Search Results (4,387)

This examines the development of the saltpeter industry in Chile after the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), a conflict between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance. Chile’s victory meant the annexation of the territories of Antofagasta and Tarapacá, effectively controlling the production of sodium nitrate and the global saltpeter monopoly. Industrial development was reflected through changes in foreign and Chilean capitals, technologies, and work practices. In Tarapacá, the most important investments in the 19th century were British and German. In Antofagasta, Chilean, English, German, and Croatian investments were prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries. And since 1926, American capitals have occupied the spotlight. The dominant technologies were the Shanks system between 1880–1926, the Guggenheim from 1926–1954, and the introduction of Solar Evaporation in the 1950s. Work evolved from manual artisanal labor without legal protection to mechanization under social laws. Saltpeter represented, in the social and economic history of Chile, the rise of the proletariat, communal social movements, a strong labor press, and a series of strikes and massacres. From the saltpeter era sprouted powerful literature, poetry, and music throughout the 20th century until today. The nitrate industry reached its peak between 1881 and 1917. During this period, it had to confront competition from synthetic nitrate and ceased to be the main source of revenue for the national treasury of Chile. This was followed by a period of decline and crisis from 1918 to 1931, the latter intertwined with the global financial crisis. Various state and business measures made it possible for a small number of nitrate oficinas (processing plants and settlements) in Tarapacá and Antofagasta to continue operating until the nationalization of the nitrate industry in 1971. The nitrate industry took place during the first globalization of liberalism, one that brought flows of capital, migration from Europe to the American Continent, changes to marine navigation, and the opening of various markets in Asia, Europe, and Africa. Nitrate became the most effective fertilizer for agriculture and replaced guano in crop production. In order to analyze this topic, we will utilize the results of the main monographic studies, texts used for historical and political context, and works with interpretative theses about specific periods of nitrate production. Full article

The post-anthesis sepal inflation forming a Chinese lantern in Physalis pubescens represents a striking morphological novelty, whereas in the related genus Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme, the sepals remain non-enclosing, providing an ideal comparative system to study reproductive organ divergence. This study aimed to systematically compare the reproductive development between Physalis pubescens L. and Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme. We integrated phylogenetic analysis, light and scanning electron microscopy, semi-thin sectioning, and quantitative RT-qPCR analysis of six MADS-box genes. Phylogenetic analysis placed P. pubescens in a clade with P. alkekengi (L.) and P. ixocarpa (Brot. ex Hornem.), distinct from tomato. Floral organs differed markedly in petal color, anther morphology, and dehiscence type. Microspore development was delayed before the tetrad stage but accelerated thereafter in P. pubescens; S. lycopersicum anthers exhibited pronounced connective tissue proliferation absent in P. pubescens. P. pubescens sepals expanded 6.92-fold by 17 days post anthesis and enclosed the fruit, while S. lycopersicum sepals grew minimally. Sepal expansion was driven by inner epidermal cell enlargement and intercellular space formation, producing a hollow structure with a trichome-free inner epidermis. Expression of six MADS-box genes exhibited diversity: PfMPF2 and PfAGL1 were upregulated during sepal growth, PfMPF3, PfSEP1 and PfSEP3 exhibited a high–low–high pattern with minima at peak growth, and PfAGL6 declined. These findings reveal that coordinated epidermal cell expansion, parenchyma cavity formation, and a dynamic MADS-box gene network govern the inflated sepal syndrome, and highlight key divergences in anther morphogenesis, providing a cellular and molecular framework for reproductive evolution in Solanaceae. Full article

