Probiotics, living microorganisms with demonstrated health benefits when administered in sufficient quantities, have a rich history as dietary supplements to benefit human health. Recently, understanding of their mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract has prompted exploration of probiotics in treating human diseases. However, the effective and precise delivery of probiotics remains a significant challenge in therapeutic applications. Here, we review the mechanisms of action of probiotics in human health and the most advanced strategies for efficient probiotic delivery. We also discuss the potential applications of engineered probiotics in disease treatment. This review contributes insights into the evolving landscape of probiotic research for therapeutic applications.

Under the background of the power system profoundly reforming, hydrogen energy from renewable energy, as an important carrier for constructing a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system, is a necessary way to realize the objectives of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. As a strategic energy source, hydrogen plays a significant role in accelerating the clean energy transition and promoting renewable energy. However, the cost and technology are the two main constraints to green hydrogen energy development. Herein, the technological development status and economy of the whole industrial chain for green hydrogen energy “production-storage-transportation-use” are discussed and reviewed. After analysis, the electricity price and equipment cost are key factors to limiting the development of alkaline and proton exchange membrane hydrogen production technology; the quantity, scale and distance of transportation are key to controlling the costs of hydrogen storage and transportatio... [more]

Various studies have been conducted on Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) to control multiple agents to drive effectively and safely in a simulation, demonstrating the applicability of MARL in autonomous driving. However, several studies have indicated that MARL is vulnerable to poisoning attacks. This study proposes a ’locality-based action-poisoning attack’ against MARL-based continuous control systems. Each bird in a flock interacts with its neighbors to generate the collective behavior, which is implemented through rules in the Reynolds’ flocking algorithm, where each individual maintains an appropriate distance from its neighbors and moves in a similar direction. We use this concept to propose an action-poisoning attack, based on the hypothesis that if an agent is performing significantly different behaviors from neighboring agents, it can disturb the driving stability of the entirety of the agents. We demonstrate that when a MARL-based continuous control system is trained... [more]

The selection of critical features from microarray data as biomarkers holds significant importance in disease diagnosis and drug development. It is essential to reduce the number of biomarkers while maintaining their performance to effectively minimize subsequent validation costs. However, the processing of microarray data often encounters the challenge of the “curse of dimensionality”. Existing feature-selection methods face difficulties in effectively reducing feature dimensionality while ensuring classification accuracy, algorithm efficiency, and optimal search space exploration. This paper proposes a hybrid feature-selection algorithm based on an enhanced version of the Max Relevance and Min Redundancy (mRMR) method, coupled with differential evolution. The proposed method improves the quantization functions of mRMR to accommodate the continuous nature of microarray data attributes, utilizing them as the initial step in feature selection. Subsequently, an enhanced differential evol... [more]

In this paper, various thermal energy systems are studied to recover waste heat from gas turbines with different configurations. The exergy analysis and environmental examination are applied to achieve better insight into the suggested systems. Also, multi-objective optimization is employed to find the optimal condition of the introduced plants. In this work, various systems such as gas turbine (GT), organic Rankine cycle (ORC), and Kalina cycle (KC) with Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer are combined to achieve a new system design. In this study, Engineering Equation Solver (V11.755) and Matlab (R2023a) software are used to simulate and optimize the proposed system. The comparison of systems shows that the combustion chamber with 3622 kW has the most considerable exergy destruction in the IGT/ORC-KC plant. The comparative investigation shows that IGT/ORC-KC has the highest output at 5659 kW, while the smallest exergy destruction is associated with the IGT system with 1779 kW... [more]

Intertidal sediments are rich in biological resources, which are important for material circulation and energy exchange. Meanwhile, these areas can be treated as sinks as well as sources of coastal heavy metal pollutants. Due to the influence of the tide, the intertidal sediments are in a state of periodic flooding and exposure, and environmental factors such as dissolved oxygen, salinity and overlying water pressure are changeable. Heavy metals in sediments are prone to migration and transformation with the dynamic effects of tidal water and the changes in the environment factors, which increase the bioavailability of heavy metals. In this review, the characteristics of distribution and the bioavailability of heavy metals in intertidal sediments are described; the migration and transformation behavior of heavy metals and its influencing factors under tidal conditions are analyzed; and the mechanisms of heavy metal’s migration and transformation in the intertidal zone are summarized. M... [more]

