Degradation of organophosphate flame retardants by white-rot fungi: Degradation pathways and associated toxicity.

The environmental persistence of organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in water is becoming and environmental concern. White Rot Fungi (WRF) have proven its capability to degrade certain OPFRs such as tributyl phosphate (TBP), tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP), tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP). Despite this capability, there is limited knowledge about the specific pathways involved in the degradation.

Utilizing conductive materials for reducing methane emissions in postharvest paddy rice soil microcosms.

Paddy fields are a major anthropogenic source of global methane (CH) emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG). This study aimed at gaining insights of different organic and inorganic conductive materials (CMs) - biochar, fungal melanin, and magnetite - to mitigate CH emissions, and on their influence on key microbial populations, mimicking the postharvest season throughout the degradation of rice straw in microcosms under anaerobic conditions encompassing postharvest paddy rice soils from the Ebro Delta, Spain. Results showed that fungal melanin was the most effective CM, significantly reducing CH emissions by 29 %, while biochar amendment also reduced emissions by 10 %.

Management of wind-turbine blade waste as high-content concrete addition: Mechanical performance evaluation and life cycle assessment.

The management of end-of-life wind-turbine blades in the coming years will be necessary, as a clear solution for their recycling is yet to be found due to their complex composition. The suitability of their mechanical recycling is therefore evaluated in this paper, obtaining Raw-Crushed Wind-Turbine Blade (RCWTB) for subsequent incorporation in high amounts of up to 10% vol. in concrete, replacing the aggregates to achieve Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (FRC).

Assessing microplastic pollution along the Caribbean coast of La Guajira, Colombia.

Microplastic pollution has become a global environmental issue, severely impacting marine ecosystems. In Colombia, understanding of marine microplastic pollution remains limited, necessitating targeted efforts for prevention and conservation. This study presents the first assessment of microplastics along 125 km of the Caribbean coast of La Guajira region in Colombia.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory in people with heart diseases.

Background: Fatigue is one of the most limiting symptoms in individuals with heart disease (HD). However, valid and reliable instruments for assessing fatigue in clinical practice still need to be improved.

Objective: To assess the dimensional structure of the self-reported Spanish Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) and analyze its psychometric properties in individuals with HD.

EN ISO 15189 revision: EFLM Committee Accreditation and ISO/CEN standards (C: A/ISO) analysis and general remarks on the changes.

The EN ISO 15189:2022 standard, titled "Medical laboratories - Requirements for quality and competence," is a significant update to the regulations for medical laboratories. The revised standard was published on December 6, 2022, replacing both EN ISO 15189:2012 and EN ISO 22870:2016. Key objectives of the revision include: 1.

Quantifying Memory in Spin Glasses.

Rejuvenation and memory, long considered the distinguishing features of spin glasses, have recently been proven to result from the growth of multiple length scales. This insight, enabled by simulations on the Janus II supercomputer, has opened the door to a quantitative analysis. We combine numerical simulations with comparable experiments to introduce two coefficients that quantify memory.

Constraining Light QCD Axions with Isolated Neutron Star Cooling.

The existence of light QCD axions, whose mass depends on an additional free parameter, can lead to a new ground state of matter, where the sourced axion field reduces the nucleon effective mass. The presence of the axion field has structural consequences, in particular, it results in a thinner (or even prevents its existence) heat-blanketing envelope, significantly altering the cooling patterns of neutron stars. We exploit the anomalous cooling behavior to constrain previously uncharted regions of the axion parameter space by comparing model predictions with existing data from isolated neutron stars.

Self-Intercalation as Origin of High-Temperature Ferromagnetism in Epitaxially Grown Fe_{5}GeTe_{2} Thin Films.

The role of self-intercalation in 2D van der Waals materials is key to the understanding of many of their properties. Here we show that the magnetic ordering temperature of thin films of the 2D ferromagnet Fe_{5}GeTe_{2} is substantially increased by self-intercalated Fe that resides in the van der Waals gaps. The epitaxial films were prepared by molecular beam epitaxy and their magnetic properties explored by element-specific x-ray magnetic circular dichroism that showed ferromagnetic ordering up to 375 K.

Disentangling Sources of Momentum Fluctuations in Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

High-energy nuclear collisions create a quark-gluon plasma, whose initial condition and subsequent expansion vary from event to event, impacting the distribution of the eventwise average transverse momentum [P([p_{T}])]. Disentangling the contributions from fluctuations in the nuclear overlap size (geometrical component) and other sources at a fixed size (intrinsic component) remains a challenge. This problem is addressed by measuring the mean, variance, and skewness of P([p_{T}]) in ^{208}Pb+^{208}Pb and ^{129}Xe+^{129}Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.

Measurement of CP Violation Observables in D^{+}→K^{-}K^{+}π^{+} Decays.

