Abstract: In oral surgery, the classification of the proximity of the mandibular third molar to the mandibular canal, typically performed on panoramic radiographs, is essential for surgical planning. While artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been explored for this task, their performance is limited due to data scarcity and class imbalance. In this work, we study the potential of synthetic data generation for this task using Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models (DDPMs) and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), both unconditional and conditioned to the tooth-canal relationship. We used public datasets to create and label a training dataset of 5416 images. The results show the lowest Fréchet inception distance (FID) / second-highest Inception Score (IS) for the unconditional GAN (32.48 / 2.14). The unconditional DDPM showed an FID of 34.28 and IS of 1.95. Conditional models showed similar IS but a worse overall FID of 68.19 and 219.11 for DDPM and GAN, respectively. In a paired observer study between the two unconditional models, clinical observers found the DDPM image to be more realistic in 69.6% of cases. Future work should investigate downstream effects of GANs and DDPMs used in data augmentation for the training of an AI classifier.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations between diet-related quality of life (DRQOL) and psychological distress, autonomic dysfunction, and migraine in patients with dizziness and balance disorders. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 122 patients (56 men, 66 women; mean age 40.4 ± 12.8 years, minimum 14, maximum 65) from the vertigo outpatient clinic at JR Tokyo General Hospital completed self-reported questionnaires. These included the DRQOL scale, Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Orthostatic Dysregulation (OD) checklist, and migraine assessments (POUNDing [Pulsating, duration of 4–72 h, Unilateral, Nausea, Disabling], MIDAS, migraine screener). Correlational analyses, group comparisons, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted. Results: DRQOL scores showed positive correlations with psychological distress (SDS: ρ = 0.58; HADS-A: ρ = 0.50; HADS-D: ρ = 0.52; all p <  0.001) and OD severity (ρ = 0.48, p <  0.001), but not with age, DHI, or individual migraine indices. Migraine screener-positive patients had significantly higher DRQOL scores (p <  0.01). DRQOL alone modestly discriminated positive migraine screener (AUC = 0.65), improving to AUC = 0.77 in a multivariable model including age and sex. Conclusions: DRQOL can capture psychological and autonomic symptom burden rather than vestibular or headache severity, suggesting that it may serve as a complementary, patient-centered metric in the holistic assessment of dizziness patients.

Abstract: Primary hepatic masses in dogs represent a heterogeneous group of lesions with variable biological behavior and challenging preoperative characterization. The objective of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic findings, surgical management, and outcome of dogs with primary hepatic masses treated surgically. Ten dogs with resectable hepatic lesions and no evidence of extrahepatic metastasis were included. Clinical records, imaging findings, histopathological diagnoses, treatment, and follow-up data were reviewed. Histopathological diagnoses included hepatocellular carcinoma (n=3), nodular hyperplasia (n=2), lobular hyperplasia (n=1), hepatocellular adenoma (n=1), undifferentiated sarcoma (n=1), osteosarcoma (n=1), and one case without definitive histological diagnosis. Tumor size ranged from 3.3 to 18 cm and was not associated with biological behavior. Preoperative cytology showed poor concordance with final histopathological diagnosis in all sampled cases. Abdominal ultrasound identified solitary lesions in all evaluated dogs, although surgery revealed previously undetected multifocal disease in two cases. Most lesions were located in the right hepatic lobes, differing from the predominance of left-sided lesions commonly reported in the literature. All dogs underwent surgical resection. Two perioperative deaths occurred secondary to postoperative renal failure. In the remaining dogs, surgery resulted in complete remission of clinical signs and prolonged survival, including dogs with malignant tumors. Four dogs remained alive and disease-free at the end of the follow-up period (>730 days). These findings highlight the limitations of preoperative diagnostic techniques for predicting the biological behavior and extent of canine hepatic masses. Surgical resection provided substantial clinical benefit and prolonged survival in most cases, supporting its consideration whenever complete excision is technically feasible.

Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of partially replacing wheat bran with poplar wood composite fiber (PWCF) on growth performance, immune status, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD), and gut microbial composition in growing pigs. A total of 140 healthy crossbred (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire) growing pigs with an initial body weight of 47.25 ± 0.49 kg were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments, with five replicates per treatment and fourteen pigs per replicate. The control (CT) group was fed a corn–soybean meal–based diet, whereas the experimental group re-ceived the same diet in which 2% wheat bran was replaced by PWCF. The experiment lasted for 60 days. Compared with the CT group, replacing wheat bran with PWCF did not affect body weight, average daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio, or average daily gain on days 30 or 60 (P > 0.05). In addition, no negative effects were observed on ATTD of nutrients and serum immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgG, and IgM levels at either time point, indicating that PWCF can serve as a suitable partial substitute for wheat bran in growing pig diets. However, it could regulate nitrogen metabolism by reducing blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration and the BUN/creatinine ratio, as well as decreasing total free amino acids in serum (P < 0.05). In addition, the antioxidant capacity can be improved by increasing catalase activity. Gut microbiota analysis showed that the re-placement significantly increased the relative abundances of Treponema, Lachnospi-raceae_XPB1014_group, Prevotellaceae_UCG-001, Prevotellaceae_UCG-003, Prevotel-laceae_UCG-004, and norank_f_Oscillospiraceae (P < 0.05). These changes suggest that PWCF modulates gut microbiota and enriches fiber-degrading bacterial populations. Overall, substituting wheat bran with PWCF did not impair growth performance, im-munity, or digestibility, while altering microbial community composition. These find-ings support the potential application of PWCF as an alternative fiber source, contrib-uting to greater diversity in feed formulation.

Abstract: Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) is a recent minimally invasive method of managing mitral regurgitation (MR) in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). The goal of interventions is to minimize MR severity. The objective of this study was to determine the association between reduced MR and changes in myocardial work indices after TEER in dogs. Client-owned dogs with moderate-to-severe MR were enrolled in the study. TEER performance was completed with multimodal imaging guidance in all 10 dogs. Before and after the procedure, myocardial work was analyzed. MR severity, transmitral pressure gradients, left atrial and ventricular measurements, and index of myocardial work (GWI, GCW, GWW, and GWE) were calculated. TEER significantly reduced MR severity in the majority of dogs. MR decrease was associated with a greater efficiency of myocardial work, more constructive work, and less wasted energy. No significant negative associations of moderate post-procedure gradients with short-term clinical outcomes emerged. TEER-mediated reduction of MR improves myocardial function in dogs. However, long-term studies are also needed to examine the effects of residual MR and transmitral gradients on cardiac function and clinical outcome.

Abstract: This paper examines the datafication of migrant labor governance in Malaysia, arguing that the growing digital infrastructure surrounding migration — biometric registration, employer-tied databases, algorithmic productivity monitoring, and cross-border recruitment platforms — constitutes a regime of digital dispossession that is legally unaddressed and politically uncontested. Drawing on critical data studies, decolonial political economy, and the emerging field of digital migration studies, the paper interrogates how migrant workers in Malaysia are rendered exhaustively visible to state and capital through data, while remaining structurally invisible to the law that is supposed to protect them. Anchored in Chowdhury's (2022, 2023, 2026a, 2026b) frameworks of reciprocal methodology and Indigenous Gnoseology, and engaging with Couldry and Mejias's (2019) concept of data colonialism, Spanger and Andersen's (2023) analysis of convoluted mobility, Leurs and Smets's (2018) digital migration studies framework, and Beduschi's (2021) international human rights analysis of AI-driven migration management, the paper develops a concept of relational data sovereignty as an alternative governance foundation. It proposes five institutional reforms for Malaysia and ASEAN and argues that the reform of digital governance in migration contexts requires both epistemological and institutional transformation — centering the knowledge, agency, and rights of those most governed by data and least protected by law.

Abstract: Accurate donor-recipient allograft size matching remains a critical determinant of outcomes in lung transplantation, yet current approaches rely predominantly on predicted total lung capacity (pTLC) and height-based metrics derived from population-based equations. These simplified surrogates fail to capture individual anatomical variability, disease-specific alterations in thoracic geometry, and the spatial relationship between donor lungs and recipient chest cavities. In this review, we examine the limitations of conventional size matching and synthesize emerging evidence supporting imaging-based approaches, including computed tomography (CT) volumetry, radiomics, and machine learning. CT-derived volumetric analysis enables individualized anatomical assessment and has been associated with clinically relevant prediction of primary graft dysfunction and mortality. Advanced computational methods may further support extraction of imaging-derived features and integration with clinical data, although these approaches remain investigational. Collectively, these developments signal a paradigm shift from crude population-based metrics toward imaging-driven and computational approaches in the modern era. With rigorous validation and careful clinical integration, imaging-based approaches may complement conventional size metrics and support more individualized donor-recipient assessment.

