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Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs), with sizes below 2 nm, have emerged as remarkable nanomaterials exhibiting unique optical, electronic, and chemical properties. Their ultra-small size imparts advantageous characteristics, including high surface area, tunable fluorescence, and excellent biocompatibility, making AuNCs highly promising for diverse applications. This article explores recent advancements in leveraging AuNCs to address critical challenges in clean energy storage and environmental remediation. For energy storage, AuNCs boost the performance of Li-based batteries by facilitating rapid electron transfer kinetics and limiting polysulfide shuttling. The review delves into mechanistic insights governing AuNC–hydrogen interactions, various synthetic approaches for tailoring AuNCs, and their emerging applications as advanced electrodes, efficient catalysts, and conductive additives enabling improved charge storage capabilities. Additionally, using plasmonic effects and hot carrier generation induced by AuNCs shows tremendous potential in photocatalytic water splitting for clean hydrogen fuel production. For environmental applications, AuNCs enable the degradation of persistent organic pollutants, heavy metal ion detection at part-per-trillion levels, and solar-driven water purification, relying on plasmon-enhanced hot carrier processes. However, the long-term ecological impacts of AuNCs remain unclear. This study thus underscores the need for further toxicological assessments and life cycle analyses to promote sustainable AuNC-based technologies through responsible research and innovation. Overall, it highlights the versatile applicability of AuNCs in addressing critical energy and environmental challenges.

Ensuring reliable and sustainable energy access in sub-Saharan Africa requires exploring alternatives to traditional biomass and fossil fuels, crucial for overcoming challenges related to limited electricity and clean cooking energy access. Within this background and to assess the factors affecting energy supply and energy consumption, the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) was applied across 48 sub-Saharan countries and adapted to the regional context considering energy access indicators.Key results showed that economic activity significantly influences both supply and demand growth. However, this growth is restricted by outdated infrastructure, resulting in inefficiencies and increased conversion losses. Policymakers thus face a dual challenge of promoting economic growth while modernizing energy infrastructure to sustain development.Moreover, targeted policies are essential, particularly in energy-intensive in energy-intensive sectors like wholesale and retail, while advocating for a comprehensive approach in the residential sector. This approach involves socioeconomic considerations, energy access enhancement, and the promotion of energy-efficient and renewable technologies to meet rising demand amid population growth and evolving consumption patterns.Furthermore, the study underscores the importance of enhancing both energy access levels and energy efficiency in the residential sector. Unlike the industrial sector, energy intensity is crucial for improving efficiency without compromising the level of access. Enhancing energy efficiency can significantly reduce energy consumption in households, which is important given the high reliance on energy-intensive practices such as cooking with traditional biomass.

