Surface wave inversion is a crucial technique in geophysics for subsurface imaging. However, traditional methods can be computationally intensive, especially for complex models. This study introduces automatic differentiation (AD) as an efficient alternative to finite difference (FD) methods for gradient calculation in surface wave inversion. We compare AD and FD methods using three synthetic examples of varying complexity. Our results demonstrate that AD is significantly faster, with speed improvements of 3 to 12 times over FD, depending on model complexity. Moreover, AD requires up to 3 times less memory than FD. In terms of accuracy, AD provides gradient calculations that are exact up to machine precision, while FD is subject to truncation errors. This improved accuracy translates to more reliable inversion results, particularly for complex models. The efficiency and accuracy gains of AD are especially beneficial for gradient-based inversion methods in geophysics, where computational resources often limit the scale and complexity of problems that can be addressed. Our findings suggest that integrating AD into gradient-based inversion methods could significantly enhance subsurface imaging techniques across various geophysical applications.

Using biomass as an energy source helps overcome the declining supply of fossil fuels. Bio-pellets—an energy product made from biomass—is one option that can be utilized. One source of biomass energy is walnut kernel shells. The walnut plant (Canarium indicum L.) is a forest tree grown in eastern Indonesia. The walnut plant is also located in the GOR Pajajaran area of Bogor City and has not been utilized for energy production. This study consists of three stages: 1) raw material preparation, 2) bio-pellet production, and 3) bio-pellet characterization in accordance with the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 8951:2020. Based on the results of our study, bio-pellets made from 100% walnut kernel shells can be utilized as fuel, with a calorific value of 4,593 cal/g. Although the moisture content remains high, the calorific value still meets the standard for power plants according to SNI 8951:2020. In addition, palm kernel shells can improve the quality of bio-pellet products. The combination of 30% walnut kernel shells and 70% palm kernel shells improves calorific value, with the following specifications: 4,684.4 cal/g of calorific value, 8.83% moisture content, 1.85% ash content, 69.16% volatile materials, 19.30% fixed carbon, 0.02% sulfur content, and 1.18% bulk density.

We employed the innovative freeze–thaw method to investigate the effect of chitosan (CS) molecular weights incorporated into polyvinyl alcohol on the morphology and physical characteristics of the hydrogel. This study aimed to unravel the intricate relationships between CS molecular weight variations, CS concentration, and the number of freeze–thaw cycles (4 or 6 cycles) on hydrogel swelling degree and weight loss. Incorporating CS improved the hydrogel structure and enhanced its porosity, resulting in remarkable increases in swelling degree ranging from 2 to 6 times the initial weight. Higher molecular weight CS (310,000–375,000 Da) exhibited a lower swelling degree than medium molecular weight CS (190,000–310,000 Da), attributed to its ability to prevent crystal formation during the freeze–thaw process. Increased freeze–thaw cycles led to a decreased swelling degree, which indicated enhanced rigidity and stability due to more significant hydrogen bond formation with hydroxyl groups. Higher CS content amplified hydrogel weight loss, and additional cycles accentuated this effect, highlighting the challenge of maintaining an effective gel structure. CS with medium molecular weight emerged as the more suitable choice for applications demanding superior water absorption.

Melona, Tacapa Gold, and Gama Melon Parfum are novel Melon genotypes that have been introduced for cultivation in the saline-prone coastal region of Bocor Beach, Kebumen, Central Jawa. Elevated salt concentrations in the area pose challenges, impacting yield. The potential of these new genotypes for saline land remains unexplored. This study aimed to assess the morphophysiological and molecular responses of these genotypes to salinity stress. Seeds were germinated in cocopeat and ABmix 3000 solution and treated with 220 mM NaCl until harvest. The analysis included morphology, chlorophyll content, proline accumulation, malondialdehyde levels, and gene expression were analyzed. After 1 week of salinity stress, the results showed reduced plant height, leaf number, stomatal density, percentage of opened stomata, and width and length of leaves. The malondialdehyde, proline, and root-shoot dry mass ratio increased. The expression of CSD1-1, P5CR, and late embryogenesis abundant genes increased under salinity treatment. Gama Melon Parfum exhibits salt tolerance, as indicated by higher P5CR gene expression, proline accumulation, and leaf-relative water content. P5CR gene expression, proline accumulation, and leaf-relative water content are valuable indicators of salt tolerance for assessing melon genotypes.

