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Empirical studies worldwide show that warming has variable effects on plant litter decomposition, leaving the overall impact of climate change on decomposition uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis of 109 experimental warming studies across seven continents, using natural and standardised plant material, to assess the overarching effect of warming on litter decomposition and identify potential moderating factors. We determined that at least 5.2° of warming is required for a significant increase in decomposition. Overall, warming did not have a significant effect on decomposition at a global scale. However, we found that warming reduced decomposition in warmer, low-moisture areas, while it slightly increased decomposition in colder regions, although this increase was not significant. This is particularly relevant given the past decade's global warming trend at higher latitudes where a large proportion of terrestrial carbon is stored. Future changes in vegetation towards plants with lower litter quality, which we show were likely to be more sensitive to warming, could increase carbon release and reduce the amount of organic matter building up in the soil. Our findings highlight how the interplay between warming, environmental conditions, and litter characteristics improves predictions of warming's impact on ecosystem processes, emphasising the importance of considering context-specific factors., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The release of nutrients into water during debris decomposition is a serious concern, leading to severe environmental pollution. To understand the effects of extensively present emerging contaminants (such as perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs)) on the nitrogen (N) release and transformation, the concentration dynamics of different N species in surrounding water and changes in microbial communities on biofilm during the 70-days decomposition of two typical submerged macrophyte (Alisma orientale and Iris pseudacorus) debris were studied. The results showed that large amounts of N species (especially organic and ammonium N) were released during decomposition. PFAAs with a low concentration (1 μg/L) could stimulate total N (TN) release, whereas PFAAs with a high concentration (≥ 10 μg/L) might have inhibited TN release. Higher intensities of ammonification, nitrosification, and denitrification, but lower intensities of nitrification were observed in water in the presence of PFAAs. Microbiota associated with organic matter hydrolysis, nitrification and denitrification, as well as PFAA degrading/tolerant bacteria, were beneficial and might have occupied dominant states. Redundancy analysis showed that PFAAs were positively associated with the amounts of nitrate, denitrifiers, and azotobacteria but negatively correlated with the TN, ammonia, nitrite, organic N, and nitrosobacteria amounts (p = 0.0002). The complete N metabolism pathway was identified using PICRUSt and KEGG. Functional genes related to ammonification (0.76‰-2.16‰), N reduction (3.43‰-5.05‰), and assimilation (0.81‰-2.16‰) were more abundant than others in all treatments. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of N cycling during debris decomposition under the increasingly intractable threat of emerging contaminants in aquatic ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The concept of "blue carbon" is, in this study, critically evaluated with respect to its definitions, measuring approaches, and time scales. Blue carbon deposited in ocean sediments can only counteract anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions if stored on a long-term basis. The focus here is on the coastal blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), mangrove forests, saltmarshes, and seagrass meadows due to their high primary production and large carbon stocks. Blue carbon sequestration in BCEs is typically estimated using either: 1. sediment carbon inventories combined with accretion rates or 2. carbon mass balance between input to and output from the sediment. The inventory approach is compromised by a lack of accurate accretion estimates over extended time periods. Hence, short-term sedimentation assays cannot be reliably extrapolated to long timescales. The use of long-term tracers like 210 Pb, on the other hand, is invalid in most BCEs due to sediment mobility by bioturbation and other physical disturbances. While the mass balance approach provides reasonable short-term (months) estimates, it often fails when extrapolated over longer time periods (> 100 years) due to climatic variations. Furthermore, many published budgets based on mass balance do not include all relevant carbon sources and sinks. Simulations of long-term decomposition of mangrove, saltmarsh (Spartina sp.), and eelgrass (Zostera sp.) litter using a 3-G exponential model indicate that current estimates of carbon sequestration based on the inventory and mass balance approaches are 3-18 times too high. Most published estimates of carbon sequestration in BCEs must therefore be considered overestimates. The climate mitigation potential of blue carbon in BCEs is also challenged by excess emissions of the GHG methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) from biogenic structures in mangrove forests and saltmarsh sediments. Thus, in many cases, carbon sequestration into BCE sediments cannot keep pace with the simultaneous GHG emissions in CO 2 equivalents., (© 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Given the large and growing number of older (45+ years) people in India, inequitable access to healthcare in this population would slow global progress toward universal health coverage. We used a 2017-18 nationally representative sample of this population (n = 53,687) to estimate healthcare inequality and inequity by economic status. We used an extensive battery of indicators in nine health domains, plus age and sex, to adjust for need. We measured economic status by monthly per capita consumption expenditure and used a concentration index to measure inequalities in probabilities of any doctor visit and any hospitalisation within 12 months. We decomposed inequality with a regression method that allowed for economic and urban/rural heterogeneity in partial associations between healthcare and both need and non-need covariates. We used the associations achieved by the richest fifth of urban dwellers to predict a need-justified distribution of healthcare and compared the actual distribution with that benchmark to identify inequity. We found pro-rich inequalities in doctor visits and hospitalisations, which were driven by use of private healthcare. Adjustment for the greater need of poorer individuals revealed pro-rich inequity that exceeded inequality by about 65% and 39% for doctor visits and hospitalisations, respectively. These adjustments would have been substantially smaller, and inequity underestimated, without allowing for use-need heterogeneity, which accounted for 11% of the inequity in doctor visits and was 373% of inequity in hospitalisations. Targeting service coverage on poorer and rural groups, and increasing their access to private providers, would both reduce inequity and raise average coverage in the older population of India., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest After checking with all of the authors, I can confirm that no author has any conflict of interest regarding the submitted paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Succession is one of the most extensively studied ecological phenomena, yet debates persist about the importance of dispersal and external factors in driving this process. We aimed to quantify the influence of these factors by investigating how wing-related traits evolve across succession of blowfly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) communities in South Brazil. Rat carrion was placed in both forest and grassland habitats, and the associated blowfly communities were documented throughout the decomposition process. Using morphometric analysis, we measured wing and thorax traits and assessed trait changes over succession through mixed models. Our findings revealed that carrion succession follows distinct trajectories in forest and grassland environments. Specifically, we observed that Calliphora lopesi predominantly visited carcasses during the final phase of decomposition, resulting in significant differences in species composition and wing size between habitats. In forests, wing size increased toward the later stages of succession, whereas an opposite trend was observed in grasslands. Notably, these trait patterns were only evident at the species level, indicating that intraspecific trait variation is irrelevant. Stronger dispersers tend to arrive during the later stages of succession, suggesting that dispersal has a negligible role in shaping successional dynamics. Instead, environmental differences between habitats drive trait patterns throughout succession. Our results suggest that community composition in ephemeral resources is governed by deterministic processes and that successional stages can be predicted based on blowfly wing traits. Specifically, the presence of the large-winged C. lopesi indicates late decay, while the small-winged Chrysomia albiceps and Lucilia eximia are indicative of early decay., (© 2024 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.)

Deadwood represents globally important carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) pools. Current wood nutrient dynamics models are extensions of those developed for leaf litter decomposition. However, tissue structure and dominant decomposers differ between leaf and woody litter, and recent evidence suggests that decomposer stoichiometry, in combination with litter quality, may affect nutrient release. We quantified decomposition and release of C and nutrients from woody litter for two stem sizes of 22 tree species in a P-limited temperate forest near Sydney, Australia, and compared these to estimates from leaf litter literature. Following theory, N and P accumulated during early decomposition, but began to decline earlier than expected based on work in leaves. Woody litter converged on higher C : N (50) and N : P (80) ratios than in leaf litter studies. C : N at which N was released was higher in larger stems (c. 124) than in smaller stems (c. 82), both being higher than in leaf litter. Drawing from the literature, these differences in N and P dynamics may be due to the identity of wood decomposers. C : N of wood decomposers is higher than the mean C : N of leaf litter decomposers, and this difference in stoichiometry may have important flow-on effects for nutrient cycles in forests., (© 2024 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2024 New Phytologist Foundation.)

