Search Results (101)

Background/Objectives: Improvements in depression and anxiety, associated with moderate increases in physical activity, might induce reductions in emotional eating, especially in women with obesity, where emotion-driven eating is highly problematic. This pilot, field-based study sought to assess whether physical activity increase, itself, primarily predicts improved mood (biochemical theories) or if psychosocial factors associated with cognitive–behavioral treatment are principal correlates (behavioral theories). An aim was to inform improved treatment processes. Methods: Women with obesity participated in 6-month community-based behavioral obesity treatments emphasizing either: (a) standard education in weight-reduction methods (n = 28), (b) eating-related self-regulation methods (n = 24), or (c) self-regulation + relaxation training (n = 24). They completed a series of behavioral and psychological self-reports at baseline and Months 3 and 6. Results: Findings confirmed no significant difference in 3-month increases in physical activity, by group. There were significantly greater overall improvements in depression, emotional eating, self-regulation, and self-efficacy across the two self-regulation-focused groups (ps < 0.02), with anxiety improvement not reaching significance (p = 0.055). Separate significant paths from 3-month changes in depression and anxiety → self-efficacy change → emotional eating change were found. The same significant path was detected emanating from 6-month anxiety change; however, the hypothesized path of 6-month changes in depression → self-regulation → self-efficacy → emotional eating was, rather, significant. Weight reduction was considerably greater in the two self-regulation-based groups (~6% reduction), with simultaneously entered changes in self-regulation and self-efficacy significant predictors of those weight changes. Conclusions: Findings suggested viability in behavioral theory-driven explanations of the physical activity-mood improvement relationship. Future treatment foci on self-regulatory skills development leading to improvements in eating-related self-efficacy, emotional eating, and weight were suggested to extend the findings of this pilot study. Full article

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the neuromuscular fatigue response to playing in a singles pickleball tournament, as measured by performance on a countermovement jump test (CMJ). We hypothesized that players would exhibit neuromuscular fatigue after the tournament. Methods: Six adult pickleball players (five male and one female, M ± SD: 40.2 ± 10.1 years old, height = 178.7 ± 12.3 cm, body mass = 85.4 ± 16.7 kg) participated in a 15 game singles pickleball tournament. Prior to the tournament, everyone completed the CMJ to assess lower body strength and power on paired Hawkin Dynamics force plates. After the tournament, players repeated the CMJ. Mixed-effects regression modeling was used to examine changes in key outcomes measured from the CMJ. Results: All nine outcomes from the CMJ significantly changed from pre to post-tournament (e.g., means for net impulse increased from 2.32 ± 0.22 to 2.40 ± 0.18 N·s, p = 0.0006; RSImod increased from 0.28 ± 0.07 to 0.33 ± 0.05, p = 0.0001, and propulsive peak power increased from 41.79 ± 6.14 to 44.34 ± 4.70 W/kg, p < 0.0001). All the changes demonstrated improved performance in the CMJ test. Seven out of the nine outcomes demonstrated a large effect size by the partial-eta square statistic, with η²-partial of 0.153–0.487, and three key outcomes (RSImod, propulsive peak power, and propulsive mean power) also demonstrated large effect sizes by the F² statistic (F² of 0.4603–0.9495). Conclusions: Contrary to our hypothesis, participants did not demonstrate significant neuromuscular fatigue. In contrast, they showed significant improvements in CMJ performance. It is possible that adequate rest between games prevented neuromuscular fatigue; alternately, singles pickleball may not provide enough stimulus in the lower body musculature to induce neuromuscular fatigue. Full article

