Search Results (1,341)

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) are increasingly deployed in grid-scale applications, electric mobility, and renewable integration, where safety, reliability, and longevity are critical. Thermal runaway remains one of the most severe failure modes in lithium-ion batteries, often triggered by complex interactions between electrochemical, thermal, and mechanical phenomena. This paper presents an extended hybrid Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) framework for thermal anomaly prediction and early detection of runaway precursors in BESS. The proposed architecture integrates governing physical laws, specifically the Bernardi heat generation equation and Fick’s diffusion law, within a deep learning pipeline composed of a physics module, a temporal Bi-LSTM, and an attention mechanism for explainability, which may represent an obstacle in the application of deep learning algorithms. Beyond the initial formulation, the extended version presented here provides a deeper theoretical background, an expanded methodological justification, a more comprehensive comparison with state-of-the-art approaches, and a detailed discussion on scalability, uncertainty, and deployment challenges. The results for synthetic yet physically consistent datasets represent a proof of concept of the PINN approach, which can achieve superior generalization, robustness to noise, and interpretability compared to purely data-driven baselines, achieving an accuracy above 90% and an AUC of 0.95. The framework contributes to proactive safety management in cyber-physical energy systems and establishes a foundation for real-time, physics-aware anomaly detection in safety-critical BESS applications, e.g., marine transportation contexts and port environments. Full article

Reinforced concrete (RC) buildings in coastal seismic regions are exposed to coupled deterioration processes driven by chloride-induced corrosion and earthquake loading. This interaction is particularly critical along the Mexican Pacific coast, where persistent marine exposure coincides with high seismic hazard. Nevertheless, current models lack a consistent multi-physics framework that integrates chloride transport, electrochemical heterogeneity (including galvanic interactions), and seismic structural response. This study quantifies the influence of corrosion on seismic collapse probability by explicitly modeling the coupled mechanisms of moisture transport, chloride ingress, and electrochemical potential distribution in RC members. A three-dimensional mechanistic framework is adopted to capture the spatial variability in corrosion, including galvanic interactions between passive and active reinforcement regions. A representative scenario is examined in which a corner column remains in continuous contact with seawater, promoting localized chloride accumulation and sustained corrosion activity. The resulting nonuniform section loss is incorporated into nonlinear structural models subjected to mainshock–aftershock sequences. The results show that corrosion-induced heterogeneity, amplified by galvanic coupling between passive and active zones, accelerates strength and stiffness degradation. Compared to conventional uniform corrosion assumptions, this effect leads to a significant increase in early collapse probability, with values increasing from near-zero levels to approximately $0.6$–$0.9$ at moderate seismic intensity levels. These findings emphasize the need to account for coupled transport and electrochemical processes, as well as localized exposure conditions, in the seismic assessment of RC structures in aggressive coastal environments. Full article

The structural application of Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) in marine and coastal structures remains restricted by its highly variable quality and uncertain durability. Although the adhered old mortar is recognized as the most distinctive feature of RAC, its bidirectional influence on chloride transport, acting as a preferential transport pathway and a chloride-binding reservoir, has not yet been systematically elucidated. This study develops a five-phase mesoscopic numerical framework (natural aggregate, new and old mortars, new and old ITZs) to investigate the bidirectional effects on chloride ingress. The proposed model involves multi-species (K⁺, Na⁺, Cl⁻, OH⁻, Ca²⁺, SO₄²⁻) coupling and thermodynamic chloride binding on AFm and C-S-H phases, with different binding capacities in old and new mortar. This model was validated against published experimental data, demonstrating high accuracy in predicting effective diffusivity across varying replacement rates. Parametric sensitivity analyses reveal that RAC’s chloride resistance is governed by the competition between the “facilitation effect”, caused by the inherent porosity in attached old mortar, and the “retardation effect”, caused by enhanced binding capacity. This work provides new mechanistic insight into the dual effects of old mortar and establishes a robust theoretical tool for the durability design of RAC structures exposed to chloride environments. Full article