We report on a multi‐tracer study at the Yap‐Mariana Junction in the western Pacific using three tracers—85Kr, 39Ar, and 14C—with different half‐lives and source functions to the oceans. The vertical profiles of 85Kr and 39Ar are measured using the state‐of‐the‐art Atom Trap Trace Analysis method. This method allows analysis of 85Kr and 39Ar isotopes with samples collected in regular Niskin bottles. Combined with the calculated natural 14C data, we infer the ventilation transit‐time distribution (TTD) at the Yap‐Mariana Junction. The mean ages of the seawater below the thermocline at the Yap‐Mariana Junction are over 1,000 years. Moreover earlier 39Ar and natural 14C data collected in other parts of the Pacific are used to infer the local TTDs and compared with the one at the Yap‐Mariana Junction. The age spectra of the Pacific bottom waters show progressive changes and increasing tails of the old water along the route from south to north. The dominance of the North Pacific Deep Water (NPDW) in the North Pacific and the effect of mixing between old water masses and younger ones at the Yap‐Mariana Junction are reflected from the different shapes of the TTDs at these locations. The TTD shows the oldest water exists at about 2,000 m depth in the North Pacific. The western Pacific shows the highest degree of mixing at 1,000 m depth, while the southern Pacific has the highest degree of mixing close to the bottom. Plain Language Summary: Tracers with different time responses are versatile tools for studying ventilation and mixing processes in the ocean. We conducted a multi‐tracer study at the Yap‐Mariana Junction in the western Pacific using 85Kr, 39Ar, and 14C. The tracer data are used to constrain the ventilation time at this location and show that the mean ages of the seawater below the thermocline are over 1,000 years. The local ventilation time differs significantly from the ones determined at other locations across the Pacific Ocean. Key Points: Atom trap trace analyses of 39Ar and 85Kr combined with 14C constrain ventilation transit time distributions (TTD) at the Yap‐Mariana JunctionThe ventilation TTDs at the deep Pacific have similar mean ages but different Δ/Γ ratiosThe mean ages of the seawater below the thermocline at the Yap−Mariana Junction are over 1000 years with Δ/Γ ratios around 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of essential oils has emerged as an ecofriendly solution for controlling different pests, particularly insects of stored products. Essential oils (EOs) from Thymus capitatus (TC) and Origanum compactum (OC) have received less attention for these bioactivities. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the repellent, antifeedant and contact toxicity of their EOs against a major stored product pest Tribolium castaneum. Besides, GC-MS was also carried out to determine the compounds responsible for the observed bioactivities. Regarding contact toxicity, LC50 values were 0.58 and 0.35 μL/cm2 for TC and OC after 24 h of exposure, respectively. For the repellent effect, the percentage of repellency (PR) was variable across different concentrations and exposure durations. TC exhibited the best PR (98%) after 3 h of exposure at 0.031 μL/cm2. For prolonged repulsive effect (24 h), TC sustained its repulsive efficacy with a PR of 90% at 0.062 μL/cm2 followed by OC with a PR of 88% at 0.125 μL/cm2. As for the antifeedant effect, both EOs had a significant impact on nutritional indexes, especially the feeding deterrent index and relative consumption rate. OC displayed a notable effect, causing 59% of feeding deterrence at 1.92 μL/pellet. These multifaced effects can be explained by the high content of carvacrol in both EOs (OC: 90% and TC: 78%). These multifaced effects demonstrated through different exposure routes and bioassays promote the use of T. capitatus and O. compactum EOs as a sustainable management strategy to control T. castaneum.

Wind energy is an important renewable energy source. Rotor main bearings are critical components of wind turbines since a faulty main bearing leads to downtime and high repair costs. Operational expenditures amount to 32% of wind energy costs. The use of plain bearings as main bearings can potentially reduce these costs. Plain bearings with segmented sliding elements can be repaired up-tower without dismantling the drivetrain, as damaged segments can be exchanged individually. One such segmented plain bearing design is the conical plain bearing design called FlexPad. For the FlexPad, proof of concept was achieved for the 1 MW range during previous studies. Modern wind turbines—especially for offshore deployment—have increased in size significantly compared with their predecessors. The goal of current studies is to transfer the FlexPad design towards a main bearing unit at a market relevant scale of 8.5 MW. In this work, the identified scaling challenges are presented. A FlexPad model scaled to the 8.5 MW range is presented to illustrate the challenges. The bearing load components, such as radial forces and torque, increase on different scales with increasing rotor size leading to changed load characteristics with increasing size. Increased rotor weight and bearing diameters result in an increase in the breakaway torque required to start turbine rotation. This breakaway torque can exceed the torque generated by the turbine at starting wind speeds. The generally increased loads necessitate stiffer sliding segments leading to the increased weight of the segments, which hampers the ability to easily exchange segments.

