Search Results (68,355)

Rice glutelin hydrolysates (RGHs) with different degrees of hydrolysis (DH) were prepared using papain, and the structural characterization, physicochemical stability, and antioxidant activity of RGH were analyzed. Results showed that RGH primarily consisted of low molecular weight (MW) peptides (<3 kDa), with hydrophobic/aromatic amino acid content increasing with DH. Higher DH level led to reduced average particle size and zeta potential of RGH. Structurally, as DH increased, a decrease in α-helix content alongside increased β-sheet/random coil ratios was observed in RGH, indicating a transition towards a more disordered structure in RGH. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of RGH was significantly enhanced with the increase in DH, with RGH-18 showing the highest bioactivity. RGH maintained stability and antioxidant capacity under gastrointestinal digestion as well as various environmental stresses, including varying pH and temperatures, and the presence of metal ions. Cellular experiments demonstrated that RGH-18 alleviated H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage in HepG2 cells, likely by inhibiting Keap1 and activating Nrf2 via the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway. This study supports the potential of RGH as a functional ingredient and provides insights for targeted rice peptide production. Full article

Wildfires pose increasing environmental and socio-economic risks, particularly in climate-sensitive and tropical regions, necessitating reliable satellite-based monitoring and predictive frameworks. This study presents a comprehensive survey of satellite-derived wildfire indicators and spatiotemporal modeling approaches, covering their historical development, current methodologies, and emerging research directions. We review major active fire and hotspot datasets derived from MODIS, VIIRS, and related platforms, along with key environmental drivers such as vegetation indices, meteorological variables, and land-surface with a specific case study for the Indonesian region. Modeling approaches are synthesized from classical statistical regression and time-series analysis to contemporary machine learning and deep learning architectures, including convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, and transformer-based models. The analysis highlights the transition toward multi-source data integration and spatiotemporal deep learning frameworks capable of capturing complex wildfire dynamics. Finally, we identify future research challenges, including hybrid physical–AI modeling, uncertainty quantification, and scalable real-time wildfire intelligence systems. This survey provides a structured reference for researchers and practitioners seeking to advance satellite-based wildfire monitoring and prediction. Full article

Biomass–plastic co-pyrolysis has emerged as a promising thermochemical route for the valorization of mixed biomass and plastic waste streams, addressing growing challenges in waste management and resource efficiency. This review summarizes current knowledge on feedstock interactions, reactor technologies, operating conditions, and resulting product distributions. The literature indicates that co-processing biomass with plastics can enhance process performance compared to single-feedstock pyrolysis. Improvements are mainly observed in liquid product quality, increased energy content of gaseous fractions, and modified char properties, although outcomes strongly depend on feedstock composition and process conditions. Beyond technical aspects, the review highlights the relevance of co-pyrolysis within circular economy systems. Oil can be considered a secondary feedstock for the refining and chemical industries, process gas can support internal energy integration, and char may be utilized in material or environmental applications, contributing to partial closure of carbon and resource loops. Despite these advantages, the transition from laboratory-scale studies to large-scale implementation remains the major challenge for biomass–plastic co-pyrolysis. This limitation is associated with feedstock heterogeneity, contamination issues, scale-up difficulties, regulatory uncertainty, and the need for downstream upgrading of products. Overall, biomass–plastic co-pyrolysis represents a promising pathway toward circular waste valorization, but its practical relevance depends on successful system-level integration rather than laboratory-scale performance alone. Full article

Background: Technological innovation in logistics (TIL), logistics capability (LC), and lean logistics (LL) are receiving wider attention in logistics and supply chain research. They are often examined in separate models and less often in relation to both business performance (BP) and market performance (MP). Their joint effects on organizational performance remain insufficiently examined in previous research. Methods: This study examined the effects of TIL, LC, and LL on BP and MP through a quantitative survey conducted among enterprises in Serbia, a transition economy with limited empirical evidence on these relationships. Data from 129 valid responses were analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, and multicollinearity diagnostics. Results: The findings show that LC has a positive and significant effect on both BP and MP. LL has a positive and significant effect on BP, while TIL has a positive and significant effect on MP. The model explains a larger share of variance in BP than in MP. Conclusions: The results support a differentiated view of logistics transformation and indicate that BP and MP should be examined as related but distinct outcome dimensions. The study integrates TIL, LC, and LL within a unified performance framework. Full article

