A Rhodamine-Based Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensor for Dual-Channel Visible and Near-Infrared Emission Detection of NAD(P)H in Living Cells and Fruit Fly Larvae

The detection and dynamic monitoring of intracellular NAD(P)H concentrations are crucial for comprehending cellular metabolism, redox biology, and their roles in various physiological and pathological processes. To address this need, we introduce sensor A, a near-infrared ratiometric fluorescent sensor for real-time, quantitative imaging of NAD(P)H fluctuations in live cells. Sensor A combines a 3-quinolinium electron-deficient acceptor with a near-infrared rhodamine dye, offering high sensitivity and specificity for NAD(P)H with superior photophysical properties. In its unbound state, sensor A emits strongly at 650 nm and weakly at 465 nm upon 400 nm excitation. Upon binding to NAD(P)H, it shows a fluorescence increase at 465 nm and a decrease at 650 nm, enabling accurate ratiometric measurements. Sensor A also exhibits ratiometric upconversion fluorescence when excited at 800 or 810 nm, offering additional flexibility for different experimental setups. The sensor’s response relies on the reduction of the 3-quinolinium acceptor by NAD(P)H, forming a 1,4-dihydroquinoline donor that enhances fluorescence at 465 nm and quenches the near-infrared emission at 650 nm through photoinduced electron transfer. This mechanism ensures high sensitivity and reliable quantification of NAD(P)H levels while minimizing interference from sensor concentration, excitation intensity, or environmental factors. Sensor A was validated in HeLa and MD-MB453 cells under various metabolic and pharmacological conditions, including glucose and maltose stimulation and treatments with chemotherapeutic agents. Co-localization with mitochondrial-specific dyes confirmed its mitochondrial targeting, enabling precise tracking of NAD(P)H fluctuations. In vivo imaging of Drosophila larvae under nutrient starvation or chemotherapeutic exposure revealed dose-dependent fluorescence responses, highlighting its potential for tracking NAD(P)H changes in live organisms. Sensor A represents a significant advancement in NAD(P)H imaging, providing a powerful tool for exploring cellular metabolism and redox biology in biomedical research

Photocurable and 3D Printable Functional Polyesters to Engineer Elastomeric Scaffolds for Biomedical Applications

Photocurable functional block copolyesters are reported to engineer elastomeric scaffolds for biomedical applications. The polymer backbone is organized by soft and stiff blocks. The functional prepolymer is readily crosslinked by thiol-yne click chemistry under ulraviolet light in the presence of a photo-initiator to form a robust elastomer. The elastomers bear both chemical crosslinks and crystal-domain crosslinks to simultaneously tune the materials\u27 properties, such as mechanical properties and degradation rates. The dual crosslinks can more efficiently tune the mechanical properties compared to the chemical crosslink alone. More importantly, the functional prepolymer is photo-printable to construct elastomeric scaffolds with precise control of pore sizes using the state-of-the-art digital light processing technique. With hydroxyls pendant on the backbone, human umbilical vein endothelial cells prefer to grow on the elastomer surface compared to that of a poly(caprolactone) film. It is believed that these functional photo-polyesters will be useful to construct medical devices for bioengineering research

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF RENEWABLE HYDROCARBON FUELS PRODUCED BY THE NEW COOL GAS TO LIQUID (COOL GTL) PROCESS

The Cool Gas-to-Liquid (Cool GTL) process converts biogas and captured CO2 into renewable hydrocarbon fuels, contributing to GHG emissions reduction in transportation. This report explains a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study that was completed to evaluate the environmental impact of different feedstocks, hydrogen sources, and electricity inputs. The analysis considers biogas from food waste, manure, and landfill sources, as well as biogenic, fossil, and direct air capture (DAC) CO2 feedstocks. Results show that biogas pathways provide the greatest GHG reductions, with the best case (food and manure biogas + solar hydrogen + solar electricity) achieving a net-negative GWP of -60.2 g CO2eq/MJ fuel, representing a 171% reduction compared to conventional fossil jet fuel emissions. Biogenic CO2 feedstocks also lead to a 69% reduction in emissions (26.1 g CO2eq/MJ fuel) but require renewable inputs. Fossil CO2 and DAC pathways often yield higher emissions, with the worst DAC scenario reaching 205.8 g CO2eq/MJ fuel, surpassing fossil jet fuel emissions. Findings emphasize the need to prioritize biogas, transition to green hydrogen, and use renewable electricity for sustainability

