93 research outputs found
Protecting groundwater in intensive agricultural areas through irrigation with treated wastewater: focus on nitrate, salt, and Escherichia coli
No full textA set of 4 soil column duplicates was irrigated with treated wastewater to study the possible leaching of nitrate, salt, and Escherichia coli to groundwater. The reclaimed water was a municipal secondary effluent, stored for 5 days to attenuate microbial contamination. It had nitrate concentration of 36.1±4.9 mgN/L, electrical conductivity of 1.6±0.1 mS/cm, and E. coli content between 36 and 918 MPN/100 mL (median value of 194 MPN/100 mL). Soil column tests were carried out over a period of 80 days, considering both the cultivation of a typical Mediterranean crop (pepper) and the edge case of non-cultivated soil. Nitrate and salt were up-taken by crops for around 90% and 50%, respectively, while they leached through non-cultivated soil according to linear relationships, with nitrate moving faster than salts. Due to its natural decay, E. coli never reached 66 cm depth. Crop irrigation with reclaimed water can be managed so as not to cause significant leaching of E. coli and nitrate, even though it may result in a small leaching of salt. Replacing groundwater with reclaimed water as an irrigation source should be considered as a possible action to protect aquifers, and especially those suffering from saline contamination, from the effects of overexploitation and overfertilization practices
“Numa Pompilio” di Louis Henry (1809): lettura coreografica di un ballo “politico”
No full textIl saggio si propone di analizzare il libretto del ballo “eroico” pan- tomimo Numa Pompilio di Louis Henry, dato al Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli nel 1809, da molteplici punti di vista: il soggetto, la struttura compositiva, le peculiarità coreografiche, i diversi elementi della messa in scena. Partendo dalla contestualizzazione di questo ballo nella Napoli napoleonica di Gioacchino Murat, l’autrice fa luce sulle strategie narrative utilizzate dal giovane Henry, appena giunto da Parigi, per costruire uno spettacolo “celebrativo” ispirato alla figura del secondo re di Roma. Quale fu, quindi, il lascito della scuola francese, e quale l’influenza della scuola italiana? La modalità di impiego delle parti danzate e mimiche, l’impianto fortemente “teatrale” e la profondità con cui sono tratteggiati i personaggi principali sono alcuni degli elementi che avvicinano questo ballo alla tradizione italiana.Louis Henry’s “Numa Pompilio” (1809): a Choreographic Reading of a “Political” Ballo
This article aims to analyse the libretto of Louis Henry’s “heroic” pantomime ballet Numa Pompilio, staged at San Carlo Theatre of Naples in 1809, from different perspectives of research: the plot, com- positive structure, choreographic peculiarities, and various elements of the production. Starting from the historical context of this ballet, which is Naples in the Napoleon era, the author highlights the narrative strategies used by the young Henry, who just arrived from Paris, in order to create a “celebrative” ballet inspired by the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilio. Therefore, one of the questions is what was the heritage of the French school, and what was the Italian influence? The way of using danced and mime parts, its deeply theatrical structure, and profoundness of the main characters are some of the elements that place this ballet close to the Italian tradition
Closing the water cycle in the agro-industrial sector by reusing treated wastewater for irrigation
No full textReuse of treated wastewater for crop irrigation can contribute to mitigate water stress, especially in Mediterranean countries. The use of reclaimed municipal wastewater for this purpose was demonstrated by numerous studies and full-scale installations. On the other hand, reuse of industrial effluents in irrigation is uncommon and the knowledge in this field is limited.
