Search Results (48,672)

The construction sector is under enormous pressure to reduce the overall environmental impact of its activities, which, for cement production alone, cause over 2 Gt/yr of CO₂ emissions (2022). Given the massive scale of concrete production, even minor components such as plasticizers, typically required in quantities of only a few percent of the dry cement mass, correspond to production volumes of many tens of Mt/yr, making their sustainability highly relevant. Lignin is the second most abundant renewable biopolymer on Earth and is currently used in concrete formulations mainly as a low-performance cement plasticizer. Despite this limited application, lignin represents an underexploited but highly attractive raw material for the development of environment-friendly concrete additives, owing to its abundance and availability from industrial biomass residues. The purpose of this review is to provide a specific and up-to-date overview of the various approaches for developing sustainable, high-performance concrete plasticizers based on lignins derived from industrial waste streams. The state of the art in the field is put into perspective by considering the various industrial sources of original technical lignins, the processes that led to their formation, and potential strategies for improving their characteristics. A quick overview of the patent history of the field complements the analysis of the scientific literature. An integral part of this work is a concise introduction to the fundamentals of cement chemistry and rheology, which are essential for understanding the technological requirements for effective concrete admixtures and for enabling cross-disciplinary research between the lignin and cement communities. Full article

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is an established human carcinogen and was identified as the top chemical hazard in U.S. drinking water. Cr(VI) exposure has been associated with adverse neurological outcomes, while high-fat diet consumption is linked to cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative disease. However, limited evidence exists regarding their combined effects on brain health. This study investigated neurobehavioral changes and brain metal concentrations in young rats exposed to low concentrations of Cr(VI) in drinking water (0.05 mg/L or 0.1 mg/L) while fed a normal-fat or high-fat diet for 90 days. Cr(VI) exposure impaired grip strength in rats, while a high-fat diet attenuated this effect. Co-exposure to Cr(VI) with a high-fat diet reduced exploratory behavior and motor function, increased anxiety, and impaired spatial memory while also decreasing overall activity. Both sociability and social novelty preference were altered by the combined exposure in rats. Notably, Cr(VI) with high-fat diet co-exposure induced sex-specific behavioral changes. High-fat diet affected Cr brain accumulation, and Cr(VI) exposure and high-fat diet disrupted essential metal homeostasis in rat brains with sex differences. Jointly, the results suggest combined exposure to Cr(VI) and a high-fat diet may increase the risk of adverse neurological outcomes. Full article

While anti-tumor drugs markedly improve patient survival, dose-limiting toxicities remain major constraints on clinical efficacy and quality of life. Conventional management strategies lack timeliness and precision. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its active ingredients offer unique potential for mitigating anti-tumor drug toxicities through multi-component and multi-target regulation. However, the transformation of TCM is hampered by poor bioavailability and targeting. This review summarizes and evaluates an integrated strategy combining TCM with nanotechnology to develop novel nanomedicines. It elucidates the distinct toxicity mechanisms of chemotherapy drugs, targeted drugs, and immunotherapy drugs, revealing toxicopathological transitions from non-specific killing to microenvironment disruption and immune imbalance. Subsequently, it discusses the intervention mechanisms and research progress of TCM and its active ingredients targeting different categories of anti-tumor drug toxicity. To overcome delivery challenges, this review explores construction strategies for diverse nanodelivery systems, including carrier-free self-assembled nanomedicines, physically loaded nanomedicines, and chemically coupled nanomedicines, highlighting their value in organ-specific accumulation and controlled release. Finally, it objectively analyzes challenges in the clinical translation of these nanomedicines, encompassing safety and industrialization, while prospecting future trends, aiming to contribute to a new therapeutic paradigm focused on “toxicity attenuation and efficacy potentiation” and steer cancer treatment toward greater precision and intelligence. Full article