The paper analyzes the evolution and strategy development for sustainable community-based ecotourism (CBET) in the commune of Hoa Bac in Central Vietnam. It is based on a pilot project carried out from 2019 to 2025 within the scope of a larger research project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the research line ‘Sustainable Urban Regions’. As a key component of the overall research approach, the goal of this pilot project along the Cu De River valley in the vicinity of the city of Da Nang has been a culturally adapted and ecologically sensitive tourism model that leads to income and socio-economic improvement, environmental protection and a decentralized low-impact infrastructure. The results of six years of qualitative longitudinal participatory research based on community workshops, interviews and surveys, direct observations as well as participatory field activities show how transformations in natural, cultural, human, social, financial and built capitals have shaped the transition from resource-dependent livelihoods to a diversified ecotourism economy. By mobilizing and empowering the local community, partly belonging to the Co Tu ethnic minority, sustainable development emerged not from isolated interventions but from a structured process of interlinked development strategies including cultural revitalization, environmental preservation, locally adapted agroforestry, skills and capacity development, cooperative governance, decentralized infrastructure, and income diversification. The study demonstrates that stakeholder and community empowerment, appropriately designed governance models (in this case the establishment of a tourism cooperative), targeted capacity development and knowledge transfer can strengthen the resilience and long-term sustainability of ecologically sound and culturally adaptive community-based tourism initiatives. Overall, the lessons learned from the research in Hoa Bac contribute to designing and implementing a holistic approach to CBET in rural settings. Full article

The transition from simple herbivory to specialised gall induction in Cynipidae marks an evolutionary peak in insect–plant interactions. This structural and ultrastructural study suggests that the gall wasp larva has evolved from a passive consumer into a biological architect, utilising a highly specialised body plan. The structure of the large midgut, the midgut epithelium reinforced by septate junctions, and the cuboidal cells of the hindgut allow for the possibility that the larva of Andricus quercustozae may control itself independently from its host, working as an active producer rather than just recycling materials. The foregut constitutes approximately 10% of the alimentary canal length, while the large blind midgut occupies 80%. The remaining 10% consists of a specialised hindgut tube, which is anteriorly closed and contains a reinforced, cuticularised external anal pore. This posterior structure, together with a dense aggregation of urocytes and oenocytes in the anal region, presumed systemic homeostasis and the symmetrical distribution of hormonal signals. These anatomical hallmarks provide a structural baseline to hypothesize that biosynthesis may represent a key mechanism for phytohormone acquisition, while suggesting that this closed-circuit anatomy could potentially be a contributing factor influencing the spherical morphogenesis of the gall. Full article

Background/Objectives: Among the most common medical conditions of pregnancy, nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) and its severe form hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) represent a clinically significant and increasingly researched area of maternal health. However, the global evolution, structural organization, and thematic development of this literature remain insufficiently characterized. This bibliometric study maps five decades of global research on therapeutic and supportive interventions for NVP and HG. Methods: Web of Science Core Collection records were searched on 10 May 2026, restricted to English-language articles and reviews published up to 2025, and deduplicated to 1182 unique documents. A secondary thematic filter was subsequently applied to generate a refined obstetric subset for the country collaboration, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic evolution analyses. Bibliometric performance, collaboration networks, source impact, institutional output, PELT-based changepoint detection, metadata completeness, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic evolution were analyzed using VOSviewer, Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny, and custom Python scripts. Results: Publication output increased markedly after 2010 and reached its maximum in 2025. PELT sensitivity analysis localized the principal transitions to the mid-1990s and early 2010s, informing three broad analytical macroperiods: 1975–1994, 1995–2009, and 2010–2025. The United States dominated cumulative output and collaboration intensity, while Canada, England, Australia, Italy, Germany, and China showed substantial scientific influence. Core publication venues were concentrated in obstetrics, gynecology, reproductive safety, and pregnancy-focused clinical medicine. Keyword and thematic analyses showed a transition from early vomiting, Bendectin, exposure, and pregnancy-safety concerns toward pharmacological treatment, complementary interventions, controlled clinical evaluation, maternal–fetal outcomes, and supportive management. Metadata-completeness analysis identified a major pre-1991 indexing discontinuity, requiring caution when interpreting long-range keyword-based trends. Conclusions: These findings outline the trajectory of the field and highlight priorities for future research, including stronger comparative evidence for pharmacological, complementary, and supportive-care strategies, broader international collaboration, and prospective studies to strengthen the evidence base for managing NVP and HG. Full article

