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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, video consultation was introduced in general practice in many countries around the world as a solution to provide remote health care to patients. It was assumed that video consultation would find widespread adoption in post-COVID-19 general practice. However, adoption rates remain low across countries in Northern Europe, suggesting that barriers to its use exist among general practitioners and other practice staff. In this viewpoint, we take a comparative approach, reflecting on similarities and differences in implementation conditions of video consultations in 5 Northern European countries' general practice settings that might have created barriers to its use within general practice. We convened at a cross-disciplinary seminar in May 2022 with researchers and clinicians from 5 Northern European countries with expertise in digital care in general practice, and this viewpoint emerged out of dialogues from that seminar. We have reflected on barriers across general practice settings in our countries, such as lacking technological and financial support for general practitioners, that we feel are critical for adoption of video consultation in the coming years. Furthermore, there is a need to further investigate the contribution of cultural elements, such as professional norms and values, to adoption. This viewpoint may inform policy work to ensure that a sustainable level of video consultation use can be reached in the future, one that reflects the reality of general practice settings rather than policy optimism.

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The ZnO(0001)-Zn terminated crystal face was studied after reduction at high temperatures by combination of STM, STS, XPS and TDS. The clean ZnO(0001)-Zn surface exhibits triangular reconstruction in UHV, while after exposure to 10(-5) mbar H(2) at RT this reconstruction is lifted and a rough surface has formed. The roughness as well as the metallic character of the surface increased with the applied low-pressure reduction temperature up to 800 K. XPS revealed that exposure to 1 bar H(2) at RT led to the formation of OH groups; at higher temperatures progressive metallization of the ZnO surface was found to occur. Analysis of the thermal desorption results showed that huge amounts of H(2) dissolved into the ZnO crystal. The results obtained under these conditions were in good accordance with thermodynamic calculations. The experimental ratio between the absorbed amount of H(2) at RT and 800 K amounts to 1000. The ratio calculated from increasing diffusion coefficients with temperature only amounts to 6. This emphasizes the importance of ZnO as a H supplier by spillover, and proves that metallic Zn boosts dissociative adsorption of H(2). This surface modification of the ZnO structure during the reduction promotes an enhanced activity of the Cu/ZnO catalyst at elevated temperatures.

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New highly mixed phases have been identified in Cu/ZnO systems by EXAFS and XANES at both the Cu and Zn K-edge. The phases were generated by ball-milling Cu(2)O/ZnO mixtures under three different atmospheres of synthetic air (SA), SA + CO(2) and CO(2). The system milled in CO(2) shows disproportionation of Cu(2)O into Cu(0), Cu(1+) (cuprite Cu(2)O-type phase) and Cu(2+) (tenorite CuO-type phase), while most of the Zn(2+) is transformed into a nanocrystalline/amorphous ZnO-type zincite that forms a superficial mixture of oxide and carbonate phases. When synthetic air is added to the CO(2) atmosphere, ball milling results in the oxidation of nearly half the Cu(1+) into Cu(2+) with no Cu metal formed. The copper phase in this material is almost entirely amorphous. In SA, a significant amount of Cu(2+)- and Zn(2+)-based phases appears to react to form a nanocrystalline/amorphous Cu(1-x)Zn(x)O (x approximately 0.3) solid solution. This distorted rock saltlike solid solution, in which Zn and Cu feature different octahedral environments, was never reported before. It is thought to be formed by incorporation of Zn(2+) in the Cu fcc sublattice of the cuprite Cu(2)O matrix and the concomitant oxidation of Cu(1+) into Cu(2+). The formation of such a highly mixed Cu(1-x)Zn(x)O phase indicates strong Cu/Zn interaction in the Cu/ZnO system, which also suggests the presence of highly mixed phases in conventionally prepared activated catalysts.

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It is by now well established that plants use various strategies to defend themselves against herbivores. Besides conventional weapons such as spines and stinging hairs and sophisticated chemical defenses, plants can also involve the enemies of the herbivores in their defense. It has been suggested that plants could even use entomopathogens as part of their defense strategies. In this paper, we show that Brassica oleraceae plants that are attacked by Myzus persicae aphids infected with an entomopathogenic parvovirus (M. persicae densovirus) transport the virus through the phloem locally and systematically. Moreover, healthy aphids that fed on the same leaf, but separated from infected aphids were infected via the plant. Hence, this is proof of the principle that plants can be vectors of an insect virus and can possibly use this virus as a defense against herbivores.

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The influence of liquid shear rates on the development of acidifying mixed-culture aggregates was studied in a gas-lift reactor. The glucose concentration was kept at a constant and relatively high level by operating the reactor in pH-auxostat mode. Size, strength, and wet density of aggregates cultivated at different superficial gas velocities (Ug) were investigated. Image analysis showed that the Sauter mean diameter (Ds) decreased with increasing Ug. A stirred tank was used to characterize the surface detachment rate (Rd) under non-growth conditions. An exponential decrease was observed in Rd with the applied Ug during cultivation, i.e., aggregates became stronger. The increased strength coincided with an increase in aggregate wet density. Size classified aggregates showed an increase in Rd with the square of the aggregate diameter (Dp), however, this contribution was much smaller than the effect of adaptation. Experiments in a similar gas-lift reactor under dynamic conditions without adaptation, showed that Rd increased exponentially with increasing Ug. So, two important contributions to Rd can be distinguished: adaptation, which induces stronger aggregates, and aggregate size, which makes them less susceptible to hydrodynamic shear. A general expression for Rd was derived, which depends on Dp and Ug. Combining this equation with the surface biomass growth rate (Rg) allowed for the estimation of the maximal diameter (Dmax) aggregates can reach at any Ug, and it was found that the estimated and measured Dmax were in good agreement.

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