Search Results (5,415)

The Weihe Graben lies on the northern margin of the Qinling Orogenic Belt, the collisional suture between the North China Craton and South China Block, and records Cenozoic extensional overprinting of its earlier tectonic evolution. We integrate deep seismic reflection profiles and tomographic datasets to characterize heterogeneous lithospheric modification and elucidate the geodynamics of post-orogenic crustal thinning and graben formation. A single Moho occurs beneath the Dabashan and southern Ordos Block, where crustal thickness exceeds 43 km, whereas a distinctive double-Moho structure occurs beneath the Weihe Graben. Its upper and lower interfaces reach depths of 36 and 51 km, respectively, defining a ~15 km–thick lenticular transitional layer. Low–velocity and low–resistivity anomalies in the upper mantle indicate Cenozoic asthenospheric upwelling beneath the region. Our results suggest that mantle upwelling promoted regional crustal thinning, while the Moho doublet mainly reflects eclogite relics and subsequent modification. Since the Eocene, the stress regime changed from compression to extension, associated with far–field Pacific Plate subduction and continuous counter-clockwise rotation of the Ordos Block. Block rotation promoted lithospheric tearing along its southeastern margin and destabilization of the crust–mantle boundary, facilitating mantle upwelling. Pre–existing Late Triassic–Middle Jurassic thrust faults were selectively reactivated, with northern boundary faults transformed into listric normal faults, ultimately forming the extensional Weihe Graben and accompanying differential uplift of the northern Qinling Block and graben margins. Full article

Antifouling coatings are an important source of trace metal contamination in coastal marine environments because they continuously release biocidal compounds from submerged structures. Among the metallic contaminants released from many antifouling coatings, copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are of particular environmental concern because of their persistence and bioavailability and may accumulate in filter-feeding organisms inhabiting aquaculture areas. The present study evaluated the effects of the leachable fraction of a commercial antifouling paint on survival and Cu and Zn accumulation in the Pacific cupped oyster Magallana gigas. Oysters were exposed for 21 days to three nominal concentrations of an aqueous antifouling paint extract (0, 0.05, and 0.25 mg/L). Copper and zinc concentrations in the exposure media were analytically verified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, while tissue metal concentrations were determined at the end of the experiment. Survival was analysed using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. Mortality showed an increasing trend with exposure concentration, and overall survival differed significantly among treatments, with mortality concentrated in oysters exposed to the highest concentration tested. Both Cu and Zn accumulated in oyster tissues, although their accumulation patterns differed, reflecting distinct physiological regulation mechanisms. These findings demonstrate that the leachable fraction of antifouling paint represents a bioavailable source of Cu and Zn for marine bivalves under controlled exposure conditions. The study provides new experimental evidence supporting environmental risk assessment of antifouling-derived contamination and contributes to the sustainable management of shellfish farming areas. Full article

Unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) remains a therapeutic challenge, despite the paradigm shift established by the PACIFIC trial (concurrent chemoradiation followed by Durvalumab consolidation). A substantial number of patients still experience disease progression and significant toxicity. This narrative review explores innovative radiation therapy (RT) strategies and their integration with systemic therapy. Key innovations analyzed include: 1. Systemic Therapy Intensification: Induction chemo-immunotherapy or novel multi-agent consolidation regimens show promise, but managing increased toxicity remains critical. The integration of DNA damage response inhibitors with RT is also being actively explored to maximize radiosensitization. 2. RT Dose and Volume Modulation: Recent data suggests that dose escalation via highly conformal hypofractionation or stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) may enhance efficacy, particularly when combined with immunotherapy. Conversely, risk-adapted de-escalation of dose or volumes is studied to reduce immunosuppression and treatment-related toxicity, allowing more patients, including the elderly and frail, to complete consolidation. 3. Organ-at-Risk (OAR) Sparing: Advanced techniques like intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), adaptive RT (ART), and proton beam therapy (PBT) are crucial for minimizing dose to OARs and new substructures, such as specific cardiac subregions and lymphoid tissues. This OAR sparing is strongly correlated with improved OS and reduced immunosuppression. In conclusion, this narrative review focuses on the future of LA-NSCLC treatment, which is moving toward personalized, precision RT, embracing both intensification and thoughtful de-escalation, supported by synergistic systemic agents, to maximize curative potential and minimize toxicity. Full article

