Search Results (120)

The deep marine shale of the Wufeng–Longmaxi (WF–LMX) Formation in the Sichuan Basin is characterized by laterally continuous thickness, high porosity, and significant gas content, making it a representative shale reservoir with considerable resource potential. This study investigates the heterogeneity of pore structures and their controlling factors using shale samples from three representative wells, based on low-temperature nitrogen adsorption and mercury intrusion data. The reservoir can be classified into three main lithofacies: mixed siliceous shale (MSS), clay-rich siliceous shale (CSS), and siliceous clay mixed shale (SMS). The results show that siliceous shales (MSS and CSS) exhibit higher total organic carbon and quartz contents, with more developed pore systems. Among them, the CSS exhibits the highest specific surface area and the largest mesopore and macropore volumes, indicating a greater development of larger pores and superior reservoir quality. All three shale facies exhibit clear single and multifractal characteristics. The average D₁ and D₂ values (fractal dimensions from nitrogen adsorption at P/P₀ < 0.45 and >0.45, respectively) are higher than D_Hg, (fractal dimension from mercury intrusion), indicating greater pore-surface roughness than internal pore structure complexity and stronger heterogeneity in larger pores. The D(q)–q spectrum shows a left-wide/right-narrow pattern, whereas the α–f(α) spectrum exhibits the opposite trend. The branch-width ratios S_kd and S_ka (indices of pore-size distribution complexity and heterogeneity) are both <0.1, suggesting that heterogeneity is more pronounced in low-probability regions. Fractal and multifractal analyses reveal significant pore structure heterogeneity across different lithofacies, with CSS showing relatively more homogeneous pore structures, whereas MSS exhibits stronger heterogeneity and poorer connectivity. The heterogeneity of shale reservoirs is primarily controlled by pore development, especially micropores and mesopores, and is strongly influenced by total organic carbon and quartz content. Full article

Although mass-spawning pooling systems are widely used for small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) aquaculture, they often induce severe genetic bottlenecks driven by reproductive skew. This study evaluated cross-generational genetic diversity and spawning patterns to propose an optimal genetic management strategy. We analyzed 1049 adult broodstock and 950 juvenile offspring using nine microsatellite markers. To mitigate reproductive skew, fertilized eggs were collected via multi-time sampling (19 times) over a two-month spawning season and reared to the juvenile stage. Genetic diversity was highly conserved across generations, with expected heterozygosity maintained at 0.860 in the offspring. Parentage assignment succeeded for 96.2% of the offspring (914 individuals), revealing 802 unique families, of which 89.9% (721 families) were singletons. Also, 60.9% of the broodstock contributed to reproduction, exhibiting a right-skewed participation distribution. Importantly, comparisons with a short-term single-event collection control group demonstrated that our multi-time strategy effectively prevented drastic reductions in effective population size (N_e). These patterns highlight the species asynchronous spawning physiology and confirm that the strategy approximates random mating with minimal genetic drift. We suggest this long-term, multi-time egg collection method as an effective protocol for the sustainable genetic management of multiple-spawning marine fish. Full article

The dynamics of calcium carbonate structures in marine organisms (skeletons and shells) has become increasingly important due to heightened interest in marine environmental acidification. Research into molluscan shell corrosion and calcification in response to acidification is typically carried out in laboratory-controlled settings, which often overlooks the intricate interactions found in natural environments. Mollusks inhabiting intertidal zones are especially susceptible to intense shell weathering caused by tidal cycles of heating, cooling, wetting, and drying, exacerbated by solar radiation during periods of air exposure. We investigated the effect of sun exposure (solar radiative heating) on both outer shell corrosion and inner shell compensatory calcification in the tropical oyster, Saccostrea scyphophilla. Shell properties were compared between oysters from neighboring populations in sun-exposed and shaded habitats. Habitat temperatures were measured using iButtons, and right shell valve corrosion was quantified. Compensatory calcification was assessed through measurements of shell thickness, shell density, shell compression strength, and mineralogical properties. Our results revealed that oysters in the sun that experience global irradiance, higher temperature peaks and broader daily temperature ranges (averaging an increase of 10 °C) show considerably greater outer shell surface corrosion (87%) compared to shaded oysters (31%) that experience only diffuse irradiance. Sun-exposed shells also become thickened in the midsection and around the adductor muscle, and they are slightly stronger, indicating compensation for the outer shell loss. These findings highlight the need for caution when interpreting molluscan shell dynamics based on laboratory marine acidification protocols that fail to account for the many natural environmental factors influencing shell formation and dissolution. Full article

Marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) surveys have been proven to be an effective tool in hydrocarbon exploration, principally due to the method’s ability (in the right circumstances) to identify electrical resistivity contrasts between hydrocarbon-saturated and brine-saturated sedimentary units. However, the sensitivity of such surveys decreases in shallow water, for deeper targets, and for targets with limited horizontal extent. In principle, the resolution and sensitivity of a survey can be improved by moving either the transmitting or the receiving dipoles into the sub-surface. We have therefore investigated the sensitivity of Seafloor to Borehole CSEM (sbCSEM) survey geometries, specifically for the case of simplified targets with small lateral dimensions in shallow water areas—including targets whose depth of burial substantially exceeds their lateral extent. The results are encouraging. Neither small target size nor shallow water presents obstacles in principle to the use of this approach. Our models reveal distinct lobes in the patterns of electric field and current density amplitudes around a sub-seafloor transmitting dipole. The shape, positions and amplitudes of these lobes are all strongly modified by the presence of one or more small resistive targets, and they are strongly influenced by the positions of target edges. These effects significantly modify the pattern of electric fields at the seafloor and hence result in good sensitivity for realistic survey geometries. Small targets can be detected by seafloor receivers when the sub-seafloor transmitting dipole is located at some distance laterally outside the targets—leading to potential applications in ‘step-out’ prospecting. The asymmetry of responses at the seafloor from targets that are offset with respect to transmitter location has potential applications in field appraisal, while monitoring of reservoirs during production provides another possible application. Varying the depth of the transmitter down the borehole generates a Vertical EM Profiling (VEMP) survey—analogous to Vertical Seismic Profiling (VSP)—and we demonstrate that this too can have useful applications. Modelling for deeper (3 km sub-seafloor) targets continues to yield encouraging results and suggests that step-out sbCSEM may be effective at depths beyond the detection limit of conventional seafloor–seafloor CSEM. Full article

Accurate detection of ship targets in complex marine environments is fundamental to ensuring maritime security and safeguarding maritime rights. With the increasing diversity of vessel types and configurations, achieving precise identification of multiple ship classes amidst dynamic interference and cluttered backgrounds has emerged as a formidable challenge in marine surveillance. To address three pervasive issues in ship target detection—namely, high false-negative rates for small targets, inadequate feature discrimination, and imprecise localization—this paper proposes AK-DSAM-YOLOv13, a multi-scale detection algorithm specifically tailored for complex marine scenarios. Built upon the YOLOv13n architecture, the proposed algorithm implements integrated optimizations across the backbone network, neck structure, and loss function. First, a lightweight cross-scale feature extraction module, AKC3k2, is constructed by incorporating Alterable Kernel Convolutions (AKConv) to reconstruct the feature extraction path, thereby significantly enhancing the representation of multi-scale targets. Second, a Dynamic Up-Sampling Dual-Stream Attention Merging (DyDSAM) structure is designed, which integrates the DySample operator with a Dual-Stream Attention Mechanism (DSAM) to effectively suppress background clutter and improve feature fusion accuracy. Third, an Accuracy-Intersection-over-Union (AIoU) loss function is introduced to jointly optimize overlap area, center distance, and aspect ratio, enhancing localization robustness for small-scale objects. Experimental results on the self-built CM-Ships dataset, as well as the public SeaShips and McShips datasets, demonstrate that AK-DSAM-YOLOv13 significantly outperforms baseline models in detection accuracy, recall, and generalization capability while maintaining a low computational overhead. This research provides an efficient and reliable technical framework for intelligent maritime visual monitoring in complex environments. Full article

