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This paper presents a use-case conducted within the ENVRI FAIR project, examining challenges and opportunities in deploying FAIR-aligned (ensuring Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) scientific name-matching services across Environmental Research Infrastructures (RIs). Six services were tested using various name variations, revealing inconsistencies in match types, status reporting and handling of canonical forms and typos. These diversities pose challenges for RI data pipelines and interoperability. The paper underscores the importance of standardised tools, enhanced communication, training, collaboration and shared resources. Addressing these needs can facilitate more effective FAIR implementation within the ENVRI community and biodiversity research. This, in turn, will empower RIs to seamlessly integrate and leverage scientific names, unlocking the full potential of their data for research and policy implementation.

Key message Phenology is of increasing interest to climate change science and adaptation ecology. Here, we provide bud development, leafing, and leaf senescence data, collected on 772 European beech and silver fir trees between 2006 and 2019 on Mont Ventoux, France. Dataset access is at https://doi.org/10.15454/TRFMZN . Associated metadata are available at https://metadata-afs.nancy.inra.fr/geonetwork/srv/fre/catalog.search#/metadata/a33c8375-9a90-4bc3-a0d7-19317160b68f .

PURPOSEThe Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social is a tripartite contribution providing care to more than 74 million beneficiaries, representing more than 50% of the country's general population. This study aims to describe the survival outcomes and clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with breast cancer at our Center.METHODSA retrospective cohort of patients with breast cancer treated between January 2012 and December 2020 was conducted. Survival outcomes were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using a Cox proportional hazards model.RESULTSThere were 5,264 patients included with a median follow-up of 54.9 months. Forty-three percent (n = 2,274) were diagnosed in stage I-IIA, 43.1% (n = 2,269) in stage IIB-III, and 7% (n = 383) in stage IV. At 5 years, disease-free survival was 74.9% (95% CI, 73.5 to 76.3) and overall survival (OS) 90.4% (95% CI, 89.4 to 91.3). For stage IV, it was 22.7% (95% CI, 17.3 to 28.5). High histologic grade (hazard ratio, 1.51 [95% CI, 1.34 to 1.7]; P < .001) and lymphovascular invasion (LVI; hazard ratio, 1.85 [95% CI, 1.62 to 2.1]; P < .001) were associated with a higher risk of recurrence.CONCLUSIONHistologic grade and LVI should be considered in the decision to treat with adjuvant chemotherapy in sites where genomic signatures are not available. Our OS data are comparable with other Mexican series; however, it is lower in stage IV. Much remains to be done at the national level, mainly regarding access to additional therapies for each breast cancer subtype. This work contributes to the evaluation of areas for improvement in outcomes in our population.

The Natura 2000 network of protected areas is the backbone of species conservation in the European Union. We investigated whether Austrian-hatched white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) make particular use of this multinational network during their natal dispersal, and what habitats were of importance to the eagles. We analyzed the utilization distribution of 907,466 GPS locations from 38 dispersing white-tailed eagles using a dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Model. Eagles ranged over a huge area of central-eastern Europe. Natura 2000 sites overlapped with 67% of the resulting 50% isopleth; i.e., a high probability of utilization of Natura 2000 areas by white-tailed eagles was found. White-tailed eagles used wetlands, waterbodies, and deciduous forests adjacent to wet habitats disproportionately often. Coniferous forests and settlements were avoided. Anthropogenically caused mortalities hardly occurred within Natura 2000 sites. Our study suggests that the Natura 2000 network is a crucial tool for conserving the white-tailed eagle. This top predator is an ambassador for the Natura 2000 idea during all life stages, and should continue to be a conservation priority of the network.

Research infrastructures play an increasingly essential role in scientific research. They provide rich data sources for scientists, such as services and software packages, via catalog and virtual research environments. However, such research infrastructures are typically domain-specific and often not connected. Accordingly, researchers and practitioners face fundamental challenges introduced by fragmented knowledge from heterogeneous, autonomous sources with complicated and uncertain relations in particular research domains. Additionally, the exponential growth rate of knowledge in a specific domain surpasses human experts’ ability to formalize and capture tacit and explicit knowledge efficiently. Thus, a knowledge management system is required to discover knowledge effectively, automate the knowledge acquisition based on artificial intelligence approaches, integrate the captured knowledge, and deliver consistent knowledge to agents, research communities, and end-users. In this study, we present the development process of a knowledge management system for ENVironmental Research Infrastructures, which are crucial pillars for environmental scientists in their quest for understanding and interpreting the complex Earth System. Furthermore, we report the challenges we have faced and discuss the lessons learned during the development process.

In this paper, dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) experiments on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) samples are presented. Experiments were conducted at different constant temperatures – at 15, 25, and 35 degrees C – giving access to the sorption isotherm showing almost no temperature dependency. As the specimens were prepared with a defined geometry (disc’ with different thicknesses from 600 to 1600 μm and a diameter of 30 mm), the recorded mass history in response to a quasi-instantaneous change of the sample-enclosing humidity was employed to backcalculate diffusivity in narrow ranges for the prescribed externally assigned relative humidities, with a step-wise increase (or decrease) of ten percent. The backcalculated diffusion coefficients show dependency on (i) the temperature what is well described in Arrhenius plots and (ii) the relative humidity range. The influence of sample thickness is marginal, indicating that the surface resistance to mass transfer, as quantified by the Biot number, is negligible when interpreting DVS data presented in this paper. Furthermore, the order of magnitude of the backcalculated diffusion coefficients and their temperature dependency in terms of the associated activation energies is discussed, depending on whether the physi-sorbed water content within the polymer network or the (externally) assigned water vapor content is employed as potential/state variable for the mathematical description of the diffusion process (gradients of the state variable represent the driving force of the diffusion process). When water vapor content is employed, the slope of the sorption isotherm has to be considered in the diffusion analysis.

ZUFSP-type enzymes cleave ubiquitin chains in a linkage-specific fashion, but members from different organisms have different specificities. Using an inter-kingdom comparison of activities and structures, the authors identify the domains responsible for this discrepancy.

A large number (greater than 150) of porous steatite ceramic rods were prepared using different types of renewable plant fiber products as pore-forming agent with mass contents ranging from 2 to 10%. In addition, dense steatite ceramics were synthesized for comparison within a gas furnace at sintering temperatures between 1300 and 1350 °C. High-resolution 3D X-ray microscopy facilitated a non-destructive, direct investigation of the three-dimensional pore space and microstructure. By using image-based pore space analysis, various pore space parameters, such as, e.g., pore volume, pore-size distribution, and pore connectivity were determined. In addition to the characterization of the pore space, phase analysis, structural and chemical investigations were carried out by X-ray powder diffraction, electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared, Raman and X-ray spectroscopy. Finally, to evaluate the influence of characteristics on the physical properties, elastic, strength and thermal properties were determined. With the increase of porosity, the flexural strength and thermal conductivity values decrease from σf = 123 ± 8 to 37 ± 5 MPa and λ = 3.22 ± 0.02 to 1.77 ± 0.02 W/(m·K), respectively. The obtained experimental results were discussed by means of micromechanical models, highlighting the effect of pore-space morphologies on the physical performance of porous steatite ceramics.