Search Results (14,922)

The domestic dog is the most morphologically diverse domesticated mammalian species. That diversity has arisen from deliberate, sustained artificial selection over the most recent 1% of the domestic dog’s evolutionary history. However, artificial selection has pushed many individual breeds so far from the ancestral canine form that many dogs within these breeds can no longer perform the critical biological functions their bodies evolved to serve. Indeed, much of the popularity of many dog breeds is predicated on them no longer being functional dogs; rather, they are representations or caricatures of human aesthetic desires. The result is breeds in which the teleonome of individual dogs, i.e., the integrated biological system by which they maintain viability has been structurally dismantled in the pursuit of appearance. This article applies teleonomic and allostatic load theory to a multi-domain analysis of extreme brachycephaly as a primary case study, drawing on representative examples from other extreme phenotypes to examine their welfare costs across conformational disorder, innate health, allostatic load, and veterinary costs. A detailed Five Domains analysis of extreme brachycephalic morphotypes, where the epidemiological evidence is most complete, reveals that every major welfare domain is simultaneously compromised from birth because artificial selection has structurally compromised teleonomic function across morphological, physiological, physical, and behavioural traits. Allostatic load theory then provides the mechanistic explanation for the resulting shorter lifespans. The article concludes by addressing the veterinarian’s emerging role as arbiter of animals’ fitness for purpose under consumer and welfare laws, making the case for an Innate Health Assessment to become a standardised functional assessment framework grounded in teleonomic principles. Full article

Peach (Prunus persica) production and the northward expansion of its cultivation boundaries are severely constrained by recurrent extreme climatic events. Based on time-series transcriptomic analysis of two independent parallel treatments (cold stress and ABA application) and qRT-PCR validation, multiple candidate transcription factor genes co-responsive to both cold stress and ABA were identified (PpERF48, PpERF017, PpMYB6, PpWRKY46, PpWRKY40, and PpbHLH35). Among these, PpMYB6 was further characterized through bioinformatic analysis, and transgenic peach callus and Arabidopsis thaliana lines overexpressing PpMYB6 were generated, revealing its dual role in modulating plant growth and conferring low-temperature stress tolerance. Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed that PpMYB6 directly binds to and activates the PpCBF2 promoter. Yeast two-hybrid library screening identified DWARF8 as a candidate interacting protein, pointing to a working hypothesis by which PpMYB6 may negatively regulate vegetative growth via the gibberellin pathway. Together, this study characterizes a novel molecular module associated with cold tolerance and growth balance in peach, providing a promising candidate gene for molecular breeding of cold-resistant cultivars and rootstocks. Full article

Synthesis of multilayer graphene oxide (GO) was achieved through a Hummers method with meticulous control over the addition of the oxidizing agent. Precursors were immersed in an ice bath during the synthesis to maintain a temperature of approximately 275 K in oxidation stages I and II, temperature was measured with a thermocouple inside the cooling bath, in direct contact with the vacuum filter flask at the level of the reactants. In contrast to the variety of Hummers synthesis methods—where the system is maintained at certain temperature during the initial oxidation stage and heat continues to be supplied during the second stage—our setup operates at low temperature from the beginning to the conclusion of the process. A detailed analysis of the compositional, structural, and optical properties of the fabricated GO was conducted, revealing a notable photoluminescent band in the 380–480 nm region. This property is of interest for a potential future application in the field of optoelectronics. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed that the structure of the material consists of a sp³ matrix with sp² domains. Raman spectroscopy revealed an I_D/I_G ratio of 2.7, which could indicate a high density of structural defects or extremely small sp² graphitic domains. Furthermore, deconvolution of the 2D band suggests the presence of multilayers in the GO. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed the presence of all functional groups associated with the GO. Upon observation of the photoluminescence exhibited by the material, a broadband centered on the violet-blue emission, with a possible mechanism consistent with the literature associated with the transitions between sp² domains and localized states in the basal plane defects or it might be caused by quantum confinement effects. The diminished contribution from the green emission could be caused by the transitions between localized states sp² and the functional groups associated with oxygen. Full article

