Search Results (466)

Wind forcing is a primary driver of lake circulation, yet in shallow basins it is strongly constrained by morphometry, limited depth, and aquatic vegetation. We quantified the velocity and direction of horizontal wind-driven currents in Lake Wolsztyńskie (western Poland) and assessed their spatial and vertical variability in relation to depth, wind speed, and effective fetch. Monthly field measurements (June 2019–May 2020) at eight sites showed a consistent, monotonic decline in current speed with depth across the lake. Mean circulation speed increased with wind, but the relationship was weak, indicating that local controls and non-linear response dominate over simple wind–current scaling. In macrophyte-covered littoral zones, currents were substantially attenuated relative to unvegetated sites of comparable depth. Directional analysis revealed that surface flow aligns with wind-driven transport in fewer than half of observations, while compensating (return) currents with opposing directions near the bottom are frequent. Clockwise veering of current direction with depth—expected under a classical Ekman spiral—was only intermittent, consistent with truncation of Ekman dynamics in a shallow water column and a prevailing two-layer circulation pattern. Full article

This study evaluates the ecological impacts of seawater desalination discharge on coastal marine ecosystems through a sequential analytical framework linking systematic literature synthesis, field-monitoring evidence, spatial analysis, and predictive ecological modeling. The novelty of the study lies in combining multi-regional evidence from Mediterranean coastal zones, Persian Gulf waters, and Pacific coastal environments with threshold-based ecological risk assessment, thereby linking discharge-related environmental stressors with biological responses and ecosystem-function alterations. The systematic review first retained 750 studies published between 2004 and 2024 for qualitative synthesis. On this basis, 59 high-quality references with sufficient numerical information were selected for the main quantitative meta-analysis, while field-monitoring data were used to support the interpretation of distance-based discharge gradients. Spatial interpolation and hierarchical modeling were then applied to evaluate exposure–response patterns and ecological threshold behavior. The results showed that desalination facilities generated measurable ecological impacts mainly within 50–200 m of discharge points, with a critical transition distance of approximately 127 m where hypersaline conditions, typically 1.5–2.0 times ambient seawater levels, were associated with marked changes in marine community structure. Benthic assemblages showed taxon-specific responses, with mollusks and echinoderms exhibiting greater sensitivity than polychaetes and small crustaceans. Marine vegetation declined strongly under combined salinity, thermal, and chemical stress, while phosphonate-based antiscalants accumulated in filter-feeding organisms and produced bioaccumulation factors up to 42.1 times ambient levels. Ecosystem-function indicators, including microbial community composition and sediment organic matter processing, remained altered up to 300 m from discharge points, indicating that functional impacts may extend beyond the primary hypersaline plume. The predictive modeling framework further demonstrated that ecological risk decreased nonlinearly with distance and varied according to discharge intensity, local hydrodynamics, and biological sensitivity. These findings indicate that conventional uniform buffer-based assessment may underestimate the ecological footprint of desalination discharge. Sustainable desalination management should therefore adopt site-specific monitoring, species-sensitive protection thresholds, improved brine-management technologies, and adaptive mitigation strategies based on real-time environmental feedback. Full article

Cities are currently facing increasing challenges related to climate change, demographic pressure, and urban expansion. In this context, urban resilience has emerged as a strategic approach to anticipate, withstand, and adapt to environmental and social disturbances. The city of Salamanca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has implemented several green infrastructure strategies and climate adaptation initiatives, including the Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Strategy (EDUSI Tormes+), the Special Plan for the Protection of Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity (PEPIVB), and the programs SAVIA Red Verde Salamanca and LIFE Vía de la Plata. This study assesses the contribution of these initiatives to urban governance focused on response capacity by examining their level of implementation and the coherence among different municipal planning instruments. The analysis reveals that the municipal green infrastructure framework is explicitly planned and strategically designed with the objective to mitigate the urban heat island effect, regenerate the urban fabric, and establish structural pathways targeted to foster local biodiversity pathways. Overall, the results provide evidence that nature-based territorial management instruments can strengthen the adaptive capacity of heritage cities to climate change, offering a replicable model for other territories with similar characteristics. Full article

