University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

Achieving multi-way actuation in single-material four-dimensional (4D)-printed actuators remains challenging due to limited control over sequential behavior. Prior efforts in non-manual (parameter-encoded) shape programming via fused deposition modeling (FDM) have resulted in only one-way actuation. This study presents, for the first time, multi-way actuation in single-material polylactic acid actuators using FDM-based non-manual programming and instant heat activation. A comprehensive response surface methodology design with 46 runs was implemented to evaluate the effects of printing and geometric parameters, including the active-to-passive layers ratio, printing temperature, infill density, raster angle, printing speed, layer height, and actuator height. The results demonstrate up to four distinct actuations, with maximum ranges of 214.63°, 102.21°, 35.93°, and 110.18° for actuators with one, two, three, and four actuations, respectively. The active-to-passive layers ratio emerged as the most significant factor. While 0

Stratification poses a significant challenge to the juice industry. The objective of this research was to improve the anti-stratification stability of kale-apple mixed juice (KAMJ) by combining ultrasonic treatment (US) with kale soluble polysaccharide (KSP). The effect of US (900 W, 25 min) combined with different KSP concentrations (0.0-1.0 %, w/w) on the anti-stratification stability of KAMJ were investigated. The findings indicate that the combination of US and KSP significantly improved the anti-stratification stability of KAMJ. Compared to the control group, this improvement resulted in an increase of the cloud value and cloud stability of juice samples by 4.26-8.27 and 2.32-4.70 times, respectively, reduced the centrifugal precipitation rate by 30.49-50.56 % and delayed stratification during storage at 4 degrees C by 3-14 days. The zeta-potential, rheological properties, particle size distribution, scanning electron microscope and infrared characteristics of juice samples indicated that the increased steric hindrance, viscosity and electrostatic repulsion were the primary factors for improving the antistratification stability. Additionally, the Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between anti-stratification stability and basic physicochemical properties, nutritional components, antioxidant capacity and particle size distribution. In conclusion, the combination of US and KSP is an effective approach to enhance the anti-stratification stability of KAMJ.

Nortriptyline, a widely prescribed tricyclic antidepressant, has been increasingly detected in natural water bodies due to the limited removal efficiency of conventional wastewater treatment systems, thus posing ecological risks to aquatic life. This study reports the development of a new three-dimensional sulfur-doped graphene oxide (3DSG) composite for the removal of nortriptyline from aqueous environments. The 3DSG integrates graphene oxide with sulfur doping, resulting in a porous structure enriched with hydroxyl and sulfonic functional groups, as confirmed through characterization studies, and these enhance its adsorption performance. The adsorption equilibrium was best described by the Langmuir isotherm model (R2: 0.947-0.973; RMSE: 27.81-38.41; chi 2: 30.10-49.95), with a maximum adsorption capacity of 472.9 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudosecond-order model (R2: 0.993-0.998; RMSE: 3.088-9.361; chi 2: 0.379-2.329). Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the process is endothermic (Delta H: 2.368 to 28.20 kJ/mol) and spontaneous (Delta G: -27.21 to -19.60 kJ/mol). The adsorption mechanism involves multiple interactions including hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic, it-it and electrostatic interactions. The reusability of the 3DSG composite was confirmed over four runs, using 0.1 mol/L hydrochloric acid as the regeneration medium. Optimization via response surface methodology resulted in a high removal efficiency of 80.74 %, achieved with 12.5 mg of 3DSG at 100 ppm nortriptyline concentration, within 35 min at 30 degrees C. Overall, the findings highlight the potential of 3DSG as a highly effective and reusable nanomaterial for the remediation of nortriptyline contaminated water, offering a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment.

Purpose The existing body of research offers limited insight into the detrimental impacts of incivility phenomena on proactive customer service performance (PCSP) from the perspective of customer. Based on the stressor–strain–outcome (SSO) framework and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this paper examines how customer incivility influences PCSP, with a focus on emotional exhaustion as a mediator and proactive personality as a moderator. Methods Utilizing survey methodology, customer-contact employees in China were sampled with a time lag of three weeks in three waves. SPSS 27.0, the PROCESS macro (Model 4, Model 8 and Model 14) and AMOS 27.0 were utilized to analyze the data. Results The results showed that customer incivility had a positive impact on emotional exhaustion and reduced PCSP. Additionally, the indirect effect of customer incivility on PCSP through emotional exhaustion was significant, indicating a significant mediating effect. The results also revealed that proactive personality significantly moderated the association between customer incivility and emotional exhaustion and the moderated mediation index was also significant. Conclusions These findings indicate that proactive personality serves as a positive psychological resource, enhancing employees’ capacity to mitigate the adverse effects of customer incivility (stressor) and emotional exhaustion (strain) while enabling them to consistently engage in proactive service behaviors (outcome), thereby breaking the vicious path of the SSO framework.

This study develops a sentiment-analysis framework to structure user experiences and quality-risk signals from online reviews of peel-and-stick vinyl floor tiles in DIY micro-renovation contexts. Unlike prior work limited to single-product corpora, this study collects reviews from seven commercially available products on Amazon, spanning different brands (Achim, FloorPops, MORCART, and unbranded sellers), price tiers (US $0.64–$3.32 per sq ft), thicknesses (1.2–2.0 mm), and visual patterns (marble, mosaic slate, decorative geometric). A total of 1,526 reviews were processed through domain-specific cleaning, lexicon construction, and a Naïve Bayes classifier, complemented by high-frequency term analysis and cross-product association testing. Results show that positive feedback consistently clusters around immediately visible attributes (appearance, installation ease, perceived value), while negative feedback concentrates on latent quality-critical dimensions (bonding reliability, environmental sensitivity, material integrity, appearance inconsistency). Crucially, cross-product comparisons reveal that failure-complaint rates for adhesion and material integrity are significantly associated with price tier and product thickness, and that products with more complete technical disclosures on their listing pages exhibit lower proportions of risk-related negative reviews. These findings extend single-product descriptive analyses by offering exploratory, category-level evidence consistent with the view that information asymmetry and specification gaps in online building-material markets may be associated with DIY renovation outcomes. Given the modest product sample and the cross-sectional, non-causal design, these patterns should be read as indicative associations rather than established causal mechanisms. On this basis, the study tentatively suggests that e-commerce platforms could consider strengthening pre-listing verification, standardized performance disclosure, and compliance documentation for safety-relevant material categories, and explore incorporating disclosure-completeness signals into ranking and auditing mechanisms.