An accurate assessment of the stage-discharge relationship in open channel flows is necessary and important to the design and management of hydraulic structures and engineering in practical hydrosystems such as rivers and streams. While the flow structures and patterns at open channel junctions are interesting and have been widely studied in the literature, this paper focuses further on the effect of flow junctions on stage-discharge relationship at mountain river confluences. In this study, both the flume and physical model experiments are designed and performed carefully to test and analyze the complex flow structures and characteristics at river confluences with different configurations and hydraulic conditions. The impacts of the flow junctions on the traditional stage-discharge relationship are analyzed in this study. The results of this study are discussed in the paper for the understanding of flow structures at flow junctions and the design and management of hydraulic structures in river engineering.

The heavy demand of water resources from the Zarqa River Basin (ZRB) has resulted in a base-flow reduction of the River from 5m³/s to less than 1m³/s. This paper aims at predicting Curve Numbers (CN) as a baseline scenario and proposing restoration scenarios for ZRB. The method includes classifying the soil type and land use, predicting CNs, and proposing CN restoration scenarios. Prediction of existing CNs will be in parallel with the runoff prediction using the US Army Corps of Engineers HEC-1 Model, and Rainfall-Runoff Model (RRM). The models have been set up at the land use distribution of 0.3% water body, 9.3% forest and orchard, 71% mixture of grass, weeds, and desert shrubs, 7.0% crops, 4.0% urban areas, and 8.4% bare soil. The results show that CN under dry condition are 59, 78 under a normal condition and 89 under a wet condition. During vegetation period, CN are 52, 72 and 86 for the dry, normal and wet condition respectively. The restoration scenarios; CN decreases runoff, and increases soil moisture when using the contours, terraces and crop residues. Analyzing results of CN scenarios will be a fundamental tool to support end-users related to their targets to achieve watershed restoration.

The purpose of the present research was to analyze the available data on river restoration projects. As the framework of our study, we conducted a structured international survey. We asked selected entities and experts from among those responsible for river restoration in European countries about the details and costs of European Union river restoration projects. We examined 119 river restoration projects that were implemented in Europe between 1989 and 2016; some of the projects were still ongoing. We observed that the number of river restoration projects has been increasing since 1989, which expresses society’s growing interest in improving the quality of aquatic environments. We revealed that 56% of these European river restoration projects have been implemented by dedicated entities and stakeholders, not as part of any structured, larger-scale river restoration policy; this indicates that most European countries do not have integrated plans for river restoration. Our analysis showed that 52% of the projects analyzed have been designed and implemented without the participation of local stakeholders. It also showed that the budgets for river restoration projects did not differ significantly across various time horizons from 1981 to 2016. In our study, the average cost of restoring 1 ha of an average European river was 310 000 EUR (or 195 000 EUR if 4 outlying values are excluded). Considering these projects’ permanent assets and including their amortization, for European river systems, we calculated the average unit price of a river restoration’s value in terms of ecosystem meta-service to be 7 757 EUR · ha^-1 · year^-1 (4 875 EUR · ha^-1 · year^-1 if 4 outlying values were excluded).

: Tunnel instability and lining integrity are intimately tied to the creep properties of the surrounding rock. The acquisition of rock mass creep parameters is critical in ascertaining the appropriate timing for lining construction. Nevertheless, creep tests on rock specimens conducted in a controlled setting cannot be straightforwardly extrapolated to rock mass creep analysis. This study performs laboratory-based creep tests on mudstone samples and establishes the corresponding creep constitutive model. Integration of a Mohr-Coulomb element with the Burgers model in series serves to characterise the yield creep behaviour of the rock mass. Additionally, the research outlines a series of 100 orthogonal experiments utilising randomised creep parameters, and formulates a GA-BP neural network inversion model. Employing long-term deformation measurements from the crown and sidewalls of the project site, this study deduces the creep parameters of the mudstone in the investigated tunnel section and examines the prolonged deformation traits of the surrounding rock. Drawing on the deformation traits of the surrounding rock and the forces impacting the primary support and lining structures, this paper evaluates the earliest and latest viable lining casting periods and pinpoints an optimal timing interval for lining implementation. The methodologies employed herein can serve as a benchmark for analogous endeavors internationally.

When the epipelic algae group growing on the concrete inclined side wall, which is typical of urban rivers and open diversion channels, enters the water flow, it will seriously affect the func-tion of the rivers or the channels. It is urgent to predict the transport capacity of epipelic algae group with water flow. However, the current research on the transport of pollutants is mostly based on mathematical models, and the study of the transport of flake epipelic algae group is extremely rare. A generalized hydrodynamic experimental model of a flume with sidewall epi-pelic algae group was established. Through a series of hydraulic experiments, the physical movement form and transport capacity of the suspended epipelic algae group on the side wall of the channel were studied qualitatively and quantitatively by taking the thickness, sheet size and flow rate of the epipelic algae group as the influencing factors. The key influencing factors of the suspension of epipelic algae are clarified, so as to quantitatively analyze the critical conditions of its suspension. Through flow scheduling, the probability of epipelic algae gathering some-where is increased. It provides a theoretical basis for realizing the long-distance migration of epipelic algae and optimizing the mathematical model.

We monitored the water quality and hydrological conditions of a horizontal subsurface constructed wetland (HSSF-CW) in Beijing, China, for 2 years. We simulated the area rate constant and the temperature coefficient with the first-order kinetic model. We examined the relationships between the nitrogen (N) removal rate, N load, seasonal variations in the N removal rate, and environmental factors, such as the area rate constant, temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO). The effluent ammonia (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate (NO₃⁻-N) concentrations were significantly lower than the influent concentrations (p<0.01, n=38). The NO₃⁻-N load was significantly correlated with the removal rate (R²=0.9566, p<0.01), but the NH^₄+-N load was not correlated with the removal rate (R²=0.0187, p>0.01). The area rate constants of NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N at 20 °C were 27.01±26.49 and 16.63±10.58 m∙yr⁻¹, respectively. The temperature coefficients for NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N were estimated at 1.0042 and 0.9604, respectively. The area rate constants for NO₃⁻-N and NH₄⁺-N were not correlated with temperature (p>0.01). The NO₃⁻-N area rate constant was correlated with the corresponding load (R²=0.9625, p<0.01). The NH₄⁺-N area rate was correlated with DO (R²=0.6922, p<0.01), suggesting that the factors that influenced the N removal rate in this wetland met Liebig's law of the minimum.

Large-scale hydrological modeling in China is challenging given the sparse meteorological stations and large uncertainties associated with atmospheric forcing data.Here we introduce the development and use of the China Meteorological Assimilation Driving Datasets for the SWAT model (CMADS) in the Heihe River Basin(HRB) for improving hydrologic modeling, by leveraging the datasets from the China Meteorological Administration Land Data Assimilation System (CLDAS)(including climate data from nearly 40000 area encryption stations, 2700 national automatic weather stations, FengYun (FY) 2 satellite and radar stations). CMADS uses the Space Time Multiscale Analysis System (STMAS) to fuse data based on ECWMF ambient field and ensure data accuracy. In addition, compared with CLDAS, CMADS includes relative humidity and climate data of varied resolutions to drive hydrological models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Here, we compared climate data from CMADS, Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) and traditional weather station (TWS) climate forcing data and evaluatedtheir applicability for driving large scale hydrologic modeling with SWAT. In general, CMADS has higher accuracy than CFRS when evaluated against observations at TWS; CMADS also provides spatially continuous climate field to drive distributed hydrologic models, which is an important advantage over TWS climate data, particular in regions with sparse weather stations. Therefore, SWAT model simulations driven with CMADS and TWS achieved similar performances in terms of monthly and daily stream flow simulations, and both of them outperformed CFRS. For example, for the three hydrological stations (Ying Luoxia, Qilian Mountain, and ZhaMasheke) in the HRB at the monthly and daily Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency ranges of 0.75-0.95 and 0.58-0.78, respectively, which are much higher than corresponding efficiency statistics achieved with CFSR (monthly: 0.32-0.49 and daily: 0.26 – 0.45). The CMADS dataset is available free of charge and is expected to a valuable addition to the existing climate reanalysis datasets for deriving distributed hydrologic modeling in China and other countries in East Asia.

Climate change is a global issue that draws widespread attention from the international society. As an important component of the climate system, the water cycle is directly affected by climate change. Thus, it is very important to study the influences of climate change on the basin water cycle with respect to maintenance of healthy rivers, sustainable use of water resources, and sustainable socioeconomic development in the basin. In this study, by assessing the suitability of multiple General Circulation Models (GCMs) recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) and Automated Statistical Downscaling model (ASD) were used to generate future climate change scenarios. These were then used to drive distributed hydrologic models (Variable Infiltration Capacity, Soil and Water Assessment Tool) for hydrological simulation of the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins, thereby quantifying the effects of climate change on the basin water cycle. The results showed that suitability assessment adopted in this study could effectively reduce the uncertainty of GCMs, and that statistical downscaling was able to greatly improve precipitation and temperature outputs in global climate mode. Compared to a baseline period (1961–1990), projected future periods (2046–2065 and 2081–2100) had a slightly decreasing tendency of runoff in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. In particular, a significant increase in runoff was observed during flood seasons in the southeast part. However, runoff of the upper Yellow River basin decreased continuously. The results provide a reference for studying climate change in major river basins of China.

The River Habitat Survey (RHS) is a method for assessing the conditions of a river channel and valley, taking into account hydromorphological factors, and assessing the degree of naturalness or the degree of anthropogenic alteration within the channel and valley based on physical and landscape data. The hypothesis tested in this study was that the quality of river habitats demonstrated using the RHS should translate into the composition of their fauna. We investigated aquatic bugs (Heteroptera Aquatica), which are a group with considerable dispersal abilities and, at the same time, composed of stenotopic species associated with a particular environment as well as of eurytopic elements inhabiting a wide range of environments (REF). The research was carried out in a small lowland river, the River Krąpiel (north-western Poland) at 6 sites with 43 sub-sites included. Our analyses suggest the RHS method can predict the composition and quality of the aquatic bug fauna inhabiting a given river. Indicators of river habitat quality (HQA and RHQ) will be associated with different habitat types depending on the geographic location and type of river, once indicating habitats associated with the mainstream river and mineral substrate (mountain and small lowland rivers) and at other times habitats covered by vegetation with relatively slow water flow (large and medium lowland rivers). Therefore, RHS may be a good method for estimating the water bug fauna, linking it to the size and character of the river.

After a local pollution control plant significantly reduced phosphorus loading into a phytoplankton-dominated tributary of the Potomac River in the early 1980’s, water quality and biological communities were monitored bi-weekly from April-September. After a 10-year time-lag, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), once abundant in this freshwater tidal embayment, returned to the area in 1993. After additional reductions in nitrogen load starting in 2000, the system completely switched to a SAV-dominated state in 2005. Fish abundance didn’t change during these distinct phase changes, but the fish community structure did. Increases in SAV provided refuge and additional spawning substrate for species with adhesive eggs such as Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus), which is now the most abundant species in the embayment. Other changes seen were a decrease in the relative contribution of open water dwelling species such as White Perch (Morone americana), and an increase of visual predators such as Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides). The 30-year record of data from this Potomac River tributary has revealed many important long-term trends that validate the effectiveness of initiatives to improve water treatment, and will aid in the continued management of the watershed and point source inputs.

Considering characteristics of high river density, special underlying surface in plain river network region, and municipal drainage system function, river network drainage unit model is proposed, which is defined as a region surrounded by main river or embankment. Flood storage variety and control projects regulation of small rivers in each unit is simulated. With drainage catchment as an object, according to its drainage capacity, simplified municipal drainage model was developed. Coupling river network drainage unit model, simplified municipal drainage model and 2D flood routing model, urban flood analysis model for plain tidal river network region was developed, which could be applied to analyzing flood from upstream river, storm surge and local rainfall. Demonstration research was carried out in Puxi flood protected area in Shanghai.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) rapidly develop globally to address societal challenges and provide human well-being and biodiversity. Watershed restoration plays an essential role in enhancing the ecological and socio-economic benefits of the region. The design and implementation of watershed restoration projects play a crucial role in their effectiveness, and NbS has been applied as a concept in ecosystem-related projects. This paper provides an idea to evaluate the design or implementation of watershed restoration projects based on the eight criteria proposed by the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-Based Solutions and to adjust the projects based on the evaluation results. The aim is to standardize the implementation process of watershed restoration projects to achieve more significant benefits and practically apply the concept of NbS in watershed restoration. implementation scheme of the Shan-Shui Initiative in the Jiulong River Watershed and concludes that the method is feasible in evaluating and improving the design and implementation scheme of ecological restoration projects in the actual basin. According to the assessment results, the degree of matching based on NbS for the implementation scheme of the Jiulong River Watershed Shan-Shui Initiative is 73%, which meets the criteria of NbS but needs to be improved in terms of monitoring and assessment, synergistic management, and benefit trade-offs.

