Total Depth Research Articles

Diurnal and Seasonal Variations of Aerosol Optical Depth Observed by MEDA/TIRS at Jezero Crater, Mars

AbstractThe two upward‐looking Thermal InfraRed Sensor (TIRS) channels from the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instrument suite on board the Perseverance rover enable the retrieval of total aerosol optical depth (dust plus water ice cloud) above the rover for all observations when TIRS is taken. Because TIRS observes at thermal infrared wavelengths, the retrievals are possible during both the day and night and thus, they provide an excellent way to monitor both the diurnal and seasonal variations of aerosols above Jezero Crater. A retrieval algorithm has been developed for this purpose and here, we describe that algorithm along with our results for the first 400 sols of the Perseverance mission covering nearly the entire aphelion season as well as a regional dust storm and the beginning of the perihelion season. We find systematic diurnal variations in aerosol optical depth that can be associated with dust and water ice clouds as well as a clear change from a cloud‐filled aphelion season to a perihelion season where dust is the dominant aerosol. A comparison of retrieved optical depths between TIRS and the SkyCam camera that is also part of MEDA indicates evidence of possible diurnal variations in cloud height or particle size.

Effect of the Atmosphere for Heat Treatment on Carbon Flux in Ultra-Rapid Carburizing

To reduce the processing time for in-line carburizing, we performed ultra-rapid carburizing and quenching using induction heating. Conventional gas carburizing and vacuum carburizing (low-pressure carburizing) are treated at 1203–1323 K, which is lower than the eutectic temperature. In contrast, in this study, the carburizing temperature of 1523 K was higher than the eutectic temperature for speeding up this process. The SCM420 sample was rapidly heated to the treatment temperature by induction heating. CH4 and N2 were mixed and treated at atmospheric pressure at 5 vol% CH4 and 10 vol% CH4. For ultra-rapid carburizing, the total carburizing depth was proportional to the square root of the carburizing time, following the parabolic law, regardless of the CH4 concentration. We obtained that the amount of carbon penetrating the steel from the atmosphere was proportional to the carburizing time. In other words, the carbon penetration rate was approximately constant during the carburizing process. The processing time for the ultra-rapid carburizing and quenching at 1523 K in this study was only 5% of that for the conventional gas carburizing at 1203 K.

Partially saturated vertical flow constructed wetland for urban wastewater treatment

Partially saturated vertical flow constructed wetland (SVF) emerge as an alternative to classical vertical flow due to improved carbonaceous organic matter removal and nitrogen transformations without of the need for external energy source. In this context, the main objective of this study was to show the long-term evaluation of a SVF wetland with 7.5 m2 of surface area (filter media depth of 0.75 m where 53% of total depth was saturated) and planted with Typha domingensis macrophyte, operated as secondary/advanced treatment unit of urban wastewater under subtropical climate conditions. Sampling and analysis of conventional wastewater quality parameters, oxygen consumption rate estimation, and assessment of bacterial dynamics were conducted over 6 years, which allowed inferring that operating the SVF wetland with a specific hydraulic load around 4 L∙m-2∙min-1 and hydraulic regime with feeding and resting cycles of 3.5 d, all wastewater quality parameters met local legislation release standards in river water bodies. Saturated zone of the wetland favors the presence of denitrifying bacteria representing a potential of 44% of TN removal due to simultaneous nitrification-denitrification.