Biological invasions and freshwater biodiversity loss are two of the most pressing global conservation challenges yet their interaction during the earliest stages of invasion remains poorly understood. Iberian freshwaters rank among Europe’s most biodiverse ecosystems, harbouring a remarkable assemblage of endemic fish species. This irreplaceable heritage is increasingly threatened by non-native piscivorous predators, to which endemic species often lack innate antipredator responses. The invasive European perch (Perca fluviatilis) was first detected in the Meimoa reservoir, within the Malcata Natural Reserve (Central Portugal), in 2023, and has since expanded exponentially in abundance while dispersing into adjacent stream networks. This emerging invasion provided a unique opportunity to assess the predation impacts of a novel piscivorous predator during the early stages of establishment and dispersion, across both lentic and lotic habitats. From 2022 to 2025, European perch were sampled in the invaded reservoir using gillnetting and in connected streams with electrofishing. Diet was assessed through stomach content analysis, and prey composition was analyzed in relation to site, season, year and ontogeny. European perch exhibited a clear ontogenetic diet shift as expected, from zooplankton and invertebrates to crayfish and fish, with minor variation in prey composition between systems. In the Meimoa reservoir, body size was the strongest driver of diet composition (PERMANOVA: R² = 0.134, p < 0.001), with 50% of the stomachs from individuals above 35 cm containing fish, with the Iberian nase, Pseudochondrostoma polylepis, being the dominant prey. Diet composition remained stable across years (R² = 0.007; p = 0.188), despite a 74% decline in nase catch per unit effort (CPUE) between 2022 and 2025. In streams, despite the absence of large perch, piscivory was recorded earlier and encompassing a broader range of native taxa. The sustained predation pressure on P. polylepis, a formerly dominant and culturally significant species, despite its steep population decline, suggests that European perch holds the potential to locally deplete native fish stocks. The advance of this predator into lotic habitats demands urgent conservation action, as it may critically threaten the long-term persistence of one of Portugal’s most vulnerable freshwater taxonomic groups. Full article

Urban industrial heritage is increasingly embedded in urban regeneration, public space provision, and community governance, yet existing studies have insufficiently examined how heterogeneous publics perceive its value through everyday digital discourse. Taking the Guangzhou Iron and Steel Plant industrial heritage site (hereafter, the Guanggang industrial heritage site) as a case study, this study used user-generated content from Rednote posts and local WeChat public-account comments to identify platform-mediated expressions of public value perception. A corpus of 745 valid samples comprising 51,459 Chinese characters was constructed after data collection, screening, and text preprocessing. Word-frequency analysis, semantic network analysis, and sentiment analysis were conducted using ROST CM 6.0. The results show that the two retrieved platform-contextual corpora foregrounded different concerns. Rednote discourse foregrounded ruin landscapes, industrial aesthetics, photography-based check-ins, and exploratory experiences, whereas WeChat comments emphasized park construction, public facilities, governance responsiveness, safety, and the residential environment. At the corpus level, lexicon-based sentiment classification indicated that Rednote texts were dominated by positive and neutral categories, while WeChat comments contained a higher proportion of texts classified as negative. This study conceptualizes dual foregrounding as a bounded selection process through which platform affordances, user self-selection, and users’ relationships with the site influence which concerns become visible in each corpus; it does not treat the observed differences as a causal platform effect. It argues that industrial heritage regeneration must translate historical, technological, and aesthetic values into public values that are interpretable, accessible, usable, and trusted by local communities. Full article