Oocyte maturation is a pivotal event in teleost reproduction that directly determines egg quality, fertilization success, and the developmental competence of early embryos. However, the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms operating within oocytes during maturation in marine teleosts remain poorly understood. In the present study, the orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides), an economically important marine aquaculture species, was used as a model. Oocytes at four distinct maturation stages were obtained by microscopically removing the surrounding follicular layers, followed by integrated mRNA-seq and miRNA-seq analyses to characterize the molecular regulatory landscape underlying oocyte maturation and hydration. The results showed that, as maturation progressed, oocyte diameter and wet weight increased significantly, accompanied by a marked decrease in Na⁺ content, a significant increase in K⁺ content, and the continuous accumulation of most free amino acids, indicating the gradual establishment of an osmotic basis favorable for oocyte hydration. Transcriptomic analysis further revealed extensive transcriptional remodeling during both the early and late phases of maturation. Differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in pathways related to oocyte meiosis, cytokine signaling, lipid metabolism, DNA replication, cell cycle regulation, ribosome biogenesis, spliceosome function, oxidative phosphorylation, and mitochondrial activity, suggesting that oocyte maturation is a dynamic process characterized by a shift from basal growth maintenance to metabolic reprogramming, maternal transcript remodeling, and terminal maturation responses. miRNA profiling identified a large number of stage-specific differentially expressed miRNAs, including let-7d-5p, miR-22a-3p, and novel-miR-20/27/118, whose predicted target genes were mainly enriched in ribosome-related pathways, oxidative phosphorylation, DNA replication, transcriptional regulation, and signal transduction. Moreover, the miRNA–TF–mRNA regulatory network demonstrated that miRNAs may not only directly repress target genes, but also mediate hierarchical regulatory cascades through transcription factors, thereby coordinately participating in cell cycle progression, cytoskeletal remodeling, vesicular transport, and immune- and cell communication-related responses. Collectively, this study provides the first systematic temporal atlas of mRNA and miRNA regulation during oocyte maturation and hydration at the oocyte level in a marine teleost, thereby deepening our understanding of the molecular basis of meiotic resumption and egg quality formation, and offering valuable theoretical support for the optimization of artificial breeding and the identification of key molecular targets in grouper reproduction. Full article

Large-scale disasters can result in chronic pollution of coastal environments with unanticipated and poorly quantified impacts, such as the reshaping of marine connectivity. A recent example is the collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in 2015, which released about 50 million m³ of mine waste into the Doce River, affecting one of Brazil’s largest estuarine–mangrove systems. Here, we combine a high-resolution CROCO hydrodynamic simulation with an individual-based Lagrangian model (Ichthyop) to track the dispersal of mangrove crab (Ucides cordatus) larvae from four estuaries along the southeastern Brazilian margin between 2022 and 2024. Trajectories crossing seasonal msPAF fields derived from in situ water-quality measurements were used to quantify larval exposure to contaminants from mine waste. These fields were based on measured concentrations of As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, and Al. Results show that surface shelf flow and mesoscale activity in the vicinity of the Doce River mouth contribute to offshore export of larvae, while the reef-dominated Abrolhos shelf promotes retention. Interannual variability alternates between long-distance export and local retention, associated with regional climate variability. Larval mortality rates caused by offshore advection and lethal temperature are high (65–75%). In addition to these modeled mortality sources, surviving cohorts frequently crossed areas with elevated msPAF values during transport, indicating potential exposure to metal(loid) mixtures. This suggests that the regional connectivity of U. cordatus is under chronic stress that likely compromises the integrity and resilience of coastal populations, since southern estuaries depend strongly on northern larval sources. The integration of Lagrangian simulations with in situ contaminant monitoring and spatially explicit exposure metrics demonstrates that transport pathways regulate not only connectivity among estuaries but also the duration and intensity of larval exposure to pollutants. Full article

