Browse Articles

Sustainable waste valorization through vermicomposting: optimizing rabbit manure–plant/kitchen waste mixtures for agroecosystem benefits

Abstract The growth in organic waste generation from agriculture and homes and excessive use of chemical fertilizers call for sustainable nutrient management practices. We investigated the impact of vermicompost made from rabbit manure (R m ) and plant/kitchen waste (P w ) in five proportions (0-100%) on compost properties, vegetable growth, and soil fertility. The vermicomposting process, utilizing the earthworm species Eisenia fetida , spanned 75–120 days, following which it was administered to tomato, lettuce, and carrot plants in the laboratory. The physical and chemical characteristics of the compost were affected by the feedstock. Higher P w resulted in lower pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and bulk density, but higher organic matter, porosity, and water retention. However, Rm-dominated treatments had greater macronutrients and micronutrients. The 50% R m : 50% P w amendment provided an ideal C/N ratio (21), improved enzyme activity, and a diverse microbial community. All treatments significantly improved crop yields over the control, with the 50:50 mixture achieving maximum yield for tomato (10.2 kg m −2 ) and lettuce (4.5 kg m −2 ), while P w -rich treatments were best for carrot yield. Soil quality was significantly enhanced (structure, CEC, and microbial activity). The results show that the R m :P w ratio affects the quality of the vermicompost and enables sustainable waste valorization and soil fertility. This research provides an R m :P w compositional approach to link feedstock ratios to compost maturity, microbial community, crop yield, and soil properties after application. It reveals an optimal R m :P w ratio (50:50) that optimally balances compost stability, crop performance and environmental benefits, offering a scalable approach to integrated organic waste valorization in circular food systems.

Effects of grinding penetration depth and abrasive grain spacing on atomic interactions and material removal mechanisms in silicon during ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding: a molecular dynamics study

Abstract Grinding is an important finishing process for hard, brittle materials like silicon, where atomic-level finishing is critical for semiconductor and microelectronic applications. Ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding has been shown to enhance grinding efficiency beyond conventional methods, but several of its atomic-level mechanisms remain incompletely understood. The interaction among the following was investigated in this study: mean abrasive grain spacing, grinding penetration depth, and abrasive grain physical properties. Atomic interactions and behaviors of the grinding process were modeled using molecular dynamics. An equilibration of 10 ns was first set up, during which extrinsic variables were manipulated to produce an equivalent environment, allowing the sample to evolve independently. This equilibration step was essential to achieve stabilization, since the potential and kinetic energies were − 4.69 eV and 0.02 eV, respectively. It was observed that changing the grinding penetration depth from 10 Å to 16 Å significantly affected important atomic parameters: the number of detached atoms increased from 2231 to 2495, whereas the maximum stress rose from 10.26 to 12.27 GPa. This result was remarkable because it indicated strong stress localization and enhanced atomic bond breakage at deeper penetration depths, revealing the onset of severe atomic deformation. The highest force of the system increased from 606.67 to 725.05 GPa·nm 2 . Increasing the mean abrasive grain spacing between abrasive grains from 31 to 45 Å resulted in a lower number of dissociative atoms (2231 → 2154) and a shallower penetration depth (10.75 → 10.29 Å). The maximum stress and, in turn, the force were found to decrease uniformly from 10.26 to 9.89 GPa and from 584.80 GPa·nm 2 to 560.80 GPa·nm 2 , respectively.

Prognostic significance of the hemoglobin glycation index in critically ill patients with and without diabetes: analysis of the MIMIC-IV database

Single-cell transcriptomics and whole-genome sequencing reveal the tumor landscape in breast carcinosarcoma

Attention-based Spatio-Temporal Graph Convolutional Networks-enhanced deep reinforcement learning for adaptive traffic signal control in urban traffic networks

Structural characterization and protein interaction profiling of sugarcane bagasse-derived cellulose nanocrystals

Factors influencing self-care in hemodialysis patients with autogenous arteriovenous fistulas for vascular access

