Light-Annealed Piezoelectric Films on Flexible Glass.

The functionalization of thin, flexible glass with piezoelectric oxides is a pathway toward transparent electromechanical devices. The crystallization of lead zirconate titanate thin films on thick, rigid glass is previously demonstrated using flash lamp annealing to selectively anneal the films, without damaging the substrates. In this work, a 2-step process suitable for Schott AF 32 eco glass and Corning Willow glass is developed, both 100 μm thick, the latter of which is compatible with roll-to-roll processes.

Modeling feed herbage proportion and modeling of the likelihood of feeding strategies focused on grazing and herbage consumption using milk FT-MIR spectral analysis.

Effectively evaluating and promoting pro-grazing practices necessitates the implementation of a verification system. To address this imperative, exploration of milk composition analysis as a means to assess grazing practices has garnered substantial attention. In this study, we used component predictions from milk Fourier-transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectra to construct an indicator to estimate the proportion of herbage consumed by dairy cows and another indicator to validate grazing.

Supersonic cluster beam deposition of bimetallic Sn-Pt nanogranular films: nanostructure control, segregation, and 2D intermetallic phases.

Nanogranular films obtained by the soft assembly of atomic clusters feature functional properties that are of interest in a variety of fields, ranging from gas sensing to neuromorphic computing, heterogeneous catalysis and the biomedical sector. Bimetallic nanogranular films, combining a post-transition metal (tin) and a catalytic metal (platinum), were produced using supersonic cluster beam deposition. By operating the cluster source with a double-rod cathode or sintered cathode configuration, completely different nanostructures were obtained.

Developing an ecosystem of advanced digital services for healthy ageing by a co-creation methodology: preliminary results of the AGAPE project.

Background: Digital solutions can support healthier ageing and better functioning throughout life; the AGAPE project aimed to co-create and implement a digital ecosystem of services to promote Active and Healthy Ageing, with the involvement of Older adults (OAs) and their formal and informal caregivers. The project's co-creation methodology followed five phases: Pre-selection of devices; Focus groups and questionnaires; Workshops and Living Labs; Pre-Pilot; Pilot. Aim: The aim of this paper is to describe the first four phases of the project, including the results of the usability study (phases 3-4).

Negative impact of soluble, gel-forming dietary fibres on the bioaccessibility of β-carotene, lutein, and lycopene.

Carotenoids, including β-carotene, lutein and lycopene, the 3 main carotenoids present in our body, are lipophilic phytochemicals associated with several health benefits. Dietary fibre may influence the bioavailability of carotenoids by altering their release from the food matrix and their solubilisation into mixed micelles during digestion and thus their subsequent absorption by enterocytes. We examined the dose-dependent influence of major soluble (pectin, guar, alginate, fructooligosaccharides,) and insoluble dietary fibres (cellulose, type-2 resistant starch) at nutritional relevant doses (0, 30 and 90 mg per 26 ml) added for digestion, containing also pure β-carotene, lutein or lycopene (at 75 μg) solubilized in peanut oil.

Fetal bovine serum: how to leave it behind in the pursuit of more reliable science.

Cell cultures form the backbone for scientific research and development, but also for clinical diagnostics and biotechnology. Supplying cells with growth factors, hormones, and other nutrients is achieved most often by supplementing culture media with fetal bovine serum (FBS). Despite its nearly ubiquitous use, there are major reproducibility, safety, and animal welfare issues arguing the need to replace FBS.

Creating Currents of Electric Skyrmion Bubbles.

The experimental demonstration of electric skyrmion bubbles and the recent prediction of their Brownian motion have brought topological ferroelectrics close to their magnetic counterparts. Electric bubbles (e-bubbles) could potentially be leveraged in applications for which magnetic skyrmions have been proposed (e.g.

Elastic Amplification from Negative Capacitance.

Ferroelectrics under suitable electric boundary conditions can present a negative capacitance response, whereby the total voltage drop across the ferroelectric opposes the externally applied bias. When the ferroelectric is in a heterostructure, this behavior yields a voltage amplification in the other elements, an effect that could be leveraged in low-power electronic devices. Interestingly, the mentioned voltage amplification should have an accompanying elastic effect.

Integrate & balance aspects for safe and sustainable innovation: Needs analysis on SSbD categories and product development stage requirements to cover the entire life cycle.

