Experimental and Computational Study of Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) of Omega-3 Components from Fish Oil in Structured Packing

The benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their implications for human health have gained scientific attention to their extraction from biological sources, not being produced by the human body. Most known industrial productions of omega-3 fatty acids often work under operating conditions that may degrade these components and they often use toxic or flammable solvents that can adversely affect human health. In this sense, innovative and interesting prospects are provided by Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE). In this work, two parallel studies were carried out: an experimental activity in a laboratory apparatus using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) and preliminary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, limited to the hydrodynamic aspects of the process. In the experimental apparatus a Sulzer® EX structured packing, made up of corrugated metal gauze sheets, was used as the column filler. The study made it possible to identify the optimal operating conditions leading to an enrichment of the starting mixture in Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), target products. CFD simulations were based on the Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach, suitable to the present complex multiphase system with two phases in close contact (transesterified fish oil and scCO2). The meatus created by the corrugations of the metal gauze was chosen as the calculation domain representative of the system. The computations were performed by the commercial software Ansys Fluent®, which allowed the prediction of the hydrodynamic evolution of the system through transient simulations. CFD predictions were in qualitative agreement with the experimental result

Kinetic of the Sewage Treatment: The Consumption of Organic Carbon of The Microalga Chlorella sp

As well known, microalgae are eukaryotic or procaryotic microorganisms able to photosynthesize, namely transforming inorganic substrates and sun light into organic compounds and chemical energy. They result very promising in treating civil wastewaters thanks to their ability to employ nitrates and phosphates as nutrients (Lima et al., 2019). Autotrophic microalgae are, anyway, not useful in decreasing the organic carbon content of wastewaters, and for this reason, they cooperate with heterotrophic bacteria. The usefulness of microalgaebacteria consortia in treating wastewaters and the ratio of their inoculum was investigated in a previous work (Lima, 2022a). Contrarily to autotrophic microalgae, mixotrophic microalgae are able to decrease the organic content of the matrix in which they are grown. In this work, we preliminarily investigated the capability of the autochthonous microalga Chlorella sp. CW2 to grow in mixotrophy and decrease the organic content of the artificial wastewater in which they are grown. Several batch cultivations were performed with glucose in different concentrations. Kinetic parameters were obtained and employed to determine the dilution rate (D) ideal for the abatement of glucose from the artificial wastewater

Kinetic of the Sewage Treatment: The Consumption of Organic Carbon of The Microalga Chlorella sp.

As well known, microalgae are eukaryotic or procaryotic microorganisms able to photosynthesize, namely transforming inorganic substrates and sun light into organic compounds and chemical energy. They result very promising in treating civil wastewaters thanks to their ability to employ nitrates and phosphates as nutrients (Lima et al., 2019). Autotrophic microalgae are, anyway, not useful in decreasing the organic carbon content of wastewaters, and for this reason, they cooperate with heterotrophic bacteria. The usefulness of microalgae-bacteria consortia in treating wastewaters and the ratio of their inoculum was investigated in a previous work (Lima, 2022a). Contrarily to autotrophic microalgae, mixotrophic microalgae are able to decrease the organic content of the matrix in which they are grown. In this work, we preliminarily investigated the capability of the autochthonous microalga Chlorella sp. CW2 to grow in mixotrophy and decrease the organic content of the artificial wastewater in which they are grown. Several batch cultivations were performed with glucose in different concentrations. Kinetic parameters were obtained and employed to determine the dilution rate (D) ideal for the abatement of glucose from the artificial wastewater

The Bostrichidae of the Maltese Islands (Coleoptera)

