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The multifunctional structure, i.e., multilayer sandwich panel (MLSP), exhibits properties like high rigidity, good specific strength, and lightweight and thermal resistance. Structural performance is attributed to these properties, making MLSP very favourable for producing highly reliable structures and increasing fuel efficiency due to its lightweight structure. Forming MLSP through conventional forming techniques such as deep drawing and punching is very challenging because it not only limits the formability but also requires special tooling and produces other undesirable effects. This work researched the feasibility of MLSP's formation through the single-point incremental sheet forming (SPIF) process. The SPIF process was modelled in the LS-DYNA to form MLSP into a benchmark shape. A tensile test was performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the AL-1050. In the simulation, six more cases were also evaluated to see the effects of tool diameter, feed rate, and step size on the forming forces, formability, maximum percent thinning, etc. CATIA software generated the numerical code (NC) for the constant Z-level tool path and fed it to the CNC machine to perform the SPIF experiment on the MLSP. The larger tool diameter contributed to smaller forming forces, good formability, and less fracture area. The crack area and wrinkling tendency increase with the increase in feed rate first and then decrease with a further increase in feed rate. There was good agreement between the simulated and experimental formed geometrical shapes, proving that SPIF is feasible for forming multilayer sandwich structures.

Entrepreneurial networks play an important role in identifying and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities and the growth of entrepreneurial ambidexterity. This exploratory research aimed to explore the role of entrepreneurial networks on entrepreneurial ambidexterity with the mediating effect of novelty ecosystem and the moderating role of entrepreneurial intensity. The data is collected from 347 SME owners and managers of manufacturing and service industries in Jiangsu province, China. The hypotheses are analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling PLS-SEM method. The results indicate that entrepreneurial networks are significantly associated with entrepreneurial ambidexterity. Moreover, findings show that the novelty ecosystem positively influences the association between entrepreneurial networks and entrepreneurial ambidexterity. Furthermore, results show that entrepreneurial intensity significantly moderated the relationship between novelty ecosystem and entrepreneurial ambidexterity. Lastly, the discussion and implications are elaborated in this study.

Background: Aspergillus , a widespread fungus in the natural environment, poses a significant threat to human health by entering the human body via the airways and causing a disease called aspergillosis. This study comprehensively analyzed data on aspergillosis in published articles from mainland China to investigate the prevalence of Aspergillus , and risk factors, mortality rate, and underlying condition associated with aspergillosis. Methods: Published articles were retrieved from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct online search engines. In the 101 analyzed studies, 3558 Aspergillus isolates were meticulously collected and classified. GraphPad Prism 8 was used to statistically examine the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of aspergillosis. Results: Aspergillus fumigatus was prominently reported ( n = 2679, 75.14%), followed by A. flavus ( n = 437, 12.25%), A. niger ( n = 219, 6.14%), and A. terreus ( n = 119, 3.33%). Of a total of 9810 patients, 7513 probable cases accounted for the highest number, followed by confirmed cases ( n = 1956) and possible cases ( n = 341). In patients, cough emerged as the most common complaint ( n = 1819, 18.54%), followed by asthma ( n = 1029, 10.48%) and fever (1024, 10.44%). Of total studies, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was reported in 47 (45.53%) studies, exhibiting an increased prevalence in Beijing ( n = 12, 25.53%), Guangdong ( n = 7, 14.89%), and Shanghai ( n = 6, 12.76%). Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) was reported in 14 (13.86%) studies. Among the total of 14 studies, the occurrence of CPA was 5 (35.71%) in Beijing and 3 (21.42%) in Shanghai. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), was reported at a lower frequency ( n = 8, 7.92%), Guangdong recorded a relatively high number ( n = 3, 37.5%), followed by Beijing ( n = 2, 25.0%), and Shanghai ( n = 1, 12.5%). Percentage of death reported: IPA had the highest rate ( n = 447, 68.87%), followed by CPA ( n = 181, 27.88%) and ABPA ( n = 14, 2.15%). Among the aspergillosis patients, 6220 had underlying conditions, including chronic lung disease ( n = 3765, 60.53%), previous tuberculosis ( n = 416, 6.68%), and organ transplant or organ failure ( n = 648, 10.41%). Aspergillosis was also found in patients using corticosteroid therapy ( n = 622, 10.0%). Conclusion: This review sheds light on the prevalence patterns of Aspergillus species, risk factors of aspergillosis, and gaps in surveillance that could be helpful for the control and treatment of aspergillosis and guide the researchers in future studies. Registration: This systematic review was prospectively registered on PROSPERO: Registration ID CRD42023476870.