Given the increasing concern around greenhouse gas emissions and the decline in the availability of fossil fuels, there is increasing global demand to develop alternate fuels for maritime transportation that are sustainable and which have lower greenhouse gas emissions. Methanol is one such alternative fuel that has garnered considerable attention given its potential to be produced by more sustainable processes and its more favorable greenhouse gas emission profile in comparison with current fossil fuels. Understanding the physical and chemical properties of methanol under a range of conditions is essential for its development as a marine fuel. In this study, we seek to define physical and chemical properties of different methanol samples to simulate real-world storage conditions as these data are lacking in the literature. Several methanol samples were evaluated: nearly pure methanol; International Organization for Standardization (ISO) marine methanol (MM) grades A, B, and C; and methanol plus higher alcohols. We first evaluated all methanol samples for impurities, acetic acid content, density, and distillation range. We then characterized the effects of water absorption and found that methanol can easily absorb unacceptable water content from humid air within hours, necessitating storage conditions that prevent this process. In eight-week aging experiments at 20 °C and 40 °C in ambient air, we did not observe significant oxidation for any of the methanol samples; however, we did observe increases in acid number. We assessed the impact of contamination of methanol with water, marine gas oil (MGO), and an MGO–biodiesel mixture on density, viscosity, distillation range, and lubricity. Finally, we show that MGO contamination of methanol results in a slight increase in sooting tendency. In aggregate, our results provide an in-depth analysis of physical and chemical properties of methanol as well as the impacts of storage conditions and impurities on the properties of fuel methanol. Full article

This systematic review was conducted and reported according to the PRISMA 2020 statement to synthesize evidence published between January 2020 and January 2025 on food-derived antihypertensive peptides, with emphasis on mechanisms of action, molecular stability, bioavailability, and functional food applications. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched using combined terms related to bioactive or ACE-inhibitory peptides, stability or bioavailability, and alternative protein sources. Original peer-reviewed studies in English evaluating antihypertensive or ACE-inhibitory peptides from plant, marine, insect, fungal, dairy, or terrestrial animal matrices were considered eligible when they reported experimental evidence on activity, stability, transport, or in vivo efficacy. Three reviewers independently screened records and extracted data. A total of 177 studies were included. Plant and marine matrices accounted for approximately 72% of the evidence base, with a strong focus on low-molecular-weight peptides (<3 kDa) and multistage validation pipelines integrating in silico screening, in vitro enzymatic assays, Caco-2 transport models, ex vivo assays, and spontaneously hypertensive rat studies. Overall, the evidence supports the antihypertensive potential of selected food-derived peptides, particularly through ACE inhibition and related vascular mechanisms. Encapsulation and advanced delivery approaches improved peptide stability and bioavailability in several studies. Food-derived antihypertensive peptides represent promising candidates for functional foods and nutraceuticals; however, greater methodological standardization, formal risk-of-bias assessment in primary studies, and well-designed human trials remain necessary to strengthen translation into practice. Full article

The transition towards alternative marine fuels introduces new safety challenges related to onboard storage, distribution, and fuel management, due to the markedly different physical and chemical properties of methane, methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen. While numerous studies address the risks of individual fuels, there is a lack of structured and comparable risk-assessment methodologies to support early-stage fuel selection and preliminary system design under a unified framework. This study introduces the Methodology to Alternative-fuels Hazardous Identification, a hybrid framework that integrates HAZOP-based deviation analysis with HAZID-style risk classification to enable a consistent qualitative–quantitative comparison of alternative marine fuel systems. The methodology is applied to representative storage and distribution architectures for methane, methanol, ammonia, compressed hydrogen, and liquefied hydrogen, allowing the identification of dominant risk drivers and system-level vulnerabilities across fuel options. The results reveal distinct fuel-specific risk profiles. Methane and methanol are mainly associated with moderate risks linked to operational temperature deviations and system controllability. Ammonia exhibits the most severe risk profile due to the high consequences of toxic releases, particularly under pressure-related failures. Compressed hydrogen is dominated by high-risk scenarios driven by extreme storage pressures, while liquefied hydrogen presents a mixed profile governed by the interaction between cryogenic temperature control and pressure regulation. By providing a comparative and scalable risk-assessment framework, the Methodology to Alternative-fuels Hazardous Identification (MAHI) supports informed decision-making in early design phases and complements existing regulatory safety analyses, contributing to a safer energy transition in maritime transport. Full article