The Bostrichidae of the Maltese Islands are reviewed. Ten species are recorded with certainty from this Archipelago, of which 6 namely, Trogoxylon impressum (Comolli, 1837), Amphicerus bimaculatus (A.G. Olivier, 1790), Heterobostrychus aequalis (Waterhouse, 1884), Sinoxylon unidentatum (Fabricius, 1801), Xyloperthella picea (A.G. Olivier, 1790) and Apate monachus Fabricius, 1775 are recorded for the first time. Two of the mentioned species (H. aequalis and S. unidentatum) are alien and recorded only on the basis of single captures and the possible establishment of these species is discussed. Earlier records of Scobicia pustulata (Fabricius, 1801) from Malta are incorrect and should be attributed to S. chevrieri (A. Villa & J.B. Villa, 1835). A zoogeographical analysis and an updated checklist of the 12 species of Bostrichidae recorded from the Maltese Islands and neighbouring Sicilian islands (Pantelleria, Linosa and Lampedusa) are also provided. Rhizopertha dominica (Fabricius, 1792) form granulipennis Lesne in Beeson & Bhatia, 1937 from Uttarakhand (northern India) was overlooked by almost all subsequent authors. Its history is summarized and the following new synonymy is established: Rhizopertha dominica (Fabricius, 1792) form granulipennis Lesne in Beeson & Bhatia, 1937 = Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius, 1792), syn. n. Finally, records of Amphicerus bimaculatus from Azerbaijan, of Bostrichus capucinus (Linnaeus, 1758) from Jordan and Syria, of Scobicia chevrieri from Jordan and Italy, of Xyloperthella picea from Italy, and of Apate monachus from Corsica (France) and Italy, are also provided.peer-reviewe

Wastewater-based epidemiology for early warning of SARS-COV-2 circulation: A pilot study conducted in Sicily, Italy

There is increasing evidence of the use of wastewater-based epidemiology to integrate conventional monitoring assessing disease symptoms and signs of viruses in a specific territory. We present the results of SARS-CoV-2 environmental surveillance activity in wastewater samples collected between September 2020 and July 2021 in 9 wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) located in central and western Sicily, serving over 570,000 residents. The presence of SARS-CoV-2, determined in 206 wastewater samples using RT-qPCR assays, was correlated with the notified and geo-referenced cases on the areas served by the WTPs in the same study period. Overall, 51% of wastewater samples were positive. Samples were correlated with 33,807 SARS-CoV-2 cases, reported in 4 epidemic waves, with a cumulative prevalence of 5.9% among Sicilian residents. The results suggest that the daily prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 active cases was statistically significant and higher in areas with SARS-CoV-2 positive wastewater samples. According to these findings, the proposed method achieves a good sensitivity profile (78.3%) in areas with moderate or high viral circulation (≥133 cases/100,000 residents) and may represent a useful tool in the management of epidemics based on an environmental approach, although it is necessary to improve the accuracy of the process

ClimateFish: A Collaborative Database to Track the Abundance of Selected Coastal Fish Species as Candidate Indicators of Climate Change in the Mediterranean Sea

Under the effects of global warming, many animals and plants are undergoing rapid distribution shifts. These changes can be particularly rapid in marine fishes, and many species have responded markedly to recent increases in sea temperature. ClimateFish is an open-access database, which collates abundance data for 7 Mediterranean indigenous and 8 non-indigenous fishes, proposed as candidate indicators of climate change. These species have been selected by a network of Mediterranean scientists based on their wide distribution, responsiveness to temperature conditions and easy identification. Data are periodically collected according to a standard visual census protocol in four different depth layers. At present, the database collates data on a total number of 101'771 observed individuals belonging to the 15 target species. Counts were realized along 3142 transects carried out in 7 Mediterranean countries between 2009 and 2021. This database, associated with climate data, offers new opportunities to investigate spatiotemporal effects of climate change and to test the effectiveness of each selected indicator. Data are available at https://doi.org/10.17882/86784.The Mediterranean ClimateFish initiative was initially conceived by the international basin wide monitoring program CIESM Tropical Signals (funded by the Albert II of Monaco Foundation) and subsequently supported by the Interreg Med Programme (Projects: MPA-ADAPT, grant number 1MED15_3.2_M2_337 and MPA Engage, grant number 5MED18_3.2_M23_007), 85% co funded by the European Regional Development Fund