Background and Objectives: Essential tremor (ET) is the most prevalent movement disorder, yet its neurophysiological basis remains incompletely understood. Emerging evidence indicates that ET may involve non-motor manifestations, including auditory dysfunction. Given the anatomical convergence of tremor-related and auditory pathways at the brainstem level, electrophysiological assessment of the auditory system may provide insights into ET pathophysiology. This study aimed to evaluate auditory pathway function in patients with essential tremor using conventional audiometry, brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP), and medium-latency auditory evoked potentials (MLAEP), and to examine their associations with tremor characteristics. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with ET (mean age 56.6 ± 19.2 years; 15 women) and 30 healthy controls with similar age and sex distribution underwent pure-tone audiometry, BAEP, and MLAEP recordings. Tremor severity and distribution were assessed using a standardized evaluation based on the Fahn–Tolosa–Marin Tremor Rating Scale. Results: Conventional audiometry demonstrated normal hearing thresholds in 63.3% of ET patients and 83% of controls, while sensorineural hearing loss was observed in 36.6% and 16.6%, respectively (p > 0.05). High-frequency hearing loss (HFHL) was significantly more prevalent in the ET group (p = 0.003). BAEP analysis revealed significant prolongation of peak latencies in right-sided waves II and III and left-sided waves I and II in ET patients compared with controls (p < 0.05), whereas interpeak latencies (I–III, III–V, I–V) did not differ between groups. MLAEP latencies (Na, Pa, Nb) showed no significant differences between ET patients and controls (all p > 0.05) and were not associated with tremor severity, disease duration, or hearing asymmetry. Conclusions: High-frequency hearing loss is more prevalent in essential tremor, and selective BAEP latency changes observed in the context of preserved interpeak intervals suggest predominantly delayed peripheral auditory input rather than a primary brainstem conduction abnormality. Preserved MLAEP responses indicate relative sparing of thalamocortical auditory processing, supporting the concept of essential tremor as a multisystem network disorder in which altered auditory input may interact with broader network-level mechanisms. Full article

The Tinjar–West Baram Fault in the southern South China Sea is a major NW-trending strike-slip fault that has remained tectonically active since the Oligocene. It forms a key structural boundary between the Zengmu, Beikang, and Nansha Trough basins. Multi-phase strike-slip movements have strongly controlled sediment provenance dispersal pathways, and reservoir development in the Zengmu Basin, yet the sedimentary response to these tectonic processes remains poorly understood. This study integrates 2D seismic profiles to analyze the fault geometry, kinematics, and impact on deep-water sedimentary systems. Results indicate that Oligocene right-lateral motion directed sediment supply from the southwest, mainly sourced from Kalimantan, forming fluvial–deltaic systems with depocenters in the southern basin. Since the Late Miocene, a transition to left-lateral motion reoriented sediment provenance toward the southeast, leading to delta-front complexes and northward migration of depocenters. Strike-slip activity deformation enhanced rock fragmentation and sediment supply, producing fan delta, fluvial, and shallow lacustrine facies near the fault. Associated uplift and subsidence induced relative sea-level fluctuations, resulting in alternating transgressive–regressive sequences. From the Late Eocene to Miocene, the basin evolved from a land–sea transitional system to a deltaic–carbonate complex controlled by the paleo-Sunda River. During the Pliocene–Quaternary, sedimentation was dominated by shallow-marine shelf and semi-deep-marine deposits. Fault-related fracturing significantly enhanced porosity and permeability, creating favorable conditions for hydrocarbon migration and entrapment in both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. These findings demonstrate a strong coupling between strike-slip fault activity and sedimentary system evolution, providing important insights into sedimentary processes and hydrocarbon potential in strike-slip fault-bounded basins globally. Full article

