Reduction of organic pollutants in Olive Mill Wastewater by using different mineral substrates as adsorbents.

Physico-chemical treatments of Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW) were carried out using different inorganic substrates such as soil, bentonite and zeolite, in order to assess their efficiency to remove the organic load from OMW, in particular polyphenols (Pp) and to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD). The effect of repeated treatments of OMW with different minerals and the possibility of regenerating them by the Low Temperature Ashing (LTA) technique, an eco-friendly procedure, for the reutilization of treated OMW, has been investigated. Zeolite was found to be highly efficient in adsorbing Pp and COD from OMW and was easy to regenerate by means of the LTA technique.

Social paper wasps as bioindicators: a preliminary research with Polistes dominulus (Hymenoptera Vespidae) as a trace metal accumulator.

The wasps of the genus Polistes (paper wasps), have a worldwide distribution and are widespread in human-built areas. Like other social wasps, they are at the top of food chains and are therefore exposed to the dangers of biomagnification, given that the larvae are fed predominantly with prey that consist of herbivorous insects. The larval faeces, larval fecal masses, in the form of a semi-solid ball, are made up of the residues of the diet of the larva, which are emitted and compressed on the floor of the cell during the larval metamorphosis. Larval fecal masses may accumulate lead (up to 36 times with respect to the adult body), therefore they were used as substrate for the analysis. From the analysis of sample nests of Polistes dominulus in various sites of the urban area of Florence, it emerges that the larval fecal masses are an analytical substrate with which it is possible to distinguish zones with differing degrees of lead pollution. The lead concentration measured in the larval fecal masses turns out to be directly correlated with vehicle traffic density, the main lead source in Florence when the survey was carried out. The notable increase in the lead concentration of larval fecal masses from the rural to the urban nest (11.15 times), in contrast with the much more limited level of pupae (4.39 times), seems to indicate the efficiency of the excretion and/or barrier mechanisms. These wasps seem to be a promising species for biomonitoring lead pollution in order to better understand its dynamics in anthropic ecosystems after the progressive diffusion of unleaded gasoline.

Replicon clusters may form structurally stable complexes of chromatin and chromosomes.

Nuclear DNA replication was monitored 'in situ' in pea nuclei with the bromodeoxyuridine antibody technique. The labelling appeared to be restricted to a number of finely distinct spots. The labelling was followed through three subsequent cell cycles in meristematic and differentiating pea root cells. The results show that the spots as seen just after the labelling persist distinctly over the mitotic chromosomes as well as in the nuclei of the following cell cycles up to 44 hours after the pulse. Moreover, they are also present in the nuclei of differentiating cells. The spots over the mitotic chromosomes in specific cases give rise to a dynamic banding. Nuclei of the second and third cycle show absence of labelling in specific zones, owing to the segregation of the labelled strands of chromosomal DNA. The maintenance of the spotted appearance of the replication clusters through all stages of the three subsequent cell cycles may be an indication in favour of the hypothesis that such clusters represent structurally stable replicon complexes held together by the nuclear matrix and the chromosome scaffold.

Effect of Theophylline on Elongation and some Transport Processes in Embryos of Haplopappus gracilis.

In germinating embryos of Haplopappus gracilis, theophylline induced a FC-reversible inhibition of elongation and K(+) uptake. The possible action of theophylline on the proton pump and other transport processes is discussed and compared with the effects of its ethylenediamine salt, aminophylline.

Cell cycle arrest induced by theophylline in root meristem of Haplopappus gracilis.

Theophylline, an inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase, induced a block of the cell cycle in G1, a temporary arrest in G2 and 70% decrease in the uptake of labelled thymidine in roots of Haplopappus. These effects are compared to those previously found with aminophylline and discussed in view of the possible involvement of cAMP in the regulation of the cell cycle in plants.

Inhibition of elongation and H(+) and K (+) transport by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor aminophylline in plant tissue.

Aminophylline, an inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.17), inhibits elongation and correlated H(+) and K(+) transport in embryos of Haplopappus gracilis and in pea internode segments. Moreover, the drug strongly inhibits the stimulation of these processes by fusicoccin and indole-3-acetic acid and reduces passive permeability of the membrane. The possible mechanisms of action of aminophylline are discussed.

Interference of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor aminophylline with the plant cell cycle.

Aminophylline (an inhibitor of animal phosphodiesterases) interferes with a pleiotypic program in embryos and seedlings of Haplopappus gracilis, inducing a specific and reversible block of the cell cycle in G1 and G2, partial depression of RNA and protein synthesis and inhibition of the uptake of nucleosides and leucine. The analogy between these effects and those evoked in animal cells by various treatments leading to a rise in cAMP level is discussed.