bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is Seeing Believing? Hallmark Movie Viewership and Relationship Beliefs
Authors: Rios Jasmine W. , Smith C. Veronica , Locke Taylor N.
Published: May 2024

The Hallmark Channel, a highly watched cable network, is known for its consistently idealistic portrayals of romantic relationships. Despite its popularity, no research has examined whether increased viewership of Hallmark movies covaries with endorsement of relationship beliefs. According to cultivation theory, what we watch impacts our beliefs and perceptions of reality. Additionally, the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM) proposes that certain variables, such as developmental (i.e., age, relationship length) and dispositional factors (e.g., attachment style, gender), may make certain viewers more or less susceptible to the effects of media viewership. Based on this grounding, the main purpose of this study was to determine if watching more Hallmark movies is associated with endorsing certain beliefs about romantic relationships and opposite-sex friendships when controlling for several susceptibility factors. A nationwide sample of heterosexual, married participants ( N = 279) completed measures of Romantic Beliefs, Implicit Theories of Relationships, and beliefs about opposite-sex friendships and reported on their media consumption. More frequent Hallmark movie viewership was associated with increased endorsement of several relationship beliefs, above and beyond susceptibility factors (e.g., attachment, relationship length) and daily television consumption. Specifically, greater Hallmark movie viewership was positively associated with greater endorsement of multiple unrealistic relationship beliefs, destiny beliefs, and believing that opposite-sex friendships are problematic. The findings of the current study provide further support for cultivation theory and DSMM.
Smaller cities as sites of youth migrant incorporation
Authors: Naik Mukta
Published: May 2024

Rather than the long-term rural–urban migration to metropolitan centres, India’s structural transformation process is characterised by complexified migrations and dispersed urbanisation. This article develops concepts of cities positioned in multiscalar power to propose a place-based, mobilities-sensitive approach and relational approach to urban theory that place smaller Indian cities within a broader narrative on migrant incorporation beyond the restrictive dichotomies of global and ordinary cities and domestic and international migration. Through two case studies, it shows how, despite low scalar positions on account of weak governance and informalised economies, smaller cities shape varied employment opportunities and generate spatially and temporally varied mobilities for domestic migrants. However, incorporation remains contingent on patronage-based social networks, creating differentiated experiences for those from different social locations; still more inclusive incorporation pathways are possible through expanding welcoming infrastructure and social fields for young migrants.
‘Once you come, you are a Shenzhener’? Multifaceted and variegated sense of place among migrants in Shenzhen
Authors: Du Huimin
Published: May 2024

To what extent is contemporary Chinese urbanism cohesive and integrative? This study delves into the multifaceted and variegated nature of sense of place among internal migrants in Chinese cities, with a focus on Shenzhen, a city at the forefront of policy experimentation and a quintessential immigrant city. The findings reveal different levels of sense of belonging/attachment, local identity and sense of home among natives, hukou migrants and non- hukou migrants. The sense of belonging/attachment is mainly influenced by the relational factor, while local identity is predominantly determined by the legal factor, and sense of home is primarily influenced by the economic factor. Meanwhile, hukou migrants place greater importance on the relational factor, while non- hukou migrants emphasise the economic factor. Furthermore, the research identifies five types of sense of place among migrants based on different configurations of belonging/attachment, local identity and sense of home. This study sheds light on the complexity of sense of place and the nuances of belonging, attachment, identity and home in contemporary Chinese urbanism.
Reimagining the urban through agency as healing justice: Stories from Kolkata and Chicago
Authors: Biswas Ritwika , Sweet Elizabeth L.
Published: May 2024

To address violence against women in cities, urban scholars and planners have primarily focused on challenging problematic urban built environments, social norms and unequal power relations but have missed emphasising the healing of the harmed individuals and communities. In this paper, we are interested in the role that agency can play in the healing justice process of individuals and communities with experience of violence and spatial trauma. Building on healing justice scholarship, we argue for a multilayered approach to address the range of violences women and marginalised communities experience over time in urban spaces by repairing societal and urban faults while simultaneously tending to the healing and well-being of the impacted individuals and communities. Based on stories from the everyday lives of different groups of women in Kolkata and Chicago, we highlight instances of women reclaiming urban spaces in their everyday lives through varied acts of their agency while also building a sense of community agency, ultimately leading towards healing justice. The temporal component of healing is long-term, but fostering actionable agency is essential in moving towards communities being healed. Therefore, to facilitate healing processes, paying attention to the everyday acts of embodied agency may provide practical tools for urban scholars and planners to understand community needs and desires and make cities inclusive and safe.
“The Simpler, the Better.” A Qualitative Study on Digital Health Transformation in Early Adopter Rheumatology Outpatient Clinics
Authors: May Susann , Darkow Robert , Knitza Johannes , Boy Katharina , Schwarz Julian , Heinze Martin , Hornig Johannes , Aries Peer , Welcker Martin , Muehlensiepen Felix
Published: May 2024