Traditional materials synthesis often involves energy-intensive processes with significant waste generation and limited control over material properties. This review examines synthetic biology as a sustainable alternative for designing advanced materials with enhanced precision and versatility. It explores microbial biomineralization, detailing how microorganisms influence the formation of mineral deposits and participate in key biogeochemical cycles. It highlights recent research advancements in using a wide variety of microorganisms for the synthesis of inorganic materials such as metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, quantum dots, magnetic nanoparticles, and thin films. The review also discusses the production and properties of various biopolymers. Important factors that can influence the size, morphology, and uniformity of these biomaterials are covered in detail. Emphasis is placed on advancements utilizing synthetic biology tools, such as protein engineering and genome editing, and recent research for creating smart and responsive materials. Considering the present limitations of synthetic biology, challenges related to scale-up, yield, and uniformity are discussed, and suggestions for future research are detailed. Full article

A review of the pore patterns of deep-sea benthic foraminifera is presented with a discussion of their characteristics, function and relationship with dissolved oxygen levels. Pore characteristics of deep-sea benthic foraminifera are of timely interest due to their potential for reconstructing dissolved oxygen conditions from the sedimentary record. Scanning electron micrographs of 20 epifaunal and infaunal deep-sea taxa from the Sulu Sea, Monterey Bay, California Bight and northwest Atlantic Ocean are presented to illustrate the wide range of pore patterns found in deep-sea taxa. New SEM observations of three taxa with biconvex test shapes, Oridorsalis umbonatus, Hoeglundina elegans, and Epistominella umbonifera, suggest that these taxa have an infaunal habitat for at least part of their life span. Full article

In recent years, several studies across a variety of target languages (e.g., Chinese, French, and Spanish) have demonstrated that students who study abroad acquire target-like patterns of variation. In Spanish-speaking contexts, recent research has moved beyond investigating the acquisition of features specific to Spain to examine that of features used in immersion contexts such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina. Nevertheless, many of these studies either rely on quantitative variationist analysis or implement qualitative analysis of one or two target dialectal features. In addition, learner omission and expression of pronominal subjects in these contexts have been largely underexplored. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study not only quantitatively examines learners’ production of several features of Buenos Aires Spanish, including sheísmo/zheísmo, /s/-weakening, voseo, and subject pronoun expression, but it also qualitatively relates the production of these features to learners’ experiences during a five-month semester in Argentina. It aims to answer the following research questions: When and to what degree do three English-speaking students studying abroad for five months in Buenos Aires, Argentina acquire target-like production of [ʃ] and/or [ʒ], s-weakening, vos, and subject pronoun expression? How do participants’ experiences, communities of practice, investments, identities, and imagined communities relate to this production? Speech data were gathered prior to, at the midpoint, and at the end of the semester by means of sociolinguistic interviews and elicitation tasks. To further understand the connection between these learners’ use of the target features and their overseas experiences, we explored the case studies of three learners of Spanish of differing proficiency levels (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) using qualitative data collected during semi-structured interviews at each interview time. The results suggest that all three learners increased their production of the prestigious, salient dialectal features of sheísmo/zheísmo and vos during the sojourn and that the amount of increase was greater at each proficiency level. While the beginning and intermediate learners did not move toward target-like norms in their use of the often-stigmatized, less salient, variable features of /s/-weakening and subject pronoun expression, the advanced learner did. As such, stigma, salience, and variability, as well as proficiency level, may play a role in the acquisition of variable features. Learners’ investment in the target language and participation in local communities of practice increased at each proficiency level as well, and learners’ imagined communities beyond their study abroad experiences were related to their identity construction and linguistic choices abroad. Full article

