Search Results (548)

High-viscosity sodium alginate solutions (4.5% by mass, apparent viscosity 1 × 10⁴–2 × 10⁴ cP) are widely used in the preparation of hydrogels, wet spinning, and biomedical materials. Residual bubbles can cause internal voids in hydrogels, mechanical heterogeneity, fiber breakage during spinning, and reduced strength, and can severely affect the cell compatibility and clinical safety of biomaterials. Due to the difficulty of bubble migration, coalescence, and rupture in high-viscosity systems, traditional vacuum-standing degassing takes up to 24 h and is extremely inefficient, severely limiting the quality of subsequent processing. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel vacuum-assisted centrifugal recirculating degassing method for highly viscous sodium alginate solutions and aims to establish a kinetic framework for describing its overall degassing behavior. Using the number density of bubbles larger than 0.5 mm in diameter as an evaluation metric, we conducted vacuum-standing control experiments and univariate experiments with different screen mesh apertures (5, 1.5, 0.3, and 0.07 mm). We experimentally verified a continuous kinetic model of bubble number decay based on vacuum bubble expansion, centrifugally enhanced migration, and removal probability during the cycle. The results indicate that the bubble removal effect of 40 min of vacuum–centrifugal cyclic degassing is equivalent to that of 4 h of vacuum static settling, representing a 450% increase in degassing efficiency. There is an optimal range for a screen aperture, with the best degassing effect observed at 0.3 mm, achieving a bubble removal rate of 83.69%. The established kinetic model exhibits good fitting accuracy (RMSE = 0.17, MAPE = 5.9%) and can accurately predict degassing efficiency under different process conditions. This study provides a quantifiable, modelable, and optimizable process scheme for rapid degassing of high-viscosity sodium alginate solutions, and offers a theoretical reference for the development of degassing technologies for high-viscosity polysaccharide fluids. Full article

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that schizophrenia may be associated with peripheral immune–inflammatory alterations, although the distributional characteristics and heterogeneity of routinely available complete blood count (CBC)-derived inflammatory indices in real-world psychiatric inpatient settings remain insufficiently characterized. The present study aimed to descriptively evaluate the distributional properties of CBC-derived inflammatory markers in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia using an exploratory panel-based analytical framework. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis using anonymized CBC laboratory panels obtained from hospitalized patients with schizophrenia at a tertiary psychiatric center. Following panel reconstruction and quality control procedures, 858 structurally valid CBC panels were included in the analyses. Primary inflammatory indices included neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune–inflammation index (SII). Descriptive distributional analyses, threshold-based prevalence estimation, Spearman correlation analyses, and exploratory unsupervised clustering procedures were performed to evaluate inflammatory variability and internal distributional patterns within the dataset. Results: Median NLR was 2.51 (IQR: 1.95–3.55), median MLR was 0.25 (IQR: 0.19–0.31), median PLR was 124.10 (IQR: 100.40–163.94), and median SII was 686.96 (IQR: 484.81–1045.85). Threshold-based analyses demonstrated substantial variability in inflammatory burden distributions, with 35.9% of panels showing NLR > 3 and 27.0% demonstrating SII > 1000. Correlation analyses revealed strong positive associations among NLR, PLR, and SII, whereas RDW-CV and MPV demonstrated weaker and more heterogeneous relationships with the principal inflammatory indices. Exploratory clustering analyses generated two distributional clusters, including a smaller cluster exhibiting relatively higher NLR, MLR, PLR, SII, WBC, and platelet values than the remaining panels. Female panels demonstrated significantly higher PLR and SII distributions following false discovery rate (FDR) correction. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that CBC-derived inflammatory indices demonstrate substantial distributional variability within this panel-based schizophrenia dataset. Although the exploratory design, absence of patient-level linkage, and lack of clinical confounder adjustment substantially limit biological interpretation, routinely available hematological inflammatory markers may still provide a pragmatic framework for descriptive characterization of inflammatory variability patterns in real-world psychiatric populations. Future patient-level longitudinal studies integrating clinical, pharmacological, and molecular variables will be necessary to determine the potential clinical relevance of inflammatory heterogeneity in schizophrenia. Full article

