Several studies have found that green liquor dregs (GLD) can be a possible remediant for remediation of oxidised sulfidic mine sites. GLD is a heterogeneous alkaline waste from the pulp and paper industry, and as such, broad scale utilization requires environmental properties to be characterized in accordance with Swedish law. Among these properties, water soluble leaching properties of GLD must be examined. In this study samples were collected from 16 mills at five different occasions, approximately 6 months apart, totalling 71 samples. Leaching was performed in sequential steps at a L/S ratio 2 and 8 on wet samples corresponding to 25g d.w, resulting in a total L/S ratio of 10. The liquid phase was analysed for electrical conductivity, pH, alkalinity, anions and element concentrations, after which correlation calculations and geochemical calculations were performed. Leaching of sodium and potassium was as expected very high while leaching of calcium, magnesium and iron was low. Trace elements leach generally less than ≤ 5%. Na, K, As, Ba, Na, K, Rb and U are present mainly as easily soluble salts that are washed out over time while Ag, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, V and Zn are mainly solubility controlled. Hydroxides are indicated by geochemical calculations to be the solubility controlling phases for Cd, Co, Ni, Zn and in some cases also for lead, while oxides are the suggested controlling phase for cobalt. For copper the results suggested both oxides and hydroxides as controlling phases. In general, most elements of concern had low enough leaching rates that their impact will be moderate as leaching in the study was under optimal conditions and in situ application is expected to lower leching rates further. When comparing the chemistry of leachates from GLD with the chemistry of leachates from acidic mining waste there are environmental benefits to be had from co-disposal even if GLD is not inert. This combined with the fact that both short term and long term buffering capacity is excellent indicates that GLD is suitable for remediation of acidic mining waste.

Direct Air Capture (DAC) is widely considered essential for achieving net-zero and net-negative emissions, yet its potential to scale to climate-relevant levels remains uncertain. Here we show that the future deployment of DAC depends primarily on early capacity expansion and growth dynamics rather than on long-term demand targets alone. Using a probabilistic technology diffusion model informed by historical analog technologies and uncertain future demand, we explore a wide range of possible global DAC deployment pathways to 2050. We find that if DAC follows growth trajectories similar to ammonia synthesis technologies and liquefied natural gas, deployment is likely to remain at the megaton scale by mid-century. However, gigaton-scale deployment becomes plausible under rapid growth and strong early policy support. Our results identify short-term capacity expansion as the most effective lever for accelerating DAC deployment and highlight the critical importance of timely policy action to avoid overreliance on future large-scale carbon removal.

Short-term origin–destination (OD) prediction for urban rail transit is critical for efficient operation and dynamic management. Unlike conventional passenger flow forecasts that focus solely on aggregate indicators such as entries and exits, OD prediction reconstructs the complete station-to-station flow matrix, enabling fine-grained operational planning and providing a stronger basis for service design, transfer coordination, and capacity allocation from a network-wide demand perspective. However, the high dimensionality and sparsity of the OD matrix, along with complex spatiotemporal dependencies, make this task challenging. This paper introduces multi-dimensional holiday and weather tags, which are coupled with historical OD tensors into a unified multi-dimensional tensor input. The dual-graph spatial encoder captures the physical network topology and latent functional relationships between stations, while the hierarchical time-series Transformer models the short-term dynamics and periodic patterns. Furthermore, we integrate Tucker tensor decomposition in the decoder to efficiently reconstruct the OD prediction results and address data sparsity. Experiments on large-scale urban rail transit datasets show that Spatio-Temporal Graph Transformer Network (STGTN) significantly outperforms benchmark methods in prediction accuracy, with a 58% reduction in Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and an 11% increase in accuracy. Larger relative errors are mainly concentrated in peripheral or infrequently used OD pairs, whereas major travel corridors are predicted accurately. Ablation studies further confirm the contribution of each module and the external factors. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of tensor-based spatiotemporal modeling and highlight the practical value of OD prediction for short-term capacity deployment, transfer coordination, and congestion mitigation in urban rail transit systems.

