Single-port (SP) robotic thoracic surgery is a minimally invasive option for mediastinal tumor resection; however, intercostal access remains challenging due to narrow intercostal spaces and the risk of postoperative neuralgia. This report describes 2 cases of posterior paravertebral mediastinal schwannoma resected using a floating intercostal port technique with the da Vinci SP system. In each case, a small uniportal incision was made at the lowest feasible intercostal space without rib spreading, and the SP metal port was positioned in a floating configuration above the intercostal space to reduce nerve compression while allowing safe instrument deployment. Complete tumor resection was achieved in both patients without intraoperative complications. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, with minimal pain and no intercostal neuralgia. The floating intercostal port technique may facilitate safe and effective SP robotic resection of selected posterior mediastinal tumors while preserving the advantages of intercostal access and supporting early recovery.
Ovarian Mature Cystic Teratomas (MCTs), the most common type of ovarian teratoma, contain tissues from all three germ layers. The "floating ball sign," which consists of mobile spherules of sebum and keratin, is a characteristic feature seen on Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). However, the imaging features can overlap with other cystic lesions, leading to potential misdiagnosis. This case report focuses on a giant MCT initially misdiagnosed as hydatid disease on CT. Its value lies in highlighting the diagnostic pitfall of over-relying on CT and demonstrating how a systematic, multimodal approach resolves uncertainty. A 40-year-old female presented to our hospital due to a 3-month history of progressive, painless abdominal distension and recent urinary frequency/urgency. On physical examination, a soft, non-tender mass was palpated in the umbilical region. Initial abdominal-pelvic contrastenhanced CT revealed a huge cystic lesion with multiple internal cystic structures resembling "daughter cysts", a feature suggestive of hydatid disease. However, preoperative parasite tests returned negative, creating a conflict with this initial suspicion, and the mass effect caused by the lesion obscured its origin on CT. This discrepancy prompted further evaluation, which revealed mobile intracystic spherical structures via targeted ultrasound, confirming their mobility and floatability. Meanwhile, MRI identified characteristic fat content through fat-saturated sequences. These findings confirm the "floating ball sign," which collectively supported the possible diagnosis of MCT. The diagnosis was confirmed by exploratory laparotomy and subsequent histopathological analysis. This case illustrates that while CT is useful for initial evaluation of giant abdominopelvic masses, its findings can be misleading. When imaging and clinical data conflict, a deliberate diagnostic reconsideration pathway using targeted ultrasound and MRI is key to avoiding misdiagnosis.
This paper develops foamed mixture lightweight soil (FMLS) using dredged soil for ecological floating landscapes applications, focusing on key performance indices including dry density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, water absorption, and fluidity. Orthogonal experiments determined the optimal mix ratio, while CaO expansion agent, MgO expansion agent, polypropylene fiber (PPF), and basalt fiber (BF) were employed to modify material properties. The microstructural mechanisms of FMLS before and after modification were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that FMLS achieves optimal comprehensive performance at a cement-to-sand ratio of 0.4, foam content of 10%, and water-to-sand ratio of 0.35, with all parameters conforming to technical specifications. The optimal dosage for both CaO and MgO expansion agents is 5%, PPF is 0.3% and BF is 0.5%, respectively. MgO expansion agent and PPF demonstrate superior suitability for floating landscapes due to enhanced pore-filling efficiency and crack-bridging effects by SEM. Finally, correlation analysis further indicates that the water-binder ratio critically governs the strength characteristics of FMLS. This paper not only provides a new direction to promote the effective use of dredged soil resources, but also provides new ideas for carrier materials for ecological floating landscapes.
