Lake sediment records are of great importance for understanding the evolution of watershed environments. Various studies have been carried out to constrain the depositional ages of lake sediments and examine their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics, aiming to construct historical vegetation, environment and climate patterns in Chinese lake watersheds. In this study, we obtained relevant literature on lake sediment records by searching the key word 'age-depth' from the databases – Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, the largest Chinese academic database). We analyzed the literature based on its type (published in a Chinese/English journal or as a Master’s/PhD thesis), period of publication, journal (if published in a journal), key authors, study area, dating scale, and main aims. The results suggest that the lakes in the plateau regions are the most popular research topic typically covering 100–200 years (short-term) and 500–30,000 years (long-term). The literature focuses on a wide range of topics, from past environmental evolution in the watershed to lake ecology, and provides a solid foundation for better understanding regional climate change and the preservation of lake environments and ecosystems. In the future, resulting data from environmental reconstruction with lake sediments will be needed to integrate with emerging information processing technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and meta-analysis), to disentangle the complex interplay between Earth surface processes and global climate change; furthermore, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration will deepen our comprehension of man-land relationship and promote the sustainable management of lake ecosystems in the context of global climate change.

The study assessed the trapping efficacy of locally-modified 1) Gravid Aedes Trap(GAT) lined with insecticide-treated net (ITN) as a killing agent, 2) Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap(AGO) with sticky board in the semi-field system (SFS) and field setting. Fully-balanced Latin square experiments were conducted to compare GAT lined with ITN vs AGO, both with either yeast or grass infusion. Biogents-Sentinel (BGS) with BG-Lure and no CO2 was used as standard trap for Aedes mosquitoes. In the SFS, GAT outperformed AGO in collecting both nulliparous (65% vs 49%,OR=2.22,[95%CI:1.89-2.60],p

The information on the land use and soil conservation practice based on year 2006, 2010 and 2014, hence offering an opportunity to model the impacts of land use change on erosion, deposition and surface water runoff. Limitation in the use of hydrological models had been their inability to handle the large amount of input data that describe the heterogeneity of the natural system. In this study, a procedure that takes into account soil conservation practice based on the land use change, the response of soil erosion and sediment export from the George Town Conurbation catchment area, and average annual sediment yields were estimated for each grid cell of the watershed to identify the critical erosion areas of rural and urban planning proposes. Average annual sediment yield and data on a grid basis estimated using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and an emerging technology represented by Geographic Information System (GIS) used as a tool to produce a map for erosion rate. The changing of the land use from forest to agriculture and then to an urban area is a challenging task to research on land use demand for population, and environmental impact assessment is important for the planning of natural resources management, allowing research the modification of land use properly and implement more sustainable for long term management strategies. The challenge is to formulate strategies that would promote an integrated approach to the land use planning at an appropriate level as to address the issues that arose. Modelling for creating urban growth boundary for the George Town Conurbation must have to be controlled surface runoff and soil loss and sediment export from land use of the George Town Conurbation catchment.

Monitoring is an important component of pest management, to prevent or mitigate outbreaks of native pests, and to check for quarantine organisms. Surveys often rely on trapping, especially when the target species respond to semiochemicals. Many traps are available for this purpose, but they are bulky in most cases, which raises transportation and deployment issues, and they are expensive, which limits the size and accuracy of any network. To overpass these difficulties, entomologists have used recycled material, such as modified plastic bottles, producing cheap and reliable traps but at the cost of recurrent handywork, not necessarily possible for all end-users (e.g., for national plant protection organizations). These bottle-traps have allowed very large surveys which would have been impossible with standard commercial traps, and we illustrate this approach with a few examples. Here we present, under a Creative Commons BY-SA License, the blueprint of a fan-trap, a foldable model, laser-cut from a sheet of polypropylene, that can rapidly be produced in large numbers, and could be transported and deployed in the field with very little efforts. Our first field comparisons show that fan-traps are as efficient as bottle-traps, and we describe two cases where they are being used for monitoring.

In Escherichia coli, DNA replication termination is orchestrated by two clusters of Ter sites forming a DNA replication fork trap when bound by Tus proteins. The formation of a ‘locked’ Tus-Ter complex is essential for halting incoming DNA replication forks. However, the absence of replication fork arrest at some Ter sites raised questions about their significance. In this study, we examined the genome-wide distribution of Tus and found that only the six innermost Ter sites (TerA-E and G) were significantly bound by Tus. We also found that a single ectopic insertion of TerB in its non-permissive orientation could not be achieved, advocating against a need for ‘back-up’ Ter sites. Finally, examination of the genomes of a variety of Enterobacterales revealed a new replication fork trap architecture mostly found outside the Enterobacteriaceae family. Taken together, our data enabled the delineation of a narrow ancestral Tus-dependent DNA replication fork trap consisting of only two Ter sites.

Bio-separation of natural molecules as well as clinical compounds has been constantly developed in last decades. Several techniques are available but the majority of them presents drawbacks such us impossibility to be applied for industrial purposes. The main limitations for the scaling up are high costs and the fact that the devices work with microfluid dynamics. Nevertheless, magnetic bio-separation is considered the most prone to be used for large scale applications. Herein, we propose a simple magnetic separation method that is not based on microfluid dynamics, can work in a continuous- and high-flow rate and can be easily automated in order to be used for standard separation purposes. It is based on the use of an anisotropic flexible ferric magnetic strip, Teflon hoses and a pumping device. We show the modelling of the separation process along with an experimental test on iron oxide magnetic particles. The results showed that it is possible to remove, and separately collect, more than 92% of magnetic particles from a liquid solution of 100 ml in roughly 15 minutes.

Sediment plumes, released to the Bering Sea from the delta front of the Yukon River, Alaska, are initiated mainly by glacier-melt sediment runoffs in the glacierized regions of the Yukon River drainage basin. The surface sediment plumes are extended around the fan-shaped Yukon River delta, which is followed by the northwestward dispersion. During continuous measure-ments of the Yukon River discharge and sediment load, behaviors of the sediment plumes were explored by shipboard observations in the Bering Sea offshore from the Yukon delta. At the high river sediment load of ca. 3000 kg/s, the plume partially plunged into the sea bottom layer. The plunging probably originated in the nepheloid-layer formation from the flocculation of river-suspended sediment, of which more than 90 %wt. is silt and clay (grain size d < 0.063 mm). In order to numerically obtain the area of the surface sediment plumes, a satellite image analy-sis was performed by using three near-infrared bands in MODIS/Aqua or MODIS/Terra. The plume area was significantly correlated (R2=0.735, p<0.01) to the sediment load averaged for the two days with time lags of 20 days and 21 days to the date of a certain satellite image. Hence, the dispersion of plume-suspended sediment appears to be controlled by the sediment runoff events in the Yukon River rather than the northward “Alaskan Coastal Water”.

We introduce a device for automatic detection and reporting of crawling insects in urban environments. It is a monitoring device for urban pests that complies with the context of smart homes, smart cities and is compatible with the emerging discipline of the Internet of Things (IoT). We believe it can find its place to every room of a hotel, hospital, military camp and residence. This box-shaped device attracts targeted insect pests, senses the entering insect and takes automatically a picture of the internal space of the box. The picture is communicated through the Wi-Fi commonly found in such establishments to an authorized person/stakeholder receiving the picture to take proper action. The e-trap includes strong attractants (pheromone and/or food) to increase capture efficiency. The insect is trapped on the sticky floor of the device. The device carries the necessary optoelectronic sensors to guard all entrances of the trap. As the insect enters it interrupts the infrared light source. This triggers a detection event; a picture is taken, and a time-stamp is set before reporting the event through the Wi-Fi. The device can be integrated seamlessly in urban environments and operates unobtrusively to human activities. We report results on various insect pests and depending on the insect species, can reach a detection accuracy ranging from 96-99%.

Herein we present the biocatalysed preparation of mono-N-carbamate-protected precursor of antitumoral Nutlin-3a, through enantioselective alkoxycarbonylation of meso-1,2-disubstituted-1,2-diaminoethane, using enzyme lipases and dialkyl carbonates as acylating agents. A series of supported or free lipase enzymes were screened in combination with commercially available diallyl-, diethyl and dimethyl- carbonate. The reactions were conducted at different temperatures, reaction times and with variable co-solvent systems to evaluate the effect on the enzyme catalytic activity. The best results in terms of conversion, enantiomeric excess and yield were obtained when lipase from Candida antarctica B (CAL-B) was used with diallyl carbonate (DAC) conducting the reaction solventless at 75 °C.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex causes tuberculosis (TB), a disease that causes pulmonary inflammation but can also affect other tissues. Despite macrophages having a defined role in TB immunopathogenesis, other innate immune cells, such as neutrophils, are involved in this process. These cells have high phagocytic ability and a microbial-killing machine comprised of enzymes, antimicrobial peptides, and reactive oxygen species. In the last two decades, a new neutrophil immune response, the neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), has been intensely researched. NETs comprise DNA associated with histones, enzymes, and antimicrobial peptides. These structures are related to antimicrobial immune response and some immuno-pathogenesis mechanisms. This mini review highlights the role of NETs in tuberculosis and how they can be helpful as a diagnostic tool and/or therapeutic target.

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.

Human activities for exploitation and utilization of coastal zones have transformed coastline morphology and severely changed regional flow fields, underwater topography, and sediment distribution in the sea. In this study, single-beam bathymetry coupled with sediment sampling and analysis was carried out to ascertain submarine topography, geomorphology and sediment distribution patterns and explore sediment provenance in Qinzhou Bay, China. The results show the following. 1) The underwater topography in Qinzhou Bay is complex and variable, with water depths in the range of 0–20 m. It can be divided into four underwater topographic zones: the central (outer Qinzhou Bay), eastern (Sanniang Bay), western (east of Fangcheng Port), and southern (outside of the bay) parts. 2) Based on geomorphological features, the study area comprises four major submarine geomorphological units (i.e., tide-dominated delta, tidal sand ridge group, tidal scour troughs, and underwater slope) and two intertidal geomorphological units (i.e., tidal flat and abrasion platforms). 3) Sandy sediments are widely present in Qinzhou Bay, accounting for 70% of the total sediments. From the mouth of the Maowei Sea to the offshore, the sediments gradually become coarser, shifting from sandy mud to muddy sand, and then to fine sand and medium–coarse sand. The detrital minerals contained in the sediments mainly consist of quartz, feldspar, debris, ilmenite, leucosphenite, and tourmaline, whereas the clay minerals are dominated by kaolinite, followed by illite and smectite. The sediment provenance is mainly terrigenous input from near-source rivers. With sea reclamation and dam construction, outer Qinzhou Bay has experienced enormous morphological variation of its coastline. Together with the channel effect where the velocity of ebb tide is greater than that of flood tide, the underwater topography is characterized by increased scale and height difference of troughs and ridges as well as enhanced offshore deposition.

Human activities for exploitation and utilization of coastal zones have transformed coastline morphology and severely changed regional flow fields, underwater topography, and sediment distribution in the sea. In this study, single-beam bathymetry coupled with sediment sampling and analysis was carried out to ascertain submarine topography, geomorphology and sediment distribution patterns and explore sediment provenance in Qinzhou Bay, China. The results show the following. 1) The underwater topography in Qinzhou Bay is complex and variable, with water depths in the range of 0–20 m. It can be divided into four underwater topographic zones: the central (outer Qinzhou Bay), eastern (Sanniang Bay), western (east of Fangcheng Port), and southern (outside of the bay) parts. 2) Based on geomorphological features, the study area comprises four major submarine geomorphological units (i.e., tide-dominated delta, tidal sand ridge group, tidal scour troughs, and underwater slope) and two intertidal geomorphological units (i.e., tidal flat and abrasion platforms). 3) Sandy sediments are widely present in Qinzhou Bay, accounting for 70% of the total sediments. From the mouth of the Maowei Sea to the offshore, the sediments gradually become coarser, shifting from sandy mud to muddy sand, and then to fine sand and medium–coarse sand. The detrital minerals contained in the sediments mainly consist of quartz, feldspar, debris, ilmenite, leucosphenite, and tourmaline, whereas the clay minerals are dominated by kaolinite, followed by illite and smectite. The sediment provenance is mainly terrigenous input from near-source rivers. With sea reclamation and dam construction, outer Qinzhou Bay has experienced enormous morphological variation of its coastline. Together with the channel effect where the velocity of ebb tide is greater than that of flood tide, the underwater topography is characterized by increased scale and height difference of troughs and ridges as well as enhanced offshore deposition.