To achieve climate neutrality, Europe’s hydrogen strategy combines domestic green hydrogen production with green hydrogen imports, but the optimal balance remains uncertain. This study applies the stochastic energy system model EMPIRE, coupled with sectoral demand projections, to quantify how variable renewable energy source (VRES) deployment trajectories and hydrogen demand pathways jointly shape Europe’s import requirements. Results show that import requirements in 2050 could range from 7.5 to 55 Mton/yr, depending on scenario developments. The pace of VRES expansion is the dominant driver, and even moderate acceleration beyond historical trends reduces cumulative hydrogen imports by 22%–33%, while stronger acceleration can largely eliminate structural import dependence, especially under a direct electrification pathway. High hydrogen demand consistent with REPowerEU targets is difficult to supply cost-effectively in the near term without substantial imports and some fossil-based hydrogen production. Imports are found to benefit short-term capacity building and to diversify against weather-induced variability, but their marginal value declines as renewable expansion and direct electrification advance. • Multi-model stochastic optimisation framework capturing supply/demand uncertainties. • Hydrogen import requirements range from 7.5 to 55 Mton in 2050. • Direct electrification and VRES deliver low-cost and high energy independence. • International hydrogen imports provide value in capacity building and diversification.

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the autoregulatory capacity of optic nerve head (ONH) tissue blood flow in response to intraocular pressure (IOP) fluctuations during vitrectomy in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). We hypothesized that impaired autoregulation of ONH tissue blood flow in response to intraoperative IOP fluctuations could contribute to subsequent ONH atrophy and the development of visual field defects in PDR patients following vitrectomy. Methods: We included five eyes from five patients with PDR (mean age 70.6 ± 9.0 years) undergoing 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy. ONH tissue blood flow was quantitatively assessed using intraoperative laser speckle flowgraphy. Mean blur rate in the tissue area (MT), an indicator of ONH tissue blood flow, was measured at baseline (infusion pressure 0 mmHg), during sustained elevation to 25 mmHg (at 5 and 10 min), and 1 min after return to baseline (11 min). IOP was modulated using the IOP Control system of the Constellation platform. Results: Elevation of IOP to 25 mmHg significantly reduced ONH tissue blood flow, with MT decreasing by 29% at 10 min compared with baseline (p < 0.05, Dunn's multiple comparisons test). After IOP returned to baseline, MT significantly recovered compared with the 10 min measurement (p < 0.05) and returned to levels not significantly different from baseline (p > 0.05). Conclusions: MT decreases during intraoperative IOP elevation in PDR undergoing vitrectomy, but recovers after the return to baseline pressure, suggesting preserved short-term autoregulatory capacity. Careful IOP management during vitrectomy remains important in eyes with PDR.

Healthcare workforce distribution during multiple crises: a 12-year analysis of physician allocation, retention and equity patterns in Turkey.

Nature-based solutions (NBSs), such as green roofs, are among the most effective ways to manage urban stormwater, improve building energy efficiency, and adapt to climate change. However, conventional green roofs confront several restrictions related to stormwater drainage, retention capacity, irrigation demand, and pressure on urban water networks during dry periods. This study proposes and experimentally validates a novel system applicable to green roofs and other NBS, including streetside planting systems and vegetated sports grounds. The novelty of the proposed system lies in a double-layer design, the integration of filters within soil substrate to enhance short-term stormwater retention and controlled drainage, and passive subsurface capillary irrigation with cords to improve irrigation efficiency. Infiltration tests showed that filter hydraulic conductivity strongly depends on pore size, with measured infiltration rates ranging from 0.01 mm/min (ceramic, 0.1 μm) to 20 mm/min (polypropylene, 50 μm). The results showed that filter material and pore size significantly influence infiltration behaviour and short-term storage capacity. When integrated with the soil substrate, the combined system exhibited infiltration rates of 0.8–2.0 mm/min, decreasing as hydraulic head declined. Capillary rise experiments demonstrated a maximum vertical rise of 32 cm and horizontal rise of 39 cm for polyester cords (6 mm width), confirming the feasibility of passive subsurface irrigation through stored runoff reuse without external energy. The experiments were conducted at a laboratory scale (25 × 25 cm) as a proof-of-concept validation. Finally, the study results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system as a multifunctional NBS solution that enhances stormwater retention while enabling passive irrigation using retained runoff.

