22 results on '"TORREGROSSA, M"'
Search Results
2. 123 Impact of local iron overload on crosstalk and phenotypes of immune and tissue cells in skin
- Author
-
Torregrossa, M., primary, Simon, J.C., additional, and Franz, S., additional
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
3. Achieving complete nitrification below the washout SRT with hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) treating municipal wastewater
- Author
-
Corsino S. F., Torregrossa M., Corsino S.F., and Torregrossa M.
- Subjects
Nitrification rate ,Washout SRT ,Settore ICAR/03 - Ingegneria Sanitaria-Ambientale ,Process Chemistry and Technology ,MABR ,Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous) ,Settleability ,Nitrogen removal ,Pollution ,Waste Management and Disposal - Abstract
This study analyzed the performances of a hybrid membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) pilot plant in terms of nutrients removal of the attached growth and suspended biomass in comparison with a conventional activated sludge (CAS) system at different sludge retention time (SRT) (20−3) days. Overall, the MABR showed better performances than the CAS in terms of TSS (86% vs 79%), COD (89% vs 85%) and total nitrogen (80% vs 65%). The minimum SRT for achieving complete nitrification in the MABR was close to 3 days, corresponding to a SRT in the aerobic compartment of 1.9 days, whereas in the CAS it was equal to 8 days (aerobic SRT of 4.8 days). Nitrification rate in biofilm was on average equal to 0.40 gNH4-N h−1 (2.40 gNH4-N m−2d−1). Its contribution to the overall nitrification in the MABR plant was 25–30% on average, although it increased when the SRT was decreased. Particle size distribution and microscopic analyses showed particles of biofilm detached from the membrane of the MABR. The seeding effect allowed sustaining nitrification of the suspend biomass at very low SRT. The nitrification rate observed in the suspended biomass in the MABR slightly decreased from 3.42 mgNH4-N gVSS−1 h−1 to 2.87 mgNH4-N gVSS−1 h−1 when the SRT was decreased from 20 days and 3 days, whereas in the CAS it collapsed from 2.33 mgNH4-N gVSS−1 h−1 to 0.47 mgNH4-N gVSS−1 h−1, because of nitrifying washout. Moreover, the biofilm detachment involved a positive effect in settling properties of the suspended biomass.
- Published
- 2022
4. 213 Iron overload in skin homeostasis
- Author
-
Torregrossa, M., primary, Simon, J.C., additional, and Franz, S., additional
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Maternidad en el tenis profesional: ¿es suficiente con cambiar la normativa?
- Author
-
Ferrer, I., Stambulova, N., Borrueco, M., and Torregrossa, M.
- Subjects
SPORTS psychology ,ELITE athletes ,SPORTS teams ,PROFESSIONAL athletes ,PROFESSIONAL sports ,TEAM sports ,TENNIS coaching - Abstract
Copyright of Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte is the property of Cuadernos de Psicologia del Deporte and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
6. Challenges and opportunities for citrus wastewater management and valorisation: A review
- Author
-
Caterina Lucia, Vito Armando Laudicina, Luigi Badalucco, Antonino Galati, Eristanna Palazzolo, Michele Torregrossa, Gaspare Viviani, Santo Fabio Corsino, Lucia C., Laudicina V.A., Badalucco L., Galati A., Palazzolo E., Torregrossa M., Viviani G., and Corsino S.F.
