Papers

Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses

This umbrella review of epidemiological studies examines the health effects of ultra-processed foods, which are a significant source of human microplastic exposure due to plastic packaging. Ultra-processed foods have been linked to a wide range of adverse health outcomes in population studies. The connection between processed food packaging and microplastic contamination adds another dimension to why reducing ultra-processed food consumption may benefit health.

Ultra-processed foods and cardiometabolic health: public health policies to reduce consumption cannot wait

Researchers argue that the strong and growing evidence linking ultra-processed foods to heart disease, diabetes, and other metabolic conditions justifies immediate public health action. Ultra-processed foods may cause harm through multiple pathways, including their plastic packaging, chemical additives, and poor nutritional quality. The authors stress that waiting for complete scientific understanding of every mechanism should not delay policies to reduce consumption of these foods.

Polystyrene (PS) Degradation Induced by Nanosecond Electric Discharge in Air in Contact with PS/Water

Researchers assessed the degradation efficiency of polystyrene microplastics by nanosecond electric discharge in air in contact with water, evaluating plasma-based treatment as an alternative to conventional water treatment methods that fail to remove plastics. The study quantified polystyrene degradation and characterized breakdown products under different discharge conditions.

In situ fragmentation of Al/Al2O3 multilayers on flexible substrates in biaxial tension

Researchers studied how thin layers of aluminum and aluminum oxide stacked on flexible plastic substrates behave when stretched, finding that thinner oxide layers prevent brittle cracking and improve the material's resistance to damage. Understanding how these multilayer coatings fail under stress is important for designing more durable flexible electronics and packaging materials.

Discontinuous yielding of pristine micro-crystals

This theoretical physics paper develops a model for crystal deformation in dislocation-free materials. While not related to environmental science or microplastics, the work contributes to materials science research on plastic deformation at the microscale.

Physical scaling laws in dislocation microstructures and avalanches from dislocation dynamics simulations

Researchers performed extensive 3D Dislocation Dynamics simulations of FCC copper deformation across three orders of magnitude in dislocation density to resolve inconsistencies in reported power law scaling exponents for plastic avalanches in crystalline materials. They found that the power law exponent (approximately -1.6 to -1.7) is invariant to dislocation density and loading direction, with cutoff parameters scaling predictably with dislocation density.

Modelling of anisotropic work-hardening behaviour of metallic materials subjected to strain-path changes

FFT-based modelling of transformation plasticity in polycrystalline materials during diffusive phase transformation

Fracture behavior of Ni-W alloy probed by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Microplasticity and energy dissipation in very high cycle fatigue

This paper examines microplasticity and energy dissipation mechanisms in metals under very high cycle fatigue loading conditions.

Very high cycle fatigue for single phase ductile materials: Microplasticity and energy dissipation

This French research project investigated the mechanisms of fatigue crack initiation in ductile metals at very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) conditions — stress levels below the conventional fatigue limit at cycle counts exceeding one billion. Understanding VHCF failure is important for long-lived components in aerospace and automotive applications.