Unpublished Mediterranean records of marine alien and cryptogenic species

Good datasets of geo-referenced records of alien species are a prerequisite for assessing the spatio-temporal dynamics of biological invasions, their invasive potential, and the magnitude of their impacts. However, with the exception of first records on a country level or wider regions, observations of species presence tend to remain unpublished, buried in scattered repositories or in the personal databases of experts. Through an initiative to collect, harmonize and make such unpublished data for marine alien and cryptogenic species in the Mediterranean Sea available, a large dataset comprising 5376 records was created. It includes records of 239 alien or cryptogenic taxa (192 Animalia, 24 Plantae, 23 Chromista) from 19 countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. In terms of records, the most reported Phyla in descending order were Chordata, Mollusca, Chlorophyta, Arthropoda, and Rhodophyta. The most recorded species was Caulerpa cylindracea, followed by Siganus luridus, Magallana sp. (cf. gigas or angulata) and Pterois miles. The dataset includes records from 1972 to 2020, with the highest number of records observed in 2018. Among the records of the dataset, Dictyota acutiloba is a first record for the Mediterranean Sea. Nine first country records are also included: the alga Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla, the cube boxfish Ostracion cubicus, and the cleaner shrimp Urocaridella pulchella from Israel; the sponge Paraleucilla magna from Libya and Slovenia; the lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus from Cyprus; the bryozoan Celleporaria vermiformis and the polychaetes Prionospio depauperata and Notomastus aberans from Malta

Non-indigenous species refined national baseline inventories : A synthesis in the context of the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Refined baseline inventories of non-indigenous species (NIS) are set per European Union Member State (MS), in the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The inventories are based on the initial assessment of the MSFD (2012) and the updated data of the European Alien Species Information Network, in collaboration with NIS experts appointed by the MSs. The analysis revealed that a large number of NIS was not reported from the initial assessments. Moreover, several NIS initially listed are currently considered as native in Europe or were proven to be historical misreportings. The refined baseline inventories constitute a milestone for the MSFD Descriptor 2 implementation, providing an improved basis for reporting new NIS introductions, facilitating the MSFD D2 assessment. In addition, the inventories can help MSs in the establishment of monitoring systems of targeted NIS, and foster cooperation on monitoring of NIS across or within shared marine subregions. Highlights • Refined MSFD baseline inventories of non-indigenous species (NIS) are set in EU. • The inventories are given per EU Member State (MS) and MSFD subregion up to 2012. • The NIS lists provide a basis for reporting new NIS introductions in EU after 2012. • Our work constitutes a milestone for the MSFD Descriptor 2 implementation

Non-indigenous species refined national baseline inventories: A synthesis in the context of the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Refined baseline inventories of non-indigenous species (NIS) are set per European Union Member State (MS), in the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The inventories are based on the initial assessment of the MSFD (2012) and the updated data of the European Alien Species Information Network, in collaboration with NIS experts appointed by the MSs. The analysis revealed that a large number of NIS was not reported from the initial assessments. Moreover, several NIS initially listed are currently considered as native in Europe or were proven to be historical misreportings. The refined baseline inventories constitute a milestone for the MSFD Descriptor 2 implementation, providing an improved basis for reporting new NIS introductions, facilitating the MSFD D2 assessment. In addition, the inventories can help MSs in the establishment of monitoring systems of targeted NIS, and foster cooperation on monitoring of NIS across or within shared marine subregions.Henn Ojaveer and Maiju Lehtiniemi wish to acknowledge the project COMPLETE (Completing management options in the Baltic Sea region to reduce risk of invasive species introduction by shipping), co-financed by the European Union's funding Programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region (European Regional Development Fund). João Canning-Clode was supported by a starting grant in the framework of the 2014 FCT Investigator Programme (IF/01606/2014/CP1230/CT0001) and wish to acknowledge the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2019 granted to MARE

Unpublished Mediterranean and Black Sea records of marine alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species