Twenty-six root nodule bacteria from two native forage legumes namely Sulla aculeolata subsp. aculeolata and Sulla aculeolata subsp. mauritanica were isolated and analyzed using a polyphasic approach comprising phenotypic traits, ERIC-PCR, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This is the first time a study has been performed to determine the diversity of bacteria associated with Sulla aculeolata spp. Phenotypically, all the isolates were identified as fast-growing bacteria and shows high tolerance toward various stressed conditions, particularly those derived from S. aculeolata subsp. mauritanica. On the other hand, the genotypic characterization revealed high diversity among the isolated bacteria and clustered into 14 clusters at the similarity index of 90% based on ERIC-PCR analysis. Furthermore, the 16S rRNA gene sequencing of representatives strains indicates that all the strains share 99 to 100% identity with bacteria belonging to Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Serratia, and Paenibacillus genera with a clear relation to their host plant. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggested the inoculation of plants with appropriate bacteria to enhance plant growth and quality of Sulla aculeolata under semi-arid conditions of the Mediterranean area.

We demonstrate fast analysis of 39Ar/Ar at the 10−16 level using a mass spectrometer for isotope pre-enrichment and an atom trap for counting. An argon gas sample first passes through a dipole mass separator that reduces the dominant isotope 40Ar by two orders of magnitude while preserving both the rare tracer isotope 39Ar and a minor stable isotope 38Ar for control purposes. Measurements of both natural and enriched samples with atom trap trace analysis demonstrate that the 39Ar/38Ar ratios change less than 10%, while the overall count rates of 39Ar are increased by one order of magnitude. By overcoming the analysis-speed bottleneck, this advance will benefit large-scale applications of 39Ar dating in the earth sciences, particularly for mapping ocean circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cosmogenic 39Ar dating is an emerging technique in dating mountain glacier ice, mapping ocean circulation, and tracing groundwater flow. We have realized an atom-trap system for the analysis of the radioactive isotope 39Ar (half-life = 269 years) in environmental samples. The system is capable of analyzing small (1–5 kg) environmental water or ice samples and achieves a count rate of 10 atoms/h for 39Ar at the modern isotopic abundance level of 8 × 10−16. By switching frequently between counting 39Ar atoms and measuring the stable and abundant isotope 38Ar, drift effects in the trapping efficiency are largely suppressed, leading to a more precise measurement of the isotope ratio 39Ar/38Ar. Moreover, cleaning techniques are developed to alleviate cross-sample contamination, reducing the background 39Ar count rate down to <0.5 atoms/h. These advances allow us to determine the 39Ar age in the range of 250–1300 years with precisions of <20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in terms of incidence and the second most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of CTGF and MLH1 gene in colorectal cancer tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues in patients in Golestan province. Materials and methods: In this experimental study, 20 colorectal cancer tissue samples and 20 adjacent healthy tissue samples were collected from Sayad Shirazi Hospital Research Center, Gorgan. After RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis and primer design, the expresion of CTGF and MLH1 genes were measured by Real Time PCR. Statistical analysis of data was done in Graphpad Prism software. Results: According to findings, increase was seen in the CTGF gene expression level in tumor tissue to the adjacent healthy tissue (P

To investigate the effect of mulch and different cultivation methods on the quantitative and qualitative yield of oil sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in Ahvaz climate, a factorial experiment in randomized complete blocks with three replications in the 2017-2018 crop year was in the research farm of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan. The first factor includes different types of mulch in five levels (non-application, wheat straw, white plastic, live mulch (mung bean cultivation), and black plastic) and the second factor includes three-level cultivation method (on a flat surface, ridge cultivation, and inside the furrow cultivation). The results showed that in the flat surface and on the ridge, black plastic produced the highest amount of chlorophyll a, b, and In the inside the furrow, the highest chlorophyll a was obtained in the application of living mulch. The highest grain yield and oil yield were obtained from the interaction of wheat straw mulch × in the furrow and wheat straw mulch on the ridge. In addition, the highest harvest index was obtained in the treatment of white plastic mulch on a flat surface with an average of 51.85%. In general, it can be said that the treatment of wheat straw and straw × in the inside the furrow and wheat straw × on the ridge were superior in terms of quantitative and qualitative performance.