Coarse roots represent a globally important belowground carbon pool, but the factors controlling coarse root decomposition rates remain poorly understood relative to other plant biomass components. We compiled the most comprehensive dataset of coarse root decomposition data including 148 observations from 60 woody species, and linked coarse root decomposition rates to plant traits, phylogeny and climate to address questions of the dominant controls on coarse root decomposition. We found that decomposition rates increased with mean annual temperature, root nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations. Coarse root decomposition was slower for ectomycorrhizal than arbuscular mycorrhizal associated species, and angiosperm species decomposed faster than gymnosperms. Coarse root decomposition rates and calcium concentrations showed a strong phylogenetic signal. Our findings suggest that categorical traits like mycorrhizal association and phylogenetic group, in conjunction with root quality and climate, collectively serve as the optimal predictors of coarse root decomposition rates. Our findings propose a paradigm of the dominant controls on coarse decomposition, with mycorrhizal association and phylogeny acting as critical roles on coarse root decomposition, necessitating their explicit consideration in Earth-system models and ultimately improving confidence in projected carbon cycle-climate feedbacks., (© 2024 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2024 New Phytologist Foundation.)

This study examined the dynamics of major elements and trace metals (TM) during litterfall decomposition in two mangrove forests-control and urban-along New Caledonia's coast. A litterbag experiment was carried out for 72 days for the two main species (Rhizophora stylosa, and Avicennia marina) of the island. Results showed that the urban runoff enhances the leaching of some major elements (K, Mg, Na) during litter decomposition. The enrichment of TM in litter is also faster at the urban site. The dynamics of some major elements and TM are rather influenced by species metabolisms or element's characteristics such as Mn which does not increase in concentration in the decomposing litter. This study concludes that urban runoff accelerates the leaching of major elements and the enrichment of TM during leaf litter decomposition in mangrove forests, with species-specific factors and environmental conditions also playing significant roles in influencing these dynamics., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recent developments in spatially resolved transcriptomics (SRT) enable the characterization of spatial structures for different tissues. Many decomposition methods have been proposed to depict the cellular distribution within tissues. However, existing computational methods struggle to balance spatial continuity in cell distribution with the preservation of cell-specific characteristics. To address this, we propose Spall, a novel decomposition network that integrates scRNA-seq data with SRT data to accurately infer cell type proportions. Spall introduced the GATv2 module, featuring a flexible dynamic attention mechanism to capture relationships between spots. This improves the identification of cellular distribution patterns in spatial analysis. Additionally, Spall incorporates skip connections to address the loss of cell-specific information, thereby enhancing the prediction capability for rare cell types. Experimental results show that Spall outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in reconstructing cell distribution patterns on multiple datasets. Notably, Spall reveals tumor heterogeneity in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma samples and delineates complex tissue structures, such as the laminar organization of the mouse cerebral cortex and the mouse cerebellum. These findings highlight the ability of Spall to provide reliable low-dimensional embeddings for downstream analyses, offering new opportunities for deciphering tissue structures., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Kodokushi is a Japanese term where 'a person dies without being cared for by anyone, and whose body is found after a certain period'. These cases have also been called 'lonely deaths'. Few forensic studies exist. Using decomposition as a surrogate marker for social isolation the following study was undertaken. Pathology files from Forensic Science SA (FSSA), Adelaide, South Australia were reviewed for all cases aged ≥60 years where death had occurred at home and where there was moderate to marked decomposition. Two five-year time periods were selected for comparison. There were 27 cases from 2000 to 2004, out of a total of 1673 autopsies (1.6 %), (M:F = 21:6; age range 60-90 years, ave. 72.8; post mortem intervals 3-60 days, mean 10.7 days). The majority of deaths were due to natural causes (N = 22), with 2 suicides and 3 undetermined. There were 67 cases between 2019 and 2023, out of a total of 696 autopsies (9.6 %), (M:F = 52:15; age range 60-91 years, ave. 69.4 years; post mortem intervals 3-240 days, mean 21 days). The majority of deaths were due to natural causes (N = 55), with 3 suicides and 9 undetermined. Comparing the two time periods showed a predominance of males (78 %) dying of ischaemic heart disease in each cohort (67 and 60 % respectively). The average ages were similar (72.8 and 69.4 years respectively). There was a significant increase in the number of cases over the two decades of the study: 27 to 67 (p < 0.001), with an increase in the post mortem interval from 10.7 to 21 days. It appears that increasing numbers of socially isolated elders are occurring in an Australia population. These individuals have higher rates of certain mental and physical disorders and may present unique diagnostic challenges., (Copyright © 2024 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Our objectives were to ascertain: the prevalence and socio-economic distribution of hypertension, as well as the rates of undiagnosed and untreated hypertension; the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and the occurrence of hypertension, as well as the rates of undiagnosed and untreated hypertension; and the factors influencing the poor-non-poor gap in terms of the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of hypertension., Design: Cross-sectional nationally representative study., Methods: Data from the 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey were used. 11,776 participants who were 18 years of age or older responded to our analysis. We used the wealth index as a proxy for SES. The prevalence of hypertension, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, as well as its untreated states, were the outcome variables., Results: The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension, undiagnosed as having hypertension, and untreated cases were 25.1%, 57.2%, and 12.3%, respectively. People in the poor SES groups had a 0.88 times (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.77-0.99) lower likelihood of having hypertension compared to those in the non-poor SES group. Individuals belonging to the poor SES group exhibited a likelihood of 1.68 and 1.53 times greater for having untreated hypertension and being undiagnosed with the condition, respectively, compared to those in the non-poor SES group. The results indicated that BMI played a role in increasing the disparity between the poor and non-poor populations concerning hypertension risk. Additionally, factors such as age, gender, and education were found to exacerbate the gap in the risk of undiagnosed hypertension between these two groups., Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that appropriate policy measures be developed for ongoing care and early identification, especially for older adults, men, and individuals with low levels of education from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Additionally, efforts must be made to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among people in the non-poor SES category., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s).)

China's electric power industry has made significant efforts to reduce environmental externality in the past two decades. However, the extent of the reduction, the driving factors behind it, and the regional performance are not well clarified. This study constructs a comprehensive framework that integrates the impact pathway approach with index decomposition analysis to explore the driving factors behind the reduction of environmental externality from a spatial-temporal perspective. First, the Greenhouse Gas-Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model is adopted in the impact pathway approach to assess the environmental losses in China's electric power industry. Second, the temporal index decomposition analysis is used to explore the driving factors behind the reduction in environmental losses during 2005-2020. Third, the spatial index decomposition analysis is employed to investigate the differences in environmental performance across regions and the driving forces behind these differences. The results show that the environmental losses caused by China's electric power industry have been significantly reduced from 3082.1 thousand years of life lost (YLL) in 2005 to 892.3 thousand YLL in 2020, mainly due to the reduction in air pollutant emissions, followed by the cleaner power structure and the adjustment of the spatial layout of electricity. While, increases in power generation scale, population size, and aging have played a negative role in reducing environmental losses. The gaps in environmental losses per unit of electricity between different provinces can be tens or even hundreds of times. The primary drivers of these gaps, apart from the power structure, are atmospheric dispersion conditions and population density. While, the differences in emission intensity effects among provinces are relatively small. Thus, the orientation of policy design needs to shift from setting stricter emission concentration limits to adjusting energy structure and enhancing the construction of electricity transfer channels. Government departments should consider the implicit environmental externality from a more macro perspective when conducting power planning and management., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and manuscript is approved by all authors for publication. I would like to declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described was original research that has not been published previously, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. All the authors listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), multivariate analysis (MVA) methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) are routinely employed to differentiate spectra. However, additional insights can often be gained by comparing processes, where each process is characterized by its own start and end spectra, such as when identical samples undergo slightly different treatments or when slightly different samples receive the same treatment. This study proposes a strategy to compare such processes by decomposing the loading vectors associated with them, which highlights differences in the relative behavior of the peaks. This strategy identifies key information beyond what is captured by the loading vectors or the end spectra alone. While PCA is widely used, partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) serves as a supervised alternative and is the preferred method for deriving process-related loading vectors when classes are narrowly separated. The effectiveness of the decomposition strategy is demonstrated using artificial spectra and applied to a ToF-SIMS materials science case study on the photodegradation of N719 dye, a common dye in photovoltaics, on a mesoporous TiO 2 anode. The study revealed that the photodegradation process varies over time, and the resulting fragments have been identified accordingly. The proposed methodology, applicable to both labeled (supervised) and unlabeled (unsupervised) spectral data, can be seamlessly integrated into most modern mass spectrometry data analysis workflows to automatically generate a list of peaks whose relative behavior varies between two processes, and is particularly effective in identifying subtle differences between highly similar physicochemical processes.

