Search Results (4,401)

Salt-bridge kefir-derived microbial fuel cells (MFCs) provide a low-cost platform for studying fermentation-linked electrical output, but their behavior is often evaluated through isolated current or voltage traces rather than integrated reactor-state evidence. This study assessed laboratory-scale double-chamber MFCs operated under fed-batch conditions with a kefir-derived mixed consortium and molasses-based substrate. Thirty-three independent reactors, including graphite- and graphene-anode configurations, were monitored from day 0 to day 20, generating 693 reactor-day observations. Electrical, redox, temperature, substrate-related, UV–Vis soluble-phase, baseline sequencing, endpoint SEM, FTIR functional-group evidence, and semimechanistic descriptors were integrated to diagnose reactor evolution and predict fixed-condition current output. Current declined from 0.8985 to 0.1133 mA, residual glucose-equivalent decreased from 5.3124 to 0.0127 g L⁻¹, and the glucose-consumption fraction reached 0.9977. Fixed-condition apparent power decreased from 0.8636 to 0.0856 mW, while cumulative charge and cumulative apparent energy averaged 595.02 C and 456.69 J per reactor. FTIR bands supported carbohydrate/EPS, organic-acid, and proteinaceous-matrix signatures consistent with a fermentation–redox–biofilm cascade. The random-forest model showed strong grouped cross-validation performance (R² = 0.956, RMSE = 0.082 mA, MAE = 0.060 mA, slope = 1.009, r = 0.978). This work supports state-aware current and fixed-condition power-output prediction in kefir-driven MFCs without claiming maximum power-density or complete electrochemical characterization. Full article

Hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a key energy carrier for decarbonizing hard-to-electrify sectors, yet more than 95% of current global production remains fossil-derived. Biological hydrogen (biohydrogen) produced by dark fermentation (DF), photo-fermentation (PF), or microbial electrolysis cells (MEC) offers the dual advantage of valorizing organic wastes while delivering low-carbon H₂; however, none of these standalone technologies mobilizes more than 25–33% (DF), 40–70% (PF), or 40–60% (MEC) of feedstock organic carbon through H₂-producing oxidation pathways. Most existing reviews compare these pathways on hydrogen yield alone, a metric that conceals where the majority of feedstock carbon and electrons are actually lost and obscures the quantitative rationale for system integration. This review reframes the comparison around carbon and electron flow, explicitly tracking how much input carbon is mobilized through H₂-producing oxidation pathways, how much is retained in volatile fatty acids (VFAs), biomass, or unlinked CO₂, and what happens to the associated electrons. Stoichiometric, mechanistic, and reactor-level evidence is synthesized to show that DF channels only 25–33% of input organic carbon through H₂-yielding decarboxylation on real heterogeneous substrates, with 40–60% retained as residual VFAs and unhydrolyzed solids; PF can recover 60–80% of VFA carbon but is constrained by photon economics and nitrogenase sensitivity; and MEC achieves >85% COD removal only when coupled to an upstream acidogenic stage. Two-stage (DF–PF, DF–MEC) and three-stage (DF–PF–MEC, DF–MEC–AD) configurations are critically evaluated, with theoretical yields separated from experimentally demonstrated performance on real wastes and hidden energy inputs (pretreatment, inter-stage transfer, gas separation, and compression) explicitly accounted for. DF–MEC coupling is identified as the most near-term tractable configuration, achieving 55–70% H₂-pathway carbon mobilization and 80–92% COD removal at an electrical input of 0.9–1.5 kWh/m³ H₂, with levelized hydrogen costs of US$3–5.5/kg under favorable waste-tipping-fee conditions. Multi-stage systems push carbon recovery above 70% but carry unresolved capital, methanogenesis control, and scale-up penalties. This review closes by proposing a standardized ten-descriptor reporting framework including H₂-pathway carbon mobilization (%), cathodic hydrogen recovery (rCAT), net energy recovery (NEB), and LCA carbon intensity under both attributional and consequential boundaries, and demonstrates its backward compatibility by retrospective application to seven studies already in the literature. Research priorities tractable on a 5–10 year horizon are identified, centered on methanogen suppression at pilot scale, real-waste MEC performance, and renewable-electricity coupling. Full article

