Search Results (129,225)

In the Anthropocene, dryland ecosystems—natural and semi-natural ecosystems—are highly sensitive to anthropogenic warming, and their carbon cycling dynamics are easily disrupted by this trend. In this perspective, we propose a novel yet long-overlooked conceptual framework. It reveals that the oxygen footprint, defined as the atmospheric oxygen consumption-to-production ratio, could serve as an important diagnostic indicator for assessing the impacts of anthropogenic warming on dryland carbon cycling. This framework can be divided into three parts, including the increasing oxygen footprint, warming effects on dryland carbon cycling, and direct or indirect links between oxygen footprint and carbon-cycle responses. In short, it centers on the core logical chain: oxygen footprint-anthropogenic warming-dryland carbon cycling. This work strives to enhance dryland sustainability by filling essential knowledge gaps, combining separate research findings, and providing actionable field guidance for ecosystem management. Full article

Hydrodynamic models underpin Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) design, motion control, and performance evaluation. Existing methods face two critical bottlenecks: (1) conventional explicit CFD requires predefined trajectories, which fails to capture true motion responses under combined rudder-propeller action and creates a disconnect between simulation and real operations; (2) the widely adopted Standard Submarine Motion Equations (SSME) suffer from high parameter redundancy, while high-precision non-parametric models incur prohibitive computational costs, hindering embedded deployment. To address these gaps, this paper proposes an implicit CFD-driven framework for fully appended AUVs equipped with through-body thrusters. It requires no preset trajectories, directly coupling periodic propeller thrust and rudder angle excitations to achieve 5-degree-of-freedom (5DOF) spatial motion simulations aligned with real navigation states. Parametric and non-parametric models are identified via Least Squares (LS) and Neural Networks (NN), respectively. Sobol global sensitivity analysis reduces SSME dimensionality, yielding a Basic Submarine Motion Equation (BSME) with only 25 key parameters—cutting the parameter count by 55% with negligible accuracy loss. Validation shows the non-parametric NN model reduces prediction error by over 10% compared to its parametric counterpart, while the streamlined BSME enables real-time forecasting in low-power computing scenarios. This approach balances accuracy and efficiency for rapid hydrodynamic prediction during early AUV design and embedded controller deployment. Full article

Pathogenic fungi and their synergistic interactions with bark beetles, leading to vascular dysfunction, physiological stress, and eventual tree mortality, increasingly threaten forest ecosystems. Because fungal colonization often precedes visible macroscopic symptoms, early detection remains a critical yet challenging task in forest health monitoring. This study proposes a real-time deep learning-based object detection framework for identifying harmful fungi in proximity to host trees to support early intervention strategies. A custom dataset comprising 8900 images was constructed to represent two classes: Healthy and Unhealthy trees, where fungal presence is detected either directly on the tree or within its immediate ecological vicinity (e.g., near root systems). A fine-tuned YOLOv11 detection architecture is developed and augmented with a squeeze-and-excitation (SE)-like attention mechanism to enhance texture-sensitive feature representation. The model is trained and evaluated using precision, recall, F1-score and mean Average Precision (mAP). Experimental results demonstrate an overall mAP@0.5 of 0.825, with class-wise average precision values of 0.926 (Healthy) and 0.724 (Unhealthy). The Healthy class achieved classification accuracy of 0.92, while 0.71 of Unhealthy instances were correctly detected. F1-Confidence and recall-Confidence metrics indicate that optimal operational performance occurs within a confidence threshold range of 0.30–0.35, balancing false positives and false negatives. Despite the approximately balanced class distribution (50.6% Healthy and 49.4% Unhealthy), detection performance for the Unhealthy class was comparatively lower because of its greater intra-class variability, heterogeneous fungal appearance, and subtle visual manifestations. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of deploying real-time object detection models for early-stage fungal surveillance and highlight the importance of confidence calibration for operational disease monitoring systems. Full article

