Search Results (29,979)

Microbial inoculants such as Trichoderma have been proposed as sustainable tools to improve seedling quality in coffee nurseries; however, their effectiveness may vary according to formulation and genotype. This study evaluated three treatments: a solid Trichoderma formulation (1 kg m⁻³ of substrate) based on a multispecies consortium (T. harzianum, T. asperellum, and T. viride; 5 × 10⁹ conidia g⁻¹), a liquid formulation of T. harzianum (1 × 10⁸ CFU mL⁻¹; 1 L m⁻³ of substrate), and a non-inoculated control, using three Coffea arabica varieties (Catimor, Marsellesa, and Gran Colombia) under controlled nursery conditions. A linear mixed model was applied, considering variety and inoculant type as fixed effects and replicates as random effects. The results show that the biostimulant response is strongly modulated by the variety × inoculant interaction. The solid formulation was superior in promoting the expansion of the photosynthetic apparatus, increasing leaf area by 24.6%. In turn, the liquid formulation optimized structural vigor, increasing stem diameter by 17.3% and reducing slenderness by 13.1%. Inoculation reduced the lignification index by 10.4%, favoring dynamic vegetative growth. These improvements were integrated into the Dickson Quality Index, which reached values of 0.41–0.70, greatly exceeding the critical threshold of 0.20 for medium- to high-quality seedlings. It is concluded that Trichoderma acts as a physiological compensator that harmonizes plant architecture, although its efficacy depends on specific compatibility with the genotype, which is essential for ensuring the successful establishment of coffee plants under field conditions. Full article

Methanol is highly soluble and with spreads quickly in natural water bodies, which could bring about serious environmental risks if leaked. In the present work, the transport and diffusion behavior of methanol in an open-channel flume under controlled hydraulic conditions is investigated experimentally. A closed-loop experimental system was designed to mimic the pipeline leakage scenarios and image-based reconstruction methods were applied to quantify the spatiotemporal evolution of the methanol concentration fields. Systematic analysis was performed on the effects of flow velocity, water depth, leakage rate and leakage location. The results indicate that flow velocity is the dominant factor controlling the downstream advective transport, with increasing velocity significantly reducing the downstream extent of high-concentration zones. Water depth affects vertical mixing and dilution capacity, with deeper flows maintaining more persistent plume structures. Higher leak rates result in higher local concentrations and larger near-field contaminated regions. The position of the leakage is also very important for the plume morphology: the boundary effects lead to a limited and asymmetric dispersion when the leakage is close to the boundary, while the dispersion is more symmetric when the leakage is in the middle of the domain. The study highlights the combined roles of advection, turbulent mixing and boundary confinement in governing methanol plume evolution. The results provide experimental evidence for the understanding of soluble pollutant transport mechanisms in open-channel flows under simplified hydraulic conditions. Full article

In conventional CNC machining, the workpiece clamping pose is registered with a preset CAD model under multiple geometric constraints to establish the machining reference frame. The tool path, generated from this model, is subsequently used to produce components of identical geometry. However, this paradigm proves inadequate when a final shape must accommodate morphological variations specific to each individual blank. Manual grinding, as an alternative, is not only inefficient and hazardous but also relies heavily on subjective quality assessment. To address these challenges, we propose an adaptive local-region milling strategy tailored for blanks with similar yet non-identical surface morphologies, enabling the finished geometry to adjust dynamically to each workpiece. Under conditions of under-constrained clamping, visual positioning is first employed to automatically locate the target regions. Line laser scanning is then conducted over the planned area to acquire high-density point clouds. Through segmentation, points lying outside the region to be machined are extracted, from which a theoretical post-machining surface is reconstructed. Milling toolpaths are subsequently planned based on this reconstructed model to compensate for surface variations across different blanks. Experimental validation on a three-axis CNC milling machine demonstrates that the proposed adaptive strategy effectively replaces manual grinding by removing the bulk of the machining allowance from locally variant surfaces. With the reconstructed model serving as the reference, 77.1 percent of the machining errors fall below 0.055 mm. These results confirm that the method yields a smooth and level surface finish, thereby meeting the fundamental requirements for such adaptive machining tasks. Full article

