Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays a central role in regulating cellular processes, including growth, proliferation, survival, and migration. ROCK exists as two isoforms, ROCK1 and ROCK2, which function as the principal downstream effectors of Rho GTPases. Activation of the RhoA-ROCK signaling pathway is induced by a variety of extracellular stimuli, including angiotensin II (Ang II), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), integrins, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). RhoA-ROCK pathway promotes the production of amyloid beta (Aβ) and increases the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been shown that Rho-kinase inhibitors are effective against AD neuropathology and other neurodegenerative diseases through modulation of synaptic activity and neuroinflammation. To date, no clinical trials have directly evaluated the efficacy and safety of ROCK inhibitors in patients with AD. This gap highlights the need to explore alternative therapeutic strategies within the RhoA-ROCK signaling axis. In particular, targeting upstream activators of this pathway such as angiotensin II (Ang II), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and integrin may represent a more conceivable approach to attenuate AD-related neuropathology. Modulation of these signaling inputs has the potential to suppress the aberrant RhoA-ROCK activation and its downstream pathological consequences. Accordingly, this review aims to elucidate the mechanistic role of the RhoA-ROCK pathway in AD, and to critically examine the therapeutic potential targeting its upstream activators as a therapeutic strategy for AD.
This study investigates the mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms of soft-hard interbedded tunnel under high in-situ stress, where interfacial joint planes reduce overall strength and induce anisotropy, leading to asymmetric large deformations during excavation that jeopardize construction safety and long-term operational stability. Focusing on the Jianshan Tunnel along the Zhonglan section of the Yinlan High-Speed Railway, we integrated field testing, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations to analyze the mechanical response of interbedded rock masses at varying dip angles under high stress. Key findings include:①Field stress measurements at 342.57 m depth revealed a maximum horizontal principal stress of 12.40 MPa, with principal stress relationships SH > SV> Sh;②Laboratory tests demonstrated that the mechanical properties of interbedded rock masses are governed by the soft layer at low dip angles, by the interfacial planes at medium angles, and by the hard layer at high angles, exhibiting distinct failure modes: tensile splitting, shear failure, and composite failure, respectively;③ Numerical simulations classified surrounding rock deformation into four zones based on horizontal displacement evolution: slow-development, rapid-development, stabilization, and attenuation zones, with peak asymmetric displacement occurring at medium dip angles where minor eccentric tension and major eccentric compression regions form in supporting structures. These results provide critical insights for deformation control technologies and analogous engineering projects.
This report compiles geochemical data from major salt formations and associated beds occurring in the subsurface (∼200-2000 m) of sedimentary basins within onshore Canada. Included are new project data (obtained since 2022), those published in research papers, and non-confidential data from national and provincial databases. Rock materials are primarily diamond-bit cores from wells drilled for oil and gas, salt mines, salt caverns, or potash exploration. Four data categories are reported: (1) lithogeochemistry data are whole-rock analytical results acquired predominantly with 4-acid digestion on ICP instrumentation; (2) brined cores - salt samples put into solution with deionised water and analysed with ICP instrumentation; (3) a small set of real industrial brines from salt/potash mines and salt cavern storage operations. The category (4) includes new semi-quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD) data made on whole rocks (3 clay-fraction samples also included), as well as insoluble residues from brined samples. The brined core data simulate the chemical composition of brines produced by industrial solution mining; they are reported in NaCl saturated notation. A large portion of lithogeochemistry data comes from non-salt beds associated with salt deposits: silty marls, carbonates ("red beds"), and anhydrites. The range of reported elements varies between datasets. New analyses were performed to assess trace elements from the "Critical Minerals" list (Li, Rb, … REE+Y), along with major elements that make up lithic impurities in salts. This compilation provides data support for ongoing Government of Canada research programs, analytical publications, and is intended for broader industry (solution mining, etc.) and public use.