- Subjects
Citrus ,Soil ,Environmental Engineering ,Settore ICAR/03 - Ingegneria Sanitaria-Ambientale ,Agricultural reuse, Circular economy model, Costs and benefits analysis, Extensive wastewater treatment, Intensive wastewater treatment, Wastewater reuse ,Settore AGR/13 - Chimica Agraria ,Settore AGR/01 - Economia Ed Estimo Rurale ,Agriculture ,General Medicine ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,Wastewater ,Waste Management and Disposal - Abstract
Citrus wastewaters (CWWs) are by-products of the citrus fruit transformation process. Currently, more than 700 million of m³ of CWWs per year are produced worldwide. Until nowadays, the management of CWWs is based on a take-make-use-dispose model. Indeed, after being produced within a citrus processing industry, CWWs are subjected to treatment and then discharged into the environment. Now, the European Union is pushing towards a take-make-use-reuse management model, which suggests to provide for the minimization of residual pollutants simultaneously with their exploitation through a biorefinery concept. Indeed, the recovery of energy nutrients and other value-added products held by CWWs may promote environmental sustainability and close the nutrient cycles in line with the circular bio-economy perspective. Unfortunately, knowledge about the benefits and disadvantages of available technologies for the management and valorisation of CWWs are very fragmentary, thus not providing to the scientific community and stakeholders an appropriate approach. Moreover, available studies focus on a specific treatment/valorisation pathway of CWWs and an overall vision is still missing. This review aims to provide an integrated approach for the sustainable management of CWWs to be proposed to company managers and other stakeholders within the legislative boundaries and in line with the circular bio-economy perspective. To this aim, firstly, a concise analysis of citrus wastewater characteristics and the main current regulations on CWWs are reported and discussed. Then, the main technologies with a general comparison of their pros and cons, and alternative pathways for CWWs utilization are presented and discussed. Finally, a focus was paid to the economic feasibility of the solutions proposed to date relating to the recovery of the CWWs for the production of both value-added compounds and agricultural reuse. Based on literature analysis an integrated approach for a sustainable CWWs management is proposed. Such an approach suggests that after chemicals recovery by biorefinery, wastewaters should be directly used for crop irrigation if allowed by regulations or addressed to treatment plant. The latter way should be preferred when CWWs cannot be directly applied to soil due to lack of concomitance between CWWs production and crop needs. In such a way, treated wastewater should be reused after tertiary treatments for crop irrigation, whereas produced sludges should be undergone to dewatering treatment before being reused as organic amendment to improve soil fertility. Finally, this review invite European institutions and each Member State to promote common and specific legislations to overcome the fragmentation of the regulatory framework regarding CWWs reuse.
- Published
- 2022
7. Occurrence of Microplastics in Waste Sludge of Wastewater Treatment Plants: Comparison between Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) Technologies
- Author
-
Gaetano Di Bella, Santo Fabio Corsino, Federica De Marines, Francesco Lopresti, Vincenzo La Carrubba, Michele Torregrossa, Gaspare Viviani, Di Bella G., Corsino S.F., De Marines F., Lopresti F., La Carrubba V., Torregrossa M., and Viviani G.
- Subjects
membrane bioreactors, microplastics, waste sludge, wastewater treatment plant ,Settore ICAR/03 - Ingegneria Sanitaria-Ambientale ,Process Chemistry and Technology ,Settore ING-IND/34 - Bioingegneria Industriale ,Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous) ,Filtration and Separation ,membrane bioreactors ,microplastics ,waste sludge ,wastewater treatment plant - Abstract
In this study, the presence of microplastics in the sludge of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was examined. The investigated WWTPs operated based on a conventional activated sludge (CAS) process, with (W1) or without (W2) primary clarification, and a membrane bioreactor process (MBR) (W3). The microplastics (MPs) concentration in the samples of W3 was approximately 81.1 ± 4.2 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge, whereas MPs concentrations in W1 and W2 were 46.0 ± 14.8 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge and 36.0 ± 5.2 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge, respectively. Moreover, MPs mainly consisted of fragments (66–68%) in the CAS plants, whereas the fractions of MPs shapes in the MBR sludge were more evenly distributed, although fiber (47%) was the most abundant fraction. Furthermore, samples from the MBR showed a greater diversity in MPs composition. Indeed, all the main polyesters (i.e., textile fibers and polyethylene terephthalate), polyolefins (i.e., polyethylene and polypropylene) and rubber (i.e., polybutadiene) were observed, whereas only polybutadiene, cellulose acetate and polyester were detected in the CAS plants. These findings confirmed that MPs from wastewater are transferred and concentrated in the waste sludge. This is a critical finding since sludge disposal could become a new pathway for microplastic release into the environment and because MPs might affect the fouling behavior of the membrane.
- Published
- 2022
8. Biomethane Production from Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Selected Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) with Sewage Sludge: Effect of the Inoculum to Substrate Ratio (ISR) and Mixture Composition on Process Performances
- Author
-
Santo Fabio Corsino, Michele Torregrossa, Gaspare Viviani, Corsino S.F., Torregrossa M., and Viviani G.