To address the residual lateral coil misalignment after an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) lands on a fixed wireless-charging platform, this study proposes a graph-attention-based knowledge distillation method for embedded self-alignment localization. Four detection-coil voltages form an induced-voltage fingerprint database organized as a multi-scale spatial graph. A graph attention network (GAT) teacher model is trained offline to learn neighborhood correlations in the voltage–position mapping, and its spatial knowledge is distilled into a lightweight Tiny-MLP student model for microcontroller unit (MCU)-based online inference. Experimental results show that the GAT teacher achieves a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.589 cm, while the distilled Tiny-MLP reduces the MAE of the directly trained Tiny-MLP from 1.548 cm to 1.148 cm (a 25.8% reduction under a fixed seed). In 2000 closed-loop alignment trials with random initial positions, the system achieves an 85.5% success rate under a 0.5 cm threshold, indicating that the method supports low-complexity closed-loop self-alignment for UAV wireless charging. Full article

Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) encoded by the human gut microbiome are central mediators of dietary glycan metabolism and host–microbe biochemical homeostasis. Among these, β-glucuronidases represent functionally pivotal hydrolases implicated in metabolism, intestinal physiology, and therapeutic modulation. The present study performs an integrative in silico structural and functional interrogation of β-glucuronidases derived from Acidobacterium capsulatum (3VNY), Bacteroides ovatus (6D8K), and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (6ED2). An integrated computational framework encompassing physicochemical parameters profiling, hierarchical structural prediction, tertiary-structure validation, salt-bridge energetics, functional domain and motif annotation, protein–protein interaction reconstruction, ligand-binding thermodynamics via molecular docking, and residue-resolved non-covalent interaction network mapping using the Protein Contacts Atlas (PCA) was employed. Physicochemical analyses indicated that all enzymes are thermostable, intracellular, and hydrophilic, while secondary-structure organization revealed a functional balance between helix-mediated rigidity and coil-driven flexibility. Structural validation metrics identified 6ED2 as the most conformationally stable architecture, whereas 6D8K displayed enhanced functional complexity, including enriched motif composition, membrane-associated features, and superior ligand-binding affinity. Docking simulations highlighted castanospermine and calcium saccharate as the most favorable interacting ligands across enzyme variants. Importantly, PCA-based interaction analysis revealed distinct ligand-centered atomic contact networks, with immediate contact counts of 57 (3VNY), 32 (6D8K), and 41 (6ED2), providing residue-level insight into stabilization mechanisms and interaction topology beyond conventional docking metrics. Collectively, these findings establish a multidimensional computational framework linking structural stability, functional diversification, ligand recognition, and atomic interaction networks in gut microbial β-glucuronidases, thereby supporting future biochemical validation, microbiome-targeted therapeutics, and biotechnological or cosmeceutical applications. Full article

