Search Results (91,713)

Hydrogen blending in residential gas networks requires assessment of gas transport across connected rooms and of explosion consequences if a flammable cloud forms. This study used FLACS-CFD to compare hydrogen blending ratios (HBRs) of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 vol%, the upper bound corresponding to the blend level demonstrated in distribution networks, in an accident-informed multi-compartment apartment. Two independent scenarios were evaluated: a 30 s release through a 6 mm opening at 0.025 barg and an explosion of a prescribed uniform cloud at an equivalence ratio of 1.05. Across 16 monitoring points, the maximum predicted fuel concentrations were 0.06575–0.07111 vol%, corresponding to 1.31–1.49% of the HBR-specific lower flammability limits. From HBR 0% to 20%, the maximum monitored concentration increased by 8.2%; the local maximum increased by 71.6% above the source but decreased by 16.3% outside the living room window. Under the independent explosion condition, maximum overpressure increased from 0.872 to 1.246 barg, maximum monitored pressure impulse increased by 21.3%, and the ignition-to-peak-pressure interval decreased by 12.7%. Analytical inventory estimates and comparisons with published data provided physical context for the calculated HBR-dependent trends, whereas the absolute values remain scenario-specific. By extending the comparison to connected apartment compartments, this study provides a numerical basis for selecting measurement locations and response metrics in future residential hydrogen-blending safety studies. Full article

The spatial association between rural cultural landscape quality (CLQ) and social-ecological system resilience (SESR) influences the pathways and effectiveness of integrating heritage conservation with rural revitalization. Drawing on a sample of 1339 township-level spatial units in Shanxi Province, this study employs a suite of spatial and statistical methods—including cluster analysis, ANOVA, Lee’s L statistic, the coupling coordination degree (CCD), the optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD), and a spatial regression model—to examine the spatial association between CLQ and SESR and the factors associated with its differentiation. This study yields the following key conclusions: (1) Overall, areas with higher CLQ tend to be associated with a higher overall SESR level; the association between CLQ and ecological resilience appears stronger than that between CLQ and social resilience. (2) CLQ and SESR exhibit significant positive global bivariate spatial autocorrelation, and at the local level, they present significant spatial copatterning clustering. (3) Over 90% of the province’s areas exhibit incoordination between CLQ and SESR; spatially, CCD exhibits a pattern of lower values in western and northern Shanxi and higher values in eastern and southern Shanxi. (4) The CCD differentiation is associated with locational conditions, urbanization rate, regional economic development level, topographic environment, and cultural heritage conservation policies. Full article

Because so little is known about fungal microbiomes associated with aphids, the fungal mycobiota associated with feeding by biotypes E and K of greenbug aphid (Schizaphis graminum) was surveyed using ITS amplicon sequences with regard to host plant species, days post infestation, host plant cultivar, and host plant susceptibility to greenbug feeding. The host plant species were wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), and Aegilops triuncialis L., and there were 17 cultivars or accessions among these species. Biotype, collection date, host plant species, host plant cultivar, and host plant susceptibility ranked strongest to weakest in influence on fungal community composition, and all influences were statistically significant except susceptibility, but biotype had by far the greatest influence. Filamentous ascomycetes and yeast-like basidiomycetes dominated the diverse fungal microbiota, and many reads mapped to unidentified taxa at the phylum or class level. Prominent genera of filamentous fungi included Fusarium, Mortierella, Simplicillium, Arthrobotrys, and “Capnodiales genus incertae sedis”. Prominent yeast genera included Hannaella, Papiliotrema, Naganishia, and Rhodotorula among basidiomycetes and “Debaryomycetaceae genus incertae sedis” among ascomycetes. Sister samples of each combination of biotype, cultivar, and collection date could differ greatly in frequency of dominant genera, and individual genera frequently bloomed to high frequency with biotype K. Community diversity decreased at the end of the time course. Analysis of frequency correlations with weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified six modules of 10 to 28 correlated genera in biotype K and five modules in biotype E. At least five genera in a “Hannaella” module have documented antifungal activity. The sample collection failed to separate greenbugs from adhering honeydew or fragments of the leaf where they were feeding, and therefore the location of the detected fungi is not known, which limits the inferences that can be drawn from correlations of taxon frequencies. Most importantly, there is still no proof that a gut microbiota exists in greenbug. Nevertheless, numerous negative correlations in taxon frequency implied that more than one fungal community was present. Further investigation with microscopy is needed to locate fungi in or on the greenbug or at its feeding site. Full article