Xizang is characterized by high altitude, low air pressure, strong atmospheric transparency, and complex terrain, while sparse ground stations coexist with continuously available remotely sensed data, and systematic studies on SSR bias correction and meteorological influences under plateau conditions remain limited. This study focuses on a short-term spring case at one urban observation site in Lhasa, using observations collected from 4 to 30 April 2025 to investigate the bias correction of remotely sensed surface solar radiation (SSR) and the influence of meteorological factors. Ground observations and Himawari-8 remotely sensed data were first spatially and temporally matched and preprocessed. Spearman correlation analysis was then used to select key input variables. Support vector regression, random forest, XGBoost, and multiple linear regression models were subsequently developed, followed by a Stacking ensemble model for bias correction. Finally, local sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the local response of the correction model to selected meteorological variables at a representative baseline point. The results showed that the correlation coefficient between remotely sensed SSR and ground-observed SSR was 0.88 ($p<0.001$). The Stacking ensemble model achieved the best performance, with a test set $R^2$ of 0.8796, an MAE of 118.54 W/m², and an RMSE of 152.41 W/m². Local sensitivity analysis showed that a +10 hPa perturbation in air pressure increased the model output by 173.45 W/m², while a +10 °C perturbation in air temperature increased the output by 23.76 W/m². This study provides a reference for improving the accuracy of remotely sensed SSR and for solar resource assessment in plateau regions. Full article

Lymph nodes are central hubs of immune regulation and coordination, serving as primary sites for antigen presentation, lymphocyte activation, and the orchestration of adaptive immune responses. The composition and activation state of lymph node-resident immune cells critically shape both local and systemic immunity. Comprehensive immunophenotyping of these populations is therefore essential for understanding immune organization and functional heterogeneity. Here, we present an optimized protocol for the characterization of mouse lymph node-associated immune populations using 14-color multiparametric flow cytometry. The method combines lymph node isolation based on anatomical landmarks with mechanical dissociation and enzymatic digestion to generate high-quality single-cell suspensions suitable for downstream analysis. Furthermore, the described flow cytometry panel and gating strategy enable reliable identification and quantification of major lymphoid subsets, including helper CD4⁺ and cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cells with their differentiation states, as well as natural killer (NK) cells across distinct maturation stages. Although optimized for assessing lymphocyte maturation after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, the protocol serves as a reproducible platform for broad immunophenotyping of T and NK cell subsets in mouse lymphoid tissues under experimental conditions. Full article

Mountain stream ecosystems are often considered among the least disturbed freshwater environments; however, increasing land-use pressures may affect their ecological integrity even under apparently high-water quality conditions. This study aimed to assess the relative influence of landscape, physicochemical, and hydromorphological factors on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in three sub-catchments (Ambroz, Jerte, and Tiétar) of the Sierra de Gredos (Central Spain). A total of 33 sampling sites were surveyed, and macroinvertebrate assemblages were analyzed in relation to environmental variables using partial Redundancy Analysis (pRDA) and variance partitioning. All sites were classified as having “Excellent” ecological status based on the Iberian Biological Monitoring Working Party (IBMWP) index. However, multivariate analyses revealed clear spatial patterns and responses to environmental gradients. Results indicated that catchment-scale landscape characteristics defined the pool of potential colonizers, while local physicochemical and hydromorphological conditions acted as secondary filters structuring macroinvertebrate assemblages. Landscape variables explained the largest fraction of variance in community structure (30.6%), followed by physicochemical parameters (29.0%) and hydromorphological indices (24.9%), with a significant shared component (16.5%) indicating interactions among drivers. Agricultural land use, particularly in the Jerte sub-catchment, was associated with shifts in community composition, favoring tolerant taxa such as Diptera, while sub-catchments dominated by natural vegetation supported higher richness of sensitive groups, including Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera. These findings highlight the importance of multi-scale processes in structuring mountain stream communities and reveal limitations of traditional biotic indices in detecting early ecological changes. The results support the integration of catchment-scale variables into ecological assessment frameworks and emphasize the need for preventive, basin-scale management strategies to maintain ecological integrity under increasing anthropogenic pressure. Full article

