Search Results (187,312)

Understanding how land management influences soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics is critical for improving ecosystem resilience and carbon sequestration potential in semiarid rangelands. This study used classical field- and laboratory-based methods to assess soil organic carbon (SOC), organic matter (OM), and N content at 13 sites across four ecological provinces in eastern Oregon, USA. Treated sites—where traditional rangeland restoration and management practices had been applied to them (i.e., juniper removal, sagebrush removal, post-fire grass seeding, and land conversion to pasture)—were paired with adjacent untreated control sites. Soil samples were collected at two depths, 0 to 10 cm and 15 to 25 cm and analyzed for C, N, OM, bulk density (BD), soil volumetric water content (SVWC), porosity, and texture. Soil C and N stocks were calculated on an area basis (t ha⁻¹), and statistical analyses were conducted using one-way ANOVA and correlation tests. Treated sites generally exhibited higher soil C, N, and OM content compared to untreated sites, particularly in the upper 10 cm of soil. Data obtained from the two soil depths (0 to 10 cm and 15 to 25 cm) were averaged and assumed to represent the top 30 cm of the soil profile, corresponding to the effective rooting zone at each field. The site where sagebrush removal was followed by grass seeding exhibited the highest soil C and N stocks (115.8 t C ha⁻¹ and 9.2 t N ha⁻¹, respectively). This site also had the highest OM content (9.53%), which was observed in the topsoil layer (0 to 10 cm) across all sites and depths. Strong positive correlations between C and N were detected across all sites (mean r = 0.92), while negative correlations were observed between soil C and bulk density at several locations. Results suggest that vegetation management practices such as woody plant removal and grass establishment can enhance soil C storage and nutrient retention in semiarid rangeland ecosystems. These findings provide baseline data to inform land management strategies aimed at improving soil health and carbon sequestration potential in the Pacific Northwest region in the USA. Full article

Acinetobacter baumannii, a prominent opportunistic pathogen in healthcare settings, causes severe infections and poses significant challenges for clinical treatment. This study investigates the synergistic effects of α-pinene combined with meropenem (MEM) on A. baumannii biofilm formation and lung injury in mice, aiming to develop new strategies to combat persistent infections and antibiotic resistance. α-pinene combined with MEM exhibited strong synergistic antibacterial activity against carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB 5E9). The combination significantly inhibited biofilm formation, extracellular polymer production, surface motility, and quorum sensing. The expression of key genes such as ompA, bfmR, bap, csuAB, abaI, and abaR was reduced by up to 61%. In vivo, the treatment alleviated weight loss, decreased the bacterial load in lung tissue, and reduced lung inflammation. Furthermore, it significantly suppressed proteins involved in the inflammatory response and the MAPK pathway, including TLR4, NF-κB, NLRP3, TRAF6, ERK2, p38 MAPK, JNK, and TNF-α. The combination of α-pinene and MEM synergistically inhibits A. baumannii biofilm formation and alleviates the inflammatory response in a mouse model, offering a potential therapeutic approach for combating A. baumannii infections. Full article

Accurate absolute radiometric calibration is critical for ensuring the data quality of spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems and supporting quantitative remote sensing applications. Absolute radiometric calibration generally relies on ground reference targets with known radar cross-section (RCS) deployed at dedicated calibration sites. Such ground-based calibration methods are costly and time-consuming, and calibration frequency is constrained by the distribution of calibration sites and the satellite revisit cycles. Additionally, for specialized SAR missions, such as deep space exploration, deploying calibration equipment on the observed extraterrestrial surface is infeasible. This study proposes a space-based absolute calibration concept using a small calibration satellite carrying a well-characterized reference (e.g., a passive reflector or an active transponder) and flying in formation with the SAR satellite. The relative motion ensures a side-looking acquisition geometry, enabling the SAR to image the accompanying target and derive calibration factors. The overall calibration process is divided into two stages: determination of an in-orbit calibration factor using the calibration satellite, followed by its transformation to accommodate ground imaging conditions. This method effectively isolates the radar system gain to characterize the intrinsic hardware response. Furthermore, by operating entirely in space, it avoids atmospheric and ground-clutter distortions, ensuring a fully space-based, end-to-end calibration process dominated primarily by sensor systematic errors. Moreover, it allows for more frequent and flexible calibration, eliminating reliance on ground calibration sites and infrastructure. The feasibility and advantages of the proposed concept are demonstrated through comprehensive simulations, covering orbit analysis, echo simulation, and image processing. Full article

