Search Results (5,896)

Watermelon juice is a nutritious yet highly perishable beverage. Conventional thermal pasteurization ensures safety but degrades heat-sensitive nutrients, color, and flavor. Induced electric field (IEF) is an emerging technology that inactivates microorganisms while better preserving quality. However, its effects on the comprehensive quality retention of watermelon juice during storage remain underexplored. This study investigated the efficacy of IEF treatment on the microbial inactivation and quality preservation of watermelon juice during 25 days of storage at 4 °C. Freshly extracted watermelon juice was subjected to low-temperature IEF at 65 °C (IEF1) for 101 s and 60 °C (IEF2) for 88 s, with conventional pasteurization (65 °C, 30 min) as a control. The results showed that no colonies were detected in the IEF2 group throughout the 25-day storage period. Both IEF treatment and pasteurization effectively inhibited juice acidification. Soluble solids content and electrical conductivity remained stable under refrigeration, and the IEF group showed slower and more controllable acidity on day 25. Notably, the IEF1 group retained the highest lycopene content at the end of storage, while the IEF2 group maintained the highest total phenolic content (TPC). Furthermore, IEF treatment effectively mitigated color deterioration and preserved carbohydrate stability during refrigeration. Flavor analysis revealed that the taste profile of the IEF2 group at the initial storage stage closely resembled that of fresh watermelon juice. Over the 25-day period, the relative content of key volatile compounds characteristic of fresh watermelon decreased by only 3.64% in the IEF2 group. Full article

The increasing deployment of off-grid photovoltaic–battery energy storage systems (PV–BESSs) has intensified operational demands on battery energy storage, particularly when second-life lithium-ion batteries are employed. Due to aging-induced increases in internal resistance and reduced thermal margins, second-life batteries are more vulnerable to high-current operation at a low state-of-charge (SOC), which aggravates heat generation and accelerates degradation. In this study, an SOC-dependent soft current limiting strategy is proposed that reshapes the discharge current reference under low-SOC conditions while maintaining fixed SOC limits, thereby targeting current-domain protection rather than SOC-boundary adaptation for reliable off-grid operation. The proposed method introduces two SOC thresholds to gradually derate the allowable discharge current, preventing abrupt current changes near the lower SOC bound. A unified MATLAB/Simulink-based framework is developed for a 24 h representative off-grid PV–BESS scenario using a second-order equivalent circuit model coupled with a lumped thermal model. Simulation results show that the proposed current shaping reduces low-SOC current stress and associated Joule heating, leading to moderated temperature rise, while only slightly affecting the unmet load under the tested conditions. These findings indicate that SOC-dependent current shaping can provide a control-oriented means to reduce low-SOC electro-thermal stress in second-life batteries within the studied off-grid PV–BESS framework. Full article

Fourier-transform spectroscopy is a widely used technique for determining the spectral and thermal properties of a target. However, target temperature variations during measurement can compromise the spectral accuracy. Temperature fluctuations induce oscillations superimposed on the target spectrum. These oscillations, referred to as scene-change artifacts, degrade the spectral accuracy. The literature is divided, with theoretical predictions suggesting negligible artifacts and growing experimental evidence reporting significant artifacts. This paper presents a theory and experimental validation of scene-change artifacts originating from target temperature variations. Traditionally, the interferogram offset is assumed to be constant, an invalid assumption for a changing scene. The error is subsequently Fourier-transformed, producing scene-change artifacts. Accurately estimating the truth spectrum is often challenging. To address this, we propose the signal-to-scene-change-artifact ratio, a metric that quantifies the impact of scene-change artifacts without knowledge of the truth spectrum. The artifacts will be eliminated by estimating the interferogram offset using smooth offset correction. Furthermore, the interferogram offset enables determination of the target’s temperature with a greater accuracy and an increased temporal resolution compared to using the spectra. These results will demonstrate that a smooth offset correction can improve the spectrum and temperature accuracy on thermally variant targets when measured with a Fourier-transform spectrometer. Full article

High-geothermal tunnels are subjected to complex thermo–hydro–mechanical (THM) coupling effects, where the interaction of temperature, seepage, and stress significantly influences the stability of surrounding rock. To address the limitations of conventional models assuming uniform initial temperature, a THM-coupled numerical model incorporating an in situ temperature gradient is established based on the Sangzhuling Tunnel. The concept of the thermal influence zone is quantitatively defined by an equivalent-radius method, and its spatiotemporal evolution is systematically investigated. In addition, the distinct roles of temperature and pore water pressure in controlling deformation and plastic-zone evolution are comparatively clarified. The results show that the thermal influence zone expands nonlinearly with increasing initial rock temperature and gradually stabilizes over time. Temperature and pore water pressure both promote the development of the plastic zone, which predominantly propagates along directions approximately 45° to the horizontal. Under the geological and boundary conditions considered in this study, temperature plays a dominant role by inducing thermal stress and degrading mechanical properties, leading to significant expansion of the plastic zone and increased vault deformation. In contrast, pore water pressure mainly reduces effective stress, thereby influencing deformation distribution, especially at the tunnel invert. Overall, THM coupling significantly amplifies surrounding rock failure compared with single-field conditions. The findings provide quantitative insights into the evolution of the thermal influence zone and its coupled control on deformation and plasticity, offering a theoretical basis for support design and stability control in high-geothermal tunnels. Full article

