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Ketene, Diketene, and 1,3-Cyclobutanedione Chemistry-Industrial Relevance, Reactivity, and Emerging Applications of Cyclobutane Motifs
Item type: Journal Article
Kohler, Philipp; Taeschler, Christoph; Stepen, Arne Jan; et al. (2026)
Ketene and diketene are cornerstone intermediates of industrial chemistry, enabling synthesis of a wide range of functional products. Beyond their established applications, side products of ketene dimerization provide access to 1,3-cyclobutanedione and triketene chemistry. This review highlights industrial relevance, reactivity, scalable access to 1,3-cyclobutanedione via the dione salt, and emerging applications of cyclobutane motifs in pharmaceuticals, emphasizing opportunities for further derivatization and process development.
Early signs of lameness in dairy cows revealed by milking and behavioral data using generalized additive mixed models
Item type: Journal Article
Mondini, Sara; N'Cho, Chris Major; Gislon, Giulia; et al. (2026)
Early detection of lameness is difficult in dairy farms as clinical signs may be subtle. This study aims to identify key changes in milking and behavioral data before and after lameness identification, to assess their potential as early-warning indicators. Data were collected on a dairy farm in Northern Italy, with 600 Holstein cows milked twice daily in a rotary parlor, equipped with sensors and pedometers. A total of 67 cows (days in milk: 177 ± 104; parity: 2.62 ± 1.57) with at least one farmer-detected lameness event between 2022 and 2023 were included. Daily data on milk yield, duration, flows, lying time, bouts, and steps were analyzed in a 60-d window around the detection day (Δ –30 to +30), using generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) accounting for parity and stage of lactation. Daily milk yield began to decline 12–16 d before detection, with losses of up to 16% in multiparous cows. Before lameness detection, milking duration shortened, and average milk flow slowed in multiparous cows, particularly between 60 and 120 s after cluster attachment. Lying time increased by 8–11% in the days before detection, while steps differed by parity: primiparous cows reduced their activity, whereas multiparous cows showed increased steps. After hoof trimming, most of the traits returned toward pre-lameness levels. Although the magnitude of changes was moderate, timing and consistency indicate that deviations in milking performance and behavior can be detected before lameness becomes visible. These findings provide a basis for developing predictive algorithms to identify cows at risk earlier, using standard farm infrastructure, without additional sensors.
Data set for: Effects of submergence and bed roughness of flow and turbulence around a bed-mounted ellipsoid
Item type: Data Collection
Marschall, Yannick; Constantinescu, George; Boes, Robert Michael; et al. (2026)
Cross-Platform Demonstration of an Autonomous MRI Field Camera
Item type: Journal Article
Björkqvist, Oskar; Pruessmann, Klaas P. (2026)
Purpose: Recent work has proposed self-synchronization, self-calibration, and means of sequence parsing to enhance the versatility of field cameras. The purpose of this paper is to expand this approach to more complex sequences and verify feasibility across distinct scanner platforms.
Methods: A field camera was formed from six field probes in a rigid-body arrangement and deployed in two commercial MRI scanners. Epoch folding for synchronization and the formation of sequence diagrams were expanded to nested sequences. Autonomous camera operation was used to record advanced sequences involving gradient-echo trains, spin-echo trains, and diffusion-tensor encoding.
Results: Autonomous camera operation was successful in both scanners, yielding sequence diagrams for all sequences explored.
Conclusion: Autonomy of field cameras permits use across different MRI systems and degrees of sequence complexity. Potential applications range from method development and validation to sequence harmonization, multi-center studies, and quality assurance.
Structure Selection in Ionic Colloidal Crystals via Independent Charge Tuning
Item type: Journal Article
van Kesteren, Steven; Zang, Shihao; Leung, Cheuk W.; et al. (2026)
Colloidal building blocks can assemble into many different crystal structures, yet selecting a specific lattice without redesigning the particles remains a central challenge in programmable self-assembly. Here we demonstrate that independent tuning of colloidal surface charge enables deterministic structure selection using a fixed pair of oppositely charged colloids. Micromolar additions of simple ionic surfactants independently adjust the surface charge of each colloidal species without significantly altering solution ionic strength, allowing the same building blocks to assemble into Th3P4-, CsCl-, Cu3Au-, and Li3Fe-like crystals, the last of which represents a previously unreported colloidal crystal structure. Experiments and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that structure selection is governed by the competition between Coulombic attraction and lattice-specific like-charge repulsion. Experiments across different particle-size ratios further demonstrate the generality of this approach, with additional surfactant-induced transitions between Th3P4-, AlB2-, and Cr3Si-like structures. These findings establish charge asymmetry as a general design parameter for ionic colloidal assembly.