Revolutionizing Eco-Friendly Leather Production: A Freeze-Thaw and Liquid Fermentation Approach with Fungal Mycelium

The environmental impact and resource demands of traditional leather manufacturing have driven the search for sustainable alternatives. Fungal mycelium leather, recognised for its eco-friendly and renewable characteristics, has emerged as a promising option. This study established a cyclic freeze-thaw dehydration protocol for preparing mycelial leather using Ganoderma mycelium produced through liquid fermentation. By precisely controlling the fermentation parameters (pH 5.5, 150 rpm agitation, 28 °C), the liquid fermentation process ensures uniform mycelial growth, which is critical for subsequent structural enhancement during freeze-thaw cycles. After three freeze-thaw cycles were performed at −15 °C, uniformly distributed ice crystals facilitated effective water removal, achieving a minimum moisture content of 47.6%. The optimized freeze-thaw process produced membranes with a tensile strength of 6.22 MPa and elongation at break of 18.92%, demonstrating high mechanical performance. The freeze-thaw process was demonstrated to enhance structural integrity and mechanical properties while offering reduced energy consumption compared to conventional dehydration methods. This research provides a theoretical foundation and technical guidance for optimising fungal mycelium leather production and contributes to the development of sustainable bio-based materials for industrial applications

Effect of White Kidney Bean Flour on the Rheological Properties and Starch Digestion Characteristics of Noodle Dough

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adding white kidney bean flour on the quality of noodles. We selected four different proportions of white kidney bean flour (10–40%) in wheat flour to make the noodles, after which the noodles were analysed for their physical and chemical properties. The statistical method of correlation analysis was used in this study. The results showed that the noodles’ sensory and textural characteristics significantly improved after adding white kidney bean flour (p < 0.05). Compared with the control, the noodles’ surface with white kidney bean flour was denser and smoother. Moreover, microstructural observations indicated that the noodles with white kidney bean flour showed a more continuous protein network. The in vitro digestion results showed that the addition of white kidney bean flour reduced the digestibility of the noodles. Low addition of the flour (10–20%) improved the quality of the noodles, whereas high amounts (30–40%) showed the opposite effect. In this study, the optimal amount of white kidney bean powder was found to be 20%

Novel adaptive path-smoothening optimization method for mobile robots

Abstract A safe and smooth operating path is a prerequisite for mobile robots to accomplish tasks. Although the existing path optimization methods improve the smoothness of the planned path by introducing Bézier curve to locally optimize the path with regard to turning points, most of these methods manually select the position of control points and subjectively analyze the feasibility of the optimized path. It is argued unfavourably that it exhibits strong subjectivity and cumbersome selection process. To this gap, an adaptive path-smoothening optimization method is proposed in this study, which combines neural network, genetic algorithm, and Bézier curve to effectively resolve the problems of strong subjectivity, cumbersome steps, and thus low efficiency in the selection process of control points. To start with, the data set corresponding to the position of the control point and the path offset are constructed. Based on the actual working conditions, the value space of control point position is derived. Latin hypercube sampling is used to sample the control point position of the second-order Bézier curve, which is input into the Bézier curve solution model to calculate the corresponding path offset. The data set corresponding to the position of control point and path offset are thus acquired. Based on the data set, the neural network algorithm is used to train it, and the prediction model of path offset is constructed. Subsequently, with reference to the prediction model of path offset, a performance evaluation function is formulated by comprehending multiple influential factors of mobile robot motion safety and path smoothness. The genetic algorithm is then introduced to detect the optimal control points in different environments. The proposed method is verified by experiments in different operating environments. The study results show that the currently proposed adaptive path-smoothening optimization method exhibits remarkably superior applicability and effectiveness compared to the currently prevailing methods. It demonstrates advantages of fast path planning, reduced path turning points, and desirable path smoothness. In addition, it can also ensure the safety of mobile robot along the planned path as availed by a pre-set criterion.</jats:p

Enhancing Production of Medium-Chain-Length Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Pseudomonas sp. SG4502 by tac Enhancer Insertion