- Subjects
Bioreactors, Digestion, Anaerobic co-digestion, BMP, Methane, OFMSW, Sewage sludge, Synergy, Anaerobiosis, Sewage, Refuse Disposal, Solid Waste ,Settore ICAR/03 - Ingegneria Sanitaria-Ambientale ,Sewage ,sewage sludge ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,methane ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,synergy ,Solid Waste ,Article ,Refuse Disposal ,anaerobic co-digestion ,BMP ,OFMSW ,Bioreactors ,Medicine ,Digestion ,Anaerobiosis - Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inoculum to substrate ratio (ISR) and the mixture ratio between organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and sewage sludge (SS) on the methane production potential achievable from anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD). Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) assays at mesophilic temperature were used to determine the best AcoD configuration for maximizing methane yield and production rate, as well as to address possible synergistic effects. The maximum methane yield was observed at ISR of 1 and 60% OFMSW: 40% SS as co-digestion mixture, whereas the highest methane production rate was achieved at ISR of 2 with the same mixture ratio (207 mL/gVS/d). Synergistic effects were highlighted in the mixtures having OFMSW below 60%, determining an increase of approximately 40% in methane production than the OFMSW and SS digestion as a sole substrate. The experimental data demonstrated that co-digestion of OFMSW and SS resulted in an increase in the productivity of methane than anaerobic digestion using the sole substrates, producing higher yields or production rates while depending on the ISR and the mixture ratio.
- Published
- 2021
9. PHA and EPS production from industrial wastewater by conventional activated sludge, membrane bioreactor and aerobic granular sludge technologies: A comprehensive comparison.
- Author
-
Traina F, Capodici M, Torregrossa M, Viviani G, and Corsino SF
- Subjects
- Sewage chemistry, Bioreactors microbiology, Bacteria metabolism, Carbon metabolism, Waste Disposal, Fluid methods, Wastewater, Polyhydroxyalkanoates
- Abstract
The present study has focused on the mainstream integration of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production with industrial wastewater treatment by exploiting three different technologies all operating in sequencing batch reactors (SBR): conventional activated sludge (AS-SBR), membrane bioreactor (AS-MBR) and aerobic granular sludge (AGS). A full aerobic feast/famine strategy was adopted to obtain enrichment of biomass with PHA-storing bacteria. All the systems were operated at different organic loading (OLR) rate equal to 1-2-3 kgCOD/m
3 ∙d in three respective experimental periods. The AS-MBR showed the better and stable carbon removal performance, whereas the effluent quality of the AS-SBR and AGS deteriorated at high OLR. Biomass enrichment with PHA-storing bacteria was successfully obtained in all the systems. The AS-MBR improved the PHA productivity with increasing OLR (max 35% w/w), whereas the AS-SBR reduced the PHA content (max 20% w/w) above an OLR threshold of 2 kgCOD/m3 ∙d. In contrast, in the AGS the increase of OLR resulted in a significant decrease in PHA productivity (max 14% w/w) and a concomitant increase of extracellular polymers (EPS) production (max 75% w/w). Results demonstrated that organic carbon was mainly driven towards the intracellular storage pathway in the AS-SBR (max yield 51%) and MBR (max yield 61%), whereas additional stressors in AGS (e.g., hydraulic selection pressure, shear forces) induced bacteria to channel the COD into extracellular storage compounds (max yield 50%) necessary to maintain the granule's structure. The results of the present study indicated that full-aerobic feast/famine strategy was more suitable for flocculent sludge-based technologies, although biofilm-like systems could open new scenarios for other biopolymers recovery (e.g., EPS). Moreover, the AS-MBR resulted the most suitable technology for the integration of PHA production in a mainstream industrial wastewater treatment plant, considering the greater process stability and the potential reclamation of the treated wastewater., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
10. The anaerobic exposure time (AET) as a novel process parameter in the anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR)-based process for excess sludge minimization.