The exploitation of ultradeep, fractured, and low-porosity gas reservoirs often encounters challenges from water invasion, exacerbated by the presence of faults and fractures. This is particularly evident in the Kelasu gas reservoir group, located in the Kuqa Depression of the Tarim Basin. The complexity of the water invasion patterns in these reservoirs demands a thorough investigation to devise effective water control measures. To elucidate the water invasion patterns, a combined approach of large-scale physical modeling and discrete fracture numerical simulations was adopted. These models allowed for the identification and categorization of water invasion behaviors in various gas reservoirs. Furthermore, production dynamic analysis was utilized to tailor water control strategies to specific invasion patterns. The large-scale physical simulation experiment revealed that water invasion in gas reservoirs is primarily influenced by high-permeability channels (faults + fractures), and th... [more]

Abundant industrial experiences have shown that directional air drilling technology is effective for gas drainage when drilling broken and soft coal seams. In this paper, the Eulerian−Eulerian model was used to simulate the gas−solid two-phase flow behavior of compressed air transporting coal dust in broken soft coal seams. The relationship between the degree of coal dust deposition, annular air pressure law, transportation of coal dust, aforementioned factors of rotational speed, particle size, and air volume could be determined. The results indicate that the particle size plays a significant role in the transport capacity of coal dust. Smaller particle sizes and a higher airflow result in a lower deposition degree of coal dust. When the particle size of coal dust is 1.69 mm and the airflow is 300 m3/h, in the case of coal dust generation at a rate of 0.24 m3/h, the deflection angle of the coal dust collection zone is increased by 130% as the rotational speed of the drill rod is incre... [more]

In this paper, a type of co-excitation axial reluctance resolver (CARR) in different winding modes is taken as the simulation model. Detailed explanations have been provided on its stator, rotor, and windings. Simultaneously, an introduction was made to the distribution of two types of signal winding modes. The influence of three kinds of eccentricity on the output characteristics of this CARR during installation and fabrication is also studied. According to two kinds of signal winding modes, the variation law of waveform and amplitude of output potential is analyzed under the conditions of stator radial eccentric distance in different eccentric directions, rotor radial eccentric distance in different eccentric directions and rotor axial offset, and the influence of three factors on total harmonic distortion (THD) is analyzed further. Under the conditions of different eccentricities and offset, a prototype of 15 pair pole CARRs in the mode of sinusoidal windings is tested. The function... [more]

The conjugation of phytosterols (PSs) with fatty acids results in producing phytosterol esters (PSEs) characterized by enhanced lipophilicity and improved functional properties of major interest in food and nutraceutical applications. The use of immobilized lipases to catalyze direct transesterification reactions between PSs and plant oils to form PSEs as a green alternative to conventional chemical production methods has attracted interest during the last two decades. The low solubility of PSs in common plant oil triglycerides, typically below 3% at ambient temperatures, remains the main challenge for bringing lipase-catalyzed direct transesterification reactions of PSs and oil triglycerides to commercial scales. This study focuses on the enzymatic synthesis of PSEs starting from solubilized PSs at concentrations of up to 30% wt./wt. of oil mixtures comprising fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs), monoglycerides (MGs), diglycerides (DGs), and triglycerides (TGs) as a homogeneous medium for... [more]

Molten salt oxidation is a robust thermal process with the inherent capability to catalytically oxidize the organic compounds while retaining the inorganic ingredients in salt bath. In the present study, molten salt gasification was used for the disposal of waste PVC. The characteristics of molten salt gasification of PVC under different temperatures and air equivalence ratios (ERs) on the gasification characteristics, chlorine retention efficiency, PCDD/F generation, and the distribution of heavy metals such as Cu, Pb, and Zn were investigated. The results showed that increasing the temperature and ER could effectively enhance the yield of gasification gas and carbon conversion efficiency. The highest gasification efficiency of 41.2% was achieved at 750 °C and ER = 0.4, with a gas yield of 0.442 Nm3/kg PVC. Molten carbonates showed an absorption and retention efficiency of more than 99.5% for chlorine under all conditions. Increasing temperature resulted in a significant reduction in... [more]

Optimized production scheduling can greatly improve efficiency and reduce waste in the steel manufacturing industry. With the increasing demands on the economy, the environment, and society, more and more factors need to be considered in the production scheduling process. Currently, only a few methods are developed for the comprehensive evaluation and prioritization of scheduling schemes. This paper proposes a novel MCGDM (multi-criteria group decision making) method for the ranking and selection of production scheduling schemes. First, a novel indicator system involving both qualitative and quantitative indicators is put forward. Diverse statistical methods and evaluation functions are proposed for the evaluation of quantitative indicators. The evaluation method of qualitative indicators is proposed based on heterogeneous data, cloud model theory, and group decision-making techniques. Then, a novel Group AHP model is proposed to determine the weights of all evaluation indicators. Fina... [more]

Chromatographic techniques and methods are experiencing significant growth in various industries [...]