Background/Objectives: Hysteroscopy is the gold standard for visualization and treatment of intrauterine pathology. Because hysteroscopic interpretation remains operator-dependent, artificial intelligence (AI) has been evaluated as a tool to improve consistency, lesion recognition, and decision support. We aimed to systematically review AI, machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), or computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) applications in hysteroscopy. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE and EBSCOhost was performed from database inception to 8 March 2026, supplemented by targeted searches. Risk of bias was assessed using QUADAS-2 (diagnostic), PROBAST (prognostic), RoB2, and structured technical quality domains. Results: Nineteen primary studies were included, covering five areas: diagnostic classification and object detection (n = 8), real-time lesion detection and localization (n = 4), segmentation and visual-field support (n = 3), operative guidance (n = 1), and prognostic or decision-support applications (n = 3). Performance was highest in narrowly defined binary tasks and in large multicenter systems (e.g., ECCADx: AUC 0.979 internal, 0.975 external) and in prognostic fertility-prediction models after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis (AUC up to 0.992). Broader multiclass classification of heterogeneous lesions showed uneven and lower performance. Most studies were single-center, retrospective, and lacked external validation. Only one randomized study linked AI support to measurable procedural outcomes. Conclusions: The available studies indicate good technical performance in selected hysteroscopic tasks, particularly binary classification, focal lesion detection, and postoperative fertility stratification. Current evidence, however, remains limited by retrospective design, operator-dependent image acquisition, inconsistent validation, and scarce outcome-based clinical testing. In the short term, the most likely role of these systems is to support image interpretation, improve visual quality control, highlight suspicious lesions, and integrate hysteroscopic findings with complementary clinical data. Full article

The present study investigates the effect of whey powder incorporation on the nutritional composition, structural characteristics, and functional properties of rice flour-based gluten-free systems. Composite flours and biscuits were formulated by substituting rice flour with 5%, 10%, and 15% whey powder. Proximate composition, mineral profile, and structural modifications were evaluated using standard analytical methods, complemented by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). The results showed that whey addition significantly improved the protein content of both flours and biscuits, increasing from 8.45% in the control to 15.06% at the highest enrichment level. Whey powder showed elevated phosphorus (912 mg/kg), sodium (434.65 mg/kg), and calcium (526.49 mg/kg) contents compared to rice flour. Consequently, mineral levels increased progressively in the composite flours, with phosphorus rising from 528 mg/kg to 647 mg/kg, sodium from 105.66 mg/kg to 132.81 mg/kg, and calcium from 102.15 mg/kg to 137.33 mg/kg as the whey incorporation level increased. Iron content showed minor variations among the gluten-free biscuit formulations (76.01–95.16 mg/kg). Whey incorporation led to a progressive increase in copper content, from 8.91 mg/kg in the control biscuits to 15.50 mg/kg, while zinc levels decreased from 27.47 mg/kg to 18.47 mg/kg with increasing whey addition. FTIR analysis revealed clear structural changes associated with whey addition, including the progressive intensification of amide I and II bands and a reduction in starch-specific signals, confirming the incorporation of whey proteins into the starch matrix and the formation of protein–starch interactions. These findings were supported by SAXS analysis, which indicated modifications in the internal structural organization of the systems. Sensory evaluation indicated good overall acceptability of the fortified biscuits at moderate whey incorporation levels, while higher whey addition slightly reduced taste scores due to the characteristic salty flavor associated with acid whey. Overall, the study demonstrates that whey powder is an effective functional ingredient for enhancing the nutritional and structural properties of gluten-free products. However, achieving an optimal balance between improved nutritional quality, technological performance, and mineral composition remains essential for the development of high-quality gluten-free formulations. Full article

Ensuring safe and palatable drinking water is critical for long-duration space travel and part of NASA’s 2022 strategic goals. This study investigated whether the formation of iodoform occurred when iodine reacts with trace levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching from spacecraft water system components. A simplified model of the International Space Station’s Environmental Control and Life Support System was constructed, focusing on disinfection. The system included water storage in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bags followed by activated carbon block filtration. Three scenarios were tested: iodine treatment in the storage tank, iodine treatment in-line after storage, and a control with no iodine. Preliminary results showed I₂ concentrations of 0.1–5.42 mg/L prior to filtration, which decreased below detection after filtration. DOC concentrations ranged from below detection to 1.1 mg/L. Concentrations of iodoform, determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, were assessed to observe potential risks to spacecraft drinking water quality. Iodine-based disinfection did result in significant iodoform formation or increased leaching of DOC. This study supports that long-term water storage can be achieved using iodine disinfection and LDPE storage. These results also inform the use of iodine disinfection in emergency situations by drinking water managers when water supply is interrupted in disaster situations. Full article