Workforce shortage and the increasing burden of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases lead to extreme time constraints in rheumatology outpatient care. Digital services promise to facilitate care by relieving employees and unleash new capacities. This study aims to explore the perspectives of early adopter health care professionals (HCP) on digital transformation in outpatient rheumatology. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with rheumatology nurses and physicians in 3 German rheumatology outpatient clinics, each characterized by an advanced level of digital adaption. Qualitative data were subsequently analyzed using deductive-inductive qualitative content analysis. Interviews with 11 rheumatology nurses and 5 rheumatologists were completed. Three key themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: (i) Digital transformation of care; (ii) impact of digital transformation on health care delivery; and (iii) perceived drivers of successful digitalization. The interviews revealed that digital technologies are widely used throughout the complete patient pathway. Digitalization enables more continuity and flexibility in rheumatology care. Patient information can be electronically obtained in a standardized manner prior to planned visits, enabling an informed consultation and more time for in-depth patient discussion. Although digitalization restructures work, it can also increase the current workload. Improved accessibility for patient calls leads to more work for HCP. Important drivers of successful digital technology implementation are low-threshold and interoperable services, a medical team that is interested and educated in eHealth, and comprehensive patient information and onboarding. Digital transformation is increasingly redefining rheumatology care. While accelerating communication and workflows, improved service accessibility leads to more work for HCP.
Effect of Elderly People’s Perceived Value on their Adherence to Outdoor Exercise: The Intermediary Role of Motivation for Active Social Adaptation
Authors: Yan Junfeng , Fang Shuyuan , Norwood Wallace C. , Guan Liming
Published: May 2024

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the perceived value of outdoor activities and exercise persistence among elderly Chinese individuals. Specifically, the study aims to explore whether motivation for active social adaptation mediates this relationship. Three hundred twenty-five subjects were randomly chosen and invited to complete 3 questionnaires about the perceived value of outdoor activity, the motivation for active social adaptation, and the adherence to physical exercise. The results showed that older people’s perception of the value of outdoor activity (function, landscape, and cost) has a statistically significant effect on their adherence to exercise. The mediating role of motivation for active social adaptation was also statistically significant, and the mediating role of active environmental adaptation motivation affected the perceived functional value, perceived landscape value of outdoor activities on adherence to exercise. Hence, it is concluded that older Chinese adults’ perception of the value of outdoor activities promotes their adherence to exercise and reinforces it based on active social adaptation motivation.
Price Transparency in United States’ Health Care: A Narrative Policy Review of the Current State and Way Forward
Authors: Bernstein David N. , Crowe Jonathan R.
Published: May 2024

Health care price transparency is gaining momentum as a tangible policy intervention that can unleash market principles to increase competition, help begin to decrease U.S. health care expenditures, and provide Americans with access to affordable, high-quality health care. Indeed, pricing reform is required to facilitate patient shopping in health care. In this narrative policy review, we offer a brief history of health care price transparency efforts and an overview of the health care price transparency literature. Further, we highlight the current rules and legislative initiatives aimed at achieving the full potential of health care price transparency. Lastly, we offer key takeaways and highlight suggestions for future policy directions, including the need to ensure hospital and insurance compliance through more appropriate penalties and incentives, importance of reducing regulation to promote financial upside that can be obtained by both patients and providers who actively promote shopping for lower cost, higher quality health care goods and services, and the need for transparent and easily found quality metrics, including outcomes most important to patients, driven by physicians “on the ground” with patient input.
Discrimination during COVID-19: Assessing migrant workers’ vulnerability to forced labor in Thailand’s seafood industry
Authors: Lee Johanna , Rogovin Kimberly , Musikawong Sudarat
Published: May 2024

Between 2020 and 2022, Thailand instituted a series of policies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the regulations were rooted in structural discrimination against the migrant population. This paper reveals how the discriminatory nature of the government’s policies heightened the vulnerability of migrant workers in Thailand’s commercial fishing and seafood processing industries. COVID-19 containment measures and immigration policies, coupled with the exclusion of migrant workers from social protection programs, inadvertently subjected migrant workers in Thailand’s seafood industry to increased risk of forced labor. At the same time, further restrictions on freedom of association rights and the weakening of labor inspections during the pandemic hampered workers’ ability to report labor abuses and the government’s ability to identify and remedy cases of forced labor.
Paradoxical Embolism in Juveniles and Young Adults With Severe-to-Profound Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Authors: Sun Huiying , Yang Yuchen , Yang Ruizhe , Tian Xu , Zhao Yang , Wu Haiyan , Gao Zhiqiang
Published: May 2024

