High Technology Research Articles

Different behavior of two strains of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus intraradices on Senecio bonariensis Hook. & Arn. against heavy metal soil pollution: a pilot-scale test.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have different biological mechanisms to alleviate stressful conditions in heavy metals (HMs) polluted soil. These mechanisms were widely assessed under controlled/greenhouse conditions, but scarcely studied at pilot or territory scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of two Rhizophagus intraradices strains isolated from soils with different histories of pollution, in association with Senecio bonariensis plants, growing in an engineering vegetal depuration module filled with artificially HMs polluted substrate. Plants inoculated with GC3 strain uptook low amounts of HMs and translocated them to shoot biomass. Heavy metals (Mg, Zn, Mn, Cr, Cu and Ni) and macronutrients (Ca, K, S and P) were accumulated in roots of S. bonariensis when inoculated with GB8 strain, limiting their translocation to the shoot. Uninoculated plants showed high translocation of all studied elements to shoot tissues. Concluding, tested R. intraradices strains have exhibited different phytoprotection mechanisms under extremely toxic concentrations of HMs. Moreover, the development of the assay at such a high Technological Readiness Level represents a novel contribution in this field of study.

Economic Effectiveness and Forecasting of Scientific Activity in Azerbaijan

In the conditions of increasing international competition, sustainable development of the economy is considered to be one of the priority areas of scientific activities in the country. Since science and high technologies are the fundamental basis of innovative development, the strengthening of scientific, technical, and innovative potential for countries is considered as the goal of economic policy. In this context, the ability to achieve achievements related to scientific activity and to implement the obtained results becomes one of the factors that ensure the competitiveness of both the economy and fields and subjects in the global competitive environment. The effectiveness of scientific activity directly depends on the funding of research and development. The comparison of costs and results is closely related to the consideration of different time intervals between financing and the achievement of commercial results. Therefore, investments related to the commercialization of science appear as investments in the future. Thus, the application of the results of scientific activity to production, being considered an important factor of production intensification, ensures the increase of labor productivity, the reduction of production costs, and the improvement of the efficiency of capital investments. These, in turn, are the main conditions for the effectiveness of the integration of science and production. In the research, the effectiveness of scientific activity, the factors affecting it, the possibilities of expanding the application of scientific activity to production, and the forecast indicators of the volume of scientific and technical works shortly are determined.

Redox-neutral electrochemical decontamination of hypersaline wastewater with high technology readiness level.

Industrial hypersaline wastewaters contain diverse pollutants that harm the environment. Recovering clean water, alkali and acid from these wastewaters can promote circular economy and environmental protection. However, current electrochemical and advanced oxidation processes, which rely on hydroxyl radicals to degrade organic compounds, are inefficient and energy intensive. Here we report a flow-through redox-neutral electrochemical reactor (FRER) that effectively removes organic contaminants from hypersaline wastewaters via the chlorination-dehalogenation-hydroxylation route involving radical-radical cross-coupling. Bench-scale experiments demonstrate that the FRER achieves over 75% removal of total organic carbon across various compounds, and it maintains decontamination performance for over 360 h and continuously treats real hypersaline wastewaters for two months without corrosion. Integrating the FRER with electrodialysis reduces operating costs by 63.3% and CO2 emissions by 82.6% when compared with traditional multi-effect evaporation-crystallization techniques, placing our system at technology readiness levels of 7-8. The desalinated water, high-purity NaOH (>95%) and acid produced offset industrial production activities and thus support global sustainable development objectives.

Se-rich tea polysaccharide extracted by high hydrostatic pressure attenuated anaphylaxis by improving gut microbiota and metabolic regulation

Selenium-rich tea polysaccharides (Se-TPS) were extracted via high hydrostatic pressure technology with a pressure of 400 MPa (200–500 MPa) for 10 min (3–20 min) at a material-to-solvent ratio of 1:40 (1:20–1:50). Subsequently, Se-TPS1–4 were isolated and purified, with Se-TPS3–4 as the main components. A spectral analysis proved that Se, which has antioxidant activity, existed. An in vitro study found that among Se-TPS, Se-TPS3–4 attenuated the release of β-hexosaminidase, histamine, and interleukin (IL)-4. Furthermore, in vivo experiments revealed that treatment with Se-TPS downregulated IL-4 levels and upregulated TGF-β and interferon-γ levels to improve imbalanced Th1/Th2 immunity in tropomyosin-sensitized mice. Moreover, Se-TPS promoted Lactobacillus and norank_f_Muribaculaceaek growth and upregulated metabolites such as genipin and coniferyl alcohol. Overall, these results showed the strong anti-allergy potential of Se-TPS by regulating mast cell-mediated allergic inflammatory responses and microbiota regulation, highlighting the potential of Se-TPS as a novel therapeutic agent to regulate allergy-associated metabolic disorders.