Introduction: Population aging is a growing and challenging phenomenon, primarily due to its association with functional decline and sarcopenia, which increase the risk of falls. These events have significant impacts on public health and the quality of life of older adults. Regular physical activity has shown benefits in reducing falls and their consequences, with systemic vibratory therapy (SVT) emerging as a promising strategy to mitigate these adverse outcomes. However, evidence on the actual effectiveness of this therapeutic approach remains limited, as does clarity regarding optimal body position, protocol parameters, and equipment when combined with physical activity programs. Objectives: To compare the effect of systemic vibratory therapy (SVT) associated with a physical activity program on the perception of fear of falling in older adults (M01.060.116.100). As secondary outcomes, the study will assess functional physical conditioning, electromyographic activity, muscular synergy, and center of pressure oscillation in this population. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial with blinded outcome assessors and blinded statistical analysis will be conducted with 192 older adults participating in the UNATI/UNISUAM program. Participants will be allocated into three groups: (A) usual physical activity; (B) usual physical activity + SVT in a semi-squat position; and (C) usual physical activity + SVT in a seated position. Assessments will include sociodemographic data, concern about falling assessed using the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), physical performance (2 min stationary march test), surface electromyography of the tibialis anterior and medial gastrocnemius muscles, along with posturography using a force platform. Results: This study will provide information on outcomes related to fall risk, balance, physical fitness, and neuromuscular variables in older adults undergoing two distinct SVT protocols. Clinical Trials Registration: Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials RBR-68pry5j. Registered on 8 December 2025. Full article

This paper proposes a conceptual framework for strengthening school quality assurance through knowledge management to support sustainable education. Drawing on the international priorities of the OECD and UNESCO, the study positions school self-evaluation as a central quality-assurance mechanism that can promote continuous improvement, accountability, equity, and better learning outcomes. Methodologically, the study adopts a quantitative research design to collect data from 978 teachers across 20 schools in Hong Kong. Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to identify the latent variables and validate the conceptual framework. Results show that effective quality assurance depends on both formal procedures and the school’s capacity to create, share, and use knowledge. Key knowledge management enablers include visionary leadership, professional autonomy, bureaucratic control, information technology infrastructure, and a collaborative culture of knowledge sharing. Within this model, professional autonomy and knowledge sharing link management conditions to evidence-informed reflection, planning, and improvement. The framework is situated in the context of Hong Kong schools while offering broader relevance for education systems seeking sustainable development. The study concludes that sustainable school self-evaluation is driven primarily by teacher professional autonomy (β = 0.738, total effect = 0.795), with knowledge sharing functioning as a critical mediating mechanism that transmits the effects of visionary leadership (indirect β = 0.343) and enabling bureaucratic control (indirect β = 0.103) into evaluation quality. IT infrastructure does not exert a significant direct effect on SSE (β = 0.056, p = 0.098), indicating that technological provision is a necessary but insufficient condition for evaluation effectiveness in the Hong Kong context. Full article

Health tourism represents a dynamic sector operating at the intersection of medical services, international patient mobility, and tourism development. Despite its growing prominence, the academic literature frequently conflates health tourism with medical and wellness tourism—a conceptual ambiguity that complicates the establishment of robust, sustainable legal frameworks. Addressing this gap, the present paper conceptualizes health tourism as an overarching framework that encompasses recovery, wellness, and medical sub-sectors. Within this comprehensive paradigm, we explore the contemporary landscape of health tourism in Northern Cyprus through a stakeholder-driven qualitative lens. Utilizing a qualitative case study design, data were gathered via semi-structured interviews with 40 key respondents representing healthcare, travel, public administration, academia, and related professional domains, and subsequently subjected to thematic analysis using NVivo 15 software. The findings reveal that the sector in Northern Cyprus is heavily skewed toward medical tourism, with a concentrated focus on in vitro fertilization (IVF), cosmetic surgery, dental care, and bariatric procedures. Conversely, wellness and rehabilitation tourism remain largely untapped strategic niches. The analysis further indicates that sectoral growth is constrained by structural bottlenecks, including fragmented governance, limited international recognition, transport and accessibility barriers, inadequate accreditation systems, lack of stakeholder synergy, and ethical concerns regarding advertising and patient safety. Moving beyond standard environmental sustainability, this research underscores that long-term destination resilience requires ethical governance, clinical quality controls, patient-rights advocacy, transparent legal frameworks, and community-level economic integration. Ultimately, this study proposes an integrated, stakeholder-centric paradigm tailored to the unique socio-political and structural realities of Northern Cyprus, offering actionable policy recommendations that enrich the discourse on sustainable medical tourism from a small-island perspective. Full article

