Dry Procedure Research Articles

Study on use of recycled waste materials on the performance of asphalt binder and mixes: A comprehensive review

All aspects of daily living frequently involve the use of plastics. Due to the lack of effective waste treatment methods, massive global environmental problems will be caused by the accumulation of waste plastics. The use of waste materials in road building is of tremendous interest since it has the potential to reduce hazards and pollution while conserving natural resources. High-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA), and polyvinyl chloride are the most appropriate and relevant of waste plastics. There are other types of waste materials used in the asphalt such as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), crumb rubber (CR), steel slag, glass powder etc. These all-waste materials have been briefly discussed. In this review article several concerns have been raised about the physical and chemical qualities, of asphalt pavements that have been mixed with waste materials. Using waste materials in asphalt pavements can raise several concerns regarding the physical and chemical qualities of the resulting mixtures. These concerns typically revolve around factors such as durability, performance, environmental impact, and overall sustainability. This research article provides a thorough analysis of the wet and dry procedures used to mix different types of waste plastics. Overall, including waste plastics into asphalt mix improved rutting, fatigue, and moisture resistance. Additionally, recycling waste plastics in this manner helps in reducing environmental pollution and conserving natural resources. Overall, the inclusion of waste plastics in asphalt mixtures can contribute to the development of more sustainable and durable pavements with improved performance in terms of rutting, fatigue, and moisture resistance. There are still certain issues like compatibility and low temperature performances that need to be addressed. To overcome the aforementioned issues, many strategies are used, including the use of nanomaterials, chemical additives, and polymer additives. Additional research should be conducted to investigate the ageing effect, pavement performance monitoring, polymer stability, and the economic and environmental considerations associated with the usage of plastics in asphalt pavements.

A program for real-time surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 genetics

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth an urgent need for widespread genomic surveillance for rapid detection and monitoring of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. It necessitated design, development, and deployment of a nationwide infrastructure designed for sequestration, consolidation, and characterization of patient samples that disseminates de-identified information to public authorities in tight turnaround times. Here, we describe our development of such an infrastructure, which sequenced 594,832 high coverage SARS-CoV-2 genomes from isolates we collected in the United States (U.S.) from March 13th 2020 to July 3rd 2023. Our sequencing protocol (‘Virseq’) utilizes wet and dry lab procedures to generate mutation-resistant sequencing of the entire SARS-CoV-2 genome, capturing all major lineages. We also characterize 379 clinically relevant SARS-CoV-2 multi-strain co-infections and ensure robust detection of emerging lineages via simulation. The modular infrastructure, sequencing, and analysis capabilities we describe support the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance program and serve as a model for rapid response to emerging pandemics at a national scale.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance under Ultraviolet and Visible Light Illumination of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Modified Sol-Gel Method.

Semiconductor oxides are frequently used as active photocatalysts for the degradation of organic agents in water polluted by domestic industry. In this study, sol-gel ZnO thin films with a grain size in the range of 7.5-15.7 nm were prepared by applying a novel two-step drying procedure involving hot air treatment at 90-95 °C followed by conventional furnace drying at 140 °C. For comparison, layers were made by standard furnace drying. The effect of hot air treatment on the film surface morphology, transparency, and photocatalytic behavior during the degradation of Malachite Green azo dye in water under ultraviolet or visible light illumination is explored. The films treated with hot air demonstrate significantly better photocatalytic activity under ultraviolet irradiation than the furnace-dried films, which is comparable with the activity of unmodified ZnO nanocrystal powders. The achieved percentage of degradation is 78-82% under ultraviolet illumination and 85-90% under visible light illumination. Multiple usages of the hot air-treated films (up to six photocatalytic cycles) are demonstrated, indicating improved photo-corrosion resistance. The observed high photocatalytic activity and good photo-corrosion stability are related to the hot air treatment, which causes a reduction of oxygen vacancies and other defects and the formation of interstitial oxygen and/or zinc vacancies in the films.

Light-Cured Junction Formation and Broad-Band Imaging Application in Thermally Mismatched van der Waals Heterointerface.

