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Found 6341 publications
Agricultural by-product filled poly(lactic acid) biocomposites with enhanced biodegradability: The effect of flax seed meal and rapeseed straw
Publication Name: Composites Part C Open Access
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 14
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The purpose of this research was to develop “green” materials by combining poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with two agricultural by-products, namely flax seed meal (FSM) and rapeseed straw (RSS). The natural fillers (0–20 wt.%) were mixed with PLA through extrusion and then injection molded into specimens. The samples were analyzed for their thermal, morphological, mechanical, and physical features and biodegradability. Thermal properties and crystallinity were analyzed using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), while the morphology was investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties were characterized through tensile, flexural, and impact measurements, while surface hardness was evaluated by Shore D tests. Water absorption and biodegradability of the samples were also examined. DSC measurements revealed a nucleating effect of both bio-fillers. Based on the tensile tests, major improvement in stiffness was found with the biocomposites having up to ∼16 % higher Young's modulus than neat PLA (2.5 GPa). It came, however, at the cost of tensile strength, which decreased from 56 to 51 MPa even in the presence of the lowest amount (2.5 wt.%) of FSM. Loss in strength was due to the limited adhesion between the components, as also supported by SEM images. The hardness slightly (1–2 %) improved in the presence of even 2.5 wt.% bio-filler and it remained at that level at higher filler loading as well. Laboratory-scale composting revealed that both fillers facilitated biodegradation with FSM being superior. In the presence of 10–20 wt.% FSM, the rate of decomposition was found to be twice as fast compared to neat PLA.
Open Access: Yes
Innovations in Offshore Wind: Reviewing Current Status and Future Prospects with a Parametric Analysis of Helical Pile Performance for Anchoring Mooring Lines
Publication Name: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 12
Issue: 7
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
This study examines the current status and future potential of the offshore wind sector. Offshore wind is pivotal in transitioning to a low-carbon society and meeting rising energy demands, despite being capital-intensive. The industry aims to develop larger-scale wind farms in deeper ocean locations, with projections indicating significant cost reductions. To explore deeper ocean areas, specialized foundations like floating platforms moored to the seabed are required. This study proposes helical piles anchored in the seabed as a method to secure mooring lines. Using Plaxis 3D, a parametric examination was conducted on helical piles with two plates: one fixed at the pile’s toe and the other varying in position between 0.5 and 13 m from the seabed surface. Load inclination angles (0, 20, 40, and 60 degrees) were used to simulate mooring line loads. Results indicate the optimal Zh/Z ratios for maintaining load-bearing capacity and stability: 0.12 (10 mm movements), 0.22 (25 mm), and 0.26 (50 mm) for small shaft diameters; and 0.34 (10 mm), 0.38 (25 mm), and 0.46 (50 mm) for large shaft diameters. These findings highlight the importance of specific load inclination angles based on shaft diameter and allowable movement for effective performance.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3390/jmse12071040
Dietary inclusion of defatted silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) pupa meal in broiler chickens: phase feeding effects on nutritional and sensory meat quality
Publication Name: Poultry Science
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 103
Issue: 7
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The present experiment was conducted to test the effect of a 4% defatted silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupae meal (SWM) incorporation into chickens’ diets at different growth phases on meat quality characteristics and sensory traits. Ninety ROSS 308 day-old male broiler chickens were randomly assigned to 3 dietary groups, with 5 replicated pens/diet: the first group received a control (C) diet throughout the growing period of 42 d, the second group received a diet with 4% SWM (SWM1) during the starter phase (1–10 d) and the C diet up to slaughter, whereas the third group was fed the C diet during the starter phase and 4% SWM during the grower and finisher phases (SWM2). Diets were isonitrogenous and isoenergy, and birds had free access to feed and water throughout the experimental trial. At 42 d of age, 15 chickens/treatment were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Fatty acid (FA) and amino acid (AA) profiles and contents of meat, as well as its oxidative status, were determined in both breast and leg meat cuts. Also, a descriptive sensory analysis was performed on breast meat by trained panelists. Results highlighted that the SWM2 treatment increased the n-3 proportion and content in both breast and leg meat, thereby improving the omega-6/omega-3 (n-6/n-3) ratio in both cuts (P < 0.001). However, the dietary treatment had no significant effect on the oxidative status of either breast or leg meat (P > 0.05). The SWM had a limited impact on overall sensory traits of breast meat, but it contributed to improve meat tenderness in SWM-fed chickens (P < 0.01). Furthermore, SWM1 meat exhibited higher juiciness (P < 0.05) and off flavor intensity (P < 0.05) compared to the control meat. Overall, the present experiment indicated that defatted SWM holds promise as an alternative ingredient in chicken rations, ensuring satisfactory meat quality. Furthermore, administering SWM during the grower-finisher phase demonstrated beneficial effects on meat healthiness, ultimately enhancing n-3 fatty acids content and reducing the n-6/n-3 ratio.
