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Thermal decomposition and pre-reduction of goethitic iron ore fines and their effects on phase transformation and material properties
Abstract During high-temperature in-flight flash reduction of iron ores, goethitic particles undergo rapid structural changes. This study examines the influence of goethite on pre-reduction performance in a drop-tube furnace, focusing on the hematite to magnetite reduction step. Three iron ores (OreA, OreB, and OreC) with distinct mineralogical and physical characteristics were reduced in N 2 and atmospheres containing 95 % CO 2 with 5 % CO or H 2 at temperatures between 1658 and 1760 K. Compared to ores containing hematite as the sole iron-bearing phase, goethite-containing ores exhibit enhanced cracking and fragmentation during thermal decomposition, leading to changes in particle size and density. A comparison of OreB (lower goethite) and OreC (higher goethite) shows that the importance of particle residence time increases with goethite content. Higher pre-reduction was achieved at 80 ms for OreB and at 430 ms for OreC during thermal decomposition. Despite the use of reducing gases, reduction beyond magnetite was not observed due to large particle sizes (> 100 µm) and residence-time limitations of the drop-tube furnace. Further reduction (Fe 3 O 4 → FeO) was assessed using thermogravimetric analysis. Across both experimental set-ups, thermal decomposition has a higher impact on the total reduction than the gas reduction. EBSD analysis identified two reaction mechanisms, internal pore diffusion and surface product layer diffusion. Balanced mineralogical properties (as in OreB) were found to be critical for effective early stage in-flight flash reduction.
Large language model accuracy in dental radiology: effects of cognitive complexity and content domain
Cubic RSM modeling and multi-criteria evaluation of stainless-steel electrodes for EC of real carwash wastewater
Abstract This study investigates the treatment of carwash wastewater using the electrocoagulation (EC) process with stainless steel electrodes in a batch electrochemical reactor. The effects of pH (5–9), reaction time (5–50 min), and current (0.5–2 A) on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were examined to identify the most effective operating conditions. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied to analyze the interaction between these variables and to develop a predictive model for process optimization. The model achieved a prominent level of accuracy, with an R 2 value of 0.973, and predicted a maximum COD removal efficiency of 89.82% at pH 9, a current of 2 A, and a treatment time of 27.5 min with a 3.0 cm electrode spacing. Experimental results showed that electrode configuration also played a significant role in system performance. Among the tested designs, the flat mesh electrode achieved the highest COD removal (78.3%), followed by the cylindrical mesh (76.6%), the solid rod (71%), and the flat sheet (59%) under the same initial conditions. In addition, a Multi‑Criteria Decision‑Making (MCDM) analysis was carried out to evaluate the electrodes based on technical performance, energy demand, durability, and cost. The MCDM results supported the experimental findings, identifying the flat mesh electrode as the most suitable option for carwash wastewater treatment using EC. Overall, the study confirms that combining RSM with MCDM provides a reliable approach for optimizing EC systems and selecting the most efficient electrode configuration.
Explainable AI for chest radiographs: sex-stratified fairness auditing in CNN-based pneumonia detection
Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) systems for chest X-ray (CXR) interpretation can achieve high standalone diagnostic accuracy, yet limited transparency raises concerns about subgroup disparities. We audited sex-stratified performance and attention patterns in CNN-based pneumonia detection using the RSNA Pneumonia Detection Challenge dataset (26,684 frontal adult CXRs). ImageNet-pretrained InceptionV3 models were trained across five prespecified random seeds and combined as a seed-ensemble. Analyses used a prespecified, fixed, patient-level sex- and label-balanced test set (n = 1,000; 250 pneumonia-positive and 250 pneumonia-negative per sex) and a single validation-derived operating point held constant across sex. Baseline performance was robust (AUROC 0.859 [0.836, 0.881], Brier 0.155 [0.141, 0.169]). Males showed higher discrimination than females (AUROC 0.882 vs 0.837, gap + 0.045 [+ 0.002, + 0.091]) and a lower false-positive rate (FPR gap − 0.073 [− 0.145, − 0.006]). To contextualize disparities, we quantified Grad-CAM attention relative to lung segmentation masks; in-lung activation was lower in females (60.8% vs 64.7%, M − F + 3.9 pp [+ 1.6, + 6.4]). A combined mitigation (group-balanced sampling + adversarial debiasing) preserved performance (AUROC 0.864 [0.843, 0.885]) while reducing AUROC/specificity gaps and attenuating the false-positive disparity. Quantitative explainability can complement fairness auditing and mitigation in medical imaging.