Given the environmental problems caused by burning fossil fuels, it is believed that converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into chemical inputs is a great ally to generating clean energy. In this way, investigative studies related to electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2RE) concerning the behavior of metal catalysts have received attention about the processes involved. CO2RE can be an important tool to mitigate the presence of this gas in the Earth’s atmosphere. Given these considerations, in this review, we report the main catalysts used to act as CO2RE. Among them, we emphasize catalysts based on Ni, Zn, and Cu, which encompass the main properties related to the electrochemical conversion of CO2. Regarding the Cu-based catalyst, it presents high conversion efficiency but low selectivity. Furthermore, we also describe the main mechanisms related to the electrochemical conversion of CO2.

Bioplastics are an alternative to reduce the environmental damage caused by petroleum-based plastics. However, the effect of primary recycling (reprocessing) of bioplastics from biomass resources has not yet been well studied. If successful, this would boost the landing of recyclable and biodegradable bio-based materials to the market. In order to meet the challenge of recycling bioplastics, it is necessary to study the reprocessing of bio-based materials that potentially behave as thermoplastics. This study investigated the primary recyclability of Zein- and soy protein isolate (SPI)-based bioplastics by reprocessing. Protein powders were initially mixed with glycerol (Gly), which acts as a plasticizer, and the blends were subjected to injection moulding. Initial specimens were reprocessed by injection moulding up to five times. The effect of reprocessing was evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile test, and water uptake capacity (WUC). Finally, the property−structure... [more]

Silicone monomers are the basic raw materials for the preparation of silicone materials. The secondary dust generated during the preparation of silicone monomer by the Rochow−Müller method is a fine particulate waste with high silicon content. In this paper, the physical and chemical properties of silicon powder after pretreatment were analyzed, and an experimental study was conducted on the use of silicon dust in the preparation of Si3N4, a nitrogen enhancer for steelmaking, by direct nitriding method in order to achieve the resourceful use of this silicon dust. Furthermore, the thermodynamics and kinetics of the nitriding process at high temperatures were analysed using FactSage 8.1 software and thermogravimetric experiments. The results indicate that after holding at a temperature range of 1300~1500 °C for 3 h, the optimal nitriding effect occurs at 1350 °C, with a weight gain rate of 26.57%. The nitridation of silicon dust is divided into two stages. The first stage is the chemical... [more]

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) has a wide range of application scenarios. However, there are few studies on the HC treatment of food waste (FW). A Venturi device is designed and operated and plays a clear role in changing the characteristics of FW. The medium viscosity is often neglected when studying cavitation behavior by numerical simulations. We use the Herschel−Bulkley model to describe the viscosity curves of artificial FW samples obtained experimentally. RANS numerical simulation is carried out with a simplified 2D axisymmetric CFD-based model considering the non-Newtonian fluid properties. A numerical simulation study is carried out for FW (TS = 10.0 wt%) at pressure drop (ΔP = 0.05−0.4 MPa). The numerical simulation results show the variation of flow characteristics, viscosity, vapor volume, turbulent viscosity ratio, cavitation number, and pressure loss coefficient. With the increase in ΔP, the flow rate in the Venturi throat increases, and the average viscosity decreases. It r... [more]

Coal penetration enhancement technology is the key to increase the production of coalbed methane. Coal bodies are subjected to different peripheral pressures in the in situ strata, and the study of the changes in the mechanical strength of coal bodies under different peripheral pressures after the action of liquid nitrogen is crucial for the penetration enhancement of liquid nitrogen (LN2)-fractured coal. In this paper, an MTS universal testing machine was utilized to carry out experiments to obtain the stress−strain curves of the coal under different freezing times under 1 MPa surrounding pressure and different surrounding pressures after 50 min of LN2 action. The experimental results showed the following: (1) the uniaxial compressive strength and peak strain of coal samples in a frozen state are positively correlated under two conditions. The modulus of elasticity decreased before 100 min at different times of LN2 action, and the modulus of elasticity was maximum at 5 MPa at differen... [more]

Motor vehicle exhaust is an important cause of atmospheric pollution. Nowadays, mainstream exhaust emission aftertreatment technologies, such as TWC, DOC, SCR, and DPF, usually require sufficient temperature to perform good purification or maintain normal working conditions. Compared with exhaust gas heating technologies such as engine enrichment and fuel injection, electric heating technology can quickly increase the temperature of exhaust gas aftertreatment devices without adverse effects on engine operating conditions. This article introduces the research and progress of electric heating technology combined with traditional aftertreatment devices on major types of vehicles, such as gasoline vehicles, diesel vehicles, motorcycles, and hybrid vehicles, to improve exhaust purification efficiency and its accompanying fuel consumption impact. In addition, the common structure and characteristics of electric heaters, as well as the current status and development trend of electric heating... [more]

