An efficient interfacial heating system composed of a light-absorbing material and a hydrophilic porous support is developed through eco-friendly and energy-effective fabrication processes. Lignin nanoparticles (NPs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) are harnessed as biorenewable light absorbers and hydrophilic supports, respectively. Lignin NPs are prepared using a solvent exchange process of the fractionated lignin with organic solvents to improve its π-π stacking and light-absorbing property for efficient photothermal conversion. Then, the lignin NPs are mixed with CNFs and lyophilized to obtain a light-absorbing porous hydrogel (LAPH), and the resulting LAPHs are covalently cross-linked and hybridized with Au NPs through a seed-mediated growth to further enhance their mechanical stability, hydrophilicity, and photothermal conversion properties. The resulting LAPHs exhibit an outstanding and prolonged performance as a solar steam generator such as high salt and pH tolerance, evaporation rate (3.17 kg m^-2 h^-1), and solar steam generation efficiency (83.4%) under 1 sun irradiation.

An efficient interfacial heating system composed of a light-absorbing material and a hydrophilic porous support is developed through eco-friendly and energy-effective fabrication processes. Lignin nanoparticles (NPs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) are harnessed as biorenewable light absorbers and hydrophilic supports, respectively. Lignin NPs are prepared using a solvent exchange process of the fractionated lignin with organic solvents to improve its π-π stacking and light-absorbing property for efficient photothermal conversion. Then, the lignin NPs are mixed with CNFs and lyophilized to obtain a light-absorbing porous hydrogel (LAPH), and the resulting LAPHs are covalently cross-linked and hybridized with Au NPs through a seed-mediated growth to further enhance their mechanical stability, hydrophilicity, and photothermal conversion properties. The resulting LAPHs exhibit an outstanding and prolonged performance as a solar steam generator such as high salt and pH tolerance, evaporation rate (3.17 kg m^-2 h^-1), and solar steam generation efficiency (83.4%) under 1 sun irradiation.

The organometallic AC-Au nanocomplex coated with a pH-dependent polymer has the potential to be an effective colonic drug delivery system of MTX, enhancing in vivo efficacy against colorectal cancer.

<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Lung and colon cancers remain among the most prevalent and fatal diseases worldwide, and their early detection is a serious challenge. The data used in this study was obtained from the Lung and Colon Cancer Histopathological Images Dataset, which comprises five different classes of image data, namely colon adenocarcinoma, colon normal, lung adenocarcinoma, lung normal, and lung squamous cell carcinoma, split into training (80%), validation (10%), and test (10%) subsets. In this study, we propose the ViT-DCNN (Vision Transformer with Deformable CNN) model, with the aim of improving cancer detection and classification using medical images. <b>Methods:</b> The combination of the ViT's self-attention capabilities with deformable convolutions allows for improved feature extraction, while also enabling the model to learn both holistic contextual information as well as fine-grained localized spatial details. <b>Results:</b> On the test set, the model performed remarkably well, with an accuracy of 94.24%, an F1 score of 94.23%, recall of 94.24%, and precision of 94.37%, confirming its robustness in detecting cancerous tissues. Furthermore, our proposed ViT-DCNN model outperforms several state-of-the-art models, including ResNet-152, EfficientNet-B7, SwinTransformer, DenseNet-201, ConvNext, TransUNet, CNN-LSTM, MobileNetV3, and NASNet-A, across all major performance metrics. <b>Conclusions:</b> By using deep learning and advanced image analysis, this model enhances the efficiency of cancer detection, thus representing a valuable tool for radiologists and clinicians. This study demonstrates that the proposed ViT-DCNN model can reduce diagnostic inaccuracies and improve detection efficiency. Future work will focus on dataset enrichment and enhancing the model's interpretability to evaluate its clinical applicability. This paper demonstrates the promise of artificial-intelligence-driven diagnostic models in transforming lung and colon cancer detection and improving patient diagnosis.