Objective: Paradoxical embolism from right-to-left shunting is a common cause of cryptogenic stroke in the young. Circulatory ischemia of the cochlea is closely connected with severe-to-profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss. This study aimed to explore the role of paradoxical embolism in severe-to-profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss in juveniles and young adults. Methods: From August 2021 to September 2022, consecutive outpatients under 35 years of age with severe-to-profound sudden hearing loss were included in the study. Routine auditory electrophysiological testing and contrast transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (c-TCD) were conducted, and the results were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Seven patients (age: 19.4 ± 6.5 years) were enrolled, including 5 juveniles and 2 young adults. Three patients had severe deafness, and 4 patients had profound deafness. Right-to-left shunting was detected in all patients through c-TCD. Patent foramen ovale was found in 2 patients while pulmonary arteriovenous fistula was found in 1 patient through contrast transthoracic echocardiography or cardiac catheterization. No patients had precipitating factors for sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and none had abnormalities on head magnetic resonance imaging. Six patients underwent whole -exome sequencing, and no known deafness gene variant was detected. After standard treatment for 1 month, 2, 3, and 2 patients had complete, slight, and no hearing recovery, respectively. Conclusions: Paradoxical embolism is a possible cause of severe-to-profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss in juveniles and young adults. In young patients, c-TCD is an effective screening tool to detect right-to-left shunting, while contrast transthoracic echocardiography is a complementary examination to c-TCD.
Evaluating the Impact of a Kiosk Education App Intervention on Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Lee Chung Eun , Lee Taesu
Published: May 2024

The use of non-face-to-face services and kiosks has expanded due to the development of information and communication technology and accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Korea, the use of self-service kiosks has grown to about four times pre-pandemic levels. Therefore, it is pivotal for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to learn how to use self-service kiosks in the community. The purpose of this single-case study design study was to examine the efficacy and feasibility of a kiosk education app intervention that simulates a fast-food restaurant kiosk. Findings demonstrated a functional relationship between the use of the kiosk education app intervention and kiosk task completion. While special education teachers perceived it as a useful tool for teaching self-service kiosks, the social significance of the change is limited due to the limited mastery levels achieved. Implications for future research are discussed.
When Good News Falls Flat: Complications in the Delivery and Reception of Good News in Pediatric Neurology
Authors: Cox Keith
Published: May 2024

This article considers interactional trouble that arises when the social distribution of knowledge and interpersonal relationships come together in the delivery and reception of good news in pediatric neurology visits for video-electroencephalography testing. Contrary to common perceptions of good news as easy to deliver and receive, I find that it is occasionally fraught with hesitancy in this context. Using conversation analysis, I explore what drives this trouble and argue that some of the difficulty associated with good news in this context arises from its structure: Physicians prioritize conveying “the facts” of the news over characterizing its valence. However, parents treat physicians’ assessments of the news as critical for the news delivery. When physicians fail to evaluate the information they present, parents tend to treat news deliveries as incomplete, which not only causes difficulties in their reception of the news but also leads to protracted news deliveries.
Enhancing Emotion Regulation and Overcoming Craving in Alcohol Dependence Syndrome Through Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention
Authors: Riya  , Kumar Nimisha , Chandel Naresh
Published: May 2024

Background:

Alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) is a significant challenge for psychologists due to relapse and its impacts on well-being. Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) has emerged as a potential solution, receiving increasing attention in the field of psychological interventions for ADS. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of MBRP, specifically on emotion regulation and alcohol craving as primary outcomes, alongside the secondary consideration of assessing changes in mindfulness levels.

Methods:

In this quasi-experimental study utilizing a pre-test/post-test design, 50 patients (aged 18–55) with ADS were enrolled in the intervention group (MBRP + usual care) and the usual care alone (UCA) group. The outcome assessment employed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-18 (DERS-18) and Alcohol Craving Questionnaire-Short Form Revised (ACQ-SF-R) at three time points: pre-intervention (T1), mid-intervention (T2, four weeks after MBRP initiation), and post-intervention (T3, MBRP completion). Post-intervention comparisons between the intervention and UCA groups utilized repeated measures ANOVA ( p < .05).

Result:

In the intervention group, significant within-group improvements were observed in mean scores of emotion regulation and craving at T1 (56.8 ± 7.6 and 41.6 ± 7.3), T2 (61.7 ± 10.5 and 41.5 ± 7.4), and T3 (61.5 ± 10.6 and 35.6 ± 5.4), with p values of .006 and .001, respectively. In comparison, the UCA group showed significant post-intervention differences in emotion regulation (46.9 ± 16.4) and craving (34 ± 11.82) scores, with a p value of .004. The effect sizes for emotion regulation (0.42) and craving (1.43) in the intervention group and for emotion regulation (0.50) and craving (0.47) in the UCA group further demonstrated more favorable outcomes in the intervention group, especially in reducing craving.

