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Geological hazards cause changes in the quality of the ecological environment, affect the function and stability of ecosystems, and negatively impact the maintenance and restoration of ecological functions in ecological functional areas (EFAs). This study integrates machine learning, geographic information technology, and multivariate statistical analysis modeling to develop a technical framework for quantitative analysis of ecological risk assessment (ERA) based on the causal logic between geological hazards and ecosystems. The results of the geological disaster ERA are mapped to EFAs, effectively identifying and quantifying the risk characteristics of different EFAs. The results show that: (1) The hazard–vulnerability–exposure ERA framework effectively identifies the distribution characteristics of high ecological risk around the Qilian Mountains, with high risk in the east and low risk in the west. (2) In high ecological risk areas, high hazard–high vulnerability–low exposure is the main combination pattern, accounting for 83.3%. (3) Overall, hazard and vulnerability have a greater impact on geological disaster ecological risk than exposure, with path coefficients of 0.802 (significant at p = 0.01 level) and 0.438 (significant at p = 0.05 level), respectively, in SEM. The random forest model (R2 = 0.748) shows that social factors such as human density and road density contribute significantly more to extreme high risk than other factors, with a contribution rate of up to 44%. (4) Thirty-five ecological functional units were systematically grouped into four clusters and used to formulate a "layered" spatial policy for EFAs. The results of the research are expected to provide support for maximizing the policy impact of EFAs and formulating management decisions that serve ecological protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mountainous areas in the western part of Sichuan Province are mostly Alpine Gorge regions with high mountains, steep slopes, complex topography and geomorphology, special climatic conditions, infertile soils, and fragile ecological environments. In this study, a geohazard risk assessment was carried out in the Alpine Gorge region to prevent geohazards from hindering socio-economic development, affecting the lives and safety of residents, and undermining sustainable development in the region. With the help of a geographic information system (GIS), the analysis of geohazard influence factors was carried out; eight indicators, such as elevation and slope aspect, were selected to construct the evaluation index system. Additionally, the time and space distribution pattern of each influence factor and geohazard was analyzed. Geologic hazards in the region are influenced mainly by precipitation and human engineering activities. The prediction and evaluation of geohazard risk in Jiulong County are based on the Information Value model (IV), the Logistic Regression model (LR), and the Random Forest model (RF). Comparing the Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of the three models for the accuracy test, the results show that all three models are suitable for the Alpine Gorge region, and the Logistic Regression model has the highest accuracy. Based on the evaluation results, measures and countermeasures for geologic disaster prevention and mitigation are proposed in light of the reality of geologic disaster prevention and mitigation work in Jiulong County. The research results can guide the government's disaster prevention and mitigation work, provide a scientific basis for formulating regional geologic disaster prevention and control strategies, and ultimately promote the region's sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microbial colonization represents one of the main threats to the conservation of subterranean cultural heritage sites. Recently, the microbial colonization on murals in tombs has gradually attracted attention. Methods: In this study, a total of 33 samples, including 27 aerosol samples and 6 mural painting samples, were collected from different sites of Xu Xianxiu's Tomb and analyzed using culture-dependent methods. We compared the diversities of culturable bacteria and fungi isolated from the air and murals and explored the potential impacts of microorganisms on the biodeterioration of the murals. Results: Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the culturable bacteria belonged to Bacillus, Microbacterium, Lysobacter and Arthrobacter. And the most of fungal belonged to the Penicillium, Cladosporium and Aspergillus genera. The composition and structure of airborne bacteria and fungi outside the tomb were both significantly different from that inside the tomb. The variation trends of airborne bacterial and fungal concentrations at different sampling sites were remarkably similar. Bacillus frigoritolerans, Bacillus halotolerans, Bacillus safensis, Exiguobacterium mexicanum, Microbacterium trichothecenolyticum, and Micrococcus yunnanensis were bacterial species commonly isolated from both the mural and air environments. Fungal species commonly isolated from aerosol samples and mural painting samples were Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium brevicompactum, and Peyronellaea glomerata. The prediction of the ecological functions of the bacteria revealed that chemoheterotrophy or aerobic_chemoheterotrophy accounted for substantial relative proportions in all sample types. Conclusion: These results suggest that the aerosol circulation between the inside and outside environments of the tomb was weak and that the outside environment had yet to have an impact on the air microbial community inside