Dossiê Dante visto do Sul: Apresentação

Apresentação do Dossiê Dante visto do Su

Synergic action of organic matter-microorganism-plant in soil bioremediation

Bioremediation is a natural process, which relies on bacteria, fungi, and plants to degrade, break down, transform, and/or essentially remove contaminants, ensuring the conservation of the ecosystem biophysical properties. Since microorganisms are the former agents for the degradation of organic contaminants in soil, the application of organic matter (such as compost, sewage sludge, etc.), which increases microbial density and also provides nutrients and readily degradable organic matter (bioenhancement-bioaugmentation) can be considered useful to accelerate the contaminant degradation. Moreover, the organic matter addition, by means of the increase of cation exchange capacity, soil porosity and water-holding capacity, enhances the soil health and provides a medium satisfactory for microorganism activity. Plants have been also recently used in soil reclamation strategy both for their ability to uptake, transform, and store the contaminants (Atagana et al., 2011), and to promote the degradation of contaminants by microbes at rhizosphere level. It is widely recognized that plant, through organic materials, nutrients and oxygen supply, produces a rich microenvironment capable of promoting microbial proliferation and activity

A real-scale soil Phytoremediation

In the present investigation, a phytoremediation process with a combination of different plant species (Populus nigra (var.italica), Paulownia tomentosa and Cytisus scoparius) has been proposed at real-scale to bioremediate and functionally recover a soil historically contaminated by heavy metals and organic contaminants. In the attempts to assess both effectiveness and evolution of the remediation system toward a natural soil ecosystem, besides the pollution parameters, also parameters describing the efficiency of the microbiological components (enzyme activities), were investigated. In three years the total content of hydrocarbons and heavy metals in soil decreased with time (50% and 10-30%, respectively), in particular at surface level. The reduction in pollutants was probably the reason of the increase over the time of the ?-glucosidase and phosphatase activity, enzymes related to C and P cycles, respectively. However, this trend was obviously due also to the greater availability of substrates. Dehydrogenase activity, widely used as an indicator of overall microbial activity, showed a great variability among sampling points. Moreover, a phytotest carried out with Lepidium sativum and Raphanus sativus, showed after three years a significant increase in percentage of plant growth, confirming a reduction in soil toxicity and an improvement in soil nutritional state. At the moment the evaluation of the soil protein pattern (SDS-page), are in progress, in order to identify a correlation between the organic contamination and the soil protein expression. Therefore, this biological system seems very promising to perform both decontamination and to functionally recover a polluted soil also at real-scale level

Vermicomposted olive oil wastewaters in horticultural practices

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a vermicompost (obtained from olive mill wastewaters and cellulose materials) on soil quality and fertility, and on the yield of different horticultural species (Allium porrum L.; Cichorium intybus L., Brassica oleracea). The results showed an improvement in the chemical (increase in total and soluble nutrients) and biological (increase in enzyme activities) soil fertility also with respect to a soil treated with traditional municipal solid waste compost. Moreover, in vermicompost treatments a higher yield (Allium porrum L.; and Brassica oleracea) or equal (Cichorium intybus L.,) to the traditional compost was observed

Decontamination and functional reclamation of dredged brackish sediments

The continuous stream of sediment dredged from harbors and channels to provide shipping traffic efficiency is a considerable and ongoing problem worldwide recognized. In this study (European Project AGRIPORT) phytoremediation has been considered as a sustainable reclamation technology for bringing slightly polluted brackish sediments into productive use. The experimentation has been carried out in containers of about 1 m3 filled with contaminated (heavy metals and hydrocarbons) brackish sediments. The fine particles granulometric composition made necessary a bio-physical pre-conditioning of sediments by mixing them with an agronomic structured soil (30% v/v). Moreover, a high quality compost was mixed with the sediment-soil matrix at surface level (40t/ha) with the aim of favouring the initial adaptation of the selected vegetal species. Different plant treatments were chosen: i) Paspalum vaginatum, ii) Phragmites australis, iii) Spartium junceum + Paspalum vaginatum, iv) Nerium oleander+ Paspalum vaginatum, v) Tamarix gallica+ Paspalum vaginatum, and vi) No plants used as control. After one year from the beginning of the experimentation all the plant species were still in healthy condition and well developed. During the time, increasing values of nitrate were generally observed in the planted sediments, suggesting an improvement of the chemico-physical conditions for microorganisms and plants. The stimulation of the microbial activity in the planted sediment with respect to control has been confirmed by the increase of the dehydrogenase activity. Concerning the organic and inorganic contaminant concentrations, decreased values were detected, despite the short period passed, indicating the efficiency and success of this technology for brackish sediments reclamation

