Ultrasensitive quantitative determination of paraquat: application to river, ground, and drinking water analysis in an agricultural area

The water specimens were collected from wells and irrigation ditches in the agricultural area to the south of Milan and from Olona River and Mantua Lake and analyzed for paraquat detection. The assay was performed using a specific polyclonal antibody raised in sheep and rabbit anti-sheep IgG conjugated with a chelating molecule 4,7-bis(chlorosulfophenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid complexed with Eu3+ as a fluorescent marker. Bovine serum albumin conjugated with 5-(1'-methyl[4,4']bipyridinyl-1-yl)pentanoic acid was used in solid phase preparation. The sensitivity achieved was 20 ng L(-1). The recovery in samples spiked with three different PQ concentrations was between 88 and 108%.     

The 2003 European Heat Wave: Which Role for Ozone? Some Data from Tuscany, Central Italy

A unique, record-breaking, killer heat wave occurred across several European countries during the first two weeks of August 2003. As weather conditions which characterize heat waves are highly conductive to tropospheric ozone formation and persistence, this is a contributing factor which should be regarded as a major stressor for biota. Hourly ozone means were captured between 1 and 15 August 2003 with automatic analysers in nine stations in Tuscany, distributed into six Districts. Compared to historical ozone reference climatology, daily maxima of 2003 were systematically higher by a factor of about 1.5, with differences which approached three times standard deviation. At the end of the period, cumulated ozone exposure over the threshold of 40 ppb (AOT40) was 4,750 ppb h in 2003, vs 2,200 ppb h of the historical series; such a difference was four times the standard deviation of the long-term series. Biological data are also enclosed in the present study, in the form of analysis of the ratio between above ground biomass produced by NC-S and NC-R clones of white clover when exposed to ambient air. Standardised samplings were performed on a monthly basis, and a significant difference between the two data sets was observed between summer 2003 and the historical series. The close correlation of high-ozone episode with increased temperature (as a consequence of increased solar radiation) suggests that, if climate change were to result in warmer summers in Europe, more frequent exceedances of dangerous ozone thresholds would be expected at the current emission levels.     

Wide Range Applications of Spirulina: From Earth to Space Missions

Spirulina is the most studied cyanobacterium species for both pharmacological applications and the food industry. The aim of the present review is to summarize the potential benefits of the use of Spirulina for improving healthcare both in space and on Earth. Regarding the first field of application, Spirulina could represent a new technology for the sustainment of long-duration manned missions to planets beyond the Lower Earth Orbit (e.g., Mars); furthermore, it could help astronauts stay healthy while exposed to a variety of stress factors that can have negative consequences even after years. As far as the second field of application, Spirulina could have an active role in various aspects of medicine, such as metabolism, oncology, ophthalmology, central and peripheral nervous systems, and nephrology. The recent findings of the capacity of Spirulina to improve stem cells mobility and to increase immune response have opened new intriguing scenarios in oncological and infectious diseases, respectively.     

Purification and isotopic signatures (<Emphasis Type="Italic">δ</Emphasis><Superscript>13</Superscript>C, <Emphasis Type="Italic">δ</Emphasis><Superscript>15</Superscript>N, Δ<Superscript>14</Superscript>C) of soil extracellular DNA

The aim of this work was to obtain pure extracellular DNA molecules so as to estimate their longevity in soil by an isotope-based approach. Extracellular DNA molecules were extracted from all horizons of a forest soil and purified by the procedure of Davis (Purification and precipitation of genomic DNA with phenol–chloroform and ethanol. In: Davis LG, Dibner MD, Battey JF (eds) Basic methods in molecular biology. Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, 16–22, 1986) without (DNA1) or with (DNA2) a successive treatment with binding resins followed by elution. The two differently purified DNA samples were compared for their A₂₆₀/A₂₈₀ ratio, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and natural abundance of stable (¹³C and ¹⁵N) and radioactive (¹⁴C) isotopes. The purity index and the PCR amplification did not differentiate the efficiency of the two purification procedures. The isotopic signature of DNA was more sensitive and was strongly affected by the purification procedures. The isotopic measurements showed that the major contaminant of extracellular DNA1 was the soil organic matter (SOM), even if it is not possible to exclude that the similar δ ¹³C, δ ¹⁵N and Δ¹⁴C values of DNA and SOM could be due to the use of SOM-deriving C and N atoms for the microbial synthesis of DNA. For extracellular DNA2, extremely low values of Δ¹⁴C were obtained, and this was ascribed to the presence of fossil fuel-derived substances used during the purification, although in amounts not revealed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The fact that it is not possible to obtain contaminant-free DNA molecules and the potential use of soil native organic compounds during the microbial synthesis of DNA make it not achievable to estimate the age of soil extracellular DNA by radiocarbon dating.     

Determining the geographic origin of potatoes using mineral and trace element content

To characterize potatoes according to their geographic origin and variety, 10 mineral and trace elements (Mg, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Cd, and Ba) were determined in Italian potato samples. The data collected were successively elaborated using statistical techniques, namely, linear discriminant analysis (LDA). LDA was able to classify and discriminate the potatoes from Fucino both from those of other areas of Italy and from those of the four provinces of Abruzzo. A net separation between the Fucino potatoes and those of the other areas of Abruzzo was observed. LDA discriminated also the three potato varieties cultivated in the Fucino basin. The presence of these 10 mineral and trace elements was a good means for establishing the geographical place of origin of Fucino potatoes.     