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Class A Biosolids Production Using Conventional and Low-Cost, Low-Tech Processes at Small Water Resource Recovery Facilities

Producing Class A biosolids that can be distributed or land-applied without restriction is a beneficial way to reuse wastewater treatment solids. For small water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) in particular, low-cost, low-tech (LCLT) processes may be an appealing alternative to conventional technologies for producing Class A biosolids, such as processes to further reduce pathogens (PFRPs). Conventional Class A biosolids treatment processes tend to be energy-intensive and involve complex equipment and operations. However, a systematic comparison of the overall sustainability of conventional processes and LCLT alternatives for producing Class A biosolids to aid decision makers in selecting treatment processes is not readily available. Therefore, this study used life cycle assessments to compare five Class A biosolids treatment processes, including three conventional processes—Composting, Direct Heat Drying, and temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD)—and two LCLT processes—Air Drying, and long-term Lagoon Storage followed by Air Drying—on the basis of their environmental impacts. The environmental impacts were normalized to facilitate a comparison of the processes. The results indicate that Composting and Direct Heat Drying had the most significant environmental impacts, primarily from the biogenic emissions during Composting and the natural gas requirements for Direct Heat Drying. In comparison, TPAD and Air Drying had the lowest environmental impacts, and Lagoon Storage had intermediate impacts. Thus, LCLT processes may be more sustainable than some, but not all, conventional PFRPs

Leveraging Product and Process Characteristics Across the Concrete Pavement Life Cycle to Integrate Global Warming Potential into Project Procurement Processes

The objective of this research is to support sustainable procurement of concrete pavements by linking materials-level global warming potential (GWP) to the project-level. Infrastructure owners require reliable environmental product declarations (EPDs) and methodologies for integrating GWP into the procurement process to ensure equitable decision-making. This work provides insights into current EPD reliability by assessing the sensitivity of concrete GWP to materials-level contributors to recommend a level of supply chain specificity needed to effectively communicate GWP. A benchmarking methodology was developed and implemented to establish reference values for procuring sustainable products. Having provided evidence towards EPD reliability, this work presents a framework that integrates GWP with pay items in project specifications. Linking incentives within infrastructure owner specifications to desired performance characteristics encourages all involved stakeholders to prioritize achievement of those performance characteristics. This same concept can be applied using GWP as the desired performance characteristics. A data collection protocol and life cycle information model (LCIM) for concrete pavement construction were developed to facilitate GWP integration into current project procurement practices. The LCIM methodology was developed and implemented to estimate the production and construction environmental impacts of six real-world concrete pavement construction projects. Applying the LCIM methodology allowed this work to map GWP to pay items and incentives in specifications and provide a pathway to extend a LCIM across the life cycle. The LCIM was further demonstrated on a real-world joint repair project, as well as for a concrete pavement reconstruction, demolition, and waste hauling. The culmination of this research demonstrated that the LCIM can be used to estimate the embodied environmental impacts of a concrete pavement across its life cycle and provided a framework for integrating environmental impacts into the procurement process, facilitating sustainable project procurement for infrastructure owners

Exploring the effects of excipients on complex coacervation

Complex coacervation is an associative liquid–liquid phase separation phenomenon that takes place due to the electrostatic complexation of oppositely-charged polyelectrolytes and the entropic gains associated with the release of bound counterions and rearrangement of solvent. The aqueous nature of coacervation has resulted in its broad use in systems requiring high biocompatibility. The significance of electrostatic interactions in coacervates has meant that studies investigating the phase behaviors of these systems have tended to focus on parameters such as the charge stoichiometry of the polyions, the solution pH, and the ionic strength. However, the equilibrium that exists between the polymer-rich coacervate phase and the polymer-poor supernatant phase represents a balance among attractive electrostatic interactions and excluded volume repulsions as well as osmotic pressure effects. As such, we hypothesize that it should be possible to tune coacervate phase behavior via the addition of non-electrostatic excipients which would partition between the two phases and potentially alter both the solvent quality and the osmotic pressure balance. In particular, our work focuses on small molecule excipients such as sugars, amino acids, and other additives that have a history of use in vaccine formulation. We quantified the ability of these excipients to partition into the coacervate phase, and their potential for destabilizing the phase separation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these additives can be combined with complex coacervation in the context of a virus formulation

Reconstructing the geological and geomorphological history of Morella Crater, Mars

