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The Youjiang Basin in China is the world's second-largest concentrated area of Carlin-type Au deposits after Nevada, USA, boasting cumulative Au reserves nearing 1000 t. This study examined the recently unearthed Lintan Carlin-type Au deposit within the Youjiang Basin. Factor analysis and association rule algorithms were used to identify exploration vectors and indicators essential for navigating this promising geological territory. In the Lintan mining area, the geological strata encompass the Triassic Bianyang, Niluo, and Xuman formations comprised clastic rocks, followed by the deeper Permian Wujiaping Formation with massive carbonate rocks. The orebodies are restricted to the F14 inverse fault, cutting through the Xuman Formation, with an additional F7 fault between the Wujiaping and Xuman formations. A total of 125 rock samples from the F14 fault and a representative cross-section were analyzed for 15 elements (Au, Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl, W, and Zn). The elements were divided into four groups based on cluster and factor analysis. Group 1 (Co, Cu, Zn, Ni, Tl, W, and Bi) was mainly enriched in the Xuman, Niluo, and Bianyang formations controlled by sedimentary diagenesis. Group 2 (Au, As, Hg, and Sb) was concentrated in the F14 and F7 faults, representing Au mineralization. Group 3 (Pb, Ag, and Mo) was mostly enriched near the F14 and F7 faults, displaying a peripheral halo of Au mineralization, and was probability controlled by ore-forming hydrothermal activities. Group 4 (Cd and Mo) exhibited extreme enrichment along the periphery of the F7 fault. This pattern indicates the presence of a substantial hydrothermal alteration zone surrounding the fault, likely influenced by ore-forming hydrothermal processes. Additionally, Pb, Ag, Cd, Mo, and W are considered essential indicators for ore formation besides Au, As, Sb, Hg, and Tl. Twelve effective association rules were derived using the association rule algorithm, which can aid in discriminating Au mineralization. The spatial distributions of the 15 elements indicated that the F14 fault is the main ore-bearing fracture zone, while the F7 fault serves as the ore-conducting structure, channeling ore-forming fluids into the F14 fault. Faults between the Wujiaping and Xuman formations, along with their associated reverse faults, present potential prospecting targets both within and outside the Lintan Au deposit in the Youjiang Basin. Exploration geochemical data can be fully utilized by combining factor analysis and association rule algorithms, offering key guidance for prospecting Carlin-type gold and similar deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Reverse engineering of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) has long been an attractive research topic in system biology. Computational prediction of gene regulatory interactions has remained a challenging problem due to the complexity of gene expression and scarce information resources. The high-throughput spatial gene expression data, like in situ hybridization images that exhibit temporal and spatial expression patterns, has provided abundant and reliable information for the inference of GRNs. However, computational tools for analyzing the spatial gene expression data are highly underdeveloped. Results In this study, we develop a new method for identifying gene regulatory interactions from gene expression images, called ConGRI. The method is featured by a contrastive learning scheme and deep Siamese convolutional neural network architecture, which automatically learns high-level feature embeddings for the expression images and then feeds the embeddings to an artificial neural network to determine whether or not the interaction exists. We apply the method to a Drosophila embryogenesis dataset and identify GRNs of eye development and mesoderm development. Experimental results show that ConGRI outperforms previous traditional and deep learning methods by a large margin, which achieves accuracies of 76.7% and 68.7% for the GRNs of early eye development and mesoderm development, respectively. It also reveals some master regulators for Drosophila eye development. Availabilityand implementation https://github.com/lugimzheng/ConGRI. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the mesoscale damage evolution law of irregular sandstone particles, based on RFPA2D and digital image processing technology, a real mesostructure numerical model of irregular sandstone particles is established to simulate the breakage process of particles, the effects of loading conditions and mesoscale heterogeneity on irregular sandstone particle damage are studied, and the calculation method of fractal dimension of irregular rock particles mesoscale fracture is proposed. The results show that the fracture damage degree (ω) and fractal dimension (D) maximum values of the constrained particles are 0.733 and 1.466, respectively, and the unconstrained particles are 0.577 and 1.153, respectively. The final failure mode of constrained particles is more complicated than unconstrained particles, the damage is more serious, and the fracture is