The gelation ability of gelatin is useful for improving texture and stabilizing food structure, but excessive gelation may limit its application in liquid and high-moisture food systems. Therefore, this study compared the effects of Alcalase and pepsin hydrolysis on the gel-forming ability, viscosity, and functional properties of porcine skin gelatin. o-Phthaldialdehyde (OPA) analysis showed that the Alcalase hydrolysate had a higher free amino group content (0.77 meqv/g protein) than the pepsin hydrolysate (0.23 meqv/g protein), indicating more extensive peptide bond cleavage (p < 0.05). The control formed a stable gel structure after 60 min at 25 °C, whereas both hydrolysates showed reduced gel-forming ability. In particular, the Alcalase hydrolysate was found to maintain high fluidity, completely inhibiting gel formation. Furthermore, 17.5% (w/v) Alcalase hydrolysate solution showed no measurable viscosity. In contrast, 17.5% (w/v) pepsin hydrolysate solution exhibited a viscosity of 653.88 cP. In contrast to the Alcalase hydrolysate, the pepsin hydrolysate also showed the highest oil absorption capacity (8.81 g/g), emulsion stability index (854.09 min), and a slightly higher in vitro digestibility (29.36%) (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that enzyme-specific hydrolysis can differentially modify the balance between gel suppression and techno-functional properties of porcine skin gelatin. Full article

Background: Nigeria has a high prevalence of malaria, with asymptomatic patients being one of the possible reservoirs. In this context, accurate diagnosis is essential for malaria control. The efficacy of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) is being threatened by false negatives due to pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 deletions. This study aims to describe malaria in asymptomatic schoolchildren in Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria and to assess the performance of malaria diagnosis, including the characterisation of pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 deletions. Methods: A total of 350 dried blood spot (DBS) samples from schoolchildren were used for malaria diagnosis using microscopy, RDTs, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for microscopy and RDTs, using PCR as the gold standard. Pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 deletions were analysed for all P. falciparum-positive samples using multiplex qPCR. Results: The P. falciparum infection frequency among asymptomatic schoolchildren in Osun State was 89%. Considering PCR as the gold standard, microscopy presented better sensitivity at 100% (86% for RDTs), but RDTs had better specificity at 76% (60% for microscopy). The deletion frequency of the pfhrp2 gene among positive samples was 16.6%, while it was 1.3% for pfhrp3 and 0.9% for double deletion. However, considering all positive samples, only 3% of samples yielded false negatives by RDT with deletion in pfhrp2. Conclusions: P. falciparum infection has a high frequency in asymptomatic schoolchildren, being a potential hotspot for malaria. The combination of RDTs and microscopy could increase the accuracy of malaria diagnosis. Deletions in pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 are highly common in Osun State, but their impact on RDT results is still limited. More surveillance studies are recommended to assess the contribution of asymptomatic children to malaria transmission and the impact of deletions. Full article

The following research focuses on the study of the behavior of air plasma developed inside a 200 kW arc-jet constrictor. The scope of the analysis performed in the present document is focused specifically on the velocity fields and their characteristics inside the constrictor domain. Among them, the velocity magnitude, the distribution of the radial profiles at different stations along the length of the constrictor, and the axial velocity profile distribution. The analytical study considers mathematical models, which include air properties like specific heat, thermal conductivity, electric conductivity and enthalpy. The axial enthalpy distribution is shown at different radii of the constrictor in order to explain the presence of the velocity fields inside the control volume of interest. In the present work, it was found that the magnitude of the air plasma velocity fields increases due to the contact with the electric arc along the constrictor, reaching maximum velocity values of 5000 m/s at 10,000 K in the center of the constrictor and gradually decreasing when the constrictor radius approaches the wall. These findings provide insight into performance aspects of an arc jet constrictor using atmospheric air as a propellant. A key limitation of the present study stems from the initial assumptions and restrictions detailed in the Materials and Methods section. These constraints inherently alter several plasma flow parameters, namely the Lorentz force, the radial variation of the electric potential, etc. Full article

MRSA is an important antimicrobial-resistant pathogen reported in a wide range of animal species; however, information regarding its occurrence in captive large felids remains limited. This report describes the detection and characterization of MRSA associated with a dental abscess in a captive jaguar (Panthera onca) from a zoological collection in Romania. A 10-year-old male jaguar presented with clinical signs suggestive of a localized oral infection. Samples collected from the dental lesion, nasal mucosa, external ear canal, and skin surface were subjected to bacteriological examination. Bacterial isolates were identified using conventional microbiological methods and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the VITEK^® 2 system, while molecular confirmation was achieved by PCR targeting the nuc, mecA, and mecC genes. All isolates were identified as S. aureus and demonstrated a methicillin-resistant phenotype. PCR confirmed the presence of the species-specific nuc gene and the methicillin-resistance determinant mecA, while mecC was not detected. The isolates exhibited resistance to multiple antimicrobial classes, including β-lactams, fluoroquinolones, and macrolides, while remaining susceptible to linezolid, vancomycin, teicoplanin, rifampicin, and tigecycline. This case documents the occurrence of MRSA in a captive jaguar and highlights the value of integrated microbiological and molecular investigations for the diagnosis and characterization of resistant bacterial infections in zoological species. Full article