In March of 2025 the UK's first Marine Citizen Science Week recruited Citizen Scientists from around the country to participate in a series of activities exploring the ecology and biodiversity of rocky shorelines at sites on the northeast and southwest coastlines of England. To investigate the 'unseen' microbial biodiversity the organisers instructed participants to collect microorganisms from seawater using sterile pressure driven filtration units; these were sent to a laboratory for DNA extraction and metabarcoding analysis. DNA was extracted from material collected on the filter membranes and used in PCR amplification to generate 16S rRNA gene amplicons (bacterial) and 18S rRNA gene amplicons (protozoal). Each amplicon was ligated with a unique barcode and compiled into sequencing libraries, which were sequenced using Oxford Nanopore Technologies' MinION platform. The data sets for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing reads have been uploaded as raw fastq files to the publicly accessible NCBI Sequencing Read Archive. The data sets provide an overview of the bacterial and eukaryotic microbial communities present in seawater collected from two geographically distinct rocky shore environments.
Reservoir rock erosion critically impacts subsurface energy harvesting processes, particularly under long-time water flooding. Extended fluid exposure weakens rock matrices, inducing grain detachment and mobilization. This erosional process fundamentally modifies pore-scale geometry and enhances porosity, permeability, and reshapes preferential flow pathways. However, the multiscale relationship between microscale erosion dynamics and continuum-scale effective properties (e.g., porosity, absolute/relative permeability) remains poorly understood, hindered by the scale disparity between sub-micron mobilized particles and macroscale reservoir models. Current methods struggle to reconcile this crucial gap, as conventional continuum-scale descriptors inadequately capture sub-resolution particle transport and its cascading impact on flow properties. To address this, we present a multiscale investigation using the Micro-Continuum Method (MCM) to resolve the interplay between pore-scale erosion mechanisms and reservoir-scale multiphase flow behavior in heterogeneous porous media. Through systematic numerical experiments, we quantify how three critical factors-(1) erosion directionality, (2) inherent media heterogeneity, and (3) erosional boundary conditions-govern the evolution of pore geometry and resultant effective properties. Our results demonstrate that erosion-driven pore restructuring significantly alters hydraulic properties, with preferential grain removal creating localized high-permeability channels that dominate flow regimes. The MCM framework successfully bridges scales, capturing coupled processes of particle mobilization, transport, and multiphase flow feedbacks. These insights advance predictive modeling of formation damage and fluid recovery in energy systems, offering a robust tool to optimize subsurface operations in erosion-prone reservoirs.
The mosquito-associated virome may modulate host biology and influence vector competence, highlighting the importance of understanding its composition. Here, a metagenomic analysis was conducted to characterize the virome of the sea-rock pool mosquito Aedes mariae across sexes and developmental stages, together with water from its sea-rock pool breeding site in San Felice Circeo (Italy). A total of 51 viral taxa were identified, including viruses associated with bacteria and archaea (39%), plants, algae, fungi, and protists (35%), vertebrates (8%), and invertebrates (18%), including insect-specific viruses such as Mesoniviridae, Baculoviridae, Nudiviridae, Iridoviridae and Totiviridae. Twenty-five percent of the taxa were shared across samples, suggesting acquisition from breeding-site water and persistence across stages during development. Interestingly, the need for host genome filtering highlights the potential sequence similarity between viral and mosquito genomes, which may reflect the presence of endogenous viral elements or historical virus-host interactions. These findings represent the first characterization of the virome of Aedes mariae and highlight the role of aquatic breeding sites in shaping mosquito virome. Finally, we argue the importance of adequate sequencing depth and host genome filtering to capture the diversity of the mosquito virome.
Rock-concrete composites are critical load-bearing elements in geotechnical engineering applications such as slope support. Their mechanical response and damage evolution after fatigue disturbances, such as blasting and mechanical operations, govern the long-term stability and safety of engineered structures. To fully capture these complex behaviors, this study presents a novel multi-scale approach by integrating uniaxial compression tests with three-dimensional digital image correlation and discrete element modeling. This combined experimental-numerical framework is employed to systematically examine the macro- and meso-scale mechanical behavior, crack evolution, and energy response of composites with varying interface angles after quasi-static cyclic loading. The results reveal that as the interface angle increases, the peak strength declines markedly while the brittleness index increases, reflecting a distinct transition in the failure mode from plastic-dissipation-dominated to elastic-energy-storage-dominated. Consequently, the dominant failure mechanism shifts from tensile to shear-slip control. Furthermore, fatigue disturbances exacerbate material degradation, inducing a composite "interface shear-end tension" failure in specimens with higher interface angles and significantly raising the proportion of shear cracks. Energy analysis indicates that cyclic loading enhances the elastic energy storage capacity, and the energy conversion threshold rises continuously with the interface angle. These findings clarify the multi-scale control mechanisms of interface geometry on fatigue-induced failure, providing a theoretical foundation for predicting fatigue life and enabling early pre-warning of failures in rock-concrete engineering structures.