Effect of Fines on Strength of Granular Soil Reinforced with Geosynthetics

Geosynthetics (GSN) are polymeric products used in Geotechnical Engineering for the purpose of improving the properties of the insitu soil. In this project, experimental work was carried out to determine the influence of presence of fines within granular soil on the CBR strength of soil reinforced with different GSN (Woven geotextile, Non-woven geotextile, Geogrid and Geonet). Two types of granular soil in disturbed state containing varying percentage of fines were selected from in and around the Chennai region. Soil type 1 contains high fines of about 40% (SHF) whereas soil type 2 contains less fines of about 7% (SLF). Unsoaked CBR (U-CBR) test was carried on unreinforced soil and on soil reinforced with different GSN placed at varying depths of D/5, 2D/5, 3D/5 and 4D/5 from top of soil (D is the total depth of soil), to determine the ideal depth of placement of GSN within SHF and SLF. Soaked CBR (S-CBR) test was carried on unreinforced soil and on soil reinforced with different GSN placed at an ideal depth determined from U-CBR test. Based on the experimental results, ideal depth of placement of GSN for SHF and SLF was found to be D/5 and 3D/5 respectively from top of the soil and Geogrid was found to be the best geosynthetic for reinforcing the granular soil containing high fines and less fines.

Technical and technological solutions regarding the development of pillars during final mining of deep open pits

When mining operations achieve the total depth of open pits within their boundaries, a significant share of balance ore reserves remains in pillars under transport communications as well as under reloading points. Liquidation of the available transport communications should follow by the development of the new ones. Hence, mining stages of a steep-grade field and periodicity of a pillar initiation within both working open pit flank and temporarily nonworking one have been studied. Нannivskyi open pit has been taken as an example to substantiate the expediency to extract balance reserves occurring under crushing and reloading point within ±0 m level. The substantiation of technical and technological solutions concerning the development of a protective pillar involved cuts of geological ore formation which supported the idea of availability of the preserved reserves and topicality of the selected problem. Operation schedules to mine the pillars have been developed for general conditions; the required equipment set has been analyzed. New technological solutions have been obtained using current excavating and transportation machinery. Engineering solutions as for possibility to open the pillars and liquidate them in terms of the limited technical and technological potential have been substantiated. The technological schemes of pillar mining have been systematized depending upon the technological processes, taking place in the open pit, and the applied equipment set. Scientific significance of the paper is the developed systematization of facilities in terms of operation schedules of pillar mining. Practical significance is the developed operation schedules to mine and liquidate the pillars. Technical and technological expediency to use skip hoist while reactivating temporarily nonworking open-pit walls for rock mass transportation from the pillars up to the surface has been substantiated. It has been proved that during final mining operations in an open pit, complicated by difficulties in electricity delivering to the preservation pillar, it is expedient to apply loaders in one operation schedule. Use of loaders and skip hoist to mine the preservation pillar is the optimum strategy. It has been substantiated that the proposed procedure is more advantageous to compare with the conveyor transport.

Shallow Composition and Structure of the Upper Part of the Exhumed San Gabriel Fault, California: Implications for Fault Processes

Quantifying shallow fault zone structure and characteristics is critical for accurately modeling the complex mechanical behavior of earthquakes as energy moves within faults from depth. We examine macro- to microstructures, mineralogy, and properties from drill core analyses of fault-related rocks in the steeply plunging ALT-B2 geotechnical borehole (total depth of 493 m) across the San Gabriel Fault zone, California. We use macroscopic drill core and outcrop-sample analyses, core-based damage estimates, optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction mineralogic analyses to determine the fault zone structure, deformation mechanisms, and alteration patterns of exhumed deformed rocks formed in a section of the fault that slipped 5-12 million years ago, with evidence for some Quaternary slip. The fault consists of two principal slip zones composed of cohesive cataclasite, ultracataclasite, and intact clay-rich, highly foliated gouge within upper and lower damage zones 60 m and 50 m thick. The upper 6.5 m thick principal slip zone separates Mendenhall Gneiss and Josephine Granodiorite, and a lower 11 m thick principal slip is enclosed within the Josephine Granodiorite. Microstructures record overprinted brittle fractures, cohesive cataclasites, veins, sheared clay-rich rocks, and folded foliated and carbonate-rich horizons in the damage zones. Carbonate veins are common in the lower fault zone, and alteration and mineralization assemblages consist of clays, epidote, calcite, zeolites, and chloritic minerals. These data show that shallow portions of the fault experienced fluid-rock interactions that led to alteration, mineralization, and brittle and semi-brittle deformation that led to the formation of damage zones and narrow principal slip zones that are continuous down-dip and along strike.

