Periodontal diseases are highly prevalent oral conditions associated with severe complications in the oral cavity. These inflammatory diseases are caused by the oral microbiome and are influenced by several factors, such as aging, tobacco usage, systemic illness and inadequate oral hygiene. Plant-derived phytochemicals are extensively utilized in managing various periodontal diseases due to the presence of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. Plant materials have shifted attention from conventional medicine to indigenous medicine. Solanum xanthocarpum is a medicinal herb found in India. It exhibits various pharmacological properties essential for periodontal disease prevention and management. The current work analyzes various pharmacological properties of S. xanthocarpum aqueous extract. The S. xanthocarpum extracts’ antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties were ascertained by DPPH assay, HRBC membrane stabilization assay and disk diffusion a... [more]

Core−shell nanoparticles are functional materials with tailored properties, able to improve the requirements of various applications. Both core and shell components can be inorganic or organic, and there are numerous studies in this field regarding their synthesis methods, properties, and applications. This review aims to study core−shell nanostructures with Fe3O4 cores and different shell types, observing their antibacterial and anticancer properties. By the type of coating, Fe3O4 core−shell nanoparticles (NPs) are classified into four categories: metal-coated NPs, metal-organic framework (MOF) coated NPs, metal oxide coated NPs, and polymer-coated NPs. Each category is briefly presented, emphasizing anticancer or antibacterial properties and specific applications (cancer diagnosis or therapy, drug carrier). Moreover, synthesis methods and particle size for both core and shell nanostructures, as well as the magnetic properties of the final core−shell material, are summarized in this r... [more]

Uncertain variables, such as electric power system parameters, have significant impacts on dynamic simulations of power systems. As traditional uncertainty analysis methods for power system dynamic simulations, both the simulation method and the approximation methods are difficult to balance the model complexity, computational efficiency, and simulation accuracy. In order to balance the model complexity, computational efficiency, and simulation accuracy, this paper proposes a method for uncertainty analysis for power system dynamic simulation based on the Nataf transformation and Gaussian-Hermite quadrature. Firstly, the samples on the normal distribution space are determined according to the Gaussian-Hermite quadrature points and the Nataf transformation. Secondly, obtain the simulation samples by inverse Nataf transformation, and perform power system dynamic simulation. Thirdly, the random output is approximated as a linear combination of a single random input, and the mean and stand... [more]

In this investigation, an automotive component made of nylon as a structural element was studied by several characterization techniques to identify material properties. Firstly, a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was carried out to obtain information about composition, then, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to extract useful information on sample thermal behavior. The humidity and volatile materials percentage could be assessed by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). Morphology and topography were carried out by optical microscopy, moreover, X-ray Tomography allows it to display the sample’s inner part. Characterization shows that the component could have been contaminated or exposed to conditions that promote degradation after the manufacturing process. Finally, computerized X-ray tomography displayed that both samples showed a difference in porosity in a fractured sample and a healthy sample. All the above implies a change in the mechanical integrity of the... [more]

This work reports on the development of a real-time vehicle sensor network (VSN) system and infrastructure devised to monitor particulate matter (PM) in urban areas within a participatory paradigm. The approach is based on the use of multiple vehicles where sensors, acquisition and transmission devices are installed. PM values are measured and transmitted using standard mobile phone networks. Given the large number of acquisition platforms needed in crowdsensing, sensors need to be low-cost (LCS). This sets limitations in the precision and accuracy of measurements that can be mitigated using statistical methods on redundant data. Once data are received, they are automatically quality controlled, processed and mapped geographically to produce easy-to-understand visualizations that are made available in almost real time through a dedicated web portal. There, end users can access current and historic data and data products. The system has been operational since 2021 and has collected over... [more]

Lime juice is rich in bioactive components and exerts a wide range of therapeutic effects, especially antioxidant activity. Freeze concentration is considered an essential method to maintain the nutritional values and bioactives of fruit juices. This study aimed to compare the ability in enriching ascorbic acid, total phenolic compounds, and major flavonoids and the antioxidant activity (DPPH) of concentrated lime juices prepared by vacuum and freeze-concentrations. The ascorbic acid in the juices was analyzed using the HPLC-PDA method. The total phenolic content and DPPH inhibition ability were measured by the colorimetric method. The polyphenol profiles of two lime varieties (C. latifolia and C. limonia) were qualitatively analyzed using LC-TOF MS/MS; then, the major juices’ flavonoids were analyzed by HPLC-PDA against/based on commercial standards. The results showed that C. latifolia was superior to C. limonia in ascorbic acid, TPC, major flavonoids, and antioxidants. C. latifolia... [more]