Chronic pain, a complex multidimensional disorder, remains a major healthcare issue and a therapeutic challenge. Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain condition that results from damage or dysfunction in the nervous system. While mechanisms of neuropathic pain at the peripheral and spinal cord level have been extensively studied, pain mechanisms in the brain remain underexplored. The amygdala, a limbic brain region, has emerged as a critical brain area for the emotional–affective dimension of pain and pain modulation. Amygdala neuroplasticity has been associated with pain states, but the exact molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these states and the transition from acute to chronic pain are not well understood. Here, we used the spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model of neuropathic pain in male rats to investigate changes in gene expression in the amygdala at the chronic pain stage using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Two amygdala nuclei, the basolateral (BLA) and central (CeA), were investigated in a hemisphere-dependent manner. We used an integrative approach that focuses on functional significance and cell-type specificity of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to nominate mechanistic targets for central regulation of chronic pain. Our integrative transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses identified individual genes (e.g., Cxcl10, Cxcl12, Mbp, Plp1, Mag, Mog, Slc17a6, Gad1, and Sst), molecular pathways (e.g., cytokine-mediated signaling pathway), biological processes (e.g., myelination, synaptic transmission), and specific cell types (e.g., oligodendrocytes, glutamatergic, and GABAergic neurons) affected by chronic pain. Our results also provide some evidence for the emerging concept of hemispheric lateralization of pain processing in the amygdala. Overall, our study proposes oligodendrocyte dysfunction in the amygdala, neuroimmune signaling in the CeA, and glutamatergic neurotransmission in the BLA as key processes and potential therapeutic targets for the management of chronic neuropathic pain. Full article

Voltage stability assessment of a transmission interface is carried out by continuation power flow (CPF) using a fixed post-contingency operating condition. However, if legacy renewable energy sources (RESs) in the sink area are tripped during or following a fault, the actual post-fault operating point can differ from that assumed in the CPF study. This paper examines the effect of sink-area RES tripping on transmission interface voltage stability. The shift in the post-fault operating point caused by the loss of sink-area active power injection is explained using a two-bus equivalent, and the effect of reactive power support from connected RES on the transfer limit is also discussed. The proposed analysis is verified using a modified SAVNW test system in PSS/E. Two contingency scenarios were studied by applying a three-phase fault at the receiving-end bus and tripping one transmission interface line at fault clearing. The results show that sink-area RES tripping moves the post-fault operating point toward the nose point and reduces the voltage stability margin. The results also show that reactive power support from connected RES increases the transfer limit and leads to a larger margin. These effects should be considered in voltage stability assessment of transmission interfaces with legacy RES. Full article

Welded joints are widely recognized as the most critical point in structures made of armour steels due to pronounced thermal effects, microstructural heterogeneity, and the degradation of mechanical and fatigue properties. This study investigates the mechanical properties and fatigue crack growth resistance of a welded joint produced on SA 500 armour steel, with the aim of preserving the properties of the base material as much as possible. To achieve this, a welding procedure incorporating a high-strength filler wire and optimized welding parameters was applied. Hardness and tensile testing was conducted to evaluate the extent of property degradation caused by welding. The results demonstrate that the applied welding process effectively limited the reduction in hardness and tensile strength, achieving values reasonably close to those of the base material. In addition, fatigue crack growth behaviour was investigated in accordance with ASTM E647, using both the Paris law and the McEvily law. The obtained fatigue crack growth curves and threshold stress intensity factor (ΔK_th) values indicate the nearly identical fatigue behaviour of the base material and the heat-affected zone, confirming the successful preservation of base material fatigue behaviour in the thermally affected zone. Moreover, the weld metal exhibited superior resistance to fatigue crack initiation and growth. Overall, the results confirm that the proposed welding approach provides favourable mechanical and fatigue performance for welded joints in armour steel applications. Full article

