Patterns Of Occurrence Research Articles

Understanding roles of moisture in CO2 adsorption and desorption hysteresis on deep gas-bearing shales under high temperature and pressure

To understand injectivity and storage stability of CO2 into gas-bearing shale reservoirs, CO2 adsorption and desorption on the dry and moist shales with diverse properties were conducted at 353.15 K and pressures up to 14 MPa. Multiple characterizations were combined to examine pore characteristics of the shales before and after CO2 adsorption/desorption. The resultant CO2 adsorption and desorption hysteresis on the shales was revealed ultimately. Results indicated that both the excess and absolute adsorption isotherms of CO2 witness slow increase stage, rapid increase stage, and decrease stage. The adsorption capability of the shales positively depends on the TOC content and pore abundance. Moreover, the clay minerals and oxygenic functional groups also benefit CO2 adsorption. The moisture significantly reduces the experimentally-determined maximum absolute adsorption capacity of the shales by 5.78–46.39 % due to pore space occupation. During the adsorption/desorption, the CO2 molecules could interact with the shales, thereby initiating extraction of partial organic matter, transformation of CO2 from supercritical state to gas state, and dissolution of inorganic minerals. Those effects consume CO2 and dominantly change the micropore structure of the dry shales and the mesopore structure of the moist shales, thus leading to CO2 adsorption and desorption hysteresis. Notably, the moisture dramatically raises the hysteresis degree on the shales by 8.42–59.45 % because of its solubility to CO2 and promotion to mineral dissolution. Overall, shale reservoir moisture could weaken injectivity but strengthen storage stability of CO2. Hence, the critical moisture content and occurrence pattern of organic matter and clay minerals are required for target shale reservoir selection.

Focused categorization power of ontologies: General framework and study on simple existential concept expressions

When reusing existing ontologies for publishing a dataset in RDF (or developing a new ontology), preference may be given to those providing extensive subcategorization for important classes (denoted as focus classes). The subcategories may consist not only of named classes but also of compound class expressions. We define the notion of focused categorization power of a given ontology, with respect to a focus class and a concept expression language, as the (estimated) weighted count of the categories that can be built from the ontology’s signature, conform to the language, and are subsumed by the focus class. For the sake of tractable initial experiments we then formulate a restricted concept expression language based on existential restrictions, and heuristically map it to syntactic patterns over ontology axioms (so-called FCE patterns). The characteristics of the chosen concept expression language and associated FCE patterns are investigated using three different empirical sources derived from ontology collections: first, the concept expression pattern frequency in class definitions; second, the occurrence of FCE patterns in the Tbox of ontologies; and last, for class expressions generated from the Tbox of ontologies (through the FCE patterns); their ‘meaningfulness’ was assessed by different groups of users, yielding a ‘quality ordering’ of the concept expression patterns. The complementary analyses are then compared and summarized. To allow for further experimentation, a web-based prototype was also implemented, which covers the whole process of ontology reuse from keyword-based ontology search through the FCP computation to the selection of ontologies and their enrichment with new concepts built from compound expressions.

Periodic Bedrock Ridges at Oxia Planum and Chryse Planitia, Mars: Evidence for widespread aeolian erosion of an ancient surface by regional paleowinds

Periodic Bedrock Ridges (PBRs) are repeating, symmetrical, wind-transverse, bedrock-abraded linear ridges that occur on Mars as parallel sets. Here, we extend our previous survey of PBRs at Oxia Planum – the landing site of ESA's ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover – to include three additional sites along the margins of the circum-Chryse basin to understand patterns in PBR orientation and occurrence. We analyzed PBR crestline orientation at each study site and found them to be consistent across this large region, but their orientations do not align with global circulation model winds, suggesting contemporary winds are not responsible for PBR development. Furthermore, we used observations of landscape-level stratigraphic relationships at Oxia Planum to constrain the formation age of PBRs to be late Noachian to early Amazonian. Their consistent orientations and age suggest that the Chryse-margin PBRs formed concurrently and represent modification of an ancient palaeosurface. In addition, we find a tendency for PBRs to preferentially occur in regions where Fe/Mg-rich phyllosilicate minerals were detected in hyperspectral remote sensing data. We conclude that regional scale aeolian processes formed the circum-Chryse PBRs, and that exposed bedrock with Fe/Mg-rich phyllosilicate detections were either more susceptible to PBR formation, or better preserve PBRs than other regional lithologies.

