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The large-scale accumulation of coal gangue not only occupies land resources but also poses serious environmental risks, while offering opportunities for resource recovery through mine land reclamation. This study investigates how soil cover thickness regulates rainfall infiltration in coal gangue backfill systems through laboratory testing of hydraulic parameters, field infiltration monitoring, and HYDRUS-based numerical simulations. Results show that a 50 cm soil interlayer effectively delays infiltration and reduces moisture at the soil–gangue interface by approximately 40%, achieving a balance between hydraulic barrier performance and cost efficiency. Increasing the soil cover thickness to 70–100 cm further improves water retention capacity but results in reduced economic benefits. For long-term rainfall conditions, a layered configuration consisting of alternating coal gangue and soil layers, capped with a 1 m surface layer, moderated moisture transfer and limited deep percolation, maintaining stable hydrological behavior throughout the simulation period. Multi-objective optimization using the NSGA-II algorithm identified a total cover thickness of 50–60 cm as the optimal configuration, reducing leachate generation by about 90%, controlling heavy-metal migration risk below 3%, and maintaining unit costs within 120–150 CNY m −2 . These findings provide a quantitative and practical basis for designing sustainable soil cover systems that integrate solid waste utilization with environmental protection across different climatic regions.

In high-temperature rock engineering projects, rocks are subjected to external loads. Studying the cracking behavior of thermally damaged rock under uniaxial loading is of great significance to engineering. In the present study, real-time computed tomography (CT) scanning was performed on thermally damaged granite subjected to compression loading to observe the evolution of spatial three-dimensional (3D) microcracks and planar two-dimensional (2D) microcracks. The porosity and crack length were further introduced to quantify microcracking behavior. The effects of the load on the 3D microcrack volume distribution and the length of 2D microcracks with different orientations were discussed. The results show that real-time CT imaging intuitively presents the evolutionary process of realistic microcrack morphology during loading. As the load level increases, the porosity of the specimen and the total length of 2D microcracks experience stages of slow decrease, slow increase, and rapid increase. The proportion of microcracks with larger volumes decreases and then increases as the load level increases. In the slice parallel to the loading direction, the length of microcracks within an angle range of 30°–90° to the loading direction decreases as the load level increases. In the slice perpendicular to the loading direction, the microcrack length distribution exhibits obvious anisotropy as the load level increases.

The Maillard reaction represents a pivotal biochemical pathway for the abiotic formation of humic-like substances (HLSs); however, the regulatory role of gibbsite ( α -Al(OH) 3 ) in mediating this process remains insufficiently explored. This study systematically evaluated the effects of glycine concentration (0–0.24 mol/L) on the abiotic humification of catechol (0.06 mol/L) and glucose (0.06 mol/L) in the presence of gibbsite, using a sterile liquid shake-flask incubation system. The molecular complexity of the supernatant, total organic carbon (TOC) retention efficiency, and structural evolution of HLSs isolated from the dark-brown residue were analyzed through UV-Vis spectroscopy, TOC quantification, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. Results demonstrated that: (1) The Gly0.24 treatment (0.24 mol/L glycine) achieved the minimal TOC loss, with a reduction of only 26.0% compared to 49.8% in the control group (without glycine). This carbon-preserving effect was attributed to the formation of Al–C complexes. (2) At a glycine concentration of 0.12 mol/L, the resulting HLSs exhibited the highest degree of aromatic condensation—evidenced by the lowest E 4 /E 6 ratio (2.11)—and the richest content of oxygen–containing functional groups (O/C atomic ratio = 1.38). Concurrently, FTIR analysis indicated suppressed vibration of Al–O bonds in this treatment, suggesting that moderate glycine concentrations could modulate gibbsite–organic interactions to favor humification. (3) The Gly0 (no glycine) and Gly0.06 (0.06 mol/L glycine) treatments yielded the maximum humic-like acid (HLA) content, with respective increases of 1295.9% and 1034.6% relative to the control. This observation implies that low glycine levels (or its absence) primarily promoted the polymerization of catechol and glucose into HLA, rather than diverting carbon toward other reaction products. (4) Higher glycine concentrations (0.12–0.24 mol/L) significantly enhanced the accumulation of nitrogen-containing compounds in HLA, leading to a marked decrease in the C/N ratio (down to 8.7 in Gly0.24). This trend confirmed that excess glycine served as a nitrogen donor, facilitating the incorporation of nitrogen moieties into HLA structures during humification. These findings highlighted that 0.12 mol/L glycine represented the optimal concentration for optimizing abiotic humification in the gibbsite system, as it balances two critical processes: aromatic polycondensation (a hallmark of humification degree) and the enrichment of oxygen-containing functional groups (key for HLS reactivity). This study provided novel mechanistic insights into gibbsite-catalyzed Maillard pathways, thereby advancing the development of strategies for efficient carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the valorization of lignin-rich agricultural/industrial wastes into high-value humic-based products.