Twelve crude oil blends prepared from seven individual crude oils and an imported atmospheric residue were characterized through a true boiling point (TBP) distillation analysis and their density. When comparing the measured TBP fraction yields with those estimated through the application of the additive blending rule, it was found that, for four crude oil blends, the additive blending rule was valid, while for the remaining eight crude oil blends, deviations of the measured TBP yields from the estimated ones were bigger than the TBP analysis’s repeatability limits. By the use of intercriteria analysis evaluation of the data for the deviation of the TBP yields from the additive blending rule and the molar excess volume of the crude oil blends, statistically meaningful relations between the delta TBP yields of light and heavy naphtha, as well as vacuum residue with the molar excess volume, were found. The higher the magnitude of the crude oil blend’s molar excess volume, the bigger the... [more]

This paper focuses on the trajectory tracking control for general nonlinear single-input single-output (SISO) systems in which the output is not directly related to the control input. To address the tracking problem with the consideration of possible model uncertainty, external disturbance, and control input saturation, we employ the input-output feedback linearization technique and design a finite-time disturbance observer-based terminal sliding mode controller to improve the tracking performance and enhance the robustness. The stability analysis is carried out by using the Lyapunov method. To alleviate the chattering while achieving an acceptable control performance, a boundary layer method is adopted for the trade-off between the high-frequency control actions and the bounded unavoidable nonzero steady-state error. The proposed method is evaluated on the two typical nonlinear systems, which are fully linearizable and partially linearizable, respectively, and compared to the state-of... [more]

Due to the success of the first edition of the Special Issue “Industrial Chemistry Reactions: Kinetics, Mass Transfer and Industrial Reactor Design” in terms of both the quantity and quality of the published papers, we thought it would be prudent to announce a second edition [...]

In this laboratory batch adsorption study, the raw pine tree leaf biomass solid waste adsorbent material was used for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from water at different physicochemical process conditions. The characteristics of adsorbents were determined for particle size, surface area, the existence of functional group identification, and the morphology of the adsorbent surface. The adsorption was performed at different process conditions, which include solution pH, dye concentrations, adsorbent doses, and temperature, respectively. In this study, it was found that MB dye adsorption increased with increases in solution pH and adsorbate MB dye concentration but decreased with adsorbent doses and temperature at fixed process conditions. The Langmuir isotherm model was best fitted with the experimental equilibrium data, with a higher linear regression coefficient (R2) value of 99.9% among the two widely used Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm model equations. The max... [more]

The impact of adding a modified Ludzack−Ettinger (MLE) configuration with Nitrate Recycle (NRCY) on continuous-flow aerobic granulation has yet to be explored. The potential negative effects of MLE on sludge densification include that: (1) bioflocs brought by NRCY could compete with granules in feast zones; and (2) carbon addition to anoxic zones could increase the system organic loading rates and lead to higher feast-to-famine ratios. Two pilot-scale plug flow reactor (PFR) systems fed with real domestic wastewater were set up onsite to test these hypotheses. The results showed that MLE configuration with NRCY could hinder the sludge granulation, but the hindrance could be alleviated by the NRCY location change which to some extent also compensates for the negative effect of higher feast-to-famine ratios due to carbon addition in MLE. This NRCY location change can be advantageous to drive sludge densification without a radical washout of the sludge inventory, and had no effects on the... [more]

To enhance fault characteristics and improve fault detection accuracy in bearing vibration signals, this paper proposes a fault diagnosis method using a wavelet packet energy spectrum and an improved deep confidence network. Firstly, a wavelet packet transform decomposes the original vibration signal into different frequency bands, fully preserving the original signal’s frequency information, and constructs feature vectors by extracting the energy of sub-frequency bands via the energy spectrum to extract and enhance fault feature information. Secondly, to minimize the time-consuming manual parameter adjustment procedure and increase the diagnostic accuracy, the sparrow search algorithm−deep belief network method is proposed, which utilizes the sparrow search algorithm to optimize the hyperparameters of the deep belief networks and reduce the classification error rate. Finally, to verify the effectiveness of the method, the rolling bearing data from Casey Reserve University were selecte... [more]

The development of oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts with a low cost, high activity, and strong stability is of great significance to the breakthrough of energy conversion technology. Herein, a composite material (NiCo(CA)@M) was obtained by growing nickel-cobalt nanoparticles on MIL-88A in situ by a simple two-step solvent thermal method. The results show that NiCo(CA)@M composite has rich active sites, and the formation of the composite induces charge redistribution between NiCo(CA) and MIL-88A, effectively reducing the reaction energy barrier, while growth in situ was conducive to the improvement of material stability. Impressively, the NiCo(CA)@M catalyst achieved a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline electrolyte required an overpotential of only 270 mV and the Tafel slope was 69 mV dec−1. At the same time, the NiCo(CA)@M catalyst had excellent stability at a current density of 10 mA cm−2, and after the 16 h i-t test, the catalyst still had 91.1% current density rete... [more]

