Recent global temperature surge intensified by record-low planetary albedo.

In 2023, the global mean temperature soared to almost 1.5 kelvin above the preindustrial level, surpassing the previous record by about 0.17 kelvin.

Climate acts as an environmental filter to plant pathogens.

Climate shapes the distribution of plant-associated microbes such as mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi. However, the role of climate in plant pathogen community assembly is less understood. Here, we explored the role of climate in the assembly of Phytophthora communities at >250 sites along a latitudinal gradient from Spain to northern Sweden and an altitudinal gradient from the Spanish Pyrenees to lowland areas.

, and diversity in rivers, streams and riparian alder ecosystems of Central Europe.

Unlabelled: Waterways are ideal pathways for dispersal and potential introduction to terrestrial ecosystems. While many species from phylogenetic clades 6, 9 and 10 are predominant oomycetes in watercourses due to their adaptation to a lifestyle as saprotrophs and opportunistic pathogens of riparian plants, species from clades 2, 7 and 8 are predominantly soil- or airborne using aquatic habitats as temporal niches for spreading and invading terrestrial sites along the watercourses. In contrast to forest ecosystems, knowledge of diversity in watercourses in Central Europe is limited.

Diet and landscape characteristics drive spatial patterns of mercury accumulation in a high-latitude terrestrial carnivore.

Limited information exists on mercury concentrations and environmental drivers of mercury bioaccumulation in high latitude terrestrial carnivores. Spatial patterns of mercury concentrations in wolverine (Gulo gulo, n = 419) were assessed across a 1,600,000 km2 study area in relation to landscape, climate, diet and biological factors in Arctic and boreal biomes of western Canada. Hydrogen stable isotope ratios were measured in wolverine hair from a subset of 80 animals to assess the spatial scale for characterizing environmental conditions of their habitat.

Systemic ventricular function in Fontan patients at rest and after exercise at altitude.

Objective: Physical activity at high altitude is expected to pose risks for patients with Fontan circulation and to impair systemic ventricular function. This study aims to determine the effect of high-altitude hypoxia on ventricular function in Fontan patients at rest and after exercise. We hypothesize that systemic ventricular function deteriorates under hypoxic conditions in Fontan patients.

Adequate exercise response at artificial altitude in Fontan patients.

Purpose: For Fontan-palliated patients, altitude exposure is still a part of discussion since the extent of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction potentially resulting in decreasing cardiac output (Qc), especially during physical exercise, is still unclear. We investigated the effects of normobaric hypoxia (15.2% O) simulating 2,500 m above sea level on cardiopulmonary and metabolic parameters and the benefit of daily physical activity (PA) on hypoxic exercise capacity.

Survey and Monitoring of Phytophthora Species in Natural Ecosystems: Methods for Sampling, Isolation, Purification, Storage, and Pathogenicity Tests.

Phytophthora species can be found in multiple substrates. Due to dormancy of resting structures and presence of faster-growing antagonists, direct isolation of Phytophthora can be difficult to achieve, and indirect baiting methods often reach higher isolation frequencies. In this chapter, different methodologies are described for sampling and for the successful isolation of Phytophthora species from natural ecosystems.

High Diversity of Novel Viruses in the Tree Pathogen Revealed by High-Throughput Sequencing of Total and Small RNA.

, an oomycete pathogen causing root and trunk rot of different tree species in Asia, was shown to harbor a rich diversity of novel viruses from different families. Four isolates collected from in a semi-natural montane forest site in Vietnam were investigated for viral presence by traditional and next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, i.e.

Differences in the Proteomic and Metabolomic Response of and During the Early Stages of Infection.

Rands is a cosmopolite pathogen of woody plants which during the last couple of centuries has spread all over the world from its center of origin in Southeast Asia. In contrast to Chinese cork oak ( Blume) forests native to Asia, which are generally healthy despite the presence of the pathogen, the populations of Cork oaks ( L.) in Europe have been severely decimated by .

Two new Nothophytophthora species from streams in Ireland and Northern Ireland: Nothophytophthora irlandica and N. lirii sp. nov.

Slow growing oomycete isolates with morphological resemblance to Phytophthora were obtained from forest streams during routine monitoring for the EU quarantine forest pathogen Phytophthora ramorum in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequence analysis indicated that they belonged to two previously unknown species of Nothophytophthora, a recently erected sister genus of Phytophthora. Morphological and temperature-growth studies were carried out to characterise both new species.

Production and Properties of Lignin Nanoparticles from Ethanol Organosolv Liquors-Influence of Origin and Pretreatment Conditions.

Despite major efforts in recent years, lignin as an abundant biopolymer is still underutilized in material applications. The production of lignin nanoparticles with improved properties through a high specific surface area enables easier applicability and higher value applications. Current precipitation processes often show poor yields, as a portion of the lignin stays in solution.

Marine Oomycetes of the Genus Harbor Viruses Related to Bunyaviruses.

We investigated the incidence of RNA viruses in a collection of spp. from estuarine ecosystems in southern Portugal. The first approach to detect the presence of viruses was based on the occurrence of dsRNA, typically considered as a viral molecule in plants and fungi.

Physical activity and heart rate monitoring in Fontan patients - Should we recommend activities in higher intensities?

