Production Levels Research Articles

Intelligent manufacturing and cross-border e-commerce export diversification

Although Industry 4.0 has transformed the operating model of manufacturing and international trade, no previous research has explored the influence of intelligent manufacturing (IM) on export diversification from a cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) perspective. We use a unique dataset of China's leading cross-border logistics enterprises to investigate the effect of IM on CBEC export diversification. Our results reveal a positive effect of IM on CBEC export diversification at both market and product levels. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. The heterogeneity analysis shows that IM contributes more strongly to diversification of CBEC exports for differentiated products and consumer goods. The mechanistic analysis suggests that IM enables export diversification by stimulating input, output and commercialization of innovation.

Reconstructing Curves: A Bottom-Up Approach toward Adipose Tissue Regeneration with Recombinant Biomaterials.

The potential of recombinant materials in the field of adipose tissue engineering (ATE) is investigated using a bottom-up tissue engineering (TE) approach. This study explores the synthesis of different photo-crosslinkable gelatin derivatives, including both natural and recombinant materials, with a particular emphasis on chain growth and step growth polymerization. Gelatin type B (Gel-B) and a recombinant collagen peptide (RCPhC1) are used as starting materials. The gel fraction and mass swelling properties of 2D hydrogel films are evaluated, revealing high gel fractions exceeding 94% and high mass swelling ratios >15. In vitro experiments with encapsulated adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) indicate viable cells (>85%) throughout the experiment with the RCPhC1-based hydrogels showing a higher number of stretched ASCs. Triglyceride assays show the enhanced differentiation potential of RCPhC1 materials. Moreover, the secretome analysis reveal the production of adipose tissue-specific proteins including adiponectin, adipsin, lipocalin-2/NGAL, and PAL-1. RCPhC1-based materials exhibit higher levels of adiponectin and adipsin production, indicating successful differentiation into the adipogenic lineage. Overall, this study highlights the potential of recombinant materials for ATE applications, providing insights into their physico-chemical properties, mechanical strength, and cellular interactions.

A methodological framework for assessing sustainability aspects of fruit and vegetables

Current European policies and the growing focus on sustainability show a clear need for defining and measuring aspects of sustainability at the food product level. The aim of this study was to develop an indicator-based framework to monitor the sustainability of fruits and vegetables. The framework includes production, packaging, transport, and distribution, and considers economic, ecological, and social aspects. The framework aims to be used by the food production and distribution sector and is intended to use specific data from the value chain for higher relevance for the food industry. Results of a sustainability assessment of carrots are presented, as the first example of application of the framework. Future research should focus on the framework's validity when applied to other products and other countries.

Mitigating sediment cadmium contamination through combining PGPR Enterobacter ludwigii with the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria natans

Sediment cadmium contamination poses risks to aquatic ecosystems. Phytoremediation is an environmentally sustainable method to mitigate cadmium contamination. Submerged macrophytes are affected by cadmium stress, but plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can restore the health status of submerged macrophytes. Herein, we aimed to reduce sediment cadmium concentration and reveal the mechanism by which the combined application of the PGPR Enterobacter ludwigii and the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria natans mitigates cadmium contamination. Sediment cadmium concentration decreased by 21.59% after submerged macrophytes were planted with PGPR, probably because the PGPR colonized the rhizosphere and roots of the macrophytes. The PGPR induced a 5.09-fold increase in submerged macrophyte biomass and enhanced plant antioxidant response to cadmium stress, as demonstrated by decreases in oxidative product levels (reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde), which corresponded to shift in rhizosphere metabolism, notably in antioxidant defence systems (i.e., the peroxidation of linoleic acid into 9-hydroperoxy-10E,12Z-octadecadienoic acid) and in some amino acid metabolism pathways (i.e., arginine and proline). Additionally, PGPR mineralized carbon in the sediment to promote submerged macrophyte growth. Overall, PGPR mitigated sediment cadmium accumulation via a synergistic plantmicrobe mechanism. This work revealed the mechanism by which PGPR and submerged macrophytes control cadmium concentration in contaminated sediment.