Anthropogenic activities such as the damming of rivers have resulted in the formation of depositional systems for sediments that are naturally transported along river channels all over the world. The steady accumulation of sediments has profound effects on how reservoirs function. As the reservoir ages, the impact of sedimentation becomes more pronounced. In an alluvial channel, the dynamics of sediment movement, scour, and deposition are exceedingly complicated. The quantitative and qualitative management of river engineering heavily relies on sediment motion. One of the key concerns affecting reservoir storage capacity is reservoir sedimentation. Understanding the form and behavior of the river or reservoir is necessary for a scientific approach to sedimentation. An overview of reservoir sedimentation processes, and models of reservoir and shallow water bodies is provided in this article. More research in the developing fields is advised for continuing studies on reservoir sedimentation due to climate change effects

The enormous influence in terms of bioactivity, affinity, and selectivity represented by the replacement of (L)-2,6-dimethyl tyrosine (Dmt) instead of Phenylalanine (Phe) into Nociceptin/orphanin (N/OFQ) neuropeptide analogues, has been well documented in literature. More recently, the non-natural amino acid (L)-2-methyl tyrosine (Mmt), with steric hindrance among Tyr and Dmt, has been studied because of the modulation of steric effects in opioid peptide chains. Here we report a new synthetic strategy to obtain Mmt based on the well-known Pd-catalyzed ortho-C(sp2)–H activation approach, since there is a paucity of other synthetic routes in literature, to achieve it. The aim of this work was to force only the mono ortho-methylation process over the double ortho-methylation one. In this regard we are pleased to report that the introduction of the dibenzylamine moiety on Tyr aromatic nucleus is a convenient and traceless solution to achieve such a goal. Interestingly, our method provided the aimed Mmt either as N-Boc or N-Fmoc derivatives ready to be inserted into peptide chains through solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). Importantly, the introduction of Mmt in place of Phe1 in the sequence of N/OFQ(1-13)-NH2 was very well tolerated in terms of pharmacological profile and bioactivity.

The Casiquiare River is a natural channel that connects two of the greatest rivers in the world, the Orinoco and the Amazon in the South American Continent. The aim of this paper is to present a review and synthesis of the hydrological and sedimentological knowledge of the Casiquiare River, including the first hydro-sedimentary balance of the Casiquiare fluvial system conducted at the bifurcation and at the mouth on September 9-12, 2000, during the expedition ‘Humboldt-Amazonia 2000’. Bathymetric, flow discharge and physico-chemical measurements were made at the inlet and at the outlet of the Casiquiare Channel. The main conclusions of this study indicate that Casiquiare is taking a significant proportion of flow (20 to 30%) from the Upper Orinoco basin to the Amazon basin. Throughout its 356 km-course, this chameleon channel undergoes significant morphological, hydrological and bio-geochemical variations between the inlet and the outlet, whose most visible witnesses are the increase in its width (3 to 4 times), flow (7 to 9 times) and its change in water color (white to black water), under the influence of tributaries coming from vast forest plains.

Background and Objectives: Chemokines have various biological functions and potential roles in the development or progression of neuroinflammatory diseases. However, the specific pathogenic roles of chemokines in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in older individuals, remain elusive. Chemokines interact with their receptors expressed in the endothelium and on leukocytes. The sulfation of tyrosine residues in chemokine receptors increases the strength of ligand–receptor interaction and modulates signaling. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to construct a human recombinant sulfated CXCR3 peptide trap (hCXCR3-S2) and mouse recombinant sulfated CXCR3 peptide trap (mCXCR3-S2) to demonstrate in vivo effects in preventing choroidal neovascularization and chemotaxis. Materials and Methods: First, the effect of hCXCR3-S was validated in vitro. Interestingly, hCXCR3-S2 inhibited the migration and invasion of two human cancer cell lines. Subsequently, the in vivo efficacy of mCXCR3-S2 was investigated using a mouse model of neovascular AMD. Results: Intravitreal injection of mCXCR3-S2 attenuated choroidal neovascularization and macrophage recruitment in neovascular lesions. These in vitro and in vivo effects were significantly stronger with CXCR3-S2 than with wild-type CXCR3 peptides. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the sulfated form of the CXCR3 peptide trap is a valuable tool that could be supplemented with antivascular endothelial growth factors in AMD treatment.

In this paper is discussed sediment transport as a mechanical process that characterises a natural stream or channel flow regime. The objective of experimental work presented in this paper is to recall and to give another prospect of well-known Meyer-Peter and Müller approach for estimation of Shield’s number (θ_c,θ) in laboratory conditions, and calibration of dimensionless MPM number (A). For this purpose two different experiments are conducted, during the first experiment water amount flushed on the flume and bed slope was changed simultaneously until equilibrium state is achieved, meanwhile is estimated the critical Shield’s number (θ_c). While, during the second experiment, water amount was kept constant, only bed slope of flume was continuously tilted, meanwhile sediment, discharge and Shield’s number (θ) was determined for given hydraulic conditions. In addition calibration of dimensionless MPM number (A) was performed, where several iteration were considered until for (A=3.42), sediment discharge measured become almost equal with sediment discharge computed by using MPM formula. After these experiments, is concluded that MPM formula can be used also for other certain initial condition and similar procedure may be adopted to calibrate the dimensionless MPM number (A) .

Measurements of optical properties have been used for decades to study particle distributions in the ocean. They have been found useful to constrain suspended mass concentration as well as particle-related properties such as size, composition, packing (particle porosity or density) and settling velocity. Optical properties, however, provide measurements that are biased, as certain particles (based on size, composition, shape or packing) contribute to a specific property more than others. Here we study this issue both theoretically as well as by contrasting different optical properties collected simultaneously in a bottom boundary layer, to highlight the utility of such measurements as well as the biases we are likely to encounter using different optical properties to study suspended particles. In particular, we investigate the possibility to infer settling velocity from vertical profiles of optical measurements, finding that the effects of aggregation dynamics can seldom be ignored.

Spatiotemporal variations of sediments transported along rivers play a crucial role in a wide spectrum of uses, such as navigation, recreation, habitats or hydropower production. The advancement in technology has made it possible to use various indirect techniques to study and evaluate the transport of suspended sediment in fluvial environments. To investigate large-scale phenomena, remote sensing is becoming a largely utilized approach, as it allows to combine spatially-distributed and local information. Dam-induced sediment reduction occurs in large and small rivers worldwide, having profound implications on the fluvial systems. However, the systematic change of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and its dynamic processes are not well known, and generally investigated only at the very local scale using field information. In this work, SSC maps were created by combining satellite images with local monitoring SSC data, using the Zhijiang -Chenglingji reach of the Changjiang River (China) as a case study, and analyzing how SSC dynamics changed over the period 2017-2022 in correspondence of extreme events. Multiple relationships between measured SSC and bands reflectance were tested, showing the potential of the best-performing one (R2=0.43) in mapping SSC spatiotemporal variations over an extent of dozens of kilometres, eventually providing new insights into the SSC dynamics at hotspots of the river systems, such as confluence zones, barriers, and reservoirs.

This paper presented a two-dimensional, well-balanced hydrodynamic and sediment transport model based on the solutions of variable density shallow water equations (VDSWEs) for sediment-laden flows, and the Exner equation for bed changes. Those equations are solved in a coupled way by the first-order Godunov-type finite volume method. The Harten-Lax-van Leer-Contact (HLLC) Riemann solver is extended to find the local Riemann fluxes in order to maintain the exact balance between the momentum term and the bed slope term. The advantage of a well-balanced scheme over an unbalanced scheme is demonstrated by the synthetic standing contact-discontinuity test case. Then, the model is employed to simulate two laboratory experiments. At last, a field case, the 1996 Lake Ha! Ha! flood event (Canada), is simulated. Results of cross sectional geometries and profiles of longitudinal thalweg agree well with measurements. The accuracy and simplicity of the numerical model, together with the robust implementation, make the model a good candidate for practical engineering applications.

This study presents results of the sediment yield Watershed of Ribeirão do Pinhal, in the city of Limeira, São Paulo, conducted under three different scenarios of the land use: 1 – land use in 2008, 2 – with reforested protection areas, 3 – the increase sugarcane's areas over grassland and citrus areas. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used as a hydro-sedimentological modeling tool to simulate these scenarios. This watershed was divided into five sub-watersheds according to the prevalent use, and adjustments were made in soils database parameters and cultures that are in SWAT, to adapt it to the Brazilian reality. Was used climatological data of eight years (2007-2014) for this modeling. Different sediment yield could be noted in the different types of land use, sub-watersheds and scenarios. The uses that presented higher sediment yield, in ascending order, were: natural vegetation, sugarcane, citrus, annual crop e grassland. Sub-watershed number 2 had the highest sediment yield (~10Mg.ha^-1), while the sub-watershed 5, the lowest (5.51Mg.ha^-1). This remained in the three scenarios. Overall, scenario 2 had the lowest sediment yield (7.74Mg.ha^-1). Scenario 1 had 8.37 Mg.ha^-1 and scenario 3, 8.58Mg.ha^-1. SWAT was considered efficient to simulate the sediment yield by scenarios and by use, combining different thematic and tabular data when performing the necessary adjustments on their original database.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are soil microorganisms that provide various benefits, such as increasing soil fertility and enhancing plant growth. The present study aimed to propagate arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spores in trap plants. Soil sampling was carried out in October 2021 on five coffee farms in the central area of Veracruz, Mexico. Soil from coffee plantations and sterile sand were mixed in pots and used for the propagation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and Sorghum vulgare was used as a trap plant. The plants were kept in a greenhouse for 120 days. The abundance of spores in the sorghum trap plants increased significantly (p

Context and aim: Environmental awareness is the first step to climate change risk perceptions and environmental behaviour. However, this pathway is not always possible within different population segments and trust contexts. This study explores the conditional effect of trust on environmental behaviour in the Zed Generation in Albania. The consideration of the Zed generation due to two opposing traits, such as social courage and anti-social, make them an interesting topic to understand, especially for their importance in online communities. Method: The youth engagement environmental programme and the climate change risk perceptions framework are adopted in an input-output design. Environmental awareness (input) is the initiating factor, and climate change risk perception and community engagement as mediators of environmental behaviour(output). Individual and institutional trust is the moderating factor that inhibits/enhances engagement and environmental behaviour. Results: The moderation-mediation show that climate change risk perceptions did not mediate environmental behaviour. Environmental awareness directly affects it. However, low institutional trust inhibits the general trust that, in turn, lowers the impact of awareness in climate change perceptions and community engagement toward environmental protection. Practical recommendation: The application of the input-output model shows that the pathway that directly affects environmental behaviour among Zed Generation in Albania is not Climate change risk perception. In low-trust contexts, positive environmental behaviour can be generated through community engagement. Policymakers and educational programmes in low-middle-income countries might consider community engagement to mitigate trust issues and effectively deal with environmental problems with a global segment such as the Zed generation.

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a haematological neoplasm driven by the BCR/ABL fusion oncogene. The monogenic aspect of the disease and the feasibility of ex vivo therapies in haematological disorders make CML an excellent candidate for gene therapy strategies. The ability to abolish any coding sequence by CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases offers a powerful therapeutic opportunity to CML patients. However, a definitive cure can only be achieved when only CRISPR-edited cells are selected. A gene-trapping approach combined with CRISPR technology would be an ideal approach to ensure this. Here, we have developed a CRISPR-Trap strategy that efficiently inserts a donor gene trap (SA-CMV-Venus) cassette into the BCR-ABL1-specific fusion point in the CML K562 human cell line. The trapping cassette interrupts the on-cogene coding sequence and expresses a reporter gene that enables the selection of edited cells. Quantitative expression analyses showed significantly higher level of expression of the BCR-Venus allele coupled with a drastically lower level of BCR/ABL expression in Venus+ cell fractions. Functional in vitro experiments showed cell proliferation arrest and apoptosis in selected Venus+ cells. Finally, xenograft experiments with the selected Venus+ cells showed a large reduction in tumour growth, thereby demonstrating a therapeutic benefit in vivo. This study is a proof of concept for the therapeutic potential of a CRISPR-Trap system as a novel strategy for gene elimination in haematological neoplasms.

Air sampling using vortex air samplers combined with species specific amplification of pathogen DNA, was carried out over two years in four or five locations in the Salinas Valley of California. The resulting time series data for the abundance of pathogen DNA trapped per day displayed complex dynamics with features of both deterministic (chaotic) and stochastic dynamics. Methods of nonlinear time series analysis developed for the reconstruction of low dimensional attractors provided new insights into the complexity of the pathogen abundance data, but also indicated that practicality may limit the capacity for definitively classifying the dynamics of air borne plant pathogen inoculum. Over the two years of the study five location/year combinations were classified as having stochastic linear dynamics and four were not. Calculation of entropy values for either the number of pathogen DNA copies or for a binary string indicating the pathogen abundance data were increasing or not, revealed (1) some robust differences in the dynamics between seasons that were not obvious in the time series data themselves, and also (2) that the series were almost all at their theoretical maximum entropy value when considered from the simple perspective of whether instantaneous change along the sequence is positive or not.

The intrinsic non-linearity and complexity of suspended sediment dynamics, which are impacted by the geographical variability of basin parameters and temporal climatic patterns, make it difficult to estimate suspended sediment concentration (SSC) accurately in hydrological processes. Deep neural networks (DNNs), a cutting-edge modeling method that can capture the innate non-linearity in hydrological systems, have emerged as a solution to this problem. Using primary data on discharge, SSC, and turbidity, the long short-term memory method of DNNs was employed in this study to simulate the discharge-suspended sediment connection for the Esopus Creek, NY, USA as the first objective. To develop effective modeling strategies, multiple scenarios of feature selection, including combinations of discharge, turbidity and SSC for preceding days, were considered. Secondly, the variations in SSC and discharge between the three USGS gages along Esopus Creek that were upper stream, lower stream, and downstream, adjacent to the pourpoint were analyzed. Statistical metrics and scenarios of feature importance were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the DNN-based models. The study shows that among 24 DNN approaches feature selection is crucial in simulating the daily SSC, and discharge and presenting novel research directions for utilizing machine learning algorithms in water quality.