- Author
-
Mulone S, Corsino SF, Capodici M, and Torregrossa M
- Subjects
- Anaerobiosis, Bioreactors, Hydrolysis, Sewage, Waste Disposal, Fluid methods
- Abstract
Minimization of excess sludge produced by wastewater treatment plants has become a topical theme nowadays. One of the most used approaches to achieve this aim is the anaerobic side-stream reactor (ASSR) process. This is considered affected by the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the anaerobic reactor, the anaerobic sludge loading rate (ASLR) and the sludge interchange ratio (SIR), although, studies available in the literature did not reflect a clear relationship with the sludge minimization yields. To overcome this, a novel parameter namely anaerobic exposure time (AET) was defined and related to reduction of the observed yield coefficient (Y
obs ) in a lab-scale plant implementing the ASSR process. Furthermore, the AET was validated by performing a detailed and thorough review of previous literature. Excess sludge production was successfully reduced (10-60 %) with the increase of the AET (7.9-13 h/d), although maintaining the same HRT in the ASSR and a constant sludge interchange ratio (SIR) (100 %). A strong correlation (Pearson = 0.763) was found between the AET, and the Yobs reduction reported in previous studies, also indicating a linear relationship (R2 = 0.92) between these parameters. Contrarily, the correlation between the Yobs with the ASLR and the ASSR-HRT resulted moderate (Pearson = 0.186) or weak (Pearson=-0.346), respectively. Overall, while operating at low AET (< 6 h), maintenance and uncoupling metabolism were found the main sludge reduction mechanisms. Increasing the AET (>8 h) favoured the occurrence of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) hydrolysis and endogenous decay mechanisms, which improved excess sludge reduction. To conclude, the AET could be considered a reliable parameter to be used for design or control purposes for the ASSR-based process., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. FEPSAC Position Statement: Athletes' dual careers in the European context.
- Author
-
Stambulova N, Wylleman P, Torregrossa M, Erpič SC, Vitali F, de Brandt K, Khomutova A, Ruffault A, and Ramis Y
- Subjects
- Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students, Europe, Athletes psychology, Occupations
- Abstract
The aim of this FEPSAC Position Statement is to summarize current knowledge about athletes' dual careers (DCs) in the European context and propose recommendations for future DC research, practice, and policy. Inspired by the European Union's Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes (European Commission, 2012), researchers, practitioners, and policy makers collaborated over the last decade to create the European DC discourse as a context-informed and negotiated body of DC knowledge. In this paper, we proceed from analyzing this body of knowledge using recent review papers and European DC psychological research projects to formulating seven postulates summarizing DC research findings on factors influencing athletes in their striving for DC excellence. These factors include (1) context, (2) pathways and transitions, (3) challenges, (4) resources and coping, (5) support and empowerment, (6) student-athletes' mental health, and (7) DC development environments. In the final section, we acknowledge the contributions of European DC discourse in serving athletes in their pursuit of DC excellence and European DC culture. We also provide a critical discussion on DC knowledge gaps and, on behalf of FEPSAC, offer recommendations for DC research, practice, and policy in Europe., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
12. Combined recovery of polyhydroxyalkanoates and reclaimed water in the mainstream of a WWTP for agro-food industrial wastewater valorisation by membrane bioreactor technology.
- Author
-
Traina F, Corsino SF, Capodici M, Licitra E, Di Bella G, Torregrossa M, and Viviani G
- Subjects
- Bioreactors microbiology, Sewage, Bacteria, Wastewater, Polyhydroxyalkanoates
- Abstract
The present study investigated the combined production of reclaimed water for reuse purposes and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from an agro-food industrial wastewater. A pilot plant implementing a two-stage process for PHA production was studied. It consisted of a mainstream sequencing batch membrane bioreactor (SBMBR) in which selection of PHA-accumulating organisms and wastewater treatment were carried out in, and a side-stream fed-batch reactor (FBR) where the excess sludge from the SBMBR was used for PHA accumulation. The performance of the SBMBR was compared with that of a conventional sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating the same wastewater under different food to microorganisms' ratios (F/M) ranging between 0.125 and 0.650 kgCOD kgTSS
-3 d-1 . The SBMBR enabled to obtain very high-quality effluent in compliance with the relevant national (Italy) and European regulations (Italian DM 185/03 and EU, 2020/741) in the field of wastewater reclamation, whereas the performances in the SBR collapsed at F/M higher than 0.50 kgCOD kgTSS-1 d-1 . A maximum intracellular storage of 45% (w/w) and a production yield of 0.63 gPHA L-1 h-1 were achieved when the SBMBR system was operated with a F/M ratio close to 0.50 kgCOD kgTSS-1 d-1 . This resulted approximately 35% higher than those observed in the SBR, since the ultrafiltration membrane avoided the washout of dispersed and filamentous bacteria capable of storing PHA. Furthermore, while maximizing PHA productivity in conventional SBR systems led to process dysfunctions, in the SBMBR system it helped mitigate these issues by reducing membrane fouling behaviour. The results of this study supported the possibility to achieve combined recovery of reclaimed water and high-value added bioproducts using membrane technology, leading the way for agro-food industrial wastewater valorization in the frame of a circular economy model., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
