Search Results (471)

Chicken bile-mediated silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were synthesized and evaluated via UV–Vis, SEM, FTIR, and XRD. The synthesis of Ag-NPs was validated by observing a color change that was visible to the naked eye and via UV–Vis spectroscopy. A peak at 435 nm in the UV–Vis spectrum suggest the formation of Ag-NPs. The FTIR spectrum indicated that Ag⁺ reduction into Ag-NPs may occur due to proteins that are present in chicken bile. The XRD results showed that the nanoparticles were crystalline in nature, with a crystallite size of 25 nm. The SEM images showed that spherical-shaped nanoparticles with an average size of 20–60 nm were formed. The effects of different parameters, such as extract concentration, pH, and temperature, on the shape and reaction rate of Ag-NPs were examined. The results showed that the formation of Ag-NPs increased substantially in basic medium and they were found to be more stable at 60 °C. The prepared Ag-NPs were evaluated for their antibacterial activity and photocatalytic efficiency in degrading Disperse Orange 1 (DOI) dye. The antibacterial assessment of the synthesized Ag-NPs showed significant antibacterial activity. Based on the photodegradation study, it was found that the synthesized Ag-NPs showed high activity and almost complete (97%) degradation of DOI within the first 100 min. Thus, the overall results reveal that the prepared Ag-NPs offer a better approach for remediating the aforementioned contaminants. Full article

Visual fatigue is a serious issue among Chinese secondary school students owing to prolonged daily exposure (8–10 h) to visual display terminals (VDTs) in widely equipped multimedia classrooms. To mitigate such effects, this exploratory study identifies promising lighting parameters by evaluating the influence of blackboard reflection coefficients, the ratio of desktop illumination to blackboard illumination, and correlated color temperature (CCT) in a simulated multimedia classroom environment. Thirteen participants performed visual tasks (Landolt ring visual acuity tests and Anfimov’s Chart Task) under various conditions. Visual fatigue scale (VFS-10), index of mental capacity (IMC), and eye movement parameters (EMP) were used to assess visual fatigue and efficiency. Results suggest that higher blackboard reflection coefficients improved efficiency and reduced fatigue. Increased blackboard illumination alleviated fatigue at constant CCT, whereas changes in desktop illumination showed no significant effect. The highest efficiency among the tested CCT values was observed at 4700 K, while visual fatigue was minimized at 4000 K. The findings provide preliminary practical applications for minimizing visual fatigue and improving performance efficiency in secondary school multimedia classroom environments equipped with VDTs. Full article

Traditional rectal temperature measurement in pigs induces stress in animals, imposes a heavy labor burden on staff, and increases the risk of cross-infection. This study proposes a non-invasive deep learning approach to predict porcine rectal temperature by combining infrared thermal images of thermal windows with environmental parameters. A multimodal dataset is constructed by synchronously collecting thermal images, environmental parameters, and actual rectal temperatures. Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (Mask R-CNN), You Only Look Once version 8 small (YOLOv8s), and YOLOv11s are employed to automatically detect or segment thermal window regions, from which the maximum temperature of each region is extracted. To enhance model generalization under varying environmental conditions, a two-stage hybrid regression framework is established. In this framework, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) extracts spatial features from thermal images, a fully connected network (FCNN) encodes regional surface temperatures and environmental parameters, and a Transformer module captures cross-modal dependencies to generate a preliminary prediction. Subsequently, a Random Forest (RF) regressor is applied for residual correction and final output optimization. Comparative experiments on single-region, dual-region, and triple-region combinations demonstrate that the “eye + vulva” dual-region scheme yields the optimal performance, with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.1796 °C and a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.8212. The prediction error of this scheme is reduced by 42.3% compared with the best-performing unimodal model. The proposed method provides a fast, accurate, and stress-free solution for porcine body temperature monitoring, thereby supporting the development of intelligent health management in livestock farming. Full article