Background/Objectives: Nocturnal glycemic variability in pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D) disrupts caregiver sleep and quality of life; advanced hybrid closed-loop (AHCL) systems may be associated with reduced caregiver burden by providing more stable overnight glucose control. We aimed to evaluate changes in caregiver-reported sleep quality and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) targets three months after transition to an AHCL system. Methods: We conducted a prospective single-center real-world study in a tertiary pediatric diabetes unit that included children aged 6–17 years with T1D who switched from continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (MiniMed) and intermittently scanned CGM (FreeStyle Libre 2) to an AHCL system (MiniMed 780G) with Guardian 4 sensor. Caregivers completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at baseline and after 3 months; CGM metrics (TIR 70–180 mg/dL, TAR1 180–250 mg/dL, TAR2 > 250 mg/dL, TBR1 54–70 mg/dL, TBR2 < 54 mg/dL) were extracted at the same time points. Analyses used Shapiro–Wilk, Wilcoxon signed-rank, Spearman correlations, and McNemar tests (α = 0.05). Results: Twenty-two caregivers completed baseline PSQI; 16 provided PSQI data at three months. The proportion with PSQI > 5 decreased from 56.3% to 18.8% (p = 0.034), and 81.3% showed lower global PSQI at 3 months (p = 0.018). The largest mean improvements were observed in daytime dysfunction (−0.94), subjective sleep quality (−0.81), and sleep duration (−0.63), with slight increases in sleep disturbance (+0.13) and sleep-medication use (+0.13). The proportion of participants meeting international CGM consensus targets improved: the percentage achieving TIR > 70% increased from 26.7% to 80.0% (p = 0.008); those meeting TAR > 180 mg/dL < 30% increased from 26.7% to 80.0% (p = 0.008); and those meeting TAR2 > 250 mg/dL < 5% increased from 20.0% to 53.3% (p = 0.008). Hypoglycemia-related targets showed no significant change, and no episodes of symptomatic or level 3 hypoglycemia were reported. Exploratory analyses suggested that poorer PSQI at 3 months was associated with greater Δ TBR1, and increases in TAR2 with higher sleep disturbance and sleep-medication use. Conclusions: Transition to an AHCL system was associated with improvements in caregiver-reported sleep and attainment of CGM consensus targets within three months. Residual nocturnal hyperglycemia was associated with features of ongoing sleep disturbance, highlighting the potential relevance of individualized alert settings, sleep-focused education, and inclusion of objective sleep measures in future studies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Trichomonas vaginalis is one of the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Although Gram staining is routinely performed in clinical microbiology laboratories for the evaluation of vaginal samples, it is not considered a diagnostic method for T. vaginalis, which represents a missed diagnostic opportunity in routine practice. This study aimed to evaluate an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted diagnostic approach for the identification of T. vaginalis directly from routine Gram-stained vaginal smears. Methods: A retrospective dataset of Gram-stained vaginal smear images was analysed using a cascaded AI-based framework combining image processing and classification. The image selection and quality control were performed under the supervision of a specialised clinical microbiologist. All cases were independently confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which served as the reference diagnostic standard. Model performance was assessed using standard diagnostic metrics, including accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), Cohen’s kappa, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC). Held-out independent testing was used to assess generalisability beyond the internal validation subset. Results: The proposed AI-assisted approach demonstrated high diagnostic performance for the identification of T. vaginalis, achieving an AUC of 0.973, Cohen’s kappa of 0.87, and an MCC of 0.87. The system showed high diagnostic concordance with PCR results across both internal and external validation datasets, supporting the feasibility and reproducibility of the approach under routine laboratory conditions. Conclusions: This study shows that artificial intelligence may enhance the diagnostic utility of routinely performed Gram-stained vaginal smears by enabling reliable identification of T. vaginalis. The proposed approach could be integrated into standard microbiology workflows as an objective decision-support or triage adjunct, facilitating early identification and supporting clinical decision-making without altering existing laboratory procedures. Full article