the tomb. Selective colonization of microorganisms, which is mediated by interaction between microorganisms and special microenvironmental factors, is an important reason for the biodeterioration of murals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the spatial pattern of land use are inextricably linked to the ecosystem environment, and the assessment of regional eco-environment quality can help provide sustainable and healthy development strategies for heritage management organizations. In this study, based on RS and GIS technologies, we quantitatively analyzed the characteristics of land use changes in the Shibing Karst World Natural Heritage site from 2000 to 2020, and introduced the regional eco-environment quality assessment index for quantitative factor analysis. The results show that: (1) The heritage site is mainly dominated by forest and shrub, with more aggregated cropland, and impervious surfaces in the buffer zone. The area of shrub has increased during the 20-year period, occupying 12.63% of the total transferred area. Cropland has been basically converted to forest, accounting for more than 60% of the total transferred area, followed by shrubs, which have been basically transferred to ecologically better land types. (2) By analyzing the attitude of motivation, forest, shrub, and water have positive values, while cropland, grassland, and impervious surfaces have negative values. Grassland has the largest absolute value of kinetic attitude, and the smallest is for water. The integrated dynamic attitude is basically maintained at 24%, showing a state of rapid and then stable land category conversion. (3) Over the past 20 years, the regional eco-environment quality index has been stable between 0.68 and 0.71, and shows a trend of rapid growth and stabilization, which is consistent with the comprehensive attitude. The conversion between cropland, forest, and shrubs is the main cause of ecological improvement and deterioration. Overall, the relevant conservation measures at the site and China's corresponding responses to global climate change have led to a stabilization and increase in the regional ecological quality of the site. The management measures of the relevant authorities have begun to bear fruit, but further promotion of the sustainable development of the site is needed to provide a scientific model for the conservation of other karst heritage sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis is the property of Editorial Office of Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cultural heritage sites can be affected by landslides, often causing damage to their integrity, value, and accessibility. Several studies worldwide were focused on the assessment of the potential threats that landslides can pose to the preservation of cultural heritage sites. This article aims to review landslide studies at cultural heritage sites worldwide, analyzing the publications' temporal distribution, selected methods, geographical and climate contexts, and investigated landslide types. We analyzed a database of 331 publications from 2000 to 2023 in study areas distributed across 47 countries, compiled through systematic queries of the Web of Science and Scopus catalogs. The results show an increase in the number of publications from 2012 onwards, with most studies performing landslide susceptibility analyses on cultural heritage sites. The majority of the studies deployed a geomorphological approach address slope instability mechanisms that threaten site integrity, with a significant number of publications presenting model-based, multidisciplinary and engineering geological approaches. Europe, North America, and Asia and the Pacific concentrate the majority of studies, with Italy and China having the highest number of case studies. The threats to cultural heritage sites located in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa are the least studied. Block slides, earth slides, and rock falls are the most studied processes, with fewer studies dealing with other landslide types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River rehabilitation and ecological engineering are becoming critical issues for improving river status when ecological habitats and connectivity have been altered by human pressures. Amongst the range of existing rehabilitation options, some specifically focus on rebuilding fluvial forms and improving physical processes. The aim of this contribution is to illustrate how geomorphological expertise and process-based thinking contribute to river rehabilitation success. This semantic contribution is intended to feed the rehabilitation debate, particularly concerning the design of actions and the proposed references for monitoring target reaches and evaluating rehabilitation effects empirically. This article is also based on lessons learned from practical cases, mainly in gravel-bed rivers. Geomorphic understanding is needed at a local level to achieve an adequate diagnosis of river functioning, estimate human impacts and potential remnant river responsiveness, and to assess the gains and risks from rehabilitation, as well as to appraise success or failure through several pre- and post-project assessment strategies. Geomorphological studies can also be upscaled in a top-down manner (from high-order controls to small-scale processes, understanding detailed processes in their regional or basin-wide context), providing large-scale information at the regional, national, or even global level, information that can be used to diagnose the health of riverscapes in relation to local site-specific contexts. As such, geomorphological studies support strategic planning and prioritization of rehabilitation