Tracing the historical development of soil salinization and monitoring its current status are crucial for understanding the driving forces behind it, proposing strategies to improve soil quality, and predicting future trends. To comprehensively understand the evolution of research on the remote sensing inversion of soil salinity, a scientific bibliometric analysis was conducted on research from the past two decades indexed in the core scientific databases. This article analyzes the field from various perspectives, including the number of publications, authors, research institutions and countries, research fields, study areas, and keywords, in order to reveal the current state-of-the-art and cutting-edge research in this domain. Special attention was given to topics such as machine learning, data assimilation methods, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing technology, soil inversion under vegetation cover, salt ion inversion, and remote sensing model construction methods. The results indicate an overall increase in the volume of publications, with key authors such as Metternicht, Gi and Zhao, Gengxing, and major research institutions including the International Institute for Geoinformatics Science and Earth Observation and the Chinese Academy of Sciences making significant contributions. Notably, China and the USA have made substantial contributions to this field, with research areas extending from Inner Mongolia’s Hetao irrigation district to the Mediterranean region. Research in the remote sensing domain focuses on various methods, including hyperspectral imaging for salinized soil inversion, with an increasing emphasis on machine learning. This study enriches researchers’ knowledge of the current trends and future directions of remote sensing inversion of soil salinization. Full article

In this paper, we prove the stability of the Brunn–Minkowski inequality for multiple convex bodies in terms of the concept of relative asymmetry. Using these stability results and the relationship of the compact support of functions, we establish the stability of the Borell–Brascamp–Lieb inequality for multiple power concave functions via relative asymmetry. Full article

This paper proposes a new framework to reduce the variance and uncertainty in the risk assessment process. Today, this process is susceptible to background noise from sources of human factor biases and erroneous measurements. Our new framework consists of deconstructing the likelihood of failure function into its sub-factor and then reconstructing it in a formula that can reduce the variance and biases of a human auditor judgment. We tested our new framework on both a questionnaire study and a simulation of the risk assessment process, and the improvement in reducing the variance is significant. Full article

(1) Background: This study evaluates the effectiveness of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LF-rTMS) in improving gait in post-stroke hemiplegic patients, using wearable sensor technology for objective gait analysis. (2) Methods: A total of 72 stroke patients were randomized into control, sham stimulation, and LF-rTMS groups, with all receiving standard medical treatment. The LF-rTMS group underwent stimulation on the unaffected hemisphere for 6 weeks. Key metrics including the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Lower Extremity (FMA-LE), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Modified Barthel Index (MBI), and gait parameters were measured before and after treatment. (3) Results: The LF-rTMS group showed significant improvements in the FMA-LE, BBS, MBI, and various gait parameters compared to the control and sham groups (p < 0.05). Specifically, the FMA-LE scores improved by an average of 5 points (from 15 ± 3 to 20 ± 2), the BBS scores increased by 8 points (from 35 ± 5 to 43 ± 4), the MBI scores rose by 10 points (from 50 ± 8 to 60 ± 7), and notable enhancements in gait parameters were observed: the gait cycle time was reduced from 2.05 ± 0.51 s to 1.02 ± 0.11 s, the stride length increased from 0.56 ± 0.04 m to 0.97 ± 0.08 m, and the walking speed improved from 35.95 ± 7.14 cm/s to 75.03 ± 11.36 cm/s (all p < 0.001). No adverse events were reported. The control and sham groups exhibited improvements but were not as significant. (4) Conclusions: LF-rTMS on the unaffected hemisphere significantly enhances lower-limb function, balance, and daily living activities in subacute stroke patients, with the gait parameters showing a notable improvement. Wearable sensor technology proves effective in providing detailed, objective gait analysis, offering valuable insights for clinical applications in stroke rehabilitation. Full article

