Mixed Depth Research Articles

72 Multi-Spectral SWIR Imaging in Humans Reveals Correlations with Distinct Skin Burn Depths

Abstract Introduction Burn depth determination is a critical aspect of burn patient care but currently lacks accuracy in clinical practice. We have shown first in animal models and then in a two-patient characterization that Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) imaging, which penetrates tissue better than visual or near-infrared light and is very sensitive to water content, can distinguish between superficial and deep tissue necrosis. Here we present the findings from our pilot study of 10 patients showing the use of multi-spectral SWIR imaging of human burn injury as a potential technique for burn depth determination. Methods Ten patients admitted for mixed depth thermal injuries between 5-40% TBSA were analyzed using our SWIR assessment tool. Prior to burn excision the SWIR system was used to image burn areas and normal skin at 4 different SWIR wavelengths (Figure 1A). Standard photographs from imaged areas were collected and presented for 5 independent, blinded, surgeons’ assessments. Using the visual and SWIR images, 5-15 regions of interest (ROI) were selected from each of the burned areas and normalized to adjacent normal skin and the reflected light intensity in each ROI was averaged at each wavelength. Statistics were done using Mann-Whitney U tests. Results Visual and SWIR images were collected from burn areas in 10 patients for a total of 273 burn ROIs. The ROIs were assessed by the surgeons with ROIs being agreed upon as being superficial or superficial partial thickness (SPT) (n=47), deep partial thickness (DPT) (n=97), or full thickness (FT) (n=129) burns by a majority (60% or above) consensus. As seen in Figure 1B, the reflectance intensities (RIs) from superficial and SPT burns were significantly different than the DPT burns at the 1940 nm wavelength (p=0.05) and significantly different than FT burns at 1200 nm (p=0.008) and 1940 nm (p=0.009). When DPT and FT burns were compared there was a significant difference a 1200 nm (p=0.003) and 2250 nm (p=0.01). Conclusions Here we present a 10 patient SWIR pilot study demonstrating distinct ROIs of SWIR wavelengths for different burn depths based on consensus surgeon assessments. Overall, as burn depth increases, the 1200 and 2250 nm wavelengths show increasing RIs and 1940 nm show decreasing RIs. These results motivate further studies of SWIR imaging including pending histological analysis in the hope to non-invasively and accurately identify operative versus non-operative burns. Applicability of Research to Practice This new SWIR technology may enable us to more objectively assess burn depth, leading to improved surgical decision making and better patient outcomes.

Noncommutative Dirac and Schrödinger equations in the background of the new generalized Morse potential and a class of Yukawa potential with the improved Coulomb-like tensor potential as a tensor in 3D-ERQM and 3D-ENRQM symmetries

Relativistic and nonrelativistic quantum mechanics formulated in a noncommutative space–space have recently become the object of renewed interest. In the context of three-dimensional extended relativistic quantum mechanics (3D-ERQM) symmetries with arbitrary spin-orbit coupling quantum number [Formula: see text], we approximate to solve the deformed Dirac equation for a new suggested new generalized Morse potential and a class of Yukawa potential including improved Coulomb-like tensor interaction (N(GMP-CYP) plus ICLTI). In the framework of the spin and pseudospin (p-spin) symmetry, we obtain the global new energy eigenvalue which equals the energy eigenvalue in the usual relativistic QM as the main part plus three corrected parts produced from the effect of the spin-orbit interaction, the new modified Zeeman, and the rotational Fermi term, by using the parametric of the well-known Bopp’s shift method and standard perturbation theory using Greene–Aldrich approximation to nonlinear and exponential terms in the effective potential. The new values that we got appeared sensitive to the quantum numbers ([Formula: see text]), the mixed potential depths ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]), the range of the potential [Formula: see text] and noncommutativity parameters ([Formula: see text],[Formula: see text],[Formula: see text]). We have studied the nonrelativistic limit of new spin symmetry under the N(GMP-ICYP) model, we will also treat some important special cases such as the new generalized Morse potential, the new class of Yukawa potential, the new Hellmann potential, the new inversely quadratic Yukawa potential, the new Hulthén potential and new Coulomb potential. Finally, we studied a case of composite systems.