Pseudomonas sp. SG4502 screened from biodiesel fuel by-products can synthesize medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHAs) using glycerol as a substrate. It contains a typical PHA class II synthase gene cluster. This study revealed two genetic engineering methods for improving the mcl-PHA accumulation capacity of Pseudomonas sp. SG4502. One way was to knock out the PHA-depolymerase phaZ gene, the other way was to insert a tac enhancer into the upstream of the phaC1/phaC2 genes. Yields of mcl-PHAs produced from 1% sodium octanoate by +(tac-phaC2) and &#8710;phaZ strains were enhanced by 53.8% and 23.1%, respectively, compared with those produced by the wild-type strain. The increase in mcl-PHA yield from +(tac-phaC2) and &#8710;phaZ was due to the transcriptional level of the phaC2 and phaZ genes, as determined by RT-qPCR (the carbon source was sodium octanoate). 1H-NMR results showed that the synthesized products contained 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid (3HO), 3-hydroxydecanoic acid (3HD) and 3-hydroxydodecanoic acid (3HDD) units, which is consistent with those synthesized by the wild-type strain. The size-exclusion chromatography by GPC of mcl-PHAs from the (&#8710;phaZ), +(tac-phaC1) and +(tac-phaC2) strains were 2.67, 2.52 and 2.60, respectively, all of which were lower than that of the wild-type strain (4.56). DSC analysis showed that the melting temperature of mcl-PHAs produced by recombinant strains ranged from 60 &deg;C to 65 &deg;C, which was lower than that of the wild-type strain. Finally, TG analysis showed that the decomposition temperature of mcl-PHAs synthesized by the (&#8710;phaZ), +(tac-phaC1) and +(tac-phaC2) strains was 8.4 &deg;C, 14.7 &deg;C and 10.1 &deg;C higher than that of the wild-type strain, respectively

Unexpected hydrazine hydrate-mediated aerobic oxidation of aryl/ heteroaryl boronic acids to phenols in ambient air

A general sub-stoichimetric hydrazine hydrate-mediated aerobic oxidative ipso-hydroxylation of aryl/heteroaryl boronic acids to phenols.</p

The Effect of Comb Cell Size on the Development of <i>Apis mellifera</i> Drones

The growth and development of honeybees are influenced by many factors, one of which is the cell size of the brood comb. Larger worker bees can be obtained by being raised in bigger cells. However, whether cell size has the same effect on drone development is still unknown. Here, using 3D-printed foundations, we observed the development of drones kept in comb cells of different sizes from the late larval stage through eclosion. The results showed that drones in larger cell-size combs had heavier body weights, longer body lengths, and larger head widths, thorax widths, and abdomen widths compared to those in smaller cell-size combs. Furthermore, regardless of developmental stages, the drones’ body weights increased linearly with the comb’s cell size. However, the other morphological changes of drones in different developmental stages were out of proportion to the cell-size changes, resulting in smaller cells with a higher fill factor (thorax width/cell width). Our findings confirm that comb cell size affects the development of honeybees; drones become bigger when raised in large cells

Amorphous Fe₂O₃ Anchored on N-Doped Graphene with Internal Micro-Channels as an Active and Durable Anode for Sodium-Ion Batteries

The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) exhibits outstanding electrical conductivity and a high specific surface area, making it a promising material for various applications. Fe2O3 is highly desirable due to its significant theoretical capacity and cost-effectiveness, high abundance, and environmental friendliness. However, the performance of these r-GO/Fe2O3 composite electrodes still needs to be further improved, especially in terms of cycle stability. The composite of Fe2O3 anchored on N-doped graphene with inside micro-channels (Fe2O3@N-GIMC) was used to be efficiently prepared. Because the inside channels can furnish extra transmission pathways and absorption websites and the interconnected structure can efficaciously forestall pulverization and aggregation of electrode materials. In addition, N doping is also beneficial to improve its electrochemical performance. Thus, it demonstrates exceptional sodium storage characteristics, including notable electrochemical activity, impressive initial Coulombic efficiency, and favorable rate performance. The optimized Fe2O3@N-GIMC indicates outstanding discharge capacity (573.5 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1), significant rate performance (333.6 mAh g−1 at 8 A g−1), and stable long-term cycle durability (308.9 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 1 A g−1, 200.8 mAh g−1 after 4000 cycles at 1 A g−1) as a sodium-ion battery anode. This presents a new approach for preparing graphene-based high-functional composites and lays a stable basis for further expanding its application field