To ensure the sustained stability of absolute gravity benchmark points from 2017 to 2024, observational records from superconducting gravimeters (SGs) and absolute gravimeters were comprehensively examined in this work, and the environmental effects on gravitational acceleration were quantitatively assessed. The annual fluctuation of the SG (iGrav-012k) scale factor reached 0.268 μGal/V, with a weighted average of (–92.8702 ± 0.0265) μGal/V (relative precision of 0.3‰), providing a precise scale factor for long-term SG monitoring. By removing step discontinuities in the SG data using FG5-X249 absolute gravimeter measurements, the residual fitting error decreased to 6.3 μGal. In addition, the SG drift was estimated as 1.0 μGal/year through international comparison datasets and FG5 measurements, substantially improving the consistency of the time series. Further investigation showed that the SG residuals exhibited clear seasonal oscillations, which were mainly attributed to local hydrological processes and ground deformation near the benchmark sites. By integrating groundwater level and deformation monitoring data and applying a neural network model to separate hydrological load components, the peak-to-peak residual amplitude was reduced from 13 μGal to 3.5 μGal. Quantitative analysis indicated that hydrological effects contributed about 9.5 μGal to the seasonal variation, whereas surface deformation had only a minor impact (<2 μGal). The findings confirm that careful data correction and isolation of environmental effects are effective for maintaining the long-term stability of gravity benchmarks. The developed workflow provides a reproducible framework for high-precision gravity site maintenance and supports future dynamic monitoring of regional environmental load responses. Full article

O-linked glycosylation comprises distinct regulatory systems, including secretory-pathway mucin-type O-GalNAc glycosylation and intracellular O-GlcNAcylation. These modifications both target serine/threonine residues but differ in glycan structure, cellular compartment, enzymatic machinery, and biological function. This narrative review was based on targeted searches of PubMed, Web of Science, and related literature using keywords related to O-glycosylation, O-GalNAc glycosylation, O-GlcNAcylation, immune regulation, cell signaling, glycoproteomics, and congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG). We summarize evidence that mucin-type O-glycosylation regulates receptor behavior, cell adhesion, immune checkpoints, immunoglobulin function, antigen recognition, and pathogen–host interactions, whereas O-GlcNAcylation mainly modulates intracellular signaling, transcriptional control, stress responses, post-translational modification crosstalk, and innate immune pathways. We also discuss how glycosylation defects, including CDG and selected O-linked glycosylation disorders, connect genetic variation with disease phenotypes. Recent advances in site-specific glycoproteomics, O-glycoprotease-assisted workflows, LC–MS/MS-based glycopeptide analysis, and spatial or temporal profiling have improved mechanistic interpretation but still face limitations in site localization, structural resolution, and functional validation. Overall, the evidence supports the hypothesis that distinct O-linked glycosylation systems act through different molecular mechanisms but converge on signaling regulation, immune homeostasis, and disease susceptibility. Full article

Climate change alters not only the availability of solar radiation, but also the thermal, humidity, and cloudiness conditions under which solar energy systems operate. However, limited attention has been paid to the simultaneous comparison of photovoltaic and solar thermal responses using a common hourly climate-based framework under Central European conditions. This study evaluates long-term climate-driven changes in the operating conditions of photovoltaic (PV) panels and solar thermal collectors across five Slovak locations representing contrasting local climatic and topographic settings. Hourly ERA5-Land data for 1985–2024 were used to derive climatic indicators, photovoltaic operating indicators, and solar thermal performance indicators. The analysis combined long-term Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope trend assessment with a comparison between the reference period 1985–1994 and the recent period 2015–2024. The results show that mean air temperature increased by 1.50–1.69 °C, global horizontal irradiance by 3.24–5.66%, and high-irradiance hours increased substantially across all sites. Photovoltaic yield increased by 2.21–4.52%, but this improvement was accompanied by higher PV cell temperature, more hot operating hours, and increased temperature losses. Solar thermal collectors showed a stronger relative response, with useful thermal gains increasing by 7.27–12.33% at 35 °C and by 9.00–15.73% at 50 °C. The Relative Solar Thermal Gain Advantage was positive at all locations, indicating that recent climatic conditions favored solar thermal gain more strongly than PV yield under the applied assumptions. The findings demonstrate that recent climatic data should be used in solar-system design and that photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies require separate interpretation because they respond differently to warming and changing radiation conditions. Full article

