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Carbon reactive capture and conversion offers a sustainable route to valuable chemicals and fuels while aiding GHG reduction. Direct electrochemical conversion of capture solutions like bicarbonate avoids the energy demands... 

Agricultural extension plays a crucial role in transferring agricultural technologies, with extension agents as key facilitators. In the U.S., these extension agents receive training through agricultural extension education programs offered by various universities and a bachelor’s degree is used as a required minimum qualification. On the other hand, in developing countries, an associate degree offered by community colleges is enough for one to serve as an agricultural extension agent. In all these programs, regardless of the requirements for minimum qualification, there is an increased focus on training the aspiring extension agents as technology transfer facilitators or agents. The focus of extension programs and methods significantly shapes students’ perceptions of the role of agricultural extension. This study sought to examine students’ perceptions of the role of agricultural extension in delivering extension services. A qualitative content analysis approach was utilized to analyze the perceptions of 22 students from Iowa State University. The results show a shift from the traditional, linear top-down approach to a more engaging, participatory model emphasizing human development. The participants noted the need to incorporate farmer knowledge and experiences in agricultural technology design and development, fostering collaborative innovation and focusing on the specific needs of individual farmers. Importantly, this manuscript is not intended as a critical review of the U.S. Cooperative Extension system but rather as a reflection of the participants’ global perspectives on extension. While we acknowledge that these perspectives may not be universally applicable across all countries, the insights provided valuable information on students’ perceptions of extension. 

Continuous monitoring of soil nitrate levels is essential for effective soil nutrient management. However, limited soil pore water at low soil water content levels hinders miniaturized soil sensor surfaces from efficiently interacting with nutrient ions. To address this, we introduce a nanofibrous mat designed to enhance nitrate detection by increasing connectivity between miniature sensors and the soil solution. Composed of polysulfone, polymethylmethacrylate, and polyvinyl alcohol, this mat is fabricated using electrospinning and electrospray methods to balance water absorbency, mechanical durability, and ease of manufacturing. When wrapped around an ion-selective electrode-based nitrate sensor, the mat improves access to soil pore water, acts as a filter, prevents direct sensor-soil particle contact, and reduces the impact of soil particle surface charges on sensor measurements. Continuous nitrate monitoring with both mat-wrapped and bare sensors was conducted in controlled and field environments. Linear regression analysis indicates that the mat-wrapped sensor has a stronger correlation with conventional salt extract methods for measuring soil nitrate levels. T-tests confirm statistically significant differences between sensor measurements and the salt extraction method. Additionally, Bland-Altman analysis reveals that mat-wrapping reduces mean bias and narrows the limits of agreement, demonstrating improved agreement with the conventional method. Notably, the mat-wrapped sensor performs consistently across varying soil moisture conditions. These findings suggest that the water-absorbing mat improves the ability of the sensor to monitor nitrate continuously by accommodating varying soil moisture levels over time, making the mat-wrapped soil nitrate sensor a viable improvement for in-field measurements of soil solution chemistry. 

Greenhouse gas emissions present a significant challenge to humanity, and utilizing renewable electricity to convert emitted CO2 into value-added products offers a promising solution; however, traditional CO2 capture and regeneration processes remain energy-intensive, restricting the overall system efficiency and decarbonization efficacy. In this study, an advanced direct reduction of captured CO2 with large current densities for formate electrosynthesis was demonstrated without the need for CO2 regeneration or compression. The bismuth nanosheet (DRM-BiNS) was synthesized by direct reduction of a Bi-based MOF, representing a new class of catalytic materials with a large surface area and interconnected pores, suitable for the direct reduction of captured CO₂. By seamlessly combining experimentation and simulation, insights into the structure-parameter-performance relation were acquired in a flow cell setting, including critical membrane-electrode distance, cell orientation, and pumping flow rate. Important flow-cell components, such as catholyte volume, electrode substrate, membrane choice, and ionomer type, were also carefully examined to enhance the cell performance. In sharp contrast to prior studies limited to current densities below 20 mA/cm² in bicarbonate-based captured CO2 solutions, this work demonstrates a remarkable current density of 300 mA/cm² with an FE to formate comparable to the case with gas-fed CO2 reduction. Moreover, the process sustained an FE above 50% at a high current density of 500 mA/cm². The DRM-BiNS catalyst exhibited outstanding selectivity, activity, and stability, significantly outperforming oxide-derived bismuth nanosheets (OD-BiNS) in captured CO2 reduction. These findings offer critical insights into the development of sustainable and scalable CO2 utilization technologies. 

A MOF-derived CoS_xcatalyst enables efficient sulfide oxidation and nitrate reduction, offering an energy-saving strategy for ammonia synthesis and pollutant remediationviabifunctional electrolysis. 

This study examines farmers' acceptance of green ammonia produced by upcycling waste nitrogen using renewable energy. A mail survey, targeting a random sample of crop growers in Iowa, USA, found moderately high acceptance: about 50% support green ammonia as a fertilizer and 32% support green ammonia as a fuel. Support for green hydrogen is only 17% (24% opposing), demonstrating a preference of 2nd-generation over 1st-generation technologies. Ordinal logistic regression reveals social and psychological factors affecting attitude, including income, ideology, perceived benefit, ammonia usage, trust in science and technology, personal belief in reducing waste nitrogen, and social norm. 

A paired alkaline electrolyzer with non-noble metal catalysts was developed, demonstrating higher performances of furfural oxidation on NiFe/Ni foam at the anode and hydrogen evolution on Co/MXene at the cathode under practical current densities.