Search Results (5,062)

A macrotidal estuary with mountain-stream inputs (MEMSs) is characterized by strong hydrodynamic forcing, high turbidity, and complex channel morphology. This study combines field measurements (2005–2020) with a 2D hydrodynamic–sediment model to examine estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) dynamics, erosion–deposition patterns, and the effects of engineering interventions in the Jiaojiang Estuary (JJE). Results show that the coupled influence of upstream floods and downstream macrotides produces highly seasonal and spatially variable water–sediment processes: mountain-stream floods exhibit sharp hydrodynamic fluctuations, and the estuary displays pronounced tidal-wave deformation. Over the 15-year observation period, the riverbed experienced alternating erosion (up to −3.5 m) and deposition (up to +4.2 m), with net erosion of 0.5–1.2 m occurring in most Ling River sections during high-discharge years. The ETM migrated about 30 km during spring tides, with near-bed suspended sediment concentrations reaching 50–60 kg/m³. Human activities—particularly historical sand mining—modified channel geometry and sediment composition, intensifying the exchange between bed material and suspended sediment and facilitating the formation and migration of the ETM. Extreme events further enhanced geomorphic adjustment: the post-Lekima (2019) flood produced maximum scour of −5.8 m in the upper Ling River and deposition of +3.2 m in the Jiaojiang main channel within weeks. Channel curvature and junction morphology strongly controlled flood-level distribution. Model experiments indicate that lowering shoal elevations and widening the cross-section at key constrictions can effectively reduce flood levels. Collectively, these findings clarify the morphodynamic evolution mechanisms of a MEMS system and provide quantitative guidance for flood-mitigation and estuarine-management strategies. Full article

Given the urgent demand for flexible peak-shaving in power systems and underutilized distributed photovoltaic (PV) regulation potential, this paper proposes a distributed PV peak-shaving control strategy based on the temporal coupling self-organizing map (TC-SOM) neural network and a bi-level model. First, the SOM algorithm is improved for efficient feature extraction and accurate clustering of distributed PV data, realizing rational PV cluster division. On this basis, a bi-level peak-shaving model for distributed PV is constructed, forming a hierarchical peak-shaving mechanism from node demand to PV clusters to individual PVs to ensure inter- and intra-cluster coordination. This hierarchical structure embodies symmetric response logic, enabling balanced interaction between upper-layer node demand guidance and lower-layer PV execution, as well as inter-cluster coordination. Simulations on the IEEE-33 node system confirm its effectiveness: it significantly smooths the load curve, reduces peak–valley differences, and optimizes the flexible utilization of distributed PV through coordinated control, aggregation management, and curtailment regulation, providing strong support for precise PV cluster regulation and stable operation of high-proportion PV-integrated power grids. Full article

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The accurate classification of IBD from colonoscopy images is critical for diagnosis and treatment. However, the lack of labeled data poses a major challenge for developing deep learning-based IBD classification approaches. Recently, pseudo-labeling-based semi-supervised learning methods offer a promising solution in leveraging both labeled and unlabeled data to improve classification performance. Nevertheless, due to significant intra-class variability and the subtle inter-class differences in IBD colonoscopy images, pseudo-labels are often inaccurate, which results in confirmation bias and suboptimal performance. To address this challenge, a Subclass-Aware Contrastive Semi-Supervised Learning method, referred to as SACSSL, is proposed for accurate IBD classification by integrating a subclass-aware contrastive module into a pseudo-labeling-based semi-supervised framework, e.g., FixMatch. Specifically, unlabeled samples are first partitioned into confident and uncertain samples according to the confidence of pseudo-labels. An instance-level contrastive loss is then applied to uncertain samples, aiming to mitigate confirmation bias. Furthermore, intra-class heterogeneity is captured by introducing a set of prototypes for each subclass and assigning confident samples to these prototypes to form fine-grained subclasses, and supervised contrastive loss is applied to promote intra-subclass clustering, thereby enhancing inter-class separability while preserving intra-class diversity. Our method is evaluated on two datasets, i.e., an in-house collected Daping dataset for IBD classification and a publicly available LIMUC dataset for UC severity grading. On both datasets, our method achieves state-of-the-art performance under the semi-supervised setting. Specifically, with only 20% labeled data, the proposed method reaches an overall accuracy of 93.2% and an F1-score of 80.1% on the Daping dataset, which is close to the fully supervised upper bound (94.0% accuracy and 80.8% F1-score), and it achieves an overall accuracy of 76.4% and an F1-score of 68.9% on the LIMUC dataset. Comprehensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method for semi-supervised colonoscopy image classification. Full article

