Using the Yellow-River-Source National Park (YRSNP) as a study site, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing and line transect method was used to investigate the number of wild herbivorous animals and livestock, including the kiang (Equus kiang) and Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata). A downscaling algorithm was used to generate the forage yield data in YRSNP based on 30 m spatial resolution. On this basis, we estimated the forage–livestock balance, which included both wild animals and livestock, and analyzed the effects of functional zone planning in national parks on the forage–livestock balance in YRSNP. The results showed that the estimates of large herbivore population numbers in YRSNP based on population density in the aerial sample strips, which were compared and validated with statistical data and warm season survey results, indicated that the number of kiangs and Tibetan gazelles in the 2017 cold season was 12900 and 12100, respectively. The number of domestic yaks, Tibetan sheep, and horses was 53400, 76800, and 800, respectively, and the total number of sheep units was 353200. The ratio of the number of large wild herbivores and livestock sheep units was 1:5; Large wild herbivores have different preferences for functional zones, preferring ecological restoration areas consisting mainly of degraded grassland; The grazing pressure indices of the core reserve areas and ecological restoration areas were 0.168 and 0.276, respectively, indicating that these two regions still have high grazing potential. However, the grazing pressure index of the traditional utilization areas was 1.754, indicating that these grasslands are severely overloaded; After the planning and implementation of functional zones, the grazing pressure index of YRSNP was 1.967. Under this measure, the number of livestock was not reduced and the grazing pressure nearly doubled, indicating that forage–livestock conflict has become more severe.

The Source Region of the Yellow River (SRYR), renowned as the "Water Tower of the Yellow River", serves as an important water conservation domain in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, significantly influencing water resources within the basin. Based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro) model, the key variables of the atmosphere-land-hydrology coupling processes over the SRYR during the 2013 rainy season are analyzed. The investigation involves a comparative analysis between the coupled WRF-Hydro and the standalone WRF simulations, focusing on the hydrological response to the atmosphere. The results reveal that the WRF-Hydro model's proficiency in depicting streamflow variations over the SRYR, yielding a Nash Efficiency Coefficient (NSE) of 0.44 and of  0.61 during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Compared to the standalone WRF simulations, the coupled WRF-Hydro model demonstrates enhanced performance in soil heat fluxes simulations, reducing the mean Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of surface soil temperature by 0.96 K and soil moisture by 0.01 m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}/m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}. Furthermore, the coupled model adeptly captures the streamflow variation characteristics with the NSE of 0.33. This underscores the significant potential of the coupled WRF-Hydro model for delineating coupled atmosphere-land-hydrology processes in regions characterized by cold climates and intricate topography.

Wetlands, which is composed of soil, vegetation and water, has sufficient water supply and is sensitive to climate change. This study analyzed the coupling degree between wetlands and atmosphere, and discussed the influence of environmental factors (solar radiation and water vapor pressure deficit) on latent heat flux by using the experimental data from the Maduo Observatory of Climate and Environment of the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, CAS and WRF model. The results showed, during the vegetation growthing season, the average value of Ω (decoupling factor) is 0.38 in alpine wetlands, indicating the coupling between wetlands and atmosphere is poor; Solar radiation is the main factor influencing the latent heat flux in the results of both observation data analysis and model simulation, and solar radiation and water vapor pressure deficit still have an opposite reaction to latent heat flux; when solar radiation and water vapor pressure deficit increase by 30%, the average daily amount of latent heat flux increases from 5.57 MJ·m-2 to 7.50 MJ·m-2 and decreases to 5.17 MJ·m-2, respectively. This study provides a new research approach for the study of the parameterization of latent heat flux and evapotranspiration under the context of global climate change.

Climate change is a global issue that draws widespread attention from the international society. As an important component of the climate system, the water cycle is directly affected by climate change. Thus, it is very important to study the influences of climate change on the basin water cycle with respect to maintenance of healthy rivers, sustainable use of water resources, and sustainable socioeconomic development in the basin. In this study, by assessing the suitability of multiple General Circulation Models (GCMs) recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) and Automated Statistical Downscaling model (ASD) were used to generate future climate change scenarios. These were then used to drive distributed hydrologic models (Variable Infiltration Capacity, Soil and Water Assessment Tool) for hydrological simulation of the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins, thereby quantifying the effects of climate change on the basin water cycle. The results showed that suitability assessment adopted in this study could effectively reduce the uncertainty of GCMs, and that statistical downscaling was able to greatly improve precipitation and temperature outputs in global climate mode. Compared to a baseline period (1961–1990), projected future periods (2046–2065 and 2081–2100) had a slightly decreasing tendency of runoff in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin. In particular, a significant increase in runoff was observed during flood seasons in the southeast part. However, runoff of the upper Yellow River basin decreased continuously. The results provide a reference for studying climate change in major river basins of China.

Promoting the sustainable development of resource-based cities is of great significance to the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Combining the environmental status and economic development, we objectively evaluate the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin, compare and analysis the main factors affecting the ecological safety of different resource-based cities, and formulate precise and differentiated ecological safety protection measures in river basins to achieve high-quality development. Taking the Yellow River Basin as an example, this paper analyses the ecological level of the Yellow River Basin based on the theory of sustainable development, calculates the ecological safety level of 30 resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2020 by TOPSIS model, and makes convergence analysis by classification. Through the DID empirical test of sustainable development planning policy on ecological safety factors, distinguish the development characteristics of different resource-based cities. The results show that: (1) the ecological safety level of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is generally developing well, and there are differences among different types of resource-based cities; (2) the kinetic energy of sustainable development of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin is mainly industrial transformation, and the power of science and technology is insufficient; (3) local governments pay limited attention to environmental protection, and the sustainable development planning of resource-based cities in 2013 mainly promotes the adjustment of industrial structure of resource-based cities.

In recent years, nocturnal ozone enhancement(NOE) events have become a hot research topic in the field of atmospheric environment. By using statistically-based data analysis, we made a comparative investigation about nocturnal ozone concentrations and NOE events in 2022 and 2023, and further explored the effects of NOE events on O3 and PM2.5 at the night of the same day and the next day. The results showed that from 2022 to 2023 in Dongying, the annual average nocturnal ozone concentrations increased from 51 μg/m3 to 59 μg/m3, and the frequency of NOE events was higher in spring, summer and autumn, and lower in winter. NOE events not only had an obvious promoting effect on nocturnal O3 and Ox, and the daily maximum 8 h average concentration of O3 (MDA8-O3) of the same day (more apparent in summer and autumn), and nocturnal PM2.5 and PM2.5-bounded NO3- and SO42- (more apparent in winter), but also had a distinct influence on O3, Ox and MDA8-O3 of the next day (more apparent in summer). The results could strengthen the understanding of the phenomena of NOE events, and provide a scientific basis for the collaborative control of PM2.5 and ozone in urban areas in the Yellow River Delta, China.

Fracture grouting has been a widely used mitigation measure against seepage in the Yellow River Embankment. However, there is currently a lack of systematic investigation for evaluating the anti-seepage effectiveness of fracture grouting employed in this longest river embankment in China. Therefore, in this work, laboratory and in-situ experiments are carried out for investigating the reinforcement effect of fracture grouting in the Jinan Section of the Yellow River Embankment. In particular, firstly, the laboratory tests concentrate on studying the optimum strength improvement for cement-silicate grout by varying the content of backfilled fly ash and bentonite as admixtures. Flexural strength and Scanning Electron Microscope photographs are investigated for assessing the strength and compactness improvement. Subsequently, based on the obtained optimum admixtures content, in-situ grouting tests are carried out in the Jinan Section of the Yellow River Embankment to evaluate the anti-seepage effectiveness of fracture grouting, where geophysical prospecting and pit prospecting methods are employed. Laboratory results show that, compared with pure cement-silicate grouts, the gelation time of the improved slurry is longer and gelation time increases as fly ash content increases. The optimum mixing proportion of the compound cement-silicate grout is 70% cement, 25% fly ash and 5% bentonite, and the best volume ratio is 2 for the investigated cases. Geophysical prospecting using the Ground Penetrating Radar and High Density Resistivity methods can reflect the anti-seepage effectiveness of fracture grouting on site. It shows that the grouting material mainly flows along the axial direction of the embankment. The treatment that is used to generate directional fracture is proved to be effective. The injection hole interval distance is suggested to be 1.2 m, where the lapping effect of the grouting veins is relatively significant. For the investigated cases, the average thickness of the grouting veins is approximately 6.0 cm and the corresponding permeability coefficient is averagely 1.6 × 10⁻⁶ cm/s, which meets the anti-seepage criterion in practice.

Under the extreme shortage of water resources in the Yellow River Basin, it is of great signifi-cance to analyze the spatial distribution relationship between rural settlement and water re-sources for the coordinated development of human and water resources in the Yellow River Ba-sin. However, the water allocation scheme depended on statistical data in the previous work, not on rural settlements in space. Furthermore, previous researches seldom focus on the evaluation of surface water resources accessibility according to the spatial distribution characteristics of ru-ral settlements and water resources, especially, in the Yellow River Basin and using rural set-tlement as unit. Therefore, a quantitative evaluation model of surface water resources accessibil-ity is constructed by using the GIS network analysis method, taking rural settlement as the re-search unit, based on three dimensions of topography, distance, and surface water resources, at the Yellow River basin scale. The results show that: (1) The surface runoff of rural settlement in the Yellow River basin is mostly less than 0.05 km/m2, reaching 99.83%. In other words, the Yel-low River Basin is extremely short of water resources. The surface water resources accessibility is affected by distance, topography, and surface water resources. The evaluation results show that the range of surface water resources accessibility is 0.13~0.88, with an average value of 0.47 and a standard deviation of 0.05. The High surface water resources accessibility value in the Yel-low River Basin is in the east and west, and the low value is mainly distributed in the middle. (2) The range from low to high of surface water resources accessibility in 12 catchments is Sanmen-xia station, Lanzhou station, Shizuishan station, Longmen station, Tongguan station, Toudaoguai station, Xiaolangdi station, Huayuankou station, Lijin station, Gaocun station, Ai Shan station and Tangnaihai station. (3) The value of surface water resources accessibility at the city scale is higher in the east of 10 cities and in the west of 1 city. However, it is lower in the west of 9 cities. And the values of the other cities are at a medium level. The correlation coefficient with primary industry GDP and surface water resources accessibility is 0.271 (N=56, Sig=0.043, in 0.05 level, the correlation is significant), which verifies the rationality of surface water resources accessibility model to some extent.

The variation of river hydrologic process can not only reflect the impact of natural factors, but also the impact of human activities. The purpose of this study is to reveal the change trend of the hydrologic regime of the Yellow River and its response to ecological protection in the river basin. Based on the daily water and sediment observation data of representative gauging stations in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, it was analyzed the variation trend of the annual and monthly runoff and suspended sediment load (SSL), and monthly mean runoff, suspended sediment transport rate (SSTR), sediment inflow coefficient, and hydrological regime in decadal average of the gauging stations during the period 1960-2019. The results show that the variation of annual runoff and SSL, as well as the monthly mean runoff and SSTR in decadal average, has a significant decreasing trend in the 1960’s-1990’s, which was mainly in response to the gradual implementation of ecological protection measures such as afforestation, grass planting, terrace construction, and check dam construction, etc. in the basin. In 2000’s and 2010’s, the annual runoff increased, while the SSL increased slightly. This was a response to the implementation of new river management measures such as ensuring the ecological water demand of the lower reaches and scouring the riverbed by manually regulated clear water discharged from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir. In the same time, the monthly mean runoff and SSTR for the flood season (Jun.-Oct.) decreased remarkably, while the process curve of the monthly mean discharge and sediment concentration, changed from a clockwise loop to a counterclockwise loop in the river reach below the Xiaolangdi dam. This was a comprehensive response to the environmental protection measures in the Yellow River basin, in which the construction and operation of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir played a key role. This study can provide reference for river basin management.

River monitoring has the potential to grow substantially with present-day available affordable and locally sourced hardware. Yet river monitoring networks are still under pressure due to lack of resources, difficulties with maintenance, and rapidly changing conditions which in part may be due to climate change. We advocate that to turn around this trend, monitoring stations must rely on local people, work with locally available devices, work without contact with water and operate through openly available knowledge. River observations with camera videos have this potential. IP cameras, drones or smartphones are widely available as observation platforms. The scientific methods are well established in literature. Yet current attempts to establish scalable open-source software solutions that can be operated anywhere are lacking. In fact, currently available software is either research-oriented, more aimed at incidental observations, is restricted to single-use licenses, entirely proprietary, or restricted to operations through a third-party Software as a Service. To overcome this obstacle, we present OpenRiverCam, a free and open-source software ecosystem for river observations that can fulfill a wide variety of use cases and business cases through a well-documented and simple to use Application Programming Interface, service workflows, cloud scalability and interoperability, and options to extend to several applications within the hydrological, hydrodynamic, environmental and geospatial domains. We demonstrate its current technical abilities through three different case studies that all originate from a user perspective. We discuss the future developments to meet further requirements, which include documentation, widely available training materials and embedding in curricula, and further hardware and software developments.

Heavy metals are toxic, persistent and non-degradable. After sedimentation and adsorption, they accumulate in water sediments. The aim of this study was to understand the heavy metal pollution of Qinjiang River sediments on the ecological environment and apportioning sources. The mean total concentrations of Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, and Pb are 3.14, 2.33, 1.39, 5.79, and 1.33 times higher than the background values, respectively, except for the Co, Ni, and Cd, which are lower than the background values; Fe, Co, Ni, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Pb are all primarily in the residual state, while Mn and Zn are primarily in the acid-soluble and oxidizable states, respectively. Igeo, RI, SQGs and RAC together indicate that the pollution status and ecological risk of heavy metals in Qinjiang River sediments are generally moderate; among them, Fe, Co, Ni, Cd, Cr, and Pb are not harmful to the ecological environment of the Qinjiang River. Cu is not readily released because of its higher residual composition, depicting that Cu is less harmful to the ecological environment. Mn and Zn, as the primary pollution factors of the Qinjiang River, are harmful to the ecological environment. This heavy metal pollution in surface sediments of the Qinjiang River primarily comes from manganese and zinc ore mining. Manganese carbonate and its weathered secondary manganese oxide are frequently associated with a significant amount of residual copper and Cd, as a higher pH is suitable for the deposition and enrichment of these heavy metals. Lead-zinc ore and its weathering products form organic compounds with residual Fe, Co, Cr, and Ni, and their content is related to salinity. The risk assessment results of heavy metals in sediments provide an important theoretical basis for the prevention and control of heavy metal pollution in Qinjiang River.

