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Food safety is a major concern globally. However, safe and effective insecticidal agents are required. In this assay, the composition and insecticidal effects of essential oils (EOs) in Melicope pteleifolia and M. patulinervia leaves, stems, and fruits against Lasioderma serricorne and Liposcelis bostrychophila were evaluated. The aim of the study was to explore a safe plant source of EOs that can be used to develop insecticides. The EOs in the leaves, fruits, and stems from M. pteleifolia were represented as AMPL, AMPF, and AMPS, respectively. The EOs from the three M. patulinervia parts were represented as BMPL, BMPF, and BMPS. EOs were extracted using the hydrodistillation method. Qualitative and quantitative analyses by GC–MS revealed that the EOs primarily comprised monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, alcohols, and esters. Elsholtzione occurred in high proportions in the plant extracts. The comprehensive evaluation method of weighted coefficient was used to evaluate the exploring potential of each EO based on the insecticidal effects. The results showed that BMPL, AMPS, and AMPL had the highest fumigation, contact, and repellent effects against the insects. BMPL had the highest comprehensive score at 0.91. These findings indicated that all the plant extracts had insecticidal effects, with BMPL demonstrating the highest effect and can be used to develop plant-based insecticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Induction heating of asphalt concrete has the characteristics of high crack repair efficiency and environmental sustainability. However, the uneven temperature distribution and local overheating obstruct its widespread application. Therefore, this paper conducted a pixel-level quantitative analysis of the temperature distribution characteristics and local overheating phenomenon on both the upper and side surfaces of asphalt concrete with different steel fiber (SF) contents after continuous heating. The temperature distribution was visualized by three-dimensional (3D) heat maps and violin maps. The uniformity of temperature was analyzed by the slope absolute value of the linear fitting results and the ratio of the interquartile range to the range. Results indicated that high SF content accelerated the heating rate of asphalt concrete but decreased the temperature uniformity. Localized overheating caused thermal expansion damage in asphalt mixtures, and the sample with 10% SF had both 304.2°C (maximum) and 79.7°C (minimum) upper surface temperatures at 60 s of heating, with local structural disintegration of the mixture. Higher heating uniformity and faster heating rates were achieved for samples with 6% SF content. The heating rate decreased with increasing heating time. The upper surface of the sample with 8% SF can be heated up the fastest (2.28°C/s). It is recommended that the maximum temperature of the upper surface be controlled during induction heating to avoid thermal damage. This proposal provides a reference for the practical application of induction heating technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liangshan Prefecture, located at the northeastern edge of the Hengduan Mountain System and within the southern section of the Sichuan-Yunnan tectonic belt in Sichuan Province, China, a region prone to landslides, collapses and debris flows due to its active tectonics, complex topography and significant river erosion. By analysing a dataset of environment factors and geological hazard catalogue, the research uses the Relief algorithm to identify critical influencing factors for each hazard type, selecting 10, 9 and 9 factors for landslides, collapses and debris flows, respectively. Five models are used to assess the vulnerability of these hazards: the Information Value model, the Evidence Weight model, the Logistic Regression model, and both the Evidence Weight-Logistic Regression and the Information Value-Logistic Regression coupled models. The effectiveness of these models is confirmed by confusion matrix and ROC curve analyses, with the combined models showing particularly high accuracy in assessing susceptibility. High risk zones were identified in specific areas and along major fault zones in Liangshan Prefecture. The research provides significant insights into the susceptibility of geological hazards in mountainous and canyon regions, offering a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the limitations of single model applications. This methodology not only provides more accurate and comprehensive results, but also serves as a fundamental reference for geological hazard mitigation and management in Liangshan Prefecture, potentially benefiting similar regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Induction healing technology can effectively repair microcracks in asphalt mixtures and is a promising maintenance technology for asphalt pavements. However, it requires the addition of steel wool fibers to asphalt mixtures and cannot be directly used to repair existing pavements. In order to improve the practicality of the induction healing technology, this article designs a wearing course asphalt mixture with induction healing function that is going to be paved above the existing road surface. The AC-10 asphalt wearing course for induction heating was prepared by adding steel fiber (SF). Analysis of the overall temperature of the surface revealed the unevenness of the temperature distribution, and the healing properties were investigated through protective heating that controlled the maximum temperature of the upper surface. The results show that the addition of SF can improve the high-temperature stability, low-temperature and intermediate-temperature crack resistance, and moisture stability of asphalt wearing courses; however, it has adverse effects on volumetric performance and skid resistance. The heating temperature increases with the increase in SF content, but higher maximum temperature heating rate causes worse heating uniformity and lower healing effect. The maximum heating rate of the sample with 10% SF reaches 3.92 °C/s, while its heating rate at minimum temperature is similar to that of the sample with 6% SF, which is only 0.7 °C/s, indicating the worst heating uniformity. The best healing effect occurs when the maximum temperature of the upper surface reaches 160 °C. The recommended optimal SF content is 6% of the asphalt volume. The asphalt mixture with 6% SF has an appropriate volume performance, moisture stability, and skid resistance; additionally, it has the best high-temperature stability, as well as low-temperature and intermediate-temperature crack resistance. Meanwhile, it also has uniform temperature distribution and efficient healing efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tree rings have recently become a widely used tool in landslide studies. • We explore the potential of trees in providing a new ecosystem service of landslide monitoring. • We present results obtained for 48 Nepalese alders sampled on a landslide in the Moxi basin, Sichuan, China. • Dendrochronology can provide data for landslide hazard assessment, monitoring and prediction. Landslides are destructive geomorphological processes that cause economic and social losses. This stimulates the development of new tools related to landslide hazard. Recently, trees, their growth rings and dendrochronology have become widely used in landslide studies. Thus, this study aims to explore the potential of trees in providing landslide-monitoring ecosystem services through dendrochronology. In our opinion, establishing such an idea would help promote empirical evidence on the efficiency of tree-ring-based tools to decision-makers. We use the example of a landslide in the Moxi basin, Sichuan, China and present results of dendrochronological analysis of growth eccentricity in 48 Nepalese alder (Alnus nepalensis) trees. This analysis provided data on event timing and magnitudes, average frequency and recurrence interval for reactivation of the study landslide, as well as spatial variability of landslide active. Based on dendrochronological data we were also able to determine the current slope balance and general hazard of landslide reactivation on the study slope. Our study shows that trees and dendrochronology can provide data on the activity of landslides that can complement and improve the results of standard engineering methods. Moreover, dendrochronology itself can provide the full information needed for landslide hazard assessment, monitoring and prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]