Tio2-photocatalyzed water depollution, a strong, yet selective depollution method: New evidence from the solar light induced degradation of glucocorticoids in freshwaters

The photodegradation of the most prescribed glucocorticoids (GCs) was studied under relevant environmental conditions in the presence of suspended TiO2. The considered drugs in-cluded cortisone (CORT), hydrocortisone (HCORT), betamethasone (BETA), dexamethasone (DEXA), prednisone (PRED), prednisolone (PREDLO), and triamcinolone (TRIAM). The experiments were carried out at concentrations (50 µg L−1) close to the real ones in freshwater samples (tap and river) under simulated and natural sunlight, and their decomposition took place very efficiently under natural sunlight. The reactions were monitored by high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). According to a pseudo-first-order decay, all drugs underwent degradation within 15 min, following different paths with respect to the direct photolysis. The observed kinetic constants, slightly lower in river than in tap water, varied from 0.29 to 0.61 min−1 with modest differences among GCs in the same matrix. Among main matrix macro-constituents, humic acids (HAs) were the most interfering species involved in GCs degradation. The photogenerated primary products were identified by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS, allowing to elucidate the general photochemical path of GCs. Finally, a comparison with literature data obtained using different advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) highlights the treatment efficiency with TiO2 /solar light for removing such persistent aquatic contaminants

Design for Ukraine’s heritage: engaging international students during times of war through design activism

The Russian invasion of Ukraine - which began in February 2022 - has caused, and continues to inflict, a substantial number of deaths and destruction of buildings, including museums, cultural institutions, and heritage. Despite the instruments of international law put in place to protect cultural heritage, alarming reports of the removal and displacement of museums’ collections from occupied areas continue to emerge. In the amid of this complex context, how can design researchers and educators prompt students towards the development of contributions for emergencies such as war? Can digital platforms be used to support such development? And how can these technologies be employed to safeguard and raise awareness about at-risk heritage? Drawing from the legacy of design activism and socially responsible design, the research aims to provide an answer to these questions, presenting the results of the Design for Ukraine’s Heritage (D4UH) experience. D4UH is an educational project, the first step of a broader strategy that has the goal of creating a network of European institutions and NGOs to envision and develop possible solutions to safeguard the Ukrainian museums’ heritage during and after times of war. D4UH pairs 20 Ukrainian museums with 20 international students from architecture and design schools, united by the desire to give support to the Ukrainian heritage. Partners, students and museums are asked to collaborate in the collection of videos, pictures and interviews to design the Virtual Museum of Ukrainian Museums, which acts as a statement of Ukrainian museums’ current situation. Offering the chance of engaging, researching, curating and designing the virtual exhibition’s narrative space, students and design educators can directly experience how the action of designing can tackle intricate cultural, social and political issues. The expected results of the project are, in fact, not merely to exhibit Ukrainian cultural heritage, but also to consider the relevance of museum institutions themselves as guardians of temporality to be interpreted and protected, especially in times of war, because of their contribution to the community’s progress

Glucocorticoids in freshwaters: Degradation by solar light and environmental toxicity of the photoproducts

The photodegradation process of seven glucocorticoids (GCs), cortisone (CORT), hydrocortisone (HCORT), betamethasone (BETA), dexamethasone (DEXA), prednisone (PRED), prednisolone (PREDLO) and triamcinolone (TRIAM) was studied in tap and river water at a concentration close to the environmental ones. All drugs underwent sunlight degradation according to a pseudo-first-order decay. The kinetic constants ranged from 0.00082 min−1 for CORT to 0.024 min−1 for PRED and PREDLO. The photo-generated products were identified by high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The main steps of the degradation pathways were the oxidative cleavage of the chain 17 for CORT, HCORT and the rearrangement of the cyclohexadiene moiety for the other GCs. The acute and chronic toxicity of GCs and of their photoproducts was assessed by the V. fischeri and P. subcapitata inhibition assays. The bioassays revealed no significant differences in toxicity between the parent compounds and their photoproducts, but the two organisms showed different responses. All samples produced a moderate acute toxic effect on V. fisheri and no one in the chronic tests. On the contrary, evident hormesis or eutrophic effect was produced on the algae, especially for long-term contact

TiO2 and N-TiO2 sepiolite and zeolite composites for photocatalytic removal of ofloxacin from polluted water

TiO2 sepiolite and zeolite composites, as well the corresponding N-doped composites, synthesized through a sol-gel method, were tested for the photocatalytic degradation of a widespread fluoroquinolone antibiotic (ofloxacin) under environmental conditions. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) analyses. A complete drug degradation occurred in 10-15 min in the presence of both TiO2 sepiolite and zeolite catalysts, and in 20-30 min with the N-doped ones. Sepiolite proved to be a better TiO2 support compared to the most common zeolite both in terms of adsorption capacity and photocatalytic efficiency in pollutants degradation. The influence of nitrogen doping (red shift from 3.2 to 3.0 eV) was also investigated. Although it was blurred by a marked increase of the particle dimension and thus a decrease of the specific surface area of the doped catalysts, it allowed a faster drug removal than direct photolysis. The photochemical paths and photoproducts were investigated, too

The environmental sustainability of the manor farm system

La ricerca, attualmente in via di sviluppo, mira a definire, in linea generale, quei criteri di sostenibilità ambientale, perseguiti in passato, per la costruzione degli edifici rurali pugliesi ed in particolare nelle masserie. Parte significante dello studio condotto investiga sul rapporto/dipendenza tra il costruito rurale e il paesaggio dove esso si incastona e al quale, dopo numerose stratificazioni, ha fornito una precisa identità, molte volte anche qualificandolo. La collocazione delle masserie sul territorio infatti, ha condizionato spesso la rete infrastrutturale e l’assetto di tutto il paesaggio agricolo. Più nel dettaglio, la ricerca è orientata a rintracciare le antiche logiche di localizzazione sul territorio, di sfruttamento dei caratteri propri del paesaggio agrario e a definire quali di esse derivino da una consapevolezza empirica e quali invece rispondano ad una progettazione codificata dalla trattatistica antica. Tali espedienti - utili soprattutto a limitare lo sfruttamento di risorse naturali ed economiche e all’ottenimento del migliore comfort termico interno degli ambienti – sono tutt’ora riscontrabili in alcune delle masserie prese in esame, la maggior parte delle quali versano oggi, purtroppo, in grave stato di abbandono.The research, at the moment under development, it generally aims to define those criteria of environmental sustainability, pursued from the past, for the construction of rural buildings in Puglia and particularly in the farmstead. The significant part of the study investigates the relationship / dependence between the rural building and the landscape where embeds itself and to which, after many stratifications, it provided a clear identity, sometimes even characterizing it positively. The position of the farmstead on the territory, in fact, has often conditioned the infrastructural network and the structuring of the agricultural landscape. More in detail, the research aims to trace the ancient logic of localization on the territory and exploitation of the agricultural landscape character in the Apulian rural architecture and to define which of them derive from an empirical knowledge and which respond to an already encoded design. These constructive expedients – are especially useful to obtaining an effective passive cooling, to promote the natural ventilation and to built an ingenious systems for the recovery and the preservation of rainwater - are still found in some of the farmsteads examined, most of whom are, today, in a serious state of neglect