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The advent of x-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) drastically enhanced the capabilities of several analytical techniques, for which the degree of transverse (spatial) coherence of the source is essential. FELs can be operated in self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) or seeded configurations, which rely on a qualitatively different initialization of the amplification process leading to light emission. The degree of transverse coherence of SASE and seeded FELs has been characterized in the past, both experimentally and theoretically. However, a direct experimental comparison between the two regimes in similar operating conditions is missing, as well as an accurate study of the sensitivity of transverse coherence to key working parameters. In this paper, we carry out such a comparison, focusing in particular on the evolution of coherence during the light amplification process.

Understanding the ultrafast dynamics of materials under extreme conditions is challenging. Here the authors use a femtosecond betatron X-ray source to investigate the solid to dense plasma phase transition in copper using XAS with unprecedented time resolution.

Electron beam quality in accelerators is crucial for light source application. Here the authors demonstrate beam conditioning of laser plasma electrons thanks to a specific transport line enabling the control of divergence, energy, steering and dispersion and the application to observe undulator radiation.

The original version of this Article contained an error in the last sentence of the first paragraph of the Introduction and incorrectly read ‘A proper electron beam control is one of the main challenges towards the Graal of developing a compact alternative of X-ray free-electron lasers by coupling LWFA gigaelectron-volts per centimetre acceleration gradient with undulators in the amplification regime in equation 11, nx(n-β) x β: n the two times and beta the two times should be bold since they are vectorsin Eq. 12, β should be bold as well.’ The correct version is ‘A proper electron beam control is one of the main challenges towards the Graal of developing a compact alternative of X-ray free-electron lasers by coupling LWFA gigaelectron-volts per centimetre acceleration gradient with undulators in the amplification regime.’This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

FERMI@Elettra is a free electron-laser (FEL)-based user facility that, after two years of commissioning, started preliminary users' dedicated runs in 2011. At variance with other FEL user facilities, FERMI@Elettra has been designed to deliver improved spectral stability and longitudinal coherence. The adopted scheme, which uses an external laser to initiate the FEL process, has been demonstrated to be capable of generating FEL pulses close to the Fourier transform limit. We report on the first instance of FEL wavelength tuning, both in a narrow and in a large spectral range (fine- and coarse-tuning). We also report on two different experiments that have been performed exploiting such FEL tuning. We used fine-tuning to scan across the 1s–4p resonance in He atoms, at ≈23.74 eV (52.2 nm), detecting both UV–visible fluorescence (4p–2s, 400 nm) and EUV fluorescence (4p–1s, 52.2 nm). We used coarse-tuning to scan the M _4,5 absorption edge of Ge (∼29.5 eV) in the wavelength region 30–60 nm, measured in transmission geometry with a thermopile positioned on the rear side of a Ge thin foil.

The study evaluated the effects of conventional pasteurization and ohmic heating (OH) at different electric fields (12, 16, 20, or 24 V/cm -1 ) on probiotic chocolate dairy desserts' physicochemical, microbiological, sensory properties and volatile profiles. Both treatments were analyzed for parameters such as pH, syneresis, cream stability index, rheology, bioactive compounds (total phenolics and antioxidant capacity), and probiotic viability (Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-05) over a 28-day storage period. Ohmic heating at higher electric fields (20 and 24 V/cm -1 ) showed comparable results to pasteurization for most parameters, with non-significant differences or even higher values for some. Sensory analysis revealed that pasteurized samples were more associated with "creamy" and "firm" textures. In contrast, OH-treated samples were linked to lumps and fluidity, particularly in OH24 and OH16, respectively. Volatile compounds such as propanal and ethyl propanoate were detected across treatments, with ethyl acetate unique to OH24. The results suggest that OH, especially at higher electric fields, is a promising technology for processing probiotic dairy desserts, offering similar or enhanced qualities compared to conventional pasteurization. These findings provide insights into the potential for OH to be routinely applied in functional dairy product production., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This article describes a dataset providing sensory and nutritional information for 30 commercial cooked hams (without rind, not flavored) representative of the French commercial segment. The sensory data were collected in two phases. During the first phase (fall 2019, field experiment), 483 consumers, regular consumers of cooked hams, were recruited in seven cities and vicinities of France. They were instructed to choose and buy cooked hams at the supermarket and evaluate them at home over a period of three months. They were provided with a list of 30 eligible cooked hams selected by the experimenters. A total of 2758 evaluations were collected (an average of 5.7 evaluations per consumer). During the second phase (fall 2020, lab experiment), a selection of 16 cooked hams were evaluated at blind by 86 consumers in a sensory analysis laboratory using a complete balanced design. Sensory evaluation at home and in the laboratory included liking Just-About-Right (colour, fat, salt and texture) measurements. In the field experiment, consumers were additionally asked to describe with free comments the appearance, texture and flavour of tested hams and of a virtual "ideal ham". They also had to report the price they paid for a pack of four slices of ham and their intentions to repurchase the tested hams. Other data on cooked hams included actual salt and fat contents (measured using physicochemical analyses) and information displayed on the packaging (type of brand, nutritional claims, labels). This dataset offers a broad overview of the perception and the appreciation of cooked hams representative of the French market, and it could allow the joint analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic food properties. Moreover, this data paper describes an innovative protocol of field experiment bridging the gap between the controlled lab environment (panelized consumers, selection of the list of hams by the experimenter) and the real-life settings (hams chosen by the consumers and tasted at home with access to information). Such a protocol could be reused to collect large sensory datasets and aggregate them into open databases interoperable with other food databases (nutritional, economic, sustainability, etc.)., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