Improving the nutritional quality of food through advanced and sustainable agricultural practices has become a key objective of modern vegetable crop production. Emphasis is placed on increasing the content of health-promoting bioactive compounds, such as vitamins and polyphenols, particularly flavonoids whose accumulation is strongly affected by various biotic and abiotic stress factors. To mitigate stress-induced limitations and enhance plant performance, biostimulants are increasingly applied. Among them, Trichoderma spp. are widely recognized for their ability to promote plant growth and resilience, primarily through enzymatic activity and the production of bioactive metabolites. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of the native Trichoderma sp. strain STP8 to enhance the production of bioactive compounds through seed and soil applications at planting and 26 days after planting (DAP), applied individually or in combination. A spore suspension (4 × 10⁶ spores mL⁻¹) was used. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with five replicates. At harvest (43 DAP), dry matter, ascorbic acid, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents were determined. Additionally, flavonoids and non-flavonoids, total phenolics, individual phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity were analyzed. Achieved results demonstrate that the effects of the native Trichoderma sp. strain STP8 on lettuce secondary metabolism and antioxidant properties are strongly dependent on the developmental stage at which inoculation is performed, providing further insight into the stage-specific interactions between plans and Trichoderma. Practically, a single application at planting proved to be the most effective strategy for enhancing the accumulation of bioactive compounds, indicating that optimized application timing may improve the efficacy of Trichoderma-based biostimulants, while avoiding unnecessary repeated applications. These findings support the potential use of native Trichoderma strains as sustainable tools for improving the nutritional and functional quality of lettuce. Further research integrating physiological, biochemical, and molecular analyses is required to elucidate the mechanisms by which the native Trichoderma sp. strain STP8 regulates the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds in lettuce. Full article

Referring remote sensing image segmentation (RRSIS) aims to segment a target instance from remote sensing imagery according to a natural-language expression. It provides a flexible way to retrieve and localize specific objects in remote sensing scenes, benefiting intelligent Earth observation applications. Although existing methods have achieved promising progress by strengthening vision–language alignment, most of them still represent the expression as a holistic language feature and rely on convolution-dominated decoding for mask prediction. Such a paradigm tends to entangle target category, inter-object relation, and spatial position cues, making it difficult to distinguish the intended instance from multiple same-class distractors in complex remote sensing scenes. To address this limitation, we propose SRGFormer, a graph reasoning framework for RRSIS. Specifically, a semantic role decomposition (SRD) module decomposes the referring expression into target, relation, and position semantics, providing explicit linguistic priors for instance-level localization. Guided by the decomposed relation semantics, a semantic-relational graph transformer (SRGT) performs relation-aware graph reasoning over fused multi-scale visual features, enabling long-range dependency modeling among spatially distributed candidate instances. Furthermore, a progressive mask refinement (PMR) module continuously injects the decomposed semantic priors into semantic modulation, query initialization, and iterative mask decoding, thereby alleviating semantic fading during mask generation. Extensive experiments demonstrate that SRGFormer achieves substantial improvements on RefSegRS, attaining 66.08% mIoU and 76.93% oIoU (surpassing the prior state of the art by 3.96% and 2.83%, respectively) along with a notable 15.95% gain in Pr@0.7. Experiments on the additional RRSIS-D benchmark further demonstrate the general applicability of our approach, where SRGFormer maintains competitive performance (65.87% mIoU and 24.61% Pr@0.9) against existing methods. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework improves target localization and fine-grained mask prediction in complex remote sensing scenes. Full article