Which Patients with Chronic Periprosthetic Joint Infection Are Less Suitable to Successful Two Stage Exchange Arthroplasty Surgery? A Retrospective Clinical Trial

Which Patients with Chronic Periprosthetic Joint Infection Are Less Suitable to Successful Two Stage Exchange Arthroplasty Surgery? A Retrospective Clinical Tria

Il processo di fitotrattamento dei sedimenti di dragaggio: risultati della sperimentazione AGRIPORT in Italia

In this study, phytoremediation was explored as a sustainable reclamation technology for turning slightly-polluted (heavy metals and hdrocarbons) brackish or saline dredged sediments into a matrix feasible for productive use. To test this possibility, two phytoremediation experimentations were carried out in containers of about 0.7 m3 for brackish sediment and in a basin of 80 m3 for saline sediment. The sediments were pre-conditioned by adding an agronomic soil (30 % v/v) to improve their clayey granulometric composition, and by topping the mixture with high quality compost (4 kg m-2) to favor the initial adaptation of the selected vegetal species. Different plant treatments were compared each other and with an unplanted control sediment (C) in order to evaluate the plant efficiency in remediating and ameliorating the agronomical and functional sediment properties. The healthy state of the plants and the characterization of the sediments after the phytoremediation treatment highlighted the effectiveness of the process in remediating (hydrocarbon reduction of about 50-60% and heavy metal reduction of about 25%) and recovering the sediments from an agronomical (chemical) and functional (biochemical) point of view. The obtained product can be referred to as a \u27\u27technosoil\u27\u27 with most characteristics approaching those of a natural soil. Such technosoil can be feasible for several environmental uses, such as plant growth substrate, geo-material for reforesting eroded land or in the bioremediation of polluted degraded sites

RESET: Recupero Ecologico Sedimenti e Tecno-suolo

Not availableRecuperare i sedimenti di dragaggio (di acque interne o marini), mediante una tecnologia biologica ecocompatibile che prevede l\u27utilizzo di piante ed ammendanti organici. Il prodotto derivato dal trattamento, che si pu? definire tecno-suolo, potr? essere utilizzato in campo agronomico/ambientale, ad esempio come substrato agronomico nella vivaistica o nelle opere di ripristino ambientale come materiale per il recupero di aree degradate, ripascimento di dune, riempimento di cave

Nonneoplastic mimickers of pancreatic neoplasms.

CONTEXT: A variety of nonneoplastic conditions may form pancreatic masses that mimic carcinoma. Approximately 5\% to 10\% of pancreatectomies performed with the clinical diagnosis of pancreatic cancer prove on microscopic evaluation to be pseudotumors. OBJECTIVES: To illustrate the clinical and pathologic characteristics of the 2 most frequent pseudotumoral inflammatory conditions, autoimmune pancreatitis and paraduodenal pancreatitis, and describe the criteria that may be useful in the differential diagnosis versus pancreatic carcinoma. DATA SOURCES: Recent literature and the authors' experience with the clinical and pathologic characteristics of autoimmune pancreatitis and paraduodenal pancreatitis. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge of the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings in both autoimmune pancreatitis and paraduodenal pancreatitis is crucial in making the correct preoperative diagnosis. Autoimmune pancreatitis, which occurs in isolated or syndromic forms, is characterized by a distinctive fibroinflammatory process that can either be limited to the pancreas or extend to the biliary tree. Its correct preoperative identification on biopsy material with ancillary immunohistochemical detection of dense immunoglobulin G4-positive plasma cell infiltration is possible and crucial to prevent major surgery and to treat these patients with steroid therapy. Paraduodenal pancreatitis is a special form of chronic pancreatitis that affects young males with a history of alcohol abuse and predominantly involves the duodenal wall in the region of the minor papilla. Pathogenetically, the anatomical and/or functional obstruction of the papilla minor, resulting from an incomplete involution of the intraduodenal dorsal pancreas, associated with alcohol abuse represents the key factor. Endoscopic drainage of the papilla minor, with decompression of the intraduodenal and dorsal pancreas, might be considered in these patients