The rapid development of additive manufacturing (AM) has facilitated the creation of bionic lightweight, energy-absorbing structures, enabling the implementation of more sophisticated internal structural designs. For protective structures, the utilization of artificially controlled deformation patterns can effectively reduce uncertainties arising from random structural damage and enhance deformation stability. This paper proposed a bionic corrugated lightweight honeycomb structure with controllable deformation. The force on the onset state of deformation of the overall structure was investigated, and the possibility of controlled deformation in the homogeneous structure was compared with that in the corrugated structure. The corrugated structures exhibited a second load-bearing capacity wave peak, with the load-bearing capacity reaching 60.7% to 117.29% of the first load-bearing peak. The damage morphology of the corrugated structure still maintained relative integrity. In terms of energy absorption capacity, the corrugated lightweight structure has a much stronger energy absorption capacity than the homogeneous structure due to the second peak of the load carrying capacity. The findings of this study suggested that the combination of geometric customization and longitudinal corrugation through additive manufacturing offers a promising approach for the development of high-performance energy-absorbing structures. Full article

The traditional aviary decontamination process involves farmers applying pesticides to the aviary’s ground. These agricultural defenses are easily dispersed in the air, making the farmers susceptible to chronic diseases related to recurrent exposure. Industry 5.0 raises new pillars of research and innovation in transitioning to more sustainable, human-centric, and resilient companies. Based on these concepts, this paper presents a new aviary decontamination process that uses IoT and a robotic platform coupled with ozonizer (O${}_3$) and ultraviolet light (UVL). These clean technologies can successfully decontaminate poultry farms against pathogenic microorganisms, insects, and mites. Also, they can degrade toxic compounds used to control living organisms. This new decontamination process uses physicochemical information from the poultry litter through sensors installed in the environment, which allows accurate and safe disinfection. Different experimental tests were conducted to construct the system. First, tests related to measuring soil moisture, temperature, and pH were carried out, establishing the range of use and the confidence interval of the measurements. The robot’s navigation uses a back-and-forth motion that parallels the aviary’s longest side because it reduces the number of turns, reducing energy consumption. This task becomes more accessible because of the aviaries’ standardized geometry. Furthermore, the prototype was tested in a real aviary to confirm the innovation, safety, and effectiveness of the proposal. Tests have shown that the UV + ozone combination is sufficient to disinfect this environment. Full article

The increase in responsibilities, together with the multiple challenges that students face in the university period, has a direct impact on their healthy lifestyles. This literature review describes the benefits of promoting healthy habits in college, highlighting the fundamental role of prevention and promotion. A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA recommendations, searching for information in the WOS and Scopus databases. On the other hand, a search was carried out within the existing and available grey literature. The review focused on finding information about physical activity, nutrition, and stress (with an emphasis on resilience and academic burnout) in university students. This bibliographic review includes 32 articles and six web pages, containing information on the benefits of physical activity, healthy habits, and health prevention. The information collected in this study shows that university students are exposed to multiple changes during this period, increasing as the academic years progress. At that time, their habits worsen, with low adherence to the Mediterranean diet, low physical activity, and high levels of stress, specifically increasing cases of academic burnout. The establishment of healthy habits during the university period is necessary, observing an improvement in all the variables studied. Prevention has played a fundamental role. Full article

Assessments of changes in the ecological state of aquatic ecosystems are always burdened with uncertainty, which results from environmental reasons and poor repeatability of measurement results of elements enabling the assessment. This study determines the uncertainty related to the elements of the assessment of the hydroacoustic structure of fish communities’ (1) vertical target strength distribution (TS) in two-meter layers of water and (2) changes in the area where fish were recorded (which was determined on the basis of maps of their distribution in 2 m deep water layers). The object of this study was a lake (depth: 27 m) in which at the end of June 2016 the O₂ concentration was <1.4 mg L⁻¹ below 8 m depth, which resulted in the accumulation of fish to a depth of 6 m. Hydroacoustic acquisition was carried out along transects arranged in the east–west (WE), north–south (NS), and zigzag (ZZ) directions in three repetitions. It was shown that the empirical probability of obtaining statistically different results was 2/9 when (1) Kendall’s τ coefficient, used to determine the similarity of the TS distribution, was less than 0.7—moderate correlation—and (2) fish occurrence areas in two cases (WE and ZZ on the third day of research) in layers 2–4 m and 4–6 m differed statistically significantly from the average area for all repetitions by 10–14% and 56–66% (p < 0.05), respectively. The obtained results indicate quite good repeatability of acoustic measurements; however, in order to reduce the uncertainty, it is recommended that tests be conducted in this type of lake in three series of measurements. Full article