To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia).Stelios Katsanevakis, Michail Ragkousis, Maria Sini, Markos Digenis and Vasilis Gerovasileiou were supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under the “First Call for HFRI Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant” (Project ALAS – “ALiens in the Aegean – a Sea under siege” (Katsanevakis et al. 2020b); Project Number: HFRI-FM17-1597). Konstantinos Tsirintanis was co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund-ESF) through the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning”, 2014-2020, in the context of the Act “Enhancing Human Resources Research Potential by undertaking a Doctoral Research” Sub-action 2: IKY Scholarship Programme for PhD candidates in the Greek Universities. Maria Zotou was supported by the project “Coastal Environment Observatory and Risk Management in Island Regions AEGIS+” (MIS 5047038), implemented within the Operational Programme “Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation” (NSRF 2014-2020), co financed by the Hellenic Government (Ministry of Development and Investments) and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund). Razy Hoffman was supported by Yad-Hanadiv Foundation, through the Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Israel Nature and Parks Authority, an integrated program for establishing biological baselines and monitoring protocols for marine reserves in the Israeli Mediterranean Sea (Grant #10669). Tatiana Begun, Adrian Teaca and Mihaela Muresan were supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 BRIDGE-BS project under grant agreement no. 101000240. Fiona Tomas was supported by the project “Invasion of the tropical alga Halimeda incrassata in the Balearic Islands: ecology and invasion dynamics (AAEE119/2017)”, funded by the Vicepresidencia y Consejería de Innovación, Investigación y Turismo del Govern de les Illes Balears, with support from the European Union and FEDER funds, and the project “Una nueva alga invasora en el Mediterráneo: invasibilidad, detección y erradicación del alga tropical Halimeda incrassata (INVHALI)”, funded by the Fundación Biodiversidad, del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico. Simonetta Fraschetti, Laura Tamburello, Antonia Chiarore were supported by the project PO FEAMP 2014-2020 - DRD n. 35/2019, “Innovazione, sviluppo e sostenibilità nel settore della pesca e dell'acquacoltura per la Regione Campania” (ISSPA 2.51) and the EU EASME - EMFF (Sustainable Blue Econ-omy) Project AFRIMED (http://afrimed-project.eu/, grant agreement N. 789059). Carlos Jimenez, Louis Hadjioannou, Vasilis Resaikos, Valentina Fossati, Magdalene Papatheodoulou, and Antonis Petrou were supported by MedPan Small Projects, Mava, and LIFE-IP. Louis Hadjioannou, Manos L. Moraitis and Neophytos Agrotis received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program within the framework of the CMMI/MaRITeC-X project under grant agreement No. 857586. Ernesto Azzurro was supported by the project USEIt - Utilizzo di Sinergie operative per la gestione integrata specie aliene Invasive in Italia, funded by the research programme @CNR. Antonietta Rosso and Francesco Sciuto were supported by the University of Catania through “PiaCeRi-Piano Incentivi per la Ricerca di Ateneo 2020–22 linea di intervento 2.” This is the Catania Paleoecological Research Group contribution n. 484. Diego K. Kersting was supported by the Beatriu de Pinós programme funded by the Secretary of Universities and Research (Government of Catalonia) and the Horizon 2020 programme of research and innovation of the European Union under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 801370. Francesco Tiralongo was supported by the AlienFish project of Ente Fauna Marina Mediterranea (Scientific Organization for Research and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity, 96012 Avola, Italy), a citizen science project for monitoring and studying rare and non-indigenous fish in Italian waters. Adriana Vella, was supported by funds through the BioCon_Innovate Research Excellence Grant from the University of Malta awarded to her. Noel Vella was supported by REACH HIGH Scholars Programme-Post Doctoral Grant for the FINS project. Some of the records provided by Victor Surugiu were obtained during surveys carried out within the framework of the project “Adequate management of invasive species in Romania, in accordance with EU Regulation 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species”, SMIS 2014+ 