Search Results (4,427)

Direct sea discharge outlets served as critical conduits for urban sewage and industrial wastewater disposal, playing dual roles as pollutant dilution channels and hotspots for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. Traditional monitoring approaches relying on physicochemical parameters and fecal indicator bacteria failed to capture the latent and cumulative risks posed by complex microbial communities. In this review, a holistic microbiome perspective was adopted to systematically synthesize current knowledge on the bacterial community dynamics, assembly mechanisms, resistome–virulome coupling patterns, mobilome-associated risk characteristics, and emerging biomonitoring strategies in direct sea discharge outlets. By integrating high-throughput multi-omics technologies with ecological network analysis and machine learning, we delineated a paradigm shift from cataloging microbial presence to deciphering functional interactions, risk propagation dynamics, and proactive surveillance strategies. Furthermore, under the “One Health” framework, we discussed emerging research frontiers and future challenges in managing pollution at discharge outlets, aiming to provide a scientific basis for environmental risk management in coastal zones. Full article

The development of biocompatible materials has gained traction due to the increasing clinical demands for customizable and functional medical devices. Chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin, is a naturally occurring biopolymer with strong antimicrobial properties, immunocompatibility, and structural adaptability, making it a promising candidate for biomedical applications. Through mechanisms such as crosslinking, ionic bonding, gas formation, and UV radiation, the mechanical properties and stimulus responses of chitosan-based hydrogels can be tailored for drug delivery at specific sites or under specific pH, light, or electrical conditions. Beyond drug delivery, chitosan hydrogels have shown considerable potential for vascular tissue repair. The porous structure of chitosan allows patient specific vascular scaffolding to be created that promotes the recovery rate veins and stenting procedures. Thermally sensitive hydrogels can deliver drugs to target regions to further assist in vascular healing. Furthermore, recent developments with composite polymers and coatings engineered to self-assemble within veins provide scaffolds for vascular tissue growth. This manuscript reviews chitosan hydrogel fabrication methods and their corresponding materials properties, with particular emphasis on drug delivery to vascular tissues. Furthermore, relevant findings from clinical trials are summarized to support the potential of chitosan hydrogels for future clinical use. Challenges of chitosan hydrogels, such as insufficient mechanical strength, high degradation rates, and complex manufacturing, remain as areas for research break-through. Full article

6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (F-53B, also known as 6:2 Cl-PFESA) is a major alternative to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and a widespread environmental pollutant with potential public health hazards. However, its nephrotoxic effects and underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study investigated renal injury induced by environmentally relevant concentrations of F-53B and delineated the mechanistic cascade using a mouse model combined with quantitative proteomic and molecular biological approaches. Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 0, 4, 40, and 400 μg/L F-53B for 4 weeks. F-53B exposure led to significant renal dysfunction, histopathological damage, elevated renal injury biomarkers, and pronounced oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. A proteomic comparison of the 0 μg/L versus 400 μg/L groups identified 276 differentially expressed proteins that were strongly enriched in oxidative phosphorylation, autophagy, and apoptosis pathways, with cytochrome c oxidase subunit 7b (Cox7b) serving as a core downregulated hub molecule. Further validation confirmed that F-53B triggered overt mitochondrial structural damage, impaired respiratory chain complex assembly, aberrant ATP production, and disturbed mitochondrial dynamics. Consequently, excessive autophagy activation and mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis were simultaneously stimulated in renal tissues. Notably, although statistically significant, the alterations induced by F-53B were generally mild in magnitude. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that F-53B induces nephrotoxicity through a sequential pathological cascade. This study provides novel mechanistic insights into F-53B-elicited renal injury and highlights the potential health risks of this emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) alternative. Full article

