Achieving synergistic enhancement in the anaerobic digestion of corn straw by (CH + CO) nanobubbles in conjunction with optimized particle sizes.

Nanobubbles (NBs) technology has been proven to promote methane production from anaerobic digestion (AD). In this study, the synergistic effects of (CH + CO)-nanobubble water ((CH + CO)-NBW) combined with varying particle sizes of corn straw on the AD were investigated. As findings, adding (CH + CO)-NBW effectively promoted the methane production from AD of corn straw with different particle sizes.

Evaluating microplastic emission from takeaway containers: A Micro-Raman approach across diverse exposure scenarios.

Based on inconsistencies observed in literature regarding microplastic levels released by takeaway plastic containers, this study investigates the release from takeaway containers composed of polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). To simulate real-world conditions, experiments were conducted using Milli-Q water at room temperature, 100 °C, and at pH 4.5.

Sphagnum moss and peat comparative study: Metal release, binding properties and antioxidant activity.

Peat is the main constituent of cultivation substrates and a precious non-renewable fossil material. Peatlands provide important ecosystem services and allow the absorption and storage of carbon. Protecting peatlands helps tackle climate change and contributes to biodiversity conservation.

Route to chaos and resonant triads interaction in a truncated rotating nonlinear shallow-water model.

The route to chaos and the phase dynamics of the large scales in a rotating shallow-water model have been rigorously examined through the construction of an autonomous five-mode Galerkin truncated system employing complex variables, useful in investigating how large/meso-scales are destabilized and how their dynamics evolves and transits to chaos. This investigation revealed two distinct transitions into chaotic behaviour as the level of energy introduced into the system was incrementally increased. The initial transition manifests through a succession of bifurcations that adhere to the established Feigenbaum sequence.

Modelling the anthropogenic Hg pollution fingerprint on the marine fishery production worldwide: A preliminary exposure assessment for people living in countries having different income levels.

Mercury is a toxic pollutant that poses risks for the human population, mainly by eating contaminated fish. Mercury is released into the atmosphere from a variety of anthropogenic activities, with levels of emissions and under policy controls that largely vary across the world, leading thus to different relative contributions to the environmental matrices. Establishing the exact sources of this contaminant in the environment is crucial to optimising the policies aimed at mitigating the exposure risks for specific populations or ecosystems.

Atmospheric bulk depositions: state-of-the-art and European legislative framework with focus on Italy.

The determination of total atmospheric deposition (bulk) is an essential tool to assess the state of environmental contamination and the consequent exposure of the population to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) through the intake of contaminated food. Over the past 20 years, international authorities and the European Union through various pieces of legislation have emphasised the importance of conducting monitoring and studies on depositions to better understand their impact on the environment and human health without setting reference values. Despite the absence of such values, several European countries, through national laws, have adopted limit values and/or guideline values for the deposition fluxes of some organic (dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and inorganic persistent pollutants (metals).

Syntaxonomical Remarks on the Garrigues from Apulia (S Italy) and Neighboring Territories.

In this study, the garrigues occurring in Apulia and neighboring territories (southern Italy) were surveyed in order to clarify their syntaxonomical arrangement. Many contributions previously focused on this vegetation type, often adopting different and sometimes contrasting treatments from both the nomenclature and syntaxonomical aspects. Our investigations are supported by the multivariate analysis of a dataset containing 292 phytosociological relevés, whose resulting cluster dendrogram highlights the hierarchical relationships between the examined plant communities.

Nanofibrous Conductive Sensor for Limonene: One-Step Synthesis via Electrospinning and Molecular Imprinting.

Detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from different plant species and their organs can provide valuable information about plant health and environmental factors that affect them. For example, limonene emission can be a biomarker to monitor plant health and detect stress. Traditional methods for VOC detection encounter challenges, prompting the proposal of novel approaches.

High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for Human Exposomics: Expanding Chemical Space Coverage.

In the modern "omics" era, measurement of the human exposome is a critical missing link between genetic drivers and disease outcomes. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), routinely used in proteomics and metabolomics, has emerged as a leading technology to broadly profile chemical exposure agents and related biomolecules for accurate mass measurement, high sensitivity, rapid data acquisition, and increased resolution of chemical space. Non-targeted approaches are increasingly accessible, supporting a shift from conventional hypothesis-driven, quantitation-centric targeted analyses toward data-driven, hypothesis-generating chemical exposome-wide profiling.

Improving Aerosol Characterization Using an Optical Particle Counter Coupled with a Quartz Crystal Microbalance with an Integrated Microheater.

Aerosols, as well as suspended particulate matter, impact atmospheric pollution, the climate, and human health, directly or indirectly. Particle size, chemical composition, and other aerosol characteristics are determinant factors for atmospheric pollution dynamics and more. In the last decade, low-cost devices have been widely used in instrumentation to measure aerosols.

There's Something in What We Eat: An Overview on the Extraction Techniques and Chromatographic Analysis for PFAS Identification in Agri-Food Products.

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of anthropogenic chemicals used in a range of industrial processes and consumer products. Recently, their ubiquitous presence in the environment as well as their toxicological effects in humans have gained relevant attention. Although the occurrence of PFASs is widely investigated in scientific community, the standardization of analytical method for all matrices still remains an important issue.

