The treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) as a possible source of micro- and nano-plastics and bioplastics in agroecosystems: a review

AbstractPlastics fragmentation into smaller debris, namely, micro- and nano-plastics (MPs and NPs), is a matter of global concern because of their wide distribution in terrestrial and marine environments. The latest research has focused mainly on aquatic ecosystems, and fragmentation of bioplastics into micro- and nano-particles (MBPs and NBPs) is not considered. The distribution, concentration, fate and major source of MPs, NPS, MBPs and NBPs in agroecosystems still need to be understood. The use of composts and sewage sludge from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) treatment plants as soil amendments is likely to represent a major input of these debris. The present review provides insights into the current evidence of pollution from micro- and nano-particles of both fossil- and bio-origin in the OFMSW treatment, and aims at evaluating if the recycling of organic waste and its application as a soil fertilizer outweigh the risk of pollution in terrestrial environments. Huge unpredictability exists due to the limited numbers of data on their quantification in each source of possible solution. Indeed, the major hurdles arise from the difficult to quantify the micro-, especially the nano-, particles and subsequently assess the concentrations in the environments, as well as bioaccumulation risks, and toxic effects on organisms. Graphical Abstrac

Agronomical valorization of eluates from the industrial production of microorganisms: Chemical, microbiological, and ecotoxicological assessment of a novel putative biostimulant

Plant Biostimulants (BSs) are a valid supplement to be considered for the integration of conventional fertilization practices. Research in the BS field keeps providing alternative products of various origin, which can be employed in organic and conventional agriculture. In this study, we investigated the biostimulant activity of the eluate obtained as a by-product from the industrial production of lactic acid bacteria on bare agricultural soil. Eluates utilization is in line with the circular economy principle, creating economical value for an industrial waste product. The research focused on the study of physical, chemical, biochemical, and microbiological changes occurring in agricultural soil treated with the biowaste eluate, applied at three different dosages. The final aim was to demonstrate if, and to what extent, the application of the eluate improved soil quality parameters and enhanced the presence of beneficial soil-borne microbial communities. Results indicate that a single application at the two lower dosages does not have a pronounced effect on the soil chemical parameters tested, and neither on the biochemical proprieties. Only the higher dosage applied reported an improvement in the enzymatic activities of beta-glucosidase and urease and in the chemical composition, showing a higher content of total, nitric and ammonia N, total K, and higher humification rate. On the other hand, microbial communities were strongly influenced at all dosages, showing a decrease in the bacterial biodiversity and an increase in the fungal biodiversity. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that some Operative Taxonomic Units (OTUs) promoted by the eluate application, belong to known plant growth promoting microbes. Some other OTUs, negatively influenced were attributed to known plant pathogens, mainly Fusarium spp. Finally, the ecotoxicological parameters were also determined and allowed to establish that no toxic effect occurred upon eluate applications onto soil

LABs Fermentation Side-Product Positively Influences Rhizosphere and Plant Growth in Greenhouse Lettuce and Tomatoes

New agronomical policies aim to achieve greener agricultural systems, sustainable fertilizers and fungicides, a reduction in Greenhouse gases (GHG), and an increase in circular economic models. In this context, new solutions are needed for the market, but it is necessary to carefully assess both their efficacy and their ecological impact. Previously, we reported the biostimulatory activity on soil microbiome for a side-product from Lactic Acid Bacteria (LABs) fermentation: a concentrated post-centrifugation eluate. In the present study, we investigated whether this solution could partially substitute mineral N (N70% + N30% from eluate) in a fertigation (N100% vs. N70%) regime for tomato and lettuce under greenhouse conditions. The impact of the application was investigated through plant physiological parameters (number and weight of ripened fruits, shoots, and roots biomass) and biodiversity of the rhizosphere microbial composition of bacteria and fungi (High-Throughput Sequencing—HTS). The eluate (i) enhanced the plant canopy in lettuce; (ii) increased the shoot/root biomass ratio in both tomato and lettuce; and (iii) increased the harvest and delayed fruit ripening in tomato. Moreover, we found a strong correlation between the eluate and the enrichment for OTUs of plant-growth-promoting microbes (PGPMs) such as Sphingomonas sediminicola, Knoellia subterranean, and Funneliformis mosseae. These findings suggest that integrating the eluate was beneficial for the plant growth, performance, and yield in both tomato and lettuce, and additionally, it enriched specialized functional microbial communities in the rhizosphere. Further studies will investigate the underlying mechanisms regulating the selective activity of the eluate toward PGPMs and its biostimulatory activity towards target crops

Automatic localization of the hippocampal region in MR images to asses early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease in MCI patients

A trophy and other brain changes, which are typical of aging, generate wide inter-individual variability of morphology in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), including the hippocampal formation. Starting from a sample population of 133 MR images we developed a procedure that extracts from each MR two sub images, containing the hippocampal formations plus a portion of the adjacent tissues and cavities. Then, a small number of templates is selected among the previously obtained sub images, able to describe the morphological variability present in the whole population. Finally an automatic procedure is prepared which, on the basis of the given set of templates, is able to find both hippocampal formations in any new MR image. MR images ranging from normalcy to extreme atrophy can be successfully processed. The proposed approach, besides being a preliminary step towards the unsupervised segmentation of the hippocampus, extracts from the MR image information useful for diagnostic purposes and, in particular, could give the possibility of performing morphometric studies on the media] temporal lobe in an automated way. The automated analysis of MTL atrophy in the segmented volume is readily applied to the early assessment of Alzheimer Disease (AD), leading to discriminating converters from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to AD with an average three years follow-up. This procedure can quickly and reliably provide additional information in early diagnosis of AD