Forest ecosystems make a greater contribution to carbon (C) stocks than any other terrestrial ecosystem. To understand the role of regional forest ecosystems in global climate change and carbon exchange, forest C stock and its spatial distribution within the small (2,300 km2) Liuxihe River basin were analyzed to determine the different contributors to the C stock. Forest C stocks were quantified by measuring the biomass of trees, understory vegetation, litter and roots, as well as soil organic C, using data from field samples and laboratory experiments. The results showed that forests stored 38.04 Tg C in the entire basin, with secondary and planted forests accounting for 89.82% and 10.18%, respectively, of the stored C. Five types of forests, a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, a subtropical coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest, a subtropical coniferous forest, a timber forest, and a non-wood forest, stored 257.55 ± 15.01, 218.92 ± 9.59, 195.24 ± 18.29, 177.42 ± 17.55, and 117.86 ± 6.04 Mg C ha−1, respectively. In the forest ecosystem C stocks of the basin, soils averagely contribute about 73.78%, not including root underground biomass. It provides a comprehensive method for forest ecosystem carbon investigation and forest management in small basin scale.

Promoting green development has become an important way to optimize the ecological and economic structure and promote sustainable development. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is an important economic corridor in China, and it remains to be examined whether the implementation of environmental regulations has enhanced the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of cities. This paper calculates the green total factor productivity of 107 cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt by using the super-efficient SBM model and the GML index with Chinese city panel data from 2007-2019 and measures the intensity of environmental regulations through textual analysis. The bidirectional fixed-effects model constructed in this paper suggests an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and GTFP, which is confirmed by a series of robustness tests. Green technology innovation and advanced industrial structure play a mechanism role in this. In regions with lower levels of green technology and industrial structure, the inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and green total factor productivity is more significant. In addition, the phenomenon of GTFP rising and then falling because of environmental regulation is more obvious in cities in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and outside the urban agglomerations. Therefore, when formulating environmental regulation policies, it is necessary to balance the relationship between economic development and environmental protection and harmonize the environment and economic development of the entire Yangtze River Basin.

Promoting the sustainable development of resource-based cities is of great significance to the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Combining the environmental status and economic development, we objectively evaluate the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin, compare and analysis the main factors affecting the ecological safety of different resource-based cities, and formulate precise and differentiated ecological safety protection measures in river basins to achieve high-quality development. Taking the Yellow River Basin as an example, this paper analyses the ecological level of the Yellow River Basin based on the theory of sustainable development, calculates the ecological safety level of 30 resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2020 by TOPSIS model, and makes convergence analysis by classification. Through the DID empirical test of sustainable development planning policy on ecological safety factors, distinguish the development characteristics of different resource-based cities. The results show that: (1) the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is generally developing well, and there are differences among different types of resource-based cities; (2) the kinetic energy of sustainable development of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is mainly industrial transformation, and the power of science and technology is insufficient; (3) local governments pay limited attention to environmental protection, and the sustainable development planning of resource-based cities in 2013 mainly promotes the adjustment of industrial structure of resource-based cities.

The Mara River basin (MRB) has a world-famous ecosystem, but the vegetation has been damaged due to economic development in recent years, and there is little known about the area that will experience severe vegetation damage in the future. Based on the vegetation vulnerability system, principal component analysis, and three CMIP6 scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5), vegetation vulnerability was calculated in the base period (2010-2019), near-term period (2020-2059) and long-term period (2060-2099) in the MRB. The spatial cluster of vegetation vulnerability was revealed by spatial correlation analysis, and the transition of vegetation vulnerability of different periods was analyzed by stochastic matrix. The results showed that in all periods, the vulnerability showed a high-high cluster in the east, and a low-low cluster midstream and downstream. From the stochastic matrix, the area of high vulnerability increased the least under the SSP1-2.6, while it increased the most under the SSP5-8.5. The vegetation vulnerability upstream increased the most from the base period to the near-term period and long-term period in the MRB. By comparing the vegetation vulnerability under different scenarios, and pointing out the areas with the highest vulnerability increase, this study can better provide comprehensive decision-making for vegetation protection in the MRB.

In today’s fast paced, attention-demanding society, executive functions and attentional resources are often taxed. Individuals need ways to sustain and restore these resources. We first review the concepts of attention and restoration, as instantiated in Attention Restoration Theory (ART). ART emphasizes the role of nature in restoring attention. We then discuss essentials of experiments on the causal influences of nature. Next, we expand the concept of ART to include modern, designed environments. We propose a wider perspective termed attentional ecology, in which attention behavior is viewed within a larger system involving the human and their interactions over time with environmental demands. When the ecology is optimal, mental functioning can be a positive “flow” that is productive, sustainable for the individual, and sometimes creative.

Global warming may increase the potential evapotranspiration (Etp), thereby affecting the amount of clean water resources available in a region. In this study, the systematic biases in temperature outputs of 24 global climate models (GCMs) under 3 emission scenarios are corrected by using 8 bias correction methods. The trend of Etp in Yangzi River Delta in the 21st century is projected by using 4 Etp calculation formulas. The uncertainty of the projections is estimated and decomposed by using multi-way analysis of variance. The influence of uncertainty on the projected change signal is quantified by using the signal-to-noise ratio. The results show that, relative to the reference period (1971~2000), the annual mean daily Etp in Yangzi River Delta will increase by 0.14~0.17mm/d during the period 2021~2050 and by 0.21~0.41mm/d during the period 2061~2090, respectively. During 2021~2050, the uncertainty of Etp increase projections is dominantly contributed by the main effects of GCM (63%) and Etp calculation formula (24%). During 2061~2090, it is mainly contributed by the main effect of GCM (36%), followed by the main effects of emission scenario (34%) and Etp calculation formula (18%). The increase projections of Etp are generally reliable and robust during the two projection periods.

Reservoirs created by damming rivers significantly modify the environment and problems may arise: the storage of nutrients and organic matter in reservoirs often leads to decreased water quality due to eutrophication. Reservoirs built on lowland rivers are exposed to significant nutrient loads, often leading to eutrophication. In this article, the Sulejów Reservoir, in Central Poland, was the subject of the research, which focused on the use of Sentinel-2 remote sensing data to detect phytoplankton blooms, and on understanding the pattern of wind-driven surface currents using the CCHE2D model (a depth-averaged hydrodynamic model). The calculation of the total phosphorus load has shown that the reservoir mainly acts as nutrient storage. Still, during the low flow and intensive phytoplankton bloom, it can be a source of nutrients. The distribution of phytoplankton bloom on the Sulejów Reservoir was documented using eight Sentinel-2 satellite images from the vegetation season of 2020 and the Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCl). Coupling remote sensing data and numerical modelling helps to interpret the hydrodynamic model results and understand nutrients and sediment dynamics within the reservoir. Hydrodynamic modelling combined with remote sensing data can be a valuable tool for selecting appropriate locations for water quality measurements at monitoring stations.

The sympathetic restoration and conservation of built cultural heritage play a significant role in the management and preparedness for future climate scenarios by facilitating adaptive reuse, enhancing cultural resilience, preserving traditional knowledge, and boosting tourism. The importance of restoring damaged heritage sites after an earthquake drew international attention to Nepal after the 2015 Gorka Earthquake. UNESCO established an office in Kathmandu to promote the restoration of tangible and intangible heritage in the area. This included developing structural analyses of buildings with historical and cultural value that due to their nature cannot be intervened with the same methodology as modern buildings. In this paper, the case study of the earthquake-damaged Gopinath temple, is discussed. First, an initial visual inspection phase and the following diagnosis of the structure are discussed. Then, the results from a series of static and dynamic structural analyses performed to determine the safety level of the structure, together with a sensitivity analysis, are presented. A sympathetic intervention proposal capable of increasing the temple safety level and based on the addition of timber plates, has resulted in substantial improvements of the lateral behavior of the structure. The proposed intervention is deemed sustainable and able to increase the resilience of the temple in the face of future hazards.

Increased attention has been paid to the influence of coal mining subsidence on ecological environment. Restoration of ecosystem in damaged mining area is critical for restoring disturbed environment. The comparing of plant communities and microbial communities in the artificial restoration and natural restoration areas provides an effective method for evaluating the restoration effects. However, such studies are limited in coal mining subsidence restoration areas. Subsidence area in Shendong mining area, located in the semi-arid region of Western China, was restored from 2003 with 5 ecological restoration plant species. In July 2017, the comparison and analysis of plant and microbial communities were conducted at the artificial restoration areas (AR) and the natural remediation areas (NR). The results showed that the artificial ecological restoration in Shendong mining area has achieved some success, but it has not recovered to a similar ecosystem before the destruction. A higher plant species, coverage and bacterial community diversity were observed in AR. However, these features have lower similarity compared with those in NR sites. Potential soil factors, such as pH, moisture content, total carbon content, organic matter, nitrogen and bulk density, have a greater impact on soil bacterial community structure and diversity. In the ecological restoration of the mining area, attention should be paid to the restoration of soil properties in the mining area. This study can provide theoretical guidance for more scientific ecological restoration in the damaged mining area.

Preventing the rebound of black and odorous water bodies is critical for improving the ecological environment of water bodies. This study investigated the effect and mechanism of in-situ improvement of sediment microenvironment by nitrate in tailwater of wastewater treatment plants combined with aerobic denitrifying bacteria under low-DO regulation (TailN+CFM+LDO). On the 60th day of remediation, the dissolved oxygen and oxidation-reduction potential in the overlying water increased to 5.6 mg/L and 300 mV, respectively, the acid volatile sulfide in the sediment decreased by 70.4%, and the organic matter in the sediment was reduced by 62.7%, in which the HFOM was degraded from 105 g/kg to 56 g/kg, and the potential risk of water reverting to black and odorous conditions significantly decreased. Amplicon sequencing analysis revealed that the relative abundance of electroactive bacteria Thiobacillus and Pseudomonas with denitrification capacity was found to be significantly higher in the TailN+CFM+LDO group than in the other remediation groups. Functional prediction of 16S sequencing results indicated that both the quantity and activity of critical microbial enzymes involved in nitrification and denitrification processes could enhance in the TailN+CFM+LDO group. These results improved our understanding of the improvement of the sediment microenvironment and could thus facilitate its application.

In order to investigate the size distributions and seasonal variations of carbonaceous aerosols (OC and EC), the carbonaceous species were collected and then analyzed by using a 9-stage Anderson-type aerosol sampler and DRI Model 2001A Thermal/Optical Carbon Analyzer on the typical industrial city Nanjing in Yangtze River Delta, China in the summer, autumn and winter of 2013 and spring of 2014. OC, EC, SOC and POC exhibited obvious seasonal variations, with the highest level in winter (39.1±14.0, 5.7±2.1, 23.6±11.7 and 14.1±5.7 μg•m^-3) and the lowest level in summer (20.6±6.7, 3.3±2.0, 12.2±3.8 and 8.4±4.1 μg•m^-3), and were mainly centralized in PM_1.1 in four seasons. The concentrations of OC in PM_1.1 varied in the order of winter > autumn > spring > summer, while EC ranked in the order of autumn > winter > summer > spring. In the PM_1.1-2.1 and PM_2.1-10, the concentrations of OC and EC decreased in the sequence of winter > spring > autumn > summer. The size spectra of OC, EC and SOC had bimodal distributions in four seasons, except for EC with four peaks in summer. The size spectra of POC varied greatly with seasons, exhibiting bimodal distribution in winter, trimodal distribution in spring and summer, and four peaks in autumn. The OC/EC ratios were 7.0, 6.3, 7.6 and 6.9 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively, which demonstrated the abundance of secondary organic aerosols in Nanjing. The sources of carbonaceous aerosol varied significantly with seasons, and were dominated by vehicle exhaust, coal and biomass burning in PM_2.1, and dominant by dust, coal and biomass burning in PM_2.1-10.

The search of DNA polymorphisms useful for the genetic improvement of dairy farm animals lasts more than 40 years with relevant findings in cattle for milk traits, where the best combination of alleles for dairy processing have been found in casein genes and in the DGAT1. Nowadays, similar results are not reached yet in river buffaloes despite advanced genomic technologies and accurate phenotype records are available. The aim of the present study was to investigate and validate in a larger buffalo population the effect on six milk traits of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the CSN1S1, CSN3, SCD and LPL genes, previously reported to be associated with or affect dairy traits in smaller populations often belonging to one farm. A total of 800 buffaloes were genotyped. Daily milk yield (dMY, kg), protein yield (dPY, kg) and fat yields (dFY, kg), fat and protein contents (dFP, % and dPP, %), somatic cell count (SCC, 103cell/ml) and urea (mg/dl) were individually recorded in each month for the whole lactation from 2010 to 2021. A total of 15,742 individual milk test day records (2,496 lactations) were available on 680 buffalo cows with 3.6±1.7 parity (from 1 to 13) and 6.1±1.2 test day records per lactation on average. Three out four SNP in CSN1S1, CSN3 and LPL were associated with at least one of analyzed traits. In particular, the CSN1S1 (AJ005430:c.578C&gt;T) gave favorable associations with all yield traits (dMY, p=0.022; dPY, p=0.014 ; dFY, p=0.029) and SCS (p=0.032), whereas the CSN3 (HQ677596: c.536C&gt;T) positively associated with SCS (p=0.005) and milk urea (p=0.04). Favorable effect on dMY (p=0.028), dFP (p=0.027) and dPP (p=0.050) were observed for the LPL. Conversely, SCD did not show any association with milk traits. This is the first example of confirmation study carried out in the Mediterranean river buffalo for genes of economic interest in dairy field and it represents a very important indication for the preselection of young bulls destined to breeding programs in the view of a more sustainable dairy production.

The Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin (VG-TB) is confronting numerous challenges related to water security (WS), particularly in the face of the impacts of climate change. These challenges manifest in salinity intrusion, altered rainfall patterns, and reduced water supply in downstream areas. To assess the current state of water security in the basin, the study employed statistical analysis methods, Process Analysis Method (PAM), SMART, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a comprehensive Assessment Framework for Water Security (AFWS) in the VG-TB. The AFWS encompasses five key dimensions, 17 indicators, and 28 variables, aligning with the UN-Water definition of water security and addressing the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) criteria for global water sustainability. It also adheres to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approach to water security assessment as outlined in the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) reports. This allows for the computation of a comprehensive Water Security Index (WSI) for specific regions, serving as a foundation for decision-making and policy formulation aimed at enhancing water security in the context of climate change and facilitating sustainable basin development in the future.

In its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Brazil committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and restoring its forests. This study examines the challenges of fulfilling these commitments in Brazilian Amazonia. We carry out a detailed assessment of the current status of land tenure in the region and its relation to deforestation. After dealing with conflicts and overlaps between data from various sources, we produce a new map of public and private land tenure in Amazonia. Combining this map with Brazil's official data on deforestation, we find out how much natural vegetation has been preserved in each public or private area. The result is used to estimate how much deforestation is illegal. We also establish how much deforestation is associated with each land tenure type. Our results show that most deforestation inside rural properties is done by a few landowners, a finding that has important consequences for law enforcement. We then assess the challenges for reforestation in detail. To do so, we consider how much forest needs to be rehabilitated according to Brazil's Forest Code. Our analysis provides a comprehensive appraisal of the potential opportunity costs for forest restoration in the biome, considering farm size and land use. This analysis provides insights into targeted land use policies that can meet Brazil’s forest restoration goals.

Anthropogenic development can strongly influence natural river processes, leading to environmental changes that negatively affect important habitats and biodiversity, and consequently reduce economically important natural resources. This study investigated the effects of salinity intrusion on the habitat of the clam Corbicula japonica in the Seomjin River estuarine zone. We employed the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) model, which incorporates topographic data and hydrological changes, to simulate salinity concentrations. Two salinity measurement facilities were installed in Seomjin River estuarine and operated to optimize the EFDC model. The results show that reduced flow rates due to intake have a negligible impact on the increased salinity. Maintaining optimal salinity (15–20 psu) during neap tides at the Seomjin River Bridge requires constant high flow rates, which poses significant challenges. Saltwater stratification is identified as the primary cause of pronounced salinity stratification, particularly during neap tides. Addressing this issue through river discharge and intake facility operation is challenging. Structural measures, including riverbed restoration and underwater barriers, are recommended to improve resistance to seawater intrusion. Future research should aim to develop scenarios to reduce salinity concentrations, quantify the reduction efficiency, and propose region-specific measures.

Water resources provided by alpine glaciers are an important pillar for people living in the arid regions in the west of China. In this study, the HBV (Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenavdelning) light model was applied to simulate glacier mass balance and runoff in the Koxkar River Basin (KRB) on the south slope of Mt. Tumur, western Tianshan Mts.. Daily temperature and precipitation were calculated by multiple linear regressions and gradient-inverse distance weighting, respectively, based on in-situ observed data by automatic weather stations (AWSs) in the basin (2007–2009) and at four meteorological stations neighbering the basin (1959–2009). Observed daily air temperature and precipitation were taken as input data for the HBV model, which was calibrated using runoff in 2007/08 and 2009/10, and validated in 2008/09 and 2010/11. Generally, the model could simulate runoff very well. The annual glacier mass balance and runoff were calculated using the HBV model driven by interpolated meteorological data for the period of 1959–2009. The simulated glacier mass balance were reasonable when compared with those observed values at nearby glaciers, indicating a decrease trend of mass balance in the basin with an average value of –370.4 mm a^-1 since 1959. The annual runoff showed a slight increase trend (5.51 mm a^-1). Futher analysis indicated that the runoff is more sensitive to temperature than precipitation amuont in the Koxkar river basin.

Worldwide, diarrhoea in children under-five years of age is the second leading cause of death. Despite having high morbidity and mortality, diarrhoeal diseases can be averted by simple and cost-effective interventions. The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) has proposed the use of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) and zinc together with adequate food and fluid intake for the management of acute non-dysenteric watery diarrhoea in children. In the past, few studies examined the determinants of adherence to diarrhoea case management. Therefore, this study measured the determinants of therapeutic and dietary adherence to diarrhoea case management using the third and fourth wave of Pakistan Demographics & Health Surveys (PDHS) datasets. Data from 4,068 children between 0 to 59.9 months with positive history of diarrhoea were included, while data on children with dysentery, severe dehydration, and co-morbid condition was excluded. This study reported therapeutic adherence in less than 10% of children in Pakistan, while dietary adherence was reported in 39.2% of children (37.7% in 2012-2013 ~ 40.7% in 2017-2018). A significant improvement in therapeutic (0.8% in 2012-2013 ~ 8.1% in 2017-2018) and dietary adherence (37.7% in 2012-2013 ~ 40.7% in 2017-2018) was reported in the 2017-2018 survey, compared to the 2012-2013 survey. In general, children over the age of one year (compared to children <1 year) and of the richer/richest socioeconomic class (compared to poorest/poorer socioeconomic class) have showed higher therapeutic and dietary adherence. Therapeutic and dietary adherence among diarrhoeal children can be improved by increasing the awareness and accessibility of ORS, zinc, and essential foods.

Spectral characteristics of CDOM in water column are a key parameter for bio-optical modeling. Knowledge of CDOM optical properties and spatial discrepancy based on the relationship between water quality and spectral parameters in Yinma River watershed with in situ data collected highly-polluted waters are exhibited in this study. Seasonal field data sets collected over a period of 2 months in 2015 in Yinma River Watershed. Based on the comprehensive index method, the riverine waters showed serious contamination, especially the COD, Fe, Mn, Hg and DO were out of range contamination warning. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total suspended matter (TSM) with prominent non-homogenizing were significantly high in the riverine waters, but chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) was opposite. Ternary phase diagram showed that non-algal paritcles absorption played an important role in total non-water light absorption (>50%) in most sampling locations, and mean contribution of CDOM were 13% and 22% in summer and autumn respectively. Analysis of ratio of absorption at 250-365 nm (E_250:365) and spectral slope (S_275-295) indicated that CDOM had higher aromaticity and molecular weight in autumn than in summer, is consistent with the results of water quality and relative contribution. Redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that the environmental variables OSM had a strong correlation with CDOM absorption, followed by heavy metal, e.g., Mn, Hg and Cr⁶⁺. However, for the specific UV absorbance (SUVA₂₅₄), the seasonal values showed opposite results compared with the reported literature. The potential reasons were the more UDOM (uncolored Dissolved Organic Matter) from human source (wastewater effluent) existed in waters. Terrigenous inputs simultaneously are in relation to the a_CDOM(440)-DOC relationship with the correlation coefficient was 0.90 in summer (2-tailed, p<0.01), and 0.58 in autumn (2-tailed, p<0.05). Spatial distribution of CDOM parameters exhibited that the downstream regions focused on dry land have high CDOM molecular weight and aromatic hydrocarbon. Partial sampling locations around the cities or countries generally showed abnormal values due to terrigenous inputs. As a bio-optical model parameter, spectral characteristic of CDOM is helpful in adjusting the derived algorithms in highly-polluted environments. The study on organic carbon and pollutants in highly-polluted waters had an important contribution to global carbon balance estimation and water environment protection.

We evaluated the potential of using fish species and functional traits as indicators of land use impacts to fish assemblages. We used environmental data collected at multiple spatial scales (local, reach, and upstream catchment) for 19 tributary and main stem sites in the Nolichucky River watershed in Tennessee. Canonical correspondence analyses showed that temperature, elevation, specific conductivity, sediment yield, impervious surfaces, and row crop cover at the catchment scale were strongly associated with fish assemblage structure, as well as forest cover from all three spatial scales. Blocked indicator species analysis, with stream size as the block, showed that significantly strong indicators of the least-impacted riparian land use condition (≥60% forest cover) were Saffron Shiner (Notropis rubricroceus), Rainbow Trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss), Longnose Dace (Rhynichthys cataractae), Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), and Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdi). Traits indicative of the least-impacted sites were the herbivorous trophic guild, mean female age-at-maturity, longevity, rock-gravel spawners, montane geology and pelagic swimmers. Specific conductivity was strongly related to multiple catchment-scale land use variables, and was a strong local-scale influence on fish assemblage structure. Our results show promise for using a relatively common but endemic southern Appalachian fish species, the Saffron Shiner, as an indicator for land-use related impacts to these streams.

Nanocelluloses have gained significant attention in recent years due to singular properties (good biocompatibility, high optical transparency and mechanical strength, large specific surface area and good film-forming ability) and wide-ranging applications (paper, food packaging, textiles, electronics and biomedical). This article is a comprehensive review of nanocelluloses from the preparation methods to their applications in conservation and restoration of historical paper documents. The novelty lies in the information collected about nanocelluloses as renewable, environmentally friendly and sustainable materials in the field of preservation of cultural heritage as an alternative to conventional methods. Several studies have demonstrated that nanocelluloses, with or without other particles, impart to the paper documents excellent optical and mechanical properties, very good stability against temperature and humidity aging, stronger antibacterial and antifungal activity, high protection to UV light and do not require additional adhesive.

The possibility of abrupt transitions threatens to poise ecosystems into irreversibly degraded states. Recently, it has been proposed the use of engineered microbiomes in endangered ecosystems to prevent them to cross tipping points and avoid collapse. Potential targets for such interventions include some of the most prominent life-support systems in the biosphere: drylands and coral reefs. Since engineering can require the introduction of microorganisms not present in resident communities, how can we weight the potential outcomes? One way is to use general models of species interactions where the "synthetic" strain is incorporated into a standard multispecies model. Here we follow this approach by modelling a resource-consumer community where one of the species is a modified one that acts by preserving some key resource. We show how the indirect effect of damping the decay of shared resources results in biodiversity increase, and last but not less, the successful incorporation of the synthetic within the ecological network. Further extensions and implications for future restoration and terraformation strategies are discussed.

In daily living environments, an individual’s state influences spatial perception. The current study, based on Attention Restoration Theory, aimed to explore differences in the health utility of nature according to individual differences in spatial perception. Cognitive mapping and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) were used to assess spatial perception ranges and the restorative effect of the environment. Two spatial perceptual groups were defined: one describing only the internal area of a green space, and another illustrating the external area of this green space on a larger scale. The former had higher overall PRS, Being Away, Fascination, and Compatibility scores. The latter had higher scores only on the Coherence subscale. These results illustrate that frequency of nature visits and time spent traveling to do so differently influence the two groups’ attentional restoration, which has great implications for landscape planning in highly stressful urban environments.

Tombs and mausoleums as a cultural-religious heritage have a key role in attracting cultural tourists, as a result, they have been of great interest to researchers and academics in recent years. This paper argues the tomb of Sheikh Zahed Gilani, who was once a great mystic and is reputable due to his influence on the formation of the Safavid dynasty. Through a qualitative evaluation, this paper assesses the history, indigenous architecture, brick decorations and the significant geometry of Sheikh Zahed’ tomb. The results indicate that the dome has eight diverse geometric levels with dissimilar decorations, which is a unique design in the region. The paper also investigates the construction inscriptions and preservation projects to better comprehend the history of the tomb. Examination and understanding the characteristics of this monument alongside assessing the typology in comparison to other historical buildings can support the development of a local structure of the tomb as well as the geometric dome in similar climates.

This work aims to develop an integrated fault location and restoration approach for microgrids (MGs). This work contains two parts. Part I presents the fault location algorithm, and Part II shows the restoration algorithm. The proposed algorithms are implemented by particle swarm optimization (PSO). The fault location algorithm is based on network connection matrices, which are the modifications of bus-injection to branch-current and branch-current to bus-voltage (BCBV) matrices, to form the new system topology. The backward/forward sweep approach is used for the prefault power flow analysis. After the occurrence of fault, the voltage variation at each bus is calculated by using the Zbus modification algorithm to modify Zbus. Subsequently, the voltage error matrix is computed to search for the fault section by using PSO. After the allocation of the fault section, the multi-objective function is implemented by PSO for optimal restoration with its constraints. Finally, the IEEE 37-bus test system connected to distributed generations is utilized as the sample system for a series simulation and analysis. The outcomes demonstrated that the proposed optimal algorithm can effectively solve the fault location and restoration problem in MGs.

When a railway vehicle moves on a curved rail, sliding contact occurs between the rail head side and wheel flange, which wears the wheel flange down. The thinned flange needs to be restored above the required minimum thickness for structural safety. In this study, a new process and welding wire for restoring worn-out railway wheels by submerged arc welding was developed. To characterize the properties of the restored wheel, dilatometric analysis of phase transformation, SEM/EDX analyses, hardness measurement, and residual stress measurement using the X-ray diffraction method were performed. Finally, wear tests with full-size wheel/rail specimens were carried out. It was confirmed that the weld metal was composed of bainitic microstructures as intended, and welding defects were not observed. The wear amount of the restored wheel was greater than that of the base material, but it was less than half of the wear depth of the weld-repaired wheel with ferritic–pearlitic microstructures. The developed process seems applicable to industry.