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures are mainly fabricated by a classic dry transfer procedure, but the interface quality is often subject to the vdW gap, residual strains, and defect species. The realization of interface fusion and repair holds significant implications for the modulation of multiple photoelectric conversion processes. In this work, we propose a thermally mismatched strategy to trigger broad-band and high-speed photodetection performance based on a type-I heterostructure composed of black phosphorus (BP) and FePS3 (FPS) nanoflakes. The BP acts as photothermal source to promote interface fusion when large optical power is adopted. The regulation of optical power enables the device from pyroelectric (PE) and/or alternating current photovoltaic (AC-PV) mode to a mixed photovoltaic (PV)/photothermoelectric (PTE)/PE mode. The fused heterostructure device presents an extended detection range (405~980 nm) for the FPS. The maximum responsivity and detectivity are 329.86 mA/W and 6.95 × 1010 Jones, respectively, and the corresponding external quantum efficiency (EQE) approaches ~100%. Thanks to these thermally-related photoelectric conversion mechanism, the response and decay time constants of device are as fast as 290 μs and 265 μs, respectively, superior to current all FPS-based photodetectors. The robust environmental durability also renders itself as a high-speed and broad-band imaging sensor.

Automation of Copper-Mediated 18F-Fluorination of Aryl Pinacol Boronates Using 4-Dimethylaminopyridinium Triflate.

Currently, the copper-mediated radiofluorination of aryl pinacol boronates (arylBPin) using the commercially available, air-stable Cu(OTf)2Py4 catalyst is one of the most efficient synthesis approaches, greatly facilitating access to a range of radiotracers, including drug-like molecules with nonactivated aryl scaffolds. Further adjustment of this methodology, in particular, the [18F]fluoride recovery step for the routine preparation of radiotracers, has been the focus of recent research. In our recent study, an organic solution of 4-dimethylaminopyridinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (DMAPOTf) was found to be an efficient PTC for eluting radionuclides retained on the weak anion exchange cartridge, Oasis WAX 1cc, employing the inverse sorption-elution protocol. Notably, the following Cu-mediated radiofluorination of arylBPin precursors in the presence of the Cu(OTf)2(Py)4 catalyst can be performed with high efficiency in the same solvent, bypassing not only the conventional azeotropic drying procedure but any solvent replacement. In the current study, we aimed to translate this methodology, originally developed for remote-controlled operation with manual interventions, into the automated synthesis module on the TRACERlab automation platform. The adjustment of the reagent amounts and solvents allowed for high efficiency in the radiofluorination of a series of model arylBPin substrates on the TRACERlab FXFE Pro synthesis module, which was adapted for nucleophilic radiofluorinations. The practical applicability of the developed radiofluorination approach with DMAPOTf elution was demonstrated in the automated synthesis of 6-L-[18F]FDOPA. The radiotracer was obtained with an activity yield (AY; isolated, not decay-corrected) of 5.2 ± 0.5% (n = 3), with a synthesis time of ca. 70 min on the TRACERlab FX N Pro automation platform. The obtained AY was comparable with one reported by others (6 ± 1%) using the same boronate precursor, while a slightly higher AY of 6-L-[18F]FDOPA (14.5 ± 0.5%) was achieved in our previous work using commercially available Bu4NOTf as the PTC.

Comparison of Dry, Wet and Microwave Digestion Procedures for the Determination of Heavy Metal in Yoghurt Samples

Abstract: This work proposes a novel technique for utilizing the most suitable digestion process to determine concentrations of heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Al, As, Zn, and Fe in Yoghurt samples using AAS. Conventional digestion techniques often involve time-consuming and tedious procedures, which leads to the loss of analyte and reduced accuracy. In this study, we propose the utilization of microwave-assisted digestion, a rapid and efficient technique that offers complete digestion of the samples and minimizes the risk of analyte loss. In order to get optimal efficiency and precision, this study outlines the optimization of the microwave-assisted digestion parameters, such as power, time, and reagent concentrations. The proposed method was validated by calculating the recovery % among dry, wet and microwave digestion methods. Results show that among all, the recovery percentage was found to be highest in the microwave digestion method.