works according to specific contexts and river responsiveness, so as to move from opportunistic to objective-driven strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pambamarca fortress complex in northern Ecuador is a cultural and built heritage with 18 prehispanic fortresses known as Pucaras. They are mostly located on the ridge of the Pambamarca volcano, which is severely affected by erosion. In this research, we implemented a multiscale methodology to identify sheet, rill and gully erosion in the context of climate change for the prehistoric sites. In a first phase, we coupled the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and four CMIP6 climate models to evaluate and prioritize which Pucaras are prone to sheet and rill erosion, after comparing historical and future climate scenarios. Then, we conducted field visits to collect geophotos and soil samples for validation purposes, as well as drone flight campaigns to derive high resolution digital elevation models and identify gully erosion with the stream power index. Our erosion maps achieved an overall accuracy of 0.75 when compared with geophotos and correlated positively with soil samples sand fraction. The Pucaras evaluated with the historical climate scenario obtained erosion rates ranging between 0 and 20 ton*ha-1*yr-1. These rates also varied from -15.7% to 39.1% for four future climate change models that reported extreme conditions. In addition, after identifying and overflying six Pucaras that showed the highest erosion rates in the future climate models, we mapped their gully-prone areas that represented between 0.9% and 3.2% of their analyzed areas. The proposed methodology allowed us to observe how the design of the Pucaras and their concentric terraces have managed to reduce gully erosion, but also to notice the pressures they suffer due to their susceptibility to erosion, anthropic pressures and climate change. To address this, we suggest management strategies to guide the protection of this cultural and built heritage landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contributing to the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within Target 11.4 "Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage", it is critical to monitor the spatial and temporal stabilities of cultural heritages. The study of the interactive relationship between earthquakes and the protection of cultural heritages needs to be strengthened. On 27 September 2021, the destructive Mw 5.9 Arkalochori earthquake occurred ~25 km away from the city of Heraklion (Greece) where the Heraklion City Wall (HCW), a representative cultural heritage of Greece and Europe, was located. This offered a proper case to investigate the shortcomings aforementioned. Here, we intend to set up and answer the following three questions (Whether, Where and What, 3Ws): Whether there were impacts on the HCW caused by the Arkalochori earthquake? Where did the maximum deformation occur? What was the relationship between seismic deformation between the epicenter and the HCW over time? We performed two-dimensional (2D) InSAR measurements for both co-seismic and post-seismic deformations using the ascending and descending Sentinel-1A SAR images. The spatial-temporal characteristics of Up–Down (UD) and East–West (EW) were revealed. The 2D co-seismic deformation field showed that the near-filed deformations were dominating compared with the deformations at the HCW, the UD deformation was mainly featured with subsidence with a maximum value of ~21 cm, the EW deformation was ~9 cm westward and ~10 cm eastward. The time-series measurements showed that: (1) temporally, the HCW responded quickly to the Arkalochori earthquake, and the accumulative deformations at the seven different bastions of the HCW showed the same trend as the near-field area over time. (2) Spatially, the closer to the Mw 5.9 epicenter, the larger the deformations that occurred. (3) The EW and UD deformation trends of the HCW that were consistent with the Mw 5.9 epicenter were interrupted at the middle time spot (22 January 2022), indicating the influence of another earthquake sequence consisting of eight earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 3.5 that happened on 16–18 January 2022. Respectively, to summarize and address the aforementioned 3Ws based on the post-seismic analysis accomplished by the MSBAS method, the Arkalochori earthquake did affect the HCW; besides, the influences of the ~13 km earthquake sequence were also detected; the nearest part to the epicenter suffered the most; the deformation trends of the HCW were approximately the same with the epicenter area of the Arkalochori earthquake both in the UD and EW directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention to the condition assessment and conservation of cultural heritage is increasing due to growing sensitivity to the preservation of the built and natural environment and awareness of the risks associated with natural hazards. In this context, a comprehensive approach to the conservation and valorization of cultural heritage requires the combined action of different skills to achieve reliable assessment of the conditions of valuable assets and sites based on qualitative and quantitative indicators. This paper explores the issues of conservation and sustainable management of archaeological sites, considering humanistic and technical aspects. It reviews the current rules and practices concerning the maintenance and administration of archaeological heritage and outlines the implementation of a novel procedure, based on low-cost tools, to assess and describe the current condition of archaeological assets. Specific attention is paid to the