Search Results (259,771)

To address the major safety hazard that heat released from mining polyurethane (PU) reinforcement materials may induce spontaneous combustion of residual coal in goaf, this study selected No. 3 coal from Wangzhuang Coal Mine, Shanxi Lu’an, as the research object. A self-developed large-capacity, large-scale experimental system was used to conduct programmed heating experiments on 2.0 kg multi-particle-size coal-PU mixed samples. The effects of PU content on characteristic gas release, crossing point temperature (CPT), residue morphology, and TGA-DSC characteristic temperatures were systematically investigated, and the reaction-kinetic evolution was further analyzed using the distributed activation energy model (DAEM). The results show that coal and PU exhibit a significant synergistic enhancement effect during co-heating. As the PU content increased, the release concentrations of CO, C₂H₄, and C₂H₆ increased markedly, and their initial release temperatures decreased, whereas CH₄ generation was inhibited by hydrogen-radical competition; no C₂H₂ was produced below 400 °C. The CPT decreased linearly with an increasing PU content, with an average decrease of approximately 8.5 °C for every 10% increase in PU content. Residue morphology showed clear critical features: glassy agglomerates appeared when the PU content exceeded 16.67%, and dense bulk coking occurred when the PU/coal mass ratio was greater than 1:10. TGA-DSC analysis showed that when the PU/coal ratio was lower than 1:10, the ignition temperature of the mixed sample was higher than that of pure coal, indicating an inhibitory synergistic effect. When the ratio exceeded 1:10, the ignition temperature decreased significantly, and the synergy shifted to promotion; increasing the heating rate shifted the characteristic temperatures to higher values and increased the reaction intensity. DAEM analysis further confirmed that when the PU ratio exceeded 1:10, the apparent activation energy of the mixed samples was lower than that of pure coal. Coal powder also acted as a physical skeleton that effectively dispersed molten PU, eliminated the activation-energy peaks of pure PU in the conversion ranges of 30–50% and 70–90%, and substantially improved combustion stability. Mechanistically, low-temperature PU melting and coating optimized heat and mass transfer, medium-temperature pyrolysis released active radicals and combustible gases that altered coal pyrolysis pathways and the radical reaction environment, and high-temperature hydrogen-radical competition reshaped the gas-product distribution. Together, these processes form a complete chain of synergistic spontaneous combustion. This study identifies key safety threshold parameters for PU reinforcement materials, recommends a PU content of ≤9.10%, and identifies CO and C₂H₄ as priority early-warning gases, providing direct experimental evidence for characteristic-gas-based early warning and mine fire prevention. Full article

Citrus fruits are a significant source of flavonoids. Of all the citrus fruits, Citrus paradisi (grapefruit) presents the highest concentration of the flavonoid naringin, a compound offering a variety of human health benefits and applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries. Commonly, when a citrus fruit is consumed, the peel and seeds are discarded, resulting in approximately 50% waste, making the potential use of citrus waste in order to reduce environmental impact a research priority. The present study used fresh grapefruit albedo to extract naringin via eco-friendly methods, such as ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), which were compared against the conventional reflux extraction procedure. Furthermore, the presence of naringin was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, while naringin content was determined via HPLC-DAD analysis. The results obtained show that the pink grapefruit variety was the optimal source for extracting the flavonoid of interest, producing the highest content (3.41 g/kg), followed by the red (2.47 g/kg) and white (1.70 g/kg) varieties. The UAE method was observed to reduce the extraction time significantly, to only 10 min, which is up to 30-and -fold times less than the extraction times obtained using conventional (5 h) and MAE (40 min) methods, respectively. These results prove the usefulness of UAE as a simple, fast, efficient, and eco-friendly method for extracting naringin from fresh grapefruit albedo, via the use of a green solvent such as ethanol. In addition, the present study is the first to conduct a comparative analysis of naringin content in the three main grapefruit varieties grown in Mexico. Full article