The concrete-rock interface plays a critical role in governing stability of concrete gravity dams. Existing design practices rely on mapped joint roughness coefficient (JRC) values that neglect both excavation-induced damage and displacement-dependent degradation resulting in unconservative overestimation of interface shear capacity. This study integrates 56 in-situ direct shear tests on Class I and II behavior rocks with displacement-dependent numerical modeling. Effective JRC values back-calculated from in-situ direct shear tests using the Barton-Bandis criterion revealed reductions of 40% (Class II) and 22% (Class I) relative to mapped JRC values that is attributed to excavation-induced damage. A two-stage model capturing hyperbolic pre-peak JRC mobilization and exponential post-peak degradation is presented and validated against in-situ measurements (R2 = 0.92 and 0.89 respectively). The validated interface is implemented for a 140 m concrete gravity dam using 20 recorded seismic acceleration time histories representative of the regional seismic hazard. Under 1.0g peak ground acceleration interface shear stress reached 5.32 MPa with 968 mm permanent displacement. Seismic fragility analysis indicated a median peak ground acceleration of 0.213g for serious damage at 50% exceedance probability. The results indicate that conventional approaches are less conservative. The presented field-validated approach provides a reasonable method for performance-based seismic risk assessment of concrete gravity dams in tectonically active regions. Further work incorporating cyclic shear testing, CNS boundary conditions, three-dimensional modeling and long-term bond degradation effects is recommended to enhance the reliability of the presented framework.
Previous efforts to link Palaeolithic cultural records to specific populations through DNA analysis have focused on materials from archaeological floor deposits such as bones, sediments, and artefacts. In this study, we explore whether rock art, a spatially distinct expression of human activity, can also preserve DNA traces from its creators. We analyse DNA preservation in pigment samples collected in and around 24 rock art panels from 11 caves across Spain and Portugal, including simple marks (from nine sites), hand stencils (Maltravieso Cave, Extremadura, Spain), and figurative paintings (Cave of Altamira, Cantabria, Spain). We recover traces of ancient human mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, unaccompanied by faunal DNA, from a pigmented calcite crust at Escoural Cave (Portugal), as well as from an unpigmented cave wall sample from the same site. The absence of faunal DNA in both samples suggests direct DNA deposition through human contact. In contrast, three additional unpigmented samples, from Escoural and Covarón Cave (Asturias, Spain), yielded mixtures of human and faunal DNA, suggesting indirect deposition. Although our results do not conclusively link ancient human DNA preservation to the generation of cave art, we show that traces of human DNA can persist on cave walls for thousands of years.
Using solid wastes to fabricate sustainable backfill materials for mining engineering is crucial for environmental sustainability worldwide. In this study, the use of coal gangue aggregates as a sustainable alternative to natural aggregates in geopolymer gel backfill materials was explored, which contributes to green mining development. Through uniaxial compression tests, the effects of fine gangue content, mass concentration, and the binder content of geopolymer backfill materials on the compressive behavior of coal gangue geopolymer gel backfill-rock combinations (CGBRC) were systematically evaluated. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and acoustic emission (AE) techniques were employed to reveal the strain field evolution and damage progression of CGBRC. Results show that as the content of fine coal gangue increases, the compressive strength first increases and then decreases. Compared with the compressive strength at a 20% content, the compressive strength at a 40% content increased by 33.2%, while the elastic modulus increased by 11.2%. Meanwhile, with the increase in mass concentration and binder content, the compressive strength and elastic modulus of coal gangue geopolymer filling materials show an increasing trend, reaching peak values at 86% mass concentration and 32% binder content, respectively. The strain concentration zones mainly form near the backfill interface, with propagation paths governed by backfill strength. Damage evolution undergoes three stages including rapid accumulation during compaction, gradual development in the elastic-plastic stage, and abrupt acceleration at failure. The interfacial debonding behavior is primarily influenced by the strength difference between the backfill and surrounding rock. Specimen failure is dominated by brittle shear fracture, categorized into three modes based on crack paths relative to the backfill, which include penetrating backfill failure, axisymmetric interface failure, and centrally symmetric interface failure. These findings offer theoretical and technical support for coal gangue resource utilization and green mining practices, advancing sustainable solid waste management.
