Search Results (97)

Snails at hydrothermal vents rely on symbiotic bacteria for nutrition; however, the specifics of these associations in adapting to such extreme environments remain underexplored. This study investigated the community structure and metabolic potential of bacteria associated with two Indian Ocean vent snails, Chrysomallon squamiferum and Gigantopelta aegis. Using microscopic, phylogenetic, and metagenomic analyses, this study examines bacterial communities inhabiting the foot and gland tissues of these snails. G. aegis exhibited exceptionally low bacterial diversity (Shannon index 0.14–0.18), primarily Gammaproteobacteria (99.9%), including chemosynthetic sulfur-oxidizing Chromatiales using Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle and methane-oxidizing Methylococcales in the glands. C. squamiferum hosted significantly more diverse symbionts (Shannon indices 1.32–4.60). Its black variety scales were dominated by Campylobacterota (67.01–80.98%), such as Sulfurovum, which perform sulfur/hydrogen oxidation via the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle, with both Campylobacterota and Gammaproteobacteria prevalent in the glands. The white-scaled variety of C. squamiferum had less Campylobacterota but a higher diversity of heterotrophic bacteria, including Delta-/Alpha-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes (classified as Desulfobacterota, Pseudomomonadota, Bacteroidota, and Bacillota in GTDB taxonomy). In C. squamiferum, Gammaproteobacteria, including Chromatiales, Thiotrichales, and a novel order “Endothiobacterales,” were chemosynthetic, capable of oxidizing sulfur, hydrogen, or iron, and utilizing the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle for carbon fixation. Heterotrophic Delta- and Alpha-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes potentially utilize organic matter from protein, starch, collagen, amino acids, thereby contributing to the holobiont community and host nutrition accessibility. The results indicate that host species and intra-species variation, rather than the immediate habitat, might shape the symbiotic microbial communities, crucial for the snails’ adaptation to vent ecosystems. Full article

Under the collaborative framework of sustainable development and environmental pollution control in China, there is an urgent need to break the governance dilemma of traditional environmental regulations and explore innovative paths for sustainability. This paper empirically tests the direct impact, spatial spillover effects, and mechanisms of free trade zones (FTZs) in China in reducing water pollution. Using a spatial Durbin model (SDM) combined with the staggered difference-in-differences (STA-DID) method on a dataset of 266 Chinese cities encompassing eastern, central, and western regions with diverse economic and environmental baselines from 2003 to 2023, the study finds that FTZs significantly reduce local water pollution by 9.17 million tons of untreated sewage discharge (β = −916.6, p < 0.01), with a spatial spillover effect that decreases pollution in surrounding cities by 12.33 million tons (β = −1232.9, p < 0.01). Upgrading industrial structure, accelerating technological innovation, and strengthening government environmental governance constitute the core mediating channels. This study provides theoretical support for institutional innovation in environmental governance and empirical evidence to address the trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection in China, contributing to the understanding of how context-specific institutional innovations can advance regional sustainability, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Full article

At present, the oil extraction and chemical industry and other industries produce a large amount of oily wastewater and organic sewage, and the world is suffering from oil spills and organic wastewater pollution. As a porous material, aerogels are promising in the field of oil adsorption. In this work, the nanocellulose/aminated multi-walled carbon nanotube (NC-MWCNT-NH₂) nanocomposite aerogel with a high porosity of up to 97.80% is prepared by varying the weight percentage of MWCNTs-NH₂, among which the nanocomposite aerogel with 0.1% weight percentage of MWCNTs-NH₂ exhibits the best adsorption performance with the adsorption capacity to cyclohexane, ethyl acetate, anhydrous ethanol, methylene dichloride, acetone, kerosene, pump oil, and used pump oil of 39.77 ± 0.82, 44.54 ± 1.67, 43.03 ± 1.06, 62.13 ± 0.36, 39.92 ± 1.09, 39.37 ± 0.27, 43.48 ± 0.06, and 38.45 ± 0.84 g·g⁻¹, respectively. Compared with pure nanocellulose aerogel, the adsorption capacity of the NC-MWCNT-NH₂ aerogel to pump oil is improved by up to 93.9%, which exhibits excellent adsorption properties and could be utilized in the field of oil adsorption. Full article