High Q-factor multiband terahertz metasurface biosensor for biomedical refractive index sensing: a numerical study

Aptian archaeoniscid isopod from the Araripe Basin supports Tethyan-linked dispersal into Gondwanan lacustrine systems

Abstract A new genus and species of fossil isopod, Cicero spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. is described from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation, Araripe Sedimentary Basin, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The holotype, preserved in laminated limestones, represents the first confirmed record of the family Archaeoniscidae within this stratigraphic unit and extends the previously known paleogeographic distribution of archaeoniscid-like isopods into Gondwana lacustrine settings. The new genus is distinguished from other taxa currently referred to Archaeoniscidae— Archaeoniscus , Ferreniscus and Codoisopus , by its broad, ovate body, distinctive antennular subdivision, and a fan-like caudal structure formed by birramous uropods with well-differentiated exopod and endopod, combined with a rounded subrectangular pleotelson bearing a row of posterior setae. The exceptional preservation of C. spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. enables a detailed assessment of functionally relevant characters and supports interpretation of a benthic lifestyle on soft, low-energy substrates. A conservative concept of the family and a combination of body, pleon-pleotelson and antennular features justifies the placement of Cicero n. gen. within this extinct sphaeromatidean lineage. Within this framework, the occurrence C. spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. in a stratified lacustrine system of the Araripe Basin, together with other Mesozoic archaeoniscid-like records, suggest that some lineages currently assigned to Archaeoniscidae were able to colonize a range of non-marine environments during the Early Cretaceous, while also underscoring the need for a comprehensive phylogenetic reassessment of the group.

Comparative study on the pulmonary toxicity induced by some marketed pesticides after repeated oral administration in rats

Abstract Mancozeb (MC), carbendazim (CBZ), and hymexazol (HML) are widely used fungicides in agricultural and veterinary fields worldwide. Our goal is to compare the pulmonary toxicity induced by oral gavage of these pesticides in rats. Thirty-five rats were used and divided into 7 groups as follows: (1) control negative, (2, 3) 125 and 250 mg/kg. bwt MC, respectively, (4, 5) 125, 250 mg/kg. bwt CBZ, respectively, (6, 7) 75, 150 mg/kg. bwt HML, respectively. All treatments were given to rats daily via oral routes for 14 days. All of these fungicides dose-dependently increased MDA levels and decreased GSH content in lung tissue homogenates. The oral intake of these fungicides could upregulate the mRNA levels of IL1β, TNFα, and NF-κB genes and exhibit strong iNOS and Cox-2 protein expressions along with severe histopathological alterations within the pulmonary tissues. The highest pulmonary toxicity was recorded in the HML groups, followed by the MC and CBZ groups. The oral intake of these fungicides dose-dependently induced pulmonary toxicity via oxidative stress, which is associated with triggering the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Performance and energy consumption balanced optimization of ternary optical computers based on partially synchronous vacation queuing

Abstract This paper addresses the core challenge of balancing high real-time performance and low energy consumption in practical ternary optical computer (TOC) systems with hardware-induced state-switching overhead including switching delay and switching energy consumption. By introducing the partially synchronous vacation mechanism, we establish a novel TOC task scheduling strategy and corresponding three-stage queuing model. We thoroughly analyze the influences of key system parameters on queueing performance, total energy consumption, and social utility under Poisson traffic, with the no-vacation scheme as benchmark. Numerical results reveal that the proposed model can achieve optimal system social utility under various task arrival rates by tuning the number of vacation-enabled processors and vacation-related parameters. Supplementary bursty traffic experiments further verify its robustness under fluctuating real-world workloads. This work provides a new theoretical basis and practical scheduling guidance for performance-energy bi-objective optimization of TOC systems.

