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Abstract This paper presents a multi-layer, multi-objective (MLMO) optimization model for techno-economic-environmental energy management in cooperative multi-Microgrids (MMGs) that incorporates a Demand Response Program (DRP). The proposed MLMO approach simultaneously optimizes operating costs, MMG operator benefits, environmental emissions, and MMG dependency. This paper proposed a new hybrid ε-lexicography–weighted-sum that eliminates the need to normalize or scalarize objectives. The first layer of the model schedules MMG resources with DRP to minimize operating costs (local generation and power transactions with the utility grid) and maximize MMG profit. The second layer achieves the environmental operation of the MMG, while the third layer maximizes MMG reliability. This paper also proposed a new application of a recently developed enhanced equilibrium optimizer (EEO) for solving the three-layer EM problem. In addition, the uncertainties of solar power generation, wind power generation, load demand, and energy prices are considered based on the probabilistic 2m + 1 Point estimation method (PEM) approach. Three case studies are presented to verify the proposed MLMO approach on an MMG test system. In Case I, a deterministic EM is solved to simulate the MMG as a single layer to minimize costs and maximize benefits through DRP, while Case II solves the MLMO optimization problem. Simulation results show that the proposed MLMO technique reduces environmental emissions by 2.45% and 3.5% in its optimization layer and at the final layer, respectively. The independence index is also enhanced by 2.49% and 4.8% in its layer only and as a total increase, respectively. Case III is for the probabilistic EM simulation; due to the uncertain variables effect, the mean value in this case is increased by about 2.6% over Case I.

Distribution systems are integrating a growing number of distributed energy resources and converter-interfaced generators to form active distribution networks (ADNs). Numerous studies have been undertaken to mitigate various challenges in ADNs. However, voltage deviation and reactive power control still requires more attention from researchers and power system engineers. The Volt/VAr control (VVC) concept has been developed to improve the voltage quality, minimize active power losses, and maintain the voltage profile in ADNs. The deployed utility-owned legacy voltage control mechanisms such as on-load tap changers, capacitor banks, and automatic voltage regulators operate in discrete, slow timescales and unidirectionally, rendering them insufficient for optimal voltage regulation in ADNs. Owing to the increasing use of smart meters, smart inverters (SIs), smart sensors, data analytics tools, and improved communication networks, data has become an important resource. Data-driven control approaches, particularly reinforcement learning (RL)-based, have therefore gained more attention in recent years in effectively solving the VVC decision-making problem. This comprehensive review presents a detailed analysis of advanced approaches used to address the VVC problem. It includes a general overview of the problem formulation, control frameworks, and basic notations, as well as detailed comparisons of the existing and recently proposed methods. This study focuses on data-driven approaches, especially RL-based algorithms. Some of the open research challenges experienced in the application of these algorithms such as safety, data, scalability, communication problems, interpretability and cybersecurity threats are presented alongside the future research perspectives such as Internet of Things (IoT), Transfer Learning (TL), hybrid and human-in-the-loop AI approaches.

Abstract Ten novel spectrophotometric approaches were developed for the initial examination of the Hydroxychloroquine and Paracetamol medications. These procedures are straightforward, specific, easy to use, and provide exact and accurate results. The determination was conducted through the utilization of several approaches, including zero order (dual wavelength, zero crossing, advanced absorption subtraction and spectrum subtraction), derivative (first derivative of zero crossing), ratio (ratio difference, ratio derivative) and mathematical (bivariate, simultaneous equation, and Q-absorbance) techniques. After undergoing validation in accordance with ICH criteria, it was established that each of these methods achieved acceptable levels of precision, repeatability, robustness, and accuracy. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are demonstrated, and the proposed and reported methodologies were statistically compared. Graphical Abstract

Abstract As pharmaceutical analysis progresses towards environmental sustainability, there is a growing need to enhance the safety and health conditions for analysts. Consequently, the incorporation of chemometrics into environmentally friendly analytical methods represents a promising approach. Favipiravir, cefixime, and moxifloxacin hydrochloride have been currently used in COVID-19 treatment. In this study, we develop spectrophotometric methods depending on chemometric based models to measure the levels of favipiravir, cefixime, and moxifloxacin hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations and spiked human plasma. It is challenging to determine favipiravir, cefixime, and moxifloxacin simultaneously because of overlap in their UV absorption spectra. Two advanced chemometric models, partial least square (PLS) and genetic algorithm (GA), have been developed to provide better predictive abilities in spectrophotometric determination of the drugs under study. The described models were created using a five-level, three-factor experimental design. The outcomes of the models have been thoroughly assessed and interpreted, and a statistical comparison with recognized values has been taken into consideration. The analytical eco-scale and the green analytical procedure index (GAPI) evaluation methods were also utilized to determine how environmentally friendly the mentioned models were. The outcomes demonstrated how well the models described complied with the environmental requirements.

The Energy Internet (EI) has emerged as a promising field within smart grids, addressing capacity limitations and discrepancies in energy resources. It facilitates a peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading environment for EI prosumers and consumers, reducing reliance on the main grid. To ensure an efficient P2P trading process, it is essential to route energy through the path with minimal power loss optimally. The Energy Router (ER) plays a pivotal role in governing power flow through EI. This paper presents the development of a novel real-time Zbus-based method for directing P2P energy transactions within the EI considering congestion management. The proposed method depends on bus impedance matrix in forming the routing matrix. Firstly, the ER’s structure and function are outlined in relation to the network, and then to design the EI’s topology using an adjacency matrix representation. Secondly, the proposed method methodology is presented in steps and explained on simple 7-bus microgrid. Additionally, a novel congestion management method is integrated into the routing algorithm, considering transmission line loading and available capacity during route selection. Furthermore, the paper applies a power flow technique to the selected routes to optimize power flow performance. The proposed method demonstrates enhanced directness and accuracy compared to existing approaches. Its efficiency is validated by testing a modified IEEE 14-bus system and the standard IEEE 30-bus system. Importantly, the method successfully identifies the minimum loss path, despite the unnecessity of power loss calculations in the routing algorithm. The key contribution of this research lies in providing a comprehensive and practical solution for P2P energy transactions in the EI, showcasing substantial improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and congestion management compared to previous methods.

An isocratic HPLC technique was exploited and validated for the quick simultaneous separation and measurement of cefotaxime and paracetamol in vials dosage forms, with a total analysis time of 3 minutes. The process of separation was carried out on a Thermo Scientific® Venusil XBPC18 (L) (5µm, 4.6x250 mm) using a mobile phase of ACN: distilled water (70:30, v/v) at the ambient temperature. The flow rate used in the experiment was 1 mL/min, and the highest level of absorption was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA) employing a PDA detector set at a wavelength of 255 nm. The established retention times for cefotaxime and paracetamol were 1.79 and 2.97 minutes, respectively, suggesting reduced analysis duration. The observed limits of detection for ceftaxime and paracetamol were 4.2×10-5 and 1.2×10-5 µg/mL, respectively, indicating a significant level of sensitivity in the approach. The approach was subsequently verified in accordance with the requirements set out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the quantification of medicines in vial dosage form.

Quality and safety of drugs are essential for effective therapeutic performance. Impurities can compromise the quality and safety of drugs, and they can arise during various stages of the development, production, storage and even transportation process. Therefore, detecting and measuring the number of impurities with high accuracy in drugs is necessary to ensure the quality and safety of drugs and to reduce the risks associated with taking them. Detecting and measuring impurities in drugs require advanced analytical techniques. The review highpoints a variety of analytical chemistry techniques include spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods in addition to some electrochemistry methods that have been applied for determination of certain drugs such as Ciprofloxacin, Metronidazole, Hydroxychloroquine and Cefotaxime in their pure form, combined form with other drugs, combined form with degradation products, and in biological fluids.

