Arctic warming is causing substantial compositional, structural, and functional changes in tundra vegetation including shrub and tree-line expansion and densification. However, predicting the carbon trajectories of the changing Arctic is challenging due to interacting feedbacks between vegetation composition and structure, and surface characteristics. We conduct a sensitivity analysis of the current-date to 2100 projected surface energy fluxes, soil carbon pools, and CO2 fluxes to different shrub expansion rates under future emission scenarios (intermediate-RCP4.5, and high-RCP8.5) using the Arctic-focused configuration of E3SM Land Model (ELM). We focus on Trail Valley Creek (TVC), an upland tundra site in the western Canadian Arctic, which is experiencing shrub densification and expansion. We find that shrub expansion did not significantly alter the modeled surface energy and water budgets. However, the carbon balance was sensitive to shrub expansion, which drove higher rates of carbon sequestration as a consequence of higher shrubification rates. Thus, at low shrub expansion rates, the site would become a carbon source, especially under RCP8.5, due to higher temperatures, which deepen the active layer and enhance soil respiration. At higher shrub expansion rates, TVC would become a net CO2 sink under both Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios due to higher shrub productivity outweighing temperature-driven respiration increase. Our simulations highlight the effect of shrub expansion on Arctic ecosystem carbon fluxes and stocks. We predict that at TVC, shrubification rate would interact with climate change intensity to determine whether the site would become a carbon sink or source under projected future climate.

Intestinal obstruction caused by Ascaris lumbricoides (AL) is rare but clinically significant, particularly in endemic regions. We report an 18-year-old Afghan male who presented with a two-month history of intermittent right lower quadrant pain, worsening over the past week with anorexia, constipation, nausea, and fatigue. Examination revealed generalized abdominal tenderness, involuntary guarding, and silent bowel sounds, suggesting an acute abdomen. Initial diagnosis was complicated appendicitis. After stabilization, laparotomy revealed a small bowel obstruction caused by a mass of AL, which was relieved via enterotomy and bowel repair. An incidental appendectomy was performed. Postoperatively, the patient was treated with albendazole and mebendazole. Bowel function returned by postoperative day three, and he was discharged on day five in stable condition. At one-week follow-up, he was asymptomatic with no complications. This case highlights the diagnostic challenges of parasitic infections, especially in non-endemic areas, and emphasizes the importance of early imaging, timely surgical intervention, and comprehensive management. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for parasitic causes in bowel obstruction cases, particularly in endemic populations, to ensure prompt diagnosis and optimal outcomes.

The construction of a power grillage is of great significance for promoting local economic development. Identifying the characteristics of foundation damage is a prerequisite for ensuring the normal service of the power grillage. To investigate the bearing mechanism and failure mode of the grillage root foundations, a novel research method with a transparent soil material was used to conduct model tests on different types of foundations using particle image velocimetry (PIV) technology. The results indicate that, compared to traditional foundations, the uplift and horizontal bearing capacities of grillage root foundations increased by 34.35% to 38.89% and by 10.76% to 14.29%, respectively. Furthermore, increasing the base plate size and burial depth can further enhance the extent of the soil displacement field. Additionally, PIV analysis revealed that the roots improve pile-soil interactions, transferring the load to the surrounding undisturbed soil and creating a parabolic displacement field during the uplift process, which significantly suppresses foundation displacement. Lastly, based on experimental data, an Elman neural network was employed to construct a load-bearing capacity prediction model, which was optimized using genetic algorithms (GAs) and the whale optimization algorithm (WOA), maintaining a prediction error within 3%. This research demonstrates that root arrangement enhances the bearing capacity and stability of foundations, while optimized neural networks can accurately predict the bearing capacity of grillage root foundations, thus broadening the application scope of transparent soil materials and offering novel insights into the application of artificial intelligence technology in geotechnical engineering. For stakeholders in the bearing manufacturing industry, this study provides important insights on how to improve load-bearing capacity and stability through the optimization of the basic design, which can help reduce material costs and construction challenges, and enhance the reliability of power grillage infrastructure.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is an important vegetable in Ethiopia due to its nutritional value and culinary uses. However, its production is hindered by several challenges. Key issues include diseases like powdery mildew, fusarium wilt, and viral infections, which significantly reduce yields, and pests such as aphids, whiteflies, and fruit borers that further damage crops. The scarcity of improved okra varieties and insufficient drought management exacerbate these challenges. Farmers' perceptions of okra as a low-value crop affect investment and cultivation practices. Additionally, drought, compounded by poor irrigation infrastructure, poses a severe threat to okra production. Despite these challenges, Ethiopia's diverse agro-climatic conditions and fertile soils in regions like Amhara and Oromia offer favorable environments for cultivating okra, with potential yields reaching up to 20 tons per hectare under optimal management. To overcome these constraints, it is essential to improve disease and pest management, develop and distribute drought-resistant varieties, and educate farmers on better practices. Changing perceptions through awareness and community engagement, coupled with supportive government policies, are crucial for enhancing okra production, thereby improving food security and economic stability for Ethiopian farmers in the future.

