Search Results (4,661)

Financial statement fraud inflicts large and recurring losses on capital markets, yet the dominant detection paradigm still relies on single, black-box classifiers (e.g., RUSBoost) trained on structured accounting ratios alone. Two limitations follow: (i) the rich, unstructured Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) narrative of the 10-K filing is discarded, and (ii) the resulting scores are difficult for auditors to trust because they carry no transparent, standards-aligned rationale. Recent large language model (LLM) systems have shown that multi-agent collaboration is more robust than a single LLM for anomaly detection, but no study has systematically transferred this paradigm to listed-company statement fraud. We propose FraudDebate-Agent, a four-role multi-agent system in which a Quantitative Analyst agent scores 28 raw accounting items and 14 ratios with gradient-boosted and tabular attention models, a Narrative Auditor agent quantifies tone, linguistic uncertainty, and year-over-year textual novelty of the MD&A with FinBERT, and an Industry Peer agent uses retrieval-augmented generation to measure industry-relative anomaly. A Critic–Debate agent then orchestrates a pair-wise Evidence-based Multi-Agent Debate (EMAD) that reconciles disagreement across modalities and arbitrates a reconciled fraud-risk assessment, which is aggregated over a tri-modal evidence graph. Our contributions are as follows: (1) the first use of an evidence-grounded debate mechanism for accounting fraud, which materially reduces LLM hallucination; (2) a numerical–textual–peer evidence graph that fuses heterogeneous signals; and (3) an explainable report aligned with the PCAOB AS 2401 fraud-risk taxonomy. On AAER-labelled firm-years linked across a SEC financial dataset and EDGAR-CORPUS, FraudDebate-Agent improves the area under the ROC curve and the rare-event ranking metric NDCG@k over the strongest single-modality and single-LLM baselines while producing substantially more faithful explanations. We frame the system as a fraud-risk screening and risk-ranking tool for AAER-labelled misstatement risk rather than a determination of fraudulent intent. We report results over multiple seeds to reflect real-world stochasticity and discuss limitations and cross-domain applications. Full article

Manganese is a raw material of increasing strategic importance owing not only to its fundamental role in steel production but also to its use in battery technologies, chemical processes, environmental applications, and advanced industrial fields. With the ongoing energy transition, the growing demand for battery-grade manganese has made it increasingly important to reassess the geological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of manganese occurrences that are known from limited data. In this study, the manganese mineralization observed in the Kulu–Kozanlı area of Central Anatolia was investigated using field observations, ore microscopy, XRD, SEM–EDS, major oxide and trace element geochemistry, and spatial data based on sampling locations. Major oxide and trace element data indicate that manganese enrichment is not homogeneous and is concentrated in specific zones. The results of Spearman correlation, PCA, HCA, and factor analysis reveal a clear opposition between MnO and SiO₂, whereas MnO tends to increase together with Cu, Ba, V, Ga, and Sr. XRD, SEM–EDS, and ore microscopy findings show that the mineralization is mainly represented by a Mn oxide/oxyhydroxide assemblage composed of manganite and pyrolusite, with local braunite. When all findings are evaluated together, the Kulu manganese mineralization is interpreted as a lithologically heterogeneous Mn mineralization associated with radiolarite/chert and carbonate–cherty levels within the Dereköy ophiolitic mélange and consistent with hydrothermal influence. Full article

Photoelectric intelligent sensor chips have become a key technology for next-generation intelligent sensing by integrating photonic devices, electronic circuits, and artificial intelligence algorithms. Recent advances in silicon photonics, two-dimensional materials, heterogeneous integration, and intelligent signal processing have significantly improved their sensitivity, response speed, and integration capability. This review presents a comprehensive overview of photoelectric intelligent sensor chips from fundamental principles to system-level applications. The operating mechanisms, device architectures, fabrication technologies, and photonic integration strategies are summarized, followed by recent progress in industrial, medical, and intelligent sensing applications. Current technical challenges, including material quality, heterogeneous integration, power consumption, and intelligent data processing, are also discussed. Finally, future trends toward highly integrated, low-power, and AI-enabled sensing systems are highlighted. This review provides a concise reference for the development of next-generation photoelectric intelligent sensor chips and their practical applications. Full article