Objective: Whether ileal conduit diversion (ICD) or orthotopic neobladder (ONB) urinary diversion provides better quality of life (QoL) is still under debate. The Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) is a specific tool for bladder cancer (BCa) patients, providing reliable results in previous studies. A validated Farsi version of the BCI concerning cultural aspects could help Farsi-speaking clinicians gain more reliable feedback on QoL following urinary diversion. Materials and methods: Based on WHO suggestions, we translated the BCI questionnaire into the Persian language. Then, we performed a cross-sectional study on BCa patients who underwent ICD or ONB urinary diversion. We compared their QoL via BCI and WHO questionnaires. Chi-square and independent t-tests were used where appropriate. Results: The content validity ratio and the content validity indexes were 1 and 0.8-1.0, respectively. Of 57 participants, six patients (10.5%) were women. The ICD was performed for 38 (66.7%) and ONB diversion for 19 (33.3) participants. The mean age of ICD and ONB was 68.71 ± 7.40 and 64.28 ± 8.34 years, respectively (p-value: 0.055). In all sub-domains of BCI, except bowel habits, the mean scores were higher in the ICD group. A significant difference between ICD and ONB groups was found regarding urinary function (p-value

Long before its popularization as a skincare ingredient, snail slime was reported to have a variety of health-promoting attributes. Its medicinal use involved the treatment of ailments, such as anthrax, hernias, stomach pain, chest pain, as well as tuberculosis. The main aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties of snail slime from Cepaea hortensis (Müller, 1774) (brown garden snail). The slime was extracted by a mild method, and the anti-inflammatory characteristics were determined by croton-oil-induced mouse-ear edema. The histological study showed that the snail slime exerts its action at the level of inflammatory mediators, explaining the drastic decrease of edema (59% in comparison to the 47% of indomethacin). The daily application of 50 µL (15 mg/kg) of snail slime on excision wounds in rabbits proved to induce an almost full tissue repair after 24 days of treatment (87.80–92.7% wound closure in width and length, respectively). Analysis of the slime’s safety aspect allowed affirming the nontoxicity of snail slime on both the skin and eyes.

Abstract Background The characteristics of coal dust (CD) particles affect the inhalation of CD, which causes coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP). CD nanoparticles (CD-NPs,

Penelitian ini bertujuan mengungkap sebab-sebab perilaku disruptif (PD) pada anak SD, dan menjelaskan kontribusi PD terhadap eksklusi sosial. Riset ini menggunakan desain studi kasus, yang dilaksanakan di sebuah SD di Sragen, Indonesia. Data dihimpun melalui wawancara mendalam, observasi partisipatif, dan dokumentasi. Guna menguji validitas data, peneliti menempuh triangulasi. Data yang diperoleh dan dinyatakan valid kemudian dianalisis mengikuti langgkah-langkah yang dikemukakan Miles et al. (2014), yaitu data condensation, data display, dan conclusion drawing/verification. Hasil penelitian ini mengungkapkan bahwa; (a) lingkungan keluarga, lingkungan sekolah, lingkungan teman sepermainan, dan lingkungan masyarakat menjadi determinan atas munculnya PD pada anak; (b) proses eksklusi sosial sebagai akibat dari PD dilakukan dalam tiga tahap, yaitu yaitu penilaian kelompok atas risiko PD, pengambilan keputusan untuk mengeksklusi pelaku, dan pembatasan diri dari siswa yang dieksklusi dalam periode waktu tertentu. Penelitian ini berkesimpulan bahwa di antara empat lingkungan yang berpengaruh terhadap PD, lingkungan keluarga dan lingkungan sekolah sebagai determinan paling kuat. Namun dalam beberapa kasus, adanya role model dalam lingkungan masyarakat memperteguh PD pada anak. Eksklusi sosial akibat PD (pada fase ketiga) hanya akan berakhir manakala pelaku tidak lagi menampakkan PD. Peneliti merekomendasikan dilakukannya diagnosa awal atas gejala-gejala PD. Tujuannya adalah mengurangi risiko eksklusi sosial yang disebabkan PD.

