Search Results (227,472)

This paper investigates whether carbon payments are sufficient to entice private landholders to invest in the rehabilitation and protection of coastal wetlands as a nature-based climate solution. Ecologically intact coastal wetlands, such as mangroves and saltmarshes, are capable of sequestering and storing large amounts of carbon. Reinstating ecological functionality of degraded coastal wetlands may be achieved by installing conservation fences that exclude hard-hoofed domestic and feral animals. This research integrates ecological, technical and economic data to ascertain whether conservation fencing could represent a financially viable investment for coastal landholders in the Australian context, if restored wetlands attracted carbon payments. Data gleaned through literature review and expert interviews about technical fencing requirements, contemporary costs and potential blue carbon income are consolidated into scenarios and tested using cost–benefit analysis. Payback periods are calculated using deterministic parameters. Risk-based cost–benefit analysis accounts for uncertainty of ecological and price parameters; it provides probability distributions of benefit–cost ratios assuming an expert-agreed economic lifespan of conservation fences. The results demonstrate that the payback period and benefit–cost ratio are highly sensitive to wetlands’ carbon sequestration capacity, fencing costs and the carbon price going forward. In general, carbon payments on their own are likely insufficient to entice private landholders to protect coastal wetlands through conservation fencing, except in circumstances where restored wetlands achieve high additional carbon sequestration rates. Policy measures that reduce up-front costs and risk and remuneration of multiple ecosystem services provided by restored wetlands are required to upscale blue carbon solutions using conservation fencing. The research findings bear relevance for other conservation and land-use contexts that use fencing to achieve sustainability goals and generate payments for ecosystem services. Full article

Lipoxins were discovered 40 years ago, and since then, their beneficial roles for human health have been confirmed in numerous studies. These small molecules belong to the eicosanoid class of compounds, which are generated metabolically by lipoxygenases. Lipoxins are released during various diseases and conditions, including but not limited to systemic inflammation, infection, asthma, cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders. Recently, several synthetic lipoxin analogs have been developed that also exhibit potent anti-inflammatory properties. In this review, we discuss the inflammation-resolving roles of lipoxins in various major diseases. Further, we summarize the latest reports on the use of synthetic lipoxins as potential therapeutic agents and discuss the role of aspirin-dependent lipoxin production in alleviating various diseases, including cancer. Full article

Bioactive compounds (BCs) are naturally occurring molecules found in plants, fungi, and microorganisms that can provide health benefits beyond nutrition. However, in order to administer them, they must be extracted from these organisms. This study reviews the extraction of anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds using deep eutectic systems (DESs). It was found that DES extraction media can be categorized as either choline chloride-based or natural product-based (e.g., proline, betaine, and lactic acid). Results indicate that extraction yields depended on many factors such as extraction method and DES composition, with values ranging from 0.02 to 200 mg/g. For example, curcumin extraction using ChCl–propylene glycol (1:2), for example, reached 23.1 mg/g, whereas rutin extraction using ChCl–levulinic acid (1:2) achieved 200 mg/g. Regarding this, most of the eutectic mixtures used are choline chloride (ChCl)-based combined with sugars, polyalcohols, organic acids, or even water. Nonpolar DESs combining betaine, L-proline, amino acids, sugars, and organic acids have also been used for the extraction of BCs with anti-inflammatory potential. Although the use of DES offers significant advantages for extraction processes, certain limitations still need to be overcome. This review highlights the comparative advantages of DESs in terms of extraction efficiency and environmental sustainability, offering practical insights for selecting optimal systems to extract anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds. Full article

This article provides a critical review of conceptually different approaches to automatic and transformer-based automatic item generation. Based on a discussion of the current challenges that have arisen due to changes in the use of psychometric tests in recent decades, we outline the requirements that these approaches should ideally fulfill. Subsequently, each approach is examined individually to determine the extent to which it can contribute to meeting the challenges. In doing so, we will focus on the cost savings during the actual item construction phase, the extent to which they may contribute to enhancing test validity, and potential cost savings in the item calibration phase due to either a reduction in the sample size required for item calibration or a reduction in the item loss due to insufficient psychometric characteristics. In addition, the article also aims to outline common recurring themes across these conceptually different approaches and outline areas within each approach that warrant further scientific research. Full article