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are concerning contaminants due to their ubiquity, persistence, and toxicity. Conventional PFAS water treatments such as granular activated carbon are limited by low adsorption rates and capacities. Carbon-based nano-adsorbents with enhanced surface areas address these limitations but are hindered by their high cost and toxicity. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are promising PFAS adsorbents due to sustainable sourcing, large surface areas, and amenable surface properties. In this study, CNC was synthesized from the agro-food waste, apple pomace (APCNC), and coated with Moringa oleifera cationic protein (MOCP) aqueous extract to produce MOCP/APCNC for the removal of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from water. APCNC and MOCP/APCNC were manufactured, characterized, and utilized in PFOA batch adsorption kinetics and equilibrium trials. APCNC was successfully produced from apple pomace (AP) and determined through characterization and comparison to comm... [more]

Apple juice is one of the most consumed fruit juices in the world. Raw apple juice is viscous, turbid, and brown in color and contains several spoilage microorganisms. These are the reasons behind the application of several steps of clarification and stabilization prior to juice commercialization. Thermal pasteurization remains the most used process for apple juice microbial stabilization, but it damages its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics. Juice settling used for clarification does not allow the achievement of the desired level of clarification. Therefore, this article provides a comprehensive and bibliometric review of all the alternative treatments for thermal pasteurization in order to reduce microorganisms and patulin levels such as pulsed electric fields, microwave processing, high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasonication, etc., and their effect on apple juice characteristics as well as the techniques used for apple juice clarification.

The sedimentation of flocs in aquatic environments is a fundamental phenomenon that has not yet been fully elucidated. This study quantitatively examines sedimentation behavior, particularly focusing on sedimentation turbulence, in a two-dimensional system between flat plates, utilizing image analysis. Experiments were conducted in a rectangular container with montmorillonite suspensions coagulated in a sodium chloride solution. The settling motion of flocs was visualized using a green laser from above and captured horizontally with a digital camera. The study employed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to analyze the velocity field in floc sedimentation, using the flocs as tracers to calculate the mean velocity at the sediment−supernatant interface. The results showed that the mean PIV value is affected by rising particles caused by sedimentation turbulence, indicating that PIV analysis of flow fields using flocs as tracers is reliable. The maximum settling velocity was found to increas... [more]

The combustion of fuels has been studied by many researchers as it is used in a wide range of engineering applications. The chemical equilibrium approach served as the foundation for the investigation of combustion reactions. This article presents a software application designed to facilitate the calculation of combustion processes by calculating the combustion of 16 fuels among the common alkanes (CnH2n+2) and alcohols (CnH2n+1OH). The Ozan Combustion Calculator (OCC) offers a user-friendly and efficient graphical user interface (GUI) that allows users to easily input data and obtain results. The program was developed using MATLAB 2021a and LaTeX software, ensuring its reliability and accuracy. To perform these calculations, the program utilizes calculations of the thermophysical properties of fuels and water obtained from tables. The program consists of five modules, each serving a specific purpose. These modules calculate various parameters, such as the Adiabatic Flame Temperature,... [more]

In order to find the optimal expansion effect of a new curing expansion material so that it can better meet the requirements of the efficient sealing of drilled holes, the expansion and creep characteristics of the new curing expansion material were studied. Based on the creep results of graded loading, the Kelvin−Volgt model was selected to analyze its mechanical parameters, and a new “concentric ring” reinforcement sealing method was proposed. Numerical simulation was employed to analyze and discuss the reinforcement radius and depth of the “protective wall rock hole ring” in the “concentric ring” model, and on-site application experiments were carried out in a soft coal seam. The results show that the “concentric ring” reinforcement sealing method can effectively solve the problems of easy collapse and stress concentration instability in the sealing section of soft coal seams, ensuring long-term and efficient sealing of gas extraction boreholes in soft coal seams. When the diameter... [more]

Energy storage technology can well reduce the impact of large-scale renewable energy access to the grid, and the liquid carbon dioxide storage system has the characteristics of high energy storage density and carries out a variety of energy supply, etc. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated energy system (IES) containing liquid carbon dioxide storage and further exploits the demand-side regulation potential on the basis of which an integrated demand response model is proposed to consider the cooling, heating, and electricity loads. On this basis, an IES optimal scheduling model with the lowest total system operating cost as the objective function is established, the Yalmip toolbox and Cplex commercial solver are used to solve the algorithms, and the optimal scheduling results are obtained for electricity, heat, and cold under four scenarios, and it is proved through comparative analyses that the model and scheduling strategy established in this paper can optimize the load profil... [more]