The response of aquatic ecosystems to the interactive effects of stratospheric ozone depletion, UV radiation, and climate change

Variations in stratospheric ozone and changes in the aquatic environment by climate change and human activity are modifying the exposure of aquatic ecosystems to UV radiation. These shifts in exposure have consequences for the distributions of species, biogeochemical cycles, and services provided by aquatic ecosystems. This Quadrennial Assessment presents the latest knowledge on the multi-faceted interactions between the effects of UV irradiation and climate change, and other anthropogenic activities, and how these conditions are changing aquatic ecosystems. Climate change results in variations in the depth of mixing, the thickness of ice cover, the duration of ice-free conditions and inputs of dissolved organic matter, all of which can either increase or decrease exposure to UV radiation. Anthropogenic activities release oil, UV filters in sunscreens, and microplastics into the aquatic environment that are then modified by UV radiation, frequently amplifying adverse effects on aquatic organisms and their environments. The impacts of these changes in combination with factors such as warming and ocean acidification are considered for aquatic micro-organisms, macroalgae, plants, and animals (floating, swimming, and attached). Minimising the disruptive consequences of these effects on critical services provided by the world’s rivers, lakes and oceans (freshwater supply, recreation, transport, and food security) will not only require continued adherence to the Montreal Protocol but also a wider inclusion of solar UV radiation and its effects in studies and/or models of aquatic ecosystems under conditions of the future global climate.Graphical abstract

The influence of noncommutativity on the energy spectra of bosonic particles in the framework of the DKGE with improved spatially-dependent mass including mixed scalar-vector Coulomb potentials in the ERQM symmetries

The bound state solutions of the deformed Klien-Gordon equation (DKGE) have been determined in the extended relativistic quantum mechanics ERQM symmetries using the improved spatially-dependent mass Coulomb potential with mixed scalar-vector Coulomb potentials (ISDM-SVCPs) model. The spatially-dependent mass Coulomb potential, as well as a combination of ((1/(r³)) and (1/(r⁴))), are included in the ISDM-SVCPs model, which is coupled with the coupling LΘ, which explains the interaction of the physical features of the system with the topological deformations of space-time. The new relativistic energy eigenvalues for the ISDM-CP have been derived using the parametric Bopp's shift method and standard perturbation theory. Quantum numbers (j,l,s,m), mixed potential depths (q/s_{c},m₀,m₁), and noncommutativity parameters (Θ,τ,χ) seemed to affect the new values we obtained. Within the framework of relativistic extended quantum mechanics, we have addressed certain significant particular instances that we hope will be valuable to the specialized researcher. In DKGE symmetries, we've also looked at the improved pure scalar Coulomb-like potential. The formulation of total energy was also discovered in the context of extended symmetries, which unified the energies of bosonic particles and antiparticles into a single mathematical formula. When the three simultaneous limits (Θ,τ,χ) were applied, we recovered the normal results of relativistic in the literature (0,0,0).

Warming waters of the Gulf of Maine: The role of Shelf, Slope and Gulf Stream Water masses

We present an analysis of a 19-year time series of mooring data (T, S,) collected since 2003 in Jordan Basin in the eastern Gulf of Maine and beginning in 2016, in situ nitrate; we also include hydrographic station data collected by NOAA’s ECOMON Program. Analyses support, in part, conclusions drawn by others that the Gulf of Maine has warmed and continues to warm as a result of long-term and shorter term air-sea heat fluxes. We show that warming is to a large extent a result of changes in advective heat fluxes via lateral exchanges with water masses in neighboring shelf and slope regions (Warm Slope Water and Scotian Shelf Water). Water properties of the source waters and their inflows to the Gulf have been shown to have been changing over time, and now reveal a mix that includes warm, salty, low nutrient Gulf Stream Water. The result is a new baseline in the Gulf of Maine, of warmer temperatures and higher salinities, which appears to have become established after 2010. Annual cycles of spring-to summer water column warming and fall-to-winter cooling and convective mixing are presented and discussed, showing that the maximum depth of convective mixing in the eastern interior Gulf of Maine does not usually exceed 150 m, a depth constrained by the presence a strong vertical density gradient created by layer of high salinity bottom waters. Approximately-six months after the annual late-summer influx to the Gulf of warm and salty water masses at depth and along the bottom, a mass of cold, low salinity Scotian Shelf Water arrives in the upper water layers in winter – these two major water mass fluxes are a half year out of phase with one another, every year. We suggest that these two water mass intrusion events are linked – that the winter-spring inflow of Scotian Shelf Water creates a barotropic pressure gradient in the Gulf that persists into the summer, thereby impeding the inflow of warm and salty Slope, and/or Gulf Stream Water, until that Scotian Shelf Water mass has become sufficiently dispersed in late summer, thereby effectively opening a valve that allows warm and salty deep waters from outside the Gulf to penetrate.

