Phytoremediation potential of the novel atrazine tolerant Lolium multiflorum and studies on the mechanisms involved

Atrazine impact on human health and the environment have been extensively studied. Phytoremediation emerged as a low cost, environmental friendly biotechnological solution for atrazine pollution in soil and water. In vitro atrazine tolerance assays were performed and Lolium multiflorum was found as a novel tolerant species, able to germinate and grow in the presence of 1 mg kg⁻¹ of the herbicide. L. multiflorum presented 20% higher atrazine removal capacity than the natural attenuation, with high initial degradation rate in microcosms. The mechanisms involved in atrazine tolerance such as mutation in psbA gene, enzymatic detoxification via P₄₅₀ or chemical hydrolysis through benzoxazinones were evaluated. It was demonstrated that atrazine tolerance is conferred by enhanced enzymatic detoxification via P₄₅₀. Due to its atrazine degradation capacity in soil and its agronomical properties, L. multiflorum is a candidate for designing phytoremediation strategies for atrazine contaminated agricultural soils, especially those involving run-off avoiding.     

Mechanochemistry of ibuprofen pharmaceutical

In this paper mechanochemistry has been studied in view of possible application to detoxification of expired pharmaceuticals. The experiments have been carried out with a commercial medication containing ibuprofen ((RS)-2-(4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl)propanoic acid) which has been submitted to prolonged milling up to 40 h. When Al(OH)₃ is used as co-reagent, the first degradation step induced by the mechanochemical treatment is an acid-base reaction with the ibuprofen carboxylic acid group. The subsequent degradation follows a complex pathway leading to 1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethanone, 1-isobutyl-4-vinylbenzene and 2-(4-(3-methylbutan-2-yl)phenyl)propan-1-ol after 10 h milling and, in addition, 1-(4-acetylphenyl)-2-methylpropan-1-one, 1-(4-(1-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl)phenyl)ethanone and 1-(4-(2-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl)phenyl)ethanone after 40 h milling. The degradation reaction path and products have been identified by means of FT-IR spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography, NMR spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The observed ibuprofen decarboxylation makes the drug simultaneously lose both its pharmaceutical activity and toxicity.     

A Parallel Graded-Mesh FDTD Algorithm for Human–Antenna Interaction Problems

The finite difference time domain method (FDTD) is frequently used for the numerical solution of a wide variety of electromagnetic (EM) problems and, among them, those concerning human exposure to EM fields. In many practical cases related to the assessment of occupational EM exposure, large simulation domains are modeled and high space resolution adopted, so that strong memory and central processing unit power requirements have to be satisfied. To better afford the computational effort, the use of parallel computing is a winning approach; alternatively, subgridding techniques are often implemented. However, the simultaneous use of subgridding schemes and parallel algorithms is very new. In this paper, an easy-to-implement and highly-efficient parallel graded-mesh (GM) FDTD scheme is proposed and applied to human–antenna interaction problems, demonstrating its appropriateness in dealing with complex occupational tasks and showing its capability to guarantee the advantages of a traditional subgridding technique without affecting the parallel FDTD performance.     

Genetically informed captive breeding of hybrids of an extinct species of Galapagos tortoise

Hybridization poses a major challenge for species conservation because it threatens both genetic integrity and adaptive potential. Yet, hybridization can occasionally offer unprecedented opportunity for species recovery if the genome of an extinct taxon is present among living hybrids such that selective breeding could recapture it. We explored the design elements for establishing a captive-breeding program for Galapagos tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.) built around individuals with admixed ancestry involving an extinct species. The target individuals were hybrids between the extinct species from Floreana Island, C. niger, and an extant species, C. becki, which were recently found in the endemic range of C. becki, from Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island. We combined genotypic data from 35 tortoises with high ancestry from C. niger with forward-in-time simulations to explore captive breeding strategies that maximized overall genetic diversity and ancestry from C. niger while accommodating resource constraints, species biology, and the urgency to return tortoises to Floreana Island for facilitating ecosystem restoration. Overall genetic diversity was maximized when in the simulation tortoises were organized in relatively small breeding groups. Substantial amounts of the C. niger genome were captured despite limited resources available for selectively breeding tortoises in captivity. Genetic diversity was maximized when captive-bred offspring were released to the wild rather than being used as additional breeders. Our results provide genetic-based and practical guidance on the inclusion of hybrids with genomic representation from extinct taxa into species restoration programs and informs the ongoing debate on the value of hybrids in biodiversity conservation.     