Effect of Moringa oleifera leaf polysaccharide on the composition of intestinal microbiota in mice with dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis

Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) is a natural plant that has excellent nutritional and medicinal potential. M. oleifera leaves (MOL) contain several bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effect of MOL polysaccharide (MOLP) on intestinal flora in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) mice. DSS-induced colitis was deemed to be a well-characterized experimental colitis model for investigating the protective effect of drugs on UC. In this study, we stimulated the experimental mice with DSS 4% for 7 days and prepared the high dose of MOLP (MOLP-H) in order to evaluate its effect on intestinal flora in DSS-induced UC mice, comparing three experimental groups, including the control, DSS model, and DSS + MOLP-H (100 mg/kg/day). At the end of the experiment, feces were collected, and the changes in intestinal flora in DSS-induced mice were analyzed based on 16S rDNA high throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the Shannon, Simpson, and observed species indices of abundance decreased in the DSS group compared with the control group. However, the indices mentioned above were increased in the MOLP-H group. According to beta diversity analysis, the DSS group showed low bacterial diversity and the distance between the control and MOLP-H groups, respectively. In addition, compared with the control group, the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the DSS group decreased and the abundance of Helicobacter increased, while MOLP-H treatment improves intestinal health by enhancing the number of beneficial organisms, including Firmicutes, while reducing the number of pathogenic organisms, such as Helicobacter. In conclusion, these findings suggest that MOLP-H may be a viable prebiotic with health-promoting properties.

Large-eddy simulation investigation on the effects of inlet swirl/Reynolds number and fuel heating value on a turbulent kerosene spray flame

To progress toward the high efficiency and low emission aviation engine technology, it is mandatory to understand the complex phenomena including kerosene spray atomization, evaporation, turbulent mixing and combustion in the engine combustor. Nowadays with the rapid growth of computational capacity over the world, large-eddy simulation (LES) performs a more and more important role in understanding the complex multi-phase combustion process of kerosene fuels in aviation engine configuration. In the present work, LES is employed to investigate a swirling kerosene spray jet flame in a model combustor, which has been studied experimentally. The turbulent combustion is modeled by the flamelet generated manifold (FGM) approach with a 3-component surrogate kerosene skeletal mechanism. The averaged gas velocity and temperature predicted by LES generally agrees well with the experimental measurements. Local extinction is observed at the inner shear layer of the swirling spray flame, due to droplet-turbulence-flame interactions. A parametric study with 11 cases is then performed to investigate the effects of inlet swirl/Reynolds number and fuel heating value on the kerosene flame. As the swirl number increases, the enhanced turbulent mixing between kerosene fuel and air facilitates the combustion process, but combustion instabilities may occur if the swirl number is too high. A higher Reynolds number can promote the turbulent combustion via a stronger recirculation zone, but it also has strong dilution effects on the combustion field. Variations in the fuel heating value directly impact the temperature field, but the flow field, major species concentrations and droplet phase statistics are only slightly affected. These LES results give clues to achieve optimal combustion performance in realistic aviation engine configurations via better arrangements of fuel and air injections.

Ternary nano-composite wireless ammonia sensor based on Polyaniline/CuTsPc/AgNPs for food intelligent packaging

The integration of gas sensing unit and low-cost wireless communication equipment enables real-time detection of various environmental gases, which is of great significance for food safety, medical diagnosis and environmental monitoring. In this study, copper phthalocyanine powder (CuTsPc) was prepared by high temperature solid phase melting technology. Ternary ammonia sensors with exceptional sensitivity to ammonia and conductivity were successfully fabricated by growing polyaniline/copper phthalocyanine/silver nanoparticles (PANI/CuTsPc/AgNPs) composites on polyethylene terephthalate films by in-situ polymerization. The morphology and composition of the films were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM, respectively. The ammonia sensing performance of the films at room temperature was systematically investigated. It is found that the flexible PANI/CuTsPc/AgNPs gas sensor exhibited rapid response time (61s), fast recovery time (19s), low theoretical detection limit (0.234 ppm), high response value (3.6 towards 500 ppm NH3), and excellent stability at room temperature. These remarkable response characteristics can be attributed to the synergistic effect between protonic acid-doped PANI, CuTSPc derivatives with an electron-withdrawing group, and AgNPs possessing both chemical sensitisation and electron sensitisation. Finally, the sensor material was transformed into a label antenna pattern as well as sensor transducer through series and parallel antenna loop access methods to create a wireless sensor system based on near-field communication (NFC). This system can offer real-time sensing and monitoring of changes in food packaging environment by non-contact recognition way, making it highly promising for future applications in intelligent packaging.