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate evidence comparing parental acceptance and preferences of advanced behavior management techniques with basic behavior management techniques among pediatric dental populations in the Middle East. Methodology: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines and registered with PROSPERO (CRD420261294758) in February 2026. The systematic review included studies published between January 2015 and February 2026, identified through PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria encompassed observational studies assessing parental acceptance of behavior guidance techniques for healthy children aged 2–14 years, conducted in the Middle East. Two authors independently selected the studies and extracted the data. The risk of bias was assessed independently by two reviewers (F.A. and K.B) using an adapted Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS), with any uncertainties resolved through discusscoion with a third reviewer (H.J.S.). Comparing the different behavior-guided techniques allowed for the creation of pooled effect estimates for the included studies. Result: A total of 88 studies were identified from the database search. Of the 88 studies identified, 11 met the inclusion criteria. Eleven cross-sectional observational studies were conducted in Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait. The TSD approach consistently garnered the highest parental acceptance, ranging from 88% to 98%. In contrast, advanced methods like GA and physical restraint were the least preferred. Six meta-analyses were conducted across four clinical comparisons. Parental acceptance of GA was significantly lower than TSD (OR = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02–0.07, p < 0.00001), as was parental preference (OR = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.05–0.15, p < 0.00001), with an overall pooled OR of 0.04 (95% CI: 0.02–0.08) and a complementary continuous analysis (SMD = −1.03, 95% CI: −1.54 to −0.51). Similarly, parental acceptance of protective stabilization was significantly lower than TSD (OR = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.06–0.15, p < 0.00001), as was parental preference (OR = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.03–0.08, p < 0.00001), with an overall pooled OR of 0.07 (95% CI: 0.05–0.11) and SMD of −1.87 (95% CI: −2.32 to −1.43). Comparisons involving N₂O demonstrated extreme heterogeneity (I² = 95%), precluding reliable pooled estimates. Acceptance of N₂O varied more, influenced by regional differences and contextual factors. Conclusions: Middle Eastern populations of parents were consistently less accepting of advanced behavior management techniques, especially GA and protective stabilization, compared with TSD. These results are considered preliminary and are mainly based on cross-sectional studies and should be interpreted in the context of moderate risk of bias and substantial heterogeneity across the included studies. There is a need for more high-quality, longitudinal, multicenter studies to improve the evidence base for culturally sensitive behavior guidance in pediatric dental practice. Full article

Studies on the use of LPG in maritime applications mostly evaluate emissions, engine performance, or system safety separately; approaches that integrate experimental findings with ship-level risks remain limited. This study aims to evaluate the trade-offs between the environmental advantages of LPG and energy performance and safety requirements within a common decision support framework. In the experimental phase, a single-cylinder gasoline–LPG spark-ignition engine was tested at five LPG mixture ratios and six load levels between 500–3000 W; specific fuel consumption, thermal efficiency, CO, CO₂, and HC were measured. Using legislation, the literature, and engineering evaluation, 38 failure types were identified from the experimental findings and prioritized using FMEA and entropy-weighted multi-criteria decision-making methods. The final ranking was obtained using the Borda method, and inter-method agreement and ranking stability were validated with sensitivity analyses. The results showed that increasing the LPG ratio reduced CO, CO₂, and HC emissions, but higher ratios increased fuel consumption and decreased thermal efficiency. Specific fuel consumption, gas detection error, and thermal efficiency were identified as the three most prioritized risks. The findings reveal that the emission benefits of LPG in maritime applications should be evaluated in conjunction with sensing, insulation, emergency stop reliability, and energy performance. This integrated approach provides a scientific basis for balanced and transparent fuel decisions. Full article