Glaucoma is a complex condition with an unknown exact cause, but it involves progressive damage to the optic nerve. This damage is primarily driven by high eye pressure, poor blood flow, and oxidative stress, a process linked to cell ageing and inflammation that harms the retina. Recent research highlights that these issues stem from structural changes in the eye’s drainage system and visual pathways, which can be analysed through the lens of engineering thermodynamics. This study proposes a thermal explanation for the physiological processes linking ocular behaviour to inflammatory ion flux alterations. We develop a thermal model demonstrating that temperature increases are tied to the mechanical work necessary for maintaining water flux in the anterior ocular chamber. We show that these changes alter the membrane potential and tissue pH, resulting in elevated intraocular pressure. By clarifying the temperature–pressure effect, this research establishes a theoretical framework to study the developments of future glaucoma therapies. Full article

History museum exhibition spaces convey historical and cultural information through static artifacts, graphic–text narratives, and spatial atmosphere. The light environment affects not only exhibit visibility but also visitors’ visual comfort and perceptual preference. However, existing studies mainly focus on single lighting parameters, and perceptual differences across multiple lighting conditions remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated static exhibition spaces in history museums through a comparison of 12 virtual lighting conditions generated from different combinations of ambient illuminance, exhibit illuminance, and correlated color temperature. Visitors’ visual behavior and subjective perception were evaluated through eye-tracking experiments, heatmap analysis, and Likert-scale ratings. Different lighting combinations significantly affected visual attention allocation and subjective evaluation. Total duration of fixation, number of fixations, and average pupil diameter showed significant differences across conditions, whereas average fixation time did not. Overall, moderate ambient illuminance and higher exhibit illuminance were associated with more stable visual responses and more positive perceptual evaluations, while correlated color temperature showed a regulatory effect within the tested range of 3000–4000 K. These findings provide preliminary evidence for understanding perceptual responses to lighting combinations in static exhibition spaces and may inform future field-based validation of museum lighting design. Full article

Disinfection is essential to ensure safe drinking water and hygienic conditions in environmental, industrial, and clinical settings. However, conventional methods for monitoring free residual chlorine are often laboratory-based and not suited for decentralized analysis. Here, we report a novel paper-based colorimetric biosensing platform that translates the ISO 7393-2 standard, a method based on the reaction of chlorine with N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPD), into a portable and user-friendly format. The proposed device integrates the DPD chemistry within a paper architecture, enabling reagent-free operation at the point of need. The sensor provides a rapid visual readout that is detectable by the naked eye, while quantitative analysis is achieved within 3 min through smartphone-based image acquisition. This work constitutes the first implementation of the ISO standard in a portable paper-based format suitable for both environmental and clinical matrices. The sensor provided a detection limit of 12 μM for sodium hypochlorite and was successfully validated in real samples, including bottled water and exhaled breath condensate, with satisfactory recoveries. Furthermore, the stability of the paper-based sensor was assessed under storage conditions of 4 °C and room temperature (23 °C), demonstrating excellent performance over 30 days in both cases, indicating that refrigeration is not required for maintaining sensor performance. Full article

Monitoring coastal and estuarine dynamics is crucial for understanding coupled physical, biogeochemical, and human impacts on coastal waters. Motivated by the availability of high spatial resolution ocean color data from the proof-of-concept SeaHawk-HawkEye ocean color CubeSat, this study assesses the capabilities and limitations of satellite remote sensing in capturing shallow water (<10 m) coastal dynamics by integrating in situ measurements with satellite imagery. A Sea Sciences Acrobat collected detailed transects at the mouth of Masonboro Inlet (Wilmington, NC, USA), with “tow-yo” style profiles from the surface to 10 m. It measured conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD), chlorophyll a (Chl a), turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. Satellite data from SeaHawk-HawkEye, Aqua-MODIS, and Sentinel 3A/3B-OLCI provided extensive spatial coverage, revealing surface-level physical/biological interactions, but were only available 48 h after in situ sampling due to cloud cover during field sampling. Tow-yo profiles elucidated a three-dimensional phytoplankton plume, the spatial extent of which we further characterize with satellite imagery, demonstrating the value of integrating in situ and satellite data. A spatial matchup comparison between data from each satellite and the in situ sensor package revealed significant discrepancies across all satellite sensors analyzed, attributed to differences in sensor resolution, atmospheric correction approaches, and proximity to land/benthos. This study emphasizes key challenges with study design and data interpretation in dynamic nearshore environments. In particular, results suggest that meaningful comparisons of satellite vs. in situ observations in such systems require near-synchronous sampling, careful consideration of spatial scale, and improved characterization of optical complexity. Full article