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a promising thermochemical process for valorizing wet biomass and organic waste streams, generating hydrochar, gas, and a liquid phase commonly referred to as HTC process liquid or the aqueous phase. Depending on feedstock type and process severity, hydrochar typically accounts for approximately 40–70 wt.% of the initial dry feedstock, the liquid phase for about 30–60 wt.% in lignocellulosic and agricultural residues, and the gas phase for about 1–10 wt.%, while highly hydrated waste streams may generate even higher liquid-phase shares. Although hydrochar has traditionally been considered the main energy product, the liquid phase may retain approximately 20–65% of the initial feedstock carbon and around 15–25% of the initial energy content. However, its high chemical oxygen demand, elevated organic carbon content, variable biodegradability, toxicity, and inhibitory compounds often lead to its classification as a wastewater stream requiring treatment. The crucial novelty of this review is its system-oriented evaluation of HTC process liquid as an energy-bearing and system-integrating stream rather than merely as a wastewater by-product or as a substrate for isolated valorization routes. Therefore, this review evaluates the role of HTC process liquid in energy systems, focusing on its formation mechanisms, chemical composition, energy potential, valorization pathways, integration strategies, and environmental implications. The reviewed evidence shows that HTC process liquid contains a complex mixture of dissolved organic compounds, including volatile fatty acids, sugars, furans, phenols, ketones, aldehydes, amino acids, ammonia, and nitrogen-containing heterocycles. These compounds may support anaerobic digestion, dark fermentation, aqueous phase reforming, electrochemical conversion, nutrient recovery, and process-water recirculation. Among these routes, anaerobic digestion is currently the most mature, although its efficiency depends strongly on HTC severity, feedstock type, inhibitor formation, and microbial adaptation. Hydrogen-oriented and electrochemical pathways offer additional opportunities but still require further validation using real HTC liquids, standardized yield reporting, and long-term stability assessment. Overall, HTC process liquid should not be regarded solely as an environmental burden, but as a chemically complex and energy-rich stream that may improve the performance of integrated HTC-based bioenergy systems. Future research should focus on standardized liquid-phase energy metrics, long-term process integration, toxicity control, and experimentally validated techno-economic and life-cycle assessments. Full article

Chemical analysts and archeologists are increasingly interested in organic remains that penetrate the porous structures of ceramic vessels. Fatty acids and archaeological biomarkers are chemical compounds that are particularly important for determining the contents of ceramic vessels. This study involved gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of organic residues extracted from 56 Neolithic pottery samples found in 18 different settlements in Poland. Fatty acid ratios, including the newly proposed C15:0/C17:0 ratio (pentadecanoic acid/heptadecanoic acid) for the identification of dairy products and archaeological biomarker analysis, were used to determine the possible origin of these residues. The data obtained from the gas chromatography studies were statistically analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), k-means clustering, and PERMANOVA to determine differences in the diet of the people inhabiting individual settlements. The obtained results allowed us to determine that the Neolithic diet was probably similar in different regions of Poland and throughout different periods of the Neolithic era. However, because of the large difference in variance between the different sample groups, we believe that research should continue and that a larger number of samples per settlement or historical period should be examined. We can conclude that all samples contained residues of mixed animal and plant origin, and the food stored in these vessels was likely subjected to thermal processing. Full article

Deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination poses a major threat to feed safety and animal health, yet safe and sustainable strategies for managing DON-contaminated feed remain limited. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) have shown strong tolerance to various mycotoxin-contaminated substrates and generally exhibit limited toxin bioaccumulation, making them a promising biological system for the valorization of contaminated organic resources. This study evaluated the effects of DON-contaminated feed on BSFL growth performance, bioconversion efficiency, DON residue distribution, and gut microbial responses. Results showed that DON exposure had no significant effect on larval survival, body length, or body weight, nor on the efficiency of conversion of digested feed, substrate reduction rate, or waste reduction index. Residue analysis showed that DON was below the limit of detection in larval samples after BSFL treatment, while the DON concentration in frass was approximately 81.10% lower than that in the initial substrate, indicating no detectable in vivo bioaccumulation. Gut microbiota analysis showed no significant changes in alpha diversity, with minor compositional trends in specific taxa. Firmicutes remained the predominant phylum, whereas Actinobacteriota increased. These findings provide new insights into host–microbe adaptations under mycotoxin stress and support further evaluation of BSFL-based strategies for managing DON-contaminated feed resources. Full article

