Combined effects of compost and medicago sativa in recovery a PCB contaminated soil

The effectiveness of adding compost and the plant Medicago sativa in improving the quality of a soil historically contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was tested in greenhouse microcosms. Plant pots, containing soil samples from an area contaminated by PCBs, were treated with the compost and the plant, separately or together. Moreover, un-treated and un-planted microcosms were used as controls. At fixed times (1, 133 and 224 days), PCBs were analysed and the structure (cell abundance, phylogenetic characterization) and functioning (cell viability, dehydrogenase activity) of the natural microbial community were also measured. The results showed the effectiveness of the compost and plant in increasing the microbial activity, cell viability, and bacteria/fungi ratio, and in decreasing the amount of higher-chlorinated PCBs. Moreover, a higher number of ff-Proteobacteria, one of the main bacterial groups involved in the degradation of PCBs, was found in the compost and plant co-presence

Use of microbial fuel cells for soil remediation. A preliminary study on DDE

DDE (2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dichloroetylene) is a very persistent and bioaccumulative pesticide and its residues are continuously found in the environment. Among the green remediation strategies for soil recovery, terrestrial Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) are arousing great interest in scientific community. MFCs transform energy stored in the chemical bonds of organic compounds into electrical energy thanks to exo-electrogen microorganisms naturally occurring in soil, which catalyse oxidation and reduction reactions in the area between two graphite electrodes. This work reports preliminary data on the use of MFCs for promoting soil decontamination from DDE. Several experimental conditions (e.g. addition of compost and open/closed circuit) were applied for assessing how to improve MFC performance in favouring DDE removal. MFCs promoted a significant DDE removal (39%) after 2 months, while at the same time any pesticide decrease was observed in the batch condition. Compost addition stimulated microbial activity and improved MFC performance for a longer time

A new fluorescent oligonucleotide probe for in-situ identification of Microcystis aeruginosa in freshwater.

contaminated water bodies (freshwater, brackish and marine areas). Among 150 known cyanobacteria genera,>40 species are able to produce toxins, which are natural compounds that differ from both a chemical and toxicological point of view and are responsible for acute and chronic poisoning in animals and humans. Among the main classes of cyanotoxins, microcystins are frequently found in the environment. Fast and accurate methods for unequivocally identifying microcystin-producing cyanobacteria, such as Microcystis aeruginosa in water bodies, are necessary to distinguish them from other non-toxic cyanobacteria and to manage and monitor algal blooms. For this purpose, we designed, developed and validated an oligonucleotide probe for FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) analysis to detect Microcystis aeruginosa at the species level even at relatively low concentrations in freshwater. The FISH probe, MicAerD03, was designed using the ARB software with the Silva database within the framework of the MicroCoKit project, also with the intention of adding it to the microarray from the EU project, μAQUA, for freshwater pathogens, which had only genus level probes for Microcystis. We tested various fixative methods to minimize the natural autofluorescence from chlorophyll-a and certain accessory pigments (viz., phycobilins and carotenoids). The FISH probe was tested on pure cultures of Microcystis aeruginosa, and then successfully applied to water samples collected from different sampling points of the Tiber River (Italy), using a laser confocal microscope. Subsequently, the probe was also conjugated at the 5′ end with horse-radish peroxidase (HRP-MicAerD03) to apply the CAtalysed Reported Deposition-FISH (CARD-FISH) for increasing the fluorescence signal of the mono-fluorescently labelled probe and make it possible to detect M. aeruginosa using an epifluorescence microscope. Samples taken within the EU MicroCokit project indicated thatmicroarray signals for Microcystis were coming from single cells and not colonial cells. We confirmed this with the CARD-FISH protocol used here to validate the microarray signals for Microcystis detected at the genus level in MicroCokit. This paper provides a new early warning tool for investigating M. aeruginosa at the species level even at low cell concentrations in surface water, which can be added to the μAqua microarray for all freshwater pathogens to complete the probe hierarchy for Microcystis aeruginosa

The most common laboratory procedures for the evaluation of EPB TBMs excavated material ecotoxicity in Italy: A review

