Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the first human cancer-causing viral pathogen to be discovered; it has been epidemiologically associated with a wide range of diseases, including cancers, autoimmunity and hyperinflammatory disorders. Its evolutionary success is underpinned by coordinated expression of viral transcription factors (EBV nuclear antigens), signaling proteins (EBV latent membrane proteins) and non-coding RNAs, which orchestrate cell transformation, immune evasion and dissemination. Each of those activities entail significant metabolic rewiring, which is achieved by viral subversion of key host metabolic regulators such as mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), MYC and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). In this review, we systemically discuss how EBV-encoded factors regulate metabolism to achieve viral persistence and propagation, as well as potential research questions and directions in EBV-driven metabolism.

Purpose: In this study, we intend to explore the possible mechanism of statins on endothelial cell dysfunction caused by high glucose. Methods: Internet database was used to identify the potential targets and signal pathways of statins against endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. We observed the changes in cell survival, proliferation, apoptosis, and NO level in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with high glucose and rosuvastatin. In addition, the genes and proteins expression of eNOS, CLDN-1, OCLN, ZO-1, HIF-1, VEGF, and Bax were detected in HUVECs. Results: The results of network pharmacology and molecular docking indicate that HIF1A may be a key target of rosuvastatin in improving endothelial injury under high glucose environment. High glucose caused the cell apoptosis, decreased the NO production, reduced the expression of tight junction-related proteins, and inhibited the expression and effect of HIF-1α on HUVECs. However, rosuvastatin was able to reverse these effects. Effects of rosuvastatin on vascular endothelial cell dysfunction induced by high glucose was abolished by the HIF-1 inhibitor YC-1. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that rosuvastatin might act on HIF-1 molecules, enhance cell survival, and decrease apoptosis under the high glucose condition in HUVECs.

The study of underwater environments has been revolutionized by the use of autonomous underwater vehicles. However, effective guidance and control of these vehicles face challenges such as modeling errors, environmental disturbances, and the inherent under-actuation of many designs. To address these challenges, we propose a Neuro-Adaptive Fixed-Time Sliding Mode Control framework for under-actuated underwater vehicles. The issue of under-actuation is resolved using a line-of-sight guidance system based on look-ahead distance, enabling accurate trajectory tracking. A Fixed-Time Sliding Mode Controller is employed to guarantee faster convergence. To handle modeling uncertainties, the controller is augmented with a neural network (NN) trained using a composite error learning, which incorporates prediction errors from a state observer into the NN weight update law, enhancing learning performance. Additionally, a Disturbance Observer (DOB) is integrated to estimate and counteract environmental disturbances. The stability of the proposed control system is proven using Lyapunov theory. To validate its effectiveness, the control framework is tested in a high-fidelity simulation under scenarios involving significant uncertainties, external disturbances, and actuator faults.

The error-related negativity (ERN) has demonstrated mixed associations with internalizing psychopathology. An enhanced ERN is associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and some anxiety disorders, whereas an attenuated ERN is associated with depression. This pattern of results suggests that the ERN may relate to transdiagnostic dimensions within the internalizing spectrum. The present study examined relationships between the ERN and internalizing psychopathology at the symptom, subfactor (i.e., distress, obsessions/compulsions), and spectrum (i.e., internalizing) levels. In a sample of 818 adults, higher-order mediation modeling was used to estimate direct effects of the ERN on each hierarchical dimension, as well as indirect effects via higher-order dimensions. At the subfactor level, a larger ERN was directly related to greater obsessive/compulsive symptoms, while a smaller ERN was directly related to a greater distress subfactor. None of the self-reported symptoms were directly related to the ERN, and total effects of the ERN on dysphoria, insomnia, and ill temper were primarily explained by higher-order indirect effects via the distress subfactor and internalizing spectrum. These findings underscore the importance of understanding the hierarchical nature of the relationship between the ERN and internalizing psychopathology. These results suggest that many observed relationships between the ERN and psychopathology symptoms can be attributed to intermediate subfactor dimensions of internalizing psychopathology, but discrepant relationships with the ERN exist within the broader internalizing spectrum.