The growing demand for sustainable alternatives to non-renewable growing media components, such as sphagnum peat, has driven interest in compost–biochar combinations as high-quality horticultural substrates. Nevertheless, the effects of incorporating biochar at the onset of co-composting on process dynamics and the quality of the resulting end-products remain poorly understood and insufficiently characterized. This study evaluated the influence of hardwood residue-derived biochar as an additive on the co-composting of corn stover and swine manure under greenhouse conditions over 94 days. Three treatments were established: a Control (C; without biochar), CB1 (10% v/v biochar), and CB2 (20% v/v biochar), each with three replicates. Physicochemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity, water holding capacity, bulk density, particle size distribution, total organic carbon), enzyme activities (FDA hydrolysis, dehydrogenase, urease, arginine ammonification, acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase), compost stability (Solvita^® test), and phytotoxicity (germination index) were monitored throughout the process and at process completion. Results showed that biochar addition significantly influenced physicochemical and biological parameters in a dose-dependent manner. The CB2 treatment reduced electrical conductivity by 46% relative to the Control (1.87 vs. 3.45 mS/cm) and increased water-holding capacity by 32% (479 vs. 364%), while all treatments met the Chilean composting standard NCh 2880. Enzyme activities were generally higher in the Control and CB1 treatments, indicating that high biochar rates may limit microbial activity due to recalcitrant carbon inputs, yet a 20% biochar addition improved compost maturity and reduced phytotoxicity. These findings indicate that, within the tested range (10–20% v/v), biochar incorporation appears to enhance the quality, supporting its potential as a sustainable component in growing media formulations as an alternative to peat. Full article

Biochar can alter soil physical conditions, microbial carbon processing, and soil organic carbon (SOC) responses under fluctuating moisture, yet how these changes are coordinated remains insufficiently understood. We conducted a two-season greenhouse pot experiment to examine the initial (first-year) and residual (second-year) effects of wheat-straw biochar (WSB) and softwood biochar (SWB) under conventional deficit irrigation (CDI) and alternate drying–wetting cycles (DWC). Compared with unamended soil, biochar amendment improved water-dispersible microaggregate-size distribution, mean microaggregate size, and water-holding capacity, which contributed to reduced soil thermal conductivity (STC) by 6.0–14.2%. Biochar application also improved microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) by 41.1–52.3%, with WSB generally showing stronger and more persistent effects than SWB. Relative to CDI, DWC increased soil respiration rate by 14.9–48.8% but decreased CUE by 7.4–10.2% and SOC by 3.0–10.3%, indicating a shift toward greater respiratory carbon loss under repeated moisture fluctuations. Biochar amendment increased SOC across both seasons, particularly under WSB, and partially alleviated the DWC-associated reductions in CUE and SOC. Correlation analyses showed that lower STC was associated with higher CUE and SOC, but these relationships should be interpreted as coordinated associations rather than direct evidence of a causal thermal-regulation mechanism. Principal component and random forest analyses further highlighted STC as a prominent variable associated with variation in CUE and SOC among the measured soil attributes. These findings indicate that biochar-mediated changes in soil physical conditions are closely associated with microbial CUE and SOC responses under drying–wetting cycles, wherein soil thermal properties may represent an important physical dimension of these carbon responses. Full article

Developing a water-soluble and chlorine-free palladium compound to replace conventional PdCl₂ or Pd(NO₃)₂ as the precursor for Pd-based catalysts remains both challenging and of considerable significance for highly efficient degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Herein, we report a facile synthetic route to such a Pd compound, (NH₄)₂[Pd(C₂O₄)₂]·2H₂O (denoted as Pd-X5), via a three-step reaction starting from PdCl₂, under mild and readily controllable conditions, rendering the process amenable to industrial manufacture. The molecular structure of Pd-X5 was confirmed mainly by elemental analysis, FT-IR, and ¹³C NMR. The overall yield was greater than 95% and the content of residual chloride was reduced to below 100 ppm. Pd-X5 exhibited high water solubility of 350 g L⁻¹. Subsequently, Pd-X5 was used as a catalytic precursor, and a Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst was prepared by an impregnation technique and evaluated for its catalytic performance in the degradation of VOCs. Compared with Pd(NO₃)₂-derived Pd/Al₂O₃, the Pd-X5-based catalyst exhibited markedly enhanced activity for the oxidation of CH₄ and C₃H₈ at different temperatures and under different contents of water vapor, indicating that Pd-X5 is superior to Pd(NO₃)₂ as a catalytic precursor and has potential application in the production of Pd-based catalysts. Full article