Patterns of occurrence of the sub-Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus tropicalis (Gray 1872) in Southern Brazil: climatic and environmental associations

Patterns of occurrence of the sub-Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus tropicalis (Gray 1872) in Southern Brazil: climatic and environmental associations

Coupling heat wave and wildfire occurrence across multiple ecoregions within a Eurasia longitudinal gradient

Understanding the relationship between heat wave occurrence and wildfire spread represents a key priority in global change studies due to the significant threats posed on natural ecosystems and society. Previous studies have not explored the spatial and temporal mechanism underlying the relationship between heat waves and wildfires occurrence, especially over large geographical regions. This study seeks to investigate such a relationship with a focus on 37 ecoregions within a Eurasia longitudinal gradient. The analysis is based on the wildfire dataset provided by the GlobFire Final Fire Event Detection and the meteorological dataset ERA5-land from Copernicus Climate service. In both cases we focused on the 2001–2019 timeframe. By means of a 12 km square grid, three wildfire metrics, i.e., density, seasonality, and severity of wildfires, were computed as proxy of fire regime. Heat waves were also characterized in terms of periods, duration, and intensity for the same period. Statistical tests were performed to evaluate the different patterns of heat wave and wildfire occurrence in the 37 ecoregions within the study area. By using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) we modeled the spatial varying relationships between heat wave characteristics and wildfire metrics. As expected, our results suggest that the 37 ecoregions identified within the Eurasia longitudinal gradient differ in terms of fire regimes. However, the occurrence of heat waves did not show significant differences among ecoregions, but a more evident variability in terms of relationship between fire regime metrics and heat waves within the study area. The outcome of the GWR analysis allowed us to identify the spatial locations (i.e., hotspot areas) where the relationship between heat waves and wildfires is positive and significant. Hence, in hotspots the presence of heat waves can be seen as a driver of wildfire occurrence in forest and steppe ecosystems. The findings from this study could contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of wildfire patterns in this geographical region, thus supporting cross-regional prevention strategies for disaster risk mitigation.

Analysing spatiotemporal patterns of snake occurrence in an Australian city to help manage human-wildlife conflict

Analysing spatiotemporal patterns of snake occurrence in an Australian city to help manage human-wildlife conflict

Data-driven meal events detection using blood glucose response patterns

BackgroundIn the Diabetes domain, events such as meals and exercises play an important role in the disease management. For that, many studies focus on automatic meal detection, specially as part of the so-called artificial β\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\beta$$\\end{document}-cell systems. Meals are associated to blood glucose (BG) variations, however such variations are not peculiar to meals, it mostly comes as a combination of external factors. Thus, general approaches such as the ones focused on glucose signal rate of change are not enough to detect personalized influence of such factors. By using a data-driven individualized approach for meal detection, our method is able to fit real data, detecting personalized meal responses even when such external factors are implicitly present.MethodsThe method is split into model training and selection. In the training phase, we start observing meal responses for each individual, and identifying personalized patterns. Occurrences of such patterns are searched over the BG signal, evaluating the similarity of each pattern to each possible signal subsequence. The most similar occurrences are then selected as possible meal event candidates. For that, we include steps for excluding less relevant neighbors per pattern, and grouping close occurrences in time globally. Each candidate is represented by a set of time and response signal related qualitative variables. These variables are used as input features for different binary classifiers in order to learn to classify a candidate as Meal or Non-Meal. In the model selection phase, we compare all trained classifiers to select the one that performs better with the data of each individual.ResultsThe results show that the method is able to detect daily meals, providing a result with a balanced proportion between detected meals and false alarms. The analysis on multiple patients indicate that the approach achieves good outcomes when there is enough reliable training data, as this is reflected on the testing results.ConclusionsThe approach aims at personalizing the meal detection task by relying solely on data. The premise is that a model trained with data that contains the implicit influence of external factors is able to recognize the nuances of the individual that generated the data. Besides, the approach can also be used to improve data quality by detecting meals, opening opportunities to possible applications such as detecting and reminding users of missing or wrongly informed meal events.

