Plant biomass substance helps combat weeds

Often treated as waste from the pulp and paper industry, lignin, a polymer responsible for the rigidity of plant cell walls, has increased the stability and effectiveness of herbicide nanoparticles

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

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A study published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering and featured on its cover showed that a fraction obtained from lignin, an organic polymer responsible for the rigidity of plant cell walls, was able to improve the performance of nanoparticles with herbicide. The study was conducted by researchers from three research institutions in the state of São Paulo, Brazil: São Paulo State University (UNESP), the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar).

"Lignin has antioxidant properties and is one of the main components of plant biomass, but it's still underutilized and often treated as waste from the pulp and paper industry. That's why our group sought more sustainable ways to add value to this abundant and renewable material," says Leonardo Fraceto, a professor at the Institute of Science and Technology at UNESP, Sorocaba campus. He is also the Innovation Coordinator at the Center for Research on Biodiversity and Climate Change (CBioClima) and at the National Institute of Science and Technology (INCTNanoAgro). The study was supported by FAPESP through four projects (23/06505-9, 24/01872-6, 24/14149-0, and 23/00335-4).

The substance was obtained from Eucalyptus urograndis, a hardwood tree, and was then subjected to a green process. This process used acetic acid as a solvent to obtain different fractions with distinct structural and chemical properties. Next, nanoparticles were produced using atrazine, an herbicide that combats weeds.

These nanoparticles underwent a series of physical, chemical, and thermal analyses to examine their structure and behavior. "We found that the different lignin fractions have very distinct properties. Some are richer in phenolic groups. Others have a higher molar mass or promote greater thermal stability. These differences directly impact the formation and performance of the nanoparticles," Fraceto explains.

Some fractions are more effective at protecting polymeric materials (composed of macromolecules, proteins, and cellulose, for example) from ultraviolet ray-induced degradation, while others act as stabilizers in substance release systems. These results demonstrate that lignin is not a single, uniform waste product but rather a material that can be customized for different applications.

According to Fraceto, this finding is significant because, although using lignin as a surfactant is promising for the efficient distribution of active ingredients in agrochemical formulations, several challenges must be overcome. One major problem is the variability in its structure, which can affect its consistency and performance as a stabilizing agent.

In the case of atrazine nanoparticles, using the lignin fraction increased the stability and efficiency of herbicide release. Using specific lignin fractions was crucial to optimizing nanoparticle performance. The developed formulations effectively controlled black jack (Bidens pilosa L.) and green pigweed (Amaranthus viridis L.), demonstrating their potential for sustainable agricultural pest management.

"Not only were we able to use a simple, environmentally friendly process, but we also took advantage of an abundant byproduct in Brazil, opening up possibilities for the bioeconomy," Fraceto celebrates. "This type of study connects materials science, sustainability, and technological innovation, bringing academia closer to solutions for current challenges, such as developing greener agricultural inputs."

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.

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Journal

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

DOI

10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c04472 

Article Title

Lignin as a Dual-Function Stabilizer for Protecting PCL Nanoparticles from Photodegradation and Enhancing Atrazine Delivery

 

Veterans with epilepsy after traumatic brain injury may have higher mortality rates

American Academy of Neurology

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MINNEAPOLIS — Military veterans who develop epilepsy after a traumatic brain injury may have a higher mortality rate in the following years than veterans who develop epilepsy with no previous traumatic brain injury, according to a study published on October 29, 2025, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

“While these findings need to be validated in future studies, we recommend that people who develop epilepsy after a traumatic brain injury are closely monitored, and, especially if seizures do not respond well to treatment, are prioritized for surgery or changing to new medications without delay,” said study author Zulfi Haneef, MD, MBBS, FRCP, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

For the study, researchers looked at Veterans Health Administration database information on 210,182 veterans with epilepsy. Of those, 28,832 people had experienced a traumatic brain injury within the five years before their epilepsy diagnosis. This group was an average of 53 years old at the time of diagnosis. The remaining 181,350 people had no traumatic brain injury within five years before their diagnosis. They were an average of 61 years old at diagnosis.

The participants were followed for an average of six years. During that time, 10,780 of the people with epilepsy with traumatic brain injury died, compared to 92,621 of the people with epilepsy without traumatic brain injury.

Once researchers accounted for how long each person spent as part of the study and adjusted for other factors that could affect the mortality rate, they found that overall people with post-traumatic brain injury epilepsy were 2% more likely to die during the study than those with epilepsy without traumatic brain injury.

