Search Results (1,277)

Burned area (BA) mapping and fire severity assessment are essential for understanding fire occurrence patterns, formulating post-fire restoration strategies and evaluating vegetation recovery processes. However, existing BA datasets are primarily derived from coarse-resolution satellite imagery and often lack sufficient consideration of fire severity. To address these limitations, this study utilized dense time-series Landsat imagery available on the Google Earth Engine, applying the qualityMosaic method to generate annual composites of minimum normalized burn ratio values. These composites imagery enabled the rapid identification of fire sample points, which were subsequently used to train a random forest classifier for estimating per-pixel burn probability. Pixels with a burned probability greater than 0.9 were selected as the core of the BA, and used as candidate seeds for region growing to further expand the core and extract complete BA. This two-stage extraction method effectively balances omission and commission errors. To avoid the repeated detection of unrecovered BA, this study developed distinct correction rules based on the differing post-fire recovery characteristics of forests and grasslands. The extracted BA were further categorized into four fire severity levels using the delta normalized burn ratio. In addition, we conducted a quantitative validation of the BA mapping accuracy based on Sentinel-2 data between 2015 and 2023. The results indicated that the BA mapping achieved an overall accuracy of 93.90%, with a Dice coefficient of 82.04%, and omission and commission error rates of 26.32% and 5.25%, respectively. The BA dataset generated in this study exhibited good spatiotemporal consistency with existing products, including MCD64A1, FireCCI51, and GABAM. The BA fluctuated significantly between 1985 and 2010, with the highest value recorded in 1987 (13,315 km²). The overall trend of BA showed a decline, with annual burned areas remaining below 2000 km² after 2010 and reaching a minimum of 92.8 km² in 2020. There was no significant temporal variation across different fire severity levels. The area of high-severity burns showed a positive correlation with the annual total BA. High-severity fire-prone zones were primarily concentrated in the northeastern, southeastern, and western parts of the study area, predominantly within grasslands and forest–grassland ecotone regions. Full article

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether combined administration of olive leaf extract (OLE) with standard antifungal therapy—nystatin (NYS) or miconazole (MIC) could be a more efficient alternative in reducing the number of Candida colonies, the presence of oral signs and symptoms and changes in salivary IL-17A level compared to standard therapy alone. The study included 59 subjects with a positive microbiological Candida colony number greater than 600 CFU/mL and at least one oral sign or symptom present. Subjects were randomly divided into four groups depending on applied therapy: OLE + NYS group (n = 15), OLE + MIC group (n = 15), NYS group (n = 14), MIC group (n = 15). Therapy duration and clinical monitoring were standardized across all groups. There was no significant difference between the tested groups in Candida spp. colony number or salivary IL-17A levels. In the OLE + NYS group, a significant increase in salivation rate was observed, while a significant decrease in tongue burning was reported in the OLE + MIC group. A significant reduction in burning of the oral mucosa and tongue was observed in the MIC group. No significant differences were found in other clinical signs or symptoms among treatment groups. OLE, as an adjunct to standard antifungal therapy, did not significantly reduce Candida spp. colony number or salivary IL-17A levels. However, in combination with NYS it increased salivation rate, while in combination with miconazole, it significantly decreased tongue burning. Both symptoms are common clinical findings in oral Candida-related disease and suggest that OLE may have supportive potential in the clinical management of these conditions. Further research is needed to explore its potential therapeutic benefits on oral health. Full article

Background: Burn injuries are among the most distressing injuries, affecting approximately 250,000 people annually in the UK. While extensive research has explored how gender, health, and socioeconomic factors influence burn injury rates, ethnic disparities in burns have received less attention. Methods: The review followed the PRISMA framework for database searches. Search terms included concepts of ethnicity and burn injuries in the UK. Results: From the initial 3339 search results, 11 studies were selected following the eligibility screening. White ethnic groups made up 52.4% of admissions, whereas Asians and Black groups made up 24.9% and 5.9%, respectively. Trends showed a decline in admissions among White patients and a rise in admissions among Black patients. Children aged 1 to 5 years were most affected, particularly in the Asian and Black groups. Males constituted 58.0% of admissions, while females accounted for 42.0%. Most burns occurred at home, with scalds, particularly among children. Ethnic minorities were more likely to apply unsuitable topical treatments and had higher rates of psychological referrals. Conclusions: The review underscores important ethnic disparities in burn injuries and outcomes. Targeting policies to address them could result in a more equitable healthcare system and improved outcomes for burn patients in the UK. Full article