The two-spotted cotton leafhopper, Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is an invasive species native to the Indian subcontinent and an emerging pest of cotton, okra, eggplant, and hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus; Malvaceae) in the southeastern United States. Its presence in ornamental nurseries has not been previously documented, posing a serious threat to hibiscus. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of feeding damage and the potential spread of the pest across plant species within a nursery; thus, a study was conducted in a Georgia (USA) wholesale nursery in 2025. We used leaf samples to determine establishment, and leaf discoloration to categorize damage. We used yellow sticky cards to detect the presence of adults. Results showed that the life stages of A. biguttula were more common in the upper canopy than in the middle and lower levels. Both leafhopper numbers and exuviae were higher on the ‘Bali’ cultivar of H. syriacus compared to ‘Dark Lavender Chiffon’. No stages were found on neighboring species, including abelia, vitex, and rose. Yellow sticky card captures confirmed that adults were present on hibiscus cultivars. Feeding injury on H. syriacus was characterized by yellowing at the margins that spread inward and puckering of young leaves. Feeding damage ratings were significantly higher on ‘Bali’ than on ‘Dark Lavender Chiffon’, and adult captures were positively linked to damage severity. This is the first report of A. biguttula infestation and related injury on hibiscus in a U.S. wholesale nursery. Full article

This study presents a comparative analysis of two rare thundersnow events accompanied by snowfall that occurred on 11 November 2023 and 10 December 2023 in Shaanxi province, China. Multiple data sources were integrated, including MICAPS surface and upper-air conventional detection observations, hourly meteorological records from Yanliang Airport, lightning location data, and ERA5 reanalysis, to examine and contrast the synoptic conditions, moisture transport mechanisms, and convective characteristics underlying these two events. The results indicate that the large-scale circulation patterns were characterized by a “high in the west and low in the east” configuration and a “two troughs-one ridge” pattern for the November and December cases, respectively. In both episodes, Shaanxi Province was located on the rear side of a high-pressure ridge, where a strong pressure gradient induced pronounced northerly winds that advected cold air southward, forming a distinct near-surface cold pool. During the November event, the convective cloud system developed east of the Tibetan plateau, guided by a westerly flow, and propagated eastward while gradually weakening, with a minimum brightness temperature of −42 °C. Conversely, in December, the convective activity initiated over southwestern Shaanxi and moved northeastward under a southwesterly flow, reaching a lower minimum brightness temperature of −55 °C, indicative of stronger vertical development. In both events, the principal water vapor transport occurred near the 700 hPa height level and was primarily sourced from the Bay of Bengal via a southwesterly flow. The November event featured a stronger northwesterly cold-air intrusion, whereas the December case exhibited a broader moisture channel. The CAPE values peaked during the afternoon and nighttime periods in both cases. The cold-pool and inversion-layer thickness were approximately 2 km/45 hPa in November and 0.8 km/150 hPa in December. Full article

Urban space exhibits marked heterogeneity in both form and function, yet how urban functions align with multilevel street structures remains insufficiently understood. This study investigates the coupling between street hierarchy and urban functions in Shenzhen through two complementary representations: (1) the relationship between street connectivity and POIs located near each street, and (2) the relationship between street nodes and POIs contained within street-node-based hotspots. Both datasets were hierarchically partitioned using head/tail breaks to reveal intrinsic scaling structures. Power-law detection shows that natural streets and hotspot clusters follow heavy-tailed distributions, forming nested living structures. The exponents for node- and POI-based clusters fall within the typical range of 2.0–2.2, whereas exponents for street connectivity and street-based POIs are higher, indicating stronger heterogeneity. Correlation analyses reveal consistent positive associations between POIs and street connectivity across all levels, with the strongest relationships in mid- to upper-level substructures. Toward finer levels, correlations weaken and become increasingly nonlinear, reflecting growing spatial irregularity. These findings demonstrate that Shenzhen’s urban functions are coherently organized along its street hierarchy, highlighting the fundamental role of multilevel street configurations in shaping functional spatial patterns. Full article