Based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study employs structural equation modeling and multi-group path analysis to explore the mechanisms and differences in how parental educational expectations, mediated by parent–child relationships and self-educational expectations, affect the academic performance and mental health of only children and non-only children. The research reveals that parental educational expectations play a crucial role in improving adolescents’ academic performance, though their direct effect on mental health is less pronounced. Mediation effect analysis indicates that parental educational expectations have a chained mediation effect on academic performance and mental health through parent–child relationships and self-educational expectations. Multi-group path analysis reveals differences in the mediation pathways between only children and non-only children: in only-child families, the direct impact of parental educational expectations on parent–child relationships and academic performance is not significant, but the indirect effect through self-educational expectations is more prominent; in non-only-child families, parental educational expectations have a stronger direct impact on academic performance, and self-educational expectations combined with parent–child relationships exert a positive effect on mental health. This study emphasizes the crucial role of parent–child relationships and self-educational expectations in alleviating psychological stress and promoting the holistic development of adolescents. Considering the specific characteristics of different family structures, it is suggested that only-child families should focus on nurturing intrinsic motivation and alleviating the psychological stress of adolescents, while non-only-child families should enhance parent–child interaction and social support to foster the coordinated development of the academic performance and mental health of adolescents. Full article

This study proposes an adaptive local time stepping (LTS) method based on a two-dimensional shallow water model for simulating multi-scale storm surge inundation in coastal regions. By dynamically monitoring the variation in the proportion of dry/wet cells during the simulation, the method adaptively adjusts the maximum local time step level, improving computational efficiency and minimizing human intervention in traditional LTS schemes. Through a series of idealized cases, this paper derives an empirical criterion for selecting the maximum LTS level and performs detailed analysis for two typical scenarios: in the absence of dry cells, the optimal LTS level is based on the maximum local time step under quiescent conditions; in complex hydrodynamic models with dry cells, the adaptive adjustment strategy based on the dry cell proportion is required to handle the increased computational complexity. The results show that when the proportion of dry cells was between 40% and 70%, the maximum LTS level increased by one level, and when it exceeded 70%, the maximum LTS level increased by two levels, with a recommended maximum limit of 7 levels. In ideal cases, the adaptive LTS method improves efficiency, with speedups of up to 5.83 times compared to traditional methods. Furthermore, the adaptive LTS method is successfully applied to storm surge and seawater inundation simulations, with validation through comparison with observational data. In particular, the simulation of the seawater backflow event in Erjiegou demonstrated the method’s ability to capture both the occurrence time and extent of seawater backflow, confirming its efficiency and reliability in complex hydrodynamic processes. The proposed method holds significant promise for applications in storm surge forecasting, disaster assessment, and emergency management. Full article

Establishing an accurate vehicle fatigue load spectrum is a critical prerequisite for fatigue life analysis and design of highway bridges. However, the time-varying and regional characteristics of vehicle loads pose significant challenges to achieving this goal. This study focuses on vehicle data collected by a weigh-in-motion system installed on a highway bridge in Chongqing, China. The statistical characteristics of vehicle-load-related parameters are analyzed, and the actual vehicle fatigue load spectrum for this section of the road is established. Specifically, vehicles are first categorized based on axle count characteristics. Then, statistical analyses are conducted on key parameters such as vehicle weight, headway time, and axle load for each vehicle type. Finally, the actual vehicle fatigue load spectrum is developed based on Miner’s linear damage rule and the equivalent fatigue damage principle, and the contributions of different vehicle types to fatigue damage are investigated. The results show that the weight distributions of different vehicle types follow a Gaussian mixture distribution, while the headway time distribution for each lane follows a log-normal distribution. A linear approximate relationship was observed between the axle loads of different vehicle types and their respective total weights. Although two-axle trucks exhibited higher frequencies, six-axle trucks contributed the most to structural fatigue damage, accounting for 53.81%. Therefore, six-axle trucks can be regarded as the standard fatigue vehicle model for this section of the road. These findings provide valuable insights for fatigue design and fatigue life assessment of highway bridges under similar vehicle loading conditions. Full article