Objective: Turf toe is a common sports injury that may affect mobility and functional ability. For complete recovery, rehabilitation modalities are required to overcome these issues. This study investigated whether kinesio taping (KT) would reduce pain, improve gait performance, and enhance the functional capacity of turf toe patients undergoing physical therapy. Methods: sixty patients with grade II turf toe (age; 25–30 years) assigned randomly into three treatment groups; KT applied alongside an exercise program conducted three times/week for 12 successive weeks. (KT group; n = 20), placebo taping plus exercise (Placebo group; n = 20), or exercise only (Control group; n = 20). Pain, gait parameters, and functional ability assessed using VAS, 3D gait analysis, and 6MWT respectively pre- and post-treatment. Results: There was a significant post-treatment decrease in VAS score in the KT group lower than the control or placebo group and a significant increase in 6MWT distance in the KT group higher than the control or placebo group (p 0.05). Conclusions: The findings of the study demonstrated that KT is a useful complementary modality to exercise in patients with turf toe, as it may result in more favorable improvements to pain, gait characteristics, and functional abilities. Further studies should be conducted to assess the long-term effects, different KT application methods, and tailored treatment protocols on turf toe.

The pomegranate fruit is an extremely popular fruit that is grown in various regions around the world. Pomegranate cv. Wonderful confronts severe abiotic stress disorders, like fruit cracking and sunburn, which decrease fruit quality. Nanoparticles offer potential for improving nutrient usage efficiency and lowering undesirable environmental repercussions. During three consecutive stages of development, namely the peak flowering stage, six weeks after peak flowering, and one month prior to harvest, magnificent pomegranate trees were subjected to separate applications of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) and boron oxide nanoparticles (B2O3NPs) at concentrations of 0, 250, 500, and 1000 parts per million (ppm). These treatments were carried out in both the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons. Positive effects were observed at concentrations of 500 and 1000 ppm for ZnONPs and a concentration of 1000 ppm for B2O3NPs on the vegetative growth parameters such as shoot length, leaf area, leaves number per shoot, and canopy volume, besides, leaf chemical characteristics such as leaf chlorophyll concentration and leaf nutrient content such as of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), and boron (B). Spraying with 500 and 1000 ppm B2O3NPs reduces the percentage of fruit sunburn, cracking and increased fruiting percentage such as initial fruit set (%), fruit retention (%), total yield of fruits (kg/tree), and increasing yield (%), while fruit drop % was decreased in comparison to other treatments. In both seasons, T4 (22.37, 22.0 %) and T7 (18.74, 19.490 %) showed an increase in initial fruit set (%). Similarly, there was an increase in fruit retention (%) with T4 (33.08, 34.550 %) and T7 (29.13, 29.430 %) compared to the control. The highest yield increasing percentages were observed with T4 (98.88, 100.270 %) and T3 (66.65, 64.980 %) compared to the control. On the other hand, T4 (8.24, 8.04 %) had the lowest fruit cracking, followed by T7 (12.73, 9.9 %) in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Similarly, the lowest percentage of sunburned fruit was observed with T4 (20.47, 20.4 %) and T4 (18.43, 16.77 %) in the two seasons compared to the control. In general, our findings indicate that the application of ZnONPs and B2O3NPs on fully bloomed wonderful pomegranate trees, six weeks after full bloom, and one month prior to harvest, resulted in enhanced growth and yield. Additionally, this treatment exhibited a reduction in abiotic stress-related issues, such as fruit cracking and sunburn.

Abstract Composite materials have attracted researchers in vibration and noise control applications due to their significant dynamic characteristics such as high strength and high damping level. In this paper, a Glass Fiber Reinforced Composite material (GFRC) is presented as a vibration isolation system to control vibration levels in industry. In addition, the impact of integration of a mechatronic control system to improve the machining process and increase the control of vibration nature. A prototype of an industrial cam–follower machine is motorized, and the Frequency Response Function (FRF) is recorded using a B&K data acquisition analyzer at five rotational speeds. The transmitted vibrations to the machine foundation are estimated without any isolation system. Then, two optimized GFRC plates of optimum stacking sequences are used as an isolation system to reduce the transmitted vibration. The displacement transmissibility is calculated theoretically and experimentally. The results show that the use of GFRC plates as an isolator reduces the vibration level of the system by 98.46% and 98.5% for [90/90/90/0/0]s and [90/ ± 45/ ± 35/90/ ± 35]s GFRC configurations respectively.

Abstract Four simple, specific, easy, precise and accurate spectrophotometric methods were developed for the first time to examine ciprofloxacin and metronidazole in combination, without having been separated beforehand by the developed methods. Ciprofloxacin and metronidazole were determined by utilizing advanced absorbance subtraction (AAS), spectrum subtraction, bivariate and ratio difference methods. Precision, repeatability, robustness, and accuracy were all determined to be within acceptable levels after each of these procedures underwent validation in accordance with ICH recommendations. Each method’s benefits and drawbacks are illustrated, and the proposed and reported methodologies were statistically compared.

Aluminum alloy, specifically 2024, is extensively utilized in the automotive and aerospace industries due to its light weight and superior mechanical properties. This study explores the corrosion behavior and mechanical characteristics of this alloy following quenching and aging heat treatments. Accelerated corrosion tests involved immersing samples in a salt spray chamber with a 5% NaCl solution, maintained at a temperature of 40 °C with a neutral pH. The alloy's microstructure and corrosion behavior were examined before and after the corrosion test, which included a heat treatment at 495 °C and aging for five days. Multiple tests, such as Vickers microhardness, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and tensile tests were performed. The surface characteristics, specifically the refined microstructure and residual stresses, were analyzed and their impact on localized corrosion was evaluated. The maximum strength value rose from 411 MPa to 512 MPa, and elongation increased correspondingly. Concerning corrosion sensitivity, a reduction was observed in the following order: AA2024-T3 (natural condition), AA2024-T3 (tempered condition), and AA2024-T3 (aged condition). The aged treatment appeared to enhance corrosion resistance, potentially due to the minimized size of corrosion products observed post-etching in various regions.

With the rapid proliferation of portable and wearable electronics, energy autonomy through efficient energy harvesting has become paramount. Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) stand out as promising candidates due to their silent operation, high reliability, and maintenance-free nature. This paper presents the design, fabrication, and analysis of a micro-scale TEG for powering such devices. A planar configuration was employed for its inherent miniaturization advantages. Finite element analysis using ANSYS reveals that a double-layer device under a 50 K temperature gradient generates an impressive open-circuit voltage of 1417 mV and a power output of 2.4 μW, significantly exceeding its single-layer counterpart (226 mV, 0.12 μW). Validation against the analytical model results yields errors within 2.44% and 2.03% for voltage and power, respectively. Furthermore, a single-layer prototype fabricated using paper shadow masks and sputtering deposition exhibits a voltage of 131 mV for a 50 K temperature difference, thus confirming the feasibility of the proposed design. This work establishes a foundation for developing highly efficient micro-TEGs for powering next-generation portable and wearable electronics.