Measuring rectal temperature is a common method for assessing the body temperature in animals in response to changes in physiology, health, and emotions. However, non-invasive infrared thermography is a more advanced technique that reduces the stress associated with restraining animals and minimises risks related to cross-contamination and disease transmission. The present study investigated the association between rectal temperature (RT) and infrared temperature (IRT) of the goat’s external body surfaces. A total of one hundred thirteen (113) goats were considered for this study, and those that showed signs of health deviations were excluded from the evaluation. Thus eighty-four (84) goats were used for the study. We recorded the RT of each goat, as well as the maximum (M) and average (A) IRT of the forehead, right and left ears, right and left eyes, right and left coronary bands of the forelimbs, right and left shoulders, and the mucous membrane of the mouth, simultaneously. The descriptive statistics revealed that the maximum IRT values were higher than RT, except for the right coronary band, left coronary band, right shoulder, and left shoulder. Pearson correlation showed RT has a positive association with all IRT measures, including maximum and average values. The highest association was observed between RT and right eye maximum IRT (REM) (r = 0.63). In addition, the regression analysis showed RT and REM have a moderate correlation (S = 0.36 and R² = 39.6%). In conclusion, the maximum IRT of the right eye could be used as a non-invasive measure of body temperature in goats. More research is needed to investigate the potential of eye IRT towards automated recording of body temperature in goats. Full article

Background: Corneal sensitivity is a key indicator of ocular surface health. This prospective, cross-sectional study evaluated agreement between corneal sensitivity thresholds obtained from equivalent stimulus settings on a contemporary, enhanced dual-temperature non-contact corneal aesthesiometer (NCCA) and a previously validated (standard) device. Methods: Central corneal sensitivity thresholds were measured in the right eyes of healthy participants using both devices. Participants with previous ocular surgery, laser treatment, trauma, contact lens wear, diabetes, or peripheral neuropathy were excluded. Sensitivity thresholds were determined using a forced-response, double-staircase protocol. Inter-device agreement was assessed using Bland–Altman analysis, and consistency was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. Results: Median corneal sensitivity thresholds in 51 healthy participants (32 female, 19 male; mean age: 33 ± 14 years) did not differ between enhanced (0.23 [0.18 to 0.38]) and standard (0.25 [0.15 to 0.35]) NCCA instruments (p = 0.73). Bland–Altman analysis demonstrated moderate inter-device agreement, with a mean difference of −0.01 mbar (95% limits of agreement: −0.41 to 0.39 mbar). Linear regression analysis identified greater measurement discrepancies at higher thresholds (p < 0.05), indicating greater variability in individuals with reduced corneal sensitivity. Conclusions: The enhanced NCCA yields reliable corneal sensitivity measures for a room-temperature stimulus and acceptable agreement with the existing (standard) model. Full article

We report the design, epitaxial growth, and room-temperature operation of a high-gain AlInAsSb-based avalanche photodiode (APD) for short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) detection at 1.55 µm. The device employs SAGCM structure to confine the electric field within the multiplication region while suppressing dark current. High-quality AlInAsSb layers were grown on GaSb substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using a digital alloy approach, achieving excellent surface morphology (R_a < 0.2 nm) and uniform superlattice periodicity. Electrical characterization reveals a well-defined breakdown voltage near −17 V and a peak internal multiplication gain of 200 at 300 K under 0.2 mW illumination at 1550 nm—among the highest gains reported to date for antimonide-based APDs operating at room temperature. Variable-temperature dark current analysis indicates a transition from tunneling-dominated to thermally generated dark current as temperature increases from 100 K to 300 K. These results demonstrate the strong potential of AlInAsSb SAGCM APDs for eye-safe, high-sensitivity applications in LIDAR, free-space optical communication, and low-light SWIR imaging. Full article