Oxygen-Driven [2 + 2] Photocycloaddition for <i>In Vivo</i> Chemiluminescence

Crystallographic Visualization of the Missing Structural Evolution of Copper Nanoclusters

Preharvest temperature treatments influence physiological traits, secondary metabolites, and volatile compounds in holy basil under controlled environment conditions

Molecular typing of PVL-positive Staphylococcus aureus isolates from Lithuania and genome sequencing of a local outbreak strain

Abstract Staphylococcus aureus is a major human commensal and pathogen, with the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes being associated with increased virulence. Rapid detection and molecular typing of such isolates are essential for effective epidemiological surveillance and infection control. Studies from Lithuania indicate that PVL is relatively common among S. aureus isolates, but detailed molecular typing data are still lacking. Clinical S. aureus isolates were collected from two hospitals in Vilnius in 2018–2019 and 2024, and from healthy volunteers between 2012 and 2020. Isolates were screened for PVL genes using real-time PCR. In addition, positive isolates harvested directly from the agar plate were tested for PVL production using an experimental lateral flow assay (LFA). Positive isolates were characterised using DNA-microarrays that facilitated the detection of resistance markers and virulence genes including PVL as well as an assignment to clonal complexes, strains and SCC mec types. Epidemiologically relevant isolates were subjected to whole-genome sequencing using Oxford nanopore technology. Out of 1296 S. aureus isolates, 124 yielded PVL-positive PCR results. 100 isolates were available for genotyping. Two PCR-positive isolates were negative by array and LFA, but PVL detection by DNA-microarray and lateral flow test (LF) showed complete concordance. Among PVL-positive isolates, 61.2% were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The most common PVL-MRSA strain ( n  = 43) was a Clonal Complex (CC) 8 MRSA that resembled the North American “USA300” strain but that lacked the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME). This suggested an outbreak in one of the participating hospitals. Other common strains were PVL-positive CC30-MSSA, CC121-MSSA and CC8-MRSA-[IV+ACME] “USA300”, while other lineages were represented by single isolates only. Whole-genome sequencing of two ACME-negative CC8-MRSA-IV isolates and of one local “USA300” isolate, as well as a comparison to international reference sequences, showed a very high degree of similarity in core genome and prophage content. The dominant PVL-MRSA strains were “USA300”, indicating a possible importation from North America, and a locally emerged variant of “USA300” that lost the ACME-associated genes of its SCC mec element. These findings suggest that real-time PVL detection is essential for outbreak prevention. Given its clinical relevance, routine PVL screening —via PCR or lateral flow assays—in routine diagnostics should be seriously considered and surveillance of PVL-MRSA is urgently recommended.

Semaglutide promotes angiogenesis and blood–brain barrier repair after traumatic brain injury via PDGF-BB/PDGFRβ/Ang1/Tie2/VEGF signaling pathway

The role of reduced sense of isolation in group-format PTSD treatment

SNP analysis of sweet pumpkin to corroborate carotenoid accumulation using different inbred lines

Ten-year epidemiological and clinical insights of pediatric influenza A and B hospitalizations: an observational study

Incorporating vertical transmission into mechanistic modeling of West Nile virus for optimized control in Germany

Abstract West Nile virus is an arbovirus transmitted by infected Culex mosquitoes to birds, horses, and humans. Since its first recorded case in Germany in 2018, WNV has been endemic in several parts of Germany. Globalization, ecosystem modification and climate change have been identified as significant drivers of the arbovirus spread. However, vertical transmission of pathogens from adult female to their progeny might alter the transmission dynamics. In this study, we designed a process-based epidemic model incorporating climatic variables and epidemiological parameters that replicated mosquito populations and pathogen transmission between mosquito vectors and hosts, explicitly accounting for the role of vertical transmission. In addition, we evaluated the efficiency of biological, chemical, and mechanical strategies for mosquito population control. Our findings revealed that while vertical transmission marginally influenced West Nile virus transmission, the impact was more pronounced in endemic regions, signaling a relationship between vertical transmission and West Nile virus persistence. Among control methods implemented, the biological control method performed optimally and emerged as the preferred method over mechanical and chemical methods, respectively. This model provides an understanding on the impact of vertical transmission in mosquito-borne disease epidemiology and provides insights into the efficiency of mosquito control strategies which would support optimized implementation of mosquito management programs.