Purpose of the study: This study aims to evaluate the financial performance of PT. Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, Tbk during the period 2019-2023 based on liquidity ratios, specifically Current Ratio, Quick Ratio, and Cash Ratio. The research seeks to determine whether the company maintains adequate liquidity to meet short-term obligations and sustain operational efficiency. Materials and methods: This study employs a descriptive qualitative research design utilizing secondary data obtained from the audited annual financial statements of PT. Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, Tbk. The population comprises all financial reports of the company, with the sample consisting of five consecutive years of financial statements (2019-2023). Data analysis was conducted through liquidity ratio calculations and comparison against industry standard benchmarks. The analytical framework follows established financial ratio analysis methodologies as documented in contemporary accounting literature. Results: The findings reveal that PT. Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, Tbk demonstrates varying levels of liquidity performance across the three measured ratios. The Current Ratio achieved an average of 209%, exceeding the industry standard of 200%, indicating satisfactory short-term debt coverage capacity. However, the Quick Ratio averaged 112%, falling below the industry benchmark of 150%, suggesting potential challenges in meeting immediate obligations without inventory liquidation. Similarly, the Cash Ratio averaged 29%, significantly below the industry standard of 50%, indicating limited cash reserves relative to current liabilities. Conclusions: The study concludes that while PT. Charoen Pokphand Indonesia, Tbk maintains adequate overall liquidity as measured by the Current Ratio, the company exhibits suboptimal performance in more stringent liquidity measures. The declining trend in Quick Ratio and Cash Ratio over the five-year period warrants strategic attention to enhance cash management practices and reduce dependency on inventory for short-term obligation fulfillment.

ABSTRACT This article proposes integrating the concepts of energy depletion and recharging as key elements in the struggle over labour indeterminacy at Amazon. To this end, it draws on empirical data collected from two Amazon warehouses and analyses worker narratives related to energy management at work. The findings illustrate how, in digital warehousing, diverse worker bodies are treated as homogeneous, disposable, and replaceable due to their short-term energy capacity. This helps explain why such companies often organise for permanent turnover rather than ensuring sustainable energy management. Conceptually, centring energy extends existing debates on work surveillance and the labour process towards embodiment and social reproduction; empirically, it identifies energy governance as a distinct locus of the indeterminacy struggle. The article argues for transparency in algorithmic assessment, enforceable restorative time and ergonomic standards, and incentives aligned with sustainable, health-preserving work.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) provides therapeutic benefits to a subset of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, reliable predictors of treatment efficacy remain scarce. This study investigates whether RPB5-mediating protein (RMP) facilitates the alignment of redox adaptation with immune checkpoint regulation, thereby influencing the extent of therapeutic benefit under programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade. In Hepa1-6 and Hep3B cell lines, enforced expression of RMP resulted in elevated levels of NRF2 and PD-L1 proteins, alongside enhanced clonogenic growth and short-term migratory capacity. In a subcutaneous Hepa1-6 tumor model, RMP-overexpressing tumors exhibited accelerated growth and a distinct immunohistochemical profile characterized by increased levels of RMP, NRF2, PD-L1, Ki-67 and HO-1, indicative of a proliferative and redox-adapted state. Upon administration of anti-PD-1 therapy, both experimental cohorts demonstrated tumor regression; however, the RMP-overexpressing cohort exhibited a proportionally reduced inhibition compared to controls, despite experiencing greater absolute tumor shrinkage from a higher baseline. This suggests a limited response amplitude within the RMP/NRF2-high context. Post-therapy tissues from the overexpression cohort exhibited elevated levels of RMP, NRF2, HO-1, and PD-L1, alongside an immune microenvironment characterized by an increased presence of CD3/CD8 cells and a decreased presence of CD4/CD25 cells. This pattern is indicative of an inflamed yet suppressed state of adaptive immune resistance. Collectively, these observations support a model wherein continuous RMP-NRF2-HO-1 activity and persistent PD-L1 expression exert inhibitory pressure, even as PD-1 blockade facilitates cytotoxic T-cell infiltration. This dynamic accounts for the relatively lower inhibition observed in the overexpression context. The combined RMP/NRF2/PD-L1 signature proposes a mechanistically informed biomarker framework and suggests the potential for rational therapeutic combinations that pair PD-1 blockade with modulation of the redox pathway in HCC.