Aluminum powder has the advantages of high calorific value, high density and convenient source, and is a commonly used metal fuel in the explosives and propellants industry. Nanometer aluminum powder (nAl) has higher reactivity and higher reaction completeness than micron aluminum powder (μAl), which can improve the energy performance of mixed explosives and the burning rate of propellant. However, nAl has some disadvantages, such as easy oxidation and deterioration of the preparation process, which seriously affect its application efficiency. In order to improve these shortcomings, suitable surface coating treatment is needed. The effects of surface coating on the characteristics of nAl and on the energy and safety of explosives are summarized in this paper. The results show that surface coating of nAl can not only improve the compatibility between nAl and energetic materials, reduce the hygroscopicity of energetic composites, mitigate the easy oxidation of nAl, and protect the preparation process, but also improve the energy performance of explosives and the burning rate of propellant, increase the reaction characteristics of energetic mixtures, and reduce the mechanical sensitivity of those mixtures. In addition, the surface coating modification of nAl can obviously reduce the agglomeration of condensed-phase combustion products, thus reducing the loss of propulsion efficiency caused by agglomeration. This study is expected to provide reference for the surface coating of nAl and its application in explosives. Full article

Sensory heritage encompasses culturally valued practices, rituals, and everyday activities experienced through the senses. While sight often dominates, hearing and smelling are generally more immersive and pervasive. Soundscape research is a well-established field within urban studies; however, smellscape remains insufficiently recognised. This study is part of Multimodal Hong Kong, a project aimed at documenting sensory cultural heritage across the city by capturing the complex interplay between soundscape, smellscape, urban experiences, everyday activities, and memory. We investigated the multisensory environment at Wong Tai Sin Temple through acoustic measurements and perceptual ratings of soundscape and smellscape across 197 locations within and around the site. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with visitors (N = 54, 15,015 words of transcript), which were analysed using content analysis and natural language processing. The results indicate that elevated noise levels mainly arise from human voices and pipe music within the temple compound, as well as traffic noise in the surrounding area. The smell of incense dominates near the temple altars, whereas natural, grassy odours prevail in the adjacent park. Interview responses confirm that incense burning constitutes a traditional religious practice forming a distinctive olfactory marker for Chinese temples, but it is also perceived as having adverse health implications. This study contributes to the growing body of sensory heritage research, underscoring the importance of both soundscape and smellscape in fostering culturally inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable urban environments. Full article

Background/Objectives: Burn injuries are a major public health concern. This study estimated global, regional, and national burn burdens by total body surface area from 1990 to 2021 and projected trends to 2050. Methods: Utilizing data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, we examined the prevalence, mortality, and years lived with disability (YLDs) according to age, sex, and region. Future trends were predicted using Bayesian meta-regression models and Das Gupta decomposition analysis. Results: In 2021, global prevalence was 12.99 million for severe burns and 235.34 million for mild burns, with age-standardized rates of 158.75 and 2815.26 per 100,000. Severe burns were highest in Southern Latin America (7836.51 per 100,000) and mild burns in the Caribbean (626.94 per 100,000). The largest declines from 1990 to 2021 were in high-income North America for severe burns (−38.22%) and East Asia for mild burns (−73.03%). Females had higher severe burn prevalence at younger and older ages, while males had higher mild burn prevalence from early adulthood. Leading risk factors were fire, heat, and hot substances (38.22% of severe burn YLDs; 53.87% for mild burns). By 2050, severe burns are projected to rise by 233.4% and mild burns by 142.5%, with Eastern Europe showing the largest growth. Conclusions: Although age-standardized burn rates are declining, absolute cases are projected to rise due to population growth and aging, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, underscoring the need for stronger prevention and improved burn care infrastructure. Full article

