Search Results (311)

Rapid pavement repair demands materials that combine accelerated strength gains, dimensional stability, long-term durability, and sustainability. However, finding materials or formulations that offer these balances remains a critical challenge. This study systematically evaluates two polymer-modified belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) concretes—CSAP (powdered polymer) and CSA-LLP (liquid polymer admixture)—against a traditional Type III Portland cement (OPC) control under both laboratory and realistic outdoor conditions. Laboratory specimens were tested for fresh properties, early-age and later-age compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths, as well as drying shrinkage according to ASTM standards. Outdoor 5 × 4 × 12-inch slabs mimicking typical jointed plain concrete panels (JPCPs), instrumented with vibrating wire strain gauges and thermocouples, recorded the strain and temperature at 5 min intervals over 16 weeks, with 24 h wet-burlap curing to replicate field practices. Laboratory findings show that CSA mixes exceeded 3200 psi of compressive strength at 4 h, but cold outdoor casting (~48 °F) delayed the early-age strength development. The CSA-LLP exhibited the lowest drying shrinkage (0.036% at 16 weeks), and outdoor CSA slabs captured the initial ettringite-driven expansion, resulting in a net expansion (+200 µε) rather than contraction. Approximately 80% of the total strain evolved within the first 48 h, driven by autogenous and plastic effects. CSA mixes generated lower peak internal temperatures and reduced thermal strain amplitudes compared to the OPC, improving dimensional stability and mitigating restraint-induced cracking. These results underscore the necessity of field validation for shrinkage compensation mechanisms and highlight the critical roles of the polymer type and curing protocol in optimizing CSA-based repairs for durable, low-carbon pavement rehabilitation. Full article

Efficient plastic waste end-of-life management is a serious worldwide environmental issue motivated by growing waste production and negative effects of wrongful disposal. This study presents a comparative overview of plastic waste management regimes within the European Union (EU), the United States of America (USA), and Romania, ranked with circular economy goals. By using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Waste Reduction Model (WARM), version 16, the study provides a quantified score to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within three large options of management: recycling, energy recovery through combustion, and landfilling. The model setup utilizes region-specific information on legislation, base technology, and recycling efficiency. The outcomes show that recycling always entails net GHG emissions reductions, i.e., −4.49 kg CO_2e/capita/year for EU plastic waste and −20 kg CO_2e/capita/year for USA plastic waste. Combustion and landfilling have positive net emissions from 1.76 to 14.24 kg CO_2e/capita/year. Economic indicators derived from the model also show significant variation: salaries for PET management amounted to USD 2.87 billion in the EU and USD 377 million in the USA, and tax collection was USD 506 million and USD 2.01 billion, respectively. The conclusions highlight the wider environmental and socioeconomic benefits of recycling and reinforce its status as a cornerstone of circular-economy sustainable plastic waste management and a strategic element of national development agendas, with special reference to Romania’s national agenda. Full article

Channels with three standard symmetrical sections and one asymmetric section are mounted as cantilever beams with the web oriented vertically. A classical solution to the analysis of stress in each thin-walled cantilever channel is provided using the principle of wall shear flow superposition. The latter is coupled with a further superposition between axial stress arising from bending and from the constraint placed on free warping imposed at the fixed end. Closed solutions for design are tabulated for the net shear stress and the net axial stress at points around any section within the length. Stress distributions thus derived serve as a benchmark structure for alternative numerical solutions and for experimental investigations. The conversion of the transverse free end-loading applied to a thin-walled cantilever channel into the shear and axial stress that it must bear is outlined. It is shown that the point at which this loading is applied within the cross-section is crucial to this stress conversion. When a single force is applied to an arbitrary point at the free-end section, three loading effects arise generally: bending, flexural shear and torsion. The analysis of each effect requires that this force’s components are resolved to align with the section’s principal axes. These forces are then considered in reference to its centroid and to its shear centre. This shows that axial stress arises directly from bending and from the constraint imposed on free warping at the fixed end. Shear stress arises from flexural shear and also from torsion with a load offset from the shear centre. When the three actions are combined, the net stresses of each action are considered within the ability of the structure to resist collapse from plasticity and buckling. The novelty herein refers to the presentation of the shear flow calculations within a thin wall as they arise from an end load offset from the shear centre. It is shown how the principle of superposition can be applied to individual shear flow and axial stress distributions arising from flexural bending, shear and torsion. Therein, the new concept of a ‘trans-moment’ appears from the transfer in moments from their axes through centroid G to parallel axes through shear centre E. The trans-moment complements the static equilibrium condition, in which a shift in transverse force components from G to E is accompanied by torsion and bending about the flexural axis through E. Full article