In the present study, a novel strategy for constructing new cage energetic compounds with both high energy and low sensitivity was proposed. That is to use a 3D nitrogen-rich cage compounds as the core parent molecule to set the basis for obtaining high energy, and followed by the introduction of a moderate number of nitro groups into the cage which be linked with the carbon atoms to further improve the energy without increasing the sensitivity obviously, and controlling the reaction difficulty caused by the too many nitro groups as low as possible. The amino groups were introduced into the structure also to adjust the balance of energy and sensitivity. Finally, more importantly, the formation of nitrogen-rich cage, and the introduction of nitro/amino groups were achieved synchronously by a typical and attractive one-step reaction (The Diels-Alder reaction) which possesses the 100% atomic efficiency. Based on this strategy, six series of amino-substituted nitrogen-rich azoles were used as the dienes, to react with different dienophiles like the tetranitroethylene (TNE) to form the final cage products. From the theoretical investigation results, five optimal compounds (PA0, PB0, PC0, PE0, PE1) with low reaction energy barrier (11.2 to 31.6 kcal/mol), and may set the high energy of CL-20 and low sensitivity of TNT together, have been screened out as new advanced energetic compounds successfully. This study may provide a new feasible strategy and a unique perspective for developing new advanced energetic compounds.

Background: The widespread transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) in women poses significant health risks. The objective of this study is to elucidate the prevalence characteristics of preoperative and postoperative HPV infection in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. Methods: A total of 370 patients diagnosed with CIN or cervical cancer were recruited in the study. Initially, we analysed the overall prevalence of HPV infection in preoperative patients, as well as the characteristics within different age groups and various pathological diagnoses. Subsequently, we examined the correlation between HPV positive rates and age, pathological diagnoses, HPV genotypes and multiple HPV infection in postoperative patients. Finally, we conducted a comparative analysis of HPV infection dynamics in the same cohort of patients before and after cervical operation. Results: The overall HPV positive rate was 97.02% among patients diagnosed with CIN or cervical cancer. The top six prevalent HPV genotypes identified were as follows: HPV16, HPV52, HPV58, HPV33, HPV51, and HPV18. Patients displayed varying distributions of HPV infection across different age groups and pathological diagnoses. Notably, the proportions of HPV16, HPV51, and multiple HPV infection differed significantly among patients of different ages. The proportions of HPV16, HPV18, HPV51, HPV52, and multiple HPV infection were significantly different among patients with distinct cervical lesions. Among the 282 patients who underwent cervical operation, 113 individuals (40.07%) remained positive for HPV postoperatively. Patients aged≥60 years, with CINI cervical lesion, preoperative positivity for HPV51 and multiple HPV infection, exhibited a higher postoperative rate of HPV positivity. Additionally, the positive rate of the top six prevalent HPV genotypes except for HPV51 and multiple HPV infection showed a declining trend after cervical operation. Conclusions: This study further substantiated the link between high-risk HPV infection and the development of CIN and cervical cancer, and also offered insights for the prevention and treatment of postoperative HPV infection.

Solar radiation (SR) dynamics have a profound effect on plant growth, development, and ecosystems, and they act as a primary energy source and important environmental signal that plants perceive through their photoreceptors, which primarily sense critical wavelength ratios (CWRs). The diffuse fraction of solar radiation (DF) is a key factor affecting the quality and distribution of light within the plant canopy. We analyzed one year of SR spectral observations measured by a ground-based rotating shadow-band spectroradiometer to evaluate the potential effects of DF and CWRs on plants in an outdoor environment in Fukuoka, Japan. The daily mean DF and all considered CWRs showed significant seasonal variations regardless of the solar meridian altitude. Cloudy or partly cloudy skies were prevalent throughout the year. The ratios of ultraviolet-A (UV-A)/UV-B, red (R)/blue (B), and R/green (G) increased during winter and decreased during summer. Conversely, the ratios of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)/global solar radiation (GSI), UV/GSI, UV/PAR, B/G, R/far-red (FR), and UV-B/B increased during summer and decreased during winter. Most of the CWR correlated with DF. Furthermore, our study discovered a synergistic influence of air mass (AM), water vapor pressure (VP), and DF on specific CWRs, which play a crucial role in plant light signal processing. This highlights the potential influence of AM, VP, and DF on plant light signals, thereby opening avenues for developing innovative plant growth models and ecological responses incorporating plant photoreception.