This work aims at assessing the suitability of agro-industrial effluent reuse for irrigation. In the case study presented, a full-scale tertiary treatment based on membrane ultrafiltration and UV disinfection was tested at an agro-industrial site in Apulia (Italy). The wastewater treatment plant processed the stream produced at a vegetable canning factory, and the treated effluents were used for field scale irrigation tests. The variability of wastewater quality and its effects on treatment process performances and reclaimed water quality were investigated. An economic evaluation of the full scale tertiary treatment was also performed. The results showed that the adopted technologies effectively removed suspended solids and the faecal indicator Escherichia coli below the local standards for reuse in irrigation. Furthermore, the use of treated agro-industrial wastewater had no inhibitory effects on the growth of tomato and broccoli, neither resulted in any faecal contamination of crops. In general, the present study shows that reuse of
treated wastewater for irrigation is a suitable practice to close the water cycle in the agro-industrial sector. This is very important in areas where the sustainability of agriculture and transformation activities depends on the water available for irrigation. This practice also avoids
the discharge of pollutants into water bodies, reducing the environmental impacts of agro-
industrial productions
Una riscrittura umanistica del Credo in esametri classici : il Symbolum Nicaenum di Paolo Pompilio
No full textThis article provides the editio princeps of a poetic paraphrase in hexameters of the Creed preserved in the manuscript Vatican lat. 2222 (XV century) and attributed to the Roman humanist Paolo Pompilio. After briefly presenting the author and his works, his Christian culture and the reasons which may have led him to compose a poetic paraphrase of the Symbol (the text is,indeed, part of a long-standing literary tradition), the article provides a critical edition of the text followed by a systematic, stylistic and literary commentary, which mainly aims at highlighting the poet’s debt towards classical, late-antique and medieval versification
Agro-industrial wastewater reuse for irrigation of a vegetable crop succession under Mediterranean conditions
No full textIn many countries of the Mediterranean region, characterized by frequent drought periods, agricultural production often occurs under water deficiency or conditions that cause the depletion of the existing water resources. In these areas, the reuse of reclaimed wastewater for crop irrigation could contribute to mitigate/decrease water shortage, support the agriculture sector and protect groundwater resources. In 1.5-year field experiments in Southern Italy (Apulia Region), the effects of irrigation with treated agro-industrial wastewater on soil properties, crops yield and qualitative traits of crop products, including their microbiological safety, were assessed. Groundwater (GW), secondary treated wastewater (SW) and tertiary treated wastewater (TW) from an innovative “on-demand” UV disinfection system were used to irrigate tomato and broccoli, cultivated in succession. The three irrigation water sources and the corresponding irrigated soils, plants and crop products were analyzed for the main physico-chemical characteristics, quali-quantitative parameters and fecal indicators. SW and TW showed higher values of the main physico-chemical parameters than GW. SW irrigated soil resulted in a significant increase of NH4-N, Na+, SAR, EC (below the threshold value beyond which a soil is defined as saline) during the first tomato crop cycle, and of pH during the broccoli growing season. Irrigation with treated wastewater did not significantly affect the marketable yield nor the qualitative traits of tomato and broccoli crops, except for the Na+ and NO3− content (below the threshold levels defined by the European guidelines for vegetables). High levels of E. coli (above the Italian limit for reuse), Fecal coliforms and Fecal enterococci (up to 104 CFU 100 ml−1) were observed in the SW and, when chlorination was not done, in the TW. Nevertheless, E. coli was not isolated from any sample of soil, plant and crop product, probably due to its rapid die-off. Moreover, low concentrations of Fecal coliforms and Total heterotrophic count were found in plant and crop product. The drip irrigation system used, which avoided the close contact between water and plant, may have contributed to this. Under the conditions applied in this study, the reuse of treated agro-industrial wastewater for irrigation can be considered an effective way to cope with agricultural water shortage in the Mediterranean area
Soluble EMMPRIN levels discriminate aortic ectasia in marfan syndrome patients