Light niche construction: Motility of sediment-inhabiting diatoms determines the experienced light environment

Diatoms are an extraordinarily diverse, evolutionarily successful, and ecologically important group of single-cell algae. Diatoms of the group of the pennates are particularly important in estuarine sedimentary habitats, where they form highly productive microphytobenthos communities that cover extensive areas of intertidal flats. The pennates are capable of directed motility, an evolutionary and unique trait amongst diatoms, which has long been hypothesized to confer a critical adaptive advantage, by enabling these cells to vertically migrate within the photic zone of the sediment and behaviorally regulate light exposure. This study investigated the role of diatom motility on the active regulation of light exposure by developing a model to quantitatively characterize and compare the experienced light environment of individual cells of two life forms of pennate diatoms that inhabit intertidal estuarine sediments: epipelic species, motile cells dominant in fine sediments, and epipsammic species, non-motile or slowly motile cells, that colonize coarser sediments. The conceptual framework of the model was based on the identification and parameterization of the main controlling factors of the light regime perceived by cells inhabiting the two types of sedimentary environments: (i) solar irradiance incident at the sediment surface, determined by the superimposition of the tidal cycle on the day-night cycle; (ii) light attenuation within the sediment; (iii) sediment mixing by tidal currents or bioturbation, repositioning the cells in the sediment column; (iv) cell velocity, as a function of light intensity and of the photoacclimation state of the cells that determines their photosynthetic light preferences. The model was run for realistic scenarios based on published ecological, photophysiological and cellular motility data (light attenuation, mixing depth, photosynthesis light-response curves, cell velocity), simulating (i) the variation in the vertical position of a diatom cell due to vertical migration and (ii) the irradiance level to which it is exposed at each moment. The results confirm the hypothesis that epipelic and epipsammic diatoms experience a significantly different light environment. Vertical migration enables motile species to experience a much less variable light regime, with increased mean daily light doses received. In contrast, non-motile species experience a much more unstable light environment, including the frequent exposure to supersaturating light levels and to periods of prolonged darkness. These results have important ecological significance, as they support the adaptive value of light-driven motility as a form of optimizing photosynthesis and growth, and they identify vertical migration as a niche-construction activity, allowing motile diatoms to regulate the light environment they experience through habitat selection.

Factors behind the threshold‐like changes in lake ecosystems along a water colour gradient: The effects of dissolved organic carbon and iron on euphotic depth, mixing depth and phytoplankton biomass

Abstract The effects of water colour, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), iron (Fe) and fetch on the mixing depth (Zmix), euphotic depth (Zeu) and phytoplankton biomass of lakes were studied to clarify the factors behind changes in lake productivity along a DOC gradient. The study was conducted by field sampling 102 lakes in Finland. The lakes were situated mainly in forested areas. At DOC concentrations below 15 mg/L, light attenuation was explained both by Fe and DOC, but at higher DOC concentrations the effect of Fe faded. For the absorption of different wavelengths of photosynthetic light, both DOC and Fe had a significant effect up to 475 nm, but for longer wavelengths only the effect of DOC was significant. Both Zmix and Zeu decreased logarithmically with increasing DOC and water colour. Water colour was determined by DOC and Fe. Zmix increased along with increasing fetch. Zmix exceeded Zeu when DOC concentration was >14.4 mg/L and water colour >106 mg Pt/L (platinum as chloroplatinate ion 3). Above the 14.4 mg/L DOC threshold, the illuminated part of the mixed layer decreased logarithmically with increasing water colour, leaving an increasing part of the mixed epilimnion below the photosynthetic layer. Chlorophyll‐a concentration showed a unimodal relationship with DOC, with the highest biomass occurring at DOC concentrations of 15.7–15.9 mg/L. The results suggested that above DOC concentration 14 mg/L and water colour 106 mg Pt/L, both quality and quantity of light in the epilimnion restrict production by phytoplankton. This can explain the observed threshold‐like changes in lake productivity along a DOC gradient.

