance and reduce environmental impact. The analysis focused on three key components: (1) binder development and testing; (2) performance evaluation through Marshall stability, indirect tensile strength, and Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) testing for rutting resistance; and (3) sustainability assessment in terms of carbon footprint reduction. The results revealed that the formulation of 25% WTP and 8% LDPE processed at 160 °C achieved the best mechanical performance and lowest carbon index, enhancing Marshall stability by 32% and rutting resistance by 41%. Additionally, this formulation reduced the carbon footprint by 27% compared to conventional asphalt. The study demonstrated that the combination of WTP and LDPE significantly improves the sustainability and performance of asphalt pavements, offering mechanical, environmental, and economic benefits. By providing a quantitative assessment of waste-modified asphalt, this study uniquely demonstrates the combined use of WTP and LDPE in asphalt, offering a novel dual-waste valorization approach that enhances pavement performance while promoting circular economy practices. Full article

In manufacturing environments, the proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is essential to prevent workplace accidents. Despite this need, existing PPE monitoring methods remain largely manual and suffer from limited coverage, significant errors, and inefficiencies. This article focuses on addressing this deficiency by designing a computer vision desktop application for automated monitoring of PPE use. This system uses lightweight YOLOv8 models, developed to run on the local system and operate even in industrial locations with limited network connectivity. Using a Lean UX approach, the development of the system involved creating empathy maps, assumptions, product backlog, followed by high-fidelity prototype interface components. C4 and physical diagrams helped define the system architecture to facilitate modifiability, scalability, and maintainability. Usability was verified using the System Usability Scale (SUS), with a score of 87.6/100 indicating “excellent” usability. The findings demonstrate that a user-centered design approach, considering user experience and technical flexibility, can significantly advance the utility and adoption of AI-based safety tools, especially in small- and medium-sized manufacturing operations. This article delivers a validated and user-centered design solution for implementing machine vision systems into manufacturing safety processes, simplifying the complexities of utilizing advanced AI technologies and their practical application in resource-limited environments. Full article

Potentially toxic elements, such as chromium (Cr) and zinc (Zn), play essential roles in humans and animals. However, the harmful effects of excessive exposure to these elements through food remain unknown. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate the anthropogenic contamination of chromium and zinc in aquatic biota and seafood consumers. Based on the PRISMA protocol, 67 articles were selected for this systematic review. The main results point to a wide distribution of these elements, which have familiar emission sources in the aquatic environment, especially in highly industrialized regions. Significant concentrations of both have been reported in different fish species, which sometimes represent a non-carcinogenic risk to consumer health and a carcinogenic risk related to Cr exposure. New studies should be encouraged to fill gaps, such as the characterization of the toxicity of these essential elements through fish consumption, determination of limit concentrations updated by international regulatory institutions, especially for zinc, studies on the influence of abiotic factors on the toxicity and bioavailability of elements in the environment, and those that evaluate the bioaccessibility of these elements in a simulated digestion system when in high concentrations. Full article