Based on the actual situation of the project on the Weihai–Yanhai Expressway section of Rongwu Expressway, the effects of water content change and the dry–wet cycle on the mechanical behavior of unsaturated clayey sandy soil were analyzed in this study. In this study, ventilated undrained triaxial shear tests were carried out on unsaturated clayey sandy soils with different water contents (6%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 14% and 16%). Concurrently, the soil samples were subjected to three distinct wet and dry cycle pathways (2~22%, 2~12%, and 12~22%) to gain an understanding of how the mechanical features of the soil changed under the different conditions. The test findings demonstrate that when the water content increases, the unsaturated clayey sandy soil’s cohesiveness and shear strength diminish. The strength of shear decline exhibits a pattern of first being quick, followed by sluggish. The strength of shear and cohesiveness of clayey sandy soil declined under the influence of the dry and wet cycles, with the first cycle primarily affecting variations in cohesiveness and strength of shear. Furthermore, the strength of shear and cohesiveness of clayey sandy soil diminish more with increasing wet and dry cycle amplitude and upper water content limits. Lastly, the drying shrinkage and hygroscopic expansion of clay particles in clayey sandy soils during wet and dry cycles are not significant, resulting in less structural damage and deterioration of the mechanical properties of the soils. The study’s findings have a significant impact on the durability of roadbeds made of unsaturated clayey sandy soil in both wet and dry situations. Full article

Plankton studies serve as a basis for marine ecosystem research, but knowledge of marine plankton is still incomplete due to its extreme taxonomic and functional complexity. The application of metabarcoding is very valuable for the characterisation of the plankton community. The plankton community of the Southern Adriatic is subject to strong environmental fluctuations and changes, which underlines the need for frequent, reliable and comprehensive characterisation of the plankton. The aim of this study was to determine the taxonomic composition and seasonal distribution of eukaryotic plankton in the Southern Adriatic. Plankton samples were collected monthly for one year at the coastal station of the Southern Adriatic and metabarcoding was used for taxonomic identification. The results showed a high taxonomic diversity and dynamic seasonal distribution patterns for both the protist and metazoan plankton communities. Metabarcoding revealed both the core, year-round plankton community and previously unrecorded plankton organisms in the Southern Adriatic. The results provide for the first time a comprehensive overview of the plankton community in this area by metabarcoding. The identified seasonal patterns of plankton genera and species in the Southern Adriatic will contribute to the understanding of plankton interactions and future changes in community diversity characterisation. Full article

Pathological cleavage of type II collagen (Col2) and generation of Col2 neoepitopes can serve as useful molecular markers of the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). One of such potential biomarkers is type II collagen neoepitope C2C. The aim of this study was to correlate the degree of articular cartilage damage in OA patients with C2C expression in histological samples of tissues removed during total knee replacement. Cartilage samples were obtained from 27 patients ranging in age from 55 to 66 years. In each patient, medial and lateral tibia plateau samples were analyzed according to the OARSI histopathology grading system. The C2C expression was evaluated on histological slides by semi-quantitative analysis using ImageJ Fiji 2.14.0 software. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis revealed a positive weak correlation (rho = 0.289, p = 0.0356) between the histological grade of tissue damage and the percentage of C2C staining. In addition, a highly significant positive correlation (rho = 0.388, p = 0.0041) was discovered between the osteoarthritis score (combining the histological grade of damage with the OA macroscopic stage) and the percentage of C2C staining in the samples. The C2C expression was detected in all the regions of the articular cartilage (i.e., the superficial zone, mid zone, deep zone and tidemark area, and the zone of calcified cartilage). Our findings imply that local expression of C2C correlates with the articular cartilage damage in OA-affected knees. This confirms that C2C can be used as a prospective marker for assessing pathological changes in the OA course and OA clinical trials. Full article