Atmospheric particulate-matter variability reflects the combined effects of emissions, meteorology, and regional transport, and its interpretation benefits from the integration of complementary observations. This study combines two years (2023–2024) of aerosol light absorption at 880 nm (Abs880), PM2.5, PM10, and meteorological observations from ACTRIS/EBAS and ARPA Puglia to characterize the urban-scale covariation in Lecce, southern Italy. Since the aerosol-absorption and ARPA measurements were obtained at sites separated by approximately 6.3 km, the resulting relationships are interpreted as urban-scale associations rather than as co-located source-attribution measurements. After quality assurance/quality control, UTC time normalization, daily aggregation (>75% completeness), temporal alignment, and z-score standardization for PCA, the integrated observations were examined using seasonal comparisons, linear regression, principal component analysis, and HYSPLIT backward trajectories. PM2.5/PM10 ratio showed seasonal variability in both study years, with higher mean values during the winter. The PM2.5 was positively associated with the Abs880 (R² = 0.68 in 2023 and 0.59 in 2024), and the season-stratified regressions remained positive in all the seasonal subsets, although their strength varied. The meteorology-adjusted sensitivity models also retained a positive Abs880 coefficient after an HAC correction for serial dependence. The wind speed showed a weaker inverse association with PM2.5, whereas the temperature and the relative humidity showed weak pairwise associations. A PCA identified a common covariance direction among PM2.5, PM10, and Abs880, with additional meteorological structure in the six-variable sensitivity analysis. Two representative episodes contrasted an enhanced Abs880 under low-wind conditions with a spring Saharan-dust intrusion. Overall, this study characterizes the relationships among particulate matter, aerosol light absorption, meteorology, and regional transport over the 2023–2024 observation period. FAIR-oriented data practices and interoperable monitoring infrastructures provide the methodological framework that enables the integration, traceability, and reproducibility of these analyses. Full article

Background: Optimal ordering in purchasing garment products for international buying houses has become increasingly complex, particularly when companies manage a variety of products across geographically dispersed national and international locations. Existing studies focus on non-integer problems and do not address objectives that minimize the absolute value of a cost or profit function. Methods: This paper proposes a method to determine optimal order quantities for garment styles while satisfying box constraints and the required demand of the wholesale business. The approach minimizes over- and under-ordering costs by reducing total order quantities and fitting orders to the historical demand distribution of each size in international supply chain operations.Results: The model was applied to a garment company operating under cooperative purchasing agreements with international traders. The approach successfully identified optimal order quantities while accounting for operational constraints, minimum order requirements, and historical demand patterns.Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively support purchasing decisions in international garment supply chains. By minimizing over- and under-ordering costs while meeting demand requirements, the model provides a practical framework for improving order allocation and inventory management. The results are encouraging and indicate the usefulness of the approach to international buying house operations. Full article

Background/Objectives: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder characterized by interconnected pathological processes including mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, impaired autophagic processes, neuroinflammation, neuronal degeneration, and progressive functional decline. Natural health products (NHPs), coenzyme-Q10 (CoQ10) and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) (ASH), have been previously reported to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, mitochondrial-supportive, neuroprotective, and neurotrophic properties. This work investigates the neuroprotective effects of a bioavailability-enhanced formulation, Ubisol-Q10 (UQ), and ethanolic ASH extract, combined as a “Tonic,” across multiple domains of AD pathology. Methods: The effects of long-term administration were evaluated in male and female 5XFAD mice from 2.5 to 11 months of age. Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging assessed hippocampal and white matter volumes, a frailty index assessed physiological resilience, Novel Object and Novel Location Recognition testing assessed spatial and non-spatial memory, while post-mortem Nissl, Golgi–Cox, and immunofluorescence evaluated cellular density, dendritic morphology, amyloid pathology, neuroinflammation, autophagy-associated signaling, and astrocytic activity. Results: Across these measures, Tonic treatment preserved brain volumes, reduced amyloid pathology and inflammation, and modulated autophagy-associated pathways. Treatment also preserved dendritic architecture, frailty progression, and novelty-recognition behavior. Females demonstrated particularly pronounced preservation of white matter structure and increased dendritic density, whereas males showed strong modulation of inflammatory and autophagy-associated markers. Astrocytic immunoreactivity also demonstrated sex- and region-specific patterns, suggesting that glial responses may contribute differently to structural preservation in males and females. Conclusions: Together, these findings support that UQ + ASH may provide diverse protection against AD neurodegeneration. The observed sex-specific responses emphasize the importance of incorporating sex into preclinical evaluation of novel interventions for neurodegenerative diseases. Full article

