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Topic Review
Cinnamon as Useful Preventive Substance
Cinnamon is widely used as a food spice, but due to its antibacterial and pharmacological properties, it can also be used in processing, medicine and agriculture. The word “Cinnamon” can refer to the plant, processed material, or an extract. It is sometimes used as a substance, and sometimes used as a mixture or as compounds or a group. This article reviews research into the effectiveness of various forms of cinnamon for the control of plant diseases and pests in crops and during storage of fruit and vegetables. Cinnamon acts on pests mainly as a repellent, although in higher doses it has a biocidal effect and prevents egg-laying. Cinnamon and its compounds effectively hinder bacterial and fungal growth, and the phytotoxic effects of cinnamon make it a possible herbicide. This article presents the wide practical use of cinnamon for various purposes, mainly in agriculture. Cinnamon is a candidate for approval as a basic substance with protective potential. In particular, it can be used in organic farming as a promising alternative to chemical pesticides for use in plant protection, especially in preventive treatments. The use of natural products is in line with the restriction of the use of chemical pesticides and the principles of the EU’s Green Deal. 
  • 2.2K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Biodiesel Production from Animal Fats
Animal fats, usually found as waste from slaughterhouses, meat processing industry, and cooking facilities, constitute some of the most relevant waste with costly treatment because environmental regulations are quite strict. Part of such costs may be reduced through the generation of biodiesel that constitutes a valid renewable source of energy because it is biodegradable, non-toxic and has a good combustion emission profile. Furthermore, biodiesel can be blended up to 20% with fossil diesel for its use in many countries. Up to 70% of the total cost of biodiesel majorly depends on the cost of the raw materials used, which can be reduced using animal fat waste because they are cheaper than vegetable oil waste. Transesterification with alkaline catalysis is still preferred at industrial plants producing biodiesel. However, recent developments in technologies for process intensification like ultrasound, microwave, and different types of reactors have been successfully applied in transesterification and improved biodiesel production. Better efficiency has been achieved with new heterogeneous catalysts and nanocatalysts that can be easily recovered, regenerated and reused, and immobilized lipases with increased stability and resistance to alcohol denaturation. Also new adsorbents for increased oxidation stability of biodiesel. All these developments are promising for industrial use in near future.
  • 2.2K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Green Supply Chain Management
Green or sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) involves integrating environmental and economic objectives into the management of the operation strategy of the supply chain. Such integration helps reduce the carbon footprint while increasing financial return and profitability. A wider concept is SSCM, which aims to maximize profitability and, at the same time, reduce the environmental impact and improve the social well-being of the various involved stakeholders.
  • 2.2K
  • 30 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Plastic Packaging Recycling
Today, the scientific community is facing crucial challenges in delivering a healthier world for future generations. Among these, the quest for circular and sustainable approaches for plastic recycling is one of the most demanding for several reasons. Indeed, the massive use of plastic materials over the last century has generated large amounts of long-lasting waste, which, for much time, has not been object of adequate recovery and disposal politics. Most of this waste is generated by packaging materials. Nevertheless, in the last decade, a new trend imposed by environmental concerns brought this topic under the magnifying glass, as testified by the increasing number of related publications. Several methods have been proposed for the recycling of polymeric plastic materials based on chemical or mechanical methods. A panorama of the most promising studies related to the recycling of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS) is given within this review. 
  • 2.2K
  • 16 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Ocean Planet
An ocean planet, ocean world, water world, aquaplanet or panthalassic planet is a type of terrestrial planet that contains a substantial amount of water either at its surface or subsurface. The term ocean world is also used sometimes for astronomical bodies with an ocean composed of a different fluid, such as lava (the case of Io), ammonia (in a eutectic mixture with water, as is likely the case of Titan's inner ocean) or hydrocarbons like on Titan's surface (which could be the most abundant kind of exosea). Earth is the only astronomical object known to have bodies of liquid water on its surface, although several exoplanets have been found with the right conditions to support liquid water. For exoplanets, current technology cannot directly observe liquid surface water, so atmospheric water vapor may be used as a proxy. The characteristics of ocean worlds—or ocean planets—provide clues to their history and the formation and evolution of the Solar System as a whole. Of additional interest is their potential to originate and host life.
  • 2.2K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Odor Measurement Methods
Odor pollution related to industrial activities (e.g., chemical industries, oil and gas extraction and refining facilities, waste treatment and disposal facilities) is nowadays acknowledged as a serious environmental concern. Indeed, odors are currently subjected to control and regulation in many countries. Such regulations rely on the possibility of measuring odors. The methods that have been developed and standardized over the last years to measure odors, thereby including sensorial and instrumental techniques, are here described, thereby focusing on their applicability and limitations.
  • 2.2K
  • 08 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Plagioclase
Plagioclase is a series of tectosilicate (framework silicate) minerals within the feldspar group. Rather than referring to a particular mineral with a specific chemical composition, plagioclase is a continuous solid solution series, more properly known as the plagioclase feldspar series. This was first shown by the German mineralogist Johann Friedrich Christian Hessel (1796–1872) in 1826. The series ranges from albite to anorthite endmembers (with respective compositions NaAlSi3O8 to CaAl2Si2O8), where sodium and calcium atoms can substitute for each other in the mineral's crystal lattice structure. Plagioclase in hand samples is often identified by its polysynthetic crystal twinning or 'record-groove' effect. Plagioclase is a major constituent mineral in the Earth's crust, and is consequently an important diagnostic tool in petrology for identifying the composition, origin and evolution of igneous rocks. Plagioclase is also a major constituent of rock in the highlands of the Moon. Analysis of thermal emission spectra from the surface of Mars suggests that plagioclase is the most abundant mineral in the crust of Mars. Its name comes from Ancient Greek plágios (πλάγιος 'oblique') + klásis ((κλάσις 'fracture'), in reference to its two cleavage angles.
  • 2.2K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Climate Change Impacts on Sunflower Plants
Elevated concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and increased temperatures, carbon and nitrogen metabolism will  affect the plant’s oxidative state in sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) plants
  • 2.2K
  • 24 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Clays and the Origin of Life
Clays are able to replicate and drive the evolution of metabolism; they have the catalytic ability to synthesize monomers (amino acids, nucleotides and so on) and polymerize them, resulting in RNA–peptide worlds in which RNA replicates (genes) and, in cooperation with coded peptides, drives the evolution of the cell. 
  • 2.2K
  • 25 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Trough (Meteorology)
A trough is an elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure without a closed isobaric contour that would define it as a low pressure area. Since low pressure implies a low height on a pressure surface, troughs and ridges refer to features in an identical sense as those on a topographic map. Troughs may be at the surface, or aloft. Near-surface troughs sometimes mark a weather front associated with clouds, showers, and a wind direction shift. Upper-level troughs in the jet stream (as shown in diagram) reflect cyclonic filaments of vorticity. Their motion induces upper-level wind divergence, lifting and cooling the air ahead (downstream) of the trough and helping to produce cloudy and rain conditions there. Unlike fronts, there is not a universal symbol for a trough on a surface weather analysis chart. The weather charts in some countries or regions mark troughs by a line. In the United States, a trough may be marked as a dashed line or bold line. In the UK, Hong Kong and Fiji, it is represented by a bold line extended from a low pressure center or between two low pressure centers; in Macau and Australia, it is a dashed line. If they are not marked, troughs may still be identified as an extension of isobars away from a low pressure center.
  • 2.2K
  • 14 Oct 2022
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