Elevated temperatures are frequently encountered in numerous occupational settings such as iron and steel foundries, non-ferrous metal foundries, brick and ceramic manufacturing plants, glass production facilities, rubber factories, electrical power plants, bakeries, laundries, chemical processing sites, mining operations, smelting plants, and steam tunnels. Employees working in these environments are at risk of developing various health issues and injuries, including ocular complications, due to prolonged exposure to heat and the physical demands of handling heavy materials. This study focuses on examining the pressure within the eye’s anterior chamber, referred to as Intraocular Pressure (IOP), and its association with the cornea’s biomechanical characteristics, with particular attention to corneal temperature. Our methodology is grounded in the principles of the first law of thermodynamics. The findings reveal a link between the temperature of the eye’s anterior chamber and the biomechanical behaviour of the cornea. Specifically, IOP serves as an indicator of the cornea’s elasticity and its optical properties as influenced by temperature variations. We investigated how the cornea’s elastic energy, or the work it performs, varies with temperature changes. The results show that an increase in temperature corresponds to a reduction in the work exerted by the cornea. The corneal temperature is affected by both the ambient environment and the temperature of the aqueous humour within the anterior chamber. This indicates a relationship between the mechanical work done by the cornea and the pressure exerted by the fluid in the eye’s front segment. Furthermore, our study identified a correlation between corneal thickness and IOP, which our modelling approach successfully quantifies. Utilizing the first law of thermodynamics, we calculated the work performed by the anterior chamber against the cornea’s internal surface. Temperature fluctuations influence the secretion, drainage, and flow characteristics of the aqueous humour, thereby impacting IOP and associated ocular conditions. These insights are valuable for devising strategies aimed at preventing eye injuries among workers exposed to high-temperature environments. Full article

This study aimed to describe how to train dromedary camels to self-load and unload using positive-reinforcement-based training and to examine its effects on behavior and welfare. Twelve camels, six unbroken male camels (group A) and six broken mixed-gender camels (group B), underwent nine days of positive reinforcement training, after an initial day of behavioral tests. The training session included six phases: loading the clicker, approaching the truck, ramp, truck, unloading, and returning to the station. Eye temperature was measured before and after training using infrared thermography, and training was recorded for further behavioral analysis. Overall, eight camels (66.7%) loaded and unloaded successfully at least once. The average total and daily training duration were 72 and 8.5 min per camel, respectively, with the fastest camel able to load taking only 30 min of total training over five days. Loading the clicker phase decreased by 41% per additional training day (p < 0.001) and was higher in camels that completed the training session compared to unsuccessful individuals (p = 0.027). Similarly, the time required to approach the truck decreased significantly across training days (p < 0.001). Training day had no effect on the duration of the ramp phase; however, this phase was overall shorter in the group of successful camels (p = 0.038). Loading inside the truck increased by 50% with each additional training day (p = 0.007). Camels in group B had significantly lower maximum eye temperatures than those in group A (p = 0.019), with no significant effect of day or time (p = 0.373). In conclusion, our study shows that training dromedary camels to self-load and unload is possible and does not increase eye temperature. It could mitigate transport stress, improving the safety of handlers and camels. Full article