The cement industry accounts for approximately 8–9% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to clinker production. Replacing Portland cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) is a promising strategy to reduce these environmental impacts. This study evaluates the mechanical performance and environmental profile of sugarcane ash (SCA) and energy cane ash (ECA) as SCMs in Portland cement mortars. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to integrate the mechanical performance and life cycle environmental assessment of energy cane ash as a supplementary cementitious material in Portland cement mortars. Mortars incorporating 5–20% ash were tested for compressive strength and accelerated carbonation. An attributional life cycle assessment (LCA), following ISO 14040/44 and using the ReCiPe 2016 method, was conducted with a cradle-to-gate approach. At 28 days under wet curing, 10% ECA replacement achieved slightly higher compressive strength than the reference mortar (102%), while 10% SCA replacement also achieved compressive strength similar to the reference mortar, although slightly lower than that of ECA. Both ashes significantly reduced carbonation depth, indicating improved durability. From a life cycle assessment perspective, replacing cement with 10–20% ECA reduced environmental impacts in nine of the ten impact categories evaluated, including climate change (up to 18.6%), fossil depletion, and metal depletion. SCA also improved most categories, although to a lesser extent. The superior performance of ECA is associated with its higher biomass yield and environmental credits from potassium recovery during ash washing. These results demonstrate that agro-industrial ashes, particularly energy cane ash, can enhance mortar performance while reducing environmental burdens, mitigating industrial waste accumulation, and supporting circular economy strategies and climate change mitigation, thereby offering a viable pathway toward more sustainable cement production. Full article

Prefabricated steel–concrete composite bridge decks are widely used in the construction of long-span bridges due to their excellent mechanical performance and rapid construction speed. However, the joints in these decks are prone to tensile failure under negative bending moments, which limits the overall mechanical behavior of the structure. To improve the flexural–tensile performance of joints in prefabricated steel–concrete composite bridge decks under negative bending moments, a novel prefabricated steel grid–hybrid fiber concrete (PSG-HFC) composite bridge deck with closed-loop steel bar joints is proposed. Basic unit specimens of the composite bridge deck with closed-loop steel bar joints were designed and fabricated. Both physical and numerical experiments, including finite element modeling and model refinement, were conducted to clarify the mechanical response and failure mode of closed-loop steel bar joints under negative bending moments and to identify their rational structural parameters. Theoretical formula for calculating the flexural capacity of the closed-loop steel bar joints based on the strut-and-tie model theory was derived and verified. The results indicate that the failure mode of the novel PSG-HFC composite bridge deck under negative bending moments is typical plastic failure, with the ultimate failure mode being flexural–tensile failure at the joint section. The loading process includes elastic, elastoplastic, and plastic stages. From the perspectives of improving flexural capacity and fully utilizing high-strength materials, the rational structural parameters for the closed-loop steel bar joints are as follows: lap length of closed-loop steel bars of 230~250 mm, spacing of closed-loop steel bars of 130~150 mm, and bending radius of closed-loop steel bars of 70~90 mm. The maximum deviation between the theoretical formula results and the experimental and finite element numerical simulation results is 8.21%, indicating that the proposed formula is suitable for calculating and analyzing the flexural capacity of the joints in this novel composite bridge deck. This study reveals that the proposed closed-loop steel bar joint enables a ductile flexural–tensile failure mode in PSG-HFC composite deck under negative bending moments, and provides a validated theoretical formula for advancing the understanding of joint design in fiber-reinforced concrete structures. Full article

 The present research provides the results of an experimental study of diffusion-welded joints between Cu–Nb microcomposite conductors designed for potential application in electrical connections for magnetic systems. The joints were produced in the solid state using uniaxial diffusion bonding and glow-discharge diffusion welding with metal foil interlayers, which made it possible to avoid remelting the Cu–Nb conductor and limit the degradation of its filamentary microstructure. The effect of the interlayer materials on the microstructure, as well as on the mechanical and electrical properties of the joints, was evaluated. Among the configurations studied, the Cu–Ti–Cu interlayer provided the best combination of properties, with a tensile strength of 400 MPa, a yield strength of 220 MPa, an elongation of 2.5%, and an electrical conductivity of 51.6% IACS. Compared to the initial conductivity of the conductor (65.1% IACS), this corresponds to a reduction in conductivity of approximately 20.7%. The results demonstrate a clear trade-off between mechanical and electrical characteristics when using interlayers containing titanium. Thus, diffusion bonding using a glow discharge and foil interlayers is considered a promising approach for Cu–Nb conductor joints that are not directly exposed to the maximum magnetic and tensile forces generated in high-power solenoids.  Full article

