This study assessed suitable lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars and lighting conditions for indoor hydroponic cultivation in Mongolia, examining their applicability in a household-scale vertical farming system. Three cultivars— ‘Jeokchima,’ ‘Cheongsangchu,’ and ‘Meiguodashusheng’— were grown under two lighting treatments: LEDs and T5 LEDs. ‘Jeokchima’ demonstrated the most consistent and superior growth across both harvests, exhibiting significantly higher leaf length, SPAD value, dry weight, and leaf number compared to the other cultivars. The use of LED lighting enhanced all growth parameters, except for petiole length, compared to T5, highlighting its advantages in arid indoor environments. Based on these findings, a compact three-tier Deep Water Culture (DWC) system was designed as a model for urban households, facilitating year-round lettuce production in limited indoor spaces. This model shows promise for enhancing vegetable self-sufficiency and food security in Mongolia. Further research on optimizing light spectra, managing photoperiods, and diversifying cultivars is recommended.

With a growing number of working-age individuals receiving knee arthroplasty, optimizing return to work (RTW) has become a crucial goal for both public health and society. This paper highlights three evidence-based actions demonstrating how physical therapists (PTs) play a pivotal role in facilitating timely RTW after knee arthroplasty. This review presents a narrative synthesis of recent studies on RTW after knee arthroplasty highlighting the important role of PT’s. The studies focus on the Work, Osteoarthritis and joint-Replacement Questionnaire (WORQ), Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), and the Back At work After Surgery (BAAS) work-integrated care pathway. The WORQ effectively identifies patients at risk for delayed RTW based on their ability to perform knee-demanding work activities. Patients with WORQ scores < 51 at 3 months post-surgery showed significantly delayed RTW compared with those scoring > 70. Incorporating GAS into rehabilitation significantly increased satisfaction with work-related activities by 11 points (95% confidence interval: 2.0–19.4) vs. usual care. The BAAS pathway— which integrates hospital, outpatient, and occupational care—resulted in full RTW 27 days earlier than usual care. One year post-surgery, 98% of BAAS patients had fully resumed work vs. 84%–87% in controls. BAAS yielded cost reductions of €4,493 (7,442,452 KRW, employer perspective) with a return on investment of 532%. This corresponds to a total cost reduction of about €69.5 million (115,123 million KRW) annually in The Netherlands. In conclusion, PTs are key drivers of successful work reintegration after knee arthroplasty. By using the WORQ for early detection of patients at risk for delayed RTW, implementing GAS to align rehabilitation with individual work goals, and participating in perioperative interdisciplinary care such as BAAS, PTs can substantially enhance RTW and reduce socioeconomic burden.

This research presents a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)-enabled real-time monitoring system to optimize postcuring conditions (temperature and duration) for epoxy resin. This method can serve as an alternative to traditional methods like Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), which is effective in measuring the degree of cure in polymers during industrial curing (manufacturer-recommended cure cycle). Two different programs using SWCNTs were employed to design the cure cycles for investigating the development of mechanical properties: Program A as the comparison of effects of varied duration of high-temperature curing and Program B as high-temperature curing followed by the varied duration of low-temperature post-curing. By correlating variation in the electrical resistance of SWCNT with curing stages, we illustrate that extending post-curing at 100 °C for 24 h after an initial 3-h cure at 130 °C increases (i) tensile strength by 60% and ultimate tensile elongation by 101% and (ii) shear strength by 14% and ultimate shear elongation by 16% compared to industry standards. This approach not only improves mechanical performance but also enables precise, non-destructive cure-state detection, offering a scalable solution for high-performance composites in the aerospace and automotive sectors.

Designing long-wavelength emissive carbon dots (CDs) with high photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) is an inevitable component for lighting applications. However, it is still challenging to develop an efficient CDs with excitation-independent emission in long-wavelength regions. In this work, we developed an excitation-independent yellow emissive CD (y-CDs) with PL emission centered at 568 nm via a facile solvothermal treatment of citric acid and melamine using toluene as solvent. The synthesized, y-CDs contain a high degree of conjugated sp2- carbon domains (fused rings) with different surface groups, which serve as a center for photon absorption. The addition of melamine improves the degree of sp2- conjugated carbon domain and surface groups thereby switching the emission of y-CDs from excitation-dependent to excitation-independent emission with excellent PL QY of 80.2%, UV stability, and large Stoke shift. This work not only developed an efficient yellow emissive CD but also explored the possible mechanism of excitation-independent emission and used it for the development of phosphor-converted LEDs. The LED shows warm yellow light with CIE coordinates of (0.48, 0.49), CCT of 2983 K, excellent color purity of 94%, and high thermal stability. This study promotes the development of cost-effective and ecofriendly optoelectronic devices for smooth lighting applications.

Enhancing the energy storage capabilities of supercapacitors (SCs) while preserving their electrochemical performance is crucial for their widespread application. Our research focuses on developing Sb-modified tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles via a scalable hydrothermal process, offering substantial potential in this domain. The tetragonal nanoparticle structure provides abundant active sites and a highly porous pathway, facilitating rapid and efficient energy storage. Additionally, tin's varied oxidation states significantly enhance redox capacitance. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate ATO's promise as an advanced SC electrode, achieving a peak specific capacitance of 332 F/g at 3 mA/cm2, with robust redox capacitance confirmed through kinetic analysis. Moreover, the ATO electrode exhibits exceptional capacitance retention over 2000 cycles. This study establishes ATO as a leading candidate for future energy storage applications, underscoring its pivotal role in advancing energy storage technologies.