High Volume Research Articles

The catabolism of ethylene glycol by Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 and its dependence on mycofactocin.

Ethylene glycol (EG) is a widely used industrial chemical with manifold applications and also generated in the degradation of plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate. Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 (RHA1), a potential biocatalytic chassis, grows on EG. Transcriptomic analyses revealed four clusters of genes potentially involved in EG catabolism: the mad locus, predicted to encode mycofactocin-dependent alcohol degradation, including the catabolism of EG to glycolate; two GCL clusters, predicted to encode glycolate and glyoxylate catabolism; and the mft genes, predicted to specify mycofactocin biosynthesis. Bioinformatic analyses further revealed that the mad and mft genes are widely distributed in mycolic acid-producing bacteria such as RHA1. Neither ΔmadA nor ΔmftC RHA1 mutant strains grew on EG but grew on acetate. In resting cell assays, the ΔmadA mutant depleted glycolaldehyde but not EG from culture media. These results indicate that madA encodes a mycofactocin-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase that initiates EG catabolism. In contrast to some mycobacterial strains, the mad genes did not appear to enable RHA1 to grow on methanol as sole substrate. Finally, a strain of RHA1 adapted to grow ~3× faster on EG contained an overexpressed gene, aldA2, predicted to encode an aldehyde dehydrogenase. When incubated with EG, this strain accumulated lower concentrations of glycolaldehyde than RHA1. Moreover, ecotopically expressed aldA2 increased RHA1's tolerance for EG further suggesting that glycolaldehyde accumulation limits growth of RHA1 on EG. Overall, this study provides insights into the bacterial catabolism of small alcohols and aldehydes and facilitates the engineering of Rhodococcus for the upgrading of plastic waste streams.IMPORTANCEEthylene glycol (EG), a two-carbon (C2) alcohol, is produced in high volumes for use in a wide variety of applications. There is burgeoning interest in understanding and engineering the bacterial catabolism of EG, in part to establish circular economic routes for its use. This study identifies an EG catabolic pathway in Rhodococcus, a genus of bacteria well suited for biocatalysis. This pathway is responsible for the catabolism of methanol, a C1 feedstock, in related bacteria. Finally, we describe strategies to increase the rate of degradation of EG by increasing the transformation of glycolaldehyde, a toxic metabolic intermediate. This work advances the development of biocatalytic strategies to transform C2 feedstocks.

High internal phase emulsions gel ink for direct-ink-writing 3D printing of liquid metal

3D printing of liquid metal remains a big challenge due to its low viscosity and large surface tension. In this study, we use Carbopol hydrogel and liquid gallium-indium alloy to prepare a liquid metal high internal phase emulsion gel ink, which can be used for direct-ink-writing 3D printing. The high volume fraction (up to 82.5%) of the liquid metal dispersed phase gives the ink excellent elastic properties, while the Carbopol hydrogel, as the continuous phase, provides lubrication for the liquid metal droplets, ensuring smooth flow of the ink during shear extrusion. These enable high-resolution and shape-stable 3D printing of three-dimensional structures. Moreover, the liquid metal droplets exhibit an electrocapillary phenomenon in the Carbopol hydrogel, which allows for demulsification by an electric field and enables electrical connectivity between droplets. We have also achieved the printing of ink on flexible, non-planar structures, and demonstrated the potential for alternating printing with various materials.

Supported employment interventions with people who have severe mental illness: Systematic mixed-methods umbrella review.

