Chemical Elements Research Articles

Native Cryo-Correlative Light and Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Proteins and Essential Metals in Subcellular Neuronal Compartments.

Essential metals such as iron, copper, and zinc are required for a wide variety of biological processes. For example, they act as cofactors in many proteins, conferring enzymatic activity or structural stability. Interactions between metals and proteins are often difficult to characterize due to the low concentration of metals in biological tissues and the sometimes labile nature of the chemical bonds involved. To better understand the cellular functions of essential metals, we correlate protein localization, using fluorescence light microscopy (FLM), and metal distribution with synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF), a high-sensitivity and high-spatial-resolution technique for metal imaging. Both chemical imaging modalities are implemented under cryogenic conditions to preserve native cell structure and chemical element distribution. As a proof of concept, we applied cryo-FLM and cryo-SXRF correlative imaging to cultured primary hippocampal neurons. Neurons were labeled under live conditions with fluorescent F-actin and tubulin dyes, then samples were flash-frozen and observed in a frozen hydrated state. This methodology, cryo-FLM combined to cryo-SXRF, revealed the distribution of iron, copper and zinc relative to F-actin and tubulin in the growth cones, dendrites, axons, and axonal en passant boutons of developing neurons.

Major and Trace Airborne Elements and Ecological Risk Assessment: Georgia Moss Survey 2019–2023

The study, carried out as part of the International Cooperative Program on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops, involved collecting 95 moss samples across the territory of Georgia during the period from 2019 to 2023. Primarily samples of Hypnum cupressiforme were selected, with supplementary samples of Abietinella abietina, Pleurozium schreberi, and Hylocomium splendens in cases of the former’s absence. The content of 14 elements (Al, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Sr, V, and Zn) was detected using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES), while the Hg content was determined using a Direct Mercury Analyzer. To identify any relationships between chemical elements and to depict their sources, multivariate statistics was applied. Principal component analysis identified three main components: PC1 (geogenic, 43.4%), PC2 (anthropogenic, 13.3%), and PC3 (local anomalies, 8.5%). The results were compared with the first moss survey conducted in Georgia in the period from 2014 to 2017, offering insights into temporal trends of air quality. Utilizing GIS, a spatial map illustrating pollution levels across Georgia, based on the Pollution Load Index, was generated. The Potential Environmental Risk Index emphasized significant risks associated with mercury and cadmium at several locations. The study highlights the utility of moss biomonitoring in assessing air pollution and identifying hotspots of contamination. The findings from this study could be beneficial for future biomonitoring research in areas with varying physical and geographical conditions.

A Novel Medical Cyber-Physical Systems Based on Digital Twin-Driven Platform

A Medical Cyber-Physical System (MCPS) represents a sophisticated healthcare framework seamlessly integrating cyber and physical elements to enhance medical processes, diagnostics, and patients. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the healthcare system has been pivotal in advancing intelligent MCPS and ushering in an era of advanced healthcare solutions. The paradigm of smart hospitals aspires to implement intelligent solutions seamlessly integrating hardware and software to control, supervise, and monitor patients while assisting healthcare professionals. Such solution is essential for smart decision-making and enhancing healthcare services. However, complete utilization of this intelligent MCPS relies on an effective framework that should facilitate the interaction among patients, medical devices, AI services and hospital staff. This paper introduces a Digital Twin (DT)-based Smart Medical Cyber-Physical System (DT-MCPS) designed to enhance smart hospitals. Leveraging DT technology, DT-MCPS constructs a virtual replica of the hospital, facilitating precise control and supervision of patient care, coupled with service optimization through comprehensive data integration. DT-MCPS promotes personalized decision-making by seamlessly integrating medical records and real-time monitoring of physiological data, enabling predictive insights into disease progression. Moreover, DT-MCPS employs a model-based platform founded on web services to monitor the patient’s state in real-time while accurately simulating the hospital medical systems workflows and contributing to long-term health management. Experimental results showcase the efficacy of DT-MCPS in enhancing hospitalization services, streamlining real-time control, and achieving highly precise personalized patient diagnostics.

First identification of Late Permian mafic dykes in the nucleus of Yangtze Craton: Emeishan large igneous province doubled?