interaction between experts and researchers operating in both humanistic and technical fields and to the knowledge and data contribution available on modern web-based platforms to implement reliable and low-cost data acquisition for the development of worthwhile plans for the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage. The Samnite complex of Pietrabbondante, Molise, South Italy, is employed to apply and check the proposed tools in the real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inland surface water is often the most accessible freshwater source. As opposed to groundwater, surface water is replenished in a comparatively quick cycle, which makes this vital resource—if not overexploited—sustainable. From a global perspective, freshwater is plentiful. Still, depending on the region, surface water availability is severely limited. Additionally, climate change and human interventions act as large-scale drivers and cause dramatic changes in established surface water dynamics. Actions have to be taken to secure sustainable water availability and usage. This requires informed decision making based on reliable environmental data. Monitoring inland surface water dynamics is therefore more important than ever. Remote sensing is able to delineate surface water in a number of ways by using optical as well as active and passive microwave sensors. In this review, we look at the proceedings within this discipline by reviewing 233 scientific works. We provide an extensive overview of used sensors, the spatial and temporal resolution of studies, their thematic foci, and their spatial distribution. We observe that a wide array of available sensors and datasets, along with increasing computing capacities, have shaped the field over the last years. Multiple global analysis-ready products are available for investigating surface water area dynamics, but so far none offer high spatial and temporal resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from inland waters of permafrost-affected regions is one of the key factors of circumpolar aquatic ecosystem response to climate warming and permafrost thaw. Riverine systems of central and eastern Siberia contribute a significant part of the water and carbon (C) export to the Arctic Ocean, yet their C exchange with the atmosphere remains poorly known due to lack of in situ GHG concentration and emission estimates. Here we present the results of continuous in situ pCO2 measurements over a 2600 km transect of the Lena River main stem and lower reaches of 20 major tributaries (together representing a watershed area of 1 661 000 km2 , 66 % of the Lena's basin), conducted at the peak of the spring flood. The pCO2 in the Lena (range 400–1400 µatm) and tributaries (range 400–1600 µatm) remained generally stable (within ca. 20 %) over the night–day period and across the river channels. The pCO2 in tributaries increased northward with mean annual temperature decrease and permafrost increase; this change was positively correlated with C stock in soil, the proportion of deciduous needleleaf forest, and the riparian vegetation. Based on gas transfer coefficients obtained from rivers of the Siberian permafrost zone (k=4.46 md-1), we calculated CO2 emission for the main stem and tributaries. Typical fluxes ranged from 1 to 2 gCm-2d-1 (>99 % CO2 , <1 % CH4), which is comparable with CO2 emission measured in the Kolyma, Yukon, and Mackenzie rivers and permafrost-affected rivers in western Siberia. The areal C emissions from lotic waters of the Lena watershed were quantified by taking into account the total area of permanent and seasonal water of the Lena basin (28 000 km2). Assuming 6 months of the year to be an open water period with no emission under ice, the annual C emission from the whole Lena basin is estimated as 8.3±2.5 TgCyr-1 , which is comparable to the DOC and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) lateral export to the Arctic Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. For parents, stillbirth is a tragic experience; thus, identifying the associated risk factors can be beneficial in order to prevent this event. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and risk factors associated with stillbirth. Methods. In this historical cohort study, a total of 18,129 birth records were investigated. The outcome variable was having or not having stillbirth. For each case of stillbirth, three live birth infants on the same day and same hospital were selected as controls, which were matched for gestational age. The data were collected using a researcher-made checklist. Finally, data were analyzed using STATA, 13.0 with Cox proportional hazards regression model at the significance level of 0.05. Results. The cumulative incidence of stillbirth was 9.48 per 1,000 live births. Based on multivariate Cox regression model, five risk factors for stillbirth were identified, including male gender, fetal diseases, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, and maternal hypothyroidism, (all hazard ratios > 1 and p<0.05), and - for the first time in Iran - maternal hypothyroidism, oligohydramnios, and polyhydramnios were shown as risk factors for stillbirth, which were not evaluated in any previous study. Conclusion. The findings of this study suggest that some maternal and fetal risk factors can be recognized as predictors of stillbirth, which might help to detect and prevent high-risk parents at early stages in order to avoid adverse health consequences in the mother and her neonate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instability situation affecting the Middle East poses threats to preservation of cultural heritage. Mapping efforts based on satellite