Development and Evaluation of a Portable Iron Removal Plant (PIRP) for Drinking Water

Safe and clean drinking water is the prerequisite for survival and has a significant impact on daily life. The existing higher concentrations of iron in groundwater in different regions of Bangladesh, including Sylhet, cause significant health issues for the concerned community. To address this problem, a lab-scale Portable Iron Removal Plant (PIRP) was developed to remove iron from drinking water. It includes downward free-flow aeration, sedimentation, and up-flow filtration using filter media like vit sand (8 cm), fine sand (5 cm), foam (1.2 cm), stone (4 cm), and jhama (2 cm), with a total depth of 20.2 cm. A total of 7 iron-contaminated water samples were collected from 7 different deep tube-wells from Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) campus. The samples were tested for iron concentration before and after filtration through PIRP. Water Quality Index (WQI) was determined using Weighted Arithmetic (W.A.) method. Iron concentrations of the samples before filtration were 1.61, 5.00, 1.69, 1.88, 1.97, 1.69, and 1.82 mg/L, which reduced to 0.55, 0.58, 0.91, 0.13, 0.67, 0.28 and 0.36 mg/L, respectively after filtering through the PIRP. Maximum iron removal efficiency of the PIRP was 93.09%, with the average efficiency 75%, which is satisfactory in comparison to other studies. The PIRP could be a sustainable alternative with further improvement for its easy operation and maintenance, and utilization of low-cost components (e.g., natural aerations, low-cost filtering agents, etc.).

Changes in the Structure of the Snow Cover of Hansbreen (S Spitsbergen) Derived from Repeated High-Frequency Radio-Echo Sounding

This paper explores the potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) monitoring for an advanced understanding of snow cover processes and structure. For this purpose, the study uses the Hansbreen (SW Spitsbergen) records that are among the longest and the most comprehensive snow-cover GPR monitoring records available on Svalbard. While snow depth (HS) is frequently the only feature derived from high-frequency radio-echo sounding (RES), this study also offers an analysis of the physical characteristics (grain shape, size, hardness, and density) of the snow cover structure. We demonstrate that, based on GPR data (800 MHz) and a single snow pit, it is possible to extrapolate the detailed features of snow cover to the accumulation area. Field studies (snow pits and RES) were conducted at the end of selected accumulation seasons in the period 2008–2019, under dry snow conditions and HS close to the maximum. The paper shows that although the snow cover structure varies in space and from season to season, a single snow pit site can represent the entire center line of the accumulation zone. Numerous hard layers (HLs) (up to 30% of the snow column) were observed that reflect progressive climate change, but there is no trend in quantity, thickness, or percentage contribution in total snow depth in the study period. HLs with strong crystal bonds create a “framework” in the snowpack, which reduces compaction and, consequently, the ice formation layers slow down the rate of snowpack metamorphosis. The extrapolation of snow pit data through radar profiling is a novel solution that can improve spatial recognition of snow cover characteristics and the accuracy of calculation of snow water equivalent (SWE).

Improving clogging predictions at managed aquifer recharge sites: a quantitative assessment on the vertical distribution of intrusive fines

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is an emerging approach to enhancing water storage capacity, improving water supply security and countering groundwater overexploitation. However, physical clogging, i.e. accumulation of suspended organic and inorganic solids within a sediment matrix, can lead to a significant reduction of infiltration rates and present difficulties in the functioning of MAR infrastructure. Clogging and subsequent reduction in infiltration capacity are often quantified based on monitoring data or field investigations, rather than on forecasts. Existing predictive models require specific parameterisation, making an application to heterogeneous sites, or under changing conditions, difficult. Hence, a generalised understanding of how intrusive fine particles distribute over depth during water recharge cycles for typical MAR infiltration basin sediments is needed to predict clogging susceptibility and clogging patterns already in the planning phase and before operation of MAR schemes. The study will contribute to operational reliability, deduce optimised management practices, and, ideally, reduce maintenance efforts. To achieve this goal, data from different soil-column clogging experiments are reviewed and complemented with experiments to establish a generally valid relationship for the vertical distribution of intrusive fines under consideration of the primary porous media’s and intruding particles’ characteristics. Obtained results allow for quantification of the amount of particles retained at the surface of the porous media, i.e. formation of a filter cake, a description of the distribution of fines over depth, and total clogging depth. Finally, the findings are applied to a real MAR case study site to showcase the quantification of clogging effects on recharge rates.

