Applying Silver Nanoparticles to Enhance Metabolite Accumulation and Biodiesel Production in New Algal Resources

Biofuel generation from algae can be increased by using nanotechnology. The present study emphasizes the use of silver nanoparticles on algae for algal fuel generation along with the impact of nanoparticles on biomass, metabolites and lipid profile. Silver ion amassing was enhanced in each algal species, but maximum phytoremediation was found in Ulothrix sp. Carbohydrates increased 3.2 times in Oedogonium sp., 3.3 times in Ulothrix sp., 3 times in Cladophora sp. and 2.7 times in Spirogyra sp. Additionally, the application of nanoparticles enhanced by 2 times the production of proteins in Oedogonium sp., 1.9 times in Ulothrix sp., 1.9 times in Cladophora sp. and 2.1 times in Spirogyra sp. Finally, the total lipid yield increased 60% DCW in Oedogonium sp., 56% DCW in Ulothrix sp., 58% DCW in Cladophora sp. and 63% DCW in Spirogyra sp. using 0.08 mg/L silver nanoparticle application. The lipids and fatty acid fractions from algae containing high concentrations of C16:0, C18:0 and C18:1 enhanced with silver nanoparticle addition were comparable with EN 14214 and ASTM 6751 biodiesel standards. This study indicates that the uptake of AgNPs can enhance the production of fatty acids and be commercialized as sustainable biodiesel. The algae Ulothrix sp. is evidenced as the best competent feedstock for biofuel production.6s

Alberto Maria De Agostini nella letteratura di viaggio italiana

Il saggio analizza tre romanzi italiani pubblicati tra il 2011 e il 2019 in cui il padre Alberto Maria De Agostini è considerato autorevole compagno di viaggio, una guida (non solo spirituale) per affrontare il lungo cammino verso le estreme propaggini della Terra del Fuoco.n

Phase change materials-impregnated biomass for energy efficiency in buildings: Innovative material production and multiscale thermophysical characterization

In this work, different phase change materials (PCMs) were stabilized in biochar and lignin by vacuum impregnation technique and later incorporated into gypsum panels in real building applications. We used three types of paraffin, with phase transition temperatures of 21, 27, and 31 °C, respectively, i.e., within the most common thermal comfort conditions in building applications and two bio-based porous matrices, lignin and biochar. In doing so, we aimed at producing and characterizing an environmentally friendly shape-stabilized material, to be easily integrated into gypsum-based building components. The obtained compounds were analyzed at various scales of investigations using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Hot Disk, Fourier-Transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), thermal cycling, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and Thermogravimetric (TGA) analyses, to adequately assess the composites' thermophysical performance and long-term stability. The obtained results highlight the promising thermal buffer capability of the shape-stabilized samples, particularly in the case of the paraffin with a melting temperature of 21 °C, which obtained the highest impregnation rate. In general, all the compounds tend to lose PCM during cycling. However, significant leakage was only found above 100 °C, therefore, the samples show a relatively stable behavior for applications within the most common local boundary conditions in the built environment

Simultaneous removal of nitrate and pesticides from contaminated groundwater using aerobic granular biomass technology

Aerobic Granular Biomass (AGB) technology is widely used for urban and industrial wastewater treatment, however, its application in groundwater remediation, is practically unknown. A mixture of carbendazim, simazine, and diuron were amended to the nitrate-polluted synthetic groundwater at increasing concentrations to validate the ability of technology to remove both kind of pollutants, pesticides and nitrate which are commonly found in the water resources. The nitrate removal was a success with values below 0.010 g·L-1. The increased concentration of pesticides in the influent did not distort the pattern observed for pesticide removal. Carbendazim was almost completely eliminated, followed by simazine elimination, while diuron showed adsorption-desorption patterns during experimentation. The addition of pesticides had a drastic effect on the basal community conducted by proliferation of Hyphomicrobium and Dokdonella. The pesticide compounds had a negative effect on number of copies for fungal population, while archaeal population was unharmed, according to qPCR results. Denitrifying bacteria need 70 days as acclimatization period for achieving activity values as initial inoculum. The results obtained have shown for the first time the capacity of AGB system to treat groundwater polluted with nitrate and pesticide using low carbon load. Therefore, the results suggested the potential application of AGB technology for the purification of groundwater polluted with both nitrates and pesticides.8s

Testing the theoretical principles of citizen science in monitoring stream water levels through photo-trap frames

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Strigolactone (GR24) Application Positively Regulates Photosynthetic Attributes, Stress-Related Metabolites and Antioxidant Enzymatic Activities of Ornamental Sunflower (Helianthus annuus cv. Vincent’s Choice) under Salinity Stress