Accurate product-to-catalog invoice matching is a foundational internal control for financial oversight and audit quality, yet it is bottlenecked by inconsistent vendor descriptions and the resulting ‘long tail’ of supplier heterogeneity, driving costly manual reconciliation in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) environments. This study pursues three objectives: (i) to design a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture that matches invoice line items to a product catalog under conditions of optical character recognition noise, vendor-specific abbreviations, and multilingual heterogeneity; (ii) to evaluate this architecture on three public entity resolution benchmarks against established lexical and Dense retrieval baselines; and (iii) to assess its viability as a decision support system in a real accounts payable workflow with audit-trail requirements. To address (i), we introduce a novel ‘augment-both-sides’ strategy: large language models (LLMs) proactively enrich each catalog Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) with synonyms and alternative descriptions before vectorization, while invoice lines undergo runtime query expansion, and an LLM-based reranker produces the final Top-3 candidates. For (ii), evaluation on the Abt-Buy, Amazon-Google, and Walmart-Amazon datasets yields Top-3 Recall of 91.60% to 97.96%, matching or exceeding the strongest non-LLM baseline on every benchmark. For (iii), a production deployment on approximately 200 manually verified Greek invoice lines (proprietary dataset, anecdotal observation) yields a Top-3 hit rate of approximately 97%, consistent with the public-benchmark results. The architecture functions as a reliable intelligent decision aid, narrowing the search space from thousands of SKUs to a precise candidate set for structured human verification. Full article

Front-End Planning (FEP) is the very early stage of delivering megaprojects, during which strategic decisions are made that can dictate the project’s overall costs and timelines over the lifetime of the project. While existing FEP frameworks provide valuable insights into managing FEPs in Western nations, they have never been validated by reviewing Saudi Arabia’s unique environment, where large-scale projects are characterized by complicated multi-agency coordination systems and rapid timelines due to Vision 2030 initiatives. This exploratory research examines which FEP activities are most strongly associated with cost and schedule variances in Saudi megaprojects. A quantitative survey was administered to 35 respondents who have experience working on projects with a minimum of SAR 1 billion in capital cost to evaluate the quality of 33 FEP activities organized into five domains. Cronbach’s alpha validated domain composite scores, with four of five domains demonstrating good to excellent reliability (α = 0.73 to 0.91); the Technical Planning domain (α = 0.583) was excluded from regression analysis due to insufficient internal consistency. Multiple regression analysis examined associations between domain composites and project outcomes. Schedule performance was significantly associated with FEP quality (R² = 0.34, p = 0.012), with Project Planning showing a large negative association (β = −0.80, p = 0.002) and Business Planning showing a significant positive association (β = 0.75, p = 0.031). However, sensitivity analysis revealed that the Project Planning finding was substantially dependent on a single influential observation, while the Business Planning association remained robust across model specifications. The cost model did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.305), attributable in part to insufficient statistical power (achieved power = 0.40). Ownership type was not significant after controlling for FEP quality. The findings suggest that Project Planning activities, including scope compilation, preliminary execution planning, cost estimation, and master scheduling, may be associated with reduced schedule variance, though this association requires confirmation with larger samples. A preliminary four-tier prioritized framework is proposed to guide resource allocation during front-end phases while acknowledging the exploratory nature of the evidence base. Full article