Morus alba is used as a traditional Chinese medicine due to its various biological activities. Phenylpropanoid metabolism is one of the most important pathways in Morus alba to produce secondary metabolites and response to stress. From the general phenylpropanoid pathway, there are two metabolic branches in M. alba, including flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis, which also play roles in response to stress. However, the dynamic changes between flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis under Botrytis cinerea infection and UV-B stress in M. alba were unclear. To explore the different regulation mode of flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis in M. alba leaves’ response to biotic and abiotic stress, a combined proteomic and metabolomic study of M. alba leaves under UV-B stress and B. cinerea infection was performed. The results showed that most of the proteins involved in the lignin and flavonoid biosynthesis pathway were increased under either UV-B stress or B. cinerea infection in M. alba. This was also confirmed by enzyme assays and metabolomics analysis. Additionally, the abundance of proteins involved in the biosynthesis of jasmonic acid was increased after B. cinerea infection. This suggests that both flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis participate in the responses to abiotic and biotic stress in M. alba, but they might be regulated by different hormone signaling.

IntroductionThe Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Goyalmara Hospital in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh is a referral centre offering the highest level of care available in the Rohingya camps for pediatrics and neonatology. Efforts are underway to integrate pediatric palliative care due to high mortality and medical complexity of patients, yet little is known about the experiences of staff delivering palliative and end-of-life care. The purpose of this study was to understand the moral experiences of MSF staff to inform program planning and implementation.MethodsThis focused ethnography was conducted between March-August 2021 at Goyalmara Hospital. Data collection involved participant-observation, individual interviews (22), focus group discussions (5), and analysis of documents including MSF clinical guidelines, admission and referral criteria, reports, and training materials. Data analysis followed a modified version of the Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven and data were coded using NVivo software.ResultsThe prevailing understanding of pediatric palliative care among national and international staff was care that prioritized comfort for infants and children who were not expected to survive. Staff's views were informed by their sense of obligation to do no harm, to do their best on behalf of their patients, and religious beliefs about God's role in determining the child's outcome. The authority of doctors, international staff, as well as protocols and guidelines shaped palliative care decision-making. Staff saw clinical guidelines as valuable resources that supported a consistent approach to care over time, while others were concerned that palliative care guidelines were rigidly applied.ConclusionWhen integrating palliative care into humanitarian programs, it is important to emphasize the active role of palliative care in reducing suffering. Advocacy for access to the highest level of care possible should continue alongside palliative care integration. While palliative care guidelines are valuable, it is essential to encourage open discussion of staff concerns and adapt care plans based on the family's needs and preferences.

Legumes, native to the Mediterranean, harbor reservoirs of endophytes that help plants adapt to various environmental stresses. The current study was carried out to evaluate the plant growth characteristics and antifungal activity of root nodule endophytes as biocontrol agents and plant growth promoters. Eleven bacterial endophytes isolated from root nodules of Sulla flexuosa L. grown in Northwest Morocco were assessed for their plant growth-promoting (PGP), and antifungal properties. Four endophytic bacteria were selected for their efficiency in solubilizing inorganic phosphate. The selected strains were positive for more than 2 PGP traits, including indole acetic acid, ACC deaminase, siderophore, and ammonia production. The screening for lytic enzyme production revealed that all strains were capable of producing chitinase, cellulase, catalase, and protease, while the secretion of amylase and urease was not detected. The HFB11 was the only strain incapable of producing pectinase. In vitro experiments revealed the strains’ potential to withstand salt and drought stresses by being able to grow in high concentrations of NaCl and PEG. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the strains were identified as Enterobacter and Serratia. The antagonistic activity of the strains against Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus ochraceus, and Fusarium oxysporum was detected and they were shown to inhibit the fungal growth with various percentages. The highest percentage of inhibition was observed for HFB3 against B. cinerea with 50% inhibition followed by HFB8 which was able to inhibit 47% of F. oxysporum’s growth. In contrast, a weak inhibition was observed against A. ochraceus. All these findings indicate that the chosen endophytes, halotolerant Serratia inhibens HFB8 and Enterobacter hormaechei HFB11, might be used as candidates for effective biocontrol and growth promotion of legumes.