Atmospheric blocking is a major feature of mid-latitude circulation and is closely associated with the occurrence of extreme weather events over Europe. Among the different blocking regimes, Omega blocks are characterized by their persistent tripolar structure, which favors the development of prolonged heatwaves. In late June 2026, a major early—summer heatwave affected Western and Central Europe. This study investigates the synoptic, dynamical, and climatic mechanisms associated with this event using ERA5 reanalysis data. The evolution of the 500 hPa geopotential height, 850 hPa temperature, polar jet stream, Rossby wave breaking, and dynamical tropopause (2 PVU) was analyzed together with anomalies in sea surface temperature (SST), meridional temperature gradient, soil moisture, and sensible heat flux. The results show that the heatwave developed under a persistent Omega blocking pattern, which promoted strong subsidence, enhanced solar heating, and sustained warm air advection over Western Europe. Anomalously dry soils and enhanced sensible heat flux were also observed, suggesting a potential amplifying role of land–atmosphere interactions during the event. In addition, a pronounced cold SST anomaly over the subpolar North Atlantic preceded the onset of the blocking and coincided with a weakened meridional temperature gradient and reduced lower-tropospheric baroclinicity along the climatological position of the polar jet stream. Findings align with studies that North Atlantic cooling, including weakened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), may favor summer Omega blocking and European heatwaves. However, the June 2026 SST anomaly’s origin is undetermined from this single analysis and is not attributed to AMOC variability. Full article

This study used 30 m Landsat imagery from 1995 to 2020 to investigate vegetation dynamics and their driving factors in Yengisar County, an arid oasis region in northwestern China. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated, and the Dimidiate Pixel Model was used to estimate fractional vegetation cover (FVC). Trend analysis and a center-of-gravity migration model were employed to examine the spatiotemporal evolution of vegetation and its responses to climatic and human factors. The results showed that: (1) FVC exhibited clear spatial heterogeneity, with high vegetation coverage mainly distributed along river systems in the southwest and concentric expansion occurring around urban areas in the northeast. (2) From 1995 to 2020, the total vegetated area increased by 409.38 km², representing a 76.4% increase relative to 1995, while the average FVC increased by 15.4%. Except for the extremely low-coverage class, all vegetation classes expanded, with the medium-coverage class showing the largest increase (142.9%). (3) The vegetation center of gravity gradually shifted toward the southeast, and the period from 2015 to 2020 represented the most rapid stage of vegetation improvement. (4) Human activities, particularly agricultural reclamation and grassland expansion, exhibited a strong association with recent vegetation changes and played an important role in the expansion of the artificial oasis. The results indicate that recent oasis expansion in Yengisar County has been closely associated with land-use change and irrigation activities. These findings provide useful information for oasis management, land-use planning, and water resource allocation in arid regions. Full article

Background/Objectives: The optimal surgical approach for Percutaneous KyphoPlasty (PKP) in patients with recent single-level Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures (OVCFs) remains controversial. Most available previous meta-analyses included studies with variable heterogeneity, often mixing unilateral and bilateral MIS approaches, differing surgical techniques, and various fracture patterns, which limited the reliability of their conclusions. This meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of unilateral versus bilateral PKP exclusively in patients with recent single-level OVCFs only. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect were searched for comparative studies published between 2000 and 2025. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), prospective, and retrospective comparative studies comparing unilateral and bilateral PKP for recent single-level OVCFs were included. Clinical and radiological outcomes as well as perioperative complications and safety outcomes were analyzed using random-effects meta-analysis. Predefined subgroup analyses according to study design and sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Eleven studies involving 1374 patients (705 unilateral and 669 bilateral PKP) met the inclusion criteria. No significant differences were observed between the two surgical approaches regarding short- or long-term pain relief, cement leakage, number of adjacent vertebral fractures, or overall clinical outcomes. Bilateral PKP demonstrated statistically significant, but clinically negligible, advantages in anterior vertebral body height restoration and kyphosis correction. Unilateral PKP required an insignificantly lower cement volume. For operative time, the overall pooled estimate favored unilateral PKP by approximately 10 min but showed extreme heterogeneity (I² = 98.5%). Importantly, the two RCTs showed no statistically significant between-group difference (MD = +1.2 min, 95% CI −4.5 to +6.8), indicating that the apparent overall effect was largely driven by observational evidence. Similar discrepancies between randomized and retrospective studies were observed for several other outcomes, underscoring the importance of considering study design when interpreting the results. Conclusions: Current evidence does not demonstrate clinically meaningful superiority of either unilateral or bilateral PKP for the treatment of recent single-level OVCFs. Bilateral PKP may provide small advantages in selected radiographic outcomes, whereas unilateral PKP uses modestly less bone cement; however, the relevance of these differences remains clinically uncertain. Surgical approach selection may therefore be individualized according to vertebral morphology, pedicle anatomy, fracture characteristics, surgeon experience, and technical feasibility rather than expectations of superior clinical outcomes. Further adequately powered randomized trials with standardized outcome reporting and long-term follow-up are warranted. Full article