Forests play a vital role in the global carbon cycle; however, the carbon sink capacity of African forests is increasingly threatened by wildfires, rising temperatures, and ecological degradation. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal dynamics of forest carbon fluxes across Africa from 2001 to 2023, based on multi-source remote sensing and climate datasets. The results show that wildfires have significantly disrupted Africa’s carbon balance over the past two decades. From 2001 to 2023, fire activity was most intense in the woodland–savanna transition zones of Central and Southern Africa. In countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Mozambique, and Zambia, each recorded burned areas exceeding 500,000 km², along with high recurrence rates (e.g., up to 0.7584 fires per year in South Sudan). These fire-affected regions often exhibited high ecological sensitivity and carbon density, which led to pronounced disturbances in carbon fluxes. Nevertheless, the Democratic Republic of the Congo maintained an average annual net carbon sink of 74.2 MtC, indicating a high potential for ecological recovery. In contrast, Liberia and Eswatini exhibited net carbon emissions in fire-affected areas, suggesting weaker ecosystem resilience. These findings underscore the urgent need to incorporate wildfire disturbances into forest carbon management and climate mitigation strategies. In addition, climate variables such as temperature and soil moisture also influence carbon fluxes, although their effects display substantial spatial heterogeneity. On average, a 1 °C increase in temperature leads to an additional 0.347 (±1.243) Mt CO₂ in emissions, while a 1% increase in soil moisture enhances CO₂ removal by 1.417 (±8.789) Mt. However, compared to wildfires, the impacts of these climate drivers are slower and more spatially variable. Full article

Background/Objectives: Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) is a chronic orofacial pain disorder characterized by persistent intraoral burning sensations without visible mucosal lesions. Although its biopsychosocial complexity is increasingly recognized, cross-cultural comparison data remain limited. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed 60 patients with BMS (30 Italian, 30 Romanian) who underwent standardized clinical, psychological, and sleep evaluations. Data collected included sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, diagnostic history, comorbidities, and symptomatology. The assessment tools used included the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Short Form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Statistical comparisons were conducted using Mann–Whitney U and Fisher’s exact tests with Bonferroni correction. Results: No significant differences were observed in age, sex, or body mass index. Italian patients had fewer years of education (p = 0.001), higher pain intensity (NRS, p < 0.001), poorer sleep quality (PSQI, ESS, p = 0.001), and more frequent pre-existing sleep disorders (p < 0.001). Romanian patients showed higher levels of anxiety (HAM-A, p < 0.001), longer diagnostic delays (p = 0.002), and more dysesthetic or perceptual symptoms, including tingling and oral dysmorphism (p < 0.05). Stressful events before onset were more common among Romanians (p < 0.001), while Italians more often received a correct diagnosis at first consultation (p = 0.005). Conclusions: This first cross-national comparison of BMS in Western and Eastern Europe shows that cultural, healthcare, and clinician education differences can shape symptom profiles, comorbidities, and diagnostic delays, underscoring the need for personalized, country-specific management strategies. Full article

In the Mediterranean basin, wildfires burn an average of 600,000 ha per year, causing severe ecological, economic, and social impacts. Fire behavior modeling is essential for wildfire prevention and control. Three-dimensional physics-based fire behavior models, such as Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), can represent heterogeneous fuels and simulate fire behavior processes with greater detail than conventional models. However, they require accurate information about species composition and 3D distribution of fuel mass and bulk density at the voxel level. Working in a Mediterranean ecosystem study area we developed a methodology based on the use of geometric and spectral features from UAS-based digital aerial photogrammetric point clouds for (i) species segmentation and classification using machine learning algorithms, (ii) generation of biomass prediction models at individual plant level, and (iii) creation of 3D fuel scenarios and modeling wildfire behavior. Field measurements were conducted on 22 circular plots with a radius of 5 m. Data from the field measurements, combined with species-specific allometric equations, were used for the evaluation of classification and prediction models. Fire behavior variables such as rate of spread, heat release rate, and mass loss rate were monitored and assessed as outputs from 20 different scenarios using FDS. The overall species classification accuracy was 80.3%, and the biomass regression R² values obtained by cross-validation were 0.77 for Pinus halepensis and 0.83 for Anthyllis cytisoides. These results are encouraging further improvement based on the integration of sensors onboard UAS, and the characterization of fuels for fire behavior modeling. These high-resolution fuel representations can be coupled with standard risk assessment tools, enabling fire managers to prioritize treatment areas and plan for resource deployment. Full article