Primary and review studies show that supported employment interventions showed promise in assisting people with severe mental illness (SMI) in achieving successful employment and health-related outcomes. This umbrella review synthesises evidence from across review studies on supported employment interventions for individuals with SMI, to identify key findings and implementation challenges in relation to five key outcomes: (1) employment, (2) quality of life, (3) social functioning, (4) clinical/service utilisation, and (5) economic outcomes. A systematic search of eleven databases and registers (CINAHL, Cochrane, EmCare, JBI EBP, ProQuest, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, and Prospero and Campbell) was conducted to identify meta-analyses and systematic reviews on supported employment interventions for individuals with SMI, peer reviewed and published in English. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed using standardised Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tools. A mixed-methods synthesis approach was employed to integrate both quantitative and qualitative evidence. The synthesis of 26 review studies primarily focused on the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model among various supported employment interventions. Overall, combining supported employment with targeted interventions such as neurocognitive therapy and job-related social skill training showed a positive effect on employment (including job retention) and non-employment outcomes (e.g., health, quality of life, social functioning) relative to standard forms of supported employment for people with SMI. Contextual factors (intervention fidelity, settings, systemic barriers) were important considerations for intervention implementation and effectiveness. Significant overlap of primary studies across 26 review studies exposed considerable variations in interpretation and conclusions drawn by authors, raising questions about their reliability. High volume of overlap reporting from the USA on IPS interventions in review studies is likely to have biased perceptions of effectiveness. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for supporting individuals with SMI in obtaining and maintaining employment. Tailoring strategies based on individual needs and circumstances appears crucial to address the complexity of mental health recovery. We propose creating centralised registries or databases to monitor primary studies included in reviews, thus avoiding redundancy. This umbrella study was registered with PROSPERO (No. CRD42023431191).

Investigation of Analyzable Solutions for Left-Turn-Centered Congestion Problems in Urban Grid Networks

Traffic congestion caused by left-turning vehicles in a coordinated corridor is a multifaceted problem requiring tailored solutions. This study explores the impact of shared left-turn lanes within one-way couplets, particularly during peak hours, where high left-turn volumes, limited side street storage, and the overlapped green time between pedestrians and left-turners contribute to queue spillbacks, coordination interruption, and network congestion. The focus of this paper is on the solutions that can be easily analyzed by practitioners, here called “analyzable solutions”. This approach stands in contrast to solutions derived from “non-transparent” optimization tools, which do not allow for a clear assessment of the solution’s adequacy or the ability to predict its impact in real-world applications. This paper investigates the effects of employing two analyzable signal timing strategies: Lagging Pedestrian (LagPed) phasing and Left-Turn Progression (LTP) offsets. Using high-fidelity microsimulation, the authors evaluated different scenarios, assessing pedestrian delays, queue lengths, travel time index, area average travel time index, and environmental impacts such as Fuel Consumption (FC) and CO2 emissions. The effectiveness of the proposed strategies was comprehensively evaluated against the base case scenario, demonstrating considerable improvements in various performance measures, including approximately a 5% reduction in FC and CO2 emissions. Implementation of the LTP strategy alone yields substantial reductions in delays, the number of stops, the queue length for left-turning vehicles, travel times for all road users, and ultimately FC and CO2 emissions. This study offers innovative approach to addressing the complex and multifaceted problem of left-turn-centered congestion in urban grid networks using efficient and down-to-earth analyzable solutions.

Optimising Layout of a Left-Turn Bypass Intersection under Mixed Traffic Flow using Simulation: A Case Study in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Various unconventional arterial intersection designs (UAIDs) have been proposed as novel approaches to alleviate congestion at signalised intersections. However, little research has focused on the UAIDs under mixed traffic flow. In Malaysia, a type of unconventional arterial intersection, i.e., the left-turn bypass intersection, is very common. Hence, an alternative two-lane left-turn bypass intersection layout is proposed and compared with two other layouts under mixed traffic flow. An existing intersection in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia is selected as the location of our case study. To compare the three layouts, the state-of-the-art traffic micro-simulation software SUMO is used to model, analyse and estimate operational performances of the studied intersection layouts. To make simulation results more reliable, the simulation model is validated using the GEH empirical test. The performance indicators delay, travel time, speed, and number of stops are used to evaluate the three layouts for low, medium and high traffic volumes. The simulation results show that the left-turn bypass intersection outperforms the intersection without any bypasses, and the proposed intersection performance is better than the two other considered intersections. More specifically, the average delay of the proposed intersection is lower by 2.54s and 4.4s compared to the two other considered intersections in high traffic volume, respectively. Thus, this proposed intersection could be used in urban cities with traffic demand and congestion issues similar to those in this study.

