Influence of processed tea waste ash on the hydration products and mechanical property of hybrid cement as an eco-friendly solution

The waste generated during production in tea factories is increasing with the growth of the world population. Storage of tea waste creates problems in terms of location and environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the usability of tea waste ash in hybrid concrete to re-introduce tea waste into the economy and turn it into a useful material in the construction industry. Therefore, processed tea waste ash (PTWA) was first burned in an uncontrolled and then burned in a controlled combustion process at 650 °C. In the hybrid cement design, ground blast furnace slag was kept constant at 50 %, and PTWA was replaced with ordinary Portland cement at 0 %, 1.25 %, 2.5 %, 3.75 %, 5 %, 7.5 %, and 10 % by weight of the total binder (GBFS + OPC + PTWA). Experiments for pastes and mortars were performed for 2, 7, 28, and 90 days. Mineralogical properties (XRD, FTIR, TGA/DTA) of the paste samples were analyzed. Mechanical tests (compressive strength, initial/final setting time, flow table, leaching) were carried out on mortar samples. The results revealed that initial and final setting times (up to 10 min and 60 min, respectively) decreased significantly as the amount of PTWA substitution increased. The performance of the mortars with PTWA was observed to diminish compared to the reference for each cure age. It was determined that PTWA affected the reduction of portlandite, and this was observed most in mixtures containing 10 % PTWA. It is believed that using PTWA together with GBFS as an alkaline activator will be beneficial to the environment

Development of quasi-flexible solid polymer blend electrolytes and boron carbide reinforced tea waste electrodes for supercapacitors

This study aims to create a prototype supercapacitor (SC) using free-standing-solid polymer electrolytes and tea waste (TW) doped boron carbide (B4C) electrodes. Quasi-solid polymer electrolyte (QSPE) films are made using a solution-casting approach, with poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) as host polymers and potassium oxide (KOH) salt as an ion source. PVDF-HFP: PMMA (80:20 wt%) + 30 wt% KOH showed a maximal ion conductivity of 3.63 ± 0.18 × 10−4 S cm−1 and a relative permittivity of 31.48 × 103 at 105 Hz at ambient temperature. The linear speed voltammetry (LSV) test measurements demonstrate that the enhanced solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) sample can endure breakdown up to 1.85 V. The study utilized TW: B4C (95:05 wt%) activated electrode material for an SC device embedded with the highly conductive blend electrolyte film. The galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) method revealed the charge/discharge behavior of an ideal SC indicating a low Faradic process and equivalent series resistance (ESR) value for the capacitor with a coulombic efficiency (η) of 100 %. The GCD data reveals that the SC's specific capacitance (Csp) was 42.30 F g−1, and the calculated value of energy density (Es) and power density (Pd) was 21.15 Wh. g−1 and 69.21 × 103 Wg−1 at 5 mA g−1 respectively. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) aids in studying the capacity behavior of the electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC), revealing no redox peaks over a potential range of −1 to +1V and Csp was 50.72 F g−1. The Csp of 56.67 F g−1 was obtained using the Impedance data recorded over a range of frequency 0.01–1 MHz

New finding for neuronal basis of the learned helplessness syndrome secondary to loudness: nonresistant rats have more damaged neurons in the amygdala than resistant rats

Objective: Learned helplessness syndrome is a psychological condition where individuals learn that their actions have no effect on outcomes. This phenomenon can be influenced by various environmental factors, including noise. The relationship between the harmful neurological effects of noise and learned helplessness syndrome has not been studied yet. This subject was investigated. Methods: Thirty-two healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: The control group (G-I, n = 6), the low-level noise exposure group (80 dB, G-II, n = 10), and the high-level noise exposure group (100 dB, G-III, n = 16). Animals were exposed to impulse noise. Resistance score (RS) was designed as no reaction (0P), alertness (1P), staying away from the source of the sound (2P), fussiness (3P), crowding up (4P), trying to escape from cages (5P), biting the bars (6P), and hair loss and self injury (7P). Results: After decapitation, the degenerated neuron densities of the amygdala were compared with RS values. The RS scores of rats were changed from 0–6 in G-I, 6–15 in G-II, and 10–28 in G-III. The apoptotic neuron density of the amygdala was estimated as 12 ± 4/mm3 in G-I (p > 0.5), 231 ± 56/mm3 in G-II (p 21) showed less neuronal apoptosis than animals with a lower RS score. In conclusion, this study indicates that the noise exposure-related neurodegeneration of the amygdala in rats may cause ‘learned helplessness’ syndrome

