Iberia (Spain)

By carefully balancing the use of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilisers with crop demands, a nutrient management plan (NMP) aims to enhance crop production while reducing environmental harm due to over fertilisation. As several tools with different complexities can assist farmers in their fertiliser decisions, the characteristics of 14 of the most widely used NMP tools across Europe, China, and New Zealand were compared. All NMP tools considered the field spatial scale, seasonal time scale, and utilised a mass balance approach. To evaluate the tools, matrices of presence/absence of 24 characteristics for their practical use, 22 nutrient cycle processes and 38 required input data were compiled, and cumulative scores were calculated. In addition, two case studies were performed to compare the outputs of NMP tools. Decision support systems such as grano.net® and TUdi tool were highly adaptable and comprehensively described nutrient processes while considering many inputs. By considering only the most important nutrient processes and requiring fewer inputs, software such as PLANET_MANNER and spreadsheets such as Fert_Office were moderately adaptable. Conversely, reference tables tools such as MEM-NAK and Bulgarian tool considered only essential nutrient processes and few inputs and demonstrated limited adaptability. Fertiliser recommendations varied considerably, mainly due to differences in calculating crop nutrient uptake. For a broader application of the NMP tools, differences in the algorithms used to estimate each process, in soil and climate conditions, and in national regulations must be considered. Furthermore, interoperability should be improved in next-generation NMPs to enable data exchange between platforms

Blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been widely studied, but direct comparisons of several biomarkers in clinical settings remain limited. In this cross-sectional study, plasma biomarkers from 197 participants in the BIODEGMAR cohort (Hospital del Mar, Barcelona) were analyzed. Participants were classified based on AD cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) core biomarkers. We assessed the ability of plasma p-tau181, p-tau217, p-tau231, t-tau, and Aβ42/40 to classify Aβ pathology status. Plasma p-tau biomarkers had a greater diagnostic performance and larger effect sizes compared to t-tau and Aβ42/40 assays in detecting Aβ pathology. Among them, plasma p-tau217 consistently outperformed the others, demonstrating superior area under the curves. Furthermore, p-tau217 showed the strongest correlation between plasma and CSF levels, underscoring its potential as a reliable surrogate for CSF biomarkers. Several plasma biomarkers, targeting different epitopes and using different platforms, demonstrated high performance in detecting AD in a memory clinic setting. Plasma p-tau biomarkers demonstrated higher diagnostic performance and larger effect sizes than t-tau and Aβ42/40 assays in detecting Alzheimer's disease. Among the p-tau biomarkers, p-tau217 assays consistently outperformed the others, providing superior classification of Aβ pathology status across different phosphorylation sites. p-tau217 assays showed the strongest correlation between plasma and CSF levels, indicating its potential as a reliable surrogate for CSF biomarkers. Several plasma p-tau biomarkers can be used in a specialized memory clinic to accurately detect Alzheimer's disease.

Propane dehydrogenation (PDH) is one of the most widely used processes to produce propylene. Platinum is an effective catalyst for PDH. However, metallic Pt facilitates deep dehydrogenation and coke formation. In contrast, small subnanoparticles and, at the limit, single-atom catalysts have shown high reactivity, prevent coke formation, and are much cheaper. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has been used as a support for several catalytic and electrocatalytic processes. In this work, three Pt-based catalysts, single-atom (Pt1), single-cluster (Pt4), and bimetallic Pt3Sn anchored on the heptazine units of g-C3N4 were modeled using the density functional theory approach in conjunction with microkinetic analysis. Ab initio molecular dynamics has also been used to ensure the stability of the systems. All three systems showed good activity for PDH. However, we have shown that the conversion is only satisfactory at high temperatures, according to the thermodynamic and kinetic requirements, due to the high cost of propene desorption. On the other hand, the energy barriers for the deep dehydrogenation side reaction remain similar as the temperature increases. Substituting a Pt atom by Sn in Pt4 to give a bimetallic subnanometric Pt3Sn cluster facilitates propene desorption and inhibits deep dehydrogenation and subsequent coke formation.

Abstract BackgroundCardiovascular disease and dementia often co‐exist at advanced stages. Yet, midlife longitudinal studies examining the interplay between atherosclerosis and its risk factors on brain health are scarce. We aimed to determine the longitudinal associations between cerebral glucose metabolism, subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk factors in middle‐aged asymptomatic individuals.MethodThe Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis (PESA) is a longitudinal observational cohort study of 4184 asymptomatic individuals aged 40‐54. Participants with subclinical atherosclerosis underwent longitudinal cerebral [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)‐PET (outcomes). Cardiovascular risk was quantified with SCORE2 and subclinical atherosclerosis with 3D vascular ultrasound (exposures). Multivariate regression and linear mixed effects models were used to assess outcome‐exposure associations through region‐of‐interest and voxelwise approaches. Additionally, blood‐based biomarkers of neuropathology were quantified and mediation analyses performed.ResultThis longitudinal study included 370 participants (median age: 49·8 [IQR=46·1‐52·2] years; 84% men; follow‐up: 4·7 [4·2‐5·2] years). Persistent high‐risk of cardiovascular disease was associated with an accelerated decline of cortical FDG uptake compared to low‐risk (ß=‐0·008 [95% CI ‐0·013 to ‐0·002]; pFDR=0·040), with plasma neurofilament light chain, a marker of neurodegeneration, mediating this association by 20% (ß=0·198 [0·008 to 0·740]; pFDR=0·050) (Figure 1). Moreover, progression of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis was associated with an additional decline in FDG uptake in Alzheimer’s disease brain regions, not explained by cardiovascular risk (ß=‐0·269 [95% CI ‐0·509 to ‐0·027]; p=0·029) (Figure 2).ConclusionMiddle‐aged asymptomatic individuals with sustained cardiovascular risk and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis already present brain metabolic decline, suggesting that maintaining cardiovascular health during midlife may be key to reducing neurodegenerative disease burden later in life.