A new species of pectinid bivalve, Syncyclonema goyi sp. nov., is described in honour of Professor Antonio Goy, one of the leading stratigraphers who shaped Mesozoic studies in Iberia over the past half century. It represents one of the smaller fossil scallops currently known from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe, alongside a few boreal species previously assigned to the family Entoliidae. The type specimens have orbicular valves, almost smooth, with unequal auricles. The right valve is more convex and bears a well-marked paleal sinus. The sculpture of the shell is weak, exhibiting concentric growth lines and lamellae. However, nearly 90 very small, uniform radial striae are discernible beneath the outer shell layer. This species is frequent in open marine, fine-grained, inner shelf facies of the Tethyan West Portuguese Carbonate Platform, near the main localities of Coimbra, Tentúgal, and Condeixa-a-Nova, in the Baixo Mondego region of West Portugal. It mostly occurs in the upper Cenomanian beds of the Trouxemil Formation, with Euomphaloceras septemseriatum and Vascoceratidae ammonites. Full article

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has traditionally followed diagnosis-driven, nucleus-centered targeting paradigms. Increasing evidence supports a circuit-based framework in which clinical outcomes depend on modulation of symptom-relevant networks rather than diagnostic labels alone. This approach is particularly relevant in mixed movement disorder phenotypes such as dystonic tremor, where the most disabling symptom may not align with the conventional surgical target. Methods: We report a clinically illustrative single case treated using a symptom-oriented, connectome-informed DBS strategy. Clinical phenotype, tremor severity, functional impairment, prior medical and botulinum toxin treatments, and longitudinal outcomes were systematically reviewed. DBS target selection prioritized the dominant, treatment-refractory symptom rather than the underlying dystonia diagnosis. Surgical planning incorporated high-resolution MRI with patient-specific thalamic segmentation using Brainlab Brain Elements^®, followed by postoperative lead localization and volume of tissue activated visualization with the SureTune™ platform. Results: A 54-year-old left-handed woman with long-standing cervical dystonia developed a severe, markedly asymmetric dystonic tremor predominantly affecting the left upper limb, resulting in profound functional disability. Instead of conventional bilateral globus pallidus internus DBS, unilateral right ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) DBS was selected to engage tremor-related cerebellothalamic circuits. Rapid and marked improvement was observed, with tremor severity reduced to mild levels within 15 days after stimulation onset. At 6-month follow-up, overall tremor severity improved from 49 to 13 points on the Fahn–Tolosa–Marin Tremor Rating Scale, corresponding to a 73.5% reduction. This improvement was associated with restoration of legible handwriting, independent feeding and drinking, and recovery of bimanual fine motor function. Clinical benefit remained stable throughout follow-up, without stimulation-related adverse effects. Conclusions: This case illustrates the feasibility of a symptom-oriented, connectome-informed DBS strategy in selected patients with dystonic tremor. When symptom expression and network involvement are markedly asymmetric, selective unilateral modulation of the tremor-dominant circuit may achieve meaningful and durable functional improvement. Further studies are needed to assess the generalizability of this approach. Full article

Determination of the right price is vital for the success of newly developed food products. This study examined the market prices and their determinants for five ready-to-cook catfish products: Panko-Breaded Standard Strips (PBSS), Panko-Breaded Standard Fillet (PBSF), Panko-Breaded Delacata Fillet (PBDF), Sriracha-Marinated Delacata Fillet (SMDF), and Sesame-Ginger-Marinated Delacata Fillet (SGMDF). Market prices were derived using Vickrey’s second-price auction, where the second-highest bid represents the market price. We analyzed experimental auction data from 121 consumers using a logit model to estimate the probability of offering the market price based on product sensory attributes, socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, and the level of competition (panel size). Consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) was elicited in two rounds: before tasting (visual evaluation) and after tasting (organoleptic evaluation) the products. Breaded products received higher market prices than marinated products, with PBDF ranked highest. Sensory traits, especially taste, along with income, education, and grocery shopping involvement, significantly influenced the formation of market price. Increased competition elevated the market prices. Both product features and consumer characteristics significantly affect market price outcomes, and experimental auctions provide a robust tool for understanding consumer behavior toward newly developed food products. Full article