The improvement of agricultural low-carbon efficiency is an important path to promote the realization of the "double carbon" goal in the Yellow River Basin. In the context of rapid urbanization development, it is of great significance to explore whether the promotion of urbanization will affect the agricultural low-carbon efficiency. Based on the panel data of 75 cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2020, this paper uses super-DEA model, three-dimensional kernel density model and Markov chain model to measure and analyze the spatio-temporal evolution of agricultural low-carbon efficiency in the Yellow River Basin, on this basis, the panel Tobit model is used to analyze the relationship between urbanization and low-carbon efficiency in agriculture. The results show that: (1) The level of agricultural low-carbon efficiency in the Yellow River Basin is low and has not reached the effective state, showing a slow downward trend in general, among which, the agricultural low-carbon efficiency in the lower reaches is higher than that in the middle reaches, and the upper reaches is the lowest. (2) The agricultural low-carbon efficiency in the Yellow River Basin has a negative trend of transferring to the low level on the whole, and tends to maintain the original state level, and it is difficult to realize the leapfrog transfer between states. Agricultural low-carbon efficiency has obvious spatial spillover effect and "club convergence" phenomenon, high efficiency area has a positive driving effect on the neighborhood area, while low efficiency area has a negative impact on the neighborhood area. (3) The level of urbanization has a significant positive impact on the low-carbon efficiency of agriculture in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin, which plays an important role in promoting the green development of agriculture. Finally, based on the above research conclusions, relevant policy recommendations were put forward, in order to provide references for promoting the improvement of low-carbon agricultural efficiency and promoting high-quality agricultural development in the Yellow River Basin.

Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) exhibit a remarkable ability to adapt to changes in salinity during their life cycle. However, the fertilized egg stages are sensitive to salinity, affecting on-togeny and hatching. This study investigated the effect of salinity (0, 1, 3, and 5 psu) on the sur-vival of two developmental stages (< 1 day after fertilization and < 1 day after the eyed-egg stage) of fertilized eggs. Based on the experimental results, we assessed the spawning ground environ-ment of the Namdae River, where the largest number of salmon in Korea migrate to spawn. Sur-vival of the < 1 day old fertilized eggs decreased sharply at 3 psu or more, and all eggs died at 5 psu. Hatching rates of the eyed-egg stage varied depending on salinity, but hatching occurred under all environmental conditions. After 2010, the salinity of the layer of water in contact with the sediment in the lower reaches of the river tended to increase (> 6.9 psu) with the frequency of high waves. Overall, the function of the lower river in spawning and hatching is weakening. This study enhances our understanding of the effects of climate change, including increased wave ac-tivity, on salmon spawning grounds

Soil erosion due to soil erosion is an important ecological impact factor. In order to further explore the impact and contribution of soil and water conservation measures on sand production and transport in the watershed, and also to provide a reference for soil erosion control, soil and water conservation and ecological environmental protection in the Yellow River Basin. In this paper, based on the measured data from the Henan Soil and Water Conservation Observatory in the Yellow River Basin, we select appropriate equations for quantifying soil erosion factor to calculate the rainfall erosion, topography, soil, vegetation and soil conservation measures in the basin, and then analyse the changes in soil erosion factor and the actual benefits of soil conservation measures in the basin. The results show that there is an increasing trend in the rainfall erosion force factor R in the Yellow River Basin; Soil erosion can be K value made the vertical loess > yellow clunamon soil, the overall change shows a decreasing trend, indicating that erosion control has produced results and that attention should be paid to erosion control in the lithosol region in the future; Since the slope lengths of the runoff plots are laid out consistently with the same LS values for both topographic factors, soil erosion is severely increased when the slope exceeds 20°. The C value of natural vegetation is small, while the C value of bare land is large. The authorities should continue to promote the return of farmland to forests and grasses and pay attention to the self-regulation and restoration of ecosystems; There is an overall decreasing trend in the P value of the soil and water conservation measures factor, the soil and water conservation measures have been effective in providing good protection.

Given the significant role of the Ningxia Urban Agglomeration along the Yellow River in reshaping the urban network and promoting coordinated development in the upper Yellow River region of China, this paper takes enterprise flow as the explicit manifestation of the regional urban network. Based on the data of registered enterprises from 2005 to 2021, combined with the interlocking network model, social network analysis method, and spatial panel econometric model, this paper interprets the evolution of the regional urban network structure and its influencing mechanisms through the different types of enterprise flow. The results indicate the following: (1) The external network is primarily focused on outflow investments towards North China, East China, and Northwest China. The overall inflow sources form a multi-origin structure dominated by North China and East China. The Jinfeng and Xingqing serve as core hubs for enterprise exports in the external network and destinations for incoming enterprises. However, in the Productive manufacturing connections, a spatial organizational pattern driven by multiple cities has formed. (2) In the internal network, a concentric connection structure centered around the Jinfeng and Xingqing has formed. The Productive service connections are relatively active, while the Productive manufacturing connections are relatively concentrated between the Jinfeng, Xingqing, Ningdong, and Lingwu. However, there is an imbalance in the spatial connections within the urban agglomeration network and an incomplete hierarchical system of network nodes. (3) In the external network, the main feature is the absorption of external elements to foster development momentum. In the internal network, the Jinfeng and Xingqing serve as contact and radiation sources, influencing various nodes. However, their driving capacity is weak. (4) The market demand and coordinated development both demonstrate significant promoting effects on the connections within the external and internal networks. The sluggish adjustment and transformation of regional industrial structure have resulted in a temporary negative inhibitory effect on the development of transformation. The negative impact of urban investment activities and the positive impact of government management are reflected within the internal network. (5) The improvement of urban management and service functions, as well as external borrowing, can promote the connection in different network. However, the borrowing economic activity can have a negative impact in different networks. (6) Industrial agglomeration can promote enterprises connections in different networks and generate significant spatial spillover effects.

Free and open source hardware (FOSH) development has been shown to increase innovation and reduce economic costs. This article reviews the opportunity to use FOSH like a sanction to undercut imports and exports from a target criminal country. A formal methodology is presented for selecting strategic national investments in FOSH development to improve both national security and global safety. In this methodology, first the target country that is threatening national security or safety is identified. Next, the top imports from the target country as well as potentially other importing countries (allies) are quantified. Hardware is identified that could undercut imports/exports from the target country. Finally, methods to support the FOSH development are enumerated to support production in a commons-based peer production strategy. To demonstrate how this theoretical method works in practice it is applied as a case study to the current criminal military aggressor nation, who is also a fossil fuel exporter. The results show there are numerous existing FOSH and opportunities to develop new FOSH for energy conservation and renewable energy to reduce fossil fuel energy demand. Widespread deployment would reduce the concomitant pollution, human health impacts, and environmental desecration as well as cut financing of military operations.

Threat assessment is important to prioritize species conservation projects and planning. The taxonomic resolution regarding the status of the “Dryophytes immaculatus group” and the description of a new species in the Republic of Korea resulted in a shift in ranges and population sizes. Thus, reviewing the IUCN Red List status of the three species from the group: D. immaculatus, D. suweonensis and D. flaviventris and recommending an update is needed. While the three species have similar ecological requirements and are distributed around the Yellow sea, they are under contrasting anthropological pressure and threats. Here, based on the literature available, I have applied all IUCN Red List criteria and tested the fit of each species in each criteria to recommend listing under the adequate threat level. This resulted in the recommendation of the following categories: Near Threatened for D. immaculatus, Endangered following the criteria C2a(i)b for D. suweonensis and Critically Endangered following the criteria E for D. flaviventris. All three species are declining, mostly because of landscape changes as a result of human activities, but the differences in range, population dynamics and already extirpated sub-populations result in different threat levels for each species. Dryophytes flaviventris is under the highest threat category mostly because of its limited range, segregated into two sub-populations and several known historical sub-populations are now extirpated. Immediate actions for the conservation of this species are required. Dryophytes suweonensis is present in both the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea and is under lower ecological pressure in DPR Korea. Dryophytes immaculatus is present in the People’s Republic of China, on a very large range despite a marked decline. I recommend joint efforts for the conservation of these species.

Although crop conversion from annual to perennial crops has been considered as one path towards climate-smart and resource-efficient agriculture, the effects of this conversion on soil multifunctionality and biomass yields remain unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of one annual and three perennial crops (a grass (Lolium perenne), a legume (Medicago sativa), and their mixture) on soil multifunctionality and biomass yield on the Yellow River floodplain. Soil multifunctionality was assessed by the capacity of water regulation and the multifunctionality of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycles. Results showed that perennial crops enhanced soil multifunctionality by 207% for L. perenne, 311% for M. sativa, and 438% for L. perenne + M. sativa, compared with annual winter wheat (Triticum aestivum). The effect of perennial crops on soil multifunctionality increased with infiltration rate, dissolved organic C, microbial biomass C, and extracellular enzymatic activities for both C and N acquisition. However, we observed that perennial crops had lower biomass yield than annual crop. Therefore, the transition of agricultural landscapes to perennials needs to take into account the balance between environmental protection and food security, as well as environmental heterogeneity, to promote sustainable agricultural development.

This study reports multivariate statistical techniques applied including cluster analysis to evaluate and classify the river pollution level in Taiwan, and principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR) to identify the possible pollution source. Water quality and heavy metal monitoring data from Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) was evaluated for 14 rivers in the four regions of Taiwan. The Erren River was classified as the most polluted River in Taiwan. Biochemical oxygen demand, ammonia, and total phosphate concentration in this river were the highest of the 14 rivers evaluated. In addition, heavy metal levels of the following rivers exceeded the Taiwan EPA standard limit: lead - in the Dongshan, Jhuoshuei, and Xinhuwei Rivers; copper - in the Dahan, Laojie, and Erren Rivers; and manganese - in all rivers. Water pollution in the Erren River was estimated to originate 72% from industrial sources, 16% from domestic black water, and 12% from natural sources and runoff from other tributaries. Our research showed that PCA-MLR and the cluster analysis model accomplished our study objectives and will be helpful tools to evaluate water quality in rivers and we suggest that the continuous monitoring should be conducted to monitor water pollution from anthropogenic activities.

The survey findings reveal that rivers worldwide carry an annual sediment load of 15 billion tons into the sea, and the Yellow River basin alone contributes 1.6 billion tons of sand. Therefore, understanding the science of wind and sand in the Yellow River is crucial to ensuring the safe development of similar basins across China and the world. This study examines the midstream wind and sand area of the Xiliugou tributary, a part of the upper Yellow River. The researchers used a stepped sand collector combined with an anemometer to measure the sand transport flux at 0-50 cm height on various underlying surfaces of the basin. Then, they estimated the amount of wind and sand entering the Yellow River using a function model based on the measured factors. Furthermore, the team analyzed the particle size composition of wind-eroded sand to better understand the principles of wind and sand erosion and accumulation in the basin. The results of the study show that the sand transport flux per unit area varies significantly across different underlying surfaces. Moreover, the contribution of moving sandy land, semi-fixed sand, and fixed sand to wind and sand deposition in the Yellow River basin was 77.08%, 15.30%, and 7.62%, respectively. The vertical change of sand transport rate on the basin's surface demonstrates that the total sand transport rate is an exponential function of wind speed. Based on this relationship, the researchers estimated that the total annual average wind and sand entering the Yellow River basin via the Xiliugou tributary is approximately 8.09×105t. Due to the basin's unique geography and sand source, the particle size composition of wind-eroded sand differs between the east and west sides of the river channel. On the west side, desert sand, mainly fine sand, and very fine sand constitutes the sand source. Conversely, on the east side, sand collected in the riverbed by secondary wind erosion is the primary sand source. Furthermore, human activities have disturbed the grain composition, mainly comprising powder and clay particles. This phenomenon, known as "wind-blown mud and water-washed sand," is evident in this geographical unit. In conclusion, the Yellow River basin still faces significant ecological security hazards. Understanding the coupling relationship between desert-basin-sand and wind is the foundation for effectively controlling wind and sand flow into the Yellow River basin.

Best management practices (BMPs) are a way to control pollution in river basins. Prioritization of BMPs helps improve efficiency and effectiveness of pollution reduction, especially in critical source areas (CSAs) that produce the highest pollution loads. Recently, the Dez River, Khuzestan, Iran, has become highly eutrophic from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Dry and irrigated farming produce 77.34% and 6.3% of the total nitrogen (TN) load, and 83.56% and 4.3% of the total phosphorus (TP) load in this basin, respectively. Residential, pasture, and forest land uses account for 16.36% of the TN and 12.14% of the TP load cumulatively. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was implemented to model the Dez River basin, and evaluate the applicability of several BMPs including point source elimination, filter strips, livestock grazing, and river channel management, in reducing the entry of pollution loads to the river. Sensitivity analysis and calibration/validation of the model was performed using the SUFI-2 algorithm in the SWAT Calibration Uncertainties Program (SWAT-CUP). CSAs were identified using individual (sediment, TN, TP) and combined indices, based on the amount of pollution produced. Among the BMPs implemented, filter strips were most effective in reducing TN loads (59%), and, increasing the D₅₀ of particles for river channel management was most effective in reducing TP loads (49%).