Kinematics of the axial segment of horses submitted to dynamic mobilization exercises

This study aimed to investigate the kinematic effects of dynamic mobilization exercises on the axial segment in horses. Twelve horses crossbreed were used, which were monitored before (day 0) and at the end of the experimental period (day 120), distributed in an entirely randomized design, totalizing six repetitions per treatment The treatments consisted of two experimental groups, one composed of horses not performing the dynamic mobilization exercises and the other composed of horses submitted to the mobilization program. The static kinematic variables were evaluated, by means of hemispherical markers such as depth (cm), angle (°), difference in depth and angle, for each vertebral level analyzed (T10, T13, T17, L1 and L3), as well as total range of motion for depth and angle, in which this parameter expressed the thoracolumbar motion in its entirety. The performance of dynamic mobilization produced a significant (P<0.05) decrease in thoracolumbar depth and increase in thoracolumbar flexion angle, compared to the group that did not perform the functional exercises. A reduction in the total thoracolumbar depth of -6.28 cm (P<0.0001) was observed in horses that underwent the exercises. The same response behavior was verified for angular measurement, in which there was an increase in the total ROM of the angle, reflecting thoracolumbar flexion, of 15.54°(P<0.00001). It was concluded that dynamic mobilization exercises consistently produce flexion of the axial segment, becoming a potential tool to improve range of motion and thoracolumbar function in horses.

Global trends in the aerosol optical, physical, and morphological properties obtained using multi-sensor measurements

Numerous studies have been carried out to examine the trends in the rapidly changing aerosol loading through the total Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) but very few investigations have acknowledged its long-term implications through the combined optical, physical, and morphological properties of the aerosols. Using a multivariate linear regression trend analysis model on nearly two decades (i.e., 2001–2020) of multi-source global datasets, we tried to relate the contribution of each of the varying aerosol properties such as scattering, absorption, size, and shape, to the changing total AOD trends of that sensor. Region-wise analysis has shown that the decrease (increase) in the total AOD trends observed over North-Eastern America, South America, Europe, North-Western Africa, and Eastern and Central China (Indian) regions are mainly in connection with the decrease (increase) in the fine-mode and scattering aerosols. However, the major increase over the South African region is from the increase in absorbing and scattering aerosols. Interestingly, the Indo-Gangetic Plain region of India, where high total AOD trends are observed, has seen a plausible slight decrease in its absorbing, non-spherical, and coarse-mode aerosols in recent years. This study also details the region-wise response accompanying the implementation of stringent mitigation strategies to ensure accurate quantification of the changing aerosol patterns in the atmosphere.

Performance of an Upflow Sand Filter as a Point-of-Use Treatment System in Rural Areas

An upflow sand filter operated in incremental filtration rates (0.072, 0.181, 0.481 m3 m-2 h-1) was studied for turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), ammonia (NH4), and total coliform removal rates. Each cycle lasted for 45 days. The filter bed was made of sand with 0.10 mm D10 and supported by 0.49 mm and 2.10 mm gravel with a total bed depth of 0.50 m. Turbidity removal was recorded above 80% in all cycles with a maximum concentration of 7.29 NTU. TSS removal was maintained at over 90%, with an average discharge of 4.77 mg/L in all cycles. The NH4 removal increased steadily to 91% for 0.072 m3 m-2 h-1 and 93% for 0.181 m3 m-2 h-1 filtration rate. The algal bloom occurrence at 0.481 m3 m-2 h-1 filtration rate overloaded the system with NH4, declining the removal rate to 45%. Total coliform removal recorded an average of 99% in 0.072 m3 m-2 h-1, 89% in 0.181 m3 m-2 h-1, and 66% in 0.481 m3 m-2 h-1. A high filtration rate resulted in a shorter contact time between pollutants and microorganisms within the filter bed, which reduces the removal efficiency. The Shearing effect was also experienced where the attachments of particles and bacteria were minimised.