Abstract: Background:Chronic musculoskeletal pain is a common condition, for which pain self-management is recommended. Digital tools offer potential to support individuals with chronic pain, but it is unknown to what extent existing tools are responsive to the social context of Pakistanis living with chronic pain and are engaging for them. Objective: This study aimed to explore strategies to enhance engagement with digitally enabled pain self-management tools among people with chronic musculoskeletal pain.Methods: A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was used. We first reviewed Android app store and published literature to identify content and engagement strategies incorporated in digital tools. Following this, we conducted a narrative study involving adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain to capture their lived experiences and requirements for pain self-management. Review findings were synthesised descriptively, qualitative data were analysed thematically, and overall findings were combined to generate design and content recommendations.Results: Literature and app reviews revealed that digital tools commonly included components related to patient education and physical or mental therapy. They often included engagement features such as personalization and reminders. Dietary advice and peer or social support were less commonly included in digital tools but were commonly discussed during group discussions by individuals living with chronic pain. Nineteen individuals with chronic pain participated in group discussions and described how their pain self-management practices were shaped by cultural beliefs and perceptions and digital health information. These factors also influenced their decision making related to treatment choices and adoption of non-pharmacological strategies. Although participants trusted healthcare professionals but expressed concerns about limited guidance on how to apply clinical advice in their daily lives. Moreover, they identified several requirements for pain self-management tools, including evidence based audio-visual content and incorporating aspects related to symptom monitoring, symptom relief and physical rehabilitation, psychological wellbeing, lifestyle management, social support, patient education. Conclusion:Existing pain self-management tools rarely address the social context of South Asians. While pain self-management is shaped by digital information and cultural beliefs and perceptions, participants valued evidence-based digital resources. Therefore, future research should focus on co-developing these resources to ensure they are clinically meaningful, culturally responsive, and supportive of patient-centred and equitable pain self-management.

Abstract: Objective: To characterize the structural fragility of installed health-service capacity in Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia, using absolute capacity, supply concentration, reserve or transitory capacity, and service-line clinical sensitivity as structural-risk dimensions. Methods: An ecological health-services study was conducted using a local installed-capacity dataset traceable to the Colombian Special Registry of Health Service Providers and SISPRO, together with two contextual World Bank series for Colombia: physicians per 1,000 population and premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases. Traceable data cleaning, functional normalization, separation of baseline versus transitory capacity when allowed by the source fields, and exploratory estimation of a relative structural fragility proxy index using a normalized Poisson-type transformation were performed. This index was interpreted exclusively as a comparative structural-fragility ranking and not as an observed probability of saturation. Results: The analytical capacity of the Barranquilla node included 5,397 installed capacity slots. Adult ICU accounted for 707 slots and neonatal ICU for 160. Reserve capacity was low in neonatal ICU (2.5%) and higher in adult ICU (32.2%). The largest service lines were adult general hospitalization, adult ICU, and pediatric general hospitalization, whereas the highest relative structural fragility was observed in low-scale and highly concentrated services, including burn care, acute mental health, and selected highly specialized lines. Conclusion: Barranquilla has a broad but markedly heterogeneous structural health-service capacity network. The critical pattern is not determined only by the absolute number of slots, but by the interaction between limited capacity, high concentration, low stable reserve, and clinical sensitivity. The evidence generated is structural and should not be interpreted as observed occupancy, real-time saturation, or operational collapse.

Abstract: The topological properties of planetary fluids are typically analyzed by mapping classical fluid equations onto complex quantum mechanical models. Here we present a purely real, six-dimensional Stueckelberg quantum mechanical formulation of the rotating shallow water equations to demonstrate that these topological features are intrinsic to the classical kinematics itself. Operating entirely within R⁶ we decouple the complex quantum geometric tensor into an independent real Fubini-Study metric and a real antisymmetric Berry curvature. Our real-variable approach explicitly derives a topological magnetic monopole of charge C = −2 and captures the inherent scale invariance of the fluid's geometry without explicit complex coordinate representation. We suggest that continuous variations in the Coriolis parameter model the adiabatic geometric evolution of the Archean Earth, and we propose a laboratory rotating-tank experiment to physically measure this parameter sweep. Finally, we show that our real 6D formulation naturally maps to unbroken supersymmetric quantum mechanics. By identifying a purely real supercharge and calculating a fluid Witten index of W = −2, we demonstrate a strict mathematical symmetry between the topological charge of the propagating bands and the invariant of the unbroken zero-energy geostrophic vacuum. We advance the mathematically supported viewpoint that steady-state geostrophic weather patterns represent the exact supersymmetric ground states of the rotating fluid system. Consequently, the topological isolation of this vacuum naturally restricts the spectral flow across the equator, providinga theoretical explanation for the unidirectional eastward motion of equatorial boundary waves.