Due to the advantages of wide coverage and continuity, remotely sensed data are widely used for large-scale drought monitoring to compensate the deficiency and discontinuity of meteorological data. However, few researches have focused on the capability of various remotely sensed drought indices (RSDIs) for representing the spatio-temporal variations of the meteorological droughts. In this study, five RSDIs, namely Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI), Vegetation Health Index (VHI), Modified Temperature Vegetation Dryness Index (MTVDI) and Normalized Vegetation Supply Water Index (NVSWI) were calculated using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) monthly NDVI and LST. The monthly NDVI and LST data were filtered by Savitzky-Golay (S-G) filtering method. Meteorological station-based drought index represented by Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) was compared with RSDIs. And the dimensionless Skill Score (SS) method was adopted to identify the spatiotemporally optimal RSDIs for presenting the meteorological droughts in the Yellow River basin (YRB) from 2000 to 2015. The results indicated that (1) RSDIs revealed a decreasing trend to the overall YRB consistent with SPEI except for in winter, and different variations of seasonal trends spatially; (2) the optimal RSDIs in spring, summer, autumn and winter were VHI, TCI, MTVDI and VCI, respectively, and the average correlation coefficient between the RSDIs and SPEI was 0.577 (=0.05); (3) different RSDIs have a 0–3 months’ time-lags compared with meteorological drought index.

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is a crucial ecological zone and an environmentally vulnerable re-gion in China. Understanding the temporal and spatial trends of terraced-field areas (TRAs) and the factors underlying them in the YRB is essential for improving land use, conserving water re-sources, promoting biodiversity, and preserving cultural heritage. In this study, we employed ma-chine learning on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to obtain spatial distribution images of TRAs from 1990 to 2020 using Landsat 5 (1990－2010) and Landsat 8 (2015－2020) remote sens-ing data. The GeoDa software platform was used for spatial autocorrelation analysis, revealing distinct spatial clustering patterns. Mixed linear and random forest models were constructed to identify the driving force factors behind TRA changes. The research findings reveal that TRAs were primarily concentrated in the upper and middle reaches of the YRB, encompassing provinc-es such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, Qinghai, and Gansu, with areas exceeding 40,000 km2, whereas other provinces had TRAs of less than 30,000 km2 in total. The TRAs exhibited a relatively stable trend, with provinces such as Gansu, Qinghai, and Shaanxi showing an overall upward trajectory. Conversely, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia demonstrated an overall declining trend. When com-pared with other provinces, the variations in TRAs in Ningxia, Shandong, Sichuan, and Henan appeared to be more stable. The linear mixed model (LMM) revealed that farmland, shrubs, and grassland had significant positive effects on the TRA, explaining 41.6% of the variance. The ran-dom forest model also indicated positive effects for these factors, with high R² values of 0.983 and 0.86 for the training and testing sets, respectively, thus outperforming the LMM. The findings of this study can contribute to the restoration of the YRB's ecosystem and support sustainable devel-opment. The insights gained will be valuable for policymaking and decision support in soil and water conservation, agricultural planning, and environmental protection in the region.

Anthropogenic development can strongly influence natural river processes, leading to environmental changes that negatively affect important habitats and biodiversity, and consequently reduce economically important natural resources. This study investigated the effects of salinity intrusion on the habitat of the clam Corbicula japonica in the Seomjin River estuarine zone. We employed the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) model, which incorporates topographic data and hydrological changes, to simulate salinity concentrations. Two salinity measurement facilities were installed in Seomjin River estuarine and operated to optimize the EFDC model. The results show that reduced flow rates due to intake have a negligible impact on the increased salinity. Maintaining optimal salinity (15–20 psu) during neap tides at the Seomjin River Bridge requires constant high flow rates, which poses significant challenges. Saltwater stratification is identified as the primary cause of pronounced salinity stratification, particularly during neap tides. Addressing this issue through river discharge and intake facility operation is challenging. Structural measures, including riverbed restoration and underwater barriers, are recommended to improve resistance to seawater intrusion. Future research should aim to develop scenarios to reduce salinity concentrations, quantify the reduction efficiency, and propose region-specific measures.

Digital music is one of the most important things in market due to the music royalties’ distribution in Korea. As the music market is transformed to the digital music market such as download the music and streaming, the distribution of music royalties starting from online service provider (OSP) has come to be a highly important part for music rights holders. One of the most important issues in current music royalties’ distribution in Korea is the unfair way of music royalties due to indiscriminative repeat streaming of digital music. To prevent this, music log usage data from several OSPs was collected in day-based system, however, there was a limit to identify detailed information on the use of music in current state. This paper analyzed the structural problems and limitations of settlement of music royalties, and provides a structure in which there can be transparent settlement and distribution between users and rights holders as one of the institutional measures. We’ll also propose various AI-based applications using music log usage data. The proposed system will hopefully be used for public purposes.

A regional modern river-sand geochemical mapping study in the majority of the Timor-Leste territory, including the research area, has not been previously reported. This study demonstrated the potential of modern river sand geochemical mapping as an effective method for lithological mapping, particularly in areas that face challenges in conducting efficient geological fieldwork and have limited geological information. A total of 53 modern river sand samples were collected and analyzed. Before examining the samples using wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence for ten major elements, the loss-on-ignition method was employed. In the Clerec drainage basin, SiO2, CaO, and K2O showed positive correlations, and CaO was positively correlated with MnO. Similarly, in the Sahe River catchment, a positive relationship was observed between CaO, MnO, and TiO2. These findings suggested the presence of quartz, manganese, secondary K-bearing minerals, and secondary Ti-bearing minerals in carbonate rocks that have undergone silicification and other alteration processes. The principal component analysis results corroborated the SiO2/Al2O3 and K2O/Na2O ratios and the ICV findings. PC1 was related to the variations in Ca-poor and Ca-rich rocks; PC2 indicated notable inputs from SiO2-rich and SiO2-poor rocks; and PC3 revealed the possibility of contributions from secondary mineral assemblages related to silicification and low-grade metamorphic processes.

This article aims to assess the benefits of floor-slab insulation measures using extruded polystyrene (XPS) and polyisocyanurate (polyiso) insulation materials at various levels of insulation thicknesses for a detached residential building. The EnergyPlus simulation analysis was carried out within the seven energy zones (represented by eight locations) of South Africa in accordance with the South African national code for building energy efficiency (SANS10400-XA). The energy savings and payback periods due to use of the insulation over a lifecycle period of 50 years were assessed. Cape Town (zone 4) behaved differently from other locations and hardly benefitted from the application of floor-slab insulation measures. Generally, polyiso insulation performed better than XPS, for vertical gap insulation. For vertical gap insulation, lower insulation thicknesses required higher insulation depths to maximize energy savings. Similarly, lower insulation thicknesses required higher perimeter insulation widths to maximize energy savings, for the horizontal perimeter insulation method. The locations that benefitted most from vertical gap floor-slab insulation were Pretoria (zone2), Kimberley (zone6), Nelspruit (zone3), Fraserburg (zone7), Welkom (zone1), Mthatha (zone5), Ixopo (zone5H) and Cape Town (zone4) in that order. This order was almost similar with those for the horizontal perimeter floor-slab insulation and horizontal full floor-slab insulation methods.

Studying hydro-meteorological factors variations and its links to large-scale atmospheric circulation systems can facilitate the understanding of the hydrological processes and sustainable water resources management in the source region of the Yangtze River (SRYR). Currently, researches mostly focused on the temporal and spatial variation characteristics in hydro-meteorological factors; however, researches on the hydro-meteorological variations and its links to large-scale atmospheric circulation systems in the SRYR are scarce. Based on long-term hydro-meteorological and reanalysis data, this research investigated multiscale variations of hydro-meteorological factors and its links to large-scale atmospheric circulation characteristic indices during 1957~2012 in the SRYR. The results showed that the amounts of streamflows and precipitation in the SRYR declined during the 1990s. Since the 2000s, the amounts of streamflows and precipitation had increased significantly climate in the SRYR. The change trends of precipitation and streamflows in the SRYR are synergetic at annual and seasonal scales, and have three significant periods, namely 3~5 years, 15–20 years and 30–40 years. The South Asia monsoon (SAM) plays a relatively more important role in the hydro-meteorological factors changes in the SRYR. The relative contributions of SAM to streamflows and precipitation changes were 83.6% and 78%, respectively. During the driest (wettest) year, the SAM is relatively weak (strong), and brings less (more) southwest airflow into the SRYR, less (more) precipitation and streamflows will be generated in the SRYR.

Brazil has a large availability of natural resources and its economy was historically built around their exploitation. Changes in climate trends are already causing several environmental impacts, which affect the economic and social organization of the country. Impacts linked to the hydrological cycle are particularly concerning since water resources are used for electricity production, representing approximately 65% of the Brazilian electricity matrix. This study, therefore, aims to evaluate the hydroclimatic extreme trends of river basins located in the Northeast and South regions of the country. For this purpose, we carried out a flow analysis from 2020 to 2100, considering the precipitation data from the BCC CSM1-1, CCSM4, MIROC5, and NorESM1-M models presented in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC. We used the SMAP rainfall-runoff model to obtain future flow projections for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. As a result, we observed a trend toward water loss and intensification of extreme events, with an increase in variability in both scenarios. We also noted that these climate models have difficulty reproducing the natural variability of southern basins, as the simplification of atmospheric phenomena parameterization prevents them from correctly projecting the precipitation.

A power conservative Thevenin-Norton and Norton-Thevenin transformations are proposed in this letter. The transformations introduce a voltage and a current generators for which parameters depend on the loading impedance value.

Yellow fever (YF) is a pansystemic disease caused by the yellow fever virus (YFV), the prototype species of the family Flaviviridae and genus Flavivirus, and has a highly complex host-pathogen relationship, in which endothelial dysfunction reflects viral disease tropism. In this study, the in situ endothelial response was evaluated. Liver tissue samples were collected from 21 YFV-positive patients who died due to the disease and five flavivirus-negative controls who died of other causes and whose hepatic parenchyma architecture was preserved. Immunohistochemical analysis of tissues in the hepatic parenchyma of YF cases showed significantly higher expression of E-selectin, P-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and very late antigen-4 in YFV-positive cases than in flavivirus-negative controls. These results indicate that endothelium activation aggravates the inflammatory response by inducing the expression of adhesion molecules that contribute to the rolling, recruitment, migration, and construction of the inflammatory process in the hepatic parenchyma in fatal YF cases.

Reliable and accurate flood prediction is a challenging task in poorly gauged basins due to data scarcity. Data is an essential component of any AI/ML model today, and the performance of such models hugely depends on the availability of sufficient amount of trusted, representative data. However, unlike a few well-studied rivers, most of the rivers in developing countries are still insufficiently monitored, which significantly hinges the design and development of advanced flood prediction models and early warning systems. This paper presents a multi-modal, sensor-based and near-real time river monitoring system to produce a multi-feature data set for the Kikuletwa river in Northern Tanzania, an area that heavily suffers from frequent floods. Our deployed system, which gather information about river depth levels and weather at several locations, aims at widening the ground truth of the river characteristics and eventually improve the accuracy of flood predictions. We provide details on the monitoring system used to gather the data as well as report on the methodology and the nature of the data. Finally, we present the relevance of the data set in the context of flood prediction, discussing the most suitable AI/ML-based forecasting approaches, while also highlighting some applications of the data set beyond flood warning systems.

Agricultural production needs technologies that assist the management of natural resources, for example, the collection of real-time data on soil, water, weather, crops, and biodiversity conditions. Sensor technology solutions and open-source software are appropriate for promoting more sustainable agricultural production. Among the advantages of using open-source technologies and software is its potential for extension, collaboration, customization, flexibility, maintenance cost, transparency, speed, and better security. Given the above, the objective of this research was to find, in different electronic databases, exclusively open-source software for precision agriculture, offering a systematic review, and addressing considerations and challenges. This survey considers up-to-date open-source software available in repositories such as GitHub and GitLab, to understand its characteristics and application formats.

We successfully created a composite photonic structure out of porous silicon (PSi) microcavities doped by the photochromic protein, photoactive yellow protein (PYP). Massive incorporation of the protein molecules into the pores was substantiated by a 30-nm shift of the resonance dip upon functionalization, and light-induced reflectance changes of the device due to the protein photocycle were recorded. Model calculations for the photonic properties of the device were consistent with earlier results on the nonlinear optical properties of the protein, whose degree of incorporation into the PSi structure was also estimated. The successful proof-of-concept results are discussed in light of possible practical applications in the future.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-born flavivirus which human infection became relevant dur-ing recent outbreaks in Latin America, due to its unrecognized association with fetal neurologi-cal disorders. Currently there are no approved effective antivirals or vaccines for treatment or prevention of ZIKV infections. Amantadine and rimantadine are approved antivirals used against susceptible influenza A virus infections, that have been shown to have antiviral activity against other viruses, such as dengue virus (DENV). Here, we report the in vitro effectiveness of both amantadine and rimantadine hydrochlorides against ZIKV replication, resulting in a dose-dependent reduction in viral titers of a ZIKV clinical isolate and two different ZIKV refer-ence strains. Additionally, we demonstrate similar in vitro antiviral activity of these drugs against DENV-1 and yellow fever virus (YFV), although at higher drug concentrations for the later. ZIKV replication was inhibited at drug concentrations well below cytotoxic levels of both compounds, as denoted by the high selectivity indexes obtained with the tested strains. Further work is absolutely needed to determine a potential clinical use of these antivirals against ZIKV infections, but our results suggest the existence of a highly conserved mechanism across fla-vivirus, susceptible to be blocked by modified more specific adamantane compounds.