Pharmacodynamics of Doripenem Alone and in Combination with Relebactam in an In Vitro Hollow-Fiber Dynamic Model: Emergence of Resistance of Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and the Inoculum Effect.

The emergence of bacteria resistant to beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations is insufficiently studied, wherein the role of the inoculum effect (IE) in decreased efficacy is unclear. To address these issues, 5-day treatments with doripenem and doripenem/relebactam combination at different ratios of the agents were simulated in a hollow-fiber dynamic model against carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae at standard and high inocula. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of doripenem alone and in the presence of relebactam at two inocula were determined. Combination MICs were tested using traditional (fixed relebactam concentration) and pharmacokinetic-based approach (fixed doripenem-to-relebactam concentration ratio equal to the therapeutic 24-h area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) ratio). In all experiments, resistant subpopulations were noted, but combined simulations reduced their numbers. With doripenem, the IE was apparent for both K. pneumoniae isolates in combined treatments for one strain. The pharmacokinetic-based approach to combination MIC estimation compared to traditional showed stronger correlation between DOSE/MIC and emergence of resistance. These results support (1) the constraint of relebactam combined with doripenem against the emergence of resistance and IE; (2) the applicability of a pharmacokinetic-based approach to estimate carbapenem MICs in the presence of an inhibitor to predict the IE and to describe the patterns of resistance occurrence.

Spatial variability of nitrate leaching and risk assessment of nitrate contamination in the Ghiss-Nekor alluvial aquifer system (Northeastern Morocco) through Disjunctive Kriging

In this study, groundwater nitrate monitoring data from water supply and water management organizations were processed in a GIS environment to evaluate spatial patterns of nitrate occurrence and explore its correlation with the corresponding land uses in Ghiss-Nekor alluvial groundwater (northeastern Morocco). Land-use/Land Cover within the Ghiss-Nekor plain incorporated rangeland, built area, crop fields, water bodies, dense vegetation, and bare ground categories, encompassing respectively about 39.06 %, 36.69 %, 17.57 %, 4.63 %, 1.24 %, and 0.81 % of the total area. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the selected thresholds are an acceptable concentration of nitrate for potable water (50 mg/L) and a human affected value (13 mg/L). Simple Kriging and Disjunctive Kriging (D.K.) geostatistical methods were compared with a deterministic interpolation method (GPI) to identify the convenient approach to predict nitrate concentrations at unsampled sites. D.K. provided more accurate predictive performance and highlighted that nitrate contamination is higher in wells in the southern half of the study area, where nitrate concentrations exceeded 50 mg/L in 29.2 % (33,3 km²) of the study area. Areas occupying 21.28 % of the total surface, with nitrate contents exceeding the human-affected value, are located near small industrial sites, residential septic tanks, and agricultural areas. No significant correlation was found between the nitrate concentrations and the depth of the wells. The probability of nitrate content exceeding the thresholds of 13 and 50 mg/L is respectively less than 0.5 in 61.35 % (69.94 km²) and 77.63 % (88.4 km²) of the total study area, whereas the maximum likelihood of nitrate contamination is found along uncontrolled urban discharges located within highly permeable deposits. The assessment also demonstrated that areas showing high predicted probabilities of nitrate contamination diminish with increasing threshold value. The present study shed light on the necessity of depicting the extent of polluted areas, particularly in vulnerable alluvial aquifers, where exposure to higher levels of drinking water contaminants threatens human health.