Soils provide important regulating ecosystem services and have crucial implications for human well-being and environmental conservation. However, soil degradation and particularly soil erosion jeopardize the maintenance and existence of these services. This study explores the spatio-temporal relationships of soil erosion to understand the distribution patterns of sediment retention services in mainland Portugal. Based on Corine Land Cover maps from 1990 to 2018, the InVEST Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) model was used to evaluate the influence of sediment dynamics for soil and water conservation. Spatial differences in the sediment retention levels were observed within the NUTS III boundaries, showing which areas are more vulnerable to soil erosion processes. Results indicated that the Region of Leiria, Douro and the coastal regions have decreased importantly sediment retention capacity over the years. However, in most of the territory (77.52%) changes in sediment retention were little or not important (i.e., less than 5%). The statistical validation of the model proved the consistency of the results, highlighting the usefulness of this methodology to analyse the state of soil erosion in the country. These findings can be relevant to support strategies for more efficient land use planning regarding soil erosion mitigation practices.

This study is part of a project designed to simulate the long-term landform equilibrium of a rehabilitated mine site. The project utilizes event fine suspended sediment (FSS) fluxes in a receiving stream following a rainfall event as an indicator of landform stability. The aim of this study was to use HEC-HMS to determine sediment and discharge quantity upstream to determine how it affects the downstream development of the catchment landform, in terms of sediment changes and geomorphology. Thus, the study focused on hydrology and sediment modelling of the upper catchment with HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Engineering Center-Hydrologic Modeling System) to determine daily discharge and sediment output at the catchment outlet. HEC-HMS was used to calibrate the stream discharge and FSS quantities at the catchment outlet to observed continuous discharge and FSS values. Calibration of the HEC-HMS model was done for two water years and then the same model parameters were used to validate the model for a third water year. Catchment discharge and FSS were calibrated and validated for continuous rainfall events against observed discharge and FSS data at the catchment outlet. The model was then run for a projected rainfall of 50 years. The denudation rate predicted by the model falls in the range previously determined for the region. The simulated sediment output was compared to the rainfall trends over the years. As a result, the sediment spikes following a rainfall-runoff event gradually decreased over time. Reducing FSS spikes indicate that the landform gradually attains stability. This modeling study can be used for long-term simulations to determine erosion equilibrium over the years and to quantify sediment yield in catchments for projected wet and dry rainfall scenarios.

Surveillance is the systematic data collection, analysis, and interpretation essential to planning and implementing control activities. The lack of success in control and surveillance elsewhere for the Ae. aegypti mosquito demands developing new accessible and effective strategies. This work aimed to develop and evaluate an adhesive and lure trap for household indoor and outdoor surveillance of Ae. aegypti. Based on a bibliographic review, four compounds with significant attraction percentages for Ae. aegypti were considered. Our more effective blend was determined by preliminary bioassays using the high-throughput screening system (HITSS) and 90 × 90 cm mosquito cages. We designed a low-cost, pyramid-shaped, sticky cardboard trap to incorporate the selected blend. Semi-field 2 x 2 m cages and field tests were conducted to evaluate its effectiveness through mosquito capture percentages. In laboratory tests, blend number 2 presented an attraction percentage of 47.5 ± 4.8%; while in semi-field cages, a 4-inch, 110-v powered fan was used to disperse the attractants, then a similar capture percentage of 43.2 ± 4.0 % was recorded. Field evaluation of the at-house indoor environment and comparing it with the golden standard BG-Sentinel trap recorded interesting results, i.e., an average of our prototype 6.0 ± 1.5 trapped mosquitoes versus 10.0 ± 2.6. In most Latin American countries, there is a lack of formal and accessible strategies for monitoring adult populations of Ae. aegypti, therefore, must develop tools that reinforce entomological surveillance methods.

Underpinned by the research works on private returns on education in developing nations that have found a positive correlation between earning and subsequent level of schooling, this paper presents a concept of an investment policy which will help the impoverished children in becoming economically successful through systematic funding of their educational needs with an obligation of interest adjusted returns.

The objective of the research was to evaluate the concentration of organochlorine pesticides in sediment of the Alvarado Veracruz lagoon system, Mexico. To define the risk that causes to the public health the consumption of organisms that inhabit in sediments of this ecosystem. In 20 out of 41 stations analyzed, 11 prohibited organochlorine pesticides were identified, such as hexachlorocyclohexane, lindane, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, among others. The highest concentrations were: aldrin 46.05; β-HCH 42.11; α-HCH 38.44; γ-HCH (lindane) 34.20; δ-HCH 31.61; methoxychlor 29.40; heptachlor epoxide 25.70; heptachlor 24.11; dieldrin 22.13; endrin 21.23; and endrin aldehyde 12.40 ng g-1. Concentrations reported are prohibited in international standards. In Mexico it is necessary to establish permissible limits in the environmental legislation for this matrix. There is a strong need to demonstrate, with scientific studies, the level of concentration reported by impact of compounds widely used in agricultural-livestock activities.

The number of fishers working on commercial fishing vessels worldwide is approximately 159,800 according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The International Labour Organization estimates that the mean annual number of deaths during fishing is approximately 24,000. Most guidelines for the prevention of marine accidents have been developed with a focus on vessels involved in international navigation. As these guidelines may have parts that are unsuitable for application in small-scale boats operating in coastal areas, appropriate modifications are required. This study analyzed quantitative data on 1,790 marine accidents that occurred in trap fishery, a globally common type of fishery, and data obtained through a survey of 101 fishers in South Korea. A guideline to reduce the rate of fatal accidents was developed using the Bayesian network, a method used for the analysis of accidents, as suggested in the formal safety assessment protocol. The results of data analysis and the developed guidelines are expected to be beneficial to all fishers involved in trap fishery across many countries worldwide.

The Rupat Strait, a part of the Malacca Strait, is recognized as semi-closed waters and shows a high activity; thus, discovering the transport sediment mechanism of the strait as a consequence of ambient and anthropogenic forces is essential. Hydrodynamic and sediment transport modelling was constructed using the 2-Dimensional Explicit method which is averaged over depth. The results show that the dispersion of sediment at high tide is longer than that at low tide. This follows the hydrodynamic model in which current velocity at high tide is greater than the ocean current at the low tide. The previous sediment observation supports the results of transport sediment modelling, indicating that the anthropogenic factors are highly associated with the sedimentation in the Rupat strait

Reservoirs are characterized by accumulation of sediments where micropollutants may concentrate, with potential toxic effects on downstream river ecosystems. However, sediment management such as flushing is needed to maintain storage capacity. Climate change is expected to increase sediment loads, but potential effects on their quality are scarcely known. In this context, sediment contamination by trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) and organics (PAHs, PCBs, C>12) was analyzed in 20 reservoirs located in Italian Central Alps. A strong As and a moderate Cd, Hg and Pb enrichment was emphasized by Igeo, with potential ecotoxicological risk according to PEC quotients. Siltation, granulometry, total organic carbon (TOC) and altitude resulted as the main drivers governing pollutant concentrations in sediments. According to climate change models, expected increase of rainfall erosivity will enhance soil erosion and consequently the sediment flow to reservoirs, potentially increasing coarse grain fractions and thus potentially diluting pollutants. Conversely, increased weathering may enhance metal fluxes to reservoirs. Increased vegetation cover will potentially result in higher TOC concentrations, which may contrast contaminant bioavailability and thus toxicity. Our results may provide elements for a proper management of contaminated sediments in a climate change scenario aiming at preserving water quality and ecosystem functioning.

The dynamics of suspended sediment involves inherent non-linearity and complexity as a result of the presence of both spatial variability of the basin characteristics and temporal climatic patterns. As a result of this complexity, the conventional sediment rating curve (SRC) and other empirical methods produce inaccurate predictions. Deep neural networks (DNNs) have emerged as one of the advanced modeling techniques capable of addressing inherent non-linearity in hydrological processes over the last few decades. DNN algorithms are used to perform predictive analysis and investigate the interdependencies among the most pivotal water quantity and quality parameters i.e., discharge, suspended sediment concentration (SSC), and turbidity. In this study, the Long short-term memory (LSTM) algorithm of DNNs is used to model the discharge-suspended sediment relationship for the Stony Clove Creek. The simulations were run using primary data on discharge, SSC and turbidity. For the development of the DNN models and examining the effects of input vectors, combinations of different input vectors (namely discharge, and SSC) for the current and previous days are considered. Furthermore, a suitable modelling approach with an appropriate model input structure is suggested based on model performance indices for the training and testing phases. The performance of developed models is assessed using statistical indices such as root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and coefficient of determination (R2). Statistically, the performance of DNN-based models in simulating the daily SSC performed well with observed sediment concentration series data. The study demonstrates the suitability of the DNN approach for simulation and estimation of daily SSC, opening up new research avenues for applying hybrid soft computing models in hydrology.

Sediment transport is highly sensitive to flow conditions, showing significant increase during flood events. Based on this principle, this study set out to rank flood events occurring along river Trotuș (Romania) based on the amount of transported sediment and event duration. The 77 flood events recorded from 2000 to 2017 were ranked into 4 classes: type A (4%); type B (16%), type C (14%) and type D (66%). The sediment transport specific for the 4 types of flood events was related to the flow discharge (sediment rating curve and hysteresis effect), the specific stream power and the energy expenditure of these events. More than 60% of the hysteresis loops typical for flood events were clockwise, thus singling out the channel as the main sediment source. Ca. 74% of the total sediment yield was transported at stream power values higher than the 300 Wm-2 threshold, which was exceeded in less than 1% of the investigated timeframe. The changes occurring in the sediment transport rates after major floods show that these events are significant thresholds in the hydrogeomorphic evolution of river channels.

The impact of ponds on basins has recently started to receive its well–deserved scientific attention. In this study, pond–induced impacts on soil erosion and sediment transport were investigated at the scale of the French Claise basin. In order to determine erosion and sediment transport patterns under current conditions, the CORINE erosion and SWAT models were used. The impact of ponds on the studied processes was revealed by means of land cover change scenarios, using ponded versus pondless inputs. Results show that under current conditions (pond presence), 12.48% of the basin corresponds to no–erosion risk zones (attributed to the dense pond network), while 65.66% corresponds to low–erosion risk, 21.68% to moderate–erosion risk and only 0.18% to high–erosion risk zones. The SWAT model revealed that ponded sub–basins correspond to low sediment yields areas, in contrast to the pondless sub–basins, which yield appreciably higher erosion rates. Under the alternative scenario, erosion risks shifted to 1.12%, 0.52%, 76.8% and 21.56% for no, low, moderate and high–erosion risks, respectively, while the sediment transport pattern of the Claise completely shifted to higher sediment yield zones. This approach solidifies ponds as powerful man–induced modifications to hydro/sedimentary processes.

Lake Rawa Besar is an urban lake surrounded by dense settlements and market area. Currently Lake Rawa Besar is experiencing physical and ecology strain. This research’s objectives are to determine the levels of sediment and nutrient, the distribution, also the relation to land use and human activities producing pollutant. Field surveys with 30 sample points and observations was needed scattered within the lake. Measuring the value of each parameter is carried out in national standardized laboratory. The result shows that sediment load of TDS is still below the standard limit for clean water, while TSS levels in the middle of lake exceed the standard limit. Nutrient loads, spesifically nitrate and phospate levels is below the standard limit. While turbidity and BOD levels have a uniform distribution pattern in the lake, exceed the standard limit for clean water, and have a positive correlation. High levels of turbidity and BOD are caused by household waste and human activities producing organic waste such as tofu factory, fowl manure, and garbage dump. Small sewage goes into the lake mediates pollutants inflow. Attention is needed by nearby people, also for the government, to sustain the ecological condition of the lake.

For the purpose of clean energy hydropower development, the construction of reservoirs has been continuously promoted in the Jinsha River basin for many years, and how the reservoirs affect the water and sediment process is a very necessary topic to study. This study is based on the gauged water and sediment data (span from the 1960’s to 2020) at Shigu, Panzhihua, and Xiangjiaba stations downstream located in the trunk channel of the river, and uses Mann-Kendall trend test method and double cumulative curve method to comprehensively judge the variation trends of runoff and suspended sediment load and reveal their credible mutation years. The linear regression method is used to reveal the variation characteristics of the relationship between water and sediment before and after the abrupt change years. The results show that the variations in runoff at Shigu and Panzhihua stations have significant and relatively obvious increasing trends, respectively, and that at Panzhihua station has a mutation year of 1985. The runoff at Xiangjiaba Station slightly increased but not significantly. The variation of suspended sediment load showed a temporal and spatial differentiation. The variation of sediment discharge at Shigu Station showed an increasing trend with a mutation year of 1997. For Panzhihua Station, it showed an increasing trend before 1998, but has significantly decreased since 1998. The fluctuation of sediment transport at Xiangjiaba Station was significant before 1998, but the trend is unclear. In the period of 1998−2020, it showed a significant decreasing trend, especially since 2013, when the mean annual suspended sediment load only accounted for 0.61% of its multi-year average. The variations of mean annual sediment concentration and sediment inflow coefficient at the hydrological stations is consistent with the variation trend of sediment transport. Before 2013, the correlation between water and sediment was strong, but thereafter it was extremely weak. The two sudden years of 1998 and 2013 are consistent with the year when large reservoirs were built in the river basin. The construction of large reservoirs and their large amount of sediment retention are the key reasons for the sudden changes in the water-sediment relationship and the sharp decrease in sediment transport in the downstream reach of the reservoir dam. The climate and underlying surface changes in the study area are not significant, and their impact on the water and sediment processes in the watershed is limited.

