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This study examined the influence of pyrolysis temperature on biochar characteristics and evaluated its suitability for carbon capture and energy production. Biochar was produced from corn stover using slow pyrolysis at 300, 400 and 500°C and 2 hrs holding time. The experimental biochars were characterized by elemental analysis, BET, FTIR, TGA/DTA, NMR (C-13). Higher heating value (HHV) of feedstock and biochars was measured using bomb calorimeter. Results show that carbon content of corn stover biochar increased from 45.5% to 64.5%, with increasing pyrolysis temperatures. A decrease in H:C and O:C ratios as well as volatile matter, coupled with increase in the concentration of aromatic carbon in the biochar as determined by FTIR and NMR (C-13) demonstrates a higher biochar carbon stability at 500°C. It was estimated that corn stover pyrolysed at 500°C could provide of 10.12 MJ/kg thermal energy. Pyrolysis is therefore a potential technology with its carbon-negative, energy positive and soil amendment benefits thus creating win- win scenario.

Biodegradable plastics are among the most promising materials to replace conventional petroleum-based plastics that have caused many adverse impacts on the environment, such as pollution (land, water, etc.) and global warming. Among a range of biodegradable plastics, poly lactic acid (PLA) is not only widely available but also safe to be decomposed after its usage without polluting the environment. PLA is also in parity with other conventional plastics such as PP, PET in terms of various properties suitable for industrial usage such as mechanical, physical, biocompatibility and processability. Thus, PLA has become the most used biopolymers in many industries such as agriculture, automotive and packaging by having these characteristics. Its higher demand has contributed to a stable increment in the global PLA market. In fact, over the years, the market for PLA has grown up and will keep on expanding in the future. Overall, the PLA-based bioplastic would be an excellent substitute for the existing conventional plastics in various applications, hence will serve to protect the environment not only from pollution but also work as a sustainable and economical product. This paper will review all the recent related works and literature on PLA as the biodegradable material regarding its properties, usability, productivity and substitute.

This study endeavors to examine the dynamics of the generalized Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (gKP) equation in ( n + 1) dimensions. Based on the comprehensive three-wave methodology and the Hirota’s bilinear technique, the gKP equation is meticulously examined. By means of symbolic computation, a number of three-wave solutions are derived. Applying the Lie symmetry approach to the governing equation enables the determination of symmetry reduction, which aids in the reduction of the dimensionality of the said equation. Using symmetry reduction, we obtain the second order differential equation. By means of applying symmetry reduction, the second order differential equation is derived. The second order differential equation undergoes Galilean transformation to obtain a system of first order differential equations. The present study presents an analysis of bifurcation and sensitivity for a given dynamical system. Additionally, when an external force impacts the underlying dynamic system, its behavior resembles quasi-periodic phenomena. The presence of quasi-periodic patterns are identified using chaos detecting tools. These findings represent a novel contribution to the studied equation and significantly advance our understanding of dynamics in nonlinear wave models.

This study attempts to investigate the dynamic study of the three-component coupled NLS-type equations. The unified Riccati equation expansion method and the generalized Kudryashov method are used to construct the optical solitons, including the periodic function solution, the trigonometric function solution, the exponential function solution, the solitary wave solution, and the elliptic function solution. The results of this investigation will contribute in gaining a better understanding of the overall illustration of the soliton dynamics system. For the sake of physical demonstration and visual presentation, we graphically illustrate some of the identified solutions in 3D, density and 2D plots using Mathematica software. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis of the proposed system is performed, and it is observed that the given system is highly sensitive, as a small change in the initial conditions causes an abrupt change in the solutions. These outcomes demonstrate that these three strategies are more efficient, simple, and trustworthy than other nonlinear physical system solving techniques developed in nonlinear sciences.

In recent years, with the rapid development of distributed photovoltaic systems (DPVS), the shortage of data monitoring devices and the difficulty of comprehensive coverage of measurement equipment has become more significant, bringing great challenges to the efficient management and maintenance of DPVS. Virtual collection is a new DPVS data collection scheme with cost-effectiveness and computational efficiency that meets the needs of distributed energy management but lacks attention and research. To fill the gap in the current research field, this paper provides a comprehensive and systematic review of DPVS virtual collection. We provide a detailed introduction to the process of DPVS virtual collection and identify the challenges faced by virtual collection through problem analogy. Furthermore, in response to the above challenges, this paper summarizes the main methods applicable to virtual collection, including similarity analysis, reference station selection, and PV data inference. Finally, this paper thoroughly discusses the diversified application scenarios of virtual collection, hoping to provide helpful information for the development of the DPVS industry.

The biologically active phytochemicals are sourced from edible and medicinally important plants and are important molecules being used for the formulation of thousands of drugs. These phytochemicals have great benefits against many ailments particularly the inflammatory diseases or oxidative stress-mediated chronic diseases. Eugenol (EUG) is a versatile naturally occurring molecule as phenolic monoterpenoid and frequently found in essential oils in a wide range of plant species. EUG bears huge industrial applications particularly in pharmaceutics, dentistry, flavoring of foods, agriculture, and cosmeceutics. It is being focused recently due to its great potential in preventing several chronic conditions. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared EUG as a nonmutant and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) molecule. The available literature about pharmacological activities of EUG shows remarkable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, and antimicrobial properties and has a significant effect on human health. The current manuscript summarizes the pharmacological characteristics of EUG and its potential health benefits.

