Soil pollution with Cd has promoted serious concerns for medicinal plant quality. Amending Cd-polluted soils with textile waste biochar (TWB) coated with natural polymers can lower Cd bioavailability ...in them and reduce associated environmental and human health risks. In this study, we explored the impacts of solely applied TWB, chitosan (CH), their mix (TWB + CH) and TWB coated with CH (TBC) in Cd-polluted soil on Cd distribution in moringa (Moringa oleifera L.) shoots and roots as well as plant-available Cd in soil. Moreover, amendments effects on plant growth, dietary quality, and antioxidative defense responses were also assessed. Results revealed that the addition of TWB, CH, and TWB + CH in Cd-polluted soil reduced Cd distribution in shoots (56%, 66%, and 63%), roots (41%, 48%, and 45%), and plant-available Cd in soil (38%, 52%, and 49%), compared to control. Interestingly, the TBC showed significantly the topmost response for reducing Cd concentrations in shoots, roots, and soil by 73%, 54%, and 58%, respectively, relative to control. Moreover, amending Cd-polluted soil with TWB, CH, and TWB + CH depicted significantly better effects on plant growth, dietary quality, and activities of soil enzymes but the topmost response was observed with TBC treatment. Compared with control, TBC improved plant growth parameters: shoot length (81%), root length (90%), shoot fresh weight (60%), root fresh weight (76%), shoot dry weight (75%), root dry weight (68%) contents of chlorophyll-a (42%) and chlorophyll-b (74%), and soil enzyme activities: urease (130%), catalase (138%), protease (71%), cellobiohydrolase (45%), acid phosphatase (34%), peroxidase (60%), β-glucosidase (152%), chitinase (62%), and phosphomonoesterase (139%). Furthermore, TBC treatment arrested Cd-induced oxidative stress via escalating the activities of antioxidant enzymes as well as improved moringa dietary parameters (protein, tannins, lipids, alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids, and tocopherols contents). Such findings suggest that the TBC has an immense perspective to remediate Cd-polluted soils and prevent human health risks associated with Cd exposure through the diet.
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•Cadmium polluted soil was amended with TWB, CH, TWB + CH, and TBC for Cd immobilization.•TBC reduced Cd in moringa shoots (73%) and roots (54%) by altered Cd fractions.•Amending with TBC improved moringa capacity to manage Cd-induced oxidative injury.•Moringa growth, biochemical, and nutritional prestige was the highest with TBC.•TBC led the premier improvement in the enzymatic activities of Cd-polluted soil.
Being a renewable and sustainable energy carrier, hydrogen energy has garnered great interest having some technical barriers related to storage aspects. Hydride materials exhibit potential hydrogen ...storage capacities efficiently and safely. The current study has been performed in the framework of density functional theory to examine structural and optoelectronic properties of KCa F3−xHx (x = 0, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4, and 3) compounds to understand their contribution about hydrogen storage. The mechanical stability of these compounds with elastic constants and negative formation enthalpies suggests these materials are stable and synthesizable. Insertion of impurity into pristine material led to an increase in optimized lattice parameter from 4.31 to 4.48 A˙ where no previous study is available to compare lattice constants other than pristine KCa F3 that is well consistent with existing literature. Computed and plotted results of plastic properties for different H-inclusions manifestly depict a decrease in elastic moduli, anisotropic and brittle nature of all studied materials. The density of states and band diagrams were drawn utilizing both GGA and HSE03 formalisms, where observations manifest not only an upsurge in bandgap but also shifting from indirect to direct nature. Two effects Burstein -Moss shift and bandgap renormalization were explored to investigate the shifting of absorption edge toward the valence band that results in bandgap narrowing. Optical parameters were also well explained within the photon energy range of 0–35eV. Startling results of absorption spectra reveal prominent redshift increases in the UV region. Among all H- insertions high value of the static refractive index (n (0) = 3.77) and dielectric function with minimum absorption losses possess KCa H3 only appropriate material for storage aspects. Also, enhancement in optical properties suggests a new end material (KCa H3) curious for optoelectronic devices. Moreover, H-incorporation has improved hydrogen storage characteristics up to a capacity of 3.6 wt% with the challenge of high desorption temperature whose improvement will play a vital role in hydrogen uptake mechanism and will enlighten future studies to make it useful for practical and transportation applications.