Military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan were exposed to emissions from open-air burn pits, where plastics, metals, and medical waste were incinerated. These exposures have been linked to deployment-related respiratory diseases (DRRD) and may also impact neurological health via the lung–brain axis. To investigate molecular mechanisms, adult male rats were exposed to filtered air, naphthalene (a representative volatile organic compound), or a combination of naphthalene and carbon black (surrogate for particulate matter; CBN) via whole-body inhalation (six hours/day, three consecutive days). Lung, brain, and plasma samples were collected 24 h after the final exposure. Pro-inflammatory biomarkers were assessed using multiplex electrochemiluminescence and western blot. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by RNA sequencing, and elastic net modeling was used to define exposure-predictive gene signatures. CBN exposure altered inflammatory biomarkers across tissues, with activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling. In the lung, gene set enrichment revealed activated pathways related to proliferation and inflammation, while epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and oxidative phosphorylation were suppressed. In the brain, EMT, inflammation, and senescence pathways were activated, while ribosomal function and oxidative metabolism were downregulated. Elastic net modeling identified a lung gene signature predictive of CBN exposure, including Kcnq3, Tgfbr1, and Tm4sf19. These findings demonstrate that inhalation of a surrogate burn pit mixture induces inflammatory and metabolic gene expression changes in both lung and brain tissues, supporting the utility of this animal model for understanding systemic effects of airborne military toxicants and for identifying potential biomarkers relevant to DRRD and Veteran health. Full article

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is an inflammatory pulmonary condition that remains at alarming rates of fatality, with neutrophils playing a vital role in its pathogenesis. Beyond their classical antimicrobial functions, neutrophils contribute to pulmonary injury via the release of reactive oxygen species, proteolytic enzymes, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). To identify targets for treatment, it was found that epigenetic mechanisms, including histone modifications, hypomethylation, hypermethylation, and non-coding RNAs, regulate neutrophil phenotypic plasticity, survival, and inflammatory potential. It has been identified that neutrophils in ARDS patients exhibit abnormal methylation patterns and are associated with altered gene expression and prolonged neutrophil activation, thereby contributing to sustained inflammation. Histone citrullination, particularly via PAD4, facilitates NETosis, while histone acetylation status modulates chromatin accessibility and inflammatory gene expression. MicroRNAs have also been shown to regulate neutrophil activity, with miR-223 and miR-146a potentially being biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Neutrophil heterogeneity, as evidenced by distinct subsets such as low-density neutrophils (LDNs), varies across ARDS etiologies, including COVID-19. Single-cell RNA sequencing analyses, including the use of trajectory analysis, have revealed transcriptionally distinct neutrophil clusters with differential activation states. These studies support the use of epigenetic inhibitors, including PAD4, HDAC, and DNMT modulators, in therapeutic intervention. While the field has been enlightened with new findings, challenges in translational application remain an issue due to species differences, lack of stratification tools, and heterogeneity in ARDS presentation. This review describes how targeting neutrophil epigenetic regulators could help regulate hyperinflammation, making epigenetic modulation a promising area for precision therapeutics in ARDS. Full article

Automated waste classification is an essential step toward efficient recycling and waste management. Traditional deep learning models, such as convolutional neural networks, rely on extensive labeled datasets to achieve high accuracy. However, the annotation process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, limiting the scalability of these approaches in real-world applications. Zero-shot learning is a machine learning paradigm that enables a model to recognize and classify objects it has never seen during training by leveraging semantic relationships and external knowledge sources. In this study, we investigate the potential of zero-shot learning for waste classification using two vision-language models: OWL-ViT and OpenCLIP. These models can classify waste without direct exposure to labeled examples by leveraging textual prompts. We apply this approach to the TrashNet dataset, which consists of images of municipal solid waste organized into six distinct categories: cardboard, glass, metal, paper, plastic, and trash. Our experimental results yield an average classification accuracy of 76.30% with Open Clip ViT-L/14-336 model, demonstrating the feasibility of zero-shot learning for waste classification while highlighting challenges in prompt sensitivity and class imbalance. Despite lower accuracy than CNN- and ViT-based classification models, zero-shot learning offers scalability and adaptability by enabling the classification of novel waste categories without retraining. This study underscores the potential of zero-shot learning in automated recycling systems, paving the way for more efficient, scalable, and annotation-free waste classification methodologies. Full article

