Leaf production and quality of sea beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima) grown with saline drainage water from recirculating hydroponic or aquaculture systems

The application of greenhouse soilless culture (or hydroponics) and recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is rapidly growing worldwide as these technologies provide controlled growing conditions for crop plants and aquatic organisms, thus enhancing productivity. The wastewater from RAS and hydroponics is generally rich in many essential plant nutrients and could be reused for crop irrigation, thus reducing the costs for both wastewater treatment and fertilizers. Many wild edible plant species are salt-tolerant glycophytes or halophytes and hence are suitable for cultivation with saline wastewater in cascade cropping systems or decoupled aquaponic systems. The goal of this work was to investigate the effects of drainage water from semi-closed substrate plant culture or saltwater RAS on leaf production and quality of sea beet plants (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima) grown hydroponically in a greenhouse. Two experiments were conducted in autumn with plants cultivated in a floating raft system to compare five different nutrient solutions: standard nutrient solution (CNS, control; EC 2.80 dS m−1, Na 0.7 mM); the effluent from a semi-closed substrate culture of tomato used as such (tomato effluent 100%, TE100; EC 6.49 dS m−1, Na 34.9 mM) or diluted (50:50) with CNS (tomato effluent 50%, TE50; EC 4.50 dS m−1, Na 17.8 mM); the effluent from a saltwater RAS with gilthead sea bream, used as such (aquaculture effluent 100%, AE100; EC 42.00 dS m−1, Na 408.6 mM) or diluted (50:50) with CNS (aquaculture effluent 50%, AE50; EC 25.40 dS m−1, Na 204.6 mM). In both experiments, leaf production was significantly reduced in plants grown with AE50 (−46.8%, on average) and AE100 (−70.4%, on average) compared to CNS; on the contrary, no or minor differences were found between CNS, TE50 and TE100 plants. The reduction of crop yield was due to the higher salinity and not to abnormal concentration of some mineral nutrients in AE. In the first experiment, the use of TE and AE also resulted in higher leaf antioxidant capacity and concentration (both expressed on a fresh weight basis) of total chlorophylls, carotenoids, flavonoids, and phenols. In both experiments, leaf concentration of Na and oxalate (both total and soluble) significantly increased with the salinity of the nutrient solution. Due to the less favourable light conditions, leaf nitrate concentration was much higher in the second experiment than in the first one, regardless of the nutrient solution. In conclusion, sea beet could be grown using hydroponic wastewater with moderate salinity with no or minor effect on leaf production and quality. In contrast, the use of highly saline aquaculture effluents markedly reduced crop yield and negatively affected leaf quality due to increased concentration of sodium, oxalate, and nitrate. In general, sea beet leaves were high in oxalate and their consumption should be limited

Modelling transpiration of greenhouse gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii H. Bolus) grown in substrate with saline water in a Mediterranean climate

Gerbera plants were grown in semi-closed rockwool culture under greenhouse conditions in different seasons in a Mediterranean climate. The plants were irrigated using either fresh (FW; 1.0 mol m−3NaCl)or moderately saline (SW; 9.0 mol m−3NaCl) water. In autumn, NaCl concentration did not influence significantly plant growth, flower production and transpiration (E), which instead were reduced in springin the plants irrigated with SW. In both seasons, water salinity did not affect leaf stomatal resistance (rl),which was determined by the inversion of the Penman–Monteith (PM) equation or measured with a diffusion porometer. The PM formula and two regression equations were calibrated and validated for estimating the hourly rate of daytime transpiration (Ed); a regression model was also fit to nocturnal transpiration (En). Regression models predicted Edas a function of vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and/or the radiation intercepted by the canopy. Leaf area index (LAI), which is required by all the equations, was modelled as function of crop thermal time (i.e. growing degree days). The PM model predicted Ed using a constant value of rl. Model calibration and validation were performed using independent data sets. The irrigation with FW or SW did not require a different calibration of transpiration models. Both PM formula and regression equations provided accurate estimates of Ed; fitted equations explained between 80% and96% of the variance in measured Ed. A linear regression of En against (LAI·VPD) accounted for 92% of measured En

