Search Results (572)

Single-image reflection separation aims to recover transmission and reflection layers from an image captured through glass and is an important problem in computational photography and low-level vision. Recent dual-stream interactive methods have achieved substantial progress, but most of them still rely mainly on linear spatial-domain feature modeling and single-scale residual prediction, which limits their ability to handle complex reflection mixtures. To address these issues, this paper proposes a structural enhancement method for a pretrained dual-stream baseline. Inspired by homomorphic filtering, a Homomorphic Frequency Enhancement Module (HFEM) extracts complementary frequency-domain features through a logarithmic transformation and Haar wavelet decomposition and injects them into the local-prior branches of both streams via zero-initialized projections. A multi-scale residual modeling module (MSRM) further aggregates multi-level decoder features to replace the original single-scale residual module. During training, the pretrained baseline is kept frozen, and only the newly introduced modules are optimized. The final implementation introduces 1.528 M additional trainable parameters, including 1.318 M from HFEM and 0.210 M from MSRM, accounting for approximately 0.47% of the complete 328.49 M-parameter adapted model. On five public benchmarks with 494 images in total, the proposed method improves the weighted-average PSNR/SSIM from 26.52 dB/0.916 to 26.74 dB/0.917. Although the overall gain is modest, the frozen training setting shows a more stable optimization process, with a PSNR fluctuation of 0.28 dB compared with 3.65 dB for joint fine-tuning. Ablation results indicate that HFEM is the primary source of the performance gain, while MSRM provides a complementary residual-modeling benefit. Full article

Diamond nanothreads (DNTs) represent a promising class of one-dimensional carbon nanomaterials for next-generation structural applications. However, exploring their mesoscale collective properties remains computationally prohibitive via all-atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Here, we present a physically consistent coarse-grained model tailored for both zigzag (DNT-I) and tubular (DNT-II) nanothreads. By establishing an energy equivalence framework between all-atomistic MD simulations and molecular mechanics, the bonded potentials (stretching and bending) and non-bonded Lennard-Jones parameters were derived. Moreover, a degree of coarse-graining r₀ = 6 Å was determined, which well preserves the interfacial cohesive energy and axial sliding behavior of all-atomistic models. Using the established coarse-grained potentials of DNTs, a high glass transition temperature (T_g = 1485 K) was predicted, and a cooperative intermolecular sliding mechanism that governs the plastic deformation of crystalline DNT aggregates under uniaxial tension was revealed. Full article

Interfacial coating loss in bitumen-coated aggregates is difficult to quantify because the exposed aggregate regions are spatially heterogeneous, visually subtle, and sensitive to illumination and background conditions. This study develops a fluorescence-based optical nondestructive evaluation (NDE) framework for quantitative assessment of bitumen–aggregate stripping under standardized laboratory imaging conditions. A dataset of 5760 fluorescence images was collected from 120 physical BAP specimens representing 20 bitumen–aggregate combinations, with six viewing directions recorded for each specimen under eight acquisition environments. A lightweight no-reference image quality assessment model (LAR-IQA), together with visual inspection of shadow suppression and segmentation robustness, was used to select a reference acquisition protocol. The black-background, UV plus natural-light, glass-enclosure configuration provided stable contrast while reducing shadow interference. Three candidate segmentation methods were benchmarked against manually annotated reference masks, and the HSVSC algorithm achieved the best overall performance, with the highest mean Dice coefficient of 0.73. Using the standardized sensing–processing workflow, the image-derived stripping ratio distinguished material-dependent coating-loss behavior and revealed significant sensitivity to acquisition parameters. Aggregate type dominated the measured response under the tested conditions, with the mean stripping level ranked as limestone (3.94%) < quartz fine sandstone (4.17%) < basalt (4.95%) < granite (15.56%). ANOVA based on the 20 combination-level mean stripping ratios derived from 120 specimens, together with grey relational analysis, further indicated that, within the tested material set, aggregate-related descriptors were more strongly associated with the measured stripping variation than the selected bitumen descriptors. The proposed framework provides a repeatable, non-contact optical NDE route for converting subjective visual stripping assessment into image-derived quantitative measurement. Full article