Increased market demand for plant herbs has prompted growers to ensure a continuous and assured supply of superior nutritional quality over the years. Apart from the nutritional value, culinary herbs contain phytochemical benefits that can improve human health. However, a significant amount of research has focused on enhancing yield, frequently overlooking the impact of production practices on the antioxidant and phytonutritional content of the produce. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate the yield, phytonutrients, and essential mineral profiling in selected aromatic herbs and their intricate role in nutritional quality when grown under different production systems. Five selected aromatic herbs (coriander, rocket, fennel, basil, and moss-curled parsley) were evaluated at harvest when grown under three production systems: in a gravel-film technique (GFT) hydroponic system and in soil, both under the 40% white shade-net structure, as well as in a soilless medium using sawdust under a non-temperature-controlled plastic tunnel (NTC). The phytonutritional quality properties (total phenolic, flavonoids, β-carotene-linoleic acid, and condensed tannins contents) as well as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) were assessed using spectrophotometry, while vitamin C and β-carotene were analyzed using HPLC-PDA, and leaf mineral content was evaluated using ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry). The results show that the health benefits vary greatly owing to the particular culinary herb. The fresh leaf mass (yield) of coriander, parsley, and rocket was not significantly affected by the production system, whereas basil was high in soil cultivation, followed by GFT. Fennel had a high yield in the GFT system compared to in-soil and in-soilless cultivation. The highest levels of vitamin C were found in basil leaves grown in GFT and in soil compared to the soilless medium. The amount of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds, β-carotene, β-carotene-linoleic acid, and DPPH, were considerably high in soil cultivation, except on condensed tannins compared to the GFT and soilless medium, which could be a result of Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) values (683 μmol/m²/s) and not favoring the accumulation of tannins. Overall, the mineral content was greatly influenced by the production system. Leaf calcium and magnesium contents were highly accumulated in rockets grown in the soilless medium and the GFT hydroponic system. The results have highlighted that growing environmental conditions significantly impact the accumulation of health-promoting phytonutrients in aromatic herbs. Some have positive ramifications, while others have negative ramifications. As a result, growers should prioritize in-soil production systems over GFT (under the shade-net) and soilless cultivation (under NTC) to produce aromatic herbs to improve the functional benefits and customer health. Full article

To address the issues of poor thermal performance and high energy consumption in rural dwellings in cold regions of China, this study investigates multi-type energy-efficient retrofitting strategies for rural houses in the Hebei–Tianjin region. By utilizing a two-step cluster analysis method, 458 rural dwellings from 32 villages were classified based on household demographics, architectural features, and energy consumption patterns, identifying three typical categories: pre-1980s adobe dwellings, 1980s–1990s brick–wood structures, and post-1990s brick–concrete houses. Tailored sunspace design strategies were proposed through simulation: low-cost plastic film sunspaces for adobe dwellings (dynamic payback period: 2.8 years; net present value: CNY 2343), 10 mm hollow polycarbonate (PC) panels for brick–wood structures (cost–benefit ratio: 1.72), and high-efficiency broken bridge aluminum Low-e sunspaces for brick–concrete houses (annual natural gas savings: 345.24 m³). Economic analysis confirmed the feasibility of the selected strategies, with positive net present values and cost–benefit ratios exceeding 1. The findings demonstrate that classification-based retrofitting strategies effectively balance energy-saving benefits with economic costs, providing a scientific hierarchical implementation framework for rural residential energy efficiency improvements in cold regions. Full article

Limited comparative research exists on evaluating the performance of tomato rootstocks under different growing methods, resulting in growers facing challenges when deciding which rootstock and growing method to use for improved yield. The effect of growing methods (scion of a single stem or double stems and non-grafted plant as the control) and rootstock cultivars (Goldbac, SVTX6258, and Booster) on the yield and quality of tomatoes grown in a plastic tunnel and a shade net structure was investigated. The splice grafting method was followed. In a plastic tunnel experiment, grafting and rootstock cultivar did not significantly affect the total soluble solids (TSS), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) of the tomato juice, as well as percentage weight loss, yield, and fruit firmness. However, the Booster rootstock with a scion of 2 stems had high fruit Mg, K, P, and Fe contents, while the Goldbac rootstock with a scion of 1 stem and 2 stems had high fruit Ca and Fe contents compared to other treatments. The Goldbac and Booster rootstocks grafted to a scion of 2 stems had a high marketable yield. In a shade net experiment, the Booster rootstock with a scion of 2 stems had a high early harvest and total yield of tomatoes, followed by the Goldbac rootstock with a scion of 2 stems. Higher incidences of fruit cracking were noticed on the Booster rootstock grafted with a scion of a single stem. Generally, grafted plants on Booster and Goldbac had improved Mg, K, and P contents, unlike SVTX6258 with a scion of 1 stem. The Booster rootstock with a scion of 2 stems had significantly higher Mg, K, and P contents, while the sodium (Na) fruit content was high on the SVTX6258 rootstock with a scion of 1 stem. Grafting did not significantly affect fruit physiological disorders, weight loss, and TSS, or pH and EC of tomato juice. Grafting with a scion of two stems at the seedling stage significantly improved the tomato fruit mineral content and the total and marketable yield in a plastic tunnel and a shade net structure. Full article