Accurate and timely land monitoring is crucial for addressing global environmental, economic, and societal challenges, including climate change, sustainable development, and disaster mitigation. While single-source remote sensing data offers significant capabilities, inherent limitations such as cloud cover interference (optical), speckle noise (radar), or limited spectral information (LiDAR) often hinder comprehensive and robust characterization of land surfaces. Recent advancements in synergistic harmonization technology for land monitoring, along with enhanced signal processing techniques and the integration of machine learning algorithms, have significantly broadened the scope and depth of geosciences. Therefore, it is essential to summarize the comprehensive applications of synergistic harmonization technology for geosciences, with a particular focus on recent advancements. Most of the existing review papers focus on the application of a single technology in a specific area, highlighting the need for a comprehensive review that integrates synergistic harmonization technology. This review provides a comprehensive review of advancements in land monitoring achieved through the synergistic harmonization of optical, radar, and LiDAR satellite technologies. It details the unique strengths and weaknesses of each sensor type, highlighting how their integration overcomes individual limitations by leveraging complementary information. This review analyzes current data harmonization and preprocessing techniques, various data fusion levels, and the transformative role of machine learning and deep learning algorithms, including emerging foundation models. Key applications across diverse domains such as land cover/land use mapping, change detection, forest monitoring, urban monitoring, agricultural monitoring, and natural hazard assessment are discussed, demonstrating enhanced accuracy and scope. Finally, this review identifies persistent challenges such as technical complexities in data integration, issues with data availability and accessibility, validation hurdles, and the need for standardization. It proposes future research directions focusing on advanced AI, novel fusion techniques, improved data infrastructure, integrated “space–air–ground” systems, and interdisciplinary collaboration to realize the full potential of multi-sensor satellite data for robust and timely land surface monitoring. Supported by deep learning, this synergy will improve our ability to monitor land surface conditions more accurately and reliably. Full article

The manufacturing of multiscale composite structures in aerospace engineering is governed by complex interactions among material heterogeneity, fluid rheology, and multiphysics phenomena—including thermal, chemical, electrical, and mechanical effects. These coupled processes introduce significant challenges during both processing and post-manufacturing stages, which are often difficult to resolve using traditional (experimental) trial-and-error approaches. This review explores the potential of advanced numerical methods and simulation frameworks to address these complexities. Emphasis is placed on the use of finite element and finite volume methods, along with their respective solution strategies and domain discretisation techniques, to solve the coupled governing equations involved in composite manufacturing processes. By integrating theory, computation, and physics-based understanding, these approaches enable predictive capability and design optimisation in the development of high-performance composite components for aerospace applications; many challenges though still remain in fabrication, design, and analysis. Full article

Nanomaterials are materials in which at least one dimension in three-dimensional space is at the nanoscale. In recent years, nano-alumina has attracted much attention due to its large specific surface area and pore volume, as well as novel optical, magnetic, electronic, and catalytic properties. This review summarizes the preparation methods of nano-alumina based on the basic phases and properties of alumina materials, focusing on one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional nano-alumina preparation methods, which can provide some theoretical guidance for the subsequent development of efficient nano-alumina materials. Finally, the application of nano-alumina materials in catalysis is reviewed, and some suggestions are provided for improving the use of nano-alumina in the catalysis field. Full article

Stevia rebaudiana leaves and extracts need to be promptly dried after harvest to prevent microbial activity and preserve their bioactive compounds, including glycosides, flavonoids, and essential oils. Effective drying also reduces moisture and volume, which lowers packaging, storage, and transportation costs. Therefore, innovative drying methods are necessary to maintain stevia’s physicochemical, sensory, and nutritional properties for functional food formulations. This review evaluates various drying technologies for stevia leaves and extracts, including convective hot air, infrared, vacuum, microwave, freeze, and shade drying, and their impacts on product quality and energy efficiency. It also explores the growing applications of dried and extracted stevia in food products. By comparing different drying methods and highlighting the benefits of stevia in these food formulations, this investigation aims to identify future research directions and optimization strategies for utilizing stevia as a natural sweetener and functional ingredient. Convective hot air drying at higher temperatures was found to be the most energy-efficient, though several studies have reported moderate degradation of key bioactive compounds such as stevioside and rebaudioside A, particularly at elevated temperatures and extended drying times. Infrared drying enhanced antimicrobial activity but resulted in lower levels of polyphenols and antioxidants. Vacuum drying effectively preserved anti-inflammatory compounds like flavonoids. Microwave drying presented strong protection of antioxidant activity and superior particle morphology. Freeze drying, while less energy-efficient, was the most effective at retaining antioxidants, polyphenols, and volatile compounds. Shade drying, though time-consuming, maintained high levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, and essential oils. Advanced techniques like spray drying and electrospraying have been reported to enhance the sensory qualities and stability of stevia extracts, making them ideal for food applications such as dairy and baked products, confectionery, syrups, snacks, jams, preserves, and meat products. Overall, stevia not only serves as a natural, zero-calorie sweetener but also contributes to improved health benefits and product quality in these diverse food formulations. Full article