Open Access: Yes
A Species-Specific PCR Differentiates Two Causal Agents of Hazel Powdery Mildew and Reveals the Occurrence of Erysiphe corylacearum
Publication Name: Horticulturae
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The demand for common hazel (Corylus avellana) fruit increases constantly. Powdery mildew (PM) on hazels in Hungary and throughout Europe was previously caused mainly by Phyllactinia guttata. However, less than a decade ago, another fungus of Asian origin, Erysiphe corylacearum, appeared on hazels in Europe, including Hungary. Our investigation aimed to develop a species-specific PCR (ssPCR) to aid the identification of P. guttata and E. corylacearum, and to assess the presence of the latter, non-native fungus in Hungary. For this study, 59 samples were collected from Hungary between 2021 and 2023. The chasmothecial morphology of the PM fungi was observed, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA was sequenced in representative samples. Morphological analysis distinguished two types of chasmothecia. Parts of the chasmothecia, typical of P. guttata, were flattened and spherical with bristle-like appendages, while other chasmothecia, characteristic of E. corylacearum, were distinctly smaller, bearing appendages with branched apices. Sequence data also verified the presence of P. guttata and E. corylacearum in our samples. The developed ssPCR revealed that E. corylacearum was present in more than three-quarters of the samples, more than a quarter of the samples contained both fungi and about one-fifth carried solely P. guttata. The alien fungus E. corylacearum was found in all but one of the sampled regions and was found on C. avellana and also on C. colurna. Erysiphe corylacearum spreads rapidly and can be considered an invasive pathogen. Its practical importance lies in its ability to infect hazelnuts, potentially causing economic losses. Our ssPCR ensures accurate and quick identification of the fungus, which is essential for effective plant protection.
Open Access: Yes
Mitochondrial Control Region Database of Hungarian Fallow Deer (Dama dama) Populations for Forensic Use
Publication Name: Animals
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 14
Issue: 13
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The evidential value of an mtDNA match between biological remains and their potential donor is determined by the random match probability of the haplotype. This probability is based on the haplotype’s population frequency estimate. Consequently, implementing a population study representative of the population relevant to a forensic case is vital to correctly evaluating the evidence. The emerging number of poaching cases and the limited availability of such data emphasizes the need for an improved fallow deer mtDNA population databank for forensic purposes, including targeting the entire mitochondrial control region. By sequencing a 945-base-pair-long segment of the mitochondrial control region in 138 animals from five populations in Hungary, we found four different haplotypes, including one which had not yet been described. Our results, supplemented with data already available from previous research, do not support the possibility of determining the population of origin, although some patterns of geographical separation can be distinguished. Estimates of molecular diversity indicate similarly low mtDNA diversity (Hd = 0.565 and π = 0.002) compared to data from other countries. The calculated random match probability of 0.547 shows a high probability of coincidence and, therefore, a limited capacity for exclusion. Our results indicate that despite the overall low genetic diversity of mtDNA within the Hungarian fallow deer samples, a pattern of differentiation among the regions is present, which can have relevance from a forensic point of view.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3390/ani14131911
Placebo and Nocebo Effects on Sports and Exercise Performance: A Systematic Literature Review Update
Publication Name: Nutrients
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 16
Issue: 13
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Sports performance could be affected by placebo and nocebo effects. The last literature review on placebo and nocebo effects on sports and exercise performance was published in 2019. In the past five years, several new studies have been published. This review aimed to update the previous synthesis and evaluate the results of new studies focusing on placebo or nocebo interventions in sports and exercise by determining the form and magnitude of their effect. Hence, we searched for empirical studies published from 2019 until the end of May 2024 indexed in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, EBSCO, and Google Scholar databases. The search yielded 20 eligible studies with control or baseline-control conditions, focusing on nutritional, mechanical, and other mixed ergogenic aids. They yielded small to large placebo effects (Cohen’s d) for nutritional (d = 0.86), mechanical (d = 0.38), cream and gel (d = 0.05), and open-label placebo (d = 0.16) interventions. The pooled effect size for placebo effects was moderate to large (d = 0.67), larger than in the earlier review, suggesting that placebo effects can improve motor performance even more than previously reported. However, based on five measures from three studies, the nocebo effects were almost twice as large (d = 1.20). Accordingly, the current findings support and expand the last review in the field by yielding additional support for placebo and nocebo effects in sports and exercise.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3390/nu16131975
