Production and characterization of glicosidases from Aspergillus terreus using "pastazzo" as inductor .

New chemiometric technique applied to traceability of Sicilian honey of Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.)

The consumers have an increasing interest about food traceability with respect to safety, quality and typicality issues. Food traceability is an important issue in food safety and quality control, with impacts on food security, its quantity and overall availability. Furthermore, the possibility of tracing the origin of foodstuff is assuming an increasingly important role at the legislative level, as a tool that may allow to prove on product authenticity and to control adulteration. So, establish systems to trace food products through specified stages of production, processing and distribution play a key role also to ensure food safety. In the last years, several of analytical techniques hav…

Herbicidal activity of Citrus limon essential oil extracted from Sicilian lemon industry

Weeds could reduce yield of annual crops by up to 70%. The main features of these species include high seed production, easily seed dispersal, variable degrees of seed dormancy and high competitivity by rapid seedling growth and higher growth rate than crops. Weed management is a significant challenge faced for crop yield and quality since they compete for water, light, soil nutrients and space. Environmental constraints of crop production systems have stimulated interest in alternative weed management strategies. In fact, the continued use of synthetic herbicides may threaten sustainable agricultural production and has resulted in serious ecological and environmental problems, such as the …

Herbicidal activity of essential oils extracted from different Eucalyptus and Citrus species against Avena fatua

Weeds are a serious threat for crop yield and quality since they compete for water, light, soil nutrients and space. Avena fatua L. is one of the ten worst annual weeds of temperate agricultural regions of the world. It could reduce annual crop yields by as much as 70%. The main traits of this species include high fecundity, self-pollination, and variable degrees of primary seed dormancy. A. fatua is in the 4th position of herbicide resistant weeds in the word. It has developed resistance to eight different modes of action. .. The European legislation also supports weed control by means of Integrated Pest Management. It is important to manage A. fatua interference preventing environmental p…

EFFECTS OF CITRUS ESSENTIAL OILS ON THE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF PRIMO SALE CHEESE

In the last years, the consumers demanding foods with no chemical preservatives for food conservation, determined an interest by the food industries for the use of natural biopreservatives. Several essential oils from various plants and fruits have been characterized for their antibacterial activities in order to select new biopreservatives. The aim of this work was to evaluate the organoleptic effect of citrus essential oils to be applied in the processing of sheeps’ milk “Primo Sale” cheese and the inhibitory effect on the main bacterial pathogens of dairy interest. In order to better evaluate the antibacterial effect, the first approach was based on pasteurized milk, in view of the futur…

Soil bioindicators and weed emergence as affected by essential oils extracted from leaves of three different Eucalyptus species

The widespread use of synthetic herbicides has resulted in herbicide-resistant weeds, altered ecological balance and negative effects on human health. To overcome these problems, efforts are being made to reduce the reliance on synthetic herbicides and shift to natural products. Essential oils (EOs) extracted from plants have been demonstrated to have potential herbicide activity. EOs, composed by volatile organic compounds and characterized by a strong odor, are used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries as they are thought to be safe compounds for humans, animals, and the environment. EOs extracted from Eucalyptus leaves have antimicrobial, antiviral, fungicidal, insecticida…

Utilizzo di traccianti geochimici nella Limonicoltura Siciliana.

Nell’ultimo decennio i consumatori hanno sviluppato un interesse crescente per la tracciabilità dei prodotti agroalimentari in particolare in relazione all’origine geografica. La conoscenza di una possibile relazione chimica tra suolo e prodotti agroalimentari è importante per valutare la provenienza e autenticità dei prodotti. Tutto ciò va a favore del consumatore e si traduce in maggiore sicurezza e qualità dell’alimento. La coltivazione del Limone (Citrus Limon (L.) Osbeck) è una delle più importanti colture al mondo e l'individuazione di potenziali frodi potrebbe essere migliorata studiando la sua composizione chimica che lo lega all’area di origine. Questo studio ha utilizzato le terre…

Plant litter decomposition and microbial characteristics in volcanic soils (Mt Etna, Sicily) at different stages of development

Soils at different developmental stages were sampled from eight sites on the slopes of Mt Etna, Sicily (Italy) and characterized for total C, microbial biomass and microbial respiration. The values of these parameters were greatest for the most developed soils, but differences in recent management and site characteristics limited analysis of trends with soil development across the eight sites. The decomposition kinetics of both intact leaf litter and the water-insoluble fraction of leaf litter from three common species on Etna [Etnean broom (Genista aetnensis), European chestnut (Castanea sativa), and Corsican pine (Pinus nigra)] were determined in four of the soils (the two with the smalle…

Preliminary studies of geochemical tools to traceability of Sicilian honey

Today is increasing the attention of consumers for the origin of food and high reputation of products with a distinct geographical identity. Food traceability is an important issue in food safety and quality control, with impacts on food security, its quantity and overall availability. Furthermore, the possibility of tracing the origin of foodstuff is assuming an increasingly important role at the legislative level, as a tool that may allow to prove on product authenticity and to control adulteration So, establish systems to trace food or feed products through specified stages of production, processing and distribution play a key role also to ensure food safety. For these reason, in the las…

Influenza della tecnica di estinzione pirolitica sulla capacità di campo di due biochar