In this paper, two covalent organic polymers (COPs) materials with different frameworks, COP-3N and COP-CN, with high heat resistance and obvious fluorescence effects, were synthesised using 3-(methylamino )-[1,1‘-biphenyl]-4,4’-dicarbaldehyde (DAH) and different phenyl monomers. The two COPs have a unique solvent-based chromogenic effect, and when dispersed in solvents with different polarities, the fluorescence spectra of the two COPs are significantly blue-shifted from the yellow fluorescence of the solid state of about 560 nm to the blue fluorescence of 460 nm or even the ultraviolet light of about 356 nm. Under the excitation of the most common 365 nm UV lamp, COP-3N shows prolonged yellow, cyan and blue luminescence in different solvents, which can be used as a simple raw material for encryption of handwritten messages.The amine active hydrogen side group brought by the introduction of DAH to COP-CN and COP-3N makes it a unique reactive site, which provides a pathway for COP to link to other functional groups or small molecules in the future.

INTRODUCTIONSmooth muscle tumours of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP) include a diverse range of uterine neoplasms that don’t fit the current histological definitions for either benign or malignant tumours. STUMP might represent an intermediate form between leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas or could be an undetected low-grade leiomyosarcoma[1]. Among women who undergo hysterectomy or myomectomy for a suspected leiomyoma, only 0.01% are diagnosed with STUMP [2]. Because this condition is so rare and diagnostic criteria are inconsistent, determining its true prevalence is challenging [3]. Additionally, with limited data on the malignant potential of STUMP, managing the condition is controversial, especially for patients who wish to preserve their fertility.Patients with STUMP experience a diverse range of symptoms like abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, and lower abdominal pressure, which are similar to those of benign uterine myomas. However, symptoms may vary depending on the size of the uterine mass [4].Since STUMP and benign uterine myomas show similarity as per preoperative radiologic imaging and laboratory tests, differentiating between them without pathological confirmation prior to surgery is challenging and nearly impossible. Conventional surgical treatment for STUMP usually involves myomectomy or hysterectomy. In some cases, myomectomy might be an option for women who wish to preserve their fertility [5].In this case report, we describe an unusual case of STUMP presenting as a large uterine mass, initially suspected to be a benign uterine myoma pre-operatively.Top of FormBottom of FormTop of FormBottom of Form

In the process of social development, the medical field is confronted with severe challenges in resource integration and collaborative cooperation. Symbiosis theory offers a novel perspective; however, its application research lacks depth and systematicness. This paper reviews the current application status and progress of symbiosis theory in multiple fields. It revisits the fundamental concepts and key principles of symbiosis theory and summarizes the related research in aspects such as the construction of medical community, the integration model of sports and medicine, the symbiosis of medicine and education, the combination service of medical care and elderly care, and the integration of medical treatment and prevention. Moreover, it emphasizes the potential of symbiosis theory in enhancing system efficiency, strengthening response capabilities, and promoting sustainable development, with the aim of pointing out the direction for future research of medical staff in China and providing references for conducting relevant research.

The construction industry is regarded as a key field for energy conservation and emission reduction. Consequently, a detailed investigation of the potential for emission reduction in China’s assembly buildings and the anticipated trajectory of their development is of significant practical importance for the future of the country. In light of the aforementioned background, a carbon emission dynamic model has been constructed, comprising six scenarios designed to simulate and evaluate the carbon emissions of China’s assembly buildings, thereby exploring their potential for emission reduction. It is anticipated that China’s assembly building market share will reach 40.8% by 2035, which is of significant relevance to the future development of the country. It is anticipated that the complete replacement of the traditional building model with an assembled building will result in a reduction of carbon emissions by up to 12,929,700 tons by 2035. The data not only demonstrates the significant potential of assembled buildings in terms of energy saving and emission reduction, but also indicates the trajectory of future development within the construction industry.