Conclusion:

Our research indicates that intervention and UCA yields moderate enhancements in emotion regulation; however, intervention demonstrates superior efficacy in diminishing craving, which is pivotal for relapse prevention. Incorporating MBRP with bespoke interventions might optimize the long-term treatment of ADS.
So Why Do They Not Engage? Grounded Theory Research to Understand and Explain Why Medical Students Disengage from Undergraduate Psychiatry Education in India
Authors: Allison Janet , DeSousa Avinash , Howlett Philip , Engward Hilary
Published: May 2024

Background:

For almost 60 years, Indian psychiatry literature has called for all medical students to learn psychiatry so that millions of mentally unwell people across India might receive appropriate treatment. Yet for almost 60 years, medical students have disengaged from psychiatry education, resulting in limited learning. The literature has repeatedly cited the solution as one that involves longer exposure on posting and more exam questions, with little impact. This research sought to understand why medical students disengage from psychiatry education so that meaningful change might occur.

Methods:

The research utilized constructivist grounded theory, initially in one medical college in Mumbai, followed by a quantitative survey to test the findings with a wider group of interns across 10 states of India. An iterative process of data gathering and analysis was undertaken using the constant comparison method and theoretical integration.

Results:

Findings identified that 98% of interns believe all MBBS (doctors) should “know” psychiatry, with “know” meaning practical skills—how to assess and treat people with mental illness. The majority of students attend psychiatry to learn those skills, but on finding faculty too overworked to teach, they disengage, saying : “there’s nothing in it for me.” The findings indicate that more exam questions would not increase engagement.

Conclusion:

Medical students want to learn skills to help those in mental distress. Faculty do not have time and, arguably, the training to teach them. To address the nation’s mental health needs, the government needs to prioritize teaching of psychiatry skills by releasing and enabling psychiatry faculty, alongside the certification of psychiatry skills.
Cariprazine-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms and a Rare Downward Eye Deviation in Oculogyric Crisis: A Case Series
Authors: Basera Devendra Singh , Sutar Roshan F. , Kaur Gurveen , Modak Tamonud
Published: May 2024

Cariprazine is one of the newer generation antipsychotics with dopamine receptor partial agonist activity which has been approved for management of schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder. It is known to have lesser propensity to cause extrapyramidal adverse effects due to D2 and D3 partial agonism. We intend to disseminate our newly acquired experience regarding tolerability and the adverse effect profile of cariprazine. In this case series, we describe three cases with different symptom profiles who had experienced significant adverse drug reaction with cariprazine. We also describe a unique presentation of oculogyric crisis in the form of downward fixation of eyes as well the use of amantadine as an alternative option for the management of extrapyramidal adverse effects.
Sleep Quality and Quality of Life in Remitted Bipolar Disorder Patients: A Cross-sectional Comparative Study
Authors: Vangal Kartik K , Soman Savitha , Bhandary Rajeshkrishna P , Praharaj Samir Kumar
Published: May 2024

Background:

Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder often have sleep-related problems, even when not in an episode. Poor sleep quality may be related to poor quality of life. The objective of this study was to evaluate sleep quality in remitted bipolar patients and compare it to controls, as well as to study the relationship between quality of sleep and quality of life in euthymic bipolar individuals.

Methods:

We studied sleep quality and quality of life in 86 remitted bipolar disorder patients and 86 matched healthy controls using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL-BREF).

Results:

There was significantly poorer sleep quality in euthymic bipolar patients compared to controls, especially in subjective sleep quality and sleep duration. WHOQOL-BREF domain scores were lower among patients than controls, with a large effect size. All domains on the PSQI correlated negatively with the domains on the WHOQOL-BREF, with the physical health domain being affected the most. Lack of generalizability of the results and the cross-sectional design that cannot determine causality are the limitations of our study.

Conclusions:

Poor sleep quality persists in bipolar patients even in the euthymic phase and correlates with a poor quality of life.
An Overview of Social Intelligence: A Bibliometric and Morphological Analyses
Authors: Kumar Sudipt , Sahney Sangeeta , Sekar Srinivasan
Published: May 2024

The social intelligence (SI) literature has grown significantly in recent years; yet it remains highly variegated. This article identifies the intellectual structure, publishing pattern, dimensions and sub-dimension/options of the existing literature on SI. Bibliometric and morphological analyses were used. Bibliometric analysis utilized VOSviewer. Based on an extensive literature review, a framework describing SI literature dimensions and alternatives was created. The bibliometric research gives information on top authors, organizations and nations, as well as notable papers and popular themes. Morphological analysis estimates 7 dimensions and 25 options to determine research gaps. Future SI researchers may find this article insightful.
Change of burden layer reduction process after injecting CO2 into the tuyere of a blast furnace
Authors: Jiang Juanjuan , Dong Kai , Zhu Rong
Published: May 2024