Riparian restoration is an important objective for landscape managers seeking to redress the widespread degradation of riparian areas and the ecosystem services they provide. This study investigated the long-term outcomes of ‘one-off’ restoration activities undertaken in the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment, NSW, Australia. The objective of the restoration was to protect and enhance riparian vegetation and control erosion, and consequently reduce sediment and nutrient delivery into the Murrumbidgee River. To evaluate the outcomes 10 years after restoration, rapid riparian vegetation and geomorphological assessments were undertaken at 29 sites spanning the four different restoration methods used (at least five replicates per treatment), as well as at nine comparable untreated sites. We also trialed the use of aerial imagery to compare width of riparian canopy vegetation and projective foliage cover prior to restoration with that observed after 10 years. Aerial imagery demonstrated the width of riparian canopy vegetation and projective foliage cover increased in all restored sites, especially those with native plantings. The rapid assessment process indicated that 10 years after riparian restoration, the riparian vegetation was in a better condition at treated sites compared to untreated sites. Width of riparian canopy vegetation, native mid-storey cover, native canopy cover and seedling recruitment were significantly greater in treated sites compared to untreated sites. Geomorphological condition of treated sites was significantly better than untreated sites, demonstrating the importance of livestock exclusion to improve bank and channel condition. Our findings illustrate the value of ‘one-off’ restoration activities in achieving long-term benefits for riparian health. We have demonstrated that rapid assessments of the vegetation and geomorphological condition can be undertaken post-hoc to determine the long-term outcomes, especially when supported with analysis of historical aerial imagery.

Can ‘restoration and therapy in design’ signify something more than the places like hospitals and healing gardens? Can those restorative environments be brought inside the working and living environments to mitigate the psychological problem at the source? The main objective of this paper is to look at the strategies and developments of Biophilic design with respect to therapy and restoration in order to achieve sustainability in terms of quality of life within the immediate built-environment. The paper explores the mental health issues under the domains of built-environment and indoor environment with respect to their connection with nature. Biophilic design has gained a favourable momentum within the last four decades and is now visualised as a medium that bridges the gap between humans and the nature. Out of a variety of measures of sustainable environmental design, biophilic design focuses on the end-results of naturally nurtured or inspired habitats and workplaces. It embodies strategies of Green and Intelligent buildings, works as a mitigation strategy for foul indoor environment and establishes the vision that veristic sustainability can only be achieved if there is qualitative control over human physiological prosperity and psychological health. In context of work efficiency, preference and productivity within the indoor environment, it is seen as a promoter of constructive thoughts and enhancer of creativity. The paper aims to enlist biophilic design and retrofitting strategies, which can improve cognitive function, reduce stress and provide mental peace within the built environment.

In this paper, we propose an unsupervised blind restoration model for images in hybrid degradation scenes. The proposed model encodes the content information and degradation information of images and then uses the attention module to disentangle the two kinds of information. It can improve the ability of disentangled presentation learning for a generative adversarial network (GAN) to restore the images in hybrid degradation scenes, enhance the detailed features of restored image and remove the artifact combining the adversarial loss, cycle-consistency loss, and perception loss. The experimental results on the DIV2K dataset and medical images show that the proposed method outperforms existing unsupervised image restoration algorithms in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM), and subjective visual evaluation.

Ambrosia trifida is a kind of malignant invasive plant, which has very high reproductive and en-vironmental adaptability. Through strong resource acquisition ability and allelopathy, it could inhibit the growth and reproduction of surrounding plants, destroy the stability of an invasive ecosystem. It is very important to predict the change of suitable distribution area of Ambrosia trifida with climate change before implementing scientific control measures. Based on 106 Ambrosia trifida distribution data and 14 environmental data, the optimal parameter combination (RM = 0.1, FC = LQ) was obtained by using the MaxEnt model optimized by Kuenm package, the potential suit-able areas of Ambrosia trifida in Northeast China under three different climate scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5) with different emission intensities in the future (2050,2070) were predicted. The changes of Ambrosia trifida suitable area in Northeast China under three climate scenarios were compared, and the relationship between the change of suitable area and emission intensity was analyzed. In general, the suitable area of Ambrosia trifida in Northeast China will expand gradually in the future, and the area of its highly suitable area will also increase with the increasing emission intensity, which is unfavorable to the control of Ambrosia trifida.

A regional modern river-sand geochemical mapping study in the majority of the Timor-Leste territory, including the research area, has not been previously reported. This study demonstrated the potential of modern river sand geochemical mapping as an effective method for lithological mapping, particularly in areas that face challenges in conducting efficient geological fieldwork and have limited geological information. A total of 53 modern river sand samples were collected and analyzed. Before examining the samples using wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence for ten major elements, the loss-on-ignition method was employed. In the Clerec drainage basin, SiO2, CaO, and K2O showed positive correlations, and CaO was positively correlated with MnO. Similarly, in the Sahe River catchment, a positive relationship was observed between CaO, MnO, and TiO2. These findings suggested the presence of quartz, manganese, secondary K-bearing minerals, and secondary Ti-bearing minerals in carbonate rocks that have undergone silicification and other alteration processes. The principal component analysis results corroborated the SiO2/Al2O3 and K2O/Na2O ratios and the ICV findings. PC1 was related to the variations in Ca-poor and Ca-rich rocks; PC2 indicated notable inputs from SiO2-rich and SiO2-poor rocks; and PC3 revealed the possibility of contributions from secondary mineral assemblages related to silicification and low-grade metamorphic processes.

This study aims to assess trends and significant changes in precipitation and river flow in the Senegal River basin and its upper basin over the period 1982-2021. Eight hydroclimate indicators, namely maximum river discharge (QMAX), standardized flow index, mean daily rainfall intensity index (SDII), maximum 5-day consecutive precipitation (RX5DAY), annual precipitation exceeding the 95th percentile (R95p), annual precipitation exceeding the 99th percentile (R99P), annual flows exceeding the 95th percentile (Q95p), and annual flows exceeding the 99th percentile (Q95p) were considered.. The modified Mann-Kendall test (MMK) was used to analyze trends in extremes while standard normal homogeneity and Pettit’s tests were employed to detect potential breakpoints in these trends. The results indicated an irregular precipitation pattern, with high values of extreme precipitation indices (R95p, R99p, SDII, and RX5DAY) in the southern part, while the northern part exhibits lower values. Inter-annual analysis revealed a significant increase in extreme precipitation events between 1982 and 2021, with a notable breakpoint around the years 2006 and 2007. This breakpoint marks a transition to a much wetter period starting from 2008. Regarding extreme flows, a significant increase was observed between 1982 and 2021. This study provides insights into past hydrological extremes in the study area and can serve as a basis for future research in this field.

In recent years, underwater exploration for deep-sea resource utilization and development has a considerable interest. In an underwater environment, the obtained images and videos undergo several types of quality degradation resulting from light absorption and scattering, low contrast, color deviation, blurred details, and nonuniform illumination. Therefore, the restoration and enhancement of degraded images and videos are critical. Numerous techniques of image processing, pattern recognition and computer vision have been proposed for image restoration and enhancement, but many challenges remain. This survey presents a comparison of the most prominent approaches in underwater image processing and analysis. It also discusses an overview of the underwater environment with a broad classification into enhancement and restoration techniques and introduces the main underwater image degradation reasons in addition to the underwater image model. The existing underwater image analysis techniques, methods, datasets, and evaluation metrics are presented in detail. Furthermore, the existing limitations are analyzed, which are classified into image-related and environment-related categories. In addition, the performance is validated on images from the UIEB dataset for qualitative, quantitative, and computational time assessment. Areas in which underwater images have recently been applied are briefly discussed. Finally, recommendations for future research are provided and the conclusion is presented.

Here, satellite images from 2006 to 2022 were collected to assess changes in the sandbar topography of the Nakdong River Estuary region, southeast of South Korea. The employed method of satellite image acquisition involves capturing images at the same time each year to facilitate a comparison of topographical changes over time. The shorelines of the islands in the study area, including Jinwoo Island, Shinja Island, and Doyo Sandbar, were analyzed. Shoreline analysis was performed using the digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) package in ArcGIS. The results indicate that Jinwoo Island is expanding at 6.46 m/year in the direction of Nulcha Island. The western side of Shinja Island is expanding at 4.76 m/year, whereas the eastern side is retreating at a rate of 24.41 m/year. In the case of the Doyo Sandbar, the southern shoreline is retreating at a rate of 14.69 m/year; however, the speed is gradually decreasing. Marked topographical changes are evident in the Nakdong River Estuary, and the interlinked barrier islands undergo deposition and erosion, leading to alterations in the shoreline. These findings serve as foundational data for predicting and addressing environmental and social issues arising in the Nakdong River Estuary region due to climate change.

Coastal dunes worldwide are increasingly under pressure from the adverse effects of human activities. Therefore, more and more restoration measures are being taken to create conditions that help disturbed coastal dune ecosystems regenerate or recover naturally. However, many projects lack (open-access) monitoring observations needed to signal whether further actions are needed, and hence to learn by doing. This submission presents an open access data set of 37 high-resolution digital elevation models and 24 orthomosaics collected before and after the excavation of five artificial foredune trough blowouts ("notches") in winter 2012/2013 in the Dutch Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, one of the largest coastal dune restoration projects in northwest Europe. These high-resolution data provide a valuable resource for improving understanding of the biogeomorphic processes that determine the evolution of restored dune systems, as well as developing guidelines to better design future restoration efforts with foredune notching.

Deforestation and forest degradation mostly caused by human interventions affects the capacity of forest ecosystem to provide ecosystem services and livelihood benefits. Forest Land Restoration (FLR) is an emerging concept which focuses on the improvement of ecosystem as well as livelihood of the people at the landscape level. Nepal has successfully recovered degraded forest land mainly from the hilly region through forest restoration initiatives especially community based forestry. However, the Terai region is still experiencing deforestation and forest degradation. This study navigated the gaps related to forest restoration in the existing policies and practices and revealed that the persistence of deforestation and forest degradation in Terai is a result of a complex socio-economic structure, limitation of government to implement appropriate management modality, unplanned infrastructure, and urban development. We suggest that forest restoration should focus on ecological and social wellbeing pathways at the landscape level, to reverse the trend of deforestation and forest degradation in the Terai regions of Nepal. The study provides a critical insight to the policy makers and practitioners of Nepal and other countries (with similar context) who are engaged in forest/ecosystem restoration enterprise.

In this paper, at first, a color image of a car is taken. Then the image is transformed into a grayscale image. After that, the motion blurring effect is applied to that image according to the image degradation model described in equation 3. The blurring effect can be controlled by a and b components of the model. Then random noise is added in the image via Matlab programming. Many methods can restore the noisy and motion blurred image; particularly in this paper Inverse filtering as well as Wiener filtering are implemented for the restoration purpose. Consequently, both motion blurred and noisy motion blurred images are restored via Inverse filtering as well as Wiener filtering techniques and the comparison is made among them.

Human activities (e.g., exploitation, utilization, and conservation) exert substantial impact on forest ecological functions (FEF). The human influence on FEF significantly varies across developmental stages, which are attributed to the temporal and spatial in nature. This study evaluates some notable FEF indices (FEFI) in the 448 counties within the Yellow River basin (YRB) using panel data from the Seventh to Ninth National Forest Inventory. Data analysis involves employing the residual trends, geographical and temporal weighted regression. Results indicate that, firstly, the overall forest ecological function in the YRB is moderate to inferior, with superior FEF in counties endowed with more natural forest resources. Afforestation demonstrates a short-term improvement, but its effectiveness diminishes over time. Secondly, the positive spatial correlation is stronger among counties, characterized by both high-high and low-low agglomeration effects. Scattered planting, simple stand structure, and concentrated harvesting of forests at the identical stand ages hinder the formation of complex and large-scale FEF agglomerations. Thirdly, significant spatial-temporal differences exist in the impact of human activities on FEF. In the upper reaches of the basin, increased vegetation coverage through agricultural and forestry production benefited FEF, however, some over-exploitation of forests and grasslands is observed there. In the middle reaches, the economic development, expanding population and the greening activities help to improve FEF effectively, but excessive water using in agricultural production brought more difficulties to FEF improvement. In the lower reaches of the basin, improved wastelands and forest protection positively influence FEF. This study recommends that county governments should prioritize forest management with multi-species and multi-layered complex forests. Each county should define its position in regional development and ecological protection, considering the potential impacts on neighboring regions. This holistic approach promotes more effective integrated regional management.

This work tackles the problem of image restoration, a crucial task in many fields of applied sciences, focusing on removing degradation caused by blur and noise during the acquisition process. Drawing inspiration from the multi-penalty approach based on the Uniform Penalty principle introduced in [Bortolotti et al. arXiv.math.NA/2309.14163], we develop here a new image restoration model and an iterative algorithm for its effective solution. The model incorporates pixel-wise regularization terms and establishes a rule for parameters selection, aiming to restore images through the solution of a sequence of constrained optimization problems. To achieve this, we present a modified version of the Newton Projection method, adapted to multi-penalty scenarios, and prove its convergence. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the method in eliminating noise and blur while preserving the image edges.

Spinal cord injuries (SCI) can result in sensory and motor dysfunctions, which were long-considered permanent. Recent advancement in electrical neuromodulation has been proven to restore sensorimotor function in people with SCI. These stimulation protocols, however, were mostly invasive, expensive, and difficult to implement. In this study, transcutaneous electrical stimulation (tES) was used to restore over-ground walking of an individual with 21 years of chronic paralysis from a cervical SCI. After a total of 66 weeks of rehabilitation training with tES, which included standing, functional reaching, reclined sit-up, treadmill walking and active biking, significant improvement in lower-limb volitional movements and overall light touch sensation were shown by International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) score. By the end of the study, the participant could walk in a 4-meter walking test with the aid of a walking frame and ankle foot orthoses. The success in the sensorimotor recovery of our study participant sheds light on the future of non-invasive neuromodulation treatment for SCI paralysis.