The study aims to reconstruct the life history of an individual whose skeleton was recovered during the excavation of the late medieval Pauline monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Moslavina Mountain, Croatia. The monastery was one of the most important ecclesiastical centres in continental Croatia during the 14th/15th centuries CE and was abandoned between 1520 and 1544 due to fear of imminent Ottoman attacks. The inscription and coat of arms on the tombstone of a tomb located in the chancel, next to the main altar, indicate that the skeleton belongs to Sofia Kaštelančić née di Prata (di Pordenone), a member of Croatian late medieval high-ranking nobility. We conducted a conventional bioarchaeological study, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes analysis, paleoradiological imaging (CT/CBCT scanning), and three-dimensional facial reconstruction. The skeleton belongs to a middle-aged woman between 40 and 50 years old with an estimated stature of about 161 cm. Numerous pathological changes, such as ante mortem tooth loss, caries, abscess, linear enamel hypoplasia, dysodontiasis, and osteophytosis were observed, with the most notable pathology being the fracture of the right ankle, a fact also confirmed by CT scanning. Carbon and nitrogen isotopic values are consistent with a terrestrial diet based on C₃ plants with no marine input, and the consumption of large quantities of animal-based proteins. Three-dimensional facial reconstruction made it possible for the first time in over 500 years to obtain the approximate physical appearance of the individual. The presented results are consistent with the hypothesis that the skeleton probably belongs to Sofia Kaštelančić. Nevertheless, none of the observed osteological traits are individually or collectively diagnostic of Sofia, so, in the absence of individualising evidence, the identification remains hypothetical rather than demonstrative. Full article

Background: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a congenital cardiac disorder, but its severity has been increasingly linked to inflammatory processes. This study aimed to investigate gene expression profiles in ARVC to identify genes potentially driving inflammation in affected individuals. Methods: Publicly available gene expression datasets comprising 12 ventricular tissue samples from six clinically confirmed ARVC patients (paired left and right ventricular biopsies) and 12 ventricular samples from six non-failing donor hearts were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes. Immune infiltration was assessed to determine the proportions of immune cells in the ARVC condition. Correlation analysis between immune cell proportions and gene expression profiles was further performed to identify genes linked with inflammation-specific immune cells. Functional enrichment analysis of associated genes was performed to pinpoint the key involvement of genes in different inflammatory-specific pathways. Finally, the key gene associated with inflammation-specific immune cells and its active involvement in inflammatory pathways was further subjected to molecular docking against a curated library of marine-derived phytochemicals, followed by 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate ligand stability. Results: A total of 141 significantly upregulated genes were identified in ARVC. Immune infiltration analysis revealed elevated proportions of regulatory T cells, CD8⁺ T cells, plasma cells, M2 macrophages, resting mast cells, and activated NK cells in the ARVC phenotype, indicating an immunologically active microenvironment. Correlation analysis identified four genes—LIFR, SCN2B, RGCC, and PIK3R1—showing significant positive associations with these immune cells. Functional enrichment analysis highlighted PIK3R1 (LogFC > 2.00) as a central regulator in the PI3K/AKT and mTOR pathways, which govern immune activation, cell survival, and fibrosis. Molecular docking identified two marine compounds, CMNPD18967 and CMNPD756, with strong binding affinities (−5.9 and −5.7 kcal/mol, respectively). Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed stable ligand binding within the PIK3R1 active site. Conclusions: PIK3R1 emerges as a key inflammation-associated gene in ARVC, with strong involvement in immune-regulatory pathways. Marine-derived phytochemicals CMNPD18967 and CMNPD756 demonstrate promising inhibitory potential through stable interaction with PIK3R1. While these findings present potential anti-inflammatory leads, validation in larger clinical cohorts and experimental models is essential to confirm translational applicability. Full article