Strigolactones, a new group of phytohormones, are reported to improve plant tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of synthetic strigolactone (GR24 at 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 mg L−1) application on ornamental sunflowers (Helianthus annuus cv. Vincent’s Choice) grown under salt stress (150 mM NaCl). Salt stress was applied after 14 days, and SL was applied 25 days seed sowing. The results showed that amongst various GR24 concentrations, 0.01 mg L−1 proved to be superior, as it enhanced the photosynthetic rate (9.29%), transpiration rate (0.76%), stomatal conductance (77.5%), total soluble protein (0.55%) and K+ (14.63% in roots; 14.87% in shoots) and Ca2+ (12.63% in roots; 11.48% in shoots) contents under control conditions. Similarly, the leaf turgor potential (Ψp), osmotic potential (Ψs) and free proline, glycinebetaine (GB), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxide (POD) contents increased by 58.17, 89.95, 159.04, 101.54, 74.42, 175.68 and 53.62%, respectively, under salt stress conditions. The leaf water potential (Ψw) decreased (−0.14%) and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased (16.65%) when treated with the 0.001 mg L−1 GR24 level. Meanwhile, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Na+ concentrations in roots and shoots increased by 62.53%, 74.66% and 38.55% under saline conditions with a GR24 level of 0 mg L−1. Regarding the plant biomass, a GR24 level of 0.01 mg L−1 with salt stress greatly decreased the root (−47.27% and −50.45%) and shoot (−44.79% and −59.42%) fresh and dry weights, respectively, compared to control conditions. These results reveal that exogenously applied GR24 might be an effective way to mitigate the perilous impacts of salt stress in ornamental sunflower production. It is suggested that the use of molecular techniques to study different processes in which GR24 could play a vital part in various commercial floricultural crops is extremely imperative and can open novel horizons for future investigations in this exhilarating field of plant hormones.s

Development and characterization of a sustainable process for the implementation of lightweight ceramics

Addition of hollow particles and foamed core-shell structures was evaluated to reduce density of ceramic bodies used in the production of sanitary ware, in particular Vitreous-China. Different contents of foamed ceramic beads, glass bubbles or foamed glass beads were tested, ranging from 1.5 to 10 % wt. These strategies were designed to be readily applicable to a pre-existing industrial plant, leading to a final product that retains mechanical and aesthetical properties of traditional ceramic.Mechanical properties, shrinkage, water absorption, surface finishing, and weight reduction were evaluated on dried and fired simplified samples.A moderate reduction in mechanical properties was found, numerically dependent to the overall volume of voids introduced in ceramic bulk. In particular, ceramic with a content of 3% of glass bubbles featured a flexural strength at break of 35 MPa, out of standard requirement. The highest efficiency in weight reduction was achieved with the introduction of 1.5% of cave glass bubbles resulting in a reduction of 10% in weight of fired samples, a flexural strength at break of (41 ± 4) MPa, a total linear shrinkage of (10.1 ± 0.2) %, (0.5 ± 0.1) %, water absorption of 0.5 % wt, in accordance with regulatory standard requirements.Weight reduction improved sustainability in terms of environmental impact. LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) study was conducted on optimized ceramic body (glass bubbles at 1.5 %wt, and glass bubbles at 3% with comparative purposes), evaluating the production process from transportation of raw materials to distribution of goods overseas. LCA analysis was determined using impact categories of ReCiPe Midpoint (H), ReCiPe EndPoint (H/H), and cumulative energy demand (CED). The analysis showed an overall improvement of all the impact categories, with a reduction of CED of 10%, and a reduction of ReCiPe Endpoint of 15% for optimized sample

“I Wanna Be Your Dog” (The Stooges, 1969): Sottoculture giovanili, scoperta dell’erotismo e proto-punk

“I Wanna Be Your Dog” degli Stooges era un brano che già dal titolo proponeva una provocazione esplicita e ammiccante. Questa canzone del 1969 omaggiava il boogie pianistico in una struttura molto più hard, radicale e graffiante, perfettamente in linea con le altre incisioni prodotte da una delle band più radicali e iconoclaste della storia del rock, cronologicamente in anticipo sulle sonorità selvagge della sottocultura punk. “I Wanna Be Your Dog” è ancora oggi una canzone iconica nella sua evocazione cross-mediale.n

Effect of Three Bakery Products Formulated with High-Amylose Wheat Flour on Post-Prandial Glycaemia in Healthy Volunteers

Both Glycaemic index (GI) and Glycaemic Load (GL) were introduced to measure the impact of a carbohydrate-containing food on blood glucose. From this perspective, high-amylose (HA) flours, with a higher percentage of resistant starch (RS), may represent a suitable raw material to improve the glycaemic response. The present work aims to investigate the GI of HA bakery products (biscuits, taralli and bread) compared to products obtained from conventional flour. Ten healthy volunteers were enrolled and their capillary blood glucose was measured every 15 min for 2 h after the consumption of HA and control products containing 50 g of available carbohydrates. On average, in the three bakery products, the amount of total starch replaced by RS was equal to 12%. HA biscuits and HA bread showed significantly lower GI than their control counterparts (p = 0.0116 and p = 0.011, respectively) and better glycaemic control. From the survey to assess liking and willingness to pay on HA snacks, HA packages received an average premium of  0.66 compared to control products. Although HA flour results in lower GI in both biscuits and bread, further studies are needed to evaluate the correct composition of HA products to have beneficial effects on post-prandial glycaemia.15n