In order to expand the utilisation of CO2 as a resource in the metallurgical industry, it is proposed to inject CO2 into the tuyere of blast furnace. CO2 reacts completely at the tuyere raceway zone, increasing the CO concentration of the gas, affects the reduction process. Therefore, the influence of injecting CO2 into the tuyere on the reduction process of the burden layer is analysed through a series of experiments. The results indicate that when the CO2 injection rate increases to 4%, the improvement of the permeability is most significant, which is due to the increase of the metal phase dispersion in the burden layer. The influence of injecting CO2 on the burden layer distribution mainly comes from the influence of the experimental atmosphere on the reduction degree. With the increase of the CO2 injection rate, the low temperature reduction pulverisation behavior of burden layer changes less.
Interval prediction of sinter screening index based on gate recurrent unit and kernel density estimation algorithm
Authors: Kang Zengxin , Wu Zhaoxia , Chen Jinchao , Jiang Yushan
Published: May 2024

Since there are many uncertain factors in the actual production process, reliable information cannot be obtained from point prediction results. Therefore, this paper proposes an interval prediction method to evaluate the screening index. Firstly, feature engineering algorithms are used to select the most suitable data and variables for modeling. Secondly, based on the sequential characteristics of the sintering process, the gated cycle unit (GRU) model is used to make point predictions on the indicators. then the kernel density estimation (KDE) algorithm is used to quantify the error of the index to obtain the interval prediction results, and the RandomizedSearchCV algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the model. Finally, comparison shows that the GRU model has higher point prediction accuracy, and the KDE algorithm can better quantify the prediction error, and then obtain reliable interval prediction results. This method has guiding significance for the high-quality production of sinter.
Molecular dynamics analysis of the microstructural behavior of fluoride ions in CaO–SiO2-based and CaO–Al2O3-based slag systems
Authors: Jiao Shiyan , Chen Feichi , Guo Peiyao , Min Yi , Liu Chengjun
Published: May 2024

To further clarify the structural behaviour of F− in CaO–SiO2–CaF2–MgO and CaO–Al2O3–CaF2–MgO slags, the microstructure of F ions in slags with different CaF2 contents was resolved by molecular dynamics simulation. The results showed that no stable coordination structure was formed between Si and F, and no chemical bond could be formed; while Al and F and Ca and F could form relatively stable structures, both of which could be bonded. With the increase of CaF2 content, the average distance between Si–Si and Al–Al atom pairs increases, and CaF2 plays the role of network diluent. F− ions are mainly coordinated with Ca2+, and there is a dynamic equilibrium between Ca2+ and coordination anions (O2− and F−) in both systems, and the total coordination number is maintained between six and seven, which is distributed in the network structure in the form of Ca–F clusters. As F− replaces the position of O2− in the Ca–O structure, Ca2+ ions in the silicate slag system are not sufficient to balance the negative charge, and the charge balance can only be maintained by sharing the O2− at the top angle, leading to more interconnected silicate network structures, resulting in a shift in the oxygen type in the melt and the appearance of more highly polymerised Qn structural units. In aluminates, the electrically neutral [AlO3F]4− tetrahedral structure is formed as F replaces O atoms in [AlO4]5− tetrahedra, where the released O atoms are absorbed by other [AlO4]5− tetrahedra to form unstable highly coordinated Al. However, since the formed [AlO3F]4− tetrahedral structure is neutral, it can, together with Ca2+, balance the Al–O network structure with negative charges, making the system contain a large amount of Al–O–Al bridging oxygen structure and the effect of CaF2 in reducing viscosity is diminished.
Reduction characteristics of cold-agglomerated pellets in blast furnace conditions
Authors: Joyce Richard , Bennett Matthew , Kirton Kelly , Larkman Daniel
Published: May 2024

There is a significant and necessary drive towards reducing CO2 emissions produced by iron and steelmaking industries. Binding Solutions Ltd has developed a technology to contribute to the reduction of CO2 in the short and long term, by introducing a cold-bonded iron ore pellet to the furnace burden. Binding Solutions’ cold-agglomerated pellets, manufactured from magnetite and hematite iron ore, were tested in accordance with ISO standard tests alongside a standard market pellet. ISO standards were developed to assess the quality of lump ore, sinter and hot-bonded or alternatively known as indurated pellets, and there can be anomalies when testing cold-agglomerated pellets by the same methods. Additional test methodology, outside the scope of international standards may be utilised to give a fuller picture of pellet characteristics. The HOSIM test method was used to assess the properties of cold-bonded pellets of different minerologies. Results found that the time needed to reach a set point of reduction for a cold-agglomerated pellet is shorter than for an indurated control pellet. The data also showed that for the same iron ore source, alternate cold agglomeration methods can have a significant impact on the balance of pellet properties.
Transformation plasticity during continuous cooling of 700XL and its effect on residual stress
Authors: Lu Xiaoxuan , Ding Wenhong , Liang Liang , Liu Yisi , Xiao Shaolin , Chen Hao
Published: May 2024