Understanding how environmental gradients shape population genetic structure is critical for elucidating evolutionary dynamics in heterogeneous landscapes. The St. Lawrence Estuary, spanning fluvial, middle, and marine zones, presents a steep salinity gradient that serves as an ideal setting to study such question. Three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) thrive across these zones, offering an ideal model system to investigate the interplay of gene flow, local adaptation, and environmental pressures in shaping population structure. Using whole-genome resequencing of sticklebacks from 12 sites, this study aimed to resolve fine-scale population structure and investigate how genetic diversity and differentiation are influenced by selection and gene flow. By integrating SNPs and structural variants (SVs), we assessed differentiation patterns, examined clinal variation, and evaluated the relative roles of gene flow and selection in shaping population dynamics. Our findings reveal clear genetic differentiation between fluvial and saltwater populations, with Baie-Saint-Paul forming a potential third group. Salinity emerged as a key driver of genetic structure, with clinal variation in allele frequencies suggesting ongoing adaptation along the gradient. Demographic modeling indicated a history of secondary contact with recent and weak gene flow. Structural variants, particularly indels, complemented SNP-based analyses, underscoring their importance in detecting fine-scale population structure. These results highlight the complex interplay of evolutionary forces shaping biodiversity in transitional environments, providing a basis for exploring local adaptation in connected populations and contribute to broader efforts in conservation genomics.

Accurate identification and classification of intestinal parasitic eggs are essential for effectively diagnosing and treating parasitic infections. Traditional manual microscopic diagnosis methods are time-consuming and prone to errors. Recent advancements in technology have shown potential in automating this process, yet more advanced and accurate methods are needed to overcome existing challenges. The proposed research aims to develop a robust and efficient approach for intestinal parasitic egg segmentation and classification using the Mask R-CNN algorithm. The research begins with an extensive review of existing literature on intestinal parasitic infections, their impact, and the limitations of current diagnostic methods. It further explores the principles of image processing, medical imaging techniques, and the fundamentals of the Mask R-CNN algorithm. The proposed work involves accessing a dataset comprising 10 thousand images of 10 different types of parasitic eggs from IEEE and preprocessing them to enhance their quality. The Mask R-CNN algorithm is then trained on this dataset, enabling it to accurately segment and classify intestinal parasitic eggs. Performance evaluation uses quantitative measures such as Precision, recall, and F1-score (shown in Table [1](#tbl-cap-0001)). The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the Mask R-CNN algorithm in segmenting and classifying intestinal parasitic eggs, achieving an overall accuracy of 95%. These findings contribute to intestinal parasitic egg analysis by providing an advanced and automated approach for SegmentationSegmentation and classification. Future research endeavors could expand the dataset, optimise computational efficiency, and integrate the developed algorithm into practical diagnostic tools.

Anadromous salmonids, including sea-run brown trout, are exposed to ectoparasitic salmon lice during their sea migrations. The modern industrialization of coastal areas has promoted louse epidemics by substantially increasing the number of hosts available to the parasite. We employed a mark-recapture study involving large-scale traps to capture and PIT-tag 676 wild sea-trout during their early marine migration in spring 2020 and 2021. Each trout was examined for lice, tagged with passive integrated transponders, and monitored for subsequent survival using a PIT antenna system installed at the river Yndesdalsvassdraget. Using a Cormack-Jolly-Seber capture recapture model of individual re-detections the subsequent years, we found a significant negative correlation between lice per gram of fish weight and the survival probability. Increasing lice load from 0 to 1 louse per gram fish reduced the survival probability by approximately 73% in 2020 and 58% in 2021. This is among the first field studies to demonstrate a statistically significant association between individual survival of brown trout and their parasite loads in the wild. Our findings demonstrate the critical need for robust marine spatial planning and lice management in coastal fisheries. Effective control of lice loads is essential to mitigate their deleterious effects on brown trout, ensuring sustainable fish populations and maintaining ecological balance in regions affected by aquaculture.