Provision of post construction support (PCS) services to state water authorities in Nigeria: constraints and the way forward

Abstract Post-construction Support (PCS) services refer to all forms of assistance/support given to water service providers (WSPs) to enable them to detect, correct and maintain water system infrastructure or prevent future system faults. PCS enhances the quality and sustainability of water supply services. This paper examines the provision of PCS to state water authorities in Nigeria. Specifically, we identified the sources of PCS and relevance of PCS; then we discussed the pattern of occurrence of system faults the bureaucracy associated with PCS provision across the sampled states. Finally, we examined the constraints to PCS provision and the options for overcoming the challenges. The study used empirical data derived from questionnaire surveys, through key informant interviews (KIIs) and from published literature. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools. Results of the study revealed the current sources and patterns of PCS provision which vary widely across the sampled states. PCS is provided intermittently based on resource availability and on the willingness of the provider. The constraints and bureaucracies associated with PCS provision cause prolonged and avoidable delays and limit quality service delivery with often great consequences for the end users. WSPs lack legislative, and policy instruments to compel governments to act and ensure that PCS services are provided speedily and in a sustainable manner. The poor quality of service delivery in the area can be traced, in part, to a lack of needed PCS services. Consequently, the way forward for WSPs is to confront the dearth of PCS in the water supply sector frontally. Suggestions on how to surmount the dearth of PCS and improve the quality of service delivery in the area were advanced.

Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment Considering the Sequence of the First and Second Earthquakes Along the Nankai Trough

The Earthquake Research Committee (ERC) of the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion conducted a probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment due to large earthquakes along the Nankai Trough for the next 30 years. Utilizing the basic data of earthquake source models and calculated maximum tsunami heights, the authors propose a method to evaluate the hazard curves of the first and second earthquakes separately, considering the sequence of earthquake occurrence in one cycle of large earthquake activities along the Nankai Trough. First, based on the relative weights allocated to the 176 occurrence patterns of 79 earthquake source regions, the weights for the 2,720 characterized earthquake fault models (CEFMs) are calculated. The hazard curve of the first earthquake is evaluated using the 2,720 sets of maximum tsunami heights and weights under the condition that one of the CEFMs causes an earthquake. Next, the conditional hazard curves for the possible second earthquakes conditional on each individual first earthquake are calculated. Finally, the hazard curve for the second earthquake is evaluated as a weighted average of the conditional hazard curves. Numerical examples are shown for 15 sites. The first earthquake accounts for about 60% or more of the total hazard evaluated by ERC, and its contribution increases with increasing maximum tsunami height. The first and second earthquakes account for 80%–90% of the total hazard.

PARASITIC DISEASES OF FISH IN THE CONDITIONS OF FARMING PONDS OF "AQVAREST" AND "AQUACITY" LLC IN THE ODESSA REGION

The article provides data on the spread of parasitic diseases in carp and grass carp in the farming ponds of Aqvarest LLC and Aquacity LLC of the Odesa region. Fish diseases are registered both in natural reservoirs and in fish farms, as a result of which the growth rates, reproductive capacity, marketability of fish decrease, quality indicators and biological value deteriorate; in addition, mass kills of fish may occur. The causes of diseases can be both non-contagious (adverse environmental conditions) and contagious (viruses, bacteria, parasitic diseases). Thus, constant monitoring of fish parasitofauna in pond farms of Ukraine is necessary, since the study of patterns of occurrence and spread of fish diseases, forecasting of these diseases affects the effectiveness of aquaculture breeding and preservation of fish products.
 The purpose of the work was to monitor parasitic diseases in carp and white amur in the farming ponds of Aqvarest LLC and Aquacity LLC of the Odesa region.
 During the parasitological examination of this year's and two-year-old carp and white amur in the ponds of LLC "Aqvarest" and LLC "Aquasti" of Odesa region, five diseases were diagnosed, the causative agents of which were: Gyrodastylus birmani, Dactylogyrus vastator, Khavia sinensis, Caryophyllaeus fimbriceps and Philometroides lusiana.
 Gyrodastylus birmani and Caryophyllaeus fimbriceps were recorded the most in the deep pond of "Aqvarest" LLC with the extent of invasion of 25.7%, in two-year-old carp and two-year-old white amur - 21.4%. In the shallow reservoir of "Aquacity" LLC, Gyrodastylus birmani (31.4%) and Caryophyllaeus fimbriceps (25.7%) were most recorded in two-year-old carp, and in two-year-old white amur Khavia sinensis (28.5%) and Caryophyllaeus fimbriceps (32.1 %).
 The intensity of infestation with cestodoses (caviasis and caryophyllosis), as well as nematodes (phyllometroidosis) was low, 1-2 or 3-4 specimen for fish, and clinical manifestations of the disease were not always recorded. However, the presence of these pathogens in the fauna represents a significant danger for the development of commercial fish species, namely carp and white carp.