Climate change and environmental pollution have increased the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, exposing plants to multifactorial stress conditions that are poorly understood. While extensive research has explored plant responses to individual stress factors, the impact of combined stresses—such as microplastic (MP) contamination and freeze-thaw cycles—remains largely unexamined. This research investigated how soil microplastic pollution affects the freezing tolerance of cabbage ( Brassica oleracea L.), a crop vulnerable to unexpected frosts. Seedlings were grown in soils containing varying MP concentrations (0 %, 2 %, 5 %, and 10 % w/w), and their physiological responses to freezing events (-2.5°C and −3.5°C) were assessed. Our findings revealed that although MP particles were not detected in leaf tissues, MP contamination significantly reduced freezing tolerance in a dose-dependent manner. Plants grown in 10 % MP-treated soil exhibited higher membrane damage, as indicated by increased ion leakage and malondialdehyde levels, and showed more severe oxidative stress, with elevated superoxide (O 2 •- ) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) accumulation. These stress responses corresponded with suppressed antioxidant enzyme activities, including catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated distinct physiological patterns between control and MP-treated plants, emphasizing the disruptive impact of MP pollution on stress resilience. This study provides the first empirical evidence that soil microplastic contamination compromises plant tolerance to freeze-thaw cycles, highlighting an overlooked risk to crop performance in changing environmental conditions and calling for further research into the long-term ecological consequences of terrestrial MP pollution. • Enhanced growth of cabbage leaves in polystyrene-contaminated soil despite microplastic pollution. • Microplastic-contaminated soil alters nitrogen uptake and increases total chlorophyll content in plants. • Morphological benefits in plants grown in microplastic-contaminated soil do not confer resistance to freeze-thaw stress. • Intense plant injury observed under combined microplastic pollution and freeze-thaw stress in extreme climatic conditions. • Reduced freezing tolerance linked to decreased antioxidant enzyme activity in microplastic-exposed plants.

Abstract Microplastic (MP) pollution is an important environmental problem owing to its widespread use, long residence time, and overall persistence. MPs threaten the health of humans, animals, and plants. However, studies on the effects of MPs on terrestrial plants are less common compared to those conducted in aquatic systems. This review discusses the sources of MPs in terrestrial ecosystems, their effects on C and N cycling in soils, and the impact of MPs on terrestrial plants, and focuses on plant growth and the potential risks to human health. MPs affect plants and their performance by altering soil structure, microbial activity, nutrient immobilization, transporting contaminants, and causing direct toxicity. Chemicals, such as plasticizers, additives, and colorants, in MPs may negatively affect ecosystems and their inhabitants, and MPs may interact with a wide array of pollutants, including pesticides, heavy metals, and antibiotics. These impacts vary as a function of soil type, plant species, and MP type. Future research efforts should focus on interaction complexity, uptake mechanisms, and impacts on plants at multiple spatiotemporal scales, while concurrently considering their effects on food chains and human health.

Increased ammonia (NH3) emissions from intensive agriculture negatively affect environmental and ecosystem health, contributing to formation of particulate matter (PM) and the potent greenhouse gas, N2O. Better understanding NH3 emissions from the manure composting process and their behavior as a constituent of the atmospheric aerosol load is a crucial element in creating better farm management systems, improving public health outcomes, and mitigating the broader environmental and climatic impacts of agriculture. Retarded generation of PM with a major constituent source of NH3 is a primary mechanism for evaluating the effects of agricultural contribution to PM. This study aimed to quantify NH3 emissions, examine the influence of environmental factors, and investigate the relationship between precursor gases (SO2, NOx, NH3) and PM2.5 at a modern manure composting facility in Paju, South Korea. Over 35 days, average internal concentrations of NH3, SO2, and NOx were significantly higher than external levels. NH3 concentrations reached 3.64 ± 0.06 mg m−3 at 3 m height and 2.43 ± 0.16 mg m−3 at ground level, while the total NH3 flux from the facility was 24.47 ± 1.39 NH3-N kg d−1. Internal PM2.5 concentrations (36.9 ± 2.6 µg m−3) were about 50% higher than external levels (23.7 ± 2 µg m−3), with a moderate correlation (r = 0.341) suggesting some contribution of external PM2.5 to internal levels. Despite large quantities of internal emissions, the facility’s sealed design with a negative pressure ventilation system effectively minimized external emissions. These results suggest that while manure composting facilities are significant sources of NH3 and PM2.5, advanced systems like high-volume ventilation and scrubbing technologies can effectively reduce their impact on regional air pollution, contributing to better environmental management in agriculture.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and satisfaction associated with a university writing feedback program. Specifically, the research examines the writing competency diagnosis and writing tutoring program implemented by Pusan National University, analyzing the corresponding diagnostic results. The analysis reveals a significant improvement in the writing skills of students participating in the program, particularly in areas of content, composition, and expression. Furthermore, satisfaction survey results indicate that students perceive the writing feedback program positively and express a desire for ongoing writing support. Accordingly, it is anticipated that the university writing feedback program can achieve greater efficacy through continuous implementation, the provision of consistent guidelines, and an enhancement of curriculum feedback based on diagnostic outcomes.