Potato leaf size directly affects photosynthetic efficiency and yield; therefore, elucidating the genetic regulation of this trait is important for breeding improvement. In this study, a natural population of 476 tetraploid potato accessions was used to evaluate compound leaf size and apical leaflet size. Both traits were scored on a 1–9 ordinal scale in accordance with the national standard GB/T 19557.28-2018. The two-year (2019–2020) phenotypic means showed continuous variation consistent with polygenic quantitative trait architecture. Correlation analysis revealed a strong, highly significant positive association between compound leaf size and apical leaflet size (R = 0.71, p < 2.2 × 10⁻¹⁶). Genome-wide association analysis identified 211 SNPs significantly associated with compound leaf size, predominantly located on chromosomes Chr05 and Chr06, from which 75 candidate genes were identified. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that these candidate genes were significantly enriched in pathways related to RNA degradation, ribosomes, phenylalanine biosynthesis and genetic information processing. Putative candidate genes potentially regulating compound leaf size include DM8C10G01290.1 (Rcd1-like), DM8C11G02500.1 (ADH_zinc_N domain-containing), DM8C10G01180.1 (Ribosomal_S8e domain-containing), DM8C06G16880.1 (Methyltransf_2 domain-containing) and DM8C05G27660.1 (Inositol_P domain-containing). A total of 671 SNP loci were identified as significantly associated with apical leaflet size, primarily localised on chromosomes Chr04 and Chr06, which led to the identification of 175 candidate genes. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that candidate genes for apical leaflet size were mainly enriched in pathways related to energy metabolism, secondary metabolism and plant hormone signal transduction. Putative candidate genes potentially regulating apical leaflet size include DM8C10G13560.1 (Malic_M domain-containing), DM8C01G21400.1 (PPDK_N domain-containing), DM8C08G02250.1 (UDPGT domain-containing), DM8C03G19930.1 (Orn_Arg_deC_N domain-containing), DM8C04G29090.1 (peroxidase), DM8C02G10960.2 (Pro_CA domain-containing), DM8C01G45290.1 (NIR_SIR domain-containing), DM8C08G02280.1 (Glyco_tranf_2_3 domain-containing), DM8C06G27780.1 (UDPGT domain-containing), DM8C06G27490.1 (Transket_pyr domain-containing), DM8C04G23010.1 (LRRNT_2 domain-containing) and DM8C03G01180.1 (BES1_N domain-containing). This study elucidated the genetic basis of potato leaf size and provided promising candidate markers and genetic resources, which require further validation in independent populations and environments before deployment in molecular marker-assisted breeding. Full article

Thermal barrier coatings protect metallic components operating under severe high-temperature conditions, but conventional yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings face limitations at elevated temperatures. Gadolinium zirconate (Gd₂Zr₂O₇, GZO) is a promising alternative topcoat material; however, controlling its porosity and mechanical integrity through atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) remains a key challenge. A hybrid multilayer thermal barrier coating system consisting of an Inconel 718 substrate, an atmospheric plasma-sprayed (APS) NiCrAlY bond coat, a high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)-deposited 8YSZ intermediate layer, and an APS-deposited Gd₂Zr₂O₇ (GZO) topcoat was investigated. The study focused on establishing the relationship between APS processing parameters and the structural and mechanical characteristics of the GZO layer. Four deposition regimes were examined by varying the arc current between 550 and 600 A and the H₂ flow rate between 1.1 and 1.8 L/min, while maintaining an Ar flow rate of 40 L/min and a spraying distance of 100 mm. The coatings were characterized by SEM/EDS, XRD, image-based porosity analysis, surface profilometry, instrumented indentation, and pull-off testing. XRD revealed Gd₂Zr₂O₇ together with cubic an<3d tetragonal ZrO₂-related phases for all investigated conditions, whereas the most pronounced effect of the APS parameters was observed in coating porosity and mechanical response. The GZO1 condition (550 A, 1.5 L/min H₂) produced the lowest porosity of 1.0% and the highest indentation resistance. A single-specimen pull-off test yielded a strength of 27.66 MPa; however, the failure location was not determined. Increasing the arc current to 600 A increased porosity to 16.55% and reduced the pull-off strength to 17.92 MPa. Surface roughness varied only slightly, within Ra = 5.25–5.80 µm. The results demonstrate a non-monotonic process–structure–property relationship and show that maximizing plasma-energy input does not necessarily improve GZO coating quality. Among the investigated conditions, 550 A and 1.5 L/min H₂ yielded the lowest porosity and highest indentation resistance; however, thermal conductivity and thermal-cycling performance were not evaluated, and the thermal-barrier performance of this condition remains to be established. Full article