This study investigates the temperature-responsive thermodynamic behavior of a zinc-based flexible metal–organic framework for ethylene/ethane C₂H₄/C₂H₆ separation. Isothermal adsorption suggested a highly sensitive, temperature-dependent guest-induced structural transition. At 273 K, C₂H₄ triggers a pronounced gate-opening effect at low pressures with a broad desorption hysteresis loop, while C₂H₆ shows only a marginal stepwise uptake increase at about 0.6 bar. Crucially, elevating the temperature to 298 K shifts the C₂H₄ transition threshold to higher pressures and completely suppresses the C₂H₆ response. This divergence enables the selective triggering of the framework expansion exclusively by C₂H₄ at room temperature. Further heating to 323 K entirely suppresses phase-transition characteristics for both gases. Dynamic mixed-gas breakthrough experiments confirm that precise thermal regulation strikes an optimal balance, achieving maximized fixed-bed separation selectivity while preserving a substantial capacity. This work demonstrates temperature as a key parameter to tailor the dynamic separation performance of flexible adsorbents in practical PSA/TSA applications. Full article

Deep shale reservoirs in the tectonically complex margin of the southern Sichuan Basin have experienced multistage deformation, resulting in strong spatial heterogeneity of the present-day geostress field. However, the influence of stress heterogeneity on multiscale pore structure evolution and reservoir quality remains poorly constrained. Here, we integrate in-situ stress measurements, overburden porosity and permeability experiments, CO₂/N₂ adsorption, high-pressure mercury intrusion, SEM-MAPS (Scanning Electron Microscopy-MAPS) pore imaging, stress well profile interpretation, and multifractal analysis to quantify the controls of present-day geostress heterogeneity on pore structure evolution in deep Longmaxi Formation shale. The results show that the present-day stress regime is characterized by a strike-slip pattern (σ_H > σ_v > σ_h), with significant variations among different structural deformation zones. Increasing structural deformation results in enhanced differential stress, increasing by 30–80% from gentle structures to tight folds and fault-affected zones, accompanied by a 60–70° rotation of the maximum principal stress orientation. Differential stress, effective stress, differential stress coefficient, and stress structure index exhibit strong negative correlations with porosity, whereas permeability decreases nonlinearly with increasing stress, indicating progressive pore-throat compression and connectivity degradation under heterogeneous stress conditions. Multifractal analysis reveals that pore-size domains exhibit different sensitivities to stress heterogeneity. The macropore fractal dimension (DN3) shows the strongest response, followed by mesopores (DN2), whereas micropores (DN1) exhibit relatively limited variations. Fault-affected zones and strongly deformed regions display higher DN3 values (>2.8), reflecting enhanced complexity of macropore and fracture networks. In contrast, gentle structural zones characterized by curvature values <0.10 km⁻¹ and distances >500 m from faults exhibit relatively low and stable fractal dimensions (<2.73), indicating more homogeneous pore structures. Increasing stress heterogeneity induces the transformation of organic matter pores from regular subcircular shapes to flattened and slit-like morphologies, accompanied by pore-size migration toward smaller scales (<15 nm) and enhanced pore heterogeneity (Df > 1.35). These findings reveal that present-day geostress heterogeneity governs shale pore fractal evolution and promotes the transition from micropore-dominated to heterogeneous macropore–fracture systems. This study provides quantitative insights into stress-controlled pore evolution and reservoir quality evaluation in deep shale reservoirs under complex tectonic settings. Full article

The twin-tail phenotype of goldfish represents a striking domestication-associated remodeling of the vertebrate caudal axial system and is classically linked to disruption of Chordin/BMP-mediated dorsal–ventral patterning. Although previous knockdown studies implicated sizzled (szl) in this process, genetic evidence from targeted disruption of endogenous szl loci remains limited. Here, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to mutate conserved coding regions shared by the duplicated goldfish paralogues szlA and szlB in single-tail embryos. Sanger sequencing and ICE analysis showed that szl-sgRNA2 and szl-sgRNA3 efficiently induced indels at both loci, whereas szl-sgRNA1 was ineffective. Across three independent biological replicates, twin-tail-like caudal bifurcation was observed in 44.63–48.19% of szl-sgRNA2-injected larvae, 69.47–79.61% of szl-sgRNA3-injected larvae, and 64.29–76.19% of larvae injected with the sgRNA mixture; szl-sgRNA1-injected larvae remained single-tailed. Calcein staining further revealed separation of distal caudal fin rays and partial splitting of the caudal skeletal complex in szl-edited larvae. qRT-PCR showed selective remodeling of dorsal–ventral patterning genes, including reduced chdA and eve1 expression and increased bmp2 and nog1 expression. These findings provide direct functional evidence that szl regulates median caudal patterning in goldfish and suggest that szl-dependent modulation of the Chordin/BMP network can generate twin-tail-like caudal morphology. Full article

The Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB) is a significant offshore petroleum basin located in the northern South China Sea, characterized by its complex structural features and well-developed boundary faults. Despite its importance, several critical questions regarding fault growth, evolution models, and genesis mechanisms remain unresolved. This study aims to address these gaps by discussing the evolution of the boundary fault system and its associated stratigraphic record. This study utilizes high-resolution 3D seismic reflection data interpretation and fault displacement profiles to investigate the Zhu I depression, the largest hydrocarbon-bearing depression in the northern rifted zone of the PRMB. The findings indicate that the syn-rift growth of boundary faults within the Zhu I depression exhibits three distinct patterns, along-strike linkage, transverse linkage, and oblique linkage, which are formed under the action of the pre-existing basement fault systems. These patterns describe how individual fault segments connect and evolve during the rifting process, influencing the overall structural development of the basin and hydrocarbon accumulation. Although transverse linkage includes three development stages, consistent with previous studies, these stages are isolated normal faults, overlapping faults, and hard linkage. The study reveals a unique example of how transfer faults within a relay ramp connect the normal boundary faults on both sides. The break progression of the relay ramp can also be classified into three stages, similar to the transverse linkage. This study proposes a new approach, through the inversion of fault evolution by sequence migration, for the reconstruction of fault connection processes and complex fault linkage models developed in southern China and similar areas worldwide. Full article

Background/Objectives: Sex-based differences in asbestos exposure and tumor biology in pleural mesothelioma (PM) remain incompletely characterized. As an expert tertiary center, we sought to systematically characterize asbestos exposure by sex and assess biomarker prognostic relevance in surgically treated pleural mesothelioma. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-center cohort encompassing all patients who underwent surgical intervention for PM at our institution. Demographic characteristics, asbestos exposure history, tumor biomarker profiles, and survival outcomes were extracted from this database and supplemented by review of the electronic medical record. Sex differences in asbestos exposure and biomarker expression were assessed using Fisher’s exact test on an available-case basis, while logistic regression was used to identify predictors of documented asbestos exposure. Overall survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier analysis; independent associations between biomarkers and mortality were determined via multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, and histological subtype. Results: Between 2015 and 2024, 106 patients (75% males) underwent surgical intervention for PM, with a median follow-up of 4.4 years. The mean age at surgery was 67.5 years (Standard Deviation [SD], 11). The cohort predominantly consisted of patients with epithelioid histology (n = 86, 81%), followed by biphasic (n = 16, 15%), and sarcomatoid (n = 4, 4%) subtypes. Thirty (28.3%) were alive at last follow-up. Median overall survival was 15.6 months (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 13.8–25.4 months), and 5-year survival was 17.8%. Of 92 patients with available exposure data, 66 (72%) had documented exposure histories. Although most of these exposures were occupational (46, 78%), a striking disparity was observed between occupational exposures in males vs. females (44 [86%] vs. 2 [25%]; n = 8 classifiable females; p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis demonstrated that male sex was associated with increased odds of asbestos exposure (Adjusted Odds Ratio [OR_adj], 5.45; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.90–16.35). PD-L1, Ki-67, or BAP1 expression were not associated with sex, age, or asbestos exposure. High Ki-67 (>15%) and PD-L1 (>15%) were associated with a four-fold and three-fold increased risk of mortality (Hazard Ratio_adj [HR_adj], 4.33 [95% CI, 1.85–10.13] and HR_adj, 2.80 [95% CI, 1.39–5.64], respectively), whereas BAP1 loss was not (HR_adj, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.45–1.44). Conclusions: Our findings underscore the potential value of sex-sensitive screening protocols that more comprehensively assess non-occupational asbestos exposure pathways and offer additional evidence regarding the prognostic relevance of PD-L1, Ki-67, and BAP1 in surgical patients. Full article