Rapid urbanization has significantly altered land use patterns in Deqing County, placing increasing pressure on its ecosystem. This study establishes a Driving Force–Pressure–State–Impact (DPSI) framework and selects ten indicators to evaluate ecological sensitivity for 2014, 2019, and 2024. It then couples this framework with the PLUS model to simulate land use and ecological sensitivity changes under the following three 2034 scenarios: natural development (ND), ecological protection (EP), and urban development (UD). Results show that ecological sensitivity exhibits a “high west, low east” spatial pattern and it fluctuated with an initial decline followed by a rise from 2014 to 2024, though the overall trend was a slow decrease. Land use type (weight 0.342), distance to rivers (weight 0.191), and distance to roads (weight 0.146) were the dominant influencing factors, together depicting Deqing’s ecological landscape of “western forests, eastern farmlands, and dense water networks”. The PLUS model demonstrated good validation accuracy (Kappa = 0.81), and the contributions of driving factors shifted over time. Multi-scenario simulation indicates that the ecological protection (EP) scenario is more suitable for sustainable urban development. We recommend implementing differentiated ecological control zones, integrating sensitivity evaluation into planning decisions, and improving the differentiated ecological compensation mechanism. Full article

Background: NT-proBNP is a mechanistically grounded biomarker of ventricular wall stress with established prognostic value in cardiac surgery, but its perioperative role in lung cancer resection remains incompletely characterised. Pulmonary resection imposes unique haemodynamic stressors—including one-lung ventilation-induced right ventricular afterload increase, permanent pulmonary vascular bed reduction, and ischaemia–reperfusion injury—that create a distinct biological context for natriuretic peptide elevation not represented in general surgical cohorts. Methods: A narrative review of the literature was conducted through systematic searches of PubMed, EMBASE/MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library (January 2000–June 2026), supplemented by manual reference screening. Approximately 135 articles were included in the final synthesis. Results: Perioperative NT-proBNP elevation predicts postoperative atrial fibrillation, major adverse cardiovascular events, and long-term survival after lung resection, with effect sizes substantially exceeding those reported in general surgical populations. The PRESAGE trial established that NT-proBNP-guided prophylaxis reduces postoperative atrial fibrillation from 40% to 6% in high-risk patients. No thoracic surgery-specific NT-proBNP threshold has been prospectively validated in a multicentre setting, and approximately half the evidence base derives from BNP rather than NT-proBNP assays, precluding direct threshold synthesis. Surgical approach—particularly robot-assisted thoracoscopy—modulates postoperative biomarker elevation through OLV duration rather than inflammatory burden alone. The combination of NT-proBNP with high-sensitivity troponin identifies a dual-elevation subgroup with a MACE rate of 18.4%. Conclusions: NT-proBNP measurement is clinically actionable in thoracic surgery but requires assay-standardised, multicentre validation of population-specific thresholds stratified by resection extent and surgical approach. A dual biomarker strategy combining NT-proBNP with high-sensitivity troponin represents the most evidence-based perioperative risk stratification framework currently available. Full article

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is widely used for organic waste stabilization and bio-energy recovery, but its performance is often constrained by process instability, slow syntrophic metabolism, and sensitivity to acidification, ammonia, organic overloading, and inhibitory contaminants. Biochar has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance AD, with benefits extending beyond increased methane yield. This review examines how biochar properties, including pore structure, surface functional groups, alkalinity, and electrical conductivity, regulate different AD stages and improve process stability. Biochar provides microbial habitats, buffers pH, adsorbs inhibitors, accelerates volatile fatty acid conversion, and facilitates interspecies electron transfer. The effects of biochar dosage, feedstock type, reactor configuration, and operational conditions on digestion performance and resource recovery are critically evaluated. Broader contributions to organic waste valorization are also discussed. Future research should prioritize tailored biochar design, standardized characterization, long-term validation in continuous reactors, techno-economic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. These efforts are essential for translating laboratory findings into reliable and sustainable applications for organic solid waste treatment and resource recovery. Full article