Background: Systemic inflammation has been implicated in prognosis of multiple malignancies, yet evidence regarding its role in Wilms Tumor (WT) remains scarce. We investigated the prognostic significance of pre-treatment inflammatory markers in unilateral WT. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of children with unilateral WT treated at our institution between November 2014 and December 2023. Clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes were evaluated. Inflammatory markers included a novel pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR). Optimal cut-off values for Event-Free Survival (EFS) and Overall survival (OS) were determined using data-derived optimization to maximize survival curve separation (surv_cutpoint). Cox proportional hazards models were used for survival analysis, while ROC curves were used to calculate AUC values and confirm optimal cut-off points. Results: We included 91 patients (median age: 3.6 years; 62% female), of whom 34% presented with metastasis. Higher EFS was significantly associated with low PIV (cut-off 288.9), low NLR (cut-off 1.1), and high LMR (cut-off 6.3). Similarly, OS was positively associated with lower PIV (HR 8.56 for high PIV, p = 0.038) and lower NLR (HR 4.63 for high NLR, p = 0.043). ROC analysis confirmed their discriminative ability; when evaluated at the unified survival cutpoints, LMR yielded an AUC of 0.692 for 5-year mortality (at cut-off 6.3), while NLR yielded an AUC of 0.671 for 5-year events (at cut-off 1.1). Conclusions: Pre-treatment inflammatory markers demonstrate significant prognostic value in unilateral WT. Elevated NLR and PIV, along with lower LMR, correlate with poorer survival. These accessible biomarkers provide a valuable, low-cost tool for risk assessment. Our optimal thresholds differed from Western adult cohorts, emphasizing the need for population-specific reference intervals in global pediatric oncology. Full article

Aiming at the problems of the traditional Statistical Priority-Based Multiple Access (SPMA) protocol in multi-hop Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs), such as single-dimensional queueing only according to priority, unreasonable First-In-First-Out (FIFO) scheduling, high timeout dropping probability of multi-hop forwarding packets, and insufficient utilization of channel opportunities, this paper proposes a multi-hop adaptive SPMA protocol (MA-SPMA) suitable for dynamic multi-hop scenarios. The protocol adopts the Neighbor-Priority Two-Dimensional Queueing (NPTQ) mechanism to store packets jointly according to the next-hop neighbor and priority. A Priority-Utility Dual-round Decision (PUDD) mechanism is designed: in the first round, candidate queues that meet channel load conditions are selected in parallel; in the second round, a utility function constructed by normalized delay, priority, and the end-to-end transmission success rate is used to select the optimal packet for transmission. Theoretical analysis shows that the time and space complexity of MA-SPMA are linearly related to the number of neighbor nodes, with controllable overhead, which is suitable for resource-constrained Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms. In the MATLAB simulation environment, the Reference Point Group Mobility (RPGM) model is used to construct a multi-hop topology, and comparisons are conducted with two typical improved protocols for multi-hop networks: DCLS-SPMA and BiLSTM-SPMA. The results show that the proposed protocol can significantly improve the end-to-end transmission success rate and network throughput, with more obvious advantages in scenarios with a high proportion of multi-hop services. This paper provides an effective solution for Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol design in FANETs. Full article

To address the lack of comprehensive quality evaluation indicators for heat treatment after bilateral induction hardening of high-speed linear guide rails, this study draws on the concept of geometric tolerance to innovatively propose a quantitative evaluation indicator for the “symmetry” of the hardening layer depth profile, and conducts non-destructive evaluation research based on ultrasonic transverse wave backscattering technology. Aiming at the complex cross-sectional profile of the guide rail and the problem of anisotropic acoustic scattering, a multi-dimensional symmetry characterization framework driven jointly by “local pair-wise tolerance zone constraints” and a “global equivalent case depth metric” was established. This dual-driven evaluation framework effectively eliminates the evaluation loophole of “false symmetry” caused by the mutual cancellation of opposite positive and negative local deviations. By constructing an equivalent hardened layer model based on discrete feature point mapping, the interference of non-parallel complex curved surfaces on traditional continuous B-scan imaging is successfully circumvented, achieving stable characterization of the overall hardening layer coverage under specific process parameters. A 15 MHz water-immersed point-focusing ultrasonic transverse wave oblique incidence detection system was developed, paired with a self-designed spring-loaded passive conformal tracking clamping mechanism for continuous automated scanning. Experimental results demonstrate that the overall equivalent symmetry of the tested guide rail specimens remains above 98%. Verified by the metallographic Vickers hardness gradient method, the equivalent relative error between the ultrasonically measured case depth and the physical case depth is only 1.0% and 1.6%. This proves that this non-destructive evaluation method possesses excellent measurement accuracy and holds significant industrial value for online non-destructive monitoring. Full article