Asian Americans experience significant health disparities yet remain politically underrepresented. Political participation-a social determinant of health-may be a mechanism for communities to advocate for health resources and policies. This study examines contextual factors influencing political participation in segregated Asian American neighborhoods, with attention to health equity implications. We conducted 11 virtual focus groups with 42 Southeast Asian American residents (Filipino, Vietnamese, Hmong, Cambodian) in three California regions. Using participatory community mapping and qualitative analysis, we explored political participation patterns, contextual promoters and barriers, and connections to community health. Participants identified both structural, spatial, and social factors affecting political participation with implications for health equity. Structural promoters included community health organizations, which explicitly linked civic engagement to health advocacy, and faith-based organizations providing trusted spaces for political education. Barriers included lack of centralized Asian American spaces and language-inaccessible venues. Social factors included generational differences in political engagement, with older immigrants expressing fear of participation rooted in trauma; and cultural pressure to "not rock the boat," limiting health advocacy. Political participation inequities in Asian American communities represent a critical but overlooked determinant of health disparities. Low engagement leads to policy neglect and inadequate health resource allocation. Community health organizations provide promising intervention points. Results inform place-based strategies to promote political participation as a health equity approach, particularly urgent given anti-Asian violence and pandemic impacts on these communities.
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The karst region of Southwest China is characterized by extensive bedrock exposure and limited soil cover, forming a dual structure of soil and water. Such unique geological background makes epikarst water a critical water source for plants, while bedrock lithology is the key factor driving the development and water storage capacity of epikarst zone. Under the combined impacts of extreme climate events and frequent karstic drought, the sustainability of vegetation restoration faces severe challenges. It is crucial to clarify the influences of lithology-regulated water supply on plant adaptation strategies. We summarized research progress in the regulation of karst bedrock lithology on plant water source, transport, and utilization strategies. Lithology determines the water storage capacity of bedrock. Limestone features well-developed fractures and fissures that could store abundant water sources, while dolomite' dense structure hinders bedrock fissure development, resulting in weaker water storage capacity. Rock moisture serves as a crucial water source for karst plants. Dominant species in limestone habitats typically possess deep root systems that capable of accessing karst aquifer water. Their hydraulic regulation tends to be "anisohydric strategy", wherein plants maintain stomatal opening under drought stress to gain carbon benefits. Dolomite hillslopes are dominated by shallow-rooted herbaceous plants and shrubs relying primarily on recent precipitation or shallow soil water sources. Their water utilization exhibits a "short water age" pattern, where water remains for a short duration during storage and transport in the root zone. Karst plants cope with drought stress through water-conserving strategies, including switching water source depth, separating hydrological niches, and enhancing water use efficiency. Compared to plants on limestone-derived landscapes, shallow-rooted deciduous shrubs growing on dolomite-developed hillslopes face heavier drought mortality risks. Future research should quantitatively characterize the coupling processes and feedback mechanisms among lithology, water availability, and plant adaptation. This could provide scientific basis for assessing vegetation dynamics and achieving high-quality vegetation restoration in ecologically fragile karst ecosystem. 西南喀斯特地区石多土少,水土二元结构发育,特殊地质背景下表层岩溶带水分成为植物水分重要来源,而基岩岩性是驱动表层岩溶带发育与蓄水能力的关键。在极端气候事件和岩溶干旱影响下,植被恢复的可持续性面临巨大挑战,亟需阐释岩性调控的水分供给对植物适应策略的影响。本文梳理了喀斯特基岩岩性介导植物水分获取、传输与利用策略的研究进展。岩性决定了基岩供水能力,石灰岩裂隙广泛发育,赋存水源;白云岩结构致密,基岩裂隙较难发育,蓄水能力弱。岩石裂隙水是喀斯特植物重要的水分来源,石灰岩生境优势植物多为深根系且能利用深层裂隙水,水力调节倾向“异水策略”,即干旱胁迫下仍倾向维持气孔开放以获取碳收益;白云岩坡地以灌草分布为主,根系相对较浅,主要依赖近期降水或浅薄土壤水,呈现“短水龄”特征,即水分在植物根区储存与传输过程中的滞留时间较短。喀斯特植物通过水源深度切换、水文生态位分离和提高水分利用效率等节流保水策略应对干旱;与石灰岩地上植物相比,生长在白云岩坡地的浅根系落叶植物面临更大的干旱致死风险。未来研究需定量刻画基岩-水分-植物耦合过程与互馈机理,为喀斯特生态脆弱区植被动态评估和高质量恢复提供科学依据。.