Friend or foe? A spatial approach to overlay bicycle and scooter trajectories

Dockless e-scooter schemes have seen increasing popularity in 28 German cities. Increasing use on insufficiently dimensioned bicycle infrastructure can lead to conflicts between e-scooter riders and cyclists. A new approach was developed in order to detect potential zones of conflict by overlaying aggregated bicycle and e-scooter trajectories in the City of Dresden, Germany. Bicycle data is being obtained by the annual STADTRADELN campaign where cyclists record and transmit daily trips via GPS for a period of three weeks. Simultaneously, e-scooter API data has been collected over a course of 8 weeks from June to September 2021. Origin/Destination data has been generated and routed over a OSM network in order to obtain aggregate d e-scooter flows. We extrapolated the aggregated bicycle data to match them with the timeframe of the e-scooter data acquisition. Afterwards we spatially joined both: bicycle and e-scooter flows and calculated the link wise proportion of e-scooter trips in relation to bicycle trip volumes. Two important findings emerged: (1) Residential roads have a higher proportion of e-scooter trips. (2) E-scooters are exposed to high bicycle trip volumes on primary roads with bicycle infrastructure. We conclude that this approach can detect possible links of conflict, where overtaking cyclists or insufficient space can lead to dangerous situations. That approach is biased towards a missing route choice model for e-scooter riders or better route data of e-scooters, which needs further research.

Mass Balance, Metabolic Pathways, Absolute Bioavailability, And Pharmacokinetics of Giredestrant In Healthy Subjects.

Giredestrant is a potent and selective small molecule estrogen receptor degrader. The objectives of this study were to assess the absolute bioavailability (aBA) of giredestrant and to determine the mass balance, routes of elimination and metabolite profile of [14C]giredestrant. In Part 1 (mass balance), a single 30.8 mg oral dose of [14C]giredestrant (105 µCi) was administered to women of non-childbearing potential (WNCBP, n = 6). The mean recovery of total radioactivity (TR) in excreta was 77.0%, with 68.0% of the dose excreted in feces and 9.04% excreted in urine over a 42-day sample collection period. The majority of the circulating radioactivity (56.8%) in plasma was associated with giredestrant. Giredestrant was extensively metabolized with giredestrant representing only 20.0% and 1.90% of the dose in feces and urine, respectively. All metabolites in feces resulted from oxidative metabolism and represented 44.7% of the dose. In Part 2 (absolute bioavailability, aBA), WNCBP (n = 10) received an oral (30 mg capsule) or intravenous (30 mg solution) dose of giredestrant. The aBA of giredestrant after oral administration was 58.7%. Following the intravenous dose, giredestrant had a plasma clearance and volume of distribution of 5.31 L/h and 266 L, respectively. In summary, giredestrant was well tolerated, rapidly absorbed, and showed moderate oral bioavailability with low recovery of the dose as parent drug in excreta. Oxidative metabolism followed by excretion in feces was identified as the major route of elimination of giredestrant. Significance Statement This study provides definitive insight into the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of giredestrant in humans. The results show that giredestrant exhibits low clearance, high volume of distribution, and moderate oral bioavailability in humans. In addition, the data show that oxidative metabolism followed by excretion in feces is the primary elimination route of giredestrant in humans. These results will be used to further inform the clinical development of giredestrant.