imagery currently concentrate more on recording human-induced damage than impacts of unforeseen natural events (e.g. floods). In 2018, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bosra and the landscape of Sergiopolis-Resafa in Syria were flooded after heavy rainfall. While the first incident was reported by heritage organisations (although information was limited to the main monument), the second event was completely unknown. Using optical and radar satellite images from the European Commission's Copernicus Sentinels fleet and the Italian Space Agency's COSMO-SkyMed constellation, we prove that these data are an enormous reservoir of information to assess comprehensively the duration, extent and severity of such natural events. In Bosra, several key assets were flooded besides the Roman Theatre, with waters taking from few days to several weeks to evacuate and dry out. In Sergiopolis, while the main ruins were sheltered by the fortification walls, the nearby floodplain was inundated. The floodwater-flow pattern resembled the simulations developed by archaeologists to prove the existence of an ancient system of embankments and dam. Our results suggest that many other events posing risk to heritage assets, otherwise unnoticed, may be unveiled if current satellite imagery archives, yet to analyse, are systematically screened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Pediatric Emergency & Intensive Care Medicine / Çocuk Acil ve Voğun Bakım Dergisi is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A review of the pharmacogenetics (PGt) and pathophysiology of calcium voltage-gated channel subunit alpha1 S (CACNA1S) mutations in malignant hyperthermia susceptibility type 5 (MHS5; MIM #60188) is presented. Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a life-threatening hypermetabolic state of skeletal muscle usually induced by volatile, halogenated anesthetics and/or the depolarizing neuromuscular blocker succinylcholine. In addition to ryanodine receptor 1 (RYR1) mutations, several CACNA1S mutations are known to be risk factors for increased susceptibility to MH (MHS). However, the presence of these pathogenic CACNA1S gene variations cannot be used to positively predict MH since the condition is genetically heterogeneous with variable expression and incomplete penetrance. At present, one or at most six CACNA1S mutations display significant linkage or association either to clinically diagnosed MH or to MHS as determined by contracture testing. Additional pathogenic variants in CACNA1S, either alone or in combination with genes affecting Ca2+ homeostasis, are likely to be discovered in association to MH as whole exome sequencing becomes more commonplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a rare pharmacogenetic disorder which is characterized by life-threatening metabolic crises during general anesthesia. Classical triggering substances are volatile anesthetics and succinylcholine (SCh). The molecular basis of MH is excessive release of Ca2+ in skeletal muscle principally by a mutated ryanodine receptor type 1 (RyR1). To identify factors explaining the variable phenotypic presentation and complex pathomechanism, we analyzed proven MH events in terms of clinical course, muscle contracture, genetic factors and pharmocological triggers. Methods In a multi-centre study including seven European MH units, patients with a history of a clinical MH episode confirmed by susceptible (MHS) or equivocal (MHE) in vitro contracture tests (IVCT) were investigated. A test result is considered to be MHE if the muscle specimens develop pathological contractures in response to only one of the two test substances, halothane or caffeine. Crises were evaluated using a clinical grading scale (CGS), results of IVCT and genetic screening. The effects of SCh and volatile anesthetics on Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) were studied in vitro. Results A total of 200 patients met the inclusion criteria. Two MH crises (1%) were triggered by SCh (1 MHS, 1 MHE), 18% by volatile anesthetics and 81% by a combination of both. Patients were 70% male and 50% were younger than 12 years old. Overall, CGS was in accord with IVCT results. Crises triggered by enflurane had a significantly higher CGS compared to halothane, isoflurane and sevoflurane. Of the 200 patients, 103 carried RyR1 variants, of which 14 were novel. CGS varied depending on the location of the mutation within the RyR1 gene. In contrast to volatile anesthetics, SCh did not evoke Ca2+ release from isolated rat SR vesicles. Conclusions An MH event could depend on patient-related risk factors such as male gender, young age and causative RyR1 mutations as well as on the use of drugs lowering the threshold of myoplasmic Ca2+ release. SCh might act as an accelerant by promoting unspecific Ca2+ influx via the sarcolemma and indirect RyR1 activation. Most MH crises develop in response to the combined administration of SCh and volatile anesthetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed in this research to explore factors contributing to the occurrence of intra-uterine fetal death (IUFD). Methods: The study was conducted between 1st January 2008 and 31st December 2009 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients who were diagnosed to have IUFD at ≥24 weeks of gestation and those whose dead fetuses were found to weigh ≥500 g after delivery were eligible to be included. 