The expansion of floating offshore wind in the UK's Celtic Sea presents a major opportunity to accelerate the low-carbon transition while supporting regional economic development. However, its implementation is unfolding within a fragmented governance landscape, which constrains the development of new governance approaches that can deliver on multiple policy objectives, including net-zero, nature recovery, and economic growth. Fragmentation is a well-documented feature of marine governance systems and is commonly associated with institutional barriers such as path dependency, policy layering, and institutional inertia. However, few studies have examined the underlying causes of these barriers, meaning that resulting recommendations often fail to tackle foundational institutional design issues. Drawing on institutional theory and using a diagnostic analytical approach, this study identifies multiple institutional barriers that hinder the development of floating wind in the Celtic Sea. The barriers are traced to underlying institutional attributes, including those that regulate actor roles and responsibilities, structure social networks, and distribute power and authority. The paper concludes that the governance challenges observed in the UK's Celtic Sea arise from systemic and synergistic institutional barriers rather than as a result of isolated policy failures. Therefore, overcoming institutional barriers demands a reconfiguration of marine governance arrangements to enhance reflexivity, adaptability, and collaborative learning across governance scales and policy domains. By linking the emergence of institutional barriers to underlying institutional attributes, the paper contributes to the literature on institutional dynamics in marine governance and highlights the need for new marine governance arrangements that can deliver a coordinated and holistic approach to marine policy and support a just and equitable transition to a low-carbon society. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40152-026-00499-4.
The spatial organization of microorganisms plays a pivotal role in regulating microbial physiology, community behavior, and ecological interactions. However, reconstructing such three-dimensional (3D) microbial architecturesin vitroremains a major challenge because conventional culture systems rely on solid or gel-based matrices that restrict microbial motility and molecular diffusion. Here, we introduce 'floatony', a liquid-based strategy for the fabrication of spatially defined microbial colonies using liquid drawing technology. This approach enables the formation and retention of 3D microbial assemblies entirely within a liquid environment, without solidification or crosslinking. UsingE. colias a model organism, we examined how the rheological properties of the supporting liquid matrix influenced the stability of drawn structures of microbial assemblies. Although the optimal conditions depend on the molecular architecture of thickening agents, we identified an empirical design criterion-tanδ< 1.8-under which 3D structures of microbial assemblies were stably retained while maintaining low viscosity (∼10-1Pa·s) conducive to efficient molecular diffusion. Enzymatic activity assays confirmed thatE. colimaintained functional enzyme activity within the supporting liquid matrix, and that the diffusion of low-molecular-weight reaction products was preserved. Furthermore, complex two-dimensional and 3D structures of microbial assemblies were successfully fabricated and visualized in a liquid, including floating 3D structures, as confirmed by fluorescence imaging. This liquid drawing-based approach provides a new experimental framework for reconstructing and studying spatially organized microbial systems, offering opportunities for investigating microbial interactions and developing engineered living materials beyond conventional solid-supported platforms.
Floating knee injuries involving distal femoral articular fractures with concomitant segmental tibial fractures are uncommon but challenging high-energy injuries. Optimal outcomes depend on individualized fixation strategies, adequate exposure during the procedure, and preservation of soft-tissue biology. We reported a 52-year-old male sustained a road traffic accident resulting in an AO 33-C3 distal femur fracture with intra-articular extension and an ipsilateral AO 42-C2 segmental tibial fracture, classified as modified Fraser type IIb. A fragment-specific approach was undertaken. Tibial tuberosity osteotomy via the Swashbuckler approach provided improved visualization of the distal femur. Articular reduction was secured with an anteroposterior lag screw and a medial locking compression plate applied in bridging mode. The proximal tibial segments were stabilized with percutaneous lag screws, and the displaced distal shaft fragment was fixed using a limited contact dynamic compression plate through a minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis technique. The osteotomized tuberosity was reattached with a cannulated cancellous screw. Postoperative recovery was uneventful. Early non-weight-bearing mobilization began on postoperative day 2, with protected weight-bearing allowed by 2 months and full weight-bearing by 3 months. At 6 months, radiographs confirmed solid union without implant-related complications and the patient achieved near pain-free knee motion and independent ambulation. This case highlights the value of tailored fixation and selective tibial tuberosity osteotomy to achieve anatomic reduction and stable reconstruction in complex floating knee injuries. Coordinated rehabilitation further contributed to favourable functional and radiological outcomes.