Analysis of Mechanism and Start-up Thresholds of Seasonal Algal Blooms in a Northern Eutrophic Stratified Reservoir

Seasonal algal blooms produce a high risk for water supply safety. To explore the mechanism of seasonal algal blooms in northern eutrophic stratified reservoirs, the combination of taxonomic and functional classifications, local weighted regression (LOWESS), and Boundary line analysis (BLA) were employed to obtain the succession features and environmental thresholds of seasonal (e.g., spring and summer) algal blooms, based on the long-term and high-frequency monitoring from 2017 to 2020 in Lijiahe Reservoir. The results showed that:① the succession and response mechanisms of algal blooms were different in spring and summer. In detail, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Dinoflagellates (e.g., low-temperature, small, high surface-to-volume genera) dominated in spring, whereas Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Cyanobacteria (e.g., high-temperature, large or colonial, low surface-to-volume genera) dominated in summer. The differences in physiological and morphological characteristics of algae were the internal cause triggering seasonal algal blooms. ② The main drivers of algal blooms were different in spring and summer. Spring blooms were controlled by water temperature (WT), mixing depth (i.e., Zmix), and light availability (i.e., Zeu/Zmix), whereas summer blooms were jointly influenced by WT, Zmix, Zeu/Zmix, and total phosphorus (TP). The differences in the changes of the major drivers were external causes triggering seasonal algal blooms. ③ The water environment thresholds starting seasonal algal blooms were different in spring and summer. The thresholds of WT, Zmix, and Zeu/Zmix in spring were>9.4℃, <10.9 m, and>0.24, respectively, whereas the thresholds of WT, Zmix, Zeu/Zmix, and TP in summer were>16.0℃, <11.6 m, >0.16, and>0.011 mg·L-1, respectively. Based on the research on the mechanism of seasonal algal blooms and related thresholds, this work will provide a reference for the control of subsequent algal blooms.

Tropospheric NO2 vertical profiles over South Korea and their relation to oxidant chemistry: implications for geostationary satellite retrievals and the observation of NO2 diurnal variation from space

Abstract. Nitrogen oxides (NOx≡ NO + NO2) are of central importance for air quality, climate forcing, and nitrogen deposition to ecosystems. The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is now providing hourly NO2 satellite observations over East Asia, offering the first direct measurements of NO2 diurnal variation from space to guide understanding of NOx emissions and chemistry. The NO2 retrieval requires independent vertical profile information from a chemical transport model (CTM) to compute the air mass factor (AMF) that relates the NO2 column measured along the line of sight to the NO2 vertical column. Here, we use aircraft observations from the Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign over the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) and around the Korean Peninsula in May–June 2016 to better understand the factors controlling the NO2 vertical profile, its diurnal variation, the implications for the AMFs, and the ability of the GEOS-Chem CTM to compute the NO2 vertical profiles used for AMFs. Proper representation of oxidant chemistry is critical for the CTM simulation of NO2 vertical profiles and is achieved in GEOS-Chem through new model developments, including aerosol nitrate photolysis, reduced uptake of hydroperoxy (HO2) radicals by aerosols, and accounting for atmospheric oxidation of volatile chemical products (VCPs). We find that the tropospheric NO2 columns measured from space in the SMA are mainly contributed by the planetary boundary layer (PBL) below 2 km altitude, reflecting the highly polluted conditions. Repeated measurements of NO2 vertical profiles over the SMA at different times of day show that diurnal change in mixing depth affecting the NO2 vertical profile induces a diurnal variation in AMFs of comparable magnitude to the diurnal variation in the NO2 column. GEOS-Chem captures this diurnal variation in AMFs and more generally the variability in the AMFs for the KORUS-AQ NO2 vertical profiles (2.7 % mean bias, 7.6 % precision), with some outliers in the morning due to errors in the timing of mixed-layer growth.