In the framework of the Laser Lightning Rod project, whose aim is to show that laser-induced filaments can guide lightning discharges over considerable distances, we study over a distance of 140 m the filaments created by a laser system with J-range pulses of 1 ps duration at 1 kHz repetition rate. We investigate the spatial evolution of the multiple filamentation regime using the fundamental beam at 1030 nm or using combination with the second and third harmonics. The measurements were made using both a collimated beam and a loosely focused beam., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This study investigated the microstructure, rheological properties, and sensory characteristics of butters produced with free and encapsulated xylooligosaccharides (XOS). Four formulations of butter were processed: B CONT : 0 % w/w XOS (control); B XOS : 20% w/w free XOS; B XOS-ALG : 20% w/w XOS microencapsulated with alginate (XOS-alginate ratio of 3:1 w/w); and B XOS-GEL : 20% w/w XOS microencapsulated with alginate-gelatin (XOS-alginate-gelatin ratio of 3:1:1.5 w/w). The microparticles showed a bimodal distribution, low size and low span values, demonstrating physical stability to be included in emulsions. The XOS-ALG presented surface weighted mean diameter (D3.2) of 90.24 µm, volume-weighted mean diameter (D4.3) of 131.8 µm, and Span of 2.14. In contrast, the XOS-GEL presented D3.2 of 82.80 µm, D4.3 of 141.0 µm, and a Span of 2.46. Products with XOS were characterized by higher creaminess, sweet taste, and lower salty taste than the control. However, the addition form significantly impacted the other evaluated parameters. The utilization of XOS in a free form (B XOS ) resulted in smaller droplet sizes (1.26 μm) than encapsulated XOS and control (XOS-ALG = 1.32 µm / XOS-GEL = 1.58 µm, / BCONT = 1.59 µm), and changes in the rheological parameters (higher values of shear stress, viscosity, consistency index, rigidity (J 0 ), and Newtonian viscosity (η N ) and lower elasticity (τ)). Furthermore, it changed the color parameters (more yellow and dark color, lower L* and higher b* values). On the other hand, the utilization of micropaticles of XOS (B XOS-ALG and B XOS-GEL ) kept shear stress, viscosity, consistency index, rigidity (J 0 ), and elasticity (τ) more similar to control. The products had a less intense yellow color (lower b* values) and was perceived with more consistency and butter taste. However, the presence of particles was perceived by consumers. The results suggest that consumers were more attentive to reporting flavor-related attributes than texture. In conclusion, adding microparticles of XOS could improve butter's rheological and sensory properties. In conclusion, adding microparticles of XOS could improve butter's rheological and sensory properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This article describes data related to the research paper entitled "Concurrent vs. retrospective temporal data collection: Attack-evolution-finish as a simplification of Temporal Dominance of Sensations?" [1]. Temporal sensory perception data of five dark chocolates that vary in cocoa content were collected from 129 consumers who evaluated the samples in two sessions, using a different sensory evaluation method in each session. A within-subject design was set-up to compare the two data collection methods: consumers in Panel 1 (36 men and 32 women aged 19 to 63 years old) started with the Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) method, and consumers in Panel 2 (35 men and 26 women aged 19 to 61 years old) started with the Attack-Evolution-Finish dominance (AEF-D) method. For each chocolate, consumers had to report the sensations they perceived either concurrently (TDS) or retrospectively (AEF-D) to the tasting. After the descriptive task, consumers were asked to rate their liking for chocolates on a 9-point discrete scale. Finally, consumers had to answer questions related to the difficulty of the descriptive task. The dataset includes information on consumers' gender, age and frequency of consumption of dark chocolates. The dataset can be reused by sensometricians to compare methods or develop new statistical models for data