Ecological floating beds (EFBs), plant-substrate floating treatment systems, have been widely implemented in aquatic ecological restoration, where microbes play crucial roles in nutrient cycling and material transformation. However, the ecology of viruses in EFBs remains poorly understood. Here, prokaryotic and metagenome-derived viral communities in a full-scale EFB were analyzed over 12 months utilizing 84 samples from biofilms, plant roots, and surrounding water. Viral communities, dominantly by Caudoviricetes (96.7%), exhibited temporal and habitat-dependent responses that contrasted with their prokaryotic hosts. Deterministic processes, primarily temperature and total organic carbon, shaped viral community composition and auxiliary metabolic gene (AMG) repertoires. Temperate viruses were enriched in biofilms and roots (8.91%-13.45%) compared to water (7.75%), indicating distinct interactions with attached prokaryotes and highlighting these niches as potential metabolic hotspots. Virus-host linkage analyses connected viruses to dominant prokaryotes and revealed abundant AMGs (n = 3703; 238 types), including genes implicated in carbon, phosphorus and sulfur transformations. Furthermore, prokaryotic C/N/P/S-cycling gene repertoires showed stronger coupling in attached habitats, whereas viruses carrying element-cycling AMGs were relatively more abundant in water. These findings provide a genome-resolved view of habitat-dependent viral community structure and auxiliary metabolic potential in EFBs, identifying attached habitats as important compartments for future validation of virus-host interactions and their possible links to restoration-related biogeochemical processes.
Vibration-damping tracks of an urban rail transit vibrate under train loads and are a source of acoustic sound radiation in urban rail transit. In addition, they exhibit their own vibration amplification phenomenon during service. To evaluate the acoustic properties of damping tracks, this study considered acoustic wave superposition (AWSM) and examined a steel-spring floating-slab track (SSFST). This study focused on floating-slab (FS) acoustic radiation prediction and proposed a fast prediction method for the acoustic radiation of a track structure with a more regular shape. The influence of the structural parameters of FS on its acoustic characteristics was analysed and suggestions regarding the application of acoustic vibration characteristics were provided. The steady-state frequency-domain acoustic radiation prediction method exhibited high solution efficiency compared with the acoustic boundary element method, and was combined with the vehicle-track coupled dynamics theory and AWSM. The proposed method can be used to predict the acoustic radiation characteristics of regular structures and quickly evaluate the acoustic radiation effects. In addition, the FS has a strong low-frequency acoustical sound radiation ability, rendering it an important low-frequency acoustical sound radiation source for urban rail transit. The length and thickness of the FS significantly affected its acoustic vibration characteristics; therefore, a longer FS can be considered for sections with higher requirements for low-frequency noise. In the standard range, selecting a thicker FS offers advantages in terms of the acoustic sound radiation and vibration characteristics.
Sampling and analysis of microplastics (MPs) were conducted along five transects in the Boka Kotorska Bay (southern Adriatic Sea) in October 2023. The transects were strategically selected to capture the influence of one of the most significant cruise ship ports in the Adriatic (the Port of Kotor), an area with substantial freshwater inflows, and the impact of open sea waters. Surface water samples were collected using a Manta trawl. The number and types of polymers were identified using optical microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. MPs were present in all samples. There was statistical significant difference in the distribution of plastic polymers between the transects (χ2 = 16.87, p < 0.05). Higher MP concentrations were observed near municipal wastewater outlets and in the vicinity of the port. Floating MP abundance ranged from 0.03291 to 0.25126 items/m2, with an average value of 0.116847 items/m2. The collected MPs were predominantly filaments and fragments, primarily composed of polyethylene and polypropylene. The data obtained in this study are crucial for evaluating the extent of MPs pollution and assessing the environmental risks posed by plastic particles. The results indicate substantial MPs contamination, ranging from 0.7 to 5.6 times above baseline values and between 38 to 210 times higher than the threshold levels recommended for the Mediterranean Sea.
