The environmental threat, pollution and damage posed by heavy metals to air, water, and soil emphasize the critical need for effective remediation strategies. This review mainly focuses on microbial electrochemical technologies (MET) for treating heavy metal pollutants, specifically includes Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni), and Cobalt (Co). First, it explores the mechanisms and current applications of MET in heavy metal treatments in detail. Second, it systematically summarizes the key microbial communities involved, analyzing their extracellular electron transfer (EET) processes and summarizing strategies to enhance the EET efficiencies. Next, the review also highlights the synergistic microbial interactions in bioelectrochemical systems (BES) during the recovery and removal (remediation) processes of heavy metals, underscoring the crucial role of microorganisms in the transfer of the electrons. Then, this paper discussed how factors including pH values, applied voltages, types and concentrations of electron donors, electrode materials, biofilm thickness and other factors affect the treatment efficiencies of some specific metals in BES. BES has shown its great superiority in treating heavy metals. For example, for the treatments of Cr6+, under low pH conditions, the recovery and removal rate of Cr-6(+) by double chambers microbial fuel cell (DCMFC) can generally reach 98-99%, with some cases even achieving 100% (Gangadharan & Nambi, 2015). For the treatments of heavy metal ions such as Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+, BES can also achieve the rates of treatments of more than 90% under the corresponding conditions of appropriate pH values and applied voltages(Choi, Hu, & Lim, 2014; W. Teng, G. Liu, H. Luo, R. Zhang, & Y. Xiang, 2016; Y. N. Wu et al., 2019; Y. N. Wu et al., 2018). After that, the review outlines the future challenges and the research opportunities for understanding the mechanisms of BES and microbial EET in heavy metal treatments. Finally, the prospect of future BES researches are pointed out, including the combinations with existing wastewater treatment systems, the integrations with the wind energy and the solar energy, and the application of machine learning (ML) in future BES. This article has certain significance and value for readers to better understand the working principles of BES and better operate and control BES to deal with heavy metal pollutants.

The seismic resilience of underground structures is one of the critical issues for the development of resilient cities. However, existing assessing methods for assessing the seismic resilience of underground structures do not comprehensively address their seismic capacity and post-earthquake recoverability. This paper developed a seismic resilience index and framework for assessing the seismic resilience of underground frame structures by considering both the damage and functionality of underground structures caused by earthquakes, as well as the processes involved in repairs. The seismic resilience index was developed by quantifying the resist resilience and recovery resilience, which can be used to describe the robustness, redundancy, and resourcefulness of the seismic resilience. Then the assessing procedure for this method is presented step by step. Additionally, a case study was conducted to assess the seismic resilience of a frame subway station, focusing on the economic losses associated with earthquakes. The study also discusses the improvements in seismic resilience achieved through the use of reinforced concrete truncated (RCT) columns. Results indicate that RCT columns can significantly enhance the seismic resilience of underground structures. The reasonability and quantifiability of the developed method were compared with existing methods, demonstrating its effectiveness. Furthermore, the developed assessing method can be extended to assess the seismic resilience of underground structures after quantifying their operational functionality.

The majority of European forests are managed and influenced by natural disturbances, with wind being the dominant agent, both of which affect the ecosystem's carbon budget. Therefore, investigating the combined effect of wind damage and different soil preparation practices on forest carbon pools is of great importance. This study examines changes in carbon stocks in the soil and biomass of two 5-year-old Scots pine stands (namely Tlen1 and Tlen2), which were established approximately 2 years after a large-scale wind disturbance in northwestern Poland. These neighboring sites differ in terms of the reforestation methods applied, particularly regarding soil preparation: ploughing disc trenching at Tlen1 and partial preparation through local manual scalping at Tlen2. Using nearby forest soils as the best available reference for the pre-windthrow state, it was estimated that the total carbon stock in the soil (up to 50 cm depth, both organic and mineral) was depleted by approximately 17 % at Tlen1 and 7 % at Tlen2. The between-site differences were around 18 %, which nearly doubled when considering only the top 20 cm of the soil profile. In contrast, the total biomass, as well as the carbon stock in biomass, were significantly higher at the site with soil prepared using moderate ploughing (Tlen1) compared to the area with partial soil preparation (Tlen2). Our findings indicate that ploughing disc trenching, aimed mainly at weed removal and improving soil properties, significantly enhanced Scots pine seedlings' growth, survival, and development during the first four years after planting. Finally, when both carbon stock estimates are pooled together, regardless of the chosen technique, the growing biomass in the investigated stands did not fully compensate for the carbon losses caused by mechanical soil preparation. However, in the short term, the overall change in the ecosystem's carbon balance was only slightly negative and comparable between the two sites.

