High Contribution Research Articles

Health risk assessment of triazole fungicides around a pesticide factory in China.

The environmental pollution and health effects caused by pesticide production have consistently garnered considerable research interest. In the present study, the concentrations of five triazole fungicides (TFs) in air, indoor dust, and diet were monitored around a pesticide factory in eastern China from November 2020 to May 2021. The levels of five TFs in each sample were determined via UPLC‒MS/MS. For a health risk assessment, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's deterministic method was applied. The findings revealed that the total concentrations of the five TFs around the monitoring area ranged from 0.29 to 5.85 ng/m3 in outdoor air, 287.4 to 9878.5μg/kg in indoor dust, 0.0578 to 4.948μg/kg in vegetables, and 0.447 to 3.00μg/kg in rice. Notably, tebuconazole and hexaconazole had consistently high contributions over the years. For adults and children, the average daily doses (ADDs) were 1.32 × 10-5 and 2.69 × 10-5mg/kg/day, respectively, in the monitoring area and 4.25 × 10-6 and 6.42 × 10-6mg/kg/day, respectively, in the control area. In the control area, rice and vegetables were the primary media for exposure to TFs in children and adults, collectively accounting for more than 94% of the total TF exposure. Conversely, indoor dust is identified as the main medium of TF exposure in children residing near the pesticide factory, representing approximately 40% of the total exposure. The risks of noncarcinogenic effects on children and adults in the monitoring area were significantly greater than those in the control area, being approximately ten times greater for children, warranting increased attention. The carcinogenic risk to human health is relatively safe.

Quercetin analogues of kojic acid as strong antioxidant derivatives: Theoretical insights

Kojic acid is a natural product produced by many fungal species and has a wide range of applications. The chelating and antioxidant capacity are associated with their chemical and biological properties. In this study, some molecular modifications were proposed and substituted and hydroxylated phenyl moieties were introduced in the basic structure of kojic acid. The antioxidant capacities were calculated by DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p). Different antioxidant mechanisms were considered such as frontier molecular orbitals (HOMO, LUMO, and GAP), electron (IP, SET, and SPLET), or hydrogen transfers (BDEOH and HAT) on gas phase and PCM methods. The phenyl increases the antioxidant capacity, especially when an electron donating group (EDG) is found at the para position of the phenyl ring when compared to electron withdrawing groups (EWGs), for all studied mechanisms. The chemical stability agrees with spin density contributions for their cationic free radicals and semiquinones. A structural similarity between hydroxylated derivatives of kojic acid and quercetin was observed on gas phase and water. The lower BDEOH values ​​at the phenol positions are more important for the antioxidant capacity than at the enol position. Phenolic semiquinones are more stables than enolic ones. The chemical stability depends on the number of resonance structures and the positions where the unpaired electron can be found with the highest contributions. In conclusion, phenyl substitution is a valuable molecular modification for the increase on antioxidant capacity of kojic acid. Quercetin analogues of kojic acid were proposed as strong antioxidant derivatives.

Vertical Stratification of Butterfly Assemblages Persists in Highly Disturbed Forest Fragments of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Vertical stratification is a property of forest habitats related to the differential distribution of organisms according to the variation in the conditions, from the understory to the canopy. Here, we aimed to test whether butterfly assemblages from highly disturbed forests maintain the pattern of vertical stratification. We hypothesized that degraded forests would not exhibit vertical stratification due to the low variation in the microhabitat conditions along the vertical gradient, resulting from the canopy openness. To test this, we sampled fruit-feeding butterflies with bait traps, alternately disposed between the understory and canopy of three secondary forest fragments in a very fragmented Atlantic Forest landscape, for one year. We found that the vertical strata differed in terms of species composition, with a high contribution by the nestedness component on the beta diversity spatial variation. The understory assemblages had a higher abundance and were more diverse than the upper stratum. We demonstrated that vertical stratification is maintained even in disturbed forests; however, this does not necessarily provide support for a good quality and functioning ecosystem in these habitats. The butterfly assemblages recorded here are a subset of the species pool that inhabits conserved remnants. Thus, even being represented by species commonly found in disturbed habitats, the dynamic of vertical stratification of assemblages remains.

Effects of the control of an invasive tree on the structure of a plant-frugivore network.

