Search Results (295)

Underwater image enhancement is essential for marine visual perception tasks. However, the highly heterogeneous optical degradations in real-world waters, the scarcity of paired training data, and the inherent dilemma for existing models in balancing long-range dependency modeling with computational overhead pose significant challenges. To address these issues, this paper proposes a prior-guided, self-supervised underwater image enhancement framework called Scene-Aware Retinex Mamba (SARM). This framework seamlessly integrates Retinex theoretical priors with state space models (SSMs) and operates without paired supervision by employing a prior-guided pseudo-labeling strategy to guide network optimization. Architecturally, SARM deeply couples the physical Retinex prior with SSM. Its core module integrates multi-color space features and leverages a 2D selective scan mechanism to achieve global context modeling with linear complexity $\mathcal{O}\left(HW\right)$, effectively removing complex color casts and suppressing non-uniform scattering noise. To further overcome the generalization bottlenecks in cross-domain underwater testing, this paper introduces a Scene-Aware Adapter (SAA), which facilitates dynamic loss scheduling and adaptive feature gating by quantifying scene-specific degradation characteristics. Comprehensive evaluations on multiple benchmark datasets, including UIEB, EUVP, and UCCS, demonstrate that SARM achieves state-of-the-art subjective and objective enhancement quality (e.g., yielding a URanker score of 2.491 and a CCF score of 35.76), while maintaining an ultra-fast inference speed of 136.52 FPS on the UIEB dataset. Furthermore, extended experiments reveal that SARM can significantly boost the performance of downstream vision tasks, validating its potential as a robust preprocessing module for various practical marine vision applications. Full article

Ball milling can improve protein recovery from defatted rice bran, but the links among milling conditions, particle attributes, and extraction transport remain insufficiently defined. This study evaluated the effects of milling time (30–90 min) and rotational speed (30–120 rpm) on powder properties and alkaline protein extraction at pH 11 for 30–180 min at 24, 37, and 50 °C. Powders were characterized by laser diffraction, SEM image analysis, X-ray diffraction, and extraction-relevant indices describing the interfacial area and diffusion time scale. Extraction curves were fitted to first-order, pseudo-second-order, Peleg, and apparent Fick diffusion models. Milling reduced median particle size from 145 to 61 µm, increased fines (<45 µm) from 1.86% to 32.09%, and raised surface area proxies by about 30- to 40-fold. Compared with the control sample, milled samples generally showed faster extraction and higher protein recovery, with maximum endpoint recoveries of 89.91 mg g⁻¹ at 24 °C, 90.06 mg g⁻¹ at 37 °C, and 86.10 mg g⁻¹ at 50 °C. Late-stage extraction data collapsed onto a Fickian master curve, indicating diffusion-limited behavior, and apparent effective diffusivity increased with temperature. At 37 °C, the radius–shape–circularity model explained nearly all the between-powder variation in $\ln D_e\left(R^2=0.998;\mathrm{adjusted} R^2=0.996\right)$, and the shape factor remained significant after accounting for particle radius $\left(p=0.0179\right)$. Overall, ball milling improved extraction primarily by reducing diffusion length and altering particle morphology, providing practical guidance for optimizing rice bran protein recovery. Full article

In this research work, Ag-doped and undoped TiO₂ nanocomposites were prepared through a sol–gel method, using diethanolamine as a solvent. From the evolution of various characterized techniques (XRD, FT-IR, SEM and TGA analysis), it was found that Ag-TiO₂ nanocomposites have a mixture of rutile and anatase phases of titania. The catalytic performance of the Ag-TiO₂ nanocomposites was evaluated for Eriochrome Black T (EBT) photodegradation. To determine the photocatalytic efficiency of the nanocomposites, different factors including pH (2–12), catalytic dose (2–12 mg), reaction time (0–180 min) and concentration (2–10 mg/L) were investigated. The calcined Ag-TiO₂ showed high degradation (94%) for EBT at a low pH for 0.01 g of catalyst using 10 mg/L of dye solution. The kinetic study revealed that the photocatalytic degradation process obeys pseudo second-order kinetics. To investigate antibacterial effects, different bacteria such as Enterococcous, Staph Avrius, serritia and Escherichia E. coli were utilized. A total of 200 mg of calcined Ag-TiO₂ nanocomposite showed optimum activities against bacterial strains. Full article

