0000000000437275
AUTHOR
Liliana Gianfreda
showing 2 related works from this author
Reversing agriculture from intensive to sustainable improves soil quality in a semiarid South Italian soil
2010
Intensive agriculture (IA) is widespread in South Italy, although it requires frequent tillage, large amounts of fertilizers and irrigation water. We have assessed the efficacy of reversing IA to sustainable agriculture (SA) in recovering quality of a typical South Italy soil (Lithic Haploxeralf). This reversion, lasting from 2000 to 2007, replaced 75% of nutrients formerly supplied inorganically by farmyard manuring and reduced the tillage frequency. Several chemical and biochemical properties, functionally related to C and N mineralisation–immobilisation processes and to P and S nutrient cycles, were monitored annually from 2005 to 2007 in the spring. Reversing IA to SA decreased soil bul…
Interaction of a Recombinant Prion Protein with Organo-Mineral Complexes as Assessed by FT-IR and CPMAS 13C NMR Analysis
2010
Prion proteins are considered as the main agents for the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE). The misfolded form, PrP Sc , which is also indicated as the etiological agent for TSE, exhibits high resistance to degradation in environmental processes. Soil contamination by prion proteins is a real environmental issue since contaminated soils can become potential reservoir and diffuser for TSE infectivity. In this work, the interaction of prion protein with organo- mineral complexes was studied by using a recombinant non pathogenic prion protein and a model soil system. This latter was represented by a soil manganese mineral coated with polymerized catechol. FT-IR spectra showed ami…