The effects of sequencing strategies on Metagenomic pathogen detection using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples

ObjectivesMetagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is a powerful tool for pathogen detection. The accuracy depends on both wet lab and dry lab procedures. The objective of our study was to assess the influence of read length and dataset size on pathogen detection. MethodsIn this study, 43 clinical BALF samples, which tested positive via clinical mNGS and were consistent with the diagnosis, were subjected to re-sequencing on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. The raw re-sequencing data, consisting of 100 million (M) paired-end 150 bp (PE150) reads, were divided into simulated datasets with eight different data sizes (5 M, 10 M, 15 M, 20 M, 30 M, 50 M, 75 M, 100 M) and five different read lengths (single-end 50 bp (SE50), SE75, SE100, PE100, and PE150). Both Kraken2 and IDseq bioinformatics pipelines were employed to analyze the previously diagnosed pathogens in the simulated data. Detection of pathogens was based on read counts ranging from 1 to 10 and RPM values ranging from 0.2 to 2. ResultsOur results revealed that increasing dataset sizes and read lengths can enhance the performance of mNGS in pathogen detection. However, a larger data sizes for mNGS require higher economic costs and longer turnaround time for data analysis. Our findings indicate 20 M reads being sufficient for SE75 mode to achieve high recall rates. Additionally, high nucleic acid loads in samples can lead to increased stability in pathogen detection efficiency, reducing the impact of sequencing strategies. The choice of bioinformatics pipelines had a significant impact on recall rates achieved in pathogen detection. ConclusionsIncreasing dataset sizes and read lengths can enhance the performance of mNGS in pathogen detection but increase the economic and time costs of sequencing and data analysis. Currently, the 20 M reads in SE75 mode may be the best sequencing option.

An Overview on Pulmonary Insulin

Pulmonary insulin as an alternative to intravascular, intramuscular, and subcutaneous insulin administration, non-invasive insulin administration was created and implemented. It enters the lungs' alveoli through an as-yet-unidentified paracellular process, traverses the alveolar wall, and then circulates throughout the bloodstream. Inhaled insulin was divided into two categories based on its mechanism of action: 1. Rapid acting pulmonary insulin, which quickly disintegrates in the alveoli and circulates throughout the bloodstream as fine powder particles; and 2. slow acting pulmonary insulin. Recently, two technologies were developed: pulmosol powder technology, which employs a rapid drying procedure to make insulin particles of the right size and chemical stability, and AIR technology, which is a porous dry particle aerosol technology. Dry powders, liquid aerosols in cartridge-shaped inhalers, passive inhalers, Microprocessor-controlled inhalers, and liquid nebulizers were the various ways that inhaled insulin was delivered. Many studies have been conducted to examine various intrapulmonary delivery methods, and in January 2006, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized exubera, a dry powder passive inhaler, as the first pulmonary inhaled insulin. The pharmacokinetics of inhaled insulin, dosage guidelines, administration tools, benefits and drawbacks, and candidates for inhaled insulin administration are all discussed in this article.

Immediate dry decontamination using efficient absorbent materials is beneficial following skin exposure to low-volatile toxic chemicals.

In a chemical mass casualty incident requiring skin decontamination, dry removal using absorbent materials may be beneficial to enable immediate decontamination. The efficacy of absorbent materials has therefore been evaluated, alone or procedures including both dry and wet decontamination, following skin exposure to two low volatile toxic chemicals using an in vitro human skin penetration model. Additionally, removal using active carbon wipes was evaluated with or without the Dahlgren Decon solution. All dry decontamination procedures resulted in a significantly decreased skin penetration rate of the industrial chemical 2-butoxyethanol compared to the control without decontamination. Wet decontamination following dry absorption significantly improved the efficacy compared to dry removal alone. Dry decontamination post-exposure to the chemical warfare nerve agent VX showed no decontamination efficacy. However, dry and wet decontamination resulted in a decreased agent skin penetration rate during the last hour of the experiment. At -15°C, significantly reduced VX skin penetration rates were demonstrated for both dry decontamination alone and the dry and wet decontamination procedure. The Dahlgren Decon solution significantly reduced the amount of VX penetrating the skin, but the active carbon wipe alone did not impact the skin penetration rate. In conclusion, absorbent materials are beneficial for the removal of low-volatile chemicals from the skin, but the degree of efficacy varies between chemicals. Despite the variability, immediate dry decontamination using available absorbent materials prior to wet decontamination is recommended as a general procedure for skin decontamination. The procedure should also be prioritized in cold-weather conditions to prevent patient hypothermia.