Kamala is a traditional Thai herbal knee poultice containing phenylbutenoid compounds with potent anti-inflammatory activity; however, its conventional form is inconvenient to use and exhibits variability in active compound content. This study aimed to develop a Kamala-based nanoemulsion gel to enhance dermal delivery and improve formulation consistency. Oils, surfactants, and co-surfactants were screened for their solubilization efficiency of (E)-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)butadiene (DMPBD) and (E)-4-(3′,4′-dimethoxyphenyl)but-3-en-1-ol (Compound D) using GC–MS. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify isotropic regions, and nanoemulsions with different Smix ratios were prepared by ultrasonication. Droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), and short-term stability were evaluated. The optimized nanoemulsion was incorporated into a gel, and in vitro release was assessed using Franz diffusion cells. Coconut oil exhibited the highest solubilization capacity for both markers. A Tween 80:n-butanol system (2:1) generated the largest isotropic region (22.88%). The optimized formulation (Kamala extract:coconut oil:Smix:water = 1:2:50:47) showed droplet sizes of 77.92 ± 8.34 nm at 0 h and 130.89 ± 29.16 nm at 72 h, with PDI < 0.20. The nanoemulsion gel prepared with Aristoflex Velvet^® (1% w/w) was transparent and physically stable. Franz diffusion studies demonstrated enhanced cumulative release and flux of Compound D in PBS containing 1% Tween 80. These findings indicate that the Kamala nanoemulsion gel is a promising topical delivery system for phenylbutenoid compounds in knee osteoarthritis. Full article

The current work aims to enhance the structural, optical, photocatalytic, and cytotoxic properties of CuO NPs at varied rGO concentrations of 5% and 10%. In the present work, a one-step hydrothermal method was successfully applied to prepare rGO/CuO NCs at different concentrations of RGO. The novelty of this work was to enhance the structural, optical, photocatalytic, and cytotoxic properties of CuO using the addition of rGO sheets. XRD, TEM, SEM-EDX, XPS, FTIR, UV-vis, PL, and DLS techniques were used to characterize the prepared samples. XRD data confirmed the formation of the monoclinic phase of CuO with a decrease in crystallite size, from 21.14 nm for CuO to 16.94 nm for the 10% rGO/CuO NCs nanocomposite. SEM and TEM images verified the uniform anchoring and excellent dispersion of CuO nanoparticles on the rGO sheets, and the EDX spectra showed the presence of Cu, O, and C elements in the obtained rGO/CuO NCs. DLS measurements showed that the hydrodynamic radius dropped from 69.98 ± 17.81 nm for CuO to 51.72 ± 10.48 nm for 10% rGO/CuO NCs. The zeta potential values remained negative for all samples, ranging from −20.50 ± 8.69 mV for CuO to −25.60 ± 9.08 mV for 10% rGO/CuO NCs, suggesting enhanced colloidal stability with rGO incorporation. Furthermore, FTIR and XPS analyses confirmed that Cu–O–C bonding formed between CuO and rGO. UV-Vis analysis revealed a redshift in the absorption edges as rGO content increased, reducing the band gap from 3.65 eV to 3.60 eV. Additionally, PL spectra showed a marked reduction in emission intensity due to a decrease in the recombination rate between electron (e⁻)–holes (h⁺) pairs. The CuO/(10%)rGO NCs showed the best photocatalytic performance with a 93.56% degradation of methylene blue (MB) after 120 min under UV irradiation, and followed pseudo-first-order kinetics with k = 0.0203 min⁻¹. Cytotoxicity studies on HT1080 cells showed a dose-dependent decrease in viability. 10% rGO/CuO NCs exhibited the highest cytotoxicity effect, resulting in 58% and 50% viability at 1.4 mg/mL, respectively. The presented results showed that the presence of rGO in CuO NPs played a role in enhancing the structural stability, charge mobility, and biological reactivity of Cu NPs. This study highlighted that the rGO/CuO NCs are a promising multi-functional material for environmental and biomedical applications. Full article

