Search Results (14,698)

Porous vegetated concrete has been widely used in highway slope protection because it provides both engineering stability and ecological restoration benefits. However, its life-cycle carbon emissions and long-term carbon sequestration performance have not been systematically quantified within a unified evaluation framework. In this study, 1 m³ of porous vegetated concrete was adopted as the functional unit, and a life-cycle assessment framework integrating carbon emissions and carbon sequestration was established. The results show that the material production stage is the dominant source of life-cycle carbon emissions, with cement consumption being the primary controlling factor. Under the system boundary and carbon sequestration assumptions adopted in this study, cumulative carbon sequestration over a 50-year service period was estimated to be approximately 470–475 kgCO₂eq. This exceeded the corresponding life-cycle carbon emissions of 73–124 kgCO₂eq and resulted in a net carbon sink potential of approximately 351–397 kgCO₂eq. Based on equal weighting of 28-day shear strength and material production-stage carbon emissions, the efficacy coefficient method identified M2 as the preferred mix proportion for balancing mechanical performance and low-carbon objectives within the selected evaluation framework. Monte Carlo simulation confirmed the statistical stability of the estimated mean carbon emissions during the material production stage. Sensitivity analysis further showed that cement-related emissions and the vegetation carbon sequestration factor were the two most influential parameters affecting life-cycle carbon performance. Overall, this study provides a quantitative basis for evaluating the net carbon sink potential of porous vegetated concrete and offers decision support for low-carbon mix design in highway slope ecological protection engineering. Full article

High temperatures accelerate bolting and shorten the vegetative phase, thereby reducing the marketable yield in lettuce(Lactuca sativa L.). Using the KNOU lettuce core collection (KLC; n = 288), which represents major horticultural types, we integrated genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with genotyping-by-target-sequencing (GBTS), a multiplex target amplicon sequencing approach, to develop compact SNP marker panels for breeding-relevant prediction of reproductive timing. The KLC was genotyped via genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS; 97,528 SNPs) and phenotyped across two spring-to-summer seasons to analyze cumulative temperature to bolting (CTTB) and cumulative temperature to anthesis (CTTA) under protected cultivation conditions, revealing broad variation and high heritability (H = 0.79 and 0.74, respectively). Multi-model GWAS consistently identified a major hotspot on chromosome 7 for both traits, whereas additional loci showed trait- and year-specific effects. A lead SNP on chromosome 7 was validated by KASP, confirming a consistent allelic effect across genetic backgrounds. GWAS-supported loci were converted into compact GBTS panels (CTTB-only, CTTA-only, and pooled), and their ability to predict genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) was evaluated via repeated 5-fold cross-validation. The pooled panel achieved the highest predictive performance for CTTB (up to R² = 0.41 with random forest and R² = 0.37 with RR-BLUP), outperforming the CTTB-only panel. In contrast, CTTA prediction was more moderate (up to R² = 0.32). Overall, this GWAS-to-GBTS panel strategy provides a practical basis for low-cost, early selection of reproductive timing in lettuce breeding. Full article

Restoration-oriented forest management is increasingly recognized as an important strategy for enhancing long-term carbon sequestration and rehabilitating degraded peri-urban forest landscapes. This study presents a scenario-based assessment of projected carbon sequestration trajectories under a National Reserve Forest Project implemented in peri-urban Wuhan, central China. Thirteen silvicultural models were grouped into three management pathways: intensive plantation cultivation, transformation of existing degraded stands, and tending of young and middle-aged forests. Carbon sequestration was evaluated over a 40-year assessment period (2024–2063) using a Biomass Expansion Factor-based accounting framework incorporating above- and belowground biomass, harvested wood products, and conservative baseline deductions consistent with national and provincial methodologies. The results indicate a sustained long-term increase in projected carbon sequestration despite periodic short-term declines associated with planned thinning and harvesting cycles. Transformation-oriented pathways contributed the largest cumulative project-scale sequestration and generally exhibited relatively strong area-normalized sequestration performance compared with intensive plantation and tending pathways. Intensive plantation systems displayed greater temporal fluctuation associated with shorter rotation cycles and repeated harvesting events. The analysis also highlights the importance of distinguishing between area-normalized sequestration efficiency and cumulative project-scale contribution, as models with moderate per-hectare performance generated substantial total carbon benefits because of their larger implementation area. The findings suggest that restoration-oriented management of existing degraded stands may provide a relatively stable long-term carbon-sequestration pathway in peri-urban forest systems where land availability for large-scale afforestation is constrained. The study also demonstrates the applicability of conservative scenario-based accounting frameworks for restoration-oriented forest carbon assessment and planning under data-limited conditions. Full article