However, the risk varied based on the cause of the traumatic brain injury. Those with skull or facial fractures had an 18% higher risk of death during the study period; those with diffuse brain injury had a 17% higher risk; and those with localized brain injury had a 16% higher risk.

In contrast, people whose traumatic brain injury was from a concussion had a lower mortality rate than the rate for people with epilepsy with no traumatic brain injury.

Haneef said several possibilities could explain this finding. Some causes of non-traumatic brain injury epilepsy that served as the comparison group, such as stroke, infections, or tumors, have high mortality rates. If compared to the normal population, Haneef said the mortality rates would be much higher.

“It’s also possible that when people develop epilepsy after a traumatic brain injury, they receive earlier treatment and may have more access to care and better outcomes than people who have not had a traumatic brain injury,” Haneef said.

The researchers also found that people with extracerebral traumatic brain injury who developed epilepsy at a young age—or when they were in the 18-39 age range—were twice as likely to die during the study as young adults with epilepsy but no brain injury.

A limitation of the study was that information about traumatic brain injuries experienced before the people were receiving care from the Veterans Health Administration was limited.

The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Discover more about brain health at Brain & Life®, from the American Academy of Neurology. This resource offers a website, podcast, and books that connect patients, caregivers and anyone interested in brain health with the most trusted information, straight from the world’s leading experts in brain health. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

The American Academy of Neurology is the leading voice in brain health. As the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals with more than 40,000 members, the AAN provides access to the latest news, science and research affecting neurology for patients, caregivers, physicians and professionals alike. The AAN’s mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all. A neurologist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis, care and treatment of brain, spinal cord and nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, concussion, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, headache and migraine.

Explore the latest in neurological disease and brain health, from the minds at the AAN at AAN.com or find us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

 

US Emergency department pilot program serves rural families

Needs assessment can help connect families to helpful resources

University of Missouri-Columbia

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Emergency departments (EDs) hold a unique position for treating people from rural areas, as many patients from these regions have limited access to primary care services. According to a new study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, a pilot program involving ED staff could help fulfill the unmet needs of pediatric patients and their families.

The Mizzou study evaluated a pilot program called Tigers ConnectED, which was designed to identify and assist families visiting the pediatric emergency department who might be facing challenges outside of traditional medical care.

Over an eight-week period, researchers surveyed 95 families. Nearly half reported at least one unmet essential need, with food insecurity being the most common. Families were contacted after their emergency visit and offered information about available community resources. Of those who requested help, three out of four were successfully reached and connected to services remotely — primarily through text messages.

“Because health care is far away for these patients, it can be hard for parents to arrange transportation or find time off work to drive to primary care or specialty appointments,” said study author Dr. Mary Beth Bernardin. “To help these families, we have to meet them where they are, and previous research has shown the ED is where that connection most frequently happens.”

About 40% of participating families were from surrounding rural counties. The research found that while these families were less likely to request assistance, many faced similar challenges to those living in urban areas.

“We have an opportunity to improve the lives of families and children who live in rural areas and don’t have their needs met,” Bernardin said. “By reaching out beyond the exam room, we can make a real difference in the health and stability of children and their communities.”

The Tigers ConnectED project builds on MU Health Care’s existing Tigers Connect program, which began in pediatric clinics in 2021. Both initiatives reflect the university’s commitment to understanding the factors that influence a family’s overall well-being and improving access to care across Missouri. 

Mary Beth Bernardin, MD is a pediatric emergency medicine doctor at MU Health Care and associate professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the Mizzou School of Medicine. She is also the Medical Director of Emergency Medical Services for Children, the Assistant Medical Director of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and the Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine Education. 

“Social Determinants of Health Screening and Remote Intervention for a Pediatric Emergency Department” was recently published in Family and Community Health. In addition to Bernardin, Mizzou study authors include medical student Destri Eichman; statistician Bin Ge, MD; Elizabeth Kendrick, director of research activities; Janisha Eubanks, project support coordinator; physician assistant Megan EuDaly; Julie Stilley, PhD, research director of emergency medicine; and Alexandra James, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics. Danielle Zoellner, Dr. Jennae Raken and alumnae Isabella McCartney and Mariana Mendoza Castro contributed. 