Automatic temporal lobe atrophy assessment in prodromal AD: Data from the DESCRIPA study

none14siChincarini, Andrea; Bosco, Paolo; Gemme, Gianluca; Esposito, Mario; Rei, Luca; Squarcia, Sandro; Bellotti, Roberto; Minthon, Lennart; Frisoni, Giovanni; Scheltens, Philip; Frölich, Lutz; Soininen, Hilkka; Visser, Pieter-Jelle; Nobili, FlavioChincarini, Andrea; Bosco, Paolo; Gemme, Gianluca; Esposito, Mario; Rei, Luca; Squarcia, Sandro; Bellotti, Roberto; Minthon, Lennart; Frisoni, Giovanni; Scheltens, Philip; Frölich, Lutz; Soininen, Hilkka; Visser, Pieter Jelle; Nobili, FLAVIO MARIAN

Local MRI analysis approach in the diagnosis of early and prodromal Alzheimer's disease

Medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy is one of the key biomarkers to detect early neurodegenerative changes in the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is active research aimed at identifying automated methodologies able to extract accurate classification indexes from T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI). Such indexes should be fit for identifying AD patients as early as possible

Morphodynamics of coastal areas represented in the new geomorphologic map of Italy: Draw the landforms of the past to outline the future

In the framework of the revision of Italian geomorphological legend (CARG Project) published in 1994 by the National Geological Service, the AIGeo-Working Group Coastal Morphodynamic (WGCM) dealt with the revision of the legend concerning the landforms of the coast. The aims of the work were the updating of the symbology on the basis of the post-1994 results in the geomorphological researches and creating a legend more vocated to the solution of the problems of applied geomorphology and more suitable to be managed in GIS environment. The WGCM started from the critical analysis of the classifications of coastal landforms proposed during the last century and it continued through a scientific discussion on the work that the members of the group performed by means of 12 case studies in which a correlation between landforms, processes and, dynamics was made. The geomorphological legend proposed by the WGCM has to be considered as a starting point and a work in progress. It remains, indeed, open so that new data can be added and updated as required. Besides, the WGCM tried to contribute to the morphodynamic classification of the coasts around the Mediterranean basin

Automatic analysis of medial temporal lobe atrophy from structural MRIs for the early assessment of Alzheimer disease

The purpose of this study is to develop a software for the extraction of the hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe (MTL) regions from T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images with no interactive input from the user, to introduce a novel statistical indicator, computed on the intensities in the automatically extracted MTL regions, which measures atrophy, and to evaluate the accuracy of the newly developed intensity-based measure of MTL atrophy to (a) distinguish between patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and elderly controls by using established criteria for patients with AD and aMCI as the reference standard and (b) infer about the clinical outcome of aMCI patients. For the development of the software, the study included 61 patients with mild AD (17 men, 44 women; mean age±standard deviation (SD), 75.8 years±7.8; Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, 24.1±3.1), 42 patients with aMCI (11 men, 31 women; mean age±SD, 75.2 years±4.9; MMSE score, 27.9±1.9), and 30 elderly healthy controls (10 men, 20 women; mean age±SD, 74.7 years±5.2; MMSE score, 29.1±0.8). For the evaluation of the statistical indicator, 150 patients with mild AD (62 men, 88 women; mean age±SD, 76.3 years±5.8; MMSE score, 23.2±4.1), 247 patients with aMCI (143 men, 104 women; mean age±SD, 75.3 years±6.7; MMSE score, 27.0±1.8), and 135 elderly healthy controls (61 men, 74 women; mean age±SD, 76.4 years±6.1). Fifty aMCI patients were evaluated every 6 months over a 3 year period to assess conversion to AD. For each participant, two subimages of the MTL regions were automatically extracted from T1-weighted MR images with high spatial resolution. An intensity-based MTL atrophy measure was found to separate control, MCI, and AD cohorts. Group differences wereassessed by using two-sample t test. Individual classification was analyzed by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Compared to controls, significant differences in the intensity-based MTL atrophy measure were detected in both groups of patients (AD vs controls, 0.28±0.03 vs 0.34±0.03, P<0.001; aMCI vs controls, 0.31±0.03 vs 0.34±0.03, P<0.001). Moreover, the subgroup of aMCI converters was significantly different from controls (0.27±0.034 vs 0.34±0.03, P<0.001). Regarding the ROC curve for intergroup discrimination, the area under the curve was 0.863 for AD patients vs controls, 0.746 for all aMCI patients vs controls, and 0.880 for aMCI converters vs controls. With specificity set at 85%, the sensitivity was 74% for AD vs controls, 45% for aMCI vs controls, and 83% for aMCI converters vs controls. The automated analysis of MTL atrophy in the segmented volume is applied to the early assessment of AD, leading to the discrimination of aMCI converters with an average 3 year follow-up. This procedure can provide additional useful information in the early diagnosis of AD