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of 24 h versus 46 h continuous 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) infusion durations on pathological response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma receiving a perioperative FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) regimen. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 patients who received a perioperative FLOT regimen were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups as those receiving 24 h and 46 h continuous 5-FU infusion. Clinicopathological characteristics were compared. Survival analyses were evaluated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Factors affecting pathological response were analyzed by logistic regression, and factors affecting survival were examined by Cox regression analysis. Results: Pathological response rates were found to be significantly higher in patients receiving 46 h 5-FU infusion (multivariate analysis: OR = 2.884; 95% CI: 1.619–5.138; p < 0.001). The probability of pathological response was found to be significantly lower in patients with baseline cT4 and advanced nodal stage. Median OS times were 41.23 months and 33.73 months in the 24 h and 46 h groups, respectively, with no significant difference detected between the groups (p = 0.371). In contrast, median PFS time was significantly longer in the 24 h group (38.47 months vs. 18.00 months; p < 0.001). However, in multivariate analysis, 5-FU infusion duration could not be demonstrated as an independent prognostic factor for PFS. Moderately and poorly differentiated tumors and an increased number of positive lymph nodes were found to be independent risk factors for progression. Conclusions: Although 46 h 5-FU infusion in the perioperative FLOT regimen was associated with a higher pathological response rate, this advantage was not reflected in survival outcomes. It is considered that the observed difference in PFS may stem from the clinicopathological heterogeneity between the groups. Prospective randomized studies are needed to determine the optimal 5-FU infusion duration. Full article

This paper investigates exhibit design strategies for communicating siege scenarios through integrated digital resources, including polyfunctional models, reality-based 3D assets, and AI generated pre-visualizations. The study reorganizes heterogeneous materials into a coherent methodological workflow grounded in high resolution documentation acquired for archaeological research. Results derive from the case of the northern walls of Pompeii, where ballistic imprints attributed to the Sullan siege present challenges of accessibility and intelligibility. The evaluation demonstrates how digital models, physical replicas, and media code frameworks support inclusive dissemination for diverse audiences, including visitors with visual or mobility impairments. Full article

Heterogeneous photocatalysis has attracted attention as an effective method for the degradation of a wide range of organic contaminants. Despite the growing interest in ceria- and manganese oxide-based photocatalysts, CeO₂/Na-birnessite heterostructures remain largely unexplored. Therefore, CeO₂/Na-birnessite composite materials were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and investigated for photocatalytic water treatment. XRD and WPPF analyses confirmed the coexistence of fluorite-type CeO₂ and layered Na-birnessite, while an additional hausmannite phase was detected in the Mn-rich samples. SEM, TEM and EDS analyses revealed close spatial contact between ceria nanoparticles and layered birnessite structures. The mixed samples exhibited higher specific surface areas than the pure oxides, reaching up to 121.7 m² g⁻¹ for the 50Mn:50Ce composition. UV–Vis DRS showed enhanced visible-light absorption with increasing manganese content. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated through Rhodamine B degradation under UV irradiation at solution pH values below and above the point of zero charge (pH_pzc = 6.46) determined for the 50Mn:50Ce sample. Significantly higher photocatalytic activity was observed at pH 7.5, where the 50Mn:50Ce sample achieved more than 90% Rhodamine B degradation after only 20 min of irradiation. These results suggest that photocatalytic performance depends on the combined effect of high specific surface area and surface charge control. Full article

