Search Results (1,530)

Dendroctonus armandi is a major primary pest of Chinese white pine in the Qinling–Bashan forest region. By feeding on the phloem and vectoring symbiotic fungi that cause blue stain in the sapwood, it drives rapid decline and mortality of host trees. As a key wood-boring forest insect, its outbreaks are closely linked to adaptive strategies in energy metabolism. Adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is a highly conserved insect neuropeptide and plays a major role in regulating energy metabolism. This study aimed to determine how the AKH gene regulates energy use in D. armandi under different stress conditions. We cloned the DaAKH gene and its receptor gene, DaAKHR, from D. armandi. DaAKH and DaAKHR showed the highest expression in emerged adults and the lowest levels in pupae. In larvae and in adult males and females, DaAKH transcripts were predominantly expressed in the head, whereas DaAKHR was enriched in the fat body. Under starvation and cold stress, DaAKH and DaAKHR expression were significantly upregulated; under heat stress, expression first increased and then decreased. Across stress treatments, RNAi significantly downregulated DaAKH and DaAKHR expression in D. armandi. Under starvation, RNAi reduced mortality, lowered lipid metabolism, and led to lipid accumulation, thereby mitigating premature energy depletion and starvation-induced death. By contrast, under heat and cold stress, RNAi significantly increased mortality, significantly reduced triglyceride and glycogen consumption, and suppressed metabolism. These results indicate that DaAKH and DaAKHR regulate energy allocation under starvation stress and help maintain adaptive capacity under temperature stress in D. armandi. By tuning energy metabolism, DaAKH and DaAKHR help resist environmental stress and maintain reproduction and population size. This study advances understanding of the physiological responses and molecular mechanisms of D. armandi under stress conditions and provides a new avenue for metabolism-targeted control. Full article

Rapid urbanisation in tropical megacities intensifies urban heat islands, especially during summer. Peri-urban wetlands help combat surface thermal stress through evapotranspiration, thermal inertia, and hydrological connectivity. However, their cooling effects are often oversimplified. This study assesses the complex cooling role of peri-urban wetlands, using a geospatial framework with Landsat imagery. We analyse land surface temperature (LST) variability and cooling patterns across the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). Results show a sharp thermal gradient, with waterbodies as the coolest surfaces (mean 25.4 °C) and dumping grounds as intense hotspots (mean 35.75 °C). Built-up areas adjacent to water are significantly cooler than urban cores. Cooling exhibits non-linear distance-decay and directional asymmetry, extending several kilometres but attenuated by dense western urban development. Internal thermal disruptions from dumping grounds create localised heat plumes. The findings demonstrate that wetland cooling is governed by hydrological connectivity and landscape permeability. Thus, conserving waterbody networks and mitigating thermally disruptive land uses are therefore critical. This positions peri-urban wetlands as dynamic climate-regulating infrastructure, offering a nature-based solution for urban heat adaptation that aligns with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Full article

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been widely used in various fields due to its significant advantages. However, research on their pyrolysis and combustion behavior under fire conditions, which directly affects structural integrity and safety, remains insufficient. To challenge this issue, thermogravimetric analysis was employed to investigate the pyrolysis characteristics of the CFRP in both air and nitrogen atmospheres at heating rates of 20–40 °C/min with relevant pyrolysis kinetic parameters calculated using the Kissinger method. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was utilized to analyze pyrolytic gas species and concentrations at 40 °C/min in nitrogen atmosphere. Cone calorimeter tests at 50 kW/m² were conducted to obtain combustion characteristic parameters. Based on atomic conservation and oxygen-consumption principles, the equivalent molecular formula (CH_5.787O_0.541) of the epoxy resin pyrolysis gas and its combustion reaction equation were derived through reverse deduction. The heating, pyrolysis, and combustion processes of the CFRP (cone calorimetry specimen) were numerically simulated using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). The predicted heat release rate, mass loss rate, and gas production rate showed good agreement with experimental results. Full article