Background: Breast cancer with isolated bone metastases at initial diagnosis represents a clinically distinct metastatic phenotype, often associated with more indolent biology and relatively favorable outcomes compared with visceral metastatic disease. The survival impact of resecting the intact primary breast tumor in de novo metastatic breast cancer remains controversial. In this study, we evaluated the association between primary breast surgery and overall survival (OS), defined as the time from diagnosis to death attributable to breast cancer, in patients presenting with isolated bone metastatic breast cancer. Methods: We performed a retrospective population-based cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Because the SEER variable for bone metastasis at diagnosis is available from 2010 onward and HER2-defined subtype information is available in the modern SEER era, the effective study period was defined as 2010–2021 rather than the full 2000–2021 SEER release period. Patients with breast cancer and isolated bone metastases at presentation, without evidence of lung, liver, brain, or other distant metastatic sites at diagnosis, were included. Demographic and clinicopathological variables, including age, sex, race, biologic subtype, histology, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and primary breast surgery, were analyzed. Overall survival (OS), defined as the time from diagnosis to death attributable to breast cancer, was estimated using Kaplan–Meier methods and compared using the log-rank test. Independent prognostic factors were evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results: A total of 6500 eligible patients were identified. Surgery of the primary breast tumor was performed in 1513 (23.3%) patients, and 62.8% received chemotherapy. Five-year overall survival (OS) was significantly higher among patients who underwent surgery than among those who did not undergo surgery (59.5% vs. 38.6%; p < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, primary breast surgery remained independently associated with improved OS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.54, 95% CI 0.48–0.62; p < 0.001). Age, histology, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and biologic subtype were also associated with prognosis. Sex was not significant in the unadjusted analysis (p = 0.188), and the multivariable sex finding was interpreted cautiously because only 96 men were included. Conclusions: In this population-based cohort of patients with de novo breast cancer and isolated bone metastases, primary breast surgery was associated with improved survival among selected patients. However, this association should not be interpreted as causal, given the inherent limitations of observational registry data, including treatment selection, potential immortal-time bias, unmeasured metastatic burden, performance status, systemic therapy type and response, and local symptom burden, which are not fully captured in SEER. These findings support careful multidisciplinary consideration of local therapy in selected patients, while emphasizing the need for confirmation in prospectively designed studies. Full article

To scientifically evaluate the health of river aquatic ecosystems in the Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwestern Guizhou, systematic surveys of benthic macroinvertebrate and periphytic algal communities were conducted in representative rivers during October 2024 (autumn) and April 2025 (spring), coupled with concurrent water quality monitoring. Reference sites were selected based on water quality indicators and habitat conditions. Core parameters were identified through correlation analysis, discriminatory ability analysis, and distribution range analysis to construct a Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) and a Periphytic Algae Index of Biotic Integrity (P-IBI) suitable for the region. These indices were then applied to assess the ecological health of the rivers. Additionally, stepwise regression analysis was employed to investigate the key environmental drivers influencing the two biotic integrity indices. The results indicated that: (1) In terms of species composition, the benthic macroinvertebrate community structure was relatively simple, dominated by arthropods, particularly chironomid larvae. Bacillariophyta and Cyanophyta consistently dominated the periphytic algae community. (2) Assessments using both B-IBI and P-IBI showed that the overall river health in spring was slightly better than in autumn. However, more than half of the sampling sites were rated as “fair” or worse in both seasons. The reference sites (S2, S10) consistently exhibited “excellent” or “good” health, while the impaired sites showed significant spatial heterogeneity. Discrepancies between B-IBI and P-IBI ratings at some sites revealed differential responses of the two biological communities to environmental stressors. (3) Stepwise regression analysis unveiled a seasonal shift in key environmental drivers. The primary factor affecting the B-IBI in autumn was biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), which shifted to total phosphorus (TP) and ammonia nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) in spring. For the P-IBI, the main factor changed from dissolved oxygen (DO) in autumn to chemical oxygen demand (COD) in spring. These findings confirm the applicability of the B-IBI and P-IBI systems in this region, and indicate that multi-assemblage integrated assessments can contribute to understanding the health status of river ecosystems in the Qianxinan Prefecture. This study could serve as a scientific reference for the protection, management, and restoration of local river ecosystems. Full article