Bacterial ribosomal RNA detection in cerebrospinal fluid using a viromics approach

BackgroundIn patients with central nervous system (CNS) infections identification of the causative pathogen is important for treatment. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing techniques are increasingly being applied to identify causes of CNS infections, as they can detect any pathogen nucleic acid sequences present. Viromic techniques that enrich samples for virus particles prior to sequencing may simultaneously enrich ribosomes from bacterial pathogens, which are similar in size to small viruses.MethodsWe studied the performance of a viromic library preparation technique (VIDISCA) combined with low-depth IonTorrent sequencing (median ~ 25,000 reads per sample) for detection of ribosomal RNA from common pathogens, analyzing 89 cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with culture proven bacterial meningitis.ResultsSensitivity and specificity to Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 24) before and after optimizing threshold parameters were 79% and 52%, then 88% and 90%. Corresponding values for Neisseria meningitidis (n = 22) were 73% and 93%, then 67% and 100%, Listeria monocytogenes (n = 24) 21% and 100%, then 27% and 100%, and Haemophilus influenzae (n = 18) 56% and 100%, then 71% and 100%. A higher total sequencing depth, no antibiotic treatment prior to lumbar puncture, increased disease severity, and higher c-reactive protein levels were associated with pathogen detection.ConclusionWe provide proof of principle that a viromic approach can be used to correctly identify bacterial ribosomal RNA in patients with bacterial meningitis. Further work should focus on increasing assay sensitivity, especially for problematic species (e.g. L. monocytogenes), as well as profiling additional pathogens. The technique is most suited to research settings and examination of idiopathic cases, rather than an acute clinical setting.

Comparative analysis of fuel loads in the area affected by fire and without fire in Malinaltepec, Guerrero

Forest fires are one of the factors that contribute to climate change, among the components that form the fire triangle, fuel is theonly factor that can be manipulated. The objective of this work was to estimate the load of forest fuels in Mg ha-¹ in an area burnedin 2015 and another area without fire. For the evaluation of forest fuel, three sampling sites were established in each of the areas,the woody material was counted by delay time (1, 10, 100 and 1000 h) according to the technique of planar intersections; at the endof each line, litter (h) and mulch (m) were collected in 0.09 m². Tests were carried out to contrast the general fuel load and by typebetween ecosystems; Tukey's means comparison test was used to contrast the fuels in a given area, finally the woody material (ml),mulch (m) and litter (h) were correlated with the total load (ct), litter depth (ph) and mulch depth (ph) using Pearson correlationtests. The total fuel load was 53.10 Mg ha-¹ in the burned area, while the area without fire showed a load of 27.26 Mg ha-¹ withoutsignificant differences (p = 0.114). On the comparison of loads by delay time, the fuel of 1, 10 and 100 h showed a higher load inthe burned area, although it was not significant (p > 0.05); the analysis by component showed a higher litter load in the non-burnedarea with 12.90 Mg ha-¹ (p = 0.015) and the woody material was statistically higher in the burned area with 35.95 Mg ha-¹ (p =0.024). The correlation of variables showed an r = 0.95 between the woody material and the total load; followed by leaf litter andmulch (r = 0.80); on the contrary, the total load in the non-burned area showed a correlation with the mulch and leaf litter (r = 0.89and 0.83). The forest fire contributed to the reduction of litter and mulch but maximized the load of woody fuel.

High-throughput sequencing reveals omnivorous and preferential diets of the rotifer Polyarthra in situ.