Bioturbation in sediment cores from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the northeast Pacific: Evidence from excess 210Pb

Radioactivity levels of 210Pb and 226Ra were measured to evaluate the bioturbation coefficients and mixing depths in one sediment core collected from the polymetallic nodule area inside the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a contract area of the China Ocean Mineral Resources Association (COMR) in the eastern Pacific Ocean. With a steady-state diffusion mode, the bioturbation coefficient and mixing depth of the sediment core were estimated to be 81.5 cm2/a and 51.3 cm, respectively, higher than that of the sediment core from the previous results from abyssal or global areas, which may be attributed to the distribution of total organic carbon (TOC) abundance. In addition, the transport flux of TOC from the surface layer to the deep layer were evaluated to be 1.15 mmol/(cm2·a), resulting in 83,200 tons of carbon buried annually into the sediment in the CCZ, indicating that a potential carbon sink will be disturbed with future exploration.

Modulation of Upper Ocean Vertical Temperature Structure and Heat Content by a Fast-Moving Tropical Cyclone

Abstract The ocean temperature response to tropical cyclones (TCs) is important for TC development, local air–sea interactions, and the global air–sea heat budget and transport. The modulation of the upper ocean vertical temperature structure after a fast-moving TC was studied at the observation stations in the northern South China Sea, including TCs Kalmaegi (2014), Rammasun (2014), Sarika (2016), and Haima (2016). The upper ocean temperature and heat response to the TCs mainly depended on the combined effect of mixing and vertical advection. Mixing cooled the sea surface and warmed the subsurface, while upwelling (downwelling) reduced (increased) the subsurface warm anomaly and cooled (warmed) the deeper ocean. An ideal parameterization that depends on only the nondimensional mixing depth (HE), nondimensional transition layer thickness (HT), and nondimensional upwelling depth (HU) was able to roughly reproduce sea surface temperature (SST) and upper ocean heat change. After TCs, the subsurface heat anomalies moved into the deeper ocean. The air–sea surface heat flux contributed little to the upper ocean temperature anomaly during the TC forcing stage and did not recover the surface ocean back to pre-TC conditions more than one and a half months after the TC. This work shows how upper ocean temperature and heat content varies by a TC, indicating that TC-induced mixing modulates the warm surface water into the subsurface, and TC-induced advection further modulates the warm water into the deeper ocean and influences the ocean heat budget. Significance Statement Tropical cyclones can cause a strong ocean response that modulates the upper ocean temperature structure and contributes to the local heat budget and transport. This manuscript shows how mixing and vertical advection modulate upper ocean temperature after four fast-moving tropical cyclones, and then gives a parameterization of how sea surface temperature and upper ocean heat change depend on the two mechanisms. The temperature anomalies can propagate into deeper ocean after the tropical cyclones, and sea surface heat flux is not important for upper ocean temperature response during a tropical cyclone. These results show how the upper ocean temperature responses to a tropical cyclone, and influences the local heat budget.

Stratigraphic expression of the human impacts in condensed deposits of the Northern Adriatic Sea