As artificial intelligence and digital human technologies become increasingly integrated into livestream commerce, AI anchors are becoming important marketing agents. Yet prior research has focused primarily on their visual characteristics, leaving dynamic vocal cues largely unexplored. Drawing on social response theory and perceived authenticity research, this study examines the nonlinear association between AI anchor pitch variability and consumer engagement, together with a proposed psychological pathway and boundary condition. Study 1 analyzes 4322 product-presentation segments nested within 330 AI-anchored livestreams and 85 independent accounts on Douyin. Negative binomial models, formal boundary-slope tests, and additional specifications using account and livestream-session fixed effects, a correlated-random-effects decomposition, and viewer-minutes exposure provide robust evidence of an inverted U-shaped association between pitch variability and real-time danmaku engagement. Evidence concerning appearance-realism moderation is conditional and specification-sensitive across alternative pitch operationalizations, exposure definitions, and within-account specifications. Study 2 uses a preregistered multi-stimulus mixed design with four AI anchors, four products, and three between-participants pitch-variability conditions. Correctly scaled planned contrasts show that moderate pitch variability produced greater perceived authenticity and engagement intentions than the average of the two endpoint conditions. A 2-1-1 multilevel analysis yielded an indirect-effect pattern consistent with the proposed role of perceived authenticity. Models allowing treatment effects to vary across the 16 included anchor-product combinations showed a positive average moderate-pitch advantage, although its magnitude varied across stimuli. These findings extend livestream-commerce research from human streamers to AI-mediated communication while indicating that appearance-realism moderation, stimulus-level generalization, and causal mediation require further replication. Full article

Background and Objectives: Human populations show striking phenotypic disparities in traits and diseases, including responses to infectious diseases (IDs). The impact of host genetic diversity on infection susceptibility and outcomes is increasingly recognized, yet remains largely unknown in Qatar. Here, we explored the distribution of infection-related host genetic variants in Qatar. Materials and Methods: Infection-related genetic variants from the GWAS Catalog were analyzed in 6047 Qatari whole genomes from the Qatar Genome Program (QGP) and compared with populations from the 1000 Genomes Project (1000G). Results: Out of 272,610 GWAS Catalog associations, 1086 were related to ID susceptibility, resistance, severity, progression, clearance, response to treatment, or vaccination, and hence included in the subsequent analysis. A significant heterogeneity in the allelic frequencies (AFs) between Qatari (n = 6047) and the 1000G populations (n = 2504) was observed. The QGP cohort carries significantly lower AFs of most risk variants associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, diarrheal disease, and shingles (up to 222-fold, p < 0.0001). Contrarily, an enrichment in the AFs of variants that increase the risk of chickenpox, plantar warts, pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), and leprosy was observed among Qatari individuals, yet with much smaller-fold differences (≤5-fold, p < 0.0001). In addition, most severity/chronicity-related variants were considerably less prevalent in the Qatari population (up to 20.5-fold). Analysis of variants associated with antibody response revealed a distinct genetic distribution, especially in Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and Chlamydia pneumoniae infections (27.8- and 3-fold, respectively). Moreover, a variable inter-population allelic distribution was observed in SNPs related to measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), smallpox, and hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine response, as well as variants linked to viral clearance, viral load, virus-induced progression to cancer, and response to treatment. Conclusions: These findings reveal substantial differences in pathogen-associated host variants in a diverse Qatari cohort and highlight the need for follow-up validation and future GWAS discovery efforts. Full article