Assessing cortisol concentration in different matrices: predictive potential and relationship with production levels, lactation stage and parity in dairy buffaloes

Cortisol is the primary biomarker associated with the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. This research aimed at assessing the predictive potential and the relationship of cortisol concentrations in four media (blood, milk, whey and hair) with parity, lactation stage and productive classes. Multiparous (n = 30) and primiparous (n = 38) Italian Mediterranean buffaloes were used and assigned to four productive classes (based on percentiles of mature equivalent milk yield (EMY) and mature equivalent energy corrected milk (eECM)), and cortisol concentrations were measured using a in house radioimmunoassay (RIA) method. Parity did not show a significant effect on cortisol concentrations of the four media. The catabolic stage of lactation (up to 90 d in milk (DIM)) was characterised by higher cortisol concentrations compared to the second anabolic stage (beyond 150 DIM) in milk formulations. The plasmatic concentrations of cortisol were higher at the catabolic and the first anabolic stage (91–150 DIM) compared to the second anabolic (p = 0.022 and p = 0.009, respectively). Buffaloes beyond 150 DIM differed from those below 90 DIM (p < 0.001) and between 91 and 150 DIM (p < 0.05) in hair. Finally, hair cortisol concentrations were negatively correlated to EMY, mature equivalent protein content (EPC) (p < 0.01) and eECM (p < 0.05). The whey showed a potential to predict the concentrations of cortisol in whole extracted milk (R 2 = 0.31). Hence the development of a real-time automated cortisol measurement in milk could be a valuable tool in Italian Mediterranean Buffalo farming.

The impact of Artificial Intelligence on E-commerce supply chain sector in achieving cost efficiency and economic growth: A business and economics perspective

The study aims to find how much cost effectiveness is achieved when e-commerce supply chain operations use automation and AI technologies. therefore,ing technology of AI and its models have essentially proved to be impactful in making data driven decisions by the organisations gaining leverage in productivity and profit sustainability in a way that the companies achieve competitive advantage therefore creating sustainable value propositions from business and economics perspective. Aim/Purpose The aim of the paper is to explore the positive relationship between AI technologies and productivity levels in the e-commerce supply chain sector through achieving cost effectiveness and economic growth. Methodology/Approach The study focussed on reviewing literature on how Artificial Intelligence driven technology can optimise various supply chain functions within e-commerce sector. Solow-Swan growth model has been applied to investigate the value AI creates in utilising capital, labour input to achieve output growth. Positivist approach that allowed for objective observation and independent conclusions has been adopted. For primary data, quantitative methodology is used through survey questionnaires to gather data from a sample of 206 employees, managers, data analysts in e-commerce supply chain sectors. Findings The findings from the secondary sources inform that the use of AI and automation in the e-commerce industry leads to a high rate of productivity in terms of reducing costs and promoting economic growth. The primary research methods, through survey questionnaires collects real-time data that helps achieve quantifiable and measurable values to conclude that AI-led technology can increase productivity and competitive advantage as it saves cost while increasing productivity and overall economic input. Descriptive statistics of measures of central tendency were used to present findings in simpler, presentable way followed by interpretations of the data in percentages. Practical implications Managers and decision-making directorial board members have important lessons to learn from these findings as the quantifiable values may give them an insight into how much capital investment should be allocated for AI technologies and how predictive analytics and data analysis can accelerate their service towards becoming customer centric. Significant strategic planning and implementation of resource management can lead to higher rates of productivity profitability and eventually higher economic growth.

Fast and robust recombinant protein production utilizing episomal stable pools in WAVE bioreactors

Protein reagents are essential resources for several stages of drug discovery projects from structural biology and assay development through lead optimization. Depending on the aim of the project different amounts of pure protein are required. Small-scale expressions are initially used to determine the reachable levels of production and quality before scaling up protein reagent supply. Commonly, amounts of several hundreds of milligrams to grams are needed for different experiments, including structural investigations and activity evaluations, which require rather large cultivation volumes. This implies that cultivation of large volumes of either transiently transfected cells or stable pools/stable cell lines is needed. Hence, a production process that is scalable, speeds up the development projects, and increases the robustness of protein reagent quality throughout scales. Here we present a protein production pipeline with high scalability. We show that our protocols for protein production in Chinese hamster ovary cells allow for a seamless and efficient scale-up with robust product quality and high performance. The flexible scale of the production process, as shown here, allows for shorter lead times in drug discovery projects where there is a reagent demand for a specific protein or a set of target proteins.

