Search Results (217)

Warm conditions during typically cold winters impact runoff and resulting hydraulic processes in channels where ice-cover would typically dominate. This field study on a short, low-slope reach in Southern Ontario, Canada, examined hydrologic and hydraulic processes with a focus on winter runoff events and subsequent bed shear stress variability. Through winter 2024, six cross-sections over a ~100 m reach were monitored near-weekly to measure hydraulic geometry and velocity profiles. These data characterized channel processes and estimated bed shear stress with law of the wall. In this channel, velocity increased more rapidly than width or depth with rising discharge and influenced bed shear stress distribution. Bed shear stress magnitudes were highest (means ranged ~2–6 N/m²) and most variable over gravel beds compared to the exposed bedrock (means ranged ~0.05–2 N/m²). Through a rain-on-snow (ROS) event in late January, bed shear stress estimates decreased dramatically over the rougher gravel bed, despite minimal changes in water depth and velocity. Pebble counts before, during, and after the event, showed that the proportion of finer-sized particles (i.e., <5 cm) increased while median grain size did not vary. These observations align with findings from both flume and field studies and suggest that milder winters reduce gravel-bed roughness through finer-sized sediment deposition, altering sediment transport dynamics and affecting gravel habitat suitability. Additionally, limited ice-cover leads to lower bed shear stresses and thus finer-sized materials are deposited, further impacting gravel habitat suitability. Results highlight the importance of winter hydrologic variability in shaping channel processes and inform potential stream responses under future climate scenarios. Full article

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are increasingly targeted by sophisticated and evolving cyberattacks, while conventional static defense mechanisms and isolated intrusion detection models often lack the robustness required to cope with such dynamic threats. To overcome these limitations, we propose RHAD (Reinforced Heterogeneous Anomaly Detector), a resilient and adaptive anomaly detection framework specifically designed for ICS environments. RHAD combines a heterogeneous ensemble of detection models with a confidence-aware scheduling mechanism guided by reinforcement learning (RL), alongside a time-decaying sliding window voting strategy to enhance detection accuracy and temporal robustness. The proposed architecture establishes a modular collaborative framework that enables dynamic and fine-grained protection for industrial network traffic. At its core, the RL-based scheduler leverages the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm to dynamically assign model weights and orchestrate container-level executor replacement in real time, driven by network state observations and runtime performance feedback. We evaluate RHAD using two publicly available ICS datasets—SCADA and WDT—achieving 99.19% accuracy with an F1-score of 0.989 on SCADA, and 98.35% accuracy with an F1-score of 0.987 on WDT. These results significantly outperform state-of-the-art deep learning baselines, confirming RHAD’s robustness under class imbalance conditions. Thus, RHAD provides a promising foundation for resilient ICS security and shows strong potential for broader deployment in cyber-physical systems. Full article

Through laboratory experiments in an S-shaped channel, this study analyzes how the flow Froude number, the ratio of ice-to-flow rate, pier spacing-diameter ratio, and bed material median grain size influence scour depth around side-by-side double piers under ice-jammed flow conditions. Unlike the development of a scour hole around a bridge pier in a straight channel, where the scour depth increases with the flow Froude number under ice-covered conditions, this study reveals that in an S-shaped channel, scour depth increases with the flow Froude number near the convex bank pier and decreases near the concave bank counterpart. Irrespective of ice conditions, a higher ratio of pier spacing-diameter correlates with augmented scour depth at the convex bank and diminished scour at the concave bank. As the ice-to-flow rate ratio increases, the ice jam thickness in the S-shaped channel also increases, leading to a significant decrease in the flow area and resulting in deeper scour holes around the piers. Equations have been developed to calculate the maximum scour depth around side-by-side double piers positioned in an S-shaped channel with ice-jammed flow. Full article

