Compositional Optimization for Miticidal Activity, Ecotoxicity, and Phytotoxicity of Essential Oils as Biorational Pesticides.

Recognizing the challenges in using botanicals as sustainable pest control agents due to compositional variation, this study addresses the limitations of traditional component-based approaches such as Hewlett and Plackett or Wadley's models. Based on the assumption of noninteractivity among constituents, these models often fail to predict outcomes accurately due to dynamic intermolecular interactions. We introduce a whole mixture-based approach, employing a combination of experimental design and polynomial modeling.

Amplifying Photochromic Response in Tungsten Oxide Films with Titanium Oxide and Polyvinylpyrrolidone.

Tungsten oxide (WO) is known for its photochromic properties, making it useful for smart windows, displays, and sensors. However, its small bandgap leads to rapid recombination of electron-hole pairs, resulting in poor photochromic performance. This study aims to enhance the photochromic properties of WO by synthesizing hexagonal tungsten oxide via hydrothermal synthesis, which increases surface area and internal hydrates.

Cuticular property affects the insecticidal synergy of major constituents in thyme oil against houseflies, Musca domestica.

Plant essential oils are intricate blends comprising predominantly of monoterpenes and some sesquiterpenes. These oils display diverse bioactivities against targeted organisms, often arising from complex interactions among their constituents, which may demonstrate synergistic or antagonistic effects. Despite their wide use as botanical insecticides, the mechanisms behind these interactions and their effects on bioactivity are poorly understood.

Real-Time Context-Aware Recommendation System for Tourism.

Recently, the tourism trend has been shifting towards the Tourism 2.0 paradigm due to increased travel experiences and the increase in acquiring and sharing information through the Internet. The Tourism 2.

Synergistic modes of interaction between the plant essential oils and the respiratory blocker chlorfenapyr.

Plant essential oils are widely acknowledged for their insecticidal activities and synergistic interaction with conventional insecticides, but their insecticidal modes of action and the mechanism of synergy remain less understood. In this study, electrophysiological screenings on the larval central nervous system (CNS) of the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the housefly, Musca domestica, were conducted to identify the neurophysiological effects of the oils and their major constituents. Several oils changed the firing rate of the central motor neurons, and four oils were selected to determine their major active compounds.

Spatio-temporal patterns in pedestrian crashes and their determining factors: Application of a space-time cube analysis model.

The number of vehicle accidents involving pedestrians in Korea has decreased gradually since the Pedestrian Safety and Convenience Enhancement Act was enacted in 2012, but the number of serious pedestrian-related crashes per capital remains near the top of a list of such rates for member countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Previous studies of pedestrian safety have been conducted based on various built environments. However, few have analyzed spatio-temporal changes and influential factors over more than 10 years, despite dramatic changes in the built environment during such time spans.

Does elderly safety matter? Associations between built environments and pedestrian crashes in Seoul, Korea.

Korea's elderly population is growing rapidly, as is attention to elderly pedestrian safety. Despite a consensus that the elderly are vulnerable to pedestrian safety issues, our understanding of the determinants of elderly pedestrian crashes is limited. This study explores which attributes of the built environment affect the risk of pedestrian accidents among the elderly, particularly with respect to injury severity, in Seoul, Korea.

Efficacy of Seven Commercial Household Aerosol Insecticides and Formulation-Dependent Toxicity Against Asian Tiger Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae).

For the indoor and outdoor pest controls, various types of insecticide formulations are available including aerosols, sprays, electric vaporizers, mosquito coils, and traps. In the present study, the insecticidal activity of aerosols, the most commonly used formulation of household insecticides for mosquito control, against Aedes albopictus (Skuse) was assessed using seven commercial products and some attributes which can affect the efficacy of aerosol were investigated as well. The products had difference in their chemical composition of active ingredients, propellant/liquid phase ratios, solvent types, and nozzle orifice sizes, and these characteristics seem to affect the overall insecticidal activity.

The Impact of Preoperative α-Adrenergic Antagonists on Ureteral Access Sheath Insertion Force and the Upper Limit of Force Required to Avoid Ureteral Mucosal Injury: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Purpose: Excessive bulking force during primary access of the ureteral access sheath may induce ureteral injury. We investigated the efficacy of preoperative α-blockade to reduce ureteral access sheath insertion force and determine the upper limit required to avoid ureteral injury.

Materials And Methods: In this randomized controlled trial 135 patients from a single institution who had ureteropelvic junction or renal pelvis stones and were scheduled to undergo retrograde intrarenal surgery were prospectively enrolled from December 2015 to January 2017.

Effect of hydrothermal processing on ginseng extract.

Background: Meyer is cultivated because of its medicinal effects on the immune system, blood pressure, and cancer. Major ginsenosides in fresh ginseng are converted to minor ginsenosides by structural changes such as hydrolysis and dehydration. The transformed ginsenosides are generally more bioavailable and bioactive than the primary ginsenosides.