Abstract Background Due to delayed activation of the deep trunk muscles, patients with chronic non-specific low back pain use different adjustment strategies to maintain postural control. Patients with chronic non-specific low back pain maintain a quite standing posture during pain episode and challenging activities by using signals from other joints, mainly the ankle joint. Since proprioceptive signals from the ankle joint reduce postural control variability in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain, this study explored whether ankle stability exercises added to traditional physical therapy exercises would improve the intensity of pain, functional disabilities and lumbar flexion range of motion in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. Methods Sixty patients with chronic non-specific low back pain participated in the current study. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups: group A and group B. Patients in group A received traditional physical therapy exercises for low back pain. Patients in group B received the same traditional physical therapy exercises as patients in group A, plus ankle stability exercises. The intensity of pain, functional disability, and lumbar flexion range of motion were assessed twice before and after a 6-week period during which each group received their interventions. Results Mixed design MANOVA revealed a significant decrease in visual analog scale and Oswestry Disability Index in group B compared to group A post treatment (p

The water-retaining and yield-increasing capacity of super-absorbent polymer (SAP) are essential for soil remediation in arid and semi-arid areas. Water availability is an increasing challenge to plant development and crop yield. During the growing seasons in 2021 and 2022, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the addition of different amounts of SAP on the development and yield of green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv Bronco) under varying water deficit stresses, compared with the control treatment without SAP and water deficit stress. The results demonstrated that a 50% reduction in water requirement (WR) resulted in significant decreases in leaf fresh weight, specific leaf area, leaf total chlorophyll content, pod number, leaf free water content, pod fresh weight per plant, and yield. Decreases were also found in pod total chlorophyll content, carotenoids, dry matter and total protein, leaf proline content, and crude fiber content. Additionally, leaf water saturation deficit was significantly increased under the stress compared with the full irrigation at 100% WR. However, irrigation at 75% WR increased pod contents of ascorbic acid, total sugars, and leaf bound water. The current study also indicated that addition of SAP significantly enhanced the above-mentioned growth characteristics under irrigation at 50% and 75% WR. Treatment with SAP at 3 g/plant was the most effective in mitigating the adverse effects of water deficiency, especially at the irrigation rate of 75% WR. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed significantly positive correlations between the growth parameters, as well as pod yield, under water stress and SAP. This study provides a promising strategy for green bean cultivation by adding SAP to soil to alleviate water shortage stress.

A centralized secondary control is utilized in a DC islanded microgrid to fine-tune voltage levels following the implementation of droop control. This is done to avoid conflicts between current allocation and voltage adjustments. However, because it introduces a single point of failure, a distributed secondary control is preferred. This paper introduces a consensus-based secondary distributed control approach to restore critical bus voltages to their nominal values and properly distribute current among converters. The critical bus takes the lead in voltage adjustments, with only connected energy resources contributing to regulation. The microgrid is represented as an undirected graph to facilitate consensus building. Two adjustment terms, δv and δi, are generated to assist in returning voltage to its nominal level and correctly allocating current among energy resources. To enhance consistency and improve controller performance compared to those reported in existing literature, all buses are connected to a leader node. In the event of the failure of all converters except one, voltage can still be effectively restored. MATLAB-Simulink simulations are conducted on two medium-voltage DC (MVDC) microgrids to validate the efficiency of the proposed control method. The results confirmed that the proposed control method can effectively maintain voltage stability and enhance the precise distribution of current among agents by 8%.

ObjectiveThe present cross-sectional study examined the association between circulating levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and testosterone with bone mineral density (BMD) in middle-aged Arab men.MethodsClinical data of 103 middle-aged Saudi men (mean age 60.7±7.2) were extracted from the Osteoporosis Registry of the Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants were categorized according to the presence of osteopenia (T-score -1.0 to -2.5) (N=47) and controls (N=56). Data collected included demographics and anthropometrics as well as levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), testosterone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) which were measured using commercially available assays. Free androgen index (FAI) was calculated.ResultsThose with osteopenia had significantly lower levels of FAI (p

Wind energy has emerged as a prominent player in the realm of renewable energy sources, both in terms of capacity and technological adaptability. Among the various renewable energy technologies, wind turbine generators stand out as the most widely employed. Recently, gearless permanent magnet synchronous generators have gained traction in the wind energy sector due to their appealing features, such as reduced maintenance costs and the elimination of gearboxes. Nevertheless, challenges remain, particularly concerning the grid-friendly integration of wind turbines, specifically with regard to high voltage ride-through (HVRT) and low voltage ride-through (LVRT) improvements. These challenges pose a threat to grid stability, impede Wind Turbine Generator performance, and may lead to significant damage to wind turbines. To address these concerns, this research proposes an integrated strategy that combines a model predictive control (MPC) superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) device with a modified WTG grid-side converter control. By coupling SMES devices to the dc-link of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator WTGs, the proposed approach aims to achieve an overvoltage suppression effect during grid disturbances and provide support for grid reactive power. Through various test scenarios, the feasibility and practicality of this suggested technique are demonstrated.

Abstract Background Montmorillonite clay modified by organosulfur surfactants possesses high cation exchange capacity (CEC) and adsorption capacity than their unmodified form (UM), therefore they may elevate the adverse impact of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) on ruminal fermentation and methanogenesis. Chemical and mechanical modifications were used to innovate the organically modified nano montmorillonite (MNM). The UM was modified using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and grounded to obtain the nanoscale particle size form. The dose-response effects of the MNM supplementation to a basal diet contaminated or not with AFB1 (20 ppb) were evaluated in vitro using the gas production (GP) system. The following treatments were tested: control (basal diet without supplementations), UM diet [UM supplemented at 5000 mg /kg dry matter (DM)], and MNM diets at low (500 mg/ kg DM) and high doses (1000 mg/ kg DM). Results Results of the Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy analysis showed shifts of bands of the OH-group occurred from lower frequencies to higher frequencies in MNM, also an extra band at the lower frequency range only appeared in MNM compared to UM. Increasing the dose of the MNM resulted in linear and quadratic decreasing effects (P

Abstract A new rapid, simple, and sensitive RP-HPLC method was carried out through applying Quality by Design approach for determination of xipamide and valsartan in Human plasma. Fractional factorial design was used for screening of four independent factors: pH, flow rate, detection wavelength, and % of MeOH. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirmed that flow rate and % of MeOH were only significant. Chromatographic conditions optimization was carried out through using central composite design. Method analysis was performed using BDS Hypersil C8 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) and an isocratic mobile phase of MeOH and 0.05 M KH2PO4 buffer pH 3 (64.5:35.5, v/v) at 1.2 mL/min flow rate with UV detection at 240 nm and 10 μL injection volume. According to FDA guidelines, the method was then validated for the determination of the two drugs clinically in human plasma in respect of future pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence simulation studies. The standard curve was linear in the concentration range of 5–100 µg/mL for both drugs, with a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.999. Also, the average recoveries lied within the range from 99.89 to 100.03%. The proposed method showed good predictability and robustness.