Abstract B006: GSTT2 modulates immune activation and impacts response to BCG immunotherapy in bladder cancer

Abstract Whilst M. bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy is the gold-standard for treating high risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), 30-40% of patients fail therapy, resulting in disease recurrence and progression. Loss of glutathione-S-transferase theta 2 (GSTT2) expression resulting from a promoter deletion, has been associated with modulation of intracellular ROS and BCG survival in BC cells. Retrospective analysis of NMIBC patients revealed that patients with the promoter deletion responded better to fewer instillations of BCG. To understand these responses, wildtype (WT) and GSTT2-knockout (KO) mice were implanted with MB49-PSA BC cells, either subcutaneously or orthotopically, and treated with weekly BCG instillations. Subcutaneous tumors were harvested after 3 BCG instillations for flow cytometry analysis, or after 4 BCG instillations for immunofluorescence (IF) imaging and gene expression analysis. Bladders (orthotopic model) were harvested after 4 BCG instillations for single-cell RNA sequencing. Splenocytes from WT and KO male mice were also stimulated in-vitro with TLR agonists, for 48h, to assess immune responses. In the subcutaneous model, in male mice, the cure rate was higher in WT mice (57%) compared to KO mice (0%). Flow cytometry analysis showed significantly higher numbers of tumor-associated CD8+ T-cells in BCG-treated KO males compared to WT males; however, IF imaging revealed higher penetration of CD8+ T-cells in tumors from WT males. In female mice, the cure rate was similar in WT (25%) and GSTT2-KO (38%) mice. IF imaging showed higher penetration of CD8+ T-cells in KO females. Quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR) analysis of BCG-treated subcutaneous tumors from female mice revealed lower expression of the immune exhaustion markers, PD-L1 and CTLA-4, in KO mice compared to WT mice. Similarly, in the orthotopic model (female mice), q-PCR analysis of bladders also showed lower expression of PD-L1 and CTLA-4 in KO mice compared to WT mice. Single-cell RNA sequencing of bladders from BCG-treated mice revealed differences in the expression of genes such as Peak1, Hmga2, Scl2a1, Kras, Ahank, Gsta4, Mecom and Sh3gl2, of which Gsta4, Mecom, Sh3gl2, Hmga2 and Peak1 were validated using q-PCR. In-vitro analysis of splenocytes from male mice revealed higher levels of IL-6, IL-1β and IFN-α, after stimulation with TLR7/8 and TLR9 agonists, in KO splenocytes relative to WT splenocytes. Despite the higher levels of cytokine production by splenocytes and higher proportion of tumor-associated CD8+ T-cells in KO male mice, these mice fared poorly, which could be explained by immune exhaustion or lack of immune penetration into the tumor. In females, lower expression of immune exhaustion markers in KO mice did not yield better responses; however, single-cell data showed differences in expression of genes associated with pro- and anti-tumorigenic pathways, which could influence response. Thus, loss of GSTT2 may influence the response to BCG therapy, through modulating downstream signaling pathways and immune responses. Citation Format: Mugdha Vijay Patwardhan, Kane Toh, Edmund Chiong, Ratha Mahendran. GSTT2 modulates immune activation and impacts response to BCG immunotherapy in bladder cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Bladder Cancer: Transforming the Field; 2024 May 17-20; Charlotte, NC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2024;30(10_Suppl):Abstract nr B006.

Effects of single or combined feeding with &lt;i&gt;Bacillus subtilis&lt;/i&gt; and organic acid mixture on egg production, physiological responses, and cholesterol level in chicken eggs

Effects of single or combined feeding with &lt;i&gt;Bacillus subtilis&lt;/i&gt; and organic acid mixture on egg production, physiological responses, and cholesterol level in chicken eggs

A colony health and economic comparison of Varroa-resistant Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) and commercial honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are the premier agricultural pollinators with direct ecological value and are key to some agro-economies. Major factors have negatively impacted honey bee health in the past 2 decades with Varroa (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman) infestation rising as a principal predictor of colony mortality. A key strategy deployed in Varroa management is breeding for resistant honey bee populations that can maintain comparable levels of productivity as nonresistant populations. In this study, we examine one such population, Hilo honey bees, within the context of a common garden contrast with a commercial population in a stationary honey production operation. We compare colony survival, health, yield, and profit outcomes to show how this specific breeding population retains a profit value in honey production operations while maintaining higher survival and lower Varroa infestation levels than the commercial population. This information can be used by commercial beekeepers to make best management practice decisions and inspire further work examining what trade-offs, if any, are present in this Varroa-resistant population.

Novel insights into presenilin 1 mutation associated with a distinctive dementia phenotype and cotton wool plaques.