No full textMarfan syndrome (MFS) is a rare genetic disease characterized by a matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) dysregulation that leads to extracellular matrix degradation. Consequently, MFS patients are prone to develop progressive thoracic aortic enlargement and detrimental aneurysm. Since MMPs are activated by the extracellular MMP inducer (EMMPRIN) protein, we determined whether its plasmatic soluble form (sEMMPRIN) may be considered a marker of thoracic aortic ectasia (AE). Methods: We compared plasma sEMMPRIN levels of 42 adult Caucasian MFS patients not previously subjected to aortic surgery with those of matched healthy controls (HC) by ELISA. In the MFS cohort we prospectively evaluated the relationship between plasma sEMMPRIN levels and the main MFS-related manifestations. Results: MFS patients had lower plasma sEMMPRIN levels (mean±SD: 2071±637 pg/ml) than HC (2441±642 pg/ml, p=0.009). Amongst all considered MFS-related clinical features, we found that only aortic root dilatation associated with circulating sEMMPRIN levels. Specifically, plasma sEMMPRIN levels negatively correlated with aortic Z-score (r=-0.431, p=0.004), and were significantly lower in patients with AE (Z-score≥2, 1788±510 pg/ml) compared to those without AE (Z-score<2, 2355±634 pg/ml; p=0.003). ROC curve analysis revealed that plasma sEMMPRIN levels discriminated patients with AE (AUC [95%CI]: 0.763 [0.610–0.916], p=0.003) with 85.7% sensitivity, 76.2% specificity, and 81% accuracy. We defined plasma sEMMPRIN levels ≤2246 pg/ml as the best threshold discriminating the presence of AE in MFS patients with an odds ratio [95%CI] of 19.2 [3.947-93.389] (p<0.001). Conclusions: MFS patients are characterized by lower sEMMPRIN levels than HC. Notably, plasma sEMMPRIN levels are strongly associated with thoracic AE
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy: what blood can reveal?
No full textBlood, serum and plasma represent accessible sources of data about physiological and pathologic status. In arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), circulating nucleated cells are routinely used for detection of germinal genetic mutations. In addition, different biomarkers have been proposed for diagnostic purposes and for monitoring disease progression, including inflammatory cytokines, markers of myocardial dysfunction and damage, and microRNAs. This review summarizes the current information that can be retrieved from the blood of ACM patients and considers the future prospects. Improvements in current knowledge of circulating factors may provide noninvasive means to simplify and improve the diagnosis, prognosis prediction, and management of ACM patients
Clinical and Molecular Data Define a Diagnosis of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy in a Carrier of a Brugada-Syndrome-Associated PKP2 Mutation
No full textPlakophilin-2 (PKP2) is the most frequently mutated desmosomal gene in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a disease characterized by structural and electrical alterations predominantly affecting the right ventricular myocardium. Notably, ACM cases without overt structural alterations are frequently reported, mainly in the early phases of the disease. Recently, the PKP2 p.S183N mutation was found in a patient affected by Brugada syndrome (BS), an inherited arrhythmic channelopathy most commonly caused by sodium channel gene mutations. We here describe a case of a patient carrier of the same BS-related PKP2 p.S183N mutation but with a clear diagnosis of ACM. Specifically, we report how clinical and molecular investigations can be integrated for diagnostic purposes, distinguishing between ACM and BS, which are increasingly recognized as syndromes with clinical and genetic overlaps. This observation is fundamentally relevant in redefining the role of genetics in the approach to the arrhythmic patient, progressing beyond the concept of "one mutation, one disease", and raising concerns about the most appropriate approach to patients affected by structural/electrical cardiomyopathy. The merging of genetics, electroanatomical mapping, and tissue and cell characterization summarized in our patient seems to be the most complete diagnostic algorithm, favoring a reliable diagnosis
Generation of four human induced pluripotent stem cell lines from COVID-19 hospitalized patients with increased levels of cardiac Troponin in the acute infection phase developing or not myocarditis
No full textCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus, leading to mild to severe respiratory symptoms. Cardiovascular involvement is frequent and mainly manifests with myocarditis, arrhythmias, cardiac arrests, heart failure and coagulation abnormality. We generated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from four COVID-19 patients, all characterized by increased levels of high-sensitivity Troponin I (hsTnI) during the infection acute phase, who developed (n=2) or not (n=2) severe myocarditis, as COVID-19 complication. The established hiPSCs were characterized for pluripotency and genomic stability, and constitute a useful resource for studying the mechanisms underlying the variability in COVID-19 severe cardiac manifestations
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