Browse Articles

Enhancement of thiourea leaching performance of refractory silver tailings by mechanical activation

Abstract Refractory silver tailings are both an environmental liability and a potential secondary resource for precious metals. However, strong mineralogical locking of silver-bearing phases within barite and aluminosilicate matrices severely limits silver recovery under conventional leaching conditions. In this study, mechanical activation was investigated as a pretreatment method to enhance the thiourea leaching performance of refractory silver tailings from the Kütahya Eti Silver Plant (Turkey). Mechanical activation was carried out in a planetary ball mill for 0, 30, 60, and 90 min. The resulting changes in particle size, specific surface area, and structure were evaluated by particle size analysis, BET, XRD, and SEM. Mechanical activation caused marked particle fragmentation, increased surface area, and partial amorphization, indicating enhanced structural disorder and improved accessibility of silver-bearing phases. Thiourea leaching experiments were performed using 0.5 M thiourea in acidic solution at pH 1.5, with 0.01 M ferric sulfate as the oxidizing agent. Under the optimum conditions identified in this study, namely 90 min mechanical activation, 50 °C, S/L = 1/10, and 600 rpm, silver recovery increased from about 68% for the non-activated sample to about 96% for the mechanically activated sample. Kinetic analysis under conditions minimizing external mass-transfer resistance showed that apparent rate constants increased with activation time, while the apparent activation energy decreased from 46.1 to 38.9 kJ·mol −1 . Post-leaching SEM and BET results revealed agglomerated and porous particle structures, indicating that diffusion through evolving porous particle assemblies contributes to the observed kinetic behavior. This work directly links mechanochemically induced structural evolution with apparent leaching kinetics in industrial refractory silver tailings and highlights mechanically assisted thiourea leaching as a promising cyanide-free alternative for refractory silver-bearing wastes.

Neurofilament Light Disordered Tail Mutations Reshape Its Self-Assembled Network Structure

HDA19-mediated deacetylation of histone H3.3 at lysines 27 and 36 regulates plant sensitivity to salt stress

Plants survive extreme environments through rapid chromatin reprogramming, yet the epigenetic marks that confer stress resilience remain poorly understood. Histone deacetylase HDA19 is a key epigenetic regulator in Arabidopsis, and hda19 -deficient mutants display tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses, including drought, heat, and salinity. Using lysine acetylome profiling, we identified a noncanonical K27/K36 diacetylation mark on histone H3.3, among nine H3 variants, as a specific substrate of HDA19. Under salinity stress, this mark decreased in wild-type plants but increased in hda19 mutants, while other known H3 modifications were similarly affected in both genotypes. Mimicking constitutive diacetylation of H3.3K27/K36 through lysine-to-glutamine substitutions promoted accumulation of stress-responsive late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins and conferred salinity tolerance in seedlings, phenocopying hda19 mutants. Furthermore, generating the lea7-1/lea29-1/rab18-1 triple mutant abolished hda19 -dependent salinity tolerance, confirming the LEA proteins’ role downstream of HDA19. Our findings demonstrate that H3.3K27/K36 diacetylation, modulated by HDA19, drives LEA protein accumulation and enables plants to withstand environmental stress, revealing a core mechanism of plant stress resilience.

Evaluation of the accuracy and consistency of DeepSeek and ChatGPT in addressing type 1 diabetes mellitus-related queries in adults

Abstract Adult type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) involves complex diagnosis, treatment, and long-term self-management, creating a need for accurate and accessible health education. Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly used for medical information seeking, yet their accuracy and consistency in adult T1DM-related queries remain insufficiently evaluated. A guideline-based comparative evaluation assessed DeepSeek-V3.2 and ChatGPT-5.0 using 22 English-language prompts derived from the 2021 ADA/EASD consensus report, covering basic knowledge, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, treatment, and complications. The prompts were submitted to both models twice, two weeks apart. Responses were independently evaluated by two blinded endocrinology specialists using a predefined four-point scoring rubric, with disagreements adjudicated by a third senior endocrinologist. Short-term consistency was assessed by expert judgment and TF-IDF cosine similarity. Inter-rater agreement was good (Cohen’s κ = 0.71). Expert-judged consistency was 95.45% (21/22) for both models; TF-IDF cosine similarity was 0.52 ± 0.09 for DeepSeek and 0.54 ± 0.09 for ChatGPT. Overall accuracy scores were 3.59 ± 0.59 and 3.77 ± 0.43, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (p = 0.102). Comprehensive ratings accounted for 63.64% and 77.27%, respectively, and mixed correct and incorrect or outdated information accounted for 4.55% and 0.00%. Both models may support adult T1DM-related health education, but outputs should be interpreted as supplementary educational material under professional guidance rather than as diagnostic or therapeutic advice.

Antiaromaticity as a Design Principle for Magnetically Enhanced Chiroptical Anisotropy

<i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> –induced ABA signaling triggers root vascular remodeling for plant defense