As an essential factor in the study of residual stress formation during cooling, the effect of transformation plasticity on residual stresses has not been concluded. This paper investigates the effect of transformation plasticity on residual stresses during continuous cooling of hot-rolled strip steel using a combination of phase transformation behaviour study, finite element calculation, and residual stresses measured by the crack compliance method. The results show that the residual stress formation in the continuous cooling process consists of three stages: thermal stress dominated stage I, surface phase transformation dominated stage II, and corephase transformation dominated stage III, and the above three stages are interrelated through the influence of the stress in the former stage on the transformation plastic strain in the latter stage, the final residual stress in the strip is determined by the plastic strain generated by the phase transformation in the core.
Research on technical parameters of electrical arc furnace steelmaking based on direct reduced iron as raw material
Authors: Xi Xiaojun , Li Shaoying , Li Chuanmin , Pan Hongtao , Wang Jia , Zhu Rong
Published: May 2024

In this study, factors influencing the smelting parameters of electrical arc furnace were studied by using a material balance and energy balance model. The smelting parameters include electrical energy consumption, lime consumption, coke consumption, oxygen consumption, natural gas consumption, electrode consumption, smoke and dust volume, steel scrap consumption, direct reduced iron consumption and smelting cost. The consumption of electrical energy and electrode, as well as the smelting cost, decrease with the increase of charging temperature, total iron content, metallization degree, and carbon content of direct reduced iron. An increase in the charging temperature and total iron content of direct reduced iron is beneficial to decrease the consumption of coke, oxygen, natural gas, steel scrap and direct reduced iron, as well as the smoke and dust volume. The same applies to decrease the metallization degree and carbon content of direct reduced iron. It was also found that increasing the charging temperature, metallization degree, and carbon content of direct reduced iron has almost no effect on lime consumption, but an increase in the total iron content of direct reduced iron can reduce lime consumption.
Evaluation of calorific value of gas under assumption of pine combustion in a steelmaking converter
Authors: Xie Jian-bo , Pan Cheng-qun
Published: May 2024

For achievement of more energy, this work proposes an idea that using high temperature physic heat in a steelmaking converter to carbonise and combust pine timber generates more CO. By establishing the various pine injection systems, the calorific value of gas generated is evaluated and discussed based on heat balance. Results show that the best time for pine injection is at the middle stage of gas recovery. Under a heat supplement of 50 K, the masses of carbon consumed and CO generated in steelmaking systems with pine injection are respectively 61 to 610 kg and 142 to 1442 kg, and the increased percentage of calorific value of CO is 6.59% to 65.9%. To sum up, this novel process is promising for tackling waste timber to generate gas.
Hot metal quality improvement in TATA steel: A decade long journey
Authors: Ahasan Saziya , Kundu Subhashis , Padmapal  , Singh Uttam , Choudhury Mridul Kumar Ghosh
Published: May 2024

Hot metal, the liquid iron and carbon alloy exiting the blast furnace, forms the vital first link in the steel industry's value chain. Its quality directly influences downstream processes, product characteristics, and the industry's economic and technological competitiveness. In the past decade, the Indian steel industries have seen a degrading shift in the raw material quality. Decreasing Fe content in iron ore, with increasing impurity concentration of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silica has potentially affected the blast furnace productivity and hot metal quality. However, the stringent quality norms for steel manufacturing have necessitated precise control of the quality of hot metal. In TATA steel the quality of hot metal has significantly improved over the last decade despite degrading raw material quality, with precise control on burden profile, blast parameters, slag composition, and hot metal temperature. This paper will transcribe the shift from contemporary control to the statistical approach which enabled the blast furnace operators to gradually improve the control over the hot metal quality over the past decade to cascade the benefits, shaping a more robust and sustainable future for the steel industry where molten metal becomes the catalyst for transformation, and quality ignites excellence.
Sticker breakout recognition based on temperature characteristics and stacking multi-classifier model
Authors: Liu Yu , Ma Zhixin , Wang Xudong , Yao Man
Published: May 2024

All 61 sticker breakouts were obtained based on the on-line mould monitoring system during the conventional slab continuous casting. The temperature characteristics and temperature velocities were extracted and combined to characterise the process of sticker breakout. A new recognition model of stacking multi-classifier was developed and compared with four single classifiers, such as k-nearest neighbour, support vector classification, decision tree and logistic regression. The results show that all 61 sticker breakouts can be predicted correctly. The accuracy rate of stacking multi-classifier, decision tree, support vector classification, k-nearest neighbour and logistic regression are 98.3%, 96.0%, 91.6%, 91.6% and 85.4%, respectively. The stacking multi-classifier has the maximum accuracy rate, because it integrates the advantages of different single classifiers. The ROC curve demonstrates that the stacking multi-classifier has a better applicability and generalisation ability. This method not only improves the prediction accuracy, but also reduces the disturbance of slab continuous casting, which is helpful to produce the conventional slabs with high quality.
A visual slag peeling detection method in blast furnace
Authors: Huang Pu
Published: May 2024