We examined preservice special education teachers’ acceptance of an AI system that supports the evaluation of, and feedback on, their own teaching demonstrations. The system analyzes recorded demonstrations against a structured rubric with time-stamped behavioral evidence, allows users to review and revise the AI evaluation through chatbot dialogue, and then generates personalized feedback. We used a convergent mixed-methods design informed by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and interpreted through an expectation-confirmation lens. Undergraduate students at a private university in South Korea completed a 23-item UTAUT-based questionnaire before and after a semester of use of the system in two required courses (valid pre-use responses N = 42; posttest N = 65; matched pairs n = 33), and 20 students were interviewed across the semester’s two demonstration cycles. Acceptance was uniformly high before use (composite means 4.22–4.63 on a 5-point scale) and did not decline after a semester of use; post hoc, exploratory one-sided non-inferiority tests rejected a decline of d = −0.35 or larger for every factor (all p ≤ 0.007). Performance expectancy increased modestly (d = 0.36; t-test p = 0.047, Wilcoxon p = 0.055, Holm-adjusted p = 0.282), a change that is best read as suggestive rather than established. At posttest, a regression of intention on the four UTAUT factors accounted for 62% of the variance, but effort expectancy (β = 0.37) showed the most consistent evidence of association with intention across classical, heteroscedasticity-robust, bootstrap, and influence-adjusted specifications; the association for social influence (β = 0.39 under classical estimation) was not robust to the estimator, performance expectancy was significant only when one influential case was excluded, and facilitating conditions were nonsignificant throughout. Facilitating conditions were, as the original model specifies, strongly associated with use behavior (β = 0.65) rather than with intention. In interviews, participants described their sustained acceptance in terms of evidence-grounded, time-stamped feedback, score discrepancies that prompted questioning and reflection, uptake into lesson planning and re-teaching, and the system’s role as an accessible complement to scarce instructor feedback, and they located the limits of that acceptance in context-recognition errors, feedback inconsistency, and interface friction. Taken together, the findings suggest that high pre-use expectations of AI-supported evaluation need not erode over a semester of sustained use when the system continuously displays the grounds of its judgments, and that ease of use, rather than perceived usefulness, is the factor showing the most consistent evidence of association with continued-use intention. Full article

The development of hydrogen and hydrogen-containing fuel infrastructure requires structural materials resistant to the combined effects of hydrogen exposure, cyclic contact stresses, and tribological loading. This study investigates hydrogen-assisted degradation of two cold-worked high-nitrogen Cr–Mn–N austenitic steels, DDT68 and P900, under dry rolling–sliding contact after controlled electrochemical hydrogen charging. Hydrogen uptake, wear intensity, microstructure, subsurface damage, and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) were analyzed comparatively. The mean grain size was approximately 25 μm for DDT68 and 43 μm for P900, while hydrogen concentrations were 15–17 and 12–14 ppm, respectively. Hydrogen increased the wear intensity of both steels, with wear acceleration factors ranging from approximately 2.1 to 10.0 for DDT68 and 1.4 to 4.2 for P900 over 200–600 N. The differences in wear intensity between DDT68 and P900 after hydrogen charging were statistically significant over the investigated load range. The finer-grained DDT68 exhibited greater hydrogen retention and a stronger hydrogen-associated wear response. The observed damage is consistent with HELP-assisted deformation localization, with possible contributions from HEDE and hydrogen–defect interactions, promoting subsurface microcracking, delamination, and spalling. Hertzian analysis located the maximum subsurface shear stresses approximately 0.035–0.062 mm below the contact surface. Finally, an indicator-based framework combining wear response, hydrogen content, and prescribed mass-loss reference levels is proposed for comparative durability assessment under the investigated conditions, rather than as a universally calibrated service-life prediction model. Full article

