Identification and Quantification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Polyhydroxyalkanoates Produced from Mixed Microbial Cultures and Municipal Organic Wastes at Pilot Scale

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are well-known biodegradable plastics produced by various bacterial strains, whose major drawback is constituted by the high cost of their synthesis. Producing PHAs from mixed microbial cultures and employing organic wastes as a carbon source allows us to both reduce cost and valorize available renewable resources, such as food waste and sewage sludge. However, different types of pollutants, originally contained in organic matrices, could persist into the final product, thus compromising their safety. In this work, the exploitation of municipal wastes for PHA production is evaluated from the environmental and health safety aspect by determining the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in both commercial and waste-based PHA samples. Quantification of PAHs by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry on 24 PHA samples obtained in different conditions showed very low contamination levels, in the range of ppb to a few ppm. Moreover, the contaminant content seems to be dependent on the type of PHA stabilization and extraction, but independent from the type of feedstock. Commercial PHA derived from crops, selected for comparison, showed PAH content comparable to that detected in PHAs derived from organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Although there is no specific regulation on PAH maximum levels in PHAs, detected concentrations were consistently lower than threshold limit values set by regulation and guidelines for similar materials and/or applications. This suggests that the use of organic waste as substrate for PHA production is safe for both the human health and the environment.     

From Si nanowires to porous silicon: the role of excitonic effects

We show that the electronic and optical properties of silicon nanowires, with different size and orientation, are dominated by important many-body effects. The electronic and excitonic gaps, calculated within first principles, agree with the available experimental data. Huge excitonic effects, which depend strongly on wire orientation and size, characterize the optical spectra. Modeling porous silicon as a collection of interacting nanowires, we find an absorption spectrum which is in very good agreement with experimental measurements only when the electron-hole interaction is included.     

Capillary electrophoresis method for analysis of inorganic and organic anions related to habitability and the search for life

In situ missions of exploration require analytical methods that are capable of detecting a wide range of molecular targets in complex matrices without a priori assumptions of sample composition. Furthermore, these methods should minimize the number of reagents needed and any sample preparation steps. We have developed a method for the detection of metabolically relevant inorganic and organic anions that is suitable for implementation on in situ spaceflight missions. Using 55 mM acetic acid, 50 mM triethylamine, and 5% glycerol, more than 21 relevant anions are separated in less than 20 min. The method is robust to sample ionic strength, tolerating high concentrations of background salts (up to 900 mM NaCl and 300 mM MgSO₄). This is an important feature for future missions to ocean worlds. The method was validated using a culture of Escherichia coli and with high salinity natural samples collected from Mono Lake, California.     

High pressure and thermal pasteurization effects on sweet cherry juice microbiological stability and physicochemical properties

This study evaluated high pressure processing (P1 – 400?MPa/5?min; P2 – 550?MPa/2?min) and thermal pasteurization (TP – 70°C/30?s) effects on sweet cherry juice's microbiological and physicochemical parameters, during four weeks of refrigerated storage. All treatments reduced the microbiological load to undetectable levels not affecting total soluble solids and titratable acidity. The pH increased with all treatments, however, it decreased during storage. Phenols were differently affected: TP increased them by 6%, P1 had no effect while P2 decreased them by 11%. During storage, phenols in control and TP samples decreased by 26% and 20%, P1 samples decreased them by 11% whereas P2 showed no variation. TP had no effect on anthocyanins, while pressure treatments increased them by 8%. Anthocyanins decreased during storage, particularly in the control and P1 (decreasing 41%). All treatments had no effect on antioxidant activity until the 14th day, thereafter high pressure processing samples showed the highest antioxidant activity.     

A New Cells‐Compatible Microfluidic Device for Single Channel Recordings

We report the fabrication of a microfluidic apparatus and the realization of a sensors based on PEDOT : PSS, a biocompatible semiconductor polymer used in substitution of standard electrodes for electrophysiological studies and for detection of nanopores in membrane. This gives the possibility to study the mechanisms of ions balance and molecular transport though cell membranes. In particular the apparatus is based on two chambers connected through an aperture in a PTFE sheet where lipid bilayer are formed using Montal‐Mueller method, and the pore‐forming proteins activity is detected by polymeric electrodes. This methodology could be applied to examine different membrane proteins for the purpose of biosensing, drug screening and nanopore technologies.     

Atoms and bonds in molecules and chemical explanations

The concepts of atoms and bonds in molecules which appeared in chemistry during the nineteenth century are unavoidable to explain the structure and the reactivity of the matter at a chemical level of understanding. Although they can be criticized from a strict reductionist point of view, because neither atoms nor bonds are observable in the sense of quantum mechanics, the topological and statistical interpretative approaches of quantum chemistry (quantum theory of atoms in molecules, electron localization function and maximum probability domain) provide consistent definitions which accommodate chemistry and quantum mechanics.     

Optimization of Extraction Conditions and Characterization of Volatile Organic Compounds of Eugenia klotzschiana O. Berg Fruit Pulp

Eugenia klotzschiana O. Berg is a native species to the Cerrado biome with significant nutritional value. However, its volatile organic compounds (VOCs) chemical profile is not reported in the scientific literature. VOCs are low molecular weight chemical compounds capable of conferring aroma to fruit, constituting quality markers, and participating in the maintenance and preservation of fruit species. This work studied and determined the best conditions for extraction and analysis of VOCs from the pulp of Eugenia klotzschiana O. Berg fruit and identified and characterized its aroma. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was employed using different fiber sorbents: DVB/CAR/PDMS, PDMS/DVB, and PA. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were employed to separate, detect, and identify VOCs. Variables of time and temperature of extraction and sample weight distinctly influenced the extraction of volatiles for each fiber. PDMS/DVB was the most efficient, followed by PA and CAR/PDMS/DVB. Thirty-eight compounds that comprise the aroma were identified among sesquiterpenes (56.4%) and monoterpenes (30.8%), such as α-fenchene, guaiol, globulol, α-muurolene, γ-himachalene, α-pinene, γ-elemene, and patchoulene.     

Quantum Epistemology and Falsification

The operational axiomatization of quantum theory in previous works can be regarded as a set of six epistemological rules for falsifying propositions of the theory. In particular, the Purification postulate—the only one that is not shared with classical theory—allows falsification of random-sequences generators, a task classically unfeasible.     

Heavy metals in marine coastal sediments: assessing sources, fluxes, history and trends

Examples are presented from the Adriatic Sea, the Ligurian Sea and the Venice Lagoon to illustrate different approaches to the study of anthropogenic metals in marine coastal sediments. These examples refer to studies of areal distribution and transport mechanisms, individuation of the sources, sediment dating, chronology of the fluxes, present and past trends. In particular, some of the findings achieved in studying the Venice Lagoon are discussed from the point of view of anthropogenic changes both in sediment composition and contaminant fluxes.