Invasive non-native species are one of the main causes of degradation of ecosystems worldwide. The control of invasive species is key to reducing threats to ecosystem viability in the long term. Observations of structural changes in ecological interaction networks following invasive species suppression can be useful to monitor the success of ecological restoration initiatives. We evaluated the structure of plant-bird frugivory interaction networks in a plant community invaded by the guava tree (Psidium guajava L.) by comparing network metrics before and after control actions. Psidium guajava was relevant in all metrics for the unmanaged network in this study, with high degree centrality and high nestedness contribution. Based on the asymmetry of species interactions, we found that birds were highly dependent on the invasive plant before suppression. Once P. guajava trees were eliminated, bird and plant species richness, total number of interactions, and modularity increased, whereas nestedness and interaction strength asymmetry decreased. The diet of the bird community became more diversified once P. guajava was no longer available and relevant species roles in community structure emerged. Our results corroborate the fact that ecological restoration interventions should include the control of non-native plant species that attract frugivorous animals in order to diversify plant-frugivore interactions and thus maintain biodiversity in natural ecosystems.

Trends of N2O production during decentralized wastewater treatment: a critical review

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions have become a significant concern due to their potential high contribution to the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment plants. While their production pathways in centralized systems have been already deeply investigated, an analysis of N2O production trends from decentralized wastewater treatment plants, with a detailed description of the operating conditions affecting N2O generation in each technology, is missing. In this work, research on N2O emission from several decentralized technologies, including septic tanks and leach fields, soil infiltration systems, waste stabilization ponds, onsite activated sludge systems, Johkasou systems, onsite advanced technologies and constructed wetlands is reviewed. N2O emissions were found to depend on operating parameters, among which aeration regime, light exposure, influent carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, environmental temperature, nitrite concentration, plant species, and pH. It was not always possible to clearly understand the influence of a specific parameter on N2O emissions, given the complexity of the producing pathways, the temporal and spatial N2O variability, and the limited data. Research gaps, such as the lack of monitoring nitrification and denitrification intermediates, and the lack of long-term N2O monitoring campaigns, have also been identified. Considering the widespread diffusion of decentralized wastewater technologies and their need to meet more stringent requirements on sanitation, it will be more and more important in the future to understand their specific contribution to wastewater treatment carbon footprint. Standardized monitoring techniques, established estimation methods for emission factors, and a wider application of mathematical models could help in achieving a greater understanding of the complex N2O generation pathways.

Angular momentum generation and control during a back handspring step out on the balance beam performed by female gymnasts

The back handspring step out (BHS) is a foundational skill in gymnastics balance beam routines that requires the generation of significant sagittal plane angular momentum while tightly regulating frontal plane momentum to control their balance. However, which body segments are critical for generating this momentum and successfully performing the BHS and whether skill level influences this generation remains unknown. Twenty-five gymnasts with a range of skill levels performed a BHS on a balance beam. The BHS was scored, and segmental contributions to whole-body angular momentum were analyzed during the take-off, flight, hand contact and landing phases. Angular momentum has previously been used to assess balance control, where higher ranges of frontal plane angular momentum are indicative of poorer balance control. There were no differences in segmental contributions to angular momentum during the take-off phase between high- and low-scoring groups. However, the low-scoring group had higher trunk contributions to frontal plane angular momentum after the take-off phase. The trailing leg was also found to be a large contributor to frontal plane angular momentum, and thus more likely than the leading leg to cause deviations in balance control. In the sagittal plane, momentum generation and skill level were weakly correlated, suggesting as gymnasts become more skilled, they produce larger sagittal plane motions and are more adept at generating angular momentum. Because the trunk and trailing leg had high contributions to frontal plane angular momentum, controlling the trunk and trailing leg should be a focus in training regimes to improve BHS performance.