The resilience of electricity networks to extreme weather is an essential component of sustainable energy systems, as power interruptions can affect essential services, economic activities, public safety, and the integration of renewable energy sources. However, this assessment can be challenging due to the inherent differences and complexities between weather and grid data. To address this issue, we developed a data pipeline to acquire, prepare, and integrate power grid outage records, meteorological measurements, and lightning strike data into a unified relational database. The framework was applied to the Italian power grid, with detailed regional analyses conducted for Piedmont and Campania. The results show that, for more than 90% of the matched weather-related failures, at least one relevant weather condition was identified in the integrated datasets. Rainfall showed the most widespread association with failures throughout the year, while lightning was particularly relevant during summer and snowfall during colder months. The proposed framework provides a reproducible basis for monitoring weather-related infrastructure vulnerability and can support evidence-based maintenance prioritization, climate adaptation, and resilience-oriented grid planning. By facilitating the identification of regional risk patterns, the approach contributes to the development of more reliable and sustainable electricity infrastructure. Full article

Ultraconserved elements (UCEs) are among the most evolutionarily conserved DNA sequences in vertebrate genomes, yet the biological mechanisms underlying their extraordinary conservation remain poorly understood. Using the recently developed dedUCE database comprising 12,813 human UCEs, we performed a comprehensive genome-wide analysis of their distribution relative to protein-coding genes, transcription factor (TF) genes, and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) genes. UCEs showed a highly non-random genomic organization, with approximately 40% occurring in clusters within 20 kb genomic intervals. Non-KRAB transcription factor genes exhibited a striking sevenfold enrichment of UCEs compared with random expectation, whereas KRAB zinc-finger genes displayed an approximately tenfold depletion. Beyond TFs, UCE-rich genes were predominantly involved in developmental regulation, chromatin remodeling, RNA processing, and embryonic neurogenesis, whereas similarly large UCE-poor genes primarily encoded membrane proteins, ion channels, and synaptic components required for mature neuronal function. UCEs also demonstrated strong positional bias, with approximately fourfold enrichment near the 3′ ends of protein-coding genes but no comparable distribution pattern in lncRNAs. Although lncRNA genes showed only modest overall UCE enrichment, a small subset contained numerous UCEs. These findings demonstrate that UCEs preferentially associate with master developmental regulators rather than downstream neuronal effector genes, providing new insights into the functional organization and evolutionary conservation of the human genome. Full article

Accurate extraction of road networks from high-resolution remote sensing imagery is a fundamental task underpinning autonomous-driving navigation, urban spatial planning, and the dynamic updating of geographic information databases. Although existing road extraction methods attain outstanding pixel-level segmentation accuracy and topological integrity, most follow an accuracy-first design paradigm that relies on heavyweight backbones and increasingly complex decoders, incurring a parameter volume and storage overhead that constitute the principal bottleneck for deploying them on resource-constrained edge platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles, mobile terminals, and onboard satellite processors. Conversely, models that pursue extreme lightweighting often fail to preserve the thin, continuous, linear structure of roads, tending to produce topological breaks in the extracted road networks. To bridge the performance gap between segmentation accuracy and model size, we propose LOA-Net, a lightweight orientation-aware road extraction network. LOA-Net introduces a Road-Aligned Deformable Convolution (RA-DCN) that adaptively aligns the sampling region with the road geometry and explicitly supervises the predicted road orientation, thereby accurately capturing road connectivity while substantially reducing the parameter count. Experiments on the CHN6-CUG and DeepGlobe benchmarks show that LOA-Net surpasses representative state-of-the-art methods on both IoU and F1, while achieving the lowest parameter count of all compared models and a computational complexity comparable to its peers, striking an excellent trade-off between segmentation performance and a mobile-friendly footprint that makes it well suited for road extraction from remote sensing imagery in resource-constrained scenarios. Full article

