The Fate of Herbicides in Soil

The prediction of the movement and fate of herbicides in soils represents an important startegy in limiting their environmental impact. The chemico-physical properties of herbicides affect thier behaviour in soil and regulate their interaction mechanisms with organic and inorganic soil phases. Among these, dissolved organic matter plays an important role bacause it influences the mobility of herbicides by complex interactions that can facilitate or reduce the movement of chemicals along the soil profile. The knowledge of soil phase characteristics and the mechanisms involved in herbicide transformation can help to understand the fate of herbicides in soil

Effect of the Growing Season, Trichoderma, and Clinoptilolite Application on Potentially Toxic Elements Uptake by Cucumis melo L

The extent to which different agricultural strategies may affect the uptake of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) by cropped plants is not entirely understood at a field scale. This study addresses the effect of seasonality, Trichoderma inoculation alone, or combined with different applications of commercial-grade clinoptilolite (i.e., foliar action, fertigation, and pellet) on the PTE content of early- and late-ripening cultivars of Cucumis melo L. Two similar field experiments were performed in spring and summer. For each cultivar/treatment combination, the input of PTEs [namely, chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), and lead (Pb)] into the soil-crop system through irrigation water, fertilizers, pesticides, and treatment products (i.e., Trichoderma and clinoptilolite products), as well as the PTE content of melon stem, leaves, and fruit, were measured through inductively coupled plasma-optic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Neither Trichoderma alone nor with clinoptilolite had a visible effect on PTE uptake by plants, whereas early season cultivation was strongly associated with reduced uptake of Cu and Pb. The high correlation of Cu and Pb content with stem and leaf calcium (Ca) content (used as a proxy for different transpiration rates under different growing seasons) indicated a possible uptake of these metals through Ca nonselective cation channels as a defense against drought stress. Reduced Cu and Pb concentrations were found in early-ripening fruit cultivated in spring. Concerning Cu and Pb risk management, in case of significant contamination in Mediterranean calcareous soils, early-ripening Cucumis melo L. cultivars are suggested instead of lateripening ones

Embedding monomers and dimers of sulfonamide antibiotics into high silica zeolite Y: an experimental and computational study of the tautomeric forms involved

This work is a second step towards the systematic study of the embedding of sulfonamide antibiotics into a synthetic high silica zeolite Y (HSZ-Y) with hydrophobic properties. In the previous paper [Braschi et al., Langmuir 2010, 31, 9524], the irreversible adsorption from water into HSZ-Y of three sulfonamides was studied by enlightening the host-guest interactions and, in the case of the smallest sized sulfadiazine, the guest-guest interactions of dimeric species inside the zeolite cage. Here the HSZ-Y was loaded with six sulfonamides, namely: sulfanilamide, sulfapyridine, sulfathiazole, sulfadimethoxine, sulfadoxine and sulfamerazine. With the exception of sulfanilamide, which showed scarce affinity for HSZ-Y (maximum loading 3% zeolite dry weight), the other sulfa drugs adsorbed at ca. 28% zeolite dry weight on average, and this is relevant for both water depollution and drug delivery issues. The low affinity of sulfanilamide for HSZ-Y was ascribed to its high hydrophilicity (water solubility 15-40 times higher than other drugs). The most stable tautomeric (amide or imide) form of each antibiotic adsorbed in zeolite Y was proposed by means of IR and solid state NMR spectroscopy augmented by computational modelling. The small dimensions and favourable stabilization energy allow the embedding of imidic and amidic dimers of sulfathiazole and sulfapyridine, respectively, inside the zeolite cage whereas the remaining sulfa drugs adsorbed in monomeric amidic form

Potential Applications and Limitations of Electronic Nose Devices for Plant Disease Diagnosis

Electronic nose technology has recently been applied to the detection of several plant diseases and pests, with promising results. However, in spite of its numerous advantages, including operational simplicity, non-destructivity, and bulk sampling, drawbacks include a low sensitivity and specificity in comparison with microbiological and molecular methods. A critical review of the use of an electronic nose for plant disease diagnosis and pest detection is presented, describing the instrumental and procedural advances of sensorial analysis, for the improvement of discrimination between healthy and infected or infested plants. In conclusion, the use of electronic nose technology is suggested to assist, direct, and optimise traditionally adopted diagnostic technique

Long-Term Monitoring of a Surface Flow Constructed Wetland Treating Agricultural Drainage Water in Northern Italy

Agricultural drainage water that has seeped into tile drainage systems can cause nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the surface water bodies. Constructed wetlands (CWs) can help mitigate the effects of agricultural non-point sources of pollution and remove different pollutants from tile drainage water. In this study, hydrological and water quality data of a Northern Italian CW that has been treating agricultural drainage water since 2000 were considered to assess its ability to mitigate nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. The effects of such long-term operation on the nutrients and heavy metals that eventually accumulate in CW plants and sediments were also analysed. Since 2003, the CW has received different inflows with different nutrient loads due to several operation modes. However, on average, the outflow load has been 50% lower than the inflow one; thus, it can be said that the system has proved itself to be a viable option for tile drainage water treatment. It was found that the concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in the plant tissues varied, whereas the nitrogen content of the soil increased more than 2.5 times. Heavy metals were found accumulated in the plant root systems and uniformly distributed throughout a 60 cm soil profile at levels suitable for private and public green areas, according to the Italian la

