Recommendations for the Assessment of Potential Environmental Effects of Genome-Editing Applications in Plants in the EU.

The current initiative of the European Commission (EC) concerning plants produced using certain new genomic techniques, in particular, targeted mutagenesis and cisgenesis, underlines that a high level of protection for human and animal health and the environment needs to be maintained when using such applications. The current EU biosafety regulation framework ensures a high level of protection with a mandatory environmental risk assessment (ERA) of genetically modified (GM) products prior to the authorization of individual GMOs for environmental release or marketing. However, the guidance available from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for conducting such an ERA is not specific enough regarding the techniques under discussion and needs to be further developed to support the policy goals towards ERA, i.

[Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Italy: The EpiCovAir study].

Background: after the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2020, several waves of pandemic cases have occurred in Italy. The role of air pollution has been hypothesized and investigated in several studies. However, to date, the role of chronic exposure to air pollutants in increasing incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections is still debated.

Tracing the route: Using stable isotope analysis to understand microplastic pathways through the pelagic-neritic food web of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean).

This study provides a pilot investigation of the relationship between microplastic ingestion and the trophic ecology of three pelagic fish species (Engraulis encrasicolus, Scomber scombrus, and Trachurus trachurus) from Anzio coast, Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). Stable isotope analysis has been performed to determine the trophic position and the isotopic niche of the three species. Then, data on the occurrence, abundance, and diversity of ingested microplastics have been analyzed considering the observed foraging patterns.

How to Choose? Comparing Different Methods to Count Wolf Packs in a Protected Area of the Northern Apennines.

Despite a natural rewilding process that caused wolf populations in Europe to increase and expand in the last years, human-wolf conflicts still persist, threatening the long-term wolf presence in both anthropic and natural areas. Conservation management strategies should be carefully designed on updated population data and planned on a wide scale. Unfortunately, reliable ecological data are difficult and expensive to obtain and often hardly comparable through time or among different areas, especially because of different sampling designs.

Priorities for Mediterranean marine turtle conservation and management in the face of climate change.

As climate-related impacts threaten marine biodiversity globally, it is important to adjust conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Translating scientific knowledge into practical management, however, is often complicated due to resource, economic and policy constraints, generating a knowledge-action gap. To develop potential solutions for marine turtle conservation, we explored the perceptions of key actors across 18 countries in the Mediterranean.

A new hazard scenario at Vesuvius: deadly thermal impact of detached ash cloud surges in 79CE at Herculaneum.

Diluted pyroclastic density currents are capable to cause huge devastation and mortality around volcanoes, and temperature is a crucial parameter in assessing their lethal power. Reflectance analysis on carbonized wood from ancient Herculaneum allowed a new reconstruction of the thermal events that affected buildings and humans during the 79CE Vesuvius eruption. Here we show that the first PDC entered the town was a short-lived, ash cloud surge, with temperatures of 555-495 °C, capable of causing instant death of people, while leaving only a few decimeters of ash on ground, which we interpret as detached from high concentration currents.

Volcanic-associated ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea: a systematic map and an interactive tool to support their conservation.

Background: Hydrothermal vents, cold seeps, pockmarks and seamounts are widely distributed on the ocean floor. Over the last fifty years, the knowledge about these volcanic-associated marine ecosystems has notably increased, yet available information is still limited, scattered, and unsuitable to support decision-making processes for the conservation and management of the marine environment.

Methods: Here we searched the Scopus database and the platform Web of Science to collect the scientific information available for these ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea.

How Rare Are Argonautoidea Octopuses in the Mediterranean? New Data from Stranding Events, Stomach Contents and Genetics.

The present paper represents the first all-encompassing study on all Mediterranean holopelagic octopods belonging to Argonautoidea (). Argonautoidea octopuses were collected by different sampling methods in the Strait of Messina and southern Tyrrhenian Sea. The aim of this paper was to improve knowledge, using information from different data sources, such as the study of stranded individuals or accidental caught specimens, as well as the analysis of stomach content of large pelagic fishes.

Gradients of Variation in the At-Vessel Mortality Rate between Twelve Species of Sharks and Skates Sampled through a Fishery-Independent Trawl Survey in the Asinara Gulf (NW Mediterranean Sea).

Elasmobranchs are priority species for conservation due to their rapid decline determined by the unbalanced struggle between a fragile bio-ecology and strong anthropogenic impacts, such as bycatch from professional fishing. In this context, measuring species resistance to catch of poorly selective gear is of paramount importance. During June-October 2022, five experimental fishing campaigns were carried out in the Asinara Gulf (northern Sardinia) through 35 geographically and bathymetrically representative hauls of an area between 30 and 600 m in depth.

Extra food provisioning does not affect behavioral lateralization in nestling lesser kestrels.

Costs and benefits of brain lateralization may depend on environmental conditions. Growing evidence indicates that the development of brain functional asymmetries is adaptively shaped by the environmental conditions experienced during early life. Food availability early in life could act as a proxy of the environmental conditions encountered during adulthood, but its potential modulatory effect on lateralization has received little attention.

Exploring fishing threat at fleet segment and subregional scale: Least expert knowledge and a resilience versus disturbance-based approach as conservation's tools for cartilaginous fish.

Based on an explorative but rigorous elicitation framework, we obtained the bycatch fishing probability at the fishing fleet segment level using expert estimates. Based on the knowledge of three scientific experts, we developed a new and creative structured method for smart and fast fishery-related risk assessments for species of high conservation concern. In order to test the method here propose, we applied it to 76 cartilaginous fish species (included in the IUCN Red Lists) and on five different fishing segments at both Italian and Mediterranean scale.