Shear-zone-hosted gold systems are widespread in the southern Arabian Shield, yet the geometric and genetic links between deformation architecture, hydrothermal alteration, and ore-forming fluids remain insufficiently constrained at the scale of individual structural corridors. This study integrates PRISMA, ASTER, and Sentinel-2 remote sensing data with structural analysis, petrography, whole-rock geochemistry, fire assay, and C-O stable isotope data to develop a deformation-controlled mineralization model for the Wadi Al Awja district, Asir terrane. Selective PCA and MNF transformations of PRISMA data delineate narrow and laterally continuous carbonate-silicification alteration belts aligned with N-S to NNE-SSW high-strain zones, providing markedly improved resolution over multispectral datasets. The mapped alteration belts spatially coincide with fold-closure domains and a central shear corridor defined by dense foliation trajectories and reactivated ductile-brittle structures. Fire assay data demonstrate that gold enrichment (locally reaching several ppm Au) is confined to ductilely deformed quartz-carbonate and carbonate-silicified zones within these high-strain domains, whereas weakly altered and late stage brittle silicified rocks are consistently barren. Petrographic observations of ribbon quartz, boudinaged quartz-carbonate veins, and mylonitic fabrics corroborate syn-deformational fluid flow and structurally focused permeability enhancement, emphasizing the primacy of progressive deformation in localizing mineralization. Carbonate δ13C values (- 6.7‰ to + 4.2‰ VPDB) are compatible with CO2-rich fluids of dominantly metamorphic affinity at estimated temperatures of ~ 250-300 °C, consistent with the quartz-carbonate-chlorite ± sulfide assemblage. The wide δ18O range (- 18.6‰ to + 2.1‰ VPDB) records variable fluid-rock interaction and progressive isotopic re-equilibration during episodic fluid infiltration along long-lived Neoproterozoic shear zones. The integrated structural, spectral, geochemical, and isotopic constraints support an epigenetic, shear-zone-hosted gold model in which brittle-ductile reactivation generated transient permeability, focused CO2-rich fluids, and incremental gold deposition. The integrated structural, spectral, geochemical, and isotopic constraints support an epigenetic, shear-zone-hosted gold model in which brittle-ductile reactivation generated transient permeability, focused CO2-rich fluids, and incremental gold deposition. The results demonstrate that carbonate-silicification alteration is a reliable exploration proxy particularly when confined to high-strain structural corridors.
Using a Raman spectrometer onboard the Perseverance rover, we report the heterogeneous distribution of organic carbon within mudstones located in an ancient river valley on Mars. Measurements of two mudstones show hundreds of organic detections, making this the most robust organic detection in Jezero crater thus far, and, to our knowledge, the only detection of macromolecular carbon on a natural rock surface on Mars. Spectra of the interior of one rock reveal an association of organics with secondary carbonate and sulfate minerals, whereas another rock exhibits an association of organics with primary silicate-dominated matrix. Although in situ Raman analyses cannot determine whether these organics denote abiotic or biotic sources, the organic association with both depositional and diagenetic minerals and the detection of organics on the martian surface suggests that the organics observed ubiquitously at the Bright Angel outcrop may be resistant to radiation and oxidation or have been relatively recently exposed.