Contact with nature is suggested to be as an important resource for human health and well-being. Stress alleviation and reduction of mental fatigue are main instances of improvement of human health and well-being in contact with nature. Although the term restoration experience in contact with nature has been used repeatedly for concepts of stress alleviation and reduction of mental fatigue, these refer to different sets of theories and research studies. In this paper, by reviewing the nature-health related theories of Biophilia, Stress Recovery Theory, Attention Restoration Theory and Supportive Environment Theory (SET), the similarities and differences between these two concepts have been discussed. Moreover, the measurement approach instruments based on different study methodologies and aims are provided. This paper could provide information for future studies with focus on factors to be of benefit for restoration experience in design and planning of natural landscape environments with the aim of health and well-being development.

Natural vegetation restoration can take decades to achieve and requires information on species composition and trend to inform management strategies. Here we demonstrate the potential and portability of drone, dove and Sentinel-2 imagery for species level classification and trajectory monitoring using three study sites with different revegetation histories. Drone imagery (4 cm) was classified using random forests. Dove (3 m) and Sentinel-2 (10 m) images were acquired close to the anniversary of the drone flights and converted into fractional cover maps showing the proportion of exotics, natives and other land covers using ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). The time series of fractional cover maps were converted into positive and negative slope and second-order curvature and summarised as one RGB composite to illustrate trend and observe exotic expansion. Drone classification accuracies ranged from 73%-76% when applied to the full plant species list and between 93% and 97% when grouped into natives, exotics, and other land covers. GWR outperformed OLS for all fractional cover mapping and GWR with dove imagery was more accurate than with Sentinel imagery. The combination of very high-resolution drone acquired imagery with the versatility of dove acquired imagery arms land managers with highly accurate species composition and their spatio-temporal dynamics to promote timely intervention.

Reliable and accurate flood prediction is a challenging task in poorly gauged basins due to data scarcity. Data is an essential component of any AI/ML model today, and the performance of such models hugely depends on the availability of sufficient amount of trusted, representative data. However, unlike a few well-studied rivers, most of the rivers in developing countries are still insufficiently monitored, which significantly hinges the design and development of advanced flood prediction models and early warning systems. This paper presents a multi-modal, sensor-based and near-real time river monitoring system to produce a multi-feature data set for the Kikuletwa river in Northern Tanzania, an area that heavily suffers from frequent floods. Our deployed system, which gather information about river depth levels and weather at several locations, aims at widening the ground truth of the river characteristics and eventually improve the accuracy of flood predictions. We provide details on the monitoring system used to gather the data as well as report on the methodology and the nature of the data. Finally, we present the relevance of the data set in the context of flood prediction, discussing the most suitable AI/ML-based forecasting approaches, while also highlighting some applications of the data set beyond flood warning systems.

The pressure on freshwater resources is leading to diminishing flows in some of the critical river systems across the globe and India is no exception and this is mainly because of water withdrawal for irrigation, which is often to the tune of 70% to 80% with some proportion for domestic and industrial use. While graduating from the concept of environmental flows and its assessment methodologies in India, the water-managers, the researchers and the conservationists are now moving towards answering the next question if the rivers are to be revived, then where will the water come from, especially in the case of over-allocated rivers, including the river Ganga. While the logical way is to look at the biggest user of water, i.e. irrigation, it remains to be seen whether the irrigation water savings will actually lead to enhancing flows in a river, complementing the efforts towards maintaining e-flows in rivers, or whether it will lead to more area under agriculture, bring changes in cropping patterns towards more water-intensive crops or result in something else. This is a growing debate across the globe, where India is no exception, and there has been a wide range of opinions in this regard. This paper discusses the process, findings and lessons from a joint initiative involving farmers, the Uttar Pradesh state Irrigation and Water Resources Department, Bijnor District Administration and a conservation organisation to enhance flows in a rivulet, called karula River, which is part of the Ganga river system.

The aim of this paper is to compare the taxonomic composition and species diversity of the macrozoobenthos in Maritsa River (Bulgaria) and Han River (South Korea). Samples were collected at 15 selected sites in each river, including some of their main tributaries in 2020 and 2021. The number of the taxa recorded in Maritsa River was more than twice as great as in Han River: 192 taxa belonging to 19 systematic groups compared to 88 taxa belonging to 18 groups respectively. The order Ephemeroptera had the highest species richness: 31 taxa in the Bulgarian rivers and 26 taxa in the South Korean ones. The macrozoobenthic communities responded and adapted to the various conditions and impacts in the water environment with changes in the species composition and structure. The analysis of the similarity in the taxonomic composition showed low resemblance between all study sites but displayed distinct separations between the rivers and the two years. In general, the species structure of the macrozoobenthic communities in Maritsa River and its studied tributaries was better than in Han River. In both years, high species diversity was recorded at the reference sites in the rivers, characterized by conditions closely resembling natural environments. The species richness and the evenness of macrozoobenthos were very low at sites downstream subjected to considerable anthropogenic pressure. Some of the communities in Han River were almost destroyed completely.

The montane subtropical broadleaved humid forests of Meghalaya (Northeast India) are highly diverse and situated at the transition zone between the Eastern Himalayas and Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots. Fagaceae family are the keystone species forms an important component of these forests. These forests in Meghalaya are highly degraded and fragmented due to anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., mining, unsustainable forest utilization, shifting cultivation, browsing, etc.). In this study, we assessed for the first time, the restoration potential (i.e. capacity to naturally regenerate and sustain desired forest structure) of Fagaceae species (2 Lithocarpus, 4 Castanopsis, and 4 Quercus species) in Meghalaya and how the biotic and abiotic factors, as well as anthropogenic disturbances, influence the restoration potential of these species. We selected fragmented forest patches in six locations on an elevational gradient on south-facing slopes in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. Fagaceae was the most dominant family in all sites except one site (Laitkynsew) where Fagaceae was co-dominant with Lauraceae. The family also had high natural regeneration (i.e., a high number of seedlings and saplings) but low recruitment to adult trees (DBH ≥ 10cm) at all sites. This study provides a means for assessing regeneration and a basis for forest management strategies in degraded and fragmented forests of Meghalaya.

Indonesia has a large area of degraded land, i.e. 30 million ha, which could potentially be utilized for biofuel plantations. The leguminous tree pongamia (Pongamia pinnata syn. Milettia pinnata) could be utilized to produce biofuel while restoring degraded land. Here, we explore the potential of pongamia as a source of biofuel and for restoring degraded land in Indonesia. Pongamia occurs across Indonesia, in Sumatra, Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. It grows to a height of 15–20 m and can grow in a range of environmental conditions. Its seeds can generate up to 40% crude oil by weight. It can help to restore degraded land and improve soil properties. Pongamia also provides wood, fodder, medicine, fertilizer and biogas. Therefore, as a multipurpose species, pongamia holds great potential to combat Indonesia’s energy crisis and to restore much of the degraded land.

The Source Region of the Yellow River (SRYR), renowned as the "Water Tower of the Yellow River", serves as an important water conservation domain in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, significantly influencing water resources within the basin. Based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro) model, the key variables of the atmosphere-land-hydrology coupling processes over the SRYR during the 2013 rainy season are analyzed. The investigation involves a comparative analysis between the coupled WRF-Hydro and the standalone WRF simulations, focusing on the hydrological response to the atmosphere. The results reveal that the WRF-Hydro model's proficiency in depicting streamflow variations over the SRYR, yielding a Nash Efficiency Coefficient (NSE) of 0.44 and of  0.61 during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Compared to the standalone WRF simulations, the coupled WRF-Hydro model demonstrates enhanced performance in soil heat fluxes simulations, reducing the mean Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of surface soil temperature by 0.96 K and soil moisture by 0.01 m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}/m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}. Furthermore, the coupled model adeptly captures the streamflow variation characteristics with the NSE of 0.33. This underscores the significant potential of the coupled WRF-Hydro model for delineating coupled atmosphere-land-hydrology processes in regions characterized by cold climates and intricate topography.

Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels and hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels share similar structures but have opposite gating polarity. Kv channels have a strong coupling ( &gt;109) between the voltage sensor (S4) and the activation gate: when S4s are activated the gate is open to &gt;80%, but when S4s are deactivated, the gate is open &lt; 10-9 of the time. Using noise analysis, we show that the coupling between S4 and the gate is &lt; 200 in HCN channels. In addition, using voltage clamp fluorometry, locking the gate open in a Kv channel drastically altered the energetics of S4 movement. In contrast, locking the gate open or decreasing the coupling between S4 and the gate in HCN channels had only minor effects on the energetics of S4 movement, consistent with a weak coupling between S4 and the gate. We propose that this loose coupling is a prerequisite for the reversed voltage gating in HCN channels.

This study presents a novel approach for quantifying the dynamics of monthly hydraulic geometry relationships in the Jingjiang reach of the Yangtze River by integrating leaf area index (LAI) data as an indicator of riparian vegetation. A comprehensive system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) couples traditional power-law hydraulic geometry equations with LAI, capturing the influence of erosion control on channel morphology. The periodic delayed response theory and automatic differentiation techniques are employed to enhance the modeling framework's capabilities. Calibration and verification demonstrate the models' effectiveness in capturing overall trends in discharge, width, and depth dynamics, outperforming traditional constant-parameter approaches. However, model predictive abilities are limited under extreme climate conditions due to training on normal climate data. Key assumptions, including the periodic delayed response theory's neglect of peak discharges, simplified representation of artificial cut-offs, and reliance on remotely sensed data with limited local validation, introduce uncertainties. The proposed modeling framework shows potential for broader application to other river systems with appropriate adjustments. Future research could incorporate additional environmental factors, integrate models across scales, couple with advanced simulation techniques, and expand stability assessments beyond the riverbed index. By addressing related challenges, this integrated approach lays a foundation for enhancing understanding of river morphodynamics and channel stability.

Abstract: The promotion and development of healthy cities are vital for enhancing human habitats and fostering sustainable economic growth. Based on the core database of Web of Science and the knowledge graph software, this paper makes a quantitative analysis of the literature related to attention recovery abroad. It is found that in recent years, the research on attention recovery has developed rapidly, the number of related literature has been increasing, and the research content presents the characteristics of interdisciplinary integration. By further analyzing the characteristics of research literature, research context, and knowledge basis, this paper summarizes the empirical research based on the existing quantitative analysis, reviews the research field based on the mechanism of attention recovery, and analyzes the development process and trend based on the research basis of attention recovery. Due to the change of modern life style, human health problems are becoming more and more prominent. Attention restoration design provides a new research idea and method to balance the relationship between humans and the urban environment.

Spherical harmonic (SH) interpolation is a commonly used method to spatially up-sample sparse Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) datasets to denser HRTF datasets. However, depending on the number of sparse HRTF measurements and SH order, this process can introduce distortions in high frequency representation of the HRTFs. This paper investigates whether it is possible to restore some of the distorted high frequency HRTF components using machine learning algorithms. A combination of Convolutional Auto-Encoder (CAE) and Denoising Auto-Encoder (DAE) models is proposed to restore the high frequency distortion in SH interpolated HRTFs. Results are evaluated using both Perceptual Spectral Difference (PSD) and localisation prediction models, both of which demonstrate significant improvement after the restoration process.

Forest managers are often required to restore forest stands following natural disturbances, a situation that may become more common and more challenging under global change. In parts of Central Europe, particularly in mountain regions dominated by mixed temperate forests, the use of relatively low intensity, uneven-aged silviculture is a common management approach. Because this type of management is based on mimicking less intense disturbances, the restoration of more severe disturbance patches within forested landscapes has received little attention within the context of uneven-aged silviculture in the region. The goal of this paper is to synthesize research on the restoration of forests damaged by disturbances in temperate forests of Slovenia and neighbouring regions of Central Europe, where uneven-aged silviculture is practiced. We place particular emphasis on the most important biotic and abiotic drivers of post-disturbance regeneration, and use this information to inform silvicultural decisions about applying natural or artificial regeneration in disturbed areas. We conclude with guidelines for restoration silviculture in uneven-aged forest landscapes.

There are frequently interactions between active folds and major rivers (mean annual water discharges > 70 m³s^-1). The major river may incise across the fold, to produce a water gap across the fold, or a bevelling (or lateral planation) of the top of the fold. Alternatively, the major river may be defeated to produce a diversion of the river around the fold, with wind gaps forming across the fold in some cases, or ponding of the river behind the fold. Why a river incises or diverts is often unclear, though influential characteristics and processes have been identified. A new scheme for investigating fold-river interactions has been devised, involving a short description of the major river, climate, and structural geology, and 13 characteristics of river and fold geomorphology: 1) Channel width at location of fold axis, w, 2) Channel-belt width at location of fold axis, cbw, 3) Floodplain width at location of fold axis, fpw, 4) Channel sinuosity, Sc, 5) Braiding index, BI, 6) General river course direction, RCD, 7) Distance from fold core to location of river crossing, C-RC, 8) Distance from fold core to river basin margin, C-BM, 9) Width of geological structure at location of river crossing, Wgs, 10) Estimate of erosion resistance of surface sediments/rocks and deeper sediments/rocks in fold, ERs, ERd, 11) Channel water surface slope at location of fold axis, s, 12) Average channel migration rate, Rm, 13) Estimate of fold total uplift rate, TUR. The first 10 geomorphological characteristics should be readily determinable for nearly all major rivers using widely available satellite imagery and fine scale geological maps. The last 3 characteristics should be determinable for most major rivers where other data sources are available. This study demonstrates the methodology of this scheme, using the example of the major rivers Karun and Dez interacting with active folds in the foreland basin tectonic setting of lowland south-west Iran. For the rivers Karun and Dez (mean annual water discharges 575 m³s^-1 and 230 m³s^-1, respectively), it was found that geomorphological characteristics Nos. 2, 3 and 7 had statistically significant differences (p-value ≤ 0.05) between the categories of river incision across a fold and river diversion around a fold. For river incision, at the fold axis, channel-belt width was always < 2.7 km, and floodplain width was generally (80 % of cases) < 5.7 km; whereas for river diversion, at the projection of the fold axis, these two characteristics had a wide range of values. For river incision, the distance from the fold core to the location where the river channel crossed the fold axis, was generally (80 % of cases) ≤ 8.5 km; whereas for river diversion, this distance was always > 22 km. Since it is highly likely that different characteristics will be important for other major rivers interacting with other folds, it is recommended that this scheme is now used to investigate a variety of major rivers from across the globe. By comparing the same parameters for different major rivers, a better understanding of fold-river interactions should be achieved.

Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) is a well-known method to measure the mass of ligands bound to receptor-covered surfaces in various fields, ranging from materials science to biology. Actin molecule is essential in various cellular processes through its function of monomer-to-filament polymerization, forming a double-stranded filament with a 75 nm pitch. In this study, QCM was applied to measure the physical properties of actin, finding that the frequency shifted negatively when monomeric actin bound to the QCM surface, whereas the frequency shifted positively when filaments bound. Using fluorescence light microscopic observations, we have examined whether negative and positive frequency shifts originated from their length. In order to control this process, a severing protein, fragmin was used to change the length of actin filament. When the average length of filaments shortened, the magnitude of positive shift decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. However, shorter filaments showed a negative frequency shift depending on their concentration, showing that the weight derived from the loaded concentration and the function derived from actin polymerization dynamics are detectable. Interestingly, the transition from positive to negative occurred when the average length of actin was ~33 nm, or approximately equal to the half-pitch of filaments. Thus, actin filaments can serve as an excellent standard to measure the mechanical properties of biopolymers. Our results show that the QCM sensor could be both a "weight" and a "function" sensor of biomolecules in vitro.

The large areas being targeted for tropical forest restoration as part of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration will have major consequences for the flow of water through landscapes. Whilst the prevailing mantra that ‘more forest implies less streamflow’ remains true in terms of annual water yields, we demonstrate that opportunities for increased tree cover to improve seasonal flow regimes of streams, particularly baseflows, are important. We discuss several potential positive feedbacks of forest restoration on hydrological processes at various scales, including ‘trade-offs’ between changes in vegetation water use and infiltration after foresting degraded land; the recovery of the capacity of vegetation to capture ‘occult’ precipitation in specific coastal and montane settings; and enhanced moisture recycling and transport at various scales. Modelled changes in baseflow after foresting all degraded land climatically capable of carrying forest in the tropics suggested a positive effect in 10% of the land. For an additional 8%, the effect was predicted to be about neutral (<2 mm/y). We conclude that a more positive narrative regarding the relationship between tropical forestation and water availability is justified. It is time for greater involvement of hydrologists and atmospheric scientists in the development and assessment of forest landscape restoration efforts.

In Hawaiʻi, the transition from customary subsistence flooded taro agroecosystems, which regulate stream discharge rate trapping sediment and nutrients, to a plantation-style economy (c. the 1840s) led to nearshore sediment deposition - smothering coral reefs and destroying adjacent coastal fisheries and customary fishpond mariculture. To mitigate sediment transport, Rhizophora mangle was introduced in estuaries across Hawai’i (c. 1902) further altering fishpond ecosystems. Here, we examine the impact of cultural restoration between 2012-2018 at Heʻeia Fishpond, a 600-800-year-old walled fishpond. Fishpond water quality was assessed by calculating water exchange rates, residence times, salinity distribution, and abundance of microbial indicators prior to and after restoration. We hypothesized that R. mangle removal and concomitant reconstruction of sluice gates would increase mixing and decrease bacterial indicator abundance in the fishpond. We find that Heʻeia Fishpond’s physical environment is primarily tidally driven; wind forcing and river flux are secondary drivers. Post-restoration, two gates in the northeastern region account for >80% of relative flux in the fishpond. Increase in exchange rates during spring and neap tide and shorter minimum water residence time corresponded with the reconstruction of a partially obstructed 56 m gap together with the installation of an additional sluice gate in the fishpond wall. Lower mean salinities post-restoration suggests increased freshwater influx due to R. mangle removal. Spatial distribution of microbial bio-indicator species inversely correlated with salinity. Average abundance of Enterococcus and Bacteroidales did not significantly change after restoration efforts, however, average abundance of a biomarker specific to birds nesting in the mangroves decreased significantly after restoration. This study demonstrates the positive impact of biocultural restoration regimes on water flushing and water quality parameters, encouraging the prospect of revitalizing this and other culturally and economically significant sites for sustainable aquaculture in the future.

Restoration experience is a positive response against the ever-increasing problem of stress. It is recovery of attentional capacity, clearing random thoughts and feelings of relaxation and calmness. Although there is a body of research on investigating the impact of open green space characteristics on psycho- logical restoration through attention restoration theory and supportive environment theory, there is little knowledge on how the interaction among these characteristics could promote restorative outcomes. To address this problem, using Perceived Sensory Dimension (PSD) for open green space qualities and Perceived Restorativeness (PR) as the property of restorative environment, this study assessed the extent to which the PSD and PR impact on restoration experience. Using 444 screened surveys, a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was developed and the validity and reliability of it, was demonstrated. Extensive analysis of the results showed how environmental qualities can promote restoration experience using a sample of university students. These results provide information for landscape architecture and planning researchers to promote the development of open spaces as a resource of psychological restoration and stress relief.

This study was investigate the possible hydrological impact of climate change in stream flow of Arba River based on the downscaled precipitation and temperature data at West Harerghe Zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. The case study, Arba River is one of the tributaries of Awash River Basin and the catchment of the river at Bordode flow gauging station covers around 72 square kilometers. Dynamically downscaled Regional Climate Model (RCM) HIRHAM derived by ICHEC-EC-EARTH global climate model under two scenarios RCP 4.5 and 8.5 was used in this study. The future time periods are divided into two time horizons with equal length of time as the base line period 2021–2050 and 2051–2080. For both projected periods relatively the minimum average monthly percentage change in precipitation will be happened from May to October under RCP4.5 except August and from March to October under RCP8.5. The variation under RCP4.5 is relatively high when compared to RCP8.5. The average monthly per-centage of flow increment may vary from (7.6 to 81.8) for 2021-2050 and (22.3 to 107.8) for 2051-2080 under RCP4.5. Under RCP8.5 scenario, from July to January except the December for 2021-2050, simulated flow is expected to increase while from February to June decreases for both time horizons. Generally, the change of simulated flow under both scenarios and both near and far time period is follows the pattern of precipitation. However, the flow change will have less variation than the precipitation change.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has been an important source of income for communities in the Madre de Dios River Basin in Peru for hundreds of years. However, in recent decades, the scale of ASGM activities in the region has increased dramatically, and exposures to a variety of occupational and environmental hazards related to ASGM, including mercury, are becoming more widespread. The aims of our study were to: (1) examine patterns in the total hair mercury level of human participants in several communities in the region and compare these results to the 2.2 µg/g total hair mercury level equivalent to the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee of Food Additives (JECFA)’s Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI); and (2), to measure the mercury levels of paco (Piaractus brachypomus) fish raised in local aquaculture ponds, in order to compare these levels to the EPA Fish Tissue Residue Criterion of 0.3 µg Hg/g fish (wet weight). We collected hair samples from 80 participants in four communities (one control and three where ASGM activities occurred) in the region, and collected 111 samples from fish raised in 24 local aquaculture farms. We then analyzed the samples for total mercury. Total mercury levels in hair were statistically significantly higher in the mining communities than in the control community, and increased with increasing distance away from the Madre de Dios headwaters (as the crow flies), did not differ by sex, and frequently exceeded the reference level. Regression analyses indicated that higher hair mercury levels were associated with residence in ASGM communities. The analysis of paco fish samples found no samples that exceeded the EPA tissue residue criterion. Collectively, these results align with other recent studies showing that ASGM activities are associated with elevated human mercury exposure. The fish farmed through the relatively new process of aquaculture in ASGM areas appeared to have little potential to contribute to human mercury exposure. More research is needed on human health risks associated with ASGM to discern occupational, residential, and nutritional exposure, especially through tracking temporal changes in mercury levels as fish ponds age, and assessing levels in different farmed fish species. Additionally, research is needed to definitively determine that elevated mercury levels in humans and fish result from the elemental mercury from mining, rather than from a different source, such as the mercury released from soil erosion during deforestation events from mining or other activities.

One important motivation for the implementation of the Water Framework Directive is the creation of non-market environmental benefits such as improved ecological quality, or greater opportunities for open-access river recreation via microbial pollution remediation. Pollution sources impacting on ecological or recreational water quality can be uncorrelated but non-market benefits arising from riverine improvements are typically conflated within benefit valuation studies. Using stated preference choice experiments, we seek to disaggregate these sources of value for different river users, thereby allowing decision makers to understand the consequences of adopting alternative investment strategies. Our results suggest anglers derive greater value from improvements to the ecological quality of river water, in contrast to swimmers and rowers for whom greater value is gained from improvements to recreational quality. We also find three distinct groups of respondents: a majority preferring ecological over recreational improvements, a substantial minority holding opposing preference orderings and a small proportion expressing relatively low values for either form of river quality enhancement. As such, this research demonstrates that the non-market benefits which may accrue from different types of water quality improvements are nuanced in terms of their potential beneficiaries and, by inference, their overall value and policy implications.

Aquatic ecosystems are often subject to degradation due to various environmental stressors. The accumulation of an organic sediment layer causes shallowing, algal blooms, and hypertrophy in water reservoirs. The processes of overgrowth and shallowing lead to a reduction in the ecosystem services provided by the reservoir as well as may potentially cause the disappearance of the water body. To address these challenges and restore the ecological balance of water reservoirs, effective and sustainable revitalisation methods are essential. In recent years, biotechnological approaches, particularly utilizing microbiological interventions, have emerged as promising strategies for water reservoir revitalization. Microorganisms, with their remarkable ability to degrade pollutants and enhance nutrient cycling, offer great potential in remediating environmental issues in a natural and eco-friendly manner. The article presents the results of a study of 34 Polish reservoirs subjected to reclamation with microbial biopreparations from 2014 to 2023. The results of changes in bottom sediment reduction, water transparency, dissolved oxygen concentration, and water turbidity are presented. Reduction of and morphological changes in the fraction of soft organic sediments, an improvement in the oxygen profile of the bottom and surface water layers, and an increase of water transparency were observed after the reclamation with the use of biopreparations.

Maldivian coral reefs have been experiencing significant degradation due to a combination of global climate change and local anthropogenic pressures. To enforce the conservation of coral reefs worldwide, coral restoration is becoming a popular tool to restore ecosystems actively. In the Maldives, restoration interventions are performed only around touristic islands, where there are economic resources available to support these projects. Unfortunately, on local islands, coral restoration does not benefit from the same support and is rarely boosted. A challenging coral restoration intervention has been performed, for the first time, a on a local island of the Maldives affected by intense human pressures that caused the degradation of its reefs. A total of 242 coral fragments were collected from impacted colonies and transferred to the coral nursery of the island. Survival and growth rates of the fragments were monitored for 12 months. After one year, a survival rate of 70.2% was recorded. Although this rate might appear lower when compared to other restoration experiences, it is very promising considering the origin of the fragments and the poor quality of the environment where they have been transplanted. Some potential threats to the success of this restoration have also been identified, i.e., water temperature anomaly, diseases and parasites, the latter being the leading causes of coral mortality. The procedure presented here is comparatively less expensive than the typical relocation of entire coral colonies from donor healthy reefs to degraded reefs, thus providing an opportunity and a viable option also for local islands to restore their reefs and preserve local biodiversity.

When the image quality is evaluated, the human visual system (HVS) infers the details in the image through its internal generative mechanism. In this process, the HVS integrates both local and global information of the image, utilizes contextual information to restore the original image information, and compares it with the distorted image information for image quality evaluation. Inspired by this mechanism, a no-reference image quality assessment method is proposed based on a multitask image restoration network. The multitask image restoration network generates a pseudo-reference image as the main task and produces structural similarity index measure map as an auxiliary task. By mutually promoting the two tasks, a higher quality pseudo-reference image is generated. In addition, when predicting the image quality score, both the quality restoration features and the difference features between the distorted and reference images are used, thereby fully utilizing the information from the pseudo-reference image. To enable the model to focus on both global and local features, a multi-scale feature fusion module is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves excellent performance on both synthetically and authentically distorted databases.