Siponimod, a selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulator, represents a next-generation therapeutic drug for active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. This study conducted in-depth forced degradation studies of siponimod in solid state subjected to acidic, alkaline, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal conditions, in compliance with ICH guidelines Q1A (R2) and Q3A (R2). An HPLC method was developed to quantify siponimod and separate its degradation products (DPs). The DPs were characterized using LC-HRMS/MS and LC-MSⁿ techniques. Moreover, the toxicological profiles of siponimod and its DPs were evaluated through the in silico tools ProTox 3.0 and ADMETlab 3.0, with molecular docking and dynamics simulations assessing their binding to the S1P1 receptor. Siponimod was stable to light but degraded under acidic, alkaline, oxidative, and thermal stress, producing five products: DP-1 (acidic), DP-2/3 (oxidative), DP-4 (hydrolytic), and DP-5 (thermal). The toxicity prediction suggested that neither siponimod nor its DPs exhibited carcinogenic or mutagenic potential, and the molecular modeling analysis revealed that DP-2 and DP-3 demonstrated favorable binding affinities, with stable dynamic profiles and thermodynamic properties that closely resembled those of siponimod. As far as we know, this is the first study on the structural elucidation of the DPs of siponimod by LC-HRMS/MS and LC-MSⁿ. Full article

Infrared and visible image fusion aims to combine the complementary advantages of thermal radiation information and rich texture details to generate more informative images for downstream perception tasks. However, existing deep learning-based methods usually assume ideal imaging conditions and often suffer from performance degradation in complex environments such as low illumination, rain interference, and strong lighting disturbances. To address this problem, this paper proposes an adaptive prompting-driven degradation-aware fusion framework. Specifically, a degradation-aware prompt generation module is introduced to automatically perceive degradation patterns from the input images and generate structured conditional prompts. These prompts guide the network to adaptively adjust feature representations through learnable affine modulation. Furthermore, a semantic-aligned feature learning strategy is designed to ensure consistent cross-modal representation in the latent space. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed method achieves superior performance compared with several state-of-the-art fusion approaches under both normal and degraded conditions. Full article

To address the inverse identification of contact-related thermal faults in gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), this study proposes a method for contact resistance inversion and internal temperature field reconstruction. The proposed method enables the estimation of faulty internal contact resistance using external enclosure temperature data, while simultaneously reconstructing the internal temperature field. First, a forward numerical model of GIS is established, and a POD-Kriging surrogate model is developed to achieve second-level rapid prediction of the forward problem. Based on this surrogate model, the thermal fault inversion problem is formulated as an optimization problem of fault parameters and solved using the Grey Wolf Optimizer. GIS temperature-rise experiments are performed to validate the numerical model, and a real GIS contact fault case is further analyzed. The results indicate that the proposed method yields an average inversion error of 9.5% for degraded contact resistance, with the maximum error at internal temperature monitoring points remaining below 8%. The total inversion time is approximately 30 s. These findings demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of effective online inversion and diagnosis of contact-related thermal faults in GIS equipment. Full article

Hydrophilic colloids are ideal materials for preparing edible films; however, their intrinsic hydrophilicity leads to poor hydrophobicity in the resulting films. Emulsion-based films can significantly improve the hydrophobicity of films made from hydrophilic colloids, but this approach tends to disrupt intermolecular interactions within the film matrix. Phenolic compounds can compensate for this drawback by promoting crosslinking among film-forming polymers. In this study, hemp seed protein was used as the film-forming matrix, and rose essential oil was incorporated to prepare emulsion-based films. Different amounts of propolis flavonoids were added to investigate their effects on the physicochemical properties of the films. The results show that the addition of propolis flavonoids significantly reduced film whiteness (9%–45%), thickness (6%–37%), light transmittance (9%–60%), water vapor transmission rate (34%–65%), and peroxide value (25%–76%) of oil, while increasing tensile strength (15%–149%), elongation at break (24%–95%), Young’s modulus (26%–140%), surface hydrophobicity, thermal stability, and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Furthermore, pork wrapped with flavonoid-containing films exhibited inhibition of microbial growth, lipid oxidation, protein degradation, and maintained firmness. Therefore, propolis flavonoids represent a potential active ingredient for improving the physicochemical properties and preservative performance of emulsion-based films. Full article

