Questions Does the influence of forest edges on plant species richness and composition depend on forest management? Do forest specialists and generalists show contrasting patterns? Location Mesic, deciduous forests across Europe. Methods Vegetation surveys were performed in forests with three management types (unthinned, thinned 5–10 years ago and recently thinned) along a macroclimatic gradient from Italy to Norway. In each of 45 forests, we established five vegetation plots along a south‐facing edge‐to‐interior gradient (n = 225). Forest specialist, generalist and total species richness, as well as evenness and proportion of specialists, were tested as a function of the management type and distance to the edge while accounting for several environmental variables (e.g. landscape composition and soil characteristics). Magnitude and distance of edge influence were estimated for species richness per management type. Results Greatest total species richness was found in thinned forests. Edge influence on generalist plant species richness was contingent on the management type, with the smallest decrease in species richness from the edge‐to‐interior in unthinned forests. In addition, generalist richness increased with the proportion of forests in the surrounding landscape and decreased in forests dominated by tree species that cast more shade. Forest specialist species richness, however, was not affected by management type or distance to the edge, and only increased with pH and increasing proportion of forests in the landscape. Conclusions Forest thinning affects the plant community composition along edge‐to‐interior transects of European forests, with richness of forest specialists and generalists responding differently. Therefore, future studies should take the forest management into account when interpreting edge‐to‐interior because both modify the microclimate, soil processes and deposition of polluting aerosols. This interaction is key to predict the effects of global change on forest plants in landscapes characterized by the mosaic of forest patches and agricultural land that is typical for Europe.

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In this work, the reaction mechanism used in the preparation of fluorine-free superconducting YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) (YBCO) was investigated. To determine which precursor interactions are dominant, a comprehensive thermal analysis (thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis) study was performed. The results suggest that a three step reaction mechanism, with a predominant role for BaCO(3), is responsible for the conversion of the initial state to the superconducting phase. In the presence of CuO, the decarboxylation of BaCO(3) is kinetically favored with the formation of BaCuO(2) as a result. BaCuO(2) reacts with the remaining CuO to form a liquid which ultimately reacts with Y(2)O(3) in a last step to form YBCO. High temperature X-ray diffraction experiments confirm that these results are applicable for thin film synthesis prepared from an aqueous fluorine-free sol-gel precursor.

A sound fundamental knowledge of the seed and flour characteristics of pseudocereals is crucial to be able to promote their industrial use. As a first step towards a more efficient and successful application, this study focuses on the seed characteristics, chemical composition and technological properties of commercially available pseudocereals (amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat). The levels of starch, fat, dietary fiber and minerals were comparable for amaranth and quinoa seeds but the protein content is higher in amaranth. Due to the high amount of starch, buckwheat seeds are characterised by the lowest amounts of fat, dietary fibre and minerals. Its protein content ranged between that of amaranth and quinoa. Buckwheat seeds were larger but easily reduced in size. The lipid fraction of the pseudocereals mostly contained unsaturated fatty acids, with the highest prevalence of linoleic and oleic acid. Palmitic acid is the most abundant unsaturated fatty acid. Moreover, high levels of P, K and Mg were found in these pseudocereals. The highest phenolic content was found in buckwheat. Amaranth WMF (wholemeal flour) had a high swelling power but low shear stability. The pasting profile strongly varied among the different quinoa WMFs. Buckwheat WMFs showed high shear stability and rate of retrogradation.

In this paper, we combine the use of Drop-on-Demand (DOD) ink-jet printing with completely water-based inks as a novel approach to the CSD process for coated conductors. This method holds the promise of improved scalability due to lower ink losses, continuous processing and a drastically increased precursor lifetime due to the prevention of solvent evaporation and dust incorporation. Moreover, ink-jet printing has the potential to switch quite easily from continuous coatings to a multi-filamentary pattern, which is particularly important for alternating current (AC) or field applications of coated conductors. The fluid properties, often expressed with dimensionless constants, like the Reynolds and Weber numbers, for printable liquids were determined. For proof-of-concept, single crystals of SrTiO 3 with a low mismatch towards YBCO, were used as substrates.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) supplied at pharmacological dosage in diets of weaned piglets improves growth performance. However, it causes environmental contamination and induces bacterial antibiotic resistance, yet this practice is debated. The effects on gut microbiota and integrity in weaned piglets of conventional ZnO at nutritional and pharmacological dosage (110 and 2,400 mg/kg Zn, respectively) were compared to an alternative ZnO source at 110 and 220 mg/kg Zn. Each of the four treatments was applied to four pens (two piglets/pen; weaning age, 20 days) for 15 days, and piglets were sampled on day 15 to determine indices of gut integrity. Feeding conventional ZnO at 2,400 mg/kg Zn reduced coliforms and Escherichia coli in distal small intestine as compared to conventional ZnO at 110 mg/kg (−1.7 and −1.4 log10 cfu/g, respectively), whereas the alternative ZnO reduced only coliforms, irrespective of dosage (−1.6 to −1.7 log10 cfu/g). Transepithelial electrical resistance of distal small intestinal mucosa was higher for pigs fed the alternative ZnO source as compared with groups fed 110 mg/kg Zn of conventional ZnO, in line with a trend for higher gene expression of claudin‐1 and zona occludens‐1. Interestingly, the alternative ZnO source at 110 and 220 mg/kg Zn increased intestinal alkaline phosphatase gene transcript as compared to conventional ZnO at 110 mg/kg Zn, whereas the alternative ZnO source at 110 mg/kg Zn exhibited higher Zn concentrations in mucosa (2,520 μg/g) as compared to conventional ZnO at 110 mg/kg Zn (1,211 μg/g). However, assessing alkaline phosphatase activity, no significant effects were found. In conclusion, the alternative ZnO reduced digesta Enterobacteriaceae numbers and improved gut integrity, albeit similar or better, depending on the dosage, to the effects of pharmacological dosage of conventional ZnO.

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