Abstract: Coordinated responses of intestinal epithelial and immune cells are essential for maintaining barrier integrity and immune homeostasis in dogs, yet mechanistic understanding of probiotic‑derived metabolites remains limited due to reliance on non‑canine experimental models. Here, we investigated metabolites derived from Limosilactobacillus reuteri strain ATCC PTA6127 (Lr6127), delivered as cell-free supernatants (CFS), using canine epithelial MCA-B1 cells and macrophage-like DH82 cells subjected to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)–induced inflammatory stress. Lr6127 CFS significantly reduced epithelial permeability, decreasing FITC‑dextran leakage to 94.9 ± 1.9% relative to LPS-treated controls normalized to 100% (P < 0.001), despite no detectable transcriptional changes in tight junction, adherent junction, or mucin genes. Barrier effects were instead associated with changes in markers of cellular stress re-sponses, with heme oxygenase expression reduced from 0.9 ± 0.1 to 0.7 ± 0.1 (P < 0.05). In DH82 immune cells, Lr6127-derived metabolites suppressed LPS-induced stress and inflammatory signaling, enhanced anti-apoptotic responses as reflected by increased BCL2 expression (1.4 ± 0.1 vs. 1.0 ± 0.0; P < 0.01) and elevated BCL2/BAX ratios (P < 0.01), and reduced pro-inflammatory mediators including IL-6 and CCL2 (P < 0.05–0.001). Proteomic analysis corroborated reduced abundance of inflammatory and STAT-associated signaling proteins under LPS challenge while promoting immune readiness under resting conditions. Collectively, these results suggest that Lr6127‑derived metabolites may support epithelial barrier integrity and immune re-balancing potentially through modulation of cellular stress and inflammatory path-ways.

Abstract: Background/Objectives: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) care depends on rapid, coordinated workflows. This study compared two real-world in-hospital stroke models—a neurohospitalist-led model and a stroke practitioner–led multidisciplinary model—in terms of time metrics, radiological outcomes, and 3-month clinical outcomes in patients undergoing reperfusion therapy. Methods: This retrospective, single-center cohort study evaluated patients across two sequential workflow periods. In the practitioner-led model, trained non-neurologist clinicians coordinated care with a stroke nurse under neurologist supervision. Time metrics included door-to-needle time (DNT) and door-to-puncture time (DPT). Clinical outcomes included intensive care unit (ICU) transfer and 3-month functional outcomes assessed by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Results: A total of 573 patients were included (284 neurohospitalist-led, 289 practitioner-led). Baseline NIHSS scores were similar between groups. The proportion achieving DNT <60 minutes was significantly higher in the practitioner-led period (74.0% vs. 52.5%, p<0.001), while mean DNT and DPT were comparable. Early radiological outcomes at 24 hours were similar between groups. ICU transfer rates were significantly lower in the practitioner-led period (17.6% vs. 28.2%, p=0.002). Three-month mRS outcomes did not differ significantly. Conclusions: A structured, practitioner-led multidisciplinary workflow was as safe and efficient as a neurohospitalist-led model. Improved adherence to DNT targets and reduced ICU transfers highlight the importance of system-level organization in optimizing AIS care.

Abstract: Remote and hybrid work have altered where many high-skill workers live, commute, and participate in professional networks, raising new questions for technology-based economic development (TBED) in the United States. This conceptual review asks whether remote work is dispersing innovation activity, creating durable opportunities for smaller metropolitan areas, or reorganizing established geographies of advantage. The article uses a focused conceptual review that synthesizes foundational scholarship on agglomeration, clusters, and innovation geography with post-2020 research on remote work, urban restructuring, regional migration, local innovation systems, and policy responses. Sources were selected for their relevance to spatial concentration, metropolitan hierarchy, remote-worker embeddedness, and TBED strategy. The review shows that remote work has not dissolved agglomeration. Large metropolitan regions continue to concentrate remote-capable, innovation-intensive, and digitally intensive employment, while some smaller and mid-sized metros have gained visibility and mobile talent. However, the evidence points more strongly to selective gains at the margin than to broad spatial equalization. The findings also show that residential inflows alone do not create durable innovation capacity. The article argues that remote work is reorganizing rather than replacing TBED. Its central contribution is a framework of partial geographic decoupling, in which remote work loosens the routine overlap among residence, workplace, and firm location while increasing the importance of local institutions. The main policy challenge is building connective capacity that converts mobile labor into entrepreneurship, collaboration, civic participation, and long-term regional innovation. This framing clarifies how regions can compete without assuming that attracting remote workers automatically produces transformation. Recent federal and multi-survey evidence strengthens the article’s claim that remote work has stabilized above pre-pandemic levels while remaining uneven by education, occupation, and metropolitan context.