Cloud task scheduling is a critical optimization problem in cloud computing environments, aiming to allocate computational tasks to appropriate virtual machines while reducing execution time, balancing resource load, and minimizing scheduling cost. However, due to the high dimensionality, nonlinear characteristics, and complex constraints of cloud scheduling scenarios, traditional optimization methods often struggle to obtain high-quality solutions efficiently. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a Multi-strategy Improved Golden Sine Optimization Algorithm (MIGoldSA) for global optimization and cloud task scheduling problems. First, an adaptive chaotic opposition initialization strategy is incorporated to improve the distribution quality and diversity of the initial population. Second, a dynamic elite-guided sine evolution strategy is designed to reduce the dependence on a single best individual and improve the coordination between global exploration and local exploitation. Third, an Economic Investment Strategy is introduced to adaptively allocate search efforts according to the optimization potential of individuals. To verify the effectiveness of MIGoldSA, extensive experiments are conducted on the IEEE CEC2017 and CEC2022 benchmark suites and compared with nine advanced optimization algorithms. The results show that MIGoldSA obtains the best or tied-best mean fitness values on 60 out of 84 benchmark cases, accounting for 71.43% of all test cases. In the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, MIGoldSA achieves 662 wins, 57 ties, and 37 losses among 756 pairwise comparisons, corresponding to an overall win rate of 87.57% and a non-inferiority rate of 95.11%. In addition, the Friedman mean ranks of MIGoldSA are 1.47, 2.00, 3.98, and 4.17 under the four benchmark settings, which are reduced by 85.26%, 79.94%, 45.25%, and 42.32%, respectively, compared with the original GoldSA. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is applied to cloud task scheduling problems under different task scales. The experimental results show that MIGoldSA maintains competitive time-cost performance and achieves clear reductions in load cost, price cost, and comprehensive scheduling cost. Compared with the original GoldSA, the normalized comprehensive scheduling cost is reduced by approximately 9–14% in small-scale scenarios and approximately 18–21% in large-scale scenarios. Meanwhile, the normalized load cost and price cost are reduced by about 18–25% and 10–18%, respectively, and the time cost shows an approximately 8–12% reduction in large-scale scheduling scenarios. These quantitative results demonstrate that MIGoldSA can improve the optimization accuracy, statistical robustness, and overall scheduling cost efficiency of the original GoldSA on most tested problems. Full article

This study investigates the effectiveness of common thermal, climate, and envelope features in predicting annual site energy use intensity (site EUI) for different types of residential buildings in the USA. A proposed multi-level data approach that consists of regression algorithms and feature analysis has been implemented to derive models from different sets of features related to thermal, envelope, and climate, respectively. Feature set analysis is conducted using correlation analysis methods besides chi-square testing (CHI) and gain ratio (GR) methods to offer interpretable global features rankings. Models were developed using regression-based algorithms (linear, lasso, and ridge) under a 10-fold cross-validation on different distinct sets of features besides permutation feature importance (PFI) analyses to validate the models in terms of root mean squared error (RMSE). The novelty of this study lies in the comparison of feature groups and the evaluation of their individual and incremental contributions to site EUI prediction. Results against the WiDS Datathon 2022 building energy dataset demonstrate consistently ranked climate and thermal indicators (accumulated annual heating degree days (AAH) and accumulated annual cooling degree days (AAC), and heating dominance (HD), cooling dominance (CD), snowfall, and extreme temperature days) as the most informative predictors among the evaluated feature groups. The model with the best performance has an RMSE value of about 38.68; however, from the low Coefficient of determination (R²) values, it can be noted that yearly climatic conditions and building envelope characteristics cannot be only used to account for the variation in site EUIs on their own, thus showing the need to consider other factors. Full article