ObjectiveTo describe the incidence and key demographic, socioeconomic and clinical characteristics of individuals with liver disease in Wales.Design and settingThis study is designed as a retrospective observational study that linked data of anonymised identified individuals from primary, secondary care and mortality data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank in Wales.ParticipantsAll Welsh residents who registered with a SAIL-contributing general practitioner (GP) and diagnosed with liver disease from 2004 to 2022.Primary and secondary outcome measuresOur primary outcome is the annual age-standardised incidence rate of liver disease. Secondary outcome is the numbers and frequencies of underlying aetiology and the associated comorbidities.ResultsBetween 2004 and 2022, 111 098 individuals received a diagnosis of liver disease in Wales and were included in this study. The incidence of liver disease increased 2.4 folds during the study period (110.3 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2004 to 269.5 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2022). A total of 79 992 individuals (72%) entered the cohort with the underlying aetiology of liver disease, including alcohol-related liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), viral hepatitis, metabolic, haemochromatosis and autoimmune liver diseases. NAFLD has contributed to most of the change in incidence.ConclusionsWe observed increasing incidence rates of liver disease in Wales, with NAFLD showing a particularly sharp increase and frequently identified as an underlying condition. A better understanding of the incidence of liver disease is the first step towards effective prevention, early detection and targeted intervention to improve patient outcomes.

Most existing path-planning algorithms are applied in either trafficable environments or non-trafficable environments. Off-road vehicles (ORVs) are often faced with a mix of trafficable and non-trafficable environments. Therefore, trafficability should be considered in path planning for ORVs. Conventional ant colony algorithms (ACAs) are prone to stagnation and often fail to reach the optimal path. To address these problems, an improved ACA that considers trafficability was proposed in this study, which improved the pheromone distribution rules and adaptively adjusted the pheromone volatility coefficient. Based on this improved ACA, a multilevel adaptive path-planning model was proposed to solve path-planning problems with various scales of area. Experiments and comparative studies revealed that the improved ACA was applicable to path-planning problems in complex environments and achieved better performance and a higher computing efficiency than conventional counterparts.

Purpose Coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression is a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. However, the association between whole milk and CAC progression remains unknown. Recent studies highlighted beneficial effects of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) from whole milk on CVD. In this study, we attempted to investigate the relationship between whole milk consumption and CAC progression, and the potential effect of SCFA in it. Methods We analyzed a population-based cohort with 5273 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) who completed a dietary questionnaire at baseline. CAC was measured at baseline and subsequent follow-up examinations by multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scans with Agatston scores. CAC progression was defined as increased CAC scores in the follow-up from the baseline exam. Results Participants consuming whole milk exhibited lower baseline CAC and CAC progression than those who never/rarely consumed whole milk ( P  < 0.001 and P  = 0.010, respectively). Moreover, multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that whole milk intake was independently associated with lower CAC progression (OR 0.765; 95% CI 0.600–0.977; P  = 0.032), especially in males, participants with age ≤ 64 years and with body mass index (BMI) ≤ 25 kg/m 2 . Mediation analysis further showed that caproic acid, one kind of SCFA, partly mediated protective effects of whole milk on CAC progression. Conclusions Self-reported whole milk consumption was inversely associated with CAC progression in community-dwelling participants, especially in those at relatively low cardiovascular risks. The beneficial effect was partially mediated by SCFA. Therefore, whole milk can be incorporated into part of a cardio-protective diet. Regarding this, future studies may target SCFA to provide insight into more mechanistic views.

Differences in stiffness constitute an extremely important aspect of the mechanical differences between cancer cells and normal cells, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the most commonly used tool to characterize the difference in stiffness. However, the process of mechanical characterization using AFM has been controversial and the influence of the membrane tension on AFM measurement results was often ignored. Here, a physical model involving a simultaneous consideration of the effects of the cell membrane, cytoskeleton network and cytosol was proposed. We carried out a theoretical analysis of AFM force relaxation curves, and as a result solved many of the remaining controversial issues regarding AFM-based mechanical characterization of cells, and provided a quantitative solution for the membrane tension measured using AFM indentation experiments for the first time. From the results of experiments on cells with different adherent shapes and different pairs of normal cells and cancer cells, we found additional force provided by membrane tension to be the main component of the force applied to the AFM probe, with decreased cell membrane tension being the essential reason for the greater softness of cancer cells than of normal cells. Hence, regulating membrane tension may become an important method for regulating the behavior of cancer cells.

