501 research outputs found
Mitigation of environmental damage by monitoring chemical biological indices of disturbed soil
The Soil Biodiversity platform has invited researchers, politicians, decision-makers, industries, and states to seriously consider soil biodiversity conservation, including all kinds of microorganisms: âThe maintenance of
soil biodiversity is essential to both the environment and agricultural industries.â Moreover, since 2015, the âCross-Sector Biodiversity Initiative (CSBI)â has presented a platform for the development and sharing of
âgood practicesâ to be implemented concerning the protection and restoration of âbiodiversityâ in extractive
activities. This platform is a collaborative tool to access the knowledge and collective experience of experts in the sector. It provides practical guidance, innovative approaches, and examples to support mitigation
operationalizing. In addition, CSBI has developed some guides to limit, as far as possible, the negative impacts on the biodiversity of development projects and activate the processes of mitigating the damage
and recovery of biodiversity.
Our study aimed to assess the severity of soil disturbance in an industrial area using chemical-biological indicators and to suggest mitigation and restoration activities. For soil quality restoration, it was necessary to encourage land management practices to increase the levels
of organic matter and soil biodiversity. In particular, minimum soil tillage and no-tillage practices to maintain soil cover, improve its structure, maintenance, and increase of perennial plants, and finally, careful/limited use of fertilizers. The chemical-biological indices after one year have highlighted a clear improvement in the state of health of
the soil in chemical-physical, microbiological, and entomo-fauna terms. The soil and its entire community of living beings can adapt and react to difficultie
Biological activities of alkaloids: From toxicology to pharmacology
Plants produce many secondary metabolites, which reveal biological activity [...]
An attempt of biocontrol the tomato-wilt disease caused by Verticillium dahliae using Burkholderia gladioli pv. agaricicola and its bioactive secondary metabolites
There is a great interest in discovering new microbial natural biocides such as microbial secondary metabolites to reduce the environmental pollution due to the excessive use of synthetic pesticides. Verticillium wilt, caused by the soil-borne Verticillium dahliae, is a widespread disease in tomato growing in many parts of the world. Burkholderia gladioli pv. agaricicola produces some antimicrobial substances and extracellular hydrolytic enzymes which exhibited promising antimicrobial activity towards several phytopathogens. The aims of the current research are to assess in vitro fungicidal effect of 4 strains of B. gladioli pv. agaricicola (ICMP11096, 11097, 12220 and 12322) against V. dahliae using culture or cell-free culture filtrate. In situ assay was performed to evaluate the biocontrol effect of the most efficient bacterial strain on wilt disease caused by V. dahliae in tomato plants. Results demonstrated that the studied bacterial strain ICMP12322 exerted the highest in vitro antifungal activity against V. dahliae which correlated with its ability to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes. Furthermore, in situ results showed that the selected bacterial strain significantly minimized the disease incidence
Classification, Toxicity and Bioactivity of Natural Diterpenoid Alkaloids
Diterpenoid alkaloids are natural compounds having complex structural features with many stereo-centres originating from the amination of natural tetracyclic diterpenes and produced primarily from plants in the Aconitum, Delphinium, Consolida genera. Corals, Xenia, Okinawan/Clavularia, Alcyonacea (soft corals) and marine sponges are rich sources of diterpenoids, despite the difficulty to access them and the lack of availability. Researchers have long been concerned with the potential beneficial or harmful effects of diterpenoid alkaloids due to their structural complexity, which accounts for their use as pharmaceuticals as well as their lousy reputation as toxic substances. Compounds belonging to this unique and fascinating family of natural products exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activities. Some of these compounds are on the list of clinical drugs, while others act as incredibly potent neurotoxins. Despite numerous attempts to prepare synthetic products, this review only introduces the natural diterpenoid alkaloids, describing 'compounds' structures and classifications and their toxicity and bioactivity. The purpose of the review is to highlight some existing relationships between the presence of substituents in the structure of such molecules and their recognized bioactivity