Abstract: This paper investigates bifurcation dynamics in a fractional-order extension of the classical Susceptible–Latent–Breaking–Out model for computer virus propagation. The proposed framework incorporates two distinct transmission-related time delays and employs Caputo fractional derivatives of incommensurate orders, with the delays associated with infection rate and latent period selected as the primary bifurcation parameters. Due to the combined influence of multiple delays and incommensurate fractional exponents, the resulting system exhibits a complexity that goes beyond most existing models in the literature. By linearizing the model around its endemic equilibrium and analyzing the associated characteristic roots, we characterize how the system’s qualitative behavior depends on the magnitudes of the time delays, and establish explicit sufficient conditions for bifurcation to occur. In particular, the endemic equilibrium remains asymptotically stable as long as each delay stays below a certain critical value; once any delay exceeds its threshold, the system undergoes a Hopf bifurcation, leading to sustained periodic oscillations in virus prevalence. Numerical simulations are provided to support the analytical results, and they show strong agreement between predicted and observed system responses. These findings enhance theoretical insight into bifurcation mechanisms in fractional-order delay models of epidemic dynamics on networks, and may offer useful guidance for designing containment strategies in large-scale interconnected systems.

Abstract: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has revolutionized the management of superficial colorectal neoplasms, offering superior en bloc resection rates compared with conventional endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). While ESD has been the standard of care in East Asian countries for over two decades, its adoption in Western countries has been considerably slower, hampered by the steep learning curve, prolonged procedural times, limited training infrastructure, and differences in disease epidemiology. However, recent years have witnessed a paradigm shift, with growing evidence from Western multicenter studies demonstrating outcomes that increasingly approach those reported from high-volume Eastern centers. The landmark RESECT-COLON randomized trial provided level-1 evidence supporting the superiority of ESD over piecemeal EMR for large colorectal polyps. Concurrently, novel training paradigms, technological innovations including traction-assisted devices and artificial intelligence (AI)-guided systems, and evolving societal guidelines from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), and European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) are accelerating Western adoption. This state-of-the-art review comprehensively examines the current landscape of colorectal ESD in Western practice, highlighting the evolution of outcomes, training pathways, guideline recommendations, technological advances, and future directions. We provide a critical appraisal of the East–West outcome gap and discuss strategies to bridge this divide, positioning colorectal ESD as an increasingly viable first-line therapy for appropriate lesions in Western endoscopy centers.

Abstract: This work presents a numerical simulation study of short channel effect (SCE) in new hemispherical gate-all-around (HGAA) MOS devices. These new HGAA architectures allow optimizing the gate electrostatic control of simple GAA MOS devices after rounding their channel’s edges with well-defined radius of curvature. The simulation results indicate that the short channel effects (SCE) measured in terms subthreshold swing SS and DIBL can be significantly improved in HGAA structures with smaller silicon curvature radius. It is also found that the gate silicon surface area can be analytically calculated using the Pappus-Guldin theorem and used to model the gate oxide capacitance of such HGAA MOS devices. Pure spherical HGAA structures are also simulated and compared to simple HGAA structures, revealing their excellent performances in terms of SCE, making them ultimate 3D geometry architecture adequate for CMOS integration with the best electrostatic control.

Abstract: Dementia represents a growing global public health challenge, driving the rapid expansion of educational interventions aimed at improving awareness and promoting risk-reduction behaviours. Despite this growth, existing research demonstrates a persistent gap between knowledge acquisition and meaningful behavioural change. This paper presents a realist-informed conceptual analysis and proposes an integrative conceptual framework for evaluating the real-world effectiveness of digital dementia education. Integrating health literacy theory, the Capability–Opportunity–Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model, and implementation science, the framework conceptualises dementia education as a dynamic, multi-component process involving resource availability, user engagement, interpretative engagement, behavioural readiness, contextual influences, and real-world outcomes. Particular emphasis is placed on interpretative engagement, grounded in constructivist and sensemaking perspectives, as a key mechanism linking exposure to educational content with behavioural intention and action. The paper identifies critical limitations in current evaluation approaches, including overreliance on knowledge-based outcomes and insufficient consideration of contextual, emotional, and implementation influences. By advancing a user-centred and context-sensitive framework, this study contributes to the development of more theoretically informed and implementation-oriented approaches for evaluating digital dementia risk-reduction education, particularly among midlife populations.