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Journal

Family & Community Health

DOI

10.1097/FCH.0000000000000439 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Social Determinants of Health Screening and Remote Intervention for a Pediatric Emergency Department: Reaching Rural Families

 

Amid renewable-energy boom, study explores options for electricity market

Researchers including a professor at Penn State assessed market designs for the clean-energy transition

Penn State

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Renewable energy sources like wind and solar generation now account for over 20% of electricity in the U.S. — and keep growing after large-scale production more than doubled since 2000. Still, high-profile power failures illustrate persistent challenges from the lack of available capacity to provide enough energy at times of need, said Chiara Lo Prete, an associate professor of energy economics in the John and Willie Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State.

The issue isn’t insufficient generation but an unreliable ability to deliver ample power when customer use spikes, particularly where renewable resources and natural gas dominate power production, Lo Prete said. To better support the clean-energy transition, she and colleagues at a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit studied 11 electricity market design proposals under consideration by grid operators. These designs put forward different approaches to guide energy generation and sources, as well as use across every sector of the energy market.

The proposals, yet to be tested in the market, range from a modest variation on current market designs to a complete overhaul. Researchers organized proposals into five categories from least to most dramatic, including concepts for long-term contract auctions and a two-pronged approach combining long- and short-term markets.

“Market structures should allow utility operators to recover both fixed and variable costs so they foster greater system reliability overall,” Lo Prete said.

Findings published in the journal Energy Economics spotlight key questions confronting utility decision-makers and can shape more research into adjusting electricity markets. Lo Prete said forecasting overall demand — expected to see historic growth of 25% by 2030 and 78% by 2050 — will be especially difficult as transportation electrifies and more data centers come online.

Mandatory “forward contracts,” or advance obligations by distributors to purchase specific amounts of electricity from power generators, could help support investments in resources that are instrumental in meeting decarbonization objectives, she said.

Lo Prete noted the February 2021 system failure in Texas that left more than 4.5 million homes without power; rolling outages in California in August 2020; and near-blackouts, also in the Golden State, in September 2022. In each instance, the underlying problem was a lack of accessible energy in the moment of greatest demand, she said.

Such situations have led grid operators to weigh the market approaches reviewed by researchers in their study, Lo Prete said. Reforms on the table would attempt to accommodate ongoing shifts in power generation, whether through longer-term auctioning of future electricity supplies, more centralized resource planning or other mechanisms like so-called “swing contracts.” They seek to ensure the availability of power production capabilities for dispatch in future operating periods.

“When the markets were restructured in the late 1990s, the energy system was very different from the one we have today,” Lo Prete said.

At that point, the system centered on thermal power plants driven by fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Utility markets today aren’t structured to integrate and sustain the renewable sources and large-scale electricity storage that have taken root since then.

Still, maintaining a range of power generation is vital, as older facilities like coal-powered plants contribute less to the power supply but remain important to consistent service, Lo Prete said. Last year, coal accounted for 8% of primary energy consumption nationally, down from 23% in 2000, according to a congressional report.

For their study, Lo Prete and her research partners at Resources for the Future (RFF) examined market proposals to assess energy affordability, efficiency, energy adequacy and other factors. Lo Prete, a faculty associate of the EMS Energy Institute and the Institute of Energy and the Environment and a Wilson Faculty Fellow at Penn State, completed a sabbatical at RFF ahead of the paper’s publication.

Among their conclusions, researchers found the organization of regulatory oversight makes it more difficult to incorporate clean-energy policy into electricity markets. Those “forward contracts” requiring specific electricity purchases could promote energy storage and power systems’ overall ability to fulfill customer needs, they found.

At the same time, the authors said it was tough to make recommendations or endorse one proposal over others, in part because the concepts were in different stages of development. Researchers cited specific concerns over inadequate investment incentives in current energy markets.

The authors also urged cooperation among energy-market researchers, encouraging them to make proposals accessible to broad audiences and facilitate input and feedback from those constituents. Communication will help researchers understand concerns and possible points of confusion, they said.

At Resources for the Future, contributing to the paper were Karen Palmer, senior fellow and director of the Electric Power Program, and associate fellow Molly Robertson. The National Science Foundation and Penn State supported the work.

At Penn State, researchers are solving real problems that impact the health, safety and quality of life of people across the commonwealth, the nation and around the world.

For decades, federal support for research has fueled innovation that makes our country safer, our industries more competitive and our economy stronger. Recent federal funding cuts threaten this progress.

Learn more about the implications of federal funding cuts to our future at Research or Regress.

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Journal

Energy Economics

DOI

10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108640 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Time for a market upgrade? A review of wholesale electricity market designs for the future