Search Results (1,348)

Wood–polymer composites (WPCs) consistently garner considerable attention owing to their material versatility and sustainability, resulting in numerous review studies across diverse disciplines. Nonetheless, since a comprehensive synthesis that consolidates these disparate reviews is lacking, this study performs a meta-synthesis of review articles focused on WPCs employing a science-mapping approach enhanced by CiteSpace software. A systematic search of the Web of Science Core Collection (last updated in June 2025) was conducted, yielding 51 review-type articles selected using PRISMA screening guidelines. Network-based co-citation, clustering, and keyword analyses reveal that recent WPC research centers on three interconnected areas: (i) reinforcement and interfacial engineering, (ii) processing–structure–property relationships, and (iii) sustainability-focused design involving recycling, fire safety, thermal pretreatment, and PCM-based thermal management. Sixteen author/reference clusters and nine keyword clusters highlight well-defined knowledge communities on durability and fire safety, nano- and bio-based reinforcements, recycled and bioplastic matrices, and advanced manufacturing techniques such as co-extrusion, flat-pressing, 3D printing, and wood–polymer impregnation. Timeline and burst analyses show that mechanical performance remains the primary focus, while emerging areas include recycled/waste-derived polymers, cellulose micro- and nanofibers, moisture-resistant hybrids, and wood-based additive manufacturing for construction applications. Full article

Direct detection (DD) is a straightforward, cost-effective receiving scheme for medium- and short-range fiber-optic communication systems, yet directly accessing phase information presents inherent challenges. The temporal transport-of-intensity equation (T-TIE) enables phase recovery from intensity data, but the accuracy of this phase-retrieval method is constrained by finite difference approximation errors of intensity derivatives and electrical noise interference. In this paper, we propose a 4th-order central difference method for calculating intensity derivatives to enhance approximation accuracy and implement multiple intensity measurements to further mitigate electrical noise interference. The proposed method is validated in a 28 GBaud single-carrier 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) direct detection system. The research results indicate that, under conditions of 10 nA dark current and 20 pA/Hz^^1/2 thermal noise, our method achieves a receiver sensitivity gain of 14.85 dB compared with the 1st-order forward difference method and 8.47 dB compared with the 2nd-order central difference method at the 7% hard decision forward error correction (7% HD-FEC) threshold. Full article

Background/Aim: Communities all across the world celebrate the birth of babies through distinct customs and traditional practices. While some of these traditions may bring comfort and cultural continuity, others may not be in line with medical recommendations and could pose major health risks to the newborn. This study examined rural Jordanian women’s perceptions on practices, knowledge sources, benefits, and challenges around caring for newborns in the northern region. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative descriptive study design, twelve women (aged 22 to 60 years) from the Kufr Som village in Northern Jordan, took part in in-depth semi-structured interviews in August 2025. The interviews focused on identifying caregiving practices, knowledge sources, and perceived benefits or challenges related to newborn care. The responses were verbatim transcribed from audio recordings for thematic analysis. Results: Nine themes emerged. “Thermal protection,” “bathing care,” “umbilical cord care,” and “feeding rites” are four themes that encapsulate the common practices women follow when caring for a newborn. The two themes that capture the sources of knowledge and direction for learning newborn care practices are “transmission of knowledge across generations” and “social influence”. The themes “spiritual safeguarding” and “perceived health protection” highlight the benefits of traditional practices, whereas “conflicts between tradition and modern care” underscores their challenges. Conclusions: Newborn care practices are deeply rooted in Northern Jordanian culture. Evidence-based strategies are needed to augment existing practices in order to improve neonatal care outcomes. Full article

Managing complex and large-scale building facilities requires reliable, easily interpretable, and computationally efficient models. Considering the electrical-circuit analogy, lumped-parameter resistance–capacitance (RC) thermal models have emerged as both simulation surrogates and advanced tools for energy management. This review synthesizes recent uses of RC models for building energy management in large facilities and aggregates. A systematic review of the most recent international literature, based on the analysis of 70 peer-reviewed articles, led to the classification of three main areas: (i) the physics and modeling potential of RC models; (ii) the methods for automation, calibration, and scalability; and (iii) applications in model predictive control (MPC), energy flexibility, and digital twins (DTs). The results show that these models achieve an efficient balance between accuracy and simplicity, allowing for real-time deployment in embedded control systems and building-automation platforms. In complex and large-scale situations, a growing integration with machine learning (ML) techniques, semantic frameworks, and stochastic methods within virtual environments is evident. Nonetheless, challenges persist regarding the standardization of performance metrics, input data quality, and real-scale validation. This review provides essential and up-to-date guidance for developing interoperable solutions for complex building energy systems, supporting integrated management across district, urban, and community levels for the future. Full article