This paper introduces a three-layer system, proposing a comprehensive model of granular mixture transport over a mobile sloped bed in a steady flow. This system, consisting of the bottom, contact and upper zones, provides complete, continuous sediment velocity and concentration vertical profiles. The model considers gravity’s effect on sediment transport in the bottom (dense) layer, a crucial factor often overlooked in previous studies. The induced movement in the mobile sublayer of the dense layer causes an increase in velocity at the upper boundary of this layer, significantly affecting the vertical distributions of velocity and concentration above this layer. We described the interactions between fractions and an intensive sediment mixing and sorting process in the contact layer. The proposed shear variation, with an increase in its maximum value at the bed, adds to the novelty of our approach. The data sets used for the model’s validation cover various conditions, including slopes, grain diameters, densities and grain mobility conditions, from incipient motion to a fully mobilised bed. This extensive validation process instils confidence in the theoretical description and its applicability to real-world scenarios.

A three-dimensional, unstructured grid, hydrodynamic and suspended-sediment transport model (i.e., SELFE-SED) was developed to simulate temporal and spatial variations of suspended sediment and was applied to the subtropical subalpine Tsuei-Feng Lake (TFL) of Taiwan. The model was validated with measured water level and suspended‑sediment concentration in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The overall model simulation results are in quantitative agreement with the observational data. The validated model was then applied to explore the most important parameter that affects the suspended-sediment concentration and to investigate the effect of wind stress on the mean current and suspended‑sediment distribution in this shallow lake. Modeling results of sensitivity analysis reveal that the settling velocity is a crucial parameter and erosion rate is less important in the suspended-sediment transport model. Remarkable lake circulation was found based on the strength of wind speed and wind direction. Strong wind would result in higher mean current in the top layer and suspended-sediment distribution in the top and bottom layers. This study demonstrated that the wind stress played a significant influence on mean circulation and suspended-sediment transport in a shallow lake.

This study presents a comprehensive ecological evaluation of avian species based on 5,322 photographs obtained through camera-trap sampling. We identified 1,427 independent bird sightings, encompassing 26 families and 49 species. The study focused on temporal activity patterns, nesting behaviors, habitat preferences, and the overlap coefficient of activity patterns among 22 species of Passeriformes. Two species exhibited predominant morning activity, while five species were active in the afternoon, and 15 exhibited cathemeral activity (activity throughout the day). A cross-analysis revealed varying degrees of overlap in the activity patterns of pairs of species with similar behavioral ecology. Our findings indicate that despite exhibiting similar ecological behavior, these species display unique activity patterns, likely influenced by factors such as resource availability, competition avoidance, and thermoregulation strategies. The results highlight the richness and complexity of avian temporal niches and emphasize the need for further research into their correlation with environmental factors. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of niche separation within Passeriformes and expands our knowledge of avian behavioral ecology.

Microplastics are a fast emerging group of contaminants. Their worldwide occurrence in water, sediment, and aquatic fauna raises questions and concerns as to their probable effects on aquatic life and ecology. This study investigates for the first time presence, abundance, and types of microplastics in water and sediment from a lagoon bordering the large urban agglomeration of Lagos in Nigeria, and renders additional information about grain size and sediment composition. Water and sediment samples were collected from four locations in the Lagos lagoon and a tributary. The abundance and distribution of microplastics in four range classes were determined for the sampled locations. Plastic particles were counted using digital microscopy, and identified with FTIR and pyrolysis GC-MS. The abundance of microplastics ranged from 310-2319 microplastic particles/kg in sediment, and 139-303 particles/m³ in water. The large discrepancy in the sediments can be explained by sediment characteristics as more microplastics were detected in the fine-grained sediments of Makoko. Fibres were the predominant shape found in all samples followed by fragments and few films whereas spheres were missing. Fibres were more abundant in water (92.6 %) than in sediments (32.5 %) while more fragments and foils occurred in sediments. The most commonly used polymers polypropylene and polyethylene were also the most detected ones in both matrices. Compared to other studies in Nigeria, our findings especially in the coarser sediments were lower while the fine-grained site revealed similar results.

Densimetric Froude (Fr) is the minimum velocity required to prevent sediment deposition in pipes. Prediction of Fr is of utmost importance in numerous applications in civil engineering. In this paper through using a new hybrid method. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used for optimum selection of membership functions of Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method is used to compute the linear parameters of ANFIS’s results section (ANFIS-GA/SVD). Also, two different target functions are known as training error (TE) and prediction error (PE) by Pareto curve, the trade-off between these functions is selected as the optimal modeling point. First, different models will be presented using the parameters affecting Fr prediction, classifying them in different groups; then the Fr parameter will be predicted for all the different models through utilizing three different sets of data and the ANFIS-GA/SVD technique. The results of the models indicate that the best Fr prediction is obtained when independent parameters such as volumetric sediment concentration (CV), ratio of median diameter of particle size to pipe diameter (d/D), ratio of median diameter of particle size to hydraulic radius (d/R) and overall friction factor of sediment (λs) use as input variables in prediction of Fr. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted for the purpose of examining the effect of each of the dimensionless parameters on Fr prediction accuracy. Comparing the results of the suggested models with the existing regression-based equations shows that ANFIS-GA/SVD (R²=0.986, MAPE=4.397, RMSE=0.206, SI=0.053, ρ=0.026, BIAS=-0.025) is more accurate than the rest of the models.

Heavy metal contamination is listed among the most alarming threats to the environment and human health. The detrimental effects of heavy metals in the natural environment span from a reduction of biodiversity to toxic effects on marine life - through microplastic born heavy metals -, to impairment of microbial activity in the soil, and to detrimental effects on animal reproduction. A host of different chemical and biological technologies have been proposed to alleviate environmental contamination by heavy metals. Relatively less attention has been paid to the microbial precipitation of heavy metals, as a side mechanism of the most general process of microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP). This process is currently receiving a great deal of interest from both a theoretical and practical standpoint, because of its possible practical applications in concrete healing and soil consolidation, and its importance in the more general framework of microbial induced mineral precipitation. In this study, we analyse the ability of the marine bacteria Vibrio harveyi in co-precipitating CaCO3 minerals, together with Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn added in form of nitrates, from solutions containing CaCl2. The precipitated carbonatic minerals were a function of the different heavy metals present in the solution. The process of co-precipitation appears to be rather effective and fast, as the concentrations of the 4 heavy metals were reduced in 2 days by 97.2%, on average, in the solutions.

Globally,coastal regions are vital areas of human activities and, as such, are centres of population growth and urban and economic development. Long-term human development has had a major impact on the ecological environment of coastal zones. Therefore, exploring the distribution and provenance of marine sediment types in coastal areas heavily influenced by human activities can provide scientific evidence and references for the current and future ecological management of these sensitive environments. For this reason, we have conducted an analysis on the sediment grain size, Endmember, organic matter content and geochemical elements in the Lu’erhuan River‒Malan Island‒Sandun Island area in the eastern part of Qinzhou Bay, a region heavily influenced by human activities. Sediment grain size clearly differs throughout the study site and the material provenances and hydrodynamic conditions are also varied, likely due to the local environmental conditions and the significant impact human activities have had on the area. The finest-grained sediment is imported from either inland or coastal areas via rivers and weak tidal currents, the next finest component is input from coastal areas through weak tidal currents, and the moderately coarse component mainly originates from nearby beaches. The two coarsest-grained sediment components are influenced by the combination of human activities, tidal currents and waves and enter the water via erosion. Organic matter provenance resembles that of the sediment components, exhibiting varied characteristics. This is due to the combination of natural and human activities in the bay. The organic matter in the upper reaches of the Lu’erhuan River originates from the river and coastal paddy fields, with obvious terrigenous characteristics; the organic matter in northern Malan Island mainly comes from external sources related to oyster farming; while organic matter in eastern Sandun Island is mainly produced endogenously by marine plankton. Al, Ti, Fe, Mg, K, Ga and other elements indicate that terrestrial sediments are significantly disturbed by human activities. However，Mn reflects the marine distribution of terrestrial sediments from the Lu’erhuan River to Jishuimen. Ca and Sr, indicators of marine sediments, are distributed in the eastern offshore area of Sandun Island, which is connected to the open waters. Due to the influence of human activities, As and Cd are highly enriched in the study area, while Cu is less affected by human activities.

In the aftermath of pyroclastic-flow –dominated eruptions, lahars are the main geomorphic agent, but at the decadal scale, different sets of processes take place in the volcanic sediment cascade. At Unzen Volcano, in the Gokurakudani Gully we investigated the geomorphologic evolution and how the topographic change and the sediment change over time is controlling this transition. For this purpose, a combination of LiDAR data, aerial photography and photogrammetry, Ground Penetrating Radar and sediment grain-size analysis was done. The results show chocking zones and zones of enlargement of the gully, partly controlled by pre-eruption topography, but also by the overlapping patterns of the pyroclastic flow deposits of 1990 – 1995. The Ground Penetrating Radar revealed that on top of the typical lahar structure at the bottom of the gully, side-wall collapses were trapping finer sandy sediments formed in relatively low-energy deposition environment. This shows that secondary processes are taking place in the sediment transport process, on top of lahar activity, but also that these temporary dams may be a source of sudden sediment and water release, leading to lahars. Finally, the sediments from the gully walls are being preferentially oozed out of the pyroclastic-flow deposit, meaning that over longer period of time, there may be a lack of fines, increasing permeability and reducing internal pore-pressure needed for lahar triggering. It also poses the important question of how much of a past-event one can understand from outcrops in coarse heterometric material, as the deposit structure can remain, even after loosing part of its fine material.

Study of gross alpha (GA) and gross beta (GB) activity in road and surface deposited sediments were performed in various geographical areas in three Russian cities. To perform radiation measurements, new methods were applied which allow dealing with low mass and low volume dust size (2-100μm) samples obtained after the size fractionation procedure. The 2-10 μm fraction size has the highest gross beta activity concentration (GB)– 1.32Bq/g in Nizhny Novgorod (NN) and Rostov-On-Don (RND) while the 50-100 μm fraction size in Ekaterinburg. This is maybe associated with the subsistence of radionuclides that conveyed through natural processes and anthropogenic applications. The highest gross alpha activity concentration (GA) in fraction sizes was found in Rostov-on-Don city within the 50-100 μm– 0.22Bq/g. The fraction size 50-100 μmhas a higher gross alpha activity concentration than 2-10 and 10-50 μmfraction sizes due to natural partitioning of the main minerals constituting the urban surface deposited sediment (USDS). The geochemical processes that occur during the formation and transportation of USDS are reflected in the observed dependencies.Developed experimental methods of radiation measurements allowed to the extent the methodological base of urban geochemical studies.

The application of geophysical methods for the characterization of geomorphologic subsurface features has become very popular in recent years. Convential geophysical applications on undifferentiated and weathered slopes have been less effective. Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) is a new hope for the solution of the problem. MASW methods was used to the first step in order to reconstruct the ancient eruption of Mount Samalas. MASW was applied to the remnants of ancient volcanic sediment on Lombok Island to determine the physical and physical characteristics of seismic subsurface features. This paper is also discussion the application's capabilities of the MASW method on undifferentiated and weathered volcanic deposits on the slope area and classified them. The results of the research show that MASW technique is powerful in characterizing and delineating the stratum of the layers of undifferentiated and weathered volcanic precipitation areas. MASW is able to predict subsurface structures, especially for shallow and thin layers and presenting site class information for internal structure (vertical resolution). Based on S wave velocity structure, undifferentiated and weathered volcanic layer, genes are classified into site class C, D, and E. In the future, this method will completed with combination of other geophysical method and parameters variation (frequency and spaces) for isopach mapping of volcanic sediment and then analysis of ancient volcanic eruption dynamics.

Endothall dipotassium salt and monoamine salt are herbicide formulations used for controlling submerged aquatic macrophytes and algae in aquatic ecosystems. Microbial activity is the primary degradation pathway for endothall. To better understand what influences endothall degradation, we conducted a mesocosm experiment to 1) evaluate the effects of different water and sediment sources on degradation, and 2) determine if degradation was faster in the presence of a microbial community previously exposed to endothall. Endothall residues were determined with LC-MS at intervals to 21 days after endothall application. Two endothall isomers were detected. Isomer-1 was abundant in both endothall formulations, while isomer-2 was only abundant in the monoamine endothall formulation and was more persistent. Degradation did not occur in the absence of sediment. In the presence of sediment degradation if isomer-1 began after a lag phase of 5-11 days and was almost complete by 14 days. Onset of degradation occurred 2-4 days sooner when the microbial population was previously exposed to endothall. We provide direct evidence that the presence and characteristics of sediment are of key importance in the degradation of endothall in an aquatic environment, and that monoamine endothall has two separate isomers that have different degradation characteristics.