Hydrolysis kinetics of tulip tree xylan in hot compressed water.

Lignocellulosic biomass, a promising renewable resource, can be converted into numerous valuable chemicals post enzymatic saccharification. However, the efficacy of enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass is low; therefore, pretreatment is necessary to improve the efficiency. Here, a kinetic analysis was carried out on xylan hydrolysis, after hot compressed water pretreatment of the lignocellulosic biomass conducted at 180-220°C for 5-30min, and on subsequent xylooligosaccharide hydrolysis.

General Strategy for Broadband Coherent Perfect Absorption and Multi-wavelength All-optical Switching Based on Epsilon-Near-Zero Multilayer Films.

We propose a general, easy-to-implement scheme for broadband coherent perfect absorption (CPA) using epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) multilayer films. Specifically, we employ indium tin oxide (ITO) as a tunable ENZ material, and theoretically investigate CPA in the near-infrared region. We first derive general CPA conditions using the scattering matrix and the admittance matching methods.

Broadband Epsilon-Near-Zero Perfect Absorption in the Near-Infrared.

Perfect absorption (PA) of incident light is important for both fundamental light-matter interaction studies and practical device applications. PA studies so far have mainly used resonant nanostructures that require delicate structural patterning. Here, we realize tunable and broadband PA in the near-infrared region using relatively simple thin film coatings.

Preparation and characterization of nano-sized hydroxyapatite/alginate/chitosan composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

The aim of this study was to develop chitosan composite scaffolds with high strength and controlled pore structures by homogenously dispersed nano-sized hydroxyapatite (nano-HAp) powders. In the fabrication of composite scaffolds, nano-HAp powders distributed in an alginate (AG) solution with a pH higher than 10 were mixed with a chitosan (CS) solution and then freeze dried. While the HAp content increased up to 70 wt.

Vibronic structures and dynamics of the predissociating dimethyl sulfide and its isotopomers (CH₃SCH₃, CD₃SCD₃, CH₃SCD₃) at the conical intersection.

Conical intersection seam comprised of crossing surfaces of two lowest excited states of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) has been directly accessed by the one-photon excitation from the ground equilibrium state. Since the S-C bond rupture takes place promptly, the molecular structure on the excited state effectively belongs to C(S) symmetry. Namely, excited states of 1(1)B1 and 1(1)A2 in C(2)V become 1(1)A'' and 2(1)A'' states in C(S), respectively, and the optical transition from the ground equilibrium state to the dissociating molecule at the conical intersection seam is symmetry-allowed to facilitate the nonadiabatic transition on the 2(1)A'' state, leading eventually to the CH3S + CH3 products.

Conical intersection seam and bound resonances embedded in continuum observed in the photodissociation of thioanisole-d3.

Herein, the multi-dimensional nature of the conical intersection seam has been experimentally revealed in the photodissociation reaction of thioanisole-d3 (C6H5SCD3) excited on S1, giving C6H5S·(Ã or X̃]) +·CD3 products. The translational energy distribution of the nascent·CD3 fragment, reflecting the relative yields of the C6H5S·(Ã) and C6H5S·(X̃) products, was measured at each S1 vibronic band using the velocity map ion imaging technique. Direct access of the reactant flux to the conical intersection seam leads to the increase of the nonadiabatic transition probability resulting in sharp resonances in the X̃/ÃC6H5S·product branching ratio at several distinct S1 vibronic bands.

Evaluation of hot compressed water pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification of tulip tree sawdust using severity factors.

Tulip tree sawdust was pretreated using hot compressed water with different pretreatment severities (LogR0, 3.05-5.01) by varying reaction temperatures (180-220°C) and residence time (1-30 min).

Impact of bleaching on subcritical water- and Formosolv-pretreated tulip tree to enhance enzyme accessibility.

A novel method was developed for fractionating cellulose microfibrils from forest residue (tulip tree sawdust) to enhance cellulose digestibility, particularly at minimum enzyme loadings. This method involved three main stages: selective hemicellulose solubilization by subcritical water (SCW) pretreatment, delignification of the SCW-pretreated solids using the Formosolv process, and deformylation/bleaching of the cellulose pulp with alkaline hydrogen peroxide solution. This process produced nearly 98% white cellulose microfibrils with 23-fold higher conversion to glucose as compared to the raw substrate after 72 h of enzymatic hydrolysis.

Resonance spectrum of a three-dimensional photonic quantum ring laser with an equilateral triangle microcavity.

We have fabricated three-dimensional (3D) photonic quantum ring lasers with an equilateral triangle microcavity. Their spectra were well explained by combining the off-normal resonance and hexagonally bounced in-plane whispering-gallery-mode condition. The angular distribution of the emission modes and their discrete wavelengths were shown to be in excellent agreement with a 3D Rayleigh Fabry-Perot model.