In 2017, an unusually large number of live stranded and dead marine birds were found in California, coincident with a large bloom of the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia that produced the toxin domoic acid (DA). The most abundant bird species affected by this large die-off and stranding event were Pacific Loons (Gavia pacifica) and Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata). International Bird Rescue (IBR; San Pedro, CA) received 117 live loons with suspected DA toxicosis. Many birds that survived the first few days in rehabilitation quickly re-attained suitable health metrics; however, 68 loons (58.1%) died or were considered unreleasable due to ongoing abnormal behavior or injuries that necessitated humane euthanasia. In this descriptive study, both live stranded euthanized birds and dead stranded birds were examined to characterize and better understand the effects of DA toxicosis in the avian brain and body. Utilizing a suite of diagnostics, our analysis revealed novel pathological patterns that divided these birds into three groups: those suspected of having acute, subacute, and chronic DA toxicosis. Domoic Acid was found in all groups, and the severity of the microscopic lesions appeared to correspond with the amount of timeeach bird survived post-stranding. Our investigation is the first known account identifying the pathological progression from acute to chronic DA toxicosis in birds. Full article

The Brazilian Amazon coast is characterized by pronounced seasonal hydroclimatic variability and may also reflect remote Pacific and Atlantic climate signals. This study investigated associations between large-scale climate variability and atmospheric and oceanographic conditions using monthly data from 1995 to 2024. Pacific variability was classified as El Niño, La Niña, or neutral, whereas Atlantic variability was evaluated using drought-related and neutral conditions. Climatic associations were assessed using seasonally adjusted multivariate and univariate analyses, restricted-permutation tests, Spearman correlations, lagged correlations, and multiple regression. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase showed a significant but modest multivariate association with environmental conditions, supported by restricted-permutation analysis (R² = 0.036, p = 0.0015). Wind speed and mean wave period showed the clearest ENSO-related differences, with higher winds and shorter wave periods during El Niño. Atlantic drought-related conditions showed an event-consistent increase in salinity, whereas the monthly wind-speed difference was more event-dependent. FDR-adjusted Spearman correlations revealed persistent wind–wave covariation, particularly during the dry season. ONI–SST correlations showed a broad positive pattern at lags of 4–9 months, with the largest observed coefficient at lag 6 (r = 0.348, nominal p = 0.012); however, no individual lag remained significant after false-discovery-rate correction (lag 6: q = 0.066), and the lagged pattern was therefore interpreted as exploratory. Overall, regional seasonality predominated, with climate signals acting as secondary, variable-specific modulators. Full article

Background/Objectives: Since peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been used in nephrology practice for several decades, contemporary evidence on global, regional, and country incidence rates of PD-associated peritonitis has not been comprehensively synthesized. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the incidence rates of PD-associated peritonitis worldwide in contemporary PD practice. Methods: We systematically searched 6 electronic databases to identify all relevant English-language articles that reported rates of PD-associated peritonitis according to International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) criteria, regardless of age, sex, or PD modality, from 2011 to 2026. We used a random-effects meta-analysis to estimate the pooled incidence rate (episodes per patient-year), with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. We reported summary incidence rates of PD-associated peritonitis for the global estimation (overall rate), World Health Organization (WHO) region, and each country. We also estimated meta-syntheses by causative microorganism of PD-associated peritonitis. Results: We identified 12,364 records, of which 153 unique study populations of PD patients fulfilled the study selection criteria. These included over 132,000 PD patients from 37 countries worldwide. Despite substantial heterogeneity, the global incidence rate estimate of PD-associated peritonitis was 0.31 (0.28–0.34) episodes per patient-year (total peritonitis episodes, 88,769; total patient-years at risk, 264,296.30). According to WHO region (p for difference between regions <0.001), the regional incidence rates of PD-associated peritonitis were 0.99 (0.68–1.45) for the African Region; 0.38 (0.31–0.45) for the Region of the Americas; 0.41 (0.35–0.48) for the South-East Asia Region; 0.37 (0.30–0.46) for the European Region; 0.39 (0.31–0.49) for the Eastern Mediterranean Region; and 0.21 (0.19–0.24) for the Western Pacific Region. Across 37 different countries, the top three highest incidence rates of PD-associated peritonitis were observed in South Africa, followed by Portugal and Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the top three lowest incidence rates of PD-associated peritonitis were observed in South Korea, followed by mainland China and Japan. According to the ISPD benchmark, 10 of the 37 included countries had an overall PD-associated peritonitis rate > 0.40 episodes per patient-year. Regarding the causative microorganisms of PD-associated peritonitis, Gram-positive bacteria had the highest pooled incidence rate of PD-associated peritonitis (0.127 [0.113–0.142]), followed by culture-negative (0.073 [0.065–0.083]), Gram-negative bacteria (0.065 [0.058–0.073]), polymicrobial (0.017 [0.014–0.021]), fungus (0.009 [0.008–0.011]), and Mycobacterium (0.004 [0.003–0.006]). Conclusions: These global estimates of PD-associated peritonitis incidence rates demonstrated variation across regions and countries. Given differences in healthcare systems across countries, sharing innovations and knowledge for continuous quality improvement and standardizing and harmonizing PD practice settings are warranted to improve quality indicators and patient well-being and reduce inequalities in PD management worldwide. Full article

Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) get seasonally restocked in the Great Lakes watershed to support local ecosystems, aquaculture and recreational fishing industry. The myxozoan parasite Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae (Cnidaria, Malacosporea) causes Proliferative Kidney Disease (PKD), a severe chronic lymphoid immunopathology affecting farmed and wild salmonid populations in Central Europe and Northwestern America. We opportunistically sampled migratory Pacific salmon broodstock at fish weirs in Michigan rivers during the autumns of 2020–2023, joining seasonal harvesting campaigns, collecting a total of 591 Chinook and 463 Coho Salmon. T. bryosalmonae was detected in broodstock that matured in Lakes Michigan and Huron, with no manifest clinical signs of PKD. Infection prevalence varied among stocks, locations, and years, ranging from 3 to 48% in Coho and 1 to 20% in Chinook. Sequence analysis of SSU rDNA and mitochondrial COI markers confirmed the detection of T. bryosalmonae. Histological examinations revealed both coelozoic sporogonic and histozoic extrasporogonic parasite stages in the posterior kidneys of adult Chinook and Coho. Immunohistochemistry, optimized using a new commercially available T. bryosalmonae-specific antibody, further confirmed parasite stages in the anterior and posterior kidney. Further study is needed to characterize this previously undetected, regionally reportable myxozoan parasite and to assess the impact that PKD occurrence may have on fisheries and aquaculture activities in the Great Lakes region. Therefore, tracking this parasite through adequate regulations even in asymptomatic fish hosts is essential, and may guide suitable conservation management actions to safeguard local fish populations and improve preparedness for future potential disease outbreaks. Full article

The Cadlina laevis (Linnaeus, 1767) species complex in the White Sea exhibits a high mitochondrial DNA polymorphism, with two divergent haplogroups (HA and HB) showing ~2.5% COI divergence, consistent with minimal interspecific mtDNA differences within this group. This study integrates complete mitochondrial genomes of both haplogroups of the White Sea Cadlina laevis, nuclear markers (18S, ITS1, ITS2, 28S, H3), and species-delimitation analyses to test whether mitochondrial lineages correspond to distinct species. Comparative mitogenomics revealed conserved gene order but heterogeneous divergence, with protein-coding genes showing p-distances from 1.0% (COX2) to 5.1% (ATP6) between haplogroups. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on nuclear markers consistently collapsed HA and HB into single, undifferentiated clade, demonstrating mitonuclear discordance. Similar patterns emerged for other mitochondrial lineages: C. laevis and North Pacific C. vavilovi Korshunova & Martynov, 2024, as well as C. koltzovi Korshunova & Martynov, 2024 and Cadlina sp. 3 showed no nuclear differentiation despite substantial COI p-distances. Species-delimitation methods yielded conflicting results, failing to provide consistent support for mitochondrial-defined species. The COI-wide distance distribution placed the HA–HB comparison within the “grey zone” of ambiguous species boundaries. The study demonstrates that mitochondrial data alone are unreliable for species delimitation in this group, suggesting that the current taxonomy may over-split mitochondrial lineages and require genome-wide nuclear evidence for robust taxonomic revision. Full article

Afforestation is a high-potential and cost-effective climate change mitigation strategy, but its large-scale implementation raises sustainability concerns. It requires extensive areas of land, potentially conflicting with agriculture and impacting food security. Moreover, inappropriate forest expansion, such as the afforestation of naturally open habitats, could reduce habitats for non-forest organisms and may cause biodiversity loss. Here, we assess the global mitigation potential of afforestation by integrating environmental constraints and sustainable food system transformations within an integrated assessment model framework. Using the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM), including the AIM-Hub general equilibrium model and AIM-PLUM spatial land use allocation model, we evaluated seven scenarios incorporating biodiversity protection, soil quality enhancement, dietary shifts, food waste reduction, trade, and irrigation intensification. We found that environmental considerations reduce the maximum afforestation potential to 2.13 GtCO₂ yr⁻¹, highlighting the importance of accounting for land use trade-offs. However, sustainable food system transformations substantially recover this mitigation potential, increasing afforestation-based carbon sequestration to 5.01 GtCO₂ yr⁻¹ by 2100. Approximately 90% of this potential can be achieved at a cost below 50 USD tCO₂⁻¹. Our study emphasizes the need for integrated policies to balance climate mitigation with environmental conservation. Full article