Complicated Grief: What to Expect After the Coronavirus Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst public health crises in a century, with an expected amount of deaths of several million worldwide and an even bigger number of bereaved people left behind. Although the consequences of this crisis are still unknown, a significant number of bereaved people will arguably develop Complicated Grief (CG) in the aftermath of this emergency. If the current pandemic is unprecedented, the grief following the coronavirus outbreak is likely to share features with grief related to natural disasters and after Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treatment. The aim of this paper is to review the most prominent literature on CG after natural disasters, as well as after diseases requiring ICU treatment. This body of evidence may be useful for helping bereaved people during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and for drawing clinical attention to people at risk for CG

Effects of Nonthermal Plasma (NTP) on the Growth and Quality of Baby Leaf Lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. acephala Alef.) Cultivated in an Indoor Hydroponic Growing System

The aim of this research was to develop an effective protocol for the application of nonther-mal plasma (NTP) technology to the hydroponic nutrient solution, and to investigate its effects on the growth and quality of baby leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. acephala Alef.) grown in a hydroponic growing system (HGS) specifically designed for indoor home cultivation. Four HGSs were placed in separate growth chambers with temperature of 24 ± 1◦ C and relative humidity of 70 ± 5%). Lettuce plants were grown for nine days in nutrient solutions treated with NTP for 0 (control) to 120 s every hour. Results of the first experiments showed that the optimal operating time of NTP was 120 s h−1 . Fresh leaf biomass was increased by the 60 and 120 s NTP treatments compared to the control. Treating the nutrient solution with NTP also resulted in greater leaf content of total chloro-phylls, carotenoids, total phenols, and total antioxidant capacity. NTP also positively influenced chlorophyll a fluorescence in Photosystem I (PSI) and photosynthetic electron transport. These results revealed that the NTP treatment of the nutrient solution could improve the production and quality of hydroponically grown baby leaf lettuce

The Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS) model: A neurodevelopmental approach to mental disorders

A growing interest has been devoted to adult presentations of Autism Spectrum Disorders. This led to focus on comorbidity between ASD and other mental disorders, mainly (but notlimited to) Borderline Personality Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, Mood Disorders and Eating Disorders. The presence of any psychiatric comorbidity can mask ASD, in particular in subjects with no intellectual impairment. To address this psychopathological issue, studies adopting the AdAS questionnaire, an instrument with strong convergent validity with alternative dimensional measures of ASD and excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability, able to detect subthreshold forms of ASD in adulthood, have been reviewed. Based on these evidences, the Subthreshold Autism Spectrum Model has been developed,which includes threshold-level manifestations but also mild/atypical symptoms of the disorder, gender-specific features, behavioral manifestations and personality traits associated with ASD. This model encompasses, although not coinciding with, the Broad Autism Phenotype. This is a subthreshold form of autism described in the context of the neurodevelopmental trajectory that – starting from autistic traits – might lead to the broad range of mental disorders. Therefore, the Adult Autism Spectrum can be considered a transnosographic dimension. This approach should help to detect individual features for certain autistic cognitive and behavioural patterns that may predispose to other mental disorders

Is There a Major Role for Undetected Autism Spectrum Disorder with Childhood Trauma in a Patient with a Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, Self-Injuring, and Multiple Comorbidities?

This case report highlights the relevance of the consequences of trauma in a female patient with an undetected autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affected by bipolar disorder (BD) with multiple comorbidities. A 35-year-old woman with BD type II, binge eating disorder and panic disorder was admitted in the Inpatient Unit of the Psychiatric Clinic of the University of Pisa because of a recrudescence of depressive symptomatology, associated with increase of anxiety, noticeable ruminations, significant alteration in neurovegetative pattern, and serious suicide ideation. During the hospitalization, a diagnosis of ASD emerged besides a history of childhood trauma and affective dysregulation, marked impulsivity, feeling of emptiness, and self-harm behavior. The patient was assessed by the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale (RAADS-R), the Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS Spectrum), Trauma and Loss Spectrum (TALS-SR), and Ruminative Response Scale (RRS). Total scores of 38/50 in the AQ, 146/240 in the RAADS-R, 99/160 in the AdAS Spectrum emerged, compatible with ASD, 47/116 in the TALS-SR, and 64/88 in the RRS. We discuss the implications of the trauma she underwent during her childhood, in the sense that caused a complex posttraumatic disorder, a lifelong disease favored and boosted by the rumination tendency of high functioning ASD

Tele-Psychiatry Assessment of Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms in 100 Patients With Bipolar Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic Social-Distancing Measures in Italy

