A new study in the Journal of International Ceramic Studies reconstructs Queen Elisabeth Farnese's renowned collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain in Bourbon Spain. Drawing on the 1746 and 1766 palace inventories, it traces how around 3,000 objects shaped chinoiserie interiors at La Granja de San Ildefonso, and how wars, political upheavals and the 1918 fire reduced what survives today. The article highlights Blanc-de-Chine figures from Dehua, as well as monumental 'soldier vases' and enameled baluster jars from Jingdezhen, which are now preserved at La Granja and Madrid's Royal Collections Museum.

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team studied the wall structure of MCM-48 and the Ar adsorption process in the mesopores of MCM-48 using MEM analysis of in situ powder XRD intensities recorded during gas adsorption to show that the adsorption process can be monitored through variations in the electron density distribution. 

Discarded ABS plastic is hard to recycle cleanly due to its nitrogen content. A new study in Engineering presents a green two-step hydrothermal method that removes nearly all nitrogen from ABS and turns it into high-energy aromatic oils. The process works efficiently under mild conditions, producing low-nitrogen fuel-like oil that can be directly used or refined, making plastic waste recycling safer and more sustainable.

Nylon‑6,6 is widely used but hard to recycle, and most waste ends up in landfills. A new study in Engineering introduces an eco‑friendly way to break down nylon‑6,6 using iron‑based Lewis/Brønsted acidic deep eutectic solvents at 180 °C for 5 h. It efficiently recovers monomers with high yield, works for both new and used nylon products, and shows competitive environmental performance, offering a practical path for circular polymer recycling.

A new study published in Big Earth Data describes the development of the National Earth Observation Data Cube of Cyprus as a modern software-based infrastructure for efficiently storing, managing, and analyzing the rapidly growing volume of Earth observation data. It further demonstrates its value through a water resource monitoring case under the Mediterranean climate crisis and highlights the potential of semantic classification for more generalized and efficient environmental monitoring. An online platform has been developed and welcomes users to access the CEODC ecosystem at https://cypruscube.com/, while all tools and services are also integrated within the ERATOSTHENES Regional Exploitation Platform: https://rep.eratosthenes.org.cy/.

Statins are among the most effective medications for preventing cardiovascular disease, yet concerns about their safety continue to discourage many patients from treatment. A survey of 260 physicians conducted by researchers from Wroclaw Medical University found that fears of muscle damage and liver injury remain the most common reasons for statin refusal, despite extensive evidence supporting the drugs’ safety and effectiveness.

According to the physicians surveyed, misinformation and persistent myths play a major role in treatment discontinuation. Many patients also express concerns about dementia, cataracts, erectile dysfunction, prostate cancer, and diabetes, although current scientific evidence does not support most of these fears. Serious adverse effects were reported to occur in fewer than 10% of treated patients.

The authors conclude that improving patient education and addressing misinformation are essential for effective cardiovascular prevention. Patients at high cardiovascular risk benefit the most from statin therapy, yet they are also among those most likely to discontinue treatment because of misconceptions about adverse effects.