Slag peeling is one of the important factors affecting the stable operation of blast furnaces. On the one hand, it causes a sharp rise and fall in the temperature of the furnace wall surface, resulting in significant thermal shock and erosion of the furnace wall and cooling stave. On the other hand, the temperature of the molten iron decreases when the slag falls into the hearth. If not treated in time, waste products may be generated due to high sulphur content in the molten iron, and even lead to severe furnace cooling. In order to solve this issue, this article proposes a rapid slag peeling detection method based on image processing, which contributes to the stable operation of the blast furnace. First of all, the raceway image acquired by CCD camera is greyed and denoised to speed up the detection and improve the image quality. Second, frame difference method is used to construct background template for raceway video sequence, which is the key step of slag peeling detection. In addition, considering the change of background template caused by the fluctuation of pulverised coal injection, an adaptive updating method of background template is proposed. Finally, the difference between the video sequence and the background template is applied to determine whether there is slag-peeling phenomenon. Massive raceway videos collected from a 2500 [Formula: see text] are used to evaluate the proposed detection method. The experiment results show that the method can effectively achieve slag peeling detection.
Control of macrosegregation at the steel gradient transition by submerged entry nozzle and mold electromagnetic stirring
Authors: Song Sicheng , Sun Yanhui , Wei Yaohuan , Liu Chonglin
Published: May 2024

The limited demand for specialty steel grades, which cannot meet the production quantity of a single-casting sequence in the continuous caster, is addressed through steel grade transition. This study aims to reduce the length of transition blooms generated during the steel grade transition by controlling macrosegregation in the bloom. A three-dimensional numerical simulation of the steel grade transition has been established based on models involving fluid flow, solidification, heat transfer, electromagnetic, and mass transfer. This study takes into account macrosegregation phenomena in the transition bloom that were not considered in previous research. The findings indicate that using a four-port submerged entry nozzle (SEN) and deactivating the mold electromagnetic stirring (M-EMS) can mitigate subcutaneous negative segregation, resulting in shorter transition blooms. The optimal configuration reduces the length of transition blooms by 4.3 m compared to the worst-case scenario. While lowering the casting speed can reduce center segregation, it also extends the mixing time of solute elements in the molten steel. These combined effects lead to a slight increase in the length of the transition bloom, from 10.88 m to 12.41 m. Therefore, for steel grade transition, utilizing a four-port SEN and deactivating the M-EMS can minimize the length of transition blooms, without the need to alter casting speed.
Characteristics of flight trajectory and heat transfer of liquid steelmaking slag droplet during air quenching granulation process
Authors: Wang Hui , Gu Shaopeng , Xing Hongwei , Lin Wenlong , Wu Jinhu , Sun Ruijing , Liu Chao , Zhang Yuzhu
Published: May 2024

Air quenching granulation of liquid steel slag is one of the most promising slag treatment technologies, as it effectively utilises the thermal properties of liquid slag while produces value-added slag products. To gain a deeper understanding of this process and explore the flying behaviour and heat transfer solidification characteristics of slag droplets, simulation and experiment on air quenching granulation of liquid steel slag were implemented separately. During this process, the slag droplets fly in parabola along various directions. The greater the slag flow rate is, the greater the resistance to the blowing air and the greater the airflow velocity loss rate are. With the increase of airflow velocity, the loss rate of airflow velocity decreases and the distance of the initial landing point of slag droplets increases. With the increase of nozzle height, the distribution space of air velocity field becomes wider. For the process of heat transfer and solidification of slag droplet, a zone of wake formed on the leeward side. The constant disturbance of the air in the zone of wake formed a vortex and accelerated the cooling of the slag droplet. The cooling rates of five points of the slag droplet are as follows: windward side > upper boundary ≈ lower boundary > leeward side > liquid core. When the particle size of slag droplets decreases from 2 to 0.5 mm, the cooling rate increases from 43 to 320°C/s. The granulation experiment reveals that the cooling process of the liquid slag involves three typical stages: the natural cooling stage before air quenching, the rapid flight cooling stage after air quenching and the cooling stage after slag bead's landing.
Crushing mechanism analysis of sintered ore and study of particle size distribution pattern after crushing
Authors: Tang Peng , Dai Bo , Zhou Zhiwei , Ma Wenbo
Published: May 2024