Background: The tick microbiome is shaped by environmental filters and host biological traits. Microbial co-occurrence networks offer a powerful framework to map inter-microbial interactions, node topological roles, and community stability beyond standard diversity metrics; however, how tick sex modulates these structural networks remains poorly understood. Methods: We sequenced the V3–V4 variable region of the 16S rRNA gene from 86 adult Hyalomma lusitanicum ticks (37 males and 49 females) collected across six ecogeographical localities in Andalusia during 2023. A refined dataset of 5570 high-confidence Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASVs) was analyzed. Alpha and beta diversity patterns were evaluated using PERMANOVA models, and sex-stratified co-occurrence networks were constructed using Spearman’s rank correlations and the Zi-Pi topological framework to assess network complexity and keystone roles. Results: The primary obligate endosymbiont Francisella dominated the bacteriome (60–90% relative abundance), followed by Candidatus Midichloria. PERMANOVA models confirmed that geographical locality (R² = 0.111, p = 0.003) and host sex (R² = 0.095, p = 0.001) exerted strong, independent influences on microbial composition. Female ticks harbored a highly streamlined bacterial profile. Conversely, males exhibited significantly higher alpha diversity (p < 0.001), reflecting host-sex physiological and behavioral differences that create a broader ecological niche allowing diverse environmental and transient taxa (Acinetobacter, Sphingomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Brevundimonas) to colonize. Network analysis revealed a striking sexual dimorphism: female networks were highly centralized and anchored by a single global hub (Roseomonas), whereas male networks lacked global hubs and displayed higher topological complexity, achieving stability through a decentralized architecture sustained by 68 inter-module connectors (compared to 24 in females). Despite these macro-topological differences, a core set of seven connector ASVs was conserved across both sexes. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that host sex shapes the ecological niche of the tick microbiome and drives distinct network topological strategies to maintain community stability, providing new insights into the structural ecology of tick–microbe interactions. Full article

Approximately 30% of tumors contain an activating mutation in the oncogene KRAS, leading to increased cell proliferation that often promotes non-small cell lung cancers, colorectal adenocarcinomas, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC), and other cancers. Among the most common point mutations in KRAS is G12D, an example of an oncogenic sequence present in tumor cells but not normal cells. We developed peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers that selectively bind KRAS G12D sequences and fused them with novel cell-penetrating peptide flanking regions (CPP-PNA-G12D) then evaluated them. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated in vitro binding to and selectivity for KRAS G12D over wild-type KRAS and KRAS G12C. Cells and nuclei were able to uptake CPP-PNA-G12D at high efficiency as shown by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry. Cell viability assays showed a striking dose-response effect in on-target cells expressing KRAS G12D, while relatively sparing off-target cells expressing KRAS G12C. CPP-PNA-G12D constructs were effective against a panel of PDAC cell lines and in female Balb/c mice bearing patient-derived xenografts. These results show promise for an enhanced PNA-delivery peptide conjugate strategy as a potential therapeutic strategy to selectively target KRAS mutant cancer cells, with the potential to expand this technology to additional cancer-derived mutant oncogenes. Full article

The airborne corner reflector (ACR), a novel radar passive jamming device, has attracted increasing attention from researchers worldwide due to its enhanced interference coverage when suspended by a parachute. However, the directional nature of ACRs renders their effectiveness highly sensitive to in-flight attitude dynamics. By analyzing the parachute body and the corner reflector separately, we propose an improved dynamic model to describe the parachute–payload system. Key innovations include the following: (i) by introducing an 11-degree-of-freedom model for motion analysis of the parachute-mounted double-pyramid octahedron structure, the issue of imprecise analysis in previous methods has been overcome; (ii) explicit modeling of tether tension and geometric constraints is undertaken to capture the parachute–payload coupling mechanism. Numerical simulations of the steady-descent phase demonstrate convergence of the payload’s angular rates and Euler angles, and the results show good agreement with full-scale flight test data. The model strikes a favorable balance between computational efficiency and physical fidelity, and is particularly suited for dynamic analysis of non-axisymmetric payloads in parachute descent systems. Full article