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Charcoal-based products are widely spread and appreciated as fuel for grilling food. However, during their use, they release high emissions that pose significant environmental issues and health risks. Charcoal grilling emissions contain a wide range of pollutants including CO, CO2, NOx, PM, PAHs, VOCs, and trace metals. The emission of these pollutants contributes to both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Factors such as charcoal type and qualitative characteristics, combustion temperature, and the presence of food influence the emission released. Compared to domestic emissions, charcoal grilling restaurants can be a major source of air pollutants affecting both indoor and outdoor air quality. The deterioration of air quality determines health repercussions. This study aimed to review the existing scientific literature on the environmental and health implications of charcoal-based products used in domestic and restaurant settings. The association between charcoal grilling emissions, respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and the increased risk of developing carcinogenic conditions was evaluated. Workers in restaurant settings, exposed to cooking fumes for several hours, are particularly vulnerable to these health risks, but even short exposure can lead to health problems. Mitigation strategies involve different approaches, including the use of high-quality charcoal, implementing a certification system to ensure high-quality tested products, using grilling equipment designed to reduce emissions, ensuring proper ventilation, using abatement systems, and promoting responsible and sustainable grilling practices. Implementing these strategies guarantees more eco-friendly and safer grilling conditions while effectively reducing the adverse impacts of charcoal combustion on the environment and human health.

Salvage logging operations often occur after large disturbances and usually leave behind a substantial quantity of residues, which is fundamental for maintaining soil fertility and facilitating ecosystem dynamics. This study aims to estimate the amount of logging residues following salvage operations categorized by two wood harvesting systems: Cut-To-Length (CTL) and Full-Tree System (FT). Logging residues in the harvested areas were sampled using linear transects and the data collected were divided into classes based on diameter. The quantity of residues was estimated using the Brown method for Fine Wood Debris (FWD) and the Van Wagner method for Coarse Wood Debris (CWD). Furthermore, the carbon and nutrient content associated with logging residues were also determined, considering their interaction with the soil organic layer. Overall, a higher quantity of FWD was detected in the sites cleared with the FT system and a higher quantity of CWD in the sites logged with the CTL system. Differences could be observed for all three years and systems considered, but only the third year reported statistically significant results (p

IntroductionOne of various non-pharmacological treatments for people with dementia (PwD) is horticultural therapy. The aim of this double-blind, pre- and post-test, pilot study was to examine the effects of horticultural activities (HA) for PwD at a residential and daytime care facility. Whether combining HA with elements drawn from other psychosocial interventions (cognitive stimulation) would maximize any benefits was also newly examined.Materials and methodsTwenty-four PwD were involved either in HA, alone (TG1, N = 7) or combined with some cognitive stimulation (TG2, N = 8), or in indoor treatment-as-usual activities (CG, N = 9). Benefits were assessed in terms of general cognitive functioning (for participants with mild-to-moderate dementia), mood, behavioral and psychological symptoms, and quality of life.ResultsNo differences emerged between TG1 and TG2 in any outcome measure, so the two groups were combined (N = 15). Compared with the CG, the TG involved in HA exhibited less frequent and severe behavioral and psychological symptoms and an improved mood after the intervention. Caregivers also reported less distress in the TG after the intervention than in the CG. Considering only PwD with mild-to-moderate dementia, the TG also showed benefits in a measure of general cognitive functioning, and self-reported quality of life, compared with the CG.DiscussionOur results further confirm that engaging PwD in participatory HA in contact with natural elements can decrease their dementia symptoms and their caregivers’ distress, but also increase PwD’s quality of life. Our findings also suggest the need to consider dementia severity when assessing the benefits of horticultural therapy.

IntroductionExposure to nature is known to support psychological wellbeing, and can support People with Dementia (PwD). Here we describe a case study conducted at a care facility for PwD to examine the effect of their exposure to nature after intervention to renovate an existing Therapeutic Garden (TG). Changes in frequency of attendance and behavior in the TG were examined. A single case was also considered to assess individual benefits.Materials and methodsTwenty-one PwD participated in the study. Their behavior in the TG was observed for 4 weeks before and after the intervention (using behavioral mapping), and measures of individual characteristics (general cognitive functioning, behavioral/neuropsychiatric symptoms, depression, and quality of life) were administered.ResultsTen of the 21 PwD visited the TG more often after the intervention, their social behaviors (e.g., talking to others) increased, and their active isolated behavior in the garden (e.g., smelling, touching flowers) tended to increase. The increase in social behavior related to less severe baseline depressive symptoms. Passive isolated behaviors related to more impaired baseline cognitive functioning. The case of Mrs. A extended the findings for the whole sample: although her dementia symptoms (apathy, motor disturbances) worsened, she visited the TG more often after the intervention, her social exchanges and active isolated actions increased, and her agitation and wandering decreased.DiscussionThese results support the benefits of exposure to nature for PwD, and underscore the importance of considering users’ profiles to optimize their use of a TG.

