Artiles
Open Access
Article
24 April 2026Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Post-Processed IN 625 Fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is widely used for manufacturing nickel-based superalloy components with complex geometries; however, the process produces non-equilibrium microstructures characterized by directional grain growth, cellular substructures, and compositional segregation, which can lead to anisotropic mechanical behavior. In this study, the influence of multiple post-processing heat-treatment routes on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of LPBF-fabricated Inconel 625 (IN625) was systematically investigated by combining stress relief, hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and solution annealing. Microstructural characterization was performed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, while tensile properties were evaluated from room temperature to 700 °C. The HT3 condition resulted in a fully recrystallized, equiaxed grain structure with reduced segregation and minimal Nb-rich Laves phase, leading to nearly isotropic mechanical properties, with an ultimate tensile strength of approximately 880 MPa and an elongation exceeding 50%. Elevated-temperature testing demonstrated stable mechanical performance, with a localized strengthening effect near 600 °C attributed to dynamic strain aging. These results demonstrate that appropriate post-processing can effectively homogenize LPBF IN625 and improve its mechanical reliability.
Open Access
Article
22 April 2026MUGI-Net: A Group-Aware Pedestrian Trajectory Prediction Model for Autonomous Vehicles from First-Person View
With the rapid development of autonomous driving, first-person view (FPV) pedestrian trajectory prediction has emerged as a key research direction to improve transportation system safety and operational efficiency. However, current studies ignore inter-pedestrian group information and long- and short-term dependence, leading to error accumulation at medium and long temporal horizons. To address these problems, we propose an FPV pedestrian trajectory prediction model dubbed MUGI-Net (Mixture of Universals and Group Interaction Network). It adopts a group pooling mechanism to adaptively aggregate group nodes and build sparse intra- and inter-group interaction graphs to fuse group interaction information. Afterward, it employs a Mixture of Universals (MoU) structure that combines MoF (Mixture of Feature Extractors) and MoA (Mixture of Architectures) to capture short-term dynamics and long-term dependencies simultaneously. Extensive experiments on the JAAD and PIE datasets show that MUGI-Net reduces the 1.5 s prediction MSE by 5% compared with the state-of-the-art AANet, and achieves the best performance on multiple key metrics, which is beneficial for autonomous driving in mixed traffic scenarios.
Open Access
Review
20 April 2026Molecular Targets and Emerging Therapeutics in Cardiac Fibrosis
Cardiac fibrosis represents a global health crisis, observed in nearly all forms of heart disease, and contributes significantly to the progression of heart failure. Driven by diverse etiologies such as chronic hypertension, myocardial infarction, and metabolic disorders, cardiac fibrosis is characterized by the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins. At the cellular level, the activation of cardiac fibroblasts into myofibroblasts serves as the primary mechanism for this structural remodelling. Excessive collagen deposition, crosslinking, and pathological scarring lead to increased ventricular stiffness, electrical arrhythmias, and a profound decline in cardiac function, affecting the quality of life for millions of patients worldwide. The review discusses the existing well-known profibrotic signals and molecular signalling pathways leading to cardiac fibroblast activation, collagen synthesis, and crosslinking. Mechanosensitive pathways, signalling mechanisms involved in collagen crosslinking, and epigenetic factors of cardiac fibrosis are also discussed along with their potential antifibrotic targets and therapeutic drugs. Further, small-molecule inhibitors, peptide-based therapies, natural compounds, and repurposed drugs for fibrosis are also discussed. This review concludes with recent approaches of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy for cardiac fibrosis.
Open Access
Review
20 April 2026A Transboundary Network of Protected Areas for the Conservation of the Far Eastern Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)
The last Far Eastern leopards survived at the junction of the Southwest of Primorsky Krai in Russia and the Laoyeling-Dalongling in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in China. By the year 2000, there were only 30–35 individuals living in an area of approximately 3000 km2. Thanks to conservation efforts, this endangered subspecies has moved away from the edge of extinction, with more than 150 individuals living in an area over 14,000 km2 in 2022. Reliable protection of key habitats has played a crucial role in this success. Over the past 25 years, the transboundary network of protected areas dedicated to the conservation of the Far Eastern leopard has increased 12 times, from 1532 km2 to 18,961 km2, covering 12,636 km2, or 90 percent of its current range. The latest step was the proclamation in 2024 of the Sino-Russian transboundary protected area “Land of Big Cats”. This includes the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve, the Land of the Leopard National Park with a buffer zone in Russia (3694 km2), and the Northeast Tiger Leopard National Park in China (14,612 km2). According to our estimates, this will ensure the long-term preservation of 17,239 km2 of suitable habitats, which will allow for the maintenance of a potential population of at least 300 Far Eastern leopards.
Open Access
Article
20 April 2026Assessing the Role of Renewable Energy, Environmental Taxes, and Energy Use in Shaping Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Nigeria
Amid persistent environmental pressures linked to energy dependence and structural inefficiencies, this study represents one of the first empirical attempts to concurrently investigate the effects of renewable energy, green technology, environmental taxes, economic growth, energy imports, and government effectiveness on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) using data updated through 2024 for Nigeria’s evolving economy. Using the “Autoregressive Distributed Lag” (ARDL) approach with “Granger causality” analysis, the results confirm a stable long-run association between the indicators. Renewable energy and energy imports indicate a negative correlation with GHGE in both the near and long term, supporting Nigeria’s low-carbon transition. Economic growth reduces emissions in the near term but shows no significant long-run effect. Environmental taxes exhibit a weak positive association with emissions, reflecting enforcement and institutional limitations, while green technology and government effectiveness show negative but insignificant impacts. The causality findings reveal unidirectional links from environmental taxes to emissions and from emissions to government effectiveness. The results highlight the importance of strengthening renewable energy, diversifying energy sources, and enhancing institutional capacity to achieve sustainable environmental outcomes in Nigeria.