During wet deposition, particulate matter and gaseous species in the atmosphere are ultimately transported to the Earth’s surface via precipitation and subsequently incorporated into terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, investigating the fluxes, chemical compositions, and source apportionment of regional wet deposition is of great scientific importance. An analysis of the concentrations, deposition fluxes, spatiotemporal variations, and source apportionment of water-soluble ions in wet deposition can further enhance our understanding of the water-soluble ion characteristics, atmospheric pollution profiles, and potential ecosystem impacts of wet deposition in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions. Coastal cities in China are most developed regions, and also areas suffering from severe air pollution. This study investigates the chemical characteristics, sources and wet deposition fluxes of water-soluble inorganic ions in precipitation in two typical coastal urban agglomerations of China: Ningbo in the Yangtze River Delta and Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta. Precipitation samples were collected and analyzed to determine the concentrations of major ions. The results revealed distinct ionic compositions between the two regions. In Ningbo, NO₃⁻ and SO₄²⁻ were the predominant ions accounting for 16.98% to 23.22% of the total, reflecting the influence of anthropogenic emissions from fossil fuel combustion and mobile sources with the NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ ratio of 0.90 and 0.70. In Guangzhou, precipitation was characterized by high contributions of SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, NH₄⁺, and Ca²⁺, accounting for 17.22% to 23.29% of the total, indicating a mixed influence of industrial emissions, agricultural activities, and construction dust with the NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ ratio of 0.92 and 0.87. A clear inverse relationship between rainfall amount and ion concentration was observed at all sites (p < 0.05), demonstrating a significant dilution effect. Seasonality played a crucial role in deposition fluxes. In Ningbo, fluxes peaked during summer from 4667 to 5156 mg·m⁻², while in Guangzhou, distinct dry and rainy season patterns influenced the scavenging efficiency of different ion species. Urban sites exhibited enhanced scavenging of crustal and anthropogenic ions (e.g., Ca²⁺, NH₄⁺) during the rainy season, whereas the coastal site showed elevated fluxes of marine-derived ions (Na⁺, Cl⁻, Mg²⁺, SO₄²⁻) during the same period. The observed trends in ion fluxes suggest a gradual improvement in regional air quality over the study period. These findings elucidate the complex interactions between anthropogenic activities, natural sources, and meteorological factors in shaping the wet deposition chemistry in coastal urban environments, providing essential data for developing regional deposition models and assessing the ecological impacts of atmospheric pollution. Full article

The Middle Triassic Tredian Formation of the Salt Range, Pakistan, consists of sandstones with interbedded shale in the lower part and minor dolomite in the upper part. Conventional grain-size analysis has been widely used as a sedimentological tool to elucidate depositional environments and the mode of transportation of detrital sediments. This study presents the first integrated application of a Decision Tree Classifier (a machine learning model) with field and petrographic evidence to interpret grain-size statistics for the analysis of depositional environments of the Tredian Formation in the Salt Range, Pakistan. Stratigraphic sections of the Tredian Formation were measured and sampled in the Nammal Gorge and Zaluch Nala in the Salt Range for detailed sedimentological and grain-size analyses. The lower part of the Tredian Formation (Landa Member) consists of interbedded sandstone and shale (LF-1) characterized by large-scale slumps, parallel lamination, ripple marks, and cross-bedding. The LF-1 is overlain by the Katkhiara Member, which is dominated by thick sandstone (LF-2) with planar and trough cross-bedding and contains dolomite beds (LF-3) in the upper part. Grain-size statistics show that the sandstones are fine-to-medium-grained, well-to-very-well-sorted, near-symmetrical, and very platykurtic. Machine learning-based bivariate plots suggest that most of the samples are grouped, with some showing scattered trends. The Linear Discriminant Function (LDF) analysis indicates that the Tredian Formation was deposited in fluvial–deltaic to shallow marine environments with sand reworking and redistribution under aeolian/beach settings. The Decision Tree Classifier Model (DTCM) predicted fluvial to shallow marine depositional environments for the Tredian Formation and shows strong agreement with field-based lithofacies interpretation, demonstrating its reliability as a predictive tool. Thus, the present study demonstrates that integrating grain-size-based machine learning and statistical analysis with traditional sedimentology provides valuable insights into depositional settings and enhances the reliability of interpretations of ancient sedimentary environments. Full article