Passivation is a feasible approach for remediating heavy metal-contaminated soil. However, how passivation stability depends on material type, dosage, and plant cultivar remains unclear. Phosphate rock powder (PR) and bentonite (BN) were applied for passivation at three dosages, and the passivation activity was evaluated on high- and low-Cd-accumulating wheat cultivars. Phosphate rock powder (PR) and BN decreased the available Cd content in the soil by 11.52-26.65% and 11.08-35.00%, and in the wheat grains by 7.28-49.94% and 14.14-57.61%, respectively. PR3 and BN3 enhanced wheat yield by 12.77-21.31% and 12.23-18.67%, respectively. The passivation activity of both materials increased with increasing dosage. The optimal ranges for effective, stable Cd passivation were 0.29-0.61 and 3.85-8.46 t ha-1 for PR and BN, respectively. Path analysis revealed that PR acts mainly through increases in soil available phosphorus and associated changes in Cd fractions, whereas BN acts primarily through the soil cation exchange capacity; grain Cd was chiefly associated with reactive Cd fractions. The different Cd accumulation capacities of wheat cultivars affected the passivation effects of PR and BN. The soil of Jimai22 showed significantly lower EXC-Cd and Carb-Cd and significantly higher FeMnOz-Cd than Zhoumai18. Moreover, soil pH was higher for Jimai22 than for Zhoumai18. These results suggest that combining the selection of suitable passivation materials, optimising the dosage and planting low-Cd-accumulating cultivars is an effective strategy for maintaining Cd passivation in weakly alkaline soils.
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are essential for maximizing oil extraction from mature reservoirs. Given the ongoing reliance on crude oil, it is essential to advance enhanced oil recovery techniques to boost reservoir production and extend their lifespan. Among the chemical EOR methods, chemical flooding is a well-established technique that can theoretically be utilized across various reservoir conditions. In this paper three novel bis (ethanethioyl) oxalamide derivatives synthesized via an eco-friendly green chemistry route using ethanol solvent at ambient temperature as chemical flooding agents. Their molecular efficacy was rationalized by quantum chemical (DFT) calculations and FTIR spectroscopy, which linked optimal interfacial activity to specific structural features. They were tested as an agent in reducing the interfacial tension (IFT) between the injected water and crude oil and also, in altering the wettability of reservoir rock. The results indicated the efficiency of the new compound (bis N) in reducing the IFT from 27 to 5 mN/m also altering the rock's affinity for water than oil. Finally, this agent was used in chemical flooding experiments on real core plugs under reservoir conditions in terms of (temperature, pressure, and crude oil). From flooding experiments, these calculations indicate positive economics for enhanced oil recovery through this new compound where it can withstand severe reservoir conditions and achieve a recovery factor of 22.82%Sor, 29.75%Sor and 34.12%Sor in the case of 1 g/l, 1.5 g/l and 2 g/l concentrations respectively, from the remaining oil.
Brittle geomaterials such as coal and rock are prone to unstable failure under high stress and dynamic disturbances, where rapid release of stored elastic strain energy can trigger dynamic disasters. Polyurea, a high-strength and high-ductility elastomer, can form a continuous flexible coating on the surface of coal/rock to regulate their deformation-fracture behavior. Here, uniaxial compression tests were performed on coal specimens coated with polyurea layers of different thicknesses (0-1.25 mm). Acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC) were jointly employed to characterize macroscopic deformation, microcrack evolution, fracture-mode transition, and energy partitioning. The results show that polyurea provides passive lateral confinement that suppresses lateral expansion and shifts macroscopic failure from brittle splitting to progressive ductile damage. AE-based AF-RA analysis indicates that thicker coatings increase the normal stress and shear resistance along potential fracture planes, promoting a microfracture transition from shear-dominated to tension-dominated cracking. Energy analysis demonstrates that the coating enhances pre-peak energy dissipation via coordinated deformation with the coal, while thicker coatings (≥1.00 mm) exhibit pronounced post-peak elastic tensile deformation to absorb and buffer fracture-released energy, impeding the instantaneous energy release typical of bare coal. Moreover, the elastic energy index shows that polyurea markedly reduces impact tendency, with an appropriate thickness stabilizing specimens from strong to weak/non-impact propensity. These findings clarify the coupled confinement-fracture-energy regulation mechanisms of polyurea coatings and provide quantitative guidance for coating-thickness design to mitigate dynamic failure hazards in brittle materials.