Introduction: Squalius palaciosi (Doadrio, 1980; Leuciscidae) is a highly threatened freshwater fish species with an extremely restricted distribution, currently confined to a few tributaries on the right bank of the Guadalquivir River basin. During the 1980s, its populations were abundant and constituted a dominant component of local fish communities. However, multiple threats led to a drastic population decline, bringing the species to the brink of extinction. From an evolutionary perspective, S. palaciosi is particularly remarkable due to its polyploid condition and its potential involvement in hybridogenetic complexes, a rare phenomenon in the Iberian Peninsula. Hybridogenetic systems are well documented in its congeners Squalius alburnoides, widely distributed across Iberian river basins, and Squalius sp., restricted to the Guadiana basin. In these systems, the maternal lineage is shared (Squalius pyrenaicus), whereas the paternal lineage varies and remains unknown in S. palaciosi. Objective: This study aims to generate the first genomic data for S. palaciosi and to elucidate its evolutionary origin, as well as its mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenetic relationships within hybridogenetic complexes. Methodology: Genomic DNA was extracted from skeletal remains of preserved specimens housed in the fish collection of the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and subjected to Illumina short-read sequencing. After quality filtering, potential contaminant reads were removed. The complete mitochondrial genome and several nuclear gene fragments were assembled. Mitochondrial phylogenetic analyses were conducted using publicly available whole-genome sequencing data from Iberian freshwater fish species. Nuclear gene fragments were taxonomically assigned using BLAST analyses. Results: Phylogenetic analyses revealed that S. palaciosi is closely related at the mitochondrial level to S. alburnoides and S. tartessicus, with strong statistical support. BLAST-based taxonomic assignments of nuclear markers suggest the involvement of multiple Iberian freshwater fish species in the hybridogenetic origin of S. palaciosi. Conclusions: Our results provide novel insights into the evolutionary history of S. palaciosi and support a complex hybridogenetic origin involving multiple parental lineages. This study contributes to a better understanding of hybridogenetic speciation in freshwater fishes, a rare but evolutionarily significant process. Full article

Nanobubbles have attracted increasing interest in food systems because they can modify gas dispersion, interfacial transport, washing performance, preservation processes, and the structures of dispersed matrices. However, their behavior cannot be interpreted based on bubble size alone. Proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, salts, colloidal particles, gas composition, and processing conditions can alter interfacial adsorption, gas transfer, bubble persistence, and matrix organization in food systems. This review examines the physicochemical mechanisms proposed to explain nanobubble persistence and functionality, with an emphasis on surface charge, interfacial adsorption, gas supersaturation, confinement, and interactions with food biopolymers. A central distinction is made between passive nanobubble-containing systems and externally activated systems involving hydrodynamic cavitation, ultrasound, plasma, pressure fluctuations, and reactive gases. Under passive conditions, nanobubbles mainly act as gas–liquid interfaces that influence local transport and adsorption. In activated systems, microbial inactivation, reactive oxygen species formation, and apparent mass-transfer enhancement often arise from external energy input, gas chemistry, turbulence, and transient supersaturation rather than from nanobubbles alone. Interfacial stability is used here as an organizing concept to connect nanobubble persistence, food-matrix interactions, generation methods, characterization limitations, and interpretation of reported technological effects. Current methods, such as dynamic light scattering and nanoparticle tracking analysis, provide useful size and concentration estimates but cannot unambiguously distinguish nanobubbles from protein aggregates, fat droplets, micelles, polysaccharide assemblies, and other colloidal structures in complex matrices. Therefore, reliable interpretation requires complementary methods, appropriate controls, and standardized reporting of gas composition, generation method, energy input, matrix properties, and processing conditions. Thus, nanobubble-containing technologies show promise for food processing; however, their value depends on the separation of nanoscale interfacial effects from concurrent hydrodynamic, chemical, and matrix-dependent phenomena. Full article

In this experimental inquiry, I welcome readers into an unfolding undisciplined platform, expanding upon my earlier theorizing of philly soul musicking through insurgent listening to Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues in all of its radical, beautiful, and tragic public memory work of the 1971 Attica Uprising. Philly soul musicking gives regional texture to a transgenerational Black diasporic performance practice that serves to archive the complexity of Black lived experiences and articulate felt collective visions of liberated Black futures. Through these introductory comments, I improvise what I reckon to be essential to the secretive sonic histories of the album, giving shape to a fire music organizing praxis meant to call us into being-with the anticolonial worldmaking project that the men of Attica advanced with their hearts, minds, and bodies on the line. This prelude foreshadows a wider overall project speculating upon how Attica Blues and other related avenues of Black compositional practice attune us to assembling active solidarities with militants/rebels on the frontlines inventing rhythmic zones of autonomy, freedom, and liberation. I ask of the music’s fugitive archive, to draw on the words of James Baldwin, what are the contemporary use(s) of the Attica Blues? Full article