13. Germ-free, carefree: injured skin uses IL-24 to kick-start repair independent of pathogen-recognition.
- Author
-
Ferrer RA, Torregrossa M, and Franz S
- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
14. Perfectionistic Environments and Irrational Beliefs on the Transition to Elite Athletic Performance: A Longitudinal Study.
- Author
-
Ramis Y, Pons J, Alcaraz S, Pallares S, Viladrich C, Muñoz-Justicia J, and Torregrossa M
- Subjects
- Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Athletes, Motivation, Perfectionism, Sports
- Abstract
This study aimed to longitudinally evaluate talented athletes' levels of perfectionism, irrational beliefs, and motivations with regard to their athletic careers. A total of 390 athletes from U14, U16, and junior categories ( M
ageT 1 = 15.42) answered shortened versions of the Sport-MPS2, iPBI, and BRSQ during two consecutive seasons, along with questions referring to their current and predicted prioritization of sports and education. Participants reported high levels of perfectionistic strivings and medium to low levels of socially prescribed perfectionism and concern over mistakes decreasing from T1 to T2. A decrease was also found for demandingness and awfulizing, but increased levels were found for depreciation in T2. Participants report very high intrinsic motivation with low levels of external regulation and amotivation, but intrinsic motivation decreased from season to season. This general profile varied depending upon future expectancies toward dedication to sports and education. Those who foresaw a prioritized dedication to sports presented significantly higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism, perfectionistic strivings, and intrinsic motivation, while those who considered that sports would not be prioritized in the following 5 years reported higher levels of demandingness, awfulizing, depreciation, and amotivation. Additionally, while current levels of motivation (T2) seemed to be predicted mainly by previous motivation levels (T1), significant predictive capacity was also detected for socially prescribed perfectionism positively predicting external regulations and amotivation, perfectionistic strivings negatively predicting amotivation, and depreciation negatively predicting intrinsic motivation and positively predicting both extrinsic regulation and amotivation. We discuss the potential perils of developing extremely demanding environments, as they could potentially result in poor motivational profiles of athletes in their talent development stage during the junior to senior transition.- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
15. Insights on mechanisms of excess sludge minimization in an oxic-settling-anaerobic process under different operating conditions and plant configurations.
- Author
-
Corsino SF, Carabillò M, Cosenza A, De Marines F, Di Trapani D, Traina F, Torregrossa M, and Viviani G
- Subjects
- Anaerobiosis, Bioreactors, Extracellular Polymeric Substance Matrix, Sewage, Waste Disposal, Fluid methods
- Abstract
In the present research, insights about the mechanisms of excess sludge minimization occurring in an oxic-settling-anaerobic (OSA) were provided. The investigation involved two systems operating in parallel. In particular, a conventional activated sludge (CAS) system as control and a system implementing the OSA process both having a pre-denitrification scheme were considered. Five periods (P1-P5) were studied, during which several operating conditions and configurations were tested. Specifically, the hydraulic retention time (HRT) in the anaerobic reactor of the OSA system (P1 8 h, P2-P3 12 h, P4 8 h, P5 12 h) and the return sludge from the anaerobic to the anoxic (scheme A) (P1-P2) or aerobic (scheme B) mainstream reactors (P3-P5) were investigated. The results highlighted that the excess sludge production in the OSA was lower in all the configurations (12-41%). In more detail, the observed yield (Y
obs ) was reduced from 0.50-0.89 gTSS gCOD-1 (control) to 0.22 -0.34 gTSS gCOD-1 in the OSA process. The highest excess sludge reduction (40%) was achieved when the OSA was operated according to scheme B and HRT of 12 h in the anaerobic reactor (P3). Generally, scheme A enabled the establishment of cell lysis and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) destructuration, leading to a worsening of process performances when high anaerobic HRT (>8 h) was imposed. In contrast, scheme B enabled the establishment of maintenance metabolism in addition to the uncoupling metabolism, while cell lysis and EPS destruction were minimized. This allowed obtaining higher sludge reduction yield without compromising the effluent quality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2023
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
16. The Third Half: A Pilot Study Using Evidence-Based Psychological Strategies to Promote Well-Being among Doctoral Students.