Abstract Evaluating the history of human impacts on marine ecosystems based on sediment cores is challenging on shelves characterized by very slow sedimentation. To assess the stratigraphic expression of such impacts in the condensed deposits of an epicontinental sea, we analysed a 3 m-long core collected at 31 m water depth off the Po prodelta in the Northern Adriatic Sea by integrating geochronological ( 14 C and 210 Pb), sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological proxies. A depositional history of the last 10 000 years is expressed in four different facies: (1) alluvial floodplain, (2) transitional, shell-poor silts, (3) a condensed 30 cm-thick shell lag, and (4) a 10 cm-thick layer of distal prodelta silts comprising the last c. 500 years. 10 000-year-old shells of Lentidium mediterraneum spread over the shell lag and prodelta sediments document onshore transport during the early Holocene sea-level rise. Varicorbula gibba shells are age-homogeneous within the subsurface shell lag, documenting decimetre-scale mixing by bioturbation in the past. However, in spite of low sedimentation rates, the organic and heavy metal enrichment, the increase in proportional abundance of benthic foraminifers preferring organic-rich sediments ( Nonionella sp.), and the increase in size of molluscs ( V. gibba ) in the upper 10 cm formed by prodelta silts still detect the eutrophication in this region during the twentieth century. These eutrophication proxies are preserved in the stratigraphic record owing to temporarily increasing sedimentation rate and decreasing mixing depth.

Marine primary producers in a darker future: a meta‐analysis of light effects on pelagic and benthic autotrophs

The availability of underwater light, as primary energy source for all aquatic photoautotrophs, is (and will further be) altered by changing precipitation, water turbidity, mixing depth, and terrestrial input of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). While experimental manipulations of CDOM input and turbidity are frequent, they often involve multiple interdependent changes (light, nutrients, C‐supply). To create a baseline for the expected effects of light reduction alone, we performed a weighted meta‐analysis on 240 published experiments (from 108 studies yielding 2500 effect sizes) that directly reduced light availability and measured marine autotroph responses. Across all organisms, habitats, and response variables, reduced light led to an average 23% reduction in biomass‐related performance, whereas the effect sizes on physiological performance did not significantly differ from zero. Especially, pigment content increased with reduced light, which indicated a strong physiological plasticity in response to diminished light. This acclimation potential was also indicated by light reduction effects minimized if the experiments lasted longer. Nevertheless, the performance (especially biomass accrual) was reduced the more the less light intensity remained available. Light reduction effects were also more negative at higher temperatures if ambient light conditions were poor. Macrophytes or benthic systems were more negatively affected by light reduction than microalgae or plankton systems, especially in physiological responses were microalgae and plankton showed slightly positive responses. Otherwise, the effect magnitudes remained surprisingly consistent across habitats and aspects of experimental design. Therefore, the strong observed log–linear relationship between remaining light and autotrophic performance can be used as a baseline to predict marine primary production in future light climate.

Iron Reduction in Profundal Sediments of Ultraoligotrophic Lake Tahoe under Oxygen-Limited Conditions.

Increased periods of bottom water anoxia in deep temperate lakes due to decreasing frequency and depth of water column mixing in a warming climate may result in the reductive dissolution of iron minerals and increased flux of nutrients from the sediment into the water column. Here, we assessed the sediment properties and reactivities under depleted oxygen concentrations of Lake Tahoe, a deep ultraoligotrophic lake in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Using whole-core incubation experiments, we found that a decrease in dissolved oxygen concentration in the top 2 cm of the sediment resulted in an extension of the microbial iron reduction zone from below 4.5 to below 1.5 cm depth. Concentrations of reactive iron generally decreased with sediment depth, and microbial iron reduction seemingly ceased as concentrations of Fe(II) approximated concentrations of reactive iron. These findings suggest that microorganisms preferentially utilized reactive iron and/or iron minerals became less reactive due to mineral transformation and surface passivation. The estimated release of iron mineral-associated phosphorus is not expected to change Lake Tahoe's trophic state but will likely contribute to increased phytoplankton productivity if mixed into surface waters.

Investigation on frequency influence on the transverse pulsed jet in a supersonic crossflow

AbstractThe pulsed jet is a novel and effective active mixing enhancement approach. For the transverse pulsed jet in the supersonic crossflow, the frequency influence is investigated using the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the SST k-ω turbulence model. The averaged flow field properties of the pulsed jet are better than those of the steady jet when considering mixing efficiency and jet penetration depth, especially for the case with the pulsed frequency being 50kHz. The flow field structures of the pulsed jet are connected with the time, with periodic wave structures generating in the flow field and moving downstream. The size of the wave structures and its distance are related to the frequency, namely the size and flow distance are relatively small at 50kHz, and it takes some time for the pulsed jet to establish its influence in the full flow field. At low frequencies, the flow field produces large fluctuations, and this may be detrimental to the stable operation of the engine.