Introduction: Dental caries remains a public health concern, and early detection prevents its progression and complications. Panoramic radiographs are essential diagnostic tools, yet the interpretation of panoramic X-rays varies among practitioners. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents a promising approach to enhance diagnostic accuracy in detecting dental caries. This scoping review examines the current literature on the use of AI programs to analyze panoramic radiographs for the diagnosis of dental caries. Methods: This scoping review searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source, adhering to PRISMA guidelines. The review included peer-reviewed, original research published in English that investigated the use of AI to diagnose dental caries. Data were extracted on the AI model characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and diagnostic performance. Results: Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The Deep Learning Model achieved the highest performance (specificity 0.9487, accuracy 0.9789, F1 score 0.9245), followed by Diagnocat and Tooth Type Enhanced Transformer. Models such as CranioCatch and CariSeg showed moderate performance, while the Dental Caries Detection Network demonstrated the lowest. Benefits included improved diagnostic support and workflow efficiency, while limitations involved dataset biases, interpretability challenges, and computational demands. Conclusions: Applying AI technologies to panoramic X-rays demonstrates the potential for enhancing caries diagnosis, with some models achieving near-expert performance. However, future research must address the generalizability, transparency, and integration of AI models into clinical practice. Future research should focus on diverse training datasets, explainable AI development, clinical validation, and incorporating AI training into dental education and training. Full article

Neglected parasitic diseases such as Chagas disease and malaria continue to pose major public health challenges, particularly in low-resource settings. Current therapies are often limited by high toxicity, poor efficacy, drug resistance, and limited accessibility. Phytochemicals, naturally occurring compounds in plants, have played a crucial role in medicine since ancient times and have gained renewed attention for their demonstrated antiparasitic activity. However, many products of natural origin (PNOs) face significant barriers to clinical use, including poor solubility, low bioavailability, and chemical instability. These limitations have driven researchers to explore alternative and innovative approaches based on the use of PNOs to tackle these parasitic infections more effectively. This review provides a comprehensive overview of key PNOs with proven activity against Trypanosoma cruzi and Plasmodium spp., the causative agents of Chagas disease and malaria, respectively. Recent advances in the design of phytonanoformulations are analyzed and discussed, emphasizing the potential of nanocarrier-based systems incorporating PNOs as a strategy to improve the pharmacokinetic and therapeutic properties of these natural products. By critically examining the integration of phytochemicals into nanotechnology-based drug delivery platforms, this review highlights the promise of phytonanotechnology to overcome current limitations in antiparasitic therapy and support the development of more effective and accessible treatments for neglected parasitic diseases. Full article

Maximizing hydrocarbon recovery from mature and complex reservoirs is constrained by heterogeneity, sand production, and harsh operational conditions. While polyacrylamide (PAM)-based systems are pivotal in addressing these challenges, a comprehensive synthesis of their transformative evolution and multifunctional capabilities remains overdue. This review critically analyzes advancements in PAM-based materials for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), conformance control, and sand management. We show that nanomaterial integration (e.g., magnetic NPs, nanoclays) significantly augments PAM’s rheological control, thermal and salinity stability, interfacial properties, and wettability alteration. Furthermore, the emergence of supramolecular chemistry has endowed PAM systems with unprecedented resilience, enabling self-healing and adaptive performance under extreme subsurface conditions. The review highlights a crucial paradigm shift towards integrated reservoir management, synergizing these advanced chemical designs with mechanical strategies and leveraging sophisticated monitoring and predictive analytics. Critically, innovations in sustainable and bio-inspired PAM materials offer environmentally responsible solutions with enhanced biodegradability. This synthesis provides a holistic understanding of the state of the art. Despite persistent challenges in scalability and predictability, continually re-engineered PAM systems are positioned as an indispensable and increasingly sustainable cornerstone for future hydrocarbon recovery in the complex energy landscape. Full article