- Author
-
Muro A, Bonilla I, Tejada-Gallardo C, Jiménez-Villamizar MP, Cladellas R, Sanz A, and Torregrossa M
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Male, Pilot Projects, Emotions, Anxiety, Students, Mentors
- Abstract
Over the last few years, various studies have reported decreasing well-being levels among doctoral students, who show a higher risk of suffering from psychological distress than the general population. Accordingly, European policies in higher education encourage well-being promotion programs among doctoral studies to enhance young researchers' well-being. However, programs using evidence-based practices for well-being promotion are not yet generalised in public universities. The present study describes a pilot experience designed to evaluate the efficacy of a well-being program among doctoral candidates of a public European university, the Autonomous University of Barcelona. 25 doctoral students (67% women) participated in a pre-post study consisting of six sessions of 3 h each and structured by the big five criteria coming from evidence-based practices for well-being promotion: outdoor green spaces exposure, physical activity, gamification, mentoring, positive and coaching psychology techniques. Results showed how participants experienced significant increases in several indicators of emotional well-being and decreased psychological distress after the Third Half program. These positive pilot results encourage further research and future replications to assess the impact of this evidence-based psychological program among the academic community. Results also lead the way towards the creation of healthier academic workplaces by implementing cost-effective interventions that improve researchers' psychosocial support and their overall well-being.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
17. Challenges and opportunities for citrus wastewater management and valorisation: A review.
- Author
-
Lucia C, Laudicina VA, Badalucco L, Galati A, Palazzolo E, Torregrossa M, Viviani G, and Corsino SF
- Subjects
- Agriculture, Soil, Citrus, Wastewater
- Abstract
Citrus wastewaters (CWWs) are by-products of the citrus fruit transformation process. Currently, more than 700 million of m³ of CWWs per year are produced worldwide. Until nowadays, the management of CWWs is based on a take-make-use-dispose model. Indeed, after being produced within a citrus processing industry, CWWs are subjected to treatment and then discharged into the environment. Now, the European Union is pushing towards a take-make-use-reuse management model, which suggests to provide for the minimization of residual pollutants simultaneously with their exploitation through a biorefinery concept. Indeed, the recovery of energy nutrients and other value-added products held by CWWs may promote environmental sustainability and close the nutrient cycles in line with the circular bio-economy perspective. Unfortunately, knowledge about the benefits and disadvantages of available technologies for the management and valorisation of CWWs are very fragmentary, thus not providing to the scientific community and stakeholders an appropriate approach. Moreover, available studies focus on a specific treatment/valorisation pathway of CWWs and an overall vision is still missing. This review aims to provide an integrated approach for the sustainable management of CWWs to be proposed to company managers and other stakeholders within the legislative boundaries and in line with the circular bio-economy perspective. To this aim, firstly, a concise analysis of citrus wastewater characteristics and the main current regulations on CWWs are reported and discussed. Then, the main technologies with a general comparison of their pros and cons, and alternative pathways for CWWs utilization are presented and discussed. Finally, a focus was paid to the economic feasibility of the solutions proposed to date relating to the recovery of the CWWs for the production of both value-added compounds and agricultural reuse. Based on literature analysis an integrated approach for a sustainable CWWs management is proposed. Such an approach suggests that after chemicals recovery by biorefinery, wastewaters should be directly used for crop irrigation if allowed by regulations or addressed to treatment plant. The latter way should be preferred when CWWs cannot be directly applied to soil due to lack of concomitance between CWWs production and crop needs. In such a way, treated wastewater should be reused after tertiary treatments for crop irrigation, whereas produced sludges should be undergone to dewatering treatment before being reused as organic amendment to improve soil fertility. Finally, this review invite European institutions and each Member State to promote common and specific legislations to overcome the fragmentation of the regulatory framework regarding CWWs reuse., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