The rapid development of the mechanized tunneling in current decades has raised serious concerns about the environmental impact of large quantities of the muck. EPB-TBMs require the use of foaming agents for optimizing the soil conditioning.These agents could contain some chemicals (e.g., sodium lauryl ether sulfate – SLES) that are not included in the current legislation at the Italian or EU level. In order to minimize the project costs, it is useful to re-use the excavated soil as a reusable by-product that requires that it does not have any environmental impact on the ecosystems. For this purpose, to draw up a site-specific protocol is a practical and successful tool to evaluate the environmental compatibility of excavated soil during the tunneling. It can rely on one-month experiments at a microcosm or mesocosm scale using soil coming from the excavated site.At fixed times (from 0 to 28 days) the chemical degradation of the chemical together with ecotoxicological tests can be performed on soil or soil-water extracts. Both aquatic and terrestrial organisms are used and the choice of the tests depends on the final destination site.The results of the residual concentration of SLES in soil and in the elutriates, together with those of the ecotoxicological tests, make it possible to evaluate the temporary storage of spoil material and the time necessary for obtaining a safe soil debris to be used as a by-product.These data are usually included in the site-specific protocol to be applied during the excavation phase.This paper describes the main methodological aspects regarding microcosm experiments

Etnohistorias de América Latina y el Caribe

Este es un trabajo colectivo, a partir de una convocatoria abierta, que dio como resultado el libro titulado: Perfiles etnohistóricos en América Latina y el Caribe, que contiene artículos que presentan resultados de investigaciones, reflexiones críticas, teóricas, metodológicas y técnicas de investigación utilizadas en los estudios etnohistóricos del área. El interés de la obra fue generar el debate sobre la articulación de los contextos locales a los procesos de la globalización y sus nexos históricos, políticos, sociales y culturales con América Latina y el Caribe. Es por lo que, en su mayoría, los textos trascienden las barreras geográficas y geopolíticas, y van más allá de los nacionalismos, regionalismos o de las áreas geográficas comúnmente trazadas por las fronteras del Estado nación. Los escritos permiten entender las diversas dinámicas sociales e interrelaciones históricas y geográficas del continente, con el entramado de nexos globales que inciden en la construcción de formas, fronteras e imaginarios particulares de ver, conocer y dominar al “otro” y lo “otro”. El libro está dividido en dos grandes secciones, una Etnohistorias de América Latina, siglos XVI-XX, y la otra Historia, derecho, género y políticas en América Latina, siglos XX y XXI. La primera sección inicia con el artículo denominado, Los Izalcos: Un altépetl complejo registrado por los tlaxcaltecas en 1524, de Hugo Díaz Chávez, Julio César Alvarado Hernández y David Calogero Messana Villafranco. Este artículo aporta a la comprensión de la distribución geográfica de los pueblos nahuas antes de la invasión y ocupación europea, así como, su impronta en las divisiones administrativas actuales

Response to different methods of suspended sediment sample storage before the Coulter Multisizer analysis. 1. Inorganic matter

This article details the variations with time of the size spectrum of inorganic marine particle samples stored according to three different methods: storage with formaldehyde; within a darkened and cooled (4\ub0C) incubator; and by freezing. In view of the lack of a pretreatment with the ultrasonic bath, freezing represented the only method apt to keeping the spectrum unvaried with time. Given the use of ultrasonic bath pretreatment, all three storage methods become applicable

Degradation of the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) in surface water samples

Numerous studies have documented that a wide number of pharmaceuticals used in human and veterinary medicine have the potential to enter the aquatic ecosystem. The antiviral prodrug oseltamivir phosphate has received recent attention with regard to its possible use against the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus. This preliminary laboratory study investigated the persistence of the active antiviral drug, oseltamivir carboxylate (OSC), in water samples taken from an irrigation canal. After an initial rapid decrease, OSC concentrations slowly decreased during the remaining incubation period. Approximately 65% of the initial OSC amount remained in water at the end of the 36-day incubation period. A small amount of OSC was lost both from sterilized water and from sterilized water/sediment samples, suggesting a significant role for microbial degradation. Stimulating microbial processes by the addition of sediments resulted in reduced OSC persistence. Presence of OSC (1.5 mgmL1) did not significantly affect the metabolic potential of the water microbial population, estimated by glyphosate and metolachlor mineralization. In contrast, OSC caused an initial transient decrease in the size of the indigenous microbial population of water samples