Abstract: The rapid growth of Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems has significantly increased cybersecurity threats due to device heterogeneity, resource limitations, and exposure to distributed attacks. Although Federated Learning (FL) has emerged as a promising privacy-preserving machine learning paradigm for decentralized intrusion detection, existing FL approaches often suffer from non-independent and identically distributed (non-IID) data, communication inefficiency, adversarial attacks, and unstable convergence in heterogeneous IoT environments. This study proposes a Privacy-Enhanced Federated Learning (PEFL) framework for adaptive and secure intrusion detection in large-scale IoT networks. The framework integrated differential privacy, secure aggregation, adaptive client selection, trust-aware federated optimization, and edge-assisted hierarchical coordination to improve robustness, scalability, and communication efficiency. The framework was evaluated using benchmark cybersecurity datasets, including CICIDS2017, UNSW-NB15, TON_IoT, and Bot-IoT under heterogeneous and adversarial conditions. Experimental results established that the proposed PEFL framework achieved improved intrusion detection accuracy, faster convergence stability, enhanced resilience against poisoning attacks, and reduced communication overhead compared with conventional FL approaches such as FedAvg and FedProx. The findings further indicated that adaptive client selection and trust-aware aggregation significantly improve model reliability and robustness in resource-constrained IoT environments. This framework will contribute toward the development of scalable, privacy-preserving, and deployable federated intrusion detection systems for next-generation intelligent IoT infrastructures.

Abstract: The long-term relationship between climate change, vegetation change and soil development, is a highly complex process. Findings of multiproxy (sedimentological, MS, geochemical (AAS, XRD), micromorphological, anthracological, phytolith and malacological) studies from a loess/paleosol sequence in northeastern Hungary highlighted the transformation of a reddish-brown fossil soil layer (cambisol) to a podzolic soil with signs of iterative wildfires during the terminal part of MIS3. According to our findings, a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) dominated open parkland emerged on the northern slopes during the second phase of MIS3 hosted by a special reddish-brown soil. Then the last phase of MIS3 was marked by the development of spruce (Picea) dominated open parkland. Results further suggest that vegetation change passed a critical threshold leading to an unusually rapid expansion of spruce (within ca. 100 yr). This rapid expansion of spruce, changing the geochemistry of the litter to a more acidic state likely caused the initiation of podzolization and the transformation of the original soil. The opening of MIS2 marked not only intensive dust accumulation but a steady decline of arboreal elements as well leading to the emergence of a cold tundra on top of the podosol with charcoal remains.

Abstract: Brasenia schreberi is a nationally protected aquatic macrophyte of substantial ecological value and economic significance, yet its wild populations have declined drastically due to habitat degradation and anthropogenic disturbances. This review systematically synthesizes research progress on the effects of water pH and depth on the growth, ecophysiology, mucilage quality, and community structure of B. schreberi, integrating findings from field surveys and controlled greenhouse experiments to elucidate critical ecological thresholds under combined environmental stressors. Our analysis reveals that natural B. schreberi populations are predominantly distributed in lentic habitats with stable water depths of 0.5-1.5 m (optimally 1.2-1.5 m) and circumneutral to weakly acidic conditions (pH 6.0-7.5). Deviations from these parameters substantially impair plant performance: when water depth exceeds 1.5 m or pH falls below 5.5, photosynthetic efficiency declines, root-to-shoot ratios increase aberrantly, and mucilage thickness decreases significantly. The synergistic critical threshold for population decline was identified at 1.1 m depth × pH 6.3. For artificial propagation, optimal cultivation strategies diverge from wild habitat preferences: maintaining pH at 7.0-7.5 (weakly alkaline) enhances mucilage polysaccharide accumulation and commercial quality, whereas a phenological stage-specific dynamic water-depth management regime (“shallow-deep-shallow-deep”) maximizes vegetative propagation success and yield. This review provides a theoretical framework and parameterized technical guidance for wild population restoration, standardized cultivation, and hydrological regulation in plateau wetland ecosystems. Future research priorities should focus on elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying pH- and depth-mediated mucilage synthesis, developing precision water quality management systems, and strengthening ex situ germplasm conservation.