Accurate deformation prediction is crucial for ensuring the safety and longevity of bridges. However, the complex fluctuations of deformation pose a challenge to achieving this goal. To improve the prediction accuracy, a bridge deformation prediction method based on a bidirectional gated recurrent unit (BiGRU) neural network and error correction is proposed. Firstly, the BiGRU model is employed to predict deformation data, which aims to enhance the modeling capability of the GRU network for time-series data through its bidirectional structure. Then, to extract the valuable information concealed in the error, a transformer model is introduced to rectify the error sequence. Finally, the preliminary and error prediction results are integrated to yield high-precision deformation prediction results. Two deformation datasets collected from an actual bridge health monitoring system are utilized as examples to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method outperforms the comparison model in terms of prediction accuracy, robustness, and generalization ability, with the predicted deformation results being closer to the actual results. Notably, the error-corrected model exhibits significantly improved evaluation metrics compared to the single model. The research findings herein offer a scientific foundation for bridges’ early safety warning and health monitoring. Additionally, they hold significant relevance for developing time-series prediction models based on deep learning. Full article

Due to irregular hydrodynamic–aerodynamic coupling, the modeling and simulation of near-surface flight are extremely complex. For the present study, a practical dynamic model and a complete motion simulation method for the solution of such problems were established for engineering applications. A discrete non-linear time-varying dynamics model was employed in order to ensure the universality of the method; thereafter, force models—including gravity, aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, control, and thrust models—were established. It should be noted that a non-linear approach was adopted for the hydrodynamic model, which reflects the influences of waves in real-world situations; in addition, a Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID) control law was added to realize closed-loop simulation of the motion. Considering a take-off flight as a study case, longitudinal three Degrees of Freedom (DoF) motion was simulated. The velocity, angle of attack, height, and angular velocity were selected as the state vectors in the state–space equations. The results show that, with the equilibrium state as the initial setting for the motion, reasonable time–history curves of the whole take-off phase can be obtained using the proposed approach. Furthermore, it is universally applicable for aircraft operating under hydrodynamic–aerodynamic coupling scenarios, including amphibious aircraft, seaplanes, Wing-in-Ground-Effect (WIGE) aircraft, and Hybrid Aerial–Underwater Vehicles (HAUVs). Full article

This article presents the electrostatic actuation performance of micromirror arrays for intelligent active daylight control and energy management in green buildings using a capacitive–voltage (C-V) measurement technique. In order to understand how geometric hinge parameters, initial opening angles, and materials affect the overall efficiency and functionality of the system, micromirror arrays have been analyzed using C-V measurements considering (i) full and broken hinge structures, (ii) 90° and 130° initial tilt angles (Φ), and (iii) different material layer combinations. The measurement results indicate that both an increase in the Young’s modulus of the applied materials and increasing the initial tilt angles increase the threshold voltages during the closing process of the micromirrors. Full article

This paper reviews and compares electrostatically actuated MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) arrays for light modulation and light steering in which transmission through the substrate is required. A comprehensive comparison of the technical achievements of micromirror arrays and microshutter arrays is provided. The main focus of this paper is MEMS micromirror arrays for smart glass in building windows and façades. This technology utilizes millions of miniaturized and actuatable micromirrors on transparent substrates, enabling use with transmissive substrates such as smart windows for personalized daylight steering, energy saving, and heat management in buildings. For the first time, subfield-addressable MEMS micromirror arrays with an area of nearly 1 m² are presented. The recent advancements in MEMS smart glass technology for daylight steering are discussed, focusing on aspects like the switching speed, scalability, transmission, lifetime study, and reliability of micromirror arrays. Finally, simulations demonstrating the potential yearly energy savings for investments in MEMS smart glazing are presented, including a comparison to traditional automated external blind systems in a model office room with definite user interactions throughout the year. Additionally, this platform technology with planarized MEMS elements can be used for laser safety goggles to shield pilots, tram, and bus drivers as well as security personal from laser threats, and is also presented in this paper. Full article