Sitophilus zeamais, a major pest of stored grains, causes significant post-harvest losses and challenges effective control. While synthetic insecticides pose risks of resistance and toxicity, essential oils (EOs) offer a safer alternative. However, the insecticidal potential of their individual volatile constituents (VCs) remains largely unexplored. This study evaluated the insecticidal activity of 51 EO-derived volatile compounds (VCs) against S. zeamais, identifying the most toxic ones, optimizing 15 synergistic mixtures, and assessing their effects on key insect enzymes. A structure–activity relationship (SAR) analysis determined functional groups associated with insecticidal activity, while a cluster analysis pre-selected 29 ternary mixtures, later refined using response surface methodology (RSM). Additionally, enzymatic assays explored their impact on detoxification and nervous system enzymes, providing insights into potential mechanisms of action. Among the 51 VCs tested, 37 exhibited significant toxicity, with 11 acting as fumigants and 13 displaying contact toxicity. Monocyclic monoterpenoids with ketone or alcohol functional groups and exocyclic unsaturation demonstrated the highest insecticidal activity via both exposure routes. Notably, pulegone enantiomers were particularly effective (LC₅₀ < 0.1 mg/L, LD₅₀ < 7.5 µg/adult). Among the optimized mixtures, 10 displayed strong insecticidal effects, 8 were active through both routes, and 5 exhibited synergistic fumigant interactions. The most effective formulations were M2 (R-pulegone + S-pulegone + S-carvone, LC₅₀ 0.48 mg/L) and M20 (isopulegone + δ-3-carene, LC₅₀ 2.06 mg/L), showing the strongest fumigant and synergistic effects, respectively. Enzymatic assays revealed that while some compounds mildly inhibited GST and CAT, others, such as δ-3-carene (IC₅₀ 0.19 mg/L), significantly inhibited AChE. Five mixtures exhibited synergistic neurotoxicity, with M20 (IC₅₀ 0.61 mg/L) and M12 (IC₅₀ 0.81 mg/L) emerging as the most potent AChE inhibitors. These findings highlight the potential of plant-derived volatile compounds as bioinsecticides, leveraging synergistic interactions to enhance efficacy, disrupt enzymatic pathways, and mitigate resistance. Full article

The efficient extraction of natural gas from marine natural gas hydrate (NGH) reservoirs is challenging, due to their low permeability, high hydrate saturation, and fine-grained sediments. Hydraulic fracturing has been proven to be a promising technique for improving the permeability of these unconventional reservoirs. This study presents a comprehensive triaxial experimental investigation of the fracturing behavior and fracture initiation mechanisms of NGH-bearing sediments, using large-scale ice-saturated synthetic cubic models. The experiments systematically explore the effects of key parameters, including the injection rate, fluid viscosity, ice saturation, perforation patterns, and in situ stress, on fracture propagation and morphology. The results demonstrate that at low fluid viscosities and saturation levels, transverse and torsional fractures dominate, while longitudinal fractures are more prominent at higher viscosities. Increased injection rates enhance fracture propagation, generating more complex fracture patterns, including transverse, torsional, and secondary fractures. A detailed analysis reveals that the perforation design significantly influences the fracture direction, with 90° helical perforations inducing vertical fractures and fixed-plane perforations resulting in transverse fractures. Additionally, a plastic fracture model more accurately predicts fracture initiation pressures compared to traditional elastic models, highlighting a shift from shear to tensile failure modes as hydrate saturation increases. This research provides new insights into the fracture mechanisms of NGH-bearing sediments and offers valuable guidance for optimizing hydraulic fracturing strategies to enhance resource extraction in hydrate reservoirs. Full article

Accurate cloud detection is a critical preprocessing step in remote sensing applications, as cloud and cloud shadow contamination can significantly degrade the quality of optical satellite imagery. In this paper, we propose CDWMamba, a novel dual-domain neural network that integrates the Mamba-based state space model with discrete wavelet transform (DWT) for effective cloud detection. CDWMamba adopts a four-direction Mamba module to capture long-range dependencies, while the wavelet decomposition enables multi-scale global context modeling in the frequency domain. To further enhance fine-grained spatial features, we incorporate a multi-scale depth-wise separable convolution (MDC) module for spatial detail refinement. Additionally, a spectral–spatial bottleneck (SSN) with channel-wise attention is introduced to promote inter-band information interaction across multi-spectral inputs. We evaluate our method on two benchmark datasets, L8 Biome and S2_CMC, covering diverse land cover types and environmental conditions. Experimental results demonstrate that CDWMamba achieves state-of-the-art performance across multiple metrics, significantly outperforming deep-learning-based baselines in terms of overall accuracy, mIoU, precision, and recall. Moreover, the model exhibits satisfactory performance under challenging conditions such as snow/ice and shrubland surfaces. These results verify the effectiveness of combining a state space model, frequency-domain representation, and spectral–spatial attention for cloud detection in multi-spectral remote sensing imagery. Full article