As an important component of inland waters, shallow lakes are hotspots for CO2 emissions. Due to the influence of eutrophication and aquatic macrophyte, CO2 fluxes at the water-air interface of shallow lakes exhibit complex variability, posing challenges for high-accuracy simulation. To compare the performance of different machine learning models in simulating CO2 fluxes in shallow lakes, we focused on a floating-leaved vegetation zone in eastern Lake Taihu. Based on CO2 flux observations from an eddy covariance system, combined with meteorological, water quality, and vegetation variables, we developed four machine learning models, random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), and long short-term memory network (LSTM). Then, we evaluated the performance under three modeling scenarios, including growing season, non-growing season, and whole-season. Among the three modeling scenarios, the whole-season modeling approach achieved the best overall performance, with test-set metrics consistently outperforming those of the seasonal models. The RF model exhibited the highest accuracy and robustness under all the three scenarios. In the whole-season mode-ling scenario, the RF model achieved a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.72 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.57 μmol·m-2·s-1. For the growing-season model, the RF performance yielded an R2 of 0.64 and an RMSE of 0.88 μmol·m-2·s-1, while in the non-growing-season model, the R2 and RMSE were 0.61 and 0.43 μmol·m-2·s-1, respectively. The SVM and BPNN models showed comparable but inferior performance, whereas the LSTM model performed relatively poorly. Furthermore, we used recursive feature elimination (RFE) to identify the optimal combination of driving factors for the RF model under the whole-season scenario. The selected feature set included: surface water temperature (Tw_20), sediment temperature (Ts), dissolved oxygen (DO), air tempera-ture (Ta), incoming shortwave radiation (Rs_in), wind speed (WS), total nitrogen (TN), water pH, friction velocity (u*), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). This feature set further improved simulation accuracy (R2=0.76, RMSE=0.55 μmol·m-2·s-1) and effectively reduced model complexity. The SHAP analysis showed the significant influences of water temperature, radiation, dissolved oxygen, and vegetation index on CO2 fluxes. The results would provide a useful methodological reference for CO2 flux modeling and carbon cycle studies in shallow lakes. 浅水湖泊作为内陆水体的重要组成部分,是全球CO2排放研究的热点之一。受富营养化和水生植物生长影响,浅水湖泊水-气界面CO2通量变化复杂,其准确模拟仍面临挑战。为比较不同机器学习模型对浅水湖泊CO2通量的模拟能力,本研究以太湖东部浮叶植物区为研究区域,基于涡度相关观测获取的CO2通量实测数据,结合气象、水质和植被因子,构建了随机森林(RF)、支持向量机(SVM)、反向传播神经网络(BPNN)和长短期记忆网络(LSTM)4种模型,并在生长季、非生长季和全年3种建模情境下比较其拟合与预测性能。结果表明:3种建模情境下,全年建模的整体效果最佳,其测试集性能普遍优于分季建模结果。RF模型在3种建模情境下均表现最优,其在全年建模情境中测试集决定系数(R2)达0.72,模拟的CO2通量均方根误差(RMSE)为0.57 μmol·m-2·s-1;生长季建模R2=0.64,RMSE=0.88 μmol·m-2·s-1;非生长季建模R2=0.61,RMSE=0.43 μmol·m-2·s-1。SVM和BPNN模型次之,LSTM模型模拟效果欠佳。进一步通过递归特征剔除,确定了全年建模情境下RF模型的最优特征组合,即表层水温(Tw_20)、底泥温度(Ts)、溶解氧(DO)、气温(Ta)、入射短波辐射(Rs_in)、风速(WS)、总氮(TN)、pH、摩擦风速(u*)和归一化植被指数(NDVI)的组合,该组合在提升模拟准确性(R2=0.76,RMSE=0.55 μmol·m-2·s-1)的同时有效降低了模型复杂程度。SHAP分析进一步揭示了水温、光照、溶解氧和植被指数对CO2通量的显著影响,研究结果可为浅水湖泊CO2通量建模及相关碳循环研究提供借鉴方法。.