Association between short-term exposure to environmental air pollution and atopic dermatitis flare in patients treated with dupilumab.

Background: The magnitude of short/medium-term air pollution exposure on atopic dermatitis (AD) flare has not been fully investigated. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of short/medium-term exposure to airborne pollution on AD flares in patients treated with dupilumab.

Methods: Observational case-crossover study.

Phylogenetic History and Phylogeographic Patterns of the European Wildcat () Populations.

Disentangling phylogenetic and phylogeographic patterns is fundamental to reconstruct the evolutionary histories of and assess their actual conservation status. Therefore, in this study, for the first time, the most exhaustive biogeographic history of European wildcat () populations was reconstructed by typing 430 European wildcats, 213 domestic cats, and 72 putative admixed individuals, collected across the entire species' distribution range, at a highly diagnostic portion of the mitochondrial ND5 gene. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses identified two main ND5 lineages (D and W) roughly associated with domestic and wild polymorphisms.

International approaches to contamination management: Introduction to the RemTech Europe 2021 Special Series.

Soil is a nonrenewable resource, and groundwater is a critical source of drinking water. Effective soil and water protection, assessment and, if affected, recovery from contamination are priorities around the world; eco-friendly interventions in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are favored objectives. These issues were discussed during the sixth RemTech Europe conference (https://www.

Open data for assessing habitats degree of conservation at plot level. An example dataset of forest structural attributes in Val d'Agri (Basilicata, Southern Italy).

Forests supply multiple ecosystem services and host a large proportion of the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. In particular, they provide habitats for many taxonomic groups which can be threatened by forest unsustainable management practices. Type and intensity of forest management are widely recognized as the main drivers of structure and functions in forests ecosystems.

The Pattern of Social Parasitism in Butterfly Is Driven by the Size and Spatial Distribution of the Host Ant Nests.

The parasitic relationship between butterflies and ants has been extensively studied but little information is available on the spatial occurrence of larvae. We searched for the presence of in 211 ant nests at two sites in two crucial phases of its life cycle, i.e.

Dietary Preferences of Loggerhead Sea Turtles () in Two Mediterranean Feeding Grounds: Does Prey Selection Change with Habitat Use throughout Their Life Cycle?

According to their life stage, the loggerhead sea turtle () is found in a wide range of habitats, from neritic to more oceanic areas. Their feeding habits are expected to change as they develop, along with habitat use. Juvenile sea turtles are hypothesized to feed on pelagic species in oceanic areas, shifting to more benthic prey during the subadult and adult stages.

Reproductive cycle and gonadal output of the Lessepsian jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda in NW Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea).

Knowledge of the reproductive strategy is a key prerequisite to predict population dynamics and potential invasiveness of both native and non-indigenous outbreak-forming species. In 2014 the Lessepsian upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda reached the harbor of Palermo (NW Sicily, Thyrrenian Sea), to date its established westernmost outpost in the Mediterranean Sea. To predict C.

Eco-Friendly Engineered Nanomaterials Coupled with Filtering Fine-Mesh Net as a Promising Tool to Remediate Contaminated Freshwater Sludges: An Ecotoxicity Investigation.

The use of eco-friendly engineered nanomaterials represents a recent solution for an effective and safe treatment of contaminated dredging sludge. In this study, an eco-designed engineered material based on cross-linked nanocellulose (CNS) was applied for the first time to decontaminate a real matrix from heavy metals (namely Zn, Ni, Cu, and Fe) and other undesired elements (mainly Ba and As) in a lab-scale study, with the aim to design a safe solution for the remediation of contaminated matrices. Contaminated freshwater sludge was treated with CNS coupled with a filtering fine-mesh net, and the obtained waters were tested for acute and sublethal toxicity.

The Intriguing Biogeographic Pattern of the Italian Wall Lizard (Squamata: Lacertidae) in the Tuscan Archipelago Reveals the Existence of a New Ancient Insular Clade.

The Tuscan Archipelago is one of the most ancient and ecologically heterogeneous island systems in the Mediterranean. The biodiversity of these islands was strongly shaped by the Pliocene and Pleistocene sea regressions and transgression, resulting in different waves of colonization and isolation of species coming from the mainland. The Italian wall lizard, , is present on the following islands of the Tuscan Archipelago: Elba, Giglio, Giannutri, Capraia, Montecristo and Cerboli.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis revealed changes in multiple signaling pathways involved in protein degradation in the digestive gland of Mytilus coruscus during high-temperatures.

As a result of global warming, the Mytilus coruscus living attached in the intertidal zone experience extreme and fluctuating changes in temperature, and extreme temperature changes are causing mass mortality of intertidal species. This study explores the transcriptional response of M. coruscus at different temperatures (18 °C, 26 °C, and 33 °C) and different times (0, 12, and 24 h) of action by analyzing the potential temperature of the intertidal zone.

An innovative methodological path to attribute the hazard property HP14 "ecotoxic" to waste using a weight of evidence approach.

The criteria for the application of hazard property code HP14 "ecotoxicity" to waste assessment have been defined by the Council Regulation (EU) 2017/997. However, on the basis of available methodologies, its application may present some issues. Those can be referred to the preparation and representativeness of the sample to be analyzed, to the chemical evaluation by the summation method (CLP Regulation), to the toxicity thresholds of ecotoxicological tests and the evaluation of the real environmental impact of waste.

Bioplastic leachates characterization and impacts on early larval stages and adult mussel cellular, biochemical and physiological responses.

Bioplastics are promoted as safer alternatives to tackle the long-term persistence of conventional plastics. However, information on the potential release of additives and non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in the surrounding environment is limited, and biological effects of the leachates have been little studied. Leachates produced from three bioplastics, i.