This paper investigates the impact of sediment deposition and inflow conditions on horizontal impact pressure and frequency analysis of bridge deck vibrations during flooding. Flooding-induced pressure and vibrations contribute to bridge collapse, and sediment deposition influences water flow and impact pressure. The study explores the relationship between sediment deposition height and impact pressure, revealing a significant increase as sediment approaches 50% of bridge deck clearance. Sediment amplifies impact pressure response to flow velocity changes. The dimensionless sediment deposition height has a greater influence on impact pressure compared to the inflow Froude number. Two distinct frequencies, dominant and secondary, are identified for impact pressure and water level fluctuations. Dominant frequencies positively correlate with sediment deposition height and Froude number, indicating an increasing trend. Secondary frequencies remain stable (0.31-0.58 Hz). These findings enhance understanding of flow dynamics and bridge-flow interaction in sediment-deposited channels, providing theoretical support for evaluating and managing disasters related to bridges in such environments. Overall, this research contributes to the field of bridge engineering and supports improved design and maintenance practices for bridges exposed to sediment-deposited channels.

The detection of antibiotic-resistant facultative pathogenic bacteria in surface waters is common in the present day. However, there is limited understanding of the factors that influence the spread and stabilization of resistance in this habitat, particularly regarding the role of biofilms. Despite the perceived differences between sediments, biofilms, and open water, their potential contribution to the long-term maintenance of resistances remains unclear. In this study, we investigated Escherichia coli isolates obtained from the Mur and Drava rivers in Austria. Samples were collected from both the water column and sediment at two locations per river: upstream and downstream of an urban area, including a sewage treatment plant. The iso-lates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing against 21 antibiotics belonging to seven distinct classes. Additionally, any isolates exhibiting an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) or carbapenemase phenotype were further analyzed for the presence of specific antimi-crobial resistance genes. E. coli isolates obtained from the two rivers exhibited resistance to at least one of the tested anti-biotics, with rates of 25.83% and 23.66% respectively. The most prevalent antimicrobial re-sistances observed were towards ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, tetracycline, and na-lidixic acid. Surprisingly, there was a similar proportion of resistant bacteria observed in both open water and sediment samples, contrary to expectations. The difference in resistance levels between samples collected upstream and downstream of the cities was minimal. Out of the total isolates, 13 E. coli were found to carry ESBL genes with one isolate carrying the gene for KPC-2 carbapenemase. There were no significant differences between the biofilm (sediment) and open water samples in the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance. Even the difference between the samples upstream and downstream of the cities and their wastewater treatment plants was minor. There seems to be no evidence of a large adaptive effect in this analysed biofilm population of E. coli. The un-typical phenotype of the KPC-producing and some of the ESBL-producing E. coli from this study could, however, be an indication that such adaptation effects generally exist in water.

A conventional 2D numerical model is improved by incorporating three submodels to consider different effects of secondary flow and a module for cohesive sediment transport. The model is applied to a meandering reach of Yangtze River to investigate secondary flow effects on cohesive sediment deposition, and a preferable submodel is selected based on the flow simulation results. Sediment simulation results indicate that the improved model predictions are in better agreement with the measurements in planar distribution of deposition as the increased sediment deposits caused by secondary current on the convex bank have been well predicted. Secondary flow effects on predicted amount of deposition become more obvious during the period when the sediment load is low and velocity redistribution induced by the bed topography is evident. Such effects vary with the settling velocity and critical shear stress for deposition of cohesive sediment. The bed topography effects can be reflected by the secondary flow submodels.

This paper is about to estimate the suspended sediment transport amount in the streams flowing into the Sapanca Lake Basin. There are 12 subsidiary streams flowing into the Sapanca Lake Basin. With the aim of estimating the suspended sediment transport in 2012-204 in these subsidiary streams, measurements belonging the parameters such as level, cross sectioning, flow rate, temperature and suspended sediment were made monthly. Along the measurement period, weather conditions were above seasonal normal and precipitations decreased. In order to estimate the suspended sediment amount by using results of the measurement obtained, Artificial Neuron Network (ANN), Sediment Rating Curve (SRC) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) models were used for different scenarios. It was seen that artificial neuron networks yielded the most accurate results among the models.

The variation of river hydrologic process can not only reflect the impact of natural factors, but also the impact of human activities. The purpose of this study is to reveal the change trend of the hydrologic regime of the Yellow River and its response to ecological protection in the river basin. Based on the daily water and sediment observation data of representative gauging stations in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, it was analyzed the variation trend of the annual and monthly runoff and suspended sediment load (SSL), and monthly mean runoff, suspended sediment transport rate (SSTR), sediment inflow coefficient, and hydrological regime in decadal average of the gauging stations during the period 1960-2019. The results show that the variation of annual runoff and SSL, as well as the monthly mean runoff and SSTR in decadal average, has a significant decreasing trend in the 1960’s-1990’s, which was mainly in response to the gradual implementation of ecological protection measures such as afforestation, grass planting, terrace construction, and check dam construction, etc. in the basin. In 2000’s and 2010’s, the annual runoff increased, while the SSL increased slightly. This was a response to the implementation of new river management measures such as ensuring the ecological water demand of the lower reaches and scouring the riverbed by manually regulated clear water discharged from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir. In the same time, the monthly mean runoff and SSTR for the flood season (Jun.-Oct.) decreased remarkably, while the process curve of the monthly mean discharge and sediment concentration, changed from a clockwise loop to a counterclockwise loop in the river reach below the Xiaolangdi dam. This was a comprehensive response to the environmental protection measures in the Yellow River basin, in which the construction and operation of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir played a key role. This study can provide reference for river basin management.

The concentration of heavy metals in sediment is an important factor for assessing the quality of the nearshore environment. Geochemical background values are the normal concentrations of heavy metals in the natural environment. The use of different background values results in different evaluation results. Heavy metal (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, As, and Hg) concentration profiles along a sediment core were investigated to obtain background values and assess the depositional processes and contamination levels in Laizhou Bay. Apart from As and Hg, all other metals had similar distribution patterns and could be divided into four stages since marine isotope stage (MIS) 2. The results of the enrichment factor, geoaccumulation index, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Nemerow pollution index, principal component analysis, and potential ecological risk index showed that element enrichment or contamination in the core sediments was absent and that all heavy metals were mainly naturally sourced. The changes in heavy metals since MIS 2 in the core sediments were predominantly related to the sedimentary environment, sediment sources, and mean grain size. The average values of the heavy metals in the U2 unit formed during the Middle Holocene can be used as reference values for background values.

Urban stormwater runoff from a medium-density residential development in southeast Queensland has been monitored in the field since November 2013. A treatment train installed on the site includes rainwater tanks collecting roofwater, 200-micron mesh baskets installed in grated gully pits and two 850 mm high media filtration cartridges installed in an underground 4 m³ vault. A monitoring protocol developed by research partners, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), guided the monitoring process over a 4.5-year period. Heavy metals were included in the list of analytes during the monitoring period as the catchment is within 1 km of the environmentally-sensitive Moreton Bay, Queensland. Removal efficiencies observed at this site for the regulated pollutants; total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) for the pit baskets were 61%, 28% and 45% respectively. The cartridge filters removed 78% TSS, 59% TP, 42% TN, 40% total copper and 51% total zinc. As the measured influent concentrations to the cartridge filters were low when compared to industry guidelines, the dataset was merged with international field results for TSS (n=39) and TP (n=32) but truncated within anticipated guideline levels. The combined dataset for the media filter demonstrates performance at 89% TSS, 66% TP and 42% TN. The total gross pollutant generation rate from the medium-density residential catchment was observed to be 0.24 m³/Ha/year, with a corresponding air-dried mass of 142.5 kg/Ha/year. Less than 2% of the gross pollutant mass was anthropogenic. The findings of this research suggest that the treatment train, and in particular the media filter, holds promise for the removal of total copper and total zinc, in addition to TSS, TP and TN, from urban stormwater runoff. Based on a maximum, low risk trigger TN concentration of 1.5 mg/L, the field test data from 4.5 years of operation and standard maintenance, suggests a 5.5-year replacement interval for the media filters.

The Kashmir valley is prone to flooding due to its peculiar geomorphic setup compounded by the rapid anthropogenic land system changes and climate change. The study assesses the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes between 1980 and 2020 and extreme rainfall on peak discharge and sediment yield in the Upper Jhelum Basin (UJB), Kashmir Himalaya, India using KINEROS2 model. Analysis of LULC change revealed a notable shift from natural LULC to more intensive human-modified LULC, including a decrease in vegetative cover, deforestation, urbanization, and improper farming practices. The findings revealed a strong influence of the LULC changes on peak discharge, and sediment yield relative to the 2014 timeframe, which coincided with the catastrophic September 2014 flood event. The model predicted a peak discharge of 115101 cubic feet per second (cfs) and a sediment yield of 56.59 tons/ha during the September 2014 flooding, which is very close to the observed peak discharge of 115218 cfs indicating that the model is reliable for discharge prediction. The model predicted a peak discharge of 98965 cfs and a sediment yield of 49.11 tons/ha in 1980, which increased to 118366 cfs and, 58.92 tons/ha respectively in 2020, showing an increase in basin’s flood risk over time. In the future, it is anticipated that the ongoing LULC changes will make flood vulnerability worse, which could lead to another major flooding in the event of an extreme rainfall as predicted under climate change and, in turn compromise achievement of sustainable development goals (SDG). Therefore, regulating LULC in order to modulate various hydrological and land surface processes would ensure stability of runoff and reduction in sediment yield in the UJB, which is critical for achieving many SDGs.

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.

This work proposes a methodological approach applied to ephemeral gravel-bed streams to verify the change in the magnitude and frequency of hydrological events affecting the morphological dynamics and sediment budget in this type of channel. For the case study the Azohía Rambla, located in southeastern Spain, was chosen, emphasizing the research on two reference riverbed sections (RCRs): an upper one, with a predominance of erosion, and a middle one, where processes of incision, transport, and deposition converge. First, this approach focuses on relationships between peak discharges and sediment budgets during the period 2018 to 2022. For this purpose, water level measurements from pressure sensors, a One-Dimensional Hydrodynamic model, and findings from comparative analyses of high-resolution differential digital elevation models (HRDEM of Difference - HRDoD) based on SfM-MVS and LiDAR datasets were used. In a second phase the GeoWEPP model was applied to the period 1996-2022 in order to simulate runoff and sediment yield at the event scale for the watersheds draining into both RCRs. During the calibration phase a sensitivity analysis was carried out to detect the most influential parameters in the model and to confirm its capacity to simulate peak flow and sediment delivery in the area described above. Values of NS (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency) and PBIAS (percent bias) equal to 0.86 and 7.81%, respectively, were found in the calibration period, while these indices were 0.81 and -4.1% in the validation period. Finally, different event class patterns (ECPs) were established for the monitoring period (2018-2022), according to flow stage and morphological channel adjustments (overtopping, bankfull and sub-bankfull, and half-sub-bankfull), and then retrospectively extrapolated to stages of the prior simulated period (1996-2018) from their typical sequences (PECPs). The results revealed a significant increase in the number of events and PECPs leading to lower bed incision rates and higher vertical accretion, which denotes a progressive increase in bed armoring and bank erosion processes.

The determination and classification of seafloor sediment types are crucial for the exploitation of marine resources, construction of marine engineering, and maintenance of marine ecological en-vironments. Automatic classification of seafloor sediment based on acoustic telemetry data is an important method to quickly understand the type of a large range of sediment. Currently, most studies on sediment classification are based on multi-beam backscattering intensity data, which is a relatively single data type. Besides, the low-dimensional details of standard U-Net gradually weaken in the propagation process, limiting the accuracy of sediment classification. Therefore, this study proposes an automatic classification method of seafloor sediment types based on an im-proved U-Net and K-means clustering algorithm, using multi-beam water depth, sub-bottom profile, and sample test data in the Northern Slope of the South China Sea. Six sediment types, including gravelly muddy sand, sand, silty sand, less muddy silt, muddy silt, and silty mud, were identified in the study area. Additionally, the study area was divided into four sedimentary en-vironment zones, including the shelf sedimentary area, the upper shelf slope break sedimentary area, the lower shelf slope break mixed sedimentary area, and the slope deposition area, based on the results of sediment classification and geological background. The sedimentary environment zones were found to be distributed along the trend of the shelf slope break line. The results of this study not only provide an important supplement to the existing classification methods of seafloor sediments but also contribute to the understanding of the sedimentary environment and process of the Northern Slope of the South China Sea.

Recent studies on seafloor mapping have presented different modelling methods for the automatic classification of seafloor sediments. However, most of these studies have applied these models to seafloor data with appropriate number of ground-truth samples, which raises the question whether these methods are applicable to studies with smaller numbers of ground-truth data. In this study, we aim to address this issue by conducting sediment class-specific predictions using ensemble modelling to map areas with limited or without ground-truth data and combined with hydro-acoustic datasets. The resulting class-specific maps were then assembled into one map, where the most probable class was assigned to the appropriate location. Our approach was able to predict sediment classes without bias to the class with more ground-truth data and produced reliable seafloor sediment distributions maps that can be used for seafloor monitoring. Sediment shifts of a heterogenous seafloor in the Sylt Outer Reef, German North Sea were also assessed to understand the sediment dynamics in the area. The analyses of sediment shifts showed that the western area of the Sylt Outer Reef is highly active, and the results of the analyses assisted in providing recommendations on future seafloor monitoring activities.