Interzeolite transformation (IZT) has emerged as a versatile strategy for accessing zeolite frameworks through controlled framework reorganization under comparatively simplified synthesis conditions. Unlike traditional synthesis approaches that frequently require organic structure-directing agents (OSDAs), highly alkaline media, and prolonged thermal treatment, IZT converts pre-existing zeolite into a new topology, enabling direct reuse of crystalline matter while reducing synthesis complexity. This review examines how structural drivers, including framework density, structural memory, and building-unit compatibility, govern transformation pathways and phase selectivity across five principal transformation approaches: (i) solution-mediated, (ii) assembly–disassembly–organization–reassembly (ADOR), (iii) mechanically assisted, (iv) steam-assisted, and (v) fully solid-state systems. These approaches promote distinct transformation pathways that govern framework reconstruction, structural inheritance, and phase selectivity. Recent advances in solvent-free, mechanochemical, steam-assisted, and microwave-assisted synthesis demonstrate the potential of IZT to reduce solvent consumption, template usage, and crystallization times. Despite these advances, major challenges remain in predicting transformation outcomes, controlling transient intermediates, and establishing scalable and quantitatively validated sustainability metrics. Collectively, these developments position IZT as a promising platform for the rational and sustainable design of next-generation zeolitic materials. Full article

Calcium-induced polysaccharide hydrogels have attracted growing interest in food science because of their mild gelation conditions, tunable structures, and compatibility with food-grade formulation. This review focuses on edible Ca²⁺-mediated polysaccharide hydrogels and related composite networks, focusing on alginate, low-methoxyl pectin, gellan gum, and carrageenan. Rather than treating all calcium-containing polysaccharide materials as well-defined complexes, we distinguish direct coordination, ionic bridging, charge screening, helix stabilization, and composite-assisted network regulation. Current evidence indicates that Ca²⁺-mediated assembly is governed by polysaccharide fine structure, calcium-release behavior, pH, ionic strength, and processing conditions, thereby determining crosslinking density, digestibility gel strength, water distribution, rheological properties, release behavior, and texture-related functionality. For texture-modified foods for older adults, these hydrogels may provide a useful material basis for designing swallowing-friendly matrices, sustained nutrient-delivery systems, and soft composite foods. However, available evidence is still largely derived from model gels, in vitro characterization, and static digestion models, while validation in real food matrices, dynamic gastrointestinal conditions, oral processing, sensory acceptance, and older-adult populations remains limited. Future studies should establish structure–function–population evidence chains linking molecular assembly to reliable geriatric food performance. Full article

This paper addresses a human resource allocation problem with spatial-temporal constraints (HRAP-SC) in the parallel assembly of complex products, such as satellites and aircraft. It involves coordinating a limited pool of multi-skilled workers across geographically distributed workstations, subject to rigorous constraints including team collaboration requirements, operation priorities, technological tail times (e.g., curing), and strict 8 h workdays. Existing exact approaches typically fail to converge due to the combinatorial explosion arising from the strong coupling of shared resources across workstations, while meta-heuristic methods often suffer from performance instability caused by hyper-parameter sensitivity. To overcome these limitations, we propose a pattern-based decomposition algorithm (PDA), a novel parameter-free exact solution framework. By exploiting the inherent symmetry of identical jobs and parallel workstations, PDA defines a set of canonical patterns to drastically reduce the search space. It employs an efficient traversal mechanism reinforced by rigorous mathematical bounds and pruning rules to eliminate unpromising solutions. Computational experiments demonstrate that PDA significantly outperforms state-of-the-art Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) and Constraint Programming (CP) solvers. Unlike standard solvers, which frequently time out (3600 s), PDA strictly evaluates only a single pattern when proving optimality, and robustly scales to large industrial instances (e.g., six jobs comprising 78 operations) to provide high-quality schedules. By successfully solving complex scheduling problems that remain intractable for monolithic solvers, PDA provides a robust and automated decision-support tool for production management in complex manufacturing systems. Full article