Authigenic chlorite is a common clay mineral in tight sandstone reservoirs, where its mode of occurrence strongly influences pore preservation, pore-throat architecture, and reservoir-quality evolution. We integrated petrographic observations of cast thin sections, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron-probe microanalysis, and core petrophysical measurements to characterize the petrology, chlorite microfabrics, precursor materials, and reservoir properties of the Qian-5 sandstones in the Jiaxian area, Ordos Basin. The sandstones are dominated by lithic arkose and feldspathic litharenite. Volcanic and other unstable lithic fragments, feldspar, early Fe-rich clay films, and clay-mineral precursors supplied material for authigenic chlorite. Three modes of occurrence were identified: grain-coating (Chl-1), pore-lining (Chl-2), and pore-filling (Chl-3) chlorite. Their development records progressive transformation of early Fe-rich clay films, dissolution of unstable detrital components, clay-mineral reactions, and changes in diagenetic-fluid chemistry. The reservoirs have porosities of 5.5–17.8% (mean, 10.3%) and permeabilities of 0.5–11.3 mD (mean, 7.48 mD). Early grain coatings inhibited quartz overgrowth and favored preservation of intergranular pores, whereas later pore-lining and pore-filling chlorite narrowed pore throats, increased tortuosity, and reduced effective pore volume. A statistically supported quadratic relationship between total chlorite content and porosity indicates that bulk chlorite abundance does not exert a simple monotonic control on reservoir quality. Combined with petrographic observations, the results further show that the reservoir effect of chlorite varies with its mode of occurrence and degree of pore occupancy. These findings provide a diagenetic framework for predicting comparatively high-quality intervals and evaluating reservoir heterogeneity in the Qian-5 Member. Full article

Background: Neonatal encephalopathy (NE) is a major cause of neonatal mortality and long-term neurological disability. Although hypoxic–ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) is the most common cause, several genetic disorders may mimic or coexist with hypoxic–ischaemic injury. Next-generation sequencing has emerged as a promising diagnostic tool in this setting. This systematic review evaluated the current evidence on genomic sequencing in NE. Material and methods: A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA 2020 guidelines and prospectively registered in PROSPERO. PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus were searched from inception to June 2026. Eligible studies included neonates (≤28 days) with NE, suspected or confirmed HIE, HIE mimics, or unexplained NE who underwent genomic sequencing. Whole-exome sequencing (WES), whole-genome sequencing (WGS), clinical exome sequencing (CES), rapid genomic sequencing, and targeted next-generation sequencing panels were considered. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results: Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Considerable heterogeneity was observed regarding patient selection, sequencing strategies, and reported outcomes. Among diagnostic sequencing studies, diagnostic yield ranged from 23.5% to 53.1%. Pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants were identified in genes associated with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, metabolic disorders, mitochondrial diseases, and neurodevelopmental syndromes, including SCN2A, KCNQ2, CACNA1A, STXBP1, PTPN11, BCOR, MMUT, COQ2, and GBE1. Genomic sequencing frequently refined or changed the initial diagnosis, improved prognostic assessment and genetic counselling, and, in selected cases, guided disease-specific treatment. One study investigated genetic susceptibility to hypoxic–ischaemic injury rather than diagnostic sequencing. Conclusions: Genomic sequencing provides clinically meaningful diagnoses in a substantial proportion of neonates with unexplained NE or atypical HIE presentations. Current evidence supports integrating genomic sequencing into the diagnostic evaluation of selected infants, although larger prospective studies are needed to define its optimal timing, clinical utility, and cost-effectiveness. Full article

This study analyzes a low-cost potassium feldspar mineral from Chihuahua, Mexico, for removing cationic dyes (methylene blue and rhodamine 6G) from water. The raw mineral, characterized by Rietveld refinement as a polymineralic composite of sanidine (49 vol%), muscovite (27 vol%), calcite (16 vol%), and anorthoclase (7 vol%), demonstrated significant dual functionality. In darkness, it acted as an effective adsorbent, achieving 98% and 76% removal of MB and R6G, respectively, after 120 min, with adsorption behavior fitting the Langmuir isotherm. Under solar irradiation, the mineral facilitated photocatalytic degradation, evidenced by a faster intensity decrease and a shift in the absorption bands, and the near-complete decolorization of the dyes. The degradation kinetics were significantly accelerated in a synergistic advanced oxidation process (AOP) with added hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), achieving 98% degradation for MB and 93% degradation for R6G within 15 min, compared with 97% for MB and 65% for R6G under sunlight irradiation alone. Kinetic analysis revealed that the process consistently followed a pseudo-second-order model, indicating a surface-controlled mechanism dependent on dye concentration and the availability of active sites. Additional fitting with the Elovich and Avrami models suggested heterogeneous surface behavior and multistep degradation pathways, implying that the overall process involved concurrent adsorption, surface-mediated catalytic reactions, and oxidative degradation driven by photogenerated reactive species. Additionally, the scavenger tests revealed that the dominant reactive species depended on the presence of ${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_2$: ${\mathrm{O}}_2^{•-}$ radicals prevailed in the peroxide-free system, whereas $•\mathrm{OH}$ radicals dominated under ${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_2$- assisted conditions. Photoluminescence spectroscopy analysis provided mechanistic insights, tracking the evolution of dye monomers, dimers, and aggregates, confirming structural degradation of the dyes and revealing the formation of specific fluorescent intermediates. Together, these findings highlight the mineral’s potential as an abundant, eco-friendly material for solar-driven wastewater treatment. Full article