It was believed that the construction of large dams in the upper tributary basin of the Chao Phraya River (CPR) has caused sediment load reduction in the CPR system by 75–85%. Based on historical and observed river flow and sediment data measured during 1922–2019, we investigated the effects of three large dams, the Sirikit, Naresuan, and Khwae Noi dams, on river runoff and sediment loads supplied to the CPR using Mann-Kendall (MK) test and the double mass curve (DMC). Results from this study revealed that the Nan River contributed approximately 40% and 57% of the runoff and total sediment load (TSL) to the CPR, respectively. The water regulation by the Naresuan diversion dam has mainly caused the reduction on annual runoff and TSL downstream of each dam. The results from this study also reveal that the sediment load observed at the headwater (C.2) of the CPR still increased after the construction of the Sirikit dam due to the expansion of irrigation areas downstream of the dam and the channel improvement in the lower reach of Nan River. After the three major dams were operated, the sediment load at C.2 reduced by 31% compared that discharging during the pre-construction period.

Platelets are a uniquely mammalian physiologic attribute. As the only non-marine vertebrate class to experience menopause, humans have a substantial post-reproductive lifespan and are believed to have a limited, non-renewable oocyte supply. Ovarian reserve typically declines after about age 35yrs, marking losses which cannot be recovered by available fertility medications. When in vitro fertilization fails due to low or absent ovarian response, gonadotropin adjustments are often ineffectual and if additional oocytes are occasionally harvested, egg quality is usually poor. This problem was confronted by Greek researchers who developed a new surgical method to insert autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) into ovaries; the first ovarian PRP success to improve reproductive outcomes was published from Athens in 2016. This innovation influenced later research with condensed platelet-derived growth factors, leading to correction of oocyte ploidy error, normal blastocyst development, and additional term livebirths. Yet women’s health was among the last clinical domains to explore PRP, and its role in ‘ovarian rejuvenation’ remains unsettled. One critical aspect in this procedure is platelet activation, a commonly overlooked step in the cytokine release cascade considered essential for successful transition of undifferentiated ovarian stem cells to an oocyte lineage. Poor activation of platelets thus becomes an unforced error, potentially diminishing or even negating post-treatment ovarian follicular response. To answer this query, relevant theory, current disagreements, and new data on platelet activation are presented, along with clinical challenges for regenerative fertility practice.

Wildfires have impacted thousands of acres of forests in Arizona and New Mexico in recent years. The extensive damage has been partially attributed to the current forest condition where many once open stands now consist of dense stands of younger, unhealthy trees and buildups of forest fuels. In Arizona, land managers and community organizations developed the Four Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) to attempt to rectify the situation by thinning the forest while protecting wildlife and watershed resources. Integrated resource information and research are particularly important today with society’s increased demands for high quality water, healthy forests, sound fire management, and viable wildlife populations. However, many managers are not familiar with previous integrated watershed research in the Southwest that could provide a strong basis for current management decisions or as a basis for future research. New and modified prescriptions to manage the Southwest’s forest resources are vital to answer the threats of wildfires and insect infestations. Integrated forest resource management is necessary to meet the diverse needs of society and the land. The 4FRI plan raised many questions about the effects of silvicultural prescriptions on tree, wildlife, and water resources. The Beaver Creek, Thomas Creek, and Castle Creek watershed experiments all had goals of evaluating integrated resource management options and of providing managers and scientists with useful management information. Much of the knowledge gained in these programs can provide forest managers with a better, more holistic basis for future integrated management of the Southwest USA’s forests and woodlands. This paper reviews research on three watershed areas in Arizona where integrated resource management was successful.

Fisheries and bottom seawater data were collected in July in 2022 and 2023 from 15 sampling stations in the Huanghe River Estuary and adjacent seas in China. The patterns of functional alpha- and beta-diversity of fish communities in this area and their relationship with environmental factors were studied using trait-based analysis. Five functional classifications, which included 16 functional traits, four functional alpha-diversity indices (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, and community-weighted mean), three functional beta-diversity indices (functional beta-diversity and its turnover and nestedness components), and 14 bottom environmental factors were considered. The dominant traits of fish communities were: benthivorous feeding habits, small and front-facing mouths, high trophic level, demersal, anguilliform, low growth coefficient, medium resilience, low vulnerability, and adapted to warm temperate conditions. The dominant migration traits and types of fish eggs varied by year, and fish abundance was the main factor affecting the dominant traits of the communities. The results of multiple regression on distance matrices and variance partitioning analysis indicated that ammonia nitrogen content, total phosphorus content, and pH were the main environmental factors that affected fish functional diversity. The N/P ratio had an upward control effect on fish functional diversity. Our findings also revealed that high pH gradients and distant geographical distances can inhibit trait turnover in fish communities.

The power of the river does not always work to the benefit of living things; rather, it has the ability to destroy human society and has negative effects on the environment. River Teesta has a prodigious significance on the riverine dweller and its changing precarious behaviour has repercussions on the lives of millions. Utilizing satellite images and 41 years of temporal analysis, the mapping of channel extraction and channel shifting has been demonstrated. Delineating the exact channel boundary is a laborious operation, but MNDWI technique is really valuable in this situation to produce valuable results. Descriptive statistics are used to analyze the Teesta River's active flow line migration trend and channel migration behaviour. A particular river's oscillating character over time has both beneficial and detrimental power, destroying important resources for environmental sustainability and human society while also providing fertile mother earth as a source of wealth. As a result, another goal of the current study was to determine how vulnerable riverine residents were. A livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) based on the riverine inhabitants' exposure, sensitivity, and capacity for adaptation was created. According to the findings, the river's erratic behaviour is putting the people who live beside it in danger. Therefore, it is vitally necessary to implement a capable management strategy to stop bank failure at the Teesta-Dharala confluence in order to save the riverine residents.

A mathematical model that comprehensively captures the real behavior of riverbed deformation, encompassing all pertinent effects, is developed. The underwater slope reformation process, with the generatrix aligned along the flow velocity in the model, is considered. A numerical model is introduced to calculate the flow involving a deformable bottom, and the model's validation is established through rigorous analysis of experimental findings. The research firmly confirms the suitability of the proposed mathematical and numerical model for describing deformations in uneven and unsteady river flows, including the movement of dredging slots and channel quarries. The model's minimal equation count and reliance on empirical constants demonstrate the model's efficiency. The model's predictions align strongly with experimental data, although optimal values of empirical coefficients vary slightly across different experiments. Hence, there is a call for further investigation to derive more universally applicable closure relationships for the model. The importance of validating the model with reliable field data and its potential extension to accommodate hydraulically diverse soils is emphasized. Such an extension is feasible due to the concentration transfer equation, enabling independent calculations for particle fractions of varying sizes as long as the total particle concentration in the stream remains within reasonable limits. This dedicated research contributes significantly to understanding riverbed deformations and advancing accurate modeling and management of riverine environments.

Plantar flexors (PF) spasticity is known to poorly correlate with active dorsiflexion (DF) impairment throughout the swing phase of hemiparetic gait. Spastic Cocontraction, instead, stemming from descending pathways, potentially misdirect antagonist PF activity opposing DF during swing. Electromyographic (EMG) recordings, while unable to differentiate between reflex-based and descending origins, may offer valuable insights into this distinction by exploring PF EMG activity after tibial nerve neurotomy (which eliminates PF spasticity). Eleven subjects with hemiparesis walking at comfortable velocity and 11 controls walking at comfortable and slow velocity, underwent kinematic and PF/DF EMG analysis. Five of the hemiparetic subjects underwent tibial neurotomy &gt;1 year prior. We evaluated spasticity at rest (Tardieu scale), maximal ankle dorsiflexion, tibialis anterior agonist recruitment and gastrocnemius medialis and soleus cocontraction coefficients during swing. At slow velocity, controls (0.80±0.12 m/s) moved at a similar pace as hemiparetic subjects (0.73±0.37 m/s, NS). Hemiparetic subjects showed: (i) reduced ankle DF across swing (ii) increased PF cocontraction, including before any DF (iii) higher cocontraction despite absent spasticity in tibial neurotomy subjects (iv) higher tibialis anterior recruitment. Increased PF cocontraction occurs in the absence of spasticity or ankle DF despite higher agonist recruitment. Spastic cocontraction is a major factor limiting active DF at swing, unlike spasticity.

The Brahmaputra is one of the largest rivers in the world, ranking fifth in average discharge. As a result, it is heavily braided with various intricate paths in order to dissipate its huge energy. Although this river is normally classed as a braided river, it has recently been classified as an anastomosing river due to its multi-channel features over alluvial plains. Additionally, the Brahmaputra river’s morphology is random in nature as a result of its high flow variability and bank erodibility. Its anastomosing planform changes in response to seasonal water and sediment waves, resulting in a morphology that is extremely complex. The purpose of this study is to examine the Brahmaputra river’s anastomosing planform entropy as a measure of complexity, power spectral density as a measure of fluctuation and their relationship to the energy expenditure as an imprint of flflow rate of river systems on alluvial landscapes.

The aim of this research was to analyze the impact of implemented erosion control works (ECW) on soil erosion intensity in the watershed of the Ćelije reservoir (Rasina River) in the period between 1968 and 2022. The Erosion Potential Method was used to calculate the annual gross erosion (W), sediment transport (G), and erosion coefficient (Z) in the study area. As a result of the performed ECW there was a general decreasing trend in the intensity of soil erosion processes in the last 54 years. The specific annual gross erosion was 1189.12 m3/km-2/year-1 in 1968, while in 2022 it was 554.20 m3/km-2/year-1. The specific sediment transport was 540.18 m3/km-2/year-1 in 1968 and 253.55 m3/km-2/year-1 in 2022. Due to the changes in the intensity of erosion processes the specific annual gross erosion decreased by 634.92 m3/km-2/year-1, and the specific sediment transport by 286.63 m3/km-2/year-1. The erosion coefficient was reduced from Z=0.62 to Z= 0.35. A dependence between the slope of siltation and the natural bed slope was defined. The results show a significant correlation between erosion intensity and performed ECW, providing a basis for future watershed management and defining a strategy for soil erosion control in the Ćelije reservoir watershed.

In this study, we explore the potential of using a straightforward neural network inspired by the retina model to efficiently restore low-light images. The retina model imitates the neurophysiological principles and dynamics of various optical neurons. Our proposed neural network model reduces the computational overhead compared to traditional signal-processing models while achieving results similar to complex deep learning models from a subjective perceptual perspective. By directly simulating retinal neuron functionalities with neural networks, we not only avoid manual parameter optimization but also lay the groundwork for constructing artificial versions of specific neurobiological organizations.

The scene for regional biogeography and human settlements in Central Amazonia is set by the river network, which presumably consolidated in the Pliocene. However, we present geomorphological and sediment chronological data showing that the river network has been anything but stable. Even during the last 50 kyr, the tributary relationships have repeatedly changed for four major rivers, together corresponding to one third of the discharge of the Amazon. The latest major river capture event converted the Japurá from a tributary of the Rio Negro to a tributary of the Amazon only 1000 years ago. Such broad-scale lability implies that rivers cannot have been as efficient biogeographical dispersal barriers as has generally been assumed, but that their effects on human societies can have been even more profound. Climate change and deforestation scenarios predict increasing water levels during peak floods, which will likely increase the risk of future river avulsions. This may have disastrous consequences for the local human societies, especially in those areas where the current floodplains are at only marginally lower elevations than the nearest water divide. We suggest that the prevailing paradigm of rivers as principal structuring elements of Amazonian biogeography needs to be re-evaluated, and that land use planning and civil risk assessment should take the possibility of river avulsions into account.

Soil water content (SWC) and soil organic carbon (SOC) are two important factors to consider when revegetation in degraded land of arid and semiarid areas. Knowing the response of SWC and SOC to vegetation restoration as well as their coupling interaction is important for sustainability of vegetation restoration. In this study, three common plantations of the same recovery years were selected on China’s Loess Plateau, which included Pinus sylvestris, Pinus tabuliformis and Populus simonii, to evaluate the response of SWC and SOC to vegetation restoration as well as their interactions, and then revealed the influencing factors of SWC and SOC variations. Results showed that compared to the grassland, three plantations all exacerbated the deficit of deep soil water, but Populus simonii increased the SOC, while the rest all decreased the SOC. And tradeoff of Populus simonii had the lowest root mean squared error (RMSD). Therefore, Populus simonii was identified as representing a suitable revegetation technique for this region. There was strong interaction between SWC and SOC for shallow soil layers. Land use type (LUT) has an important effect on deep SOC variations, while SOC and soil texture for deep SWC variations. The results were helpful to the sustainable development of artificial forests in this region as well as other similar arid and semiarid areas.

Coral recruitment is an important factor to coral reefs in maintaining their health. Currently, numerous coral reefs are facing extreme degradation, which protection and therefore rehabilitation practices are required to reverse. The present study explores the potential role of coral recruitment assessment by citizen scientists about the impacts of human influences towards coral reefs through measurement of coral recruitment values. Only a very small number of studies use forms of pre-launch assessment prior to reef restoration. These methods are able to properly guide vital decision-making information for reef rehabilitation methods and locations. In this initial study we observe significant relationships between reefs with higher coral recruitment values and their health. As compared to other average coral reef values, the reef we measured had higher recruitment values on average. Two sections of the reef had noticeably higher mean corals per square meter compared to average values, while a third section of the reef had a lower frequency. This section has been brought to concern through the pre-launch assessment, and has potential for rehabilitation through coral transplantation and a reduction of anthropogenic actions within the area.

A maxillary totally edentulism was rehabilitated with one-piece implants starting from pre-existing totally removable denture. A 3D digital scan of the removable denture and upper and lower arches was performed. On this basis, a prototype with optimal esthetic and functional outcomes was re-alized and turned into a custom-made radiological stent with markers. The superimposition of STL and DICOM files allowed the virtual planning of one-piece implants ideal position. The stackable templates composed of a fixed component, namely base template, and removable components, were realized. The fixed component, once secured with anchor pins to the bone, was no longer removed. The removable components, screwed to the fixed component, were used to perform the implant surgery and the immediate prosthetic loading. A base template allowed for maintaining a fixed reference during the entire workflow, improving the transition between the digital project, the surgical procedure, and the prosthetic rehabilitation.