Seafloor communities along the eastern Svalbard coast remain poorly studied. To address this gap, we sampled benthic organisms on the soft sediments of Storfjord in 2017 and 2019, a large fjord predominantly influenced by cold Arctic waters, to study the local fauna and identify the key environmental drivers shaping community structure. In total, 314 taxa were recorded, with an increase in abundance (from 3923 to 8977 ind. m⁻², mean 6090 ind. m⁻²) and a decline in biomass (ranging from 265 to 104 g m⁻², mean 188 g m⁻²) toward the outer part of the fjord. However, no clear spatial trends were observed for alpha diversity (approximately 100 species per 0.3 m²) or the Shannon index (mean 3 per station). The primary factors influencing benthic abundance were the duration of the ice-free period (IFP) and the degree of siltation (DS), both of which are proxies for trophic conditions. The prevailing taxa displayed a high tolerance to temperature fluctuations and seasonal variability in nutrient inputs. Benthic biomass showed a negative relationship with IFP, DS, and water depth, but it was positively correlated with the proportion of fine-grained sediment. The Yoldia hyperborea community (mean abundance: 3700 ind. m⁻², mean biomass: 227 g m⁻²) was associated with Arctic waters characterized by higher inorganic suspension loads. In contrast, areas with reduced or weaker sedimentation were dominated by the communities of Maldane sarsi (6212 ind m⁻², 226 g m⁻²) and Maldane sarsi + Nemertini g.sp. (5568 ind m⁻², 165 g m⁻²). The Spiochaetopterus typicus community (7824 ind m⁻², 139 g m⁻²) was observed in areas under moderate influence of Atlantic waters, characterized by low sedimentation rates and increased fresh detritus flux. Full article

This study examines the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, antifungal, and insecticidal properties of Origanum syriacum (Syrian oregano plant) and Cymbopogon wimterianus (Java citronella plant) extracts. Their potential applications in food preservation and pest control are explored based on their bioactive properties. The phytochemical screening indicated a rich presence of secondary metabolites in the extract. The hydrodistillation of plant leaves resulted in an extraction yield of 4.3% Syrian oregano essential oil. The major component of the essential oil was carvacrol (79.30%). The Syrian oregano ethanolic extract contained 110.674 ± 1.842 mg GAE/g total phenols and 52.57 ± 0.086 mg RE/g total flavonoids, and exhibited a high antioxidant activity with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) equal to 168.28 μg/mL. Flatbread was prepared with additions of Syrian oregano and Java citronella powders, followed by analysis of moisture content, visual appearance, and sensory characteristics. The results showed that the powders of Syrian oregano and Java citronella have promising food preservative effects. These findings were supported by a significant decrease in fungal growth in several samples and a shelf life extension of one day. The inclusion of a 2% mixture of Syrian oregano and Java citronella powder in the flatbread resulted in the sample receiving the highest overall acceptability mark from consumers, while also extending its shelf life. To assess the insecticidal activity, weevils (Sitophilus granarius L.) were exposed to Syrian oregano and Java citronella essential oils. The insecticidal activity was at its peak when Syrian oregano and Java citronella essential oils were combined resulting in 7% lethal dose (LD₅₀) towards grain weevils. Future research should focus on optimizing extraction methods, evaluating long-term storage effects, and assessing the broader applicability of these extracts in various food products and agricultural settings. Full article

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) are a nutrient-rich functional food, packed with protein, fiber, and bioactive compounds, offering a broad range of therapeutic qualities. This paper reports the findings in terms of crude protein, crude fiber, total polyphenols, total flavones, and some phenolic compounds along with the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of some Pleurotus mushrooms extracts: P. eryngii, P. ostreatus, and P. columbinus. The integration of brewery-spent grains (BSG) into the nutrient media and culture substrate induced a major statistical increase (p < 0.05) for crude protein, total polyphenols, total flavones, and chlorogenic and caffeic acids as well as antioxidant activity. The lowest inhibition concentration IC₅₀ was recorded for P. ostreatus, followed by P. eryngii and P. columbinus. Among the strains, only P. ostreatus and P. columbinus exerted antimicrobial activity against two pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. These results add and provide evidence of oyster mushrooms’ nutritional properties and possible positive effects on human health. Full article