Vegetable production plays a vital role in ensuring food security in Bangladesh. However, the majority of vegetable seedlings are currently transplanted manually, which is not only time-consuming but also labor-intensive and costly. In this context, a semi-automated transplanter can be considered as an alternative solution for mechanized seedling transplanting. To mechanize seedling operations, two types of transplanters were designed, fabricated and tested: the power tiller-operated semi-automatic dibbler vegetable seedling (DVS) transplanter and the furrow opener vegetable seedling (FVS) transplanter. The goal was to evaluate their performance and impact on field crop productivity. In the DVS transplanter design, the larger sprocket was adjusted to enhance the precision of hole-making by pressing the dibbler into the soil, creating holes where seedlings would be transplanted. On the other hand, the FVS transplanter utilized a furrow opener to create furrows, and the seedling is placed in these furrow at a specific distance from the furrow opener wall, where the distance between seedlings within the furrow could be adjusted based on the specific requirements of the seedling crop. The results of the evaluation indicated that both transplanters successfully planted seedlings without any missing placements, while hole covering was achieved at 115 and 118.2% for the DVS and FVS transplanters, respectively. The field capacity and field efficiency for both transplanters were determined to be 0.05 ha h−1 and 61.18%, respectively, with a coefficient of variation of 5% or less. Field tests conducted with brinjal crops at a forward speed of 1.2 km h−1 and a spacing of 0.7 × 0.6 m demonstrated that both designs yielded higher yield productivity compared to manual transplantation. Additionally, no issues related to vegetative development were observed. Both transplanters exhibited promising performance and significant potential in terms of accurately transplanting seedlings, and ensuring satisfactory transplantation quality. Furthermore, these transplanters offer several advantages, including less time-consuming, lower labor demands and even distribution of seedlings. This design encourages small to medium-level farmers seeking to engage in mechanized vegetable farming practices.

Antibiotic residues in wastewater are considered lethal to the crops and aquatic life. One of the promising way to treat this kind of wastewater is the use of constructed wetlands coupled with microbial fuel cell (CW-MFC). In this treatment, bacterial action and redox operation occurs at anaerobic anode and aerobic cathode respectively. Four different configurations of CW-MFCs was applied for comparison. This study focusses on the investigation of the removal of Co-trimoxazole (CMX), other co-existing pollutants and furthermore, the generation of green electricity with low hydraulic retention time (HRT) was studied. Results revealed that the effluent from configuration 1 (gravel based) had lower (CMX) concentration. This removal performance may be associated to greater electrode absorption capacity for (CMX). The removal efficiency was 92.58% at HRT of 3d and effluent concentration was 4 mg/L. On the other hand, CW-MFC1 exhibited the BOD removal (60.60%) regardless of the increasing effluent antibiotic concentration. Pure strain of Geobactor sulfereducens, adjusted with anaerobic sludge increased the bio-film growth. Maximum power density of 480.2 mW/m−3 observed for CW-MFC1. Electricity generation characteristic were also found to be effected with HRT.

Abstract This paper studies an adjacent accumulation discrete grey model to improve the prediction of the grey model and enhance the utilization of new data. The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy is also discussed. Two cases are discussed to prove the stability of the adjacent accumulation discrete grey model, which helped the studied model attain higher forecasting accuracy. Using the adjacent accumulation discrete grey model, non-renewable energy consumption in G20 countries from 2022 to 2026 is predicted based on their consumption data from 2011 to 2021. It is proven that the adjacent accumulation exhibits sufficient accuracy and precision. Forecasting results obtained in this paper show that energy consumption of all the non-renewable sources other than coal has an increasing trend during the forecasting period, with the USA, Russia, and China being the biggest consumers. Natural gas is the most consumed non-renewable energy source between 2022 and 2026, whereas hydroelectricity is the least consumed. The USA is the biggest consumer of Nuclear energy among the G20 countries, whereas Argentina consumed only 0.1 Exajoules of nuclear energy, placing it at the end of nuclear energy consumers.

Objectives: This study presents for the first-time temporal changes of decabromodiphenyl ether (deca-BDE) in Saudi human breast milk samples. Methods: Seventy-five samples were taken, and then the extracted and cleaned samples were put via solid-phase extraction (SPE) before being analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: In this research, women eat more meat (69%), followed by eggs (50%), and milk (36%). The bulk of donors (44%) and eggs (33%) eat fish and eggs twice a week. The most of the moms who took part had finished higher education (68%). BDE-209, -28, -138, and -208 were the predominant congeners. BDE-209 was detected in all analyzed samples (median concentration 0.19 ng/g lw) suggesting recent exposure of mothers to deca-BDE formulations. The levels of BDE-209 (the most Carcinogenic agent type) were the highest in breast milk were higher (2.5–8 Fold) the levels of other BDES. Higher rates of egg consumption were positively associated with higher breast milk levels of BDE-28 (P = 0.01). Conclusions: Increased exposure to BDE-209 raises health concerns since its breakdown may result in lower brominated congeners and/or other products, which are more toxic than the parent compound. Furthermore, Eggs could be a way for these congeners to get into the bodies of mothers. Also, our results suggest that mothers in Saudi Arabia get BDE-28 from sources other than their jobs, like eating eggs. More research needs to be done to find out if chickens raised in Saudi Arabia have eggs with a lot of deca-BDE.

Article accepted. The article will be published here soon. Pending final quality checks.

Abstract This paper presents a piezoelectric wind energy harvester that operates by a galloping mechanism with different shaped attachments attached to a bluff body. A comparison is made between harvesters that consist of different shaped attachments on a bluff body; these include triangular, circular, square, Y‐shaped, and curve‐shaped attachments. Simulation of the pressure field and the velocity field variation around the different shaped bluff bodies is performed and it is found that a high pressure difference creates a high lift force on the bluff body with curve‐shaped attachments. A theoretical model based on a galloping mechanism is presented, which is verified by experiments. It is observed that the proposed harvester with curve‐shaped attachments provides the best performance, where the harvester with a curve‐shaped attachments provides the highest voltage and power output compared to the other shaped harvesters examined in this study. This paper provides a new concept for improving the power performance of the piezoelectric wind energy harvesters with modifications made on the bluff body.

Changes are being implemented in the electrical power grid to accommodate the increased penetration of renewable energy sources interfaced with grid-connected inverters. The grid-forming (GFM) control paradigm of inverters in active power grids has emerged as a technique through which to tackle the effects of the diminishing dominance of synchronous generators (SGs) and is preferred to the grid-following (GFL) control for providing system control and stability in converter-dominated grids. Therefore, the development of the GFM control is important as the grid advances towards 100% inverter-based grids. In this paper, therefore, we aim to review the changing grid scenario; the behaviour of grid-connected inverter control paradigms and major GFM inverter controls, including their modifications to tackle low inertia, reduced power quality, fault-ride through capability, and reduced stability; and the state-of-the-art GFM models that are pushing the universality of GFM inverter control.

Vitamin D (VD) deficiency has been associated with inflammation and dysregulation of the immune system. The NLRP3 inflammasome, a critical immune response component, plays a pivotal role in developing inflammatory diseases. VD hinders NLRP3 inflammasome activation and thus exerts anti-inflammatory effects. This study aimed to analyze the effect of VD deficiency on circulating levels of NLRP3 inflammasomes (NLRP3 and caspase–1) and associated interleukins (IL–1α, IL–1β, IL–18, IL–33 and IL–37) in Saudi adults. Methods: A total of 338 Saudi adults (128 males and 210 females) (mean age = 41.2 ± 9.1 years and mean BMI 31.2 ± 6.5 kg/m2) were included. Overnight-fasting serum samples were collected. Participants were stratified according to their VD status. Serum levels of NLRP3 inflammasomes and interleukins of interest were assessed using commercially available immuno-assays. Individuals with VD deficiency had significantly lower mean 25(OH)D levels than those with a normal VD status (29.3 nmol/L vs. 74.2 nmol/L, p < 0.001). The NLRP3 levels were higher in the VD-deficient group than their VD-sufficient counterparts (0.18 vs. 0.16, p = 0.01). Significant inverse associations were observed between NLRP3 levels with age (r = −0.20, p = 0.003) and BMI (r = −0.17, p = 0.01). Stepwise regression analysis identified insulin (β = 0.38, p = 0.005) and NLRP3 (β = −1.33, p = 0.03) as significant predictors of VD status, explaining 18.3% of the variance. The findings suggest that the VD status modestly regulates NLRP3 inflammasome and interleukin activities. This may provide novel insights into the pathogenesis and management of inflammatory disorders.