Objectives: The term “never treated” refers to individuals who self-report having never ingested tablets during any round of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) against Lymphatic Filariasis (LF). This study estimated the pooled prevalence of never-treated individuals with MDA for LF and identified factors associated with persistent non-treatment. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO [CRD420251270067] and conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Relevant literature was identified by searching databases, i.e., PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central, Embase, Web of Science, and Epistemonikos from January 2000 to December 2025, and only studies published in English were included. The AXIS tool was used to assess the study quality. A random-effects model with 95% CI was applied to estimate the pooled prevalence. Subgroup, leave-one-out sensitivity, and meta-regression analyses were conducted to explore the heterogeneity. Results: Eighteen studies including 24,940 individuals showed the pooled prevalence of never treatment during all MDA rounds at 26% (95% CI: 16% to 37%, I² = 99.7%, 95% prediction interval: 0% to 75%). Exploratory subgroup analysis indicated wide regional and MDA round-specific variations. Meta-regression indicated that publication year did not explain the variability. Common reasons for persistent non-treatment included fear of side effects, limited knowledge, difficulty swallowing the pills, and absence during drug distribution. Conclusions: Persistently never-treated populations may represent an important programmatic barrier to LF elimination. Given the very low certainty of evidence, extreme heterogeneity, and potential publication bias, these estimates should be interpreted cautiously. Future research should ensure broader geographical representation, including both urban and rural areas, and explore structural, behavioural, and socio-cultural determinants to better target high-risk groups. Full article

Lake Nasser represents Egypt’s principal strategic freshwater reservoir; however, its long-term phytoplankton dynamics at the basin scale remain insufficiently characterized. This study presents a detailed spatiotemporal investigation of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) variability across the reservoir during the 2002–2020 period using exclusively MODIS-Aqua Level-3 satellite observations. As no concurrent in situ measurements were available for validation, the reported values are treated as satellite-derived Chl-a estimates rather than direct observations of phytoplankton biomass. A non-parametric statistical approach, incorporating the Mann–Kendall test, Theil–Sen slope estimator, coefficient of variation (CV), and relative anomaly analysis, was used to characterize pixel-level climatology and temporal trends. The findings demonstrate that the reservoir exhibits pronounced spatial heterogeneity and a well-defined bimodal seasonal pattern associated with the annual Blue Nile flood pulse during August–October and winter convective mixing processes between November and February. Although annual-scale analysis did not indicate a statistically significant monotonic trend, seasonal investigations revealed strongly contrasting temporal responses throughout the year. At the pixel level, significant increases dominated ten of the twelve calendar months, from September through June, with median slopes among significant pixels of +0.36 to +1.47 mg m⁻³ yr⁻¹. July and August reversed this pattern, combining significant declines along the northern and central main channel with the steepest increases in the record at the extreme southern inflow. The directional contrast was unaffected by control of the false discovery rate within each calendar month (q = 0.05), which retained 66% of the significant pixels. Summer conditions were additionally marked by substantial temporal variability (CV > 60%) and pronounced positive anomalies, reaching +274.51% during August. Notably, these anomalies were spatially concentrated within the central and southern sectors of the reservoir, rather than within the conventionally productive northern region. This spatial redistribution, together with the broad enrichment tendency indicated by the pixel-level trends, points to an intensification of the summer maximum within the southern inflow zone and to a possible emergence of localized eutrophication risk, a hypothesis that requires confirmation through concurrent nutrient, transparency, and dissolved-oxygen observations. Overall, the study provides valuable geospatial insights for the environmental management of Lake Nasser, emphasizing the importance of implementing targeted early-warning systems for harmful algal bloom monitoring. The results also demonstrate the critical role of satellite-based Earth observation technologies in supporting adaptive water resource management under evolving climatic and hydrological conditions. Full article