A data decomposition-based hierarchical classification method for multi-label classification of contractual obligations for the purpose of their governance

Contract governance ensures that the agreed outcomes between customers and vendors are fulfilled. Information Technology (IT) outsourcing organizations enter thousands of contractual relationships each month leading to a high volume of business-critical contractual text that must be reviewed and deciphered for effective governance. The key to effective governance of contracts is a model that facilitates assigning ownership of the obligations to the right departments in an organization and allocating their accountability to the right stakeholders. For this, the contractual obligations need to be identified and classified so that details such as actions to be taken by departments in an organization and their ownership as per a given clause are brought out for the purpose of governance. In this paper, we present our work on automated extraction and classification of obligations present in Software Engineering (SE) contracts for the purpose of contracts governance. We propose a novel data decomposition-based hierarchical classification method for a multi-label classification of contractual obligations. We conducted experiments for a fine-grained automated classification of more than 55,000 statements from 50 large real-life SE contract documents received from a large vendor organization into 152 governance-specific classes. The results indicate that the proposed method can bring about a 7–8% improvement in accuracies when compared to state-of-the-art classification baselines such as BERT, RoBERTa, and generative models such as GPT-2.

Sociodemographic and Health Factors of the Alcohol Treatment-seeking Population in New South Wales, Australia.

Although factors associated with alcohol use have been researched at a population level, descriptions of the alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment-seeking population in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, are limited. This study addresses this gap by analyzing sociodemographic and health characteristics in the NSW AOD treatment-seeking population. Self-reported Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile data on substance use, health ratings, and sociodemographic factors were acquired from public AOD services (offering services from counseling to ambulatory/inpatient withdrawal management) in 6 administrative health districts from 2016 to 2019 (n = 14,287). Gaussian and multiple logistic regressions were conducted to examine associations between these factors and alcohol consumption quantity. Data were analyzed for patients seeking treatment for alcohol consumption specifically (n = 5929; median age, 44 years; 65% male). Valid alcohol consumption data were available for 5460 patients, among whom the mean volume of alcohol consumed was 311 standard drinks (3110 grams of ethanol) over the past 28 days and 15 standard drinks (150 grams of ethanol) per occasion. Higher volumes were consumed by males and those with recent experiences of violence and/or injecting drug use. Caring for children younger than 5 years and having above-median health ratings were associated with lower alcohol consumption. This study contributes to the characterization of the NSW public AOD treatment population and identifies associations between alcohol consumption, sociodemographic factors, and health ratings among people seeking treatment for alcohol consumption. Findings point towards multilevel assessment and comprehensive interventions for people engaging in treatment for alcohol use. Future research should address barriers to treatment.

Acceleration of Zeolite Crystallization: Current Status, Mechanisms, and Perspectives.

Zeolites are important classes of crystalline materials and possess well-defined channels and cages with molecular dimensions. They have been extensively employed as heterogeneous catalysts and gas adsorbents due to their relatively large specific surface areas, high pore volumes, compositional flexibility, definite acidity, and hydrothermal stability. The zeolite synthesis normally undergoes high-temperature hydrothermal treatments with a relatively long crystallization time, which exhibits low synthesis efficiency and high energy consumption. Various strategies, e.g., modulation of the synthesis gel compositions, employment of special silica/aluminum sources, addition of seeds, fluoride, hydroxyl (·OH) free radical initiators, and organic additives, regulation of the crystallization conditions, development of new approaches, etc., have been developed to overcome these obstacles. And, these achievements make prominent contributions to the topic of acceleration of the zeolite crystallization and promote the fundamental understanding of the zeolite formation mechanism. However, there is a lack of the comprehensive summary and analysis on them. Herein, we provide an overview of the recent achievements, highlight the significant progress in the past decades on the developments of novel and remarkable strategies to accelerate the crystallization of zeolites, and basically divide them into three main types, i.e., chemical methods, physical methods, and the derived new approaches. The principles/acceleration mechanisms, effectiveness, versatility, and degree of reality for the corresponding approaches are thoroughly discussed and summarized. Finally, the rational design of the prospective strategies for the fast synthesis of zeolites is commented on and envisioned. The information gathered here is expected to provide solid guidance for developing a more effective route to improve the zeolite crystallization and obtain the functional zeolite-based materials with more shortened durations and lowered cost and further promote their applications.