For XL-MIMO multi-user frequency division duplex systems, this paper proposes a near-field beam training scheme using a two-phase combinatorial multi-armed bandit (MAB) framework. This scheme leverages the MAB framework, integrating energy-aware user scheduling and hierarchical beam training to balance communication quality and device battery level, thereby effectively enhancing system energy efficiency and extending the device’s lifespan. Specifically, in the first phase, we account for user battery levels by designing an energy-aware upper confidence bound (UCB) algorithm for user scheduling. This algorithm effectively balances exploration and exploitation, prioritizing users with higher achievable rates and sufficient battery level. In the second phase, based on the scheduled users, two UCB algorithms are employed for beam training. In the first layer, discrete Fourier transform codebook-based beam scanning is utilized, and a UCB algorithm is applied to initially acquire angle information for scheduled users. In the second layer, based on the obtained angle information, a candidate set of polar-domain codewords is constructed. Another UCB algorithm is then employed to select the optimal polar-domain codewords. The effectiveness of our scheme is confirmed by simulations, demonstrating notable achievable rate gains for multi-user communications. Full article

The Metaponto coastal plain (Ionian margin, Southern Italy) records the Late Pleistocene–Holocene evolution of a foredeep coastal system shaped by relative sea-level change, vertical land motion, and compaction. We analyze a 22 m continuous core (Meta 1) using lithofacies logging, grain size statistics and cumulative curves, multivariate analysis of grain size distributions (PCA and k-means clustering), and three AMS 14C ages, and we compare the record with a nearby borehole (MSB) and a global eustatic curve. Four depositional units document a shift from lower-shoreface–offshore deposition to lagoon–barrier/aeolian systems, culminating in late Holocene near-surface progradation. Textural end members (mud-rich offshore/lagoonal, traction-dominated, and sand-rich) are coherent across classical parameters, Visher-type curves, PCA, and k-means clusters. Depth–age comparisons suggest net uplift during the Late Glacial, followed by near-present relative sea level and a Late Holocene onset of modest net subsidence; a compaction contribution is plausible but unquantified. Subsidence/uplift rates therefore remain upper-bound estimates owing to sparse chronological control and the lack of glacio-isostatic and compaction modeling. Together with the MSB emerged-beach tie-point, the record constrains shoreline position and progradation. The inferred Mid- to Late-Holocene stabilization and progradational trends are consistent with other Italian and wider Mediterranean coastal plains. Additional dating and quantitative paleoecological proxies (e.g., foraminifera/ostracods/molluscs) are key to independently constrain salinity and water-depth changes and to refine the partitioning between subsidence and compaction. Full article

This study uses high-frequency monitoring across a river–barrier lake–reservoir continuum in the upper Minjiang River, southwestern China, to quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics and drivers of aquatic CO₂ partial pressure (pCO₂) and to identify the dominant controls under contrasting lotic and lentic conditions. River reaches were CO₂-supersaturated throughout the year, with higher pCO₂ in the wet season (mean 521 ppm) than in the dry season (421 ppm), indicating persistent CO₂ evasion to the atmosphere. In contrast, the downstream canyon-type reservoir showed a pronounced seasonal reversal. During the wet season, surface-water pCO₂ averaged 395 ppm, about 24% lower than that of the river and below atmospheric levels (~419 ppm); more than 55% of observations were undersaturated, with minima as low as 141–185 ppm, indicating temporary CO₂-sink behavior. In the dry season, mean pCO₂ increased to 563 ppm, exceeding both riverine and atmospheric levels and returning the reservoir to a CO₂ source. The reservoir pCO₂ variability was governed by the interaction of hydrology and metabolism: rising water levels and longer residence times likely enhanced CO₂ accumulation from the decomposition of inundated organic matter, while warm temperatures, high light and monsoon-driven nutrient inputs promoted phytoplankton growth that removed dissolved CO₂ and elevated dissolved oxygen, producing temporary sink behavior. In the river, short residence time and strong turbulence limited in-stream biological regulation, and pCO₂ variability was mainly driven by catchment-scale carbon inputs along the elevation gradient. Overall, our results demonstrate that dam construction and impoundment can substantially modify carbon cycling in high-mountain rivers. Under specific conditions (warm water, sufficient nutrients, high algal biomass), lentic environments may strengthen photosynthetic CO₂ uptake and temporarily transform typical riverine CO₂ sources into sinks, with important implications for carbon-budget assessments and reservoir management in mountainous basins. Full article