In vitro effects of rumex confertus extracts on cell viability and molecular pathways in MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Rumex confertus (RC), a plant known for its traditional medicinal uses, has shown potential anticancer properties, particularly due to its rich phenolic content. Despite its promising bioactivity, its effects on breast cancer cells remain underexplored. Here, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of RC extracts on MCF-7 breast cancer cells, employing various solvents for extraction. This study revealed that the hexane extract significantly reduced the cell viability, with an IC50 of 9.40 µg/mL after 96 h. The gene expression analysis indicated a substantial modulation of transcriptional networks, including the upregulation of pluripotency-related genes and the downregulation of differentiation markers. The findings suggest that the RC extract may induce a shift towards a less differentiated, stem-like state in cancer cells, potentially enhancing malignancy resistance. This study underscores the potential of RC as a candidate for breast cancer treatment, and a further investigation into its therapeutic applications is suggested

Effect of water supply regimes on physiological parameters and productivity in eggplant grown under mediterranean climate conditions

Drought has affected agriculture and intensified water scarcity. The effect of two irrigation regimes was evaluated on 13 eggplant genotypes selected as diverging for several fruit/plant qualitative traits, yield and drought tolerance. Two commercial varieties commonly used by growers in Morocco were tested. The irrigation treatments consisted of two different conditions: (i) control irrigation (Tr-C) adopted by the grower; (ii) water shortage of 50% of the amount of this irrigation (Tr-50%). Results showed that reduced water supply significantly impacted growth and quality parameters of each genotype/variety (p < 0.001) between treatments, particularly, traits such as plant height, number of flowers and leaves. Non-significant differences between treatments were observed Fv/Fm, DI0/CS0 and ABS/CS0 ratios. In terms of relative water content (RWC), genotype C10 showed remarkable drought resilience, with only a 4.12% reduction. Water stress resulted in significant reductions in the number of fruits for C8 by 49.58% and yield per plant for the genotype B1 by 39.19%. Notably, genotypes C10 and C13 demonstrated significantly better performance compared to the other genotypes, yielding 1.48 and 1.53 kg/plant, respectively, while commercial varieties A and V produced 1.98 kg/plant and 1.86 kg/plant. These results provide valuable information for the selecting and breeding of tolerant eggplant genotypes under drought-prone environments

Does institutional quality shape agricultural credit orientation? Evidence from D-8 nations

The agricultural sector, which has long been overshadowed by industrialization, has reemerged with renewed strategic significance in the face of global crises, including pandemics and armed conflicts. This study examines the causal relationship between institutional quality and agricultural credit orientation in the Developing-Eight countries from 2002 to 2023. Using the agriculture orientation index for credit as a key indicator, this study investigates how disaggregated institutional dimensions—control of corruption, government effectiveness, political stability and absence of violence, rule of law, regulatory quality, and voice and accountability—affect the allocation of commercial bank credit to agriculture. Both the standard Kónya panel causality test and its time-varying extension are employed to capture static and dynamic causal patterns. The findings demonstrate that institutional quality exerts a substantial effect on credit orientation, although the magnitude and characteristics of this influence differ across countries. Türkiye, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Egypt exhibit consistent causal relationships, whereas other countries reveal episodic or latent effects linked to specific political or legal shifts. By combining dynamic methodology with a policy-relevant indicator, this study offers novel insights into how governance shapes agricultural finance. The results underscore the need for country-specific and institution-sensitive credit strategies to increase resilience and equity in financial systems

Assisting the diagnosis of cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis c patients based on machine learning algorithms: a novel non-invasive approach

Aim: This study aimed to determine the important features and cut-off values after demonstrating the detectability of cirrhosis using routine laboratory test results of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients in machine learning (ML) algorithms. Methods: This retrospective multicenter (37 referral centers) study included the data obtained from the Hepatitis C Turkey registry of 1164 patients with biopsy-proven CHC. Three different ML algorithms were used to classify the presence/absence of cirrhosis with the determined features. Results: The highest performance in the prediction of cirrhosis (Accuracy = 0.89, AUC = 0.87) was obtained from the Random Forest (RF) method. The five most important features that contributed to the classification were platelet, αlpha-feto protein (AFP), age, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and prothrombin time (PT). The cut-off values of these features were obtained as platelet 5.49 ng/mL, age > 52 years, GGT > 39.9 U/L, and PT > 12.35 s. Using cut-off values, the risk coefficients were AOR = 4.82 for platelet, AOR = 3.49 for AFP, AOR = 4.32 for age, AOR = 3.04 for GGT, and AOR = 2.20 for PT. Conclusion: These findings indicated that the RF-based ML algorithm could classify cirrhosis with high accuracy. Thus, crucial features and cut-off values for physicians in the detection of cirrhosis were determined. In addition, although AFP is not included in non-invasive indexes, it had a remarkable contribution in predicting cirrhosis. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03145844