In recent years, the migration and transformation of heavy metals (HMs) in soil has become a hot issue. Soil particle size has an important effect on the environmental behavior of HMs in soil. The distribution of HMs in soil is strongly affected by the size of a soil aggregate. In this study, paddy samples in both cultivated and uncultivated soils were collected from Anhui Province, China. The soils were sieved into six particle size fractions (diameters of >4000, 4000−2000, 2000−1000, 1000−250, 250−53, and 4000 μm particles. Moreover, the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Pb, and As were elevated in cultivated paddy soils compared to uncultivated soils. The accumulation of HMs in all paddy soils increased with decreasing particle size. Although the smallest particle size fractions accounted for only 5.65−17.28%, they provided the highest distribution factor (DF) of Cr (1.35), As (1.25), Cd (1.28), and Pb (1.38). The highest contributions of HMs came from the coarser fractions (>2000 μm); howe... [more]

Stretch blow molding serves as the primary technique employed in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Typically, a stretch blow molding machine consists of various components, including a preform infeed system, transfer system, heating system, molding system, bottle discharge system, etc. Of particular significance is the temperature control within the heating system, which significantly influences the quality of PET bottles, especially when confronted with environmental temperature changes between morning and evening during certain seasons. The on-site operators of the stretch blow molding machine often need to adjust the infrared heating lamps in the heating system several times. The adjustment process heavily relies on the personnel’s experience, causing a production challenge for bottle manufacturers. Therefore, this paper takes the heating system of the stretch blow molding machine as the object and uses the deep reinforcement learning method to develop an i... [more]

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has led construction companies to prioritize the intelligent and optimal scheduling of human resources in construction projects to reduce costs. This study addresses the problem of heterogeneity in human resource scheduling in construction projects, presents a mathematical model with generic human resources as an example, proposes an improved artificial immune system (NAIS) algorithm to solve the problem, and verifies its effectiveness. Experimental results show that the NAIS algorithm achieves the optimal duration of 9 days in just 2 s using the Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB), which is significantly faster than mathematical optimization technique software (CPLEX), thus confirming the feasibility of the NAIS algorithm. Additionally, the average PD values for the NAIS algorithm, calculated for different worker counts, skills, and the number of tasks, were lower compared to the comparison algorithm. Overall, the NAIS algorithm effectively addresses the h... [more]

Successfully replacing meat with plant-based options will require not only replicating the texture of muscular fibres, but also imitating the taste, aroma, and juiciness of meat as closely and realistically as possible. This study examines the impact of rapeseed oil on the textural properties of meat analogues. Pea protein and soy protein are chosen as model systems to assess the effect of rapeseed oil. Optical, mechanical, and rheological characterisation tests are conducted to investigate the oil droplet distribution, the gel strength, Young’s modulus, and the length of the LVE region. The hypothesis is that oil droplets will act as active fillers in the protein matrix, and thus, diminish the strength of the protein gel network. The results of this study show that rapeseed oil droplets act as inactive fillers, as they are not bound to both examined protein matrices. Soy protein extrudates display minimal changes, while pea protein extrudates are significantly affected by the addition... [more]

Using different experimental methods, the pore radius ranges vary greatly, and most scholars use a single experiment to study pore structure, which is rarely consistent with reality. Moreover, the numerical models used in different experiments vary and cannot be directly compared. This article uniformly revised all experimental data into a cylinder model. Quantitative analysis of the full-scale pore distribution is established by mercury withdrawal−CT data, and semi-quantitative distribution is obtained by mercury−NMR−cast thin section imaging. In this paper, we introduce the tortuosity index (τ) to convert the CT ball-and-stick model into a cylinder model, and the pore shape factor (η) of the cast is used to convert the plane model into the cylinder model; the mercury withdrawal data is applied to void the influence of narrow throat cavities, and the NMR pore radius distribution is obtained using the mercury-T2 calibration method. Studies have shown that the thickness of bound water i... [more]

This study introduced an alternative shortcut biological nitrogen removal (SBNR) process for landfill leachate treatment by developing a novel hydrodynamic sequencing batch reactor (H-SBR). The reactor could enhance the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) and nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) by modifying internal hydrodynamic turbulence intensity. The average chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations introduced into the reactor were 660 and 250 mg L−1, respectively, and the average removal efficiencies were 93% (COD) and 96% (TN). The effect of geometric parameters on oxygen transfer was estimated by performing a hydrodynamic model and a nonlinear least square analysis. After correcting the constants (α and β) of mass transfer coefficients (KLa) to values of 0.7361 and 1.2639, the model data fit the experiment well with an R-squared value of 0.99. The OTR improved by up to 30%, and hence, increased the NAR by up to 20% with a reduction of about 0.5 kg N kW−1 for power... [more]