Heavy metal contamination in low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) wastewater significantly inhibits the performance of conventional ecological floating beds (EFBs). This study investigated a novel bioaugmentation strategy employing Burkholderia contaminans ZCC, in conjunction with varied nitrogen sources (NO3⁻-N, NH4⁺-N, and a combined NH4⁺/NO3⁻-N), to enhance EFB efficiency for treating multi-metal (Pb, Cr, Cu) wastewater. Results showed that B. contaminans ZCC significantly alleviated heavy metal-induced phytotoxicity in Iris pseudacorus and substantially enhanced the removal of nutrients and heavy metals, with Cu, Pb, Cr(VI), and Cr removal efficiencies increased by 13.0-42.9%, 6.0-28.7%, 4.1-14.9%, and 54.8-304.5%, respectively. Mechanistic investigations revealed that B. contaminans ZCC orchestrated metal-specific redistribution via active efflux, extracellular sequestration, and Cr(VI) reduction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that the strain enriched oxygen-containing functional groups and reduced reactive metal fractions by reducing Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and stabilizing Cu/Pb, thereby facilitating metal immobilization. Notably, mass balance analysis indicated distinct fate mechanisms: Cu was stabilized within the plant-sediment system, whereas Pb and Cr were predominantly phytoextracted, minimizing sediment retention risks. Furthermore, a combined nitrogen supply optimized the rhizosphere microenvironment, amplifying these remediation effects. Therefore, this study establishes an integrated bioaugmentation-nutrient management strategy that enhances the robustness and remediation capacity of EFBs, providing a scalable solution for treating complex, metal-laden low C/N wastewater.
In recent years, the incorporation of voids with different geometrical configurations has emerged as one of the most effective strategies for reducing concrete consumption in structural systems. This article is devoted to the numerical analysis and experimental study of lightweight concrete using polymer spheres of various diameters and properties as voids. Lightweight concrete specimens with polypropylene spheres of 10 mm, 12 mm, 15 mm, 19.05 mm, and 20 mm diameters were manufactured. The experimental specimens were subjected to compression tests, and the results were compared with the numerical model. A numerical model employing the Menetrey-Willam constitutive model was established using spheres with comparable diameters and various types of polymers: polypropylene, polyamide 66, and polyester. The thermal properties of polymer-composite lightweight concrete (PCLC) were determined for various wall thicknesses using different polymers. The results demonstrated a 1% to 2% lower thermal conductivity coefficient for PCLC with polypropylene compared to polyethylene. Verification of the compressive strength results by comparing the data with the experiment demonstrated good accuracy in predicting the strength and deformation properties. The calculated stress and strain field distributions enabled the identification of the cracking patterns and failure mechanisms of the specimens containing polymer spheres. It has been proven that smaller radius spheres manufactured from higher modulus polymer materials have better deformation resistance and provide good, consistent strength in lightweight polymer concrete. The observed strength reduction in PCLC regarding the control composition (Rb = 21.4 MPa) without spheres is within 11% for 10 mm (Rb = 19.1 MPa) and 12 mm spheres (18.2 MPa). For larger-diameter spheres, the strength reduction reaches 25% (Rb = 16 MPa).