As remarked by Boltzmann, the Second Law of Thermodynamics is notable for the fact that it is readily proved using elementary statistical arguments, but becomes harder and harder to verify the more precise the microscopic description of a system. In this article, we investigate one particular realization of the 2nd Law, namely Joule heating in a wire under electrical bias. We analyze the production of entropy in an exactly solvable model of a quantum wire wherein the conserved flow of entropy under unitary quantum evolution is taken into account using an exact formula for the entropy current of a system of independent quantum particles. In this exact microscopic description of the quantum dynamics, the entropy production due to Joule heating does not arise automatically. Instead, we show that the expected entropy production is realized in the limit of a large number of local measurements by a series of floating thermoelectric probes along the length of the wire, which inject entropy into the system as a result of the information obtained via their continuous measurements of the system. The decoherence resulting from inelastic processes introduced by the local measurements is essential to the phenomenon of entropy production due to Joule heating, and would be expected to arise due to inelastic scattering in real systems of interacting particles. Full article

Against the backdrop of global warming, changes in the frequency and intensity of freeze–thaw cycles in cold regions profoundly impact soil physical structure. This review examines the mechanisms by which freeze–thaw cycles influence soil aggregate stability and pore structure evolution, focusing on revealing their synergistic evolution patterns. Results indicate that ice crystal growth during freeze–thaw processes directly disrupts soil cementation systems through expansion pressure and wedging effects, leading to aggregate disintegration and pore restructuring. This process is not unidirectional but forms a coupled feedback cycle of “ice crystal action–aggregate disintegration–pore restructuring.” Aggregate stability governs the initial pore restructuring, while the pore structure, in turn, influences aggregate stability by regulating water migration and colloidal dynamics. Responses of soil aggregates and pore structures to freeze–thaw cycles are comprehensively regulated by multiple factors, including soil physicochemical properties, freeze–thaw parameters, and anthropogenic disturbances. This synergistic evolution mechanism profoundly impacts soil water and heat transport, nutrient cycling, and erosion resistance. The paper also identifies current research gaps in regional coverage, cross-scale coupling, and in situ monitoring techniques. It envisions future efforts integrating multi-scale observations with intelligent technologies to deepen understanding of freeze–thaw-driven soil structure evolution mechanisms, thereby providing theoretical support for sustainable agriculture and ecological conservation in cold regions. Full article

Injection-molding purges are heterogeneous, bulky residues whose uncertain composition and irregular geometry hinder direct reinsertion, making cold shredding costly and maintenance-intensive. This work develops a low-infrastructure solar-assisted pre-processing route using a PMMA Fresnel lens to induce controlled sub-onset softening and enable clean shear cutting without destructive thermal histories. The sub-onset softening is here defined into a viscoelastically active range (at or above T_g for the amorphous phase) while remaining below the melting onset (T_m, onset) and below the onset of thermal degradation (T_d, onset). The station was engineered via QFD and risk-oriented design tools, while a weighted Pugh matrix selected shear cutting over saw-based alternatives. A screening factorial DOE showed that lens height, angle, and their interaction significantly govern focal-spot diameter and receiver temperature, yielding linear relations for conservative set-point selection. Receiver benchmarking further indicated that copper reaches substantially higher temperatures than graphite under identical exposure conditions, supporting copper as the simplest, rapid-heating receiver. Under DOE-calibrated operation, tear-free shear cutting was achieved across representative purge families (PP–ABS, PC–ABS–PP, PA66, PA66-filler, and POM) without forced convection. From a recycling and waste-management perspective, the approach converts bulky purge scrap into mill-compatible feedstock with reduced mechanical resistance, lowering tool wear and fines generation, accelerating downsizing, and limiting stockpiling that elevates combustible-inventory fire risk. Overall, the proposed DOE-calibrated, operator-friendly framework improves recycling feasibility by enabling safer handling, more stable preprocessing throughput, and reduced reliance on disposal or long-term storage for heterogeneous industrial purges. Full article