Current EU Strategies aim to rapidly advance the research, development and deployment of innovative advanced materials and chemicals to make Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy. To achieve this, an underlying adaptation of the research and innovation (R&I) process to the Safety-and-Sustainability-by-Design (SSbD) framework has been proposed. This perspective article provides an overview of already existing approaches providing guidance for implementing SSbD-like procedures in R&I in several different industrial sectors to ultimately replace substances of concern (SoC).

Method for Elucidating the Structural Evolution of a Nanoscale Release Layer in Double Copper Foils Under Thermal Exposure.

Double ultrathin copper foils (DTH), widely used for producing conductive tracks in electronics, consist of an ultrathin copper functional foil (FF), a nanometric release layer (RL), and an ultrathin copper carrier foil (CF). Achieving stable release strength of the CF during DTH lamination remains a key challenge, largely due to limited knowledge about the structure of the RL. In this study, a comprehensive characterization methodology is proposed to investigate the physico-chemical structure of a chromium-based RL, both before and after thermal exposure at 230 °C.

Comparative metabolomic profiling of and harvest residues: exploring chemical diversity and valorization potential.

Lupin species are a rich source of bioactive compounds with diverse industrial applications, yet their harvest residues remain underutilized. This study investigates the metabolomic composition of the harvest residues of different and varieties to explore species-specific biochemical differences and valorization potential. Methanolic extracts from the harvest residues were analyzed using UHPLC-MS/MS, leading to the tentative identification of 181 compounds, with saponins and flavonoids identified as the predominant metabolite classes.

Wisdom of Crowds for Supporting the Safety Evaluation of Nanomaterials.

The development of new approach methodologies (NAMs) to replace current testing for the safety assessment of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) is hindered by the scarcity of validated experimental data for many ENMs. We introduce a framework to address this challenge by harnessing the collective expertise of professionals from multiple complementary and related fields ("wisdom of crowds" or WoC). By integrating expert insights, we aim to fill data gaps and generate consensus concern scores for diverse ENMs, thereby enhancing the predictive power of nanosafety computational models.

Establishing a pure antiferroelectric PbZrO phase through tensile epitaxial strain.

The nature of lead zirconate, the historical antiferroelectric material, has recently been challenged. In PbZrO epitaxial films, thickness reduction engenders competition among antiferroelectric, ferrielectric and ferroelectric phases. All studies so far on PbZrO films have utilized commercially-available oxide single crystals with large compressive lattice mismatch, causing the films to undergo strain relaxation.

Using a mixture of perlite and sponge bio-carriers as substrate material in vertical flow-constructed wetlands for cheese production wastewater treatment.

Using conventionally constructed wetlands filled with gravel or sand as a substrate material is often problematic for efficiently treating heavily organic-polluted agro-industrial wastewater. Consequently, exploring more advantageous materials to enhance the removal efficiency of these nature-based systems is of significant interest. In this context, this study aimed to investigate, for the first time, a mixture of perlite and sponge biocarriers as substrate material in vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) for the treatment of cheese production wastewater.

Comparative proteomic analysis of Tunisian barley landraces in response to salinity at the tillering stage.

Salinity is one of the major abiotic constraints impairing barley production. Tunisian landraces constitute a valuable reservoir of useful traits for breeding programs. Therefore, exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance is of great interest.

A Nano Risk Governance Portal supporting risk governance of nanomaterials and nano-enabled products.

Risk governance (RG) of nanomaterials (NMs) has been at the focus of the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Union, through the funding of three research projects (Gov4Nano, NANORIGO, RISKGONE). The extensive collaboration of the three projects, in various scientific topics, aimed to enhance RG of NMs and provide a solid scientific basis for effective collaboration of the various types of stakeholders involved. In this paper the development of a digital Nano Risk Governance Portal (NRGP) and associated information technology (IT) infrastructure supporting the risk governance of (engineered) nanomaterials and nano-enabled products, is presented, alongside considerations for future work and enhancement within the domain of Advanced Materials (AdMa).

Low and High Molecular Mass Anthraquinone Derivatives Containing Substituents of Varying Electron Donating Properties: Electrochemical and Spectroelectrochemical Properties.

Two series of donor-acceptor compounds were investigated, consisting of the same anthraquinone acceptor substituted in either position 1 or in position 2 with donors of varying electron donating properties, namely, phenoxazine (Anth-1-Phenox and Anth-2-Phenox), carbazole (Anth-1-Carb and Anth-2-Carb), or diphenylamine (Anth-1-NPh2 and Anth-2-NPh2). In the negative potential range (vs Fc/Fc) all studied compounds exhibited two reversible redox couples corresponding to two 1e reductions of the anthraquinone unit. These reduction processes showed very little dependence on the donor chemical nature and the positional isomerism, yielding (0/-1) in the range from -1.