High Power Density Technology of Propulsion Motors for Electric Aircraft

High Power Density Technology of Propulsion Motors for Electric Aircraft

Large Capacity and High Energy Density Technology for Batteries and Fuel Cells

Large Capacity and High Energy Density Technology for Batteries and Fuel Cells

Digital technology integration in business model innovation for carbon neutrality: An evolutionary process model for SMEs

This study delves into the strategies employed by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to embed digital technology into their business models, aiming to reach carbon neutrality. We offer a comprehensive analysis of five high technology SMEs, unveiling an evolutionary process model that highlights their journey toward integrating technology. The integration process is delineated into three progressive stages. Initially, digital technology is seen as an ‘enabler’ that promotes the birth of an innovative business model, essentially transforming the mechanisms of value creation, delivery, and capture. As SMEs evolve to an intermediate stage, digital technology becomes a ‘disruptor’, reshaping and reinventing the business model in terms of how value is created, delivered, and captured. Entering the maturity stage, digital technology is elevated to the role of ‘expertise’, leading to a sophisticated business model that refines and optimizes these aspects of value. The influence of these business model innovations on carbon neutrality is complex and varies distinctly with each stage, reflecting the dynamic interplay between digital technology and business model evolution.

2022 개정 기술과 교육과정 개발과 주요 특징

The purpose of this study was to develop the 2022 revised technology and curriculum. The study was divided into primary and secondary research according to the government's curriculum development process. The research methods used in this study included literature research, expert consultation, Delphi survey, and policy consultation. One of the most important features of the 2022 revised technology subject curriculum development is that the participation of professors at technology teacher training institutions and current technology teachers increased compared to the previous curriculum. As a result of this participation and discussion, the results of the 2022 revised technology subject curriculum development study were derived. The results of this study are summarized as follows. First, the middle school technology curriculum was developed into two major areas: technological problem solving and innovation, and sustainable technology and convergence. Second, the high school technology curriculum was composed and developed with technology and home economics as general electives, robots and the world of engineering as career electives, and creative engineering design and general intellectual property as convergence electives. Third, all curriculum were developed by dividing them into changed content elements: knowledge/understanding, process/skill, value/attitude, and achievement standards were developed through combination of content elements. Fourth, the high school technology curriculum strengthened the nature of the engineering field and attempted to preserve the purpose of the high school credit system. The development process and main features of the 2022 revised technology subject curriculum can be used as explanatory material for future curriculum implementation, monitoring of future curriculum, and basic data for the next curriculum.

Analysis of Japan’s Experience of Implementing Technological Sovereignty Strategy

The article discusses the purpose of technological sovereignty of each state and its role for economic sustainability. The essence of technological sovereignty in the aspect of various scientific approaches is revealed as well as the boundaries of the sovereignty type under consideration are determined, taking into account production and knowledge-intensive components. Attention is focused on the features of Japan’s transition from a state in isolation to a state interacting with the outside world through technology. The essence of Japan’s approach to ensuring its own economic stability against the background of technological production is revealed. Japan’s place in the world rankings is considered in terms of technology and the number of registered patents for inventions. The indicators of capital investments, industry priorities, labor force in technological industries, the level of exports of goods and services from GDP, the trade balance from GDP, the level of exports of high technologies for 2020–2022 against the background of strengthening Japan’s technological sovereignty are analyzed. The forecast estimates of the technological future of Japan are determined, taking into account the priority in the national economy and the specifics of entering the foreign market with a new technological development. These forward-looking estimates take into account the specifics of the import of raw materials and their intended purpose to ensure technological sovereignty in the foreseeable future. As a result, there is a high probability of having a certain economic algorithm that allows the Japanese economy to restore the desired stability indicators in a short time. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct applied research in order to identify the essence of the economic algorithm used by Japan to strengthen technological sovereignty and ensure economic stability in a short time for subsequent possible adaptation in the Russian economy.