ABSTRACT The Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP) is known to have a relatively small-exposed area with a radius no longer than 700 km. New zircon U-Pb and plagioclase and pyroxene 40Ar/39Ar age determinations from mafic dykes in the nucleus of Yangtze Craton, located more than 1000 km away from the inner zone of ELIP, reveal that they were emplaced at ~260 Ma. This is synchronous with the ELIP. The zircon εHf(t) values of the dolerite dyke vary between +5.4 and +8.9. These mafic dykes have low Ti/Y ratios (299–413) and are enriched in light rare-earth elements (LREE) and depleted in heavy rare-earth elements (HREE) and high field strength elements (HFSE). These dykes bear similarities to the Emeishan high-Ti basalts despite their relatively low Ti/Y ratios. Whole-rock Sr-Nd isotopes gave highly radiogenic initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.710033–0.710371) and extremely low initial 143Nd/144Nd (0.511515–0.511641) and εNd(t) of −15.4 to −12.9. Electron microprobe analysis of concentric-zoned pyroxenes yielded increasing Mg# and Cr2O3 from core to rim. Bulk rock geochemistry, Sr-Nd isotopes, and mineral chemistry indicate that recharge of a new batch of ascending plume-derived magma into an enriched lithosphere generated the mafic dykes. The synchronous emplacement and geochemical and isotopic similarities between the examined Huangling mafic dykes and Emeishan flood basalts, as well as the presence of titanaugite, all point to the genetic link between the Huangling mafic dykes to the ELIP. The Emeishan-age of the Huangling dykes permits a substantial increase of at least 3 × 105 km2 in the spatial extent of the ELIP.

Advancing Physiotherapy in Mental Health

The role of physiotherapy as an element of mental health care continues to expand and evolve. Mental health care is recognized by World Physiotherapy as a specialty area, but the requisite training and accreditation standards vary drastically across and even within countries. While the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of health and wellness has been around for some time, it is often deployed in a fragmented way. Physiotherapists working to improve and advance whole-person care as part of health promotion may benefit from recent models of “integrative health” which aim to approach the biopsychosocial concept from a perspective which more fully recognizes the effects of physical, cognitive/emotional, sociocultural, and environmental elements in combination. This perspective can aid in developing treatment plans which address underlying factors rather than treating physical symptoms as isolated factors. These efforts do not come without challenges and physiotherapists must be versed in a broad set of mind-body medicine, integrative medicine, and whole-person care concepts, methods, and strategies to safely and effectively implement them in clinical practice.

Exhaustive search for novel multicomponent alloys with brute force and machine learning

We present an algorithm for the high-throughput computational discovery of intermetallic compounds in systems with a large number of components. It is particularly important for high entropy alloys (HEAs), where multiple principal elements can form numerous potential intermetallic compounds during the condensation process, making it challenging to predict the dominant phase. Our algorithm is based on a brute-force evaluation of candidate structures with a fixed underlying lattice (FCC or BCC) accelerated by machine-learning interatomic potentials. The algorithm takes a set of chemical elements and a crystal lattice type as inputs and produces structures on and near the convex hull of thermodynamically stable structures. The candidate structures are evaluated using the low-rank potential (LRP), trained to reproduce energies of structures equilibrated with density functional theory (DFT). Thanks to extreme computational effectiveness of the LRP, it is feasible to evaluate hundreds of thousands of structures per second, per CPU core. Thus, our algorithm screens a complete set of candidate structures for a given system without missing any configurations. We validated our method on systems with BCC (Nb-W, Nb-Mo-W, V-Nb-Mo-Ta-W) and FCC (Cu-Pt, Cu-Pd-Pt, Cu-Pd-Ag-Pt-Au) lattices and discovered 268 new alloys not reported in the AFLOW database1, which we used as a benchmark.

Combined Processes of Separation of Isotopes of Light Elements: History and Near-Term Outlook

Combined Processes of Separation of Isotopes of Light Elements: History and Near-Term Outlook

Heavy Atom at Bay of Perylene Significantly Improves Intersystem Crossing.