Across four decades of AI deployment, the same six human challenges (trust calibration, reliance behavior, cognitive engagement, skill retention, accountability, and transparency) recur, yet fragmentation across research communities obscures this continuity and limits knowledge transfer. Functionally similar phenomena are repeatedly relabeled (a jangle fallacy): what aviation researchers call “automation complacency,” decision scientists call “algorithm appreciation,” and LLM researchers describe as “over-reliance.” This systematic review synthesizes 152 papers spanning aviation, healthcare, manufacturing/supply chain, and cross-domain contexts across three AI technology generations: decision support systems, autonomous systems, and large language model (LLM) agents. We introduce the Collaboration Convergence Framework (CCF), a 6 × 3 matrix with solution-maturity indicators that maps each challenge across generations. The framework shows that Gen 3 designers can transfer decades of evidence from automation and decision support research (particularly reliance calibration, cognitive forcing, and skill maintenance) rather than rediscovering them. Cross-generational synthesis also isolates three Gen 3 phenomena without direct precedent in earlier generations: epistemia (attributing genuine knowledge to LLMs based on surface fluency), attribution ambiguity in co-creation, and motivational withdrawal. We distill twelve transferable design principles and propose ten research directions, prioritizing skill-retention interventions and accountability frameworks. These findings carry direct sustainability implications aligned with Industry 5.0: protecting workforce capability under increasing automation (SDG 8), reducing duplicated research effort through cross-generational knowledge reuse (SDG 9), and supporting responsible deployment by treating collaboration risks as predictable rather than novel (SDG 12). The CCF provides conceptual infrastructure for cumulative learning across AI generations and industries. Full article

This study develops an end-to-end workflow, from laboratory measurements to Eulerian–Eulerian two-phase simulations with SedFoam, to investigate bed erosion in free-surface open-channel flow over a deformable granular bed. Experiments were conducted with a calibrated non-cohesive deposit of epoxy-coated spherical beads under steady, fully turbulent, subcritical conditions. Particle Image Velocimetry provided mean-flow and turbulence data, while a 3D camera workflow supplied bed-elevation fields and time-resolved maps of sediment rearrangement. These datasets were used to constrain a staged numerical strategy in which single-phase hydrodynamics were first reproduced and then extended to live-bed morphodynamics. Validation over a rigid bed showed that the 2006 k–$\omega$ closure, combined with a rough-wall treatment, reproduced the measured mean-velocity profiles and provided acceptable turbulent kinetic energy levels, yielding dynamically consistent near-bed shear conditions. In live-bed conditions, the simulations reproduced the streamwise organization of scour and deposition, predicted cumulative erosion rates of the correct order of magnitude, and captured bedform migration consistent with time-resolved bed reconstructions. The numerical results were compared with repeated experiments while accounting for run-to-run variability and the metrological limits of the 3D camera. This work proposes a transferable experimental–numerical methodology for assessing the predictive capability of live-bed morphodynamic simulations, in which hydraulic characterization, three-dimensional bed monitoring, erosion/deposition metrics, and repeated experiments are combined within a common comparison procedure. Full article

Subadult stress is an important bioarchaeological indicator of the health status of archaeological populations, and its interpretation requires consideration of biological, environmental, and social factors. This paper examines the impact of cribra orbitalia (CO) and linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) on adult mortality in Late Antique Southern Pannonia. A sample of 400 adult individuals from the sites of Mursa (Osijek), Cibalae (Vinkovci), Certissa (Štrbinci), and Incerum (Tekić) was analyzed. The results show that CO has a statistically significant negative impact on age-at-death in both sexes, whereas LEH shows a non-significant to weak impact with a statistically non-significant trend. The cumulative effect of multiple indicators of subadult stress could particularly negatively affect females, which is associated with reproductive burden and socio-cultural factors. The results confirm the complex interaction between environment and humans—the importance of living conditions and health stressors on the health and mortality of individuals and the entire observed population—at the same time in the analyzed sample. Full article