The aim of this study was to determine biofilm production and motility in Bacillus pacificus B630 and Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579, and to perform a comparative genome analysis using bioinformatic tools to understand the differences between the two strains. Biofilm production was performed in glass tubes stained with safranin; motility was determined on soft agar. Bioinformatic analysis was performed using genomic information from both strains, including the identification of orthologous genes, the similarity between genes of the eps1 and sipW-tasA-calY operons, and the SipW and TasA model prediction. B. pacificus B630 produces a greater amount of biofilm on glass than B. cereus ATCC 14579 (p < 0.01). Furthermore, B. pacificus B630 shows lower motility than B. cereus ATCC 14579 (p < 0.001). B. pacificus B630 contains 45 unshared genes, whereas B. cereus ATCC 14579 has 27 unshared genes. Differences in similarity were observed between the genes of the eps1 and sipW-tasA-calY operons. These differences between SipW and TasA may affect protein structural predictions. In SipW, the differences may affect the C-terminal region. In TasA, the number of B-sheets differed between the two proteins, and amino acid substitutions were found in regions of high protein aggregation. Genomic differences in genes associated with biofilm production may explain differences in biofilm production between the strains studied. Full article

The building and public works sector is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries due to the high material intensity of infrastructure and the dependence on imported materials. In Burkina Faso, as in most African countries, environmental assessments remain limited by the lack of locally representative emission factors, creating uncertainty in carbon accounting. This study estimates emission factors for key construction materials in Burkina Faso using a simplified cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) adapted to national technical, energy, and logistical conditions. The materials analyzed include cement, steel, flat glass, aluminium, aggregates, sand, timber, ceramic tiles, paint, bitumen, and asphalt mixes. The results reveal significant variations in the carbon intensity of construction materials in the Burkina Faso context. Aluminium exhibits the highest emission factor (12.804 tCO₂/t), followed by paint (2.50 tCO₂/t), steel (1.970 tCO₂/t), Portland cement (1.060 tCO₂/t), ceramic tiles (0.99 tCO₂/t), flat glass (0.84 tCO₂/t), bitumen (0.628 tCO₂/t), asphalt mixes (0.130 tCO₂/t), timber (0.16 tCO₂/t), aggregates (0.008 tCO₂/t), and sand (0.0013 tCO₂/t). Portland cement exhibits a slightly higher emission factor than the values commonly reported in the literature (0.85–0.95 tCO₂/t), while steel, aluminium, flat glass, ceramic tiles, bitumen, asphalt mixes, timber, and paint remain within internationally reported ranges. In contrast, sand exhibits a slightly lower emission factor than typical literature values, reflecting its limited processing requirements. Aggregates and sand show the lowest emission factors due to minimal industrial processing and greater local availability. These differences are mainly driven by import dependence, long- distance maritime and road transportation, the characteristics of the national electricity mix, and local production conditions. The study supports the development of context-specific carbon assessments and environmental databases for Burkina Faso and other West African countries. Full article

Coatings based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based polymeric microspheres can be easily fabricated via non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) and electrostatic spraying (ES) techniques. Both techniques are promising strategies for constructing superhydrophobic surfaces on various substrates. However, PVDF and PDMS inherently suffer from severe aggregation, which generates oversized particles and inhomogeneous microstructures. Conventionally, costly and environmentally hazardous dispersants are required to alleviate this issue, severely restricting the industrial scalability and practical application of such coatings. In this work, methyltrimethoxysilane-modified cellulose nanocrystals (Si-CNCs) were introduced as a green multifunctional modifier to tackle these issues. The results revealed that as structural building blocks and dispersants, Si-CNCs inhibited polymer aggregation via electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance, refined the particle size and formed uniform micro/nano hierarchical structures. Increasing Si-CNC loading further improved polymer dispersion and superhydrophobic performance. Coatings fabricated by ES showed better hydrophobicity than those fabricated by NIPS. ES achieved a water contact angle (WCA) of 160–166° and a sliding angle (SA) near 1° on cotton fabric, while NIPS had a WCA of 153.8–158° and an SA of around 2°. Wood and glass substrates also obtained favorable superhydrophobicity, with WCAs above 150° and SAs below 1°. Furthermore, all modified surfaces exhibited excellent abrasion resistance. This work provides a relatively eco-friendly, environmentally sustainable, scalable and substrate-flexible strategy for fabricating high-performance PVDF/PDMS-based superhydrophobic coatings. Full article