Drying and Tempering Influence on the Milling Quality of Parboiled Rice

Rice occurrence and dealings are features of the tradition of Bangladesh’s populace. However, their experience of parboiled paddy for domestic consumption is limited. Proper drying and tempering are very important for maximum milling output. The study was conducted to investigate the drying and tempering influence on the milling quality of parboiled paddy. The sample size of the paddy was 36 kg as per treatment. In the case of T1 (daily 4 hours sun drying) and T2 (daily 5 hours sun drying), 1-hour drying and 1/2 hour tempering were maintained, and for T3 (daily 4 hours sun drying) and T4 (daily 5 hours sun drying), 1-hour drying, and 1-hour tempering were maintained. The temperature of the paddy sample was varied from 18 °C to 42 °C in five treatments. Drying over three days at different time intervals led to reduced moisture content (from 23.42% to 9.24%), resulting in increased kernel hardness for reduced breakage during milling. The highest kernel strength after three days of drying was found to be 50.65 N/m for T4. The relative humidity, day temperature, air flow velocity, and solar radiation varied from 48% to 78%, 24 °C to 29 °C, 0.00 to 0.70 m/s, and 64450 to 108100 lux, respectively. Based on milled rice, the best milling output and head rice recovery were found to be 20.51 kg and 19.80 kg, respectively, for T4. The lowest quantity of broken rice was 0.50 kg found for T1 and T4, respectively. The lowest quantity of loss was 1.10 kg for T2, and the lowest quantity of husk and bran was 6.88 kg for T4. Results showed that among the five treatments, 5 hours of sun drying daily, maintaining the procedure of 1-hour drying and 1-hour tempering until the moisture content is reduced to 10% (T4), is more effective for increasing milling recovery.

PEA GRAINS IN DRYING: UNRAVELING THE KINETICS OF HOT-AIR DRYING AND EXPLORING MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR MOISTURE DIFFUSION

Pea drying studies were assessed to learn more about the kinetics and properties of drying in a hot-air dryer. Research was done on impact of temperatures and pre-treatments on drying behaviours. The drying rate graphs demonstrated that the entire drying procedure took place when rates were declining. To properly understand the experimental data, four mathematical models (Henderson & Pabis, Page, Wang & Singh, and Aghbashlo et al.) were used. The Page model was discovered to be the ideal one to depict peas' curves of drying. The identification of the Page model as the most suitable for depicting pea drying curves underscored the applicability in modeling drying behaviors in similar agricultural products. With Fick's second law of diffusion, effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) sorted from 2.45x10-10 to 6.55x10-10 m2/s at given temperature. Deff was expressed as a function of temperature with an Arrhenius type equation. For samples from Potas, Blanch, and Control codes, the activation energy for moisture diffusion was computed as 21.48, 22.82, and 22.32 kJ/mol, respectively. The computation of activation energy for moisture diffusion for different samples offered practical information for optimizing drying processes under various conditions. The results showed the importance of pea drying kinetics and practical implications for industry on drying efficiency and product quality.