Plant invasion significantly disrupts plant community structure and ecosystem functioning, especially the stability of net primary productivity (NPP). However, evidence for invasion effects on the community- and ecosystem-level stability of NPP, and whether the effects are consistent belowground and aboveground, is scarce. Here, we investigated the responses of the stability of both aboveground and belowground NPP (ANPP and BNPP) to invasion of the parasitic plant Pedicularis kansuensis, based on a two-year manipulative experiment in an alpine grassland in northwest China. Invasion decreased ANPP resistance while increasing its recovery, and conversely increased BNPP resistance but decreased its recovery. Notably, the asymmetric responses of ANPP and BNPP to invasion underscored the complexity of grassland ecosystems and highlighted the critical role of belowground processes in maintaining ecosystem recovery. Species asynchrony and richness were key factors for ANPP stability, whereas BNPP stability was more directly influenced by invasive species, contributing more significantly to overall NPP stability. Our findings provide crucial evidence that stability of aboveground and belowground components responds asymmetrically to invasion, emphasizing the need for comprehensive assessments of both dimensions in ecosystem studies. The insights gained underline the importance of belowground stability for sustaining ecosystem recovery and offer guidance for ecological management and conservation strategies.

IntroductionThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) framework is used to organize scientific knowledge in toxicology into linear sequences of causally related events that lead to adverse toxicological endpoints (Ankley et al., 2010; OECD, 2018). AOPs describe the critical interactions of a chemical or non-chemical stressor within a biological system. AOPs begins with a molecular initiating event (MIE) that leads to intermediate key events (KEs) and culminate in an adverse outcome (AO). KEs are connected by key event relationships (KERs) for which causality is evaluated using the modified Bradford-Hill criteria (Becker et al., 2015). These criteria include biological plausibility, evidence for the essentiality of KEs, and empirical evidence in the form of dose-, temporal- and incidence-concordance. The strength of these directional and causal relationships is evaluated through a weight of evidence analysis for each KER (Villeneuve et al., 2014). AOPs are purposefully simplified, describing KEs that can be routinely measured and are essential to pathway progression, to facilitate regulatory utility and test strategy development (Ankley et al., 2010). AOPs are developed in a linear manner; however, shared KEs lead to networks of AOPs. Through these networks, multiple MIEs can converge to lead to the same AOs. In addition, multiple different types of stressors may interact with the same MIE to progress AOPs. Thus, although simple in concept, the AOP network is the fundamental unit of application for risk assessment and can broadly reflect complex, multi-stressor interactions and outcomes. AOPs have primarily been used to describe the impacts of chemicals on human and ecological outcomes. However, there is growing interest in applying AOPs in the radiation field (NCRP 2020, Chauhan et al., 2019; Chauhan et al., 2024). A case example AOP to lung cancer that is relevant to stressors such as radon inhalation has been endorsed by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the Working Group of the National Coordinators of the Test Guidelines Programme (WNT) and Working Party on Hazard Assessment (WPHA) of the OECD (https://aopwiki.org/aops/272). Furthermore, since June 2021, a Radiation/Chemical AOP Joint Topical Group under the auspices of the NEA High Level Group on Low Dose Research has been working to promote and integrate AOPs into radiation research and risk assessments (Chauhan, Beaton et al., 2022a; Chauhan, Hamada et al., 2022b; Chauhan, Beaton et al., 2024). As part of these efforts, AOPs are being developed to multiple AOs including those relevant to space exploration (Kozbenko et al., 2024; Carrothers et al., 2024; Sleiman et al., 2024; Sandhu et al., 2024). Herein we describe four AOPs (AOP#478; AOP#483; AOP#470; AOP#482) that form a network leading to non-cancer AOs of relevance to space travel.