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Patients with and without Non-Expandable Lung Secondary to Malignant Pleural Effusion-A Single-Centre Observational Study.

Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) affects up to 15% of patients with malignancy, and the prevalence is increasing. Non-expandable lung (NEL) complicates MPE in up to 30% of cases. However, it is not known if patients with malignant pleural effusion and NEL are more symptomatic in activities of daily living compared to patients with MPE with expandable lung. This was an observational study on consecutively recruited patients with MPE from our pleural clinic. Before thoracentesis, patients completed patient-reported outcomes on cancer symptoms (ESAS), health-related quality of life (5Q-5D-5L), and dyspnoea scores. Following thoracentesis, patients scored dyspnoea relief and symptoms during thoracentesis. Data on focused lung ultrasound and pleural effusion biochemistry were collected. The non-expandable lung diagnosis was made by pleural experts based on radiological and clinical information. We recruited 43 patients, including 12 with NEL (28%). The NEL cohort resembled those from previous studies concerning ultrasonography, pleural fluid biochemistry, and fewer cases with high volume thoracentesis. Patients with and without NEL were comparable concerning baseline demography. The 5Q-5D-5L utility scores were 0.836 (0.691-0.906) and 0.806 (0.409-0.866), respectively, for patients with and without NEL. We observed no between-group differences in symptom burden or health-related quality of life. While the presence of NEL affects the clinical management of recurrent MPE, the presence of NEL seems not to affect patients' overall symptom burden in patients with MPE.

Enhanced mechanical properties of continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyether-ether-ketone composites via infrared preheating and high fiber volume fraction

The field of additive manufacturing encounters an innate challenge regarding insufficient interlayer adhesion and anisotropy, which consequently constrains the mechanical properties of printed materials. Continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite (CFRTP) printing allows ultra-high mechanical properties using a material extrusion (ME) platform but is still significantly affected by the mentioned inherent challenges. The expansion of the usage spectrum for composites manufactured with additive methods depends on overcoming these challenges. Achieving higher fiber volume fractions is a primary method for enhancing the mechanical properties of CFRTP parts. However, it has been proven that high fiber volume fractions can adversely affect mechanical properties due to lower impregnation and reduced interlayer strength. In this study, a high fiber volume fraction of 50 % was utilized, and interlayer strength was further improved by employing an infrared heater to preheat the previous layers. This approach resulted in better interlaminar strength and overall mechanical properties, demonstrating the effectiveness of infrared heating in mitigating the challenges associated with high fiber volume fractions. The infrared heater was positioned in a rotating printing head so it could continuously stay in front of the print path. Mechanical tests showed a flexural strength of 1304 MPa and tensile strength of 995 MPa, with high fiber volume fraction and infrared assistance. As far as we know, these values represent the highest achieved in the literature for CFRTP printing without any post-processing. Optical images and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) tests were used to investigate the microstructure and thermal properties of the printed samples.

A Patient-Centered Textbook Outcome Measure Effectively Discriminates Contemporary Elective Open Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Quality