All-solid-state Li-ion batteries (ASSBs) promise higher safety and energy density than conventional liquid electrolyte-based Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Silicon (Si) is considered one of the most promising anode materials due to its high specific capacity (3590 mAh g⁻¹) but suffers from poor cycling performance because of large volumetric effects leading to particle pulverization, unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), and electric disconnection. In ASSBs, additional issues such as poor solid–solid contacts and interfacial side reactions between Si and solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) are also hindering their practical application. This review first outlines the prospects and recent research achievements of Si-based anodes with special focuses on various Si structures and composite materials, then analyzes the issues of electrochemical–mechanical effects, and finally summarizes key factors and promising strategies for further improving Si-based anodes for high-performance ASSBs. Full article

To investigate the bioactivities of fresh garlic and its processed product, black garlic, we conducted comparative analyses of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, innate immune activation, and anti-cancer activities in addition to the chemical composition (sugar, amino acid, and polyphenol contents) of these materials. Simultaneous assay using neutrophil-like cells showed that fresh garlic exhibited antioxidant and innate immunostimulatory activities, whereas black garlic displayed a potent anti-inflammatory effect. The antioxidant activity index was correlated with phenol and flavonoid contents, while the innate immunostimulatory activity was correlated with fructan content. Furthermore, some black garlics with low fructose content were found to inhibit the proliferation of UM-UC-3 cancer cells, while other black garlics rich in fructose increased UM-UC-3 cell proliferation. It was shown that the processing of fresh garlic could change the composition of sugars, antioxidants, and amino acids, which have different effects on neutrophil-like cells and UM-UC-3 cells, as well as on bioactivities. Full article

Recent advancements in high dynamic range (HDR) display technology have significantly enhanced the contrast ratios and peak brightness of modern displays. In the coming years, it is expected that HDR televisions capable of delivering significantly higher brightness and, therefore, contrast levels than today’s models will become increasingly accessible and affordable to consumers. While HDR technology has gained prominence over the past few years, low dynamic range (LDR) content is still consumed due to a substantial volume of historical multimedia content being recorded and preserved in LDR. Although the amount of HDR content will continue to increase as HDR becomes more prevalent, a large portion of multimedia content currently remains in LDR. In addition, it is worth noting that although the HDR standard supports multimedia content with luminance levels up to 10,000 cd/m² (a standard measure of brightness), most HDR content is typically limited to a maximum brightness of around 1000 cd/m². This limitation aligns with the current capabilities of consumer HDR TVs but is a factor approximately five times brighter than current LDR TVs. To accurately present LDR content on a HDR display, it is processed through a dynamic range expansion process known as inverse tone mapping (iTM). This LDR to HDR conversion faces many challenges, including the inducement of noise artifacts, false contours, loss of details, desaturated colors, and temporal inconsistencies. This paper introduces complete inverse tone mapping, artifact suppression, and a highlight enhancement pipeline for video sequences designed to address these challenges. Our LDR-to-HDR technique is capable of adapting to the peak brightness of different displays, creating HDR video sequences with a peak luminance of up to 6000 cd/m². Furthermore, this paper presents the results of comprehensive objective and subjective experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed pipeline, focusing on two primary aspects: real-time operation capability and the quality of the HDR video output. Our findings indicate that our pipeline enables real-time processing of Full HD (FHD) video (1920 × 1080 pixels), even on hardware that has not been optimized for this task. Furthermore, we found that when applied to existing HDR content, typically capped at a brightness of 1000 cd/m², our pipeline notably enhances its perceived quality when displayed on a screen that can reach higher peak luminances. Full article