In this study, zinc-doped magnesium ferrite (Zn_x-Mg_1−xFe₂O₄) nanoparticles were synthesized using a facile combustion method and investigated for their electrochemical sensing and photocatalytic applications. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy band gap (Eg) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The synthesized Zn–MgFe₂O₄ nanoparticles exhibited crystallite sizes ranging from 18.7 to 27.9 nm with an optical band gap of 1.86–1.89 eV. The catalyst achieved degradation efficiencies of 78% for Eriochrome Black T and 85% for Methyl Orange within 120 min, while the electrochemical sensor exhibited excellent linearity toward HgCl₂ detection (R² = 0.99664), demonstrating the multifunctional capability of the synthesized nanostructure. The synergistic effects of Zn doping contributed to enhanced electrical conductivity, catalytic activity, and structural stability. The novelty of this work lies in the development of combustion-synthesized Zn–MgFe₂O₄ nanoparticles as a multifunctional material capable of simultaneously achieving efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and sensitive electrochemical detection of mercury chloride using a simple and scalable synthesis route. These findings demonstrate that Zn–MgFe₂O₄ nanoparticles hold significant potential for integrated environmental remediation and electrochemical sensing applications. Full article

Nanostructured copper oxide (CuO) holds significant promise for optoelectronic, photocatalytic, and biomedical applications, yet its performance is critically dictated by its morphology, crystallite size, and surface chemistry. In this work, pure monoclinic CuO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via a facile, kinetically controlled aqueous co-precipitation route using three distinct precursor salts: copper acetate (CO-Ac), copper sulfate (CO-S), and copper chloride (CO-Cl). To achieve precise architectural control, the synthesis was conducted near the thermodynamic solubility limit of the precursors combined with an abrupt NaOH injection, effectively decoupling the nucleation stage from crystal growth. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) data confirmed the structural integrity of the monoclinic lattice across all samples, χ² = 1.04 − 2.02, crystallinity 53–55%, while demonstrating that the precursor anion strongly governs the volume-averaged crystallite size, which expanded from 16 nm (CO-Ac) to 30 nm (CO-S) and 52 nm (CO-Cl). Morphological analyses revealed that acetate acts as a non-specific capping ligand, promoting isotropic, quasi-spherical nanoparticles that aggregate into high-surface-area (69.04 m²/g) “bead-chain” assemblies. Conversely, sulfate and chloride ions act as shape-directing agents via facet-selective adsorption on nucleation seeds, yielding two-dimensional plates and anisotropic acicular/needle-like architectures, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and modified Auger parameter (α ~1851 eV) analyses confirmed the absolute dominance of Cu²⁺ states, with a minor fraction (~2.5 mol %) of lower-coordinated surface edge states. XPS further unveiled that the strongly alkaline environment (pH ~14) drives precursor-dependent surface chemistry: CO-Ac nanoparticles retain a clean, hydroxylated layer with minor acetate residues, whereas CO-S and CO-Cl samples develop a passive copper hydroxycarbonate (Cu₂(OH)₂CO₃) surface barrier that blocks active sites and reduces porosity. Optical properties analyzed via UV-vis diffuse reflectance revealed a pronounced, size-dependent blueshift relative to bulk CuO, with fundamental indirectly allowed bandgaps of 2.6 eV, 2.36 eV and 1.93 eV for CO-Ac, CO-S and CO-Cl samples, while the direct bandgaps shifted from 3.0 eV, 3.2 eV, and 3.57 eV for the mentioned samples. This behavior is attributed to quantum confinement governed by fine individual nanocrystals. These findings establish that precursor engineering offers a robust pathway to tailor the morphological, optical, and interfacial properties of CuO nanostructures for targeted functional devices. Full article

The interfacial adhesion strength of fine lines for flip-chip ball grid array (FCBGA) substrates is highly dependent on the surface desmear process during substrate manufacturing. However, the extremely narrow window for optimal desmear processes limits the improvement of the adhesion strength of fine lines. Herein, a polydopamine-modified epoxy build-up film substrate was fabricated to increase chemical bonding action and broaden the process window. The chemical structure, surface roughness, morphology, surface chemical state, and adhesion strength of the modified substrate were characterized. The results showed that the adhesion strength of the substrates increased from 2.2 N/cm to 4.1 N/cm under suboptimal process conditions. Meanwhile, the effect of the polydopamine deposition time on the adhesion strength of the copper-deposited epoxy resin composite films at the interfaces was systematically investigated; furthermore, the mechanisms and reasons for the increased adhesion strength and interfacial adhesion failure for the copper-deposited epoxy resin composite build-up film substrates were revealed. This work will provide guidance in both theory and experiment to enhance the interfacial adhesion force for advanced substrates in the future. Full article