Marine mammal vocalizations, such as those of the Northern Right Whale (NARW), are often masked by underwater acoustic noise. The acoustic vocalization signals are characterized by features such as their amplitude, timing, modulation, duration, and spectral content, which cannot be robustly captured by a single feature extraction method. These complex signals pose additional detection challenges beyond their low SNR. Consequently, this study proposes a novel low-SNR NARW classifier for passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). This approach employs an ideal binary mask with a bidirectional long short-term memory highway network (IBM-BHN) to effectively detect and classify NARW upcalls in challenging conditions. To enhance model performance, the reported literature limitations were addressed by employing a hybrid feature extraction method and leveraging the BiLSTM to capture and learn temporal dependencies. Furthermore, the integration of a highway network improves information flow, enabling near-real-time classification and superior model performance. Experimental results show the IBM-BHN method outperformed five considered state-of-the-art baseline models. Specifically, the IBM-BHN achieved an accuracy of 98%, surpassing ResNet (94%), CNN (85%), LSTM (83%), ANN (82%), and SVM (67%). These findings highlight the practical potential of IBM-BHN to support near-real-time monitoring and inform evidence-based, adaptive policy enforcement critical for NARW conservation. Full article

When designing spatial planning programs for processes in coastal zones, it is essential to consider the connections between marine and terrestrial environments and to coordinate institutional work in their implementation. This study examines the environmental policies of two planning processes in the coastal zone, one terrestrial and one marine, which were formally developed and adopted through decrees in the State of Sonora (NW Mexico). The Gulf of California Marine Spatial Planning (MSP-GC) was decreed in 2006, and the Sonora Coast Land Spatial Planning (LSP-SC) was decreed in 2009 and updated in 2015. This study reviewed, compared, and spatially analyzed the environmental policies established by both planning processes. The results show that both planning processes contain environmental policies with limited links between the marine and terrestrial environments in practice. Both planning processes were enacted with effort, resources, and stakeholder participation, but have not been implemented effectively. It is essential to review the mandates of the decrees, conduct an integrated assessment of environmental policies, and seek ways for federal and State institutional structures to drive the implementation of these planning processes. Considering the dates of the MSP (2006) and LSP-SC (2015) decrees, now it is the right time to evaluate them. Full article

This study examines the upper-ocean response to Typhoon Khanun, which traversed the northern South China Sea in October 2017, by integrating multi-satellite observations with numerical simulations from the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). For the ROMS simulations, an Arakawa C-grid was adopted with a 4-km horizontal resolution and 40 vertical terrain-following $\sigma$-layers, covering the domain of 105° E to 119° E and 15° N to 23° N. Typhoons significantly influence ocean dynamics, altering sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), and ocean currents, thereby modulating air–sea exchange processes and marine ecosystem dynamics. High-resolution satellite datasets, including GHRSSST for SST, SMAP for SSS, GPM IMERG for precipitation, and GLORYS12 for sea surface height, were combined with ROMS simulations configured at a 4-km horizontal resolution with 40 vertical layers to analyze ocean changes from 11 to 18 October 2017. The results show that Typhoon Khanun induced substantial SST cooling, with ROMS simulations indicating a maximum decrease of 1.94 °C and satellite data confirming up to 1.5 °C, primarily on the right side of the storm track due to wind-driven upwelling and vertical mixing. SSS exhibited a complex response: nearshore regions, such as the Beibu Gulf, experienced freshening of up to 0.1 psu driven by intense rainfall, while the right side of the storm track showed a salinity increase of 0.6 psu due to upwelling of saltier deep water. Ocean currents intensified significantly, reaching speeds of 0.5–1 m/s near coastal areas, with pronounced vertical mixing in the upper 70 m driven by Ekman pumping and wave-current interactions. By effectively capturing typhoon-induced oceanic responses, the integration of satellite data and the ROMS model enhances understanding of typhoon–ocean interaction mechanisms, providing a scientific basis for risk assessment and disaster management in typhoon-prone regions. Future research should focus on refining model parameterizations and advancing data assimilation techniques to improve predictions of typhoon–ocean interactions, providing valuable insights for disaster preparedness and environmental management in typhoon-prone regions. Full article