A series of clinical trials have confirmed the correlation between vascular calcification (VC) and cardiovascular events and mortality. However, current treatments have little effects on the regression of VC. Potent and illustrative mechanisms have been proven to exist in both bone metabolism and VC, indicating that these two processes share similarities in onset and progression. Multiple osteoblast-like cells and signaling pathways are involved in the process of VC. In this review, we summarized the roles of different osteoblast-like cells and we emphasized on how they communicated and interacted with each other using different signaling pathways. Further studies are needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms and to provide novel therapies for VC.

This study aimed to investigate vertical variations in dissolved organic matter (DOM) properties, humus (HS) composition, humic acid (HA) characteristics, and clay mineral dynamics, with a particular focus on the vertical distribution of HS components and mineral composition across Dark-brown, Meadow, and Paddy soil profiles. Results indicated that: (1) DOM in all three soil types was predominantly endogenous, primarily derived from microbial metabolism with minimal contributions from plant residues. (2) Vertical trends in DOM carbon content (CDOM) were specific to soil type: in Dark-brown soil, CDOM slightly increased from the Ap to Bt layer, followed by a sharp increase in the C layer; Meadow soil exhibited a significant decrease in CDOM in the AB layer but remained relatively stable in other layers; Paddy soil showed a consistent decline in CDOM with increasing depth. (3) HS and its fractions exhibited vertical variability: Paddy soil showed higher HS content in surface layers; carbon contents of water-soluble substances, HA, and humic-extracted acid (CWSS, CHA, and CHE) decreased with depth in Dark-brown and Paddy soils, whereas they remained relatively stable in deeper layers of Meadow soil. (4) HA characteristics, including C/N ratio, functional groups, and aromaticity, were influenced by both depth and soil type: the Ap2 layer of Paddy soil effectively restricted the downward movement of organic matter; Fe3+ complexation played a key role in HA stabilization in Dark-brown soil; Meadow soil exhibited transitional HS properties. (5) Clay mineral assemblages were dominated by 2:1 type minerals (illite, smectite, illite–smectite interstratifications), showing distinct vertical weathering patterns: illite content decreased with depth due to hydrolysis, while proton-driven dissolution promoted kaolinite formation in surface layers, particularly in Dark-brown soil 2:1 minerals enhancing organic–mineral complexation in Meadow soil. The findings of this study provided a scientific basis for optimizing soil carbon pool management and offer insights into organic–mineral interactions that can enhance organic matter sequestration in agricultural soils.

Maize is a globally significant cereal crop, while Albic soils in Northeast China are characterized by low available phosphorus (P), poor humus (HS) quality, and constrained maize yield. The synergistic effects of P fertilization on maize yield and HS quality in these soils remain poorly understood. This three-year field experiment was conducted to determine the optimal P application rate for concurrently enhancing crop productivity and HS quality. Four P application rates were established: 0 kg P2O5 ha−1 (no P application, P0), 40 kg P2O5 ha−1 (low P application, LP), 80 kg P2O5 ha−1 (moderate P application, MP), and 120 kg P2O5 ha−1 (high P application, HP). Soil nutrients status, HS fractions, dissolved organic matter (DOM) fluorescence characteristics, and structural properties of humic acid (HA) were systematically analyzed following standard analytical procedures. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson correlation analysis were integrated to facilitate comprehensive data interpretation. Results indicated that the MP treatment achieved the highest maize yield (12,257.1 kg ha−1) and soil organic matter (SOM, 14.8 g kg−1) content, with no further yield improvement observed under HP. The MP treatment significantly increased DOM carbon content (CDOM, 0.350 mg L−1) and its humification index (HIX, 6.80), promoting the transformation of labile DOM into stable HS. HA under MP treatment exhibited enhanced structural stability, as evidenced by a lower H/C ratio (1.72), a higher O/C ratio (0.880), and a reduced E4/E6 ratio, reflecting increased aromatic condensation and a greater abundance of oxygen-containing functional groups. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential thermal analysis (DTA) confirmed that MP improved the structural complexity and thermal stability of HA. In contrast, P0 and LP restricted nutrient availability and HS formation, whereas HP induced soil acidification (pH 5.68) and disrupted HS equilibrium. Principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation analysis revealed significant positive associations between the MP treatment and SOM, CDOM, and maize yield. This implied that moderate P input promoted stable soil organic carbon accumulation and nutrient availability, synergistically enhancing maize productivity—consistent with the study’s core goal of optimizing P management for concurrent yield and HS quality improvement in Albic soils. Accordingly, this study concluded that moderate P application (80 kg P2O5 ha−1) was optimal for Albic soils, synergistically enhancing both maize productivity and HS quality. These findings provided theoretical support for precise P management in sustainable agricultural systems within the Albic soil regions of Northeast China.