Soil hydraulic parameters, particularly the soil hydraulic conductivity and soil water characteristic curve (SWCC), play a critical role in hydrogeological investigations and rainfall-induced hazard assessment. However, conventional measurements are often time-consuming and difficult to implement under field conditions. This study proposes a practical data assimilation framework for rapid estimation of soil hydraulic parameters, which integrates mini disk infiltrometer (MDI) tests, three-dimensional finite element (FE) seepage simulations, and a merging particle filter (MPF) approach. A sequential updating strategy is further incorporated to assimilate information from multiple measurements and improve estimation robustness. The proposed framework is validated through laboratory soil column experiments involving Toyoura sand, silica sand K-5, and Masado soil. Time-series infiltration measurements obtained from MDI tests are assimilated into transient seepage simulations based on the Richards’ equation, and the estimated parameters are compared with independently measured SWCCs and hydraulic conductivities. The results demonstrate that the framework can accurately estimate soil hydraulic parameters using only MDI infiltration measurements, while Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) successfully reproduce measured infiltration responses with all NRMSE values below 20%. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses indicate that the estimation results are relatively insensitive to assimilation sequence, whereas assimilation quantity and prior uncertainty exert greater influence on parameter identifiability and convergence. Overall, the proposed framework provides a rapid and reliable approach for probabilistic characterization of soil hydraulic parameters and shows promising potential for large-scale hydrogeological investigations.
Humans and other vertebrates contain two estrogen receptors (ERs), ER alpha and ER beta, which mediate the physiological actions of three estrogens: estrone (E1), estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3). Of these three estrogens, in vivo, E2 is the strongest transcriptional activator of ER alpha and ER beta, E1 is next most active, followed by E3. We studied transcriptional activation of human ER alpha and ER beta by E2, E1 and E3 in African green monkey kidney (COS-7) cells, which we compared with studies of estrogen stimulation of ER transcription in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells. To our surprise, in COS-7 cells, E3 had the lowest half-maximal response (EC50) for human ER alpha and ER beta than either E2, which was second most active estrogen, or E1. In contrast, for human ER alpha and ER beta transfected into HEK-293 cells, E2 was the most active estrogen, followed by E1 and E3. Similar results were found in COS-7 cells and HEK-293 cells transfected with elephant shark ER alpha and ER beta. Thus, under some conditions, E3 is a more active estrogen than either E2 or E1. This suggests that E3 may be a novel physiological ligand for the ER in some mammalian cells.
Excitation functions for the ^natSr(d,x) reactions producing ^86m,gY, ^87m,gY, and ^88Y were measured up to 24-MeV deuteron energy using the stacked-foil technique and gamma-ray spectrometry. The ^natSr targets were prepared using an inkjet printing method to ensure sufficient uniformity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental report of excitation functions measured using inkjet-printed targets, demonstrating the applicability of this technique to cross-section measurements. The measured cross sections were discussed in comparison with literature data and TENDL-2023 predictions. Our cross sections were generally consistent with those reported in the previous study, but were slightly higher in the threshold energy region. The TENDL-2023 library generally overestimates the experimental values. We report the experimental cross sections for the ^natSr(d,x)^86mY reaction for the first time. These measured cross sections contribute to the refinement of nuclear reaction databases for practical applications.
α-Pinene hydration over various solid acid catalysts, including zeolites, ion-exchange resins, sulfated zirconia, and Cs2.5/APTES–SiO2, was investigated, together with representative liquid acids for comparison. Cs2.5/APTES–SiO2, in which Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40 (Cs2.5) was immobilized on (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane-functionalized SiO2 (APTES–SiO2) through acid–base interactions, exhibited high catalytic activity and selectivity towards oxygenated products. The catalyst had a specific surface area of 140 m2 g−1 and an acid amount of 0.08 mmol g−1. At 333 K for 48 in the presence of excess water, it afforded 86% α-pinene conversion with 75% selectivity toward oxygenated products and an apparent pseudo-first-order rate constant of 4.3 × 10−2 h−1. The tungsten concentration in the reaction solution was below the ICP-OES detection limit of 0.01 mg L−1, indicating negligible leaching of Cs2.5-derived species. Time-course analysis and reactions using plausible intermediates as substrates supported a reaction network involving hydration, dehydration, cyclization, and isomerization. α-Terpineol was identified as a major primary oxygenated product and underwent further acid-catalyzed hydration of its CC bond to form mainly p-menthane-1,8-diol and, to a lesser extent, p-menthane-2,8-diol. The early formation of p-menthane-1,8-diol also suggested a possible direct pathway from α-pinene. α-Terpineol underwent intramolecular cyclization to 1,8-cineole and dehydration to monocyclic hydrocarbons. Hydration of these hydrocarbons proceeded only slowly, indicating their limited contribution as intermediates in oxygenate formation. Experiments using p-menthane-1,8-diol further suggest that β-terpineol and γ-terpineol can from through dehydration of p-menthane diols. These results identify α-terpineol and p-menthane-1,8-diol as important intermediates and provide mechanistic insights into selective oxygenate formation.