Spatial variations and vertical migration potentials of petroleum hydrocarbons with varying chain lengths in soils of different depths: Roles of solid and dissolved organic matters and soil texture

Petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) in contaminated sites may threaten human health and ecological safety, while the environmental behaviors of PHs with varying carbon chains and critical influencing factors need to be elucidated, thus facilitating efficient risk management. This study explored the occurrence characteristics and spatial variations of different PHs at the depths of 0–10 m in an abandoned industrial site, as well as evaluated the effects of solid organic matter (SOM), dissolved organic matter (DOM), and soil texture on the migration potentials of PHs with varying carbon chains. Furthermore, the leaching potentials of different PHs were integrated into their risk assessment. The total concentrations of PHs in contaminated soils ranged from 22.7 to 397 mg/kg in contaminated soils, and the long-chained PHs (C22-C40) represented the major components with an average contribution of 46.9 %, followed by short-chained PHs (C10-C12, 32.0 % average) and medium-chained PHs (C13-C21, 21.1 % average). As soil depth increased, a declining trend was observed in the proportions of long-chain PHs, with an augmentation in the relative abundance of short-chain PHs. The random forest model coupling redundancy analysis showed that SOM was the major contributor to the occurrence and vertical attenuation of PHs with longer carbon chains in underground soils, with clay component exerting a greater additional effect than silt and sand components. While DOM in soils exhibited a relatively high contribution to the retention of PHs with short carbon chains. These results demonstrated the significant influence of SOM and clay on the behavior of long-chained PHs and DOM on that of short-chained ones. Besides direct human exposure, the leaching potentials of PHs, particularly short-chained ones, in soils should be considered for a more comprehensive risk assessment. The findings of this study may assist with the behavior modelling and prediction of different PHs as well as the corresponding risk control.

Tracing of phosphorus in river sediments using the structural equation modeling

ABSTRACT Phosphorus (P) is transported into the water resources mainly due to soil erosion. Using the structural equation modeling, this study investigated the relative contribution of different P-producing sources in the Pasikhan River watershed, south of the Caspian Sea, Northern Iran. For this purpose, 79 surface soil samples and 14 suspended sediments were taken from the potential P sources and the river. These sources included undisturbed and degraded rangelands, forests, rice fields, tea gardens, and gullies. The built-in structural equations in PLS software were used for modeling purposes. The overall model fitting index (goodness of fit (GOF) = 0.591) showed the model's strong forecasting capability. Degraded rangelands, gullies, rice fields, and tea gardens significantly contribute to P in the river sediments. In particular, the highest contribution was related to degraded rangelands and gullies (intensity of the effect = 0.63 and 0.47). Finally, the results showed that gullies' contribution was 28.26% to the P production in river sediments, while the other sources had a relatively equal contribution. In conclusion, this study elucidates that undisturbed rangelands and forests exhibit negligible contributions to phosphorus levels in river sediments. Overall, the results confirmed that structural equation modeling is a robust and efficient approach to identifying P sources.

Nonlinear associations between design, land-use features, and active travel

The nonlinearity correlations of design and land-use features with active travel (AT) are yet to be systematically identified by recent studies. This study aims to apply the extreme gradient boosting approach to examine the nonlinear relationships between design and land-use built environment (BE) features and AT. Based on a comprehensive travel survey in Wuhan’s main agglomeration with various land use and urban functions, we collected 2073 valid samples to obtain residents’ daily travel patterns and socio-demographic attributes. We found that all BE features have nonlinear relationships with AT. The collective relative importance of design features has greater predictive power for AT than land-use features. The most effective range of high contributions of street connectivity and street greenery was 21–34/km2 and 0.22–0.34, respectively. Planners should improve the street-level features and build dense, diverse land use and high street connectivity urban environments to promote AT activity.

Altitudinal Variation in Soil Acid Phosphomonoesterase Activity in Subalpine Coniferous Forests in China

Studying the altitudinal variation and driving factors of soil acid phosphomonoesterase (ACP) activity in subalpine regions is crucial for understanding nutrient cycling processes within mountainous ecosystems. This study focused on fir (Abies fabri (Mast.) Craib) forests located at three altitudes (2781 m, 3044 m, and 3210 m) on the eastern slope of Mt. Gongga in southwest China. We measured soil ACP activity alongside soil climate, nutrients, and microorganisms at various depths and elevations to investigate how these factors influence ACP activity. The results indicated that in the organic matter horizons (Oe and Oa horizons), ACP activity gradually decreased with elevation. However, the surface mineral horizon (A horizon) did not show a decline in ACP activity with increasing elevation, which could be attributed to significantly lower ACP activity recorded at the 2781 m sample site compared to the 3044 m site. Variance partitioning analysis revealed that among soil climate, nutrients, and microorganisms, soil nutrients had the most substantial impact on ACP activity across all horizons, with a particularly high contribution of 89.4% observed in the A horizon. Random forest model analysis further demonstrated that soil total carbon (TC) played a crucial role in determining ACP activity in the Oe and Oa horizons, with importance values of 8.5% and 7.3%, respectively. Additionally, soil total nitrogen (TN) was identified as the primary factor influencing ACP activity in the A horizon, with an importance value of 12.6%. Furthermore, soil ACP activity was positively regulated by the soil TC:TP and TN:TP ratios, indicating a stoichiometric control of ACP activity in the Abies fabri (Mast.) Craib forests on Mt. Gongga.