In this study, TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs), CdS NPs and TiO₂/CdS nanocomposite were synthesized via the sol–gel, hydrothermal and ex situ method, respectively. The synthesized materials were characterized using XRD, UV–vis DRS, FTIR, SEM, and EDX analysis. XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline structure of the as-prepared samples, while the bandgap energy of TiO₂ NPs, CdS NPs, and TiO₂/CdS nanocomposite were determined to be 2.98, 1.94, and 2.27 eV, respectively. Photocatalytic efficiency of TiO₂ NPs, CdS NPs, and TiO₂/CdS nanocomposite was systematically evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of crystal violet (CV) dye under visible-light irradiation. Under optimized reaction conditions of [CV concentration] = 20 mg/L, [catalyst dosage] = 0.25 g/L, and pH = 6, TiO₂/CdS nanocomposite achieved 86.3% removal of CV within 180 min, outperforming pure TiO₂ NPs (16.4%) and CdS NPs (66.9%). The enhanced performance of TiO₂/CdS nanocomposite as compared to CdS NPs is attributed to improved charge separation via heterojunction formation, while significantly superior performance over TiO₂ demonstrates successful visible-light activation. Further optimization study revealed that maximum removal efficiency of CV (97.1%) was achieved at lower dye concentration (10 mg/L). Photocatalytic degradation of CV followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Moreover, scavenger experiments confirmed hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) as dominant reactive species. Furthermore, the TiO₂/CdS nanocomposite demonstrated good reusability with minimal activity loss after five runs. Additionally, the as-prepared nanocomposites showed significant antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). The present study indicated that TiO₂/CdS nanocomposite could be simultaneously used for degradation of organic pollutants as well as for removal of microorganisms while targeting environmental sustainability and water purification. Full article

A one-pot green combustion route was developed for the synthesis of ashy single-crystalline NiO nanoparticles using date molasses as a biogenic fuel and complexing medium. The obtained DM–NiO showed phase-pure cubic NiO with an average crystallite size of about 18 nm, a mesoporous texture with a BET surface area of 68.9 m² g⁻¹, a pore volume of 0.59 cm³ g⁻¹, an average pore diameter of 17.6 nm, and a mean particle size of 43.6 ± 8.13 nm. Optical characterization revealed defect-mediated light absorption with an energy gap of 3.11 eV, supporting solar-light-driven activity. In the photocatalytic degradation of pyronin Y, the catalyst exhibited strong pH dependence, reaching its best H₂O₂-free performance at pH 11 with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 0.0072 min⁻¹, nearly six times higher than that at pH 3. The introduction of H₂O₂ markedly intensified the process, and at 9 mM H₂O₂, the rate constant increased to 0.048 min⁻¹, representing more than a sixfold enhancement over photocatalysis alone, while complete disappearance of the main visible absorption band was achieved within 38 min under solar illumination. Radical trapping experiments identified photogenerated holes and hydroxyl radicals as the dominant oxidative species. The catalyst also retained high activity over four successive cycles, with degradation efficiencies decreasing only slightly from 91.8% to 85.7%. These results demonstrate that date-molasses-assisted combustion synthesis provides a sustainable route to defect-active mesoporous NiO with highly enhanced solar photo-Fenton-like performance for dye-contaminated wastewater treatment. Full article

Chitosan-coated sand has been developed as a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective water treatment method for removing nitrate anions, leveraging the adsorption properties of chitosan. When applied to sand using glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent, this adsorbent removes nitrate anions with an adsorption capacity (q_e) of 154.41 mg g⁻¹. This approach is particularly advantageous due to its low cost, high adsorption capacity, and effectiveness over a wide range of pH and temperatures, although its performance is optimal under slightly acidic to neutral conditions (pH = 6) due to electrostatic attraction and ion exchange, as the positively charged amino groups of chitosan bind to the negatively charged nitrate ions. Nitrate adsorption is also described by the Langmuir isotherm and follows the pseudo-second-order model. Furthermore, the adsorbent remains highly stable even after five regeneration cycles, demonstrating its long-term effectiveness and durability, while offering a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. Full article