Amidst growing awareness of One Health and environmental sustainability, contamination of soil and water by various pharmaceutical residues and their role in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) assume significance. In the current investigation, biochar, a promising green material (WH700-1 h) derived from the underexplored aquatic weed water hyacinth, was assessed for its adsorptive capabilities against a widely reported pharmaceutical, ciprofloxacin (CIP). Chemical activation using KOH (yielding KOH-WH700-1 h) and iron salts (yielding Fe-WH700-1 h) enhanced the surface properties of the raw biochar. Adsorption isotherm models revealed both monolayer and heterogeneous surface adsorption, with maximum adsorption capacities of 17.83, 138.50 and 155.04 mg g- 1 for WH700-1 h, Fe-WH700-1 h, and KOH-WH700-1 h, respectively. The iron leaching from the Fe-WH700-1 h biochar was negligible. Kinetic models indicated chemisorption mechanisms for all biochars following the Pseudo Second Order model (R² = 0.99). Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed high surface area (294.189 m2 g- 1), well-developed porosity, diverse functional groups, and heterogeneous surface morphology, all of which contribute to enhanced CIP adsorption. KOH-activated water-hyacinth derived biochar exhibited the highest adsorption capacity in this study, with a qmax of 155.04 mg g- 1. Utilizing water hyacinth-derived biochar as a low-cost, eco-friendly adsorbent for antibiotic removal bridges environmental health and AMR, supports a circular waste valorization approach, and contributes to safer water resources.
This study presents the development and field testing of a Pressurized Driving-Down Air Multilevel Sampler (PDA-MLS), an integrated groundwater sampling device designed for depth-discrete sampling in boreholes affected by floating non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs). Conventional sampling methods-such as low-flow pumps, bailers, and packer-isolated systems-often fail under these conditions due to limited accessibility, cross-contamination, or disturbance of the water column. The proposed system addresses these limitations through a controlled pressurized-gas actuation mechanism that transfers groundwater from multiple PTFE-membrane chambers installed at discrete depths. This configuration enables low-disturbance sampling below floating contaminant layers. The use of chemically inert materials (stainless steel and PTFE) minimizes sampling artifacts and ensures compatibility with volatile organic compound (VOC) analyses. A simplified hydraulic conceptual framework describing inflow, outflow, and pressure-driven displacement was developed to support purge-duration estimation and operational parameter definition. The device was tested in a 90 m deep fractured limestone aquifer contaminated by tetrachloroethylene (PCE), where floating hydrocarbons limited the applicability of conventional sampling techniques. Field testing showed stable discharge conditions (~145-160 mL/min), repeatable sampling cycles, and successful collection of depth-discrete groundwater samples under the investigated site conditions. No evidence of sampler-related hydrocarbon entrainment was observed in the collected samples within the analytical detection limits of the adopted laboratory methods. To the authors' knowledge, the PDA-MLS represents one of the few groundwater sampling systems specifically designed to combine low-disturbance multilevel sampling with operation in wells affected by floating NAPL. These features make it a promising tool for environmental monitoring, high-resolution characterization of fractured aquifers, and long-term assessment of contaminated sites.
Oceanographic models predict relatively high rates of floating litter arrivals on shores influenced by onshore currents compared to regions with extensive offshore transport, such as Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. However, the lack of large-scale observations along continental coasts has prevented tests of this prediction. Volunteer participants (here, schoolchildren) sampled marine litter on continental beaches along 12,000 km of the East Pacific coast from 30°N to 45°S to assess the presence of biofouling organisms on objects with positive buoyancy. The presence of sessile biota indicates that litter items spent sufficient time in the water for these organisms to colonize, while positive buoyancy is necessary for litter to be transported by marine currents. In agreement with the predictions from Lagrangian particle simulations, higher proportions of floating litter with biofouling arrived along Central American beaches influenced by the Equatorial Current System than on the shores within Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems. Our study highlights the considerable potential of participatory science to generate extensive, long-term, and reliable measures of floating litter and associated biota along coasts.