Identifying the most important variables that determine patterns and processes is one of the main goals in many scientific fields, including ecological and evolutionary studies. Variable or relative importance is generally seen as the proportion of the variation in a response variable explained directly and indirectly by a specific predictor. Although partial regression coefficients is perhaps the most frequently used, ‘standard’, statistical technique in ecological and evolutionary studies, beta weights are inadequate indices of variable importance when predictors are intercorrelated, which tends to be the rule in most observational data sets. Among other statistical techniques, random forests and hierarchical partitioning are designed to cope with collinearity but are still much less used than beta weights to measure variable importance. Here, we compared random forests and hierarchical partitioning with linear mixed models to attempt to unravel the individual and shared variation of environmental, economic, and human population factors with success of alien species richness in eight taxonomic groups at a global scale. Results showed that random forests and hierarchical partitioning generally agreed in ranking variable importance but showed considerably different conclusions to the standard statistical approach. Specifically, random forests and hierarchical partitioning attached more importance to economic and human population variables in explaining spatial patterns of alien species richness than did region area and mean air temperature, which were emphasized more by the standard approach. Beta weights also tended to highlight less correlated predictors, such as sampling effort and precipitation. Variable importance in random forests attached more importance to economic than population variables and to absolute rather than relative predictors. Variable-importance measures are an underused statistical technique, particularly compared to the partial regression coefficients, but can shed light on evaluating the individual and shared variation of predictors of success of biological invasions and of many other biological and scientific questions.

Objective: This paper was unearthed to unveil the capability of lncRNA NEAT1 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) of essential hypertension (EH) through the axis of microRNA-34a-5p/thioredoxin-interacting protein (miR-34a-5p/TXNIP). Methods: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from patients with EH. Examination of miR-34a-5p, NEAT1, and TXNIP levels in peripheral blood was performed. VSMCs from spontaneously hypertensive rats were treated with the sequences of miR-34a-5p/NEAT1/TXNIP, thereafter cell activities were traced. The link s among miR-34a-5p, NEAT1, and TXNIP were verified. Results: Raised NEAT1 and TXNIP, along with suppressed levels of miR-34a-5p were tested in EH patients. Depleting NEAT1 hindered proliferation and migration and drove apoptosis of VSMCs. NEAT1 interacted with miR-34a-5p to target TXNIP. Elevated miR-34a-5p weakens the impacts of restored NEAT1 on VSMCs. Elevated TXNIP weakens the impacts of restored miR-34a-5p on VSMCs. Conclusion: Depleting NEAT1 suppresses the biological functions of VSMCs in EH via the miR-34a-5p/TXNIP axis.

The phenotypic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and the occurrence of necroptosis may be the main pathological mechanisms of heat stroke -induced cardiovascular injury. However, the specific molecular mechanisms of VSMCs injury due to hyperthermia are currently unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of inhibitor RIPK1 (Nec-1) in phenotypic transformation and necroptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells induced by heat stroke. The results of in vivo and in vitro experiments consistently showed that high temperature induced a decrease in the expression of α-SMA and an increase in the expression of OPN in VSMCs, which induced the transformation of VSMCs from a contractile phenotype to a synthetic phenotype. At the same time, high temperature promoted the expression of RIPK1 and RIPK3 in VSMCs and activated necroptosis. Nec-1 inhibited the heat-induced high expression of RIPK1 and RIPK3. It also restored the expression of α-SMA and reduced the expression of OPN in VSMCs. These findings confirm the protective role of Nec-1 in heat stroke-induced necroptosis and phenotypic transformation of VSMCs.

The harsh and changeable ecological environment in mountainous areas greatly inhibits the growth and reproduction of plant species. In order to survive such abiotic stress, plants often adapt to alpine environments through morphological and molecular specialization. Gentiana rigescens Franch. is an alpine medicinal plant species, the corolla of which can open and close in a temperature regulated manner. However, the mechanism of this movement and its role in alpine reproduction is unknown. In the current study, we verified the protective role of the temperature regulated opening and closure of the corolla of this species in relation to the reproductive biology of the plant by determining the stigma receptivity, pollen viability, fruiting rate and seed setting rate at different stages of flower development. Through transcriptome sequencing, we identified the differential gene expression that occurs during floral opening and closure, and mapped the regulatory mechanisms associated with this process. Furthermore, through the overexpression of the GrPME40 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana, we demonstrated that pectin methyl-esterification had an important role in cellular morphological alterations. The present study provides compelling and direct evidence for the alpine acclimatization of floral opening and closure and presents a novel insight into understanding the adaptive strategy of this alpine species. These data may also provide a valuable reference point for the elucidation of the molecular mechanism of corolla opening and closure.