Given the urgent need to regulate oxidative stress microenvironments in chronic wound healing, hydrogel dressings that simultaneously integrate antioxidant, antibacterial, mechanically adaptive, and biocompatible properties are highly desirable. In this study, a natural polymer-based composite hydrogel dressing loaded with zinc-quercetin nanozyme (Zn-Q) was designed. The gel skeleton was constructed via a dual network of photocrosslinked methacrylated silk fibroin (SilMA) and mercaptolated hyaluronic acid (HA-SH) via thiol-ene click chemistry, with the catalase (CAT)-like Zn-Q nanozyme encapsulated in situ within the network, thereby achieving synergy between chemical crosslinking and dynamic metal-polyphenol coordination. Systematic characterization revealed that Zn-Q nanozyme adopted a stable octahedral coordination configuration, and its continuous porous structure exposed abundant catalytically active sites. The composite hydrogels exhibited a highly interconnected, three-dimensional (3D) porous morphology, with swelling ratios that increased significantly with Zn-Q nanozyme content (up to around 1082%). Rheological and mechanical tests demonstrated that although incorporating the nanozyme reduced the storage modulus, the reversible physical crosslinks formed via hydrogen bonding and coordination interactions endowed the material with excellent tensile toughness and energy-dissipation capacity, exhibiting typical Mullins softening behavior. Functional evaluation showed that Zn-Q nanozyme conferred superior free radical scavenging capability to the hydrogels and exerted dose-dependent inhibition against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Furthermore, the hydrogels exhibited favorable adhesion to various wet organs and heterogeneous material surfaces, with hemolysis rates below 5% and cell viability exceeding 100% after 3 days of culturing with fibroblasts, confirming their excellent hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility. This study provides an experimental basis for developing a new type of wound repair materials that integrate antioxidant, anti-infective, and mechanically adaptive properties, holding significant application potential in oxidative stress-related tissue repair fields. Full article

Background and Objectives: Carpal tunnel release (CTR) has evolved toward increasingly less invasive techniques, with the aim of reducing procedural trauma and accelerating recovery. While ultrasound-guided and microinvasive approaches have demonstrated safety and technical precision, prospective data describing Return-to-Work (RTW) and early functional recovery remain limited. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study included adults undergoing office-based ultrasound-guided microinvasive CTR (Micro-CTR) under local anaesthesia using a retractable needle-mounted blade system. Patient-reported outcomes were collected using the Comprehensive Carpal Tunnel Recovery Questionnaire. The primary outcome was time to RTW. Secondary outcomes included change in pain score, analgesic duration, and time to return to driving and household tasks. Continuous outcomes were non-normally distributed and are reported as medians with interquartile ranges (IQRs). Recovery outcomes were compared by structured self-reported postoperative-event status using non-parametric and time-to-event analyses, and an exploratory distributional analysis assessed the influence of longer self-reported RTW intervals on the overall recovery distribution. Results: Sixty-seven patients were included. Median RTW was 9 days (IQR, 30.5; n = 48), with a median return to driving at 5 days (IQR 6) and household tasks at 7 days (IQR 7). Median pain decreased from 8/10 preoperatively to 0/10 postoperatively (p < 0.0001). Participants reporting at least one structured postoperative event had longer RTW intervals than those selecting no structured event (median 35 vs. 5 days; HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.22–0.80; p = 0.0079). Exploratory distributional analysis showed that longer RTW intervals had a substantial influence on the overall RTW distribution; the full RTW responder cohort remained the primary analysis. Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided Micro-CTR was associated with rapid early functional recovery in most patients in this prospective cohort. Recovery was heterogeneous, with longer RTW intervals observed among participants reporting structured postoperative events. These findings support RTW as a pragmatic functional endpoint in evaluating emerging CTR techniques. Full article