The mutations in the presenilin 1 gene (PSEN1) are the main cause of familial Alzheimer's disease. PSEN1 mutations affect amyloid-beta peptide production, which accumulates in the brain as senile plaque and cotton wool plaques (CWPs) and relates to other neurodegenerative disorders. Here we report the second case of the PSEN1 G266S mutation, which showed distinctive neuropathological features, including abundant CWPs. Lewy body pathology, and altered amyloid-beta production. Using the proband's samples, we performed genetic analysis of the PSEN1, APP, MAPT, and APOE genes, histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of the brain tissue, and biochemical analysis of Aβ production in COS cells transfected with wild-type or mutant PSEN1. The patient presented with memory loss, abnormal behavior, and visual hallucinations. Brain scans showed reduced blood flow, mild atrophy, and white matter lesions. Genetic analysis revealed a heterozygous mutation at codon 266 (G266S) of PSEN1 and polymorphism of MAPT (Q230R). The brain had many CWPs, severe cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), senile plaque, Lewy bodies, and neurites. Electron microscopy displayed myelinated fiber degeneration, mitochondrial damage, and amyloid fibrils in the white matter. The production level of Aβ42 in PSEN1 G266S-transfected cells significantly increased. Our findings suggest that the PSEN1 G266S mutation may cause a heterogeneous clinical and pathological phenotype, influenced by other genetic or environmental factors.

Do No Harm? Unintended Consequences of Pharmaceutical Price Regulation in India

The Drugs (Prices Control) Order of 2013 in India regulated the prices of certain essential and life-saving drugs to ensure their affordability and availability, expecting an increase in sales of those drugs. The authors study the effects of the regulation on sales volumes of each regulated drug using a synthetic control approach with sales data from a comparable country that did not experience a regulatory change. They assess the robustness of the results via multiple empirical approaches to triangulate the findings. Contrary to the order's objectives, they find that sales volumes declined for regulated drugs. Since the order placed restrictions on production levels and on drugs exiting the market, the lowered margins of regulated drugs could have pushed pharmaceutical firms to reduce their marketing expenditures on them. The authors provide evidence of such a reduction using detailing data from a large pharmaceutical firm. The findings illustrate that this shift in detailing adversely affected prescriptions from physicians without formal medical degrees who treat poor and disadvantaged people in India—patients that the order was intended to help the most. A survey the authors conducted shows that these physicians rely on detailing more than medically trained doctors. Taken together, the results provide insights into the strategic actions of firms when faced with regulations, and highlight their unintended consequences. The generalizable nature of the study's findings across a broad set of medications has implications for governmental agencies in terms of the need to account for the entire ecosystem when implementing such regulations.

Selenium nanoparticles decorated with polysaccharides from Sargassum fusiforme protects against 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells and rat model of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and identifying disease-causing pathways and drugs that target them has remained challenging. Herein, selenium nanoparticles decorated with polysaccharides from Sargassum fusiforme (SFPS-SeNPs) were investigated on 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells and rats. 6-OHDA can significantly increase neurotoxicity, oxidative stress and decrease the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) both in vitro and vivo. In vitro, treatment with SFPS-SeNPs can significantly decrease 6-OHDA cytotoxicity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production or malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and cell apoptosis, significantly increased the activity of SOD and GPx. In vivo, 6-OHDA exposure could also decrease the expression of Nrf2 and OH-1, while treatment with SFPS-SeNPs (1 mg Se/kg) increased. SFPS-SeNPs can protect neurons from 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity by regulating apoptosis and Nrf2/ARE pathway. The present study demonstrated that SFPS-SeNPs is a good candidate for developing a new drug against neurodegenerative diseases such as PD.

Consumer Awareness and Perceptions of Pesticide Residues in Vegetables in Bangladesh

Vegetables are heavily sprayed and prone to retaining residues. The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Bangladesh has set up some projects to disseminate technologies among the farmers to reduce pesticide residues. Farmers are motivated to produce pesticide-free vegetables using vermin compost and other organic fertilizers. The study investigates consumers’ awareness and perceptions of pesticide residues in vegetables. A survey was conducted at the local market in Mymensingh, Gazipur, and Dhaka city. In total. 200 sample respondents were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive methods. There was a substantial heterogeneity in preferences across consumers. The consumers were aware of the health risks associated with vegetables produced using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. More than 60 percent of respondents thought that vegetables are usually contaminated at the farm or production level using excessive pesticides. Most of the consumers knew the effects of pesticide-borne health risks and suggested to ban some pesticides and monitoring the use of others. Consumers considered pesticide residue-free vegetables as being safer, healthy, no harmful effects, better taste, more nutritive value, and good for the environment, and would like to pay a premium for those products. Media particularly television and newspapers can play an important role in creating awareness about food safety among the producers and consumers. Government programmes on food safety should be channeled through television and newspapers where the majority of the people get their information. Policy measures should include creating awareness concerning the relevance of production, and consumption through effective marketing strategies and educational awareness. Res. Agric. Livest. Fish. Vol. 11, No. 1, April 2024: 25-33