Satellite observations of carbon monoxide (CO) are essential for monitoring global air quality, pollution transport, and climate-related emissions. This study evaluates the continuity and consistency of CO measurements derived from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), both operating in the thermal infrared band near 4.6 µm. By comparing retrievals from the AIRS Science Team v7 and the CLIMCAPS (Community Long-term Infrared Microwave Combined Atmospheric Product System) algorithms across AIRS and CrIS radiances, we demonstrate that the interannual CO variability is consistent across instruments and algorithms. These findings are validated using the long-term MOPITT record. Additionally, we show that mid-tropospheric CO variabilities correspond with fire detections from MODIS and surface vapor pressure deficit (VPD) anomalies, indicating a rise in wildfire activity in the Northern Hemisphere. The results shown here provide confidence in the utility of a combined AIRS/CrIS CO record. With the scheduled continuation of CrIS observations through future JPSS platforms, the combined CO record from U.S. hyperspectral sounders in the afternoon orbit is set to continue to 2045 and beyond, providing a possible means to quantify trends and interannual variability over multiple decades. Full article

The Chiuchiu Pond (CCP) is an inland brackish water body in a pre-Andean scenery in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. Presently unprotected, the CCP is attractive for tourism and a notable geosite for wildlife characterized by maintaining a fixed water level and chemical composition without surface inlets/outlets. This paper aims to characterize factors accounting for its perennial character by gathering climatic, hydrogeochemical, and morphometric information and microbiological and functional characterization. The CCP is an isolated U-shaped doline with a maximum depth of 17.5 m and vertical walls with more than 80% of soluble salts (halite and calcite) under arid conditions characterized by constant seasonal variation patterns. This is a unique case in that no similar conditions among reported wetlands or ponds have been found in the world. From our studies, it was characterized as an oligotrophic, lentic oligomictic, well-mixed water body, without thermal stratification, stable water level and hydrochemical composition, with water balance conditions from underground flows. Analysis of the microbial community revealed a core composition dominated by Proteobacteria (43.1%), Bacteroidetes (23.5%), and Cyanobacteria (10%). We provide a multidisciplinary contribution to justify urgent actions for the CCP’s conservation, representing a model for other unprotected coastal and inland wetlands in northern Chile and drylands elsewhere. Full article

Fungal aerosols are critical yet understudied bioaerosol components in enclosed poultry environments, particularly during winter when ventilation is restricted. This study investigated stage-specific variations in fungal aerosol concentration, size distribution, and community composition in Taihang chicken houses across three growth stages (15, 60, and 150 days). Culturable fungal concentrations significantly increased from 3.16 × 10³ CFU/m³ to 1.24 × 10⁴ CFU/m³ with bird age (p < 0.001, ANOVA). Respirable particles (<4.7 μm) consistently dominated the fungal size distribution. ITS sequencing revealed progressive increases in fungal richness and distinct community shifts among stages. Several fungi with zoonotic potential, including Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Cryptococcus, and Fusarium, were detected across all stages. These findings demonstrate that wintertime enclosed ventilation, while thermally beneficial, promotes the accumulation of respirable fungal aerosols and elevates occupational and environmental health risks. From a One Health perspective, stage-specific mitigation strategies—such as ventilation optimization, reduction in organic dust sources, and routine monitoring of respirable fungal fractions—are essential for reducing exposure risks in cold-season poultry production. Full article

Green buildings increasingly couple electrical, thermal, and hydrogen subsystems, yet these assets are typically monitored and controlled through separate standards and protocols. The resulting heterogeneous information models and communication stacks hinder millisecond-level coordination, plug-and-play integration, and resilient operation. To address this gap, we develop a unified information model and a cross-protocol real-time interaction mechanism based on extensions of IEC 61850. At the modeling level, we introduce new logical nodes and standardized data objects that describe electrical, thermal, and hydrogen devices in a single semantic space, supported by a global unit system and knowledge-graph-based semantic checking. At the communication level, we introduce a semantic gateway with adaptive mapping bridges IEC 61850 and legacy building protocols, while fast event messaging and 5G-enabled edge computing support deterministic low-latency control. The approach is validated on a digital-twin platform that couples an RTDS-based multi-energy system with a 5G test network. Experiments show device plug-and-play within 0.8 s, cross-protocol response-time differences below 50 ms, GOOSE latency under 5 ms, and critical-data success rates above 90% at a bit-error rate of 10⁻³. Under grid-fault scenarios, the proposed framework reduces voltage recovery time by about 60% and frequency deviation by about 70%, leading to more than 80% improvement in a composite resilience index compared with a conventional non-unified architecture. These results indicate that the framework provides a practical basis for interoperable, low-carbon, and resilient energy management in green buildings. Full article

