Abstract Lower-limb alignment is central to human bipedal locomotion and a key determinant of joint kinematics and osteoarthritis risk in modern clinical practice. However, its significance in hominins, and therefore its evolutionary implications, remain poorly understood. Advances in robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) provide highly precise measurements of lower-limb alignment, joint morphology and soft-tissue balance that can elucidate these understudied aspects of hominin functional morphology. Here, we perform a proof-of-concept robotic-assisted TKA on an anatomically accurate model of the Spy II Neandertal. Using a robotic-assistance system, we registered bony morphology and replicated soft-tissue laxity extrapolated from a modern patient with a comparable alignment phenotype. We confirmed a pronounced constitutional varus alignment, classifying Spy II as a CPAK type I knee. This phenotype resembles that of modern athletes engaged in significant weight-bearing sports or intense physical activity during growth. The demonstration of constitutional varus in a hominin fossil thus suggests a deep evolutionary origin for this alignment pattern in modern humans, contextualizing normal knee variation and supporting an individualized alignment approach to modern TKA.
This study evaluates five energy-efficiency and low-carbon strategies for e-commerce last-mile logistics using 120 calibrated simulated operating scenarios distributed across five metropolitan regions and three delivery-density classes. Each scenario was evaluated under a conventional internal-combustion baseline (S0), route optimization (S1), consolidation (S2), electrification (S3), and an integrated strategy (S4). Paired scenario-level comparisons, controlled-response analysis, factorial decomposition, grid-carbon break-even analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, and robustness tests were applied. Relative to S0, S1 and S2 reduced mean final energy use by 11.07% and 14.58% and route-operational CO₂e emissions by 11.06% and 14.56%, respectively. After accounting for 90% charging efficiency, S3 reduced grid-purchased final energy use by 66.43% and route-operational CO₂e emissions by 61.15%. S4 achieved the strongest central performance, reducing grid-purchased final energy use by 74.13% and route-operational CO₂e emissions by 70.05%, while increasing productivity from 29.34 to 33.81 deliveries per vehicle-hour. Factorial and alternative-combination analyses showed that S4 retained its first-place ranking after removal of the 0.99 integration multiplier and under the examined alternative combination rules. Both electrified strategies remained lower-carbon under average grid factors, although S3 retained this advantage in only 91 of 120 scenarios under nonbaseload factors. Strategy ordering remained unchanged across all ordinary-uncertainty simulations but frequently reversed under deliberately severe implementation stress. The findings support condition-dependent strategy selection but remain limited to calibrated simulated operations and route-level energy and emissions.
Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) has attracted considerable interest because of its diverse bioactive properties. To provide an integrated characterization beyond the evaluation of a single biological property, this study investigated the antimicrobial and physicochemical characteristics of water, ethanol, and methanol extracts, together with the antioxidant capacity and elemental composition of yerba mate. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against foodborne pathogenic bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus aureus) and yeast species (Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) using the agar well diffusion method. The water, ethanol, and methanol extracts were tested at their experimentally determined extract concentrations rather than after normalization to a common dry-extract concentration. The results revealed that the extracts exhibited no antifungal activity but showed varying levels of antibacterial effects among the tested extracts and microorganisms. Under the tested experimental conditions, the methanol extract produced the largest inhibition zones, particularly against S. aureus (18.67 mm) and B. subtilis (18.33 mm), and showed the lowest MIC value (43.75 µg/mL). Physicochemical analyses showed that the methanol extract had the highest pH (5.31) and the lowest oxidation–reduction potential (113.83 mV), whereas the ethanol extract had the lowest pH (4.86) and the highest oxidation–reduction potential (137.13 mV). For the single analyzed extract condition at 5 mg/mL, the total phenolic content was 12.80 µg GAE/mL, with a ferric reducing antioxidant power of 0.89 µM FeSO4·7H2O equivalents and a DPPH radical scavenging activity of 59.07%. Because solvent-specific antioxidant measurements were not available, these results do not permit comparison among the water, ethanol, and methanol extracts. Elemental analysis by ICP-MS showed that potassium (3320.54 ppm), magnesium (1079.60 ppm), and calcium (726.35 ppm) were the most abundant measured elements, while Pb, Cd, and As were detected at relatively low concentrations in the dried plant material; however, dietary exposure was not assessed. Overall, extracts prepared from the analyzed commercial yerba mate material using different solvents exhibited different levels of in vitro antibacterial activity under the tested experimental conditions; however, because the extracts were not evaluated at an identical dry-extract concentration, these differences cannot be attributed exclusively to the extraction solvent. However, because no food-matrix or shelf-life experiments were performed, further validation using food-compatible extracts in real food systems is required before preservative applications can be proposed. Further studies should focus on identifying the bioactive compounds responsible for the observed activities and evaluating concentration-dependent responses using food-compatible extracts.