This study investigated the physical properties of section-restoration mortar with calcium nitrite and carbon dioxide (CO2) nanobubble mixing water to develop materials and methods for the repair and reinforcement of cracks in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. As the calcium nitrite content increased, the generation rate and generated amount of nitrite-based hydration products increased, owing to the rapid reaction between NO2- ions in calcium nitrite and C3A(Al2O3). Further, the reaction with C3S and C2S was accelerated, thereby increasing the generation rates of Ca(OH)2 and C-S-H. Further, the large amount of Ca2+ ions in these hydration products reacted with CO32- ions in CO2 nanobubble water, thereby increasing the generation of calcite-based CaCO3 in the cement matrix. This appears to have affected the strength development and durability improvement via the densification of the structure. These results suggest that the performance of polymer cement mortar for repairing concrete structures can be improved if calcium nitrite and CO2 nanobubble water are properly combined and applied.

In children, the global burden of vaccines-preventable diseases (VPDs) and deaths can be averted by adopting timely immunization practices. Administering immunization to a child within 28 or 30 days of the designated immunization date is referred to as timely immunization. Delaying or missing vaccinations puts children, especially those in urban slums, at a higher risk of getting sick or dying from different diseases. This study was designed to examine the immunization practices and to measure the determinants of immunization non-compliance in children living in urban slums of Karachi, Pakistan. A community-based retrospective cohort was carried out from October-2018- to August-2019 in six different urban slums of Karachi. Immunization status of children aged less than 2 years was assessed by reviewing their vaccination card. Children from each slum were approached via 30x7 multistage stratified cluster sampling technique. Data of each child was analysed descriptively and inferentially using a statistical software, i.e., Jamovi version 1.2.25. The practice of timely immunization was observed in approximately half of children, i.e., 49.8%(n=457). The immunization rate at birth (first-visit) was 100%, of which 95.7% were timely immunized. Following the second immunization visit, a sharp decline in the immunization rate, including timely immunization rate was observed. Lack of knowledge, childhood illnesses, lack of interest, and vaccines unavailability were the main reasons of immunization non-compliance. However, an increase in paternal education was significantly associated to decrease the odds of immunization non-compliance. A decrease in the practice of timely immunization is replaced by either invalid and/or delayed and/or missed immunization practices. Thus, timely immunization is crucial for preventing the infectious diseases and promoting the health of a child.

Generating electricity from coal combustion is highly associated with ongoing pollution problems that negatively impact the environment. Coal fly ash (CFA) is a predominant waste by-product of coal combustion which is disposed of in exposed ash dams constructed in the vicinity of power stations. Its disposal requires a large piece of land and therefore more land is converted to unproductive disposal sites, degrading the ecosystem. This waste material is classified as a hazardous substance in South Africa due to unacceptable levels of inorganic and persistent organic pollutants and its potential for dust creation. CFA is recycled and sold to the building and construction sectors, but the rate of its utilization is far less than the production rate resulting to high volumes that is stockpiled in disposal sites. More than 500 million tons CFA is produced yearly and over 200 million tons yearly remain unused globally and more CFA will continue to be produced due to high consumer energy demands, especially in countries with heavy reliance on coal for power generation. In this context, the paper discusses production of CFA, pollution problems due to its disposal, examines existing gaps within the scope of ash dam restoration processes and presents opportunities offered by phytoremediation (a low-cost and environmentally friendly technology that utilizes plants to restore the degraded environments). Ecological restoration through the use of socio-economically valuable plants (aromatic plants, legumes and grasses) has potential in addressing societal challenges and consequently impacting positively the livelihood of communities.

In ancient buildings, timber members could need specific on-site interventions, including reinforcement or repair, sometimes inserting of reinforcing material into grooves routed in the original sound wood. Grooves number, positions and dimensions, and strengthening materials may differ, according to the desired increase of bending stiffness and strength. The Modulus-of-Elasticity (MOE) of each beam is of key importance, but the incisions can affect it, net of the reduction of the removed wood. In this study 12 old beams were accurately measured and their static and dynamic MOEs calculated before and after the grooves processing, to simulate the operations of typical reinforcing interventions. One groove was routed along the length of each beam and deepened progressively by three steps. Tests have showed how the MOE is affected by the groove depth, decreasing up to one third. The paper proves how the weakening effect of grooves on-site can be assessed with dynamic MOE and roughly predicted by means of visual survey. Grooves need for strengthening beams, must be carefully evaluated because of the variation of the actual mechanical properties, net to lost wood.

Hardened air void analysis provides essential information of concrete freeze-thaw durability based on the size and spacing of air voids in the material. As the physical freeze-thaw experiment is time-consuming and costly, the characteristics of concrete air voids are often deemed as a proxy of the freeze-thaw performance. This analysis is typically done by measuring the 2D air void intersections on polished samples, but the current interpretation of the 2D void characters does not accurately represent the actual void structure in 3D. To solve this problem, a 2D-to-3D unfolding technique has been proposed in the field of stereology. However, the unfolding analysis is known to be sensitive to several factors, such as void population and size along with a binning scheme, where improper unfolding can considerably bias the prediction of the actual concrete void system. This study investigates the optimal strategy of conducting the unfolding analysis for concrete. The investigation is carried out on both idealized void systems to interrogate the influence of the critical factors individually, and real concrete samples with varying levels of air entrainment to assess the concrete-specific impacts. The concrete void system is studied based on a stereological model emulating the intersected 3D air voids on the surface of polished concrete. The results highlight that, for unfolding concrete voids, logarithmic binning scheme is far more accurate to linear binning. The low unfolding error of the concrete samples indicates that the proposed methodology enables an accurate restoration of 3D void size distribution.

The Kabul River basin (KRB) of Afghanistan, a lifeline of around 10 million people, has multiplicity of governance, management and development related challenges leading to inequity, inadequacy and unreliability of irrigation water distribution. Prior to any uplifting intervention, there is a need to evaluate the performance of irrigation system on long term basis to identify the existing bottlenecks. Although there are several indicators used for the performance evaluation of the irrigation schemes, but we used the coefficient of variation (CV) of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) in space (basin, sub-basin, and provincial level), relative evapotranspiration (RET) and temporal CV of RET to assess the equity, adequacy and reliability of water distribution respectively, from 2003 to 2013. The ETa was estimated through surface energy balance system (SEBS) algorithm and the ETa estimates were validated using advection aridity (AA) method with R2 value of 0.81 and 0.77 at Nawabad and Sultanpur stations respectively. The global land data assimilation system (GLDAS) and moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) products were used as main inputs to the SEBS. Results show that mean seasonal sub-based RET values during summer (May – September) (0.37 ± 0.06) and winter (October – April) (0.40 ± 0.08) are below the target values (RET ≥0.75) during 2003-2013. The CV of mean ETa within sub-basins and provinces for the entire study period has equitable distribution of water from October-January (0.09±0.04) whereas the highest inequity (0.24±0.08) in water distribution is during early summer. The range of the CV of mean ETa (0.04-0.06) on monthly and seasonal basis shows the unreliability of water supplies in several provinces or sub-basins. The analysis of temporal CV of mean RET highlights unreliable water supplies across the entire basin. The maximum ETa during the study period was estimated for Shamal sub-basin (552±43mm) while among provinces Kunar experienced the highest ETa (544±39mm). This study highlights the dire need for interventions to improve the irrigation performance in time and space. The proposed methodology can be used as a framework for monitoring and implementing the water distribution plans in future.

A large amount of accurate river cross-section data is indispensable for predicting river stages. However, the measured river cross-section data are usually sparse in the transverse direction at each cross-section as well as in the longitudinal direction along the river channel. This study presents three algorithms to resample the river cross-section data points in both the transverse and longitudinal directions from the original data. The resampled cross-section data based on the linear interpolation satisfactorily maintains the topographic and morphological features of the river channel, especially in the meandering river segment. A two-dimensional (2D) high-resolution unstructured-grid hydrodynamic model was used to assess the performance of the original and resampled cross-section data on a simulated river stage under low flow and high flow conditions. The simulated river stages are significantly improved using the resampled cross-section data based on the linear interpolation in the tidal river and non-tidal river segments. Furthermore, the performance of the 2D and three-dimensional (3D) models on the simulated river stage was also evaluated using the resampled cross-section data. The results indicate that the 2D and 3D models reproduce similar river stages in both tidal and non-tidal river segments under the low flow condition. However, the 2D model overestimates the river stages in both the tidal and non-tidal river segments compared to the 3D model under the high flow condition. The model sensitivity was implemented to investigate the influence of bottom drag coefficient and vertical eddy viscosity on river stage. The results reveal that bottom drag coefficient has a minor impact on river stage, but the vertical eddy viscosity is insensitive to river stage.

Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System are recognized as crucial instruments for conducting geographical and geospatial research. RS and GIS technology was employed to assess the morphological Characteristics of the Kasura River Watershed situated within the Parbhani and Jalna Districts of Maharashtra, India. The entire drainage area of the Kasura River basin measures 490.13 square kilometers (km²). Various morphometric characteristic were calculated and examined, encompassing linear features such as stream number, stream order, mean stream length, stream length, and stream length ratio, areal attributes including elongation ratio, circularity ratio, form factor, constant of channel maintenance, drainage density and drainage texture and relief characteristics such as relief, relief ratio, maximum relief, ruggedness number, relative relief, and length of overland flow. These findings underscore the significance of employing morphometric analysis in watershed assessment, offering a quantitative method for characterizing the surface attributes of a drainage pattern and yielding valuable insights into the topography and runoff dynamics of the region.

Given the persistence of microplastics in the environment and their potential toxicity to ecosystems, understanding of likely microplastic accumulation ‘hotspots’ in rivers is urgently needed. To contribute to this challenge, this paper reports results of a microplastic survey from a heavily urbanised catchment, the River Tame, which flows through the city of Birmingham, UK. All sediment sampled was found to contain microplastics with an average abundance of 165 particles kg-1. While urban areas generally have a greater abundance of microplastics as compared with rural, there is no simple relationship between microplastic numbers and population density or proximity to wastewater treatment sites. The greatest change in microplastic abundance was due to the presence of a lake along the course of the River Tame i.e. on entering the lake flow velocities are reduced which promotes the deposition of fine sediment and potentially microplastics. This suggests that the greatest concentrations of microplastics will not be found in-channel but rather on the floodplain and other low velocity environments such as meander cutoffs. We also identified a new mechanism of microplastic fixation in freshwater environments through ecological engineers, specifically caddisfly that incorporated microplastics into their casing. These results highlight the need to explore further hydrodynamic and ecological impacts on microplastics fate and transport in rivers.

Following the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), with the Convention on Biological Diversity serving as its guiding treaty, the European Union (EU) has just reached an agreement on an EU Nature Restoration Regulation. This study carries out a systematic cross-walk between the restoration regulation and the KM-GBF, focusing on their implications for forest ecosystems. This paper identifies areas of alignment, divergence, and potential gaps related to habitat restoration, species protection, climate resilience, and the sustainable use of natural resources. The methodology adopts a grounded approach, starting with the 23 targets outlined in the KM-GBF and proceeding to the 28 articles set out in the restoration regulation. The results highlight the need for better alignment between the KM-GBF, the restoration regulation, and other forest-relevant EU policy instruments. The study stresses the need for a coherent and integrated EU policy approach that can address the diverse challenges and policy objectives facing forests. It concludes that amendments to the restoration regulation have significantly diluted its potential impact, limiting the EU Members States accountability and ability to meet KM-GBF goals and targets. It further stresses the need for strategies that can reconcile divergent EU policy pathways, support forest management and restoration efforts, while aligning with global biodiversity objectives.

Studying the distribution and transport dynamics of cations in plants is crucial for understanding their response mechanisms to saline-alkali stress conditions. However, our current understanding of how restoration measures affect cation distribution and transport in plants is surprisingly limited. To address this gap, we conducted a split-plot experiment using Medicago sativa L. cv. “Zhongmu No. 1” to investigate the combined effects of biological and chemical restoration measures—with bio-fertilizer as the primary zone and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum with humic acid as the secondary zone—on soil properties, plant growth, and the content, distribution, and transport of cations in plants. The results revealed that different restoration strategies decreased soil alkalinity and enhanced plant growth. Significantly, bio-fertilizer exhibited positive effects on plant growth and yield. On the contrary, FGD gypsum with humic acid reduced the soil's pH level, exchangeable sodium percentage, and sodium adsorption ratio, while increasing the contents of K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ in the soil. The triple combination of FGD gypsum and humic acid with bio-fertilizer reduced Na+ transport in M. sativa by enhancing the selective absorption of beneficial ions, such as K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ in leaves, and by facilitating the transport of Ca2+ and Mg2+ from roots and stems to the leaves. Therefore, the application of FGD gypsum and humic acid combined with bio-fertilizer has the potential to decrease soil alkalinity and the proportions of water-soluble ions in the soil, ultimately enhancing the translocation of key ionic components to leaves. This, in turn, increases the salt tolerance of plants and promotes their growth. Our results offer new insights into the interactions among measures, soil, and plants in saline-alkali land restoration, providing practical solutions for the restoration of saline-alkali soil.