Background The retention of crop residues on the soil surface may increase the risk of Fusarium head blight (FHB) and mycotoxin contamination in wheat (Triticum aestivum) grains. Objective This study aims to evaluate the effects of reduced tillage systems (no-tillage or minimum tillage) and continuous ploughing, combined with a fungicide application on regulated and emerging mycotoxins, under natural infection conditions. Methods A 12-year field experiment was conducted within a maize (Zea mays) –wheat rotation system. The tillage and fungicide applications were assessed, according to a factorial design, under medium–low and high FHB risk conditions. Fusarium, Alternaria and Claviceps metabolites were analysed by multi-mycotoxin LC–MS/MS. Results Ploughing minimised FHB severity by 81% under high disease risk conditions, while reduced tillage lowered Septoria foliar disease severity and prolonged canopy stay-green during filling. Ploughing under a medium–low FHB risk increased the grain yield by 6%, compared with minimum tillage, while no yield differences among the tillage were observed under high FHB pressure. Triazole fungicide improved the yield by 14% and 35% under medium–low and high FHB risks, respectively. Ploughing, rather than minimum tillage, reduced deoxynivalenol and zearalenone by 75% and 60%, with a fungicide providing comparable effects. Reduced tillage increased the emerging mycotoxins, especially moniliformin and enniatins, but also the toxins produced by the Alternaria species. Ergot alkaloids, whenever detected, increased, albeit only under no-tillage conditions. Conclusion Integrated and adaptive cropping systems that combine residue management and targeted fungicide applications are essential to maintain productivity and food safety.
Finest grain-size fractions of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (MSWI-BA) represent a critical barrier to ash valorisation because they are commonly enriched in soluble salts and potentially toxic elements. This study evaluates whether thermal treatment can reduce the short-term leachability and improve the reuse potential of fine-grained MSWI-BA from the Parma Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant by linking mineralogical and microstructural evolution to EN 12457–2 batch-leaching behaviour. The 0–2 mm fraction and selected finer sub-fractions were thermally treated at selected temperatures up to 1200 °C and characterised by XRF, ICP-MS, XRD with quantitative phase analysis, Raman spectroscopy, SEM-EDS, and leaching tests. The untreated ash consists mainly of an amorphous/glassy aluminosilicate matrix with secondary carbonates, hydrates, and sulfate- and chloride-bearing phases, whereas the finest fractions show higher concentrations of alkalis, soluble salts, and other minor phases bearing potentially ecotoxic elements. Thermal treatment causes progressive dehydration, decarbonation, recrystallization and, above approximately 1000 °C, the formation of a Ca-silicate glass–ceramic assemblage containing pyroxene and wollastonite. Above approximately 1050–1100 °C, the amorphous fraction increases again, indicating partial vitrification. This evolution is accompanied by a marked decrease in electrical conductivity and in the release of chloride, sulfate, alkalis, and several regulated elements. Among the conditions investigated, the 1100–1150 °C range with a 1 h holding time provides the clearest environmental upgrading and supports consideration of the treated fines as candidate secondary raw-material precursors. Long-term durability, industrial feasibility, off-gas management, and end-use performance remain to be established.
A 10B-coated cathode double-GEM neutron detector (BGEM) was developed as a 3He-free cold-neutron beamline detector using a single 10B4C converter cathode and a 512-channel APV25 orthogonal-strip readout over 10 × 10cm2. The detector was tested at the HANARO Bio-REF beamline with a monochromatic 4.5Å beam (En=4.03meV). The detection efficiency relative to a 6Li-based Ce:LiCAF reference detector was ɛBGEM=(8.69±0.20)%(stat.). The pulse-height spectrum was qualitatively consistent with Geant4 energy-deposition simulations, and Cd-mask imaging yielded σ=(555⊕102)μm, corresponding to FWHMLSF=(1.31⊕0.24)mm. These results establish a cold-neutron beamline benchmark for a single-converter BGEM detector with full-strip APV25 readout.
Gas hydrates are widespread under the seafloor along continental margins, where high-pressure and low-temperature conditions ensure their stability. They represent a significant potential energy resource; however, their exploitation poses serious environmental and climatic risks, including submarine slope failures, tsunamis, climate warming, ocean acidification and oxygen depletion. Many hyperthermal events and associated biotic crises have been linked to large-scale destabilisation of gas hydrates. These assumptions are based primarily on circumstantial evidences, as distinctive hydrate-related rocks have not been documented in sedimentary successions coeval to these events. Despite this, gas hydrates must have existed since at least the Neoproterozoic, suggesting that their geological record is underrepresented, and their role in Earth history remains elusive. Recognising vestiges of past gas hydrates is, therefore, essential for the understanding of their impact on ancient geosystems and their potential contribution to near-future climate change. This review aims to enhance the identification of past gas hydrate occurrences in marine settings by: (1) outlining their distribution, occurrence, dynamics and associated geohazards in modern environments; (2) summarising current perspectives on their role in Earth history; (3) reviewing their sedimentological and geochemical vestiges in the sedimentary record. Particular emphasis is posed on the most reliable archive of past gas hydrates: hydrate-derived authigenic carbonates; (4) clarifying existing confusion in terminology and proposing a comprehensive classification of gas hydrate-associated rocks; and (5) identifying the most promising research directions and methods in this field.
The 16th Acromegaly Consensus Conference in September 2024 updated recommendations on diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly comorbidities. Since the 2020 acromegaly comorbidity management guideline was published, new evidence has emerged on novel and known comorbidities and new treatment approaches. Forty-three experts in the management of acromegaly reviewed the current literature and assessed changes in clinical practice standards and management. Current outcome goals were considered and updated, with a focus on the impact of current and emerging treatments of these comorbidities. Participants assessed factors that determine pharmacological choices, as well as use of specific agents in the management of the most relevant acromegaly comorbidities. We present consensus recommendations highlighting optimization of evidence-based acromegaly comorbidities management.