The influence of hydrogenation, mechanical milling, and dehydrogenation parameters on the structure and properties of titanium powders produced from titanium sponge via the hydride–dehydride (HDH) process was investigated. The aim of the study was to compare representative HDH processing routes and identify the processing route that provided the most favorable structural characteristics for subsequent mechanical alloying and powder metallurgy applications. Commercially pure Grade 0 titanium sponge was used as the starting material and was subjected to hydrogenation at temperatures ranging from 350 to 650 °C, short-duration mechanical milling in an argon atmosphere, and vacuum dehydrogenation at temperatures between 750 and 950 °C. The resulting powders were characterized using laser particle size analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that increasing the hydrogenation temperature promoted the formation of the TiH₂ hydride phase and enhanced powder fragmentation during subsequent mechanical milling. XRD analysis demonstrated effective dehydrogenation, as evidenced by the disappearance of detectable TiH₂ reflections and the restoration of the α-titanium phase within the detection limits of the technique. Qualitative SEM observations indicated that the investigated HDH processing routes influenced particle morphology and agglomeration behavior, whereas EDS analysis demonstrated a relatively uniform distribution of the detected elements without revealing detectable contamination within the analyzed regions. Mechanical alloying of the selected powders with aluminum and vanadium showed that, among the investigated processing routes, the H2–M2–D2 condition provided the most favorable combination of particle size distribution, phase composition, morphology, and elemental distribution for the production of a mechanically alloyed Ti–Al–V powder mixture. Full article

Deoxynivalenol (DON), a Fusarium mycotoxin frequently detected in poultry feeds, impairs broiler health by damaging gut integrity, altering immune response, and compromising growth performance. Insect-derived proteins, such as those from yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae meal (YMW), are gaining interest as an alternate protein source for broiler chickens. Hence, this study evaluated whether defatted YMW produced from larvae reared on DON-contaminated substrates can be safely included in broiler diets. A total of 400 one-day-old Cobb 700 mixed-sex broilers were assigned to four dietary treatments—(1) the control, (2) DON (15 mg/kg), (3) 2% YMW, and (4) 4% YMW—in ten replicates with 10 birds per replicate for 15 days. On day 14, performance parameters, intestinal morphology, tight-junction protein (TJP) gene expression, and CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell populations in cecal tonsils were evaluated. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test. DON exposure reduced body weight by 1% and body weight gain (BWG) by 1.2%, decreased the CD4+: CD8+ T-cell ratio by 80%, and reduced the villus height in the jejunum by 19.8% and ileum by 16%. DON altered the TJP expression by upregulating claudin-2 mRNA expression by 2.1-fold in the jejunum and 5.2-fold in the ileum, and it downregulated claudin-4 expression by 6.4-fold in the ileum (p < 0.05). Dietary inclusion of 2% or 4% YMW from DON-contaminated substrates had no negative effect on growth performance or immune parameters and maintained intestinal morphology and TJP gene expression, comparable to the control groups. In conclusion, defatted YMW produced from larvae reared on DON-contaminated substrates can be safely used as a sustainable alternative protein ingredient in broiler diets. Full article