Il biochar è un materiale poroso ottenuto per degradazione termica di biomasse vegetali ed animali in assenza o scarsità di ossigeno (pirolisi). Attualmente in letteratura si trovano molti studi che riportano degli effetti nel miglioramento della fertilità dei suoli dopo applicazione di questo materiale. Tuttavia è anche riportato che applicazioni di biochar ai suoli possono risultare in un decremento della fertilità. Il punto cruciale nell’uso del biochar per il miglioramento della qualità dei suoli è nella sua caratterizzazione, ovvero nella valutazione delle sue caratteristiche chimiche e chimico-fisiche che possono influenzare il suo effetto nei suoli. Parametri molto importanti che def…

Phytotoxic potential of Citrus essential oils on weed species

Environmental constraints of crop production systems have stimulated interest in alternative weed management strategies. In fact, the continued use of synthetic herbicides may threaten sustainable agricultural production and result in serious ecological and environmental problems, such as the increased incidence of resistance in weeds to important herbicides and increased environmental pollution and health hazards. Public awareness and demand for environmentally safer herbicides with less persistence and less contaminating potential make searches for new weed control strategies. Citrus Essential oils are generally used in the cosmetic, medicinal, and food industries, and are thought to be s…

Recovery and genotyping ancient Sicilian monumental olive trees

The long-lived and evergreen olive tree dominates the Mediterranean landscape, representing an agroecological and cultural symbol and a genetic heritage of inestimable value. Sicily, for historical, geographical, and cultural reasons, has a very rich and distinctive olive germplasm. In this work, a large survey was conducted to discover, collect, and characterize the genetic diversity of centennial monumental olive trees from historical sites, such as the Greek Temple Valley (Agrigento), ancient gardens, or farmland present in the western part of the island. Trees were chosen based on their height, trunk, stump size, and presumed age; particularly, only olive trees with an age estimated at …

Analysis of geochemical tracers in different systems soil-Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck

Today is increasing the attention of consumers for the origin of food and high reputation of products with a distinct geographical identity. Food traceability is an important issue in food safety and quality control, with impacts on food security, its quantity and overall availability. The knowledge of a chemistry relationship between the soil and the agricultural products is an important tool for the quality assessment of food. Citrus Limon is the most important fruit tree crop in the world and the detection of potential fraud could improve by using tools linking the chemistry composition of this production to its typical growing area. This study use rare earth elements (REEs) as geochemic…

Effetti dell’applicazione in post emergenza degli oli essenziali di eucalipto sulle piante infestanti e sulla comunità microbica del suolo

L'uso diffuso di erbicidi sintetici ha un impatto negativo sulla salute umana e sull’ecosistema. Per il superamento di questi problemi, si stanno valutando soluzioni alternative per ridurre l’utilizzo di erbicidi sintetici. Molti studi hanno dimostrato che gli oli essenziali (EO) estratti da alcune piante hanno un'attività erbicida. Gli EO, sono costituiti da composti organici volatili e caratterizzati da un forte odore; vengono utilizzati dalle industrie cosmetiche, farmaceutiche e alimentari in quanto sono considerati composti sicuri per l’uomo, gli animali e l'ambiente. Diversi studi hanno dimostrato che gli EO estratti dalle foglie di eucalipto hanno effetti antimicrobici, antivirali, f…

Trace Codimensions of Algebras and Their Exponential Growth

The trace codimensions give a quantitative description of the identities satisfied by an algebra with trace. Here we study the asymptotic behaviour of the sequence of trace codimensions c tr n(A) and of pure trace codimensions c ptr n (A) of a finite-dimensional algebra A over a field of characteristic zero. We find an upper and lower bound of both codimensions and as a consequence we get that the limits limn→∞ctrn(A)√n and limn→∞cptrn(A) √n always exist and are integers. This result gives a positive answer to a conjecture of Amitsur in this setting. Finally we characterize the varieties of algebras whose exponential growth is bounded by 2

Herbicidal activity of essential oils extracted from different Mediterranean species against Echinochloa crus galli

Weed infestation in agricultural fields can cause huge economic losses and low-quality crop yields. Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv. (barnyardgrass) is one of the greatest yields limiting weeds in rice cultivation systems. It is a cosmopolitan weed in both temperate and tropical regions and is reported as a weed in 36 different crops in 61 countries. The success of this weed may be attributed to the production of large numbers of small, easily dispersed seeds per plant, possession of seed dormancy, rapid development and ability to flower under a wide range of photoperiods, and relative resistance of mature plants to herbicide sprays. Thus, the best way to control barnyardgrass in an env…

Distribution of REEs in soil-citrus limon system(L.) Osbeck

The consumers have an increasing interest about food traceability with respect to safety, quality and typicality issues. The knowledge of a chemistry relationship between the soil and the agricultural products is an important tool for the quality assessment of food. Citrus Limon is the most important fruit tree crop in the world and the detection of potential fraud could improve by using tools linking the chemistry composition of this production to its typical growing area. This study use rare earth elements (REEs) as geochemical tracers. The REEs are a set of 14 elements, from lanthanum to lutetium that can be divided in light rare earth elements (LREEs), from La to Gd and heavy rare earth…