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Washing processes of synthetic clothes are considered the main source of microplastic pollution in the oceans, as during washing, microfibres are released and cannot be completely blocked by wastewater treatments plants, thus reaching the marine ecosystems. The development of mitigation approaches is strongly needed to prevent the impact of microplastics on marine environments. With the aim to protect the fabrics during the washing processes and then reduce the release of microfibres, in this work, new finishing treatments of polyamide fabrics were performed by an ElectroFluidoDynamic (EFD) method. This approach was used to obtain homogeneous coatings of biodegradable polymers, namely poly (lactic acid) and poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate), on polyamide surface, without affecting the fabric hand and wettability. The treatments were very effective, able to significantly reduce the amount of microfibres released during washing tests, proving to be a promising application to mitigate micro plastic pollution. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hypothesis In the last years, several cost-effective technologies have been investigated to functionalize textile substrates for large scale applications and industrial production. However, several limitations of currently used technologies still restrict the capability to form functional coatings finely controlling the textile surface properties and topographic structure of the coatings at sub-micrometric scale. Experiments Herein, we introduced a new non-conventional electrofluidodynamic technology – based on the use of electrostatic forces to polymer/composite solutions – for the application onto textile fabrics of functional coatings. With respect to particle/fibrous coatings usually applied through conventional electrospraying/electrospinning processes, the proposed approach is able to realize homogeneous and continuous coatings by a one-step process, imparting tailored functionalities to the textiles surfaces through the use of customized experimental setups. Findings We proved that this process can be successfully used to realize functional coatings based on a bioderived polymer, namely polylactic acid (PLA), on commercial woven polyamide (PA) fabrics. In addition, due to the usage of graphene derivatives or photochromic dyes in combination with PLA, the applied coatings are able to confer peculiar functionalities (i.e., electrical conductivity, photochromic properties, etc.) to polyamide fabrics, as proved by SEM, conductivity and UV irradiation measurements, for innovative applications in smart textiles, e-health and wearable electronics.

Eating behavior is influenced by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Although candidate gene studies have been conducted, much remains to be understood about genetic influences. Therefore, we conducted a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) aims to identify new variants that influence eating disinhibition. Moreover, we test the possible association of these variants with food liking and metabolic phenotypes.We measured disinhibition in two cohorts of Italian samples using three selected statements from the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire. Personal and clinical data were collected, as well as liking for different foods and beverages. GWAS was carried out in 1124 individuals; then the best signals (p-value < 1 x 10(-5)) were studied for replication in 426 independents participants. To study the link of eating disinhibition and associated variants with food liking and metabolic traits, we used linear mixed models and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).A significant association with CAV1 (caveolin 1) gene (p < 5 x 10(-8)) was identified. The top SNP (rs6961694) resulted also associated with the liking for sweet foods and alcoholic beverages (p-value < 0.05). Moreover, we observed significant eQTL associations between this SNP and CAV1 expression levels in human tissues such as adipose subcutaneous tissue, pancreas and brain hippocampus (p-value = 0.00022, 0.00015 and 0.017, respectively). Although higher values of BMI, waist, hips and triglycerides were significantly associated with increasing eating disinhibition (p-value < 0.05), no association emerged between the rs6961694 SNP and anthropometric or lipids phenotypes.In conclusion, we describe a significant association between eating traits and CAV1 gene, providing new knowledge on the link existing between genetics, eating behaviour and health status.

Plastic is a ubiquitous material in our life, and its durability represents a great problem for the environment. Several studies reported the occurrence of plastic litter in different environmental compartments and, consequently, numerous efforts are currently focused on how improving its recycling process and produce environmentally friendly solutions. In recent years, biodegradable polymers/plastics (BPs) have been proposed to reduce environmental impacts in specific applications (e.g., when conventional plastics are difficult or expensive to remove from the environment). Their wide use in commercial products, especially in the packaging sector, is causing new pollution alarm. Research studies are ongoing to improve BPs manufacturing and characteristics, but few data are reported about their behavior and toxicity into the marine environment. This paper reviewed the current state of the art highlighting that, even though the degradation of BPs in simulated or real marine environments is quite investigated, only eleven papers reported their effects on marine organisms (e.g., behavioral and oxidative stress and potential cascading effects on marine ecosystems). Presently, the main benefits of BPs are linked to waste management (including collection and recycling of organic waste). Due to the existing knowledge gaps, BPs cannot be deemed yet as a solution to marine plastic pollution.

Composites based on poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) containing amorphized and crystalline cellulose reinforcements have been prepared and characterized. In order to improve the polymer/filler interfacial adhesion, an efficient compatibilizing agent has been synthesized by chemical modification of PBSA and characterized by FT-IR, FT-NIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Uncompatibilized and compatibilized composites have been tested through morphological, mechanical, calorimetric and thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, water vapor permeability and biodegradation kinetics of composites have been investigated. The addition to PBSA of cellulose fillers differing from each other by crystallinity degree and morphology, and the use of a compatibilizing agent have allowed modulating tensile and thermal properties, water vapor transmission rate and biodegradation kinetic of the composites.