IntroductionThere is persistent controversy surrounding the merit of surgical volume benchmarks being used solely as a sufficient proxy for assessing the quality of open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. Importantly, operative volume quotas may fail to reflect a more nuanced and comprehensive depiction of surgical outcomes most relevant to patients. Accordingly, we herein propose a patient-centered “textbook outcome” (TO) for AAA repair that is analogous to other large magnitude extirpative operations performed in other surgical specialties, and test its feasibility to discriminate hospital performance using Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) volume guidelines. MethodsAll elective open infrarenal AAA repairs (OAR) in the SVS-Vascular Quality Initiative were examined (2009-2022). The primary end-point was a TO, defined as a composite of no in-hospital complication or re-intervention/re-operation, length of stay ≤ 10-days, home discharge and 1-year survival. The discriminatory ability of the TO measure was assessed by comparing centers that did or did not meet the SVS annual OAR volume threshold recommendation (high-volume ≥ 10 OARs/year; low-volume <10 OARs/year). Logistic regression and multivariable models adjusted for patient and procedure-related differences. ResultsA total of 9,657 OARs across 198 centers were analyzed (mean age-69.5±8.4, female-26%, non-white-12%). A TO was identified in 44% (N = 4,293) of the overall cohort. The incidence of individual TO components included: no in-hospital complication (61%), no in-hospital re-intervention/re-operation (92%), LOS ≤ 10-days (78%), home discharge (76%), and 1-year survival (91%). Median annual center volume was 6 [IQR 3, 10] and a majority of centers did not meet the SVS volume suggested threshold (<10 OARs/year: N = 148 [74%]). However, most patients (N = 6,265 of 9,657 [65%]) underwent OAR in high-volume hospitals. When comparing high and low-volume centers, a TO was more likely to occur in high-volume institutions: ≥10 OARs/year, 46% vs. <10 OARs/year, 42%; P=.0006. The association of a protective effect for higher center volume remained after risk adjustment: OR 1.1, 95%CI 1.05-1.26; P=.003. ConclusionsTextbook outcomes for elective OAR reflect a more nuanced and comprehensive patient centered proxy to measure care delivery consistent with other surgical specialties. Surprisingly, a TO was achieved in < 50% of elective AAA cases nationally. Though the likelihood of a TO appears to correlate with SVS center volume recommendations, it more importantly reflects elements which may be prioritized by patients and thus offers insights into further improving real-world AAA care.

High volume online hemodiafiltration: a global perspective and the Brazilian experience.

Online hemodiafiltration (HDF) is a rapidly growing dialysis modality worldwide. In Brazil, the number of patients with private health insurance undergoing HDF has exceeded the number of patients on peritoneal dialysis. The achievement of a high convection volume was associated with better clinical imprand patient - reported outcomes confirming the benefits of HDF. The HDFit trial provided relevant practical information on the implementation of online HDF in dialysis centers in Brazil. This article aims to disseminate technical information to improve the quality and safety of this new dialysis modality.

A prospective study of radiofrequency ablation combined with systematic neoadjuvant therapy in the treatment of recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (RANT study).

e16240 Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an important minimally invasive approach for recurrent HCC, but is hampered by the high recurrence rate and limited ablation volume for the tumor. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of systemic neoadjuvant therapy (tislelizumab combined with lenvatinib/bevacizumab) combined with RFA in the treatment of recurrent HCC. Methods: This prospective, single-arm, phase II trial enrolled patients with recurrent resectable HCC who has a history of liver resection or RFA (the number of lesions ≤ 3, the largest lesion ≤ 3 cm, as demonstrated by contrast enhanced CT/MRI). Prior to RFA, patients received tislelizumab (200 mg, q3w, iv) and lenvatinib (body weight≥60 kg, 12 mg; &lt;60 kg, 8 mg, qd, po) or bevacizumab (15mg/kg) for two cycles. RFA was scheduled in one week after the systemic neoadjuvant therapy. After 4-8 weeks of surgery, patients continued to receive tislelizumab and lenvatinib /bevacizumab for 6 to 12 months. Primary endpoint was one-year relapse-free survival (RFS) rate and one-year overall survival (OS) rate. Secondary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR) by mRECIST, and adverse events (AE). Results: From November 2021 to October 2023, 20 patients (median age, 57 years) were enrolled, all Child-Pugh A and ECOG PS 0, mostly males (95%) and HBV infection (90.0%). 19 patients had received 2 cycles systemic neoadjuvant therapy and RFA was successfully performed, 1 patient achieved complete response after systemic treatment and didn't perform RFA. According to mRECIST, the ORR was 50% (95%CI: 27.20%-72.80%), and the DCR was 100 % (CR 1, PR 8, SD 11). After a median follow-up of 8.5 months (interquartile range 5-21 months), tumor recurrence was detected in 2 patients, 1 patient died of disease recurrence. The estimated 12-month RFS rate and OS rate were 76.9% (95%CI 31.2%, 94.3%) and 100%, respectively. Median RFS and OS were not reached. So far the safety of neoadjuvant treatment was satisfied, no grade 4 or above treatment-related-adverse events (TRAEs) were observed. Grade 3 TRAEs were reported in 3(13.04%) patients. Frequently occurring adverse eventswere grade 1-2, including total bilirubin increased (39.13%), elevated aspartate aminotransferase (30.43%), and elevated alanine aminotransferase (30.43%). Conclusions: Radiofrequency ablation combined with systematic neoadjuvant therapy exhibited promising efficacy and favorable safety for recurrent HCC. Clinical trial information: NCT05277675 .