We studied the photophysical properties of substituted perylenes using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) with Tamm-Dancoff Approximation (TDA). The TDA-TDDFT method allowed us to examine how luminescence activity alters by substituting halogens at different positions (bay, ortho, and peri) of perylenes. Substituting larger halogens like chlorine and bromine at the bay position significantly affects the planarity of the π-system in perylenes. Interestingly, bay-bromoperylene (P-bBr) showed pronounced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) between singlet and triplet excited states. The heavy atom effect (HAE) functioned efficiently with a distorted π-system and substantially enhanced the SOC in P-bBr. Therefore, a rapid intersystem crossing (ISC) is responsible for turning off the fluorescence of P-bBr. In contrast, bromine substitution other than the bay position (i.e., ortho- and peri-bromoperylenes (P-oBr and P-pBr), which maintained planarity), or substituting lighter elements like a methyl group (similar in size to Br) at the bay position of perylene did not substantially improve the SOC. Thus, the ISC is insufficient to quench the fluorescence in these systems. Additionally, substituting multiple bromines in perylene with at least one in the bay position (i.e., P-boBr2, P-bpBr2, and P-bopBr3) further improved the SOC, leading to much faster ISC (1011 s-1) in P-bopBr3. While multiple bromine substitutions other than the bay position (i.e., P-opBr2) exhibited low ISC due to the planar π-system. So, the heavy bromine at the bay position of perylene causes significant enhancement of the ISC.

Accelerated Exploration of Empty Material Compositional Space: Mg-Fe-B Ternary Metal Borides.

Borides are a family of materials with valuable properties for various applications. Their diverse structures and compositions, yet disparity in the constituent chemical elements for the known compounds, give elemental substitutions for prototypes great potential for material discovery. To explore uncharted material compositional space, we develop a workflow that joins high-throughput crystal structure prediction and automated diffraction pattern matching to discover new compounds with significant prediction and synthesis hurdles. Utilizing the workflow, we explore the empty Mg-Fe-B ternary compositional space, previously uncharted largely due to the immiscibility of Mg and Fe, as a paradigm. A total of 275 ternary boride prototypes are classified, using which we predict 23 (158) stable and metastable ternary phases within 50 (200) meV/atom above the convex hull. We identify Gd2(FeB)7-type Mg2Fe7B7 and ZrCo3B2-type MgFe3B2 to match previously unsolved experimental powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns. The discovered Mg2Fe7B7 and related channeled structures feature mismatched Mg and (FeB) sublattice periods, for which we conduct structural analyses with respect to the PXRD. They are predicted to exhibit exceptionally fast superionic transport of Mg and outstanding electrochemical performance, which serve as post-Li-ion battery candidate electrode materials. This result opens a new avenue for borides' potential applications as electrode materials and fast ionic conductors. This work also portrays the map and landscape of ternary metal borides with similar chemical environments. With high efficiency, the prototype- and PXRD-assisted crystal structure prediction workflow opens a new avenue for exploring various material compositional spaces across the periodic table.

Alloy design and microstructure of AlxMoV medium-entropy alloys

Incorporating light elements into refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) has been extensively studied to reduce density while maintaining strength. The equiatomic MoV alloy, composed of common RHEA constituents, is promising for forming an isomorphous solid solution and avoiding brittle intermetallic compounds. This study investigates the effects of Al on the equiatomic MoV alloy by fabricating and analyzing MoV, Al15MoV, Al33MoV, and Al50MoV alloys. The crystal structures of MoV, Al15MoV, and Al33MoV were body-centered cubic, while secondary phases were observed in Al50MoV. The Al15MoV and Al33MoV alloys demonstrated higher yield strengths than MoV, despite the addition of soft Al. Notably, the Al15MoV alloy exhibited the best combination of strength and ductility among designed alloys, with a compressive strength of ∼1273 MPa and a ductility of ∼13 %. The primary strengthening mechanism was solid solution strengthening, induced by the significant shear modulus misfit of Al atoms with Mo and V. These novel Al-Mo-V medium-entropy alloys represent a significant advancement in developing lighter RHEAs without compromising mechanical properties, offering a new direction for future RHEA design.