Lattice dynamics and vibrational properties of scheelite-type alkali-metal perrhenates

The present work provides insight into the structural, vibrational, and elastic properties of scheelite-type alkali-metal perrhenates AReO4(A= Na, K, Rb, and Cs) via first-principles calculations. Sodium, potassium, and rubidium perrhenates are isostructural and crystallize in a tetragonal structure, whereas cesium perrhenate crystallizes in an orthorhombic structure. All the phonon frequencies and their corresponding mode assignments were estimated through the linear response method within density-functional-perturbation theory. The phonon density of states highlights the participation of the oxygen anions and both the A-type and rhenium (Re) cations in the low-frequency range. In contrast, the oxygen and Re atoms make relatively high and moderate contributions to the remaining phonon frequency spectrum. Considerable splitting of the longitudinal and traverse optic modes was observed. Elastic constants and phonon dispersion calculations confirmed the mechanical and dynamic stability of the studied AReO4compounds. A redshift was observed with the frequency of the phonons following the sequence Na→Cs. The low value calculated for the bulk modulus (ranging from 28.36 GPa to 14.15 GPa) and shear modulus indicates the perrhenates have a low resistance to deformation. The values of these moduli decrease in the order of Na→Cs, which correlates with an increase in an ionic radius of the cation. The response to pressure was found to be anisotropic. This characteristic and the ductile nature of the alkali-metal perrhenates were confirmed through elastic analysis.

Feasibility Study of Marigold as Intercrop in Drumstick Cultivation for Interim Income Generation

Drumstick (Moringa oliefera Lam.) PKM-1(Annual) is an important perennial vegetable crop present cultivating in India not only as vegetable and for moringa leaf powder. India is the main producer of drumstick in the world because higher contribution is due to favourable temperature during flowering and fruit development stages. Even though encountered several production hurdles resulting greater yield loss due to existing climatic conditions during fruit developmental stages. But this crop gave them perfect assurance in giving good income in an average about 2-3 Lakhs rupees over a period of 2 years. Based on weather conditions farmers were being come forwarded by training programmes conducted by our KVK from 2017-till date, we have documented the farmers results by growing intercrops mainly marigold crop. Which gives good yield and good income to the farmers before pod formation of drumstick. Marigold is 110 days crop where drumstick gives first yield after 7 months. In between marigold crop not only giving accountable benefits to the farmers and it reduces the nematode problems in the field as well explained by Steiner, 1941 Marigold (Tagetes erecta) is one of the most widely studied plant genera due to its allelopathic potential against PPNs. Marigolds’ repressive impact on nematodes has been documented for over 50 years and some studies said that spiral (Helicotylenchus multicinctus) nematodes are responsible for yield losses of 30–60% in many banana-producing countries in the tropics (Davide, 1995, Speijer and Kajumba, 1996, Kashaija et al., 2004) . The partner crops of the intercropping system share space, water, and nutrients making the most efficient utilization of available resources (Xu et al., 2020). Earlier farmers were paddy growers where they didn’t see profits by selling paddy in IKP centers or as individual sales. So We conducted trails in Huzurabad Division and Errabelli villages of Karimnagar District (Old Karimnagar District), got successful results by doubling the farmer’s income. Raised marigold seedlings in KVK during June month and supplied to the farmers. Transplanted marigold and Drumstick in July month with 60cm x60cm and Drumstick spacing was 3mx3m where 444 plants were accommodated in one acre area, Intercropping is an agricultural system that improves land use efficiency through simultaneous cultivation of more different crops in the same field using functional complementarity to increase resources utilization, increase the productivity of crops and nutrient-use efficiency (Chifflot et al., 2006; Zhan and Li, 2003) Even went through many hurdles in marigold and drumstick crops in rainy season due to paddy growing soils and water logging conditions. In this, observed positive effects on soil carbon and nitrogen of intercropping found in previous intercropping studies (Makumba et al., 2007), [1]. Results are as follows we harvested 36.80Q per acre in 8 pickings and after drumstick pods harvested from February up to June 134 pods per tree. It shows C: B ratio as drumstick (PKM1) contribution 1:11.7 and marigold (Tanindo (Yellow and Orange) contribution 1:4.3 to the farmers. The demonstration plots reported that yield of marigold and drumsticks are 38.6Q and 49.58Q per acre. Farmers got good income Rs. 2, 74,160.00 through two crops in one acre area with Marigold as inter crop in Drumstick plantation. Based on this success story of the farmers, NABARD bank started giving loans to the farmers and they published this success story in their credit linkage plan 2018-19.