Aquaculture intensification demands strategies that enhance productivity without compromising animal welfare. Auditory enrichment has emerged as a novel environmental intervention; however, the role of acoustic complexity in modulating physiological stress, behavior, and growth remains insufficiently explored. This study evaluated the effects of distinct musical genres on welfare and production performance in Oreochromis niloticus. A total of 75 juvenile O. niloticus were randomly assigned to five groups: Classical, Rock, Pop, Electronic (EDM), and Control (no music). Fish were exposed to 70 dB acoustic stimuli for 4 h daily over 30 days. Behavioral responses were assessed using ethograms and the Novel Tank Test, while stress was quantified non-invasively through waterborne cortisol analysis. Growth performance was evaluated using final weight, relative growth rate, specific growth rate, and survival. Statistical analysis was conducted using one-way analysis of variance with significance set at p < 0.05. Acoustic treatments significantly influenced stress physiology, behavior, and growth. High-tempo genres (Rock and Electronic) induced chronic stress, reflected by elevated cortisol levels (up to 0.90 ng g-1 h-1), increased aggression and erratic swimming, reduced specific growth rate (1.2% day-1), and lower survival (67%). In contrast, Classical and Pop music promoted welfare, with reduced anxiety-like behaviors and stabilized cortisol profiles. The Pop group exhibited the highest growth performance, achieving superior final weight (13.67 ± 1.15 g), relative growth rate (142 ± 23%), and 100% survival. Behavioral observations suggested a unique "attentive immobility" state in the Pop group, potentially minimizing energy expenditure and enhancing metabolic allocation toward growth. Acoustic complexity is a critical and manageable environmental factor influencing welfare and productivity in O. niloticus. While high-intensity sound acts as a stressor, structured auditory stimuli, particularly Pop and Classical music, function as effective enrichment tools. These findings support the integration of optimized auditory protocols as a low-cost, non-invasive strategy for sustainable aquaculture intensification.
To address wellbore instability and the technical challenges associated with high-density water-based drilling fluid loss control in deep shale gas formations of the Sichuan-Chongqing region in China, a novel nano-micro sealant designated CLG-Seal was synthesized via molecular structural optimization. The molecular structure of newly developed CLG-Seal exhibits distinct core-shell structural characteristics. The inorganic nano-silica constitutes the rigid core of CLG-Seal, which guarantees its plugging performance. The hydrophobically associating polymer which is coated on the surface of nano-silica constructs the flexible shell of CLG-Seal, endowing the CLG-Seal with excellent gel-forming capacity, adhesion film-forming capacity, deformability and perfect dispersibility. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to characterize the morphology of the CLG-Seal nanomicron-scale plugging agent. The sealing performance and underlying mechanisms of CLG-Seal were subsequently evaluated via particle plugging apparatus tests, displacement experiments, and etched glass micromodel simulations. Field trials conducted in the third section of Well WY3-2-3HF validated the application effectiveness of this agent in drilling fluid systems. The results indicate that the nano-micro sealant CLG-Seal exhibits a median particle size of D50 is 146 nm, which can be modulated by adjusting the synthesis conditions. The nano-micro sealant CLG-Seal significantly mitigates fluid loss in low-permeability microfractures and fissures. Notably, a concentration of merely 3% is sufficient to achieve optimal nano-micro plugging performance. The results of the mechanism study indicate that while the CLG-Seal particles are close to each other, the polymer chains with flexible long chain structure which are coated on the surface of nano-silica constructs tend to be intertwined, forming a cross-linked network structure of gel film, thereby increasing the interaction between nano-micron particles and forming an impermeable plugging film. In addition, due to the nanoscale effect, the CLG-Seal has a strong tendency to adsorb onto the surface of shale rock through hydrogen bonding with the shale matrix. The hydrophobically associating polymer with high elastic modulus and excellent mechanical properties can enhance the pressure-bearing capacity of the filter cake through elastic deformation. Therefore, these nano-micron particles can form a strong sealing film on the filter cake and at the micropores of shale rock, thereby creating a dense mud cake on the outside of the shale formation. Field trial results demonstrate that the incorporation of the nano-micro sealant CLG-Seal into the drilling fluid for the third section of Well WY3-2-3HF reduced the PPA fluid loss to 4.6 mL. This value represents a substantial reduction compared to adjacent wells and signifies a remarkable improvement over the drilling fluids previously employed in the Longmaxi Formation of this block. Furthermore, the treated drilling fluid exhibited a superior filtration control pressure capacity of 10.5 MPa. The operation was completed successfully without any lost circulation or wellbore instability, and achieved a drilling footage of 42 h with an average penetration rate of 7.81 m/h. The mud weight was reduced by approximately 0.08-0.10 g/cm3 compared to offset wells. These results confirm the excellent application efficiency of the newly developed CLG-Seal in field operations.