The ability to distinguish between viable and post-mortem lesions is crucial in forensic medicine, especially in cases of advanced decomposition. Glycophorin A (GPA) is one of the most studied immunohistochemical markers for assessing lesion viability, with persistence in putrefied tissues up to 6 months. However, its sensitivity decreases beyond 15 days. Other markers such as tryptase, IL-15, CD15, CD45 and matrix metalloproteinases have been tested in decomposition contexts, but the results are inconclusive. This mini review article explores the main studies on immunohistochemical markers, discussing their utility and limitations in forensic investigations of decomposed bodies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest I hereby declare that I have no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this article. I confirm that there are no conflicts of interest that could have compromised the integrity, objectivity, or validity of the content presented. Should potential conflicts arise in the future, I will promptly disclose them in accordance with relevant ethical guidelines and standards., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Energy dynamics of subtropical streams are diverse and depend essentially on the input of allochthonous organic matter, intermediated by decomposers. In these ecosystems, decomposition is carried out mainly by aquatic fungi. Recent studies about this community have focused on phenomena such as surrounding land use of streams and their environmental heterogeneity. In this context, we studied a biodiversity hotspot, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and sampled streams which were classified according to land uses: urban, rural and protected areas (PA). Mixes of leaves were collected and packaged for identification of fungi decomposing them. The beta diversity was estimated based on the species of aquatic hyphomycetes found in the land use categories and related to the limnological parameters of the different streams. Urban and rural streams (40 and 45 species, respectively) showed greater dissimilarity of species in relation to PA streams (29 species), although there are no differences between fungal communities of urban and rural streams. Since some of the PA streams indicated conditions similar to those largely impacted by human activity, this may cause the loss of fungal species and has repercussions on the reduction of ecosystem services. This study contributed to the knowledge base in fungal communities and their relationship with limnological parameters, providing information on species involved in energy flow in subtropical food chains., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Resource storage is a critical component of plant life history. While the storage of nonstructural carbohydrates in wood has been studied extensively, the multiple functions of mineral nutrient storage have received much less attention. Here, we highlight the size of wood nutrient pools, a primary determinant of whole-plant nutrient use efficiency, and a substantial fraction of ecosystem nutrient budgets, particularly tropical forests. Wood nutrient concentrations also show exceptional interspecific variation, even among co-occurring plant species, yet how they align with other plant functional traits and fit into existing trait economic spectra is unclear. We review the chemical forms and location of nutrient pools in bark and sapwood, and the evidence that nutrient remobilization from sapwood is associated with mast reproduction, seasonal leaf flush, and the capacity to resprout following damage. We also emphasize the role wood nutrients are likely to play in determining decomposition rates. Given the magnitude of wood nutrient stocks, and the importance of tissue stoichiometry to forest productivity, a key unresolved question is whether investment in wood nutrients is a relatively fixed trait, or conversely whether under global change plants will adjust nutrient allocation to wood depending on carbon gain and nutrient supply., (© 2024 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2024 New Phytologist Foundation.)

Though similar motor unit (MU) discharge properties have been observed during slow sustained contractions between chronically strength-trained (ST) and untrained (UT) individuals, it is currently unknown whether differences between these groups exist for when maximal in vivo MU discharge rate is assessed during rapid, maximal rate of force development (RFD) contractions. Therefore, we compared MU discharge characteristics and RFD during rapid contractions in chronic ST and UT individuals. The investigations were performed in two independent cohorts of chronically ST men, with trained elbow flexors ( experiment 1 , n = 13, 6 ± 4 yr of training experience) or knee extensors ( experiment 2 , n = 11, 9 ± 4 yr of experience), and compared with those of UT ( n = 12 and n = 10, respectively). ST individuals had greater absolute elbow flexion and knee extension RFD throughout the first 150 ms of rapid contractions compared with UT, but this difference was absent for relative RFD. ST exhibited higher initial MU discharge rate in both biceps brachii (74 [68, 80] vs. 56 [50, 63] pulses per second (pps), P < 0.0001) and vastus lateralis (102 [90, 115] vs. 76 [63, 90] pps, P = 0.0025) and a greater average number of MU discharges per second in both trained muscles in the early phase of rapid contractions. We provide novel evidence for a higher maximal MU discharge rate in strength-trained individuals. Interestingly, despite the augmented output of the spinal cord, no differences in relative RFD were observed, which suggests either greater maximal force enhancement of ST compared with UT and/or slowing of the intrinsic contractile properties by prolonged strength training. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Chronically strength-trained and untrained individuals show similar motor unit discharge rates during slow sustained contractions, however, potential differences in motor unit discharge rates during rapid contractions remained unclear. Here, we show greater maximal motor unit discharge rates during rapid contractions of chronically strength-trained individuals. However, the augmented spinal cord output of strength-trained individuals did not lead to greater relative maximal rate of force development compared with untrained men.

For disaster victim identification, hundreds of samples of human remains have to be extracted from human bodies rapidly for later DNA analysis, often in situation with high humidity, high temperature and no access to cooling facilities. Genetic typing of these samples may be challenging due to degradation of DNA. Until today, bone and teeth are the preferred biological matrix for genetic identification of decomposed human remains. However, processing these samples is time and cost consuming. To address the challenges associated with workload, finances, and sample preservation in the genetic identification of unknown dead bodies, we tested 44 hand and foot tendons from deceased with advanced post mortem changes as alternative DNA material. In addition, we examined commercially available table salt as potential preservation method with 10 tendons over a period of 12 months. The parameters external appearance, DNA quantity and quality have been analysed. Overall, 39 of 44 tendons examined yielded valuable DNA profiles with at least ten autosomal STR loci. Storage in table salt not only increased DNA yield but also resulted in high quality STR profiles of the preserved tendons throughout the study period of 12 months compared to storage without salt. According to the results of this study, we recommend hand and foot tendons as alternative DNA material from bodies with advanced post mortem changes. We particularly recommend commercially available table salt as a storage medium for the preservation of DNA samples. Under field conditions without cooling facilities and the need to store samples prior to DNA analysis table salt is a good storage medium: it preserves DNA and is easily available., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The global prevalence of obsolete or unsafe old dams necessitates the development of effective restoration approaches and expanded knowledge in this field. This study evaluates the effects of dam removal on carbon processing by measuring key ecosystem functions - organic matter decomposition, whole-reach metabolism, and gaseous carbon fluxes - in a mountainous Mediterranean stream. We compared these functions among three reaches: one where a dam was removed (restored), one with an intact dam (impacted), and one in natural conditions (reference). The measurements were conducted throughout the different seasons over the course of one year. Temperature-corrected organic matter decomposition rates and metabolic parameters in the restored reach showed intermediate values between those in the reference and impacted reaches. Additionally, dam removal resulted in carbon dioxide fluxes similar to those in the reference reach, whereas methane fluxes tended to be higher in the restored reach compared to the other reaches. Seasonal variation was high, and the observed effects were inconsistent across seasons for several functions. This inconsistency is likely due to uneven seasonal changes in the hydromorphological and physicochemical characteristics of the studied reaches. Our results indicate that, despite notable improvements, a longer timeframe is necessary for the restored reach to fully emulate the functional characteristics of the reference reach. While restoration by dam removal positively contributes to certain aspects of carbon processing, a more holistic approach, possibly encompassing broader hydromorphological and habitat enhancements, is needed to fully restore ecological processes in stream ecosystems. These insights are critical for informing future dam removal restoration projects, advocating the use of ecosystem function metrics as comprehensive indicators of ecological recovery and restoration success., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Plastic pollution and ocean warming threaten crucial ecosystem processes, including detrital decomposition. We carried out a manipulative experiment using 20 outdoor raceways to test hypotheses about the influence of macroplastics (polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and biodegradable (BIO)) and ocean warming (as 3 °C above ambient sea surface temperatures) on the decomposition of Sargassum vestitum. All types of plastic significantly decreased rates of S. vestitum decomposition compared to controls. LDPE was associated with the greatest decrease in detrital decomposition (41%), followed closely by BIO (28%), whilst HDPE had the least influence (12%) during our 40-day experiment. Treatments with LDPE and PET retained more carbon (%) in S. vestitum than the control treatment. However, plastics neither affected nitrogen (%), nor C/N ratio of the decomposing detritus. Ocean warming significantly increased the decomposition of S. vestitum, but did not affect relative carbon or nitrogen, nor C/N of the remaining detritus, nor did temperature interact with plastic treatments. As detrital decomposition significantly contributes to marine biogeochemical cycling, food-web connectivity, and secondary production, our multiple stressor experiment demonstrates the value of management strategies that simultaneously address the impacts of ocean warming and plastic pollution in nearshore environments., Competing Interests: Declarations. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent to publish: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria, like many other countries, implemented a lockdown policy that restricted all movement except for essential services. Access to medical services is a critical component of an effective healthcare system, and without equitable access across genders, improving the overall health outcomes of the population is unlikely to be achieved. This study analyses gender differential in access to medical services and sexual reproductive health services namely, family planning, child health, adult health, pharmacy, emergency care, vaccination, and other medical services during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria, using both descriptive and inferential analytical techniques. Results indicate that adult health services were the most needed medical services, with females requiring them slightly more than males. However, access to these services was greater for males than females. While some respondents believed that there was a gender differential in access to SRH such as family planning, maternal and new born care, male infertility treatment, abortion prevention and management, healthy sexuality, violence surveillance and prevention among women, others opined that there was none. The study provided evidence-based recommendations for quality policy decisions on appropriate measures to promote gender-equitable and sustainable recovery during a crisis., Competing Interests: The Authors declared no conflict of interest, (African Journal of Reproductive Health © 2024.)

