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Weeds cause a decrease in the quantity and quality of agricultural production and economic damage to producers. The prolonged use of synthetic pesticides causes problems of environmental pollution, the possible alteration of agricultural products and problems for human health. For this reason, the scientific community's search for products of natural origin, which are biodegradable, safe for human health and can act as valid alternatives to traditional herbicides, is growing. Essential oils can have useful implications in agriculture by acting as effective alternatives to chemical herbicides. In this work, the chemical composition of an EO from Artemisia herba - alba and its herbicidal properties were studied on two weeds ( Lolium multiflorum and Trifolium pratense ) and two crops ( Brassica napus and Hordeum vulgare ) and its environmental safety was also assessed using three model organisms: Chaoborus sp., Tubifex tubifex and Eisenia foetida . The principal component of the EO was camphor (26.02%), with α- and β-thujone (9.60 and 8.38%, respectively), 1,8-cineole (8.02%), piperitenone (5.29%) and camphene (4.95%) as the main components. The EO demonstrated variable phytotoxic effects with a dose-dependent manner, inhibiting both the germination and the radical elongation of the tested seeds, and was also found to be environmentally safe for the selected organisms. The results lay the foundation for considering this EO as a potential weed control agent.

Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast. is native to the Mediterranean area and belongs to Cupressaceae family. The aim of this study were: i) to determine the chemical composition of essential oils (EOs) of T. articulata obtained from its stems, leaves, and cones using GC coupled to GC/MS; II) to evaluate their antioxidant activity using non enzymatic (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP) and enzymatic methods (catalase activity); III) to evaluated their anti-enzymatic activity on enzyme involved in metabolism and Central Nervous System using spectrophotometric assays. α-Pinene, limonene, and bornyl acetate were the main components of the three EOs. Moreover, the EO from cones showed the best antioxidant activity and was also to increase of catalase activity. All EOs were active against α-amylase in similar way; the EO leaves was more active against α-glucosidase and the EO from cones was more active against cholinesterase. The EOs demonstrated significant inhibition of the mature biofilm of Gram-negative and Gram-positive strains. This highlight the potential uses of T. articulata EOs in the fields of health and agriculture., (© 2024 The Author(s). Chemistry & Biodiversity published by Wiley-VHCA AG.)

The installation of common solar panels and collectors in the built environment requires access to significant roof space, which is limited. This motivates the development of high-efficiency, building-integrated technologies that can maximize space utilization and energy provision. In this work, a building-integrated hybrid photovoltaic-thermal window (PVTW) is fabricated and tested, composed of a semi-transparent photovoltaic (PV) layer and a selectively absorptive liquid-based thermal absorber. It is demonstrated that, at 30° inclination, the PVTW can simultaneously generate electricity, with an electrical efficiency of 3.6%, and provide ≈50 °C water, with a thermal efficiency of 10.7%, in the middle of a typical summer day (20th July) in London (maximum ambient temperature ≈34 °C, solar irradiance ≈1100 W m -2 at midday). The water temperature decreases by ≈7 °C, whilst thermal efficiency improves to 17.6% as the inclination angle increases to 90° (vertical); the electrical efficiency reduces marginally (3.3%). Compared to a liquid-based solar-thermal window (STW), the PVTW can generate hot water at ≈10 °C higher temperature and with 10% absolute increase in thermal efficiency when the inclination angle is 60°, plus electricity. The wider uptake of this technology in glass-based urban spaces has the potential to generate significant energy while reducing building temperature management costs., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)