This study investigates Mg concentrations and productivity in seven spring wheat genotypes (YR, Local, Sids 12, P3, P5, IC8, and IC17) by evaluating their nutritional content and their responses to organic and conventional fertilization methods. We employed a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and observed that conventional fertilization resulted in higher Mg levels than organic fertilization (2.12 vs. 1.54 g kg⁻¹). The application of conventional fertilizers also resulted in a higher shoot dry weight compared with the application of organic fertilizers (4.6 vs. 1.88 g), with Sids 12 recording the highest shoot dry weight (4.79 g), followed by YR (3.39 g). Furthermore, conventional fertilization consistently yielded a higher grain output than that of organic fertilization across both seasons. P5 and IC17 had superior grain yield and Mg content in grains, respectively. Wheat yields were lower under organic fertilization than under conventional practices. Some genotypes, such as YR and IC17, experienced significant yield reductions under organic conditions, whereas others, such as P5, displayed resilience or even enhanced yields. The IC17 genotype demonstrated minimal variation in Mg content in grains between conventional and organic fertilization, highlighting genotype-specific responses to fertilization methods. Thus, selecting and cultivating the appropriate genotype can facilitate achieving nutritionally adequate wheat production under organic farming conditions in Saudi Arabia. Full article

Background/Objectives: Complementary feeding (CF) influences future health outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of fortified whole grain infant cereal (WGIC), a complementary food, among 6- to 12-month-old infants on the nutrient density of the diet in three diverse settings: Brazil, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US. Methods: Data from the Feeding Infants and Toddler Study (FITS), a collection of dietary intake studies based on 24-h-dietary recalls, from said countries was utilized. Nutrient intakes were calculated for infant cereal (IC) consumers and non-consumers. Diet modeling was applied to IC consumers to substitute their regular fortified IC with WGIC with improved fortifications. The study estimated the average nutrient density, mean adequacy ratio (MAR), and percentage inadequacy of the diet in both IC consumers and non-consumers. Results: The analyses indicated that infants who consumed IC had higher intakes of calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, and vitamin D in the three countries. Reduced micronutrient inadequacies were observed among IC consumers, particularly in Brazil and the U.S. Diet modeling with WGIC revealed a significantly higher density of choline, magnesium, zinc, iron, fiber, and protein, as well as reduced inadequacies. The MAR was significantly improved in the three countries. Conclusions: This study underscores the potential of fortified WGIC in increasing the nutrient density of the complementary diet. The intrinsic nutrients in whole grain infant cereals (WGICs) significantly enhance the nutrient density of the complementary diet. Given that whole grains play a role in preventing childhood obesity, their inclusion during CF may be crucial. Full article

Episodic sedimentary processes with significant changes in sedimentation rate have occurred on the East Hainan Coast, the inner shelf of the South China Sea, since the Last Glacial Maximum. In particular, the early-Holocene (~11.5–8.7 ka) rapid sedimentation at a mean rate of ~4.90 m/ka is crucial to understand the processes of terrigenous input to the ocean, carbon cycling and climate control in coastal-neritic sedimentary evolution. However, the chronological framework and the detailed environmental evolution remain uncertain. In this study, core sediments collected from the East Hainan Coast (code: NH01) were used to revisit the characteristics of luminescence signals by comparing the dating results using the blue-light stimulated luminescence (blue-OSL) ages and previously published post-infrared blue-light stimulated luminescence (pIR-blue OSL) ages. The results showed that both the ages agreed with each other for the fine-grained quartz fraction. The refined chronology of the early-Holocene deposits on the East Hainan Coast with higher resolution suggested that the sedimentation rate was ~0.60 m/ka before 10.97 ka, while it increased abruptly to ~5.89 m/ka during the period of 10.97–9.27 ka. According to the refined OSL chronology and the high-resolution (~2.5 cm) titanium intensity using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning, the rapid sedimentation during the early Holocene was likely controlled by increased terrigenous input. The variation in Ti flux reflected the differential response between two meltwater pulse (MWP) events under the combined effects of enhanced early-Holocene monsoons and localized freshwater input. These findings highlight the compound controls of global ice-volume change, monsoon dynamics and coastal geomorphic evolution on sedimentary processes. Full article