Environmental and individualistic variables affect the rate of human decomposition in complex ways. These effects complicate the estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) based on observed decomposition characteristics. In this work, we develop a generative probabilistic model for decomposing human remains based on PMI and a wide range of environmental and individualistic variables. This model explicitly represents the effect of each variable, including PMI, on the appearance of each decomposition characteristic, allowing for direct interpretation of model effects and enabling the use of the model for PMI inference and optimal experimental design. In addition, the probabilistic nature of the model allows for the integration of expert knowledge in the form of prior distributions. We fit this model to a diverse set of 2529 cases from the GeoFOR dataset. We demonstrate that the model accurately predicts 24 decomposition characteristics with an ROC AUC score of 0.85. Using Bayesian inference techniques, we invert the decomposition model to predict PMI as a function of the observed decomposition characteristics and environmental and individualistic variables, producing an R-squared measure of 71 %. Finally, we demonstrate how to use the fitted model to design future experiments that maximize the expected amount of new information about the mechanisms of decomposition using the Expected Information Gain formalism., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Katherine E. Weisensee reports financial support was provided by National Institute of Justice. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Incorporation of soil amendments with high organic carbon content (HCA) can reduce losses of mineral nitrogen (N) from agricultural soils. The magnitude of N immobilization and remobilization is strongly controlled by the availability of carbon (C) and phosphorus (P). However, the exact mechanisms and interactions between C, N, and P availability are poorly understood. An eight-month incubation experiment was conducted on recultivated mine soil with low organic C, mineral N and P background concentrations to investigate the effects of HCA in combination with 13 C-labelled glucose and mineral P fertilization on greenhouse gas emissions, soil nutrient status (dissolved organic C (DOC), nitrate (NO 3 - ), extractable P), and microbial biomass growth. The experiment had a factorial design of one N level × two P levels × six C treatments (control, wheat straw, poplar sawdust, glucose, and combinations of wheat straw or sawdust with glucose). The HCA increased the cumulative CO 2 and CH 4 emissions but decreased N 2 O emission, except for wheat straw. Addition of 13 C-labelled glucose decreased the cumulative CH 4 emission by 59 and 85 % in the sawdust and sawdust + P treatment, respectively. Glucose application reduced the NO 3 - content in the HCA-amended soil by 26-64 %, while P fertilizer further decreased the NO 3 - content in the wheat straw and sawdust treatments by 20 and 24 %, respectively. Both HCA and glucose treatments promoted microbial biomass growth and reduced the soil mineral N content. The δ 13 C of microbial biomass (δ 13 C MB ) showed an increasing trend during the whole experiment, although 13 C-labelled glucose was added only once at the beginning of the experiment. Addition of HCA decreased δ 13 C MB , while P addition had the opposite effect. In conclusion, adding a readily available C source to HCA may increase the efficacy of retaining N in post-harvest soils, particularly of more recalcitrant types of HCA like sawdust.

Background: Coleoptera is the second-most significant insect group associated with decomposing carcasses, yet its role in the decomposition process and postmortem colonization following envenomation is poorly understood., Purpose of the Study: This study aimed to investigate the effects of the venoms from Cerastes cerastes and Naja haje on the decomposition of rabbit carcasses while evaluating the main beetle taxa attracted to these decaying remains., Methods: Three groups of rabbits, each with five individuals, were utilized. The first group was injected with the venom of Cerastes cerastes , the second with Naja haje venom, and the control group received 0.85% physiological saline before euthanasia with CO 2 ., Results: Four decomposition stages (fresh, bloating, decay, and dry) with durations varying based on venom type and carcass condition were observed. A total of 647 individual beetles of six species ( Necrobia rufipes , Attagenus sp., Dermestes frischii , D. maculatus , Bledius sp., and Apentanodes sp.) belonging to four families (Cleridae, Dermestidae, Staphylinidae, and Tenebrionidae) were collected and identified. D. maculatus was the most abundant species. Fewer beetles were attracted to carcasses envenomed with N. haje compared to the other groups., Conclusions: Envenomation by snake venom influences the attraction and succession rate of necrophilous coleopterans to carcasses, which is important for forensic investigations.