Cherry tomatoes are highly susceptible to Salmonella contamination during pre- and post-harvest handling, leading to foodborne illness outbreaks and significant economic losses. Edible coatings incorporating natural antimicrobials offer a promising alternative to conventional chemical treatments for enhancing food safety while maintaining produce quality. This study developed and evaluated a pectin-based edible coating enriched with zinc nanohydroxide-thymol nanohybrids (ZnNH-T) for controlling Salmonella contamination and extending shelf-life of cherry tomatoes. ZnNH-T nanohybrids were synthesized via precipitation, followed by thymol intercalation, and characterized by SEM. Four coating formulations were prepared: pectin alone (P), pectin-thymol (PT), pectin-ZnNH (PNH), and pectin-ZnNH-T (PNHT). Antibacterial activity of the four coatings was first screened in vitro by disc diffusion against six S. enterica serovars; three serovars (Typhimurium, Enteritidis, and Montevideo) showing a statistically significant, coating-dependent inhibition response were selected for the postharvest assay. Cherry tomatoes were coated and dip-inoculated with three Salmonella serotypes (Typhimurium, Enteritidis, and Montevideo) at approximately 10⁵ CFU/mL and stored at 25 °C for 12 days. Antimicrobial efficacy, antioxidant activity (ABTS assay), and physicochemical quality parameters (weight loss, color, pH, and total soluble solids) were evaluated. Zinc nanohydroxides were successfully synthesized, as observed in SEM morphology. ABTS radical scavenging activity of filmogenic solutions was highest for PT (92.4%) and moderate for PNHT (65.9%), while P and PNH showed minimal activity (20.1% and 17.8%, respectively). PNHT coating achieved an approximately 2-log CFU/g reduction in Salmonella populations compared to uncoated controls over 12 days of storage, demonstrating sustained antimicrobial efficacy. Coated tomatoes exhibited significantly reduced weight loss (8% for PNHT vs. 13% for control), better color retention, lycopene content, maintained firmness, and stable pH and TSS values compared to uncoated controls. The pectin-ZnNH-T coating system represents a novel multifunctional approach for enhancing cherry tomato safety and quality. The use of thymol from the layered hydroxide structure, combined with zinc ion antimicrobial effects, provides sustained pathogen reduction while maintaining desirable physicochemical properties. This natural, biodegradable coating technology has potential for commercial application in fresh produce preservation. Full article

Rockfall hazards are frequently observed within mountainous road networks. Significant uncertainties regarding the optimal selection of evaluation units and spatial modeling scales are still being identified in this field. A comprehensive comparative framework for rockfall susceptibility mapping is presented in this study, using Wufeng County as the empirical study area. Five evaluation scenarios were constructed to systematically isolate the independent predictive contributions of the spatial domain, the mapping unit morphology, and the physics-informed engineering proxy. These scenarios included a whole-county macro-scale raster; three multi-scale road buffers with widths of 1 km, 2 km, and 3 km; and an object-oriented vector road evaluation unit (REU) framework. To parameterize localized engineering-induced risks, a physics-informed feature defined as the theoretical slope-cutting height ($H_{\mathrm{cut}}$) was structurally introduced into the vector-based assessment. Thirteen representative machine learning, deep learning, and statistical algorithms—including Random Forest, LightGBM, and TabNet—were systematically cross-examined under both unconstrained splits and strict Leave-One-Road-Corridor-Out Validation (LORCOV) protocols. The empirical multi-metric sensitivity analysis explicitly decouples the three structural effects. First, isolating the effect of the spatial domain reveals that restricting the validation extent from a broad countywide area to a narrow road corridor purges unperturbed background terrain noise, shifting the focus from easy negatives to geomorphological hard negatives. Second, evaluating the independent effect of the evaluation unit demonstrates that transitioning from continuous raster pixels to homogeneous vector REUs successfully resolves the terrain smoothing effect, precisely characterizing sharp geomechanical gradients adjacent to cut slopes. Third, isolating the effect of adding $H_{\mathrm{cut}}$ proves that this engineering indicator drives the primary descriptive gain, enabling tree-based ensembles to achieve a peak baseline AUC of 0.7763 and maintain a robust spatial validation AUC of 0.6129 under strict geographic block constraints, whereas legacy deep learning architectures exhibit an inductive bias mismatch on small-scale tabular records. Rather than asserting a single optimal paradigm, this coordinated feature–unit matching framework provides transport authorities with a highly calibrated, target-tiered decision matrix to optimize localized public works safety budgets and protect critical linear infrastructure assets. Full article

Perovskite materials have emerged as promising candidates for gas sensing owing to their tunable structures, adjustable compositions, rich defect chemistry, and efficient charge transport properties. These characteristics enable the effective regulation of active sites, oxygen vacancies, heterointerfaces, and band alignment, thereby enhancing gas adsorption and sensing performance. This review summarizes recent advances in perovskite-based gas sensors, focusing on synthesis and fabrication strategies, structural engineering, sensing mechanisms, theoretical simulations, and intelligent sensing applications. The effects of doping, defect engineering, morphology control, and heterojunction construction on sensitivity, selectivity, response and recovery behavior, humidity tolerance, and stability are discussed. In addition, the roles of first-principles calculations and artificial intelligence in elucidating sensing mechanisms, identifying gases, predicting concentrations, and suppressing interference are highlighted. Finally, the remaining challenges and future perspectives are discussed to guide the development of stable, low-power, selective, and intelligent perovskite-based sensing systems. Full article