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are among the most widespread drugs for the prevention of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Nevertheless, they are known to cause bradykinin (BK)-mediated angioedema (AE), a paroxysmal, localized, self-limiting, and potentially fatal swelling of the subcutaneous and/or submucosal tissue, due to a temporary increase in vascular permeability. Unlike hereditary angioedema (HAE), which can be mediated similarly by BK, no diagnostic tools, guidelines, or drugs have yet been approved for the diagnosis and treatment of acute non-allergic drug-induced AE. Besides ACEIs and ARBs, inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV, neprilysin inhibitors, and tissue plasminogen activators are known to cause AE as an adverse effect. Currently, there are insufficient data on the prevention of AE caused by pharmacological therapies. In addition, the molecular mechanisms underlying BK-mediated AE caused by drugs, which are discussed here, are not fully explained. Specific approved drugs and a structured diagnostic workflow are unmet needs and are required for the management of this kind of AE. The aim of this review is to provide physicians with accurate knowledge of potentially life-threatening drug reactions so that they can be better understood and managed. Full article

Background: Immediate implant therapy is a highly effective solution for replacing non-restorable teeth, particularly in the esthetic zone, where achieving optimal results can be challenging. In this area, even small imperfections can significantly affect a patient’s satisfaction due to the high visibility of the teeth involved. This narrative review provides an overview of findings from case reports and systematic reviews that highlight the success of immediate implant therapy in the esthetic zone. Additionally, it includes a case illustration to emphasize how meticulous planning, combined with advanced techniques, can achieve successful outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of immediate implant placement and loading for non-restorable teeth in the esthetic zone. Key factors identified for success include atraumatic tooth extraction, precise implant placement, and effective soft tissue management to achieve natural esthetics and long-term stability. To illustrate these principles, the review features a clinical case involving the replacement of a maxillary right central incisor rendered non-restorable due to trauma. Treatment incorporated advanced digital planning, atraumatic extraction, immediate implant placement, and provisionalization. The final restoration involved soft tissue contouring and ceramic veneers on adjacent teeth, enhancing the patient’s overall smile and confidence. Results: Evidence from the literature indicates that well-planned immediate implant therapy achieves high success rates and long-term stability. In the clinical case presented, the workflow met the patient’s esthetic and functional needs, resulting in a natural, harmonious smile, and improved patient satisfaction. Conclusions: Immediate implant therapy in the esthetic zone is highly effective when critical considerations—such as bone preservation, guided implant placement, soft tissue shaping, and appropriate restoration—are meticulously addressed. Advanced techniques and careful planning are essential for fulfilling both esthetic and functional patient needs, ultimately delivering predictable and successful outcomes. Full article

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by widespread immune dysregulation and the production of autoantibodies targeting nuclear, cytoplasmic, and cell surface antigens. These autoantibodies are central to disease pathogenesis, contribute to immune complex formation and organ damage, and serve as essential diagnostic and prognostic markers. Their detection supports disease classification, guides clinical decision-making, and offers insight into disease activity and therapeutic response. Traditional markers such as anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-dsDNA, and anti-Sm antibodies remain diagnostic cornerstones, but growing attention is given to anti-C1q, anti-nucleosome antibodies (ANuA), anti-ribosomal P, antiphospholipid, and anti-cytokine antibodies due to their associations with specific disease phenotypes and activity. These markers may reflect disease activity, specific organ involvement, or predict flares. The mechanisms underlying their persistence include B cell tolerance failure and long-lived plasma cell activity. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge on the major autoantibodies in SLE, appraise available detection methods, highlight their clinical utility and limitations and present evidence on the association between antibodies and disease phenotypes. Full article

Advances in drug development continue to play a critical role in addressing diseases, including those with unmet medical needs. In 2024, the FDA approved 50 novel drugs, 16 of which were biologics. For context, during the first half of 2024 alone, the agency approved six biologics. By mid-2025, six additional biologics have received the green light, indicating that the pace of approvals of this class of drugs this year may be on par with 2024. This paper analyzes all biologics that received FDA authorization in 2024, examining their mechanisms, clinical trials, and expedited review pathways. Key approvals included the highest number of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) since 2015 (13 mAbs, 6 indicated for oncology), while no antibody–drug conjugates were authorized—continuing with the trend in 2023. In addition, a new chimeric mAb has been approved since the last chimeric mAb approved in 2022, and a new mAb for Alzheimer’s disease. Nine biologics are first-in-class therapies, while ten received Orphan Drug Designation. The biologics considered herein fall into the categories of mAbs and proteins. Full article