The striped eel catfish Plotosus lineatus is a venomous Indo-Pacific species that has rapidly expanded within the Mediterranean Sea following its Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal. Understanding its current distribution and future invasion potential is essential for evaluating ecological risks under ongoing climate change. In this study, ensemble species distribution models were applied to predict the present and future habitat suitability of P. lineatus across the Mediterranean Sea under the CMIP6 SSP2-4.5 climate scenario. Georeferenced occurrence records were compiled from published literature and validated databases. A total of 21 environmental variables were initially evaluated, and after multicollinearity filtering using Pearson correlation (|r| < 0.7) and Variance Inflation Factor (VIF < 10) analyses, 11 environmental predictors obtained from the Bio-ORACLE v3 database were retained for modelling. Nine modelling algorithms were initially evaluated, and six high-performing models were integrated into the final unweighted ensemble model based on predefined AUC and TSS performance criteria. Minimum seawater temperature was identified as the dominant factor controlling habitat suitability, indicating that winter thermal conditions currently represent the principal ecological barrier limiting the Mediterranean distribution of the species. Current projections identified the Levantine Basin as the principal invasion hotspot. Future projections, based on mean environmental conditions for the 2020–2100 period under the CMIP6 SSP2-4.5 scenario, indicated a substantial increase in suitable habitats toward the central Mediterranean, including southern Italy and the Aegean region. These findings suggest that future climatic conditions may facilitate the expansion of P. lineatus into additional areas of the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting the need for continued monitoring and regional management. Full article

Significant mineral phase partitioning of various elements is widely observed in marine sediments. Distinct elemental responses to grain-size sorting hinder accurate conversion of XRF scanning counts to elemental concentrations, yet this geological mechanism lacks quantitative constraints. We analyzed 214 paired sediment samples from four cores collected in the Western and Central Pacific, employing an ensemble machine learning framework integrated with multi-stage linear calibration baselines to quantify grain-size impacts on predictions of ten major oxides. (1) Grain-size correction shows element-selective effects: SiO₂ shows the highest sensitivity, with its R² declining from 0.669 to 0.524 after grain variables are excluded; sensitivity gradually weakens for P₂O₅ and MgO, while Al₂O₃ and K₂O remain largely unaffected. (2) Such discrepancies may be related to differences in mineral carriers: silicon may occur in both coarse quartz debris and fine aluminosilicate particles, whereas Al₂O₃ and K₂O show relatively stable predictive relationships. (3) Due to the combined influence of biogenic, authigenic, and terrigenous carbonates, the CaO prediction accuracy varies considerably across core datasets. Excluding grain-size data resulted in a slight improvement in accuracy, as the coupling relationships between calcium content and grain size across different cores exhibit opposing trends that partially cancel out. These results indicate that provenance differences limit the transferability of CaO correction models across cores. Through feature ablation tests, this study quantitatively demonstrates the element-specific patterns of grain-size correction and their possible relationships with mineral carriers, offering practical guidance for calibration protocols used in reconstructing and interpreting paleoceanographic XRF geochemical profiles. The proposed workflow is therefore limited to down-core interpolation within calibrated depth intervals and is not intended for extrapolation beyond the training range. Full article

The low-carbon transition is increasingly mineral-intensive, raising the question of whether industrial-metal market conditions coincide with different carbon-intensity adjustments across inherited mineral structures. We examine 45 Asian and Pacific economies over 2005–2022 (756 economy-year observations), combining a real aluminium–copper–nickel–tin–zinc price index with predetermined mineral dependence measured from 1995–2004 non-fuel mineral rents. Economy and year fixed-effects estimates indicate a positive exposure gradient: across the interquartile exposure difference, a one-standard-deviation larger annual metal-price movement is associated with a 0.00577-log-point (0.58%) differential in annual carbon-intensity change. Design-aware inference is weaker than conventional economy-clustered inference (economy-CR2/Satterthwaite p = 0.0571; exact circular-shift p = 0.0556). The accounting decomposition yields point estimates of 0.0097 for primary-energy intensity and 0.0012 for CO₂ per unit of primary energy, although their difference is not statistically distinguished under CR2 inference. Allowing world industrial activity and oil-price movements to separate mineral dependence slopes reduces the focal coefficient to 0.00448 (p = 0.474), and identifying support is concentrated among materially mineral-dependent economies. The evidence documents a bounded exposure-conditioned association embedded in the wider industrial and commodity cycle. For planning, the findings support assessing energy demand, efficiency, and the carbon characteristics of supporting energy supply alongside mineral development decisions. Full article