Model aging and oxidation effects on varietal, fermentative, and sulfur compounds in a dry botrytized red wine

From harvest until wine arrives to the consumer, oxygen plays a crucial role in the definition of the final aroma. In the present research, the effect of the model oxidative aging on a dry red Botrytis wine, such as Italian Amarone, was considered. Amarone wine was submitted to model oxidative aging and then analyzed with two different approaches (SPE-GC-MS and HS-SPME/GC-MS). The same sampling plan was adopted to study the model aging of the same Amarone wine in anaerobic conditions. The HS-SPME/GC-MS method was applied to investigate for the first time the effect of the oxidative aging on a vast number of fermentative sulfur compounds. This research highlighted peculiar evolutions for several volatile compounds. In particular, benzaldehyde showed a sensitive increment during the oxidative aging, with a rate much higher than that reported for non-Botrytis red wines. On the other hand, several sulfides (dimethyl sulfide, 3-(methylthio)-1-propanol, etc.) disappeared after just 15 days of oxidative aging. A wine oxidation marker such as 3-(methylthio)-propanal was not found in any of the oxidized wines; conversely methionol-S-oxide was tentatively identified. This evidence has not been mentioned in the literature. A possible involvement of grape withering process and Botrytis in these mechanisms was supposed: a dry red wine, produced from the same but without any grape withering process and Botrytis infection (e.g., Bardolino wine), was submitted to oxidative aging and analysis. This red wine showed an evolution similar to those reported in the literature for dry red wines but significantly different from the Amarone wine.     

Exchangeable Ca,Mg, and K of rock fragments and fine earth from sandstone and siltstone derived soils and their availability to grass

Rock fragments (particles > 2 mm) are usually considered chemically inert for plant growth. In this paper, the potential fertility in terms of exchangeable Ca, Mg, and K of rock fragments from sandstone and siltstone derived soils from northern Apennines (Italy) is reported and contrasted with that of the fine earth (particles < 2 mm). The results show that rock fragments are a source of Ca, Mg, and K. When expressed on a volume basis, the abundance of these exchangeable nutrients sometimes may equal or surpass that of the fine earth. The plant uptake of Mg and K has been demonstrated in growth experiments with Agrostis under controlled conditions.     

Study of the cultivar-composition relationship in Sicilian olive oils by GC,NMR, and statistical methods

The aim of this research is to find if there is direct evidence relating the fatty acid composition of olive oils to specific cultivars grown within a well-limited geographical region. To group olive oils according to their own cultivars,(13)C high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography (GC) were used to analyze 60 extra virgin olive oils from the same Italian region (southwestern Sicily) obtained from four monovarietal cultivars. The (13)C NMR spectrum provides information about glycerol triesters of olive oils, i.e., about the acyl composition of major components and about the fatty acids' positional distribution on the glycerol moiety. GC gives the complete fatty acid profile of olive oil samples. Selection of NMR and GC peaks on the basis of their sensitivity to the different cultivars was performed by using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Principal component analysis, tree clustering analysis, multidimensional scaling (MDS), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were then performed on the MANOVA-selected peaks. Results obtained from (13)C NMR and GC techniques combined with the multivariate statistical procedure are in good agreement and prove the usefulness of fatty acids analysis to group the monovarietal olive oils belonging to the same cultivars. Grouping of olive oils according to their cultivars occurs for particular (13)C resonances all belonging to fatty chains in the sn 1,3 position of the glycerol moiety.     

Leaching behaviour of a sandy soil amended with natural and NH4+ and K+ saturated clinoptilolite and chabazite

Using saturated or enriched zeolites as slow release fertilizers (SRFs) is considered as an environmental-friendly strategy to enhance use of macronutrients in sandy soils. In this paper, two natural zeolites, clinoptilolite (CLI) and chabazite (CHA) were used as mineral precursors to prepare NH₄⁺/K⁺ saturated clinoptilolite (NH₄⁺/K⁺-CLI) and chabazite (NH₄⁺/K⁺-CHA) as zeolitic nutrient sources (ZNSs). Comparison between the nutrient retention capabilities of these ZNSs was one of the main objectives of this study. The NH₄⁺/K⁺-CLI and NH₄⁺/K⁺-CHA were prepared by soaking the zeolites in NH₄Cl and KCl solutions, respectively. Leaching tests were performed on a sandy soil amended with chemical fertilizers (CFs), NH₄⁺/K⁺-CLI and NH₄⁺/K⁺-CHA to evaluate the leaching properties of them. The results indicated that approximately 84% and 88% of the NH₄⁺ and K⁺ of soils fertilized with CFs were lost during the experiment, respectively. While, the NH₄⁺ and K⁺ losses from soils amended with NH₄⁺/K⁺-CLI and NH₄⁺/K⁺-CHA were 29%, 23%, and 14%, 24%, respectively. Despite of drastic changes in leaching behavior of CFs, nutrient losses from ZNSs were more uniform during the experiments. No significant difference was found between the two studied zeolites on reduction of K⁺ loss. However, CHA was more effective in preventing NH₄⁺ loss during leaching.     

Observing others: multiple action representation in the frontal lobe

Observation of actions performed by others activates monkey ventral premotor cortex, where action meaning, but not object identity, is coded. In a functional MRI (fMRI) study, we investigated whether other monkey frontal areas respond to actions performed by others. Observation of a hand grasping objects activated four frontal areas: rostral F5 and areas 45B, 45A, and 46. Observation of an individual grasping an object also activated caudal F5, which indicates different degrees of action abstraction in F5. Observation of shapes activated area 45, but not premotor F5. Convergence of object and action information in area 45 may be important for full comprehension of actions.