Urban wetlands in coastal cities are under growing strain from urban growth, climate change, and governance that is often fragmented. This study evaluates the condition of the freshwater dune lakes located in the Veracruz–Boca del Río–Medellín conurbation in Mexico, a protected corridor made up of 33 dune lakes that is increasingly pressured by urban expansion. We used an interdisciplinary approach that combined ecological monitoring, legal analysis, and participatory management tools. Fieldwork included 24 h monitoring of dissolved oxygen, measurements of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD₅) in representative systems, a diachronic review of the legal evolution of five Natural Protected Areas (NPAs), and community workshops to jointly design interventions. The results showed strong day–night swings in oxygen (4.0–14.8 mg/L) linked to vegetation dynamics, with nighttime hypoxia posing risks for aquatic fauna. BOD₅ ranged from 4.8 to 150.3 mg/L, pointing to severe organic pollution in the most degraded system. The legal review identified repeated patterns of environmental regression, expressed through reductions in protected polygons, the legalization of irregular settlements, and the fragmentation of protected areas through judicial processes. In response, we propose a hybrid management model that brings together riparian restoration, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), green infrastructure, and participatory monitoring, emphasizing a key 100 m buffer zone. This integrated strategy aims to improve flood regulation, reduce urban heat island effects, and enhance water quality, while also reinforcing community stewardship and legal protection. We conclude that conserving these urban wetlands effectively requires adaptive approaches that connect landscape-scale and local-scale actions, which are essential for climate adaptation in rapidly urbanizing coastal regions. Full article

The YABBY transcription factor family plays a critical role in the development of lateral organs and the establishment of polarity in plants. However, its evolutionary dynamics and regulatory functions in response to abiotic stress in maize (Zea mays) remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of the maize YABBY gene family, employing phylogenetic analysis, transcriptomics, co-expression networks, and molecular experiments. A total of 12 ZmYABBY genes were identified from 26 maize inbred lines and classified into five conserved subfamilies. Evolutionary analysis indicated that the family is structurally stable, predominantly shaped by purifying selection, with limited lineage-specific variation among hybrid populations, highlighting its high evolutionary conservation. In contrast, transcriptomic analysis revealed functional diversification: ZmYABBY genes were preferentially expressed in floral organs and exhibited distinct response patterns under drought and heat stress. Notably, co-expression network analysis identified ZmYABBY8 as a hub gene that was significantly induced under drought stress, as validated by RT-qPCR. Furthermore, its promoter region was found to be enriched with conserved stress-responsive cis-elements, including ABRE and DRE. Subcellular localization further confirmed that ZmYABBY8 is localized to the nucleus. In summary, the maize YABBY gene family is evolutionarily conserved yet functionally diversified, with ZmYABBY8 acting as a potential hub linking development and stress responses, making it a promising candidate for improving stress tolerance in maize. Full article

Time delays are intrinsic to energy systems, arising from transport phenomena, communication latency, and control dynamics; however, their accurate modeling remains challenging, particularly under variable operating conditions. The most common delays are constant over time and are easy to model and simulate. However, simulation tools of time-varying delay systems rely on signal-delay representations that fail to enforce conservation laws, leading to unphysical results in applications involving mass or energy transport. This study develops a physically consistent mathematical framework for time-varying transfer delays that explicitly couples kinematic evolution with conservation principles through a dynamic gain term. A systematic classification is introduced, distinguishing between signal delays (information transfer) and transfer delays (physical transport), further categorized by the source of variability in time delay into Types R (variable extraction), W (variable supply), and M (variable medium). The proposed formulation was implemented in Simulink through newly developed functional blocks supporting all delay variants and validated against representative heat transport scenarios. Comparative analysis demonstrates that standard signal-delay models violate energy conservation by generating spurious energy, whereas the proposed transfer-delay formulation preserves physical consistency under variable-flow conditions. The framework provides a rigorous foundation for accurate modeling of district heating networks, renewable energy integration with power-to-gas systems, thermal storage, and smart grid communications, supporting the development of reliable control strategies essential for the ongoing energy transition. Full article

