Winterscarney0131
Chloropicrin (CP) is the most commonly used soil fumigant worldwide. Although CP effectively controls soilborne pathogens, it is also detrimental to beneficial soil microorganisms unless measures can be put in place to protect them from the effects of fumigation. In this study, we evaluated the ability of biochar made from the invasive weed Eupatorium adenophorum to mitigate the effects of CP fumigation on beneficial species. Our results showed that the addition of biochar to the soil effectively reduced the detrimental effects of CP on beneficial species and their ecological functions. Etoposide Biochar added to CP-fumigated soil shortened the time to 28-84 days for microbial diversity and nitrogen cycle functions to be restored to unfumigated levels. At the same time, the inorganic nitrogen (NH4+-N, NO3--N) content and N2O production potential level in CP-fumigated soil returned to unfumigated levels relatively quickly, which showed that nitrogen metabolism improved with the addition of biochar. The mitigation effect of biochar in CP-fumigated soil was more evident at higher biochar amendment rates. Our results suggest that the addition of biochar to CP-fumigated soil significantly reduced the impact of CP on beneficial species and their ecological functions, and significantly shortened the time for beneficial species to recover to pre-fumigation levels. Field research is required to determine biochar's ability to mitigate the impact of CP and other fumigants on beneficial species and to quantify its benefits on crop quality and yield.Extreme weather conditions affect human health. This study analyses the association of high and low temperature with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases on people over 65 years old for the years 2007 to 2015, in the region of Chania, Greece. The mortality is examined by time series analysis and further investigated by Poisson, and Negative Binomial regression, showing that one-lag in maximum temperature strongly affects the health of the elderly. Finally, cluster analysis is used from May to October, which is confirmed by discriminant analysis.The vegetables supply chain of intensive farming systems has gained huge relevance due to environmental pollution, residual toxicity towards microorganisms and humans, development of plant pathogen resistance, biodiversity loss, and hazard to human health. Studies addressed to clean from misuse of plant fungicides, soil fumigants, and fertilizers have encouraged the search of eco-friendly alternatives. This paper aims to give deeper understand of new insights for on-farm composting and compost-based tea application for soil and plant through the virtuous reuse of agricultural waste. On-farm composting is viable option thanks to benefits on soil quality and plant health which valorize underused biomass. This paper critically discusses and compares the most promising technologies in order to recycle in situ residual biomass into high-value added products for soil amendment (compost) and plant treatment (compost-based tea). Compost contains minerals, heavy metals, humic substances, and endogenous microorganisms and directions of future researches that may help to solve a number of these issues under the new perspective of a circular economy system were presented and discussed.Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are semivolatile organic compounds of environmental concern. This study aims to investigate the influence of local sources of anthropogenic PAHs and their air-water exchange fluxes in an oligotrophic North-Patagonian lake in Chile. The monitoring was carried out in Panguipulli Lake during a six-month period during the autumn and winter seasons (March to August 2017) using a high-volume air sampler and a pump system for water samples. We detected and quantified fifteen PAHs in the gas phase (mean ∑15PAHs = 11.6 ng m-3) and dissolved water phase (mean ∑15PAHs = 961.8 pg L-1). Methylphenanthrenes and pyrene dominated the concentrations of PAHs in the studied phases. To determine sources of PAHs we used the PAH ratios of Light Molecular Weight/Heavy Molecular Weight (∑LMW/∑HMW) and Phenanthrene/Anthracene (Phe/Ant). The PAH ratio results revealed a pyrogenic source. We estimated the air-water diffusive exchange fluxes and fugacity ratios for the studied compounds. In general, air-water diffusive exchanges of PAHs showed a net volatilization for the less hydrophobic (log KOW less then 4) and lighter PAHs (MW ≤ 170 g mol-1), and a net deposition trend for the more hydrophobic (log KOW 4-7) and higher molecular weight PAHs (MW ≥ 178 g mol-1). We found a significant correlation between log water/air fugacity ratios and log KOW of PAHs. Therefore, it is suggested that this oligotrophic lake acts as a sink by accumulating hydrophobic and mid-high molecular weight PAHs derived mainly from pyrogenic sources. This study is the first attempt to understand the sources and behavior of PAHs in oligotrophic lakes in the Southern Chile where information is scarce regarding the occurrence of PAHs.Epidemiological studies have suggested that phthalate exposures were associated with adverse reproductive outcomes, such as low oocyte yield and reduced embryo quality, but the underlying mechanisms remained largely unknown. Oxidative stress may be a potential contributor to phthalate-induced adverse reproductive outcomes. To explore the associations between phthalate exposure and levels of oxidative stress among women seeking in vitro fertilization (IVF), we measured the concentrations of eight phthalate metabolites and biomarkers of oxidative stress, including 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), in follicular fluid (FF) samples collected from 332 women. Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess the associations between phthalate metabolites and biomarkers of oxidative stress in FF samples. The concentrations of most tested phthalate metabolites were positively associated with the 8-OHdG levels. The metabolites of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were inversely associated with the TAC levels. The concentrations of mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) were positively associated with the MDA levels. Our results revealed a positive association between phthalate metabolites and oxidative stress levels in FF, while more toxicological and epidemiological studies are required to confirm our findings.