Chemical pretreatment of olive oil mill wastewater using a metal-organic framework catalyst

Olive oil mill wastewaters (OOMW) are not suited for direct biological treatment because of their nonbiodegradable and phytotoxic compound (such as polyphenols) content. Advanced technologies for treatment of OOMW consider mainly the use of solid catalysts in processes that can be operated at room conditions. A system based on combined actions of catalytic oxidations and microbial technologies was studied. The wet hydrogen peroxide catalytic oxidation (WHPCO) process is one of the new emerging oxidation processes particularly attractive for the pretreatment of highly polluted OOMW containing polyphenols that are not suited for classical treatments. In this work, the biodegradability of OOMW was evaluated before and after treating the wastewater samples by the WHPCO process using a metal-organic framework (MOF) as a catalyst. This material, containing Cu and prepared with benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (BTC), is a robust metal-organic polymer with a microporous structure that is reminiscent of the topology of zeolite frameworks.     

Changes in chemical and biological soil properties as induced by anthropogenic disturbance: A case study of an agricultural soil under recurrent flooding by wastewaters

Monitoring the environmental impact of anthropogenic disturbance on soil ecosystem is of great importance for optimizing strategies for soil use, conservation and remediation. The aim of this study was to assess whether and to what extent a long-term, human-induced disturbance could have affected main chemical and biological properties in an agricultural soil. The study site was a hazel (Corylus avellana L.) orchard located in the area surrounding the volcanic apparatus of Somma-Vesuvius (Southern Italy). For the last two decades, the site has been repeatedly subjected to floodings by wastewaters containing not only alluvial sediments but also potentially hazardous compounds from illegally disposed wastes. Soil disturbance was assessed by a multitechnique approach, which combined chemical, biochemical and physiological (Biolog^®) methods together with community fingerprinting by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). A hazel site never subjected to flooding provided the control soil. Soil sampling was repeated three times over a 1-year period. The effect of flooding by wastewaters, sampling time and their interaction were statistically evaluated. Under wastewater flooding, soil pH and most organic matter-related pools, i.e. total organic C, total N, and active soil C-resources such as basal (SBR) and substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and microbial biomass C (MBC) were all increased; whereas sampling time mostly affected two active-N pools, namely K₂SO₄-extractable N (Extr-N) and potentially mineralizable N that varied unconcurrently in tested soils. Also the electrical conductivity varied across samplings. Parameters related to microbial maintenance energy (ATP and qCO₂) were higher in the flooded soil, even though they were not statistically affected by wastewater flooding or by sampling time. The Biolog^® method evidenced that under recurrent flooding, soil microbial populations became functionally more uniform when compared to the control soil. Molecular fingerprinting of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA targets revealed that, along with seasonal shifts, a marked change in the genetic structure of total bacterial community occurred in the flooded soil. Furthermore, compositional shifts in the actinomycete community were less marked and mostly influenced by seasonal effects. Yet, a decreased genetic diversity in the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria community was evidenced in the flooded soil by ARDRA. Thus both the genetic and the functional structure of native soil bacterial populations were changed under repeated flooding by wastewaters. Repeated sampling over a 1-year period allowed us to reveal soil disturbance effects beyond seasonal variations.     

Exploiting the diversity of barley landraces in Ethiopia

The paper describes a methodology to incorporate the collection of barley landraces available in the Plant Genetic Resources Centre of Ethiopia (PGRC/E), as well as future collections, in the Ethiopian barley breeding program. Six hundred pure lines extracted from thirty Ethiopian barley landraces were evaluated and selected, along with the original populations, between 1989 and 1993. Three lines were identified which significantly outyielded the local landrace in some of the testing sites and had a higher average yield across sites and seasons. The yield of these lines was similar to the best improved variety also developed from a landrace population. Despite the relatively small number of landrace-lines (600) in the original population, the exploitation of the diversity existing within Ethiopian barley germplasm has produced in only five years promising lines for yield at low input conditions and for disease and insect resistance. Some lines had a yield potential comparable with the best breeding lines produced earlier, and one is under multiplication for release.     

Biomass and grain oil yields in Cynara cardunculus L. genotypes grown in a Mediterranean environment

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is a Mediterranean perennial plant. Studies were conducted on cardoon for biomass production, in order to assess the plant as an alternative low input management crop in a Mediterranean environment. The grain oil has similar composition to sunflower or saffron oils and can be easily extracted. In this work, the results of cardoon biomass and grain oil production under Sicilian (South Italy) low input conditions are shown. In a completely randomized block, during 1998–2001, 14 genotypes of C. cardunculus L., five cultivated cardoons and nine wild cardoons, were evaluated for lignocellulosic biomass production, grain yield and chemical composition of the grain. The results showed, on average for the genotypes, a 3-year cumulative aboveground biomass of 47.4 t ha⁻¹ DM, the 6.3% of which was grain. Differences within the 3 years of cultivation were observed, due to varying water availability (rainfall differences) and age of the crop. The results showed some genotypes are very promising for biomass, grain and oil production. Moreover, the good range of variability observed among genotypes is important for developing cultivars suitable for varying cropping systems in breeding programs.     