Simulated ageing of crude oil and advanced oxidation processes for water remediation since crude oil pollution
Crude oil can undergo biotic and abiotic transformation processes in the environment. This article deals with the fate of an Italian crude oil under simulated solar irradiation to understand (i) the modification induced on its composition by artificial aging and (ii) the transformations arising from different advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) applied as oil-polluted water remediation methods. The AOPs adopted were photocatalysis, sonolysis, and, simultaneously, photocatalysis and sonolysis (sonophotocatalysis). Crude oil and its water-soluble fractions underwent analysis using GC-MS, liquid-state1H-NMR, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), and fluorescence. The crude oil after light irradiation showed (i) significant modifications induced by the artificial aging on its composition and (ii) the formation of potentially toxic substances. The treatment produced oil oxidation with a particular effect of double bonds oxygenation. Non-polar compounds present in the water-soluble oil fraction showed a strong presence of branched alkanes and a good amount of linear and aromatic alkanes. All remediation methods utilized generated an increase of C5 class and a decrease of C6-C9 types of compounds. The analysis of polar molecules elucidated that oxygenated compounds underwent a slight reduction after photocatalysis and a sharp decline after sonophotocatalytic degradation. Significant modifications did not occur by sonolysis
Mass spectrometry application on the detection of Sildenafil in aqueous phases
Sildenafil, the active ingredient of Viagra (Figure n.1), is a drug helpful in solving erectile
dysfunction problems and recently entered the list of emerging contaminants. The use of these
pharmaceuticals is increasingly widespread among perfectly healthy young people (20 or 30
years old) who make them a dangerous abuse for "recreational" purposes together with ecstasy:
the result is a synergistic amplification of their final effects, such as the feeling of euphoria,
confusion, disorientation, hallucinations, tremors or, in severe cases, irregular heartbeat and
even coma. According to the 2018 annual report prepared by the Italian Medicines Agency
(AIFA), this compoundsâ consumption had increased over time from 2.9 DDD (Defined Daily
Dose assumed per 1000 inhabitants in the referred year) in 2014 to 3.6 DDD in 2018.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to detect the actual quantity used from the population (young
and patients) because the internet network is becoming a way of purchasing to avoid medical
prescriptions. Indeed, some researchers [1] report that illicit trading with pharmaceuticals
products from the Internet is not wholly conscious of the risks for health concerning the quality
of these products, such as the possible presence of toxic impurities [2]. The increase in demand
is powering the illegal trade via the web, and, consequently, the risk of using an
ineffective/harmful to health drug is very high [3,4]. The human body does not fully utilize
these drugs. An unknown quantity, probably transformed, is excreted with urine and faeces.
The high consumption of this substance, globally accomplished by legal and illegal ways, and
the fact that Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) cannot remove all types of contaminants
that enter the sewer legitimates thinking that they can pose a severe threat to ecosystems and
human health [5]. The unambiguous analytical determination of the active parent drug and the
identification of its transformation products are therefore indispensable to try understanding if
the quantity found of this drug in wastewater and surface water is linked to actual medical use
and to verify whether tertiary purification treatments of wastewater are effective in the removal.
In this work, the identification and quantification of this pharmaceutical product in water and
synthetic wastewater were performed by LC-ESI-LTQ/MS and confirmed by CID-MSn. Thanks
to high mass precision and MS/MS capability, determination and structural interpretation of
sildenafil and its transformation products were achieved
Cannabis: A Toxin-Producing Plant with Potential Therapeutic Uses
For thousands of years, Cannabis sativa has been utilized as a medicine and for recreational
and spiritual purposes. Phytocannabinoids are a family of compounds that are found in the cannabis
plant, which is known for its psychotogenic and euphoric effects; the main psychotropic constituent
of cannabis is â9-tetrahydrocannabinol (â9-THC). The pharmacological effects of cannabinoids are a
result of interactions between those compounds and cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, located in
many parts of the human body. Cannabis is used as a therapeutic agent for treating pain and emesis.