Relativistic Symmetries of Bosonic Particles and Antiparticles in the Background of the Position-Dependent Mass for the Improved Deformed Hulthen Plus Deformed Type-Hyperbolic Potential in 3D-EQM Symmetries

The bound state solutions of the deformed Klien-Gordon equation have been determined in the three-dimensional extended relativistic quantum mechanics 3D-ERQM symmetries using position-dependent mass (PDM) with unequal scalar and vector potential for the improved Hulthén plus improved deformed type-hyperbolic potential (PDM-SVID(H-TP)) models. PDM with unequal scalar and vector potential for the Hulthén plus deformed type-hyperbolic potential (PDM-(SVH-DTP)) models, as well as a combination of radial terms, which are coupled with the coupling LΘ, which explains the interaction of the physical features of the system with the topological deformations of space-space. The new relativistic energy eigenvalues have been derived using the parametric Bopp shift method and standard perturbation theory which is sensitive to the atomic quantum numbers (j,l,s,m), mixed potential depths (V0S0V1S1), the rest, and perturbed mass (m0,m1), the screening parameter's inverse α, and noncommutativity parameters (Θ,τ,χ). Within the framework of 3D-ERQM symmetries, we have treated certain significant particular instances that we hope will be valuable to the specialized researcher. We have also treated the nonrelativistic limit and applied our obtained results to generate the mass spectra of heavy-light mesons (HLM) such as cc- and bb- under PDM-SE with improved deformed Hulthén plus improved hyperbolic potential (PDM‑ID(H-TP)) models. When the three simultaneous limits (Θ,τ,χ) were applied, we recovered the normal results of relativistic in the literature ( 0,0,0) for the PDM‑ID(H-TP)) models.

Deformed Dirac and Shrödinger Equations with Improved Mie-Type Potential for Diatomic Molecules and Fermionic Particles in the Framework of Extended Quantum Mechanics Symmetries

In this study, the bound-state solutions of the deformed Dirac equation (DDE) have been determined with the improved Mie-type potential including an improved Coulomb-like tensor potential (IMTPICLP) under the condition of the spin or pseudospin symmetry in the extended relativistic quantum mechanics (ERQM) symmetries. The IMTPICLP model includes a combination of the terms 1/r3 and 1/r4 which coupled with the couplings (LΘ and L̃︀Θ) between the physical properties of the system with the topological deformations of space-space. In the framework of the parametric Bopp’s shift method and standard perturbation theory, the new relativistic and nonrelativistic energy eigenvalues for the improved Mietype potential have been found. The new obtained values appeared sensitive to the quantum numbers (j, k, l,̃︀ l, s, s,̃︀ m, m̃︀ ), the mixed potential depths (A, B, C, α), and noncommutativity parameters (Θ, σ, χ). The new energy spectra of the improved Kratzer–Fues potential within an improved Coulomb-like tensor interaction and the improved modified Kratzer potential within the Coulomb-like tensor interaction have been derived as particular cases of IMTPICLP. We recovered the usual relativistic and nonrelativistic results from the literature by applying the three simultaneous limits (Θ, σ, χ) → (0, 0, 0). One can notice that our results are in close agreement with the recent studies.

Review of the Effects of Freezing/Thawing Cycles on the Engineering Properties of Soilcrete

Soil mixing, which blends the natural soils with cementitious materials (or binders), has been used to enhance the soft ground and improve problematic soils for several decades. With developments in technique and machinery, the embedded depth of soil mixing has increased from the shallow ground to as deep as tens of meters, especially when deep soil mixing and grouting emerged in the 1970s. Extensive studies have been undertaken on the physical and mechanical properties of the mixing products (soilcrete) with regard to water content, soil type, binder type, binder content, curing age, and curing condition. However, most studies initially focused on soil mixing in temperate weather. In recent decades, soil mixing in cold regions has become common. Thus, plenty of research has been conducted on the engineering properties of soilcrete exposed to weathering conditions in cold regions, namely freezing/thawing (F/T) cycles. However, while summaries of studies on soilcrete used in temperate conditions have been undertaken by researchers, reviews of studies on soil mixing in cold regions are still rare. In order to link potential research on soil mixing with previous studies and point out the possible research directions, a review of works on soilcrete subjected to F/T cycles was composed. The present paper summarizes the testing methods adopted by various studies and the change in engineering properties of soilcrete caused by F/T cycles.