As revealed by the recent resurgence of yellow fever virus (YFV) activity in the tropical regions of Africa and South America, YFV control measures need urgent rethinking. Over the last decade, most reported outbreaks occurred in, or eventually reached, areas of low vaccination coverage but suitable for virus transmission, with an unprecedented risk of expansion to densely populated territories in Africa, South America and Asia. As reflected in the World Health Organization’s initiative launched in 2017, it is high time to strengthen epidemiological surveillance to monitor accurately, viral dissemination and redefine vaccination recommendation areas. Vector-control and immunisation measures need to be adapted and vaccine manufacturing must be reconciled with an increasing demand. We will have to face more YF cases in the upcoming years hence, improving disease management through the development of efficient treatments will prove most beneficial. Undoubtedly, these developments will require in-depth descriptions of YFV biology at molecular, physiological and ecological levels. This second section of the two-part review describes the current state of knowledge and gaps regarding the molecular biology of YFV, along with an overview of the tools that can be used to manage the disease at the individual, local and global levels.

The recent resurgence of yellow fever virus (YFV) activity in the tropical regions of Africa and South America has sparked renewed interest in this infamous arboviral disease. YFV had been a human plague for centuries prior to the identification of its urban transmission vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito species, and the development of an efficient live-attenuated vaccine, the YF-17D strain. The combination of vector-control measures and vaccination campaigns drastically reduced YFV incidence in humans on many occasions, but the virus never ceased to circulate in the forest, through its sylvatic invertebrate vector(s) and vertebrate host(s). Outbreaks recently reported in Central Africa (2015-2016) and Brazil (since late 2016), reached considerable proportions in terms of spatial distribution and total numbers of cases, with multiple exports, including to China. In turn, questions regarding the likeliness of occurrence of large urban YFV outbreaks in the Americas or of a successful import of YFV to Asia are currently resurfacing. This two-part review describes the current state of knowledge and gaps regarding the molecular biology and transmission dynamics of YFV, along with an overview of the tools that can be used to manage the disease at the individual, local and global levels.

The estimation of ecological service system value of water resources in Tarim river basin is of great significance for resource allocation management and ecological protection. However, there is still no unified and complete evaluation method for ecological service system value of inland river in China. Based on the perspective of the whole value chain, the study classifies its ecological service functions, and divides 11 sub-categories into 4 categories (supply, regulation, culture and support) as evaluation indicators to carry out quantitative evaluation. The results showed that the total value of ecological service system in Tarim river basin in 2018 was 4156.5247×108 Yuan, and the value of regulating function, cultural function, supporting function and supply function were successively from high to low, which were as follows: 2565.6825×108 Yuan, 1009.5471×108 Yuan, 884.0770×108 Yuan, 20.3350×108 Yuan, among which the value of regulation function is dominant.

Numerical modelling is becoming a major tool for supporting environmental studies at different scales, thanks to the capability of up-to-date codes in reproducing the natural behaviour in a quite reliable manner. In evaluating the habitat diversity of anthropized rivers, however, many issues are rising because of the intrinsic complexity of the processes involved. Using a reach of the Po River in Italy as a case study, the present works aims to provide an estimate of the changes of the Eco-Environmental Diversity as a response to different constant flow discharges. The goals are achieved by means of two solvers of the iRIC suite, applied in sequence to firstly simulate the fluvial hydrodynamics and subsequently provide an estimate of the habitat conditions. Despite the simplifications intrinsically present in the models and the ones introduced for practical purposes, the results pointed out that the reduction of the flow discharge recently observed can threat the overall biological status of the river. Because of the modelling uncertainties, on the other side, these preliminary outcomes show the need for more research, both in terms of data acquisition and numerical schematization, for adequately evaluate the effects of transient hydrology on the river ecosystems. Moreover, additional field surveys are necessary to calibrate and validate the used model for having sufficiently reliable estimates.

Open-source devices are nowadays used in a vast number of research fields like medicine, education, agriculture, and sports among others. In this work, an open-source, portable, low cost pH logger, appropriate for in situ meas-urements was designed and developed to assist in experiments on agricultural produce manufacturing. Τhe device was calibrated manually using pH buffers for values of 4.01 and 7.01. Then it was tested by manually measuring pH from the juice of citrus fruits. A waterproof temperature sensor was added to the device for temperature compen-sation when measuring pH. A formal method comparison process between the open-source device and a Hanna HI9024 Waterproof pH Meter was designed to assess their agreement. We derived indices of agreement and graph-ical assessment tools using mixed-effects models. Advantages and disadvantages for interpreting agreement through the proposed procedure are discussed. In our illustration, indices reported mediocre agreement and the subsequent similarity analysis revealed a fixed bias of 0.22 pH units. After recalibration, agreement between the devices im-proved to excellent levels. The process can be followed in general to avoid misleading or over-simplistic results of studies reporting solely correlation coefficients for formal comparison purposes.

A new disease causing the tan to light brown blighted stems and pods has occurred in 2.6% pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants with an average disease severity rating of 3.7 in Chapainawabganj district, Bangladesh. A fungus with white appressed mycelia and large sclerotia was consistently isolated from symptomatic tissues. The fungus formed funnel-shaped apothecia with sac-like ascus and endogenously formed ascospores. Healthy pea plants inoculated with the fungus produced typical white mold symptoms. The internal transcribed spacer sequences of the fungus were 100% similar to that recovered from an epitype of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, considering the fungus to be the causative agent of white mold. Mycelial growth and sclerotial development of S. sclerotiorum were favored at 20°C and pH 5.0. Glucose was the best carbon sources to support hyphal growth and sclerotia formation. Bavistin and Amistar Top inhibited the radial growth of the fungus completely at the lowest concentration. In planta, foliar application of Amistar Top showed the considerable potential to control the disease at 1.0% concentration until 7 days after spraying, while Bavistin prevented infection significantly until 15 days after spraying. A large majority (70.93%) of genotypes including tested released pea cultivars were susceptible, while six genotypes (6.98%) appeared resistant to the disease. These results could be important for management strategies aiming to control the incidence of S. Sclerotinia and eliminate yield loss in pea.

The Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin (VG-TB) is confronting numerous challenges related to water security (WS), particularly in the face of the impacts of climate change. These challenges manifest in salinity intrusion, altered rainfall patterns, and reduced water supply in downstream areas. To assess the current state of water security in the basin, the study employed statistical analysis methods, Process Analysis Method (PAM), SMART, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a comprehensive Assessment Framework for Water Security (AFWS) in the VG-TB. The AFWS encompasses five key dimensions, 17 indicators, and 28 variables, aligning with the UN-Water definition of water security and addressing the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) criteria for global water sustainability. It also adheres to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approach to water security assessment as outlined in the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) reports. This allows for the computation of a comprehensive Water Security Index (WSI) for specific regions, serving as a foundation for decision-making and policy formulation aimed at enhancing water security in the context of climate change and facilitating sustainable basin development in the future.

(1) Background: There is a risk of Aflatoxin B1(AFB1) pollution in yellow rice wine[1],threatening human life and health, the risk is a major focus of government attention and social concern.The current detection technology cannot meet the needs of large-scale testing due to the disadvantages of high false positive, cumbersome operating procedures or high cost.Therefore, it is urgent to study and establish a high-sensitivity and high-fast detection method for AFB1 to provide technical support for yellow rice wine quality supervision and risk assessment.; (2) Methods: In this study, three-factor and three-level orthogonal experiments were carried out for oscillation time, reaction temperature and tomography time to determine the best reaction conditions for pretreatment.AFB1 detection was carried out by aflatoxin time-resolved fluorescence immunochromatography technology，Through the ratio of the T signal value of the detection line to the C signal value of the quality control line and the natural logarithmic value of the standard solution concentration[2], a rapid detection technology of time-resolution fluorescence immunochromatography is established.The technology was methodically assessed, the actual yellow rice wine samples were tested, and the results were compared with the HPLC method; (3) Results: The results show that the optimal reaction conditions for pretreatment are: the sample oscillation time is 20min, the sample reaction temperature is 37°C, and the sample chromatography time is 6min. In the actual sample detection of yellow rice wine, The time-resolved fluorescence immunochromatography detection technology established in this study detects AFB1. The detection limit is 0.3 μg·kg-1,The linear range is 0.8-12.0μg·kg-1,The linear equation of the corresponding standard curve y=-0.1913x+0.5206 (R2=0.9948),The standard deviation is 0.029.The results of the in-batch accuracy and precision of this method show that the addition and recovery rate is 77.9% - 105.7%,The coefficient of variation is in 4.5% - 10.3%; Inter-batch accuracy and precision test results show that the addition recovery rate is75.9% - 85.8%,the coefficient of variation is in 8.1% - 13.9%,explain that the detection technology has good accuracy and precision.Compared with HPLC, the relative error is less than 10%,It shows that aflatoxin time-resolution fluorescence immunochromatography technology is in good agreement with the test results of national standard methods; (4) Conclusions:he rapid detection technology of time-resolution fluorescence immunochromatography of AFB1 in yellow rice wine is easy to operate with fast detection speed, high sensitivity, good repeatability and stability, and has broad application prospects.

Yellow fever is an emerging and re-emerging viral disease transmitted through the bites of infective Aedes mosquitoes. Several outbreaks of yellow fever have been documented in southern Ethiopia.Understanding the transmission cycle is pivotal to manage arboviral disease outbreaks. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate which species of Aedes mosquitoes contribute to the YF virus transmission and the outbreaks that have occurred, and their behaviors (biting and resting) in the region. Two districts were selected based on previous Yellow Fever (YF) outbreak history. A longitudinal entomological sampling was carried out to collect adult Aedes mosquitoes using human landing catches, mechanical mouth aspirators and pyrethrum spreadsheet collection. Adult mosquito collections were conducted twice a month for six months from February 2019 to July 2020. Identification of mosquito species at the genus level was done using morphological keys and speciation using molecular techniques on 406 Aedes due to limited laboratory resources (primers and probe, reagents shortage) and budget limits. Aedes mosquitoes were pooled and tested for YFV, dengue virus (DENV, serotype 1-4) and chikungunya virus (CHKV) by qPCR. A total of 1689 mosquitoes 93.7% (1582/1689) of Aedes and 6.3% (107/1689) of Culex were collected. Of the total collected mosquitoes, 58.7% (991/1689) were from Ofa study sites whereas the left 41.3% (698/1689) were from Boko Dawula. 93.5% (1579/1689) of Aedes complex were collected during wet season. Most of the mosquitoes were collected during the wet season 97.9% (1653/1689). Of the 1582 Aedes simpsoni complex, 57.7% (913/1582) were from Ofa district and the remaining 42.3% (669/1582) were from Boko Dawula district. Of the 406 Aedes mosquitoes molecularly characterized to the species level, the Aedes simpsoni complex accounted for 99.5% (404/406), while Aedes aegypti found in the Ofa district accounted for only 0.5% (2/ 406). From the 934 Aedes simpsoni tested for viruses and none were positive. The human biting activities of Aedes (Ae.) simpsoni peaked at 8:00 – 9:00 hour and 16:00 – 17:00 hour, mostly outdoors, both within the villages and forests. The leaves of Ensete (E.) ventricosum appear to be ideal resting places for Aedes (Ae.) simpsoni complex. Although the tested Ae. simpsoni complex was negative for arboviruses; morning and afternoon activities of the species coincide with human outdoor activities and may therefore pose the risk of viral infection. The lower dominance of Aedes aegypti indicated that the major responsible vector for the occurrences of previous and current arboviral diseases was due to other mentioned Aedes species. It is of great importance to improve surveillance activities of arboviruses in reservoir hosts and vectors to establish control measures. Furthermore, the origin of bloodmeal and the mosquito’s role in the transmission of arboviral diseases need further study to improve the understanding of this species.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that originated in Africa but emerged in Latin America in 2015. In this region, other flaviviruses such as Dengue (DENV), West Nile, and Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) also circulate, allowing for possible antigenic cross-reactivity to impact viral infections and immune responses. Studies have found antibody mediated enhancement between DENV and ZIKV, but the impact of YFV antibodies on ZIKV infection has not been fully explored. ZIKV infections cause congenital syndromes, such as microcephaly, necessitating further research into ZIKV vertical transmission through the placental barrier. Recent advancements in biomedical engineering have generated co-culture methods that allow for in vitro recapitulation of the maternal: fetal interface. This study utilized a transwell assay, which is a co-culture model utilizing human placental syncytiotrophoblasts, fetal umbilical cells, and a differentiating embryoid body to replicate the maternal: fetal axis. To determine if cross reactive YFV vaccine antibodies impact the pathogenesis of ZIKV across the maternal fetal axis, maternal syncytiotrophoblasts were inoculated with ZIKV or ZIKV incubated with YFV vaccine anti-sera, and viral load was measured 72 hours post inoculation. The data show that the impact of YFV on ZIKV replication is cell line dependent. In differentiating embryoids, the presence of YFV antibodies enhanced ZIKV infection. Since viral pathogenesis, and the impact of antigenic cross-reactive antibodies, is cell line specific at the maternal-fetal axis, this suggests there may be discreet mechanisms that impact congenital ZIKV infections.

Here we report recent evidence of the presence of Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) in the Mercure-Lao River valley, an area of great ecological interest situated in South Italy for which the last otter reports referred to spraints collected in 2002. This work contains information and a selection of photographs of otter footprints and spraints found from October 2005 to January 2019, and photographs of both a cub and an adult otter from the Mercure-Lao River area.

In this study, a new methodology based on the circuit approach is employed to obtain renewable electric energy. Although a voltage source and a current source generate voltage and current, respectively, they work only when they receive electric power, which is the product of voltage and current. However, this paper proposes a circuit with a voltage source, a current source and a super-condenser connected in series, in which the voltage source provides voltage for the current source and the current source provides current for the voltage source. Resultantly, electric power is generated both at the voltage and current sources, and the energy (i.e., the electric power) from the current source is converted to the charging energy in the super-condenser. Herein, we describe the method for charging the super-condenser using a voltage source and a current source. To confirm the abovementioned concept, we conducted experiments, and the energy was successfully produced, with high reproducibility. Finally, the brief mechanism for the energy conversion, a schematic method for reducing the capacitances of stored batteries, and the significance of this study are described.