Sediment accumulation in a dam reservoir is a common happening environmental problem throughout the world. Topographic conditions, land use land cover change, the intensity of rainfall, and the soil characteristics are the major driving factors for sedimentation to occur. The effect of sedimentation in a dam reservoir is very visible in the watershed as a result of hilly topographic conditions, high rainfall intensity, thin land cover, and less soil infiltration capacity. In this paper, an integrated RUSLE and GIS technique was implemented to estimate a mean annual sediment yield based on spatial and temporal variations in Nashe dam reservoir situated in Fincha catchment, Abaya River basin, Ethiopia. Spatial and temporal estimation of mean annual sediment yield was estimated using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model and GIS. Historical 6-year (2014-2019) rainfall for the temporal variations and other physical factors such as soil erodibility, slope and length steepness, management and land used land cover, and support practice for spatial variations were used as sediment driving factors. The mean annual sediment yield ranges from 0 to 2712.65 t ha-1 year-1 was seen. Spatially, Very high, high, moderate, low, and very low sediment yield severity with total area coverage with 25%, 10%, 30%, 15%, and 20% in 2017, 2015, 2019, 2014, and 2018 respectively. The information about the spatial and temporal variations of the severity of sediment yield in RUSLE model has a paramount role to control the entry of sediment into the dam reservoir in this watershed. The results of the RUSLE model can also be further considered along with the watershed for planning strategies for dam reservoirs in the catchment.

The concept of ecosystem services (ESs) provides a valuable approach to communicate societies' dependence on natural ecosystems, assisting in the evaluation of measures to protect vegetation in watersheds that promote water-related ESs. Vegetation cover and land use are important factors related to the capacity of ecosystems to provide soil loss regulation and sediment retention services, which are highly relevant for sediment management in watersheds draining into reservoirs with multiple water uses. This study aims to assess the relationship between potential changes in land use and land cover and the sediment retention service provided by riparian vegetation in a watershed draining into a hydroelectric reservoir in the Brazilian Cerrado. Sediment load was selected as a physical variable that affects different water uses in reservoirs, with these uses being dependent on the quality or quantity of stored water. Scenarios were analyzed to represent landscape reconfigurations from a baseline condition in order to account for the recovery of riparian vegetation by the agricultural sector, as foreseen in the Brazilian Forest Code. To map and quantify variations in annual sediment retention, the InVEST model was used, which allows estimating an integrated response of the drainage basin to large-scale land use changes over time and space. The results show that for the drainage basin of the Corumbá IV Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), the recovery of riparian areas occupied by annual crops has the potential to generate greater benefits to water use in the reservoir. In the studied catchment area, 14% of the total vegetation deficit in riparian areas is occupied by crops, while 86% is occupied by pastures. This highlights the buffering role of riparian vegetation as an effective practice for managing sediment flows originating from sheet erosion in agricultural landscapes. The methodology employed in this study allows for the quantification and mapping of the effects of soil and water conservation measures in river basins. This enables the prioritization of sectoral efforts for the restoration of native vegetation, considering the highest returns in benefits perceived by water users affected by sediment input in reservoirs. The study's results reinforce the importance of conserving vegetation in riparian areas and their surroundings for sediment retention, highlighting the role of these areas as assets in providing water-related ecosystem services.

The PB Sudirman hydroelectric power plant, built in 1988, has fewer than 50 years of operational life. In contrast, the planned operating life for this dam is 50 years. This dam is experiencing intensive sedimentation, which results in siltation. Dredging efforts and catchment area management are conducted to extend the operational life of the dam. Therefore, technical and economic analysis of dredging activities and the potential benefits of dredged sediment is needed to determine the solution's effectiveness. We use the site survey method to conduct an environmental impact analysis and interviews with dam managers. The identification of the extent and distribution of erosion-sedimentation was carried out as part of the technical assessment. In the economic study, we calculate the dredging costs and profits from selling dredged sediments, mainly sand. The analysis results show that the dredging of deposits in the foreset slope area is not profitable. There are 17 areas of bank spoil that have economic benefits. This study concludes that the need for dredging costs on foreset slopes is higher than the profit from selling dredging sediments.

This study utilizes repeated geoacoustic mapping to quantify the morphodynamic response of the nearshore to storm-induced changes. The aim of this study was to quantitatively map the nearshore zone of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) to determine what changes in bottom sediments, benthic fauna and fish habitat are attributable to storm events including hurricane Sandy and the passage of hurricane Joaquin. Specifically, (1) the entire domain of the National Parks Service offshore area was mapped with side-scan sonar and multibeam bathymetry at a resolution comparable to that of the existing pre-storm survey, (2) a subset of the benthic stations were resampled that represented all sediment strata previously identified, and (3) newly obtained data were compared to that from the pre-storm survey to determined changes that could be attributed to specific storms such as Sandy and Joaquin. Capturing event specific dynamics requires rapid response surveys in close temporal association of the before and after period. The time-lapse between the pre-storm surveys for Sandy and our study meant that only a time and storm integrated signature for that storm could be obtained whereas with hurricane Joaquin we could identify impacts to the habitat type and geomorphology more directly related to that particular storm. This storm impacts study provides for the National Park Service direct documentation of storm-related changes in sediments and marine habitats on multiple scales: from large scale, side-scan sonar maps and interpretation of acoustic bottom types, to characterize as fully as possible habitats from 1 to 10 m up to many kilometer scales, as well as from point benthic samples within each sediment stratum and these results can help guide management of the island resources.

This review asks some hard questions about what the enigmatic graphoglyptid trace fossils are, documents some of their early fossil record from the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition and explores the idea that they may not have been fossils at all. Most researchers have considered the Graphoglyptida to have had a microbial-farming mode of life similar to that proposed for the fractal Ediacaran Rangeomorpha. This begs the question “What are the Graphoglyptida if not the Rangeomorpha persevering” and if so then “What if…?”. This provocative idea has at its roots some fundamental questions about how to distinguish burrows sensu-stricto from the external molds of endobenthic sediment displacive organisms.

The fluvial-lagoon-deltaic system of the Palizada river in Campeche is an ecosystem of socioeconomic and ecological importance. It is justifiable to carry out studies in this system, due to its connection with another larger ecosystem called Términos lagoon. The objective of this investigation was to analyze the concentration of Pb and Cd in sediments of the fluvial-lagoon-deltaic system of the Palizada river and to determine, with this, the contamination index of these metals. Cd presented the highest concentration in sampling sites and climatic seasons with respect to Pb, with a maximum value of 53.926 ± 5.045, while Pb was 10.421 ± 0.218 μg g-1. The same tendency was presented with pollution and geoaccumulation indexes, where the Cd index stands out. The enrichment of heavy metals was identified through the accumulation of Cd and Pb, such process was evaluated through the geoacumulation index (Igeo). The results of this indicated that these elements are contaminating with an anthropogenic origin mainly. This element represents a toxic risk for the Palizada system, due to its high toxicity even at low concentrations, as well as to evaluate the sublethal effects in organisms that inhabit this system and it requires the implementation of an integral monitoring.

Field and numerical investigations at Happisburgh, East coast of England, UK, sought to characterize beach thickness and determine geologic framework controls on coastal change. After a major failure of coastal protection infrastructure, removal of about 1 km of coastal defense along the otherwise protected cliffed coastline of Happisburgh triggered a period of rapid erosion over 20 years of ca. 140 m. Previous sensitivity studies suggested that that beach thickness plays a major role in coastal recession. These studies were limited, however, by a lack of beach volume data. In this study, we have integrated the insights gained from our understanding of the Quaternary geology of the area, a novel non-intrusive passive seismic survey method, and a 3D novel representation of the subsurface source and transportable material into a coastal modelling environment to explore the role of beach thickness on the back wearing and down wearing of the cliffs and consolidated platform, respectively. Results show that beach thickness is non-homogeneous along the study site: we estimate that the contribution to nearshore sediment budget via platform down wearing is of a similar order of magnitude as sediment lost from the beach and therefore non-negligible. We have provided a range of evidence to support the idea that the Happisburgh beach is a relatively thin layer perched on a sediment rich platform of sand and gravel. This conceptualization differs from previous publications, which assumes that the platform was mostly till and fine material. This has direct implication on the regional sediment management of along this coastline. The present study contributes to our understanding of a poorly known aspect of coastal sediment budgeting and outlines a quantitative approach that allows for simple integration of geological understanding for coastline evolution assessments worldwide.

Global climatic event on Middle Miocene triggered by geology activity is called by Mid- Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO). This event was widely distributed and associated with increasing temperature and CO2 content in the atmosphere. The effect of MMCO was widely known the mid-latitude region, but still limited information in low latitude sediments. This study try to perform the effect of MMCO at Cibulakan Formation in which deposited in the low latitude basin, Bogor Basin. Fifty eights samples from Cileungsi River were taken at Cibulakan Formation and quantitative nannoplankton analysis was carried out for this study. Nannoplankton shows the sensitive response with sea surface temperature changes. Increasing of total population nannoplankton indicates the rising of temperature and dropping temperature is marked by decreasing population. The effect of sea surface temperature changes relates with salinity changes as the effect of evaporation. Helicosphaera carteri and Umbilicosphaera jafari were counted to know the salinity trend at Cibulakan Formation. Sea surfaces temperature changes was observed on Early Miocene which was influenced by small scale Early Miocene glaciation and active tectonic during this period. Warming temperature taken place on Middle Miocene as the effect of warm and open sea during Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum. Afterwards, hot temperature continued on Late Miocene triggered by global increasing temperature at Pacific Ocean and widely distribution of clean water at North West Java Basin.

Abstract: rainfall is the main driver of soil erosion. With the daily rainfall, riverine flow discharge and sediment load in the upper Lianjiang River watershed from 1990 to 2020, extreme rainfall events were defined by the 95th percentile method and minimum event interval time (MIT), change trends and mutations of yearly rainfall, riverine flow discharge and sediment load were identified using the Mann-Kendall test, then the optimum lag response time and antecedent rainfall were investigated with the multiple linear regression. The results showed that (1) the sediment changed significantly and abruptly in 1995 due to the expansion of the garden land. (2) Compared with ordinary rainfall, extreme rainfall events explained more variations of riverine flow and sediment with a higher degree, and had a more significant effect on the lag time of runoff and sediment. (3) Garden land expansion in extreme rainfall scenarios resulted in longer lag times for runoff and sediment and decreased demand for antecedent rainfall with more pre-event time. Therefore, taking the rainfall event as a breakthrough, analyzing the antecedent rainfall and the lag response of riverine flow discharge and sediment load is conducive to revealing the response mechanism of riverine flow discharge and sediment load and improving the simulation accuracy of riverine flow and sediment under extreme rainfall condition, thus help for the soil erosion control under extreme rainfall.

Conducted within the scope of geochemical exploration in Eastern Thailand, this study aims to detect geochemical anomalies and potential mineral deposits. The objective was to interpret intricate spatial dispersion patterns and concentration levels of deposit pathfinder elements, specifically arsenic (As), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn), using a comprehensive array of stream sediment geochemistry data. Methodologies involved integrating multifractal properties and traditional statistics, facilitated by the GeoDAS and ArcGIS platforms as instrumental analytical tools. In total, 5,376 stream sediment samples were collected and evaluated, leading to the development of an in-depth geochemical map. The results indicated distinct geological units marked by substantially elevated average values of the aforementioned elements. Identification of geochemical anomalies was achieved through the spatial distribution method and the subsequent application of the Spectrum-Area (S-A) multifractal model. An intriguing link was found between high As concentrations and gold deposits in the area, suggesting As as a viable pathfinder element for gold mineralization. The anomaly maps, generated from the stream sediment data, spotlighted potential zones of interest, offering valuable guidance for future mineral exploration and geological inquiries. Nonetheless, it is vital to recognize that the increased values noted in these maps may be influenced by regional geological factors, emphasizing the necessity for a diverse set of analytical methods for accurate interpretation. The study's significance lies in its pioneering use of the S-A multifractal model in geochemical data analysis. This innovative approach has deepened our comprehension of geochemical dispersion patterns and improved the precision of mineral exploration.

In the industrial production of olive oil, both solid wastes and those produced from their incineration are a serious environmental problem since only 20% w/w of the fruit becomes oil and the rest is waste, mainly orujo and alperujo. A key aspect to transform these wastes into an important source of energy such as pellets is to recognize the most appropriate time of the year for waste drying, with the objective of minimizing the environmental impact of the volatile compounds contained in the waste. In this work, the emissions produced during thermal-mechanical drying were studied along a period of six months of waste storage in which alperujo and orujo were stored in open containers under uncontrolled environmental conditions. The studied emissions were produced when both wastes were dried in a pilot rotary drying trommel at 450ºC to reduce their initial humidity of around 70-80% w/w to 10-15% w/w. Results indicated that when the storage time of the wastes in uncontrolled environments increases, the emission of odorant compounds during drying also increases as a consequence of the biological and chemical processes occurring in the containers during waste storage. The main odorant VOCs were quantified monthly for six months at the outlet of the drying trommel. It was determined that the drying of this type of waste can be carried out properly until the third month of storage. Afterwards, the concentration of most VOCs produced widely exceeded the odor thresholds of selected compounds.

Sedimentation processes have negative socioeconomic and environmental consequences, ranging from eutrophication phenomena, loss of water quality in surface water bodies, effects on the potential for hydroelectric generation, etc. Frequently, anthropic activity is the main cause that enhances these processes through changes in land use that can lead to landscape modifications. Therefore, it is relevant to evaluate this phenomenon and to be able to discriminate the influence of different land uses on the contributions to sediment loads at different scales. The novel Compound Specific Stable Isotopes technique allows the evaluation of sediment inputs associated with different land use changes in a study region. In the present work this technique was used in the Alhajuela Lake sub-basin, within the Panama Canal Watershed. The contribution levels of three (3) representative land uses (forest, pasture and sediment) in the study area were evaluated for the sediments present in sixteen (16) selected mixing points. The main contributions of the sources to the sediments present in the main rivers and tributaries flowing into Alhajuela Lake, in the sub-basin of the same name, were identified. The results obtained are consistent with observations and measurements of sedimentation in the study area.