To address the strength–ductility trade-off in titanium alloys, a comparative study was conducted on Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) alloys fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) and electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF). The L-PBF specimen primarily consisted of acicular α′ martensite with high residual stress. In contrast, the EB-PBF specimens, owing to a substrate preheating temperature of 740 °C and a reduced cooling rate (10³~10⁵ K/s), exhibited a stable and coarse α + β lamellar structure. Combined with the high oxygen content (0.24 wt.%) that provided solid-solution strengthening, this morphology enabled simultaneous attainment of a yield strength of 1120 ± 12 MPa and an elongation at fracture of 11.1 ± 1.3%. Notably, deformation-induced HCP→FCC phase transformation occurred in EB-PBF alloys, generating a dual-phase HCP/FCC structure that effectively accommodated plastic strain. These results highlight the superior potential of EB-PBF over L-PBF for fabricating titanium alloys with an exceptional strength–ductility synergy. Full article

This study addresses the production of 3D printing filament by extrusion from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene blends containing virgin and recycled material. The effect of recycled acrylonitrile butadiene styrene content on selected quality indicators was investigated, with particular emphasis on mechanical response and filament diameter stability. Dimensional stability was considered a critical quality parameter, as diameter fluctuations directly affect material flow consistency during subsequent FFF/FDM processing and may contribute to extrusion-related defects. The fracture surface morphology of the tested filaments was evaluated by optical microscopy. Based on experimental measurements and data analysis, recommendations are proposed to improve the stability of the filament extrusion process when processing ABS blends containing recycled material. Full article

Safflower seed is a valuable source of vegetable oil. Despite current advances in processing technology, the oil extraction efficiency during cold pressing remains relatively low, which is attributable to the seed morphology and the dense seed hull that acts as a barrier. Traditional oil extraction methods are relatively inefficient; therefore, considerable attention is focused on seed pretreatment prior to oil pressing, as this stage plays a critical role in the overall oil production process. The possibility of increasing oil yield by treating safflower seeds prior to pressing was studied using response surface methodology (RSM). Three factors were investigated: NaOH solution concentration from 1% to 2%, treatment temperature from 40 °C to 60 °C, and treatment time interval from 40 min to 60 min. A Box–Behnken design was applied to evaluate the effect of the three independent variables on oil yield. Following a series of experiments, the RSM tool was applied, which identified the optimal pretreatment parameters: NaOH concentration—1.64%, temperature—53.54 °C, and duration—51.11 min. The predicted oil yield was 20.5%, while the experimentally determined oil yield under optimal conditions reached 21.47%. The application of response surface methodology increased the oil extraction efficiency by 37.52%. Full article

Background/Objectives: Glass ionomer cements (GICs), high-biocompatibility dental materials that release fluoride with a cariostatic and remineralising effect on hard dental tissues, are widely used in many fields of dentistry, including conservative dentistry, pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, and orthodontics; however, their mechanical performance and wear resistance remain limited. This study investigated the effect of nanodiamond (ND) addition (0.5–4.0 wt.%) on the surface, mechanical, and tribological properties of a conventional self-curing GIC. Methods: Surface roughness, microhardness, wear resistance, coefficient of friction, and chemical composition were evaluated using confocal microscopy, Vickers microhardness testing, tribological measurements, and EDX analysis. Results: The incorporation of NDs reduced the coefficient of friction and modified the surface morphology of the cement. The lowest friction coefficient (0.444) was observed for the sample containing 2 wt.% ND. However, ND addition also resulted in an approximately 50 per cent decrease in microhardness and wear resistance compared with the unmodified cement. EDX analysis confirmed that the chemical composition of the GIC matrix remained largely unchanged. Conclusions: The results indicate that nanodiamonds can improve the tribological behavior of glass ionomer cements, although further optimization of nanoparticle concentration and dispersion is necessary to maintain adequate mechanical properties. Full article