Fatigue crack deterioration in flexible pavements results from structural loading, traffic demand, material aging, and climatic exposure; yet, Ethiopian pavement models remain largely empirical, with little mechanistic foundation. This study develops a hybrid mechanistic–empirical and artificial neural network framework to forecast fatigue crack progression along a five-kilometer segment of the Woldia–Jeneto road in northern Ethiopia, built in 2015 and assessed after ten years of service. ERAPave layered elastic analysis computed critical horizontal tensile strain at the asphalt base, using the ERA manual recommendation of the Australian fatigue criterion for tropical areas, deriving cumulative damage indices via Miner’s rule. These outputs, alongside material properties, soil indices, traffic, climate, and temporal variables, formed an 18-feature input vector, which was trained using Latin–Hypercube Sampling and leave-one-out cross-validation under data-scarce conditions. Critical tandem-axle loads of 200.2 kN produced tensile strains of 182.7–199.83 με and damage ratios of 0.39–0.76 within fatigue lifetimes of 10.46–20.12 million ESALs, exceeding the 7.93 million ESAL design threshold. The model achieved R² = 0.9997 and MAPE = 1.64%; these figures reflect five-station training conditions and synthetic augmentation rather than unconditional generalization accuracy. Ten-year forecasts place Station 5 at structural failure within three years, supporting evidence-based pavement maintenance planning. Full article

Background: Local recurrence of rectal cancer is a challenging problem for patients and clinicians. Surgical resection is associated with good outcomes if R0 margins are achieved; however, it is often complex, requires suitable patient fitness, and is associated with long term physical and psychological consequences. Meanwhile, continuing technical advances in radiotherapy have enabled the delivery of highly conformal treatment, thereby enabling dose escalation or pelvic reirradiation to be safely considered—either as definitive management or in the neoadjuvant setting—for patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer. Pelvic reirradiation may refer to patients who have received primary rectal radiotherapy with the aim of neoadjuvant downstaging or reducing the risk of locoregional recurrence, versus radiotherapy for a previous unrelated non-rectal pelvic malignancy. Methods: A literature search of pelvic reirradiation for non-metastatic, locally recurrent rectal cancer was conducted for full text articles published over the last 20 years. Additional papers were identified within the references of these papers. Studies focusing on non-rectal cancers, and patients having primary radiotherapy for locally recurrent rectal cancer were excluded. Due to the heterogenicity of the data, no meta-analysis was performed. Results: A total of 15 papers were included, containing a cohort of 840 patients. Several reirradiation modalities were reported, including external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy, stereotactic ablative radiotherapy and heavy particle therapy (carbon ion). Carbon ion radiotherapy was the most common reirradiation treatment modality utilised with a median cumulative dose of 70.4 Gray (Gy). Treatment response, defined as either complete or partial improvement in tumour size, was only reported in seven studies, and varied from 14 to 88%. Overall 3-year survival was also variable with rates reported between 18 and 85%. These observations may be due to variation in patient selection, treatment intent, and technique. Pelvic reirradiation was associated with acceptable toxicity, low rates of G3+ toxicity, and improved symptom control. Conclusions: Our review describes the multitude of approaches to pelvic reirradiation for locally recurrent rectal cancer. Reviewing the radiobiological and patient outcomes is challenging in view of the degree of heterogeneity in patient selection, treatment approach, and reported outcomes. However, there is consensus that pelvic reirradiation—either for long term control or to downstage prior to definitive surgery—is feasible with potential utility in this setting. Full article

River water quality assessments are commonly conducted under conventional anthropogenic pressures; however, the long-term environmental impacts of armed conflicts remain insufficiently understood. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the persistence of war-related heavy metal contamination and its associated human health risks in the Tigris River, Mosul, a post-conflict urban system. The results revealed that Cd, Pb, Cr, and Ni concentrations exceeded WHO guideline values across most sites, while Zn remained within acceptable limits. The highest contamination levels were observed in the central urban zone (Zone 3), which was directly affected by military activities. Hazard quotient (HQ) values for Cd and Pb exceeded the safe threshold (HQ > 1) at all sites, identifying them as dominant contributors to toxicity. The cumulative hazard index (HI) reached extremely high levels (>300 in 2022 and >200 in 2023), indicating severe non-carcinogenic health risks despite a slight temporal improvement. Spatially, contamination increased from upstream to downstream, with midstream and downstream areas acting as critical hotspots. Temporally, although pollutant levels declined in 2023, they remained significantly above safe limits, demonstrating limited natural recovery. Overall, the findings provide clear evidence of the long-term persistence of conflict-related contamination and its sustained risks to human health. This study highlights the need for targeted remediation strategies and offers a transferable framework for assessing water quality in conflict-affected river systems.: Full article