Comparative genomics of the Nap2-2B clade reveals substrate partitioning and niche diversification among uncultured hydrocarbon-degrading Desulfotomaculales
Deep learning based groundnut and paddy leaf disease classification using dual attention network
Post-exposure booster vaccination recalls vaccine-induced memory and accelerates Bordetella pertussis clearance in murine lungs and trachea
Abstract Despite high vaccination coverage, pertussis continues to cause substantial morbidity in infants, largely because acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines do not prevent bacterial carriage and transmission. Whether post-exposure booster vaccination can rapidly reduce respiratory carriage and thereby limit transmission remains unclear. We used an adoptive murine transfer model mimicking waning vaccine-induced antibodies observed in humans to assess the impact of post-exposure aP vaccination following respiratory challenge with Bordetella pertussis . Bacterial loads in the lungs and trachea and pertussis-specific antibody responses were assessed across multiple independent experiments. Post-exposure aP vaccination triggered a rapid recall of pertussis-specific antibodies and significantly accelerated bacterial clearance from both lungs and trachea. Compared with non-boosted immune mice, vaccinated animals showed significantly lower bacterial loads on days 7, 10, and 14 after exposure and cleared Bordetella pertussis earlier ( p < 0.01). Similar reductions in bacterial burden were observed with delayed boosting, lower-antigen-content vaccines, and passive immunization. In this preclinical model, post-exposure pertussis booster vaccination efficiently recalls memory B cells and accelerates Bordetella pertussis clearance in the lung and upper airways. These findings support the potential role of post-exposure vaccination strategies as a complementary approach to limit transmission in household and community settings and thus better control epidemics.
Numerical simulation of mitochondrial systems for ATP generation and membrane transport
Abstract Simulating intracellular biochemical reactions remains a significant challenge in mathematical modeling because of the complex interactions among diverse molecular species. The natural number simulation (NNS) framework offers a dynamic approach to simulating these reactions using a novel algorithm based on reaction equations. In this study, we developed a computational cell model incorporating mitochondria to examine key metabolic processes, including glucose uptake, glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and ATP synthesis via the electron transport chain. Substrate transport mediated by membrane proteins, such as pyruvate and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide transporters, and the electron transport chain, was replicated using simplified reaction equations. The simulation results showed that, with appropriately chosen rate constants, the ATP production rate reached approximately 155 molecules s − 1 per ATP synthase . Sensitivity analysis indicated that the number of mitochondrial phosphate transporters and the rate of phosphate transport into mitochondria strongly influence ATP production. The model also showed that intermittent glucose supply has a minimal impact on ATP production and that the framework is capable of incorporating the effects of deuterium-containing water on ATP synthesis. This framework provides a foundation for future efforts in simulating more detailed metabolic pathways and integrating experimental data.
Synthesis, spectral, nonlinear optical properties, molecular docking and cytotoxicity studies on some metal complexes derived from 2-Cyano-N’-(2-Hydroxybenzylidene)-3-Phenylacrylohydrazide
Abstract The synthesis and investigation of 2-cyano-N’-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)-3-phenylacrylohydrazide (H 2 L) and its Ni 2+ , Cu 2+ , Co 2+ and Zn 2+ complexes are discussed in this paper. These compounds were characterized with different techniques, including CHN, IR, MS, 13 C & 1 HNMR, TGA, ESR, UV-Visible and the magnetic moments. DFT calculations (DFT/B3LYP) level was used for geometry optimization of the suggested structures with 6-311 + + G(d, p) basis set. An octahedral stereochemistry was suggested for Ni 2+ and Co 2+ complexes while; a square planar geometry was proposed for Cu 2+ complex. The results proposed four coordinated stereochemistry for Zn 2+ complex. The IR spectra of the H 2 L were simulated and compared with the experimental result, achieving a correlation coefficient R 2 = 0.99976. The UV-visible spectra were used in determining the optical band gaps and found to be in the range 3.26–3.28 eV. Non-linear optical (NLO) properties of the DFT optimized compounds were investigated and indicated higher values in comparison with urea. The molecular docking was utilized to study the possible interactions between the synthesized compounds and the targeted proteins of liver and colon cancer. The suggested compounds were examined towards HeP2G and HCT-116 cell lines to determine their anticancer activity that are compared to Doxorubicin and Sorafenib as standards. H 2 L exhibited strong cytotoxicity against HeP2G cell line; on the other hand, Zn 2+ complex exhibited strong cytotoxicity against HCT-116 cell line.