Objective To analyze how Pilates exercises affect standing, walking, and balance in children with diplegic cerebral palsy throughout a 10-week program. Methods We included 40 children aged 7–9 years with diplegic cerebral palsy, and randomly allocated them into two groups of the same size: conventional therapy group (group A) and conventional therapy+Pilates group (group B). We administered the same conventional physical therapy program to both groups for 45 minutes, with group B receiving additional Pilates exercises for 45 minutes. Both groups attended the intervention program three times/week for 10 weeks. We used the Growth Motor Function Measure Scale (GMFM-88) to evaluate standing and walking (Dimensions D and E), and the Pediatric Balance Scale to evaluate balance function before and after treatment. Results Comparison of the average values of all measured variables before and after therapy showed a statistically significant difference (p

The water microbial contamination is very common and different techniques are in practice for the decontamination purpose. The advance oxidation processes are being employed to mortify pathogens polluting drinking water. Heterogeneous photocatalysis under sunlight irradiation is a cost effective and remarkably proficient method for water purification. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is a biocompatible material that has promising photo–oxidant activity. In this study, ZnO has been synthesized using Aloe vera (Av) extract assisted with hydrothermal approach. The nano disc structure of ZnO was characterized by XRD SEM, TEM, AFM, EDX, and FTIR techniques. The optical properties of ZnO@Av NDs (nano discs) evaluated by DRS and PL revealed their sunlight harvesting capability, as the calculated band gap value was 2.8 eV. The surface area and surface charge were measured by BET (5.34 m2g-1) and Zeta potential (+7.46 mV). The antibacterial activity of ZnO@Av NDs was studied against Salmonella typhimurium as a function of various process variables i.e., photocatalyst loading, sunlight exposure time, and bacterial inoculum size. The bactericidal reaction parameters were optimized statistically by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) on exposure to direct sunlight (average solar flux was 650 KWh/m2) at pH 7. As optimized conditions, 100 μL initial inoculum concentration of S. typhimurium was treated with 60 μg/mL of ZnO@Av NDs suspension under sunlight irradiation of 5 h, antibacterial index obtained was 6.8. The MIC and MBC for ZnO@Av NDs against S. typhimurium were 50 μL and 100 μL, respectively. It has been observed that ZnO@Av NDs lower the optical density of water that contains S. typhimurium. The photocatalytic purification of water using ZnO@Av NDs is safe and cost-effective method under sunlight irradiation, which could possibly be employed for the wastewater purification.

Abstract Background Two series of benzimidazole based thio-oxadiazole and thio-thiadiazole analogues were designed and synthesised as novel antimicrobial drugs through inhibition of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PheRS), which is a promising antimicrobial target. Compounds were designed to mimic the structural features of phenylalanyl adenylate (Phe-AMP) the PheRS natural substrate. Methods A 3D conformational alignment for the designed compounds and the PheRS natural substrate revealed a high level of conformational similarity, and a molecular docking study indicated the ability of the designed compounds to occupy both Phe-AMP binding pockets. A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation comparative study was performed to understand the binding interactions with PheRS from different bacterial microorganisms. The synthetic pathway of the designed compounds proceeded in five steps starting from benzimidazole. The fourteen synthesised compounds 5a-d, 6a-c, 8a-d and 9a-c were purified, fully characterised and obtained in high yield. Results In vitro antimicrobial evaluation against five bacterial strains showed a moderate activity of compound 8b with MIC value of 32 μg/mL against S. aureus, while all the synthesised compounds showed weak activity against both E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa (MIC 128 μg/mL). Conclusion Compound 8b provides a lead compound for further structural development to obtain high affinity PheRS inhibitors.

Because of their unique features, nanomaterials have been proposed and have gained acceptance in postharvest applications in fruit. Increasing the storage life and improving the quality of Valencia oranges was investigated using nano-chitosan. A chitosan nanoparticle was prepared by using high-energy ball milling. Chitosan nanoparticles were characterized by Dynamic light scattering, FTIR spectroscopy and Surface morphology by transmission electron microscopy. Fully mature Valencia oranges were harvested and then coated with one of these concentrations (0.2, 0.4, and 0.8% nano-chitosan) and control. The fruits were stored under room storage conditions for 75 days. The quality parameters (fruit weight losses, fruit decay percentage, fruit firmness, total acidity, total soluble solids percentage and T.S.S./acid ratio, ascorbic acid content) were taken in biweekly intervals after 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 days. Beside the in vitro testing of antifungal activity of chitosan nanoparticles. According to the findings of the two succeeding seasons, the nano-chitosan 0.8% treatment showed the best effects and had the lowest rate of fruit weight loss, fruit deterioration, and T.S.S./acid ratio in comparison to the other treatments in both seasons. Furthermore, the 0.8% nano-chitosan reveled the highest levels of fruit hardness and fruit pulp firmness. Fruit weight loss, fruit deterioration, TSS, and TSS/acid ratio, as well as other metrics, were steadily elevated prior to the storage time. The best results were obtained when Valencia oranges fruits were treated with 0.8% nano-chitosan for 75 days at room temperature.

Pruning is an essential practice that helps control branch growth, optimize fruit size, and enhance fruit tree productivity. This study focused on ‘Valencia’ orange trees, which had experienced a decline in productivity after being cultivated on reclaimed lands for several years. The aim was to explore the impact of pruning intensity on vegetation growth, fruit yield, productivity, and fruit quality in these orange trees. The study involved 35-year-old ‘Valencia’ orange trees, which were subjected to four different levels of pruning. The pruning treatments included: T1—no pruning (control group), T2—light pruning (removal of 25% of main branches), T3—moderate pruning (removal of 50% of main branches), and T4—heavy pruning (removal of 75% of main branches). Each season, these pruning measures were consistently carried out on 15 February. The results indicated that the severity of pruning directly influenced vegetative growth parameters, such as shoot length and leaf area. As the pruning intensity increased, so did the growth of the vegetation. However, the overall volume of the tree’s canopy decreased compared to the control group. These findings provide insights into the relationship between pruning practices and the growth and productivity of ‘Valencia’ orange trees. The highest fruit yields were observed when pruning was carried out at a severity level of 75%, followed by 50 and 25%. These pruning treatments had a positive impact on various aspects of fruit quality, including weight, size, firmness, juice content, TSS (°Brix), TSS/acid ratio, and vitamin C content. Additionally, pruning contributed to a greater fruit yield per tree and an overall increase in the yield percentage. In essence, the findings suggest that pruning performed at different severity levels in February effectively promotes vegetation growth and enhances the physical and chemical properties of ‘Valencia’ orange trees. Notably, it resulted in a nearly 20% rise in fruit yield compared to the control group.