Background: Children with IBD are at increased risk of suboptimal maintenance of vaccine-induced immunity, particularly when the MMR vaccination course is incomplete before diagnosis and initiation of immunosuppressive therapy. We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the durability of antibody responses to measles, mumps, and rubella in pediatric IBD patients and to determine how completeness of MMR vaccination influences long-term antibody persistence over 12 months. Methods: Sixty children with IBD were included. Demographic characteristics, clinical disease activity (PUCAI/PCDAI), inflammatory markers (CRP, ESR), and fecal calprotectin were extracted from electronic medical records. Vaccination completeness was ascertained from documented immunization history. Serum antibodies to measles, rubella, and mumps were measured at baseline and after 12 months. Seroprotection was defined using standard laboratory thresholds. Antibody decay over time was assessed with paired non-parametric tests, and time to loss of seroprotection was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. In addition, Bayesian ANOVA modeling was applied to quantify evidence for differences in antibody concentrations and decay kinetics according to vaccination status. Results: Overall, 66.7% of patients had completed the full MMR vaccination course. At baseline, seroprotection rates were 48.3% for measles, 76.7% for rubella, and 70% for mumps. After 12 months, median antibody concentrations declined significantly for all three antigens. Corresponding seroprotection rates changed to 46.7% for measles (p = 0.414), 70% for rubella (p = 0.046), and 66.7% for mumps (p = 0.157). Incomplete MMR vaccination was identified as a major modifiable risk factor for accelerated antibody waning in children with IBD. Cox regression demonstrated that incompletely vaccinated patients had a 2.13-fold higher risk of losing measles seroprotection (95% CI 1.07–4.24; p = 0.032), a 5.27-fold higher risk for rubella (95% CI 1.86–14.95; p = 0.002), and a 4.82-fold higher risk for mumps (95% Cl 1.68–13.85; p = 0.004). Bayesian analyses provided decisive evidence that vaccination completeness strongly influences baseline antibody levels. Conclusions: Incomplete MMR vaccination is associated with markedly reduced durability of vaccine-induced immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella in children with IBD. These findings underscore the need for systematic prevaccination screening, timely completion of age-appropriate vaccination before initiation of immunosuppressive therapy when feasible, and individualized serological monitoring to identify patients at highest risk of vaccine-preventable infections. Full article

This paper evaluates the extent to which European Union member states show alignment between strategic innovation capacity and sustainable development outcomes. To achieve this objective, indicators were collected from Eurostat for two dimensions: strategic capacity for innovation (public expenditure on research and development, human resources in science and technology, and the higher education graduation rate) and sustainable development outcomes (real GDP per capita, employment rate, risk of poverty or social exclusion, and greenhouse gas emissions). Going beyond traditional literature, we develop an analysis based on grey clustering using multiple scenarios to illustrate the complex, non-linear relationships and structural bottlenecks in member states. The stability of the classifications was further examined through threshold sensitivity testing across all scenarios and through 200,000 weight-perturbation simulations for an illustrative boundary case. The results reveal distinct performance typologies: a resilient group of “systemic leaders” (including Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands) demonstrating consistent excellence across all applied prioritization scenarios, and a stagnant core facing structural challenges regarding both innovation and sustainability (such as Romania and Hungary). The dynamic analysis covering 2021–2024 suggests that strong innovation-capacity indicators are not necessarily associated with equally strong sustainability-outcome indicators, while certain economies in Central and Eastern Europe show positive convergence trends. Supported by stability simulations conducted across multiple scenarios, the study highlights significant alignment gaps between innovation-capacity indicators and sustainability-outcome indicators across the European Union and offers public policy recommendations to stimulate sustainable cohesion and technology adoption. Full article