Water pollution and its ecological consequences have become central concerns in watershed governance and aquatic ecosystem conservation. Conventional ecotoxicological research on water pollution has long relied on physicochemical monitoring, laboratory-based single-species exposure tests, and morphology-based biological surveys. Although these approaches have provided essential support for pollutant identification, toxicity characterization, and environmental standard setting, they remain insufficient for resolving community-level responses, food-web perturbations, and ecosystem degradation under multiple-stressor conditions. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a promising molecular tool because it is non-invasive, highly sensitive, high-throughput, and capable of detecting multiple taxa simultaneously. In aquatic systems, eDNA applications have expanded from biodiversity detection to pollution diagnosis, ecological health assessment, restoration monitoring, and early warning of ecological risk, while increasingly being integrated with eRNA, multi-omics approaches, machine learning, hydrological modeling, and ecological network analysis. However, several challenges still constrain its broader application, including incomplete methodological standardization, false-positive and false-negative detections, insufficient reference databases, limited quantitative capacity, scale mismatches caused by transport and mixing, and difficulties in causal attribution. This review synthesizes recent progress in the use of eDNA for water-pollution research, with emphasis on its technical workflow, major application domains, integrative analytical frameworks, and methodological boundaries. More specifically, three main points are highlighted: (1) eDNA is shifting water-pollution research from single-species toxicity characterization toward community- and ecosystem-level ecological interpretation; (2) its greatest value lies in its integrative role at the interface of biodiversity monitoring, ecological risk assessment, and management-oriented decision support; and (3) future progress will depend on improvements in standardization, quantitative inference, regional reference databases, and multi-source data integration. Overall, this review clarifies how eDNA can contribute to more robust, ecologically meaningful, and management-relevant assessment of water pollution. Full article

Assessing the capacity conditions that support agricultural responses to climate-related risks is important for strengthening agricultural systems and ensuring food security. Using panel data from 31 Chinese provinces during 2011–2024, this study introduces the WSR methodology and constructs a capacity-oriented ACR index comprising resistance, adaptation, and transformative capacities. It examines the spatio-temporal evolution, spatial effects, convergence, and nonlinear driving mechanisms of the capacity-oriented ACR index. The results show that: (1) China’s capacity-oriented ACR index increased from 0.3318 in 2011 to 0.4525 in 2024, with higher levels in eastern and central China and lower levels in western China. Provinces with higher ACR index scores were concentrated in the Major Grain-Producing Areas (MGPA). (2) Spatial differences in ACR index scores were mainly attributable to grain functional areas, with the largest gap between the MGPA and the Balanced Grain Production and Consumption Areas (BGPCA). (3) ACR index scores exhibited significant spatial dependence, convergence, and positive spillover effects nationally and in most grain functional areas, whereas the Major Grain-Consuming Areas (MGCA) had not formed a stable convergence trend. (4) Multiple factors were nonlinearly associated with ACR index scores, with dominant drivers varying across grain functional areas. These findings support differentiated regional governance and optimized resource allocation. The findings reflect China’s specific institutional context, and the ACR index captures broad capacity conditions supporting agricultural responses to climate-related risks, which may limit generalizability. Full article

Obesity and obesity-associated hepatic steatosis represent major metabolic health challenges, yet effective pharmacological interventions remain limited. Rosmarinic acid (RA), a natural polyphenol, has been reported to exert anti-obesity effects; however, its specific roles in restoring hepatic lipid homeostasis and modulating glucose metabolism under diet-induced obesity remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the metabolic effects and underlying mechanisms of RA in mice with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. RA significantly reduced body weight gain and adipose tissue mass without altering total energy intake, accompanied by increased nocturnal energy expenditure and fecal lipid excretion. RA restored hepatic lipid homeostasis by improving circulating lipid profiles and markedly attenuating hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, and hepatocellular injury. These effects were associated with increased fecal lipid excretion, suppression of hepatic lipogenesis, and enhancement of fatty acid oxidation-related markers. Furthermore, RA reduced fasting blood glucose levels and modulated the expression of hepatic glucose metabolism-related genes. Pancreatic immunohistochemistry showed morphological changes in insulin-positive and glucagon-positive cells following RA supplementation. Collectively, these findings indicate that RA ameliorates obesity-associated metabolic disturbances and hepatic steatosis through coordinated regulation of lipid metabolism and hepatic glucose metabolism-related pathways, highlighting its potential relevance for obesity-associated fatty liver conditions. Full article

Wastewater treatment remains a major challenge in rural and peri-urban areas, where conventional centralized infrastructure is often unavailable or insufficient. In this context, Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have emerged as cost-effective and energy-efficient alternatives for decentralized wastewater treatment. This review presents a comprehensive and multidimensional assessment of 15 NBS types, evaluating their technical performance, economic viability, environmental sustainability, and social dimensions. The analysis indicates that NBS can achieve pollutant removal efficiencies comparable to those of conventional treatment systems, particularly for organic matter and, in some cases, emerging contaminants. However, their performance is strongly influenced by system design and operational conditions. The main limitations of NBS include relatively low hydraulic and pollutant loading capacities, as well as substantial land requirements, ranging from 0.45 to 840 m²·PE⁻¹. These constraints limit their applicability in densely populated areas while making them particularly well suited for rural and low-density settings. From both economic and environmental perspectives, NBS offer significant advantages, including construction cost reductions of up to 66% and substantially lower energy consumption than conventional technologies. Nevertheless, their successful implementation depends not only on technical performance but also on social acceptance, stakeholder engagement, and the establishment of appropriate governance frameworks. Overall, NBS constitute a flexible and sustainable approach to wastewater treatment, whose effectiveness ultimately depends on site-specific conditions and the integration of complementary treatment components. Full article