120008, coordinated by the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests in partnership with the University of Bucharest (2018–2022). Alan Deidun and Alessio Marrone were supported by the “Spot The Alien” citizen science campaign for the monitoring of the Alien species in the Maltese archipelago and by the Interreg Italia-Malta Harmony project. The authors from the National Institute of Biology (Slovenia) acknowledge the financial support of the Slovenian Research Agency (Research Core Funding No. P1-0237) and of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (project “Survey of the species richness and abundance of alien species in the Slovenian Sea”). Emanuele Mancini and Fabio Collepardo Coccia were supported by the project PO-FEAMP 2014-2020 “BIOBLITZ: research, knowledge and participation for the sustainable management of marine resources (BioBlitz Blu 2020)” coordinated by CURSA for MIPAAF, the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, Measure 1.40 - Protection and restoration of biodiversity and marine ecosystems and compensation schemes in the context of sustainable fishing activities. Daniele Grech was supported by the PO-FEAMP 2014-2020 project ECOGESTOCK “Approccio ECOsistemico per la tutela e la GEStione delle risorse biologiche e STOCK ittici nelle acque interne”, the citizen science project Progetto Fucales: chi le ha viste? and the Paralenz Every dive counts sponsor. Jamila Rizgalla was supported by the project Snowball for the monitoring of alien species in Libyan waters له اهتفش له اهتدطصا ؟) have you seen it have you fished it?). Gerasimos Kondylatos and Dimitrios Mavrouleas were supported by the project “EXPLIAS” (MIS (ΟΠΣ): 5049912), design and piloting methods of commercial exploitation of invasive alien species with a view to contributing to their population control, coordinated by the National Technical University of Athens with the collaboration of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research and the University of the Aegean and co-founded by Greece and the European Union. G. Kondylatos and Savvas Nikolidakis were supported by the project “SAMOS” (ID CODE: 32.2072004/001), a study for a submarine productive park in Marathokampos of Samos. Paraskevi K. Karachle, Aikaterini Dogrammatzi, Giorgos A. Apostolopoulos, Kassiani Konida and Melina Nalmpanti were supported by the project “4ALIEN: Biology and the potential economic exploitation of four alien species in the Hellenic Seas”, funded by NRSF 2017-2020 (MIS (ΟΠΣ): 5049511). Fabio Crocetta and Riccardo Virgili were partially funded by the project PO FEAMP Campania 2014–2020, DRD n. 35 of 15th March 2018, Innovazione, sviluppo e sostenibilità nel settore della pesca e dell’acquacoltura per la regione Campania, Misura 2.51, WP5, Task 5.5 Presenza e distribuzione di specie non indigene del macrozoobenthos e del necton in Campania. Michel Bariche was partially funded by the University Research Board of the American University of Beirut (DDF 103951/2592). Constantinos G. Georgiadis, Dimitra Lida Rammou, Paschalis Papadamakis and Sotiris Orfanidis were supported by the MSFD monitoring program. Sonia Smeraldo was supported by the MPA-Engage project, led by the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Spanish National Research Council and funded by the Interreg MED program. Evgeniia Karpova acknowledge that the publication of this article was in part carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the FRC IBSS “Patterns of Formation and Anthropogenic Transformation of Biodiversity and Bioresources of the Azov– Black Sea Basin and Other Regions of the World Ocean” (No. 121030100028-0). Elena Slynko’s work was carried out within the framework of a State Assignment no. 121051100109-1 of IBIW RAS. Manuela Falautano and Luca Castriota were supported by ISPRA citizen science campaigns for the monitoring of alien species through the dedicated institutional project ([email protected]). María Altamirano was supported by the project RUGULOPTERYX funded by Fundación Biodiversidad-Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el reto Demográfico (Spain) and the project UMA20-FEDERJA-006 with support from the European Union and FEDER funds and Junta de Andalucía. Records provided by L. Mangialajo were collected in the framework of projects funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, by the European Commission (AFRIMED, http://afrimed-project.eu/, grant agreement N. 789059) and by the Académie 3 de l’Université Côte d’Azur (projet CONVOST).Peer reviewe