Terahertz (THz) radiation generated through ultrafast transient photocurrent mechanisms has become a cornerstone of modern THz photonics, enabling broadband coherent emission with sub-picosecond temporal resolution. This review provides a comprehensive and mechanism-driven analysis of THz pulse generation via photo-Dember diffusion currents, surface depletion field acceleration, and biased photoconductive antenna architectures. We present a comprehensive comparative analysis of wide- and low-bandgap material platforms, including III–V, II–VI, and group IV semiconductors, as well as two-dimensional materials, topological insulators, and Weyl semimetals, highlighting how their intrinsic properties, such as band structure, carrier mobility, recombination dynamics, doping, and dielectric response, govern their THz emission efficiency, bandwidth, and spectral tunability. Special emphasis is placed on germanium (Ge), which has re-emerged as a highly promising THz source material owing to its high carrier mobility, long diffusion lengths, strain-tunable band structure, and CMOS compatibility. We highlight the roles of doping, strain-induced direct transitions, and several fabrication techniques in controlling the nonlinear photoexcited charge-carrier dynamics in Ge, thereby unlocking enhanced broadband THz performance. Finally, we explore the emerging application prospects of THz radiation, ranging from non-invasive security screening to biochemical sensing and archeological preservation. By bridging fundamental material science with scalable device architectures, this review outlines current challenges, highlights evolving opportunities in novel materials, and charts future directions towards integrated THz technologies. Full article

This study provides a stakeholder-based assessment of the drivers, barriers, and strategic priorities shaping energy efficiency (EE) adoption across Egypt’s private sector, focusing on the industry, buildings, and transport sectors. Drawing on 17 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from government, industry, finance, academia, and development organizations, the study identifies the main factors influencing EE implementation. The findings show that sustainability objectives, particularly carbon reduction commitments and compliance with environmental regulations, alongside donor-funded grants and green finance instruments, are the primary drivers of EE uptake. However, progress remains constrained by institutional and financial barriers, including weak enforcement mechanisms, fragmented governance, limited policy coordination, high upfront costs, restricted access to finance, inflexible banking conditions, and the absence of a domestic EE finance market. Technical and awareness-related challenges further hinder implementation. While gender-related barriers were generally perceived as limited, the analysis revealed underlying disparities in women’s leadership and decision-making roles. Financial barriers represented the largest share across all sectors, while institutional barriers ranked second. The absence of enforcement mechanisms was the most significant individual constraint, cited by 13 out of 17 respondents, followed by limited access to finance (10 out of 17) and high upfront costs (9 out of 17). The study highlights the need for stronger regulatory frameworks, clearer institutional mandates, accessible financing mechanisms, and the integration of gender perspectives to accelerate EE adoption and support Egypt’s sustainable energy transition. Full article

Food waste has emerged as one of the most pressing global sustainability challenges because of its environmental, economic, and social implications. Nearly one-third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted each year, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, depletion of natural resources, and increasing food insecurity. Advances in circular bioeconomy concepts and sustainable processing technologies have transformed food waste from an environmental liability into a valuable feedstock for producing biofuels, bioplastics, bioactive compounds, functional ingredients, prebiotics, and other high-value products. This review critically examines current strategies for converting food waste into value-added products, including green extraction technologies and biochemical, thermochemical, enzymatic, and microbial approaches. Attention is given to major agri-food by-products, such as fruit pomace, vegetable residues, oilseed meals, dairy by-products, and agro-industrial wastes. Emerging developments involving biorefinery concepts, artificial intelligence, digital biorefineries, synthetic biology, and carbon-neutral production systems are also discussed. Furthermore, the review highlights recent applications of waste-derived fibers, antioxidants, and polyphenols in functional foods, especially bakery products. Finally, key challenges related to feedstock heterogeneity, process scalability, regulatory frameworks, economic feasibility, and sustainability assessment are critically analyzed together with future research directions supporting the transition toward resilient circular bioeconomy systems. Full article

Phosphorus recovery from wastewater and waste streams has become increasingly critical for addressing phosphate-rock supply insecurity and eutrophication control. Building on previous reviews of phosphorus recovery technologies and product applications, this review presents a product-oriented perspective for evaluating phosphorus recovery, explicitly integrating phosphorus sources, process design, product quality, application requirements, regulatory considerations, and life-cycle assessment (LCA) or techno-economic assessment (TEA). Collectively, the available evidence indicates that phosphorus sources differ substantially in phosphorus concentration, speciation, and impurity profiles, underscoring the importance of source–product matching for effective phosphorus recovery. Different phosphorus sources, therefore, require tailored recovery pathways to produce products that satisfy specific quality and application requirements. Product quality is governed primarily by process design rather than by the recovered mineral itself, with purity, contaminant control, regulatory compliance, and end-use suitability ultimately determining the environmental and economic value of recovered phosphorus. A meaningful comparison of recovery pathways further requires harmonized LCA/TEA, as environmental and economic outcomes are highly sensitive to system boundaries, functional units, and allocation assumptions. In addition, regulatory requirements are emerging as a key determinant of product commercialization and should therefore be incorporated throughout process design and technology development. Overall, this review highlights a shift from removal-oriented phosphorus recovery to product-oriented phosphorus recovery, emphasizing the production of high-quality, application-specific phosphorus products as the foundation for technology selection, product innovation, and the transition toward a circular phosphorus economy. Full article