Steroid hormones (SHs) have a high estrogenic potential, and urban wastewater is one of their main ways into the aquatic environment. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are considered one of the most sustainable alternatives for the treatment of wastewater from small communities. However, the use of gravel and sand implies a significant environmental impact associated with their extraction and transport. A more sustainable alternative is the use of plant residues, as they are abundant, inexpensive, and readily available, and they can improve the efficiency of hormone removal through sorption. Thus, the sorption of 15 SHs was studied on conventional, mineral substrates (gravel, sand, and volcanic ash) and alternative vegetal wastes, i.e., mulches from giant reed, palm tree, balsa wood, and pine needles. These materials were characterized by determining their Point of Zero Charge (pH_PZC), ash content, content of leachable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and heavy metals, total surface area (BET), and pore characteristics. Results indicated that SH sorption on the mineral substrates was quite low, in most cases less than 10–15%. However, in the mulches it reached between 50 and 95%, except for corticosteroids (11–43%). The pseudo-second-order kinetics provided the best fit in all cases, with R² values between 0.97 and 0.9999. Experiments with a contact time of 7 days showed that the palm tree was the only substrate that completely removed the three corticosteroids studied (cortisone, prednisone, and prednisolone). Additionally, a significant correlation was observed between removal due to sorption (%) and log octanol–water partition coefficient (log Kow). Freundlich isotherm provided a higher number of best fits than Langmuir. Lastly, to compare sand with palm mulch under more realistic experimental conditions, four lab-scale CWs (two with palm mulch and two with sand, with/without plants) were studied. The sand-based CWs achieved faster SH percentage removals, while after 24 h, SH mass removals were significantly higher in the palm mulch-based CWs. Full article

In this work, three functionalized hybrid composites, CS/PVA-VAN, CS/PVA-VAN@TiO₂ and CS/GO/PVA-VAN@TiO₂, were synthesized and applied for adsorption evaluation on two common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, i.e., diclofenac (DCF) and ketoprofen (KTP). The structural and morphological characteristics of new composites were identified via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET techniques. BET analysis demonstrated that the CS/GO/PVA-Van@TiO₂ composite has a surface area 64.86 m²/g, which is twice that of CS/PVA-Van. Moreover, adsorption evaluation was achieved at an optimum pH condition (pH 5.0) for both drugs. In addition, the kinetic data fitted better in a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, while the adsorption was heterogeneous and multilayer. The adsorption capacity of CS/GO/PVA-VAN@TiO₂ was found to be 114.53 mg/g and 65.20 mg/g for diclofenac and ketoprofen, respectively. Thermodynamic analysis confirmed that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous for all pollutants. Moreover, the kinetic swelling and stability studies demonstrated that graphene oxide contributed to improving the structural compactness and stability of composite. Finally, the adsorption performance of the optimal composite material was investigated in a binary system of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in various ratios. Full article

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) is a polymer containing epoxy groups in its side chains, which makes it a suitable platform for the development of functional materials. In this study, crosslinked PGMA-based microspheres were synthesized by suspension polymerization using N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker, and the effect of incorporating inorganic additives (InAds) (NaCl, CaCO₃, and MgO nanoparticles) during synthesis was evaluated. In all cases, solid microspheres were obtained, exhibiting variations in particle size, sphericity, and aggregation depending on the type and amount of InAds. Thermal stability was characteristic of crosslinked PGMA (i.e., a single broad thermal transition in ~80–110 °C), while water absorption remained within a narrow range (80–120% for t = 40 min). In addition, the number of epoxy groups per gram of sample was 4.83 ± 0.02 mmol g⁻¹. Selected microspheres were subsequently functionalized with polyethyleneimine (PEI) to obtain graft polymers (PGMA–PEI) and evaluated for the adsorption of three model contaminants: Acid Red 27 (AR-27), nitrites, and acetaminophen. PGMA–PEI showed high affinity toward AR-27 and nitrites, achieving high removal efficiencies at acidic and neutral pH, with rapid adsorption kinetics consistent with a pseudo-second-order model, attributed to electrostatic interactions between protonated amine groups and anions. At pH 11, anion desorption was promoted, enabling partial material regeneration. The results highlight the potential of PGMA–PEI microspheres for the removal of AR-27 (maximum retention ~0.25 mg of dye/g of polymer) and nitrites (maximum retention ~0.023 mg of ${NO}_2^{-}$/g of polymer), whereas acetaminophen removal was not evidenced. Full article

This study presents the experimental characterization of the volumetric and transport properties of pseudo-binary mixtures of commercial diesel and residual chicken fat methyl ester biodiesel over the temperature range of 293.15–353.15 K at 0.078 MPa. Density measurements were performed using a U-shaped vibrating-tube densimeter; kinematic viscosities were obtained using Cannon–Fenske capillary viscometers. The results show that density decreased with increasing temperature and diesel content. The excess molar volume (V^E) was negative for all mixtures; the strongest volumetric contraction took place at around x₁ ≈ 0.4–0.6. The Redlich–Kister equation and the Prigogine–Flory–Patterson (PFP) model were applied to represent excess molar volumes, with an absolute average deviation (AAD) lower than 14.92%. The thermal expansion coefficient (${\alpha }_P$) and its excess property (${\alpha }_P^E$) further confirmed the existence of non-ideal mixing driven by polar–apolar interactions. The kinematic viscosity ($\nu$) was confirmed to be temperature-dependent and increased with the amount of FAMEs; this effect can be associated with the greater polarity and structural rigidity of esters. The McAllister model also adequately reproduced the dynamic viscosity ($\eta$) with an AAD < 4.2%. Furthermore, an increase in the activation enthalpy (${\Delta H}^{\ne }$) was observed at higher FAME fractions, indicating a high energy demand is required to overcome the internal energy barrier for the initial displacement of the molecules. Full article

