Plant biomass-derived polymeric materials such as cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), and lignin have been widely assessed by life-cycle assessment (LCA) as low-carbon alternatives to fossil-based polymers. Yet, despite numerous LCAs of these processed biomaterials, their parent structure—lignocellulosic pulp (LC)—has rarely been quantified as a standalone material, leaving its comparative performance unclear. Here, we address this gap with three aligned LCA analyses comprising a material-level LCA of LC produced via minimal pulping and grinding, as well as two product-level case studies on LC-based thermal-insulation foams normalized to equal thermal resistance (R = 1 m²·K·W⁻¹) and UV-blocking films matched at equal optical performance (98.25
In this study, the global mean characteristics and spatial distribution differences of the Lorenz energy cycle (LEC) were investigated using four atmospheric reanalysis datasets over 44 years from 1980 to 2023. The global mean values show that the energy terms exhibit relatively small differences among the datasets, with values ranging from − 7.4 to + 3.7
The WRKY transcription factor family regulates growth, and phytochrome signalling, and confers tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses across the plant species. In this study, a genome-wide analysis of the WRKY TF family in finger millet (Eleusine coracana L), a well-adapted crop to subsistence farming of drylands and semiarid regions of the world was conducted. A total of 179 EcWRKY genes were mined and categorized based on their conserved zinc-finger motif and WRKY DNA binding domains. The gene structure analysis revealed that EcWRKY have introns varying from intron less to five in numbers and most of them have three exons. The gene ontology and cis regulatory elements suggest that MYB, MYC, and W-box are the most prevalent regulatory elements in the promoter region of finger millet, contributing to stress tolerance, plant-pathogen interactions, and MAPK signalling. The probability of EcWRKY genes being expressed under salinity and drought conditions was predicted using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms prior to conducting expression profiling. Using ML, the five EcWRKY candidate genes were predicted to be expressed under salinity and drought stress and were validated through qRT-PCR expression profiling. However, one of the gene EcWRKY99 seems to be potential candidate for both salinity and drought stress, based on its abundant transcripts in the finger millet root and shoot tissues. To the best of our knowledge for the first time and efforts have been made to understand the regulatory mechanism and functional characterization of the WRKY gene family in finger millet using a holistic approach comprising of bioinformatics, machine learning and wet-lab based experimentation. It will provide a basis for further in-depth analysis of these important gene families in an underutilized but sturdy crop like finger millet. This article aligns with SDG 15 (Life on Land) of the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) is a novel method to address global freshwater scarcity due to its outstanding energy conversion efficiency, zero carbon emissions, and low operating costs. However, two fundamental shortcomings hinder its implementation: long-term salt deposition on the evaporator surface, which reduces sunlight absorption and vapor evaporation, and the intrinsic intermittency of solar irradiance caused by meteorological uncertainty and day-night fluctuations. To overcome these persistent challenges, we present a novel hydrophobic evaporator composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) blended with graphene nanoplatelet (GnP)-coated carbon cloth, facilitating a dual-mode evaporation process that synergistically enhances photothermal and electrothermal effects. This hybrid technique not only prevents salt crystallization on the photoabsorber surface but also ensures consistent thermal and optical performance, achieving stable freshwater production regardless of solar variations. Under illumination by 1 sun, the system achieves an evaporation rate of seawater of 1.96 ± 0.04037 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ at 64.8
Mixed-Reference Spin-Flip Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (MRSF-TDDFT) has emerged as a promising linear-response framework capable of addressing multireference electronic structure, conical intersections, and doubly excited configurations while maintaining spin purity. Extending this framework to unrestricted Kohn-Sham (UKS) orbitals introduces desirable variational flexibility but also leads to spin-asymmetric orbital instabilities that degrade numerical stability and distort excitation energies. In this study, we identify the origin of these instabilities in the residual mismatch between the α and β spatial orbitals of UKS references and introduce a selective Jacobi-rotation procedure that systematically maximizes α-β orbital overlap without altering the UKS reference energy or mixing occupied and virtual spaces. Numerical tests on thymine and s-trans-butadiene demonstrate that the Jacobi-rotated orbitals eliminate anomalous orbital-overlap patterns, suppress geometry-dependent fluctuations of UMRSF-TDDFT energies, and recover smooth and physically consistent potential energy surfaces. Benchmarking against Thiel's TBE-2 set further confirms that UMRSF-TDDFT preserves the accuracy of the original MRSF-TDDFT while benefiting from improved orbital flexibility. The resulting approach restores numerical stability to the unrestricted formulation and broadens the applicability of MRSF-TDDFT to systems requiring enhanced spin polarization or exhibiting strong multiconfigurational character.