Comprehensive ?? t-cell receptor repertoire analysis reveals a unique CD8+ TCR landscape in DOCK8-deficient patients

Background: Dedicator of cytokinesis protein 8 (DOCK8) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor highly expressed in, and critical for, the function of various innate and adaptive immune cells. DOCK8 deficiency leads to combined immunodeficiency characterized by susceptibility to infections, autoimmunity, and a severe Th2-type immune response. While dysfunction in various T cell subsets has been implicated in these phenotypes, a comprehensive analysis of the T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in these patients has not yet been documented. This study investigates the αβ TCR repertoire in DOCK8-deficient patients to identify features related to disease pathogenesis and explore the potential role of TCR repertoire alterations in disease development. Methods: We compared immune repertoire profiles determined by high-throughput TCR sequencing of circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from patients with DOCK8 deficiency (n = 10) to healthy controls (n = 7) and patients with ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) (n = 5). Results: Different diversity analyses revealed a restricted TRA and TRB repertoire in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from DOCK8-deficient patients, with the restriction being more pronounced in CD8+ T cells. Skewed usage of individual variable (V) and joining (J) genes and potentially self-reactive CD8+ T cell clones, as determined by hydrophobicity and cysteine indices, were identified in DOCK8-deficient patients. Conclusion: Our study represents the most comprehensive immune repertoire analysis in DOCK8 deficiency. The identification of a significantly restricted αβ TCR repertoire, along with the detection of potentially autoreactive clones, highlights the crucial role of immune repertoire profiling in elucidating the pathogenesis of DOCK8 deficiency

Hybrid solar Chimneys: Enhancing thermal comfort and Alleviating indoor air pollutants ? A comprehensive review

Indoor air pollution (IP) remains underrecognized compared to outdoor pollution, despite extensive research on environmental contamination and outdoor air quality. Individuals of all age groups spend the majority of their time indoors—often over 90%—placing them at continuous risk of exposure to indoor pollutants and potential harm to both individual and public health. In this context, hybrid solar chimney (SC) systems have emerged as a promising strategy to enhance thermal comfort and mitigate indoor pollution levels. These systems employ thermal buoyancy for natural ventilation, thus improving indoor comfort and indoor air quality (IQ). Researchers have investigated several modifications to hybrid systems, such as integrating Photovoltaic cells (PV), Phase Change Materials (PCMs), evaporative cooling, and Earth-air heat exchangers (EAHE), to improve their efficiency, these studies have primarily focused on the thermal comfort benefits. However, a notable gap remains in addressing indoor pollutants. In response, this review examines the potential of integrating a photocatalytic reactor into hybrid solar chimneys to target airborne contaminants while maintaining desirable indoor temperatures. The findings underscore the need for future advancements in hybrid Solar Chimney technology, particularly in optimizing multi-technology integration, enhancing photocatalytic materials, and establishing standardized performance metrics to evaluate both thermal comfort and air quality. Lastly, the review highlights the challenges facing these systems and proposes directions for future investigation

Analysis of the impact of the viscoelastic foundation on bending and vibration of fg porous nanoplates within integral higher-order shear deformation theory

Abstract: This work examines the bending and vibration responses of a functionally graded (FG) 2D nanostructure resting on the viscoelastic foundation. The FG structure properties vary gradually in the thickness direction. In this investigation, three porosity patterns are examined. The nonlocal equilibrium equations are derived by Hamilton’s principle using Eringen’s nonlocal elasticity theory, which incorporates the integral plate theory with a reduced number of unknowns. The results computed for the studied simply supported FG nanoplates are compared with those published in the open literature. Several parametric studies are performed to illustrate various influences of the plate geometry, material inhomogeneity, elastic damping coefficient, and nonlocal effect on the stresses, frequency, and central deflection of FG nanoplates