Body temperature regulation in ectotherms is influenced by numerous environmental, morphological, and physiological factors, some of which operate in population-specific ways. Understanding how these factors shape thermal biology is important for species conservation. The nose-horned viper, an ecologically significant yet understudied mesopredator of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, occupies diverse ecosystems facing ongoing degradation. Over five years, we investigated how 12 environmental, behavioral, morphological, and physiological variables influenced field body temperature across three climatically distinct populations of nose-horned vipers. Using an information-theoretic approach with model averaging, we identified important predictors and assessed population-specific effects. Air temperature at 5 cm above the snake’s position, humidity, and wind were highly important predictors across all populations, whereas physiological states (shedding and digestion) exerted weaker effects. Microhabitat type and time of day emerged as highly important population-specific predictors, while body size showed weaker, population-dependent effects. Neither sex, cloud cover, nor behavioral state contributed meaningfully to model fit. Mean body temperatures were similar across populations and sexes. By integrating environmental, behavioral, physiological, and morphological variables, this study comprehensively identifies predictors of body temperature in nose-horned vipers. Site-tailored maintenance of structurally diverse habitats is essential for preserving thermoregulatory opportunities and ensuring long-term persistence of nose-horned vipers. Full article

Synthetic dyes frequently persist through conventional wastewater treatment, motivating the use of advanced oxidation processes capable of breaking down these stable molecules. Metal-doped carbon dots (CDs) offer a tuneable platform for catalytic dye degradation in water, although their performance varies strongly with operating conditions. The aim of this work was to determine how temperature, H₂O₂ dosage, and pH influence the catalytic behaviour of Fe-, Cu-, Zn-, and Mg-doped CDs during the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RB), optimised using a Taguchi L27 orthogonal array design. Temperature and oxidant loading were the dominant factors: higher temperatures accelerated reactions through Arrhenius-type kinetics, while increasing H₂O₂ availability improved removal until excessive levels began to suppress •OH generation. Across all condition sets, apparent rate constants spanned 7.0 × 10⁻⁴–2.65 × 10⁻² min⁻¹, with t₅₀ values of 26–217 min and t₉₀ extending from ~86 min to >700 min; final decolourisation ranged from ~17% to nearly 100%. pH played a secondary role, mainly affecting dye speciation and surface adsorption. Dopant identity shifted the optimum operating region for each catalyst: Fe- and Cu-CDs achieved complete or near-complete removal of both dyes at pH 7 and 50 °C with relatively low H₂O₂ dosage (0.5–1.0 mL); Zn-CDs reached equivalent performance at pH 7 and 25 °C but required higher oxidant loading (1.5 mL of H₂O₂), reflecting their photo-induced rather than thermally driven activation mechanism; Mg-CDs performed comparably under the same conditions as Fe- and Cu-CDs. The resulting condition–catalyst map highlights the operating regimes that maximise efficiency while minimising chemical input, providing a practical framework for selecting carbon-dot-based catalysts for water treatment applications. Full article

Thermal processing of biomass can induce chemical transformations that lead to the formation of fluorescent carbonaceous products. In this study, six β-glucan-rich medicinal mushrooms, Ganoderma lucidum, Cordyceps sinensis, Inonotus obliquus, Lentinula edodes, Grifola frondosa, and Hericium erinaceus, were subjected to mild pyrolytic treatment (200 °C for 3 h) to investigate the formation of water-soluble fluorescent fractions. Physicochemical characterization of aqueous extracts was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography size-exclusion chromatography (HPLC-SEC), fluorescence emission spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and β-glucan quantification. Fluorescence emission spectra revealed species-dependent differences in emission intensity, with the most pronounced signals observed for G. lucidum and C. sinensis. HPLC-SEC analysis showed only minor changes in molecular weight distribution after thermal treatment, suggesting limited polymer degradation. FTIR spectra indicated moderate structural modifications consistent with partial carbonization and chemical rearrangement within the mushroom matrices. Despite the mild processing conditions, measurable increases in fluorescence intensity were observed in several species, indicating the formation of fluorescent carbon-rich molecular structures. These findings demonstrate that moderate thermal treatment of β-glucan-rich fungal biomass can generate water-soluble fluorescent carbonaceous fractions without extensive breakdown of the original polysaccharide matrix. The results provide new insights into thermally induced photophysical changes in medicinal mushrooms and contribute to understanding the formation of fluorescent carbonaceous products from natural biomaterials. Full article