Water contamination from heavy metals, such as Cu(II) ions, poses severe threats to human health and the environment. This necessitates the development of efficient and eco-friendly treatment methods. In this study, a magnetite–biochar composite (MBC) was developed as an effective adsorbent for reducing Cu(II) ions from liquid waste. Biochar was produced through the pyrolysis of water hyacinth at 500 °C, while magnetite was synthesized using FeSO₄·7H₂O and FeCl₃·6H₂O with molar ratio of 1:2. The MBC was formed using a co-precipitation method and characterized by Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and vibration sample magnetometer instruments. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of Fe–O bonds, and XRD detected Fe₃O₄ peaks, confirming the successful integration of magnetite into the composite. The MBC exhibited a surface area of 72.54 m²/g and a saturation magnetization of 19.10 emu/g. Optimal Cu(II) ion adsorption occurred at pH 6 and a contact time of 60 min. Adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model, and isothermal analysis aligned with the Sips model, indicating an adsorption capacity of 75.73 mg/g. These results demonstrate MBC’s excellent potential as a sustainable and effective adsorbent for treating Cu(II)-contaminated wastewater, offering an environmentally friendly solution to heavy metal pollution.

Phytoplasma, a plant pathogen that threatens plant health, can induce diseases such as yellow wilt, virescence, phyllody, and witches’ broom. Although early detection methods using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies have been developed, synthetic peptides offer advantages such as higher titers, predictable antigenic characteristics and superior sensitivity and specificity. Epitope mapping plays a key role in designing peptide antigens and includes gene synthesis, transformation, expression assessment, large-scale production, and purification. A study using New Zealand male White rabbits was conducted to generate antibodies against phytoplasma. The SecA (395–470) sequence, obtained from the preprotein translocase meets the criteria of being non-homologous, nonallergic, and antigenic. The three-dimensional structure of SecA (395–470) has a sequential similarity of 77–97% with certain phytoplasma types, and the protein purity exceeds 90%. The production of polyclonal antibodies was successful, achieving titers greater than 1:512,000. The SWISS model was used to predict the 3D structure of SecA in phytoplasma species, revealing structural homology with other phytoplasma species. The recombinant protein antigen SecA was able to induce high-titer antibody formation (>1:512.000). The developed lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) detects phytoplasma in plants using purified and conjugated antibodies. The peptide design, derived from Aster yellows witches-broom (SrI), effectively detects phytoplasma from various groups, especially Cactus witches’ broom phytoplasma (SrII-C) and Peanut witches’ broom phytoplasma (SrII-A). The SrI group phytoplasma was chosen as a reference sequence due to its` ability to infect plants across the broadest host range. LFIA was tested on samples from both phytoplasma-infected and healthy plants using nested PCR. The SecA sequence was successfully produced and used as an immunogen candidate against phytoplasmas.

The current study was carried out at seven research sites in the mid-hills (900-2500m asl) across six districts in Bagmati province, central Nepal to analyze the variety and distribution of macrofungal communities. The survey was carried out in the wet seasons from August 2017 to September 2022, including frequent field visits to the selected forests. Vari-ous diversity indices were applied to ascertain the composition of the macrofungal communities in the study area. A total of 133 wild macrofungal species belonging to 80 genera, 50 families, and 19 orders were observed. The macro-fungal population in the Bagmati province was dominated by Russula (10 spp.) and the family Russulaceae (14 spp.). Additionally, 50 edible, 28 inedible, and 12 potentially medicinally-mushrooms have been identified. With 75 species, humicolous macrofungi dominated all others, followed by lignicolous ones (48 spp.). A majority of the species (50) were edible, whereas the numbers of medicinal and poisonous ones were 11 and 6 respectively. Based on their ecology, the saprobic and mycorrhizal macrofungi were predominant at 67 and 45 species, respectively. The diversity indices varied from 19 to 40 (richness), 3.68 to 7.79 (Margalef), 0.91 to 0.98 (Simpson’s dominance), 0.28 to 0.36 (Shannon–Wiener’s diversity) and 0.056 to 0.074 (evenness). The results of this study indicated that several macrofungi might be employed as foods and alternative medicines requiring more studies. This study further contributes to the existing data on mushroom diversity in the Bagmati province of Nepal.

