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Decision makers and researchers recognize the need to effectively confront the social dimensions and conflicts inherent to invasive species research and management. Yet, despite numerous contentious situations that have arisen, no systematic evaluation of the literature has examined the commonalities in the patterns and types of these emergent social issues. Using social and ecological keywords, we reviewed trends in the social dimensions of invasive species research and management and the sources and potential solutions to problems and conflicts that arise around invasive species. We integrated components of cognitive hierarchy theory and risk perceptions theory to provide a conceptual framework to identify, distinguish, and provide understanding of the driving factors underlying disputes associated with invasive species. In the ISI Web of Science database, we found 15,915 peer-reviewed publications on biological invasions, 124 of which included social dimensions of this phenomenon. Of these 124, 28 studies described specific contentious situations. Social approaches to biological invasions have emerged largely in the last decade and have focused on both environmental social sciences and resource management. Despite being distributed in a range of journals, these 124 articles were concentrated mostly in ecology and conservation-oriented outlets. We found that conflicts surrounding invasive species arose based largely on differences in value systems and to a lesser extent stakeholder and decision maker?s risk perceptions. To confront or avoid such situations, we suggest integrating the plurality of environmental values into invasive species research and management via structured decision making techniques, which enhance effective risk communication that promotes trust and confidence between stakeholders and decision makers.

A precise, simple, cost effective, accurate, eco-friendly and validated fourier transform infrared spectroscopy method has been developed for the simultaneous estimation of Clonidine Hydrochloride and Chlorthalidone in pharmaceutical synthetic mixture. The developed method involves measurement of spectral wavenumber of the infrared band corresponding to (–C=N) from 1658.78 cm-1 for Clonidine Hydrochloride and (-S=O) group from 1346.31 cm-1 for Chlorthalidone. Over the range of 1.5–3% w/w for Clonidine hydrochloride and 15–90% w/w for Chlorthalidone, the method was found to be linear. It has correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.999 for Clonidine hydrochloride and 0.994 for Chlorthalidone. According to ICH guidelines, in terms of accuracy, linearity, limit of detection and limit of quantitation, precision, the developed method was validated. In addition to this, degradation behaviours of Clonidine Hydrochloride and Chlorthalidone were studied by subjecting them to sunlight, photolytic and thermal degradation.

Cyanide is a poisonous and dangerous chemical that binds to metals in metalloenzymes, especially cytochrome C oxidase and, thus, interferes with their functionalities. Different pathways and enzymes are involved during cyanide biodegradation, and cyanide hydratase is one of the enzymes that is involved in such a process. In this study, cyanide resistance and cyanide degradation were studied using 24 fungal strains in order to find the strain with the best capacity for cyanide bioremediation. To confirm the capacity of the tested strains, cyano-bioremediation and the presence of the gene that is responsible for the cyanide detoxification was assessed. From the tested organisms, Trichoderma harzianum (T. harzianum) had a significant capability to resist and degrade cyanide at a 15 mM concentration, where it achieved an efficiency of 75% in 7 days. The gene network analysis of enzymes that are involved in cyanide degradation revealed the involvement of cyanide hydratase, dipeptidase, carbon–nitrogen hydrolase-like protein, and ATP adenylyltransferase. This study revealed that T. harzianum was more efficient in degrading cyanide than the other tested fungal organisms, and molecular analysis confirmed the experimental observations.

This study presents a robust methodology for calibrating the Hardening Soil– Brick (HS-Brick) constitutive model using both laboratory and field tests. Model parameters are derived and verified against a benchmark problem involving a spread footing founded on overconsolidated sandy soil in Texas, based on large-scale experiments by Briaud and Gibbens. The results show that wide variations in confining stress complicate direct parameter estimation from triaxial tests, necessitating the use of global optimization methods. To reduce computational cost, a metamodeling approach based on Latin hypercube sampling is employed, enabling efficient surrogate predictions that serve as the computational engine for evolutionary algorithms. The proposed framework provides accurate and computationally efficient settlement predictions and is readily adaptable for reliability-based geotechnical design applications.

Over the last decades, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become a fundamental tool for the design of gas turbine combustors, partly making up for the costs and duration issues related to the experimental tests involving high-pressure reactive processes. Nevertheless, high-fidelity simulations of reactive flows remain computationally expensive, particularly for conjugate heat transfer (CHT) analyses aimed at predicting liner metal temperatures and characterising wall heat losses. This work investigates the robustness of a cost-effective numerical setup for CHT simulations, focusing on the prediction of cold-side thermal loads in industrial combustor liners under realistic operating conditions. The proposed approach is tested using both Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and unsteady Stress-Blended Eddy Simulation (SBES) turbulence models for the combustor flame tube, coupled via a time desynchronisation strategy with transient heat conduction in the solid domain. Cold-side heat transfer is modelled using a 1D correlation-based tool, runtime coupled with the CHT simulation to account for cooling-induced thermal loads without explicitly resolving complex cooling passages. The methodology is applied to a single periodic sector of the NovaLTTM16 annular combustor, developed by Baker Hughes and operating under high-pressure conditions with natural gas. Validation against experimental data demonstrates the methodology’s ability to predict liner metal temperatures accurately, account for modifications in cooling geometries, and support design-phase evaluations efficiently. Overall, the proposed approach offers a robust trade-off between computational cost and predictive accuracy, making it suitable for practical engineering applications.