more complete. Thus, the larger values of D yield a more complicated final failure mode of the particles. Consequently, with the larger ω, the final damage is more serious, and the breakage effect is comparatively better. The study is of great significance for exploring the laws of rock particle breakage and energy consumption, rock breakage mechanism, and searching for efficient and energy-saving rock-breaking methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The different directions of joints in rock will lead to great differences in damage evolution characteristics. This study utilizes DIP (digital image processing) technology for characterizing the mesostructure of sandstone and combines DIP technology with RFPA2D. The mesoscale fracture mechanics behavior of 7 groups of jointed sandstones with various dip angles was numerically studied, and its reliability was verified through theoretical analysis. According to digital image storage principle and box dimension theory, the box dimension algorithm of rock mesoscale fracture is written in MATLAB, the calculation method of fractal dimension of mesoscale fracture was proposed, and the corresponding relationship between mesoscale fractal dimension and fracture damage degree was established. Studies have shown that compressive strength as well as elastic modulus of sandstone leads to a U-shaped change when joint dip increases. There are a total of six final failure modes of joint samples with different inclination angles. Failure mode and damage degree can be quantified by D (fractal dimension) and ω (mesoscale fracture damage degree), respectively. The larger the ω, the more serious the damage, and the greater the D, the more complex the failure mode. Accumulative AE energy increases exponentially with the increase of loading step, and the growth process can be divided into gentle period, acceleration period, and surge period. The mesoscale fracture damage calculation based on the fractal dimension can be utilized for quantitatively evaluating the spatial distribution characteristics of mesoscale fracture, which provides a new way to study the law of rock damage evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joints with different angles in rocks have significant impacts on their fracture mechanisms. In this study, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and microcomputed tomography (Micro-CT) were used to study the microstructure characterization of sandstone, and digital image processing (DIP) technology has been applied for the characterization of sandstone mesostructures. DIP technology has been combined with RFPA2D to numerically investigate the mesoscale fracture behaviors of jointed sandstone with different dip angles. On the basis of the box dimension theory and digital image storage principle, Matlab was applied to develop a mesoscale fracture box dimension algorithm based on digital imaging, and therefore, an analysis method was established for the evaluation of mesoscale fracture damage degree based on fractal dimensions. Previous studies have revealed that the elastic modulus and compressive strength of the sandstone had significant anisotropy, and the compressive strength of sandstone had an approximately power exponential relationship with fractal dimensions; therefore, fractal dimensions could be applied to describe sandstone compressive strength. There were found to be five final failure modes in joint specimens with various inclination angles. Failure mode and damage degree could be determined by fractal dimensions and mesoscale fracture damage degree, respectively. As the fractal dimension became greater, failure mode became more complicated and mesoscale fracture damage was enhanced, resulting in more serious damage. This study is helpful in understanding the mechanical properties of sandstone in complex structural areas and provides a novel method for studying the evolution law of mesoscale failure in rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the analysis and control of stability of surrounding rock in deep fractured soft rock roadway located in the underground mine of Jinfeng gold mine in Guizhou Province, China, has been investigated. The surrounding rock of roadway has been analyzed to characterize its deformation and failure mechanism through field survey, testing of rock physical and mechanical properties, in situ stress measure, analysis of mineral components of rock, and investigation of rock fragmentation degree. Based on the numerical simulation technology, the influence of different factors on the stability of roadway is studied. The physical and mechanical properties of surrounding rock and the bearing capacity of surrounding rock layer are to be improved to maintain the stability of broken soft rock roadway as high ground stress, rock fragmentation, and poor lithology leading to tunnel instability. Hence, a high-strength "cable bolt + fiber-reinforced shotcrete + steel mesh + split sets + resin bolt + cement grouting" combined support system has been proposed to improve the effective bearing structure significantly with high integrity and bearing capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]