This paper describes a compact low-cost telemetry system featuring ready-made sensors and an acquisition unit based on the ESP32, which makes use of the LoRa/Wi-Fi wireless standard for communication, and autonomous fallback logging to guarantee data recovery during communication loss. Ensuring safe atmospheric re-entry requires reliable onboard monitoring of capsule conditions during descent. The system is intended for sub-orbital, low-cost educational capsules and experimental atmospheric descent missions rather than full orbital re-entry at hypersonic speeds, where the environmental loads and communication constraints differ significantly. The novelty of this work is the development of a fully self-contained telemetry system that ensures continuous monitoring and fallback logging without external infrastructure, bridging the gap in compact solutions for CubeSat-scale capsules. In contrast to existing approaches built around UAVs or radar, the proposed design is entirely self-contained, lightweight, and tailored to CubeSat-class and academic missions, where costs and infrastructure are limited. Ground test validation consisted of vertical drop tests, wind tunnel runs, and hardware-in-the-loop simulations. In addition, high-temperature thermal cycling tests were performed to assess system reliability under rapid temperature transitions between −20 °C and +110 °C, confirming stable operation and data integrity under thermal stress. Results showed over 95% real-time packet success with full data recovery in blackout events, while acceleration profiling confirmed resilience to peak decelerations of ~9 g. To complement telemetry, the TeleCapsNet dataset was introduced, facilitating a CNN recognition of descent states via 87% mean Average Precision, and an F1-score of 0.82, which attests to feasibility under constrained computational power. The novelty of this work is twofold: having reliable dual-path telemetry in real-time with full post-mission recovery and producing a scalable platform that explicitly addresses the lack of compact, infrastructure-independent proposals found in the existing literature. Results show an independent and cost-effective system for small re-entry capsule experimenters with reliable data integrity (without external infrastructure). Future work will explore AI systems deployment as a means to prolong the onboard autonomy, as well as to broaden the applicability of the presented approach into academic and low-resource re- entry investigations. Full article

Rydberg atoms are neutral atoms excited to high principal quantum number states, which endows them with exaggerated properties such as large electric dipole moments, long lifetimes, and extreme sensitivity to external electromagnetic fields. These characteristics form the foundation of Rydberg atom-based sensors, an emerging class of quantum devices capable of optically detecting electric fields across frequencies from DC to the terahertz regime. Rydberg-based electrometry operates through both Autler–Townes (AT) splitting of resonant Rydberg transitions and Stark-shift measurements for high-frequency or far-detuned fields, enabling broadband field sensing from DC to the THz regime. Using ladder-type electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and AT splitting, these sensors enable non-invasive, SI-traceable measurements of field amplitude, frequency, phase, and polarization. Recent developments have demonstrated broadband electric field probes, voltage calibration standards, and compact RF receivers based on thermal vapor cells and integrated photonic architectures. Furthermore, innovations in multi-photon EIT, superheterodyne readout, and multi wave mixing have expanded the dynamic range and bandwidth of Rydberg-based electrometry. Despite challenges related to environmental perturbations, linewidth broadening, and laser stabilization, ongoing advances in atomic control, hybrid photonic integration, and EIT-based readout promise scalable, chip-compatible sensors. This review summarizes the physical principles, experimental progress, and emerging applications of Rydberg atom-based sensing, emphasizing their potential for next generation quantum metrology, wireless communication, and precision field mapping. Full article

ZnNb₂O₆-based microwave dielectric ceramics have attracted considerable attention due to their high quality factor (Q × f) and low sintering temperature, but their application was limited by poor temperature stability with a large negative temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ_f). Herein, novel (1 − x)ZnNb₂O_6−xCa_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ (x = 0.05–0.125) composite ceramics were designed and fabricated. The used ZnNb₂O₆ and Ca_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ were synthesized through solid-phase reaction by using stoichiometric metal oxides or carbonates as the raw materials at 650 and 1100 °C, respectively. The composite ceramics were prepared by solid-state sintering, and the sintering parameters were optimized at 1175 °C for 4 h by visual high-temperature deformation analysis. A focus was paid on the temperature stability and compositional effects of Ca_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ of the obtained composited ceramics. As the Ca_0.5Sr_0.5TiO₃ content increases, the dielectric constant (ε_r) and Q × f gradually decrease, while τ_f shifts toward positive values. At x = 0.075, the composite ceramics sintered at 1175 °C for 4 h exhibit near-zero τ_f (−8.99 ppm/°C), coupled with ε_r = 23.23 and Q × f = 21,686 GHz. This study provides theoretical guide and material support for designing and fabricating various high-performance thermally stable microwave dielectric ceramics for 5G communication devices and future communication technologies. Full article