Precision field measurements were conducted to evaluate the mechanism of organic basin mulching on water and thermal dynamics in arid date palm orchards in central Saudi Arabia. Partly mulched zones (20 m radius) and fully mulched basins were compared with adjacent bare soil using micrometeorological sensors and microlysimeters. In partly mulched areas, soil heat flux (G) decreased by 68.3% while sensible heat flux (H) increased up to 86.9% during late spring, indicating enhanced energy redistribution. Bare soil exhibited slightly negative latent heat flux (λE) in early spring, reflecting vapor adsorption, whereas fully mulched basins substantially reduced evaporation, with Water Conservation Efficiency Index (WCEĪ) values of 0.33 in spring and 0.27 in summer, corresponding to 33% and 27% water savings, respectively. Root-zone thermal moderation, quantified by the Root-Zone Thermal Moderation Index (RTMI), confirmed effective buffering of subsurface temperatures by 6–7 °C across 2–10 cm depths, despite slightly elevated surface temperatures. These results demonstrate that basin mulching stabilizes soil moisture, moderates diurnal thermal fluctuations, and optimizes soil–atmosphere energy partitioning under arid conditions. By integrating direct lysimeter measurements with continuous energy flux observations and index-based analysis, this study provides novel, field-based insights into the dual role of organic mulching in enhancing water conservation and thermal regulation in arid date palm orchards. Full article

Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) is a heme-containing enzyme involved in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) detoxification within the ascorbate–glutathione (AsA–GSH) cycle. In this study, the full-length genomic DNA and cDNA of an APX1 gene (VsAPX1) were cloned and characterized from Vicia sativa. The genomic sequence of VsAPX1 is 2425 bp in length and comprises 10 exons separated by nine introns, with the first intron located within the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR). The corresponding cDNA is 1010 bp long and includes a 61 bp 5′UTR, a 753 bp open reading frame, and a 196 bp 3′UTR. VsAPX1 encodes a predicted cytosolic APX protein of 250 amino acids, with a molecular weight of 27.1 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point (pI) of 5.60. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the deduced VsAPX1 protein shares high sequence similarity with cytosolic APX1 proteins from other plant species, contains conserved APX domains, and clusters within the cytosolic APX clade in phylogenetic analysis. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that VsAPX1 expression exhibits transient and moderate changes in response to abiotic stress and phytohormone treatments. Transcript levels increased at early time points following heat stress (42 °C), abscisic acid, and salicylic acid treatments, and after 4 h of jasmonic acid exposure, whereas hydrogen peroxide treatment resulted in a gradual down-regulation of expression. Overall, this study provides the first molecular and expression characterization of a cytosolic APX1 gene from Vicia sativa and establishes a foundation for future functional analyses of antioxidant genes in this species. Full article

Frataxin is a highly conserved mitochondrial protein that plays a key role in iron homeostasis and metabolism, and its deficiency leads to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neurodegeneration. Hypomagnetic fields (HMF) can lead to various biological effects including increased oxidative stress, neurological and developmental disorders; yet, their effects acting as environmental stressors that exacerbate the inherent metabolic vulnerabilities in frataxin-deficient Drosophila melanogaster flies are still unknown. In this study, the bio-effects of HMF on growth, development, reproduction, and temperature stress resistance of frataxin-silenced flies were investigated. The results showed that HMF extended egg-to-adult and pupa developmental durations of both the control line of repo-GAL4; tub-GAL80^ts>GFP-RNAi (GFP-RNAi) and frataxin-deficient line of repo-GAL4; tub-GAL80^ts>fh RNAi (fh-RNAi) compared to those reared under a geomagnetic field (GMF). Compared with GMF, HMF significantly increased offspring fecundity in fh-RNAi flies, whereas the change in GFP-RNAi controls was not significant, while showing no significant effects on the adult weight of fh-RNAi flies. The impact of HMF on temperature stress resistance was particularly specific: it enhanced recovery from chill coma in control (GFP-RNAi) flies, while it accelerated recovery from heat shock in frataxin-silenced (fh-RNAi) flies. The mechanisms through which HMF modulate frataxin-associated phenotypes at a fundamental physical level warrant further investigation. Full article