138 patients with IUFD and 237 controls with alive fetuses were enrolled. Data were collected from printed and computerized medical records of participants. Factors that may have contributed to the occurrence of IUFD were explored. Comparisons between various risk factors and outcomes of the two groups were done. p value was statistically significant if ≤0.05. Results: Patients who did not receive antenatal care (ANC) services are at 70 % increased risk for developing IUFD (OR 0.31, p < 0.0001). Risk of IUFD increases 25-fold with the occurrence of abruption placenta (OR 25.81, p ≤ 0.0001), tenfolds with the occurrence of intra-uterine growth restrictions (OR 10.78, p = 0.04) and threefolds with the presence of hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (OR 3.17, p = 0.04). Finally, patients carrying IUFD fetuses are at higher risk to develop labor complications compared with their controls ( p ≤ 0.0001). Conclusion: Despite the difficulty in predicting IUFD occurrence, it appears that carefully implemented ANC and timely management of at risk patients may contribute to its prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An otherwise healthy 13 year old developed hypercarbia and increased temperature during anesthesia with sevoflurane. Discontinuation of sevoflurane, surface cooling, and hyperventilation resulted in prompt resolution. However, hyperkalemia continued to raise the suspicion for malignant hyperthermia, which was ultimately confirmed by ryanodine receptor gene sequencing. The case underlines the importance of intraoperative monitoring of end-tidal CO2 and temperature and the potential benefits of early discontinuation of inhalational anesthetics in the presence of signs and symptoms suspicious for malignant hyperthermia. The severe hyperkalemia suggests that standard guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of malignant hyperthermia, including dantrolene treatment, should be followed whenever malignant hyperthermia is suspected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining-induced geo-hazard mapping (MGM) is a critical step for reducing and avoiding tremendous losses of human life, mine production, and property that are caused by ore mining. Due to the restriction of the survey techniques and data sources, high-resolution MGM remains a big challenge. To overcome this problem, in this research, such an MGM was conducted using detailed geological exploration and topographic survey data as well as Gaofen-1 satellite imagery as multi-source geoscience datasets and machine learning technique taking Liaojiaping Orefield, Central China as an example. First, using Gaofen-1 panchromatic and multispectral (PMS) sensor data and Random Forest (RF) non-parametric ensemble classifier, a seven-class land cover map was generated for the study area with an overall accuracy (OA) and Kappa coefficient (KC) of 99.69% and 98.37%, respectively. Next, several environmental drivers including land cover, topography (aspect and slope), lithology, distance from fault, elevation difference between surface and underground excavation, and the difference of spectral information from PMS multispectral data of different years were integrated as predictors to construct an RF-based MGM model. The constructed model showed an excellent prediction performance, with an OA of 98.53%, KC of 97.06%, and AUC of 0.998, and the 85.60% of the observed geo-disaster that have occurred in the predicted high susceptibility class (encompassing 2.82% of the study area). The results suggested that the changes in environmental factors in the high susceptibility areas can be used as indicators for monitoring and early-warning of the geo-disaster occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport of carbon, major and trace elements by rivers in permafrost-affected regions is one of the key factors in circumpolar aquatic ecosystem response to climate warming and permafrost thaw. A snap-shot study of major and trace element concentration in the Lena River basin during the peak of spring flood revealed a specific group of solutes according to their spatial pattern across the river main stem and tributaries and allowed the establishment of a link to certain landscape parameters. We demonstrate a systematic decrease of labile major and trace anion, alkali and alkaline-earth metal concentration downstream of the main stem of the Lena River, linked to change in dominant rocks from carbonate to silicate, and a northward decreasing influence of the groundwater. In contrast, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and a number of low-soluble elements exhibited an increase in concentration from the SW to the NE part of the river. We tentatively link this to an increase in soil organic carbon stock and silicate rocks in the Lena River watershed in this direction. Among all the landscape parameters, the proportion of sporadic permafrost on the watershed strongly influenced concentrations of soluble highly mobile elements (Cl, B, DIC, Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, Mo, As and U). Another important factor of element concentration control in the Lena River tributaries was the coverage of the watershed by light (for B, Cl, Na, K, U) and deciduous (for Fe, Ni, Zn, Ge, Rb, Zr, La, Th) needle-leaf forest (pine and larch). Our results also suggest a DOC-enhanced transport of low-soluble trace elements in the NW part of the basin. This part of the basin is dominated by silicate rocks and continuous permafrost, as compared to the carbonate rock-dominated and groundwater-affected SW part of the Lena River basin. Overall, the impact of rock lithology and permafrost on major and trace solutes of the Lena River basin during the peak of spring flood was mostly detected at the scale of the main stem. Such an impact for tributaries was much less pronounced, because of the dominance of surface flow and lower hydrological connectivity with deep groundwater in the latter. Future changes in the river water chemistry linked to climate warming and permafrost thaw at the scale of the whole river basin are likely to stem from changes in the spatial pattern of dominant vegetation as well as the permafrost regime. We argue that comparable studies of large, permafrost-affected rivers during contrasting seasons, including winter baseflow, should allow efficient prediction of future changes in riverine 'inorganic' hydrochemistry induced by permafrost thaw. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to analyze the formation conditions of catastrophic floods in the Iya River basin over the observation period, as well as a long-term forecast of the impacts of future climate change on the characteristics of the high flow in the 21st century. The semi-distributed process-based Ecological Model for Applied Geophysics (ECOMAG) was applied to the Iya River basin. Successful model testing results were obtained for daily discharge, annual peak discharge, and discharges exceeding the critical water level threshold over the multiyear period of 1970–2019. Modeling of the high flow of the Iya River was carried out according to a Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE) of 0.91, a percent bias (PBIAS) of −1%, and a ratio of the root mean square error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR) of 0.41. The preflood coefficient of water-saturated soil and the runoff coefficient of flood-forming precipitation in the Iya River basin were calculated in 1980, 1984, 2006, and 2019. Possible changes in the characteristics of high flow over summers in the 21st century were calculated using the atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) and the Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2-Earth System (HadGEM2-ES) as the boundary conditions in the runoff generation model. Anomalies in values were estimated for the middle and end of the current century relative to the observed runoff over the period 1990–2019. According to various Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP-scenarios) of the future climate in the Iya River basin, there will be less change in the annual peak discharge or precipitation and more change in the hazardous flow and its duration, exceeding the critical water level threshold, at which residential buildings are flooded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historic environmental vulnerability of traditional villages (HEVTVs) is distinctly differentiated; however, the priority of relevant emergency management practices still lacks appropriate evaluation. This study proposes a new assessment system to quantify HEVTVs at the district level and an extended analysis of the influencing factors of adaptive capacity. This provides a basis to classify the emergency management of villages under geological hazard risks. Based on the coupled human–environment system, this research designed the assessment with three criteria, six factors, and 13 indexes from the perspective of HEVTVs. Furthermore, a demonstration test was conducted of 148 traditional villages in Lishui, China. The results showed that 64.19% of HEVTVs in Lishui were moderate or above, and that villages with very high vulnerability were mainly distributed at mid-elevation of mountains with strongly sloping terrain. In contrast, low-vulnerability villages were generally on plains at low altitudes. Furthermore, three high-vulnerability clustering groups were identified as critical improvement targets for which special zoning strategies should be proposed. Five influencing factors were found to be strongly related to the adaptive capacity, indicating a spatial variation of the impact intensity. This could be applied to streamline vulnerability optimization strategies according to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions play an important role in sustainable tourism development at heritage sites. The study takes the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area (WSHIA) as an example, and primary and secondary data sources are used to measure and estimate the carbon emissions of tourist attractions from 1979 to 2014. The temporal and spatial evolution of carbon emissions and their influencing factors for tourist attractions at heritage tourist destinations are analyzed. The results show that there are great differences in carbon emissions per visitor across the different types of tourism attractions at the heritage tourist destination, and there are significant monthly and interannual differences in the carbon emissions of the tourism attractions in the WSHIA. The main influencing factors include tourism seasonality, the rapid growth of China's tourism market, and the rising popularity of heritage tourism. The spatial evolution of carbon emissions of the tourist attractions can be divided into three stages, and its main influencing factors include functional zoning and environmental regulation at the heritage sites and diversified evolution of the heritage tourist attractions. The findings of this study could enrich theories of low-carbon tourism and provide the low-carbon development measures of sustainable tourism in heritage tourist destinations for policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a pharmacogenetic disorder that occurs in predisposed individuals after exposure to volatile anesthetics or depolarizing muscle relaxants. Genetic mutations of ryanodine receptor 1 (RYR1), which are considered to cause MH, are found mainly in 3 regions called "hotspots." There are sometimes multiple mutations at the same site of RYR1. Although p.Arg2508 of RYR1 is located outside hotspots, several mutations or variants (including the known MH causative mutation p.Arg2508Cys) have