The high-value utilization of non-wood pulping black liquor is of great significance for the sustainable development of the pulp and paper industry. In this study, concentrated black liquor, obtained from the five-time recycling of KOH-pretreated wheat straw chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP), was used as the feedstock for the preparation of humic-like acids (HLAs) through hydrothermal humification by utilizing the enriched organic components and residual alkalinity. Urea was further introduced to synthesize nitrogen-enriched humic-like acids (N-HLAs). The hydrothermal conditions and urea dosage were systematically optimized, and the products were characterized by elemental analysis (EA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and particle size analysis (PSA). The results showed that the optimal hydrothermal condition was 180°C for 4 h, under which the HLA yield reached 15.75%. With the addition of 1 mol/L urea, the yield of 1N-HLA further increased to 16.81%. Structural analyses demonstrated that hydrothermal treatment promoted the transformation of small molecular organics into highly aromatic and condensed macromolecular structures, while nitrogen-containing functional groups were successfully incorporated into the HLA molecular framework through urea modification. Bioactivity assay results showed that 1N-HLA exhibited a promoting effect on radish seed germination and seedling growth at a concentration of 100 mg/L. This study provides theoretical and technical support for the valorization of pulping black liquor and the green synthesis of functional humic-like materials. Full article

Achieving simultaneous improvements in grain yield and water–nitrogen use efficiency remains a major challenge in high-density summer maize production. Therefore, this study investigated how drip fertigation (DI) regulates soil nitrogen spatial distribution, plant nitrogen translocation, and ultimately resource use efficiency. A two-year field experiment (2023–2024) was conducted in Tai’an, Shandong, China, using a split-plot design. Two water–fertilizer management regimes, conventional border irrigation (BI) and drip fertigation (DI), were assigned to the main plots, while eight planting densities (15,000–120,000 plants ha⁻¹) were allocated to the subplots. Two summer maize cultivars, Denghai 605 (DH605) and MY73, were evaluated. Compared with BI, DI significantly increased grain yield as well as water and nitrogen use efficiency. For DH605 and MY73, grain yield increased by 7.3% and 3.8%, respectively, accompanied by increases of 18.4% and 16.3% in WUE and 7.4% and 3.5% in NPFP. DI enhanced nitrogen accumulation within the 0–20 cm root zone while reducing nitrate-N residues in the 20–60 cm soil layer, thereby improving the spatial distribution and availability of root-zone nitrogen. Consequently, DI increased nitrogen translocation from vegetative organs to grains, as reflected by higher NTA, NTE, and NHI values, which promoted grain nitrogen accumulation and improved nitrogen use efficiency. Notably, DI did not significantly affect nitrogen uptake efficiency (NU_pE), suggesting that the improvement in nitrogen utilization efficiency (NU_tE) was driven primarily by enhanced nitrogen remobilization from vegetative organs to grains rather than by increased nitrogen uptake. Overall, drip fertigation improved grain yield, water use efficiency, and nitrogen use efficiency in high-density summer maize by optimizing root-zone nitrogen availability and promoting post-silking nitrogen translocation to grains. Full article