The paper focuses on the application of a multilevel, integrative and territorial approach to the protection of cultural heritage through planning instruments in Serbia. It points out the problems of the sectoral approach and discusses international recommendations that can be integrated into the planning methodology. The case study is the area of Djerdap National Park, which has an already established international and national importance. The research suggests that the cultural heritage in the area, with the exception of the Roman limes, is still recognized at the level of individual localities. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning all levels of governance to safeguard the whole spatial entity rather than focusing solely on its particular areas. The interna-tional and national importance of the planning area contributes to the strengthening of awareness of heritage and its institutional protection. However, the vitality of the area, which is key to its sustainable development, comes from the local level. Planning documents contribute to the inte-gration of local values and local communities into development programs and projects.

While many in-steam tidal energy resource studies have been carried out globally, very few studies have assessed the effect of seabed changes on tidal energy resources. For coastal regions in particular, where the seabed is generally more mobile than in deep waters, bathymetric evolution could have a significant effect on tidal energy production. Here two high-resolution models, one purely hydrodynamic and one morphodynamic, are used to analyse the potential effect of natural morphodynamic evolution on tidal energy resources at two macro-tidal sandy bays, Adaír Bay and San Jorge Bay, in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico. The high-resolution models are validated using a low-resolution model and ADCP observations to assess the agreement between model predictions and observations of tides at three ADCP moorings within the domain of interest. The models’ skill is evaluated using several error statistics such as the mean relative error, the root mean square error (RMSE), and the correlation coefficient. It was found that the regions with the largest bed changes, and also the largest renewable energy resources, were near the shore. Moreover, the results indicated a good correlation between a) regions with the most significant depth changes, and b) the regions where the difference in annual energy production with and without depth change was largest. Finally, the morphodynamic model was run for two years, and the evolution of a zonal profile (in the west-east direction) off the coast at the southeastern corner of Adaír Bay was inspected. This profile evolved towards a featureless equilibrium profile, in good agreement with the morphological classification for macro-tidal sandy environments and with the model assumptions. But most importantly, this natural evolution would not be detrimental to tidal energy exploitation at the site.

Glycosidic linkage analysis was conducted on the unfractionated polysaccharides in the alcohol-insoluble residues (AIRs) prepared from six red seaweeds (Gracilariopsis sp., Prionitis sp., Mastocarpus papillatus, Callophyllis sp., Mazzaella splendens, and Palmaria palmata) using GC-MS/FID analysis of partially methylated alditol acetates (PMAAs). The cell walls of P. palmata primarily contained mixed-linkage xylans and small amounts of sulfated galactans and cellulose. In contrast, the unfractionated polysaccharides of the other five species were rich in galactans displaying diverse 3,6-anhydro-galactose and galactose linkages with varied sulfation patterns. Different levels of cellulose were also observed. This glycosidic linkage method offers advantages for cellulose analysis over traditional monosaccharide analysis that is known for underrepresenting glucose in crystalline cellulose. Relative linkage compositions calculated from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements showed that anhydro sugar linkages generated more response in the latter detection method. This improved linkage workflow presents a useful tool for studying polysaccharide structural variations across red seaweed species. Furthermore, for the first time, relative linkage compositions from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements, along with normalized FID and total ion current (TIC) chromatograms without peak assignments, were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technique's potential to differentiate various red seaweed species.

Background: Educating college students about the importance of good sleep habits could lead to the adoption of healthier sleep routines, including sufficient sleep duration and sleep quality. The current pre-post study examines the impact of completing a sleep education program called “Sleep 101” on (1) sleep hygiene practices, (2) sleep quality, and (3) weekday and weekend sleep behaviors among college students. “Sleep 101” is an interactive online course developed to educate college students about the importance of sleep by addressing basic sleep physiology, the impact of sleep on mood, academic and physical performance, the interactions between sleep and various substances, and common sleep disorders. Methods: 338 college students were recruited from a midsized public university in the US and invited to participate in “Sleep 101”, of which 25 participants completed the baseline and post-intervention questionnaire. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) was utilized to evaluate sleep hygiene practices, while standard questions were employed to assess weekday and weekend sleep behaviors and overall sleep quality. Results: Those who completed the study demonstrated a significant increase in weekday sleep duration and were less likely to engage in negative prior bedtime activities. In addition, 40% of those who completed baseline and post-intervention assessments noticed improvements in their sleep quality. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a brief online program is beneficial in improving sleep behaviors among college and could be a scalable approach to addressing current sleep issues and preventing future sleep problems in college students.

The profile of secondary metabolites occurring in apple cuticular layer is not only characteristic for particular apple cultivar, but also dynamically reflects various external factors in growing environment. In this study, the possibility to authenticate apple samples based on analysis of their cuticular layer extracts was investigated. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) was employed for obtaining metabolomic fingerprints. In total, 274 authentic apple samples, four cultivars harvested within the seasons 2020 to 2022 in the Czech Republic and Poland were analysed. The generated complex data processed by univariate and multivariate statistical methods enabled to build classification models for discrimination of apple cultivars as well as their geographical origin. The models showed very good performance in differentiation of Czech and Polish samples for three of four cultivars: ‘Gala’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Idared’, moreover, the validity of the models was verified over harvest seasons. The diagnostic markers, besides metabolites of triterpene biosynthetic pathway, mainly represented wax esters. ‘Jonagold’, which is known to be susceptible to mutations, was the only cultivar for which the unambiguous classification of geographical origin was not possible.

Strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora is one of the main diseases of strawberry and significantly impacts the yield and quality of strawberry fruit. There are now no effective control techniques available except for fungicide sprays, which may directly impact consumers. Biological control is becoming an alternative method for the control of plant diseases to replace or decrease the application of traditional synthetic chemical fungicides. Trichoderma is widely used as a biological agent for controlling strawberry root rot. In order to provide resources for screening the highly effective biocontrol fungus for controlling strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora, the biocontrol mechanism,the control effects of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 against strawberry root rot and growth-promoting effects on strawberry seedlings were investigated by plate culture, microscopy observation and root drenching methods.The results showed that CMT10 had obvious competitive, antibiotic and hyperparasitism effects on Neopestalotiopsis clavispora CMGF3. The CMT10 could quickly occupy nutritional space, and the inhibition rates of CMT10 against CMGF3 in confrontation culture on 7 d was 65.49%. The inhibition rates of volatile metabolite and fermentation metabolite produced by CMT10 against CMGF3 were 79.67% and 69.84%, respectively. The mycelium of strain CMT10 can act as hyperparasites by making contacting, winding and penetrating hyphae of CMGF3. Pot experiment showed that the biocontrol efficacy of CMT10 on strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora was 63.00%. CMT10 had obvious promotion effect on strawberry growth, the plant height, root length, total fresh weight, root fresh weight, stem fresh weight and root dry weight, with the promotion rates were 20.09%, 22.39%, 87.11%, 101.58%, 79.82% and 72.33%, respectively. Overall, this study showed the ability of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 to control strawberry root rot and their potential to develop as novel biocontrol agents to replace chemical fungicides for eco-friendly, sustainable agriculture.

Apis mellifera, especially weak ones, are highly vulnerable to Carpoglyphus lactis mites, which can rapidly infest and consume stored pollen, leading to weakened colonies and potentially colony collapse. This study aimed to ascertain and investigate the prevalence of this mite in honeybee colonies across 9 provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). A total of 615 honeybee colonies were collected, from 66 apiaries during the spring and 58 apiaries during the summer of 2023. A 1,242 bp segment of the the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction method. The detection levels of C. lactis in the honeybees were compared between winter and summer. Based on the COI sequence analysis, the nucleotide sequence similarity of C. lactis mites isolated in the ROK with those from China (NC048990.1) was found to be 99.5%, and with those from the United Kingdom (KY922482.1) was 99.3%. This study is the first report of C. lactis in Korean apiaries. The findings in this study demonstrate a significantly higher detection rate in winter, which is 4.1 times greater than that in summer (p &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, the results underscore the usefulness of molecular diagnostic techniques for detecting C. lactis mites.

COX II containing a dual core CuA active site is one of the three core subunits of mitochondrial Cco, which plays a significant role in the physiological process. In this report, the full-length cDNA of COXⅡ gene was cloned from Sitophilus zeamais, which had an ORF of 684 bp encoding 227 amino acids residues. The predicted COXⅡ protein had a molecular mass of 26.2 kDa with pI value of 6.37, and multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that Sitophilus zeamais COXⅡ had high sequence identity 78.51% with the COXⅡ of other insect species, especially similarity to sitophilus oryzae. This gene was subcloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a, and induced by IPTG in E.coli Transetta (DE3) expression system. Finally the COXⅡ with 6-His tag was purified using affinity chromatography with Ni²⁺-NTA agarose. WB showed the recombinant COXⅡ was about 44 kD, and the concentration of fusion protein was 50μg/mL. UV-spectrophotometer and infrared spectrometer analysis showed that recombinant COXⅡ could catalyze the oxidation of substrate Cytc, and influenced by AITC. It was found that AITC could form a hydrophobic region with COXⅡ protein via molecular docking, besides, a sulfur atom of AITC structure could form a length of 2.9 Å hydrogen bond with Leu-31. These results will provide valuable information for elucidating the role of COXⅡ in Sitophilus zeamais responses to AITC, meanwhile, it will helpful to carry out a point mutation in AITC binding sites for the future research.

The properties of the annual, semiannual and triennial oscillations (AO, SAO and TO) in the middle atmosphere have been investigated using the TIMED/SABER temperature data. The Lomb-Scargle and wavelet spectra were used to determine the dominant oscillations in the background temperature field. The AO is prominent at the mid-latitudes. The AO amplitudes present an asymmetry between the two Hemispheres, being larger in the mesosphere than in the stratosphere. The SAO dominates the tropical regions, with three amplitude maxima at altitudes of 45, 75, and 85 km. The SAOs in the upper mesosphere (75 km) are out of phase with those in the mesopause (85 km) in the tropical regions, which can generate an enhancement of 11 K at each equinox, contributing to the lower mesospheric inversion layer. The TO is significant in the tropical region, with amplitude being maximum at 35, 45 and 85 km. Result shows that there may be potential interaction by the TO with SAO at 85km at the equator. The relation between ENSO and TO has also been discussed. The ENSO signal may modulate the amplitude of the TO, mainly in the lower stratosphere. The real origin of the TO may lie in the wave-mean-flow interaction.

This paper is focused on typical rural settlements in the Stara Planina Mountain area in Serbia. They are distinguished by their authenticity, identity and character, and they have still not been destroyed by inappropriate development as is the case in some other mountain areas in Serbia, where the effects of urbanization, globalization and homogenization are obvious. Consequently, there is a need to prevent these effects in mountain areas where there is a threat of disbalance between development and the inherited natural and cultural values. The paper starts from several important concepts that relate contemporary approaches to cultural heritage preservation, place morphology and planning future development. The concept definitions from recent documents from related fields are used. These concepts are then applied to the area of Stara Planina Mountain and its rural settlements. The necessity for an integrative approach to planning this area with significant natural and anthropogenic potential is pointed out, including its integration into international programs of sustainable development.

The research reported on this paper was aimed at improving the overall efficiency of a PDO certified artisanal cheese production process. Being a PDO certified foodstuff by the EU, it is considered to have properties and qualities determined by the geographical environment in which is made, with its production taking place in a specific and determined geographical location, in this case the Serra da Estrela region. In that sense, the authors conducted a mapping according to a systemic perspective of the processes involved in the context of manufacturing and distribution of certified Serra da Estrela cheese. Numerous methods were used throughout the process, such as a systemic design analysis, and techniques derived from ethnographic methods, which led to the collection of data in the field and consequently provided the immersion of the researcher in genuine work situations. Critical points were identified and emphasized in the systemic map with the purpose of encouraging initiatives to address and overcome the gaps and inefficiencies detected. The systemic design analysis triggered the development of design work. Observations following an ethnographic approach identified ergonomic risks in cheese making during the process of cutting excess chips, fostering the emergence of musculoskeletal disorders at the wrist. A tool that fits best to the task at hand was developed. A prototype of the new tool enabled collecting feedback from use in the work context, in order to inform product development. The domains of agricultural production and microbiology, considering the specific microorganisms developed trough the ripening process of the cheese, turned out to be aspects of high importance for the issue under focus, contributing to a broader understanding of the ripening process and its risks, simultaneously improving the efficiency and success of cheese production. If it were not for the systemic analysis, which served as a link between the boundaries of distinct domains such as the risk of microorganism contamination, ergonomics, energy efficiency, legislation and regulation policies, transportation challenges and economic viability, approached throughout the research. Simultaneously creating bridges between them, the various problems might not have been detected in the first place, as they are usually addressed in specialized disciplines, predetermined by the restrictions of each specific area of knowledge. As a consequence of the development of this research, which was based on an analysis that sought to establish possible connections between various disciplines and tried to constantly maintain a holistic perspective, making new connections and observing the issues from a new angle, apart from the already established methodologies. All this allowed to lay out the seeds for the development of a plan to tackle the critical points identified by the systemic analysis reported in this paper.