Open Access
Article
20 April 2026Zr-Doped Ru-Based Catalyst for Highly Active and Durable Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Developing an oxygen evolution reaction catalyst that exhibits both high catalytic activity and robust stability in acidic media remains a significant challenge to date. In this work, a RuZrOx/Ti-1 catalyst was successfully constructed on a Ti mesh substrate via a facile one-step pyrolysis method. Physical characterization reveals that the as-prepared RuZrOx/Ti-1 catalyst exhibits a densely packed nanosphere morphology on its surface, accompanied by abundant pores, which can provide a rich interface for the oxygen evolution reaction. The RuZrOx/Ti-1 catalyst achieves a low overpotential of only 199 mV for the OER at a current density of 10 mA·cm−2 and demonstrates excellent long-term durability, operating stably for 400 h at this current density. In summary, this work provides a viable strategy for designing high-performance acidic OER catalysts, thereby paving the way for the advancement of electrodes for water oxidation.
Open Access
Article
17 April 2026Electrical and Thermal Performance of SiC Wide-Bandgap Power Devices: Influence of Package Configuration
Wide Bandgap (WBG) semiconductors, particularly Silicon Carbide (SiC), have become pivotal in advancing high-efficiency, high-power-density systems. Cascode configurations, combining a high-voltage SiC JFET with a low-voltage Si MOSFET, enable Normally-OFF operation while leveraging SiC’s superior switching and thermal properties. However, co-packaging these devices introduces critical design challenges related to parasitic inductance, thermal management, and reliability. This study investigates the impact of bonding configuration and die-attach material selection on dynamic and thermal performance in SiC-based modules. Double Pulse Test (DPT) results reveal that direct bonding provides a better tradeoff between switching losses and dynamic operation stability, mitigating VDS overshoot, gate oscillation, and EMI risk, thereby improving switching stability under system-level stress. Conversely, indirect bonding increases inductance, amplifying oscillations and dynamic stress during turn-off events. Thermal analysis demonstrates that while system-level cooling dominates Rthja, the adoption of sintered silver (Ag) as a die-attach material achieves ~20% reduction in Rthjc, lowering junction temperatures and enhancing reliability for high-power applications. These findings underscore the importance of interconnect design and attach material optimization in achieving robust, high-efficiency operation of wide-bandgap devices.
Open Access
Review
17 April 2026Optical Fiber Sensing Materials from a Green Chemistry Perspective: Principles, Applications, and a Sustainable Prospectus
Optical fiber sensing technology offers high sensitivity, electromagnetic immunity, and distributed sensing capabilities, with broad applications in environmental, biomedical, and industrial monitoring. However, its reliance on heavy-metal-doped glasses, rare-earth elements, and non-biodegradable polymers imposes significant environmental burdens across their lifecycle. This review establishes a systematic framework based on the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry to assess and redesign optical fiber sensing materials, including silica, soft glass, and polymer matrices, as well as functional coatings, fluorescent probes, and plasmonic nanostructures. It highlights green alternatives such as sol-gel synthesis, bio-based polymers, carbon quantum dots, and biosynthesized nanoparticles. A multi-dimensional sustainability assessment, covering performance, environmental impact, economics, and social factors, identifies key challenges such as performance-environment trade-offs and scaling-up costs. Future pathways integrating AI-assisted design, additive manufacturing, modular systems, and policy support are proposed. The study argues that green attributes and high performance are synergistic, positioning green optical fiber sensing as essential for achieving circular economy goals and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Open Access
Article
17 April 2026Between Cultural Expectations and Personal Choices: Marriage Attitudes of Central Asian Women
This qualitative study explores the evolving attitudes of marriage among Central Asian women living in the United Kingdom. Drawing on a social constructionist framework and employing reflexive thematic analysis, interviews with five single women from Central Asia reveal how migration, education, and exposure to new cultural environments shape their perceptions of marriage. Two overarching themes emerged from the data: the tension between cultural expectations and personal agency, and the negotiation of marriage as a choice shaped by lived experiences, gender norms, and structural constraints. These findings demonstrate a shift toward autonomy and critical reflection, whilst demonstrating a persistence of traditional pressures and patriarchal values. This study provides an in-depth appreciation of how gender, culture, and identity intersect in shaping marriage perceptions among diasporic youth and offers further insight that will inform future research and culturally informed support initiatives.
Open Access
Article
16 April 2026Barriers to Low-Carbon Transition: An Empirical Assessment of GHG Emissions and Mitigation Readiness in the Matsapha Industrial Area, Eswatini
Climate change mitigation in the manufacturing sector is crucial for reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In Eswatini, the industrial sector is the largest contributor to the national GHG inventory. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the mitigation readiness of this sector through a unique multi-stakeholder approach, using the Matsapha Industrial Area as a case study. Through an extensive survey, between November 2024 and January 2025, of industry managers, achieving an exceptionally high response rate of 91% (n = 21), employees (n = 63), local residents (n = 385), and a key ministry, the study evaluated emission sources, mitigation measures, stakeholder awareness, and the policy framework. The findings reveal a critical awareness-action gap: while basic awareness of climate change is high, a significant limitation was identified where nearly half (48%) of the surveyed industries could not provide quantifiable annual energy use data, and strategic mitigation is limited to cost-saving efficiency measures. Critically, the study confirms a policy vacuum, with no regulations mandating GHG monitoring or mitigation for manufacturing. This governance gap is the primary barrier to decarbonization. The results underscore an urgent need for a sector-specific industrial climate policy with a mandatory Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework, coupled with targeted capacity-building initiatives to translate awareness into accountable climate action.