Improvements in irrigation water productivity constitute an ongoing effort globally. In California, growers are under regulatory pressure to stabilize groundwater levels and reduce nitrate leaching, partially, by further improvements in irrigation optimization. Evapotranspiration (ET)-based methods can inform crop water requirements and boost irrigation efficiency, but in practice, they can be challenging for farmers to implement, especially in vegetable systems. Irrigation field trials were conducted near Salinas CA in 2018 and 2019 to evaluate the crop coefficient model employed by the CropManage ET-based irrigation decision support system (DSS) for summer cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis cv. Symphony) and investigate potential water savings through improved irrigation scheduling. Overhead sprinklers were used for crop establishment, and surface drip was used subsequently. A randomized complete block design was used to administer treatments near 50, 75, 100, and 150% of crop evapotranspiration (ET) during the drip period with an added treatment at 125% in 2019. Water requirement for the 100% treatment was determined by the CropManage DSS model based on crop coefficients derived from fractional canopy cover. Deliveries to remaining treatments were scaled proportionally. The total yield and irrigation productivity were maximized by the 100% treatment both years with total applied water ranging from 275 to 300 mm. At present, the reported water application for summer cauliflower averages 465 mm in the region. Hence, implementing ET-based irrigation scheduling, administered through the CropManage DSS, could reduce water use in summer cauliflower by an average of 30% relative to current practices and serve to enhance groundwater management while maintaining crop returns. Full article

Global food production, both aquatic and terrestrial, is rife with sustainability issues. Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry that is on track to surpass wild-caught fishery production by 2030. The integration of aquaculture and agriculture systems could help to reduce some of their respective and shared environmental issues. Integrated Aquaculture–Agriculture (IAA) has been shown to provide a variety of benefits to both aquaculture and agriculture including increased system water use efficiency (WUE), a reduction in fertilizer use, and increases in total farm yield and resilience. This study was performed to examine the potential for rainbow trout aquaculture effluent to improve the yield, nutrient composition, and WUE of lettuce, as well as act as a partial fertilizer replacement. We used four irrigation treatments throughout the experiment: city water, aquaculture effluent, city water with added organic fertilizer, and aquaculture effluent with added organic fertilizer. Throughout the trial, there were some issues of herbivory in the growing plot, but overall, the lettuce receiving city water with organic fertilizer (30. ± 3.4 g/plant) showed significantly higher fresh biomass than effluent treatments (18 ± 1.4 g/plant and 17 ± 2.9 g/plant) at the end of the trial. We did not detect any significant differences among treatments in the macro- and micronutrients of the lettuce shoots and roots. However, the WUE of effluent treatments (4.4 ± 0.030 kg/m³ and 1.0 ± 0.070 kg/m³) was greater than that of organic fertilizer (0.28 ± 0.050 kg/m³) and control treatments (0.23 ± 0.040 kg/m³). The results indicate that adopting IAA in California could improve statewide WUE and conserve water for sustainable agricultural production. Full article

Background: High-intensity endurance training induces specific cardiac adaptations, often observed through electrocardiographic (ECG) changes. This study investigated the prevalence of ECG abnormalities in national-level Australian triathletes compared to sedentary controls. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving 22 triathletes and 7 sedentary controls. Standard 12-lead ECGs assessed resting heart rate, ECG intervals, and axis deviation. Peak oxygen consumption was evaluated in triathletes to correlate with ECG indices and left ventricular mass, derived via echocardiography. Results: Triathletes exhibited significantly lower resting heart rates (53.8 vs. 72.1 bpm, −34%, p = 0.04), shorter QRS durations (0.088 vs. 0.107 ms, −21.6%, p = 0.01), and longer QT intervals (0.429 vs. 0.358 ms, +16.6%, p = 0.01) compared to controls. Sinus bradycardia was present in 68.2% of triathletes, with varying severity. First-degree atrioventricular block was identified in 13.6% of athletes, and left ventricular hypertrophy was confirmed in 18 triathletes via echocardiography. A significant positive relationship was identified between VO₂peak and left ventricular mass (r = 0.68, p = 0.003). Conclusions: National-level triathletes exhibited ECG and structural cardiac adaptations consistent with high-intensity endurance training. Echocardiography is recommended for the accurate identification of LVH. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive cardiac evaluation in athletes to distinguish between physiological and pathological adaptations. Full article