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a diverse cereal crop, exhibits remarkable versatility in its applications, ranging from food and fodder to industrial uses. The content of cellulose in barley is significantly influenced by the COBRA genes, which encode the plant glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein (GAP) that plays a pivotal role in the deposition of cellulose within the cell wall. The COBL (COBRA-Like) gene family has been discovered across numerous species, yet the specific members of this family in barley remain undetermined. In this study, we discovered 13 COBL genes within the barley genome using bioinformatics methods, subcellular localization, and protein structure analysis, finding that most of the barley COBL proteins have a signal peptide structure and are localized on the plasma membrane. Simultaneously, we constructed a phylogenetic tree and undertook a comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary relationships. Other characteristics of HvCOBL family members, including intraspecific collinearity, gene structure, conserved motifs, and cis-acting elements, were thoroughly characterized in detail. The assessment of HvCOBL gene expression in barley under various hormone treatments was conducted through qRT-PCR analysis, revealing jasmonic acid (JA) as the predominant hormonal regulator of HvCOBL gene expression. In summary, this study comprehensively identified and analyzed the barley COBL gene family, aiming to provide basic information for exploring the members of the HvCOBL gene family and to propose directions for further research. Full article

In this study, ¹H-NMR spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics was applied to study the wine metabolome and to classify wines according to different grape varieties and different terroirs. By obtaining the metabolomic fingerprinting and profiling of the wines, it was possible to assess the metabolic biomarkers leading the classification (i.e., phenolic compounds, aroma compounds, amino acids, and organic acids). Moreover, information about the influence of the soil in shaping wine metabolome was obtained. For instance, the relationship between the soil texture and the content of amino acids and organic acids in wines was highlighted. The analysis conducted in this study allowed extraction of relevant spectral information not only from the most populated and concentrated spectral areas (e.g., aliphatic and carbinolic areas), but also from crowded spectral areas held by lowly concentrated compounds (i.e., polyphenols). This may be due to a successful combination between the parameters used for data reduction, preprocessing and elaboration. The metabolomic fingerprinting also allowed exploration of the H-bonds network inside the wines, which affects both gustatory and olfactory perceptions, by modulating the way how solutes interact with the human sensory receptors. These findings may have important implications in the context of food traceability and quality control, providing information about the chemical composition and biomolecular markers from a holistic point of view. Full article

The Capitol Hill riots on 6 January 2021 were an event of great importance not only because of their political and legal impact, but also because they allowed everyone to observe the symbols, images, masks, and other signs that were displayed in front of the cameras of many journalists and eyewitnesses. The iconography displayed on that occasion should not be dealt with as an extemporary invention but considered the result of a process of semantic and narrative accumulation produced in online and offline interactions. This article seeks to outline a theoretical–methodological framework of contemporary conspiracy images as multimodal forms of communication. Starting with images collected on Capitol Hill along with a corpus of online conversations that occurred on platforms such as Gab, in particular, between 2016 and 2021, examples of the dynamics of constitution of conspiracy images and their genealogy will be provided. Full article

Human vision is remarkably good at recovering the latent hierarchical structure of dynamic scenes. Here, we explore how visual attention operates with this hierarchical motion representation. The way in which attention responds to surface physical features has been extensively explored. However, we know little about how the distribution of attention can be distorted by the latent hierarchical structure. To explore this topic, we conducted two experiments to investigate the relationship between minimal graph distance (MGD), one key factor in hierarchical representation, and attentional distribution. In Experiment 1, we constructed three hierarchical structures consisting of two moving objects with different MGDs. In Experiment 2, we generated three moving objects from one hierarchy to eliminate the influence of different structures. Attention was probed by the classic congruent–incongruent cueing paradigm. Our results show that the cueing effect is significantly smaller when the MGD between two objects is shorter, which suggests that attention is not evenly distributed across multiple moving objects but distorted by their latent hierarchical structure. As neither the latent structure nor the graph distance was part of the explicit task, our results also imply that both the construction of hierarchical representation and the attention to that representation are spontaneous and automatic. Full article

