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Article

04 February 2026

Analysis of Sensor Locations in Drone Aided Environmental Monitoring System Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Studies

Recent advancements in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology have enabled flexible, high-resolution monitoring of atmospheric CO2, particularly in complex or otherwise inaccessible environments. This study employs Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate the downwash flow field of a quadcopter UAV in hover condition with the objective of identifying low-disturbance regions suitable for accurate atmospheric sensor placement. A quadcopter model was simulated using the SST k-ω turbulence model. Simulations were performed at rotor speeds ranging from 1000 to 6000 rpm. Results show that the strongest downwash and turbulence occur directly beneath the rotors, while airflow above the central fuselage and regions laterally distant from the rotors remain significantly calmer. The findings strongly recommend placing gas sensors either above the drone body or sufficiently far horizontally from the rotor plane to minimize measurement errors caused by propeller-induced flow.

Open Access

Review

03 February 2026

Review of Offshore Wind Power Grid Integration and Operation in New Energy Systems

Offshore wind power is a key resource for achieving low-carbon transition in power systems with high penetration of renewable energy and power electronics, and it plays an increasingly important role in the development of modern power systems worldwide. The current research work focuses on aggregation-based development and operation technologies, grid-connected operation methods, and optimal scheduling strategies for offshore wind power, aiming to achieve the stable and healthy development of the offshore wind power industry. This paper reviews the characteristics of offshore wind energy systems and the integrated utilization technology for grid-connected operation. First, the aggregation features and system characteristics of new energy systems with large-scale offshore wind power are examined. Then, the system reviews key technologies for large-scale offshore wind power grid integration based on VSC-HVDC technology and analyzes the source-load characteristics of new energy systems incorporating offshore wind power. Finally, the development trends of offshore wind energy systems and integrated utilization technologies for grid-connected operation, as well as the technical fields that require further research in the future, are prospectively discussed.

Open Access

Article

03 February 2026

Rebuilding Community Cohesion in Migrant-Sending Villages: A Theory-of-Change Model for Social Work and Public Policy in Depopulating Rural Romania

Rural out-migration has become one of the most significant drivers of social and institutional fragility in contemporary Europe, particularly in peripheral and migrant-sending regions. Beyond demographic decline, sustained mobility generates care drain, school disengagement, elderly isolation, and erosion of interpersonal and institutional trust, ultimately leading to community fragmentation. While existing research has extensively documented these effects, far less attention has been given to how they can be systematically reversed through coordinated public policy and social intervention. This paper proposes a governance-ready Theory of Change that integrates social capital theory, social disorganization, rural migration studies, and cohesion-oriented social policy into a unified framework for restoring community cohesion in migrant-sending rural areas. The model specifies how multi-sectoral policy inputs, spanning social work, education, local government, civil society, and EU cohesion instruments, activate bonding, bridging, and linking forms of social capital, generating measurable improvements in school engagement, community participation, intergenerational solidarity, return-migrant reintegration, and institutional trust. Through two complementary visual models, a linear recovery pathway and a self-reinforcing cohesion cycle, the paper demonstrates how social recovery becomes cumulative and resilient once critical relational and institutional thresholds are reached. The proposed framework advances rural development scholarship by shifting the focus from managing migration impacts to governing social regeneration, offering a transferable policy architecture for strengthening cohesion, resilience, and sustainable development in mobility-affected rural regions.

Rural Reg. Dev.
2026,
4
(1), 10005; 
Open Access

Perspective

03 February 2026

Regularity of Human Body Temperature Change Induced by Various Aromatic Smokes

Aromatherapy is a widely used clinical complementary therapy. Incense therapy, as one of the primary methods of aromatherapy, releases volatile aromatic compounds that rapidly interact with the human body. To explore its potential mechanisms, we collected 123 common natural aromatherapy fragrances and employed infrared thermography to record human surface temperature changes after smoke inhalation. The results showed that most incense samples could induce localized temperature increases, exhibiting eight stable and distinct heating patterns. These patterns show a phenomenological correspondence with the eight extra meridians described in traditional Chinese medicine. This phenomenon suggests that natural incense smoke may induce meridian-specific warming effects, which may provide thermographic evidence for the meridian hypothesis while also offering new perspectives for modern aromatherapy research.

Open Access

Article

02 February 2026

Transcriptomic Insights into Selenite Response and Biotransformation in a Novel Selenium-Enriching Lactic Acid Bacterium

Many microorganisms are capable of surviving selenium (Se)-rich environments and efficiently transforming inorganic Se into organic Se, enabling them to act as a potent biocatalyst for the synthesis of organic Se. Here, we isolated a novel selenium-enriching lactic acid bacterium, Pediococcus acidilactici 03W, from the selenium-rich soil. The growth experiment showed that glucose is the optimal carbon source for P. acidilactici 03W when grown in 1000 µg·mL−1 sodium selenite at pH 6. RNA-seq analysis revealed that a total of 761 genes exhibited altered expression in response to selenite exposure. Downregulation of the phosphate transporter operon (pstA/B/C) and TauE/SafE-type exporters signaled a flux-throttling program that curtailed transmembrane anion flow—limiting high-affinity phosphate uptake and modulating sulfur/selenite export—thereby aligning net anion influx with the cell’s available reductive capacity. In contrast, the expression of the key genes responsible for NAD(P)H or FMN-dependent oxidoreductases and thiol-based redox systems (e.g., trxA/B, tpx, gor, and garB) was induced, together with cysteine desulfurases and sulfurtransferases, supporting the enzymatic reduction of selenite. Interestingly, Fe–S cluster assembly genes (e.g., sufU) were suppressed (not induced), suggesting a shift away from de novo Fe–S biogenesis toward sulfur–selenium transfer and detoxification under oxidative stress. Also, some key genes involved in central carbon metabolism, including the glycolytic pathway (e.g., pfkA) and the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) (e.g., zwf), were downregulated, which is consistent with reallocating resources from rapid growth to redox homeostasis. Collectively, selenium assimilation in P. acidilactici 03W proceeds through anion transport, enzymatic reduction to Se0 or H2Se, and incorporation into seleno-amino acids (selenocysteine and selenomethionine). Our findings provide a basis for microbial selenium transformation and highlight the potential of P. acidilactici 03W for developing selenium-enriched probiotic foods.

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