Background/Objectives: The fruit of Medinilla speciosa Blume fruit contains flavonoids with potent activity against Cutibacterium acnes, but their clinical application is hindered by poor bioavailability. This study aimed to develop, characterize, and evaluate a phytosome-based vesicular system to enhance the in vivo antibacterial efficacy of the fruit’s ethyl acetate fraction (EAFMS). Methods: Phytosomes were synthesized via antisolvent precipitation using a 1:3 EAFMS-to-phospholipid ratio. Formulations were characterized for particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, entrapment efficiency (EE), and in vitro release. Antibacterial efficacy was assessed in C. acnes-induced Wistar rats over three days. Results: EAFMS showed superior antibacterial activity with a 93.5% relative potency compared to tetracycline. The optimized phytosomes exhibited favorable physicochemical properties: particle size of phytosome 244.60 ± 0.85 nm, PDI of phytosome 0.396 ± 0.08, zeta potensial of phytosome −56.70 ± 2.08 mV, and EE of phytosome 89.46 ± 0.45%. The formulation achieved a 76.504% cumulative release at 8 h. In vivo trials demonstrated that the phytosome cream significantly reduced bacterial colony counts and diminished inflammatory cell infiltration compared to the cream base. Conclusions: The phytosome system effectively improves the stability and delivery of M. speciosa flavonoids, significantly enhancing their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory performance against acne. Full article

Hardy-type averaging operators arise in real analysis, rearrangement theory, weighted inequalities, and Volterra integral equations. This paper develops a distribution-function transport on $(0,\infty )$ equipped with an atomless Borel measure $\mu$, showing that the cumulative map $\Phi \left(x\right)=\mu \left(\right(0,x\left]\right)$ implements a measure isomorphism onto Lebesgue measure under transparent support and continuity hypotheses. Under this transport, the Hardy averaging operator relative to $\mu$ is conjugate to the classical Hardy operator on $(0,\infty )$ with Lebesgue measure. The main contribution is the systematic transport principle: classical constants, extremizing sequences, weighted criteria, endpoint estimates, and resolvent information are transferred exactly to the $\mu$-scale. We establish sharp $L^p\left(\mu \right)$ bounds, sharp power-weight extensions in $L^p\left({\Phi }^{\gamma }d\mu \right)$ for $-1<\gamma <p-1$, a transported one-weight Hardy class beyond powers, endpoint weak and strong estimates, spectral interpretation of the Volterra threshold, and numerical illustrations for the transported constants and a Volterra feedback equation. Full article

Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a globally important species in both capture fisheries and aquaculture. With the development of the turbot farming industry in China and several European countries, enhancing its aquaculture eco-economic performance has become a key concern among stakeholders. Turbot is a major species in marine fish aquaculture in China. As the world’s leading producer of farmed turbot, the bioeconomic dynamics of this species under recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs) remain poorly understood, which hinders optimal resource allocation, green development, and industrial upgrading of the turbot farming sector. In this study, a bioeconomic model for turbot cultured in industrial RASs was developed based on empirical production data and published literature. The optimal harvesting strategies under the industrial RAS production mode were analyzed. The results indicated the following: (1) for a two-year grow-out cycle commencing with stocking at the beginning of the year, at a farm-gate price of 7.56 USD/kg, the maximum cumulative profit of 41,846.08 USD occurred at t = 22.69 months, while the maximum monthly average profit of 1937.65 USD/month occurred at t = 20.49 months. The optimal harvesting time for single-batch culture was t = 22.69 months, whereas for continuous culture, it was t = 20.49 months. (2) Extended analysis incorporating fish price variation revealed that higher market prices corresponded to later optimal harvesting times. (3) February to April was identified as the optimal stocking window. Based on the bioeconomic dynamics elucidated herein, this study provides a theoretical foundation for related research and proposes producer-oriented strategy recommendations for reference by relevant stakeholders. Full article