Neutrophils, accounting for 50–70% of circulating leukocytes, exhibit remarkable plasticity in tumor biology. Depending on tumor type and microenvironmental cues, they can exert either anti-tumor or pro-tumor effects. During tumor initiation, neutrophils exposed to chronic inflammation secrete cytokines and oncogenic microRNAs that promote genomic instability and malignant transformation. In tumor progression, neutrophils adopt context-dependent phenotypes and execute diverse functions, including polarization into anti-tumor (N1) or pro-tumor (N2) subsets; secretion of inflammatory and angiogenic mediators; formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs); production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (e.g., H₂O₂ and nitric oxide); and modulation of immune cell infiltration and function within the tumor microenvironment. During metastasis, neutrophils facilitate cancer dissemination through three principal mechanisms: (1) promoting epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) via inflammatory signaling, adhesion molecule interactions, and lipid metabolic support; (2) establishing pre-metastatic niches by remodeling distant organ stroma through NETs and matrix metalloproteinases; and (3) reactivating dormant tumor cells in response to chronic inflammation, viral infection, or stress hormones. Collectively, neutrophils function as central regulators across all stages of tumor evolution, influencing cancer growth, immune evasion, and metastatic progression. This review aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of neutrophil-mediated mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment and highlight emerging strategies for neutrophil-targeted cancer therapy. Full article

This study describes the step-by-step development of a simplified system which can be implemented in industrial facilities with the help of their own surplus of plastic waste, mainly packaging waste, to reach a level of energy autonomy or semi-autonomy. This waste is converted to about 57,500 L of synthetic pyrolysis oil, which can then be used to power industries, being fed into a Combined Heat and Power system. To achieve this goal, the design has hydrocarbon stability at elevated temperature and restricted oxygen exposure, so that they can be converted to new products. Pyrolysis is a key process which causes thermo-chemical changes—ignition and vaporization. The research outlines the complete process of creating a basic small-scale pyrolysis system which industrial facilities can use to generate energy from their plastic waste. The proposed unit processes 360 tons of plastic waste yearly to produce 160 tons of synthetic pyrolysis oil which enables the generation of 500 MWh of electricity and 60 MWh of heat. The total investment cost is estimated at EUR 41,000, with potential annual revenue of up to EUR 45,000 via net metering. The conceptual design proves both environmental and economic viability by providing a workable method for decentralized waste-to-energy solutions for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Full article

With the rapid development of e-commerce in China, carbon emissions from express packaging have become increasingly prominent, and the division of inter-regional emission responsibilities has emerged as a key research focus. Based on the principle of shared responsibility between producers and consumers, this study integrates life cycle assessment (LCA) and spatial decomposition analysis to quantify the full-life-cycle carbon footprint of China’s e-commerce express packaging across the raw material, production, and disposal stages and calculates the inter-provincial embodied carbon transfer. The findings show that: (1) in 2022, total emissions reached 41.209 million t CO₂e, exhibiting a “more in the east, less in the west” spatial pattern, with Guangdong Province as the largest source; (2) plastic packaging generates roughly twice the upstream emissions of paper packaging, while paper packaging surpasses plastic during disposal; and (3) significant inter-provincial disparities exist in embodied carbon transfer, with seven southeastern coastal provinces as net exporters and a net-import pattern of “more in the east, less in the west; more in the south, less in the north,” accounting for 40 % of the total transfer. Based on this, it is recommended that the government attach great importance to the issue of responsibility allocation arising from the embodied carbon transfer of e-commerce express packaging. Full article