Recent Advances in Aluminum Alloy Surface Treatment Technology and Bonding Properties

Aluminum alloys are widely used in lightweight automotive structures due to their excellent properties. To deeply explore the development of surface bonding technology, aluminum alloy is selected as the object, and current research status of aluminum alloy surface treatment methods is reviewed. The adhesion mechanism during joint preparation, the method of adhesive selection, and the bonding process are summarized. This overview discusses the impact of different surface treatment processes on aluminum alloy joints from two perspectives: substrate characteristics and joint failure modes. It examines how these processes affect surface roughness, surface morphology, surface contact angle, surface free energy, surface chemical composition, and bonding performance. Additionally, it looks ahead to key directions for future research on adhesive joint performance. The results indicate that surface treatment increases the surface roughness of aluminum alloys, reduces the contact angle, and improves surface wettability. Moreover, chemical elements or functional groups that enhance adhesion are introduced on the surface, improving the bonding capability between the adhesive and the substrate. Compared to single‐surface treatment methods, hybrid treatment methods significantly enhance the surface characteristics of aluminum alloys and are expected to become a primary focus for future research on bonded joint performance.

Understanding the Challenges in the Urban Street Navigation of Persons with Visual Impairment: A Field-Based Study in the Indian Context.

Urban street environments have been designed for ages by the sighted, for the sighted. This presents various challenges for persons with visual impairment while navigating the streets, as the physical elements can act as barriers to them. The intensity of this problem is manifold in the case of Indian streets, which are multifunctional, vibrant public places where all aspects of human life can co-exist with its primary function of mobility. To truly address this issue, the complex process of PVI pedestrian navigation needs to be understood and mapped contextually, through a user-perspective study method. This paper presents the results of a contextual study conducted with 5 participants who are visually impaired from birth, in Thiruvananthapuram, a Tier 2 southern city of India in the state of Kerala.

Modulation of antioxidant enzyme by light and heavy rare earth metals: A case study with catalase

The present study highlights the hazardous effect of heavy and light rare earth elements (REEs) on bovine liver catalase (BLC) using a combination of spectroscopic and computational methods. The presence of Praseodymium chloride (PrCl3) and Gadolinium chloride (GdCl3) resulted in a substantial reduction in catalytic efficiency of BLC by approximately 1.8 and 2.6 fold, respectively. The compromised activity was further accompanied by conformational rearrangements at the secondary and tertiary levels as evidenced by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. These analyses revealed a significant decrease in α-helical content and a simultaneous increase in random coils, disrupting intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Furthermore, the zeta potential (ζ) of BLC demonstrated a reversal from negative to positive ζ values upon the addition of PrCl3 and GdCl3, indicating BLC-lanthanide complex formation. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) supports spontaneous interaction with negative free energy favouring endothermic reaction. This was further supported by docking studies which revealed the binding of PrCl3 and GdCl3 within the active site of BLC thus interfering with the catalytic ability to degrade hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Nevertheless, a significant decline in the melting temperature (Tm) of BLC was observed in the presence of lanthanides suggesting the thermal instability of the enzyme. Thus, a similar approach could be applied to evaluate the hazardous effects of lanthanides on structural and functional changes in other proteins or similar biomolecules.

Characteristics and Paleoenvironment of the Niutitang Shale Reservoir in the Zhenba Area

The lack of in-depth analysis on the reservoir characteristics and the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Niutitang Formation in the study area has led to an unclear understanding of its geological background. In this study, core samples from well SZY1 were selected, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and quantitative elemental analysis were employed to systematically investigate the reservoir properties and paleoenvironment of the shales. The results indicate that the Niutitang Formation shales form a low-porosity, low-permeability reservoir. By utilizing indicators such as the chemical index of alteration (CIA) and elemental ratios, the study delves into the paleoclimate and paleoproductivity of the region. The (La/Yb)n ratio is approximately 1, indicating a rapid deposition rate that is beneficial for the accumulation and preservation of organic matter. The chondrite-normalized and North American Shale Composite (NASC)-normalized rare earth element (REE) distribution patterns of the shales show consistent trends with minimal variation, reflecting the presence of mixed sources for the sediments in the study area. Analysis reveals that the Niutitang Formation shales are enriched in light rare-earth elements (LREEs) with a negative europium anomaly, and the primary source rocks are sedimentary and granitic, located far from areas of seafloor hydrothermal activity. The NiEF and CuEF values suggest high paleoproductivity, and the shales were deposited in an anoxic-reducing environment. The depositional environments of the Marcellus and Utica shales in the United States, the Wufeng-Longmaxi black shales in the Changning area of the Sichuan Basin, and the shales in the study area are similar, characterized by anoxic reducing conditions and well-developed fractures. The thermal evolution degree of the study area is relatively moderate, currently in the peak gas generation stage, with the reservoir quality rated as medium to high, indicating good potential for hydrocarbon accumulation and promising exploration prospects.

Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of WD40 Family and Its Expression in F. vesca at Different Coloring Stages.

WD40 proteins play important roles in the synthesis and regulation of anthocyanin, the regulation of plant morphology and development, and the response to various abiotic stresses. However, the role of WD40 in Fragaria vesca (F. vesca) has not been studied. In this study, a total of 216 FvWD40 family members were identified, which were divided into four subfamilies based on evolutionary tree analysis. Subcellular localization predictions show that FvWD40 family members are mainly localized in chloroplasts, nuclei, and cytoplasm. An analysis of collinearity revealed a total of eight pairs of intraspecific collinearity of the FvWD40 gene family, and interspecific collinearity showed that the FvWD40 gene family covaried more gene pairs with Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) than with rice (Oryza sativa). Promoter cis-acting elements revealed that the FvWD40 gene family contains predominantly light, hormone, and abiotic stress response elements. Tissue-specific expression analysis showed that a number of members including FvWD40-111 and FvWD40-137 were highly expressed in all tissues, and a number or members including FvWD40-97 and FvWD40-102 were lowly expressed in all tissues. The FvWD40 gene family was found to be expressed at all four different coloring stages of F. vesca by qRT-PCR, with lower expression at the 50% coloring stage (S3). FvWD40-24, FvWD40-50, and FvWD40-60 showed the highest expression during the white fruit stage (S1) period, suggesting that these genes play a potential regulatory role in the pre-fruit coloring stage. FvWD40-62, FvWD40-88 and FvWD40-103 had the highest expression at the 20% coloration stage (S2), and FvWD40-115, FvWD40-170, FvWD40-184 and FvWD40-195 had the highest expression at the full coloration stage (S4). These results suggest a potential role for these genes during fruit coloration. This study lays a foundation for further research on the function of the WD40 gene family.

Early Jurassic petrogenesis of the retro-arc volcanism of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina: Evidence from Lu-Hf isotopes and whole-rock geochemistry

Located in the north-western Patagonian Massif, the Loncón Complex offers insight into the Upper Sinemurian syn-rift phase of this Patagonian sector. New whole-rock geochemistry and zircon Lu–Hf isotopic data, combined with adjacent volcanic depocentres such as the Lonco Trapial Formation, the Cañadón Chileno Complex, the Cerro Piche Graben Formation, the Comallo Volcanic Sedimentary Complex as well as the Colomichicó Formation from the Neuquén syn-rift phase, allow us to constrain the tectonic characteristics and evolution of the Jurassic retro-arc system of Patagonia. The effusive and explosive volcanism registered by andesitic lava flows and dykes and rhyolitic pyroclastic deposits defines subalkaline and calc-alkaline series. Additionally, the eruptive rocks show significant enrichment in light rare-earth elements and large-ion lithophile elements, and lower La/Ta, Ba/Ta and higher Th/Ta than the effusive rocks. Both units show depletion in high field strength elements (e.g., Nb, Ta, Zr, and Hf), and relatively high Nb/U, Ta/U, moderate La/Yb and low Th/Ta and Sr/Y ratios. Negative and positive εHf zircon values (−4.8 to +4.1) reveal the rocks were derived from the partial melting of a metasomatised mantle, which underwent moderate crustal contamination during its emplacement. These I-type hybrid magmas are generated on an extensional tectonic setting, probably caused by the retreating of the orogen, during Sinemurian times. This intraplate extension is considered slightly before the Early Jurassic Chon Aike (V1) episode.