BackgroundThis study explores the “wave-off” mechanism in healthcare, in which physicians implicitly discourage patient revisits to manage high workloads. Understanding this mechanism is critical for balancing workload management and patient-centered care, as it highlights how physician discretion shapes patient behavior and operational efficiency.MethodsWe analyze 200,426 outpatient records from a cardiology department to investigate the relationship between physician workload and the likelihood of patient revisits. We introduce a novel metric, Sample Entropy, to quantify patient “stickiness,” or the propensity to revisit. We examine physician behaviors—such as referrals for diagnostic examinations and medication prescribing—to identify strategies used to modulate patient flow. Statistical analyses assess the impact of workload on revisit patterns and the mechanisms driving the wave-off effect.ResultsHigher physician workloads are significantly associated with reduced short-term patient revisits. Physicians manage workload by prescribing more medications and referring fewer diagnostic examinations, laboratory tests, particularly for patients with higher stickiness as measured by Sample Entropy. These behaviors alleviate short-term workload pressure but risk long-term inefficiencies, potentially reflecting bounded rationality in clinical decision-making.ConclusionsThe wave-off mechanism illustrates a trade-off between immediate workload relief and long-term operational performance. While it helps physicians address short-term capacity constraints, it may undermine optimal long-term patient care and system efficiency. This study highlights the operational and behavioral implications of physician-driven demand modulation, including the subtle yet consequential phenomenon of physician-reduced demand, in which patients are implicitly discouraged from revisiting due to workload-driven adjustments in care delivery.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-026-14093-1.

Abstract Water balance strongly influences key physiological and ecological functions in terrestrial anurans, affecting locomotor performance and metabolism. Tolerance to dehydration may enable the capacity of invasive species to persist in novel environments. We investigated how progressive dehydration affects locomotor performance (endurance and power) and aerobic capacity in an invasive population of the whistling frog, Eleutherodactylus johnstonei, established in southeastern Brazil. We hypothesized that dehydration impairs both locomotor performance and aerobic capacity. Frogs were tested under three hydration levels: 100, 90, and 80% of body mass. Dehydration reduced endurance, decreasing the number of jumps at 90 and 80%, as well as total distance and maximum jump length only at 80%, while initial speed remained unaffected. In contrast, dehydration did not influence metabolic traits. These results suggest that E. johnstonei maintains short-term locomotor capacity and metabolic stability under moderate hydric stress, demonstrating functional plasticity that may facilitate activity, dispersal, and persistence in urban microhabitats. Such physiological resilience probably confers an adaptive advantage facilitating establishment and spread in disturbed or seasonally dry environments, emphasizing water balance as a central axis shaping invasion success in terrestrial amphibians, supporting the ecological success of E. johnstonei as an invasive species.

Enhancing degradation trend prediction of lithium-ion battery capacity in complex aging scenarios: A Bayesian-optimized hybrid architecture combining local and global feature learning

With growing interest in adhesively bonded timber-concrete composite (TCC) elements, the question of practical manufacturability has become central. Factories must account for how fabrication variables affect shear transfer across the adhesive interface. As the continuous epoxy joints are stiff, their performance highly depends, among others, on the concrete surface and the age when bonding. This study isolates these two production-related parameters and investigates their effect on short-term shear capacity. The experimental programme, based on the Vertical Slip-Block test (VSB), examines four scenarios: abrasion of steel formwork, application of formwork oil, use of synthetic plastic foil, and the influence of the concrete maturity at bonding and loading. In addition, correlation analyses are conducted using surface morphology data from light microscopy, contact-angle measurements, and surface roughness. The obtained results yield three practice-oriented conclusions: (i) Reliable bonding requires minimum surface roughness but open porosity, (ii) Bonding to concrete younger than one week is discouraged; insufficient hydration leaves a weak boundary layer that triggers cohesive failure, and (iii) Beyond a threshold maturity, further ageing offers negligible gains, enabling shorter production cycles without sacrificing load capacity. The derived quantitative thresholds provide immediate criteria for off-site quality-control checks and support wider adoption of bonded TCC technology. • Correctly dosed formwork oil shows no penalty, overdosing adds hydrophobic residues and scatter. • Open porosity with minimal roughness is essential, steel-formwork surfaces perform well. • Bonding to <1-week concrete forms weak boundary layers and sharply reduces shear. • Synthetic foils seal the laitance, sanding/surface activation is needed for reliability.

