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The dynamics of fluvial erosion responds to soil erosion and surface runoff on hillslopes due to land use and environmental fragility, conditioned by the soil, geology, relief, and rainfall rate. Despite the increasing problems associated with fluvial erosion in Brazil, little information is available on bedload transport in headwater catchments under intense agricultural activity. Therefore, this study sought to characterize the fluvial erosion processes and bedload dynamics in an experimental catchment in southern Brazil located at the edge of the Brazilian Meridional plateau, which is representative of a large area of high environmental fragility and intense agricultural activity in Southern Brazil. The Guarda Mor River drains a headwater catchment (18.5 km 2 ) with undulating and hilly terrain with fragile soils and intense agricultural activity controlling fine and coarse sediment supply downstream. During 11 major rainfall-runoff events, monitoring was conducted to measure streamflow, bedload transport rates, sediment size, and hydraulic parameters, such as Manning's n values and viscous layer thicknesses. A rating curve was established based on 40 streamflow and bedload discharge measurements taken at different water levels and stages along the hydrograph. In addition, a river portion (gravel bed) was characterized as well as the granulometric characteristics of its surface and subsurface layers. The results showed that the transport pattern is influenced by factors other than hydraulic parameters alone, including the interdependence between successive events, armoring effects, and hysteresis. These factors are strongly related to the surface runoff and erosion observed on the hillslopes, which define the streamflow energy and the supply of sand fraction, respectively. A discussion is held on the bedload transport dynamics under non-equilibrium conditions in the modeling of fluvial erosion processes., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: Not applicable., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Tungsten (W) is a rare element and present in the earth's crust mainly as iron, aluminium, and calcium minerals including wolframite and scheelite. This review aims to offer an overview on the current knowledge on W pollution in complex environmental settlings, including terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, linking to its natural and anthropogenic sources, behavior in soil and water, environmental and human health hazards, and remediation strategies. Tungsten is used in many alloys mainly as wafers, which have wide industrial applications, such as incandescent light bulb filaments, X-ray tubes, arc welding electrodes, radiation shielding, and industrial catalysts. The rigidity and high density of W enable it to be suitable for defence applications replacing lead. In soil, W metal is oxidised to the tungstate anion and occurs in oxidation states from - 2 to + 6, with the most prevalent oxidation state of + 6. However, recently, people have been alerted to the risk posed by W alloys and its particulates, which can cause cancer and have other detrimental health effects in animals and humans. The population is subject to W pollution in the workplace by breathing, ingestion, and dermal contact. Remediation of W-polluted soil and aquatic environments can be accomplished via stabilization or solubilization. Stabilization of W in soil and groundwater using immobilizing agents inhibits the bioavailability of W, thereby preventing the contaminant from reaching the food chain, while solubilization of W in soil involving mobilizing materials accelerates the elimination of W via soil washing and root absorption. Future research opportunities covering risk-based remediation of W pollution in these complex settings are presented., 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 Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of and factors associated with the lifetime medical diagnosis of depression in Brazil., Design: Population-based, cross-sectional study., Setting: Analysis of data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey., Participants: 90 846 individuals aged ≥15 years were included., Outcome Measure: The self-reported medical diagnosis of depression at some point in one's life was the main outcome. Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% CIs were calculated by Poisson regression with robust variance. The independent variables included the geographical area of residence, sociodemographic characteristics, current smoking status, alcohol abuse, daily screen time, and the presence of physical disorders and mental health comorbidities., Results: The self-reported lifetime prevalence of medical diagnosis of depression was 9.9% (95% CI 9.5% to 10.2%). The probability of having received a medical diagnosis of depression was higher among urban residents (PR 1.23; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.35); females (2.75; 2.52 to 2.99); those aged 20-29 years (1.17; 0.91 to 1.51), 30-39 years (1.73; 1.36 to 2.19), 40-49 years (2.30; 1.81 to 2.91), 50-59 years (2.32; 1.84 to 2.93) and 60-69 years (2.27; 1.78 to 2.90) compared with those under 20 years; white-skinned people (0.69 (0.61 to 0.78) for black-skinned people and 0.74 (0.69 to 0.80) for indigenous, yellow and brown-skinned people compared with white-skinned people); those with fewer years of education (1.33(1.12 to 1.58) among those with 9-11 years, 1.14 (0.96 to 1.34) among those with 1-8 years and 1.29 (1.11 to 1.50) among those with 0 years compared with those with ≥12 years of education); those who were separated/divorced (1.43; 1.29 to 1.59), widowed (1.06; 0.95 to 1.19) and single (1.01; 0.93 to 1.10) compared with married people; smokers (1.26; 1.14 to 1.38); heavy screen users (1.31; 1.16 to 1.48) compared with those whose usage was <6 hours/day; those with a medical diagnosis of a physical disorder (1.80; 1.67 to 1.97); and individuals with a medical diagnosis of a mental health comorbidity (5.05; 4.68 to 5.46)., Conclusion: This nationwide population-based study of self-reported lifetime medical diagnosis of depression in Brazil showed that the prevalence was almost 10%. Considering the current Brazilian population, this prevalence corresponds to more than 2 million people who have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