Ice accretion along aircraft leading edges, particularly at stagnation line parting strips, remains difficult to remove using conventional electrothermal anti-icing systems. These systems require continuous high-power heating to maintain the stagnation region above the melting point, often exceeding 10–12 kW/m². This study introduces an Ice Cavitation Deicer (ICD) that removes ice through rapid, localized cavitation generated within a thin melt layer formed at the ice–surface interface. In the proposed approach, a short pulse of electric current melts a 1–10 µm interfacial layer and causes a cavitation impulse of approximately 1–10 MPa. This impulse ejects the stagnation-line ice in a direction normal to the surface, often against the external airflow, enabling the immediate aerodynamic removal of the remaining ice. Analytical modeling based on the energy conservation principle was used to determine the optimal foil geometry, thermal pulse parameters, thermal stress, and material selection. Experiments with various metallic foils and substrate materials validated the predicted ejection behavior. The impulses were sufficient to fracture and eject ice 1–10 mm thick. The observed ice fragment velocities varied from 1 m/s to 10 m/s. Compared with conventional thermal anti-icing, the ICD concept reduces power consumption by approximately two orders of magnitude while offering rapid and reliable leading-edge deicing. The low power requirements, rapid response, and compatibility with thin-foil heater architectures make ICD a promising technology for both conventional and electrified aircrafts, UAVs, rotorcrafts, and other platforms where power availability is limited. This manuscript presents the first theoretical and experimental research on the ICD method and is a concept-proof work. Further research and development are required before the ICD is ready to be tested in flight. Full article

Disaggregating end-use electricity consumption from aggregate meter data remains a fundamental challenge in non-intrusive load monitoring, particularly in smart buildings where heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems dominate demand and direct sub-metering is often unavailable. Contextual variables such as weather and calendar information provide valuable explanatory signals, but in low-frequency settings, these drivers are typically insufficient to fully characterise building operation. As a result, attribution strategies that implicitly assume complete explainability can lead to unstable driver contributions and reduced physical interpretability when building behaviour is non-stationary or partially unobserved. This paper introduces MD-ADD, a multi-driver automatic dependency disaggregation framework designed for low-frequency smart meter data in commercial and public buildings. The framework supports joint attribution of multiple contextual drivers. It explicitly represents unexplained energy as a meaningful component of the decomposition. It combines robust baseline estimation, leakage-resistant out-of-fold contextual modelling, conservative driver attribution without hard mass-balance constraints, and uncertainty quantification using block bootstrap resampling. A consistency mechanism is included to restrict driver attributions to temporal scales compatible with their expected physical influence. The framework is evaluated on the ADRENALIN Load Disaggregation Challenge dataset, which contains multi-resolution electricity and weather data from commercial and public buildings, using normalized mean absolute error alongside stability and residual-structure diagnostics. Rather than optimising solely for pointwise accuracy, the proposed formulation emphasises robustness, interpretability, and diagnostic transparency, making it suitable for decision-support and analytical workflows under realistic low-frequency monitoring conditions. Full article

Livestock production in Mexico takes place in a wide range of agroecological regions, with approximately one-third of the cattle population raised under tropical conditions, where heat stress and disease pressure limit the performance of poorly adapted animals. The Mexican Sardo Negro cattle breed (Bos indicus) is environmentally resilient and is used for both meat and milk production; however, information regarding its population structure and reproductive management remains limited. Therefore, the genetic diversity and population structure of this breed were evaluated through pedigree analysis to support conservation strategies. Genealogical records from 8653 animals belonging to six herds located in the states of Veracruz and Chiapas, Mexico, were analyzed using ENDOG V4.8, PopRep and GRain software. The average inbreeding coefficient was 2.5%, with an increase of 0.9% per generation, a mean generational interval of 7.9 years, and a maximum pedigree depth of nine generations, although pedigree completeness was low in distant generations. The difference between the effective number of ancestors (32) and founders (37) suggests the absence of bottlenecks; however, the fact that only 21 individuals account for 50% of the genetic variability is indicative of a founder effect. Overall, the population exhibits an acceptable level of inbreeding, highlighting the importance of planned mating strategies to maintain genetic diversity and ensure the long-term conservation of the Sardo Negro breed. Full article