In the automotive industry, the increasing stringent standards to reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions has driven significant advancements in turbocharging systems. The centrifugal compressor, as the most widely used power-absorbing machinery, plays a crucial role but remains one of the most complex components to study and design. While most numerical studies rely on adiabatic models, this work analyses several Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models with conjugate heat transfer (CHT) of varying complexity, incorporating real solid components. This approach allowed a sensitivity analysis of the performance obtained from the different models compared to the adiabatic case, highlighting the effects of internal heat exchange losses. Moreover, an analysis of the temperature distribution of the wheel was conducted, along with a thermal assessment of the various heat flux contributions across the different components, to gain a deeper understanding of the performance differences. The impact of including the seal plate has been evaluated and different boundary conditions on the seal plate have been tested to assess the uncertainty in the results. Finally, the influence of heat exchange between the shroud and the external environment is also examined to further refine the model’s accuracy. One of the objectives of this work is to obtain a correct temperature profile of the rotor for a subsequent thermo-mechanical analysis.

This study discovers a teleconnection of winter cold nights (TN10p) in the Northern Hemisphere lands, termed as the Circum–hemisphere teleconnection (CHT) of extreme cold events (CHTe). The CHTe exhibits five distinct centers of action situated in the Southeastern North America, Baffin Bay Coast, Northern Europe, Middle East–North Africa, and Eastern Siberia. Notably, it displays significant interannual (~ 3a) and decadal (~ 10a) variabilities. Besides, the differences between the CHTe and several known atmospheric and oceanic modes are also illustrated in terms of the occurrence year, physical nature, temporal variability, and spatial structure. Meanwhile, a new atmospheric teleconnection pattern in the troposphere, named as the CHT, corresponds to the atmospheric circulation associated with the CHTe. During the positive CHTe events, the positive CHT events occur, resulting in significant positive geopotential height anomalies (GHTa) over the Central North Atlantic, Western Europe and Songhua River as well as significant negative GHTa over Greenland and Caspian Sea, and vice versa. Compared with the horizontal advections, vertical convections and diabatic heating, the CHT may mainly influence the local TN10p anomalies by modulating atmospheric thickness anomalies over five regions of the CHTe.

We aim to investigate the obstacles faced by elderly indigenous individuals in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh when accessing healthcare services. A qualitative research approach was utilized, and data collection was carried out in three distinct regions of the aforementioned area. A total of 30 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observations were conducted to achieve the research objectives. Thematic analysis utilizing both a deductive and inductive approach was employed to analyze the data. The Granheim method and Nvivo-12 software were utilized to process, analyze and code the data. The study's findings indicate that a lack of knowledge about healthcare needs, geographical barriers, poor financial conditions, higher cost of medical services, scarcity of hospitals nearby and communication barriers all contribute to inadequate access to healthcare services. By recognizing the factors that impede access to healthcare services in this region, this study offers valuable insight for policymakers and healthcare providers on how to enhance healthcare services for the indigenous population, especially the elderly. Furthermore, the government can adopt a more efficient approach to include these elderly individuals in various social safety net programs.

Small data centers can be integrated into the energy systems of commercial and tertiary buildings to capture waste heat generated by servers, mitigate environmental impacts and enhance energy efficiency. This study introduces a novel methodology for maximizing waste heat capture from the cooling coils by optimizing workload distribution in an edge data center consisting of air-cooled servers. The maximization of outlet temperatures algorithm (MOTA) was developed using a validated fast thermal evaluation approach. Experimental studies were conducted to characterize parameters of the cooling system such as air and water flow rates and effectiveness of the coil. A multi-region conjugate heat transfer (CHT) numerical model was developed to demonstrate feasibility of the proposed approach. Heat transfer through the cooling coil was numerically modeled using the effectiveness-NTU method. Good agreement was achieved between the simulated and measured water temperatures at the outlet of the cooling coil. Numerical simulations conducted using the validated CHT model show that the MOTA can improve heat recovery by up to 17.1% under various IT loads. Furthermore, optimizing the water flow rate can reduce the cooling load by up to 53.2%. These combined results highlight the potential of the proposed algorithm for energy-efficient management of data centers. Computational cost and real-world applicability of the proposed algorithm were discussed in detail.

Hybrid nanofluids contain two or more nanoparticles mixed with a conventional coolant to enhance the thermophysical properties at the molecular level. The current research investigates the performance of heat exchangers under the influence of hybrid nanofluids. Simulation is performed using Ansys 2020 R2 and RNG k-ϵ model is used to solve the problem because it is the most accurate model suggested for turbulent flow. A single-pass heat exchanger of length 650 mm and diameter 20 mm was investigated and inserted with twisted tapes of twist ratios(y/W) 4 and 3 for volume concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 3%. A hybrid metal matrix nanofluid, a mixture of Al 2 O 3 and CuO in a ratio of 70:30, was used as a working fluid to conduct the study. It is astonishing to find that with the increase in volume concentrations of hybrid nanofluid, there is a significant increase in Nusselt number, which is 370% for twisted tape of twist ratio 3. The study also revealed that there is minimal effect of volume concentration on the friction factor, although inserting twisted tape increases the friction factor 294% more than the plain tube. The thermal performance factor of the heat exchanger with twisted tape of Twist ratio = 3 is 3.52 times more than that of a plain tube. An empirical correlation between the Nusselt number and the friction factor is established for various volume concentrations and twist ratios. We conclude that the use of a hybrid nanofluid with higher thermophysical characteristics is beneficial for obtaining a high thermal performance system.