Greenhouse microclimates exhibit substantial spatial heterogeneity. Conventional evaluations based on average measurements cannot adequately describe the environmental conditions experienced by crops. This study developed a spatial frequency analysis method to quantify long-term temperature and relative humidity heterogeneity. This method was coupled with cucumber yield and downy mildew models to evaluate the biological consequences of environmental variability. Environmental conditions in four representative greenhouse structures were monitored using distributed sensor networks under different weather conditions. The proposed method successfully identified persistent environmental hotspots. The spatial distribution of environmental heterogeneity differed among greenhouse structures, whereas solar radiation primarily controlled its intensity. Long-season monitoring data indicate that the maximum spatial variations in temperature and relative humidity within the brick-wall solar greenhouse, the assembled greenhouse, the glass greenhouse, and the plastic multi-span greenhouse reach up to 10 °C and 46%, 8.5 °C and 46%, 12 °C and 50%, and 7 °C and 32%, respectively. The assembled solar greenhouse and plastic greenhouse exhibited higher environmental uniformity, while the brick-wall solar greenhouse and glass multi-span greenhouse showed pronounced spatial gradients. Environmental heterogeneity resulted in significant within-greenhouse differences in simulated cucumber yield, with the smallest variation occurring in the assembled solar greenhouse (5.3%) and the largest in the glass multi-span greenhouse (39.2%). Disease simulations further revealed clear spatial aggregation of cucumber downy mildew risk, with the southern region of the solar greenhouse exhibiting 17–67% higher cumulative infection risk than other positions. This study establishes an integrated framework linking greenhouse environmental heterogeneity with crop productivity and disease risk, providing a practical basis for spatially differentiated precision greenhouse management and greenhouse structural optimization. Full article

This study assessed the effects of groundwater interacting with aggregate produced from steel slag, used as a ballast material in a waterproofing system protecting the road surface under high groundwater table conditions. Field investigations were carried out, with hydrochemical analyses of groundwater and water draining through the structure, mineralogical characterisation of the slag, and geochemical modelling using the PHREEQC programme with inverse modelling. The results showed that water flow through the slag aggregate caused strong alkalisation of the solution and changes in the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, sulphates and carbonate components. Inverse modelling enabled the identification of eight acceptable mass balance models. The main primary phases involved in the transformations were larnite, merwinite, mayenite, halite and, locally, slag glass. Their dissolution contributed Ca, Mg, Al, Si, Na and Cl to the solution. The increases in Na and Cl concentrations were interpreted primarily as the result of an external influx of road salt, rather than as an intrinsic property of the slag. The secondary products were dominated by amorphous silica, calcite, ettringite and brucite, indicating silica removal, carbonation, sulphate fixation and the partial immobilisation of Mg. The results confirm that slag aggregate remains geochemically active in contact with groundwater; however, simultaneous carbonation and secondary mineralisation favour the gradual stabilisation of the water–slag system. Full article

This study investigates the shear behavior and failure mechanisms of innovative hybrid structural beams fabricated by filling pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) box sections with waste rubber-reinforced concrete (RuC). Environmentally friendly concrete was produced by replacing natural aggregate with recycled tire-rubber fibers at proportions of 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%. Twelve hybrid beam specimens were tested to evaluate the synergistic effects of rubber content and stirrup spacings of 16, 20, and 27 cm on shear capacity, ductility, and crack propagation. The experimental results revealed that the reference specimen (S16-0%) exhibited the maximum shear capacity of 154.41 kN and a brittle failure mode, while an increase in rubber content to 15%, combined with wider stirrup spacing, significantly reduced this capacity to a minimum of 96.89 kN (S27-15%). However, the 5% rubber replacement ratio achieved an optimal performance balance by preserving sufficient load-carrying capacity while enhancing flexural deformation and ductility, particularly in specimens with 16 cm stirrup spacing. Damage analysis demonstrated that longitudinal splitting cracks initiated in the mid-span tension zone at the bottom of the pultruded profiles, with final localized damage concentrated at the geometric corners of the box section. Crucially, the outer pultruded GFRP profiles provided substantial structural confinement, effectively mitigating the strength loss associated with high rubber incorporation and controlling the progression of sudden brittle failure. These findings highlight that combining pultruded GFRP profiles and optimized RuC offers a structurally viable and sustainable solution for modern infrastructure applications. Full article