Wildlife management and conservation requires knowledge about a species’ population structure, diversity, demographic history and adaptive potential. However, often such information is lacking, or based on insufficient and sometimes contrasting data. This is the case for the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), for which there remain uncertainties regarding subspecies and population delineations, diversity and recent evolutionary history, despite numerous genetic and non-genetic studies. Here, we present the first range- and genome-wide population genomic analysis of grey seals based on 3,812 nuclear SNP markers genotyped in 188 samples from 17 distinct localities. Our analyses support the existence of three main grey seal populations centred in the NW Atlantic, NE Atlantic and Baltic Sea, but also point to the existence of previously unrecognised substructure within the NE Atlantic, in particular separating grey seals sampled in Iceland, Norway and Russia from the core NE Atlantic population inhabiting the wider North Sea region. We detected remarkably low levels of genetic diversity in NW Atlantic grey seals, which may be the result of evolutionary founder effects, as well as more recent historic hunting and culling. We also found some localities that deviate from the general isolation by distance pattern, likely reflecting wide-scale metapopulation dynamics associated with recolonisation and recovery of grey seals in regions where they were historically extirpated. Our genetic results allow us to identify at least six grey seal management units across the species’ Atlantic range, but also highlights knowledge gaps that should be addressed in future research into this species.

The dynamics of water flow and sediment transport in river systems play a crucial role in shaping river morphology and the broader watershed management. However, these characteristics are often challenging to measure comprehensively. We studied a low-flow river system (≤0.611 m 3/s) within the boundaries of Yuancun in the Township of Meishui. By synchronously monitoring the microseismic signals generated by the river and the river flow velocity, explored the relationship between these microseismic signals and the river discharge. The signals exhibited a wide frequency range (2–50 Hz). An analysis of the recorded microseismic signals and the flow data revealed an approximate linear relationship between the seismic noise in the 2–10 Hz bandwidth and the river flow. We used a least squares regression model to invert the river flow from the 2–10 Hz microseismic signals and found that the maximum relative error between the inverted flow and the measured values was 10.3%. The results show that even at low flow rates, real-time monitoring of river processes is possible through continuous time-frequency analysis of microseismic signals; this increases the potential for future applications of seismic monitoring in real-time observation of hydrological evolution in river systems.

Tropical peatlands play a critical role in regional water cycling, yet most tropical peat swamp forests (PSFs) are anthropogenically disturbed though modification of the water table (e.g. drainage), deforestation, and fire events. These disturbances can alter ecosystem processes including evapotranspiration (ET), thereby creating feedbacks that degrade peatland ecosystem services and result in significant alteration of greenhouse gas budgets. However, our understanding of fine-scale hydrological fluxes in tropical peatland ecosystems is currently lacking. Here, therefore, we aimed to quantify rates of ET from a degraded tropical PSF in Central Kalimantan, in the context of broader peatland hydrology and site meteorology. From March to November 2020, ET ranged from 1.8–7.3 mm d -1, averaged 4.09 ± 0.06 mm d -1 and was consistent between months, despite large fluctuations in precipitation (P) following typical wet/dry seasonality (e.g., 4.1 ± 0.2 mm d -1 in July, compared to 17.5 ± 4.4 mm d -1 in April). Total ET over the nine-month study period was 1127 mm; approximately 37% of total precipitation. Daily ET rates were comparable to previous studies from tropical PSFs, however, the ratio of ET/P was lower than other tropical PSF sites. We suggest that the volume of water lost through canal drainage may be higher at this site than other tropical PSFs, indicating more substantial hydrological alteration through drainage. We expect that with continued hydrological restoration (i.e. canal blocking), ET/P may increase and, if so, could potentially be used as an indicator for changing peatland condition over time.

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