Effects of inhibitors and slit incorporation on NH3 and N2O emission processes after urea application

The use of urea fertilizers in agriculture is associated with many negative environmental impacts and is a source of ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Such losses from urea fertilizer can be avoided by different mitigation techniques. Three different mitigation principles, urease inhibitor (N-(2-Nitrophenyl) phosphoric triamide, 2-NPT) (UI) alone and urease inhibitor in combination with nitrification inhibitors (N-[3(5)-methyl-1 H-pyrazol-1-yl) methyl] acetamide, MPA) (NI) and closed slit incorporation of urea fertilizer into the soil, were compared on a sandy loam soil at a soil water level of 70 % water-holding capacity. An in vitro microcosm approach with open dynamic incubation chambers was used to monitor NH3 emissions over two weeks with NH3 sampling by washing bottles. N2O emissions were studied over ten weeks in slow throughflow mesocosms with continuous gas chromatographic (GC) measurements. To get insights into N2O production and consumption processes, gas samples were taken after six weeks and N2O isotopocules were analyzed by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Slit injection showed the greatest effect on NH3 emission reduction by 79.6 % (40.6 % by UI, and 46.7 % by UINI) compared to surface applied urea. Minor pollution swapping to N2O was observed at the beginning of the trial due to incorporation but not in the cumulative emissions over the entire incubation time. The reduction effect of UINI on N2O emissions decreased over time with no cumulative emission reduction at the end of experimentation. N2O isotopocules confirmed the high contribution of nitrification to N2O production. In contrast and bacterial denitrification, nitrifier denitrification and fungal denitrification were involved on a much lower level and N2O reduction to N2 was not pronounced. All NH3 mitigation measurements where effective to decrease NH3 emissions while their effects on N2O emission varied over time. Factors as crop N uptake and rainfall would further modify the overall effect on N2O emissions and need to be considered for final pollution swapping assessment. Further research on the impact of NI on non-target microbial communities is warranted to elucidate potential environmental consequences and long-term efficacy of inhibitor compounds.

Organisational changes and depression: The mediating role of psychosocial work exposures in the SUMER study

BackgroundStudies are lacking on the associations between organisational changes and mental disorders and the underlying mechanisms. The objectives were to explore the associations between organisational changes and depression, measured using a validated instrument, and the mediating role of psychosocial work exposures. MethodsThe study relied on the national representative sample of 25,977 employees of the French SUMER survey. The PHQ-9 instrument was used to measure depression. Weighted robust Poisson regression analyses were performed to explore the associations between organisational changes, psychosocial work exposures, and depression. The method by Karlson, Holm and Breen (KHB) was used to estimate the mediating role (contributions) of psychosocial work exposures in the associations between organisational changes and depression. ResultsThe exposure to any organisational change increased the risk of depression (Prevalence Ratio = 1.85, 95 % CI: 1.61–2.13). All types of organisational changes were found to be risk factors for depression. The risk of depression increased with the number of organisational changes. Psychosocial work exposures contributed to mediating the associations between organisational changes and depression. The exposures with the highest contributions were found to be high psychological demands, low esteem, low job promotion, low job security, workplace bullying, and ethical conflict. Taking all the exposures into account mediated the associations by 47–100 %. LimitationsThe study limitations included the cross-sectional design and a potential healthy worker effect. ConclusionsMore prevention oriented towards work organisation and the psychosocial work environment may help to reduce depression among working populations.

Air quality in a small city: criteria pollutants, volatile organic compounds, metals, and microbes.