Many machine-learning tasks involve structured data whose geometry, local feature distributions, and global organization interact in ways that are not well captured by existing methods based on vectorization, graph metrics, or homological signatures. We introduce Fiber Bundle Learning (FBL), a topological framework that represents each data sample as a discrete fiber bundle and extracts a classification signature combining persistent homology, local feature geometry, and gluing structure. FBL builds a base space from the coarse geometry of each object, models local feature patches as fibers, and estimates transition maps between neighboring fibers to construct a discrete connection. From this representation, FBL computes a set of invariants: persistent homology of the base, fibers, and total space; holonomy obtained by transporting fiber states along cycles; curvature-like quantities measuring transition inconsistency; and discrete analogues of characteristic classes. These components are assembled into a fixed-length feature vector that can be used with any standard classifier. We show that FBL yields a signature with three desirable theoretical properties: stability under perturbations of geometry and local features, invariance under isometries and global fiber reparameterizations, and robustness to sampling noise. Our synthetic experiments show that FBL distinguishes twisted from untwisted bundles with identical homology, a distinction classical topological methods fail to capture. Additional tests quantify the system’s resistance to noise, its invariance to geometric transformations, and the contribution of each signature component. Taken together, our results indicate that representing data through fiber bundle structure may provide an effective tool for classifying complex, multi-level objects. Full article

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) is a key environmental driver in aquatic ecosystems and plays a significant role in shaping microbial communities, particularly in sediment-rich rivers. Dam construction alters hydrological regimes and creates distinct SPM gradients; however, the response mechanisms of microeukaryotic plankton communities remain poorly understood. In this study, we used 18S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing to characterize microeukaryotic plankton communities across riverine, lacustrine, and transitional zones of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir on the Yellow River (China). Our results revealed distinct community compositions in the lacustrine zone, with SPM identified as the primary factor driving community differentiation. Alpha diversity was highest in the riverine zone, while beta diversity differences among zones were dominated by species turnover. Dominant taxa included Cryptophyta (44.71% ± 30.79%), Metazoa (18.98% ± 17.71%), Perkinsea (7.97% ± 9.78%), Chlorophyta (7.06% ± 5.80%), and Dinophyta (6.06% ± 6.73%). Metazoa, Dinophyta, and Phaeophyta were enriched in high-SPM riverine waters, whereas Alveolata dominated low-SPM lacustrine zones. Community assembly was primarily deterministic, governed mainly by homogeneous selection, with stochastic processes exerting stronger influence in riverine zones. Network analysis indicated that riverine zones exhibited more complex and stable networks, lacustrine zones showed higher local but lower global connectivity, and transitional zones displayed stronger interactions but lower stability. These findings advance our understanding of microeukaryotic plankton responses to dam-induced environmental changes and provide a basis for assessing biodiversity impacts in regulated river systems. Full article

Mitochondrial genomes are widely used in insect taxonomy and phylogenetics, but their signals may conflict with morphology and nuclear genomic evidence because the mitochondrial genome represents a single maternally inherited locus. Here, we assembled complete mitochondrial genomes of four pygmy grasshoppers, Zhengitettix transpicula, Formosatettix sp., Gibbotettix parvipulvillus, and Bolivaritettix sp., using PacBio HiFi reads. The four mitogenomes ranged from 15,152 to 17,976 bp and contained the typical 37 mitochondrial genes. Mitochondrial phylogenies inferred by maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods were topologically identical and recovered several well-supported tetrigid relationships, including a close relationship between Formosatettix sp. and Bolivaritettix sp. However, Z. transpicula was unexpectedly placed near Macromotettixoides rather than close to other Zhengitettix representatives. In contrast, a morphology-based tree recovered Z. transpicula with Z. triangularis, and comparison with a published nuclear single-copy ortholog tree based on 1962 loci supported a non-mitochondrial placement of Zhengitettix inconsistent with the anomalous mitochondrial position of Z. transpicula. Independent assembly from the original HiFi reads, read-depth inspection, protein-coding gene checks, and nuclear-genome screening for NUMT-like sequences supported the authenticity of the assembled Z. transpicula mitogenome. These results document mito–nuclear and cyto-morphological discordance in Tetrigidae and highlight the need for integrative interpretation of mitochondrial phylogenies in taxonomically complex insect groups. Full article