As the size of water distribution network (WDN) models continues to grow, developing and applying real-time models or digital twins to simulate hydraulic behaviors in large-scale WDNs is becoming increasingly challenging. The long response time incurred when performing multiple hydraulic simulations in large-scale WDNs can no longer meet the current requirements for the efficient and real-time application of WDN models. To address this issue, there is a rising interest in accelerating hydraulic calculations in WDN models by integrating new model structures with abundant computational resources and mature parallel computing frameworks. This paper presents a novel and efficient framework for steady-state hydraulic calculations, comprising a joint topology-calculation decomposition method that decomposes the hydraulic calculation process and a high-performance decomposed gradient algorithm that integrates with parallel computation. Tests in four WDNs of different sizes with 8 to 85,118 nodes demonstrate that the framework maintains high calculation accuracy consistent with EPANET and can reduce calculation time by up to 51.93 % compared to EPANET in the largest WDN model. Further investigation found that factors affecting the acceleration include the decomposition level, consistency of sub-model sizes and sub-model structures. The framework aims to help develop rapid-responding models for large-scale WDNs and improve their efficiency in integrating multiple application algorithms, thereby supporting the water supply industry in achieving more adaptive and intelligent management of large-scale WDNs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Low fertility is not conducive to healthy population development. The total fertility rate (TFR) is influenced by the education expansion (measured by the proportion of non-student women, NSP), marriage delay (measured by the proportion of married women, MP), and marital fertility rate (MFR). This study decomposes the TFR change into the changes in NSP, MP, and MFR using China's census and 1% population sample survey data. During 1990-2020, the changes in NSP, MP, and MFR contributed - 22%, - 90%, and 12%, respectively, to the changes in TFR. The continuous decline in NSP reduced the TFR, and the intensity continued to increase over time. As the primary negative driving force, the rapid decline in MP also consistently reduced the TFR. The marital fertility rate had a downward effect on the TFR before 2000 and an upward effect after 2000. The effects of NSP, MP, and MFR on the TFR varied with the birth order, age and region (among cities, towns, and villages). In summary, China's TFR has considerably changed in combination with changes in NSP, MP, and MFR. Without effective measures, China's TFR may further decline into the lowest-low fertility trap., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate All materials are publicly available from the survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, and informed consent was given on the first page of the survey. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Ignatzschineria larvae is studied for its role in decomposition and disease ecology; however, the type strain reference genome remains fragmented. The current reference genome consists of 61 contigs calculated at 82.18% complete with 10.98% contamination. Here, we announce the hybrid genome assembly as an improved single contig., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Drainage intensity and forest management in peatlands affect carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions to the atmosphere and export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to water courses. The peatland carbon (C) balance results from a complex network of ecosystem processes from where lateral C fluxes have typically been ignored. Here, we present a new version of the SUSI Peatland simulator, the first advanced process-based ecosystem model that compiles a full C balance in drained forested peatland including DOC formation, transport and biodegradation. SUSI considers site, stand and terrain characteristics as well as the interactions and feedbacks between ecosystem processes and offers novel ways to evaluate and mitigate adverse environmental impacts with thorough management planning. Here, we extended SUSI by designing and parameterizing a mass-balance based decomposition module (ESOM) based on literature findings and tested the ESOM performance against an independent dataset measured in the laboratory using peat columns collected from Finland, Estonia, Sweden and Ireland. ESOM predicted the CO 2 emissions and changes in DOC concentrations with a reasonable accuracy for the peat columns. We applied the new SUSI for drained peatland sites and found that reducing the depth to which ditches are cleaned by 0.3 m decreased the annual DOC export by 34 (17 %), 29 (19 %) and 7 (5 %) kg ha -1 in Finland, Estonia and Sweden, respectively, using typical ditch spacing for these countries. Correspondingly, site annual C sink increased by 305, 409 and 32 kg ha -1 in Finland, Estonia and Sweden, respectively. Our results also indicated that terrain slope can markedly alter the water residence time and consequently DOC biodegradation and export to ditches. We conclude that DOC export can be decreased and site C sink increased by reducing the depth to which ditches are cleaned or by increasing the ditch spacing., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Our group has seen great promise in using substituted diaryl-hydrazones to alleviate oxidative stress in preeclampsia. Specifically, fluorinated diaryl-hydrazones have shown great efficacy, confirmed via antioxidant assays and animal trials using pregnant mice. In addition to efficient antioxidant properties, these diaryl-hydrazones are also considered non-toxic. While the synthesis of these compounds is relatively simple, it commonly utilizes undesirable solvents and glacial acetic acid as the catalyst; additional solvents are needed for the isolation of the desired products, which negatively affects the green synthesis of the hydrazones. To combat this possible industrial roadblock, we have begun incorporating the use of hydrostatic high pressure (HHP) in the synthesis. The use of HHP allowed us to synthesize substituted diaryl-hydrazones in a 1:1 molar ratio without the need for solvents or acid catalysts. The optimized procedure can produce nearly quantitative yields, leading to an easier isolation of the products. Different HHP methodologies, such as constant high-pressure treatment and cycling (with different number of cycles, holding and decompression times) were applied and cycling was observed to be the most efficient activation for the majority of the reactions. Stability experiments were also conducted with one of the products and observed that although the solid-state storage does not alter the hydrazone, storing it in various solvents may significantly decrease the concentration of the active component which should be considered when performing the biochemical/biological assays., Competing Interests: Author Alexander Lazarev is employed by the company Pressure BioSciences, Inc. Other authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

In this work, a kinetic study and modeling of the decomposition of a rock sample in an ascorbic acid medium with a high content of lepidolite phase were carried out, the results of which are of great importance due to the sample's high lithium (Li) content. The rock sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the mineral species detected in the sample were lepidolite, at 65.3%, quartz, at 30.6%, and muscovite, at 4.1%, with a quantitative chemical analysis indicating the presence of elements such as Li, Si, K, Na, O, Al and, to a lesser extent, Fe and Ti; this highlights that the Li content present in the sample was 3.38%. Lithium was the element with which the chemical analysis of the kinetics was performed, resulting in decomposition curves comprising the induction period, progressive conversion and stabilization; this highlighted that the reaction progressed during the first two periods, obtaining a reaction order ( n ) of 0.4307 for the induction period and an activation energy ( Ea ) of 48.58 kJ mol -1 , followed by a progressive conversion period with n = 0.309 and Ea = 25.161 kJ mol -1 . This suggested a mixed control regime present in the lower temperature ranges, with a transition from chemical control to transport control present at high temperatures, with the study of the nature of the reaction and the concentration effect showing that chemical control predominates. The kinetic parameters and kinetic expressions for both periods were obtained, with the modeling showing that the calculated and experimental data do not present a major discrepancy.

Artifacts in computed tomography and X-ray microtomography are image distortions caused by various factors. Some can be reduced before or during the examination, while others are removed algorithmically after image acquisition. The latter group includes metallic artifacts caused by metal objects in the sample. This paper proposes a new method for eliminating metallic artifacts, applying a bone- and soft-tissue decomposition (BSTD) algorithm to microtomography raw data before the reconstruction process. We show that the decomposition algorithm can effectively remove metallic artifacts in microCT images, which increases the image contrast and allows for better visualization of regions near the metallic elements. For quantity analysis, we computed SSIM and PSNR factors, and we observed values increasing from 0.97 to 0.99 and from 40 dB to 43 dB, respectively.

Background: Fertility is one of the three main components which determines the size, structure, and composition of a population, and fertility preferences are important measures for forecasting fertility levels of a population. Therefore, this study aims to assess the impacts of the inequalities in the utilization of key maternal health services on fertility preference among high parity women in four selected regions (i.e., Afar, Beninshangul-Gumuz, Gambella and Somali) of Ethiopia., Methods: The study used data collected for the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS) survey. It includes a total of 977 high parity women (104 urban and 873 rural) residing in the four regions of the study. Bivariate logistic regression was used to select the potential variables by using a cut off p-value < 0.2 and then the multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between the selected explanatory variables (i.e., control and exposure variables) and the outcome variable (i.e. fertility preference). Further, the study employed a Population Attributable Fractions (PAFs) to examine the population level impacts of the inequalities in maternal and child health service variables on fertility preference., Results: The results showed that religion, household wealth index, place of delivery and contraceptive use were significantly associated with fertility preference. The results of the PAFs analysis indicated that contraceptive use had the biggest impact (80%), meaning that non-use of contraceptive increased fertility preference among women in the four regions. Similarly, out of health facility delivery increased fertility preference by 37%., Conclusion: The study findings underscore the critical factors influencing women's fertility preferences in the studied regions. Low utilization of maternal health services had an impact on fertility preference, accounting for more than half of the observed variations in fertility preferences. To address this issue, targeted interventions are recommended: enhancing access to maternal health services, strengthening fertility control programs, promoting the benefits of using these services, and actively addressing inequalities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Protists show diverse lifestyles and fulfill important ecological roles as primary producers, predators, symbionts, and parasites. The degradation of dead microbial biomass, instead, is mainly attributed to bacteria and fungi, while necrophagy by protists remains poorly recognized. Here, we assessed the food range specificity and feeding behavior of the algivorous flagellate Orciraptor agilis (Viridiraptoridae, Cercozoa) with a large-scale feeding experiment. We demonstrate that this species is a broad-range necrophage, which feeds on a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic algae, but fails to grow on the tested fungi. Furthermore, our microscopic observations reveal an unexpected flexibility of O. agilis in handling food items of different structures and biochemistry, demonstrating that sophisticated feeding strategies in protists do not necessarily indicate narrow food ranges., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society of Protistologists.)

Acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) is an emerging technique for enhancing neuroplasticity and motor function in respiratory and limb musculature. Thus far, AIH-induced improvements in strength have been reported for upper and lower limb muscles after chronic incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (iSCI), but the underlying mechanisms have been elusive. We used high-density surface EMG (HDsEMG) to determine if motor unit discharge behaviour is altered after 15 × 60 s exposures to 9% inspired oxygen, interspersed with 21% inspired oxygen (AIH), compared to breathing only 21% air (SHAM). We recorded HDsEMG from the biceps and triceps brachii of seven individuals with iSCI during maximal elbow flexion and extension contractions, and motor unit spike trains were identified using convolutive blind source separation. After AIH, elbow flexion and extension torque increased by 54% and 59% from baseline (P = 0.003), respectively, whereas there was no change after SHAM. Across muscles, motor unit discharge rates increased by ∼4 pulses per second (P = 0.002) during maximal efforts, from before to after AIH. These results suggest that excitability and/or activation of spinal motoneurons is augmented after AIH, providing a mechanism to explain AIH-induced increases in voluntary strength. Pending validation, AIH may be helpful in conjunction with other therapies to enhance rehabilitation outcomes after incomplete spinal cord injury, due to these enhancements in motor unit function and strength. KEY POINTS: Acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) causes increases in muscular strength and neuroplasticity in people living with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), but how it affects motor unit discharge rates is unknown. Motor unit spike times were identified from high-density surface electromyograms during maximal voluntary contractions and tracked from before to after AIH. Motor unit discharge rates were increased following AIH. These findings suggest that AIH can facilitate motoneuron function in people with incomplete SCI., (© 2024 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology © 2024 The Physiological Society.)

Introduction: Disparities in access to basic sanitation services between rural and urban households pose significant challenges to public health and human development. Understanding the determinants contributing to this gap is vital for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improving environmental and public health through evidence-based interventions., Objective: This study aims to analyze and understand the disparities in access to basic sanitation services between rural and urban households in Ethiopia., Methods: This study analyzed a sample of 8,663 weighted households, collected using stratified sampling techniques, utilizing the data from the 2019 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). The primary outcome was basic sanitation access, defined as access to flush or pour-flush systems, septic tanks, pit latrines, or composting toilets. A multivariable decomposition analysis was conducted to identify factors contributing to rural-urban disparities. Statistically significant variables were determined at a p -value of <0.05 with a 95% confidence interval., Results: The weighted proportion of basic sanitation access in Ethiopia was 13.78% (95% CI, 12.67-14.96), with significant disparities between rural (6.02%) and urban (27.15%) residents. Endowment factors accounted for 78.9% of this disparity, while behavioral coefficients contributed 22.1%. If the characteristics of respondents in rural and urban households had been similar, significant factors that would have narrowed the gap included the age of the household head (15-35 years), the absence of under-five children, smaller family size, and the attainment of secondary education, reducing the gap by 1.83, 2.07, 5.08, and 3.25%, respectively. Conversely, illiteracy and primary education levels widened the gap between rural and urban access to basic sanitation services by 16.85 and 0.23%, respectively. Additional factors exacerbating the rural-urban disparity included poverty (which widened the gap by 58.71%), residence in pastoralist regions (which widened the gap by 10.10%) or agrarian regions (which widened the gap by 7.03%), and access to water sources located more than 30 min away (which widened the gap by 7.91%)., Conclusion: Significant disparities in access to basic sanitation services exist between rural and urban households in Ethiopia. Key factors contributing to these disparities include the age of the household head, education level, family size, region of residence, and water source proximity. Addressing these factors is essential for improving sanitation access and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Keleb, Daba, Endawkie, Asmare, Bayou, Abeje, Ayres, Mohammed, Kebede, Abera, Mekonen, Gebeyehu, Kebede, Enyew, Arefaynie, Tareke and Tsega.)

Vertebrate scavengers represent important taphonomic agents that can act on a body, particularly when in an outdoor environment. Understanding the effects of these agents will direct how and where to search for human remains and influence the likelihood of discovery in a particular region. The current study aimed to identify the taphonomic impact of scavenger guilds in the peri-urban and rural regions of southeastern British Columbia. Vertebrate scavenger activity on pig carcasses was recorded remotely using trail cameras and analyzed to determine temporal scavenging profiles. Both the peri-urban and rural environments produced comparable scavenger guilds, namely: turkey vultures, American crows/northern ravens (classified as "corvids"), American black bears, and coyotes. Although the two locations had different study lengths due to variable degrees of scavenging, for the period that was common to both locations (summer to early fall), the black bear was the most frequent scavenger followed by coyote. However, the dispersal of remains by the mammalian scavengers was distinctly different between sites. Only 12%-33% of skeletal elements were recovered at the rural sites compared to 80%-90% recovered at the peri-urban sites, even though the latter sites had a longer study timeframe. The extended timeframe of the peri-urban sites confirmed that certain scavengers (e.g., turkey vultures and black bears) are only seasonally active in this region. These findings demonstrate the variability of scavenger behavior and the need to assign caution and local ecological knowledge when predicting scavenger trends. Such taphonomic information is relevant for human remains searches in regions with comparable scavenger guilds., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Forensic Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Forensic Sciences.)

Leaf litter in coastal wetlands lays the foundation for carbon storage, and the creation of coastal wetland soils. As climate change alters the biogeochemical conditions and macrophyte composition of coastal wetlands, a better understanding of the interactions between microbial communities, changing chemistry, and leaf litter is required to understand the dynamics of coastal litter breakdown in changing wetlands. Coastal wetlands are dynamic systems with shifting biogeochemical conditions, with both tidal and seasonal redox fluctuations, and marine subsidies to inland habitats. Here, we investigated gene expression associated with various microbial redox pathways to understand how changing conditions are affecting the benthic microbial communities responsible for litter breakdown in coastal wetlands. We performed a reciprocal transplant of leaf litter from four distinct plant species along freshwater-to-marine gradients in the Florida Coastal Everglades, tracking changes in environmental and litter biogeochemistry, as well as benthic microbial gene expression associated with varying redox conditions, carbon degradation, and phosphorus acquisition. Early litter breakdown varied primarily by species, with highest breakdown in coastal species, regardless of the site they were at during breakdown, while microbial gene expression showed a strong seasonal relationship between sulfate cycling and salinity, and was not correlated with breakdown rates. The effect of salinity is likely a combination of direct effects, and indirect effects from associated marine subsidies. We found a positive correlation between sulfate uptake and salinity during January with higher freshwater inputs to coastal areas. However, we found a peak of dissimilatory sulfate reduction at intermediate salinity during April when freshwater inputs to coastal sites are lower. The combination of these two results suggests that sulfate acquisition is limiting to microbes when freshwater inputs are high, but that when marine influence increases and sulfate becomes more available, dissimilatory sulfate reduction becomes a key microbial process. As marine influence in coastal wetlands increases with climate change, our study suggests that sulfate dynamics will become increasingly important to microbial communities colonizing decomposing leaf litter., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)