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.

The wetlands in northeastern Bangladesh are home to some of the most prolific and valuable ecosystems on the planet, offering a wide range of benefits to both the local and wider communities. A limited number of research on this topic have been carried out in various wetlands in coastal hilsa, but none have been located in the northeastern region of Bangladesh. Thus, the goal of this study was to better understand the most commercially relevant species (anadromous hilsa) in northeastern Bangladesh as well as to assess the wetland ecosystem services more thoroughly with the contribution of their fish genetic resources. In addition to laboratory studies, fieldwork was done in the fishing settlements along the Surma River, Hakaluki Haor, and Tanguar Haor. The study classified 77 fish species into 21 subcategories of ecosystem services, of which 56% were not threatened, 17% were vulnerable, and 10% were highly endangered. The species Hilsa was found to be the most economically significant, accounting for 1% of the GDP overall. The study determined if the hilsa stock of the examined wetlands maintains a single or several subpopulations in comparison to other parts of the country when they migrate from saline water to northeastern Bangladesh (freshwater). But when compared to other groups, the FST score was between 0.000 to 0.017, indicating that the populations are identical and that there is genetic material sharing between them. Additionally, these statistics imply that the Sylhet haor and adjacent river systems contain a single stock of Hilsa fish. Nevertheless, a number of stresses and risks, including overexploitation, illicit and destructive fishing, siltation, and natural disasters like flash floods, have been linked to changes in the supply of hilsa and other ecosystem services. This study also emphasizes the necessity of policy attention and research to address the concerns.

In this paper, we introduce a specialized, fully automated experimental arrangement designed for assessing the effectiveness of augmented and virtual reality technologies in healthcare setting and explore its design principles focusing on depth sensor characterization. The main goal of this project is to establish a robust benchtop platform for the quantitative evaluation of extended reality technologies in a controlled environment, emphasizing the practical assessment of augmented reality head-mounted devices. We outline a design concept and considerations for an experimental configuration aimed at creating a realistic testing environment. This apparatus comprises an observation platform mounted on a three-degree-of-freedom motorized system and a test phantom stage. Focusing on real-case scenarios, we utilized a range of sensors, including readily available range-sensing cameras and commercial augmented reality headsets, such as the Intel RealSense L515 LiDAR camera, mounted on the motion control system. The setup enabled automated data collection and facilitates controlled assessments and validation of various facets of augmented reality technologies, including object, hand, and head tracking, as well as static and dynamic image registration. This paper describes the system architecture, the process of automated data collection, and presents several evaluation studies conducted with this setup, providing insights into the quality and temporal noise associated with static or moving objects or observers in augmented reality applications.

To conduct high-precision and high-resolution numerical simulation of complex flow structures in turbomachinery, a high-order finite volume weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme for the large eddy simulation (LES) is improved and embedded into the three-dimensional viscous unsteady CFD solver NUAA-Turbo. Firstly, the spectral characteristics and unsteady convergence of the improved WENO scheme are studied. Compared with the classical WENO scheme, the improved WENO scheme has better dissipation and dispersion characteristics and faster convergence speed. Then, the coefficient CW of the Wall-Adapting Local Eddy-viscosity (WALE) model is calibrated by decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence (DHIT) test case. Finally, the scheme is applied to conduct high-precision LES calculations of turbulent boundary layer flow, supersonic compression corner flow, and low-pressure turbine cascade separation flow. The numerical simulation results show that this WENO scheme has excellent shock wave capture ability and turbulence resolution and can capture more flow field details with less mesh size, greatly reducing the computational cost and laying a foundation for large-scale engineering application of LES.

To secure logic circuits against the illegal copying the insertion of the so-called key bit inputs using XOR/XNOR gates has been proposed in . The inserted gates modify (lock) the behavior of the original circuit and only the correct choice of the secret key bits guarantees the equivalent behaviour of the locked circuit to the original circuit. To break this kind of security, i.e. to find the secret key bits, there was a SAT solver based attack proposed in . The aim of this work is to experimentally verify this attack on several locked circuits with various number of primary inputs and outputs and with various number of gates. Except for the random placement of the key gates we evaluate also the positioning with chaining elimination. The obtained and presented results show that we were able to unlock 10 of 11 circuits within few minutes on a common PC.

Intermetallic compounds are increasingly being expected to utilize in tribological environments, but to date the works are hindered by insufficient ductility at low and medium temperature. This paper presents a novel multiphase intermetallic alloy with the chemical composition of Mo-40Ni-13Si (at.%). Microstructure characterization reveals that a certain amount of ductile Mo phases formed during the solidification process of ternary Mo-Ni-Si alloy melt, which is undoubtedly beneficial to the ductility improvement of intermetallic alloy. Tribological properties of the designed alloy, including wear resistance, friction coefficient and metallic tribological compatibility, were evaluated under dry sliding wear test conditions at room temperature. Results suggested that the multiphase alloy possesses an excellent property for room-temperature wear applications, which is attributed to the unique microstructural features and thereby good combination in hardness and ductility. The corresponding wear mechanism is also reported by observing the worn surface, subsurface and wear debris of alloy, which to be found is soft abrasive wear.

With the integrated development of the Internet, wireless sensor technology, cloud computing, and mobile Internet, there has been a lot of attention given to research about and applications of the Internet of Things. A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is one of the important information technologies in the Internet of Things; it integrates multi-technology to detect and gather information in a network environment by mutual cooperation, using a variety of methods to process and analyze data, implement awareness, and perform tests. This paper mainly researches the localization algorithm of sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network. Firstly, a multi-granularity region partition is proposed to divide the location region. In the range-based method, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength indicator, RSSI) is used to estimate distance. The optimal RSSI value is computed by the Gaussian fitting method. Furthermore, a Voronoi diagram is characterized by the use of dividing region. Rach anchor node is regarded as the center of each region; the whole position region is divided into several regions and the sub-region of neighboring nodes is combined into triangles while the unknown node is locked in the ultimate area. Secondly, the multi-granularity regional division and Lagrange multiplier method are used to calculate the final coordinates. Because nodes are influenced by many factors in the practical application, two kinds of positioning methods are designed: the unknown node is in the positioning unit or not. When the unknown node is on the side of the positioning unit, we use the method of vector similarity. Moreover, we use the centroid algorithm to calculate the ultimate coordinates of unknown node. When the unknown node is not on the side of the positioning unit, we establish a Lagrange equation containing the constraint condition to calculate the first coordinates. Furthermore, we use the Taylor expansion formula to correct the coordinates of the unknown node. In addition, this localization method has been validated by establishing the real environment.

The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of brain activity. Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology formed by the EEG signal has become one of the hotspots at present. How to extract the feature signal of EEG is the most basic research of BCI technology. In this paper, A new method of recognizing fatigue, conscious, concentrated state of human brain is proposed by the combination of discrete wavelet transform and the neural network based on EEG signal. First of all, the law signal is preprocessed by the wavelet denoising method because the law EEG signal contains a large number of high frequency noise, which is decomposed into multi-layer high frequency signal and low frequency signal. thus, δ wave, θ wave, α wave, β wave are obtained by the wavelet transform. And then, frequency band energy of the different wave is regards as the feature signal of EEG. In the experiment, the feature signal is classified by radial basic function (RBF) and annealed chaotic competitive learning network (ACCLN). RBF and ACCLN networks are trained with 500 sets of sample data and are tested by 100 sets of samples in different mental states. The experimental results show that the average accuracy of RBF network under three conditions are 88.75%, 88.25%, 88.5%, respectively, and the correct rate of ACCLN network is 97%, 98%, 98%, respectively.

Early discharge after childbirth has led to a rise in neonatal readmission, becoming a major concern in recent decades. Our research aimed to identify the risk factors and incidence of neonatal readmission, as well as explore preventive measures. Our study at the Clinical Hospital of Pediatrics in Ploiești, Romania included 108 neonates admitted during the neonatal period. This accounted for 2.06% of all admissions (5226). The most prevalent cases were malnutrition (25%), fever (20.3%) and bronchiolitis (17.5%). Diarrhea and infectious gastroenteritis were also observed (14.8%), along with acute rhinoconjunctivitis (9.2%) and late onset sepsis (3.7%). No deaths were recorded. The most significant characteristics identified were number of children (p&lt;0.001) and age at maternity discharge (p&lt;0.001). By following the prevention rules, malnutrition, feeding errors, and infections can be avoided. This includes practicing proper hand hygiene for both mothers and medical staff, as well as educating and demonstrating to mothers the benefits of breastfeeding. In addition, all newborns discharged from the maternity ward should benefit from follow-up at 7-10 days of life. Our results confirm the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary team and endorse promoting breastfeeding. Implementing quality control measures and regularly evaluating the surveillance program will help improve its effectiveness.

Wearable technology has been proposed as a potential tool to change the way of human life, such as the smart bracelet and the Google Glass. In the wearable technology, the inertial sensor has great significance in tracking the object movements. The paper focused on detecting the movements of user’s finger based on the inertial sensor to give the control signals. Firstly, the attitude matrix, which represented the transformation relation of carrier coordinate system and the navigation coordinate system, was obtained. Secondly, the attitude matrix was expressed based on the quaternions. Thirdly, the finger gesture was processed by the attitude matrix to get the attitude angle. Finally, the robot was controlled by attitude angle to make the moving action. The experimental results showed the detection of the finger movement is effective.

Two interesting compounds such as quaternary ammonium lignin(QAL) and 2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (P507) were synthesized as ionic liquids(QP-ILs) for the extraction of metal ions. The extraction behavior of Co(II) and Ni(II) from chloride solution was compared between QP-ILs and P507. The results showed that the extraction rates of Co(II) and Ni(II) in the two solutions varied with the extraction conditions, but QP-ILs has stronger extractability for cobalt than P507, while Ni is on the contrary. Under the same conditions, the Co/Ni separation performance(βCo/Ni) in QP-ILs is superior to that in p507. At pH4.0, 55℃, concentration of 20%, extraction time of 10 minutes, the βCo/Ni of QP-ILs reached to 2703, while that of P507 was only 164. In conclusion, QP-ILs was more efficient than P507 for separating Co from mixed solutions.

Brain aging causes a wide variety of changes at molecular and cellular levels, leading to the decline of cognitive functions and increased vulnerability to neurodegenerative disorders. The research aimed at understanding the aging of the brain has made much progress in recent decades. Technological innovations such as single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), proteomic analyses, and spatial transcriptomic analyses have facilitated the research on the dynamic changes occurring within neurons, glia, and other cells along with their impacts on intercellular communication during aging. In this review, we introduce recent trends of how neurons and glia change during aging and discuss the impact of the brain microenvironment such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

In this paper, we study the semilinear pseudo-parabolic equations $\displaystyle u_{t} - \triangle_{\mathbb{B}}u - \triangle_{\mathbb{B}}u_{t} = \left|u\right|^{p-1}u$ on a manifold with conical singularity, where $\triangle _{\mathbb{B}}$ is Fuchsian type Laplace operator investigated with totally characteristic degeneracy on the boundary $x_{1} = 0$. Firstly, we discuss the invariant sets and the vacuum isolating behavior of solutions with the help of a family of potential wells. Then, we derive a threshold result of existence and nonexistence of global weak solution: for the low initial energy $J(u_{0})<d$, the solution is global in time with $I(u_{0}) >0$ or $\displaystyle\Vert \nabla_{\mathbb{B}}u_{0}\Vert_{L_{2}^{\frac{n}{2}}(\mathbb{B})} = 0$ and blows up in finite time with $I(u_{0}) < 0$; for the critical initial energy $J(u_{0}) = d$, the solution is global in time with $I(u_{0}) \geq0$ and blows up in finite time with $I(u_{0}) < 0$. The decay estimate of the energy functional for the global solution and the estimates of the lifespan of local solution are also given.

Multimodal remote sensing data classification can enhance the model’s ability to distinguish land features through multimodal data fusion. In this context, how to help models understand the relationship between multimodal data and target tasks is the focus of researchers. Inspired by human feedback learning mechanisms, causal reasoning mechanisms, and knowledge induction mechanisms, this paper integrates causal learning, reinforcement learning, and meta learning into a unified remote sensing data classification framework and proposed the causal meta-reinforcement learning (CMRL). First, based on feedback learning mechanisms, we have overcome the limitations of traditional implicit optimization of fusion features and customized a reinforcement learning environment for multimodal remote sensing data classification tasks. Through feedback interactive learning between agents and the environment, we help them understand the complex relationships between multimodal data and labels, thereby achieving full mining of multimodal complementary information. Second, based on the causal inference mechanism we designed causal distribution prediction action, classification reward, and causal intervention reward, capturing pure causal factors in multimodal data and cutting off false statistical associations between non-causal factors and class labels. Finally, based on the knowledge induction mechanism, we designed a bi-layer optimization mechanism based on meta-learning. By constructing a meta training task and meta validation task simulation model in the generalization scenario of unseen data, we helped the model induce cross-task shared knowledge, thereby improving its generalization ability for unseen multimodal data. The experimental results on multiple sets of multimodal datasets show that the proposed method achieved state-of-the-art performance in multimodal remote sensing data classification tasks.