This paper addresses the issue of the automatic identification of river reaches and their planform type, given the (observed) set of geomorphic elements and units. It introduces further advances with respect to the original proposal by Nardini and Brierley. And it explores explicitly the ability of the algorithm and associated tools to work properly on significantly different rivers while adopting a given same parametrization. This was indeed an envisaged ability speculated as a challenging conclusion of the previous work. The Duqueco, Laja and Biobío rivers (Chile) are analyzed for this purpose. The conclusion is definitely positive, what opens future promising application horizons.

This study focused on evaluating the potential of natural fermentation of pea flour (F) to improve the release of antioxidant compounds. Two fermentation conditions of F were performed: 1: 36.4% w/w, 24 h, 30°C (FF1); 2: 14.3% w/w, 24 h, 37°C (FF2); pH values decreased to 4.4-4.7, with a predominance of lactic acid bacteria. An increment of the proteolysis degree (TNBS method) (greater for FF2), polypeptides aggregation and decrease of solubility, increase of &lt; 2 kDa peptides, and increase in the ORAC potency of PBS-soluble fractions after fermentation was demonstrated. After simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGID, COST-INFOGEST), FF1D and FF2D showed greater proteolysis degrees (63 and 53%) than F1D and F2D (45%), with differences in the molecular composition of the different digests. ORAC and HORAC potencies increased in all cases. FF2D presented the greater ORAC value, with higher activities for &gt; 4 kDa, some in the range 2 to 0.3 kDa. and &lt; 0.10 kDa fractions. Fermentation also increased the 60 % ethanol extracted phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids, and the ORAC activity. After SGID, the flavan-3-ols disappeared but some phenolic acids increased respect to F. Fermentation in condition 2 was considered the most appropriate to obtain a functional antioxidant ingredient.

Canistel (Pouteria campechiana (Kunth) Baehni) (yellow sapote, canistel). Originally from Mexico, the fruit is edible, and the tree is used as an ornamental and medicinal plant. Descriptive studies were carried out with the objective of morphologically characterizing the fruits and leaves of trees located in different regions of Mexico to select outstanding specimens and propose their massive reproduction. The trees were selected in three zones. In zone 2 from flower anthesis to harvest 11 months, fruits with 3 seeds, greater weight (180 to 330 g) and quantity of pulp (198.88 g), subglobose shape, total soluble solids 33 %. The fruits of zone 1 at harvest 8 months and zone 3 took 9 months to be harvested, in the rest of the characteristics evaluated were exceeded by the fruits of zone 2. To characterize the canistel (P. campechiana) leaf and identify accessions or cultivars, the three main variables, according to the principal component analysis were: leaf area, perimeter, and minor diameter. The three zones where canistel fruits and leaves were characterized are important and can be recommended for propagation in zones with favorable climatic conditions for fruiting in tropical and subtropical regions of Mexico.

The gut microbiota plays an important role in the physiological activities of the host and affects the formation of important economic traits in agricultural animals. We investigated the effects of cecal microbiota on chicken weights using the Guizhou yellow chicken as a model. We collected experimental cohorts from chickens with high (HC, n=16) and low body weights (LC, n=16) and integrated microbial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and non-targeted serum metabolome data to explore the effect and its metabolic mechanism of cecal microbiota on market weight. The genera Lachnoclostridium, Alistipes, Negativibacillus, Sellimonas and Ruminococcus torques group were enriched in the HC group while Phascolarctobacterium was enriched in the LC group (P<0.05). Metabolomic analysis determined that pantothenic acid, luvangetin (2H-1-benzopyran-6-acrylic acid) and menadione (vitamin K) were significantly higher in HC serum while beclomethasone dipropionate (a glucocorticoid) and chlorophene (2-benzyl-4-chlorophenol) were present at higher levels in the LC group. The microbes enriched in HC that were significantly positively correlated with metabolites including pantothenic acid and menadione and negatively correlated with beclomethasone dipropionate and chlorophene. These results indicated that specific cecal bacteria in Guizhou yellow chickens alter the host metabolism and growth performance. This study provides a reference for revealing the mechanism of cecal microbe actions that affect chicken body weight.

After eight decades, the largest outbreak of sylvatic yellow fever virus (YFV) was recorded in Brazil between 2016-2018. Besides human and NHP surveillance, the entomo-virological approach is considered as a complementary tool. For this study, a total of 2904 mosquitoes of Aedes, Haemagogus and Sabethes genera from six Brazilian states (Bahia, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, and Tocantins), were collected and grouped in 246 pools, which were tested for YFV using RT-qPCR. We detected 20 positive pools from Minas Gerais, 5 from Goiás, and 1 from Bahia, including 12 of Hg. janthinomys and 5 of Ae. albopictus. This is the first description of natural YFV infection in this species and warns of the likelihood of urban YFV re-emergence with the Ae. albopictus as a potential bridge vector. Three YFV sequences from Hg. janthinomys from Goiás and one from Minas Gerais, as well as one from Ae. albopictus from Minas Gerais clustered within the 2016-2018 outbreak clade, indicating YFV spread from Midwest and its infection in a main and in a likely-novel bridging vector species. Entomo-virological surveillance is critical in the YFV monitoring in Brazil, which could highlight the need to strengthen YFV surveillance, vaccination coverage, and vector control measures.

Chickens have extensive phenotypic variation. The Wuhua yellow chicken (WHYC) is an important traditional yellow-feathered chicken in China, characterized by white tail feathers, white flight feathers, and strong disease resistance. However, the genomic basis of traits associated with WHYC is still poorly understood. In this study, whole genome resequencing was performed with an average coverage of 20.77-fold to investigate heritable variation and identify selection signals in WHYC. Reads were mapped onto the chicken reference genome (Galgal5) with a coverage of 85.95%. After quality control, 11,953,471 SNPs and 1,069,574 InDels were obtained. In addition, 41,408 structural variants and 33,278 copy number variants were found. A comparative genomic analysis of WHYC and other yellow-feathered chicken showed that selected regions were enriched in genes involved in transport and catabolism, immune system, infectious diseases, signal transduction, and signaling molecules and interaction. Several genes associated with disease resistance were identified, including IFNA, IFNB, CD86, IL18, IL11RA, VEGFC, and ATG10. Furthermore, PMEL and TYRP1 may contribute to the coloring of white feathers in WHYC. These findings improve our understanding of the genetic characteristics of WHYC and may contribute to future breed improvement.

Underwater acoustic spiral sources are able to generate spiral acoustic fields where the phase depends on the bearing angle. It allows to estimate the bearing angle relatively to a receiver by subtracting the phases of a spiral and a circular wavefront, and finds application in the bearing angle estimate with a single hydrophone, e.g., for unmanned underwater vehicles localization. This paper presents a new prototype for a spiral acoustic source, which is able to generate the required wavefronts, and is composed of four monopoles in the same piezoceramic cylinder. This paper reports the prototyping and the acoustic tests performed in a water tank where the spiral source was characterized in terms o Transmitting Voltage Response, phase, and horizontal and vertical directivity patterns. A receiving calibration method for the spiral source is proposed and shows a maximum angle error of 1 degree when the calibration and the operation are carried under the same conditions and a mean angle error up to 6 degrees for frequencies above 25 kHz when the same conditions are not fulfilled.

To improve the voltage gain of step-up converters, cascaded technique is considered as a possible solution in this paper. By considering the concept of cascading two Z-source networks in a conventional boost converter, the converter takes the advantages of both impedance source and cascaded converters. However, by applying some modifications, the proposed converter provides high voltage gain while the voltage stress of switch and diodes are still low. Moreover, the low input current ripple of the converter makes it absolutely appropriate for photovoltaic applications in order to expand the lifetime of PV panels. After analyzing the operation principles of the proposed converter, simulation and experimental results of a 100W prototype are presented to verify the proposed converter performance.

Dams have made great contributions to human society, facilitating flood control, power generation, shipping, agriculture and industry. However, the construction of dams greatly impacts downstream ecological environments and nearby marine areas. To summarize these impacts, this review used recent research to comprehensively analyze how dam construction has affected river hydrology, geomorphology, and ecosystem of downstream reaches globally. Effects of dams on ecosystems occur through reduced river flow, reduced sediment flux, altered water temperature, changed estuary delta, altered composition and distribution of nutrients, altered structure and distribution of phytoplankton populations, caused habitat fragmentation, and blocked migration routes in river sections and adjacent seas. Besides, exploring new reservoir management strategies (including targeted control of dam storage and flushing sediment operations), banning fishing activities, and removing unnecessary dams (obsolete or small dams) are becoming crucial tools for ecosystem restoration.

In the late Pleistocene, a prehistoric hippo species was distributed from Africa to the Asia including Pakistan, India, and Java island. This study aims to model habitat suitability of Asian hippo known as a Hippopotamus sivalensis spp. in east Java. The measured parameters included the fossil locality, vegetation cover, elevation, and distance to the river in a forest river basin sizing 6652 Ha. Those parameters using GIS were weighted, overlaid, and interpolated to determine the most suitable habitats. The model projected that the suitable habitats of H. sivalensis spp. were in the central of the basin near the river. The largest suitable habitats were located in the eastern parts of basin which were dominated by forests

The study presented here, through the use of GIS and physical variables, generate a new meth-odology for the calculation of erosivity (Factor R) for the qualitative evaluation of soil loss po-tential (laminar erosion) in the Northwest margin of the municipality of São Francisco, mostly located in the Pardo-MG river basin. The results obtained were statistically correct when com-pared to the traditional R calculation and the laminar erosion methodology. It is worth noting that the new proposal presented here indicated sites of qualitative loss of soil in the same places where there are closed-loop satellite signals of degraded Cerrado, something not identified in the traditional model. As conclusion it can be said that the obtained results were extremely sat-isfactory, being advised more studies to verify this new method proposed here in more places beyond the study area elaborated here

This study posits that for appropriately explaining the complex charland (mid-channel island) processes and formulating policy and planning measures, a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic characteristics of the geomorphological, ecological, and human systems holistically is essential. This is also valid for the territorial and maritime areas of Bangladesh. The objectives of this study are: (i) to analyze the salient features and characteristics of the geomorphological and riparian systems of the Bengal Delta; (ii) to analyze the evolutionary discourse of the legal systems concerning eroded (diluvion) and accreted (alluvion) land in Bangladesh; and (iii) to assess characteristics of coping and adaptation strategies of the charland inhabitants. The findings reveal that the delta-building processes, characterized by the dynamic shifts of river channels, and erosion and accretion of charlands have made the land and water systems of the territory very dynamic and unstable – resulting in consistent displacement of settlers and serious deterioration of their socioeconomic status. The historical evolution of land laws and regulations concerning the accreted land favoured vested interests. As no effective institutional framework and structure presently exists in Bangladesh for resettlement planning, formulation of a comprehensive national resettlement policy is therefore urgently needed.

Exploiting the linguistic knowledge of the source language for neural machine translation (NMT) has recently achieved impressive performance on many large-scale language pairs. However, since the Turkish→English machine translation task is low-resource and the source-side Turkish is morphologically-rich, there are limited resources of bilingual corpora and linguistic information available to further improve the NMT performance. Focusing on the above issues, we propose a multi-source NMT approach that models the word feature in parallel to external linguistic features by using two separate encoders to explicitly incorporate linguistic knowledge into the NMT model. We extend the word embedding layer of the knowledge-based encoder to accommodate for each word’s linguistic annotations in the context. Moreover, we share all parameters across encoders to enhance the representation ability of the NMT model on the source language. Experimental results show that our proposed approach achieves substantial improvements of up to 2.4 and 1.1 BLEU scores in Turkish→English and English→Turkish machine translation tasks, respectively, which points to a promising way to utilize the source-side linguistic knowledge for the low-resource NMT.

In this study, various diamine monomers were used to synthesize aramid polymer films via a low-temperature solution condensation reaction with diacid chloride. For diamines with relatively high basicity, the reaction system became opaque because amine salt formation inhibited polymer synthesis. Meanwhile, low-basicity diamines with strong electron-withdrawing groups, such as CF3 and sulfone, were smoothly polymerized without amine salt formation to provide highly viscous solutions. The acid byproduct HCl generated during polymerization was removed by adding propylene oxide to the reaction vessel and converting the acid into highly volatile inert substances. The resulting solutions were used as varnishes without any additional purification, and polymer films with an excellent appearance were easily obtained through a conventional casting and convection drying process. The films neither tore nor broke when pulled or bent by hand; furthermore, even when heated up to 400°C, they did not decompose or melt. Moreover, polymers prepared from 2,2-bis (trifluoromethyl) benzidine (TFMB) and bis (4-aminophenyl) sulfone (pAPS) did not exhibit glass transition until decomposition. The prepared polymer films showed a high elastic modulus of more than 4.1 GPa and a high tensile strength of more than 52 MPa. In particular, TFMB-, pAPS-, and 2,2-bis (4-aminophenyl) hexafluoropropane-based polymer films were colorless and transparent, with very high light transmittances of 95%, 96%, and 91%, respectively, at 420 nm and low yellow indexes of 2.4, 1.9, and 4.3, respectively.

Zephyranthes citrina Baker is a bulbous herb, commonly known as yellow rain lily belongs to the family Amaryllidaceae. It is a native of tropical and subtropical America but nowadays it is cultivated as a popular ornamental herb in several parts of the world including India. This herb represents one of the richest sources of phytochemicals, especially alkaloids and possesses great potential for pharmaceutical applications. It shows remarkable antiprotozoal, antimicrobial, anti-Alzheimer, cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and dye removal activities. This review is an effort to give a detailed study of the literature on the biological activities of Zephyranthes citrina. This review concludes that Zephyranthes citrina has a great potential to treat various diseases and could be used as a source for novel healthcare products in the near future, which requires further experimentation.