This paper presents a comparative evaluation of a wave union (WU) time-to-digital converter (TDC) implemented on two Microchip flash-based field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs): the radiation-tolerant RTG4 (RT4G150-1CG) and the low-power SmartFusion2 (M2S150TS-1FCG1152). Both implementations use an identical VHDL architecture consisting of parallel tapped delay lines (TDLs) each with a WU pattern generator, edge-coded logic encoding, and real-time statistical bin width calibration. Single-shot precision (SSP), defined as the standard deviation of consecutive period measurements derived from calibrated timestamps, is evaluated across four independent input channels. Measurements are performed at five input frequencies (1, 2, 10, 20, and 40 MHz) and six ambient temperatures ranging from 20 °C to 60 °C. At a low input frequency, the RTG4 implementation achieves a mean SSP of 6.97 ps, while IGLOO2 yields 10.12 ps under identical conditions. As the input frequency increases, the SSP of both platforms decreases and converges to approximately 4.5 ps. However, at elevated temperatures, both devices experience observable degradation in SSP. To quantify thermal robustness, a thermal sensitivity coefficient (TSC) is introduced, defined as the rate of SSP variation with temperature. The results show that the same WU TDC core implemented on a space-graded FPGA exhibits improved thermal stability and reduced channel-to-channel variance compared to its equivalent on a commercial platform. Full article

This study investigates the femtosecond laser surface texturing approach to tune the wetting properties of glass substrates applied for photovoltaic panels. Two types of microstructured LIPSS-containing motifs—parallel channels and intersecting (crossing) patterns—were fabricated and evaluated through comprehensive durability tests, including thermal cycling, UV exposure, chemical immersion, mechanical abrasion, and dust retention assessment. Wettability measurements showed that both textures exhibit stable hydrophilicity behavior, with the intersecting patterns exhibiting the fastest wetting dynamics; in many cases, complete surface wetting occurred within the first few minutes, preventing a measurable contact angle at later stages. The durability tests caused only minor smoothing of the textured features, and the overall micro- and nanostructures remained intact. Optical characterization revealed that the laser-induced textures maintained high transmittance with no significant degradation after environmental exposure. Overall, the results demonstrate that femtosecond laser texturing provides a robust, coating-free method for producing stable and tunable wetting behavior on glass, offering a promising pathway for the future creation of durable, highly hydrophilic self-cleaning surfaces in photovoltaic systems. Full article

The poor thermal stability of commercial polyethylene (PE) separators hinders the further application of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), yet previous modifications struggle to balance between safety and electrochemical performance. This study proposes an interface modification strategy by forming a poly(melamine terephthalamide) (PTM) coating on the PE separator surface, constructing a “thermal–mechanical–electrochemical synergistic barrier”. The PTMs@PE separator achieves synergistic improvements in thermal shutdown behavior, thermal stability, mechanical strength, and electrochemical compatibility by taking advantage of the temperature-sensitive response of the PE separator, the flame-retardants of the rigid conjugated skeleton with the high nitrogen of PTM, and the electrolyte-affinity of its functional groups. Importantly, the principles between the molecular structure of the PTM coating and the thermal behavior is verified. The results demonstrate that PTM participates in the decomposition process of the PE separator and slows down the degradation rate of the PE chain structure, thereby resulting in a wide-temperature-range thermal shutdown temperature. The PTMs@PE effectively reduces the risk of runaway. The PTMs@PE separator achieves outstanding electrochemical compatibility, achieving a capacity retention rate of 99.27% at 2 C for 500 cycles. Notably, the separator shows high potential for scalable fabrication. This work provides a novel material system and technical pathway for developing highly safe and high-performance LIB separators. Full article

Search and rescue (SAR) missions in collapsed or underground environments remain challenging due to GPS unavailability, which hinders localization and autonomous navigation. Systems that rely on single-sensor inputs or structured settings often degrade under smoke, dust, or dynamic clutter. This paper presents an autonomous ground robot for GPS-denied SAR that integrates low-cost thermal, visual, inertial, and acoustic cues within a unified, computation-efficient architecture. The stack combines Thermal–Visual Odometry (TV–VO) with Zero-Velocity Updates (ZUPT) for drift-resistant localization, RescueGraph for multimodal survivor detection, and a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) planner for adaptive navigation under uncertainty. Across simulated disaster scenarios and benchmark corridor runs, the system shows embedded-feasible runtime behavior and supports return to base without external beacons under the evaluated conditions. Quantitatively, TV–VO+ZUPT reduces drift in short internal evaluations, while RescueGraph attains an F1-score of 0.6923 and an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.976 for survivor detection. At the system level, the integrated navigation stack achieves full mission completion in the reported SAR-style trials, while the separate A*/PPO comparison highlights a trade-off between completion rate, traversal time, and collisions. Overall, the results support the practical promise of a low-cost sensor-fusion and learning-assisted navigation framework for GPS-denied SAR robotics. Full article