As a typical turbid-water reef coral, Turbinaria peltata shows strong tolerance to high temperature and sediment disturbance, yet its basin-scale niche drivers and glacial distribution dynamics across the Indo-West Pacific remain unclear. Here we constructed optimized MaxEnt models using 322 independent distribution points and 21 non-collinear marine environmental variables for modern and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) scenarios. The model average test AUC reached 0.9874, showing excellent predictive performance. Water depth acted as the most influential predictor in the model (contribution = 44.76%), followed by distance to land and warm-season sea temperature; habitat suitability had an extremely weak linear correlation with depth (R² = 0.05), consistent with a strongly nonlinear response along the depth gradient. Modern suitable habitats are mainly concentrated in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, with the South China Sea at the species’ northern margin. Massive shelf exposure during the LGM severely shrank its range, and three potential glacial refugia (northeastern Australia, Madagascar coast, Red Sea–Gulf of Aden) were identified. These refugia may have maintained coral populations through glaciation and contributed to the present-day biogeographic patterns of this species. Our findings provide quantitative spatial evidence for targeted conservation of nearshore stress-resistant corals under climate warming. Full article

In March 2022, the FAO Food Price Index peaked at 159.7 as climate shocks collided with geopolitical disruption, pushing global hunger past 735 million and exposing how deeply climate variability penetrates the economics of agri-food systems. Yet the imprint of ocean–atmosphere oscillations on global food prices—the central economic signal of the agri-food system—has not, to our knowledge, been mapped systematically in the frequency domain. This study delivers, to our knowledge, one of the first multi-oscillation cross-spectral analyses of the climate–food price nexus, matching 7 climate indices across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean basins with 5 disaggregated FAO Food Price Index sub-components over 432 monthly observations (1990–2025), verified through 6 robustness checks, including surrogate data testing. Four findings carry direct policy relevance. ENSO indicators lead global food prices by three to four months with a 100% surrogate test pass rate—one of the cleanest actionable climate–price signals documented to date. The Indian Ocean Dipole leads prices by roughly one to two years (cross-correlation peak at sixteen months, though the peak is broad and not sharply localised within that window), extending the early warning horizon well beyond the ENSO signal. The apparent Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation–price correlation (r ≈ +0.60) is revealed to be a common-trend artefact. Vegetable oils are the most consistently climate-exposed commodity chain across the seven oscillations; sugar and meat, often assumed less climate-sensitive, in fact show strong coherence with specific oscillations (sugar with the Indian Ocean Dipole and meat with the Southern Oscillation Index), indicating that commodity-level exposure is oscillation-specific rather than uniform and reflects each commodity’s position in the production-to-consumption chain—short-cycle, thinly buffered commodities transmit weather shocks to price quickly, while feed-market intermediation delays and smooths the pass-through for livestock. These results provide the empirical foundation for integrating real-time monitoring of climate oscillations into food system governance—a low-cost policy innovation that aligns economic stability objectives with climate adaptation goals, strengthens the resilience of agri-food value chains, and supports progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger). Full article

The evolutionary history of ancient marine lineages is often obscured by geological change, long-term isolation, and morphological conservatism. Here, we investigate whether population genetic patterns can reveal deep-time evolutionary processes by integrating haplotype structure and differentiation, molecular dating, and ancestral-range reconstruction in two early-diverging genera of Polycladida, Boninia and Pericelis. Time-calibrated phylogenies and ancestral-range reconstructions place the origins of both genera in tropical marine regions during the Miocene, with the most recent common ancestor of Boninia dated to 8.3 Ma and that of Pericelis to 14–17 Ma. Despite this shared origin, they followed contrasting evolutionary trajectories. Boninia diversified primarily through vicariant fragmentation, followed by founder-event dispersal and regional radiations, whereas Pericelis preserves evidence of a formerly widespread tropical distribution through reciprocal relict species linking the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, followed by independent regional diversification. Both genera exhibit pronounced geographic genetic structure, indicating long-term evolutionary persistence rather than recent cosmopolitan dispersal. These results demonstrate the value of integrating regional genetic diversity, molecular dating, and ancestral-range reconstruction to resolve the historical biogeography of early-diverging marine lineages. Full article