Cocoa pods (Theobroma cacao L.) are a rich source of flavonoids, which are natural antioxidants known for their health benefits. This study investigated the use of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and ultrasound-assisted ex-traction (UAE) to extract the maximum flavonoids and antioxidants from cocoa pods. MAE and UAE are efficient and sustainable methods for extracting bioactive compounds like flavonoids and antioxidants from cocoa pods, offer-ing faster extraction, reduced solvent use, and better compound preservation compared to conventional methods. These technologies unlock the untapped potential of cocoa pods for applications in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuti-cals. The effects of extraction time (2–10 min), microwave power (100–300 W), and the ratio of cocoa husk powder to solvent (0.02–0.06 g/mL) were evaluated for MAE. Meanwhile, for UAE, different temperatures (30–50 °C), times (10–30 min), and powers (16–48 W) were studied. The Design-Expert® software with Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and a Box-Behnken Design was utilized to analyze the effects of a combination of these parameters. The re-sults showed that extraction time, microwave power, and the ratio of cocoa husk powder–solvent significantly affected the total flavonoid yield and antioxidant capacity. The highest total flavonoid yield obtained by the MAE method (123.07 ppm) was at an extraction time of 10 min, cocoa husk–solvent ratio of 0.06 mg/mL, and microwave power of 300 W. The extract obtained by the MAE method showed an excellent antioxidant capacity of 43.49 mg/mL GAEAC, and a robust antioxidant activity indicated by an IC50 value of 42.19. Conversely, the highest total flavonoid yield of the UAE method (8.45 mg/mL GAEAC) was achieved at 30 min, 40 °C, and 40 W. The extract from the UAE method demonstrated a better antioxidant capacity (7.51 mg/mL GAEAC) and antioxidant activity (IC50 value of 23.46) than that from the MAE technique

Secretory carrier membrane protein 3 (SCAMP3) is a crucial membrane protein involved in intracellular vesicle traffick-ing and exocytosis. The SCAMP3 expression has been observed in diverse cancer types, such as melanoma, glioma, hepatocellular and breast cancer. Increased SCAMP3 expression has been reported in certain cancer cells relative to that in normal cells, suggesting the potential role of SCAMP3 in cancer development or progression. In this study, we successfully cloned and expressed SCAMP3 in Escherichia coli strain BL21(DE3). SCAMP3 was amplified and insert-ed directionally into the prokaryotic expression vector pET21d(+). The transformation of recombinant plasmid into E. coli BL21(DE3) cells were performed for the protein expression. SDS–PAGE and Western blotting were performed to detect the expression product induced by IPTG, which confirmed the presence of a recombinant pET21d(+)-SCAMP3 at 38-kDa protein weight. Bioinformatics analyses helped discover several possible epitopes distributed throughout the SCAMP3 protein sequence. These findings together serve as a basis for future biochemical and functional studies on this important membrane protein alongside immunotherapy research related to SCAMP3 as a cancer biomarker.

The physicochemical properties and heavy metals contents of the Gomti River water (GRW) samples collected from five selected sites covering a stretch of ~31 km in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India were ascertained. The sites were Ghaila Pul, Mehndi Ghat, Shaheed Smarak, Kukrail Junction, and Bande Dam, represented as S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, respectively, following from upstream to downstream. S1 was considered as a reference site. The values of pH, temperature, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total hardness (TH), total chloride (TC), total alkalinity (TA), total acidity (TAC), total free CO2, total NO3, and NO2 differed with sites. The Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Al, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Cr, and Pb levels were also investigated. Except for Zn and Cu, all other metals were detected beyond the levels allowed by the BIS (2012) and Organization of Economic Corporation and Development (OECD, 2020) for water bodies. Further, the current finding suggests that the discharge of untreated industrial, agricultural, and domestic effluents into the Gomti River is unendurable.