•Hydrogen storage characteristics were improved via H-inclusion.•Band engineering was performed utilizing both GGA and HSE03 formalisms.•Redshift of energy states was noticed for all studied materials.•Direct bandgap was achieved mainly for a new end material KCa H3.•Brittle nature is observed for all substituted materials.
Due to the depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels, energy production and storage is a matter of concern for scientific community. Hydrogen being environmental friendly was presented by the ...scientists a fruitful replacement of fossil fuel, but the storage of hydrogen is still a matter of concern. Safety concerns are associated with hydrogen as an alternative fuel because it is difficult to store and transport. Perovskite materials have attracted researchers as new materials for solid hydrogen storage. In this present work, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations have been performed for perovskite NaMg F3−xHx with the GGA-PBE formalism as implemented in the CASTEP code. The aim of the work is to investigate the structural, electronic and optical properties of NaMg F3−xHx perovskite hydride material for hydrogen storage applications with varying substituent concentrations (x = 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2). The formation enthalpy of the studied material for each concentration reveals that these compounds are stable and synthesizable experimentally. The hydrogen inclusion in pristine material affects the electronic states significantly which is elaborated using band structure and density of states plots. After Hydrogen inclusion, change in density of states has been observed and the band gap is decreased from 5.74eV to 3.311eV. The alteration of electronic band gap directly influences the optical behavior of the material, thus optical response such as dielectric function, absorption and refractive index was also calculated. For hydrogen storage application, gravimetric storage capacity (Cwt%) was calculated for all concentrations of hydrogen inclusion. The value varied from 0.30% to 1.87%, indicating that the presented material is an efficient material not only for opto-electronic applications but also for the hydrogen storage applications.
•DFT calculations have been performed for perovskite NaMg F3−xHx.•The band gap is decreased from 5.74eV to 3.311eV due to inclusion of H.•Optical parameters including absorption were enhanced.•The gravimetric storage capacity (Cwt%) values are varied from 0.30% to 1.87%.
Inorganic perovskites have a wide area of applications in low-cost optical and thermal applications. This manuscript aims to present Structural, mechanical, electronic, optical, as well as ...thermoelectric behavior of perovskite compounds BiAlO3 (BAO) for optoelectronic as well as thermoelectric applications, a novel energy production mechanism under high static pressure. Thermal stability is computed by enthalpy relation and also confirmed by elastic moduli. Physical properties are measured at ground state energy, and also explored pressure impact up to 100 GPa on electronic structure of BiAlO3. BAO shows an indirect band gap at 0–30 GPa, while it transforms to a direct with an increase in pressure. Mechanical stability was confirmed by applying Born's stability criteria. Even at higher pressure it remains in cubic phase and show mechanically stable structure. Optical responses are calculated and compared under pressure. With an increase in pressure, a clear blue shift was observed. The refractive index of refraction showed a decreasing trend from 3.32 to 2.84 from o to 100 GPa, respectively. Thermoelectric properties are explored by computing electric and thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient and power factor. The efficiency of the devices depends upon the figure of merit (ZT) i.e. the ratio of electrical to thermal conductivity must be small. The figure of merit indicated that at low temperature (lower than room temperature and normal pressure) the ZT can reach 0.7, if at high pressure, it can be larger than 0.8. Promising results of thermoelectric response under stress indicate that the said material is suitable for thermoelectric properties. BAO is not only led free but also environment friendly thus, the eventual candidate for devices based on optoelectronics and thermoelectric applications due to relevant bandgap nature after asserting pressure and its thermoelectric nature.