Permafrost thawing induced by heat transfer from circulating drilling fluid poses a significant threat to wellbore integrity and drilling safety in Arctic hydrocarbon exploration. The absence of clear application boundaries for the two primary mitigation strategies, passive insulation and active cooling, impedes the cost-effective selection of engineering measures. This study presents a comparative numerical evaluation of insulated-casing technology and refrigerant-fluid circulation technology using a coupled hydrothermal heat transfer model solved via the finite difference method. Passive insulation reduces thawed volume by increasing radial thermal resistance, with performance improving sharply as apparent thermal conductivity declines below 0.02 W/(m·K). At an optimal conductivity of 0.006 W/(m·K), insulated casing achieves a thawed volume of 2.3 m³ after 7 days, comparable to aggressive active cooling at −15 °C and 20 L/s, demonstrating its viability as an energy-free alternative. Active cooling offers superior operational controllability, yet its effectiveness hinges critically on inlet temperature; lowering this temperature exerts a dominant influence on thaw suppression, whereas increasing flow rate yields diminishing returns beyond 12.5 to 15.0 L/s. A critical caveat is that operating at 0 °C and 5 L/s paradoxically reverses the cooling effect and exacerbates thawing. Sensitivity analyses reveal that refrigerant-fluid circulation technology excels in permafrost layers up to 500 m, reducing thaw volume by a factor of two to three compared with high-performance insulation. This advantage diminishes for thicknesses exceeding 600 m, where insulated casing provides robust, thickness-independent protection. These findings establish a quantitative framework for context-specific technology selection, enabling engineers to balance thermal performance, operational controllability, and energy efficiency in permafrost drilling operations. Full article

Endothelial dysfunction has been reported in polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) and is associated with obesity. We hypothesised that circulating biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction would not differ between non-obese women with PMOS and age- and BMI-matched controls in the absence of major between-group differences in insulin resistance (IR), systemic inflammation or vitamin D status. Plasma concentrations of 20 endothelial-associated proteins were measured using Slow Off-rate Modified Aptamer (SOMAscan) technology in 29 non-obese women with PMOS and 29 age- and BMI-matched controls. Women with PMOS had higher Ferriman–Gallwey scores, free androgen index (FAI) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), whereas HOMA-IR, C-reactive protein (CRP), vitamin D metabolites and endothelial-associated biomarkers did not differ significantly between groups. Within the PMOS cohort, FAI was strongly positively associated with E-selectin (Pearson r = 0.718, p < 0.001, FDR-adjusted q = 0.027), and HOMA-IR was positively associated with ICAM-2 (r = 0.670, p = 0.001, q = 0.046). The FAI–E-selectin association remained robust in Spearman sensitivity analysis (ρ = 0.720, p < 0.001, q = 0.009), whereas the HOMA-IR–ICAM-2 association remained nominally significant (ρ = 0.579, p = 0.007) but not after FDR correction. A positive association between 24,25(OH)₂D₃ and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) was observed using Pearson correlation (r = 0.648, p = 0.002, q = 0.042), but was not retained after FDR correction in Spearman sensitivity analysis. Thus, non-obese women with PMOS did not demonstrate a generalised alteration in circulating endothelial biomarkers compared with matched controls. Hyperandrogenism, in particular, was robustly associated with endothelial activation, whereas associations with IR were less consistent and vitamin D metabolites showed no robust relationship with the endothelial biomarker profile. Collectively, the findings suggest that variation in endothelial activation in non-obese PMOS is more closely associated with metabolic dysfunction and androgen excess than with circulating vitamin D status, while the cross-sectional design precludes inference regarding causality. Full article