Economic Efficiency of Agriculture in Punjab: Evidence from Cost of Cultivation Survey

Understanding the economic efficiency of agriculture production in Punjab is an interest of this study. The Cost of Cultivation Survey data set for the block period 2014–15 to 2016–17 has been used. Data envelopment analysis deterministic approach has been applied to measure production efficiency. The estimation showed that in the case of wheat, 73 per cent of tehsils and in the case of paddy, 77 per cent of tehsils in Punjab are found to be inefficient in crop production due to poor input utilisation (managerial inefficiency) and scale size (scale inefficiency). But the higher proportion of inefficiency is mainly attributed to the non-optimal scale of production as compared to pure technical allocation. The farmers can increase their production level on average by 7–17 per cent through improving farm efficiency. Findings showed that farmers are allocating their input resources in an exploitative manner due to which they failed to use an appropriate combination of inputs, which is necessary to achieve cost minimisation. These findings have important implications for agricultural development policy and are likely to offer some useful insights for the adequate use of scarce sources. JEL Codes: C33, C67, Q10, Q15

Accounting for product recovery potential in building life cycle assessments: a disassembly network-based approach

PurposeExisting life cycle assessment (LCA) methods for buildings often overlook the benefits of product recovery potential, whether for future reuse or repurposing. This oversight arises from the limited scope of such methods, which often ignore the complex interdependencies between building products. The present paper, backed by its supplementary Python library, introduces a method that addresses this gap, emphasizing the influence of product interdependencies and future recovery potential on environmental impact.MethodsImplementing the proposed method requires adding a phase, the recovery potential assessment, to the four phases that constitute an LCA according to the ISO 14040/14044 guidelines. Given the disassembly sequence for each product, in the first step of the recovery potential assessment, a disassembly network (DN) is created that displays structural and accessibility dependencies. By calculating the average of the disassembly potential (DP) of each structural dependency (second step) associated with that product, we obtain the DP (0.1–1) at the product level in a third step. Because there is no empirical data available to support a specific relationship between product disassembly potential and recovery potential (RP) (0–1), we employ, in a fourth step, a flexible model specification to represent scenarios of how this relationship may look like. Ultimately, for each scenario, the resulting RP is used to enable a probabilistic material flow analysis with a binary outcome, whether to be recovered or not. The resulting product-level median material flows are then used to quantify the building’s environmental impact for a given impact category in the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). The results are interpreted through an uncertainty, hotspot, and sensitivity analysis.Results and discussionOur results show that not considering the interdependencies between building products in building LCAs results in underestimating the embodied greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 28.29%. This discrepancy is primarily attributed to a failure to account for additional material flows stemming from secondary replacements owing to the interdependencies during the life cycle. When accounting for end-of-life recovery benefits, a zero-energy building (ZEB) design incorporating some DfD principles demonstrated up to 45.94% lower embodied GHG emissions than the ZEB design with low disassembly potential when assuming that recovered products will be reused.ConclusionsOur approach provides first-of-a-kind evidence that not accounting for recovery potential may significantly distort the results of an LCA for buildings. The method and its supporting code support the semi-automated calculation of the otherwise neglected potential environmental impact, thus helping to drive the transition towards a more sustainable built environment. The supporting code allows researchers to build on the proposed framework if more data on the relationship between DP and RP become available in the future. Finally, while applied to buildings in this paper, the proposed framework is adaptable to any complex product with limited modifications in the supporting code.