The global charcoal trade is steadily growing, with high-income countries importing significant quantities of this material from regions where its production is often associated with severe environmental issues, including forest overexploitation, illegal logging, and environmental pollution. Promoting local charcoal production in high-income countries is crucial to addressing these challenges. In this study, we have chosen to focus on the European context, specifically emphasizing Italy as a case study. Our study aimed to comprehensively compare five distinct charcoal production systems, including both traditional and modern solutions, with a specific focus on evaluating the quality of the resulting charcoal. Additionally, improvements were evaluated to enhance production efficiency. Traditional systems cannot satisfy production requests, resulting in inefficiencies in manpower, costs, times, and yield. Conversely, recent innovations consider mobile and stationary kiln prototypes. Mobile kilns offer flexibility and cost savings but require operator expertise, limit automation, and have long cycles. In contrast, stationary systems operate continuously, increasing productivity and efficiency, despite higher investment costs. Notably, charcoal quality showed minimal differences. These findings highlighted the potential of new technologies to enhance efficiency, reduce cost and environmental impact, and promote sustainable charcoal production.

This study newly explored the relationship between individual characteristics (i.e., connectedness to nature, a preference for natural rather than built environments, personality, visuospatial preferences) with perceived restorativeness, as well as affective and memory-related benefits of exposure to the nature. Eighty adults were individually exposed to nature by walking in a landscape garden. Measures of connectedness to nature, preference for natural environments, personality traits, and visuospatial preferences were administered. Before and after walking in the garden, participants completed measures of affect (positive and negative emotions) and memory (short-term and working memory, and spatial memory). After walking they completed a Perceived Restorativeness scale. Perceived Restorativeness was found to be significantly explained by Extraversion (personality trait) and Connectedness to Nature. There was no significant influence of individual characteristics on benefits to affect and memory measures. Overall, the results showed that perception of the restorative effect of a natural environment is related to connectedness to nature and personality (extraversion trait). Taken together, our findings highlight the importance of considering individual characteristics to better capture restorative/recovery effects of a natural environment in an individual, and to tailor/implement nature-based solutions to ensure a sustainable urban green environment and to promote quality of life for their citizens.

In Italy the agricultural residues resulting from pruning of vineyards represent a potential energy resource, in particular for the Veneto region which is the second Italian region by vineyard area. This study is aimed at analyzing the main physical and chemical characteristics of vine shoots from the annual pruning of vineyards. This is for their possible use as wood chips in small-medium size power plants. International and European standards for the analysis of biofuels were used to determine the moisture content, heat value, ash content, micro and macro elemental and fibrous fraction (lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and extractives). The samples were collected from three different vineyards in the Vicenza area. The varieties analyzed were Chardonnay, Glera and Merlot. For each variety, the three different components of vine shoots were compared: internode, node and pith, to investigate in which part of the vine shoot the greatest accumulation of metallic elements deriving from plant protection products occurs. The results show significant differences among the energy parameters of the three varieties and three vine shoot components. In particular, the pith shows low heat value and high ash content while the woody components are characterized by higher energy values. Analysis of the chemical elements showed a high content of Cu and Zn in the wood components, node and internode, causing the high ash content found. In particular, Cu content exceeds the limits set by the reference standard. As regards the analysis of the fibrous fraction, a high content of extractives was found in the pith. These extractives could be one of the explanations why the pith of the three varieties analyzed, especially in Chardonnay, have less lower heat value on dry basis (LHV0) values and high ash contents. On the contrary, the node and internode components have a higher content of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Overall, the vine shoots analyzed have characteristics suitable for a possible energy use. However, due to the high ash and Cu content, according to EN ISO 17225-9:2021 standard these can only be used as wood chips for industrial purposes in large power plants.

The sensitivity and interest toward well-being and health inside work and living environments is constantly growing. Wood is perceived as a natural material by people and its presence in a room generally induces beneficial effects on human beings. In this research, two real-sized identical wood and not-wood rooms have been built to study the psychological effects of a wooden indoor environment on attention recovery and restorativeness. After a multisensory evaluation of different kind of materials used in housing, participants were asked to evaluate the two rooms and then to perform an attention test two times, interspersed with a pause in one of the two rooms. The results show that wood samples are more appreciated than all other materials and that a wood environment induces an attentional resources’ recovery. These findings bring new insights in the interaction between human beings and indoor environments. This new knowledge should be taken into account in the design or renovation of buildings by architects and builders.

The post-pandemic era has raised awareness on the importance of physical and psychological well-being for decreasing the vulnerability of both individuals and populations. Citizens in urban areas are subject to numerous stress factors which can be mitigated by green spaces such as parks and gardens. Sensor and internet technologies support nature-based solutions in various ways. In this paper, we show the results of ongoing research on the use of spatially distributed IoT sensors that collect climate data in an ~8 ha urban garden. The novelty resides in the method for merging the IoT data with a detailed 3D model created by a laser scan survey from a drone flight. The end products are 1 m resolution thermal comfort maps of user-defined scenarios, e.g., at specific times or aggregated in daily/monthly/yearly statistics that represent a thermal comfort distribution. For full replicability, the code is open source and available as an R package on Github.