Tea is a high-value agricultural sector whose sustainable development is closely tied to the livelihoods of numerous smallholders. Persistent rural labor outmigration has made it increasingly difficult for smallholder-dominated tea production to sustain a balance between quantity expansion and quality improvement. While experimental studies show that digital–intelligent technologies can improve tea yield and quality, whether their real-world diffusion contributes to a sustainable quantity–quality balance remains underexplored. This study proposes the quantity–quality equilibrium level of tea production (QQEL_TP) to measure this balance and constructs a regional digital–intelligent transformation (RDIT) index to capture the penetration of digital–intelligent technologies into local industries. Using panel data from China’s major tea-producing provinces from 2012 to 2023, this study applies a two-way fixed-effects model to examine the RDIT–QQEL_TP relationship. Results show that RDIT significantly improves QQEL_TP. Further analysis suggests that e-commerce development is a potential channel, while heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive effect is more likely to materialize in provinces with a stronger digital–intelligent foundation, an existing Taobao village foundation, and a smaller tea industry scale. This study provides industry-level evidence on the role of digital–intelligent transformation in promoting agricultural sustainability, and offers policy implications for addressing production-side quantity–quality imbalances in other smallholder-dominated industries. Full article

Hydrogels represent a unique class of materials characterized by their three-dimensional, hydrophilic polymer networks, which enable them to absorb and retain large quantities of aqueous solutions. While the literature is abundant with excellent works on the classification, preparation, and applications of hydrogels, a notable lack remains in comprehensive studies focused on their characterization. This gap contributes to heterogeneous results and conflicting fields. In this context, this review aims to provide a detailed and systematic overview of hydrogel characterization techniques. It begins with an exploration of physicochemical, morphological, and mechanical properties, followed by an examination of distinctive hydrogel features, biocompatibility, and application-based properties, particularly for testing applications within the biomedical field. By highlighting the significance of various characterization methods, this review seeks to enhance the understanding of hydrogels and guide future research efforts, ultimately facilitating the development of more effective hydrogel-based materials for several applications. Full article

Personal carbon accounts translate everyday low-carbon actions into records, feedback, and rewards, yet there is limited evidence on how users value specific design features. This study examines young adults’ preferences for five attributes of personal carbon accounts: tangible welfare incentives, non-material incentives, carbon-reduction rankings, privacy protection, and overall time cost. A discrete choice experiment was conducted with 623 valid respondents in the Sichuan-Chongqing region, and preferences were estimated using conditional logit, mixed logit, and latent class models. Product discounts and ranking feedback increased the relative attractiveness of an account scheme, whereas higher time costs reduced it. Financial credit benefits, personal honorary titles, and public-welfare contributions were less attractive than their respective baseline levels. Blockchain-labeled protection had no significant average advantage over standard anonymization, although responses to this label varied across respondents and latent classes. Preference heterogeneity was concentrated mainly in the valuation of welfare and non-material incentives. These findings suggest that youth-oriented personal carbon accounts should offer benefits that are easy to understand and redeem, provide visible but low-burden feedback, and explain data-protection arrangements in concrete terms. Full article

Electric vehicle manufacturing firms face increasing supply chain vulnerability due to component shortages, technological interdependence, raw material volatility, and demand uncertainty. This study aims to examine whether digital transformation can be translated into a resilience-building capability and to identify the transmission channels. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed electric vehicle manufacturing firms from 2014 to 2023, we employ a double machine learning framework to estimate the relationship between digital transformation and supply chain resilience while accounting for high-dimensional firm-level controls. The results show that digital transformation is positively associated with supply chain resilience. This finding remains robust across alternative sample-splitting ratios, different machine learning algorithms, alternative winsorization thresholds, and sample restrictions. It also holds after addressing potential endogeneity using instrumental variable estimation. Mechanism tests indicate that digital transformation contributes to resilience by promoting technological innovation and reducing managerial transaction costs. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the effect is more pronounced among firms with stronger market positions, larger firms, and vehicle manufacturers. These findings suggest that digital transformation is not merely a tool for operational upgrading but also an important organizational capability for strengthening supply chain resilience in electric vehicle manufacturing. Full article