Ancient impact craters on Mars provide insights into the geological events and are time markers for studying global processes like colossal volcanism and fluvial activities. Among these craters, the 77 km diameter Morella Crater serves as a representative, capable of demonstrating diverse processes that acted on Martian terrain, and hence, the geological and geomorphological history of this crater is studied in detail. Despite its infilling, Morella hosts Ganges Cavus, a significant collapse structure, and Elaver Vallis, an outflow channel. We hypothesize the development of the crater through five stages, from its origin to its current denuded state, exhibiting diverse processes that determine the fate of Martian craters. Crater size-frequency distribution suggests a formation age of 3.8−0.03+0.03 Ga for the plateau hosting Morella Crater and 3.6−0.01+0.06Ga for Morella Plains, the vast expansive plains within the crater. The occurrence of pyroxene and olivine in Morella Plains, identified through hyperspectral data, indicates impact-induced volcanism. The heat source associated with faulting and dike intrusion in the adjoining Ophir Catenae Structural Complex might have ruptured the confined cryosphere, resulting in the formation of Ganges Cavus and eventual filling of Morella with water, which subsequently breached to form Elaver Vallis at3.4−0.10+0.07 Ga. Hydraulic modelling reveals a floodwater volume of 3.27 × 1012 m3 and an estimated peak discharge of 3 × 107 m s−1 associated with this event. Morella witnessed additional fluvial activity at 3.3−0.4+0.1 Ga that created the dark-toned channels. The extensive range of geological and geomorphological processes makes Morella Crater a promising location for future Mars missions

Derivation and Experimental Validation of a Parameterized Nonlinear Froude–Krylov Force Model for Heaving-Point-Absorber Wave Energy Converters

Wave energy converters (WECs) have gained significant attention as a promising renewable energy source. Optimal control strategies, crucial for maximizing energy extraction, have traditionally relied on linear models based on small motion assumptions. However, recent studies indicate that these models do not adequately capture the complex dynamics of WECs, especially when large motions are introduced to enhance power absorption. The nonlinear Froude–Krylov (FK) forces, particularly in heaving-point-absorbers with varying cross-sectional areas, are acknowledged as key contributors to this discrepancy. While high-fidelity computational models are accurate, they are impractical for real-time control applications due to their complexity. This paper presents a parameterized approach for expressing nonlinear FK forces across a wide range of point-absorber buoy shapes inspired by implementing real-time, model-based control laws. The model was validated using measured force data for a stationary spherical buoy subjected to regular waves. The FK model was also compared to a closed-form buoyancy model, demonstrating a significant improvement, particularly with high-frequency waves. Incorporating a scattering model further enhanced force prediction, reducing error across the tested conditions. The outcomes of this work contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of FK forces across a broader range of buoy configurations, simplifying the calculation of the excitation force by adopting a parameterized algebraic model and extending this model to accommodate irregular wave conditions

ThermalTrack Dataset- Training Images- Fused RGB LWIR- sequence 5

We present a wheel track detection system that leverages RGB- Thermal (RGB-T) imaging, where thermal channels reveal critical temperature differentials between compacted tracks and loose snow- tracks exhibit higher thermal inertia and lower reflectivity, emitting stronger radiation signatures even in visually homogeneous conditions. By fusing these distinctive thermal patterns with RGB spatial information, our method reliably identifies navigable tracks, enabling robust path-following in complete white-out conditions where snow textures and terrain features become indistinguishable

Fracture Initiation Pressure as a Measure of Cemented Paste Backfill Strength

This laboratory-scale study presents the development and validation of a hydraulic fracturing technique to directly measure the tensile strength of cemented paste backfill (CPB), providing an alternative to traditional strength testing methods. Fracture initiation pressure (FIP) was used as the primary measure of CPB strength. Experimental results were compared with traditional benchmark measures such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Brazilian tensile strength (BTS), and critical Mode-I fracture toughness (KIc). Regression analysis of experimental results revealed a strong linear relationship between FIP and these benchmark strength measures, indicating that FIP can be used as a reliable predictor of CPB strength. However, traditional linear elastic failure models did not adequately explain the observed FIP values, as they significantly over-predicted the CPB tensile strength. To address this, the Point Stress (PS) model was applied, which provided a more accurate prediction of tensile strength, especially in cases involving small boreholes. The PS model explained observed effects of borehole size on the material’s response to hydraulic pressurization. This study confirms that hydraulic fracturing, interpreted through the PS model, is an effective method for determining CPB strength and provides a practical alternative measure to conventional testing methods