The common dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a nutrient dense food produced globally as a major pulse crop for direct human consumption, and is an important source of protein and micronutrients for hundreds of millions of people across Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. Beans require large amounts of heat energy and time to cook, deterring consumers worldwide from purchasing beans. In regions where consumers rely on expensive fuelwood for food preparation, the yellow bean is often marketed as fast cooking. A Yellow Bean Panel (YBP) was assembled to explore the cooking time and health benefits of the five major seed types within the yellow bean market class (Amarillo, Canary, Manteca, Mayocoba, Njano) over two field seasons. This study shows how the Manteca yellow bean possess a fast cooking phenotype, which could serve a genetic resource for introducing fast cooking properties into a new generation of dry beans with cooking times < 20 minutes when pre-soaked and < 80 minutes unsoaked. Nutritional evaluation revealed fast cooking yellow beans have high iron retention (>80%) after boiling. An in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture bioassay revealed a strong negative association between cooking time and iron bioavailability in the YBP (r values > -0.73). When either pre-soaked or left unsoaked the highest iron bioavailability scores were measured in the fast cooking Manteca genotypes providing evidence that this yellow market class is worthy of germplasm enhancement through the added benefit of improved iron quality after cooking.

In this study we sought to investigate the impact of urbanization, presence of concrete river bottom, and nutrient pollution on microbial communities along the L.A. River. Six molecular markers were evaluated for identification of bacteria, plants, fungi, fish, and invertebrates in 90 samples. PCA (principal components analysis) was used with PAM (partitioning around medoids) clustering to reveal community structure and an NB (Negative binomial) model in DESeq2 was used for differential abundance analysis. PCA and factor analysis exposed the main axes of variation but were sensitive to outliers. Differential abundance of Proteobacteria was associated with soft bottom sites, and there was an apparent balance in the abundance of organisms responsible for nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen cycling was explained by differential abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea, the complete ammonia oxidizers Nitrospira sp., nitrate reducing bacteria Marmoricola sp., and nitrogen fixing bacteria Devosia sp. which were differentially abundant at soft-bottom sites (p adj &lt; 0.002). In contrast, differential abundance of several Cyanobacteria and other anoxygenic phototrophs was associated with the concrete bottom sites, which suggested the accumulation of excess nitrogen. The soft bottom sites tended to be represented by differential abundance of aerobes, whereas the concrete-associated species tended to be alkaliphilic, saliniphilic, calciphilic, sulfate dependent, and anaerobic. In Glendale Narrows, downstream from multiple water reclamation plants, there were differential abundance of cyanobacteria and algae, however indicator species for low nutrient environments and ammonia-abundance were also present. There was differential abundance of ascomycetes associated with Arroyo Seco and a differential abundance of Scenedesmaceae green algae and cyanobacteria in Maywood, in the analysis which compared suburban with urban river communities. The proportion of Ascomycota to Basidiomycota within the LA River differed from the expected proportion based on published worldwide freshwater and river 18S data; the shift in community structure was most likely associated with the extremes of urbanization. This study indicates that extreme urbanization can result in overrepresentation of cyanobacterial species that could cause reductions in water quality and safety.

Advancements in Machine Learning techniques, availability of more data-sets, and increased computing power have enabled a significant growth in a number research areas. Predicting, detecting and classifying complex events in earth systems which by nature are difficult to model is one of such areas. In this work, we investigate the application of different machine learning techniques for detecting and identifying extreme rainfall events in a sub-catchment within Pangani River Basin, found in Northern Tanzania. Identification and prediction of extreme rainfall event is a preliminary crucial task towards success in predicting rainfall-induced river floods. To identify a rain condition in the selected sub-catchment, we use data from five weather stations which have been labeled for the whole sub-catchment. In order to assess which Machine Learning technique suits better for rainfall identification, we apply five different algorithms in a historical dataset for the period of 1979 to 2014. We evaluate the performance of the models in terms of precision and recall, reporting Random Forest and XGBoost as the ones with best overall performance. However, since the class distribution is imbalanced, the generic Multi-layer Perceptron performs best when identifying the heavy rainfall events, which are eventually the main cause of rainfall-induced river floods in the Pangani River Basin

Based on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork in marginal, low-income, Belenino river communities located in Iquitos, a fluvial city in the Amazon basin. By using ethnographic methods and semi-structured interviews, this article traces how risk is associated with life in Belenino communities and how the identity of Beleninos and the river at the heart of a resettlement project are politically constructed rather than empirically constructed. In this case study of resettlement, understandings of risk and development by Belenino river communities and the government both conflicted and overlapped, I identified three elements that help to shape the concept of risk in both groups that highlight the disjunctive meanings provided by culture and demonstrate the complexity of the analysis of both populations. Finally, by putting the state’s weak presence after a developmental project failure under ethnographic approximation, the article reveals an imbalance in validity and power in terms of the perspectives of the river and Belen.

Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) causes significant economic losses in tomato crops worldwide. Since its first detection infecting tomato in 1999, aggressive PepMV variants have emerged. This study aimed to characterize two aggressive PepMV isolates, PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2. Both isolates were identified in South-Eastern Spain infecting tomato plants, which showed severe symptoms, including bright yellow mosaics. Full-length infectious clones were generated, and phylogenetic relationships were inferred using their nucleotide sequences and another 35 full-length sequences from isolates representing the five PepMV known strains. Our analysis revealed that PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2 belong to the EU and CH2 strains, respectively. Amino acid sequence comparisons between these and mild isolates identified 8 and 15 amino acid substitutions for PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2, respectively, potentially involved in severe symptom induction. None of the substitutions identified in PepMV-H30 had previously been described as symptom determinant. The E236K substitution, originally present in the PepMV-H30 CP, was introduced into a mild PepMV-EU isolate, resulting in a virus that causes symptoms similar to those induced by the parental PepMV-H30. In silico analyses revealed that this residue is located at the C-terminus of the CP and is solvent-accessible, suggesting its potential involvement in CP-host proteins interactions. We also examined the subcellular localization of PepGFPm2E236K in comparison to that of PepGFPm2, focusing on chloroplast affection, but no differences were observed in the GFP subcellular distribution between the two viruses. Due to the easily visible symptoms that PepMV-H30 and PepMV-KLP2 induce, these isolates represent valuable tools in programs destined to breeding resistance to PepMV in tomato.

The Yellow-legged Hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) (YLH) is an invasive insect that arrived in Europe in 2004 and is now spread across nine countries. It is a threat to the native entomofauna and harmful to beekeeping and agriculture, as it is a ravenous predator of the European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) and other pollinating species. Its expansion has been unstoppable and all resources are needed to fight against it, including native vertebrate predators. Among these, the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) (EBE) is a potential one, but little is known about its predation on YLH. In a study carried out in Portugal, remains of YHL were detected in EBE nesting sites, which to the best of our knowledge is the first such report. This means that this bird could be one more agent in the biological control of this pest (although research on predation intensity is still needed), in conjunction with other natural predators and other strategies. In the Iberian Peninsula both species are allopatric in vast regions, so the role of EBE may be more limited. However, in the rest of Europe, at a country or continent scale, the scenario may be different and sympatry may occur to a greater extent.

This research intended to report amine-functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) prepared by a simple method for efficient and rapid removal of Reactive Yellow 2 (RY2) from water. EDS analysis showed that the N content increased from 0 to 2.42% and from 2.42 to 8.66% after modification by APTES and PEI, respectively. BET analysis displayed that the specific surface area, average pore size, and total pore volume were reduced from 405.22 to 176.16 m2/g, 39.67 to 6.30 nm, and 4.02 to 0.28 cm3/g, respectively. These results proved that the PEI/APTES-MWCNTs were successfully prepared. pH edge experiment indicated that pH 2 was optimal for RY2 removal. At pH 2 and 25 °C, the time required for adsorption equilibrium was 10, 15, and 180 min at initial concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 mg/L, respectively; and the maximum RY2 uptake calculated by the Langmuir model was 714.29 mg/g. Thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. 0-0.1 mol/L of NaCl showed negligible effect on RY2 removal by PEI/APTES-MWCNTs. Five adsorption/desorption cycles confirmed the good reusability of PEI/APTES-MWCNTs in RY2 removal. Overall, the PEI/APTES-MWCNTs are a potential and efficient adsorbent for reactive dye wastewater treatment.

Reciprocal Personal/Public Protection (RPPP) featured with source control is introduced, Mask Discriminating Mouth and Nose (MDMN) is employed to serve the purpose, which includes polymer based mouth cover with optional nose cover. The new knowledge that mouth is a primary, active and dominant source of the virus has been well established, which is the base of MDMN. Source classification and related source control tools are discussed, mouth cover is recommended as the tool prioritized to use. Liquid droplets is identified as a hard issue related to mask, liquid droplets, mask fitting, comfort and facial recognition constitute real challenges of mask in addition to efficiency, All of these have been addressed with MDMN. Comparisons between MDMN and masks/face covering are taken on four aspects: efficiency and efficacy, tolerance and comfort, cost and waste, and civil rights and public interest. Mouth cover is recommended to replace the face covering and act as both a personal tool and a public utensil, mouth cover with nose cover can provide better protection than N95 etc. RPPP with MDMN, could be an alternative for lockdown, a parallel strategy to vaccine, and a collectively living way during the pandemic era. MDMN, featured with high efficiency protection, high degree comfort, easy wearing, tight-fitting, easy facial recognition & communication, reusability, cost-effective, environment friendly and scale manufacturing more readily and widely etc., is a simple and sustainable solution, which is essential for ordinary people to keep wearing it properly for protection.

To stabilize the Earth’s climate a large-scale transition is needed to non-carbon emitting renewable energy technologies like wind and solar energy. Although these renewable energy sources are now lower-cost than fossil fuels, their inherent intermittency make them unable to supply a constant load without storage. To address these challenges rechargeable electric batteries are currently the most promising option; however, their high capital costs limit current deployment velocities. To both reduce the cost as well as improve performance 3D printing technology has emerged as a promising solution. This literature review provides the state-of-the-art enhancements of battery properties with 3D printing including efficiency, mechanical stability, energy and power density, customizability and sizing, production process efficiency, material conservation and environmental sustainability as well as the progress in solid-state batteries. The principles, advantages, limitations, and recent advancements associated with the most common types of 3D printing are reviewed focusing on their contributions to the battery field. 3D printing batteries offer design flexibility, material flexibility, reduces pack weight, minimizes material waste, increases the range of applications and has the potential to reduce costs. As 3D printing technologies become more accessible, the prospect of cost-effective production for customized batteries is extremely promising.

This study investigates the mean annual water temperature trends at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers, along with air temperature trends at the Belgrade meteorological station, spanning from 1956 to 2020. Results reveal a consistent increase in temperature across all three measuring stations, with the Danube experiencing a rise of 0.34°C/10 years, the Sava at 0.44°C/10 years, and Belgrade's air temperature increasing by 0.39°C/10 years. Employing the RAPS method, sharp rises in water temperature were pinpointed in 1989 for the Sava and 1990 for the Danube, while Belgrade's air temperature surge began in 1998. The highest intensity of air temperature increase within the recent period (1998-2020) was observed at the Belgrade observatory, reaching 0.76°C/10 years. Notably, the Sava exhibited a faster increase in water temperature over the last thirty years compared to the Danube. August marked the peak average water temperature for both rivers, while July recorded the highest average air temperature in Belgrade. Despite differing flow rates, both rivers exhibit similar hydrological regimes, with maximum flows occurring in April and minimum flows in August for the Sava, and October for the Danube. Seasonal temperature increases were most pronounced in summer, notably in August, with the smallest rises occurring during cold periods. Additionally, an inverse proportional relationship between mean annual water temperatures and discharges was observed at both river stations.

The linkage between the salt wedge, tidal patterns, and the Magdalena River discharge is established by assessing the ensuing parameters: stratification (ϵ), buoyancy frequency (β), potential energy anomaly (φ), Richardson number (RL), and bottom turbulent energy production (P). The salinity, temperature, density, and water velocity data utilized were derived from MOHID 3D, a previously tailored and validated model for the Magdalena River Estuary. To grasp the dynamics of the river, a flow regime analysis was conducted during both wet and dry climatic seasons of the Colombian Caribbean. The utilization of this model aimed to delineate the estuary's spatial reach, considering flow rates spanning from 2000 to 6500 m³/s across two tidal cycles. This approach facilitates the prediction of the position, stability, and stratification degree of the salt front. Among the conclusions drawn, it is highlighted that: 1. The river flow serves as the principal conditioning agent for the system, inducing a strong estuary response to weather stations; 2. The extent of wedge intrusion and the river discharge exhibit a non-linear, inversely correlation; 3. Tidal waves cause differences of up to 1000 m in the horizontal extent of the wedge; 4. Widespread channel erosion occurs during the rainy season when the salt intrusion does not exceed 2 km; 5. Flocculation processes intensify during the transition between dry and wet seasons; 6. The stability of the salt layering and the consolidation of the FSI-TMZ are contingent upon the geometric attributes of the channel.

This study aimed to identify the most beneficial attitudes adopted by enterprise participants during their engagement in open-source software (OSS) activities. For this purpose, we selected repositories from GitHub, featuring the top 10 with the highest stars and forks, classified the participants according to their sentiment states, and compared their productivity. The results indicated that participants with positive sentiments were more productive than those with negative sentiments. Consequently, it can be inferred that encouraging organizations to express positive sentiments towards their developers publicly may stimulate OSS community activities and enhance productivity, thereby potentially leading to increased open innovation and sustainability.