Background and Objectives: Anemia is a frequent complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD), primarily attributed to erythropoietin deficiency. Interstitial fibrosis (IF), which disrupts the renal interstitium where erythropoietin-producing cells reside, may contribute to anemia independent of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). However, data in primary glomerulonephritis (PGN) are limited and conflicting. Materials and Methods: In this nationwide multicenter registry analysis (TSN-GOLD), 2794 adults with biopsy-proven PGN were included. Interstitial fibrosis was graded semi quantitatively (0–3). Anemia was defined according to KDIGO/WHO criteria. Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate the independent association between IF severity and anemia, adjusting for age, sex, eGFR, log-transformed proteinuria, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and biopsy diagnosis. Interaction between IF and eGFR was assessed. A predefined subgroup analysis was performed in patients with preserved renal function (eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m²). Results: Anemia was present in 34.4% of patients. Although moderate-to-severe IF was more frequent among anemic patients (p < 0.001), IF severity was not independently associated with anemia in multivariable analysis (p-trend = 0.72). Female sex and lower eGFR were independently associated with anemia. A statistically significant IF×eGFR interaction was observed (p = 0.0029), indicating effect modification across renal function levels. The model demonstrated moderate discrimination (AUC = 0.705). In patients with preserved renal function, IF severity was not associated with anemia. Conclusions: In this large multicenter cohort of PGN patients, interstitial fibrosis severity was not independently associated with anemia after adjustment for renal function and clinical covariates. These findings suggest that the association between interstitial fibrosis and anemia in PGN appears largely mediated by renal functional status rather than fibrosis severity alone. Full article

Internet advertising, while enabling unprecedented commercial reach, has become a pervasive vehicle for deceptive practices that inflict measurable harm on consumers. This study empirically investigates the structural relationships between internet advertising falsity and consumer harm by integrating analyses of the mediating role of consumer cognitive processes and the moderating role of consumer vulnerability within a unified structural framework. Survey data were collected from 600 adult consumers with online purchase experience in the Republic of Korea—an advanced digital economy characterized by exceptionally high mobile-commerce penetration, mature e-commerce infrastructure, and evolving digital consumer protection regulation—and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS 24.0, supplemented by Hayes’ PROCESS macro Model 59 for conditional process analysis. All 13 hypotheses were supported, although path magnitudes varied substantially across falsity dimensions and mediator pathways—with direct effects ranging from β = 0.156 (false scarcity) to β = 0.224 (performance exaggeration), and indirect effects dominated by the risk assessment distortion pathway. Among the four sub-dimensions of advertising falsity—factual misrepresentation, performance exaggeration, price deception, and false scarcity—performance exaggeration exerted the strongest direct effect on consumer harm. The three cognitive mediators—perceived advertising credibility, risk assessment distortion, and purchase decision pressure—all demonstrated significant partial mediation, with risk assessment distortion emerging as the most powerful indirect pathway. All four consumer vulnerability dimensions—digital literacy level, demographic vulnerability, prior victimization experience, and impulsive buying tendency—significantly moderated the falsity–harm relationship, with low-digital-literacy consumers experiencing approximately 1.7 times the adverse effect of high-literacy counterparts. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that the conditional indirect effect for the high-vulnerability group was approximately 2.3 times that of the low-vulnerability group, confirming that the cognitive harm mechanism intensifies systematically for vulnerable consumers. These findings advance consumer vulnerability theory in the digital context and offer evidence-based implications for consumer protection policy, platform governance, and digital literacy education. Full article

Sea ice classification is of fundamental importance for polar monitoring and global climate research. Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) has emerged as a frontier technology in polar remote sensing due to its high spatiotemporal resolution and cost-effectiveness. Based on BeiDou System Reflectometry (BDS-R) data acquired from the Fengyun-3E (FY-3E) satellite, this study introduces a classification approach that integrates multi-dimensional sea ice information. A comprehensive feature set was constructed by integrating the Spectral Entropy (SE) of the Normalized Integrated Delay Waveform (NIDW) First-order Differential Curve to characterize the oscillatory complexity of the trailing edge power decay process as a scattering dynamic property, the Root Mean Square height (RMS) to characterize the attenuation magnitude of scattering intensity arising from surface roughness and related factors as a scattering intensity attenuation property, and salinity (S) and L-band brightness temperature (TB) data from SMOS to describe dielectric and radiative properties. These novel features are combined with traditional GNSS-R features. After selecting the optimal feature set via an ablation study, the features were used to train a Random Forest (RF) classifier for sea ice classification. Validated against Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF) sea ice type products, the proposed method yielded an overall accuracy of 93.86% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.8061. The integration of multi-dimensional features notably improved the identification of Multi-Year Ice (MYI), achieving a Recall of 85.11% and an F1-score of 84.43%. These results indicate that the proposed multi-dimensional feature set provides an effective solution for GNSS-R-based sea ice classification. Full article