The environmental impact of the feral pigeon (Columba Livia f. Domestica) in the historic city centre of Sopron

The presence of different bird species in inhabited areas is becoming increasingly common. The problem with these species is that they are more likely to spread pathogens, contaminate public and private land with their droppings, cause economic damage or even frighten the public. One of the most notable conflict species causing environmental pressures in populated areas is the feral pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica), whose populations are increasing worldwide. Adequate practices and methods are available to reduce the problem. However, their applicability and effectiveness may vary from one locality to another due to the different characteristics of the localities and the different causes of the pigeons' presence. Therefore, it is essential to think in terms of town-specific solutions, the preparation of which requires, among other things, an assessment of the temporal and spatial pattern of occurrence of the species causing the conflict, an understanding of the extent of damage and an overview of the population's level of information. In our study, we investigated the environmental pressures of the feral pigeon in the historical city centre of Sopron, using a combination of the three elements mentioned above. For this purpose, we carried out a monthly visual population assessment combined with a photographic technique at sample points for one year. We conducted a field visit to the area to draw up a damage map of the study area and a spatial localisation of existing control methods. Questionnaire surveys complemented this to assess the public's awareness of the issue. In light of the results, we drew up a map of the pigeon conflict in the city centre of Sopron and identified possible solutions.

Contemporary community composition, spatial distribution patterns, and biodiversity characteristics of zooplankton in large alpine Lake Sevan, Armenia

We studied the quantitative composition, spatial distribution, and temporal dynamics of the zooplankton community of the alpine Lake Sevan, Armenia, the largest surface water in the Caucasus region. This article is providing a long-term information and fills the research gap of multiyear data on zooplankton, as the previous research on zooplankton provided only snapshots of the community, and a consistent assessment over multiple years was missing. However, an initial mini-review of historical studies indicated that zooplankton biomass and fish abundance were undergoing large fluctuations, indicating the importance of top-down control. We analysed 239 samples from the period 2016-2019 from 32 sampling sites in Lake Sevan and recorded 37 species of meso- and macrozooplankton (Rotifers, Copepods, Cladocera). Biomass fluctuations were high with peaking biomasses in 2016 and lowest biomasses in 2018, yearly averaged biomass varied about one order of magnitude. Variability over time was hence much higher than spatial variability. The pelagic habitat at the deepest part of the lake showed the highest diversity and biomasses but contrasts between sampling sites remained smaller than changes from year to year or seasonally. Many samples were dominated by a single species, and these key species explain observed biomass dynamics to a wide extent. We applied hierarchical clustering in order to identify phenological groups that appear to show similar patterns of occurrence. This clustering resulted in 6 groups where of 5 groups just consisting of one single species and these 5 key species were the Cladocerans Daphnia magna, Daphnia hyalina, Diaphanosoma sp. as well as the calanoids Arctodiaptomus bacillifer and Acanthodiaptomus denticornis. The most important species in Lake Sevan’s zooplankton during the observation period was D. magna, which reached high biomasses in 2016 and 2017 but then suddenly almost disappeared in 2018 and 2019. When there were more D. magna present, the water became clearer, which was measured using Secchi depth. This shows that these large water fleas effectively controlled the amount of phytoplankton in the water. Daphnia magna, in turn, managed to dominate zooplankton community only during times of extremely low fish biomass indicating strong top-down control of this large Cladoceran by fish. Both observations together imply a strong trophic linkage between fish, zooplankton, and phytoplankton and provide evidence for trophic cascades in Lake Sevan. Besides the novel insights into zooplankton community dynamics of this unique lake of high socio-economical, cultural, and ecological importance, our study also points to potential management opportunities for eutrophication control by biomanipulation, as well as our investigation allows us to conclude that probably biotic factors were more important than abiotic factors in explaining the observed changes and dynamics within the plankton community.