A synbiotic composed of alginate nanoencapsulated prebiotic (pomegranate peel phytogenics) and multi-species probiotics (Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been developed as a potential eco-friendly alternative to antibiotics. The physicochemical properties of the encapsulated synbiotic were evaluated, and its gastric and storage tolerance, as well as its antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, were tested and compared to that of the non-encapsulated synbiotic (free synbiotic). The results showed that the prebiotic pomegranate peel ethanolic extract contained seven phenolic compounds, with cinnamic being the most abundant (13.26 µL/mL). Sodium alginate-CaCl2 nanocapsules were effective in encapsulating 84.06 ± 1.5% of the prebiotic’s phenolic compounds and 98.85 ± 0.57% of the probiotics. The particle size of the alginate-CaCl2 nanoencapsulated synbiotic was 544.5 nm, and the polydispersity index and zeta potential values were 0.593 and −12.3 mV, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the alginate-CaCl2 nanoencapsulated synbiotic had high thermal stability at high temperatures, with only 2.31% of its weight being lost within the temperature range of 70–100 °C. The count of viable probiotics in the nanoencapsulated synbiotic was significantly higher than that in the free synbiotic after exposure to gastric acidity and storage for six months at room temperature. The percent inhibition values of the nanoencapsulated synbiotic and ascorbic acid (as a standard antioxidant) were comparable and significantly greater than those of the free synbiotic. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of the nanoencapsulated synbiotic and ascorbic acid were significantly lower than those of the free synbiotic (3.96 ± 0.42 µg/mL and 4.08 ± 0.79 µg/mL for nanoencapsulated synbiotic and ascorbic acid, respectively, vs. 65.75 ± 2.14 µg/mL for free synbiotic). The nanoencapsulated synbiotic showed the highest significant antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739). Both the nanoencapsulated and free synbiotics showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), similar to that of gentamicin, although the nanoencapsulated synbiotic showed significantly higher inhibition activity compared to the free synbiotic. The nanoencapsulated synbiotic showed antimicrobial activity comparable to gentamicin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 90274), whereas the free synbiotic showed the least antimicrobial activity (p < 0.05). Both synbiotics showed significantly higher antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhi (ATCC 6539) than gentamicin. Both synbiotics showed antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, with a stronger effect observed for the nanoencapsulated synbiotic. However, the activity of both synbiotics was significantly lower than that of fluconazole (an antifungal drug).

Phenol resins (PRs) are considered as relatively inexpensive adsorbents synthesized from agricultural biomass via employing a variety of synthesized procedures. The performance of PR for heat transformation application is not widely investigated. In this regard, the present study aims to evaluate the four PR derivative/refrigerant pairs, namely (i) KOH6-PR/CO2, (ii) SAC-2/HFC, (iii) KOH4-PR/ethanol, and (iv) KOH6-PR/ethanol, for adsorption cooling and adsorption heating applications. Ideal cycle analyses and/or thermodynamic modelling approaches were utilized comprising governing heat and mass balance equations and adsorption equilibrium models. The performance of the AHP system is explored by means of specific cooling energy (SCE), specific heating energy (SHE), and coefficient of performance (COP), both for cooling and heating applications, respectively. It has been realized that KOH6-PR/ethanol could produce a maximum SCE of 1080 kJ/kg/cycle and SHE of 2141 kJ/kg/cycle at a regeneration temperature (Treg) and condenser temperature (Tcond) of 80 °C, and 10 °C, respectively, followed by KOH4-PR/ethanol, SAC-2/HFC-32, and KOH6-PR/CO2. The maximum COP values were estimated to be 1.78 for heating and 0.80 for cooling applications, respectively, at Treg = 80 °C and Tcond = 10 °C. In addition, the study reveals that, corresponding to increase/decrease in condenser/evaporator pressure, both SCE and SHE decrease/increase, respectively; however, this varies in magnitude due to adsorption equilibrium of the studied PR derivative/refrigerant pairs.

Estimation of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is a key element in water resources management and crop water requirement which, in turn, affects irrigation scheduling. ETo is subject to the influence of various climatic parameters including minimum temperature (Tmin), maximum temperature (Tmax), relative humidity (RH), windspeed (WS), and sunshine hours (SH). Usually, the influence of the climatic parameters and a dominating climatic factor influencing ETo is estimated on yearly basis. However, in diverse climatic regions, ETo varies with the varying climate. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the spatiotemporal variation in the influence of the climatic parameters on ETo in Punjab, Pakistan, for the period 1950–2021, specifically focusing on decennial, annual, and monthly patterns. The study area was divided into five agroclimatic zones. The Penman–Monteith model was used to estimate ETo. The influence was assessed using geographic weighted regression (GWR) and multiscale geographic weighted regression (MGWR) as the primary methods. As per results from MGWR, ETo in Punjab was highly influenced by the Tmin, Tmax, and WS. Additionally, annual ETo exhibited a higher value in southern Punjab in comparison to northern Punjab, with a range of 2975 mm/year in the cotton–wheat zone to 1596 mm/year in the rain-fed zone. Over the course of the past seventy years, Punjab experienced an average increasing slope of 5.18 mm/year in ETo. Tmin was the highest monthly dominant factor throughout the year, whereas WS and SH were recorded to be the dominant factor in the winters, specifically. All in all, accurate estimation of ETo, which serves as an essential component for crop water requirement, could potentially help improve the irrigation scheduling of crops in the agroclimatic zones.

The development of new and advanced materials for various environmental and energy applications is a prerequisite for the future. In this research, the removal of hazardous moxifloxacin (MOX) is accomplished by synthesizing new hybrids of MOF-5 i.e., Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5/GO, Ni.S2/MOF-5/GO, Mo.S2/MOF-5/GO, and Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5 nanocomposites by using a metal-organic framework (MOF-5) and graphene oxide (GO) as a precursor. The introduction of NixMoxS2 facilitates the unique interfacial charge transfer at the heterojunction, demonstrating a significant improvement in the separation effectiveness of the photochemical electron-hole pairs. To evaluate equilibrium adsorption capacity, time, pH, and concentration of organic pollutants were used as experimental parameters. The adsorption kinetics data reveals pseudo-first-order (R2 = 0.965) kinetics when Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5/GO photocatalyst was irradiated under light for 90 min against MOX degradation. This led to a narrow energy band gap (2.06 eV in Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5/GO, compared to 2.30 eV in Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5), as well as excellent photocatalytic activity in the photodegradation of moxifloxacin (MOX), listed in order: Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5/GO (95%) > Ni.S2/MOF-5/GO (93%) > Mo.S2/MOF5/GO (90%) > Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5 (86%) in concentrations up to 2.0 mgL−1, caused by the production of superoxide (O2•−) and hydroxide (OH•) radicals, which encouraged the effective photocatalytic activities of the heterostructure. After five successive tests demonstrating its excellent mechanical stability, the impressive recyclability results for the Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5/GO revealed only a tiny variation in efficiency from 95% (for the first three runs) to 93% (in the fourth run) and 90% (in the fifth run). These findings show that the heterostructure of Ni/Mo.S2/MOF-5/GO is an effective heterojunction photocatalyst for the quick elimination of moxifloxacin (MOX) from aqueous media.

This study proposes an artificial hummingbird algorithm (AHA) for energy management (EM) for optimal operation of a microgrid (MG), including conventional sources and renewable energy sources (RES), with an incentive-based demand response (DR). Due to the stochastic nature of solar and wind output power and the uncertainty of prices and load, a probabilistic EM with hybrid AHA and point estimation method (PEM) is proposed to model this uncertainty by utilizing the normal and Weibull distribution functions. The PEM method is considered a good tool for handling stochastic EM problems. It achieves good results using the same procedures used with the deterministic problems while maintaining low computational efforts. The proposed AHA technique is employed to solve a deterministic incentive DR program, with the goal of reducing the overall cost, which includes the cost of conventional generator fuel and the cost of power transaction with the main grid while taking into account the load demand. Two different case studies are tested. The simulation results of the proposed AHA is compared with the results of well-known metaheuristic algorithms to demonstrate its efficacy. According to AHA’s results, a total reduction of energy consumption by 104 KWh for the first case study and 2677 MWh for the second case study is achieved while achieving the lowest overall operating cost. The results demonstrate that the AHA is adequate for tackling the EM problem. Then, to examine the effect of uncertainty on the MG state, a probabilistic EM problem is solved using AHA-PEM.