A Study on the Removal of Impurity Elements Silicon and Zinc from Rubidium Chloride by Vacuum Distillation.

With the rapid development of high and new technology, rubidium and its compounds show broad application prospect and market demand with their unique characteristics. At present, the production of rubidium metal is mainly prepared by calcium thermal reduction of rubidium chloride. Rubidium metal obtained by reduction requires multi-step vacuum distillation to obtain high-purity rubidium metal. The purity of rubidium metal depends on the purity of the raw material rubidium chloride. Rubidium metal is relatively active and is easy to oxidize and explode in air. Therefore, a method combining vacuum decomposition and vacuum distillation to reduce impurity elements in rubidium chloride from raw materials is proposed in this paper. The experimental results show that under the conditions of pressure of 5-10 Pa, distillation temperature of 823 K and vacuum distillation time of 60 min, the contents of Si and Zn impurities are reduced from 1206 mg/kg and 310 mg/kg to less than 0.1 mg/kg, and the removal rates are 99.99% and 99.97%, respectively. Rubidium chloride has almost no loss, and through one-step vacuum distillation, the impurity elements silicon and zinc can be deeply removed, reducing the flammability and explosiveness, high cost, long process and other problems caused by the subsequent preparation of high-purity rubidium metal.

Negative Impacts of the High-Tech Implementation in the Russian Higher Education Sector

Introduction. The institute of education in modern society is currently in the process of  serious transformation associated with the large-scale introduction of high technologies,  which is due to a similar process in post-industrial society as a whole. There is a growing  understanding of the negative consequences of digitalization of society and education along  with the understanding of the objective necessity of such transformation. The article  contains an analysis of the negative consequences and problems arising in the course of the  spread of digitalization of higher education in Russia.  Methodology and sources. The methodology of the research is based on the methods of  comparative analysis and extrapolation of transformations of social environment and  anthropological factors under the influence of technological progress in the field of higher  education. The signs of “high technology poisoning” considered by J. Naisbitt in his book  “High Tech – High Touch: Technology and Our Search for Meaning” and the concept of  extensive and intensive types of creativity formulated by A.I. Stoletov are a conceptual basis  for analyzing the impact of high technology on education. Results and Discussion. Seven symptoms of technological poisoning in higher education,  representing the main risks of the modern educational system, their manifestations in the  educational process and prospects in case the existing trend persists, have been considered.  One of the sources of manifestation of these symptoms is the extensive character of creativity  inherent in scientific and technological activity of the society, which stakes on innovative  development and mastering of material aspects of nature. The technogenic character of the  emerging innovation process levels out the activities associated with the intensive type of  creativity, aimed at the meaning-creating and existential aspects of human existence. Conclusion. Minimization of negative consequences presupposes the strengthening of the  humanitarian component in education, allowing to form a culture of “pause of  contemplation” (Grigory Pomerantz), in which technology will acquire, as it was suggested  by J. Naisbitt himself, a fullness of meaning that goes beyond instrumental values into the  realm of ethical and existential ones.

Unravelling the factors of evolutionary repeatability: insights and perspectives on predictability in evolutionary biology

Evolutionary biology was previously considered a historical science with predictions about evolutionary trajectories believed to be near impossible. The development of high throughput sequencing and data analysis technologies has challenged this belief, and provided an abundance of data that yields novel insights into evolutionary processes. Evolutionary predictions are now increasingly being used to develop fundamental knowledge of evolving systems and/or to demonstrate evolutionary control. Here we investigate the factors that make evolutionary repeatability more or less likely to increase the accuracy of evolutionary predictions. We identify outstanding questions and provide a potential starting point to determine how evolutionary repeatability is affected by genetic relatedness.