Emotions and affective responses are core intervention targets in music therapy. Through acoustic elements, music can evoke emotional responses at physiological and neurological levels, influencing cognition and behavior while providing an important dimension for evaluating therapeutic efficacy. However, emotions are inherently abstract and difficult to represent directly. Artificial intelligence models therefore provide a promising tool for modeling and quantifying such abstract affective states from physiological signals. In this paper, we propose a structured and explicitly factorized multi-modal representation learning framework for joint affective state and preference inference. Instead of entangling heterogeneous dynamics within monolithic encoders, the framework decomposes representation learning into cross-channel interaction modeling and intra-channel temporal–spectral organization modeling. The framework integrates electroencephalography (EEG), peripheral physiological signals (GSR, BVP, EMG, respiration, and temperature), and eye-movement data (EOG) within a unified temporal modeling paradigm. At its core, a Dynamic Token Feature Extractor (DTFE) transforms raw time series into compact token representations and explicitly factorizes representation learning into (i) explicit channel-wise cross-series interaction modeling and (ii) temporal–spectral refinement via learnable frequency-domain gating. These complementary structural modules are implemented through Cross-Series Intersection (CSI) and Intra-Series Intersection (ISI), which perform low-rank channel dependency learning and adaptive spectral modulation, respectively. A hierarchical cross-modal fusion strategy integrates modality-level tokens in a representation-consistent and interaction-aware manner, enabling coordinated modeling of neural, autonomic, and attentional responses. The entire framework is optimized under a unified multi-task objective for valence, arousal, and liking prediction. Experiments on the DEAP dataset demonstrate consistent improvements over state-of-the-art methods. The model achieves 98.32% and 98.45% accuracy for valence and arousal prediction, 97.96% for quadrant classification in single-task evaluation, and 92.8%, 91.8%, and 93.6% accuracy for valence, arousal, and liking in joint multi-task settings. Overall, this work establishes a structure-aware and factorized multi-modal representation learning framework for robust affective decoding and intelligent music therapy systems. Full article

In autonomous driving, motion sickness (MS) arises from physical or visual stimuli, or a combination of both. However, objective quantification of MS level (MSL) remains limited beyond questionnaire-based assessments. Using multimodal human signals (physiological and behavioral) collected in an autonomous driving simulator, this study addresses the association between these signals and MSL, across these MS types, by (i) screening and curating a decade of human-signal MS studies (HS-Set) to establish a data-driven foundation for selecting target sensor domains and features, (ii) constructing a dataset with subjective measures of MSL (fast motion sickness scale and simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ)), alongside human signals (electroencephalogram (EEG), photoplethysmogram (PPG), electrodermal activity (EDA), skin temperature, and head/eye movement), (iii) conducting a correlation analysis between MSL and the identified features from HS-Set, and (iv) quantifying multivariable contributions at the feature and sensor domains through an explainable boosting machine (EBM). Key correlations include head amplitude/energy (pitch/surge) with SSQ total/oculomotor, eye entropy with nausea/oculomotor (positive), and EDA with nausea (negative). The EBM-based contribution analysis highlights EEG connectivity and head kinematics as dominant contributors; excluding EEG, the interpretability of single-domain models remains limited. Additionally, a combination of Head, PPG, and EDA domains retains over 80% of the full model’s interpretability. Full article

Environmental stressors such as low temperature, low relative humidity (RH), and airborne particulate matter (PM2.5) can promote tear film (TF) instability and dry eye disease. Because the lipid layer is the first TF component exposed to these challenges, this study investigates how such conditions alter the interfacial behavior of meibomian gland secretion (MGS) films in vitro. A second objective is to evaluate the capacity of Rohto Dry Aid (RDA), a tear-mimetic nanoemulsion, to suppress the impact of environmental stressors on MGS. Pseudobinary MGS/RDA films were studied with a Langmuir trough and Brewster angle microscopy to assess molecular-level interactions at the air–water interface under adverse ambient conditions, including 20 °C aqueous subphase, 20% RH, and PM2.5 exposure. It was found that despite their distinct nature, the environmental stressors exert similar impacts, disrupting the multilayer structure and the reorganization and rheological properties of MGS layers at blink-like area deformations. These adverse effects were moderated by the supplementation with RDA which resulted in partial recovery of the mebomian film structure and isothermal reversibility. Thus, although they cannot fully replicate the complexity of native meibum, tear-mimetic nanoemulsions represent a potent tool to mitigate the impact of environmental stressors on tear film functionality. Full article