Identification of most relevant variables and processes to assess the environmental impacts of remediation technologies along their life cycles: Focus on the waste management scenarios

The application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to remediation technologies is still not a consolidated practice and it is especially lacking in the assessment of the environmental impacts associated to the management of the waste produced during remediation. This study aims at addressing these methodological gaps by identifying the typologies of waste typically generated during the remediation of a contaminated site and classifying them according to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes. Thereafter, the following steps are: (i) the identification of the waste management scenarios (WMSs) applicable to the identified waste typologies, (ii) the selection of Life Cycle Assessment processes that can be used to assess the impacts of the different WMSs and (iii) the quantification and comparison of the environmental impacts caused by the different WMSs applied considering hazardousness levels to which the same waste may belong in relation to its contamination levels and characteristics: inert, non-hazardous and hazardous waste (Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC). As results, a matrix reporting the classes and typologies of waste, their EWC codes, their different WMSs and the suitable LCA processes from the Ecoinvent database that can be applied to each EWC within a specific WMS, has been developed. Additionally, the comparative assessment of the impacts caused by the Ecoinvent processes applicable to the same waste typology within the same WMS has been performed to support the selection of the most appropriate WMS case by case

The Relationship between Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Objective and Subjective Memory in Older Age.

While objective memory performance in older adults was primarily shown to be affected by education as indicator of life course socioeconomic conditions, other life course socioeconomic conditions seem to relate to subjective memory complaints. However, studies differ in which life course stages were investigated. Moreover, studies have explored these effects in an isolated way, but have not yet investigated their unique effect when considering several stages of the life course simultaneously. This study, therefore, examined the respective influence of socioeconomic conditions from childhood up to late-life on prospective memory (PM) performance as an objective indicator of everyday memory as well as on subjective memory complaints (SMC) in older age using structural equation modeling. Data came from two waves of the Vivre-Leben-Vivere aging study (n=993, Mage=80.56). The results indicate that only socioeconomic conditions in adulthood significantly predicted late-life PM performance. PM performance was also predicted by age and self-rated health. In contrast, SMC in older age were not predicted by socioeconomic conditions at any stage of the life course but were predicted by level of depression. In line with the cognitive reserve hypothesis, present results highlight the significance of education and occupation (adulthood socioeconomic conditions) for cognitive functioning in later life

Valorisation of Ginger and Turmeric Peels as Source of Natural Antioxidants

The antioxidant activity of ginger and turmeric powders derived from freeze-dried rhizomes and peels as well as commercial spices has been evaluated by two spectrophotometric assays based on electron transfer such as DPPH and FRAP. The phenolic characterization has been also carried out by detecting total polyphenols through Folin-Ciocalteu method and HPLC analyzing 6-gingerol and curcumin. Ginger and turmeric peels showed greater antioxidant activity than commercial powders because of their higher phenolic yields. Hence, ginger and turmeric peels can be considered a rich source of phytochemicals which contribute to the antioxidant effects of these agro-food wastes

Evaluation of the antioxidant activity and oxidative stability in ginger- and turmeric-enriched soybean oils

The food industry is currently moving towards replacing synthetic additives such as TBHQ, BHA, and BHT with natural antioxidants to prevent the lipid oxidation in oils and fats. In this study, the commercial and freeze-dried powders of ginger and turmeric rhizomes and peels were added to the soybean oil at the concentration of 10% (w/w). After that, the exhaustive powders were subjected to other two recovery cycles. The antioxidant activity and oxidative stability of ginger- and turmeric-enriched soybean oils were evaluated respectively by spectrophotometric and RANCIMAT methods. The phenolic characterization has been also carried out by detecting total polyphenols through Folin-Ciocalteu assay and HPLC analysing 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol and curcumin. Based on the correlation studies, the antioxidant activity as well as oxidative stability, which non-linearly decreased over cycles, linearly increased with increasing phenolic contents. The soybean oils containing freeze-dried peels achieved the best antioxidant results as a consequence of their enrichment in 6-gingerol and curcumin, the main bioactive compounds of respectively ginger and turmeric. Hence, ginger and turmeric can be proposed as a valid source of natural antioxidants for extending the shelf-life of oils and fats. Moreover, the valorisation of peels is useful to convert these agricultural wastes into value-added products

Water extraction: an ecofriendly strategy to recover antioxidants from ginger and turmeric peels