Despite their ecological and socioeconomic importance, oceanic and reef-associated elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) have experienced widespread declines. Within the Indian Ocean, Fuvahmulah Atoll, a highly exposed oceanic atoll in the southern Republic of Maldives, was recently designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, partly due to its extraordinary marine megafauna. However, Fuvahmulah’s elasmobranch populations have been little studied. Using remote timelapse cameras at three shallow forereef sites on the atoll, we quantified elasmobranch sightings during daylight hours between March and August 2022 (n = 1,629,756 images analyzed). Elasmobranchs were sighted almost every day (95%, n = 60) and most hours (72%, n = 550). Of the four ray and seven shark species sighted, whitetip reef sharks were seen on the most hours (n = 327) and days (n = 56), but pelagic thresher sharks were sighted in the most images (n = 27,447), reflecting the long periods this species spent at one site known to be a cleaning station. We document significant differences in species’ occurrences, relative abundances (MaxN), and frequency of occurrences diurnally, across sites, and seasons. The highest shark sighting rates overall, and for grey reef, whitetip reef, and tiger sharks, were observed within the Farikede marine protected area, for which management plans are in development. Our findings, which represent the first quantitative reports of Fuvahmulah’s elasmobranchs, underscore the atoll’s importance and that of protected areas for ensuring the persistence of these megafauna.
Water leakage in in-service mountainous highway tunnels is difficult to diagnose due to concealed geological conditions, coupled seepage processes, and frequent recurrence after local repair. This study proposes a causal-diagnosis and causal-chain-based treatment framework for tunnel water leakage. The water-leakage mechanism is interpreted as a progressive process involving groundwater recharge, fracture-controlled seepage transport, drainage obstruction, water-pressure accumulation behind the lining, and failure at weak points in the waterproofing system. A diagnostic method integrating leakage characteristics, groundwater conditions, geological anomalies behind the lining, drainage performance, and waterproofing defects is established, followed by a three-stage treatment strategy. The framework was applied to the Dashiling Tunnel on the Shenzhen–Cenxi Expressway (G2518), China, using leakage surveys, seismic reflection imaging, and visual inspections. A total of 312 leakage defects were identified, with 48.1% occurring at secondary-lining construction joints and 37.8% occurring in wall-foot-to-sidewall zones. Fracture-related anomalies behind the lining and severe blockage in 50.0% of the inspected side drains revealed a compound leakage mechanism. After targeted treatment, two years of monitoring showed that the total area of pavement leakage was reduced to approximately 3.9% of its pre-treatment level. The number of tunnel water-leakage defects exhibited an approximately linear decreasing trend, with an overall reduction of more than 70%. The densities of tunnel water-leakage defects in all statistical sections were less than 0.3 points per linear meter, demonstrating good treatment effectiveness. The proposed framework provides a practical approach for the systematic diagnosis and treatment of water leakage in comparable in-service mountainous highway tunnels with similar hydrogeological and drainage conditions.