Early-life microbial community assembly is important for gastrointestinal development, immune maturation, and feed utilization in young ruminants, but the maternal reservoirs associated with neonatal lamb gut microbial profiles remain insufficiently defined. This exploratory study characterized bacterial and archaeal communities in maternal vaginal secretions, amniotic fluid, and colostrum, together with rectal feces from Hu lambs at birth and at 5 days of age, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in six matched ewe–lamb pairs. Alpha-diversity differences were evaluated using the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by pairwise Wilcoxon rank-sum tests where appropriate, beta-diversity was assessed by principal coordinate analysis based on Bray–Curtis distance, and discriminatory taxa were identified using LEfSe; statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. Microbial community structure differed among sample types. Feces collected at birth showed low bacterial richness and a distinct community profile, whereas feces from 5-day-old lambs displayed higher bacterial richness and a more complex taxonomic composition. Shared-ASV and LEfSe analyses suggested that vaginal-associated taxa were more closely associated with the initial fecal microbiota at birth, while colostrum-associated taxa were more evident in day-5 feces. Archaeal communities showed weaker separation than bacterial communities, but methanogenic lineages became more distinguishable by day 5. These findings suggest that early gut microbial assembly in Hu lambs is associated with multiple maternal reservoirs and rapid postnatal ecological selection. However, due to the limited sample size, short observation period, lack of formal source-tracking analysis, and absence of low-biomass negative controls, the results should be interpreted cautiously as preliminary associations rather than definitive evidence of vertical transmission. Full article

The pervasive integration of artificial intelligence across e-commerce ecosystems has fundamentally transformed the competitive landscape, rendering systematic and reproducible platform evaluation frameworks an operational necessity rather than an academic exercise. Conventional multi-criteria decision analysis approaches for e-commerce evaluation remain structurally constrained by their dependency on human expert panels, which introduce recruitment costs, cognitive biases, limited reproducibility, and the practical infeasibility of assembling genuinely multidisciplinary panels spanning e-commerce strategy, machine learning engineering, and financial technology simultaneously. This study proposes a novel decision support framework that integrates Large Language Model (LLM) multi-agent simulation with the Best–Worst Method (BWM) to derive reproducible priority weights for AI-driven e-commerce platform evaluation within a rigorous business intelligence architecture. Twelve domain-differentiated LLM agents—organized into three expertise groups representing e-commerce management, AI and machine learning technology, and digital payment systems—were instantiated with structured system prompts encoding professional domain knowledge and deployed across three independent simulation rounds to perform BWM pairwise comparisons across a comprehensive six-dimensional, 30-sub-criterion evaluation hierarchy. Inter-agent consensus was synthesized through geometric mean aggregation, with consistency verification conducted via BWM’s xi* indicator and inter-round stability assessed through coefficient of variation analysis. Results reveal that Transaction Security and Trust achieves the highest dimension-level weight (w = 0.248), followed by AI Recommendation Effectiveness (w = 0.213), with Personal Data Protection (G = 0.0750), Recommendation Accuracy (G = 0.0607), and Transaction Transparency (G = 0.0549) emerging as the three highest globally ranked sub-criteria. The aggregated consistency indicator xi* = 0.062 confirms logical coherence of the multi-agent judgment consensus, and all dimension weights exhibit CV values below 2.8%, demonstrating exceptional inter-round stability. Spearman rank correlations among the three domain-expertise groups exceed 0.92, confirming strong inter-group convergence. Sensitivity analysis under perturbations of ±10% and ±20% demonstrates that the top-five priority indicators are structurally stable. This study establishes LLM multi-agent BWM simulation as a methodologically rigorous, institutionally accessible, and computationally reproducible alternative to traditional expert elicitation for complex platform evaluation tasks. Full article

Neutral salt spray tests were conducted on assemblies comprising H59 brass and either electrogalvanized or hot-dip galvanized bolts. The polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), corrosion morphology, elemental distribution, and corrosion product composition of the H59 brass were systematically characterized. The results demonstrated that upon coupling with galvanized bolts, the formation of a protective Cu₂O film on the H59 brass is significantly weakened, leading to accelerated corrosion. After coupling with electrogalvanized bolts, the i_corr reached a maximum value of 0.21 mA/cm². A corrosion layer predominantly composed of ZnO formed on the sample surface with a thickness of approximately 13 μm, and no penetration or enrichment of Cl was observed in the matrix. More seriously, when the brass was assembled with hot-dip galvanized bolts, the i_corr never dropped below 0.2 mA/cm². A porous and complex Zn-Cu-O-Cl mixed corrosion layer developed on its surface. This loose structure allows Cl⁻ to reach a depth of 55 μm into the matrix and continue causing corrosion. The mechanisms underlying the different corrosion behaviors of H59 brass caused by different galvanizing bolt processes require further investigation. Full article