18. Membrane Fouling Mitigation in MBR via the Feast-Famine Strategy to Enhance PHA Production by Activated Sludge.
- Author
-
Corsino SF, Di Bella G, Traina F, Montes LA, Val Del Rio A, Corral AM, Torregrossa M, and Viviani G
- Abstract
Fouling is considered one of the main drawbacks of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. Among the main fouling agents, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are considered one of the most impactful since they cause the decrease of sludge filterability and decline of membrane flux in the long term. The present study investigated a biological strategy to reduce the membrane-fouling tendency in MBR systems. This consisted of seeding the reactor with activated sludge enriched in microorganisms with polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) storage ability and by imposing proper operating conditions to drive the carbon toward intracellular (PHA) rather than extracellular (EPS) accumulation. For that purpose, an MBR lab-scale plant was operated for 175 days, divided into four periods (1-4) according to different food to microorganisms' ratios (F/M) (0.80 kg COD kg TSS
-1 d-1 (Period 1), 0.13 kg COD kg TSS-1 d-1 (Period 2), 0.28 kg COD kg TSS-1 d-1 (Period 3), and 0.38 kg COD kg TSS-1 d-1 (Period 4)). The application of the feast/famine strategy favored the accumulation of intracellular polymers by bacteria. The increase of the PHA accumulation inside the cells corresponded to the decrease of EPS and an F/M of 0.40-0.50 kg COD kg TSS-1 d-1 was found as optimum to maximize the PHA production, while minimizing EPS. The lowest EPS content in the sludge (18% of total suspended solids) that corresponded to the maximum content of PHA (9.3%) was found in Period 4 and determined significant mitigation of the fouling rate, whose value was close to 0.10 × 1011 m-1 h-1 . Thus, by imposing proper operating conditions, it was possible to drive the organic matter toward PHA accumulation. Moreover, a lower EPS content corresponded to a decrease in the irreversible fouling mechanism, which would imply a lower frequency of the extraordinary cleaning operations. This study highlighted the possibility of obtaining a double benefit by applying an MBR system in the frame of wastewater valorization: minimizing the fouling tendency of the membrane and recovery precursors of bioplastics from wastewater in line with the circular economy model.- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
19. Occurrence of Microplastics in Waste Sludge of Wastewater Treatment Plants: Comparison between Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) Technologies.
- Author
-
Di Bella G, Corsino SF, De Marines F, Lopresti F, La Carrubba V, Torregrossa M, and Viviani G
- Abstract
In this study, the presence of microplastics in the sludge of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was examined. The investigated WWTPs operated based on a conventional activated sludge (CAS) process, with (W1) or without (W2) primary clarification, and a membrane bioreactor process (MBR) (W3). The microplastics (MPs) concentration in the samples of W3 was approximately 81.1 ± 4.2 × 10
3 particles/kg dry sludge, whereas MPs concentrations in W1 and W2 were 46.0 ± 14.8 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge and 36.0 ± 5.2 × 103 particles/kg dry sludge, respectively. Moreover, MPs mainly consisted of fragments (66-68%) in the CAS plants, whereas the fractions of MPs shapes in the MBR sludge were more evenly distributed, although fiber (47%) was the most abundant fraction. Furthermore, samples from the MBR showed a greater diversity in MPs composition. Indeed, all the main polyesters (i.e., textile fibers and polyethylene terephthalate), polyolefins (i.e., polyethylene and polypropylene) and rubber (i.e., polybutadiene) were observed, whereas only polybutadiene, cellulose acetate and polyester were detected in the CAS plants. These findings confirmed that MPs from wastewater are transferred and concentrated in the waste sludge. This is a critical finding since sludge disposal could become a new pathway for microplastic release into the environment and because MPs might affect the fouling behavior of the membrane.- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
20. Positive and negative spontaneous self-talk and performance in gymnastics: The role of contextual, personal and situational factors.