Aging populations have intensified the demand for thermally comfortable and energy-efficient housing, particularly for elderly residents whose diminished thermoregulatory capacity renders them disproportionately vulnerable to indoor temperature fluctuations. Existing senior apartments in cold-climate regions frequently fail to meet age-specific thermal comfort standards, yet systematic retrofit optimization frameworks explicitly tailored to elderly occupants remain scarce. This study presents a data-driven multi-objective optimization framework for building envelope retrofitting, which is validated using on-site temperature measurements from a representative 1980s brick–concrete senior apartment building in Beijing. The framework integrates Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) for design space exploration, a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) surrogate model for simultaneous prediction of three performance objectives, and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) for Pareto-optimal solution generation, with final selection performed via a weighted Mahalanobis distance-based Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Optimization targets—annual energy consumption, indoor thermal discomfort hours, and retrofit cost—are parameterized using the age-sensitive comfort thresholds specified in GB 50340-2016. The LSTM surrogate achieved R² values of 0.91–0.93 across all objectives with training–testing differences below 0.02. The optimal retrofit package—Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Low Emissivity (Low-E) double-glazed windows (5 + 6A + 5), glass fiber roof insulation (65.25 mm), and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) external wall insulation (65.39 mm)—reduces annual energy consumption by 47.1% (from 40,867 to 21,626 kWh) and annual thermal discomfort hours by 62.4% (from 2454 °C·h to 923 °C·h). SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP)-based sensitivity analysis further identifies wall U-value and roof thickness as the dominant performance drivers. A reproducible and computationally efficient pathway is provided by the proposed framework for evidence-based envelope retrofit decision-making in existing senior residential buildings. Full article

Proteomic research in the genus Vitis has progressed from early biochemical studies of soluble proteins to high-resolution, quantitative analyses encompassing all major organs and derived products. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of advances in grapevine and wine proteomics. In leaves, studies have revealed extensive remodeling of photosynthetic, antioxidant, and defense pathways under biotic (e.g., Plasmopara viticola, Erysiphe necator, Xylella fastidiosa, Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis) and abiotic stresses (drought, salinity, heat, light). Bud proteomics elucidated hormonal regulation and mechanisms of dormancy release, while root studies identified nitrate-dependent metabolic shifts and adaptive protein networks. Cell culture models enabled controlled investigation of elicitor responses, stilbene biosynthesis, and temperature-induced proteome changes. In berries, proteomics clarified developmental transitions from fruit set to ripening, emphasizing proteins related to secondary metabolism, vacuolar transport, and stress tolerance. Comparative analyses across cultivars and environments identified biomarkers linked to aroma, color, and texture. The wine proteome revealed selective persistence of grape-derived proteins (e.g., thaumatin-like proteins, chitinases) and yeast peptides influencing stability and sensory properties, while Botrytis cinerea infection significantly alters this balance by degrading PR proteins and introducing fungal enzymes. Altogether, the Vitis proteome emerges as a dynamic, multifunctional system crucial for understanding plant adaptation, enological quality, and biomarker discovery. Full article

Cerebral ischemic stroke is caused by impaired blood flow to the brain parenchyma due to acute vessel occlusion. Although current therapies focusing on rapid restoration of blood flow achieve high rates of recanalization, outcomes remain unfavorable in a significant proportion of patients. Part of this discrepancy is due to intravascular inflammation driven by thrombo-inflammatory mechanisms that add to cerebral tissue loss. Despite being an inevitable consequence of vessel occlusion, altered shear stress remains largely overlooked as a contributor to endothelial dysfunction in stroke. To directly assess the impact of disturbed flow on the endothelial phenotype, human brain endothelial cells were cultured under controlled flow conditions using an ibidi pump system and exposed to flow alternating in both magnitude and direction. Subsequently, the expression of key endothelial proteins, including Claudin-5, PECAM-1, CD62e and endoglin, was analyzed. We show here that the sequence of shear-stress modulation, recapitulating the hemodynamic conditions of large-vessel occlusion and subsequent reperfusion in stroke, is sufficient to cause an inflammatory phenotype in human brain endothelial cells. In addition, we demonstrate that platelet activation induces the mechanosensors Piezo1 and syndecan-1, sensitizing brain endothelial cells to shear-stress alterations characteristic of ischemic stroke. Targeting shear-stress-mediated inflammatory activation of the brain endothelium may therefore offer a complementary strategy in stroke therapy, particularly in large-vessel occlusion with abrupt flow changes. Full article