Inelastic tunneling through normal and superconducting junctions in the presence of a photonic bath within the Lindbladian formalism
Publication Name: Physical Review A
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 110
Issue: 1
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
An electron tunneling across a junction integrated into an electric circuit can generate an excitation in the photonic field (electromagnetic environment) and lose energy in the process. Such inelastic tunneling of particles is commonly described using the P(E) theory. In the conventional approach to this theory, the tunneling rate and the electric current through the junction are derived using Fermi's golden rule and by averaging over the environmental photonic degrees of freedom. In this work, we address the same problem of inelastic tunneling due to photonic environment in Lindbladian formalism and we present how the photonic degrees of freedom are traced out in the quantum master equation approach. The resulting quantum master equation is parametrized by the same P(E) function and enables us to obtain not only the electric current but various other quantities, for instance, the heat current, in a systematic and convenient way. We also demonstrate that the Lindbladian formalism provides a comprehensive description of Bogoliubov quasiparticle tunneling through superconducting junctions and that it properly accounts for the coherence factors. The coherence factors become important if the normal-state density of states is particle-hole asymmetric.
Open Access: Yes
Effect of Energy Density on the Mechanical Properties of 1.2709 Maraging Steel Produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Publication Name: Materials
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 17
Issue: 14
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The unusual combination of the fundamentally contradictory properties of high tensile strength and high fracture toughness found in maraging steel makes it well suited for safety-critical applications that require high strength-to-weight materials. In certain instances, additive manufacturing (AM) has produced materials that may be desirable for safety-critical applications where impact toughness is a key property, such as structural parts for the aerospace industry or armor plates for military applications. Understanding the influence of process parameters and defect structure on the properties of maraging steel parts produced via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a fundamental step towards the broader use of AM technologies for more demanding applications. In this research, the impact energy of V-notched specimens made of 1.2709 maraging steel produced by LPBF was determined via Charpy impact testing. Specimens were produced using different processing parameter sets. By combining the process parameters with the porosity values of the parts, we demonstrate that an almost full prediction of the impact properties can be achieved, paving the way for significantly reducing the expenses of destructive testing.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3390/ma17143432
Automatic Definition of Traffic Analysis Zones Based on Big Data
Publication Name: Applied Sciences Switzerland
Publication Date: 2024-07-01
Volume: 14
Issue: 13
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The planning process for any transport system can be considered complete if it is accompanied by a modeling system to evaluate the intervention. The study area should always be divided into traffic zones. Correct zoning is the key to any transport system study. The basic principles of zone creation require a thorough understanding of the area and local traffic conditions. However, this is not always a given, especially if a universally applicable assessment system is to be developed. This has led to the need to develop an algorithm that is able to provide an estimate for the definition of traffic zones based on some automatically observable or measurable phenomena or sequence of events. The aim of this research is to identify the observable events that are suitable for characterizing the area, so that an automatic zone definition procedure can be developed based on these. In this paper, automatic WAZE-generated congestion data were processed in a selected district of Budapest. During the processing, the area was divided into a grid network and time series were developed that show the traffic flow on the grid network as a function of the congestion level. The area subdivisions were then clustered using spectral clustering to create spatially distinct districts with identical traffic behavior.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3390/app14135964