analysis. It can also be reused to compare at the individual level declarative sensory measures collected either concurrently or retrospectively to tasting. Thus, the impact of cognition (due to memorization, stress or complexity of measurements) on sensory description and liking can be investigated. More specifically, this dataset can be help understand how the dynamics of perception of texture, mouthfeel and flavour attributes are integrated when using static measures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Flavored milk drink is a popular dairy product traditionally processed by pasteurization, which is a safe and robust process. Still, it can imply a greater energy expenditure and a more significant sensorial alteration. Ohmic heating (OH) has been proposed as an alternative to dairy processing, including flavored milk drink. However, its impact on sensory characteristics needs to be evidenced. This study used Free Comment, an underexplored methodology in sensory studies, to characterize five samples of high-protein vanilla-flavored milk drink: PAST (conventional pasteurization 72 °C/15 s); OH6 (ohmic heating at 5.22 V/cm); OH8 (ohmic heating at 6.96 V/cm); OH10 (ohmic heating at 8.70 V/cm), and OH12 (ohmic heating at 10.43 V/cm). Free Comment raised similar descriptors to those found in studies that used more consolidated descriptive methods. The employed statistical approach allowed observation that pasteurization and OH treatment have different effects on the sensory profile of products, and the electrical field strength of OH also has a significant impact. PAST was slightly to moderately negatively associated with "acid taste," "fresh milk taste," "smoothness," "sweet taste," "vanilla flavor," "vanilla aroma," "viscous," and "white color." On the other hand, OH processing with more intense electric fields (OH10 and OH12) produced flavored milk drinks strongly associated with the "in natura" milk descriptors ("fresh milk aroma" and "fresh milk taste"). Furthermore, the products were characterized by the descriptors "homogeneous," "sweet aroma," "sweet taste," "vanilla aroma," "white color," "vanilla taste," and "smoothness." In parallel, less intense electric fields (OH6 and OH8) produced samples more associated with a bitter taste, viscosity, and lumps presence. Sweet taste and fresh milk taste were the drivers of liking. In conclusion, OH with more intense electric fields (OH10 and OH12) was promising in flavored milk drink processing. Furthermore, the free comment was a valuable approach to characterize and identify the drivers of liking of high-protein flavored milk drink submitted to OH., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Lightning discharges between charged clouds and the Earth's surface are responsible for considerable damages and casualties. It is therefore important to develop better protection methods in addition to the traditional Franklin rod. Here we present the first demonstration that laser-induced filaments-formed in the sky by short and intense laser pulses-can guide lightning discharges over considerable distances. We believe that this experimental breakthrough will lead to progress in lightning protection and lightning physics. An experimental campaign was conducted on the Säntis mountain in north-eastern Switzerland during the summer of 2021 with a high-repetition-rate terawatt laser. The guiding of an upward negative lightning leader over a distance of 50 m was recorded by two separate high-speed cameras. The guiding of negative lightning leaders by laser filaments was corroborated in three other instances by very-high-frequency interferometric measurements, and the number of X-ray bursts detected during guided lightning events greatly increased. Although this research field has been very active for more than 20 years, this is the first field-result that experimentally demonstrates lightning guided by lasers. This work paves the way for new atmospheric applications of ultrashort lasers and represents an important step forward in the development of a laser based lightning protection for airports, launchpads or large infrastructures., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

