Targeting Bacterial Cell Division with Benzodioxane-Benzamide FtsZ Inhibitors as a Novel Strategy to Fight Gram-Positive Ovococcal Pathogens.

The widespread emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to global public health and among Gram-positive cocci, constitutes a priority in the list of AMR-threatening pathogens. To counteract this fundamental problem, the bacterial cell division cycle and the crucial proteins involved in this process emerged as novel attractive targets. FtsZ is an essential cell division protein, and FtsZ inhibitors, especially the benzamide derivatives, have been exploited in the last decade.

Characteristics of Commercial and Raw Pellets Available on the Italian Market: Study of Organic and Inorganic Fraction and Related Chemometric Approach.

Air pollution and the increasing production of greenhouse gases has prompted greater use of renewable energy sources; the EU has set a target that the use of green energy should be at 32 percent by 2030. With this in mind, in the last 10 years, the demand for pellets in Italy has more than doubled, making Italy the second largest consumer in Europe. The quality of the pellets burned in stoves is crucial to indoor and outdoor pollution.

Analytical Investigation of Iron-Based Stains on Carbonate Stones: Rust Formation, Diffusion Mechanisms, and Speciation.

In cultural heritage, unaesthetic stains on carbonate stones due to their close contacts with metals are of concern for the preservation of sculptures, monumental facades and archeological finds of various origin and antiquities. Rust stains made up of various oxidized iron compounds are the most frequent forms of alteration. The presence of ferric iron on rust-stained marble surfaces was confirmed in previous studies and oriented the choice of the best cleaning method (based on complexing agents specific for ferric ions).

Microplastic contamination in commercial salt: An issue for their sampling and quantification.

Sea salt can be considered as a vector of microplastics in the human body. In this work, the sea salts collected from three Italian salterns has been solubilized in MilliQ water and filtered to extract microplastics. The visual quantification of microplastics with a stereomicroscope was carried out on the bases of their size, followed by a classification taking into account their physical characteristics.

Release of Heavy Metals from Plastic Statuettes Used as Souvenirs and/or Toys Handled by Children.

Different plastic toys are on sale in the Italian market: they are sold as souvenirs and/or as toys. Such statuettes, called Gongoli, represent a famous character (a soccer player, a politician, the Pope, etc.).