This work presents a year-long integral study of air quality parameters in Ciudad Real, a small city in the center of Spain, and its influence on the nearby national park, Las Tablas de Daimiel. The study covers meteorological parameters and criteria pollutants such as O3, NO, NO2, SO2, and PM10. Additionally, for each month, a 1-week campaign was performed sampling air in sorbent tubes with 8-h time resolution to analyze anthropogenic volatile organic compounds and the effects of seasons, daytime, and working-weekend days. During these campaigns, 24-h PM2.5 samples were also collected to measure the load of bacteria and fungi, as well as the trace concentrations of elements.The city and the national park NOx profiles showed that emissions from the town had a non-perceivable effect on the protected area. PM10 levels in Ciudad Real were influenced by Saharan intrusions, as was the national park; however, Ciudad Real had a higher contribution from anthropogenic sources. Ozone levels were lower in the city during the cold season due to the higher concentration of NOx and have not changed significantly in the last decade.The VOCs with higher average concentrations were toluene, m,p-xylene, benzene, methylene chloride, and o-xylene, with traffic being the main source of these pollutants in the city. For benzene and carbon tetrachloride levels, weak carcinogenic risks were estimated. In PM2.5, the most abundant metals were Na, Zn, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, and K. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks estimated from the levels of the studied metals were negligible. Bacterial and fungal counts positively correlated with the concentration of PM2.5. Microbial community composition showed seasonal variability, with the dominance of human pathogenic bacteria which correlated with certain pollutants such as SO2. Bacillus and Cutibacterium were the most abundant genera.

A machine learning-based prediction of tau load and distribution in Alzheimer's disease using plasma, MRI and clinical variables.

Tau positron emission tomography (PET) is a reliable neuroimaging technique for assessing regional load of tau pathology in the brain, commonly used in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research and clinical trials. However, its routine clinical use is limited by cost and accessibility barriers. Here we explore using machine learning (ML) models to predict clinically useful tau-PET composites from low-cost and non-invasive features, e.g., basic clinical variables, plasma biomarkers, and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results demonstrated that models including plasma biomarkers yielded the most accurate predictions of tau-PET burden (best model: R-squared=0.66-0.68), with especially high contribution from plasma P-tau217. In contrast, MRI variables stood out as best predictors (best model: R-squared=0.28-0.42) of asymmetric tau load between the two hemispheres (an example of clinically relevant spatial information). The models showed high generalizability to external test cohorts with data collected at multiple sites. Based on these results, we also propose a proof-of-concept two-step classification workflow, demonstrating how the ML models can be translated to a clinical setting. This study uncovers current potential in predicting tau-PET information from scalable cost-effective variables, which could improve diagnosis and prognosis of AD.

Genetic and environmental drivers of legume cover crop performance: Hairy vetch

AbstractAmong 50 environments in the United States, we screened 35 hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) lines for traits of interest to cover cropping. We analyzed the influence of genotype, environment, and the genotype‐by‐environment interaction (G × E) on biomass, vigor, winter survival, emergence, flowering time, and nitrogen fixation. To explore how environments and G × E impacted each trait, we associated environment predictions and G × E loadings with weather and soil parameters. Environment had the largest influence on all traits, representing more than half of the variance. Environment predictions were significantly associated with weather and/or soil parameters for each trait. Biomass was associated with growing degree days, winter survival with freezing degree days without snow cover, growth stage with shortwave radiation, and emergence with soil texture. The G × E interaction was larger than genotypic variance for all traits except for winter survival and flowering time. The G × E interaction loadings were associated with soil sand content for biomass, air temperature for fall vigor and emergence, and snow cover for winter survival. Although it represented the smallest proportion of total variance, genetic effects were significant for all traits except for emergence, Ndfa, %N, and C:N. New hairy vetch breeding lines were superior to all commercially available lines for biomass and winter survival. Biomass harvest timing did not significantly change line rank, indicating that top‐performing lines can be used in diverse management systems. To select for high nitrogen contribution to subsequent crops, breeding programs can indirectly select for biomass rather than expensively evaluating symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Coupled role of climate and tectonics in the deposition of the late Quaternary sedimentary sequence in the southern margin of the central Ganga Plain, India