This study investigates bacterial-fungal interactions in the rhizosphere of floating macrophytes co-contaminated by microplastics (MP) and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and explores how MP composition influences root health and nutrient removal. Methodologically, we design a hydroponic experiment: eleven MP-composition schemes were constructed using polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene (CK sequence), and Eichhornia crassipes was cultivated under these exposures. The comparison sequences included treatments with PFOA and GenX (OA and GX sequences). High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS genes was performed to profile rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities. Root performance was evaluated using integrative indicators that reflect rhizosphere health and nutrient removal efficiency. The results showed that MP composition shifted bacterial and fungal phylum-compositions without altering the dominant taxa-Proteobacteria (21.77∼67.41%) and Bacteroidota (9.43∼39.60%) for bacteria and Rozellomycota (11.36∼82.81%) and Ascomycota (9.17∼48.38%) for fungi. MP diversity significantly influenced bacterial α-diversity in the OA sequence (k = 0.171∼0.472) and fungal α-diversity in the CK sequence (k = -0.458∼0.087). β-diversity analysis revealed distinct bacterial and fungal response patterns to MP variation across sequences. In the GX sequence, the bacterial assembly was predominantly shaped by homogeneous selection with 50.09% contribution. MP composition also modulated bacterial-fungal co-occurrence networks, with fungal participation notably weakened under PFAS exposure. Under PFOA co-contamination, MP type acted as a module hub in the microbial network. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) showed that MP composition primarily regulated root performance via hydrochemistry, with bacterial-fungal interactions significantly affecting root performance only in the presence of PFOA (PC=-0.194). This study enhances the understanding of microbial interactions in nutrient removal and root tolerance of floating macrophytes exposed to combined MP and PFAS pollution. It also provides an exploration on utilization of floating macrophyte-based remediation, identifying MP composition as a potential factor.
Accurate and reliable groundwater-level monitoring in deep observation wells remains difficult for conventional non-contact ultrasonic systems because narrow tubular geometries intensify multipath reflections, signal attenuation, and echo ambiguity. This study proposes a dual-signal direct time-of-flight (ToF) method that combines radiofrequency (RF) synchronization with one-way airborne ultrasonic propagation to a floating receiver located at the groundwater surface. In the proposed architecture, the RF signal provides a near-instantaneous time reference, whereas the ultrasonic signal defines the propagation delay, thereby eliminating dependence on echo-based ranging. The system integrates a wellhead surface unit for synchronized transmission and control, a floating unit for ToF acquisition and embedded processing, and an optional reference channel for in situ estimation of the effective sound speed. A duty-cycled power architecture is used to support low-power long-term deployment, while a multi-shot acquisition strategy with a median-like estimator improves robustness against startup transients, timing jitters, and false detections. Field validation was conducted over a 12-month period under actual groundwater-monitoring conditions, during which the groundwater depth varied between 14 m and 30 m below the wellhead datum. Within this field-validation interval, the proposed system achieved a mean absolute error of 0.048 m, a maximum absolute error of 0.050 m, and an overall valid detection rate of 99.4% over 358 valid cycles out of 360 scheduled cycles. In addition, a separate range-dependent confined-tubular propagation test was conducted to evaluate the extended detection capability of the RF-synchronized one-way ultrasonic ToF architecture. This test demonstrated stable acoustic-link ToF detection up to 300 m inside the tested 170 mm confined plastic pipeline. Therefore, the 300 m result should be interpreted as a range-dependent valid-detection result rather than as a 12-month groundwater-depth validation over the full 300 m interval. These results demonstrate that the proposed direct-ToF method provides an RF-synchronized one-way ultrasonic ToF framework with a floating receiver for groundwater-level monitoring in deep observation wells, while remaining compatible with low-power and IoT-based environmental monitoring systems.