This paper applies the von Mises family of circular distributions to model seasonal timing of heavy rainfall extremes in Kimberley, South Africa. Unlike conventional modelling approaches that emphasize the modelling of mean rainfall, circular modelling captures phase-specific characteristics, such as the onset, peak clustering, and transitional shoulders of extreme rainfall. We consider three variants of the von Mises family of distributions, namely the standard von Mises, generalized von Mises, and sine-skewed von Mises, and then use the maximum likelihood estimation with box-constrained optimization to estimate parameters. The results show that the standard von Mises distribution consistently outperforms more complex alternatives, thus providing the most parsimonious and reliable representation of Kimberley’s summer rainfall regime. Furthermore, the results reveal a dominant seasonal peak in January–February, a recurrent onset in November, and a dry season in June–July, which confirms the episodic and clustered nature of rainfall in semi-arid regions. Phase-shift analyses further indicate that there is approximately a 19-day delay in the seasonal peaks between baseline and monitoring periods, alongside stronger clustering of extremes. Although formal circular tests did not detect statistically significant differences, the phase analysis highlights emerging tendencies toward a later and more compressed rainfall season. These findings have practical implications for flood preparedness, reservoir operations, and agricultural scheduling, where timing rather than totals drives risk and resilience. This study demonstrates the methodological importance of circular statistics in extreme rainfall phase analysis, thus bridging a critical gap in semi-arid climate studies. Full article

Annular fillet welds on guide rods lie in stress concentration zones and are susceptible to fatigue failure under dynamic suspension loads, necessitating accurate quality inspection. However, their complex three-dimensional topography makes it difficult for conventional methods to balance detection accuracy and efficiency. This paper presents a geometry-driven 3D point-cloud analysis framework integrating weighted geometric template matching, unified height referencing, and decoupled dual-branch defect discrimination. The framework first locates the weld region via weighted template matching with a dynamic early-termination strategy and establishes a unified height datum through multi-stage filtering and RANSAC plane fitting. Defects are then decoupled by height characteristics: extreme height screening isolates oxide inclusions (ISO 6520-1 No. 303), while quantile dual-threshold layered analysis distinguishes insufficient throat thickness (ISO 6520-1 No. 5213) and excessive convexity (ISO 6520-1 No. 503). Experiments on 100 welds sampled across five production batches, evaluated under EN ISO 5817 quality level C, achieve zero false positives for oxide inclusions and insufficient-throat cases and an 88.2% detection rate for excessive convexity, delivering robust performance under the tested conditions. Full article