Knowledge of in situ diet of widespread rotifers is crucial for accurately understanding the trophic position, ecological function, and adaptability to environmental changes in aquatic ecosystems. However, it is challenging to achieve the in situ diet information due to the lack of efficient and comprehensive methods. Here, we investigated the diet composition of Polyarthra in a subtropical lake using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of a rRNA metabarcode for Polyarthra and ambient water samples. After eliminating Polyarthra sequences, a total of 159 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from taxa in 15 phyla were detected from Polyarthra gut content samples. Most of the OTUs belong to Chlorophyta, followed by unclassified Fungi, Chrysophyta, Dinoflagellata, Ciliophora, Bacillariophyta, Cryptophyta, Arthropoda, Cercozoa, Mollusca, Apicomplexa, Haptophyta, Amoebozoa, Chordata and other eukaryotes. Our results showed that Polyarthra mainly grazed on Chlorophyta, which may result from the high relative abundance of Chlorophyta in ambient waters. In contrast, Chrysophyceae and Synurophyceae were enriched in Polyarthra's gut, indicating that this rotifer prefers these taxa as food. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that total nitrogen, transparency, depth, Chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus were key factors for the variation of the eukaryotic community in the Polyarthra gut contents. When the concentration of nutrients in the water environment decreased, Polyarthra shifted from herbivorous feeding to more carnivorous feeding. Thus, Polyarthra is generally omnivorous but preference for Chrysophytes and Synurophytes, and it responds to the environmental changes by adopting a flexible feeding strategy. This could partly explain why the widespread rotifers have apparently wide tolerance toward spatial and environmental changes.

Extracting Remotely Sensed Water Quality Parameters from Shallow Intertidal Estuaries

Sentinel-2 imagery is potentially ideal for providing a rapid assessment of the ecological condition of estuarine water due to its high temporal and spatial resolution and coverage. However, for optically shallow waters, the problem of isolating the effect of seabed reflectance from the influence of water properties makes it difficult to use the observed surface reflectance to monitor water quality. In this study, we adopt a methodology based on Lyzenga’s model to estimate water quality properties such as the dominant wavelength and diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) of shallow estuarine waters. Lyzenga models the observed reflectance (R) using four parameters: total water depth (z), sea-bed reflectance (Rb), water reflectance (Rw) and Kd. If Rb is known a priori and multiple observations of R are available from different total water depths, we show that Lyzenga’s model can be used to estimate the values of the remaining two parameters, Kd and Rw. Observations of R from different water depths can either be taken from the same image at different proximal locations in the estuary (“spatial method”) or from the same pixel observed at different tidal stages (“temporal method”), both assuming homogeneous seabed and water reflectance properties. Tests in our case study estuary show that Kd and Rw can be estimated at water depths less than 6.4 m. We also show that the proximity restriction for the reflectance correction with the temporal method limits outcomes to monthly or seasonal resolution, and the correction with the spatial method performs best at a spatial resolution of 60 m. The Kd extracted from the blue band correlates well with the observed Kd for photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (r2 = 0.66) (although the relationship is likely to be estuary-specific). The methodology provides a foundation for future work assessing rates of primary production in shallow estuaries on large scales.

Influence of Soil Layers on the Infiltration Rates and Cumulative Infiltration Using Modified Green Ampt Model in the HYDROL-INF Simulation Environment