New evidences in the complexity of contamination of the lagoon of Venice: polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) pollution

This study presents the first evaluation of the current pollution by polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) of surface sediments from the Lagoon of Venice. We focused the research on tri-to hepta-BDEs, the main components of penta- and octa-mixtures, which are considered to be the most toxic for the biocoenosis. The results pointed out a quite homogeneous contamination of this keystone European transitional environment, with ∑ ₁₃PBDEs values ra nging from 0.39 to 6.78 ng/g dry weight; these values reflect low to moderate pollution levels, which is in conformity to other coastal European ecosystems. The average PBDE profile of the lagoon sediments follows this decreasing trend of congeners: BDE-47>BDE-99> >BDE-190>BDE-28>BDE-153>BDE-154>BDE-138, BDE-183, and BDE-17, which is similar to the worldwide distribution pattern. BDE-47 and BDE-99 revealed a recent use of a penta-BDE mixture, while the presence of hepta-BDEs (BDE-183 and BDE-190) in all of the sites can indicate the actual use of a deca-BDE formulation, because these congeners are considered to be debrominated byproducts of BDE-209 degradation.     

Gas-particle concentration and distribution of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the atmosphere of Prato (Italy)

Air samples were collected in an urban and industrialised area of Prato (Italy) during 2002, as part of a study to identify and measure aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Total concentrations of aliphatic hydrocarbons ranged between 170 and 282ngm(-3) in the gas phase and from 48.9 to 276ngm(-3) in the particulate phase. The average total PAH concentrations (gas+particulate) were 59.4+/-26.5ngm(-3), and both gas and particulate phase PAH concentrations decreased with increasing temperature. Source identification using diagnostic ratios and principal component analysis identified automobile traffic, in particular, the strong influence of diesel fuel burning, as the major PAH source. Gas-particle partition coefficients (K(p)'s) of n-alkane and PAHs were well correlated with the sub-cooled liquid vapour pressure (P(L)(0)) and indicate stronger sorption of PAHs to aerosol particles compared with n-alkanes.     

Analysis of Appropriate Timescales for Water Diversion Permits in Brazil

Agreement on the criteria for granting the right to use water resources between governing bodies represents a significant advance in the process of sharing water use. To aid water resource management agencies in optimizing water use, the impact of using different criteria for permitting water use in the Paracatu river basin, Brazil, was evaluated in this study. The streamflow criteria corresponding to 30 % of the annual Q_7,10 (used by the governing body of Minas Gerais), 70 % of the annual Q₉₅ (used by the governing body of the union), 30 % of the monthly Q_7,10, and 70 % of the monthly Q₉₅ were evaluated. The use of criteria based on the monthly streamflow allows for better management of water use because it allows for greater utilization of this resource in times when there is high water availability and imposes a more realistic restriction during critical periods. Substitution of the annual Q_7,10 for the monthly Q_7,10 significantly increases the streamflow permitted in some months, for example, from December to May. Use of the criterion of 70 % of the annual Q₉₅ involves a high risk of drought in critical months, while the criterion of 70 % of the monthly Q₉₅ minimizes this risk.     

Techno-economic-environmental characteristics of polyurethane composite to thermal insulation for building with flame resistance: corroborative effect recycled of PVC and aluminum oxide

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this article, we present the results of the composite development obtained from polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and aluminum...     

End-of-Life Vehicles management: Italian material and energy recovery efficiency

Each European Member State must comply with Directive 2000/53/EC recycling and recovery targets by 2015, set to 85% and 95%, respectively. This paper reports a shredder campaign trial developed and performed in Italy at the beginning of 2008. It turns out to be the first assessment about the critical aspects belonging to the Italian End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) reverse supply chain involving 18 dismantling plants, a shredder plant and 630 ELV representatives of different categories of vehicles treated in Italy during 2006. This trial aims at improving the experimental knowledge related to ELVs added waste, pre-treatment, part reuse, recycling and final metal separation and car fluff disposal. Finally, the study also focuses on the calculation of the effective Italian ELV recycling rate, which results equal to 80.8%, and auto shredder residue (ASR) characterization. According to the results obtained in this work, ASR still contains up to 8% of metals and 40% of polymers that could be recovered. Moreover, physical-chemical analysis showed a Lower Heat Value of almost 20,000 kJ/kg and revealed the presence of pollutants such as heavy metals, mineral oils, PCBs and hydrocarbons.