The present study was designed to improve the aqueous solubility and dissolution rate of citreorosein, a poorly water soluble drug, by producing its nanoparticles (NPs) using an “antisolvent precipitation with a syringe pump” (APSP) method. Various process parameters including flow rate, stirring speed, temperature, drug concentration and solvent-antisolvent ratio were investigated and optimized to obtain the smallest particle size of citreorosein. The prepared NPs were subjected to different analytical techniques such as SEM, FTIR, XRD and DLS. The NPs were tested for different dissolution parameters including difference (f1) and similarity factors (f2), dissolution efficiency (DE) and mean dissolution time (MDT). The antioxidant potential of citreorosein and its NPs were evaluated using DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP models, while their cytotoxicity was tested on various cancer cell lines such as breast (MDA-MB-231), lung (A549) and liver (HepG2), using the MTT assay. The specificity of the test compound was investigated against two normal human primary epithelial cells including renal (HRPTEpiC) and alveolar (HPAEpiC) cells. DLS analysis revealed that the prepared NPs were less than 200 nm in size while SEM and XRD confirmed their rod shape and amorphous nature, respectively. Citreorosein-NPs exhibited enhanced solubility and dissolution rate in all medias as compared to pure citreorosein. The NPs displayed significant antioxidant effects against ABTS, DPPH and FRAP models, with IC50 values of22.6, 21.45 and 27.30 µg/ml, respectively. Moreover, it showed significant cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231, A549 and HepG2 cells, with IC50 values of 3.45, 4.5 and 6.23 µg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, the NPs demonstrated high selectivity index values for the aforementioned cell lines as compared to reference drugs. This study demonstrated that APSP method successfully produced citreorosein-NPs and hence, showed better aqueous solubility, dissolution rate, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities than the pure compound.

Localised food production in closed-environment agriculture, particularly greenhouses, ensures year-round food availability but requires resource optimisation, especially in arid climates. Therefore, this study proposes a framework based on an analytical input-yield model that dynamically determines the electricity, water, light, and CO2 requirements, along with the estimated yield, hourly throughout the crop's growth cycle. Furthermore, the framework is optimised to determine the decision variables that lead to the most cost-effective yield. Results from the study indicate the optimal decision variables: Al Ruwais as the preferred location, glass as the covering material, day and night temperatures set at 24 °C and 18 °C, plant density of 3.7 plants m−2, 80 % relative humidity, and CO2 concentration of 1050 ppm, lead to a yield of $2.70 kg−1. Moreover, parametric analysis demonstrates that greenhouse temperature and CO2 have the most significant impact on the yield. The overall results establish the potential for cost-effective food production in arid climates by optimising the greenhouse parameters. The proposed framework is flexible as it can be used to determine optimum parameters for food production across different geographical locations and climatic conditions.

Additive manufacturing of PLA parts using wax-based filament as a support structure was investigated by implementing the 2-level 3-factors full factorial design of experiments (DoE). The aim of the experiments was to identify significant FDM factors that affect the surface roughness of the parent part in the PLA/Wax interfacial region. In addition, the important factors influencing bonding strength between PLA and wax were identified using the same full factorial DoE. The printing parameters chosen for the analysis are printing temperature, nozzle speed, and the pattern type at the interfacial area. The findings of the study show that the wax-based filament can be effectively used as support material with the condition that the PLA printing temperature is at its lowest value and the nozzle speed is close to 40 mm/s. With the optimal printing condition, the surface roughness value (Ra) can reach as low as 18 μm value and the bonding strength of 0.27 MPa at the interfacial area. The results of the study have revealed the capability of FDM technology to join materials having considerably dissimilar properties.

Conversion of waste plastics into energy products is an effective waste management technique as they constitute a considerable portion of solid waste at present. In this study, distilled diesel fraction of Plastic Pyrolysis Oil (PPO) named Distilled Plastic Diesel (DPD) was hydrotreated named hydrotreated plastic diesel (HPD) and blended with commercial diesel fuel by 15:85 ratio (wt%), defined as HPD15, to experimentally investigate the performance and emission characteristics of a compression ignition (CI) engine. The experiment was done in 4-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine with an eddy current dynamometer testbed at full load (100 % engine load) and an engine speed of 1200–2400 rpm with 300 rpm intervals. The results are compared with neat diesel fuel data at the same operating conditions. This study found that HPD15 performed better or comparable with diesel fuel. Overall, the brake power (BP) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of HPD15 were higher than diesel fuel by a maximum of about 4.77 % and 3.77 %, respectively. Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of HPD15 was lower at all operating speeds (by a maximum of about 4.66 %) and brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) was lower in most of the operating speeds (by a maximum of about 3.77 %). This study also revealed that CO2 at some operating speeds and NOx emission at all operating speeds for HPD15 are lower than diesel fuel. However, CO and unburnt hydrocarbon (UHC) emission are slightly higher for HPD15 than diesel at all speeds. Overall, HPD15 can be recommended as a suitable alternative for diesel fuel without any engine modification.

Abstract The preservation of quantum correlations requires optimal procedures and the proper design of the transmitting channels. In this regard, we address designing a hybrid channel comprising a single-mode cavity accompanied by a super-Gaussian beam and local dephasing parts based on the dynamics of quantum characteristics. We choose two-level atoms and various functions such as traced-distance discord, concurrence, and local-quantum uncertainty to analyze the effectiveness of the hybrid channel to preserve quantum correlations along with entropy suppression discussed using linear entropy. The joint configuration of the considered fields is found to not only preserve but also generate quantum correlations even in the presence of local dephasing. Most importantly, within certain limits, the proposed channel can be readily regulated to generate maximal quantum correlations and complete suppression of the disorder. Besides, compared to the individual parts, mixing the Fock state cavity, super-Gaussian beam, and local dephasing remains a resourceful choice for the prolonged quantum correlations’ preservation. Finally, we present an interrelationship between the considered two-qubit correlations’ functions, showing the deviation between each two correlations and of the considered state from maximal entanglement under the influence of the assumed hybrid channel.