Soil profiles are generally heterogeneous and consist of various horizontal layers due to geological processes, the formation of crusts, or other artificial or man-made activities. To quantify infiltration into these heterogeneous soil profiles, the Modified Green-Ampt Model (MGAM) is a physically-based hydrologic model that can efficiently perform under both steady and unsteady rainfall events. Based on the secondary data, this study sought to determine the effect of changing soil layers (soil textures) on infiltration rates and cumulative infiltrations in in both laboratory and field settings. Different scenarios were analyzed by rearranging soil layers and evaluating their impacts on corresponding infiltration rates and cumulative infiltrations. Simulations were run with HYDROL-INF software environment using MGAM. Three scenarios were considered for a laboratory experiment with two different types of soil texture coupled with five different soil profiles. Similarly, four scenarios were considered for the field experiments with five different types of soil texture couple with eight different soil profiles. The simulated infiltration rates and cumulative infiltrations were found to vary with soil layer change scenarios. The simulated cumulative infiltrations, ponding times, infiltrating rates at ponding, and total depth of wetting front at ponding of a five-layered laboratory soil column were identical for the three scenarios. Simulated cumulative infiltrations were 33.16, 23.65, 21.29, and 42.77 cm, respectively, for scenarios (combinations) 1, 2, 3, and 4 in the eight-layered soil profile in the field scenarios. Infiltration rates among scenarios at ponding were identical (0.46 to 0.53 cm/h) with field scenario data.

Multivariate analysis and modeling of shoreline changes using geospatial data

Understanding of shoreline dynamics is essential to coastal management and the development of tropical archipelagic countries. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the factors affecting shoreline changes and their future predictions in Bengkayang Regency, West Kalimantan. Research data used includes historical maps, remote sensing imagery, total suspended solids, underwater slope and depth, distance from the estuaries, wind speed, and distance from the coastal constructions. The multiple linear regression models and digital shoreline analysis system were applied. Findings showed accretion occurred in 1981, 1991, and 2021 while abrasion was detected in 2001 and 2011. The shorelines gained 37.05 meters between 1945 and 2021 under intensive accretion in segments 2–4 while abrasion recorded in segments 6–8. Furthermore, the shorelines are projected to be abraded between 2021 and 2041. These findings are recommended to be considered in the development of coastal areas that are adaptive to climate change, sea-level rise, and land subsidence.

Stress-induced F-Box protein-coding gene OsFBX257 modulates drought stress adaptations and ABA responses in rice.

F-box (FB) proteins that form part of SKP1-CUL1-F-box (SCF) type of E3 ubiquitin ligases are important components of plant growth and development. Herewe characterized OsFBX257, a rice FBprotein-coding gene that is differentially expressed under drought conditions and other abiotic stresses. Population genomics analysis suggest that OsFBX257 shows high allelic diversity in aus accessions and has been under positive selection in some japonica, aromatic and indica cultivars. Interestingly, allelic variation at OsFBX257 in aus cultivar Nagina22 is associated with an alternatively spliced transcript. Conserved amongland plants, OsFBX257 is a component of the SCF complex, can form homomers and interact molecularly with the 14-3-3 rice proteins GF14b and GF14c. OsFBX257 is co-expressed in a network involving protein kinases and phosphatases. We show that OsFBX257 can bind the kinases OsCDPK1 and OsSAPK2, and that its phosphorylation can be reversed by phosphatase OsPP2C08. OsFBX257 expression level modulates root architecture and drought stress tolerance in rice. OsFBX257 knockdown (OsFBX257KD ) lines show reduced total root length and depth, crown root number, panicle size and survival under stress. In contrast, its overexpression (OsFBX257OE ) increases root depth, leaf and grain length, number of panicles, and grain yield in rice. OsFBX257 is a promising breeding target for alleviating drought stress-induced damage in rice.

A numerical analysis of sloshing dynamics of two-layer liquid with a free surface

A numerical study on the two-layer liquid sloshing with a free surface in a rectangular tank under horizontal sinusoidal excitation is investigated in this work. It is observed that the interface displacement is mainly influenced by the lower liquid depth, while the free surface displacement primarily depends on the total liquid depth. Using dimensional analysis of the numerical results, we obtained a fitting curve in the S-model expression, which relates the displacements of both liquids to the forcing amplitude, forcing frequency and liquid depth. Furthermore, distinct from the phenomena for a single-layer liquid, we find that the sum and difference frequencies play significant roles in the power spectral density curves. There are similar power spectral density curve shapes and energy concentration locations with a fixed type of excitation independent of the liquid filling depth and layer depths ratio.