With the rapid development of cities in northwest China, there has been an increasing focus on groundwater pollution in plateau cities, specifically the common occurrence of nitrate pollution. The special climatic, geological, and geomorphological characteristics of plateau and river valley cities contribute to distinct groundwater chemical characteristics. Therefore, the formation and evolution process of groundwater nitrate contamination differs from that of plain cities. To explore these issues, we conducted an analysis of eight major ions in various groups of water samples from rivers, springs, and groundwater in Haidong. By utilizing factor analysis and correlation analysis, we were able to identify the characteristics and formation of groundwater chemistry and nitrate pollution in Haidong. Our findings reveal that the chemical characteristics of groundwater in Haidong are primarily controlled by rock weathering, mineral dissolution, and evaporation, leading to the formation of highly mineralized groundwater. Additionally, the excessive nitrate content in certain areas is a result of domestic sewage discharge and agricultural fertilizer use, exceeding Chinese drinking water health standards. Furthermore, for cities located in valleys, the geological structure significantly impacts the nitrate content of groundwater in different regions. Areas with obstructed groundwater flow tend to have higher nitrate levels, while regions with unobstructed groundwater experience lower nitrate concentrations. Notably, shallow groundxwater is more vulnerable to nitrate pollution compared to deep groundwater. This study holds great significance in understanding the chemical characteristics of groundwater and the formation and evolution of nitrate pollution in highland river valley cities.

This study investigated the physical and combustion properties of briquettes produced from agricultural wastes (groundnut shells and corn cobs), wood residues (Anogeissus leiocarpus) and admixtures of the particles at 15%, 20% and 25% starch levels (binder). A 6 x 3 factorial experiments in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was adopted for the study. The briquettes produced were analyzed for density, volatile matter, ash content, fixed carbon and specific heat of combustion. The result revealed that the density ranged from 0.44g/cm³ to 0.53g/cm³, while briquettes produced from groundnut shells had the highest (0.53g/cm³) significant mean density. Mean volatile matter and ash content of the briquettes ranged from 24.35% to 34.95% and 3.37% to 4.91%. A. leiocarpus and corn cobs particles had the lowest and highest ash content respectively. The briquette fixed carbon and specific heat of combustion ranged from 61.68% to 68.97% and 7362kca/kg to 8222kca/kg respectively. Briquette produced from A. leiocarpus particles had the highest specific heat of combustion. In general, briquettes produced from A. leiocarpus particles and admixture of groundnut shell and A. leiocarpus particles at 25% starch level had better quality in terms of density and combustion properties and thus suitable as environmentally friendly alternative energy source.

Industrial pilot projects often rely on proprietary and expensive electronic hardware to control and monitor experiments. This raises costs and retards innovation. Open-source hardware tools exist for implementing these processes individually, however, they are not easily integrated with other designs. The Broadly Reconfigurable and Expandable Automation Device (BREAD) framework provides many open-source devices which can be connected to create more complex data acquisition and control systems. This article explores the feasibility of using BREAD plug-and-play open hardware to quickly design and test monitoring and control electronics for an industrial materials processing prototype pyrolysis reactor. Generally, pilot-scale pyrolysis plants are expensive custom designed systems. The plug-and-play prototype approach is first tested by connecting it to the pyrolysis reactor and ensuring it can measure temperature and actuate heaters and a stirring motor. Next, a single circuit board system was created and tested using the designs from the BREAD prototype to reduce the number of microcontrollers required. Both open-source control systems were capable of reliably running the pyrolysis reactor continuously and the overall cost of control was reduced by more than 10X. Open-source, plug-and-play hardware provides a reliable avenue for researchers to quickly develop data acquisition and control electronics for industrial-scale experiments.

This paper proposes a novel efficient multistage algorithm to extract source speech signals from a noisy convolutive mixture. The proposed approach comprises of two stages named Blind Source Separation (BSS) and De-noising. A hybrid source prior model separates the source signals from the noisy reverberant mixture in the BSS stage. Moreover, we model the low and high-energy components by generalized multivariate Gaussian and super-Gaussian models, respectively. We use Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) to reduce noise in the noisy convolutive mixture signal in the de-noising stage. Furthermore, two proposed models investigate the performance gain. In the first model, the speech signal is separated from the observed noisy convolutive mixture in the BSS stage, followed by suppression of noise in the estimated source signals in the de-noising module. In the second approach, the noise is reduced using the MMSE filtering technique in the received noisy convolutive mixture at the de-noising stage, followed by separation of source signals from the de-noised reverberant mixture at the BSS stage. We evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme in terms of signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR) with respect to other well-known multistage BSS methods. The results show the superior performance of the proposed algorithm over the other state-of-the-art methods.

The lower reaches of the Changhua River are located in the northwest of Hainan Island, and the shallow groundwater in this area is the main water source for residents living at both sides of the river. In order to sustain the exploitation and use of water resources in this area, it is essential to clarify the chemical characteristics and the formation mechanism of the groundwater. We collected 100 sets of shallow groundwater samples from the lower reaches of the Changhua River, and analyzed the chemical characteristics of the groundwater in shallow aquifers as well as its controlling factors by means of the methods including descriptive statistical analysis, Piper diagram, Gibbs diagram, and ion ratio. The results show that the overall characteristics of groundwater in the study area are near-neutral to weakly alkaline nature, indicating a generally oxidized environment. The groundwater involves in 56 chemical types, and the most predominant types are Ca•Na-HCO3 and Ca-HCO3, respectively. NO- 3 has become a macro component exceeding SO2- 4in most of the sampling groundwater, suggesting a significant impact of human activities in this area. At the same time, the chemical characteristics of groundwater in the study area are mainly affected by the water-rock interaction, while the water-rock interaction is mostly affected by the dissolution of silicate rocks and less by the dissolution of carbonate rocks and evaporite rocks. According to the ion ratio results, Na+ and K+ in the study area are mainly from the leaching of silicate rocks, Ca2+ and Mg2+ are mainly from the dissolution of carbonate rocks, in addition to a certain degree of cationic exchange. NO- 3 is mainly related to human activities, and the human activities are more affected by agricultural activities and domestic sewage than by industrial and mining activities. This study can provide a reference for the development and protection of shallow groundwater in the lower reaches of the Changhua River.

Man-made chemicals have played an important role in the development of our modern society. They have revolutionized such areas as healthcare and farming and they are essential in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products. In studying the behavior of radionuclides and metals in the bottom sediment-water system, special attention is paid to identifying the forms of existence of pollutants in terms of substantiating their migration ability and, as a result, the po-tential for their subsequent spread, i.e. secondary pollution. On the example of bottom sediments of the Yenisei River, such radionuclides as K-40, Cs-137 are shown to be present mostly in the undecomposed residue. Eu-252 and Am-241 are associated with the organic component of bottom sediments, consisting of plant and animal remains, as well as soil washed away from the floodplain part of the river bed. The radionuclide Co-60, depending on the mineralogical composition of bottom sediments, can either be almost evenly distributed between the undecomposed residue and organic matter, or dominate in the undecomposed residue. Thus, it is shown that man-made ra-dionuclides can have a high tendency to migrate, both in the thickness of bottom sediments and between such phases as bottom sediments and water.

Surface velocity is traditionally measured with in situ techniques such as velocity probes (in shallow rivers) or Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (in deeper water). In the last years, researchers have developed remote sensing techniques, both optical (e.g., image-based velocimetry techniques) and microwave (e.g., Doppler radar). These techniques can be deployed from Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), which ensure fast and low-cost surveys also in remotely-accessible locations. We compare the results obtained with a UAS-borne Doppler radar and UAS-borne Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in different rivers, which presented different hydraulic–morphological conditions (width, slope, surface roughness and sediment material). The Doppler radar was a commercial 24 GHz instrument, developed for static deployment, adapted for UAS integration. PIV was applied with natural seeding (e.g., foam, debris) when possible, or with artificial seeding (woodchips) in the stream where the density of natural particles was insufficient. PIV reconstructed the velocity profile with high accuracy typically in the order of a few cm s⁻¹ and a coefficient of determination (R²) typically larger than 0.7 (in half of the cases larger than 0.85), when compared with acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) or velocity probe, in all investigated rivers. However, UAS-borne Doppler radar measurements show low reliability because of UAS vibrations, large instrument sampling footprint, large required sampling time and difficult-to-interpret quality indicators suggesting that additional research is needed to measure surface velocity from UAS-borne Doppler radar.

Camouflage is an interesting adaptation (for survivability) by organisms in terms of different aggregation or fusion of colourations. Understanding these camouflage strategies in the presence of arsenic on transparent/semi-transparent species is pretty challenging. Previously, several researchers have demonstrated that colouration or pigmentation strategy in an organism is a strategy to merge with the environment to escape from predatory threats. Our study was done on a semi-transparent freshwater prawn species which exhibits a strategy of pigment droplets on its exoskeleton. Unlike previous studies, our findings robustly indicate the fact that pigment droplets are not the only reason for colouration. The pigment droplets rather regulate the darkness of the exoskeleton. However, the transparency of the abdominal muscles additionally plays a crucial role in creating a background of the pigment droplets. The transparency muscles allow light to pass through the abdomen, thus creating a semi-transparent appearance. The degree of semi-transparency is also regulated by the intensity of light. The abdomen and the pigment droplets on the exoskeleton cumulatively as well as contrastingly maintain the transparency and the colour quotient of the prawns. In our study, we have majorly concentrated on the abdominal region of the prawns as it appears to be the key semi-transparent feature of the organism. This research is directed to an ecotoxicological aspect where we showed that arsenic in chronic non-lethal concentration, can notably alter the colouration pattern in this prawn model within a short period of time. Finally, we have used an image processing algorithm to assess the alteration of colouration in this organism.

Topography represented by high resolution digital elevation models are able to inform past and present morphological process on the terrain. High resolution LiDAR data taken by the General Directorate of Map at the surroundings of the Bergama city shows great opportunities to understand the morphological process on alluvial fan on which the city is located and the flood plain of Bakırçay river near the alluvial fan. In this paper the LiDAR data collected in 2015 have been used to create DEM’s to understand the geomorphological evolution of the alluvial fan and the flood plain around it. Since the proximal roots and medial parts of the alluvial fan have been the scene for a long human settlement most topographical traces of the morphological process have been distorted. Nevertheless, the traces of past and present morphological process at the distal fan which consist the contact zone with the flood plain are very clear on the DEM created from LiDAR data. The levees and some old courses of Bergama and Bakırçay rivers have been shown on the maps which are also important to understand the ancient roads which follows these levees.

The fluvial-lagoon-deltaic system of the Palizada river in Campeche is an ecosystem of socioeconomic and ecological importance. It is justifiable to carry out studies in this system, due to its connection with another larger ecosystem called Términos lagoon. The objective of this investigation was to analyze the concentration of Pb and Cd in sediments of the fluvial-lagoon-deltaic system of the Palizada river and to determine, with this, the contamination index of these metals. Cd presented the highest concentration in sampling sites and climatic seasons with respect to Pb, with a maximum value of 53.926 ± 5.045, while Pb was 10.421 ± 0.218 μg g-1. The same tendency was presented with pollution and geoaccumulation indexes, where the Cd index stands out. The enrichment of heavy metals was identified through the accumulation of Cd and Pb, such process was evaluated through the geoacumulation index (Igeo). The results of this indicated that these elements are contaminating with an anthropogenic origin mainly. This element represents a toxic risk for the Palizada system, due to its high toxicity even at low concentrations, as well as to evaluate the sublethal effects in organisms that inhabit this system and it requires the implementation of an integral monitoring.

There is a growing use of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) globally due to the many advantages of Direct Current (DC) transmission systems over Alternating Current (AC) transmission, including enabling transmission over long distances, higher transmission capacity and efficiency. Moreover, HVDC systems can be a great enabler in the transition to a low carbon electrical power system which is an important objective in today’s society. The objectives of the paper are to give a comprehensive overview of HVDC technology, its development, and present status, and to discuss its salient features, limitations and applications.

Distributed digital manufacturing offers a solution to medical supply and technology shortages during pandemics. To prepare for the next pandemic, this study reviews the state-of-the-art for open hardware designs needed in a COVID-19-like pandemic. It evaluates the readiness of the top twenty technologies requested by the Government of India. The results show that the majority of the actual medical products have had some open source development, however, only 15% of the supporting technologies that make the open source device possible are freely available. The results show there is still considerable work needed to provide open source paths for the development of all the medical hardware needed during pandemics. Five core areas of future work are discussed that include: i) technical development of a wide-range of open source solutions for all medical supplies and devices, ii) policies that protect the productivity of laboratories, makerspaces and fabrication facilities during a pandemic, as well as iii) streamlining the regulatory process, iv) developing Good-Samaritan laws to protect makers and designers of open medical hardware, as well as to compel those with knowledge that will save lives to share it, and v) requiring all citizen-funded research to be released with free and open source licenses.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that originated in Africa but emerged in Latin America in 2015. In this region, other flaviviruses such as Dengue (DENV), West Nile, and Yellow Fever Virus (YFV) also circulate, allowing for possible antigenic cross-reactivity to impact viral infections and immune responses. Studies have found antibody mediated enhancement between DENV and ZIKV, but the impact of YFV antibodies on ZIKV infection has not been fully explored. ZIKV infections cause congenital syndromes, such as microcephaly, necessitating further research into ZIKV vertical transmission through the placental barrier. Recent advancements in biomedical engineering have generated co-culture methods that allow for in vitro recapitulation of the maternal: fetal interface. This study utilized a transwell assay, which is a co-culture model utilizing human placental syncytiotrophoblasts, fetal umbilical cells, and a differentiating embryoid body to replicate the maternal: fetal axis. To determine if cross reactive YFV vaccine antibodies impact the pathogenesis of ZIKV across the maternal fetal axis, maternal syncytiotrophoblasts were inoculated with ZIKV or ZIKV incubated with YFV vaccine anti-sera, and viral load was measured 72 hours post inoculation. Here we report that BeWo and HUVEC cells are permissive to ZIKV and that the impact of YFV post-vaccination antibodies on ZIKV replication is cell line dependent. Embryoid bodies are also permissive to ZIKV and the presence of YFV antibodies collected 1 to 6 months post vaccination enhances ZIKV infection. Our data show that each of the cell lines and EBs have a unique response to ZIKV complexed with post-vaccination serum suggesting there may be cell-specific mechanisms that impact congenital ZIKV infections. Since ZIKV infections can cause severe congenital syndromes, it is crucial to understand any potential enhancement or protection offered from cross-reactive, post-vaccination antibodies.