This paper addresses coordinate calibration of temperature-field measurement points in industrial Isasmelt (ISA) furnaces when measurement information is limited and the actual measurement locations are uncertain. A three-dimensional furnace-wall temperature model is first established from heat conduction and Fourier’s law. Industrial process data are then used to construct a process-informed heat-flux prior that constrains the estimation of effective inner-wall heat flux. The estimated regional heat fluxes are mapped to a continuous inner-wall boundary and applied to a three-dimensional transient multilayer heat-transfer model to reconstruct the furnace-wall temperature field. A region-constrained curve-matching method is then used to estimate equivalent sensor coordinates, and Fisher-information analysis is applied to assess coordinate identifiability and reliability. Industrial-data results, controlled known-coordinate tests, and sensitivity analyses support the feasibility of the framework while also identifying the conditions under which coordinate-level interpretation remains reliable. Full article

The sustainable development of valley-type historic towns is increasingly challenged by tourism growth, infrastructure modernization, and community change. Effective responses require a systematic understanding of how spatial morphology mediates the trade-offs between heritage conservation and socio-economic vitality. However, existing studies rarely connect configurational analysis with actionable sustainability strategies in topographically constrained settings. This study addresses this gap by developing a multi-level comparative framework that integrates GIS-based environmental assessment, space syntax configurational modelling, and building-fabric fieldwork. The framework is applied to three historic towns in the upper Yellow River Basin—Qingcheng, Hekou, and Hongcheng—which share similar valley constraints but diverged in historical functions (commercial, defensive, and mixed). Four dimensions are examined, mountain–water patterns, street networks, building fabric, and public-space systems, using indicators including elevation, slope, distance to water, axial integration, intelligibility, shop-front proportion, street aspect ratio, and public-node service radius. The results reveal two complementary layers of spatial logic. At the environmental level, all three towns exhibit shared valley-adaptive traits—near-water locations on relatively gentle terrain, low-slope terrace occupation, axial elongation, and concentrated public spaces. Flood risk was not directly assessed in this study. At the functional level, marked differentiation emerges. Hekou shows the highest network intelligibility (R² = 0.900) and commercial frontage (35% shop-front proportion), which may be interpreted in relation to its commercial and transportation history; however, socio-economic vitality was not directly measured. Hongcheng displays lower intelligibility (R² = 0.556) and thicker defensive walls (0.6–0.8 m), which may be interpreted in relation to its defensive history; however, cultural resilience and economic adaptability were not directly measured. Qingcheng presents a mixed pattern with a single high-integration axis and diverse public nodes, which may be interpreted as functional layering; this interpretation is theoretical and was not directly tested. Rather than offering a universal model, this study provides an evidence-based framework for diagnosing the sustainability implications of spatial form in valley-type historic towns. The findings translate morphological indicators into differentiated management strategies—prioritising commercial corridor continuity in Hekou, preserving defensive spatial sequences in Hongcheng, and balancing functional layering along the historic axis in Qingcheng. This framework contributes to sustainable heritage management by demonstrating how spatial analysis can inform context-sensitive planning that reconciles conservation with development in environmentally constrained settings. Full article

Material extrusion (MEX) builds parts from discrete polymer beads, so the cross-section that carries a tensile load is the union of the deposited beads rather than the rectangle measured with a caliper, and it varies with the infill pattern and along the gauge length. Digital models that reconstruct this section from the G-code need an estimator of the load-bearing area that is fast and geometrically faithful. We compare four estimators on identical toolpaths: a line–plane intersection point-count index (R_LPI), the additive sum of elliptical bead sections, the rasterized union of those sections and an obliquity-corrected union. The corpus comprises 357 ASTM D638 Type V toolpaths (17 infill patterns, seven densities, three layer heights) cut by 77 transverse planes, with the width of every bead read from the slicer output. Additive summation overestimates the union area by 3.1% to 10.6% because neighboring beads overlap; obliquity adds 0.9% on average. The point-count index and the minimum union area rank the patterns differently: six of the seventeen patterns move by seven positions or more between the two orderings, Hilbert curve from 14th by point count to 3rd by union area and Lightning from 6th to 16th, while the rank correlation between the two orderings is weak and does not reach significance (Spearman ρ_s = 0.36, p = 0.15, n = 17). The two estimators also locate the minimum section to be 1.83 mm apart on average, 24% of the gauge length. Sensitivity analyses on the sectioning interval, the obliquity cap, the tie-handling rule and the bead cross-section model leave these conclusions unchanged. Within this purely geometric scope, a self-normalized point count does not reproduce the solid area of the section across infill topologies; which estimator better predicts strength and fracture location remains to be tested experimentally. Full article

