Publications by authors named "Zamfira Stupar"
L-polylactic acid (PLA), a semi-crystalline aliphatic polyester, is one of the most manufactured biodegradable plastics worldwide. The objective of the study was to obtain L-polylactic acid (PLA) from lignocellulosic plum biomass. Initially, the biomass was processed via pressurized hot water pretreatment at a temperature of 180 °C for 30 min at 10 MPa for carbohydrate separation.
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- Karst aquifers are crucial sources of drinking water but are vulnerable to contamination due to their porous nature; this study investigates the stable core microbiome in karst springs in Romania over one year.
- Researchers used advanced techniques, including 16S rRNA gene sequencing and antibiotic resistance gene quantification, to identify a consistent bacterial community mainly consisting of Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidota, and Actinomycetota, many of which showed signs of contamination with fecal bacteria and pathogens.
- The study also found high levels of antibiotic resistance genes linked to various pollutants and proposed specific bacterial groups as potential indicators for monitoring pollution in these sensitive water sources.
The present study uses the Taguchi method of experimental design to optimize lipid extraction from Spirulina spp. by ultrasound application and mechanical stirring. A Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was used to optimize various parameters, such as methanol: chloroform (M:C) ratio, biomass: solvent ratio, and extraction time for lipid extraction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ability of natural zeolite amendment to reduce the uptake of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) by lettuce, spinach and parsley was evaluated using pot experiments. PTE concentrations in roots and shoots, as well as the pseudo total (PT), water soluble (WS) and bioavailable (BA) PTE fractions in the amended soils, were assessed. Although the PT PTE concentration was high, the WS fraction was very low (<0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study explores the characteristics of a micronized natural zeolitic volcanic tuff (MZ) as ingredient in cosmetic formulations. In particular, the purpose was to prepare and investigate the organoleptic and physicochemical properties of two representative cosmetic formulations containing MZ. The MZ samples were characterized using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.
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