The escalating environmental challenges posed by waste rubber tyres (WRTs) necessitate innovative solutions to address their detrimental effects on the geoenvironment. Thus, the knowledge about the recent advancements in material recovery from WRTs, emphasising their utilisation within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the circular economy principles, is the need of the hour. Keeping this in mind, various techniques generally used for material recovery, viz., ambient, cryogenic, waterjet, and so on, which unveil innovative approaches to reclaiming valuable resources (viz., recycled rubber, textiles, steel wires, etc.) from WRTs and various devulcanisation techniques (viz., physical, chemical, and microbial) are elaborated in this paper. In parallel, the paper explores the utilisation of the WRTs and recovered materials, highlighting their application in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering development projects while addressing the necessary environmental precautions and associated environmental risks/concerns. This paper incorporates circular economy principles into WRTs utilisation and focuses on achieving SDGs by promoting resource efficiency and minimising their environmental impact.

The study explored the long-term efficiency of an integrated electrodialysis-forward osmosis (EDFO) treatment technology for nutrient recovery and its application in irrigating and fertilizing high-value crops. Results showed a stable energy profile with consistent electrical conductivity (EC) trends in both municipal and dairy digestates, highlighting the system's capacity to maintain ionic stability, essential for long-term operation. Fouling resistance was indicated by gradual and minimal declines in current density, reflecting stable performance after three cycles and reducing the need for chemical cleaning. A greenhouse trial assessed the impact of using treated and untreated wastewater for irrigation on plant growth and nutrient dynamics in southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L. interspecific hybrid). The plants were grown in a soilless potting media and irrigated with a modified Hoagland nutrient solution (control), untreated municipal or dairy digestate, or recovered nutrient water from municipal or dairy digestate treated by the EDFO process. Leaf area and shoot biomass were similar among the treatments, confirming that wastewater irrigation did not adversely affect blueberry growth. Furthermore, pH levels in the potting media were near or within the optimal range for blueberry cultivation (4.5-5.5), while EC exceeded salinity thresholds for the crop (> 2 dS m(-1)) but did not visibly damage the plants, suggesting that salt levels were manageable with periodic freshwater flushing. Mass-spectrometry-based, non-targeted analysis detected significant reductions in organic pollutants across treatment cycles. In particular, pharmaceuticals and pesticides in untreated digestate were reduced by over 90 % post-treatment, affirming the system's efficacy in removing emerging contaminants that could pose risks in agriculture and consumers. Given the favorable nutrient recovery and contaminant removal, the EDFO system offers a sustainable solution for wastewater reuse, enabling nutrient cycling in agricultural systems and reducing freshwater dependence.

Fluorite (CaF2) leaching and weathering (30 days) were conducted to measure fluoride dissolution in semiarid endemic soil and controlled synthetic solutions, and determining the main chemical species involved in these processes via atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS). Ecological health response in this system was assessed exposing Allium cepa bulbs to 10, 50, 100, 450, 550 and 950 mg CaF2 kg-1 soil to determine genotoxic damage, protein and systemic fluorine concentrations. Results indicated 3 cycles of passive-active fluorite dissolution enabling fluoride concentrations up to 164 mg L-1 under endemic conditions; however, highest fluoride dissolution was 780 mg L-1 for synthetic sulfates solution. Cyclic behavior was associated with the formation of ultrafine-sized calcite (CaCO3)-like compounds. Fluorine concentrations ranged from 5 to 300 mg kg-1 in vegetable tissue. The electrophoretic profiles revealed changes in the protein expression after 7, 15 and 25 days of exposure. Genotoxic damage rate was 50, 82 and 42% for these exposures (950 mg CaF2 kg-1 soil). The dose-response curves of the normalized total protein content revealed the kinetics vegetable health damage rates for only 7 and 25 days. This behavior was best adjusted for only 7 days. These findings exhibited characteristics for initial damage and adaptation-recovery stage after 15 days. Environmental implications of these findings were further discussed.

The recurring occurrence of seismic hazards constitutes a significant and imminent threat to subway stations. Consequently, a meticulous assessment of the seismic resilience of subway stations becomes imperative for enhancing urban safety and ensuring sustained functionality. This study strives to introduce a probabilistic framework tailored to assess the seismic resilience of stations when confronted with seismic hazards. The framework aims to precisely quantify station resilience by determining the integral ratio between the station performance curve and the corresponding station recovery time. To achieve this goal, a series of finite element models of the soil-station system were developed and employed to investigate the impact of site type, seismic intensity, and station structural type on the dynamic response of the station. Then, the seismic fragility functions were generated by developing the relationships between seismic intensity and damage index, taking into account multidimensional uncertainties encompassing factors such as earthquake characteristics and construction quality. The resilience assessment was subsequently conducted based on the station's fragility and the corresponding economic loss, while also considering the recovery path and recoverability. Additionally, the impacts of diverse factors, including structural characteristics, site types, functional recovery models, and peak ground acceleration (PGA) intensities, on the resilience of stations with distinct structural forms were also discussed. This work contributes to the resilience-based design and management of metro networks to support adaptation to seismic hazards, thereby facilitating the efficient allocation of resources by relevant decision makers.

Wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) is a widespread megaherbivore that can intensively disturb large areas of its habitat both in its native and non-native ranges, when populations reach high densities. The main problem is its rooting habit, which entails intensive disturbance of the topsoil and herbaceous layer. The extent of concomitant habitat degradation varies across ecoregions; some ecosystems are rather resilient, although the damages are long-lasting in others. In mown meadows, a secondary problem is the inability to resume mowing due to the uneven soil surface of rooted patches. This can lead to both economic loss and a loss of management-dependent biodiversity. We assessed the short-term effects of rooting on vegetation cover and composition in central European permanent hay meadows and tested the utility of manual soil surface resmoothing to enable the continuation of mowing. We found that rooting increased bare soil surface but vegetation recovery occurred within a year. Similarly, high resilience was found for species composition. We could not detect any difference between rooted and intact grassland patches after 1 yr. This short-term perturbation of the composition could be associated with a temporary decrease in grassland specialist species and an increase in ruderal and pioneer species. Soil surface resmoothing was an additional disturbance, but vegetation cover returned to the level of intact grasslands within a year. Vegetation composition needed a slightly longer time (2 yr) to recover than that without resmoothing. We thus recommend the application of manual resmoothing in hay meadows with high short-term resilience to rooting, but a risk of long-term degradation (e.g., shrub encroachment) if mowing is not resumed. In hay meadows with lower resilience (because of, e.g., steep slopes), resmoothing should be applied with caution and may be supplemented with seeding to support the recovery of the vegetation and prevent soil erosion. (c) 2025 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including

Grain protein content (GPC) often increases with nitrogen (N) fertilizer; however, low GPC is preferred for soft wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The combined effects of decreasing N and increasing seed rate (SR) on soft wheat quality, economic benefits (Eb), apparent N recovery (ARN), and soil nitrate-N residual (SNR) are poorly understood. Field experiments were conducted with three SRs (SR135, SR180, and SR225) and two N levels (N235 and N290) in 2017-2018, and three N levels (N290, N235, and N180) with a control (N0) in 2018-19. The results showed that storage proteins, GMP, HMW-GS, and Zeleny sedimentation value significantly decreased with lower N levels and increased with higher SR. At the same SR, the significant difference for the parameters mentioned were greater at a low N rate than at a high rate. Furthermore, grain yield (GY), Eb, ARN, and SNR were significantly affected by N and SR. Increasing SR from 135 to 180 resulted in an average Eb increase of 13.32%, while increasing from 180 to 225 led to a decline of 3.75%. Compared to N290, N235 decreased SNR and GPC by 27.5% and 4.7%, respectively, but increased ARN by 18.3%. The highest Eb (13,914 CNY) and ARN value (57.5%) were observed with the treatment (N235SR180). Additionally, optimal combination for maximizing GY (90%), Eb (87.8%), and ARN (97%) was found at N235SR198, according to regression and spatial analysis. This study confirmed that optimizing N and SR can improve soft wheat quality and resource use efficiency without decreasing yield.

This study investigates the collision model of cassava seed stems in precision planters. Utilizing a physical property analyzer and a custom test platform based on collision dynamics principles, we measured and analyzed the forces and recovery coefficients of seed stem collisions. Mixed orthogonal and one-way tests were conducted to identify the main factors affecting the collision recovery coefficient of seed stems, including collision contact material, drop height, seed stem mass, moisture content, drop direction, and seed stem variety. The results from the orthogonal tests indicated that the factors influencing the collision recovery coefficient were ranked as follows: collision contact material > drop height > seed stem mass > moisture content > drop direction > seed stem variety. Notably, the effects of impact contact material, drop height, stem mass, and moisture content were significant, while the effects of drop direction and seed stem variety were relatively insignificant. The one-way test results revealed that the collision recovery coefficients for cassava seed stems with structural steel Q235, rubber sheet, seed stems, and sandy loam soil decreased progressively, with values for SC205 being 0.8172, 0.6975, 0.6649, and 0.6341, respectively, and values for GR4 being 0.7796, 0.7132, 0.6913, and 0.6134, respectively. Furthermore, as drop height increased, the collision recovery coefficient of cassava seed stems decreased; similarly, higher stem mass and moisture content correlated with lower coefficients. To minimize impact during critical stages of cassava planting, transportation, and processing, materials with lower recovery coefficients should be prioritized in equipment design. Incorporating rubber coatings can effectively mitigate collision effects in components such as seed supply and planting mechanisms. These findings provide valuable insights for designing and enhancing key mechanical features in machinery used for planting, transporting, and processing cassava.