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a debilitating condition that poses a significant public health concern. Historically linked to motor vehicle accidents, the epidemiology of TBI has evolved. Falls now emerge as the predominant cause, particularly among older adults. Sport-related TBIs have also garnered increased attention due to concerns regarding long-term neurological sequelae. To date, therapeutic interventions remain limited and have yet to yield substantial clinical benefits. Cell-based therapies offer promising avenues for neural repair and regeneration: endogenous stem cell therapies capitalize on endogenous pools that can be triggered by the injury and further enhanced by therapeutic approaches. In contrast, exogenous cell therapies provide an exogenous source of cells. However, challenges such as age-related decline in neurogenesis, age-related inflammation, and the heterogeneity of TBI present significant hurdles to overcome. Moreover, translating stem cell research from the laboratory to clinical applications necessitates the adherence to good manufacturing practice standards, which presents distinct obstacles. Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, including careful patient selection in clinical trials, appropriate experimental models, and the optimization of therapeutic techniques. Ultimately, a combination of strategies is likely to yield the most promising outcomes in the pursuit of effective TBI therapies. Full article

Military service members (MSVMs) suffer from mental and physical health ailments upon returning home from enlistment. Due to the enormity of these different and complex ailments, many unique therapeutic methods, like therapeutic gardens, have been utilized on MSVM populations to improve their overall wellbeing. Therapeutic gardens are built following a set of guidelines meant to serve general populations instead of target populations. There has been little research on the preferences of landscape design elements in therapeutic gardens by MSVMs. To determine if landscape design elements can be optimized for therapeutic gardens that serve MSVMs, a series of questions with pictures pertaining to preferences were created in an online survey that was released to civilians on social media and MSVMs through U.S. military organizations (N = 366, 90.6% completed). The average respondents were male, Caucasian, and 25–35 years old. The majority of MSVM respondents were or had enlisted in the Army branch, and were currently active duty, or honorably discharged. MSVMs and civilians had overall similar preferences of utilities and garden elements. While commonalities were found among the two respondent groups, with a preference for clear walkways, lighting wild and natural views, there were differences. In contrast to civilians, MSVMs also overwhelmingly preferred fences and gates, and the creation of privacy and prospect views instead of refuge views. Results indicate that an increased line-of-sight in fenced-in areas may make MSVMs more comfortable in therapeutic garden settings. These differences may assist urban planners and landscapers in the building of green spaces tailored to target populations like MSVMs and to illustrate the importance of building inclusive spaces for populations of concern. Full article

Over-the-counter hearing aids (OTC HAs) have the potential to help adults with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss across the US, especially in rural communities, where access to hearing healthcare is extremely limited or non-existent. The purpose of this study was to describe an OTC HA clinical trial being conducted in five rural counties of Alabama and to provide preliminary anecdotal data related to the use and care of these hearing aids by the participants. In brief, for this clinical trial, adults with hearing loss were randomly placed in one of three groups where they received varying levels of support for setting, using, and maintaining their OTC HAs. Listening tests and surveys were administered to assess the extent to which they benefitted from the hearing aids as related to word understanding, communication with others in natural settings, and hearing aid use and care. Currently, anecdotal findings suggested that, although some participants required very little support to successfully use their hearing aids, others had difficulty setting and caring for their devices and could have benefitted from individualized guidance. Future quantitative studies will assess the extent of support needed for successful hearing aid benefit and use. Potentially, collaborations among pharmacy and audiology professionals could lead to increased access to hearing healthcare by supporting the use and purchase of OTC HAs in rural pharmacy settings. Full article