Background/Objectives: Distinguishing glomerulonephritis (GN) from diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and nephrosclerosis (NS) is clinically important. Urinary uromodulin (uUMOD), a biomarker of renal tubular integrity, may help discriminate among these chronic kidney disease (CKD) etiologies. We evaluated the diagnostic utility of uUMOD for differentiating GN from DKD and NS. Methods: This retrospective single-center study included 90 patients with biopsy-proven GN (n = 30), DKD (n = 25), or NS (n = 35). First-morning spot urine samples obtained before biopsy were analyzed for uUMOD concentration and normalized to urinary creatinine levels (uUMOD/Cr). Results: The uUMOD/Cr ratio was significantly higher in GN (21.2 mg/gCr [10.3–31.3]) than in DKD (5.5 [3.6–12.3], p < 0.001) or NS (10.7 [6.4–19.9], p = 0.021). In multivariate analyses adjusted for age, sex, estimated glomerular filtration rate, interstitial fibrosis, and urinary protein, the uUMOD/Cr ratio was independently associated with GN (p = 0.003) and this correlation remained statistically significant after additional adjustment for diabetes mellitus. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed an area under the curve value of 0.833 for GN versus DKD, 0.714 for GN versus NS, and 0.764 for GN versus DKD and NS combined. A cutoff value of 16.5 mg/gCr yielded 72.8% sensitivity and 70.0% specificity for identifying GN. Conclusions: uUMOD secretion is preserved in GN compared to DKD or NS and shows moderate diagnostic utility for differentiating between these biopsy-proven CKD etiologies. uUMOD may serve as a simple, noninvasive biomarker when biopsy is difficult or clinical findings are inconclusive. Full article

Soil salinity is one of the main environmental factors limiting plant germination and establishment, particularly in Mediterranean ecosystems. This study evaluated the germination, recovery, and early development of Dittrichia viscosa exposed to NaCl, KCl, CaCl₂, MgCl₂, and an equimolar mixture (0–360 mM) under a 12 h light–dark regime and continuous darkness. In the absence of salt, final germination was similar under both regimes, although it was faster in the dark. Increased salt concentration reduced and delayed germination, depending on the type of salt and the light regime used. KCl maintained the highest germination percentages under the light–dark regime at 90 and 180 mM, whilst CaCl₂ and MgCl₂ were the most inhibitory individual salts at 180 mM. The salt mixture was the most restrictive under both regimes. Following transfer to a salt-free medium, ungerminated seeds showed a high rate of recovery even after exposure to the highest concentrations of individual salts, indicating that the inhibition was largely reversible. The first two components of the principal component analysis (PCA) explained 71.89% of the variation, linking germination and its rate to seedling vigour. Overall, D. viscosa showed considerable germination tolerance to individual salts but high sensitivity to their combined action. Full article

Background: Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is associated with several common otologic conditions but lacks standardized diagnostic thresholds in Taiwan. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the GSI TympStar Pro pressure-swallow test and to identify a ROC-derived maximal peak pressure difference (MPD) cutoff for distinguishing clinically diagnosed obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (oETD) from healthy controls. Methods: A total of 152 subjects were enrolled, including 100 healthy controls and 52 patients with clinically diagnosed oETD, confirmed by otolaryngologist assessment and supported by ETDQ-7 symptom scoring. Tympanometry and tympanometry-based Eustachian tube function testing using the GSI TympStar Pro ETF–Intact pressure-swallow module, a modified three-tympanogram pressure-swallow protocol, were performed. Group comparisons were conducted using Mann–Whitney U and Chi-square tests. Diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The median MPD was 11 daPa (IQR 6–17) in the control group, compared to 0 daPa (IQR 0–2) in the ETD group (p < 0.001). ROC analysis demonstrated that a cutoff value of ≤4 daPa yielded a sensitivity of 100.0% and specificity of 91.0% in the per-person analysis, and a sensitivity of 97.5% and specificity of 95.5% in the per-ear analysis. In the Type A-only per-ear analysis, MPD retained discriminatory performance, with an AUC of 0.978 (95% CI, 0.961–0.994). Conclusions: When interpreted in conjunction with ETDQ-7 symptom assessment and routine clinical evaluation, pressure-swallow testing may provide complementary objective information for the functional assessment of patients with suspected obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction, particularly when resting tympanometry is unremarkable. In this single-center Taiwanese cohort, lower MPD values may serve as an adjunctive indicator of impaired Eustachian tube pressure equalization, and the ROC-derived cutoff of ≤4 daPa showed discriminatory value for differentiating symptomatic obstructive ETD from healthy controls. This cutoff should be interpreted as an exploratory, protocol-specific threshold and requires prospective validation in larger multicenter populations before broader clinical application. Full article