Robust hybrid g-C3N4/ZnO-W/Cox heterojunction composites were synthesized using graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and ZnO-W nanoparticles (NPs) and different concentrations of Co dopant. The hybrid heterojunction composites were prepared by simple and low-cost coprecipitation methods. The fabricated catalyst was explored and investigated using various characterization techniques such as FTIR, XRD, FESEM and EDX. The surface morphology of the as-prepared hybrid nanocomposites with particle sizes in the range of 15–16 nm was validated by SEM analysis. The elemental composition of the synthesized composites was confirmed by EDS analysis. Photocatalysis using a photon as the sole energy source is considered a challenging approach for organic transformations under ambient conditions. The photocatalytic activity of the heterojunctions was tested by photodegrading methylene blue (MB) dye in the presence of sunlight. The reduced band gap of the heterojunction composite of 3.22–2.28 eV revealed that the incorporation of metal ions played an imperative role in modulating the light absorption range for photocatalytic applications. The as-synthesized g-C3N4/ZnO-W/Co0.010 composite suppressed the charge recombination ability during the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The ternary heterojunction C3N4/ZnO-W/Co0.010 composite showed an impressive photocatalytic performance with 90% degradation of MB under visible light within 90 min of irradiation, compared to the outcomes achieved with the other compositions. Lastly, the synthesized composites showed good recyclability and mechanical stability over five cycles, confirming them as promising photocatalyst options in the future.

This study aimed to determine the impact on the lipid profile, carboxypeptidase N (CPN) and nitric oxide (NOx) associated with vitamin D (VD) status correction among Saudi adults with VD deficiency. A total 111 VD deficient (25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L)) adult Saudis aged 18–50 years old (57 females and 54 males) were enrolled in this 6-month interventional study. They were given 50,000 IU VD weekly for the first 2 months and then twice a month for the next 2 months, followed by 1000 IU daily for the last 2 months. The fasting lipid profile and the blood glucose, VD, NOx and CPN concentrations were measured at baseline and after intervention. Post-supplementation, the median VD was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in females [58.3 (50.6–71.2)] and males [57.8 (51.0–71.8)]. HDL cholesterol significantly increased (p = 0.05) and NOx significantly decreased (p = 0.02) in males post-supplementation. Triglycerides were positively associated with NOx in all subjects before (r = 0.44, p = 0.01) and after (r = 0.37, p = 0.01) VD status correction. There was a significant increase in serum levels of CPN2 (p = 0.02) in all subjects. Furthermore, CPN was inversely correlated with NOx (r = −0.35, p = 0.05) in males post-supplementation. In conclusion, VD status correction reduced serum NOx, particularly in males. The inhibition of NOx synthesis may be responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects of VD supplementation. An inverse association was found between NOx and CPN2.

The development of corrosion inhibitors with outstanding performance is a never-ending and complex process engaged in by researchers, engineers and practitioners. The computational assessment of organic corrosion inhibitors’ performance is a crucial step towards the design of new task-specific materials. Herein, the electronic features, adsorption characteristics and bonding mechanisms of two pyridine oximes, namely 2-pyridylaldoxime (2POH) and 3-pyridylaldoxime (3POH), with the iron surface were investigated using molecular dynamics (MD), and self-consistent-charge density-functional tight-binding (SCC-DFTB) simulations. SCC-DFTB simulations revealed that the 3POH molecule can form covalent bonds with iron atoms in its neutral and protonated states, while the 2POH molecule can only bond with iron through its protonated form, resulting in interaction energies of −2.534, −2.007, −1.897, and −0.007 eV for 3POH, 3POH+, 2POH+, and 2POH, respectively. Projected density of states (PDOSs) analysis of pyridines–Fe(110) interactions indicated that pyridine molecules were chemically adsorbed on the iron surface. Quantum chemical calculations (QCCs) revealed that the energy gap and Hard and Soft Acids and Bases (HSAB) principles were efficient in predicting the bonding trend of the molecules investigated with an iron surface. 3POH had the lowest energy gap of 1.706 eV, followed by 3POH+ (2.806 eV), 2POH+ (3.121 eV), and 2POH (3.431 eV). In the presence of a simulated solution, MD simulation showed that the neutral and protonated forms of molecules exhibited a parallel adsorption mode on an iron surface. The excellent adsorption properties and corrosion inhibition performance of 3POH may be attributed to its low stability compared to 2POH molecules.

Abstract Background Range of motion (ROM) can be considered as one of the most commonly measured variables in musculoskeletal health care. When interpreting ROM, a common method is to compare obtained ROM values to normative data. So the current study aimed to establish (1) normative active ROM (AROM) values for lower extremity joints in young Egyptian adults, (2) compare the AROM between dominant and non-dominant lower extremity joints, and (3) compare between the values of AROM of lower extremity joints in both genders. Results Paired t-test demonstrated that there was statistical but not a clinical difference between the dominant and non-dominant ROM values of the lower extremity joints. Unpaired t-test revealed that there was statistical but not a clinical difference between male and female ROM values of lower extremity joints. Conclusions This study summarized normative data of Egyptian young adults; there were statistical but not a clinical difference between dominant and none dominant lower extremity joints in AROM and between males and females.

Objective: Osteoporosis is a bone disease characterized by bone mass reduction with a prevalence of approximately 34–48% in Saudi Arabia. Many risk factors can increase osteoporosis fracture, including low vitamin K levels. However, its exact role on bone mineral density (BMD) remains under investigated. This study aims to determine whether dietary vitamin K is associated with BMD, inflammation, undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) and other bone markers among adult Saudi females. Methods: A total of 138 Saudi females aged 25 and above were recruited from different primary health care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and were divided according to BMD status (N = 53 normal; N = 85 low BMD). Each participant completed a food frequency questionnaire. Anthropometrics were measured and serum 25(OH)D and vitamin K, bone markers (ucOC and CTX) and cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α) were assessed using assays. Results: Low dietary vitamin K intakes were observed in both groups, ranging only 16–19 µg/day. A positive association was seen between dietary vitamin K and IL-6 in low BMD group and TNF-α in all participants. No significant association was seen between dietary vitamin K and BMD. Conclusion: Dietary vitamin K is significantly associated with inflammation and not BMD in adult Saudi females. The alarmingly low dietary vitamin K intake is worth investigating further.

Adsorption is one of the promising techniques for the remediation of wastewater and it also offers advantages such as low cost, availability of the adsorbent and ease in operation. The wastewater treatment using smart materials gained much attention and the present investigation evaluated the adsorption efficiencies of ZnO, MgO and FeO for the removal of Direct Sky Blue (DSB) dye. The adsorption affecting parameters, i.e., effect of adsorbent dose, pH, concentration of dye, temperature and contact time were studied in association with dye adsorption. The effect of electrolytes and surfactants was also studied on dye adsorption. The dye adsorption data was analysed using various kinetics parameters, isotherms and thermodynamics models. The maximum adsorption capacities of MgO, FeO and ZnO were recorded to be 46.7, 42.9 and 40.9 mg/g, respectively at the pH 2, adsorbent dose 0.05 g, contact time 75 min, 40 °C and 70 mg/L initial concentration of the dye. The dye adsorption onto MgO followed a Langmuir isotherm, while ZnO followed Temkin isotherm. Langmuir and Temkin isotherms were satisfactory in the case of FeO. Pseudo second order best explained the dye adsorption kinetics. The thermodynamics studies revealed non-spontaneous adsorption of DSB dye onto ZnO, MgO and FeO. In view of promising efficiency, the ZnO, MgO and FeO have potential to apply for dyes adsorption from textile wastewater.