A feasibility study is presented for a bioremediation intervention to restore agricultural activity in a field hit by a diesel oil spill from an oil pipeline. The analysis of the real contaminated soil was conducted following two approaches. The first concerned the assessment of the biodegradative capacity of the indigenous microbial community through laboratory-scale experimentation with different treatments (natural attenuation, landfarming, landfarming + bioaugmentation). The second consisted of testing the effectiveness of phytoremediation with three plant species: Zea mays (corn), Lupinus albus (lupine) and Medicago sativa (alfalfa). With the first approach, after 180 days, the different treatments led to biodegradation percentages between 83 and 96% for linear hydrocarbons and between 76 and 83% for branched ones. In case of contamination by petroleum products, the main action of plants is to favor the degradation of hydrocarbons in the soil by stimulating microbial activity thanks to root exudates. The results obtained in this experiment confirm that the presence of plants favors a decrease in the hydrocarbon content, resulting in an improved degradation of up to 18% compared with non-vegetated soils. The addition of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) isolated from the contaminated soil also promoted the growth of the tested plants. In particular, an increase in biomass of over 50% was found for lupine. Finally, the metagenomic analysis of the contaminated soil allowed for evaluating the evolution of the composition of the microbial communities during the experimentation, with a focus on hydrocarbon- oxidizing bacteria.

Phytoextraction is currently investigated to effectively remediate soil contaminated by metals and provide highly competitive biomass for energy production. This research aimed to increase arsenic (As) removal from contaminated soil using industrial Cannabis sativa L., a suitable energy crop for biofuel production. Assisted phytoextraction experiments were conducted on a microcosm scale to explore the ability of two friendly treatments, sodium sulphate (SO 4 ) and exogenous cytokinin (CK), in increasing As phytoextraction efficiency. The results showed that the treatments significantly increased As phytoextraction. Cytokinin was the most effective agent for effectively increasing translocation and the amount of As in aerial parts of C. sativa. In fact, the concentration of As in the shoots of CK-treated plants increased by 172% and 44% compared to untreated and SO 4 -treated plants, respectively. However, the increased As amount accumulated in C. sativa tissues due to the two treatments negatively affected plant growth. Arsenic toxicity caused a significant decrease in aerial C. sativa biomass treated with CK and SO 4 of about 32.7% and 29.8% compared to untreated plants, respectively. However, for our research purposes, biomass reduction has been counterbalanced by an increase in As phytoextraction, such as to consider C. sativa and CK an effective combination for the remediation of As-contaminated soils. Considering that C. sativa has the suitable characteristics to provide valuable resources for bioenergy production, our work can help improve the implementation of a sustainable management model for As contaminated areas, such as phytoremediation coupled with bioenergy generation., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Phytoremediation is a sustainable technology capable of efficiently removing low or moderate contamination. However, complex pollution conditions can drastically reduce efficiency, as plants can show themselves sensitive to organic contaminants, growing slowly and thus impairing metals' absorption. In cases where the action of indigenous bacteria degrading hydrocarbons and promoting plant growth is not sufficient, more sophisticated strategies are necessary. This investigation aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a train of technologies that sees advanced phytoremediation in combination with other biological approaches to remediate soil from a disused industrial area contaminated by N-containing compounds, alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons, copper, and nickel. In particular, a stepwise procedure was used with a pre-treatment (landfarming and bioaugmentation), significantly affecting the soil's fertility, increasing germinability up to 85%, and allowing the plants to extract the metals adequately. Furthermore, with EDTA as a mobilizing agent, nickel absorption has increased up to 36% in Helianthus annuus and up to 88% in Zea mays. For copper, an increase of up to 262% in Helianthus annuus and up to 202% in Zea Mays was obtained. Analysis through Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry highlighted the biodegradation of some of the N-containing compounds recording, after phytoremediation, a decrease of up to almost 90%. Metagenomic analysis of the soil showed a typical microbial population of oxidizing hydrocarbon strains with a prevalence of the Nocardiaceae family (43%). The results obtained appear to confirm the usefulness of the approach developed, and the employed cutting-edge analytical techniques allowed a top-notch characterization of the remediation scenario., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens provides a promising strategy in the waste valorisation process and a sustainable alternative source of valuable nutrients, including lipids for food and feed. In the present study, the differences in growth performances and nutritional values of BSF V instar larvae and prepupae reared on vegetable waste were analyzed and compared focusing on fat content. V instar larvae showed higher capacity to bioconvert the substrate into biomass than prepupae. The nutritional composition and the fatty acid profiles were dependent on the developmental stage. The expression levels of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (acc), fatty acid synthase (fas), lipase (lip) and acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (acd) genes involved in the lipid metabolism pathway and herein characterized for the first time, were evaluated in order to understand the molecular basis underlying the observed differences in fatty acid profiles. Our results suggest that the different fatty acid profiles of BSF V instar larvae and prepupae may be related to the modulation of the lipid metabolism-related genes expression during larval development. Our study highlights substantial differences between H. illucens V instar larvae and prepupae giving important features regarding the opportunity to