Ironmaking- steelmaking is a material and energy intensive process with a resource efficiency of only - 33 %. Resource efficiency enhancement requires recovering the wasted/unutilized material by-products and the energy associated with them in various forms. This review attempts to identify the material leakages and energy losses at each step of steelmaking (from iron ore mining) and explores approaches to plug the energy and material leakage; material efficiency brings in energy savings indirectly. Besides the material loss, accumulation of the byproducts (slime/tailings, steel slag, etc.), carbon emission, etc., cause environmental and ecological damage. The review discusses the prospects of slimes/tailings beneficiation through physical and physicochemical methods (often after some pretreatments). The manuscript also discusses the need to recover heat from molten slags (BF slag and BOF slag) to reduce the energy intensity. Further, it discusses the endeavors to overcome the latent hydraulic activity of granulated BF slag and ways to enhance the acceptability of BOF slag in different applications. A brief sum-up of global efforts towards net zero emission (in line with the Paris Declaration) through carbon recycling, low emission intensity processes, alternate fuels, etc., is included. Lastly, the authors list the challenges of the Indian iron & steel industry and the efforts from the government and steel industries towards achieving the projected crude steel production (300 million tons) without crossing the emission intensity thresholds (Paris Declaration). The endeavors strengthen the sustainability of the steel industry.

Pavement inundation disrupts natural drainage, causing its structural damage and potential failure. This study investigates the impact of moisture fluctuations on pavement failure through four distinct approaches. Firstly, the critical strain at the top of the subgrade layer in unsaturated conditions was predicted using non-linear visco-elastic layer analysis. Secondly, structural number (SN) was established to evaluate the pavement strength under unsaturated conditions. Thirdly, the impact of rising groundwater levels on the structural strength of pavement layers was determined using maximum capillary height from soil suction. Finally, characteristic deflection and static moduli of the lateritic subgrade after a rainfall event were determined from field investigations with Benkelman beam deflectometer (BBD). Simulation in KENLAYER showed that the critical compressive vertical strain above subgrade due to different axle loading for bound and unbound granular layers varied with moisture fluctuation. Calculated SN values showed reduced capacity under saturated conditions compared to optimum moisture under the same traffic. BBD test revealed that the static moduli of the subgrade were lower due to increased moisture content, emphasizing the importance of moisture control and effective drainage for the structural integrity of pavements.