A Polyvinylpyrrolidone Nanofibrous Sensor Doubly Decorated with Mesoporous Graphene to Selectively Detect Acetic Acid Vapors.

An original approach has been proposed for designing a nanofibrous (NF) layer using UV-cured polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a matrix, incorporating mesoporous graphene carbon (MGC) nanopowder both inside and outside the fibers, creating a sandwich-like structure. This architecture is intended to selectively adsorb and detect acetic acid vapors, which are known to cause health issues in exposed workers. The nanocomposite MGC-PVP-NFs layer was fabricated through electrospinning deposition onto interdigitated microelectrodes (IDEs) and stabilized under UV-light irradiation.

Redox-activity and in vitro effects of regional atmospheric aerosol pollution: Seasonal differences and correlation between oxidative potential and in vitro toxicity of PM.

Particulate Matter (PM) is a complex and heterogeneous mixture of atmospheric particles recognized as a threat to human health. Oxidative Potential (OP) measurement is a promising and integrative method for estimating PM-induced health impacts since it is recognized as more closely associated with adverse health effects than ordinarily used PM mass concentrations. OP measurements could be introduced in the air quality monitoring, along with the parameters currently evaluated.

State-of-art of the legislation on odour emissions with a focus on the Italian studies.

This review would like to point out the state-of-art of the European legislation for the odour pollution determination and management. Odour is generated by a mixture of more or less volatile and persistent compounds that surround us in daily life. European directives impose the use of corresponding technical standards for the application of the limits imposed.

Co-digestion approach for enhancement of biogas production by mixture of untreated napier grass and industrial hydrolyzed food waste.

The co-digestion of untreated Napier grass (NG) and industrial hydrolyzed food waste (FW) was carried out in the batch reactor to investigate the effect of substrate ratios on biogas production performance. Two-stage anaerobic digestion was performed with an initial substrate concentration of 5 g VS/L and a Food to Microorganism Ratio (F/M) of 0.84.

Organic toxicants and emerging contaminants in hospital interiors before and during the SARS-CoV2 pandemic: alkanes and PAHs.

Indoor pollution and deposition dust (DD), in particular, are acquiring concern, due to long exposure time and importance of intake by humans through contact and ingestion. Hospitals look a special category of sites, owing to peculiar contaminants affecting them and to presence of people prone to adverse effects induced by toxicants. Four in-field campaigns aimed at understanding the chemical composition of DD were performed in five Italian hospitals.

Landfill fire impact on bee health: beneficial effect of dietary supplementation with medicinal plants and probiotics in reducing oxidative stress and metal accumulation.

The honey bee is an important pollinator insect susceptible to environmental contaminants. We investigated the effects of a waste fire event on elemental content, oxidative stress, and metabolic response in bees fed different nutrients (probiotics, Quassia amara, and placebo). The level of the elements was also investigated in honey and beeswax.

A future for digital public goods for monitoring SDG indicators.

Digital public goods (DPGs), if implemented with effective policies, can facilitate the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there are ongoing deliberations on how to define DPGs and assure that society can extract the maximum benefit from the growing number of digital resources. The International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) sees DPGs as an important mechanism to facilitate information-driven policy and decision-making processes for the SDGs.

Are Microplastics a Macro Issue? A Review on the Sources of Contamination, Analytical Challenges and Impact on Human Health of Microplastics in Food.

In recent years, human populations' exposure to microplastics via foods is becoming a topic of concern. Although microplastics have been defined as "emerging contaminants", their occurrence in the environment and food is quite dated. This systematic review aims to investigate the discrepancies which are characterizing the research in the microplastics field in foods, with particular regard to sample preparations, microplastics' concentrations and their effect on humans.

A PM10 chemically characterized nation-wide dataset for Italy. Geographical influence on urban air pollution and source apportionment.

Urban textures of the Italian cities are peculiarly shaped by the local geography generating similarities among cities placed in different regions but comparable topographical districts. This suggested the following scientific question: can different topographies generate significant differences on the PM chemical composition at Italian urban sites that share similar geography despite being in different regions? To investigate whether such communalities can be found and are applicable at Country-scale, we propose here a novel methodological approach. A dataset comprising season-averages of PM mass concentration and chemical composition data was built, covering the decade 2005-2016 and referring to urban sites only (21 cities).

Nonlinear shallow water investigation of atmospheric disturbances generated by strong seismic events.

The upper portions of the Earth's atmospheric layer, e.g., the ionospheric plasma layer, can be significantly affected by perturbations generated in the lower layers.

Echoes of the past: Agricultural legacies shape the successional dynamics of protected semi-natural dry grasslands.

European semi-natural dry grasslands are among the most endangered terrestrial ecosystems, being recognised as habitats of community interest by the EU Habitats Directive. The occurrence and preservation of these habitats depend on a combination of anthropogenic and natural factors, although little is known regarding the role of past land-use changes. Here, we investigated the role of time since cultivation abandonment as a major driver of grassland successional dynamics in the Mediterranean agro-pastoral system of Alta Murgia, southern Italy.