•First-principles study of BiAlO3 semiconductor under influence of external stress.•BiAlO3 shows cubic stability even higher pressure confirmed by Born's stability criteria.•The Refractive index decreases from 3.32 to 2.84 and optical response results show a clear blue shift.•The value of ZT reaches up to 0.8, making this material stunning for thermoelectric application.
Due to the rapid increase in environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, the focus of researchers is shifted from economic to socio-environmental problems. Blockchain is a ...disruptive technology that has the potential to restructure the entire supply chain for sustainable practices. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that provides a digital database for recording all the transactions of the supply chain. The main purpose of this research is to explore the literature relevant to blockchain for sustainable supply chain management. The focus of this review is on the sustainability of the blockchain-based supply chain concerning environmental conservation, social equality, and governance effectiveness. Using a systematic literature review, a total of 136 articles were evaluated and categorized according to the triple bottom-line aspects of sustainability. Challenges and barriers during blockchain adoption in different industrial sectors such as aviation, shipping, agriculture and food, manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceutical, and textile industries were critically examined. This study has not only explored the economic, environmental, and social impacts of blockchain but also highlighted the emerging trends in a circular supply chain with current developments of advanced technologies along with their critical success factors. Furthermore, research areas and gaps in the existing research are discussed, and future research directions are suggested. The findings of this study show that blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the entire supply chain from a sustainability perspective. Blockchain will not only improve the economic sustainability of the supply chain through effective traceability, enhanced visibility through information sharing, transparency in processes, and decentralization of the entire structure but also will help in achieving environmental and social sustainability through resource efficiency, accountability, smart contracts, trust development, and fraud prevention. The study will be helpful for managers and practitioners to understand the procedure of blockchain adoption and to increase the probability of its successful implementation to develop a sustainable supply chain network.
Purpose
Open educational resources (OERs) are internet-based digital content that is used for academic purposes by instructors, students and researchers in the era of the information economy. Hence, ...this study aims to systematically review the literature, focusing on OERs’ benefits and challenges in the academic world.
Design/methodology/approach
The relevant literature systematically reviewed following the preferred reporting items for systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The pertinent literature was obtained from four main scholarly databases, and finally, 21 papers that met the inclusion criteria were included in this study.
Findings
The findings revealed that the key benefits of OERs include expanded access to knowledge, supporting lifelong learning, pedagogical benefits and enhancing students’ learning outcomes. However, the key challenges include lack of time to find appropriate resources, lack of awareness about the usage and copyrights, quality assurance and technological limitations and lack of organizational support.
Practical implications
The practical and policy implications highlight the joint venture of academia and library professionals to help the students evaluating OERs, quality assurance, copyright issues and lifelong learning.
Originality/value
Earlier studies missed few significant insights of OERs, such as they did not address the quality assurance of OERs; the issue of understanding of copy right (creative common license) challenges related with OERs; and lack of time for finding suitable resources. Hence, this study identified significance insights related with OERs.
High-pressure processing (HPP) was used as a post-processing treatment for vegetable puree. Microbiological, physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory analyses of puree were investigated at room ...temperature. HPP (600 MPa, 5 min) was compared with thermal treatment (117 °C, 30 min) and fresh samples. Treatments did not change pH or total soluble solids. For both methods treated samples exhibited a lower microbial count (< 1.0 log CFU.g-1) over storage, compared with fresh puree. During storage, other parameters, including total phenolic contents and antioxidants also demonstrated similar or better performance than controls (P < 0.05). Overall, HPP-treated puree received a higher sensory evaluation score. Thus, HPP can be used as an alternative processing technology to improve nutritional quality and microbial safety.