Hookworms are soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes that penetrate the host skin before migrating to the lungs. With an estimated 500-700 million people infected worldwide, hookworm infections are a neglected tropical disease and a significant cause of morbidity, particularly in children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals. Although there is ample evidence that complement activation is pivotal to elicit a protective host immune response against invasive pathogens, its role in hookworm infection remains insufficiently explored. Here, we investigated the complement anaphylatoxin, C5a, during the early lung stage of infection with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in C57BL/6J wild type and C5aR1-/- mice. Despite the previously reported ability of lung larvae to evade complement activation, C5a was detectable locally in lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavages. Surprisingly, C5aR1 presence directly contributed to the pathogenicity of hookworm infection. The burden of viable parasites in the lungs was mitigated in C5aR1-/- mice, compared to C57BL/6J mice 48 hours post-infection. Additionally, C5aR1-/- mice showed significantly reduced lung injury, lower cytokine release, attenuated alveolar hemorrhage, and limited alveolar-capillary barrier disruption. Neutrophils were the most abundant and highest C5aR1-expressing cell type in the alveolar space after infection. Deficiency of C5aR1 reduced the influx of neutrophils, monocytes, and eosinophils to the pulmonary airways. RNA sequencing of alveolar neutrophils revealed C5aR1-dependent regulation of the novel nuclear protein, DEDD2. In conclusion, our findings highlight the impact of C5aR1 signaling in neutrophils during hookworm infection uncovering an unexpected downside of complement activation in parasitic infection.

Cutaneous larva migrans (CLM), caused by third-stage filariform larvae of cat and dog hookworms, presents as pruritic, serpiginous tracks upon skin penetration by larvae from contaminated soil. Herein, we report the successful treatment of two CLM patients using albendazole and ivermectin combination therapy. A 42year-old man from Kordofan and a 38-year-old man from White Nile State presented with characteristic lesions on their lower extremities, resolving completely within one week post-treatment without recurrence. This report highlights the potential of combined albendazole-ivermectin therapy in managing CLM amid emerging antihelminthic resistance, suggesting that its broader application warrants further investigation.

Steelmaking slag, which is used as a construction material, can be crushed during compaction or repetitive loading in construction work. This crushing has a considerable influence on its physical and mechanical properties. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate/estimate the crushing properties and particle size distribution of steelmaking slag under various compaction loads. Accordingly, compaction tests were conducted by subjecting steelmaking slag with 10 different particle sizes to an increasing number of compaction cycles (1-15 times) to simulate repetitive compaction loading. The compaction test results were analyzed by considering the particle size distribution, particle size distribution curve, breakage factors, and fractal dimension. The results revealed that these factors could be influenced by changing the voids in steelmaking slag by altering the repetitive compaction load and particle size. An equation for predicting the particle size distribution from the compaction energy and particle size based on the sequence limit with the rational and the recurrence formulas was proposed. The proposed equation demonstrated excellent accuracy, and it can be utilized in efficiently predicting the particle size distribution curve.

Soils and occupation layers of dwellings and livestock pens located in the western part of the Crimean peninsula were investigated employing methods of archaeoparasitology and soil microbiology. The studies were carried out at several sites, namely, Tyumen-3, Tyumen-7 and Bagai-1. Eggs of two types of helmints, presumably, Dicrocoeliidae and Trichuridae families, were identified in the selected samples. Trematodes of the Dicrocoeliidae family cause dicroceliosis, which is a parasitic disease, predominantly, of sheep, cattle, horses, pigs, etc. This trematode can be dangerous for humans. Trichuridae are roundworms which, depending on species, infest the intestine of humans, sheep, dogs, pigs, etc. Depending on severity of disease, the invasion of this helmint in humans and animals can be characterized by both asymptomatic disease course and clinical manifestations caused by damage to the colon mucosa, intoxication of the organism by excreta, etc. Close correlation between the incidence rate of the Trichuridae family eggs and urease enzyme activity and CFU counts for thermophilic bacteria was found. A high incidence rate of whipworms and increased values of the aforementioned microbiological indicators are linked with conservation conditions of the occupation layer. High incidence of eggs of the trematodes of the Dicrocoeliidae families was found to closely correlate with larger numbers of CFU for saprotrophic bacteria and keratinolytic fungi, this genus of helmints was identified in equal qualities both in livestock pens and dwellings. Hence, this study was the first to prove that such livestock diseases as dicroceliosis and trichocephalosis probably were common in the Late Bronze Age.