The utilization of ammonia as a fuel for gas turbines involves practical challenges due to its low reactivity, narrow flammability limits, and slow laminar flame propagation. One of the potential solutions to enhance the combustion reactivity of ammonia is co-firing with syngas. This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the laminar burning velocity (LBV) of ammonia/syngas/air mixtures under elevated pressures (up to 10 bar) and temperatures (up to 473 K). Experiments were conducted in a constant-volume combustion chamber with a total volume of 11 L equipped with a dual-electrode capacitive discharge ignition system. A systematic sensitivity analysis was conducted to experimentally evaluate the system performance under various syngas compositions and equivalence ratios from 0.7 to 1.6 and ultimately identify the factors with the most impact on the system. As a complement to the experiments, a detailed numerical simulation was carried out integrating available kinetic mechanisms—chemical reaction sets and their rates—to support advancements in the understanding and optimization of ammonia/syngas co-firing dynamics. The sensitivity analysis results reveal that LBV is significantly enhanced by increasing the hydrogen content (>50%). Furthermore, the LBV of the gas mixture is found to increase with the use of a rich flame, higher mole fractions of syngas, and higher initial temperatures. The results indicate that higher pressure reduces LBV by 40% but at the same time enhances the adiabatic flame temperature (by 100 K) due to an equilibrium shift. The analysis was also extended to quantify the impact of syngas mole fractions and elevated initial temperatures. The kinetics of the reactions are analyzed through the reaction pathways, and the results reveal how the preferred pathways vary under lean and rich flame conditions. These findings provide valid quantitative design data for optimizing the combustion kinetics of ammonia/syngas blends, offering valuable design data for ammonia-based combustion systems in industrial gas turbines and power generation applications, reducing NOₓ emissions by up to 30%, and guiding future research directions toward kinetic models and emission control strategies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Despite overlapping inflammatory responses and frequent culture-negative results in severe burn patients, early and accurate sepsis diagnosis remains challenging. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of seven candidate biomarkers and their clinical utility, particularly in culture-negative cases. Methods: We conducted a prospective diagnostic accuracy study (January 2021–December 2022; N = 221) in the burn intensive care unit, applying a two-step feature selection to 41 candidate variables. Seven top biomarkers—presepsin, procalcitonin (PCT), albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), prothrombin time (PT), hematocrit (Hct), and D-dimer—were measured at the moment of clinical sepsis suspicion, concurrently with blood cultures and prior to empirical antibiotic administration, within ±2 h of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA). Diagnostic performance was evaluated using a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the area under the curve (AUC), Youden index-derived cut-offs, decision curve analysis, and Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI). Results: Presepsin achieved the highest overall AUC (0.810; 95% CI, 0.742–0.878) and outperformed other markers in culture-negative cases (AUC, 0.846 vs. 0.604; p = 0.015). In the decision curve analysis, presepsin and PCT maintained the largest net benefits at high thresholds, although PT, D-dimer, and Hct also retained smaller positive benefits. Patients were stratified into high- vs. low-risk groups for survival analysis using Youden index cut-offs; Cox regression confirmed PCT (Hazard Ratio 3.78; p < 0.001) and PT (HR 2.12; p = 0.018) as a significant mortality predictor, with presepsin showing borderline significance (HR 3.14; p = 0.055). Conclusions: The high rate of culture-negative sepsis reflects early antibiotic use suppressing culture yield rather than resistance patterns alone. Presepsin’s rapid rise and preserved accuracy under pre-sampling antibiotics suggest its value for early sepsis detection and antimicrobial stewardship. Future work will incorporate polymicrobial and multidrug-resistant bloodstream infection profiles to refine biomarker utility. Full article

Chickpea is a highly weed-prone crop with limited herbicide options and high labor demands, raising the following question: Can fall-planted legume–cereal cover crops (CCs) improve soil properties while reducing herbicide use and manual weeding pressure? To explore this, we evaluated the effect of fall-planted winter rye (WR) alone in 2021 and mixed with hairy vetch (HV) in 2022 and 2023 at Randolph farm in Petersburg, Virginia. The objectives were two-fold: (a) to examine the effect of CCs on soil properties using monthly growth dynamics and biomass harvested from fifteen 0.25 m²-quadrants and (b) to evaluate the efficiency of five termination methods: (1) green manure (GM); (2) GM plus pre-emergence herbicide (GMH); (3) burn (BOH); (4) crimp mulch (CRM); and (5) mow-mulch (MW) in suppressing weeds in chickpea fields. Weed distribution, particularly nutsedge, was patchy and dominant on the eastern side. Growth dynamics followed an exponential growth rate in fall 2022 (R² ≥ 0.994, p < 0.0002) and a three-parameter sigmoidal curve in 2023 (R² ≥ 0.972, p < 0.0047). Biomass averaged 55.8 and 96.9 t/ha for 2022 and 2023, respectively. GMH consistently outperformed GM in weed suppression, though GM was not significantly different from no-till systems by the season’s end. Kabuli-type chickpeas under GMH had significantly higher yields than desi types. Pooled data fitted well to a three-parametric logistic curve, predicting half-time to 50% weed coverage at 35 (MM), 38 (CRM), 40 (BOH), 46 (GM), and 53 (GMH) days. Relapses of CCs were consistent in no-till systems, especially BOH and MW. Although soil properties improved, CCs alone did not significantly suppress weed. Full article