Microbiome in cancer metastasis: biological insights and emerging spatial omics methods.

The role of the microbiome in cancer metastasis has emerged as a critical area of research, with growing evidence suggesting that microbial composition and interactions within the tumour microenvironment may significantly influence metastatic progression. This review explores the role of the microbiome in cancer metastasis, as well as potential key bacteria and their mechanisms through which they could impact tumour dissemination, seeding and growth. Biological models used to study metastasis are discussed to provide context for the further investigation of these interactions.

Phylogenetic diversity and community structure of from plant biomass-rich environments.

Biomass-rich environments host diverse microbial communities that contribute to the degradation and recycling of organic matter. Understanding the community structure within these habitats is essential for elucidating the ecological roles and metabolic capacities of specific microbial groups. Here, we conducted an analysis of biomass-rich environments including diverse soil types, sediments, anaerobic digesters, termite guts, termite nests and other decaying biomasses, to explore the phylogenetic diversity and community structure of the phylum, using short-read 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.

Outer membrane vesicles derived from probiotic Nissle 1917 promote metabolic remodeling and M1 polarization of RAW264.7 macrophages.

Introduction: Nissle 1917 (EcN) is one of the most extensively studied nonpathogenic Gram-negative probiotic strains worldwide. Recent research has highlighted the ability of EcN outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) to enhance the phagocytosis and proliferation of RAW264.7 macrophages.

Cobalt Oxide (CoO) Thin Films Synthesized by Atmospheric Pressure PECVD: Deposition Mechanisms and Catalytic Potential.

Crystalline and electrocatalytically active cobalt oxide (CoO) thin films were successfully synthesized under open-air conditions using atmospheric pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (AP-PECVD) with the Co-(acac) precursor. This study explored the influence of process parameters on the composition, crystallinity, and quality of the resulting thin films. It was found that the substrate temperature had a negligible effect due to the inherent heating by the plasma afterglow.

Nanoscale Cross-Sectional Characterization of Thin Layers in Material Assemblies.

Thin-film assemblies containing an adhesion layer (AdL) or a release layer (RL) with nanoscale thickness are widely used in semiconductors, electrical circuit boards, optical and optoelectronic devices, photodiodes, and photonics applications. Current environmental concerns and technological demands necessitate continuous advancements in these nano-AdLs and nano-RLs in terms of formulation, design, functionality, and durability. Developing these nano-layers relies on understanding their structural properties, which is challenging because only characterization tools with nanoscale or sub-nanoscale lateral resolution can be employed.

Plastics in the German building and infrastructure sector: A high-resolution dataset on historical flows, stocks, and legacy substance contamination.

The use of plastics in buildings and infrastructure has been steadily increasing in the past. Due to the longevity of building components, in the upcoming decades a dramatical growth in waste quantities is expected as a delayed response to the increased consumption, posing a major challenge for waste management and recycling. However, comprehensive high-resolution data on plastic flows in the building and infrastructure sector in Germany have so far not been available.

‑Heterocyclic Carbene-Based Group 4 Catalysts for the Terpolymerization of Cyclohexene Oxide and Cyclic Anhydrides with CO.

A series of bis-phenolate saturated -heterocyclic carbene (NHC) group 4 complexes ([κ-O,C,O]-NHC)-M-(OPr)-Cl-(THF) (M = Ti, ; Zr, ; Hf, ) in the presence of [PPN]Cl as cocatalyst were investigated and showed high activity in the tandem terpolymerization of phthalic anhydride (PA), cyclohexene oxide (CHO) with CO. The resultant terpolymers revealed a diblock pattern leading selectively to poly-(ester--carbonate). Subsequently, other titanium complexes ([κ-O,C,O]-NHC)-TiX bearing various coligands (X = Cl, ; OPr, ; OAc, ; OAc, ) also displayed high activity with a turnover frequency (TOF) up to 460 h that is comparable to .

Impact of solar irradiation on lipidome dynamics and disruption using an in vitro 3D reconstructed epidermis model and a combination of advanced analytical methods.

Objective: Solar irradiation can lead to harmful effects such as skin ageing and cancer. Therefore, the aim of this work was to provide a better understanding of the skin composition and the molecular mechanisms underlying solar-induced damage.

Methods: We measured the impact of sun exposure on the lipidome of a 3D reconstructed human epithelial (RHE) in vitro model, as well as the protective role of a commercial SPF50+ sunscreen on the lipid modulations.