Deep learning model for predicting fracture redisplacement in conservatively treated distal radius fractures using radiographs: a retrospective cohort study
Research on tissue injury of low-temperature plasma ablation with different saline temperatures
Fairness cues reorganize responsibility beyond system capability in social mixed-ability human–automation interaction
Effects of an interdepartmental handover program on nurses’ safe care quality in intensive care units
Referral delays in sarcoma patients: a prospective cohort study and management guidelines
Associations of self-reported toothbrushing frequency with salivary microbiome in caries, fluorosis, and healthy subjects
Selective portal vein occlusion and myocardial injury after major hepatobiliary surgery: a propensity-weighted cohort study
Single-channel EEG sleep stage classification using synchrosqueezed transform and sequential representation learning
Development and clinical evaluation of fluorescent tattoo system for radiation therapy
Abstract Conventional dark-ink tattoos used for radiotherapy positioning may remain permanently visible. We developed a fluorescent tattoo system comprising a medical tattoo device, fluorescent ink, and ultraviolet (UV) lamps and evaluated its clinical feasibility. Twenty-four patients prospectively received fluorescent tattoos, and setup displacement and procedure times were compared with those of 24 retrospectively selected patients with conventional dark-ink tattoos. The time required for tattooing and patient treatment setup was estimated. The setup errors were determined using CBCT. Pain, satisfaction, and adverse events were evaluated prospectively in the fluorescent group. Lamps with wavelengths in the UVA range were developed. The appropriate needle vibration frequency and needle type for tattoo procedures were determined. CBCT-based setup displacement did not differ significantly between groups. Median CT simulation time was longer with fluorescent tattoos, whereas treatment setup time was similar. The VAS score was evaluated as 1.9 ± 0.8. The patients were highly satisfied with the availability of showers and the invisible marker. No tattoo-related adverse events were reported during a three-year medical-record review. In this small, non-randomized cohort, the fluorescent tattoo system was clinically feasible and showed no significant difference in CBCT-based setup displacement from conventional dark-ink tattoos. It may offer a cosmetically inconspicuous option for selected patients, although UV illumination, longer application time, limited cohort diversity, and long-term pigment safety require further study.
Green synthesis and application of ZnO nanoparticles for removing malathion and pyrene from aqueous solutions
Abstract This study systematically investigates the green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using an Artemisia plant-extract-mediated sol–gel method and evaluates their performance for the simultaneous removal of malathion and Pyrene from aqueous solutions. The synthesized nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, XPS, and BET, revealing a highly crystalline, mesoporous structure with a surface area of 180 m 2 /g, pore diameters of 4–4.5 nm, and abundant surface hydroxyl groups and oxygen vacancies that facilitate adsorption. Batch experiments optimized pH (~ 7), adsorbent dosage (1 g/L), contact time (180 min), and initial pollutant concentrations. Non-linear kinetic modeling shows that adsorption follows the Pseudo-First-Order model (R 2 ≥ 0.989, SSE < 10 –4 ), indicating a physisorption process controlled by boundary layer mass transfer. Isotherm analysis fits the Langmuir model well (R 2 ≥ 0.9588), giving maximum capacities at 298 K of 14.25 mg g −1 (malathion) and 26.74 mg g −1 (Pyrene), while Rₗ (0–1) and 1/n < 1 confirm favourable adsorption. Thermodynamic analysis demonstrated that malathion adsorption is endothermic and entropy-driven (ΔH° = + 33.4 kJ/mol, ΔS° = + 112.9 J/mol K), whereas Pyrene adsorption is exothermic and enthalpy-driven (ΔH° = − 8.0 kJ/mol, ΔS° = − 22.7 J/mol K), with negative ΔG° values confirming spontaneous adsorption under all studied conditions. The ΔH° values below 40 kJ mol −1 and ΔG° values in the range 0 to − 20 kJ mol −1 confirm the physical nature of the binding, and long-term sustainability. These findings indicate highlight the capability of green-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles to simultaneously remove structurally diverse organic pollutants under near-neutral conditions, addressing a key limitation in current adsorption systems. However, this study is limited to laboratory-scale conditions with limited evaluation of adsorbent regeneration and real wastewater applicability. Therefore, future work should focus on regeneration efficiency, long-term stability, and performance in real wastewater.