A search for violation of the charge-parity (CP) symmetry in the D^{+}→K^{-}K^{+}π^{+} decay is presented, with proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4  fb^{-1}, collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the LHCb detector. A novel model-independent technique is used to compare the D^{+} and D^{-} phase-space distributions, with instrumental asymmetries subtracted using the D_{s}^{+}→K^{-}K^{+}π^{+} decay as a control channel.

Interfacial Dripping Faucet: Generating Monodisperse Liquid Lenses.

We present a surface analog to a dripping faucet, where a viscous liquid slides down an immiscible meniscus. Periodic pinch-off of the dripping filament is observed, generating a succession of monodisperse floating lenses. We show that this interfacial dripping faucet can be described analogously to its single-phase counterpart, replacing surface tension by the spreading coefficient, and even undergoes a transition to a jetting regime.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Photogalvanic Effects in Twisted Bilayer Graphene.

The chiral lattice structure of twisted bilayer graphene with D_{6} symmetry allows for intrinsic photogalvanic effects only at off-normal incidence, while additional extrinsic effects are known to be induced by a substrate or a gate potential. In this Letter, we first compute the intrinsic effects and show they reverse sign at the magic angle, revealing a band inversion at the Γ point. We next consider different extrinsic effects, showing how they can be used to track the strengths of the substrate coupling or electric displacement field.

Human and entomological determinants of malaria transmission in the Lihir Islands of Papua New Guinea: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The Lihir Islands of Papua New Guinea, located in an area with high burden of malaria and hosting a large mining operation, offer a unique opportunity to study transmission. There, we investigated human and vector factors influencing malaria transmission.

Methods: In 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 2,914 individuals assessing malaria prevalence through rapid diagnostic tests (RDT), microscopy, and quantitative PCR (qPCR).

Lessons learned from cross-sectoral collaboration to protect migrant farmworkers during COVID-19 in Spain.

In Spain, the agricultural sector relies heavily on migrant workers, especially during seasonal seasons. However, these workers face significant challenges related to precarious working conditions and structural vulnerability, which have become more acute since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive qualitative study was based on 87 personal interviews with health and social professionals from sectors such as NGOs, social services, trade unions, local institutions, and health services to promote compliance with these measures in four Spanish regions.

Profile and Usefulness of Serum Cytokines to Predict Prognosis in Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein Antibody-Associated Disease.

Objectives: To characterize the serum cytokine profile in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) at onset and during follow-up and assess their utility for predicting relapses and disability.

Methods: This retrospective multicentric cohort study included patients aged 16 years and older meeting MOGAD 2023 criteria, with serum samples collected at baseline (≤3 months from disease onset) and follow-up (≥6 months from the baseline), and age-matched and time to sampling-matched patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Eleven cytokines were assessed using the ELLA system.

Pentafluoroorthotellurate Uncovered: Theoretical Perspectives on an Extremely Electronegative Group.

The pentafluoroorthotellurate group (-OTeF, teflate) exhibits high electron-withdrawing properties. Indeed, it is often used as a bulky substitute for fluoride due to its high chemical stability and larger size, which reduces its tendency to act as a bridging ligand. These characteristics make it a valuable ligand in synthetic chemistry, facilitating the preparation of molecular structures analogous to polymeric fluoride-based compounds.

Molecular scalpels dissect new GluN1 hot spots in anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

Patient-derived NMDAR mAbs combined with single-particle cryo-electron microscopy reveal multiple GluN1 epitopes and distinct functional effects.

Human brain dynamics are shaped by rare long-range connections over and above cortical geometry.

A fundamental topological principle is that the container always shapes the content. In neuroscience, this translates into how the brain anatomy shapes brain dynamics. From neuroanatomy, the topology of the mammalian brain can be approximated by local connectivity, accurately described by an exponential distance rule (EDR).

Clinical outcomes and anti-inflammatory mechanisms predict maximum heart rate improvement after physical activity training in individuals with psychiatric disorders and comorbid obesity.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the predictive validity and discriminatory ability of clinical outcomes, inflammatory activity, oxidative and vascular damage, and metabolic mechanisms for detecting significant improve maximum heart rate after physical activity training in individuals with psychiatric disorders and obesity comorbid using a longitudinal design and transdiagnostic perspective.

Methods: Patients with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and, schizophrenia and with comorbid obesity (n = 29) were assigned to a 12-week structured physical exercise program. Peripheral blood biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular mechanisms, and metabolic activity, as well as neurocognitive and functional performance were assessed twice, before and after intervention.

Prevalence and associations of anisometropia with spherical ametropia, cylindrical power, age, and sex, based on 134,603 refractive surgery candidates.

Purpose: To examine the prevalence and associations of anisometropia with spherical ametropia, cylindrical power, age, and sex.

Methods: Anisometropia was analyzed for subjective refraction. In total, 134,603 refractive surgery candidates were included in the period from 2010 to 2020 at the CARE Vision Refractive Centers in Germany.