Hybrid graphene-high-aspect ratio plasmonic nanograting systems

One-dimensional plasmonic nanogratings (1D-PNGs) with high aspect ratios and narrow grooves promise enhanced coupling for hybrid graphene systems with the localized surface plasmon of the metallic grating and graphene surface plasmons. However, both the fabrication of the 1D-PNG and the application of graphene to it are difficult. We developed 1D-PNGs with a high aspect ratio of 15 and narrow grooves of 100 nm in width using the tapered mold method and a dry graphene-transfer procedure. Raman spectroscopy measurements showed that monolayer graphene was successfully transferred onto the 1D-PNGs, and the graphene was strongly doped with Au in the 1D-PNGs. Graphene on narrow grooves (free-standing graphene) demonstrated an almost identical p-doping level to graphene on Au because the narrow groove width allowed sufficient doping by Au for graphene on grooves. Reflectance measurements showed that the 1D-PNGs exhibited polarization- and wavelength-selective absorption at infrared (IR) wavelengths, and the effect of graphene blue-shifted the absorption peak wavelength induced by the surface plasmon resonance of 1D-PNGs. Numerical calculations agree well with these experimental results and indicate that the electric field strongly localizes on graphene in the grooves. Moreover, the doping level tunes the absorption wavelength owing to the coupling with graphene plasmons and the surface plasmon resonance of 1D-PNGs. This could provide electrical tunability to the graphene plasmons. Our fabrication procedure produced hybrid graphene-1D-PNGs with high aspect ratios and narrow groove systems for IR wavelengths. This system can contribute to developing high-performance electrically tunable graphene-based IR photodetectors, tunable IR emitters/absorbers, and biological sensors.

Room temperature 3D printing of high-temperature engineering polymer and its nanocomposites with porosity control for multifunctional structures

There is an increasing demand for the development of additive manufacturing techniques that support diverse materials with specific properties and performance characteristics. Engineering polymers are a type of high-performance material with lightweight, strong, and heat resistant. These properties enable replacing more dense materials, such as metals, and make them essential for application in various high-tech industries. Polyamide-imide (PAI) is an advanced engineering polymer with exceptional mechanical properties and thermal stability. However, due to the high glass transition temperature (Tg), the additive manufacturing of PAI 3D structures has not been realized through existing technologies. This study demonstrates room-temperature 3D printing for the PAI and PAI-based functional nanocomposite. Moreover, through a designed post-process drying procedure to control porosity, it is possible to enhance 3D structures' mechanical properties and functionality. The nanocomposite 3D systems exhibit a tensile strength of up to 105 MPa and Tg of 295 °C with aramid nanofibers, and an electrical conductivity of 200 S/m at 250 °C with carbon nanotubes. Given the high performance of printed nanocomposites with designed processes, we explore the potential and expended usage of more robust and lightweight polymer structures featuring diverse functionality for high-tech industries such as aerospace, air mobility, and semiconductor packaging.

Fabrication of MOF-rGO aerogels to enhance electromagnetic wave absorption by adjusting the morphology and structure of MOFs by electron transfer

Graphene and its derivatives have become the star materials in the field of electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption, and have been widely studied because of their unique structure and excellent properties. However, the high electrical conductivity of graphene-based material leads to poor impedance matching performances, so it often needs to be annealed at high temperatures, which is a intricate procedure and cause the waste of energy. Herein, we develop a convenient strategy to synthesize metal organic framework-reduced graphene oxide (MOF-rGO) aerogels through facile hydrothermal and freeze drying procedure. Firstly, the excessive electrons on graphene can be transferred to MOF, in this way, no annealing is needed. Secondly, the morphology and structure of MOF can be regulated electronically to endow the material with rich heterojunction interfaces and enhance its interfacial polarization. Thirdly, the synthesized aerogels satisfy the requirements of thin thickness, low density and light weight. The fabricated Ni-MOF-rGO and FeNi-MOF-rGO aerogels exhibit remarkable EMW absorption performances with strong reflection loss (RL) and broad effective absorption band (EAB) at the thickness of 2.4 (−47.8 dB and 7.84 GHz) and 2.9 mm (−48.3 dB and 8.32 GHz) whereas the filling contents are just 5 %. Moreover, the attenuation capacity of the fabricated aerogels are verified through the radar-section simulation and the interfacial polarization loss are confirmed by the COMSOL analogue simulation. In a word, this work provides a new afflatus and inspiration for the design of graphene-based EMW absorption materials.