A review of Ribosome profiling and tools used in Ribo-seq data analysis

Translational regulation plays the most critical role in gene expression. Ribosome profiling sequencing (Ribo-Seq) is one of the methods to study translation and its regulation. It is a high throughput technology based on deep sequencing, which targets ribosome protected mRNA fragments to produce a ‘global snapshot’ of translatome. There has been an annual increase in the number of publications incorporating Ribo-seq technology. Because of its importance, we used PubMed database to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis on Ribo-seq. We identified 2744 published articles that utilized the term ‘Ribo-seq’ between 2009 and Jan 2024, and 684 articles that contained both Ribo-seq and RNA-seq terms. Based on keywords correlation analysis, we discovered that the primary focus of Ribo-seq articles lies in the areas of translation, transcriptome, and ribosome in the past few years and other topics such as single-cell ribo-seq and crispr within two years, reflecting current areas of interests in Ribo-seq research. The Ribo-seq data analysis applications were also explored and summarized, providing a guide for researchers to choose corresponding tools for different types of analysis. Overall, we highlighted the advances made by Ribo-seq technologies, and the possibilities of utilizing machine learning models to unravel information from multi-omics data. The integration of Ribo-seq with other omics data, such as RNA-seq, is essential to understand the gene expression in complex biological systems.

Multiscale characterization of polymer electrolyte fuel cells elucidated by quantum beam analysis

Abstract Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) offer promising alternatives to conventional gasoline engines in automobiles and have been commercialized over the past decade. This progress can be attributed to state-of-the-art materials with high performance, long-term durability, and robust manufacturing technologies. The multiscale hierarchical structure inherent in PEFCs facilitates the transfer of protons, electrons, oxygen, and water. As various phenomena in PEFCs occur at different scales, multiscale analysis, including quantum beam analysis, is of great interest for materials development and for understanding the processes that take place in PEFCs. In particular, advancements in this field have enabled the further tailoring of properties in a controlled manner and the design of nanostructures processing superior material properties. Additionally, the expansion of quantum beam sources has facilitated the study of manufacturing protocols. This review presents the achievements in the use of synchrotron x-ray and neutron sources in the field of PEFCs, while also addressing remaining issues for the widespread commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicles.

A cost comparison study for hydrogen production between conventional and renewable methods

Energy systems are undergoing rapid change as the world responds to climate change. Many policymakers may ask, what will be the next great energy source for a low-carbon future? All indications so far point to hydrogen energy. Although it is anticipated that costs will likely fall as the hydrogen production scale increases, it may be reported that the high technology costs remain a barrier to the widespread shift towards hydrogen. This paper presents hydrogen production costs for various production methods for different regions across the world, including the USA, the Middle East, Europe, India, and Canada. The costs of hydrogen production from biomass gasification, coal gasification, and natural gas reforming are compared, revealing the varying costs across different regions. Moreover, the production of green hydrogen from renewable energy sources is also presented, and compared with conventional methods. It highlights that while green hydrogen is environmentally sustainable, its production remains cost-intensive compared to integrated processes. Notably, the Middle East and India demonstrate the most economical production costs for both electrolysis and nuclear-based processes, while Europe shows the highest costs. The information presented in this paper could be helpful for researchers and policymakers to make informed decisions regarding the necessary aspects that still need to be investigated, to help with the transition into a hydrogen energy future.

The moderating role of design innovation in the relationship between technology complexity and firm performance

ABSTRACT In today’s highly competitive markets, firms can no longer ensure competitive advantage through the development of highly complex technologies or differentiation based solely on technological and functional factors. Simultaneously, there is growing recognition that design and aesthetic factors can contribute to firms’ competitive advantage. Hence, this study examines the relationship between technology complexity, design innovation, and firm performance to uncover the role of design innovation in exploiting complex technologies. Our main hypothesis is that design innovation positively moderates the negative effect that technology complexity has on firm performance. We used a unique dataset that aggregates all patent data published by US-headquartered publicly-traded firms to the parent company level. We combined this dataset with the Computat and PATSTAT databases based on their matching firm identifier. Focusing on 1,743 firms from 1980 to 2015, the results support our hypotheses. This study contributes to the resource-based view of firms by recognising design as a strategic resource that firms can utilise to gain a competitive advantage, especially in the presence of high technology complexity.

Applying a Big History Analogy to Facilitate Information Sharing

Using analogies we generalize Tyler Volk’s combogenesis concept. A pedagogical application is a narrative that allows us to include some milestones of mathematics and physics in Big History courses. Applying the concept to books and book collections we suggest a philanthropic idea. This simple and potentially powerful application mixes low and high technology: using online bookstores, we propose the reproduction of personal book and video collections in public libraries. We give an example, at Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela, where this has already happened. We finish by proposing to use this idea to create a Big History book and video collection that could be donated to educational institutions around the world where a Big History course could be taught remotely.