Persistence without pathology in phosphoglycan-deficient Leishmania major

Leishmania infections involve an acute phase of replication within macrophages, typically associated with pathology. After recovery parasites persist for long periods, which can lead to severe disease upon reactivation. Unlike the role of host factors, parasite factors affecting persistence are poorly understood. Leishmania major lacking phosphoglycans (lpg2-) were unable to survive in sand flies and macrophages, but retained the ability to persist indefinitely in the mammalian host without inducing disease. The L. major lpg2- thus provides a platform for probing parasite factors implicated in persistence and its role in disease and immunity.     

Systemic mycosis in a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) with detection of cystofilobasidiales DNA

A 6-yr-old, intact male California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) with a systemic mycosis died after 5 wk of antifungal drug therapy. Antemortem clinical findings included hind flipper swelling, ring-lesions on skin of the flippers, and dermal nodules that increased in size and number spreading from the hind flippers and ventral abdomen to the foreflippers and muzzle. Lesions were accompanied by severe lymphadenopathy and development of systemic clinical signs despite therapy using itraconazole and later voriconazole. Histopathologic evaluation of biopsies revealed granulomatous dermatitis due to infection by fungus-producing yeast cells in tissue. Isolation attempts, using biopsied skin and tissue samples collected at necropsy, failed to yield growth of a fungus producing yeast cells like those in histologic section. Consensus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests of biopsied skin for fungal DNA produced an amplicon having significant sequence identity with a Cystofilobasidiales, a fungus belonging to a subclade that includes several Cryptococcus spp. Histopathologic evaluation of necropsy tissues revealed a systemic mycosis with yeast cells disseminated throughout subcutis, lymph nodes, and viscera. Hepatic necrosis was identified associated with acute liver failure, possibly from the voriconazole administration. This is the first report documenting the clinical presentation, treatment, and pathologic findings of infection associated with Cystofilobasidiales in a marine mammal and serves to expand the understanding of mycoses in pinnipeds.     

Herbage intake and milk yield in Comisana ewes as effect of 4 vs 7 h of grazing during late lactation

Thirty-two Comisana ewes at late lactation were used in two trials carried out during late spring in 2 consecutive years, with the aim to evaluate the effect of the duration of grazing on herbage intake and performance. In each trial, 16 pluriparous Comisana lactating ewes were equally divided into two groups which grazed in two separate areas of natural pasture from 11:00 to 15:00 h (group 4H) or from 10:00 to 17:00 (group 7H). A concentrate mixture (500 g/day) was also offered to each ewe. The mean maximum temperature was, respectively, 23.5 ± 3.8 °C during experiment 1 and 27.0 ± 3.1 °C during experiment 2. Probably as a consequence of the differences in climatic conditions, the results on herbage intake and milk production were different during the two trials. Herbage dry matter intake was not affected by the duration of grazing during trial 1, whereas it was significantly lower in 4H group compared to that in 7H group (0.67 vs 1.02 kg/day; P < 0.001) during trial 2. It could be hypothesised that while with lower environmental temperature (trial 1), the 4H ewes were able to reach good intake levels despite grazing during the hottest hours; with higher temperatures throughout the trial (trial 2), the 4H ewes reduced ingestion. Milk production was higher in 4H group during trial 1 (778 vs 707 g/day; P = 0.006), whereas it was not affected by the number of hours of grazing during trial 2, despite the higher intake levels reached by the 7H group. In conclusion, 3 extra hours of grazing for ewes at late lactation on a low quality pasture could be nullified in terms of yield response.     

Environment of selection and type of germplasm in barley breeding for low-yielding conditions

Summary Thee groups consisting of 332, 243 and 280 barley breeding lines (entries) of known selection history were evaluated in 10, 9 and 8 environments, respectively, to determine the relationship between grain yield in low yielding (LYE) or high yielding (HYE) environment, and selection history and type of germplasm. One cycle of selection in LYE produced on average five times more entries outyielding the best check in LYE than selection in HYE. A retrospective analysis indicated that the highest yielding lines in LYE were lower yielding (15%–28%) in HYE when compared with the best check, and by 20% and 38% compared with the best entries in HYE. In contrast, the highest yielding lines in HYE were lower yielding (4%–33%) in LYE when compared with the best check, and by 33% and 40% when compared with the best entries in LYE. The highest yielding lines in LYE did not differ consistently from the highest yielding lines in HYE for a number of morphological and developmental traits including days to heading. This suggests there are many paths to high yield in LYE and that analytical breeding based on individual traits may not be appropriate for variable environments. Only 0.07% of the highest yielding entries in LYE was selected for high yield in HYE conditions confirming previous results indicating that selection for high yield in HYE is an inefficient strategy for improving yield in low yielding conditions. This frequency is 28 times lower than the frequency of high yielding entries in LYE selected from landraces or crosses with landraces in low yielding conditions. The results imply that the most cost-effective strategy for barley breeding in low yielding conditions is to select repeatedly in low yielding conditions and to include adapted germplasm (landraces) in the breeding material.