Relationship between Summer Synoptic Circulation Patterns and Extreme Precipitation in Northern China

Synoptic circulation patterns over the midlatitudes play a pivotal role in regional precipitation changes; however, the synoptic circulation patterns over eastern Asia (35°–60° N, 105°–145° E) and their effects on extreme precipitation events in the North China Plain (NCP) and northeastern China (NEC) remain unclear. The summer daily 500 hPa geopotential height anomaly fields for 1979–2021 are classified into six synoptic circulation patterns using self-organizing map (SOM) cluster analysis. The SOM1 pattern, characterized by a high-pressure ridge over the north of eastern Asia and a trough near the Korean Peninsula, yields decreased precipitation in NEC. The SOM2 pattern reveals a robust high ridge over eastern Asia, resulting in a higher incidence of regional extreme precipitation events (REPEs) of approximately 24% in the NCP. Under the SOM3 pattern, the anomalous cyclonic circulation over eastern Asia leads to above-average precipitation in the NCP. The SOM4 pattern yields the highest incidence of REPEs in NEC, with the lowest incidence of REPEs in the NCP, as the anomalous cyclonic circulation over eastern Asia moves southeastward compared to the SOM3 pattern. The SOM5 pattern presenting an anticyclone–cyclone dipole reduces precipitation in the NCP and NEC, and the anticyclonic circulation near eastern China associated with the SOM6 pattern causes above-average precipitation in the NCP. On interannual time scales, the SOM2 pattern occurrence with an increasing trend tends to induce an increasing summer precipitation trend in the NCP. The SOM3 pattern occurrence is negatively correlated with the summer precipitation in NEC. Overall, classifying the synoptic circulation patterns helps to improve precipitation forecasting and provides insights into the synoptic circulation patterns dominating the occurrences of REPEs.

Effective thermal conductivity for hydrate-bearing sediments under stress and local thermal stimulation conditions: A novel analytical model

The extraction of hydrates is accompanied by changes in the hydrate occurrence pattern, hydrate saturation, effective stress, temperature, and pore structure in porous sediment, making it difficult to predict the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of hydrate-bearing sediments. Until now, accurately modeling the ETC of gas hydrate sediments during the exploitation process has remained a significant challenge. In this study, by combining pore compression theory, and particle thermal expansion theory, an analytical ETC model is derived to study the physical relations between the ETC of hydrate-bearing sediments under excess water or excess gas condition and various influencing parameters (e.g., hydrate occurrence pattern, effective stress, hydrate saturation, pore structure, and temperature). The proposed model is validated against test data. Furthermore, the effects of pore structures (e.g., initial porosity and radius fluctuation amplitude), effective stress, hydrate saturation, and hydrate occurrence pattern on ETC are revealed. Compared with the existing ETC models of hydrate-bearing sediments, our derived model takes more mechanisms into account, which makes our derived model more reasonable. In short, this model is of great significance to predict ETC and study the heat transfer in gas hydrate reservoirs, enabling engineers and scientists to have a better understanding of the hydrate exploitation process.