Investigation on flow structure and pressure fluctuation of gas-liquid two-phase flow in a mixed flow pump

Abstract Mixed flow pump is characterized by high-efficiency operation and wide range of flow rate conditions, while research on transporting gas-liquid two-phase flow is quite limited. The present work investigates the energy performance, two-phase flow pattern and pressure fluctuations of a mixed flow pump, on basis of the numerical method of inhomogeneous Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase flow model. Results show that the pump head and efficiency decline with the increase of gas volume fraction. In impeller, gas phase is mainly distributed at the tip clearance, the blade pressure side and suction side, and the hub outlet. The low pressure of tip leakage vortex core leads to the gas phase concentration and the formation of gas strip. Moreover, X-shaped gas strip appears at high gas volume fraction (GVF). In guide vane, gas phase is mainly distributed at the leading edge of blade pressure side, the blade suction side, and the middle of passage. As the inlet GVF increases, the spatial-temporal evolution of the gas phase shows obvious differences. The strong gas-liquid interaction causes broad low-frequency fluctuations, and the rotor-stator interference causes significant blade passing frequencies in the mixed flow pump.

Symbiotic defect-reinforced bimetallic MOF-derived fiber components for solar-assisted atmospheric water collection

Conversion of atmospheric water to sustainable and clean freshwater resources through MOF-based adsorbent has great potential for the renewable environmental industry. However, its daily water production is hampered by susceptibility to agglomeration, slow water evaporation efficiency, and limited water-harvesting capacity. Herein, a solar-assisted bimetallic MOF (BMOF)-derived fiber component that surmounts these limitations and exhibits both optimized water-collect capacity and short adsorption-desorption period is proposed. The proposed strategy involves utilizing bottom-up interface-induced assembly between carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotube and hygroscopic BMOF on a multi-ply glass fiber support. The designed BMOF (MIL-100(Fe,Al)-3) skeleton constructed using bimetallic-node defect engineering exhibits a high specific surface area (1,535.28 m2/g) and pore volume (0.76 cm3/g), thereby surpassing the parent MOFs and other reported MOFs in capturing moisture. Benefiting from the hierarchical structure of fiber rods and the solar-driven self-heating interface of photothermal layer, the customized BMOF crystals realize efficient loading and optimized water adsorption-desorption kinetics. As a result, the resultant fiber components achieve six adsorption-desorption cycles per day and an impressive water collection of 1.45 g/g/day under medium-high humidity outdoor conditions. Therefore, this work will provide new ideas for optimizing the daily yield of atmospheric water harvesting techniques.