In February 2024, over 90% of trainee doctors in South Korea’s teaching hospitals resigned en masse, severely disrupting healthcare delivery. We evaluated the associations of this mass resignation with hospital admission and length of stay, expenditure, and patients’ health outcomes in a tertiary teaching hospital. We analyzed inpatient claims data from Jeju National University Hospital (August 2022–July 2024), encompassing 40,577 hospital episodes. Using a difference-in-differences method, we compared outcomes 6 months before and after the mass resignation (February–July 2024 vs. August 2023–January 2024) against the same period 1 year earlier (February–July 2023 vs. August 2022–January 2023) to account for seasonal trends. Primary outcomes included daily hospital admissions, length of stay, total medical costs, 30-day readmission rates, and in-hospital mortality. Analyses were stratified by comorbidity burden using the Charlson Comorbidity Index. The mass resignation was associated with reduced daily hospital admissions (−9.45; 95% CI: −16.1 to −2.77; p = 0.01), decreased length of stay (−1.01 days; 95% CI: −1.97 to −0.06; p = 0.04), and lower healthcare expenditure (−40%; 95% CI: −68% to −12%; p = 0.01). No significant changes were observed in 30-day readmission rates or in-hospital mortality in the overall sample. However, among patients with higher comorbidity burden (CCI ≥ 1), 30-day readmission rates decreased significantly (−0.05; 95% CI: −0.14 to 0.04; p = 0.01). Despite no observed short-term mortality increases, reduced utilization among high-comorbidity patients raises concerns about care access during the crisis. The findings suggest that hospitals exhibited short-term adaptive capacity under workforce shortages, while reduced utilization among high-comorbidity patients raises concern for care access. Strengthening contingency planning, flexible staffing, and real-time monitoring systems will be critical to sustaining care quality during future disruptions. Long-term implications of sustained healthcare disruption warrant further investigation.

Single fire events impose lasting reproductive costs in savanna trees.

This study takes the implementation of the “Guiding Opinions on Launching Pilot Programs for Mandatory green Insurance” in 2013 as a quasi-natural experiment. Based on the panel data of A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2023, it systematically examines the impact of the green insurance policy on the performance of heavy-polluting enterprises by using the difference-in-differences (DID) method. The research findings show that the green insurance policy significantly improves the performance level of heavy-polluting enterprises. Mechanism tests indicate that the green insurance promotes the improvement of corporate performance through two paths: incentivizing enterprises’ technological innovation and enhancing their short-term debt financing capacity. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the policy has a more prominent role in improving the performance of enterprises with lower environmental investment levels, non-state-owned nature, and less financing constraints. The test of moderating effects finds that the board size negatively moderates the promoting effect of the green insurance on corporate performance, while the proportion of independent directors exerts a positive moderating effect. This study provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for the optimal design of the green insurance policy and the green and low-carbon transformation of heavy-polluting enterprises, and has important implications for improving the green insurance system and serving the high-quality development of the economy.

A randomized controlled trial: Acupotomy Arthroscope vs. arthroscopic intervention in knee OA patients' gait and symptoms.

Sustainability reporting has gained increasing importance as companies face growing environmental, social, and governance expectations, particularly in sectors with substantial social and environmental impacts such as energy and healthcare. However, empirical evidence regarding the financial and organizational determinants of sustainability report disclosure in Indonesia remains inconclusive. This study aims to examine the effect of profitability, liquidity, leverage, firm size, and firm age on sustainability report disclosure among energy and healthcare companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the 2022–2024 period. Using a purposive sampling approach, 44 companies were selected, resulting in 132 firm-year observations. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression with SPSS. The results indicate that profitability and firm size have a positive and significant influence on sustainability report disclosure, suggesting that financially strong and larger firms are more inclined to provide broader sustainability information to meet stakeholder expectations. In contrast, liquidity, leverage, and firm age show no significant effect, indicating that short-term financial capacity, capital structure, and corporate longevity do not necessarily drive sustainability disclosure practices. These findings contribute to the sustainability reporting literature by clarifying the role of firm characteristics within the Indonesian context.

The ability to perform motor imagery is affected by differences in short-term memory storage capacity in terms of the activation of working memory. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the simultaneous measurement of brain activation and spinal motor neuron excitability, we examined differences in the combined effects of motor practice and motor imagery due to differences in working memory function. 20 healthy individuals were classified into Normal (score of ≤5-6 digits) and Good (score of ≥7 digits) groups based on working memory in a digit span test. Following this, participants performed six sets of repetitive exercises combining motor practice and motor imagery, and changes in neural activity patterns in the brain and spinal cord, as well as changes in finger dexterity, were tracked. In brain network analysis, the first execution of the imagery showed high Betweenness Centrality in the frontal pole cortex, which shifted to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with repeated imagery. The involvement of the frontal pole may reflect introspection of motor behavior in the initial stage, while the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex consistently participated in imagery generation throughout the entire motor imagery process. In addition, both groups showed improvement in finger dexterity after intervention, but during repetitive motor imagery, a decrease in amplitude F/M ratio was observed in the Good Working Memory group, and a decrease in activation of the right primary motor cortex was observed in the Normal Working Memory group. In terms of working memory, especially in aspects of the phonological loop, those with higher function may execute motor imagery more distinctly.