For several years now, fruit-growers have increasingly often used pre-tensioned, pre-stressed concrete posts for supporting branches of fruit trees and suspending protective nets in order to limit damage to fruits caused by hail, wind, snow, heavy rainfall, insects and birds. Pre-tensioned, pre-stressed concrete posts most often have a trapezoidal cross-section, which is ideally suitable for mass production in a self-supporting non-dismantlable steel mould on a pre-stressing bed. Posts with 70 mm × 75 mm, 80 mm × 85 mm and 90 mm × 95 mm cross-sections are typically produced, whereas 100 mm × 120 mm and 130 mm × 140 mm posts are manufactured to order. Furthermore, it is proposed to produce hollow posts. Such posts are lighter than solid posts, but they require a more complicated production technology. This paper presents selected parts of a comparative computational–experimental analysis of solid and hollow posts. In the Building Structures Laboratory in the Building Structures Department at the Civil Engineering Faculty of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, experimental tests of pre-stressed concrete orchard posts of 70 mm × 75 mm and 90 mm × 95 mm with solid and hollow cross-sections were carried out on a full scale. The theoretical analysis and research has shown that the resistance to bending, cracking resistance and rigidity of hollow posts (with their cross-sectional outline unchanged) will not significantly differ from those of the currently produced solid posts. At same time, material savings will be achieved. Therefore, the main task is to master the continuous moulding of hollow posts from dense plastic concrete with the simultaneous pulling out of the cores, producing longitudinal hollows in the posts. Full article

The invasive aquatic macrophyte Pontederia crassipes (water hyacinth) exhibits exceptional adaptability across a wide range of light environments, yet the mechanistic basis of its photosynthetic plasticity under both high- and low-light stress remains poorly resolved. This study integrated chlorophyll fluorescence and gas-exchange analyses to evaluate three photosynthetic models—rectangular hyperbola (RH), non-rectangular hyperbola (NRH), and the Ye mechanistic model—in capturing light-response dynamics in P. crassipes. The Ye model provided superior accuracy (R² > 0.996) in simulating the net photosynthetic rate (P_n) and electron transport rate (J), outperforming empirical models that overestimated P_nmax by 36–46% and J_max by 1.5–24.7% and failed to predict saturation light intensity. Mechanistic analysis revealed that P. crassipes maintains high photosynthetic efficiency in low light (LUE_max = 0.030 mol mol⁻¹ at 200 µmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹) and robust photoprotection under strong light (NPQ_max = 1.375, PSII efficiency decline), supported by a large photosynthetic pigment pool (9.46 × 10¹⁶ molecules m⁻²) and high eigen-absorption cross-section (1.91 × 10⁻²¹ m²). Unlike terrestrial plants, its floating leaves experience enhanced irradiance due to water-surface reflection and are decoupled from water limitation via submerged root uptake, enabling flexible stomatal and energy regulation. Distinct thresholds for carboxylation efficiency (CE_max = 0.085 mol m⁻² s⁻¹) and water-use efficiency (WUE_i-max = 45.91 μmol mol⁻¹ and WUE_inst = 1.96 μmol mmol⁻¹) highlighted its flexible energy management strategies. These results establish the Ye model as a reliable tool for characterizing aquatic photosynthesis and reveal how P. crassipes balances light harvesting and dissipation to thrive in fluctuating environments. These resulting insights have implications for both understanding invasiveness and managing eutrophic aquatic systems. Full article

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants that are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems and can affect the stability of aquatic food webs. They are intentionally produced in a size of less than 5 mm for specific purposes or are the result of the fragmentation of larger plastic debris. Zooplankton can be affected directly by the ingestion of MPs or indirectly by interference caused by suspended plastic particles. Various environmental agencies recommend the genus Moina for assessing risk from water pollutants. However, this genus has received less attention in research compared to non-indigenous cladocerans commonly used as test organisms. We evaluated the effects of artificially fragmented acrylonitrile butadiene styrene microplastics (ABS-MPs) on key demographic parameters such as survival, mortality, life expectancy, fecundity, and feeding rates of Moina macrocopa americana. We exposed M. macrocopa neonates to a diet consisting of the green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and ABS-MP particles. Four treatments were set with different concentrations of ABS-MP particles (5, 10, and 20 mg L⁻¹). Survivorship, mortality, and reproduction were recorded daily until the last individual from the original cohort died. ABS-MPs significantly reduced M. macrocopa consumption rates of C. vulgaris, with an 85% decrease compared to the control. Although no statistically significant differences were found in life expectancy, net reproduction, or generation time among the toxic treatments, these parameters were drastically reduced compared to the control, even at the lowest concentration (5 mg L⁻¹); this resulted in a 34% reduction in average lifespan. The ABS-MPs interfere with the long-term population dynamics of M. macrocopa and change their consumption rates, potentially decreasing their fitness. Full article