State of the world’s plants and fungi 2020

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity

Traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of elegia species: A review

In South Africa, plants belonging to the Restionaceae family possess an ecological dom-inance. As a result, they have been the subject of numerous morphological, anatomical, and evo-lutionary studies. However, few studies have focused on their phytochemical profile and their potential pharmacological activities. The genus Elegia L. is the second largest of this family compris-ing 52 species, which are mainly used as materials for thatching. Limited studies on the chemical constituents of Elegia species and their importance as medicinal plants have been undertaken. This review provides constructive and extensive information about the botanical characterization, distribu-tion, traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the genus Elegia. A comprehensive search of previously published literature was performed for studies on this genus, using databases with different key search words. This survey documented 52 Elegia species summarizing their previous taxonomic classification. In addition, 14 species were found to be studied for their phytochemical profile, revealing 14 chemical compounds. Concerning their biological activities, only one species (E. tectorum (L.f.) Moline and H.P.Linder) is reported for its anti-wrinkle activity. Moreover, two species are locally used for thatching and as materials for brooms. The present review highlights the Elegia genus as an important source of bioactive phytochemicals with flavonol glycosides being the main metabolites and reveals the uncharted territory of this genus for new research studies. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Pollution sources affecting the oxidative potential of fine aerosols in a Portuguese urban-industrial area - an exploratory study

This study targets to determine the oxidative potential (OP) of fine aerosols in an urban-industrial area of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Portugal) and, in addition, to identify which pollution sources may have an impact on the OP levels of fine aerosols. For this purpose, thirty samples were selected from a set of 128 samples collected over one year (Dec 2019-Nov 2020), based on the highest load for each source (both mass and %) previously assessed by source apportionment studies (using Positive Matrix Factorisation, a total of 7 different sources were identified: soil, secondary sulphate, fuel-oil combustion, sea, vehicle non-exhaust, vehicle exhaust and industry). The OP associated with the water-soluble components of PM2.5 was assessed using the dithiothreitol (DTT) method. The samples had a mean DTT activity (normalised to the mass) of 12.9±6.6 pmol min−1 μg−1 , ranging from 3.5 to 31.8 pmol min−1 μg−1 . The DTT activity (normalised to the volume, OPDTT V ) showed to have a significant positive association with PM2.5 levels (R2=0.714). Considering that the mass contributions of the different sources to the PM2.5 levels were known, Spearman correlations were assessed and significant correlations were found between OPDTT V and three different sources: vehicle exhaust (ρ=0.647, p-value=0.001), fuel-oil combustion (ρ=0.523, p-value=0.012) and industry (ρ=0.463, p-value=0.018). Using a multiple linear regression analysis, these three sources were found to explain 82% of the variability in OPDTTV , with vehicle exhaust being the most influential sourc

Assessment of indoor air quality in office buildings across Europe - The Officair study

The European project OFFICAIR aimed to broaden the existing knowledge regarding indoor air quality (IAQ) in modern office buildings, i.e., recently built or refurbished buildings. Thirty-seven office buildings participated in the summer campaign (2012), and thirty-five participated in the winter campaign (2012−2013). Four roomswere investigated per building. The target pollutantswere twelve volatile organic compounds, seven aldehydes, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulatematterwith aerodynamic diameter b2.5 μm(PM2.5). Compared to other studies in office buildings, the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene concentrations were lower in OFFICAIR buildings, while the α-pinene and D-limonene concentrations were higher, and the aldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 concentrations were of the same order of magnitude. When comparing summer and winter, significantly higher concentrations were measured in summer for formaldehyde and ozone, and in winter for benzene, α-pinene, D-limonene, and nitrogen dioxide. The terpene and 2-ethylhexanol concentrations showed heterogeneitywithin buildings regardless of the season. Considering the average of the summer andwinter concentrations, the acetaldehyde and hexanal concentrations tended to increase by 4–5% on averagewith every floor level increase, and the nitrogen dioxide concentration tended to decrease by 3% on averagewith every floor level increase. A preliminary evaluation of IAQ in terms of potential irritative and respiratory health effects was performed. The 5-day median and maximum indoor air concentrations of formaldehyde and ozone did not exceed their respective WHO air quality guidelines, and those of acrolein, α-pinene, and D-limonene were lower than their estimated thresholds for irritative and respiratory effects. PM2.5 indoor concentrations were higher than the 24-h and annual WHO ambient air quality guideline

Characterization and phytoremediation of abandoned contaminated mining area in Portugal by INAA

This study aims to find out a vascular plant species that accumulate relatively high concentrations of arsenic (As) for its use as phytoremediator ar abandoned and contaminated mining areas, such as São Domingos mines (Portugal). The assessement of As contamination levels in soils and plants of other similar sites in the north of the coutry (Castromil ando Poço de Freitas) was also conducted and the sample analuses were made by instrumental neutron activation analusis. Agrostis genera have shown higher As transfer coefficients than other studied plants species and in particular Agrostis curtisii has shown a reasonable ability to accumulate high concentration of this toxic element