To improve the crushing effect and reduce the range of particle size distribution after crushing, the crushing mechanism and the particle size distribution pattern after crushing of sintered ore under different roller rotation speeds are analysed in this paper. Based on the discrete element method, the microscopic parameters of sintered ore are calibrated and validated by uniaxial compression and the Brazilian splitting test. The initiation, propagation, and penetration of cracks inside the sintered ore are described by innovatively introducing the concept of compaction core and combining the force chain evolution. It reveals that the extension and penetration of radial cracks generated under the action of the tooth tip, along with the continuous formation and crushing of compacted cores, are the essence of crushing. The generation of new cracks originates from the tensile failure between particles in the region where tensile force chains are concentrated. Increasing the rotation speed properly can improve the crushing effect of sintered ore but also excessive rotation speed (4, 5, and 6 rad s−1) will hinder the main crack propagation path of sintered ore and deteriorate the crack penetration effect, which may inhibit the crushing effect of sintered ore in turn. The research results may have important implications for understanding the crushing mechanism of the sintered ore and optimising the crushing process.
Contemporaneous causality among price indices of ten major steel products
Authors: Jin Bingzi , Xu Xiaojie
Published: May 2024

The problem of dynamic relationships among the price indices of 10 major steel products – the rebar, steel wire, plate, hot rolled coil, cold rolled plate, galvannealed sheet, seamless tube, welded tube, section and narrow strip – is addressed in the present work for the Chinese market from 2011M7 to 2021M4. For examination of contemporaneous causal links among the 10 series, we use data on a daily basis and combine the vector error correction model and directed acyclic graph. This analysis is done using both the Peter and Clark and linear non-Gaussian acyclic model algorithms. With the exception of the price series for steel wire, each of the 10 series is part of cointegration relationships according to the vector error correction model, and all save the price series for thin strips respond to long-run equilibrium disturbances. The linear non-Gaussian acyclic model method allows us to achieve causal routes that allow for the examination of innovation accounting, but the Peter and Clark algorithm prevented us from reaching an acyclic graph. We categorise complex dynamics among price adjustment processes after shocks based on impulsive responses, for which the price indices of the plate, seamless tube and thin strip are predominating in comparison to the other seven items. Our findings show that these three goods should get the most consideration when designing long-term strategies for steel prices.
Structural optimisation of three-strand asymmetric tundish for super large round bloom continuous casting
Authors: Chen Xiqing , Bai Yun , Feng Wenwen , Xiao Hong , Tang Haiyan , Wang Pu , Zhang Jiaquan
Published: May 2024

In recent years, there has been significant development in the large-scale utilisation of round bloom continuous casting, which has led to an increase in the strand spacing of the tundish. However, this increase often accompanies issues such as poor consistency among each strand. This study focuses on the three-strand asymmetric tundish used in super-large round bloom continuous casting and uses a combination of numerical simulation and physical experiment to investigate the impact of different dam and retaining wall structures on the flow, temperature and removal of inclusions in the super-large round bloom tundish. The reliability of the model is verified through isothermal Water model experiments. The results indicate that by employing an optimised flow control structure with a U-shaped retaining wall featuring small diversion holes and a dam near each of strands No.1 and No.3, several improvements are achieved compared to the prototype tundish. The dead zone ratio of the tundish is reduced by 16.33%, the standard deviation of average residence time decreases by 167.07 s, the volume of the tundish's low temperature zone decreases by 7.79% and the total inclusion removal ratio increases by 14.44%. By appropriately incorporating dams, reducing the area of diversion holes and modifying the retaining wall structure in the tundish, the flow, temperature and inclusion removal consistency of each strand can be effectively improved. This enhances the overall metallurgical efficiency of the tundish. Even when encountering strand blocking operation, the dead zone ratio can be further reduced to 22.44% using the optimised structure proposed in this study. This demonstrates that the optimised structure not only improves the steady-state metallurgical behaviour of the asymmetric three-strand tundish with large strand spacing for super-large round bloom but is also suitable for addressing unsteady-state metallurgical behaviour caused by on-site working conditions, such as production scheduling or high casting speed. By implementing the findings of this study, it is expected that the efficiency and effectiveness of the super-large round bloom continuous casting process will be significantly enhanced.
Effect of cavity shape caused by jet impact of swirl-type oxygen lance on molten bath mixing efficiency
Authors: Wang Xi , Liu Kun , Liu Guangqiang , Han Peng , Ma Haoran
Published: May 2024

In top-blowing steelmaking, the shape and size of the cavity formed by a supersonic jet have impacts on the molten bath, which is crucial for the refining process. This study used physical experiments to explore the influences that the operation and structural parameters of swirl-type oxygen lance have on cavity shape and mixing time. The results demonstrate that the lance height has a greater influence on cavity shape than flow rate, and the influence that the inclination angle has on cavity shape is greater than that of the swirl angle. Compared to the traditional oxygen lance, the mixing efficiency of the swirl-type oxygen lance increased by 5%–13.3%. When the cavity shape index of the swirl-type oxygen lance for the 260 t converter is in the range of 0.46–0.5, the mixing effect of the molten bath is the best. Additionally, an improved cavity depth prediction model of the swirl-type oxygen lance was proposed using the previous studies.