Root vascular pathogens like Fusarium oxysporum (Fo) severely impact agriculture by colonizing the xylem, thereby disrupting the transport of water, nutrients, and signaling molecules within host plants. However, their effects on root growth and vascular development before xylem invasion, and the underlying molecular mechanisms, remain poorly understood. Here, we show that Fo triggers a rapid, systemic, abscisic acid (ABA) that seems to induce a developmental reprogramming in Arabidopsis that occurs prior to vascular colonization. This response is associated with root growth inhibition, disorganization of the root apical meristem, and alterations in xylem architecture. High-resolution imaging reveals that initial contact with Fo elevates root ABA levels, which parallels the modulation of key developmental pathways, including MIR165/PHB and VND7, which regulate vascular patterning and mediate premature xylem differentiation and remodeling. Phloem development is also affected, likely through disruption of CLE45–BAM3 signaling. Mutants impaired in endodermal ABA signaling, ELTPp:: abi1-1 , and secondary wall formation, cesa4, show constitutive elevated ABA levels, xylem defects, and enhanced resistance to Fo, suggesting that ABA-induced vascular remodeling contributes to the formation of structural barriers that limit infection. Additionally, Fo infection induces homogalacturonan demethylation in the stele, a modification associated with cell wall stiffening and reduced pathogen spread, which is constitutively observed in ELTPp:: abi1-1 . Overall, our findings reveal ABA-mediated vascular plasticity, including cell wall remodeling as a developmentally encoded root defense mechanism. They highlight how transient hormonal cues reprogram root architecture to limit pathogen invasion and suggest strategies for crop protection.

Psychographic segmentation of Italian pet owners and veterinarians reveals divergent pathways in the adoption of pet food diet containing plant extracts

Atomic-Scale Imaging and Characterization of Colloidally Synthesized Gold Nanocubes Using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

The LV map leads to misleading interpretations of coexistence

Understanding subclinical heart disease and cytokine profile in cardiorheumatic care of systemic lupus erythematosus

Heterogeneous Artificial Photosystem I: Photoinduced Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Zr–Metal–Organic Frameworks

Evolvable AI needs operational risk thresholds

Identification and validation of an explainable screening model of college students’ mental health with therapeutic strategy implications

Programmable Triple Functionalization of Benzenes by Merging Dearomative Functionalization and Skeletal Editing

Impact of fat content of oral nutritional intake on visibility and diameter of the thoracic duct: a prospective study

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate visibility and diameter changes of the thoracic duct (TD) on non-contrast MR-lymphangiography (MRL) after oral nutritional intake with different fat-content. Healthy adults prospectively underwent non-contrast thoracic MRL at 1.5 T on three separate days following an overnight fasting period. After baseline MRL, patients received standardized meals: (1) high-fat, (2) medium-chain-triglyceride (MCT), (3) fat-free. Thereafter hourly MR-scans were obtained for 6 h. TD-visibility was evaluated for the superior and inferior thoracic and abdominal TD-segment on a 6-point-scale (1:best; 6:worst). TD-diameters were measured independently by two readers. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate systematic differences between the different meals using paired t-tests and a linear mixed-model analysis. 154 MRI-scans were performed in 22 volunteers (16 female, mean age 29.7 ± 14.3 years). Overall TD-visibility improved significantly after the high-fat meal (baseline: 2.9 ± 0.9 vs. 6 h-examination: 2.4 ± 0.8; p  &lt; 0.001), while it slightly deteriorated after the MCT-meal (2.7 ± 0.9 vs. 3.2 ± 1.0; p  &lt; 0.001) and fat-free meal (2.8 ± 0.9 vs. 3.1 ± 1.0; p  = 0.006). TD-diameter increased after the high-fat meal with a maximum at 5 h postprandially in the abdominal (2.4 ± 0.6 mm vs. 2.9 ± 1.0 mm, + 21.5%, p  &lt; 0.001) and lower thoracic segment (2.1 ± 0.4 mm vs. 2.5 ± 0.5 mm, + 16.8%, p  &lt; 0.001) while the maximum mean increase in the upper thoracic segment was observed at 2 h postprandially (2.0 ± 0.3 mm vs. 2.3 ± 0.5 mm, + 13.8%). In contrast, no significant increase in TD-diameters over time was observed for the fat-free and MCT-meals. The observed improvement in TD visibility and increase in TD diameter after a high-fat meal suggest a relation to lymphatic resorption of long-chain triglycerides. Conversely, this effect was not observed after an MCT- and fat-free meal.

Resolving the Structures of AlM ₂ O ₄ ⁺ (M = Fe, Co) through Multireference Methods

Reply to Ernst and Spaak: The LV-map accurately estimates species interactions even when functional responses are nonlinear

Optimization-enhanced machine failure classification using critical sensor features and hybrid learning models with advanced optimization techniques

Unraveling the Chemical and Enzymatic Logic of Cytokinin Biosynthesis and Inactivation in <i>Fusarium</i>

Temporal interpretation of physiologic group contributions for ICU mortality prediction

Abstract Reliable ICU mortality prediction requires capturing physiologic evolution over time and interpreting these patterns in clinically meaningful ways. However, existing methods often focus on individual variables or isolated time points, limiting their ability to represent related physiologic states and temporal progression. We developed a group-based temporal interpretation framework by applying GroupSegment-SHAP to characterize the evolving contributions of physiologic groups before ICU mortality. Using MIMIC-IV, we evaluated prediction models across 24-, 48-, and 72-hour death-aligned lookback windows and selected Mamba, a selective state-space model, as the interpretation backbone because it showed comparatively strong and stable performance. Clinical variables were reorganized into physiologic groups, and Shapley values from the trained Mamba model were used to quantify group-wise temporal importance. Group-level interpretation identified hemodynamic, neurologic, cardiopulmonary, and temperature-related groups as major mortality predictors. Temporal analysis showed that 24-hour trajectories emphasized acute cardiopulmonary, metabolic, hematologic, and acid-base/respiratory abnormalities, whereas 48- and 72-hour trajectories additionally captured hemodynamic, renal-output, neurologic, and hepatic differences. Cardiopulmonary importance increased 8 to 30 h before peak group-level importance, when non-survivors showed lower normal-range proportions than survivors by up to 17.5% points. This analysis shifts interpretation from static variable-level importance to temporal trajectories of physiologic groups.