Background: Appropriate diagnostic testing is essential to quality pediatric allergy care, affecting diagnostic accuracy, treatment decisions, resource use, and patient outcomes. This study aimed to develop evidence-based recommendations for specialist consultations and diagnostic investigations in children with food allergies, eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases, urticaria, angioedema, and atopic dermatitis. Methods: A multidisciplinary panel convened for the Italian National Institute of Health formulated and prioritized clinical questions using the PICO framework and structured expert consensus. A systematic review of the literature from 2015 to 2026 informed the recommendations, with certainty of evidence assessed using GRADE methodology. Results: In food allergy, sensitization tests alone are insufficient for diagnosis, while oral food challenges remain central to diagnostic confirmation. Endoscopic biopsies are essential for diagnosing eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases. In chronic urticaria, specialist consultation is recommended, whereas routine allergy testing should be avoided without a suggestive clinical history. In angioedema, distinguishing histaminergic from bradykinin-mediated forms is critical, with targeted laboratory testing for hereditary or acquired conditions. In atopic dermatitis, standardized severity assessment should guide management and consideration of biologic therapies, while patient and family education represent key components of care. Conclusions: These recommendations provide a framework for standardized pediatric allergy diagnostic pathways, aiming to improve quality and equity of care while reducing unnecessary investigations and optimizing healthcare resource use. Full article

Phytol, an acyclic diterpene alcohol and a key lipophilic side-chain moiety of chlorophyll, is widely distributed in nature. It exhibits potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and broad-spectrum antibacterial activities. Notably, phytol can also effectively inhibit melanin production, repair the skin barrier, and exert profound anti-aging effects, making it a highly promising ingredient for daily skincare with substantial industrial application value. The skincare benefits of phytol are primarily achieved by constructing a multi-dimensional regulatory network involving defense, modulation and repair. Compared to conventional retinol-based skincare ingredients, phytol exhibits superior biocompatibility, mild irritation, and remarkable safety advantages. Nevertheless, its application is hindered by inherent limitations, including strong hydrophobicity, spontaneous aggregation tendency, and poor photothermal stability. These drawbacks severely restrict its dispersibility, storage stability and percutaneous bioavailability in aqueous cosmetic formulations. To address these deficiencies, nanodrug delivery systems (NDDS), such as liposomes, nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles and PLGA nanoparticles, have been widely employed. These nanocarriers can penetrate the skin barrier via the size effect, enabling targeted skin delivery and long-term controlled release of phytol. This review systematically summarizes the biological sources and metabolic fate of phytol, as well as its multi-mechanistic pharmacological effects on the skin. Furthermore, we outline the current application status and industrial development trends of phytol in mainstream cosmetics worldwide. This work aims to provide theoretical basis and forward-looking references for the development of high-efficiency, safe and stable phytol-derived skincare raw materials and topical formulations. Highlights: (1) Phytol, a natural acyclic diterpene alcohol, exerts multi-dimensional skincare effects including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, whitening, anti-aging, and skin barrier repair activities via a defense–modulation–repair regulatory network. (2) Phytol may act as a mild, non-irritating functional alternative to retinoids, targeting PPAR/RXR pathways and avoiding TRPV1-mediated irritation, making it suitable for sensitive skin. (3) Poor water solubility and instability hinder phytol’s translation; nanodelivery systems effectively improve solubility, permeability, and sustained release. Full article