Silicate agrominerals (SA) may be sustainable soil amendments that can minimize dependence on conventional fertilizers (CF). We evaluated the residual effects of SA application as a source of Si and as a soil remineralizer, using soils with contrasting chemical-physical features cultivated with soybean. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions and treatments were arranged in a 5 × 2 + 2 factorial scheme: five rates of SA, two soils in addition to CF. The soil was incubated before cultivation, followed by the sequential sowing of corn and soybean. At the R4 phenological stage, when the pods were fully developed, soybean plants were harvested for anatomical leaf tissue analysis and P, Ca, Mg, and Si accumulation. After harvest, the soil was analyzed. Application of SA rates reduced potential acidity (H + Al) and exchangeable acidity (Al³⁺) and increased soil pH, sum of bases (SB), cation-exchange capacity (CEC), and base saturation (BS), in addition to promoting the nutrient’s availability and Si. Stomatal density was higher on the adaxial face of plants cultivated in the medium-textured soil. Silicate agrominerals can be used as a soil acidity corrector and remineralizer, improving the root environment and increasing the availability of nutrients and silicon. Full article

Climate change poses a significant threat to our planet, particularly affecting intricate marine ecosystems like coral reefs. These ecosystems are crucial for biodiversity and serve as indicators of the overall health of our oceans. To better understand and predict these changes, this paper discusses a multidisciplinary technical approach incorporating machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing techniques. We focus primarily on the changes that occur in coral reefs over time, taking into account biological components, geographical considerations, and challenges stemming from climate change. We investigate the application of GIS technology in coral reef studies, analyze publicly available datasets from various organisations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory, and present the use of machine and deep learning models in coral reef surveillance. This article examines the application of GIS in coral reef studies across various contexts, identifying key research gaps, particularly the lack of a comprehensive catalogue of publicly available datasets. Additionally, it reviews the existing literature on machine and deep learning techniques for coral reef surveillance, critically evaluating their contributions and limitations. The insights provided in this work aim to guide future research, fostering advancements in coral reef monitoring and conservation. Full article

We show that analyzing archived and future multibeam backscatter and bathymetry data, in tandem with regional environmental parameters, can help to identify polymetallic nodule fields in the world’s oceans. Extensive archived multibeam transit data through remote areas of the world’s oceans are available for data mining. New multibeam data will be made available through the Seabed 2030 Project. Uniformity of along- and across-track backscatter, backscatter intensity, angular response, water depth, nearby ground-truth data, local slope, sedimentation rate, and seafloor age provide thresholds for discriminating areas that are permissive to nodule presence. A case study of this methodology is presented, using archived multibeam data from a remote section of the South Pacific along the Foundation Seamounts between the Selkirk paleomicroplate and East Pacific Rise, that were collected during the 1997 Foundation–Hotline expedition on R/V Atalante. The 12 kHz Simrad EM12D multibeam data and the other forementioned data strongly suggest that a previously unknown nodule occurrence exists along the expedition transit. We also compare the utility of three different backscatter products to demonstrate that scans of printed backscatter maps can be a useful substitute for digital backscatter mosaics calculated using primary multibeam data files. We show that this expeditious analysis of legacy multibeam data could characterize benthic habitat types efficiently in remote deep-ocean areas, prior to more time-consuming and expensive video and sample acquisition surveys. Additionally, utilizing software other than specialty sonar processing programs during this research allows an exploration of how multibeam data products could be interrogated by a broader range of scientists and data users. Future mapping, video, and sampling cruises in this area would test our prediction and investigate how far it might extend to the north and south. Full article

Although many studies have validated wave energy converter (WEC) numerical models against scaled prototype experimental data, there remains a notable lack of validation using data from full-scale deployed WECs. This paper compares two numerical models of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Wave Energy Converter (MBARI-WEC), a two-body point absorber with an electro-hydraulic power take-off system (PTO). The models are implemented in WEC-Sim/Simscape and Gazebo Simulator. A statistical analysis of the models was performed, and field results were obtained to compare the models’ accuracy in predicting the RMS piston velocity, RMS motor speed, and mean electric power compared to field data for 56 observations across varying sea states. The Gazebo model demonstrated a closer agreement across all three parameters for a majority of the observations. When compared to the field data, the Gazebo and WEC-Sim models exhibited average mean electric power overestimations of 13% and 22%, respectively. Full article