Evaluating silicosis risk: Assessing dust constitution and influence of water as a primary prevention measure in cutting and polishing of silica agglomerates, granite and marble

An increasing number of silicosis cases have been reported related to the use of silica agglomerates. Many studies agree on the severity of this disease, which often presents with severe clinical forms in young workers and after a short latency period.Are there differences in the composition of dust generated by cutting and polishing with silica agglomerates versus granite and marble? Does the use of water injection reduce the risk associated with the use of these materials?We carried out a comparative observational-analytical study, measuring the concentration of dust generated during different machining operations on three different materials: granite, marble, and silica agglomerates. The effect of water injection on dust generation was evaluated.Personal sampling pumps were used, connected to a cyclone with polyvinyl chloride filters. The flow rate of the pumps was adjusted using a piston flowmeter. Measurements with a cascade impactor were made to assess the size distribution of respirable crystalline silica particles within the respirable fraction. In addition, environmental measurements with a spectrometer were made.10 tests were carried out on granite and silica agglomerates for each procedure. In the case of marble, with very low silica content, only 2 tests of each type were carried out. Duration of each measurement was between 6 and 25 min. Cleaning times were set for each of the operations.The amount of dust collected in the respirable fraction was 70.85, 32.50 and 35.78 mg/m3 for dry cutting; 6.50, 3.75 and 3.95 mg/m3 for wet cutting; and 21.35, 13.68 and 17.50 mg/m3 for dry polishing, for granite, marble, and silica agglomerates respectively.Dry procedures in marble, silica agglomerates and granite showed higher dust concentration of particles smaller than 0.5 μm. Silica agglomerates showed higher concentrations of respirable crystalline silica particles than granite and marble, mainly with dry procedures. The greater production of small particles in dry and wet procedures with silica agglomerates shows that water injection is an insufficient preventive measure.

Cellulose Diacetate Aerogels with Low Drying Shrinkage, High-Efficient Thermal Insulation, and Superior Mechanical Strength.

The inherent characteristics of cellulose-derived aerogels, such as their natural abundance and environmental friendliness, make them highly interesting. However, its significant shrinkage before and after the supercritical drying procedure and low mechanical strength limit its potential application. Here, we propose a strategy to prepare cellulose diacetate aerogels (CDAAs) with low drying shrinkage, exceptional thermal insulation, and superior mechanical strength. The low drying shrinkage (radial drying shrinkage of 1.4%) of CDAAs is attributed to their relative strong networking skeletons, which are greatly formed by tert-butanol solvent exchange in exerting the interaction of reducing the surface tension force. In this case, CDAAs are eventually endowed with the low bulk density of 0.069 g cm-3 as well. Additionally, as-prepared CDAAs possess an abundant three-dimensional networking structure whose pore size is concentrated in the diameter range of ~50 nm, and the result above is beneficial for improving the thermal insulation performance (thermal conductivity of 0.021 W m-1 K-1 at ambient environmental and pressure conditions). On the other hand, the optimal compressive stresses of CDAAs at 3% and 5% strain are 0.22 and 0.27 MPa respectively, indicating a mechanically well robustness. The above evidence demonstrates indeed the exceptional thermal insulation and superior compressive properties of CDAAs. This work may provide a new solution for developing a kind of high-performance cellulose-derived aerogel in the future.