This paper proposes a reliability-optimized localization method for underground utility tunnels based on multi-source fusion and a denoising variational autoencoder model. The method acquires a multi-sensor localization dataset aligned with a unified time reference. By employing a convolutional neural network-assisted denoising variational autoencoder (DVAE-CNN), it regulates localization outcomes through three key aspects: a multi-source heterogeneous data quality assessment model, a formulation of the target state transition equation, and an environmental prior-information-aided weight update strategy. This approach overcomes the low-reliability issues caused by information loss and errors in the complex environment of underground utility tunnels. Compared to localization results without reliability regulation mechanisms, the proposed method achieves an average improvement of 73.6% in localization accuracy and 85.2% in localization reliability. Finally, localization experiments conducted in an underground utility tunnel demonstrate that the proposed method can provide highly robust, reliable and continuous positioning services, indicating significant potential for application and broader adoption. Full article

The paper explores the underutilized potential of geothermal energy in Romania, focusing on both shallow and deep geothermal systems as sustainable alternatives for heating applications. Romania’s unique geological features, particularly the Pannonian Depression, offer significant geothermal resources, yet these remain largely untapped in many regions. This study presents an analysis of the country’s geothermal reservoirs, highlighting their spatial distribution, thermophysical properties, and technical potential. In-depth data on aquifer characteristics, including temperatures, depths, and capacities, supports a comprehensive assessment of the energy output achievable from these natural systems. Current applications of geothermal resources are reviewed, including successful projects in Oradea and Timiș County, which demonstrate the viability of geothermal systems for residential and commercial heating. Furthermore, this study discusses Romania’s regulatory landscape and incentive frameworks aligned with European Union standards, identifying key barriers and opportunities for growth. With a robust foundation of technical and spatial data, this paper underscores the strategic role geothermal energy can play in Romania’s transition to a low-carbon economy, supporting both environmental sustainability and energy resilience. The results demonstrate how geomatics-based resource mapping and spatial analysis support evidence-based planning of geothermal energy systems at regional and national scales. Full article

During the service of solid rocket motors, propellant grains need to bear various loads such as curing cooling, gravity, and combustion internal pressure. The internal pore defects will seriously affect the structural integrity. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element model of propellant–insulation layer–mold is established to study the structural responses of pore defects with different sizes (30–100 mm) under three typical working conditions: curing cooling, curing cooling coupled with gravity, and internal pressure loading. It is found that under the curing cooling condition, compared with the non-porous propellant grain structure, the structure with pores will raise the overall mechanical response of the propellant grain, and the maximum stress and strain are mainly concentrated in the front end of the core hole and the wing groove area. The pore size has a limited impact on the overall stress distribution, but will change the local stress concentration degree. Among them, the 80 mm pore reduces the stress in the wing groove area through stress field interference. Moreover, large-size pores will significantly weaken the structural bearing capacity and increase the contact pressure between the propellant and the core mold. Under the condition of curing cooling coupled with gravity, the stress and strain are mainly distributed at the edge of the pores, and the values increase with the increase of pore size. Under the action of internal pressure load, the stress and strain in the middle section of the propellant grain have no obvious change, but stress concentration occurs in the transition area between the core hole and the wing groove and at the end of the wing groove. The results of this study provide a reference for the integrity evaluation and structural optimization of propellant grains with pore defects Full article

The expansion of wind energy, while essential for the energy transition, poses serious collision risks to birds, particularly due to the rotating blades of wind turbines. When conducting environmental impact assessments, accurate quantification of these risks is challenging, especially offshore, and it relies heavily on collision risk models. This study investigates the influence of wind turbine geometry and operational parameters on avian collision probability, utilising the Band model in combination with four well-documented reference wind turbines. By systematically varying turbine characteristics and bird flight height distributions, the analysis reveals that both turbine design and the vertical distribution of bird flight critically affect collision risk estimates. Generally, turbines with higher power ratings and larger rotor diameters exhibit lower collision probabilities, which is attributed to their lower rotor speed. The study further introduces an adaptation of the standard Band model, which incorporates a more detailed blade geometry, including local airfoil thickness and twist. With a few exceptions, this updated model increases the predicted collision probabilities. By basing the analysis on open source reference wind turbines, the present study establishes transparent methodologies and improves reproducibility and benchmarking in collision risk assessments. The results highlight the need for species- and site-specific modelling, as well as the value of refined turbine representations, to support effective mitigation strategies and nature-inclusive wind farm planning. Full article