With the rapid growth of residential electric vehicles, synchronized charging during peak periods can induce severe load ramping and exceed distribution network capacity limits. To mitigate these issues, governments have promoted a unified build-and-operate community model that enables centralized coordination of community charging and ensures real-time responsiveness to grid dispatch signals. Targeting this emerging operational paradigm, a dual-dimensional compensation mechanism for real-time electric vehicle (EV) demand response is proposed. The mechanism integrates two types of compensation: power regulation compensation, which rewards users for providing controllable power flexibility, and state-of-charge (SoC) loss compensation, which offsets energy deficits resulting from demand response actions. This dual-layer design enhances user willingness and long-term engagement in community-level coordination. Based on the proposed mechanism, a bi-level optimization framework is developed to realize efficient real-time regulation: the upper level maximizes the active response capacity under budget constraints, while the lower level minimizes the aggregator’s total compensation cost subject to user response behavior. Simulation results demonstrate that, compared with conventional fair-share curtailment and single-compensation approaches, the proposed mechanism effectively increases active user participation and reduces incentive expenditures. The study highlights the mechanism’s potential for practical deployment in unified build-and-operate communities and discusses limitations and future research directions. Full article

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) fruit pomace flour (SBPF) was used as a partial replacement for light rye flour in rye bread production at levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20%. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of SBPF addition on sourdough fermentation dynamics, the development of the associated microflora (yeasts, moulds and lactic acid bacteria), and changes in selected quality attributes of the resulting breads. Fermentation was carried out for 72 h using a three-stage method, while monitoring pH, acidity and microbial counts. The results showed that SBPF addition lowered the initial pH of the sourdough and was associated with higher lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus spp.) counts (up to 8.96 log CFU/g at a 10% SBPF level), indicating prebiotic potential. Moderate SBPF addition, particularly at 10% (with an upper limit of 15%), ensured favourable bread quality characteristics, such as increased loaf volume, higher bread yield, improved water retention and a more intense crumb colour, whereas an SBPF level of 20% deteriorated loaf sphericity and weakened crumb structure. Multivariate PROFIT analysis indicated strong positive associations between SBPF level and crumb colour, bread yield and lactic acid bacteria counts, and negative associations with loaf sphericity and crumb compressibility. Therefore, the optimal range of SBPF substitution lies at approximately 10–15%. The obtained data support the use of sea buckthorn fruit pomace flour as a functional ingredient with a potentially beneficial effect on the technological and microbiological quality of rye bread. Full article

Background/Objectives: Achondroplasia is linked to distinctive ear–nose–throat (ENT) morbidity, yet quantitative age-structured profiles and actionable correlates remain incompletely defined. This study mapped ENT phenotypes in a consecutive cohort and examined the achondroplasia subset for prevalence, co-occurrence, age dynamics, and parsimonious risk models. Methods: Retrospective observational analysis (1 February 2023–31 January 2025). Narrative “ENT complications” were dictionary-mapped to five non-exclusive categories: otitis media, adenotonsillar/apnea—obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), audiologic/Eustachian-tube dysfunction (ETD), nasopharyngeal/upper-respiratory (URT), and extra-ENT. Proportions used Wilson 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Pairwise associations used Fisher’s exact tests with Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (BH-FDR). Age was summarized by a four-level age-class schema (AC-4: 0–2, 3–5, 6–12, ≥13 years) and a two-level sensitivity contrast (AC-2: ≤5 vs. >5 years). Results: Of 83 patients, 64 (77.1%) had achondroplasia. In achondroplasia, otitis media occurred in 51.6% and OSA in 28.1%; versus non-achondroplasia, ARDs were +35.8 and +28.1 percentage points (BH-FDR adjusted). Within achondroplasia, otitis media co-occurred with OSA (odds ratio [OR] 4.97; q = 0.012) and with ETD (OR 7.25; q = 0.012). OSA increased across AC-4 to school age (p-trend = 0.0548). In parsimonious models, otitis media independently predicted ETD and OSA. A five-item ENT-burden score discriminated otologic and adeno-tonsillar interventions (AUC 0.83–0.93). Conclusions: Achondroplasia shows a concentrated ENT burden dominated by otitis media and OSA, with large adjusted absolute differences versus non-achondroplasia. Otitis media functions as a practical clinical marker for both OSA and ETD, while a compact burden score may assist intervention triage. Full article