Novel insights into the biopolymers transformation under wastewater sludge drying process at different temperatures in relation to drying behavior

The biopolymers are regarded as the leading role on the water evaporation in thermal drying process for sludges. Herein, the relationships between molecular transformation and water-holding capacities of biopolymers in sludge drying was investigated by multispectral methods coupled with FT-ICR MS technique. Our results showed that the exposure of hydrophobic groups in biopolymers was affected by drying temperature, causing significant differences upon water molecules binding and evaporation. In particular, below 120 °C, there was no obvious changes on the structural compositions of hydrophilia and hydrophobic compounds in sludge. Between 120 °C and 150 °C, the macromolecules were broken into smaller molecules with abundant hydrophobic groups exposing, resulted in efficient water evaporation with lower moisture in sludge. However, organics containing –NH and –C=O groups were aggregated via Maillard reaction at higher temperature (＞150 oC), the water molecules were trapped inside the Maillard products, and more energy was required to destroy the structure of organics for water evaporation, ended with higher moisture of dried sludges. In addition, a strong correlation between the hydrophilic index and CHON/CHONS distributions of extracted proteins in dried-sludge (DS) indicated that the water holding capacity and evaporation relied more on the spatial exposure of hydrophilic groups rather than their content. These implied that preventing the aggregation of hydrophilic functional groups (–NH and –C=O) in proteins was the key to eliminating the inhibitory of hydrophilic compounds in the biopolymers-bound water evaporation, and drying temperature below 150 °C was recommended. This study provides a mechanistic basis for better understanding of the biopolymer transformation (especially hydrophilic compounds) in drying process, and enable development of a more efficient and energy-saving drying procedure for sludges.

Pneumothorax as a complication of dry needling technique.

Post-dry needling pneumothorax is not extremely rare. Patients and referring doctors should be aware of this. Informed consent should mention pneumothorax as a considerable risk of dry needling procedures in the neck, shoulder or chest region. https://bit.ly/49YYNR8.

Zein-Based Nanoparticles as Active Platforms for Sustainable Applications: Recent Advances and Perspectives.

Nanomaterials, due to their unique structural and functional features, are widely investigated for potential applications in a wide range of industrial sectors. In this context, protein-based nanoparticles, given proteins' abundance, non-toxicity, and stability, offer a promising and sustainable methodology for encapsulation and protection, and can be used in engineered nanocarriers that are capable of releasing active compounds on demand. Zein is a plant-based protein extracted from corn, and it is biocompatible, biodegradable, and amphiphilic. Several approaches and technologies are currently involved in zein-based nanoparticle preparation, such as antisolvent precipitation, spray drying, supercritical processes, coacervation, and emulsion procedures. Thanks to their peculiar characteristics, zein-based nanoparticles are widely used as nanocarriers of active compounds in targeted application fields such as drug delivery, bioimaging, or soft tissue engineering, as reported by others. The main goal of this review is to investigate the use of zein-based nanocarriers for different advanced applications including food/food packaging, cosmetics, and agriculture, which are attracting researchers' efforts, and to exploit the future potential development of zein NPs in the field of cultural heritage, which is still relatively unexplored. Moreover, the presented overview focuses on several preparation methods (i.e., antisolvent processes, spry drying), correlating the different analyzed methodologies to NPs' structural and functional properties and their capability to act as carriers of bioactive compounds, both to preserve their activity and to tune their release in specific working conditions.

Comparison of microwave and vacuum oven drying on the amino acid composition and antioxidant properties of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) prepupae

Hermetia illucens or black soldier fly (BSF) is one of the edible insects with the potential to replace animal protein in feed. This study is aimed to compare the effect of microwave oven drying and vacuum drying on its biochemical, antioxidant and physicochemical properties of BSFP to produce shelf-stable animal feed. BSF larvae were fed with fruit waste until prepupal stage and subsequently the prepupae were harvested for drying process using microwave-oven drying (MD-BSFP) and vacuum-oven drying (VD-BSFP). Based on the experimental result, the crude protein of VD-BSFP (31.00%) was higher than MD-BSFP (16.90%) which was significantly different at p < 0.05. Furthermore, the proportion of EAA to total amino acids (E/T) attained using MD-BSFP (24.64%) was significantly higher than that of VD-BSFP (7.86%). In addition, VD-BSFP (12.0 ± 3.0%) had higher free radical scavenging activity than MD-BSFP (5.7 ± 0.2%) at p < 0.05. In conclusion, VD is more preferable than MD as a drying procedure to produce BSFP powder with lower moisture content, higher protein content and antioxidant properties.