GRP78/BiP, a stress-induced protein and autoantigen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), exhibits different expressions in various biological fluids and tissues, including blood, synovial fluid (SF), and synovium, all of which are pertinent to the disease activity and progression of RA; however, there is a scarcity of data linking both intracellular and extracellular GRP78/Bip to disease activity and progression of RA. This study was undertaken to investigate the differential expression of GRP78/Bip in blood, SF, and synovium, and to determine their association with disease activity and progression of RA. Patients with RA, osteoarthritis (OA), and traumatic meniscal injury (TMI) without radiographic OA were consecutively recruited for the study. Among patients with RA, six different subgroups were established based on their disease activity and progression. Disease activity was measured using the DAS28 (Disease activity scores in 28 joints) criterion, while disease progression was evaluated using the Steinbrocker classification grade. The levels of GRP78/Bip, TNF-α, and IL-10 were significantly elevated in the serum, SF, and synovium of patients with RA when compared to both the control (CON, TMI Patients) and the inflammation control (iCON, OA Patients) groups (p < 0.05). In terms of disease activity status, as opposed to remission status in RA, the levels of GRP78/Bip, TNF-α, and IL-10 were all elevated in serum and synovium (p < 0.05). However, GRP78/Bip and IL-10 levels were found to be reduced in SF, while TNF-α levels remained elevated. With respect to disease progression in RA, GRP78/Bip levels exhibited a positive correlation with both the stage of RA and the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 in serum and synovium. Nonetheless, a negative correlation was observed between GRP78/Bip levels and the stage of RA in SF, while positive correlations with the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 persisted. The differential expression of GRP78/Bip in blood, SF, and synovium indicated that the potential role and function of GRP78/Bip might vary depending on its specific location within these biological fluids and tissues. The presence of intracellular and extracellular GRP78/Bip was associated with disease activity and progression of RA, suggesting the involvement of GRP78/Bip in the pathogenesis and development of this debilitating autoimmune disorder, as well as its potential as a biomarker for monitoring disease activity and progression of RA. Full article

The effect of the dry–wet cycle, characterized by periodic water level changes in the Three Gorges Reservoir, will severely degrade the bearing performance of rock formations. In order to explore the effect of the dry–wet cycle on the mesoscopic damage mechanism of jointed sandstone, a list of meso-experiments was carried out on sandstone subjected to dry–wet cycles. The pore structure, throat features and mesoscopic damage evolution of jointed sandstone with the action of the dry–wet cycle were analyzed using a-low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique. Subsequently, the impact on the mineral content of dry–wet cycles was studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Based on this, the mesoscopic damage mechanism of sandstone subjected to dry–wet cycles was revealed. The results show that the effects of the drying–wetting cycle can promote the development of porous channels within sandstone, resulting in cumulative damage. Besides, with an increase in dry–wet cycles, the proportion of small pores and pore throats decreased, while the proportion of medium and large pores and pore throats increased. The combined effects of extrusion crush, tensile fracture, chemical reaction and dissolution of minerals inside the jointed sandstone contributed to the development of mesoscopic pores, resulting in the increase of porosity and permeability of rock samples under the dry–wet cycles. The results provide an important reference value for the stability evaluation of rock mass engineering under long-term dry–wet alternation. Full article

Nowadays, the enormously growing amount of kitchen waste and wasted sludge has greatly received global attention. Vermicomposting has been represented as an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative for organic waste management. This study utilized kitchen waste generated by the university canteen and excess sludge from municipal wastewater treatment to collaboratively realize waste to resource through vermicomposting with a composting control. The results indicated that the treatment utilizing an equal mass ratio of wasted sludge and kitchen waste (T3) exhibited the greatest reduction in total organic carbon and the highest increase in total nitrogen. Furthermore, the predominant phyla observed were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes. Functional prediction analysis demonstrated higher relative abundances of β-glucosidase (ascF) and 6-phospho-β-glucosidase (bglA, celF) in the vermicomposting, suggesting that the earthworms essentially enhanced the cellulose degradation. More importantly, the co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated that the vermicomposting showed a stronger interaction between Gordonia and other bacteria, thereby enhancing its ability to degrade macromolecular compounds. In general, the vermicomposting can smoothly and remarkably stabilize the kitchen waste, assisted by excess sludge and sawdust. Full article

A shallow water equations-based model with an improved local time-stepping (LTS) scheme is developed for modeling coastal hydrodynamics across multiple scales, from large areas to detailed local regions. To enhance the stability of the shallow water model for long-duration simulations and at larger LTS gradings, a prediction-correction method using a single-layer interface that couples coarse and fine time discretizations is adopted. The proposed scheme improves computational efficiency with an acceptable additional computational burden and ensures accurate conservation of time truncation errors in a discrete sense. The model performance is verified with respect to conservation and computational efficiency through two idealized tests: the spreading of a drop of shallow water and a tidal flat/channel system. The results of both tests demonstrate that the improved LTS scheme maintains precision as the LTS grading increases, preserves conservation properties, and significantly improves computational efficiency with a speedup ratio of up to 2.615. Furthermore, we applied the LTS scheme to simulate tides at grid scales of 40,000 m to 200 m for a portion of the Northwest Pacific. The proposed model shows promise for modeling cross-scale hydrodynamics in complex coastal and ocean engineering problems. Full article