- Author
-
Santos-Rosa FJ, Montero-Carretero C, Gómez-Landero LA, Torregrossa M, and Cervelló E
- Subjects
- Anxiety psychology, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Self Concept, Athletic Performance psychology, Gymnastics
- Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyse whether contextual (perception of motivational climate and positive and negative spontaneous self-talk in sports), personal (positivity) and situational variables (positive and negative spontaneous self-talk employed in competition and precompetitive anxiety) predict performance in a competition of ensembles of rhythmic gymnastics. 258 female gymnasts between ages14 and 20 (M = 15.24, SD = 1.46) participated in the study, completing pre- and post-competition measures. The results of the path-analysis showed that both the task-involving climate and positivity predicted positive self-talk in sport. This predicted self-confidence which, in turn, positively predicted positive situational self-talk in competition. For its part, the perception of an ego-involving climate positively predicted the use of both negative and positive self-talk in sport. Negative self-talk in sports predicted negative situational self-talk in competition and somatic and cognitive anxiety. In turn, cognitive anxiety positively predicted negative situational self-talk. Finally, performance was positively predicted by positive situational self-talk and negatively by negative situational self-talk. These results explain the functioning of spontaneous self-talk at different levels of generality and its relationship with sports performance., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
21. Biomethane Production from Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Selected Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) with Sewage Sludge: Effect of the Inoculum to Substrate Ratio (ISR) and Mixture Composition on Process Performances.
- Author
-
Corsino SF, Torregrossa M, and Viviani G
- Subjects
- Anaerobiosis, Bioreactors, Digestion, Sewage, Refuse Disposal, Solid Waste analysis
- Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inoculum to substrate ratio (ISR) and the mixture ratio between organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and sewage sludge (SS) on the methane production potential achievable from anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD). Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) assays at mesophilic temperature were used to determine the best AcoD configuration for maximizing methane yield and production rate, as well as to address possible synergistic effects. The maximum methane yield was observed at ISR of 1 and 60% OFMSW: 40% SS as co-digestion mixture, whereas the highest methane production rate was achieved at ISR of 2 with the same mixture ratio (207 mL/gVS/d). Synergistic effects were highlighted in the mixtures having OFMSW below 60%, determining an increase of approximately 40% in methane production than the OFMSW and SS digestion as a sole substrate. The experimental data demonstrated that co-digestion of OFMSW and SS resulted in an increase in the productivity of methane than anaerobic digestion using the sole substrates, producing higher yields or production rates while depending on the ISR and the mixture ratio.
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
22. Effects of the COVID-19 Health Crisis on Sports Practice, Life Quality, and Emotional Status in Spanish High-Performance Athletes.
- Author
-
Conde E, Martínez-Aranda LM, Sanz G, López de Subijana C, Sánchez-Pato A, Díaz-Aroca Á, Leiva-Arcas A, García-Roca JA, Ramis Y, and Torregrossa M
- Abstract
Spain is one of the many countries highly affected by the COVID-19 crisis, establishing very restrictive measures with a complete lockdown for more than 3 months. This situation forced the complete closure of sport practice and national or international competitions, leading to a negative impact on physical and psychological health of high-performance athletes. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (a) to determine the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis on Spanish high-performance athletes in terms of sports practice, life quality, and emotional state and (b) to identify the profile with the greatest difficulties during and after the lockdown. A sample of 130 high-performance athletes aged between 18 and 34 years (67 women and 63 men) participated in this study (83.1% achieved a medal in National-International elite competitions; 86.9% were considered student-athletes). Measures included socio-demographic data through a 5-dimension ad hoc survey: physical activity and exercise using an adapted version from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) ; health status and limitations using an adapted version of SF-12 Health Questionnaire ; Perceived stress (Short-PSS) ; and Mood States (29-item POMS ). All participants have shown a significant decrease pre-post-lockdown in both health and performance perception, especially in women, individual athletes, medalists, and student-athletes. Strong limitations of training, attention, and motivation as well as a moderate negative emotional state during lockdown were reported, in women, individual athletes, medalists, and student-athletes. Even with an improved emotional state and energy level in the post-lockdown period, moderate-to-high stress scores were reported by women and medalists. Our findings highlight the importance of paying attention to the physical and psychological health of elite athletes on three profiles: team athletes (due to social distance), student-athletes (dual-career issues), and women athletes (prevalence of implicit gender inequalities in sport)., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Conde, Martínez-Aranda, Sanz, López de Subijana, Sánchez-Pato, Díaz-Aroca, Leiva-Arcas, García-Roca and Ramis and Torregrossa.)
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
Catalog
Discovery Service for Jio Institute Digital Library
For full access to our library's resources, please sign in.