This article describes a dataset providing temporal sensory perception data of four dark chocolates, four guacamoles, four crisps and four ice teas collected from 436 consumers divided in six groups. Each group of consumers has tested all products using only one sensory evaluation method among: Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS, n=70), Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA, n=73), Attack-Evolution-Finish (AEF) dominance (n=74), AEF applicability (n=75), Free-Comment Attack-Evolution-Finish (FC-AEF) dominance (n=72) and FC-AEF applicability (n=72). Each consumer evaluated all the products: guacamoles and ice tea were evaluated in the lab in one session; chocolates and crisps were evaluated at home in two separate sessions. Within each product category, one sample has been replicated. The consumers started with product descriptions, then they gave a hedonic score, and after having tasted all the products related to a same category, they answered questions about product complexity and difficulty of the task. Consumer information included in the dataset is sex, age and frequency of consumption of each product category. This dataset is unique as it addresses several temporal methods applied on four product categories with different textures and levels of complexity. Thus, it could be very useful for the sensometric community to compare the different methods and their parameters: dominance vs. applicability, periods vs. continuous time, simultaneous vs. retrospective measures, list of terms vs. Free-Comment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:, (© 2022 The Author(s).)

We study the filamentation in air of multi-millijoule optical vortices and compare them with the classical filamentation regime. The femtosecond vortex beam generates multiple plasma filaments organized in a cylindrical geometry. This plasma configuration evolves into a meter-scale tubular neutral gas column that can be used as a waveguide for nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. It appears that optical vortices produce a more uniform heating along the propagation axis, when compared with Gaussian or super-Gaussian beams, and that the resulting low-density channel is poorly sensitive to the laser input power thanks to the combination of filamentation intensity clamping and phase vorticity.

Objectives: Fast and reliable ethanol assays analysis are used in a clinical context for patients suspected of ethanol intoxication. Mostly, automated systems using an enzymatic reaction based on ethanol dehydrogenase are used. The manuscript focusses on the evaluation of the performance of these assays., Methods: Data included 30 serum samples used in the Belgian EQA scheme from 2019 to 2021 and concentrations ranged from 0.13 to 3.70 g/L. A regression line between target concentrations and reported values was calculated to evaluate outliers, bias, variability and measurement uncertainty., Results: A total of 1,611 results were taken into account. Bias was the highest for Alinity c over the whole concentration range and the lowest for Vitros for low concentrations and Cobas 8000 using the c702 module for high concentrations. The Architect and Cobas c501/c502 systems showed the lowest variability over the whole concentration range. Highest variability was observed for Cobas 8000 using the 702 module, Thermo Scientific and Alinity c. Cobas 8000 using the c702 module showed the highest measurement uncertainty for lower concentrations. For higher concentrations, Alinity c, Thermo Scientific and Vitros were the methods with the highest measurement uncertainty., Conclusions: The bias of the enzymatic techniques is nearly negligible for all methods except Alinity c. Variability differs strongly between measurement procedures. This study shows that the Alinity c has a worse measurement uncertainty than other systems for concentrations above 0.5 g/L. Overall, we found the differences in measurement uncertainty to be mainly influenced by the differences in variability., (© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Experiments and simulations are performed to study filamentation and generation of acoustic waves in water by loosely focused multi-millijoules laser pulses. When the laser pulse duration is increased from femtosecond to nanosecond duration, a transition is observed from a filamentary propagation with extended and low energy density deposition to a localized breakdown, related to high energy density deposition. The transition suggests that Kerr self-focusing plays a major role in the beam propagation dynamics. As a result, the shape, the amplitude and the spectrum of the resulting pressure wave present a strong dependence on the laser pulse duration.

The ultrafast electron energy transport is investigated in laser-heated warm dense copper in a high flux regime (2.5±0.7×10^{13}  W/cm^{2} absorbed). The dynamics of the electron temperature is retrieved from femtosecond time-resolved x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy near the Cu L3 edge. A characteristic time of ∼1  ps is observed for the increase in the average temperature in a 100 nm thick sample. Data are well reproduced by two-temperature hydrodynamic simulations, which support energy transport dominated by thermal conduction rather than ballistic electrons.

A 22-year-old man was hospitalized after stating he would 'commit suicide in a non-detectable way'. He was admitted with a severe necrotizing pancreatitis and acute kidney injury, evolving to multiple organ failure. His condition rapidly deteriorated, and he died 11 days after hospital admission. Postmortem histopathology confirmed fulminant necrotizing pancreatitis, acute tubular necrosis, cerebral edema, pericentral/midzonal hepatocellular necrosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Metabolites of 4F-MDMB-BINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, were detected in urine and serum collected at hospital admission. The same drug was found in a vapor fluid found in the man's apartment. As cannabis use has been etiologically linked to acute pancreatitis, we hypothesize that the more afferent and potent 4F-MDMB-BINACA could induce acute pancreatitis via stimulation of cannabinoid (CB)1-receptors. Alternatively, terminal fluorination could have induced a dose-dependent toxic effect on a wide range of cellular processes, leading to cell dysfunction and death. This is the first clinicopathological description of a lethal intoxication with 4F-MDMB-BINACA, following extensive vaping. Toxic effects could either relate to CB-receptor binding or to direct fluoride toxicity., (© 2021. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

We study the use of frequency upconversion schemes of near-IR picosecond laser pulses and compare their ability to guide and trigger electric discharges through filamentation in air. Upconversion, such as Second Harmonic Generation, is favorable for triggering electric discharges for given amount of available laser energy, even taking into account the losses inherent to frequency conversion. We focus on the practical question of optimizing the use of energy from a given available laser system and the potential advantage to use frequency conversion schemes.