Aphids are major pests affecting cereals, vegetables, fruit, forestry and horticultural produce. A multimodal approach may be an effective route to controlling this prolific pest. We assessed the individual and combined effect of eight insecticides and the entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschin.) against the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), under laboratory conditions. Six of the insecticides tested were found to be highly compatible (flonicamid, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, dinotefuran, pyriproxyfen and spirotetramat), showing positive integration with the fungus and were selected for bioassays. The combination mixtures (1:1 ratio of M. anisopliae : insecticide) were significantly more toxic to A. gossypii than individual treatments. Maximum mortality (91.68%) of A. gossypii was recorded with combination of flonicamid and M. anisopliae (2.4 × 10 6  cfu/ml) 72 h after application. While minimum mortality (17.08%) was observed with the individual treatment of M. anisopliae (2.4 × 10 6  cfu/ml). The insecticides revealed toxicity consistent with their compatibility with M. anisopliae, ranking for efficacy exactly as they did for compatibility. In addition, the synergy factor (SF) and co-toxicity coefficient (CTC) values indicated synergistic interactions at different time intervals. The synergistic efficacy revealed the potential of fungus-insecticide integration against sucking insect pests.

This study examines how workplace ostracism influences hotel employees’ pro-environmental behavior, highlighting the psychological and organizational conditions that shape sustainable actions in the hospitality sector. Guided by social cognitive theory, the model tests green work engagement as a mediating mechanism and green management initiatives and environmental passion as boundary conditions. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 528 employees from four- and five-star hotels in major Chinese cities. Using Hayes’ PROCESS macro, the study assessed both mediation and moderated effects. Results show that workplace ostracism significantly reduces employees’ pro-environmental behavior, and this relationship is partially mediated by green work engagement. Moreover, green management initiatives strengthen the negative association between workplace ostracism and green work engagement, while environmental passion strengthens the effect of green work engagement on pro-environmental behavior. These findings contribute to sustainability and hospitality research by demonstrating how interpersonal exclusion undermines environmentally responsible behavior and by identifying organizational practices and individual motivations that can intensify or enhance these effects.

With the inception of high voltage (HV), requisites on the insulating permanence of HV equipment is becoming increasingly crucial. Mineral/synthetic oil liquid insulation—together with solid insulation materials (paper, pressboard)—is the fundamental insulation constituent in HV apparatuses; their insulation attributes perform a substantial part in a reliable and steady performance. Meanwhile, implications on the environment, scarcity of petroleum oil supplies and discarding complications with waste oil have stimulated investigators to steer their attention towards sustainable, renewable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly insulating substances. The contemporary insulating constituent’s evolution is driven by numerous dynamics—in particular, environmental obligations and other security and economic issues. Consequently, HV equipment manufacturers must address novel specifications concerning to these new standards. Renewable, sustainable and environmentally friendly insulating materials are continuously substituting conventional insulating items in the market place. These are favorable to traditional insulating materials, due to their superior functionality. The also offer explicit security and eco-friendly advantages. This article discusses cutting-edge technology of environmentally friendly insulating materials, including their fabrication, processing and characterization. The new renewable, insulating systems used in HV equipment are submitted and their fundamental gains stated in comparison with conventional insulating materials. Several experimental efforts carried out in various parts of the world are presented, offering an outline of the existing research conducted on renewable insulating systems. The significance of this article lies in summarizing prior investigations, classifying research essence, inducements and predicting forthcoming research trends. Furthermore, opportunities and constraints being experienced in the field of exploration are evidently reported. Last but not least, imminent research proposals and applications are recommended.

This paper proposes a novel method for sports video scene classification with the particular intention of video summarization. Creating and publishing a shorter version of the video is more interesting than a full version due to instant entertainment. Generating shorter summaries of the videos is a tedious task that requires significant labor hours and unnecessary machine occupation. Due to the growing demand for video summarization in marketing, advertising agencies, awareness videos, documentaries, and other interest groups, researchers are continuously proposing automation frameworks and novel schemes. Since the scene classification is a fundamental component of video summarization and video analysis, the quality of scene classification is particularly important. This article focuses on various practical implementation gaps over the existing techniques and presents a method to achieve high-quality of scene classification. We consider cricket as a case study and classify five scene categories, i.e., batting, bowling, boundary, crowd and close-up. We employ our model using pre-trained AlexNet Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for scene classification. The proposed method employs new, fully connected layers in an encoder fashion. We employ data augmentation to achieve a high accuracy of 99.26% over a smaller dataset. We conduct a performance comparison against baseline approaches to prove the superiority of the method as well as state-of-the-art models. We evaluate our performance results on cricket videos and compare various deep-learning models, i.e., Inception V3, Visual Geometry Group (VGGNet16, VGGNet19), Residual Network (ResNet50), and AlexNet. Our experiments demonstrate that our method with AlexNet CNN produces better results than existing proposals.