Cities are artificial ecosystems that suffer most from environmental issues and climate change. Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects represent an increasing challenge, especially for compact Mediterranean cities characterized by high population density and extensive impervious surfaces. This study assessed localized microclimatic conditions within the small Maltese coastal town of Isla through a 15-day summer field monitoring campaign. Air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed were measured across urban locations characterized by different levels of vegetation coverage and thermal vulnerability. The analysis combined descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U testing, and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) models. In addition, site-specific Nature-based Solutions (NbS) scenarios were proposed as context-sensitive strategies to support urban heat mitigation and climate resilience. The results highlighted distinct microclimatic responses between the sites investigated. In particular, the MLR analysis suggested that non-vegetated areas were more sensitive to short-term atmospheric variability associated with wind speed and relative humidity fluctuations. These findings suggest that urban vegetation may contribute not only to localized cooling, but also to increased microclimatic stability within compact Mediterranean urban environments. Full article

Background: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) remains a major challenge in high-burden settings, where timely identification of emerging resistance and effective governance responses are critical. While routine molecular diagnostics generate large volumes of resistance-associated mutation data, these outputs are typically used for individual patient management and remain underutilized for population-level surveillance and for the application of clinical governance approaches for improved TB care. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 1386 molecular diagnostic records for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, collected between March 2021 and December 2024, from 30 health facilities in the King Sabata Dalindyebo (K.S.D.) Local Municipality of Oliver Reginald (O.R.) Tambo District. Resistance-associated mutation proxies were identified for loci associated with isoniazid (katG, inhA), fluoroquinolone (gyrA), and second-line injectable agents (amikacin, kanamycin, and capreomycin) through mutations in the rrs locus. Mutation proxy prevalence was examined overall, by age group, over time, and across facilities. Persistence of resistance detection was assessed using consecutive-month analyses to characterize temporal continuity at the facility level. Results: At least one resistance-associated mutation proxy was detected in 72.7% of the analyzed records. Isoniazid resistance predominated, with katG mutation proxies identified in 52.2% and inhA in 20.2% of cases. Mutation proxies associated with fluoroquinolone and second-line injectable resistance were less frequently observed. Temporal analysis demonstrated variability over the study period, with a general decline in overall mutation proxy prevalence alongside a relative increase in inhA-associated mutations. Substantial heterogeneity in resistance patterns was observed across health facilities, with high-volume sites contributing the greatest absolute burden and selected facilities demonstrating sustained persistence of mutation detection over consecutive months. These findings highlight the magnitude, distribution, and persistence of resistance-associated mutation proxies within routine programmatic data. Conclusions: Routine molecular diagnostic data revealed a substantial and heterogeneous burden of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in K.S.D. Local Municipality, characterized by age-specific patterns, temporal shifts, and sustained facility-level persistence. Beyond descriptive epidemiology, routinely generated mutation proxy data can serve as early-warning indicators of clinical governance stress, signaling emerging pressures on TB care systems when resistance patterns persist or worsen. Interpreting these trends can support more anticipatory clinical governance, strengthen resistance surveillance, and guide prioritized interventions in high-burden, resource-constrained settings. Full article