The service state of the blast furnace (BF) hearth directly determines the furnace's lifespan, and its failure carries significant economic and safety risks. The safe service state of the BF hearth depends on three key parameters: the chemical dissolution rate of the carbonaceous lining, the growth thickness of the solidified iron protective layer (SIPL), and the stress state of the lining material under thermal-mechanical loads. Based on the actual hearth operating conditions, this study established a three-dimensional thermal-fluid-concentration-structure coupling simulation model for the locally eroded hearth. This model considers conjugate heat transfer, carbonaceous concentration transport, molten iron solidification, and thermal stress in refractory materials. It systematically analyzes the influence of the deadman state parameters (floating height, bottom diameter, angle of repose, and bottom shape) on the safety of the hearth lining. The results show that increasing the deadman floating height and controlling its bottom diameter and angle of repose at a low level can effectively promote the formation of the SIPL, homogenize thermal stress, and inhibit carbon dissolution, thereby significantly delaying the lining erosion process. Compared with the flat-bottom deadman, the spherical-bottom deadman offers advantages in thickening the SIPL, reducing thermal stress, and lowering carbon dissolution loss, thereby effectively extending the hearth lifespan. The research findings provide important theoretical basis and operational guidance for the long-life operation of BF hearths.
Capacitive electrocardiography (cECG) enables non-contact heart rate monitoring through clothing, but motion artifacts remain a critical limitation for practical applications. We present a novel motion artifact removal method using non-contact floating electrodes as noise references combined with multi-reference Normalized Least Mean Squares (NLMS) adaptive filtering. The floating electrodes, positioned without skin contact, couple primarily to ambient 50 Hz mains interference, which becomes amplitude-modulated during motion due to changes in electrode-body capacitance. Six reference signals are derived from this noise electrode: band-pass-filtered signal and its derivative (capturing baseline-type artifacts), envelope and its derivative (capturing amplitude modulation patterns), and envelope asymmetry and its derivative (capturing non-linear electrode response during motion). The NLMS algorithm adaptively combines these references to estimate and remove motion artifacts while preserving QRS morphology through low-pass filtering of the correction signal. A hysteresis-based motion detector with minimum duration constraints enables selective application of artifact removal only during motion periods, leaving rest-period ECG unmodified. We present this as a proof-of-concept validation of a novel reference-electrode architecture for motion artifact suppression in non-contact ECG. The method was validated on 7 subjects across 24 recording sessions using two electrode configurations in two environments with different electromagnetic interference levels. Controlled axial rotation motion was induced at three frequencies using a custom apparatus with IMU-based gamification for protocol adherence. Performance was evaluated using R-peak detection F1 score against gel surface-contact electrodes ground truth and RMS reduction in motion regions. Results demonstrate consistent improvement in R-peak detection accuracy during motion periods with substantial artifact energy reduction. The proposed method is designed to address motion artifacts regardless of their physical source, though the present validation focused on subject-induced motion.
The global ocean receives an estimated 15 teragrams of plastic annually, yet less than 0.2% of this mass is detected floating at the surface. This imbalance, known as the "missing plastic paradox," indicates the presence of diverse plastic sinks, environments and processes that accumulate and retain plastic debris temporarily or permanently. This paper integrates geomorphological, ecological, and anthropogenic perspectives to develop a comprehensive classification of plastic sinks in coastal and marine environments. Four functional categories are identified: functionally permanent sinks (e.g., deep-sea sediments, mangrove peat) where burial and diagenetic conditions promote long-term sequestration potential under current low-energy depositional regimes; semi-permanent sinks (e.g., coral reefs, backshores, driftwood accumulations) that retain plastics through structural or biophysical trapping; transient sinks (e.g., garbage patches, litter windrows, the water column, estuaries) that act as short-lived reservoirs where net positive plastic storage (ΔS > 0) is maintained over hours to months; and anthropogenic sinks (e.g., coastal landfills, port basins, dumps) that function as engineered or accidental retention systems. Two short-term but critical mechanisms are emphasized: litter windrows, submesoscale convergence lines that concentrate floating plastics prior to deposition or sinking, and plastic litter blooms, extreme-runoff events that deliver rapid pulses of debris from land to coastal systems. These mechanisms show that plastic retention operates across natural and human domains and spans timescales from hours to centuries, shaping the fate of plastics in the ocean.