The increasing generation of municipal waste and the depletion of natural mineral resources have intensified the search for sustainable alternatives for construction materials within the framework of the circular economy. While waste glass, industrial residues, and selected municipal waste fractions have been extensively investigated individually as raw materials for lightweight aggregates, their simultaneous incorporation into a single ceramic matrix remains largely unexplored. To address this research gap, the present study investigates the feasibility of producing lightweight ceramic aggregates through the simultaneous incorporation of three municipal waste streams street sweeping waste (SSW), waste glass, and bulky waste into a clay-based ceramic matrix. Three ceramic mixtures containing different proportions of these waste materials were prepared, pelletized, and fired at 1100 °C. The produced aggregates were characterized in terms of loose bulk density, water absorption, total heavy metal concentrations, and heavy metal leachability, while the bulky waste was additionally characterized by loss on ignition to determine its organic matter content. All produced aggregates satisfied the requirements of PN-EN 13055-1 for lightweight aggregates, with loose bulk densities ranging from 442.9 to 543.1 kg m⁻³, comparable with commercially available expanded clay lightweight aggregates. Water absorption varied between 32.93% and 56.61%, with mixture composition explaining approximately 88% of the observed variance (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.001). Loss-on-ignition analysis revealed that bulky waste contained approximately 98.8 wt.% organic matter, confirming its effectiveness as a pore-forming additive during firing. Environmental assessment of the optimum mixture indicated limited mobility for most investigated heavy metals after thermal treatment; however, chromium leachability slightly exceeded the adopted reference value, indicating the need for further optimization of the ceramic composition. Overall, the developed lightweight aggregate represents a promising alternative to conventional lightweight aggregates and contributes to resource recovery, waste valorization, and the implementation of circular economy principles in the construction sector. Future research should focus on chromium speciation, mechanical performance, long-term durability, life cycle assessment, and pilot-scale production to support future industrial application. Full article

Vibration monitoring of glass substrate transfer systems is crucial for ensuring the stable operation of Flat Panel Display (FPD) manufacturing equipment. Fabrication defects in the functional nanofiber membrane of flexible vibration sensors can significantly degrade sensing performance and lead to inaccurate monitoring results. To address the challenge of achieving an effective balance between detection accuracy and inference efficiency in such defect-dense scenarios characterized by large variations in defect scale, this paper proposes a novel defect detection model, termed MA-YOLO. The proposed model incorporates four key architectural enhancements: the Multi-level Bidirectional Feature Aggregation Network (MLBAN), the Multi-Receptive Field Adaptive Fusion Module (MRAF), the Morphology-Adaptive Feature Extraction Module (MA-C2f), and the Interactive Dynamic Decoupling Head (IDDH). These components collaboratively improve defect feature extraction, multi-scale feature fusion, and localization performance while maintaining a lightweight architecture and high inference speed. Experimental results on a self-constructed defect dataset demonstrate that MA-YOLO achieves a mean Average Precision (mAP@0.5) of 91.9%, which is a 3.1 percentage point improvement over the baseline model. Moreover, with only 9.15 million parameters and an inference speed of 119.05 FPS, the proposed model exhibits superior overall performance compared with several mainstream and state-of-the-art object detection methods. Full article

Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) offers an effective approach to reducing the environmental burden associated with construction and demolition waste. In this study, a fiber-reinforced RAC was developed by replacing part of the cement with fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag, while glass fibers or basalt fibers were incorporated as reinforcing materials. A systematic experimental program was conducted to evaluate the mechanical behavior of the proposed concrete under different saturation conditions. The results show that the best toughness performance was achieved in the natural moisture state. In comparison, compressive and flexural strengths reached their maximum values under dry conditions, whereas splitting tensile strength peaked in the natural state. Based on the experimental data, prediction equations were established for the splitting tensile and flexural strengths by considering both saturation degree and fiber content. A stress–strain model under uniaxial compression was also developed. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to examine the fiber–matrix interface and hydration products, thereby clarifying the microstructural characteristics of the concrete at different saturation levels. Full article

