This study investigates the hydrocarbon composition and bacterial communities present in fuel oil retrieved from World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific. We quantified Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene (BTEX), as well as Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) using Gas Chromatography – Flame Ionization Detection and Mass Spectrometry (GC-FID/GC–MS). Additionally, we profiled the bacterial community using the V3/V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene, identifying a diverse microbial assemblage comprising 42 phyla, 107 classes, 249 orders, 432 families, 1047 genera, and 1505 species. Dominant phyla included Proteobacteria (77.9%), Actinobacteriota (35.7%), Firmicutes (19%), and Bacteroidota (6.1%). While active hydrocarbon degradation was not directly assessed, the presence of known hydrocarbon-associated taxa highlights a community structured around long-term hydrocarbon exposure. The distribution of microbial communities appeared to be influenced by both hydrocarbon composition and sampling location. Fuel oil from one site was a blend of distillate and residual oils with higher concentrations of BTEX and PAHs, while the other was only, with higher overall PAH and TPH levels. These findings offer valuable insights into the microbial community structure in historically contaminated marine environments and establish a baseline for future research. This study contributes to broader efforts in pollution monitoring, ecosystem conservation, and establishes a taxonomic baseline to inform future functional bioremediation research.
This study synthesized the empirical literature published between January 2020 and May 2026 on cultural adaptation of Mainland Chinese migrants. Drawing on the PRISMA framework, 69 empirical studies were identified and synthesized thematically. Methodological quality was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and confidence in the synthesized findings was assessed using the GRADE-CERQual approach. Five analytical themes emerged: acculturation strategy, social media use, family networks, acculturative stress and psychological adjustment, and identity-based subgroups. The results indicate acculturation strategy and continuous cross-cultural negotiation are the factors affecting the dynamic and complex process of cultural adaptation of migrants from Mainland China. Methodological appraisal further identified systematic deficiencies in sample representativeness within the quantitative descriptive literature, and in the handling of divergence in mixed methods designs. This synthesis emphasizes the importance of subgroup heterogeneity, digital communication, and post-pandemic reception environments as productive avenues for future intercultural research.
Many natural food proteins with desirable functional properties are limited by poor water dispersibility, which restricts their practical application. In this study, egg yolk granules (EYG) and zein, two intrinsically water-insoluble proteins with distinct origins of insolubility, were used to construct soluble protein complexes through a simple pH-driven co-assembly process. Stable EYG-Zein complexes were obtained within a defined compositional range, and the optimal mass ratio of 2:3 showed the smallest hydrodynamic diameter and the highest colloidal stability. Multiscale characterization indicated that the mutual solubilization of EYG and zein was governed primarily by non-covalent interactions and accompanied by structural reconstruction. Fluorescence quenching and thermodynamic analysis further suggested that hydrophobic interactions were the dominant driving force for complex formation. Compared with dissociated EYG, the EYG-Zein complexes exhibited higher surface hydrophobicity and showed enhanced ice recrystallization inhibition activity, which became stronger with an increasing proportion of zein. In an ice cream system, incorporation of EYG-Zein effectively suppressed ice crystal growth while causing minor changes in color and no significant adverse effects on melting behavior, texture, or aroma-related properties. These results demonstrate that pH-driven all-protein co-assembly can serve as an effective strategy for converting EYG and zein into functional colloidal complexes and highlight the potential of EYG-Zein complexes as antifreeze ingredients in frozen foods.
This paper develops fundamental mathematical theory for refracting Filippov systems. These are discontinuous ordinary differential equations whose first Lie derivatives vary continuously across discontinuity surfaces. Unlike generic Filippov systems, discontinuity surfaces consist only of crossing regions and their boundaries where both adjacent vector fields are tangent to the discontinuity surface. Crossing orbits spiral around invisible-invisible tangency surfaces, and we determine the attractive/repulsive strength of these surfaces. We prove crossing orbits cannot converge to tangency surfaces in finite time, and that the limiting dynamics consists of Filippov solutions on the tangency surfaces. We derive a vector field that governs this motion, and characterise the stability of equilibria on tangency surfaces. The results are illustrated with an impact oscillator and a model of ant colony migration. We show that for two-dimensional systems the results reduce to known theory, and highlight similarities and differences between refracting systems and second-order sliding mode control.
Airlines and airports are increasingly using self-service technologies (SST) to automate routine passenger-processing tasks. Drawing on social exchange theory, the psychological contract and the stress-and-coping perspective, this study examines how ground staff’s perceived threat of job automation from SST relates to their job insecurity, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention. Survey data from 193 airline, airport and ground handling staff in Thailand were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The perceived threat of SST was associated with higher job insecurity, which in turn was associated with lower job satisfaction and higher turnover intention. The threat had no significant direct effect on job satisfaction or turnover intention; its effects operated only through job insecurity. Job satisfaction was positively associated with organisational commitment, which was associated with lower turnover intention. These findings suggest that SST harms ground staff’s attitudes and retention mainly by undermining their sense of job security. Airlines, airports and ground handling companies can limit this effect by clarifying how SST will change staff roles and by offering reskilling and visible career paths.