Textile sector is one of the major industries responsible for water pollution and the remediation of dyes is necessary to safe guard the water resources. Adsorption using nanoadsorbents have been emerged as one of viable techniques to eliminate the dyes from wastewater. Iron oxide was prepared via green route using Fan palm (F.P), Dombeya wallichii (D.W) and Pyrus comminis (P.C) as a reducing, capping and stabilizing agents. The adsorption of anionic dye using nanoadsorbents was studied and pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, temperature and concentration of dye were optimized. The maximum dye adsorption was achieved at pH 3, 0.01 g/50 mL adsorbent dose, 200 mg/L initial concentration at 65 °C. Thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption on to nanoadsorbents was an endothermic process. Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order fitted well to the dye adsorption data. The presence of detergents and surfactants affected the dye adsorption on to nanoadsorbents. Efficient desorption was attained using 0.5 N sodium hydroxide. Results revealed that iron oxide prepared via green route is an efficient adsorbent for the removal of anionic dye and could possibly be used for the remediation of textile effluents.

This paper proposes an enhanced cyber secure energy and data transaction framework for the optimal operation and management of the smart city. Recently, the concept of smart city within the power systems has taken the center stage. Although the power system full monitoring and accessibility is guaranteed through the smart city concept, the risk of cyber-attacks to the system has been promoted, severely. With this in mind, in this paper an effective smart city model including the smart grid, smart transportation systems (STSs) that consist of the metro and electric vehicles (EVs), microgrid and smart energy hub (EH) is presented. In the proposed model, an improved directed acyclic graph (DAG) approach is represented in order to enhance the security of data transaction within the smart city. In this approach, a security layer is added to the blockchain which will prevent the cyber hackers access to the system information. An effective energy management schedule is also developed in this paper. To do so, an intelligent priority selection (IPS) based on advanced math operators is provided to allocate the metro-owned charging stations (MCSs), optimally. Furthermore, the unscented transform (UT) is utilized to handle the uncertainty of the system parameters. The results showed that the proposed IPS could improve the method CPU time over 75% compared to other well-known meta-heuristic methods in the area. Moreover, the results showed that the proposed framework has remarkably reduced the run time and increased the accuracy of the solution compared to the other meta-heuristic algorithms.

Background: Asprosin, a novel adipokine, has been implicated in glucose regulation, insulin production, and appetite stimulation. Hence, the current study explores circulating asprosin levels and their associations with insulin resistance (IR) and other parameters in obese and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) Saudi subjects. Methods: A total of N = 291 (89 control, 105 T2DM/obese and 97 obese) subjects were included in this cross-sectional study. Fasting glucose and lipid profiles were measured routinely. Adiponectin, leptin, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1, and asprosin were measured using commercially available assays. Results: Serum asprosin levels were found to be significantly highest in obese subjects [3.7 ng/ml (2.6–5.0)] than T2DM/obese [0.1 ng/ml (0.0–0.4)] and controls [0.2 ng/ml (0.1–0.3)] (p

This study aims to evaluate the effect of different spices (black pepper, cumin, clove, nigella, cardamom, and cinnamon) on the physicochemical characteristics and microbial quality, as well as antioxidant potential, of paneer during storage. Different types of spices were incorporated into the paneer at different levels (0.2 and 0.3%). In addition to paneer, the antioxidant potential of spices was also investigated. The results concerning total plate counts (TPC) or yeast and molds (Y & M) (log10 CFU/g) of all treatments were substantially (p < 0.05) increased during storage. Generally, all freshly prepared spicy paneer and control had higher sensory scores for all the sensory characteristics which declined during subsequent storage. All the paneer samples having 0.3% spices showed very slight variations (nonsignificant) in sensory score of all the attributes of their relative samples containing 0.2% spice. The incorporation of spices into the paneer matrix also showed promising results concerning all the above-mentioned attributes revealing antioxidant potential. There was significant (p < 0.05) effect of treatments and storage days on antioxidant potential of paneer. The freshly prepared control paneer (P0) showed the lowest total phenol (TP), total flavonoids (TF), 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power (RP), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) values compared to all the spicy paneer (treatments). The freshly prepared control paneer (P0) showed the lowest antioxidant potential compared to all the spicy paneer (treatments). The maximum antioxidant potential was observed in the paneer having 0.3% clove (P6). All the spicy paneer showed increasing trend of all the attributes, showing antioxidant potential up to 6 days of storage, but afterwards, the activities were slightly decreased. It may be concluded that spicy paneer would be considered as a functional dairy product with enhanced sensory and antioxidant properties, and shelf stability.

Global warming and rising energy demands have increased renewable energy (RE) usage globally. Wind energy has become the most technologically advanced renewable energy source. Wind turbines (WTs) must ride through faults to ensure power system stability. On the flip side, permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG)-based wind turbine power plants (WTPPs) are susceptible to grid voltage fluctuations and require extra regulations to maintain regular operations. Due to recent changes in grid code standards, it has become vital to explore alternate fault ride-through (FRT) methods to ensure their capabilities. This research will ensure that FRT solutions available via the Web of Science (WoS) database are vetted and compared in hardware retrofitting, internal software control changes, and hybrid techniques. In addition, a bibliometric analysis is provided, which reveals an ever-increasing volume of works dedicated to the topic. After that, a literature study of FRT techniques for PMSG WTs is carried out, demonstrating the evolution of these techniques over time. This paper concludes that additional research is required to enhance FRT capabilities in PMSG wind turbines and that further attention to topics, such as machine learning tools and the combination of FRT and wind power smoothing approaches, should arise in the following years.

Chinese mandarin fruits are an inexpensive and rich source of vitamin C. They have potential benefits in treating acute respiratory infections and mitigating inflammation in critical patients with COVID-19. In Egypt, citrus is the most important fruit tree but is sensitive to salinity stress, resulting in poor vegetative tree growth and reductions in productivity and fruit quality. Magnetic iron has emerged as a promising approach in the citrus tree industry, since it improves vegetative growth, yield, and fruit quality and alleviates salinity stress in Chinese mandarin trees grown in soils suffering from high salt stress. This research is aimed at studying the influence of adding magnetic iron (as soil treatment) on tree canopy growth, yield, and fruit quality of ‘Chinese’ mandarin trees. Therefore, the treatments were as follows: 0, 250, 500, and or 750 g of magnetic iron.tree−1. Our results indicated that all applications of magnetic iron significantly improved tree canopy volume, leaf total chlorophyll, relative water content, yield (kg.tree−1), and the fruit physical and chemical characteristics of Chinese mandarin. In contrast, leaf Na and Cl content, (%), proline, and total phenolic content were decreased by magnetic iron soil treatments. In respect to vegetative growth, our results indicated that adding magnetic iron at the concentration 750 g.tree−1 caused the best values of tree canopy volume. A similar trend was noticed regarding yield. The increase in yield attained was nearly 19%; the best values were obtained when magnetic iron were used at 750 g.tree−1. In conclusion, the application of magnetic iron can lead to improved fruit production and fruit quality of Chinese mandarin trees grown in salinity stress conditions.