This study is a critical review of municipal solid waste (MSW) hydraulic conductivity that includes investigation of the influence of vertical stress, dry unit weight and degradation. A total of 56 studies were compiled that included laboratory-, pilot- and landfill-scale hydraulic conductivity experiments. Compacting waste and increasing vertical stress reduce MSW hydraulic conductivity via reshaping the pore networks throughout the waste matrix, reducing the void ratio and increasing tortuosity. However, the magnitude of reduction in hydraulic conductivity is dependent on stress, waste composition and decomposition. Solid waste decomposition can have opposing effects on hydraulic conductivity. Some studies have indicated that an increase in MSW decomposition results in particle size reduction and settlement that reduces the void ratio and decreases hydraulic conductivity. Conversely, some studies indicate that waste decomposition reduces the solid mass, which increases the void ratio and creates larger flow paths that increase hydraulic conductivity. The data compilation, observations and key findings from this study are beneficial for solid waste practitioners to improve design, analysis and operation of MSW landfills., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The combined application of organic material and phosphorus fertilizer is an effective method to enhance phosphorus use efficiency for plant growth. This is partly because the presence of water-soluble organic matter (WSOM) derived from different organic materials can enhance the level of available phosphorus in the soil; however, it is poorly understood how this level varies with changes in the WSOM status (i.e., decomposed, dissolved, and retained) in the soil depending on WSOM types. This study aimed to (i) understand how changes in the WSOM status enhances the available phosphorus level in the soil, and (ii) determine the WSOM type that contributes to such enhancement. The incubation test showed that fractions of 73%-92% and 8%-27% of WSOM-derived organic carbon were retained and dissolved, respectively, at the beginning of incubation, while 31%-45% was decomposed during the incubation period. The WSOM derived from cattle manure compost (CM) and sewage sludge compost (SSC) that was initially retained was maintained until the late stage of the incubation test, whereas that derived from hydrothermal decomposed liquid fertilizer (HDLF) was rapidly desorbed during the first 14 days of the incubation period. The available phosphorus level was higher under the combined application of CM- and SSC-derived WSOM than under the single phosphorus application throughout the incubation period, while it was high only during the first 3 days of incubation under the application of HDLF-derived WSOM. The amounts of retained organic carbon at each sampling point during the incubation period compared to those at the beginning were positively and linearly correlated to the available phosphorus levels that were enhanced by the WSOM present in the soil. This study for the first time provides quantitative experimental evidence that 1) the longer the WSOM continues to be retained, the higher the amount of available phosphorus remaining in the soil, and 2) the available phosphorus level decreases with WSOM sorption or decomposition. Furthermore, it was shown that highly humified WSOM has a great potential for the maintenance of higher available phosphorus levels. This study provides the insight that a combined application of highly humified organic materials with a chemical fertilizer is necessary for not only cost effective but also sustainable fertilization design., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Per(fluorinated) compounds (PFCs/FCs) are a class of synthetic chemicals that are widely used in various industrial applications because of their unique properties. However, in recent years, their abundance in the environment has resulted in serious adverse effects on human health, raising crucial concerns in the environmental field. In this study, zeolites (Beta, Y, and ZSM-5) were used as catalysts for the decomposition and adsorption of PFCs/FCs (CF 4 , SF 6 , NF 3 , C 3 F 8 , and C 4 F 8 ) by varying the temperature, pH, and contact time. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to characterize the zeolite before and after the decomposition of the PFCs/FCs. A 100% complete decomposition of SF 6 was observed when using ZSM-5, followed by a 75% and 45% decomposition when using Beta and Y zeolites, respectively. A 100% decomposition of NF 3 was achieved by all zeolites (Beta, Y, and ZSM-5). ZSM-5 decomposed CF 4 , C 3 F 8 , and C 4 F 8 to produce CO 2 with the following removal rate: CF 4 (80%) > C 3 F 8 (60%) > C 4 F 8 (25%). The decomposition of SF 6 and CF 4 produces SOF 2 , SOF 4 , SO 2 F 2 , and CO 2 , whereas that of NF 3 yields SiF 4 and NO. The reaction constants K of catalytic decomposition were calculated to be in the order: Y > Beta > ZSM-5. These results suggest that zeolite catalysts possess great potential as cost-effective and environmentally friendly catalysts for the decomposition of PFC/FC, thus reducing its adverse effects on the environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lakes and wetlands play pivotal roles in global organic matter storage, receiving significant inputs of organic material. However, the co-metabolic processes governing the decomposition of these organic materials and their impact on greenhouse gas emissions remain inadequately understood. This study aims to assess the effects of mixed decomposition involving macrophytes and cyanobacteria on carbon emissions. A series of microcosms was established to investigate the decomposition of macrophyte residues and algae over a period of 216 days. A two-component kinetic model was utilized to estimate methane (CH 4 ) production rates. Gas isotope technology was employed to discern the contributions of CH 4 produced by macrophyte residues or algae. Quantitative PCR and analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons were employed to assess changes in functional genes and microbial communities. There were significant differences in the cumulative carbon release from the decomposition of different plant types due to the addition of carbon sources. After adding algae, the cumulative emission of CH 4 increased significantly. The δ 13 C-CH 4 partitioning indicated that CH 4 originated exclusively from the fresh organic carbon of macrophyte residues, while it shifted to algae source after adding algae. The synergistic effect of the mixed decomposition on the CH 4 emissions was greater than the sum of the individual decompositions. The microbial community richness was higher in the single plant residue treatment compared to the mixed treatment with algae addition, while microbial evenness in the sediment increased steadily in each treatment. Our findings emphasize the pronounced co-metabolic effect observed during the mixed decomposition of macrophytes and cyanobacteria., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Organic matter (OM) derived from the decomposition of crop residues plays a key role as a sorbent for cadmium (Cd) immobilization. Few studies have explored the straw decomposition processes with the presence of minerals, and the effect of newly generated organo-mineral complexes on heavy metal adsorption. In this study, we investigated the variations in structure and composition during the rice straw decomposition with or without minerals (goethite and kaolinite), as well as the adsorption behavior and mechanisms by which straw decomposition affects Cd immobilization. The degree of humification of extracted straw organic matter was assessed using excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence and Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), while employing FTIR spectroscopy and XPS to characterize the adsorption mechanisms. The spectra analysis revealed the enrichment of highly aromatic and hydrophobic components, indicating that the degree of straw decomposition and humification were further intensified during incubation. Additionally, the existence of goethite (SG) accelerated the humification of OM. Sorption experiments revealed that the straw humification increased Cd adsorption capacity. Notably, SG exhibited significantly higher adsorption performance compared to the organic matter without minerals (RS) and the existence of kaolinite (SK). Further analysis using FT-IR spectroscopy and XPS verified that the primary mechanisms involved in Cd immobilization were complexion with -OH and -COOH, as well as the formation of Cd-π binds with aromatic C=C on the surface of solid OMs. These findings will facilitate understanding the interactions of the rice straw decomposing with soil minerals and its remediation effect on Cd-contaminated farmland., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This study investigates the impact of thermal decomposition on the ion mobility spectrum of L-alanine using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) and computational methods. By employing a post-injection delay system, we examined the evolution of ion peaks corresponding to thermal decomposition products and their interaction with protonated alanine. Experimental results revealed that the observed ion mobility spectra predominantly feature protonated isomers and adduct ions. Computational analysis using Density Functional Theory (DFT) predicted the thermodynamically favored structures and stabilities of these products. Findings indicate that protonation at the nitrogen site in alanine is more stable than at the oxygen site, and observed peaks correspond to protonated isomers and adducts formed with ammonium ions. Further investigations showed that thermal decomposition of alanine generates ammonia, contributing to the formation of new adduct ions. This research provides new insights into the behavior of amino acids under thermal conditions with implications for analytical chemistry and biochemistry., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The concept of emergence, or synergy in its simplest form, is widely used but lacks a rigorous definition. Our work connects information and set theory to uncover the mathematical nature of synergy as the failure of distributivity. For the trivial case of discrete random variables, we explore whether and how it is possible to get more information out of lesser parts. The approach is inspired by the role of set theory as the fundamental description of part-whole relations. If taken unaltered, synergistic behavior is forbidden by the set-theoretic axioms. However, random variables are not a perfect analogy of sets: we formalize the distinction, highlighting a single broken axiom-union/intersection distributivity. Nevertheless, it remains possible to describe information using Venn-type diagrams. The proposed multivariate theory resolves the persistent self-contradiction of partial information decomposition and reinstates it as a primary route toward a rigorous definition of emergence. Our results suggest that non-distributive variants of set theory may be used to describe emergent physical systems.