Approximate arbitrary (k,l) states solutions of deformed Dirac and Schrödinger equations with new generalized Schiöberg and Manning–Rosen potentials within the generalized tensor interactionsin 3D-EQM symmetries

Relativistic and nonrelativistic quantum mechanics formulated in a noncommutative space-space have recently become the object of renewed interest. In the context of extended relativistic quantum mechanics (ERQM) symmetries with arbitrary spin-orbit coupling quantum number [Formula: see text], we approximate to solve the deformed Dirac equation (DDE) for a new suggested new generalized Schiöberg and Manning–Rosen potentials within the generalized (Coulomb and Yukawa)-like tensor interactions (NGSM-GLTs). In the framework of the spin and pseudospin (p-spin) symmetry, we obtain the global new energy eigenvalue which equals the energy eigenvalue in usual relativistic quantum mechanics (RQM) as the main part plus three corrected parts produced from the effect of the spin-orbit interaction, the new modified Zeeman, and the rotational Fermi term, by using the parametric of the well-known Bopp’s shift method and standard perturbation theory using Greene–Aldrich approximation to handle [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and other terms in the effective potential. The new values that we got appeared sensitive to the quantum numbers ([Formula: see text]), the mixed potential depths ([Formula: see text],[Formula: see text],[Formula: see text],[Formula: see text],[Formula: see text]), the range of the potential [Formula: see text], and noncommutativity parameters ([Formula: see text],[Formula: see text],[Formula: see text]). We recovered several potentials, including the improved Schiöberg and Manning–Rosen potentials within the improved Yukawa-like tensor interaction, the new Schiöberg and Manning–Rosen potentials within the improved Coulomb-like tensor interaction, the new Schiöberg potential within the improved Yukawa-like tensor interaction, the new Manning–Rosen potential within the improved Yukawa-like tensor interaction, and the new Schiöberg and Manning–Rosen potentials potential problems in the context of nonrelativistic extended quantum mechanics symmetries.

From minute to day: Ecophysiological response of phytoplankton to fluctuating light exposure during vertical mixing

AbstractUnderwater light is a highly dynamic resource for phytoplankton. Fluctuating light influences photosynthesis, respiration, biosynthesis, and growth at different timescales, but the interplay of these processes is not well‐understood. Subsamples of a phytoplankton community from the turbid, well‐mixed lake TaiHu (China) were either vertically moved through different mixing depths or incubated at fixed depths of matching daily light supply. Growth, photosynthetic electron transport rates, net oxygen production, and night respiration were measured for 9 days. Production was investigated during cyclic mixing, throughout the day, and among days of different integral light intensities. Electron transport rates were higher during vertical mixing and increased with mixing depth, therefore mixing phytoplankton better exploited short periods of surface illumination. On the other hand, light‐stimulation of oxygen consumption and photoperiod shortening increased the compensation light intensities for daily production and growth. The communities kept at the surface and sub‐surface were photoinhibited; their net oxygen production declined and compensation light intensity increased in the afternoon. There was no sign of afternoon depression of net oxygen production in mixing phytoplankton which metabolized photosynthetic products in periodic phases of low light in deeper layers. Mixing phytoplankton produced more oxygen during increasing light intensities and respired more at decreasing light intensities, decreasing net oxygen production during the day. This cyclic post‐illumination enhancement of respiration seemed to be hardwired to fluctuating light, regardless of mixing depth and uncoupled from night respiration rates. Photosynthesis and respiration seemed more tightly connected under fluctuating than constant light.