To date, only a few microbial community studies of cold seeps at the South China Sea (SCS) have been reported. The cold seep dominated by tubeworms was discovered at South Yungan East Ridge (SYER) offshore southwestern Taiwan by miniROV. The tubeworms were identified and proposed as Paraescarpia formosa sp. nov. through morphological and phylogenetic analyses. The endosymbionts in the trunk of P. formosa analyzed by a 16S rRNA gene clone library represented only one phylotype, which belonged to the family Sedimenticolaceae in Gammaproteobacteria. In addition, the archaeal and bacterial communities in the habitat of tubeworm P. formosa were investigated by using high-phylogenetic-resolution full-length 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The results showed that anerobic methane-oxidizing archaea (ANME)-1b was most abundant and ANME-2ab was minor in a consortia of the anerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). The known sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) partners in AOM consortia, such as SEEP-SRB1, -SRB2, and -SRB4, Desulfococcus and Desulfobulbus, occurred in a small population (0–5.7%) at the SYER cold seep, and it was suggested that ANME-1b and ANME-2ab might be coupled with multiple SRB in AOM consortia. Besides AOM consortia, various methanogenic archaea, including Bathyarchaeota (Subgroup-8), Methanocellales, Methanomicrobiales, Methanosarcinales, Methanofastidiosales and Methanomassiliicoccales, were identified, and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria Sulfurovum and Sulfurimonas in phylum Epsilonbacteraeota were dominant. This study revealed the first investigation of microbiota in and around tubeworm P. formosa discovered at the SYER cold seep offshore southwestern Taiwan. We could gain insights into the chemosynthetic communities in the deep sea, especially regarding the cold seep ecosystems at the SCS. Full article

The diversification of cropping sequences has a positive impact on soil organic carbon, while improving nutrient cycling and crop yields. The objective of this research was to assess amylase, cellulase, C and N dynamics, and maize yield on a low fertility oxisol in the Brazilian Cerrado. The experiment was conducted under field conditions during three maize crop succession cycles. The treatments consisted of cultivating maize during the summer, after sorghum and lablab cropped as green manure and fallow during the winter. Higher maize yields were achieved by sorghum–maize succession compared to monocropping, due to higher N fertilizer and biomass inputs to topsoil. Sorghum–maize succession also provided a higher proportion of stable C and N compared to other successions. Maize yields declined as tropical soil fertility intrinsically decreased along three crops succession cycles. Cellulase activity decreased over time, whereas amylase activity increased as the plant residues were already in advanced stages of decomposition. The sorghum–maize crop succession stood out compared to lablab and fallow as it provided the highest maize yields, while maintaining higher C and N levels, and amylase activity. This better performance was likely due to larger amounts of incorporated biomass and better mineral N fertilizer management. Full article

The Northern Triangle countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, are sources of a significant number of asylum seekers in the United States today. This article examines the underlying societal dynamics in these countries and considers the typical profile of transgender immigrant women seeking asylum in the U.S. on the legal grounds of having faced gender-based violence in their countries of origin. It analyzes the relevant international conventions as well as the social determinants of the health and mental health of transgender asylum seekers. It draws from 35 cases of transgender immigrant women subjected to child sexual abuse; sexual assault, including assault by police; and forced sex work; it reviews examples from the academic and gray literature, including a precedent-setting case heard before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. It discusses the implications for social science professionals, including the role of experts of country conditions. It provides guidance for immigrant service providers and advocates, particularly the importance of gender-affirming policies and healthcare to this population deserving of protection. Full article