Contemporary research on ecological building materials focuses on the use of industrial waste as an alternative to traditional raw materials. Utilizing byproducts such as fly ash, slag, and plastic waste not only solves the problem of landfill but often improves the technical parameters of the finished products. Contemporary research on sustainable building materials focuses on the use of industrial waste as an alternative to traditional raw materials. This review article, which opens this Special Issue, provides a comprehensive conceptual framework for sustainable materials and introduces clear criteria for selecting the main global waste streams. Besides systematizing the existing literature, the work critically addresses the most pressing challenges in the sector, such as the upcoming shortage of traditional fly ash resulting from the European energy transition and the volumetric instability of steel slag. Looking ahead, as an opening article, it outlines key avenues for further analysis—including advanced chemical surface modifications and supply chain regionalization—necessary to reduce embodied carbon footprints and combat urban heat islands. Ultimately, the work highlights the systemic possibilities of multi-stream waste upcycling, defining ecological and methodological benchmarks that justify and guide further academic research and industrial implementation in sustainable construction. Full article

The occupational health implications of solar photovoltaic (PV) recycling remain critically under-investigated. This study assessed occupational exposure across the PV recycling value chain in Taiwan, evaluating primary mechanical dismantling and downstream reuse sectors (glass milling and controlled low-strength material [CLSM] batching). Area and personal samples were analyzed for total dust, respirable dust, and trace heavy metals. Results indicated that primary mechanical crushing yielded relatively low ambient dust and negligible toxic heavy metal (e.g., Pb, Cd) aerosols, attributed to the macroscopic ductility of metallic ribbons and EVA shock-absorbing properties. Conversely, a critical “hazard transfer” phenomenon was empirically identified downstream, where intensive secondary grinding and aggregate blending in the downstream reuse sector (glass milling and CLSM batching) systematically shifted the aerodynamic particle size distribution, causing the respirable dust fraction to surge to 38.9–72.6%. The pursuit of zero-waste material circularity inadvertently amplifies highly dispersive, respirable dust hazards in downstream sectors, necessitating targeted occupational exposure controls. Full article

To explore the feasibility of using recycled glass pumice (microcellular glass pumice aggregate, MGPA) as a substitute for traditional lightweight aggregates and to compare its mechanical performance with that of expanded clay ceramsite, this study systematically investigated the effects of water–cement ratio (0.40–0.46), cement content (330–360 kg/m³), fine MGPA replacement ratio (0–100%), and coarse MGPA replacement ratio (0–100%) on the dry density and compressive strength of lightweight aggregate concrete through an orthogonal experimental design. The results show that the bulk density of coarse MGPA (312 kg/m³) is only 46% of that of ceramsite (678 kg/m³), while its cylinder compressive strength (3.36 MPa) is slightly lower. The range analysis indicates that the dry density of MGPA concrete is primarily influenced by the replacement ratio of coarse aggregate, followed by fine aggregate replacement, water–cement ratio and cement content; the lowest dry density (1445 kg/m³) was obtained with a water–cement ratio of 0.46, cement content of 330 kg/m³, 100% replacement of coarse MGPA, and partial replacement of fine MGPA (mixture S19). For the 28-day compressive strength, the influencing factors rank as coarse aggregate replacement > water–cement ratio ≈ cement content > fine aggregate replacement. In comparison with the ceramsite concrete reference under the respective mix designs tested in this study, the optimal MGPA concrete exhibited only 4.6% higher dry density but achieved a significantly higher compressive strength of 40.0 MPa, compared with 20.5 MPa for the ceramsite mixture. The specific strength (strength/density ratio) of MGPA concrete is about 1.87 times that of ceramsite concrete. Both types of lightweight aggregate concrete reached 77–80% of their 28-day strength at 7 days. Overall, recycled glass pumice is a promising alternative to ceramsite for lightweight concrete, especially when both high strength and low weight are required for precast components, provided that its long-term durability (particularly ASR resistance) is verified in future studies. Full article