spanish broom spartium junceum l as new fiber for biocomposites the effect of crop age and microbial retting on fiber quality

Recently, there has been a revival of interest in Spanish broom (Spartium junceum L.) as a possible source of fibers to be used in biocomposite materials. The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of two selected strains of Clostridium felsineum (NCIMB 10690 and NCIMB 9539) in the retting of Spanish broom vermenes. Chemical composition and physical, mechanical, and morphological properties of fibers were investigated. The obtained results indicate that the process provides an ecofriendly method for Spanish broom retting and support the hypothesis that these fibers can be successfully used in composite materials

Environmental assessment of flax straw production for non-wood pulp mills

Nowadays, there is an increasing interest for using non-woody fibres as raw materials for production of paper´s pulp. The present work aims to identify and quantify the environmental impacts associated with the production of flax fibres, through 3-year field experiment, carried out in Bologna and Pisa representative of the pedoclimatic characteristics of central Italy. Life Cycle Impact of “a one ton of fibre ready to be processed in a pulp mill” was assessed taking into account: farming, straw process (drying, scutching and baling) and transport. Inventory data for agricultural inputs and outputs were obtained directly from field experimentation and from bibliographic data about heat, transport and electricity consumption on straw processing. An economic allocation approach to assign impacts within flax seed and processed straw has been used. The CML baseline 2000 methodology was selected to quantify the potential environmental impact associated to the crops. Specifically, global warming (GWP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP) and photochemical oxidant formation (POP) were evaluated together with energy use (EU). Major impacts contribution arise from fertilizers use and straw processing. Cultivation phase of flax fibre at Pisa reported higher values (approximately 3 times greater) for all the impact categories. The lower impact in the flax cultivation scenario at Bologna was due to no use of mineral fertilizer and the higher flax-straw yield. It resulted also a strong reduction of the impacts with respect to those of hemp pulp in Spain as well as to the impacts of the conventional wood-pulp reported in Simapro. Furthermore, LCA tool aided to identify the materials and process that most affected the impacts: fertilizers use, diesel consumption and straw processing were identified as hot spots in both crops. Finally, non-wood pulp derived from Bologna´s Flax straw represents an opportunity to replace conventional wood pulp in Italian paper industry

Precision Nitrogen Management In Camelina: Preliminary Results From A Case Study In Central Italy

Nowadays, the use of advanced technologies in agriculture is mandatory in order to increase cropping system sustainability and quality. To guarantee a higher yield, farmers need to ensure the best health of their crops with, at the same time, the least environmental impact. Particular attention is generally paid to nitrogen fertilization since nitrogen use efficiency in modern agriculture is very low. It means that a lot of synthetic chemicals are wasted rather than utilized by crops with consequent environmental issues. The use of spectral reflectance indices, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and chlorophyll index (Dualex), are reliable indicators to determine N status of crop plants. In this contest, very scarce knowledge is available about the response of camelina - a promising oilseed crop for food, feed, and the bio-based industry - to different N rates as well as on the use of remote/proximal sensing. So, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of N fertilization rate and timing on camelina seed yield and quality. At the same time, biochemical parameters and NDVI by using proximal sensing techniques were assessed with the aim to optimise camelina agronomic management

Evaluation of Chemical Composition of Two Linseed Varieties as Sources of Health-Beneficial Substances

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is becoming more and more important in the health food market as a functional food, since its seeds and oil represent a rich source of bioactive compounds. Its chemical composition is strongly correlated with, and dependent on, genetic characteristics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variation in seed yield, oil content, fatty acid composition and secondary metabolite profiles between a low-linolenic linseed variety, belonging to the Solin-type group (Solal), and a high-linolenic traditional one (Bethune), cultivated, both as spring crops, in open field conditions of Central Italy. The achieved results pointed out the dierent behavior of the two varieties in terms of growth cycle, oil content, and some important yield components, such as capsule number per plant and thousand seed weight. There were also significant dierences in seed composition regarding total phenols, total flavonoids, antioxidant activities as well as in carotenoid, tocopherol, and tocotrienol profiles between the two varieties. In particular, Solal was characterized by the greatest contents of oil, phenols, flavonoids, - and - tocotrienol, together with the highest antioxidant activity. Bethune, on the contrary, showed the highest amounts of carotenoids (lutein and -carotene). These results indicate a clear eect of the genetic characteristics on the biosynthesis of these secondary metabolites and, consequently, on the related antioxidant activity. Our findings suggest that the mutation process, responsible for the selection of the low-linolenic cultivar, is able to modify the biosynthetic pathways of carotenoids and phenolics