Aluminum phosphide (AlP) poses a significant health challenge in developing countries, primarily because of its accessibility to the unregulated market and the absence of specific antidotes. Although chemical analysis of routine viscera can provide valuable information regarding the type of poison present in the body during poisoning incidents, numerous factors can alter the test results of chemical analysis, such as decomposition changes, postmortem redistribution, and the chemical nature of drugs. Analytical methods are frequently impeded by the interference caused by coextracted putrefactive compounds, which can mask or alter the detection of drugs. This series of three cases is particularly noteworthy because it involves the postmortem detection of AlP in the abdominal subcutaneous fat of the deceased, a previously unreported occurrence. In the first case, the body showed findings of late postmortem changes, with stomach mucosa being congested and hemorrhagic, along with routine viscera, and abdominal subcutaneous fat was sent for toxicological analysis. To confirm these findings, in two further cases of suspected AlP poisoning, subcutaneous fat was sent along with routine viscera. Stomach mucosa in the other two cases showed findings similar to those in the first. In the third case, black paste-like material was noted as stomach content. All the cases revealed the presence of AlP in routine viscera samples and abdominal subcutaneous fat on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC‒MS) analysis. Therefore, abdominal fat can serve as a suitable sample for toxicological analysis to identify the presence of AlP, even in cases with advanced putrefactive changes., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The decomposition of macrophytes plays a crucial role in the nutrient cycles of macrophyte-dominated eutrophication lakes. While research on plant decomposition mechanisms and microbial influences has rapid developed, it is curious that plant decomposition models have remained stagnant at the single-stage model from 50 years ago, without endeavor to consider any important factors. Our research conducted in-situ experiments and identified the optimal metrics for decomposition-related microbes, thereby establishing models for microbial impacts on decomposition rates (k&#95;RDR). Using backward elimination in stepwise regression, we found that the optimal subset of independent variables-specifically Gammaproteobacteria-Q-L, Actinobacteriota-Q-L, and Ascomycota-Q-L-increased the adjusted R-squared (Ra 2 ) to 0.93, providing the best modeling for decomposition rate (p = 0.002). Additionally, k&#95;RDR can be modeled by synergic parameters of ACHB-Q-L, LDB-Q-L, and AB-Q-L for bacteria, and SFQ for fungi, albeit with a slightly lower Ra 2 of 0.7-0.9 (p < 0.01). The primary contribution of our research lies in two key aspects. Firstly, we introduced optimal metrics for modeling microbes, opting for debris surface microbes over sediment microbes, and prioritizing absolute abundance over relative abundance. Secondly, our model represents a noteworthy advancement in debris modeling. Alongside elucidating the focus and innovative aspects of our work, we also addressed existing limitations and proposed directions for future research. SYNOPSIS: This study explores optimum metrics for decomposition-related microbes, offering precise microbial models for enhanced lake nutrient cycle simulation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Decoding the activity of individual neural cells during natural behaviours allows neuroscientists to study how the nervous system generates and controls movements. Contrary to other neural cells, the activity of spinal motor neurons can be determined non-invasively (or minimally invasively) from the decomposition of electromyographic (EMG) signals into motor unit firing activities. For some interfacing and neuro-feedback investigations, EMG decomposition needs to be performed in real time. Here, we introduce an open-source software that performs real-time decoding of motor neurons using a blind-source separation approach for multichannel EMG signal processing. Separation vectors (motor unit filters) are optimised for each motor unit from baseline contractions and then re-applied in real time during test contractions. In this way, the firing activity of multiple motor neurons can be provided through different forms of visual feedback. We provide a complete framework with guidelines and examples of recordings to guide researchers who aim to study movement control at the motor neuron level. We first validated the software with synthetic EMG signals generated during a range of isometric contraction patterns. We then tested the software on data collected using either surface or intramuscular electrode arrays from five lower limb muscles (gastrocnemius lateralis and medialis, vastus lateralis and medialis, and tibialis anterior). We assessed how the muscle or variation of contraction intensity between the baseline contraction and the test contraction impacted the accuracy of the real-time decomposition. This open-source software provides a set of tools for neuroscientists to design experimental paradigms where participants can receive real-time feedback on the output of the spinal cord circuits., Competing Interests: JR, FH, KT, CG, LL, SA No competing interests declared, DF inventor of a patent (Neural Interface. UK Patent application no. GB1813762.0. August23, 2018) and of a patent application (Neural interface. UK Patent application no.GB2014671.8. September 17, 2020), which are partly related to the methods and applicationsof this work. All other authors have no financial or other relationships that might lead to aconflict of interest, (© 2023, Rossato et al.)

We study the capacity fade rate of a flow battery utilizing 2,6-dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHAQ) and its dependence on hydroxide concentration, state of charge, cutoff voltages for the discharge step and for the electrochemical regeneration (oxidation of decomposition compounds back to active species) step, and the period of performing the electrochemical regeneration events. Our observations confirm that the first decomposition product, 2,6-dihydroxyanthrone (DHA), is stable, but after electro-oxidative dimerization, the anthrone dimer decomposes. We identify conditions for which there is little time after dimerization until the dimer is rapidly reoxidized electrochemically to form DHAQ. Combining these approaches, we decrease the fade rate to 0.02%/day, which is 18 times lower than the lowest rate reported previously of 0.38%/day, and over 200 times lower than the value under standard cycling conditions of 4.3%/day. The findings and their mechanistic interpretation are expected to extend the lifetime and enhance the effectiveness of in situ electrochemical regeneration for other electroactive species with finite lifetimes.

Background: Wearable sensors have revolutionized cardiac health monitoring, with Seismocardiography (SCG) at the forefront due to its non-invasive nature. However, the substantial motion artefacts have hindered the translation of SCG-based medical applications, primarily induced by walking. In contrast, our innovative technique, Adaptive Bidirectional Filtering (ABF), surpasses these challenges by refining SCG signals more effectively than any motion-induced noise. ABF leverages a noise-cancellation algorithm, operating on the benefits of the Redundant Multi-Scale Wavelet Decomposition (RMWD) and the bidirectional filtering framework, to achieve optimal signal quality., Methodology: The ABF technique is a two-stage process that diminishes the artefacts emanating from motion. The first step by RMWD is the identification of the heart-associated signals and the isolating samples with those related frequencies. Subsequently, the adaptive bidirectional filter operates in two dimensions: it uses Time-Frequency masking that eliminates temporal noise while engaging in non-negative matrix Decomposition to ensure spatial correlation and dorsoventral vibration reduction jointly. The main component that is altered from the other filters is the recursive structure that changes to the motion-adapted filter, which uses vertical axis accelerometer data to differentiate better between accurate SCG signals and motion artefacts., Outcome: Our empirical tests demonstrate exceptional signal improvement with the application of our ABF approach. The accuracy in heart rate estimation reached an impressive r-squared value of 0.95 at - 20 dB SNR, significantly outperforming the baseline value, which ranged from 0.1 to 0.85. The effectiveness of the motion-artifact-reduction methodology is also notable at an SNR of - 22 dB. Consequently, ECG inputs are not required. This method can be seamlessly integrated into noisy environments, enhancing ECG filtering, automatic beat detection, and rhythm interpretation processes, even in highly variable conditions. The ABF method effectively filters out up to 97% of motion-related noise components within the SCG signal from implantable devices. This advancement is poised to become an integral part of routine patient monitoring., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Increased temperatures are altering rates of organic matter (OM) breakdown in stream ecosystems with implications for carbon (C) cycling in the face of global change. The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) provides a framework for predicting temperature effects on OM breakdown, but differences in the temperature dependence of breakdown driven by different organismal groups (i.e., microorganisms vs. invertebrate detritivores) and litter species remain unresolved. Over two years, we conducted 12 60-day leaf litterbag incubations in 20 headwater streams in the southern Appalachian Mountains (USA). We compared temperature dependence (as activation energy, E a ) between microbial and detritivore-mediated breakdown, and between a highly recalcitrant (Rhododendron maximum) and a relatively labile (Acer rubrum) leaf species. Detritivore-mediated breakdown had a higher E a than microbial breakdown for both leaf species (Rhododendron: 1.48 > 0.56 eV; Acer: 0.97 > 0.29 eV), and Rhododendron breakdown had a higher E a than Acer breakdown for both organismal groups. Similarly, the E a of total (coarse-mesh) Rhododendron breakdown was higher than the E a of total Acer breakdown (0.89 > 0.52 eV). These effects for total breakdown were large, implying that the number of days to 95% mass loss would decline by 40% for Rhododendron and 26% for Acer between 12°C (our mean temperature value) and 16°C (+4°C, reflecting projected increases in global surface temperature due to climate change). Despite patterns in E a , overall breakdown rates were higher for microbes than detritivores, and for Acer than Rhododendron over most of our temperature gradient. Additionally, the E a for a subset of the microbial breakdown data declined from 0.40 to 0.22 eV when fungal biomass was included as a model predictor, highlighting the key role of fungi in determining the temperature dependence of litter breakdown. Our results imply that, as streams warm, routing of leaf litter C to detritivore-mediated fates will increase faster than predicted by previous studies and MTE, especially for labile litter. As temperatures rise, earlier depletion of autumn-shed, labile leaf litter combined with rapid breakdown rates of recalcitrant litter could exacerbate seasonal resource limitation and alter carbon storage and transport dynamics in temperate headwater stream networks., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)