Objective: Exercise capacity is impaired in Fontan palliated patients. The change in daily activity behaviour with an increase in sedentary lifestyle results in low physical activity levels. This might have a greater impact on patients with chronic heart disease in contrast to healthy controls.

Phase Transitions in Confinements: Controlling Solid to Fluid Transitions of Xenon Atoms in an On-Surface Network.

This study reports on "phase" transitions of Xe condensates in on-surface confinements induced by temperature changes and local probe excitation. The pores of a metal-organic network occupied with 1 up to 9 Xe atoms are investigated in their propensity to undergo "condensed solid" to "confined fluid" transitions. Different transition temperatures are identified, which depend on the number of Xe atoms in the condensate and relate to the stability of the Xe clustering in the condensed "phase.

HEALTH STATUS OF REINTRODUCED WOOD BISON ( BISON BISON ATHABASCAE): ASSESSING THE CONSERVATION VALUE OF AN ISOLATED POPULATION IN NORTHWESTERN CANADA.

A central goal for reintroduced populations of threatened wood bison ( Bison bison athabascae) is to maintain them free of diseases of concern, particularly bovine tuberculosis (caused by Mycobacterium bovis) and brucellosis (caused by Brucella abortus). A wood bison population in southwestern Yukon, Canada was reintroduced into the wild in 1988, but no health assessment has been done since then. To provide an initial assessment of the health status and, hence, the conservation value of this population, we serologically tested 31 wood bison (approximately 3% of the population) for pathogens of interest and obtained histopathology results for select tissues.

Invasive forest pathogens in Europe: Cross-country variation in public awareness but consistency in policy acceptability.

Political action can reduce introductions of diseases caused by invasive forest pathogens (IPs) and public support is important for effective prevention. The public's awareness of IP problems and the acceptability of policies aiming to combat these pathogens were surveyed in nine European countries (N = 3469). Although awareness of specific diseases (e.

Adsorbate-Induced Modification of the Confining Barriers in a Quantum Box Array.

Quantum devices depend on addressable elements, which can be modified separately and in their mutual interaction. Self-assembly at surfaces, for example, formation of a porous (metal-) organic network, provides an ideal way to manufacture arrays of identical quantum boxes, arising in this case from the confinement of the electronic (Shockley) surface state within the pores. We show that the electronic quantum box state as well as the interbox coupling can be modified locally to a varying extent by a selective choice of adsorbates, here C, interacting with the barrier.

Two previously unknown Phytophthora species associated with brown rot of Pomelo (Citrus grandis) fruits in Vietnam.

Two distinct Phytophthora taxa were found to be associated with brown rot of pomelo (Citrus grandis), a new disease of this ancestral Citrus species, in the Vinh Long province, Mekong River Delta area, southern Vietnam. On the basis of morphological characters and using the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of the rDNA and the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) as barcode genes, one of the two taxa was provisionally named as Phytophthora sp.

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.

Surface science at the PEARL beamline of the Swiss Light Source.

The Photo-Emission and Atomic Resolution Laboratory (PEARL) is a new soft X-ray beamline and surface science laboratory at the Swiss Light Source. PEARL is dedicated to the structural characterization of local bonding geometry at surfaces and interfaces of novel materials, in particular of molecular adsorbates, nanostructured surfaces, and surfaces of complex materials. The main experimental techniques are soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoelectron diffraction, and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).

The role of the intestinal microvasculature in inflammatory bowel disease: studies with a modified Caco-2 model including endothelial cells resembling the intestinal barrier in vitro.

The microvascular endothelium of the gut barrier plays a crucial role during inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. We have modified a commonly used intestinal cell model based on the Caco-2 cells by adding microvascular endothelial cells (ISO-HAS-1). Transwell filters were used with intestinal barrier-forming Caco-2 cells on top and the ISO-HAS-1 on the bottom of the filter.

Diversity of Phytophthora Species from Declining Mediterranean Maquis Vegetation, including Two New Species, Phytophthora crassamura and P. ornamentata sp. nov.

The Mediterranean basin is recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot accounting for more than 25,000 plant species that represent almost 10% of the world's vascular flora. In particular, the maquis vegetation on Mediterranean islands and archipelagos constitutes an important resource of the Mediterranean plant diversity due to its high rate of endemism. Since 2009, a severe and widespread dieback and mortality of Quercus ilex trees and several other plant species of the Mediterranean maquis has been observed in the National Park of La Maddalena archipelago (northeast Sardinia, Italy).

Interplay of weak interactions in the atom-by-atom condensation of xenon within quantum boxes.

Condensation processes are of key importance in nature and play a fundamental role in chemistry and physics. Owing to size effects at the nanoscale, it is conceptually desired to experimentally probe the dependence of condensate structure on the number of constituents one by one. Here we present an approach to study a condensation process atom-by-atom with the scanning tunnelling microscope, which provides a direct real-space access with atomic precision to the aggregates formed in atomically defined 'quantum boxes'.

Investigating magneto-chemical interactions at molecule-substrate interfaces by X-ray photo-emission electron microscopy.

The magneto-chemical interaction of spin-bearing molecules with substrates is interesting from a coordination chemistry point of view and relevant for spintronics. Unprecedented insight is provided by X-ray photo-emission electron microscopy combined with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy. Here the coupling of a Mn-porphyrin ad-layer to the ferromagnetic Co substrate through suitably modified interfaces is analyzed with this technique.