modulate the preferable fatty acid profile to meet the industrial requirements., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Proper plant selection and application of suitable strategies are key factors to ensure the effectiveness of a reclamation via phytoremediation approach. In this study, micro- and meso-cosm scale experimentation has been realized to address a persistent contamination by arsenic on a disused industrial site through an assisted phytoremediation intervention. Three crop species, namely Brassica juncea, Helianthus annuus and Zea mays, have been considered and the addition of K 2 HPO 4 , a common mobilizing agent for As, or (NH 4 )S 2 O 3 , a promising additive for As mobilization in case of mercury co-presence, evaluated. The use of these additives significantly enhanced the bioavailability of the target contaminant and therefore its phytoextraction up to 80%. Furthermore, in order to maximize the extraction efficiency of the plants, the influence of five indigenous Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB), in combination with the mobilizing agents, was measured. The addition of the microbial consortium led to a further increase in the total uptake of arsenic, especially in B. juncea (up to 140%). The combined strategy supports and enhances the arsenic phytoextraction together with an improvement of the soil quality, as shown by phytotoxicity tests., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The aim of the present work was to test the efficiency of the phytoextraction process involving the use of exogenous phytohormone (cytokinins, CKs) and fertilizer (nitrogen, N) treatments in phytotechnologies to address risk management in "recalcitrant areas". The CKs and N treatments, alone or combined (CKs + N) in a Modulated Application (MA), were tested on the crop plant Helianthus annuus, common to Mediterranean area, fast growing and with high biomass production. Plants were grown on boron (B) contaminated sediments (collected from a geothermal area located in Tuscany (Italy). Plant growth, B uptake, together with plant stress parameters were investigated. Boron is easily taken up and translocated by some crop plants, but the high phytotoxicity can dramatically impact the plant growth and consequently the applicability and efficiency of the phytoextraction process. As indicators of plant stress, oxidative balance and photosynthetic parameters were investigated to give a deeper insight of phytotoxic mechanisms. Results showed that while each treatment (CKs and N alone) had significantly positive effects on plant health, the MA treatment provided a synergistic effect on morphological parameters and biomass production as a whole. After MA treatment, plants showed antioxidant activity comparable to that of the control (unpolluted sediments) and showed an increase of net photosynthesis. Moreover, our data showed very high values of B uptake and translocation (about 800 mg kg -1 in shoots), without any alteration triggered by the treatments (CKs and N alone or combined in MA). B phytoextraction resulted increased about fivefold with the MA treatments, while each treatment alone increased only two or three folds when treated with either CKs or N. The MA treatment is not "contaminant specific", so it could be applied in other "recalcitrant areas" where different types of contaminations occur, in order to overcome limitations of plant growth., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The removal of contaminants from an earthy matrix by phytoremediation requires the selection of appropriate plant species and a suitable strategy to be effective. In order to set up an assisted phytoremediation intervention related to a disused industrial site affected by an arsenic and lead complex contamination, an extensive experimental investigation on micro and mesocosm scale has been conducted. Particular attention was given to the choice of plant species: using crop plants (Lupinus albus, Helianthus annuus and Brassica juncea) a series of parallel test campaigns have been realized to investigate different scenarios for the reclamation. With regard to the arsenic contamination, which is certainly the most worrying, the possibility of employing a hyper-accumulator species (Pteris vittata) has also been investigated, highlighting advantages and difficulties associated with such an approach. The application of various mobilizing agents in different concentrations was tested, in order to maximize the extraction efficiency of plants in respect of both contaminants, showing the necessity of a chemically assisted approach to promote their uptake and translocation in the shoots. Phosphate addition appears to produce the desired results, positively affecting As phyto-extraction for both hyper-accumulator and crop plants, while minimizing its toxic effects at the investigated concentrations. With regard to Pb, although tests with EDDS have been encouraging, EDTA should be preferred at present due to lower uncertainties about its effectiveness. The performed tests also improved the addition of mobilizing agents, allowing the simultaneous removal of the two metals despite their great diversity (which in general discourages such approach), with significant saving of time and an obvious improvement of the overall process., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The study of tungsten in the environment is currently of considerable interest because of the growing concerns resulting from its possible toxicity and carcinogenicity. Adsorption reactions are some of the fundamental processes governing the fate and transport of tungsten compounds in soil. This paper reports data on the adsorption of tungstate ions in three different Italian soils, which are characteristic of the Mediterranean region. The results show that pH is the most important factor governing the adsorption of tungstate in these soils. The data interpreted according to the Langmuir equation show that the maximum value of adsorption is approximately 30 mmol kg -1 for the most acidic soil (pH = 4.50) and approximately 9 mmol kg -1 for the most basic soil (pH = 7.40). In addition, soil organic matter is shown to play a fundamental role in adsorption processes, which are favored in soils with a higher organic matter content. The data could contribute to a better understanding of the behavior of tungsten compounds in Italian soils for which current knowledge is very scarce, also in view of environmental regulations, which are currently lacking.