Characterized by zero-carbon, congestion-free, and high-capacity features, the utilization of metro systems for collaborative passenger-and-freight transport (the metro-based underground logistics system, M-ULS) has been recognized as a favorable alternative to facilitate automated freight transport in future megacities. This article constructs a three-echelon M-ULS network and establishes a multi-objective bilevel programming model, considering the interests of both government investment departments and transport enterprises. The overall goal of the study is to establish a transportation network with the lowest construction cost, lowest operating cost, and highest facility utilization rate, taking into account factors such as population density, transportation conditions, land resources, logistics demand, and metro station location, under given cost parameters and demand conditions. The upper-level model takes government investment as the main body and aims to minimize the total cost, establishing an optimization model for location selection allocation paths with capacity constraints; the lower-level model aims to minimize the generalized cost for freight enterprises by simulating the competition between traditional transportation and the M-ULS mode. In addition, a bi-level programming model solving framework was established, and a multi-stage precise heuristic hybrid algorithm based on adaptive immune clone selection algorithm (AICSA) and improved plant growth simulation algorithm (IPGSA) is designed for the upper-level model. Finally, taking the central urban area of Beijing as an example, four network scales are set up for numerical simulation research to verify the reliability and superiority of the model and algorithm. By analyzing and setting key indicators, an optimal network configuration scheme is proposed, providing a feasible path for cities to improve logistics efficiency and reduce the impact of logistics externalities under limited land resources, further strengthening the strategic role of subway logistics systems in urban sustainable development. Full article

Submesoscale dynamics are critical modulators of upper-ocean biogeochemistry, yet their net influence on chlorophyll concentrations across seasonal to interannual timescales, particularly within productive regions like the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME), remains poorly understood. This study quantifies these complex relationships by analyzing 22 years (2001–2022) of physical and biological data. We examined the link between surface chlorophyll (CHL) and key physical drivers: sea level anomaly (SLA) and submesoscale intensity, quantified by the Rossby number (Ro). Using both cross-correlation analysis and Generalized Linear Models (GLMs), our analyses reveal a multi-scale set of spatially dependent and time-lagged biogeochemical responses. At the basin scale, a key finding from cross-correlation is a significant positive correlation where high SLA precedes a rise in CHL by approximately six months, indicating a delayed ecosystem response to large-scale physical forcing. At the event scale, GLMs show the specific impact of eddies is critical: short-lived cyclonic eddies correlate with a significant increase in CHL (~4.6%) in the southern zone, while anticyclonic eddies are associated with a pronounced decrease in CHL (~97.7%) in the central zone during the austral winter. These findings demonstrate that both large-scale preconditions and localized submesoscale features are essential drivers of vertical nutrient transport and the distribution of primary productivity within the BCLME. Full article

Full-endoscopic lumbar discectomy (FELD) has emerged over time as a minimally invasive alternative to conventional microdiscectomy. This narrative review summarizes the available evidence regarding the evolution, indications, techniques, and outcomes of FELD, with a particular focus on how different types of lumbar disc herniations influence the choice of surgical approach. The literature indicates that the transforaminal approach is most suitable for foraminal and upper lumbar disc herniations, whereas the interlaminar approach is preferred for central or migrated L5–S1 herniations due to the larger interlaminar window at this level. Unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE) provides better flexibility, visualization, and instrument maneuverability, making it particularly useful in certain cases. Reported complication rates remain low overall but vary according to surgical technique and surgeon experience. The learning curve for FELD typically ranges from approximately 20 to over 50 cases, depending on the approach and individual proficiency. Overall, full-endoscopic techniques are redefining the management of lumbar disc herniations by offering less invasive alternatives with favourable clinical outcomes, and their role is expected to expand further as both technology and surgical expertise continue to evolve. Full article