Wheelchair users face significant mobility limitations related to both medical issues (e.g., musculoskeletal strain, pressure ulcers) and urban accessibility challenges. This pilot study introduces a sensor system integrating an inertial measurement unit (IMU), GPS (Global Positioning System), and a pressure-measuring seat to monitor distance travelled, speed, and posture in relation to real-world conditions. Seven participants navigated an approximately 800-metre outdoor course, divided into 13 sections, while real-time data were recorded. The results showed an average speed of 1.24 ± 0.41 m/s with peak speeds of up to 2.67 m/s. The centre of pressure on the seat fluctuated by an average of 25 mm in the x and y directions (left-right: COPx, back-forward: COPy). The data for average speed, COPx, and COPy showed significant differences between most of the 13 sections, with large, very large, and huge effect sizes. Comparing the speed, COPx, and COPy data with respect to distance travelled, and correlating them between the seven participants by applying the rank-sum method to the mean R² and calculating Kendall’s W, revealed that speed, COPx, and COPy were influenced by course conditions (R² medians between 0.013 and 0.499; W = 0.7857, strong agreement; χ²p = 0.0281). Small R² values indicate more individualised participant behaviour, while large R² values highlight the stronger influence of course conditions on the parameters. This non-invasive and cost-effective system provides objective motion data that can be used for future research in wheelchair design and rehabilitation strategies. Despite its advantages, this study was limited to able-bodied participants, so further clinical trials with individuals with mobility impairments are needed. Full article

Harmonic Path Integral Diffusion (H-PID) provides an analytically tractable framework for sampling from a target density $p^{\left(\mathrm{tar}\right)}\left(x\right)\propto exp(-E\left(x\right))$. H-PID can be viewed as a diffusion bridge model solving a stochastic optimal transport problem from a $\delta$-density at $t=0$ to the target density at $t=1$. The dynamics are governed by a controlled stochastic differential equation, and the corresponding variational stochastic optimal transport objective combines a time-dependent quadratic potential, ${\beta }_t{\parallel x_t\parallel }^2/2$, with a kinetic control cost, $\parallel u(t;x_t){\parallel }^2/2$. The focus of this paper is the design of the temporal stiffness protocol ${\beta }_t$, which enables explicit control of intermediate sampling dynamics when the terminal density is fixed. We exploit the central advantage of H-PID—its integrability—which yields an explicit representation of the optimal control in terms of the target density and Green functions of the associated linear forward and backward diffusion-in-a-potential problems. Our main contribution is to convert this integrable structure into a practical methodology for protocol optimization. Specializing to piecewise-constant stiffness schedules and Gaussian-mixture targets, we develop two complementary optimization principles: The first is a deterministic one, relying on explicit evaluation of the dynamic marginals, and exemplified on a velocity-gradient-sensitivity objective, which provides a computationally controlled framework for optimizing transport regularity and stiffness. The second is a stochastic one, implemented via sampling, and exemplified on sharpness-based temporal-memory objective regularized to favor transitions within a prescribed time window that targets the temporal organization of the sampling path. These two objectives illuminate different aspects of the same protocol-design problem. The velocity-gradient-sensitivity objective serves as a clean methodological backbone and supports interpretable optimization and scaling studies. The sharpness-based objective reveals that schedule quality is target-dependent, and that the dependence on $\beta$ is not universal: different target geometries may favor different stiffness regimes and qualitatively different transient organizations. Examples with low- and moderate-dimensional Gaussian mixtures demonstrate that the proposed approach can control not only the terminal sampling accuracy but also the transient evolution of probability mass, while remaining computationally light and theoretically transparent. Full article