Clinostomum complanatum is a zoonotic parasite of birds, and its larval form (metacercariae) may cause disease in fish. The immune response of fish infected by C. complanatum is unknown, and therefore the objective of this study was to evaluate serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) infected by this parasite. The analysis showed that fish infected with metacercariae presented significantly (P < 0.05) higher levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 (IL-1), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) when compared to those not infected. These data suggest that C. complanatum larvae activate the host immune response.

In this study we evaluated the effect of different fertilizer treatments on Brassica plants grown on boron-contaminated sediments. Experiments were conducted in the laboratory and on the lysimeter scale. At laboratory scale (microcosm), five different fertilizers were tested for a 35-d period. On the lysimeter scale, nitrogen fertilization was tested at three different doses and plants were allowed to grow until the end of the vegetative phase (70 d). Results showed that nitrogen application had effectively increased plant biomass production, while B uptake was not affected. Total B phytoextracted increased three-fold when the highest nitrogen dose was applied. Phytotoxicity on Brassica was evaluated by biochemical parameters. In plants grown in unfertilized B-contaminated sediments, the activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and pyrogallol peroxidase (PPX) increased, whereas catalase (CAT) decreased with respect to control plants. Addition of N progressively mitigated the alteration of enzymatic activity, thus suggesting that N can aid in alleviating B-induced oxidative stress. SOD activity was restored to control levels just at the lowest N treatment, whereas the CAT inhibition was partially restored only at the highest one. N application also lowered the B-induced increase in APX and PPX activities. Increased glutathione reductase activity indicated the need to restore the oxidative balance of glutathione. Data also suggest a role of glutathione and phytochelatins in B defense mechanisms. Results suggest that the nitrogen fertilizer was effective in improving B phytoextraction by increasing Brassica biomass and by alleviating B-induced oxidative stress., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this study, teleostean fish Leporinus obtusidens (piava) were exposed to different concentrations of Roundup, a glyphosate (acid equivalent) herbicide: 0 (control), 3, 6, 10, and 20 mg/L for 96 h (short-term). Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was verified in brain and muscle tissues. Metabolic parameters in the liver and muscle (lactate, glycogen, glucose, protein, and ammonia), as well as some hematological parameters, were determined. Unexposed fish exhibited significantly higher brain AChE activity when compared to that of the muscle (P<0.05) (13.8+/-0.76 and 6.1+/-1.31 micromol/min/g protein, respectively). Results indicated that AChE activity significantly decreased in the brain of fish exposed to all glyphosate concentrations tested, but in the muscle this parameter was not altered. In addition, fish exposed to all glyphosate concentrations showed a significant increase in hepatic glycogen and glucose, but a significant reduction in muscle glycogen and glucose. Lactate and protein of fish exposed to all glyphosate concentrations presented a significant decrease in the liver, but did not change significantly in the muscle. Levels of ammonia in both tissues increase in fish at all glyphosate concentrations. Exposure to this herbicide produced a decrease in all hematological parameters tested. These results indicate that AChE activity as well as metabolic and hematological parameters may be good early indicators of herbicide contamination in L. obtusidens.

Regarding the seriousness of work-accident in Gorizia district, various organizations as ASL 2 "Isontina" (local health agency), INAIL of Friuli Venezia Giulia (National Institute for occupational accident insurance), trade unions and trade associations created a organization called "Observatory for Working-accidents and Professional Illness Prevention". The aim of this association is the promotion of safety in working environment. Diffusing importance of safety in building trade was the first projects of Observatory. So, Observatory carried an initiative to make more aware the workers. Than, it organized training courses for building workers. Moreover, the construction of an informative pamphlet on risks in building trade was made. For some experimental investigation, Observatory works with Department of Psychology, University of Trieste.

The development of a new measure to investigate risk perception in afield setting as building was the aim of this work. Workers' cognitive representation of risk and relation among ris perception, risk-acceptance and risk taking was the goals of the measure. The methodological approach for the measure development was the psychometric paradigm (Fischhoff, Slovic, Lichtenstein, Read e Combs, 1978). A first data collection in field context demonstrates measure's validity and reliability.