The High-Resolution Archaeology of Shared Courtyards at Old Dongola (14th–16th Century a.d., Sudan): an Intensive Approach to Domestic Open Spaces

ABSTRACT Identifying the dynamics of domestic open spaces remains a challenging task. This research applies an adjusted theoretical framework of activity areas to characterize domestic open spaces in the 14th–16th century a.d. in Old Dongola, Sudan. Activity areas were defined as sedimentations of residues of recurring cycles of changing actions rather than stable components of space. To identify domestic space, this research utilizes high-resolution methods: analyses of multiple chemical elements, spatial distribution of objects, and botanical remains of courtyard occupational surfaces, combined with spatial statistics using local Moran’s I autocorrelation. The relationships between the remains of human and non-human actions are discussed in terms of the material affordances affecting their deposition within the archaeological layers. Application of these methods allowed for the identification of areas of domestic tasks related to high concentrations of elements, as well as clusters of tools located on their edges. Botanical data corroborated often vague identifications of activities based on geochemistry.

Synthetic Augmented L-shaped Array design and 2D Cramér-Rao bound analysis based on Vertical-Horizontal Moving Scheme

This paper introduces an innovative approach to enhance the effectiveness of the L-shaped array using synthetic aperture processing. Through the implementation of the Vertical-Horizontal Moving Scheme (VHMS), a novel 2D array structure called the Synthetic Augmented L-shaped Array (SALA) is developed, featuring varied element spacing along the x and y axes of a 1D linear array. Comparative analyses demonstrate that the SALA achieves a larger difference coarray and higher degrees of freedom compared to arrays with an equivalent number of physical elements. The paper also provides a comprehensive derivation of the Cramér-Rao Bound (CRB) for 2D moving arrays, with detailed analyses of its conditions and properties. Simulation results highlight the SALA's superior capabilities in detecting multiple sources and providing precise 2D direction of arrival estimation, along with a lower CRB, indicating its potential for practical implementation in diverse scenarios.

Isotope-dependent site occupation of hydrogen in epitaxial titanium hydride nanofilms

Hydrogen, the smallest and lightest element, readily permeates a variety of materials and modulates their physical properties. Identification of the hydrogen lattice location and its amount in crystals is key to understanding and controlling the hydrogen-induced properties. Combining nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) with the ion channeling technique, we experimentally determined the locations of H and D in epitaxial nanofilms of titanium hydrides from the analysis of the two-dimensional angular mappings of NRA yields. Here we show that 11 at% of H are located at the octahedral site with the remaining H atoms in the tetrahedral site. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the structures with the partial octahedral site occupation are stabilized by the Fermi level shift and Jahn-Teller effect induced by hydrogen. In contrast, D was found to solely occupy the tetrahedral site owing to the mass effect on the zero-point vibrational energy. These findings suggest that site occupation of hydrogen can be controlled by changing the isotope mixture ratio, which leads to promising manifestation of novel hydrogen-related phenomena.

Liquid-liquid extraction and separation of light and heavy rare earth elements from chloride solution using a mixture of tertiary amine and phosphinic acid: recycling strategies for NdFeB magnet

ABSTRACT This piece of work aims to study the extraction behavior of light and heavy rare earth elements, which are often found in permanent magnets, using a mixture of tri-octyl amine and bis-(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid from a chloride medium. The study showed that the extraction efficiency of Dy(III) is more than that of Nd(III) and Pr(III). Benzene proved to be an effective diluent. Increasing the pH of the aqueous phase improved the extraction percentages, with maximum extractions of 98.4% for Dy(III), 61.2% for Nd(III), and 58.3% for Pr(III) at pH 5.04 using 0.1 mol/L of each extractant. Adding sodium chloride enhanced the extraction efficiency due to the salting-out effect. The extraction mechanism has been proposed based on the slope analysis and FTIR data. From thermodynamic variables, the process was found to be exothermic. The simulated leach liquor of NdFeB magnets showed the highest separation factors of 67.7 (Dy/Pr) and 56.9 (Dy/Nd) at pH 2.05 with 0.25 mol/L extractants. The counter-current study showed that 4.15 mg/L Dy(III) was left behind in the raffinate indicating 97.4% removal of Dy(III) in two stages at unity phase ratio. Testing with actual leach liquor from hard disk magnets revealed a preference for iron extraction, which impeded REE extraction.