Three natural celluloses (softwood pulp, straw grass pulp, and degreased cotton) were used for anaerobic digestion tests to research methane yield, substrate conversion and microbial community structure, and further supplemented and clarified the metabolic pathway mechanisms of anaerobic digestion of cellulosic biomass. The results showed that natural cellulose could be significantly degraded and converted into methane by anaerobic microorganisms. The cumulative specific methane yields of wood pulp fiber (F1), straw pulp fiber (F2), and degreased cotton fiber (F3) were 373.57 ± 10.70 mL/g VS, 349.15 ± 13.20 mL/g VS and 346.16 ± 1.60 mL/g VS, respectively. The corresponding biodegradability values were 93.97%, 85.95% and 84.32%. Although the fermentation cycles in F1, F2, and F3 were identical (T95 was 12 days), the three groups exhibited distinct biogas production patterns. Metagenomic analysis indicated that F1 and F2 were dominated by the acetoclastic methanogenesis pathway, while the proportion of the hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathway increased in F3. Meanwhile, the cell motility pathway category was significantly enriched in F3. These results supplement the existing research on the anaerobic digestion of natural cellulose and provide theoretical support for the efficient anaerobic bioconversion of natural cellulosic biomass. Full article

The temporal variations of evapotranspiration (ET) and its controlling factors occur across time scales ranging from seconds to decades, with significant differences in the lag effects of ET drivers under varying water conditions. Therefore, identifying the dominant time scales of the relationships between ET and its controlling factors under varying water conditions is crucial for optimizing irrigation strategies of crops grown in a greenhouse. In our study, we utilized two years of continuous lysimeter observations of greenhouse tomato ET, and applied two water treatments: well-irrigated (0.9E_pan, E_pan is the cumulative pan evaporation) and deficit-irrigated (0.5E_pan). Wavelet transform technology served as the core method to systematically examine the temporal variations of ET and its controlling factors. Observations indicated that the power spectra of ET featured pronounced peaks at daily and seasonal scales. The cospectra between ET and soil water content for greenhouse tomato revealed strong temporal correlation at 2~5 day scales, confirming the regulatory effect of irrigation cycles on ET. Moreover, ET variations were largely synchronous with net radiation, with ET lagging net radiation but leading vapor pressure deficit and air temperature at daily scales. In addition, significant disparities in phase angles between ET and individual meteorological variables were identified under 0.9E_pan and 0.5E_pan water conditions. Partial wavelet coherence revealed that net radiation was the primary meteorological driver of greenhouse tomato ET across multiple time scales, particularly at the daily scale, followed by vapor pressure deficit. These findings provide scientific evidence for selecting appropriate ET models at different time scales and offer valuable insights for optimizing water-saving irrigation for crops grown in greenhouses. Full article

The temporal dynamics of nitrogen (N) fractions and ammonia (NH₃) volatilization were investigated over a 56-day storage period using a laboratory-scale pig slurry pit simulator. A detailed N mass balance, encompassing total N (TN), total ammonium N (TAN), organic N, and nitrate N (NO₃⁻-N) fractions, yielded a N mass recovery of 96.5%, despite uncertainties associated with discrete emission measurements, with a TN reduction of 28.3 g vessel⁻¹ closely matched by cumulative NH₃-N emissions of 27.3 g. The NH₃ emission profile exhibited a distinct two-phase pattern. During Phase I (days 1–28), emissions remained stable at 16.7–19.5 g m⁻² d⁻¹, accounting for approximately 58% of total cumulative NH₃-N loss (518.6 g m⁻²), consistent with zero-order kinetics. Phase II (days 29–56) was characterized by first-order exponential decay (k = 0.0293 d⁻¹, R² = 0.982), coinciding with progressive TAN depletion. Measured emission rates were strongly correlated with theoretical free ammonia N (FAN) concentrations derived from pH and temperature (R² = 0.74), confirming that theoretical FAN provides a useful upper bound for emission potential, although the actual gaseous flux is restricted by mass-transfer limitations at the slurry–air interface. These results demonstrate that continuous pH and temperature monitoring provides a practical basis for tracking emission dynamics and informing the timing of mitigation interventions, particularly during the high-flux initial storage phase. Full article