In today’s human society, diesel generators (DGs) are widely applied in the human energy and electricity supply system due to its technical, operational, and economic advantages. This paper proposes an intelligent nonlinear H2/H∞ robust controller based on the chaos particle swarm gravity search optimization algorithm (CPSOGSA), which controls the speed and excitation of a DG. In this method, firstly, establish the nonlinear mathematical model of the DG, and then design the nonlinear H2/H∞ robust controller based on this. The direct feedback linearization and the H2/H∞ robust control theory are combined and applied. Based on the design of the integrated controller for DG speed and excitation, the system’s performance requirements are transformed into a standard robust H2/H∞ control problem. The parameters of the proposed solution controller are optimized by using the proposed CPSOGSA. The introduction of CPSOGSA completes the design of an intelligent nonlinear H2/H∞ robust controller f... [more]

The world’s human population is increasing as is the demand for new sustainable sources of energy. Accordingly, microalgae-based carbohydrates for biofuel production are being considered as an alternative source of raw materials for producing biofuels. Microalgae grow in photobioreactors under constantly changing conditions. Models improve our understanding of microalgae growth. In this paper, a photoacclimated model for continuous microalgae cultures in photobioreactors was used to study the time-varying behavior and sensitivity of solutions under optimal productivity conditions. From the perspective of dynamic simulation in this work, light intensity was found to play an influential role in modifying metabolic pathways as a cell stressor. Enhancing carbohydrate productivity by combining nutritional deficiency and light intensity regulation modeling strategies could be helpful to optimize the process for the highest yield in large-scale cultivation systems. Under the proposed simulati... [more]

The phenomenon of droplet coalescence and jumping has received increasing attention due to its potential applications in the fields of condensation heat transfer and surface self-cleaning. Basic research on the process and mechanism of coalescence-induced droplet jumping has been carried out, and some universal laws have been established. However, it is found that the focus of these studies is based on two identical droplets, and the coalescence-induced jumping with different radii is rarely investigated, which is commonly encountered in nature. Therefore, it is essential to proceed with the research of coalescence and jumping of droplets with unequal radii. In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to reveal the effects of radius ratio and radius of small droplets on jumping velocity. The results show that as the increasing of radius ratio with an unchanged small droplet radius of 8.1 nm, the jumping velocity increases then decreases, which indicates there is an... [more]

Emulsions that mix two or more immiscible phases are broadly applied in pharmaceutics, chemistry, and industries. The phase inversion temperature (PIT) method is an emulsifying approach to preparing an emulsion with low energy consumption and cheap equipment. The effects of surfactant characteristics and processes of cooling or heating on the fuel properties of emulsions composed of silicone oil by the emulsifying method, such as mean droplet sizes of the de-ionized water phase, were considered herein. The application of the silicone oil emulsion as engine fuel was first evaluated. The results show that the emulsions added with the polyol surfactant mixture appeared to have a larger mean water-droplet size, a larger number of dispersed water droplets, a wider range of dispersed-water sizes, and lower kinematic viscosity than those with Brij 30 surfactant. Increasing the surfactant concentration of either Tween 20 mixed with Span 80 or Brij 30 surfactant increased kinematic viscosity an... [more]

Multi-stage fracturing of horizontal wells is an indispensable technology to create complex fracture networks, which can unlock production potential and enable commercial productivity for shale gas with low porosity and permeability. Real-time monitoring of fracture networks is essential for adjusting key parameters, mitigating fracturing risks, and achieving optimal fracturing effects. Micro-seismic monitoring technology accurately captures and describes the development of fracture networks by detecting micro-seismic waves generated through rock ruptures, providing valuable insights into the evaluation of post-fracturing. In this study, we first introduced the basic parameters of well X that were obtained by laboratory experiments and logging interpretation, including porosity, gas-bearing properties, mineral composition, rock mechanics, and crustal stress. Then, the hydraulic fracturing scheme was designed on the basis of the geological engineering characteristics of well X. Finally,... [more]

To analyze the influence of liquid-nitrogen cooling on the damage and failure of high-temperature granite, granite samples were heated to 150~600 °C for natural cooling and liquid-nitrogen cooling treatment. Brazilian splitting tests were carried out as the samples returned to room temperature, and basic tensile and energy evolution parameters were obtained. Acoustic emission signal parameters during loading were recorded. The experimental results showed that the heating process caused damage to the granite samples, and liquid-nitrogen cooling further increased the degree of damage. Specifically, the ultrasonic velocity of liquid-nitrogen-cooled samples was lower than that of naturally cooled samples at each heating temperature. With an increase in heating temperature, the AE ring-down counts of liquid-nitrogen-cooled samples were higher than that of naturally cooled samples. At the same heating temperature, the dissipated energy of naturally cooled samples was greater than that of liq... [more]