Thrivers and Survivors during Study Abroad: The Individual Cases of Japanese Learners of English

Whilst study abroad (SA) periods hold much promise for foreign language development, increasing research suggests sojourners’ experiences are unique, and language development does not always follow a linear trajectory. For some learners, SA has little impact on their language performance despite the affordances of L2 immersion (the Survivors). Other learners maximise the potential of SA, and this has a positive impact on their language development (the Thrivers). This paper examines the selected cases of four Japanese learners of English and their request language performance during a 10-month SA in the UK. Changes in pragmatic knowledge (based on appropriateness ratings) were documented at three equidistant time points. Language contact profile data also provided quantitative insights into the learners’ extracurricular language use and qualitative personal reflections. The selected cases illustrate two learners surviving the SA experience, showing minimal change in their request performance. The other two learners thrived during SA, showing accelerated performance in terms of lexical variation at the production level. This paper reports on the case histories of these learners to better understand these unique experiences and pragmatic discrepancies. Suggestions for how learners might be more pragmatically successful during SA are also offered.

Citrate-buffered Yamanaka medium allows to produce high-yield bacterial nanocellulose in static culture using Komagataeibacter strains isolated from apple cider vinegar.

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a sustainable, renewable, and eco-friendly nanomaterial, which has gained great attentions in both academic and industrial fields. Two bacterial nanocellulose-producing strains (CVV and CVN) were isolated from apple vinegar sources, presenting high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities (96%-98%) with Komagataeibacter species. The biofilm was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealing the presence of rod-shaped bacteria intricately embedded in the polymeric matrix composed of nanofibers of bacterial nanocellulose. FTIR spectrum and XRD pattern additionally confirmed the characteristic chemical structure associated with this material. The yields and productivities achieved during 10 days of fermentation were compared with Komagataeibacter xylinus ATCC 53524, resulting in low levels of BNC production. However, a remarkable increase in the BNC yield was achieved for CVV (690% increase) and CVN (750% increase) strains at day 6 of the fermentation upon adding 22mM citrate buffer into the medium. This effect is mainly attributed to the buffering capacity of the modified Yakamana medium, which allowed to maintain pH close to 4.0 until day 6, though in combination with additional factors including stimulation of the gluconeogenesis pathway and citrate assimilation as a carbon source. In addition, the productivities determined for both isolated strains (0.850 and 0.917gL-1 d-1) compare favorably to previous works, supporting current efforts to improve fermentation performance in static cultures and the feasibility of scaling-up BNC production in these systems.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of SnO2@ZnIn2S4 Composites for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

This research successfully synthesized SnO2@ZnIn2S4 composites for photocatalytic tap water splitting using a rapid two-step microwave-assisted synthesis method. This study investigated the impact of incorporating a fixed quantity of SnO2 nanoparticles and combining them with various materials to form composites, aiming to enhance photocatalytic hydrogen production. Additionally, different weights of SnO2 nanoparticles were added to the ZnIn2S4 reaction precursor to prepare SnO2@ZnIn2S4 composites for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Notably, the photocatalytic efficiency of SnO2@ZnIn2S4 composites is substantially higher than that of pure SnO2 nanoparticles and ZnIn2S4 nanosheets: 17.9-fold and 6.3-fold, respectively. The enhancement is credited to the successful use of visible light and the facilitation of electron transfer across the heterojunction, leading to the efficient dissociation of electron-hole pairs. Additionally, evaluations of recyclability demonstrated the remarkable longevity of SnO2@ZnIn2S4 composites, maintaining high levels of photocatalytic hydrogen production over eight cycles without significant efficiency loss, indicating their impressive durability. This investigation presents a promising strategy for crafting and producing environmentally sustainable SnO2@ZnIn2S4 composites with prospective implementations in photocatalytic hydrogen generation.

Plastic and Micro/Nanoplastic Pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges, Impacts, and Solutions

Sub-Saharan Africa faces increasing levels of plastic production and importation, unregulated usage, and inadequate waste management systems. This region’s harsh conditions often lead to plastic breaking down into microplastics and nanoplastics. This review explores the abundance of micro/nanoplastics across different environmental mediums, such as surface waters, sediments, and aquatic organisms, in sub-Saharan African countries. It also highlights knowledge gaps concerning the region’s abundance of micro/nanoplastics. The effects of plastics and micro/nanoplastics on food production, water quality, health, and the environment are discussed. Strategies to address the challenges of plastic pollution are proposed. Finally, the review concludes with future perspectives for addressing the ongoing challenges of plastic waste management in sub-Saharan Africa. The materials for this study were sourced from published articles on Scopus, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and additional platforms, including reports and various press releases, using keywords such as plastic waste, micro/nano-plastic, sub-Saharan Africa, toxicity, and circular economy. Articles were initially screened by reviewing abstracts, followed by a thorough reading of full papers to identify relevant studies. Key information was extracted from these selected articles and incorporated into this review.