Meat-based products are highly susceptible to weak gel formation upon heating. In this study, the effect of different emulsifiers on the rheological, pasting and microstructural properties of ...meat-based sugar-snap cookies was investigated. Cookies were processed with the addition of freeze-dried fish meat (1% w/w) and emulsifiers (0.5% w/w of wheat flour). The addition of emulsifiers especially diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and diglycerides (DATEM) increased storage modulus (G′), a viscous behavior, compared to control and other emulsifiers. Expansion and hardness were significantly (P < 0.05) improved in DATEM and sodium pyrophosphate (SPP) samples compared to the control indicating the compact structure of starch-protein and emulsifiers molecules. The gelatinization characteristics particularly peak and final viscosities were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in DATEM samples with high water holding capacity (WHC) suggesting the strong interaction among starch-protein and emulsifiers. Low-field magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) analysis exhibited that T21 relaxation time, an indication of tightly bound water, was also highest in DATEM sample while unbound water (T23) was highest in control and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that DATEM containing samples were dense and uniform whereas wide holes were found in control and SDS samples. It was concluded that DATEM could be an effective emulsifier with improved physio-chemical, structural and pasting properties of meat-based cookies. The study will open a new window for the best use of suitable emulsifiers for meat-based cookies, however, future studies are needed to check their storage stability.
Furan is generally produced during thermal processing of various foods including baked, fried, and roasted food items such as cereal products, coffee, canned, and jarred prepared foods as well as in ...baby foods. Furan is a toxic and carcinogenic compound to humans and may be a vital hazard to infants and babies. Furan could be formed in foods through thermal degradation of carbohydrates, dissociation of amino acids, and oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The detection of furan in food products is difficult due to its high volatility and low molecular weight. Headspace solid‐phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) is generally used for analysis of furan in food samples. The risk assessment of furan can be characterized using margin of exposure approach (MOE). Conventional strategies including cooking in open vessels, reheating of commercially processed foods with stirring, and physical removal using vacuum treatment have remained unsuccessful for the removal of furan due to the complex production mechanisms and possible precursors of furan. The innovative food‐processing technologies such as high‐pressure processing (HPP), high‐pressure thermal sterilization (HPTS), and Ohmic heating have been adapted for the reduction of furan levels in baby foods. But in recent years, only HPP has gained interest due to successful reduction of furan because of its nonthermal mechanism. HPP‐treated baby food products are commercially available from different food companies. This review summarizes the mechanism involved in the formation of furan in foods, its toxicity, and identification in infant foods and presents a solution for limiting its formation, occurrence, and retention using novel strategies.
The quality of groundwater in the study watershed has worsened because of industrial effluents and residential wastes from the urbanized cities; therefore, there is an important need to explore the ...aquifer vulnerability to pollution for sustainable groundwater management in the Irrigated Indus Basin (IIB). This study proposed a novel methodology to quantify groundwater vulnerability using two fully independent methodologies: the first by reintroducing an improved recharge factor (R) map and the second by incorporating three different weight and rating schemes into a traditional DRASTIC framework to improve the performance of the DRASTIC approach. In the current study, we composed a recharge map from Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) output (namely SWAT recharge map) with a drainage density map to retrieve an improved composite recharge map (SWAT-CRM). SWAT-CRM along with other thematic layers was combined using weightage overlay analysis to prepare the maps of groundwater vulnerability index (VI). The weight scale (w) and rating scale (r) were assigned based on a survey of available literature, and we then amended them using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and a probability frequency ratio (PFR) technique. Results depicted that the region under high groundwater vulnerability was found to be 5–22% using traditional recharge maps, while those are 9–23% using improved SWAT-CRM. The area under the curve (AUC) revealed that groundwater vulnerability zones predicted with SWAT-CRM outperformed the DRASTIC model applied with the traditional recharge map. Groundwater electrical conductivity (EC) was>2500 mS/cm in the high groundwater vulnerability zones, while it was <1000 mS/cm in the low groundwater vulnerability zones. The outcomes of this study can be used to improve the sustainability of the groundwater resources in IIB through proper land-use management practices.
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