Efficient adsorptive removal of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) using biomass derived magnetic activated carbon nanocomposite in synthetic and simulated agricultural runoff water

This study focused on evaluating the efficacy of a magnetic activated carbon material (CPAC@Fe3O4) derived from pods of copper pod tree in adsorbing the toxic herbicide, 2,4- (2,4-D) from aqueous solutions. The synthesized CPAC@Fe3O4 adsorbent, underwent various characterization techniques. FESEM images indicated a rough surface, incorporating iron oxide nanoparticles, while EDS analysis confirmed the presence of elements like Fe, O, and C. Notably, the CPAC@Fe3O4 exhibited high surface area (749.10 m2/g) and pore volume (0.5351 cm³/g), confirming its mesoporous nature. XRD investigations identified distinct signals associated with graphitic carbon and magnetite nanoparticles, while VSM analysis verified its magnetic properties with a high magnetic saturation value (2.72 emu/g). The adsorption process was exothermic, with a decrease in adsorption capacity at higher temperatures. Freundlich isotherm provided the best fit for the adsorption, and the pseudo-second-order equation effectively described the kinetics. Remarkably, the maximum adsorption capacity ranged from 246.43 to 261.03 mg/g, surpassing previously reported values. The ΔH° value (−8.67 kJ/mol) suggested a physisorption mechanism, and the negative ΔG° values established the spontaneous nature. Furthermore, the synthesized adsorbent demonstrated exceptional reusability, allowing for up to five cycles of adsorption-desorption operations. When applied to simulated agricultural runoff, CPAC@Fe3O4 showcased a significant adsorption capacity of 160.71 mg/g for 50 mg/L 2,4-D, using a 0.2 g/L dosage at pH 2. This study showcased the transformation of copper pod biomass into a valuable magnetic nanoadsorbent capable of efficiently eliminating the noxious 2,4-D pollutant from aqueous environments.

Excellent adsorption and catalytic oxidation of toluene facilitated by metal-free nitrogen-doped mesoporous biochar

In this study, we synthesized a series of nitrogen-doped mesoporous biochar by a salt-templating method to assess the potential of our modified biochar for advanced remediation of toluene through either adsorption or catalytic oxidation. The principal findings indicated that the incorporation of nitrogen and the mesopore-forming agent significantly influenced the toluene removal performance by altering the physicochemical properties of the biochar. Notably, the sample synthesized at 900 °C (BUPZ-900) exhibited the exceptional toluene adsorption capacity, reaching 283.85 mg/g, due to its high surface area and mesopore volume. Advanced characterizations revealed that different nitrogen functionalities played distinct roles in the adsorption performance. The presence of graphitic nitrogen in BUPZ-900 enhanced toluene adsorption through π-π dispersion interactions. Conversely, BUPZ-600, boasting a high nitrogen content (8.66 at%) and a predominance of pyridinic-N (3.92 at%), exhibited the highest catalytic activity, despite its low adsorption capacity attributed to a smaller surface area. This heightened activity was attributed to the basicity of pyridinic-N, which acted as active sites, despite the material’s lower surface area. Our study highlights the promise of nitrogen-doped mesoporous biochar as an effective adsorbent or catalyst for advanced remediation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), even in the absence of metal catalysts. This work emphasizes the critical role of synthesis temperature and nitrogen functionalization in optimizing biochar properties for environmental applications.

Digital Financial Services Effort in Enforcing Anti-Money Laundering through Open Banking Optimization

Technology has revolutionized finance, but seamless services increase fraud risks. As digital finance grows, anti-money laundering (AML) systems struggle with high transaction volumes. The main objective of this study is to verify whether open banking catalyzes the efficiency of transaction monitoring in AML. Another objective is to analyze the current agenda of regulators in Indonesia, which is related to the Indonesia Payment Systems Blueprint 2025 and customer data security. The Delphi technique pinpointed contemporary AML compliance technologies, encompassing money laundering, Regulatory Technology, and regulatory bodies. The article delves into a comparative analysis between Regulatory Technology and financial crime, which emphasizes several actions to eradicate money laundering, such as strengthening the AML system, customer screening, and allowing cross-data sharing between institutions. In addition, this paper explores RegTech's limitations and forthcoming hurdles regarding AML compliance. The finding shows that open banking catalyzes the efficiency of transaction monitoring in AML and supports the regulator's agenda to combat money laundering with some requirements.