The central region of the msp gene of Treponema denticola has sequence heterogeneity among clinical samples, obtained from patients with periodontitis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Treponema denticola </it>is an oral spirochete involved in the pathogenesis and progression of periodontal disease. Of its virulence factors, the major surface protein (MSP) plays a role in the interaction between the treponeme and host. To understand the possible evolution of this protein, we analyzed the sequence of the <it>msp </it>gene in 17 <it>T. denticola </it>positive clinical samples.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Nucleotide and amino acid sequence of MSP have been determined by PCR amplification and sequencing in seventeen <it>T. denticola </it>clinical specimens to evaluate the genetic variability and the philogenetic relationship of the <it>T. denticola msp </it>gene among the different amplified sequence of positive samples. In silico antigenic analysis was performed on each MSP sequences to determined possible antigenic variation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>msp </it>sequences showed two highly conserved 5' and 3' ends and a central region that varies substantially. Phylogenetic analysis categorized the 17 specimens into 2 principal groups, suggesting a low rate of evolutionary variability and an elevated degree of conservation of <it>msp </it>in clinically derived genetic material. Analysis of the predicted antigenic variability between isolates, demonstrated that the major differences lay between amino acids 200 and 300.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings showed for the first time, the nucleotide and amino acids variation of the <it>msp </it>gene in infecting <it>T. denticola</it>, <it>in vivo</it>. This data suggested that the antigenic variability found in to the MSP molecule, may be an important factor involved in immune evasion by <it>T. denticola</it>.</p

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p&lt;0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p&lt;0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Biorefineries to integrate fuel, energy and chemical production processes

The world of renewable energies is in fast evolution and arouses political and public interests, especially as an opportunity to boost environmental sustainability by mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. This work aims at examining the possibilities related to the development of biorefineries, where biomass conversion processes to produce biofuels, electricity and biochemicals are integrated. Particular interest is given to the production processes of biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas, for which present world situation, problems, and perspectives are drawn. Potential areas for agronomic and biotech researches are also discussed. Producing biomass for biorefinery processing will eventually lead to maximize yields, in the non food agriculture

Performance and Potentiality of Camelina (Camelina sativa L. Crantz) Genotypes in Response to Sowing Date under Mediterranean Environment

Given the growing interest for camelina, as a multipurpose oilseed crop, seven cultivars and two sowing times were compared to characterize camelina’s production potential in the rainfed agroecosystems of Central Italy. A split-plot design, with sowing date as main plot (autumn and spring) and cultivar (V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, and CELINE) as subplot, was adopted over two growing seasons (2017–2019). Phenology, yield and yield components, protein and oil content, and fatty acid profile were evaluated. Going from autumn to spring sowing, a significant reduction was observed in the number of days (139 vs. 54 days) and GDD (642 vs. 466 C d) from emergence to beginning of flowering, with more consistent variations among cultivars. V1 and V2 were the earlier ones both in spring and autumn sowing. Autumn sowing increased seed yield (+18.0%), TSW (+4.1%), number of siliques per plant (+47.2%), contents of alfa-linolenic, eicosenoic, erucic and eicosadienoic acids, and polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio. Regarding genotype, V3 showed the best seed and oil yield in autumn, whereas V1 and CELINE were the best performing in spring. Finally, TSW and number of siliques per plant were the key yield components for camelina. Results identify, in relation to sowing date, the most suitable cultivars for the tested environment, in terms of earliness and quanti-qualitative traits

In field non-invasive sensing of the nitrogen status in hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon × C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy) by a fluorescence-based method

The level of N fertilization and the content of leaf N in Cynodon dactylon × C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy cv. ‘Tifway 419’ bermudagrass were evaluated non-destructively with a fluorescence-based method. It was applied directly into the field by using the Multiplex portable fluorimeter during two consecutive seasons (2010 and 2011). In the 2010 experiment, the nitrogen balance index (NBI1) provided by the sensor was able to discriminate (at P &lt; 0.05) six different N levels applied, up to 250 kg ha−1, with a precision (root mean square error, RMSE) in the rate estimate of 3.29 kg ha−1. In 2011, the index was insensitive to the N treatment between 150 kg ha−1 and 250 kg ha−1 N rates, and its precision was 39.98 kg ha−1. Calibration of the sensor by using the destructive analysis of turf samplings showed a good linear regression between NBI1 and the leaf N content for both 2010 (R2 = 0.81) and 2011 (R2 = 0.93) experiments. This allowed mapping of the leaf N spatial distribution acquired by the sensor in the field with a prediction error of 0.21%. Averaging the overall estimates of leaf N content per N treatment provided an upper limit of 200 kg ha−1 for the required fertilization, corresponding to a critical level of leaf N of about 2.3%. Our results confirm the usefulness of the new fluorescence-based method and sensor for a precise management of fertilization in turfgrass