Fungi contribute to ecosystem function through nutrient cycling and decomposition but may be affected by major disturbances such as fire. Some ecosystems are fire-adapted, such as prairies which require cyclical burning to mitigate woody plant encroachment and reduce litter. While fire suppresses fire-sensitive fungi, pyrophilous fungi may continue providing ecosystem functions. Using litter bags, we measured the litter decomposition at three prairies with unburned and burned sections, and we used Illumina sequencing to examine litter communities. We hypothesized that (H1) decomposition would be higher at unburned sites than burned, (H2) increased decomposition at unburned sites would be correlated with higher overall saprotroph diversity, with a lower diversity in autoclaved samples, and (H3) pyrophilous fungal diversity would be higher at burned sites and overall higher in autoclaved samples. H1 was not supported; decomposition was unaffected by burn treatments. H2 and H3 were somewhat supported; saprotroph diversity was lowest in autoclaved litter at burned sites, but pyrophilous fungal diversity was the highest. Pyrophilous fungal diversity significantly contributed to litter decomposition rates, while saprotroph diversity did not. Our findings indicate that fire-adapted prairies host a suite of pyrophilous saprotrophic fungi, and that these fungi play a primary role in litter decomposition post-fire when other fire-sensitive fungal saprotrophs are less abundant. Full article

Wildfires have become increasingly frequent and destructive environmental hazards, especially in boreal ecosystems facing prolonged droughts and temperature extremes. This study presents an integrated spatio-temporal framework that combines Spatio-Temporal Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (ST-DBSCAN), Fire Radiative Power (FRP), and the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (ΔNBR) to characterize the dynamics and ecological impacts of large-scale wildfires, using the extreme 2023 Quebec fire season as a case study. The analysis of 80,228 VIIRS fire detections resulted in 19 distinct clusters across four fire zones. Validation against the National Burned Area Composite (NBAC) showed high spatial agreement in densely burned areas, with Intersection over Union (IoU) scores reaching 62.6%. Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) revealed significant non-linear relationships between FRP and key fire behavior metrics. Higher mean FRP was associated with both longer durations and greater burn severity. While FRP was also linked to faster spread rates, this relationship varied by zone. Notably, Fire Zone 2 exhibited the most severe ecological impact, with 83.8% of the area classified as high-severity burn. These findings demonstrate the value of integrating spatial clustering, radiative intensity, and post-fire vegetation damage into a unified analytical framework. Unlike traditional methods, this approach enables scalable, hypothesis-driven assessment of fire behavior, supporting improved fire management, ecosystem recovery planning, and climate resilience efforts in fire-prone regions. Full article

Speaker burn-in is a controversial practice in the audio world, based on the belief that new devices reach optimal performance only after a certain period of use. Supporters claim it improves component flexibility, reduces initial distortion, and enhances sound quality—especially in the low-frequency range. Critics, however, emphasize the lack of scientific evidence for audible changes and point to the placebo effect in subjective listening tests. They argue that modern manufacturing and strict quality control minimize differences between new and “burned-in” devices. This study cites a standard describing a preliminary burn-in procedure, specifying the exact conditions and duration required. Objective tests revealed slight changes in speaker impedance and amplitude response after burn-in, but these differences are inaudible to the average listener. Notably, significant variation was observed between speakers of the same series, attributed to production line tolerances rather than use-related changes. The study also explored aging processes in speaker materials to better understand potential long-term effects. However, subjective listening tests showed that listeners rated the sound consistently across all test cases, regardless of whether the speaker had undergone burn-in. Overall, while minor physical changes may occur, their audible impact is negligible, especially for non-expert users. Full article