Background/Objectives: Diet quality among university students is influenced by multiple behavioural and lifestyle factors, yet limited research has examined how cannabis use relates to overall diet quality within this population. This study examined the association between cannabis use and diet quality among university students and assessed whether this relationship was explained by behavioural, contextual, and psychological factors. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to all registered students at a large Canadian university in January 2026. Diet quality was assessed using the Canadian Food Intake Screener (CFIS), and past 30-day cannabis use was examined as the primary exposure. Hierarchical multiple linear regression models were conducted sequentially, adjusting for demographic characteristics, health behaviours, mental health variables, living arrangements, meal skipping, and other substance use. Results: Among 1581 survey respondents, 1467 participants were included in the fully adjusted regression analyses. Past 30-day cannabis use was reported by 33.7% of participants. In demographic-adjusted analyses, cannabis use was associated with lower diet quality scores (B = −0.81, p < 0.01). This association remained statistically significant following adjustment for health behaviours, mental health variables, and living arrangements. However, after adjustment for meal skipping, the association between cannabis use and diet quality was attenuated and no longer statistically significant (B = −0.44, p = 0.09). Meal skipping emerged as one of the strongest behavioural correlates of lower diet quality. Additional adjustment for other substance use did not materially alter findings. Conclusions: Cannabis use was initially associated with lower diet quality among university students; however, this association was attenuated after accounting for broader behavioural factors, particularly meal skipping. Given the cross-sectional design, these findings do not establish whether cannabis use influences dietary behaviours or whether meal skipping represents a pathway linking cannabis use and diet quality. These findings highlight the importance of considering diet quality within a broader behavioural framework and suggest that eating patterns represent an important correlate of diet quality among university students. Full article

Metallic probe carriers are commonly used in magnetic flux leakage (MFL) inspection to support sensing elements and maintain lift-off, but a conductive carrier located near the sensor can act as an active electromagnetic boundary. This study investigates the carrier-induced waveform reconstruction caused by such a conductive near-field boundary. A theoretical model is developed to describe the induced current, secondary magnetic field, and relaxation-related downstream memory generated when the carrier moves through a non-uniform leakage field. Transient finite-element simulations are used to examine the effects of carrier material, scanning speed, and concave carrier geometry. Compared with the air reference, aluminum and copper carriers produce stage-dependent waveform reconstruction, including valley modification, peak modulation, feature-position shift, and trailing-side extension. The quantitative waveform-deviation indicators increase with increasing speed and are further regulated by carrier geometry. Experimental results based on repeated magnetic response events confirm amplitude suppression, non-zero residual after amplitude matching, response broadening, and enhanced trailing asymmetry. These results demonstrate that the metallic probe carrier is not an electromagnetically transparent holder but an active near-field conductive boundary that should be considered in probe-carrier design and MFL signal interpretation. Full article

Water composition is a key factor influencing brewing performance and beer quality due to its impact on mash chemistry, fermentation kinetics, and fermentation-derived metabolites. This study evaluated the effect of four Albanian spring waters (Bogova, Germenji, Selita, and Lajthiza), each with distinct mineral compositions, on the fermentation behaviour and physicochemical characteristics of Pale Ale beer produced under standardised brewing conditions. All beers were brewed using the same malt formulation, hopping regime, yeast strain, and fermentation parameters, with water source as the sole experimental variable. The produced worts showed only moderate differences in pH, colour, extract, free amino nitrogen (FAN), bitterness, and density, whereas alcoholic fermentation proceeded efficiently in all treatments and was completed within seven days. Final alcohol contents ranged from 5.56 to 5.70% v/v, confirming comparable fermentation performance among treatments. More pronounced differences were observed in acidity-related parameters and fermentation-derived compounds. Volatile acidity ranged from 0.19 to 0.93 g/L, with the highest values in beers produced with Selita and Lajthiza waters. Glycerol concentrations varied from 0.88 to 1.24 g/L, with Germenji beer showing the highest value, whereas acetaldehyde ranged from 3.16 to 6.04 mg/L, with the lowest concentration in Germenji beer. Pearson correlation analysis and exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) identified associations between water mineralisation and selected physicochemical and fermentation-derived beer parameters. Calcium, magnesium, conductivity, and hardness were positively associated with glycerol concentration, whereas bicarbonate concentration was associated with beer pH and acidity-related parameters. The first two principal components explained 87.7% of the total variance. Overall, the results indicate that Albanian spring waters are suitable for Pale Ale production and show that differences in water mineral composition were associated with variations in the physicochemical and fermentation-derived characteristics of the final beers. These findings highlight that brewing water should not be regarded as a neutral processing medium but rather as an important technological factor associated with differences in the physicochemical characteristics of beer, while supporting the valorisation of Albanian spring waters for geographically distinctive craft brewing applications. Full article