Background: In the field of minimally invasive restorative dentistry, ultrathin (<0.5 mm thickness) ceramic occlusal veneers are increasing being used as alternatives to full-coverage crowns, particularly for mild occlusal wear and not deep caries. However, only limited research attention has been given to how marked reduction in the thickness of a veneer restoration affects its mechanical performance. The purpose of the present in vitro study was to compare the performance of restorations that comprised a 0.3 mm thick zirconia veneer to the case when a lithium disilicate veneer was used, under quasi-static compressive loading. Methods: Forty extracted human molars, without caries, cracks or fractures and with intact coronal structure, were randomly assigned to two groups: lithium disilicate occlusal veneers (n = 20) and zirconia occlusal veneers (n = 20). The teeth were embedded in acrylic resin up to the cementoenamel junction. Digital scans were used to record the original anatomy and guide restoration design. Standardized occlusal preparations were performed using a 0.3 mm reduction protocol and verified with silicone guides to support a biomimetic, tooth-preserving approach. After preparation, the teeth were rescanned, and restorations were designed and fabricated using CAD/CAM technology. Lithium disilicate restorations were milled from Ivoclar Porcelain System [IPS], esthetic maximized [e.max] computer-aided design [CAD] blocks, whereas zirconia restorations were milled from Prettau 3 zirconia discs. Restorations were adhesively cemented with dual-cure resin cement following material-specific surface treatment protocols. Fracture resistance was tested using a universal testing machine under compressive loading until failure. Results: The fracture loads with lithium disilicate and zirconia occlusal veneers were 481.45 ± 68.23 N and 720.93 ± 95.44 N, respectively. Fracture was catastrophic in lithium disilicate occlusal veneers whereas it was not so when zirconia veneer was used. Conclusion: Quasi-static compressive fracture load when a lithium disilicate veneer was used was significantly lower than when a zirconia veneer was used. Full article

Background/Objectives: Front-of-pack labelling systems such as Nutri-Score are promoted as public health tools to guide consumers towards healthier food choices. However, their capacity to accurately signal sugar content in child-targeted foods—a key determinant of dental caries risk—remains poorly characterised. This study aimed to evaluate whether Nutri-Score category reliably reflects sugar content in pre-packaged foods marketed to children, and to discuss the implications for paediatric oral health. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study analysed the nutritional labels of 100 pre-packaged foods directed at the paediatric population, all displaying a Nutri-Score label, selected from three major supermarket chains in Valencia, Spain. Products were grouped into eight predefined food categories. Sugar content (g/100 g or 100 mL), Nutri-Score category (A–E), and ordinal position of sugar in the ingredients list were recorded. Global association between Nutri-Score grade and sugar content was evaluated using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient; category-level analyses used the Kruskal–Wallis or Mann–Whitney U test as appropriate. Results: A moderate statistically significant positive correlation was found between Nutri-Score grade and sugar content across all 100 products (ρ = 0.515, p < 0.001). In the exploratory category-level analyses, suggestive differences were observed in biscuits (H = 8.72, p = 0.033), milks and milk drinks (H = 9.02, p = 0.029), and desserts (H = 8.31, p = 0.016); none of these p-values survived Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (adjusted α = 0.006). Notably, some products rated A and B contained high sugar levels: one A-rated breakfast cereal reached 22.4 g/100 g, and the highest B-rated product (a flavoured milk drink) contained 22.1 g/100 g. No significant association was detected in cereals, breads, dairy products, juices, or frozen foods. Conclusions: Nutri-Score demonstrated limited discriminatory ability to identify high-sugar child-targeted foods consistently across food categories. These findings support recommending that paediatric dental practitioners advise caregivers to evaluate sugar content and ingredients lists beyond front-of-pack grading. Further regulatory refinement of the algorithm to specifically weight added sugar exposure in child-targeted products may be warranted. Full article