As internal combustion engines (ICEs) develop towards higher explosion pressures and lower weights, their structures need to be more compact; thus, the wall thickness of their cylinder liners is reducing. However, intense vibrations in the cylinder liner can lead to coolant cavitation and, in severe cases, penetration of the liner, posing a significant reliability issue for ICEs. Therefore, research on cylinder liner cavitation has attracted increasing interest. Gray cast iron is widely used in cylinder liners for its hardness and wear resistance; however, additional surface plating is necessary to improve cavitation resistance. This study developed a novel surface-modification technology using electroless Ni-P plating combined with high-temperature heat treatment to create cylinder liners with refined grains, low weight loss rate, and high hardness. The heat-treatment temperature ranged from 100 to 600 °C. An ultrasonic cavitation tester was used to simulate severe cavitation conditions, and we analyzed and compared Ni-P-plated and heat-treated Ni-P-plated surfaces. The findings showed that the combination of Ni-P plating with high-temperature heat treatment led to smoother, more refined surface grains and the formation of cellular granular structures. After heat treatment, the plating structure converted from amorphous to crystalline. From 100 to 600 °C, the weight loss of specimens was within the range of 0.162% to 0.573%, and the weight loss (80.2% lower than the plated surface) and weight loss rate at 600 °C were the smallest. Additionally, cavitation resistance improved by 80.1%. The microhardness of the heat-treated plated surface reached 895 HV at 600 °C, constituting a 306 HV (65.8%) increase compared with that of the unplated surface, and a 560 HV increase compared with that of the maximum hardness of the plated surface without heat treatment of 335 HV, with an enhancement rate of 62.6%. Full article

The impact of ice and snow in seasonally frozen regions has led to a significant decline in the flatness and skid resistance of highway pavements, creating severe traffic safety hazards. With economic development driving the transition from road construction to maintenance, this study proposes enhancing Ultra-Thin Wearing Course (UTWC) maintenance materials with anti-icing performance and snow-melting properties. The study first employed the Marshall mix design method to develop gradations for two common types of UTWC asphalt mixtures: the dense-graded GT-8 and the open-graded NovaChip^® Type-B. Using the volume substitution method, aggregates were replaced with equivalent volumes of ceramic grains. The optimal asphalt–aggregate ratios for the mixtures with varying ceramic grain contents were determined, and the influence of ceramic grains content on the asphalt–aggregate ratio was analyzed. The results indicate that the optimal asphalt–aggregate ratio increases with higher ceramic grains content. Subsequently, the high-temperature performance, low-temperature performance, and water stability of UTWC with varying ceramic grain contents were evaluated. Overall, NovaChip^® gradation mixtures demonstrated superior road performance compared to GT-8 gradation mixtures. Moreover, an increase in ceramic grains content enhanced the high-temperature performance of UTWC but moderately reduced its low-temperature performance and water stability. Finally, the effects of different ceramic grain contents and snowmelt agent types on the anti-icing and snowmelt properties of UTWC were examined. The results revealed that higher ceramic grains content improved snowmelt effectiveness. Considering the road performance of the specimens, a ceramic grains content of 40% was recommended. Furthermore, calcium chloride (CaCl₂) exhibited superior anti-icing performance compared to other snowmelt agents. Full article

Astrophysical ices play a crucial role in the chemistry of cold interstellar environments. However, their diverse compositions, temperatures, and grain morphologies pose significant challenges for molecular identification and quantification through infrared observations. We investigate the ability of implicit solvation approaches to capture temperature-dependent infrared spectral features of CO₂ molecules embedded in astrophysical ice analogues, comparing their performance to that of explicit ice models and experimental data. Using DFT calculations and vibrational frequency scaling, we model CO₂ trapped in both amorphous (cold) and crystalline (warm) H₂O ice clusters. The implicit model qualitatively identifies certain trends but fails to reliably capture the magnitude of frequency shifts and band strengths. Explicit models correctly reproduce the gas-to-solid redshifts for both the asymmetric stretch and bending modes; however, neither approach successfully replicates the experimentally observed temperature-dependent trend in the bending mode. While continuum-like methods may be useful as first-order approximations, explicit modelling of the molecular environment is essential for accurately simulating the infrared spectral behaviour of CO₂ in astrophysical ices and for interpreting observational data on ice composition and evolution. Full article