This study investigates the interplay of internal audit system, cultural complexity and corruption control in Ghana’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs), examining how these factors influence anti-corruption efforts. Employing a quantitative and cross-sectional survey design, we gather data from 1150 internal auditors and use EFA, descriptive statistics and macro-process modeling for analysis. The results show that internal audit effectiveness, quality, independence, and resources are all positively related to corruption control (prevention, detection and response), with internal audit independence having the greatest effect on corruption control. Power distance culture (PDC) moderates these relationships, but the direction and significance of the moderation vary across the different aspects of corruption control. This study highlights the importance of strengthening internal audit system and addressing cultural barriers to enhance corruption control in SOEs, informing governance strategies in emerging economies. It has demonstrated that PDC plays a complex role in shaping the effectiveness of internal audit system in controlling corruption. Thus, this research contributes to the limited literature on the intersection of internal audit, PDC and corruption control in a developing country context, offering insights for policymakers and practitioners. Full article

Background: Accurate interpretation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase sequences is essential for identifying antiviral resistance, particularly for high-genetic-barrier agents such as entecavir. Current resistance interpretation relies largely on deterministic rule-based systems that do not quantify uncertainty and are difficult to evaluate across independent datasets. We aimed to develop and externally validate a transparent probabilistic framework for reconstructing a predefined entecavir resistance pathway from HBV polymerase sequences. Methods: HBV polymerase sequences were retrieved from the NCBI GenBank database and curated through translation, quality control, and deduplication to create the development dataset. Reverse transcriptase (RT) positions were indexed using motif-anchored numbering based on the YMDD-family motif. A genotypic proxy for the entecavir resistance pathway was defined by lamivudine-associated background substitutions combined with entecavir-associated RT substitutions. A logistic regression model with probability calibration was trained and internally validated using prespecified performance metrics and thresholds. External validation was performed on an independent HBVdb dataset with preprocessing, model parameters, and thresholds frozen prior to evaluation. Results: The development dataset comprised 1174 unique polymerase sequences, of which 268 met the resistance pathway definition. Internal validation demonstrated perfect discrimination, consistent with the deterministic genotypic definition of the outcome. External validation on 11,513 independent HBVdb sequences demonstrated reproducible performance across repositories despite a markedly lower prevalence of the resistance pathway (2.2%), with preserved discrimination and stable threshold-based performance. Conclusions: This study presents a transparent and externally validated machine learning framework for probabilistic identification of the entecavir resistance pathway in HBV. The approach provides a transparent and reproducible probabilistic formalization of an established genotypic resistance definition and may serve as a methodological framework for standardized sequence-based resistance interpretation. Full article

Heap bioleaching is widely used to extract copper from low-grade sulfide ores thanks to its operational simplicity, low cost, and environmental sustainability. However, current control strategies rely primarily on single-factor optimization and often overlook the synergistic interactions of multiple key parameters, such as ore particle size, pore structure, pH, temperature, microbial activity, and oxygen transfer efficiency. As a result, issues such as low recovery rates, extended leaching periods, and high operational costs persist. Moreover, the “gray-box” nature of heap systems impedes real-time monitoring of internal physical, chemical, and biological processes. In addition, empirical multi-parameter optimization is time-consuming and inadequate for capturing complex interdependencies. This review was conducted to systematically examine the key factors influencing heap bioleaching efficiency and critically evaluate recent advances in numerical simulation and intelligent control strategies. As a result, we identified a major research gap: the existing models—including microscale shrinking core models (SCMs), mesoscale pore-network models based on CT reconstruction, and macroscale continuum models—have inherent limitations. SCMs assume idealized spherical particles with uniform mineral distribution while neglecting pore structure evolution and biofilm dynamics. Mesoscale models offer detailed pore characterization but lack robust multi-physics coupling (thermal–hydro–mechanical–chemical–biological, or THMCB). Macroscale models rely on homogenization assumptions that oversimplify spatial heterogeneity and temporal variations in permeability. This analysis covers the relevant literature from 1985 to 2025, with a focus on three methodological scales (micro, meso, and macro) and their integration with machine learning approaches. A notable finding is that hybrid neural network models (e.g., BP and RBF architectures) outperform purely physics-based models in predicting leaching kinetics under varying operational conditions. However, their accuracy depends heavily on high-quality field data—a limitation rarely addressed in prior reviews. By clearly delineating these model-specific limitations and scale-dependent trade-offs, this review makes two unique contributions: a structured framework for selecting and coupling numerical methods according to process requirements and a roadmap for integrating artificial neural networks with multi-physics simulations to achieve real-time intelligent control of heap bioleaching. The findings offer both theoretical guidance and practical references for optimizing the processing of low-grade copper sulfide ores. Full article