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Desalination is commonly adopted nowadays to overcome the freshwater scarcity in some areas of the world if brackish water or salt water is available. Different kinds of technologies have been proposed in the last century. In this paper, the state of the mainstream solutions is reported, showing the current commercial technologies like reverse osmosis (RO), Multi-Stages Flash desalination (MSF) and Multi-Effect Distillation (MED), and the new frontiers of the research with the aim of exploiting renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass energy. In these cases, seawater treatment plants are the same as traditional ones, with the only difference being that they use a renewable energy source. Thus, classifications are firstly introduced, considering the working principles, the main energy input required for the treatment, and the potential for coupling with renewable energy sources. Each technology is described in detail, showing how the process works and reporting some data on the state of development. Finally, a statistical analysis is given concerning the spread of the various technologies across the world and which of them are most exploited. In this section, an important energy and exergy analysis is also addressed to quantify energy losses.

Increasing global demand for fresh water is driving the development and implementation of a wide variety of seawater desalination technologies. Entropy generation analysis, and specifically, Second Law efficiency, is an important tool for illustrating the influence of irreversibilities within a system on the required energy input. When defining Second Law efficiency, the useful exergy output of the system must be properly defined. For desalination systems, this is the minimum least work of separation required to extract a unit of water from a feed stream of a given salinity. In order to evaluate the Second Law efficiency, entropy generation mechanisms present in a wide range of desalination processes are analyzed. In particular, entropy generated in the run down to equilibrium of discharge streams must be considered. Physical models are applied to estimate the magnitude of entropy generation by component and individual processes. These formulations are applied to calculate the total entropy generation in several desalination systems including multiple effect distillation, multistage flash, membrane distillation, mechanical vapor compression, reverse osmosis, and humidification-dehumidification. Within each technology, the relative importance of each source of entropy generation is discussed in order to determine which should be the target of entropy generation minimization. As given here, the correct application of Second Law efficiency shows which systems operate closest to the reversible limit and helps to indicate which systems have the greatest potential for improvement.

Policy innovation is considered important for addressing major challenges such as climate change and the sustainable energy transition. Although policy learning is likely to play a key role in enabling policy innovation, the link between them remains unclear despite much research on both topics. To address this gap, we move beyond a binary treatment of policy innovation and differentiate policy problem innovation from policy instrument innovation and policy process innovation. Subsequently, we synthesise the literature on policy learning with the research on the multiple streams framework (MSF), a well-known lens for explaining policy innovation. Like earlier policy learning studies, we distinguish several types of learning by posing the key questions of learning, but in the context of each stream of the MSF: who learns (actors), what (beliefs), how (modes), and to what effect (ripening). This new conceptualisation clarifies the relationship of each type of policy learning to the varieties of policy innovation. Further, it indicates that policy learning is likely to result in policy innovation if and only if it influences the coupling among the three streams during a window of opportunity – through policy entrepreneurship – and not otherwise. We conclude with the implications of this study for future research on policy innovation, policy learning, and the MSF.

For thirty years, international aid actors have sought to increase the involvement of the populations with whom they intervene in a push for “Southernization.” At Médecins sans frontières (MSF), this has translated among other things into a diversification of the countries of origin of “expatriates.” Based on fifty-five interviews and participatory observation, this article examines the implicit stake of this “Southernization:” the emancipation from the North of individuals from the South. While MSF’s “Southernization” stems from a “Southernist” political will and from a growing need for “expatriates,” it seems that it has actually led to a temporary depoliticization of the organization, a shift in its strategic equilibrium, and to the emergence of new social stratification in the end.

This study evaluates the repurposed application of an expired non-sedating antihistamine drug (ENSAD), fexofenadine hydrochloride, as a high-performance “green” corrosion inhibitor for copper in 1.0 M HCl. Gravimetric results demonstrate a concentration-dependent inhibition efficiency reaching 96.4% at 120 ppm, with remarkable long-term stability (> 92.5% efficiency after 72 h). Adsorption behavior followed the Langmuir isotherm model, indicating the formation of a stable monolayer. The calculated Gibbs free energy (∆ G o ads =-33.8 kJ mol − 1 ) confirms a comprehensive physicochemical adsorption mechanism involving both electrostatic attraction and chemical coordination. Thermodynamic investigations revealed that the addition of ENSAD increased the activation energy from 30.36 to 53.89 kJ mol⁻¹, creating a substantial energy barrier against metallic dissolution. Electrochemical studies (PDP and EIS) confirmed ENSAD as a mixed-type inhibitor that significantly enhances charge transfer resistance ( R c t ). Quantum chemical parameters, including a low energy gap (ΔE g = 2.361 eV) and high softness (S = 0.424 eV − 1 ), corroborate the high reactivity and electron-donating capability of the molecule’s heteroatoms (N, O) and π-systems. Surface characterization (SEM/EDX) visually and chemically confirmed the presence of a robust organic film. These findings position ENSAD as a technically viable, thermally stable, and sustainable alternative for corrosion protection in industrial acid cleaning and low-temperature desalination stages.