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are widely recognized as persistent contaminants in urban aquatic systems, yet their behavior is typically interpreted under steady-state assumptions driven by continuous discharge of treated wastewater. This paradigm overlooks the dominant role of episodic pollution pulses associated with combined sewer overflow (CSO) events. This review advances a new conceptual framework in which PPCP contamination is understood as a manifestation of complex phenomenon, arising from the interaction of intense precipitation, hydraulic exceedance of sewer systems, and mobilization of accumulated contaminants. We critically synthesize current knowledge on the occurrence, transport, transformation, and removal of PPCPs across wastewater effluents and CSO discharges, integrating insights from degradation kinetics, environmental monitoring, and treatment technologies. Comparative analysis reveals strong matrix-dependent variability in PPCP attenuation, with enhanced degradation in estuarine and marine systems driven by complex photochemical and biogeochemical interactions. However, under CSO-driven pulse conditions, these processes become transient and non-linear, challenging conventional assumptions of steady-state degradation and risk assessment. The findings highlight that CSO events can generate short-duration but high-intensity contamination peaks, often exceeding baseline concentrations and potentially amplifying ecological risks and antimicrobial resistance selection. We propose a matrix-reactivity and pulse-driven framework to better capture the dynamic fate of PPCPs under real-world conditions. Future research should prioritize event-based monitoring, real-time sensing, and time-resolved risk assessment models to address the limitations of current approaches. This work redefines PPCP pollution as a dynamic, episodic, extreme-event-driven process, with important implications for urban water management under increasing climatic variability. Full article

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous combustion-derived contaminants that represent a significant cross-cutting threat to human, animal, and environmental health. Viewed through an explicit One Health lens, this review shows how the shared combustion sources, evolutionarily conserved toxicological mechanisms, and food-web linkages connecting environmental contamination to wildlife and human exposure justify an integrated, cross-domain approach to PAH risk assessment and management. PAHs are generated predominantly through incomplete combustion of organic materials and are globally distributed through atmospheric transport, aquatic runoff, and food-web transfer, persisting in soils and sediments for decades. The present review synthesizes current knowledge on PAHs through an explicit One Health lens, examining shared sources, environmental fate, and convergent health effects across species and health domains, while also highlighting the need to move beyond the classical US EPA priority PAHs to include high-molecular-weight PAHs (>302 Da), alkylated homologues, and transformation products such as oxy- and nitro-PAHs. Common pathways such as dietary intake of grilled and smoked foods, inhalation of contaminated air, and occupational exposure create parallel toxicological burdens in both human and wildlife populations, particularly through genotoxic mechanisms mediated by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation and CYP1A1/CYP1B1-catalyzed bioactivation to reactive diol epoxides. The resulting DNA adduct formation links environmental PAH exposure to carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, immunosuppression, and developmental impairment across vertebrate species with remarkable mechanistic consistency. Wildlife, especially fish, marine mammals, and seabirds, serve as critical sentinels for environmental PAH contamination, while simultaneously facing direct health impacts on immune function, reproduction, and population viability. Vulnerable human populations, including children, subsistence communities, occupational workers, and residents near combustion-intensive industries, bear disproportionate burdens reflecting underlying environmental justice concerns. Integrated intervention strategies encompassing source control, dietary exposure reduction, site remediation, and coordinated biomonitoring are urgently needed. By incorporating emerging PAH classes with distinct persistence, trophic behavior, and toxicological potency, the One Health paradigm provides a more comprehensive conceptual framework for modern environmental surveillance, food safety, and integrated risk assessment, recognizing that the health of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is inseparable from that of the animals and humans within them. Full article

Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is an important component of reactive nitrogen and plays a key role in the atmospheric nitrogen cycle outside major emission regions. However, its variability under remote background conditions remains poorly characterized, as most observational studies focus on urban or continental environments. This study investigates the background variability of in situ NO₂ measurements at a remote North Atlantic island (Azores) over the period 2015–2024 and examines its association with large-scale atmospheric transport regimes. Monthly NO₂ concentrations were classified into background Atlantic conditions and months classified under enhanced transport conditions using an objective PM₁₀ percentile-based criterion. Differences between regimes were assessed using non-parametric statistics. Although median NO₂ concentrations were slightly higher during months classified under enhanced transport conditions, the difference was not statistically significant. Wind speed analysis for the overlapping period 2018–2024 also indicated higher values during these months, but these differences were likewise not statistically significant. These results indicate that, at a monthly resolution, the influence of enhanced transport conditions on NO₂ at this remote marine site is weak and not statistically resolved by the present approach. The findings therefore provide limited statistical support for a transport-driven modulation of NO₂ and instead highlight the difficulty of detecting subtle reactive-nitrogen signals in clean marine environments. These findings contribute to improving the interpretation of reactive nitrogen variability in remote marine settings and highlight the value of island observatories for studying the atmospheric nitrogen cycle. Full article

The rapid development of tropical island tourism has put forward a higher demand for asphalt pavement construction on the island. However, the asphalt pavement engineering in the offshore area is generally faced with high material transportation costs. Additionally, challenges such as high-temperature climate and heavy-load traffic may lead to permanent pavement deformation. As a typical marine solid waste, shells have high calcium carbonate content and porous structures, which have the potential advantage of modified asphalt. In this study, mixed shell powder was used as a modified material, and 70 # base asphalt and SBS-modified asphalt were mixed, respectively. The effect of asphalt modification was analyzed by basic performance tests and high-temperature rheological tests. An asphalt mixture was prepared by replacing limestone powder with mixed shell powder in equal volume, and its road performance was systematically tested. The modification mechanism was revealed by means of a microscopic test. The results show that the recommended content of mixed shell powder in SBS-modified asphalt is 9%, and 50–100% mixed shell powder can be used to replace mineral filler in base asphalt and single SBS modified asphalt mixture. This study provides effective technical support for the utilization of shell solid waste in offshore areas and the optimization of asphalt pavement performance. Full article

Durable concrete has emerged as a key material strategy for enhancing the performance and extending the service life of infrastructure in chloride-containing environments, owing to its resistance to chloride ingress and corrosion-induced deterioration. This paper presents a systematic review of recent advances in durable concrete, establishing a comprehensive technical framework encompassing material design, transport mechanisms, and lifecycle durability management. Research demonstrates that supplementary cementitious materials, corrosion inhibitors, and non-metallic reinforcements significantly mitigate chloride penetration and corrosion while improving durability performance in various structures, including marine, coastal, and transportation infrastructures. The effectiveness of these approaches is fundamentally attributed to pore structure refinement, electrochemical regulation, and the elimination of corrosion-prone components. However, transitioning durability technologies from “effective” to “reliable and designable” still faces critical challenges: the mechanisms of multi-factor coupling under complex environments remain unclear, transport models under non-steady conditions require further development, and inconsistencies persist among international durability design codes. Accordingly, this paper highlights that future research should focus on developing multi-scale coupled models, refining environmental classification and prediction methods, integrating intelligent sensing technologies, and establishing unified lifecycle-based design frameworks. These advancements are essential to promote durable concrete from material-level optimization toward system-level, intelligent durability design, thereby supporting the development of sustainable infrastructure. Full article