Organic residues were extracted from ten amphorae recovered during excavations at the Late Roman Villa del Tellaro (Noto, Sicily). The samples were analysed using liquid chromatography coupled to a high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometer (LC-MS). Biomarkers of plant oils, including saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (oleic, linoleic, palmitic, stearic) and the oxidation product azelaic acid, were identified in eight samples. Wine-compatible biomarkers (syringic acid, L-proline, malic acid), albeit in the absence of tartaric acid, were detected in two samples alongside the oil markers, a pattern that would be consistent with, though not in itself proof of, amphora reuse. Two further samples yielded a more saturated, degraded fatty-acid profile most parsimoniously interpreted as a strongly degraded plant oil, although a contribution of animal or fish fat (possibly garum) cannot be excluded on the fatty-acid data alone. Diterpenoid resin acids diagnostic of Pinaceae spp. pitch (dehydroabietic acid, 7-oxo-DHA, 15-hydroxy-7-oxo-DHA) were identified in all ten samples, confirming the systematic application of pine resin coatings. The assemblage comprises mainly North African types (Tripolitana II, Tripolitana III, Keay 35A/B, Keay 62Q) alongside one Eastern Mediterranean amphora (LRA8) and unidentified forms. The results offer the first archaeometric evidence for the contents of transport amphorae from the Villa del Tellaro, contributing new data on Late Antique trade between North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, and southeastern Sicily. Full article

Peri-urban regions around Southeast Asian megacities connect agriculture, markets, food-service facilities, households, and municipal waste systems, yet comparable data for individual waste streams are often unavailable. This study presents a screening framework for selecting the first organic waste streams and node types to measure in Tangerang Raya, Indonesia, before treatment performance data are available. The framework complements, rather than replaces, city scale circularity monitoring, life cycle assessment, and technology selection tools. Public and institutional data were screened by evidence class and temporal and spatial compatibility. The core Peri-Urban Organic Waste Circularity Readiness Index (PU-OCRI) evaluates five intrinsic criteria: feedstock concentration, source separation readiness, treatment pre-screening compatibility, institutional readiness, and the safety/quality gate. Scores represent collective author judgments linked to a criterion level evidence trail; they have not been independently rated by local stakeholders or empirically calibrated. Korea linked support is assessed separately and cannot affect the index. Available evidence included 3248.1 t of large chili production in Kabupaten Tangerang in 2024, 798,406 t yr⁻¹ of reported potential municipal-waste generation in Kota Tangerang in 2024, and a planning-based estimate that 52.89% of non-residential waste in Kota Tangerang Selatan was biogenic organic material. Under equal weights, market-linked organics scored 76/100 and garden and landscape organics 72; production-side residues and household food waste each scored 56, and mixed residual waste scored 32. In 100,000 weight only simulations, market linked organics ranked first in 65.9% of runs and garden and landscape organics in 31.2%. When each score was allowed to vary by one point and sampled together with the weights, the corresponding first-rank frequencies were 50.7% and 40.7%. These results define a provisional paired audit hypothesis, not evidence of superior circular-economy performance. A required 8–12-week comparison of market/food-service and garden/landscape nodes will apply predefined criteria for mass stability, contamination, safety, treatment feasibility, cost, and operator and stakeholder participation before scores are updated or any treatment or scale-up decision is made. Korea-linked cooperation is limited to digital logging, training, QA/QC, and pilot-operation protocols. Data provenance is explicit: the 798,406 t yr⁻¹ value is the issuing agency’s population × per-capita estimate, whereas 52.89% is an author calculated category sum (kitchen + garden + wood) used only as a screening proxy, not as a direct stream level measurement or the plan’s official aggregate organic fraction. Full article

The lysine methyltransferase SMYD5 is an important regulator of development and has been implicated in multiple malignancies, such as heart disease, lung and gastric cancers, breast and hepatocellular carcinomas, and inflammatory bowel disease. Further, SMYD5 has been linked to the mild hypothermia response, RNA translation, and HIV-1 transcription. SMYD5 is ubiquitously expressed in lymphocytes and the fetal brain, retina, heart, gut, liver, and reproductive organs. Mechanistically, SMYD5 methylates histone residues H3K36, H3K37, and H4K20, as well as non-histone targets such as the ribosomal protein RPL40 and the HIV-1 Tat protein. Here, we review the literature on SMYD5, focusing on its epigenetic functions and its roles in development, cancer, and other biological processes. Full article