been identified in this region. We hypothesized that any mutations or variants in RYR1 p.Arg2508 cause important changes in pathological conditions related to MH. In this study, we analyzed the functions of 4 different RYR1 variants containing mutations at p.Arg2508., Methods: We prepared and analyzed the functions of 4 mutated RYR1 genes: p.Arg2508His and p.Arg2508Gly are MH-related variants, whereas p.Arg2508Ser and p.Arg2508Lys have not been previously reported. Because the biochemical characteristics of lysine are similar to arginine, we assumed that p.Arg2508Lys RYR1 would have characteristics most similar to those of the wild-type RYR1. We introduced these 4 mutated RYR1 genes, p.Arg2508His, p.Arg2508Gly, p.Arg2508Ser, and p.Arg2508Lys into rabbit RYR1 cDNA and transfected the resultant clones into human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Using the ratiometric dye Fura-2 AM, we used the 340/380 nm ratio to analyze alterations in calcium homeostasis after stimulation with caffeine and 4-chloro-m-cresol (4CmC). We calculated the half-maximal activation concentrations (EC50) of cells transfected with each mutant and compared the EC50 value of cells expressing each mutant with that of cells expressing wild-type RYR1. Statistical significance between EC50 values were calculated using an unpaired 2-tailed t test. We used 300 different cells, by 30 cells in each of the wild type or mutant., Results: Cells transfected with each of the 4 mutants, p.Arg2508His, p.Arg2508Gly, p.Arg2508Ser, or p.Arg2508Lys, were more sensitive to caffeine and 4CmC than cells transfected with the wild type (all 4 P ≤ 0.0004). Mean ± SD of EC50 values for caffeine of wild type, p.Arg2508His, p.Arg2508Gly, p.Arg2508Ser, and p.Arg2508Lys were 2.53 ± 0.89, 1.72 ± 0.72, 1.73 ± 0.79, 1.69 ± 0.80, and 1.61 ± 0.74 mM, respectively, and those for 4CmC were 125.92 ± 38.11, 70.42 ± 27.09, 79.30 ± 39.04, 73.03 ± 19.20, and 72.81 ± 28.44 mM, respectively., Conclusions: Any of these 4 mutations in RYR1 p.Arg2508 may cause important changes related to MH. Studying the effects of changes in amino acids at 2508 in RYR1 on the movement of this large protein may lead to a better understanding of the pathology of MH events.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) agency, the World Heritage Sites (WHS) inscribed in the World Heritage List (WHL) must be safeguarded with an adequate protection system, in order to guarantee their integrity and authenticity. Currently, many UNESCO sites are threatened by geohazards, but the safeguard of these sites does not seem to be wide-ranging. Looking at the standard list of factors affecting the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of WHS, which has been adopted by the World Heritage Committee in 2008, it seems that only "sudden geological events" are considered as factors that undermine the protection of the properties. Furthermore, it is well known that slow-kinematic phenomena can also threaten cultural and natural heritage. This study proposes a satellite InSAR-based procedure to identify and monitor the temporal and spatial evolution of ground deformation related to slow-kinematic geohazards (slow-moving landslides and ground-subsidence). This procedure, applied in this work on the Tuscany Region (Italy), simplify the InSAR products interpretation, making them easily exploitable by the local WHS managers for long-term geohazards monitoring and conservation strategies. These activities, thanks to the main characteristics of the recent Sentinel-1 data (short revisit time, free availability without any restrictions and worldwide coverage), can be defined for each UNESCO site of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the hydro-morphological responses of a river to engineering works is a key to future sustainable engineering projects. The Tisza River in the Carpathian Basin has been the subject of human interventions in the 19th–20th centuries, with regular monitoring since the first intervention. Therefore, it provides a unique opportunity to understand the long-term responses of a lowland river on engineering works. Here the interventions include the construction of embanked levees, artificial meander cutoffs, construction of revetments and groynes, and construction of lock-dams, whose differing effects can be analysed in detail. The Lower Tisza River, Hungary was shortened by up to a third of its 89-km length during late-19th-century regulation works. Simultaneously, it was disconnected from its 10–20 km wide natural floodplain, which was restricted to 1–5 km. Revetments were constructed along 25% of the banks since the early 20th century. This paper evaluates the effects of these regulation works on the Lower Tisza channel based on channel-surveys (1891, 1931, 1961, 1976 and 1999). Based on the results, the channel responded to every stage of the regulation works by adjusting its cross-sectional area, thalweg depth and bankfull width. From 1891 to 1961, the cross-sectional area of the channel increased in response to the artificial meander cutoffs through rapid incision and channel widening. The construction of revetments and groynes distorted this morphological development. After their construction, the cross-sectional area of the channel reduced by up to 50% between 1961 and 1976. The channel experienced incision and narrowing within this period. Whilst the morphological response of the river to cutoffs was improved flood conveyance, the revetments drastically decreased the flood conveyance; therefore, the flood levels increased without an increase in discharge, so the revetment constructions indirectly increased the flood risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]