This paper introduces social identity theory and self-categorization theory to policy process research. Drawing from the prominent and widely acknowledged psychological social identity approach, it develops the theoretical concept of social identities in the policy process (SIPP) and advances the understanding of policy actors’ behavior. Compared to psychological foundations of existing theories of the policy process, the social identity approach emphasizes the importance of social group membership for forming common views on policy content and shaping policy actors’ behavior as beneficial to the in-group. Policy actors thus act in accordance with their salient social identity. This salience is dependent on the strength of a social identity, determined by the feeling of belonging, positive evaluation, and emotional bond to a group. Additionally, social identities are moderated by internal and external factors. SIPP distinguish three levels of analysis, ranging from the psychological microlevel concerned with individual behavior and preferences, over the socio-psychological mesolevel of intra-and intergroup dynamics toward a macroperspective of general types of social identities. In policy subsystems, five such types appear relevant: organizational identities, local identities, sectoral identities, demographic identities, and informal identities. By integrating SIPP into the analytical categories of theories of the policy process, this paper calls for a future research agenda establishing a further theoretical lens for a better understanding of policy processes.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have made significant advances in the early detection and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), overcoming the limits of previous screening methods. These AI-based technologies offer more objective, scalable, and efficient methods for identifying risk behaviors associated with ASD. This article presents a novel approach for enhancing the detection and classification of ASD by integrating squeeze-and-excitation, multiscale attention mechanisms, and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with automated hyperparameter optimization using the white shark optimization (WSO) algorithm. By leveraging attention mechanisms to focus on relevant facial features across multiple scales, this method enhances feature extraction, improves classification accuracy, and provides a robust framework for analyzing complex facial imaging data. An extensive autism dataset, encompassing both facial and multimodal datasets, was utilized in this study, including subjects from the non-ASD control (NC) group and individuals diagnosed with ASD. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods, achieving a high accuracy of 95.36%, precision of 92.62%, and an F1-score of 95.5% for ASD detection and classification. This proposed model is a promising tool for the accurate and early identification of ASD, which is crucial for effective treatment and management. By providing deeper insights into distinctive facial patterns and morphological features associated with ASD, the model enables physicians to make more informed decisions and develop targeted treatment plans, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Both defensin and inflammation are part of the human innate immune system that responds rapidly to pathogens. The combination of defensins with pro- or anti-inflammatory effects can be a potential research direction for the treatment of infection by pathogens. This study aimed to identify whether MSF (Miracle Synergy material made using Filipendula glaberrima), a probiotic lysate of Filipendula glaberrima extracts fermented with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum K8, activates the expression of human β-defensin (HBD2 and HBD3) to protect the host against pathogens and inhibit inflammation caused by S. aureus, in vitro with Western blot analysis, qRT-PCR and in vivo studies with a mouse model were used to evaluate the effects of MSF. The MSF treatment induced HBD2 and HBD3 expression via the p38 and NF-κB pathways. Furthermore, MSF treatment significantly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8), also through p38 and NF-κB in S. aureus-induced inflammatory condition. MSF treatment remarkably reduced erythema in mice ears caused by the injection of S. aureus, while K8 lysate treatment did not initiate a strong recovery. Taken together, MSF induced the expression of HBD2 and HDB3 and activated anti-inflammatory activity more than the probiotic lysates of L. plantarum K8. These findings show that MSF is a potential defensin inducer and anti-inflammatory agent.

The multiple stream framework (MSF) helps explain why policy makers address some issues but not others. Although the framework was originally developed in the USA, scholars argue that it has universal explanatory power across political systems and have called for applications to authoritarian settings. In response, we conduct a systematic review of China-focused MSF research, including 22 English-language articles and 156 Chinese-language articles. We show an increase in publications and identify education and social policy as the two most studied areas. Based on the reviewed articles, we highlight four key themes pertaining to China's policy process: the dominance of the political stream, the limited role of the national mood, managerial issues in the problem stream, and stream dependence. In addition to a need to conceptualise and test how these aspects shape policy outputs and outcomes, we argue that, if the framework is to contribute to a better understanding of China's policy process, future MSF research should not only venture into unexplored policy areas but also ought to be more explicit and transparent in terms of operationalisation and focus more on analysing causal relationships. Other research priorities include comparative and critical analysis of MSF hypotheses in other non-democracies.

A hybrid Multi-Stage Flash–Humidification Dehumidification (MSF-HDH) desalination system is investigated for energy recovery from an MSF system. The hybrid MSF-HDH system increases total productivity and performance ratio and reduces brine rejection. Hot condensed steam that leaves the MSF brine heater is used to warm the rejected pretreated brine from MSF to a higher temperature suitable for HDH system operation (about 60 °C). This allows us to increase the product (desalinated water) without additional “external” energy input to the hybrid system. Four different layouts of the integrated MSF-HDH system are presented and compared. The results show that an HDH system can utilize over 66% of an existing MSF brine blowdown, while the hybrid system can achieve a gained output ratio—GOR, water recovery ratio—RR, productivity and freshwater cost of 8.73, 44.86%, 30,549 m3/day and 1.068 $/m3 of freshwater, respectively. Utilizing 66.96% of MSF brine blowdown by the HDH system leads to a daily HDH productivity of about 670 m3 of drinking water, which is enough to support 134,000 persons considering a daily consumption of 5 L of drinking water per person.