Messa a punto di un processo di estrazione in acqua per recuperare antiossidanti dalle bucce di zenzero e curcum

Evaluation of physical and antioxidant properties of O/W emulsions based on turmeric-enriched soybean oil and carrot juice

Le emulsioni alimentari rappresentano valide strategie per arricchire la dieta con molecole bioattive. Il presente lavoro si \ue8 focalizzato sulla valutazione delle propriet\ue0 fisico-chimiche e antiossidanti di emulsioni O/A a base di olio di soia alla curcuma e succo di carota in presenza di emulsionanti e/o addensanti e/o acidulanti

Sustainability assessment of two digestate treatments: A comparative life cycle assessment

Digestate derived from the anaerobic digestion of biowaste is a nutrient-rich substance whose direct use on land is not permitted by the Italian Legislation. The possibility of recovering its nutrients can be given by the processes of stabilisation and sanitation required by the Italian Legislation. Among these processes, composting and calcium hydrolysis with neutralization (CHN) permit to obtain useful soil improvers like compost and defecation gypsum (DG). In this paper a gate-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of these two processes is performed to evaluate their relative environmental sustainability, by using the ReCiPe H midpoint and endpoint impact assessment methods. The functional units (FUs) used in this analysis are one tonne of digestate treated by each process, and the amount of compost and DG necessary to amend one hectare of maize cultivation. Data used in the assessment were collected from plants located in Northern Italy and were referred to one year of operation. The processes of transport and spreading on land of the final products were not considered. The results of both the analyses show that CHN is the process with the largest environmental impacts, mainly due to the use of chemicals (i.e., sulfuric acid and calcium oxide). For both processes and FUs, the most impacted midpoint categories are Natural land transformation, Marine ecotoxicity and Freshwater ecotoxicity. Among the endpoint categories Resources is the most impacted one (followed by Human Health and Ecosystems), for both FUs, although showing larger differences for the agronomic use

Lung under attack by COVID-19-induced cytokine storm: pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic implications

The lung is a key target of the cytokine storm that can be triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the widespread clinical syndrome known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Indeed, in some patients, SARS-CoV-2 promotes a dysfunctional immune response that dysregulates the cytokine secretory pattern. Hypercytokinemia underlies the hyperinflammatory state leading to injury of alveolar epithelial cells and vascular endothelial cells, as well as to lung infiltration sustained by neutrophils and macrophages. Within such a pathogenic context, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and other cytokines/chemokines play a pivotal pro-inflammatory role. Therefore, cytokines and their receptors, as well as cytokine-dependent intracellular signalling pathways can be targeted by potential therapies aimed to relieve the heavy burden of cytokine storm. In particular, the anti-IL-6-receptor monoclonal antibody tocilizumab is emerging as one of the most promising pharmacologic treatments. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section

Molecular Targets for Biological Therapies of Severe Asthma

Asthma is a heterogeneous respiratory disease characterized by usually reversible bronchial obstruction, which is clinically expressed by different phenotypes driven by complex pathobiological mechanisms (endotypes). Within this context, during the last years several molecular effectors and signalling pathways have emerged as suitable targets for biological therapies of severe asthma, refractory to standard treatments. Indeed, various therapeutic antibodies currently allow to intercept at different levels the chain of pathogenic events leading to type 2 (T2) airway inflammation. In addition to pro-allergic immunoglobulin E (IgE), that chronologically represents the first molecule against which an anti-asthma monoclonal antibody (omalizumab) was developed, today other targets are successfully exploited by biological treatments of severe asthma. In particular, pro-eosinophilic interleukin 5 (IL-5) can be targeted by mepolizumab or reslizumab, whereas benralizumab is a selective blocker of IL-5 receptor. Moreover, dupilumab behaves as a dual receptor antagonist of pleiotropic interleukins 4 (IL-4) and 13 (IL-13). Besides these drugs that are already available in medical practice, other biologics are under clinical development such as those targeting innate cytokines, also including the alarmin thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), which plays a key role in the pathogenesis of type 2 asthma. Therefore, ongoing and future biological therapies are significantly changing the global scenario of severe asthma management. These new therapeutic options make it possible to implement phenotype/endotype-specific treatments, that are delineating personalized approaches precisely addressing the individual traits of asthma pathobiology. Such tailored strategies are thus allowing to successfully target the immune-inflammatory responses underlying uncontrolled T2-high asthma