The dye effluent is usually difficult to be degraded by conventional wastewater treatment in leather industry. In order to develop efficient and cost-effective treatment methods, we evaluate the effect of white-rot fungus immobilization for dye decolorisation in this paper. The Phanerochaete chrysosporium BKM-F-1767 was used for immobilization. This research found that the white-rot fungus immobilization had an obviously decolorisation effect in dye wastewater treatment, and plant carriers such as sorghum stalk and corn cob were helpful to the growth of Phanerochaete chrysosporium in white-rot fungus immobilization. Due to the stability and recyclability, the white-rot fungus co-immobilization was considered as the most suitable treatment for decolorisation of dye effluent which enjoyed the advantages of both adsorption immobilization and entrapment immobilization. Furthermore, the dye decolorisation evaluation was carried out to find the most suitable carrier for co-immobilization, and it found that sorghum stalk - calcium-alginate gel spherical particle (SS-CGPB) has better decolorisation effect than corn cobs - calcium-alginate gel spherical particle (CC-CGPB), and the dye decolorisation rate was 86.77%. After 5 cycles, the dye decolorisation rate was 85.87% which indicated the SS-CGPB preserved functional integrity successfully. By further analyzing the biodegradation process with white-rot fungus immobilization, the intermediate products were observed and the degradation pathway of acid golden yellow dye molecular was proposed. The results showed that the C-N single bonds attached to the central benzene in the dye molecule were attacked and destroyed in white-rot fungus co-immobilization treatment, thus the structure of dye molecule could be successfully degraded into small molecules which would be more easily treated by conventional treatment methods. Therefore, the white rot fungus co-immobilization might be appropriate for pre-treatment as an important biotechnology for the advanced treatment of dye effluent.

The synchronization of laser and X-ray sources is essential for time-resolved measurements in the study of ultrafast processes, including photo-induced piezo-effect, shock wave generation, and phase transition. On the one hand, the optical diagnostics (by synchronization of two laser sources) provides information about change in vibration frequencies, shock waves dynamics, linear and nonlinear refractive index behavior. On the other hand, the optical pump – X-ray probe diagnostics give opportunity to directly reveal the lattice dynamics. To integrate two approaches into a unified whole one need to create a robust method for synchronization of two systems with different repetition rate up to MHz range. In this paper, we propose a universal approach utilizing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to achieve precise synchronization between different MHz sources such as various lasers and synchrotron X-ray sources. This synchronization method offers numerous advantages, such as high flexibility, fast response, and low jitter. Experimental results demonstrate successful synchronization of two different MHz systems with a temporal resolution of 250 ps for these systems. This enables ultrafast measurements with sub-nanosecond resolution, facilitating the uncovering of complex dynamics in ultrafast processes.

Untargeted metabolomics is a powerful tool for measuring and understanding complex biological chemistries. However, employment, bioinformatics and downstream analysis of mass spectrometry (MS) data can be daunting for inexperienced users. Numerous open-source and free-to-use data processing and analysis tools exist for various untargeted MS approaches, including liquid chro-matography (LC), but choosing the ‘correct’ pipeline isn’t straight-forward. This tutorial, in con-junction with a user-friendly online guide presents a workflow for connecting these tools to process, analyse and annotate various untargeted MS datasets. The workflow is intended to guide explor-atory analysis in order to inform decision-making regarding costly and time-consuming down-stream targeted MS approaches. We provide practical advice concerning experimental design, organisation of data and downstream analysis, and offer details on sharing and storing valuable MS data for posterity. The workflow is editable and modular, allowing flexibility for updated/ changing methodologies and increased clarity and detail as user participation becomes more common. Hence, the authors welcome contributions and improvements to the workflow via the online repository. We believe that this workflow will streamline and condense complex mass-spectrometry approaches into easier, more manageable, analyses thereby generating opportunities for researchers previously discouraged by inaccessible and overly complicated software.

Campylobacter is one of the major foodborne pathogens of concern in its growing trend of antimicrobial resistance. C. jejuni and C. coli are the major causative agents, with C. jejuni contributing to most of the cases in approximately 90% in the world. Infection is transmitted to humans due to consumption of contaminated food and water. Campylobacteriosis caused by C. jejuni is commonly presented with severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting with some extreme cases resulting in Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) and acute flaccid paralysis. Symptoms are severe in cases of children below 5 years, elderly and individuals who are immunocompromised. The infection is usually sporadic, and self-limiting and thus does not require antibiotics for treatment. Still, the antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter is a major concern because of the transmission of resistance from animal sources to humans. This review highlights the recent epidemiology, geographical impact, resistance mechanisms, spread of Campylobacter spp. and the strategies to control the transmission of Campylobacter from veterinary sources and its antimicrobial resistance.

The original purpose of this article was to modify the original SIR equations to allow for a direct source of infection (without which the original equations would have no solutions unless one starts with an already infected population) and also to see to what extent one could obtain multiple outbreaks of an infectious disease. In the course of developing the basic ideas several other factors arose to take prominent roles.Perhaps one of the more salient factors is the point that choosing an arbitrary time to change conditions from say a lock-down for the population to a less stringent social behavior, such as allowing partial or complete opening of businesses and schools, etc. should be based on knowledge of the disease and its evolution. Such decisions are usually made by politicians who have less than full information concerning the consequences of their actions. Several examples are given to illustrate these points.

This paper presents the validation of the End Point Rate (EPR) tool for QGIS (EPR4Q), a tool built-in QGIS Graphical Modeler to calculate the shoreline change by End Point Rate method. The EPR4Q tries to fill the gap of user-friendly and free open-source tool for shoreline analysis in Geographic Information System environment, since the most used software - Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) - although is a free extension, is suited for commercial software. Besides, the best free open-source option to calculate EPR called Analyzing Moving Boundaries Using R (AMBUR), since it is a robust and powerful tool, the complexity and heavy processes can restrict the accessibility and simple usage. The validation methodology consists of applying the EPR4Q, DSAS, and AMBUR on different examples of shorelines found in nature, extracted from the U.S. Geological Survey Open-File. The obtained results of each tool were compared with Pearson correlation coefficient. The validation results indicate that the EPR4Q tool created acquired high correlation values with DSAS and AMBUR, reaching a coefficient of 0.98 to 1.00 on linear, extensive, and non-extensive shorelines, guarantying that the EPR4Q tool is ready to be freely used by the academic, scientific, engineering, and coastal managers communities worldwide.

Malaria remains a life-threatening disease in many tropical countries. Honduras has successfully reduced malaria transmission as different control methods have been applied focusing mainly on indoor mosquitoes. The selective pressure exerted by the use of insecticides inside the households could modify the feeding behavior of the mosquitoes forcing them to search for available animal hosts outside the houses. These animal hosts in the peridomicile could consequently become an important factor in maintaining vector populations in endemic areas. Herein, we investigated the blood meal sources and Plasmodium spp. infection on anophelines collected outdoors in endemic areas of Honduras. Individual PCR reactions with species-specific primers were used to detect five feeding sources on 181 visibly engorged mosquitoes. In addition, a subset of these mosquitoes where chosen for pathogen analysis by a nested PCR approach. Most mosquitoes fed on multiple hosts (2 to 4), and 24.9% of mosquitoes were fed on a single host, animal or human. Chicken and bovine were the most frequent blood meal sources (29.5% and 27.5% respectively). The average human blood index (HBI) was 22.1%. None of the mosquitoes was found to be infected with Plasmodium spp. Our results show the opportunistic and zoophilic behavior of Anopheles mosquitoes in Honduras.

One of the most important factors impacting quality of content in Wikipedia is presence of credible sources. By following references readers can verify facts or find more details about described topic. A Wikipedia article can be edited independently in any of over 300 languages, even by anonymous users, therefore information about the same topic may be inconsistent. This also applies to use of references in different language versions of a particular article, so the same statement can have different sources. In this paper we analyzed over 40 million articles from the 55 most developed language versions of Wikipedia to extract information about nearly 200 million references and find the most popular and reliable sources. We presented 10 models for the assessment of the popularity and reliability of the sources based on analysis of meta information about the references in Wikipedia articles, page views and authors of the articles. Using DBpedia and Wikidata we automatically identified the alignment of the sources to a specific domain. Additionally, we analyzed the changes of popularity and reliability in time and identified growth leaders in each considered months. The results can be used for quality improvements of the content in different languages versions of Wikipedia.

Network coding approaches typically consider an unrestricted recoding of coded packets in the relay nodes for increased performance. However, this can expose the system to pollution attacks that cannot be detected during transmission, until the receivers attempt to recover the data. To prevent these attacks while allowing for the benefits of coding in mesh networks, the Cache Coding was proposed. This protocol only allows recoding at the relays when the relay has received enough packets to decode an entire generation of packets. At that point, the relay node recodes and signs the recoded packets with its own private key allowing for the system to detect and minimize the effect of pollution attacks and make relays accountable for changes on the data. This paper analyzes the delay performance of Cache Coding to understand the security-performance trade-off of this scheme. We introduce an analytical model for the case of two relays in an erasure channel relying on an Absorbing Markov Chain and a approximate model to estimate the performance in terms of the number of transmissions before successfully decoding at the receiver. We confirm our analysis using simulation results. We show that Cache Coding can overcome security issues of unrestricted recoding with only a moderate decrease in system performance.

Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, has historically been one of the most important causes of blindness worldwide, and a major cause of socio-economic disruption, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Its importance as a cause of morbidity and an impediment to economic development in some of the poorest countries in the world motivated the international community to implement several programs to control or eliminate this scourge. Initially, these involved reducing transmission of the causative agent Onchocerca volvulus through controlling the vector population. When ivermectin was found to be a very effective drug for treating onchocerciasis, the strategy shifted to mass drug administration (MDA) of endemic communities. In some countries, both vector control and ivermectin MDA have been used together. However, traditional vector control methods involve treating rivers in which the black fly vectors breed with insecticides, a process which is expensive, requires trained personnel to administer, and is ecologically harmful. In this review, we discuss recent research into alternatives to riverine insecticide treatment, which are inexpensive, ecologically less harmful and which can be implemented by the affected communities themselves. These can dramatically reduce vector densities and, when combined with ivermectin MDA, can accelerate the time to elimination when compared to MDA alone.

This study was investigate the possible hydrological impact of climate change in stream flow of Arba River based on the downscaled precipitation and temperature data at West Harerghe Zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. The case study, Arba River is one of the tributaries of Awash River Basin and the catchment of the river at Bordode flow gauging station covers around 72 square kilometers. Dynamically downscaled Regional Climate Model (RCM) HIRHAM derived by ICHEC-EC-EARTH global climate model under two scenarios RCP 4.5 and 8.5 was used in this study. The future time periods are divided into two time horizons with equal length of time as the base line period 2021–2050 and 2051–2080. For both projected periods relatively the minimum average monthly percentage change in precipitation will be happened from May to October under RCP4.5 except August and from March to October under RCP8.5. The variation under RCP4.5 is relatively high when compared to RCP8.5. The average monthly per-centage of flow increment may vary from (7.6 to 81.8) for 2021-2050 and (22.3 to 107.8) for 2051-2080 under RCP4.5. Under RCP8.5 scenario, from July to January except the December for 2021-2050, simulated flow is expected to increase while from February to June decreases for both time horizons. Generally, the change of simulated flow under both scenarios and both near and far time period is follows the pattern of precipitation. However, the flow change will have less variation than the precipitation change.

Climate change in the coming decades could intensify extreme events such as severe droughts. Combined with the possible increase of water demands, these changes exert a large pressure on the water systems. In order to confirm this assumption, a set of scenarios was proposed in this study to consider the combined impact of climate changes and the increase in water demand on the main multiple-use reservoirs of São Francisco River, Brazil. For this purpose, five CMIP6 climate models were used considering two greenhouse gas emissions scenarios: the SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5. The naturalized and withdraw streamflows were estimated to the adopted reser-voirs considering all existing, new and projected demands. The conjunction of scenarios indicat-ed an increase in Potential Evapotranspiration, a possible significant reduction in water availa-bility, a growth in water demand mainly for irrigation and a substantial reduction in the perfor-mance of the evaluated reservoirs.

Towards a better understanding of vegetation, permafrost, climate, landscape and lithology control on major and trace element (including macro and micro-nutrients and toxicants) transport in riverine systems, we studied two medium size (100-150 thousand km² watershed area) pristine rivers (Taz and Ket) of boreal and subarctic zone, western Siberia. Choosing the river basins of very low population density (< 1 people km-²) in the absence of any industrial or agricultural activity allowed testing the sole effect of natural factors and long-range atmospheric transfer on hydrochemistry of riverine solutes during the open water period. In the permafrost-bearing Taz River (main stem and 17 tributaries), sizable control of vegetation on element concentration was revealed. In particular, light coniferous and broadleaf mixed forest controlled DOC, and some nutrients (N, Mn, Fe, Mo, Cd, Ba); deciduous needleleaf forest positively correlated with macronutrients (P, Si, Mg, P, Ca) and Sr, and dark needle-leaf forest impacted Ntot, Al and Rb. Organic C stock in the upper 30-100 cm soil positively correlated with Be, Mn, Co, Mo, Cd, Sb, and Bi. The lithological control was generally poorly pronounced, due to abundant peat deposits overlaying the mineral strata. However, cretaceous carbonate mineral-bearing sedimentary deposits positively impacted the pH and concentration of Si, Mg, Ca and Cs. In the Ket River basin (large right tributary of the Ob River), we revealed the correlations between the phytomass stock at the watershed and alkaline-earth metals and U concentration in the river water. This control was weakly pronounced during high-water period (spring flood) and mostly evidenced during summer low water period.