Bamboo is a renewable material widely used in traditional Chinese musical instruments, but its vibration behavior is sensitive to moisture. This study investigated how moisture content affects the vibration behavior of Jinghu bamboo soundboxes. Three Xipi and three Erhuang specimens were conditioned by soaking and drying to obtain 11 moisture states (M0–M10). Time domain responses, frequency response functions, natural frequencies, damping ratios, mode shapes, and a frequency-mass-based estimated structural stiffness index were evaluated using impact hammer testing and experimental modal analysis. Three individual Xipi soundboxes with nominal storage durations of 3, 46, and 86 years were examined before and after conditioning at 20 °C and 60% relative humidity as an exploratory case comparison. Both types showed stronger vibration responses at intermediate moisture levels, whereas nearly dry and nearly saturated conditions produced weaker responses. Increasing moisture generally lowered resonance frequencies and estimated structural stiffness index, while damping ratios were higher at the moisture extremes. Under the present test conditions, Xipi specimens exhibited a higher estimated structural stiffness index and stronger mid- to high-frequency responses than Erhuang specimens. Given the differences in specimen geometry and mass, these variations are interpreted as reflecting whole-structure dynamic responses rather than intrinsic differences in material properties. In the exploratory comparison, XP-86 showed the largest change, with a 61.17% decrease in fundamental frequency and the development of surface cracks. Given the limited number of independent specimens, the results are interpreted descriptively rather than as statistically generalizable effects. These results s demonstrate the importance of humidity control during the use and preservation of Jinghu soundboxes. Full article

With the continuous decline in easily recoverable reserves of conventional oil and gas, the focus of oil and gas exploration and development has gradually shifted toward complex reservoirs, such as low-permeability, tight, high-temperature and high-pressure (HTHP), and strongly heterogeneous reservoirs. Such reservoirs are characterized by complex pore–throat structures, poor seepage capacity, extreme temperature and pressure conditions, and strong heterogeneity. Traditional acidizing technologies face multiple challenges, including short effective penetration distances, system instability at high temperatures, uneven stimulation, and a tendency to induce secondary formation damage, making it difficult to meet the requirements for highly efficient reservoir stimulation. This paper systematically analyzes the petrophysical properties and acidizing challenges of four typical types of complex reservoirs. It reviews the reaction mechanisms, research and development progress, and reservoir adaptability principles of six acid systems, and elaborates on the application value of molecular simulation technology in acid–rock reaction analysis, formulation optimization, and injection regulation. The review indicates that, under extreme operating conditions, existing technologies still suffer from inadequate system stability, limited deep mass transfer, and environmental concerns. Future research should deepen the understanding of multi-scale acid–rock reaction mechanisms, develop composite acid systems tolerant to extreme conditions, and drive the development of acidizing technologies toward refinement and intelligentization. Full article

Fimbristylis ochotensis (Meinsh.) Kom. is a rare and vulnerable plant species of significant scientific and ecological importance. It is an obligate thermophyte that grows exclusively around hot springs and geothermal fields on the Kamchatka Peninsula and in northern Japan. For the first time, the elemental composition of Fimbristylis ochotensis and its associated soils was determined using neutron activation analysis, supplemented with ICP-OES and a direct mercury analyzer, on samples collected from three hot spring zones on the Kamchatka Peninsula. In total, 43 elements were quantified in soil samples and 31 elements in plant samples. Both soil and plant material collected near different hot springs exhibited significant variation in elemental composition. Mass fractions of most elements were higher in soil samples, with the exceptions of Zn, Br, Rb, Cs, and Cd. Enrichment factor values indicated moderate to extreme soil enrichment in As, Br, Cd, Sb, and W, while transfer factors greater than unity were obtained for K, Rb, Cs, Br, Zn, S, and Cd, suggesting efficient accumulation of these elements by the plant from the soil. Full article

The Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is widely used for drought monitoring, but reanalysis datasets like ERA5-Land contain biases that affect its reliability. Conventional bias correction, which adjusts variables independently, can violate the physical relationship between precipitation and PET. We introduce a Physics-Guided Neural Network (PGNN) that corrects both variables simultaneously while enforcing a water-balance constraint within the loss function. Using a rigorous temporal split (training 1950–2010, validation 2011–2018, testing 2019–2025), the PGNN framework shows improved performance compared with quantile distribution mapping (QDM). On the validation period (2011–2018), the correction reduces precipitation RMSE by 32% (from 40.4 to 27.6 mm month⁻¹) and increases PET R² from −2.820 to 0.890, compared with QDM’s 0.326. For the 3-month agricultural drought index, PGNN reduces RMSE by 27% (from 0.440 to 0.320), increases R² from 0.737 to 0.857, and improves correlation from 0.890 to 0.943, whereas QDM shows only marginal improvement (R² = 0.715). Consistent gains are observed across all timescales, with PGNN-corrected SPEI achieving R² exceeding 0.78 for the 1-, 3-, and 6-month agricultural indices. At longer timescales, PGNN shows improved skill, achieving R² = 0.101 and 0.113 for 12- and 24-month SPEI, respectively—outperforming QDM (R² = 0.043 and 0.032). The period-specific analysis reveals two distinct degradation mechanisms: error accumulation in the water balance explains the decline from short to long timescales, while climate non-stationarity explains the degradation from the validation period to the test period. In the independent test period (2019–2025), both methods show substantial degradation: PGNN precipitation RMSE increases from 27.6 to 32.0 mm month⁻¹ (+16%), PET R² drops from 0.890 to 0.458 (−49%), and longer timescales (9–24 months) yield negative R² values. Categorical metrics for extreme drought detection show mixed results on the validation period: the Critical Success Index (CSI) for Extreme Dry conditions (3-month SPEI) decreases from 0.269 (raw) to 0.164 for PGNN, while QDM achieves 0.277. This unexpected behaviour is attributed to the differing event distribution in the validation period. However, PGNN improves detection for severe and moderate dry classes, and Cohen’s Kappa increases from 0.552 (raw) to 0.646 (PGNN) compared with QDM’s 0.493. The water-balance constraint ensures climatic consistency and preserves the annual cycle (PET peaks in October at 148.1 mm month⁻¹, close to the CRU reference of 152.2 mm month⁻¹), while QDM introduces a two-month phase shift. The framework offers a potential scalable pathway for operational drought monitoring, but the test-period degradation suggests a need for adaptive correction methods that can track evolving climate baselines. Full article

Loess mountainous regions in northern China suffer frequent landslides, collapses and debris flows controlled by complex geological settings, seasonal rainstorms, freeze–thaw cycles and large-scale human engineering activities. Multi-geohazard susceptibility evaluation can provide fundamental data support for regional disaster prevention and territorial planning. Taking Shanxi Province, a typical loess-mountain transition zone, as the study area, this paper establishes an evaluation framework for landslides, collapses and debris flows. Ten conditioning factors are selected, including lithology, terrain parameters, distance to faults, distance to rivers, NDVI and RX1day (annual maximum 1-day precipitation). A 30 m grid unit is adopted as the basic evaluation unit. A total of 2598 verified geohazard points are taken as positive samples. Negative samples with equal quantity are extracted from low and very low susceptibility areas of the preliminary zoning map generated by the Frequency Ratio (FR) method, with an 800 m minimum separation distance between sampling points to reduce spatial autocorrelation. Two models, Logistic Regression (LR) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), are constructed, and five-fold cross-validation is used to test model performance through five statistical indicators and AUC values. The results show that, under the specific model configurations and sampling strategy adopted in this study, the LR model achieved higher predictive performance (average test AUC = 0.995) than the SVM model (average test AUC = 0.752) in the comparative assessment. Statistical analysis of the final susceptibility map derived from the LR model indicates that high and very high susceptibility zones account for 80.94% of the total provincial area and contain 87.45% of all recorded geohazard points, which confirms the consistency and reasonableness of the zoning results. Spatially, high-susceptibility areas are concentrated in the western and northwestern loess tablelands, the Fenhe River fault basin, and fault-developed sections of the Lüliang and Taihang Mountains. Thick loess layers, river undercutting and coal mining activities jointly reduce slope stability in these zones. Compared with conventional susceptibility modeling workflows, this study incorporates the RX1day extreme precipitation index and implements Frequency-Ratio-constrained stratified negative-sample selection to reduce training-sample bias. The produced susceptibility maps can provide technical support for differentiated geological hazard risk management, ecological restoration and territorial spatial planning for loess-mountain transition regions in northern China, thereby directly contributing to regional sustainable development and disaster resilience. Full article