We propose an instructions-based approach for robot programming where the programmer interacts with the robot by issuing simple commands in a scripting language, like python. Internally, these commands make use of pre-programmed motion and manipulation skills coordinated by a behaviour tree task controller. A knowledge graph keeps track of the state of the robot and the environment and of all the instructions given to the robot by the programmer. This allows to easily transform sequences of instructions into new skills that can be reused in the same or in other tasks. An advantage of this approach is that the programmer does not need to be located physically next to the robot, but can work remotely, either with a physical robot or with a digital twin. To demonstrate the concept, we show an interactive simulation of a robot manipulator in a pick and place scenario.

Green HRM (GHRM) delineates organizations’ efforts to address environmental concerns. However, the current research has not thoroughly investigated the antecedents of GHRM. Moreover, the internal structure of GHRM remains unclear, further limiting our understanding of firms’ different approaches to GHRM adoption. Using a sample of Spanish firms, our first study revealed GHRM to be a two-dimensional construct, with one bundle of practices emphasizing employer branding and another bundle emphasizing employee green performance. In our second study, we draw upon path dependence theory to examine the relationship between the use of high-performance work systems (HPWS) and GHRM adoption using a sample of Spanish plants in highly polluting sectors. We further examine how a plant’s green strategy and industry emissions serve as contingencies influencing the relative adoption emphasis on the two GHRM bundles. Our findings suggest that the adoption of GHRM is influenced by HPWS coupled with their strategic and institutional context.

The Spanish government is a strong advocate of reducing CO2 emissions and has made a clear commitment to the implementation of renewable energies. As reflected in Spain’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), its objective is to double the current capacity of pumped hydropower storage (PHS) plants by 2030. Therefore, the study presented here is both current and forward-looking. This paper presents the results of the analysis of the technical potential of installing floating photovoltaic (FPV) plants at 25 PHS plants in Spain, i.e., the total capacity of Spanish hydropower plants. The study was conducted using various assessment indicators: the global horizontal irradiance ratio, electrical efficiency ratio, area required ratio, pumping area ratio, volume ratio of water pumped per day, and achievable power ratio. In summary, the following conclusions can be drawn: (i) The global horizontal irradiance ratio indicates whether a FPV plant is economically viable. From this point of view, the Aguayo PHS plant and the Tanes PHS plant are not suitable, as this ratio is very low; (ii) the compliance with the electrical efficiency ratio is flexible, and all hydropower plants meet this criterion; (iii) maximising the use of the assigned grid connection capacity is one of the goals sought by electrical companies when implementing FPV plants at existing PHS plants. The following hydropower plants are not suitable for the implementation of an FPV plant in view of the following: La Muela I, La Muela II, Aguayo, Sallente, Aldeadavila II, Moralets, Guillena, Bolarque II, Montamara, and IP; (iv) if the aim is energy storage, the following hydropower plants are not suitable for the implementation of an FPV plant: the La Muela I, La Muela II, Tajo de la Encantada, Aguayo, Sallente, Aldeadavila II, Conso, Moralets, Guillena, Bolarque II, Tanes, Montamara, Soutelo, Bao-Puente Bibey, Santiago de Jares, IP, and Urdiceto; (v) if the aim is to expand an FPV plant already installed at a PHS plant, the following hydropower plants do not meet this criterion: the La Muela I, La Muela II, Aguayo, Sallente, Aldeadavila, Moralets, Guillena, Bolarque II, Montamara, and IP. There are only eight hydropower plants that meet conditions (i), (iii) and (iv): the Villarino, Torrejon, Valparaiso, Gabriel y Galan, Guijo de Granadilla, Pintado, and Gobantes.

Abstract. In recent years, the cultural heritage (CH) sector has experienced a rapid evolution due to the introduction of increasingly powerful digital technologies and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) solutions. As for many other domains, digital data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Extended Reality (XR) are opening up extraordinary opportunities for expanding heritage knowledge capabilities while boosting the research on innovative solutions for its valorisation and preservation. Being aware of the fundamental and strategic role of CH in the history and identity of the European countries, the European Commission has assumed a central role in fuelling the policy debate and putting together stakeholders to take a step forward in CH digitization and use, primarily through initiatives, programs, and recommendations. Within this framework, the ongoing European 5DCulture project (https://www.5dculture.eu/) has been funded to enrich the offer of 3D CH digital assets in the common European Data Space for Cultural Heritage by creating high-quality 3D contents and to foster their re-use in several sectors, from tourism to education. Through 8 re-use scenarios around historic buildings and cityscapes, archaeology, and fashion, the project aims to deliver a set of digital tools and increase the capacity of CH institutions to more effectively re-use their 3D digital assets.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) have a peculiar and complex reproductive biology, with queens being polyandrous and mating with several drones during one or more mating (nuptial) flights in so-called drone congregation areas. Observing the virgin queens’ and drones’ flight behaviour provides data to understand and interpret a portion of the honey bees’ complex reproductive process. Observing the behaviour of the virgin queens on the hive entrance also serves to estimate the distance from the mating place or potential drone congregation areas (DCAs) as well as to detect the presence of airborne drones in the area. In this paper, we provide a detailed description of the methodology used for observing queens’ and drones’ flights during the period of expected mating. In addition, we provide information about required equipment, tools as well as step by step description of the observation and recordkeeping process.