Toluene Adsorption by Mesoporous Silicas with Different Textural Properties: A Model Study for VOCs Retention and Water Remediation

In this work, dierent mesoporous silicas were studied as potential sorbents for toluene, selected as a model molecule of aromatic organic fuel-based pollutants. Three siliceous materials with dierent textural and surface properties (i.e., fumed silica and mesoporous Santa Barbara Amorphous (SBA)-15 and Mobil Composition of matter (MCM)-41 materials) were considered and the eect of their physico-chemical properties on the toluene adsorption process was studied. In particular, FT-IR spectroscopy was used to qualitatively study the interactions between the toluene molecule and the surface of silicas, while volumetric adsorption analysis allowed the quantitative determination of the toluene adsorption capacity. The combined use of these techniques revealed that textural properties of the sorbents, primarily porosity, are the driving forces that control the adsorption process. Considering that, under real conditions of usage, the sorbents are soaked in water, their hydrothermal stability was also investigated and toluene adsorption by both the gas and aqueous phase on hydrothermally pre-treated samples was studied. The presence of ordered porosity, together with the dierent pore size distribution and the amount of silanol groups, strongly aected the adsorption process. In toluene adsorption from water, SBA-15 performed better than MCM-41

Monitoraggio di residui di pesticidi in ortofrutta in pre-raccolta (Serie storica 2007-2016) Focus sull’Emilia-Romagna

La valutazione del rischio ambientale e alimentare hanno rappresentato un ruolo centrale nel raggiungimento degli obiettivi stabiliti dalla strategia della Commissione Europea nel programma Europa 2020 e costituiscono uno dei capisaldi dell’attuale strategia Horizon Europe. La collaborazione fra enti pubblici, società scientifiche e privati rappresenta il core delle nuove strategie per raggiungere l’obiettivo della sicurezza ambientale e alimentare con un focus sulla salute, come anche indicato dalla FAO e dall’OMS. Accanto ai numerosi e stringenti controlli sulla qualità dei prodotti ortofrutticoli alla vendita, oltre 10000 campioni anno in Italia, esistono i controlli dei produttori e delle catene della grande distribuzione organizzata (GDO) che non sono mai pubblici. Questo report, edito dal Dipartimento di Scienze Tecnologie Agro-alimentari dell’Università di Bologna, presenta proprio questi dati, in gergo chiamati “grigi”. Questa trattazione rappresenta un primo passo, un unicum, grazie alla collaborazione tra una società scientifica, il GRIFA, e una società privata, Conserve Italia, che mette a disposizione milioni di dati residuali di prodotti fitosanitari in derrate alimentari in pre-raccolta per fare una valutazione statistica dell’andamento nazionale del loro utilizzo in un arco temporale molto ampio, che permetta di comprendere come l’agricoltura si sia adattata ai cambiamenti normativi, di costume e climatici. Un lavoro complesso che gli autori hanno affrontato con tenacia e dedizione, trovando la chiave scientifica per una corretta e oggettiva interpretazione

Effect of bioactive compounds released from Brassicaceae defatted seed meals on bacterial load in pig manure.

Animal manure application to soils is considered to be one of the main cause of antibiotic and bacterial pathogen spread in the environment. Pig livestock, which is the source of one of the most used fertilizer for cultivated land, is also a hotspot for antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Besides harsh chemical and physical sanitization treatments for the abatement of antibiotics and bacterial load in livestock waste, more sustainable and environmentally friendly strategies need to be considered. In this context, the use of natural substances which are proved useful for pest and disease control is currently under exploration for their role in the reduction of bacterial pathogen population. Among these, plants and derived products from the Brassicaceae family, characterized by the presence of a defensive glucosinolate-myrosinase enzymatic system, have been successfully exploited for years in agriculture using the so-called biofumigation technique against crop diseases. Although the application of biofumigation to suppress a range of soil borne pests has been well documented, no studies have been examined to reduce bacterial population in animal waste. In the present study, the release and the antibacterial activity of bioactive compounds deriving from different Brassicaceae defatted seed meals against pathogens and bacterial population in pig manure is addressed. Rapistrum rugosum and Brassica nigra defatted seed meals were found to be the most active products against tested pathogens and able to significantly reduce the bacterial load in the manure

Position paper of the Italian association of medical specialists in dietetics and clinical nutrition (ANSISA) on nutritional management of patients with COVID-19 disease

COVID-19 disease is characterized by serious clinical manifestations which could require urgent hospitalization. Prolonged hospitalization, with catabolism and immobilization, induces a decrease in weight and muscle mass which can result in sarcopenia, a condition that impairs respiratory and cardiac function, worsening the prognosis. In this scenario there is an urgent need of nutritional indications aimed to prevent or contrast hospital malnutrition by improving the patient's response to therapy and to facilitate healthcare professionals in managing nutritional interventions on patients, reducing their already high workload due to the state of emergency