ABSTRACT The Ganga Plain’s sedimentation is primarily controlled by Himalayan tectonics, variations in monsoon intensity, and glacier size. However, the significance of intrabasinal tectonics, which is an interplay of the Himalaya tectonics and basement tectonic configuration of the Ganga Plain, in comprehending the late Quaternary Ganga Plain sedimentation remains unclear. In this study, the sediment provenance and extent of weathering experienced by the sediments are studied using the mineralogical and geochemical (major, trace, and rare earth elements) composition of a sedimentary cliff sequence exposed at the Ramnagar locality near the cratonic peripheral bulge in the southern Ganga Plain. In the Ramnagar cliff sediment section, two sediment packages, designated SP-A and SP-B, are identified based on mineralogy, texture, and geochemistry. These packages of sediments show mild chemical weathering and distinct geochemical compositions. The lower part (SP-A) of the Ramnagar cliff section is characterized by higher contributions from mafic sources (pyroxene, feldspar, and mica as dominant minerals), while the upper part (SP-B) is predominately derived from felsic sources (mica and feldspar as dominant minerals), which are supplied via the peninsular and the Himalayan rivers, respectively. The southern part of the central Ganga Plain shows evidence of a shift in the sediment provenance from mafic to felsic source rock at 40 ka. This study demonstrates how weathering and sedimentation are controlled by both regional tectonics and climate in the southern margin of the central Ganga Plain.

Differentiating Pond-Intensive, Paddy-Ecologically, and Free-Range Cultured Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) Using Stable Isotope and Multi-Element Analysis Coupled with Chemometrics.

The farming pattern of crayfish significantly impacts their quality, safety, and nutrition. Typically, green and ecologically friendly products command higher economic value and market competitiveness. Consequently, intensive farming methods are frequently employed in an attempt to replace these environmentally friendly products, leading to potential instances of commercial fraud. In this study, stable isotope and multi-element analysis were utilized in conjunction with multivariate modeling to differentiate between pond-intensive, paddy-ecologically, and free-range cultured crayfish. The four stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen (δ13C, δ15N, δ2H, δ18O) and 20 elements from 88 crayfish samples and their feeds were determined for variance analysis and correlation analysis. To identify and differentiate three different farming pattern crayfish, unsupervised methods such as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used, as well as supervised multivariate modeling, specifically partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The HCA and PCA exhibited limited effectiveness in classifying the farming pattern of crayfish, whereas the PLS-DA demonstrated a more robust performance with a predictive accuracy of 90.8%. Additionally, variables such as δ13C, δ15N, δ2H, Mn, and Co exhibited relatively higher contributions in the PLS-DA model, with a variable influence on projection (VIP) greater than 1. This study is the first attempt to use stable isotope and multi-element analysis to distinguish crayfish under three farming patterns. It holds promising potential as an effective strategy for crayfish authentication.

Automated segmentation of midbrain nuclei using deep learning and multisequence MRI: a longitudinal study on iron accumulation with age

Abstract Elevated levels of brain iron, particularly within the basal ganglia, have been associated with cognitive and motor impairment in normal aging and neurodegenerative conditions. The subthalamic nucleus (STN), substantia nigra (SN), and red nucleus (RN), despite their high iron content and contribution to motor and cognitive processes, are less frequently studied. This oversight can largely be attributed to the challenges posed by in-vivo assessments of these small, deep-seated midbrain structures. We developed and validated an automated tool for the segmentation of the STN, SN, and RN. Multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data including T1-weighted, FLAIR, Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) and R2* alongside manual delineation on QSM images of 40 individuals, was used to train segmentation models based on nnU-Net deep-learning framework. A combination of QSM and FLAIR sequences was found to be optimal for structure segmentation (mean Dice scores of 0.84, 0.91 and 0.94 for STN, SN and RN, respectively). We next applied the automated segmentation method to an independent 3-year longitudinal dataset including 175 healthy adults (age range at baseline: 20-79 years old). Structural equation modelling was used to assess iron accumulation over time using age, sex, baseline iron and regional volume as factors of interest. Cross-sectionally, older age was linearly associated with higher iron load in SN and STN; the association was non-linear in RN. Longitudinally, results indicated significant iron accumulation in the STN (Mean increase = 0.02, p = 0.005) and SN (Mean increase = 0.035, p = 0.001), but not in the RN (Mean increase = 0.015, p = 0.2). Our findings demonstrated high performance of nnU-Net in automated segmentation, and advanced our understanding of iron accumulation in midbrain nuclei in aging.