The acute phase of the COrona VIrus Disease-19 (COVID-19) emergency determined relevant stressful burdens in psychiatric patients, particularly those with chronic mental disorders such as bipolar disorder (BD), not only for the threat of being infected but also for the strict lock-down and social-distancing measures adopted, the economic uncertainty, and the limited possibilities to access psychiatric services. In this regard, telepsychiatry services represented a new important instrument that clinicians could adopt to monitor and support their patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate acute post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) reported by patients with BD followed in the framework of a telepsychiatry service, set up in the acute phase of the COVID-19 outbreak at the psychiatric clinic of the University of Pisa (Italy). A sample of 100 patients were consecutively enrolled and assessed by the IES-r, GAD-7, HAM-D, and YMRS. Patients reported a mean (±SD) IES-r total score of 18.15 ± 13.67. Further, 17% of the sample reported PTSS (IES-r > 32), 17% depressive symptoms (HAM-D > 17), and 26% anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 > 10). Work and financial difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety symptoms appeared to be positively associated with the development of acute PTSS. Acute manic symptoms appeared to be protective. The data of the present study suggest the relevance of monitoring patients with BD exposed to the burden related to the COVID-19 outbreak for prompt assessment and treatment of PTSS

Reduction of nutrient run-off by the use of coated slow-release fertilizers on two container-grown nursery crops

The agricultural district of Pistoia (Tuscany, Italy) is one of the most important sites in Europe for the production of Hardy Ornamental Nursery Stock (HONS). One of the main problems of this sector is the environmental impact of the pot cultivation, mainly due to an incorrect irrigation scheduling that leads to high nitrogen and phosphorus losses. The aim of this research has been to compare the effects of the traditional fertigation versus new fertilization strategies, based on the use of controlled slow-release fertilizers (CRFs), on plant growth and on nitrogen and phosphorus run-off in two container HONS species (Photinia × fraseri and Prunus laurocerasus). Every week, plant height, cumulate irrigation and drainage volume were measured on four replicates for each treatment and species. Every four weeks two average samples of drainage water and irrigation water for each treatment and species were analysed, determining total nitrogen and phosphorus content, in order to draft a water and nutrient balance. The three different fertilization strategies did not produce any relevant effect on the final plant height and all plants were ranked in the top quality market category. The data confirmed that the use of CRFs could contribute to a huge reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus run-off in the environment and could be a winning strategy for the fertilization of HONS in nitrate vulnerable zones

Innovative biorefinery process for the fractionation and conversion of giant reed to carotenoids and triglycerides

Innovative biorefinery process for the fractionation and conversion of giant reed to carotenoids and triglyceride

Chronotype is differentially associated with lifetime mood and panic-agoraphobic spectrum symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls.

Objective. Although the association between chronotype and mood disorders has been con- sistently reported, conversely, attempts to measure the association between chronotype and anxiety symptoms have generated inconsistent results. We aimed at evaluating whether chron- otype (assessed through subjective and objective measures) is associated with lifetime mood and panic-agoraphobic spectrum symptoms in healthy controls (HCs) and in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Methods. Overall, 173 subjects, patients with BD in euthymic phase (n = 76) and HC (n = 97), were evaluated through the reduced Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ), acti- graphy monitoring and mood and panic-agoraphobic spectrum self-report (MOODS-SR and PAS-SR). The discrepancy between objective (actigraphic-based) versus subjective (rMEQ- based) circadian typology was estimated through the Circadian Classification Discrepancy Index (CCDI). Results. rMEQ-based evening chronotype (ET) was associated with higher scores in MOODS- SR depressive and rhythmicity and vegetative functions domains in HC and BD.Both ET and morning chronotypes (MT) were associated with higher PAS-SR scores in BD only. Actigraphic-based MT was associated with higher MOODS-SR depressive scores in HC. Likewise, the discrepancy between actigraphic-based and rMEQ-based circadian typology was associated with depressive symptoms in HC only. Conclusion. Self-reported ET was consistently associated with mood symptoms, while associ- ations with panic-agoraphobic symptoms only emerged in BD and involved both extreme chronotypes. The discrepancy between the preferred circadian typology (rMEQ-based) and the actual one (actigraphic-based) could contribute to depressive symptoms in HC. These results pave the way for interventional studies targeting circadian typology in an attempt to prevent or treat mental health disorders