Background/Objectives: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) can provide long-term relief for selected patients with refractory chronic pain, but treatment failure may occur without device explantation. This study examined patient-, clinical-, and device-related factors associated with SCS failure after permanent implantation. Methods: This retrospective, single-center cohort study included 108 adults who underwent permanent SCS implantation at the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal between 2007 and 2022. Failure was defined as completed or planned explantation, inadequate pain relief accompanied by a desire or plan for removal, or documented device non-use. Associations were evaluated using univariable categorical tests. Paired pain intensity and morphine milligram equivalent (MME) doses were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: At the most recent documented assessment, composite SCS failure occurred in 40/108 patients (37.0%), and completed explantation occurred in 25/108 (23.1%); these proportions were not adjusted for unequal follow-up duration. The leading reasons for explantation were loss of efficacy (36.0%), paresthesia or dysesthesia (28.0%), and patient request (24.0%). In exploratory univariable analysis, smoking was associated with documented failure (RR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.05–2.75; p = 0.032). Failure differed across comorbidity-count categories (Cramér’s V = 0.34, 95% CI 0.00–0.48; p = 0.019), although the pattern was nonmonotonic. Neither association remained statistically significant after Benjamini–Hochberg correction across 26 comparisons (both q = 0.416). Sex, psychiatric history, pain duration, implantation approach, generator type, and generator location were not significantly associated with failure. The median within-patient reduction in pain intensity was 2.50 points (IQR, 1.00–5.00; p < 0.001), whereas the median paired MME change was 0 MME/day (IQR, −60 to 40; p = 0.649). Conclusions: A composite outcome identified a higher prevalence of clinically unsuccessful SCS treatment than completed explantation alone. Smoking showed an unadjusted association with documented failure; however, this finding may reflect confounding or chance arising from multiple comparisons and should be considered hypothesis-generating. Pain intensity improved without a corresponding significant reduction in opioid exposure. These findings require confirmation through prospective, prespecified multivariable and time-to-event analyses. Full article

This study presents a synthetic proof-of-concept surrogate-assisted simulation–optimisation framework for identifying potentially mineralised locations using groundwater copper-isotope observations. The methodology adapts established groundwater contaminant-source characterisation principles, in which unknown source release histories are reconstructed from down gradient concentration measurements, to the investigation of concealed copper mineralisation. An isotope-informed MODFLOW–MT3DMS model was used to generate synthetic groundwater concentrations of Cu_Tot (total copper), ⁶³Cu, and ⁶⁵Cu for hypothetical mineralisation scenarios. Model responses were evaluated at 20 observation wells over five stress periods. These synthetic data were used to train, validate, and test a Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) surrogate model. The GPR model replicates the numerical simulator responses during testing. The test results show R² values exceeding 0.9998 and corresponding RMSE and MAE values of 0.03022 and 0.00571, respectively, indicating high predictive accuracy within the simulated parameter space. The trained surrogate was subsequently coupled with an Adaptive Simulated Annealing (ASA) algorithm to solve the inverse source-characterisation problem. The optimisation formulation contained 20 decision variables, representing time-varying source fluxes at four predefined candidate locations over five stress periods. Three candidates represented active synthetic mineral sources, whereas the fourth was intentionally assigned as an inactive dummy location to evaluate whether the framework could distinguish active from non-mineralised candidates. The optimisation converged in approximately 1080 s under the reported computational configuration. The reconstructed flux histories identified the three active candidates while assigning a near-zero flux to the dummy candidate. These results demonstrate that, under controlled synthetic conditions, isotope-informed inverse modelling can discriminate between predefined active and inactive candidate locations and reconstruct their temporal source strengths. However, the results do not constitute validation of a field-ready mineral-exploration method, because both the training and evaluation data were generated using the same underlying numerical framework. Subject to validation with independent field observations and more realistic geological, hydrogeochemical, and uncertainty representations, the proposed methodology could provide a computational screening and hypothesis-testing tool for prioritising prospective mineralised zones for further investigation. Full article