Accessing operational information across industrial systems (ERP, MES, SCADA, PLC) in concrete plants requires 15–30 min and specialized knowledge. This work addresses this accessibility gap by developing a conversational AI system that democratizes industrial information access through natural language. A five-layer cognitive architecture was implemented integrating the Mistral-7B model quantized in GGUF Q4_0 format (3.82 GB) on a Raspberry Pi 5, Spanish speech recognition/synthesis, and heterogeneous industrial protocols (OPC UA, MQTT, REST API) across all automation pyramid levels. Experimental validation at Frumecar S.L. (Murcia, Spain) characterized performance, thermal stability, and reliability. Results show response times of 14.19 s (simple queries, SD = 7.56 s), 16.45 s (moderate, SD = 6.40 s), and 23.24 s (complex multilevel, SD = 6.59 s), representing 26–77× improvement over manual methods. The system maintained average temperature of 69.3 °C (peak 79.6 °C), preserving 5.4 °C margin below throttling threshold. Communication latencies averaged 8.93 ms across 10,163 readings (<1% of total latency). During 30 min of autonomous operation, 100% reliability was achieved with 39 successful queries. These findings demonstrate the viability of deploying quantized LLMs on low-cost edge hardware, enabling cognitive democratization of industrial information while ensuring data privacy and cloud independence. Full article

Altitudinal gradients offer powerful natural frameworks to investigate how environmental factors shape biodiversity, especially on young oceanic volcanic islands where short spatial distances encompass sharp climatic transitions. This study documents bryophyte diversity and examines how elevation, substrate, and environmental variables influence the structure of bryophyte communities on Flores Island (Azores). Across five sites and 385 microplots, 89 species from 37 families were recorded, with liverworts predominating (liverwort-to-moss ratio of 1.41). Species richness and abundance followed a unimodal pattern, peaking at mid-elevations (400–600 m a.s.l.), where humid and thermally stable conditions favor the coexistence of lowland and montane taxa. Even modest altitudinal shifts corresponded to pronounced turnover in community composition, revealing strong ecological filtering along the gradient. Substrate type further influenced diversity patterns, with liverworts dominating epiphytic and lignicolous habitats, while mosses were more diverse on terricolous and rupicolous substrates. The presence of several Azorean and Macaronesian endemics, including threatened taxa, highlights the conservation importance of mid-elevation habitats. Overall, these results show that fine-scale altitudinal variation generates substantial ecological differentiation, underscoring the role of montane forests as refugia for hygrophilous and endemic bryophytes and as sensitive indicators of environmental change in island ecosystems. Full article

The main challenge for the scientific community is to mitigate climate change impacts while reducing energy consumption, without compromising comfort and quality of life. Buildings in hot climates require specific design strategies to limit the effects of extreme weather and heat waves. Standardized modern buildings, often unsuitable for hot and arid climates, lead to high energy consumption, mainly due to cooling systems, causing both discomfort and energy inefficiency. Previous studies have shown that solutions inspired by local vernacular architecture are often more effective than conventional construction techniques. This paper investigates the thermal response and discomfort intensity in two building models exposed to various climate scenarios: a typical modern residential building and a bioclimatic vernacular-inspired building. The analysis is conducted through dynamic thermal simulations under current as well as future medium- and long-term climate change scenarios. The study evaluates the buildings’ ability to adapt to future environmental changes, an aspect that has not yet been studied in depth. Results show that contemporary buildings experience significantly higher levels of thermal discomfort than vernacular buildings under both present (TMY) and future (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5, 2080) climate conditions. Results show that under the present climate, the vernacular building exhibits about 22% fewer discomfort hours than the contemporary one and roughly half the overheating integrated degree-hours. Under future scenarios, overheating increases by 25.8% to 67.7% in the contemporary building and 36.1% to 89.6% in the vernacular building, yet the vernacular building consistently maintains substantially lower discomfort levels. Overall, vernacular inspired envelopes remain more resilient to warming in all scenarios, but additional adaptation measures are required to ensure acceptable summer comfort by late century. Full article

Silica-based splitters, couplers, and arrayed waveguide gratings are key components in optical communication. However, the high tuning power consumption of silica chips limits their development and application in fields such as Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers and Mode Division Multiplexing. In this work, we demonstrate a silica thermo-optic switch based on polymer cladding within a Mach–Zehnder Interferometer framework, in which a UV-curable polymer is employed as the upper cladding to enhance thermal efficiency. The device exhibits a power consumption of 48 mW, rise and fall response times were 215 µs and 271 µs, compared to all-silicon switches, the power consumption is reduced by 75%, and the switching speed is improved by nearly a factor of two, while maintaining a comparable insertion loss. Experimental results demonstrate an insertion loss of 8.53 dB and an extinction ratio of 10.12 dB. Full article