Occurrence patterns and trends of cetaceans in the coastal waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Nemuro Strait, Hokkaido, Japan

Occurrence patterns and trends of cetaceans in the coastal waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Nemuro Strait, Hokkaido, Japan

Experimental evidence of mate choice as the driving mechanism behind negative assortative mating for shell colour in a marine snail

Abstract How colour polymorphisms are maintained in natural populations constitutes a key subject of study for evolutionary ecologists. One of the mechanisms that has been put forward to explain this phenomenon is negative frequency-dependent selection, which can be caused by different mechanisms. Among these mechanisms is mate choice, or the selection as a potential mate of the rare or dissimilar colour morph by the choosy sex of a given species. In the context of colour polymorphism, mate choice predicts the occurrence of a negative assortative mating pattern, whereby different colour morphs mate more often than expected by chance alone. However, negative assortative mating can also result from other mechanisms, making it, at best, a fallible indicator of a mate choice-driven negative frequency-dependent selection. For this reason, experimental evidence explicitly connecting such a mating pattern to mate choice is necessary to claim that a particular colour polymorphism is being maintained by negative frequency-dependent selection. Here we present experimental evidence backing this relationship for the colour polymorphic marine gastropod Littorina saxatilis from the Ría de Vigo (NW Iberian Peninsula), although how specifically these organisms choose their mates remains unclear. This calls for further experimental efforts to clarify this issue and its relationship to the maintenance of colour polymorphism in L. saxatilis.

Neural signatures of automatic repetition detection in temporally regular and jittered acoustic sequences.

Detection of repeating patterns within continuous sound streams is crucial for efficient auditory perception. Previous studies demonstrated a remarkable sensitivity of the human auditory system to periodic repetitions in unfamiliar, meaningless sounds. Automatic repetition detection was reflected in different EEG markers, including sustained activity, neural synchronisation, and event-related responses to pattern occurrences. The current study investigated how listeners' attention and the temporal regularity of a sound modulate repetition perception, and how this influence is reflected in different EEG markers that were previously suggested to subserve dissociable functions. We reanalysed data of a previous study in which listeners were presented with sequences of unfamiliar artificial sounds that either contained repetitions of a certain sound segment or not. Repeating patterns occurred either regularly or with a temporal jitter within the sequences, and participants' attention was directed either towards the pattern repetitions or away from the auditory stimulation. Across both regular and jittered sequences during both attention and in-attention, pattern repetitions led to increased sustained activity throughout the sequence, evoked a characteristic positivity-negativity complex in the event-related potential, and enhanced inter-trial phase coherence of low-frequency oscillatory activity time-locked to repeating pattern onsets. While regularity only had a minor (if any) influence, attention significantly strengthened pattern repetition perception, which was consistently reflected in all three EEG markers. These findings suggest that the detection of pattern repetitions within continuous sounds relies on a flexible mechanism that is robust against in-attention and temporal irregularity, both of which typically occur in naturalistic listening situations. Yet, attention to the auditory input can enhance processing of repeating patterns and improve repetition detection.

Pattern of Occurrence and Management of Dual Malignancy: Our Institutional Experience

Background: Management of dual malignancies is challenging in the present scenario of advanced techniques and increased life expectancy. Objectives: To determine the demographic and clinical profile of patients with dual malignancies and the management received. Methods: In this retrospective analysis of the data of patients presenting with histologically proven synchronous or metachronous dual malignancy, we evaluated the demographic and clinical profile of patients with dual malignancies and the management received. Results: In this study, 158 cases with multiple primary cancers, of whom 57 were synchronous and 101 were metachronous, were observed from January 2017 to December 2021. The maximum period for synchronous tumor occurrence was seen at 6 months (180 days). The interval of occurrence of metachronous tumors ranged from 1 to 15 years, with an average of 4.8 years for the entire group. Moreover, 73 (46.2%) were females, and 85 (53.8%) were males, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2: 1. The most common site of primary tumor with dual malignancies was the head and neck (31%), followed by breast cancers (21%). The most frequent pathologic type was adenocarcinoma (40%), followed by squamous carcinoma (38%), hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (7.5%), transitional cell carcinoma (6.3%), sarcomas and soft tissue tumors (2.5%). Conclusions: Even in complete clinical remission, every cancer patient must take into account the possibility of developing a second malignancy and must be closely monitored.