Some cannabinoids are clinically applied for treating chronic pain, particularly cancer and multiple
sclerosis-associated pain, for appetite stimulation and anti-emesis in HIV/AIDS and cancer patients,
and for spasticity treatment in multiple sclerosis and epilepsy patients. Medical cannabis varies from
recreational cannabis in the chemical content of THC and cannabidiol (CBD), modes of administration,
and safety. Despite the therapeutic effects of cannabis, exposure to high concentrations of THC,
the main compound that is responsible for most of the intoxicating effects experienced by users,
could lead to psychological events and adverse effects that affect almost all body systems, such as
neurological (dizziness, drowsiness, seizures, coma, and others), ophthalmological (mydriasis and
conjunctival hyperemia), cardiovascular (tachycardia and arterial hypertension), and gastrointestinal
(nausea, vomiting, and thirst), mainly associated with recreational use. Cannabis toxicity in children is
more concerning and can cause serious adverse effects such as acute neurological symptoms (stupor),
lethargy, seizures, and even coma. More countries are legalizing the commercial production and
sale of cannabis for medicinal use, and some for recreational use as well. Liberalization of cannabis
laws has led to increased incidence of toxicity, hyperemesis syndrome, lung disease cardiovascular
disease, reduced fertility, tolerance, and dependence with chronic prolonged use. This review focuses
on the potential therapeutic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids, as well as the acute and chronic
toxic effects of cannabis use on various body systems
Hemp chemotype definition by cannabinoids characterization using lc-esi(+)-ltq-fticr ms and infrared multiphoton dissociation
The development and application of advanced analytical methods for a comprehensive analysis of Cannabis sativa L. extracts plays a pivotal role in order to have a reliable evaluation of their chemotype definition to guarantee the efficacy and safety in pharmaceutical use. This paper deals with the qualitative and quantitative determination of cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidivarin (CBDV), and cannabigerol (CBG) based on a liquid chromategraphy-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method using electrospray ionization in positive mode (ESI+), coupled with a hybrid quadrupole linear ion trap (LTQ) and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FTICR-MS). For the first time, structural information of phytocannabinoids is available upon precursor ionsâ isolation within the FTICR trapping cell and subsequent fragmentation induced by infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD). Such fragmentation and accurate mass measurement of product ions, alongside collision-induced dissociation (CID) within LTQ, was advantageous to propose a reliable fragmentation pattern for each compound. Then, the proposed LC-ESI(+)-LTQ-FTICR MS method was successfully applied to the hemp chemotype definition of three registered Italian accessions of hemp C. sativa plants (Carmagnola C.S., Carmagnola, and Eletta Campana), thus resulting in the Eletta Campana accession being the best one for cannabis product manufacturing
Lâarte pittorica svelata attraverso la Spettrometria di massa
Lâanalisi chimica da sempre ricopre un ruolo fondamentale nella conservazione del nostro
patrimonio culturale. La caratterizzazione di manufatti artistici, pittorici e archeologici aiuta
a rispondere a domande cruciali tipo quando e come una specifica opera eÌ stata realizzata,
noncheÌ a comprenderne i processi degradativi ed, anche, eventuale contraffazione. Eâ
necessario, tuttavia, che le analisi siano non invasive, non distruttive ma sensibili ed efficaci.
Negli ultimi venti anni la chimica delle proteine e la spettrometria di massa si sono evolute e
adattate per lâanalisi di campioni nel campo dei beni culturali, tanto che eÌ stato coniato il
termine paleoproteomica, ad indicare la proteomica applicata al mondo delle proteine antiche
[1-3]. Ad esempio tale analisi ha consentito l'identificazione dei materiali proteici presenti
nello strato non originale del Gruppo di quattro clarisse, un frammento di un dipinto murale
realizzato nella Sala Capitolare di San Francesco, a Siena, da Ambrogio Lorenzetti . Nello
specifico, la spettrometria di massa tandem ha identificato la presenza di colla di pecora e
mucca e proteine dell'albume d'uovo di gallina e anatra, ingredienti adoperati da artisti
rinascimentali con lâintento di effettuare interventi di protezione o di restauro sullâaffresco
trecentesco. Risalendo alla tipologia di proteine animali impiegate e il danno da loro subito, eÌ
possibile effettuare interventi di restauro e di conservazione piuÌ mirati. Inoltre, dato che tale
indagine puoÌ essere usata su dipinti, materiali e antichi strumenti musicali, una volta chiarito
quali sono i materiali e le proteine usate da un determinato artista, si possono scovare
eventuali falsi artistici e storici. Questo lavoro condotto da un team multidisciplinare di
ricercatori (chimici, umanisti e restauratori) ha voluto sottolineare lâimportanza della stretta collaborazione tra arte e scienza
- âŠ