Contamination of water bodies caused by increasing human and industrial activities poses a serious threat to human health and environmental sustainability, highlighting the need for green and efficient remediation strategies. In this study, a facile hydrothermal synthesis followed by controlled calcination was developed to fabricate phase-pure α- and β-Bi₂O₃ with a unique coral-like hierarchical morphology as visible-light-active photocatalysts. Phase selectivity was achieved by tuning the calcination temperature, yielding pure β-Bi₂O₃ while preserving the hierarchical structure. Optical characterization revealed a narrower bandgap for β-Bi₂O₃ (2.24 eV) compared to α-Bi₂O₃ (2.75 eV), favoring visible-light absorption. Photocatalytic performance was evaluated using Rhodamine B as a model pollutant, where β-Bi₂O₃ achieved complete degradation within 240 min, significantly outperforming α-Bi₂O₃. The degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the catalyst exhibited excellent robustness and reusability. To further demonstrate applicability toward persistent contaminants, Methyl Orange (MO) and the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) were employed as additional model pollutants. The coral-like β-Bi₂O₃ showed high visible-light activity toward MO, including complete removal under acidic conditions. Moreover, efficient degradation of CIP was achieved at neutral pH, with 90% removal within 150 min and complete degradation after 240 min. Overall, these results highlight coral-like β-Bi₂O₃ as an efficient standalone photocatalyst for visible-light-driven degradation of dye and pharmaceutical pollutants. Full article

Drought stress severely restricts the growth of pear trees. As a widely used drought-tolerant rootstock, Pyrus betulifolia exhibits stable growth performance; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying its drought tolerance remain to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the molecular responses of P. betulifolia leaves to osmotic stress induced by 20% PEG-4000 using time-series RNA-seq technology. A total of 3745 differentially expressed genes were identified, with transcriptional changes peaking at 6 h, indicating a critical phase of transcriptional reprogramming during drought response. Genes associated with osmotic adjustment (e.g., P5CS) and oxidative stress responses (e.g., SOD and POD) were significantly upregulated between 6 and 12 h. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified three distinct temporal modules and screened out NF-Y, RVE1, COL9, COL6, C2C2 zinc finger proteins, and Pseudo ARR-B as putative key regulators, whose expression patterns were validated using qRT-PCR. Collectively, these results provide a comprehensive view of the temporal transcriptional dynamics of drought response in P. betulifolia and offer valuable candidate gene resources for further functional studies and drought tolerance breeding. Full article

This study investigates orange peel valorisation through KOH pre-treatment and high-temperature pyrolysis (800 °C) to develop a highly porous activated char for the efficient removal of phenolic compounds, specifically 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) and aminophenol (AP), from water. The main objective of the study is to synthesise high-surface area activated char from orange peel and investigate its performance for the adsorption of DNP and AP from water. The synthesised adsorbent exhibited a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area of 965 m²/g, contributing to its excellent phenol adsorption efficiency. Batch adsorption experiments were performed, and a maximum removal efficiency of 99% and 92% was observed at pH 4 and 7 with initial concentration 50 mg/L, contact time 60 min, and adsorbent dosage 0.6 g/L, for DNP and AP, respectively. The adsorption process was described by the Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.99), indicating monolayer adsorption and followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, achieving a maximum adsorption capacity of 366 mg/g for DNP and 341 mg/g for AP. Furthermore, DFT analysis revealed that DNP possesses a lower HOMO-LUMO energy gap (−0.54 eV), favouring a stronger adsorption interaction, whereas AP exhibited a relatively higher energy gap (−0.27 eV), corresponding to its comparatively lower adsorption capacity. Overall, the findings demonstrates that a single step chemical-thermal conversion of orange peel into biochar-based adsorbent offers a sustainable pathway for the removal of phenolic compounds from water. Full article